18 MAY
Featured Events
1999 Backstreet Boys release their third album (second in America), Millennium, with the hits "I Want It That Way" and "Larger than Life." Primarily produced by Max Martin, it sells over 13 million in America and many more worldwide.
1995 Bette Midler stars in the Seinfeld episode "The Understudy."
1981 After nearly 20 years with Motown Records, Diana Ross leaves the label and signs a record $20 million contract with RCA. Her hit duet "Endless Love" is released on Motown in August even though she has left the label.
1980 Battling epilepsy and depression, Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis hangs himself at his home in England.More
1975 Surfer/musician Jack Johnson is born on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii.
1974 Giving the streaking craze full exposure, Ray Stevens hits #1 in America with his novelty song "The Streak."
1963 "If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife..." Jimmy Soul's marriage advice anthem hits #1 in America.
1952 Country singer George Strait is born in Poteet, Texas.
18 MAY
In Music History
2020 Country singer Travis McCready holds the first post-pandemic concert at Temple Live in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Fans are spaced out in "pods," required to wear masks, and have their temperatures taken before they are admitted.
2014 Italian-American singer Jerry Vale dies at home in Palm Desert, California, at age 83.
2012 Rihanna makes her big-screen acting debut playing a naval weapons specialist in the action/sci-fi movie Battleship. It earns her a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress.
2007 Amy Winehouse marries Blake Fielder at a secret ceremony in Miami.
2006 Andy Capps (drummer for Built To Spill) is found dead at age 37 in his Idaho home. No cause of death is given.
2004 Clint Warwick (original bassist for The Moody Blues) dies at age 63 of liver disease.
2004 Jazz drummer Elvin Jones (of The John Coltrane Quartet) dies of heart failure at age 76.
2004 Lenny Kravitz releases his seventh album, Baptism.
2002 The Barry Manilow Ultimate Manilow special airs on CBS.
2001 The movie Shrek is released, reviving the songs "Hallelujah" (sung on the soundtrack by Rufus Wainwright) and "I'm a Believer" (performed by Smash Mouth in the rave-up at the end of the film).
1999 Jamaican record producer Augustus Pablo, known for his influential 1976 album King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown, dies at age 44 of a collapsed lung.
1996 Brad Nowell of Sublime marries Troy Dendekker, the mother of his son, Jakob. He dies of a drug overdose a week later.
1996 Soundgarden perform for the first (and only) time on Saturday Night Live, playing "Pretty Noose" and "Burden In My Hand." Jim Carrey hosts.
1992 Sister Souljah, a rapper associated with the group Public Enemy, is quoted in The Washington Post saying, "If black people kill black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people?" It becomes a big moment in American politics when Bill Clinton denounces the comment, risking support from black voters. Clinton goes on to win the presidential election.
1991 Bananarama release Pop Life, their first album without bandmate Siobhan Fahey, who left the group in 1988 amid tensions over their pop-oriented image. It's also their last release as a trio. Jacquie O'Sullivan replaces Fahey on the album, but leaves later that year due to the press constantly comparing her with the former 'Nana.
Simple Minds Hit #1 With Breakfast Club Song
1985After repeated attempts to break through in America, Simple Minds go to #1 with "Don't You (Forget About Me)," which is used in the movie The Breakfast Club.
Their 1984 album Sparkle in the Rain went to #1 in their native UK, but despite a US tour with the Pretenders, Simple Minds couldn't crack the American market. That changed when they recorded "Don't You (Forget About Me)," written specifically for the movie The Breakfast Club. Simple Minds wrote their own songs, but made an exception in this case. It was written by Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff, who first pitched it to Bryan Ferry, who turned it down. Simple Minds wasn't keen on it either, especially Jim Kerr, who couldn't make sense of the lyric, especially the lines: I won't harm you or touch your defenses Vanity, insecurity There was also a lot of la-la-la-la, which was a placeholder melody that stuck. Released in February 1985, the film resonates with young people who can relate to the deeply affected characters played by members of the "Brat Pack," including Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy and Emilio Estevez. The song becomes intimately associated with the film and gains traction, rising to #1 on May 18. It's the first American chart entry for Simple Minds, whose lead singer Jim Kerr is married to Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde. The song is used on the film's soundtrack, but doesn't appear on the next Simple Minds album, Once Upon a Time, released in October. That one also goes to #1 in the UK and gives them another American hit, "Alive and Kicking," which goes to #3. The song lives on as the musical embodiment of The Breakfast Club and is used in a number of TV shows and movies that spoof or pay homage to the iconic film. Jim Kerr is happy with how it worked out. "I've got to say that it fit beautifully," he told Songfacts. "You've got to say that it really worked."
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