On this day in 1981: Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley passed away at age 36. In July 1977, Marley was found to have a type of malignant melanoma under the nail of a toe, Marley’s health deteriorated as the cancer spread throughout his body. Marley had the 1981 single ‘No Woman No Cry’, plus over ten other UK Top 40 singles. In 1990, February 6th was proclaimed a national holiday in Jamaica to commemorate his birth. The compilation album, Legend, released in 1984, is the best-selling reggae album ever with sales of more than 25 million copies. Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.
On this day in 1985: Madonna went to #1 on the U.S. singles chart with ‘Crazy For You.’
Madonna recorded the song for the film ‘Vision Quest’. It was released on March 2, 1985 by Geffen Records as the lead single from the film’s soundtrack album. Film producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber, along with music director Phil Ramone, decided to use Madonna after listening to her previous recordings, employing John Bettis and Jon Lind to write the song. After reading the script of the film, Bettis and Lind wrote the song about the situation in which the lead characters meet at a nightclub. Initial recording sessions did not impress Bettis and Lind, and they felt that “Crazy for You” would be dropped from the soundtrack. However, a new version was recorded to their liking.
“Crazy for You” received positive response from music critics and earned Madonna her first Grammy nomination in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category. The song became Madonna’s second #1 single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and reached the top of the charts in Australia and Canada. It also peaked at #2 in Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Here’s a look at the top 20 on the U.S. singles chart from this day back in 1985:
1 2 CRAZY FOR YOU –•– Madonna (Geffen)-11 (1 Week at #1) (1)
2 1 WE ARE THE WORLD –•– USA For Africa (Columbia)-8 (1)
3 4 DON’T YOU (Forget About Me) –•– Simple Minds (A&M)-12 (3)
4 3 RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT –•– DeBarge (Gordy)-13 (3)
5 5 ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK –•– Murray Head (RCA)-12 (5)
6 7 SOME LIKE IT HOT –•– The Power Station (Capitol)-9 (6)
7 10 SMOOTH OPERATOR –•– Sade (Portrait)-11 (7)
8 11 EVERYTHING SHE WANTS –•– Wham! (Columbia)-8 (8)
9 6 OBSESSION –•– Animotion (Mercury)-16 (6)
10 14 EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD –•– Tears For Fears (Mercury)-9 (10)
11 9 ALL SHE WANTS TO DO IS DANCE –•– Don Henley (Geffen)-12 (9)
12 16 AXEL F –•– Harold Faltermeyer (MCA)-7 (12)
13 8 NIGHTSHIFT –•– Commodores (Motown)-16 (3)
14 15 DON’T COME AROUND HERE NO MORE –•– Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (MCA)-9 (14)
15 12 THAT WAS YESTERDAY –•– Foreigner (Atlantic)-9 (12)
16 20 SUDDENLY –•– Billy Ocean (Jive)-8 (16)
17 19 NEW ATTITUDE –•– Patti LaBelle (MCA)-13 (17)
18 25 FRESH –•– Kool & The Gang (De-Lite)-8 (18)
19 24 THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER –•– Howard Jones (Elektra)-8 (19)
20 26 IN MY HOUSE –•– Mary Jane Girls (Gordy)-10 (20)
