This Day in Music
On this day in music, April 29, 2016, 14 Prince albums re-entered the UK Top 40 as a result of huge public interest in his back catalog following his death earlier in the month. The highest placed was The Very Best Of, which reached No.2. At the same time, six of Prince’s singles re-entered the UK Top 100, with “Purple Rain” hitting No. 6. In the US during the same week, Prince established a chart record in The Billboard 200 by simultaneously placing five albums in the Top 10.
In 1968, the Broadway rock musical Hair opened at New York City’s Biltmore Theatre. The show became a beacon for the counterculture and sexual revolution movements. Its most famous songs were “Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In” and “Good Morning Starshine.” The production closed on July 1, 1972 after 1,729 performances.
In 1993, 46-year-old guitarist, pianist, and producer Mick Ronson lost his battle with liver cancer. The Yorkshire-born musician rose to fame playing in David Bowie’s Spiders From Mars group during the artist’s Ziggy Stardust period. Additionally, Ronson issued three studio albums under his own name and co-produced Lou Reed’s classic 1972 album, Transformer. He also recorded with Ian Hunter, Bob Dylan, Elton John, and Morrissey.
In 1963, Andrew Oldham, a 19-year-old publicist, together with booking agent Eric Easton, signed The Rolling Stones to a management deal via a £90 purchase fee for the band’s demo recordings. The pair persuaded the group to slim down from six to five members by dropping pianist Ian “Stu” Stewart, who became the band’s road manager. Within two weeks, Oldham had procured the band a recording deal with Decca Records.
In 1977, London new wave trio The Jam released their debut single, “In The City,” which peaked at No.40 in the UK pop chart. It was the first of 39 UK chart entries for the Paul Weller-led act.
In 1980, Black Sabbath kicked off their first tour without Ozzy Osbourne, whom they fired in April the previous year; in his stead came US singer and former Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio.
BORN ON APRIL 29
1899: Duke Ellington
1931: Lonnie Donegan
1933: Willie Nelson
1933: Rod McKuen
1934: Otis Rush
1942: Klaus Voorman
1945: Tammi Terrell
1947: Tommy James (Tommy James & The Shondells)
1953: Bill Drummond (KLF)
1968: Carnie Wilson (Wilson Phillips)
1981: Tom Smith (The Editors)
