2001 in music



This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2001.

Specific locations

 * 2001 in British music
 * 2001 in Norwegian music

Specific genres

 * 2001 in classical music
 * 2001 in country music
 * 2001 in heavy metal music
 * 2001 in hip hop music
 * 2001 in jazz

See also:
 * 2001 in music (UK)
 * Record labels established in 2001

January

 * January 9 – Apple Inc. introduces the iTunes media player.
 * January 12–21 – Rock in Rio 3 is held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Headlining acts consist of Sting, R.E.M., 'N Sync, Iron Maiden, Neil Young, Red Hot Chili Peppers and a new line-up of Guns N' Roses.
 * January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band.
 * January 20 – At the American Music Awards, the Backstreet Boys perform their hit single Larger than Life, during the performance they're surprisingly joined on stage by 'N Sync. It is the only time that the two rival boy bands performed on the same stage together at the same time.
 * January 26 – A crowd crush occurs during a set by Limp Bizkit at the Sydney Big Day Out music festival. Jessica Michalik is killed and the band subsequently leaves the country after threats to their safety.

February

 * February 1
 * CFXJ (Flow 93.5), Canada's first urban music station, goes to air for the first time as a testing signal (its official debut is on March 1.) This is considered a breakthrough for Canadian hip hop and R&B musicians.
 * Jennifer Lopez becomes first female and artist to have both a number one album (J.Lo) and a number one movie (The Wedding Planner) in the same week.
 * February 3 – The song ResuRection by PPK is released.
 * February 6 – Don Felder is fired from the Eagles. Felder sues the band for wrongful termination, and is countersued by Don Henley and Glenn Frey for breach of contract. The suits are settled out of court.
 * February 13 – Peter Frampton receives the Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award.
 * February 17 – Manic Street Preachers become the first western rock band to play in Cuba. (Fidel Castro is in attendance.) They did not tour however, meaning that the unsigned British rock band Sandstone Veterans are the only band from the western world to tour Cuba.
 * February 18 – James Taylor weds for the third time, marrying Caroline "Kim" Smedvig, director of public relations and marketing for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
 * February 28 – Courtney Love sues to get out of her contract with Vivendi Universal, on the grounds that music industry contracts are unfairly long compared to those in other industries.

March

 * March 1 – Collin Raye is awarded the Artist Humanitarian Award from Country Radio Broadcasters. The award was given in recognition of Raye's work on behalf of a number of different charitable organizations including Childhelp USA, USA Weekend's Make A Difference Day and the Native American organization Hecel Oyakapi.
 * March 8 – Melanie Chisholm announces she does not intend to do any more work with the Spice Girls. Although the group denies it is splitting, it would not be active again until 2007.
 * March 9
 * Janet Jackson's single "All for You" breaks several airplay records, becoming the first song to be added to every station in three mainstream radio formats within its first week of release. It was also the highest debut for a single not commercially available in both the United States and France, and the highest debut and largest opening airplay figure on the Radio Songs chart.
 * Eric Singer replaces Peter Criss as the drummer for Kiss as the band continues its farewell tour in Yokohama, Japan. Singer dons the "Catman" make-up, ending the band's tradition of creating new make-up and personas for replacement members.
 * March 14 – The Court of Appeals in Rome finds Michael Jackson "not guilty" of plagiarism, reversing a decision made in 1999 by a lower court. Italian songwriter Albano Carrisi had claimed that Jackson's "Will You Be There" was a copy of his song "I Cigni Di Balaka."
 * March 16 – Sean "Puffy" Combs is acquitted on all charges stemming from a December 1999 nightclub shooting in Manhattan. However, an artist on his Bad Boy Records label, Shyne, is convicted of two counts of assault as well as reckless endangerment and gun possession.
 * March 24 – John Connolly of Sevendust marries Lori Kirkley.
 * March 28
 * Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 replaces Max Bruch's violin concerto at #1 in the Classic FM Hall of Fame.
 * Two super-mega hit albums : Hikaru Utada's Distance and Ayumi Hamasaki's A Best are released on exactly the same date. Their debut week sales are 3,002,720 and 2,874,870, respectively, setting the world's #1 and #2 one-week album sales records.
 * March 31 – Disgraced couple Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown were thrown out and banned for life from Hollywood's Bel Air Hotel and arrested and jailed after destroying their room. Property that was allegedly damaged included a TV and two doors. According to hotel workers, the walls and carpets were also stained by alcohol. The hotel closed down the room for five days for repairs.

April–May

 * April 3 – Mariah Carey signs a blockbuster contract with Virgin Records, worth $80 million for four albums.
 * April 4 – Original Zombies lead singer Colin Blunstone and keyboardist Rod Argent reunite for a two-part performance at London's Jazz Cafe, the first time the two had performed together in over 30 years.
 * April 14 – Janet Jackson's "All for You" reaches number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains atop the chart for seven non-consecutive weeks. It becomes the longest reigning hit of the year.
 * April 15 – The Dutch DJ Tiësto releases his first solo album, In My Memory, on Black Hole Recordings.
 * April 21 – The first Top Chinese Music Awards ceremony is held.
 * April 24 – Janet Jackson releases her seventh studio album, All for You. It becomes her fifth consecutive album to open at number one, with sales exceeding 600,000 copies. It receives three Grammy Award nominations, winning for Best Dance Recording.
 * May 1
 * Huey Lewis and the News makes a comeback with their album Plan B, their first album of new material in a decade.
 * The 4th EJCF is held in Basel. The next time was in 2004.
 * May 12 – Joey Fatone of 'N Sync injures his leg in a trap door during rehearsals for the new tour.
 * May 15 – Charley Pride's A Tribute to Jim Reeves is the first compact disc to have copy protection, '80s band The Go Go's release their first album in 17 years: God Bless The Go Go's
 * May 22 – Mötley Crüe publishes their collective autobiography The Dirt.

June

 * June 2 – Christina Aguilera scores her fourth number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 for "Lady Marmalade" a collaboration with Lil' Kim, Mýa, and Pink. The video wins the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.
 * June 5 - Radiohead Releases their 5th studio album, "Amnesiac".
 * June 9 – Madonna kicks off her first concert tour in 8 years, the Drowned World Tour, in Barcelona, Spain.
 * June 12 – Blink-182 release their fourth studio album Take Off Your Pants And Jacket which would later sell 14 million copies worldwide. This was the band's second successful album. Electric Light Orchestra release Zoom, their first album in 15 years.
 * June 15 – Bad Religion drummer Bobby Schayer, who had been with the band since 1991, is forced to give up music after experiencing a "most unfortunate career-ending injury". This leads to his leaving Bad Religion for good; he is replaced by current dummer Brooks Wackerman. By this time, Bad Religion were dropped from Atlantic Records and had returned to their original label Epitaph, and founding guitarist Brett Gurewitz had just rejoined the band after a 7-year hiatus.
 * June 16 – The Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM airs the 9th Annual of the Weenie Roast show with Blink-182, Coldplay, Crazy Town, The Cult, Disturbed, Jane's Addiction, Linkin Park, The Living End, New Found Glory, Pennywise, Papa Roach, Stabbing Westward, Staind, Stone Temple Pilots, Sum 41 and 311.
 * June 19 – Gorillaz release their self-titled debut album, Gorillaz (album).
 * June 24 – Jazz pianist John Hicks marries flautist Elise Wood.

July

 * July 2
 * Willy Denzey makes his first appearance at Les Francofolies de La Rochelle.
 * Napster shuts down its entire network in order to comply with a court injunction ordering it to halt the trading of copyrighted files.
 * July 7 – Janet Jackson begins her All for You Tour.
 * July 9 – Backstreet Boys put their Black & Blue summer tour on hold to allow A. J. McLean to enter a rehabilitation facility to deal with alcoholism and depression.
 * July 10 – Dream Street releases their debut album, Dream Street
 * July 17–22 – The fourth Yoyo A Go Go punk and indie rock festival opens in Olympia, Washington.
 * July 19 – Ol' Dirty Bastard is sentenced to 2 to 4 years in prison for drug possession.
 * July 24 – NSYNC releases their third studio album, Celebrity
 * July 25 – Mariah Carey checks into a hospital for what a spokesperson terms "extreme exhaustion". Carey had exhibited several incidents of bizarre behavior during the previous week, including performing a strange striptease during an unscheduled visit to MTV's Total Request Live and posting a rambling message on her website in which she wrote, "I don't know what's going on with life". \
 * July 30 - The Strokes release their debut album "Is This It"

August

 * August 3 – Whitney Houston signs the largest contract in music history with Arista Records, a six-album deal worth over $100 million.
 * August 6 – Death Row Records founder Suge Knight is released from prison after serving five years of a nine-year sentence for a parole violation.
 * August 7 – Aaron Carter comes back with his third studio album (second under Jive Records) Oh Aaron.
 * August 13 – Two weeks before its official release, Spider One of Powerman 5000 pulls Anyone for Doomsday? off the market because it sounds too much like their previous release Tonight the Stars Revolt!. Later he releases the album on their website. Two months later, Al 3 & Dorian 27 leave the band.
 * August 15 – Wilco signs a buy-out deal with Reprise Records after the label rejects the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album and the band refuses to make any changes. Wilco leaves with the rights to the album in their possession.
 * August 25 – A Cessna 402 aircraft carrying 9 people, including R&B singer Aaliyah, crashes in the Bahamas, killing all aboard.

September

 * September 4 – The second studio album from Armenian-American band System of a Down, Toxicity, is released worldwide. After the 9/11 attacks, the single "Chop Suey!" is put on the list of songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel.
 * September 5 – A performance of John Cage's As Slow as Possible on a specially-built organ in Sankt-Burchardi-Church in Halberstadt, Germany, scheduled to last until the year 2640 begins with an 18-month pause.
 * September 6 – At the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, Britney Spears performs her new single I'm a Slave 4 U in a very revealing outfit and featuring a number of exotic animals including a white and live albino Burmese Python on her shoulder, leading to a great deal of criticism from animal rights organisation PETA. Nevertheless, MTV named the performance as the most memorable moment in VMA history.
 * September 7-10 – The Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special tribute concerts are held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
 * September 10 – Blink-182 start shooting a video for "Stay Together for the Kids", featuring the band playing in a derelict house. When they try to finish the video the following day, the 9–11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City occur, and the band abandon the attempt and decide to shoot a different video for the song.
 * September 11 – The September 11 attacks result in the cancellation or postponement of many musical events, due to the halting of many commercial flights and the somber mood of communities around the world. MTV and VH1 suspend regular programming to carry a newsfeed from CBS, and the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards broadcast is canceled. Sting, who had planned to stream a performance in Italy on the Internet, reduces the Webcast to one song, "Fragile". The MuchMusic Video Awards scheduled for September 23 are also canceled. Gerard Way witnesses the attacks and is inspired to start a band, which later becomes My Chemical Romance. Prior to this, The Blueprint, an album by Jay-Z, would be released.
 * September 14 – Clear Channel Communications issues a controversial memorandum to its radio stations containing a list of 165 songs considered "lyrically questionable" in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. The list includes "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", all songs by Rage Against the Machine and John Lennon's "Imagine".
 * September 21 – America: A Tribute to Heroes airs uninterrupted on all major networks. The solemn concert, only 10 days after the September 11 attacks, included performances by Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Celine Dion, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews, Faith Hill, Mariah Carey, and others.
 * September 25 – XM Satellite Radio is launched.
 * September 29
 * The First International Accordion Festival begins at La Villita in San Antonio, Texas, celebrating the multicultural traditions of the accordion with artists performing German, Colombian, Irish, Argentinian tango, Cajun-zydeco, Dominican merengue and conjunto-Tejano music.
 * Jennifer Lopez weds back-up dancer Cris Judd. The marriage would end in June 2002.

October

 * October 6
 * Burton C. Bell gets into a fight with his bandmate Dino Cazares about a manager they fired. The event triggers the demise of Fear Factory.
 * Pop Idol premieres on ITV.
 * October 9 – The first CD in the Kidz Bop series, consisting of Top 40 hits sung by children, is released.
 * October 10 – Heavy metal band Anthrax issues a press release in response to the 2001 anthrax attacks jokingly stating that they will be changing the name of the group to "Basket Full of Puppies". It concludes, "we don't want to change the name of the band, not because it would be a pain in the ass, but because we hope that no further negative events will happen and it won't be necessary. We hope and pray that this problem goes away quietly and we all grow old and fat together." The band has reported increased traffic to their website due to Internet users going to anthrax.com looking for information about the disease.
 * October 12 – Wes Borland leaves Limp Bizkit.
 * October 16 – Michael Jackson releases special editions of his albums Off the Wall, Thriller, Bad and Dangerous.
 * October 20
 * The Concert for New York City airs on VH1, with performances by Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi The Who, Billy Joel and others.
 * Volunteers For America benefit concert is held in Atlanta, MC was Drew Carey with performances by Edgar Winter Group, Mark Farner, Jack Blades, John Waite, The Knack, Eddie Money, Peter Frampton, Survivor, Kansas, Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Bad Company, Lynyrd Skynyrd,  and others.
 * October 21
 * United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert is held at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., with performances by Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Mariah Carey, James Brown, Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, and others.
 * Volunteers For America benefit concert is held at Smirnoff Music Centre in Dallas, Texas, MC was Drew Carey with performances by Edgar Winter Group, Mark Farner, Jack Blades, John Waite, The Knack, Eddie Money, Peter Frampton, Survivor, Kansas, Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Bad Company, and others.
 * October 23
 * The Backstreet Boys release their first compilation album The Hits: Chapter One
 * The first iPod is released by Apple Inc.
 * Incubus releases their third full-length major label album entitled Morning View. It debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at the #2 spot (266,000 copies were sold in its first week). This was the highest ever placement for Incubus. At the same time, "Wish You Were Here" was at #2 on the Modern Rock Charts, and "Drive" sat at #48 on the Hot 100 chart.
 * October 25 – Quarashi performs a live concert with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra (the band, Botnleðja also performed) in the Háskólabíó in Reykjavík, Iceland, which is notable for being the first time that a rap act performed a live concert with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra. Quarashi perform seven songs from their (at the time) upcoming album, Jinx.
 * October 30 – Michael Jackson releases Invincible, which debuts at number one.
 * October 31 – Britney Spears comes back to the music scene with the release of her third studio album Britney

November–December

 * November 1
 * The governing body of the UK Singles Chart, Chart Information Network Ltd. (CIN), changes its name to The Official UK Charts Company.
 * Britney Spears starts her Dream Within a Dream Tour, in support her self-titled third studio album. The tour was accompanied by many extravagant special effect including a water screen that pumped two tons of water into the stage during the encore. The tour was commercial success, all the venues on the 2001 leg are largely sold out and grossed $43.7 million from 68 show.
 * November 5 – In the UK, BMG becomes the first major label to release a compact disc with copy protection, Natalie Imbruglia's White Lilies Island. Within two weeks BMG announces they will re-issue the disc without the copy protection, due to complaints from consumers who were unable to play the CDs in their personal computers.
 * November 6
 * Britney Spears' third album, Britney debuts at #1, making her the first female artist to have her first three albums enter the US charts at #1.
 * The soundtrack album of the Nickelodeon movie Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius is released.
 * December 1 – Mike Turner quits Our Lady Peace.
 * December 4 – Gospel music singer Yolanda Adams releases her eighth studio album Believe.
 * December 12 – Surviving Nirvana members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl sue Courtney Love in an effort to oust her from the board controlling the management of the band's affairs, calling her "irrational, mercurial, self-centered, unmanageable, inconsistent and unpredictable." The legal battle over the band's legacy has blocked the release of a planned Nirvana box set containing the unreleased track "You Know You're Right".

Also in 2001

 * Area One music festival brings together a variety of acts including Moby, Incubus, Outkast, New Order, Nelly Furtado, The Roots, Rinocerose, Paul Oakenfold, and Carl Cox.
 * The Republic of France awards Jean-Yves Thibaudet the honour of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
 * Deporitaz releases Microwave this CD, his second album, on MP3.com.
 * Sean Beasley joins Dying Fetus.

Bands formed

 * See Musical groups established in 2001

Bands disbanded

 * See Musical groups disestablished in 2001

Bands reformed

 * Army of Lovers
 * Devourment
 * Electric Light Orchestra (with new members except for original members, Jeff Lynne and Richard Tandy)
 * Level 42
 * The Monkees
 * Maroon 5
 * Roxy Music
 * Zebra
 * Sunny Day Real Estate

Popular songs

 * 1) My Happiness Powderfinger

Deaths

 * January 4 – Les Brown, bandleader (89)
 * January 5 – Milan Hlavsa, Czech musician (Plastic People of the Universe) (49)
 * January 7 – James Carr, soul singer (58)
 * January 10 – Bryan Gregory, guitarist (The Cramps)(49)
 * January 24 – Leif Thybo, Danish composer and organist (78)
 * February 4
 * J.J. Johnson, jazz bebop trombonist (77)
 * Iannis Xenakis, Greek composer (78)
 * February 10 – Buddy Tate, jazz musician (87)
 * February 13 – George T. Simon, music critic and original Glenn Miller Orchestra drummer (pneumonia)
 * February 19 – Charles Trenet French singer and songwriter (87)
 * February 21
 * Ronnie Hilton, English singer (75)
 * Malcolm Yelvington, rockabilly musician (82)
 * February 22 – John Fahey, guitarist, indie label owner (61)
 * March 4 – Glenn Hughes, The Village People (50)
 * March 12 – Sir Lancelot, calypso singer (98)
 * March 18 – John Phillips, singer-songwriter, co-founder of The Mamas & the Papas (65)
 * March 20 – Francis Grasso, disc jockey (51)
 * March 28 – Moe Koffman, Canadian jazz singer (73)
 * March 29 – John Lewis, jazz pianist (80)
 * April 6 – Charles Pettigrew, of Charles & Eddie (37) (cancer)
 * April 9 – Graziella Sciutti, operatic soprano (73)
 * April 11
 * Sandy Bull, folk musician (60)
 * Graciela Naranjo, bolero singer and actress (84)
 * Sir Harry Secombe, entertainer (79)
 * April 15 – Joey Ramone, lead singer of The Ramones (49) (lymphoma)
 * April 20 – Giuseppe Sinopoli, composer and conductor (54)(heart attack)
 * May 3 – Billy Higgins, jazz drummer (64)
 * May 5 – Boozoo Chavis, zydeco musician (70)
 * May 10 – James E. Myers, songwriter ("Rock Around the Clock") (81)
 * May 12 – Perry Como, American crooner (88)
 * May 16 – Prince Ital Joe, reggae singer (38) (car accident)
 * May 20 – Renato Carosone, Italian musician and singer (81)
 * June 4 – John Hartford, bluegrass musician (64)
 * June 7 – Carole Fredericks, singer
 * June 13 – Marcelo Fromer, guitarist for Brazilian band Titãs (39) (rammed by a motorcycle)
 * June 18 – Davorin Popović, lead singer for Bosnian band Indexi (55)
 * June 21 – John Lee Hooker, blues musician (88)
 * June 30
 * Chet Atkins, country musician (77)
 * Joe Henderson, jazz saxophonist (64)
 * July 3
 * Delia Derbyshire, English electronic composer (64)
 * Johnny Russell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (61)
 * July 5 – Ernie K-Doe, R & B singer (65)
 * July 7 – Fred Neil, folk singer-songwriter (65)
 * July 15 – Anthony Ian Berkeley, rapper (Brothers Grym, Gravediggaz) (36) (colon cancer)
 * July 18 – Mimi Fariña, singer-songwriter (56) (neuroendocrine cancer)
 * July 23 – Richie Lee, singer and bassist (Acetone)(34)(suicide)
 * July 27
 * Harold Land, hard bop saxophonist (73)
 * Leon Wilkeson, bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd (49)
 * August 2 – Ronald Townson, American singer and actor (The 5th Dimension) (68)
 * August 18 – Roland Cardon, Belgian composer and multi-instrumentalist (72)
 * August 25 – Aaliyah, American singer, model, dancer and actress (22)(plane crash)
 * August 27 – Karl Ulrich Schnabel, pianist (92)
 * August 29 – Graeme "Shirley" Strachan, lead singer of Skyhooks (49)
 * September 1 – Ted Mulry, lead singer with Ted Mulry Gang (54)
 * September 6 – Carl Crack, techno musician (Atari Teenage Riot)(30)
 * September 22 – Isaac Stern, violinist (81)
 * October 3 – Tatiana Menotti, operatic soprano (92)
 * October 5 – Ivan Hrušovský, Slovak composer (74)
 * October 10 – Barry McCauley, operatic tenor (51)(lung cancer)
 * October 17 – Jay Livingston, songwriter (86)
 * November 17 – Michael Karoli, guitarist, violinist and composer (53)(cancer)
 * November 21 – Ralph Burns, American songwriter, bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and bebop pianist (79)
 * November 24 – Melanie Thornton, singer (La Bouche) (34)(air crash)
 * November 28 – Kal Mann, American lyricist ("Teddy Bear", "Butterfly")(84)
 * November 29 – George Harrison, musician and former member of The Beatles (58)(lung cancer)
 * December 13 – Chuck Schuldiner, vocalist and guitarist with Death (34)(cancer)
 * December 15 – Rufus Thomas, singer (84)
 * December 16 – Stuart Adamson, guitarist with Big Country (43)(suicide)
 * December 17 – Débria Brown, operatic soprano (65)
 * December 18 – Gilbert Bécaud, singer-songwriter (74)
 * December 22 – Norman Granz, American producer (83)
 * December 29 – Cássia Eller, Brazilian singer (39)

Awards

 * The following artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Aerosmith, Solomon Burke, The Flamingos, Michael Jackson, Queen, Paul Simon, Steely Dan and Ritchie Valens
 * Inductees of the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame include Larry Norman, and Elvis Presley

ARIA Music Awards

 * ARIA Music Awards of 2001

Grammy Awards

 * Grammy Awards of 2001

Juno Awards

 * Juno Awards of 2001
 * March 4 – Bruce Cockburn is inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame

Eurovision Song Contest

 * Eurovision Song Contest 2001

Mercury Music Prize

 * Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea – PJ Harvey wins.

MTV Video Music Awards
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 * 2001 MTV Video Music Awards