Music History Today: April 16, 2023

April 16, 2003: The American mockumentary A Mighty Wind was released.

A Mighty Wind is about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk bands reunite for a television performance for the first time in decades and parodies the American folk music revival of the early 1960s and its personalities.

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It was co-written, directed, and composed by Christopher Guest, who co-starred with many of his company of actors from This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, and Best in Show. "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow," composed for the film, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. 

Read more: Wikipedia

April 16, 1969: Desmond Dekker and the Aces became the first Jamaican act to reach the top of the UK charts with their single "The Israelites." Dekker had over 20 Jamaican Number 1 hits and 2 other UK Top 10 hits.

April 16, 1977: David Soul topped the US singles chart with "Don't Give Up On Us."

David Soul, who played Hutch on the TV cop show Starsky & Hutch, was a singer before he became an actor and recorded folk and pop singles in the early '70s without any success. He was contracted to become the Covered Man, the resident singer on the Merv Griffin TV show. After completing the first series of Starsky & Hutch, Soul released an album before teaming up with Tony Macaulay and recording "Don't Give Up On Us." 

Read more: Songfacts

April 16, 1984: Bob Marley and the Wailers released the single "One Love/People Get Ready."

Bob Marley's idea with "One Love/People Get Ready" was that everyone in the world should stop fighting and become one - a similar sentiment to John Lennon's "Imagine" and George Harrison's "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)." In July 2020, his son Ziggy performed the song at Bob Marley's 75th Celebration (Pt. 1) in Los Angeles, California. 

Read more: Songfacts

April 6, 2015: "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth from the Furious 7 Soundtrack was uploaded to YouTube. It became the second video to reach 3 Billion views in August 2017. To date, it has nearly 6 Billion views.

A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow
A Mighty Wind