[edit] Events - January 17 - Highway 51 South in Memphis, Tennessee is renamed "Elvis Presley Blvd"
- January 20 - Pink Floyd debuts Dark Side of the Moon during a performance at The Dome, in Brighton, but due to technical difficulties, is halted during the song 'Money'. Dark Side of the Moon would be played in its entirety the next night. It would be a full year before the album was released.
- January 26 - First Sunbury Music Festival held in Sunbury, Victoria
- January 31 - Over 40,000 mourners file past Mahalia Jackson's open casket to pay their respects in Chicago's Great Salem Baptist Church.
- February 8 - Frank Zappa's concert at London's Royal Albert Hall is canceled because of Zappa's obscene lyrics
- February 9 - Paul McCartney's new band, Wings, make their live debut at the University of Nottingham in England
- February 13 - Led Zeppelin's concert in Singapore is canceled when government officials won't let them off the airplane because of their long hair
- February 14 - "Steppenwolf Day" is declared in Los Angeles, California
- Mid February - John Lennon and Yoko Ono cohost an entire week on The Mike Douglas Show.
- February 15 - The United States gives federal Copyright protection to sound recordings. Prior to this, phonograph records were only protected at state level, and not in all states.
- February 19 - Paul McCartney's single "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" (which was inspired by the "Bloody Sunday" massacre in Ireland on January 30, 1972) is banned by the BBC. The controversy caused by the banning only increases the song's popularity and it ends up in the Top 20 in England.
- February 23 - Elvis and Priscilla Presley separate
- February 29 - John Lennon's U.S. immigration visa expires, beginning his three-and-a-half year fight to remain in the country.
- March 15 - L.A. disc jockey Robert W. Morgan played Donny Osmond's "Puppy Love" non-stop for 90 minutes. The cops were called, but no arrests were made.
- March 25 - The 17th Eurovision Song Contest, held in the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland, is won by German-based Greek singer Vicky Leandros, representing Luxembourg with the song Après Toi. The song is subsequently released around Europe having been recorded in several languages, including in English as Come What May.
- March 31 - Official Beatles fan club closes down.
- April 2 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono hold a press conference in New York. The Lennons discuss their appeal of the US Immigration Department's decision to deport John
- April 16 - Electric Light Orchestra make their live debut at the Fox and Greyhound pub in Park Lane, Croydon, England
- April 28 - Wishbone Ash release their third album, Argus which is named album of the year by readers of Sounds and Melody Maker, ahead of albums by more widely-known artists such as David Bowie and Deep Purple.
- April 29 - New York City mayor John Lindsay announces that he is supporting John Lennon and Yoko Ono in their fight to remain in the United States
- May 2 - Stone the Crows lead guitarist Les Harvey is electrocuted on stage during a show in Swansea, Wales after touching a poorly connected microphone. Harvey died in a hospital a few hours later. The band's lead singer, Maggie Bell, who had been Harvey's longtime girlfriend, was also hospitalized. Bell collapsed on stage after the incident.
- May 8 - Billy Preston becomes the first rock performer to headline at New York's Radio City Music Hall
- June 3
- June 10 - Elvis does the first of four concerts in the Madison Square Garden. He sells out all the shows in one day.
- July 22 - The Eagles release their self-titled debut album.
- July 24 - Bobby Ramirez, the drummer for Edgar Winter's White Trash, is beaten to death in a Chicago bar fight, reportedly because his hair was too long.
- August 5 - Clive Davis signs Aerosmith to Columbia Records at Max's Kansas City in New York, NY.
- October 12 - Diana Ross has her acting debut in the wildly successful film Lady Sings the Blues and garners her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
- November 26 - Family, touring North America as the warmup act for Elton John, play their last concert on U.S. soil in St. Petersburg, Florida.
- Herbert Howells becomes a Companion of Honour.
[edit] Also in 1972 [edit] Albums released [edit] Biggest hit singles The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1972. | # | Artist | Title | Year | Country | Chart Entries | | 1 | Don McLean | American Pie | 1972 |  | US BB 1 - December 1971, US CashBox 1 of 1972, Canada 1 - November 1971, Australia 1 for 5 weeks September 1972, Australia Goset 1 - February 1972, UK 2 - Jan 1972, US BB 2 of 1972, France 2 - Mar 1972, POP 2 of 1972, Poland 4 - February 2000, Australia 4 of 1972, OzNet 4, RIAA 5, DDD 6 of 1971, Norway 9 - Mar 1972, Holland 11 - February 1972, Germany 17 - Mar 1972, Scrobulate 17 of folk, RYM 22 of 1971, 23 in 2FM list, TheQ 25, WXPN 61, Party 64 of 1999, Acclaimed 266 | | 2 | Hot Butter | Popcorn | 1972 |  | Holland 1 - August 1972, France 1 - July 1972, Switzerland 1 - August 1972, Norway 1 - August 1972, Germany 1 - August 1972, Australia 1 for 8 weeks May 1973, Australia Goset 1 - September 1972, Canada 3 - September 1972, Australia 3 of 1972, UK 5 - July 1972, US BB 9 - August 1972, Austria 10 - Jan 1973, POP 32 of 1972, RYM 45 of 1972, US CashBox 70 of 1972, Scrobulate 84 of 70s, Italy 88 of 1972, Germany 137 of the 1970s | | 3 | Harry Nilsson | Without You | 1972 | | UK 1 - February 1972, US BB 1 - Jan 1972, Canada 1 - Jan 1972, Éire 1 - Mar 1972, Australia 1 for 5 weeks November 1972, Australia Goset 1 - Mar 1972, Australia 2 of 1972, Peel list 3 of 1971, US CashBox 5 of 1972, France 8 - Mar 1972, Holland 10 - April 1972, Italy 12 of 1972, Germany 16 - May 1972, RYM 16 of 1971, Scrobulate 17 of ballad, Acclaimed 823 | | 4 | Derek and the Dominos | Layla | 1972 | /  | France 1 - July 1972, DDD 1 of 1970, 3 in 2FM list, UK 4 - Mar 1982, Canada 4 - Jun 1972, Holland 4 - October 1992, RYM 5 of 1970, Virgin 9, Scrobulate 9 of blues, US BB 10 - Jun 1972, Poland 10 - April 1982, US BB 11 of 1972, TheQ 11, POP 11 of 1972, WXPN 16, Europe 21 of the 1970s, Rolling Stone 27, Switzerland 28 - November 1992, Acclaimed 37, Belgium 102 of all time, RIAA 118, OzNet 213 | | 5 | Neil Young | Heart of Gold | 1972 |  | US BB 1 - February 1972, Canada 1 - February 1972, France 2 - April 1972, Norway 4 - May 1972, Germany 4 - May 1972, RYM 5 of 1972, DDD 5 of 1972, Holland 9 - February 1972, UK 10 - Mar 1972, US CashBox 12 of 1972, Australia Goset 15 - April 1972, US BB 26 of 1972, POP 49 of 1972, TheQ 67, Europe 81 of the 1970s, Scrobulate 95 of classic rock, Belgium 220 of all time, RIAA 286, Rolling Stone 297, Germany 344 of the 1970s, Acclaimed 350, WXPN 359 | [edit] American and/or British hit singles See also: Hot 100 number-one hits of 1972 (United States) [edit] Published popular music [edit] Classical music [edit] Musical theater [edit] Musical films [edit] Musical television productions [edit] Births - January 17 - Aqualung, singer-songwriter
- January 26 – Christopher Boykin, American rapper
- January 27 - Mark Owen, singer (Take That)
- February 2 - Dana International, Eurovision-winning singer
- February 11 - Craig Jones, sampler/keyboardist for Slipknot
- February 14 - Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty)
- February 16 – Taylor Hawkins, American rock musician (Foo Fighters)
- February 17 - Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day)
- February 20 - K-os, rapper/musician
- February 24 - Chris Fehn, percussionist/backing vocalist for Slipknot
- March 4 – Alison Wheeler, British singer (The Beautiful South)
- March 6 – Jaret Reddick, American musician (Bowling for Soup)
- March 8 – Angie Hart, Australian pop singer
- March 9 - AZ, rapper
- March 10 - Douglas Ardito, Puddle of Mudd
- March 11 - UA, singer
- March 15 – Mark Hoppus, American rock musician (blink-182)
- March 17 - Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole)
- March 20 – Alexander Kapranos, British rock singer and guitarist (Franz Ferdinand)
- April 1 - Sukshinder Shinda, bhangra singer-songwriter and record producer
- April 8 - Paul Gray, bassist for Slipknot
- April 10 – Sami Yli-Sirniö, Finnish rock and metal guitarist
- April 12 – Şebnem Ferah, Turkish singer and song-writer
- April 13 – Aaron Lewis, American nu metal musician (Staind)
- April 20 - Stephen Marley, reggae musician
- April 28 – Violent J, American rapper
- May 4 - Mike Dirnt (Green Day)
- May 7 – Felix da Housecat, American house music DJ and record producer
- May 19 - Jenny Berggren (Ace of Base)
- May 21
- May 27 - Ivete Sangalo, Brazilian female singer
- June 12 - Bounty Killer, reggae/dancehall singer
- June 21 – Christopher Matthews, English musician
- June 25 – Mike Kroeger, Canadian rock bass guitarist (Nickelback)
- June 26 - Garou, singer
- June 27 - Edward Royster, vocalist for Four Sick Cats, Blowfex, and Backwoods Warriors
- July 4
- July 26 - Wayne Wonder, reggae singer
- July 29 – Anssi Kela, Finnish rock musician
- August 6 - Geri Halliwell, siinger
- August 8 - Lüpüs Thünder (Bloodhound Gang)
- August 9 - A-mei, singer
- August 12 – Del tha Funkee Homosapien, American hip-hop artist
- August 15 - Mikey Graham, singer (Boyzone)
- August 16 – Emily Robison, American country music performer (Dixie Chicks)
- August 27 – Jimmy Pop, American musician (Bloodhound Gang)
- September 4 - Carlos Ponce, singer and composer
- September 21 - Liam Gallagher, singer (Oasis)
- September 23 - Jermaine Dupri, rapper
- September 26 - Shawn Stockman (Boyz II Men)
- September 30 – Shaan, Indian singer
- October 17
- October 19 - Pras Michel (Fugees)
- October 20 – Snoop Dogg, American rapper and producer
- October 27 – Elissa, Lebanese singer
- October 28 – Brad Paisley, American country music performer
- November 17 – Kimya Dawson, American singer/songwriter
- November 28 – Jesper Strömblad, Swedish musician
- December 1 - Greg Upchurch (Puddle of Mudd)
- December 9 - Tré Cool, drummer (Green Day)
- December 10
- December 13
- December 16
- December 18 – DJ Lethal, Latvian-born rock musician (Limp Bizkit, House of Pain)
- December 19 - Alyssa Milano, singer and actress
- December 22 - Vanessa Paradis, singer and actress
- December 27 - Matt Slocum, Sixpence None the Richer
- December 31 - Joey McIntyre, New Kids on the Block
[edit] Deaths - January 1 - Maurice Chevalier, 83, French singer and actor
- January 16 - David Seville, 52, voice of the Chipmunks
- January 19 - Michael Rabin, 35, violinist (fell downstairs)
- January 24 - Gene Austin, 69, singer-songwriter
- January 27 - Mahalia Jackson, 61, gospel singer
- February 21 – Marie Dubas, 77, French music-hall singer
- March 27 - Sharkey Bonano, 67, jazz musician and bandleader
- April 4 - Stefan Wolpe, 69, composer
- May 2 - Les Harvey, 25, guitarist (Stone the Crows) (electrocuted on stage)
- July 3 - "Mississippi" Fred McDowell, 68, blues musician
- July 24 - Bobby Ramirez, drummer (Edgar Winter's White Trash)
- August 2 - Brian Cole, 29, bass player in The Association (drug overdose)
- August 14 - Oscar Levant, 65, pianist and composer
- August 29 - Lale Andersen, 67, Danish singer
- November 3 - Harry Richman, 77, US singer, actor and composer
- November 6 - Billy Murcia, 21, drummer of New York Dolls (suffocation)
- November 11 - Berry Oakley, 24, bass player (The Allman Brothers Band) (motorcycle accident)
- November 12 - Rudolf Friml, 92, Rose-Marie composer
- November 18 - Danny Whitten, 29, guitarist (Crazy Horse) (drug overdose)
- November 28 - Havergal Brian, 96, composer
[edit] Awards [edit] Grammy Awards [edit] Country Music Association Awards [edit] Eurovision Song Contest |
