Calendar Search Results: u i a song
September 29, 1984 The English girl group Bananarama has their US breakthrough when "Cruel Summer" peaks at #9 on the pop chart, thanks to the song's appearance in the summer smash The Karate Kid.
September 19, 1984 At a whistle-stop in Hammonton, New Jersey, campaigning president Ronald Reagan praises singer Bruce Springsteen, saying: "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts; it rests in the message of hope in songs so many young Americans admire: New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen. And helping you make those dreams come true is what this job of mine is all about." This leads to widespread criticism in the press because Springsteen's recent hit, "Born In The U.S.A.," is in fact a bitter cry of outrage at how poorly the United States treats its veterans, which Reagan had apparently mistaken for a straight-forward patriotic anthem - an easy mistake to make if you listen to the chorus only and not the lyrics.
September 17, 1984 "Missing You" by John Waite hits #1 in America. "There were quite a few women in my life at the time, and it all came sort of floating to the top," he tells Songfacts of the inspiration.
September 16, 1984 The TV series Miami Vice makes its debut with a two-hour episode that includes a scene featuring the Phil Collins hit "In The Air Tonight."More
September 14, 1984 At the very first MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna performs "Like A Virgin" in a white wedding gown accessorized by her famous "Boy Toy" belt.More
September 10, 1984 Matthew Followill (lead guitarist for Kings Of Leon) is born Cameron Matthew Followill in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
September 7, 1984 With most of her family (including her parents) on the road with The Jacksons' Victory tour, 18-year-old Janet Jackson elopes with James DeBarge from the group DeBarge. The marriage ends eight months later.
September 1, 1984 Tina Turner completes her comeback as "What's Love Got To Do With It" hits #1 in America.More
August 25, 1984 Menudo, the Puerto Rican boy band with the ever-changing lineup, release their 16th studio album, Evolucion. The album introduces their new 12-year-old singer, Ricky Martin.
August 19, 1984 Singer Kirsty MacColl marries the producer Steve Lillywhite. In 1987, she sings on The Pogues Christmas classic "Fairytale Of New York," which Lillywhite produces. They have two children together before divorcing in 1994.
August 17, 1984 At the outset of his latest world tour, a fatigued Elton John announces his upcoming retirement, which, like so many before and after, deosn't take.
August 15, 1984 Rock 'n Roll musician Norman Petty dies of leukemia in Lubbock, Texas, at age 57. Petty is best known as Buddy Holly's recording engineer and first manager.
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
August 7, 1984 R&B singer Esther Phillips dies of drug-induced liver and kidney failure at age 48 in Carson, California. Known for comeback country tune "Release Me."
July 29, 1984 Prince becomes the first person to have a #1 song and star in a #1 movie at the same time as Purple Rain tops the box office while "When Doves Cry" stays perched atop the Hot 100 for its fourth consecutive week.
July 27, 1984 Prince stars in the film Purple Rain. The movie, in which he plays as an upstart musician who clashes with his band, parallels his life story, but is not strictly autobiographical, and he didn't write or direct it.More
July 24, 1984 Reverend Clarence LaVaughn Franklin (Aretha Franklin's father) dies five years after being shot during a robbery attempt at his Detroit home. The incident left him in a coma until his death at age 69.
July 23, 1984 An appeals court overturnes a ruling that the Bee Gees plagiarized a song called "Let It End" on their hit "How Deep Is Your Love." The judge agrees that there are "striking similarities" between the two songs, but believes the Bee Gees claim that they hadn't heard "Let It End," which was never released and only available as a demo sent to publishers. The case puts the onus on plaintiffs to prove that defendants had access to songs they are accused of copying.
July 23, 1984 MTV broadcasts the WWF Women's Championship match live from Madison Square Garden, where Wendi Richter, managed by Cyndi Lauper, takes the title. Part of the "Rock And Wrestling Connection," it's the most-watched program in the history of MTV. Lauper returns to manage Richter the following year at the first WrestleMania.
July 23, 1984 Vanessa Williams gives up her Miss America crown midway through her run after naked pictures of her appear in Penthouse. The controversy doesn't keep her from becoming a very popular actress and singer: in 1991 she releases her #1 hit "Save The Best For Last."
July 20, 1984 The NeverEnding Story debuts in US theaters, featuring a theme song by former Kajagoogoo lead singer Limahl.
July 13, 1984 At The Jacksons' Victory tour stop at Texas Stadium, Eddie Van Halen joins Michael Jackson on stage to play his guitar solo from "Beat It."More
June 30, 1984 Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark" reaches its chart peak of #2 on the Hot 100. The song spends four weeks at runner-up, held off the last three by Prince's "When Doves Cry." Springsteen never does reach #1 (except as a writer: Manfred Mann's Earth Band took "Blinded by the Light" to #1 in 1977), but the next six singles from his Born In The U.S.A. album all hit the Top 10.
June 29, 1984 After a failed attempt shooting a studio video for "Dancing In The Dark," Bruce Springsteen does it live at his concert in St. Paul, Minnesota. During Clarence Clemons' sax solo, he brings a doe-eyed, 19-year-old Courteney Cox on stage to dance with him.More
June 23, 1984 Duran Duran's "The Reflex" hits #1 in America. This version is a remix of the album cut done by Chic's Nile Rodgers.
June 23, 1984 Duffy (Amie Ann Duffy) is born in Gwynedd, Wales. Her 2008 album, Rockferry, is a worldwide smash, but her 2010 follow-up, Endlessly, is a disappointment, and she retreats from the public eye.More
June 7, 1984 The film Ghostbusters is released. Its theme song bears similarities to Huey Lewis' "I Want a New Drug." Ghostbusters theme writer Ray Parker, Jr. and Huey settle out of court.
June 4, 1984 Bruce Springsteen releases the album Born In The U.S.A. The cover photo, showing Bruce posed in front of the American flag, gives many the wrong idea about the title track, which is about the struggles of a veteran returning home from the Vietnam War.
June 2, 1984 Joe Perry and Brad Whitford return to Aerosmith, reuniting their original lineup as they kick off their Back In The Saddle Tour in Concord, New Hampshire. Their comeback starts in earnest two years later when they all get sober and the rap reworking of "Walk This Way" takes off.
May 29, 1984 Tina Turner releases Private Dancer, her big comeback album.More
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