1991 Michael Jackson escorts Madonna to the Academy Awards. "Sooner Or Later (I Always Get My Man)," which she sang for the movie Dick Tracy, wins for Best Original Song.
1988 DJ/producer Ryan Lewis (of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis) is born in Spokane, Washington.
1985 Stevie Wonder accepts the Oscar for Best Original Song "in the name of Nelson Mandela."More
1985 Prince wins an Oscar for Best Original Score for the film Purple Rain.
1983 The Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever special is recorded at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium; it is broadcast on NBC in May. Highlights of the show include Michael Jackson's Moonwalk and a The Supremes reunion. A lowlight is no mention of the label's house band, The Funk Brothers. Bass player James Jamerson, who played on many of the hits performed this evening, has to buy his own ticket. He dies a few months later.
1983 INXS play America for the first time, performing at The Spirit Club in San Diego to a crowd of 24 people. In May, they play to a more substantial crowd when they're on the bill at the US Festival.
1981 Rick Springfield makes his first appearance as Dr. Noah Drake on the soap opera General Hospital. As his music career takes off, he continues to appear on the show, playing the character until 1983.
1977 Bob Seger's Night Moves album goes Platinum.
1976 Jackson Browne's first wife, Phyllis, dies by suicide less than a year after they were married. She suffered from depression that got particularly acute after giving birth to their son in 1973.
1975 Rapper Juvenile (of The Hot Boys) is born Terius Gray in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1975 Melanie Blatt (of All Saints) is born in Camden, London, England.
1972 Deep Purple's album Machine Head is released in America. Most of it was recorded in their hotel after the Montreux Casino, where they planned to record it, burned down, a story told in the song "Smoke On The Water."More
1969 John & Yoko's week-long Bed-In for Peace begins in The Netherlands.
1969 Roy Orbison marries his second wife, Barbara, in Nashville.
1969 Singer-songwriter Cathy Dennis, composer of the Britney Spears hit "Toxic," is born in Norwich, Norfolk, England.
2015 Mariah Carey joins James Corden for the first installment of Carpool Karaoke.More
2003 Celine Dion begins her Las Vegas residency with the show A New Day... at Caesars Palace. With elaborate sets and a full dance troupe, it ushers in a new era of highly theatrical Vegas shows headlined by huge stars. Shania Twain, Elton John and Britney Spears all follow this path.
1997 Sixteen days after he was shot and killed, The Notorious B.I.G.'s second album, Life After Death, is released.More
1986 Guns N' Roses sign with Geffen Records, which in addition to making sure the band records an album, has to keep them alive and out of jail, which is no easy task. It pays off when Appetite For Destruction goes on to sell over 18 million copies just in America.
1972 America's first single, "A Horse With No Name," rides to #1 on the Hot 100, and the group's self-titled debut album also takes the top spot on the Albums chart. The group becomes one of the most successful acts of the decade, with subsequent hits "Sister Golden Hair," "Ventura Highway" and "Tin Man."
1967 How is the weather? Bright and sunny for The Turtles, who hit #1 in the US with "Happy Together."
1955 The movie Blackboard Jungle is released, giving new exposure to the song "Rock Around The Clock," which is featured in the film. A few months later, the song becomes the first ever #1 rock song.
1947 Elton John is born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in Pinner, Middlesex, England. His stage name, taken at age 20, comes from two members of the band Bluesology: Elton Dean and Long John Baldry.
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