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- Helen McKay sang “Here's Looking At You” with music by Duke Ellington during a test transmission by the BBC television service. According to the source, it was the first song ever broadcast on television.
- Doo-wop singer Fred Milano of The Belmonts was born in New York City. The group's name was inspired by Belmont Avenue in the Bronx, where he grew up.
- The radio program “Arch Oboler's Plays” was first presented by NBC Symphony.
- English drummer and singer Christopher Crummey, known as Chris Curtis, was born in Liverpool. He became known as a member of The Searchers in the 1960s.
- American musician and songwriter Keith Allison was born. He became best known as a member of Paul Revere & the Raiders from 1968 to 1975. He also played guitar and harmonica on the Sonny & Cher song “The Beat Goes On”.
- American singer and dancer Samuel Mendola, known as Vic Dana, was born in Buffalo, New York. He became known for 1960s hits such as “Little Altar Boy”, “I Will” and the popular cover version of “Red Roses for a Blue Lady”.
- English guitarist Alan Parker was born. From the late 1960s onward, he worked as a session guitarist and played with David Bowie, Blue Mink, The Walker Brothers, CCS and Serge Gainsbourg, among others.
- American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Maureen “Moe” Tucker was born in New York City, USA. She became known as the drummer of The Velvet Underground, and her music is associated with the genres experimental rock, proto-punk, rock and roll, art rock, avant-garde and folk rock.
- American singer and songwriter Valerie Simpson, one half of the songwriting and singing duo Ashford & Simpson, was born in New York. Together with Nick Ashford, she wrote songs including “Ain't No Mountain High Enough”, “You're All I Need To Get By”, “Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)”.
- Singer Bob Cowsill of The Cowsills was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, although the family group was later formed in Newport, Rhode Island.
- Singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor Dickran Gobalian, known as Leon Redbone, was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. He became known on the folk scene of the 1970s and performed music in the style of vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley.
- Bill Cowsill of The Cowsills was born. The group had the US hit “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” in 1967 and a hit with the title song from “Hair” in 1969.
- Dick Cowsill of The Cowsills was born. The group had the US hit “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” in 1967 and a hit with the title song from “Hair” in 1969.
- American guitarist Jack Holder of Black Oak Arkansas was born. The group achieved its greatest fame in the 1970s and had a hit with “Jim Dandy (To The Rescue)”.
- Elvis Presley worked at Crown Electric, where he remained until mid-October 1954.
- Michael Chetwood, keyboardist with T'Pau, was born. T'Pau had the UK No. 1 single “China In Your Hand” in 1987 and the song “Heart And Soul”, which reached No. 4 in both the US and UK.
- Elvis Presley performed at Baseball Park in Gonzales, Texas. He was joined by Johnny Horton, Betty Amos, David Houston, Sonny Crammer, Ray Gallman, Tillman Franks and Willie Birdbrain.
- The Platters' “My Prayer” was at No. 1 on the US R&B chart.
- The title song from the film “Tammy and the Bachelor”, simply titled “Tammy” in Debbie Reynolds' version, was No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 and Cashbox's best-selling records chart. Debbie was accompanied only by piano on the single, while the film version featured a full orchestra.
- Founding member, rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter of the punk rock band The Undertones, John O'Neill was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. He wrote songs including “Teenage Kicks”, “Jimmy Jimmy”, “Here Comes the Summer” and “You've Got My Number”.
- Domenico Modugno reached No. 1 with “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)”, which was the second chart-topping position in Billboard magazine's history.
- English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams died in London at the age of 85. He became known for works such as “A Pastoral Symphony” and “The Lark Ascending”.
- The Elegants moved from No. 14 to No. 2 with “Little Star”.
- American saxophonist, bandleader and composer Branford Marsalis was born in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, into a family of musicians. He played saxophone and various percussion instruments on Sting's 1985 solo debut album “The Dream of the Blue Turtles”.
- American jazz pianist, keyboardist, composer, arranger and producer Jim Beard was born. He worked with Steely Dan, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin and Pat Metheny, among others.
- Elvis Presley reached No. 1 on the US album chart with his album “Something For Everybody”.
- American singer Mitch Malloy was born. He is best known as the former singer of the hard rock band Great White from 2018 to 2022 and also auditioned for the position of Van Halen's singer after Sammy Hagar's departure.
- Bobby Vinton reached No. 1 for the fourth week with “Roses Are Red (My Love)” on the Easy Listening chart.
- Ringo Starr performed with The Beatles for the first time as their new drummer at the Horticultural Society Dance in Birkenhead, England.
- Paul McCartney was fined £25 and lost his driving licence for one year after being caught speeding. He received additional fines of £3 each for two further charges involving the late presentation of his driving licence and insurance document, bringing the total penalty to £31. Police stopped him at 11:45 p.m. on June 14, 1963, on Seabank Road in Wallasey while he was driving the other Beatles back to Liverpool after their performance at the Tower Ballroom in New Brighton.
- Roy Orbison and The Candy Men released the song “Oh, Pretty Woman”. The song became a commercial success and a major international hit, reaching No. 1 on singles charts in eleven countries.
- The Beatles arrived in San Francisco to begin their first US tour and were welcomed by 9,000 fans. Because of the crowd, they were taken into a protected area so photographers could photograph them; however, fans pushed against the barrier and The Beatles narrowly escaped before it collapsed.
- The Kinks released “You Really Got Me” in the United States.
- Sonny & Cher reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “I Got You Babe”, their only UK No. 1. In the same year, the song also topped the charts in Canada, New Zealand and the US. Sonny Bono was inspired when writing the song by the popularity of the word “babe”, which he had heard, for example, in Bob Dylan's “It Ain’t Me Babe”.
- The Beatles performed at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, before a sold-out audience of 35,000 people. Fans paid $5.50 for the highly sought-after tickets.
- The Byrds performed at the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California.
- American musician Daniel “Dan” Vickrey was born in Walnut Creek, California. He became known as the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band Counting Crows. The group had the UK hit “Mr Jones” in 1994 and the US No. 1 album “Recovering The Satellites” in 1996. In 2004, they received an Academy Award nomination for the song “Accidentally in Love” from the film “Shrek 2”.
- Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shirley Manson was born in Edinburgh. She later founded the group Angelfish, whose video for “Suffocate Me” attracted the attention of Butch Vig, Duke Erikson and Steve Marker, who persuaded her to join their new group Garbage. Garbage's 1995 debut album sold more than four million copies.
- Bobbie Gentry began a four-week run at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with “Ode to Billie Joe”. The song also reached the top in Canada, reached No. 7 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, No. 8 on Hot R&B Singles and No. 17 on Hot Country Songs, and later became an international hit. It received eight Grammy nominations, three of which Gentry won.
- Elvis and Priscilla Presley returned from Las Vegas to Memphis at 8:20 a.m.
- Jeff Tweedy of Wilco was born.
- Jimi Hendrix's “Purple Haze” entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 94. During its eight-week run, it peaked at No. 65. It performed much better in the UK, reaching No. 3 and spending 14 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. In 2010, Billboard ranked it No. 17 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
- Jimi Hendrix released “Purple Haze” as the opening track of the US edition of the album “Are You Experienced”.
- Small Faces, The Move, The Gass, Tomorrow, Denny Laine, Jeff Beck, Eric Burdon and Marmalade performed on the first day of the three-day nonstop event “Festival of the Flower Children” at Woburn Abbey in England. DJs John Peel and Tommy Vance also performed; a one-day ticket cost £1.
- Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull joined The Beatles in Bangor, North Wales, where they were collectively seeking guidance from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. After his lecture, The Beatles held a press conference at which they announced that they had become his disciples and joined his “Spiritual Regeneration Movement”. The group also announced that they were giving up drug use; according to the sources, the group was to donate one week's earnings to the movement each month.
- Jeannie C. Riley's album “Harper Valley P.T.A.” received a gold certification. The single “Harper Valley P.T.A.” ultimately sold more than six million copies, and Riley became the first woman to top both the US pop and country charts with the same song.
- Mary Hopkin released “Those Were The Days” in the United States.
- The Beatles released the single “Hey Jude” on the A-side and “Revolution” on the B-side through Apple Records, their first release on their own Apple Records label. The single was released in both the UK and the US; “Hey Jude” became the group's biggest hit, spending nine weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 1 on 23 charts worldwide and selling more than eight million copies. The song received three Grammy nominations but did not win any of them.
- American drummer and songwriter Adrian Young was born in Long Beach, California. He is best known as a longtime member of No Doubt and also performed with Dreamcar.
- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young performed at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
- Drummer, percussionist and producer Drew Hester was born. He played with Joe Walsh, Stevie Nicks, Beck, Jewel, Daniel Powter, Foo Fighters and Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders.
- Edward Bear performed as the opening act for Led Zeppelin at the Rock Pile club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- During a performance at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, Elvis Presley sang “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” with a section intended for backing singer Cissy Houston. Her way of performing it live made him laugh so much that he could not stop laughing during the song; in the improvised section he also changed the lyrics and sang, “Do you gaze at your bald head and wish you had hair?”
- Elvis Presley released “Suspicious Minds”, his 18th and final lifetime No. 1 single in the US.
- Johnny Cash, with his backing group The Tennessee Three, performed for the first time at the Minnesota State Fair. June Carter and The Carter Sisters and The Statler Brothers appeared as opening acts. Cash performed a nineteen-song set including the hits “Ring of Fire”, “I Walk The Line”, “Folsom Prison Blues” and “A Boy Named Sue”.
- While recording the album “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs”, producer Tom Dowd took Eric Clapton and his group to a concert by The Allman Brothers Band, where Clapton heard Duane Allman play in person for the first time. After the concert, an immediate bond developed between Clapton and Allman, and Allman was invited to the studio to record with the new group Derek & the Dominos. After an all-night jam, Allman asked Clapton if he could visit the recording sessions, and Clapton agreed on the condition that Allman would also participate in the recording. During the following ten days, Allman contributed to most of the album's songs, making it the result of their collaboration.
- Elvis Presley performed an evening concert followed by a second midnight concert at the International Hotel in Las Vegas as part of his “That's the Way It Is” engagement.
- A warning was issued in Las Vegas that Elvis Presley would be kidnapped during the night, so security measures at the hotel were increased.
- The five-day Isle of Wight Festival began in England and ran from August 26 to 30, with the main program featuring the biggest stars taking place during the final three days. Performers included Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, The Doors, The Who, Spirit, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone and Free. For Jimi Hendrix, it was his final concert appearance in the United Kingdom. A weekend ticket cost £3.
- In New York City, an official celebration was held for the opening of Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village, a studio complex founded by Jimi Hendrix. The studio took a year to build and cost one million dollars. Guests included Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ron Wood and the then little-known Patti Smith. Artists who later recorded there included Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, AC/DC, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Frank Zappa and Guns N' Roses. Hendrix subsequently traveled to London to perform at the Isle of Wight Festival and died before he could return to the studio to record.
- Jimi Hendrix performed his final concert in the United Kingdom at the Isle of Wight Festival, less than a month before his death.
- The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Florida.
- Led by Betty Friedan, the new feminist movement in the US organized a nationwide Women's Strike for Equality.
- Elvis Presley performed an evening concert followed by a second midnight concert at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. His set included “That's All Right”, “Proud Mary”, “Sweet Caroline”, “Polk Salad Annie”, “Suspicious Minds” and “Can't Help Falling in Love”, among others.
- Mexican singer, songwriter and actress Thalia was born.
- The Grateful Dead performed at Gaelic Park in the Bronx, New York.
- Elvis Presley performed an evening concert followed by a second midnight concert at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. The setlist included “See See Rider”, “Johnny B. Goode”, “Polk Salad Annie”, “Suspicious Minds”, “For The Good Times”, “My Way” and “Can't Help Falling in Love”, among others.
- Looking Glass reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with “Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)”, where it remained for one week. The recording reached No. 51 in the UK and later received a BPI gold certification for more than 400,000 copies sold. The US hit sold one million copies, and the group had only one more Billboard entry, “Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne”, which reached No. 33 the following year.
- Nilsson's novelty song “Coconut” reached No. 8 on the US pop chart, where it remained for one week.
- 10cc played their first live concert at the Palace Lido on the Isle of Man in England at the start of their British tour. The group consisted of Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who had been writing and recording music together for approximately three years before adopting the name 10cc.
- Bobby Darin performed his final concert at the Las Vegas Hilton. Members of his band later said that he repeatedly pretended to leave the stage and prolonged his bows so that he could use an oxygen mask backstage for several seconds before continuing the show. He died on December 20 of the same year following heart surgery at the age of 37.
- Diana Ross reached No. 1 on the US chart with “Touch Me in the Morning”, overtaking Wings' “Live and Let Die” and Stories' “Brother Louie”.
- Elvis Presley performed an evening concert followed by a second midnight concert at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. He performed “Steamroller Blues”, “Suspicious Minds”, “An American Trilogy” and “Can't Help Falling in Love”, among others, and also introduced his daughter Lisa Marie Presley during the performance.
- Genesis were the headline act on the final day of the Reading Jazz, Blues, and Rock Festival. Tickets cost £2.20.
- Marvin Gaye began a long run at No. 1 on the R&B chart with “Let's Get It On”.
- Neil Young and The Santa Monica Flyers recorded “Mellow My Mind”, “Speakin' Out”, “World on a String”, “Tired Eyes” and “Tonight's the Night”. All five recordings were included on the final version of the album “Tonight's the Night”.
- The day was proclaimed by presidential proclamation in the United States as Women's Equality Day to commemorate the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of 1920, which granted American women the right to vote on the same basis as men.
- Both of Elvis Presley's scheduled concerts at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas were canceled because of his exhaustion.
- As part of Women's Equality Day, the National Organization of Women presented Paul Anka with the “Keep Her In Her Place” award for his song “(You're) Having My Baby”.
- Rush performed at The Agora in Cleveland, Ohio.
- Glen Campbell was at No. 1 on the US country chart with “Rhinestone Cowboy”. The song was one of six songs released in 1975 that reached No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Country Singles.
- Australian singer, songwriter and actress Natalie Imbruglia was born.
- The Four Seasons released the single “Who Loves You”, which became their first Top 10 song in eight years.
- AC/DC performed at the Marquee Club in London.
- Marvin Gaye faced two consecutive five-day jail sentences in the Los Angeles County Jail for contempt of court over unpaid alimony and child-support payments.
- Steven Tyler of Aerosmith appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. The photograph was taken by Annie Leibovitz, who found him tired and exhausted after only two hours of sleep. She arrived at his hotel at six in the morning to take the photograph.
- KISS played the first of three concerts at The Forum in Inglewood, California. These concerts were used for the album “Alive II”, released in October.
- At the 17th edition of the three-day Reading Festival in England, performers included Uriah Heep, Thin Lizzy, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Golden Earring, Aerosmith, The Doobie Brothers, Hawkwind, Racing Cars, John Miles, Graham Parker, The Enid, No Dice and Frankie Miller’s Full House. A three-day ticket cost £7.95.
- The first edition of the Canada Jam festival took place at Mosport Park north of Bowmanville in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. More than 110,000 people attended, and performers included The Doobie Brothers, Dave Mason, The Commodores, The Village People, Triumph, Kansas and The Atlanta Rhythm Section.
- Fleetwood Mac, The Cars, Todd Rundgren, Bob Welch and Eddie Money performed at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.
- Frankie Valli reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with “Grease”, written by Barry Gibb and featured in the film musical of the same name. Almost sixteen years after his first US No. 1 single, “Sherry”, he returned to the top with another song. “Grease” sold more than two million copies in the US, reached No. 3 in the UK and sold more than seven million copies worldwide.
- Frankie Valli released the single “Grease”, which later reached No. 1 on the US chart.
- Tom Petersson left Cheap Trick because of burnout and personal and musical differences. He was replaced by Pete Comita. Petersson returned to the group in 1988 for the album “Lap of Luxury”, which contained their comeback hit “The Flame”.
- American folk singer and songwriter Lee Hays, co-founder of the influential folk quartet The Weavers and co-writer of “If I Had a Hammer”, died at the age of 67. He died at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Tarrytown, New York, from a heart attack. After he was cremated, his friends, following his final wishes, mixed his ashes with compost in his garden in Croton-on-Hudson.
- Ottawa Mayor Marion Dewar and the city council proclaimed “Paul Anka Day” in honor of his 25 years in show business and also named a street Paul Anka Drive after him. The Canadian singer and songwriter had written more than 900 songs at the time, including “My Way”.
- The film “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”, starring David Bowie, premiered in New York.
- American singer, dancer and actress Cassie Ventura was born. She was discovered by Sean Combs, who partnered with his record label for the commercial release of her 2006 debut single “Me & U”. The song reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Rapper and singer Carlos St. John Phillips, known by his stage name Saint Jhn, was born in Brooklyn, New York. He became best known for the song “Roses”, whose 2019 remix by Kazakh DJ Imanbek became a worldwide hit.
- Don Henley's solo song “The End of the Innocence” reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Henley wrote and produced it with Bruce Hornsby, who also played piano on the recording. The song received Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, and in 1990 earned Henley a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.
- Ringo Starr obtained an extension of a preliminary court injunction intended to prevent producer Chips Moman and CRS Records from releasing material that Starr considered to be of poor quality because of his deteriorated condition at the time it was recorded. In January 1990, the court ordered Starr to pay Moman $74,000 in costs; in exchange, Moman handed all the master tapes over to the former Beatle.
- Ringo Starr officially became the first grandfather among The Beatles after his daughter Lee gave birth to a son, Zak.
- The Cure released the single “Lovesong”.
- English singer, songwriter and actor Lil' Chris was born. He came to public attention in 2006 after appearing on the Channel 4 program “Rock School”, in which Gene Simmons formed a rock band with students.
- Mariah Carey remained at No. 1 on the US chart for a third week with “Vision of Love”.
- Randy Newman surprisingly received an Emmy Award for his music for ABC's series “Cop Rock”.
- Stevie Ray Vaughan performed his final concert with Eric Clapton at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin. A few hours later, he died in a helicopter crash.
- American blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan died at the age of 35 in a helicopter crash.
- Blur released their debut studio album “Leisure”.
- Pearl Jam released the single “Alive”.
- Spin Doctors released their debut album “Pocket Full of Kryptonite”.
- Apple Records won an auction for a rare recording of The Beatles performing “Kansas City” and “Some Other Guy” at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in 1962, paying £16,000 for the acetate disc.
- A two-sided acetate recording of The Beatles featuring live recordings of “Kansas City” and “Some Other Guy” from the Cavern Club in Liverpool in 1962 was sold at Christie's auction in London for $32,000 (£16,500), which at the time was a record price for a recording.
- U2 performed at the National Stadium in Cardiff Arms Park in Cardiff, Wales.
- Scottish singer and songwriter Frankie Miller suffered a massive brain hemorrhage in New York while working on material for a new group he had formed with Joe Walsh of the Eagles. He spent five months in a coma and subsequently underwent rehabilitation, during which he relearned how to walk and talk.
- Hole performed at the Reading Festival in England. It was their first concert following two tragic events: the suicide of Kurt Cobain, husband of frontwoman Courtney Love, in April and the death of bassist Kristen Pfaff from a heroin overdose in June. Pfaff was replaced by Melissa Auf der Maur.
- Blur reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart for the first time with “Country House”, winning the highly publicized battle with Oasis. Both groups released their singles on the same day; “Country House” sold 270,000 copies compared with 220,000 copies of Oasis's “Roll with It”, which entered the chart at No. 2.
- Hootie & the Blowfish returned to No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 for the fourth time that year with their debut studio album “Cracked Rear View”. The album returned to the top again in late September.
- Seal reached No. 1 on the US singles chart with “Kiss From A Rose” after it was used in the film “Batman Forever”. It reached No. 4 in the UK, and Seal won three Grammy Awards for it. Seal later said that he owed his career to the film's director Joel Schumacher.
- Delegates at the Democratic National Convention took a break to dance to “Macarena”, including First Lady Hillary Clinton, who imitated the dance moves from the crowd.
- Boyzone began their Southeast Asian tour in Bangalore, India. It was the first time an international act had launched a tour in this region.
- Coolio released the song “My Soul”.
- Creed released their debut album “My Own Prison”.
- Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers was hospitalized after crashing his motorcycle while riding along Sunset Boulevard.
- Alice Cooper claimed that the KISS song “Dreamin'” was copied from his 1971 song “Eighteen”. The two sides subsequently reached an out-of-court settlement.
- Johnny Byrne, guitarist with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, died in Liverpool, Merseyside, at the age of 59 from motor neuron disease.
- American musician and songwriter Allen Woody, former bassist of The Allman Brothers Band and co-founder of Gov't Mule, died at the age of 44 in New York City. When he was found dead in a hotel room in Queens, initial reports listed the cause of death as undetermined; a later toxicology examination linked it to an apparent heroin overdose.
- Craig David reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with his debut studio album “Born to Do It”.
- De La Soul released “Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump”, their first album in four years. The album debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
- Janet Jackson began a three-week run at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with “Doesn’t Really Matter”. The song appeared in the film “Nutty Professor II: The Klumps”, starring Janet Jackson and Eddie Murphy.
- Nelly began a five-week run at No. 1 on the US album chart with his debut studio album “Country Grammar”.
- Italian electronic DJ Spiller reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)”. The song features vocals by Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
- Alicia Keys began a five-week run at No. 1 on the US chart with her debut single “Fallin'”.
- Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nelly Furtado were the headline acts at the V2001 festival in Hylands Park in Chelmsford, England.
- Coldplay released their second studio album “A Rush of Blood to the Head”. The album won Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Album, Best Rock Performance for “In My Place” and Record of the Year for “Clocks”. In 2007, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included it on its list of 200 Definitive Albums. The album reached No. 1 in 12 countries and contained the UK Top 10 singles “In My Place”, “The Scientist” and “Clocks”.
- Coldplay released the single “In My Place”.
- Rolling Stone magazine named Jimi Hendrix the greatest guitarist in rock history. Also included in the top ten were Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ry Cooder.
- Warren Zevon released his final studio album “The Wind”. Shortly before recording began, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer, and guests on the album included Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Jackson Browne. Zevon died just two weeks after its release.
- Ashlee Simpson had the album “Autobiography” at No. 1.
- American cinematographer David Myers died following a stroke. He worked on numerous music films, including “Woodstock”, “Elvis On Tour”, “The Last Waltz”, “The Grateful Dead Movie”, “Mad Dogs & Englishmen” and “Cracked Actor: A Film About David Bowie”.
- Singer, songwriter and actress Laura Branigan died in her sleep at her home in East Quogue, New York, from a brain aneurysm at the age of 52. She was best known for the hit “Gloria”, which reached No. 2 in the US and No. 6 in the UK in 1982. Her song “Self Control” reached No. 4 in the US and No. 5 in the UK in 1984. She also portrayed Janis Joplin in the American musical “Love, Janis”.
- Green Day were named the world's best band at the 12th Kerrang! Rock Awards and also won the award for Best Live Act. Funeral For A Friend won Best British Band, My Chemical Romance won Best Album and Best Video, Iron Maiden were inducted into the Kerrang! Hall of Fame and Marilyn Manson received the Icon Award. Foo Fighters' “Best of You” was named Best Single, Trivium were named Best International Newcomer, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails received the Classic Songwriter award, and Killing Joke received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
- Kanye West called for an end to homophobia in the hip-hop world.
- A post office near the Los Angeles studio where Ray Charles recorded much of his music was renamed in his honor. The federal bill renaming the post office was signed by US President George W. Bush.
- John Duff Lowe and Colin Hanton of The Quarrymen unveiled a plaque at the site where the group that later became The Beatles made their first recordings. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison recorded Buddy Holly's “That'll Be The Day” and the Lennon-Harrison song “In Spite Of All The Danger” there as The Quarrymen in 1958.
- Christina Aguilera scored her first No. 1 album in the UK with her fifth studio album “Back to Basics”.
- Taylor Hicks's song “Do I Make You Proud?” dropped out of the Billboard Hot 100 after only eight weeks, setting a new record as the shortest chart run for a song that had reached No. 1. By comparison, Fergie's “London Bridge” was No. 1 in 2006 and had the second-shortest chart run, at 21 weeks.
- Police raiding rapper DMX's home in Arizona found 12 neglected pit bulls, the buried bodies of three other dogs and several weapons. DMX told police that he had not been on the property for at least two months.
- The soundtrack album “High School Musical 2” was at No. 1 on the US album chart. It remained at the top for four weeks, and the musical's premiere attracted 17.2 million viewers in the United States.
- The Rolling Stones concluded their two-year A Bigger Bang World Tour with the final concert at London's O2 Arena. The tour became the highest-grossing rock tour up to that time, with gross revenues of $558 million.
- American pop singer, songwriter and producer Eleanor “Ellie” Greenwich died at the age of 68 from a heart attack after suffering from pneumonia. She collaborated with Phil Spector and Jeff Barry on numerous hits, including “Da Doo Ron Ron”, “Be My Baby”, “Then He Kissed Me”, “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”, “Leader of the Pack”, “Chapel of Love”, “Maybe I Know” and “River Deep – Mountain High”. In 1991, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame together with her former husband Jeff Barry.
- British EMI Records confirmed that Iron Maiden's album “The Final Frontier” debuted at No. 1 in 21 countries around the world. Almost four years earlier, the band's previous studio album “A Matter Of Life And Death” had also reached the top of the pan-European chart.
- 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.
- Kate Bush returned to the stage after 35 years with a concert at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. The series of 22 sold-out concerts ran from August 26 to October 1, and tickets sold out in less than 15 minutes. The “Before The Dawn” production featured acting elements, puppeteers and an illusionist, and the concerts received enthusiastic reviews; the following week, eight of her albums returned to the UK Top 40.
- Aretha Franklin told Billboard.com that there was a possibility her life story could appear on Broadway. She said she would like to see a dramatic musical and felt the timing was right, especially following the success of “Jersey Boys”. The Broadway project ultimately did not happen.
- Ann Wilson's husband was arrested for assault after getting into a physical altercation with Nancy Wilson's sixteen-year-old twins. The incident caused a rift between the Heart sisters, who completed the tour with separate dressing rooms and no contact with each other.
- Kendrick Lamar returned to the top of the Billboard 200 with his fourth studio album “Damn” after a three-week run at No. 1 in May.
- Ariana Grande scored her third No. 1 album in the US when “Sweetener” debuted at the top of the Billboard 200.
- Ed Sheeran concluded his ÷ (Divide) tour with a concert at Chantry Park in Ipswich, England, near his hometown of Framlingham. The tour began on March 16, 2017 and grossed $775.6 million over 255 concerts, setting a record for the highest-grossing concert tour. After two and a half years on the road, he announced that he wanted to take a break.
- American screenwriter and producer Joe Ruby, co-creator of Scooby-Doo and producer of numerous Hanna-Barbera animated programs connected with music, died at the age of 87.
- Katy Perry gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Daisy Dove Bloom. The father is her partner, actor Orlando Bloom.
- The Killers reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with their seventh studio album “Pressure Machine”.
- After Jason Aldean's wife Brittany posted a makeup video on Instagram with a caption saying she wanted to thank her parents for not changing her gender during her “tomboy” phase, Maren Morris responded to her post on Twitter. The dispute increased tensions between more conservatively and progressively oriented members of the country music community.
- Oliver Anthony reached No. 1 on the US singles chart with “Rich Men North of Richmond”, becoming the first artist with no previous chart history on any chart to debut directly at the top. The song was recorded outdoors in one take in the presence of his dogs.
- Sean “Diddy” Combs donated $1 million to the Earn Your Leisure fund to support financial literacy and subsequently donated another $1 million to the football team of Jackson State University in support of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Diddy is an alumnus of the HBCU Howard University.
- Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers of The Police reportedly sued Sting and his company Magnetic Publishing Limited over authorship of the group's biggest hit, “Every Breath You Take”. Summers claimed that he created the song's distinctive guitar part. The British newspaper The Sun estimated Sting's annual royalties at $745,000.
- Taylor Swift announced her engagement to her partner Travis Kelce. She posted a photograph on Instagram showing the Kansas City Chiefs player proposing to her.
- Spotify announced that Dolly Parton's total streams worldwide had increased by more than 1,260% compared with the week before her death on August 25. Seven of her songs entered the service's daily most-streamed songs chart, with “Jolene” and “9 to 5” at No. 2 and No. 3, while “Islands in the Stream” with Kenny Rogers reached No. 8.