More About Music History On This Day
26 Mar 1965
Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman all received electric shocks from a faulty microphone on stage during a Rolling Stones show in Denmark. Bill Wyman was knocked unconscious for several minutes.
26 Mar 1969
Marvin Gaye was at No.1 on the UK singles chart, with 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'. The song was first recorded by The Miracles and had also been a million seller in 1967 for Gladys Knight and the Pips.
26 Mar 1970
Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul and Mary pleaded guilty to 'taking immoral liberties' with a 14-year-old girl in Washington D.C. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three months in jail. Just days earlier, the trio had won a Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children for their album, 'Peter, Paul and Mommy'.
26 Mar 1976
British blues singer and musician Duster Bennett was killed in a car crash. After performing with Memphis Slim Bennett was driving home in a Ford Transit van in Warwickshire, England when he apparently fell asleep at the wheel. The van collided with a truck. His first album Smiling Like I'm Happy saw him playing as a one-man band, playing a bass drum with his foot and blowing a harmonica on a rack while playing a 1952 Les Paul Goldtop guitar given to him in 1968 by Peter Green from Fleetwood Mac.
26 Mar 1977
Hall and Oates started a three-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Rich Girl', the duo's first US No.1. Hall and Oates have sold an estimated 40 million records, making them the third-bestselling music duo of all time.
26 Mar 1980
The Police became the first Western pop group to play in Bombay, India for over ten years when they played a one off gig in the city.
26 Mar 1983
Duran Duran went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Is There Something I Should Know'. Their first No.1 and their eighth single release. The group were on a US promotional trip on this day, where they were greeted by 5,000 screaming fans at an in-store appearance in New York City.
26 Mar 1985
Radio stations in South Africa banned all of Stevie Wonder's records after he dedicated the Oscar he had won the night before at The Academy Awards to Nelson Mandela.
26 Mar 1995
Rapper producer, and record executive Eazy-E (Eric Lynn Wright) died of AIDS in Los Angeles aged 31. Formed Ruthless Records, worked with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube.
26 Mar 1996
The Woman in Me the second studio album by Shania Twain was at No.1 on the Country chart. It went onto become her biggest-selling recording at the time of its release, selling 4 million copies by the end of the year. 'Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?', a song about a woman confronting her lover about his frequent infidelity, was released at the first single from the album.
26 Mar 2000
Santana started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Supernatural.' The album went on to win eight Grammy Awards including Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year (for 'Smooth') and Song Of The Year.
26 Mar 2001
The toy figure of Eminem was facing a ban from UK shops. Woolworth's and Hamleys were refusing to stock the dolls. Psychologists warned parents who buy the dolls for children will be inadvertently giving their approval to bad language.
26 Mar 2002
Randy Castillo drummer with the Ozzy Osbourne band died of cancer aged 51. Worked with Osbourne during the 1980s and early 1990s. Also worked with Lita Ford and Motley Crue.
26 Mar 2004
Jan Berry of Jan and Dean, died at the age of 62, after being in poor health sustained in a 1966 car crash. Had the 1963 US No.1 & UK No.26 single 'Surf City', (co written by Beach Boy Brian Wilson). At the height of their fame, Jan and Dean hosted and performed at The T.A.M.I. Show, the film also featured The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.
26 Mar 2005
Australian drummer Paul Hester died aged 46, after he attempted suicide and died from strangulation after being found hanged in a park in Melbourne. He had been a member of Crowded House, Split Enz and Largest Living Things. After leaving Crowded House in 1994 Hester appeared on many TV and radio shows in Australia.
26 Mar 2006
Readers of Total Guitar magazine voted the guitar solo by Jimmy Page in Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven' as the greatest guitar solo of all time. The 1971 track was voted ahead of tracks by Van Halen, Queen, Jimi Hendrix and the Eagles. On the 20th anniversary of the original release of the song, it was announced via US radio sources that the song had logged up an estimated 2,874,000 radio plays - back to back, that would run for 44 years solid.
26 Mar 2006
English singer-songwriter and guitarist Nikki Sudden from a heart attack at the age of 49 after performing at the Knitting Factory in New York City. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother, Epic Soundtrack. Sudden collaborated with, among others, the Waterboys, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Mick Taylor, Tom Ashton of the March Violets, and members of R.E.M. and Sonic Youth.
26 Mar 2008
The Los Angeles Times apologized for claiming rap mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs was involved in a 1994 shooting of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur. The LA Times, which published the original story on its website, initially said its claims were based on FBI records, witness accounts and other unnamed sources. The apology followed a claim that the newspaper was conned by a prisoner who doctored the documents used.
26 Mar 2016
Billy Joel's iconic hit, 'Piano Man', was selected by the US Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for its 'cultural, historic, or artistic significance.' Even though the record only made it to No.25 on the Hot 100 in 1974, it had become Joel's signature song, and was ranked at No.421 in the 2004 list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
26 Mar 2019
A schoolbook Sir Paul McCartney used as a teenager sold for £46,800 – nearly 10 times its estimate. The exercise book which features a doodle of a man smoking and a teacher’s critical comments sold at an auction of Beatles memorabilia in Merseyside. McCartney had used the book at Liverpool Institute High School for Boys, where he was taught English literature by Alan “Dusty” Durband.
26 Mar 2019
British musician Ranking Roger died age 56. In January 2019 it was announced that Roger had undergone surgery for two brain tumors, and was undergoing treatment for lung cancer. He was a vocalist in the 1980s two-tone band the Beat (known in North America as the English Beat) and later General Public.
26 Mar 2020
English singer Neil Landon died age 78. He was a singer and songwriter with the band Fat Mattress, which he co-founded with guitarist/singer Noel Redding. He later joined The Flower Pot Men, who scored a hit in 1967 with 'Let's Go To San Francisco' which reached No.4 in the UK Singles Chart.
Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman all received electric shocks from a faulty microphone on stage during a Rolling Stones show in Denmark. Bill Wyman was knocked unconscious for several minutes.
26 Mar 1969
Marvin Gaye was at No.1 on the UK singles chart, with 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'. The song was first recorded by The Miracles and had also been a million seller in 1967 for Gladys Knight and the Pips.
26 Mar 1970
Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul and Mary pleaded guilty to 'taking immoral liberties' with a 14-year-old girl in Washington D.C. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three months in jail. Just days earlier, the trio had won a Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children for their album, 'Peter, Paul and Mommy'.
26 Mar 1976
British blues singer and musician Duster Bennett was killed in a car crash. After performing with Memphis Slim Bennett was driving home in a Ford Transit van in Warwickshire, England when he apparently fell asleep at the wheel. The van collided with a truck. His first album Smiling Like I'm Happy saw him playing as a one-man band, playing a bass drum with his foot and blowing a harmonica on a rack while playing a 1952 Les Paul Goldtop guitar given to him in 1968 by Peter Green from Fleetwood Mac.
26 Mar 1977
Hall and Oates started a three-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Rich Girl', the duo's first US No.1. Hall and Oates have sold an estimated 40 million records, making them the third-bestselling music duo of all time.
26 Mar 1980
The Police became the first Western pop group to play in Bombay, India for over ten years when they played a one off gig in the city.
26 Mar 1983
Duran Duran went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Is There Something I Should Know'. Their first No.1 and their eighth single release. The group were on a US promotional trip on this day, where they were greeted by 5,000 screaming fans at an in-store appearance in New York City.
26 Mar 1985
Radio stations in South Africa banned all of Stevie Wonder's records after he dedicated the Oscar he had won the night before at The Academy Awards to Nelson Mandela.
26 Mar 1995
Rapper producer, and record executive Eazy-E (Eric Lynn Wright) died of AIDS in Los Angeles aged 31. Formed Ruthless Records, worked with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube.
26 Mar 1996
The Woman in Me the second studio album by Shania Twain was at No.1 on the Country chart. It went onto become her biggest-selling recording at the time of its release, selling 4 million copies by the end of the year. 'Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?', a song about a woman confronting her lover about his frequent infidelity, was released at the first single from the album.
26 Mar 2000
Santana started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Supernatural.' The album went on to win eight Grammy Awards including Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year (for 'Smooth') and Song Of The Year.
26 Mar 2001
The toy figure of Eminem was facing a ban from UK shops. Woolworth's and Hamleys were refusing to stock the dolls. Psychologists warned parents who buy the dolls for children will be inadvertently giving their approval to bad language.
26 Mar 2002
Randy Castillo drummer with the Ozzy Osbourne band died of cancer aged 51. Worked with Osbourne during the 1980s and early 1990s. Also worked with Lita Ford and Motley Crue.
26 Mar 2004
Jan Berry of Jan and Dean, died at the age of 62, after being in poor health sustained in a 1966 car crash. Had the 1963 US No.1 & UK No.26 single 'Surf City', (co written by Beach Boy Brian Wilson). At the height of their fame, Jan and Dean hosted and performed at The T.A.M.I. Show, the film also featured The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.
26 Mar 2005
Australian drummer Paul Hester died aged 46, after he attempted suicide and died from strangulation after being found hanged in a park in Melbourne. He had been a member of Crowded House, Split Enz and Largest Living Things. After leaving Crowded House in 1994 Hester appeared on many TV and radio shows in Australia.
26 Mar 2006
Readers of Total Guitar magazine voted the guitar solo by Jimmy Page in Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven' as the greatest guitar solo of all time. The 1971 track was voted ahead of tracks by Van Halen, Queen, Jimi Hendrix and the Eagles. On the 20th anniversary of the original release of the song, it was announced via US radio sources that the song had logged up an estimated 2,874,000 radio plays - back to back, that would run for 44 years solid.
26 Mar 2006
English singer-songwriter and guitarist Nikki Sudden from a heart attack at the age of 49 after performing at the Knitting Factory in New York City. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother, Epic Soundtrack. Sudden collaborated with, among others, the Waterboys, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Mick Taylor, Tom Ashton of the March Violets, and members of R.E.M. and Sonic Youth.
26 Mar 2008
The Los Angeles Times apologized for claiming rap mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs was involved in a 1994 shooting of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur. The LA Times, which published the original story on its website, initially said its claims were based on FBI records, witness accounts and other unnamed sources. The apology followed a claim that the newspaper was conned by a prisoner who doctored the documents used.
26 Mar 2016
Billy Joel's iconic hit, 'Piano Man', was selected by the US Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for its 'cultural, historic, or artistic significance.' Even though the record only made it to No.25 on the Hot 100 in 1974, it had become Joel's signature song, and was ranked at No.421 in the 2004 list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
26 Mar 2019
A schoolbook Sir Paul McCartney used as a teenager sold for £46,800 – nearly 10 times its estimate. The exercise book which features a doodle of a man smoking and a teacher’s critical comments sold at an auction of Beatles memorabilia in Merseyside. McCartney had used the book at Liverpool Institute High School for Boys, where he was taught English literature by Alan “Dusty” Durband.
26 Mar 2019
British musician Ranking Roger died age 56. In January 2019 it was announced that Roger had undergone surgery for two brain tumors, and was undergoing treatment for lung cancer. He was a vocalist in the 1980s two-tone band the Beat (known in North America as the English Beat) and later General Public.
26 Mar 2020
English singer Neil Landon died age 78. He was a singer and songwriter with the band Fat Mattress, which he co-founded with guitarist/singer Noel Redding. He later joined The Flower Pot Men, who scored a hit in 1967 with 'Let's Go To San Francisco' which reached No.4 in the UK Singles Chart.
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