1983 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1983.

Specific locations

• 1983 in British music
• 1983 in Japanese music
• 1983 in Norwegian music
• 1983 in Scandinavian music

Specific genres

• 1983 in country music
• 1983 in heavy metal music
• 1983 in hip-hop music
• 1983 in jazz
• 1983 in progressive rock

Trends

• CDs become popular among classical music listeners.

Events

January–April

• January 1
• ZTT Records is founded.
• The Merchant Ivory film Heat and Dust is released. On the soundtrack, composed by Zakir Hussain, Ivory is featured on tanpura with Hussain (who also appears in the film) on tabla.
• January 8 – The UK singles chart is tabulated from this week forward by The Gallup Organization. In 1984 electronic terminals will be used in selected stores to gather sales information, and the old "sales diary" method will be gradually phased out over the next few years.
• January – Surtitles are first used in a live opera performance at a Canadian Opera Company production of Elektra.
• February 2 – "Menudomania" comes to New York as 3,500 screaming girls crowd Kennedy Airport to catch a glimpse of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, who are playing six sold-out shows at the Felt Forum.
• February 11 – The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York.
• February 13 – Marvin Gaye performs "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the NBA All-Star Game.
• February 23 – The 25th Annual Grammy Awards are presented in Los Angeles, hosted by John Denver. Toto win both Album of the Year (for Toto IV) and Record of the Year (for "Rosanna"), while Willie Nelson's cover of "Always on My Mind" wins Song of the Year. Men at Work win Best New Artist.
• February 26 – Michael Jackson's Thriller album hits #1 on the US charts, the first of thirty-seven (non-consecutive) weeks it would spend there on its way to becoming the biggest-selling album of all time.
• February 28 – U2 release their 3rd album War which debuts at #1 in the UK and produces the band's first international hit single.
• March 2 – Compact discs go on sale in the United States. They had first been released in Japan the previous October.
• March 4 – Neil Young cancels the remainder of his tour after collapsing backstage in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, after playing for seventy-five minutes.
• March 5 – Thompson Twins have their first chart success as "Love on Your Side" enters the Top 10 in the UK.
• March 26
• Duran Duran enter the UK Singles Chart at number 1 with their first UK number 1 single "Is There Something I Should Know?".
• Tears for Fears debut album The Hurting reaches number 1 on the UK Albums Chart.
• April 5
• A Generative Theory of Tonal Music by Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff is published.
• US Interior Secretary James G. Watt causes controversy when he effectively bans the Beach Boys from a return performance at the Fourth of July festivities in Washington, announcing that Wayne Newton would perform instead. Watt claims that rock bands attract "the wrong element". That same week President Reagan, himself an avowed Beach Boys fan, presents Watt with a plaster foot with a hole in it.
• April 9 – David Bowie achieves his fourth UK number 1 single with "Let's Dance".
• April 11 – Dave Mustaine is dismissed from Metallica just as the band is set to begin recording its début album, to be replaced by Kirk Hammett.
• April 14 – David Bowie releases Let's Dance, his first album since parting ways with RCA Records and his fifteenth studio album overall. With its deliberate shift to mainstream dance-rock, it would become Bowie's biggest commercial success, at 10.7 million copies sold worldwide.
• April 18 – Ellen Taaffe Zwilich becomes the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
• April 23 – French singer Corinne Hermès, representing Luxembourg, wins the 28th annual Eurovision Song Contest, held at Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich, with the song "Si la vie est cadeau".

May–August

• May 16
• Singer Anna Vissi marries composer Nikos Karvelas.
• The ' airs on NBC, celebrating a quarter century of Motown Records. Michael Jackson unveils his moonwalk dance move during a performance of "Billie Jean".
• May 28 – June 4 – The second US Festival is held at Glen Helen Park in California.
• June 3 – American rock drummer Jim Gordon commits matricide during a schizophrenic episode.
• June 18–19 – Menudo make their second visit to New York. The band plays four shows at Madison Square Garden and all 80,000 tickets sell out within three days of going on sale.
• June 20 – Catalunya Ràdio begins broadcasting.
• July 1 – Chilean Band Los Prisioneros debut at the Miguel Leon Prado High School Song festival. They will come to personify the rebellion of young Chileans leading to protests against Augusto Pinochet.
• July 6 – As a statement of protest against music piracy in the form of home taping, Jean-Michel Jarre releases only one pressing of his latest album "Music for Supermarkets", which is sold at an auction to a French real estate dealer for 69,000 francs (about US$8960). The auction is broadcast live on Radio Luxembourg which also plays the album in full for the first and only time.
• July 19 – Simon and Garfunkel begin their North American summer tour in Akron, Ohio.
• July 21 – Diana Ross performs a filmed concert in Central Park in heavy rain; eventually the storm forces her to postpone the rest of the concert until next day.
• July 29 – Friday Night Videos is broadcast for the first time on NBC.
• August 16
• Johnny Ramone suffers a near-fatal head injury during a fight over a girl in front of his East Village apartment.
• Singer Paul Simon marries actress Carrie Fisher.
• August 20 – The Rolling Stones sign a new $28 million contract with CBS Records, the largest recording contract in history up to this time.

September–December

• September 1 – Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon of The Clash issue a press statement announcing Mick Jones has been dismissed from the group.
• September 4 – Phil Lynott performs his final show with Thin Lizzy in Nuremberg, Germany.
• September 18 – The members of Kiss show their faces without their makeup for the first time on MTV, simultaneously with the release of their album Lick It Up.
• September 20 – The first ARMS Charity Concert is held at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
• October 29 – The 12th OTI Festival, held at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., United States, is won by the song "", written by Jessé and Elifas Andreato, and performed by Jessé himself representing Brazil.
• November 12 – Duran Duran start their SING BLUE SILVER World Tour. The tour begins with sold-out shows in Australia
• November 26 – Quiet Riot's Metal Health album tops the US album charts, the first heavy metal album to hit #1 in America.
• December 2
• The Uday-Ustav Festival, a tribute to Uday Shankar, is staged at the instigation of Uday's younger brother, Ravi Shankar.
• Michael Jackson's 14-minute music video for Thriller is premiered on MTV.
• Phish play their first show.
• December 25 – Marvin Gaye gives his father, as a Christmas present, an unlicensed Smith & Wesson .38 special caliber pistol so that Gaye could protect himself from intruders. A few months later, Gaye Sr would use it to shoot his son dead.
• December 31 – The twelfth annual New Year's Rockin' Eve special airs on ABC, with appearances by Culture Club, Rick James, Laura Branigan, Barry Manilow, Mary Jane Girls and David Frizzell.

Bands formed

• See

Bands disbanded

• See

Bands reformed

• The Animals
• The Everly Brothers

Albums released

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Release date unknown

• 21 Years On – The Dubliners (live)
• Ageless Medley EP – Amy Grant
• Ain't It Good to Be Free – Bo Diddley
• All Alone with Friends – Hank Marvin
• Andrew Cyrille Meets Brötzmann in Berlin – Andrew Cyrille and Peter Brötzmann
• Bad Influence – Robert Cray
• Bay of Kings – Steve Hackett
• Behind the Scenes – Reba McEntire
• The Brightest Smile in Town (Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack, Vol. 2) – Dr. John
• Burnin' the Ice - Die Haut
• A Call to Us All – Teri Desario
• Cheap at Half the Price – Fred Frith
• Chazablanca – Chaz Jankel
• A Christmas Album – Amy Grant
• Come Away with ESG – ESG
• Dagger and Guitar – Sort Sol
• Dancing for Mental Health – Will Powers (actually Lynn Goldsmith)
• David Grisman's Acoustic Christmas – David Grisman
• Dawg Jazz/Dawg Grass – David Grisman
• Desperate – Divinyls
• Dressed for the Occasion – Cliff Richard and The London Philharmonic Orchestra (Live)
• Doot-Doot – Freur
• Emergency Third Rail Power Trip – Rain Parade
• Even the Strong Get Lonely – Tammy Wynette
• Everywhere at Once – The Plimsouls
• Fall in a Hole – The Fall
• Feeding the Flame – Sad Lovers and Giants
• The First Four Years – Black Flag
• The Fittest of the Fittest – Burning Spear
• The Fugitive – Tony Banks
• Fortune 410 – Donnie Iris
• Friends of Hell – Witchfinder General
• Good as Gold – Red Rockers
• Good Love & Heartbreak – Tammy Wynette
• Gravity Talks – Green on Red
• Heart to Heart – Merle Haggard
• Ich halt zu Dir – Die Flippers
• Imagination – Helen Reddy
• Introducing The Style Council – The Style Council
• Jonathan Sings! – Jonathan Richman
• Killer Dwarfs – Killer Dwarfs (Debut)
• The Kitchen Tapes – The Raincoats
• Klass – Bad Manners
• Lesson Well Learned EP – Armored Saint
• Let's Go – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
• Let's Start a War – The Exploited
• Love Is the Law – Toyah
• Merry Twistmas – Conway Twitty
• Music for the Hard of Thinking – Doug and the Slugs
• Naked – Kissing the Pink
• Night Dubbing – Imagination
• Not of this World – Petra
• One Night with a Stranger – Martin Briley
• Over the Edge – Wipers
• Party Tonight – Modern Romance
• Passionfruit – Michael Franks
• Platinum Blonde – Platinum Blonde (debut EP)
• Playback – SSQ
• Privilege – Ivor Cutler
• Prodigal Sons – The Dubliners
• Neruda – Red Rider
• Railroad – John Fahey
• Riding with the King – John Hiatt
• Secretos – José José
• Shine On – George Jones
• Shock Troops – Cock Sparrer
• Sleep in Safety – 45 Grave
• Song and Legend – Sex Gang Children
• The Southern Death Cult – Southern Death Cult
• The Spell – Syreeta Wright
• Stages – Elaine Paige
• Star People – Miles Davis
• Steeler – Steeler (Yngwie Malmsteen & Ron Keel's 1st band, This band's only release)
• Struggle for Pleasure – Wim Mertens
• Syncro System – King Sunny Ade and his African Beats
• Tales from the Lush Attic – IQ
• Thank You for the Music – ABBA – compilation
• That's the Way Love Goes – Merle Haggard
• Third Generation – Hiroshima
• A Todo Rock – Menudo
• Tougher Than Leather – Willie Nelson
• Travels – The Pat Metheny Group
• Trick of the Light – Modern Romance
• Urban Dancefloor Guerillas – P-Funk All-Stars
• Visions (Gladys Knight & the Pips album) – Gladys Knight & the Pips
• Water Sign – Chris Rea
• We Are One – Maze featuring Frankie Beverly
• Weeds & Water – Riders in the Sky
• We've Got Tonight – Kenny Rogers
• When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going – Bow Wow Wow
• Words and Music – Tavares
• XXV – The Shadows
• Yes Sir, I Will – Crass
• Yokan (Hunch) – Miyuki Nakajima
• You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet – Bachman–Turner Overdrive – compilation
• Zeichnungen des Patienten O. T. (Drawings of Patient O. T.) – Einstürzende Neubauten

• Zungguzungguguzungguzeng! - Yellowman

Biggest hit singles

The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1983.

Top 40 Chart hit singles

Other Chart hit singles

Notable singles

Other Notable singles

Published popular music

• "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" w. Bernie Taupin m. Elton John
• "An Innocent Man" w.m. Billy Joel
• "Karma Chameleon" w.m. George O'Dowd, Jon Moss, Roy Hay, Mikey Craig & Phil Rickett
• "Uptown Girl" w.m. Billy Joel
• "Total Eclipse of the Heart" – w.m. Jim Steinman

Classical music

Premieres

Compositions

• Vyacheslav Artyomov – Tristia for solo piano, organ, trumpet, vibraphone and strings
• Jean-Baptiste Barrière – Chreode I
• John Cage – Thirty Pieces for String Quartet
• Friedrich Cerha – Requiem für Hollensteiner
• George Crumb – Processional for piano
• Jean Daetwyler – Concerto for Alphorn, Flute, Saxophone and Strings No. 2
• Mario Davidovsky – Romancero, for soprano, flute (piccolo, alto flute), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin and violoncello
• Lorenzo Ferrero
• Ellipse for flute
• Onde for guitar
• Karel Goeyvaerts – Aquarius I (Voorspel)—L'ère du Verseau, for orchestra
• Jacques Hétu – Clarinet Concerto
• Simeon ten Holt – Lemniscaat, for keyboard (1982–1983)
• Wojciech Kilar – fanfare Victoria for mixed choir and orchestra
• Witold Lutosławski – Symphony No. 3 (1972–83)
• Krzysztof Penderecki – Viola Concerto
• John Pickard – Nocturne in Black and Gold
• Peter Sculthorpe – Piano concerto
• Karlheinz Stockhausen – ', for wind orchestra
• Iannis Xenakis – Shaar
• Morton Feldman – Crippled Symmetry

Opera

• Robert Ashley – Perfect Lives (An opera for television)
• Leonard Bernstein – A Quiet Place
• Oliver Knussen – Where the Wild Things Are (children's)
• Olivier Messiaen – Saint François d'Assise
• Per NørgÃ¥rd – Det guddommelige Tivoli (The Divine Circus)

Jazz

Musical theater

• La Cage aux Folles – Broadway production opened at the Palace Theatre and ran for 1781 performances
• Doonesbury – Broadway production opened at the Biltmore Theatre and ran for 104 performances
• Mame (Jerry Herman) – Broadway revival
• Merlin – Broadway production opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre and ran for 199 performances
• Oliver! (Lionel Bart) – London revival
• On Your Toes – Broadway revival
• My One and Only – Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre and ran for 767 performances
• Singin' in the Rain – London production
• The Tap Dance Kid – Broadway production opened at the Broadhurst Theatre and ran for 699 performances
• Zorba – Broadway revival

Musical films

• Carmen
• Eddie and the Cruisers
• Flashdance
• Le Bal
• Mangammagari Manavadu
• Narcissus
• Neti Bharatam
• The Pirates of Penzance
• Rock & Rule
• Staying Alive
• Yentl

Musical television

• Salad Days

Births

January–April

January

• January 1 – Jona Weinhofen, Australian musician
• January 6 - Darja Schabad, Latvian actress and singer
• January 7 – Tosin Abasi, Nigerian-American musician (Animals As Leaders)
• January 7 - Hayley Jensen, Australian singer and songwriter
• January 11 – Seun Kuti, Nigerian musician and singer
• January 14 – Takako Uehara, Japanese singer
• January 16 – Syml (Brian Fennell)
• January 18
• Samantha Mumba, Irish singer and actress
• Mike Ezay, American R&B singer (Git Fresh)
• Katie White, British singer (The Ting Tings)
• January 19 – Hikaru Utada, Japanese singer and songwriter
• January 20 – Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer (Morning Musume) and host
• January 21 – Rapsody, American rapper
• January 24 – Frankie Grande, American actor, singer, and dancer
• January 25 – Andrée Watters, Canadian singer
• January 27 – John Lundvik, British-Swedish singer-songwriter
• January 30 – Ella Hooper, Australian rock singer-songwriter, musician, radio presenter and TV personality (Killing Heidi + The Verses)

February

• February 1 – Andrew VanWyngarden, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (MGMT)
• February 3
• Gilad Hekselman, Israeli guitarist and composer
• Linus Wiklund, Swedish songwriter and music producer
• February 5 – Baby K, Singaporean-Italian singer-songwriter
• February 8 – Jim Verraros, American singer
• February 10 – Bless, Canadian rapper
• February 13 – Joel Little, New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter (Lorde, Taylor Swift)
• February 14 – Davidior, a Korean-American record producer, audio engineer, musician, songwriter and singer.
• February 17 – Kevin Rudolf, American record producer and musician
• February 17 - Shaya, Greek singer (Hi-5)
• February 19 – Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer and actress
• February 28 – Linda Király, Hungarian-American singer-songwriter

March

• March 8 – Piano Squall, American pianist
• March 9 – Mayte Perroni, Mexican singer and actress
• March 10
• Carrie Underwood, American singer/songwriter
• Che'Nelle, Malaysian R&B singer
• March 11 – Thiaguinho, Brazilian singer-songwriter
• March 14 – Taylor Hanson American band member (Hanson)
• March 15 – Florencia Bertotti, Argentine actress and singer
• March 19 – Ana Rezende (Cansei de Ser Sexy), Brazilian
• March 20 - Jenni Vartiainen, Finnish pop singer
• March 29
• Luiza Sá (Cansei de Ser Sexy), Brazilian
• Jamie Woon, British singer, songwriter and record producer,
• March 30
• Hebe Tian, member of the Taiwanese girl-group S.H.E
• Scott Moffatt, Canadian guitarist and singer (The Moffats)
• March 31
• 40, Canadian record producer, songwriter, record executive, advocate, and former child actor from Toronto, Ontario.
• Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, American trumpeter

April

• April 4 – Tei, Korean ballad singer
• April 8 - Jay, South Korean singer (TRAX)
• April 15 – Margo Price, American singer-songwriter
• April 16 – Marié Digby, American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist
• April 18

*Ameerah, Belgian singer-songwriter

*Reeve Carney, American singer-songwriter and actor

• April 20 – Sebastian Ingrosso, Swedish DJ, actor and record producer
• April 21 – Lily Chan, Chinese singer

May–August

May

• May 8
• Bondan Prakoso, Indonesian singer
• Matt Willis, British musician (Busted) and presenter
• May 10 – Moshe Peretz, Israeli musician
• May 11
• Holly Valance, Australian actress, singer and model
• Park Hee-von, South Korean singer (Milk)
• May 14 – Anahí, Mexican singer and actress
• May 15 – Devin Bronson, American guitarist, songwriter and producer
• May 21 - Robert Harvey, English singer, DJ, musician and songwriter (The Streets)
• May 23 - Heidi Range, English singer
• May 27 – Sean Douglas, American songwriter and record producer
• May 31
• David Hernandez, American singer
• Michael Lynche, American singer

June

• June 2 – Brooke White, American singer
• June 3 – Kelela, American singer and songwriter.
• June 7 – Indiggo, Romanian-born American twin sisters, singer-songwriters, and reality TV personalities
• June 8 – Lee Harding, Australian singer
• June 9 – Marina Lizorkina, Russian singer
• June 10 – Jason Evigan, American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer.
• June 15 – Laura Imbruglia, Australian indie rock singer-songwriter.
• June 16 – Jen Majura, German guitarist, bassist and singer.
• June 17
• Connie Fisher, British actress and singer
• Lee Ryan, British singer
• Magnus Skylstad, Norwegian musician and record producer (Frequent collaborator with Aurora)
• June 24 – Shermain Jeremy, Antiguan singer and beauty pageant contestant
• June 27 – Evan Taubenfeld, American guitarist, singer, and songwriter (Avril Lavigne)
• June 30
• Patrick Wolf, English singer-songwriter
• Cheryl, former member of Girls Aloud, British singer-songwriter and television personality
• Jamie Morrison, English drummer (Stereophonics)

July

• July 1
• Leeteuk, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor.
• Marit Larsen, Norwegian musician (M2M)
• Jang Jin-young, South Korean singer (Black Beat)
• July 2 – Michelle Branch, American singer-songwriter and musician (The Wreckers)
• July 3
• Matt Papa, American singer-songwriter
• July 4
• Ben Jorgensen, American singer, guitarist, member of Armor For Sleep
• Andrew Mrotek, American drummer (The Academy Is...)
• Melanie Fiona, Canadian singer-songwriter
• July 7 – Ciara Newell, Irish singer (Bellefire)
• July 9 – Lucia Micarelli, American violinist and actress
• July 10 – Heechul, South Korean singer, songwriter
• July 11
• Megan Marie Hart, American opera singer
• Marie Serneholt, Swedish singer and model (A*Teens)
• July 14 – Khalil Fong, Hong Kong singer/songwriter and producer (d. 2025)
• July 17 – Joker Xue, Chinese singer-songwriter
• July 18 – Aaron Gillespie, American drummer (Underoath)
• July 20 – Jason Chan, Hong Kong Canadian singer and actor
• July 21 – Eivør Pálsdóttir, Faroese singer and composer
• July 22 – Sharni Vinson, Australian dancer, actor and television personality
• July 22 - Arsenium, Moldovan singer (O-Zone)
• July 23 – Bec Hewitt, Australian singer, dancer, and actor
• July 24 – Morgan Sorne, American singer-songwriter and multi-media artist
• July 31 – Yola, English singer-songwriter, musician, and actress

August

• August 7 – Christian Chávez, Mexican singer and actor
• August 8 – Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer/songwriter
• August 9 – Ashley Johnson, American actress and singer
• August 14 – Sunidhi Chauhan, playback singer
• August 18
• Danny!, American record producer/recording artist
• Mika, British singer
• Emma McKenna, Canadian singer-songwriter
• August 19
• Tammin Sursok, South African-born Australian actress and singer.
• Missy Higgins, Australian singer-songwriter, musician and actress.
• August 21 – Brody Jenner, American dj
• August 25 – James Righton, English musician, multi instrumentalist
• August 28 – Alfonso Herrera, Mexican singer and actor
• August 30 – Jun Matsumoto, Japanese singer and actor

September–December

September

• September 2 – Aimee Osbourne, English actress and singer
• September 12
• Frank Dukes, Canadian record producer and DJ
• Carly Smithson, Irish singer
• September 14 – Amy Winehouse, English soul, jazz, blues and rnb singer-songwriter (died 2011)
• September 17 – Jennifer Peña, American singer and actress
• September 20 – A-Lin, Taiwanese singer
• September 25 – Donald Glover, American actor, comedian, writer, director, rapper, and DJ
• September 30 – T-Pain, American rapper & singer-songwriter

October

• October 7 – Flying Lotus, American rapper and producer, founded Brainfeeder
• October 10
• Alyson Hau, Hong Kong radio DJ
• Jack Savoretti, English acoustic artist (Kylie Minogue)
• Lzzy Hale, American singer, songwriter, and musician. (Halestorm)
• October 16 – Loreen, Swedish singer-songwriter and two-time winner of Eurovision Song Contest
• October 20 – Alona Tal, Israeli singer and actress.
• October 22 – Plan B, English hip-hop rapper
• Byul, South Korean singer
• October 24 – Adrienne Bailon, American singer and actress
• October 26 – Houston, American R&B singer
• October 29
• Amit Sebastian Paul, Swedish singer (A-Teens)
• Richard Brancatisano, Australian actor/musician
• October 30 – Diana Karazon, Jordanian singer

November

• November 7 – Forrest Kline, American singer and songwriter (Hellogoodbye)
• November 10 – Miranda Lambert, American country musician
• November 14
• Lil Boosie, American rapper
• Chelsea Wolfe, American singer-songwriter
• November 16
• Fallon Bowman, South African–born guitarist (Kittie)
• K, South Korean singer
• November 17 – El Guincho, a Spanish musician, singer, and record producer
• November 20 – Future, American rapper
• November 22 – Xiao Yu, Taiwanese singer and songwriter
• November 23 – Tristen Gaspadarek, American singer-songwriter and musician
• November 24 – Adam22, American hip-hop podcaster
• November 27 – Nyla, Jamaican singer and songwriter (Brick & Lace)
• November 28
• Rostam Batmanglij, American record producer, musician, singer, songwriter, and composer (Vampire Weekend)
• Tyler Glenn, American alternative singer (Neon Trees)

December

• December 3 – Sherri DuPree, American singer-songwriter
• December 12 – Katrina Elam, American country singer-songwriter
• December 15 – Brooke Fraser, New Zealand singer-songwriter, musician
• December 17
• Kosuke Saito, Japanese DJ
• Domino Kirke, British-American singer, doula, and actress
• December 29 – Jessica Andrews, American country music singer
• December 31 – Sayaka Ichii, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)

Birth date unknown

• unknown
• Dan Sultan, Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter-guitarist
• Joseph Tawadros, Egyptian-born Australian oud virtuoso
• Riopy, French-born British pianist and composer

Deaths

January–April deaths

January

• January 5 – Amy Evans, operatic soprano and actress, 98
• January 7 – Edith Coates, operatic mezzo-soprano, 74
• January 12 - Rebop Kwaku Baah, rock and jazz percussionist with Traffic and Can, 38
• January 28 – Billy Fury, singer, 42 (heart attack)
• January 31 – Lorraine Ellison, soul singer, 51

February

• February 4 – Karen Carpenter, singer and drummer, 32 (cardiac arrest due to anorexia nervosa)
• February 8
• Charles Kullman, operatic tenor, 80
• Alfred Wallenstein, cellist, 84
• February 12 – Eubie Blake, pianist, 96
• February 18 – Leopold Godowsky, Jr., violinist and chemist, 82
• February 22 – Sir Adrian Boult, conductor, 93
• February 23 – Herbert Howells, organist and composer, 90
• February 28 – Winifred Atwell, Trinidadian pianist, 69

March

• March 6 – Cathy Berberian, singer and composer, 57
• March 7
• Igor Markevitch, Ukrainian composer and conductor, 70
• William Walton, British composer, 80

April

• April 4 – Danny Rapp (Danny and the Juniors), 41 (suicide by gunshot).
• April 13 – Dolo Coker, jazz pianist and composer, 55
• April 14 – Pete Farndon (The Pretenders), English bassist, 30 (drug overdose)
• April 17 – Felix Pappalardi, American producer and bassist, 43 (gunshot)
• April 23 – Earl Hines, American jazz pianist, 79
• April 30
• Muddy Waters, blues singer and guitarist, 70 (heart attack)
• George Balanchine, Russian-American choreographer, 79

May–August deaths

May

• May 23
• George Bruns, film composer, 68 (heart attack)
• Finn Mortensen, composer and music critic, 61
• May 25 – Paul Quinichette, saxophonist, 67

June

• June 2 – Stan Rogers, folk musician, 33 (smoke inhalation)
• June 25 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentine composer, 67

July

• July 4 – Claus Adam, cellist, 66
• July 5 – Harry James, bandleader, 67
• July 12 – Chris Wood, rock musician, 39
• July 23 – Georges Auric, French composer, member of Les Six, 84
• July 27 – Jerome Moross, composer, conductor and orchestrator, 69
• July 30 – Howard Dietz, lyricist, 86

August

• August 2 – James Jamerson, bassist, 47
• August 3 – Helge Bonnén, pianist and composer, 87
• August 6 – Klaus Nomi, singer, 39 (complications from AIDS)
• August 13 – Zdeněk LiÅ¡ka, Czech film composer, 61
• August 14 – Omer Létourneau, pianist, organist, composer and conductor, 92
• August 17 – Ira Gershwin, American lyricist, 86
• August 24 – Arkady Filippenko, composer, 71

September–December

• September 5
• John Gilpin, dancer, 53 (heart attack)
• Antonio Mairena, Andalusian flamenco singer, 73
• September 11 – Brian Lawrance, Australian bandleader, 74
• September 24 – Isobel Baillie, operatic soprano, 88
• September 25 – Paul Jacobs, American pianist, 53 (complications from AIDS)
• October 16
• Øivin Fjeldstad, violinist and conductor, 80
• George Liberace, violinist and arranger, 72
• November 3 – Alfredo Antonini, conductor, 82
• November 7 – Germaine Tailleferre, composer, only female member of Les Six, 88
• November 15 – John Grimaldi, English keyboard player and songwriter (Argent), 28
• November 19 – Tommy Evans, bassist of the rock group Badfinger, 36 (suicide)
• December 6 – Lucienne Boyer, French singer, 80
• December 11 – Simon Laks, Polish composer and violinist, 82
• December 28 – Dennis Wilson, American singer, songwriter and drummer, 39 (drowned)

Death date unknown

• date unknown – Pat Smythe, Scottish-born jazz pianist, 59 or 60

Awards

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1983

Country Music Association Awards

• 1983 Country Music Association Awards

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1983

Charts

• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1983
• 1983 in British music#Charts
• List of Oricon number-one singles of 1983

See also

• Ronald Reagan in music

References