Pick a Day

Music History Events: Awards and Honors

April 11, 1988 Cher wins Best Actress for the romantic comedy Moonstruck at the Academy Awards in New York.

January 20, 1988 The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Drifters, Bob Dylan, and The Supremes are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the third class. Mike Love of The Beach Boys gives a Ricky Gervais-at-the-Golden Globes-style speech, insulting many in attendance. Diana Ross skips the ceremony over a spat with fellow Supreme Mary Wilson.

December 7, 1987 Harry Chapin receives a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal for his efforts in fighting hunger. Along with Bill Ayres, Chapin founded World Hunger Year, which is later re-named WhyHunger and becomes a very effective organization in distributing food to those in need.

October 8, 1987 Chuck Berry is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1777 N. Vine.

October 3, 1987 "Brenda Lee Day" is declared in her home town of Lithonia, Georgia. A new street is named Brenda Lee Lane in her honor.

August 11, 1987 Rolling Stone magazine declares The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band the best album of the last 20 years.

July 29, 1987 Michigan governor James Blanchard declares today "Four Tops Day" in honor of the Motown legends.

July 14, 1987 Steve Miller receives a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

March 13, 1987 Bob Seger receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He's from Michigan, but did some recording in Los Angeles, which inspired his song "Hollywood Nights."

February 24, 1987 Fats Domino, Ray Charles and B.B. King win Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Grammy Awards.

October 2, 1986 The Everly Brothers are awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd.

September 21, 1986 The US Department of Health and Human Services honors Dionne Warwick for "exceptional service as a leading health ambassador" in fighting the spread of AIDS.

August 27, 1986 Tina Turner receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

July 28, 1986 The WFIL Studio in Philadelphia where American Bandstand was shot is entered into the US National Register of Historic Places.

December 12, 1985 On her 45th birthday, Dionne Warwick is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

July 28, 1985 It's "Kingsmen Day" in Portland, Oregon, in honor of their hometown heroes who made "Louie Louie" a garage rock classic.

July 24, 1985 A stretch of Detroit's Washington Boulevard is renamed "Aretha Franklin's Freeway Of Love," in honor of her recent comeback hit.

May 23, 1985 It's Aretha Franklin Appreciation Day in Michigan, as Governor James Blanchard declares the singer "One of Michigan's natural resources."

March 25, 1985 Prince wins an Oscar for Best Original Score for the film Purple Rain.

March 25, 1985 Stevie Wonder accepts the Oscar for Best Original Song "in the name of Nelson Mandela."More

January 18, 1985 USA Today readers select Cleveland, Ohio, as their choice for the permanent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

November 20, 1984 Michael Jackson is awarded a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame directly in front of Mann's famous Chinese Theatre, creating the largest-ever crowd for such an unveiling.

September 26, 1984 Paul Anka receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6840 Hollywood Blvd.

April 9, 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.

October 1, 1983 The first ever David Bowie convention is held in London's Cunard Hotel. Speakers at the convention include Bowie's former dance teacher, Lindsay Kemp; Bowie's former manager, Ken Pitt; guitar player John Hutchinson; Bowie archivist, Kev Cann; and photographer Ray Stevenson.

March 7, 1983 The Songwriter's Hall of Fame inducts Neil Sedaka and Stevie Wonder into their ranks during their annual New York ceremony.

September 23, 1982 Brenda Lee is inducted into the Georgia Hall of Fame.

August 18, 1982 The Beatles' hometown of Liverpool, England, renames some streets in honor of the band members. There is John Lennon Drive, Paul McCartney Way, George Harrison Close, Ringo Starr Drive, and even Sutcliffe Street (in honor of original bass player Stu Sutcliffe).

May 26, 1982 Bobby Darin, who died in 1973, gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

May 6, 1982 Diana Ross gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as a solo artist.