24
Featured Events
1999The rapper Treach (Anthony Criss) from Naughty by Nature ("O.P.P.") marries Pepa (Sandra Denton) of Salt-N-Pepa in a ceremony officiated by Reverend Run of Run-D.M.C., who says it's the first time a rapper has married two rappers. Among the guests are Salt, Queen Latifah and Vivica A. Fox. The couple divorce in 2001, with Pepa alleging abuse.
1987The movie La Bamba, a somewhat fictionalized biography of Latin rock star Ritchie Valens, opens in the US. It's generally well received, especially the soundtrack by Los Lobos. Lou Diamond Phillips stars as Valens, who died in the infamous plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper; Marshall Crenshaw appears as Buddy Holly and Brian Setzer as Eddie Cochran.
1982Thanks to its use in the movie Rocky III, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor hits #1 for the first of six weeks.
1969Jennifer Lopez is born in The Bronx in New York City.
24
In Music History
2016Marni Nixon, a soprano singer who dubbed vocals for numerous stars of the silver screen, including Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady and Natalie Wood in West Side Story, dies at age 86.
2014Chubby Checker settles his lawsuit with Hewlett-Packard over their app: "The Chubby Checker." The app, which sold for 99 cents, purported to estimate a man's penis size based on his shoe size.
2011At the Mod Club in Toronto, Abel Tesfaye performs as The Weekndfor the first time. Visibly nervous, he keeps a firm grip on the microphone.More
2011Dan Peek (multi-instrumentalist and vocalist for America) dies of fibrinous pericarditis in his sleep at age 60.
2001Bob Seger's boat Lightning (named because a previous boat was struck by lightning) wins its division in the 291-mile Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race in Michigan with a time of 30 hours, 34 minutes, 42 seconds. Seger is one of 11 crew members on board.
1998Country legend Tanya Tucker files suit against her label, Capitol Nashville, for $300,000, claiming the label has not promoted her properly.
1995A three-night career retrospective honoring Frank Sinatra on his 80th birthday begins at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium. A visibly ailing Sinatra attends but does not perform. Meanwhile, in New York City, the Empire State Building is lit with blue lights in his honor.
1985A stretch of Detroit's Washington Boulevard is renamed "Aretha Franklin's Freeway Of Love," in honor of her recent comeback hit.
1984Reverend Clarence LaVaughn Franklin (Aretha Franklin's father) dies five years after being shot during a robbery attempt at his Detroit home. The incident left him in a coma until his death at age 69.
1976The Manhattans' "Kiss And Say Goodbye" hits #1 in the US.
1976Elton John's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" hits #1 in the UK.
1973Mary Ann "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira, of the alt Hip-Hop group Digable Planets, is born in Brazil.
1972Bobby Ramirez, the 24-year-old drummer with Edgar Winter's White Trash, is beaten to death in a Chicago barroom brawl after a patron complains about the length of Ramirez's hair.
1971The Raiders' "Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian) hits #1.
Beatles-Based Movie Is A Box Office Bomb
1978
The film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band opens in America, and it tanks hard. Savaged by critics, it becomes a legendary Hollywood flop despite appearances by Peter Frampton, Billy Preston, Aerosmith and The Bee Gees.
In addition to the host of musical stars, the film boasts Beatles producer George Martin as its musical director and also features established screen actors George Burns, Steve Martin and Donald Pleasence. None of it helps.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the brainchild of the Bee Gees' manager Robert Stigwood, and is an update of his 1974 stage production. He hopes to follow the success of Saturday Night Fever and make movie stars out of his clients, but fails in spectacular fashion.
The madcap musical features a host of re-recorded versions of The Beatles' hits, mainly taken from their late-period albums Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and Abbey Road(1969). It tells the tale of Billy Shears (played by Peter Frampton) and his efforts to save his hometown of Heartland from exploitative record company executive D.B. (Donald Pleasence).
The movie is universally panned by critics on account of its incomprehensible plot, risible acting and flagrant disregard for the Beatles' musical legacy. The soundtrack fares much better, going on to sell over a million copies. Over time, the movie gradually builds a dedicated cult following, with its colorful visuals and schmaltzy soundtrack enjoyed in an ironic way, as a quintessentially camp relic that lays bare the worst excesses of the late 1970s.
The Beatles themselves were also distinctly unimpressed with the movie: Despite attending the premiere Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr refuse to associate themselves with the film after seeing it; George Harrison and John Lennon won't even watch it.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the brainchild of the Bee Gees' manager Robert Stigwood, and is an update of his 1974 stage production. He hopes to follow the success of Saturday Night Fever and make movie stars out of his clients, but fails in spectacular fashion.
The madcap musical features a host of re-recorded versions of The Beatles' hits, mainly taken from their late-period albums Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and Abbey Road(1969). It tells the tale of Billy Shears (played by Peter Frampton) and his efforts to save his hometown of Heartland from exploitative record company executive D.B. (Donald Pleasence).
The movie is universally panned by critics on account of its incomprehensible plot, risible acting and flagrant disregard for the Beatles' musical legacy. The soundtrack fares much better, going on to sell over a million copies. Over time, the movie gradually builds a dedicated cult following, with its colorful visuals and schmaltzy soundtrack enjoyed in an ironic way, as a quintessentially camp relic that lays bare the worst excesses of the late 1970s.
The Beatles themselves were also distinctly unimpressed with the movie: Despite attending the premiere Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr refuse to associate themselves with the film after seeing it; George Harrison and John Lennon won't even watch it.
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