1988 in music

List of years in music (table)
… 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 …
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See also:

• Musical groups established in 1988
• Record labels established in 1988

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 "Second 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 20 - Two people are crushed to death at the annual Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington during the Guns N' Roses set.
• 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)

Bands formed, careers began

• After 7
• Anal Cunt
• Barenaked Ladies
• B'z
• Baha Men
• Cypress Hill
• Deftones
• Dream Warriors
• The Fauves
• Guttermouth
• Jesus Jones
• Morrissey begins solo career
• Mr. Big
• Nine Inch Nails
• Pennywise
• The Smashing Pumpkins
• Sublime
• The Sundays
• The Swirling Eddies
• Traveling Wilburys
• Turbonegro
• Warrior Soul

Bands disbanded

• Big Black
• Boøwy
• The Cars
• The Communards
• The Damned
• Dokken
• Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)
• Face to Face
• Fish leaves British neo-progressive rock group Marillion.
• Heaven 17
• The Housemartins
• Hüsker Dü
• Lords of the New Church
• The Sound
• Supertramp
• Til Tuesday

Albums released

• 101 - Depeche Mode
• Look Sharp! - Roxette
• 47 Song Demo - Anal Cunt
• Riders Radio Theater - Riders in the Sky
• Shada y - Ofra Haza
• 50 Gates Of Wisdom - Ofra Haza
• Blow Up Your Video - AC/DC
• Forever Your Girl - Paula Abdul (début)
• Moss Side Story - Barry Adamson
• California - American Music Club
• Y Kant Tori Read - Tori Amos (début)
• State of Euphoria - Anthrax
• Pound For Pound - Anvil
• 69 - A R Kane
• Saints Will Conquer - Armored Saint
• Sinta - Asin
• Them - King Diamond
• The Dark Sides - King Diamond
• Hold Me In Your Arms - Rick Astley
• Suffer - Bad Religion
• Sour Mash - Beasts of Bourbon
• Perpetual Burn - Jason Becker
• Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart - Camper Van Beethoven
• Wide Awake in Dreamland - Pat Benatar
• Tighten Up, Vol. 88 - Big Audio Dynamite
• Small Block - Big Drill Car (EP)
• Leather Donut - Black Eye Compilation
• In Heat - Black N' Blue (final album)
• In Battle There Is No Law - Bolt Thrower
• New Jersey - Bon Jovi
• Britny Fox - Britny Fox (début)
• Bullet Boys - BulletBoys (début)
• Hairway to Steven - Butthole Surfers
• Brave - Kate Ceberano
• Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman (début)
• Chicago 19 - Chicago
• Starfish - The Church
• Long Cold Winter - Cinderella
• I'm Your Man - Leonard Cohen
• The Trinity Session - Cowboy Junkies
• Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - Robert Cray
• Dangerous Age - Bad Company
• Earth Covers Earth - Current 93
• Swastikas for Noddy - Current 93
• What Good Is Grief to a God? - D.I.
• Danzig - Danzig (début, Glenn Danzig's 3rd band following The Misfits & Samhain)
• Wyau - Datblygu
• Leprosy - Death
• Baroque in the Future - Deja-vu
• Nur für dich - Die Flippers
• Bug - Dinosaur Jr.
• Money for Nothing - Dire Straits
• Beast from the East - Dokken (live album)
• Rough Night in Jericho - Dreams So Real
• Big Thing - Duran Duran
• Copperhead Road - Steve Earle
• Eazy-Duz-It - Eazy-E
• Sketsa Rembulan Emas - Ebiet G. Ade
• Watermark - Enya
• The Innocents - Erasure
• Follow The Leader - Eric B & Rakim
• Wild Wild West - The Escape Club
• Melissa Etheridge - Melissa Etheridge
• Out of This World - Europe
• Fabulous Disaster - Exodus
• The Frenz Experiment - The Fall
• I Am Kurious Oranj - The Fall
• Ainsi Soit Je... - Mylene Farmer
• On Target - Fastway (final album)
• No Exit - Fates Warning
• Only Life - The Feelies
• The Pictorial Jackson Review - Felt
• Train Above the City - Felt
• Truth and Soul - Fishbone
• Streets Of This Town - Steve Forbert
• Lita - Lita Ford
• Live+1 EP - Frehley's Comet
• Second Sighting - Frehley's Comet
• Front by Front - Front 242
• Fugazi - Fugazi (début EP)
• You Must Be Certain of the Devil - Diamanda Galás
• Breakwater - Lennie Gallant (début)
• Almost Acoustic - Jerry Garcia
• Gipsy Kings - Gipsy Kings
• 16 Lovers Lane - The Go-Betweens
• Lead Me On - Amy Grant
• The Sweet Children - Green Day
• G N' R Lies - Guns N' Roses
• Hell-O - GWAR (début)
• Radio Free Albemuth - Stuart Hamm (solo début)
• Bummed - Happy Mondays
• Racing after Midnight - Honeymoon Suite
• The House of Love - The House of Love
• Greg Howe - Greg Howe
• Sam & Friends - Sam Hui
• Over The Edge - Hurricane (début)
• Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - Iron Maiden
• Colin James - Colin James
• Nothing's Shocking - Jane's Addiction
• 20 Years of Jethro Tull - Jethro Tull
• Reg Strikes Back - Elton John
• Greatest Hits - Journey
• Ram It Down - Judas Priest
• Straight Out The Jungle - The Jungle Brothers
• Shadowland - k.d. lang
• The Live Album - Robert Earl Keen
• Big Deal - Killer Dwarfs
• Smashes, Thrashes & Hits - Kiss
• King Kobra III - King Kobra (final album)
• Blow My Fuse - Kix
• Kylie - Kylie (début album)
• L.A. Guns - L.A. Guns (début)
• Lucille - Little Richard
• Imagine: John Lennon - John Lennon (soundtrack)
• Lillian Axe - Lillian Axe
• Vivid - Living Colour
• Honeymoon In Red - Lydia Lunch
• Pontiac - Lyle Lovett
• The Madness - The Madness
• Odyssey - Yngwie Malmsteen (or Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force)
• So Far, So Good... So What! - Megadeth
• Chobba B C.C.C.P. - Paul McCartney (limited release)
• ...And Justice for All - Metallica
• The Land of Rape and Honey - Ministry
• El Mundo - Mitsou (début)
• Time Odyssey - Vinnie Moore
• Irish Heartbeat - Van Morrison with The Chieftains
• Viva Hate - Morrissey
• No Sleep At All - Motörhead (live album)
• Isn't Anything - My Bloody Valentine
• The Law of Things - The Bats
• Goodbye Girl - Miyuki Nakajima
• Land of Dreams - Randy Newman
• Read All About It - Newsboys
• Tender Prey - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
• If You Can't Lick 'Em...Lick 'Em - Ted Nugent (last solo album before forming the 90's band Damn Yankees)
• Soliloquy for Lilith - Nurse With Wound
• Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A
• The Lion and the Cobra - Sinéad O'Connor
• No Rest for the Wicked - Ozzy Osbourne
• Outrider - Jimmy Page
• Force Majuer - Doro Pesch (former Warlock vocalists solo début album)
• Introspective - Pet Shop Boys (EP)
• The Indescribable Wow - Sam Phillips
• Delicate Sound of Thunder - Pink Floyd
• Surfer Rosa - Pixies
• Now and Zen - Robert Plant
• Open Up and Say...Ahh! - Poison
• Lovesexy - Prince
• It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - Public Enemy
• Operation: Mindcrime - Queensrÿche
• Quiet Riot - Quiet Riot
• Tornado - The Rainmakers
• Green - R.E.M.
• Abbey Road EP - Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Nothing Wrong - Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
• Talk Is Cheap - Keith Richards
• O Melancolía - Silvio Rodríguez
• Skyscraper - David Lee Roth
• Hit Me With The Surreal Feel - Kim Salmon And The Surrealists
• Savage Amusement - Scorpions
• Greatest Hits Live - Carly Simon
• Hallowed Ground - Skin Yard
• VIVIsectVI - Skinny Puppy
• South of Heaven - Slayer
• Dream of Life - Patti Smith
• Green Thoughts - The Smithereens
• Prison Bound - Social Distortion
• Daydream Nation - Sonic Youth
• Ultramega OK - Soundgarden
• Beaches - Soundtrack
• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - Soundtrack
• Hard Machine- Stacey Q
• Out Of Order - Rod Stewart
• In God We Trust - Stryper
• How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today - Suicidal Tendencies
• Life's Too Good - The Sugarcubes
• Junekbox - Jamaaladeen Tacuma
• The New Order - Testament
• Lincoln - They Might Be Giants
• Hold an Old Friend's Hand - Tiffany
• Ancient Heart - Tanita Tikaram
• The New Order - Testament
• Toots in Memphis - Toots
• Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1 - Traveling Wilburys
• E Tu - Upper Hutt Posse
• The Live Brain Wedgie/WAD - Ween
• Lucinda Williams - Lucinda Williams
• Winger - Winger (debut)
• Roll With It - Steve Winwood
• Rattle and Hum - U2
• Ain't Misbehavin' - UFO
• E Tü - Upper Hutt Posse
• OU812 - Van Halen
• 3 - Violent Femmes
• Vixen - Vixen (debut)
• Chameleon Days - Yanni
• This Note's For You - Neil Young
• Guitar - Frank Zappa
• You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 - Frank Zappa
• You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 - Frank Zappa

Top hits

• "One" - Metallica
• "Sans contrefaçon" - Mylene Farmer
• "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" - Mylene Farmer
• "Im Nin'Alu" - Ofra Haza
• "Shaday" - Ofra Haza
• "Seasons Change" - Exposé
• "Beat Dis!" - Bomb The Bass
• "Theme to S-Express" - S-Express
• "Hey DJ! I Cant Dance To That Music Youre Playing" - Beatmasters featuring MC Betty Boo
• "Angel" - Aerosmith
• "Check This Out" - LA Mix
• "Doctorin the House" - Coldcut
• "Assez" - Niagara
• "We Call it Acieeed!" - D-Mob featuring Gary Haisman
• "I Want You Back" - Bananarama
• "Bad Medicine" - Bon Jovi
• "Orinoco Flow" - Enya Irish singer
• "Simply Irresistible" - Robert Palmer
• "Tell It To My Heart" - Taylor Dayne
• "Nothing Can Divide Us" - Jason Donovan
• "Age Of Reason" - John Farnham
• "So Excellent" - Kylie Mole
• "Two Strong Hearts" - John Farnham
• "That's When I Think of You" - 1927
• "Dignity" - Deacon Blue
• "Ship Of Fools" - Erasure
• "Chains Of Love" - Erasure
• "A Little Respect" - Erasure
• "Stop!" - Erasure
• "Devil Inside" - INXS
• "New Sensation" - INXS
• "I Should Be So Lucky" - Kylie Minogue
• "Cult of Personality" - Living Colour
• "Suedehead" - Morrissey
• "Crash" - The Primitives
• "Angel of Harlem" - U2
• "Desire" - U2
• "Kokomo" - The Beach Boys
• "Don't Worry, Be Happy" - Bobby McFerrin
• "Heaven is a Place on Earth" - Belinda Carlisle
• "Lead Me On" - Amy Grant
• "Love Changes (Everything)" - Climie Fisher
• "When Will I Be Famous" - Bros
• "Push It" - Salt-N-Pepa
• "Revolution Baby" - Transvision Vamp
• "Drop The Boy"- Bros
• "Man in the Mirror" - Michael Jackson
• "Smooth Criminal" - Michael Jackson
• "Dirty Diana" - Michael Jackson
• "Get Outta My Dreams (Get Into My Car)" - Billy Ocean
• "Anything for You" - Gloria Estefan
• "Saved By Love" - Amy Grant
• "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" - Poison
• "Never Gonna Give You Up" - Rick Astley
• "Together Forever" - Rick Astley
• "Look Away" - Chicago
• "Quelque part au Soleil" - Dalida (inédit)
• "Johnny B. Goode" - Judas Priest
• "One More Try" - George Michael
• "Roll With It" - Steve Winwood
• "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
• "Sweet Child o' Mine" - Guns N' Roses
• "Mountain Song" - Jane's Addiction
• "Got My Mind Set on You" - George Harrison
• "1-2-3" - Gloria Estefan & the Miami Sound Machine
• "Forever Young" - Rod Stewart
• "Is This Love" - Whitesnake
• "I Get Weak" - Belinda Carlisle
• "The Promise" - When in Rome
• "When You Put Your Heart In It" - Kenny Rogers
• "Another Lover" - Giant Steps
• "John Skero Goes West" - John Skero
• "Stutter Rap ( No Sleep 'Til Bedtime )" - Morris Minor and the Majors
• "Twist in My Sobriety" - Tanita Tikaram
• "Love Bites" - Def Leppard
• "Pour Some Sugar on Me" - Def Leppard
• "Circle in the Sand" - Belinda Carlisle

Classical music

• Gerald Barry - Cheveux-de-frise
• Luciano Berio - Sequenza XI
• George Crumb - Zeitgeist (Tableaux Vivants) for two amplified pianos
• Mario Davidovsky - Synchronisms No. 9 for violin and tape
• Joël-François Durand - Die innere Grenze for string sextet
• Henryk Górecki - String Quarted No. 1, "Already it is Dusk"
• Stephen Hartke - Pacific Rim Overture
• Nicholas Jackson - Variations on ‘Parise to the Lord, the Almighty’
• António Chagas Rosa - Piano Sonata
• Peter Sculthorpe - Kakadu
• Tōru Takemitsu - Tree Line for chamber orchestra
• John Tavener - The Akathist of Thanksgiving
• Takashi Yoshimatsu - Concerto for Bassoon "Unicorn Circuit"

Musical theater

• Bitter Sweet (Noel Coward) - London revival
• Chess (Tim Rice, Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus) - Broadway production
• The Phantom of the Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber) - Broadway production
• Sarafina     Broadway production

Births

• January 14 - Jordy, French singer
• January 14 - Mikalah Gordon, American Idol contestant
• January 25 - Yasmien Kurdi, Fillipina pop singer
• February 3 - Cho Kyu Hyun, Korean pop singer
• February 7 - Ai Kago, Japanese pop singer
• February 18 - Shim Chang Min, Korean pop singer
• February 20 - Rihanna, Barbadian pop singer
• February 23 - Ashley Cooper, New Zealand pop singer
• February 27 - JD Natasha, American Latin music artist
• February 29 - Milly Edwards, Australian Idol contestant
• March 2 - Nadine Samonte, German pop singer
• March 6 - Agnes Carlsson, Swedish pop singer
• April 6 - Raymond David Henriksen, Norwegian singer
• April 24 - Natalie Zahra, Australian Idol contestant
• April 25 - Sara Paxton, American singer/actress
• April 29 - Younha, Japanese & Korean pop singer
• May 2 - Guilherme Rodrigues, Portuguese jazz musician
• May 5 - Brooke Hogan, American pop singer
• May 5 - Skye Sweetnam, Canadian pop singer
• May 13 - Casey Donovan, Australian Idol winner
• May 24 - Billy Gilman, American country singer
• June 1 - Nami Tamaki, Japanese singer
• June 6 - Neha Kakkar, Indian pop singer
• June 12 - Dave Melillo, American singer-songwriter
• June 16 - Keshia Chante, Canadian urban singer
• June 19 - Magdalena Diaków, Polish pop singer
• June 20 - May J., Japanese R&B singer
• June 22 - Miliyah Kato, Japanese R&B singer
• June 29 - Martina Šindlerová, Slovak pop singer
• July 2 - Amali Ward, Australian Idol contestant
• July 7 - Kaci Brown, American pop/R&B singer
• July 12 - Melissa O'Neil, Canadian Idol winner
• July 25 - Sarah Geronimo, Fillipina pop singer
• August 2 - Brittany Hargest, American pop singer
• August 14 - Shahd Barmada, Arabian Idol contestant
• August 27 - Alexa Vega, American pop singer
• August 31 - Megan McCauley, American pop singer
• September 16 - Teddy Geiger, American singer-songwriter
• September 22 - Bethany Dillon, American Christian music artist
• September 30 - Jyongri, Japanese pop singer
• October 4 - Jessica Benson, American R&B singer
• October 11 - Knut Eirik Kokkin, Norwegian singer
• October 20 - Risa Niigaki, Japanese pop singer
• October 23 - Caleigh Peters, American pop singer
• October 24 - Cory Bold, American hip hop musician
• November 10 - Chisaki Hama, Japanese singer
• November 28 - Scarlett Pomers, American singer/actress
• December 17 - Jessica H.o., Korean pop singer
• December 19 - Paulina Gretzky, American pop singer
• December 23 - Eri Kamei, Japanese pop singer
• December 27 - Hayley Williams, American singer, Paramore
• December 30 - James Hall, British singer-songwriter

Deaths

• January 13 - Radamés Gnattali, Brazilian composer
• January 19 - Evgeny Mravinsky, conductor
• February 14 - Frederic Loewe, composer of musicals
• February 27 - Gene De Paul, pianist and composer
• March 6 - Jeanne Aubert, singer
• March 7 - Divine, singer
• March 8 - Henryk Szeryng, violinist
• March 10 - Andy Gibb, singer
• April 9 - Brook Benton, complications of spinal meningitis.
• April 9 - Dave Prater, of Sam & Dave, car accident
• April 29 - James McCracken, tenor
• May 1 - Claude Demetrius, songwriter
• May 10 - Ciaran Bourke, The Dubliners
• May 13 - Chet Baker, jazz musician
• May 21 - Sammy Davis, Sr., vaudeville performer
• May 22 - Dennis Day, US singer
• June 25, Hillel Slovak, Red Hot Chili Peppers, guitarist
• July 2 - Eddie Vinson, jazz/blues musician
• August 8 - Félix Leclerc, folk singer
• August 9 - Giacinto Scelsi, composer
• September 23 - Arwel Hughes, composer and conductor
• September 26 - Lord Melody, calypso musician
• October 7 - Billy Daniels, singer
• October 18 - Sir Frederick Ashton, dancer and choreographer
• October 19, Son House, blues musician
• November 11 - William Ifor Jones, conductor
• November 13 - Antal Doráti, conductor
• November 26 - Antonio Estévez, composer
• December 2 - Tata Giacobetti, Italian singer and lyricist (Quartetto Cetra)
• December 6, Roy Orbison, singer
• December 16, Sylvester James, R&B singer, disco performer

Awards

• The following artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Drifters, Bob Dylan, and The Supremes.

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1988

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1988

Charts

List of No. 1 Hits

• Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1988