1983 in music

Specific locations

• 1983 in British music
• 1983 in Norwegian music

  Specific genres

• 1983 in country music
• 1983 in heavy metal music
• 1983 in hip hop music
• 1983 in jazz

  Trends

• Classical music on CD has become popular among 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 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.
• 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 26 – Michael Jackson's Thriller album hits #1 on the US charts, the first of thirty-seven weeks it would spend there on its way to becoming the biggest-selling album of all time.
• February 28 – U2 releases 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, after playing for seventy-five minutes.
• 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 11 – Dave Mustaine is fired from Metallica just as the band is set to begin recording its début album. He is 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. Bowie, however, would experience a critical downturn for the next ten years as a result of his perceived obligation to continue appealing to fans of the album.
• April 18 – Ellen Taaffe Zwilich becomes the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.

  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's 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 personify the rebellion of young Chileans leading to protests which eventually oust 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 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 till next day.
• July 29 – Friday Night Videos is broadcast for the first time on NBC.
• August 5 – David Crosby is sentenced by a judge in Dallas, Texas to five years in prison on drug and weapon possession charges.
• 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 – Bonnie Tyler releases the album Faster Than the Speed of Night in United States
• September 1 – Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon of The Clash issue a press statement announcing Mick Jones has been fired 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, simultaneous 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.
• 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 plays 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 :Category:Musical groups established in 1983|Musical groups established in 1983

  Bands disbanded

• See :Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1983|Musical groups disestablished in 1983

  Bands reformed

• The Animals
• The Everly Brothers

  Albums released

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Release date unknown

• 21 Years On – The Dubliners
• Ageless Medley EP – Amy Grant
• Ain't It Good to Be Free – Bo Diddley
• All Alone with Friends – Hank Marvin
• All the Best – Stiff Little Fingers
• Amore – The Hooters
• Angstlos – Nina Hagen
• Bad Influence – Robert Cray
• Bay of Kings – Steve Hackett
• Before Hollywood – The Go-Betweens
• Beat Street – Prism
• Behind the Scenes – Reba McEntire
• The Belle Stars – The Belle Stars
• The Blasting Concept – Various Artists
• Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat – Minutemen
• A Call to Us All – Teri Desario
• Catch as Catch Can – Kim Wilde
• Chazablanca – Chaz Jankel
• A Child's Adventure – Marianne Faithfull
• A Christmas Album – Amy Grant
• Come Away with ESG – ESG
• Crystal Logic – Manilla Road
• Dagger and Guitar – Sort Sol
• Dancing for Mental Health – Will Powers
• Desperate – Divinyls
• Dressed for the Occasion – Cliff Richard and The London Philharmonic Orchestra
• Emergency Third Rail Power Trip – Rain Parade
• Escapade – Tim Finn
• Everywhere at Once – The Plimsouls
• Even the Strong Get Lonely – Tammy Wynette
• Fall in a Hole – The Fall
• Feeding the Flame – Sad Lovers and Giants
• The First Four Years – Black Flag
• The Fugitive – Tony Banks
• Forged in Fire – Anvil
• Fortune 410 – Donnie Iris
• Friends of Hell – Witchfinder General
• Golden Shower of Hits – Circle Jerks
• Good Love & Heartbreak – Tammy Wynette
• Heart to Heart – Merle Haggard
• Ich halt zu Dir – Die Flippers
• Imagination – Helen Reddy
• Into Glory Ride – Manowar
• Introducing The Style Council – The Style Council
• Jonathan Sings! – Jonathan Richman
• Killer Dwarfs – Killer Dwarfs
• Klass – Bad Manners
• The Kitchen Tapes – The Raincoats
• Lesson Well Learned EP – Armored Saint
• Let's Start a War – The Exploited
• Love Is the Law – Toyah
• Merry Twistmas – Conway Twitty
• Metal Magic – Pantera
• Mommy's Little Monster – Social Distortion
• 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
• Playback – SSQ
• Privilege – Ivor Cutler
• Prodigal Sons – The Dubliners
• Neruda – Red Rider
• The Real Macaw – Graham Parker
• 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
• Speeding Time – Carole King
• Stages – Elaine Paige
• Star People – Miles Davis
• Steeler – Steeler
• Strive to Survive Causing Least Suffering Possible – Flux of Pink Indians
• 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
• A Walk Across the Rooftops – Blue Nile
• Water Sign – Chris Rea
• We Are One – Maze featuring Frankie Beverly
• We've Got Tonight – Kenny Rogers
• Weeds & Water – Riders in the Sky
• 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 – Miyuki Nakajima
• You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet – Bachman–Turner Overdrive – compilation
• Zeichnungen des Patienten O. T.'' – Einstürzende Neubauten

  Biggest hit singles

#	Artist	Title	Year	Country	Chart Entries
1	Culture Club	"Karma Chameleon"	1983		UK 1 – September 1983, US BB 1 – February 1984, Canada 1 – December 1983, Netherlands 1 – September 1983, Sweden 1 – October 1983, Switzerland 1 – October 1983, Norway 1 – October 1983, Republic of Ireland 1 – September 1983, New Zealand 1 for 6 weeks October 1983, Australia 1 for 5 weeks July 1984, Austria 3 – November 1983, Germany 3 – January 1984, South Africa 7 of 1984, Poland 8 – September 1983, Australia 8 of 1983, US CashBox 14 of 1984, POP 15 of 1984, Italy 16 of 1983, KROQ 25 of 1983, US BB 29 of 1984, RYM 49 of 1983, Scrobulate 71 of 80s, Germany 159 of the 1980s, OzNet 979
2	Michael Jackson	"Billie Jean"	1983		UK 1 – January 1983, US BB 1 – January 1983, Canada 1 – February 1983, Switzerland 1 – March 1983, Republic of Ireland 1 – March 1983, Australia 1 for 5 weeks February 1984, Netherlands 2 – January 1983, Sweden 2 – March 1983, France 2 – January 1983, US CashBox 3 of 1983, Austria 3 – April 1983, Poland 3 – February 1983, Germany 3 – March 1983, Australia 4 of 1983, RYM 4 of 1983, POP 4 of 1983, Norway 6 – April 1983, Italy 8 of 1983, South Africa 15 of 1983, 15 in 2FM list, Scrobulate 16 of pop, Global 33 – 1983, Acclaimed 33, Europe 40 of the 1980s, Party 53 of 2007, Rolling Stone 58, Germany 139 of the 1980s, OzNet 249, WXPN 620
3	Irene Cara	"Flashdance...What a Feeling"	1983		US BB 1 – April 1983, US CashBox 1 of 1983, Canada 1 – May 1983, Canada RPM 1 for 3 weeks – June 1983, Sweden 1 – May 1983, France 1 – July 1983, France SNEP 1 – September 1983, Switzerland 1 – June 1983, Norway 1 – June 1983, Italy 1 for 9 weeks – November 1983, New Zealand 1 for 6 weeks – July 1983, Australia 1 for 7 weeks – June 1983, UK 2 – June 1983, Austria 4 – August 1983, Japan 1 for 2 weeks – August 1983, Germany 4 – June 1983, Netherlands 13 – April 1983, Belgium 20 – May 1983, Poland 21 – July 1983, US BB 6 of 1983, Japan 7 of all time, Australia 2 of 1983, POP 3 of 1983, South Africa 9 of 1983, Scrobulate 31 of gay, AFI 55, Germany 57 of the 1980s, RYM 121 of 1983, OzNet 243, RIAA 256, Oscar in 1983
4	David Bowie	"Let's Dance"	1983		UK 1 – March 1983, US BB 1 – April 1983, Canada 1 – March 1983, Netherlands 1 – March 1983, Sweden 1 – April 1983, France 1 – March 1983, Switzerland 1 – April 1983, Norway 1 – March 1983, Republic of Ireland 1 – April 1983, New Zealand 1 for 6 weeks April 1983, Austria 2 – May 1983, Germany 2 – April 1983, US CashBox 4 of 1983, Poland 5 – April 1983, KROQ 6 of 1983, US BB 15 of 1983, Italy 19 of 1983, Australia 24 of 1983, RYM 32 of 1983, Scrobulate 40 of 80s, POP 47 of 1983, Germany 172 of the 1980s, Belgium 258 of all time, Acclaimed 1445
5	The Police	"Every Breath You Take"	1983		UK 1 – May 1983, US BB 1 – July 1983, US BB 1 of 1983, Canada 1 – May 1983, Republic of Ireland 1 – June 1983, US CashBox 2 of 1983, Sweden 2 – June 1983, Norway 2 – June 1983, KROQ 3 of 1983, Poland 5 – June 1983, South Africa 5 of 1983, Netherlands 6 – May 1983, Switzerland 6 – July 1983, Austria 8 – August 1983, Germany 8 – June 1983, France 10 – May 1983, Australia 10 of 1983, Italy 10 of 1983, Virgin 12, Scrobulate 13 of 80s, US BB 16 of 1983, RYM 16 of 1983, Europe 33 of the 1980s, Acclaimed 38, OzNet 38, RIAA 44, POP 49 of 1983, Poland 68 of all time, TheQ 76, Rolling Stone 84, 90 in 2FM list, Belgium 110 of all time, WXPN 216

Significant songs

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, clarinet, violin and violoncello
• Lorenzo Ferrero
• *Ellipse for flute
• *Onde for guitar
• Karel Goeyvaerts – Aquarius I —L’ère du Verseau, for orchestra
• Jacques Hétu – Clarinet Concerto
• Simeon ten Holt – Lemniscaat, for keyboard
• Wojciech Kilar – fanfare Victoria for mixed choir and orchestra
• Witold Lutosławski – Symphony No. 3
• 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
• Leonard Bernstein – A Quiet Place
• Oliver Knussen – Where the Wild Things Are
• Olivier Messiaen – Saint François d'Assise
• Per Nørgård – Det guddommelige Tivoli

  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 – Broadway revival
• Merlin – Broadway production opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre and ran for 199 performances
• Oliver! – 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 13 – William Hung, American musician
• January 18 – Samantha Mumba, Irish singer and actress
• January 19 – Hikaru Utada, Japanese singer and songwriter
• January 20 – Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer and host
• January 21 – Rapsody, American rapper
• January 24 – Frankie Grande, American actor, singer, and dancer
• January 25 – Andrée Watters, Canadian singer
• January 30 – Ella Hooper, Australian rock singer-songwriter, musician, radio presenter and TV personality
• February 1 – Andrew VanWyngarden, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 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
• February 17 – Kevin Rudolf, American record producer and musician
• February 19 – Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer and actress
• March 3 – Katie White, British singer
• March 8 – Piano Squall, American pianist
• March 9 – Mayte Perroni, Mexican singer and actress
• March 10 – Carrie Underwood, American singer/songwriter
• March 14 – Taylor Hanson American band member
• March 15 – Florencia Bertotti, Argentine actress and singer
• March 19 – Ana Rezende, Brazilian
• March 29
• * Luiza Sá, Brazilian
• * Jamie Woon, British singer, songwriter and record producer,
• March 30 – Hebe Tian, member of the Taiwanese girl-group S.H.E
• March 31 – 40, Canadian record producer, collaborator with Drake
• April 4 – Tei, Korean ballad singer
• April 15 – Margo Price, American singer-songwriter
• April 16 – Marié Digby, American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist
• April 18 – Reeve Carney, American singer-songwriter and actor
• April 20 – Sebastian Ingrosso, Swedish DJ, actor and record producer.
• May – October, British musician, producer, singer-songwriter, experimentalist and recording artist
• May 8 – Matt Willis, British musician and presenter
• May 11 – Holly Valance, Australian actress, singer and model.
• May 14 – Anahí, Mexican singer and actress
• May 15 – Devin Bronson, American guitarist, songwriter and producer
• June 2 – Brooke White, American singer
• June 3 – Kelela, American singer and songwriter.
• June 8 – Lee Harding, Australian singer
• 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
• June 27 – Evan Taubenfeld, American guitarist, singer, and songwriter
• June 30
• *Patrick Wolf, English singer-songwriter
• *Cheryl, former member of Girls Aloud, British singer-songwriter and television personality
• July 1
• *Leeteuk, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor.
• *Marit Larsen, Norwegian musician
• July 2 – Michelle Branch, American singer-songwriter and musician
• July 3
• *Steph Jones, American singer-songwriter
• *Matt Papa, American singer-songwriter
• July 4
• *Ben Jorgensen, American singer, guitarist, member of Armor For Sleep
• *Andrew Mrotek, American drummer
• July 7 – Ciara Newell, Irish singer
• July 9 – Lucia Micarelli, violinist and actress
• July 10 – Heechul, South Korean singer, songwriter
• July 11 – Marie Serneholt
• July 18 – Aaron Gillespie, drummer
• July 21 – Eivør Pálsdóttir, Faroese singer and composer
• July 23 – Bec Hewitt, Australian singer, dancer, and actor
• July 24 – Morgan Sorne, American singer-songwriter and multi-media artist
• August 7 – Christian Chávez, Mexican singer and actor
• August 8 – Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer/songwriter
• August 9 – Ashley Johnson, American actress, voice 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 12 – Frank Dukes, Canadian record producer and dj
• September 14 – Amy Winehouse, English soul, jazz, blues and rnb singer-songwriter
• September 17 – Jennifer Peña, American singer and actress
• September 25 – Donald Glover, American actor, comedian, writer, director, rapper, and DJ
• September 30 – T-Pain, American rapper & singer-songwriter
• October 7 – Flying Lotus, American rapper and producer, founded Brainfeeder
• October 10
• * Alyson Hau, Hong Kong radio DJ
• * Jack Savoretti, English acoustic artist
• * Lzzy Hale, American singer, songwriter, and musician.
• October 20 – Alona Tal, Israeli singer and actress.
• October 22 – Plan B, English hip hop rapper
• October 24 – Adrienne Bailon, American singer and actress
• October 26 – Houston, American R&B singer
• October 29
• *Amit Sebastian Paul, Swedish singer
• *Richard Brancatisano, Australian actor/musician
• October 30 – Diana Karazon, Jordanian singer
• November 7 – Forrest Kline, American singer and songwriter
• 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
• *K, South Korean singer
• November 27 – Nyla, Jamaican singer and songwriter
• November 28
• *Rostam Batmanglij, American musician
• *Tyler Glenn, American alternative singer
• 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
• December 29 – Jessica Andrews, American country music singer
• December 31 – Sayaka Ichii, Japanese singer
• unknown
• *Dan Sultan, Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter-guitarist
• *Joseph Tawadros, Egyptian-born Australian oud virtuoso

  Deaths

• January 5 – Amy Evans, operatic soprano and actress, 98
• January 7 – Edith Coates, operatic mezzo-soprano, 74
• January 28 – Billy Fury, singer, 42
• January 31 – Lorraine Ellison, soul singer, 51
• February 4 – Karen Carpenter, singer and drummer, 32
• 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 6 – Cathy Berberian, singer and composer, 57
• March 7
• *Igor Markevitch, Ukrainian composer and conductor, 70
• *William Walton, British composer, 80
• April 4 – Danny Rapp, 41
• April 5 – Cliff Carlisle, country and blues singer, 79
• April 13 – Dolo Coker, jazz pianist and composer, 55
• April 14 – Pete Farndon, English bassist, 30
• April 17 – Felix Pappalardi, American producer and bassist, 43
• April 23 – Earl Hines, American jazz pianist, 79
• April 30
• *Muddy Waters, blues singer and guitarist, 70
• *George Balanchine, Russian-American choreographer, 79
• May 23
• *George Bruns, film composer, 68
• *Finn Mortensen, composer and music critic, 61
• May 25 – Paul Quinichette, saxophonist, 67
• June 2 – Stan Rogers, folk musician, 33
• June 25 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentine composer, 67
• 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 2 – James Jamerson, bassist, 47
• August 3 – Helge Bonnén, pianist and composer, 87
• August 6 – Klaus Nomi, singer, 39
• August 13 – Zdeněk Liška, 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 5 – John Gilpin, dancer, 53
• September 24 – Isobel Baillie, operatic soprano, 88
• September 25 – Paul Jacobs, American pianist, 53
• 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, 28
• November 19 – Tommy Evans, bassist of the rock group Badfinger, 36
• 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
• date unknown
• *Antonio Mairena, Andalusian flamenco singer, 73 or 74
• *Pat Smythe, Scottish-born jazz pianist, 59 or 60

  Awards

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1983

  Country Music Association Awards

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1983

  Charts

US no. 1 hits

• Hot 100 no. 1 hits of 1983

• 1983 in music
• :Category:Record labels established in 1983|Record labels established in 1983