EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY APRIL 2 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day April 2 in 1964 – With ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, The Beatles started a three-week stint at No.1 on the UK Singles chart. The song was an international hit that year and it reached No.1 in seven other countries.
1964 – The Beach Boys started recording ‘I Get Around’, a single from their sixth studio album All Summer Long. It was released on May 11 and it became the group’s first chart-topper in the US and their first UK Top 10 hit.
1966 – Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass became the first music act to have four different albums at the same time in Top 10 on the US Billboard 200 chart. “Going Places” (No.2), “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” (No.3), “South of the Border” (No.9), “The Lonely Bull” (No.10).
1967 – During a Rolling Stones concert in Vienna, Austria a riot broke out after a fan in the audience threw a smoke bomb on stage.
1977 – Swedish pop group ABBA started a five-week stint at number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’.
1977 – With their eleventh and most successful studio album ‘Rumours’, Fleetwood Mac reached No.1 on the US Billboard 200 for the first time. The album went on to top the chart for 31 non-consecutive weeks.
1977 – Frank Sinatra topped the UK Albums chart with his greatest hits compilation ‘Portrait of Sinatra – Forty Songs from the Life of a Man’.
1983 – Pink Floyd went to number one in the UK with their twelfth studio album ‘The Final Cut’. It was the group’s first album without keyboardist and co-founder Richard Wright, and the last to feature founding member Roger Waters.
15 Pink Floyd Facts You May Have Not Known
1987 – Influential drummer, bandleader, conductor, and songwriter Bernard “Buddy” Rich died at the age of 69.
1991 – The Rolling Stones released the live album ‘Flashpoint’ that was recorded during their Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour in 1989/90. It became a Top 10 hit in several countries worldwide.
1991 – Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lenny Kravitz released his second studio album ‘Mama Said’ through Virgin Records which features the hit ‘It Ain’t Over ’till It’s Over’. The LP was a Top 10 hit in the UK, Australia, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Norway, while in the US it peaked at No.39.
1994 – Swedish pop group Ace of Base reached the top spot on the US Billboard 200 chart with their second studio album ‘The Sign’.
1996 – American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Robert Lewis Jones better known by his stage names Guitar Gabriel and Nyles Jones died at the age of 70.
1998 – German singer, rapper and dancer Robert ‘Rob’ Pilatus died at the age of 32 from an overdose. Best known as one half of the pop duo Milli Vanilli.
2001 – Singer and songwriter Mariah Carey signed a lucrative mega-deal worth $80 million with Virgin Records.
2003 – American soul singer and songwriter Edwin “Starr” Hatcher died at the age of 61 from a heart attack. Best remembered for hit songs such as ‘War’, ‘Twenty-Five Miles’, and ‘Agent Double-O-Soul’ among others.
Edwin Starr – War
2005 – English singer Tony Christie started a two-week stint at No.1 on the UK Albums chart with his greatest hits compilation ‘The Definitive Collection’.
2011 – Alternative rock band LCD Soundsystem played their farewell concert at the Madison Square Garde in New York City. However, the group reunited in 2015 and continued touring and recording new material.
2020 – With his fourth studio album ‘After Hours’, Canadian singer The Weeknd reached No.1 in the UK. The album was big hit worldwide that year and it became a chart-topper in 20 other countries.
2022 – South Korean boy band Stray Kids had the number one album in the US with their sixth extended play (EP) ‘Ordinary’.
BORN ON THIS DAY APRIL 2 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1928 – French singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, poet, and actor Serge Gainsbourg was born in Paris.
1939 – R&B and soul singer-songwriter, keyboardist, and drummer Marvin Gaye was born in Washington, D.C. Best known for hit songs such as ‘Let’s Get It On’, ‘What’s Going On’, ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine’, ‘Sexual Healing’, and so on.
1942 – American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Leon Russell was born Claude Russell Bridges in Lawton, Oklahoma.
1943 – Jazz fusion guitarist Larry Coryell was born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III in Galveston, Texas.
1946 – Canadian guitarist and songwriter Kurt Winter was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He rose to fame as a member of the rock band The Guess Who.
1947 – Country music singer-songwriter & guitarist Emmylou Harris was born in Birmingham, Alabama.
1949 – American drummer David Robinson was born in Maiden, Massachusetts. Best known for his work with the bands Rising Tide, The Cars, DMZ, The Pop and The Modern Lovers. In 2018 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Cars in 2018.
1952 – Bass guitarist and songwriter Leon Wilkeson was born in Newport, Rhode Island. Best known as a longtime member of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
1954 – American singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer Gregory Abbott was born in New York City. Best known for his hit single ‘Shake You Down’.
1961 – Singer, songwriter, and founding member of the pop group Bananarama, Keren Woodward was born in Bristol, England.
1962 – British songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Anthony “Tony” Franklin was born in Derby, England. Best known for his collaborations with the likes of Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Whitesnake, The Firm, Roy Harper, Kaye Bush, and others.
1967 – Guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and founding member of the band Smash Mouth, Greg Camp was born in West Covina, California.
1967 – American DJ and record producer Paul Huston also known professionally as Prince Paul was born in New York.
1977 – R&B singer, songwriter, and producer Robert Lavelle “RL” Huggar was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist of the group Next.
1979 – Multi-instrumentalist and co-founder of the pop rock band Maroon 5, Jesse Carmichael was born in Boulder, Colorado.
1991 – Rapper and record producer Quavious Keyate Marshall better known professionally as Quavo was born in Athens, Georgia. Best known as the co-founder of the hip-hop trio Migos.