See also: [edit] Events [edit] January [edit] February - February 1 - Daron Hagen is appointed President of the Lotte Lehmann Foundation in New York City.
- February 8 - The 46th Annual Grammy Awards are held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below becomes the first rap album to win Album of the Year. Beyonce won 5 awards.
- February 17
- March 10- George Michael announces that Patience will be his last commercially released record. Future releases will be available from his web site in return for donations to his favourite charities.
- March 13 - Luciano Pavarotti gives his last performance in an opera, in Tosca at the New York Metropolitan Opera.
- March 16 - Godsmack releases an EP titled The Other Side, which contains acoustic reworkings of some of their songs
- March 23 - Usher releases his " Confessions " album selling 1.1 million copies its first week , making him the first R&B artist to ever accomplish that. The album would be the top seller of the year with four number one singles.
- April 6
- April 20 - Fear Factory returns after their 2002 breakup with the new album Archetype.
- April 26
- May - Blender magazine's May issue includes a "50 Worst Songs Ever!" list. "We Built This City," by Starship, is rated worst.
- May 10 - Keane release Hopes and Fears which becomes the 16th best selling album of the millennium in the UK. It went 8x platinum and was nominated for the Mercury Prize and the BRIT award for best album.
- May 18 to May 23 - European Festival of Youth Choirs (EJCF) in Basel.
- May 24 - Madonna starts The Re-Invention Tour in 20 cities with a total of 56 shows and making it the most successful concert tour of the year with a gross of $124.5 million.
- May 25- Avril Lavigne released her highly anticipated second album Under My Skin which debut in number one of 15 countries around the world including U.S, Australia, Mexico, UK, Hong Kong and more.
- May 26 - Fantasia Barrino wins the third season of American Idol, defeating Diana DeGarmo.
- June
- June 4
- June 10 - Legendary blues and soul pianist and singer Ray Charles dies of liver disease at the age of 73.
- June 12 - The Los Angeles, California radio station KROQ airs the 12th Annual KROQ Weenie Roast show with Bad Religion, Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill, The Hives, Hoobastank, The Killers, Modest Mouse, New Found Glory, Story of the Year, The Strokes, The Velvet Revolver, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Yellowcard.
- June 22 - 14th annual Lollapalooza festival, scheduled for July 17, is cancelled. Organizers cite "poor ticket sales". (See: Lollapalooza 2004 lineup.)
- June 23 - UK DJ Tony Blackburn is suspended by radio station Classic Gold Digital for playing songs by Cliff Richard, against station policy.
- July 10 - Ex-S Club star Rachel Stevens sets a world record for completing the fastest promotional circuit in just 24 hours- including a run for the charity Sport Relief. American Idol winner Fantasia becomes the first artist in history to debut at number-one on the Hot 100 with a first record.
- July 11 - McFly debut at #1 on the UK album charts with Room On The 3rd Floor. They break the record set by The Beatles as the youngest group ever to debut at #1 on the album charts.
- July 20 - Van Halen releases The Best of Both Worlds, a 36-song compilation album featuring three new recordings with Sammy Hagar on vocals.
- July 24 - The Robert Smith organized Curiosa Festival kicks off with a concert in West Palm Beach, Florida. Performing along with The Cure are Interpol, The Rapture, Mogwai, Cursive, Muse, Head Automatica, Thursday, Scarling., The Cooper Temple Clause, and Melissa Auf der Maur.
- July 31 - Dispatch performs their last live show at the DCR Hatchshell in Boston, Massachusetts.
- August - Wes Borland returns to Limp Bizkit.
- August 8 - Dave Matthews Band's tour bus dumps 800 lb (360 kg) of human feces from a Chicago bridge, intending to unload it in the river, but it lands on an architecture tour boat. The bus driver and the band are sued by the state of Illinois.
- August 15 - Phish performs their final concert at a two-day festival in Coventry, Vermont.
- September 26 - Avril Lavigne kick off her second world tour the Bonez Tour which visit every single continent around the world touring exactly for one year.
- September 28 - Brian Wilson completes SMiLE, 37 years after its original planned release.
- October 11 - The original lineup of Duran Duran release their new album Astronaut, which was preceded by the single "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise".
- October 16 - Avril Lavigne earns her fourth #1 single "My Happy Ending", second single and lead song of her album 'Under My Skin'.
- October 23 - Ashlee Simpson is accused of lip-synching after an abortive live performance on the television show Saturday Night Live.
- November 4 - Three members of the band RAM, who all lived in a neighborhood known for its support of the then-recently deposed former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, are detained by Haitian police during a concert performance in Port-au-Prince; no charges are ever filed or official explanation for the detentions given.
- November 9 - Britney Spears releases her first compilation album titled Greatest Hits: My Prerogative.
- November 12 - Eminem's fourth major studio album, Encore is released four days before planned to combat bootleggers. The album sells 710,000 copies in only three days and becomes Eminem's third consecutive album to debut at #1 on the billboard charts.
- November 24 - Brian & Eric Hoffman leave Deicide after a royalties dispute.
- November 30 - Jay-Z and Linkin Park's album Collision Course debuts at number #01 at the Billboard 200, and the album converted in the most selling CD/DVD of that year.
- December - Ned's Atomic Dustbin begins touring with 5 upcoming shows.
- December 7 - Lindsay Lohan releases her début album Speak
- December 8 - Dimebag Darrell is shot in the head 5 times
- December 11-12 - The Los Angeles, California radio station KROQ airs the 15th Annual of the Acoustic Christmas with Chevelle, Franz Ferdinand, Good Charlotte, Green Day, Hoobastank, Incubus, Interpol, Jimmy Eat World, Keane, The Killers, Modest Mouse, Muse, The Music, My Chemical Romance, Papa Roach, Snow Patrol, Social Distortion, Sum 41, Taking Back Sunday, The Shins, The Used, and Velvet Revolver.
- December 14 - Clint Lowery leaves Sevendust due to fights with band about gaining control of the band and doubts of the band's future after being released from their label TVT Records.
- date unknown
[edit] Bands formed See Musical groups established in 2004 [edit] Bands disbanded [edit] Bands re-formed [edit] Albums released [edit] January [edit] February [edit] August [edit] September [edit] October [edit] November [edit] December [edit] Unknown Release Date [edit] Top hits [edit] Top 10 selling albums of the year in the US - Confessions / Usher ~ 7,978,594
- Under My Skin / Avril Lavigne ~ 6,970,000
- In The Zone / Britney Spears~ 4,535,102
- Encore / Eminem ~ 3,917,097
- Feels like Home / Norah Jones ~ 3,842,920
- Autobiography / Ashlee Simpson ~ 3,534,912
- When the Sun Goes Down / Kenny Chesney ~ 3,072,224
- Here for the Party / Gretchen Wilson ~ 2,931,097
- Live Like You Were Dying / Tim McGraw ~ 2,786,840
- Songs About Jane / Maroon 5 ~ 2,708,415
[edit] Top 15 selling albums of the year globally - Confessions - Usher
- Under My Skin - Avril Lavigne
- Encore - Eminen
- Love. Angel. Music. Baby. - Gwen Stefani
- Feels Like Home - Norah Jones
- Greatest Hits - Robbie Williams
- Greatest Hits - Shania Twain
- Destiny Fulfilled - Destiny's Child
- Greatest Hits - Guns N' Roses
- Songs About Jane - Maroon 5
- American Idiot - Green Day
- Elephunk - Black Eyed Peas
- Greatest Hits: My Prerogative - Britney Spears
- Here For The Party - Gretchen Wilson
- Anastacia - Anastacia
[edit] Acclaimed Music [edit] AcclaimedMusic.net's Top Albums from 2004 - Funeral — Arcade Fire
- Franz Ferdinand — Franz Ferdinand
- The College Dropout — Kanye West
- SMiLE — Brian Wilson
- A Ghost Is Born — Wilco
- Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
- A Grand Don't Come for Free — The Streets
- Madvillainy — Madvillain
- The Libertines — The Libertines
- Rejoicing in the Hands — Devendra Banhart
- Van Lear Rose — Loretta Lynn
- American Idiot — Green Day
- Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes — TV On The Radio
- Real Gone — Tom Waits
- You Are The Quarry — Morrissey
[edit] AcclaimedMusic.net's Top Songs from 2004 - "Take Me Out" — Franz Ferdinand
- "First Of The Gang To Die" — Morrissey
- "Since U Been Gone" — Kelly Clarkson
- "Galang" — M.I.A.
- "Can't Stand Me Now" — The Libertines
- "Float On" — Modest Mouse
- "Yeah!" — Usher
- "Mr Brightside" — The Killers
- "Drop It Like It's Hot" — Snoop Dogg
- "Rebellion (Lies)" — Arcade Fire
- "Hollaback Girl" — Gwen Stefani
- "Banquet" — Bloc Party
- "I Predict A Riot" — Kaiser Chiefs
- "Dry Your Eyes — The Streets
- "Hounds Of Love" — The Futureheads
[edit] Classical music [edit] Musical theater [edit] Musical films [edit] Births [edit] Deaths [edit] January-February - January 13 - Phillip Crosby, 69, member of The Crosby Boys, son of crooner Bing Crosby
- January 15 - Terje Bakken, 25, also known as Valfar, lead singer and founder of Norwegian black/folk metal band Windir
- January 17
- January 22
- January 28 - Mel Pritchard, 56, drummer of Barclay James Harvest
- February 3 - Cornelius Bumpus, 58, musician (The Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan)
- February 8 - Cem Karaca, 58, Turkish singer and composer
- February 16 - Doris Troy, 67, R&B singer
- February 21 - Bart Howard, 88, composer and pianist
- February 23
[edit] March-April - March 4 - John McGeoch, 48, British guitarist with Magazine, Siouxsie & the Banshees and PiL
- March 6 - Peggy DeCastro, 82, US singer born in the Dominican Republic, eldest of the DeCastro Sisters
- March 16 - Vilém Tauský, 93, Czech conductor and composer
- March 18 - Vytas Brenner, 57,musician, keyboardist and composer
- March 26 - Jan Berry, 62, US singer of Jan and Dean
- April 3 - Gabriella Ferri, 62, Italian singer
- April 9 - Harry Babbitt, 90, US singer with Kay Kyser & his Orchestra
- April 10 - Jacek Kaczmarski, 47, Polish poet and singer, the bard of Solidarity
- April 15
- Hans Gmür, 77, Swiss theatre author, director, composer and producer
- Ray Condo, 53, Canadian rockabilly musician
[edit] May-June - May 1 - Felix Haug, 52, Swiss pop musician (Double)
- May 5 - Coxsone Dodd, 72, Jamaican record producer
- May 12
- May 17 - Elvin Jones, 76, Jazz Drummer, notably with the John Coltrane Quartet of the 1960s.
- May 19 - Arnold Moore, 90, blues artist
- May 23 - Gundars Mauševics, 29, Latvian guitarist of Brainstorm
- June 2 - Billboard, 25, rapper, The Game's best friend
- June 4 - Irene Manning, 91, US actress, singer and dancer
- June 6 - Iona Brown, 63, conductor and violinist
- June 10 - Ray Charles, 73, US singer and pianist
- June 15 - James F. Arnold, 72, first tenor with the Four Lads
- June 17 - Jackie Paris, 77, US jazz singer
[edit] July-August - July 13 - Carlos Kleiber, 74, conductor
- July 21 - Jerry Goldsmith, 75, US composer, Academy Award winner
- July 22
- August 6
- August 9 - David Raksin, 92, US composer
- August 18 - Elmer Bernstein, 82, US composer
- August 20 - María Antonieta Pons, 82, Cuban Rumbera
- August 26 - Laura Branigan, 47, US singer (brain aneurysm)
- August 31 - Carl Wayne, 61, vocalist (The Move)
[edit] September-October - September 2 - Billy Davis
- September 11 - Juraj Beneš, 64, Slovak composer
- September 12
- September 15 - Johnny Ramone, 55, US Guitarist and founding member of TheRamones (prostate cancer)
- September 16 - Izora Armstead, 62, member of The Weather Girls
- September 19 - Skeeter Davis, 72, US country singer
- October 25 - John Peel, 65, British DJ and broadcaster (heart attack)
- October 28 - Gil Melle, 72, film and television music composer
[edit] November-December - November 1 - Mac Dre, 34, Bay Area rapper (highway shooting)
- November 12 - Usko Meriläinen, 74, Finnish composer
- November 13
- November 14 - Michel Colombier, 65, composer
- November 18 - Cy Coleman, 75, US composer
- December 8 - Dimebag Darrell, 38, former Pantera guitarist (shot to death in Ohio)
- December 13 - Alex Soria, 39, guitarist for The Nils (suicide)
- December 14 - Sidonie Goossens, 105, harpist
- December 19 - Renata Tebaldi, 82, operatic soprano
- December 20 - Son Seals, 62, blues musician
- December 26 - Sigurd Køhn, 45, Norwegian jazz saxophonist (tsunami)
- December 30 - Artie Shaw, 94, Swing Era Clarinetist and Bandleader
[edit] Awards [edit] ARIA Music Awards [edit] BRIT Awards [edit] Country Music Association Awards [edit] Eurovision Song Contest [edit] Grammy Awards [edit] Juno Awards [edit] MTV Video Music Awards [edit] Charts [edit] Triple J Hottest 100 [edit] External links For a more detailed list of hits or albums by month, see: |
