This Day in Music

On this day in music, March 2, 1999, 59-year-old singer Dusty Springfield lost her battle with cancer. Born Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien in London, the iconic artist – famed for her blonde beehive hairdo and soulful voice – rose to fame in the folk-pop trio The Springfields before going solo in 1963. Between then and 1995, she racked up 27 UK hits, among them the chart-topping “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” (a Top 5 hit in the US) and “Son of a Preacher Man,” a Top Ten favorite on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1999 she was awarded an OBE and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 2003, American singer-songwriter Norah Jones began a month-long spell at the summit of the UK albums chart with her debut LP, Come Away With Me. Containing the hit single “Don’t Know Why,” the album topped the charts in thirteen other countries around the world, including the US, where it would eventually go on to sell over five million copies.

In 1963, The Four Seasons became the first group to score three consecutive No.1 hits in the US when “Walk Like A Man” began its three-week stint at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The song’s recording session was interrupted by smoke and water seeping into the studio, resulting from a fire in the room above.

In 1991, French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg died of a heart attack at the age of 62. Although he’s best remembered outside of France for “Je T’aime… Moi Non-Plus” – his steamy No.1 UK duet with then-girlfriend, Jane Birkin – he was a prolific songwriter and composer, with more than 550 songs and 40 soundtracks to his name.

In 1991, Madonna became the highest-debuting female artist in US pop history when “Rescue Me,” the second single from her first greatest hits album The Immaculate Collection, entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No.15. The record had previously been held by teenage singer Joy Layne, whose 1957 debut single, a cover of The Poni-Tails’ “Your Wild Heart,” debuted at No.30.

In 2008, a deluxe edition of Amy Winehouse’s second album, Back to Black, topped the UK album chart, three months after its original release. It contained a bonus disc of demos, outtakes, cover versions, and a slowed-down live rendition of “Valerie,” her Top 10 hit with producer Mark Ronson.

In 1955, rhythm and blues pioneer Bo Diddley began his first recording session for Chicago’s Chess Records, where he cut his debut single, “Bo Diddley.” The song spent two weeks at the top of the US R&B chart and nine years later became a Top 5 UK hit for Buddy Holly.

BORN ON MARCH 2

1938: Lawrence Payton (The Four Tops)
1942: Lou Reed
1948: Rory Gallagher
1950: Karen Carpenter (The Carpenters)
1962: Jon Bon Jovi
1977: Chris Martin (Coldplay)
1985: Luke Pritchard (The Kooks)