This Day in Music
On this day in music, December 2, 1995, Mariah Carey became the first artist in history to have two consecutive singles debut at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, after her duet with Boyz II Men, “One Sweet Day,” topped the chart. The ballad followed the success of “Fantasy,” which dropped in September, and marked the first single by a female artist to open at the top of the chart, and only the second single to debut at No.1 after “You Are Not Alone” by Michael Jackson. Carey and Boyz II Men performed their hit at the 38th Grammy Awards and, later, at Princess Diana’s memorial service in September 1997.
In 2012, the surviving members of Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Robert Plant) were celebrated as Kennedy Center Honorees. Jack Black introduced the group during the prestigious ceremony, declaring them to be “the greatest rock and roll band of all time,” while Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart recruited Jason Bonham (son of the band’s late drummer, John Bonham) to join them for a moving performance of “Stairway To Heaven.”
In 1983, MTV aired the full, 14-minute version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video for the first time. Inspired by Hollywood’s classic horror flicks, the short film was directed by filmmaker John Landis, written by Landis and Jackson, and starred Jackson and actress/model Ola Ray. In 2009, it was the first music video to be preserved in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
In 1978, Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand’s “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” landed at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has a unique history that began when each artist individually recorded the song. As a gag, an engineer at a Louisville, KY radio station spliced together each version, creating a duet. The result was so successful, however, that the station added it to their regular rotation. Soon, a Chicago radio station created its own version. Eventually, Neil Diamond (who wrote the song alongside Alan and Marilyn Bergman) recorded an official duet with Streisand.
In 1966, David Bowie released his first single, “Rubber Band,” on the Decca subsidiary, Deram. The Baroque pop tune was part of a three-song audition tape that Bowie’s manager, Kenneth Pitt, used to persuade the label to sign him.
BORN ON DECEMBER 2
1941: Tom McGuinness (Manfred Mann)
1960: Rick Savage (Def Leppard)
1968: Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters)
1978: Chris Wolstenholme (Muse)
1978: Nelly Furtado
1981: Britney Spears
1991: Charlie Puth
