2001 in music

See also:

• 2001 in music (UK)
• Record labels established in 2001

Events

• January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band.
• January 26 – A crowd crush occurs during the 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.
• 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 NSYNC. It is the only time that the two rival boy bands performed on the same stage together at the same time.
• February – 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.
• February 1 – 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 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.
• 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 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 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.^[1]
• March 31 – Whitney Houston and husband Bobby Brown are banned for life from Hollywood's Bel Air hotel and arrested 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 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 21 - The first Top Chinese Music Awards ceremony is held.
• April 24 and October 30 – Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson release albums in the same year, respectively. Janet releases All For You and Michael releases Invincible. Both albums would hit #1 on the album charts.
• May 1 – Huey Lewis and the News makes a comeback with their album Plan B, their first album of new material in a decade.
• May – The 4th EJCF is held in Basel. The next time was in 2004.
• June – 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 leaving Bad Religion for good; he's now replaced by current dummer Brooks Wackerman. By this time, Bad Religion were dropped from Atlantic Records and returned to their original label Epitaph, and founding guitarist Brett Gurewitz had just rejoined the band after a 7-year hiatus.
• June 2 – Christina Aguilera scores her fourth number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 for "Lady Marmalade" a collaboration with Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink. The video wins the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.
• June 9 – Madonna kicks off her first concert tour in 8 years, the Drowned World Tour, in Barcelona, Spain.
• June 12 – Electric Light Orchestra release Zoom, their first album in 15 years.
• June 16 – The Los Angeles, California 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 24 - Jazz pianist John Hicks marries flautist Elise Wood.^[2]
• July
  • Backstreet Boy A. J. McLean enters a rehabilitation facility to deal with alcoholism and depression, as the Black & Blue summer tour is put on hold.
  • Willy Denzey makes his first appearance at Les Francofolies de La Rochelle.
• July 19 – Mariah Carey makes an unscheduled visit to MTV's Total Request Live, one of a number of unusual public appearances during the year ^[3]
• 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 25 – A Cessna 402 aircraft carrying 9 people, including R&B singer Aaliyah, crashes in the Bahamas, killing all aboard.
• 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 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 - Gerard Way witnesses the 9/11 attacks and is inspired to start a band, which later becomes My Chemical Romance.
• 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.
• October – 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.
• 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, Georgia, 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 – 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.
• November – The governing body of the UK Singles Chart, Chart Information Network Ltd. (CIN), changes its name to The Official UK Charts Company.
• November 16 – 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.
• December – Mike Turner Quit Our Lady Peace.
• December 1 – Backstreet Boys release their hits album, The Hits: Chapter One
• 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.
• Napster's popularity peaks.
• 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
• Roxy Music
• Zebra
• Sunny Day Real Estate

Albums released

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Release Date Unknown

• First Album – Miss Kittin & The Hacker
• Yule Ritual – Hawkwind
• Breaking Benjamin EP – Breaking Benjamin

Top 5 Selling Albums of Billboard Year

1. Hybrid Theory – Linkin Park
2. 1 – The Beatles
3. Invincible – Michael Jackson
4. All That You Can't Leave Behind – U2
5. Aaliyah (album) – Aaliyah

Top 10 Best Selling Albums 2001 (Soundscan)

1. Invincible / Michael Jackson ~ 6.500.000
2. Hot Shot / Shaggy ~ 4,507,568
3. Celebrity / 'N Sync ~ 4,421,231
4. A Day Without Rain / Enya ~ 4,410,053
5. Break the Cycle / Staind ~ 4,242,507
6. Songs in A Minor / Alicia Keys ~ 4,102,482
7. J.Lo / Jennifer Lopez ~ 4,056,985
8. Survivor / Destiny's Child ~ 3,718,446
9. Weathered / Creed ~ 3,581,344
10. O Brother, Where Art Thou? / Soundtrack ~ 3,460,852

Popular Songs

• "19/2000" – Gorillaz (August)
• "A Little Respect" – Wheatus
• "À ma place" – Axel Bauer and Zazie
• "All for You" – Janet Jackson (March 27)
• "All or Nothing" – O-Town (January 23)
• "American Psycho" – Treble Charger
• "Another Day In Paradise" – Brandy feat. Ray J (March)
• "Bad Ambassador" – The Divine Comedy (April 17)
• "Bodies" – Drowning Pool
• "Bootylicious" – Destiny's Child (June 26 (US), July 3(worldwide))
• "Brand New Low" – Treble Charger
• "Buck Rogers" – Feeder (January 8)
• "Butterfly" – Crazy Town
• "Butterfly" – Kylie Minogue (November 12)
• "California" – Wave
• "Candy" – Ash (October 1)
• "Can't Get You Out of My Head" – Kylie Minogue (September 17)
• "Chop Suey!" – System of a Down (August)
• "Clint Eastwood" – Gorillaz (March 5) UK))
• "Control"- Puddle of Mudd (July)
• "Crawling" – Linkin Park (April 17)
• "Crying at the Discoteque" – Alcazar
• "Crystal" – New Order (13 August)
• "Don't Tell Me" – Madonna (November 21, 2000 (non-US); January 16, 2001 (US))
• "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" – Train (February 20)
• "Drowning – Backstreet Boys
• "Electric Avenue (remix)" – Eddy Grant
• "Elevation" – U2 (June 25 [AUS]; July 2 [EUR]; July 10 [US])
• "Eternity/The Road to Mandalay" – Robbie Williams (July 9)
• "Fallin'" – Alicia Keys (July 10)
• "Family Affair" – Mary J.Blige
• "Fat Lip" – Sum 41 (August 28 USA; October 1 UK)
• "Fight Music" – D12
• "First Date" – Blink-182 (September 24)
• "Get Ur Freak On" – Missy Elliott (February 20)
• "Gone" – 'N Sync (October)
• "Handbags and Gladrags" – Stereophonics
• "Hanging By A Moment" – Lifehouse
• "Hard to Explain" – The Strokes (June 25, 2001 (UK), April 30, 2002 (USA))
• "Have a Nice Day" – Stereophonics
• "Hell Bent"- Kenna
• "Here With Me" – Dido (January 29 EU; February 5 UK)
• "Here's to the Night (song)" – Eve 6 (May 21 US)
• "Hero" – Enrique Iglesias (November)
• "How We Roll" – Big Pun
• "How You Remind Me" – Nickelback
• "I Believe" – Galleon
• "I Don't Want a Lover (remix)" – Texas
• "I Feel Loved" – Depeche Mode (July 30 UK; July 31 US)
• "I Want Love" – Elton John
• "I'm a Slave 4 U" – Britney Spears (October 23 [US]; October 8 [UK])
• "I'm Real" – Jennifer Lopez (October 16)
• "Imitation of Life" – R.E.M. (April)
• "Inner Smile" – Texas
• "In the End" – Linkin Park (November 20)
• "In Too Deep – Sum 41 (December 3 UK)
• "Island in the Sun"- Weezer (August 28)
• "Irresistible"- Jessica Simpson (April 12)
• "It's Been Awhile"- Staind (June 26)
• "It's Raining Men" – Geri Halliwell (April 30 [UK])
• "I Wanna Be Bad" – Willa Ford (May 22)
• "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" – Jay Z (July 17)
• "Jaded" – Aerosmith (March 13)
• "Just Push Play" – Aerosmith
• "Juxtapozed with U" – Super Furry Animals
• "Knives Out" – Radiohead August 14 (Pt.1, Pt.2); August 28 (US CD); September 25, 2001 (Pt. 3)
• "La Musique (Angelica)" – Star Academy France (December)
• "La Negra Tiene Tumbao" - Celia Cruz (October 2, 2001)
• "Lady Marmalade"- Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil' Kim & Mýa (May 8)
• "Last Nite" – The Strokes
• "Left Behind" – Slipknot
• "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" – Eve featuring Gwen Stefani (May 15)
• "Liquid Dreams" – O-Town
• "Love Don't Cost A Thing" – Jennifer Lopez (January 30)
• "Love What You Do" – The Divine Comedy
• "Loverboy" – Mariah Carey (July 16)
• "Moi... Lolita" – Alizée (July 4, 2000)
• "Mr. Writer" – Stereophonics
• "More Than a Woman – Aaliyah (November 13, 2001 [US]; February 19, 2002 [UK]; March 5, 2002 [AUS])
• "Movies" – Alien Ant Farm
• "My Sacrifice" – Creed (December 11)
• "My Way" – Limp Bizkit (May)
• "19-2000" – Gorillaz (June 25 (UK) July 17 (US))
• "Ocean Spray" – Manic Street Preachers (June 4)
• "One Last Breath" – Creed
• "One Minute Man" – Missy Elliott (featuring Ludacris and Trina)
• "One Step Closer" – Linkin Park
• "Only Time – Enya
• "Out of Reach" – Gabrielle
• "Outside" – Staind (May)
• "Overprotected" – Britney Spears (December)
• "Pop" – 'N Sync (July 17)
• "Purple Hills" – D12 featuring Eminem
• "Pyramid Song" – Radiohead (May 29, 2001; June 19, 2001 (Pt.1, Pt.2); December 11, 2001 (Japan CD)
• "Queen of My Heart" – Westlife (UK)
• "Ramp! (The Logical Song)" – Scooter
• "Ride Wit Me" – Nelly (July 24)
• "Rock The Boat" – Aaliyah (August 2001 (North America); March 5, 2002 (Australia); May 6, 2002 (UK))
• "Sail Away" – David Gray
• "Seul" – Garou
• "Sexual Guarantee" – Alcazar (November 26)
• "Shining Light" – Ash (January 29)
• "Schism" – Tool
• "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" – Cake
• "Sick Cycle Carousel" – Lifehouse
• "Side" – Travis (September 17)
• "Sing" – Travis (May 28)
• "Smooth Criminal" – Alien Ant Farm
• "Someone To Call My Lover" – Janet Jackson
• "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" (medley) – Cliff Richard
• "So I Begin" – Galleon
• "So Why So Sad" – Manic Street Preachers (February 26)
• "Standing Still" – Jewel
• "Starlight" – The Supermen Lovers
• "Step On My Old Size Nines" – Stereophonics
• "Stop Your Crying" – Spiritualized
• "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" – U2 (January 29 UK, February 12 AUS, March 27 FRA, October 30 CAN)
• "Superman (It's Not Easy)" - Five For Fighting
• "Survivor" – Destiny's Child (February 13, 2001 (Australia); April 24, 2001 (Germany); May 8, 2001 (U.S.) May 15, 2001 (U.K.))
• "Teenage Dirtbag" – Wheatus
• "Thank You" – Dido (21 May)
• "The Rock Show" – Blink-182 (July 1)
• "There Must Be an Angel" – No Angels
• "This Year's Love" – David Gray
• "Toutes les femmes de ta vie" – L5
• "Turn off the Light" – Nelly Furtado (August 14)
• "Up On The Downside" – Ocean Colour Scene
• "Uptown Girl" – Westlife (UK)
• "Walk On" – U2 (November 19) (UK/Eur); November 26(Aus)
• "We Need A Resolution" – Aaliyah (April 24)
• "What It Feels Like for a Girl" – Madonna
• "Whenever, Wherever" – Shakira
• "Wherever You Will Go" – The Calling
• "Who Do You Love Now?" – Riva featuring Dannii Minogue (November 19)
• "Whole Again" – Atomic Kitten
• "With Arms Wide Open" – Creed
• "Wish You Were Here" – Incubus
• "Wrong Impression" – Natalie Imbruglia
• "Yellow" – Coldplay
• "You Rock My World" – Michael Jackson

Classical music

• Leonardo Balada – Cello Concerto No. 2 New Orleans
• Osvaldas Balakauskas – Symphony No. 5
• John Corigliano – Symphony No. 2 for String Orchestra
• George Crumb – Unto the Hills for soprano, percussion quartet and piano
• Joël-François Durand – Athanor for orchestra
• Lorenzo Ferrero
  • Two Cathedrals in the South concertino for trumpet and orchestra
  • Moonlight Sonata for five percussion instruments
• Howard Goodall – In Memoriam Anne Frank
• Helmut Lachenmann – Grido (string quartet)
• Frederik Magle – The Hope for brass band, choir, organ and percussion.
• Stuart Mitchell – Seven Wonders Suite for Choir & Orchestra
• Peter Ruzicka – Trans – Requiem für Giuseppe Sinopoli

Opera

• Jason Kao Hwang - The Floating Box: A Story in Chinatown
• Theo Loevendie – Johnny & Jones
• Sven-David Sandström – Jeppe: The Cruel Comedy

Musical theater

• Atgof o'r Sêr – first performed by Bryn Terfel and Cor Rhuthun in north Wales. Commissioned for the National Eisteddfod of Wales at Denbigh.
• A Class Act     Broadway production opened at the Ambassador Theatre on March 11 and ran for 105 performances
• 42nd Street     Broadway revival opened at the Ford Center on May 2
• Mamma Mia!     Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on October 18
• The Producers     Broadway production opened at St. James Theatre on April 19
• Urinetown     Broadway production opened at the Hudson Theatre on September 20 and ran for 965 performances

Musical films

• Beijing Rocks
• Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, starring Sunny Deol, Amisha Patel and Amrish Puri
• Glitter released September 21, starring Mariah Carey and Max Beesley
• Hedwig and the Angry Inch, directed by and starring John Cameron Mitchell
• Love You Hamesha, starring Akshaye Khanna and Sonali Bendre
• Moulin Rouge! released May 18, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor
• On the Road to Emmaus, starring Peter Franzén
• One Night the Moon, starring Paul Kelly and Kaarin Fairfax
• Rebelové, starring Zuzana Norisová and Tomáš Hanák

Deaths

• January 4 – Les Brown, bandleader (89)
• January 7 – James Carr (58), soul singer
• February 4 – Iannis Xenakis (78), Greek composer
• February 10 - Buddy Tate (87), jazz musician
• February 13 – George T. Simon, music critic and original Glenn Miller Orchestra drummer (pneumonia)
• February 19 – Charles Trenet (87), French singer, songwriter
• February 21
  • Ronnie Hilton (75), English singer
  • Malcolm Yelvington (82) rockabilly musician
• February 22 – John Fahey (61), guitarist, indie label owner
• March 4 – Glenn Hughes (50), The Village People
• March 12 – Sir Lancelot (98), calypso singer
• March 18 – John Phillips (65), singer-songwriter, co-founder of The Mamas & the Papas
• March 28 – Moe Koffman (73), Canadian Jazz singer
• April 6 – Charles Pettigrew (37), of Charles & Eddie (cancer)
• April 9 - Graziella Sciutti (73), operatic soprano
• April 11
  • Graciela Naranjo (84), bolero singer and actress
  • Sir Harry Secombe (79), entertainer
• April 15 – Joey Ramone (49), lead singer of The Ramones (lymphoma)
• April 20 – Giuseppe Sinopoli (54), composer and conductor (heart attack)
• May 12 – Perry Como (88), American crooner
• May 16 – Prince Ital Joe (38), reggae singer (car accident)
• May 20 – Renato Carosone (81), Italian musician and singer
• June 4 – John Hartford (64), bluegrass musician
• June 7 – Carole Fredericks, singer
• June 13 – Marcelo Fromer (39), guitarist for Brazilian band Titãs (rammed by a motorcycle)
• June 18 – Davorin Popović (55), lead singer for Bosnian band Indexi
• June 21 – John Lee Hooker (83), blues musician
• June 30
  • Chet Atkins (77), country musician
  • Joe Henderson (64), jazz saxophonist
• July 15 – Anthony Ian Berkeley (36), rapper (Brothers Grym, Gravediggaz)
• July 27 – Leon Wilkeson (49), bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd
• August 18 - Roland Cardon (72), Belgian composer and multi-instrumentalist
• August 25 – Aaliyah (22), American singer and actress (plane crash)
• August 27 - Karl Ulrich Schnabel (92), pianist
• August 29 – Graeme "Shirley" Strachan (49), lead singer of Skyhooks
• September 1 – Ted Mulry (54), lead singer with Ted Mulry Gang
• September 22 – Isaac Stern (81), violinist
• October 3 - Tatiana Menotti (92), operatic soprano
• October 5 – Ivan Hrušovský (74), Slovak composer
• October 10 - Barry McCauley (51), operatic tenor (lung cancer)
• October 17 – Jay Livingston (86), songwriter
• November 17 - Michael Karoli (53), guitarist, violinist and composer (cancer)
• November 21 – Ralph Burns (79), American songwriter, bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and bebop pianist
• November 24 – Melanie Thornton (34), singer (La Bouche) (air crash)
• November 29 – George Harrison (58), musician and former member of The Beatles (lung cancer)
• December 13 – Chuck Schuldiner (34), vocalist and guitarist with Death (cancer)
• December 15 – Rufus Thomas (84), singer
• December 16 – Stuart Adamson (43), guitarist with Big Country (suicide)
• December 17 - Débria Brown (65), operatic soprano
• December 18 – Gilbert Bécaud (74), singer-songwriter
• December 22 – Norman Granz (83), American producer
• December 29 – Cássia Eller (39), Brazilian singer

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

Country Music Association Awards

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

• 2001 MTV Video Music Awards

References