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- Pink Floyd perform at Olympiahalle in Munich’s Olympic Park. The second part of the concert features The Dark Side of the Moon. Fumble is the opening act.
- The debut album Rollin’ by Scottish pop-rock band Bay City Rollers reaches No. 1 on the UK albums chart and helps fuel the wave of fan popularity known as “Rollermania.” The album includes “Remember,” “Shang-a-Lang,” “Summerlove Sensation,” and “Saturday Night.”
- Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Fred Smith, and Billy O’Connor perform under the name Blondie for the first time at New York’s CBGB club. The group had previously performed as Angel and the Snake. The name Blondie comes from the phrase “Hey, Blondie,” which truck drivers shouted at singer Debbie Harry.
- Elvis Presley gives two performances at the Sahara Tahoe hotel in Stateline, Nevada: an evening show and a midnight performance. He wears a different costume for each.
- John Denver’s “Annie’s Song” reaches No. 1 on the UK singles chart. In the same year, it also tops the charts in the United States, Canada, and Ireland.
- Olivia Newton-John’s album If You Love Me, Let Me Know reaches No. 1 on the U.S. albums chart for one week. The title track reaches No. 5, while “I Honestly Love You” becomes her first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 and later wins the Grammy for Record of the Year.
- The Who’s album Odds and Sods is released in the United States. Rolling Stone critic Jim Miller describes it as imperfect but interesting.
- Rod Stewart and The Faces give their final joint live performance at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, New York. Stewart’s desire to develop his solo career contributes to the band’s breakup.
- The Allman Brothers Band perform at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, with The Marshall Tucker Band as the opening act.
- Grateful Dead play at Manor Hall in Austin, Texas.
- Aerosmith perform at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
- Billy Joel releases 52nd Street, following the success of The Stranger and helping solidify his place in the music scene.
- Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious, is found dead with stab wounds in a room at New York’s Chelsea Hotel. Vicious calls the police and is arrested and charged with her murder. He is later released on bail but dies of a heroin overdose in February 1979 before the trial. New York police then close the case.
- Fleetwood Mac release their twelfth studio album, Tusk, through Warner Bros. Records. The experimental double album follows the success of 1977’s Rumours. According to the supplied record, recording costs more than $1 million. The album reaches No. 4 in the U.S. and No. 1 in the UK; one record also lists it at No. 1 in New Zealand. The source says more than four million copies are sold worldwide. Its release is brought forward after RKO radio stations obtain a leaked copy and begin playing it. The album also produces the hits “Sara” and “Tusk.”
- Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson injures his right eye with a rose thorn during a concert at Madison Square Garden after an admirer throws a rose onto the stage. The injury requires hospital treatment and leads to two concerts being cancelled. When he returns to the tour, Anderson wears protective glasses and an eye patch.
- During Blood, Sweat & Tears’ performance at the Street Scene festival in Los Angeles, seven audience members are stabbed during a fight. Sound engineers continue recording the interrupted concert, which is released as a live album by Avenue and Rhino in 1994.
- The Doobie Brothers perform at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum Arena in Oakland, California.
- Yes perform at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.
- King Crimson perform at the Music Centre in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
- U2 release their second album, October. The record reflects the band members’ Christian faith and contains biblical references, particularly in the song “Gloria.”
- Van Halen perform at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland.
- Canadian musician, producer, and songwriter Frank Dukes is born. He has worked with artists such as Lorde, Camila Cabello, Post Malone, and The Weeknd.
- Karen Carpenter receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Hall & Oates release their twelfth studio album, Big Bam Boom. It reaches No. 5 on the U.S. albums chart, sells a million copies within a few weeks, and remains on the chart for 51 weeks. It includes “Out of Touch,” which reaches No. 1 in the United States and No. 48 in the UK.
- R&B group Ready for the World reaches No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Oh Sheila.”
- The charity compilation A Very Special Christmas is released, featuring modern interpretations of Christmas songs. It includes Whitney Houston’s “Do You Hear What I Hear?”, Madonna’s “Santa Baby,” and Run-D.M.C.’s original song “Christmas in Hollis.” Proceeds benefit the Special Olympics.
- Australian rock band INXS releases its sixth studio album, Kick, which becomes its most successful and best-selling studio album. It includes the hits “Need You Tonight,” “Devil Inside,” “New Sensation,” and “Never Tear Us Apart.” The album reaches No. 1 in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and enters the top ten in both the UK and U.S. charts.
- Poison releases the single “Every Rose Has Its Thorn.”
- “Emotions” reaches No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and begins a three-week run at the top. This gives Mariah Carey five consecutive No. 1 singles from the start of her career, surpassing the Jackson 5’s record.
- The Day on the Green festival takes place at Oakland Coliseum in California. Metallica headlines, with Queensrÿche, Faith No More, and Soundgarden also on the bill.
- Nirvana’s album Nevermind receives gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
- Nirvana’s album Nevermind reaches No. 1 on the U.S. albums chart.
- Simply Red’s fourth album, Stars, reaches No. 1 on the UK albums chart. During its chart run, it reaches the top a total of five times and spends 134 weeks on the chart.
- Faith Hill releases her debut album, Take Me As I Am, which includes “Piece of My Heart” and “Wild One,” both of which reached No. 1.
- During the opening concert of Pink Floyd’s run at London’s Earls Court, a temporary stand holding around 1,200 spectators collapses shortly after “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” begins. Dozens are injured, nearly 100 people require treatment, and 36 are taken to hospital. The concert is cancelled and rescheduled for October 17.
- No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded, documenting a musical performance by former Led Zeppelin members, premieres on MTV. According to the source, it becomes the highest-rated episode of the Unplugged music series.
- Tupac Shakur is released from prison on $1.4 million bail, paid by Death Row Records head Suge Knight. Tupac awaits an appeal hearing and then travels to Los Angeles to record the album All Eyez on Me.
- The U.S. albums chart features an unusual top three: Celine Dion’s Falling Into You is No. 1, Kenny G’s The Moment is No. 2, and Marilyn Manson’s Antichrist Superstar is No. 3.
- British-Australian singer Peter Andre reaches No. 1 on the UK albums chart with his second studio album, Natural.
- The Chemical Brothers reach No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Setting Sun,” featuring vocals by Noel Gallagher of Oasis.
- After nearly 28 years, the concert film The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, filmed in December 1968, is released. Alongside the Rolling Stones, it features The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, and Marianne Faithfull. John Lennon and Yoko Ono perform with the group Dirty Mac. The Rolling Stones had long delayed its release, reportedly partly because they feared The Who’s performance had overshadowed their own.
- City officials in Madrid cancel a free outdoor Backstreet Boys concert at Plaza de Mostenses because of dangerous overcrowding. More than 7,000 people arrive, although attendance of no more than 5,000 was expected. Fans faint in the heat, and around 300 girls require medical attention.
- American singer-songwriter and guitarist John Denver dies aged 53 in a crash involving an experimental aircraft he was piloting. The plane goes down in Monterey Bay off the California coast. Denver is known for songs including “Rocky Mountain High,” “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” and “Sunshine on My Shoulders.” He had 15 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and ten No. 1 songs on country or adult contemporary charts.
- The Isle of Man issues six commemorative postage stamps honoring the Bee Gees, whose members were born on the island. Their mother once ran a local post office there. Because of rules concerning depictions of living people, the brothers’ portraits appear in the margins and selvage of the commemorative sheets rather than directly on the stamps.
- David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young appear at Madison Square Garden in New York to announce the forthcoming CSNY2K album and tour.
- American Delta blues musician and harmonica player Frank Frost dies of cardiac arrest in Helena, Arkansas, aged 63.
- Guitarist Wes Borland leaves Limp Bizkit. The band announces on its website that the split is amicable and that both sides will pursue their own musical careers. Borland returns in 2009.