On this day in music, April 28, 2003, US technology company Apple Inc. broke new ground in the music industry by launching the iTunes Store, the first legally authorized download platform for buying music. The store was established after the company reached an agreement with all five major record companies to market their catalogs. By February 2010, the iTunes Store was the largest music vendor in the world.
In 2013, singer Emeli Sandé broke the UK chart record for a debut album when Our Version Of Events notched up its 63rd consecutive week in the Top 10. The record had previously been held by The Beatles with their 1963 debut, Please Please Me.
In 2020, R&B singer Bobby Lewis died at the age of 95. The Indianapolis-born artist scored one of the biggest hits of the 1960s with “Tossin’ and Turnin,’” which spent seven weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1961.
In 2002, British female vocal trio Sugababes scored their first of six UK No.1 singles with “Freak Like Me.” The track was a remake of singer Adina Howard’s 1995 US hit but was distinguished by its repurposing of the synth hook from Gary Numan & Tubeway Army’s 1979 smash, “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?.”
In 1973, Pink Floyd’s eighth album, Dark Side Of The Moon, rose to the summit of the US albums chart six weeks after its release. The iconic LP only spent a week at the top – it was supplanted by Elvis Presley’s Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite – but went on to notch up an unparalleled 741 weeks on the Billboard chart.
In 1969, Chicago Transit Authority released their self-titled platinum-selling debut album which earned them a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. The seven-member ensemble shortened their name to Chicago for their next album, after they faced possible legal action by a same-named mass-transit operator in the Windy City.
BORN ON APRIL 28
1945: John Wolters (Dr. Hook)
1952: Chuck Leavell (The Allman Brothers Band)
1953: Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth)
1955: Eddie Jobson (Roxy Music)
1960: Phil King (Lush)
1968: Howard Donald (Take That)
1969: Mica Paris
1973: Bigg Gipp (Goodie Mob)
1993: Tom Ogden (Blossoms)
The Songs of Summer Festival will be held on August 15th at Memorial Park in Litchfield. Three musical acts will be performing this year – South 40, Michael Shynes and the Fabulous Armadillos.
Songs of Summer Festival board member Cammy Moses says it’s a free event, but they take freewill offerings and they have lots of great local sponsors who help with the expenses involved in putting on this event. She says they have also started selling $20 raffle tickets as an additional fundraiser and they’re available at MidCountry Bank in Litchfield.
Moses says they sold 500 raffle tickets last year, but this year, they are selling 400 tickets so you have better chances of winning. She says the event each year makes it possible for them to award grants to local youth-related organizations, and last year, they gave $2,000 each to three groups.
Moses says applications are already coming in from groups who would like to benefit from this year’s Songs of Summer Festival. She says they will also have several food trucks at the event with gates opening at 4 p.m. on August 15th at Memorial Park, and hopefully the weather will be nice for the fun event.
A project to replace the surface of the roadway at the railroad crossing on County-State-Aid-Highway 1 – just west of Litchfield – is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, April 29th. The work is expected to be finished by May 2nd.
There will be no official detour so motorists will have to find alternate routes. The project is being coordinated by Meeker County and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.
