This Day in Music
On September 23, 1977, David Bowie released “Heroes,” which would become one of the most celebrated singles in his expansive discography. Co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno and co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti, the song was recorded in the middle of 1977 at Hansa Studio 2 in West Berlin. Bowie and Eno built the song around synthesizer overdubs, which was an inventive quirk at the time, while Eno’s frequent collaborator, Robert Fripp, contributed guitar parts. Bowie’s singular vocals, meanwhile, were captured by microphones placed throughout the room, in an innovative “multi-latch” system created by Visconti.
In 1980, Bob Marley performed his final show at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh. Two days ahead of the concert, Marley had collapsed in New York’s Central Park while jogging. He was told to immediately cancel the rest of his US tour dates, but flew to Pittsburgh for one final appearance. Marley collapsed during the set and, just one year later, succumbed to an aggressive form of cancer
In 1969, Northern Illinois University’s Northern Star newspaper ran a story claiming that Paul McCartney had been killed in a car crash in 1966 and replaced by a look-a-like. The conspiracy theory was picked up by WKNR-FM in Detroit and, soon, the story spread worldwide. The rumor became so prevalent that McCartney eventually came out of seclusion at his Scottish farm to deny the story.
In 1967, The Box Tops began a four-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “The Letter,” which was also a No.5 hit in the UK. The single went on to sell over four million copies and receive two GRAMMY nominations.
In 2001, Kylie Minogue topped the UK singles chart with her smash hit, “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head.” The song would later be named the country’s 75th best-selling single of all time, while, globally, the track marks the Australian pop star’s highest-selling single.
In 1989, Milli Vanilli scored their second No.1 hit with “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You,” while also taking the top spot on the album chart with Girl You Know It’s True.
BORN ON SEPTEMBER 23
1930: Ray Charles
1939: Roy Buchanan (guitarist)
1943: Julio Iglesias
1947: Neal Smith (Alice Cooper Band)
1949: Bruce Springsteen
