Calendar Search Results: hot song
February 23, 1974 Aretha Franklin becomes the first artist to have songs peak at each of the first 10 spots on the Hot 100 when "Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" fills in the gap at #3.
September 19, 1973 Gram Parsons of The Byrds dies at age 26 after taking a shot of liquid morphine in his room at Joshua Tree Inn. Parsons had been recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, but relapsed during his trip to Joshua Tree National Park. "He was clean and took a strong shot," his friend Keith Richards says. "It's the one mistake you don't want to make."
July 29, 1973 Led Zeppelin has about $180,000 stolen from their safe at the Drake Hotel after a show at Madison Square Garden, an event chronicled in their concert documentary The Song Remains The Same.
June 30, 1973 "It was a hot afternoon, the last day of June," Bobby Goldsboro sings in "Summer (The First Time)."
April 5, 1973 Singer/superproducer Pharrell Williams is born in Virginia Beach, Virginia. As half of the hip-hop production duo The Neptunes, he's a prime architect of the popular music landscape of the 2000s.
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March 8, 1973 Grateful Dead keyboard player Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, a founding member of the band, dies at age 27.More
November 18, 1972 Steely Dan show up on Hot 100 for the first time when their debut single, "Do It Again," enters at #98. It peaks at #6 on February 11, 1973.
October 21, 1972 Chuck Berry lands his only #1 hit on the Hot 100 with "My Ding-a-Ling," a novelty song about... you'll have to read the Songfacts.
May 27, 1972 The Chi-Lites land their first and only #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Oh Girl."
March 25, 1972 America's first single, "A Horse With No Name," rides to #1 on the Hot 100, and the group's self-titled debut album also takes the top spot on the Albums chart. The group becomes one of the most successful acts of the decade, with subsequent hits "Sister Golden Hair," "Ventura Highway" and "Tin Man."
March 25, 1972 Deep Purple's album Machine Head is released in America. Most of it was recorded in their hotel after the Montreux Casino, where they planned to record it, burned down, a story told in the song "Smoke On The Water."More
February 14, 1972 Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty is born to American parents in West Germany.More
December 4, 1971 During a Frank Zappa concert, the Montreux Casino in Switzerland catches fire when someone fires a flare gun, inspiring Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water." Deep Purple are there to record their album Machine Head the following day, but end up using the Grand Hotel and including the song as a last-minute addition.More
December 3, 1971 Deep Purple arrive in Montreux, Switzerland to record their Machine Head album at the Montreux Casino. It doesn't go as planned: The casino burns down the next day and they end up recording in a hotel using the Rolling Stones' mobile unit. They tell the tale in the song "Smoke On The Water."
November 13, 1971 Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song" enters the Hot 100 at #77. The song was written by Paul Williams, who was a popular actor in the '70s and '80s as well as a songwriter.
October 15, 1971 Rick Nelson (formerly Ricky) plays the "Rock & Roll Spectacular" concert at Madison Square Garden. When he plays some newer songs, the hit-hungry audience boos. Nelson writes the song "Garden Party" about the experience, and it becomes a hit, reviving his career.More
September 5, 1971 While Wishbone Ash are on stage at an outdoor concert in Austin, Texas, hot dog vender Francisco Carrasco is shot dead. The tragedy inspires the song "Rock 'N' Roll Widow."
August 28, 1971 John Denver's first hit, "Take Me Home Country Roads," peaks at #2 on the Hot 100, held back by the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?" Denver's song, which endures as a singalong favorite, is about West Virgina, but he had never been there - the lyric was inspired by postcards his co-writer Bill Danoff received from a friend who lived in that state.
August 21, 1971 Inmate George Jackson is shot dead in a bizarre escape attempt at San Quentin prison, prompting the Bob Dylan song "George Jackson."
August 1, 1971 George Harrison hosts the Concert For Bangladesh, the first major charity concert and the precursor to Live Aid. Guests include Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston and Ringo Starr.More
July 6, 1971 Louis Armstrong dies of a heart attack in his sleep in Corona, Queens, New York, a month shy of his 70th birthday. More
June 19, 1971 Carole King's album Tapestry hits #1 in the US, where it stays for 15 weeks.More
February 27, 1971 Janis Joplin's album Pearl hits #1 in the US, where it stays for nine weeks. Joplin died of a heroin overdose three months before the album was released.More
December 26, 1970 George Harrison becomes the first Beatle to top the Hot 100 as a solo artist as "My Sweet Lord" hits #1. The song is inspired by Harrison's spiritual journey: It evokes both the Hindu mantra "Hare Krishna" and the Christian exultation "Hallelujah."
December 21, 1970 Music and politics collide when Elvis Presley meets President Richard Nixon at the White House. A famous photo of the two shaking hands horrifies many Elvis fans.More
November 7, 1970 MGM Records president Mike Curb announces that his label is dumping 18 acts that "exploit and promote hard drugs through music."More
October 30, 1970 Hotlegs (later renamed 10cc) make their concert debut at London's Royal Festival Hall.
June 9, 1970 Bob Dylan receives an honorary Doctorate of Music from Princeton University. Dylan attends the ceremony on a hot day, during which the noise made by 17-year cicadas apparently drowns out his introduction. The experience inspires his 1970 song "Day Of The Locusts."
May 4, 1970 Later memorialized in the Neil Young song "Ohio," the Ohio National Guard fires on protesters at Kent State University, killing four students, two of whom weren't even protesting. This shameful event in American history leads to the formation of Devo, as Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale are both on campus and horrified by the events.More
April 20, 1970 The New York Times reports on "submarine churches" inspired by the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine." Their logos are variations of a submarine with the periscope forming a peace sign.More
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