Events in 1998
- The Beastie Boys began a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with “Hello Nasty,” which became their third U.S. No. 1 album.
- The Beatles were voted “Favourite Recording Artist of All Time” in a poll conducted by the British music magazine Mojo. They finished ahead of Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Queen, and Elton John.
- MTV suspended broadcasting to approximately 500,000 households in Amsterdam after cable operator A2000 demanded that MTV share its previously exclusive channel with two other operators and pay for distribution.
- Lars Ulrich of Metallica became a father for the first time; his son Myles was born.
- Jazz musician Nat Gonella, founder of the big band The Georgians, died in Gosport, Hampshire, England, at the age of 90.
- English jazz trumpeter, singer and bandleader Nathaniel Gonella, founder of the big band The Georgians, died at the age of 90.
- The final new episode of the talk show “The Magic Hour” was broadcast. Musical guests were Boys II Men, Simply Red, Mary J. Blige and Hanson.
- Britney Spears' music video for “...Baby One More Time” was filmed at Venice High School, the same school used for the filming of “Grease”. The song topped the charts in at least 23 countries.
- Canadian singer and songwriter Shawn Mendes was born in Pickering, Ontario. He became famous for hits including “Treat You Better”, “In My Blood” and “Senorita”.
- Spice Girls reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Viva Forever”. It was their seventh UK No. 1 hit.
- Scott Weiland pleaded guilty to heroin possession and was sentenced to three months of treatment.
- The festival lasted three days and began in Bethel, New York, where Woodstock had originally been held 29 years earlier. Rock veterans Pete Townshend and Stevie Nicks, as well as newer bands Third Eye Blind and The Goo Goo Dolls, took part in the event.
- The former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev visited the 10th edition of the Popkomm music trade fair.
- PBS aired a documentary about his Indigenous heritage titled “Robbie Robertson: Making A Noise – A Native American Musical Journey”.
- They performed on the second day of the A Day In The Garden festival in Bethel, New York, where Woodstock had also taken place. Joni Mitchell closed her performance with the song “Woodstock”.
- American singer and songwriter Clairo was born.
- Kid Rock released Devil Without a Cause, his first album on Lava Records after being dropped by Jive and releasing two independent albums. The album sold 11 million copies and turned the rap-rock musician into a major star.
- Korn released their most successful album, Follow the Leader, which featured the songs “Freak on a Leash” and “Got the Life.”
- Priscilla Presley won $75,000 in damages in a libel lawsuit against Currie Grant, a former army friend of Elvis Presley, who claimed that he had an affair with her before she married Elvis Presley. This claim was used as the main source for the controversial biography “Child Bride: The Untold Story of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley” by Suzanne Finstad. Priscilla said she was very pleased that the verdict had cleared her name.
- Terence Trent D'Arby, who had not been heard from since the release of his 1995 album “Vibrator”, posted a statement on his website: “I am a holographic representation in the third dimension of what your souls have asked to be one of your favorite artists. I have sent a portion of my soul to incarnate into an artist named Terence Trent D'Arby, who fulfilled this request.” He later explained that he was using the new name Sananda Maitreya, which had come to him in a dream.
- During the second of two concerts at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, Elton John invited comedian Jim Carrey onto the stage, in the presence of Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley, for an unexpected duet of “Rocket Man”. Carrey wore one of Elton’s distinctive red Versace jackets, alternated vocals with him, and harmonized; while singing, he improvised the line “a long, long time” as “friggin' forever”. After the performance, he sat down at the piano and struck his head against the keys.
- Mark David Chapman stated that he did not want any money obtained from the sale of the signed album “Double Fantasy”, which John Lennon had signed for him on the same day Lennon was murdered. At the time, Chapman was serving his sentence for the murder of John Lennon on December 8, 1980.
- Rapper Snoop Dogg achieved his third consecutive U.S. No. 1 album with “Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told”.
- Melanie Brown of the Spice Girls, known as “Scary Spice”, announced that she was pregnant.
- Bob Geldof of The Boomtown Rats, known for Live Aid, began hosting a program on London's XFM radio and during his first broadcast incorrectly announced that Ian Dury had died.
- Gene Page, an American conductor, composer, arranger and record producer, died at the age of 58 after a long illness. He worked with artists including Barbra Streisand, The Supremes, Jefferson Starship, Jackson 5, Elton John, Marvin Gaye, Barry White, The Righteous Brothers, Aretha Franklin, Cher and Dobie Gray, and produced Whitney Houston's „Greatest Love of All“ and Roberta Flack's „Tonight I Celebrate My Love“.
- At the age of 53, Ingrid Pederson went public with the claim that she was John Lennon's long-lost illegitimate half-sister. She stated that she had kept her secret for many years to protect her adoptive parents, who were by then deceased.
- Shania Twain's concert in Syracuse, New York, was interrupted after lightning struck the ground approximately 40 yards behind the stage. The concert was almost over at the time.
- Lauryn Hill released her debut solo studio album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”. The album sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, reached number one in Canada, Ireland and the US and number two in the UK. It became the first hip-hop album to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
- Geri Halliwell announced that she would sell some of the Spice Girls’ clothing in a charity auction. Her PVC jumpsuit was offered for £5,000, knee-high boots for £1,200, and the Union Jack dress she wore at the Brit Awards for £8,000.
- The film “Studio 54” about the legendary New York nightclub premiered. Ryan Phillippe and Mike Myers, who portrayed one of the club’s owners, starred in the film.
- The film “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” about singer Frankie Lymon, frontman of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, was released in theaters. Named after his famous song, the film was a biographical musical drama starring Larenz Tate, Halle Berry, and Vivica A. Fox.
- Rockabilly and country singer and songwriter Charlie Feathers died in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 66 from complications following a coma caused by a stroke. He was a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and was also known for 1950s hits such as "Peepin' Eyes".
- Marilyn Manson changed his appearance from heavily blackened eyes to lighter makeup and 1970s-style clothing, including platform shoes. The sound of his album “Mechanical Animals” represented a radical change from the 1996 album “Antichrist Superstar”.
- Roberto Augusto Miranda Soares was shot four times after refusing to hand over the keys to his Mercedes to robbers. Soares was president of Sony Music/Brazil.
- Madonna filed a lawsuit against the YMCA seeking to prevent the construction of a high-rise residential building near Lincoln Center in New York City.
- Noreaga, whose real name is Victor Santiago, of Capone-N-Noreaga was charged with assaulting a dissatisfied fan in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
- David Bowie launched his own internet service, Bowienet. The service offered basic internet services as well as exclusive news and releases related to Bowie.
- Ian Gillan of Deep Purple was charged with assault and causing bodily harm after allegedly hitting a security guard on the head with a microphone during a concert in August.
- Sandra Denton, known as Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa, gave birth to a daughter named Egypt. Her father is rapper Treach of Naughty by Nature.
- Boyzone scored their third consecutive number-one album on the UK chart with Where We Belong.
- Manic Street Preachers scored their first UK number-one single with “If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next.”
- R&B singer Sonny Knight, born Joseph Coleman Smith, died on Maui at the age of 64, two years after suffering a stroke. He was best known for his 1956 hit “Confidential.”
- John Fogerty received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard; according to the source, it was star number 1356.
- Gene Autry, American singer, actor, and famous “singing cowboy,” died at the age of 91. During his career, he had 25 consecutive Top 10 country hits. According to the source, his fortune was estimated at $320 million in 1995.
- Paul McCartney anonymously took part in an online question-and-answer session as part of The Fireman project. On the official website of his ambient duo, he provided anonymous answers and promoted the new album “Rushes.”
- Irish girl pop group B\*Witched began a two-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Rollercoaster.” Later that year, the song also reached No. 1 in Australia and New Zealand.
- Rock group Marilyn Manson reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 album chart with their third studio album Mechanical Animals.
- The U.S. Supreme Court refused to dismiss composer Ray Repp's lawsuit against Andrew Lloyd Webber. Repp claimed that Webber's composition Phantom Song from the musical The Phantom of the Opera copied his 1978 composition Till You. The dispute began with a lawsuit filed in 1990.
- In a music poll by London's Time Out magazine ranking the greatest stars of the previous 30 years, David Bowie came in first. The Beatles were second, Bob Marley third, James Brown fourth, and Marvin Gaye fifth.
- HBO premiered Janet Jackson's new music video “Every Time.” The premiere took place shortly before the evening broadcast of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and served as a preview for the premiere of the live concert special Janet: The Velvet Rope from Madison Square Garden.
- Country group Alabama received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7060 Hollywood Boulevard.
- Gospel star Kirk Franklin and Interscope Records faced a $75 million lawsuit from Linda Searight, founder of the gospel group God's Property, who had recorded and performed with Franklin. Searight claimed that she had been denied compensation for her participation in the group God's Property.
- The London magazine Time Out published a poll of the greatest music stars of the previous 30 years. Marvin Gaye came fifth, James Brown fourth, Bob Marley third, The Beatles second and David Bowie first.
- Backstreet Boys reached an out-of-court settlement with their former manager Lou Pearlman, whom they had sued in an effort to gain control of their finances.
- The series Charmed premiered on The WB, featuring Love Spit Love's cover version of “How Soon Is Now” as its theme song. Two years earlier, the same cover had been used in the film The Craft, which, like Charmed, focuses on a group of high school girls practicing witchcraft.
- Bruce Springsteen testified at London's High Court in a dispute with Masquerade Music over its attempt to release some of his early-1970s recordings in the UK. He said that when the songs were created, he was living from paycheck to paycheck and relying on financial assistance from his then co-manager Mike Appel.
- An episode of Judge Judy aired in which Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten appeared as the defendant in a case involving drummer Robbie Williams, who claimed that the Sex Pistols owed him $7,000. Judge Judy ruled in Rotten's favor.
- The deadly force of Hurricane Georges not only knocked out telephone, water and electrical services in Puerto Rico, but also prevented Billboard magazine from publishing the Hot Latin Tracks chart. For the first time in its ten-year history, the chart was not published because monitoring equipment belonging to Broadcast Data Systems was damaged by the storm, which had struck the island in late September.
- The first Smoke Out festival, organised by Cypress Hill, took place in San Bernardino, California. The event, celebrating music and cannabis culture, attracted approximately 40,000 people. The festival was then held annually until 2003 and returned in 2009.
- Elvis Presley's album Memories – The '68 Comeback Special was released.
- The Crossroads Centre, funded by Eric Clapton, opened in Antigua. It provided treatment for people with drug and alcohol addictions and pledged not to turn away anyone who needed help.