1984 in music

Table of contents

1 Events
2 Albums released
3 Top hits
4 Published popular music
5 Classical music
6 Opera
7 Musical theater
8 Musical films
9 Births
10 Deaths
11 Awards

11.1 Grammy Awards
11.2 Country Music Association Awards
11.3 Eurovision Song Contest

Events

January 28 - singer Michael Jackson's hair catches fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial.
February 14 - Elton John marries studio engineer Renate Blauel.
February 16 - Jerry Lee Lewis surrenders to federal authorities on charges of income tax evasion. Lewis is later acquitted.
February 29 - KMFDM's first live performance.
March - Sting plays his last concerts with The Police at the end of the Synchronicity tour; the band takes a "pause" after the tour and only play a few special events together after this.
April 1 - In Los Angeles, California, Marvin Gaye is shot and killed during an argument with his father.
May 1 - Mick Fleetwood, of Fleetwood Mac, files for bankruptcy in the United States.
May - Tipper Gore forms the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) in response to the "filth" she hears on her daughter's Prince album Purple Rain.
May - Lionel Richie's hit "Hello" becomes Motown's first ever UK million selling single.
May 5 - The Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde marries Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr.
June-August - Frankie Goes To Hollywood spend nine weeks at the top of the UK singles chart with "Two Tribes".
July - During his performance at the first ever Cornerstone Festival in Grayslake, Illinois, Steve Taylor falls from the stage, breaking his ankle. Taylor hopped back on stage and finished his show. The next few shows on Taylor's tour were performed from a wheel chair.
October - The Jesus & Mary Chain; release their first single, "Upside Down".
October 19 - A-Ha's career begins with the release of the "Take On Me" single in the UK.
December - Frankie Goes To Hollywood become the first act to take their first three singles to the UK #1 position since Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1963, when "The Power Of Love" tops the chart.
December 3 - Bob Geldof and Band Aid release the single "Do They Know It's Christmas".
December 8 - Mötley Crüe member Vince Neil is involved in a serious car accident. He was drunk at the time, and Razzle (Nicholas Dingley) of Hanoi Rocks was killed in the accident.
Menudo and Menudomania reach Asia. Ricky Martin substitutes Ricky Melendez in the group.
UK singles sales this year are the second highest ever, after 1978.

Albums released

Balls to The Wall - Accept
74 Jailbreak EP - AC/DC
Live Sentence - Alcatrazz
Fistful of Metal - Anthrax (debut)
March Of the Saint - Armored Saint (debut ALBUM)
All Over the Place - The Bangles
''Black N' Blue - Black N' Blue
Bon Jovi - Bon Jovi
Box of Frogs - Box of Frogs
Heartbeat City - The Cars
17 - Chicago
Dreamtime EP - Death Cult (Band name was later changed to The Cult)
First strike EP - Def Leppard
''High N' Dry - Def Leppard (re-Release)
The Last In Line - Dio
''Tooth And Nail - Dokken
Arena (live album) - Duran Duran
Wings of Tomorrow - Europe
The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall - The Fall
All Fired Up - Fastway
Dancing on the Edge - Lita Ford
Great White - Great White
See You In Hell - Grim Reaper
Big Bam Boom - Hall & Oates;
VOA - Sammy Hagar
All those Wasted Years - Hanoi Rocks (live album)
Two Steps From The Move - Hanoi Rocks
Walkin' The Razor's Edge - Helix
The Art of Defense - Nona Hendryx
Building the Perfect Beast - Don Henley
I Often Dream of Trains - Robyn Hitchcock
Zen Arcade - Husker Du
Icon - Icon (debut album)
Powerslave - Iron Maiden
Under Wraps - Jethro Tull
Breaking Hearts - Elton John
Defenders of the Faith - Judas Priest
Lay Down the Law - Keel (debut album)
Animalize - KISS
The Blitz - Krokus
She's So Unusual - Cyndi Lauper
''Give Em' The Axe EP - Lizzy Borden
How Will the Wolf Survive - Los Lobos
Like a Virgin - Madonna
Yngwie J. Malmsteen/Rising Force - Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force (debut)
- Bob Marley & the Wailers;
Meat Puppets II - Meat Puppets
Revolution - Menudo
Ride the Lightning - Metallica
Out of Step - Minor Threat
Double Nickels on the Dime - The Minutemen
No Remorse - Motörhead
From Her to Eternity - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Penetrator - Ted Nugent
- Robert Plant
Learning to Crawl - The Pretenders
Purple Rain - Prince
The Warning - Queensryche (first full length album release)
Condition Critical - Quiet Riot
''Out Of the Cellar - Ratt
Breaking Curfew - Red Rider
Reckoning - R.E.M
''Grace Under Pressure - Rush
Love At First Sting - Scorpions
Hatful of Hollow - The Smiths
Born in the U.S.A - Bruce Springsteen
''Haunting The Chapel EP - Slayer
''The Yellow and Black Attack EP - Stryper
Soul Mining - The The
Isolation - Toto
Private Dancer - Tina Turner
- her breakthrough solo album
Thunder Seven - Triumph
Stay Hungry - Twisted Sister
The Unforgettable Fire - U2
1984 - Van Halen
When In Rome Do As The Vandals - The Vandals
Hallowed Ground - Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (debut)
Couldn't Stand The Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble;
Burning The Witches - Warlock (debut album)
W.A.S.P - W.A.S.P (debut album)
The Woman in Red - (cinematic soundtrack by Stevie Wonder)
Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc - Dwight Yoakam (debut)
In Rock We Trust - Y&T;
No Tellin' Lies - Zebra
No Brakes - John Waite

Top hits

"Automatic" - Pointer Sisters
"Born in the U.S.A." - Bruce Springsteen
"Dancing In the Dark" - Bruce Springsteen
"Defenders Of Faith" - Judas Priest
"Drive" - The Cars
"Ghostbusters" - Ray Parker Jr
"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" - Cyndi Lauper
"Gone Daddy Gone" - Violent Femmes
"Heart Of Rock And Roll" - Huey Lewis & the News;
"Hot For Teacher" - Van Halen
"I'm So Excited" - Pointer Sisters
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" - Stevie Wonder
"Jump" - Van Halen
"Jump (For My Love) - Pointer Sisters
"Kiss Off" - Violent Femmes
"Let's Go Crazy" - Prince & the Revolution;
"Like a Virgin" - Madonna
"Love Bites" - Judas Priest
"1984" - Van Halen
"Neutron Dance" - Pointer Sisters
"No More Lonely Nights" - Paul McCartney
"Neverending Story" - Limahl
"Missing You" - John Waite
"Sea of Love" - Robert Plant
"The Reflex" - Duran Duran
"Time After Time" - Cyndi Lauper
"Tu Sabes a Chocolate" - Menudo
"Wake Me Up Before You Go" - Wham
"What's Love Got to Do with It?" - Tina Turner
"When Doves Cry" - Prince & the Revolution;

See also: Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1984

Published popular music

"After All These Years" w. Fred Ebb m. John Kander from the musical The Rink
"Cover Me" w.m. Bruce Springsteen
"Ghostbusters" w.m. Ray Parker Jr
"I Just Called To Say I Love You" w.m. Stevie Wonder
"Let's Go Crazy" w.m. Prince
"Like A Virgin" w.m. Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly
"Lights Out" w.m. Peter Wolf & Don Covay
"Missing You" w.m. John Waite, Chaz Sanford & Mark Leonard
"No More Lonely Nights" w.m. Paul McCartney
"Rock You Like A Hurricane" w.m. Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine & Herman Rarebell
"Time After Time" w.m. Cyndi Lauper & Rob Hyman
"To All The Girls I've Loved Before" w. Hal David m. Albert Hammond
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" w.m. George Michael
"What's Love Got To Do With It" w.m. Terry Britten & Graham Lyle
"When Doves Cry" w.m. Prince

Classical music

Ludovico Einaudi - Altissimo
Ingram Marshall - Voces Resonae
Steve Reich - The Desert Music
Robert Ward - Saxophone Concerto

Opera

Harrison Birtwistle - The Mask of Orpheus
Philip Glass - Akhnaten
Krzysztof Penderecki - The Black Mask

Musical theater

Starlight Express - Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe
Forty-Second Street London production
The Rink Broadway production opened at the Martin Beck Theatre on February 9 and ran for 233 performances
Sunday in the Park with George (Stephen Sondheim) - Broadway production opened at the Booth Theatre on May 2 and ran for 604 performances.

Musical films

The Cotton Club

Births

April 10 - Mandy Moore
November 9 - Delta Goodrem, Australian singer and actress

Deaths

February 15 - Ethel Merman
April 1 - Marvin Gaye
April 6 - Jimmy Kennedy, Irish-born British songwriter
April 26 - Count Basie, jazz musician
May 1 - Gordon Jenkins, US conductor, songwriter and pianist
June 15 - Meredith Willson, US songwriter
September 6 - Ernest Tubb country western musician
December 9 - Razzle (Nicholas Dingley), drummer of Hanoi Rocks