5 January:KARNAIL PITTS = American rapper = [died: 1999]
9 January:A. J. McLEAN = American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, model and is a member of the vocal group the Backstreet Boys {1993–present}
12 January:
KRIS ROE = American rock guitarist and singer, member of The Ataris {1995-present}
JEREMY CAMP = American Christian guitarist and singer
31 January:IBOLYA OLÁH = Hungarian singer
1 February:JEFF CONRAD = American musician (drummer), member of Phantom Planet {2004–present}
12 February:BRIAN CHASE = American musician (drummer), member of Yeah Yeah Yeahs
14 February:RYAN GRIFFITHS = Australian musician (guitarist), member of The Vines {March 2002-December 2011}
22 February:JENNY FROST = English singer, dancer, television presenter, and model, member of Precious {1998–2000} and Atomic Kitten {2001–2004}
24 February:JOHN NOLAN = American musician, he is the current guitarist and co-lead vocalist of Taking Back Sunday {1999–2003; 2010–present}, and the former lead singer, pianist, and guitarist of Straylight Run {2003-2010}
28 February:JEANNE CHERHAL = French singer-songwriter
10 March:BENJAMIN BURNLEY = American musician
12 March:CLAUDIO SANCHEZ = American singer/songwriter, member of Coheed and Cambria {1995–present}
21 March:KEVIN FEDERLINE = American musician
31 March:TONY YAYO = American rapper
7 April:DUNCAN JAMES = English singer
9 April:RACHEL STEVENS = English singer, songwriter, actress, television presenter, model and businesswoman, member of S Club 7 {1999-2003}
11 April:THOMAS THACKER = Canadian singer
12 April:GUY BERRYMAN = Scottish rock bass player, member of Coldplay
21 April:
JUKKA NEVALAINEN = Finnish drummer, member of Nightwish {1997–2014} and Sethian {1998-present}
BRANDEN STEINECKERT = American musician (drummer), member of The Used {2001–2006} and Rancid {2006-present}
22 April:JASON STOLLSTEIMER = American lead singer and guitarist with The Von Bondies {1997-2011}
1 May:MATT LOVATO = American musician, member of Mest
3 May:PAUL BANKS = American rock vocalist, member of Interpol
21 May:ADAM GONTIER = Canadian-born rock musician, member of Three Days Grace
23 May:SCOTT RAYNOR = American rock musician, member of Blink-182
29 May:ADAM RICKITT = British actor, singer and model
30 May:KIANNA ALARID = American musician, member of Tilly and the Wall
6 June:CARL BARÂT = English rock singer and guitarist, member of The Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things
9 June:MATTHEW BELLAMY = British musician best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and principal songwriter of rock band Muse
13 June:JASON MICHAEL CARROLL = American country musician
19 June:MÍA MAESTRO = Argentine actress and singer-songwriter
29 June:SAM FARRAR = American musician, member of Phantom Planet {2004–present}
11 July:KATHLEEN EDWARDS = Canadian singer-songwriter and musician
18 July:TONY FAGENSON = American producer, songwriter, and drummer for rock band Eve 6
1 August:DHANI HARRISON = English musician and son of George Harrison
7 August:JAMEY JASTA = American rock singer, member of Hatebreed
11 August:CHRIS "Mac Daddy" KELLY = American singer-songwriter, member of Kris Kross = [died: 2013]
15 August:TIM FOREMAN = American rock bassist with Switchfoot
23 August:JULIAN CASABLANCAS = American singer, producer, and songwriter, lead vocalist of The Strokes
24 August:DARREN ROBINSON = American musician, member of Phantom Planet {2004–present}
28 August:
MAX COLLINS = American musician, singer, and songwriter who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and guitarist of the Alternative rock band Eve 6
JESS MARGERA = American drummer, member of CKY
6 September:
CISCO ADLER = American musician
FOXY BROWN = American rapper
9 September:JOHNNY SHENTALL = English singer
11 September:BEN LEE = Australian singer
20 September:
PATRIZIO BUANNE = Italian singer
SARIT HADAD = Israeli pop singer
2 October:AYUMI HAMASAKI = Japanese singer
3 October:JAKE SHEARS = American singer
9 October:NICKY BYRNE = Irish singer, member of Westlife
14 October:USHER = American singer and actor
20 October:
KIRA = German singer
R'SONIST = Jamaican Hip Hop Producer
27 October:VANESSA-MAE = British violinist
9 November:SISQÓ = American singer
10 November:EVE = American rapper
13 November:NIKOLAI FRAITURE = American rock bassist, member of The Strokes
16 November:CAROLINA PARRA = Brazilian musician, member of Cansei de Ser Sexy
18 November:ANDRIS NELSONS = Latvian conductor
22 November:KAREN LEE ORZOLEK bka KAREN O = South Korean-born American singer and musician. She is the lead vocalist for American rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs
25 November:SHIINA RINGO = Japanese singer and musician
30 November:CLAY AIKEN = American singer
1 December:BRAD DELSON = American musician, a founding member of Linkin Park
2 December:
NELLY FURTADO = Canadian/Portuguese singer, songwriter, record producer, instrumentalist
CHRISTOPHER WOLSTENHOLME = English musician, member of Muse
15 December:NED BROWER = American musician, model and actor, member of Rooney
23 December:JENNY-BEA ENGLISHMAN bka ESTHERO = Canadian singer-songwriter
24 December:TONEDEFF = American rapper
29 December:
LATOYA LONDON = American singer
STEVE KEMP = British musician, member of Hard-Fi
Timeline of Musical Events
14 January: The Sex Pistols play their final show (until a 1996 reunion) at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom.
16 January: Elton John appears on this week's People Magazine without his trademark glasses. John would still wear glasses occasionally for the next ten years until wearing them permanently again.
21 January: As Saturday Night Fever becomes a cultural phenomenon, the soundtrack hits #1 on the Billboard Charts, where it will stay until July. The Bee Gees similarly dominate the singles charts during the first half of the year. At one point, the album was selling 1 million copies per week.
25 January:
Electric Light Orchestra kick off their famous "Out of the Blue" world tour in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Bob Dylan makes his directorial debut in the surrealist film Renaldo and Clara, shot during his Rolling Thunder Revue tour. The nearly four-hour film has a short theatrical run and is mostly panned by critics.
28 January: By request, Ted Nugent autographs his name into a fan's arm with a bowie knife in Philadelphia.
18 March: California Jam II is held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in California. Over 300,000 fans come to see Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, Santana, Dave Mason, Foreigner, Heart and more.
22 April:
In the Eurovision Song Contest in Paris, France, victory goes to Israel's entry "A-Ba-Ni-Bi", performed by Izhar Cohen & The Alphabeta.
The "One Love Peace Concert" is held in Kingston, Jamaica, headlined by Bob Marley, making his first concert appearance since December 1976.
Steve Martin performs the original "King Tut" on Saturday Night Live. The song is later released as a single and becomes a hit for the comedian. Also that night, The Blues Brothers make their first appearance on Saturday Night Live. The duo of Jake & Elwood Blues (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) are introduced by Paul Shaffer (as Don Kirshner) and perform "Hey Bartender".
6 May: The Knack is formed (first album released in 1979).
13 May: Barry Gibb becomes the only songwriter in history to have written 4 consecutive #1 singles on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart.
18 May: Gary Busey stars in The Buddy Holly Story, opening today. It would win the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score, and earn a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Busey) and Best Sound.
25 May: In a performance used for The Kids Are Alright, The Who play their last show with Keith Moon.
2 June: Bruce Springsteen releases Darkness on the Edge of Town.
10 June: The Rolling Stones begin their 25-date US summer tour in Lakeland, Florida.
13 June: The Cramps play a free concert for patients at the Napa State Mental Hospital.
16 June: The film adaptation of the musical Grease, opens in theaters and is a box office hit.
20 June: Grace Slick splits with Jefferson Starship the day after a disastrous concert in Hamburg, Germany, in which a heavily intoxicated Slick verbally abused the crowd and groped various fans and band mates.
29 June: Peter Frampton is nearly killed in a car accident in The Bahamas, suffering multiple broken bones, a concussion, and muscle damage.
1 July: The first Texxas Jam is held over the July 4 long weekend at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The first day features Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush, Heart, Journey, Head East, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Eddie Money, Van Halen and Walter Egan. Sunday consists of Willie Nelson headlining his sixth annual Fourth of July picnic.
19 July: Dead Kennedys play their first concert at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco, California.
21 July: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, a much-hyped musical film starring Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees performing the music of The Beatles, opens in theaters. The film is savaged by critics and proves a box office disappointment.
30 July: Thin Lizzy officially announces that Gary Moore has replaced Brian Robertson on guitar.
26 August: 80,000 concertgoers attend Mosport Speedway in Ontario for the first "Canada Jam Festival", featuring sets by the Doobie Brothers, Commodores, Kansas, Village People, Dave Mason, the Atlanta Rhythm Section and Triumph.
7 September: The Who drummer Keith Moon dies in a central London flat after a prescription drug overdose at the age of 32.
14-16 September: The Grateful Dead perform three shows in Giza, Egypt, very close to the Sphinx and Great Pyramid.
12 October: Nancy Spungen, the American girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious, is found dead in a hotel room of a stab wound. Sid is arrested and charged with her murder.
24 October: Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards pleads guilty to the charge of possessing heroin in Toronto in 1977. He is given a one-year suspended sentence and ordered to play a charity concert for the blind.
29 October: Michael Schenker plays his final show with UFO in Stanford, California before leaving the group to rejoin Scorpions.
November: A now sober Alice Cooper releases the album From the Inside, which tells of his stay in rehab for alcoholism.
25 November: Aerosmith cuts a concert short after Steven Tyler suffers cuts to his face from a bottle that shatters upon hitting a stage monitor. This is the second time in thirteen months that Tyler has been injured at the Philadelphia Spectrum by an object thrown from the crowd.
27 November: Def Leppard's permanent drummer Rick Allen joins the band at the age of 15.
December: Matthias Jabs joins Scorpions, replacing Uli Jon Roth.
31 December: The seventh annual New Year's Rockin' Eve special airs on ABC, with performances by Barry Manilow, Village People, Chuck Mangione, Tanya Tucker and Rick James.
Also in 1978
Kenny Rogers continues his highly successful solo career with the single (and album) "The Gambler" and will go on to star in no less than 5 movies based around the song.
In the UK, singles sales are at their all-time high this year, boosted by the simultaneous peak of the disco and punk phenomena and the success of singles from the movie Grease.
Mozambique holds its first National Dance Festival, involving half a million people.
Published Popular Music
"Another Suitcase In Another Hall" = lyrics by TIM RICE; music by ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER from the musical Evita
"Dallas theme song" = music by JERROLD IMMEL
"Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" = lyrics by TIM RICE; music by ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER from the musical Evita
"Grease" = lyrics & music by BARRY GIBB from the film Grease
"Honesty" = lyrics & music by BILLY JOEL
"Hopelessly Devoted to You" = lyrics & music by JOHN FARRAR introduced by OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN in the film Grease
"My Life" = lyrics & music by BILLY JOEL
"Only The Good Die Young" = lyrics & music by BILLY JOEL
"Sultans Of Swing" = lyrics & music by MARK KNOPFLER
"Thank You For Being a Friend" = lyrics & music by ANDREW GOLD
"Three Times A Lady" = lyrics & music by LIONEL RICHIE
"You Don't Bring Me Flowers" = lyrics by ALAN BERGMAN, MARILYN BERGMAN & NEIL DIAMOND; music by NEIL DIAMOND
"You're The One That I Want" = lyrics & music by JOHN FARRAR introduced by OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN and JOHN TRAVOLTA in the film Grease
Classical Music
MALCOLM ARNOLD
Symphony No. 8
JACOB DRUCKMAN
Viola concerto
ARVO PÄRT
Spiegel im Spiegel
ALEXANDRE RABINOVITCH-BARAKOVSKY
Requiem pour une marée noire
IANNIS XENAKIS
Mycènes Alpha
Opera
ROBERT ASHLEY
Perfect Lives
LORENZO FERRERO
Rimbaud, ou le fils du soleil
VIVIAN FINE
The Women in the Garden
GYÖRGY LIGETI
Le grand macabre
KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI
Paradise Lost (libretto by Christopher Fry)
AULIS SALLINEN
The Red Line (Punainen viiva)
Ballet
LORENZO FERRERO
Invito a nozze
Musical Theatre
AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'
Broadway revue opened at the Longacre Theatre on May 9 and ran for 1604 performances
THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS
opened at the Entermedia Theatre on April 17 and ran for 85 performances. (Moved to Broadway in 1979)
EUBIE
Broadway revue opened at the Ambassador Theatre on September 20 and ran for 439 performances
EVITA
(Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice)
London production opened at the Prince Edward Theatre on June 21
HELLO, DOLLY!
(Jerry Herman)
Broadway revival opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on March 5 and ran for 152 performances
I'M GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER AND TAKING IT ON THE ROAD
Off-Broadway production opened at the Anspacher Theater on June 14 and ran for 1165 performances
TIMBUKTU
Broadway production opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on March 1 and ran for 243 performances
ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre on February 19 and ran for 460 performances
Please address any comments concerning this page to The Music Maestro
Mark Chard BSc, PLY
Page created: 20th March 2010
Last edited: 20th February 2024