2020 Billie Eilish, 18, wins big at the Grammys as the death of Kobe Bryant and an internal scandal cast a cloud on the ceremony.More
2006 Garth Brooks' Double Live album, released in 1998, becomes the first live album certified Double Diamond by the RIAA for sales of over 20 million in America.
1991 At the second Rock in Rio festival, Norwegian pop trio a-ha draw a crowd of 198,000, breaking the world record for paid attendance at a rock concert - and is snubbed by the press.More
1988 Andrew Lloyd Webber's blockbuster musical The Phantom of the Opera debuts on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre two years after a successful run on London's West End.More
1973 Elton John issues his sixth studio album, Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player, in America. It features two of his most popular songs: the '50s flashback "Crocodile Rock" (Elton's first #1 hit in America) and the Vietnam War-inspired "Daniel."More
1970 John Lennon writes and records "Instant Karma" all in one day, calling in Phil Spector to produce the song.
1970 The Simon & Garfunkel album Bridge Over Troubled Water is released, with the title track simultaneously issued as a single.More
1968 At the University of Southampton, Pink Floyd play their first gig without founding member Syd Barrett, who never returns to the band. The 22-year-old Barrett is an early acid casualty, no longer able to contribute to the group.
1955 Eddie Van Halen is born in Amsterdam. His family eventually settles in Pasadena, California, where he forms Van Halen with his brother, Alex, and quickly becomes one of the most acclaimed and influential guitarists in rock history.
2024 The RIAA certifies "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey at 18x Platinum, making it the best-selling song of all time in America. It was certified at just 5x Platinum in 2013, but picked up steam as it became a streaming favorite across generations. Newer songs like Post Malone's "Sunflower" are soon certified higher, but "Don't Stop Believin'" stands as the top song from before the streaming era.
2022 Spotify complies with Neil Young's request to remove his music from the service. Young's issue is with the Spotify podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, which he feels is spreading false information about vaccines. Joni Mitchell also removes her music, but Spotify stands tall for Rogan, whose subscriber count grows considerably in wake of the controversy. Young returns to Spotify two years later.
2019 Miranda Lambert gets married for a second time, tying the knot with police officer Brendan Mcloughlin in a secret ceremony. Lambert, whose first marriage was to Blake Shelton, breaks the news on social media on February 16.
2019 Composer Michel Legrand, who won an Oscar for "The Windmills Of Your Mind," dies at 86.
2018 Fleetwood Mac perform at the Musicares benefit in Radio City Music Hall, where they are honored. It's Lindsey Buckingham's last performance with the group; three months later he is ousted, replaced by Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.
2017 Kylie Minogue successfully blocks Kylie Jenner's application to trademark the name "Kylie."
2015 Nick Jonas lands a recurring role on Scream Queens, a horror anthology series from Glee creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck. The cast also includes Ariana Grande as a recurring guest star.
2015 Chris Brown postpones his Between the Sheets tour on judge's orders to stay put in California due to a probation violation earlier in the month. The rapper tells Twitter followers that he must complete his last 100 hours of community service before he can embark on the 26-city tour of the US with Kendrick Lamar.
2015 Blink-182 announce Tom DeLonge's resignation, the same day that bandmates Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker slam DeLonge in a tell-all Rolling Stone interview. They claim the vocalist/guitarist will only communicate with them via email or through his manager, and his constant flakiness has kept them from recording new music. Barker adds: "It's hard to cover for someone who's disrespectful and ungrateful."
2014 Justin Timberlake is a big winner at the Grammy Awards, winning three of his seven nominations: Best R&B Song for "Pusher Love Girl," Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Holy Grail," and Best Music Video for "Suit & Tie" (the latter two with Jay Z).
2013 Funk guitarist Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner (of The Ohio Players) dies at age 69.
2011 Gladys Horton (lead singer of The Marvelettes) dies at age 66 after a series of strokes.
2011 Wilco announce the launch of their own label, dBpm Records. The band state the label will put out all future Wilco releases "and more."
2010 Lady Antebellum release their second album, Need You Now, which goes to #1 in America, where it sells over 4 million copies. The title track becomes the first country song to make a big impact on the pop chart since "Not Ready To Make Nice" by Dixie Chicks in 2007. Both groups later change their names, becoming Lady A and The Chicks.
2008 Weezer's Rivers Cuomo takes part in the Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra charity soccer match benefiting the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and the Mia Hamm Foundation in Carson, California.
Presidential candidate Bill Clinton appears on the news program 60 Minutes with his wife, Hillary, who in response to a discussion about her husband's infidelity, says, "I'm not sitting here – some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette."
The Clintons are appearing on the show to answer allegations that Bill had an affair with a state employee named Gennifer Flowers when he was governor of Arkansas. Bill acknowledges "wrongdoing" and "causing pain in my marriage," but stops short of admitting to the affair. When the discussion turns to their marriage, Hillary makes Tammy Wynette comment, and adds, "I'm sitting here because I love him, and I respect him, and I honor what he's been through and what we've been through together. And you know, if that's not enough for people, then heck, don't vote for him." For many Americans, this is their introduction to Hillary Clinton - the show airs immediately following the Super Bowl and draws a huge audience. Bill goes on to win the election and serves two terms, surviving a scandal where he is caught having sexual relations with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. Through it all Hillary does stand by him and launches her own political career. She is elected to the Senate, where she serves two terms before losing to Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary. In 2016 she runs again, this time winning the nomination but losing the general election to Donald Trump, who makes her husband's infidelity a campaign issue. The song finds Wynette, who wrote it with her producer Billy Sherrill, singing about being faithful and supportive to her partner, understanding that men have faults and sticking with her man through the bad times: Sometimes it's hard to be a woman Giving all your love to just one man You'll have bad times, and he'll have good times Doin' things that you don't understand It's a traditional sentiment rejected by Hillary Clinton in word, but not in deed. On the contrary, Wynette was married and divorced five times, including to George Jones. Wynette, who was watching when Hillary name-checked her, is furious. "I resent your caustic remark," she says in a statement. "You have offended every woman and man who love that song - several million in number. I believe you have offended every true country music fan and every person who has 'made it on their own' with no one to take them to a White House." Hillary responds: "I didn't mean to hurt Tammy Wynette as a person. I happen to be a country-western fan. If she feels like I've hurt her feelings, I'm sorry about that."
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