17 NOVEMBER
In Music History
1995 Folk rocker Alan Hull (of Lindisfarne) dies suddenly of heart thrombosis at age 50.
1995 The Monkees, sans Mike Nesmith, guest star on the Boy Meets World episode "Rave On," with Peter Tork playing Topanga's father, Jedediah Lawrence.
1994 Bob Dylan begins taping his episode of MTV's Unplugged at New York's Sony Studios.
1993 Ritchie Blackmore plays a concert in Helsinki with Deep Purple, then quits the band for the second and final time, in the middle of a tour.
1992 Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago, former members of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, are awarded $4 million in back royalties from a music publisher for their 1956 hit "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?"
1992 Metallica release their two-part home video, A Year And A Half In The Life Of Metallica.
1992 Kenny G releases Breathless, which sells over 12 million copies in America to become the best-selling mostly instrumental album in history (two of the tracks have vocals).
1990 While speeding without a helmet, David Crosby (of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) crashes his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Los Angeles, breaking his shoulder, left leg, and ankle.
1987 Metallica issue their first home video, Cliff 'Em All, which is comprised of both fan-filmed and pro-shot live performances prior to bass player Cliff Burton's death in a tour bus accident.
1986 Thanks to the hit "You're The Voice," John Farnham's album Whispering Jack goes to #1 in Australia, where it spends an astounding 25 (non-consecutive) weeks.
1984 Ten weeks after its first appearance in the Hot 100 at #80, Wham!'s single "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" reaches #1. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley hold their lead for three weeks.
1980 Isaac Hanson (of Hanson), the oldest in the trio of brothers, is born Clarke Isaac Hanson in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
1980 John Lennon releases Double Fantasy. A few weeks later, he is shot and killed, and the album quickly goes to #1 in many countries.
1980 The annual "Royal Command Performance" in London features Aretha Franklin and Sammy Davis Jr. singing for England's Queen Elizabeth II.
1979 The Commodores' "Still" hits #1.
Lou Reed Song Released As Charity Single With Bono, Bowie, Elton John
1997An all-star rendition of Lou Reed's 1972 song "Perfect Day" featuring Reed, Elton John, David Bowie, Tammy Wynette, Joan Armatrading and several other stars, is released as a single in the UK, with proceeds going to the BBC's Children In Need charity. It debuts at #1 on the UK singles chart and raises over £2 million for the appeal.
Read more17 NOVEMBER
Featured Events
2007 Twenty-eight years after their last #1 album (The Long Run), the Eagles return to the top spot in America with Long Road Out Of Eden, a double album initially sold only at Walmart for the bargain price of $11.88. The group released the album on their own label, allowing them to keep a hearty chunk of the profits.
2000 Cher makes her first appearance on the TV show Will and Grace, in the episode "Gypsies, Tramps and Weed."
1988 Unable to deny his sexual orientation any longer, Elton John divorces from German recording engineer Renate Blauel, whom he married in 1984.
1988 Guns N' Roses get the cover of Rolling Stone with the headline, "Hard-Rock Heroes." The magazine compiled the story that summer when the band was on tour as the opening act for Aerosmith. Aerosmith assumed they were getting the cover, but by the end of the tour, their opening act had become much more popular.More
1979 The Guinness Book of World Records verifies ABBA as the biggest-selling recording group in history.
1966 Jeff Buckley, known as Scott "Scottie" Moorhead to his family, is born in Los Angeles, California.More
1962 The Four Seasons' "Big Girls Don't Cry" hits #1 in the US. It holds the top spot for five weeks.
1960 TV personality RuPaul, known for the hit "Supermodel (You Better Work)" is born RuPaul Andre Charles in San Diego, California.
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