Editing 1979 in music (section)

===May–August===
* [[May 1]] – [[Elton John]] becomes one of the first Western pop musicians to perform in Israel.
* [[May 2]] – [[The Who]] play their first concert following the death of drummer [[Keith Moon]]. The band performs with new drummer [[Kenney Jones]] at London's [[Rainbow Theatre]].
* [[May 4]] – Release as a single of [[Gary Numan]]'s "[[Are "Friends" Electric?]]" with [[Tubeway Army]]; it becomes the first [[synth-pop]] single to reach number one in the [[UK Singles Chart]].
* [[May 8]] – [[Iron Maiden]], [[Samson (band)|Samson]], and [[Angel Witch]] share a bill at the [[KOKO (music venue)|Music Machine]] in [[London Borough of Camden|Camden, London]]. Critic [[Geoff Barton]] coins the term "[[New Wave of British Heavy Metal]]" in a review of the show for ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=If You Want Blood (and Flashbombs and Dry Ice and Confetti) You Got It |journal=[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]] |date=19 May 1979 |last=Barton |first=Geoff |author-link=Geoff Barton |pages=28–29 }}</ref>
* [[May 12]] – [[Disco]] music occupies eight of the top ten spots of the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart, for two weeks. The charts are led by [[Peaches and Herb]]'s R&B ballad single "[[Reunited (song)|Reunited]]".
* [[May 14]] – [[Kate Bush]] plays the final date at the [[Hammersmith Odeon]] on her first-ever tour, which also turned out to be her last tour.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/may/13/kate-bush-only-tour-live |title=Kate Bush's only tour: pop concert or disappearing act? |work=The Guardian |date=13 May 2010}}</ref> 
* [[May 19]] – Three of the four ex-[[The Beatles|Beatles]] perform on the same stage, as [[Paul McCartney]], [[George Harrison]] and [[Ringo Starr]] jam with [[Eric Clapton]], [[Ginger Baker]], [[Mick Jagger]] and others at a wedding reception for Clapton at his [[Surrey]] home.
* [[May 21]] – [[Elton John]] plays the first of eight concerts in the Soviet Union, making him the first western solo pop artist to tour there.
* [[June 1]] – The [[Alternative Tentacles]] record label is established by [[Dead Kennedys]] frontman [[Jello Biafra]].
* [[June 8]] – [[Marianne Faithfull]] marries Ben Brierly of [[The Vibrators]].
* [[June 9]] – The [[Bee Gees]] equal [[Bing Crosby]], [[Elvis Presley]], and The [[Beatles]], with a record six consecutive number-one singles in the U.S. in less than a single calendar year with "[[Love You Inside Out]]".
* [[June 16]] – [[Donna Summer]] becomes the first female to have the #1 single "[[Hot Stuff (Donna Summer song)|Hot Stuff]]" and album ''[[Bad Girls (Donna Summer album)|Bad Girls]]'' for a second time.
* [[June 28]] – [[Bill Haley (musician)|Bill Haley]] makes his final studio recordings at [[Muscle Shoals, Alabama]].
* [[June 30]] 
**[[Donna Summer]] becomes the first female artist to have 2 of the top 3 songs, [[Hot Stuff (Donna Summer song)|Hot Stuff]] at #1 & [[Bad Girls (Donna Summer song)|Bad Girls]] at #3, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. They will stay in the top 3 together for 4 weeks. In fact, all of the top 5 songs that week are entirely by women, both in Billboard and in Cashbox.
**[[Tubeway Army]] reach number 1 on the UK Singles Chart with "[[Are 'Friends' Electric?]]" and become the first British act to have a [[synth pop]] hit single. The song will remain at number 1 for four consecutive weeks.<ref name="Tubeway Army">{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/17680/tubeway-army/ |title=Tubeway Army |publisher=Official Charts }}</ref>
* July
** [[EMI]]'s first non-classical [[digital recording]], of UK jazz-funk duo [[Morrissey–Mullen]] covering the [[Rose Royce]] hit "[[Love Don't Live Here Anymore]]", is recorded at [[Abbey Road Studios]] and later released as a limited edition vinyl [[Extended play|EP]].
** [[George Martin]]'s [[Associated Independent Recording]] opens its [[AIR Montserrat]] [[recording studio]] on the Caribbean island of [[Montserrat]]; the first album recorded here is [[Climax Blues Band]]'s ''Real to Reel''.<ref>{{cite web|title=AIR Studio Ruins|website=[[Atlas Obscura]]|date=2018-06-06|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/air-studio-ruins|access-date=2023-10-13}}</ref>
* [[July 1]] – The [[Walkman|Sony Walkman]] goes on sale in Japan.
* [[July 7]] – The Bee Gees play to a sold-out crowd at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium as part of their ''[[1979 Spirits Having Flown Tour|Spirits Having Flown]]'' tour.
* [[July 10]] – [[Chuck Berry]] is sentenced to four months in prison for [[Tax avoidance and tax evasion#Tax evasion|tax evasion]] by a Los Angeles judge.
* [[July 12]] – "[[Disco Demolition Night]]", an anti-disco promotional event held by a Chicago rock station at Comiskey Park involving exploding disco records with a bomb, causes a near-riot between games during a baseball major league doubleheader, forcing the cancellation of the second game.
* [[July 14]] – [[Donna Summer]], for a third time in an eight-month period, scores a #1 single with "[[Bad Girls (Donna Summer song)|Bad Girls]]", (staying atop the charts for five weeks); and #1 album of the same name, which also tops the Billboard 200 for six weeks.
* [[July 21]] 
**With ''[[Bad Girls (Donna Summer album)|Bad Girls]]'' (both single and album), Donna Summer's success continues as she becomes the first female artist to sit on top of 3 major Billboard charts: the Billboard Hot 100, the Hot Soul Singles chart, and the Billboard 200. Disco dominates the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, with the first six spots (beginning with Donna Summer's  "Bad Girls"), and seven of the chart's top ten songs ending that week.
**[[Tubeway Army]] reach number 1 on the UK Albums Chart with "[[Replicas (album)|Replicas]]".<ref name="Tubeway Army" />
* [[July 28]] – [[Aerosmith]] and [[Ted Nugent]] headline the [[World Series of Rock]] at [[Cleveland Stadium|Municipal Stadium]] in [[Cleveland, Ohio]]. Also on the bill are [[Journey (band)|Journey]], [[Thin Lizzy]], [[AC/DC]] and the [[Scorpions (band)|Scorpions]]. Following the concert, Aerosmith guitarist [[Joe Perry (musician)|Joe Perry]] quits the group after an argument with bandmates.
* [[July 31]] – 250,000 turn out in [[Central Park]] for a free concert by [[James Taylor]] in a campaign to restore [[Sheep Meadow, Central Park|Sheep Meadow]].
* August – [[Elton John]] and lyricist [[Bernie Taupin]], having reunited after a three-year break, eventually record their first compositions since then, to be released a year later as ''[[21 at 33]]''.
* [[August 6]] - [[Bauhaus (band)|Bauhaus]] releases debut single "[[Bela Lugosi's Dead]]", considered to be the first [[Gothic Rock]] release.
* [[August 18]] – [[Nick Lowe]] and [[Carlene Carter]] are married at Carter's Los Angeles home.
* [[August 24]] – [[Prince (musician)|Prince]]'s first hit single "[[I Wanna Be Your Lover]]" is released in the US, reaching number one on the RnB and number 11 on the Hot 100, selling more than one million copies in the US.
* [[August 25]] – "[[My Sharona]]" by [[The Knack]] hits #1 on the Billboard charts.  This is the first time in over a year that a song hits #1 that is not either a disco song or a ballad, signalling the potential resurgence of rock.