See also:
1987 in music,
other events of 1988,
1989 in music, 1980s in music and the list of 'years in music'
Events
- Peter Ruzicka becomes director of the Hamburg State Opera and State Philharmonic Orchestra.
- January – Broadcast of the Cinemax television special Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night, recorded on September 30, 1987 at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, California.
- February 13 - Michael Jackson purchases a ranch in Santa Ynez, California. He calls his new home "Neverland".
- February 16 - Billy Vera receives a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame
- February 17 - A 12-year old Mötley Crüe fan in Florida is badly burned while trying to imitate a stunt in the band's "Live Wire" music video. The boy suffered burns over ten percent of his body. Mötley Crüe issued a statement saying the band's stunts should not be tried at home.
- February 24 - Alice Cooper announces that he is going to run for Governor of Arizona.
- March 10 - During a concert in Perth, Western Australia, George Michael thanks Tipper Gore, head of the Parents Music Resource Center, for helping the sales of his Faith album.
- March 12 - Record producer Jimmy Iovine presents the Special Olympics with a donation of $5 million, which was raised with the release of the A Very Special Christmas album.
- April to July - Suicidal Tendencies records How Will I Laugh Tomorrow If I Can't Even Smile Today?, which will be a blockbuster album on September 13
- March 13 - The 77s, House of Freaks and the Alarm perform at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, California. Neil Young is in attendance.
- April 19 - Former rock and roll singer Sonny Bono is inaugurated as the Mayor of Palm Springs, California
- May 1 - Citing the 1st Amendment, a judge drops all charges filed against singer Billy Joel. Joel was being sued by Jack Powers for defamation following an interview with Playboy magazine in which he called Powers a "creep".
- July 1 - Quartetto Cetra's last concert.
- August 28 - While traveling down the Ventura Freeway in Southern California, the motor home carrying the Charlie Daniels band bursts into flames. Daniels and his band members escape without injury.
- October 10 - Acid House: Genesis'88 stage their first illegal Acid House Party in UK
- November - The "Guess The Eddies" contest begins, inviting people to guess the identities of the six members of the rock band The Swirling Eddies.
- Compact discs outsell vinyl records for the first time.
- "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" experiences a surge in popularity sparked by television commercials featuring claymation raisin figures dancing to the song. The California Raisins version of the song peaks at No. 84 on Billboard's Hot 100.
- December 4 - singer Roy Orbison gives his last concert in Akron, Ohio.
- December 31 - Acid House: Genesis & Sunrise/Back to the Future stage the biggest Acid Party in the world in a warehouse in Hackney, UK (5,000 people)
Albums released
Top hits
Top Hits
"Love Bites"-
Def Leppard
"Pour Some Sugar On Me"-
Def Leppard
Births
- January 14 - Jordy, French singer
- January 14 - Mikalah Gordon, American Idol contestant
- January 15 - Sonny Moore, American rock singer
- January 25 - Yasmien Kurdi, Fillipina pop singer
- February 7 - Ai Kago, Japanese pop singer
- February 20 - Rihanna, Barbadian pop singer
- February 23 - Ashley Cooper, New Zealand pop singer
- February 27 - JD Natasha, American latin music artist
- February 29 - Milly Edwards, Australian Idol contestant
- March 2 - Nadine Samonte, German pop singer
- March 6 - Agnes Carlsson, Swedish pop singer
- April 6 - Raymond David Henriksen, Norwegian singer
- April 24 - Natalie Zahra, Australian Idol contestant
- April 25 - Sara Paxton, American singer/actress
- May 2 - Guilherme Rodrigues, Portuguese jazz musician
- May 2 - Brooke Hogan, American pop singer
- May 5 - Skye Sweetnam, Canadian pop singer
- May 13 - Casey Donovan, Australian Idol winner
- May 24 - Billy Gilman, American country singer
- June 1 - Nami Tamaki, Japanese singer
- June 6 - Neha Kakkar, Indian pop singer
- June 12 - Dave Melillo, American singer-songwriter
- June 16 - Keshia Chante, Canadian urban singer
- June 19 - Magdalena Diaków, Polish pop singer
- June 29 - Martina Šindlerová, Slovak pop singer
- July 2 - Amali Ward, Australian Idol contestant
- July 7 - Kaci Brown, American pop/R&B singer
- July 12 - Melissa O'Neil, Canadian Idol winner
- July 25 - Sarah Geronimo, Fillipina pop singer
- August 2 - Brittany Hargest, American pop singer
- August 14 - Shahd Barmada, Arabian Idol contestant
- August 23 - Niki Leinso, Croatian singer and songwriter
- August 27 - Alexa Vega, American pop singer
- August 31 - Megan McCauley, American pop singer
- September 16 - Teddy Geiger, American singer-songwriter
- September 22 - Bethany Dillon, American Christian music artist
- October 4 - Jessica Benson, American R&B singer
- October 11 - Knut Eirik Kokkin, Norwegian singer
- October 20 - Risa Niigaki, Japanese pop singer
- October 23 - Caleigh Peters, American pop singer
- October 24 - Cory Bold, American hip hop musician
- November 10 - Chisaki Hama, Japanese singer
- November 28 - Scarlett Pomers, American singer/actress
- December 19 - Paulina Gretzky, American pop singer
- December 23 - Eri Kamei, Japanese pop singer
- December 30 - James Hall, British singer-songwriter
Deaths
- January 19 - Evgeny Mravinsky, conductor
- February 14 - Frederic Loewe, composer of musicals
- February 27 - Gene De Paul, US pianist and composer
- March 6 - Jeanne Aubert, singer
- March 7 - Divine, singer
- March 8 - Henryk Szeryng, violinist
- March 10 - Andy Gibb, singer
- April 9 - Brook Benton, complications of spinal meningitis.
- April 9 - Dave Prater, of Sam & Dave, car accident
- April 29 - James McCracken, tenor
- May 1 - Claude Demetrius, songwriter
- May 10 - Ciaran Bourke, The Dubliners
- May 13 - Chet Baker, jazz musician
- May 21 - Sammy Davis, Sr, vaudeville performer
- May 22 - Dennis Day, US singer
- June 25, Hillel Slovak, Red Hot Chili Peppers, guitarist
- July 2 - Eddie Vinson, jazz/blues musician
- August 8 - Félix Leclerc, folk singer
- August 9 - Giacinto Scelsi, composer
- October 7 - Billy Daniels, US singer
- October 18 - Sir Frederick Ashton, dancer and choreographer
- October 19, Son House, blues musician
- November 11 - William Ifor Jones, conductor
- November 13 - Antal Doráti, conductor
- November 26 - Antonio Estévez, composer
- December 2 - Tata Giacobetti, Italian singer and lyricist (Quartetto Cetra)
- December 6, Roy Orbison, singer
- December 20, Gaybreil Carson, model.singer/actor
Awards
Charts
External links
1988 in music
1988 en musique | 1988 - muzyka | 1988 в музыке | Musikåret 1988