more brave than me
more blond than you
e e cummings
December 18, 1943: Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was born in Dartford, Kent, England.
Keith Richards may have mellowed with age, but as anyone who has read his memoir can attest, the iconic Rolling Stones guitarist has raised enough hell to fill several lifetimes.
November 11, 1991: One week before his "Black Or White" music video airs, a memo circulated at MTV, instructing the network's on-air personnel to refer to Michael Jackson as the King of Pop at least twice a week during the next two weeks.
Frank Sinatra was the King of Pop in the mid-1940s; perhaps the first bearer of the crown. Elvis Presley was King of Pop from 1956, when he exploded like a supernova on to world consciousness, until 1960, when he emerged from the army and began his fade into a routine of bad Hollywood films.
October 23, 1990: AC/DC's Back In Black album is certified Diamond for US sales of 10 million.
For many bands, the sudden and horrific death of their lead singer at the peak of their popularity would be a career-ender. AC/DC took a few weeks to regroup and then recorded one of the biggest albums of all time.
October 16, 1976: Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life hits number 1on the album charts.
The album "Songs in the Key of Life," — two LPs plus an additional four-song EP — was the culmination of a historic period of creativity, a concentrated burst of music matched only by a handful of artists.
September 11, 2001: Terrorists attacked America, bringing down the World Trade Center. The number number 1 song on Billboards Alternative Hits chart is the remake of "Smooth Criminal" by Alien Ant Farm.
Alien Ant Farm are trending on Twitter, and the reason why might be slightly confusing.
Known as the "King of Pop," Michael Joseph Jackson was a best-selling American singer, songwriter and dancer. As a child, Jackson became the lead singer of his family's popular Motown group, the Jackson 5.
Tracy Chapman is the self-titled debut album by singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, released on April 5, 1988, by Elektra Records.
Musician Gene Simmons first decided he wanted to be in a band while in middle school, after watching girls scream at The Beatles on television.
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| Gene Simmons |
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Janis Joplin circa 1968 |
“Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” was imprinted indelibly on the memory of the big screen with Marilyn Monroe’s legendary 1953 performance in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Read more: American Popular Culture
Bob Dylan‘s second album of 1965, Highway 61 Revisited, would be a historic break: For the first time, none of the tracks would feature just him and his guitar.
On August 1, 1981, MTV: Music Television goes on the air for the first time ever, with the words (spoken by one of MTV’s creators, John Lack): “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.”
In 1971 Coca-Cola launched one of its very first in-color TV commercials.
There are songs that are better, there are songs that are worse, there are songs that’ll become your favorites and others you’ll probably lift the needle for when their time is due. But in the end, Exile on Main Street spends its four sides shading the same song in as many variations as there are Rolling Stone ready-mades to fill them.
