Today in Music History...March 26, 2018 (Now with more info)

Music History: March 26th:

 

2012 Madonna's 12th studio album, MDNA, debuts, hitting #1 on the Billboard album charts and selling a hot 350,000 copies in two weeks.

2009 Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy hosts the MTV Australia Awards. His band wins Best Rock Video for "I Don't Care," while Pink's "So What" takes Best Video.

2008 The B-52's lose their apostrophe, becoming the B-52s with the release of their album Funplex. The apostrophe, which is grammatically incorrect, was there because when a friend designed their logo, that person put it there.

2008 Guitarist Clint Lowery returns to Sevendust to replace Sonny Mayo.

2006 Nikki Sudden (co-founder of Swell Maps) dies of a heart attack at age 49.

2005 Paul Hester (drummer for Crowded House) commits suicide at age 46.

2004 Jan Berry (of Jan & Dean) dies at age 62.

2002 Drummer Randy Castillo, who played with Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue, dies of cancer at age 51.

1999 Bengali musician Ananda Shankar dies of heart failure at age 56.

1988 "Man In The Mirror" becomes the fourth of a record five #1 hits from Michael Jackson's Bad album.

1980 John Poulos (drummer for The Buckinghams) dies of drug-related heart failure less than a week before this 33rd birthday.

1976 David Keuning (lead guitarist for The Killers) is born in Pella, Iowa.

1976 Blues singer Duster Bennett dies in a car accident at age 29 after falling asleep at the wheel.

1975 The movie version of Tommy premieres in London.

1973 Noël Coward dies of heart failure at age 73.

1971 Emerson, Lake & Palmer play their adaptation of Mussorgsky's classical piece "Pictures At An Exhibition" at Newcastle City Hall in England. The performance is released as a live album later that year.

1970 The Woodstock movie premieres in Hollywood.

1970 Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary is arrested in Washington, DC for taking "immoral liberties" with a 14-year-old girl (he pleads guilty and spends three months in jail).

1969 Pat Boone guest stars on the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies.

1968 Kenny Chesney is born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and is raised in nearby Luttrell.

1968 Alt rock guitarist James Iha (of The Smashing Pumpkins) is born in Chicago, Illinois.

1966 The Strangeurs, featuring future Aerosmith frontman Steven Tallarico (later Steven Tyler), open for The Byrds at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York. The Strangeurs arrange for girls to sit in the front row and scream for them, but it's hardly necessary as the crowd goes nuts during their set, where they play six songs instead of their allotted two.

1964 Barbra Streisand opens on Broadway in Funny Girl.

1964 Former Beatles drummer Pete Best appears on the game show I've Got A Secret.

1964 Chuck Berry records "No Particular Place To Go."

1958 Dee Clark records "Hey Little Girl."

1955 #1 Billboard hit: Bill Hayes' "The Ballad of Davy Crockett"

1953 Billy Lyall (keyboardist for Bay City Rollers, Pilot) is born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1950 Teddy Pendergrass (lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes) is born in Kingstree, South Carolina.

1949 Actress/singer Vicki Lawrence is born in Inglewood, California.

1948 Steven Tyler is born Steven Tallarico in Yonkers, New York. He becomes lead singer of Aerosmith and a judge on American Idol.

1948 Richard Tandy (keyboardist for Electric Light Orchestra) is born in Birmingham, England.

1946 Johnny Crawford is born in Los Angeles, California. As a child star, he is one of the original Mouseketeers on The Mickey Mouse Club and plays in the popular Western TV show The Rifleman before releasing a string of singles in the '60s.

1946 Fran Sheehan (bassist for Boston) is born in Swampscott, Massachusetts.

1944 Diana Ross is born in Detroit, Michigan. She finds fame as lead singer of The Supremes.

1936 Fred Parris, a founder of The Five Satins and composer of their hit "In The Still Of The Nite," is born in Connecticut.

1934 Actor/singer Alan Arkin (of The Tarriers) is born in Brooklyn, New York.

1917 Funky soul singer Rufus Thomas, known for his recordings at Stax Records, is born in Mississippi.

1827 Ludwig van Beethoven dies at age 56.

Iconic Stones Logo Appears For First Time

 

1971The Rolling Stones' lips and tongue logo appears for the first time when it is used on VIP passes for their show at the Marquee Club in London.

Featured Events

2001 Gorillaz launch their debut self-titled album, which becomes a surprise chart success in the US. Although the band's vocalist Damon Albarn is well known in Europe through his band Blur, he is virtually unknown in the States, leading to low expectations for the release. The album eventually sells over a million copies, and peaks at #14 on the Albums chart.


1995 Eazy-E (Eric Wright) dies of AIDS-related complications at age 31.

1994 Modern rock rules as Soundgarden's Superunknown is the #1 album in America, with Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral at #2. Those looking for something less intense can find it at #3, with the Ace of Base album The Sign.


1990 Digital Underground, a rap collective that later includes Tupac Shakur, release their debut album, Sex Packets. It's a concept album about a drug that simulates the experience of having sex.


1987 Nike begins airing a commercial using the Beatles song "Revolution," marking the first time an original version of a Beatles song is used in an ad.


1983 Thanks to heavy rotation on MTV, Duran Duran have their first American hit when "Hungry Like The Wolf" hits #3 on the Hot 100.

1977 "Rich Girl" hits #1 in America, giving Hall & Oates their first of six chart-toppers on the Hot 100.

1977 The Clash release their first single, making an immediate political statement with "White Riot." It is only released in the UK, and not available in America until two years later.