Pop culture anniversaries of 2023: 'Flashdance,' 'Piano Man,' Miley's twerk, lots more

In 2023, we'll be celebrating many significant pop culture anniversaries from the premieres of "American Graffiti" (50!) and "Flashdance" (40!) to Billy Joel's "River of Dreams" (30!) and the "Seinfeld" finale (25!). Here's our annual, extremely subjective list of notable anniversaries designed, as always to make you say out loud, "I can't believe it's been that long!"

1973 (50th anniversary)

FEB. 19 "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree"

 Tony Orlando and Dawn had the hit (its success propelled them to hosting their own CBS variety show), but did you know the song has also been covered by the likes of Jim Nabors, Dean Martin and Lawrence Welk?

AUG. 11 "American Graffiti"

George Lucas' homage to the good old days was set in 1962, a mere 11 years before the movie came out. That's like a movie being made today that's set in, um, 2011.

NOV. 9 "Piano Man"

Billy Joel' s second album contained the title track, which only hit No. 25 on the Billboard singles charts, offering little hint of the anthem it would become.

DEC. 25 "The Sting"

Four years after "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," Paul Newman and Robert Redford reunited for this caper movie, bolstered by Marvin Hamlisch's music. It would go on to win the Best Picture Oscar in 1974.

DEC. 26 "The Exorcist"

William Friedkin's controversial adaptation of William Peter Blatty's bestseller shocked (and often sickened) audiences, but it was a box-office smash and the first horror movie to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.

And don't forget: Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," "Sleeper," Bruce Springsteen's "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.," "Serpico" 

1983 (40th anniversary)

Feb. 26 "Thriller"

Released in late 1982, Michael Jackson's landmark album hit No. 1 on the U.S. charts for the first time in '83 and would go on to spend 36 more (nonconsecutive) weeks at the top.

Feb. 28 "M*A*S*H" finale

"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," a 2 1/2-hour TV movie, capped the 11th season of one of TV's greatest series. The finale eclipsed the single-episode ratings record that had been set in 1980 by the "Dallas" episode where we learned who shot J.R. Ewing.

April 15 "Flashdance"

Surprise box-office hit about a steelworker (Jennifer Beals) with dreams of becoming a professional dancer) also launched one of the '80s most notable trends: the torn sweatshirt worn off the shoulder.

Aug. 5: "Risky Business"

Tom Cruise dances in his underwear, and a movie star is born.

Aug. 8 "An Innocent Man"

Billy Joel's ninth studio album was largely an homage to the rock n' roll and R&B he absorbed as a young Long Islander during the late 1950s and early '60s.

And don't forget: "Terms of Endearment," "The Big Chill," The Police's "Every Breath You Take," "The A-Team"

1993 (30th anniversary)

Feb. 10 "Michael Jackson Talks … to Oprah."

The reclusive King of Pop sat down with Winfrey at his Neverland ranch for his first interview in 14 years. Among the revelations: He wouldn't confirm that he was a virgin and that he had been diagnosed with vitiligo — a depigmentation of the skin.

June 11 "Jurassic Park" 

Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel wowed audiences with its animatronic dinosaurs and state-of-the-art computer-generated special effects.

Aug. 10 "River of Dreams"

Who knew at the time that this would be Billy Joel's final studio album? (And who knew at the time that it wouldn't matter 30 years later since Joel now sells out Madison Square Garden once a month performing his pre-'93 repertoire?)

Aug. 30 "Late Show With David Letterman"

Letterman bolted to CBS when NBC did not anoint him as Johnny Carson's successor. His show had a new title, but maintained the goofy/ironic spirit of NBC's "Late Night" (whose hosting duties would be assumed on Sept. 13 by a virtually unknown comic writer named Conan O'Brien).

Sept. 21 "NYPD Blue"

Steven Bochco's ABC cop drama stretched the boundaries of network TV (at the time) with its frank language, nudity and troubled lead character (Dennis Franz's Det. Andy Sipowicz). But did we really need to see Sipowicz's butt?

And don't forget: "Frasier," "The X-Files," Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," "Schindler's List"

1998 (25th anniversary)

Jan. 4 "Titanic"

Released in late December 1997, James Cameron's epic would spend the first 13 weeks of 1998 at No. 1 and would win the Best Picture Oscar. ("I'm the king of the world," Cameron famously declared when he won for best director.)

Feb. 17 "Destiny's Child" 

The self-titled debut album of the Houston-based R&B group introduced the world to the powerful voice of Beyoncé Knowles.

May 14 "Seinfeld" finale

Co-creator Larry David returned to write the two-part episode in which Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer end up imprisoned after violating a small town's "Good Samaritan" law. A whopping 76 million tuned in to watch the finale that featured a parade of characters from previous episodes (Keith Hernandez, the Soup Nazi, etc.). 

May 14 Frank Sinatra dies

Shortly after the "Seinfeld" finale ended came the news that Ol' Blue Eyes had passed at 82. Timing really is everything.

June 6 "Sex and the City"

With "Seinfeld" gone, another quartet of Manhattan friends with dating problems became our obsession.
 

And don't forget: Britney Spears' "Baby, One More Time," 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys break out, "Saving Private Ryan," "The Miseducation of Ms. Lauryn Hill" 

2003 (20th anniversary)

Jan. 22 "The Chappelle Show" 

Drugs. Sex. Race. No topic was off limits in this groundbreaking Comedy Central sketch show co-created and hosted by Dave Chappelle. 

May 30 "Finding Nemo"

Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres lent their voices to this animated classic about a clownfish and blue tang searching for the former's missing son. It became the first Pixar movie to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar.

Sept. 23 "NCIS"

Series star Mark Harmon may be now gone now from this fan favorite — a rarely buzzed-about CBS procedural — but it's still going strong (and so are its two remaining spinoffs).

Oct. 30 "Wicked"

Like "NCIS" this "Wizard of Oz"-inspired musical is still attracting audiences 20 years later, even if Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth are long gone from iitscast.

Dec. 2 "The Simple Life"

In one of the first reality-TV hits, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie pull a "Green Acres" as the wealthy socialites pull up stakes and move in with a family in rural Arkansas.

And don't forget: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl," Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love, "The Bachelorette," 50 Cent's "Get Rich or Die Tryin' "

2013 (10th anniversary)

May 16 "The Office" finale

Wrapping nine seasons, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and several other former cast members returned to Scranton to appear on a panel discussion about Dunder-Mifflin and attend the wedding of Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Angela (Angela Kinsey).

June 2 "Princesses: Long Island"

Oy vey! This controversial Bravo reality series focused on six young Jewish Long Island women who were unmarried and not happy about it. The show lasted but one season.

June 3: "Royals"

The 16-year-old New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde (born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor) scored an out-of-left field international smash with her takedown of conspicuous consumption.

Aug. 25 Miley Cyrus

She was arguably the pop culture queen of 2013, reaching her high (or low) point when she twerked with Robin Thicke at MTV's Video Music Awards. The FCC was flooded with complaints: "Had I wanted my family to see a hooker perform a live sex show, I would have taken her to Tijuana," one viewer said.

Oct. 18 "12 Years a Slave"

Chiwetel Ejiofor gave a powerful performance as a free Black man from upstate New York who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South. The drama would go on to win the Best Picture Oscar in 2014.

And don't forget: "Breaking Bad" and "30 Rock" end; The "Red Wedding" episode of "Game of Thrones"; Kim Kardashian and Kanye West become parents.

By Andy Edelstein

andy.edelstein@newsday.com

Andy Edelstein, Newsday's entertainment editor, supervises coverage of TV, celebrities, movies and pop music. He has written three books on popular culture, including "The Brady Bunch Book."