Spend an hour remembering some of the most popular jazz of Autumn 1983 as listed on the Jazz LPs chart in the October 15, 1983 issue of Billboard magazine.
Playlist:
#44: “Last Exit” by Spyro Gyra, the lead cut from the #44 album of the week, Incognito. The album peaked at #2 on the chart back on January 8. This chart marked the album’s last appearance on the Jazz LPs chart; it charted for a total of 53 weeks. The group had two albums on the chart on October 15: in addition to Incognito at #44, their more recent release, City Kids, was at the #2 position that week.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 2 | 53 |
| Billboard 200 | 26 | 24 |
| R&B | 39 | 18 |
#43: “Rainbow Sleeves” by Rickie Lee Jones from the #43 album, Girl at Her Volcano. A 7 song EP, it contains three live recordings, a few new studio ones and recordings left over from earlier studio sessions.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 36 | 12 |
| Billboard 200 | 39 | 16 |
#38: “Admiral’s Horn” by Maynard Ferguson from the #38 album, Storm. This album was Ferguson’s first release on the Palo Alto label (he was previously on Columbia from 1970-1982). Storm spent 8 weeks on the Jazz charts, peaking at #38.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 38 | 8 |
#37: “In the Name of Love” by Grover Washington, Jr. from the #37 album, Winelight. By this time, Winelight had spent 151 weeks on the chart, having debuted on November 22, 1980. It would ultimately spend 183 consecutive weeks on the chart, including 29 weeks at the #1 spot. On this same week, Washington’s 1982 album The Best is Yet to Come was also on the chart at #30.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 1 | 183 |
| Billboard 200 | 5 | 52 |
| R&B | 2 | 49 |
#34: “Whiplash” by Earl Klugh & Bob James from the #34 album, Two of a Kind. By this date, the album had already spent 18 weeks in the #1 spot and had begun its slow descent down the chart. Bob James had an additional three albums on the chart on October 15, 1983: Hands Down (#49), Foxie (#27), and The Genie (#25). Earl Klugh also had a solo album on the chart that week: Low Ride (#11). The two accounted for 10% of the albums on the chart that week.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 1 | 66 |
| Billboard 200 | 44 | 29 |
| R&B | 23 | 26 |
#28: “Why Not! (Manhattan Carnival) by The Manhattan Transfer from the #28 album, Bodies and Souls. This week marked the album’s debut on the chart. The vocal quartet’s first album with producer Richard Rudolph, it took the Manhattan Transfer in a slightly different direction from their previous releases with Jay Graydon. There are collaborations with several artists on this album including Stevie Wonder, Rod Temperton, and Jeremy Lubbock. This has been the only Manhattan Transfer album to chart on the R&B albums chart.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 10 | 48 |
| Billboard 200 | 52 | 27 |
| R&B | 38 | 13 |
#24: “Are You Going With Me” by the Pat Metheny Group from the #24 album, Offramp. This album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance. It debuted on the Jazz chart at #5 on June 5, 1982 and would ultimately stay on the chart for 117 weeks, until August 1984. This same week, Metheny held two additional spots on the Jazz LPs chart: the #14 album, Travels, and the #45 album, As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 1 | 117 |
| Billboard 200 | 50 | 28 |
| R&B | 43 | 19 |
#20: “I Got Rhythm” by Yellowjackets from the #20 album, Mirage à Trois. This version of George & Ira Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” was the third cut on side A of Mirage à Trois.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 7 | 28 |
#14: “Blues for T.J.” by Larry Carlton from the #14 album, Friends. This particular track is a duet with B.B. King.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 6 | 45 |
| Billboard 200 | 126 | 11 |
#13: “Roof Garden” by Herb Alpert from the #13 album, Blow Your Own Horn. The album debuted on the Jazz LPs chart on October 1, 1983 and spawned this single, which spent 4 weeks on the Hot 100, reaching only the #81 position.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 13 | 25 |
| Billboard 200 | 120 | 8 |
| R&B | 49 | 9 |
#7: “Rockit” by Herbie Hancock from the #7 album, Future Shock. Helped by a groundbreaking video, this song was a crossover hit for Hancock: #1 Dance, #6 R&B, #71 Pop. The album was Hancock’s thirty-fifth and became a million-selling Platinum-certified disc.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 2 | 72 |
| Billboard 200 | 43 | 65 |
| R&B | 10 | 60 |
#1: “Lady Love Me (One More Time)” by George Benson from the #1 album, In Your Eyes. This album spent 19 of its 55 weeks on the Jazz LPs chart in the top position. This particular song, written by James Newton-Howard and David Paich, reached #30 on the pop charts, #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and #21 on the R&B chart.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 1 | 55 |
| Billboard 200 | 27 | 35 |
| R&B | 6 | 33 |
JAZZ LPS 
With the exception of the Yellowjackets, Benson and Hancock, I was blissfully unaware of the rest of these tracks in 1983 but I was blissfully unaware of A LOT OF THINGS in 1983. Was the good Doctor dialed in on all of this jazz smoothness back in the day or has he picked it up along the way?
Anyway, thirty years and change goes by and you have created a wonderful mix I will be featuring in regular rotation out by the water this Summer.
Can’t wait to see what Dr. Smooth has up the sleeves of his scrubs for next time.
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The good doctor does indeed have the cure for what ails you!! Just finished my examination, as a matter of fact… Verdict? Nice & “smooth” all the way through, Doc! I’d like to schedule a follow-up appointment right now, if that’s okay.
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