12 October

Pick a Day

12 OCTOBER

In Music History

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2018 The biographical film First Man, inspired by the life of astronaut Neil Armstrong, debuts in US theaters. R&B singer Leon Bridges appears as jazz musician Gil Scott-Heron, reciting the poem "Whitey On The Moon."

2013 Pharrell Williams marries the model Helen Lasichanh. She inspires several tracks on his 2014 album, G I R L, including the song "It Girl."

2011 Joel 'Taz' DiGregorio, keyboard player in the Charlie Daniels Band, is killed in a car accident before the band's gig at the Cumming Country Fair in Tennessee. DiGregorio, who was 67 at the time of his death, co-wrote many songs with the group, including "The Devil Went Down To Georgia."

2011 Paul Leka, songwriter, pianist, arranger and orchestrator, dies of lung cancer in Sharon, Connecticut, at age 68. Co-wrote the '60s hits "Green Tambourine" and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye."

2009 Justin Bieber, 16, meets 14-year-old fan Hailey Baldwin (daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin) backstage at the Today show. Years later they start dating, and in 2018 they get married.

2009 Blue Cheer singer/bassist Dickie Peterson dies from liver cancer at the age of 63, in Erkelenz, Germany.

2009 Michael Jackson's from-the-vaults track "This Is It" is released as a promotional single to accompany the concert documentary of the same name. It's the first release since his death in June.More

2003 The blind Puerto Rican singer Jose Feliciano performs the "The Star Spangled Banner" for the first time since his flavorful rendition at a Tigers/Cardinals World Series game in 1968. His performance in Miami at the Marlins/Cubs playoff goes off without incident.

2003 Rapper 50 Cent takes home all five trophies for which he is nominated at the World Music Awards, held in Monaco. Russian teen duo t.A.T.u. picks up three awards, while Norah Jones and Eminem win two.

2002 Faith Hill is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, hosted by Sarah Michelle Gellar, and performs "Cry" and "Free."

2002 Court-TV's crime documentary series Forensic Files depicts the murder of Walter Scott, lead singer of the '60s rock 'n' roll band Bob Kuban & the In-Men. Scott disappeared in 1983 and his body was found hidden in a cistern four years later, leading to the arrest of his widow's new husband.

2002 Bandleader/arranger Ray Conniff dies after he slips in his bathtub in Escondido, California, at age 85.

2001 Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland quits the band. A post on the group's website states, "Limp Bizkit and Wes Borland have amicably decided to part ways. Both Limp Bizkit and Borland will continue to pursue their respective musical careers." He returns in 2009.

1999 David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young (Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young) appear at New York's Madison Square Garden to announce their forthcoming album and CSNY2K tour.

1999 Frank Frost, Delta blues harmonica player, dies of a cardiac arrest in Helena, Arkansas, at age 63.

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INXS Release Breakthrough Album Kick

1987

INXS release their breakthrough album Kick, with the hits "Need You Tonight," "Devil Inside" and "New Sensation."

Kick is the Australian band's sixth album, capping a steady rise since they first started playing in clubs 10 years earlier. Unlike their previous albums, every song is written by the team of lead singer Michael Hutchence and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Farriss, with Farriss melding music to Hutchence's lyrics and vocal melodies. The group is already huge in Australia, where their last two albums went to #1. Elsewhere, they're mostly known for their 1985 single "What You Need." The songs from Kick go in some strange musical directions that don't align with pop music trends of the day, so it's not clear how it will be received. The focus is on America, so their label, Atlantic, pushes the first single, "Need You Tonight," to college radio and sends the band on a campus tour (the "Kick-off" tour) that takes them to places like the University of Rhode Island, Shippensburg University, and the University of Connecticut. The single is a huge hit with the college crowd, so Atlantic puts their promotional weight behind it, getting the song on pop radio and the video on MTV, which is more than happy to spin it. In January 1988, the song climbs to #1 on the Hot 100; when the band returns to America in March, it's to play arenas in major cities. The hits keep coming: "Devil Inside," "New Sensation" and "Never Tear Us Apart" keep the band on the US charts throughout 1988; Kick goes on to sell 6 million copies in that country. The UK is a tougher nut to crack, but INXS finally break it open at the end of 1988 when a remix of "Need You Tonight" climbs to #2. Now bona fide superstars on the level of U2, the group dives headlong into the perquisites of their success, with parties after every show. Hutchence becomes a tabloid sensation, with lots of famous friends and a string of high-profile girlfriends, including Kylie Minogue and Helena Christensen. When it's time to make music again, Hutchence goes in a different direction, forming an electronic group called Max Q with some longtime friends and releasing an album on Atlantic in 1989. The label, eager to get Hutchence working again with INXS, does little to promote it, and most outside of Australia never know it exists. The next INXS album is X, released in 1990 with the hit "Suicide Blonde." The group goes through a number of tribulations over the next few years, convening for three more albums before Hutchence is found dead in 1997 in what is ruled a suicide. The band continues on with various lead singers over the years.

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