9 APRIL
In Music History
1988 R&B singer Brook Benton dies of pneumonia at age 56, two years after contracting spinal meningitis.
1988 Soul singer Dave Prater (of Sam & Dave) dies at age 50 in a single-car accident in Sycamore, Georgia.
1987 Jesse McCartney is born in Ardsley, New York. At 17, while starring in the TV series Summerland, he releases his first single, "Beautiful Soul," a hit with his fanbase of teenage girls.
1986 The musical Time premieres at the Dominion Theatre in London. Produced by Dave Clark, the show stars Cliff Richard in the lead role.
1985 Frankie Goes to Hollywood open a European tour in Copenhagen, then spend the rest of the year in tax exile from the United Kingdom.
1984 Cher, for her performance in Silkwood, loses the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award to Linda Hunt (in The Year Of Living Dangerously). Cher would win for Best Actress three years later for her role in Moonstruck.
1977 Alt rock singer-songwriter Gerard Way (of My Chemical Romance) is born in Summit, New Jersey.
1969 King Crimson make their debut performance with a show at the Speakeasy in London.
1969 Bob Dylan stuns fans and critics alike by releasing Nashville Skyline, a country album sung in an entirely different voice from the one Dylan has been using.
1969 Kevin Martin (lead vocalist of Candlebox) is born in Elgin, Illinois.
1966 Jeff Beck collapses on stage at a Yardbirds concert in France. Said their drummer Jim McCarty: "You never really quite knew what was going to happen with him."
1966 The Righteous Brothers' "(You're My) Soul And Inspiration," a clone of their previous hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," goes to #1 in America.
1962 Henry Mancini wins the Best Original Song Academy Award for "Moon River" from Breakfast At Tiffany's.
1953 Hal Ketchum, whose country hits include "Small Town Saturday Night" and "Past The Point Of Rescue," is born in Greenwich, New York.
1950 Keyboardist Peter Wood (Roger Waters' backing group, The Bleeding Heart Band) is born in Middlesex, England.
Europop Rules In America With "Dancing Queen"
1977ABBA goes to #1 on the US singles chart with "Dancing Queen," the group's seventh US Top 40 hit and first #1. The song is also a #1 in the UK and 12 other countries.
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Featured Events
2018 The chain is broken: Fleetwood Mac announce that Lindsey Buckingham has been fired from the band and will be replaced with Mike Campbell and Neil Finn on their upcoming tour.
1996 The New York Yankees grounds crew dances to "Y.M.C.A." as they drag the field in the fifth inning of their home opener, eliciting roars of approval from the crowd. The routine, with improved choreography, becomes a regular feature at Yankee Stadium.
1994 Heavy metal makes a mark as Pantera's album Far Beyond Driven debuts at #1 in America.
1976 Folk singer-songwriter Phil Ochs commits suicide at age 35 in Far Rockaway, New York City, after a long battle with bipolar disorder and alcoholism.
1973 Queen play the Marquee Theater in London, their first concert since signing with EMI Records.
1965 Bruce Johnston joins The Beach Boys as the permanent replacement for Brian Wilson.
1860 An anonymous vocalist sings "Au Clair De La Lune" to Parisian inventor Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville, who makes the first known and oldest surviving recording of the human voice.More
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