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January 6, 1987 In Australia, Elton John has throat surgery to remove a lesion on his vocal chords, forcing him to cancel his upcoming US tour. It's good news: the lesion isn't cancerous and he makes a full recovery.

January 3, 1987 The second class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is announced, and it includes the first woman: Aretha Franklin. The Coasters, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley, Clyde McPhatter, Rick Nelson, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Smokey Robinson, and Jackie Wilson also enter.

December 27, 1986 "Reet Petite," a #6 UK hit for Jackie Wilson in 1957, goes to #1 29 years later when it is re-released, and stays at the top for four weeks. Wilson died three years earlier after being incapacitated by a heart attack.

December 26, 1986 The Beastie Boys kick off their Licensed To Ill tour with a show at The Ritz in New York City. By the time the tour is over, Licensed To Ill will be America's first #1 rap album, and thousands of Volkswagen emblems will go missing as fans steal them to emulate Mike D's signature look.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."

December 14, 1986 In Sydney, Elton John plays the last concert on his Australian tour, which is recorded for the album Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. "Candle In The Wind" is released as a single, charting in America for the first time, where it peaks at #6. The song becomes a live favorite and in 1997 is reworked as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, after she is killed in a car accident.

December 13, 1986 "The Way It Is," the title track to the debut album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range, goes to #1 in the US. The song is about the civil rights movement in the US; in 1998 it's reworked by the rapper 2Pac into "Changes," a song with similar subject matter.

December 10, 1986 Prince goes to a Bonnie Raitt concert at the Beverly Theater in Los Angeles. Impressed, he invites her to his home studio in Minnesota where they work on some songs together, but nothing comes of it.

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.

November 15, 1986 Lou Reed and Sam Moore perform their updated version of "Soul Man" on Saturday Night Live. The song is being featured in the movie of the same name.

November 11, 1986 David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright announce they are working on a new Pink Floyd album despite a lawsuit from original member Roger Waters trying to retire the group. The album, A Momentary Lapse of Reason, is issued the following year; soon after, the lawsuit is settled.

November 8, 1986 It doesn't have a music video, but "Amanda" by Boston still gets to #1 in America, giving the band their only chart-topper.

November 8, 1986 At the Country Club in Los Angeles, California, Metallica play their first show with bassist Jason Newsted, the replacement for Cliff Burton, who was killed in a tour bus accident in September.

October 31, 1986 Roger Waters sues David Gilmour and Nick Mason to keep them from touring and recording as Pink Floyd. They do so anyway, and later come to an agreement with Waters that allows them to use the name.

October 27, 1986 David Byrne, who has recently directed the movie True Stories (with a soundtrack by his band, Talking Heads), makes the cover of Time magazine under the headline "Rock's Renaissance Man."More

October 25, 1986 Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, hits #1 in America. The song becomes an anthem of acceptance and is reinterpreted many times over the years.

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 19, 1986 Record executive Moses Asch dies at age 80. Founder of Folkways Records, formerly Asch Records, his label was the home of many classic folk recordings, including Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" and Lead Belly's "Goodnight Irene."

October 16, 1986 Chuck Berry's 60th birthday bash (held three days before his actual birthday) takes place in St. Louis with a tribute concert featuring Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Etta James, Robert Cray and Linda Ronstadt. Footage is shot for the 1987 documentary Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll.

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

October 11, 1986 "When I Think of You" by Janet Jackson goes to #1 on the Hot 100, making her and Michael the first siblings to land #1 solo singles on the chart. The song is also the first #1 produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who reach the summit 15 more times.

October 10, 1986 The film True Stories, directed by and starring David Byrne, is released in theaters. The soundtrack serves as Talking Heads' seventh album.

October 9, 1986 Little-known Kenny G makes his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, but instead of playing his cover of Junior Walker's "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" as agreed, he goes off script and plays his own composition, "Songbird." Impressed by the reaction, Arista Records issues the song as a single and it becomes a hit, setting the stage for more instrumental sax songs from Kenny G and the emergence of the Smooth Jazz format.

October 7, 1986 The Police release their final single, "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86," and then call it a career. They had hoped to reunite and record another album but injury and conflict lead to Stewart Copeland declaring they can no longer work together.More

October 4, 1986 The popular newsman Dan Rather is attacked by a man who hits him from behind and repeats the phrase "Kenneth, what is the frequency," prompting REM to write the song "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"

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."

September 23, 1986 Following a split with their record label and some lineup changes, Boston release Third Stage, their first album since Don't Look Back in 1978. The first single is "Amanda," the group's only #1 hit in America. They don't put out another album until 1994.

September 21, 1986 The US Department of Health and Human Services honors Dionne Warwick for "exceptional service as a leading health ambassador" in fighting the spread of AIDS.

September 20, 1986 Huey Lewis & the News release the album Fore!, the title a reference to golf (their previous album: Sports) and to it being their fourth album. It contains two #1 hits: "Stuck with You" and "Jacob's Ladder."

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