Events in 2017
- The Kidd Creole, one of the founding members of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, was arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a homeless man in New York City.
- Lana Del Rey reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart with “Lust for Life.”
- Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart with “Despacito.”
- “Body Like a Back Road” by Sam Hunt had spent 25 weeks at No. 1 on the country chart, breaking the previous record held by “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line.
- The Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society reported on a newly identified prehistoric crocodile species named Lemmysuchus obtusidens in honor of Lemmy Kilmister, frontman of Motörhead.
- American country-pop singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and television host Glen Campbell died at the age of 81 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. During his career, he had 21 Billboard Top 40 hits, 75 additional songs on the country chart and more than 70 studio albums. He sold 45 million records worldwide, hosted his own television show and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
- Glen Campbell was laid to rest in a private ceremony in his hometown of Delight, Arkansas. In the two days following his death, sales of his music increased by 5,429% and streams by 1,430%, according to Nielsen Music.
- Arcade Fire reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart with their fifth studio album “Everything Now.” The album also reached No. 1 in Belgium, Ireland, Portugal and the US that year.
- David Bowie appeared posthumously in the series Twin Peaks: The Return. David Lynch used archival footage of Bowie from the film Fire Walk with Me to incorporate his character, FBI agent Phillip Jeffries, into the new series.
- Several days after Ted Nugent claimed that his involvement with the National Rifle Association had contributed to his not being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he wrote on Twitter that Ted was “just not good enough”.
- Collectors from around the world gathered at Graceland in Memphis to bid on items and memorabilia associated with him as part of the 40th anniversary of Elvis Week. The August 12 auction sold 315 items for more than $1.6 million. All came from private collectors rather than the Graceland archives owned by Lisa Marie Presley.
- Pantone announced a new color, a shade of purple honoring Prince and named after his famous Love Symbol #2.
- Calvin Harris' song “Feels”, featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean, reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart.
- Ed Sheeran began a three-week run at No. 1 on the UK album chart with his third studio album, ÷ (Divide).
- Forty years after his death, Elvis Presley reached No. 2 on the UK Official Albums Chart with the album “50 Greatest Hits”. It was his 52nd album to reach the UK Top 10. Glenn Campbell's final studio album, “Adios”, was at No. 3.
- During Elvis Week 2017, a Candlelight Vigil was held at Elvis Presley's grave in Memphis. Lisa Marie Presley, her children and Priscilla Presley also attended to thank the fans.
- Taylor Swift deleted her Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and personal YouTube accounts. Three days later, she began posting videos featuring a snake as a teaser for her confrontational song “Look What You Made Me Do,” which was released on August 25.
- The indie rock group Arcade Fire reached number one on the US Billboard 200 with their fifth studio album “Everything Now”.
- Jerry Lewis, an actor and comedian who also had a Billboard No. 10 hit in 1956 with “Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody”, died at the age of 91. After making seventeen films with Dean Martin, he continued with a solo career and succeeded in films such as “The Bellboy” and “The Nutty Professor”. As host of the Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon, he helped the charity raise more than $1.5 billion. His will later revealed that he had excluded all six of his sons, including musician Gary Lewis, and left his estate to his second wife SanDee Pitnick and adopted daughter Danielle.
- The solar eclipse over the US led music fans to purchase eclipse-related music. Bonnie Tyler's “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” recorded 18,000 downloads compared with the usual 200 per day, while Pink Floyd's “The Dark Side Of The Moon” sold 1,000 copies compared with the usual 200 per day, according to Nielsen Music.
- During the historic solar eclipse, Bonnie Tyler performed “Total Eclipse Of The Heart”, while Ozzy Osbourne performed “Bark At The Moon”.
- Halsey released the song “Bad at Love”.
- Sonny Burgess, a musician associated with Sun Records, died at the age of 88.
- The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville held a private memorial event for Glen Campbell. Jimmy Webb and the current lineup of The Beach Boys performed „I Get Around“.
- Queens of the Stone Age's album “Villains” was released.
- The first edition of the LOVELOUD festival took place in Orem, Utah, featuring Imagine Dragons, Neon Trees and Walk The Moon. Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds founded the festival to support the LGBTQ+ community.
- Kendrick Lamar returned to the top of the Billboard 200 with his fourth studio album “Damn” after a three-week run at No. 1 in May.
- 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.
- The music video for Taylor Swift's “Look What You Made Me Do” premiered at the MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The ceremony was hosted by Katy Perry and the viewership of 5.68 million was the lowest since 1994.
- Canadian drummer, guitarist and keyboard player Ronald Harry “Skip” Prokop, founding member of the rock groups The Paupers and Lighthouse, died at the age of 73. In 1969, he co-founded Lighthouse with Paul Hoffert, and the group later became internationally successful. During his career, Prokop also recorded with Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana, Peter, Paul & Mary, and Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield.
- British folk singer and songwriter Mick Softley died at the age of 77.
- Sixty-six-year-old Dave Hlubek, lead guitarist, principal songwriter and founding member of Southern rock band Molly Hatchet, died of a heart attack. He left a musical legacy that included seven gold and platinum albums and several million recordings sold worldwide.
- With her third studio album “Rainbow”, she reached number one on the US Billboard 200.
- David “Dave” Hlubek, founding member and lead guitarist of the rock band Molly Hatchet, died at the age of 66.
- Walter Becker, co-founder, songwriter, guitarist and bassist of Steely Dan, died at the age of 67. The band released eleven albums that reached the Billboard 200 Top 40 and ten singles that reached the Hot 100 Top 40.
- German bassist Holger Czukay, a member of Can, died at the age of 79.
- Rick Stevens, former lead singer of Tower of Power, died at the age of 77 from liver cancer.
- American rock band Queens of the Stone Age reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with their seventh studio album Villains.
- Taylor Swift began a two-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Look What You Made Me Do”.
- During Jason Aldean’s performance at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas, a gunman opened fire from a suite in the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel. The incident left 58 people dead and more than 500 injured.
- Graceland announced that during October the estate would be illuminated in pink to support breast cancer awareness. The pink lighting was scheduled to begin on October 2 and continue throughout the month.
- MTV revived TRL, the iconic music video countdown show that aired from 1998 to 2008. The new version underwent major changes: it had no traditional chart and was not exclusively focused on music, instead combining music with various pop-culture topics and featuring five hosts, including Vine star DC Young Fly.
- Tom Petty died on October 2, 2017, at the age of 66. He was found unconscious at home in Malibu and died after being taken to UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center. From 1978 to 1995, he had 16 singles in the Billboard Top 40, including “Don't Do Me Like That,” “Stop Draggin' My Heart Around” with Stevie Nicks, and “Free Fallin'.”
- T-Pain began an acoustic tour in San Francisco, performing his hits without his usual Auto-Tune.
- Jerry Yester, a member of The Lovin' Spoonful since 1967, was arrested in Arkansas on 30 charges of possessing child pornography and was subsequently expelled from the group. In October 2018 he pleaded guilty to eight charges, and in July 2019 he was sentenced to two years in prison and mandatory registration as a sex offender.
- The Killers earned their fifth consecutive No. 1 album on the UK chart with Wonderful Wonderful. The album also reached No. 1 in the US and Australia.
- The album Orchestral Christmas Elvis was released, the third album in the series produced by Priscilla Presley.
- Cardi B's “Bodak Yellow” reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making her the first solo female rapper without a featured artist to top the chart since Lauryn Hill in 1998.
- The Killers achieved their first US No. 1 album with their fifth studio album Wonderful Wonderful, which also reached No. 1 in the UK.
- Foo Fighters were at No. 1 on the US album chart with their ninth studio album, "Concrete and Gold", their second album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Dave Grohl had ended a self-imposed six-month hiatus from music to record the album while recovering from an injury sustained on the Sonic Highways World Tour.
- Apple ended its Elvis Presley biopic project, which was backed by Harvey Weinstein.
- Shania Twain earns her second No. 1 on the UK albums chart with Now. It is her first studio album in 15 years and also reaches No. 1 in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
- Dolly Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Children's Hospital in Nashville, which had helped her niece during leukemia treatment. The donation was intended for research into infectious diseases in children. Parton announced the gift during a hospital visit and sang songs from her children's album I Believe in You.