8 NOVEMBER
In Music History
1994 A memorial service is held for legendary guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith, late of the MC5 and The Sonics, at Mariner's Church in Detroit.
1989 SZA is born Solána Rowe in St. Louis, Missouri. She studies marine biology and holds down a series of odd jobs before making it big as a singer and songwriter.
1988 Jerry Lee Lewis declares bankruptcy.
1987 The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson marries his second wife, Gina Martin, daughter of legendary crooner Dean Martin.
1987 Generating footage for their Rattle and Hum documentary, U2 play a free "Save the Yuppie" concert at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco. An arrest warrant is issued for Bono after he spray paints "Rock n Roll Stops Traffic" on a fountain sculpture.
1986 At the Country Club in Los Angeles, California, Metallica play their first show with bassist Jason Newsted, the replacement for Cliff Burton, who was killed in a tour bus accident in September.
1977 Suzi Quatro makes her first of seven appearances on the TV series Happy Days, playing tough-yet-adorable Leather Tuscadero, the little sister of Fonzie's ex-girlfriend Pinky. Quatro was raised in Michigan but little known in America; in the UK, she's a star, with two #1 hits: "Devil Gate Drive" and "Can The Can."
1977 Country singer Bucky Covington is born William Joel Covington III, along with identical twin brother Robert, in Rockingham, North Carolina. Bucky will go on to compete on Season 5 of American Idol, taking eighth place.
1977 At the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, Elvis Costello performs his debut album, My Aim Is True, with the band Clover, which backed him on the album. Members of Clover go on to form Huey Lewis & the News.
1976 George Harrison releases The Best Of George Harrison.
1975 John Lennon names his good friend Elton John the godfather of his new son, Sean.
1975 David Bowie makes his US television debut on the CBS variety show Cher, performing "Fame." Bowie also sings a medley of tracks with Cher.
1975 Elton John's album Rock Of The Westies hits #1 in America. It's his third #1 album of 1975, following Elton John's Greatest Hits and Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.
1974 R&B singer-songwriter Ivory Joe Hunter dies of lung cancer at age 60. Chart-topping hits include "Pretty Mama Blues" (1947), "I Almost Lost My Mind" (1949), "I Need You So" (1950), and "Since I Met You Baby" (1956).
1973 Bob Dylan records "Forever Young" and "On A Night Like This."
Eminem Stars In 8 Mile
20028 Mile, a semi-biographical look at Eminem's early days as a struggling rapper in Detroit, opens in theaters. The film is a critical and commercial success, and Eminem's "Lose Yourself" becomes the first rap song to win the Oscar for Best Original Song.
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Featured Events
2016 Despite strident support from a passel of stars, including Katy Perry, Barbra Streisand and Bruce Springsteen, Hillary Clinton loses the US presidential election to Donald Trump, whose supporters include Ted Nugent, Loretta Lynn and Wayne Newton. Miley Cyrus, who said she would move if Trump was elected, decides to stay in the country.
2014 As artists realize they can get paid to go on cruises, many take advantage of the opportunity, including the country duo Florida Georgia Line, who conveniently have a hit song called "Cruise."More
1994 Sonny Bono, half of Sonny and Cher and former mayor of Palm Springs, Calfornia, is elected to the US House of Representatives, representing the 44th district in California.
1986 It doesn't have a music video, but "Amanda" by Boston still gets to #1 in America, giving the band their only chart-topper.
1985 Miles Davis guest stars on Miami Vice, playing a pimp named Ivory Jones.More
1974 Connie Francis, who was one of the biggest stars of the '60s, is attacked in her Howard Johnson's hotel room and raped at knifepoint. Devastated by the attack, she doesn't perform for another seven years. Two years later, she is awarded more than $2 million in her lawsuit against the hotel chain.
1971 Led Zeppelin IV - the one with "Stairway To Heaven" - is released.More
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