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- Hindu Love Gods, a project featuring Warren Zevon and members of R.E.M., released their self-titled album Hindu Love Gods.
- Australian pop singer and songwriter Gabriella Cilmi was born on October 10, 1991. Her 2008 debut album reached number two in Australia and number eight in the UK. The single “Sweet About Me” reached number one on the Australian chart in 2010 and was also successful across Europe.
- English singer and songwriter Gabrielle Aplin was born on October 10, 1992. In 2012, she reached number one on the UK chart with a cover of “The Power of Love” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, used in a television advertisement for retailer John Lewis.
- Garth Brooks reached number one on the U.S. album chart, Billboard 200, with his fourth studio album The Chase, knocking Billy Ray Cyrus's Some Gave All from the top after it had spent 17 weeks at number one. The Chase remained at the top for six consecutive weeks.
- Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash married for the first time. He married actress Renee Suran in Marina Del Rey, California. They divorced in 1997, and Slash married again in 2001.
- A five-CD compilation album by Elvis Presley, Walk a Mile in My Shoes – The Essential '70s Masters, was released.
- No Doubt released their third studio album, Tragic Kingdom, featuring the hits “Just a Girl” and “Don't Speak.” The album reached number one in nine countries, including the U.S. and Canada, sold 10 million copies in America, and catapulted singer Gwen Stefani to fame.
- Peter Frampton released his second live album, Frampton Comes Alive! II, through IRS Records, 21 years after the enormous success of the 1975 album Frampton Comes Alive!, which sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. The new album featured live versions of songs from his solo albums of the 1980s and 1990s, but it was not commercially successful, reaching only number 121 in the UK and failing to enter the U.S. Billboard 200.
- Davy Jones sang “Daydream Believer” to Melissa Joan Hart in an episode of the series “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” titled “Dante's Inferno.”
- Jimmy Osmond, the youngest member of the Osmond singing family, welcomed his second child, Zachary, who became the 50th grandchild of George and Olive Osmond, the parents of the nine Osmond siblings.
- The deadly force of Hurricane Georges not only knocked out telephone, water and electrical services in Puerto Rico, but also prevented Billboard magazine from publishing the Hot Latin Tracks chart. For the first time in its ten-year history, the chart was not published because monitoring equipment belonging to Broadcast Data Systems was damaged by the storm, which had struck the island in late September.
- A charity auction of Elvis Presley's personal items was held in Las Vegas. A wristwatch sold for $32,500, a cigar box for $25,000, a signed baseball for $19,000, and a 1956 Lincoln Continental for $250,000.
- American singer, songwriter and actor Hoyt Axton died of a heart attack in Victor, Montana, at the age of 61. He wrote songs for Elvis Presley, Three Dog Night, John Denver, Ringo Starr and Glen Campbell. His mother, Mae Boren Axton, co-wrote “Heartbreak Hotel.”
- Christina Aguilera reached number one on the UK singles chart with “Genie in a Bottle.” In the United States, the song spent five weeks at number one, and Aguilera later won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
- Britney Spears made her UK concert debut during the first of three sold-out concert nights at London's Wembley Arena.
- Former Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung filed a federal lawsuit against his bandmates after they replaced him and began touring under the name Styx without his consent. DeYoung had been forced to stop performing because of severe chronic fatigue syndrome, which caused extreme sensitivity to light and made performing impossible for him. The dispute was eventually settled out of court, and DeYoung was permanently barred from returning to the group. Styx continued to perform his signature songs “Come Sail Away” and “The Grand Illusion.”
- Under pressure to change their name because of the attacks involving letters containing anthrax bacteria, the metal band Anthrax issued a statement announcing that they would not do so. “In light of current events, we are changing the band's name to something friendlier, ‘Basket Full Of Puppies,’” they said. “Actually, the fact that we are making fun of our name is already ridiculous.”
- At a time when broadband internet access was still rare, U2 streamed a concert from their Elevation Tour in South Bend, Indiana, free of charge on U2.com.
- Twelve protesters dressed as monkeys demonstrated outside former Stone Roses singer Ian Brown's holiday home in North Wales. They criticized the £150,000 price of the five-bedroom house, which they considered too expensive for local residents. The costumes referred to Brown's solo album Unfinished Monkey Business.
- Jay-Z released the song “'03 Bonnie And Clyde,” featuring Beyoncé in her first solo appearance following the breakup of Destiny's Child. It was the first major hint at their romantic relationship, with Jay-Z referring to the pair in the song as the “new Bobby and Whitney.”
- Six months after the death of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes in a car accident, TLC released their fourth album, 3D, which Lopes had worked on before her death.
- Twenty-one-year-old Lily Allen, who had already become famous in her native England, performed in the United States for the first time, giving a concert at Hiro Ballroom in New York City.
- The parole board informed Mark David Chapman that he would have to spend at least another two years at Attica Correctional Facility for the murder of John Lennon. Although the board acknowledged his satisfactory behavior in prison, it concluded that, given the extraordinary violence of his crime, his release would not be in the public interest.
- Sting released the album Songs from the Labyrinth, featuring 16th-century lute songs.
- Radiohead independently released their seventh studio album, In Rainbows, offering it as a download at a price listeners could choose themselves. Most people paid nothing for the download, yet the album achieved major commercial success and reached number one in the charts in the UK, U.S., France, Canada and Ireland, helped in part by pre-orders of special “discbox” editions. The album surpassed the commercial performance of its predecessor, Hail to the Thief.
- Sting topped a Blender magazine poll of the worst lyricists. The criticism included references to Vladimir Nabokov in The Police song “Don't Stand So Close to Me” and other literary allusions. Neil Peart of Rush came second and Scott Stapp of Creed third.
- Paramore's third studio album, Brand New Eyes, reached number one on the UK album chart. That same year, it also topped the charts in Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.
- Pearl Jam reached number one on the U.S. album chart with their ninth studio album, Backspacer. The album also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Portugal.
- Irish pop singer and songwriter Stephen Gately of Boyzone died at the age of 33 while on holiday in Majorca, Spain. Police found no signs of suspicious circumstances; his cause of death was later reported as a congenital heart defect. Gately was one of Boyzone's two lead singers.
- Soul pioneer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Solomon Burke died at the age of 70 aboard an airplane at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport after arriving from Los Angeles. He had a scheduled performance in the Netherlands. The cause of death was not immediately confirmed; his doctor suspected a pulmonary embolism. Burke was known for songs including “Cry to Me,” “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” and “If You Need Me.”
- Lana Del Rey released her first single, “Video Games,” a song inspired by two failed relationships.
- The British High Court ruled that The Times had not libeled Elton John in articles about tax avoidance because the singer was not directly connected to the story.
- Paul McCartney and his band surprised New Yorkers with a short, unplanned free concert on a truck in the middle of Times Square. They performed songs from the album New for approximately 3,000 people.
- Taylor Swift was named Billboard Woman of the Year for the second time on October 10, 2014. She became the first artist to receive the award twice. The honor recognizes women whose success, leadership and innovation influence the music industry.
- American tenor saxophonist Steve Mackay died at the age of 66 from sepsis in a hospital in Daly City, California. He was best known for his work with The Stooges and also performed with Violent Femmes.
- Apple ended its Elvis Presley biopic project, which was backed by Harvey Weinstein.
- Rare studio recordings by Glen Campbell, originally recorded for Elvis Presley, were announced. They included songs written by Ben Weisman and Sid Wayne, including “Got a Lot of Livin' to Do” and “Rock-A-Hula Baby.”
- Australian singer Tones and I began an eleven-week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Dance Monkey.” The song became a worldwide success and topped the charts in more than 30 countries.
- American rapper Machine Gun Kelly reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart with his fifth studio album, Tickets to My Downfall.
- Travis Scott reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with “Franchise,” featuring Young Thug and M.I.A.
- The album Autumn Variations reached number one on the UK album chart. It was Ed Sheeran's seventh UK number-one album. It debuted at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 and also topped the charts in Australia, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
- John Lodge, bassist, co-lead vocalist and songwriter for The Moody Blues, died suddenly at the age of 82. He joined the group in late 1966 and became part of its classic lineup and distinctive symphonic rock sound. He played on the landmark 1967 album Days of Future Passed, including “Nights in White Satin,” and wrote songs such as “Isn't Life Strange” and “I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band),” for which he received ASCAP recognition.
- American drummer Thommy Price died at the age of 68. From 1986, he played with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts for more than 28 years. He also performed with Scandal and Blue Öyster Cult, toured with Billy Idol's band and was a sought-after session drummer.
