On This Day In History

[Bikkie]

Department of Social Security head office, 1939
1939
Welfare plan gets baptism of fire
A massive fire destroyed the nearly completed three-storey Social Security building. Just seven weeks later, a replacement building was opened by Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage.

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Filbert Bayi holds off John Walker to win the 1500 m
1974
'The greatest middle distance race of all time'
The men’s 1500-m final was run on the last day of the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games. Tanzanian Filbert Bayi ran the first 800 m in an astonishing 1 minute 52.2 seconds, conserved energy on the third lap, and held off 22-year-old New Zealander John Walker to set a new world record of 3:32.16.



In Music History

2025-The Beatles win the Best Rock Performance Grammy for "Now And Then," the first Grammy-nominated song made with help from AI, which was used to create John Lennon's vocal. It's their fourth post-breakup Grammy, matching their total from when the band was active.

2025-On her fifth rodeo getting nominated for the Album Of The Year Grammy, Beyoncé finally wins for Cowboy Carter. The other big winner is Kendrick Lamar, who wins five awards for "Not Like Us," including Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Music Video.

2019-Marshmello performs a virtual concert inside the online game Fortnite that is seen by an estimated 10 million gamers. To pull it off, he is rigged to a body-motion suit that transfers his movements to the screen. It's the first large-scale integration of a concert within a video game.

2011-Leonard Cohen's first grandchild is born to proud parents Lorca Cohen, Rufus Wainwright and "deputy dad" Jorn Weisbrodt. Little Viva Katherine, named after Wainwright's mother, the folk singer Kate McGarrigle, is born only a year after Cohen reportedly remarked on childhood to both Lorca and Rufus: "You know, it's pretty much the only amazing thing there is."

The White Stripes Break Up
2011-The White Stripes split up after six albums, ending their run as one of the most successful rock duos.

2007-Joe Hunter, who played piano in the Motown house band The Funk Brothers, dies at age 79.

2007-The Spinners founding member Billy Henderson dies of complications from diabetes at age 67 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

2004-Exodus return after a 12-year hiatus with their sixth studio album, Tempo of the Damned.

2002Paul Baloff, who sang on Exodus' 1985 debut album, Bonded Blood, dies of a heart attack at age 41.

1999-Freddy Fender is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1996-Gene Kelly, one of the most famous dancers of his time, dies at age 83. Kelly was also an accomplished singer, known for crooning the title track of Singin' In The Rain.

Bill Murray Wakes Up To "I Got You Babe"... Again
1993-Bill Murray can't stop waking up to the Sonny and Cher song "I Got You Babe" in the movie Groundhog Day.

1993-Willie Nelson settles his $17 million tax debt with the US Internal Revenue Service by paying them $9 million in cash and assets already seized. Some of the cash was raised through sales of his 1991 album The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories, released specifically to fund his payout.

1992-Todd Rundgren has his third child, a son named Rebop.

1985-"I Want To Know What Love Is" by Foreigner begins a two-week run at #1 in the US, the first song with a gospel choir to top the chart. The song was written by Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones and inspired by the woman who would later become his wife: Ann Dexter-Jones.

1980-The Specials hit #1 in the UK for the first time with "Too Much Too Young," but they're busy touring America, where their ska sound has yet to find much of an audience.

1979-Sid Vicious of The Sex Pistols, out on bail after being accused of killing his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, dies of a heroin overdose at age 21.
Shakira Is Born

1977-Shakira is born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll in Barranquilla, Colombia. At 13, she gets a record deal with Sony Music – the first step on her path to becoming a worldwide superstar.

1976-Lynyrd Skynyrd release Gimme Back My Bullets. It's their fourth album, following Nuthin' Fancy and preceding Street Survivors, which is their last release before a fatal plane crash ends the original lineup.

1975-Billy Mohler, best known as a member of The Calling, is born in Laguna Beach, California.

1975-Stevie Wonder's daughter Aisha (heard crying at the beginning of "Isn't She Lovely") is born. Aisha is Wonder's first child, born to Yolanda Simmons.

"The Way We Were" Hits #1
1974-Barbra Streisand scores her first #1 when "The Way We Were" hits the top spot.

1973-Elvis Presley meets Muhammad Ali in Las Vegas. The two exchange gifts, and Ali later says, "I felt sorry for him because he didn't enjoy life the way he should. He stayed indoors all the time. I told him he should go out and see people."

1973-NBC debuts The Midnight Special rock variety show, its response to ABC's popular In Concert series. The first host: Helen Reddy.

1973-Emerson, Lake and Palmer keyboard player Keith Emerson injures his hands when a rigged piano explodes prematurely during a San Francisco gig, leaving him with minor cuts and a broken fingernail.

1971-The Point!, an animated fable written by pop star Nilsson, makes its debut on ABC's Movie of the Week.

1968-After cycling through a number of band names (including Bag 'O Nails and Navy Blue), Ian Anderson's group plays the Marquee Club in London as Jethro Tull, a name that sticks. Their agent suggested the name; Jethro Tull is the inventor of the seed drill.

1966-Robert DeLeo, who will form Stone Temple Pilots along with his brother Dean and lead singer Scott Weiland, is born in Montclair, New Jersey.

1963-The Beatles begin their first British tour at the Gaumont in Bradford. They're listed last on the bill, which includes The Honeys, The Kestrals, The Red Price Orchestra and 16-year-old Helen Shapiro.

1963-Eva Cassidy is born in Washington, D.C. She is raised in Maryland.

1959-At the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper play their last show as part of the "Winter Dance Party" tour. Admission: $1.25. The last song of the night: The Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace.

1957-Dale Hawkins records "Susie Q."

1957-Fats Domino makes an appearance on The Perry Como Show, singing his hits "Blue Monday" and "Blueberry Hill."

1956-The Coasters sign with Atlantic Records.

1949-Ross Valory, bass player with Journey and the Steve Miller Band, is born in San Francisco.

1948-Al McKay (of Earth, Wind & Fire) is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1947-Peter Lucia (of Tommy James & the Shondells) is born in Morristown, New Jersey.

1946-Howard Bellamy (of the country duo The Bellamy Brothers) is born in Darby, Florida.

1942-Graham Nash is born in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. After founding The Hollies in 1962, he leaves in 1968 to make more newsworthy music, which he does with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

1940-Alan Caddy (guitarist of The Tornados, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates) is born in Chelsea, London, England.

1937-Guy Lombardo and His Orchestra record "Boo Hoo."

1932-Jazz musician Arthur Lyman, known as "The King of Lounge Music," is born in Kauai, Hawaii.

1927-Jazz saxophonist Stan Getz is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1912-Burton Lane, known for composing the music for the Broadway productions of Finian's Rainbow (1947) and On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965), is born Morris Hyman Kushner in New York City.

1900-The opera Louise by Gustave Charpentiers (his most famous composition) premieres in Paris.

1525-Italian Renaissance composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina is born in the town of Palestrina near Rome.

[Bikkie]

Headline from Wellington Independent, 11 February 1868
1868
Killer storm sweeps the country
An ex-tropical cyclone swept south across the country from Saturday 1st. By the time it moved away on Tuesday 4th, more than 40 people had died.

Ruins of the Napier nurses’ home following the earthquake
1931
Deadly Hawke's Bay earthquake
When the earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, struck at 10.47 a.m., many buildings in central Napier and Hastings collapsed.



In Music History

2021-TJ Osborne of the Brothers Osborne comes out as gay in an interview with Time, making him the first openly gay country artist signed to a major label.

2019-In Atlanta, 21 Savage is arrested in an immigration crackdown and detained for nine days. It's revealed that he was born in England and has been living as an undocumented immigrant since his visa expired in 2006. During his detention he watches the Grammy Awards, where he's nominated for Record Of The Year for his Post Malone collaboration "Rockstar." He finally gets his green card in 2023.

2018-Lady Gaga cancels the remainder of her Joanne tour, citing severe pain caused by fibromyalgia. She later reveals the cause to be a psychotic break, telling Rolling Stone, "I completely crashed. It was really scary."

2015-Former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight is rushed to the hospital after pleading not guilty in his connection with a fatal hit-and-run just days before. His friend Terry Carter was killed in the incident and actor Cle Denyale Sloan was injured during an altercation over the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. Knight faces charges of murder and attempted murder, along with two counts of hit-and-run.

Phil Spector Kills Lana Clarkson
2003-Phil Spector is charged with murder after police are called to his 33-room mansion in Alhambra, California, and discover the actress Lana Clarkson dead from a gunshot wound.

2013-Beyoncé invigorates the 2013 Super Bowl halftime show with a performance that reunites Destiny's Child.

2001-Shaggy's "It Wasn't Me," based on an Eddie Murphy routine about what to do when you get caught cheating, goes to #1 in America.

1997-David Bowie releases the electronica-influenced album Earthling, including the Grammy-nominated song (Best Male Rock Vocal Performance) "Dead Man Walking," and the paranoia-tinged track "I'm Afraid Of Americans," featuring Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.

1994-Tori Amos charts on the Hot 100 for the first time with "God" from her sophomore solo album, Under The Pink. It peaks at #72.

1990-Sean Kingston is born Kisean Anderson in Miami. His pop-reggae sound gets the attention of producer J.R. Rotem, who signs him to his label and issues his first single, "Beautiful Girls," in 2007. The song goes to #1 and leads to a run of hits that lasts through 2013, but in 2025 Kingston is convicted of wire fraud after exploiting his celebrity to steal luxury goods.

1989-"Wild Thing" by Tone Loc becomes the first rap single certified Platinum, with sales of over a million.

1986-The Firm release Mean Business, their second and final album.

1981-At The Who concert at the Rainbow Theatre in London, Pete Townshend drinks four bottles of brandy onstage, and instead of playing, mouths off to the crowd. His bandmates just keep playing without him. Months later, Townshend gets treatment for his alcoholism but turns to drugs, once again putting his life in danger. In early 1982, he rehabs again and finally gets sober.

1980-Studio 54 throws one last bash with A-list regulars Diana Ross, Andy Warhol and Richard Gere before the owners, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, go to jail for tax evasion.

1979-"Y.M.C.A." by The Village People goes to #2 in America, where it stays for three weeks, unable to overtake fellow disco stalwarts "Le Freak" and "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" In many other territories, including Australia, Canada and the UK, the song goes to #1.

1979-20 years after the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Del Shannon and The Drifters perform a tribute show in Clear Lake, Iowa, where Holly's last concert took place.

1979-The Blues Brothers' album Briefcase Full of Blues hits #1 in the US - not bad for two comedians (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) who formed the duo for Saturday Night Live.

1978-The TV-movie Dead Man's Curve, the first to deal with the tragic Jan & Dean story, premieres on ABC.

1978-Harry Chapin, who has started an organization to fight hunger called World Hunger Year, meets with US President Jimmy Carter to discuss the project.

1977-Reggaeton star Daddy Yankee is born Ramon Rodriguez in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

1976David Bowie opens his US tour with a new persona: The Thin White Duke. He's dressed in a black-vested suit with slicked-back hair. Bowie later described the persona as "a nasty character indeed."

1973-Elton John's reptilian rocker "Crocodile Rock" hits #1 in America for the first of three weeks, giving him his first chart-topper in that country.

1971-Lynn Anderson's "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden" is certified Gold.

1969-Beatles John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr hire Allen Klein as the group's new manager, against the express wishes of Paul McCartney, who preferred his father-in-law Lee Eastman. The dissension is a deciding factor in the group's breakup a year later.

1968-The Lemon Pipers hit #1 in America with "Green Tambourine," a psychedelic song about a busker.

1967-Joe Meek, an experimental pop pioneer who wrote and produced the Tornados' "Telstar," fatally shoots his landlady before turning the gun on himself.

1966-Paul McCartney meets Stevie Wonder for the first time after Wonder's show at London's Scotch Of St. James nightclub.

1964-The Beach Boys release "Fun, Fun, Fun," which stalls at #5 in the US, thanks to Beatlemania.

1961-Bob Dylan makes his first recordings, versions of "San Francisco Bay Blues" and "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well," at the home of friends Sid and Bob Gleason in East Orange, New Jersey.

1960-Frank Sinatra launches the first fully artist-owned label, Reprise Records (pronounced "repreeze"), so he can own his own masters. Some of his cohorts, including Dean Martin and Rosemary Clooney, join the label, which is sold to Warner Brothers in 1963, where it becomes home to a number of famous acts, including Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell and Green Day.

The Day The Music Died
1959-Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson are killed in a plane crash. Don McLean would call it "The Day the Music Died" in his 1971 hit "American Pie."

1959-Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst of The Cure is born in Horley, Surrey, England. A founding member, he starts out on drums, then moves to keyboards before he is sacked by Robert Smith in 1989.

1956-Lee Ranaldo (guitarist for Sonic Youth) is born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York.

1950-The Ames Brothers' "Rag Mop" hits #1.

1949-Arthur Kane (bass guitarist for New York Dolls) is born in The Bronx, New York City.

1947-Folk singer Melanie is born Melanie Safka in Queens, New York. She makes a big impact at Woodstock, where she plays on the muddy first day, inspiration for her song "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)."

1947-Dave Davies (lead guitarist for The Kinks) is born in Fortis Green, London, England.

1945-Johnny Cymbal is born John Hendry Blair in Ochiltree, Ayrshire, Scotland.

1943-Folk rocker Shawn Phillips is born in Fort Worth, Texas. He starts his music career as a session musician for Donovan.

1943-Eric Haydock (original bass guitarist for The Hollies) is born in Stockport, Cheshire, England.

1943-Dennis Edwards (of The Temptations) is born in Fairfield, Alabama. He replaces lead singer David Ruffin in 1968.

1941-Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra records "Amapola."

1940-Angelo D'Aleo (of Dion & The Belmonts) is born in the Belmont neighborhood of The Bronx, New York City.

1935-Blues rocker Johnny "Guitar" Watson is born in Houston, Texas.

1928-Pop singer Frankie Vaughan is born Frank Ableson in Liverpool, England.

1920-Actor/singer Russell Arms is born in Berkeley, California. In the '50s, he becomes a popular vocalist on the NBC series Your Hit Parade.

1809-German composer Felix Mendelssohn is born in Hamburg.

[Bikkie]

1950
Opening ceremony at British Empire Games in Auckland
Forty thousand spectators packed Eden Park for the opening ceremony of the fourth British Empire Games – the first staged since the Second World War.

Lynne Cox swimming Cook Strait, 1975
1975
First woman swims Cook Strait
American Lynne Cox swam from the North Island to the South in 12 hours 7 minutes. The fourth person to do so, she battled heavy seas and strong winds.

USS Buchanan entering Sydney Harbour anti-nuclear cartoon
1985
USS Buchanan refused entry to New Zealand
New Zealand's Labour government refused the USS Buchanan entry because the United States would neither confirm nor deny that the warship had nuclear capability.



In Music History
2024-Taylor Swift wins the Album Of The Year Grammy for Midnights, making her the first artist to win that award four times. Miley Cyrus gets Record Of The Year for "Flowers" and Billie Eilish takes Song Of The Year for "What Was I Made For?" from the movie Barbie.

2017-Black Sabbath play the final concert of their farewell tour at the Genting Arena in their English home city of Birmingham. Their final song of the night, "Paranoid," is streamed live on Facebook so fans around the world can witness the historic moment onstage.

2016-Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White dies at age 74 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

2015-Post Malone, 19, uploads a demo of his song "White Iverson" on SoundCloud. It takes off, landing him a record deal and launching his career.

2013-Reg Presley (lead singer The Troggs) dies of lung cancer, coupled with a series of strokes, at age 71.

2013-R&B singer Darlene McCrea (of The Cookies) dies.

2013-Jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd (of The Blackbyrds) dies at age 80.

2012-About 100 dancers participate in a Soul Train-style line dance in Times Square as a tribute to the recently deceased founder of the show, Don Cornelius.

2012-Adele becomes the first female British artist to have three #1 songs from the same album top the Billboard Hot 100 chart when "Set Fire to the Rain" hits the top spot, following "Rolling In The Deep" and "Someone Like You" from the album 21.

2010-A judge rules that the flute riff of the Men at Work song "Down Under" plagiarizes another Australian classic: the 1932 song "Kookaburra."

2009-Lux Interior (of The Cramps), real name: Erick Lee Purkhiser, dies of aortic dissection at age 62.

2008-Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart resurrect Grateful Dead for a benefit concert in support of presidential hopeful Barack Obama in San Francisco.

2008-John Mellencamp becomes the first of many artists to accuse soon-to-be-Republican presidential nominee John McCain of using their music without authorization. McCain had been using the song "Our Country," and while he had the legal rights to do so, Mellencamp makes it clear he does not support McCain and asks that he refrain from using his music.

2008-With digital delivery transforming the industry, some record companies package releases with additional goodies. The Virgin-owned Astralwerks label issues Laura Marling's debut album, Alas, I Cannot Swim, in what they call a "songbox" format, which includes a concert ticket and souvenirs representing each song along with the CD.

2007-Razorlight members Johnny Borrell and Carl Dalemo clash onstage at a gig in Lyon. The concert is halted, but the band returns to finish the set.

2002-On the occasion of civil-rights activist Rosa Parks' 89th birthday, Stevie Wonder sings his song "Happy Birthday" to her at the premiere of her TV-movie biography The Rosa Parks Story. The song had originally been written by Wonder to help bring about a national Martin Luther King holiday.

1999-In a daring move, Rykodisc becomes the first music label to give its stamp of approval to MP3, the controversial Internet-based music distribution format that struck fear into the hearts of many music industry executives.

1998-Judas Priest lead singer Rob Halford comes out as gay in an interview with MTV. "I feel this is the moment to discuss it," he says. "A lot of homophobia still exists in the music world."

1997-The Offspring return with their fourth studio album, Ixnay on the Hombre - the follow-up to their 1994 breakthrough album Smash and the band's first after signing to Columbia Records in 1996.

1989-Thanks to radio-station rediscovery, Sheriff hit #1 in America with the ballad "When I'm With You," which peaked at #61 when it was first released in 1983. The band, which has been defunct since 1985, never get back together.

1987-Liberace dies of AIDS-related pneumonia at age 67.

Janet Jackson Takes Control
1986-Janet Jackson, 19, asserts her independence on her third album, Control, where she takes on much of the songwriting and production. With five big hits, including the #1 "When I Think of You," it vaults her into a league with her brother Michael.

1984-Thanks to a music video that puts their flamboyant frontman Boy George on a Mississippi steamboat in the 1800s, the British band Culture Club hit #1 in America with "Karma Chameleon."

1983-Karen Carpenter of the Carpenters dies at age 32 of complications from anorexia.

1982-Alex Harvey (of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band) dies of a massive heart attack at age 46.

Ramones Album Produced By Phil Spector Released
1980-The Ramones release their fifth album, End of the Century, produced by Phil Spector. Dee Dee Ramone claims Spector pulled a gun on him during the sessions.

1979-Save The Whales organizes a month-long rock memorabilia auction in San Francisco.

1978-The Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive," which features in the opening scene of Saturday Night Fever, hits #1 in the US and stays there for four weeks.

Fleetwood Mac Release Rumours
1977-Fleetwood Mac release their landmark album Rumours. The LP sets a record for most weeks at #1 with 31, and becomes one of the best-selling albums of all time, with worldwide sales estimated at about 40 million.

1977-Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw is born in South Fallsburg, New York. After moving to New York City, he signs with Clive Davis' J Records and releases his first album, Chariot, in 2003. The first single, "I Don't Want To Be," becomes the theme song to the TV series One Tree Hill.

1977-American Bandstand gets a primetime special in honor of the show's 25th anniversary. The show features one of the first "all-star jams," as Chuck Berry is joined by Greg Allman, Junior Walker, The Pointer Sisters, Charlie Daniels and several others on a performance of "Roll Over Beethoven."

1976-Rapper Cam'ron is born Cameron Ezike Giles in Harlem, New York.

1975-Natalie Imbruglia is born in Sydney, Australia. Before embarking on a singing career, she stars on the soap opera Neighbours.

1975-Louis Jordan dies of a heart attack at age 66.

1974-The Stooges play a bar in Wayne, Michigan, where a biker gang called The Scorpions is initiating a new member by having him hurl eggs at lead singer Iggy Pop, who responds by going into the crowd to fight him.

1974-John Lennon begins his "Lost Weekend," which lasts 18 months. Separating from Yoko, he goes on an extended bender, often joined by his friend Nilsson.

1969-In response to the other Beatles hiring Allen Klein as manager the day before, Paul McCartney hires his father-in-law's firm, Eastman & Eastman, as general legal counsel for Apple Corps.

1968-US Attorney General John Mitchell receives a secret memo from Senator Strom Thurmond, in which Thurmond suggests deporting John Lennon due to his antiwar stance.

1966-The Who play their first show as headliners, at the Astoria in Finsbury Park, England. Also appearing are The Fortunes and The Merseys.

1963-Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman (lead guitarist for The Offspring) is born in Los Angeles, California.

1962-Country singer Clint Black is born in Long Branch, New Jersey.

1961-Johnny Burnette is rushed to Hollywood's Cedars of Lebanon Hospital to undergo an emergency appendectomy. The medical crisis forces Burnette, then on the charts with "You're Sixteen," to cancel $10,000 worth of domestic engagements and postpone a European tour.

1959-A day after the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper, the Winter Dance Party tour continues in Sioux City, Iowa, with Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Jimmy Clanton as the new headliners and Waylon Jennings singing Holly's songs.

1956-Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" reaches its US chart peak of #17, giving him his first hit. Pat Boone's version of the song outcharts him, making #12 two weeks later.

1954-The Drifters record "Bells Of Saint Mary's," "White Christmas," "Honey Love," and "What'cha Gonna Do."

1952-Jerry Shirley (drummer for Humble Pie) is born in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, England.

1951-Phil Ehart (drummer for Kansas) is born in Coffeyville, Kansas.

1948-Vincent Furnier, who will become better known as Alice Cooper, is born in Detroit.

1944-Florence LaRue (of The 5th Dimension) is born in Plainfield, New Jersey, but grows up in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

1943-Frank Sinatra cameos in the movie Reveille with Beverly, singing "Night And Day."

1941-John Steel (original drummer for The Animals) is born in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England.

1939-Frank Sinatra marries Nancy Barbato at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Jersey City. They welcome three children - Nancy, Frank Jr., and Tina - before divorcing in 1951.

1937-Glen Gray and His Casa Loma Orchestra records "A Study in Brown."

1924-Louis Armstrong marries Lillian Hardin, a pianist with King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, of which he is also a member. Lil encourages her husband's rising career, but the marriage falls apart, ending in a 1938 divorce.

[Bikkie]

Invercargill railway yard
1867
Opening of railway from Invercargill to Bluff
The 27-km line between Invercargill and Bluff was the third public railway in New Zealand. Southland's railway ambitions helped drive the province into bankruptcy.


Manurewa
1911
New Zealand’s first controlled powered flight
Pioneering aviator Vivian Walsh took to the skies over South Auckland for the first successful flight in New Zealand.


The Big Day Out, Auckland, 2007
1994
First Big Day Out in New Zealand
The Big Day Out, an Australian franchise based on the successful Lollapalooza model, brought alternative, hard rock, hip hop and, more recently, dance acts together in a one-day festival in Auckland.



In Music History

2024-Toby Keith dies at 62 after a battle with stomach cancer. He wrote or co-wrote most of his 20 #1 Country hits, including "How Do You Like Me Now!?" and "Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)."

2023-Beyoncé wins four Grammys, breaking the record for most all-time Grammy wins with 32. There's also a 50 years of hip-hop celebration, and the inaugural Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, given to... Dr. Dre.

Paul Simon Announces Farewell Tour
2018-Paul Simon announces his final tour, the Homeward Bound Tour.

2017-Lady Gaga opens the Super Bowl halftime show with a verse from "God Bless America," followed by the song Woody Guthrie wrote as a parody, "This Land Is Your Land."

2012--The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary" is mashed with Flo Rida's "Good Feeling" for a special Budweiser commercial that airs during Super Bowl XLVI.

2012-The Super Bowl XLVI halftime show becomes the most-watched television event in history, at 118 million views. Performing artists include Madonna, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, and Cee Lo Green.

2009-R&B/blues singer-songwriter Piney Brown dies at age 87.

2008-Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who taught Transcendental Meditation to The Beatles and The Beach Boys, dies in his sleep at age 90. Paul McCartney calls him "a great man who worked tirelessly for the people of the world and the cause of unity."

2008-Lenny Kravitz releases his eighth studio album, It Is Time For A Love Revolution, which peaks at #4 in the US.

Stars Come Out To Support Obama On Super Tuesday
2008-On the day of the Super Tuesday primary elections in America, luminaries from across many genres of music (country - not so much) voice their enthusiastic support for Barack Obama, who wins big in the primaries on his way to the White House.

2007-Apple Computers settles a long-standing legal battle with Apple Records, the label set up by The Beatles. The companies have disputed the rights of the computer maker to sell music under the Apple name.

2006-A 29-year-old man is shot to death near a video shoot for rapper Busta Rhymes in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York. The man worked as a bodyguard at Kiss the Cactus Productions, where the video for Rhymes's "Touch It" was being filmed.

2005-"Helena" by My Chemical Romance peaks at #33 on the Hot 100. It's the alt rock band's first big crossover hit.

2000-Powered by a sample of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," "Rise" by Gabrielle goes to #1 in the UK.

1998-Elton John and Stevie Wonder perform at the White House for US President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

1998-Tim Kelly (guitarist Slaughter) dies in a car accident in Arizona at age 35.

1992-New Kids On The Block appear on The Arsenio Hall Show to address accusations made by Gregory McPherson, their former music director, that they didn't sing on their albums. McPherson later recants the allegations.

1990-Hasbro introduces the New Kids On The Block dolls, which come with personal interview cassettes. It's one of many marketing opportunities for the group, who also sell phones, buttons, and fanny packs.

She's Having A Baby Introduces Kate Bush Weeper
1988-The John Hughes film She's Having A Baby debuts in US theaters. Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern star as a young married couple whose lives are about to be upended by the birth of their first child. The soundtrack features Kate Bush's heart-wrenching ballad "This Woman's Work," written and recorded expressly for the movie.

1983-Continental shift: "Africa" by Toto replaces "Down Under" by Men At Work at #1 in the US.

1981-Joni Mitchell is inducted into Canada's Juno Hall of Fame.

1979-The Pointer Sisters' "Fire" is certified Gold.

1979-Fifteen months after announcing his retirement on stage, Elton John is back in action in Stockholm with the first show of his A Single Man tour.

1977-Mary MacGregor's "Torn Between Two Lovers" hits #1 for the first of two weeks.

1976-Elvis Presley records "For the Heart," "Hurt," and "Danny Boy."

1972-Paul Simon releases "Mother and Child Reunion."

1971-Sara Evans is born in Boonesboro, Missouri.

1969-Bobby Brown is born in Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts.

1968-Spin Doctors frontman Chris Barron is born Christopher Barron Gross in Hawaii. He moves with his family to Australia at age 8, then to Princeton, New Jersey at 12, where he goes to high school with John Popper of Blues Traveler.

1967-Pop Stars And Drugs – Facts That Will Shock You screams the headline of the British newspaper News of the World. The article describes LSD parties thrown by The Moody Blues and attended by Pete Townshend, Ginger Baker and other prominent rock stars, and claims that Mick Jagger took Benzedrine tablets and lured girls back to his apartment to smoke hash. Jagger sues for libel, as it was actually Brian Jones with the Benzedrine. The paper responds by staking out Jagger and tipping police to drug activity at Keith Richards' Redlands estate. On February 12, police raid the place, arresting Jagger, Richards and Marianne Faithfull on drug charges.

1967-Chilean composer Violeta Parra commits suicide at age 49.

1966-Petula Clark's "My Love" hits #1 on the Hot 100 for the first of two weeks.

1964-Bass player Duff McKagan is born Michael Andrew McKagan in Seattle, Washington. With the Seattle drug scene causing problems, he heads to Los Angeles, where he forms Guns N' Roses.

1961-Gene Pitney releases "Love My Life Away."

1957-Bill Haley arrives in London for his first British tour. He's the first American rock star to tour there and is met by about 4,000 fans at Heathrow Airport, mostly thanks to promoters who hyped his coming as "the second battle of Waterloo."

1955-The Fontane Sisters' "Hearts of Stone" hits #1 in America for the first of three weeks.

1948-Actor Christopher Guest, known as Alan Barrows of the fictional folk trio The Folksmen and Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap, is born in New York City. The mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap tells us Tufnel was born in Squatney, London.

1944-Al Kooper (of The Blues Project, Blood, Sweat & Tears) is born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt in Brooklyn, New York.

1944-J.R. Cobb (guitarist for Classics IV, Atlanta Rhythm Section) is born in Birmingham, Alabama.

1943-Chuck Winfield (trumpet player for Blood, Sweat & Tears) is born.

1941-Cory Wells (of Three Dog Night) is born Emil Lewandowski in Buffalo, New York.

1941-Barrett Strong, who teams with producer Norman Whitfield to write a number of Motown hits, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," is born in West Point, Mississippi.

1935-Alex Harvey (of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band) is born in Glasgow, Scotland.

1931-Eddie Cantor makes his debut radio appearance, singing on Rudy Vallee's Fleischmann Hour.

1930-Jazz trumpeter Don Goldie is born Donald Elliott Goldfield in Newark, New Jersey. His father, Harry "Goldie" Goldfield, was also a trumpet player who worked with Paul Whiteman.

1929-Hal Blaine, the famous session drummer coined the term "Wrecking Crew" for the prolific group of Los Angeles studio musicians, is born in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

1923Country singer-songwriter Claude King, known for the 1962 hit "Wolverton Mountain," is born in Keithville, Louisiana.