26 February

Pick a Day

26 FEBRUARY

In Music History

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2022 The Avicii Experience museum opens in Stockholm with interactive and real-life exhibits dedicated to the DJ/producer, who died in 2018 at 28.

2011 Mark Tulin (bassist for The Electric Prunes) dies of a heart attack at age 62 while helping at an underwater cleanup event in Avalon, California.

2010 Though they are separated, The-Dream and Christina Milian welcome a baby daughter, Violet.

2009 The Biography Channel airs the debut episode of The Chris Isaak Hour, a new talk-show featuring top musical guests. In this episode, presenter Chris Isaak interviews country artist Trisha Yearwood.

2008 Drummer Buddy Miles dies of congestive heart disease in Austin, Texas, at age 60.

2003 Fife player Othar "Otha" Turner dies in Gravel Springs, Mississippi, at age 95.

2002 John Fogerty, Elton John, Eagles, Stevie Nicks, and Billy Joel perform at the multi-venue Los Angeles charity benefit Four Concerts for Artists' Rights, proceeds of which benefit a labor-friendly musicians' organization called the Recording Artists Coalition.

1997 Bluegrass newcomer Gillian Welch's debut album, Revival, is nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album but loses to Bruce Springsteen's The Ghost of Tom Joad.

1995 Former Led Zeppelin duo Jimmy Page and Robert Plant kick off a year-long world tour in Pensacola, Florida, supporting their live No Quarter reunion album.

1990 Cornell Gunter, former lead tenor for The Coasters, is murdered in Las Vegas, Nevada, at age 53. Gunter, who was in the midst of making a comeback, was shot in his car by an unknown assassin.

1986 Thanks to their hit "West End Girls," Pet Shop Boys land the cover of Smash Hits magazine, which their frontman, Neil Tennant, used to write for.More

1985 The Judds win their first Grammy Award when "Mama He's Crazy" (their first #1 single) is named Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

1985 Bruce Springsteen wins his first Grammy, taking home the Best Male Vocal Performance award for "Dancing In The Dark." "What's Love Got To Do With It" by Tina Turner wins Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

1977 Doo wop singer Sherman Garnes (of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers) dies of a heart attack at age 36.

1977 Blues guitarist Bukka White dies of cancer at age 67 in Memphis, Tennessee.

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Norah Jones Releases 10-Million-Selling Debut Come Away With Me

2002

Norah Jones releases her debut album Come Away With Me, a jazz-inflected set that wins the Album of the Year Grammy and sells over 10 million copies in America.

The album is issued on Blue Note, the venerable jazz label that was home to John Coltrane. But this is no pure jazz album, blending elements of country and pop to create songs that soothe over a relaxing cup of coffee, but with lyrics that evoke both pleasure and pain. Jones, 22, is the daughter of the renown Indian musician Ravi Shankar, but got her musical education from her mother, who split with Shankar and moved to Texas when Norah was 4. She was recruited to New York City by a group of musicians who met her on a trip to Texas in 1998; arriving in the City, she played piano bars and got the attention of Blue Note boss Bruce Lundvall, who signed her and paired her with Arif Mardin, a 70-year-old producer whose CV includes Aretha Franklin and Barbra Streisand. A key contributor to the album is Jesse Harris, one of the guys she met in Texas who coaxed her to New York. Five of his songs made the final tracklist (chosen by Jones), including the lead single, "Don't Know Why." Jones chose just three of her own songs, including the title track. The bass player on the album is Jones' boyfriend, Lee Alexander, whom she met when she needed accompaniment for a brunch gig. Four songs on the album are his compositions. Albums that don't fit a specific genre often get orphaned, but Come Away With Me finds an audience thirsty for something mellow and different. It's appeal is that it's not the least bit commercial, and Jones appears nothing like a pop star (and also that it's priced to sell at about $8). There is a sense of discovery about it that helps it move its first 5 million. The next 5 million come thanks to the Grammy Awards, where it beats out Eminem, Bruce Springsteen, Dixie Chicks and Nelly for Album of the Year. Jones next album, Feels like Home, is made with the same team, again with Mardin producing. Released in 2004, it sells 4 million copies in the US despite limited promotion from Jones, who soured on the interview circuit when Come Away With Me was blowing up. From there, she takes a number of musical detours, including a country project called The Little Willies in 2006 and a venture into atmospheric pop with her 2012 album Little Broken Hearts.

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