24 April

Pick a Day

24 APRIL

In Music History

Page 1
1 2 ... 4

2017 Ed Sheeran's "Shape Of You" tops Australia's singles chart (ARIA) for the 14th week, breaking the record set by Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" in 1995.

2016 Philadelphia soul singer Billy Paul dies of cancer at age 81. His biggest hit, "Me And Mrs. Jones," was written by the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The pair release a statement upon Paul's death saying, "Billy's voice combined both jazz, R&B and soul vocals, making him one the great artists to come out of Philly and to be celebrated worldwide."

2012 The Beach Boys begin their 50th anniversary tour, which reunites Brian Wilson with fellow founders Mike Love and Al Jardine, along with longtime members Bruce Johnston and David Marks.

2011 American Idiot: The Musical, based on Green Day's 2004 album, closes after 422 performances.

2009 Robin Thicke performs his smash hit "Lost Without U" after The Oprah Show on the "Oprah Fridays Live" segment. So many viewers complain about missing the performance that Oprah brings Robin back for an unprecedented repeat performance only one month later.

2008 Jane's Addiction reunite to rock the NME Awards.

2006 Billy Joel becomes the first non-athlete to earn a banner at Madison Square Garden when he sells out the venue for the 12th time on his tour. His #12 hangs alongside retired greats who played in the Garden like Willis Reed, Walt Frazier and Mark Messier.More

2006 Country singer-songwriter Bonnie Owens, former wife of Buck Owens and, later, Merle Haggard, dies at age 76.

2005 After 94 performances, the Broadway musical and Beach Boys tribute Good Vibrations closes.

2003 The Fox TV network airs the 2-hour special The Michael Jackson Interview: The Footage You Were Never Meant to See. The show contains footage of Michael Jackson's home movies, and is the superstar's rebuttal to the documentary Living with Michael Jackson, which aired in February on ABC. In that one, Jackson talks about sharing his bed with children.

2002 Pop singer Jewel breaks a collarbone and a rib when she is thrown from a horse at the Texas ranch of her boyfriend, rodeo star Ty Murray.

2001 R&B singer Al Hibbler ("Unchained Melody") dies at age 85 in Chicago, Illinois.

1996 After being forced to cancel shows, Stone Temple Pilots issue a statement saying that lead singer Scott Weiland has "become unable to rehearse or appear for these shows due to his dependency on drugs. He is currently under a doctor's care in a medical facility." Weiland sees this as a betrayal, and his relationship with his bandmates turns rocky.

1992 David Bowie marries his second wife, the Somalian-born supermodel and entrepreneur Iman, in a private ceremony in Switzerland. The couple relocate to New York City soon after, and in 2000, Iman gives birth to Alexandria Jones - Bowie's second child (his son, the film director Duncan Jones, was born to his first wife, Angela Barnett, in 1971).

Page 1
1 2 ... 4

Waitress Premieres On Broadway

2016

Waitress, a musical about a pregnant woman trying to escape an abusive marriage by winning a pie-baking contest, opens on Broadway. The most popular number is "She Used To Be Mine," which inspires covers from several fans.


The soaring anthem, written by Sara Bareilles, finds the lead character, Jenna, wishing she could be the girl she once was before abuse changed her. The tune touches a chord with anyone who's felt altered by a painful experience. Actress Tiffany Mann, who was working as a singing waitress at Ellen's Stardust Diner in New York City, lands the role of Nurse Norma after someone posts a clip of her belting the tune during one of her shifts. She was going through a rough patch and "singing through the heartache." Meanwhile, 14-year-old Adrian Matthew manages to connect with a pregnant woman's tale of woe with his viral cover, which racks more than 3 million views on Facebook. "The way I relate to it," he tells The New York Times. "There's been school bullies, or people making fun of me. I thought going from middle school to high school was going to be so easy, and I'd make so many friends, and then you get there and it's the opposite. The song made me feel that." Bareilles, who wrote all the music and lyrics for the show, knew she had something special with the song but is still surprised by its universal appeal. "The range of who this song speaks to is much broader than I could have anticipated," she explains. "The chasm between who we are, and who we thought we would be, is always something we're negotiating." Waitress is based on the 2007 movie of the same name, which starred Keri Russell as Jenna. Jessie Mueller takes over the role on stage and earns a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress. The soundtrack, What's Inside: Songs From Waitress, also debuts at #10 in the US.

Categories

Comments

send your comment
Be the first to comment...

©2024 Songfacts®, LLC