EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY APRIL 21 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day April 21 in 1956 – Elvis Presley started an eight-week stint at No.1 on the Billboard Singles chart with ‘Heartbreak Hotel’.
1962 – Six years later on the same date Elvis Presley also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 but this time with ‘Good Luck Charm’ which became a chart-topper in the UK on May 24 as well.
1969 – Janis Joplin played her first and only solo concert as the headliner in the UK at Royal Albert Hall in London.
1970 – Chicago blues guitarist Earl Hooker died at the age of 45 from tuberculosis. Best remembered for fronting his own bands and for his work with musicians such as John Lee Hooker, Aleck Miller, and Junior Wells.
1973 – With their sixth studio album ‘Billion Dollar Babies’, Alice Cooper topped the US Billboard 200 chart. It also became a chart-topper in the UK and Finland.
10 Fun Facts About Alice Cooper
1973 – Dawn & Tony Orlando started a four-week stint at No.1 on both the UK and US Singles charts with ‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree’.
1978 – English singer-songwriter, and instrumentalist Alexandra “Sandy” Denny died at the age of 31 from alcohol abuse. Best remembered as the lead singer of the folk band Fairport Convention,
1979 – Amil Stewart reached No.1 in the US with her rendition of Eddie Floyd‘s 1966 hit song ‘Knock on Wood’.
1984 – The soundtrack album ‘Footloose’ to the film of the same name started a ten-week run at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.
1984 – With ‘Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)’, Phil Collins topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for the first time as a solo artist.
1990 – Paul McCartney performed in front of 184,000 people at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during his world tour which also broke the record for the largest attendance at a concert by a single artist.
Watch: Paul McCartney hypnotize Emma Stone in ‘Who Cares’
1990 – Rock band Fleetwood Mac scored their fourth number one album in the UK with their fifteenth studio release ‘Behind the Mask’.
1990 – Irish singer Sinead O’Connor hit number one on the US Singles chart with ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ for the first of four consecutive weeks.
2000 – American vocalist Neal Matthews Jr died from a heart attack, aged 70. He rose to fame as a member of the vocal quartet The Jordanaires – Elvis Presley’s backing group.
2001 – Welsh rock band Stereophonics scored their second consecutive No.1 album in the UK with ‘Just Enough Education to Perform’.
2003 – American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer Eunice Waymon better known by her stage name Nina Simone died at the age of 70. Best remembered for songs such as ‘I Loves You, Porgy’, ‘Nobody Knows You When You are Down and Out’, ‘I Put a Spell on You’, etc.
10 Interesting Facts About Nina Simone
2007 – Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake hit number one on both the US and UK Singles chart with ‘Give It to Me’.
2007 – Australian guitarist, producer, and songwriter Lobby Loyd also known as John Barrie Lyde died at the age of 65 from lung cancer.
2008 – American soul singer Al Wilson died at the age of 68 from kidney failure. Best known for his million-selling & chart-topping single ‘Show and Tell’.
2012 – Rapper Nicki Minaj scored her second consecutive No.1 album on the US Billboard 200 with ‘Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded’.
2013 – Australian singer and songwriter Christina Amphlett died at the age of 53 from breast cancer. Best known as the frontwoman of the rock band Divinyls.
2016 – American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Prince died at the age of 57. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time with over 100 million records sold worldwide.
Prince – Purple Rain
2016 – With ‘One Dance’, Drake ft. Wizkid and Kyla hit number one on the UK Singles chart for the first of fifteen consecutive weeks.
2016 – Indie rock band The Lumineers reached No.1 in the UK with their second studio album ‘Cleopatra’.
2018 – After topping the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for eleven consecutive weeks with ‘God’s Plan’, rapper Drake extended his stay at No.1 for four more weeks with ‘Nice for What’.
2022 – Indie rock band Wet Leg went to number one in the UK with their eponymous debut studio album.
BORN ON THIS DAY APRIL 21 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1922 – American jazz guitarist, composer, and conductor Mundell Lowe was born in Shady Grove, Mississippi. Best known for composting the soundtrack and music for “Starsky and Hutch” and ‘Billy Jack”.
1924 – Gospel singer, songwriter, and arranger Clara Mae Ward was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She rose to fame as the leader of The Famous Ward Singers.
1931 – Country music singer and songwriter Carl Belew was born in Salina, Oklahoma. Best known for hit songs such as ‘Am I That Easy to Forget’, ‘Crystal Chandelier’, ‘Stop the World (And Let Me Off)’, etc.
1932 – Jazz trombonist, and occasional tuba and flugelhorn player Locksley Wellington ‘Slide’ Hampton was born in Jeannette, Pennsylvania.
1938 – Singer and songwriter Ernest ‘Ernie’ Maresca was born in New York City. Best known for co-writing ‘Runaround Sue’ and ‘The Wanderer’ which became hits for Dion.
1947 – Multi-instrumentalist John Weider was born in London, England. Best known as the guitarist of the rock band The Animals and for playing bass with the rock group Family.
1947 – The ‘Godfather of Punk’ James Osterberg better known by his stage name Iggy Pop was born in Muskegon, Michigan. He rose to fame as the co-founder and frontman of The Stooges.
1947 – English guitarist Alan Warner was born on this day in London. Best known as a founding member of the soul band The Foundations.
1948 – Singer, songwriter, and keyboardist Paul Davis was born in Meridian, Mississippi. Best known for his Top 10 hit singles ‘I Go Crazy’, ‘Cool Night’, and ’65 Love Affair’.
1958 – Scottish multi-instrumentalist, composer and songwriter Michael Barson was born in Edinburgh. He came to prominence as the co-founder of the ska band Madness.
1959 – Co-founder and frontman of the rock band The Cure, Robert Smith was born in Blackpool, England.
1960 – British drummer, engineer, and car racer John Maher was born in Manchester, England. He rose to fame as a member of the punk rock band Buzzcocks.
1963 – Scottish guitarist and songwriter Johnny McElhone was born in Glasgow. Best known as a member of the bands Altered Images’, Texas, and Hipsway.