20 SEPTEMBER
In Music History
1997 Music Festival of India, a touring gala celebrating the 50th anniversary of India's independence gets under way at Cleveland's Masonic Temple.
1997 At Camden Yards in Baltimore, John Denver dances on the dugout as his song "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" plays during the seventh inning stretch, a tradition at Orioles games since 1975. He dies in a plane crash just three weeks later.
1995 Ex-10,000 Maniacs frontwoman Natalie Merchant kicks off her first solo tour in New Orleans with her first solo album Tigerlily at #15 on The Billboard 200.
1994 Liz Phair releases her sophomore album, Whip-Smart, featuring the Grammy-nominated hit "Supernova."
1992 Pearl Jam play a free concert at Magnuson Park in Seattle where they register thousands of fans to vote in the upcoming election between Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.
1986 Huey Lewis & the News release the album Fore!, the title a reference to golf (their previous album: Sports) and to it being their fourth album. It contains two #1 hits: "Stuck with You" and "Jacob's Ladder."
1984 Folk singer/songwriter Steve Goodman dies of leukemia in Seattle, Washington, at age 36.
1980 With a re-released "Modern Girl" reaching #8 in the UK, Sheena Easton becomes one of the few British female singers to place two songs in the Top 10 simultaneously ("9 To 5" is also on the charts.)
1979 Rick Woolstenhulme Jr. (drummer/percussionist for Lifehouse) is born in Gilbert, Arizona.
1977 Ringo Starr releases Ringo The 4th.
1976 Captain & Tennille's regular-season ABC-TV show begins its six-month run.
1975 Bay City Rollers make inroads in America when they appear on the debut of Howard Cossell's ill-fated Saturday Night TV show on ABC, appropriately performing their hit "Saturday Night."
1972 Paul McCartney is arrested for growing marijuana on his farm in Scotland. The judge in his case has never seen a cannabis plant, so he takes a good look at it and fines McCartney 100 pounds.
1971 Peter Frampton leaves Humble Pie to begin a solo career.
1970 A Miami judge finds Jim Morrison guilty of indecent exposure after The Doors singer dropped his pants onstage at a concert in March.
A Smashing Cover For London Calling
1979The Clash bass player Paul Simonon, frustrated because the crowd at The Palladium in New York City isn't standing, smashes his instrument on stage. The photo is later used as the cover of their London Calling album.
Read more20 SEPTEMBER
Featured Events
2014 Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass" hits #1 for the first of eight weeks, replacing "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift (a Size 2!).
1973 Jim Croce is killed in a plane crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana, at age 30. More
1973 The body of The Byrds guitarist Gram Parsons is stolen and taken to Joshua Tree National Park, where it is set on fire.More
1969 The cartoon group The Archies claim the top spot in America with "Sugar, Sugar," which spends four weeks at #1.
1969 Linda Martell's "Color Him Father" peaks at #22 on Billboard's Country chart. No Black woman gets higher on the chart until 2024, when Beyoncé's "Texas Hold 'Em" goes all the way to #1. That song is from her album Cowboy Carter, which features Martell.
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