Calendar Search Results: hit with the way
July 9, 1988 Cheap Trick, hitless since the '70s, go to #1 in America with "The Flame," joining the power ballad party of the late '80s.More
July 6, 1988 MTV refuses to play Neil Young's video for "This Note's For You," citing a policy against videos that mention products. The video is a parody of various ad campaigns, with lyrics mentioning Coke, Pepsi, Miller and Bud.More
June 29, 1987 The Living Daylights, the first James Bond film to star Timothy Dalton as 007, premieres in London. The theme song was written and performed by a-ha, who are unable to attend. The film's composer, John Barry, is asked about the Norwegian band and calls them "Hitler Youth."More
June 27, 1987 Whitney Houston charts her fourth #1 on the Hot 100 with "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)," the debut single from her second album.More
June 2, 1987 Whitney Houston's second album, Whitney, is released. It contains four #1 hits, including the enduring "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)."More
September 13, 1986 The Communards hit #1 in the UK with their cover of "Don't Leave Me This Way," an American #1 for Thelma Houston in 1977. Their version becomes the top-selling UK single of 1986.
August 22, 1986 The movie Stand By Me is released in theaters. It's based on a novella by Stephen King called The Body, but director Rob Reiner decides to name it after the famous song to play up the friendship storyline and keep it from sounding like a slasher film.More
May 16, 1986 Top Gun hits theaters with a soundtrack that includes the Kenny Loggins action theme "Danger Zone" and the Berlin love ballad "Take My Breath Away." Both songs are huge hits, continuing a trend of blockbuster movies debuting popular tunes.
November 2, 1985 The Miami Vice soundtrack album, featuring the #1-hit theme song, tops the albums chart in America, ushering in a new age of TV soundtracks.More
July 27, 1985 At Albert's Hall in Toronto, the blind 19-year-old guitar sensation Jeff Healey joins Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins on stage for a rousing jam session that gets a lot of press. Healey quickly forms The Jeff Healey Band, which gets signed to Arista Records and has a hit in 1988 with "Angel Eyes." They also appear in the movie Road House, playing the house band where Patrick Swayze's character works as a bouncer.
August 10, 1984 Red Hot Chili Peppers release their self-titled debut album, an arduous collaboration with producer Andy Gill of the British rock band Gang of Four.More
May 28, 1983 Apple's Steve Wozniak hosts the second US Festival, intending it to be the "Super Bowl of rock." The lineup is even more impressive than that of its 1982 predecessor, and the attendance is substantially larger. Wozniak splurges on David Bowie with two million dollars of his own money, simply because he "really loves him."More
May 29, 1982 Paul McCartney's Tug Of War begins a three-week run at #1 in the US; it's his first album to top the chart since Wings broke up. The album features the chart-topping hit "Ebony And Ivory," a duet with Stevie Wonder, as well as the #10 single "Take It Away" and the John Lennon tribute "Here Today."
August 13, 1981 Soft Cell perform their hit "Tainted Love" on the UK show Top Of The Pops with lead singer Marc Almond wearing makeup and jewelry. It's a striking visual that sets new fashion standards in electronic music and paves the way for Culture Club.
August 1, 1981 MTV goes on the air, bringing music videos to the masses - at least the ones with cable.More
March 28, 1981 Blondie's "Rapture" hits #1 on the Hot 100, becoming the first chart-topper with a rap.More
October 13, 1980 Ashanti is born Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas in Glen Cove, New York. She has a series of hits in the early '00s both as a lead artist ("Foolish," "Only U") and in collaborations with the likes of Ja Rule ("Always On Time") and Fat Joe ("What's Luv?").
August 19, 1980 "The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow becomes the first rap single certified Gold.More
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
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
July 12, 1979 It's "Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park, where the White Sox and Tigers are playing a doubleheader. The plan is to blow up a bunch of disco albums between games, but it goes horribly wrong when fans become unruly and rush the field, forcing the White Sox to forfeit the second game.More
March 22, 1978 A Beatles parody special called The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash, airs on ABC. The special stars various members of the Monty Python troupe. It also features cameo appearances by George Harrison, Mick Jagger, Paul Simon and many Saturday Night Live cast members. More
January 28, 1978 The Doobie Brothers star in the first of a two-part episode of What's Happening! where they teach the kids why bootlegging is bad.More
April 9, 1977 ABBA goes to #1 on the US singles chart with "Dancing Queen," the group's seventh US Top 40 hit and first #1. The song is also a #1 in the UK and 12 other countries.More
June 1, 1976 The Runaways release their eponymous debut album. Billed as the first all-female hard-rock band, the disc has little domestic success, peaking at #194, but the band are hugely successful in Japan, hitting the #1 spot with their single "Cherry Bomb."
April 12, 1976 Bob Seger, beloved in Michigan but an obscurity elsewhere, releases Live Bullet, which captures the intensity of his live performances and makes him a national act.More
December 29, 1975 Time magazine introduces the phrase "Sex Rock" in an article taking aim at Donna Summer's "Love To Love You Baby."More
November 26, 1975 DJ Khaled is born Khaled Mohammed Khaled in New Orleans to Palestinian parents. He's known for bringing together top artists in high-energy productions. In 2017 he lands a #1 hit with "I'm the One," which features Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne.
November 16, 1975 The variety show Donny & Marie, starring Donny and Marie Osmond, debuts on ABC. Their theme song is "May Tomorrow Be A Perfect Day," but the show becomes synonymous with a different tune: "A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock N' Roll." More
October 27, 1975 Bruce Springsteen appears on the covers of both Time and Newsweek amid acclaim for his third album, Born To Run.More
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