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Top Events
- American country singer and songwriter Loretta Lynn died at the age of 90 at her home on her ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. She wrote more than 160 songs and released 60 albums, won three Grammys, and in 1972 became the first woman to win the Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year award. Her autobiography Coal Miner's Daughter was adapted into a film, and the 1980 movie won Sissy Spacek the Academy Award for Best Actress.
- The album Abbey Road returned to number one on the UK albums chart 49 years and 252 days after its previous reign, following an expanded 50th-anniversary reissue. This set a UK record for the longest gap between two periods in which an album topped the albums chart. It had originally spent 17 weeks at number one in 1969 and 1970.
- Barbra Streisand became the first musical artist to have a number-one album on the Billboard 200 in six different decades. Her 34th studio album, Partners, reached the top of the chart and became her tenth Billboard 200 number-one album.
- Darius Rucker, former frontman of Hootie & the Blowfish, reached number one on the US country chart with his first country song, “Don't Think I Don't Think About It.” He became the first solo African American artist to reach the top of the country chart since Charley Pride in 1983. The song was his first solo Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Kings of Leon's fourth studio album, Only by the Night, entered the UK albums chart at number one. It also reached the top in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.
Births
- American country singer and guitarist Leroy Van Dyke was born in Mora, Missouri. He became famous for the hits “The Auctioneer” in 1956 and “Walk On By” in 1961, which reached number one on the US country chart and number five on the pop chart. “Walk On By” spent a total of 19 weeks at the top of the country chart.
- American steel guitarist Lloyd Green, one of the prominent studio musicians of Nashville's A-Team, was born in Leaf, Mississippi. He played on more than 5,000 recording sessions and contributed to 116 country hits that reached number one. In 1988, he was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.
- Bassist Jim Fielder, a founding member of Blood, Sweat & Tears, was born in Denton, Texas. Before the formation of Blood, Sweat & Tears, he also worked with Tim Buckley, Buffalo Springfield, and Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention.
- American guitarist and singer Duke Robillard was born. He founded Roomful of Blues, was a member of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and also worked with Bob Dylan.
- American drummer and producer Jody Stephens, a member of Big Star with Alex Chilton, was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He also worked as a producer and is the last surviving original member of Big Star. Three of the band's studio albums appeared on Rolling Stone's lists of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
- American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Barbara Kooyman, also known as Barbara K. MacDonald and Barbara K, was born in Wausau, Wisconsin. She co-founded the duo Timbuk 3 with her then-husband Pat MacDonald; their best-known song was The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades.
- Chris Lowe was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. He is an English musician, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who, together with Neil Tennant, forms the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. He began working with Tennant in 1981, and the pair later achieved worldwide success, including with the song “West End Girls.”
- Jon Secada, whose birth name is Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez, was born in Havana, Cuba. He grew up in Hialeah, Florida. He is a Cuban-American singer, songwriter, actor, and producer; he worked with Gloria Estefan, among others, and his 1992 debut album Jon Secada became an international success.
- Leo Barnes, saxophonist and manager of the Hothouse Flowers, was born in Dublin, Ireland. He grew up in an orphanage.
- Australian musician Darren Middleton, guitarist and songwriter for Powderfinger, was born. Their third album, Internationalist, reached number one on the Australian albums chart in 1998.
- American singer and songwriter M. Ward was born. He has released ten studio albums and is also a member of the duo She & Him and the folk-rock supergroup Monsters of Folk.
- Canadian composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Richard Reed Parry, known as a member of the indie rock band Arcade Fire, was born. The band won a Grammy and had a US number-one album, Everything Now.
- Lena Katina, later a member of the Russian pop duo t.A.T.u., was born in Moscow as Elena Sergeyevna Katina. She formed t.A.T.u. with Yulia Volkova, whose single “All the Things She Said” reached number one on the UK chart in 2003. The duo represented Russia at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest, where they finished third.
- Barbadian singer and songwriter Shontelle was born.
- English singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock, a member of Little Mix, was born. The group was formed on and won the eighth series of The X Factor UK, won three Brit Awards, and had 19 UK Top 10 singles, including five number-one hits.
Deaths
- Marie Lloyd collapsed on stage at the Empire Hall in Edmonton. She died three days later.
- Janis Joplin died on October 4, 1970, at the age of 27 after a heroin overdose at the Landmark Hotel in Hollywood. Shortly before her death, she was working to complete the album Pearl and recorded the song “Me and Bobby McGee.” The album Pearl was released posthumously in 1971, and “Me and Bobby McGee” became her first US number-one single; the album Pearl also reached number one on the US albums chart. Joplin failed to show up for a scheduled recording session and was subsequently found dead in her hotel room.
- J. Frank Wilson, singer and lead performer of J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers, best known for the 1964 recording “Last Kiss,” died in Texas on October 4, 1991, at the age of 49, shortly before his fiftieth birthday. Sources reported long-term problems with alcohol; some also mentioned complications related to diabetes. Wilson reportedly received only a small portion of the money from “Last Kiss,” while a substantial share went to the publisher. He continued recording with the Cavaliers after leaving the music industry and recorded as late as 1978.
- Guitar virtuoso Danny Gatton died by suicide with a firearm in his garage at his farm in Newburg, Maryland, on October 4, 1994, at the age of 49. He left no note or explanation. He was known for his exceptional mastery of blues, rockabilly, jazz, and country. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked him No. 63 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.
- Fiddler Jerry Rivers, a member of The Drifting Cowboys, the group that accompanied Hank Williams, died of cancer.
- Jazz trumpeter Art Farmer died in New York of a heart attack at the age of 71.
- Welsh musician and Badfinger drummer Michael “Mike” Gibbins died in his sleep on October 4, 2005, at the age of 56 at his home in Oviedo, Florida. He was known for the band's hits Come And Get It, No Matter What, and Day After Day; Badfinger also had the hit Baby Blue, and members of the group worked with George Harrison on the album All Things Must Pass and The Concert for Bangladesh. Contemporary reports said the cause of death was unknown at the time, while some later sources described it as a natural death.
- Paul Revere, whose real name was Paul Revere Dick, keyboardist, founder, and leader of Paul Revere & the Raiders, died on October 4, 2014, at the age of 76 after battling cancer. He led the group from 1961 to 1971, during which time they had fifteen songs in the US Billboard Top 40, including the hits “Kicks,” “Hungry,” “Good Thing,” and “Him or Me—What’s It Gonna Be?”
- American country singer and songwriter Loretta Lynn died at the age of 90 at her home on her ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. She wrote more than 160 songs and released 60 albums, won three Grammys, and in 1972 became the first woman to win the Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year award. Her autobiography Coal Miner's Daughter was adapted into a film, and the 1980 movie won Sissy Spacek the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Other Events
- Perry Como recorded the song “That Old Gang of Mine” with the Ted Weems Orchestra in New York. The recording was made on October 4, 1939, and was released on the Decca label.
- “Piano Concerto in B Flat” by Freddy Martin and His Orchestra reached number one on the US chart on October 4, 1941. The recording was based on Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto.
- Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five recorded the song “Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby?” on October 4, 1943. The recording was later released in 1944 as the B-side of the single “G.I. Jive” and became one of Jordan's best-known songs.
- Elvis performed at the Boys Club Gymnasium in Paris, Texas, as part of the Louisiana Hayride Jamboree. Also appearing were Jimmy & Johnny, Johnny Horton, Betty Amos, Willie Birdbrain, Daldon & Lulu, and Sonny Trammel; the show was sponsored by the Optimist Club. The show began at 8:00 p.m.
- Elvis Presley finished second to Pat Boone in a music poll conducted by NME magazine.
- The results of the annual NME readers' poll named Pat Boone the world's number-one male singer, while Elvis Presley finished second. Among the top British groups were The King Brothers and The Stargazers.
- During his military service in Germany, after arriving at the hotel in Bad Homburg, Elvis had dinner with Vernon, Minnie, Red West, and Lamar Fike. A crowd of fans gathered outside the hotel.
- Alvin & The Chipmunks got their own television show, The Alvin Show, on CBS. They had previously enjoyed successful hits including The Chipmunk Song, Alvin's Harmonica, and Ragtime Cowboy Joe. The show was canceled after one season in prime time, but later enjoyed a second life through Saturday morning reruns until 1965.
- The instrumental song Telstar by The Tornados, named after the communications satellite, reached number one on the UK singles chart and began a five-week run at the top. The song was written and produced by Joe Meek and became the first major hit by a British group to also reach number one in the US. It sold at least five million copies worldwide.
- Eric Clapton, then eighteen years old, replaced sixteen-year-old Anthony “Top” Topham in The Yardbirds. Topham left because of his parents' concerns and uncertainty about leaving art school. Clapton subsequently became an important part of the band and, according to some sources, first performed with The Yardbirds at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond. Topham later worked in design, painting, and music and rejoined The Yardbirds in 2013–2015.
- Billboard reported on the growing trend of hot-rod songs replacing surf songs. “Little Deuce Coupe” by The Beach Boys was at number 15 on the Billboard chart. Capitol Records supplied disc jockeys and retailers with a special glossary of terms used in hot-rod culture because of regional differences in automotive slang.
- The Beatles made their first appearance on the British television program Ready Steady Go!, where they were interviewed by Dusty Springfield. They performed “Twist and Shout,” “I’ll Get You,” and “She Loves You,” and appeared in grey collarless suits.
- Elvis and his entire team returned to Memphis in a Dodge Motor Home from the filming of Paradise Hawaiian Style. Along the way, they traditionally stopped at the Holiday Inn on Route 66 in Albuquerque.
- Johnny Cash was arrested at the airport in El Paso after returning from Mexico, when customs officials found hundreds of Dexedrine (amphetamine) and Equanil (sedative) tablets in his guitar case, which he had purchased in Ciudad Juárez. He spent the night in jail, later pleaded guilty, and received a $1,000 fine and a suspended 30-day jail sentence.
- Bobby Hebb received a gold record for the song “Sunny,” which reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 12 in the UK.
- The Byrds played the first of a series of thirteen concerts at The Village Gate club in New York City.
- The Vince Guaraldi Trio recorded music at Desilu's Gower Street Studio in Hollywood for the Halloween television special It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The session included a new arrangement of “Linus and Lucy” featuring prominent flute parts by Ronald Lang.
- George Harrison and John Lennon appeared on David Frost's television program, where they expressed support for transcendental meditation. Author Juan Mascaró later sent Harrison a book containing a translation of Chapter 47 of the Tao Te Ching, whose text Harrison used as the basis for the song “The Inner Light.”
- A ten-day joint UK tour by Traffic, The Young Rascals, Vanilla Fudge, Art, and Keith West began at Finsbury Park in London.
- Cream began their farewell tour with a concert at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in California. The tour included 22 concerts at 19 venues and ended on November 26 at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
- Elvis Presley released the album Singer Presents Elvis Singing Flaming Star And Others.
- Led Zeppelin, then still billed as The Yardbirds or The New Yardbirds, made their UK concert debut on October 4, 1968, at the Mayfair Ballroom in Newcastle upon Tyne. The performance was part of an autumn UK tour; Terry Reid's Fantasia was listed as the support act, and the ticket cost 10 shillings and 6 pence. The group adopted the name Led Zeppelin later in October.
- The album Green River reached number one on the US Billboard 200 on October 4, 1969, beginning a four-week run at the top. It was Creedence Clearwater Revival's first album to reach number one on any Billboard chart. The album included Bad Moon Rising, Lodi, Green River, and Commotion, and reached number 2 in Canada. It was later ranked No. 95 on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
- Crosby, Stills & Nash released the song “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.”
- Led Zeppelin released their third studio album, Led Zeppelin III. The band significantly moved away from its previous hard-rock sound, also incorporating folk and Celtic influences; the album included the song Immigrant Song.
- Ten Years After performed at the Town Hall in Birmingham, West Midlands, England.
- The J. Geils Band performed at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
- BBC broadcast the 500th episode of Top of the Pops. Performers included Slade, Gary Glitter, and The Osmonds. The Who broke the show's rules against miming during their appearance, and Pete Townshend smashed a guitar on stage, which led to the group being banned from appearing on the program.
- John Lennon released the album Walls And Bridges in the UK. The album was created during his separation from Yoko Ono and became his US number-one album, reaching the top of the Billboard chart several weeks later.
- Rod Stewart released his final solo album for Mercury Records, Smiler. His former Faces bandmates also participated in the recording.
- Thin Lizzy played their first concert with the new two-guitar lineup of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson in Wales; the concert took place at Aberystwyth University. Gorham and Robertson developed the band's distinctive twin-guitar style.
- David Essex reached number one on the UK singles chart with Hold Me Close, where it remained for three weeks.
- Wings released the single “Letting Go” in the United States.
- AC/DC performed at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany.
- At around 3:30 a.m., Elvis Presley arrived on a Harley-Davidson at the Vickers gas station on Elvis Presley Boulevard in Memphis. He stopped to refuel and spent nearly an hour with a large crowd of fans, talking, signing autographs, showing a rare black diamond ring, and joking with those present. He paid exactly 83 cents for the gasoline by credit card and then rode away on his Harley-Davidson.
- Tammy Wynette announced that she had been kidnapped from a shopping center in Nashville, beaten, and held in her car for two hours by a man wearing a ski mask. According to her account, the kidnapper threatened her with a gun and forced her to drive approximately 80 miles from Nashville before releasing her. After her death, her daughter Jackie Daly claimed that Wynette had fabricated the kidnapping to cover up domestic violence by George Richey.
- Jimmy Buffett appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine while promoting the album Volcano. The album reached number 14 on the Billboard 200 and number 13 on the country chart. The singles Fins, Volcano, and Survive also charted. The article also covered the recording of the album in Montserrat at George Martin's AIR Studios near the then-inactive volcano.
- During halftime of the USC vs. Arizona State football game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and Mick Fleetwood performed together with the USC Trojan Marching Band. Nicks twirled a baton, Fleetwood played the bass drum, and Buckingham conducted the band. The 112-member USC marching band had participated in the recording of “Tusk,” and Fleetwood Mac subsequently presented the band with a platinum record for its participation in the recording.
- Results of the Melody Maker readers' poll: Kate Bush was named best female singer, Peter Gabriel best male singer, Ritchie Blackmore best guitarist, Phil Collins best drummer, and Genesis best band. The best single was Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2), and Saxon was named the most promising new act.
- The first episode of the BBC Radio 2 music program All Time Greats, hosted by Desmond Carrington, was broadcast. The program aired on Sunday afternoons and Carrington's program was later renamed The Music Goes Round.
- CBS Records released the children's album In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record.
- The band Squeeze broke up.
- The Smiths played their first live concert during the student music and fashion event An Evening of Pure Pleasure at the Ritz in Manchester. Blue Rondo A La Turk appeared as the support act, and The Smiths performed three songs: The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, Suffer Little Children, and Handsome Devil.
- Paul Simon reached number one on the UK albums chart with his seventh solo studio album, “Graceland,” where it remained for five weeks.
- Ringo Starr and his wife Barbara Bach flew to Tucson, Arizona, where they entered the Sierra Tucson Rehabilitation Clinic for treatment of alcohol and drug addiction. They completed an approximately six-week program together and subsequently returned to England.
- A federal court in Georgia heard two lawsuits against Ozzy Osbourne and CBS Records. The parents of two teenagers claimed that their children had committed suicide after listening to the song “Suicide Solution” and that the recording contained subliminal messages encouraging suicide. The cases were dismissed with reference to a 1988 California precedent, and in 1992 the US Supreme Court declined to hear the families' appeal.
- Def Leppard released Retro Active, an album compiled from previously unreleased tracks, B-sides, and studio recordings from various periods of the band's career.
- Dream Theater released the album Awake.
- Stomach surgery for Eagles singer Glenn Frey caused a delay to the band's long-awaited reunion tour, which was aptly titled Hell Freezes Over.
- At the 29th annual Country Music Association Awards, Alan Jackson won Entertainer of the Year, Alison Krauss was named Female Vocalist of the Year, and Vince Gill won Male Vocalist of the Year. Alison Krauss was also the evening's most successful recipient, winning four awards.
- Roger Miller was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
- The song “4 Seasons of Loneliness” reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.
- Farm Aid '97 returned to Illinois on October 4, 1997, where its first edition had been held in 1985. The sold-out concert took place at the New World Music Theater in Tinley Park and featured, among others, Dave Matthews Band, John Fogerty, Beck, and The Allman Brothers Band. According to the stated figures, the event raised more than $1 million to support American farmers.
- Mariah Carey reached number one on the US Billboard 200 with her sixth studio album, Butterfly. The album also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Greece, and Japan.
- Fifteen-year-old country singer Jessica Andrews received the first-ever Youth Achievement Award in her home county of Carroll County, Tennessee.
- Janie Hendrix, Jimi Hendrix's half-sister, announced plans to exhume his body and move it to a new mausoleum. The plan included paid fan visits, the option to purchase burial plots near Hendrix's new grave, and other ways of financing the memorial. Following public outrage, the plan to exhume and move the remains was abandoned.
- Paul McCartney released the album “Run Devil Run,” returning to his rock 'n' roll roots after the period following the death of his wife Linda. The album consisted mainly of rock 'n' roll cover versions, including “Coquette” and “Movie Magg.” Musicians who played on the recording included David Gilmour of Pink Floyd and Ian Paice of Deep Purple.
- Craig David won three awards at the MOBO Awards: Best R&B Act, Best UK Newcomer, and Best UK Single for “Fill Me In.”
- The Dixie Chicks were major winners at the CMA Awards. They won Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year for Fly, Vocal Group of the Year, and Video of the Year for “Goodbye Earl.”
- A federal court denied DownloadCard's request for a preliminary injunction in its dispute with Universal Music Group concerning Bon Jovi's album Bounce.
- Beyoncé and Sean Paul began a nine-week run at number one on the US singles chart with Baby Boy.
- Muse reached number one on the UK albums chart with their third studio album, Absolution. The album also topped the chart in France, while reaching number 107 in the US.
- Sony BMG Strategic Marketing Group released Hit Story, a three-CD collection containing 80 Elvis Presley hits.
- Exodus released their seventh studio album, Shovel Headed Kill Machine.
- Little Big Town released their second studio album, The Road to Here. The album produced four singles that reached the Top 20 of the country chart: “Boondocks,” “Bring It On Home,” “Good as Gone,” and “A Little More You.”
- Nickelback released their fifth album, All The Right Reasons, featuring the hits “Photograph,” “Far Away,” and “Rockstar.” The album reached number one in both Canada and the US, where it sold more than 10 million copies.
- The opening concert of the Barbra Streisand tour at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center set a record for the highest one-day gross in the arena's ten-year history: $5,265,600 from an attendance of 16,510.
- Former R. Kelly employee Henry Vaughn filed a lawsuit accusing the singer of assault, unlawful restraint, and breach of contract concerning royalties. He also claimed that Kelly and his associates dragged him into the basement of his home and repeatedly beat him.
- A federal jury in Minnesota found Jammie Thomas-Rasset liable on October 4, 2007, for willful copyright infringement involving 24 sound recordings shared through the peer-to-peer service Kazaa. The jury awarded the rights holders statutory damages of $9,250 for each recording, totaling $222,000. It was the first trial against an individual in the recording industry's campaign against illegal music sharing, which began in 2003 and involved thousands of lawsuits.
- The Rolling Stones set a new record for the total gross of a concert tour with the A Bigger Bang Tour. The tour ran from late 2005 through August 2007, with the band playing 113 concerts to more than 3.5 million people and grossing £247 million ($437 million). It surpassed U2's previous record with the Vertigo Tour, which grossed £220 million ($389 million).
- Darius Rucker, former frontman of Hootie & the Blowfish, reached number one on the US country chart with his first country song, “Don't Think I Don't Think About It.” He became the first solo African American artist to reach the top of the country chart since Charley Pride in 1983. The song was his first solo Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Kings of Leon's fourth studio album, Only by the Night, entered the UK albums chart at number one. It also reached the top in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.
- Bruno Mars released his debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans.
- Agnetha Fältskog of ABBA, aged 62, announced her return to recording after more than eight years away from the music scene. Her last album, My Colouring Book, was released in 2004. The recording sessions later resulted in the album A, released in 2013, and marked her return to music.
- Tommy Roe released the four-track mini-album Memphis Me, his first new music since the late 1990s.
- The Scottish indie rock band alt-J earned their first UK number-one album with their second studio album, This Is All Yours.
- Barbra Streisand became the first musical artist to have a number-one album on the Billboard 200 in six different decades. Her 34th studio album, Partners, reached the top of the chart and became her tenth Billboard 200 number-one album.
- Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj reached number one on the UK singles chart with Bang Bang.
- T-Pain began an acoustic tour in San Francisco, performing his hits without his usual Auto-Tune.
- The Warner Bros. Pictures film Joker used Gary Glitter's song “Rock and Roll Part 2.” The use of the song caused controversy because of Glitter's conviction for sexual offenses and concerns that he might receive significant royalties from the film. The rights holders later confirmed that Gary Glitter would receive no royalties or other payments from the use of the song because he had previously sold his rights; in the US, the publishing rights are held by Universal Music Publishing Group.
- The album Abbey Road returned to number one on the UK albums chart 49 years and 252 days after its previous reign, following an expanded 50th-anniversary reissue. This set a UK record for the longest gap between two periods in which an album topped the albums chart. It had originally spent 17 weeks at number one in 1969 and 1970.
- Lady Gaga did not have to pay a $500,000 reward to the woman who returned her stolen French bulldogs in 2021. The judge ruled that Jennifer McBride was not entitled to the reward because she later admitted to receiving stolen property. McBride also sought $1.5 million in damages, but the court rejected her claim.