Pick a Day

Music History Events: Awards and Honors

November 1, 2004 EMI pays tribute to Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who celebrates 50 years recording for the company. In a rare appearance at a private party at EMI's London headquarters, Rostropovich is presented with a golden Neumann microphone and a plaque commemorating the 100 recordings he has made with the company since 1954.

October 3, 2004 VH1 holds its first Hip-Hop Honors, giving awards to DJ Hollywood, DJ Kool Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy (who also perform), Rock Steady Crew, Run-D.M.C., Tupac and The Sugarhill Gang.

September 20, 2004 Billy Joel gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

August 28, 2004 Lou Rawls is awarded an honorary doctorate from Ohio's Wilberforce University in recognition of his charity work with the United Negro College Fund and his "lifelong service to the education of historically disadvantaged populations."

July 31, 2004 It's "Mac Davis Day" in Lubbock, Texas, home of the songwriter who composed such classics as "In The Ghetto" and "A Little Less Conversation."

June 24, 2004 Doris Day receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

June 23, 2004 St. Andrews University in Scotland presents Bob Dylan with an honorary doctorate in Music.

May 27, 2004 The Bee Gees are made Commanders of the Order of the British Empire by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace; Maurice's son Adam accepts on behalf of his father, who'd just died six months earlier.

March 20, 2004 Quincy Jones receives an honorary doctorate in Music from The University of Washington.

March 15, 2004 The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inducts Bob Seger, George Harrison, The Dells, ZZ Top, Jackson Browne, Prince, and Traffic at their annual ceremony in New York City.

February 17, 2004 The Darkness win Brit Awards for Best British group, Best British Rock Act and Best British Album (Permission to Land). Busted wins for the British Breakthrough Award and takes Best Pop Act.

January 1, 2004 Charles Aznavour is named a Commander in the French Legion of Honor.

November 15, 2003 Alejandro Fernandez, Bacilos and Mana are the big winners at Mexico's second Premios Oye! in Mexico City, taking home two awards each. Fernandez is named Best Ranchero Act, and his "Nina Amada Mia" wins Best Popular (regional Mexican) Song. Bacilos wins Best Pop Group and Best Pop Song for "Caraluna." Mana wins Best Rock Group; its Revolucion de Amor is voted Album of the Year.

November 10, 2003 An emotional tribute to the recently deceased Johnny Cash is held at Nashville's famous Ryman Auditorium, featuring classic Cash songs performed by Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Kid Rock, and Steve Earle.

November 6, 2003 Justin Timberlake wins for Best Male Artist, Best Pop Act and Best Album (Justified) at the 10th annual MTV Europe Music Awards.

October 23, 2003 Mexican rap-rock band Molotov tops the second annual MTV Video Music Awards Latin America with four wins, including Video of the Year and Best Group.

October 12, 2003 Rapper 50 Cent takes home all five trophies for which he is nominated at the World Music Awards, held in Monaco. Russian teen duo t.A.T.u. picks up three awards, while Norah Jones and Eminem win two.

October 5, 2003 Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice collects the third annual Shortlist Music Prize, climaxing a four-and-a-half hour concert, featuring Rice and seven of the nine nominees at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. Styled as a US equivalent to Britain's Mercury Prize, the Shortlist Prize honors cutting-edge performers whose latest albums have sold less than 500,000 copies at the time of their nomination.

October 2, 2003 Despite trashing Radiohead's latest album Hail to the Thief, Q magazine gives them the award for Best Act In The World Today for the third consecutive year at their annual Q Awards in London. The band doesn't appear.

October 2, 2003 The Del McCoury Band wins top honors at the 14th annual International Bluegrass Music Awards in Louisville, Kentucky. The group takes home the Entertainer of the Year award for the eighth time. Band members Mike Bub and Jason Carter win in the instrumentalist categories for Bassist and Fiddler of the Year, respectively.

September 24, 2003 Gordon Lightfoot is inducted into the Canadian Songwriter Hall of Fame.

September 19, 2003 A week after his death at the age of 71, country legend Johnny Cash is bestowed with artist, song and album of the year awards at the Americana Music Awards ceremony in Nashville. Cash wins Song of the Year for his cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" and Album of the Year for American IV: The Man Comes Around, the fourth in a series produced by Rick Rubin.

August 16, 2003 The USPS unveils a new commemorative postage stamp of recently deceased composer Henry Mancini, famous for the Pink Panther theme and several other film works.

August 7, 2003 The Osmonds are awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

July 26, 2003 Vegas mainstay Tom Jones in inducted into the Gaming Hall Of Fame, along with Harrah's exec Phil Satre.

July 23, 2003 The US National Registry of Historic Places declares Memphis, Tennessee's Sun Studios, at 706 Union Avenue, a historic landmark.

June 20, 2003 For his 54th birthday, Lionel Richie receives a special gift: a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. According to Richie, the star's location on Hollywood Blvd. isn't far from the Holiday Inn where The Commodores stayed on their first trip to LA while recording their debut album.

June 14, 2003 Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers is awarded a Member of the British Empire medal by Queen Elizabeth in London.

June 12, 2003 Little Richard, Van Morrison, Queen, and Phil Collins are inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

May 16, 2003 Hoboken, New Jersey, names its post office after its favorite son, Frank Sinatra.