6 APRIL
In Music History
1985 Gilbert O'Sullivan wins a two-million-dollar judgment against his manager, Gordon Mills, for royalties owed him on his 1972 smash "Alone Again (Naturally)."
1984 Steve "Little Steven" Van Zandt announces he's leaving the E-Street Band, and goes on to helm the Sun City project. He will return in the '90s when the band reforms.
1984 Rock and roll musician Ral Donner, known for the 1961 hit "You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)," dies at age 41 of lung cancer.
1983 Ronald Reagan's secretary of the Interior, James Watt, cancels an appearance by The Beach Boys at Washington DC's Independence Day festivities, infamously stating that the band would attract "an undesirable element."
1979 In Beverly Hills, Rod Stewart marries George Hamilton's ex-wife, Alana. The couple divorces in 1984.
1978 Peter Frampton guest-stars on NBC-TV's Black Sheep Squadron.
1974 Blue Swede's "Hooked On A Feeling" hits #1.
1974 Al Green performs his hit "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)" on Soul Train. Green, who had broken an arm and is wearing a sling, performs the song live, which is rare on the show because live performances are expensive and complicated to produce.
1974 The Eagles, Earth, Wind & Fire, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake and Palmer play to a crowd of 200,000 at the California Jam in Ontario, California.
1972 The Monkees' Micky Dolenz guest stars as himself on the "Barbara Lost" episode of ABC-TV's My Three Sons.
1971 Russian composer Igor Stravinsky dies of heart failure at age 88 in New York.
1971 Carly Simon plays her first show as a solo artist when she opens for Cat Stevens at the Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles. Anxiety makes it very hard for her to play live, but she can't resist a chance to play some shows with Stevens, her favorite singer.
1970 Diana Ross, having left The Supremes four months earlier, issues her debut single as a solo artist, "Reach Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand)."
1969 Joanie Sommers guests on the syndicated Frankie Avalon Easter (TV) Special.
1969 Original bassist Pete Quaife leaves The Kinks. Nobby Dalton takes his place.
ABBA Wins Eurovision With "Waterloo"
1974ABBA become European stars overnight when their composition "Waterloo" wins the annual Eurovision Song Contest.
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Featured Events
2016 On his 79th birthday, Merle Haggard dies at his ranch in Northern California. Haggard placed 71 songs in the Top 10 of the Country chart during his lifetime.
1992 Annie Lennox releases her first solo album, Diva, with the hits "Why" and "Walking On Broken Glass."More
1980 Andrew Wood forms the group Malfunkshun in Seattle, Washington, marking what some consider the beginning of grunge. The music of Malfunkshun makes an impact on Wood's roommate Chris Cornell, who forms Soundgarden. Wood moves on to Mother Love Bone, and after he dies of a heart attack in 1990, that group adds Eddie Vedder and becomes Pearl Jam.
1974 Billy Joel scores his first Top 40 hit with "Piano Man," which comes in at #33 (it peaks at #25 two weeks later).
1968 The Graduate soundtrack hits #1 in America thanks to Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson," which tops the Hot 100 less than two months later.More
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