This Day in Music
On this day in music, February 27, 1993, Whitney Houston’s moving rendition of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” became the longest US No.1 hit to date, breaking a record previously held by Boyz II Men’s “End Of The Road.” Recorded by Houston for the soundtrack to her film debut, The Bodyguard, the song spent 14 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and quickly became one of the world’s best-selling singles of all time.
In 1999, Britney Spears’ debut single, “…Baby One More Time,” began a two-week run at the top of the UK pop chart. The song, which also hit No.1 in more than 20 countries, including the US, Australia, Canada, and across Europe, broke first-week sales records in the UK for a female act. In the US, it became the second-highest-selling single of the year (behind Lou Bega’s “Mambo #5”), while today, it remains one of the best-selling singles of all time, worldwide.
In 1971, five months after her untimely death, Janis Joplin began a nine-week run at the top of the US album chart with Pearl. Released on January 11, 1971, the title marked Joplin’s second and final solo studio album.
In 1964, Cavern Club cloakroom attendant Cilla Black hit No.1 on the UK singles chart with her cover of “Anyone Who Had A Heart.” While the song was written months earlier by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick, Black’s rendition found greater success in the UK, where it remained at the top of the chart for three weeks and eventually became the fourth best-selling single of 1964. Warwick’s original recording, however, was more popular in the US, Canada, South Africa, Spain, and Australia, among other territories.
In 1993, Marlena Davis of The Orlons died at age 48 after battling lung cancer. The Orlons had five US Top 20 hits in the 1960s, and the quartet’s first hit, “The Wah-Watusi,” peaked at No.2 on the US pop chart.
BORN ON FEBRUARY 27
1910: Winifred Atwell
1927: Guy Mitchell
1954: Neal Schon (Journey)
1957: Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden)
1960: Johnny Roy Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
1971: Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas (TLC)
1981: Josh Groban
