February 14, 1972: Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty is born to American parents in West Germany.
Rob Thomas' credits include two decades-worth of hits by Matchbox Twenty, his own solo work and such classics as 1999’s Grammy Award-winning “Smooth” by Santana, on which he was a featured artist and co-writer.
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| Rob Thomas |
On Matchbox’s “Disease,” Thomas collaborated with Mick Jagger. Thomas has been honored by the Songwriters Hall of Fame, receiving the Hal David Starlight Award, among other accolades.
Read more: Variety
February 14, 1964: The Dave Clark Five release the single "Bits And Pieces" in the UK.
If you were listening to music and watching “The Ed Sullivan Show” in the 1960s, there’s little chance you don’t know the beats and hooks of The Dave Clark Five.
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| Dave Clark Five |
Songs like “Glad All Over,” “Bits and Pieces,” and “Do You Love Me?” helped the band sell more than 100 million records in their eight-year run.
Read more: PBS
February 14, 1970: Sly & the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" hits Number 1 in America for a two week stay.
On a purely sonic level, “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” sounds like a total celebration. It’s sharp, sprightly, upbeat.
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| Sly and the Family Stone |
Sly and Freddie Stone’s guitars do a wah-wah strut, and Jerry Martini and Cynthia Robinson’s horns stab through the mix. The hook sounds celebratory — like the Family Stone is thanking America’s public.
Read more: Stereogum
February 14, 1976: "Paloma Blanca" became a Number 1 hit on the Billboard Easy Listening Singles chart the United States,
Paloma Blanca is frothy, anonymous European pop, marrying chipper romp-in-the-country melodies with beats that borrow from disco, polka, mariachi, and pseudo-Eastern European gypsy music.
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| George Baker Selection |
Echoes of faux country music are heard sometimes as well, in tunes like "As Long as the Sun Will Shine." It ends up sounding like those hack bands you see grinning away in the "it's a small world after all" corners of amusement theme parks.
Read more: Allmusic
February 14, 1987: Bon Jovi started a four week run at the top of the Billboard chart with "Livin' On A Prayer." It reached Number 4 in the UK.
The 1986 rock anthem "Livin' On a Prayer" tells the tale of Tommy and Gina, a working class couple who struggle to make ends meet and vow to "hold on to what we've got."
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| Bon Jovi |
Bandmates Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora also wcame from a scrappy background as they met with their "Prayer" co-writer, master pop-smith Desmond Child.
Read more: The Tennessean
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