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Featured Events
2016Two founding members of Jefferson Airplane, lead singer Signe Anderson and guitarist Paul Kantner, die on the same day, both at 74. Anderson left the group in 1966 after recording their first album - she was replaced by Grace Slick.
1995Four British acts make the Top 10 of the US Modern Rock chart, where homegrown acts typically dominate:
#5 "Love Spreads" - The Stone Roses
#6 "Everything Zen" - Bush
#7 "Live Forever" - Oasis
#9 "Sour Times" - PortisheadMore
1986The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after liftoff, killing the seven crew members on board. The disaster inspires a lyric in the Prince song "Sign O' the Times": Silly, no? When a rocket ship explodes and everybody still wants to fly.
1984Def Jam Records release their first single: "It's Yours" by T La Rock and Jazzy Jay. The rap label becomes wildly successful, attracting Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Kanye West and many other big-name artists.
1978The Doobie Brothers star in the first of a two-part episode of What's Happening! where they teach the kids why bootlegging is bad.More
1968Sarah McLachlan is born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.More
28
In Music History
2018Shakira's El Dorado wins the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop album, making her the first female performer to receive two trophies in that category. The first was for her 2001 live album, MTV Unplugged.
2014At a press conference, all four members of Mötley Crüe sign a "cessation of touring agreement" preventing them from ever touring again after 2015. They also announce "The Final Tour," after which they are legally obligated to disband.
2009Billy Powell (Lynyrd Skynyrd and Vision keyboardist) dies of a heart attack in his Orange Park, Florida home.
2008Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix confirms drummer Dave Buckner has left the band. A statement released by the frontman says: "For y'all that don't know, we had to split with Dave, our drummer. It was one of the hardest things we have ever had to do. He's taking this time to get his life together. We are still friends and still talk on a regular basis."
2005Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi dies of stomach cancer at age 60.
2005Members of the "Free Fiona" movement protest outside Sony headquarters in New York City, encouraging the label to release Fiona Apple's long-delayed third album, which shows up in October. As part of the campaign, members also mailed apple-related items (foam apples, pictures of apples) to Sony.
2004James Brown is arrested on charges of domestic violence in Beech Island, South Carolina.
2004Mel Pritchard, drummer for the British prog rock band Barclay James Harvest, dies of a heart attack at age 56.
2001Ray Charles sings "America The Beautiful" at Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa. The Backstreet Boys sing the US national anthem, and halftime performers include Aerosmith, 'N Sync and Britney Spears.
1997A day before his 16th birthday, Jonny Lang's major-label debut album, Lie To Me, is released.
1996Chris Isaak guest-stars in the Friends episode "The One After the Superbowl," where he plays Phoebe's date, Rob Donnen.
1996Diana Ross performs at the Superbowl XXX halftime show in Tempe, Arizona.
1990Aaron Neville performs the US national anthem at Superbowl XXIV in New Orleans, Louisiana. Halftime entertainment is a salute to the city, with local marching bands performing along with Pete Fountain, Irma Thomas and Doug Kershaw.
1985Lionel Richie hosts the American Music Awards, where he wins five of the eight awards he's nominated for, including Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. He can't slow down: After the show, he heads to A&M Recording Studios to record "We Are The World," which he wrote with Michael Jackson.
1985Jimmy Buffett opens his first Margaritaville retail store, named for his 1977 hit, in Key West. It sells beach-inspired apparel like Caribbean Soul t-shirts and flip-flops.
Superstars Record "We Are The World" Into The Wee Hours
1985With the stars in town for the American Music Awards, "We Are The World" is recorded in Los Angeles, with cameras rolling for the video.
Among those taking part: Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Hall & Oates, The Jacksons, Billy Joel, Kenny Loggins, Bette Midler, Willie Nelson, The Pointer Sisters, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and Stevie Wonder. The musicians start arriving at A&M Studios in Hollywood around 10 p.m. Producer Quincy Jones, who had sent them all demo tapes of the song, wrangles them around six microphones arranged in a semi-circle, where he records the all-star chorus - Diana Ross is one of the few to wear the sweatshirt given out with the name of the project: USA For Africa. The soloists do their parts next, and by 8 a.m., only Jones and Lionel Richie - who wrote the song with Michael Jackson - are still in the studio. The recording is a remarkable confluence of goodwill and serendipity: Quincy Jones carried so much respect that even the biggest stars were happy not only to participate, but to check their egos at the door, as Jones requested. The project started when Harry Belafonte asked an artist manager named Ken Kragen to arrange a benefit concert to aid victims of famine in Africa. Kragen took the idea in a different direction, asking his client Lionel Richie to write a song. They got Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones on board, and USA For Africa was born. When artists like Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen signed on, there was no trouble attracting more top talent. Just months earlier, a group of UK superstars formed Band Aid and released "Do They Know It's Christmas?," the first massive group charity single. Bob Geldof, who spearheaded that project, shows up at A&M to give a pep talk and sing on the chorus, making him the only voice on the single from outside America. He goes on to organize Live Aid, which goes down in July. When the single is released on March 7, it quickly sells out its initial shipment. Over the next few weeks, the video lands in hot rotation on MTV, radio stations play the song en masse, and over $60 million is raised for famine relief.
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