28 APRIL
Featured Events
2003 Apple launches the iTunes store, the first widely successful legal music download app, thanks to the emergence of the iPod, which lets people take their music with them. At first, the service is available only to Mac users, with the music files encoded in Apple's proprietary format (AAC) restricting where they can be played.More
1998 Before These Crowded Streets by the Dave Matthews Band debuts at #1 on the US albums chart, ending the Titanic soundtrack's 16-week berth at the top. Fans get a glimpse of the band's darker side with the moody lead single, "Don't Drink The Water."More
1990 Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses marries Erin Everly (daughter of Don Everly of The Everly Brothers) at Cupid's Inn Chapel in Las Vegas. The rocky union lasts just nine months.
1987 The Art Of Excellence by Tony Bennett becomes the first album to be initially released on CD instead of the traditional vinyl format.
1979 Blondie's "Heart Of Glass" hits #1 in America, the first of their four chart-toppers in that country.
1978 The movie FM, about a radio station with a motley collection of DJs, debuts in theaters. Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett and REO Speedwagon all appear in the film, and Steely Dan does the theme song. FM is the basis for the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati, which appears later in the year.
1973 Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon hits #1 on the Billboard Albums chart. It stays at the top for just one week, but goes on to eclipse the record for most weeks on the tally, with over 880 (non-consecutive).
28 APRIL
In Music History
2017 At the WXTB Rockfest, in Tampa, Florida, Soundgarden launch what will be their final tour with Chris Cornell, who dies on May 17 at a stop in Detroit.
2017 Brad Paisley releases the first visual album in country music: a special edition of Love and War with videos for each of the 16 tracks.
2013 Bass player Lonnie Turner, a founding member of The Steve Miller Band, dies of lung cancer at age 66.
2006 ABBA member Bjorn Ulvaeus is accused by the Swedish government of $12 million US in delinquency of back taxes.
2005 Eddie Montgomery of country duo Montgomery Gentry seriously injures his left wrist during a show in Asheville, North Carolina, after he falls to the arena floor from a speaker cabinet onstage.
2005 Jazz bassist Percy Heath dies of bone cancer two days before his 82nd birthday.
2001 Dido's song "Thank You" climbs to #3 in America after Eminem samples it for the hook of his song "Stan." The song first appeared on Dido's 1999 debut album, No Angel, which goes on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide.
2000 James Brown Enterprises, which handles tours for The Godfather Of Soul, has its offices destroyed by fire, destroying music and memorabilia. An employee is later charged with arson in connection with the incident.
1999 Members of The Verve release a statement announcing their second breakup (their first was in 1995). The band reunites in 2007, but that only lasts two years.
1991 Bonnie Raitt marries her first husband, actor Michael O'Keefe. Her father, the singer John Raitt, wears a kilt as a nod to their Celtic heritage and sings a song called "My Heart's Darlin'." The couple divorce in 1999.
1989 Jon Bon Jovi marries his high-school sweetheart Dorothea Hurley at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas.
1988 Country/pop singer B.W. Stevenson, known for the original 1973 version of "My Maria," dies at age 38 while undergoing heart valve surgery.
1987 Ray Charles appears before Congress to urge more funding for hearing research, stating "My eyes are my handicap, but my ears are my opportunity."
1985 Bryan Ferry releases "Slave To Love."
1981 Original T. Rex bass player Steve Currie dies in a car accident at age 33, four years after the group's lead singer Marc Bolan met his demise in a similar fashion.
Chicago Release First Album
1969The self-titled, debut album by Chicago Transit Authority is released. For their next album, the group shortens their name to Chicago.
With lots of original material worked up over the last year, the band has plenty to choose from, so Chicago Transit Authority is a double album. With a horn section and elements of jazz and pop, it doesn't fit a specific format, which is fine with many adventurous FM radio stations (hit-seeking AM stations ignore it). The group has three lead singers to choose from: Terry Kath, Robert Lamm and Peter Cetera. They also have a mighty 4-piece brass section that provides plenty of punch. The result is an eclectic set of tracks that includes the enigmatic "Questions 67 And 68" and the jaunty "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" The album takes a while to catch on, but their label, Columbia (led by Clive Davis), is willing to wait. Their patience pays off as Chicago gains a wider audience for their next album on their way to becoming one of the most popular bands in America.
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