On this day today:
1943 - Robbie Robertson, the lead guitarist for The Band, was born Jaime Royal Robertson in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
1950 - Huey Lewis, born Hugh Anthony Cregg III in New York City, later forms the band Huey Lewis & the News in San Francisco.
1959 - Marc Cohn was born in Cleveland, Ohio.
1961 - Ray Charles releases the iconic songs "Hit The Road Jack" and "Unchain My Heart."
1964 - Them, featuring Van Morrison, releases the classic song "Gloria."
1969 - Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, later known as RZA, is born in Brownsville, New York. He will go on to become the leader of the Wu-Tang Clan.
1974 - Linda Ronstadt records her breakthrough hit "You're No Good" at the Sound Factory in Hollywood, with producer Peter Asher.
1980 - At a concert in Munich, Simon Kirke of Bad Company joins Led Zeppelin for a powerful two-drum performance of "Whole Lotta Love." Kirke becomes the last guest musician to perform with the band, as the tour concludes two days later, and John Bonham tragically passes away in September.
1981 - At the "Rock Werchter" festival in Belgium, The Cure play a defiant 9-minute version of "A Forest" after being told to hurry off stage to make way for Robert Palmer's set.
1993 - Björk launches her solo career post-Sugarcubes with the release of her debut album, titled "Debut." Highlighting tracks like "Human Behaviour" and "Big Time Sensuality," the album establishes her as a burgeoning solo star on the international music scene.
1994 - Hootie & the Blowfish release their debut album "Cracked Rear View," which skyrockets to success in early 1995, ultimately selling an astounding 21 million copies worldwide.
1997 - Sarah McLachlan spearheads the groundbreaking Lilith Fair tour, launching at The Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington State. This pioneering all-female festival lineup includes Jewel, Suzanne Vega, and Paula Cole, with later performances featuring renowned artists like Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow, and Fiona Apple across various stops.
1999 - The Eurythmics made a significant announcement from the Greenpeace boat 'Rainbow Warrior' moored on the River Thames in London: they would embark on their first world tour in over a decade, with all profits from the tour earmarked for charity.
2005 - David Gilmour of Pink Floyd urged artists who saw a significant surge in album sales following the Live 8 concerts to donate their profits to charity, emphasizing that the funds could be instrumental in saving lives. In the UK, sales figures released shortly after the London concert revealed substantial increases: Pink Floyd's "Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd" surged by 1343%, The Who's "Then and Now" by 863%, and Annie Lennox's "Eurythmics Greatest Hits" by 500%.
2008 - Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" reaches #1 on the US charts, holding the spot for seven consecutive weeks. This marks Perry's first number-one hit, a remarkable contrast from her earlier career as a gospel singer under her birth name, Katy Hudson, just seven years prior.
2019 - Madonna reached No. 1 on the US album chart with her fourteenth studio album, "Madame X." This achievement marked her ninth album to top the charts in the United States.
2023 - Adele recently expressed concerns about audience behavior, lamenting what she perceives as a decline in "show etiquette." The issue gained attention this year when incidents occurred involving other artists: Bebe Rexha was injured by a thrown phone, prompting hospitalization; Harry Styles was hit in the eye with candy during a performance; Pink encountered discomfort when a bag of human ashes was thrown on stage; and Lil Nas X took a lighter approach after a sex toy landed on stage during his show in Sweden, appearing amused by the incident.
