The top grossing movies were: Return of the Jedi, Flashdance, Trading Places, War Games and Mr. Mom(?!?).
The USFL held its innaugural season.
M*A*S*H airs its final episode, which sets the record for the most-viewed show.
And in music, Michael Jackson's Thriller reaches #1 on February 26, where it would stay for 37 weeks. The album spawned 7 singles. Three of which were in the top 50 for the year.
Which brings us to our playlist. We have gone through the music library and examined the Billboard charts to come up with the top 50 hits for the year. The playlist contains 50 songs and will play in a random order. It gives you a better sense of what it would be like to listen to the radio back in those days (minus the DJ chatter and the commercials). The music is free for you to stream.
Here is the list of songs that were on the top of the charts in 1983.
The Police - Every Breath You Take
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Irene Cara - Flashdance...What a Feeling
Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson - Say Say Say
Lionel Richie - All Night Long
Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart
Men At Work - Down Under
Michael Jackson - Beat It
Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton - Islands In the Stream
Patti Austin - Baby Come To Me
Michael Sembello - Maniac
David Bowie - Let's Dance
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Billy Joel - Tell Her About It
Toto - Africa
Dexys Midnight Runners- Come On Eileen
Eddy Grant - Electric Avenue
Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney - The Girl Is Mine
Culture Club - Do You Really Want to Hurt Me
Air Supply - Making Love Out of Nothing At All
Culture Club - Time (Clock of the Heart)
Greg Kihn Band - Jeopardy
Billy Joel - Uptown Girl
Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance
Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing
Don Henley - Dirty Laundry
Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf
Donna Summer - She Works Hard for the Money
Duran Duran - Union Of The Snake
Stray Cats - Stray Cat Strut
Styx - Mr. Roboto
The Police - King of Pain
Men At Work - Overkill
Sergio Mendes - Never Gonna Let You Go
Spandau Ballet - True
Taco - Puttin On the Ritz
The Fixx - One Thing Leads to Another
Duran Duran - Is There Something I Should Know
Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science
The Pretenders - Back On the Chain Gang
Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
After The Fire - Der Kommissar
Stray Cats - (She's) Sexy +17
Pat Benatar - Love Is a Battlefield
Stevie Nicks - Stand Back
Kajagoogoo - Too Shy
Kenny Rogers/Sheena Easton - We've Got Tonight
Prince - Little Red Corvette
Men At Work - It's a Mistake
Styx - Don't Let It End
Thanks to our friends at finetune for streaming the music for us.
Comments? Questions? Concerns? Strike back below.