1971 in music



List of notable events in music that took place in the year 1971.

Events

 * February 1 – After months of feuding in the press, Ginger Baker and Elvin Jones hold a "drum battle" at The Lyceum.
 * February 3 – Davy Jones announces he is leaving the Monkees.
 * February 8 – Bob Dylan's hour-long documentary film, Eat the Document, is premièred at New York's Academy of Music. The film includes footage from Dylan's 1966 UK tour.
 * February 16 – Alan Passaro of the Hells Angels, who was acquitted on January 19 of the stabbing death of Meredith Hunter at the Altamont Speedway in 1969, files a lawsuit against The Rolling Stones for invasion of privacy because the documentary film Gimme Shelter showed the stabbing.
 * March 1 – The line-up for Queen is completed when bassist John Deacon joins the band.
 * March 4 – The Rolling Stones open their UK tour in Newcastle upon Tyne, intended as a "farewell" to the UK prior to the band's relocation to France as "tax exiles".
 * March 5 – Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland, sees the first live performance of Led Zeppelin's iconic song "Stairway to Heaven".
 * March 6 - The Soul to Soul concert takes place in Accra, Ghana, headlined by Wilson Pickett.
 * March 12-13 – The Allman Brothers Band records its live album, At Fillmore East.
 * March 16 – The 13th Grammy Awards, honoring musical accomplishments of 1970, are presented. The ceremonies are broadcast on live television for the first time.
 * April 3 – The 16th Eurovision Song Contest, held in the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, is won by Monaco with the song "Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue" sung by Séverine.
 * April 6 – The Rolling Stones hold a party in Cannes to officially announce their new contract with Atlantic and the launch of Rolling Stones Records.
 * May 12 – Mick Jagger marries Bianca de Macías in Saint-Tropez, France, in a Roman Catholic ceremony. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and their wives are among the wedding guests.
 * June - Rafael Kubelík becomes music director of the Metropolitan Opera, New York, at the invitation of Göran Gentele, the new general manager.
 * June 6 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono join Frank Zappa on stage at the Fillmore East for an encore jam. The performance would be released the following year on the Some Time in New York City album.
 * June 8 – Carole King gives her first live concert, at Carnegie Hall.
 * June 20-24 – The first Glastonbury Festival to take place at the summer solstice is held in South West England. Performers include David Bowie, Traffic, Fairport Convention, Quintessence and Hawkwind.
 * June 27 – Promoter Bill Graham closes the Fillmore East in New York City with a final concert featuring The Allman Brothers Band, The Beach Boys and Mountain.
 * July 3 – Jim Morrison is found dead in a bath tub in Paris, France, aged 27. Alain Ronay would claim, years later, that he assisted Morrison's lover, Pamela Courson, in covering up the circumstances.
 * July 4 – The Fillmore West is closed in San Francisco with a final show featuring Santana, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Grateful Dead.
 * July 9 – Grand Funk Railroad becomes only the second band (after The Beatles) to perform a sold-out concert at Shea Stadium breaking The Beatles record of selling out the venue.
 * August 1
 * The Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden, New York, starring George Harrison, Ravi Shankar, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan and Leon Russell; also featuring Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Jesse Ed Davis and Badfinger.
 * The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour premieres on CBS.
 * August 14 - The Who release their fifth studio album Who's Next, reaching No. 1 in the UK and No. 1 in the US.
 * September 11 – The Jackson 5ive, a Saturday morning cartoon series based on the popular Motown group The Jackson 5, premieres on ABC.
 * September 11-12 – The Avandaro rock festival takes place in Valle de Bravo (Mexico) with an estimated attendance of 300,000.
 * October 5 – Black Sabbath perform the first set of their Whisky a Go Go performance in all-white tuxedos.
 * November 6 – Cher earned her first solo number one hit in US (Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves) staying atop for two consecutive weeks. Eventually the song was certified gold.
 * November 8 – Led Zeppelin release officially untitled fourth studio album, which would become the biggest-selling album of the year (1972), the band's biggest-selling album, and the fourth best-selling album of all time.
 * December 1 – Belgian singing duo Nicole & Hugo are married at Wemmel.
 * December 4 – The Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland, catches fire and burns during a performance by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention when a fan fires a flare gun into its rafters. Members of Deep Purple, who were due to begin recording at the casino the next day, watched the scene from their hotel across Lake Geneva, and later immortalized the events in their song, "Smoke on the Water".
 * December 10 – Frank Zappa breaks his leg after being pushed off the stage by a deranged fan at The Rainbow in London.
 * December 31 – Bob Dylan makes a surprise appearance for the encore of The Band's New Year's Eve concert at the Academy of Music, joining the group for four songs including "Like a Rolling Stone".
 * Lancelot Layne's "Blown Away" is the beginning of rapso music.
 * Ann Wilson joins Heart, which moves to Vancouver, British Columbia.
 * Kenny Rogers and The First Edition issued their Greatest Hits album, which will sell over 4 million copies worldwide by the end of the decade. They also star in their own TV series Rollin' on the River which runs until 1974.
 * Brad Whitford replaces Ray Tabano on rhythm guitar in Aerosmith
 * Elton John has first international hit with "Your Song".
 * Donna Summer begins her recording career under her real name of Donna Gaines.
 * Rick Springfield leaves Zoot for a solo career.
 * Rick Wakeman joins Yes.
 * Conrad Schnitzler leaves Kluster, which dissolves.
 * The Beach Boys musician Daryl Dragon and singer Toni Tennille meet and begin to perform together as Captain & Tennille.
 * The American Musical Instrument Society is founded.

Bands formed

 * See Musical groups established in 1971

Bands reformed

 * The Crystals

Bands disbanded

 * Booker T. & the M.G.'s
 * Derek and the Dominos
 * The Monkees
 * See also Musical groups disestablished in 1971

Singles

 * 1) Move On Up Curtis Mayfield
 * 2) What's Going On Marvin Gaye

Published popular music

 * "The Age of Not Believing"    w.m. Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, from the film Bedknobs and Broomsticks
 * "Always on My Mind"    w.m. Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson Thompson
 * "American Pie"    w.m. Don McLean
 * "And I Love You So"    w.m. Don McLean
 * "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda    w.m. Eric Bogle (written)
 * "Baby I'm-a Want You"    w.m. David Gates
 * "Been on a Train"    w.m. Laura Nyro
 * "Ben"    w. Don Black m. Walter Scharf
 * "Brown Earth"    w.m. Laura Nyro
 * "The Candy Man"    w.m. Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley, from the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
 * "Day By Day"    w. John Michael Tebelak m. Stephen Schwartz
 * "Eagle Rock"    w.m. Ross Wilson
 * "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" w.m. Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb
 * "I Am Woman"    w. Helen Reddy m. Ray Burton
 * "I Don't Know How to Love Him" w. Tim Rice m. Andrew Lloyd Webber. Introduced by Yvonne Elliman in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar
 * "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing"    w.m. B. Backer, B. Davis, R. Cook & R. Greenaway
 * "I'm Still Here"    w.m. Stephen Sondheim
 * "Imagine w.m. John Lennon
 * "Kiss an Angel Good Morning"    w.m. Ben Peters
 * "Knock Three Times"    w.m. Irwin Levine
 * "The Last Farewell"    w.m. Roger Whittaker & Ron A. Webster
 * "Losing My Mind"    w.m. Stephen Sondheim
 * "Maggie May" w.m. Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton
 * "Pure Imagination"    w.m. Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley, from the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
 * "Riders on the Storm"    w.m. The Doors
 * "Stairway to Heaven"    w. Robert Plant m. Jimmy Page
 * "Substitutiary Locomotion"    w.m. Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, from the film Bedknobs and Broomsticks
 * "The Summer Knows"     w. Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman m. Michel Legrand from the film Summer of '42
 * "Those Were the Days" w. Lee Adams, m. Charles Strouse, from the TV series All in the Family
 * "Too Many Mornings"    w.m. Stephen Sondheim
 * "Avec le Temps" – Dalida
 * "Mamy Blue" – Dalida
 * "Queen of the Hours" w.m. Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood

Births

 * January 8 – Karen Poole (Alisha's Attic)
 * January 9 – Angie Martinez, American rapper and radio talk host
 * January 11
 * Mary J. Blige, American singer
 * Tom Rowlands (Chemical Brothers)
 * Stuart Davis, lyricist
 * January 13 – Lee Agnew (Nazareth)
 * January 17 – Kid Rock, singer and rapper
 * January 18 – Jonathan Davis (KoЯn)
 * January 19 – John Wozniak, American singer and songwriter (Marcy Playground)
 * January 20
 * Gary Barlow, British singer-songwriter (Take That)
 * Questlove, American musician, composer, producer, photographer and author
 * January 21 – Tweet, American singer
 * January 22 – Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, indigenous Australian ethnic singer and musician (d. 2017)
 * January 25 – China Kantner (Daughter of Grace Slick and Paul Kantner)
 * January 27 – Lil Jon, rapper and producer
 * January 28 – Anthony Hamilton, American singer
 * February 1 – Ron Welty (The Offspring)
 * February 2
 * Michelle Gayle, British singer
 * Ben Mize (Counting Crows)
 * February 3 – Christian Liljegren, Swedish singer-songwriter (Narnia, Audiovision and Divinefire)
 * February 5 – Sara Evans, American singer
 * February 13 – Sonia, English pop singer
 * February 16
 * Amanda Holden, British actress and singer
 * Steven Houghton, British actor and singer
 * February 18 – Merritt Gant, American guitarist (Overkill)
 * February 19 – Gil Shaham, violinist
 * February 26 – Erykah Badu, American singer
 * February 26 – Max Martin, Pop music writer and producer NSYNC, Britney Spears
 * February 27 – Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, singer (TLC)
 * March 4 – Fergal Lawler Irish drummer (The Cranberries)
 * March 6 – Betty Boo, singer
 * March 9 – C-Murder, American rapper
 * March 10 – Timbaland, American rapper/singer
 * March 11 – Erin O'Donnell, American Christian musician
 * March 21 – John Hendy, British singer (East 17)
 * March 29 – Attila Csihar, Hungarian vocalist (Mayhem)
 * March 31 – Ewan McGregor, actor and singer
 * April 1 – Method Man, American rapper
 * April 2 – Zeebra, Japanese rapper
 * April 3 – Wes Berggren, American musician
 * April 4 – Josh Todd, American rock singer (Buckcherry)
 * April 11 – Oliver Riedel, German musician (Rammstein)
 * April 16 – Selena (Quintanilla), American Tejano singer (k. 1995)
 * April 20 – Mikey Welsh (Weezer)
 * April 24
 * Mauro Pawlowski, Belgian guitar player and singer (Evil Superstars, Deus)
 * Alejandro Fernández, Mexican singer
 * April 29
 * Siniša Vuco, Croatian musician
 * Tamara Johnson-George, American singer (SWV)
 * May 3 – Damon Dash, record label executive
 * May 6 – Chris Shiflett, American rock musician (Foo Fighters)
 * May 9 – Paul McGuigan British bassist (Oasis)
 * May 10 – Craig Mack, American rapper
 * May 17 – Vernie Bennett, British singer (Eternal)
 * May 22 – Raimund Marasigan, drummer (Eraserheads)
 * May 27 – Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, American rapper and songwriter TLC (d. 2002)
 * May 30
 * Patrick Dahlheimer, Live
 * Idina Menzel, American actress and singer
 * May 31 – Adam Walton, British DJ
 * June 1 – Mario Cimarro, Cuban actor and singer
 * June 5 – Mark Wahlberg, American rapper and actor
 * June 9 – Erika Miklósa, Hungarian coloratura soprano
 * June 15 – Bif Naked, singer
 * June 16 – Tupac Shakur, rapper (d. 1996)
 * June 17 – Paulina Rubio, Mexican singer
 * June 18 – Nathan Morris American singer (Boyz II Men)
 * June 20 – Jeordie White, American singer-songwriter and bass player (Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, Goon Moon and The Desert Sessions)
 * June 21 – Anette Olzon, Swedish singer (Nightwish)
 * June 27 – DJ Screw, rapper (d. 2000)
 * June 29 – Matthew Good, Canadian musician
 * July 1 – Missy Elliott, American singer
 * July 4 – Andy Creeggan, Canadian guitarist and pianist (Barenaked Ladies and The Brothers Creeggan)
 * July 11 – Leisha Hailey, American musician and actress
 * July 12 – MC Breed, American rapper (d. 2008)
 * July 13 – Jason Reece, American guitarist and drummer (...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead and A Roman Scandal)
 * July 16 – Ed Kowalczyk, Live
 * July 17 – DJ Minutemix, P.M. Dawn
 * July 20 – DJ Screw, American hip hop deejay (d. 2000)
 * July 21 – Charlotte Gainsbourg, French actress and singer-songwriter
 * July 23
 * Alison Krauss, American singer
 * Scott Krippayne, American Christian musician
 * Dalvin DeGrate, American rapper (Jodeci)
 * July 30 – Calogero, singer
 * July 31 – John Lowery, American guitarist
 * August 3 – DJ Spinderella, American rapper (Salt-n-Pepa)
 * August 4 – Yo-Yo, rapper
 * August 7 – Rachel York, American actress and singer
 * August 12 – Phil Western, Canadian musician
 * August 17
 * Anthony Kearns, Irish tenor
 * Ed Motta, Brazilian soul and jazz musician
 * August 18 – Richard D. James, Irish musician
 * August 20 – Fred Durst, American singer (Limp Bizkit)
 * August 23 – Bone Crusher, American rapper
 * August 26 – Thalía, Mexican actress and singer
 * August 27 – Julian Cheung, Hong Kong actor and singer
 * August 28 – Neil Ekberg, Drummer (Black Market Baby and Tesco Vee's Hate Police)
 * August 30 – Lars Frederiksen (Rancid)
 * September 1 – DJ Cocoa Chanelle, djer
 * September 6 – Dolores O'Riordan, Irish vocalist (The Cranberries)
 * September 11 – Richard Ashcroft, British singer and songwriter
 * September 18 – Anna Netrebko, operatic soprano
 * September 19 – D-Flame, hip-hop and reggae performer
 * September 21 – Alfonso Ribeiro, American actor, singer and dancer
 * September 24 – Marty Cintron American singer (No Mercy)
 * September 28 – A. J. Croce, singer-songwriter and son of Jim Croce
 * October 2
 * Tiffany, American singer
 * Jim Root, guitarist for Slipknot
 * LeShaun, American rapper
 * October 3 – Kevin Richardson American singer (Backstreet Boys)
 * October 4 – Brian Transeau, American disc jockey
 * October 5 – South Park Mexican, American rapper
 * October 10 – Evgeny Kissin, Russian pianist
 * October 11 – MC Lyte, American rapper
 * October 17
 * Chris Kirkpatrick, American singer 'N Sync
 * Derrick Plourde (The Ataris) (died 2005)
 * October 20
 * Dannii Minogue, Australian singer
 * Snoop Dogg, American rapper
 * October 25
 * Athena Chu, Hong Kong actress and singer
 * Midori Gotō, Japanese violinist
 * October 26 – Anthony Rapp, American singer and actor
 * October 30 – John Alford, British singer and actor
 * November 5 – Jonny Greenwood, British musician, songwriter and composer
 * November 6 – Joey Beltram, DJ and record producer
 * November 8 – Tech N9ne, American rapper
 * November 12 – Tom Shear, American musician and producer
 * November 13 – Buddy Zabala, bassist (Eraserheads)
 * November 16 – Annely Peebo, operatic mezzo-soprano
 * November 18 – Özlem Tekin, Turkish singer
 * December 8 – Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
 * December 16 – Michael McCary, American singer (Boyz II Men)
 * December 20 – Roger J. Beaujard, American musician
 * December 24 – Ricky Martin, Puerto Rican singer
 * December 25
 * Dido, English singer
 * Noel Hogan Irish guitarist (The Cranberries)
 * December 31 – Marcus Adoro, lead guitarist (Eraserheads)
 * Date unknown – Simon O'Neill, New Zealand opera singer

Deaths

 * January 19 – Harry Shields, American musician (b. 1899)
 * February 1 – Harry Roy, British bandleader (b. 1900)
 * February 7 – Dock Boggs, banjo player (b. 1898)
 * March 6 – Thurston Dart, English harpsichordist and conductor (b. 1921)
 * March 17 – Piero Coppola, Italian conductor, pianist and composer, 82
 * March 21 – Nan Wynn, US singer (b. 1915)
 * March 26 – Harold McNair, saxophonist and flute player (b. 1931) (lung cancer)
 * March 30 – Harold Craxton, pianist and composer, 85
 * March 31 – Karl King, composer and bandleader (b. 1891)
 * April 6 – Igor Stravinsky, composer (b. 1882)
 * April 17 – Carmen Lombardo, US singer, composer and saxophonist, 67
 * May 2 – Edith Day, US actress, singer and dancer (b. 1896)
 * May 30 – Marcel Dupré, organist and composer (b. 1886)
 * June 11 – Ambrose, English bandleader and violinist (b. 1896)
 * June 18 – Libby Holman, US singer and actress (b. 1906)
 * June 26 – Inia Te Wiata, New Zealand Māori bass-baritone opera singer, 56 (cancer)
 * July 3 – Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, 27 (heart failure, disupted)
 * July 6 – Louis Armstrong, US jazz pioneer, 69 (heart attack)
 * July 25 – Leroy Robertson, American composer, 74
 * August 9 – Leslie Kong, Jamaican record producer (b. 1933)
 * August 13 – King Curtis, jazz and blues musician (b. 1934) (murdered)
 * August 15 – Edythe Baker, boogie-woogie pianist, 71
 * August 17 – Tab Smith, saxophonist, 62
 * August 25 – Ted Lewis, singer and bandleader, 81
 * August 27 – Lil Hardin Armstrong, wife and musical collaborator of Louis Armstrong, 73
 * September 13 – George Lambert, operatic baritone and voice teacher, 70
 * October 2 – Bola de Nieve, Cuban singer, pianist, and songwriter, 60
 * October 3 – Seán Ó Riada, composer and bandleader, 40 (cirrhosis of liver)
 * October 12 – Gene Vincent, singer, 36 (stomach ulcer)
 * October 24 – Carl Ruggles, composer, 95
 * October 29 – Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band, 24 (motorcycle accident)
 * November 4 – Ann Pennington, American actress & dancer, 77
 * November 18 – Junior Parker, blues musician, 39 (brain tumour)
 * November 22 – Zez Confrey, popular composer and pianist, 76
 * December 8 – Marie Collier, operatic soprano, 44 (death from a fall)
 * December 21 – Charlie Fuqua, vocalist (The Ink Spots)
 * December 28 – Max Steiner, composer, 83
 * date unknown – Marie-Anne Asselin, operatic mezzo-soprano and voice teacher

Grammy Awards

 * Grammy Awards of 1971

Country Music Association Awards

 * Entertainer of the Year: Charley Pride
 * Top Male Vocalist: Charley Pride
 * Top Female Vocalist: Lynn Anderson
 * Top Vocal Group: Osborne Brothers
 * Top Instrumental Group: Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass
 * Top Vocal Duo: Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
 * Single of the Year: "Help Me Make It Through The Night" – Sammi Smith
 * Song of the Year: "Easy Loving" – Freddie Hart
 * Album of the Year: I Won't Mention It Again – Ray Price
 * Musician of the Year: Jerry Reed

Eurovision Song Contest

 * Eurovision Song Contest 1971
 * Séverine (of Monaco) for "Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue"