''See also:''
- . ''Thriller'' paved the way for countless other African-American artists' music to be aired on radio and MTV. ''Thriller'' has sold over 104 million copies, making it the greatest selling album of all time by an extremely large margin. Michael's domination of the 1980s was fueled by his follow-up hit album Bad (released in 1987 ), which held the title of the second greatest album of all time for several years.
'' Head Over Heels '' by the Cocteau Twins sold poorly upon its initial release but is considered one of the most influential albums of 1983 . In the ensuing years, the album's eclectic assortment of Alternative Rock , New Wave and Synth Pop influences became a cornerstone of later alternative rock groups, most especially in the United Kingdom , where the Cocteau Twins' mix of airy textures and breathless vocals ( Dream Pop ) mutated into genres like Twee Pop , Space Rock and Shoegazing , and eventually hit mainstream success with a Psychedelic -influenced form, Britpop .
Quiet Riot 's '' Metal Health '' was enormously popular in 1983, and was the first Heavy Metal album to go to #1 on the pop charts. The lead single, "Cum on Feel the Noize" ( Cover of Slade ) was also a huge hit, #5 Billboard, and set the stage for the mainstream success of later Glam Metal bands like Poison . Other landmark rock/metal albums released in this year include Def Leppard's " Pyromania ", Iron Maiden's " Piece Of Mind ", Mercyful Fate's " Melissa " Dio's " Holy Diver ", Accept's " Balls To The Wall ", Metallica's " Kill 'em All ", Slayer's " Show No Mercy ", Ozzy Osbourne's " Bark At The Moon " and Mötley Crüe's " Shout At The Devil ".
The Country Music legend Kenny Rogers records his 23rd studio album "We've Got Tonight," which was his last album for Liberty Records . He signed to RCA for a guaranteed sum of no less than $20 million for 6 albums, the biggest record deal of all-time up to that point. His earnings for those recordings amounted to even more, but no details have been made public. Rogers' RCA debut included his duet with Dolly Parton , " Islands In The Stream ", which would become one of the biggest records of the year.
Some other releases from 1983 deserve special mention:
- The Police 's '' Synchronicity '' was their final release together before breaking up, and was enormously popular, including one of their more popular songs, " Every Breath You Take "
- Eurythmics ' '' Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) '' was their breakthrough success, and included their signature tune, the title track
- Mötley Crüe 's '' Shout At The Devil '' was their breakthrough, and included "Looks That Kill", though they would go on to greater popular and critical success in the later part of the decade after recovering from the shock of member Vince Neil 's near-fatal car accident
- Nena releases 99 Luftballons and its English version, 99 Red Balloons, generating her fame in the English-speaking world
- Tom Waits ' '' Swordfishtrombones '' was his first album for Island Records , and the first in a series of three thematically and stylistically linked albums that established him as a critical darling and cult favorite
- New Order 's '' Power, Corruption & Lies '' was the second since forming from the ashes of Joy Division (after the suicide of Ian Curtis ) and the first to achieve critical or popular success, as it was a stylistically innovative mix of synth vocals and dance-heavy beats. In some countries included the best-selling 12" record of all time, " Blue Monday "
- Duran Duran scored hits from three separate albums in this year ('' Rio '', the reissue of '' Duran Duran '', and '' Seven And The Ragged Tiger '')
- Merle Haggard began a run of chart success in this year, which continued for about two years. His duet album with Willie Nelson , '' Pancho & Lefty '', was an enormous critical and popular success and did much to revitalize the careers of both entertainers, especially with the hit title track
- Stevie Ray Vaughan 's '' Texas Flood '' was more popular than any blues album since the late 1960s , and did much to establish Country -blues as a commercially viable genre
- George Strait 's '' Right Or Wrong '' sold extremely well, and was a pivotal album in the development of the Honky Tonk revival during the rest of the decade.
- Now That's What I Call Music! '' off the long-running compilation series in the UK
- Metallica and Slayer kicked off the thrash metal era with '' Kill 'Em All '' and '' Show No Mercy ''.
- R.E.M's first full-length album '' Murmur '' was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year.
- The Carpenter's Voice Of The Heart was released after Karen Carpenter's untimely death which contains material from some of her last recording sessions, as well as previously unreleased tracks from sessions over the years.
- '' Balls To The Wall '' - Accept
- '' Flick Of The Switch '' - AC/DC
- ''No Parole From Rock & Roll'' - Alcatrazz
- ''Forged in Fire'' - Anvil
- ''Lesson Well Learned EP'' - Armored Saint (first release)
- '' High Land, Hard Rain '' - Aztec Camera
- '' Into The Unknown '' - Bad Religion
- '' Deep Sea Skiving '' - Bananarama
- '' Live From Earth '' - Pat Benatar
- '' The Crossing '' - Big Country
- '' Cuts Like A Knife '' - Bryan Adams
- '' Live Evil '' - Black Sabbath
- '' Let's Dance '' - David Bowie
- '' Branigan 2 '' - Laura Branigan
- '' Johnny 99 '' - Johnny Cash
- '' Next Position Please '' - Cheap Trick
- '' You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish '' - George Clinton
- '' Hello, I Must Be Going! '' - Phil Collins
- '' Colour By Numbers '' - Culture Club
- '' Head Over Heels '' - Cocteau Twins
- '' Punch The Clock '' - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
- '' DaDa '' - Alice Cooper
- '' Yes Sir, I Will '' - Crass
- '' Japanese Whispers '' - The Cure
- ''Star People'' - Miles Davis
- '' Canterbury '' - Diamond Head
- '' Pyromania '' - Def Leppard
- '' Construction Time Again '' - Depeche Mode
- ''Pictures'' - Atlanta
- '' Holy Diver '' - Dio
- ''I Put Away My Idols'' - Dion DiMucci
- ''Breaking the Chains'' - Dokken (major label debut), (rerelease)
- '' Alive, She Cried '' - The Doors
- '' Seven And The Ragged Tiger '' - Duran Duran
- ''Powerlight'' - Earth, Wind & Fire
- ''Electric Universe'' - Earth, Wind & Fire
- '' Zeichnungen Des Patienten O. T. '' (Drawings of Patient O. T.) - Einstürzende Neubauten
- '' Secret Messages '' - Electric Light Orchestra
- '' Europe '' - Europe
- '' Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) '' - Eurythmics
- '' Touch '' - Eurythmics
- ''Let's Start A War (Said Maggie One Day)'' - The Exploited
- '' Fall In A Hole '' - The Fall
- '' Perverted By Language '' - The Fall
- ''Fastway'' - Fastway
- '' Ich Halt Zu Dir '' - Die Flippers
- '' Out For Blood '' - Lita Ford (solo debut)
- '' Genesis '' - Genesis
- '' Before Hollywood '' - The Go-Betweens
- '' What's Funk? '' - Grand Funk
- '' Samurai '' - Grand Prix
- ''Ageless Medley EP'' - Amy Grant
- ''A Christmas Album'' - Amy Grant
- ''Heart to Heart'' - Merle Haggard
- '' Pancho & Lefty '' - Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson
- ''That's the Way Love Goes'' - Merle Haggard
- ''Rock 'n' Soul, Part 1'' - Hall & Oates
- ''Back to the Mystery City'' - Hanoi Rocks
- ''Self-Destruction Blues'' Hanoi Rocks
- ''The Luxury Gap'' - Heaven 17
- ''No Rest For The Wicked'' - Helix
- ''Riding with the King'' - John Hiatt
- ''Feel My Soul'' - Jennifer Holliday
- '' Metal Circus '' - Hüsker Dü
- '' Fortune 410 '' - Donnie Iris
- '' Piece Of Mind '' - Iron Maiden
- ''Waylon & Company'' - Waylon Jennings
- ''Take It to the Limit'' - Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
- ''Too Low for Zero'' - Elton John
- '' Shine On '' - George Jones
- '' Frontiers '' - Journey
- '' Lick It Up '' - Kiss
- '' Headhunter '' - Krokus
- '' Madness '' - Madness (US only compilation)
- '' Madonna '' - Madonna
- '' With Sympathy '' - Ministry (Debut)
- '' Into Glory Ride '' - Manowar
- '' Script For A Jester's Tear '' - Marillion
- '' Confrontation '' - Bob Marley And The Wailers
- '' We Are One '' - Maze featuring Frankie Beverly
- '' Pipes Of Peace '' - Paul McCartney
- ''Behind the Scene'' - Reba McEntire
- '' Cargo '' - Men At Work
- ''A Volar'' - Menudo
- '' Kill 'Em All '' - Metallica (Debut)
- '' Offramp '' - The Pat Metheny Group
- '' Travels '' - The Pat Metheny Group
- "" Buzz Or Howl Under The Influence Of Heat " - Minutemen
- " What Makes A Man Start Fires? " - Minutemen
- '' Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart '' - Van Morrison
- '' Shout At The Devil '' - Mötley Crüe
- '' Another Perfect Day '' - Motörhead
- ''Yokan (Hunch)'' - Miyuki Nakajima
- '' Sound Elixir '' - Nazareth
- ''Take it to the River'' - Willie Nelson
- ''Tougher than Leather'' - Willie Nelson
- ''Without a Song'' - Willie Nelson
- ''Dazzle Ships'' - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
- '' Power, Corruption & Lies '' - New Order
- '' Trouble In Paradise '' - Randy Newman
- ''Subject: Aldo Nova'' - Aldo Nova
- ''American Made'' - The Oak Ridge Boys
- '' Dreamgirls '' - Original Broadway Cast Album
- '' Bark At The Moon '' - Ozzy Osbourne
- '' Metal Magic '' - Pantera
- '' The Principle Of Moments '' - Robert Plant
- '' The First Flower '' - Play Dead
- ''Urban Dance Floor Guerillas'' - P-Funk All Stars
- '' The Final Cut '' - Pink Floyd
- '' Works '' - Pink Floyd
- '' Platinum Blonde '' - Platinum Blonde (debut EP)
- ''Everywhere at Once'' - The Plimsouls
- ''Break Out'' - The Pointer Sisters
- '' Synchronicity '' - The Police
- ''Dancing For Mental Health'' - Will Powers (actually Lynn Goldsmith)
- ''Q-Feel'' - Q-Feel
- '' Queensrÿche '' - Queensrÿche
- '' Metal Health '' - Quiet Riot (American debut)
- '' Bent Out Of Shape '' - Rainbow
- '' Subterranean Jungle '' - The Ramones
- ''Ratt EP'' - Ratt
- ''All for One'' - Raven
- '' Neruda '' - Red Rider
- ''Imagination'' - Helen Reddy
- '' Legendary Hearts '' - Lou Reed
- '' Hootenanny '' - The Replacements
- '' Murmur '' - R.E.M. (full length debut)
- '' Can't Slow Down '' - Lionel Richie
- ''We've Got Tonight'' - Kenny Rogers
- '' Eyes That See In The Dark '' - Kenny Rogers
- ''In Heat'' - The Romantics
- '' The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect '' - Todd Rundgren
- ''Assault Attack'' - The Michael Schenker Group
- ''Built to Destroy'' - The Michael Schenker Group
- '' Hello Big Man '' - Carly Simon
- '' Hearts And Bones '' - Paul Simon
- '' Show No Mercy '' - Slayer (debut)
- '' Mommy's Little Monster '' - Social Distortion
- ''Confusion Is Sex'' - Sonic Youth (debut)
- ''Dagger And Guitar'' - Sort Sol
- ''Southern Death Cult EP'' - Southern Death Cult (first release by the band to eventually be known as The Cult)
- '' Back to Back''- Status Quo
- ''Works'' - Status Quo
- '' All The Best '' - Stiff Little Fingers
- '' Right Or Wrong '' - George Strait
- '' Steeler '' - Steeler (Yngwie Malmsteen & Ron Keel's 1st band, This band's only release)
- '' 1st '' - Streets
- '' Feline - The Stranglers
- ''Yentl (soundtrack)'' - Barbra Streisand
- '' Suicidal Tendencies '' - Suicidal Tendencies (debut)
- ''She Works Hard For The Money'' - Donna Summer
- '' Speaking In Tongues '' - Talking Heads
- '' The Hurting '' - Tears For Fears (debut)
- '' Life '' - Thin Lizzy
- '' Thunder And Lightning '' - Thin Lizzy
- '' Hand Of Kindness '' - Richard Thompson
- '' Treeless Plain '' - The Triffids
- '' Never Surrender '' - Triumph
- ''Outside Inside'' - The Tubes
- '' You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll '' - Twisted Sister (major label debut)
- ''Lost in the Feeling'' - Conway Twitty
- ''Merry Twistmas'' - Conway Twitty
- '' Faster Than The Speed Of Night '' - Bonnie Tyler
- ''Labour Of Love'' - UB40
- '' Under A Blood Red Sky '' - U2
- '' War '' - U2
- '' Peace Thru Vandalism '' - The Vandals
- ''Flashdance (soundtrack)'' - Various Artists
- '' Texas Flood '' - Stevie Ray Vaughan
- ''At War with Satan'' - Venom
- '' Violent Femmes '' - Violent Femmes (debut)
- '' Swordfishtrombones '' - Tom Waits
- '' The Waterboys '' - The Waterboys (debut)
- ''Even the Strong Get Lonely'' - Tammy Wynette
- ''Good Love & Heartbreak'' - Tammy Wynette
- '' 90125 '' - Yes
- ''Mean Streak'' - Y&T
- '' No Parlez '' - Paul Young
- '' Zebra '' - Zebra
- '' Eliminator '' - ZZ Top
- '' Weeds & Water - Riders In The Sky
- '' "Weird Al" Yankovic - "Weird Al" Yankovic
- "Country (music group) Atlanta releases 'Atlanta Burned Again Last Night'on independednt MDJ Records. Song breaks into the top ten in Billboard's Country Charts.
The following singles achieved the highest chart positions in 1983.
''See also: Hot 100 No. 1 Hits Of 1983 ''
- January 19 - Utada Hikaru , singer and songwriter
- March 14 - Jordan Taylor Hanson , Hanson
- May 2 - Rose Falcon
- March 19 - Ana Rezende , Cansei De Ser Sexy
- March 29 - Luiza Sá , Cansei De Ser Sexy
- May 11 - Holly Valance
- June 30 - Cheryl Tweedy , member of Girls Aloud
- June 30 - Patrick Wolf ,singer/songwriter
- July 2 - Michelle Branch , Justincase
- July 11 - Marie Eleonor Serneholt , A-Teens
- September 14 - Amy Winehouse , English singer
- September 17 - Jennifer Peña
- October 29 - Amit Paul, A-Teens
- January 28 - Billy Fury , singer dies of Myocardial Infarction {heart attack}.
- February 4 - Karen Carpenter , singer, cardiac arrest due to Anorexia Nervosa
- February 12 - Eubie Blake (100), pianist
- February 22 - Sir Adrian Boult , conductor
- March 6 - Cathy Berberian , singer and composer
- March 7 - William Walton , British composer
- April 4 - Danny Rapp , Danny And The Juniors , gunshot wound
- April 14 - Pete Farndon , The Pretenders , drug overdose
- April 30
- --- Muddy Waters (68), heart attack
- --- George Balanchine , choreographer
- May 23 - George Bruns , film composer
- June 2 - Stan Rogers , musician
- June 25 - Alberto Ginastera , Argentinian Composer
- July 5 - Harry James , bandleader
- July 23 - Georges Auric , composer, member of ''Les Six''
- November 7 - Germaine Tailleferre , composer, only female member of '' Les Six ''
- November 19 - Tom Evans , bassist of the rock group Badfinger .
- December 28 - Dennis Wilson , member of the Beach Boys
|
