1987 in music

Specific locations

• 1987 in British music
• 1987 in Norwegian music

  Specific genres

• 1987 in country music
• 1987 in heavy metal music
• 1987 in hip hop music
• 1987 in jazz

  Events

January–February

• January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The other inductees this year consist of The Coasters, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley, Clyde McPhatter, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Smokey Robinson and Jackie Wilson.
• January 5 – Elton John, after several months of voice problems, undergoes throat surgery in an Australian hospital. The outcome would hinder his voice permanently and he would soon start singing in a deep register.
• January 16 – Beastie Boys become the first act to be censored by American Bandstand.
• January 24 – Steve "Silk" Hurley's innovative "Jack Your Body" becomes the first house music record to top the UK singles chart.
• February 6 – Sonny Bono announces his candidacy for mayor of Palm Springs, California.
• February 14
• *Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" reaches #1 in the USA. It would be 1987's biggest hit song worldwide.
• *Los Angeles radio station KMET signs off after nineteen years on the air. The station had been a pioneer of underground progressive rock programming.
• February 15 – Video Hits premieres on Australian television.
• February 26 – The first four Beatles albums, Please Please Me, With the Beatles, A Hard Day's Night and Beatles for Sale are released on compact disc. Capitol Records decides to release the original UK mixes of the Beatles albums, which means that the first four CDs are released in mono. This marks the first time that many of these mono mixes are available in the US.

  March–April

• March 9
• *U2 releases The Joshua Tree, an album that launches them into superstar status in the music world. The album would sell over 14 million copies worldwide in 1987 alone and would win the Grammy for "Album of the Year". U2 have two #1 hit songs from this album on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts.
• *Carole King is inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City.
• *The career that would end in an infamous appearance at The Brit awards and the burning of a million pounds began in Britain, as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu release their debut single, "All You Need Is Love".
• March 13
• *Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• *In the US, Bryan Adams' "Heat of the Night" becomes the first single to be commercially released on cassette. Cassette singles become known as cassingles.
• March 27 – Inspired by The Beatles' 1969 rooftop concert, U2 shoots a music video for the song "Where the Streets Have No Name" on a rooftop in Los Angeles.
• April 23 – Carole King sues the owner of her record company, Lou Adler, claiming that she is owed more than $400,000 in royalties. King also asks for rights to her old recordings.

  May–August

• May 9 – Ireland's Johnny Logan wins the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Brussels, Belgium, with the song "Hold Me Now", making him the first artist to win the contest twice. The song tops the charts in Ireland, and peaks at No. 2 in the UK.
• June 14 – Madonna starts her Who's That Girl Tour in Osaka, Japan.
• June 27 – Whitney Houston's second album Whitney becomes the first album by a female artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200.
• July 4
• *Kylie Minogue's recording career begins with the release of her cover version of the Little Eva hit The Loco-Motion; the single spends seven weeks at number one in her native Australia and leads to a contract with UK-based record producers Stock Aitken Waterman.
• *The first joint rock concert between the United States and the Soviet Union is held in Moscow to promote peace. The Doobie Brothers, James Taylor, Santana and Bonnie Raitt share the bill with Soviet rock group Autograph.
• July 21 – American rock group Guns N' Roses release Appetite for Destruction which, after initial slow sales will become the best selling debut album of all time with more than 18 million copies sold in the US alone to date
• August 1
• *Dave Stewart of Eurythmics and Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama are married in Normandy, France.
• *MTV Europe is launched. The first video played is "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits.
• August 3 – Def Leppard releases Hysteria, the longest rock album ever released as a single LP or cassette.
• August 27 – The Jello Biafra criminal trial is dismissed after ending in a hung jury in Los Angeles court. Biafra and his manager had been charged with distributing harmful material to minors due to a poster included in the Dead Kennedys' Frankenchrist album of a painting depicting rows of sexual organs.
• August 31 – Michael Jackson releases Bad, his first studio album since Thriller, the best-selling album of all time. The album would produce five number one singles in the US, a record which has not been broken.

  September–October

• September 3 – Fugazi plays their first live show at the Wilson Center in Washington DC.
• September 6 – Madonna ends her Who's That Girl Tour in Florence, Italy.
• September 7 – Pink Floyd release A Momentary Lapse of Reason, their first album after the departure of, and legal battle with, bassist Roger Waters. The subsequent tour grossed around $135 million worldwide, a sum that was only equaled by the earnings of Michael Jackson and U2 combined.
• September 11 – Reggae musician Peter Tosh is murdered during a robbery in his home.
• September 12 – Michael Jackson starts the Bad World Tour, supporting his Bad album.
• September 25 – CBS launches an American version of the long-running UK television show Top of the Pops. It lasts one year.
• October 4 – Electronic data gathering completely replaces the old sales diary technique in compiling the UK singles and albums chart. The publication day of new charts is moved from Tuesday to Sunday.
• October 8 – Chuck Berry receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• October 19 – Mötley Crüe release the song "You're All I Need" as a single. MTV refuse to play its video because of the level of violence.
• October 19 – INXS releases KICK.
• October 30 – George Michael releases his first solo studio album, Faith, which would win the Grammy Award for album of the year and sell 11 million copies in the USA alone.
• October 31 – The Zorros headline on Halloween for the last-ever show at the Crystal Ballroom, Melbourne's premier Punk/New Wave venue. The Crystal Ballroom has seen almost ten years of intense musical evolution. The venue has chandeliers, stained glass windows, paisley wallpaper and a tiled foyer.

  November–December

• November 2 – Dokken release Back for the attack
• November 13 – Sonny and Cher reunite for a performance on Late Night with David Letterman.
• November 18 – CBS Records is sold to the Sony Corporation in a deal worth about $2 billion; the company was renamed Sony Music Entertainment in 1991.
• November 19 – Cher returns to the music after five years of absence -time that she took to dedicate herself to the filmmaking business- with the lead single of her second self-titled album, I Found Someone, which peaked at number five in UK and number ten in US.
• November 24 – ABC airs Rolling Stone Magazine's 20 Years of Rock 'n' Roll television special, chronicling the music and the people of the past twenty years to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Rolling Stone magazine. The special includes new interviews as well as vintage performance footage of many rock legends such as Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Sex Pistols, Bruce Springsteen and many more.
• December 16 – John Mellencamp performs two free shows in the small town of Chillicothe, Ohio after one-fifth of the population signs a petition asking him to play.
• December 23
• * Nikki Sixx of the rock band Mötley Crüe suffers a heroin overdose, but is revived shortly thereafter.
• * Roger Waters finalizes his departure from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd, after a two-year-long legal dispute over the rights to the band's name and assets.
• December 31 – The sixteenth annual New Year's Rockin' Eve special airs on ABC, with appearances by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, Los Lobos, Barry Manilow, Restless Heart and The Temptations.

  Also in 1987

• Andreas Kisser replaces Jairo Guedes in Sepultura.
• Prince cancels The Black Album just before its release. It becomes officially available in 1994.
• Naxos Records is established as a budget classical music CD label by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.

  Bands formed

• See :Category:Musical groups established in 1987|Musical groups established in 1987

  Bands disbanded

• See :Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1987|Musical groups disestablished in 1987

  Bands reformed

• The Doobie Brothers
• Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Prism

  Albums released

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Release date unknown

• 2X4 – Guadalcanal Diary
• 25 Years Celebration – The Dubliners
• Akwaba Beach – Mory Kanté
• Angel with a Lariat – k.d. lang and the Reclines
• Annihilate This Week – Black Flag
• At My Window – Townes Van Zandt
• Babble – That Petrol Emotion
• Ballot Result – Minutemen
• Between Two Worlds – Patrick O'Hearn
• Bennett/Berlin – Tony Bennett
• The Best of A Flock of Seagulls – A Flock of Seagulls
• The Best of Dalida, Vol. 2 – Dalida
• Bird Dog – The Verlaines
• The Blanton-Webster Years – Duke Ellington
• Brave Words – The Chills
• Brenda K. Starr – Brenda K. Starr
• By the Light of the Moon – Los Lobos
• The Camera Never Lies – Michael Franks
• The Cowboy Way – Riders in the Sky
• Daddy's Highway – The Bats
• Dancing with Strangers – Chris Rea
• Dawn – Current 93
• ' – Grateful Dead
• Desire – Toyah
• Diminuendo – Lowlife
• Drive by Shooting – Henry Rollins
• Escape from Noise – Negativland
• Exiles – Dan Fogelberg
• Eye of the Hurricane – The Alarm
• Frozen Ghost – Frozen Ghost
• Gluey Porch Treatments – The Melvins
• Green Eggs and Crack – Too Much Joy
• Hai Hai – Roger Hodgson
• Hot Animal Machine – Henry Rollins
• Huevos – Meat Puppets
• Hot Number – The Fabulous Thunderbirds
• If I Were Your Woman – Stephanie Mills
• ' – Roy Orbison – compilation
• I Prefer The Moonlight – Kenny Rogers
• Kane Roberts – Kane Roberts
• Law of the Fish – The Radiators
• Life Time – Rollins Band
• Life's a Bitch – Raven
• Live and Loud!! – Sham 69 – Live
• Live At The Ritz – Ronnie Wood & Bo Diddley – Live
• Lone Star State of Mind – Nanci Griffith
• Lubricated Goat Plays the Devil's Music – Lubricated Goat
• – Plasmatics
• Menjaring Matahari – Ebiet G. Ade
• Mirador – Magnum
• Official Version – Front 242
• One Thousand Years of Trouble – Age of Chance
• Pain of Mind - Neurosis
• Players – Too Short
• Pontiac – Lyle Lovett
• Poem of the River – Felt
• Post-Mersh Vol. 1 – Minutemen
• Post-Mersh Vol. 2 – Minutemen
• Raindancing – Alison Moyet
• Romeo at Juilliard – Don Dixon
• Saddle Pals – Riders in the Sky
• Safety In Numbers – David Van Tieghem
• See How We Are – X
• Shaka Zulu – Ladysmith Black Mambazo
• Silence – Stephan Eicher
• Simply Shadows – The Shadows
• Songs from the Stage and Screen – Michael Crawford
• The Sound of Music – The dB's
• Soy Así – José José
• Speed Metal Symphony – Cacophony
• Starting Up – Roy Wood
• Stereoland – The Modern Art
• Stinkfist – Clint Ruin and Lydia Lunch
• Strange Cargo – William Orbit
• Swing Street – Barry Manilow
• The Talking Animals – T-Bone Burnett
• Tell No Tales – TNT
• Too Late To Cry – Alison Krauss
• The Tribe – Bernie Taupin
• VI – Circle Jerks
• Wasted...Again – Black Flag
• Whitecross – Whitecross
• Wildest Dreams – Saga
• Out of Silence – Yanni
• Young and Free – Rock Goddess

  Biggest hit singles

#	Artist	Title	Year	Country	Chart Entries
1	Los Lobos	La Bamba	1987		UK 1 – Jul 1987, US BB 1 – Jul 1987, Switzerland 1 – Aug 1987, Italy 1 of 1987, Republic of Ireland 1 – Jul 1987, New Zealand 1 for 7 weeks Aug 1987, Australia 1 for 7 weeks Apr 1988, Netherlands 2 – Aug 1987, Australia 2 of 1987, Austria 4 – Oct 1987, Norway 4 – Aug 1987, US BB 8 of 1987, POP 8 of 1987, Germany 9 – Aug 1987, US CashBox 11 of 1987, Sweden 12 – Aug 1987, Poland 17 – Sep 1987, South Africa 17 of 1987, Scrobulate 75 of Latin, KROQ 81 of 1987, RYM 116 of 1987, Party 227 of 1999, Acclaimed 2050
2	Rick Astley	Never Gonna Give You Up	1987		UK 1 – Aug 1987, US BB 1 – Jan 1988, Netherlands 1 – Sept 1987, France 1 – Aug 1987, Norway 1 – Oct 1987, Germany 1 – Sept 1987, New Zealand 1 for 1 weeks Feb 1988, Australia 1 for 7 weeks Jun 1988, South Africa 1 of 1988, US CashBox 2 of 1988, Switzerland 2 – Sept 1987, Sweden 3 – Sept 1987, Austria 4 – Nov 1987, Australia 5 of 1988, Italy 13 of 1987, US BB 34 of 1988, POP 61 of 1988, Germany 140 of the 1980s, OzNet 765
3	Whitney Houston	I Wanna Dance with Somebody Who Loves Me	1987		UK 1 – May 1987, US BB 1 – May 1987, Netherlands 1 – May 1987, Switzerland 1 – May 1987, Norway 1 – May 1987, Germany 1 – May 1987, New Zealand 1 for 4 weeks Jun 1987, Australia 1 for 5 weeks Jan 1988, US CashBox 2 of 1987, Sweden 2 – May 1987, Austria 3 – Jun 1987, Poland 4 – Jun 1987, South Africa 4 of 1987, France 10 – Jun 1987, Italy 10 of 1987, Australia 11 of 1987, POP 22 of 1987, Germany 67 of the 1980s
4	Pet Shop Boys	It's a Sin	1987		Sweden 1 – Oct 1987, Austria 1 – Oct 1987, Switzerland 1 – Nov 1987, Norway 1 – Nov 1987, Poland 1 – Nov 1987, Germany 1 – Dic 1987, Republic of Ireland 1 – Dic 1987, Netherlands 3 – Dic 1987, France 5 – Jan 1988, US BB 9 – Jan 1988, South Africa 18 of 1987, Italy 21 of 1987, KROQ 27 of 1987, RYM 34 of 1987, Germany 94 of the 1980s, Acclaimed 1308
5	Madonna	Who's That Girl	1987		US BB 1 – Apr 1987, Poland 1 – Mar 1987, Republic of Ireland 1 – Apr 1987, Netherlands 2 – Mar 1987, UK 4 – Mar 1987, Sweden 5 – Apr 1987, Europe 5 of the 1980s, RYM 6 of 1987, Germany 7 – Apr 1987, KROQ 9 of 1987, Switzerland 10 – Apr 1987, POP 10 of 1987, US CashBox 12 of 1987, US BB 14 of 1987, Poland 14 of all time, Austria 15 – Jun 1987, Belgium 24 of all time, OzNet 44, TheQ 47, Scrobulate 93 of rock, WXPN 116, Rolling Stone 131, Party 168 of 2007, Acclaimed 309

Significant songs

Other notable singles (worldwide)

• "¿A quién le importa?" – Alaska y Dinarama
• "Bring Him Back Home" – Hugh Masekela
• "Beds Are Burning" – Midnight Oil
• "Hey, Matthew" – Karel Fialka
• "In The Dutch Mountains" – The Nits
• "Je ne veux pas" – Céline Dion
• Jeg Ved En Lærkerede" – Kim Larsen
• "Keine Sterne In Athen" – Stephan Remmler
• "The Irish Rover" – The Pogues & The Dubliners
• "Pour en arriver là" – Dalida
• "Premier Baiser" – :fr:Emmanuelle Mottaz|Emmanuelle Mottaz
• "The Return of the Juju King" – King Sunny Ade

  Published popular music

• "Last Midnight" w.m. Stephen Sondheim
• "Children Will Listen" w.m. Stephen Sondheim
• "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" w.m. Gloria Estefan & E. E. Garcia
• " The Time of My Life" w.m. Franke Previte, Donald Markowitz & John DeNicola

  Classical music

• Pascal Bentoiu – Symphony No. 8, Op. 30
• John Cage – As Slow as Possible
• Mario Davidovsky – Quartet for flute, violin, viola and violoncello
• Joël-François Durand – Lichtung
• Philip Feeney – Mémoire imaginaire
• Lorenzo Ferrero
• *Ostinato
• *Non parto, non resto
• Malcolm Forsyth – Songs from the Qu'appelle Valley
• Karel Goeyvaerts – Aanloop en kreet, for symphony orchestra and chorus
• Francisco Llácer Pla – Ricercare Concertante
• Nicholas Maw – Odyssey
• Henri Pousseur – Traverser la forêt
• Ahmed Adnan Saygun – Cello Concerto
• Byambasuren Sharav – Symphony No. 2
• Juan Maria Solare – Doce variaciones 1987
• Joan Tower – Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1

  Opera

• John Adams – Nixon in China
• Friedrich Cerha – Der Rattenfänger
• Michael Nyman – Vital Statistics
• Judith Weir – A Night at the Chinese Opera, 8 July, Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, England

  Jazz

Musical theater

• Abyssinia, with music by Ted Kociolek and lyrics by James Racheff – New York production at the CSC Repertory Theater
• Up on the Roof by Simon Moore and Jane Prowse—Portsmouth, UK production
• Roza, with music by Gilbert Bécaud and lyrics and book by Julian More based on Romain Gary's novel La vie devant soi – Broadway production opened at the Royale Theatre and closed after only 10 days
• Anything Goes – Broadway revival
• Bless the Bride – West End revival
• Cabaret – Broadway revival
• Dreamgirls – Broadway revival
• Into the Woods – Broadway production opened at the Martin Beck Theatre and ran for 765 performances
• Les Misérables – Broadway production opened at The Broadway Theatre and ran for a total of 6680 performances, the second-longest run of any Broadway musical after Cats
• Oil City Symphony – off-Broadway production ran for 626 performances
• Starlight Express – Broadway production opened at the Gershwin Theatre and ran for 761 performances

  Musical films

• Aria
• Dirty Dancing
• Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
• Hearts of Fire
• La Bamba
• Mr. India
• Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare
• Sign o' the Times
• Testimony

  Births

• January 2 – Syesha Mercado, American singer and actress
• January 7 – Sirusho, Armenian singer
• January 9 – Paolo Nutini, British singer
• January 12
• * Sunday, Korean pop singer
• * Naya Rivera, American actress and singer
• January 16 – Jake Epstein, Canadian actor and singer
• January 18 – Stefan Filipović, Montenegrin pop singer
• January 22 – Angel Olsen, American folk and indie rock singer
• January 27 – Katy Rose, American singer, songwriter, producer, musician and actress
• * Ashley Grace, American singer-songwriter
• January 31 – Marcus Mumford, British singer, songwriter, musician and producer
• February 1 – Heather Morris, American actress, dancer, singer and model
• February 2
• * Heather Bright, American pop singer, songwriter, DJ and record producer.
• * Victoria Song, Chinese pop singer
• February 3 – Elvana Gjata, Albanian singer
• February 5 – Darren Criss, American actor, singer and songwriter
• February 7
• * Kerli, Estonian singer and songwriter
• * Monika Brodka, Polish singer
• February 10
• * Choi Si Won, Korean actor and pop singer
• * Poli Genova, Bulgarian singer and TV presenter
• February 12 – O'Ryan, American R&B singer
• February 17 – Lee Bo-ram, K-pop singer
• February 24 – Kim Kyu-jong, Korean pop singer
• February 25 – Eva Avila, Canadian singer-songwriter
• March 1 – Kesha, American singer-songwriter, author, activist, musician
• March 4 – Aja Volkman, American singer, songwriter, and musician,
• March 9 – Bow Wow, American Hip-Hop artist, actor
• March 10 – Emeli Sandé, Scottish singer and songwriter
• * Mod Sun, American rapper
• March 20 – Jonas Rivanno, Indonesian actor, model and singer
• March 26 – YUI, Japanese pop singer
• March 27 – Polina Gagarina, Russian singer, songwriter, actress, and model
• March 31 – Jeff Montalvo, American electronic music producer
• April 3 –
• * Park Jung-min, Korean pop singer
• * Rachel Bloom, American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, songwriter, and mental health activist
• April 9
• *Jesse McCartney, American singer, songwriter, musician, voice actor and actor
• *Jazmine Sullivan, American singer
• April 10 – Hayley Westenra, New Zealand soprano singer
• April 11
• *Lights, Canadian singer and songwriter
• *Joss Stone, English soul singer-songwriter
• April 12 – Brendon Urie, American vocalist and musician
• April 15 – Iyaz, British Virgin Islands singer
• April 17 – Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, Canadian actress, disc jockey, singer and television host
• April 18 – Samantha Jade, Australian singer and actress
• April 20 − Anna Rossinelli, Swiss singer-songwriter
• April 21 − Anastasia Prikhodko, Ukrainian folk rock and traditional pop singer
• April 23 – Laura Mvula, British recording artist, songwriter and pianist.
• April 30 – Nikki Webster, Australian pop singer/businesswoman/actress
• May 2 – Nana Kitade, Japanese singer
• May 4 – Anjeza Shahini, Albanian singer
• May 7 – Asami Konno, Japanese singer
• May 13
• * Hunter Parrish, American actor and singer
• * Candice King, American actress and singer
• * Charlotte Wessels, Dutch singer-songwriter
• May 15 – Ammo, American record producer and songwriter.
• May 16 – Can Bonomo, Turkish-Jewish singer
• May 18 – Luisana Lopilato, an Argentine actress, singer and model.
• May 21 – Hit-Boy, American record producer, rapper, singer and songwriter
• May 24 – Jimena Barón, Argentine actress and singer
• May 29 – Ak'Sent, American rapper
• June 2 – Matthew Koma, American songwriter-singer, DJ, record producer
• June 8 – Ty Segall, American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and record producer
• June 16 – Diana DeGarmo, American Idol contestant, singer
• * Ali Stroker, American musician, singer, actress and advocate
• June 17 – Kendrick Lamar, American rapper and songwriter
• June 19 – Miho Fukuhara, Japanese singer and actress
• June 21
• * Khatia Buniatishvili, Georgian pianist
• * Kim Ryeowook, Korean pop singer
• June 23 – Caitlin Rose, American country singer
• July 1 – Yoga Lin, Taiwanese pop singer, One Million Star, Season 1 winner
• July 4 – Jah Prayzah, Zimbabwean musician
• July 6 – Kate Nash, English pop singer-songwriter and musician
• July 9 – Rebecca Sugar, American animator, director, screenwriter, producer, and songwriter
• July 11 – Shigeaki Kato, Japanese singer and actor
• July 13 – Eva Rivas, Russian-Armenian singer
• July 14 –
• *Drew Fortier, American musician, songwriter, filmmaker, and actor
• *Dan Reynolds, American singer-songwriter, activist
• * Peter Vives, Spanish actor, singer and classical pianist
• July 17
• *Chloe, American singer-songwriter
• *Jeremih, American recording artist and producer
• July 19 – Nicola Benedetti, Scottish violinist
• July 23 – Felipe Dylon, Brazilian singer
• July 25
• *Alan Dawa Dolma, Chinese singer
• *Jax Jones, English singer, producer and DJ
• *Gor Sujyan, Armenian rock singer, lead singer of Dorians
• July 26 – Evelina Sašenko-Statulevičienė, Lithuanian jazz singer of Polish-Ukrainian descent
• July 30 – Elise Estrada, Canadian singer
• August 2
• * Nayer, American pop singer
• * Jessie Daniels, American actress, songwriter, and musician
• August 3 – Kim Hyung-jun, South Korean singer and DJ
• August 6 – Aditya Narayan, Bollywood actor and singer
• August 21 – Kim Kibum, Korean actor and pop singer
• September 1 – Dann Hume, New Zealand musician, music producer, mix engineer and songwriter
• * Sevdaliza, Irish Dutch singer-songwriter and record producer
• September 7 – Evan Rachel Wood, American singer and actress
• September 16 – Sarah Hay, American ballerina and actress
• September 23 – Skylar Astin, American actor and singer
• September 26 – Rosie Munter, Swedish vocalist and dancer
• September 28
• *Hilary Duff, American singer, songwriter, author and actress
• *Chloë Hanslip, English violinist
• September 29 – Gryffin, American musician, DJ, record producer.
• October 3 – Starley, Australian singer and songwriter
• October 7 – Lauren Mayberry, Scottish singer, songwriter, writer and journalist
• October 17 – Stephanie, American-born Korean pop singer
• October 18 – Zac Efron, American actor, dancer, singer, musical star
• October 28 – Frank Ocean, American singer-songwriter
• October 29 – Tove Lo, Swedish singer-songwriter, dancer and activist
• November 3 – Courtney Barnett, Australian singer/songwriter/musician
• November 4
• * Tim Douwsma, Dutch singer
• * T.O.P, Korean rapper
• November 5 – Kevin Jonas, American musician
• November 10 – Charles Hamilton, American rapper and producer
• November 24 – Sermstyle, English singer-songwriter, remixer, record producer and DJ
• November 29 – Cashmere Cat, Norwegian DJ, record producer, musician and turntablist
• November 30 – Dougie Poynter, English bass guitarist
• December 1 – Vance Joy, Australian musician
• December 2 – Teairra Mari, American R&B singer-songwriter, dancer, model and actress
• December 7 – Aaron Carter, American pop singer
• December 18 – Ayaka, Japanese pop singer
• December 20 – Barrie-James O'Neill, Scottish singer-songwriter
• December 27 – Yui Okada, Japanese pop singer

  Deaths

• January 6 – Jaidev, Bollywood composer, 67
• January 10 – Marion Hutton, singer and actress, 67
• January 15 – Ray Bolger, Wizard of Oz actor, 83
• January 30 – Harold Loeffelmacher, musician and bandleader, 81
• February 2
• *Spike Hughes, jazz double bass player, composer and journalist, 78
• *Alfred Lion, record executive and co-founder of Blue Note Records, 78
• February 4 – Liberace, US pianist, 67
• February 8 – Tony Destra, glam metal drummer, 32
• February 18 – Dmitri Kabalevsky, composer
• February 23 – Zeca Afonso, folk musician
• February 24 – Jim Connors, radio DJ, 46
• March 3 – Danny Kaye, actor, singer, dancer and comedian, 76
• March 6 – Eddie Durham, jazz musician, 80
• March 7 – Evelyn Dove, singer, 85
• March 15 – Don Gant, singer/songwriter, record producer, 44
• March 18 – Elizabeth Poston, composer, 82
• March 20 – Rita Streich, coloratura soprano, 66
• March 21
• *Dean Paul Martin, singer and actor, 35
• *Robert Preston, actor and singer, 68
• March 28 – Maria von Trapp, subject of The Sound of Music, 82
• March 29 – Felix Prohaska, conductor
• April 2 – Buddy Rich, jazz drummer, 69
• April 7 – Carlton Barrett, reggae drummer, 36
• April 14 – Karl Höller, composer, 79
• May 2 – Larry Clinton, US bandleader and songwriter, 75
• May 3 – Dalida, singer, actress and Miss Egypt 1954, 54
• May 4 – Paul Butterfield, blues vocalist and harmonica player, 44
• May 5 – Allen Jones, record producer
• May 13
• *Signe Amundsen, operatic soprano, 87
• *Ismael Rivera, salsa composer and singer, 55
• May 14 – Rita Hayworth, dancer and film star, 68
• May 24 – Hermione Gingold, actress and singer
• May 26 – Robert Wilkins, blues guitarist and singer, 91
• May 29 – Phyllis Tate, avant-garde composer, 76
• June 3 – Andrés Segovia, guitar virtuoso, 94
• June 18 – Kid Thomas Valentine, jazz trumpeter & bandleader, 91
• June 21 – Abram Chasins, pianist and composer, 84
• June 22
• *Fred Astaire, dancer, actor and singer, 88
• *Frank Rehak, jazz trombonist
• June 25 – Boudleaux Bryant, Hall of Fame songwriter, 67
• June 26
• *Henk Badings, composer, 80
• *Gábor Rejtő, cellist, 70
• July 1 – Snakefinger, guitarist, 38
• July 7
• *Tibor Frešo, composer, 69
• *Germaine Thyssens-Valentin, pianist, 85
• July 10 – John Hammond, producer and musician, 76
• July 15 – Pete King, drummer, 28
• July 25 – Alex Sadkin, saxophonist and record producer, 37 or 38
• July 26 – Joe Liggins, R&B, jazz and blues pianist, 72
• August 2 – David Martin, bassist, 50
• August 12 – Sally Long, Ziegfeld Follies star, 85
• August 14 – Vincent Persichetti, composer, 72
• August 27
• *Bruce Holder, violinist, conductor and composer, 82
• *Scott La Rock, hip-hop DJ and producer, 25
• September 3 – Morton Feldman, composer, 51
• September 11 – Peter Tosh, reggae musician, 42
• September 21 – Jaco Pastorius, jazz bassist, 35
• September 23 – Bob Fosse, dancer, choreographer and director of musicals, 60
• September 29 – Sebastian Peschko, pianist, 77
• October 3 – Hans Gál, composer, 97
• October 13 – Kishore Kumar, singer, actor, filmmaker, writer, musician and composer, 58
• October 14 – Rodolfo Halffter, composer, 86
• October 19 – Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist, 42
• October 28 – Woody Herman, US jazz clarinetist and bandleader, 74
• November 12 – Cornelis Vreeswijk, Swedish singer-songwriter, 50
• November 16 – Zubir Said, composer, 80
• November 22 – Verna Arvey, librettist and pianist
• November 23 – Joseph Beer, composer, 79
• December 5 – Pappy Daily, country music entrepreneur and record producer, 85
• December 8 – Annelies Kupper, operatic soprano, 81
• December 10 – Jascha Heifetz, violinist
• December 12 – Clifton Chenier, zydeco singer and accordionist, 62
• December 18 – Conny Plank, record producer, 47
• December 21 – John Spence, ska musician, 18
• December 22 – Luca Prodan, rock musician, 34
• Unknown – Emani Sankara Sastry, veena player and composer, 65

  Awards

• The following artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The Coasters, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley, B. B. King, Clyde McPhatter, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Smokey Robinson, Big Joe Turner, Muddy Waters, and Jackie Wilson

  Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1987

  Country Music Association Awards

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1987

  [Glenn Gould Prize]

• R. Murray Schafer

  Charts

• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1987