EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY APRIL 25 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day April 25 in 1958 – Country and rockabilly singer-songwriter Marvin Rainwater topped the UK Singles chart with ‘Whole Lotta Woman’.
1960 – After spending two years in the military, Elvis Presley made a comeback on the US music scene when he started a four-week stint at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Stuck on You’.
1970 – With ‘ABC’, The Jackson Five scored their second number one single of the year in the US. They previously topped the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘I Want You Back’ on January 31.
1975 – Israeli singer and songwriter Mike Brant committed suicide at the age of 28 by jumping from a window of an apartment in Paris. He came to prominence after moving to France where he had his most successful single ‘Laisse-moi t’aimer’.
1978 – Queen‘s single which became an anthem for sporting events ‘We Are the Champions’ was certified Platinum by the RIAA. The song reached No.2 in the UK and peaked at No.4 in the US.
1985 – Thrash metal band Exodus released their debut studio album ‘Bonded by Blood’ through Combat Records. It was received positively and it became a classic in the thrash metal scene.
1987 – With ‘La Isla Bonita’, Madonna hit number one on the UK Singles chart for the first of two weeks straight.
1987 – With their fifth studio album ‘The Joshua Tree’, U2 hit No.1 on the US Billboard 200 chart for the first of nine consecutive weeks.
1992 – Canadian guitarist, songwriter and record producer Brian MacLeod died from brain cancer, aged 39. Best remembered as a member of the bands Chilliwack and Headpins
1992 – Teenage hip hop duo Kris Kross hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Jump’ for the first of eight consecutive weeks.
1992 – With their debut studio album ‘Up’, pop group Right Said Fred reached number one in the United Kingdom.
1994 – The Los Angeles jury found Michael Bolton guilty of plagiarizing The Isley Brothers‘ 1964 song ‘Love Is a Wonderful Thing’. He had to pay over $5 million in damages to the R&B group which is also the largest award for plagiarism in music history.
1995 – American actress, singer and dancer Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath) died at the age of 83.
1998 – With ‘Too Close’, R&B trio Next hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the first of four consecutive weeks.
1999 – Musician Larry Troutman (54) murdered his brother and fellow bandmate Roger Troutman (47) outside a recording studio in Dayton, Ohio and then committed suicide in his car. Both of them played in the funk band Zapp which they co-founded.
2000 – American rap rock band Papa Roach released their second studio album ‘Infest’ through DreamWorks Records. The album peaked at No.5 in the US and it features the single ‘Last Resort’ which became a big hit internationally.
2002 – American singer and rapper Lisa Lopes also known professionally as Left Eye died in a car accident at the age of 30 in La Ceiba, Honduras. Best remembered as the co-founder of the girl group TLC.
2007 – American singer-songwriter and actor Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett died of leukemia, aged 69. Best remembered for his chart-topping novelty song ‘Monster Mash’.
Bobby Pickett – Monster Mash
2015 – With ‘See You Again’, rapper Wiz Khalifa and singer Charlie Puth hit No.1 on both the US and UK Singles charts.
2015 – Singer-songwriter and guitarist Paul Simon topped the UK Albums chart with his greatest hits compilation ‘The Ultimate Collection’.
2019 – The number one single in the United Kingdom on this day was ‘Old Town Road’ by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus.
2019 – With their sixth extended play (EP) ‘Map of the Soul: Persona’, South Korean boy band BTS topped the UK Albums chart.
BORN ON THIS DAY APRIL 25 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1913 – American multi-genre alto saxophonist Earl Bostic was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Best known for hit compositions such as ‘Harlem Nocturne’, ‘Temptation’, ‘Flamingo’, ‘When or When’, etc.
1917 – American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald dubbed the “Queen of Jazz” and “First Lady of Song” was born in Newport News, Virginia. Best known for songs such as ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’, ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing(If It Ain’t Got That Swing)’, ‘Cheek to Cheek’, etc.
1923 – Blues guitarist and singer Albert Nelson also known professionally as Albert King was born in Indianola, Mississippi.
1933 – Songwriter and record producer Jerry Leiber was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Best known as one half of the songwriting duo with Michael Stoller that wrote dozens of hit songs for the likes of Elvis Presley and Ben E King.
1943 – English singer-songwriter Tony Christie was born Anthony Fitzgerald in Conisbrough. Best known for his hit rendition of ‘(Is this the Way To) Amarillo’.
1945 – American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Stuart “Stu” Cook was born in Oakland, California. Best known as a founding member of Creedence Clearwater Revival with whom he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
1945 – Singer, songwriter, producer, and founding member of the pop music group ABBA, Björn Ulvæus was born in Gothenburg.
1949 – Keyboardist and songwriter Michael Brown was born Michael Lookofsky in New York. Best known for his work with the baroque pop group Left Banke.
1950 – British drummer Steve Ferrone was born in Brighton, England. Best known as a longtime member of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers from 1994 until 2017.
1960 – American singer Pavel “Paul” Baloff was born in San Francisco, California. He came to prominence as the frontman of the thrash metal band Exodus.
1964 – Singer-songwriter and one half of the synth-pop duo Erasure, Andrew ‘Andy’ Bell was born in Peterborough, England.
1965 – Bassist, songwriter, and co-founder of the alternative rock band Jane’s Addiction, Eric Avery was born in Los Angeles, California.
1965 – Singer and multi-instrumentalist Simon Fowler was born in Meriden, England. He came to prominence as the frontman of the rock band Ocean Colour Scene.