On This Day October 12 in Music History
EVENTS ON OCTOBER 12 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day October 12 in 1960 – The Highwaymen topped the UK Singles chart with their rendition of the African-American spiritual song ‘Michael’ Row the Boat Ashore’.
1963 – With ‘Sugar Shack’, Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs started a five-week stint at No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
1968 – Big Brother and the Holding Company hit number one on the US Billboard 200 chart with their second studio album ‘Cheap Thrills’ for the first of five consecutive weeks.
1968 – Pop rock band The Hollies scored their first and only No.1 album in the UK with ‘Hollies’ Greatest’ which topped the Albums chart for six weeks straight.
1971 – Rock and roll pioneer Gene Vincent died of a ruptured ulcer, aged 36. Best remembered for hit songs such as ‘Be-Bop-a-Lula’ and ‘Lotta Lovin’.
1974 – The number one single in the United Kingdom on this day was John Denver‘s ‘Annie’s Song’. The song is dedicated to his wife at the time and it also reached No.1 in Canada, the US, and Ireland that year.
1974 – With their first full-length album ‘Rollin’, Sottish pop rock band Bay City Rollers went to number one in the UK.
1974 – Olivia Newton-John scored her first number one album in the United States with ‘If You Love Me, Le Me Know’. The album was released only in North America.
1979 – Fleetwood Mac released their twelfth studio album ‘Tusk’ through Warner Bros. Records. It went on to sell over four million copies worldwide and it topped the album charts in the UK and New Zealand.
1985 – With ‘The Power of Love’, singer-songwriter Jennifer Rush started a five-week run at number one on the UK singles chart. The song was a worldwide hit and it also topped the charts in eight other countries.
1985 – R&B band Ready for the World went to number one on the US Singles chart with ‘Oh Sheila’.
1985 – Founding member and guitarist of the rock band The B-52’s, Ricky Wilson died at the age of 32 from complications of AIDS.
1987 – Australian rock band INXS released their sixth studio album ‘Kick’. It became their best-selling album and it peaked at No.1 in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and reached the Top 10 in the UK and US.
1991 – With ‘Emotions’, Mariah Carey started a three-week run at number one in the US. This was her fifth consecutive No.1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
1991 – Simply Red went to number one on the UK Albums chart with their fourth studio album ‘Stars’. The album was a best-seller in the United Kingdom for two consecutive years (1991/92).
1996 – The Chemical Brothers topped the UK Singles chart with ‘Setting Sun’. The song features vocals by Noel Gallagher of Oasis.
1996 – British-Australian singer and songwriter Peter Andre reached number one in the UK with his second studio album ‘Natural’.
1997 – American singer-songwriter and guitarist John Denver died at the age of age 53 when the plane he was piloting crashed into the Pacific ocean.
1999 – American Delta blues harmonica player Frank Frost died on this day at the age of 63 from a cardiac arrest.
2002 – An Elvis Presley greatest hits collection ‘Elvis: 30 #1 Hits’ released by RCA Records started a three-week run at No.1 in the US. The compilation album was a hit worldwide and it topped the charts in thirteen other countries as well.
2002 – American bandleader and composer Raymond “Ray” Conniff died at the age of 85.
2009 – American singer and multi-instrumentalist Richard “Dickie” Peterson died at the age of 63. Best remembered as the founder and frontman of the rock band Blue Cheer.
2013 – With their debut studio album ‘Days Are Gone’, pop rock band Haim topped the UK Albums chart.
2013 – New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde (aged 16) hit number one on the US Singles chart for the first of nine consecutive weeks with ‘Royals’. The song was a worldwide hit and it topped the national charts in ten other countries.
2013 – Pop rock band OneRepublic reached number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Counting Stars’. An international hit that also reached No.1 in seven other countries and made the Top 10 on over twenty national charts.
2013 – With his third studio album ‘Nothing Was the Same’, rapper Drake topped the US Billboard 200 chart.
2016 – Soul music singer-songwriter and record producer William Nelson “Sonny” Sanders died at the age of 77.
2017 – Post Malone and 21 Savage started a four-week run at number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Rockstar’.
2017 – Canadian singer Shania Twain scored her second number one album in the UK with ‘Now’. The LP was her first studio release in 15 years and it also reached No.1 in the US, Canada, and Australia.
2018 – American rapper DaBaby went to number one in the United States with his second studio album ‘Kirk’.
2019 – Founding member and the eldest brother of the psychedelic soul band The Chambers Brothers, George Chambers died at the age of 88.
BORN ON OCTOBER 12 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1935 – Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti was born in Modena, Kingdom of Italy. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Three Tenors.
1935 – One half of the soul and R&B duo Sam & Dave, Samuel “Sam” Moore was in Miami, Florida.
1942 – American singer Melvin English also known by his stage names Melvin Franklin and Blue was born in Detroit, Michigan. He came to prominence as the co-founder and longtime member of the vocal group The Temptations.
1948 – Singer-songwriter and guitarist Richard “Rick” Parfitt was born in Woking, England. Best known as a member of the rock band Status Quo.
1955 – Canadian singer and songwriter Jane Siberry was born in Toronto, Ontario. Best known for songs such as ‘Miami on the Beach’, ‘One More Colour’, and ‘Calling All Angels’.
1955 – Founding member and lead singer-songwriter of the rock band The Smithereens, Patrick DiNizio was born in Plainfield, New Jersey.
1956 – British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist David Vanian was born in Newcastle, England. Best known as the frontman of the punk rock band The Damned.
1969 – Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and founding member of The Chicks, Martie Maguire was born in York, Pennsylvania on.