21 SEPTEMBER
Featured Events
2012 When Green Day's set is cut short at the iHeartRadio festival in Las Vegas, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong flies off the handle, stopping the show and going into a rant where he says, "I'm not f--king Justin Bieber, you motherf--kers. You've got to be f--king joking."More
2004 Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), is denied entry into the United States when he shows up on a terrorist watch list, accused of funding terror groups.More
2004 Green Day release American Idiot, their first album in four years. Overtly political in places, it takes on President George W. Bush, especially on the title track. With a more refined sound, the album outsells even their punk rock touchstone Dookie, released 10 years earlier.
2001 The benefit concert America: A Tribute To Heroes, airs on most major TV networks, raising over $128 million for victims of the September 11 attacks. Performers include Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Tom Petty, and Willie Nelson.
1996 Jack Gillis marries Meg White. He takes her last name, and the couple forms The White Stripes. They tell reporters they are brother and sister, which goes over until a reporter for the Detroit Free Press uncovers their marriage license in 2001.
1993 "All Apologies," backed with "Rape Me," is released. It's the last Nirvana single released while Kurt Cobain is still alive.
1979 Bruce Springsteen debuts his song "The River" at a show in Madison Square Garden. He is performing as part of Musicians United For Safe Energy (MUSE) in a protest against nuclear power. Other artists that go on before him have to contend with the constant droning of "Broooooooooooooce," as he's the main attraction. Bonnie Raitt doesn't figure out until after her set that the crowd was not booing her, just anticipating Springsteen's performance.
1978 Do you remember the 21st night of September? The first line of Earth, Wind & Fire's song isn't written for any particular reason - it just sounds good.
21 SEPTEMBER
In Music History
2017 To thwart low payouts on YouTube, Post Malone releases a version of his latest single, "Rockstar," that is just the chorus looped five times. Comments are disabled, and users are offered a link to hear the full version on more profitable platforms.More
2016 The day before dropping his single "Starboy," The Weeknd releases a photo showing his new haircut.More
2016 The songwriter John D. Loudermilk, who wrote the #1 hit "Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)," dies at age 82.
2013 Douglas Grassel (rhythm guitarist for Ohio Express) dies from fibrosis of the lungs at age 64.
2012 No Doubt release the album Push and Shove, their first release in 11 years. Lead singer Gwen Stefani explains that they "made the record of their lives," so why rush it?
2011 John Du Cann (of Atomic Rooster) dies of a heart attack at age 65.
2009 Sam Carr, blues drummer of the Jelly Roll Kings, dies of congestive heart failure at age 83.
2004 Chris Tomlin releases his breakthrough album, Arriving. It will go on to peak at #3 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart.
2001 The film Glitter, starring Mariah Carey as a singer looking to make it big, is released in theaters. Carey earns a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress; her appearances in Precious (2009) and The Butler (2013) get much better receptions.
2000 Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks re-form as Genesis for a one-off performance at the London Hilton during the British Music Roll of Honour gala, organized by the Music Managers Forum. The act's manager, Tony Smith receives the Peter Grant Award for outstanding achievement at the event.
2000 Canadian rock group the Matthew Good Band is the big winner at the MuchMusic Video Awards, Canada's annual music video competition. The Vancouver, British Columbia-based group collects prizes for Best Rock Video and Best Video for its "Load Me Up" single.
1999 While being searched at London's Heathrow Airport, Diana Ross allegedly assaults the security guard in question and is detained for five hours.
1999 An HBO live music show called Reverb makes its debut with performances from Alanis Morissette and Everlast.
1999 Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails earns the first #1 in its career, as The Fragile debuts at the top of The Billboard 200, easily outpacing all other competitors in a market crowded with new releases.
1998 The Fireman, Paul McCartney's trance music duo with producer Martin Glover, release their second album, Rushes. Says Glover: "Linda [Paul's wife] was very ill, and by the time we'd finished it she was dying, and for me it became very much a requiem for her."
R.E.M. Disbands
2011R.E.M. announce that they're calling it quits after more than 30 years. In a post on their website, the band members write, "To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening."
Don't expect to see this one filed under Battling Bandmembers. According to R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, the group amicably discussed the possibility of splitting up while on their successful 2008 tour. "During that we were kind of going, well, where could we go from here?" he told Quietus. "We could tell we were on an upswing. It was important to us that we didn't whimper out with our tails between our legs. We wanted to feel we were at the peak of our powers, and the tour felt like that." Knowing how hard their fans work to get to their concerts, R.E.M. also didn't want to become one of those tired rock bands who go through the motions to eke out a few extra bucks from their supporters. Hailed as one of the first alt-rock bands, R.E.M. built a following in their native Athens, Georgia, with their unique blend of murmured vocals, jangling guitars and enigmatic lyrics. By 1987, the rest of the world took notice when the band's fifth album, Document – an anti-conservative treatise featuring the hit "The One I Love" - made them a household name. Joined by alternative music pioneers like Nirvana, Pavement, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, their seminal hits gave voice to disgruntled Gen-Xers as "Losing My Religion," "Shiny Happy People" and "Everybody Hurts" climbed the charts, giving the genre a foothold on the pop-dominated Hot 100. The band hinted at their impending breakup with their 2011 album, Collapse Into Now. Out of 15 albums, it's the only one to feature the band on the cover – and Stipe is waving goodbye. The guys are relieved to hang up their mics after three long decades, but the moment is bittersweet. "It's hard to walk away from what we've done since we were teenagers," says Stipe. "But I'm so proud, too. We're all so proud of what we did."
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