19 APRIL
Featured Events
2012 Levon Helm (drummer, lead vocalist of The Band) dies of cancer at age 71. Also an actor, he was known for his role as Loretta Lynn's father in Coal Miner's Daughter.
2008 Donna Summer scores a #1 Dance hit with "I'm A Fire," making her the first artist to top that chart in every decade since its 1974 debut.
2002 Alice In Chains lead singer Layne Staley is discovered dead in his Seattle apartment after police break down his door to investigate reports that he is missing. Staley, whose addictions led him to cut off contact with friends and family, had died on April 5 of a drug overdose. He was 34.
2001 In a battle of the bark, Baha Men beat out Lil' Bow Wow at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, taking Fave Song with "Who Let The Dogs Out."More
1994 Nas releases his landmark debut album Illmatic at the age of 20, helping revive the flagging New York City rap scene and birth the era of lyricism. It goes on to be widely accepted as one of the greatest rap albums of all time.More
1988 Sonny Bono (Sonny & Cher) is inaugurated as mayor of Palm Springs, California.
1986 You don't have to watch Dynasty to have an attitude: Prince hits #1 in the US with "Kiss." The #2 song is "Manic Monday" by the Bangles, which he wrote.More
19 APRIL
In Music History
2019 The New York Yankees and Philadelphia Flyers pull Kate Smith's version of "God Bless America" when it is revealed that she sang racist songs in the 1930s, including "That's Why Darkies Were Born" and "Pickaninny Heaven."
2012 Greg Ham, multi-instrumentalist with the band Men At Work, best known for playing the saxophone on "Overkill" and "Who Can It Be Now," and the flute on "Down Under," dies of a heart attack at his home in Melbourne, Australia at age 58.
2009 The Flaming Lips celebrate Earth Day with a performance on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
2004 A stage musical version of the Elvis Presley film Jailhouse Rock opens in London.
2003 Good Charlotte's "The Anthem" peaks at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100.
2003 Motown choreographer Cholly Atkins dies of pancreatic cancer at age 89 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2002 "Jeepster" by T. Rex becomes the first song successfully identified by Shazam in a pre-launch version of the service that requires the user to call a number and receive a text message with the name of the song.
1999 James Darren begins a five-episode stint on the primetime soap opera Melrose Place as an unscrupulous millionaire named Tony Marlin.
1997 Eldon "El Duce" Hoke (drummer, lead singer of The Mentors) dies at age 39 after being struck by a train in Riverside, California. The coroner's report calls the cause of death a "misadventure."
1993 Los Angeles session musician Steve Douglas (Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan) dies at age 54 of heart failure.
1990 The TV movie Summer Dreams: The Story Of The Beach Boys airs on ABC.
1982 Simon & Garfunkel reunite for a world tour, but split up again in the midst of it.
1980 The Specials become the first ska band to guest on Saturday Night Live, where they play "Gangsters" and "Too Much Too Young." Their energetic performance wows the crowd but fails to break ska music in America.
1980 Blondie's "Call Me," a song about a prostitute written for the film American Gigolo, hits #1 in America.
1975 The Raspberries split up.
Kid Rock And Ted Nugent Go To The White House
2017Kid Rock and Ted Nugent join Sarah Palin at the White House, where they get a personal tour from President Trump.
Rock and Nugent, steadfast supporters of Trump, enjoy a four-hour visit that includes a tour, policy discussion and fancy dinner with the president (dessert is baked alaska in honor of Palin's home state). According to Nugent, among the topics discussed are Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, guns, Russia, and border security. Photo: The White House
Categories
©2024 Songfacts®, LLC
Comments
send your comment