Today's birthdays:
Kurt Cobain (1967-1994).
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. April 5, 1994) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona, his compositions widened the thematic conventions of mainstream rock music. He was heralded as a spokesman of Generation X and is widely recognized as one of the most influential alternative rock musicians.
Cobain formed Nirvana with Krist Novoselic and Aaron Burckhard in 1987, establishing themselves as part of the Seattle music scene that later became known as grunge. Burckhard was replaced by Chad Channing before the band released their debut album Bleach (1989) on Sub Pop, after which Channing was in turn replaced by Dave Grohl. With this finalized line-up, the band signed with DGC and found commercial success with the single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from their critically acclaimed second album Nevermind (1991). Cobain wrote many other hit Nirvana songs such as "About a Girl", "All Apologies", "Aneurysm", "Come as You Are", "Heart-Shaped Box", "In Bloom", "Lithium", "Something in the Way", and "You Know You're Right". Although he was hailed as the voice of his generation following Nirvana's sudden success, he was uncomfortable with this role.
During his final years, Cobain struggled with a heroin addiction and chronic depression. He also struggled with the personal and professional pressures of fame, and was often in the spotlight for his tumultuous marriage to fellow musician Courtney Love, with whom he had a daughter named Frances. In March 1994, he overdosed on a combination of champagne and Rohypnol, subsequently undergoing an intervention and detox program. On April 8, 1994, he was found dead in the greenhouse of his Seattle home at the age of 27, with police concluding that he had died around three days earlier from a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.
Cobain was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Nirvana bandmates Novoselic and Grohl, in their first year of eligibility in 2014. Rolling Stone included him on its lists of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time, 100 Greatest Guitarists, and 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. He was ranked 7th by MTV in the "22 Greatest Voices in Music", and was placed 20th by Hit Parader on their 2006 list of the "100 Greatest Metal Singers of All Time".
Rihanna, 36.
Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, actress, and songwriter. She is widely regarded as one of the most prominent recording artists of the 21st century. Signed with Def Jam Recordings in 2005, she gained mainstream recognition following the release of her first two studio albums, Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl Like Me (2006), influenced by Caribbean music, both peaking in the top ten on the US Billboard 200 chart. Her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), incorporated elements of dance-pop and established her as a major icon in the music industry. Its lead single, "Umbrella" peaked the US Billboard Hot 100, won her first Grammy Award, and ushered her into global stardom.
Rihanna continued to mix pop, dance, and R&B genres on her next studio albums, Rated R (2009), Loud (2010), Talk That Talk (2011), and Unapologetic (2012)—the latter of which peaked the Billboard 200. The albums spawned a string of chart-topping singles, including "Rude Boy", "Only Girl (In the World)", "What's My Name?", "S&M", "We Found Love", and "Diamonds". Her eighth album, Anti (2016), showcased new creative control following her departure from Def Jam in favor of Jay-Z's Roc Nation label. It became her second US number one album and was supported the chart-topping single "Work". During her musical career, Rihanna has collaborated with artists including Coldplay, Drake, Eminem, Kanye West, Ne-Yo, and Shakira.
With sales of over 250 million records worldwide, Rihanna is the second-best-selling female music artist of all time and the highest-certified female artist of all time on the RIAA's Top Artists (Digital Singles) ranking. She has achieved 14 number-one singles, 32 top-ten singles in the US, and 31 top-ten entries in the UK. Her accolades include nine Grammy Awards, 13 American Music Awards (including the Icon Award), 12 Billboard Music Awards, six Guinness World Records, the NAACP's President's Award, and an Academy Award nomination. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2018. Forbes ranked her among the top ten highest-paid celebrities in 2012 and 2014. As of 2024, she is the wealthiest female musician, with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion.
Aside from music, Rihanna is recognized for her humanitarian involvement, entrepreneurship, and fashion industry influence. She established the Clara Lionel Foundation, cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty, and fashion house Fenty under LVMH, becoming the first black woman to lead a luxury brand for LVMH. Rihanna has acted in major roles like Battleship (2012), Home (2015), Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017), and Ocean's 8 (2018). In 2018, she was appointed as an ambassador by the Government of Barbados and declared a National Hero of Barbados in 2021.
Olivia Rodrigo, 21.
Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She first rose to prominence for starring on the Disney television programs Bizaardvark (2016–2019) and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019–2022).
Following her 2020 signing with Geffen Records, Rodrigo released her debut single, "Drivers License", which broke various records and became one of the best-selling songs of 2021, helping her achieve mainstream fame. She followed it up with the singles "Deja Vu" and "Good 4 U", and released her debut studio album, Sour, in 2021. The album earned her critical and commercial success, winning various accolades, including three Grammy Awards. A Disney+ documentary, Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U, followed in 2022, chronicling her creative process with Sour.
In 2023, Rodrigo released her second studio album, Guts, supported by the singles "Vampire", "Bad Idea Right?", and "Get Him Back!", the first of which became her third number one single in several countries. Overall, Rodrigo has achieved three Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, two Billboard 200 number-one albums, and five multi-platinum certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her other accolades include an American Music Award, seven Billboard Music Awards, and three MTV Video Music Awards. Time named her the 2021 Entertainer of the Year and Billboard named her Woman of the Year in 2022.
On this day today:
1963 - Ian Brown (lead singer of The Stone Roses) is born in Warrington, England.
1988 - "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" by Pet Shop Boys climbs to #2 in America, behind Tiffany's "Could've Been." The song features Dusty Springfield, marking her first big hit since 1969.
1974 - Cher files for divorce from Sonny. The famous pair had been putting on a happy front for the public for the past two years until Sonny finally filed for a separation, citing "irreconcilable differences." A week later, Cher files for divorce, claiming "involuntary servitude" due to Sonny allegedly withholding her earnings.
1975 - "Johnny Cash Day" is declared in Los Angeles.
1976 - Kiss immortalize their hand prints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
1991 - Public Enemy and Sinead O'Connor are nominated for Grammy Awards, but skip the ceremony: PE has beef because the rap award isn't televised; Sinead says they "respect mostly material gain." She wins anyway, taking the trophy for Best Alternative Music Performance for her album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.
1981 - Rick James releases "Give It To Me Baby," a #1 R&B hit filled with that funk, that sweet, that funky stuff.
1982 - Death Wish II is released in the USA with a soundtrack by Jimmy Page.
1985 - Julia Volkova (of t.A.T.u.) is born in Moscow, Russia (then part of the Soviet Union).
1991 - Alison Krauss wins her first Grammy Award when I've Got That Old Feeling takes Best Bluegrass Recording. By 2016, Krauss wins 26 more statuettes, surpassing Aretha Franklin as the most-awarded female artist in Grammy history and tying for second place with Quincy Jones as the most-awarded living recipient.
1991 - While two Garth Brooks hits ("The Dance," "Friends In Low Places") are among the nominees for Best Country Song at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards, Kathy Mattea's "Where've You Been" takes the prize. The tender ballad was written by Mattea's husband, Jon Vezner, and Nashville songwriter Don Henry. The tune also earns Mattea the trophy for Best Female Vocal Country Performance.
1993 - Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" from the soundtrack to The Bodyguard tops Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart for the 13th week.
1996 - Snoop Doggy Dogg is acquitted of murder, ending an ordeal that started in 1993 when his bodyguard shot and killed a rival gang member from the Jeep Snoop was driving.
2009 - The White Stripes, favorites of the host, play "We're Going To Be Friends" on the final episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. It ends up being the last performance by the group, which splits up two years later.
2011 - Katy Perry launches her worldwide California Dreams Tour in support of her Teenage Dream album, starting in Lisbon, Portugal, where she transforms the venue into a candy-coated wonderland. "It's very kitsch," she says. "I'm borrowing from The Wizard of Oz, Alice In Wonderland, Black Swan, Pee Wee's Big Adventure and a little John Waters. People are raising the bar so you either have to get to that level or you're out of the game."
