17 OCTOBER
In Music History
1998 The Wilkinsons make their first official appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. They had made an informal appearance on the Opry once before, when they joined Vince Gill onstage before they had a record deal.
1997 Rapper Warren G has a beef with Garth Brooks and files a lawsuit against the country star, claiming he infringed on his "G" logo.
1996 Composer Berthold Goldschmidt dies in London, England, at age 93.
1995 Sting's former financial adviser, convicted of bilking the singer to the tune of $9.4 million, is sentenced in a London court to six years in jail.
1993 Criss Oliva (lead guitarist for Savatage) is killed by a drunk driver in Zephyrhills, Florida, at age 30.
1991 Sixties British singer Sandie Shaw is arrested and fined 100 pounds for refusing to take a breathalyzer test outside her home in London.
1991 After years of alcohol abuse, "Sixteen Tons" singer Tennessee Ernie Ford dies in Reston, Virginia at 72.
1991 John Mellencamp faints during a radio station appearance in Seattle and is rushed to the hospital, where the cardiologist cites "too much coffee, stress and not enough breakfast" as the cause. His chain-smoking doesn't help either.
1990 The Judds say goodbye. With daughter Wynonna by her side, Naomi Judd announces her retirement from music due to her illness with Hepatitis C. After the duo's farewell tour, Wynonna releases her first solo album in 1992.
1989 The first practice by the San Francisco band 4 Non Blondes is postponed because of an earthquake, which also disrupts the World Series. The band later has a hit with "What's Up."
1987 "Lost in Emotion" by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam goes to #1 in the US.
1984 Blues singer/songwriter Alberta Hunter dies in New York City, at age 89. Composed "Downhearted Blues" in 1922.
1980 Bruce Springsteen releases The River.
1978 Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand record "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." The superstar session is produced by Bob Gaudio, who keeps a full orchestra standing by in the lobby.
1972 R&B singer Billy Williams, known for his hit 1957 cover of Fats Waller's "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter," dies in Chicago, Illinois, at age 62.
Street Survivors Released Three Days Before Skynyrd Plane Crash
1977Lynyrd Skynyrd release Street Survivors, the last album with frontman Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines, as both are killed only three days later after the band's plane goes down en route to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Read more17 OCTOBER
Featured Events
2005 Fats Domino returns to his Ninth Ward home for the first time since Hurricane Katrina to find it utterly destroyed, with his piano and several of his gold records among the ruined items.
2002 The Ronettes lose their case against Phil Spector, claiming they are owed royalties for songs used in movies, TV shows and commercials.More
2000 At a charity auction organized by Mick Fleetwood in London, George Michael pays £1.5 million for the upright piano on which John Lennon wrote the 1971 hit "Imagine."
1998 "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies hits #1 in the US, where it stays for... one week.
1995 Rhino releases all 58 episodes of the The Monkees in a deluxe VHS box set. It's a big box: 21 tapes, making it the largest video release of all time.More
1989 Billy Joel releases the album Storm Front, with his enduring hit "We Didn't Start The Fire."More
1987 "You Win Again" by the Bee Gees hits #1 in the UK, making them the first group with UK chart-toppers in three different decades (the '60, '70s and '80s).
1972 Eminem is born Marshall Bruce Mathers III in St. Joseph, Missouri. He eventually settles in Warren, Michigan.More
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