October 22, 2003 In the middle of their first world tour and flush with fame from their debut album, Evanescence founder Ben Moody abruptly quits the band.More
October 15, 2003 The Louis Armstrong House Museum opens its doors to the public. Located in the Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York, the home was the longtime residence of the late singer. He and wife Lucille Wilson moved in as newlyweds in 1943 and stayed until Armstrong's death in 1971.
October 12, 2003 Rapper 50 Cent takes home all five trophies for which he is nominated at the World Music Awards, held in Monaco. Russian teen duo t.A.T.u. picks up three awards, while Norah Jones and Eminem win two.
October 12, 2003 The blind Puerto Rican singer Jose Feliciano performs the "The Star Spangled Banner" for the first time since his flavorful rendition at a Tigers/Cardinals World Series game in 1968. His performance in Miami at the Marlins/Cubs playoff goes off without incident.
October 11, 2003 Justin Timberlake makes his first appearance on Saturday Night Live, doing double-duty as host and musical guest. It's the first of many appearances he makes on the show through the coming years; his sketches eventually grow to include a Bee Gees parody, a sketch about dating Lady Gaga, a bailiff in a courtroom trial of an alligator, "the Target lady," appearing in drag onstage with Beyoncé, and the infamous "Dick in a Box" bit.
October 9, 2003 Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O, a very frenetic performer, is hurt when she tumbles off the stage at a show in Sydney and a monitor lands on her head. After one more song she's taken to the hospital, but two days later she performs from a wheelchair when the band return to the same venue for a festival.
October 3, 2003 School of Rock opens in theaters, starring Jack Black as a musician who poses as a substitute teacher and forms a band with the students. Classic rock abounds in the film, with teachable moments soundtracked to "Highway to Hell," "Smoke on the Water" and even "Immigrant Song" - a track secured after Black made a video literally begging Led Zeppelin to let them use it. The movie is also notable for featuring Miranda Cosgrove's acting debut.More
September 29, 2003 "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne is released. The music video stars model/actress Rachel Hunter, who plays Stacy's mom - the obsession of her teenage daughter's friend.
September 29, 2003 McDonald's launches the "I'm Lovin' It" ad campaign in America, with Justin Timberlake singing the "ba da ba ba bah" hook and releasing a full-length version of the jingle as a single. It becomes the company's longest-running ad campaign.More
September 29, 2003 Country singer Wesley Tuttle dies of heart failure at age 85. Known for the 1945 hits "Detour" and "With Tears in My Eyes." He also yodeled for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' "Silly Song."
September 29, 2003 DMX guest stars on an episode of the UPN sitcom Eve. Starring fellow rapper Eve, the series is set in Miami, where DMX' character plays "the best tattoo artist in Miami."
September 26, 2003 With their second album, Melt, climbing the charts, Rascal Flatts kick off their first headline tour in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
September 24, 2003 Gordon Lightfoot is inducted into the Canadian Songwriter Hall of Fame.
September 22, 2003 Auditioning for the third season of American Idol, William Hung performs a lively, but stupefyingly bad rendition of the Ricky Martin hit "She Bangs."More
September 20, 2003 Howard Jones plays a sold out concert at the Shepherds Bush Empire, London. The concert marks 20 years since the release of his first single, "New Song."
September 19, 2003 A week after his death at the age of 71, country legend Johnny Cash is bestowed with artist, song and album of the year awards at the Americana Music Awards ceremony in Nashville. Cash wins Song of the Year for his cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" and Album of the Year for American IV: The Man Comes Around, the fourth in a series produced by Rick Rubin.
September 17, 2003 Smashing Pumpkins frontman and Zwan leader Billy Corgan presents a multimedia poetry performance in his Chicago hometown, opening the Poetry Center of Chicago's 31st Annual Reading Series at the Art Institute of Chicago's Rubloff Auditorium.
September 16, 2003 Joss Stone, 16, releases her debut album, a covers collection called The Soul Sessions. The first single is "Fell In Love With A Boy," her take on "Fell In Love With A Girl" by The White Stripes.
September 15, 2003 Johnny Cash is buried in the Cash family cemetery in Hendersonville, Tennessee, next to his wife, June Carter Cash. Among the mourners at the private ceremony: Al Gore, Emmylou Harris and Sheryl Crow.
September 14, 2003 Jet release their debut album, Get Born, on Elektra Records. Leading the Australian invasion of the early 2000's with bands like The Vines, the album would go on to sell well over three million copies. The title is lifted from the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues."
September 14, 2003 The Australian band Jet release their debut album, Get Born, which includes the hit "Are You Gonna Be My Girl," used in a popular iPod commercial. The band is part of a wave of young rock acts with a back-to-basic sound that includes The Strokes and The White Stripes.
September 9, 2003 John Mayer releases his second studio album, Heavier Things. The title is a response to some critics who believed his previous songs were too soft. The album debuts at #1 in the US and includes his enduring hit "Daughters."
August 28, 2003 Britney Spears and Madonna share a big, juicy kiss during the opening performance of the MTV Video Music Awards. Madonna then plants one on Christina Aguilera, but we only get a glimpse of it because the director cuts to a shot of a thunderstruck Justin Timberlake in the audience.More
August 24, 2003 Dick Peterson from The Kingsmen joins 753 other guitarists to perform "Louie Louie" for a charity fundraiser in Tacoma, Washington.
August 19, 2003 MTV debuts the reality series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, following the recent marriage of Jessica Simpson and 98 Degrees' Nick Lachey. The show is a hit thanks to Jessica's "dumb blonde" antics and lasts three seasons, after which the couple promptly divorce.
August 16, 2003 The USPS unveils a new commemorative postage stamp of recently deceased composer Henry Mancini, famous for the Pink Panther theme and several other film works.
August 13, 2003 Songwriter/producer Ed Townsend dies of a heart attack at age 74 in San Bernardino, California. He co-wrote Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On."
August 9, 2003 Daron Malakian of System Of A Down plays in the annual Hollywood Stars Night celebrity baseball game at Dodger Stadium. Vexed by his teammates, he writes "Old School Hollywood," which appears on their next album, Mezmerize. One actor gets a specific mention: "Tony Danza cuts in line."
July 30, 2003 When the disease SARS spreads to Toronto, it scares a lot of people away. To get visitors back, the city puts on a huge open-air concert featuring The Rolling Stones, The Guess Who, Rush, The Isley Brothers, The Flaming Lips and Justin Timberlake (who is jeered and has muffins thrown at him). About 450,000 people attend.More
July 26, 2003 Limp Bizkit appear at the Hawthorne Racetrack in Chicago as part of Metallica's Summer Sanitarium tour with Deftones, Linkin Park and Mudvayne. But the crowd soon shows how they feel about frontman Fred Durst and his crew, as the band is booed and Durst is pelted with coins and bottles, leading him to launch into homophobic taunts. As a result, Limp Bizkit leaves the stage after 30 minutes and only six songs, but not before Durst challenges audience members to a fight.
©2026 Songfacts®, LLC