28
Featured Events
1992Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," a cover of a Dolly Parton song from 1974, goes to #1 in America.
1974John Lennon makes his last-ever concert appearance when he joins Elton John on stage at Madison Square Garden, reciprocating for Elton's appearance on "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" and making good on a bet he lost: Elton wagered that "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" would hit #1 in the US, and when it did, Lennon owed the appearance. The pair perform that song and also do The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds."
1964The Kinks' first hit, "You Really Got Me," peaks at #7 in America.
1960Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" hits #1 for the first of six weeks.
1943Randy Newman is born in Los Angeles, California.
1929Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. is born in Detroit, Michigan.
28
In Music History
2015After defeating heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko in a unanimous decision, Tyson Fury gets a turn on the mic and sings the Aerosmith hit "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" to his wife, who has joined him in the ring.
2008Britney Spears releases her sixth album, Circus. It goes to #1 in America and marks a return to form for the singer, who struggled with addiction and mental health issues throughout 2007.
2001Twisted Sister, Anthrax, Ace Frehley and Sebastian Bach play the New York Steel benefit concert to raise money for widows and children of firefighters and police officers who died in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The sold-out show is held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan.
2001Aretha Franklin sues the tabloid Star magazine for $50 million over a December 2000 article titled "Aretha Franklin Drinking Herself into Grave."
1993Jerry Edmonton (drummer for Steppenwolf) dies in a car accident in Santa Ynez, California, at age 47.
1984Prince releases "I Would Die 4 U," where he declares: "I'm not a woman. I'm not a man. I am something that you'll never understand." In 1993, he changes his name to a symbol incorporating the male and female signs.
1984Don Addrisi (of the pop duo The Addrisi Brothers) dies of pancreatic cancer at age 45. Co-wrote "Never My Love," a 1967 hit for The Association.
1984Rapper Trey Songz is born Tremaine Aldon Neverson in Petersburg, Virginia.
1979Ringo Starr's home in Los Angeles burns down.
1977Elvis: the Musical, starring Shakin' Stevens, opens in London.
1974Rapper Apl.de.Ap (of Black Eyed Peas) is born Allan Pineda Lindo in Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines. He relocates to the US at age 14, where he is adopted by lawyer Joe Ben Hudgens.
1971Blues singer Papa Lightfoot (real name: Alexander Lightfoot) dies of respiratory failure at age 47. Known for the 1969 albums Natchez Trace and Rural Blues Vol. 2.
1968John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear at the Marylebone Magistrates' Court, London, to answer charges of cannabis resin posession. Lennon pleads guilty and is fined 150 pounds and 20 guineas.
1966The New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral" is certified gold.
Dirty Dancing Song Lifts To #1
1987
The Dirty Dancing hit "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" goes to #1 in America as the "Swayze-lift" becomes a popular dance move.
The song plays during the movie's big finish when Jennifer Grey leaps into Patrick Swayze's arms. The stuff of dreams.
Franke Previte, whose previous claim to fame was the 1981 #10 hit "Sweetheart" with his group Franke And The Knockouts, co-wrote the song specifically for the film, tailoring it to the 7-minute scene with a vocal open, slow build, and rousing climax.
The vocalists on the track are big-voiced Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers, and Jennifer Warnes, who sang "Up Where We Belong" with Joe Cocker for An Officer And A Gentleman.
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" is the first single from the soundtrack and the song most identified with the film. It must play anytime the famous lift is performed in any setting. Chemistry-oozing screen couple Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone pull it off in the 2011 film Crazy, Stupid, Love., and in 2015, a middle-aged couple have less success with it in a commercial for UnitedHealthcare. Thanks to YouTube, you can spend hours watching lift fails - it's harder than it looks.
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