On This Day, November 23 in Music History
EVENTS ON NOVEMBER 23 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day November 23 in 1959 – After a one week break from the top spot, Bobby Darin returned for a three-week run at No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Mack the Knife’. He topped the chart for nine weeks in total that year.
1963 – The singing act Dale & Grace scored their first number one single in the United States with ‘I’m Leaving It Up to You’.
1970 – George Harrison released his debut single ‘My Sweet Lord’. It became the first solo No.1 single by an ex-Beatle topping the charts in fifteen countries worldwide.
1974 – With his first compilation and eleventh official album ‘Greatest Hits’, Elton John hit No.1 in the UK for the first of eleven consecutive weeks.
1974 – With ‘I Can Help’, Billy Swan topped the US Singles chart. The song was a worldwide hit and it also reached No.1 on the music charts in thirteen other countries.
1974 – The Rolling Stones went to number one on the US Billboard 200 with their fourteenth studio album ‘It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll’.
1979 – American folk rock singer and songwriter Judith “Judee” Sill died of a drug overdose, aged 35.
1991 – The fourteenth studio album ‘We Can’t Dance’ by the rock band Genesis reached No.1 in the United Kingdom.
1991 – Michael Jackson started a two-week run at number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Black or White’.
1991 – With his rendition of the Percy Sledge song ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’, Michael Bolton went to number one in the US.
1992 – American country music singer-songwriter and fiddler Roy Acuff dubbed the ‘King of Country Music’ died at the age of 89.
1995 – American multi-instrumentalist Autry DeWalt Mixon also known by his stage name Junior Walker died at the age of 64.
1996 – British singing duo Robson & Jerome scored their second domestic number one album with ‘Take Two’.
1996 – The posthumously released fifth studio album ‘The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory’ by rapper Tupac also known as Makaveli reached No.1 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
1996 – Electronic music band The Prodigy scored their second No.1 single of the year in the UK with ‘Breathe’. They previously topped the Singles chart with ‘Firestarter’ back in March.
2001 – American R&B, soul, and jazz singer Ocie Lee “O.C.” Smith died at the age of 69. Best remembered for his hit song ‘Little Green Apples’.
2002 – With their first compilation album ‘Unbreakable – The Greatest Hits Vol. 1’, boy band Westlife hit No.1 in the UK.
2002 – Singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera featuring rapper Redman started a two-week run at the top spot on the UK Singles chart with ‘Dirty’.
2006 – American jazz singer Anita Belle Colton better known by her stage name Anita O’Day died at the age of 87.
2013 – Dutch DJ and record producer Martin Garrix reached number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Animals’
2013 – Rapper Eminem reached number one on the US Albums chart with his eighth studio LP ‘The Marshall Mathers LP 2’.
2013 – Lady Gaga‘s third studio album ‘Artpop’ went to number one in the UK. Also a chart-topper in the US and four other countries.
2014 – English musician and founding member of the group Incredible String Band, Clive Palmer died at the age of 71.
2015 – American trumpeter and vocalist Cynthia Robinson died aged 71. Best remembered as a founding member of Sly and the Family Stone.
2017 – With her sixth studio album ‘Reputation’, Taylor Swift scored her third consecutive chart-topper in the UK.
2019 – Country music singer and songwriter Luke Combs topped the US Billboard 200 with his second studio LP ‘What You See Is What You Get’.
BORN ON NOVEMBER 23 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1921 – American jazz guitarist, producer, composer, and arranger Jack Marshall was born in El Dorado, Kansas.
1926 – American blues music singer, songwriter, and guitarist R. L. Burnside was born in Harmontown, Mississippi.
1939 – R&B and soul music singer and pianist Betty Everett was born in Greenwood, Mississippi. Best known for her hit rendition of ‘The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss)’.
1944 – British singer Sandra Stevens was born in Leeds, England. She came to prominence as a member of the pop group Brotherhood of Man.
1949 – Singer, composer, and founding member of the group The Manhattan Transfer, Alan Paul was born in Newark, New Jersey.
1954 – Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and pianist Bruce Hornsby was born in Williamsburg, Virginia.
1969 – Canadian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Jonathan Seet was born in Singapore.
1972 – Co-founder and drummer of the heavy metal band Lamb of God, Christopher “Chris” Adler was born in Washington, D.C.
1972 – American rapper and producer Ricardo Emmanuel Brown also known professionally as Kurupt was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1978 – Singer, songwriter, and guitar player Alison Mosshart was born in Vero Beach, Florida. Best known as the lead vocalist of the rock bands The Dead Weather and The Kills.
1978 – American multi-instrumentalist Thomas “Tommy” Marth was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. Best know for his work as a saxophonist with the band The Killers.
1983 – American drummer Thomas Pridgen was born in Alameda County, California. He rose to fame as a member of the rock band The Mars Volta.
1992 – American singer, songwriter, and actress Miley Cyrus was born in Franklin, Tennessee.