1997 in music
See also: 1996 in music, other events of 1997, 1998 in music and the list of 'years in music'.
Events
- January 10 - James Brown receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
- February 10 - 52 year old Brian Connolly of Sweet dies of kidney failure in England.
- January 20 - Ben and Jerry's introduce "Phish food", a new favlor of ice cream named after the rock group Phish. The ingredients are chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, caramel and fish-shaped fudge
- February 2 - Rich Mullins' musical The Canticle of the Plains premieres in Wichita, Kansas.
- February 13 - Michael Jackson's first son is born.
- March 9 - The Notorious B.I.G. is shot to death while sitting in the passenger seat of a car after a Soul Train Awards party
- March 11 - Paul McCartney is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
- April 2 - Joni Mitchell is reunited with the daughter that she gave up for adoption 32 years ago, Kilauren Gibb.
- September 19 - While on his way to a benefit concert in Kansas, Rich Mullins loses control of his jeep, flipping the automobile and throwing both Mullins and passenger Mitch McVicker out onto the road. A tractor trailor approaching the scene swerves to miss McVicker, striking and killing Mullins instantly. McVicker survives, but suffered major injuries.
- Orgy's musical career begins
- Dinosaur Jr. disbanded
- Gin Blossoms disbanded
- Soundgarden disbanded
- The Memorex, Maxell, and TDK company introduce Blank recordable CDs
Albums Released
- Nine Lives - Aerosmith
- Anywhere But Here - The Ataris
- The Gray Race - Bad Religion
- Tested - Bad Religion
- Boston: Greatest Hits - Boston
- Self-Titled - Coal Chamber
- Around The Fur - Deftones
- Titanic - Celine Dion
- Around The Fur - Deftones
- Album Of The Year - Faith No More
- Nimrod - Green Day
- In The Middle Of Nowhere - Hanson
- Aftertaste - Helmet
- The First Session - Hole
- Jerky Boys 4 - Jerky Boys
- Jugulator - Judas Priest
- Three Dollar Bill Y'all - Limp Bizkit
- Cryptic Writings - Megadeth
- Honky - Melvins
- Reload - Metallica
- Life In General - MxPx
- Self-Titled - Nerf Herder
- Angels Fall First - Nightwish
- Ixnay On The Hombre - The Offspring
- Billy Breathes - Phish
- Slip Stich And Pass - Phish
- Self-Titled - Portishead
- II - Presidents of the United States of America
- Brown Album - Primus
- Portishead - Portishead
- OK Computer - Radiohead
- Built To Last - Sick of it All
- Men In Black - Soundtrack
- Spiceworld - The Spice Girls
- Dots and Loops - Stereolab
- Come On Over - Shania Twain
- Amrep Christmas - Unsane
- Pop - U2
- Fire Garden - Steve Vai
- The Mollusk - Ween
- Pinkerton - Weezer
Top Hits
- "The Difference" - The Wallflowers
- "Forty Six & 2" - Tool
- "A Long December" - Counting Crows
- "Magdalene" - Lenny Kravitz
- "My Heart Will Go On" - Celine Dion
- "Don't Speak" - No Doubt
- "Volcano" - Presidents of the United States of America
- "You Were Meant For Me" - Jewel
- "All By Myself" - Celine Dion
- "MmmBop" - Hanson
- "Wannabe" - The Spice Girls
Births
Deaths
- January 21 - Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager
- January 22 - Richard Berry, songwriter ("Louie, Louie")
- February 10 - Brian Connolly, Sweet, kidney failure
- March 9 - The Notorious B.I.G.
- April 9 - Laura Nyro, songwriter, ovarian cancer
- August 10 - Conlon Nancarrow, composer
- September - Derek Taylor, Press agent for The Beatles
- September 19 - Rich Mullins, singer, car accident
- October 12 - John Denver
Awards
- The following artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The (Young) Rascals, The Bee Gees, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Jackson Five, Joni Mitchell and Parliament-Funkadelic
- Inductees of the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame include Gloria Gaither, and Billy Ray Hearn (founder of Myrrh Records