Music History Today: June 25, 2022

June 25, 1988: Prince peaked at Number 8 on the US music chart with "Alphabet Street" from his Lovesexy album. 

"Alphabet Steet," the first single from Prince's 1988 album, was the LP's only top 10 single.

Prince Lovesexy cover

Music History Today: April 9, 2022

April 9, 1994: Pantera's album Far Beyond Driven debuted at Number 1 in America.

Music History Today: February 12, 2022

February 12, 2008: Jason Mraz released the single "I'm Yours."

"I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 51st Grammy Awards.

Jason Mraz

Music History Today: August 20, 2021

August 20, 1983: Stevie Nicks makes it to the Top 5 with "Stand Back." 

Even on the day in 1983 that she married now ex-husband Kim Anderson, Stevie Nicks couldn't refuse her muse. As the couple drove out to Santa Barbara for their honeymoon, Nicks heard Prince's "Little Red Corvette" on the radio and felt inspired.

Stevie Nicks

Music History Today: July 16, 2021

July 16,  2000:  Matchbox 20 rose to Number 1 with the smash "Bent."

If there’s one sentiment that comes off from the onset of “Bent”, it’s the narrator perceiving himself as being a vulnerable individual. 

Rob Thomas

Music History Today: July 2, 2021

July 2, 1988: Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana" hit number 1 on the Hot 100 and made him the first artist to score five Number 1 singles from the same album (Bad).

During his life, Michael Jackson had to explain his songs, especially Dirty Diana. In fact, Michael spent a great deal of time explaining who Dirty Diana was not about, rather than telling the true meaning of the song.

Michael Jackson

Music History Today: May 7, 2021

May 7, 1977: The single "Hotel California" by the Eagles topped the Hot 100. 

People have often interpreted "Hotel California" for Anton LaVey and Satanism. Weird right? It kind of makes sense if you would actually interpret its lyrics one by one, “This could be heaven or this could be hell”, “but they just can’t kill the beast” and “We are programmed to receive, you can check out any time you like. But you can never leave”! 

Music History Today: April 30, 2021

April 30, 2015: R&B legend Ben E. King passed away at 76. 

King was born Benjamin Earl Nelson in Henderson, North Carolina, in 1938, and sang with his church choir before the family moved to Harlem in 1947. In junior high, he began performing with a street corner doo wop group called the Four B's, which won second place in an Apollo Theater talent contest.

Ben E. King

Music History Today: April 23, 2021

April 23, 1977: Thelma Houston's disco plea "Don't Leave Me This Way" hit Number 1 in America.

“Don’t Leave Me This Way” was more than a year old by the time Thelma Houston got to it.

Thelma Houston

Music History Today: April 9, 2021

April 9, 1977: ABBA earned their only number 1 hit in the United States when "Dancing Queen" went to the top.

Dancing Queen was the lead single from Abba’s fourth album, Arrival. Released in the summer of 1976, it got to No 1 in 15 countries including the UK (where it stayed at the top for five weeks) and the US. 

ABBA

Music History Today: March 26, 2021

March 26, 1983: Thanks to heavy rotation on MTV, Duran Duran had their first American hit when "Hungry Like The Wolf" hit Number 3 on the Hot 100.

Composed collectively by the members of Duran Duran and produced by Colin Thurston, “Hungry Like the Wolf” was actually written and recorded in the basement of EMI’s HQ in London, apparently put together piece by piece, with each band member adding their respective part when they got there. 

Music History Today: February 26, 2021

February 26, 1977: The Eagles' "New Kid in Town" became the new number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

When recalling the music of Glen Frey and the Eagles, many retrospectives have listed the incredible string of hit songs the band ripped off in the ’70s and yet also noted the fact that these chroniclers of California excess and ennui were rarely critical darlings.

Hotel California inside album cover art

Music History Today: February 5, 2021

February 5, 1983: "Africa" by Toto replaces "Down Under" by Men At Work at Number 1 in the United States.

Since the soft-rock, synth-heavy “Africa” was released in 1982, the Toto masterwork has made appearances on countless television shows, internet memes, and, as of late, been reimagined on the airwaves by the likes of Weezer and Pitbull. 

Music History Today: January 29, 2021

January 29, 1972:  Bread released "Everything I Own."

“Everything I Own” is seen as one of the great romantic ballads of the 1970s. It appears straightforward: boy loses the love of his life, expresses deep regret, longs for her return. However, there is more to “Everything I Own” than that.

Bread

Music History Today: December 24, 2020

December 24, 1818: A church choir in Austria introduced a new Christmas song for their Midnight Mass: "Stille Nacht!" better known as "Silent Night."

On Christmas Eve in 1818, a preist named Joseph Mohr asked his friend Franz Xaver Gruber, an organist and teacher, to compose a melody to a poem he had written two years earlier. Happy with the results, Mohr included the song in a short ceremony following Christmas Mass that same evening.

 

Music History Today: October 15, 2020

October 15, 1988: UB40 reached Number 1 with "Red Red Wine" taking over from Def Leppard's "Love Bites."

"Red, Red Wine" had been included on the Neil Diamond’s second album Just For You, released in the summer of 1967. 

UB40

Music History Today: September 30, 2020

September 30, 1955: James Dean is killed in a car accident. The Number 1 song the day he dies is Pat Boone's cover of "Ain't That A Shame."

At 5:45 PM on September 30, 1955, 24-year-old actor James Dean is killed in Cholame, California, when the Porsche he is driving hits a Ford Tudor sedan at an intersection. 

James Dean

Music History Today: August 6, 2020

August 6, 1988: Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses moved to Number 1 on the Album chart after 50 weeks.

Guns N’ Roses’ debut album, Appetite for Destruction, was the darker, grittier response to Sunset Boulevard’s glam-rock scene. 

Music History Today: July 30, 2020

July 30, 1977: Andy Gibb made it to Number 1 with "I Just Want To Be Your Everything." 

Barry Gibb, of the Bee Gees brothers, wrote “I Just Want To Be Your Everything,” the first Andy Gibb single that most of the world would get to hear, in about 20 minutes, while an awestruck Andy watched.

Music History Today: June 18, 2020

June 18, 1942: Paul McCartney was born James Paul McCartney in Allerton, Liverpool, England. On his 31st birthday, Paul McCartney & Wings released the single "Live And Let Die."

“Live and Let Die” is the main theme song of the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die, written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Paul’s band Wings.