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Featured Events
2015The Eagles play their last concert with Glenn Frey. The show takes place in Bossier City, Louisiana, the final date of their History of the Eagles tour. The set features 27 songs and two encores, closing with "Desperado." Founding member Frey dies six months later. The band continues on with his son, Deacon, in his stead.
2011Chuck Berry throws out the first pitch at the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game on the same day his statue is unveiled on Delmar Boulevard in the city.
1990Elton John can't find a facility in Los Angeles that will treat both his bulimia and drug and alcohol addictions, so he checks into the Parkside Lutheran Hospital in Chicago for rehab. He stays for six weeks, then takes a year off from touring and recording.
1979Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers conclude their "Lawsuit Tour" with a show at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Petty embarked on the tour to raise money for his legal battles with MCA Records.More
1974Cass Elliot (of The Mamas & The Papas) dies of a heart attack (not from choking on a ham sandwich) in London, England at age 32.
1966A US magazine targeted to teenagers called Datebook causes an uproar when they reprint some of John Lennon's interview from four months earlier in the London Evening Standard where Lennon said, "We're more popular than Jesus now." The American media jump on the quote and turns it into a major story.
29
In Music History
2021After postponing the previous year's festival due to the coronavirus outbreak, Lollapalooza returns in full force for a four-day music event in Chicago's Grant Park. But there's a catch: Festivalgoers must provide proof of vaccinations or negative COVID tests to gain entry. Those who have tested negative but are unvaccinated also have to wear a mask.More
2019In a unanimous verdict, a jury rules that Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" copied the electronic melody from the 2008 song "Joyful Noise" by the Christian hip-hop artist Flame. Three days later, the jury awards $2.78 million in damages, but in March 2020, a federal judge overturns the verdict on appeal.More
2016Nearly six months after all four members of the British group Viola Beach were killed in a car accident, their self-titled debut album is released. It debuts at #1 in the UK.
2014Jazz drummer Idris Muhammad, born Leo Morris, dies at age 74.
2014After 36 years of marriage, Neil Young files for divorce from his second wife, Pegi.
2011Gene McDaniels, known for singing the 1961 hit "A Hundred Pounds Of Clay" and writing Roberta Flack's 1974 hit "Feel Like Makin' Love," dies at age 76 at his home in Maine.
2011At a Dallas concert, Kings Of Leon frontman Caleb Followill leaves the stage after complaining about the heat. He never returns, and the band cancels the rest of their tour. The incident is officially blamed on "dehydration," but Caleb's brother (and bass player) Jared later Tweets: "There are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade."
2005An anonymous bidder pays one million dollars for the original handwritten lyrics to The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" at the Hippodrome nightclub in London.
2004Cincinnati-born singer, songwriter, and musician Huby Heard dies of a heart attack at age 53. As a keyboardist, he played with Billy Preston's group The God Squad, Leon Russell's Gap Band, and toured with The Rolling Stones.
1999Anita Carter (of The Carter Family) dies at age 66 after years of drug treatment for rheumatoid arthritis irreparably damages her liver, kidneys, and pancreas.
1995Les Elgart, swing jazz bandleader and trumpeter who performed the American Bandstand theme "Bandstand Boogie," dies of heart failure shortly before his 78th birthday.
1993Eddie Guzman (drummer for Rare Earth) dies from complications of diabetes at age 49.
1988Pete Drake, Nashville record producer and session guitarist who played with the likes of Bob Dylan, Don Gibson, and Marty Robbins, dies of emphysema at age 55. Known for the 1964 hit "Forever" with his groundbreaking use of a talk box for the pedal steel guitar.
1987Michigan governor James Blanchard declares today "Four Tops Day" in honor of the Motown legends.
1986Paul Davis, known for hits like "I Go Crazy" and "Cool Night," is shot in the stomach during an attempted robbery at a Nashville hotel. He eventually recovers.
Grease Soundtrack Slides In At #1
1978The Grease soundtrack hits #1 in the US, thanks to the hits "You're the One That I Want" and "Summer Nights."
The 1978 movie musical Grease, adapted from the Broadway smash of the decade, will be the top-grossing film of the year, but the public falls in love with the soundtrack months before the movie is even released. Tracks like "Grease," performed by Frankie Valli, and "You're The One That I Want," an upbeat duet between John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, both peak at #1 on the pop chart and boost anticipation for the film's release. Soon after, the singles "Summer Nights" and "Hopelessly Devoted To You" land in the Top 10 and, two months after Grease hits theaters, the soundtrack shoots to #1 on the albums chart. Despite being an American film about American teens rebelling against American culture of the 1950s, the album is also a huge success in the UK, where it peaks at #1. Except for "Greased Lightnin'" trailing at #11, all of the singles peak in the Top 10 on the UK pop chart, with "You're the One That I Want" dominating the #1 spot for a record-breaking nine weeks. Back in the US, the soundtrack is the second-best-selling album of the year, rivaled only by the soundtrack from another Travolta film: Saturday Night Fever. Newton-John's ballad "Hopelessly Devoted To You" earns the film an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
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