Pick a Day

17 FEBRUARY

In Music History

2014 Bob Casale (rhythm guitarist and keyboardist for Devo) dies of heart failure at age 61.

2013 Country singer Mindy McCready dies of a self-inflicted gunshot at age 37.

2010 Mumford & Sons make their US TV debut on The Late Show with David Letterman.

2006 Ray Barretto, whose 1968 album Acid became a Latin jazz classic, dies at age 76.

2005 With Tommy Lee back in the band for the first time in five years, Mötley Crüe begin their Red, White & Crüe tour in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It's a circus theme, with clowns, fire-eaters and acrobats. For his drum solo, Tommy Lee and his rig go up on a trapeze and he performs from 30 feet in the air.

2004 The Darkness win Brit Awards for Best British group, Best British Rock Act and Best British Album (Permission to Land). Busted wins for the British Breakthrough Award and takes Best Pop Act.

2001 Shaggy's album Hot Shot hits #1 in America, where it goes on to sell over 6 million copies. The most popular track is "It Wasn't Me," where Shaggy (in character) explains how deny it when caught cheating.

2001 Brad Paisley joins the cast of the Grand Ole Opry.

1998 Songwriter Bob Merrill commits suicide aged 76. His compositions include the #1 UK hits "(How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window?" and "She Wears Red Feathers (And A Huly-Huly Skirt)."

1998 After a failed run on Elektra Records, Destiny's Child release their self-titled debut album on Columbia. The first single, "No, No, No," is a hit and introduces their crisp, punctuated vocal style.

1997 ABC airs Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees, a one-hour comedy special written and directed by original Monkee Mike Nesmith. From their '60s pad, the group recalls their old shenanigans and sings a medley of their classic hits: "Last Train To Clarksville," "Daydream Believer," "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," "I'm A Believer" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday."

1995 25 years after agreeing to sing at Marcia Brady's prom, Davy Jones reunites with the Bradys... sort of. Jones and fellow Monkees Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz appear in the spoof The Brady Bunch Movie. Jones performs at the prom again, singing a grungy rendition of "Girl," the same song he sang on the TV show.

1992 Shakespears Sister release their second album, Hormonally Yours. Initially based on a B-movie called Cat-Women Of The Moon, it produces a huge hit with "Stay," a sci-fi single that spends eight weeks at #1 in the UK.

1990 Emma Anderson admits in an interview that her band Lush is the "Most hated band in London."

1982 Jazz great Thelonious Monk dies at age 64.