Entertainment

On this day in music, April 14, 2017, “Sign Of The Times,” the debut single by ex-One Direction singer Harry Styles, went to No.1 in the UK. To get there, it knocked Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” off the top of the charts after a 13-week run. “Sign Of The Times” debuted at No.4 on Billboard’s Hot 100, reaching No.1 the following week. It also reached the top spot in the US iTunes charts just 19 minutes after its release, breaking the previous record held by Adele, whose 2015 song “Hello” took the No.1 position after 50 minutes.

In 1978, Art Garfunkel scored a No.1 hit in the UK with “Bright Eyes,” the theme song from Watership Down, an animated movie based on Richard Adams’ book about rabbits. Written by Mike Batt, the mastermind behind The Wombles, the song spent six weeks at the top and was the best-selling UK single of 1979. It was Garfunkel’s second UK No.1 but didn’t chart in the US.

In 1953, Liverpool-born Lita Roza became the first British female singer to top the UK singles chart when her cover of Patti Page’s novelty song, “(How Much) Is That Doggie In Window?,” reached No.1. Roza, who purportedly hated the tune, never performed it live.

In 1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival made their live UK debut in style – with a two-night engagement at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

In 1980, Gary Numan released The Touring Principle ‘79, the UK’s first commercially available feature-length rock video on VHS cassette. It was recorded at London’s Hammersmith Odeon venue as part of Numan’s The Pleasure Principle tour and topped the UK video charts.

BORN ON APRIL 14

1932: Loretta Lynn
1945: Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple)
1948: Larry Ferguson (Hot Chocolate)
1949: Sonja Kristina (Curved Air)
1949: June Millington (Fanny)
1965: Martyn LeNoble (Porno for Pyros)
1973: David Miller (Il Divo)

On this day in music, April 11, 1961, Bob Dylan made his live debut in New York City, opening for blues maven John Lee Hooker at Gerde’s Folk City – a recently-established Greenwich Village venue, which would soon be recognized as an incubator for some of the era’s most influential artists. The 19-year-old singer-songwriter, who had arrived in Manhattan months earlier, was too young to hold a cabaret license that would permit him to play, so one of the club’s owners, Mike Porco, became his guardian – or as the singer once described him, “the Sicilian father I never knew I had.” Dylan later referenced this show in his song “Talkin’ New York.”

In 1994, Oasis unleashed their debut single, “Supersonic.” Though it stalled at No.31 in the UK, it performed better in the US, reaching No.11 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

In 1966, the influential folk-rock band Buffalo Springfield took to the stage for the first time at The Troubadour in West Hollywood. Best remembered for their counterculture anthem “For What It’s Worth” (a 1967 US Top Ten hit), band members Stephen Stills and Neil Young later played together in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

In 2006, June Pointer, the youngest of the four Pointer Sisters died of cancer at 52. Although the Pointer Sisters topped the US R&B charts with “How Long (Betcha Got A Chick On The Side)” in 1975, they are best remembered for pop hits like “I’m So Excited,” “Automatic” and “Jump (For My Love),” which they racked up between 1979 and 1985. Away from the group, Pointer made two solo albums.

In 1964, The Beatles put themselves in the pop history books by simultaneously placing 14 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. The highest placed was “Can’t Buy Me Love,” at the top of the chart while the lowest was the Liverpudlian group’s debut single, “Love Me Do,” at No. 81.

In 2017, guitarist J Geils, leader of The J. Geils Band, died at the age of 71. Born John Warren Geils Jr, his band scored their biggest commercial success in 1981 with the chart-topping single “Centerfold” taken from the No.1 US album, Freeze-Frame.

In 1970, guitarist Peter Green left Fleetwood Mac to join a Munich commune during a tour of Germany. To avoid being sued for a breach of contract, he was persuaded to return and finish the tour. He left the band for good on May 20 of that year.

BORN ON APRIL 11

1956: Neville Staples (The Specials)
1958: Stuart Adamson (Big Country)
1966: Lisa Stansfield
1969: Cerys Matthews (Catatonia)
1970: Delroy Pearson (Five Star)
1971: Oliver “Ollie” Riedel (Rammstein)
1977: DJ Fresh (DJ and record producer)
1978: Tom Thacker (Sum 41)
1987: Joss Stone
1996: Summer Walker

On this day in music, April 9, 1969, folk star Bob Dylan reinvented himself with the release of his ninth studio album, Nashville Skyline. The album was a sonic and stylistic pivot from his earlier work and found Dylan immersing himself in country music. Even his singing voice was unrecognizable, as the artist delivered songs like “Lay Lady Lay” and “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You” in a deeper, softer croon. The album, which hit No.3 on the Billboard chart (and became Dylan’s fourth chart-topper in the UK), also featured a duet with one of country’s biggest names – Johnny Cash.

In 2021, 50-year-old rapper DMX died following a cardiac arrest. Born Earl Simmons, he became a hip-hop MC in 1984 and signed with Def Jam Records in 1996. His 1998 debut, It’s Dark And Hot Is Hell, marked the first of a record-breaking five multi-platinum albums that debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200. He took his stage name from a DMX drum machine he used to practice his rhymes to, but later said it was an acronym for “Dark Man X.”

In 1983, David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” became the shapeshifting artist’s first single to top the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. The funky track, which was produced by Chic’s Nile Rogers and featured guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, rebooted Bowie’s career with a new generation of fans.

In 2018, Lindsey Buckingham’s sudden departure from Fleetwood Mac was announced by the band, who also stated that his place would be taken on an upcoming tour by Crowded House’s Neil Finn and former Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ guitarist Mike Campbell. According to Buckingham, he was told by the band’s manager that “Stevie (Nicks) never wants to be on a stage with you again.”

In 2000, with “Fill Me In,” British R&B star Craig David – who was a month shy of his 19th birthday – became the youngest UK male solo artist to write and perform a No.1 hit on the UK singles chart. Four months later, he scored another chart-topper with “7 Days.”

In 1988, 50-year-old singer Dave Prater (of the famous soul duo Sam & Dave) was killed in a car accident. Nicknamed the “Dynamic Duo,” the pair had a volatile relationship and split up several times. Their biggest hits, which they recorded for Stax Records in the 1960s, included “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Coming.”

In 1977, ABBA topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with “Dancing Queen.” The song, which marked the Swedish quartet’s seventh Top 40 single in the US, hit No.1 in the UK and a dozen other countries.

BORN ON APRIL 9

1932: Carl Perkins
1946: Les Gray (Mud)
1961: Mark Kelly (Marillion)
1977: Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance)
1978: Rachel Stevens (S Club 7)
1980: Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes)
1987: Jazmine Sullivan
1987: Jesse McCartney
1999: Lil Nas X

On this day in music, April 8, 1994, Kurt Cobain’s body was discovered by an electrician at his Seattle home, several days after the Nirvana frontman took his own life. News broke at 9:40 AM on radio station KXRX and soon spread across the world, while local fans held vigil at the scene. Just one month earlier, the 27-year-old grunge icon had suffered a drug overdose while on tour in support of the band’s third album In Utero. The band cut the European run short, in hopes that Cobain would seek treatment.

In 1977, The Clash released their self-titled debut in the UK, which peaked at No.12 on the chart. Interestingly, the punk band’s label, CBS, initially refused to release the album in the US, deeming it “unfriendly” for radio play. The Clash quickly became one of America’s biggest-selling import records of all time, however, with 100,000 copies brought into the country. It eventually got an official US release in 1979, but with a different track listing.

In 1997, the pioneering American singer-songwriter Laura Nyro succumbed to ovarian cancer at the age of 49. Born in the Bronx, she signed her first record deal as a teenager and forged a unique style that fused soul, gospel, jazz, and Brill Building pop. The first of her nine studio first albums was 1967’s More Than A New Discovery, which contained two of her most famous songs, “Stoney End” (later recorded by Barbra Streisand) and “Wedding Bell Blues” (a No.1 US hit for The 5th Dimension). Among the many artists who covered her songs were Suzanne Vega, Roseanne Cash, and Frank Sinatra.

In 2001, ex-Spice Girl Emma Bunton’s debut single “What Took You So Long” became her first and only solo No.1. The singer, dubbed “Baby Spice,” was the fourth member of the group to score a solo chart-topper.

In 2010, 64-year-old Malcolm McLaren, who rose to fame as the Sex Pistols’ manager, lost his battle with cancer. A former art school student, he opened a clothing store called Let It Rock in the early 70s with fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and played a key role in the birth of punk rock. He also established himself as a recording artist, releasing seven albums between 1983 and 2005 and scoring ten UK hit singles, including 1983’s “Double Dutch.”

In 1991, the influential UK trip-hop collective Massive Attack released their groundbreaking debut, Blue Lines, which included the UK hit single “Unfinished Sympathy.” The album was featured in the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

In 1967, Sandie Shaw became the first British female artist to win the Eurovision Song Contest with “Puppet On A String.” It was also the singer’s third and final UK No.1.

BORN ON APRIL 8

1929: Jacques Brel
1942: Leon Huff (Producer, co-founder of Philadelphia International Records)
1947: Steve Howe (Yes)
1951: Mel Schacher (Grand Funk Railroad)
1962: Izzy Stradlin (Guns N’ Roses)
1963: Julian Lennon
1971: Darren Jessee (Ben Folds Five)
1984: Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend)
1989: Matthew Healy (The 1975)

On this day in music, April 7, 2015, singer-songwriter Don McLean’s original manuscript for his iconic 1971 hit,“American Pie,” was auctioned at Christie’s in New York and fetched $1.2 million. Consisting of a 16-page draft containing hand-written lyrics and notes, the manuscript, said the singer, would “divulge everything there is to divulge” about a song whose words had intrigued listeners for years and referenced Buddy Holly’s death in a 1959 plane crash.

In 2020, 73-year-old singer-songwriter John Prine died from Covid-19 complications. The Illinois-born “Angel From Montgomery” songwriter initially worked as a mailman and was then drafted into the US Army during the Vietnam War before starting a music career. He went on to release 23 albums between 1971 and 2018, winning five Grammy awards along the way. The artist had many fans among his peers, including Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, and Kris Kristofferson, who all admired Prine’s gift as an eloquent storyteller.

In 1985, Wham! performed in Beijing, a groundbreaking moment that made them the first major Western band to appear in communist China. They sang before an audience of 12,000 in the city’s Peoples’ Gymnasium.

In 1978, The Police released “Roxanne,” the first single plucked from their debut album, Outlandos d’Amour. A song about a man who falls for a sex worker, it initially missed the UK charts but when reissued a year later – after their song “Can’t Stand Losing You” was a hit – it rose to No. 12.

In 1962, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met Brian Jones for the first time at Ealing Jazz Club in West London. Jones, who went under the name Elmo Lewis, was playing slide guitar with Alexis Korner’s band, Blues Incorporated. Shortly afterward, they formed the Rolling Stones.

In 1977, The Damned became the first British punk group to perform live in America when they played the first of a four-night residency at New York’s iconic CBGBs.

BORN ON APRIL 7

1915: Billie Holiday
1942: Joel Dorn (Producer)
1947: Patricia Bennett (The Chiffons)
1947: Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk)
1949: John Oates (Hall and Oates)
1951: Janis Ian
1952: Bruce Gary (The Knack)
1991: Anne-Marie

On this day in music, April 1, 1984, soul star Marvin Gaye died after being fatally shot by his father during a heated altercation over mislaid insurance documents. The shooting, which occurred one day before Gaye’s 45th birthday, came at a time when the Washington D.C.-born singer and songwriter was enjoying a career resurgence, sparked by the success of his 1982 single, “Sexual Healing,” and its parent album, Midnight Love. Gaye rose to fame at Detroit’s Motown Records where he racked up 13 No.1 singles on the Billboard R&B chart between 1962 and 1981, though it was as an album artist that he made his biggest impact, releasing the acclaimed concept LP, What’s Going On in 1971.

In 1966, David Bowie (born David Jones) released his maiden solo single, “Do Anything You Say,” on the Pye label. Produced by Tony Hatch, it was the London artist’s first recording under his new stage name.

In 2020, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Adam Schlesinger died at the age of 52 from COVID-19. Schlesinger was best known as the co-founder of the power-pop band Fountains Of Wayne, with whom he released five albums. The Emmy and Grammy-winning artist, who penned the hit theme from 1996’s That Thing You Do!, was also an accomplished songwriter for film, theater, and TV.

In 1989, The Bangles scored their only British chart-topping single with “Eternal Flame,” taken from the all-girl group’s third album, Everything. The record was the Los Angeles quartet’s second US No. 1, following 1986’s “Walk Like An Egyptian.”

In 1976, pioneering British punk band the Buzzcocks played their first show at Bolton’s Institute of Technology, though the concert didn’t last long. After three numbers, the gig was brought to a premature close by a power outage.

In 2000, Santana scored their first No.1 album in the UK with Supernatural. The long-running Latin music group’s 18th studio album, which featured a variety of guest stars, eventually sold over 30 million copies worldwide and earned eight Grammy awards.

In 1985, Van Halen’s charismatic frontman David Lee Roth quit the band after six albums. Ex-Montrose singer Sammy Hagar replaced him.

BORN ON APRIL 1

1939: Rudolph Isley (The Isley Brothers)
1946: Ronnie Lane (Small Faces)
1952: Billy Currie (Ultravox)
1954: Jeff Porcaro (Toto)
1961: Susan Boyle
1965: Peter O’Toole (Hothouse Flowers)
1986: Hillary Scott (Lady A)