28 JANUARY
Featured Events
2016 Two founding members of Jefferson Airplane, lead singer Signe Anderson and guitarist Paul Kantner, die on the same day, both at 74. Anderson left the group in 1966 after recording their first album - she was replaced by Grace Slick.
1986 The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after liftoff, killing the seven crew members on board. The disaster inspires a lyric in the Prince song "Sign O' the Times": Silly, no? When a rocket ship explodes and everybody still wants to fly.
1985 With the stars in town for the American Music Awards, "We Are The World" is recorded in Los Angeles, with cameras rolling for the video.More
1984 Def Jam Records release their first single: "It's Yours" by T La Rock and Jazzy Jay. The rap label becomes wildly successful, attracting Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Kanye West and many other big-name artists.
1978 The Doobie Brothers star in the first of a two-part episode of What's Happening! where they teach the kids why bootlegging is bad.More
1968 Sarah McLachlan is born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.More
28 JANUARY
In Music History
2023 Miley Cyrus' alone-but-happy anthem "Flowers" grows to #1 in the US, where it stays for a total of eight weeks.
2018 Shakira's El Dorado wins the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop album, making her the first female performer to receive two trophies in that category. The first was for her 2001 live album, MTV Unplugged.
2014 At a press conference, all four members of Mötley Crüe sign a "cessation of touring agreement" preventing them from ever touring again after 2015. It prevents nothing: they kick off their next tour in 2022.
2009 Billy Powell (Lynyrd Skynyrd and Vision keyboardist) dies of a heart attack in his Orange Park, Florida home.
2008 Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix confirms drummer Dave Buckner has left the band. A statement released by the frontman says: "For y'all that don't know, we had to split with Dave, our drummer. It was one of the hardest things we have ever had to do. He's taking this time to get his life together. We are still friends and still talk on a regular basis."
2005 Members of the "Free Fiona" movement protest outside Sony headquarters in New York City, encouraging the label to release Fiona Apple's long-delayed third album, which shows up in October. As part of the campaign, members also mailed apple-related items (foam apples, pictures of apples) to Sony.
2005 Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi dies of stomach cancer at age 60.
2004 Mel Pritchard, drummer for the British prog rock band Barclay James Harvest, dies of a heart attack at age 56.
2004 James Brown is arrested on charges of domestic violence in Beech Island, South Carolina.
2001 Ray Charles sings "America The Beautiful" at Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa. The Backstreet Boys sing the US national anthem, and halftime performers include Aerosmith, 'N Sync and Britney Spears.
1997 A day before his 16th birthday, Jonny Lang's major-label debut album, Lie To Me, is released.
1996 Chris Isaak guest-stars in the Friends episode "The One After the Superbowl," where he plays Phoebe's date, Rob Donnen.
1996 Diana Ross performs at the Superbowl XXX halftime show in Tempe, Arizona.
1990 Aaron Neville performs the US national anthem at Superbowl XXIV in New Orleans, Louisiana. Halftime entertainment is a salute to the city, with local marching bands performing along with Pete Fountain, Irma Thomas and Doug Kershaw.
1985 Lionel Richie hosts the American Music Awards, where he wins five of the eight awards he's nominated for, including Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. He can't slow down: After the show, he heads to A&M Recording Studios to record "We Are The World," which he wrote with Michael Jackson.
Four British Acts Make Modern Rock Top 10
1995Four British acts make the Top 10 of the US Modern Rock chart, where homegrown acts typically dominate: #5 "Love Spreads" - The Stone Roses #6 "Everything Zen" - Bush #7 "Live Forever" - Oasis #9 "Sour Times" - Portishead
With a bumper crop of young bands, the UK music press has spent 1994 predicting another British Invasion, or at least a resurgence similar to the '80s when acts like The Police and Duran Duran took hold. In early 1995, they are finally making inroads, but the breakthrough band is not the one they expected. In fact, most Brits have never heard of them. We're talking about Bush. Sounding like more intelligible Nirvana, their first single, "Everything Zen," takes off in America, followed by more Modern Rock favorites, including "Machinehead" and "Comedown." They are largely ignored in their native England. Oasis does well by most standards, selling 4 million copies of their What's The Story Morning Glory? album in the US, but they come nowhere near the hype. In Britain, they're expected to be the new Beatles. Despite these promising imports, the top of the Modern Rock chart is lead by two usual suspects: #1 "When I Come Around" - Green Day #2 "Better Man" - Pearl Jam
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