Award events
- Perez Prado's song “Patricia” was awarded a gold record by the Recording Industry Association of America. It was the last recording to reach No. 1 on the separate Billboard Jockeys and Top 100 charts before they were merged into the Hot 100.
- 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.
- The Doors received a gold record for “Hello, I Love You”, which reached No. 1 in the US and No. 15 in the UK. The band and many fans disliked its lighter sound. Ray Davies of The Kinks pointed out the strong similarity between the main guitar riff and the song “All Day and All of the Night”, leading to an out-of-court settlement under which the UK royalties were paid directly to Davies.
- Elvis Presley became the youngest artist and the first rock musician to receive the prestigious Bing Crosby Award from NARAS for outstanding artistic contribution to recorded music. Because he disliked award ceremonies, the lifetime achievement plaque was presented to him privately in his dressing room at the Las Vegas Hilton.
- Deep Purple received a gold record for “Smoke On the Water”, which reached No. 4 in the US and sold more than two million copies. The award was presented by the Recording Industry Association of America.
- Paul McCartney received a gold disc for more than one million copies sold of "Live and Let Die", the title song from the James Bond film of the same name. The recording reached No. 2 in the United States and No. 9 in the United Kingdom.
- 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”.
- Comedian Steve Martin received a gold record for his novelty song “King Tut”, which reached number 17 on Billboard and had sold more than 500,000 copies when it received its gold certification. It later reached million-selling status in the US. Although it was credited to “Steve Martin and the Toot Uncommons”, the backing band was actually The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
- 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”.
- Robert Plant's solo album “Pictures at Eleven” was certified gold for sales of 500,000 copies. It was his first recording following the breakup of Led Zeppelin after the death of drummer John Bonham.
- Tina Turner's album “Private Dancer” received RIAA platinum certification and the single “What's Love Got To Do With It” received gold certification. The album reached No. 3 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and the single reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, as well as No. 5 in the UK and the Top 10 in several other European countries. At the age of 44, Turner became the oldest female solo singer at the time to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100.
- Tina Turner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 N. Vine Street near Capitol Records. She began her career in 1957 in Ike Turner's band, the Kings of Rhythm, under the name Little Ann. Between 1983 and 1993, she had thirteen songs on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist, including the hit “What's Love Got To Do With It”, which reached No. 1 in 1984. She sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
- Tina Turner was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Chicago Mayor Richard Michael Daley proclaimed this day “Pops Staples Day” in honor of the musician and leader of The Staple Singers.
- B.B. King received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Randy Newman surprisingly received an Emmy Award for his music for ABC's series “Cop Rock”.
- RCA and the RIAA presented 110 gold and platinum records to the estate of Elvis Presley.
- Duran Duran received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Lauryn Hill received the New Artist of the Year and Album of the Year awards at the Source Hip Hop Music Awards in Los Angeles. R. Kelly won R&B Artist of the Year, while DMX received Artist of the Year and Solo and Live Performer of the Year.
- Kenny Loggins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. The event was timed to coincide with the home video release of Disney's “Tigger: The Movie”, for which Loggins wrote and sang the song “Your Heart Will Lead You Home”.
- Slipknot caused chaos at the Kerrang! Awards. Band members smashed glasses, set their table on fire, knocked a monitor off the stage, and destroyed a microphone. The band won three awards, including Best Single and Best Live Band.
- Lisa Marie Presley presented the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video to singer Pink.
- 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.
- At the MTV Video Music Awards in New York, winners included Missy Elliott for Video of the Year with "Work It", Good Charlotte in the Viewers Choice category for "Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous", 50 Cent for Best Rap Video with "In Da Club", and Justin Timberlake for Best Pop Video with "Cry Me A River". During a performance of "Like A Virgin", Madonna kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
- At this year's Kerrang! Awards, The Darkness won awards for Best British Band and Best Live Band, Metallica won the award for Best Band in the World, Green Day were inducted into the Kerrang! Hall of Fame, Lostprophets won the award for Best Single for “Last Train Home”, and Muse won the award for Best Album for “Absolution”.
- Ohio’s Wilberforce University awarded Lou Rawls an honorary doctorate in recognition of his charitable work for the United Negro College Fund and his lifelong service to the education of historically disadvantaged groups.
- 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.
- Green Day won seven awards at the MTV Video Music Awards in Miami, including Video of the Year for “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and the Viewer’s Choice Award. Gwen Stefani won Best Choreography for “Hollaback Girl”, while Gorillaz won Breakthrough Video for “Feel Good Inc.” Kanye West won Best Male Video for “Jesus Walks”. The ceremony took place despite concerns about Hurricane Katrina and a shooting at a pre-awards party.
- The television special “Barry Manilow: Music and Passion” won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.
- The album "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" was voted by the British public as the best album ever to reach No. 1 in a poll held to mark the 50th anniversary of the UK album chart. The Beatles also had "Revolver" at No. 6, "Abbey Road" at No. 8, and "The Beatles" ("White Album") at No. 10 among the top ten.
- The Recording Industry Association of America honored Fats Domino with the title “American Music Legend”.
- Queen guitarist Brian May received a doctorate in astrophysics from London's Imperial College, 36 years after beginning his doctoral thesis. He had interrupted his studies to pursue a music career, later completing the 48,000-word thesis, which he submitted earlier in the month, and defending it during a three-hour examination.
- Johnny Horton and guitarist James Burton were inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
- Beyoncé won four awards at the MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum in Inglewood, including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Miley Cyrus won Video of the Year for “Wrecking Ball”.
- BBC Radio 2 listeners voted Led Zeppelin's “Whole Lotta Love” the greatest guitar riff of all time. It beat, among others, “Sweet Child O' Mine” by Guns N' Roses, “Back In Black” by AC/DC, “Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple and “Layla” by Derek and the Dominos.
- Elvis Presley Forever, the second US postage stamp featuring his likeness, was unveiled at Graceland, featuring a 1955 black-and-white portrait by photographer William Speer; it was part of the Music Icons series.
- Taylor Swift and Kanye West reconciled when Swift presented him with the Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Video Music Awards, where West had famously interrupted her acceptance speech six years earlier.
- Beyoncé won Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards for “Formation”. In support of the Black Lives Matter movement, she brought four mothers of shooting victims onto the red carpet. During the evening, she and her production designer, choreographer, director, cinematographer, and editor won a total of eight awards, which according to the source represented a record number of wins in a single evening.
- Kendrick Lamar won Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards for “HUMBLE.” and Taylor Swift premiered her music video “Look What You Made Me Do” there.