8 APRIL
Featured Events
2016 Bruce Springsteen cancels an upcoming show in Greensboro, North Carolina, in protest of a state law limiting the rights of transgender people. "Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry - which is happening as I write - is one of them," he writes. Pearl Jam follows suit, bowing out of a show in Raleigh.
2000 In a Saturday Night Live skit where Blue Öyster Cult is recording "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," Christopher Walken demands more cowbell from Will Ferrell, who complies. A catch phrase is born.More
1994 The Offspring release their breakthrough album Smash on the indie label Epitaph Records. Thanks to the success of the singles "Come Out and Play" and "Self Esteem," it sells over 10 million copies worldwide to become the best selling independently released and distributed album of all time.
1980 The TV movie Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, based on the song "The Gambler," airs on CBS. It becomes the highest-rated TV movie of the year and leads to four sequels, all starring Rogers.
1977 The Clash release their self-titled debut album on CBS Records.
1968 The TV special Petula airs on NBC. At one point in the show, host Petula Clark grabs hold of Harry Belafonte's arm while they are singing a duet. This marks the first time a white woman and black man have physical contact on TV in such context.More
8 APRIL
In Music History
2024 Decades after listeners synched it to The Wizard Of Oz, many skywatchers use Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side Of The Moon to soundtrack the total solar eclipse, with the last track, "Eclipse," playing as the moon blocks out the sun.
2023 Jimin of BTS becomes the first South Korean solo artist to hit #1 in America when his song "Like Crazy" debuts at the top spot. PSY came close in 2012 when "Gangnam Style" went to #2.
2016 Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani are officially divorced after 14 years of marriage. They share three sons: Kingston, Zuma, and Apollo.
2016 The Baltimore Orioles play the Woody Guthrie song "This Land Is Your Land" during the seventh inning stretch in their game against the Rays, starting a tradition of playing the song at every Friday home game. It's part of their "Community Heroes" program to honor local citizens and an effort to diversify their musical selections to reflect progressive ideals. On Saturday nights they play "America The Beautiful," and on Sundays it's "God Bless America."
2016 The Guns N' Roses reunion tour gets underway in Las Vegas. Axl Rose, who fractured his foot at a warm-up show, performs from the throne Dave Grohl used to play Foo Fighters shows when he was hobbled.More
2016 Steve Miller, notoriously averse to awards ceremonies, goes on a backstage rant when he is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He says the Hall is like "a private boys club," and lets loose on the organizers. "It's a bunch of jackasses and jerks and f--king gangsters and crooks."More
2013 Annette Funicello dies at age 70 of multiple sclerosis. The actress became famous as a Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club before becoming a pop singer and was known for a string of popular '60s "Beach Party" films with co-star Frankie Avalon.
2013 Cher fans fear the singer is dead when the hashtag #nowthatchersdead trends on Twitter. It turns out the tag is for Margaret Thatcher.
2006 The Rolling Stones play their first-ever concert in mainland China with a gig in Shanghai.
2003 Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, releases her first solo album, To Whom It May Concern. It debuts at #5 in America.
2001 Cuban violinist Pedro Depestre Gonzales (of Buena Vista Social Club) dies at age 55 after collapsing on stage during a concert performance in Basel, Switzerland.
2001 Country singer-songwriter Van Stephenson (of BlackHawk) dies at age 47, two years after being diagnosed with melanoma.
1997 Singer-songwriter Laura Nyro ("Stoned Soul Picnic," "Wedding Bell Blues," "And When I Die") dies at age 49 of ovarian cancer.
1996 Delta blues musician Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes dies at age 59 of lung cancer.
1989 "The Look" by Roxette hits #1 on the Hot 100, the first of four chart-toppers for the Swedish duo.
Kurt Cobain Found Dead
1994Kurt Cobain's body is found in his Seattle home by an electrician sent to install a burglar alarm. He is believed to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound three days earlier. The Nirvana song "Come As You Are" takes on new meaning with the line, "I swear that I don't have a gun."
On the night of March 31, 1994, Cobain hops a fence at the rehab facility where he has been detoxing from heroin, and disappears. He had gone to the facility after an intervention from his family and friends following an alleged suicide attempt earlier in the month. He is spotted around Seattle several times over the next few days, and then drops off the radar completely. On April 3, Cobain's wife, Courtney Love, hires a private investigator to locate him, but he remains missing until the morning of April 8, when electrician Gary Smith spots him lying on the floor of his Seattle home and alerts the authorities. An autopsy determines that Cobain died of a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. Cobain's drug use and struggles with depression had been well-documented, and several of his songs hinted at his troubled state of mind. In January 1994, Nirvana recorded a song later titled "You Know You're Right," featuring a chorus of the word "pain" screamed at the top of the singer's lungs. Despite his history and a suicide note addressed to his childhood imaginary friend, Boddah, many fans remain unconvinced that Cobain's death was a suicide.
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