See also: 1981 in music, other events of 1982, 1983 in music, 1980s in music and the list of 'years in music'

Events

• January 15 - K.C. and the Sunshine Band's Harry Wayne Casey is seriously injured in an automobile accident in Miami, Florida.
• January 17 - Tommy Tucker , writer of "Hi Heel Sneakers", dies of carbon tetrachloride poisoning sustained while he was finishing floors in his home
• January 20 - Ozzy Osbourne bites the head off of a live bat thrown at him during a performance. Osbourne is hospitalized with rabies.
• 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.
• February 13 - A 300 pound gravestone from the grave of Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zant is stolen from an Orange Park, Florida cemetery. Police found the gravestone 2 weeks later in a dry river bed.
• February 20 - Pat Benatar marries her guitarist, Neil Giraldo on the Hawaiian island of Maui
• 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 Hotel in Los Angeles, California
• March 18 - Teddy Pendergrass is severely injured in a car accident in Philadelphia. Pendergrass' injuries result in him being paralyzed from the waist down
• March 19 - Ozzy Osbourne's lead guitarist, Randy Rhoads is killed in a freak accident in Leesburg, Florida when the plane he's riding in buzzes Osbourne's tour bus and crashes into a house. The plane's pilot and a female passenger are also killed.
• March 28 - In Los Angeles, California, David Crosby is arrested for possession of Quaaludes and drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence of cocaine and carrying a concealed weapon
• March 29 - Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney release their single "Ebony and Ivory "
• March 31 - The Doobie Brothers announce that they are breaking up
• 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 - Amy Grant marries Gary Chapman
• April 26 - Rod Stewart is mugged in Los Angeles, California. Stewart loses his $50,000 Porsche to the mugger, but was not hurt.
• August 17 - In Langenhagen near Hanover, Germany began the first mass production of the compact disc.
• September 7 - The musical Cats begins its 18 year run on Broadway
• November 5 - First broadcast of The Tube was shown on Channel 4 in the UK.
• The first compact discs appear in music stores.
• A benefit concert takes place in Downey, California to replace the guitars belonging to Daniel Amos which were stolen early in the year. Performers included Tom Howard , Mark Heard and Randy Stonehill.
• Janet Jackson releases first recording
• Caution and Plee Fresh begin recording; this is the birth of a distinctively Chicago sound in hip hop
• Lee Aaron's solo career begins
• Madonna's career begins
• Metallica's career begins
• Ronnie James Dio leaves Black Sabbath for solo career
• The Smiths form
• Pantera forms
• Faith No More forms
• Guadalcanal Diary forms
• Slayer forms
• Violent Femmes forms
• The Eagles break up
• Wendy O. Williams leaves the Plasmatics for a solo career

Albums released

• Circus Animals Cold Clisel
• Thriller Micheal Jackson
• October: Underwater Kites - The Modern Art (debut)
• The Lee Aaron Project - Lee Aaron
• The Singles: The First Ten Years - ABBA
• Lexicon of Love - ABC
• Rock in A Hard Place - Aerosmith
• Now and Forever - Air Supply
• Metal on Metal - Anvil
• Big Science - Laurie Anderson
• Asia - Asia
• Mesopotamia - The B-52's
• Bad Brains - Bad Brains
• Rough Diamonds - Bad Company
• How Could Hell Be Any Worse? - Bad Religion (debut full-length)
• Junkyard - The Birthday Party - final full-length album
• Damaged - Black Flag
• Live Evil - Black Sabbath
• The Hunter - Blondie (final album)
• The Distance - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
• The Dreaming - Kate Bush
• 16 - Chicago
• Timepieces: Best of Eric Clapton - Eric Clapton (Best of 1969-1979)
• Combat Rock - The Clash
• Computer Games - George Clinton
• Zipper Catches Skin - Alice Cooper
• Hello, I Must Be Going! - Phil Collins
• Imperial Bedroom - Elvis Costello & the Attractions
• American Fool - John Cougar Mellencamp
• Christ The Album - Crass
• Kissing to Be Clever - Culture Club
• Pornography - The Cure
• Spécial Dalida - Dalida
• Le Disque d'Or du Mundial '82 - Dalida (compilation)
• Mondialement Vôtre - Dalida
• Milo Goes to College - The Descendents
• Oh No!, It's Devo - Devo
• Love over Gold - Dire Straits
• Fast Women & Slow Horses - Dr. Feelgood
• Rio - Duran Duran
• The Nightfly - Donald Fagen
• Hex Enduction Hour - The Fall
• The Record - Fear
• Mirage - Fleetwood Mac
• Security - Peter Gabriel
• Another Day/Another Dollar - Gang of Four
• Songs of the Free - Gang of Four
• Midnight Love - Marvin Gaye
• Wasted Youth - Girl
• There For No One To See - Grand Prix
• Age To Age - Amy Grant
• H2O - Daryl Hall & John Oates
• Three Lock Box - Sammy Hagar
• Oriental Beat - Hanoi Rocks
• Nona - Nona Hendryx
• Groovy Decay - Robyn Hitchcock
• The Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden
• Everything Falls Apart - Hüsker Dü
• Night and Day - Joe Jackson
• Thriller - Michael Jackson
• The Broadsword and the Beast - Jethro Tull
• Nylon Curtain - Billy Joel
• Jump Up! - Elton John
• Screaming for Vengeance - Judas Priest
• Revelations - Killing Joke
• Beat - King Crimson
• Creatures of the Night - KISS
• One Vice At A Time - Krokus
• Coda - Led Zeppelin
• Tug of War - Paul McCartney
• Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets
• Business as Usual - Men at Work
• In My Eyes - Minor Threat
• Minor Threat - Minor Threat
• Bean Spill - The Minutemen
• Too Fast for Love - Mötley Crüe (debut re-release)
• Iron Fist - Motörhead
• Dawn Patrol - Night Ranger
• Nugent - Ted Nugent
• Speak of the Devil - Ozzy Osbourne (Live)
• Bobbie Sue - The Oak Ridge Boys
• Death Wish II - Jimmy Page
• Pictures at Eleven - Robert Plant (former Led Zeppelin Vocalist's solo debut)
• Ghost in the Machine - The Police
• 1999 - Prince
• Forever Now - The Psychedelic Furs
• Straight Between the Eyes - Rainbow
• The Tunes of Two Cities - The Residents
• Chronic Town EP - R.E.M.
• Stink - The Replacements
• Love Will Turn You Around - Kenny Rogers
• Signals - Rush
• Blackout - Scorpions
• Naked - Sex Gang Children
• Alice - The Sisters of Mercy
• Sweets From a Stranger - Squeeze
• Mommy's Little Monster - Social Distortion
• Sonic Youth - Sonic Youth
• Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen
• Shoot out the Lights - Richard and Linda Thompson
• Hour Live - Toots & the Maytals
• Toto IV - Toto
• Ruff Cuts EP - Twisted Sister
• Under The Blade - Twisted Sister (debut album)
• Diver Down - Van Halen
• Black Metal - Venom
• Saints & Sinners - Whitesnake
• It's Hard - The Who
• Original Musiquarium - Greatest Hits - Stevie Wonder
• Under the Big Black Sun - X
• English Settlement - XTC
• Upstairs at Eric's - Yaz
• Black Tiger - Y&T

Chronological Table of US and UK Number One Hit Singles

Other significant singles of the year

• "867-5309 Jenny" - Tommy Tutone
• "Aghani Aghani" - Dalida
• "Always On My Mind" - Willie Nelson
• "Believer" - Ozzy Osbourne
• "Body Language" - Queen
• "Confidences sur la Fréquence" - Dalida
• "The Day Before You Came" - ABBA
• "Danza" - Dalida
• "Don't Talk To Strangers" - Rick Springfield
• "Don't You Want Me" _ Human League
• "Electric Eye" - Judas Priest
• "Even the Nights are Better" - Air Supply
• "Eye In The Sky" - Alan Parsons Project
• "Flying High Again" - Ozzy Osbourne
• "Forever Now" - Cold Chisel
• "Freeze Frame" - J. Geils Band
• "Gloria" - Laura Branigan
• "Great Southern Land" - Icehouse
• "Gypsy" - Fleetwood Mac
• "Harden My Heart" - Quarterflash
• "Head Over Heels" - ABBA
• "Heart Attack" - Olivia Newton-John
• "Heat Of The Moment" - Asia
• "Hey Little Girl" - Icehouse
• "Hold Me" - Fleetwood Mac
• "Hungry Like The Wolf" - Duran Duran
• "Hurts So Good" - John Cougar
• "I'm Afraid of Me" - Culture Club
• "Invisible Sun" - The Police
• "Jouez Bouzouki" - Dalida
• "La Chanson du Mundial '82" - Dalida
• "Love Will Turn You Around" - Kenny Rogers
• "Make A Move On Me" - Olivia Newton-John
• "The Message" - Grandmaster Flash
• "More Than Just The Two Of Us" - Sneaker
• "Open Arms" - Journey
• "Our Lips Are Sealed" - The Go-Go's
• "Over The Mountain" - Ozzy Osbourne
• "Planet Rock" - Afrika Bambaataa
• "Pressure" - Billy Joel
• "Quiero Ser" - Menudo
• "Rock The Casbah" - The Clash
• "Rosanna" - Toto
• "Shake It Up" - The Cars
• "Since You're Gone" - The Cars
• "Solid Rock - Goanna
• "Spirits In The Material World" - The Police
• "Still They Ride" - Journey
• "Sube A Mi Motora" - Menudo
• "Taxi Mary - Jo Jo Zep
• "Time (Clock of the Heart)" - Culture Club
• "Tony" - Dalida
• "TV Party" - Black Flag
• "Vacation" - The Go-Go's
• "Valley Girl" - Frank Zappa
• "We Got the Beat" - The Go-Go's
• "White Boy" - Culture Club
• "When The War Is Over" - Cold Chisel
• "You Can't Hurry Love" - Phil Collins
• "You Should Hear How She Talks About You" - Melissa Manchester
• "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" - Judas Priest

Published popular music

• "Key Largo" w.m. Sonny Limbo & Bertie Higgins
• "Let's Go to the Movies" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the film version of the musical Annie
• "Sandy (Dumb Dog)" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the film version of the musical Annie
• "Sign!" w. Martin Charnin w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the film version of the musical Annie
• "St. Elsewhere theme song" m. Dave Grusin
• "Up Where We Belong"     w. Will Jennings m. Buffy Sainte-Marie & Jack Nitzsche
• "We Got Annie" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the film version of the musical Annie
• "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" w.m. Judy Hart Angelo & Gary Portnoy, theme from the TV series Cheers
• "Without Us" w. Tom Scott m. Jeff Barry, theme from the TV series Family Ties

Classical music

• Hans Abrahamsen - Nacht und Trompeten
• Mario Davidovsky - Sting Trio for violin, viola, violoncello
• Rudolf Komorous - Serenade for Strings
• Mel Powell - String Quartet
• Tōru Takemitsu - Rain Coming for chamber orchestra
• Tōru Takemitsu - Rain Spell for flute, clarinet, harp, piano and vibraphone
• Jay Ungar - Ashokan Farewell

Opera

• Nicolas Flagello - The Judgment of St Francis

Musical theater

• Cats (Andrew Lloyd Webber) - Broadway production
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice) - Broadway production
• Little Shop of Horrors     off-Broadway production
• Nine      Broadway production
• Pirates Of Penzance     London revival
• Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (Saul Chaplin, Gene de Paul and Johnny Mercer) - Broadway production

Musical films

• Annie
• The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas
• Grease 2
• HMS Pinafore
• Iolanthe
• The Mikado
• Patience
• Pirates Of Penzance
• Ruddigore
• The Sorcerer
• Victor/Victoria
• The Yeomen Of The Guard

Musical television

• Roy Orbison - Live at Austin City Limits
• Sweeney Todd

Births

• August 28 - LeAnn Rimes
• September 22 - Billie Piper

Deaths

• January 17 - Tommy Tucker , songwriter
• January 30 - Stanley Holloway, English actor and singer
• February 17 - Thelonious Monk
• February 21 - Murray the K, disc jockey
• March 5 - John Belushi US entertainer of The Blues Brothers
• March 24 - Aileen Stanley, US singer
• April 2 - Sam Coslow, US songwriter and sometime singer
• April 9 - Jim Davidson , 79, Australian bandleader in Bowral, NSW
• May 1 - William Primrose, violist
• May 8 - Neil Bogart, 39, Owner of Casablanca Records, cancer
• May 15 - Joëlle, French singer, drug overdose
• July 9 - Wingy Manone, jazz trumpeter
• July 28 - Keith Green, gospel singer, plane crash
• September 1 - Clifford Curzon, pianist
• October 4 - Glenn Gould, pianist
• October 16 - Mario del Monaco, operatic tenor

Awards

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1982

Country Music Association Awards

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1982