Calendar Search Results: ding song
December 28, 1981 The cost of a two song 45-rpm single reaches $1.98 (about the same as the cost of downloading two songs today).
October 2, 1981 The Police's fourth album is the last in a sequence of four annual autumn releases. The title, Ghost in the Machine, is taken from a psychology book by Arthur Koestler and breaks their erstwhile tradition of giving their records French-sounding titles. It is a #2 hit in the US, led by the hit single "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic."
September 25, 1981 The Rolling Stones start their US tour with a concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, where they play to a crowd of 90,000. The tour is sponsored by musk maker Jovan, establishing a new paradigm for corporate involvement.More
September 18, 1981 Genesis release their "abstract" album, Abacab, in the UK.More
August 1, 1981 MTV goes on the air, bringing music videos to the masses - at least the ones with cable.More
May 10, 1981 Kraftwerk release their eighth studio album, Computer World, featuring prescient songs about the influence of computers on society.More
May 8, 1981 Lionel Richie and Diana Ross meet at a Reno, Nevada recording studio at 3:30 a.m., where they record vocals for "Endless Love," needed quickly so it can be inserted into the film of the same name. Richie flew in from Los Angeles; Ross drove up after her concert in Lake Tahoe. The song becomes one of the biggest hits of the decade.
February 17, 1981 Eric Clapton releases his seventh solo album, Another Ticket. The first version was rejected by his record company so Clapton started over with a new producer (Tom Dowd) and wrote new songs, including the hit single "I Can't Stand It."
February 12, 1981 Riding the (permanent) wave of their previous album, Rush release Moving Pictures. Featuring "Tom Sawyer," "Limelight" and "YYZ," it becomes the best-selling album in the Rush discography. "The Camera Eye" is the last 10-minute-long song Rush ever record in the studio.
January 20, 1981 Fifty-two American hostages are freed after being held in Iran for 444 days, ending a tense political crisis. The Kool & the Gang song "Celebration," which is climbing the charts, provides the soundtrack, matching the mood. On February 7, the song hits #1 and stays for two weeks.
January 12, 1981 The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) donates several rock albums to the Library of Congress, including Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and KISS' Alive!
December 25, 1980 Michael Jackson calls Paul McCartney to wish him Merry Christmas and suggest they write some songs together. They end up recording three duets together (including the lead single to Thriller), but their friendship ends when Jackson buys the publishing rights to many of the Beatles songs co-written by McCartney.More
December 19, 1980 9 to 5, starring Dolly Parton and featuring the classic theme song by the singer (where she uses her fingernails as an instrument), opens in theaters. Parton, in her first acting role, stars alongside Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda as disgruntled secretaries who get even with their sexist boss.More
December 8, 1980 John Lennon, 40 years old, is shot and killed outside his apartment in New York City.More
October 26, 1980 While recording the band's latest album, Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship is taken to LA's Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after he (correctly) suspects he's having a brain hemorrhage. His wife initially doesn't believe him, but eventually calls the hospital's front desk, requesting "would you please get an ambulance for this asshole?" He recovers after two weeks' hospitalization.
October 8, 1980 Prince releases his third album, Dirty Mind. The title hints at the lascivious songs within, including "Head" and "Sister." The biggest hit from the set is the modest "Uptown," which goes to #5 on the R&B chart.
October 3, 1980 Diamond Head, one of the leading bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, issue their debut album, Lightning To The Nations. Mega-DH fans Metallica cover five of the album's seven songs over the years: "Am I Evil?", "Helpless," "The Prince," "It's Electric," and "Sucking My Love." Other NWOBHM bands like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Saxon eclipse Diamond Head in terms of popularity, but the Metallica covers speak to their influence and ensure their place in history.
August 19, 1980 "The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow becomes the first rap single certified Gold.More
August 8, 1980 The fantasy musical Xanadu, starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly, debuts to scathing reviews ("In a word, Xana-don't.") and inspires the Golden Raspberry Awards for the worst films of the year. But it has a killer soundtrack thanks to "Magic."More
July 25, 1980 AC/DC release Back In Black, their first album without lead singer Bon Scott, who died five months earlier.More
June 16, 1980 The movie The Blues Brothers, adapted from John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd's classic SNL skit, premieres in Chicago. A love letter of sorts to '60s R&B and soul, it will help re-establish the careers of its musical co-stars, including James Brown, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin.
June 6, 1980 Urban Cowboy, a Western romance film starring John Travolta and Debra Winger, opens in theaters. The mellow country soundtrack spawns hits from Kenny Rogers, Johnny Lee, and Anne Murray, and spurs a trend of pop-leaning fare in country music dubbed the "Urban Cowboy Movement."More
May 18, 1980 Battling epilepsy and depression, Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis hangs himself at his home in England.More
March 22, 1980 Pink Floyd tops the Hot 100 with "Another Brick In The Wall (part II)," which stays a total of four weeks. It's a rare hit single for the band, whose only other Top 40 appearance is "Money," which hit #13 in 1973.More
March 20, 1980 At Asylum Records in New York, 28-year-old Joseph Riviera holds employees at gunpoint, demanding to talk to either Jackson Browne or one of the Eagles. When informed that they lived in California, Riviera pockets his pistol and leaves the building, later surrendering to police.
March 19, 1980 In proceedings against the doctor who supplied the prescription drugs that killed Elvis Presley, Elvis' autopsy is entered as evidence. Dr. George Nichopoulos, who was known as "Dr. Nick" is eventually found guilty of overprescribing the drugs.
February 7, 1980 At the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Pink Floyd stage the first production of The Wall, an immersive concert performance in which a giant wall is erected on stage as the band plays, representing the alienation between audience and performer.More
February 4, 1980 The Ramones release their fifth album, End of the Century, produced by Phil Spector. Dee Dee Ramone claims Spector pulled a gun on him during the sessions.More
December 21, 1979 Willie Nelson makes his acting debut in the Sydney Pollack film The Electric Horseman, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. He also sings five songs for the soundtrack, including the #1 country hit "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys."More
December 3, 1979 Daniel Bedingfield is born in New Zealand. He is the older brother of fellow singers Natasha Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle.
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