Events in 2023
- Taylor Swift gave her truck drivers on the Eras Tour an extraordinary $100,000 bonus each in recognition of their work. Total bonuses reportedly exceeded $55 million for performers and crew members.
- For the first time since 1958, country songs occupied the top three positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100: “Try That in a Small Town” by Jason Aldean, “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen and “Fast Car” by Luke Combs.
- English artist Jamie Reid, best known for his work on the album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols and the singles “Anarchy in the U.K.” and “God Save the Queen”, died at the age of 76.
- Singer and songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, whose story was featured in the documentary Searching for Sugar Man, died at the age of 81.
- Robbie Robertson, guitarist and songwriter with The Band, died after a long illness at the age of 80. He was also renowned as Bob Dylan’s lead guitarist. The Band began as Ronnie Hawkins’ backing group The Hawks, later backed Bob Dylan and eventually became an independent act with the 1968 album “Music From Big Pink”. Over the following ten years, they released eleven more albums and finally disbanded in 1978.
- The Hip Hop 50 Live concert took place at Yankee Stadium, celebrating 50 years since the birth of hip hop, associated with DJ Kool Herc and his Bronx party. Performers included Snoop Dogg, The Sugarhill Gang, Lauryn Hill and Run-D.M.C., for whom it was their final performance.
- The Jonas Brothers launched their Five Albums, One Night tour at Yankee Stadium with a 66-song setlist.
- American music producer and manager Jerry Moss, co-founder of A&M Records with Herb Alpert, died at his home in Bel Air, Los Angeles, at the age of 88.
- Travis Scott was at No. 1 on the US chart with his fourth studio album, Utopia. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at No. 1 and became his first album to top the UK chart.
- Liam Gallagher was at No. 1 on the UK chart with Knebworth 22. The album was recorded during the first of his concerts at the Knebworth festival on June 3 and 4, 2022, which attracted 170,000 people over the two nights. It became his fifth solo album to reach No. 1 in the UK.
- Ray Hildebrand, “Paul” of the pop duo Paul and Paula, died at the age of 82. With his partner Jill Jackson, he reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1963 with “Hey Paula.” After two more Top 40 hits, the duo split in 1965, and Hildebrand subsequently turned to Christian music.
- American songwriter and producer Bob Feldman died at the age of 83. Together with Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer, he wrote several hits including “My Boyfriend's Back” by The Angels in 1963. In 1964, the three founded The Strangeloves, who had the hit “I Want Candy”. The trio also wrote the song “Sorrow”, later successful in versions by The Merseys and David Bowie, and produced The McCoys' hit “Hang On Sloopy”.
- The Republican presidential debate opened with a sample of Oliver Anthony's song “Rich Men North Of Richmond”, which criticizes corrupt and incompetent politicians in Washington. The candidates were asked why the song had generated such a strong response across the country.
- Bernie Marsden, the original guitarist of Whitesnake, died at the age of 72. Together with David Coverdale, he wrote the band's 1987 hit „Here I Go Again“, which reached No. 1 on the chart.
- Oliver Anthony reached No. 1 on the US singles chart with “Rich Men North of Richmond”, becoming the first artist with no previous chart history on any chart to debut directly at the top. The song was recorded outdoors in one take in the presence of his dogs.
- Sean “Diddy” Combs donated $1 million to the Earn Your Leisure fund to support financial literacy and subsequently donated another $1 million to the football team of Jackson State University in support of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Diddy is an alumnus of the HBCU Howard University.
- American guitarist Jack Sonni, known as the “second guitarist” of Dire Straits during the “Brothers in Arms” era, died at the age of 68. He met Dire Straits founding members and guitarists David and Mark Knopfler in 1978 while working at Rudy's Music Stop guitar store in Manhattan.
- Singer, songwriter, actor and businessman Jimmy Buffett died at the age of 76 at his home in Sag Harbor, New York, from complications associated with Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer that he had battled for four years. He became known for his 1977 hit “Margaritaville,” which reached No. 8 on the U.S. chart. He turned his fame into a business empire associated with restaurants, resorts and the Margaritaville brand and created a devoted fan community known as “Parrotheads.” Other hits included “Come Monday,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “It's Five O'Clock Somewhere” and “Knee Deep.” In 2004, the album “License to Chill” reached No. 1 on the U.S. chart.
- A Houses Of The Holy album cover signed by all four members of Led Zeppelin was sold at auction for £15,000, even though it did not include the actual record. The item was exceptionally rare because of drummer John Bonham’s death in 1980 and the subsequent breakup of the group.
- Diana Ross made a surprise appearance at a Beyoncé concert in Los Angeles to wish her a happy 42nd birthday. After singing her hit “Love Hangover,” Ross led the audience in singing “Happy Birthday.”
- Gary Wright, known for the songs “Dream Weaver” and “Love Is Alive,” died at the age of 80 from Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia. He helped form Spooky Tooth and later played keyboards on George Harrison's album All Things Must Pass and on recordings by Ringo Starr. “Dream Weaver” reached number two in the US in 1976 and was inspired by the book Autobiography of a Yogi, which George Harrison had given him.
- Smash Mouth singer Steve Harwell died at the age of 56 from liver failure.
- Larry Chance, lead singer of the New York doo-wop group The Earls, died at the age of 82. In 1963, the group reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Remember Then.”
- The Rolling Stones officially announced the album "Hackney Diamonds", a 12-track studio album scheduled for release on October 20, 2023. It was their first album of new original material since 2005 and their first full-length album following the death of drummer Charlie Watts in 2021, whose archival recordings from 2019 appeared on two tracks.
- The Yamaha piano on which the late Freddie Mercury composed some of Queen's best-known hits was sold at auction for £1.7 million. Other items sold included a silver snake bracelet from the “Bohemian Rhapsody” video, handwritten lyrics to “Somebody To Love”, “Killer Queen” and “We Are the Champions”, and a Cartier onyx and diamond ring given to Mercury by Elton John.
- Lady Gaga did not have to pay a $500,000 reward to the woman who returned her stolen French bulldogs in 2021. The judge ruled that Jennifer McBride was not entitled to the reward because she later admitted to receiving stolen property. McBride also sought $1.5 million in damages, but the court rejected her claim.
- Frances Bean Cobain, daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, married Riley Hawk, son of skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. The ceremony was officiated by R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, Frances's godfather.
- Coldplay and their former manager Dave Holmes filed competing claims in London's High Court, with each party seeking millions of pounds from the other. Holmes, who worked with the band from 2005 to 2022, sued them for £10 million in unpaid commission. In a counter-claim, the band rejected his claim, said Holmes had allowed tour costs to spiral out of control, and demanded £14 million in damages. According to lawyers, Coldplay were paid an advance of £35 million for their tenth album and £30 million for their eleventh and twelfth albums.
- The album Autumn Variations reached number one on the UK album chart. It was Ed Sheeran's seventh UK number-one album. It debuted at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 and also topped the charts in Australia, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
- Rudolph Isley, a member of The Isley Brothers, the group he founded with his siblings Kelly, Ronnie and Vernon, died at the age of 84, reportedly from a heart attack. The group made a major breakthrough in 1959 with "Shout" and later found success with songs including "Twist and Shout," "This Old Heart of Mine," "Summer Breeze" and "Harvest for the World." Rudolph was best known as a co-writer of "Shout."
- Travis Scott launched his Circus Maximus Tour in Charlotte, North Carolina, in support of his successful album Utopia. Over the following two years, the tour expanded across six continents and grossed $265.1 million, setting a record as the highest-grossing solo rap tour in history.
- The concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour opened in US theaters. It featured footage from three concerts in Los Angeles the previous August. US advance ticket sales generated a record $37 million on the first day and exceeded $100 million worldwide. The film became the highest-grossing concert film of all time, with worldwide box-office revenue of $267.1 million.