Calendar Search Results: u i a song
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.
February 17, 1984 The musical drama Footloose opens in theaters with a soundtrack featuring Kenny Loggins, Deniece Williams, and Sammy Hagar. Two songs from the movie - "Footloose" and "Let's Hear it For the Boy" - go to #1 in America.
February 15, 1984 Blues guitarist Gary Clark, Jr. is born in Austin, Texas.
February 14, 1984 Elton John marries studio assistant Renate Blauel in Sydney, Australia, shocking many of his fans and associates by choosing a woman as his life partner. Attendees include Olivia Newton-John and Rod Stewart. The couple split in 1987 and divorce a year later.
February 6, 1984 At the Sweetwaters South Festival in Christchurch, New Zealand, Talking Heads play their last concert, a messy set that is cut short after just a few songs. They release three more albums but perform together again just once: in 2002 when they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
February 4, 1984 Thanks to a music video that puts their flamboyant frontman Boy George on a Mississippi steamboat in the 1800s, the British band Culture Club hit #1 in America with "Karma Chameleon."
January 28, 1984 Thanks to a ban by the BBC, "Relax," the debut single from Frankie Goes to Hollywood, hits #1 in the UK. In America, the #1 song is "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" by Yes. Both songs are produced by Trevor Horn, making him the first producer with #1s simultaneously in both territories with different acts.
January 28, 1984 Def Jam Records release their first single: "It's Yours" by T La Rock and Jazzy Jay. The rap label becomes wildly successful, attracting Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Kanye West and many other big-name artists.
January 27, 1984 At the peak of his popularity, Michael Jackson films an ad for Pepsi that goes horribly wrong when some stray pyro sets his hair on fire.More
January 23, 1984 Boy George and Annie Lennox appear on the cover of Newsweek under the headline, "Britain Rocks America - Again."More
January 21, 1984 Bon Jovi release their self-titled debut album. The first track is "Runaway," the group's debut single and first to get airplay. It was written by frontman Jon Bon Jovi, who recorded it with session musicians before the band formed.
January 13, 1984 The BBC bans the Frankie Goes to Hollywood song "Relax" due to sexual content. The controversy generates tremendous interest in the song, which reaches #1 in the UK the following week.More
January 9, 1984 Van Halen release their sixth album, 1984, which finds Eddie Van Halen playing synthesizer as well as guitar. It's their most popular album, reeling in new fans with radio-friendly songs like "Jump" and "I'll Wait" while feeding their faithful with rockers like "Panama" and "Hot For Teacher." Lead singer David Lee Roth leaves the next year, replaced by Sammy Hagar.
December 16, 1983 Hoping to jumpstart her flagging acting career after the box-office bomb Xanadu, Olivia Newton-John reunites with Grease co-star John Travolta in the fantasy film Two of a Kind. It flops, but yields the Top 10 hit "Twist Of Fate."
December 16, 1983 Pete Townshend issues a statement announcing he's leaving The Who, not surprising considering they called their last shows in 1982 their "Farewell Tour." It's far from the end, as they reunite for a seemingly unending series of "reunions," starting with Live-Aid in 1985.
December 11, 1983 Run-D.M.C. release their second single, "Hard Times," a song about financial struggles. It's the first rap song to get covered by another rap group, having first appeared on Kurtis Blow's debut album in 1980.
December 11, 1983 Whodini release their debut album, one of the first rap LPs on a major label (Jive). The song "Magic's Wand" inspires their name, which is a play on the name of magician Harry Houdini.
December 10, 1983 Tina Turner's first solo hit, a cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," charts at #6 in the UK as her comeback gets going.
December 2, 1983 Michael Jackson's 14-minute "Thriller" video debuts on MTV. Directed by John Landis, the short film shows Michael Jackson turning into a werewolf and leading a dance routine with various undead creatures.More
November 20, 1983 Future is born Nayvadius Wilburn in Atlanta, Georgia. Rapping with distinctive Auto-Tuned vocals over trap beats, he comes onto the scene in 2011 with his feature on YC's "Racks," and by 2015 he's a star, earning his first #1 album with DS2.
November 14, 1983 Michael Jackson's 14-minute film Thriller debuts at the Metro Crest Theater in Los Angeles. Directed by John Landis, the short film will become the most popular video in MTV history when the network begins airing it in December. Many of Jackson's famous friends show up at the premiere, including Diana Ross, Eddie Murphy and Warren Beatty. The film gets a standing ovation and the crowd demands an encore, which is granted.
November 10, 1983 Billy Idol releases his second album, Rebel Yell. Along with the title track, hits from the album include "Eyes Without A Face" and "Flesh for Fantasy."
November 6, 1983 The ABC miniseries Princess Daisy debuts, featuring Ringo Starr as a gay fashion designer in one of his last acting roles.
November 4, 1983 Paul Simon releases Hearts and Bones, his sixth solo album. The title track is about his new bride, the actress Carrie Fisher.More
October 29, 1983 "Islands in the Stream," written by the Bee Gees and intended for Marvin Gaye, goes to #1 in the US as a duet by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.More
October 29, 1983 Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon album breaks the record for most weeks on the Billboard albums chart when it eclipses Johnny's Greatest Hits by Johnny Mathis with 491 weeks. Dark Side remains on the chart until 1988, when it drops off with 724 weeks. Thanks to reissues and promotions, it returns from time to time, notching over 880 weeks on the chart in total.
October 15, 1983 The debut studio album by Alcatrazz is issued, No Parole from Rock n' Roll, which features guitar work from a then-unknown Yngwie Malmsteen and spawns such melodic metal nuggets as "Island in the Sun" and "Hiroshima Mon Amour."
October 14, 1983 Cyndi Lauper, formerly a member of the group Blue Angel, issues her first solo album, She's So Unusual. With the MTV hits "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" and "Time After Time," it becomes an '80s touchstone.
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