1997 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.
Specific locations
Specific genres
- 1997 in classical music
- 1997 in country music
- 1997 in heavy metal music
- 1997 in hip hop music
- 1997 in jazz
- 1997 in Latin music
- 1997 in progressive rock
Events
January
- January 1 – Townes Van Zandt dies of a cardiac arrhythmia.
- January 6 – Scottish band Texas release first single, "Say What You Want" from their 6× Platinum album "White on Blonde"
- January 7 – The Spice Girls release their debut single, "Wannabe" in the U.S. and premiere the music video eighteen days later.
- January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, with the opening act Placebo. Proceeds from the concert went to the Save the Children fund.
- January 10 – James Brown receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, USA.
- January 17–February 2 – The Big Day Out festival takes place in Australia and New Zealand, headlined by Soundgarden, The Offspring and The Prodigy. Sepultura are originally named in the lineup, but cancel their performance after the departure of former frontman Max Cavalera in December 1996. They are later replaced by Fear Factory.
- January 19 – Madonna wins Best Actress In A Motion Picture, Musical Or Comedy, for her part in Evita, at the 54th annual Golden Globe Awards in the USA.
- January 20 – Daft Punk releases their debut studio album Homework.
- January 28
- * The Virginia Senate votes to retire "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" as the official state song, and begins looking for a replacement.
- * Clive Davis gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
February
- February 2 – Rich Mullins' musical The Canticle of the Plains receives its première in Wichita, Kansas.
- February 3 – Scottish band Texas release their fourth album "White on Blonde"
- February 12 – David Bowie receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, USA.
- February 13
- *Michael Jackson's first son, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., is born.
- *The Spice Girls knock Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart" off the top spot in the US singles chart. They are the first female British group to have a US number one with their debut single.
- February 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 24 – The Spice Girls win Best Video for "Say You'll Be There" and Best Single for "Wannabe" at the BRIT Awards. Geri Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the girls' live performance hogs the headlines the next day.
- February 26 – The 39th Annual Grammy Awards are presented in New York, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. Babyface wins the most awards with four, while Celine Dion's Falling into You wins Album of the Year and Eric Clapton's "Change the World" wins both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. LeAnn Rimes wins Best New Artist.
- February 28 – Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight is sentenced to nine years in prison for violating his probation. He would be released in August 2001.
March
- March 1
- *Pianist David Helfgott performs at the Boston Symphony Hall, in Boston, USA, during his world tour. The Boston Globe describes his performance as "without phrasing, form, harmonic understanding, differentiation of style and often basic accuracy; worst of all, it was without emotional content".
- *The jam band Phish records "Slip Stitch and Pass" live at Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany.
- March 9
- *The Notorious B.I.G. is shot dead while sitting in the passenger seat of a car after a post Soul Train Awards party in Los Angeles, CA.
- *The Spice Girls become the first act in the history of the UK Top 40 singles charts to have four consecutive number one hits with "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are". Profits from the single go to Comic Relief and provide the biggest individual contribution of 1997.
- March 10 – A Marilyn Manson concert in Columbia, South Carolina is canceled in response to pressure from religious and civic groups.
- March 11 – Paul McCartney is knighted by Elizabeth II.
- March 17 – Whirlwind Heat play their first show.
- March 19–20 – The reunited The Monkees perform two sold-out concerts at Wembley Arena in London, UK.
- March 30 – The Spice Girls launch Britain's new television channel, Channel 5.
April
- April 2 – Joni Mitchell is reunited with her daughter, Kilauren Gibb, whom she gave up for adoption 32 years earlier.
- April 7 – Wynton Marsalis becomes the first jazz artist to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
- April 10 – Nigel Kennedy, now calling himself simply Kennedy, returns to the stage at the Royal Festival Hall after a five-year absence from the concert stage resulting from neck surgery.
- April 14 – Creed releases their debut studio album My Own Prison.
- April 15 – Hanson releases "MMMBop", one of the most successful debut singles of all time, reaching number one in 27 countries.
- April 25–27 – The first Terrastock festival is held in Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
May
- May 3
- *5ive's musical career begins after auditions are held in London, UK to find potential band members, with over 3,000 hopefuls showing up to audition.
- *The Spice Girls attend the Cannes Film Festival to announce their plans to hit the big screen with Spiceworld: The Movie. A photo call on top of the Hotel Martinez entrance brings the area to a standstill.
- *At the 42nd Eurovision Song Contest, held in Dublin's Point Theatre, the UK win with "Love Shine a Light", sung by Katrina and the Waves.
- *The Notorious B.I.G.'s single "Hypnotize" is #1 for three weeks.
- May 6 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is held in Cleveland at the site of the hall itself for the first time. Prior to this year, the ceremony had only been held in New York City.
- May 11 – The Spice Girls perform their first British live gig for the Prince's Trust 21st anniversary concert at the Manchester Opera House. They break royal protocol by kissing the Prince of Wales on the cheeks and even pinching his bottom.
- May 15 – The Spice Girls' album Spice reaches number one on the US charts, making them the first British act to top the charts with a debut album.
- May 20 - Foo Fighters release their second studio album The Colour and the Shape.
- May 21 – Radiohead releases OK Computer.
- May 23 – Brainiac frontman Tim Taylor is killed in a car crash at age 29 driving to his Dayton, Ohio home. The band announces they will not continue.
- May 24 – The first Ozzfest tour kicks off at the Nissan Pavilion in Washington, D.C., featuring Pantera and a reconstituted Black Sabbath with three of the four original members.
- May 26 – NSYNC releases their debut album NSYNC.
- May 27 - Kirk Franklin releases his fourth album God’s Property from Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation which spawned the crossover hit single “Stomp”
- May 28 – Japanese pop singer and songwriter Miho Komatsu releases her first and debut song entitled Nazo. It is used as an opening soundtrack in popular hit anime Detective Conan.
June
- June 14 – Puff Daddy and The Family's "I'll Be Missing You" single is #1 on the Hot 100 charts for the next 11 weeks, only to be replaced by The Notorious B.I.G. posthumous single "Mo Money Mo Problems", also featuring Puff Daddy.
- June 24 – Disney-owned Hollywood Records drops Insane Clown Posse from their roster and pulls the album The Great Milenko after only six hours of release, in an attempt to placate the Southern Baptist Church who were threatening to boycott the company for straying from its family-friendly image. The controversy generates tremendous publicity for the band, who soon sign with Island Records.
- June 29 – Missy Elliott releases the single "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" from her debut album Supa Dupa Fly.
July–August
- July 1 – Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to China: Tan Dun's Symphony 1997: Heaven, Earth, Mankind for orchestra, biānzhōng bells, children's chorus and solo cello is premièred as part of the official ceremony.
- July 5 – The first Lilith Fair tour kicks off at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. Sarah McLachlan, Tracy Chapman and Jewel are among the performers.
- July 15–20 – The second Yoyo A Go Go punk and indie rock festival opens in Olympia, Washington.
- August 3 – The Black Crowes perform their last show with Johnny Colt and Marc Ford.
- August 4 – Nigerian afrobeat pioneer and dissident pop star Fela Anikulapo-Kuti dies in Lagos, Nigeria, of HIV-related illness.
- August 7 – Garth Brooks performs to an estimated 800,000 to one million people during a free concert given in Central Park, New York City.
- August 11 – The Backstreet Boys release their second international album, Backstreet's Back.
- August 12 – The Backstreet Boys release their U.S. debut album, Backstreet Boys.
- August 14 – Godspeed You! Black Emperor releases debut album, F♯ A♯ ∞
- August 16–17 – Phish perform at the two-day music festival, The Great Went, at Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine, US. They play 500 minutes of music, six sets and two encores. There is an estimated attendance of between 65,000 and 70,000, and it is the top-grossing concert of the season, making over $4,000,000 in box office receipts.
- August 19 – The reunited Fleetwood Mac begin a concert tour in the United States.
- August 30 – "Mo Money Mo Problems" reaches #1 on the Hot 100 singles chart, making The Notorious B.I.G. the first artist to achieve two posthumous #1 singles.
September–October
- September 6 – Elton John performs "Candle in the Wind" at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales; John Tavener's "Song for Athene" is performed at the same ceremony, with soprano Lynne Dawson singing the solo part.
- September 16
- *After a tumultuous divorce from her first husband, Mariah Carey releases the album Butterfly, which moved her sound in a more hip-hop/R&B direction.
- *Aaliyah releases the single "Hot Like Fire"/"The One I Gave My Heart To".
- September 17 – The KLF return for 23 minutes with their performance of "Fuck the Millennium".
- September 19 – While on his way to a benefit concert in Kansas, USA, Rich Mullins loses control of his Jeep, flipping the automobile and throwing both Mullins and passenger Mitch McVicker out onto the road. A tractor-trailer approaching the scene swerves to miss McVicker, striking and killing Mullins instantly. McVicker survives, but suffers major injuries.
- September 20 – U2 plays at Reggio Emilia during their PopMart Tour to over 150,000 people.
- September 22 – Björk releases Homogenic, moving towards a darker sound and away from her 'pixie' image.
- September 23 – U2 perform a concert in Sarajevo during their PopMart Tour.
- September 27 – Bob Dylan performs for Pope John Paul II at a Catholic youth event in Bologna, Italy.
- September 29
- *The Rolling Stones release Bridges to Babylon.
- *The Verve release Urban Hymns. In a controversial legal dispute, the majority of their royalties and songwriting credit for their single "Bitter Sweet Symphony" go to The Rolling Stones.
- October 7 – Everclear release their multi-platinum third album So Much for the Afterglow, containing "Father of Mine" and "I Will Buy You a New Life".
- October 13 – The "Prince Igor" single, jointly performed by The Rhapsody, Warren G and Sissel Kyrkjebø is released.
- October 15 – Michael Jackson ends the HIStory World Tour, which included an attendance record of 4,500,000 fans, in Durban, South Africa.
- October 22 – Namie Amuro shocks her fans when she announces that she has recently married and is three months pregnant. She subsequently begins a one-year hiatus from the music industry.
- October 23 – R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry announces his departure from the group.
- October 25 – The 26th OTI Festival, held at Plaza Mayor, Lima in Lima, Peru, is won by the song "Se diga lo que se diga", written by Francisco Curiel and Josemanuel Fernández, and performed by Iridián representing Mexico.
November–December
- November 3 – The Spice Girls release Spiceworld, their second number one album, making the group the first British band since The Beatles to have two albums in the US chart at the same time. Spice and Spiceworld have amassed enough sales for one out of every two people in Britain to own a Spice Girls album.
- November 4 – Shania Twain releases her album Come On Over which goes on to sell over 40 million copies worldwide to date and later became the biggest selling album in country music history and the biggest selling album by a female music artist.
- November 6 – The Spice Girls make the decision to take over the running of the group and drop Simon Fuller as their manager.
- November 18 – American indie rock band Modest Mouse release their second full-length album, The Lonesome Crowded West.
- November 19 – Gary Glitter is arrested after images of child pornography are found on a laptop computer that he had taken in for repairs.
- November 22 – INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence is found dead in a Sydney, Australia hotel room, aged 37.
- November 25 – Will Smith releases his debut solo studio album Big Willie Style.
- November 26 – In a performance billed as the "highest" gig on Earth, Spiritualized play in the deck of the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for an audience of 150 people.
- November 27 – Namie Amuro releases her ninth single under Avex Trax, "Dreaming I Was Dreaming."
- December 1 – Aaron Carter bursts onto the music scene at the age of 10 with the release of his debut album Aaron Carter, making him the youngest male artist in the world since Michael Jackson in 1969.
- December 4-5 – Black Sabbath perform a pair of reunion shows in their hometown of Birmingham, England. They are the first full-length concerts by the original lineup of the band since 1978.
- December 10 – Faith Hill and LeAnn Rimes at the Christmas Time with Eddy Arnold.
- December 26 – The Spice Girls release their big screen debut Spiceworld: The Movie, starring Richard E. Grant, Roger Moore, Elton John and Stephen Fry. The movie makes £6.8m in its first week of release.
- December 31
- *The Home of Country Music, the Opryland USA theme park, in Nashville, Tennessee, USA closes and is subsequently demolished.
- *Namie Amuro performs on NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen for the last time before beginning her maternal hiatus.
Also in 1997
- Mikael Åkerfeldt and Peter Lindgren fire Johan De Farfalla from Opeth; then Anders Nordin quits the band. To replace the ex-members, Mike and Pete hire Martin Lopez and Martin Mendez.
- The companies Memorex, Maxell, and TDK introduce blank recordable CDs.
- The first John Lennon Songwriting Contest is held.
- Rob Gommerman leaves Finger Eleven due to extensive touring.
- Derrick Green replaces Max Cavalera in Sepultura.
- Glenn Ljungström and Johan Larsson leave In Flames.
- Big Audio Dynamite's final album Entering a New Ride, which features Ranking Roger from The Beat, gets rejected for release by their record label, so is released independently as one of the first ever well known musical downloads, for free on their website.
Bands formed
- See :Category:Musical groups established in 1997
Bands disbanded
- See :Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1997
Bands reformed
Albums released
- See: :Category:1997 albums
Release date unknown
- Ampendectomy – Resurrection Band
- Alive Alive-O – The Dubliners
- Back Once Again - Hilltop Hoods
- Ball of the Damned – Scanner
- Ball of Fire – The Skatalites
- Chloroform the One You Love – Flickerstick
- Dark Dear Heart – Holly Cole
- Developer – Silkworm
- The Divine Wings of Tragedy – Symphony X
- The Donnas – The Donnas
- English Boy Wonders – Big Big Train
- Entering a New Ride – Big Audio Dynamite
- Erotic Massage – Dog Fashion Disco
- Fallen Is Babylon – Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers
- First Encounter Tour 1996 – Cluster
- Flash Bulb Emergency Overflow Cavalcade of Remixes – Pigeonhed
- From the Vaults – Prism
- Go! – Fair Warning
- Good Charlotte – Good Charlotte
- Good to Go, with a Tribute to Bu – Andrew Cyrille
- Greedy – Headless Chickens
- Grounded – Papa Vegas
- Handsome Western States – Beulah
- Here Cumz Tha Party – Lostprophets
- How Ace Are Buildings – A
- Low Estate – 16 Horsepower
- Memories of Love – Future Bible Heroes
- Mirador – Tarnation
- The Money Shot – Various Artists
- Kill, I Oughtta – Mudvayne
- Muffins – Hoobastank
- The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted "Wrong-Eyed Jesus!" – Jim White
- Okenspay Ordway: Things I Forgot to Tell Mommy – Bif NakedOne Good Turn Deserves Another – Slaves on Dope
- OnlySee – Sia Furler
- Overcast! – Atmosphere
- Plagiarism - Sparks
- Play the Music of Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Webber – Hank Marvin and The Shadows
- Pure – 3 Colours Red
- R.A.F.I – Asian Dub Foundation
- Red, White & Blaine: The Musical – The cast of Waiting for Guffman
- Rain Without End – October Tide
- Shelter – Brand New Heavies
- Sing, Earthboy, Sing! – 2 Skinnee J's
- Silver Sun – Silver Sun
- Smile and Wave – The Headstones
- The Story of My Life – Irma Thomas
- Sydney High – Citizen King
- Tiger Walk – Robben Ford
- Transmission, Flux – Duster
- Turn the Dark Off – Howie B
- Un grito en el corazón – Lynda Thomas
- The Union Underground – The Union Underground
- When the Red King Comes – Elf Power
- When You Land Here, It's Time to Return – Flake Music
- Xero – Linkin Park
- You Can Play These Songs with Chords – Death Cab for Cutie
Biggest hit singles
The following songs achieved the highest positions in the charts of 1997.| # | Artist | Title | Year | Country | Chart Entries |
| 1 | Elton John | Candle in the Wind 1997 | 1997 |  Classical musicCompositions
Opera
Musical theater
Musical films
Births
Deaths
Awards
Charts
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