Editing 1974 in music (section)

===January–April===
*[[January 1]] – English jazz musician [[John Dankworth]] is named [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire|CBE]] in the United Kingdom's [[New Year's Honours List]]. Other musicians honoured include [[Charles Mackerras]] (CBE) and organist [[Gordon Archbold Slater]] (OBE)<ref>George Clark, "Mr Feather Made a Life Peer: Mr Whitelaw Honoured". ''The Times'' (2 January 1974): 1.</ref>
*[[January 3]] – [[Bob Dylan]] and [[The Band]] begin [[Bob Dylan and The Band 1974 Tour|their 40-date concert tour]] at [[Chicago Stadium]]. It is Dylan's first tour since 1966.
*[[January 17]]
**<!--January 17-->[[Joni Mitchell]] releases her album ''[[Court and Spark]]'', supported by the single "[[Help Me (Joni Mitchell song)|Help Me]]".
**<!--January 17-->[[Dean Paul Martin|Dino Martin]], singer and son of [[Dean Martin]], is arrested on suspicion of possession and sale of two machine guns.
*[[February 12]] – New York's rock club [[The Bottom Line (venue)|The Bottom Line]] opens in [[Greenwich Village]]. The first headlining act is [[Dr. John]].
*[[February 16]] – Two years of litigation between [[Grand Funk]] and former manager [[Terry Knight]] are finally resolved. The band gets the rights to its name but Knight wins a cash settlement.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}
*[[February 19]] – The first [[American Music Award]]s are broadcast on ABC, two weeks before the [[Grammy Award|Grammys]]. [[Helen Reddy]] and [[Jim Croce]] are among the winners.
*[[February 20]] – [[Cher]] files for divorce from her husband of 10 years, [[Sonny Bono]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Mark Bego|title=Cher: If You Believe|publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing|year=2001|isbn=9780815411536|page=91}}</ref>
*[[February 22]] – The [[English Chamber Orchestra]] conducted by [[Raymond Leppard]] performs the world premiere of ''Three Regions'' from ''Terrain'' by Douglas Young.<ref>Stephen Walsh, "ECO/Leppard", ''The Times'' (23 February 1974): 9.</ref>
*[[February 27]] – The [[Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn]], conducted by [[Jörg Faerber]], makes its English debut at the [[Queen Elizabeth Hall]], London.<ref>[[Stanley Sadie]], "Württemberg Chamber Orchestra", ''The Times'' (28 February 1974): 16.</ref>
*[[March 2]] – The [[16th Annual Grammy Awards]] are presented in [[Los Angeles]], hosted by [[Andy Williams]]. [[Stevie Wonder]]'s ''[[Innervisions]]'' wins [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]], while [[Roberta Flack]]'s version of "[[Killing Me Softly With His Song]]" wins both [[Grammy Award for Record of the Year|Record of the Year]] and [[Grammy Award for Song of the Year|Song of the Year]]. [[Bette Midler]] wins [[Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Best New Artist]].
*[[March 3]]
**<!--March 3-->Elvis Presley played two shows at the Houston Astrodome, breaking attendance records with 44,000 at the evening show.
*[[March 4]]
**<!--March 4-->Ivan Stepanov and His Balalaikas make their London debut at the [[Wigmore Hall]].<ref>Anon., "Royal Festival Hall" [classified ad], ''The Times'' (2 March 1974): 11; Bryce Morrison, "London Debuts", ''The Times'' (13 March 1974): 19.</ref>
**<!--March 4-->Baritone [[Hermann Prey]] cuts short a vocal recital in the [[Royal Festival Hall]], London, due to vocal fatigue.<ref>William Mann, "Prey/Hokanson", ''The Times'' (5 March 1974): 10.</ref>
*[[March 10]] – [[Hans Vonk (conductor)|Hans Vonk]] makes his London debut in the Royal Festival Hall, conducting the [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]] in a programme of [[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]] and [[Franz Schubert|Schubert]], as well as the Violin Concerto by [[Roberto Gerhard]], with [[Erich Gruenberg]] as soloist.<ref>Stanley Sadie, "RPO/Vonk", ''The Times'' (11 March 1974): 11.</ref>
*[[March 12]] – [[John Lennon]] is involved in an altercation with a photographer outside [[The Troubadour (Los Angeles)|The Troubadour]] in Los Angeles. Lennon and friend [[Harry Nilsson]] have been heckling comedian [[Tommy Smothers]] and are forced to leave the club.<ref>{{cite book |author=Harry, Bill |year=2000 |title=The John Lennon Encyclopedia |publisher=Virgin |isbn=978-0-7535-0404-8 |pages=927–9}}</ref>
*[[March 16]] – Country music's [[The Grand Ole Opry|Grand Ole Opry]] moves to a new location at the [[Opryland USA|Opryland USA theme park]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee]]
*[[March 31]] – Record producer [[Phil Spector]] is badly injured in a car accident in Hollywood, details of which are largely suppressed at the time.
*[[April 5]] – [[Van Halen]] play their first show on the [[Sunset Strip]] in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles, California|Hollywood]] at [[Gazzarri's]].
*[[April 6]]
**<!--April 6-->200,000 music fans attend The [[California Jam rock festival]]. Artists performing at the event include [[Emerson, Lake & Palmer]], [[Black Sabbath]], [[Deep Purple]], [[Black Oak Arkansas]] and [[Eagles (band)|the Eagles]].
**<!--April 6-->Swedish group [[ABBA]] wins the 19th [[Eurovision Song Contest 1974|Eurovision Song Contest]] in [[Brighton Dome|The Dome]], [[Brighton]], England, with the song "[[Waterloo (ABBA song)|Waterloo]]", kickstarting their international career. The 1967 Eurovision winner, [[Sandie Shaw]], attends.
*[[April 14]] – ''[[Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones]]'', a concert film made during [[the Rolling Stones]]' [[The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972|1972 North American Tour]], premieres at the [[Ziegfeld Theatre (1969)|Ziegfeld Theatre]] in New York.
*[[April 16]] – [[Queen (band)|Queen]] play their first North American concert, opening for [[Mott the Hoople]] in [[Denver]], Colorado.
*[[April 20]] - "[[TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)]]" by [[MFSB]] reaches number one on the [[Billboard Hot 100]] in the United States for the first of two weeks. It is considered the first [[Disco]] song to reach number one. As it was commissioned, composed, and recorded specifically to be used as the theme for the syndicated television program [[Soul Train]] where it debuted in October 1973, it is also the first television theme song of the rock era to reach that position.
*[[April 24]]–[[April 25|25]] – Music aired on the radio in [[Portugal]] acts as a secret signal to trigger the [[Carnation Revolution]] there: at 10:55&nbsp;p.m. on April 24, [[Paulo de Carvalho]]'s "[[E Depois do Adeus]]" (Portugal's entry in the [[1974 Eurovision Song Contest]]) on Emissores Associados de Lisboa alerts rebel captains and soldiers that the coup is beginning; at 12:20&nbsp;a.m. on April 25, [[Rádio Renascença]] broadcasts "[[Grândola, Vila Morena]]", a song by [[José Afonso]], an influential political folk singer-songwriter, signalling the [[Armed Forces Movement]] (MFA) to begin the takeover of strategic points of power in the country from 3.00&nbsp;a.m.
*[[April 25]]
**[[Sotheby's]] Galleries in London sell a violin made in 1733 by Cremonese master [[Giuseppe Guarneri]], formerly belonging to violinist Elaine Weldon, for the equivalent of $140,000, the second-highest price ever paid for a violin.<ref>Agence France-Presse, "Violin by Guarnieri sold for $140,000", ''The Boston Globe'' (26 April 1974): 28.</ref>
**[[Pamela Courson|Pam Morrison]], [[Jim Morrison]]'s widow, is found dead in her [[Hollywood, Los Angeles, California|Hollywood]] apartment from an apparent heroin overdose.<ref>{{cite book|title=No One Here Gets Out Alive|author1=Hopkins, Jerry |author2=Sugerman, Danny |publisher=Mass Market Paperback|year=1995|page=377}}</ref>