more brave than me
more blond than you
e e cummings
July 1, 1967: The Beatles hit Number 1 on the Album chart with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Finally free of touring, the Beatles next sought to be free of themselves, hitting on the rather daft concept of recording as an alias band.
 |
| The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band photoshoot |
June 30, 2014: "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor is released.
The first time Kevin Kadish and Meghan Trainor wrote a song together, they came up with one of the biggest pop hits of the decade.
Meghan Trainor
June 29, 2002: Eminem's "Without Me" goes to Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
This tackling disco remarks the return of Eminem and his intentions to save the world from boring music with him away. It is one of his most successful tracks.
Eminem
June 28, 2003: American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken became the first new artist to go straight to Number 1 on the American music chart with "This Is the Night."
The shining moment from Clay Aiken's photo session for Rolling Stone came accidentally, when photographer Matthew Rolston caught the singer looking away while he changed lenses.
June 27, 1989: The studio album The End of the Innocence by Don Henley was released.
Don Henley’s biggest album outside of the Eagles, The End Of The Innocence sold six million copies in America alone.
June 26, 2000: Coldplay released the single "Yellow" from their album Parachutes.
“Yellow” is one of those simplistic and minimalist songs that have endured through time for well over a decade now.
June 25, 1971: The movie Shaft was released.
The MGM film "Shaft" starred Richard Roundtree as a new kind of hero, private detective John Shaft. Made for a reported budget of $1 million, it grossed anything up to ten times that amount.
June 24, 1995: Pulse, a live album from Pink Floyd, debuted at Number 1 on the LP chart.
Pink Floyd claim they had no intention of recording another live album when they began the Division Bell tour, but performing The Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety convinced the group to release another double-live set, called Pulse.
June 23, 1979: Supertramp's LP Breakfast In America hit Number 1 on the America album chart.
With Breakfast in America, Supertramp had a genuine blockbuster hit, topping the charts for four weeks in the U.S. and selling millions of copies worldwide.
Hunky Dory, perhaps the most integral album that Bowie ever released, signaled a shift towards the art-pop sub-genre and showed the musician’s unstoppable versatility.
 |
| David Bowie |
June 21, 1975: The Captain & Tennille sat on top of the Billboard singles chart with "Love Will Keep Us Together."
Soft rock was absolutely huge in the mid-’70s. Early-’60s pop artisans like Neil Sedaka, who co-wrote the song, were coming back;
 |
| The Captain & Tennille |
June 20, 1981: After topping record charts around the world, a medley of hits credited to Stars On 45 reaches Number 1 in America.
It was the summer of 1981, and after an 11-year hiatus, the sound of the Fab Four once again ruled the radio airwaves. Only instead of John, Paul, George and Ringo, this time the world had to settle for Bas, Hans, Jaap and Okkie—the Dutch studio musicians behind the phenomenon called Stars on 45.
Rapper Macklemore fell in love with hip-hop as a kid and eventually released solo work before succumbing to drug abuse and entering rehab in 2008.
 |
| Macklemore |
June 18, 1983: "Time (Clock Of The Heart)" by Culture Club topped out at Number 2 on the US music chart.
"Time (Clock of the Heart)" was released as a stand-alone single in most of the world and as the second single from their debut album Kissing to Be Clever in North America. It followed on the heels of the band's global #1 hit, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me."
Culture Club
June 17, 2008: Katy Perry's major-label debut album, One of the Boys, was released, featuring the hit single "I Kissed a Girl."
Novelty or not? That was the question people asked of Katy Perry during her breakthrough. ‘I Kissed A Girl’ is the sort of song that, while almost guaranteed to be a sure-fire smash, might also overshadow an artist who had plenty more to offer.
Katy Perry
June 16, 1984: "Borderline" became Madonna's first Top Ten hit when it peaked at Number 10.
"Borderline" was recorded in February 1983 for Madonna's eponymous debut album. It was released on February 15, 1984, by Sire Records as the album's fifth single.
Madonna
June 15, 1994: The Disney film The Lion King hit theaters. The soundtrack sold over 10 million copies: a record for the soundtrack to an animated movie.
The Lion King became the most financially successful Disney movie of them all (though has since lost its crown, first to Toy Story 3 then to Frozen), and the music was a vital part of its success.
June 14, 1980: Billy Joel started a six-week run at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart with "Glass Houses."
The back-to-back success of The Stranger and 52nd Street may have brought Billy Joel fame and fortune, even a certain amount of self-satisfaction, but it didn't bring him critical respect, and it didn't dull his anger.
June 13, 1998: The soundtrack to the movie City Of Angels hit Number 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The soundtrack to City of Angels served as a promotional tool for Alanis Morissette's second album, following Jagged Little Pill, and the Goo Goo Doll's sixth album, Dizzy Up the Girl.
June 12, 1999: "That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain peaked at Number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Shania Twain says "That Don't Impress Me Much" was never meant as a knock on Brad Pitt. In fact, as the singer-songwriter explained at a 2017 listening party, it all began when Playgirl magazine published naked photos of Pitt.
Shania Twain
June 11, 1993: "What's Up?" by 4 Non Blondes was released.
In 1992, the American rock group 4 Non Blondes released “What’s Up?” a song which has since become a queer anthem, popping up unexpectedly in an LGBTQ film, TV series and a viral video.
4 Non Blondes
June 10, 1978: John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's Grease duet "You're The One That I Want" hits Number 1 in the US.
If you didn’t like John Travolta’s face, then 1978 must’ve been a tough year for you. Saturday Night Fever, which made Travolta a star, opened in theaters during the last month of 1977.
John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
“Love You Inside Out,” the Bee Gees’ final #1 single, peaked on the charts a few weeks before the Chicago Disco Demolition Night, the event that at least crystallized the long-brewing disco backlash.
 |
| Bee Gees 1979 |
June 8, 1974: Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" goes to Number 1 on the Country chart.
Before it became a record-breaking single for Whitney Houston, "I Will Always Love You" was a country hit for Dolly Parton, who also wrote the tune.
June 7, 1980: "Cars" by Gary Numan peaked at Number 9.
For his Tubeway Army recording sessions, Gary Numan famously worked with his first analog synthesizer—the Minimoog, to be precise.
Gary Numan
June 6, 1992: "Under the Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers peaked at Number 2 on the American Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are one band that aren’t necessarily the first band one thinks of when trying to access the most sincere emotional expressions in rock music.
 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers |
June 5, 1971: Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg is born in Dorchester, Massachusetts
At thirteen, Mark Wahlberg was an original member of New Kids On The Block but quit only a few months in.
 |
| Mark Wahlberg |
June 4, 1983: "Straight From the Heart" by Bryan Adams tops out at Number 10.
"Straight from the Heart" was the lead single from Bryan Adams' third studio album, Cuts Like a Knife.
June 3, 2001: Staind had the Number 1 album with Break the Cycle. It contains their breakthrough hit "It's Been Awhile."
"It's Been Awhile" was a monster hit for Staind back in 2001, spending 20 weeks atop Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Staind
June 2, 1973: "Daniel" by Elton John peaked at Number 2, kept from the top spot when My Love by Paul McCartney started a 4-week run in the top spot.
“Daniel” is a track from Elton John, one of the world’s best-selling musical artists, and arguably one of the most well-known. Appearing in John’s 1973 album “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player”, “Daniel” is the first track from the record, written by both John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin. Taupin explained the meaning of the song:
