February 25, 1998 Strange things are afoot at the Grammy Awards. A shirtless dude with "Soy Bomb" written on his chest intrudes on Bob Dylan's performance, and when Shawn Colvin wins Song Of The Year (for "Sunny Came Home"), Ol' Dirty Bastard of Wu-Tang Clan rushes the stage, commandeering the microphone and talking about how his group should have won the Best Rap Album award over Puff Daddy because "Wu-Tang is for the children."More
February 24, 1998 Elton John is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.More
February 22, 1998 Tori Amos marries her longtime sound engineer, Mark Hawley, at a small stone church in West Wycombe in North London. The couple's move to Hawley's native England inspires Amos' tune "Welcome To England."
February 19, 1998 With Brian Setzer leading the swing revival at the helm of The Brian Setzer Orchestra, he reunites Stray Cats for a show at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, with proceeds going to the Carl Perkins Center For The Prevention Of Child Abuse.
February 17, 1998 After a failed run on Elektra Records, Destiny's Child release their self-titled debut album on Columbia. The first single, "No, No, No," is a hit and introduces their crisp, punctuated vocal style.
February 17, 1998 Songwriter Bob Merrill commits suicide aged 76. His compositions include the #1 UK hits "(How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window?" and "She Wears Red Feathers (And A Huly-Huly Skirt)."
February 13, 1998 Buddy Lee, a booking agent who worked with Garth Brooks and Willie Nelson, among others, dies of respiratory failure related to lung cancer.
February 6, 1998 Austrian singer-songwriter Falco (Hans Hölzel) dies in a car crash while under the influence of cocaine and alcohol, just two weeks shy of his 41st birthday.
February 6, 1998 Beach Boys guitarist Carl Wilson dies of lung cancer at 51. Wilson sang lead on the group's hits "Good Vibrations," "God Only Knows," and "Kokomo."
February 6, 1998 Blues Brothers 2000 opens in theaters. James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and Erykah Badu are among the musicians to appear in the film.
February 5, 1998 Tim Kelly (guitarist Slaughter) dies in a car accident in Arizona at age 35.
January 27, 1998 The Dixie Chicks release their major-label debut, Wide Open Spaces. It's the country trio's first album with lead singer Natalie Maines.
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January 26, 1998 In a big surprise upset at the American Music Awards, rapper Puff Daddy loses in all five categories in which he is nominated for an award.
January 24, 1998 The Titanic soundtrack goes to #1 in America, replacing Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love. Both albums contain the hit song from the movie, "My Heart Will Go On."
January 23, 1998 The Spice Girls movie Spice World hits theaters in America.More
January 20, 1998 With the release of their debut single, "I Want You Back," *NSYNC emerges as a rival to Backstreet Boys, who are taking America by storm.
January 20, 1998 Dawson's Creek, a coming-of-age drama following a group of North Carolina teens, debuts on The WB with Paula Cole's hit "I Don't Want To Wait" as its theme song.More
January 12, 1998 The 13th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York. Inductees include the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas & The Papas, Lloyd Price, Santana, and Gene Vincent.
January 11, 1998 Nike debuts its "I Can" commercial, introducing the British band The Verve to a wide American audience with the song "Bitter Sweet Symphony." The song becomes the band's only hit in the States, which is bittersweet because they had to sign away royalties to the song to get the publishing rights to the string sample.
January 6, 1998 11-year-old Zac Hanson becomes the youngest songwriter ever nominated for a Grammy when Hanson's debut hit, "MMMbop," is considered for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
January 5, 1998 In the Ally McBeal episode "Cro-Magnon," a thirty-something Ally is reminded of her ticking biological clock when she hallucinates a baby dancing to the tune of Blue Swede's "Hooked On A Feeling." By the end of the episode, Ally relents and grooves along with the tot.More
December 31, 1997 Floyd Cramer, pianist and forerunner of the "Nashville sound," dies of lung cancer at age 64. He played piano as a session musician on Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel."
December 19, 1997 Titanic opens in theaters. It becomes the top-grossing movie of all time, with a soundtrack that sells about 15 million copies, thanks mostly to the Celine Dion hit, "My Heart Will Go On."More
December 14, 1997 Kurt Winter (guitarist for The Guess Who) dies of kidney failure at age 51.
December 13, 1997 Hanson play "MMMbop" on Saturday Night Live and take part in a sketch where they are held hostage and forced to listen to the song until they snap.
December 5, 1997 At the KROQ Christmas concert in Los Angeles, Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro uses his own blood to write an encouraging message to Fiona Apple on her dressing room wall: "Fiona, have fun. Love, DN" He insists it's not creepy. "Fiona courageously shares with the world what comes from the beauty and pain that flows from within her heart," Navarro explains. "I simply chose to thank her for her honesty by leaving her a little note that comes from the beauty and pain that flows from my heart... literally."
December 1, 1997 Using a technique called circular breathing, Kenny G sets the Guinness World Record for longest note held on a wind instrument when he keeps it going for 45 minutes and 47 seconds. In 2017, the Nigerian player Femi Kuti breaks the record, going 51:35.
November 30, 1997 The X-Files episode "The Post-Modern Prometheus" includes a Cher storyline and culminates in the main characters attending her concert. Cher couldn't appear in the episode (a lookalike was used), but three of her songs are featured: "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)," "Walking in Memphis" and "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves."
November 27, 1997 Reba McEntire debuts her new song "What If" at halftime of the Cowboys-Oilers Thanksgiving Day football game at Texas Stadium. Proceeds from the song are donated to the Salvation Army.
November 26, 1997 The day after his album Sevens is released, Garth Brooks lands 12 of the 14 songs from the album on the Country singles chart. The previous record for most charting singles from an album was held by Brooks' Fresh Horses with eight tracks.
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