January 19 - Madonna wins Best Actress In A Motion Picture, Musical Or Comedy in Evita at the 54th annual Golden Globe Awards. Madonna later wins the American Moviegoer Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in Evita.
January 20 - Ben and Jerry's introduce "Phish food", a new flavor of ice cream named after the rock group Phish. The ingredients are chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, caramel and fish-shaped fudge
March - Pianist David Helfgott appears at the Boston Symphony Hall during his world tour. The Boston Globe describes his performance as "without phrasing, form, harmonic understanding, differentiation of style and often basic accuracy; worst of all, it was without emotional content."
Northern Ireland band Ash release the single Barbie.
March 3 - U2 release the opinion-dividing Pop album. Along with the Oasis album Be Here Now, it becomes a major release that fails to sell to industry expectations, particularly in the US, despite many strong initial reviews.
May - 5ive's musical career begin after auditions are held in London with over 3,000 hopefuls showing up to audition.
May 20 - The Foo Fighters release their second album, The Colour and the Shape, solidifying the fact that the Foo Fighters were not a one off project for Dave Grohl after the dissolution of Nirvana. The Colour and the Shape is often considered the band's best album. It is their best selling album. Since this album, the Foo Fighters have won 4 Grammys.
August 4 - Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer and dissident pop star Fela Anikulapo-Kuti dies in Lagos of HIV-related illness.
August 7 - Garth Brooks performs to an estimated 800,000 to 1 million people during a free concert given in New York City's Central Park.
August 21Oasis' eagerly awaited 3rd album, Be Here Now, was released. It set a record as it became the fastest selling album of all time, moving 695,761 copies in the first week.
August 16-17 - Phish perform two day music festival, The Great Went, in Limestone, Maine at Loring Air Force Base. 500 minutes of music, 6 sets, 2 encores. There was an estimated attendance that falls anywhere between 65,000-70,000 and was the top grossing concert of the summer by pulling in over $4,000,000.
September 19 - While on his way to a benefit concert in Kansas, Rich Mullins loses control of his jeep, flipping the automobile and throwing both Mullins and passenger Mitch McVicker out onto the road. A tractor-trailer approaching the scene swerves to miss McVicker, striking and killing Mullins instantly. McVicker survives, but suffered major injuries.
UK 1 - Jun 1997, US BB 1 of 1997, Holland 1 - Jun 1997, Sweden 1 - Aug 1997, Austria 1 - Jul 1997, Switzerland 1 - Jul 1997, Norway 1 - Jul 1997, Italy 1 of 1997, Germany 1 - Jun 1997, Eire 1 - Jul 1997, New Zealand 1 for 5 weeks Jul 1997, Australia 1 for 5 weeks Oct 1997, Poland 5 - Jul 1997, Australia 5 of 1997, Germany 12 of the 1990s, POP 16 of 1997, Global 33 (5 M sold) - 1997, Europe 50 of the 1990s, RYM 99 of 1997
UK 1 - Sep 1997, US BB 1 of 1997, Holland 1 - Sep 1997, Austria 1 - Oct 1997, Switzerland 1 - Sep 1997, Norway 1 - Jan 1997, Poland 1 - Sep 1997, Germany 1 - Jan 1998, Eire 1 - Sep 1997, New Zealand 1 for 6 weeks Oct 1997, Australia 1 for 6 weeks Dec 1997, Global 2 (35 M sold) - 1997, Australia 4 of 1997, Japan 11 of all time (international songs), Italy 12 of 1997, TOTP 33, Germany 37 of the 1990s, RYM 85 of 1997, OzNet 433
UK 1 - Oct 1997, US BB 1 of 1997, Holland 1 - Sep 1997, Sweden 1 - Sep 1997, Switzerland 1 - Oct 1997, Norway 1 - May 1997, Germany 1 - Jan 1998, Eire 1 - Oct 1997, New Zealand 1 for 2 weeks Sep 1997, Australia 1 for 3 weeks Jan 1998, POP 1 of 1997, Italy 2 of 1997, Austria 3 - Oct 1997, France 6 - May 1997, US BB 7 of 1997, Australia 8 of 1997, Germany 36 of the 1990s, Scrobulate 53 of happy
UK 1 - Feb 1997, Holland 1 - Dec 1996, Sweden 1 - Nov 1996, Switzerland 1 - Jan 1997, Norway 1 - Dec 1996, Poland 1 - Jan 1997, Eire 1 - Feb 1997, New Zealand 1 for 2 weeks Jan 1997, Australia 1 for 8 weeks Apr 1997, Austria 2 - Feb 1997, Germany 2 - Jan 1997, Australia 7 of 1997, France 10 - Feb 1997, RYM 10 of 1996, Europe 22 of the 1990s, POP 38 of 1996, Scrobulate 44 of rock, Italy 76 of 1997, Germany 77 of the 1990s, Acclaimed 1098
UK 1 - Jun 1997, US BB 1 of 1997, Sweden 1 - May 1997, Austria 1 - Jun 1997, Switzerland 1 - Jun 1997, Eire 1 - Jun 1997, New Zealand 1 for 2 weeks Jun 1997, Australia 1 for 9 weeks Aug 1997, Holland 2 - May 1997, Norway 2 - Jun 1997, Australia 2 of 1997, Germany 2 - Jun 1997, Poland 9 - Jun 1997, US BB 17 of 1997, POP 18 of 1997, Scrobulate 69 of fun, RYM 81 of 1996, Germany 187 of the 1990s, Acclaimed 516
