On this day in 1982: Actor and singer John Belushi died from an overdose of cocaine and heroin. Belushi was one of the original cast members on Saturday Night Live, played Joliet ‘Jake’ Blues in The Blues Brothers and also appeared in the film Animal House. His tombstone reads “I may be gone, but rock […]
Tag: Thriller
This Day In Music, February 28th
On this day in 1981: Country music star Eddie Rabbitt crossed over to the Pop chart to score a U.S. #1 hit with ‘I Love a Rainy Night’. He had earlier written the Elvis Presley smash ‘Kentucky Rain’ before having a #5 hit with ‘Drivin’ My Life Away’. “I Love a Rainy Night” was 12 years […]
This Day In Music, February 26th
On this day in 1980: After seeing U2 play at Dublin’s National Boxing Stadium in front of 2,400 people; Rob Partridge and Bill Stewart from Island Records in the UK offered the band a recording contract. On this day in 1983: Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ went to #1 on the U.S. album chart. ‘Thriller’ broke racial barriers in […]
This Day In 80s Music, January 29th
On this day in 1983: Australian group Men At Work went to #1 on the U.K. singles chart and were starting their 3rd week at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with ‘Down Under.’ Their debut album ‘Business As Usual’ was also at #1 on the U.S. and U.K album charts simultaneously on this day. […]
This Day In 80s Music, January 20th
On this day in 1982: During an Ozzy Osbourne concert in Des Moines, Iowa, a member of the audience threw a bat onto the stage. Thinking it was a fake rubber bat, the singer picked it up and attempted to bite its head off. As he did this, Ozzy soon realized it wasn’t fake but in […]
This Day In 80s Music, January 19th
On this day in 1980: The Pretenders scored their first U.K. #1 hit with their third single ‘Brass In Pocket’. Singer Chrissie Hynde got the idea for the song’s title when, during an after-show dinner, she overheard someone enquiring if anyone had, “Picked up dry cleaning? Any brass in pocket?” Also on this day in […]
This Day In Music, December 21st
On this day in 1985: Bruce Springsteen’s album, ‘Born in the USA’ passed Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ to become the second longest-lasting album on the Billboard U.S. Top 10. It stayed there for 79 weeks. Only ‘The Sound of Music’ with Julie Andrews lasted longer at 109 weeks. ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ is the seventh studio album by […]
This Day In Music, December 10th
On this day in 1983: Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson started a six week run at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with ‘Say Say Say’. It was Jackson’s 10th #1 at the time (solo & with The Jacksons) and McCartney’s 29th, (solo and with The Beatles). It was released in October of 1983 as the […]
This Day In Music, December 2nd
On this day in 1983: MTV aired the full 14-minute version of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video for the first time. Now regarded as the most influential pop music video of all time, in 2009, the video was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, the first music video to ever receive […]
This Day In Music, November 30th
On this day in 1982: Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ album was released. ‘Thriller’ was Jackson’s sixth studio album. Reunited with ‘Off the Wall’ producer Quincy Jones, Jackson was inspired to create an album where “every song was a killer”. With the ongoing backlash against disco, Jackson moved in a new musical direction, incorporating pop, post-disco, rock and funk. ‘Thriller’ foreshadows […]