1998 in music
See also: 1997 in music, other events of 1998, 1999 in music, 1990s in music and the list of 'years in music'
Table of 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 RTmark 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
- March 13 – The Smashing Pumpkins file a $1 million lawsuit against U.K.-based Sound And Media Ltd., alleging that the company released a book and CD about the band without proper clearances.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
Albums Released
- Cruel Summer – Ace of Base
- Flowers – Ace of Base
- A Little South of Sanity – Aerosmith
- Moon Safari – Air
- Look Forward For Failure – The Ataris
- Stunt – Barenaked Ladies
- Mutations – Beck
- How Does Your Garden Grow? – Better Than Ezra
- Heated – Big Sugar
- Reunion – Black Sabbath
- Nightfall in Middle-Earth – Blind Guardian
- Prolonging the Magic – Cake
- Gallery of Suicide – Cannibal Corpse
- Boggy Depot – Jerry Cantrell
- Believe – Cher
- Pilgrim – Eric Clapton
- Hits – Phil Collins
- All I Ask Of You – Barbara Cook
- 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
- D'Eux – Céline Dion
- Les Chansons en Or – Céline Dion
- The Devil You Know – Econoline Crush
- Vain Glory Opera – Edguy
- This Time It's Love – Kurt Elling
- Obsolete – Fear Factory
- How to Measure a Planet? – The Gathering
- Legacy of Kings – Hammerfall
- Better Than Raw – Helloween
- Faith – Faith Hill
- The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill – Lauryn Hill
- Celebrity Skin – Hole
- Something Wicked This Way Comes – Iced Earth
- Things We Do – Indigenous
- Jerky Boys 4 – The Jerky Boys
- Live Meltdown – Judas Priest
- Tape Head – King's X
- Follow The Leader – Korn
- 5 – Lenny Kravitz
- Pack Up the Cats – Local H
- Powertrip – Monster Magnet
- Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie – Alanis Morissette
- In the Aeroplane Over the Sea – Neutral Milk Hotel
- The Best of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- Oceanborn – Nightwish
- Americana – The Offspring
- Candyass – Orgy
- Walking Into Clarksdale – Page and Plant
- Live On Two Legs – Pearl Jam
- Yield – Pearl Jam
- Milkman – Phranc
- Quad (№ 2) – Quad (a Gary Ramon solo project)
- Life Won't Wait – Rancid
- Greatest Hits 1984–1987 – Reggie and the Full Effect
- Symphony of Enchanted Lands – Rhapsody
- The Rivalry – Running Wild
- Different Stages – Rush (live)
- ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? – Shakira
- The Question – The Slackers
- Diabolis in Musica – Slayer
- Mechanical Animals – Marilyn Manson
- Navy Blues – Sloan
- Fush Yu Mang – Smash Mouth
- Adore – The Smashing Pumpkins
- El Oso – Soul Coughing
- Destiny – Stratovarius
- Twilight in Olympus – Symphony X
- Aegis – Theatre of Tragedy
- Vovin – Therion
- Severe Tire Damage – They Might Be Giants
- Hellbilly Deluxe – Rob Zombie
Top Hits
- "My Heart Will Go On" – Céline Dion
- "Cruel Summer" – Ace of Base
- "Tubthumping" – Chumbawamba
- "Crush" – Jennifer Paige
- "The Dope Show"-Marilyn Manson
- "Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)" – Green Day
- "My Own Worst Enemy" – Lit
- "Ray Of Light" – Madonna
- "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" – The Offspring
- "Iris" – Goo Goo Dolls
- "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
- "You're Still The One" – Shania Twain
- "Torn" – Natalie Imbruglia
- "Uninvited" – Alanis Morissette
- " My Name Is " – Eminem
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
- Marilyn Manson – Mechanical Animals
- Shania Twain – Come On Over
- Monica – The Boy Is Mine
- Madonna – The Ray Of Light
- Brandy – Never Say Never
- R. Kelly – R.
- Mya – Mya
Classical music
- Louis Andriessen – Writing to Vermeer
- John Barry – The Beyondness of Things
- Mario Davidovsky – String Quartet No. 5
- Ludovico Einaudi – Arie
- Jake Heggie – Sophie's Song
- Zbigniew Preisner – Requiem for my Friend
- Juan Maria Solare – Spaghettisssimo
Opera
- 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 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
- May 9 – Alice Faye, actress and singer, 83
- March 12 – Judge Dread, ska and reggae performer (died on stage)
- April 5 – Cozy Powell, drummer, car accident
- April 6 – Tammy Wynette, country singer, 55
- April 7 – Wendy O. Williams, The Plasmatics, suicide
- April 17 – Linda McCartney, cancer
- May 14 – Frank Sinatra
- 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
Triple J Hottest 100
Categories: 1998 in music | Years in music