[edit] Events - January - The Ramones form.
- January - Joni Mitchell releases her monumental album Court and Spark, supported by the single "Help Me" reaching the highest moment of commercial success.
- February 1 - The Doobie Brothers release their album What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits featuring their signature and hit song "Black Water".
- February 8 - KISS releases their self-titled debut album.
- February 10 - record producer Phil Spector is badly injured in a car accident. Details of the accident are kept secret.
- February 12 - New York's rock club, Bottom Line, opens in Greenwich Village.
- February 14 - The Captain & Tennille are married in Virginia City, Nevada.
- February 18 - Yes sells out the first of two nights at Madison Square Garden, without a bit of advertising for the show.
- February 20 - Cher files for divorce from her husband of 10 years, Sonny Bono.
- March 12 - John Lennon is involved in an altercation with a photographer outside the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles, California. Lennon and friend Harry Nilsson have been heckling comedian Tommy Smothers and are forced to leave the club.
- March 16 - Country music's Grand Ole Opry moves to a new location at the Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee
- March 30 - The Ramones play their first concert at the Performance Studio in New York.
- April 5 - Van Halen play their first gig on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood at Gazzarri's.
- April 6
- 200,000 music fans attend The California Jam rock festival. Artists performing at the event include Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Black Oak Arkansas, and the Eagles.
- Swedish group ABBA win the 19th Eurovision Song Contest in The Dome, Brighton, England, with the song "Waterloo", kickstarting their stellar international career.
- April 25 - Pam Morrison, Jim Morrison's widow, is found dead in her Hollywood, California apartment from an apparent heroin overdose.
- July 29 - Having performed at two sold-out concerts at the London Palladium, 'Mama' Cass Elliot dies in her sleep after suffering a heart attack in a Mayfair flat in London, aged 32.
- August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J. Geils Band, marries actress Faye Dunaway.
- August 17 Ramones play their first concert at CBGB. The venue would help establish their place at the forefront of punk rock.
- December 12- Mick Taylor leaves The Rolling Stones after 6 years
- December 31- Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks join Fleetwood Mac
- Patti Smith releases her debut recording, "Hey Joe", which many consider to be the first punk rock single.
- Lord Shorty's Endless Vibrations is the first soca LP and the first major soca hit worldwide.
- Peter Gabriel leaves Genesis and begins solo career.
- Rover Thomas claims to have been visited in a dream by a deceased friend near Warmun, Australia and receives the Krill Krill song cycle.
- Dino Martin, singer and son of Dean Martin, is arrested on suspicion of possession and sale of two machine guns.
- Journey signs to Columbia Records.
- Blondie forms.
- The Stranglers form with original line up.
- Daniel Amos forms out of the remnants of Jubal's Last Band.
- Twenty years after it was recorded, "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets returns to the Billboard Top 40, after it gains renewed popularity from its use in the film American Graffiti and the TV series Happy Days.
- Robin Zander joins with Tom Petersson, Bun E. Carlos and Rick Nielson and the "real" Cheap Trick band line up as we have come to know is formed.
- The original Alice Cooper group breaks up. The band's leader, Vincent Furnier, changes his name to Alice Cooper and goes on to a solo career.
[edit] Bands formed [edit] Bands disbanded [edit] Albums released [edit] Biggest hit singles The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1974. | # | Artist | Title | Year | Country | Chart Entries | | 1 | Carl Douglas | Kung Fu Fighting | 1974 |  | UK 1 - Aug 1974, US BB 1 - Nov 1974, Canada 1 - Nov 1974, Holland 1 - Oct 1974, France 1 - Sep 1974, Austria 1 - Dec 1974, Germany 1 - Jan 1975, Éire 1 - Oct 1974, Australia 1 for 3 weeks Jul 1975, Switzerland 2 - Nov 1974, South Africa 2 of 1974, Norway 3 - Oct 1974, US BB 5 of 1974, Global 7 (10 M sold) - 1974, Sweden 8 - Aug 1998, POP 9 of 1974, Italy 10 of 1975, US CashBox 11 of 1975, Scrobulate 12 of disco, Australia 22 of 1974, Germany 27 of the 1970s, RYM 84 of 1974, OzNet 842 | | 2 | Terry Jacks | Seasons in the Sun | 1974 |  | UK 1 - Mar 1974, US BB 1 - Feb 1974, Canada 1 - Nov 1973, France 1 - May 1974, Austria 1 - Apr 1974, Switzerland 1 - Apr 1974, Norway 1 - Apr 1974, Germany 1 - Mar 1974, Éire 1 - Apr 1974, Australia 1 for 4 weeks Nov 1974, Australia Goset 1 - Apr 1974, Australia 5 of 1974, Holland 6 - Mar 1974, South Africa 6 of 1974, Global 7 (10 M sold) - 1974, US CashBox 9 of 1974, POP 19 of 1974, Germany 33 of the 1970s, US BB 38 of 1974, RYM 38 of 1973, DDD 65 of 1973 | | 3 | ABBA | Waterloo | 1974 |  | UK 1 - Apr 1974, Switzerland 1 - Apr 1974, Norway 1 - Apr 1974, Germany 1 - May 1974, Éire 1 - Apr 1974, Holland 2 - Apr 1974, Austria 2 - May 1974, Canada 3 - Jun 1974, France 5 - Apr 1974, US BB 6 - Jun 1974, Scrobulate 6 of Swedish, Australia Goset 10 - Jul 1974, South Africa 14 of 1974, POP 23 of 1974, Global 33 (5 M sold) - 1974, RYM 33 of 1974, Germany 49 of the 1970s, Italy 51 of 1974, Europe 55 of the 1970s, US CashBox 84 of 1974, OzNet 413, Acclaimed 1016 | | 4 | Steve Miller Band | The Joker | 1974 |  | UK 1 - Aug 1990, US BB 1 - Nov 1973, Holland 1 - Oct 1973, Éire 1 - Sep 1990, Canada 2 - Dec 1973, Norway 2 - Nov 1990, Switzerland 5 - Oct 1990, Austria 6 - Oct 1990, Germany 7 - Jan 1991, Australia Goset 7 - Feb 1974, France 8 - Dec 1973, US CashBox 10 of 1974, Poland 11 - Sep 1990, DDD 13 of 1973, US BB 21 of 1974, POP 33 of 1974, RYM 61 of 1973, Scrobulate 62 of 70s, Virgin 84, TheQ 297, Germany 399 of the 1990s, OzNet 561, Acclaimed 1721 | | 5 | George McCrae | Rock Your Baby | 1974 | | UK 1 - Jun 1974, US BB 1 - Jun 1974, Holland 1 - Aug 1974, Austria 1 - Oct 1974, Switzerland 1 - Aug 1974, Norway 1 - Sep 1974, Germany 1 - Jan 1975, Canada 2 - Jun 1974, France 4 - Aug 1974, Germany 7 of the 1970s, Global 7 (10 M sold) - 1974, Italy 11 of 1974, Australia 20 of 1974, Australia Goset 37 - Aug 1974, RYM 39 of 1974, US CashBox 40 of 1974, Acclaimed 807 | [edit] Other Hit Singles [edit] Published popular music [edit] Births - January 10 - Jemaine Clement bassist, guitarist, pianist, singer Flight of the Conchords
- January 12 - Melanie Chisholm, singer Spice Girls
- February 11 - D'Angelo, singer, producer
- February 13 - Robbie Williams, singer
- February 23 - Jaime Villarreal, rock musician
- April 14 - Da Brat, rapper
- April 17 - Victoria Beckham, singer Spice Girls
- April 18 - Millie Corretjer, singer and actress
- April 20 - Tina Cousins, singer
- May 16 - Laura Pausini, singer
- May 17 - Andrea Corr, singer The Corrs
- May 18 - Chantal Kreviazuk, singer-songwriter
- May 23 - Jewel, singer
- May 30 - Cee-Lo Green, singer
- June 1 - Alanis Morissette, singer-songwriter
- July 9 - Nikola Sarcevic, singer and bassist Millencolin
- July 11 - Lil' Kim, rapper
- July 12 - Sharon den Adel, Dutch singer
- July 13 - Deborah Cox, R&B singer
- July 16 - Jeremy Enigk, singer/songwriter Sunny Day Real Estate, The Fire Theft
- July 21 - Terry Coldwell, East 17
- August 8:
- August 14 - Ana Matronic, Scissor Sisters
- August 17 - Salem Abraha, singer-songwriter
- August 30 - Aaron Barrett, Reel Big Fish
- September 19 - Jimmy Fallon, comedian & musician
- October 1 - Keith Duffy, Boyzone
- October 5 - Heather Headley, soul singer
- October 18 - Peter Svensson, The Cardigans
- November 2 - Nelly, Rapper
- November 4 - Louise Nurding, singer and former member of Eternal
- December 7 - Nicole Appleton, singer
- December 10 - Meg White, The White Stripes
- December 24 - Julian Rachlin, violinist
[edit] Deaths - February 15 - Kurt Atterberg, composer
- March 7 - Alberto Rabagliati, Italian singer and actor
- March 28
- April 15 - Giovanni D'Anzi, Italian songwriter
- April 17 - Blossom Seeley, US singer and vaudeville entertainer
- April 25 - Pamela Courson, Jim Morrison's widow, heroin overdose
- May - Paul Gonsalves, jazz saxophonist
- May 24 - Duke Ellington
- June 8 - Rodolfo Lipizer, violinist and conductor
- June 22 - Darius Milhaud, composer
- June 27 - Cliff Friend, US composer
- July 29 - "Mama" Cass Elliott, singer The Mamas & the Papas
- August 6 - Gene Ammons
- September 3 - Harry Partch, composer
- September 23 - Robbie McIntosh, drummer Average White Band
- October 24 - David Oistrakh, violinist
- November 11 - Alfonso Leng, composer
- November 19 - George Brunies, jazz musician
- November 21 - Frank Martin, composer
- November 25 - Nick Drake, British singer/songwriter, overdose
[edit] Awards [edit] See also |
