January 17 – 12 miles of U.S. Highway 51 in
Memphis, Tennessee from South Parkway East to the Tennessee/Mississippi state line is renamed "
Elvis Presley Boulevard."
January 20 – The debut of
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at The Dome, Brighton, is halted by technical problems. Dark Side of the Moon would be played in its entirety the following night, but it would be a full year before the album was released.
January 21 –
Keith Richards jumps on stage to jam with
Chuck Berry at the
Hollywood Palladium, but is ordered off for playing too loud. Berry later claims that he did not recognize Keith and would not have booted him if he did.
February 15 – The United States gives federal
copyright protection to sound recordings. Prior to this, phonograph records were only protected at state level, and not in all states.
Paul McCartney's single "
Give Ireland Back to the Irish" (inspired by the "Bloody Sunday" massacre in Ireland on January 30, 1972) is banned by the
BBC. The controversy caused by the banning only increases the song's popularity and it ends up in the Top 20 in England.
L.A. disc jockey
Robert W. Morgan plays
Donny Osmond's "Puppy Love" non-stop for 90 minutes. Police are called, but no arrests are made.
March 21 –
Terry Knight announces he is launching a $5 million lawsuit against
Grand Funk's new manager John Eastman, one week after being fired as the band's manager himself. It triggers a series of suits and counter-suits between Knight and the band throughout the coming months.
April 2 –
John Lennon and
Yoko Ono hold a press conference in
New York. The Lennons discuss their appeal against the US Immigration Department's decision to deport John.
May 2 –
Stone the Crows lead guitarist
Les Harvey is electrocuted on stage during a show in
Swansea,
Wales, by touching a poorly connected microphone. Harvey dies in a hospital a few hours later. The band's lead singer,
Maggie Bell, Harvey's longtime girlfriend, is also hospitalized, having collapsed on stage after the incident.
November 25 – The 1st
OTI Song Contest, held in the Congres and Expositions Palace,
Madrid, Spain, is won by singers Tobias and Claudia Regina, representing Brazil with the song Diálogo ("Dialogue").
December 23 –
Grand Funk Railroad, completing its 1972 Tour, with a sold-out concert at NYC's Madison Square Garden, with the proceeds from the concert benefiting the Phoenix House Drug Rehabilitation Program, and with the show being filmed for ABC-TV's "In Concert" Series, the band is met by a lawsuit taken out by their former manager, Terry Knight, who attempts to block the show from going on, attempting to seize their equipment. A court injunction is given later in the day, allowing the concert to take place.
Holland 1 for 15 weeks, France 1 for 5 weeks, Switzerland 1 for 17 weeks, Norway 1 for 20 weeks, Germany 1 for 5 months, UK 5 for 19 weeks, US Billboard 9 for 18 weeks
7 (Canada) - 9 (New Zealand, U.S. Cash Box Top 100) - 12 (U.S. Record World Top 100) - 14 (Sweden) - 16 (Australia) - 18 (South Africa) - 30 (West Germany)
...Ausgespannt..., sacred music for baritone, five instrumental groups, loudspeakers, two two-track tapes, and organ
Ein Hauch von Unzeit I: Plainte sur la perte de la réflexion musicale – quelques madrigaux pour flûte seule ou flûte avec quelques instruments quelquonques...
Ein Hauch von Unzeit II: Plainte sur la perte de la réflexion musicale pour piano à une main et demie... , for piano
Ein Hauch von Unzeit III, for 2–7 players (variable instrumentation)
January 17 – 12 miles of U.S. Highway 51 in
Memphis, Tennessee from South Parkway East to the Tennessee/Mississippi state line is renamed "
Elvis Presley Boulevard."
January 20 – The debut of
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at The Dome, Brighton, is halted by technical problems. Dark Side of the Moon would be played in its entirety the following night, but it would be a full year before the album was released.
January 21 –
Keith Richards jumps on stage to jam with
Chuck Berry at the
Hollywood Palladium, but is ordered off for playing too loud. Berry later claims that he did not recognize Keith and would not have booted him if he did.
February 15 – The United States gives federal
copyright protection to sound recordings. Prior to this, phonograph records were only protected at state level, and not in all states.
Paul McCartney's single "
Give Ireland Back to the Irish" (inspired by the "Bloody Sunday" massacre in Ireland on January 30, 1972) is banned by the
BBC. The controversy caused by the banning only increases the song's popularity and it ends up in the Top 20 in England.
L.A. disc jockey
Robert W. Morgan plays
Donny Osmond's "Puppy Love" non-stop for 90 minutes. Police are called, but no arrests are made.
March 21 –
Terry Knight announces he is launching a $5 million lawsuit against
Grand Funk's new manager John Eastman, one week after being fired as the band's manager himself. It triggers a series of suits and counter-suits between Knight and the band throughout the coming months.
April 2 –
John Lennon and
Yoko Ono hold a press conference in
New York. The Lennons discuss their appeal against the US Immigration Department's decision to deport John.
May 2 –
Stone the Crows lead guitarist
Les Harvey is electrocuted on stage during a show in
Swansea,
Wales, by touching a poorly connected microphone. Harvey dies in a hospital a few hours later. The band's lead singer,
Maggie Bell, Harvey's longtime girlfriend, is also hospitalized, having collapsed on stage after the incident.
November 25 – The 1st
OTI Song Contest, held in the Congres and Expositions Palace,
Madrid, Spain, is won by singers Tobias and Claudia Regina, representing Brazil with the song Diálogo ("Dialogue").
December 23 –
Grand Funk Railroad, completing its 1972 Tour, with a sold-out concert at NYC's Madison Square Garden, with the proceeds from the concert benefiting the Phoenix House Drug Rehabilitation Program, and with the show being filmed for ABC-TV's "In Concert" Series, the band is met by a lawsuit taken out by their former manager, Terry Knight, who attempts to block the show from going on, attempting to seize their equipment. A court injunction is given later in the day, allowing the concert to take place.
Holland 1 for 15 weeks, France 1 for 5 weeks, Switzerland 1 for 17 weeks, Norway 1 for 20 weeks, Germany 1 for 5 months, UK 5 for 19 weeks, US Billboard 9 for 18 weeks
7 (Canada) - 9 (New Zealand, U.S. Cash Box Top 100) - 12 (U.S. Record World Top 100) - 14 (Sweden) - 16 (Australia) - 18 (South Africa) - 30 (West Germany)
...Ausgespannt..., sacred music for baritone, five instrumental groups, loudspeakers, two two-track tapes, and organ
Ein Hauch von Unzeit I: Plainte sur la perte de la réflexion musicale – quelques madrigaux pour flûte seule ou flûte avec quelques instruments quelquonques...
Ein Hauch von Unzeit II: Plainte sur la perte de la réflexion musicale pour piano à une main et demie... , for piano
Ein Hauch von Unzeit III, for 2–7 players (variable instrumentation)