19 JULY
Featured Events
2013 Pearl Jam play a sold-out show at Wrigley Field in Chicago, the first American stop touring behind their 10th studio album, Lightning Bolt. Seven songs in, the show is delayed by... lightning. After midnight, the band returns to the stage and plays a rousing set, as the place is still packed.
1995 Clueless debuts in theaters, reviving the teen movie genre and boosting the film career of Alicia Silverstone, who appeared in the music video for Aerosmith's "Cryin'." The accompanying soundtrack gives retro hits a modern makeover, with the pop-punk act The Muffs covering Kim Wilde's "Kids In America."More
1986 Genesis have their first (and only) #1 Hot 100 hit as "Invisible Touch" tops the chart.More
1985 Joan Jett calls up-and-coming heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson before his fight with Larry Sims, which Tyson wins handily. The superstitious Tyson insists on getting a call from Jett before every fight, which he does until breaking tradition for his bout against Buster Douglas on February 11, 1990 - Tyson's first loss.More
1966 Doing it his way, the 50-year-old Frank Sinatra marries the 20-year-old actress Mia Farrow in New York, causing a predictable media event. The marriage lasts just two years.
1958 The Drifters manager George Treadwell, who owns the name, fires the group and replaces them with members of The Five Crowns. When Ben E. King joins the group a short time later, The Drifters become consistent hitmakers, scoring with "There Goes My Baby," "This Magic Moment" and "Save The Last Dance For Me."
1947 Queen guitarist (and astrophysicist) Brian May is born in Hampton, Middlesex, England.
19 JULY
In Music History
2017 Performing barefoot as usual, singer-songwriter Barbara Weldens is electrocuted on stage at Gourdon, France and dies from cardiac arrest.
2014 Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden launch a co-headlining tour at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2011 Rebecca Black, the world's most ironic celebrity, cashes in on her worldwide viral Internet fame by launching her own record label, RB Records, and her first single on the label, "My Moment." The song fails to get the same attention as her breakout hit, "Friday."
2004 James Lowe and Mark Tulin of the Electric Prunes, famous for their 1967 garage-psych hit "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night," sue their former label and publishing company for over one million dollars in unpaid royalties.
2002 It's "Solomon Burke Day" in Philadelphia in honor of their native singer.
2002 Movin' Out, a stage musical dedicated to the songs of Billy Joel, premieres in Chicago.
2001 Mariah Carey makes a surprise appearance on MTV's Total Request Live where she comes off as rather unhinged, rambling aimlessly and doing a striptease for the host, Carson Daly.More
2001 Soul singer Judy Clay dies at age 62 from injuries sustained in a car accident.
2000 Shel Talmy, who produced the first Who album, My Generation, puts the master tapes up for auction on eBay for $500,000. As intended, it gets the attention of the band, who buy them (for significantly less) and in 2002 release the My Generation: Deluxe Edition CD using the tapes.
1999 Lou Bega releases his debut album, A Little Bit of Mambo.
1997 Performing as Nimrod (the name of their upcoming album), Green Day play a secret show at The Viper Room in Los Angeles, where they premiere their song "Hitchin' A Ride."
1997 The Fat Of The Land by The Prodigy becomes the first album by an electronic group to hit #1 in America.
1990 Singer Vicki Carr helps dedicate the Nixon Presidential Library, singing in front of all four living presidents (Nixon, Carter, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush), all of which she had performed for at the White House during their terms.
1989 After finding over $40,000 in cash and checks in his cell at the Stevenson Correctional Institute in South Carolina, officials move James Brown to a cell with tighter security.
The Legend of Billie Jean Debuts With "Invincible" Hit
1985The Legend of Billie Jean, starring Helen Slater and Christian Slater as teens who become accidental outlaws, debuts in theaters, boasting the hit theme song "Invincible" by Pat Benatar. The teen flick receives mixed reviews but goes on to become a cult classic, despite Benatar calling it "one of the worst movies ever made."
Trying to pursue damages for a wrecked motorbike, Texas teens Billie Jean (Helen Slater), Binx (Christian Slater), Putter (Yeardley Smith), and Ophelia (Martha Gehman) get mixed up in the accidental shooting of a sleazy store clerk and have to go on the run. Billie Jean, a blonde beauty from the wrong side of the tracks, becomes a modern-day folk hero when she chops of her hair and refuses to relent until justice is served. Pat Benatar writes the anthem "Invincible" for the soundtrack, which secures her a #10 entry on the Hot 100. The movie also features the Divinyls' "Boys in Town," Wendy O. Williams' "It's My Life," and Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell." Idol re-issues the 1984 single and takes the #6 spot on the UK chart, where it had previously peaked at #62. The Legend of Billie Jean garners mild praise for Helen Slater's earnest performance as the title heroine – but Benatar has stronger feelings about the film. She often introduces it in concerts as one of the worst movies ever made. Her disdain allegedly prevents the film from get a DVD release for several years because of her refusal to clear the rights to the hit theme. Despite the criticism, The Legend of Billie Jean earns status as a cult classic among the MTV generation.
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