11 JULY
In Music History
1996 Louis Gottlieb of The Limeliters dies at age 72.
1995 Richard Ashcroft of The Verve marries Kate Radley of Spiritualized. They keep it quiet for two years, as Radley's bandmate, Jason Pierce, is also her ex-boyfriend.
1995 George Michael signs a two-album deal split among two labels: Virgin in the UK and Dreamworks SKG in America. As part of the deal, Sony Records is paid $40 million to release Michael from his contract; after releasing his 1990 album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, he refused to record for the label and filed a lawsuit seeking release from his contract, which he lost.
1994 At the Kansas City stop of Lollapalooza, where The Verve are the only British act on the bill, their frontman Richard Ashcroft collapses into convulsions and taken away in an ambulance after getting drunk with members of The Breeders and The Bad Seeds. That night, Verve drummer Pete Salisbury is arrested for destroying his hotel room. Says Ashcroft, "America nearly killed us."
1994 The Rolling Stones release Voodoo Lounge, with the tracks "Love Is Strong" and "You Got Me Rocking."
1991 Longtime songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager get divorced.
1989 Roger Christian, who wrote lyrics to the Beach Boys songs "Little Deuce Coupe" and "Don't Worry Baby," dies at 57.
1981 Hubert Johnson of The Contours dies by suicide at age 40.
1976 Andy Gibb marries his girlfriend Kim Reeder in Australia.
1976 Frank Sinatra marries for the fourth time, this time to Barbara Marx, former wife of the Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx.
1975 Rapper Lil' Kim is born Kimberly Denise Jones in New York City.
1971 The first stage performance of Jesus Christ, Superstar takes place in Pittsburgh.
1970 The soundtrack to the film Woodstock hits #1 in America, helping recoup massive losses from the festival.
1970 Three Dog Night's "Mama Told Me Not To Come" hits #1 in America.
1969 The Rolling Stones release "Honky Tonk Women."
Jerry Garcia Introduces Line Of Neckties
1992Jerry Garcia, who has a passion for painting and studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, introduces a line of neckties he designed.
Read more11 JULY
Featured Events
2009 "Boom Boom Pow," after spending 12 weeks at #1, is replaced by another Black Eyed Peas song, "I Gotta Feelin'."
2000 The free Back 2 Basics Tour, sponsored by Napster, kicks off with a show in Detroit. The tour runs for 24 dates and features Limp Bizkit, Cypress Hill, and Cold. The bands take some heat within the industry for working with Napster, a file sharing service that allows users to download songs for free.
1996 The night before a show at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin dies at age 34 after shooting heroin with drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, who is fired from the band a few days later (he returns to the fold in 1999). The Sarah McLachlan song "Angel" is inspired by Melvoin's death.
1990 Steven Adler is fired from Guns N' Roses because of his drug use. He is replaced by Matt Sorum, who was previously with The Cult.
1979 The space station Skylab crashes to Earth after six years in space. Leading up to the event, Electric Light Orchestra take out ads in trade magazines dedicating their new single, "Don't Bring Me Down," to Skylab.
1969 David Bowie's "Space Oddity" single is rush-released to beat the moon landing, which happens nine days later.
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