This Day in Music: October 17, 2026

• 2020: Spike Lee's film of David Byrne's American Utopia premieres on HBO.
  The concert film captured Byrne's Broadway show, which mixed Talking Heads favorites like “Once in a Lifetime” with songs from his solo career.
• 2008: Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs dies at 72.
  His powerful voice drove Motown classics such as “Reach Out I'll Be There” and “I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch).” He also voiced the man-eating plant Audrey II in the 1986 film Little Shop of Horrors.
• 2007: Pop singer Teresa Brewer dies at 76.
  One of the biggest female stars of the early 1950s, she topped the charts with “Music! Music! Music!” and the 1953 hit “Till I Waltz Again with You.”
• 2000: Limp Bizkit throws a Times Square party for Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water.
  The album debuted at No. 1 in the U.S., selling more than a million copies in its first week on the strength of songs like “Rollin'” and “My Way.”
• 1998: Barenaked Ladies' “One Week” hits No. 1 in America.
  True to its title, the rapid-fire song from the Canadian band's album Stunt held the top spot for a single week.
• 1991: Country and gospel star Tennessee Ernie Ford dies at 72.
  Best remembered for his deep-voiced 1955 smash “Sixteen Tons,” he passed away in Reston, Virginia.
• 1990: The Judds announce they are retiring.
  Naomi Judd cited her hepatitis diagnosis. The mother and daughter duo had a long run of country hits, and Wynonna launched her solo career in 1992.
• 1989: Billy Joel releases Storm Front.
  The album went to No. 1, and its rapid-fire history lesson “We Didn't Start the Fire” became a No. 1 single.
• 1980: Bruce Springsteen releases The River.
  The double album became his first No. 1 album and gave him his first Top 10 single, “Hungry Heart.”
• 1977: Lynyrd Skynyrd releases Street Survivors.
  Just three days later, singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines were killed when the band's plane crashed on the way to Baton Rouge. The album includes “What's Your Name” and “That Smell.”
• 1970: The Jackson 5's “I'll Be There” reaches No. 1.
  The ballad, with a young Michael Jackson on lead, stayed on top for five weeks and became one of Motown's biggest singles.
• 1964: Manfred Mann's “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” tops the U.S. chart.
  The British Invasion band held No. 1 for two weeks with its version of a song first recorded by the girl group The Exciters.
• 1960: The Drifters' “Save the Last Dance for Me” hits No. 1.
  Sung by Ben E. King and written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, it spent three weeks at the top.
• 1957: Elvis Presley's Jailhouse Rock premieres in Memphis.
  The movie premiered in Elvis's hometown, and its title song, with its famous dance sequence, became a No. 1 hit.
• 1954: Sun Records signs Johnny Cash.
  Label owner Sam Phillips signed the young singer, then going by John R. Cash, at his Memphis studio, launching one of country music's greatest careers.

Born on This Day

• 1972: Eminem, American rapper and producer
  Turns 54. The Detroit superstar behind “Lose Yourself,” which won an Academy Award, and “Without Me.”
• 1971: Chris Kirkpatrick, American singer ('N Sync)
  Turns 55. Founding member who sang the high harmonies on hits like “Bye Bye Bye.”
• 1969: Wyclef Jean, Haitian-American rapper and producer (Fugees)
  Turns 57. Co-led the Fugees on The Score and later co-wrote and produced Shakira's “Hips Don't Lie.”
• 1968: Ziggy Marley, Jamaican singer and songwriter (Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers)
  Turns 58. Bob Marley's eldest son, a multiple Grammy winner known for “Tomorrow People.”
• 1967: René Dif, Danish singer (Aqua)
  Turns 59. The male voice on Aqua's 1997 novelty smash “Barbie Girl.”
• 1958: Alan Jackson, American country singer and songwriter
  Turns 68. Country Music Hall of Famer known for “Chattahoochee” and “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).”
• 1949: Bill Hudson, American singer (The Hudson Brothers)
  Turns 77. Eldest of the brothers who had 1970s pop hits and their own TV variety show.
• 1947: Michael McKean, American actor and singer (Spinal Tap)
  Turns 79. Plays singer David St. Hubbins in the mock rock band Spinal Tap.
• 1946: Michael Hossack, American drummer (The Doobie Brothers)
  Drummed with the Doobie Brothers during the era of “Listen to the Music” and “China Grove.”
• 1942: Gary Puckett, American singer (Gary Puckett & the Union Gap)
  Turns 84. Minnesota connection: born in Hibbing. Sang the 1968 hits “Young Girl,” “Woman, Woman” and “Lady Willpower.”
• 1941: Jim Seals, American singer and songwriter (Seals & Crofts)
  Half of the soft rock duo behind “Summer Breeze” and “Diamond Girl.”
• 1941: Earl Thomas Conley, American country singer and songwriter
  Scored a string of 1980s country No. 1 hits, including “Holding Her and Loving You.”
• 1933: Jeanne Deckers, Belgian singer (“The Singing Nun”)
  Her French-language song “Dominique” was a No. 1 hit in America in 1963.
• 1923: Barney Kessel, American jazz guitarist
  Played on Julie London's “Cry Me a River” and countless Los Angeles pop sessions in the 1950s and 1960s.
• 1909: Cozy Cole, American jazz drummer
  Drummed for Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong and had his own 1958 Top 10 hit, “Topsy Part 2.”