Today in Music History

Boyz II Men's fourth studio album, Evolution, reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Elton John's double-sided single "Candle in the Wind 1997" / "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and began a 14-week run at the top. The reworked version of his 1974 song about Marilyn Monroe was adapted as a tribute to Princess Diana following her death and released to support charitable causes. The single topped charts in more than 20 countries, became the best-selling single in UK chart history and sold an estimated 33 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.

Gregg Allman, Bo Diddley, Keb' Mo', Buddy Guy and John Hiatt were among the musicians who performed at a concert honouring blues musician Muddy Waters at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The Verve's album Urban Hymns entered the UK album chart directly at No. 1 on October 11, 1997. It initially remained at the top for five weeks and returned to No. 1 for another six weeks in 1998. In total, it spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on the UK album chart.

The first Smoke Out festival, organised by Cypress Hill, took place in San Bernardino, California. The event, celebrating music and cannabis culture, attracted approximately 40,000 people. The festival was then held annually until 2003 and returned in 2009.

Michael Jackson's second wife, Debbie Rowe, filed for divorce and gave Jackson full custody of their two children, Prince and Paris.

The city of Miami allowed the Cuban dance band Los Van Van to perform at the James L. Knight Center after the American Civil Liberties Union and Havana Caliente Records threatened legal action.

Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee was released on $5,000 bail in connection with charges of disorderly conduct at a 1997 concert in North Carolina. He was accused of encouraging the audience to attack a security guard and pouring a drink on him.

Dido's album Life for Rent began a four-week run at No. 1 on the UK album chart.

Readers of Mojo magazine voted Elvis Presley's recording of "That's All Right," made at Sun Studio in July 1954, the most important moment in rock music history. Bob Dylan's move from acoustic to electric guitar came second, The Clash's "White Riot" third, The Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show fourth, and The Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" fifth. Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, John Lennon and Led Zeppelin also appeared in the Top 10.

Justin Timberlake made his first appearance on Saturday Night Live, serving as both host and musical guest. He returned to the show many times and appeared in numerous well-known sketches, including a Bee Gees parody, a dating sketch with Lady Gaga, a courtroom sketch involving an alligator, the character "Target Lady" and the musical sketch "Dick in a Box."

Hip-hop duo OutKast reached No. 1 in the United States with their fifth studio album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.

The Vote for Change tour concluded with a concert in Washington, D.C., featuring Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Dave Matthews Band, Dixie Chicks and James Taylor. The politically motivated tour aimed to help defeat President George W. Bush in the November election, but Bush ultimately won by a narrow margin.

A silver 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow that belonged to Freddie Mercury was offered for sale on eBay by his sister and heir, Kashmira Cooke. The car had not been seen publicly since 2002, when it transported the Bulsara family to the premiere of Queen's musical We Will Rock You. A box of Kleenex Mansize tissues that Mercury had reportedly left inside was said to still be there.

Justin Hawkins, singer for the British band The Darkness, announced that he was leaving the group to continue treatment for drug addiction. The band went on hiatus until Hawkins returned in 2011.

Madonna adopted a one-year-old boy, David Banda, from Malawi. His father, Yohane Banda, told reporters that he believed the boy would do well in the United States. The child's mother had died one week after his birth.

P!nk's single "So What" was No. 1 on the UK singles chart on October 11. It remained at the top for three consecutive weeks.

Liverpool singer and songwriter Russ Hamilton died in North Wales at the age of 76. He made music history as the first Liverpool artist to break into the American market. His song "Rainbow" reached No. 4 on the US Billboard chart in 1957 after American distributors mistakenly promoted it instead of the intended A-side, "We Will Make Love."

Barbra Streisand's album Love Is the Answer reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200. It was her ninth US chart-topping album and made her the first recording artist to have a No. 1 album in five different decades.

Jo Wood, wife of The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, was granted a divorce after 24 years of marriage because of her husband's infidelity. The couple separated in 2008 after Ronnie began a relationship with a significantly younger woman.

George Michael was released from Highpoint Prison in Suffolk after serving 27 days of an eight-week sentence related to a July incident in which he drove under the influence of drugs and was found in possession of cannabis. Outside his London home, he thanked the supporters who had stood by him.

Blues harmonica player George "Mojo" Buford, who performed in Muddy Waters' band, died after a long illness in Minneapolis at the age of 81.

Esquire magazine named Rihanna its Sexiest Woman Alive. According to the source, she was the only musician to receive the honour, which the magazine awarded from 2004 to 2015.

Young, Wild & Free by Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa, featuring Bruno Mars, was released for digital download in the United States.

The Rolling Stones released the single "Doom and Gloom," their first new studio recording in seven years, since their 2005 album A Bigger Bang. The song was the lead single from the greatest-hits compilation GRRR! It reached No. 61 on the UK singles chart and No. 30 on the US Hot Rock Songs and Rock Airplay charts.

Lady Gaga made her film debut as the shapeshifting assassin La Camaleon in Robert Rodriguez's action crime film Machete Kills.

George Ezra's debut studio album, Wanted on Voyage, reached No. 1 on the UK album chart.

Meghan Trainor's debut single "All About That Bass" began a four-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart.

The concert film One Direction: Where We Are – The Concert Film was released in cinemas. Its worldwide theatrical run ended the following day, and the film set a record as the highest-grossing event cinema production, with net revenues of $15 million.

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's collaborative album Cheek to Cheek reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200. The album was successful worldwide, and the duo won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

Carey Lander, keyboardist for the Scottish indie-pop band Camera Obscura, died at the age of 33 from osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. The band's debut album, Biggest Bluest Hi Fi, was released in 2001.

Experience Hendrix LLC, which manages Jimi Hendrix's estate, sued Rainbow Guitars in Tucson, Arizona, seeking the return of the rare Black Widow acoustic guitar. The instrument was valued at between $750,000 and $1 million and had reportedly been stolen by a family member before changing hands several times. The store said it had purchased the guitar in good faith for $80,000 without knowing that its ownership was disputed. The court eventually ordered the instrument returned to the Hendrix estate.

Rod Stewart was knighted by Prince William at Buckingham Palace, receiving the title Sir Roderick David Stewart. The honour recognised his contributions to music and charity, including support for the British Red Cross, Breast Cancer Care and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Stewart said he was deeply grateful for his career and for the support of the British public.

Previously unreleased recordings by Glen Campbell, originally intended for Elvis Presley, were highlighted. Between 1964 and 1968, Campbell recorded songs in the studio that had been written for Presley because Campbell could imitate Presley's vocal style. Many were written by Ben Weisman and Sid Wayne; Weisman set a record with 57 songs recorded by Presley. The album Sings for the King contains 18 songs, 12 of which Presley actually recorded and released, including "Stay Away Joe," "Spinout" and "Easy Come, Easy Go." It also features a new gospel duet between Campbell and Presley on "We Call on Him."

Kanye West, a prominent supporter of Donald Trump, visited the White House, where he delivered an approximately ten-minute rambling monologue in the president's presence.

The Music Modernization Act was signed into law, clarifying how artists, songwriters and producers are paid for music played through streaming services, internet radio and satellite radio. The law also granted royalty payments for songs written before 1972.

American musician and singer Deon Estus died at the age of 65. He was best known as the bassist for Wham! and for playing bass on George Michael's first two solo projects. His single "Heaven Help Me," which also featured backing vocals by George Michael, reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989.

Rudolph Isley, a member of The Isley Brothers, the group he founded with his siblings Kelly, Ronnie and Vernon, died at the age of 84, reportedly from a heart attack. The group made a major breakthrough in 1959 with "Shout" and later found success with songs including "Twist and Shout," "This Old Heart of Mine," "Summer Breeze" and "Harvest for the World." Rudolph was best known as a co-writer of "Shout."

Travis Scott launched his Circus Maximus Tour in Charlotte, North Carolina, in support of his successful album Utopia. Over the following two years, the tour expanded across six continents and grossed $265.1 million, setting a record as the highest-grossing solo rap tour in history.

Brantley Gilbert interrupted a concert in Tupelo, Mississippi, after learning that his wife had gone into labour on the tour bus with the help of a midwife. He attended the birth of his child, then returned to the stage and announced to the audience, "We've got a baby!" He subsequently finished the concert.

The film Piece by Piece, a biographical story about Pharrell Williams told through LEGO-style animation, opened in cinemas. His close collaborators, including Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake and Snoop Dogg, also appeared as LEGO characters.

Listeners of BBC Radio 2 voted The Beatles the greatest British group of all time. Queen, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac followed. The rest of the Top 10 included Led Zeppelin, Take That, Coldplay, Oasis and Electric Light Orchestra.

Welsh singer and songwriter Ian Watkins died after being stabbed in the neck at HM Prison Wakefield in England. Prison staff pronounced him dead at the scene, and police subsequently charged two men with his murder. Watkins was the lead singer of the rock band Lostprophets from 1997 to 2012. The band released five studio albums, four of which reached the UK album chart's Top 10. In December 2013, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to 13 sexual offences against children.