Events in Music
- Jan 7 "In Da Club" single is released by 50 Cent (MTV Video Music Award Best Rap Video and Best New Artist 2003, Billboard Song of the Year 2003)
Event of Interest
Jan 13 Rock musician Pete Townshend of The Who was arrested in London on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children. He was later cleared.
Pete Townshend
Music Awards
Jan 13 30th American Music Awards: Sheryl Crow & Eminem win
Eminem
Sheryl Crow
#1 in the Charts
Feb 2 Jennifer Lopez starts a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'All I Have'
Jennifer Lopez
- Feb 2 Russian pop girl duo Tatu start a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'All The Things She Said'
- Feb 6 50 Cent releases his album “Get Rich or Die Trying’” (2003 Billboard Album of the Year)
- Feb 20 During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the club ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 300 others.
Grammy Awards
Feb 23 45th Grammy Awards: Don't Know Why, Norah Jones wins
Norah Jones
Music Awards
Mar 1 17th Soul Train Music Awards: LL Cool J, Mariah Carey & Nelly win
LL Cool J
Mariah Carey
- Mar 10 "My Front Porch Looking In" single released by Lonestar (Billboard Song of the Year 2003)
Music Awards
Apr 7 37th CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards: Toby Keith & Martina McBride win
Martina McBride
Toby Keith
Event of Interest
Apr 19 Nina Simone is awarded and honorary degree by the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia
Nina Simone
- May 21 38th Academy of Country Music Awards: Toby Keith, Martina McBride & Kenny Chesney win
- May 24 48th Eurovision Song Contest: Sertab Erener for Turkey wins singing "Everyway That I Can" in Riga
Film Release
Jun 10 "Wicked", starring Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, officially opens at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco
Idina Menzel
Video Music Awards
Aug 28 20th MTV Video Music Awards: Missy Elliott, Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake win
Event of Interest
Sep 17 Billy Corgan presents his poetry at the Art Institute of Chicago's Rubloff Auditorium
Billy Corgan
- Oct 30 "Wicked" premieres on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre starring Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth
Album Release
Nov 4 "Shock'n Y'all" 8th studio album by Toby Keith is released (Billboard Album of the Year 2004)
Toby Keith
- Nov 5 37th Country Music Association Award: Alan Jackson & Martina McBride wins
Event of Interest
Nov 17 Britney Spears, at 21 years old, becomes the youngest singer to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Britney Spears
Birthdays in Music
Weddings in Music
Wedding of Interest
Jan 11 "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" actor Taye Diggs (32) weds broadway actress Idina Menzel (31) at Round Hill Hotel and Villas in Montego Bay, Jamaica
Idina Menzel
- Jan 11 "The Sixth Sense" actress-singer Toni Collette (30) weds musician Dave Galafassi in a Buddhist ceremony near Sydney, Australia
Wedding of Interest
Apr 7 Academy Award "Gladiator" actor Russell Crowe (39) weds singer Danielle Spencer (32) at his 560-acre cattle farm in Nana Glen, New South Wales, Australia
Russell Crowe
Wedding of Interest
Jul 19 "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch" actress Melissa Joan Hart (27) weds "Course of Nature" lead singer-guitarist Mark Wilkersonin (26) in Florence, Italy
Melissa Joan Hart
- Aug 9 Former "New Kids on the Block" singer Joey McIntyre (30) weds real estate agent Barrett Williams (25) in New York City's Plaza Hotel
Person of Interest
Nov 17 Singer Blake Shelton (27) weds Kaynette Williams in Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Blake Shelton
Wedding of Interest
Nov 22 Actress Carmen Electra (31) weds rocker Dave Navarro (36) at the St. Regis Hotel in Los Angeles, California
Carmen Electra
- Nov 22 Singer Wynonna Judd (39) weds D. R. Roach (39) in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee
Wedding of Interest
Nov 29 Composer and former Oingo Boingo singer Danny Elfman (50) weds actress Bridget Fonda (39) at First Congressional Church in Los Angeles
Danny Elfman
Wedding of Interest
Dec 5 Coldplay lead vocalist Chris Martin (35) weds actress and singer Gwyneth Paltrow (39) at the San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, California
Chris Martin
Gwyneth Paltrow
Wedding of Interest
Dec 7 Queen of hip-hop soul, Mary J. Blige (32) weds record producer Kendu Isaacs in Bergen County, New Jersey
Mary J. Blige
Wedding of Interest
Dec 13 Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti (68) weds Nicoletta Mantovani at Modena Italy's Teatro Comunale
Luciano Pavarotti
Wedding of Interest
Dec 31 Australian pop diva Natalie Imbruglia (28) weds "Silverchair" frontman Daniel Johns (24) at a beach ceremony in Port Douglas, Australia
Daniel Johns
Divorces in Music
Divorce of Interest
Sep 27 Actress Halle Berry announces her separation from second husband, R&B singer Eric Benet
Halle Berry
Deaths in Music
- Jan 2 Eric Jupp, British-born musician, dies at 80
- Jan 4 Yfrah Neaman, Lebanese-born violinist (b. 1923)
- Jan 5 Doreen Carwithen, British composer, widow of William Alwyn (b. 1922)
- Jan 8 Ron Goodwin, British composer and conductor (b. 1925)
- Jan 11 Mickey Finn, English drummer (T. Rex) (b. 1947)
- Jan 11 William Joseph Russo, American composer, dies at 74
Maurice Gibb
Jan 12 Maurice Gibb, guitarist of the Bee Gees, dies of cardiac arrest at 53
Maurice Gibb
- Jan 15 Doris Fisher, American singer and songwriter, dies at 87
- Jan 16 Henryk Czyz, Polish composer and musician, dies at 79
- Jan 17 Balint Vazsonyi, Hingarian pianist (b. 1936)
- Jan 26 John Browning, American pianist (Leventritt Award-1956), dies at 69
- Feb 1 Mongo Santamaria, Cuban percussionist & band leader, dies at 85
- Feb 2 Lou Harrison, American composer (La Koro Sutro), dies of a heart attack at 85
- Feb 4 Charlie Biddle, Canadian jazz bassist (b. 1926)
- Feb 19 Johnny Paycheck [Donald Lytle], American country singer (Take This Job and Shove It), dies after contracting emphysema and asthma at 64
- Feb 20 Ty Longley, American guitarist (Great White) (b. 1971)
- Feb 23 Howard "Howie" Epstein, American bass guitarist (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers), dies from an overdose at 47
- Feb 24 Walter Scharf, American film composer, dies at 92
- Feb 27 John Lanchbery, English composer (b. 1923)
- Mar 2 Hank Ballard [John Henry Kendricks], American rocker (The Midnighters - "The Twist" - pre-Chubber Checker), dies at 75
- Mar 2 Malcolm Williamson, Australian composer, dies at 71
- Mar 3 Goffredo Petrassi, Italian composer (Beatitudines), dies at 98
- Mar 5 Gerhard Rosenfeld, German opera and film score composer, dies at 72
- Mar 8 Adam Faith, English singer and actor (b. 1940)
- Mar 13 Enriko Josif, Serbian composer and pedagogue (Lyric Symphony), dies at 78
- Mar 23 Fritz Spiegl, Austrian-British classical flautist, broadcaster, composer, and wit, dies at 77
- Mar 28 Rusty Draper, American country and pop singer (b. 1923)
- Mar 31 Tommy Seebach, Danish musician and singer (Sir Henry and his Butlers), dies at 53
- Mar 31 Emmanuel Ghent, Canadian American electronic music composer (Phosphones), dies at 77
- Apr 1 Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong actor, singer and composer (Farewell My Concubine), commits suicide at 46
- Apr 2 (Charles) Edwin Starr [Hatcher], American soul and R&B singer (War), dies of a heart attack at 61
- Apr 3 Homer Banks, American singer and songwriter (Be What You Are), dies at 61
- Apr 6 Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer (b. 1927)
Little Eva
Apr 10 Little Eva [Eva Boyd], American pop singer (Locomotion), dies of cervical cancer at 59
Little Eva
- Apr 17 Earl King, American musician and songwriter (b. 1934)
Nina Simone
Apr 21 Nina Simone [Eunice Waymon], American jazz pianist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and civil rights activist (“Mississippi Goddam”; “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black”, “Feeling Good”; “Wild Is The Wind”), dies of breast cancer at 70
Nina Simone
June Carter Cash
May 15 June Carter Cash, American musician and singer dies aged 73
June Carter Cash
- May 23 Csaba Szabo. Hungarian composer, dies at 67
- May 25 Jeremy Michael Ward, American musician (The Mars Volta) (b. 1976)
- May 27 Luciano Berio, Italian composer (Chemins), dies at 77
- May 28 Janet Collins, American ballerina, choreographer, and teacher, dies at 86
- May 30 Mickie Most, English record producer (b. 1938)
- Jun 5 Manuel Rosenthal, French composer and conductor (b. 1904)
- Jun 6 Dave Rowberry, English rocker (The Animals-House of the Rising Sun), dies at 62
- Jun 11 William Marshall, American actor, director, and opera singer (Blacula, Scream Blacula Scream), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 78
- Jul 1 Herbie Mann, American jazz flutist (Just Wallin'), dies at 73
Barry White
Jul 4 Barry White, American singer (Love's Theme), dies at 58
Barry White
- Jul 4 André Claveau, French singer (b. 1915)
- Jul 6 Skip Battin, American singer-songwriter (The Byrds), dies at 69
- Jul 7 Izhak Graziani, Bulgarian-born conductor (b. 1924)
- Jul 8 Kunio Toda, Japanese composer, dies at 87
- Jul 12 Benny Carter, American musician (b. 1907)
- Jul 13 Compay Segundo, Cuban musician (Buena Vista Social Club), dies at 95
- Jul 15 Elisabeth Welch, American born British-based singer (Stormy Weather), dies at 99
- Jul 16 Celia Cruz, Cuban musician (b. 1924)
- Jul 17 Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist (Bach & Rock), dies at 88
- Jul 25 Erik Brann, American musician (Iron Butterfly) (b. 1950)
- Jul 30 Sam Phillips, American record producer and founder of Sun Records and Sun Studios, dies at 80
- Aug 2 Don Estelle [Ronald Edwards], British actor and singer (It Ain't Half Hot Mum), dies at 70
- Aug 3 Roger Voudouris, American singer and songwriter (b. 1954)
- Aug 8 Maki Ishii, Japanese composer, dies at 66
- Aug 9 Gregory Hines, American actor and dancer (White Nights, Taps), dies of liver cancer at 57
- Aug 9 Chester Ludgin, American baritone (b. 1925)
- Aug 10 Carmita Jiménez, Puerto Rican singer
- Aug 13 Ed Townsend, American songwriter and producer (b. 1929)
- Aug 15 Gösta Sundqvist, Finnish songwriter and singer (heart attack) (b. 1957)
- Aug 18 Tony Jackson, English bass player (The Searchers), dies at 63
- Aug 21 Wesley Willis, American musician (b. 1963)
- Aug 22 Imperio Argentina, Argentinian singer and actress (b. 1906)
- Aug 26 Wilma Burgess, American country-pop singer, dies of a heart attack at 64
- Aug 26 Wayne Andre, American jazz and session trombonist, dies at 72
- Aug 31 Jaap Geraedts, Dutch composer, dies at 79
- Sep 4 Tibor Varga, Hungarian violinist and orchestra leader (Ripley's Game), dies at 82
- Sep 4 Lola Bobesco, Romanian-born violinist (b. 1921)
- Sep 5 Gisele MacKenzie [LaFlèche], Canadian singer and actress (Your Hit Parade), dies at 76
- Sep 6 Harry Goz, American musical theatre actor and voice actor, dies at 71
- Sep 7 Warren Zevon, American rock singer-songwriter and musician (Werewolves of London, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Excitable Boy), dies of pleural mesothelioma at 56
Johnny Cash
Sep 12 Johnny Cash, American country singer (I Walk the Line, Ring of Fire, A Boy Named Sue), dies at 71
Johnny Cash
- Sep 14 John Serry, Sr., American musician, (b. 1915)
- Sep 15 Jack Brymer, English clarinetist (b. 1915)
- Sep 16 Sheb Wooley, American vocalist (Purple People Eater, Hee Haw), dies at 82
- Sep 19 Slim Dusty [David Kirkpatrick], Australian country music singer-songwriter, dies of cancer at 76
- Sep 19 Anatoly Bogatyrev, Belarusian composer, dies at 90
- Sep 24 Rosalie Allen, American singer and disc jockey (b. 1924)
- Sep 26 Robert Palmer, English singer-songwriter (Power Station), dies of a heart attack at 54
- Sep 26 Shawn Lane, American guitarist (b. 1963)
- Sep 26 Augustinus Franz Kropfreiter, Austrian organist and composer, dies at 67
- Sep 27 Donald O'Connor, American dancer and actor (Singin' in the Rain), dies at 78
- Sep 27 Paul Burlison, American rockabilly musician (The Rock N Roll Trio), dies at 74
- Sep 30 Ronnie Dawson, American rockabilly guitarist (Rockabilly Hall of Fame, 1998), dies of cancer at 64 [1]
- Oct 7 Arthur Berger, American composer (b. 1912)
- Oct 10 Eugene Istomin, American pianist (Leventritt Award-1943), dies at 77
- Oct 12 Ram Gopal, Indian-English dancer (Blue Peter, Purple Plain), dies at 90
- Oct 21 Elliott [Steven] Smith, American musician (Oscar nominee for "Miss Misery" from Good Will Hunting), dies from stab wounds at 34 [1]
- Oct 23 Tony Capstick, English actor, comedian, and musician (b. 1944)
- Oct 25 Robert Strassburg, American composer, conductor and educator (Leaves of Grass: A Choral Symphony), dies at 88
- Oct 26 Roberto Garcia Morillo, Argentine composer and music critic, dies at 92