1987 in music
See also:
1986 in music,
other events of 1987,
1988 in music, 1980s in music and the list of 'years in music'
Events
- January 3 - Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- January 16 - The Beastie Boys become the first act to be censored by American Bandstand.
- January - Steve "Silk" Hurley's innovative "Jack Your Body" becomes the first house music record to top the UK singles chart.
- February 6 - Sonny Bono announces his candidacy for mayor of Palm Springs, California
- February 14–March 7 - Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" is the #1 song. It would be 1987's Biggest hit song.
- March 7 - The first five Beatles albums, Please Please Me, With the Beatles, A Hard Day's Night, Beatles for Sale and Help! are released on Compact disc. Capitol Records decides to release the original UK mixes of the Beatles albums, which means that the first four CDs are released in mono. This marks the first time that many of these mono mixes were available in the US.
- March 9 - Carole King is inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City
- March 13 - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
- March 13 - In the US, Bryan Adams "Heat of the Night" becomes the first single to be commercially released on cassette. Cassette singles become known as cassingles.
- March 27 - Inspired by The Beatles' 1969 rooftop concert, U2 shoots a music video for the song "Where the Streets Have No Name" on a rooftop in Los Angeles, California.
- April 23 - Carole King sues the owner of her record company, Lou Adler, claiming that she is owed more than $400,000 in royalties. King also asks for rights to her old recordings.
- October 12 - Twisted Sister breaks up
- October - electronic data gathering completely replaces the old sales diary technique in compiling the UK singles and albums chart.
- October 19 - Mötley Crüe release the song "You're All I Need" as a single. Its lyrics cause MTV to refuse to play its video. Radio stations never play the song either.
- November 13 - Sonny and Cher reunite for a performance on Late Night with David Letterman.
Albums released
Top hits on record
Published popular music
- "Children Will Listen" w.m. Stephen Sondheim
- "The Time Of My Life" w.m. Franke Previte, Donald Markowitz & John DeNicola
Births
Deaths
Awards
- The following artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The Coasters, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley, B. B. King, Clyde McPhatter, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Smokey Robinson, Big Joe Turner, Muddy Waters, and Jackie Wilson
