Timeline of Music History

1807 - Beethoven completes his Symphony No. 5, which many consider to be the most popular classical work ever written.

1860 - The slave trade introduces West African rhythms, work songs, chants and spirituals to America, which strongly influence blues and jazz.

1896 - Ragtime, a combination of West Indian rhythm and European musical form, is born.

1936 - Electric guitars debut.

1958 - Billboard debuts its Hot 100 chart. Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" boasts the first No. 1 record. Elvis Presley is inducted into the U.S. Army

1963 - A wave of Beatlemania hits the U.K. The Beatles, a British band composed of John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, take Britain by storm. The Rolling Stones emerge as the anti-Beatles, with an aggressive, blues-derived style.

1967 - The Beatles release their break-through concept album, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Psychedelic bands such as The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane enjoy great success during this period with songs celebrating the counterculture of the '60s.

1970 - The Beatles break up. By the end of the year, each member had released a solo album.

1977 - Saturday Night Fever sparks the disco inferno. Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, his Memphis, Tenn. home. He was 42.

1981 - MTV goes on the air running around the clock music videos, debuting with 'Video Killed the Radio Star'.

1982 - Michael Jackson releases Thriller, which sells more than 25 million copies, becoming the biggest-selling album in history.

1984 - Led by Bob Geldof, the band Band Aid releases 'Do They Know It's Christmas', with proceeds of the single going to feed the starving in Africa.

1988 - CDs outsell vinyl records for the first time.

1991 - Seattle band Nirvana releases the song 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' on the LP Nevermind and enjoys national success. With Nirvana's hit comes the grunge movement, which is characterized by distorted guitars, dispirited vocals and lots of flannel.

1992 - Compact discs surpass cassette tapes as the preferred medium for recorded music.

1998 - Death of Frank Sinatra. The song ‘I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing’ by Aerosmith becomes the first song by a rock band to debut.

1999 – Mariah Carey becomes the first and only aritst to have at least one number one song in each year of a decade.

2005 – Mariah Carey releases her 10 million selling ‘The Emanicipation of Mini‘, the best-selling album of the year worldwide, alongside the album's second single 'We Belong Together', the year's most successful single.

2009 – Death of Michael Jackson. Mariah Carey becomes the only person since the award was established to have two, and consecutive, Songs of the Decade – ‘One Sweet Day’ for the 90's and ‘We Belong Together’.

2010 - Lady Gaga's music video reaches on billion views.

2011 - Death of Amy Winehouse.