Today in Music History

Queensrÿche released their first full-length studio album The Warning.

Stevie Wonder achieved his first UK No. 1 single with “I Just Called To Say I Love You”, which remained at the top for six weeks.

For the first time in the rock era, the first three songs on the Hot 100 had all been written for films: No. 1 was “St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)” by John Parr, No. 2 was “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis & the News from “Back to the Future”, and No. 3 was “We Don't Need Another Hero” by Tina Turner from “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome”.

David Bowie and Mick Jagger reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with their version of “Dancing In The Street” by Martha Reeves and The Vandellas from 1964. The song was recorded as part of the Live Aid charity campaign. It also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain, spending four weeks at No. 1 in the UK. Bowie and Jagger had originally planned to perform together live, with Bowie at Wembley Stadium and Jagger at JFK Stadium, but the satellite transmission would have caused a half-second delay, making the joint performance impossible.

John Parr reached No. 1 on the US singles chart with “St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)” and remained at the top for two weeks. The song was written by David Foster and John Parr for the 1985 film of the same name and reached No. 6 in the UK. The story behind the song was inspired by Rick Hansen, who traveled around the world in a wheelchair during his “Man in Motion” journey, raising money for spinal cord injury research. Parr received a Grammy nomination for the song.

Ringo Starr became the first member of The Beatles to become a grandfather when his son Zak and his wife Sarah had a daughter, Tatia Jayne.

Spectacular Blue Smith, singer, entrepreneur, television personality, author and philanthropist from the American R&B/hip-hop group Pretty Ricky, was born. The group had the US No. 1 album “Late Night Special” in 2007. Smith is the creator of the Grumpy Cat brand, which went viral on social media and, according to the source, earned him $100 million.

Michael Nesmith joined the other three members of The Monkees on stage at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles during their reunion tour. Because other commitments had prevented him from joining their 20th-anniversary tour, this was his first performance with all three original members since the group's breakup.

Michael Jackson released the single “Bad”, the title track of his first album after “Thriller”. It was originally intended to be a duet with Prince, who turned down the offer. The song became a major hit, reaching No. 1 in the charts in the US, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands. The album Bad was also released in the UK.

Pink Floyd released “A Momentary Lapse of Reason”, their thirteenth studio album and the band's first without founding member Roger Waters. Following the legal dispute, David Gilmour led the group. The album helped restore the band's prominent position, was followed by an extensive world tour and sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. It reached No. 3 in the US and UK and No. 1 in New Zealand.

Pink Floyd began the A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour in Ottawa, Canada, despite threats from former member Roger Waters to sue the promoters. Waters later withdrew his objection to the use of the Pink Floyd name in an out-of-court settlement in December 1987 in exchange for exclusive legal control over the concept, design and stage elements of The Wall. The agreement allowed the group to continue using the Pink Floyd name.

Barry Sadler, known for the 1966 hit “Ballad Of The Green Berets”, was shot in the head while riding in a taxi in Guatemala City. It was unclear whether he had been shot by someone else or whether the injury resulted from an accidental discharge of his own pistol. The injury caused severe brain damage and paralysis. After being transferred to the US, he remained in hospital for 14 months and died from complications of his injuries on November 5, 1989, at a veterans' hospital in Tennessee.

INXS, the new sensation from Australia, were the big winners at the MTV Video Music Awards, receiving five awards including Video of the Year for “Need You Tonight/Mediate”. The songs are separate tracks on the album but were combined for the music video; “Mediate” is a tribute to Bob Dylan's 1965 film “Subterranean Homesick Blues”.

The musical “Street Scene” opened at the New York State Theatre.

Bryan Adams spent his sixth consecutive week at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” from the film Robin Hood.

Nirvana released the single “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, one of the defining songs of the grunge era.

Counting Crows released the album August and Everything After.

Fifteen-year-old Brandy released her debut album “Brandy”, which subsequently sold more than 4 million copies and made her an R&B star. The album's hits included “I Wanna Be Down” and “Baby”.

After Pink Floyd's concert at Prague's Strahov Stadium, attended by 110,000 people, President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel invited the band to dinner.

Weezer released their breakthrough single “Buddy Holly”, named after the rock'n'roll icon. The song appeared on the band's debut album “Weezer”, also known as “The Blue Album”, and reached No. 6 in Canada and No. 12 in the UK. It was released on the day Buddy Holly would have celebrated his 58th birthday.

Michael Jackson began his third solo world concert tour, the HIStory World Tour, with the first concert at Letná Park in Prague. The tour consisted of 82 concerts, attracted approximately 4.5 million fans and, according to the source, surpassed his previous Bad Tour with 4.4 million attendees. Total gross exceeded $163.5 million.

Rap star Tupac Shakur was shot five times in a drive-by attack after a boxing match in Las Vegas. Music manager “Suge” Knight was also wounded in the attack. Shakur died from his injuries six days later at the age of 25.

Derek Taylor, press officer for The Beatles, died at the age of 65.

Fleetwood Mac reached No. 1 on the US album chart with the live album The Dance, recorded following the group's reunion after a ten-year break. It sold more than 5 million copies in the US. The album featured the singles “Landslide”, “The Chain” and “Silver Springs” and received three Grammy nominations in 1998.

The Bee Gees' live album “One Night Only” was released in Europe.

American singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams was born in Los Angeles, California, to director J. J. Abrams and producer Katie McGrath. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she began building a fan base through livestreams from her childhood bedroom on Zoom. After releasing her debut album “Good Riddance” in 2023, she performed as an opening act on Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. In 2024, she had the UK No. 1 single “That's So True” and the US Top 20 hit “I Love You, I'm Sorry”.

David Bowie released the album Hours…

Timothy Commerford, bassist of Rage Against The Machine, disrupted the MTV Video Music Awards by climbing onto the stage structure while Limp Bizkit were accepting the award for Best Rock Video for “Break Stuff”. He confused the organizers and band members and delayed the program by 20 minutes. Rage Against The Machine had been nominated in the category for “Sleep Now in the Fire”. Commerford was eventually persuaded to come down, then arrested and charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

Michael Jackson performed the first of two concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York as part of celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of his career. After an eleven-year break, he returned to the stage in the US together with the Jackson Five. The celebration also featured Eminem, Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Britney Spears, Destiny’s Child, Slash and 'N Sync. Footage from the concerts was edited and broadcast by CBS as a special on November 13.

The film “Rock Star”, starring Mark Wahlberg as the singer of a tribute band who eventually joins his favorite group, was released in theaters. The film featured several musicians, including Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind and Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe, whose song “Colorful” Wahlberg pretends to sing at the end of the film.

Ryan Adams filmed the music video for “New York, New York” with the World Trade Center buildings in the background. Four days later, the buildings were destroyed in the terrorist attacks, and the video was dedicated to their victims after its release.

Girl group Atomic Kitten reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart with their version of “The Tide Is High (Get The Feeling)”.

Coldplay reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with A Rush of Blood to the Head. The album also reached No. 1 in nine other countries.

Eminem returned to No. 1 on the US album chart with his fourth studio album The Eminem Show. The album was an international hit and topped the charts in 17 countries, including the UK, Canada and Australia.

Frankie Miller returned to Glasgow for a benefit concert at Barrowlands, with proceeds going to the Drake Music Project. The concert featured, among others, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Nazareth, Gallagher & Lyle, Hamish Stuart, Brian Robertson, Ray Wilson and Joe Walsh. Miller was present at the concert but could no longer perform because of the brain hemorrhage he suffered in 1994.

Black Eyed Peas began a six-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Where Is The Love”. It was the best-selling single of 2003, with Justin Timberlake contributing to the recording without being credited.

The White Stripes won three MTV Video Music Awards for “Seven Nation Army”.

American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Warren Zevon died in Los Angeles at the age of 56 from mesothelioma, a cancer of the peritoneum. He was best known for the 1978 album “Excitable Boy”, which reached No. 21 on Billboard and contained his only US hit, “Werewolves Of London”, which reached No. 21. Zevon released more than 15 solo albums, eight of which also charted on the Billboard 200, and he also wrote Linda Ronstadt's hit “Poor Poor Pitiful Me”. He worked as a session musician, pianist and bandleader for The Everly Brothers and collaborated with, among others, Jackson Browne, The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt. His 1969 song “She Quit Me” appeared in the film Midnight Cowboy. He frequently appeared on David Letterman's show, who was among the first to promote his music.

Aretha Franklin received the Lady of Soul Award for lifetime achievement at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

Kanye West debuted at No. 1 on the album chart with Late Registration.

Connie Stevens began filming Saving Grace in Missouri, her directorial debut.

MTV made up for the previous year, when Britney Spears appeared tired during the opening of the Video Music Awards, by giving her three awards for “Piece Of Me”. Kanye West also premiered “Love Lockdown” at the ceremony.

Noel Gallagher was attacked during Oasis's performance at the Virgin Festival in Toronto when a spectator ran onto the stage and knocked him to the ground. Gallagher suffered a broken rib and ligament damage, which led to the cancellation of several Oasis concerts.

Queen's song “Bohemian Rhapsody” was voted the greatest song of all time for waving a lighter in the air in a poll conducted by Zippo. “Stairway To Heaven” by Led Zeppelin came second, followed by “I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” by Meat Loaf.

The xx won the 2010 Mercury Prize.

Buddy Holly was posthumously honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His widow Maria Elena, longtime friend Phil Everly and Gary Busey, who portrayed Holly in the 1978 film, attended the ceremony.

Dorothy McGuire Williamson of The McGuire Sisters died at the age of 84. Together with her sisters Christine and Phyllis, she had 18 US Top 40 hits in the 1950s and 1960s, including the No. 1 songs “Sincerely” and “Sugartime”.

Heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with their sixth studio album Hail to the King. The album also topped the charts in the US, Canada, Brazil, Finland and Ireland that year.