Calendar Search Results: u i a song
December 11, 1983 Whodini release their debut album, one of the first rap LPs on a major label (Jive). The song "Magic's Wand" inspires their name, which is a play on the name of magician Harry Houdini.
December 10, 1983 Tina Turner's first solo hit, a cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," charts at #6 in the UK as her comeback gets going.
December 2, 1983 Michael Jackson's 14-minute "Thriller" video debuts on MTV. Directed by John Landis, the short film shows Michael Jackson turning into a werewolf and leading a dance routine with various undead creatures.More
November 20, 1983 Future is born Nayvadius Wilburn in Atlanta, Georgia. Rapping with distinctive Auto-Tuned vocals over trap beats, he comes onto the scene in 2011 with his feature on YC's "Racks," and by 2015 he's a star, earning his first #1 album with DS2.
November 14, 1983 Michael Jackson's 14-minute film Thriller debuts at the Metro Crest Theater in Los Angeles. Directed by John Landis, the short film will become the most popular video in MTV history when the network begins airing it in December. Many of Jackson's famous friends show up at the premiere, including Diana Ross, Eddie Murphy and Warren Beatty. The film gets a standing ovation and the crowd demands an encore, which is granted.
November 10, 1983 Billy Idol releases his second album, Rebel Yell. Along with the title track, hits from the album include "Eyes Without A Face" and "Flesh for Fantasy."
November 6, 1983 The ABC miniseries Princess Daisy debuts, featuring Ringo Starr as a gay fashion designer in one of his last acting roles.
November 4, 1983 Paul Simon releases Hearts and Bones, his sixth solo album. The title track is about his new bride, the actress Carrie Fisher.More
October 29, 1983 "Islands in the Stream," written by the Bee Gees and intended for Marvin Gaye, goes to #1 in the US as a duet by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.More
October 29, 1983 Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon album breaks the record for most weeks on the Billboard albums chart when it eclipses Johnny's Greatest Hits by Johnny Mathis with 491 weeks. Dark Side remains on the chart until 1988, when it drops off with 724 weeks. Thanks to reissues and promotions, it returns from time to time, notching over 880 weeks on the chart in total.
October 15, 1983 The debut studio album by Alcatrazz is issued, No Parole from Rock n' Roll, which features guitar work from a then-unknown Yngwie Malmsteen and spawns such melodic metal nuggets as "Island in the Sun" and "Hiroshima Mon Amour."
October 14, 1983 Cyndi Lauper, formerly a member of the group Blue Angel, issues her first solo album, She's So Unusual. With the MTV hits "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" and "Time After Time," it becomes an '80s touchstone.
October 11, 1983 Lionel Richie releases his second solo album, Can't Slow Down, which goes on to sell over 10 million copies in America.More
October 8, 1983 "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" by Bonnie Tyler stays at #1 in America, with "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" by Air Supply at #2, a configuration that holds for three weeks. Both songs were written and produced by Jim Steinman, making him the first solo writer and producer to hold the top two spots.
October 8, 1983 Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish is released. Tom Waits appears in the film as the bubblegum-chomping owner of Benny's Billiards. His character exists on the periphery of the main plot line, but he is given an extended, poetic monologue about life, time, and aging.
September 28, 1983 Season 2 of the sitcom Family Ties premieres on NBC, with its theme song, "Without Us," now being performed by Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams.
September 25, 1983 Donald Glover is born in Edwards, California, raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia. He writes for the TV series 30 Rock and stars in the sitcom Community before making music as the rapper Childish Gambino. His 2016 hit "Redbone" popularizes the phrase "stay woke," and his 2018 #1 "This Is America" wins Grammys for Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year.
September 25, 1983 Supertramp wrap up their Famous Last Tour tour with a show in Irvine, California. It's their last show with Roger Hodgson, the writer and voice behind hits like "Dreamer" and "Give A Little Bit," who leaves the group over tensions with Rick Davies, their other main singer and songwriter.
September 24, 1983 Billy Joel hits #1 in America with "Tell Her About It," a song inspired by his future wife Christie Brinkley.
September 23, 1983 Ten years after their bitter breakup, The Everly Brothers reunite for a concert at Royal Albert Hall in London that is released as the double album Reunion Concert.
September 18, 1983 Kiss make their first public appearance without their trademark make-up when they show up on MTV to promote their new album - and single - "Lick It Up."
September 17, 1983 Vanessa Williams, who later becomes a popular actress and lands a #1 hit with "Save The Best For Last," becomes the first Black woman crowned Miss America. She gives up the title the next year after naked photos of her appear in Penthouse.
September 17, 1983 Star Search debuts on CBS. Hosted by Ed McMahon, the TV talent competition introduces scores of future superstars, many from the music realm, including Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Alanis Morissette, Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, Tiffany, LeAnn Rimes, Usher, Aaliyah, and Destiny's Child.
September 15, 1983 Huey Lewis & the News release the album Sports, which sells over 7 million copies and includes five hit singles: "I Want a New Drug," "Walking On A Thin Line," "The Heart of Rock 'n Roll," "Heart And Soul," and "If This Is It."
September 1, 1983 Encouraged by his wife, Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits releases Swordfishtrombones, the first album the songwriter produced himself. The album represents a significant break from mainstream norms, both musically and lyrically.
August 20, 1983 Taco's cover of the Irving Berlin song "Puttin' On the Ritz" reaches #9 on the Hot 100, making the 95-year-old Berlin the oldest living songwriter ever to land a Top 10 on that tally.
August 15, 1983 Paul Simon marries Carrie Fisher, famous for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars series. Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels is Simon's best man; Penny Marshall is Fisher's maid of honor. Guests include Robin Williams, Billy Joel and his wife Christie Brinkley, Randy Newman and George Lucas. The couple split up a year later, but resume their relationship in less formal terms throughout much of the '80s.
August 9, 1983 22-year-old Thomas Reilly is shot and killed by a British soldier in Belfast. He was a friend of the band Spandau Ballet, and sold merch on their True tour. His death would inspire the band's song "Through The Barricades" and the Bananarama song "King Of The Jungle."
August 2, 1983 Motown bass player James Jamerson dies at age 47 from a host of ailments, including cirrhosis of the liver and heart failure. Unheralded during his lifetime (he had to buy a ticket to see the Motown 25 special, Jamerson is later recognized as an integral part of the Motown sound; in 2000 he is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
July 29, 1983 Country singer Ashley McBryde is born in Waldron, Arkansas. She drops out of college and starts playing bars in 2002 but doesn't break through until 2017 when she lands a record deal and releases her first single, "A Little Dive Bar In Dahlonega."
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