Events in 2004
- Eric Clapton purchased a 50% stake in the London menswear store Cordings to help save the historic business from closure.
- Rick James, known as “The King of Punk-Funk,” was found dead at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 56. His album “Street Songs” reached No. 3 on the U.S. chart and the single “Super Freak part 1” reached No. 16. During his career, he placed thirteen albums on the Billboard 200 and 29 singles on the R&B chart. He also worked as a songwriter and producer for Motown.
- Ashlee Simpson's debut studio album “Autobiography” reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
- Busted began a two-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Thunderbirds / 3AM”.
- Juvenile and Soulja Slim took “Slow Motion” to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Red Hot Chili Peppers' first live album “Live in Hyde Park” reached No. 1 on the UK albums chart. The album also reached No. 1 in Austria, Belgium and Switzerland.
- The Dave Matthews Band tour bus dumped wastewater from the Kinzie Street Bridge in Illinois into the river, hitting a tourist boat and covering a group of tourists with the contaminated waste. The band was not on the bus, and the driver denied the incident until confronted with security camera footage.
- The iTunes Music Store became the first store with a catalog containing more than one million songs.
- Charlie Watts, drummer of The Rolling Stones, confirmed that he was undergoing treatment for throat cancer. He underwent radiotherapy, and the disease later went into remission.
- Vanessa Williams and her husband, basketball player Rick Fox, divorced.
- At the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Athens, Björk performed “Oceania” in a giant dress whose fabric unfolded to approximately 10,000 feet and covered the area for spectators, onto which a world map was then projected.
- According to a VH1 poll, his song “Angels” was voted the best single that never reached No. 1 on the UK chart. In 1997, it reached No. 4.
- It was announced that The Rolling Stones drummer was undergoing treatment for throat cancer, which had been diagnosed in June.
- At the Coventry festival in Vermont, they performed what they described as their final concert. The group reunited in 2009.
- After thirteen years, General Motors stopped using Bob Seger's song “Like A Rock” in advertisements for the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
- Dan Fogelberg announced that he had been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer that had spread to his bones, and cancelled 16 concerts on his tour because of treatment. The singer of “Longer” and “Leader of the Band” died in 2007.
- A report highlighted the growth of concert ticket scalpers on eBay. Examples included tickets for Madonna's concert at Wembley, whose price increased from £150 to £350, and two tickets for The White Stripes, whose original value of £90 increased to £130.
- Oscar-winning composer and conductor Elmer Bernstein died at the age of 82. He was known for, among other scores, The Magnificent Seven, To Kill a Mockingbird, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Airplane!, The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters.
- A man from Stoke-on-Trent, England, named singer Bryan Adams in his divorce papers as “the other man” after years of trying to cope with his wife's obsession with the singer. He said that she had a six-foot-tall cardboard cutout of Adams in the bedroom and posters on the walls.
- The trio 3 of a Kind reached No. 1 on the UK chart with their first and only released single, “Baby Cakes”.
- Singer Anastacia reached No. 1 on the UK chart with her third studio album “Anastacia”. The album became a worldwide hit and also reached No. 1 in eleven other countries.
- Ashlee Simpson returned to No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 with her debut studio album “Autobiography”.
- Al Dvorin died at the age of 81 in a car accident near Ivanpah, California, while returning to Las Vegas after appearing at an Elvis tribute show at Trump 29 Casino in Coachella, where he hosted the program with Elvis impersonator Paul Casey. Dvorin was the longtime announcer at Elvis concerts, introducing them for 22 years from 1955, and became famous for the distinctive phrase “Elvis has left the building”, which he used in the early 1970s to announce that Presley would not return for an encore. At the time of the accident, he was riding in a car driven by Elvis photographer Ed Bonja. He was never paid for recordings of his announcements and harbored resentment toward Elvis Presley Enterprises because of this.
- Queen became the first rock group to receive official permission to operate in Iran, where Western music was strictly prohibited. Freddie Mercury was of Iranian heritage, and Queen albums had been available in the country for years through unofficial copies.
- The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum announced that it had acquired a Gibson L-5 guitar formerly owned by „Mother Maybelle“ Carter.
- Ashlee Simpson had the album “Autobiography” at No. 1.
- American cinematographer David Myers died following a stroke. He worked on numerous music films, including “Woodstock”, “Elvis On Tour”, “The Last Waltz”, “The Grateful Dead Movie”, “Mad Dogs & Englishmen” and “Cracked Actor: A Film About David Bowie”.
- Singer, songwriter and actress Laura Branigan died in her sleep at her home in East Quogue, New York, from a brain aneurysm at the age of 52. She was best known for the hit “Gloria”, which reached No. 2 in the US and No. 6 in the UK in 1982. Her song “Self Control” reached No. 4 in the US and No. 5 in the UK in 1984. She also portrayed Janis Joplin in the American musical “Love, Janis”.
- At the British Carling Weekend festival in Reading and Leeds, Green Day, The Darkness, The White Stripes, Morrissey, The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, The Hives, 50 Cent, The Streets, The Vines, Soulwax, Dogs Die In Hot Cars, The Offspring, Ash, Placebo and Lostprophets performed.
- At this year's Kerrang! Awards, The Darkness won awards for Best British Band and Best Live Band, Metallica won the award for Best Band in the World, Green Day were inducted into the Kerrang! Hall of Fame, Lostprophets won the award for Best Single for “Last Train Home”, and Muse won the award for Best Album for “Absolution”.
- Ohio’s Wilberforce University awarded Lou Rawls an honorary doctorate in recognition of his charitable work for the United Negro College Fund and his lifelong service to the education of historically disadvantaged groups.
- Maroon 5 reached No. 1 on the UK chart with their debut studio album “Songs About Jane”. Over the years, the album also reached No. 1 in France, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.
- Natasha Bedingfield began a two-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “These Words (I Love You, I Love You)”.
- A woman claimed that she suffered serious injuries after Rick Springfield went into the audience during a concert in Syracuse, New York, and struck her with his buttocks. Her lawsuit became the subject of many jokes, but it represented a genuine legal dispute. The case was not decided until 2015, when a jury ruled in Springfield’s favor.
- Björk released the album “Medúlla”, which was composed almost entirely of human voices.
- English singer and actor Carl Wayne, best known as the lead singer of The Move, died at the age of 61 from esophageal cancer. He sang lead vocals on the group's songs "Blackberry Way" and "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" and also performed with The Hollies.
- Green Day released the title track from their new album "American Idiot" as a single three weeks before the album's release. Both the song and album were highly successful and widely acclaimed; both were nominated for several Grammy Awards, and the album won the award for Best Rock Album. "American Idiot" later became a successful musical.
- Ray Charles' album "Genius Loves Company" was released posthumously by Concord Records. It was the last album Charles recorded and completed before his death in June 2004. It featured recordings with guest musicians including Natalie Cole, Elton John, James Taylor, Norah Jones, B. B. King, Gladys Knight, Diana Krall, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson and Bonnie Raitt. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and won eight Grammy Awards in 2005, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year.
- The British medical journal Thorax warned music fans that listening to loud music in a car could cause a collapsed lung. A 19-year-old man was treated in Bristol after his left lung collapsed while listening loudly to music from a 1,000-watt speaker in his Fiat Panda.
- The iTunes Music Store reached 125 million songs sold.
- He suffered a severe stroke after a performance during Labor Day weekend, after which he fell into a coma from which he never recovered. He died on February 9, 2005.
- After 46 years, Cliff Richard ended his contract with EMI Records and signed with Universal Music. During his time with EMI, he sold more than 250 million records.
- Songwriter and producer Roquel “Billy” Davis, also known as Tyran Carlo, died in 2004 at the age of 72; sources place his death in both New York and Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote Jackie Wilson songs including “Reet Petite” and “Lonely Teardrops” and the advertising jingle “I’d Like To Buy The World A Coke”.
- Electronic group The Prodigy scored their third consecutive UK number-one album with Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.
- Simon Cowell's music competition show The X Factor premiered in the UK. It quickly became a talent factory that produced stars including Little Mix, Leona Lewis, Olly Murs and One Direction. The US version of The X Factor premiered in 2011, with Fifth Harmony its biggest success.
- Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay was banned from driving for six months and fined £750 after being caught driving at more than 100 miles per hour. At court in Perth, his lawyers argued that he needed his driving licence as a "release" from his demanding working life. The judge described his behavior as unacceptable. Kay admitted that he had driven at 105 mph on the A9 in Perthshire in February while overtaking.
- AC/DC Lane, a street named after the Australian rock band, was officially opened in Melbourne. During the ceremony, the band’s song “Long Way to the Top” was played on bagpipes.
- Former Buffalo Springfield bassist Bruce Palmer died at the age of 58 in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, of a heart attack. He was also a member of The Mynah Birds and worked with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Neil Young. In 1967, Buffalo Springfield had their only single to reach the US Top 40 with “For What It’s Worth”, which peaked at No. 7.
- John Fogerty, Bruce Springsteen, and R.E.M. launched the Vote for Change tour in Philadelphia. Dave Matthews Band performed in State College and Dixie Chicks in Pittsburgh.
- Ms Dynamite was arrested on suspicion of assault following an incident at a restaurant in central London. She voluntarily went to the police station and was later released on bail.
- Billy Joel, then 55, married 23-year-old culinary student Katie Lee on October 2 at his estate on Centre Island in New York. It was Joel's third marriage. During their marriage, Katie Lee became a writer and television personality. The couple later announced their separation in June 2009, with one record specifying June 17, 2009.
- VH1 held its first Hip-Hop Honors, honoring DJ Hollywood, DJ Kool Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Rock Steady Crew, Run-D.M.C., Tupac, and The Sugarhill Gang. Public Enemy also performed at the ceremony.
- George Strait released the album 50 Number Ones in the United States.
- Britney Spears and Kevin Federline filed documents legally confirming their surprise wedding several weeks earlier. Spears had signed a prenuptial agreement, which proved useful during their divorce in 2007.
- Britney Spears poured a full cup of cola over a photographer who was waiting outside a fast-food stand in Malibu for photographs of the singer and her new husband.
- Howard Stern announced on his radio show that he would move to Sirius satellite radio, where he was scheduled to begin broadcasting in January 2006 under a five-year contract. His move significantly boosted the development of satellite radio and allowed him to broadcast without the same content restrictions imposed by the FCC on traditional terrestrial radio, with fewer commercials.
- Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars underwent hip replacement surgery at a hospital in Los Angeles at the age of 53.
- Beanie Sigel was sentenced to one year in federal prison for weapons possession in a case that arose from a traffic stop in 2002.
- Britney Spears ended her professional relationship with manager Larry Rudolph, who had managed her career since she was 13. Rudolph said that he and the singer had mutually agreed not to renew their management relationship after nine years.
- It was announced that all legal documents concerning Britney Spears's marriage to dancer Kevin Federline had been filed. The marriage took place on September 18, 2004.
- Melissa Etheridge announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She shortened her tour to undergo treatment and later made a full recovery. In February 2005, she performed at the Grammy Awards while still bald from chemotherapy.
- Ray Charles, who died in June of the same year, earned his first platinum album. “Genius Loves Company,” released in September, sold more than one million copies.
- Stevie Wonder, Usher, Mary J. Blige, and Reba McEntire performed at the Staples Center in Los Angeles at a memorial concert dedicated to the late Ray Charles.
- Blondie, Sonic Youth, Joan Jett, The Strokes, and Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age performed at a charity concert honoring The Ramones. Proceeds went toward cancer research and lymphoma treatment.
- Joss Stone reached No. 1 in the UK with her second studio album "Mind Body & Soul".
- The Vote for Change tour concluded with a concert in Washington, D.C., featuring Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Dave Matthews Band, Dixie Chicks and James Taylor. The politically motivated tour aimed to help defeat President George W. Bush in the November election, but Bush ultimately won by a narrow margin.
- The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) accused Ronald Isley, singer with The Isley Brothers, of tax evasion over unreported royalties and concert income from 1997 to 2002. In 2005, he was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison and was later ordered to pay $3.1 million in back taxes.