This Day in Music
On this day in music, March 14, 1995, Tupac (2Pac) Shakur became the first male solo artist to have a No.1 album in the US while incarcerated. His third LP, Me Against the World came out while the controversial West Coast rapper was serving eight months in prison. The album debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200, selling 240,000 copies during its first week, which at that time broke the record for the highest first-week sales of a solo male rapper. Me Against the World also featured 2Pac’s first Top Ten hit, “Dear Mama.” The seminal track, which has since ranked on multiple “Best Of” lists, marked the first song by a solo hip-hop artist to be inducted into the National Recording Registry.
In 1983, Bon Jovi, a band that bridged the divide between heavy rock and pop, formed in Sayreville, NJ. Taking their name from lead singer Jon Bon Jovi, the group went on to sell 34.5 million albums in the US, while their fourth album, 1988’s New Jersey, broke a record for a hard rock album by producing five Top 10 US singles.
In 1991, R.E.M. played the first of two secret gigs under the name “Bingo Hand Job” at a small London venue called Borderline. The concerts took place as part of a short promotional tour for their seventh album, Out Of Time. In 2019, highlights from both concerts were officially released as Live at the Borderline 1991, a Record Store Day exclusive.
In 1973, ABBA released “Ring Ring,” their first Swedish No.1 hit and debut release in the UK. The track was originally credited to Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid and was selected as Sweden’s 1973 Eurovision Song Contest entry, finishing third. A year later, under the name ABBA, the group won the same competition with their international breakthrough song “Waterloo.”
In 1991, noted American songwriter and lyricist Doc Pomus died at the age of 65, following a battle with lung cancer. An inductee into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he was best known for his collaborations with Mort Shuman. Together they wrote Dion & The Belmonts’ “A Teenager In Love,” The Drifters’ “Save The Last Dance For Me,” and Andy Williams’ “Can’t Get Used To Losing You.”
In 1982, Metallica made their live debut at Radio City in Anaheim, California. Pioneers of the thrash metal genre, the band began when guitarist James Hetfield responded to drummer Lars Ulrich’s newspaper ad “for other metal musicians to jam with Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head, and Iron Maiden.” The pair would officially launch the group five months after they met.
BORN ON MARCH 14
1932: Mark Murphy (Jazz singer)
1933: Quincy Jones
1946: Jim Pons (The Turtles)
1969: Michael Bland (The New Power Generation)
1970: Kristian Bush (Sugarland)
1983: Taylor Hanson (Hanson)
1986: Este Arielle (Haim)
