1954 - When today's edition of iconic Life magazine hit newstands around the world 57 years ago, entertainer Judy Garland was on the front cover. It was the year the multi-talented Garland cemented her superstar status with a starring role in the movie, A Star Is Born. Directed by George Cukor, and also starring James Mason, A Star is Born is a classic story, the perfect platform for Judy Garland, who was America's sweetheart at this time. For more info on Judy Garland, go to out archive search engine.
1969 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Plastic Ono Band made their live debut at the Rock 'n' Roll Revival Concert, but unfortunately film makers won't let us see any of the performances, but if you go to youtube you can see them there. Meanwhile, here's a very short interview with Lennon and Ono about the concert and...things in general. For all things Beatle, go use our archive search engine.
1974 - This is the day when superstar Stevie Wonder started the first tour since his near-fatal car accident a year earlier. On August 6, 1973, Wonder was in a serious automobile accident while on tour in North Carolina, when a car in which he was riding hit the back of a truck, leaving Wonder in a coma for four days and resulting in a partial loss of his sense of smell and a temporary loss of sense of taste. Despite the setback, Wonder re-appeared in concert at Madison Square Garden in March 1974 with a blistering performance - like this live TV performance to promote the tour, the song, He's Mista Know It All.
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1977 - Symphonic conductor Leopold Stokowski died at the age of 95, today, the same day that Abba began their debut North American tour two years later. And 28 years ago today, Huey Lewis & the News released their breakthrough album, Sports, which reached #1 around the world. Third single from the album was this song, performed here live, and augmented by the famous Tower of Power horn section.
1985 - Sting began his first solo tour in San Diego, today, following the release of his album, Dream Of The Blue Turtles, and four years later on the same day, Bruce Springsteen recorded Viva Las Vegas for The Last Temptation of Elvis, and all-star recorded tribute to Elvis, which included versions of his hits from acts such as Robert Plant, The Pogues, The Cramps, Paul McCartney. In 1991 on this day, Alice Cooper sold his new album Hey Stoopid in New York's Times Square for just 99 cents. And here's the video of that title track. Pretty dull, I reckon.
1994 - Believe it or not, 17 years have already passed since the debut album Ready to Die was released by The Notorious B.I.G, who was raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, and when he released the album, he became a central figure in the East Coast hip-hop scene, increasing New York's visibility at a time when West Coast artists were more common in the mainstream rap/hip hop scene. The following year, Wallace led his childhood friends to chart success through his protégé group, Junior M.A.F.I.A, and while recording his second album, was heavily involved in the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop feud, dominating the scene at the time. On March 9, 1997, B.I.G was killed by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. His double-disc set Life After Death, released 15 days later, hit #1 on the U.S. album charts, and since his death, a further two albums have been released. MTV have ranked him at #3 on their list of The Greatest MC rappers of all time, having certified sales of 17 million units in the United States, alone. This is Big Poppa, the Grammy-nominated and Billboard Award winning second single off the aforementioned Notorious B.I.G. album, Ready to Die.
1996 - Six months prior to the death of Notorious B.I.G, fellow-rapper Tupac Shakur died six days after being shot four times in a drive-by shooting. *MUSICBACKTRACK* has complete coverage of this event, just go to our archive and punch Tupac into the search engine. Three years later ob the same day, and Beverly Hills police officer, Marcelo Rodriguez, filed a multi-million dollar slander lawsuit against George Michael. The suit alleged that the singer had committed slander in the song and video for Outside, a telling tale about the Michael incident in which Rodriguez had arrested Michael on charges of lewd behavior in a public park. And here's Georgie Porgie doing the song, live.
1969 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Plastic Ono Band made their live debut at the Rock 'n' Roll Revival Concert, but unfortunately film makers won't let us see any of the performances, but if you go to youtube you can see them there. Meanwhile, here's a very short interview with Lennon and Ono about the concert and...things in general. For all things Beatle, go use our archive search engine.
1974 - This is the day when superstar Stevie Wonder started the first tour since his near-fatal car accident a year earlier. On August 6, 1973, Wonder was in a serious automobile accident while on tour in North Carolina, when a car in which he was riding hit the back of a truck, leaving Wonder in a coma for four days and resulting in a partial loss of his sense of smell and a temporary loss of sense of taste. Despite the setback, Wonder re-appeared in concert at Madison Square Garden in March 1974 with a blistering performance - like this live TV performance to promote the tour, the song, He's Mista Know It All.
vf
1977 - Symphonic conductor Leopold Stokowski died at the age of 95, today, the same day that Abba began their debut North American tour two years later. And 28 years ago today, Huey Lewis & the News released their breakthrough album, Sports, which reached #1 around the world. Third single from the album was this song, performed here live, and augmented by the famous Tower of Power horn section.
1985 - Sting began his first solo tour in San Diego, today, following the release of his album, Dream Of The Blue Turtles, and four years later on the same day, Bruce Springsteen recorded Viva Las Vegas for The Last Temptation of Elvis, and all-star recorded tribute to Elvis, which included versions of his hits from acts such as Robert Plant, The Pogues, The Cramps, Paul McCartney. In 1991 on this day, Alice Cooper sold his new album Hey Stoopid in New York's Times Square for just 99 cents. And here's the video of that title track. Pretty dull, I reckon.
1994 - Believe it or not, 17 years have already passed since the debut album Ready to Die was released by The Notorious B.I.G, who was raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, and when he released the album, he became a central figure in the East Coast hip-hop scene, increasing New York's visibility at a time when West Coast artists were more common in the mainstream rap/hip hop scene. The following year, Wallace led his childhood friends to chart success through his protégé group, Junior M.A.F.I.A, and while recording his second album, was heavily involved in the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop feud, dominating the scene at the time. On March 9, 1997, B.I.G was killed by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. His double-disc set Life After Death, released 15 days later, hit #1 on the U.S. album charts, and since his death, a further two albums have been released. MTV have ranked him at #3 on their list of The Greatest MC rappers of all time, having certified sales of 17 million units in the United States, alone. This is Big Poppa, the Grammy-nominated and Billboard Award winning second single off the aforementioned Notorious B.I.G. album, Ready to Die.
1996 - Six months prior to the death of Notorious B.I.G, fellow-rapper Tupac Shakur died six days after being shot four times in a drive-by shooting. *MUSICBACKTRACK* has complete coverage of this event, just go to our archive and punch Tupac into the search engine. Three years later ob the same day, and Beverly Hills police officer, Marcelo Rodriguez, filed a multi-million dollar slander lawsuit against George Michael. The suit alleged that the singer had committed slander in the song and video for Outside, a telling tale about the Michael incident in which Rodriguez had arrested Michael on charges of lewd behavior in a public park. And here's Georgie Porgie doing the song, live.
