August 23, 2014 The Guardians Of The Galaxy soundtrack, an awesome mix of '70s hits, goes to #1 in America, where it stays for two weeks.More
August 1, 2014 The movie Guardians of the Galaxy opens in America, reviving '70s favorites like "Hooked On A Feeling" and "Come And Get Your Love."More
July 16, 2014 Acclaimed blues-rock guitarist and singer Johnny Winter dies at age 70, two days after playing a festival in France. Known for his blazing slide guitar, Winter produced three Grammy-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters in the late 1970s.
July 14, 2014 Johnny Winter plays the Cahors Blues Festival in France. It's his last performance, as he dies two days later.
June 19, 2014 Lyricist Gerry Goffin, author of over 100 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, many with former wife and songwriting partner Carole King, dies at age 75.
June 7, 2014 Powered by a Clueless-themed video, "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX hits #1 in America, where it stays for seven weeks. Many are surprised to learn that Azalea, who raps like she's from the Dirty South, is from Australia.
June 3, 2014 Jade Castrinos, the female vocalist in Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, updates her Instagram bio to read: "For seven years i sang and wrote music with edward sharpe. they voted me off of tour a week before they left, via email. lol."More
May 27, 2014 At his trial for historic sexual offenses, Rolf Harris sings a few bars of his hit "Jake The Peg." He's also known for the 1969 chart-topper "Two Little Boys."
May 14, 2014 On American Idol, The Chainsmokers perform their hit "#Selfie" in a bit where they take selfies with the judges. After the performance, EDM notables trash them.More
March 28, 2014 Nas headlines the One Mic: Hip-Hop Culture Worldwide festival at the Kennedy Center in New York City with a performance of his album Illmatic with the National Symphony Orchestra.
March 13, 2014 During her performance of "Swine" at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, Lady Gaga has a performance artist vomit green liquid on her repeatedly. It's a statement on processing rage and rejecting the norms of pop music, but fans are more repelled than intrigued.
March 7, 2014 After completing treatment for an eating disorder, Ke$ha drops the $ from her stage name and changes her Twitter handle from @Ke$haSuxx to @KeshaRose ("Rose" is her middle name).More
February 9, 2014 The Beatles: The Night That Changed America airs on CBS exactly 50 years after the group first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. The show features performances by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and also covers of Beatles songs by Stevie Wonder, Dave Grohl and a reunited Eurythmics.
January 28, 2014 At a press conference, all four members of Mötley Crüe sign a "cessation of touring agreement" preventing them from ever touring again after 2015. It prevents nothing: they kick off their next tour in 2022.
January 27, 2014 The day after winning the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album for The Heist, Macklemore takes to Instagram, where he posts a screenshot of his text to Kendrick Lamar, whose good kid, m.A.A.d city was one of the nominees. The Seattle rapper texted: "I wanted you to win. You should have. It's weird and sucks that I robbed you." Macklemore takes some flak for the post, which many feel is disingenuous (Drake calls it "wack"). Lamar is more charitable. "Macklemore is a genuine dude," he says. "However it panned out, I wish him much success." On his 2016 track "Light Tunnels," Mac recounts these events.
December 21, 2013 "The Monster" by Eminem featuring Rihanna hits #1 in America. It's the first hit co-written by Bebe Rexha, who later emerges as an artist.
December 13, 2013 In a bold and brilliant marketing move, Beyoncé's self-titled album is released with no advance notice, sending radio stations scrambling to get the songs on the air and generating lots of free publicity.More
December 12, 2013 Someone forgot to invite Jesus to his own birthday party. The fifth-grade choir at Ralph J. Osgood Intermediate School in Long Island, New York receives a round of applause after performing "Silent Night" at a holiday concert, but not all crowdgoers are pleased with the secular rendition, which removes references to Jesus and his mother.More
December 6, 2013 After its authenticity is verified on the PBS series History Detectives, the Fender Stratocaster that Bob Dylan played in his historic performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 is purchased for an astounding $965,000. It had spent the previous 48 years with the family of Dylan's personal pilot, who received no reply when he told Dylan to retrieve the gear he left behind.
November 25, 2013 Beastie Boys sue the toy company GoldieBlox for running an online ad featuring little girls singing an altered version of their song "Girls" (the group has never allowed their songs to be licensed for advertising). The suit is settled on March 19, 2014, with GoldieBlox issuing an apology and making a donation to charity.
October 18, 2013 Rockabilly guitarist Roland Janes dies at age 80 after suffering a heart attack. As a Sun Records session guitarist, he played on tracks from Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, and Sonny Burgess, among others.
September 10, 2013 Apple announces iTunes Radio, a streaming service that is essentially a competitor to Pandora, creating radio stations based on a particular song, artist or genre.More
August 24, 2013 "Royals" by Lorde goes to #1 on the Alternative chart, making her the first female solo artist to top that tally since Tracy Bonham did it in 1996 (five months before Lorde was born) with "Mother Mother."
July 10, 2013 Randy Travis suffers a stroke after being hospitalized days earlier with a heart condition. He lives, but loses most of his speech and singing ability. His girlfriend, Mary Davis, sticks by him and helps with his recovery. They get married in 2015.
May 17, 2013 Eight years in the making, Daft Punk's fourth album, Random Access Memories, features guest appearances from a range of artists including Giorgio Moroder, Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams. It becomes their first US chart topper, propelled by the massive worldwide hit single (and Nile Rodgers collaboration) "Get Lucky."
April 26, 2013 X marks the spot for the Ohio-born Twenty One Pilots, who pledge their devotion to their hometown fans by getting "X" tattoos midway through a performance at the Lifestyles Community Pavilion in Columbus. Frontman Tyler Joseph tells the crowd: "This X is dedicated to you guys. Columbus, Ohio is where we're from and it will always be where we are from. Whenever someone asks what that X means, I am going to say this is for all of you."
April 20, 2013 Five days after three people were killed in bombings at the Boston Marathon, Neil Diamond makes a surprise appearance at Fenway Park, where he performs "Sweet Caroline" at the Red Sox game against the Kansas City Royals.
April 12, 2013 Five years after the release of Folie à Deux, Fall Out Boy issue their pop-leaning comeback album, Save Rock and Roll, featuring the hit "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)."
April 8, 2013 Cher fans fear the singer is dead when the hashtag #nowthatchersdead trends on Twitter. It turns out the tag is for Margaret Thatcher.
March 5, 2013 Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath and rapper Coolio appear on Celebrity Wife Swap, where they send their respective partners to each others' homes. McGrath's wife, Carin, struggles with all the chores she has to do at Coolio's house, while Coolio's girlfriend Mimi - who leaves him just weeks after the episode is taped - squirms under the watchful eye of helicopter parent McGrath.
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