In 1999, Cher began a month-long stay at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Believe.” Its success made the then 53-year-old singer (born Cherilyn Sarkisian) the oldest woman to reach the summit of the chart. Taken from her album of the same name, the empowering anthem went to No.1 in nineteen countries, including the UK, where it became the highest-selling single by a solo female act. The iconic dance track was also famous for pioneering Auto-Tune, a pitch correction software that was dubbed the “Cher effect.”
In 1964, Billboard stated that The Beatles accounted for 60% of the US singles market. Nine of the group’s singles that year sold in excess of one million copies and, together with their six albums from the same period, their total record sales in 1964 amounted to over a staggering 25 million copies.
In 1993, Eric Clapton began a three-week run at the top of the US album chart with Unplugged. Recorded live in front of a studio audience in Berkshire, England, as part of the MTV Unplugged TV series, it quickly became one of the most successful live albums of all time, selling more than ten million copies.
In 2006, the Sex Pistols refused to attend their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a ceremony that also honoured Black Sabbath, Blondie, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Miles Davis. Having been rejected by the institution on five previous occasions, they posted a sneering handwritten response on the website to The Filth And The Fury, Julien Temple’s film about the band. Likening the museum to “urine in wine,” they wrote, “We’re not your monkeys. We’re not coming.”
In 2013, Jimi Hendrix’s posthumous album People, Hell & Angels gave him his highest US chart entry since 1969. Containing a dozen previous unissued tracks recorded between 1968 and 1970, the album debuted at No. 2 on The Billboard 200, selling 72,000 copies in its first week.
In 1961, The Temptations successfully auditioned for Motown Records. On the US R&B charts, the long-running Detroit vocal group went on to score 15 No.1 singles and 14 chart-topping albums.
In 1998, 52-year-old British reggae star, Judge Dread, died from a heart attack as he walked off stage at a gig in Canterbury, England. Born Alexander Minto Hughes, Dread was the first white reggae artist to score a hit in Jamaica.
BORN ON MARCH 13
1925: Roy Haynes
1933: Mike Stoller (Songwriter)
1939: Neil Sedaka
1953: Rustee Allen (Sly & The Family Stone)
1959: Greg Norton (Hüsker Dü)
1960: Adam Clayton (U2)
1973: David Draiman (Disturbed)
1998: Jack Harlow
