On This Day In History

[Bikkie]

1960
Barry Crump publishes A good keen man
One of the most-read books in New Zealand publishing history, A good keen man established Barry Crump’s reputation as an iconic ‘Kiwi bloke’.



In Music History

2023-Morgan Wallen releases his third album, One Thing At A Time. It spends 15 weeks at #1, the most for a country artist since 1992, when Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus spent 17 weeks at the top.

2023-De La Soul's first six albums, including their 1989 groundbreaking debut, 3 Feet High And Rising, are finally made available for streaming. A label dispute, along with challenges getting the many samples cleared, kept them in purgatory.

2019-Undeterred by a lawsuit filed by Michael Jackson's estate, HBO airs the first part of the 4-hour documentary Leaving Neverland, leveling new accusations of child abuse at Jackson 10 years after his death. In the aftermath, many distance themselves from Jackson: The Simpsons pulls his episode, and some radio stations drop him from playlists.

2017-Pop singer Tommy Page, known for the 1990 hit "I'll Be Your Everything," dies in an apparent suicide at age 46.

2017-Nickelback's album All The Right Reasons is certified Diamond for sales of over 10 million copies in the United States, making them just the fourth Canadian act to reach that level. The other three are female artists: Celine Dion, Shania Twain and Alanis Morissette.

2013-Bobby Rogers (of The Miracles) dies of complications of diabetes at age 73.

2012-Rock guitarist Ronnie Montrose (Montrose) dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 64.

2010-Gorillaz' third album, Plastic Beach, is released. Featuring guest appearances from stars ranging from Snoop Dogg to Lou Reed, it is a huge worldwide hit, reaching #2 in both the US and UK.

Duffy Releases Rockferry
2008-Duffy releases her debut album, Rockferry, featuring the hit "Mercy." It sells about 9 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling album of 2008 in the UK. For her next album, Endlessly, she uses a different writing, production and marketing team, with disastrous results, as the album is a startling commercial failure with no hit singles.

2008-Norman "Hurricane" Smith, frequent engineer and producer for the Beatles, dies at age 85 in East Sussex, England.

Chumbawamba Break Record For Longest Album Title
2008-Chumbawamba break the record for longest album title with their 160-word release The Boy Bands Have Won...

2008-Arcade Fire rock for young Obama supporters at the Barack Obama benefit rally at Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland.

2007-Robin Thicke tops four different Billboard charts, thanks to his second album, The Evolution of Robin Thicke. The album is at #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums tally, while "Lost Without U" tops the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, and Hot Adult R&B Airplay charts.

2006-In Vietnam, Gary Glitter is sentenced to three years in prison for sex crimes against minors. Years later, a UK court sentences him to 16 years for similar offenses.

1998-After spending nearly two years promoting her debut album, Tidal, a burned-out Fiona Apple cancels her spring tour. From this point forward, she limits her public appearances and takes lots of down time, sometimes going several years between albums.

1997-Camila Cabello is born in Havana(na-na-na), Cuba.

1995-R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry undergoes successful brain surgery. Berry collapsed due to a brain aneurysm during a concert in Switzerland.

1995-A stalker is arrested trying to break into Roberta Flack's New York apartment.

1994- Kurt Cobain of Nirvana lapsed into a coma in Italy after taking a combination of Valium and champagne.

1992-Soundgarden release the third and final single off Badmotorfinger, "Rusty Cage." B-sides differ depending on the territory - among them are covers of Devo's "Girl U Want" and the Rolling Stones' "Stray Cat Blues."

1991-The investigative news show Hard Copy runs a story about an FBI investigation into film footage found on a Michigan farm showing what appeared to be a ritual killing. The "victim" turned out to be Trent Reznor; the footage was shot for the Nine Inch Nails video for "Down In It" using a Super 8 camera attached to weather balloons that flew away.

1986-Christian singer Stacie Orrico is born in Seattle, Washington.

Metallica Release Master Of Puppets
1986-Metallica release their third album, Master Of Puppets, featuring an anthemic title track that becomes their most-played live song.

1981-U2 begin their first major tour of the US with two shows at a Washington, DC, club called The Bayou.

1980-The esteemed auction house Sotheby's holds their first auction of rock memorabilia. Four dollar bills signed by The Beatles are sold for $528.

1978-Whitesnake, formed by Deep Purple frontman David Coverdale after that band splintered, play their first live gig, in Lincoln, England.

1978-Van Halen begin their first world tour, opening for Journey at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. The band, which released their debut album three weeks earlier, had been playing clubs for about four years.

1977-Pop singer Ronan Keating (of Boyzone) is born in Swords, Dublin, Ireland.

1973-The live album The Concert for Bangla Desh, taken from the Madison Square Garden benefit concert organized by George Harrison, and featuring Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, wins the Grammy for Album of the Year.

1973-Elton John's album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player hits #1 in America, where it stays for two weeks.

1972-Nilsson's album Nilsson Schmilsson is certified Gold.

1969-John Bigham (guitarist, keyboardist for Fishbone) is born in Chicago, Illinois.

1967-The Jeff Beck Group, with an unknown vocalist named Rod Stewart, make their live performance debut in London at the Finsbury Park Astoria.

1966-Rapper Tone-Loc is born Anthony Terrell Smith in Los Angeles, California.

1966-Buffalo Springfield is formed (as "The Herd") by Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay.

1965-Eric Clapton plays his last show with The Yardbirds, leaving to join John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. He is replaced by Jeff Beck.

1953-Robyn Hitchcock is born in London, England. His father is novelist Raymond Hitchcock.

1950-Rock singer Re Styles (of The Tubes) is born Shirley Marie MacLeod.

1947-Jennifer Warnes is born in Seattle, Washington.

1941-Mike Pender (vocalist for The Searchers) is born in Kirkdale, Liverpool, Lancashire, England.

1938-Willie Chambers, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter of the Chambers Brothers, is born in Carthage Mississippi.

1931-Cab Calloway records "Minnie The Moocher" on the Brunswick label in New York City. It would become the first jazz recording to sell a million copies.

1875- The premiere of Georges Bizet's opera Carmen at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, France.

1794- The first performance of Joseph Haydn's 101st Symphony in D ("The Clock") at the Hanover Rooms in London.

1706-German composer Johann Pachelbel dies at age 52.

[Bikkie]

1855
Legendary sheep rustler James Mackenzie caught
In March 1855, shepherds searching for 1000 missing sheep in the upper reaches of the Waitaki Valley apprehended suspected rustler James Mackenzie, one of New Zealand’s first and most enduring folk heroes.



In Music History

2020-At 58, Garth Brooks becomes the youngest recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Past recipients of the award include Gloria & Emilio Estefan, Tony Bennett, Willie Nelson, Billy Joel, Carole King, and Paul McCartney, among others.

2019-Keith Flint of The Prodigy is found dead at his home in Essex, England. Cause of death is determined to be suicide by hanging. He was 49.

2017-The Katy Perry song "Chained to the Rhythm" hits #4 on the Hot 100, making guest vocalist Skip Marley the first of the Marleys to land a Top 10 on that tally.

2016-Shakira makes her feature-film debut, voicing the pop star Gazelle in the Disney animated movie Zootopia. She also contributes the song "Try Everything" to the soundtrack.

2011-Johnny Preston ("Running Bear") dies of heart failure at age 71.

2010-Redbone co-founder Lolly Vegas, who wrote and sang their hit "Come and Get Your Love," dies of lung cancer at age 70.

2009-John Cephas of Cephas & Wiggins dies at age 78.

2004-Pimp My Ride, hosted by the rapper Xzibit, debuts on MTV. In each episode of the show, which runs for six seasons, a viewer's hoopie is transformed into a tricked-out whip. Xzibit becomes well known as a media personality, and the phrase "pimp my..." enters the lexicon, as in, "I'm going to pimp my fish tank with some live coral."

2004-John McGeoch, a Scottish guitarist who played with Magazine, PiL and Siouxsie and the Banshees, dies at age 48.

2003-Bruce Springsteen plays Hank Ballard's 1960 hit "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go" at his show in Jacksonville, Florida, to honor Ballard, who died two days earlier.

2003-Evanescence release their first album, Fallen, featuring the hits "Bring Me To Life" and "Going Under."

2001-Michael Jackson and friend Macaulay Culkin spend the night shopping at a London record store, which stays open after hours to accommodate the pair.

2001-Glenn Hughes, the biker in The Village People, dies of lung cancer at age 50.

2000-"Amazed" by Lonestar hits #1 in America, knocking off another first-dance wedding favorite, "I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden.

2000 & 2006- Soul Train Music Awards recognized artists like Prince, Whitney Houston, DMX, Mary J. Blige, Jamie Foxx, Destiny’s Child, and John Legend.

1999-Cowboy singer Eddie Dean dies of emphysema at age 91.

1998-Bad Religion's breakthrough album, Stranger Than Fiction, released almost four years earlier, is certified gold by the RIAA, becoming the band's only album to achieve this certification in the United States.

1996- The Beatles posthumously released Real Love, a John Lennon demo completed by the remaining members.

1996-The Beatles song "Real Love," compiled from a John Lennon demo recording, is released in the UK.

1996-Grand Ole Opry icon Minnie Pearl dies at 83.

1994-Kurt Cobain of Nirvana spends 20 hours in a coma after overdosing on Rohypnol (a prescription sedative) and champagne.

Spice Girls Form In Open Audition
1993-Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown and Victoria Adams are among 400 hopefuls at a London dance studio auditioning for producers who are forming a new group. They are selected, and along with Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton, become the Spice Girls.

1993-Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown welcome a baby girl, Bobbi Kristina.

1993- Patti LaBelle received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1992-Jazz guitarist Mary Osborne dies at age 70.

1992-Paul Simon recorded an acoustic performance for MTV Unplugged at Kaufman-Astoria Studios in New York City.

1990-Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones announces his judicial separation from his bride of nine months, the former Mandy Smith. When they wed, he was 52 and she was 18.

1989-Debbie Gibson's "Lost in Your Eyes" goes to #1 on the Hot 100. It's her second chart-topper, following "Foolish Beat."

1989-Time Inc. and Warner Communications merge into Time Warner, creating the world's largest media company.

1986-Songwriter Howard Greenfield, who co-wrote many of Neil Sedaka's hits, dies of complications from AIDS at 49.

1986-Richard Manuel (pianist, singer of The Band) commits suicide at age 42, following a gig in Winter Park, Florida.

1984-The Police play the final concert of their Synchronicity tour in Melbourne, Australia. It is their last show, except for a few special events together, until 2007.

1983-George Jones marries his fourth and final wife, Nancy Sepulvado, at the home of the singer's sister, Helen Scroggins, in Woodville, Texas.

1979-Mike Patto (of Patto, Spooky Tooth) dies of lymphatic leukemia at age 36.

1979-Randy Jackson (of The Jackson 5) is involved in a serious car crash near Los Angeles, breaking both legs and nearly dying when a nurse at the hospital nearby injects him with methadone.

Bee Gees Write The Hits
1978-The #3 "Sometimes When We Touch" by Dan Hill is the only song in the Top 5 not written by a member of The Bee Gees. Andy Gibb's "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" is #1, with "Stayin' Alive" at #2, "Night Fever" at #5 and Samantha Sang's "Emotion," written by Robin and Barry Gibb, at #4.

1978-The IRS raids Jerry Lee Lewis' home at dawn and repossesses $170,000 worth of automobiles to pay off his tax debt.

1977- Roger Sessions’ 6th Symphony premiered in New York City, conducted by José Serebrier with the Juilliard Orchestra.

1977-The Rolling Stones perform at Toronto's small El Morcambo Tavern, a rare intimate show that provides four tracks for their notoriously bad 1977 LP Love You Live.

1974- ABBA released Waterloo, which won the Eurovision Song Contest and became a global hit.

1973- Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon was released in the US, later becoming one of the greatest albums of all time.

1973-Elvis Presley releases "Steamroller Blues" b/w "Fool."

1972-Badfinger's "Day After Day" is certified Gold.

1971-One the eve of their new UK tour, The Rolling Stones become rock's first tax exiles by announcing that they're moving from England to France.

1971-Fergal Lawler (drummer for The Cranberries) is born in Limerick, Ireland.

1970-Bob Dylan records "Days Of '49," "Early Morning Rain," "Wigwam."

1969-Chastity Bono is born to Sonny & Cher.

1968-The Mothers of Invention release their third studio album, We're Only it It for the Money.

1968-An icy car crash sends Temptations members Eddie Kendricks and Otis Williams to a Somerset, Pennsylvania, hospital.

1968- The 3rd Academy of Country Music Awards honored Glen Campbell and Lynn Anderson.

1967-The Rolling Stones chart their fourth #1 hit in America with the ballad "Ruby Tuesday."

1967-Evan Dando (frontman for The Lemonheads) is born in Essex, Massachusetts.

1967-Steve Winwood and his brother, Muff, announce they are leaving The Spencer Davis Group. Steve forms Traffic later that year.

1967- The Rolling Stones’ single Ruby Tuesday reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.

1966-Patrick Hannan (drummer for The Sundays) is born in the UK.

1966-John Lennon is quoted in the London Evening Standard saying, "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now." The remark goes mostly unnoticed, but causes a big stink when it is reprinted in a US publication four months later.

1966- John Lennon of The Beatles controversially stated that the band was “more popular than Jesus,” sparking protests and record burnings in the United States.

1963-Jason Newsted is born in Battle Creek, Michigan. He plays bass for Flotsam and Jetsam, Metallica and Voivod.

1963-The Beach Boys release "Surfin' U.S.A.," a reworking of Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen."

1955-Boon Gould (of Level 42) is born in Shanklin, Isle of Wight, England.

1954-St Clair L. Palmer (of Sweet Sensation) is born in Saint Kitts.

1953-Emilio Estefan is born in Cuba; he moves to Miami as a teenager. In 1977 Gloria Fajardo (also Cuban-born) joins his group Miami Sound Machine. A year later they get married, and after building a huge following in the South Florida Latin scene, they break through in 1985 with the hits "Conga" and "Words Get In The Way." Gloria Estfan goes solo in 1989 with Emilio her producer and manager.

1951-Chris Rea is born in Middlesbrough, England.

1951-Rocker Pete Haycock (lead guitarist, vocalist for Climax Blues Band) is born in Stafford, Staffordshire, England.

1948-Yes bass player Chris Squire is born in London.

1948-Shakin' Stevens is born Michael Barratt in Cardiff, Wales.

1946-Frank Sinatra releases his solo debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, through Columbia Records.

1944-"Besame Mucho" by the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra goes to #1 in the US.

1944--R&B/soul singer Bobby Womack is born in Cleveland, Ohio.

1944Michael Wilson (original drummer and first "Mick" of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich) is born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England.

1943-At the Academy Awards, Irving Berlin presents the Oscar for Best Original Song, which he wins for "White Christmas." He is the only presenter to ever win the award he presented.

1936-Eric Allandale (of The Foundations) is born in Dominica, West Indies.

1934-Singer/actress Barbara McNair is born in Chicago, Illinois. She releases her debut single, "Till There Was You," in 1958 and goes on to tour with Nat King Cole.

1932-Miriam Makeba is born in Johannesburg, South Africa.

1925-Paul Mauriat is born in Marseille, France.

1678-Antonio Vivaldi, composer of "The Four Seasons," is born in Venice.

1895- Gustav Mahler conducted the premiere of his incomplete 2nd Symphony (Resurrection) in Berlin with the Berlin Philharmonic.

1877-Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake premiered at the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, establishing a cornerstone of classical ballet repertoire.