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List of Top Country LPs number ones of 1983

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The band Alabama performing
The band Alabama spent the most weeks at number one in 1983.

Top Country Albums is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music albums in the United States, published by Billboard. In 1983, four different albums topped the chart, which was at the time published under the title Top Country LPs, based on sales reports submitted by a representative sample of stores nationwide.[1]

The top of the chart was dominated in 1983 by the band Alabama, which spent 35 weeks at number one during the course of the year. At the start of the year the band held the top spot with its album Mountain Music, which had already spent 14 weeks at number one the previous year and added a further 14 in 1983. Its total of 28 weeks atop the country albums listing tied the record set by the band with its previous album Feels So Right in 1982.[2] One week after Mountain Music was displaced from number one, the band was back in the top spot with its next album, The Closer You Get..., which spent 21 weeks atop the chart. Alabama would go on to become the most successful country act of the 1980s,[3] with ten number one LPs during the decade, a run interrupted only by the seasonal album Christmas in 1985.[4] Mountain Music was the band's best-selling LP, selling over 5 million copies.[5]

Two albums not by Alabama reached the top spot during the year. The first was Pancho & Lefty, a collaborative LP by two of country's most successful solo artists, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson,[6] which first topped the chart for a single week in April, interrupting what would otherwise have been a continuous run at number one by Alabama from the start of the year into July. It made four returns to the top of the chart, each time displacing Alabama's The Closer You Get..., for an eventual total of eight weeks at number one. In the issue of Billboard dated October 29, Kenny Rogers reached number one with Eyes That See in the Dark, which retained the top spot for the remainder of the year. The album relied heavily on the songwriting of Barry Gibb of the pop group the Bee Gees, who was also involved in its production, and was strongly pop-music influenced.[7][8] It featured the track "Islands in the Stream", a duet with Dolly Parton, which reached number one on the all-genres Billboard Hot 100,[9][10] and in 2005 topped a poll run by country music television channel CMT of the best country duets of all time.[11] Every act that reached number one on the country LPs listing in 1983 has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame; Nelson was the first to be inducted,[12] in 1993, followed by Haggard in 1994,[13] Alabama in 2005,[14] and Rogers in 2013.[15]

Chart history

[edit]
Singer Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard collaborated with Willie Nelson on the album Pancho & Lefty, the only album to displace Alabama from the top spot in the first half of the year.
Singer Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers finished the year at number one.
Singer Barry Gibb
Barry Gibb of the pop group the Bee Gees co-wrote all the tracks on Rogers' album Eyes That See in the Dark and was also involved in its production, bringing a strong pop influence to the singer's sound.
Issue date Title Artist(s) Ref.
January 1 Mountain Music Alabama [16]
January 8 [17]
January 15 [18]
January 22 [19]
January 29 [20]
February 5 [21]
February 12 [22]
February 19 [23]
February 26 [24]
March 5 [25]
March 12 [26]
March 19 [27]
March 26 [28]
April 2 [29]
April 9 Pancho & Lefty Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson [30]
April 16 The Closer You Get... Alabama [31]
April 23 [32]
April 30 [33]
May 7 [34]
May 14 [35]
May 21 [36]
May 28 [37]
June 4 [38]
June 11 [39]
June 18 [40]
June 25 [41]
July 2 [42]
July 9 Pancho & Lefty Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson [43]
July 16 The Closer You Get... Alabama [44]
July 23 Pancho & Lefty Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson [45]
July 30 [46]
August 6 The Closer You Get... Alabama [47]
August 13 [48]
August 20 [49]
August 27 [50]
September 3 Pancho & Lefty Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson [51]
September 10 [52]
September 17 [53]
September 24 The Closer You Get... Alabama [54]
October 1 Pancho & Lefty Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson [55]
October 8 The Closer You Get... Alabama [56]
October 15 [57]
October 22 [58]
October 29 Eyes That See in the Dark Kenny Rogers [59]
November 5 [60]
November 12 [61]
November 19 [62]
November 26 [63]
December 3 [64]
December 10 [65]
December 17 [66]
December 24 [67]
December 31 [68]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Hot Country Albums: Billboard 1964 to 2007. Record Research, Incorporated. p. 6. ISBN 9780898201734.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Hot Country Albums: Billboard 1964 to 2007. Record Research, Incorporated. pp. 333–335. ISBN 9780898201734.
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Alabama Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Hot Country Albums: Billboard 1964 to 2007. Record Research, Incorporated. p. 6. ISBN 9780898201734.
  5. ^ Lynch, John (November 25, 2018). "The 50 best-selling music artists of all time, ranked by platinum albums". Business Insider. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  6. ^ Monkman, Martin. "Pancho & Lefty – Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard". AllMusic. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  7. ^ Viglione, Joe. "Eyes That See in the Dark – Kenny Rogers". AllMusic. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  8. ^ Petridis, Alexis (March 21, 2020). "Kenny Rogers: the genre gambler who always came up trumps". The Guardian. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  9. ^ Hoffmann, Frank (2016). Chronology of American Popular Music, 1900-2000. Routledge. ISBN 9781135868857. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  10. ^ "Flashback: Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers Take 'Islands in the Stream' to New Heights". Rolling Stone. October 29, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  11. ^ Shelburne, Craig (June 9, 2005). ""Islands in the Stream" Named Greatest Country Duet". CMT. Archived from the original on 2018-03-03. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  12. ^ "Willie Nelson – Country Music Hall of Fame". Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  13. ^ "Merle Haggard – Country Music Hall of Fame". Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  14. ^ "Alabama – Country Music Hall of Fame". Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  15. ^ "Kenny Rogers – Country Music Hall of Fame". Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  16. ^ "Country Albums chart for January 1, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  17. ^ "Country Albums chart for January 8, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  18. ^ "Country Albums chart for January 15, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  19. ^ "Country Albums chart for January 22, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  20. ^ "Country Albums chart for January 29, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  21. ^ "Country Albums chart for February 5, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  22. ^ "Country Albums chart for February 12, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  23. ^ "Country Albums chart for February 19, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  24. ^ "Country Albums chart for February 26, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  25. ^ "Country Albums chart for March 5, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  26. ^ "Country Albums chart for March 12, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  27. ^ "Country Albums chart for March 19, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  28. ^ "Country Albums chart for March 26, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  29. ^ "Country Albums chart for April 2, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  30. ^ "Country Albums chart for April 9, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  31. ^ "Country Albums chart for April 16, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  32. ^ "Country Albums chart for April 23, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  33. ^ "Country Albums chart for April 30, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  34. ^ "Country Albums chart for May 7, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  35. ^ "Country Albums chart for May 14, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  36. ^ "Country Albums chart for May 21, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  37. ^ "Country Albums chart for May 28, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  38. ^ "Country Albums chart for June 4, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  39. ^ "Country Albums chart for June 1, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  40. ^ "Country Albums chart for June 18, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  41. ^ "Country Albums chart for June 25, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  42. ^ "Country Albums chart for July 2, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  43. ^ "Country Albums chart for July 9, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  44. ^ "Country Albums chart for July 16, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  45. ^ "Country Albums chart for July 23, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  46. ^ "Country Albums chart for July 30, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  47. ^ "Country Albums chart for August 6, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  48. ^ "Country Albums chart for August 13, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  49. ^ "Country Albums chart for August 20, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  50. ^ "Country Albums chart for August 27, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  51. ^ "Country Albums chart for September 3, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  52. ^ "Country Albums chart for September 10, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  53. ^ "Country Albums chart for September 17, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  54. ^ "Country Albums chart for September 24, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  55. ^ "Country Albums chart for October 1, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  56. ^ "Country Albums chart for October 8, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  57. ^ "Country Albums chart for October 15, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  58. ^ "Country Albums chart for October 22, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  59. ^ "Country Albums chart for October 29, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  60. ^ "Country Albums chart for November 5, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  61. ^ "Country Albums chart for November 12, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  62. ^ "Country Albums chart for November 19, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  63. ^ "Country Albums chart for November 26, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  64. ^ "Country Albums chart for December 3, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  65. ^ "Country Albums chart for December 10, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  66. ^ "Country Albums chart for December 17, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  67. ^ "Country Albums chart for December 24, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  68. ^ "Country Albums chart for December 31, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.