March 17, 1987 Reacting to a Beastie Boys concert three weeks earlier where the group used a giant inflatable penis as a stage prop and encouraged girls in the crowd to bare their breasts, the city of Columbus, Georgia passes an anti-lewdness law prohibiting nudity, simulated sex, and objectionable language at any show attended by minors.More
March 9, 1987 U2 release their fifth studio album, The Joshua Tree. The first two singles, "With Or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," climb to #1 in America. The album becomes their first #1 in that country, and takes the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.More
March 8, 1987 The day before releasing The Joshua Tree, U2 debut two songs from the album - "Exit" and "In God's Country" - on the BBC show The Old Grey Whistle Test. Also on the show is a young Irish singer named Sinead O'Connor with her first live TV performance.
February 22, 1987 Pop artist Andy Warhol, former manager of The Velvet Underground and designer for The Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers album cover, dies of a cardiac arrhythmia following gallbladder surgery.
February 19, 1987 At the Palomino Club in Hollywood, John Fogerty, Bob Dylan and George Harrison are in the audience for a Taj Mahal concert. When Taj calls them onstage, Dylan goads Fogerty into playing "Proud Mary" by saying that if he doesn't, everyone will think it's a Tina Turner song.More
February 15, 1987 Ben and Jerry's introduces a new flavor: Cherry Garcia, named after the Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia.More
December 20, 1986 Thanks to its use in the movie of the same name, Ben E. King's "Stand By Me," originally released in 1961, reaches #9 in the US.
December 15, 1986 At the Oakland Coliseum Arena, the Grateful Dead play their first concert since frontman Jerry Garcia slipped into a diabetic coma six months earlier. With Garcia's heath scare, it was unclear if the band would continue, but Garcia reassures fans with the opening number, "Touch Of Grey," as he sings, "I will get by. I will survive."
November 29, 1986 "You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi goes to #1 in the US, giving the group their first big hit. It's written by group leaders Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora along with an outside writer, Desmond Child, whose monster choruses can be heard on "I Was Made For Lovin' You" by Kiss and "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" by Aerosmith. Bon Jovi's next single is "Livin' On A Prayer," written by the same trio.
October 24, 1986 Aubrey Drake Graham is born in Toronto. After a stint on the TV show Degrassi: The Next Generation, he becomes a superstar rapper under the name Drake.
October 13, 1986 Neil Young headlines the first Bridge School benefit concert in support of the non-profit institution that provides education for children with verbal and physical disabilities. Young and his wife Pegi co-founded the school when their son, Ben, was born with cerebral palsy. The all-acoustic concert - featuring performances by Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Tom Petty, and a reunited Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - turns into an annual event that adds many more big-name acts to the roster, including regular guests Pearl Jam.More
September 26, 1986 In Solna, Sweden, Metallica play their last show with bass player Cliff Burton, who dies when the band's tour bus crashes on the way to the next stop. The last song is "Blitzkrieg."
August 29, 1986 Madonna stars in the movie Shanghai Surprise, which bombs at the box office and is pilloried by critics. The film is produced by George Harrison's production company, HandMade Films. He says of the star, "She doesn't have a sense of humor, which is unfortunate, because it was a comedy."
July 27, 1986 Nancy Wilson (of Heart) marries screenwriter Cameron Crowe at her sister Ann's home. They remain married until 2010.
July 20, 1986 Sid and Nancy, the biopic about The Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious, premieres. Gary Oldman stars as Vicious.
July 3, 1986 Bono's 26-year-old personal assistant Greg Carroll is killed in a motorcycle act while running an errand in Dublin. U2's next album, The Joshua Tree, is dedicated to Carroll, who inspired the song "One Tree Hill."
June 17, 1986 Longtime radio personality Kate Smith dies of respiratory arrest at age 79 after years of struggling with diabetic complications.
June 14, 1986 Patti LaBelle lands her first solo #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with "On My Own," a duet with ex-Doobie Brother Michael McDonald. It holds the top spot for three weeks and also goes to #1 on the R&B chart.
June 4, 1986 The first of a six-date Conspiracy of Hope tour is held at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. The concerts benefit Amnesty International and celebrate the human rights organization's 25th anniversary. The shows are headlined by U2 and Sting, and also feature Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Joan Baez, and The Neville Brothers.
May 31, 1986 Genesis enter the Hot 100 with "Invisible Touch," joining four acts by current or former members of the group on the chart.More
May 25, 1986 It's Hands Across America, as millions of Americans form a human chain from New York to Santa Monica to raise money for hunger relief. The project is organized by the same guy who put together "We Are The World," but the theme song is far less ambitious.More
May 19, 1986 Former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel transitions from cult performer to pop star with the release of his fifth solo album, So, which includes the hit single "Sledgehammer."More
May 3, 1986 Propelled by a memorable video where lookalike models vamp the song, Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love" hits #1 on the Hot 100.More
April 19, 1986 You don't have to watch Dynasty to have an attitude: Prince hits #1 in the US with "Kiss." The #2 song is "Manic Monday" by the Bangles, which he wrote.More
April 7, 1986 Sade makes the cover of Time magazine under the headline Pop's Smooth Operator. The article lauds her as "a new princess of pop" with a "sophisticated sound, elegant look."More
March 28, 1986 Stefani Germanotta enters the world in New York City. She is born this way, but rises to fame under the name Lady Gaga.
February 28, 1986 The movie Pretty In Pink, based on the Psychedelic Furs song but with a very distorted interpretation of the lyric, is released in theaters.More
February 26, 1986 Thanks to their hit "West End Girls," Pet Shop Boys land the cover of Smash Hits magazine, which their frontman, Neil Tennant, used to write for.More
February 4, 1986 Janet Jackson, 19, asserts her independence on her third album, Control, where she takes on much of the songwriting and production. With five big hits, including the #1 "When I Think of You," it vaults her into a league with her brother Michael.More
January 25, 1986 Albert Grossman, manager to Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin, dies of a heart attack at age 59.
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