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Black Musicians continued to play leading roles in the recording industry in 1987. In addition to the chart successes of Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson's long-awaited album Bad debuted at the number-one spot on Billboard's chart for best-selling albums. Other black artists with top-selling albums were Jody Watley, Smokey Robinson, L. L. Cool J, and Freddie Jackson. In the 14th annual American Music Awards on January 26, the big winners were two black artists "Houston with five awards and Lionel Richie with four. At the New York Music Awards in April, black musicians Run/D.M.C., Gregory Abbott, and Cameo each received four awards. .
Despite the conspicuous success of some black artists, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in April published a study showing widespread racial discrimination in the music industry. Furthermore, the Recording Industry Association of America convened a subcommittee of black executives to make recommendations on possible affirmative action policies for the industry. .
Dance Music grew musically and commercially. Among the most popular dance music artists were Kraftwerk, Mel and Kim, Company B, and Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam. In February, the Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill became the first rap album to top the pop albums chart. (Rap recordings feature a kind of rhythmic talking to music.) .
Jazz continued to receive industry support, as Columbia Records joined the growing list of major labels revitalizing their jazz catalogs. Industry veteran Mel Fuhrman acquired tapes of unreleased music by jazz great Duke Ellington and began issuing a series of 10 CD's. Some of the best-selling jazz albums were by George Howard, Dexter Gordon, Najee, Stanley Jordan, Kenny G., and Michael Brecker. Jazz festivals in 1987 were artistic and commercial successes. For example, the 18th annual Louisiana Jazz and Heritage Festival, held from April 24 through May 3 in New Orleans, featured more than 300 performers and drew a crowd of nearly 300,000.
