January 1 – In most of Europe, copyright expired on a number of classic pop and rock-and-roll songs recorded in 1954 and earlier, including Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock", and "Only You" by The Platters.
January 7 – Welsh punk band Mclusky officially announce their disbanding via their website. Weeks later, Welsh noisecore/punk band Jarcrew disband due to their drummer becoming a Jehovah's Witness – remnants of the two bands later went on to join forces and become Future of the Left.
January 17 – Prior to missing 2 live shows, Mike Tempesta is officially no longer part of Powerman 5000 due to fighting with the band.
January 22 – The Tsunami Relief concert is held at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales – the largest live music event in the UK since the Live Aid concert of 1985. Performers included Madonna, Eric Clapton, Jools Holland, Manic Street Preachers, Lulu, Aled Jones, Charlotte Church, Katherine Jenkins, Feeder, Snow Patrol, Liberty X.
January 29 – Avril Lavigne, Chantal Kreviazuk, the Barenaked Ladies, Raine Maida, and Sarah McLachlan conduct a concert in Vancouver, British Columbia, for tsunami relief.
January 31 – Jon Levasseur leaves Cryptopsy, saying he has lost interest in Extreme Music.
February 7 – The BRIT Awards are held in London. Scissor Sisters, Keane, Franz Ferdinand, and Joss Stone are among the winners.
February 13 - The 47th Grammy Awards are held in Staples Center, Los Angeles, California. Ray Charles become the big winner at the ceremony. Britney Spears earned her first Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording for her hit single Toxic.
February 15 – Sonny Mayo replaces Clint Lowery in Sevendust.
February 22
After being silent since late 2004, Blink-182 announce that they will be taking an indefinite hiatus, the news comes as a big shock for fans. According to guitarist Tom DeLonge, the band will not come completely inactive.
Brian Welch, guitarist of KoЯn, leaves the band after converting to Christianity.
February 28 – Static-X fires Tripp Eisen because of his arrest for sex offenses involving a minor.
March 7 – Koichi Fukuda rejoins Static-X on guitar after 5 years away from the band. Fukuda replaces Tripp Eisen, who was arrested twice in February over two separate charges of sexual intercourse with underage girls.
March 26 – Australian drummer of Crowded House, Paul Hester, is found dead in a Melbourne Park.
March 29 - Will Smith releases his fourth studio album (first under Interscope Records) Lost and Found
April 3
Country music legend Kenny Rogers signs a major worldwide record deal with Capitol Records.
Alice in Chains original bass player Mike Starr is arrested for "investigation of property destruction and theft". He was also sentenced to 30 days for misdemeanor drug possession in April 1994, two years after being replaced from the group during the recording of Dirt.
April 7 – The concert Selena ¡VIVE! takes place at Reliant Stadium in Houston. The memorial concert was held on the 10th anniversary of the murder by firearm of Selena, "The Queen of Tejano Music". Performers include Thalía, Gloria Estefan, Paulina Rubio, Pepe Aguilar, Banda el Recodo, Alejandra Guzmán and Fey.
April 9 – Destiny's Child launch their World Tour Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It in Hiroshima, Japan.
April 19 - Mike Jones releases his first studio album entitled "Who Is Mike Jones?" in the United States.
May/June – Operation Ivy/Rancid bassist Matt Freeman is diagnosed with lung cancer.
May 2
Legendary blues-rock group Cream reunites for four shows in London's Royal Albert Hall.
Linkin Park issues a press release demanding to end its contract with Warner Music Group, on the grounds that the label would fail to meet its "fiduciary responsibility to market and promote Linkin Park" due to cost-cutting efforts at the company.
May 6 – Audioslave becomes the first American rock group to perform a free outdoor concert in Cuba.
May 17 - Kylie Minogue is diagnosed with breast cancer. Thus she has to cancel her Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour.
May 21 – The Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM airs the 13th Annual Weenie Roast show with Alkaline Trio, Audioslave, Bloc Party, The Bravery, The Dead 60s, Foo Fighters, Hot Hot Heat, Interpol, Jimmy Eat World, The Killers, The Mars Volta, Mötley Crüe, MxPx, My Chemical Romance, Queens of the Stone Age and The Transplants.
May 22 – Tammin Sursok releases her debut and to date only album Whatever Will Be.
May 24 - Gorillaz release their second studio album, Demon Days.
May 25 – Carrie Underwood wins the fourth season of American Idol.
June 4 - Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" became her 16th chart topper on the US Billboard Hot 100 considering her popularity between 2001 and 2003 had substantially declined and many had considered her career over. The song, then, spent 14 non-consecutive weeks at number one on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It made history when it became the first song to simultaneously occupy the number one position on nine Billboard charts on the week ending August 6, 2005: the Hot 100, Billboard Hot 100 Airplay, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Pop 100 Airplay, Top 40 Mainstream, Rhythmic Airplay Chart, Hot Dance Club Songs, and the Hot Ringtones charts.
June 9–11 – Download Festival 2006. Tool, Metallica and Guns N' Roses headline the main stage.
June 12 – Pink Floyd announce that they will reunite with former bassist Roger Waters, who left the band in 1985, on July 2 for the Live 8 London concert. This will be the first time the band played together as a quartet since The Wall tour in 1981, and the first public performance by Pink Floyd since 1994.
June 13 – Michael Jackson is found not guilty of child molestation.
June 14 - The Backstreet Boys came back and released their fifth studio album Never Gone after a nearly 5-year hiatus
June 15 – Destiny's Child announce they will disband upon completion of their world tour.
June 16 – Motörhead celebrate their 30th anniversary with a concert in the Hammersmith Apollo, which is later released on DVD.
June 18–19 – Green Day films their first ever live CD/DVD Bullet in a Bible at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes, England. They played to over 130,000 fans in two days.
June 21 – Billy Corgan announces that he wants to reform his popular alternative rock group The Smashing Pumpkins, which disbanded on December 2, 2000.
June 25 – Patti Smith curates the Meltdown festival.
July 2 – Live 8 benefit concerts are held around the world, as part of the Make Poverty History campaign.
July 6 - Lil' Kim is sentenced to a year and a day in prison for lying to a federal grand jury about her knowledge of suspects in a 2001 shooting outside a New York radio station.
July 11 – The Chemical Brothers release their single, "The Boxer".
July 21 – Gigantour runs through to September 11, a festival organised by Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine with bands including Dream Theater, Anthrax, Fear Factory and Nevermore.
August 9 - Staind releases Chapter V, which becomes their third-straight studio album to reach #1 on the US Billboard 200 album charts.
August 18 - Interscope Records reports that Eminem has entered rehab for dependency on sleep medication. The rapper had canceled the European leg of the Anger Management 3 Tour two days earlier, citing exhaustion. A four-year hiatus would ensue until the release of the Relapse album in 2009.
August 24-31 - The UNESCO-sponsored Fifth Sharq Taronalari (Melodies of the East) International Music Festival is held in Samarkand.
August 26 – Rihanna releases her debut album Music of the Sun, which debuts at number 10 on the US Billboard 200. The album produced two singles that achieved international chart success, including first single "Pon de Replay", which topped number 2 at the US Billboard Hot 100.
August 28 - Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight is shot in the leg at an MTV Video Music Awards pre-party in Miami. No one is ever charged in the shooting.
September 2
A statue of Edward Elgar by Jemma Pearson is unveiled near Hereford Cathedral.
A Concert for Hurricane Relief airs on NBC and its affiliates, the first of several benefit concerts held to raise funds for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast and ReAct Now: Music & Relief air the following week. From the Big Apple to the Big Easy, a pair of simultaneous benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, are held on September 20. On A Concert for Hurricane Relief, rapper Kanye West makes controversial statement, "George Bush doesn't care about black people".
September 9 – The band Scooter perform at the All-State Arena in Chicago, IL, their first performance in the United States.
September 10 - Destiny's Child breaks up after the finishing of their Destiny Fulfilled...and Lovin' it Tour.
September 20 - J.D. Fortune wins Rock Star: INXS, a reality TV singing contest to become the new lead vocalist of Australian rock band INXS.
September 27 – American rock band Panic! at the Disco released their debut album "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out". Actor Drake Bell releases his debut musical album Telegraph. Dancehall artist Sean Paul releases his third album titled The Trinity.
October 1 – Sentenced plays their final show.
October 15 – Media reported that Latin star Luis Miguel has released his own vintage of wine, "Unico. Luis Miguel", a Cabernet Sauvignon.
October 21 – Nightwish perform at the Hartwall Areena, later to be released as the End of an Era DVD. The following day, singer Tarja Turunen is dismissed in an open letter.
October 25 - NSYNC releases their first compilation album Greatest Hits three years after their breakup.
October 31 - Greatest Hits is released. It is a collection of Blink-182's greatest singles. At the time of the release, Blink-182 were on an indefinite hiatus but would later reunite in 2009 and release their sixth studio album Neighborhoods in 2011.
November 6 – Madonna earns her 36th Top Ten single with Warner Bros. Records-based, ABBA-sampled "Hung Up". This ties her with Elvis Presley for the most Top Ten singles. The Beatles have 34. "Hung Up" is also Madonna's 47th Top Forty single – the most for any female artist. Her new album Confessions On A Dance Floor hits #1 in 40 countries during the month, a new record. (The Beatles also previously held this record when The Beatles 1 went to #1 in 36 countries in 2000.)
November 8 - The first Guitar Hero video game is released for the PlayStation 2. The game becomes a major hit that turns rhythm games into one of the most popular video game genres for several years, and increases the sales of artists who have their songs included in the games.
November 15
The Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal breaks as Sony BMG announces that it will recall all remaining stock of an estimated 15 million CDs containing copy protection that exposes the computers of consumers to serious security risks if played in their PC disc drives. Several class action lawsuits are filed against Sony in the ensuing public relations disaster.
All-female group Danity Kane is formed on MTV show Making The Band.
November 20 – Madonna's Warner Bros. Records-based (Festival Mushroom Records in Australia) single, "Hung Up" takes the title as the ARIA #1 single.
November 21 – Kate DeAraugo takes the title of Australian Idol 2005, ahead of Emily Williams.
November 22
The 33rd annual American Music Awards are held. Multiple winners are Destiny's Child, Tim McGraw, Kelly Clarkson, The Black Eyed Peas, and Green Day.
System of a Down becomes the third musical act to have two number 1 albums in the same year. The other two to do this record were DMX & The Beatles.
Britney Spears releases her first remix album, B in the Mix: The Remixes. The album had sold 1 millon copies worldwide, making it one of the best selling remix album of all time.
November 29 - Chris Brown comes onto the music scene at age 16 with the release of his debut album Chris Brown. Making him the second youngest male R&B artist to come into the music business since Usher in 1994.
November 30 – Apocalyptica change locations of the shoot of their DVD "The Life Burns Tour" from Erfurt, Germany (Dec. 2) to Düsseldorf, Germany (Dec. 4) due to technical reasons.
December 3 - Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese hold a wedding ceremony in Ireland.
December 6 - Korn's seventh studio album, See You on the Other Side, debuts at number 3 on the Billboard 200. This is the first album without longtime guitarist Brian "Head" Welch and is the last to feature original drummer David Silveria.
December 8 – The nominations for the 48th Grammy Awards are announced. The top-nominated artists include Mariah Carey, John Legend, and Kanye West, with eight nominations each. Other nominated artists include Gwen Stefani, Beyoncé Knowles (two of her own, plus four with Destiny's Child), Kelly Clarkson, and 50 Cent.
December 10
Amnesty International launches its "Make Some Noise" music initiative.
The Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM airs the 16th annual Acoustic Christmas. On November 10, 2005, KROQ's official website announced that it will include Avenged Sevenfold, Fall Out Boy, Korn, Nine Inch Nails, Rise Against, System of a Down and Thrice for the first night. The second night is held the following day, as also announced at KROQ's official website on November 15, 2005 and includes The Bravery, Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, Depeche Mode, Hot Hot Heat, Jack Johnson, Nada Surf and The White Stripes.
December 11 – Peter Wichers leaves Soilwork.
December 15 - Madonna's Warner Bros. Records-based single, "Hung Up" sets a new record in the download charts by staying at #1 for 7 consecutive weeks. The single first appears on Z100 New York, closely followed by 2Day FM (Sydney), Fox FM (Melbourne) and Nova 96.9 (Sydney) other stations follow including: Mix 106.5 (Sydney), Mix 101.1 (Melbourne), Vega 95.3 (Sydney), Vega 91.5 (Melbourne) and the rest of the MIX FM stations.
December 21 – Elton John marries David Furnish in London. This marriage comes in the wake of new British laws affording gay unions the same legal protection enjoyed within straight marriages.
December 31 – Mariah Carey earns her 17th #1 single with "Don't Forget About Us", tying with Elvis for second as the act with the most #1 singles. The Beatles have 20. She also becomes the first act to perform live in Times Square on the Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve television special on this day.
Glue Gun reforms after eight years, with frontman Bob Oedy the only original member. The new line-up is Bob Oedy (vocals), Joey Rimicci (guitars), Brian Priess (bass) and Andy Alverez (drums). Rimicci and Priess were previously members of Jughead's Revenge.
UNESCO declares the Mongolian Long song one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
See Category:Musical groups established in 2005
Bands disbanded
See Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2005
Alice in Chains
Backstreet Boys (Hiatus since 2002)
Devourment
Luv'
Junior M.A.F.I.A.
Van der Graaf Generator
"1, 2 Step" — Ciara featuring Missy Elliott
"9 to 5" — Lady Sovereign
"Almost" — Bowling for Soup
"Animals" — Nickelback
"ASAP" — T.I.
"Ass Like That" — Eminem
"Axel F" — Crazy Frog
"Bad Day" — Daniel Powter
"Be Yourself" — Audioslave
"Behind These Hazel Eyes" — Kelly Clarkson
"Belly Dancer (Bananza)" — Akon
"Because of You" — Kelly Clarkson
"Best of You" — Foo Fighters
"Better Days" — Goo Goo Dolls
"Beverly Hills" — Weezer
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" — Green Day
"Breakaway" — Kelly Clarkson
"Bring 'Em Out" - T.I.
"Bullets" — Editors
"B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bombs)" — System of a Down
"Candy Shop" — 50 Cent featuring Olivia
"Catch My Disease" — Ben Lee
"Checkmarks" - The Academy Is...
"The Chronicles of Life and Death" - Good Charlotte
"Crazy" – Simple Plan
"Cool" — Gwen Stefani
"Dance, Dance - Fall Out Boy
"DARE" — Gorillaz
"Diamonds from Sierra Leone" — Kanye West
"Die Romantic" - Aiden
"Dirty Little Secret" - The All-American Rejects
"Disappear" – Hoobastank
"Don't Cha" — The Pussycat Dolls
"Don't Forget About Us" — Mariah Carey
"Don't Lie" — The Black Eyed Peas
"Don't Phunk with My Heart" — The Black Eyed Peas
"Do You Want To" — Franz Ferdinand
"E-Pro" — Beck
"Emergency" — Paramore
"Emily" — Stephen Fretwell
"Everything Is Alright" - Motion City Soundtrack
"Failure's Not Flattering (What's Your Problem)" - New Found Glory
"Fall to Pieces" - Avril Lavigne
"Feel Good Inc." — Gorillaz
"Feeling a Moment" — Feeder
"Fix You" — Coldplay
"Gasolina" — Daddy Yankee
"Ghetto" — Akon
"Gold Digger" — Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx
"The Hand That Feeds" — Nine Inch Nails
"Hate It or Love It" — The Game featuring 50 Cent
"He Wasn't" — Avril Lavigne
"Heard 'Em Say" - Kanye West featuring Adam Levine of Maroon 5
"Holiday" — Green Day
"Hollaback Girl" — Gwen Stefani
"Hung Up" — Madonna
"Hypnotize" — System of a Down
"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" — Arctic Monkeys
"I Caught Fire" — The Used
"I Don't Wanna Know" — New Found Glory
"I Just Wanna Live" — Good Charlotte
"I Melt with You" — Bowling for Soup
"The Importance of Being Idle" — Oasis
"Inside Your Heaven" — Carrie Underwood
"Jesus of Suburbia" — Green Day
"Just a Lil Bit" — 50 Cent
"Just the Girl" — The Click Five
"The Last Sunrise" - Aiden
"La Tortura" — Shakira featuring Alejandro Sanz
"Let Me Love You" — Mario
"Like Toy Soldiers" — Eminem
"Lonely" — Akon
"Lonely No More" — Rob Thomas
"Lose Control" — Missy Elliott featuring Fatman Scoop
"Lyla" — Oasis
"Mockingbird" — Eminem
"Must Get Out" — Maroon 5
"My Humps" — The Black Eyed Peas
"No Reason" — Sum 41
"Obsession (No Es Amor)" — Frankie J featuring Baby Bash
"Oh" — Ciara featuring Ludacris
"Ohio (Come Back to Texas)" — Bowling for Soup
"Only" — Nine Inch Nails
"The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" — Panic! at the Disco
"Only One" — Yellowcard
"Photograph" — Nickelback
"Pieces" — Sum 41
"Pon de Replay" — Rihanna
"Pot of Gold" — Akon
"Predictable" — Good Charlotte
"Pressure" — Paramore
"Push the Button — Sugababes
"Ready To Fly" - Richard Marx
"Rich Girl" — Gwen Stefani featuring Eve
"Rough Justice" — The Rolling Stones
"Run It!" — Chris Brown featuring Juelz Santana
"Scars" — Papa Roach
"Shake It Off" — Mariah Carey
"Shut Up!" - Simple Plan
"Since U Been Gone" — Kelly Clarkson (#1 on Radio Top 40 of 2005)
"Soldier" — Destiny's Child
"Some Say" — Sum 41
"Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" — U2
"Speed of Sound" — Coldplay
"Stickwitu" — The Pussycat Dolls
"Sugar, We're Goin Down" — Fall Out Boy
"Switch" — Will Smith
"These Words (I Love You)" — Natasha Bedingfield
"U Don't Know Me" T.I.
"Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)" — Simple Plan
"Wake Me Up When September Ends" — Green Day
"We Be Burnin'" — Sean Paul
"We Believe" — Good Charlotte
"We Belong Together" — Mariah Carey (#2 on Radio Top 40 of 2005)
"We Don't Care Anymore" - Story of the Year
"Welcome to My Life" — Simple Plan
"We're All to Blame" — Sum 41
"When I'm Gone" — Eminem
"You and Me" — Lifehouse
"You're Beautiful" — James Blunt
"2 Bajki" - Virgin
"Aún hay algo" - RBD
"Bokutachi no Yukue" - Hitomi Takahashi
"C'est les vacances" - Ilona Mitrecey
"Come se non fosse stato mai amore" - Laura Pausini
"Dans ma fusée" - Ilona Mitrecey
"Den döda vinkeln" - Kent
"Écris l'histoire" - Grégory Lemarchal
"Fuck Them All" - Mylène Farmer
"Gasolina" - Daddy Yankee
"Glósóli" - Sigur Rós
"Jing! Jingeling! Der Weihnachtsschnappi!" - Schnappi
"Le Casse de Brice" - Jean Dujardin
"Liebt sie dich so wie ich?" - Christina Stürmer
"Ma Philosophie" - Amel Bent
"Me pregunto" - Belanova
"Mon Plus Beau Noël" - Johnny Hallyday
"Per Sempre (for Always)" - Anthony Callea
"Po Tebe" - Toše Proeski
"San ou (La Rivière)" - Dezil'
"Santiano" - Star Academy
"Say Na Say Na" - Aneela Mirza
"Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil" - Schnappi
"Space Soap (La Soupe aux choux)" - Mister Cosmic vs Fat Dog
"T'es pas cap Pinocchio" - Pinocchio
"Un Monde parfait" - Ilona Mitrecey
Kalevi Aho – Clarinet Concerto
Louis Andriessen – De Opening
Leonardo Balada – Symphony No. 6 Symphony of Sorrows
Joël-François Durand – String Quartet
Lorenzo Ferrero – Macuilli Mexihcateteouh (Five Aztec Gods), for string quartet
Christian Forshaw – Mortal Flesh
Philip Glass
Symphony No. 7
Symphony No. 8
Alun Hoddinott – Celebration Fanfare (one-off composition for the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales)
Mehdi Hosseini – Symphony of Monody
Karl Jenkins – Requiem: In These Horizons Stones Sing
Peter Maxwell Davies
Naxos Quartet No. 6
Naxos Quartet No. 7
Krzysztof Penderecki – Symphony No. 8 Lieder der Vergänglichkeit
Einojuhani Rautavaara
Book of Visions for orchestra
Manhattan Trilogy for strings
Marijn Simons – Smoking Mirror, for ensemble or chamber orchestra, Op. 32
Karlheinz Stockhausen –
Freude (Joy) for two harps
Himmels-Tür (Heaven's Door) for a percussionist and a little girl
John Tavener - Fragment for the Virgin, written for violinist Nicola Benedetti.
Stephen Warbeck – Peter Pan (ballet)
Ian Wilson – Sullen Earth (concerto)
Mark Adamo – Lysistrata, or The Nude Goddess
John Coolidge Adams – Doctor Atomic
Philippe Boesmans – Julie
Richard Danielpour – Margaret Garner
Matthew Dewey – The Death of Chatterton
Lorenzo Ferrero – La Conquista
Nicholas Lens – The Accacha Chronicles Trilogy: Amor Aeternus – Hymns of Love
Lorin Maazel – 1984
Roger Scruton - Violet
Roger Waters – Ça Ira
Acorn Antiques: The Musical! - London production opened at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, in February
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - Broadway production opened at the Circle in the Square Theatre on May 2 and ran for 1136 performances
All Shook Up (Joe DiPietro) – Broadway production opened at the Palace Theatre on March 24 and ran for 213 performances
Billy Elliot the Musical (Elton John & Lee Hall) --London production opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in March
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – Broadway production opened at the Foxwoods Theatre (then the Hilton Theatre) on April 28 and ran for 285 performances
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on March 3 and ran for 627 performances
Good Vibrations - Broadway production opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on February 2 and ran for 94 performances
Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar opened at the Rialto Theatre, Madrid.
Lennon (John Lennon, Don Scardino) - Broadway production opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on August 14 and ran for 49 performances
The Light in the Piazza (Craig Lucas & Adam Guettel) – Broadway production opened at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on April 18 and ran for 504 performances
Little Women (Allan Knee, Mindi Dickstein & Jason Howland) – Broadway production opened at the Virginia Theatre on January 23 and ran for 137 performances
Monty Python's Spamalot - Chicago production opened at the Shubert Theatre
The Woman in White - Broadway production opened at the Marquis Theatre on November 17 and ran for 109 performances
Boss'n Up (December 6)
Confessions of a Thug
Corpse Bride
Hustle & Flow
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School
Mrs Henderson Presents starring Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins and Will Young
The Producers (December 16)
Rent (November 23)
Romance & Cigarettes
Walk the Line
August 3 – Owen Isabelle Landau, daughter of Michelle Branch and husband Teddy Landau
September 14 – Sean Preston Federline, son of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline
September 24 – Aiden Michael Bice, son of Bo Bice and wife Caroline Fisher.
January 11
Spencer Dryden, American drummer of Jefferson Airplane, 61
Jimmy Griffin, co-founder of Bread, 61
Miriam Hyde, Australian composer, 91
January 15 – Victoria de los Ángeles, Catalan soprano, 81
January 21 – Kaljo Raid, Estonian cellist and composer, 83
January 24 – June Bronhill, Australian soprano, 75
January 25 - Ray Peterson, pop singer, 65
January 28 – Jim Capaldi, British drummer and vocalist, 60
January 29 - Eric Griffiths, guitarist (The Quarrymen), 64
January 30 – Martyn Bennett, Scottish bagpiper, 33 (cancer)
February 1 – Franco Mannino, Italian composer, 80
February 3
David Hönigsberg, composer and conductor, 45
Andreas Makris, Greek-American violinist and composer, 74
February 6 - Merle Kilgore, singer-songwriter, 70
February 8
Helmut Eder, Austrian composer, 88
Keith Knudsen, drummer (The Doobie Brothers), 56
Jimmy Smith, American jazz organist, 77
February 9 – Tyrone Davis, American soul singer, 66
February 12 – Sammi Smith, American singer-songwriter, 61
February 13 – Sixten Ehrling, Swedish conductor, 86
February 16 – Marcello Viotti, Swiss conductor, 50 (stroke)
February 25 - Edward Patten, R&B/soul singer (Gladys Knight & the Pips), 65
February 28 – Chris Curtis, British drummer and vocalist, 63
March 4 – Una Hale, soprano, 82
March 6 – Tommy Vance, DJ, 63
March 9
Chris LeDoux, country music singer, 56
Kathie Kay, big band singer, 86
March 10 – Danny Joe Brown, former lead singer of Molly Hatchet, 53 (kidney failure)
March 13 - Lyn Collins, soul singer, 56
March 16 - Justin Hinds, Jamaican ska vocalist, 62
March 21 – Bobby Short, singer, 80
March 22 – Rod Price, guitarist, 57 (Foghat)
March 26 – Paul Hester, drummer for Crowded House and Split Enz, 46 (suicide)
March 27
Grant Johannesen, pianist, 83
Rigo Tovar, Mexican singer and composer, 58
March 28 – Moura Lympany, pianist, 88
March 30 – Derrick Plourde, former drummer Lagwagon and the Ataris, 33 (suicide)
April 2 – Alexander Brott, conductor and composer, 90
April 7 – Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer, 82
April 10 – Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist, 82
April 11 - Jerry Byrd, lap steel guitarist, 85
April 12 – Ehud Manor, Israeli songwriter, 63
April 13 – Johnnie Johnson, American pianist, 80
April 14 – John Fred, pop singer, 64
April 18 – Kenneth Schermerhorn, conductor, 75
April 19
Bryan Ottoson, guitarist of American Head Charge, 27 (overdose)
Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish jazz bassist, 58
April 21 - Cyril Tawney, traditional singer, 74
April 23 – Robert Farnon, composer, arranger, 87
April 25 – Hasil Adkins, American rockabilly musician, 67
April 28 – Percy Heath, jazz musician, 81
May 8 – Nasrat Parsa, Afghan singer, 36 (murdered)
May 10 – David Wayne, former singer of Metal Church, 47 (injuries resulting from car crash)
May 12 - Frankie LaRocka, rock drummer and producer, 51
May 14 – Jimmy Martin, bluegrass musician, 77
May 22 – Thurl Ravenscroft, US singer, 91
May 25
Ruth Laredo, pianist, 67
Domenic Troiano, guitarist The Guess Who, 59
May 29
Oscar Brown, jazz singer-songwriter, 78
George Rochberg, composer, 86
June 13 – David Diamond, American composer, 89
June 14 – Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor, 91
June 17 – Karl Mueller, bassist of Soul Asylum, 41
June 29 – Mikkel Flagstad, Norwegian saxophonist, 75
June 30 – Clancy Eccles, ska/reggae singer, 64 (complications after heart attack)
July 1
Luther Vandross, R&B singer, 54
Renaldo "Obie" Benson, R&B/soul singer (Four Tops), 69
July 5
Ray "Stingray" Davis, bassist (Parliament-Funkadelic), 65
Shirley Goodman, American singer (Shirley & Company), 69
July 6 – Richard Verreau, operatictenor, 79
July 7 – Henri Betti, French composer and pianist, 87
July 11 – Frances Langford, US singer and actress, 91
July 14 - Michael Dahlquist, drummer (Silkworm), 39 (car crash)
July 17 – Laurel Aitken, ska singer, heart attack, 78
July 18 – John Herald songwriter, musician, member of The Greenbriar Boys, 65
July 21 – Long John Baldry, R&B singer, 64
July 22 - Eugene Record, singer (The Chi-Lites), 64
July 23 – Myron Floren, accordionist, 85
July 27 – Robert Wright, songwriter, 90
July 29 – Hildegarde, US singer, 99
August 1 – Al Aronowitz, American music journalist, 77
August 4 – Little Milton, blues musician,70
August 6
Ibrahim Ferrer, Afro-Cuban singer, 78
Carlo Little, British studio musician, drummer, 67
August 13 – Arnold Cooke, British composer, 98
August 16 - Vassar Clements, fiddler, 77
August 21 – Robert Moog, electronic music pioneer, 71
August 22 – Luc Ferrari, composer, 76
August 26 – Denis D'Amour, guitarist of Voivod, 45
September 1
R. L. Burnside, blues musician, 78
Barry Cowsill, member of The Cowsills (ruled to have drowned during Hurricane Katrina, date of death approximate), 50
September 10 – Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, blues musician, 81
September 15
Jeronimas Kačinskas, Lithuanian-born composer and conductor, 98
Sidney Luft, ex-husband of Judy Garland, father of Lorna Luft, and producer of A Star Is Born, 89
September 17 – Alfred Reed, American composer of concert band music, 84
September 18
Chas Smit, vocalist and guitarist of Plush, 23
Joel Hirschhorn, American songwriter, 66
September 19
Willie Hutch, singer, songwriter and producer, 60
William Vacchiano, trumpet player, 93
October 1 - Paul Pena, singer, songwriter and guitarist, 55
October 2 - Hamilton Camp, singer, songwriter and actor, 70
October 10 - Nick Hawkins, guitarist (Big Audio Dynamite II), 40
October 12 - Baker Knight, songwriter and musician, 72
October 18 – Marshall Rohner, guitarist for T.S.O.L., The Cruzados, 42
October 20 - Shirley Horn, jazz singer and pianist, 71
October 22 – Franky Gee (Captain Jack), 43 (cerebral haemorrhage)
October 31 – John "Beatz" Holohan, drummer for Bayside, 31 (road accident)
November 4 – Mana Nishiura, drummer (Shonen Knife, DMBQ), 34 (car accident)
November 5 - Link Wray, rock and roll guitarist and singer, 76
November 6 – Minako Honda, Japanese singer, 38 (leukemia)
November 10 – Gardner Read, American composer, 92
November 20
Fritz Richmond, jug and washtub bass musician, 66
Chris Whitley, singer-songwriter, 45 (lung cancer)
November 26
Mark Craney, drummer (Jethro Tull, Jean-Luc Ponty), 53
Joe Jones, 79
November 28 – Tony Meehan, former drummer of The Shadows, 62
November 29 – Deon van der Walt, tenor, 47 (shot)
December 8 – Danny Williams, singer, 63
December 9 - Mike Botts, drummer, 61
December 24 – Constance Keene, American pianist, 84
December 25
Derek Bailey, guitarist, 75
Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano, 87
ARIA Music Awards of 2005
2005 BRIT Awards
Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Grammy Awards of 2005
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Juno Awards of 2005
Mercury Prize 2005
Triple J Hottest 100, 2005
André Previn (laureate), Roman Potkoló (protégé)
