This Day in Music
On November 21, 1983, a nearly 14-minute music video for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” premiered in Los Angeles. Directed by John Landis (An American Warewolf in London, Three Amigos, Trading Places), the ghoulish visual paid homage to some of Hollywood’s biggest horror films, including a voiceover from the genre’s original icon, Vincent Price. Michael Jackson’s Thriller saw heavy rotation on MTV, helping to make its namesake album become the highest-selling LP in history.
In 1981, Queen and David Bowie topped the UK pop chart with their collaborative hit, “Under Pressure.” The Bowie-Freddie Mercury-fronted duet came about by chance when both acts were recording at the same studio in Montreux, Switzerland.
In 2003, Phil Spector was formally charged with the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. After an initial 2007 mistrial, the producer was found guilty of second-degree murder in 2009. He died in 2021 while serving a nineteen-year prison sentence.
In 2017, singer, songwriter, and actor, David Cassidy, died at the age of 67. The former teen heartthrob, who starred in the TV show The Partridge Family, scored several hits with the fictional family band, including 1970’s “I Think I Love You,” before launching a successful solo career.
In 1970, two months after his death, Jimi Hendrix scored his sole UK No.1 single with “Voodoo Child (Slight Return).”
In 1991, Aerosmith became the first band to make a guest appearance on the animated series, The Simpsons, during the third season’s “Flaming Moe’s” episode. Numerous acts have followed in their footsteps, including R.E.M., Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, Phish, and the White Stripes.
In 1988, former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page embarked on his first-ever solo tour. Accompanying him on drums was Jason Bonham, the son of his late, former bandmate, John Bonham.
BORN ON NOVEMBER 21
1941: Andrew Love (Memphis Horns)
1948: Lonnie Jordan (War)
1965: Björk
1968: Alex James (Blur)
1985: Carly Rae Jepsen
1988: Drew McFarlane (Glass Animals)
