EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY APRIL 8 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day April 8 in 1963 – Franks Sinatra hosted the 35th Academy Awards at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in California. Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer won an Oscar for Best Original Song with ‘Days of Wine and Roses’.
1964 – The Supremes recorded ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ at the “Hitsville U.S.A”. Motown studio. It was released as a single on June 17 and it became a chart-topper in the US, Canada, and New Zealand.
1965 – Pop group Unit 4 + 2 went to number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Concrete and Clay’.
1967 – With ‘Puppet On A String’, Sandie Shaw became the first artist to win the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK. The song was later a big international hit and it topped the singles charts in nine countries.
1975 – Rock band Aerosmith released their third studio album ‘Toys In The Attic’ through Colombia Records. It became the group’s most commercially successful album in the US with over 9 million units sold.
1977 – Punk rock band The Clash released their self-titled debut album through CBS Records. The album peaked at No.12 in the UK and achieved a cult status in the punk scene.
1978 – English music duo Brian and Michael hit No.1 on the UK Singles chart with ‘Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs’ for the first of three weeks straight.
1985 – Prolific American songwriter and composer John Frederick Coots died at the age of 87. Best remembered for composing over 700 popular songs, including ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’.
1989 – The number one single in the United States on this day was ‘The Look’ by the Swedish pop rock duo Roxette.
1991 – English electronic music group Massive Attack released their debut album called ‘Blue Lines‘ through Wild Bunch and Virgin Records.
1994 – Punk rock band The Offspring released their third studio album ‘Smash’ through Epitaph Records. It became the best-selling album released by an independent record label with over eleven million copies sold worldwide. The LP was a chart-topper in Australia and a Top 5 hit in several countries, including the US.
1995 – The number one album in the United Kingdom on this day was ‘Wake Up!’ by the alternative rock band Boo Radleys.
1995 – With ‘Back for Good’, boy band Take That hit number one on the UK Singles chart for the first of four weeks straight.
1996 – American Delta blues guitarist and singer Roosevelt “Booba” Barnes’ died at the age of 59 from lung cancer.
1997 – American songwriter, singer, and pianist Laura Nyro died from ovarian cancer, aged 49. She was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
2000 – With ‘Maria Maria’, rock band Santana featuring R&B duo The Product G&B started a ten-week stint at No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
2000 – Irish boy band Westlife scored their fifth consecutive number one single in the UK with ‘Fool Again’.
2000 – Boy band NSYNC hit number one on the US Billboard 200 with their third studio album ‘No Strings Attached’ for the first of eight consecutive weeks.
2001 – American singer-songwriter and guitarist Van Stephenson died at the age of 47 after a long battle with melanoma. Best remembered for song such as ‘You’ve Got a Good Love Coming’ and ‘Modern Day Delilah’.
Van Stephenson – Modern day Delilah
2003 – Elvis Presley‘s daughter Lisa Marie Presley released her debut studio album ‘To Whom It May Concern’ through Capitol Records. It peaked at No.5 on the Billboard 200.
2006 – Alternative rock band Embrace scored their third number one album in the UK with their fifth studio release ‘This New Day’.
2006 – Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Powter started a five-week stint at number one on the US Singles chart with ‘Bad Day’.
2006 – With ‘Crazy’, American soul duo Gnarls Barkley hit number one on the UK Singles chart for the first of nine consecutive weeks.
2010 – English manager, impresario, and musician Malcom McLaren died at the age of 64. Best remembered as the manager of bands such as Sex Pistols, Bow Wow Wow, and New York Dolls.
2013 – American singer and actress Annette Funicello died at the age of 70 from complications of multiple sclerosis.
2017 – Canadian rapper Drake started a three-week stint at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart with his sixth commercial mixtape ‘More Life’.
2021 – With his fourth studio album ‘Collections from the Whiteout’, singer-songwriter Ben Howard reached No.1 in the UK.
BORN ON THIS DAY APRIL 8 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1896 – American lyricist and librettist Edgar Yipsel Harburg was born Isidore Hochberg in New York City. Best known for writing the pop standards ‘Over the Rainbow’, ‘It’s Only a Paper Moon’, ‘April in Paris’, etc.
1922 – American jazz singer and pianist Carmen Mercedes McRae was born in Harlem, New York City.
1929 – Belgian singer and actor Jacques Brel was born in Schaerbeek, Brussels. The likes of Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, David Bowie, John Denver, and many others recorded English versions of his songs.
1933 – American jazz tenor saxophonist, arranger, and music educator Paul Jeffrey was born in New York City.
1942 – Singer and instrumentalist Roger Chapman also known as Chappo was born in Leicester, England. He rose to fame as a member of the progressive rock band Family.
1947 – English guitarist, songwriter, producer, and vocalist Stephen “Steve” Howe was born in London. Best known for his work with the progressive rock band Yes.
1951 – Bass guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Grand Funk Railroad, Melvin ‘Mel’ Schacher was born in Flint Michigan.
1962 – Guitarist and songwriter Jeffrey Isbell better known by his stage name Izzy Stradlin was born in Lafayette, Indiana. He came to prominence as a founding member of the hard rock band Guns N’ Roses.
1963 – English musician and photographer Julian Lennon was born in Liverpool. He is also the son of John Lennon.
1963 – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and co-founder of the rock band L7, Donita Sparks was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1964 – American rapper, songwriter, producer and DJ Marcel Theo Hall better known professionally as Biz Markie was born in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.
1972 – Bassist, songwriter, and founding member of heavy metal band Slipknot, Paul Gray also known as The Pig was born in Los Angeles, California.
1984 – Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer Ezra Koenig was born in New York City. Best known as the frontman of the indie rock band Vampire Weekend.
1990 – South Korean singer-songwriter and record producer Kim Jong-hyun was born in Seoul. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band Shinee.