18 MAY
Featured Events
1999 Backstreet Boys release their third album (second in America), Millennium, with the hits "I Want It That Way" and "Larger than Life." Primarily produced by Max Martin, it sells over 13 million in America and many more worldwide.
1995 Bette Midler stars in the Seinfeld episode "The Understudy."
1985 After repeated attempts to break through in America, Simple Minds go to #1 with "Don't You (Forget About Me)," which is used in the movie The Breakfast Club.More
1981 After nearly 20 years with Motown Records, Diana Ross leaves the label and signs a record $20 million contract with RCA. Her hit duet "Endless Love" is released on Motown in August even though she has left the label.
1975 Surfer/musician Jack Johnson is born on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii.
1974 Giving the streaking craze full exposure, Ray Stevens hits #1 in America with his novelty song "The Streak."
1963 "If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife..." Jimmy Soul's marriage advice anthem hits #1 in America.
1952 Country singer George Strait is born in Poteet, Texas.
18 MAY
In Music History
2020 Country singer Travis McCready holds the first post-pandemic concert at Temple Live in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Fans are spaced out in "pods," required to wear masks, and have their temperatures taken before they are admitted.
2014 Italian-American singer Jerry Vale dies at home in Palm Desert, California, at age 83.
2012 Rihanna makes her big-screen acting debut playing a naval weapons specialist in the action/sci-fi movie Battleship. It earns her a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress.
2007 Amy Winehouse marries Blake Fielder at a secret ceremony in Miami.
2006 Andy Capps (drummer for Built To Spill) is found dead at age 37 in his Idaho home. No cause of death is given.
2004 Clint Warwick (original bassist for The Moody Blues) dies at age 63 of liver disease.
2004 Jazz drummer Elvin Jones (of The John Coltrane Quartet) dies of heart failure at age 76.
2004 Lenny Kravitz releases his seventh album, Baptism.
2002 The Barry Manilow Ultimate Manilow special airs on CBS.
2001 The movie Shrek is released, reviving the songs "Hallelujah" (sung on the soundtrack by Rufus Wainwright) and "I'm a Believer" (performed by Smash Mouth in the rave-up at the end of the film).
1999 Jamaican record producer Augustus Pablo, known for his influential 1976 album King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown, dies at age 44 of a collapsed lung.
1996 Brad Nowell of Sublime marries Troy Dendekker, the mother of his son, Jakob. He dies of a drug overdose a week later.
1996 Soundgarden perform for the first (and only) time on Saturday Night Live, playing "Pretty Noose" and "Burden In My Hand." Jim Carrey hosts.
1992 Sister Souljah, a rapper associated with the group Public Enemy, is quoted in The Washington Post saying, "If black people kill black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people?" It becomes a big moment in American politics when Bill Clinton denounces the comment, risking support from black voters. Clinton goes on to win the presidential election.
1991 Bananarama release Pop Life, their first album without bandmate Siobhan Fahey, who left the group in 1988 amid tensions over their pop-oriented image. It's also their last release as a trio. Jacquie O'Sullivan replaces Fahey on the album, but leaves later that year due to the press constantly comparing her with the former 'Nana.
Joy Division Singer Ian Curtis Commits Suicide
1980Battling epilepsy and depression, Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis hangs himself at his home in England.
Curtis's death culminates a lengthy struggle with depression. He has made two prior attempts on his own life, cutting his wrists and - just a month earlier - overdosing on his epilepsy medication. The singer has long suffered in silence with epilepsy, keeping it secret even from the other band members until he had a serious fit in December 1978 on the way home from a performance. His unique convulsive dancing style echoes the effects of his seizures, blurring the lines between performance and pain. His condition is exacerbated by flashing lights, over-stimulation and alcohol consumption, all of which are closely associated with life on the road. Medication prescribed by his doctor results in wild mood swings that seriously affect his mental health and personal relationships. Suspecting her husband of having an affair with Belgian journalist Annik Honoré and struggling to come to terms with his increasingly erratic behavior, Curtis's wife Deborah has commenced divorce proceedings. While she is away at work, and their young daughter Natalie is staying with her parents, he listens to Iggy Pop's album The Idiot (1977) and writes her a long letter, saying "I just can't cope any more." His body is found in the morning by Deborah in their tiny kitchen, hanged with the line from a clothes airer. He is cremated the following day, his memorial stone inscribed with the date of his death and the title of Joy Division's best known song "Love Will Tear Us Apart."
Categories
©2024 Songfacts®, LLC
Comments
send your comment