Music of the 1980s

1988 in music

See also:

1 Events
2 Bands formed, careers began
3 Bands disbanded
4 Albums released
5 Top hits
6 Classical music
7 Musical theater
8 Births
9 Deaths
10 Awards
11 Charts
- 11.1 List of No. 1 Hits
12 External links

Events

Peter Ruzicka becomes director of the Hamburg State Opera and State Philharmonic Orchestra.
Andrew Davis becomes musical director of Glyndebourne.
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.
Acid house music sweeps the UK. The year would later be known as the "Summer of Love.
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 When 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
Alice Cooper begins production of his definitive comeback album Trash.
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 28 - Madonna files assault charges against husband Sean Penn. Though she later drops the charges, the couple separate three days later, and are divorced in 1989.
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)