Pick a Day

Music History Events: Awards and Honors

January 17, 1990 The Fifth Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York City. Inductees include Hank Ballard, Bobby Darin, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, The Kinks, The Platters, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Who.

August 25, 1989 Chicago mayor Richard Michael Daley declares today "Pops Staples Day" in honor of the native musician and leader of The Staple Singers.

June 27, 1989 Tom Jones gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

June 14, 1989 Carole King gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

June 13, 1989 Jerry Lee Lewis gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

May 11, 1989 The late Roy Orbison is posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York, with Eric Clapton presenting the award to Orbison's widow. Orbison enjoyed a career resurgence in the '80s, but died on December 6, 1988.

April 13, 1989 Love Boat crooner Jack Jones is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6104 Hollywood Blvd.

December 3, 1988 Carole King and Gerry Goffin receive a Lifetime Achievement award from the US National Academy of Songwriters.

September 30, 1988 John Lennon is awarded a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 Vine St.

August 19, 1988 Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" is named the most-played song in the first 100 of the jukebox.

April 11, 1988 Cher wins Best Actress for the romantic comedy Moonstruck at the Academy Awards in New York.

January 20, 1988 The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Drifters, Bob Dylan, and The Supremes are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the third class. Mike Love of The Beach Boys gives a Ricky Gervais-at-the-Golden Globes-style speech, insulting many in attendance. Diana Ross skips the ceremony over a spat with fellow Supreme Mary Wilson.

December 7, 1987 Harry Chapin receives a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal for his efforts in fighting hunger. Along with Bill Ayres, Chapin founded World Hunger Year, which is later re-named WhyHunger and becomes a very effective organization in distributing food to those in need.

October 8, 1987 Chuck Berry is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1777 N. Vine.

October 3, 1987 "Brenda Lee Day" is declared in her home town of Lithonia, Georgia. A new street is named Brenda Lee Lane in her honor.

August 11, 1987 Rolling Stone magazine declares The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band the best album of the last 20 years.

July 29, 1987 Michigan governor James Blanchard declares today "Four Tops Day" in honor of the Motown legends.

July 14, 1987 Steve Miller receives a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

March 13, 1987 Bob Seger receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He's from Michigan, but did some recording in Los Angeles, which inspired his song "Hollywood Nights."

February 24, 1987 Fats Domino, Ray Charles and B.B. King win Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Grammy Awards.

October 2, 1986 The Everly Brothers are awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd.

September 21, 1986 The US Department of Health and Human Services honors Dionne Warwick for "exceptional service as a leading health ambassador" in fighting the spread of AIDS.

August 27, 1986 Tina Turner receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

July 28, 1986 The WFIL Studio in Philadelphia where American Bandstand was shot is entered into the US National Register of Historic Places.

December 12, 1985 On her 45th birthday, Dionne Warwick is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

July 28, 1985 It's "Kingsmen Day" in Portland, Oregon, in honor of their hometown heroes who made "Louie Louie" a garage rock classic.

July 24, 1985 A stretch of Detroit's Washington Boulevard is renamed "Aretha Franklin's Freeway Of Love," in honor of her recent comeback hit.

May 23, 1985 It's Aretha Franklin Appreciation Day in Michigan, as Governor James Blanchard declares the singer "One of Michigan's natural resources."

March 25, 1985 Prince wins an Oscar for Best Original Score for the film Purple Rain.

March 25, 1985 Stevie Wonder accepts the Oscar for Best Original Song "in the name of Nelson Mandela."More