3 January

Pick a Day

3 JANUARY

In Music History

Page 1
1 2

2021 Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers dies at 78.

2019 Lifetime airs the first installment of the six-part series Surviving R. Kelly, which documents the singer's alleged sex crimes. John Legend is among those speaking out against Kelly in the series.

2014 Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers dies of complications from lung disease at age 74.

2008 Britney Spears suffers from a mental breakdown in Beverly Hills, where she refuses to hand over her sons Jayden James and Sean Preston to their father, Kevin Federline. Britney is eventually taken to Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center via ambulance and is admitted as a "special needs" patient.

1995 Canadian news anchor Byron MacGregor, who reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 with his version of "Americans," dies of complications from pneumonia in Detroit, Michigan, at age 46.

1989 The Arsenio Hall Show debuts in syndication, bringing a spate of contemporary musical acts - including many hip-hop artists - to late night during its five-season run. Highlights include Mariah Carey's national TV debut in 1990, and a 1992 appearance by Bill Clinton, who uses his airtime to win over young voters on this way to the White House.

1981 David Bowie finishes his Broadway run as the title character in the play The Elephant Man.

1980 Mellow rocker Kurt Vile is born in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania.

1980 R&B singer and pianist Amos Milburn dies after a series of strokes in Houston, Texas, at age 52. He is known for the 1953 hit "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer."

1976 American interest in The Bay City Rollers peaks as their song "Saturday Night" hits #1 for one week, which is good enough to get their faces on cereal boxes.

1974 Bob Dylan begins a 6-week tour in Chicago with The Band, who do double duty: backing Dylan and then playing their own set. In July, the double album Before The Flood is released, featuring highlights from the shows.

1970 Davy Jones announces he's leaving The Monkees, essentially dissolving the group, which had dwindled to a duo.

1970 Melody Maker names Al Stewart's Love Chronicles its folk album of the year.

1970 B.J. Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" hits #1 in the US for the first of four weeks.

1970 Four days after learning that their movie Let It Be will be released in theaters, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr meet at Abbey Road Studios and record "I Me Mine" for the film and soundtrack.

Page 1
1 2

DMB Debuts "I Did It" On Napster

2001

The Dave Matthews Band become the first major artist to release a song on Napster when "I Did It" debuts on the controversial file-sharing platform.

Unlike Metallica, who successfully sued the company for copyright infringement a year earlier, and were outspoken critics of digital piracy, DMB figures if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. "I don't see the sense in fighting something that is the future. I don't feel that I'm in the position to say I'm being ripped off by Napster in any way," Matthews told MTV. "We will always be able to play music, and no one will be able to take that away from us," he said. "There will be a lot more positive things that come out of Napster than negative. It's going to give people access to music they otherwise wouldn't have, because of the nature of the industry." Matthews, however, isn't so chill about piracy a couple months later when the rough tracks from the band's shelved Lillywhite Sessions hit the internet and are widely bootlegged. Still, he finds the silver lining by finishing the songs and officially releasing them as Busted Stuff in 2002.

Categories

Comments

send your comment
Be the first to comment...

©2024 Songfacts®, LLC