More About Music History On This Day
19 Apr 1974
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band appeared at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The gig was unadvertised by its promoter, who gambled that word-of-mouth would be enough to fill the 550-seat venue, only 250 people attended. Tickets cost $4.50 and $5.50 in advance.
19 Apr 1980
R.E.M. played their first gig as R.E.M. at the 11:11 Koffee Club, Athens, Georgia to 150 people. The show ended at 2am when police closed it down due to the venue being unlicensed.
19 Apr 1980
Blondie went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Call Me', featured in the Richard Gere movie 'American Gigolo', the track was also a No.1 in the UK.
19 Apr 1980
32-year-old English singer Brian Johnson joined Australian group AC/DC, replacing Bon Scott who had died after a drinks binge in February 1980. Johnson's first band was the Gobi Desert Canoe Club. He was also in a band called Fresh. From 1970, Johnson played with cabaret/club band The Jasper Hart Band, performing songs from the musical Hair. He and other members of the band went on to form Geordie.
19 Apr 1980
For the first time ever the Top five artists on the US country chart were all female, Crystal Gayle who was at No.1, with Dottie West, Debbie Boone, Emmylou Harris and Tammy Wynette making up the rest of the Top 5.
19 Apr 1985
Bryan Adams was on the UK album chart with Reckelss. His fourth studio album was the first Canadian album to sell more than one million units within Canada. Six singles were released from the album: ‘Run to You,’ ‘Somebody,’ ‘Heaven,’ ‘Summer of '69,’ ‘One Night Love Affair,’ and ‘It's Only Love.’ All six singles made the top 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100, a feat that at the time had been accomplished previously only by Michael Jackson's Thriller.
19 Apr 1986
George Michael was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'A Different Corner', the singers second solo No.1. Michael became the first solo act in the history of the UK chart to reach No.1 with his first two releases. The song was also credited with being the second No.1 (after 'I Just Called To Say I Love You' by Stevie Wonder), which was written, sung, played, arranged and produced by the same person.
19 Apr 1986
Prince started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Kiss.' Prince also had the No.2 song 'Manic Monday', by The Bangles, which he wrote under the pseudonym 'Christopher.'
19 Apr 1993
American saxophonist and flautist Steve Douglas died aged 54. He recorded with Duane Eddy, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley Willy DeVille, Bob Dylan Ramones and others.
19 Apr 1995
The Stone Roses played their first gig in five years when the appeared at The Rockefeller Club, Oslo, Norway.
19 Apr 1997
Michael Jackson attended an unveiling of a wax statue of himself at the Grevin Museum of Wax in Paris, France. Jackson provided one of his own outfits to dress the figure.
19 Apr 1998
Robbie Williams started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with his debut solo album Life Thru A Lens. The album spent a total of 218 weeks on the UK chart, with sales of 2.4 million copies.
19 Apr 2000
Phil Collins won £250,000 in a high court case over royalties with two former members of his band. The judge ruled that they had been overpaid in error but because the two musicians had no other income they would not have to pay it back.
19 Apr 2002
Police were investigating how tracks from the forthcoming Oasis album 'Heathen Chemistry' had been illegally circulated on the Internet. They thought the person responsible had access to their private recording sessions.
19 Apr 2003
The oldest working musician in Britain, Conrad Leonard died aged 104. Composer and pianist Leonard had worked with Cole Porter, Petula Clark and at the BBC during his career. Until the age of 103 years, he played the piano every Thursday at lunchtime in the Plantation Cafe at Squire's Garden Centre in Twickenham.
19 Apr 2005
Richard Lewis American tenor with The Silhouettes died. The doo wop/R&B groups single 'Get A Job' was a No.1 hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart and pop singles chart in 1958. The doo-wop revival group Sha Na Na derived their name from the song's lyrics. 'Get A Job' is included in the soundtracks of the film American Graffiti, Trading Places and Stand By Me. The Silhouettes performed in the 1986 movie Joey.
19 Apr 2005
It was announced that two 30-second television commercials designed to attract vacationing families to Graceland to experience the "real" Elvis Presley would air nationally in the US starting in April 2006. It was the first time in the history of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. that the company has used television advertising to promote Graceland tourism.
19 Apr 2010
A week after Catholic Church officials published an article in the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano newspaper that said they forgive John Lennon's remarks about The Beatles being "bigger than Jesus", Ringo Starr rejected their forgiveness. The newspaper's editors had written, "The Beatles said they were bigger than Jesus and put out mysterious messages, that were possibly even Satanic... (but) what would Pop music be like without the Beatles?" Ringo was unimpressed and replied "Didn't the Vatican say we were Satanic or possibly Satanic? And they've still forgiven us? I think the Vatican, they've got more to talk about than the Beatles."
19 Apr 2012
Levon Helm, died of throat cancer aged 71. A drummer, singer and multi-instrumentalist, Helm formed his own high school band, the Jungle Bush Beaters, at 17, he later joined The Hawks (who became Bob Dylan's backing group) who then became known as The Band. He sang on Band classics like 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,' 'Up on Cripple Creek,' 'Rag Mama Rag,' and 'The Weight.'
19 Apr 2012
Leonard Cohen's former manager was jailed for 18 months for harassing the singer-songwriter. Kelley Lynch was found guilty by a Los Angeles court after a sending a torrent of expletive-strewn emails and letters to the star. She was also sentenced to five months probation and ordered to attend anger-management courses. Cohen thanked the court for the "even-handed and elegant manner in which these proceedings have unfolded".
19 Apr 2014
The White House refused to comment on a campaign to deport Justin Bieber from the US. Around 275,000 people had signed a petition on its website calling for the Canadian singer to be removed from the country. The campaign had been set up in January of this year when the 20-year-old was arrested on suspicion of drink and drug-driving and illegal drag racing.
19 Apr 2020
Michael Ball and Captain Tom Moore went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of "You'll Never Walk Alone". The charity single made Moore – six days short of his one hundredth birthday – the oldest person to achieve a No.1 (he was at the top of the charts on his 100th birthday), beating the previous record-holder Tom Jones.
19 Apr 2021
Producer and songwriter Jim Steinman, most famous for his work on Meat Loaf's best-selling Bat Out Of Hell album, died at the age of 73. His most successful chart singles include Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart', Air Supply's 'Making Love Out of Nothing at All', Meat Loaf's 'I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)', the Sisters of Mercy's 'This Corrosion'.
19 Apr 2021
American composer, lyricist, record producer, Jim Steinman died from kidney failure age 73. He was best known for waking on Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell and Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, and producing albums for Bonnie Tyler. His most successful chart singles include Tyler's ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ and Air Supply's ‘Making Love Out of Nothing at All’.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band appeared at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The gig was unadvertised by its promoter, who gambled that word-of-mouth would be enough to fill the 550-seat venue, only 250 people attended. Tickets cost $4.50 and $5.50 in advance.
19 Apr 1980
R.E.M. played their first gig as R.E.M. at the 11:11 Koffee Club, Athens, Georgia to 150 people. The show ended at 2am when police closed it down due to the venue being unlicensed.
19 Apr 1980
Blondie went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Call Me', featured in the Richard Gere movie 'American Gigolo', the track was also a No.1 in the UK.
19 Apr 1980
32-year-old English singer Brian Johnson joined Australian group AC/DC, replacing Bon Scott who had died after a drinks binge in February 1980. Johnson's first band was the Gobi Desert Canoe Club. He was also in a band called Fresh. From 1970, Johnson played with cabaret/club band The Jasper Hart Band, performing songs from the musical Hair. He and other members of the band went on to form Geordie.
19 Apr 1980
For the first time ever the Top five artists on the US country chart were all female, Crystal Gayle who was at No.1, with Dottie West, Debbie Boone, Emmylou Harris and Tammy Wynette making up the rest of the Top 5.
19 Apr 1985
Bryan Adams was on the UK album chart with Reckelss. His fourth studio album was the first Canadian album to sell more than one million units within Canada. Six singles were released from the album: ‘Run to You,’ ‘Somebody,’ ‘Heaven,’ ‘Summer of '69,’ ‘One Night Love Affair,’ and ‘It's Only Love.’ All six singles made the top 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100, a feat that at the time had been accomplished previously only by Michael Jackson's Thriller.
19 Apr 1986
George Michael was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'A Different Corner', the singers second solo No.1. Michael became the first solo act in the history of the UK chart to reach No.1 with his first two releases. The song was also credited with being the second No.1 (after 'I Just Called To Say I Love You' by Stevie Wonder), which was written, sung, played, arranged and produced by the same person.
19 Apr 1986
Prince started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Kiss.' Prince also had the No.2 song 'Manic Monday', by The Bangles, which he wrote under the pseudonym 'Christopher.'
19 Apr 1993
American saxophonist and flautist Steve Douglas died aged 54. He recorded with Duane Eddy, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley Willy DeVille, Bob Dylan Ramones and others.
19 Apr 1995
The Stone Roses played their first gig in five years when the appeared at The Rockefeller Club, Oslo, Norway.
19 Apr 1997
Michael Jackson attended an unveiling of a wax statue of himself at the Grevin Museum of Wax in Paris, France. Jackson provided one of his own outfits to dress the figure.
19 Apr 1998
Robbie Williams started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with his debut solo album Life Thru A Lens. The album spent a total of 218 weeks on the UK chart, with sales of 2.4 million copies.
19 Apr 2000
Phil Collins won £250,000 in a high court case over royalties with two former members of his band. The judge ruled that they had been overpaid in error but because the two musicians had no other income they would not have to pay it back.
19 Apr 2002
Police were investigating how tracks from the forthcoming Oasis album 'Heathen Chemistry' had been illegally circulated on the Internet. They thought the person responsible had access to their private recording sessions.
19 Apr 2003
The oldest working musician in Britain, Conrad Leonard died aged 104. Composer and pianist Leonard had worked with Cole Porter, Petula Clark and at the BBC during his career. Until the age of 103 years, he played the piano every Thursday at lunchtime in the Plantation Cafe at Squire's Garden Centre in Twickenham.
19 Apr 2005
Richard Lewis American tenor with The Silhouettes died. The doo wop/R&B groups single 'Get A Job' was a No.1 hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart and pop singles chart in 1958. The doo-wop revival group Sha Na Na derived their name from the song's lyrics. 'Get A Job' is included in the soundtracks of the film American Graffiti, Trading Places and Stand By Me. The Silhouettes performed in the 1986 movie Joey.
19 Apr 2005
It was announced that two 30-second television commercials designed to attract vacationing families to Graceland to experience the "real" Elvis Presley would air nationally in the US starting in April 2006. It was the first time in the history of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. that the company has used television advertising to promote Graceland tourism.
19 Apr 2010
A week after Catholic Church officials published an article in the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano newspaper that said they forgive John Lennon's remarks about The Beatles being "bigger than Jesus", Ringo Starr rejected their forgiveness. The newspaper's editors had written, "The Beatles said they were bigger than Jesus and put out mysterious messages, that were possibly even Satanic... (but) what would Pop music be like without the Beatles?" Ringo was unimpressed and replied "Didn't the Vatican say we were Satanic or possibly Satanic? And they've still forgiven us? I think the Vatican, they've got more to talk about than the Beatles."
19 Apr 2012
Levon Helm, died of throat cancer aged 71. A drummer, singer and multi-instrumentalist, Helm formed his own high school band, the Jungle Bush Beaters, at 17, he later joined The Hawks (who became Bob Dylan's backing group) who then became known as The Band. He sang on Band classics like 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,' 'Up on Cripple Creek,' 'Rag Mama Rag,' and 'The Weight.'
19 Apr 2012
Leonard Cohen's former manager was jailed for 18 months for harassing the singer-songwriter. Kelley Lynch was found guilty by a Los Angeles court after a sending a torrent of expletive-strewn emails and letters to the star. She was also sentenced to five months probation and ordered to attend anger-management courses. Cohen thanked the court for the "even-handed and elegant manner in which these proceedings have unfolded".
19 Apr 2014
The White House refused to comment on a campaign to deport Justin Bieber from the US. Around 275,000 people had signed a petition on its website calling for the Canadian singer to be removed from the country. The campaign had been set up in January of this year when the 20-year-old was arrested on suspicion of drink and drug-driving and illegal drag racing.
19 Apr 2020
Michael Ball and Captain Tom Moore went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of "You'll Never Walk Alone". The charity single made Moore – six days short of his one hundredth birthday – the oldest person to achieve a No.1 (he was at the top of the charts on his 100th birthday), beating the previous record-holder Tom Jones.
19 Apr 2021
Producer and songwriter Jim Steinman, most famous for his work on Meat Loaf's best-selling Bat Out Of Hell album, died at the age of 73. His most successful chart singles include Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart', Air Supply's 'Making Love Out of Nothing at All', Meat Loaf's 'I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)', the Sisters of Mercy's 'This Corrosion'.
19 Apr 2021
American composer, lyricist, record producer, Jim Steinman died from kidney failure age 73. He was best known for waking on Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell and Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, and producing albums for Bonnie Tyler. His most successful chart singles include Tyler's ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ and Air Supply's ‘Making Love Out of Nothing at All’.
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