''See also:''
- 1998 - The single Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls sets a new hot 100 airplay record, 18 weeks at number one.
- February 15 - Sir Edward Elgar 's unfinished third Symphony , completed by Anthony Payne is performed for the first time at the Royal Festival Hall .
- February 17 - Illegal Art and ®™ark release Deconstructing Beck which quickly spawned reactions from Beck's publisher, record label, and personal lawyer.
- February 19 - The Stray Cats reunite for a benefit show for the Carl Perkins Foundation at L.A. 's House Of Blues .
- February 19 - Lorrie Morgan issues a statement denying a story reported in the tabloid Star Magazine that claimed that the singer had an affair with US President Bill Clinton
- February 22 - In Los Angeles, California , Stevie Wonder is honored as the 1999 MusiCares Person Of The Year .
- February 24 - Elton John is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace . The singer is mistakenly introduced as "Sir John Elton".
- Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee is arrested and charged with beating his wife, actress Pamela Anderson . Malibu sheriff deputies responded to reports of a disturbance and found Anderson bleeding from an injury to her hand.
- February 24 - John Fogerty is awarded the 1998 Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award
- February 28 - A failed Assassination attempt against the band RAM during the Port-au-Prince Carnival celebration in Haiti results in the death of eight innocent bystanders.
- March 2 - Madonna embarks on a massive comeback album with '' Ray Of Light '' which becomes four times platinum and wins three Grammy Awards including Best Pop Album and Best Dance Recording .
- March 13 - The Smashing Pumpkins file a $1 million lawsuit against UK-based Sound And Media Ltd. , alleging that the company released a book and CD about the band without proper clearances.
- March 17 - The Corrs at London 's Royal Albert Hall .
- March 26 - Chuck Negron files a lawsuit against his fellow Three Dog Night band mates, alleging that they broke a 1990 settlement agreement and interfered with his career.
- Glen Buxton , the guitarist for the original Alice Cooper Band, dies at the age of 49.
- April 1998 - John Frusciante rejoins the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the personal request of Flea .
- April 5 - Rock and Roll drummer Cozy Powell is killed in a high-speed car crash near Bristol , England . Powell was known for playing with Rainbow , Black Sabbath , Jeff Beck , Brian May and Whitesnake .
- April 7 - George Michael is arrested in a public restroom in Beverly Hills, California for lewd conduct. Michael is sentenced to community service.
- April 29 - Steven Tyler breaks his knee at a concert in Anchorage, Alaska delaying Aerosmith 's grueling Nine Lives Tour and necessetating camera angle adjustments for the filming of the video for " I Don't Want To Miss A Thing ".
- 17 – 19 April - The second Terrastock Festival is held in San Francisco .
- May 2 - Japan ese rock artist Hideto "Hide" Matsumoto is found hanged in the bathroom of his Tokyo apartment and dies at the hospital a short time later at the age of 33. His funeral, held on May 7 , is attended by 70,000 people and requires the deployment of police boats, helicopters, 100 ground officers, and 170 security guards; 21 people are hospitalized for injuries.
- May 8 - A British court rules in favor of The Beatles and John Lennon 's widow, Yoko Ono , stopping the release of another ''Live at the Star Club'' recording. All copies of the recording and the original tape are awarded to the Beatles, as well as damages and legal costs.
- May - The 3rd EJCF in Basel was held. Next time was in 2001 .
- May 29 - Geri Halliwell goes into hiding and her PR Julian Torton confirms that she has left the Spice Girls permanently.
- July 15 - Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer is burned when his Ferrari catches fire at a gas station.
- August, 25 - Lauryn Hill 's The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill was release to critical and commercial Praise, and sold over 18 Million Albums.
- September 22 - Goo Goo Dolls release their top album, Dizzy Up The Girl
- October 13 - Britney Spears' recording career begins her first debut Teen Pop hit ...Baby One More Time went straight at #1 on the Hot 100 chart.
- December 5 - Billboard changes chart policy for their Hot 100 chart to allow airplay only singles or album cuts to make that chart. Natalie Imbruglia 's smash hit Torn re-entered the chart and made its highest debut at No. 42, 9 months after the song topped the Radio Chart for 12 weeks.
- The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra launches its own recording label, RLPO Live.
- Teen singer Billie Piper starts her career by becoming the youngest British solo artist to debut at #1 on the UK singles charts.
- Singers Brandy and Monica dominate the Billboard charts with the duet The Boy Is Mine , holding the Billboard Hot 100 #1 spot for a record 13 weeks.
- The entertainment industry frantically lobbies for, and the United States Congress passes, the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act , which gives the entertainment industry 20 more years of exclusive monopoly on all of its works created since 1923 .
- Composer John Harbison is a winner of the Heinz Award For The Arts And Humanities .
The following singles achieved the highest chart positions in 1998.
''See also: Hot 100 No. 1 Hits Of 1998 ''
# Lauryn Hill - '' The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill ''
# Korn - '' Follow The Leader ''
# The Offspring - '' Americana ''
# Cher - '' Believe ''
# ''
# Shania Twain - '' Come On Over ''
# Brandy - '' Never Say Never ''
# Madonna - '' Ray Of Light ''
# Monica - '' The Boy Is Mine ''
# Natalie Imbruglia - '' Left Of The Middle ''
- January 4 - Mae Questel , (89), US singer and actress, the voice of Betty Boop
- January 5 - Sonny Bono , singer, songwriter, etc, 53
- January 8 - Michael Tippett , composer (born 1905)
- January 11 - Klaus Tennstedt , conductor, 71
- January 15 - Junior Wells , harmonica player, 64
- January 19 - Carl Perkins , complications following a series of strokes
- February 3 - Fat Pat , American rapper, shot
- February 6 - Carl Wilson , The Beach Boys , lung cancer
- February 6 - Falco , rock star, car accident
- February 13 - Buddy Lee , respiratory failure while undergoing treatment for lung cancer
- February 17 - Bob Merrill , US songwriter, suicide
- February 19 - Grandpa Jones , star of '' Hee-Haw '', comedian and musician
- February 25 - Rockin' Sidney , soul musician, 59
- February 28 - Todd Duncan , first Porgy in '' Porgy And Bess '', age 95
- April 17 - Linda McCartney , Wings, breast cancer, 56
- March 12 - Judge Dread , ska and reggae performer (died on stage)
- April 1 - Rozz Williams , founder of Christian Death , suicide; hanging
- April 5 - Cozy Powell , drummer for Rainbow and Black Sabbath , car accident
- April 6 - Tammy Wynette , country singer, 55
- April 7 - Wendy O. Williams , The Plasmatics , suicide
- April 9 - Tom Cora , cellist and composer, 44
- April 11 - Lillian Briggs (64), US singer and trombonist (of lung cancer)
- May 2 - Hideto Matsumoto (Hide) , Japanese musician , 33 (believed accidental hanging)
- May 7 - Eddie Rabbitt , country singer, 56 (of lung cancer)
- May 9 - Alice Faye , actress and singer, 83
- May 14 - Frank Sinatra , American singer, heart attack
- June 10 - Steve Sanders , 45, formerly of the Oak Ridge Boys (from 1987-1996, replaced and succeeded by William Lee Golden ); suicide.
- June 25 - Lounès Matoub ; assassinated.
- July 6 - Roy Rogers , 86, US actor, singer and King of the Cowboys
- July 23 - André Gertler , violinist
- July 29 - Jerome Robbins , choreographer, 79
- August 3 - Alfred Schnittke , composer
- August 29 - Charlie Feathers , country blues musician
- October 14 - Frankie Yankovic , America's "Polka King"
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