Calendar Search Results: u i a song
October 3, 1981 Rod Stewart brings out special guest Tina Turner to join him on (what else) "Hot Legs" during his appearance on Saturday Night Live.More
October 2, 1981 The Police's fourth album is the last in a sequence of four annual autumn releases. The title, Ghost in the Machine, is taken from a psychology book by Arthur Koestler and breaks their erstwhile tradition of giving their records French-sounding titles. It is a #2 hit in the US, led by the hit single "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic."
September 25, 1981 The Rolling Stones start their US tour with a concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, where they play to a crowd of 90,000. The tour is sponsored by musk maker Jovan, establishing a new paradigm for corporate involvement.More
September 21, 1981 Nicole Richie is born Nicole Escovedo in Berkeley, California. Born to percussion player Peter Escovedo, she is taken in by Lionel Richie and his wife Brenda at age 3, and adopted by the couple at 9. She becomes a popular socialite, starring with Paris Hilton on the reality show The Simple Life.
September 18, 1981 Genesis release their "abstract" album, Abacab, in the UK.More
September 5, 1981 Soft Cell hit #1 in the UK with an electronic cover of "Tainted Love," a song originally released by the American soul singer Gloria Jones in 1964. The song also charts in America, reaching #8 in July 1982. It's the only hit for the duo in the States, but they have many more in their native UK.
September 4, 1981 Beyoncé Knowles is born in Houston, Texas. She finds fame as the lead singer of the '90s girl group Destiny's Child before becoming Queen Bey.
September 1, 1981 Hall & Oates release the Private Eyes album, which contains two #1 hits: the title track and "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)."
August 28, 1981 Guy Stevens (music producer/manager) dies of a prescription drug overdose in South London, England, at age 38. He produced The Clash's third album, London Calling.
August 28, 1981 Country singer Jake Owen is born Joshua Ryan Owen in Winter Haven, Florida. Arriving with him is fraternal twin brother, Jarrod.
August 26, 1981 The mayor of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Marion Dewar, declares today "Paul Anka Day" in honor of its Paul Anka.
August 24, 1981 The Rolling Stones release Tattoo You. The big hit from the album is "Start Me Up," which they first recorded with a reggae rhythm in 1977. That version was scrapped, but they rocked it up for Tattoo You with better results.
August 22, 1981 "Girls On Film" hits #5 in the UK, giving Duran Duran their breakthrough hit in Britain. It does not chart on its US release, but surges in popularity after its music video goes into heavy rotation on MTV. The clip, directed by Godley and Creme, has to be heavily edited for TV as it was only intended to be played in nightclubs and features adult themes and nudity.
August 15, 1981 "Endless Love," a duet between Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, tops the Hot 100 for the first of nine weeks. It's the theme song from a movie of the same name, starring Brooke Shields.More
August 7, 1981 The animated sci-fi film Heavy Metal is released. Although it shares its name with the hard-rock genre, the film isn't intended to have anything to do with music, but instead is an anthology of various stories from the comic magazine Heavy Metal. Almost as an afterthought, an all-star soundtrack is added, featuring songs by Sammy Hagar, Devo, Blue Öyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Journey, and Black Sabbath, to name a few.More
August 7, 1981 It's "Wolverton Mountain Day" in Arkansas in honor of the Claude King song "Wolverton Mountain," which is named after a real mountain in the state.
August 1, 1981 MTV goes on the air, bringing music videos to the masses - at least the ones with cable.More
August 1, 1981 Hans Zimmer plays keyboards in the video for the Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star," the first music video to air on MTV. Zimmer goes on to become a renowned Hollywood film composer, winning the Oscar for Best Original Score for The Lion King (1994) and Dune (2021).
July 25, 1981 Air Supply's brand of soft rock reaches its peak as "The One That You Love" hits #1 in America. The duo, which formed in Australia, specialize in "love" songs. Others include "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" and "All Out Of Love."
July 23, 1981 Steve Jocz (drummer for Sum 41) is born in Ajax, Ontario, Canada. He directs music videos for the band's "Underclass Hero," "With Me," and "Screaming Bloody Murder."
July 20, 1981 Journey release Escape, their most popular album. The ballad "Open Arms" is the highest charting single, but "Don't Stop Believin'" is the one that endures, becoming one of the biggest songs of all time.
July 17, 1981 Universal Pictures releases the romantic drama Endless Love, starring Brooke Shields. The film is quickly forgotten, but the theme song, a duet by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross, spends nine weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earns Richie an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.
July 5, 1981 At the "Rock Werchter" festival in Belgium, The Cure play a 9-minute version of "A Forest" when they are told to hurry off stage so Robert Palmer can begin his set.More
July 2, 1981 Bruce Springsteen plays the first of six sold-out shows at the new Byrne Arena in New Jersey. His average show lasts 28 songs.
July 1, 1981 Rushton Moreve (original bass guitarist for Steppenwolf) dies in an automobile accident at age 32.
June 22, 1981 Mark David Chapman pleads guilty to the murder of John Lennon six months earlier. Two months later, he is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.
June 21, 1981 Walter Becker and Donald Fagen announce the split of Steely Dan and begin work on solo projects. They re-form in 1993 but don't put out another album until 2000.
June 20, 1981 Gary U.S. Bonds, last seen on the Hot 100 in 1962, reaches #11 with "This Little Girl," written for him by longtime admirer Bruce Springsteen.
June 17, 1981 At Earls Court in London, Pink Floyd play the last of 31 performances of The Wall, a unique stage show where a giant wall is erected (and torn down) as the band plays the album in its entirety. It's Roger Waters' last concert with the band, which breaks up in 1983 and carries on without him a few years later.
June 15, 1981 Billy Martin (guitarist/keyboardist for Good Charlotte) is born in Annapolis, Maryland.
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