This Day in Music
On this day in music, March 30, 2020, 81-year-old soul troubadour Bill Withers died from heart complications. A coal miner’s son from West Virginia, Withers began singing and writing songs while in the US Navy and released his first album Just As I Am in 1971 at the age of 33. His debut single “Ain’t No Sunshine” went gold in the US but was surpassed by “Lean On Me,” an anthem of togetherness that became his only No.1 record. Withers also scored hits with “Use Me,” “Lovely Day,” and “Just The Two Of Us.”
In 1987, Prince released his broadly acclaimed ninth studio album, Sign o’ the Times, which marked his first LP without his band, The Revolution. The double album, which was originally scheduled as a triple LP set called Crystal Ball, spawned three hit singles: the title song, “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” and “U Got The Look.”
In 1963, 16-year-old Lesley Gore wrote herself into pop’s history books when she hit No.1 with her debut single, “It’s My Party.” The track was produced by Quincy Jones, who decided to record Gore after being impressed by a demo sent to him by her vocal coach.
In 1996, The Prodigy secured their first and only No.1 hit in the UK with “Firestarter,” which spent three weeks in the top spot. Taken from their third album The Fat Of The Land, the rave anthem sampled snippets from records by The Breeders, Art Of Noise, and Ten City and also marked Keith Flint’s debut as the band’s frontman.
In 1974, John Denver (real name Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.) topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with “Sunshine On My Shoulders.” It was the New Mexico-born singer’s first of four US No.1s.
In 2013, celebrated recording engineer, music producer, and multiple Grammy winner Phil Ramone died at the age of 79. Born Phil Rabinowitz in South Africa, Ramone was raised in Brooklyn and studied violin at the Juilliard School before moving into the world of recording. Those he worked with included Barbara Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and Elton John.
In 1957, Buddy Knox topped the Billboard Hot 100 with “Party Doll,” a song whose lyrics he had composed behind a haystack on his family’s farm in Texas. Knox had the distinction of being the first artist of the rock‘n’roll era to score a No.1 with a self-written song.
BORN ON MARCH 30
1913: Frankie Laine
1945: Eric Clapton
1950: Dave Ball (Procol Harum)
1955: Randy VanWarmer (Singer-songwriter and guitarist)
1962: MC Hammer
1964: Tracy Chapman
1968: Celine Dion
1979: Norah Jones
1990: Thomas Rhett
