This Day in Music
On November 17, 1996, the Spice Girls topped the UK album chart with their debut, Spice. Within weeks of the album’s release, the British five-piece established global dominance, topping the charts in more than 17 countries and eventually selling more than 23 million copies of the record. Along the way, it spawned four hugely popular singles, including “Say You’ll Be There,” “2 Become 1” (both of which hit No.1 in 53 countries), and “Wannabe,” which became one of the best-selling singles of all time. Spice, meanwhile, also remains one of the best-selling albums ever.
In 1984, Wham! simultaneously topped the UK’s album and pop charts with Make It Big and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” respectively. The album, which marked George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s second and final LP together, spawned four Top 5 singles on both sides of the Atlantic, including “Careless Whisper” and “Everything She Wants.”
In 1957, Harry Belafonte broke sales records in the UK with “Mary’s Boy Child.” The Christmas song, which remained at the top of the pop charts for seven weeks, was the first single to move over a million copies. 21 years later, when Boney M. covered the song, it became the first Christmas track to hit No.1 in two different versions.
In 2003, Britney Spears became the youngest recording artist to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2019, singer-songwriter Patti Smith won the National Book Award for her memoir, Just Kids.
In 1962, The Four Seasons began a five-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”
BORN ON NOVEMBER 17
1938: Gordon Lightfoot
1942: Bob Gaudio (The Four Seasons)
1960: RuPaul
1966: Jeff Buckley
1967: Ronald Devoe (New Edition, Bel Biv DeVoe)
1980: Isaac Hanson (Hanson)
1981: Sarah Harding (Girls Aloud)
