TODAY IN HISTORY – September 16th
1925 - Born this day, [Blues Boy] BB King, in Itta Bena, Mississippi, blues guitarist and singer, 1989 UK No.6 single with U2 When Love Comes To Town. (The Thrill is Gone).
1948 - Born this day, Kenny Jones, drums, Small Faces, 1967 UK No.3 single Itchycoo Park and 1968 UK No.1 album Ogden's Nut Gone Flake, The Faces, 1972 UK No.6 single Stay With Me, The Who, after Keith Moon, 1981 UK No.9 single You Better You Bet.
1963 - Born this day, Richard Marx, in Chicago, Illinois, singer, songwriter, 1989 US No.1 and UK No.2 single Right Here Waiting, 1992 UK No.3 single Hazard. (Hold on to the Night).
1967 - Jimi Hendrix's debut LP, 'Are You Experienced?' entered the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, where it stayed for 106 weeks, including 77 weeks in the Top 40. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it No.15 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and two years later it was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in the United States.
1977 - Died this day, Marc Bolan, aged 29, when the Mini he was travelling in left the road at Barnes Common, London. He was killed instantly when the car being driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, left the road and hit a tree. Miss Jones broke her jaw in the accident. The couple were on the way to Bolan's home in Richmond after a night out at a Mayfair restaurant. A local man who witnessed the smash said, 'When I arrived a girl was lying on the bonnet and a man with long dark curly hair was stretched out in the road - there was a hell of a mess.' (Marc was born Mark Feld. He had also performed under the name Toby Tyler).
1979 - The Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight' was released. While it was not the first single to feature rapping, it is generally considered to be the song that first popularized hip hop in the United States and around the world. The song's opening lyric "I said a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie to the hip hip hop" is world-renowned.
1979 - Born on this day, Flo Rida (Tramar Lacel Dillard), American rapper. Worked with 2 Live Crew. 2008 US No.1 single ‘Low’, featuring T-Pain.
1984 - Police Drama Miami Vice premiered. Aired: 16 September 1984 - 26 July 1989. Cast included Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas, Edward James Olmos, Saundra Santiago, Olivia Brown, plus numerous others. It was aired on the NBC Network. The theme song - Miami Vice Theme was by Jan Hammer.
1988 - Former Clash drummer Topper Headon was released from jail after serving 10 months of a 15 month sentence on a narcotics charge.
1992 - Born on this day, Nick Jonas, American singer-songwriter and actor, Jonas Brothers, 2009 US No.1 album 'Lines, Vines and Trying Times'.
1996 - 21 year-old Ricardo Lopez was found dead in his Hollywood apartment after commiting suicide. Before his death Ricardo had mailed an acid bomb to singer Bjork’s management.
2001 - DJ Otzi went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with Hey Baby.
2006 - Bob Dylan was at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Modern Times.’ Entering the U.S. charts at No.1, making it Dylan's first album to reach that position since 1976's Desire, 30 years prior. At 65, Dylan became the oldest living musician to top the Billboard albums chart. (85 year-old Tony Bennett broke this record in 2011 with his Duets album). The record also reached number one in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.
2008 - Norman Whitfield died in Los Angeles, California from diabetes and other illnesses. The Motown songwriter and producer collaborated with Barrett Strong on such hits as ‘I Heard It through the Grapevine’, ‘Ain't Too Proud to Beg’, ‘(I Know) I'm Losing You’, ‘Cloud Nine’, ‘War’, ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’, and ‘Car Wash’.
2009 - Mary Travers from Folk trio Peter, Paul And Mary, passed away after suffering from leukemia for several years. She was 72. Mary's lead vocal can be heard on the group's biggest hit, 1969's 'Leaving On A Jet Plane'.
2011 – Radio station Kiwi FM conduct a survey to find the best Kiwi albums of all time. The list is topped by Fat Freddy’s Drop, “Based On A True Story” (2004) which paved the way for reggae/dub/roots music to become more mainstream on NZ radio. The album featured the hit single “Wandering Eye”.
1925 - Born this day, [Blues Boy] BB King, in Itta Bena, Mississippi, blues guitarist and singer, 1989 UK No.6 single with U2 When Love Comes To Town. (The Thrill is Gone).
1948 - Born this day, Kenny Jones, drums, Small Faces, 1967 UK No.3 single Itchycoo Park and 1968 UK No.1 album Ogden's Nut Gone Flake, The Faces, 1972 UK No.6 single Stay With Me, The Who, after Keith Moon, 1981 UK No.9 single You Better You Bet.
1963 - Born this day, Richard Marx, in Chicago, Illinois, singer, songwriter, 1989 US No.1 and UK No.2 single Right Here Waiting, 1992 UK No.3 single Hazard. (Hold on to the Night).
1967 - Jimi Hendrix's debut LP, 'Are You Experienced?' entered the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, where it stayed for 106 weeks, including 77 weeks in the Top 40. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it No.15 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and two years later it was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in the United States.
1977 - Died this day, Marc Bolan, aged 29, when the Mini he was travelling in left the road at Barnes Common, London. He was killed instantly when the car being driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, left the road and hit a tree. Miss Jones broke her jaw in the accident. The couple were on the way to Bolan's home in Richmond after a night out at a Mayfair restaurant. A local man who witnessed the smash said, 'When I arrived a girl was lying on the bonnet and a man with long dark curly hair was stretched out in the road - there was a hell of a mess.' (Marc was born Mark Feld. He had also performed under the name Toby Tyler).
1979 - The Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight' was released. While it was not the first single to feature rapping, it is generally considered to be the song that first popularized hip hop in the United States and around the world. The song's opening lyric "I said a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie to the hip hip hop" is world-renowned.
1979 - Born on this day, Flo Rida (Tramar Lacel Dillard), American rapper. Worked with 2 Live Crew. 2008 US No.1 single ‘Low’, featuring T-Pain.
1984 - Police Drama Miami Vice premiered. Aired: 16 September 1984 - 26 July 1989. Cast included Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas, Edward James Olmos, Saundra Santiago, Olivia Brown, plus numerous others. It was aired on the NBC Network. The theme song - Miami Vice Theme was by Jan Hammer.
1988 - Former Clash drummer Topper Headon was released from jail after serving 10 months of a 15 month sentence on a narcotics charge.
1992 - Born on this day, Nick Jonas, American singer-songwriter and actor, Jonas Brothers, 2009 US No.1 album 'Lines, Vines and Trying Times'.
1996 - 21 year-old Ricardo Lopez was found dead in his Hollywood apartment after commiting suicide. Before his death Ricardo had mailed an acid bomb to singer Bjork’s management.
2001 - DJ Otzi went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with Hey Baby.
2006 - Bob Dylan was at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Modern Times.’ Entering the U.S. charts at No.1, making it Dylan's first album to reach that position since 1976's Desire, 30 years prior. At 65, Dylan became the oldest living musician to top the Billboard albums chart. (85 year-old Tony Bennett broke this record in 2011 with his Duets album). The record also reached number one in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.
2008 - Norman Whitfield died in Los Angeles, California from diabetes and other illnesses. The Motown songwriter and producer collaborated with Barrett Strong on such hits as ‘I Heard It through the Grapevine’, ‘Ain't Too Proud to Beg’, ‘(I Know) I'm Losing You’, ‘Cloud Nine’, ‘War’, ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’, and ‘Car Wash’.
2009 - Mary Travers from Folk trio Peter, Paul And Mary, passed away after suffering from leukemia for several years. She was 72. Mary's lead vocal can be heard on the group's biggest hit, 1969's 'Leaving On A Jet Plane'.
2011 – Radio station Kiwi FM conduct a survey to find the best Kiwi albums of all time. The list is topped by Fat Freddy’s Drop, “Based On A True Story” (2004) which paved the way for reggae/dub/roots music to become more mainstream on NZ radio. The album featured the hit single “Wandering Eye”.