On This Day, October 9 in Music History
EVENTS ON OCTOBER 9 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day October 9 in 1959 – One-hit wonder Jerry Keller went to number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Here Comes Summer’.
1961 – With ‘Hit the Road Jack’, Ray Charles started a two-week run at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song became a chart-topper in New Zealand and Sweden as well that year, and it earned him a Grammy Award for Best R&B Recording.
1965 – The Beatles hit number one in the US with ‘Yesterday’ for the first of four consecutive weeks. This was the band’s fifth chart-topper of the year in the US as they previously topped the Hot 100 chart with ‘I Feel Fine’, ‘Eight Days a Week’, ‘Ticket to Ride’, and ‘Help!’.
1969 – Brother-and-sister music duo The Carpenters released their debut studio album ‘Ticket to Ride’.
1972 – Rock supergroup Cream released their compilation album ‘Heavy Cream’ through Polydor Records.
1975 – Rod Stewart started a five-week run at No.1 on the UK Singles chart with the double A-side ‘Reason to Believe’/Maggie Way’.
1976 – The No.1 single in the US on this day was the disco instrumental ‘A Fifth of Beethoven’ by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band.
1976 – Rock band Dr. Feelgood took the top spot on the UK Albums chart with their live album ‘Stupidity’. This was the first live album to debut at No.1 on the chart.
1978 – Belgian singer and actor Jacques Brel died at the age of 49. Numerous songs of his were translated to English and performed by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, David Bowie, John Denver, Nina Simone, and many other artists.
1988 – American guitarist Clifton “Cliff” Gallup died at the age of 58 from a heart attack. Best remembered for his work with Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps.
1993 – Boy band Take That featuring Lulu topped the UK Singles chart with their rendition of Dan Hartman‘s 1979 disco hit ‘Relight My Fire’.
1993 – The number one album in the United Kingdom on this day was ‘Very’ by the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. The album features the hit single ‘Go West’ and it also reached No.1 in Finland, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland.
1993 – With their third and final studio album ‘In Utero’, Nirvana reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. Also a chart-topper in the UK, Australia, and Sweden that year.
1999 – Mariah Carey and rapper Jay-Z started a two-week run at number one in the US with ‘Heartbreaker’.
1999 – American jazz vibraphonist Milton Jackson nicknamed ‘Bags’ died at the age of 76.
1999 – Industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails scored their first number one album in the US with their third studio release ‘The Fragile’.
1999 – Tom Jones went to number one in the United Kingdom with his thirty-fourth studio album ‘Reload’. The LP sold over 4 million copies worldwide and it features the international hit ‘Sex Bomb’.
2004 – With their seventh studio album ‘American Idiot’, Green Day topped the US Billboard 200 chart for the first time. The album also reached No.1 in 18 other countries and it sold over 15 million copies worldwide.
2004 – Singer-songwriter Joss Stone reached number one in the UK with her second studio album ‘Mind Body & Soul’.
2007 – Singer and songwriter Josh Groban released his Christmas-themed fourth studio album ‘Noël’. The album went on to sell over 3.5 million copies in 2007 alone and it topped the national charts in Canada and the US.
2010 – Rapper Tinie Tempah and singer Eric Turner went to number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Written in the Stars’.
2010 – The Zac Brown Band hit number one in the United States with their second studio album ‘You Get What You Give’.
2010 – With their second studio album ‘Science & Faith’, Irish rock band The Script went to number one in the UK.
2021 – American rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again reached number one in the US with his third studio album ‘Sincerely, Kentrell’.
2021 – Coldplay and boyband BTS topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with ‘My Universe’.
BORN ON OCTOBER 9 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1939 – American blues music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Overton Vertis “O.V.” Wright was born in Shelby County, Tennessee. Best known for songs such as ‘That’s How Strong My Love Is’, ‘Nucleus of Soul’, and ‘A Nickel and a Nail’.
1940 – English singer-songwriter and co-founder of The Beatles, John Lennon was born in Liverpool.
1944 – American singer, songwriter and producer Nona Hendryx was born in Trenton, New Jersey. She came to prominence as a member of the vocal group Labelle.
1944 – Founding member and bassist of the rock band The Who, John Entwistle also known by his nicknames The Ox and Thunderfingers was born in Chiswick, England.
1948 – American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jackson Browne was born in Heidelberg, Germany.
1949 – English musician, songwriter, and record producer Rodney “Rod” Tempterton was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. Best known for his work with the band Heatwave and Michael Jackson.
1954 – English musician James Fearnley was born in Worsley, Lancashire. He came to prominence as a member of the punk band The Pogues.
1957 – Reggae musician Ini Kamoze was born Cecil Campbell in Saint Mary, Jamaica. Best known for the chart-topping international hit single ‘Here Comes the Hotstepper’.
1961 – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and co-founder of the rock band BoDeans, Kurt Neumann was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
1967 – Founding member and bassist of the rock band Suede, Mat Osman was born in Welwyn Garden City, England.
1969 – British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Polly Jean “PJ” Harvey was born in Bridport, England.
1972 – American musician and songwriter Terry Balsamo was born in Tampa, Florida. He rose to fame as a member of the bands Evanescence and Cold.
1978 – Irish pop singer and songwriter Nicholas “Nicky” Byrne was born in Dublin, Ireland. Best known as a member of the boy band Westlife.