On This Day, February 7 in Music History
EVENTS ON FEBRUARY 7 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day February 7 in 1959 – New Orleans blues musician Eddie Jones also known as Guitar Slim died at the age of 32 from pneumonia. Best remembered for his chart-topping blues standard ‘The Things That I Used to Do’.
1964 – The Beatles arrived in the United States for the first time and were greeted by 5,000 fans at JFK airport in New York, marking the beginning of Beatlemania.
1970 – With their second studio album ‘Led Zeppelin II’, Led Zeppelin reached No.1 in the UK on this day February 7 in music history. It also became a chart-topper in the US and seven other countries worldwide that year.
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1970 – An unexpected chart-topper in the US as ‘Venus’ by the Dutch rock band Shocking Blue claimed the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was a worldwide hit and it reached number in thirteen other countries.
1973 – Punk pioneers the Stooges released their third studio album ‘Raw Power’ on this day February 7 through Columbia Records. The album is considered the prototype of punk rock and is one of the most influential records in music history.
1976 – With his seventeenth studio album ‘Desire’, Bob Dylan hit number one on the US Billboard 200 for the first of five consecutive weeks.
1976 – Country music singer Slim Whitman started a six-week run at No.1 in the UK on this day February 7 with his compilation album ‘The Very Best of Slim Whitman’.
1976 – Paul Simon scored his first and only solo number one single in the US with ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks straight and it also reached No.1 in Canada.
1981 – John Lennon extended his run at No.1 in the UK Singles chart for two more weeks with ‘Woman’. He previously topped the chart for four weeks straight with ‘Imagine’. Lennon was also at No.1 on the UK Albums chart on this day February 7 in music history with ‘Double Fantasy’.
1981 – With ‘Celebration’, Kool & The Gang went to number one on the US Billboard 100. Also a chart-topper in New Zealand and Canada that year while in the UK it peaked at No.7.
1985 – English singer and entertainer Edward Parsons also known professionally as Matt Monro died on this day February 7 at the age of 54.
1987 – Aretha Franklin and George Michael topped the UK Singles chart with ‘I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)’. The song was a worldwide hit and it also reached No.1 in six other countries that year, including the US and Australia.
1987 – The number one single in the United States on this day February 7 was ‘Open Your Heart’ by Madonna, her fifth chart-topper.
1994 – Polish composer and conductor Witold Lutoslawski died at the age of 81. Best remembered for composing the symphonies ‘Concerto for Orchestra’ and ‘Variations on a Theme by Paganini’.
1998 – Danish dance-pop group Aqua reached the top spot on the UK Singles chart with ‘Doctor Jones’ on this day February 7 in music history
2000 – American rapper and songwriter Christopher Lee Rios better known professionally as Big Pun died at the age of 28 from a heart attack and respiratory failure.
2000 – Founding member and frontman of the rock band Foghat, David Peverett also known as Lonesome Dave died on this day February 7, aged 56 from cancer.
2004 – Dance group LMC vs U2 started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK Singles chart with ‘Take Me to the Clouds Above’.
2009 – With ‘My Life Would Suck Without You’, Kelly Clarkson started a two-week stint at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
2009 – American jazz singer and pianist Margrethe Blossom Dearie died on this day February 7 at the age of 84.
2009 – Singer and songwriter Lily Allen hit No.1 on the UK Singles chart with ‘The Fear’ for the first of four consecutive weeks.
2009 – With his sixteenth studio album ‘Working on a Dream’, Bruce Springsteen hit No.1 in the UK on this day February 7 in music history. The album also became a chart-topper in 18 other countries that year, including the US.
2015 – The number one album in the United States on this day was ‘American Beauty/American Psycho’ by the rock band Fall Out Boy.
2015 – With her debut studio album ‘Title’, singer and songwriter Meghan Trainor reached No.1 in the UK on this day February 7.
2018 – American musician Mickey Jones died at the age of 76. Best remembered as a founding member of The First Edition and for his collaborations with the likes of Bob Dylan and Trini Lopez.
2019 – With their sixth studio album ‘Amo’, rock band Bring Me the Horizon hit number one in the UK on this day February 7.
BORN ON FEBRUARY 7 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1920 – Folk singer-songwriter Oscar Brand was born in Winnipeg, Canada. Best known for composing over 300 songs and producing nearly 100 albums.
1934 – American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Earl Johnson also known by his stage name Earl King was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Best known for composing songs such as ‘Come On’ and ‘Big Chief’.
1934 – American saxophonist and bandleader Curtis Ousley also known professionally as King Curtis was born in Fort Worth, Texas.
1946 – Folk rock singer and songwriter Sammy Johns was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. Best known for his 1975 million-selling single ‘Chevy Van’.
1948 – American keyboardist and composer James “Jimmy” Greenspoon was born in Beverly Hills, California. He rose to fame as a member of the rock band Three Dog Night.
1949 – Bass guitarist and founding member of the rock band Status Quo, Alan Lancaster was born in London, England.
1960 – Scottish singer and songwriter Steven Forrest was born in Glasgow. Best known as the co-founder and the keyboardist of the synthpop group Bronski Beat.
1962 – American musician David Bryan Rashbaum was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Best known as the longtime keyboardist for the rock band Bon Jovi with whom he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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1962 – Country music singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Garth Brooks was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has sold over 170 million records worldwide and is the only artist with nine diamond status albums in the US.
1968 – Founder and frontman of the rock band Godsmack, Sully Erna was born Salvatore Erna in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
1975 – American guitarist and vocalist Wesley “Wes” Borland was born in Richmond, Virginia. Best known as a member of the bands Limp Bizkit, Black Light Burns and Big Dumb Face.