Calendar Search Results: na songs
January 23, 1986 The first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame include Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Fats Domino.More
January 20, 1986 After years of campaigning to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday, Stevie Wonder commemorates the occasion with a star-studded concert celebration in Washington, D.C.More
December 23, 1985 Reno, Nevada residents James Vance, 20 and Raymond Belknap, 18, shoot themselves in a suicide pact after spending hours drinking, smoking marijuana and listening to Judas Priest's Stained Class album. A lawsuit filed by their families claims the track "Better By You, Better Than Me" contains subliminal messages encouraging the suicides, but the case is dismissed.
December 12, 1985 Ian Stewart, the original keyboard player for The Rolling Stones, dies of a heart attack in London, England, at age 47. Stewart stepped down from the group because his image didn't suit them. He became the group's road manager and played on some of their songs.
November 8, 1985 Miles Davis guest stars on Miami Vice, playing a pimp named Ivory Jones.More
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
November 2, 1985 "Part-Time Lover" hits #1 on the Hot 100, 22 years after Stevie Wonder first topped the chart in 1963.More
November 1, 1985 The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) agrees to some demands made by another initialed organization, the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). As a result, any album deemed to contain offensive lyrics must be issued with a warning label, or the lyrics must be printed on the sleeve. Most record companies go with the labels, which don't seem to hurt sales.More
October 9, 1985 On what would have been John Lennon's 45th birthday, a section of Central Park in New York City is christened "Strawberry Fields" in his memory.More
October 5, 1985 Brian Keenan, drummer of the Chambers Brothers, dies from a heart attack at 42 years old in Winsted, Connecticut.
September 25, 1985 Diana Ortiz (of Dream) is born in San Fernando Valley, California.
September 22, 1985 The first Farm Aid concert plays in Champaign, Illinois, to benefit American farmers trying to survive amidst a national agricultural crisis.More
September 19, 1985 Frank Zappa, John Denver and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister testify at a Senate hearing where the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) argue for a ratings system on music. The musicians explain that this is censorship, but the PMRC wins a victory and warning labels are ordered on albums containing explicit lyrics.More
September 7, 1985 For the first time in the Rock Era, the top three songs on the Hot 100 were all written for movies: #1: "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" by John Parr #2: "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis & the News (from Back to the Future) #3: "We Don't Need Another Hero" by Tina Turner (from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome)
August 14, 1985 Three years after their duet "The Girl Is Mine," Paul McCartney advises Michael Jackson to invest in publishing. Jackson makes a winning bid of $47.5 million for the rights to over 250 Lennon-McCartney Beatles songs owned by ATV publishing, which turns out to be a great investment, but kills their friendship.More
July 13, 1985 The Live Aid concerts take place in Philadelphia and London to raise money for the hungry in Africa. The Beach Boys, The Four Tops, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Elton John, David Bowie, The Who, Queen, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan all take part.More
July 10, 1985 Tina Turner stars opposite Mel Gibson in the post-apocalyptic action flick Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Turner sings two hit songs for the movie: "One Of The Living" and "We Don't Need Another Hero."More
July 3, 1985 Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox as a time-traveling teenager, opens in theaters. When he plays "Johnny B. Goode" in 1955 at the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance, he gives birth to rock and roll. In the real-life present, a new generation gets a lesson in Chuck Berry from the scene.More
June 7, 1985 The movie Perfect debuts in theaters, starring John Travolta as a Rolling Stone reporter who falls for aerobics instructor Jamie Lee Curtis. While the drama is a dud with critics, it portrays Rolling Stone as more than a music magazine – which is exactly what its editor-in-chief Jann Wenner hoped. More
May 18, 1985 After repeated attempts to break through in America, Simple Minds go to #1 with "Don't You (Forget About Me)," which is used in the movie The Breakfast Club.More
May 14, 1985 Ronald Reagan presents Michael Jackson with a special Presidential Humanitarian Award at the White House for his work against drunk driving. Footage of the ceremony is shown repeatedly when Jackson comes into legal trouble in the following years.
May 13, 1985 The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) holds a meeting in a Washington church where they foment support for their agenda: a ratings system for albums and concerts like those used for movies, and also to keep offensive album covers out of view in record stores. Their efforts lead to warning stickers on albums with offensive lyrics.More
April 10, 1985 Madonna begins her first tour, the Virgin Tour, in Seattle. Her opening act is a petulant, little-known white rap trio called the Beastie Boys, which gets booed throughout their set.
April 7, 1985 Wham! become the first Western pop group to play in China when they perform at the Worker's Gymnasium in Beijing. Footage from their trip appears in the video for their song "Freedom."More
March 25, 1985 Stevie Wonder accepts the Oscar for Best Original Song "in the name of Nelson Mandela."More
March 7, 1985 The song "We are the World" is released as a single, soon achieving massive chart success all around the world. The song, written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, is recorded for charity to help battle famine in Africa. The supergroup USA for Africa brought together for the recording features a stunning list of big names in music - everyone from Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan to Ray Charles, Cyndi Lauper and Dionne Warwick.
February 25, 1985 British synthpop duo Tears For Fears release their sophomore album, Songs From The Big Chair, featuring the hits "Shout" and "Everybody Wants To Rule The World."More
January 29, 1985 The "We Are The World" soloists, including Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross and Bob Dylan, stumble into the morning light after an all-night recording session with producer Quincy Jones.
January 28, 1985 With the stars in town for the American Music Awards, "We Are The World" is recorded in Los Angeles, with cameras rolling for the video.More
January 22, 1985 Singer/songwriter Orianthi Panagaris is born in Adelaide, Australia. She was slated to be Michael Jackson's lead guitarist for his This Is It concert series.
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