12 FEBRUARY
In Music History
2000 The singer Oliver ("Good Morning Starshine," "Jean") dies of cancer at age 54.
1997 David Bowie is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is located outside the Hollywood Galaxy Theatre.
1992 Richard D. James releases Selected Ambient Works 85-92, under the alias Aphex Twin. It is James' first full-length album, and is a step away from his previous dance-focused work, containing lush ambient pads, soft acid-esque synth melodies, samples of conversations and distant techno percussion. The album contains some tracks started when James was only 14 years old.
1989 Tiny Tim declares his candidacy for mayor of New York City.
1974 The legendary rock club The Bottom Line opens in Greenwich Village, New York City.
1970 Jim Creeggan (bassist for Barenaked Ladies) is born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.
1968 John and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas welcome daughter Chynna, their only child. She forms Wilson Phillips with Brian Wilson's daughters Carnie and Wendy.
1968 Jimi Hendrix's tour stops in his hometown of Seattle, Washington, where he sees his family for the first time in seven years. His father, Al, meets him at the airport.
1964 The Beatles conclude their triumphant first American visit with two 25-minute shows at Carnegie Hall. The shows aren't recorded due to a dispute with the American Federation of Musicians union.
1961 The Miracles' "Shop Around" is certified gold.
1959 Composer George Antheil dies of a heart attack at 58.
1958 The Monotones release "Book Of Love."
1958 Weather Report drummer Omar Hakim is born in New York City.
1956 "Screamin'" Jay Hawkins records "I Put A Spell On You."
1955 The McGuire Sisters' "Sincerely" hits #1 in America.
Jagger And Richards Busted In Raid
1967Police raid Keith Richards' Redlands estate, where they discover "various substances of a suspicious nature" and arrest him along with Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull. The whole thing is a setup.
Read more12 FEBRUARY
Featured Events
2017 Adele opens the Grammy Awards with a performance of "Hello," which wins for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Later, she sings "Fastlove" in a tribute to George Michael, who passed away on Christmas day, 2016. Before she can finish the first chorus, she stops the song and starts over, saying, "I can't mess this up for him."More
1997 Snoop Doggy Dogg and Sean "Puffy" Combs hold a press conference where they call for an end to the East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry that has claimed the life of Tupac Shakur. "Kids around the world are watching," Long Beach rapper Snoop says. "By calling for a truce we're giving them something to live for." The detente fails to quell the violence: Less than a month later, The Notorious B.I.G. is killed in a shooting.
1981 Riding the (permanent) wave of their previous album, Rush release Moving Pictures. Featuring "Tom Sawyer," "Limelight" and "YYZ," it becomes the best-selling album in the Rush discography. "The Camera Eye" is the last 10-minute-long song Rush ever record in the studio.
1977 Barbra Streisand's soundtrack album A Star Is Born hits #1 in the US. Her fourth album to top the tally - following People (1964), Stoney End (1971), and The Way We Were (1974) - it features the #1 hit "Evergreen."
1976 Sal Mineo, an actor who starred alongside James Dean in the movies Giant and Rebel Without a Cause, is murdered by a deranged assailant. Mineo had several hits as a singer including "Start Movin' (In My Direction)," which reached #9 US in 1957.
1972 Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" hits #1 in the US. Eleven years later, Tina Turner revitalizes her career with a hit cover of the song.
1970 BBC's Top of the Pops broadcasts John Lennon's "Instant Karma!" performance clip, taped just the day before.
1937 On the Avenue, a musical starring Dick Powell and Alice Faye, debuts in movie theaters and introduces the holiday classic "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm."
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