I am going to list the 1983 #1 songs. But this post will have an Arthurian twist. Arthur Schenck, the AmeriNZ, who I may have mentioned once or twice in this blog, is the reason.
He wrote in April: “As last year was winding down, I wanted to come up with some blog posts I could easily prepare in advance, hopefully increasing my overall output. The first thing I thought of was reviving ‘Weekend Diversion’ posts, but how?…
“I’ve done posts about older music many times, and I suddenly realised that this year I could focus on the Number One pop songs of 1983.
“The thing about 1983 isn’t (merely) that it was 40 years ago, it’s that it was my first full year living in Chicago, and it’s when I established what my life would be up until 1995 when I met Nigel and moved to New Zealand. 1983 was a very significant year for me.”
I remember 1983 exceedingly well too, in no small part because it was the year FantaCo artist Raoul Vezina died in November.
“The idea for these posts is loosely based on a series of posts Roger Green did as artists turned 70. Like his posts, these wouldn’t necessarily be every week because pop songs are often Number One for weeks in a row. Even so, the specific dates are fixed, so I could do the posts well in advance. As a bonus, the Number One dates for 1983 are all Sundays this year—almost like it was planned.
“That’s when it all fell apart: I completely forgot all about it. In fact, I only remembered it because I ran across some links I saved at the end of last year, but that means I’m already behind schedule.”
The songs
But he got caught up. His first post includes Maneater , which I wrote about in my 1982 post.It went to #1 for four weeks beginning on 12/18/82 so was #1 for two weeks in EACH year.
The hyperlink to the title will be the link to the song. The hyperlink to the artist will be the link to Arthur’s commentary. As he finishes up the year, I’ll come back and add those last half-dozen connections.
Every Breath You Take – The Police, eight weeks at #1, gold record
Billie Jean – Michael Jackson, seven weeks at #1, platinum record. MTV made Michael Jackson, and Michael Jackson made MTV.
Flashdance… What A Feeling – Irene Cara, six weeks at #1, gold record
Say Say Say – Paul McCartney, six weeks at #1, platinum record. That friendship fractured.
All Night Long (All Night) – Lionel Richie, four weeks at #1, gold record
Total Eclipse of the Heart – Bonnie Tyler, four weeks at #1, gold record
Down Under – Men At Work, four weeks at #1, gold record
Beat It – Michael Jackson, three weeks at #1, platinum record
Islands In The Stream – Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton, three weeks at #1, platinum record
Baby, Come To Me – Patti Austin with James Ingram, two weeks at #1, gold record
Maniac – Michael Sembello, two weeks at #1
A single week at #1
Let’s Dance– David Bowie, gold record
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) – Eurythmics, gold record
Tell Her About It – Billy Joel
Come On Eileen – Dexys Midnight Runners
Jimmy Buffet passed away 9/1 at 76
“MTV made Michael Jackson, and Michael Jackson made MTV.” Well put. And combined that made 1983 the year that cemented music video really took off.