1982 in Music

January–March
January 15 – K.C. and the Sunshine Band’s Harry Wayne Casey is seriously injured in an automobile accident in Miami, Florida.
January 20 – Ozzy Osbourne bites the head off a live bat thrown at him during a performance in Des Moines, Iowa. He thought it was rubber.
January 21 – B. B. King donates his personal record collection, which includes nearly 7,000 rare blues records, to the University of Mississippi’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture.
January 22 – Tommy Tucker, writer of “Hi-Heel Sneakers”, dies of carbon tetrachloride poisoning sustained while finishing floors in his home.
February 13 – A 300-pound (136 kg) gravestone from the grave of Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zant is stolen from an Orange Park, Florida, cemetery. Police find the gravestone two weeks later in a dry river bed.
February 19 – Ozzy Osbourne is arrested after urinating on The Alamo, in San Antonio, Texas.
February 20 – Pat Benatar marries her guitarist, Neil Giraldo, on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
February 24 – The 24th Annual Grammy Awards are presented in Los Angeles, hosted by Quincy Jones (who wins a total of five awards). John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy (the final album released by Lennon in his lifetime) wins Album of the Year, while Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes” wins both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Sheena Easton wins Best New Artist.
February 27 – The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company gives its final performance at the Adelphi Theatre after more than 110 years.
March 3 – The Mamas & the Papas begin a reunion tour with a show in the New York club The Other End with original members John Phillips and Denny Doherty, along with Mackenzie Phillips and Spanky McFarlane replacing Michelle Gilliam and Cass Elliot respectively.
March 4 – Frank Zappa’s son Dweezil and daughter Moon Unit form Fred Zeppelin.
March 5 – Comedian and Blues Brother John Belushi is found dead of an apparent drug overdose in the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.
March 18 – Teddy Pendergrass is severely injured in a car accident in Philadelphia. Pendergrass’s injuries result in him being paralyzed from the chest down.
March 19 – Ozzy Osbourne’s lead guitarist, Randy Rhoads, is killed in a freak accident in Leesburg, Florida, when the plane in which he is riding buzzes Osbourne’s tour bus and crashes into a house. The plane’s pilot and a female passenger are also killed.
March 22 – Iron Maiden release The Number of the Beast, the critically acclaimed yet controversial album often hailed as Iron Maiden’s greatest.[citation needed] This was Iron Maiden’s first album to feature singer Bruce Dickinson and their first to hit number one in the UK charts.
March 28 – In Los Angeles, David Crosby is arrested for possession of Quaaludes and drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence of cocaine and carrying a concealed weapon.

April–August
April 13 – David Crosby is arrested on drug charges for the second time in three weeks when Dallas police catch him preparing cocaine backstage before a show.
April 15 – Billy Joel is seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in Long Island, New York. Joel spends over a month in the hospital undergoing physical therapy for his hand.
April 17 – Johnny Cash hosts Saturday Night Live with Cash and Elton John and his classic band as the musical guests. Cash sings I Walk The Line, Folsom Prison Blues, Ring of Fire and Sunday Morning Coming Down. John sings Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) and Ball and Chain. The latter would not appear on the NBC show again until 2011.
April 24 – Germany wins the 27th annual Eurovision Song Contest, held in the Harrogate Conference Centre, North Yorkshire, with the song “Ein bißchen Frieden”, sung by 17-year-old Nicole. She also records the song in English as “A Little Peace”, which becomes the 500th chart-topping single in the UK.
April 26
Rod Stewart is mugged in Los Angeles. Stewart loses his $50,000 Porsche to the mugger, but is not hurt. The car is recovered several days later.
Joe Strummer vanishes, forcing The Clash to postpone their U.K. tour.
April 30 – Influential rock journalist Lester Bangs dies in his New York apartment of an apparent accidental overdose of prescription drugs.
May 10 – The Clash drummer Topper Headon is fired from the band when his heroin addiction became too prevalent.
May 14 – The first Prince’s Trust charity concert is held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. With the Prince of Wales (later Charles III) in attendance, Status Quo, becomes the first contemporary band to play to British royalty.
May 18 – Three weeks after disappearing, Joe Strummer and his girlfriend are found living in Paris, two days after they ran the Paris Marathon.
May 21 – Queen release their tenth studio album, Hot Space, to immense critical outcry. The decision to make a dance-pop album with prominent disco influences at the height of American backlash against the latter genre renders the band a pariah in the United States, and their shift from traditional rock alienates their fans in the United Kingdom. Queen would not recover from the resulting backlash in the United Kingdom until after their Live Aid performance in 1985, while they would remain unpopular in the United States until after Freddie Mercury’s death in 1991.
May 23 – Pink Floyd – The Wall, a film adaptation of Pink Floyd’s 1979 album The Wall, premieres at the Cannes Film Festival; the film’s wide release would later begin on July 15.
May 26 – The Rolling Stones open their European tour in Aberdeen, Scotland.
May 29 – Duran Duran’s album Rio peaks at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart in its second week on the chart and will remain on the chart for almost two years.[2]
June 11 – Grease 2, starring Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer (in her feature film debut), is released.
June 16 – James Honeyman-Scott dies of heart failure caused by cocaine intolerance. He is 25 years old.
June 19 – Amy Grant marries Gary Chapman.
July – The first known fully staged performance of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s tragédie lyrique Les Boréades (1763) is given by John Eliot Gardiner at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.[3]
July 3 – ABC’s debut album The Lexicon of Love enters the UK Albums Chart at number 1 and remain at the top position for four consecutive weeks.[4]
July 4 – Ozzy Osbourne marries his manager Sharon Arden in Maui, Hawaii.
July 21 – A second Prince’s Trust charity concert is held at the Dominion Theatre in London. Performers include Pete Townshend, Robert Plant, Madness, Phil Collins, Joan Armatrading and Kate Bush.
August 17 – In Langenhagen near Hanover, Germany begins the first mass production of the compact disc.
August 31 – Ronnie James Dio plays his final show with Black Sabbath (until 1992).

September–December
September 3–5 – The first US Festival is held over Labor Day Weekend near Devore, California. The Police, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Fleetwood Mac, Grateful Dead, Talking Heads and The B-52’s are among the many performers.
September 22 – The Who begin their only formally announced “farewell” tour in Washington, D.C.
October 1 – The first compact discs appear in music stores in Japan.
October 1 – The Nightfly by Donald Fagen is released. The record has since been critically acclaimed,[citation needed] and was nominated for 7 Grammys.
October 6 – Madonna’s debut single, “Everybody”, is released on Sire Records.
October 7 – The musical Cats begins its 18-year run on Broadway.
November 1 – The breakup of the band Blondie is announced publicly.
November 5 – The first edition of The Tube is broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK. Guests on the first programme include The Jam, making their last live TV appearance together.
November 6 – Tears for Fears first hit single “Mad World” peaks at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart during its 17-week chart run.[5]
November 21 – Joni Mitchell marries producer and bassist Larry Klein in Malibu.
November 25–27 – The Jamaica World Music Festival is held in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Acts over the three-day festival include Peter Tosh, Rick James, The Clash, Grateful Dead, Aretha Franklin and, in their final show before disbanding, Squeeze.
November 29 – Sena Jurinac appears on stage for the last time, with the Vienna State Opera.
November 30 – Michael Jackson releases his sixth studio album Thriller, which would go on to be the greatest selling album of all time at 70 million units sold worldwide.
December – Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr is fired and replaced by Nicko McBrain formerly of the French band Trust.
December 3 – The most successful group of the 1970s, ABBA, release their final original single “Under Attack”. A split is never officially announced.
December 31 – The eleventh annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve special airs on ABC, with appearances by The Go-Go’s, Hall & Oates, Ronnie Milsap, Barry Manilow and Jermaine Jackson.

Tracks in the 1982 playlist:

A Taste Of Honey – I’ll Try Something New (Single Version)
ABBA – When All Is Said And Done
Air Supply – Even The Nights Are Better
Air Supply – Two Less Lonely People in the World
Air Supply – Young Love
Al Jarreau – Breakin’ Away (Album Version)
Al Jarreau – Teach Me Tonight
Alabama – Take Me Down
Alan Parsons Project – Eye In The Sky
America – Right Before Your Eyes
America – You Can Do Magic
Anne Murray – Another Sleepless Night
Anne Murray – Hey! Baby!
Anne Murray – Somebody’s always saying goodbye
Balance – Falling in Love
Barbara Mandrell – Till You’re Gone (Single Version)
Barbra Streisand – Memory
Barry Manilow – Let’s Hang On
Barry Manilow – Memory
Barry Manilow – Oh Julie
Beatles – The Beatles Movie Medley
Bertie Higgins – Just Another Day In Paradise
Bill Champlin – Sara
Bill Conti – Theme From Dynasty
Bill LaBounty – Never Gonna Look Back
Bill Medley – Right Here And Now
Billy Preston – I’m Never Gonna Say Goodbye
BJ Thomas – But love me
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – Shame on the Moon
Carole King – One To One
Carpenters – Beechwood 4-5789
Charlene – I’ve Never Been to Me
Charlene and Stevie Wonder – Used to Be
Chicago – Hard To Say I’m Sorry
Chicago – Love Me Tomorrow
Chris Christian And Amy Holland – Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing You’re All I Need To Get By
Cliff Richard – Daddy’s Home
Cliff Richard – The Only Way Out
Crosby Stills and Nash – Southern Cross
Crosby Stills and Nash – Wasted on the Way
Crystal Gayle – You Never Gave Up on Me
Culture Club – Do You Really Want To Hurt Me
Dan Fogelberg – Missing You
Dan Fogelberg – Run For The Roses
Del Shannon – Sea of Love
Deniece Williams – It’s Gonna Take A Miracle
Diana Ross – Muscles
Dionne Warwick – For You (Album Version)
Dionne Warwick – Heartbreaker
Dionne Warwick with Johnny Mathis – Friends in Love
Dolly Parton – I Will Always Love You
Dolly Parton Willie Nelson – Everything’s Beautiful (In It’s Own Way)
Donald Fagen – I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)
Dr. Hook – Loveline
Eddie Rabbitt – I Don’t Know Where to Start
Eddie Rabbitt – You & I
Eddie Schwartz – All Our Tomorrows
Elton John – Blue Eyes
Elton John – Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)
Elvis Presley – The Elvis Medley
Fleetwood Mac – Gypsy (album version)
Fleetwood Mac – Hold Me
Fleetwood Mac – Love In Store
Fred Parris & The Satins – Memories of Days Gone By
Gene Cotton – If I Could Get You (Into My Life)
George Benson – Never Give Up on a Good Thing
Glenn Frey – I Found Somebody
Glenn Frey – The One You Love
Gordon Lightfoot – Baby Step Back
Greg Guidry – Goin’ Down
Hall & Oates – Did It In A Minute
Hall & Oates – Maneater
Herb Alpert – Fandango
Herb Alpert – Route 101
Jackson Browne – Somebody’s Baby
Jeffrey Osborne – On The Wings of Love
Jennifer Warnes – Come To Me
Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes – Up Where We Belong
Joe Jackson – Steppin’ Out
John Denver – Seasons of the Heart
John Denver – Shanghai Breezes
John Denver & Placido Domingo – Perhaps Love
John Schneider – Dreamin’
Jon & Vangelis – I’ll Find My Way Home
Journey – Open Arms
Journey – Still They Ride
Juice Newton – Break It to Me Gently
Juice Newton – Heart Of The Night
Juice Newton – Love’s Been a Little Bit Hard on Me
Karla Bonoff – Personally
Karla Bonoff – Please Be The One
Kenny Loggins – Heart to Heart
Kenny Rogers – A Love Song
Kenny Rogers – Love Will Turn You Around
Kenny Rogers – Through the Years
Larry Carlton – Sleepwalk
Larry Elgart & His Manhattan Swing Orchestra – Hooked On Swing
Larry Lee – Don’t Talk
Laura Branigan – Gloria
Leslie Pearl – If the Love Fits Wear It
Lionel Richie – Truly
Little River Band – Man On Your Mind
Little River Band – Take It Easy On Me
Little River Band – The Other Guy
Manhattan Transfer – Route 66
Marvin Gaye – Sexual Healing
Matthew Wilder – Work So Hard
Meco – Big Band Medley Part 1
Meco – Pop Goes The Movies (Part I)
Melissa Manchester – You Should Hear How She Talks About You
Men At Work – Down Under
Michael Jackson & Paul Mccartney – The Girl Is Mine
Michael Martin Murphey – What’s Forever For
Michael McDonald – I Gotta Try
Michael McDonald – I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)
Michael Murphey – Still Taking Chances
Mike Post – (Theme From) ‘Magnum P.I.’
Motels – Only the Lonely
Neil Diamond – Be Mine Tonight
Neil Diamond – Heartlight
Neil Diamond – On the Way to the Sky
Nicolette Larson – I Only Want To Be With You
Oak Ridge Boys – Bobbie Sue
Olivia Newton-John – Make a Move on Me
Patti Austin & James Ingram – Baby come to me.
Paul Carrack – I Need You
Paul Davis – ’65 Love Affair
Paul Davis – Love Or Let Me Be Lonely
Paul Mccartney – Take it Away
Paul McCartney – Tug Of War
Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder – Ebony And Ivory
Petula Clark – Natural Love
Poco – Sea Of Heartbreak
Poco – Shoot for the Moon
Pointer Sisters – American Music
Quarterflash – Harden My Heart
Quincy Jones featuring James Ingram – One Hundred Ways (full album version)
Ray Parker Jr. – The Other Woman
Reddings – (Sittin’on) The Dock Of The Bay
Rick Springfield – Don’t Talk to Strangers
Roberta Flack – I’m The One
Roberta Flack – In The Name of Love
Roberta Flack – Making Love
Ronnie Milsap – Any Day Now
Ronnie Milsap – Carolina Dreams
Ronnie Milsap – He Got You
Ronnie Milsap – Inside
Rosanne Cash – Blue Moon With Heartache
Rupert Holmes – The End
Santana – Hold On
Sheena Easton – I Wouldn’t Beg for Water
Sheena Easton – When He Shines
Simon & Garfunkel – Wake Up Little Susie
Sister Sledge – My Guy
Smokey Robinson – Old Fashioned Love
Smokey Robinson – Tell Me Tomorrow (Part 1)
Stars on 45 – Stars on 45 III (Tribute to Stevie Wonder)
Stephen Bishop – If Love Takes You Away
Steve Miller Band – Abracadabra
Stevie Nicks – After The Glitter Fades
Stevie Wonder – Do I Do
Stevie Wonder – Ribbon in the Sky
Stevie Wonder – That Girl
Stevie Woods – Fly Away 
Stevie Woods – Just Can’t Win ‘Em All
Supertramp – It’s Raining Again
Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger
Sylvia – Nobody
T.G. Sheppard – Finally
T.G. Sheppard – Only One You
Tavares – A Penny For Your Thoughts (Single Version)
The Pointer Sisters – Should I Do It
Timothy B. Schmit – So Much in Love
Toto – Africa
Toto – Rosanna
Walter Murphy – Theme From E.T.
Willie Nelson – Always On My Mind
Willie Nelson – Let It Be Me