Today's birthdays:
Jason Derulo, 34.
Jason Joel Desrouleaux, known professionally as Jason Derulo, is an American pop and R&B singer and songwriter. Since the start of his solo recording career in 2009, he has sold over 250 million singles worldwide and has achieved eleven platinum singles including "Wiggle", "Talk Dirty", "Want to Want Me", "Trumpets", "It Girl", "In My Head", "Ridin' Solo", and "Whatcha Say".
After contributing and writing songs for various artists, Derulo signed to recording label Beluga Heights, owned by record producer and industry veteran J. R. Rotem. After Beluga Heights became part of the Warner Music Group, Derulo became a recording artist and released his debut single "Whatcha Say" in May 2009. It sold over five million digital downloads, gaining an RIAA certification of triple platinum, and reaching number one in the U.S. and New Zealand. Derulo released his second single, "In My Head", in December 2009 and his self-titled debut studio album Jason Derulo, followed on March 2, 2010. He released his second album, Future History, on September 16, 2011; the album was preceded by the release of the UK number-one single "Don't Wanna Go Home". Derulo's third international album, Tattoos, was released on September 24, 2013, and later repackaged as his third U.S. album, Talk Dirty, released on April 15, 2014. In 2015, Derulo released his single "Want to Want Me" and announced his fourth studio album, Everything Is 4, which was released on June 2, 2015.
In June 2020, Derulo released the single "Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)" alongside beat producer Jawsh 685. The song went viral on TikTok and was later remixed by BTS, wherein the remix reached number one in the US, becoming Derulo's second chart-topper in the region. In November 2020, Derulo released another single entitled "Love Not War (The Tampa Beat)" featuring New Caledonian beat producer Nuka. It was inspired from the latter's SoundCloud track known as "The Tampa Beat" which was earlier released in 2018, and has been used in over 23 million TikTok videos,
Liam Gallagher, 51.
William John Paul Gallagher is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starting a successful solo career in 2017. Oasis had various line-up changes, and Gallagher and his elder brother Noel were the only constant members. One of the most recognisable figures in British rock music, Gallagher is noted for his distinctive vocal style and outspoken, arrogant, and volatile personality. His demeanour during Oasis' commercial peak in the mid-1990s garnered much attention from British tabloid newspapers, which often ran stories concerning his drug use and self-destructive behaviour.
Gallagher was interested in joining a band called the Rain, which they agreed to rename. It became Oasis, and they invited Noel to join them as the lead guitarist. The band's debut album, Definitely Maybe (1994), was a critical and commercial success during the emergence of Britpop. Their second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995), reached the top of the album charts in many countries, and their third studio album, Be Here Now (1997), became the fastest-selling album in UK chart history. Britpop eventually declined in popularity, and Oasis failed to revive it; however, all of their subsequent albums topped the UK charts, and they continued to tour, playing gigs to 1,000,000+ people worldwide, but particularly in Europe, and South America. In August 2009, following Noel's departure from Oasis, Gallagher and the remaining band members would go on to form Beady Eye, with whom he released two studio albums before they disbanded in 2014.
In 2017, Gallagher began his solo career with the release of his debut solo album, As You Were (2017), which proved to be a critical and commercial success. It topped the UK Albums Chart and was the ninth fastest-selling debut album of the 2010s in the UK, with over 103,000 units sold in its first week. In 2018, the album was certified platinum with over 300,000 units sold in the UK. His second album, Why Me? Why Not, received mostly positive reviews and topped the UK charts upon its release in September 2019. This made it his tenth chart-topping album including eight with Oasis, and it also became the fastest-selling vinyl of 2019. In March 2010, he was voted the greatest frontman of all time in a reader poll by Q magazine. In 2019, he received the MTV Europe Music Award for "Rock Icon".
Leonard Cohen (September 21, 1934 – November 7, 2016).
Leonard Norman Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, social and political conflict, and sexual and romantic love, desire, regret, and loss. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. In 2011, he received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize.
Cohen pursued a career as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and early 1960s, and did not begin a music career until 1967. His first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967), was followed by three more albums of folk music: Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate (1971) and New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974). His 1977 record Death of a Ladies' Man, co-written and produced by Phil Spector, was a move away from Cohen's previous minimalist sound.
In 1979, Cohen returned with the more traditional Recent Songs, which blended his acoustic style with jazz, East Asian, and Mediterranean influences. Cohen's most famous song, "Hallelujah", was released on his seventh album, Various Positions (1984). I'm Your Man in 1988 marked Cohen's turn to synthesized productions. In 1992, Cohen released its follow-up, The Future, which had dark lyrics and references to political and social unrest.
Cohen returned to music in 2001 with the release of Ten New Songs, a major hit in Canada and Europe. His eleventh album, Dear Heather, followed in 2004. In 2005, Cohen discovered that his manager had stolen most of his money and sold his publishing rights, prompting a return to touring to recoup his losses. Following a successful string of tours between 2008 and 2013, he released three albums in the final years of his life: Old Ideas (2012), Popular Problems (2014), and You Want It Darker (2016), the last of which was released three weeks before his death. His posthumous, fifteenth, and final studio album Thanks for the Dance, was released in November 2019.
In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked him number 103 in their "200 Greatest Singers of All Time".
On this day today:
1947 - Don Felder (Eagles lead guitarist) is born in Gainesville, Florida.
1957 - Elvis Presley's longtime guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black leave the King's band, dissatisfied over being denied pay raises by manager Colonel Tom Parker. Drummer D.J. Fontana stays on.
1962 - A year and a half before The Beatles break in America, The Springfields' "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" becomes the first British song to reach the Top 20 in the US. Later, member Dusty Springfield would have several more solo hits of her own.
1963 - Bobby Vinton's "Blue Velvet" hits #1 for the first of three weeks.
1965 - The Moody Blues take part in the "Pop From Britain" concert at Royal Albert Hall in London, making their first major performance. They had recently signed with The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, who got them the gig.
1966 - Jimmy Hendrix changes his name to Jimi at the urging of his manager Chas Chandler.
1968 - Jimi Hendrix releases "All Along The Watchtower."
1974 - Barry White hits #1 in America with "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe."
1976 - Tom Waits releases Small Change, his third studio album. It includes two of his most definitive tunes, "Tom Traubert's Blues" and "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not me) (An Evening with Pete King)."
1978 - Do you remember the 21st night of September? The first line of Earth, Wind & Fire's song isn't written for any particular reason - it just sounds good.
1979 - Bruce Springsteen debuts his song "The River" at a show in Madison Square Garden. He is performing as part of Musicians United For Safe Energy (MUSE) in a protest against nuclear power. Other artists that go on before him have to contend with the constant droning of "Broooooooooooooce," as he's the main attraction. Bonnie Raitt doesn't figure out until after her set that the crowd was not booing her, just anticipating Springsteen's performance.
1979 - During a break in their only North American tour, members of ABBA bring their kids to Disneyland.
1980 - Elton John leaves longtime label MCA and signs with David Geffen's new label for a six-year contract.
1980 - Bob Marley, who had refused treatment for a spreading melanoma due to his religious beliefs, collapses while jogging in New York's Central Park and is hospitalized. Two nights later he performs the next date on his North American tour, the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, but it sadly proves to be his last.
1989 - Less than six months after hitting #1 with "Eternal Flame," the Bangles announce their split, with Susanna Hoffs launching a solo career. They re-form in 1998.
1989 - Rush move away from their keyboard-heavy sound with Presto, their 13th studio album and first under the Atlantic Records label. The album's four singles are "Show Don't Tell," "Presto," "The Pass," and "Superconductor."
1991 - Status Quo set a world record when they play four separate British arenas in one 11-hour period.
1992 - ABBA, which split up in 1982, release Gold: Greatest Hits, which in America becomes by far their best-selling album, moving over 6 million copies.
1993 - "All Apologies," backed with "Rape Me," is released. It's the last Nirvana single released while Kurt Cobain is still alive.
1993 - Bad Religion release their seventh full-length studio album, Recipe for Hate. This album was originally released on Epitaph Records, but was quickly reissued by their now-former label Atlantic.
1993 - Nirvana release In Utero.
1996 - Jack Gillis marries Meg White. He takes her last name, and the couple forms The White Stripes. They tell reporters they are brother and sister, which goes over until a reporter for the Detroit Free Press uncovers their marriage license in 2001.
1997 - Radiohead's video for "Karma Police" debuts on the MTV show 120 Minutes.
1998 - The Fireman, Paul McCartney's trance music duo with producer Martin Glover, release their second album, Rushes. Says Glover: "Linda [Paul's wife] was very ill, and by the time we'd finished it she was dying, and for me it became very much a requiem for her."
1999 - Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails earns the first #1 in its career, as The Fragile debuts at the top of The Billboard 200, easily outpacing all other competitors in a market crowded with new releases.
1999 - An HBO live music show called Reverb makes its debut with performances from Alanis Morissette and Everlast.
2000 - Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks re-form as Genesis for a one-off performance at the London Hilton during the British Music Roll of Honour gala, organized by the Music Managers Forum. The act's manager, Tony Smith receives the Peter Grant Award for outstanding achievement at the event.
2001 - The benefit concert America: A Tribute To Heroes, airs on most major TV networks, raising over $128 million for victims of the September 11 attacks. Performers include Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Tom Petty, and Willie Nelson.
2001 - The film Glitter, starring Mariah Carey as a singer looking to make it big, is released in theaters. Carey earns a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress; her appearances in Precious (2009) and The Butler (2013) get much better receptions.
2004 - Green Day release American Idiot, their first album in four years. Overtly political in places, it takes on President George W. Bush, especially on the title track. With a more refined sound, the album outsells even their punk rock touchstone Dookie, released 10 years earlier.
2011 - R.E.M. announce that they're calling it quits after more than 30 years. In a post on their website, the band members write, "To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening."
2012 - No Doubt release the album Push and Shove, their first release in 11 years. Lead singer Gwen Stefani explains that they "made the record of their lives," so why rush it?
2012 - When Green Day's set is cut short at the iHeartRadio festival in Las Vegas, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong flies off the handle, stopping the show and going into a rant where he says, "I'm not f--king Justin Bieber, you motherf--kers
2017 - To thwart low payouts on YouTube, Post Malone releases a version of his latest single, "Rockstar," that is just the chorus looped five times. Comments are disabled, and users are offered a link to hear the full version on more profitable platforms.
