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.
- French music producer, songwriter, singer and musician Mark Wirtz died at the age of 76 from Pick's disease. He was known in part for the unfinished concept album 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.
- The album Folklore broke Spotify's record for the most streams of an album by a female artist on its first day of release.
- 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.
- 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”.
- The stone wall in front of Elvis Presley's Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee, was spray-painted with messages supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and calling for defunding the police. The messages covered many handwritten notes and tributes that Elvis fans had left there since his death in August 1977.
- He joined The Bay City Rollers in 1976 and sang lead vocals on the title track of their fourth album “Dedication.” He died at the age of 62.
- The Killers were at number one on the UK album chart with their sixth studio album Imploding the Mirage, which at the time was the third-fastest-selling album of the year. It was also their sixth consecutive album to reach the top in the United Kingdom.
- The Killers’ sixth studio album, Imploding the Mirage, reached No. 1 on the UK album chart. It also topped the charts in Australia and Ireland that year.
- South Korean group BTS scored their first US number-one single with “Dynamite.”
- R&B and soul singer Bruce Williamson Jr., formerly the lead singer of The Temptations, died at the age of 49. He appeared on the group's later albums "Back to Front" and "Still Here", performed with them at numerous concerts and television shows, and also appeared in the film "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story".
- Lily Allen married David Harbour in the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Harbour is known as Hopper from the series Stranger Things. The ceremony was conducted by an Elvis Presley impersonator.
- Pop Smoke reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with his posthumously released debut album, “Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon”.
- Taylor Swift was at No. 1 on the US album chart with her eighth studio album Folklore, which was unexpectedly released in July during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of Van Halen Eddie Van Halen died at the age of 65 after several years battling throat cancer. He died at a medical center in Santa Monica surrounded by his family. His death was publicly announced by his son Wolfgang Van Halen. Eddie Van Halen was regarded as one of the most influential guitarists in rock history and had a major influence on electric guitar playing through his innovative two-handed tapping technique.
- American reggae and pop singer-songwriter Johnny Nash died of natural causes at the age of 80. He was best known for the hit “I Can See Clearly Now,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972 and remained at the top for four weeks. Nash was among the first non-Jamaican singers to record reggae in Kingston.
- Morgan Wallen was removed as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live after social media videos emerged showing him celebrating with fans in Alabama without a mask and without social distancing. The decision was made because of the show's COVID-19 protocols. Wallen later returned to SNL on December 5, 2020.
- English musician and songwriter Brian Locking died at the age of 81. He was the bassist for The Wildcats in 1956 and was a member of The Shadows from 1962 to 1963. With The Shadows, he performed with Cliff Richard in the film Summer Holiday and also worked as a session musician with artists including Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Joe Brown, Conway Twitty, and Brenda Lee.
- American rapper Machine Gun Kelly reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart with his fifth studio album, Tickets to My Downfall.
- Travis Scott reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with “Franchise,” featuring Young Thug and M.I.A.