1987 in music

"See also:"
*
*

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.
*February 24 - Legendary radio personality Jim Connors dies in a fatal car crash.
*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; The career that would end in an infamous appearance at The Brit awards and the burning of a million pounds began in Britain, as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu released their debut single, "All You Need Is Love". Their debut album, "1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?)", would follow in June.
*March 13 - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
*Alice Cooper almost dies on stage when one of the props, the Gallows, malfunctions
*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.
*June 14 - "Madonna" starts her Who's That Girl Tour in Osaka, Japan.
*June 27 - Whitney Houston's second album "Whitney" becomes the first album by a female artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200
*July 21 - Guns N' Roses release their debut album Appetite for Destruction
*August 3 - Def Leppard release their 4th studio album "Hysteria"
*August 31 - Michael Jackson releases his first studio album after 1982's Thriller, Bad. The album would produce five number one singles in USA, a record which hasn't been broken yet.
*September 6 - Madonna ends her Who's That Girl Tour in Florence, Italy.
*September 25 - Matthew Garrison Chapman is born as the first child of Amy Grant and Gary Chapman. "Lead Me On", Amy's 1988 album, is said to have been dedicated to Matt
*October - electronic data gathering completely replaces the old sales diary technique in compiling the UK singles and albums chart. The publication day of new charts is moved from Tuesday to Sunday.
*October 12 - Twisted Sister breaks up - they would not reunite until the end of the 1990s.
*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.
*October 19 - English cellist, Jacqueline du Pre dies at the age of 42.
*October 30 - George Michael releases his first solo studio album, Faith, which would become a big critical, by winning the Grammy Award for album of the year, and commercial success, by selling 11 million copies in USA alone.
*October 31 -The Zorros headline on the Halloween for the last ever show at the Crystal Ballroom, Saint Kilda Melbourne's premier Punk/ New Wave Venue. The Crystal Ballroom had seen almost ten years of intense Musical Evolution. The venue had Chandeliers, stained glass windows, paisley wallpaper and a tiled foyer.
*November 13 - Sonny and Cher reunite for a performance on "Late Night with David Letterman"
*December 23 - Nikki Sixx of the rock band Mötley Crüe suffered a heroin overdose, but was revived shortly thereafter.
*Social Distortion returns to record "Prison Bound"
*Winger signs to Atlantic Records
*Kylie Minogue's recording career begins, when her cover version of the Little Eva hit "The Loco-Motion" spends seven weeks at number one in her native Australia and leads to a contract with UK based record producers Stock Aitken Waterman.
*Lynyrd Skynyrd reforms and now has Ronnie Van Zant's little brother Johnny Van Zant as lead singer.
*The Smiths disband after Guitarist and songwriter Johnny Marr leaves the band.
*Andreas Kisser replaces Jairo Guedes in Sepultura.

Bands formed

*Alice in Chains
*Army of Lovers
*BaBe
*Blitzkrieg (pre-Therion)
*Burzum
*Cheater Slicks
*Danzig
*Fugazi
*Gin Blossoms
*The Headstones
*Nirvana
*Paul Oakenfold
*Operation Ivy
*Poster Children
*Sticks and Stones
*Sven Gali
*Green Day

Bands Disbanded

*The Motels
*The Tubes
*Twisted Sister
*Warlock
*Grim Reaper
*GTR
*Hüsker Dü
*The Smiths
*Zebra

Bands reformed

*Lynyrd Skynyrd

Albums released

January

April

July

October

Release Date Unknown

*"Alphabet City" - ABC
*"Yesterday Started Tomorrow" (EP) - Angry Samoans
*"Strength of Steel" - Anvil
*"Jackomo" - Little Annie Anxiety Bandez
*"Daddy's Highway" - The Bats
*"Bennett/Berlin" - Tony Bennett
*"Annihilate This Week" (EP) - Black Flag
*"Wasted...Again" - Black Flag
*"" - Blue Öyster Cult
*"Speed Metal Symphony" - Cacophony
*"Secrets Of Synthesis" - Wendy Carlos
*"King's Record Shop" - Rosanne Cash
*"Brave Words" - The Chills
*"Saint Julian" - Julian Cope
*"Dawn" - Current 93
*"The Best Of Dalida, Vol. 2" - Dalida (compilation)
*"Silence" - Stephan Eicher
*"The Blanton-Webster Years" - Duke Ellington
*"Menjaring Matahari" - Ebiet G. Ade
*"Death Before Dishonour" - The Exploited
*"Poem of the River" - Felt
*"One Night Stand" - Flamin' Groovies
*"Official Version" - Front 242
*"The Initial Command" - Front Line Assembly
*"State of Mind" - Front Line Assembly
*"Tallulah" - The Go-Betweens
*"2X4" - Guadalcanal Diary)
*"Music to Strip By" - Half Japanese
*"Bring the Family" - John Hiatt
*"Get Close To My Love" - Jennifer Holliday
*"Akwaba Beach" - Mory Kanté
*"Too Late To Cry" - Alison Krauss
*"Shaka Zulu" - Ladysmith Black Mambazo
*"By the Light of the Moon" - Los Lobos
*"Diminuendo" - Lowlife
*"Lubricated Goat Plays the Devil's Music (debut)" - Lubricated Goat
*"Immaculate Deception" - Ludichrist
*"Swing Street" - Barry Manilow
*"Fighting the World" - Manowar
*"Huevos" - Meat Puppets
*"Gluey Porch Treatments" - The Melvins
*"Ballot Result" - Minutemen
*"Post-Mersh Vol. 1" - Minutemen
*"Post-Mersh Vol. 2" - Minutemen
*"Stereoland" - The Modern Art
*"Pool It!" - The Monkees
*"Raindancing" - Alison Moyet
*"Escape From Noise" - Negativland
*"" - Roy Orbison
*"Taking Over" - Overkill
*"Signs of Life" - Penguin Cafe Orchestra
*"" - Plasmatics
*"Buster Poindexter" - Buster Poindexter
*"Right Now!" - Pussy Galore
*"Life's a Bitch - Raven
*"Dancing with Strangers - Chris Rea
*"The Cowboy Way - Riders in the Sky
*"Saddle Pals - Riders in the Sky
*"Best of the West - Riders in the Sky
*"Kane Roberts" - Kane Roberts (former Alice Cooper guitarist's solo debut)
*"Drive by Shooting" (EP) - Henry Rollins
*"Hot Animal Machine" - Henry Rollins
*"Life Time" - Rollins Band
*"I Prefer The Moonlight" - Kenny Rogers
*"Stinkfist" - Clint Ruin and Lydia Lunch
*"Live and Loud!!" - Sham 69
*"The Walking" - Jane Siberry
*"Coming Around Again" - Carly Simon
*"Brenda K. Starr" - Brenda K. Starr
*"Mark Stewart" - Mark Stewart
*"The Cost of Loving" - The Style Council
*"Join the Army" - Suicidal Tendencies
*"Tribe" - Bernie Taupin
*"Never Again" - TexA.N.S.
*"Close to the Bone" - Thompson Twins
*"Bridge of Spies" - T'Pau
*"Calenture" - The Triffids
*"Love Is for Suckers" - Twisted Sister (final album)
*"To the Power of Three" - 3
*"Bird Dog" - The Verlaines
*"Triumph And Agony" - Warlock (final album)
*"Whitecross" - Whitecross
*"Live At The Ritz" - Ronnie Wood & Bo Diddley
*"Starting Up" - Roy Wood
*"Out of Silence" - Yanni
*"The Young Gods" - The Young Gods
*"3.V" - Zebra

Biggest hit singles

The following songs achieved the highest [http://tsort.info/music/yr1987.htm chart positions] in the charts of 1987.

Top hits on record

*"Alone" - Heart
*"Animal" - Def Leppard
*"Angel" - Aerosmith
*"Angel" - Angela Winbush
*"At This Moment" - Billy Vera and the Beaters
*"Back in the High Life Again" - Steve Winwood
*"Bad" - Michael Jackson
*"Ballerina Girl" - Lionel Richie
*"Barcelona" - Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé
*"Big Love" - Fleetwood Mac
*"Im Nin'Alu" - Ofra Haza
*"Big Time" - Peter Gabriel
*"Can't We Try" - Dan Hill and Vonda Shepard
*"Casanova" - Levert
*"Causing a Commotion" - Madonna
*"C'est La Vie" - Robbie Nevil
*"Change of Heart" - Cyndi Lauper
*"Cherry Bomb" - John Cougar Mellencamp
*"Circle in the Sand" - Belinda Carlisle
*"Citizen Jane" - Bernie Taupin
*"Come as You Are" - Peter Wolf
*"Come Go with Me" - Exposé
*"Control" - Janet Jackson
*"Criticize" - Alexander O'Neal
*"Cross My Broken Heart" - The Jets
*"Didn't We Almost Have It All!" - Whitney Houston
*"Doing It All for My Baby" - Huey Lewis and the News
*"Don't Dream It's Over" - Crowded House
*"Don't Mean Nothing" - Richard Marx
*"Don't shed a tear" - Paul Carrack
*"Down To Earth" - Curiosity Killed the Cat (released in 1986)
*"Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" - Aerosmith
*"Ella elle l'a" - France Gall
*"Étienne" - Guesch Patti
*"Every Little Kiss" - Bruce Hornsby and the Range
*"Everybody Have Fun Tonight" - Wang Chung (released in 1986)
*"Everywhere" - Fleetwood Mac
*"Faith" - George Michael
*"The Game" - Echo & the Bunnymen
*"Hazy Shade of Winter" - The Bangles
*"Head to Toe" - Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
*"Heart and Soul" - T'Pau
*"Heat of the Night" - Bryan Adams
*"Here I Go Again" - Whitesnake
*"Heaven Is a Place on Earth" - Belinda Carlisle
*"Hysteria" - Def Leppard
*"I Get Weak" - Belinda Carlisle
*"I Found Someone" - Cher
*"I Heard a Rumour" - Bananarama
*"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" - Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett
*"(I Just) Died in Your Arms" - Cutting Crew
*"I Knew You Were Waiting for Me" - Aretha Franklin and George Michael
*"I Know What I Like" - Huey Lewis and the News
*"I Need Love" - LL Cool J
*"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - U2
*"I Think We're Alone Now" - Tiffany
*"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" - Whitney Houston
*"I Want Your Sex" - George Michael
*"In Too Deep" - Genesis
*"Is This Love" - Whitesnake
*"I'm No Angel" - Gregg Allman Band
*"It Doesn't Have To Be This Way" - The Blow Monkeys
*"It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" - R.E.M.
*"Jacob's Ladder" - Huey Lewis and the News
*"Joe le taxi" - Vanessa Paradis
*"Just to See Her" - Smokey Robinson
*"Keep Your Hands to Yourself" - The Georgia Satellites
*"Kiss Him Goodbye" - The Nylons
*"Là-bas" - Jean-Jacques Goldman and Sirima
*"La Bamba" - Los Lobos
*"La Isla Bonita" - Madonna
*"Land of Confusion" - Genesis
*"Lean on Me" - Club Nouveau
*"Let's Go" - Wang Chung
*"Let Me Be the One" - Exposé
*"Let's Wait Awhile" - Janet Jackson
*"Lips Like Sugar" - Echo & the Bunnymen
*"Little Lies" - Fleetwood Mac
*"Livin' on a Prayer" - Bon Jovi (released in 1986)
*"Looking for a New Love" - Jody Watley
*"Lost in Emotion" - Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
*"Love Bites" - Def Leppard
*"Love Will Find a Way" - Yes
*"Love You Down" - Ready for the World
*"Luka" - Suzanne Vega
*"Mandolin Rain" - Bruce Hornsby and The Range
*"Midnight Blue" - Lou Gramm
*"Misfit" - Curiosity Killed the Cat (released in 1986)
*"Mony Mony" - Billy Idol
*"Mr. Manic and Sister Cool" - Shakatak
*"Need You Tonight" - INXS
*"New Sensation" - INXS
*"Never Gonna Give You Up" - Rick Astley
*"No One In the World" - Anita Baker
*"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" - Starship
*"Notorious" - Duran Duran
*"One Heartbeat" - Smokey Robinson
*"Only in My Dreams" - Debbie Gibson
*"Open Your Heart" - Madonna (released in 1986)
*"Ordinary Day" - Curiosity Killed the Cat
*"Out of the Blue" - Debbie Gibson
*"Paper in Fire" - John Cougar Mellencamp
*"People Are Strange" - Echo & the Bunnymen
*"The Pleasure Principle" - Janet Jackson
*"Point of No Return" - Exposé
*"Pour Some Sugar on Me" - Def Leppard
*"The Power of Love" - Laura Branigan
*"Rag Doll" - Aerosmith
*"Respect Yourself" - Bruce Willis
*"Rock Steady" - The Whispers
*"Rocket" - Def Leppard
*"Rhythm Is Going to Get You" - Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
*"Sans contrefaçon" - Mylène Farmer
*"Shake You Down" - Gregory Abbott
*"Shake Your Love" - Debbie Gibson
*"Shakedown" - Bob Seger
*"Someday" - Glass Tiger
*"Songbird" - Kenny G
*"Something So Strong" - Crowded House
*"Somewhere Out There" - Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram
*"Stone Love" - Kool & the Gang
*"Strangelove" - Depeche Mode
*"Surrender" - Swing Out Sister
*"Sweet Child o' Mine" - Guns 'n' Roses
*"The Final Countdown" - Europe (released in 1986)
*"The Finer Things" - Steve Winwood
*"The Lady in Red" - Chris DeBurgh
*"The One I love" - R.E.M.
*"The Way It Is" - Bruce Hornsby and the Range
*"True Blue" - Madonna
*"Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" - Genesis
*"Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" - Samantha Fox
*"Touch of Grey" - Grateful Dead
*"Tristana" - Mylène Farmer
*"Twilight World" - Swing Out Sister
*"U Got the Look" - Prince and Sheena Easton
*"Victory" - Kool & the Gang
*"Wait" - White Lion
*"Wanted Dead or Alive" - Bon Jovi (released in 1986)
*"Walk Like an Egyptian" - The Bangles (released in 1985)
*"Walking Down Your Street" - The Bangles
*"War" - Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
*"Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns 'n' Roses
*"We're Ready" - Boston
*"What's Going On" - Cyndi Lauper
*"Where the Streets Have No Name" - U2
*"Who Found Who?" - Jellybean featuring Elisa Fiorillo
*"Who Will You Run To?" - Heart
*"Who's That Girl" - Madonna
*"Will You Still Love Me?" - Chicago (released in 1986)
*"Wonderful Life" - Black
*"You're the Voice" - John Farnham
*"With or Without You" - U2
*"You Got It All" - The Jets
*"You Keep Me Hanging On" - Kim Wilde

Other Singles

*"Shattered Glass" - Laura Branigan
*"Somebody Save Me" - Cinderella
*"Freedom" - Alice Cooper
*"Why Can't I Be You?" - The Cure
*"Just Like Heaven" - The Cure
*"Pour en arriver là" - Dalida
*"Les hommes de ma vie" - Dalida
*"Behind the Wheel" - Depeche Mode
*"Never Let Me Down Again" - Depeche Mode
*"Strangelove" - Depeche Mode
*"Midnight Blue" - Lou Gramm
*"Bring Him Back Home" - Hugh Masekela
*"Beds Are Burning" - Midnight Oil
*"True Faith" - New Order
*"In The Dutch Mountains" - The Nits
*"Pressure Down" - John Collits
*"We Connect"- Stacey Q.
*"Free" - Stryper
*"Something inside so strong" - Labi Siffre
*"China in Your Hand" - T'Pau
*"Hot Love" - Twisted Sister
*"Sugar Free" - WaWaNee

Published popular music

* "Last midnight" w.m. Stephen Sondheim
* "Children Will Listen" w.m. Stephen Sondheim
* "The Time Of My Life" w.m. Franke Previte, Donald Markowitz & John DeNicola

Classical music

*Mario Davidovsky - "Quartetto" for flute, violin, viola and violoncello
*Philip Feeney - "Mémoire Imaginaire" (ballet)
*Malcolm Forsyth - "Songs from the Qu'appelle Valley"
*Juan Maria Solare - "Doce variaciones 1987" (for piano)
*Joan Tower - "Fanfare for the uncommon woman no 1 "

Opera

*John Adams - "Nixon in China"
*Friedrich Cerha - "Der Rattenfänger (The Pied Piper)"
*Michael Nyman - "Vital Statistics"
*Judith Weir - "A Night at the Chinese Opera"

Musical theater

* "Anything Goes" - Broadway- revival
* "Bless the Bride" - West End revival
* "Cabaret" (Kander and Ebb) - Broadway revival
* "Dreamgirls" - Broadway revival
* "Into the Woods" - Broadway production
* "Les Misérables" - Broadway production
* "Oil City Symphony" - Broadway production
* "Phantom of the Opera" - Broadway production
* "Starlight Express" (Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe) - Broadway production

Most Critically Acclaimed Songs of 1987

This info is taken from Acclaimed Music. [www.acclaimedmusic.net]

Songs
*1. "Sweet Child O' Mine", Guns N' Roses
*2. "Sign 'O' the Times", Prince
*3. "Bring the Noise", Public Enemy
*4. "Pump Up the Volume", M/A/R/R/S
*5. "With or Without You", U2
*6. "It's the End of the World As We Know It", R.E.M.
*7. "Just Like Heaven", The Cure
*8. "Rebel Without a Pause", Public Enemy
*9. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", U2
*10. "Paid in Full", Eric B. & Rakim

Births

*January 12 - Sunday The Grace, Korean pop singer
*January 27 - Katy Rose
*January 27 - Ashley Perez Moza
*February 10 - Choi Si Won, Korean actor and pop singer
*February 12 - O'Ryan
*February 24 - Kim Kyu Jong, Korean pop singer
*March 9 - Bow Wow, American Hip-Hop artist
*March 26 - YUI, Japanese pop singer
*April 3 - Park Jung Min, Korean pop singer
*April 9 - Jesse McCartney, American singer and actor
*April 10 - Hayley Westenra
*April 11 - Joss Stone
*April 30 - Nikki Webster
*June 16 - Diana DeGarmo, American Idol contestant
*June 21 - Kim Ryeo Wook, Korean pop singer
*July 1 - Yoga Lin, Taiwanese pop singer, One Million Star, Season 1 winner
*July 6 - Kate Nash, English pop singer
*August 21 - Kim Ki Bum, Korean actor and pop singer
*September 26 - Rosie Munter
*September 28 - Hilary Duff, American singer and actress
*September 28 - Chloe Hanslip, violinist
*October 17 - Stephanie The Grace, Korean pop singer
*December 7 - Aaron Carter, pop singer
*December 18 - ayaka, Japanese pop singer
*December 27 - Yui Okada, Japanese pop singer

Deaths

*January 10 - Marion Hutton, singer and actress
*January 15 - Ray Bolger, actor, of cancer
*February 4 - Liberace, US pianist
*March 3 - Danny Kaye, actor, singer, dancer and comedian
*March 15 - Don Gant, singer/songwriter, record producer
*March 21 - Dean Paul Martin, singer and actor, plane crash.
*March 21 - Robert Preston, star of "The Music Man", "Mame", etc.
*March 28 - Maria von Trapp, subject of "The Sound of Music"
*April 2 - Buddy Rich, jazz drummer, of a brain tumor
*April 7 - Maxine Sullivan, US singer
*May 2 - Larry Clinton, US bandleader and songwriter
*May 3 - Dalida, suicide
*May 4 - Paul Butterfield, drug overdose
*May 14 - Rita Hayworth, dancer and film star
*May 24 - Hermione Gingold, actress and singer
*June 3 - Andrés Segovia, guitar virtuoso
*June 18 - Kid Thomas Valentine, jazz trumpeter & bandleader
*June 22 - Fred Astaire, dancer, actor and singer
*June 25 - Boudleaux Bryant, Hall of Fame songwriter
*July 1 - Snakefinger, guitarist
*July 15 - Pete King, After The Fire, BAP
*August 14 - Vincent Persichetti, composer
*September 3 - Morton Feldman, composer
*September 11 - Peter Tosh, reggae musician, shot and killed in a house invasion/robbery.
*September 21- Jaco Pastorius, jazz bassist
*September 23 - Bob Fosse, dancer, choreographer and director of musicals
*October 13 - Kishore Kumar, singer, actor, filmmaker, writer, musician and composer
*October 19 - Jacqueline Du Pré, English cellist
*October 28 - Woody Herman, US bandleader
*November 12 - Cornelis Vreeswijk, Swedish singer-songwriter.
*December 10 - Jascha Heifetz, violinist
*December 18 - Conny Plank, record producer

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

Grammy Awards

*Grammy Awards of 1987

Country Music Association Awards

Gary P. Blueyes Walker - CMA Air Personality of the Year / KYKX

Eurovision Song Contest

*Eurovision Song Contest 1987

Charts

List of No. 1 Hits

*Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1987

References