In 1983, people were ready for something new. Musically speaking, they wanted more. They wanted songs to represent aspects of their lives that hadn’t previously been represented. And it showed up in the hits. Here below, we wanted to highlight three songs from back in the era that shaped music and culture for years to come. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders from 1983 that changed modern music forever.
“99 Luftballons” by Nena from ‘Nena’ (1983)
Some songs change music. Others change the world. Indeed, in the 1980s, things were tense. The Cold War was in full effect—global politics were heated. But then this song came along and changed the way many people thought about that tension. It might have happened slowly, but soon the trickle turned into a rushing waterfall. Inspired by a balloon floating away at a Rolling Stones concert, Nena’s keyboard player Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen wrote this track about connection, about finding someone on the other side of a barrier. Six years after the buzzy German-language tune was released, the Berlin Wall fell.
“Maniac” by Michael Sembello from ‘Bossa Nova Hotel’ (1983)
Those who came of age in the 1980s remember. The decade, for some reason, was all about dancing. Everywhere you looked, another movie was coming out about some star-crossed starlet who just needed to learn how to dance. Well, in many ways, that film craze began in the early 1980s with Flashdance. And at the center of that film was the song “Maniac” by Michael Sembello. The song and its accompanying music video did more for the leg-warmer industry than anyone could have imagined. It had people getting up and dancing like their lives depended on it. Today, for many, the craze is still going on.
“Where Everybody Knows Your Name” by Gary Portnoy from ‘Cheers’ (1983)
There was a point in time when it seemed impossible that a television theme song could break into the vaunted Billboard Hot 100. But then “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” by Gary Portnoy proved every doubter wrong. The song became ubiquitous in the early 1980s. In many ways, it was the culture’s favorite tune. Amazingly, today, even though the TV show Cheers hasn’t been on prime time for decades, millions of people still know the melody and lyrics to its theme. That’s the power of good writing.
Photo by Jörg Schmitt/picture alliance via Getty Images
The post 3 One-Hit Wonders From 1983 That Changed Modern Music Forever appeared first on American Songwriter.