21 MARCH
Featured Events
2008 Beach Boys founding members Mike Love and Al Jardine settle a lawsuit Love filed in 2003, claiming Jardine was touring under variations of the group name, to which Love owns the rights. The settlement leads to a reunion of the group in 2012 for their 50th anniversary.
1997 The movie Selena debuts in theaters, chronicling the life of the late Tejano singer, who was murdered two years earlier by the former president of her fan club. Jennifer Lopez is lauded for her breakout performance in the title role, which inspires her to pursue a singing career of her own.
1994 Bruce Springsteen wins an Oscar for the song "Streets of Philadelphia" from the Tom Hanks movie Philadelphia.
1985 In Vancouver, the Canadian wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen begins his "Man In Motion" tour to raise money for spinal cord research. Inspired by his quest, fellow Canadian David Foster works with John Parr to write a tribute song to Hansen for the film St. Elmo's Fire.More
1952 Cleveland stakes a claim on rock history when the Moondog Coronation Ball is held at the Cleveland Arena. Organized by the WJW DJ Alan Freed ("Moondog" on the air), it is widely considered the first rock concert. It may also be one of the shortest, as it is shut down after one song.More
21 MARCH
In Music History
2015 Jackie Trent dies at age 74. She was married to Tony Hatch, with whom she wrote the theme song to the Australian TV show Neighbours and the Petula Clark hit "Don't Sleep In The Subway."
2014 Shakira releases her 10th studio album, Shakira, featuring guest vocalist Rihanna on the lead single, "Can't Remember To Forget You."
2013 John Mayer becomes the first big-name celebrity to host a hangout on Google+, Google's social network competitor to Facebook. Google+ never catches on and is discontinued in 2019.
2012 The Wanted become the first UK boy band to land a Top 5 hit in the US when "Glad You Came" peaks at #3. The single got a boost after it was covered on Glee in February.
2011 Blues musician Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins dies at age 97.
2011 Singer Loleatta Holloway, whose track "Love Sensation" was sampled on Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch's "Good Vibrations" and several other songs, dies of heart failure at age 64.
2009 The movie Northern Lights, starring LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian, debuts on Lifetime as rumors of the stars' extramarital affair are swirling in the press. They end up divorcing their spouses and marrying each other.
2008 Klaus Dinger of Kraftwerk and Neu! dies of heart failure at age 61.
2006 Six years after filing suit, the family of African musician Solomon Linda, who wrote and recorded the original version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," reach an agreement with the song's publisher, giving them some royalties. Linda, who died in 1962, signed away rights to the song in 1952.
2005 The final episode of The Osbournes airs on MTV, capping a four-season run.
2004 Motown producer Johnny Bristol dies at age 65.
2003 Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry divorces his first wife, model Lucy Helmore, after 21 years, on grounds of adultery.
2000 Soul Coughing disbands after eight years and three albums.
2000 "Newgrass" trio Nickel Creek release their breakthrough self-titled album, produced by bluegrass star Alison Krauss. The group earns two Grammy nominations: Best Bluegrass Album and Best Country Instrumental for "Ode to a Butterfly."
1991 Leo Fender, founder of Fender Musical Instruments, dies at age 81 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
'N Sync Surpasses Backstreet Boys
2000With the release of their third album, No Strings Attached, 'N Sync smashes the Backstreet Boys' record for first-week sales with 2.4 million copies sold - almost double the amount BSB garnered with their 1999 album, Millennium. 'N Sync's record holds for 15 years until Adele pushes more than 3 million units of 25.
No Strings Attached is a symbol of freedom for the boy band, who have cut ties with their record label, RCA, and their shifty manager, Lou Pearlman (who also created the Backstreet Boys - along with a massive Ponzi scheme that lands him in prison by the end of the decade). With their newfound creative control, Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez take on production duties and bring on a host of other producers to flavor the tracks with notes of pop and R&B. The roster includes Swedish songwriters Kristian Lundin and Andreas Carlsson, the masterminds behind the hit single "Bye Bye Bye," '80s pop star Richard Marx ("This I Promise You"), and elite R&B hitmakers Babyface, Teddy Riley, and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs. Max Martin, the Scandinavian producer and songwriter who cut his teeth on hit tracks for Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears before becoming one of the most in-demand music makers in the pop realm, penned the album's chart-topping single, "It's Gonna Be Me" (the group's first and only #1 hit). The cover art depicts the guys as puppets on strings, representing their former plight. Says the group's Chris Kirkpatrick: "We enjoyed working on this album with the producers, and the only reasons that the strings are still attached on the album is so people can get the whole feel of the vibe of, you know, No Strings Attached. That's what we mean by the strings, so they'll understand that we're not puppets."
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