Events in 2013
- Nielsen SoundScan reported that U.S. album sales for the week ending July 28 totaled 4.68 million units, the lowest figure since the tracking system was introduced in 1991.
- Nat Weiss, a lawyer and manager associated, among other things, with Beatles merchandising in the United States, died in New York City.
- Jahmene Douglas reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart with his debut album “Love Never Fails.”
- Singer, keyboardist, composer and producer George Duke, known for his work with Frank Zappa and the Clarke/Duke Project with Stanley Clarke, died in Los Angeles at the age of 67 from chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
- Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman of The Turtles filed a $100 million class-action lawsuit against SiriusXM over the use of older recordings. The case was settled in 2016 for $99 million.
- Elvis Presley's recording sessions at Stax Records in Memphis were released together for the first time as “Elvis at Stax: Deluxe Edition.” The three-disc box set also contained alternate recordings and rare photographs from the July and December 1973 sessions and reached No. 70 on the UK album chart.
- Cowboy Jack Clement, a songwriter and producer who worked with, among others, Johnny Cash, died at the age of 82 in Nashville, Tennessee, from liver cancer.
- Eydie Gorme, a respected nightclub and television singer, died at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center at the age of 84 after a short, unspecified illness. She was survived by her husband Steve Lawrence, to whom she had been married for 56 years, and her son, songwriter David Nessim Lawrence. She was best known for her 1963 hit “Blame It on the Bossa Nova,” which reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Between 1956 and 1964, she had six more songs on the Hot 100 and won Grammy and Emmy Awards.
- Jody Payne, guitarist for The Family, Willie Nelson's backing band, died at the age of 77 from heart complications in Stapleton, Alabama.
- Katy Perry's single “Roar” was released to US radio stations.
- Welsh operatic duo Richard & Adam began a four-week run at No. 1 on the UK chart with “The Impossible Dream”.
- The drummer of The Charlatans died at the age of 44. He had been undergoing treatment for a brain tumor since 2010 after suffering a seizure during a tour.
- Luke Bryan released the album Crash My Party, which was later named Billboard Album of the Year for 2014.
- A founding member of Blue Öyster Cult died in Manhattan, New York, at the age of 67 from complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (C.O.P.D.) after a long battle with lung disease.
- Michael Jackson's former wife testified at the Los Angeles Superior Court in a civil case concerning the death of her former husband. She said that Michael had a very low tolerance for pain and that some doctors treating his pain tried to determine who could provide him with the best pain medication.
- Miley Cyrus reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with the song “We Can't Stop”.
- Robin Thicke reached No. 1 on the US album chart with his sixth studio album, Blurred Lines. The album also reached No. 1 in Canada, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
- The phrase “bro-country” first appeared in an article by Jody Rosen in New York magazine, where he used it to describe Florida Georgia Line’s song “Cruise”. Rosen called Luke Bryan the king of the genre, which he described as “music by and for the tattooed, muscular, party-minded young white American”.
- Lady Gaga asked her fans to stop making online threats against her critics. She said she did not approve of hateful or abusive behavior toward others and that such a way of dealing with emotions was not healthy. Some of her fans had sent death threats on Twitter to dance music producer Deadmau5, who had criticized Gaga over her video collaboration with artist Marina Abramović.
- Richie Havens’ ashes were scattered from an airplane over the site of the original Woodstock concert in New York State. Havens was the first performer at the 1969 Woodstock festival and made history with his performance of “Freedom”. He died the previous April at the age of 72 from a heart attack.
- After her appearance at the V Festival in Britain, Beyoncé was reportedly said to have spent nearly £1,500 at a Nando's branch in Essex. The bill posted on Twitter included 48 whole chickens, 24 portions of coleslaw, 58 portions of chicken wings and 48 portions of fries. The branch manager confirmed that a member of her entourage had placed the order by phone.
- Music promoter Sid Bernstein, best known for arranging The Beatles' concerts at Carnegie Hall and later at Shea Stadium, died in Manhattan, New York, at the age of 95. In the 1960s, he brought The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, The Moody Blues and The Kinks to America. He also worked as manager of The (Young) Rascals and singer Tony Bennett. He was the first promoter to organize rock concerts in sports stadiums.
- A man found in the pool house at Jennifer Lopez's estate in the exclusive Hamptons area of New York was charged with stalking. John Dubis, a former firefighter, was reportedly subject to a restraining order keeping him away from the singer and was also charged with burglary, contempt of court and possession of burglary tools.
- In an interview with AARP Magazine, Linda Ronstadt revealed that she had Parkinson's disease, which had ended her singing career in 2009 and made her unable to sing. She used walking sticks when walking on uneven terrain and travelled with a wheelchair.
- Ellie Goulding began a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart with „Burn“.
- A black knitted tie once owned by John Lennon was auctioned in Liverpool for £3,627. Lennon had given it to Joyce McWilliam, a regular visitor to the Cavern Club, in 1962.
- Folk duo The Civil Wars, consisting of Joy Williams and John Paul White, reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 with their self-titled second and final studio album, but broke up without ever performing songs from the album live.
- Miley Cyrus released “Wrecking Ball”, which became her first number-one song following the release of its controversial video. Nine weeks later the song returned to the top.
- N Sync reunited for a performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, where Justin Timberlake received the Video Vanguard Award. It was their first joint performance since 2004.
- After the Internal Revenue Service accused the Michael Jackson estate of undervaluing some of Jackson's assets by hundreds of millions of dollars, it assessed the estate $702 million in federal taxes and penalties. The valuation dispute continued for almost ten years.
- The band Alabama reunited to mark the 40th anniversary of their founding for the album “Alabama & Friends”, a tribute album featuring some of their biggest hits performed by contemporary country artists such as Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith and Jason Aldean.
- Madonna was named by Forbes as the highest-earning celebrity of the previous year. It estimated that she earned $125 million from the MDNA Tour and her clothing and beauty projects.
- Miley Cyrus's performance at the MTV Video Music Awards prompted a complaint from the American organization Parents Television Council because of its sexually suggestive nature.
- Fergie and her husband Josh Duhamel became parents to their first child, a son named Axl. Fergie said the name Axl came to her in a dream in which she watched Axl Rose perform.
- A 96-year-old man who wrote a song for his late wife reached the US iTunes Top 10 alongside Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. Fred Stobaugh had no previous musical experience and wrote the song spontaneously for a contest. He mailed in his handwritten lyrics, and although the contest was held entirely online, the organizers were so moved by his story that they set the lyrics to music. The song “Oh Sweet Lorraine” reached No. 7 on the US iTunes chart and received more than 1.9 million views on YouTube.
- A signed copy of John Lennon’s 1964 humorous book “In His Own Write” sold for more than $5,600 on eBay after 47 bids. The book contained short stories, poems and drawings.
- Cinemas across the UK handed out earplugs to parents accompanying their children to the film One Direction: This Is Us 3D. The accompanying adults could therefore enjoy the film without worrying about the expected loud screaming and cheering in the theaters.
- Luke Bryan reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 for the first time with his fourth studio album, "Crash My Party".
- Singer, bassist and guitarist Joe Kelley of The Shadows of Knight died in Winfield, Illinois, at the age of 67 from lung cancer. The group became known for their cover of “Gloria” by Them, which reached No. 10 on the Billboard chart in 1966. After leaving the group in 1967, he later performed with blues figures including Willie Dixon, Buddy Miles and Freddie King.
- The Beatles' classic albums were awarded platinum status after the British Phonographic Industry changed the rules for sales awards. Sgt. Pepper's became triple platinum, while Revolver, Help!, Rubber Soul and The White Album also received platinum status.