See also: 1961 in music, other events of 1962, 1963 in music, 1960s in music and the list of 'years in music'

Events

• January 24 - Brian Epstein signs to manage the Beatles.
• January 24 - Teenage star Danny Peppermint is nearly killed when he receives an electric shock from a microphone stand at the Thunderbird Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Peppermint is rushed to a hospital where he recovers.
• April 7 - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Mick Taylor meet Brian Jones at the Ealing Club, a blues club in London
• April 10 - Former Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe dies from cerebral paralysis caused by a brain hemorrhage in Hamburg, Germany.
• April 12 - A recording is made of Bob Dylan's concert at the Town Hall, in New York City by Columbia Records. Columbia would eventually release the recording of "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" from this concert
• August 16 - The Beatles fire Pete Best and replace him with Ringo Starr.
• August 23 - John Lennon marries Cynthia Powell
• Decca Records rejects a demo tape of The Beatles. The Tremeloes are signed to the label instead of the Beatles.
• Release of first Beatles recording: the single "Love Me Do"/"P.S. I Love You" on October 5 in the United Kingdom.
• The Spokane Philharmonic orchestra becomes the Spokane Symphony.
• Stevie Wonder's musical career begins
• Otis Redding's musical career begins
• Wilson Pickett's musical career begins
• Harry Nilsson's musical career begins
• Booker T. & the MG's' musical career begins
• Isaac Hayes' musical career begins

Albums released

• Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan
• Le Petit Gonzalès - Dalida
• Let's Face the Music - Shirley Bassey
• Live At The Apollo - James Brown
• Only Love Can Break a Heart - Gene Pitney
• Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits - Roy Orbison
• Crying - Roy Orbison
• Sincerely, Brenda Lee - Brenda Lee
• Surfer's Choice - Dick Dale's debut LP

Top hits on record

• "Peppermint Twist" - Joey Dee & the Starlighters
• "The Twist" - Chubby Checker
• "Soldier Boy" - The Shirelles
• "V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N" - Connie Francis
• "Hey Baby" - Bruce Channel
• "The Loco-Motion" - Little Eva
• "Sherry" - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
• "Only Love Can Break a Heart" - Gene Pitney
• "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" - Gene Pitney
• "Break It To Me Gently" - Brenda Lee
• "All Alone Am I" - Brenda Lee
• "He's A Rebel" - The Crystals
• "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" - Neil Sedaka
• "Any Day Now" - Chuck Jackson
• "Leah" - Roy Orbison
• "Dream Baby" - Roy Orbison
• "Fortune Teller" - Bobby Curtola
• "Duke Of Earl" - Gene Chandler
• "Telstar" - The Tornadoes
• "Johnny Angel" - Shelley Fabares
• "Go Away Little Girl" - Steve Lawrence
• "What's Now My Love" - Shirley Bassey
• "Old Rivers" - Walter Brennan
• "Sheila" - Tommy Roe
• "La Leçon de Twist" - Dalida
• "Le Petit Gonzalès" - Dalida
• "Je l'attends" - Dalida
• "Que sont devenues les fleurs?" - Dalida
• "Le jour le plus long" - Dalida
• "Don't Make Me Over" - Dionne Warwick
• "Big Girls Don't Cry" - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
• "Love Me Do" - The Beatles
• "Adios Amigo" - Jim Reeves
• "I'm Gonna Change Everything" - Jim Reeves
• "Wolverton Mountain" - Claude King
• "The Burning Of Atlanta" - Claude King
• "I Can't Stop Loving You" - Ray Charles

See also: Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1962 (USA)

Published popular music

• "Ahab The Arab" w.m. Ray Stevens
• "Blowin' In The Wind" w.m. Bob Dylan
• "Bossa Nova Baby" w.m. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
• "The Boys' Night Out" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jimmy Van Heusen from the film Boys' Night Out
• "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" w.m. Neil Sedaka & Howard Greenfield
• "Call Me Irresponsible" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jimmy Van Heusen from the film Papa's Delicate Condition
• "Can't Help Falling In Love" w.m. Luigi Creatore , Hugo Peretti & George David Weiss
• "Comedy Tonight"     w.m. Stephen Sondheim
• "Danke Schoen" w. Milton Gabler & Kurt Schwabach m. Bert Kaempfert
• "Days Of Wine And Roses" w. Johnny Mercer m. Henry Mancini from the film Days Of Wine And Roses
• "Desafinado" w. Newton Mendonca m. Antonio Carlos Jobim
• "Devil Woman" w.m. Marty Robbins
• "Don't Make Me Over" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach
• "Dream Baby " w.m. Cindy Walker
• "Everybody Ought To Have A Maid"     w.m. Stephen Sondheim
• "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" w.m. Ewan MacColl
• "Free"     w.m. Stephen Sondheim
• "Go Away, Little Girl" w.m. Gerry Goffin & Carole King
• "Gonna Build A Mountain" w.m. Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley from the musical Stop The World - I Want To Get Off
• "Have A Dream"     w.Lee Adams m. Charles Strouse
• "He's A Rebel"     w.m. Gene Pitney
• "Her Royal Majesty"     w.m. Gerry Goffin & Carole King
• "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach
• "I'm Calm"     w.m. Stephen Sondheim
• "I'm Not The Marrying Kind" w. Mack David m. Sherman Edwards
• "I've Got Your Number"     w. Carolyn Leigh m. Cy Coleman
• "Impossible"     w.m. Stephen Sondheim
• "It's The Only Way To Travel" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jimmy Van Heusen. Introduced by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in the film The Road To Hong Kong
• "Johnny Get Angry" w. Mack David m. Sherman Edwards
• Let's Not Be Sensible w. Sammy Cahn m. Jimmy Van Heusen. Introduced by Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour in the film The Road To Hong Kong
• "Love I Hear"     w.m. Stephen Sondheim
• "Lovely"     w.m. Stephen Sondheim
• "Make It Easy On Yourself" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach
• "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach
• "More" w. Marcello Ciorciolini & Norman Newell m. Nino Oliviero & Riz Ortolani from the film Mondo Cane
• "Old Rivers" w.m. Cliff Crofford
• "On The Other Side Of The Tracks" w. Carolyn Leigh m. Cy Coleman from the musical Little Me
• "Once In A Lifetime" w.m. Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley from the musical Stop The World - I Want To Get Off
• "One Note Samba" w. Jon Hendricks & Newton Mendonca m. Antonio Carlos Jobim
• "Only Love Can Break A Heart" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach
• "Pretty Little Picture"     w.m. Stephen Sondheim
• "Quando, Quando, Quando" w. Pat Boone & Alberto Testa m. Elio Cesari
• "Ramblin' Rose" w.m. Noel Sherman & Joe Sherman
• "The Road To Hong Kong" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jimmy Van Heusen from the film The Road To Hong Kong
• "The Stripper" m. David Rose
• "The Sweetest Sounds"     w.m. Richard Rodgers from the musical No Strings
• "A Swingin' Safari" m. Bert Kaempfert
• "Teamwork" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jimmy Van Heusen. Introduced by Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Joan Collins in the film The Road To Hong Kong
• "Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days Of Summer" w. Charles Tobias m. Hans Carste
• "Vacation" w.m. Connie Francis, Hank Hunter & Gary Weston
• "A Walk In The Black Forest" m. Horst Jankowski
• "A Walk On The Wild Side" w. Mack David m. Elmer Bernstein from the film A Walk On The Wild Side
• "Warmer Than a Whisper" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jimmy Van Heusen. Introduced by Dorothy Lamour in the film The Road To Hong Kong
• "What Kind Of Fool Am I?" w.m. Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley. Introduced by Anthony Newley in the musical Stop The World - I Want To Get Off
• "What Now, My Love?" w. Pierre Delanoe & Carl Sigman m. Gilbert Becaud
• "Wolverton Mountain" w.m. Merle Kilgore & Claude King

Classical music

• George Barati - Chamber Concerto
• Morley Calvert - Suite from the Montenegrian Hills
• Mario Davidovsky - Electronic Study No. 2
• Mario Davidovsky - Synchronisms No. 1 for flute and electronic sound
• Mario Davidovsky - Trio for Clarinet, Trumpet, and Viola
• Ding Shande - Long March Symphony
• Francis Jackson - Intrada for Organ, Op 84 no 6
• Krzysztof Penderecki - Stabat Mater
• Francis Poulenc - Sonata for Oboe
• Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 13 B flat minor, Op. 113 "Babi-Yar"
• Ezra Sims - Third Quartet

Opera

• Carlisle Floyd - The Passion of Jonathan Wade

Musical theater

• All American      Broadway production
• Blitz! (Lionel Bart) - London production
• A Funny Happened on the Way to the Forum (Stephen Sondheim) - Broadway production
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes     London production
• The Golden Apple     Broadway revival
• I Can Get It For You Wholesale      Broadway production
• Little Mary Sunshine      London production
• Little Me     Broadway production
• No Strings Broadway production opened at the 54th Street Theatre on March 15 and ran for 580 performances
• Stop The World - I Want To Get Off (Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse) - Broadway production

Musical films

• Blue Hawaii
• The Road To Hong Kong
• State Fair

Births

• January 16 - Paul Webb , Talk Talk
• January 28 - Leslie Phillips/Sam Phillips, singer
• February 6 - Axl Rose, Guns N'Roses
• February 7 - David Bryan, Bon Jovi
• February 7 - Garth Brooks, country singer
• February 11 - Sheryl Crow, American singer
• February 22 - Michael Wilton , Queensrÿche
• March 2 - Jon Bon Jovi
• March 5 - Craig Reid , The Proclaimers
• March 5 - Charlie Reid , The Proclaimers
• March 7 - Taylor Dayne
• March 30 - M.C. Hammer
• April 3 - Mike Ness, Social Distortion
• April 16 - Ian MacKaye, lead singer of Minor Threat and Fugazi
• May 9 - David Gahan, Depeche Mode
• May 28 - Roland Gift, Fine Young Cannibals
• May 31 - Corey Hart
• June 8 - Nick Rhodes, Duran Duran
• June 19 - Paula Abdul, pop vocalist
• July 7 - Mark White, Spin Doctors
• July 21 - Lee Aaron
• July 27 - Karl Mueller , Soul Asylum
• August 25 - Vivian Campbell , Def Leppard
• October 15 - Mark Reznicek , Toadies
• October 25 - Chad Smith, Red Hot Chili Peppers
• November 1 - Antony Kiedis, lead singer of Red Hot Chili Peppers
• November 3 - Marilyn, pop vocalist
• November 18 - Kirk Hammett, lead guitarist of Metallica
• November 21 - Steven Curtis Chapman
• November 27 - Charlie Benante, Anthrax
• November 28 - Matt Cameron, Soundgarden
• November 27 - Mike Bordin, Faith No More
• December 4 - Vinnie Dombroski , Sponge
• December 8 - Marty Friedman, Megadeth

Deaths

• January 29 - Fritz Kreisler
• February 17 - Bruno Walter, conductor
• March 24 - Jean Goldkette, jazz musician
• April 10 - Stuart Sutcliffe, former member of The Beatles, cerebral paralysis caused by a brain hemorrhage
• May 27 - Egon Petri, pianist
• June 12 - John Ireland, composer
• June 13 - Sir Eugène Aynsley Goossens, conductor
• June 15 - Alfred Cortot, pianist and conductor
• July 12 - Roger Wolfe Kahn, bandleader
• July 25 - Christie MacDonald , actress and singer
• September 6 - Hanns Eisler, composer
• December 7 - Kirsten Flagstad
• December 13 - Harry Barris , US singer, composer and pianist

Awards

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1962

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1962