18 MAY
In Music History
1957 Electronic musician Michael Cretu (of Enigma) is born in Bucharest, Romania.
1950 Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo is born in Akron, Ohio. A prolific composer of TV and film music, his work can be heard in Rugrats, Tiger King, and the Hotel Transylvania franchise.
1949 Bill Wallace (bassist for The Guess Who) is born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
1949 Keyboard player Rick Wakeman is born in London. After making his name as a session musician, he joins Yes in 1971.
1944 Singer-songwriter Albert Hammond is born in London after his family evacuates from Gibraltar during World War II.
1922 Kai Winding, jazz composer and trombonist, is born in Aarhus, Denmark.
1912 Perry Como is born Pierino Ronald Como in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. One of the most popular crooners of the 1940s and 1950s, he also starred in a number of movies and made many TV appearances.
1911 Bluesman Big Joe Turner is born Joseph Vernon Turner Jr in Kansas City, Missouri.
1909 Spanish pianist and composer Isaac Albéniz dies at age 48 of kidney disease.
Simple Minds Hit #1 With Breakfast Club Song
1985After 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.
Read more18 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."
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.
1980 Battling epilepsy and depression, Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis hangs himself at his home in England.More
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.
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