This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.
[edit] Events
[edit] January - January 9 - David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert (the day after his birthday) at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, with the opening act Placebo. Proceeds from the concert went to the Save the Children fund.[1]
- January 10 - James Brown receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, USA.[2]
- January 19 - Madonna wins Best Actress In A Motion Picture, Musical Or Comedy, for her part in Evita, at the 54th annual Golden Globe Awards in the USA.[3]
- January 28 - The Virginia Senate votes to retire "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" as the official state song, and begins looking for a replacement.
[edit] February - Pianist David Helfgott performs at the Boston Symphony Hall, in Boston, USA, during his world tour. The Boston Globe describes his performance as "without phrasing, form, harmonic understanding, differentiation of style and often basic accuracy; worst of all, it was without emotional content."
- March 1 - The rock band Phish records "Slip Stitch and Pass" live at Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany.
- March 3 - U2 release the opinion-dividing Pop album. Along with the Oasis album Be Here Now, it becomes a major release that fails to sell to industry expectations, particularly in the US, despite many strong initial reviews.
- March 9
- March 11 - Paul McCartney is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
- March 17 - Whirlwind Heat play their first show.
- March 19 - March 20 - The reunited Monkees perform two sold-out concerts at Wembley Arena in London, UK.
- March 30 - The Spice Girls launch Britain's new television channel, Channel 5.
[edit] May-June [edit] August - August 3 - The Black Crowes perform their last show with Johnny Colt and Marc Ford.
- August 4 - Nigerian afrobeat pioneer and dissident pop star Fela Anikulapo-Kuti dies in Lagos, Nigeria, of HIV-related illness.
- August 7 - Garth Brooks performs to an estimated 800,000 to one million people during a free concert given in Central Park, New York City.
- August 16 - August 17 - Phish perform at the two day music festival, The Great Went, at Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine, USA. They play 500 minutes of music, six sets and two encores. There was an estimated attendance of between 65,000-70,000 and it was the top grossing concert of the season making over $4,000,000 in box office receipts.
- August 19 - The reunited Fleetwood Mac release The Dance and begin a concert tour in the United States.
- August 21 - Oasis' third album, Be Here Now, is released. It becomes the fastest selling music album of all time, moving 695,761 copies in the first week in the UK.
- August 30 - Notorious B.I.G. scores his second posthumous #1 single on the Hot 100 singles chart. A feat rivaled by no one.
[edit] September-October - September 6 - Elton John performs "Candle in the Wind" at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales; John Tavener's Song for Athene is performed at the same ceremony, with soprano Lynne Dawson singing the solo part. *September 16 -Aaliyah Released Hot Like Fire/The One I Gave My Heart To Single *September 17 - The KLF return for 23 minutes with their performance of Fuck the Millennium.
- September 19 - While on his way to a benefit concert in Kansas, USA, Rich Mullins loses control of his Jeep, flipping the automobile and throwing both Mullins and passenger Mitch McVicker out onto the road. A tractor-trailer approaching the scene swerves to miss McVicker, striking and killing Mullins instantly. McVicker survives, but suffered major injuries.
- September 23 - Björk releases Homogenic, moving towards a darker sound and away from her 'pixie' image.[5]
- September 29
- October 7 - Everclear release their multi-platinum third album So Much for the Afterglow, containing "Father of Mine" and "I Will Buy You a New Life".
- October 13 - The "Prince Igor" single, jointly performed by The Rhapsody, Warren G and Sissel Kyrkjebø is released.
- October 15 - Michael Jackson ends the History World Tour,which included an attendance record of 4,500,000 fa
[edit] November-December [edit] Undated [edit] Bands formed [edit] Bands disbanded [edit] Bands reformed
[edit] Albums released [edit] January [edit] February [edit] August [edit] September [edit] October | Day | Album | Artist | Notes | | 1 | Shadows in the Banquet Hall | Carbon Leaf | - | | 6 | Come to Daddy | Aphex Twin | EP | | 7 | More Best of Leonard Cohen | Leonard Cohen | Greatest Hits | | So Much for the Afterglow | Everclear | - | | Underdogs | Matthew Good Band | - | | Thicker Than Water | H2O | - | | South Saturn Delta | Jimi Hendrix | Compilation | | The Velvet Rope | Janet Jackson | - | | Jerky Boys 4 | Jerky Boys | - | | Milk and Blood | Jim Martin | - | | Willis | The Pietasters | - | | Death to the Pixies | Pixies | Compilation | | 60 Cycle Hum | Pulley | - | | Good Feeling | Travis | US | | 8 | National Steel | Colin James | - | | 10 | blackmail | blackmail | - | | The Fantastic Plastic Machine | Fantastic Plastic Machine | - | | 12 | 20,000 Watt R.S.L. | Midnight Oil | Greatest Hits | | 13 | Jurassic 5 EP | Jurassic 5 | EP | | Pleased to Meet You | Sleeper | - | | Quarashi | Quarashi | - | | 14 | Medazzaland | Duran Duran | - | | Nimrod | Green Day | - | | A Jagged Era | Jagged Edge | - | | Phenomenon | LL Cool J | - | | Unleash the Beast | Saxon | - | | Soundbombing | Various Artists | Compilation | | 15 | Whoracle | In Flames | | | 20 | Exile | Gary Numan | UK | | 21 | Phoenix Rising | Artension | - | | Serpents of the Light | Deicide | - | | Extreme Honey | Elvis Costello | Compilation | | Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album | The Firm (Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature) | - | | Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album | Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz | - | | Young Team | Mogwai | - | | Joya | Will Oldham | - | | The Remixes | Shakira | Remix | | 27 | Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon | John Lennon | UK, Compilation | | Echo Dek | Primal Scream | Remix | | Legendary Tales | Rhapsody | - | | 28 | The Fury of the Aquabats! | The Aquabats | - | | Talk on Corners | The Corrs | - | | Galore | The Cure | Compilation | | Around the Fur | Deftones | - | | Zaireeka | The Flaming Lips | - | | My Body, the Hand Grenade | Hole | Compilation | | Get It How U Live! | Hot Boys | - | | Forever and Counting | Hot Water Music | - | | Jugulator | Judas Priest | - | | Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions | Kiss | - | | Harlem World | Mase | - | | Slip Stitch and Pass | Phish | - | | The Psycho Realm | Psycho Realm | Debut | | New Forms | Roni Size & Reprazent | - | | The Black Bossalini (a.k.a. Dr. Bomb from Da Bay) | Spice 1 | - | [edit] November [edit] December [edit] Unknown date [edit] Biggest hit singles The following songs achieved the highest positions in the charts of 1997.[7] | # | Artist | Title | Year | Chart Entries | | 1 | Puff Daddy & Faith Evans | I'll Be Missing You | 1997 | UK 1 - Jun 1997, US BB 1 of 1997, Holland 1 - Jun 1997, Sweden 1 - Aug 1997, Austria 1 - Jul 1997, Switzerland 1 - Jul 1997, Norway 1 - Jul 1997, Italy 1 of 1997, Germany 1 - Jun 1997, Éire 1 - Jul 1997, New Zealand 1 for 5 weeks Jul 1997, Australia 1 for 5 weeks Oct 1997, Poland 5 - Jul 1997, Australia 5 of 1997, Germany 12 of the 1990s, POP 16 of 1997, Global 33 (5 M sold) - 1997, Europe 50 of the 1990s, RYM 99 of 1997 | | 2 | Elton John | Candle in the Wind '97 | 1997 | UK 1 - Sep 1997, US BB 1 of 1997, Holland 1 - Sep 1997, Austria 1 - Oct 1997, Switzerland 1 - Sep 1997, Norway 1 - Jan 1997, Poland 1 - Sep 1997, Germany 1 - Jan 1998, Éire 1 - Sep 1997, New Zealand 1 for 6 weeks Oct 1997, Australia 1 for 6 weeks Dec 1997, Global 2 (35 M sold) - 1997, Australia 4 of 1997, Japan 11 of all time (international songs), Italy 12 of 1997, TOTP 33, Germany 37 of the 1990s, RYM 85 of 1997, OzNet 433 | | 3 | Aqua | Barbie Girl | 1997 | UK 1 - Oct 1997, US BB 1 of 1997, Holland 1 - Sep 1997, Sweden 1 - Sep 1997, Switzerland 1 - Oct 1997, Norway 1 - May 1997, Germany 1 - Jan 1998, Éire 1 - Oct 1997, New Zealand 1 for 2 weeks Sep 1997, Australia 1 for 3 weeks Jan 1998, POP 1 of 1997, Italy 2 of 1997, Austria 3 - Oct 1997, France 6 - May 1997, US BB 7 of 1997, Australia 8 of 1997, Germany 36 of the 1990s, Scrobulate 53 of happy | | 4 | No Doubt | Don't Speak | 1997 | UK 1 - Feb 1997, Holland 1 - Dec 1996, Sweden 1 - Nov 1996, Switzerland 1 - Jan 1997, Norway 1 - Dec 1996, Poland 1 - Jan 1997, Éire 1 - Feb 1997, New Zealand 1 for 2 weeks Jan 1997, Australia 1 for 8 weeks Apr 1997, Austria 2 - Feb 1997, Germany 2 - Jan 1997, Australia 7 of 1997, France 10 - Feb 1997, RYM 10 of 1996, Europe 22 of the 1990s, POP 38 of 1996, Scrobulate 44 of rock, Italy 76 of 1997, Germany 77 of the 1990s, Acclaimed 1098 | | 5 | Hanson | Mmmbop | 1997 | UK 1 - Jun 1997, US BB 1 of 1997, Sweden 1 - May 1997, Austria 1 - Jun 1997, Switzerland 1 - Jun 1997, Éire 1 - Jun 1997, New Zealand 1 for 2 weeks Jun 1997, Australia 1 for 9 weeks Aug 1997, Holland 2 - May 1997, Norway 2 - Jun 1997, Australia 2 of 1997, Germany 2 - Jun 1997, Poland 9 - Jun 1997, US BB 17 of 1997, POP 18 of 1997, Scrobulate 69 of fun, RYM 81 of 1996, Germany 187 of the 1990s, Acclaimed 516 | [edit] Top hits
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[edit] Classical music [edit] Musical theater [edit] Musical films [edit] Deaths - January 5 - Burton Lane, composer and lyricist, 84
- January 10 - Kenny Pickett (The Creation), 54
- January 21 - Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager, 87
- January 22 - Richard Berry, songwriter (notably wrote "Louie Louie"), 61
- February 10 - Brian Connolly, vocalist (Sweet) (liver failure), 51
- March 9 - The Notorious B.I.G., rapper, 24 (shot)
- March 17 - Jermaine Stewart, vocalist, 39 (AIDS)
- March 24 - Harold Melvin, soul musician, 57
- April 4 - Gene Ames, Ames Brothers
- April 8 - Laura Nyro, singer-songwriter, 49 (ovarian cancer)
- May 29 - Jeff Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist, 30 (drowned)
- June 2 - Doc Cheatham, jazz trumpeter, 91
- June 4 - Ronnie Lane, member of The Small Faces, 51 (multiple sclerosis, pneumonia)
- June 16 - John Wolters (Dr Hook), 52 (liver cancer)
- June 20 - Lawrence Payton, The Four Tops, 59
- June 24 - Prince Nico Mbarga, Nigerian highlife musician, 47
- August 1 - Sviatoslav Richter, pianist, 82
- August 2 - Fela Kuti, Nigerian musician and composer, 58 (Kaposi's sarcoma)
- August 10 - Conlon Nancarrow, composer, 84
- August 16 - Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, qawwali singer and world music ambassador, 48
- September 5 - Sir Georg Solti, conductor, 84
- September 8 - Derek Taylor, press agent for The Beatles, 65
- September 18 - Jimmy Witherspoon, blues singer, 77
- September 19 - Rich Mullins, singer, 41
- October 12 - John Denver, American folk singer-songwriter and folk rock musician, 53 (air crash)
- October 19 - Glen Buxton, guitarist for the original Alice Cooper Band, 49 (pneumonia)
- November 5 - Epic Soundtracks, English singer-songwriter, drummer of Swell Maps, Crime and the City Solution and These Immortal Souls, 38
- November 22 - Michael Hutchence, singer of INXS, 37 (hanging)
- December 28 - Henry Barraud, French composer, 97
- December 31 - Floyd Cramer, pianist, 64
[edit] Awards [edit] Charts [edit] References [edit] See also |
