On This Day, November 17 in Music History
EVENTS ON NOVEMBER 17 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day November in 17 1958 – With their rendition of the North Carolina folk song ‘Tom Dooley’, The Kingston Trio topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
1962 – The Four Seasons scored their second chart-topping single of the year when ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ started a five-week run at No.1 on the US Singles chart.
1966 – The Beach Boys started a two-week run at number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Good Vibrations’.
1973 – With ‘I Love You Love Me Love’, Garry Glitter hit number one on the UK Singles chart for the first of four consecutive weeks.
1979 – English multi-instrumentalist and singer John Glascock died at the age of 28 from congenital heart valve defect.
1979 – American rock band Dr. Hook topped the singles chart in the UK with ‘When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman’.
1979 – With their compilation album ‘Greatest Hits Volume 2’, pop group ABBA reached No.1 in the UK.
1979 – The number one single in the United States on this day was ‘Still’ by the funk and soul music band The Commodores.
1980 – John Lennon released his seventh and final studio album during his lifetime ‘Double Fantasy’.
1984 – With ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’, pop duo Wham! scored their first number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was a hit worldwide and it topped fourteen other music charts as well, including the UK Singles chart. They also reached No.1 on the UK Albums chart on this day with ‘Make It Big’.
1995 – English folk rock singer and songwriter James Alan Hull died at the age of 50. Best remembered as a founding member of the band Lindisfarne.
2001 – Michael Jackson took the top spot on the US Billboard 200 chart with his tenth and final studio album ‘Invincible’.
2003 – American soul music singer Arthur Lee Conley also known professionally as Lee Roberts died aged 57. Best remembered for his hit single ‘Sweet Soul Music’.
2003 – American country music singer and songwriter Donald “Don” Gibson died at the age of 75. Best remembered for penning the country standards ‘I Can’t Stop Loving You’ and ‘Sweet Dreams’.
2006 – American singer-songwriter, keyboardist, and piano player Ruth Brown dubbed the ‘Queen of R&B’ died at age 78.
2007 – After selling over 700,000 copies in one week, rock band the Eagles hit number one in the US with their seventh studio album ‘Long Road Out of Eden’.
2007 – With their eighth studio LP ‘Back Home’, Irish boyband Westlife scored their sixth chart-topping album in the UK.
2012 – Singer-songwriter Robbie Williams scored his eighth number one album as a solo artist in the UK with ‘Take the Crown’.
2014 – American soul music singer Jimmy Ruffin died at the age of 78. Best remembered for his Top 10 hit singles ‘Hold On (To My Love)’ and ‘What Becomes of the Brokenhearted’.
2016 – Electronic music group Clean Bandit started a nine-week stint at the top of the UK Singles chart with ‘Rockabye’.
2016 – Four years later on the same date, Robbie Williams also topped the UK Albums chart, this time with ‘The Heavy Entertainment Show’, his 10th domestic No.1.
2018 – Record producer Metro Boomin reached number one in America with his debut solo studio album ‘Not All Heroes Wear Capes’.
2018 – Ariana Grande scored her first number one single in the United States with ‘Thank U, Next’.
BORN ON NOVEMBER 17 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1938 – Canadian folk-rock and country music singer-songwriter and guitarist Gordon Lightfoot was born in Orillia, Ontario.
1942 – Keyboardist, backing vocalist and founding member of the pop rock band The Four Seasons, Robert “Bob” Gaudio was born in the Bronx, New York.
1944 – Multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Eugene “Gene” Clark was born in Tipton, Missouri. Best known as a founding member of the rock band The Byrds.
1946 – English multi-instrumentalist Martin Barre was born in Birmingham. Best known as the lead guitarist and longtime member of the rock band Jethro Tull.
1947 – Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and co-founder of the folk rock band Lindisfarne, Roderick “Rod” Clements was born in North Shields, England.
1951 – American singer, actor, and Air Force pilot Dean Paul Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti in Santa Monica, California. Best known as one third of the singing trio Dino, Desi & Billy. He’s also the son of singer Dean Martin.
1955 – Singer-songwriter and one half of the pop dup Go West, Peter Cox was born in London, England.
1957 – American guitarist Jim Babjak was born in Salzburg, Austria. He rose to fame as the co-founder of the rock band the Smithereens.
1966 – American singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey “Jeff” Buckley was born in Anaheim, California. Best known for his rendition of Leonard Cohen’s song ‘Hallelujah’.
1966 – American guitarist, producer and songwriter Richard Fortus was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Best known for his work with bands such as Guns N’ Roses, Thin Lizzy, Love Spit Love, and The Dead Daisies.
1967 – Singer, rapper and founding member of the groups New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe, Ronald “Ronnie” DeVoe was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts.
1980 – Lead guitarist, vocalist, and co-founder of the siblings pop rock band Hanson, Isaac Hanson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
1981 – English singer and actress Sarah Harding was born in Ascot, Berkshire. She came to prominence as a member of the girl group Girls Aloud.