Music History: April 21st:
2013 Christina Amphlett (frontwoman of The Divinyls) dies after a long battle with breast cancer at age 53.
2008 Soul singer Al Wilson dies at age 68 of kidney failure.
2007 Rock guitarist Lobby Loyde (of Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs, The Coloured Balls) dies at age 65 of lung cancer.
2006 Faith Hill and Tim McGraw kick off their Soul2Soul II tour in Columbus, Ohio, which becomes the highest-grossing country tour of all time. On some dates, their opening act is a young singer named Taylor Swift.
2003 Nina Simone dies at age 70 after a long battle with breast cancer.
2003 EMI and Universal Music sue the file-sharing service Napster for copyright violations.
2003 British pop group S Club 7 announces it is splitting up after five years.
2001 Peter Buck of R.E.M. gets unruly on a British Airways flight and is arrested. He is accused of drinking 15 glasses of wine, overturning a service cart and engaging in other bad behavior, but charges are eventually dropped. Buck claimed that ingesting both a sleeping pill and wine caused him to lose it.
2000 Neal Matthews Jr. (of Elvis Presley's backing group, The Jordanaires) dies of a heart attack at age 70.
1993 Bill Wyman, formerly of The Rolling Stones, marries his third wife, 33-year-old fashion designer Suzanne Accosta, in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France.
1990 "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinead O'Connor hits US #1 for the first of four weeks.
1990 Paul McCartney sets a new world record for attendance at a concert by a single artist when his tour-ending show at the Maracana Stadium in Rio draws 184,000 people.
1979 Amii Stewart's "Knock On Wood" hits #1 in America. The song was originally recorded by Eddie Floyd in 1966.
1978 31-year-old Fairport Convention lead singer Sandy Denny dies of a cerebral hemorrhage after four days in a coma.
1977 Elvis Presley begins his last concert tour in Greensboro, North Carolina.
1977 ABC airs Frank Sinatra's TV special Frank Sinatra And Friends, featuring guest stars Natalie Cole and John Denver.
1977 Having spent a full decade as a draft exile in Canada, singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester returns to the US.
1976 A night after George Harrison joins Monty Python during their performance of "The Lumberjack Song" at a New York show, Harry Nilsson tries it. While Harrison blended in as a member of the chorus (dressed as a Mountie), Nilsson wears dark glasses and makes a spectacle. When he goes to the front of the stage to shake hands with audience members, he falls into the crowd and breaks his arm.
1976 Eric Carmen's "All By Myself" enters the charts.
1973 Tony Orlando and Dawn's "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree" hits #1 in the US. The song is based on a fictional newspaper story about a man returning from jail who asks his wife to tie a yellow handkerchief on the landmark oak tree in town if she still loves him.
1973 Powered by a gnarly stage show and the tracks "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Elected," Alice Cooper's album Billion Dollar Babies hits #1 in America (it would hit the top spot in the UK three days later).
1970 Chicago blues guitarist Earl Hooker dies of tuberculosis at age 41.
1970 Elton John makes his stage debut as a solo act when he opens for T. Rex, Spooky Tooth, and Jackie Lomax at the Roundhouse in London.
1969 Mick Jagger sends a letter to Andy Warhol, who has agreed to design the artwork for the Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers. Jagger writes: "In my short sweet experience, the more complicated the format of the album... the more f--ked up the reproduction and agonising delays."
Warhol eventually delivers a design with a working zipper, which becomes one of the most memorable album covers ever made, but is very difficult to mass produce.
1969 Janis Joplin makes her stage debut when she and her Kozmic Blues Band perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
1966 The Beatles record "Taxman."
1962 Elvis Presley's "Good Luck Charm" hits #1.
1961 The Beatles play their first concert, performing to the lunch crowd at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, earning a sum total of £5. They become regulars at the club, playing another 291 shows at the venue.
1959 Robert Smith (frontman of The Cure) is born in Blackpool, Lancashire, UK.
1959 Alt rocker Michael Timmins (guitarist for Cowboy Junkies) is born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
1959 Johnny Mathis records "Misty."
1958 Mike Barson (keyboardist for Madness) is born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
1958 The Platters' "Twilight Time" hits #1.
1957 At his first session with Atco Records, an offshoot of Atlantic Records, Bobby Darin records "Don't Call My Name," "Pretty Betty," and "So Mean."
1956 Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" hits #1.
1951 Nickey Barclay (keyboardist for Fanny) is born.
1951 Les Paul and Mary Ford's "How High The Moon" hits #1.
1948 Singer-songwriter Paul Davis is born in Meridian, Mississippi.
1947 Alan Warner (lead guitarist for The Foundations) is born in Paddington, West London, England.
1947 Rock musician John Weider (guitarist for The Animals, bassist for Family) is born in Shepherd's Bush, London, England.
1947 Iggy Pop is born James Newell Osterberg Jr. in Muskegon, Michigan.
1945 One of the world's first great R&B labels, Modern Records, is formed by Saul and Jules Bihari in Los Angeles. It would prove to be the launching pad for everyone from John Lee Hooker to Etta James.
1938 Singer-songwriter Ernie Maresca, who penned several Dion hits, is born in The Bronx, New York City.
1931 Country singer-songwriter Carl Belew, known for '50s hits like "Am I That Easy To Forget" and "Lonely Street" (made popular by Andy Williams), is born in Salina, Oklahoma.
1924 Gospel singer Clara Ward (leader of The Famous Ward Singers) is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1919 '50s pop singer Don Cornell ("It Isn't Fair," "Hold My Hand") is born Luigi Varlaro in The Bronx, New York City.
Prince Dies
2016
Prince dies at age 57 after overdosing on fentanyl, a highly addictive opioid.
Featured Events
2014 Big Sean becomes the first rapper to perform at the White House when he duets with Ariana Grande on "Right There" at the annual Easter Egg Roll.
2004 Future Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson gets voted off season three of American Idol, where she finishes in seventh place.More
2004 Michael Jackson is officially charged with child molestation after a California grand jury determines there is enough evidence to proceed with allegations made against him for time spent at his Neverland Ranch.
1984 "Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)" goes to #1 on the Hot 100, giving Phil Collins his first solo chart-topper on the tally. He will have six more.
1960 For about 20 years, it was common practice for record companies to pay DJs to play songs, but now the US government is cracking down on what they call "Payola." Dick Clark testifies before congress and admits that he took money and gifts to play records - estimating 27% of his playlist to be paid. Clark emerges more powerful than ever, selling off conflicting interests and expanding his music empire. On the other hand, another prominent DJ and TV host, Alan Freed, refuses to admit that he took payola, insisting that he was a consultant to the industry. His career never recovers despite his massive influence and success.
2004 Future Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson gets voted off season three of American Idol, where she finishes in seventh place.More
2004 Michael Jackson is officially charged with child molestation after a California grand jury determines there is enough evidence to proceed with allegations made against him for time spent at his Neverland Ranch.
1984 "Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)" goes to #1 on the Hot 100, giving Phil Collins his first solo chart-topper on the tally. He will have six more.
1960 For about 20 years, it was common practice for record companies to pay DJs to play songs, but now the US government is cracking down on what they call "Payola." Dick Clark testifies before congress and admits that he took money and gifts to play records - estimating 27% of his playlist to be paid. Clark emerges more powerful than ever, selling off conflicting interests and expanding his music empire. On the other hand, another prominent DJ and TV host, Alan Freed, refuses to admit that he took payola, insisting that he was a consultant to the industry. His career never recovers despite his massive influence and success.
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