This Day in Music

In 2016, Drake set a new UK chart record for the digital age when “One Dance” feat. Wizkid & Kyla became the longest-running No.1 single since downloads and streams were included in the ranking. The song, which appeared on the Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter’s fourth studio album, Views, spent 11 weeks on the chart, while it also marked Drake’s first No.1 hit as a lead artist in 15 countries, including the US, Australia, and Canada.

In 2007, The White Stripes topped the UK chart with their seventh and final album, Icky Thump. The release marked their second No.1 LP in the UK (following 2003’s Elephant) while across the Atlantic, Icky Thump earned the duo their third Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.

In 1965, The Hollies scored their first No.1 hit in the UK with “I’m Alive.” The song, which spent three weeks in the top position, was one of 25 Top 40 singles for the long-running group.

In 1967, Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” began its run on the Billboard Hot 100. The enduring Baroque pop tune, which has been covered more than 1,000 times, peaked at the No.5 position, while it would top the UK pop chart. One of the world’s best-selling singles of all time, the song would later be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and included on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ranking.

In 1965, John Lennon released his second book, A Spaniard in the Works. A follow-up to his 1964 debut, “In His Own Write,” the book’s title was a play on the saying “a spanner in the works.” Much like its predecessor, it featured a variety of drawings and nonsensical stories by The Beatle.

BORN ON JUNE 24

1944: Jeff Beck
1944: Chris Wood (Traffic)
1944: Arthur Brown
1945: Colin Blunstone (The Zombies)
1947: Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac)
1949: John Illsley (Dire Straits)
1957: Astro (UB40)
1961: Curt Smith (Tears for Fears)
1967: Richard Zven Kruspe (Rammstein)
1986: Solange