Today in Music History

Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album was released in the US. Among other things, it contains the “Rock Notes” section, which begins with a fictional report about Rex Stardust, the lead electric triangle player of the band Toad the Wet Sprocket. Seven years later, a real band of the same name was formed in California and had hits in the 1990s with “Walk on the Ocean” and “All I Want.”

The Rolling Stones performed at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.

The Time played their first live concert.

The musical “Cats” premiered at the Wintergarden Theatre in London. In 1997, it became the longest-running musical in Broadway history.

A London court found Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page guilty of possessing cocaine. He received a 12-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £100 in court costs.

ZZ Top performed at The Summit in Houston, Texas.

Rod Stewart performed at the Hollywood Sportatorium in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

The Police released their final single, Don't Stand So Close To Me '86, and subsequently ended their career. They had hoped to reunite and record another album, but injuries and conflicts led Stewart Copeland to state that they could no longer work together.

Exodus released their second studio album Pleasures of the Flesh.

The documentary film Imagine: John Lennon, commissioned by Yoko Ono and directed by Andrew Solt, premiered in theaters.

Janet Jackson's “Miss You Much” began a four-week run at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was her second single to reach the top of the chart.

Jefferson Airplane performed a concert for which admission was one can of food donated to the San Francisco Food Bank.

Paula Abdul reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart with her debut album Forever Your Girl. The album debuted on the chart on July 23, 1988, and reached the top in its 64th week, which at the time was a record-long journey to No. 1. The album later spent a total of 10 weeks at the top and was certified 7× platinum in the US.

Tears for Fears reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart with their third studio album The Seeds of Love.

The Rolling Stones' “Mixed Emotions” reached the Top 10; it was their 23rd and final Top 10 song from 56 releases.

Soundgarden performed at the Gathering of the Tribes festival at Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California. Eddie Vedder was in the audience; the festival and Soundgarden's performance are documented as taking place on October 7, 1990.

Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA attended the premiere of their new musical Kristina från Duvemåla at the Storan Theatre in Malmö, Sweden.

Alanis Morissette's album Jagged Little Pill reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 in its 15th week, giving Maverick Records its first album to reach the top. She became the first Canadian female solo artist to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and the fourth female artist of the 1990s whose debut album reached the top of the chart. The album produced six successful singles, including “You Oughta Know,” “Ironic,” “You Learn,” “Hand in My Pocket,” and “Head over Feet,” later received 17× platinum certification in the US, and sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

Mariah Carey's album Daydream reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart. At the time, the album was also at the top of the charts in Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the US.

Peter Frampton began his tour in Boston, three days before the release of the album Frampton Comes Alive II. The album was released on October 10, 1995, and was a follow-up to his famous live album Frampton Comes Alive!

Tone Loc was arrested in Los Angeles for taking $80 from a pizzeria. He later pleaded no contest.

During the Ghost of Tom Joad tour, Bruce Springsteen sold out his solo acoustic performance at the 2,600-seat Ovens Auditorium in Charlotte, North Carolina, in just eight minutes.

Scottish singer and songwriter Lewis Capaldi was born in Glasgow. His single “Someone You Loved” reached No. 1 on the UK chart for seven weeks in 2019 and also reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in November of the same year.

Michael Jackson performed at El Menzah Stadium in Tunis before approximately 60,000 spectators during his HIStory tour. It was his first concert performance in Africa, and the tour subsequently continued in Asia.

Pearl Jam fan Mark Zupan crowd-surfed his way to the stage in a wheelchair during the band's concert at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. He later became captain of the US wheelchair rugby team and appeared in the film Murderball.

The Rock the Vote campaign, focused on registering young voters in the United States, received support from the NFL. Quarterbacks Jeff Blake, Drew Bledsoe, Jim Kelly, and Steve Young recorded public service announcements supporting the campaign.

Backstreet Boys reached an out-of-court settlement with their former manager Lou Pearlman, whom they had sued in an effort to gain control of their finances.

The series Charmed premiered on The WB, featuring Love Spit Love's cover version of “How Soon Is Now” as its theme song. Two years earlier, the same cover had been used in the film The Craft, which, like Charmed, focuses on a group of high school girls practicing witchcraft.

The first and only ARTISTdirect Online Music Awards ceremony was held at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, with winners selected through online voting. Winners included Madonna, Ricky Martin, and Nine Inch Nails. Chris Isaak, Cypress Hill, No Doubt, and The Offspring also performed.

Don Henley and Eagles Ltd. filed a federal lawsuit against Sarasota, Florida-based internet company Lovearth over the registration of several domain names associated with Henley and the Eagles, including don-henley.net, don-henley.org, donhenley.org, theendoftheinnocence.com, and e-a-g-l-e-s.com. The dispute concerned trademarks and cybersquatting.

Garth Brooks released an album as “Chris Gaines,” a fictional character created for a planned film. The concept alienated some fans, and the album was Brooks's first since 1995 not to debut at No. 1; it ranked behind Creed's Human Clay.

The Corrs won the award for Best Irish Group at the Irish Hot Press Awards; Andrea Corr won Best Female Singer, Divine Comedy won Best Irish Group, Neil Hannon won Best Male Singer, and Westlife won Best Pop Group.

Howard Stern was named Personality of the Year in the nationally syndicated radio personalities category at the Billboard/Airplay Monitor Radio Awards.

Chris LeDoux underwent a liver transplant in Omaha after being diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis in August 2000. His friend Garth Brooks had originally wanted to donate part of his liver, but he was not a suitable donor and another donor was found.

Madonna's album Music reached No. 1 on the US albums chart. The album topped the charts in more than 20 countries.

Phish played the final concert of their 2000 tour at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, and subsequently began an 815-day hiatus. They returned to live performance on New Year's Eve 2002 with a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Peter Criss played his final concert with KISS at North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, South Carolina. After the performance, he was replaced in KISS by Eric Singer.

Mick Jagger donated £100,000 to his former Dartford Grammar School to support music education, fund a music director, and purchase musical instruments. The new music center was named after him.

Courtney Love was charged with a drug-related misdemeanor. Several hours after being released on bail, she was taken to a hospital because of an overdose.

Elvis Presley released the compilation album Elvis 2nd To None, a follow-up to ELV1S: 30 #1 Hits. The collection included Presley hits not featured on the previous compilation, other notable recordings, the previously unreleased song “I'm a Roustabout,” and a remix of “Rubberneckin'” by Paul Oakenfold. Elvis Presley's official website confirms the release date as October 7, 2003.

Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars underwent hip replacement surgery at a hospital in Los Angeles at the age of 53.

Boy George was arrested in New York after falsely reporting a burglary at his Manhattan apartment. Police discovered more than 3.5 grams of cocaine during a search. The drug charges were later dropped, while George pleaded guilty to filing a false report and was fined and sentenced to five days of community service cleaning streets.

Gwen Stefani's “Hollaback Girl” became the first song certified for sales of one million digital downloads, primarily through the iTunes Store, where it was available for 99 cents. It was also the first single to have more downloads than CD sales.

Babyshambles postponed the remaining five concerts of their UK tour to give singer Pete Doherty more time to recover from drug addiction treatment.

Bruce Springsteen's album “Magic” reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart. It was his 15th studio album and his seventh No. 1 album in the UK; the album also reached No. 1 in the US and other countries. The songs “Radio Nowhere” and “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” later won a combined three Grammy Awards.

Rascal Flatts reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart with their album Still Feels Good. It was their fifth studio album and their third album to reach the top of the US chart.

Lisa Marie Presley and her fourth husband, Michael Lockwood, welcomed twins Harper and Finley.

Spotify was launched. The most-streamed song for October was “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay, while the most-streamed song for the whole of 2008 was “Human” by The Killers. Ten years later, the company reported 180 million active users and more than 40 million tracks.

Barbra Streisand's album “Love Is the Answer” reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200; it was her ninth No. 1 album, selling 180,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan. This extended her record among female artists for the most No. 1 albums in Billboard 200 history.