This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.
Specific locations 1997 in British music 1997 in Norwegian music 1997 in Scandinavian music 1997 in South Korean music
Specific genres 1997 in classical music 1997 in country music 1997 in heavy metal music 1997 in hip-hop 1997 in jazz 1997 in Latin music 1997 in progressive rock
Events January January 1 – Townes Van Zandt dies of a cardiac arrhythmia. January 6 – Scottish band Texas release first single, "Say What You Want" from their 6× Platinum album "White on Blonde" January 7 – The Spice Girls release their debut single, "Wannabe" in the U.S. and premiere the music video eighteen days later. January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert (the day after his birthday) at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, with the opening act Placebo. Proceeds from the concert went to the Save the Children fund. January 10 – James Brown receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, USA. January 17–February 2 – The Big Day Out festival takes place in Australia and New Zealand, headlined by Soundgarden, The Offspring and The Prodigy. Sepultura are originally named in the lineup, but cancel their performance after the departure of former frontman Max Cavalera in December 1996. They are later replaced by Fear Factory. January 19 – Madonna wins Best Actress In A Motion Picture, Musical Or Comedy, for her part in Evita, at the 54th annual Golden Globe Awards in the USA. January 20 – Daft Punk releases their debut studio album Homework. January 28 The Virginia Senate votes to retire "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" as the official state song, and begins looking for a replacement. Clive Davis gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
February February 2 – Rich Mullins' musical The Canticle of the Plains receives its première in Wichita, Kansas. February 3 – Scottish band Texas release their fourth album "White on Blonde" February 12 – David Bowie receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, USA. February 13 Michael Jackson's first son, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., is born. The Spice Girls knock Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart" off the top spot in the US singles chart. They are the first female British group to have a US number one with their debut single. February 20 – Ben and Jerry's introduce "Phish Food", a new flavor of ice cream named after the rock group Phish. The ingredients are chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, caramel and fish-shaped fudge. February 24 – The Spice Girls win Best Video for "Say You'll Be There" and Best Single for "Wannabe" at the BRIT Awards. Geri Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the girls' live performance hogs the headlines the next day. February 26 – The 39th Annual Grammy Awards are presented in New York, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. Babyface wins the most awards with four, while Celine Dion's Falling into You wins Album of the Year and Eric Clapton's "Change the World" wins both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. LeAnn Rimes wins Best New Artist. February 28 – Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight is sentenced to nine years in prison for violating his probation. He would be released in August 2001.
March March 1 Pianist David Helfgott performs at the Boston Symphony Hall, in Boston, USA, during his world tour. The Boston Globe describes his performance as "without phrasing, form, harmonic understanding, differentiation of style and often basic accuracy; worst of all, it was without emotional content". The jam band Phish records "Slip Stitch and Pass" live at Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany. March 9 The Notorious B.I.G. is shot dead while sitting in the passenger seat of a car after a post Soul Train Awards party in Los Angeles, CA. The Spice Girls become the first act in the history of the UK Top 40 singles charts to have four consecutive number one hits with "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are". Profits from the single go to Comic Relief and provide the biggest individual contribution of 1997. March 10 – A Marilyn Manson concert in Columbia, South Carolina is canceled in response to pressure from religious and civic groups. March 11 – Paul McCartney is knighted by Elizabeth II. March 17 – Whirlwind Heat play their first show. March 19–20 – The reunited The Monkees perform two sold-out concerts at Wembley Arena in London, UK. March 30 – The Spice Girls launch Britain's new television channel, Channel 5.
April April 2 – Joni Mitchell is reunited with her daughter, Kilauren Gibb, whom she gave up for adoption 32 years earlier. April 7 – Wynton Marsalis becomes the first jazz artist to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. April 10 – Nigel Kennedy, now calling himself simply Kennedy, returns to the stage at the Royal Festival Hall after a five-year absence from the concert stage resulting from neck surgery. April 14 – Creed releases their debut studio album My Own Prison. April 15 – Hanson releases "MMMBop", one of the most successful debut singles of all time, reaching number one in 27 countries. April 25–27 – The first Terrastock festival is held in Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
May May 3 5ive's musical career begins after auditions are held in London, UK to find potential band members, with over 3,000 hopefuls showing up to audition. The Spice Girls attend the Cannes Film Festival to announce their plans to hit the big screen with Spiceworld: The Movie. A photo call on top of the Hotel Martinez entrance brings the area to a standstill. At the 42nd Eurovision Song Contest, held in Dublin's Point Theatre, the UK win with "Love Shine a Light", sung by Katrina and the Waves. The Notorious B.I.G.'s single "Hypnotize" is #1 for three weeks. May 6 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is held in Cleveland at the site of the hall itself for the first time. Prior to this year, the ceremony had only been held in New York City. May 11 – The Spice Girls perform their first British live gig for the Prince's Trust 21st anniversary concert at the Manchester Opera House. They break royal protocol by kissing the Prince of Wales (now Charles III) on the cheeks and even pinching his bottom. May 15 – The Spice Girls' album Spice reaches number one on the US charts, making them the first British act to top the charts with a debut album. May 20 - Foo Fighters release their second studio album The Colour and the Shape. May 21 – Radiohead releases OK Computer. May 23 – Brainiac frontman Tim Taylor is killed in a car crash at age 29 driving to his Dayton, Ohio home. The band announces they will not continue. May 24 – The first Ozzfest tour kicks off at the Nissan Pavilion in Washington, D.C., featuring Pantera and a reconstituted Black Sabbath with three of the four original members. May 26 – NSYNC releases their debut album NSYNC. May 27 - Kirk Franklin releases his fourth album (first collaboration album with God’s Property) God’s Property from Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation which spawned the crossover hit single “Stomp” May 28 – Japanese pop singer and songwriter Miho Komatsu releases her first and debut song entitled Nazo. It is used as an opening soundtrack in popular hit anime Detective Conan.
June June 14 – Puff Daddy and The Family's "I'll Be Missing You" single is #1 on the Hot 100 charts for the next 11 weeks, only to be replaced by The Notorious B.I.G. posthumous single "Mo Money Mo Problems", also featuring Puff Daddy. June 24 – Disney-owned Hollywood Records drops Insane Clown Posse from their roster and pulls the album The Great Milenko after only six hours of release, in an attempt to placate the Southern Baptist Church who were threatening to boycott the company for straying from its family-friendly image. The controversy generates tremendous publicity for the band, who soon sign with Island Records. June 29 – Missy Elliott releases the single "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" from her debut album Supa Dupa Fly.
July–August July 1 – Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to China: Tan Dun's Symphony 1997: Heaven, Earth, Mankind for orchestra, biānzhōng bells, children's chorus and solo cello is premièred as part of the official ceremony. July 5 – The first Lilith Fair tour kicks off at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. Sarah McLachlan, Tracy Chapman and Jewel are among the performers. July 15–20 – The second Yoyo A Go Go punk and indie rock festival opens in Olympia, Washington. August 3 – The Black Crowes perform their last show with Johnny Colt and Marc Ford. August 4 – Nigerian afrobeat pioneer and dissident pop star Fela Anikulapo-Kuti dies in Lagos, Nigeria, of HIV-related illness. August 7 – Garth Brooks performs to an estimated 800,000 to one million people during a free concert given in Central Park, New York City. August 11 – The Backstreet Boys release their second international album, Backstreet's Back. August 12 – The Backstreet Boys release their U.S. debut album, Backstreet Boys. August 14 – Godspeed You! Black Emperor releases debut album, F♯ A♯ ∞ August 16–17 – Phish perform at the two-day music festival, The Great Went, at Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine, US. They play 500 minutes of music, six sets and two encores. There is an estimated attendance of between 65,000 and 70,000, and it is the top-grossing concert of the season, making over $4,000,000 in box office receipts. August 19 – The reunited Fleetwood Mac begin a concert tour in the United States. August 30 – "Mo Money Mo Problems" reaches #1 on the Hot 100 singles chart, making The Notorious B.I.G. the first artist to achieve two posthumous #1 singles.
September–October September 6 – Elton John performs "Candle in the Wind" at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales; John Tavener's "Song for Athene" is performed at the same ceremony, with soprano Lynne Dawson singing the solo part. September 16 After a tumultuous divorce from her first husband, Mariah Carey releases the album Butterfly, which moved her sound in a more hip-hop/R&B direction. Aaliyah releases the single "Hot Like Fire"/"The One I Gave My Heart To". September 17 – The KLF return for 23 minutes with their performance of "Fuck the Millennium". September 19 – While on his way to a benefit concert in Kansas, USA, Rich Mullins loses control of his Jeep, flipping the automobile and throwing both Mullins and passenger Mitch McVicker out onto the road. A tractor-trailer approaching the scene swerves to miss McVicker, striking and killing Mullins instantly. McVicker survives, but suffers major injuries. September 20 – U2 plays at Reggio Emilia during their PopMart Tour to over 150,000 people. September 22 – Björk releases Homogenic, moving towards a darker sound and away from her 'pixie' image. September 23 – U2 perform a concert in Sarajevo during their PopMart Tour. September 27 – Bob Dylan performs for Pope John Paul II at a Catholic youth event in Bologna, Italy. September 29 The Rolling Stones release Bridges to Babylon. The Verve release Urban Hymns. In a controversial legal dispute, the majority of their royalties and songwriting credit for their single "Bitter Sweet Symphony" go to The Rolling Stones. October 7 – Everclear release their multi-platinum third album So Much for the Afterglow, containing "Father of Mine" and "I Will Buy You a New Life". October 13 – The "Prince Igor" single, jointly performed by The Rhapsody, Warren G and Sissel Kyrkjebø is released. October 15 – Michael Jackson ends the HIStory World Tour, which included an attendance record of 4,500,000 fans, in Durban, South Africa. October 22 – Namie Amuro shocks her fans when she announces that she has recently married and is three months pregnant. She subsequently begins a one-year hiatus from the music industry. October 23 – R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry announces his departure from the group.