3 Songs From 1983 That Forever Changed Rock History

In 1983, Kiss removed their makeup and released “Lick It Up” while Yes smoothed the edges of prog rock and landed a pop hit with “Owner Of A Lonely Heart”. Meanwhile, Metallica and Mötley Crüe were emerging from California as Ozzy Osbourne barked at the moon and Billy Idol did the “Rebel Yell”. The Police were the biggest rock band in the world, and U2 waited in the wings for their turn at the title until Sting’s trio imploded following the Synchronicity tour.

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All this to say a lot was happening in rock music. The 1980s were in full swing, and even the guitar heroes in ZZ Top and Van Halen were embracing synthesizers. And don’t forget the popularity of MTV and Journey throwing air keys on a wharf in their music video for “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”.

A big year indeed. Let’s look at three additional songs from 1983 that forever changed rock history.

“Photograph” by Def Leppard

Def Leppard’s third studio album, Pyromania, transformed the Sheffield hard rockers into superstars. It also placed them, whether they liked it or not, in a category with the hair metal bands that soon became ubiquitous on MTV. With glossy production by Robert John “Mutt” Lange, “Photograph” foreshadowed Def Leppard’s pop metal blockbuster, Hysteria, and its enduring influence on several genres, including country music.

“Burning Down The House” by Talking Heads

Talking Heads proved there was an audience for left-of-center, quirky, and experimental music. “Burning Down The House”—a new wave and art-funk classic—reached the Billboard Top 10, and it helped redefine the limits of rock music and paved the way for Radiohead, St. Vincent, Nine Inch Nails, and many others. David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz helped broaden the limits of rock and pop, as they’d been doing since debuting with “Psycho Killer” in 1977.

“Blue Monday” by New Order

Without the success of “Blue Monday”, Manchester’s Hacienda nightclub may not have kept its doors open. And without the subculture of acid house and what became known as Madchester, the history of The Smiths, The Stone Roses, and Oasis might look and sound very different. New Order made drum machines, sequencers, and synthesizers as commonplace as guitars in rock music. They brought the punks into the club, using beats from then-underground Chicago house DJs, and their descendants include The Killers and LCD Soundsystem.

Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns