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1983 in music

Years in music: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Centuries: 19th Century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades: 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
Years: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986

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Events

The most long-term influential release of 1983 is probably Head over Heels by the Cocteau Twins, which sold poorly upon its initial release. 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.

The most successful album of 1983 and of all time in fact was Michael Jackon's "Thriller". The album spawned 5 hit singles and stayed in the US and UK national charts for over three years.

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, and set the stage for the mainstream crossover of later hair metal bands like Guns N' Roses and Def Leppard. Other landmark rock/metal albums released in this year include Iron Maiden's "Piece of Mind", Metallica's "Kill 'em all", Def Leppard's "Pyromania" and Motley Crue's "Shout at the Devil".


The country music legend Kenny Rogers records his 23rd studio album "We've Got Tonight," which is his last album for Liberty records. He signs 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 will amount to even more, but no details have ever 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 releases from 1983 deserve special mention:

Albums released

Top hits on record


See also: Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1983

Classical music

Opera

Musical theater

Musical films

Musical television

Births

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Awards

Grammy Awards

Country Music Association Awards

Eurovision Song Contest

Charts

List of No. 1 Hits

KROQ

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