Events in 2014
- “Weird Al” Yankovic’s album “Mandatory Fun” reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, becoming his first album to top the chart.
- Billy Joel sang “Uptown Girl” to his former wife Christie Brinkley during a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
- Ed Sheeran was at No. 1 on the UK albums chart with his second studio album “X”. The album received ten platinum certifications in the UK and sold more than 3 million copies.
- 5 Seconds of Summer reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 with their debut studio album, “5 Seconds of Summer.” The album was an international hit and reached No. 1 in fourteen countries.
- 5 Seconds of Summer reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart with their debut studio album. The Australian rock band achieved the highest first-week sales for a debut album by a group since Daughtry in 2006 and became the first Australian group to reach No. 1 in the US with a debut.
- Lauren Bacall died at the age of 89; the source describes her as the last surviving film star mentioned in Madonna's song “Vogue.”
- Their debut single “Rude” reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song became an international hit and reached the Top 10 in a dozen countries.
- Police raided his estate in Berkshire, England, searching for evidence of an alleged sexual assault dating from 1985. He was in Portugal at the time, while the BBC received a tip and had reporters and a helicopter at the scene. He was later cleared of the allegations and sued the BBC for invasion of privacy.
- Norwegian duo Nico & Vinz began a two-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with "Am I Wrong".
- Ed Sheeran's album X spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the UK chart and became, jointly with another album, the longest-running No. 1 album by a solo male artist. The last man to achieve this was James Blunt with Back to Bedlam in 2005.
- Kate Bush asked fans not to photograph or record her upcoming series of 22 concerts in London using mobile devices. The 56-year-old singer said she very much wanted to connect with the audience rather than with iPhones, iPads or cameras, and admitted that it was a big request.
- Sir Paul McCartney was ranked No. 1 on therichest.com's list of the world's richest bass players, with an estimated fortune of $1.2 billion. Sting and Gene Simmons were tied for second place, each with a fortune of $300 million, followed by Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, U2's Adam Clayton and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
- John Lennon's murderer, 59-year-old Mark David Chapman, was denied parole for the eighth time by New York State authorities. The parole board stated that his release would be incompatible with public safety and would diminish the seriousness of his crime to such an extent that it would undermine respect for the law.
- Beyoncé won four awards at the MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum in Inglewood, including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Miley Cyrus won Video of the Year for “Wrecking Ball”.
- The soundtrack to the superhero film “Guardians of the Galaxy”, assembled from prominent hits of the 1970s, reached number one on the US Billboard 200 and remained there for two weeks. It featured songs by various artists, including Blue Swede, David Bowie, The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye and The Runaways.
- Marion „Suge“ Knight, founder of Death Row Records, was shot at a party hosted by Chris Brown in Los Angeles. Two other people, a man and a woman, were also injured, and all three were treated at hospitals.
- Doo-wop singer Tommy Gough of The Crests died at the age of 74 from throat cancer at his home in Flint, Michigan.
- BBC Radio 2 listeners voted Led Zeppelin's “Whole Lotta Love” the greatest guitar riff of all time. It beat, among others, “Sweet Child O' Mine” by Guns N' Roses, “Back In Black” by AC/DC, “Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple and “Layla” by Derek and the Dominos.
- Taylor Swift released the single “Shake It Off”, which launched its dominance of the global charts.
- Kate Bush returned to the stage after 35 years with a concert at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. The series of 22 sold-out concerts ran from August 26 to October 1, and tickets sold out in less than 15 minutes. The “Before The Dawn” production featured acting elements, puppeteers and an illusionist, and the concerts received enthusiastic reviews; the following week, eight of her albums returned to the UK Top 40.
- Glenn Cornick, the original bassist and a founding member of Jethro Tull, died at the age of 67 from heart failure. He was with the group from its formation in late 1967 until 1970.
- Belgian music promoter Gustav De Ridder died at the age of 78.
- Smokey Robinson achieved his highest position on the album chart with his album "Smokey And Friends".
- After returning to the stage, Kate Bush became the first woman to have eight albums in the UK chart simultaneously. Two of her albums were in the Top 10 and eight albums in total were in the Top 40. This happened after she returned to performing and played her first live concerts in 35 years. Before her, only Elvis Presley, who had twelve albums in the Top 40 after his death in 1977, and The Beatles, who had eleven in 2009, had placed more albums in the Top 40.
- The Raskins, who had paid $1 million for the opportunity to accompany Mötley Crüe on tour, were attacked during their performance at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center by members of the headliner's crew, who came onto the stage and poured urine on them. The group subsequently filed a lawsuit.
- Jimi Jamison, lead singer of Survivor, died at the age of 63 from a heart attack. He joined the group in 1984 and sang on "The Moment of Truth", "High on You", "I Can't Hold Back", "The Search Is Over", "Burning Heart" and "Is This Love". Together with other writers, he also wrote and sang the theme song "I'm Always Here" for the television series "Baywatch".
- The album Step Back was released less than two months after Johnny Winter’s death at the age of 70. The project features a number of guest musicians, including Eric Clapton, Joe Perry of Aerosmith and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. Winter received his only Grammy Award for the album, winning in the Best Blues Album category.
- Seattle was in a celebratory mood as reigning Super Bowl champions the Seahawks played their first game of the season and local band Soundgarden performed during the pregame program.
- Singer, songwriter, dancer and actress Simone Battle, a member of the girl group G.R.L., died in Los Angeles at the age of 25; according to the source, her death was an apparent suicide.
- The debut album by British rock duo Royal Blood reached No. 1 on the UK album chart.
- Taylor Swift took "Shake It Off" to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song became a major international hit and also reached No. 1 in nine other countries, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
- Wiz Khalifa's fifth studio album, "Blacc Hollywood", reached No. 1 on the U.S. album chart. The album also topped the chart in Canada.
- Singer Priscilla Coolidge, 73, sister of musician Rita Coolidge, was found dead at her home in Thousand Oaks, California. An investigation confirmed that she had been murdered by her husband, Michael Seibert, 66, who subsequently committed suicide. Priscilla was married to Booker T. Jones, leader of Booker T. & the MG's, from 1969 to 1979, and performed with her daughter Laura Satterfield and sister Rita in the Native American music trio Walela.
- Fleetwood Mac's album Rumours received Double Diamond certification from the RIAA 37 years after its release for sales of more than 20 million copies in the US. It became only the ninth album to achieve this distinction.
- A perfectly preserved copy of The Beatles' debut album Please Please Me, signed by George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and Ringo Starr, was sold at an auction in the USA for $36,655.
- The Scottish indie rock band alt-J earned their first UK number-one album with their second studio album, This Is All Yours.
- Barbra Streisand became the first musical artist to have a number-one album on the Billboard 200 in six different decades. Her 34th studio album, Partners, reached the top of the chart and became her tenth Billboard 200 number-one album.
- Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj reached number one on the UK singles chart with Bang Bang.
- Paul Revere, whose real name was Paul Revere Dick, keyboardist, founder, and leader of Paul Revere & the Raiders, died on October 4, 2014, at the age of 76 after battling cancer. He led the group from 1961 to 1971, during which time they had fifteen songs in the US Billboard Top 40, including the hits “Kicks,” “Hungry,” “Good Thing,” and “Him or Me—What’s It Gonna Be?”
- Leonard Delaney, drummer of The Tornadoes, died at the age of 71 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
- Spotify announced that it had acquired the rights to John Lennon's solo catalog and made it available worldwide for streaming. The offering included his eight solo studio albums, from Plastic Ono Band to Milk and Honey, and three official compilations. Collaborations with Yoko Ono were not included.
- The television series The Wonder Years, which ended in 1993, was finally released on DVD. The distributor spent years clearing the rights to most of the 285 songs used in the series, including the theme song and Joe Cocker's version of “With a Little Help From My Friends.”
- Weezer released their ninth studio album Everything Will Be Alright in the End, which reached No. 5 in the US. It was the band's first album on Republic Records and marked the return of producer Ric Ocasek, who had produced the 1994 debut album The Blue Album and the 2001 Green Album.
- Don Henley sued The Duluth Trading Company over alleged unauthorized use of his name, trademarks and publicity rights in an email advertisement using the pun "Don a Henley and Take it easy" to promote Henley shirts. Duluth settled the suit the following April and published an apology on its website.
- Taylor Swift was named Billboard Woman of the Year for the second time on October 10, 2014. She became the first artist to receive the award twice. The honor recognizes women whose success, leadership and innovation influence the music industry.
- George Ezra's debut studio album, Wanted on Voyage, reached No. 1 on the UK album chart.
- Meghan Trainor's debut single "All About That Bass" began a four-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart.
- The concert film One Direction: Where We Are – The Concert Film was released in cinemas. Its worldwide theatrical run ended the following day, and the film set a record as the highest-grossing event cinema production, with net revenues of $15 million.
- Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's collaborative album Cheek to Cheek reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200. The album was successful worldwide, and the duo won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
- British singer George Ezra reaches No. 1 on the UK albums chart with his debut album, Wanted on Voyage. It becomes the UK’s third best-selling album of 2014.