February 4, 2007 Prince wows at the Super Bowl halftime show, closing with an otherworldly rendition of "Purple Rain" in the rain.More
February 2, 2007 Joe Hunter, who played piano in the Motown house band The Funk Brothers, dies at age 79.
February 1, 2007 Wayne Fontana, famous for fronting Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, pours gasoline on the car of a bailiff sent to collect a debt, and sets the vehicle on fire. At his hearing in November, Fontana shows up dressed as Lady Justice, complete with sword and scales. The judge is not amused, sentencing him to 11 months in prison, and stating: "He has come dressed as a fool and he wants to act like a fool - I hope they give him a prison uniform at Nottingham Prison to keep him warm."
January 24, 2007 Randy Newman publishes the lyrics to his song "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country" in The New York Times as an editorial. In the song, he points out that George W. Bush isn't as bad as other world leaders from history, like King Leopold or Stalin.
January 9, 2007 John Mayer joins Steve Jobs onstage at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco to introduce Apple's latest invention: the iPhone.More
January 6, 2007 "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow (pedal steel guitarist for The Flying Burrito Brothers), suffering from Alzheimer's, dies in Petaluma, California, at age 72.
January 4, 2007 Nikki Bacharach, daughter of popular composer Burt Bacharach and actress Angie Dickinson, commits suicide at age 40 after a lifelong battle with Asperger's syndrome. She was the inspiration for her dad's 1969 song "Nikki."
December 25, 2006 Alongside stars like Beyoncé, Eddie Murphy, and Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson makes her acting debut in the movie Dreamgirls, based on the Supremes-inspired Broadway musical.More
December 20, 2006 Nearly 40 years after it was recorded, Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher is awarded 40% of the songwriting credit for "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" by a London court. The judgment is reduced on appeal in 2008.
December 11, 2006 "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey becomes the first ringtone certified Gold for sales of over 500,000.
November 25, 2006 Mexican banda music singer Valentin Elizalde is gunned down in his car after a concert performance, presumably by a gang of drug traffickers, at age 27. Elizalde often sang narcocorridos, "drug ballads" that have been compared to gangster rap.
November 21, 2006 Black Eyed Peas take home three awards at the 2006 American Music Awards, held at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium and broadcast live on ABC. The Peas, which accept the awards via satellite from Costa Rica, are named favorite group in the soul/R&B and rap/hip-hop categories, and pick up honors for favorite album (Monkey Business) in the rap/hip-hop genre.
November 19, 2006 The ill-fated Bob Dylan musical tribute The Times They Are A-Changin' closes on Broadway after a scant 28 showings.
November 17, 2006 Icelandic rock act the Sugarcubes take the stage in Reykjavik for the first time in 14 years. The group, whose most famous alumnus is Björk, reassembles to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its debut single, "Birthday."
November 13, 2006 After failing in their attempt at a video streaming service, Google buys YouTube, growing it into the second-most-popular website worldwide (after google.com).
November 11, 2006 The soundtrack to the Disney series Hannah Montana goes to #1, and six of its songs make the Hot 100. Hannah is played by 13-year-old Miley Cyrus, who sings all the songs on the album.More
November 7, 2006 Originally due in the summer of 2005, the last album from late Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard finally arrives. The release date for A Son Unique coincides with the two-year anniversary of ODB's death at a New York recording studio.
November 7, 2006 After getting fundraising help from his buddy Jackson Browne, Orleans lead singer John Hall is elected to the US House of Representatives in New York's 19th district.More
November 7, 2006 Enjoy the Ride, Sugarland's second album (and first as a duo, following the departure of Kristen Hall) is released. The album peaks at #4 in the US.
November 2, 2006 Surprising no one, Shakira is the big winner at the seventh annual Latin Grammy Awards, taking home four statues during the ceremony at Madison Square Garden. The Colombian pop star wins song and record of the year awards for "La Tortura," a duet with Spaniard Alejandro Sanz. She also receives trophies for female pop vocal album and album of the year for her Spanish-language Fijacion Oral, Vol. 1.
October 28, 2006 Producer Rudy Taylor, music arranger for Bobby Womack, dies in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at age 52. Among others, co-wrote The Gap Band hits "Oops Upside Your Head," "You Dropped A Bomb On Me" and "Early In The Morning."
October 25, 2006 Forbes declares Kurt Cobain the top-earning dead celebrity, beating out Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Johnny Cash, George Harrison, Ray Charles, and Bob Marley.More
October 24, 2006 To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its best-selling album, Def Leppard reissues Hysteria as a two-CD package. Beyond a remastered edition of the original album, the new edition includes a bonus disc with a host of non-album tracks first issued during the period.
October 24, 2006 Taylor Swift releases her self-titled debut album, a collection of country-pop tunes the singer wrote during her freshman year of high school. Led by the Top 20 single "Tim McGraw," it peaks at #5 on the Albums chart and becomes the longest-charting album of the 2000s in the US, logging 157 weeks by 2009.
October 23, 2006 My Chemical Romance release their wildly popular third album, The Black Parade, which was recorded during the band's stay at the notoriously haunted Paramour Mansion in Los Angeles.More
October 21, 2006 Sandy West (drummer for The Runaways) dies of lung and brain cancer at age 47.
October 21, 2006 Bob Seger sings "America The Beautiful" before the World Series game between his beloved Detroit Tigers and the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. Unfortunately for Seger, the Tigers lose both the game and the series.
October 15, 2006 Patti Smith closes down the celebrated Manhattan music club CBGB, playing the last show at the venue. The club closes after an extended dispute between club owner Hilly Kristal and the Bowery Residents Committee. Rock fans try to preserve the building as a historical landmark, but those efforts fail and a men's clothing store moves in.
October 14, 2006 Opening for Rascal Flatts at Madison Square Garden, Eric Church goes off-kilter, playing a little "Crazy Train" and staying on stage past his allotted time. He is kicked off the tour and replaced by a talented newcomer named Taylor Swift.
October 6, 2006 Mumbai-based EMI Virgin India Ltd announces that it will recall all copies of Slayer's most recent album Christ Illusion following protests by a Christian group, Mumbai-based Catholic Secular Forum (CSF).
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