Events in 2020
- Steve Holland, a founding member and guitarist of Molly Hatchet, died after a long illness at the age of 66.
- British music producer and audio engineer Martin Birch died at the age of 71. He was known for producing and engineering albums by British rock bands including Deep Purple, Rainbow, Fleetwood Mac, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden.
- Taylor Swift reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with her eighth studio album, “Folklore.” The album reached No. 1 in 16 countries.
- English rock and pop singer Wayne Fontana, born Glyn Geoffrey Ellis, died at the age of 74 from cancer. With The Mindbenders, he reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “The Game of Love” in 1965.
- Francouzský hudební producent, skladatel, zpěvák a hudebník Mark Wirtz zemřel ve věku 76 let na Pickovu chorobu. Proslavil se mimo jiné nedokončeným konceptuálním albem A Teenage Opera.
- A guitar played by Jimi Hendrix in the early 1960s was sold at auction for $216,000. Hendrix used it, among other things, as a backing guitarist for Wilson Pickett, Slim Harpo, Sam Cooke, Ike & Tina Turner, Jackie Wilson and The Isley Brothers.
- Taylor Swift became the first artist in history whose album and lead single simultaneously debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. charts. The album “Folklore” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and the song “Cardigan” topped the Billboard Hot 100. “Folklore” also became her seventh consecutive No. 1 album.
- Split Enz reached No. 1 in New Zealand with the 40th-anniversary reissue of the album “True Colours”.
- Singer, guitarist and actor Trini Lopez died at the age of 83 from complications of COVID-19. In 1963 he had the hit “If I Had A Hammer,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard chart. He also appeared in the 1967 film The Dirty Dozen.
- The English hard rock and heavy metal bassist died at the age of 69 from life-threatening injuries sustained in an accident two months earlier. He was the bassist of UFO and a founding member of Waysted and Fastway, and also played with the Michael Schenker Group and Ozzy Osbourne.
- The sports comedy-drama series premiered on Apple TV+ with a theme song by Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons. Jason Sudeikis, who plays the title character, is a longtime friend of the British folk musician and also appeared as Mumford in the band's 2013 music video for the single “Hopeless Wanderer”.
- With the song “Watermelon Sugar”, he achieved his first No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
- Jazz and R&B saxophonist Hal Singer died at the age of 100.
- Jack Sherman died at the age of 64 from a heart attack at his home in Savannah, Georgia. He was the second guitarist to join the Red Hot Chili Peppers between Hillel Slovak's departure and return. He played on the band's debut album and co-wrote most of their second album, Freaky Styley. He also worked with Bob Dylan, George Clinton and Feargal Sharkey.
- American rock drummer Frankie Banali died at the age of 68 from pancreatic cancer. He was best known for his work with the multiplatinum heavy metal band Quiet Riot.
- “WAP” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion reached No. 1 in America and became the most sexually explicit song ever to reach the top of the chart. Two weeks later, it was knocked from No. 1 by BTS’s innocuous K-pop song “Dynamite”.
- Travis Scott released the song “The Plan”.
- American screenwriter and producer Joe Ruby, co-creator of Scooby-Doo and producer of numerous Hanna-Barbera animated programs connected with music, died at the age of 87.
- Katy Perry gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Daisy Dove Bloom. The father is her partner, actor Orlando Bloom.
- “A Celebration of Endings”, the eighth studio album by alternative rock band Biffy Clyro, debuted at No. 1 on the UK album chart. It was the group's third consecutive album to reach the top.
- Katy Perry released her sixth studio album “Smile” through Capitol Records. The album was linked to the video game Katy's Quest, which the singer plays in the music video for the title track.
- At the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga was the evening’s most successful performer. She won the Artist of the Year award, the Song of the Year award for “Rain on Me” with Ariana Grande, and the MTV Tricon Award. Due to restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, new categories were also awarded: Best Music Video From Home, won by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber for “Stuck with U”, and Best Quarantine Performance, won by CNCO for “Unplugged at Home”. BTS won Best Group, Coldplay won Best Rock for “Orphans”, and Video of the Year went to The Weeknd for “Blinding Lights”.