8 OCTOBER
In Music History
1963 Steve Perry - the frontman for Cherry Poppin' Daddies, not the one from Journey - is born in Syracuse, New York.
1962 The South African musician Solomon Linda, who wrote and recorded the original version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," dies at age 53.
1962 Little Richard, who gave up show business to preach in 1957, returns to rock with a UK tour that also includes Sam Cooke and Billy Preston.
1957 Jerry Lee Lewis records "Great Balls Of Fire."
1955 The Four Aces' "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing" hits #1.
1952 Cliff Adams, the trombone player for Kool & The Gang (that's his solo on "Joanna"), is born in Trenton, New Jersey.
1950 Robert "Kool" Bell, the bass player in Kool & the Gang, is born in Youngstown, Ohio. He's the namesake of the group, which he formed in the mid-'60s with his brother, Ronald Bell.
1949 Hamish Stuart (of The Average White Band) is born James Hamish Stuart in Glasgow, Scotland.
1948 John Cummings is born in Long Island, New York. A founding member of the Ramones, he becomes "Johnny Ramone."
1947 Tony Wilson (bassist for Hot Chocolate) is born in Trinidad.
1945 Butch Rillera - who replaced Redbone's original drummer, Peter DePoe - is born.
1945 Guitarist Ray Royer (of Procol Harum) is born in the UK.
1944 Country singer Susan Raye is born in Eugene, Oregon. Known for the 1971 hit "L.A. International Airport."
1941 Pop singer/songwriter Buzz Clifford is born Reese Francis Clifford III in Berwyn, Illinois. Known for the 1961 crossover hit "Baby Sittin' Boogie."
1941 Progressive rocker Dave Arbus (of East Of Eden) is born in Leicester, England.
Eddie Vedder Joins Pearl Jam, Goes On "Hunger Strike"
1990Eddie Vedder flies from his home in San Diego to Seattle, where he meets his Pearl Jam bandmates for the first time and starts a week of recording that becomes the bulk of their debut album, Ten. Vedder was chosen based on vocals he added to a three-song instrumental demo the band made.
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Featured Events
2018 Taylor Swift offers her political views for the first time, endorsing two Tennessee Democrats and urging her 112 million Instagram followers to vote. Vote.org reports a spike in voter registrations. Swift's pick for the Senate, Phil Bredesen, loses to incumbent Marsha Blackburn. Jim Cooper, whom Swift endorsed for the House of Representatives, retains his seat.
2004 Ray Charles, who died in June, scores his first Platinum album when Genius Loves Company, released in September, sells over a million copies.
1990 The Go-Go's pose for the first "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" poster for PETA.More
1988 Def Leppard's ballad "Love Bites," where we learn that love not only bites and bleeds but also lives, dies, begs and pleads, hits #1 on the Hot 100. Remarkably, it's their only #1 on that tally ("Pour Some Sugar On Me" stalled at #2).
1985 Bruno Mars is born Peter Hernandez in Honolulu, Hawaii. His dad calls him Bruno because as a toddler he's chunky like the wrestler Bruno Sammartino. He becomes one of the most popular artists of the streaming era in the 2010s with a run of hits that includes "Grenade," Locked Out of Heaven and "Uptown Funk."
1983 Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish is released. Tom Waits appears in the film as the bubblegum-chomping owner of Benny's Billiards. His character exists on the periphery of the main plot line, but he is given an extended, poetic monologue about life, time, and aging.
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