1997 in music
See also: 1996 in music, other events of 1997, 1998 in music, 1990s in music and the list of 'years in music'
Events
- January 10 - James Brown receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
- February 10 - 52 year old Brian Connolly of Sweet dies of kidney failure in England.
- January 20 - Ben and Jerry's introduce "Phish food", a new flavor of ice cream named after the rock group Phish. The ingredients are chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, caramel and fish-shaped fudge
- February 2 - Rich Mullins' musical The Canticle of the Plains premieres in Wichita, Kansas.
- February 13 - Michael Jackson's first son is born.
- March 9 - The Notorious B.I.G. is shot to death while sitting in the passenger seat of a car after a Soul Train Awards party
- March 11 - Paul McCartney is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
- April 2 - Joni Mitchell is reunited with the daughter that she gave up for adoption 32 years ago, Kilauren Gibb.
- September 19 - While on his way to a benefit concert in Kansas, Rich Mullins loses control of his jeep, flipping the automobile and throwing both Mullins and passenger Mitch McVicker out onto the road. A tractor trailor approaching the scene swerves to miss McVicker, striking and killing Mullins instantly. McVicker survives, but suffered major injuries.
- Orgy's musical career begins
- The Shins are formed.
- Dinosaur Jr. disbanded
- Gin Blossoms disbanded
- Soundgarden disbanded
- The Memorex, Maxell, and TDK company introduce Blank recordable CDs
- God Ate My Homework formed as one of the first bands to offer their music in MP3 format.
Albums released
- Nine Lives - Aerosmith
- Anywhere But Here - The Ataris
- The Gray Race - Bad Religion
- Tested - Bad Religion
- Surf-N-Burn - The Blue Stingrays
- Straight on Till Morning - Blues Traveler
- Boston: Greatest Hits - Boston
- Body Language - Jonathan Cain
- Coal Chamber - Coal Chamber
- Around The Fur - Deftones
- Titanic - Celine Dion
- Something Wild - Children of Bodom
- Around The Fur - Deftones
- Serpents of the Light - Deicide
- Accident of Birth - Bruce Dickinson
- Enthrone Darkness Triumphant - Dimmu Borgir
- Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk - Emperor
- Album Of The Year - Faith No More
- Somewhere Out in Space - Gamma Ray
- Nighttime Birds - The Gathering
- God Street Wine - God Street Wine
- Nimrod - Green Day
- Glory to the Brave - Hammerfall
- Middle Of Nowhere - Hanson
- Aftertaste - Helmet
- The First Session - Hole
- Days of Purgatory - Iced Earth
- Whoracle - In Flames
- National Steel - Colin James
- Jerky Boys 4 - Jerky Boys
- Jugulator - Judas Priest
- Euphoria - Leftover Salmon
- Three Dollar Bill Y'all - Limp Bizkit
- Marcy Playground - Marcy Playground
- Cryptic Writings - Megadeth
- Honky - Melvins
- Reload - Metallica
- Formulas Fatal to the Flesh - Morbid Angel
- Life In General - MxPx
- Nerf Herder - Nerf Herder
- The Boatman's Call - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- Angels Fall First - Nightwish
- Back From the Dead - Obituary
- Ixnay On The Hombre - The Offspring
- Billy Breathes - Phish
- Slip Stich And Pass - Phish
- Portishead - Portishead
- II - Presidents of the United States of America
- Brown Album - Primus
- OK Computer - Radiohead
- Legendary Tales - Rhapsody
- The Wake of Magellan - Savatage
- Unleash the Beast - Saxon
- Built To Last - Sick of it All
- Lake of Sorrow - Sins of Thy Beloved
- Men In Black - Soundtrack
- Spiceworld - The Spice Girls
- Dots and Loops - Stereolab
- Visions - Stratovarius
- It Doesn't Matter Anymore - The Supernaturals
- Come On Over - Shania Twain
- Amrep Christmas - Unsane
- Pop - U2
- Fire Garden - Steve Vai
- Urban Hymns - The Verve
- The Mollusk - Ween
- Bombs & Butterflies - Widespread Panic
- Enter - Within Temptation
Top hits
- "The Difference" - The Wallflowers
- "Forty Six & 2" - Tool
- "A Long December" - Counting Crows
- "Magdalene" - Lenny Kravitz
- "My Heart Will Go On" - Celine Dion
- "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
- "Volcano" - Presidents of the United States of America
- "You Were Meant For Me" - Jewel
- "All By Myself" - Celine Dion
- "MmmBop" - Hanson
- "Wannabe" - The Spice Girls
See also: Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1997
- 1776, Broadway revival
- Annie, Broadway revival
- Candide, Broadway revival
- Life, Broadway production
- The Lion King, Broadway production
- Jekyll & Hyde, Broadway production
- Scarlet Pimpernel, Broadway production
- Titanic, Broadway production
Births
Deaths
- January 21 - Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager
- January 22 - Richard Berry, songwriter (Louie, Louie)
- February 10 - Brian Connolly, Sweet, kidney failure
- March 9 - The Notorious B.I.G.
- March 24 - Kenny Moore, Keyboardist for Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Billy Preston and others
- April 9 - Laura Nyro, songwriter, ovarian cancer
- May 29 - Jeff Buckley, accidental drowning
- August 10 - Conlon Nancarrow, composer
- September - Derek Taylor, Press agent for The Beatles
- September 19 - Rich Mullins, singer, car accident
- October 12 - John Denver
Awards
- The following artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The (Young) Rascals, The Bee Gees, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Jackson Five, Joni Mitchell and Parliament-Funkadelic
- Inductees of the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame include Gloria Gaither, and Billy Ray Hearn (founder of Myrrh Records
Grammy Awards
Country Music Association Awards
- New Forms - Roni Size/Reprazent wins.