1950s
- 1959 in music - Death of Billie Holiday, Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian composer and guitarist, Motown Records created; Motown's first hit (Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)"); Miles Davis - Kind of Blue, Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um; My Eyes Have Seen is the third influential album by American folk singer Odetta who was an important voice of the folk music revival movement in the early 1960s, birth of 1980s pop-star Pete Burns (from Dead or Alive). Bobby Darin's Mack the Knife hits No. 1 and remains there for nine weeks.
- 1958 in music Death of Ralph Vaughan Williams; Cannonball Adderley records Somethin' Else; Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Moanin'; Bruce Dickinson, Nikki Sixx, Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson are born. Born Bossa Nova a Brazilian kind of music. Carl Ruggles, Exhaltation in honour of his late wife, Charlotte. Cliff Richard and The Drifters release Move It, considered Britain's first rock and roll hit single. Little Richard enters seminary.
- 1957 in music - Death of Jean Sibelius; That'll Be the Day" by Buddy Holly and The Crickets becomes a US #1 hit; Harry Belafonte has a big hit that reached number five on the Billboard charts with the calypso song "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)"; At the Gate of Horn is the second solo album by American folk singer Odetta who was a seminal influence on the folksingers of the 1960s. John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet in Liverpool.
- 1956 in music - The first Eurovision Song Contest is held on 24 May, Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show; Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues is the influential debut solo album by American folk singer Odetta.
- 1955 in music - Death of Charlie Parker, "Rock Around the Clock" becomes first worldwide #1 rock and roll record; Little Richard records Tutti-Frutti, one of the first rock and roll songs; Birth of Yo-Yo Ma, Harry James signs with Capital releasing Harry James in Hi-Fi, Lonnie Donegan released "Rock Island Line".
- 1954 in music - Elvis Presley releases "That's Alright Mama" on Sun Records; First Fender Stratocaster produced
- 1953 in music - Death of Hank Williams, Death of Sergei Prokofiev, Soviet composer and pianist
- 1952 in music, 1952 in music (UK) - Birth of Joe Strummer, Johnny Thunders, The official UK singles chart is launched; Recording Industry Association of America (or RIAA) established
- 1951 in music - "Rocket 88" is recorded by Ike Turner and hailed as the first rock 'n' roll song; The Rake's Progress by Igor Stravinsky premieres in Venice
- 1950 in music - Birth of Stevie Wonder. Death of Kurt Weill, Al Jolson, Vaslav Nijinsky
Read more about this topic: Timeline Of Musical Events