Music Almanac - April 8

Birthdays

• 1896 or 1898 - E.Y. "Yip" Harburg (d. 1981)
• 1928 - Fred Ebb (d. 2004)
• 1929 - Jacques Brel (d. 1978)
• 1941 - J.J. Jackson
• 1942 - Leon Huff
• 1942 - Roger Chapman (Family, Streetwalkers)
• 1944 - Keef Hartley (d. 2011)
• 1947 - Steve Howe (Yes, Asia)
• 1947 - Larry Norman (d. 2008)
• 1949 - Brenda Russell (born Brenda Gordon)
• 1951 - Mel Schacher (Grand Funk Railroad)
• 1956 - Justin Sullivan (New Model Army)
• 1960 - John Schneider
• 1962 - Izzy Stradlin (born Jeffrey Isbell) (Guns N' Roses)
• 1963 - Julian Lennon
• 1963 - Donita Sparks (L7)
• 1964 - Biz Markie (born Marcel Hall)
• 1968 - Tracy Grammer
• 1971 - Darren Jessee (Ben Folds Five)
• 1972 - Paul Gray (Slipknot) (d. 2010)
• 1979 - Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom)
• 1980 - Ross Golan (songwriter)
• 1984 - Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend)
• 1989 - Matthew Healy (The 1975)

Deaths

• 1976 - Phil Ochs - Suicide (35)
• 1982 - Tommy Tomlinson (guitarist, songwriter) - Heart failure (51)
• 1985 - J. Fred Coots (songwriter, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Love Letters in the Sand) (89)
• 1997 - Laura Nyro - Ovarian cancer (49)
• 2001 - Van Stephenson (Blackhawk) - Cancer (47)
• 2010 - Malcolm McLaren - Mesothelioma (64)
• 2010 - Paul Gray (Slipknot) - Morphine overdose (38)
• 2013 - Annette Funicello - Multiple Sclerosis (70)
• 2016 - Jack Hammer (songwriter, "Great Balls of Fire") (90)
• On This Day
• 1942 - Liberty Records is formed by Glenn Wallichs, Johnny Mercer and Buddy DeSylva. The company name would be changed to Capitol Records two months later.
• 1958 - The father of Jerry Lee Lewis threatened Chuck Berry with a knife in Columbus, OH after the two singers got into a dispute.
• 1961 - The BBC banned Gene McDaniels' 100 Pounds of Clay saying that equating women with building materials was blasphemous.
• 1966 - Mike Vickers left Manfred Mann.
• 1967 - The Eurovision Song Contest was won by Sandy Posey for the U.K. with the song Puppet on a String.
• 1968 - A group of officers sued Jimmie Rodgers for slander due to his comments about his beating in 1967 by an off-duty police officer.
• 1970 - The U.K. premier of Woodstock was held in London.
• 1971 - Chicago became the first rock group to sell out a week at Carnegie Hall.
• 1973 - Neil Young's film Journey Through the Past premiered at the U.K. film festival in Dallas.
• 1977 - The Damned played at CBGBs. It was the first performance in the U.S. by a British punk band.
• 1979 - Aerosmith opened their Night in the Ruts Tour in Los Angeles.
• 1981 - Glen Campbell and Tanya Tucker broke up.
• 1982 - During a riot during a concert by New Order, Peter Hook was knocked unconscious.
• 1985 - The Broadway musical Leader of the Pack: The Songs of Ellie Greenwich opened.
• 1987 - The Oak Ridge Boys announce that Steve Sanders will "probably" be replacing William Lee Golden in the group.
• 1988 - R.E.M. left IRS Records and signed with Warner Brothers.
• 1989 - Lol Tulhurst left the Cure.
• 1991 - Virgin Records was sued by a group saying that Paula Abdul did not do all the vocals on her album Forever Your Girl. Virgin won the case.
• 1994 - An electrician found the body of Kurt Cobain in a greenhouse at the singer's Seattle home.
• 1998 - Ron Wood was rescued along with another eleven people from a boat that had caught fire south of Rio De Janeiro. Shortly after the rescue, the boat exploded.
• 1999 - Faith Hill became a spokesperson for Cover Girl.
• 2000 - Sean "Puffy" Combs canceled the final show of his European tour at London's O2 Arena without explanation.
• 2002 - Marilyn Manson denied being responsible for the death of a woman at his mansion during a party.
• 2006 - The Rolling Stones played their first show ever on mainland China.
• 2008 - Pete Doherty of Babyshambles was jailed for 14 weeks after violating his probation by using drugs.
• 2011 - Carrie Underwood's acting debut, the film Soul Surfer, opened.
• 2012 - The organizers of the Olympics asked the manager of The Who if Keith Moon would be joining the band for their performance.
• 2012 - Sonny Geraci of the Outsiders and Climax suffered a brain aneurysm.
• 2014 - Dan Smyers of Dan + Shay was injured in a car wreck.
• 2016 - The Guns N' Roses reunion tour opened in Las Vegas.
• 2016 - Cheap Trick, Chicago, Deep Purple, N.W.A. and Steve Miller were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Miller ranted backstage about the Hall being a "private boys club".
• 2016 - Bruce Springsteen canceled his April 10 show in Greensboro, NC in protest of the state's new law barring gays and lesbians from suing for workplace discrimination.

Marriages

• 1989 - Steve Wariner and Caryn Sever

Divorced

• 1970 - Don & Venitia Everly (filed)
• 1982 - Lynn Anderson & Harold Stream III
• 2016 - Gavid Rossdale & Gwen Stefani

Recorded

• 1964 - Where Did Our Love Go - Supremes

Released

• 1960 - Elvis is Back! - Elvis Presley (first post-military album)
• 1975 - Toys in the Attic - Aerosmith
• 1977 - The Clash - Clash
• 1994 - Smash - The Offspring (debut album)

Broadcasts

• 1956 - Ted Mack Amateur Hour (ABC) - Johnny Burnette Trio
• 1959 - The Adventures of Ozzy & Harriet (ABC) - Rick Nelson (singing "It's Late")
• 1963 - Academy Awards - Frank Sinatra (host)
• 1965 - The Jimmy Dean Show (ABC) - Chet Atkins
• 1968 - Petula - Petula Clark (NBC) - Harry Belafonte
• 1970 - Kraft Music Hall (NBC) - Jackie DeShannon, Eddy Arnold
• 1970 - Johnny Cash Show (ABC) - Tony Joe White, Patti Page, Sonny James
• 1980 - The Gambler (CBS) - Kenny Rogers
• 2003 - The Chris Issac Show (Showtime) - Third season premier
• 2003 - Cher: The Farewell Tour (NBC)
• 2012 - Unplugged - Florence + the Machine (MTV)

Number Ones - U.S. Singles

• 1989 - The Look - Roxette (1 week)
• 2000 - Maria Maria - Santana Featuring The Product G&B (10 weeks)
• 2006 - Bad Day - Daniel Powter (5 weeks)

Number Ones - U.S. Albums

• 2000 - No Strings Attached - N Sync (8 weeks)
• 2006 - 3121 - Prince (1 week)
• 2017 - More Life - Drake (3 weeks)

Number Ones - U.S. R&B Singles

• 1989 - Girl I Got My Eyes On You - Today (1 week)
• 2000 - Maria Maria - Santana Featuring The Product G&B (3 weeks)

Number Ones - U.S. Country Singles

• 1944 - So Long Pal - Al Dexter (3 weeks)
• 1978 - Someone Loves You Honey - Charley Pride (2 weeks)
• 1989 - I'm No Stranger to the Rain - Keith Whitley (2 weeks)
• 2006 - What Hurts the Most - Rascal Flatts (4 weeks)

Number Ones - U.S. Adult Contemporary Singles

• 1978 - We'll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again - England Dan & John Ford Coley (5 weeks)
• 1989 - Eternal Flame - Bangles (2 weeks)

Number Ones - U.K. Singles

• 1965 - Concrete and Clay - Unit 4 + 2 (1 week)
• 1978 - Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Dogs and Cats - Brian & Michael (3 weeks)
• 1995 - Back For Good - Take That (4 weeks)
• 2000 - Fool Again - Westlife (1 week)
• 2006 - Crazy - Gnarls Barkley (9 weeks)

Number Ones - U.K. Albums

• 1961 - G.I. Blues - Elvis Presley (12 weeks, 2 previous weeks)
• 1995 - Wake Up! - Boo Radleys (1 week)
• 2006 - This New Day - Embrace (1 week)