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Featured Events
199035-year-old Stevie Ray Vaughan dies in a helicopter crash near East Troy, Wisconsin, following a concert at the Alpine Valley Music Theater where earlier in the evening he appeared with Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, and his older brother, Jimmie Vaughan.
1989The BCM Summer Dance Festival kicks off at the Tempodrom in Berlin. The 3-day festival brings together a number of American acts, including the up-and-coming hip-hop groups Stetsasonic, EPMD and UTFO, along with disco mainstays The Village People and R&B legend Bobby Womack.More
1988Tracy Chapman's self-titled debut album races to #1 in the US as her song "Fast Car" peaks at #6.
1988As baby boomers soak up the soothing sounds of Kenny G, Yanni and Enya, Billboard introduces the New Age Albums chart. The first #1 is Cristofori's Dream by the pianist David Lanz.
1967The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein dies of an accidental overdose (Carbitral mixed with alcohol) in London, England, at age 32.
1964Disney releases Mary Poppins, a Sherman Brothers musical featuring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. It's the first movie role for Andrews, who is already a Broadway star. Her portrayal of the title character earns her the Academy Award for Best Actress.More
1955Fats Domino's "Ain't That A Shame" hits #10 in the US, becoming the first R&B song to hit the Top 10 on the Pop chart. Three weeks later, Pat Boone's cover hits #1.
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In Music History
2017Kendrick Lamar wins Video of the Year for HUMBLE. at the MTV Video Music Awards, where Taylor Swift debuts her video for "Look What You Made Me Do."More
2013To celebrate the band's 40th anniversary, Alabama reunites for Alabama & Friends, a tribute album with some of the group's biggest hits sung with contemporary country artists like Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith and Jason Aldean.
2008Election '08 fever begins as the Democratic National Convention hits Denver and brings Kanye West, Rage Against The Machine, John Legend and many more to town.
2003Janis Ian marries her girlfriend, Nashville defense lawyer Patricia Snyder, in Toronto, one of the few places where gay marriages are legal.
1996Pearl Jam release their fourth album, No Code, which debuts at #1 in the US.
1995Big Dee Irwin dies of heart failure in Las Vegas, Nevada, at age 63. Recorded a popular version of "Swinging on a Star" with Little Eva.
1992The Heights, a drama series about a group of working-class youths struggling to form a rock band, premieres on the FOX network. Produced by Aaron Spelling, the short-lived show spawns a #1 single with its theme song, "How Do You Talk To An Angel."
1992John Lennon's original written lyrics for "A Day In The Life" fetch $87,000 at a Sotheby's auction.
1989Izzy Stradlin of Guns N' Roses is arrested at the Phoenix airport after urinating on the floor of the plane, apparently upset at having to wait to use the bathroom. His publicist explains that it was Izzy's "way of expressing himself."
198820-year-old Kylie Minogue becomes the youngest female artist to land a #1 album in the UK when her debut, Kylie, claims the top spot. Her record stands until 2003, when 18-year-old Avril Lavigne goes to #1 with Let Go.
1987With the jury deadlocked, a judge declares a mistrial in the case against Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra, who was charged with distributing harmful material to minors because he included a surreal poster of penis art in the band's 1985 album Frankenchrist - the first time a musician has been prosecuted for album art. The trial is a costly one for the Dead Kennedys, who break up soon after.
1986R&B singer Mario is born Mario Dewar Barrett in Baltimore, Maryland.
1986Tina Turner receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1979Jon Siebels (guitarist for Eve 6) is born in Los Angeles, California.
1977Rapper Mase is born Mason Durell Betha in Jacksonville, Florida. Known for "Feel So Good" and "Lookin' at Me" from his 1997 solo debut, Harlem World.
Pearl Jam Release Debut Album Ten
1991Pearl Jam release their debut album, Ten, which launches them to stardom and puts them in the forefront of the Seattle grunge movement.
At first, sales are slow and critical reception is tepid, but the album slowly finds a following, first showing up on the US Albums chart at #155 on January 4, 1992 and reaching #2 on August 22 (behind Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus). It doesn't leave until October 19, 1996, selling over 10 million copies and making its way onto just about every list of greatest debut albums. Built from the wreckage of Mother Love Bone, which came to a tragic end with the death of lead singer Andrew Wood in 1990, Pearl Jam is something like the dark, brooding, older brother to the pissed off, hyperactive Nirvana and the artsy, introspective Soundgarden. Vocalist Eddie Vedder penned most of the album's lyrics over melodies written by Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard, and the songs take a frank look at topics like homelessness and suicide. Despite the depressing subject matter, the album is radio-friendly enough that three singles - including "Jeremy," based on the true story of a boy who shot himself in front of his high school English class - become hits, helping to spur the album's success. While Pearl Jam are no doubt one of the most commercially successful bands to emerge in the early '90s, they balk at many of the conventions of rock stardom. They make three videos from Ten and win several MTV Video Music Awards for "Jeremy" (including Video of the Year), but they refuse to make a video to promote their single "Black," taking a stand against the medium as they feel videos rob listeners of the their own interpretations. They don't make another video 1998's "Do The Evolution," an animated clip by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane. The band are also outspoken political activists. In 2004, they participate in the Vote for Change tour, supporting democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and encouraging fans to vote. Ten ends up being the group's most successful album, as their sound gradually falls out of favor with tastemakers, but not with fans, who fervently support the group and are rewarded in kind, with fan club members getting the best seats to every show and a steady stream of exclusive singles. Fittingly, the club is called The Ten Club.
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