Music History on this Day: April 4, 2024
April 4, 1970, Crosby: Stills, Nash & Young topped the US albums chart with their debut offering, Déjà Vu. The album yielded three Top 40 US hits: “Teach Your Children,” “Our House,” and a version of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock.”
Music History on this Day: April 3, 2024
April 3, 1924: Doris Day was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939 and achieved commercial success in 1945 with two number-1 recordings, “Sentimental Journey” and “My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time.” Day was one of the leading Hollywood film stars of the 1950s and 1960s. From 1968 to 1973, she starred in her television sitcom, The Doris Day Show.
Music History on this Day: April 2, 2024
April 2, 1941: Leon Russell was born in Lawton, Oklahoma. He wrote “Delta Lady,” recorded by Joe Cocker, and organized and performed with Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour in 1970. His “A Song for You,” which was named to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018, has been recorded by more than 200 artists, and his song “This Masquerade” by more than 75.
Music History on this Day: April 1, 2024
April 1, 1984: Soul star Marvin Gaye died after being fatally shot by his father during a heated altercation over mislaid insurance documents.
Music History on this Day: March 31, 2024
March 31, 1984, Kenny Loggins topped the Billboard Hot 100 with “Footloose,” the theme song from the same-titled film starring Kevin Bacon. The energetic hit held the No.1 spot for three weeks and reached the top position in Australia. Loggins enjoyed another soundtrack hit with “Danger Zone” from the Top Gun movie a year later.
Music History on this Day: March 30, 2024
March 30, 1979: Norah Jones Shankar was born in Manhattan, New York City, to American concert producer Sue Jones and Indian Bengali musician Ravi Shankar. Billboard named her the top jazz artist of the 2000s decade. She has won nine Grammy Awards and was ranked 60th on Billboard magazine’s artists of the 2000s decade chart.
In 2002, Jones launched her solo music career with the release of Come Away with Me. The record earned Jones five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist, making her the first Indian-American person of South Asian descent to win that many Grammy awards.
Music History on this Day: March 29, 2024
March 29, 1980: Pink Floyd’s iconic 1973 LP, The Dark Side Of The Moon, notched up a record-setting 303 continuous weeks on the US album chart, eclipsing the previous record held by Carole King’s 1971 chart-topper, Tapestry. It remained in the chart for an unparalleled 736 nonconsecutive weeks, from March 17, 1973, to July 16, 1988
Music History on this Day: March 27, 2024
March 27, 1967: The Young Rascals recorded “Groovin’.” The track climbed to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1967. It peaked at number eight in the UK and was the Young Rascals’ only hit there. Owing to the success, it became the title track of the band’s third studio album.
Music History on this Day: March 25, 2024
March 25, 1947: Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in Pinner, Middlesex. He has over fifty top-40 hits on the UK Singles Chart and US Billboard Hot 100, including nine number-ones in both countries. He has sold over 300 million records worldwide and is the most successful solo artist in the history of the US Billboard charts.
March 24, 1990: Irish singer Sinead O’Connor scored her only No.1 UK album with I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, which featured her chart-topping cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
Music History on this Day: March 24, 2024
March 24, 1990: Irish singer Sinead O’Connor scored her only No.1 UK album with I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, which featured her chart-topping cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
Music History on this Day: March 23, 2024
March 23, 1956: Elvis Presley released his self-titled debut album on the RCA Victor label. Its 12 songs included one of Elvis’ most iconic numbers, “Blue Suede Shoes.” The album spent ten weeks at No.1 on the US album charts and sold a million copies, marking the first time a rock‘n’roll record had topped the charts.
Music History on this Day: March 22, 2024
March 22, 1974: The Eagles released their third album, On the Border. Three singles were released from the album: “Already Gone,” “James Dean,” and “Best of My Love.”
Music History on this Day: March 21, 2024
March 21, 1994: Bruce Springsteen won the Best Music, Original Song Oscar at the 66th Academy Awards for “Streets of Philadelphia.” Springsteen wrote and performed the track for the 1993 film Philadelphia. Starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, it was an early mainstream film dealing with HIV/AIDS.
Music History on this Day: March 20, 2024
March 20, 1982: Joan Jett And The Blackhearts topped the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” a cover of a 1975 single by the UK band The Arrows. It spent seven weeks at No. 1 and reached No. 4 in the UK.
