On This Day, March 9 in Music History
EVENTS ON MARCH 9 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day March 9 in 1959 – With ‘Venus’, Frankie Avalon hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first of five weeks straight.
1960 – After playing over 300 gigs billed as The Quarry Men, the band changed their name to The Beatles, the rest is history.
1961 – The Supremes released their debut single ‘I Want A Guy’ through Motown Records on this day March 9 in music history. The song failed to chart despite a big push from the record label.
1963 – The best-selling album in the United States on this day March 9 was ‘My Song, The Celebrity’ by the song parodist Allan Sherman.
1964 – The Four Preps released a song called ‘A Letter to the Beatles’ whose lyrics describe a boy losing his girlfriend to the Fab Four. The single was a commercial success but it had to be removed from the charts because it contained lyrics from ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ without permission.
1968 – With his eighth studio album ‘John Wesley Harding’, Bob Dylan hit number one in the UK on this day March 9 for the first of ten consecutive weeks.
1974 – English rock singer Alvin Stardust scored his first and only number one single in the UK with ‘Jealous Mind’.
1976 – The Who‘s drummer Keith Moon collapsed onstage during a concert at the Boston Garden arena on this day March 9.
1976 – The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded Queen a Gold Record for their fourth studio album ‘A Night at the Opera’. As of March 2023, the album has sold over 3 million copies in the US alone and has been certified 3x Platinum.
1981 – Robert Plant played a secret gig with his new band The Honey Drippers on this day March 9 in music history. But it turns out the secret gig wasn’t so secret after all.
1985 – With ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’, rock band REO Speedwagon scored their second and last number one single in the US.
1985 – New wave band Dead or Alive topped the UK Singles chart with ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’ on this day March 9.
1987 – Irish rock band U2 released their fifth studio album ‘The Joshua Tree’ through Island Records. The album reached No.1 in nine countries and it became one of the best-selling albums of all time with more the 25 million copies sold.
1991 – Singer-songwriter Mariah Carey scored her third consecutive number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Someday’ on this day March 9.
1991 – Nearly a decade after the song was originally released, punk rock band The Clash reached No.1 on the UK Singles chart with ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’.
1991 – Singer-songwriter Chris Rea went to number one in the UK with his eleventh studio album ‘Auberge’ on this day March 9 in music history.
1996 – With their rendition of the Bee Gees hit song ‘How Deep Is Your Love’, Take That topped the UK Singles chart.
1997 – American rapper Christopher Wallace better known by his stage names The Notorious B.I.G. and Biggie Smalls was murdered on this day March 9, aged 24. Best remembered for hit songs such as ‘Juicy’, ‘Hypnotize’, and ‘Big Poppa’.
The Notorious B.I.G. – Hypnotize
2002 – Jennifer Lopez featuring rapper Ja Rule started a six-week stint at No.1 on the US Singles chart with ‘Ain’t It Funny (Murder Remix)’.
2002 – British singer Will Young started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK Singles chart with ‘Anything Is Possible’ on this day March 9.
2004 – American guitarist and painter Charles Lopez also known professionally as Rust Epique died of an aortic rupture at the age of 36.
2007 – American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bradley “Brad” Delp committed suicide on this day March 9 in music history, aged 55. Best remembered as the frontman of the rock band Boston.
2013 – With ‘Mirrors’, American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake scored his second number one single in the UK.
2017 – British rapper Stormzy topped the UK Albums chart on this day March 9 with his debut studio release ‘Gang Signs & Prayer’.
2018 – With ‘Shallow’, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper hit No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The duo also topped the Billboard 200 on this day with the soundtrack album to the film ‘A Star Is Born’ in which they both starred.
BORN ON MARCH 9 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1910 – Baritone, pianist, composer, and conductor Samuel Barber was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
1928 – American jazz and popular music singer Keely Smith was born Dorothy Jacqueline Keely in Norfolk, Virginia.
1930 – American jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer Ornette Coleman was born in Fort Worth, Texas.
1933 – Singer-songwriter, bandleader, and record executive Lloyd Price was born in Kenner, Louisiana. Best known for his hit single ‘Personality’ which earned him the nickname “Mr. Personality”.
1936 – Country music singer-songwriter and piano player Mickey Gilley was born in Natchez, Mississippi.
1942 – Founding member and lead singer of the band Paul Revere & the Raiders, Mark Lindsay was born in Eugene, Oregon.
1942 – Multi-instrumentalist, composer, singer, songwriter, and producer John Cale was born in Garnant, Wales. He came to prominence as a founding member of the art-rock band The Velvet Underground.
1942 – American drummer and vocalist Gary Leeds better known as Gary Walker was born in Glendale, California. Best known for his work with the bands The Standells, and The Walker Brothers.
1945 – English guitarist and songwriter Robin Trower was born in London. He rose to fame as a member of the rock band Procol Harum.
1945 – Singer, lyricist, and poet Robert Calvert was born in Pretoria, South Africa. Best known as a member of the rock group Hawkwind where he played alongside Lemmy Kilmister.
1948 – American singer-songwriter and drummer Jeffrey Osborne was born in Providence, Rhode Island. Best known as a member of the R&B group L.T.D.
1949 – Guitarist and co-founder of the rock band The Move, Trevor Burton was born Trevor Ireson in Birmingham, England.
1958 – Singer, songwriter, keyboardist, composer and record producer Martin Fry was born in Stretford, England.
1968 – Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and founding member of the rock trio Ben Folds Five, Robert Sledge was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
1969 – Guitarist and founding member of the crossover thrash metal band Excel, Adam Siegel was born in Venice, California.
1980 – American rapper and songwriter Howard Bailey Jr better known by his stage name Chingy was born in St. Louis, Missouri.
1987 – American rapper Shad Gregory Moss also known professionally as Bow Wow was born in Columbus, Ohio.
1993 – South Korean rapper, songwriter, and record producer Suga was born Min Yoon-gi in Daegu, South Korea. Best known as a member of the boy band BTS.