Poll: What is your pick for the best song and album of 1983?

Always listed to Casey Kasem back in the day. Had the tape player ready to record the songs you wanted. Those were the days

I miss the 80s so much. Not only was it my awkward teenage years but honestly the best time in my life. The music , the movies, TV shows , cartoons, the mall , the beach , even school was just so much better back then.

Holy shit! Irving Berlin was still alive when Taco released his version of "Putting on the Ritz"! I just googled him, and Berlin died in 1989 at the age of 101!

Every time you do these, which I love, it makes me realize how incredibly old I am and how good music used to be. 🙂

There will never be another decade like the 80s. The years from 1983-1986 are my personal favourites, especially when it comes to the music. So many great songs. I was 5 years old in 1983 and enjoying the music, courtesy of my older siblings and I still enjoy it 40 years later.

1983 is arguably, one of the greatest years in music.

One of my fave songs from 1983 is "99 Luftballoons" by Nena. I always loved the German version of this song more than it's English counterpart. The music is the same, but the lyrics are so different. I have loved going to karaoke, waiting until everyone in the place is wasted, then pulling up the English version lyrics as I sing the German version. LOL! The looks on the drunker patrons are priceless!!! I have also done this with Falco's "Der Kommissar" using After the Fire's lyrics on the screen. SO MUCH FUN for me anyway...LOL!

The 70s and 80s was arguably the greatest time to grow up with regards to music and movies. Technology was making access undeniably easier for everyone, but there was still a relatively limited scope of available material to consume (albeit with a fair bit of corporate gate-keeping dictating what got pushed and what got buried as well). Movies in particular stayed in theaters longer as there was no major push to get them thrown onto high priced cable channels like Showtime and HBO. But music got a lot of time to breathe as well and while radio stations still catered to specific genres, every town had a top-40 station that cobbled everything together into a fascinating stew of sound pouring out of your stereo speakers each day.

I’ll never forget hearing Pyromania - Photograph for the first time on Walkman headphones at the school bus stop. It was taped from the radio. 😂 I was a bit upset that it wasn’t as hard as hard as High N Dry, but quickly got over it when I got the album for my birthday. Rock Of Ages was a MILESTONE song. SO much better than 99.6 percent of the new stuff out today..!

I remember 'Sweet Dreams' being huge and Eurythmics were going to be on SNL. The whole schtick was Annie's bright orange buzz cut, then the band came out and she had on an Elvis wig with his 70's sideburns and performed like that. I think the host even mentioned how crazy she looked. I have that memory from when I was 9 and I doubt I will ever forget.

With a line-up like this, is it any wonder that the 80's are legendary for their music?🥰

The Prof, and Rick Beato, are the only music channels I watch. Kudos to them both. Once upon a time, there was a thing called "music".

This top 10 was so emotional for me. I remember it oh so well. Like it was just yesterday. Except, it wasnt just yesterday. It was so long ago. I was in my twenties then. And, now the vast majority of my life is behind me. And, yet, it feels like it's 1983 again and I'm listening to this music on my Walkman.

For my money it’s “In a Big Country.” Unique, uplifting and original. Nothing like it heard before, created by the super talent Stuart Adamson (rip)

I absolutely love your enthusiasm for Jim Steinman. It's not the first time I told you that. Every chance you get, every time you talk about a song he wrote and/or produced, you present Jim as the Gothic genius that he was, the brooding miscreant who invented the power ballad and made theatrical masterpiece after masterpiece. Not many wrote songs like he did back in the day (Bruce Springsteen certainly), no one has written like that in decades. Thank you for always getting his name out there, Adam.

Jim Steinman, 1983 was a great year for him. Another of his songs penned for Meat Loaf was re/released a little later in November 1983. The song “Read Em and Weep” , this time recorded by Barry Manilow shot to #1 on Billboards Adult Contemporary Chart and reached #18 on the Hot 100 early in 84. Another success for Steinman; the song followed the recipe of starting fairly low key and finishing with an intense and dramatic end. Mr Manilow shared in that style of writing and performing within his own songs, a factor that Im sure helped the success song. Maybe @ProfessorofRock could do a complete story on the song in the future. Thank You for this top 10!

I was 8 and I’m amazed at myself for knowing all the words to these songs and the memories they evoke. My daughter is 8 now and it’s even more amazing how one day she’ll be reminiscing about today’s music.

My older sister became a huge Air Supply fan when their first album, One That You Love, came out. I live in SF and I remember as a kid heading down with her on the bus in 1981 to a record store in the Haight to buy that album, because Air Supply was there autographing it for those who bought one. There was a super long line to get up to the little table where they were sitting at and signing the records. When we finally made it to the table they were very nice and smiling and friendly. As far as I know my sister still has that signed album somewhere with her now. Air Supply is a forgotten 80s classic band with a ton of hits. Thanks for reminding me about their greatness, Professor.

At boarding school in Australia (1979-1983) my weekends were always occupied with Casey’s US Top 40, which was followed by the Australian Top 40. I kept detailed lists comparing the two, my tape recorder at the ready to make my own cassettes. Prior to high school, the music in the house was primarily Elvis and old country (Jim Reeves, Patsy Cline). I didn’t even know who the Beatles were until “Stars on 45” came out with their “Beatles Medley” in 1981. Almost a decade after they split. It’d still be several more years before I got immersed into Led Zeppelin… hated them at first. Gary Numan and synth music preoccupied my interests at first… still does with Vangelis. The 80s was definitely an awakening time for me and music. A lot of digging into the 70s thereafter with Zep, Yes, Stones, Bowie and so many more. It was the single best thing about school. The same music still plays; there’s virtually nothing worth listening to today.

September 1983 I was starting my second year of law school, so this is pure nostalgia. Thanks, Professor!

Sweet Dreams- Eurythmics. Reminds me so much of 1983. Forgot about Total Eclipse! Love Tyler's vocals.❤ No comparison, 80's kicks-ass!

Love this countdown, such great songs from a much more innocent time. I'm so glad I got to experience the 80s, thanks for the memories Prof, you're the best.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 Love these throwback episodes! The diversity of this top ten shows why music back then was so much better. Today's music? Blah! Bonnie Tyler, Asia, Michael Jackson...... very diverse. Thanks Professor! Love these throwbacks! Have a great Hump Day!

Tangerine Dream's soundtrack to _Risky Business_ is simply amazing. "Love on a Real Train" makes be painfully nostalgic for the 1980s--it's very bitter-sweet to me.

I always love these redux episodes, i really want to hear how it is changed by the amount of listens over the years, some surprise me. Little doubt on this one what the new number 1 would be. 1983 what a fantastic year for music, glad it was the soundtrack of my life. Great redux professor!!

1983 was the year I graduated from High School. This brings back a lot of happy memories. I remember and love every song in this top 10. Great countdown. 1983 has to rank as one of my favorite music years.

It was 40 years ago last week that my husband and I both attended the same David Bowie in concert (separately with friends - we didn't know each other yet) on his Serious Moonlight tour. Good times.

I think today s songs can’t even come CLOSE to the 70s and 80s!! I don’t think we’ll ever have good music again! IN MY OPINION. Thanks for having this channel!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! ( I’m 58). This is my music!! 💕💕💕💕 Thank You!!!

0:00: 🎵 In this episode of Hit Song Redux, the top 10 songs from mid-September 1983 are counted down and then re-ranked based on all-time streams and views. 4:58: 🎵 Jeffrey Downs from the Buggles, John Wetton, and Carl Palmer formed a band and quickly wrote the opening track 'Don't Cry' for their album. 9:59: 🎵 The success of the song 'Taco's Cover' made Irwin Berlin the oldest living songwriter to score a single in the top ten of the Hot 100. 13:38: 🎶 The video discusses funny incidents related to songs played at weddings. 18:04: 🎶 Bonnie Tyler's vocals on Jim Steinman's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' became a theatrical hit in 1983. 22:44: 🎶 Billy Joel's song 'Tell Her About It' was inspired by his relationship with Christy Brinkley and his drummer, Liberty DeVito, provides insight into the track. 26:58: 🎶 This video discusses three top-tier tracks that didn't receive much recognition in the past. Recap by Tammy AI

1983 is just the most ridiculously amazing year for rock and pop. You could make a reasonable top 25 albums of all time just from what came out in ‘83.

1983 was an awesome year in TV, Cinema and Music 😍❤️

Honestly. This Top Ten listing is nothing short of epic. Being a huge fan of The Police, I find myself in awe of all the other musical artists on this list. Imagine in the same year of 1983, we were blessed with Sir Michael's Thriller and Synchronicity by the Police. And then Sweet Dreams, and then Bonnie Tyler!? And supergroup Asia !? By far the most extraordinary top 10 during the magistic age of the incomparable Casey Kasem. Hats off to you, Professor of Rock. Most indeed!

Total Eclipse of the Heart blew my fragile teenage mind. Her voice is perfect for this song, and the video was just awesome for the time. I still get goose bumps when i hear this song.

I like watching Rick Beato count down the top 10 garbage pop songs of the week. His best compliment is usually something such as, "Well, it's a song." I remember when Groundskeeper Willy of the Simpsons sang Maniac. Absolutely hilarious.

What a diverse group of songs to all be in the Top 10 at the same time. We had good taste in music back then. Thanks for the recap. Some interesting factoids, like "Every Breath You Take" being the most-played song ever. Totally creepy. Another great episode. Thanks, Adam. Have an excellent day.

Fun walk down memory lane. It’s amazing how many of these songs I didn’t like or couldn’t stand! However, the ones I liked, loved are still in my top 10. Out of the bands on this list The Eurhythmics still stand out. Annie Lennox still blows me away!❤️🇨🇦

I worked at a radio station in '83. The Casey Kasem top 40 was shipped to us on vinyl. A big box of records every week, but easy to play on the air. Definitely my pick for best albums in the 1980's.

Cannot talk about “ Puttin on the Ritz” without mentioning “Young Frankenstein”.

This is my favorite series on the channel! I always look forward to these, hope everyone's doing well and keep rocking, friends!

In 1983 I was a DJ, writing for & producing the top afternoon drive radio show in Detroit on WABX .The PD was legendary programmer Paul Christie, who programmed stations in LA, NY & elsewhere. Needless to say, I heard all these songs for the first time by playing them on the air! My sister came back with a bunch of tapes from Germany. I carted up a bunch of songs, and soon we were planning Nena's '99 Luftballons' and Falco's 'Der Kommisar'! On the weekends I played Casey Casem's Countdown on WTWR. Great tome to be in radio.

They used to get the new Billboard magazine each week in my high school library and the librarian that was in charge would always put it aside for me. I would look at the charts religiously and of course, listen to Casey’s top 40 show and his Americas Top 10 on TV. Man, I wouldn’t change those memories for anything.

Everybody listened to Air Supply, nobody would admit it.

I don't know how I missed hearing Sweet Dreams until Sept of 1983. But I remember I was in Quebec, waiting in my friend's car in a parking lot. It started playing and I was hooked at first listen. Became a fan of the Eurthymics from then on. Love, love, love Annie's voice.

All I can say is that your channel and these “This week in the ‘80s” videos make me feel blessed and bring back amazing memories. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I turned 13 in Sep. of '83 and I remember not wanting that year to end. Why? Hard to say. Was it the multiple viewings of "Return Of The Jedi"? Hanging out with friends? The music? The first girl who caught my eye? Ah, nostalgia...😌

I do love these countdowns!! I always try to guess the next song you are going to list but there are so many I have forgotten over the years. I just wanted to point out a much beloved use of "Puttin' on the Ritz" that you missed: Mel Brooks' black and white comedy, Young Frankenstein.

I've been binging a handful of these redux videos over the last week or so, and man Adam, you really should do them more often! I love them, and they're really helping me remember what songs I either never knew the names of, the artists who did them, or just failed to recall one or both of, while simultaneously serving as a way for me to stumble into some other artists and songs I've never heard before, too.

All of these tunes are celebrating their 40th anniversaries this year! You can't go wrong with Bonnie Tyler or Annie Lennox, and always play those songs whenever I get the chance. ▶️

I loved the updated countdown list and the three you added!👍ZZ Top, Def Leppard and Bowie deserve to be on this list! As far as a comparison between today's music in this list there is no comparison.

My French teachers wife died in a car crash while they listened to this song. I remember how he would cry whenever it was played. Thank you Mr. Ramsey!

I wouldn’t even rate modern day music with the music that came out in the last half of the nineteen hundreds. Thanks for the trip down the musical memories of 1983!

Freshman year in high school. Full of angst and feelings. Lived for songs like Major Tom, 99 Red Balloons and especially Safety Dance, that helped me laugh during a tough year. Favorite cassettes were: Def Leppard - Pyromania The Scorpions - Love at First Sting

Man, this list takes me back. I just started my freshman year in high school and the seniors would call us a bunch of Maniacs 😂 BTW when you were discussing Putting On the Ritz I'm surprised you didn't talk about the movie Young Frankenstein when Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle were singing the song 😂

After growing up with this music and hearing about these crazy streaming counts, I'm glad to have come up in the '80s. This music is still popular to this day.

Listened to Kasey Kasem as a kid religiously. God bless him. From him I got my love of pop, rock, country, disco, funk and motown. My love of metal came in the summer of '82 with Ozzy's Mr. Crowley. Thanks for all of your great work brother!🤘🇺🇲🤘

Marine Jahan was also the dancer in "Streets of Fire." There's a soundtrack that should have blown up the charts.

It blows me away that sharp dressed man never got any higher than 54 back in the 80s. That song and video were the pinnacle of cool for a 13 year old me.

Would have loved to see the Young Frankenstein clip reference to Putting on the Ritz. It is, however, etched in my mind forever.

I haven’t seen your broadcast yet, I’m currently listening to it. My guess is the number one song was something from Flashdance. I remember what a huge movie it was over the summer of ‘83 and how it impacted the songs and clothes we wore going back to school in the year 83-84.

"Sharp Dressed Man" didn't even break the Top 40? Wow. That said, I've always said that if the "Show Me What You Got!" heads from Rick & Morty showed up in real life, ZZ Top would be Earth's best entry. They might not be my favorite band, but they espouse absolutely everything that makes rock and roll music great.

I remember the MTV VJ saying "Coming up next.... Every Breath You Take....the RED version!" and they were hyping the same black and white video, but with a red tint added. Great album.. Song also used in the "gremlin" story in the _Cat's Eye_ movie.

This is my favorite format that you do. I love all the extra background stories.

I'm going to see Lady Ga Ga this weekend. I have 78s with Putting on the Ritz. TACOS BROTHER WAS DOING THE TAP DANCING IN THE MUSIC VIDEO

I have been to 5 weddings with Every Breath You Take being their song. Only 3 couples are still Together

Love every minute of this video. It takes me twice as long to watch your videos because I have a compunction to pause, listen to a whole song you reminded of and then return to video. Also, my 80's playlist has tripled in length since I started subscribing to this channel.

The 1980s were magical. Truly amazing time to be a teenager and be engrossed with music. Keep these videos coming!

Young Frankenstein had the best POTRs version

Back in the Saddle Again Naturally!

What I love most about this series is that most "Top ____ " lists are only the top 10 or so of that year or maybe month. Within that time are so many HUGE songs that many of us played and enjoyed even more than those songs that go overlooked by these lists. Most people looking into this era to get a feel for the music will only scratch the surface and completely miss out on most of what we really listened to back then. There is so much music that came out of just 1983 alone that it would take so many hours to try to cover it all. This series brings out the MANY huge hits that everyone else ignores and maybe has no clue of. The honorable mention type entries are yet another example of this. I mean that ZZ Top album `Eliminator' was massive back then and yet is rarely ever noticed by anyone covering this period, and that's probably not even 1% of this sort of thing. As someone that was class of `84 I feel I was born at the perfect time and so fortunate to have lived through these years at the age I was. I am VERY blessed indeed.

Many of these songs have a timeless quality about them. They work well in any era. I'll listen to most of these on occasion for a little nostalgia. I graduated in 1983, so this was my big year.

My question to you, Professor ... how many of these songs in this particular Top 10 made it to number 1 later on? Seems like at least half of it? Amazing, nothing quite like the 1980's for quality in music.

Professor, Taco was good, but the best version of Putting on the Ritz is by Peter Boyle and Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein.

My elementary school music teacher chose a "music through the decades" theme for one of our annual performances, and I remember my mom being very upset about "Every Breath You Take." Looking back, I'm surprised we got to sing a song that was only 5 or 6 years old. To us kids, it already felt like an old classic.

For us teens growing up in the country, friday night videos was our only access to seeing the new hit videos by our favorite artists. When my mom and i moved to town (2,500 population) in 1984, first thing I asked for was cable tv. Then, i had my MTV.

I know what happened to music, it went downhill as it entered the 90's and it fell off a cliff after that! 1983 was yesterday in my mind, the year I graduated high school, life was ahead and full of mystery and hope......... I was scared as hell, but man to have that feeling again would be wondrous. We were listening to the original Casey Kasem then, we are listening to our new Casey Kasem now (way to go Prof!). My guess will be Bonnie Tyler...... I really can't remember it's been 40 years!!!!! Holy cow!

Of course, it's the ultimate Chomo, MJ.

I had to grit my teeth to get through that, until you added ZZ Top and Def Leppard

I danced in the 'underground' bars in Houston from June of '83 to June of '86 and helped make every song we heard a major hit! No. 1 song at 8 weeks was 'Every Breath You Take' and was my newest best friend's and mine song! We'd heard only snippets of it earlier that summer but we "KNEW" it was meant for besties! So many other stories! The 80's were MAGICAL!

One thing I definitely miss in the 80’s Is listening to new music… Thats gone … now .. I attempt to discover or rediscover old music 😊

Thank you, Professor! I love all of your content, but The Top 10 Redux is my favorite. Keep up the great work my friend and thank you for keeping the music alive.

The Late Great Casey Kasem: born and raised in Detroit! I love listening to the AT 40 episodes on SiriusXM radio.

It is a good thing that classics are still viewed and listened to by today's generation to enjoy

Thanks for another great Redux Professor! I look forward to watching the next one… keep them coming!

I am 60. And I have been trying to figure out what group of people make up type our type of music lover. It seems as though people who love this type of music know every song by heart, all of it. Has something to do with the introduction of FM radio to the rural masses. We didn't have FM in Western Michigan until 1975. I believe my first album, rock album. Kiss , Destroyer. Think it was 1977 when I bought the album. FM change my ears and mind for life. It has to be FM. Raised on radio.😎😎😎

Man when you do these segments I have the best flashbacks. Thanks Prof.

My mom and I were on vacation in England when I first heard Sweet Dreams. I remember thinking, "wow, this would never go over back in the States." I got back to the states and a couple of months later - it was going over quite well!

All these songs were from the same year?! Thanks again for educating me, Prof., and for scoring all those great interviews.

Great year for music...liked every one of the songs listed for that week.

Real timeless songs. Lyrics and classic riffs that never die. It's better than anything today.

Today I am 50, and all these songs really bring me back. Thanks PoR

Hey Professor. I couldn’t help thinking that there was another “Puttin on the Ritz” favorite with many people. It was from 1974’s great comedy movie…. Young Frankenstein!! The scene where Gene Wilder (Dr. Frankenstein) was singing and dancing with the Frankenstein monster (Peter Boyle) on stage. When I hear that song, I immediately get thrown back in time to that funny scene in the movie.

I graduated high school in 1983 so this brought back a lot of memories. My Oldsmobile Cutlass, Pioneer Supertuner radio tape deck with JBL speakers, windows down riding down the parkway....

Hey Adam. Love these redux episodes! Our party albums of choice in those days were ZZ Tops’ Eliminator and Def Leppard’s Pyromania You could just drop the needle on these albums and Rock! No filler It’s better to burn out, than to fade away!

Air supply happened to be in town for our 15th anniversary and my husband got tickets and a babysitter. We had a great time and got to meet them. They were very nice and chatted with us for about 15 minutes. They were asking my husband questions about his time in Iraq. We got pictures and autographs. We still talk about it 16 years later

Professor you are the best. Bring so much to songs/bands I wouldnt give two seconds to listen too.

Born July 1984, you cant argue with the early 80s baby. It's the music of this era that made me want to become a musician, especially the synth powered bangers.

My favorite version of 'Puttin' on the Ritz' will always be from Young Frankenstein - but Taco's is a close second.

Wow. What great timing. I recently made a playlist of an off-the-radio mix tape and posted that as a KZfaq playlist on my channel and a lot of these songs are in that list from this era of 1983.

Started my clinicals in fall of 1983. A colleague in exasperation said that they wouldn’t be surprised if we were being evaluated on how we breathe. At ceremony in the spring they had a slide montage of us doing our thing while the Police song I’ll Be Watching You played, their idea of a joke. I cannot hear that song without laughing.