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Featured Events
2015Leonard Nimoy dies at age 83. The actor, best known for playing Spock on Star Trek, also made a musical impact: His albums Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space and Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy both charted in the US (#83 and #97, respectively), and his voice was sampled in the Information Society hit "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)."
2005Jamie Foxx wins a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the movie Ray.More
1993Whitney Houston's single "I Will Always Love You" reaches its 14th week at #1, a new record. In 1995, this record is broken by "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.
1981The Who release "You Better You Bet," their first single since the death of their drummer, Keith Moon, in 1978. Their new stickman is Kenney Jones, formerly of the Faces.
1980Michael Jackson wins his first Grammy: Best R&B Performance for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." Other winners include Donna Summer (Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Hot Stuff"), Earth, Wind & Fire (Best R&B Group Vocal Performance for "After the Love Has Gone"), and The Doobie Brothers (Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "What A Fool Believes").
1954Neal Schon is born on an Air Force base in Oklahoma. The guitarist does time in Santana before founding the groups Journey and Bad English.
27
In Music History
2016Twenty One Pilots' "Stressed Out" peaks at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stays for one week. It's the duo's first foray into the Top 10.
2015Glam Rock pioneer Gary Glitter, 70, is sentenced to 16 years in prison for sexually assaulting three schoolgirls in the '70s and '80s.More
2015R&B singer Charmayne Maxwell (of Brownstone) dies in a freak accident at age 46 when she falls on a broken wine glass and cuts her neck.
2013Richard Street, singer with The Monitors and The Temptations, dies at age 70.
2011Blues musician Eddie Kirkland dies at age 87.
2001Dave Matthews Band release Everyday, trading producer Steve Lillywhite for Jagged Little Pill mastermind Glen Ballard. With the hit "The Space Between," the radio-friendly release expands their fanbase, but leaves diehards to seek out the unreleased Lillywhite Sessions.
2001Carlos Santana (Santana) returns to the Mexican town where he grew up, Autlan De Navarro, for the first time in 46 years. A statue honor of Carlos and his father, mariachi player Jose Santana, is unveiled.
2000The Beach Boys: An American Family TV mini-series begins on ABC, chronicling the rise of the title band.
1999Vince Gill plays "How Great Thou Art" on the dobro at the Grand Ole Opry in honor of dobro legend Brother Oswald.
1998Motley Crue member Vince Neil, not to be outdone by Tommy Lee, announces an agreement with Internet Entertainment Group and Vivid Video to distribute a 60-minute home video of him having sex with two adult film models while on vacation in Hawaii.
1996Bad Religion release their ninth full-length studio album, The Gray Race. This is the first Bad Religion album to feature Brian Baker on guitar, replacing Brett Gurewitz, who left the band two years earlier.
1995PJ Harvey releases her first solo album, To Bring You My Love, after the demise of her eponymous trio. The album includes her mainstream US breakthrough, "Down By The Water."
1991James Brown is released on parole from a South Carolina prison after serving two years of a six-year sentence on drug and assault charges.
1984The Jacksons' Pepsi commercial premieres on MTV.
1981Josh Groban is born in Los Angeles.
Janis Joplin's Posthumous Pearl Goes To #1
1971Janis Joplin's album Pearl hits #1 in the US, where it stays for nine weeks. Joplin died of a heroin overdose three months before the album was released.
On October 4, 1970, Joplin was found dead at the Landmark Hotel in Los Angeles. She had started taking heroin again while recording the Pearl album, and died when she got a much stronger batch from a local dealer, leading to her overdose. Joplin was 27 when she died, the same age Jimi Hendrix was when he passed away 16 days earlier. Joplin had released three albums, two with her band Big Brother And The Holding Company and one as a solo artist. None of them quite captured the verve of her live performances, which is what producer Paul Rothchild, known for his work with The Doors, set out to do on Pearl. The album was almost done when Joplin died - she was scheduled to record vocals for the completed track "Buried Alive In The Blues" the day of her death. That song was included as an instrumental, closing out side one as a tribute to Joplin. Pearl was released on January 12, 1971. The big hit from the set is "Me And Bobby McGee," a song written by Kris Kristofferson that was first recorded by Roger Miller in 1969. It goes to #1 in March, becoming Joplin's only chart-topping single. Joplin didn't write many songs, but did compose two of the 10 tracks on the setlist: the opener "Move Over," and the a capella "Mercedes Benz," a song initially dismissed as a novelty by critics that is now recognized as a profound and insightful statement on materialism. Will a luxury car really make you happy? A hidden gem on the album is "Half Moon," a song co-written by John Hall that he later recorded with his band Orleans. Joplin's vocal is a scratch track, but you'll forgive any imperfections. Pearl is by far Joplin's most popular album, with nine weeks at #1 and 4 million in sales, more than all her other albums combined.
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