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
May 19, 1984 The song "Thriller" falls off the Hot 100, ending a run of hits from the Thriller album that started on November 6, 1982, when "The Girl Is Mine" entered the tally. In that stretch, only two weeks went by without a Thriller song on the chart.
May 15, 1984 In Tulsa, Lionel Richie launches his Can't Slow Down tour. His opening act is Tina Turner, whose comeback album, Private Dancer, is released two weeks later. During his set, Richie brings Turner on stage to duet on "Three Times A Lady" and a cover of Rod Stewart's "Hot Legs."
May 7, 1984 Roger Waters releases his first solo album, The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking. His band, Pink Floyd, fractured the previous year.
May 5, 1984 Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders marries Jim Kerr of Simple Minds.More
April 27, 1984 Patrick Stump, lead singer of Fall Out Boy, is born Patrick Martin Stumph in Evanston, Illinois. He grows up in nearby Glenview.
April 12, 1984 "Louie Louie Day" is held in Olympia, Washington, as an unsuccessful attempt is made to make it the official state song.
April 12, 1984 Rush release Grace Under Pressure, their 10th studio album and, according to guitarist Alex Lifeson, their most satisfying. With standout tracks "Distant Early Warning" and "Red Sector A," it's well received by fans.
April 6, 1984 Steve "Little Steven" Van Zandt announces he's leaving the E-Street Band, and goes on to helm the Sun City project. He will return in the '90s when the band reforms.
April 5, 1984 Marvin Gaye's funeral takes place in Los Angeles, with Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones and Berry Gordy attending. Gaye died 4 days earlier when he was shot by his father during an argument.
March 31, 1984 Jack Antonoff is born in Bergenfield, New Jersey. He's the guitarist in the band Fun ("We Are Young") before going solo as Bleachers. His biggest impact is as a songwriter-producer for the likes of Taylor Swift, Lorde and Lana Del Rey.
March 19, 1984 Backstage after the Duran Duran show at Madison Square Garden, producer Nile Rodgers introduces the band to a young artist he's working with: Madonna.
March 17, 1984 Van Halen's 1984 rises to #2 on the US albums chart, held off by Michael Jackson's Thriller, which has already topped the tally for 31 weeks. 1984 stays one spot behind Thriller for two more weeks before dropping down. Perhaps it would have hit #1 if Eddie Van Halen hadn't done the guitar solo on "Beat It."
March 2, 1984 This Is Spinal Tap is released in theaters, chronicling the hapless heavy metal band with exploding drummers and an amp that goes to 11. It leaves some in laughter and some in tears. Ozzy Osbourne is just confused.More
February 28, 1984 Michael Jackson is the big winner at the Grammy Awards, winning eight trophies, including Album of the Year for Thriller and Record of the Year for "Beat It." He makes the ceremony despite being injured the previous day when his hair caught fire shooting a Pepsi commercial.More
February 25, 1984 Van Halen's "Jump" hits #1 in the US, where it stays for five weeks. The song embraces the keyboard-driven sound of the era with a synthesizer played by their guitarist, Eddie Van Halen.
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