Pop Culture 1983
Pop Culture Highlights from 1983
Biggest Hit Songs of 1983:
Every Breath You Take - The Police
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
Flashdance… What a Feeling - Irene Cara
Down Under - Men at Work
Beat It - Michael Jackson
Biggest Hit Songs of 1983:
Every Breath You Take - The Police
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
Flashdance… What a Feeling - Irene Cara
Down Under - Men at Work
Beat It - Michael Jackson
Other News in Music:
February 4th - Karen Carpenter, one half of the duo The Carpenters, dies of heart failure at age 32.
February 23rd - The 25th Annual Grammy Awards are presented in Los Angeles, hosted by John Denver. The Beatles win “Record of the Year” for Ebony and Ivory.
May 16th - Michael Jackson moonwalks for the first time during the Motown 25 Special on NBC.
July 25th - Metallica release their debut studio album, Kill ‘Em All, since hailed as a groundbreaking release for the burgeoning thrash metal genre.
August 16th - Johnny Ramone of The Ramones suffers a fatal head injury during a fight with Seth Macklin of the band Sub Zero Construction over a girl. Macklin was charged with third degree murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Both bands called it quits shortly after Macklin’s sentencing.
RIP Johnny Ramone
1948-1983
August 20th - The Rolling Stones ink a new $20 million contract with CBS Records., the largest in history up until this point.
November 13th - The Beatles announce an upcoming album, titled Renaissance, to be released in March 1984.
December 2nd - Michael Jackson’s 14-minute music video for Thriller premieres on MTV.
Biggest Films of 1983:
Star Wars: Episode VI - Revenge of the Jedi - Adventure/Sci-fi. Starring Mark Hamill. Earned a PG-13 rating due to a drastic difference in tone from the first two movies. Despite the rating, Revenge of the Jedi set a new domestic opening weekend record, surpassing the $14 million dollar opening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Tootsie - Comedy/Drama/Romance. Starring Dustin Hoffman. Released in December 1982. The film’s theme song, It Might Be You, was a Top 40 hit in the United States.
Flashdance - Drama/Music. Starring Jennifer Beals. Was initially not well received by critics, but was a surprise box office success.
Trading Places - Comedy. Starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. Often praised as one of the greatest comedy films of all time.
WarGames - Action/Drama/Sci-fi/Thriller. Starring Matthew Broderick.
Everyone’s Favorite Shows in 1982:
Dallas
60 Minutes
Dynasty
The A-Team
Simon & Simon
Dallas
60 Minutes
Dynasty
The A-Team
Simon & Simon
Events in Television - 1982:
January 30th - The A-Team premieres on NBC after coverage of Super Bowl XVII.
February 5th - The trend of “very special episodes” begins after a two-part Diff’rent Strokes special titled “The Bicycle Man,” in which Arnold and Dudley encounter a pedophile.
February 28th - More than 125 million Americans tune into the 251st and final episode of M*A*S*H on CBS, “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen.”
March 19th - US First Lady Barbara Bush makes an appearance on an episode of the NBC comedy Diff’rent Strokes, marking the beginning of her AIDS campaign. The episode was originally written about drug use, but upon hearing of Bush’s interest to appear on the show, it was rewritten to fit the new agenda on the rapidly spreading AIDS disease.
April 18th - Disney Channel is initiated on American cable TV.
June 23rd - Whitney Houston makes her national television debut when she performs on The Merv Griffin Show.
September 5th - During the first half of a broadcast of Monday Night Football between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, Howard Cosell refers to Washington wide-receiver Alvin Garrett as a "little monkey". Cosell's remarks immediately ignited a racial controversy and played a key factor in his departure from the Monday Night Football booth following the 1983 NFL season.
November 20th - An estimated 100 million people watched the controversial made-for-TV movie The Day After on ABC, depicting the start of a nuclear war.
November 24th - Sesame Street on PBS dealt with the sensitive issue of death when Big Bird learns the concept as it relates to his late friend, Mr. Hooper (Will Lee, the actor who played Mr. Hooper, died of a heart attack in November 1982).
1982 in Sport:
Super Bowl: The San Francisco 49ers defeat the Seattle Seahawks 41-21. QB Joe Montana wins Super Bowl MVP.
World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Chicago White Sox 4 games to 3. SP Fernando Valenzuela is named World Series MVP.
NBA Finals: Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 1. SG Sidney Moncrief wins Finals MVP.
Stanley Cup Finals: Minnesota North Stars defeat the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 3. LW Brian Bellows wins Stanley Cup Playoff MVP.
Time Magazine’s Person of the Year: George H.W. Bush
