1998 in music
| Years in music: | 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 |
| Centuries: | 19th Century · 20th century · 21st century |
| Decades: | 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s |
| Years: | 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 |
See also:
Contents |
Events
- February 15 - Sir Edward Elgar's unfinished third symphony, completed by Anthony Payne is performed for the first time at the Royal Festival Hall.
- February 17 - Illegal Art and ®™ark release Deconstructing Beck which quickly spawned reactions from Beck's publisher, record label, and personal lawyer.
- February 19 - The Stray Cats reunite for a benefit show for the Carl Perkins Foundation at L.A.'s House of Blues.
- February 19 - Lorrie Morgan issues a statement denying a story reported in the tabloid Star magazine that claimed that the singer had an affair with US President Bill Clinton
- February 22 - In Los Angeles, California, Stevie Wonder is honored as the 1999 MusiCares Person of the Year.
- February 24 - Elton John is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. The singer is mistakenly introduced as "Sir John Elton".
- Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee is arrested and charged with beating his wife, actress Pamela Anderson. Malibu sheriff deputies responded to reports of a disturbance and found Anderson bleeding from an injury to her hand.
- February 24 - John Fogerty is awarded the 1998 Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award
- February 28 - A failed assassination attempt against the band RAM during the Port-au-Prince Carnival celebration in Haiti results in the death of eight innocent bystanders.
- March 2 - Madonna embarks on a massive comeback album with Ray of Light which becomes four times platinum and wins three Grammy Awards including Best Pop Album and Best Dance Recording.
- March 13 - The Smashing Pumpkins file a $1 million lawsuit against UK-based Sound And Media Ltd., alleging that the company released a book and CD about the band without proper clearances.
- March 17 - The Corrs at London's Royal Albert Hall.
- March 26 - Chuck Negron files a lawsuit against his fellow Three Dog Night band mates, alleging that they broke a 1990 settlement agreement and interfered with his career.
- Glen Buxton, the guitarist for the original Alice Cooper Band, dies at the age of 49.
- April 5 - Rock and Roll drummer Cozy Powell is killed in a high-speed car crash near Bristol, England. Powell was known for playing with Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Jeff Beck, Brian May and Whitesnake.
- April 7 - George Michael is arrested in a public restroom in Beverly Hills, California for lewd conduct. Michael is sentenced to community service.
- 17–19 April - The second Terrastock festival is held in San Francisco.
- May 8 - A British court rules in favor of the Beatles and John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, stopping the release of another Live at the Star Club recording. All copies of the recording and the original tape are awarded to the Beatles, as well as damages and legal costs.
- May - The 3rd EJCF in Basel was held. Next time was in 2001.
- May 29 - Geri Halliwell goes into hiding and her PR Julian Torton confirms that she has left the Spice Girls permanently.
- October 13 - Britney Spears' recording career begins her first debut teen pop hit ...Baby One More Time went straight at #1 on the Hot 100 chart.
- December 5 - Billboard changes chart policy for their Hot 100 chart to allow airplay only singles or album cuts to make that chart.
- Swedish pop group, A-Teens, forms
- Teen singer Billie Piper starts her career by becoming the youngest British solo artist to debut at #1 on the UK singles charts.
- The entertainment industry frantically lobbies for, and the United States Congress passes, the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, which gives the entertainment industry 20 more years of exclusive monopoly on all of its works created since 1923.
- Composer John Harbison is a winner of the Heinz Award for the Arts and Humanities.
Bands disbanded
- A Minor Forest
- Archers Of Loaf
- Dead Can Dance
- Faith No More
- Helmet
- Hoodoo Gurus
- Hunters & Collectors
- The Jesus & Mary Chain
- Mineral
- Neutral Milk Hotel
- The Posies
- Refused
- Shudder To Think
- Smoking Popes
- Toad The Wet Sprocket
- The Verve
- Weddings Parties Anything
Albums released
- Greatest Hits - 2Pac
- My Love Is Your Love - Whitney Houston
- 5ive - Five
- Spirit - Jewel
- Cruel Summer - Ace of Base
- Flowers - Ace of Base
- A Little South of Sanity - Aerosmith
- Moon Safari - Air
- Kiss the Sky - Tatyana Ali
- Look Forward to Failure - The Ataris
- No Substance - Bad Religion
- Stunt - Barenaked Ladies
- Hello Nasty - Beastie Boys
- Mutations - Beck
- How Does Your Garden Grow? - Better Than Ezra
- Heated - Big Sugar
- Birmingham Road - Jeff Black
- Reunion - Black Sabbath
- Nightfall in Middle-Earth - Blind Guardian
- Str8 Outta Northcote - Blood Duster
- The Answers - Blue October
- Mercenary - Bolt Thrower
- Revolutíon - Boukman Eksperyans
- Tie One On - The Bouncing Souls (Live EP)
- Frame and Canvas - Braid
- Never Say Never - Brandy
- Smitten - Buffalo Tom
- Prolonging the Magic - Cake
- Gallery of Suicide - Cannibal Corpse
- Boggy Depot - Jerry Cantrell
- Believe - Cher
- Pilgrim - Eric Clapton
- The Last Wave of Summer - Cold Chisel
- Hits - Phil Collins
- All I Ask Of You - Barbara Cook
- #1´s - Mariah Carey
- Keasbey Nights - Catch 22
- Cruelty and the Beast - Cradle of Filth
- IV - Cypress Hill
- Le Rêve Oriental - Dalida (Remix album)
- Before These Crowded Streets - Dave Matthews Band
- Sound of Perseverance - Death
- The Chemical Wedding - Bruce Dickinson
- Who Got the Gravy - Digital Underground
- Godless Savage Garden - Dimmu Borgir
- These Are Special Times - Céline Dion
- S'il suffisait d'aimer - Céline Dion
- Gamelan - Ebiet G. Ade
- The Devil You Know - Econoline Crush
- Vain Glory Opera - Edguy
- Electro-Shock Blues - Eels
- This Time It's Love - Kurt Elling
- Time to Destination - Every Little Thing
- All the Pain Money Can Buy - Fastball
- You've Come a Long Way, Baby - Fatboy Slim
- Lazy Highways - The Fauves
- Obsolete - Fear Factory
- Catgut Ya' Tongue? - FourPlay Electric String Quartet
- Night of the Living Drag Queens - Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13
- How to Measure a Planet? - The Gathering
- Slide - Lisa Germano
- Rant And Roar - Great Big Sea (USA release)
- Legacy of Kings - Hammerfall
- Haunted, The - Haunted, The
- Better Than Raw - Helloween
- Faith - Faith Hill
- The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill
- Celebrity Skin - Hole
- Musical Chairs - Hootie & the Blowfish
- Swingin' Stampede - Hot Club of Cowtown
- Something Wicked This Way Comes - Iced Earth
- Things We Do - Indigenous
- Virtual XI - Iron Maiden
- Jerky Boys 4 - The Jerky Boys
- Live Meltdown - Judas Priest
- Walking Distance - Robert Earl Keen
- Tape Head - King's X
- Psycho Circus - KISS
- Follow The Leader - KoЯn
- 5 - Lenny Kravitz
- Wander This World - Jonny Lang
- Merry Christmas...Have A Nice Life - Cyndi Lauper
- Pack Up the Cats - Local H
- Ray of Light - Madonna
- Mechanical Animals - Marilyn Manson
- Samba belogo motylka - Valeriy Meladze
- Garage Inc. - Metallica
- Live from the Middle East - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
- The Boy Is Mine - Monica
- Powertrip - Monster Magnet
- Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie - Alanis Morissette
- Black Star - Mos Def and Talib Kweli
- Snake Bite Love - Motörhead
- The Last Dog and Pony Show - Bob Mould
- In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
- Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too - New Radicals
- Step Up to the Microphone - Newsboys
- The Best of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- Payton's Place - Nicholas Payton
- Oceanborn - Nightwish
- Moment of Truth - GangStarr
- Americana - The Offspring
- My Arms, Your Hearse - Opeth
- Candyass - Orgy
- Aquemini - Outkast
- Walking Into Clarksdale - Page and Plant
- Live on Two Legs - Pearl Jam
- Yield - Pearl Jam
- It's Hard to Find a Friend - Pedro the Lion
- Is This Desire? - PJ Harvey
- *NSYNC - 'N Sync
- whitechocolatespaceegg - Liz Phair
- Milkman - Phranc
- Without You I'm Nothing - Placebo
- Quad (No. 2) - Quad (a Gary Ramon solo project)
- Life Won't Wait - Rancid
- Live & Rare - Reagan Youth
- Greatest Hits 1984-1987 - Reggie and the Full Effect
- All Work and No Play (Demo CD) - Relient K
- Symphony of Enchanted Lands - Rhapsody
- RFTC - Rocket From the Crypt
- The Rivalry - Running Wild
- Different Stages - Rush (live)
- Love Deluxe - Sade
- Crystal Planet - Joe Satriani
- ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? - Shakira
- Kreol - Simbi
- Hey You, I Love Your Soul - Skillet
- The Question - The Slackers
- Mata Hati Reformasi - Slank
- Diabolus in Musica - Slayer
- Navy Blues - Sloan
- Adore - The Smashing Pumpkins
- Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told - Snoop Dogg
- El Oso - Soul Coughing
- Elmopalooza - soundtrack
- Darkest Days - Stabbing Westward
- Destiny - Stratovarius
- Twisted By Design - Strung Out
- The Three Pyramids Club - Suggs
- Still in the Game - Keith Sweat
- Twilight in Olympus - Symphony X
- System of Down - System of a Down
- Aégis - Theatre of Tragedy
- Semi-Detached - Therapy?
- Vovin - Therion
- Severe Tire Damage - They Might Be Giants
- Apocalypse Dudes - Turbonegro
- Mouneissa - Rokia Traoré
- Van Halen III - Van Halen
- Kangna - X.L.N.C
- Hellbilly Deluxe - Rob Zombie
- Six - Mansun
- The Devil's Bris - Voltaire
- Stigmata - Arch Enemy
Top hits
- "Are You That Somebody?" - Aaliyah featuring Timbaland
- "...Baby One More Time" - Britney Spears
- "The Boy Is Mine" - Brandy and Monica
- "Hands" - Jewel This song was later remixed and became known as the anthem for September 11
- "The First Night" - Monica
- "Doo Wop (That Thing)" - Lauryn Hill
- "Diva" - Dana International
- "Never Ever" - All Saints
- "My Heart Will Go On" - Céline Dion
- "I'm Your Angel" - Céline Dion & R. Kelly
- "Frozen" - Madonna
- "Cruel Summer" - Ace of Base
- "Tubthumping" - Chumbawamba
- "Crush" - Jennifer Paige
- "The Dope Show"-Marilyn Manson
- "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" - Green Day
- "Turn the Page" - Metallica
- "Whiskey in the Jar" - Metallica
- "My Own Worst Enemy" - Lit
- "Ray of Light" - Madonna
- "Iris" - Goo Goo Dolls
- "All I Want" - The Offspring
- "Goodbye" - Spice Girls
- "No Ordinary Love" - Sade
- "Quand s'arrêtent les violons" - Dalida (Remix)
- "Flamenco 'Oriental'" - Dalida (Remix)
- "T'es fier de toi?" - Dalida (Remix)
- "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" - Aerosmith
- "Thank U" - Alanis Morissette
- "The Way" - Fastball
- "My Hero" - Foo Fighters
- "The Power of Good-Bye" - Madonna
- "You're Still the One" - Shania Twain
- "Torn" - Natalie Imbruglia
- "Badfish" - Sublime
- "Uninvited" - Alanis Morissette
- "When the Lights Go Out" - Five
- "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" - Will Smith
- "Together Again" - Janet Jackson
- "My All" - Mariah Carey
See also: Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1998
Top 10 selling albums of the year
- Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
- The Offspring - Americana
- Cher - Believe
- Jay-Z - Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life
- Shania Twain - Come On Over
- Monica - The Boy Is Mine
- Madonna - Ray of Light
- Brandy - Never Say Never
- R. Kelly - R.
- Mya - Mya
Classical music
- Leonardo Balada - Folk Dreams (Three Pieces for Orchestra)
- Osvaldas Balakauskas - Symphony No. 4
- Louis Andriessen - Writing to Vermeer
- John Barry - The Beyondness of Things
- George Crumb - Mundus Canis (A Dog's World) for guitar and percussion
- Mario Davidovsky - String Quartet No. 5
- Ludovico Einaudi - Arie
- Jake Heggie - Sophie's Song
- Gordon McPherson - Miami
- Zbigniew Preisner - Requiem for my Friend
- Einojuhani Rautavaara - Piano Concerto No. 3 Gift of Dreams
- Juan Maria Solare - Spaghettisssimo
- Morton Subotnick - Echoes from the Silent Call of Girona
Opera
- Mark Adamo - Little Women
- Christopher Butterfield - Zurich 1916
- Philip Glass - White Raven
Musical theater
- The Boy from Oz, Sydney production opened on March 5
- Cabaret (Kander and Ebb) - Broadway revival
- Footloose Broadway production
- Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Stephen Trask) - off-Broadway production
- High Society Broadway production
- Ragtime Broadway production
- The Sound of Music (Rodgers & Hammerstein) - Broadway revival
Births
Deaths
- January 4 - Mae Questel, (89), US singer and actress, the voice of Betty Boop
- January 5 - Sonny Bono, singer, songwriter, etc, 53
- January 8 - Michael Tippett, composer (born 1905)
- January 11 - Klaus Tennstedt, conductor, 71
- January 15 - Junior Wells, harmonica player, 64
- January 19 - Carl Perkins, complications following a series of strokes
- February 3 - Fat Pat, American rapper
- February 6 - Carl Wilson, The Beach Boys, lung cancer
- February 6 - Falco, rock star, car accident
- February 13 - Buddy Lee, respiratory failure while undergoing treatment for lung cancer
- February 17 - Bob Merrill, US songwriter, suicide
- February 19 - Grandpa Jones, star of Hee-Haw, comedian and musician
- February 25 - Rockin' Sidney, soul musician, 59
- February 28 - Todd Duncan, first Porgy in Porgy and Bess, age 95
- April 17 - Linda McCartney, Wings, breast cancer, 56
- March 12 - Judge Dread, ska and reggae performer (died on stage)
- April 1 - Rozz Williams, founder of Christian Death, suicide; hanging
- April 5 - Cozy Powell, drummer for Rainbow and Black Sabbath, car accident
- April 6 - Tammy Wynette, country singer, 55
- April 7 - Wendy O. Williams, The Plasmatics, suicide
- April 9 - Tom Cora, cellist and composer, 44
- April 11 - Lillian Briggs (64), US singer and trombonist (of lung cancer)
- May 2 - Hideto Matsumoto, Japanese musician , 33
- May 7 - Eddie Rabbitt, country singer, 56 (of lung cancer)
- May 9 - Alice Faye, actress and singer, 83
- May 14 - Frank Sinatra
- June 10 - Steve Sanders, 45, formerly of the Oak Ridge Boys (from 1987-1996, replaced and succeeded by William Lee Golden); suicide.
- June 25 - Lounès Matoub; assassinated.
- July 6 - Roy Rogers, 86, US actor, singer and King of the Cowboys
- July 23 - André Gertler, violinist
- July 29 - Jerome Robbins, choreographer, 79
- August 3 - Alfred Schnittke, composer
- August 29 - Charlie Feathers, country blues musician
- October 14 - Frankie Yankovic, America's "Polka King"
Awards
- The following artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas and the Papas, Lloyd Price, Santana and Gene Vincent
- Inductees of the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame include Andrae Crouch, The Imperials, The Jordanaires and The LeFevres
Grammy Awards
Country Music Association Awards
Eurovision Song Contest
Mercury Music Prize
- Bring It On - Gomez wins.
Charts
KROQ
- KROQ Top 106.7 Countdown of 1998
Triple J Hottest 100
External Charts
Categories
1998 in music
