This Frenzied 1982 No. 1, Born From Iconic Horror Movie Inspiration, Topped The Charts 43 Years Ago Today

For two weeks in the middle of September 1983, the No. 1 song in the United States was a dance song so frenetic and dazzling that it might have been difficult for non-professionals to enjoy on the dance floor. Nevertheless, they blasted the explosive "Maniac" by Michael Sembello from their radios, tape decks, and record players. Sembello, a veteran studio musician and in-demand collaborator, scored his first-ever solo hit under his own name with "Maniac," issued as a single after it was prominently featured in the box office smash "Flashdance," a movie that defines 1980s pop culture and which concerns the joys and struggles of the life of a professional dancer.

In its final form, "Maniac" is about a maniac in a figurative sense. The song references the main character of "Flashdance," Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals), an exotic dancer striving to join a ballet company who also works as a welder in Pittsburgh. And as the song says, "... she's dancing like she's never danced before."

With hypnotic synths competing with blazing electric guitar riffs, "Maniac" is a banger rock song made famous by a movie, while also a quintessential '80s song with a wild backstory. And on September 9, 1983, it was the brand-new No. 1 song on Billboard's Hot 100.

Before it was about "Flashdance," "Maniac" was about murder. In the early 1980s, songwriter Dennis Matkosky caught a TV news item about a serial killer, which inspired him to write a few lines of a song about a murderer new to the neighborhood. Matkosky showed "Maniac" to his songwriting collaborator, Michael Sembello, and they paired the weird lyrics with the strangest, most haunting chords they could think of, and within about 15 minutes they wrote the first draft of "Maniac." Within the week, they recorded a rough demo which they intended to play for associates as a dark novelty.

When producer Phil Ramone asked Sembello if he had any tunes that would work for the soundtrack of a small dramatic production called "Flashdance," Sembello and Matkosky compiled a few original works on a tape and sent it along, unaware that the cassette also carried the bloody and unsettling "Maniac." Ramone loved the song, and "Flashdance" producers wanted it — provided the composers heavily rewrite the lyrics to suit the movie.

In early June 1983, about six weeks after "Flashdance" unspooled in movie theaters, "Maniac" entered the Hot 100. It climbed the chart all summer long, finally dancing up to the No. 1 position in September. In 1984, "Maniac" competed for the Oscar for best original song, but lost to its soundtrack-mate "Flashdance... What a Feeling," as performed by Irene Cara.