3 Nostalgic Songs You’ll Remember if You Were a Kid in 1983

Interested in revisiting your childhood with a few nostalgic songs from 1983? I bet you’ll remember the following new wave and R&B hits that came out that year, whether you were a kid or an adult in the year 1983. They were huge hits, and I think they’re on the underrated side of classics from the early 1980s. Let’s take a look!

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“Fall In Love With Me” by Earth, Wind & Fire

Good ol’ Earth, Wind & Fire. A few songs from this iconic R&B and soul band could have made it to this list, but I went with “Fall In Love With Me”. Released in January of 1983, this electro-boogie post-disco delight resonated with audiences in a big way. It hit No. 17 on the Hot 100 chart and did quite well on other US and European charts. It’s not exactly shocking that this song was nominated for Best R&B Performance at the Grammy Awards in 1983. This song is so good, and I’m a big fan of Roland Bautista’s killer solo.

“I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” by Culture Club

Would this be a decent list of nostalgic songs from 1983 (or the 80s in general) without at least one new wave bop? I don’t think so. I went with “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” by Culture Club, simply because it was absolutely everywhere that year. The song hit No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year. It did quite well on other charts as well. It’s your standard catchy new wave tune from the 80s, and I bet once you hear that opening melody, you won’t be able to stop singing along.

“Human Nature” by Michael Jackson

Nostalgic songs from 1983 don’t get more nostalgic than “Human Nature” by Michael Jackson. Released in July of that year, this MJ hit was one of many singles released from his iconic solo record, Thriller. This R&B soft rock classic peaked at No. 7 on the Hot 100 chart, and did even better on the Adult Contemporary charts, Canadian charts, and elsewhere.

Fun fact: Some of the members of Toto performed on this track. “Human Nature” was originally written by Toto’s Steve Porcaro.

Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images