28 MARCH
In Music History
2020 The 12-hour "Twitch Aid" concert raises nearly $3 million to help those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Over 70 quarantined performers take part from their homes, including John Legend, Rita Ora, Cole Swindell, Garth Brooks and Diplo.
2014 Folk singer-turned-reverend Joe Frazier (of the Chad Mitchell Trio) dies in his sleep at age 77.
2014 Nas headlines the One Mic: Hip-Hop Culture Worldwide festival at the Kennedy Center in New York City with a performance of his album Illmatic with the National Symphony Orchestra.
2013 Session rock guitarist Hugh McCracken (Billy Joel, Steely Dan) dies at age 70 of leukemia.
2012 Blues harmonica player Jerry "Boogie" McCain, known for the self-penned tunes "Ain't No Use for Drug Abuse" and "Burn the Crackhouse Down," dies at age 81.
2011 Rapper Rick Ross is arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana, after being caught with one gram of marijuana. Ross was smoking the drug at the Hilton Hotel when guests reported smelling a foul odor coming from his room. Ross is booked and released the same night.
2010 Laura Marling's second album, I Speak Because I Can, debuts at #4 on the UK albums chart.
2005 On Rev. Jesse Jackson's internet radio show, Michael Jackson claims that his recent child-molestation charges are a racist conspiracy.
2003 '50s country/pop singer Rusty Draper dies at age 80 from pneumonia.
2000 Jimmy Page wins a libel suit against the UK magazine Ministry, which printed that he tried to revive his dying bandmate John Bonham by using Satanic spells.
1999 Rapper Freaky Tah (of Lost Boyz) is fatally shot by Kelvin Jones, a member of the fledgling New York-based rap group The Hellraisers. Freaky Tah, real name Raymond Rogers, is just 27 years old.
1996 Phil Collins leaves Genesis on good terms, stating he will concentrate on "Movies, some Jazz projects, and of course my solo career."
1995 Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard releases his first solo album, Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version. His food stamp ID card is on the cover.
1995 Lyle Lovett and actress Julia Roberts announce they are separating after 21 months of marriage.
1995 Wilco release their debut album, A.M. It is the first and last album to feature Brian Henneman on lead guitar.
Blondie Scores The First #1 With A Rap
1981Blondie's "Rapture" hits #1 on the Hot 100, becoming the first chart-topper with a rap.
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Featured Events
1986 Stefani Germanotta enters the world in New York City. She is born this way, but rises to fame under the name Lady Gaga.
1985 Four-year-old Alicia Cook makes her acting debut on the "Slumber Party" episode of The Cosby Show. She'll become famous as Alicia Keys.
1982 On his way to a "no-nukes" rally, David Crosby crashes his car into a divider on the San Diego Freeway. Police find quaaludes, cocaine paraphernalia, and a concealed pistol in the vehicle, but charges against him are plea bargained down to reckless driving and he is sentenced to probation and a $751 fine. A few weeks later he is arrested again, this time for freebasing cocaine.
1975 At an Elvis Presley concert at the Hilton in Las Vegas, Barbra Streisand goes backstage and offers Elvis the lead role in her upcoming film A Star Is Born. Elvis is interested, but on the advice of his manager Colonel Parker, he demands too much money and top billing, so Kris Kristofferson is chosen for the role instead.
1964 Heavyweight boxing champ Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) hits #102 in the US with his cover of "Stand By Me."
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