On This Day, April 28 in Music History
EVENTS ON APRIL 28 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day April 28 in 1958 – David Saville reached No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with ‘Witch Doctor’.
1960 – English actor and singer Anthony Newly scored his second number one single of the year in the UK with ‘Do You Mind’. He previously topped the Singles chart on February 5 with ‘Why’.
1964 – Elvis Presley released ‘Viva Las Vegas’. The song featured in his film of the same name and it became one of his most recognizable records although he rarely sang it live and it was never a chart-topper.
1966 – With her English-language version ‘You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me’ of the Italian song ‘Io che non vivo (senza te)’, Dusty Springfield reached No.1 in the UK.
1969 – Rock band Chicago Transit Authority released their eponymous debut studio album on Columbia Records. The LP peaked at No.17 in the US but is best known for beating the record for longest charting album on the Billboard 200 where it stayed for 171 weeks.
1973 – Singer-songwriter David Bowie released ‘Starman’ as a single on this day April 28 in music history. The song became his first major hit since ‘Space Oddity’ in 1969 peaking at No.10 in the UK.
1973 – Rock band Faces went to number one in the United Kingdom with their fourth and final studio album ‘Ooh La La’.
1973 – With their eighth studio album ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’, Pink Floyd topped the US Billboard 200 chart. As of April 2024, it has spent 989 non-consecutive weeks on the chart making it the longest charting album of all time.
15 Pink Floyd Facts You May Have Not Known
1975 – Rock and roll DJ, record producer and concert promoter Tom ‘Big Daddy’ Donahue died from a heart attack, aged 46. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as a non-performer.
1979 – With his compilation album ‘The Very Best of Leo Sayer’, Leo Sayer hit number one in the UK for the first of three weeks straight.
1979 – With ‘Heart of Glass’, Blondie topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on this day April 28. The song was an international hit that year and it also reached No.1 in seven other countries, including the UK, Canada, and Australia.
1980 – American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Thomas Caldwell died in car crash at the age of 30. Best known as a founding member of The Marshall Tucker Band.
1981 – English bass guitarist Steve Currie died in a car accident, aged 33. Best remembered as a long time member of the rock band T. Rex.
1988 – American country pop singer and guitar player Charles “B.W.” Stevenson died at the age of 38 following a heart valve surgery. Best remembered for his Top 10 single ‘My Maria’.
1990 – Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor started a six-week stint at No.1 on the US Billboard 200 with her second studio album ‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got’.
1998 – Dave Matthews Band released their third studio album ‘Before These Crowded Streets’. The album debuted at No.1 on the US Billboard 200 chart and it went on to sell over 4 million copies worldwide.
2002 – With ‘Survivor’, girl group Destiny’s Child topped the UK Singles chart on this day April 28 in music history. In America and Canada it peaked at No.2.
2005 – American jazz bassist Percy Heath died at the age of 81. Best remembered as one third of the sibling jazz group Heath Brothers.
2007 – The number one album in the United Kingdom on this day April 28 was ‘The Best Damn Thing’ by singer and songwriter Avril Lavigne.
2007 – Beyonce and Shakira hit No.1 in the UK with ‘Beautiful Liar’ for the first of three consecutive weeks. It was a chart-topper in over fifteen countries worldwide that year.
Beyonce, Shakira – Beautiful Liar
2012 – With ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’, Gotye featuring Kimbra started an eight-week stint at No.1 in the US.
2012 – With his tenth studio album ‘Tuskegee’, Lionel Richie reached the top spot on the US Billboard 200 for the first time since 1986 when he topped the chart with ‘Dancing on the Ceiling’.
2013 – American bass guitarist and vocalist Lonnie Turner died at the age of 66. Best remembered as a founding member of the Steve Miller Band.
2015 – American guitarist and singer Jack Brown Eley died on this day April 28 at the age of 71. Best remembered as the co-founder of the rock band The Kingsmen.
2016 – With her ninth studio album ‘The Hope Six Demolition Project’, singer-songwriter PJ Harvey reached No.1 in the UK.
2018 – Country music singer Jason Aldean reached number one in the US with his eighth studio album ‘Rearview Town’.
2022 – British rapper Digga T topped the UK Albums chart with his third commercial mixtape ‘NBN’ (‘Noughty by Nature’).
BORN ON APRIL 28 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1924 – American jazz singer and pianist Margrethe Blossom Dearie was born in East Durham, New York City.
1941 – Swedish actress and singer Ann-Margret Olsson was born in Valsjöbyn, Sweden. Best known for her hit song ‘I Just Don’t Understand’.
1943 – American soul singer Johnny Corley better known by his stage name The Fantastic Johnny C was born in Greenwood, South Carolina.
1945 – Drummer John Wolters was born in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. Best known as a member of the rock band Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show from 1973 until 1982.
1950 – Trombonist, trumpeter, and Salsa music pioneer William “Willie” Colon was born in New York City.
1952 – Keyboardist, vocalist, and founding member of the jazz rock group Sea Level, Charles Leavell was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Also known as a member of the Allman Brothers Band in the 1970s.
1952 – American singer-songwriter, bassist, and guitarist Kim Gordon was born in Rochester, New York. She came to prominence as a founding member of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth.
1955 – British keyboardist and violinist Eddie Jobson was born in Billingham, England. Best known for his work with progressive rock bands such as Jethro Tull, Roxy Music and Curved Air.
1956 – Australian singer and songwriter Jimmy Barnes was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He rose to fame as the frontman of the rock band Cold Chisel before establishing himself as a solo artist.
1966 – West Coast rap pioneer Todd Anthony Shaw also known professionally as Too Short was born in Los Angeles, California. Best known for songs such as ‘The Ghetto’ and ‘Blow the Whistle’.
1968 – Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, DJ and record producer Howard Donald was born in Droylsden. He came to prominence as a founding member of the pop group Take That.
1968 – Co-founder and lead guitarist of the industrial metal band Marilyn Manson, Scott Putesky also known by his stage name Daisy Berkowitz was born in Los Angeles, California.
1973 – American rapper Cameron “Big” Gipp was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He is best known for the hit singles ‘Cell Therapy’, ‘Soul Food’, and ‘Dirty South’.