Calendar Search Results: y o u t u b e r
December 25, 1980 Michael Jackson calls Paul McCartney to wish him Merry Christmas and suggest they write some songs together. They end up recording three duets together (including the lead single to Thriller), but their friendship ends when Jackson buys the publishing rights to many of the Beatles songs co-written by McCartney.More
December 19, 1980 9 to 5, starring Dolly Parton and featuring the classic theme song by the singer (where she uses her fingernails as an instrument), opens in theaters. Parton, in her first acting role, stars alongside Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda as disgruntled secretaries who get even with their sexist boss.More
December 14, 1980 At Yoko Ono's request, a 10-minute worldwide silent vigil takes place at 2:00 p.m. EST for John Lennon, who was shot and killed six days earlier. Lennon was cremated without a funeral, so the vigil is the public outpouring of support and mourning. A large crowd gathers in Central Park near where Lennon lived with Yoko to take part; this becomes a tradition on each anniversary of Lennon's death.
December 8, 1980 John Lennon, 40 years old, is shot and killed outside his apartment in New York City.More
December 4, 1980 Led Zeppelin make it official: they will not continue after the death of their drummer, John Bonham. They never fully re-form, but do play some shows with Jason Bonham filling in for his father.
November 21, 1980 The morning after throwing a farewell party for his band the Eagles at his Los Angeles home, Don Henley is arrested after calling 911 to get treatment for a 16-year-old prostitute who was apparently having a seizure.More
November 21, 1980 Steely Dan release Gaucho. The album is meticulously produced and features contributions from Rick Derringer and Mark Knopfler.
October 28, 1980 Five of Walt Disney's original Mouseketeers (Annette, Cubby, Tommy, Sherry, and Dickie) gather in Burbank, California, to celebrate the show's 25th anniversary.
October 27, 1980 Mark David Chapman buys a .38 revolver at a gun store in Honolulu for $169. On December 8, he uses it to kill John Lennon.
October 26, 1980 While recording the band's latest album, Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship is taken to LA's Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after he (correctly) suspects he's having a brain hemorrhage. His wife initially doesn't believe him, but eventually calls the hospital's front desk, requesting "would you please get an ambulance for this asshole?" He recovers after two weeks' hospitalization.
October 20, 1980 U2 release their debut album, Boy, produced by Steve Lillywhite. It doesn't yield any hits but "I Will Follow" becomes one of their most popular songs.
October 13, 1980 George Jones wins Single of the Year at the Country Music Association awards for "He Stopped Loving Her Today," starting a career resurgence for the country legend.
October 13, 1980 Ashanti is born Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas in Glen Cove, New York. She has a series of hits in the early '00s both as a lead artist ("Foolish," "Only U") and in collaborations with the likes of Ja Rule ("Always On Time") and Fat Joe ("What's Luv?").
October 8, 1980 Prince releases his third album, Dirty Mind. The title hints at the lascivious songs within, including "Head" and "Sister." The biggest hit from the set is the modest "Uptown," which goes to #5 on the R&B chart.
October 7, 1980 Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album is released in the US. It includes a bit called "Rock Notes," which begins: "Rex Stardust, lead electric triangle with Toad the Wet Sprocket, has had to have an elbow removed." Seven years later, a real band forms with that name in California. They have hits in the '90s with "Walk on the Ocean" and "All I Want."
October 4, 1980 Fleetwood Mac members Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks join the USC Trojan Marching Band, which performed on their hit "Tusk," during halftime of the football game between USC and Arizona State. Nicks twirls a baton, Fleetwood plays a bass drum, and Buckingham mock conducts as the band plays the song. The USC band is then presented with a platinum record for their contribution.
October 3, 1980 Bruce Springsteen begins his tour for The River in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he's joined by Bob Seger in a performance of "Thunder Road."
October 3, 1980 The Police's third album release, Zenyatta Mondatta, continues their theme of giving their records French-sounding titles. This time, the title has no clear translation, although it is suggested that it is a stylized combination of "zenith" and "monde" (Top of the World). It becomes their most successful album so far in America, reaching a peak of #5 and winning the band a pair of Grammy awards.
October 3, 1980 Diamond Head, one of the leading bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, issue their debut album, Lightning To The Nations. Mega-DH fans Metallica cover five of the album's seven songs over the years: "Am I Evil?", "Helpless," "The Prince," "It's Electric," and "Sucking My Love." Other NWOBHM bands like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Saxon eclipse Diamond Head in terms of popularity, but the Metallica covers speak to their influence and ensure their place in history.
October 2, 1980 Members of the First Assembly Church of God in Ankeny, Iowa, burn various books and albums they deem Satanic in influence and that encourage "pre-marital sex, homosexuality and immorality." Albums set ablaze include the Woodstock soundtrack and elections from Peter Frampton and The Beatles.
September 25, 1980 Rapper T.I. is born Clifford Harris in Atlanta. Gun charges keep him in legal trouble for much of the '00s, but he still manages to release three #1 albums. His biggest year is 2008, when his songs "Live Your Life" and "Whatever You Like" both reach the top.
September 23, 1980 Bob Marley plays his final concert: a 20-song set at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh with his group, The Wailers.More
September 21, 1980 Bob Marley, who had refused treatment for a spreading melanoma due to his religious beliefs, collapses while jogging in New York's Central Park and is hospitalized. Two nights later he performs the next date on his North American tour, the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, but it sadly proves to be his last.
September 18, 1980 The 10th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix' untimely death is marked by a multimedia event, featuring Experience members Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, held at the Paradise Club in Amsterdam.
September 13, 1980 The TV series Solid Gold premieres. Like its genre-mates American Bandstand and Soul Train, the show consists of Top-40 music (mostly recorded) in a studio with a dance stage and floor. A feature of the show is a specialty crew of "Solid Gold dancers" who bump and grind to the tunes. Dionne Warwick is the host for the first season, but the show rotates through numerous hosts during its course. The show runs almost eight seasons before discontinuing in 1988.
September 1, 1980 At the Hollywood Bowl, Fleetwood Mac end a 9-month tour. Lindsey Buckingham announces it will be the last Fleetwood Mac show for "a long time." He's right: the band doesn't play live again for over two years.
August 26, 1980 Cheap Trick bass player Tom Peterson leaves the group, citing burnout. He returns for their 1988 Lap Of Luxury album, featuring their comeback song "The Flame."
August 19, 1980 "The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow becomes the first rap single certified Gold.More
August 17, 1980 At the Toledo Speedway Jam II in Toledo, Ohio, ZZ Top headline the show with AC/DC, Sammy Hagar and Humble Pie on the undercard. (Also advertised on the poster: 800 kegs of beer, drinking age 18 in Ohio!) It is the last time AC/DC is a support act until 2003, when they open for The Rolling Stones.
August 15, 1980 An unknown rock band called Black Rose open for Hall & Oates at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland. Audience members slowly realize that the lead singer is, in fact, Cher. Black Rose play a few more shows and release an album, but call it quits by the end of the year.
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