From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984.

Events

• January 21 - "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart; it spends a total of forty-two weeks in the Top 40.
• January 27 - Michael Jackson's scalp is burned during the filming of a Pepsi commercial and he remains calm as he is admitted to a hospital. Around this time, Jackson also releases the title track from his Thriller album as the LP's final single.
• February 14 - Elton John marries studio engineer Renate Blauel. Also Joe Perry and Brad Whitford attend an Aerosmith concert and re-join the band, embarking on their reunion tour "Back In The Saddle" later in the year.
• February 16 - Jerry Lee Lewis surrenders to federal authorities on charges of income tax evasion. Lewis is later acquitted.
• February 28 - Recovering from the scalp burns sustained a month earlier, Michael Jackson wins eight Grammy Awards out of twelve nominations, breaking the record for the most Grammys won in a single year. He wins seven for the critically acclaimed album Thriller and the other for a song featured in the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
• March 1 - 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, until 2007, when they would organize a reunion tour.
• March - Alice Cooper, who has not toured for his last two albums, parts ways with his longtime label Warner Bros. and goes on hiatus from the music industry. Cooper begins mulling over plans for a comeback, which he would carry out in 1986.
• 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 2 - 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. Meanwhile, in Luxembourg, the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 is won by the Swedish entry, Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley by the Herreys.
• June 8 - Billy Joel performs a concert at Wembley Arena that is soon broadcast on BBC Television in two parts.
• June 16-August 11 - Frankie Goes to Hollywood spend nine weeks at the top of the UK singles chart with "Two Tribes".
• June 18 - The climax of a Judas Priest concert at Madison Square Garden goes awry when fans begin ripping out the cushions from the seats and throwing them on stage. Judas Priest will pay damages through insurance and be banned from MSG for life over the incident.
• July 1 - During his performance at the first ever Cornerstone Festival in Grayslake, Illinois, Steve Taylor jumps off the stage, breaking his ankle. Taylor hops back on stage and finishes his show. The next few shows on Taylor's tour were performed from a wheel chair.
• July 10 - The last original member of Menudo, Ricky Meléndez, leaves the group and is replaced by Ricky Martin. Meanwhile, Menudomania reaches Asia in 1984.
• July 14 - Eddie Van Halen makes a special guest appearance at a concert by The Jacksons in Dallas, Texas, playing the guitar solo for "Beat It" live.
• August 9 - Iron Maiden kicks off their World Slavery Tour in Warsaw, Poland, with shows in Hungary and Yugoslavia soon to follow. This marks the first time a Western band has ever brought a full concert production behind the Iron Curtain.
• August 27 - British band Depeche Mode releases their 4th album Some Great Reward. The first single People Are People is the first big Depeche Mode hit in the USA.
• August 31 - Canadian music video channel MuchMusic debuts. The first video played is Rush's "The Enemy Within".
• September 2 - Van Halen concludes its 1984 world tour with a show in Nuremberg, Germany as part of the Monsters of Rock festival tour. This would be the band's last concert with David Lee Roth as lead singer until 2007.
• September 7 - Janet Jackson elopes with fellow singer James DeBarge. The marriage would be annulled in 1985.
• September 11 - Country singer Barbara Mandrell suffers serious injuries in a head-on automobile collision on a Tennessee highway. She will make a comeback after spending over a year rehabilitating.
• September 14 - The first annual MTV Video Music Awards are held in New York City. Herbie Hancock wins the most awards with five, and The Cars take the highest prize of Video Of The Year for "You Might Think". However, much attention is garnered by Madonna for her controversial performance of her hit single "Like a Virgin" in which she rolls around on the stage, revealing lacy stockings and garters, and grinds her crotch against her veil.
• September 21 - The first Compact Disc manufacturing plant in North America opens in Terre Haute, Indiana. CDs have previously had to be imported from Japan. Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. is designated as the first CD ever made in the United States.
• October 1 - The Jesus and 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.
• October 27 - Turner Broadcasting System launches Cable Music Channel, a music video channel intended to compete directly with MTV. The first video played is "I Love L.A." by Randy Newman. The channel would only last 34 days.
• November 20 - Michael Jackson receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame directly in front of Mann's Chinese Theater. Jackson leaves after only three minutes at the request of security, as the crush of 5,000 onlookers becomes a safety concern.
• December 1 - Frankie Goes to Hollywood become the first act to take their first three singles to the UK #1 position since Gerry & 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 is drunk at the time, and Razzle (Nicholas Dingley) of Hanoi Rocks is killed in the accident.
• December 9 - The Jacksons conclude their Victory Tour with the last of six concerts at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The tour, which consisted of 55 shows over five months, has reportedly grossed $75 million, a new industry record.
• December - Tipper Gore forms the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) in response to the "filth" she hears on her daughter's Prince album Purple Rain.
• December 31 - Def Leppard's drummer Rick Allen loses his left arm in a car wreck.
• UK singles sales this year are the second highest ever, after 1978.

Bands formed

• See Musical groups established in 1984

Bands disbanded

• Altered Images
• The Animals (they reunite in 1999)
• Any Trouble
• Brotherhood Of Man (they reunite in 1986)
• Cold Chisel (they reunite in 1998 and 2003)
• Crass
• Earth, Wind & Fire (they reunite in 1987)
• Foghat (they reunite in 1986 and stay together)
• Gang of Four (they reunite in 1987 and 2004)
• Jefferson Starship (they reunite in 1992)
• King Crimson (they reunite in 1994)
• Mission of Burma (they reunite in 2002)
• Naked Eyes
• Orange Juice (they reunite in 2008)
• The Raincoats (they reunite in 1993)
• Poco
• Rainbow (they reunite in 1995)
• Soft Cell (they reunite in 2001)
• Status Quo (they reunite the following year for Live Aid and stay together)
• The Stray Cats (they reunite in 1986, then periodically over the years)
• Styx (they reunite in 1995)
• Tommy Tutone

Bands reformed

• Deep Purple*

Albums released

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Unknown release date

• All Those Wasted Years - Hanoi Rocks
• The Art of Defense - Nona Hendryx
• Back and Forth - Skinny Puppy
• Begegnungen - Eno Moebius Roedelius Plank
• Box of Frogs - Box of Frogs
• Burning Oil - Skeletal Family
• Centipede - Rebbie Jackson
• Climate of Hunter - Scott Walker
• Country Boy - Ricky Skaggs
• Dali - Dalida
• A Dancing Foot and a Praying Knee Don't Belong on the Same Leg - Scattered Order
• Dancin' on the Edge - Lita Ford
• E2-E4 - Manuel Göttsching
• Eden - Everything But the Girl
• Fans - Malcolm McLaren
• Fried - Julian Cope
• Gone Fishin' - Flipper
• Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
• Heart Don't Lie - LaToya Jackson
• Hits out of Hell - Meat Loaf
• Horizen - Jade Warrior
• How Will the Wolf Survive? - Los Lobos
• I Often Dream of Trains - Robyn Hitchcock
• Into Battle - Brocas Helm
• In Rock We Trust - Y&T
• Inside the Fire - Rita Coolidge
• Intellectuals Are The Shoeshine Boys Of The Ruling Elite - Killdozer
• It's All in the Game - Merle Haggard
• The Las Vegas Story - The Gun Club
• John Parr - John Parr (debut)
• Lights Out - Peter Wolf (debut)
• Live at the Inferno - Raven
• Love Life - Berlin
• March of the Saint - Armored Saint
• Mast Nazren -Ecstatic Glances Live in London, 1984 - Ghulam Ali
• Meat Puppets II - Meat Puppets
• Moving - The Raincoats
• Nave Maria - Tom Zé
• Neil's Heavy Concept Album - Nigel Planer
• 1984 - Ebiet G. Ade
• No Brakes - John Waite
• No Kinda Dancer - Robert Earl Keen
• No Tellin' Lies - Zebra
• Opium - KMFDM (debut)
• Optimystique - Yanni
• Overkill (EP) - Overkill
• The Politics of Time - Minutemen
• Projects in the Jungle - Pantera
• Read My Lips - Fee Waybill
• Red Sails in the Sunset - Midnight Oil
• Riders in the Sky, Live - Riders in the Sky
• Rita Mitsouko - Rita Mitsouko
• Rock Will Never Die - Michael Schenker Group
• Seasons - Dion DiMucci
• See You in Hell - Grim Reaper (debut)
• Sonic Death - Sonic Youth
• The Splendour of Fear - Felt
• Starchild - Teena Marie
• Straight Ahead - Amy Grant
• The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories - Felt
• Suddenly - Billy Ocean
• Team Goon - D.I. (EP)
• Tocsin - Xmal Deutschland
• Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! - Toyah
• Two Steps From The Move - Hanoi Rocks
• Vengeance - New Model Army
• Youth Anthems for the New Order - Reagan Youth
• Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man - Guadalcanal Diary
• Walpurgis Night - Stormwitch
• When In Rome Do As The Vandals - The Vandals
• Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? - Art of Noise
• Wired to the Moon - Chris Rea
• Without a Song - Willie Nelson
• Work Resumed on the Tower - News from Babel
• World Shut Your Mouth - Julian Cope
• You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd - The J. Geils Band (final album)

Biggest hit singles

The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1984.

#	Artist	Title	Year	Country	Chart Entries
1	Stevie Wonder	I Just Called to Say I Love You	1984		UK 1 - September 1984, US BB 1 - September 1984, Canada 1 - September 1984, Holland 1 - August 1984, Sweden 1 - September 1984, Sweden (alt) 1 - August 1984, Austria 1 - October 1984, Switzerland 1 - September 1984, Norway 1 - September 1984, Poland 1 - January 1984, Italy 1 of 1984, Germany 1 - September 1984, Éire 1 - September 1984, New Zealand 1 for 9 weeks October 1984, Australia 1 for 8 weeks June 1985, Oscar in 1984, Australia 6 of 1984, US CashBox 9 of 1984, US BB 18 of 1984, POP 26 of 1984, Germany 52 of the 1980s, Scrobulate 100 of r & b
2	Band Aid	Do They Know It's Christmas?	1984	/	UK 1 - December 1984, Canada 1 - December 1984, Holland 1 - December 1984, Sweden 1 - December 1984, Sweden (alt) 1 - December 1984, Austria 1 - January 1985, Switzerland 1 - December 1984, Norway 1 - January 1985, Éire 1 - December 1984, New Zealand 1 for 4 weeks January 1985, Australia 1 for 4 weeks September 1985, Germany 2 - January 1985, Scrobulate 6 of Christmas, Global 7 (10 M sold) - 1984, Poland 8 - December 1984, US BB 13 - January 1985, Australia 19 of 1985, Italy 19 of 1985, RYM 24 of 1984, KROQ 25 of 1984, US CashBox 73 of 1985, Europe 78 of the 1980s, OzNet 301, Germany 325 of the 1980s
3	Wham!	Wake Me Up Before You Go Go	1984		UK 1 - May 1984, US BB 1 - October 1984, Canada 1 - October 1984, Holland 1 - June 1984, Sweden (alt) 1 - June 1984, Norway 1 - June 1984, Éire 1 - June 1984, Australia 1 for 5 weeks March 1985, Switzerland 2 - June 1984, Germany 2 - June 1984, Australia 5 of 1984, US BB 6 of 1984, Austria 6 - July 1984, POP 7 of 1984, US CashBox 19 of 1984, KROQ 20 of 1984, Poland 23 - June 1984, Europe 84 of the 1980s, OzNet 146, RYM 195 of 1984, Germany 230 of the 1980s
4	Cyndi Lauper	Girls Just Want To Have Fun	1984		Norway 1 - March 1984, Éire 1 - February 1984, New Zealand 1 for 3 weeks May 1984, Australia 1 for 2 weeks December 1984, UK 2 - January 1984, US BB 2 - January 1984, US BB 2 of 1984, Canada 2 - February 1984, POP 2 of 1984, Holland 3 - February 1984, Austria 3 - May 1984, Sweden (alt) 5 - March 1984, Switzerland 6 - April 1984, Germany 6 - March 1984, France 8 - December 1983, Australia 9 of 1984, US CashBox 16 of 1984, Italy 16 of 1984, Party 35 of 2007, RYM 63 of 1983, KROQ 65 of 1984, RIAA 122, Germany 388 of the 1980s, Acclaimed 391
5	Frankie Goes to Hollywood	Relax	1984		UK 1 - November 1983, Switzerland 1 - February 1984, Germany 1 - February 1984, TOTP 1, KROQ 1 of 1984, France 2 - November 1983, Norway 2 - February 1984, Sweden (alt) 4 - March 1984, Austria 4 - March 1984, Holland 5 - January 1984, Canada 7 - April 1984, US BB 10 - February 1985, US BB 11 of 1985, Italy 11 of 1984, Australia 16 of 1984, POP 16 of 1985, Poland 18 - February 1984, RYM 21 of 1983, Virgin 31, Scrobulate 45 of 80s, Germany 72 of the 1980s, Europe 94 of the 1980s, Acclaimed 270, OzNet 574

Significant hits

• "Agadoo" - Black Lace
• "Against All Odds" - Phil Collins
• "All Cried Out" - Alison Moyet
• "All Through the Night" - Cyndi Lauper
• "An Innocent Man" - Billy Joel
• "Automatic" - The Pointer Sisters
• "Back for more" - Ratt
• "Be My Number Two" - Joe Jackson
• "Better Be Good To Me" - Tina Turner
• "Big City Nights" - The Scorpions
• "Big In Japan" - Alphaville
• "Borderline" - Madonna
• "Born In The U.S.A." - Bruce Springsteen
• "Blue Jean" - David Bowie
• "Breakdance" - Irene Cara
• "Breakin'... There's No Stoppin' Us" - Ollie & Jerry
• "Break My Stride" - Matthew Wilder
• "Careless Whisper" - Wham!
• "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On the Run)" - Billy Ocean
• "Centipede" - Rebbie Jackson
• "Cherry Oh Baby" - UB40
• "Cover Me" - Bruce Springsteen
• "Crazy" - Kenny Rogers
• "Cruel Summer" - Bananarama
• "Cry and Be Free" - Marilyn
• "Dance Hall Days" - Wang Chung
• "Dance Me Up" - Gary Glitter
• "Dancing in the Dark" - Bruce Springsteen
• "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes" - Ultravox
• "Distant Early Warning" - Rush
• "Dr. Beat" - Miami Sound Machine
• "Doctor! Doctor!" - Thompson Twins
• "Don't Blame It On Love" - Shakatak
• "Don't Tell Me" - Blancmange
• "Down On The Street" - Shakatak
• "Drive" - The Cars
• "Easy Lover" - Phillip Bailey duet with Phil Collins
• "Eyes Without a Face" - Billy Idol
• "Femme libérée" - Cookie Dingler
• "Flame Trees" - Cold Chisel
• "Flesh For Fantasy" - Billy Idol
• "Footloose" - Kenny Loggins
• "For Whom the Bell Tolls" - Metallica
• "Forest Fire" - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
• "Forever Young" - Alphaville
• "Freedom" - Wham!
• "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" - Cyndi Lauper
• "Ghostbusters" - Ray Parker, Jr.
• "God Bless the USA" - Lee Greenwood
• "Half A Boy Half A Man" - Nick Lowe
• "Hammer to Fall" - Queen
• "Heart From The Start" - Classix Nouveaux
• "Heaven's On Fire" - Kiss
• "Hello" - Lionel Richie
• "Here Comes the Rain Again" - Eurythmics
• "High on Emotion" - Chris De Burgh
• "Heaven (Must Be There)" - Eurogliders #1 (a)
• "Hold Me Now" - Thompson Twins
• "Hold On To Love" - Gary Moore
• "Hot Water" - Level 42
• "Human Touch" - Rick Springfield
• "I Feel for You"" - Chaka Khan
• "I Just Called To Say I Love You" - Stevie Wonder
• "I Scare Myself" - Thomas Dolby
• "I Want A New Drug" Huey Lewis and the News
• "I Want to Break Free" - Queen
• "I Want To Know What Love Is" - Foreigner
• "I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" - Nik Kershaw
• "Infatuation" - Rod Stewart
• "Invisible" - Alison Moyet
• "If This Is It" - Huey Lewis and the News
• "I'll Wait" - Van Halen
• "It's A Hard Life" - Queen
• "It's a Miracle" - Culture Club
• "Joanna" - Kool & the Gang
• "Jokerman" - Bob Dylan
• "Jump" - Van Halen
• "Jump (For My love)" - The Pointer Sisters
• "Kalimba De Luna" - Dalida
• "Karma Chameleon" - Culture Club
• "L'Innamorata" - Dalida
• "Let's Go Crazy" - Prince and the Revolution
• "Let's Hear It for the Boy" - Deniece Williams
• "Like a Virgin" -Madonna
• "Lights Out" - Peter Wolf
• "Locomotion" - OMD
• "Love Somebody" - Rick Springfield
• "Lovergirl - Teena Marie
• "Lucky Star" - Madonna
• "Madam Butterfly" - Malcolm McLaren
• "Magic" - The Cars
• "Master and Servant" - Depeche Mode
• "Message To My Girl" - Neil Finn and Split Enz
• "Michael Caine" - Madness
• "Missing You" - John Waite
• "Missing You" - Diana Ross
• "Miss Me Blind"- Culture Club
• "Mistake No. 3" - Culture Club
• "My Ever Changing Moods" - The Style Council
• "No Mercy" - The Stranglers
• "No More Lonely Nights" - Paul McCartney
• "Oh Sherrie" - Steve Perry
• "One Love/People Get Ready" - Bob Marley & The Wailers
• "One Night In Bangkok" - Murray Head
• "Original Sin" - INXS
• "Out Of Touch" - Hall & Oates
• "Panama" - Van Halen
• "Pearl In The Shell" - Howard Jones
• "Pearly Dewdrops' Drops" - Cocteau Twins
• "Penny Lover" - Lionel Richie
• "People Are People" - Depeche Mode
• "Perfect Skin" - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
• "Pour te dire je t'aime" - Dalida
• "Pretty in Pink" - The Psychedelic Furs
• "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" - U2
• "Purple Rain" - Prince and the Revolution
• "Radio Ga Ga" - Queen
• "Rattlesnakes" - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
• "Read 'Em and Weep" - Barry Manilow
• "Relax" - Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• "Robert De Niro's Waiting..." - Bananarama
• "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - The Scorpions
• "Round and Round" - Ratt
• "Run Runaway" - Slade
• "Runaway" - Bon Jovi
• "Run To You" - Bryan Adams
• "Running with the Night" - Lionel Richie
• "Saturday Night" - Cold Chisel
• "Self Control" - Laura Branigan
• "Seven Seas" - Echo & the Bunnymen
• "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)" - Eurythmics
• "She Bop" - Cyndi Lauper
• "She Was Hot" - The Rolling Stones
• "Shout" - Tears for Fears
• "Shout To The Top" - The Style Council
• "Silver" - Echo & the Bunnymen
• "Skin Deep" - Stranglers
• "Soul Kind Of Feeling" - Dynamic Hepnotics
• "Smalltown Boy" - Bronski Beat
• "Smooth Operator" - Sade
• "So Tired" - Ozzy Osbourne
• "Soleil" - Dalida
• "Somebody's Watching Me" - Rockwell
• "Some Guys Have All The Luck" - Rod Stewart
• "Sounds Like A Melody" - Alphaville
• "Standing In The Shadows" - Whitesnake
• "Strut" - Sheena Easton
• "Stuck on You" - Lionel Richie, Trevor Walters
• "Sugar Walls"- Sheena Easton
• "Sunglasses at Night" - Corey Hart
• "That's All" - Genesis
• "The Ghost in You" - The Psychedelic Furs
• "The Killing Moon" - Echo & the Bunnymen
• "The Heart of Rock and Roll" - Huey Lewis and the News
• "The Longest Time" - Billy Joel
• "The Lucky One" - Laura Branigan
• "The More You Live The More You Love" - A Flock of Seagulls
• "The Never Ending Story" - Limahl
• "The Power of Love" - Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• "The Reflex" - Duran Duran
• "The Riddle" - Nik Kershaw
• "The War Song" - Culture Club
• "The Wild Boys" - Duran Duran
• "Thieves Like Us - New Order
• "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" - The Pretenders
• "Thriller" - Michael Jackson
• "Ti Amo" - Laura Branigan
• "Time After Time" - Cyndi Lauper
• "Tinseltown In The Rain" - The Blue Nile
• "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" - Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson
• "To France" - Mike Oldfield
• "Together In Electric Dreams" - Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder
• "Torture" - The Jacksons
• "TV Dinners" - ZZ Top
• "Twist of Fate" - Olivia Newton-John
• "Two Tribes" - Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• "Up On The Catwalk" - Simple Minds
• "Very Personal" - Ian Dury
• "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" - Wham!
• "We Belong" - Pat Benatar
• "We Rock" - Dio
• "We're Not Gonna Take It" - Twisted Sister
• "What About Me?" - Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes and James Ingram
• "What Difference Does It Make" - The Smiths
• "What's Love Got to Do with It" - Tina Turner
• "When Am I Gonna Make a Living" - Sade
• "When Doves Cry" - Prince
• "When Love Breaks Down" - Prefab Sprout
• "Where the Rose Is Sown" - Big Country
• "Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)" - Icicle Works
• "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" - Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five (released in 1983)
• "William It Was Really Nothing" - The Smiths
• "Wood Beez" - Scritti Politti
• "Wouldn't It Be Good" - Nik Kershaw
• "You Don't Love Me" - Marilyn
• "You Might Think" - The Cars
• "You Think You're a Man" - Divine
• "You're the Best Thing" - The Style Council
• "Young at Heart" - The Bluebells
• "Your Love Is King" - Sade

Christmas songs

• "Do They Know It's Christmas" – Band Aid
• "Last Christmas" – Wham!
• "Thank God It's Christmas" – Queen
• "Another Rock N' Roll Christmas" – Gary Glitter

Published popular music

• "After All These Years" w. Fred Ebb m. John Kander from the musical The Rink
• "The Cosby Show theme song" m. Stu Gardner and Bill Cosby
• "Cover Me" w.m. Bruce Springsteen
• "Every Time I Turn Around" w.m. Judy Hart Angelo & Gary Portnoy, theme from the TV series Punky Brewster
• "Friends" m. John Leffler, theme from the TV series Kate and Allie
• "Ghostbusters"     w.m. Ray Parker, Jr.
• "Hallelujah" w.m. Leonard Cohen
• "I Just Called to Say I Love You"     w.m. Stevie Wonder
• "Let's Go Crazy" w.m. Prince and the Revolution
• "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
• "Murder, She Wrote theme song" m. John Addison
• "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

• Samuel Adler - Sonata for Viola and Piano
• Brian Cherney - Into the Distant Stillness
• George Crumb
  • A Haunted Landscape for orchestra
  • The Sleeper for soprano and piano
• Mario Davidovsky - Divertimento for cello and orchestra
• Ludovico Einaudi - Altissimo
• Lorenzo Ferrero - Ombres for orchestra and live electronics
• Daron Hagen - A Walt Whitman Requiem
• John Harbison - String Quartet no. 1
• Robin Holloway - Viola concerto
• Ian McDougall - Concerto for Clarinet
• Elizabeth Maconchy - String Quartet no. 13, Quartetto Corto
• Ingram Marshall - Voces Resonae
• Steve Reich - The Desert Music
• Tōru Takemitsu - riverrun for piano and orchestra
• Robert Ward - Saxophone Concerto
• Malcolm Williamson
  • A Pilgrim Liturgy - for soloists, mixed choir & orchestra
  • Cortège for a Warrior for orchestra
  • Hymna Titu for piano solo
  • Symphony No. 7

Opera

• Harrison Birtwistle - The Mask of Orpheus
• Philip Glass - Akhnaten
• Philip Glass - the CIVIL warS (Rome section)
• Krzysztof Penderecki - The Black Mask
• Peter Schickele - The Abduction of Figaro, attributed to P. D. Q. Bach.
• Karlheinz Stockhausen – Samstag aus Licht

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

• Breakin'
• The Cotton Club
• Footloose
• Hard to Hold
• The Muppets Take Manhattan
• Purple Rain
• This Is Spinal Tap

Births

• February 25 - Lovefoxxx (Cansei de Ser Sexy)
• March 18 - Vonzell Solomon, US singer
• August 5 - Taylor Locke, Rooney
• April 10 - Mandy Moore, singer
• April 15 - Arianne Joy Garing (Triple threat)
• April 24 - Tyson Ritter (The All-American Rejects)
• April 27 - Patrick Stump, singer
• May 2 - Rose Falcon
• June 29 - Han Ji-hye, Korean actress/singer
• June 30 - Fantasia Barrino, American singer
• July 24 - Dhani Lennevald, A*Teens
• July 26 - Alex Parks, singer
• August 21
  • Alizée, singer
  • Melissa Schuman, singer Dream
• August 31 - Will Martin, crossover singer
• September 16 - Katie Melua, Georgian singer and musician
• September 23 - Louis Stephens, Rooney
• September 27 - Avril Lavigne, Canadian rock singer and musician
• October 3 - Ashlee Simpson, singer
• October 4 - Lena Katina, Russian singer (t.A.T.u.)
• October 10 - Stephanie Cheng, singer
• October 12 - Matthew Dewey, Australian composer
• October 16 - Shayne Ward, singer
• October 25
  • Sara Lumholdt, A*Teens
  • Katy Perry, singer
• October 27 - Kelly Osbourne, singer
• November 9 - Delta Goodrem, Australian singer and actress
• November 21 - Willy Mason

Deaths

• January 21 - Jackie Wilson, singer
• January 30 - Luke Kelly, member of The Dubliners
• February 15 - Ethel Merman, singer and actress
• April 1 - Marvin Gaye, singer/songwriter (gunshot)
• 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
• June 28 - Mischa Spoliansky, Russian born composer and conductor
• July 31 - Paul Le Flem, composer
• September 6 - Ernest Tubb, country & western musician
• September 15 - Charles Lynch, Irish concert pianist
• September 20 - Steve Goodman, singer/songwriter best known for "City of New Orleans"
• November 20 - Alexander Moyzes, Slovak composer
• December 9 - Razzle (Nicholas Dingley), drummer of Hanoi Rocks
• December 21 - José Luis Rodríguez Vélez, Panamanian composer, orchestra director, saxophonist, clarinetist and guitarrist.

Awards

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1984

Country Music Association Awards

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1984

Charts

List of No. 1 Hits

• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1984 (U.S.)
• Cashbox Top 100 number-one singles of 1984

List of No. 1 Albums

• List of number-one albums of 1984 (U.S.)

See also

• 1984 in heavy metal music
• 1984 in country music
• 1984 in British music
• Record labels established in 1984
• Timeline of musical events
• 1984