This Day in Music
On September 8, 1973, Marvin Gaye began a two-week run at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the sultry “Let’s Get It On.” The song, which also served as the title track of Gaye’s 13th studio album, was written by Marvin Gaye and producer Ed Townsend and featured instrumentation by the legendary Funk Brothers. The track quickly became one of Motown Records’ biggest singles, as well as Gaye’s signature hit.
In 1990, Jon Bon Jovi topped the Billboard Hot 100 with his debut single as a solo artist, “Blaze of Glory.” The song, which landed at No.2 in the UK, was written by the Bon Jovi frontman for the Emilio Estevez-led film, Young Guns II.
In 2005, Help: A Day in the Life – a compilation benefiting War Child International – was released. The album, which featured some of the biggest bands in the UK, was not only thought to be the fastest-ever produced record, but also became the fastest-selling download album of all-time. Coldplay, Radiohead, Kaiser Chiefs, Antony and the Johnsons, The Magic Numbers, The Coral, Bloc Party, and Gorillaz all contributed to the 22-track album, which was made available for download just 30 hours after its marathon recording session.
In 2020, composer, singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, saxophonist, and co-founding member of Kool & the Gang, Ronald Bell, died at the age of 68. Bell wrote and produced many Kool & the Gang’s biggest hits, including “Cherish,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Summer Madness,” and the enduring disco classic, “Celebration.”
In 1968, The Beatles performed “Hey Jude” on the UK television show Frost On Sunday in front of an invited audience. Clocking in at just over seven minutes, the song not only marked the first single to be released on The Beatles’ label, Apple Records, but was also the longest single ever, at the time, to top the British charts.
In 1984, 18 years after his chart debut, Stevie Wonder earned his first UK No.1 with the joyful ballad, “I Just Called to Say I Love You.” Written for the film The Woman In Red, the song remained in the top position for six weeks. “I Just Called to Say I Love You” also reached the No.1 spot across Europe, in the US, South Africa, Australia, and numerous other countries.
In 2003, David Bowie performed the world’s first interactive concert from London’s Riverside Studios, where he performed songs off his forthcoming album, REALITY, plus a handful of fan favorites. The show was broadcast to 21 cinemas around the globe, where audience members could speak to the rock star, and request songs, via microphones linked to ISDN lines.
BORN ON SEPTEMBER 8
1897: Jimmie Rodgers
1932: Patsy Cline
1945: Ron McKernan (Grateful Dead)
1979: Pink
1987: Wiz Khalifa
1989: Avicii
1990: Jay Weinberg (Slipknot)
