1976Folk singer-songwriter Phil Ochs commits suicide at age 35 in Far Rockaway, New York City, after a long battle with bipolar disorder and alcoholism.
1973Queen makes its debut performance at the Marquee Theater in London.
1860An anonymous vocalist sings "Au Claire De La Lune" to Parisian inventor Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville, who makes the first known and oldest surviving recording of the human voice.More
2009Philadelphia soul singer Randy Cain (of The Delfonics) dies at age 63.
2008Elton John plays a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, bringing in about $2.5 million. In 2013, Clinton is honored by the Elton John AIDS Foundation for her support of gay rights.
1999Faith Hill begins her first headlining tour ("This Kiss") in Minneapolis.
1999Bruce Springsteen begins his first tour with the E Street Band since 1988 with a concert in Barcelona. The European leg ends in June, with the first American show in their home turf of New Jersey on July 15. The tour lasts until July 2000, a total of 132 shows.
1997Amidst personal tensions between its band members, Soundgarden announce their break up, which lasts for 13 years until they decide to reunite.
1997Nashville songwriter Mae Axton, co-writer of Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel," dies at age 82 when she has a heart attack and drowns in her hot tub.
1994Wayne Newton marries his second wife, Kathleen.
1988Billy Ocean's "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car," from the movie License To Drive, hits #1 in the US.
1988Soul singer Dave Prater (of Sam & Dave) dies at age 50 in a single-car accident in Sycamore, Georgia.
1988R&B singer Brook Benton dies of pneumonia at age 56, two years after contracting spinal meningitis.
1987Pop singer and actor Jesse McCartney is born in Ardsley, New York.
1986The musical Time premieres at the Dominion Theatre in London. Produced by Dave Clark, the show stars Cliff Richard in the lead role.
1985Frankie Goes to Hollywood open a European tour in Copenhagen, then spend the rest of the year in tax exile from the United Kingdom.
1984Cher, for her performance in Silkwood, loses the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award to Linda Hunt (in The Year Of Living Dangerously). Cher would win for Best Actress three years later for her role in Moonstruck.
Europop Rules In America With "Dancing Queen"
1977
ABBA goes to #1 on the US singles chart with "Dancing Queen," the group's seventh US Top 40 hit and first #1. The song is also a #1 in the UK and 12 other countries.
Before "Dancing Queen," Abba had their fair share of hits in the US, but while the Swedish quartet was sweeping the globe with massive album sales and Top 10 singles - five at once in Australia - their tunes rarely hit the upper echelon on the US charts. The most recent record, "Fernando," petered out at #13. Respectable, but that same song breezed to the #1 slot across the globe. What gives, America?
Up to this point, Abba has given the US a name without a face. Without tours or TV appearances, Stateside listeners are largely oblivious to the fact that all these bright Swedish pop records of late come from the same group. To combat the invisibility issue, they show up on a few LA-based programs like Dinah and Midnight Special so they won't be forgotten, but Abba isn't really phased. "We'll wait until there's a demand from the audience," the group's Benny Andersson tells Phonograph Record in 1976. "We could come here as a supporting act, but it takes so much money and so much time to do it the way we want (a 13-piece band and no backing tapes)...We can wait."
They don't have to wait too long. Less than six months later, their new single "Dancing Queen" is a #1 hit in the US. The song replicates Phil Spector's lush Wall of Sound and taps into the still-raging disco boom in the country. Plus, there's the novelty of watching the foursome on their TV screens performing in bedazzled jumpsuits - finally, a shiny image to go with a shiny record. Abba has officially conquered the world.
Up to this point, Abba has given the US a name without a face. Without tours or TV appearances, Stateside listeners are largely oblivious to the fact that all these bright Swedish pop records of late come from the same group. To combat the invisibility issue, they show up on a few LA-based programs like Dinah and Midnight Special so they won't be forgotten, but Abba isn't really phased. "We'll wait until there's a demand from the audience," the group's Benny Andersson tells Phonograph Record in 1976. "We could come here as a supporting act, but it takes so much money and so much time to do it the way we want (a 13-piece band and no backing tapes)...We can wait."
They don't have to wait too long. Less than six months later, their new single "Dancing Queen" is a #1 hit in the US. The song replicates Phil Spector's lush Wall of Sound and taps into the still-raging disco boom in the country. Plus, there's the novelty of watching the foursome on their TV screens performing in bedazzled jumpsuits - finally, a shiny image to go with a shiny record. Abba has officially conquered the world.
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