Table of contents

1 Events 2 Albums released 3 Top hits 4 Published popular music 5 Musical theater 6 Musical films 7 Births 8 Deaths 9 Awards

Events

• January 14 - Paul McCartney releases Back in the U.S.S.R exclusively in Russia. Bootleg copies sell for as much as $1,000 in the United States
• January 23 - James Brown is sentenced in Georgia to 6 years in jail in connection with a police chase through two different states
• January - Phil Keaggy and Randy Stonehill form the "Keaggy/Stonehill Band" for a one time tour that pays tribute to 1960s artists like The Beatles. Tim Chandler plays bass for the band and David Raven plays drums.
• February 12 - Tiny Tim launches an unsuccessful campaign to be the mayor of New York City.
• February - Roy Orbison joins Elvis Presley as the only singers to ever simultaneously have two Top 5 albums on the Billboard Charts
• February 17 - Whitesnake's David Coverdale marries Tawny Kitaen
• March 6 - Smokey Robinson's autobiography Inside My Life is published
• April - Three young men attempt to mug record producer and author Reed Arvin. Reed, being a rather large man, was able to go home with his money. The three young men were forced to return to their homes empty handed and nursing a few bruises.
• April 9 - The Rolling Stones' Bill Wyman announces that he's getting married to 19 year old Mandy Smith, whom he has dated for 6 years
• April 28 - Jon Bon Jovi marries his high school sweetheart Dorothea Hurley at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada
• May 1 - California jewelry store employees call the police reporting a suspicious person hanging around their store. The person turned out to be Michael Jackson shopping in disguise
• Summer - L7 sign a a contract with Sub Pop Records
• LL Cool J is booed offstage at the Apollo Theater
• Guttermouth forms
• Marilyn Manson forms
• The Chemical Brothers form
• Firehouse forms
• The Sweet Children change their name to Green Day, add drummer Al Sobrante and release the EP 1,000 Hours, their debut recording
• Monster Magnet forms
• The Plasmatics reunite
• Orbital releases their first recording, "Chime", which had premiered on Jackin' Zone the previous year

• Stay on These Roads - A-Ha
• Self-Titled - After 7 (debut)
• Allroy's Revenge - ALL
• Penikufesin EP - Anthrax
• State Of Euphoria - Anthrax
• Y Kant Tori Read - Tori Amos (debut)
• Quickness - Bad Brains
• No Control - Bad Religion
• Paul's Boutique - The Beastie Boys
• Surprise - Better Than Ezra (debut)
• Headless Cross - Black Sabbath
• New Jeresy - Bon Jovi
• Killin' Time - Clint Black
• Heart Shaped World - Jackson Browne
• Dig - Bill Bruford
• Key Lime Pie - Camper Van Beethoven
• Vanity/Nemesis - Celtic Frost
• Journeyman - Eric Clapton
• Steady On - Shawn Colvin
• Spike - Elvis Costello
• Christ: The Bootleg - Crass
  • Recorded live in Nottingham in 1984
• Best Wishes - Cro-Mags
• Sonic Temple - The Cult
• Thrash Zone - D.R.I
• Lucifuge - Danzig
• Just Like Heaven - Dinosaur Jr
• Money for Nothing - Dire Straits
• 3 Feet High and Rising - De La Soul
• Big Thing - Duran Duran
• Oh Mercy - Bob Dylan
• Copperhead Road - Steve Earle
• The Raw and the Cooked - Fine Young Cannibals
• Margin Walker - Fugazi
• 13 Songs - Fugazi
• Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ - Peter Gabriel
  • This album is regarded as a landmark in the popularization of world music
• ...Twice Shy - Great White
• 1,000 Hours - Green Day
• G.N.R. Lies - Guns 'n Roses
• Healer - John Lee Hooker
• Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son - Iron Maiden
• Heart Shaped World - Chris Isaak
• Rhythm Nation 1814 - Janet Jackson
• Nothing's Shocking - Jane's Addiction
• Rock Island - Jethro Tull
• Sleeping with the Past - Elton John
• Greatest Hits (1977-1987) - Journey
• Ram It Down - Judas Priest
• Night of Rage - Kraut
• Let Love Rule - Lenny Kravitz (debut)
• The Death of a Dictionary - Live (debut)
• Powertrip - Ludichrist (final album)
• Like a Prayer - Madonna
• Odyssey - Yngwie J. Malmsteen
• Ozma - Melvins
• Girl You Know It's True - Milli Vanilli (US release)
• The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste - Ministry
• Shine - Mother Love Bone (debut EP)
• Dr. Feelgood - Mötley Crüe
• Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A
• Yellow Moon - The Neville Brothers
• Pretty Hate Machine - Nine Inch Nails (debut)
• Bleach - Nirvana (debut)
• S&M Airlines - NOFX
• Self-Titled - The Offspring (debut)
• No Rest for the Wicked - Ozzy Osbourne (first album with Zakk Wylde)
• Nick of Time - Bonnie Raitt
• New York - Lou Reed
• Presto - Rush
• Mystery Girl - Roy Orbison
• Word from the Wise - Pennywise (final EP)
• Doolittle - Pixies
• Record Collectors - Poison Idea
• Suck on This - Primus (live debut)
• Batman - Prince
• Lovesexy - Prince
• Fight The Power...Live - Public Enemy
• It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - Public Enemy
• All Hail the Queen - Queen Latifah (debut)
• Mother's Milk - Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Self-Titled - Samiam (debut)
• Early Music - Santana
• Better Than a Stick in the Eye - SNFU
• Flying in a Blue Dream - Joe Satriani
• Blood, Sweat & No Tears - Sick of it All
• Prison Bound - Social Distortion
• Calm Dip And The Other Delights - Soul Asylum
• Hang Time - Soul Asylum
• In Step - Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble (final album)
• The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
• Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week - Björk & The Sugarcubes
• Controlled By Hatred/Feel Like Shit...Déjà Vu - Suicidal Tendencies
• Full Moon Fever - Tom Petty
• Liberation - Bunny Wailer
• Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich - Warrant
• Prime 5 - Ween
• Freedom - Neil Young

• "All She Wants Is" - Duran Duran
• "Another Day in Paradise" - Phil Collins
• "Batdance" - Prince
• "Blame It on the Rain" - Milli Vanilli
• "Buffalo Stance" - Neneh Cherry
• "Cartoon" - Soul Asylum
• "Do You Believe In Shame?" - Duran Duran
• "Dr. Feelgood" - Mötley Crüe
• "Eyes Of A Stranger" - Queensryche
• "Heavy Metal" - Judas Priest
• "If I Could Turn Back Time" - Cher
• "Kickstart My Heart" - Mötley Crüe
• "Killin' Time" - Clint Black
• "Like a Prayer" - Madonna
• "Lost in Your Eyes" - Debbie Gibson
• "Love Shack"- The B-52's
• "Miss You Much" - Janet Jackson
• "Monsters Of Rock" - Judas Priest
• "Open Letter (To A Landlord)" - Living Colour
• "Right Here Waiting" - Richard Marx
• "She Drives Me Crazy" - Fine Young Cannibals
• "Sometime To Return" - Soul Asylum
• "Straight Up" - Paula Abdul
• "Veronica" - Elvis Costello
• "When I See You Smile" - Bad English
• "We Didn't Start The Fire" - Billy Joel
• "You Got It" - Roy Orbison

• Aspects of Love     London production
• City of Angels     Broadway production
• Grand Hotel     Broadway production
• Gypsy     Broadway revival
• Meet Me in St. Louis     Broadway production
• Miss Saigon     London production
• Pacific Overtures     London production
• Welcome to the Club     Broadway production

• The Little Mermaid     animated feature film

• August 14? - Lil' Romeo

• November 5 - Vladimir Horowitz, pianist