On This Day, November 2 in Music History
EVENTS ON NOVEMBER 2 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day November 2 in 1963 – Folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary started a five-week run at number one on the US Billboard 200 with their third studio album ‘In the Wind’.
1966 – American country blues singer and guitarist “Mississippi” John Hurt died at the age of 73.
1967 – Rock supergroup Cream released their second studio album ‘Disraeli Gears’ through Reaction Records. The album peaked in the Top 5 in the US and UK, while in Australia, Finland, and Sweden it reached No.1.
1969 – Rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) released their fourth studio album ‘Willy and the Poor Boys’ through Fantasy Records. The album became a chart-topper in France and a Top 10 hit in Canada, the US, Finland, the UK, Norway, and the Netherlands. It features the band’s signature song ‘Fortunate Son’.
1973 – Apple Records released Ringo Starr‘s third solo studio album ‘Ringo’. The album reached No.1 in Canada, Spain, and Sweden, while in the US it peaked at No.2.
1974 – Stevie Wonder scored his fourth number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 with ‘You Haven’t Done Nothin”. The song features backing vocals by The Jackson 5 and it also topped the singles chart in Canada.
1974 – Folk rock supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young topped the US Albums chart with their fourth studio LP ‘So Far’.
1985 – Eleven years later on the same date, Stevie Wonder also topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart but this time with ‘Part-Time Lover’. The song was an international hit and it also reached No.1 in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain.
1985 – The number one album in the United Kingdom on this day was the seventh studio LP ‘Once Upon a Time’ by the pop rock band Simple Minds.
1985 – The soundtrack album to the crime drama TV series ‘Miami Vice’ started a seven-week run at number one on the US Billboard 200.
1987 – George Michael released his debut solo studio album ‘Faith’ through Columbia and Epic Records. The album was a chart-topper in Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, the US and the UK, and it features four No.1 singles ‘Father Figure’, ‘One More Try’, ‘Faith’, and ‘Monkey’. It also won him a Grammy for Album of the Year.
1987 – George Harrison released his eleventh and final studio album during his lifetime ‘Cloud Nine’ through his own record label Dark Horse. The album was a commercial success reaching the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic and it features the chart-topping single ‘Got My Mind Set on You’.
1991 – With ‘The Fly’, Irish rock band U2 ended Bryan Adams‘ record breaking sixteen-week stint at No.1 in the UK who topped the Singles chart with ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It for You’.
1991 – Karyn White scored her first and only number one single in the United States with ‘Romantic’.
1991 – American singer, songwriter, and pianist Mortimer “Mort” Shuman died at the age of 52 from cancer. Best remembered for co-writing the hit song ‘Viva Las Vegas’.
1996 – American singer, pianist, and guitarist Eva Cassidy died of melanoma, aged 33.
1996 – Pop rock band The Beautiful South topped the UK Albums chart with their fifth studio LP ‘Blue Is the Colour’.
1996 – With their second studio album ‘Recovering the Satellites’, rock band Counting Crows topped the US Billboard 200 chart.
1999 – Rock band Foo Fighters released their third studio album ‘There Is Nothing Left to Lose’. The album was a commercial success and it earned the band two Grammy Awards, including an award for Best Rock Album.
2002 – Country music singer Faith Hill scored her second chart-topper on the US Billboard 200 with her fifth studio album ‘Cry’.
2002 – Rock group Foo Fighters scored their first number one album in the United Kingdom with ‘One by One’, their fourth studio release.
2013 – With her fourth studio album ‘Prism’, American singer Katy Perry reached number one in the UK.
2013 – Rock band Pearl Jam scored their fifth number one album in the United States with ‘Lightning Bolt’, their 10th studio LP.
2013 – The number one single in the United Kingdom on this day was ‘Royals’ by the 16-year-old singer-songwriter Lorde.
2014 – British clarinetist and vocalist Bernard Stanley Bilk better known by his stage name Acker Bilk died at age 85. Best remembered for his chart-topping 1961 instrumental single ‘Stranger on the Shore’.
2017 – 27 years after the album was originally released, George Michael‘s second solo studio LP ‘Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1’ took the top spot on the UK Albums chart once again after being reissued.
2018 – Founding member and guitarist of the rock band James Gang, Glenn Schwartz died at the age of 78.
2019 – British singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi went to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with ‘Someone You Loved’.
BORN ON NOVEMBER 2 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1936 – Pioneer of electronic music Maxfield “Max” Crook was born in Lincoln, Nebraska.
1937 – Founding member and lead vocalist of the doo-wop group The Cadillacs, Earl “Speedo” Carroll was born in New York City.
1938 – American singer Jay Black was born David Blatt in Queens, New York City. He came to prominence as the lead singer of Jay and the Americans.
1941 – Founding member and lead singer of the beat band The Tremeloes, Brian Poole was born on this day in Dagenham, England.
1941 – Guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer Bruce Welch was born Bruce Cripps in Bognor Regis, England. He rose to fame as a founding member of the instrumental rock group The Shadows.
1944 – British keyboardist, songwriter, and producer Keith Emerson was born in Todmorden, England. Best known for his work with the bands The Nice, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
1945 – American singer and songwriter John David “J.D.” Souther was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1947 – Multi-instrumentalist and record producer Dave Pegg was born in Birmingham, England. Best known for his work with bands such as Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull.
1952 – Soul and R&B music singer Maxine Nightingale was born in London, England. Best known for her hit songs ‘Lead Me On’, ‘Right Back Where We Started From’, and ‘Love Hit Me’.
1958 – American drummer, composer, arranger, and founding member of the Dave Matthews Band, Carter Beauford was born in Charlottesville, Virginia.
1961 – Canadian pop music singer and songwriter Kathryn Dawn Lang also known by her stage name k.d. lang was born in Edmonton, Alberta.
1963 – Heavy metal bassist Ronald “Ron” McGovney was born in Los Angeles, California. He rose to fame as the original bassist for Metallica.
1963 – Bassist and founding member of the rock band Poison, Robert Kuykendall also known as Bobby Dall was born in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
1969 – American bassist and backing vocalist Reginald Arvizu also known professionally as “Fieldy” was born in Bakersfield, California. He came to prominence as the co-founder of the nu metal band Korn.
1974 – American rapper and singer Cornell Iral Haynes better known by his stage name Nelly was born in Austin, Texas.
1975 – Multi-instrumentalist, producer, and film scores composer Christopher “Chris” Walla was born in Bothell, Washington. Best known as a member of the rock band Death Cab for Cutie.