22
Featured Events
2018Paul Simon closes out his farewell tour with a show in his hometown of Queens, New York.More
2003Auditioning for the third season of American Idol, William Hung performs a lively, but stupefyingly bad rendition of the Ricky Martin hit "She Bangs."More
1994Friends debuts on NBC, accompanied by a catchy theme song by The Rembrandts that becomes an unexpected hit.More
1985The first Farm Aid concert plays in Champaign, Illinois, to benefit American farmers trying to survive amidst a national agricultural crisis.More
1974The Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman boxing match (the "Rumble In The Jungle") in Zaire is postponed, but a concert festival promoting the event goes on anyway, with Bill Withers, The Spinners and Celia Cruz performing along with the African artist Tabu Ley Rochereau.More
1964The musical Fiddler on the Roof makes its Broadway debut at the Imperial Theatre.More
1958Joan Jett is born Joan Marie Larkin near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, raised in Rockville, Maryland. After joining the music scene as the guitarist for the all-girl punk band The Runaways, she goes on to form Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. Their debut album is turned down by the first 23 record labels it is offered to, despite containing the future #2 hit "I Love Rock And Roll."
22
In Music History
2018Paul McCartney's album Egypt Station hits #1 in America, his first chart-topper on that tally since Tug of War in 1982.
2018Chas Hodges of Chas & Dave dies at 74.
2012Taylor Swift's single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" notches its third week at #1 on the Hot 100. Swift is still considered a country artist (the song also hits #1 on the Country chart), which puts her in company with Kenny Rogers in terms of crossover appeal; the last country song to spend at least three weeks at #1 was Rogers' "Lady" back in 1980.
2011The world's most prolific songwriter, Paul McCartney, adds another string to his bow when his ballet Ocean's Kingdom is performed in New York.
2010Eddie Fisher, one of the biggest pop stars of the '50s, dies of complications from hip surgery in Berkeley, California, at age 82.
2007Paul Rodgers (lead singer for Free and Bad Company) marries Cynthia Kereluk, former Miss Canada.
2006The Big Bopper, who died in the plane crash with Buddy Holly, is honored with a historical marker in his hometown of Beaumont, Texas.
2002Sting receives an Emmy for his A&E documentary Sting in Tuscany: All This Time. He dedicates his award to his "dear late friend Timothy White."
2001Isaac Stern, Soviet-born violinist and conductor, dies of congestive heart failure in New York City, at age 81.
2000Bone Thugs-N-Harmony rapper Flesh-N-Bone (Stanley Howse) is sentenced in a Los Angeles court to 10 years in prison for assault with an AK-47 rifle and possession of a gun, which is illegal for an ex-convict. Howse faces nearly 20 years in prison but receives a lesser sentence after his attorneys present evidence that he was an abused child.
1999Vince Gill competes with himself in the vocal event category at the Country Music Association Awards in Nashville. Gill is up with Patty Loveless for "My Kind of Woman/My Kind of Man" and with Sara Evans for "No Place That Far."
1999Diana Ross is held in police custody at London's Heathrow Airport for several hours following an incident involving a member of the airport's security staff. Ross is arrested then cautioned and released following an allegation of assault on a female security officer during routine security checks prior to boarding a plane.
1998White Zombie calls it a night. Bassist Sean Yseult confirms that the 13-year-old hard rock group has decided to break up.
1995Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting System agree to a $7.5 million merger.
1992Bruce Springsteen records a concert for MTV Unplugged, but plugs in after the first song and does the rest of the set electric. When the episode airs on November 11, it's billed as "MTV Plugged."
"Happy Birthday" Enters Public Domain
2015The "Happy Birthday" copyright is ruled invalid, putting the song into the public domain.
For decades, "Happy Birthday" is one of the most profitable copyrights in music, earning an estimated $2 million every year. That's because anytime the song is used in a movie, TV show or commercial, it has to be cleared. Here's where it gets particularly insidious: Let's say Channel 9's weatherman Storm Field (our favorite weatherman name ever) turns 50, and his anchors end the newscast by singing him "Happy Birthday." A few weeks later, there's a good chance the station will get a bill demanding payment, and the station has little recourse since they used it on the air. This is why most theme restaurants sing their own birthday songs ("Happy happy birthday, from Bennigan's to you...") - because if they sing "Happy Birthday," they have to pay up. The song has a long and entangled history, dating back to 1893 when two sisters came up with the melody and used the song in schools. The song was first known as "Good Morning to All," and it was published as "Happy Birthday" in 1935, giving it copyright protection through 2030. In 2013, a filmmaker researching the song finds a 1922 songbook listing the famous "Happy Birthday To You" lyrics, and presents it as evidence in a lawsuit charging that the song should therefore be public domain, since any work published before 1923 falls into that category. The case goes to trial, and two years later a judge agrees, liberating "Happy Birthday" for all.
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