EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY JUNE 15 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day June 15 in 1956 – With his rendition of ‘I’ll Be Home’, singer Pat Boone started a five-week run at No.1 on the UK Singles chart.
1963 – Kyu Sakamoto made music history and became the first Asian artist to score a number one single in the US when his song ‘Sukiyaki’ topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was a worldwide hit and it reached No.1 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and Norway as well, in the UK it peaked at No.6.
1965 – Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan began recording ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ on this day June 15 in music history. The song was released as a single on July 20 and it reached No.2 in the US and No.4 in the UK.
1966 – The Beatles released their studio album ‘Yesterday and Today’ on Capitol Records. The album features the infamous ‘butcher cover’. It peaked at No.1 in the US and Canada.
1968 – Traditional pop music singer Andy Williams topped the UK Albums chart with his twenty-first studio release ‘Love, Andy’ on this day June 15.
1973 – Marvin Gaye released ‘Let’s Get It On’ as a single on Tamla Records. It was a big commercial success and it topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
1974 – With their rendition of ‘Billy Don’t Be a Hero’, Bob Donaldson and the Heywoods started a two-week stint at No.1 in the US on this day June 15.
1974 – Comedian and country & pop music singer-songwriter Ray Stevens hit No.1 on the UK Singles chart with the novelty song ‘The Streak’.
1979 – Joy Division released their debut studio album ‘Unknown Pleasures’ on this day June 15 in music history on Factory Records. The album had no singles and it wasn’t a commercial success, but nevertheless it achieved iconic status in the post-punk and goth music scene.
1981 – New wave band Duran Duran released their self-titled debut studio album on EMI Records. The album was initially unsuccessful, but after its re-release in 1983 it reached No.10 in the US and No.3 in the UK.
1985 – With his sixth solo studio album ‘Boys and Girls’, singer and songwriter Bryan Ferry reached No.1 in the UK on this day June 15 for the first of two weeks straight.
1985 – Charity supergroup The Crowd started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK Singles chart with their rendition of the 1945 show tune ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
1989 – Grunge band Nirvana released their debut studio album ‘Bleach’ on this day June 15 on Sub Pop Records. It went on to sell over 2 million copies worldwide.
1991 – With ‘Rush Rush’, Paula Abdul hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first of five weeks straight.
Paul Abdul – Rush Rush
1996 – American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald died on this day June 15 in music history at the age of 79. Her eminent career earned her the titles ‘First Lady of Song’ and ‘Queen of Jazz’.
1996 – Heavy metal band Metallica scored their second chart-topper on the UK Albums chart with their sixth studio release ‘Load’.
WATCH: Metallica play in front of 1.5 million people
1999 – Latin rock band Santana released their eighteen studio album ‘Supernatural’ via Arista Records on this day June 15. The album went to No.1 in seventeen countries worldwide, and as of June 2023, it has sold over 30 million copies. It features the chart-topping hit singles ‘Smooth’ and ‘Maria Maria’.
2013 – Electronic music duo Disclosure reached number one in the United Kingdom with their debut studio album ‘Settle’.
2017 – The 48th annual Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held on this day June 15 in New York. Among the inductees: Jay Z, Max Martin, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Berry Gordy, “Jimmy Jam” Harris III, Terry Lewis, Robert Lamm, and James Pankow.
2019 – With his fourth studio album ‘Center Point Road’, country music singer and songwriter Thomas Rhette went to number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.
BORN ON THIS DAY JUNE 15 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1910 – Songwriter, composer, pianist and orchestra leader David Rose was born in London on this day June 15 in music history. Best known for compositions such as ‘The Stripper’ and ‘Holiday for Strings’.
1921 – Jazz pianist and composer Errol Garner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Best known for composing the jazz standard ‘Misty’.
1934 – American singer Ruby Nash Garnett was born on this day June 15 in Akron, Ohio. Best known for fronting the R&B group Ruby & the Romantics.
1937 – American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pioneer of the Outlaw Movement, Waylon Jennings was born on this day in Littlefield, Texas.
1941 – Singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson was born on this day June 15 in Brooklyn, New York. Best known for his chart-topping rendition of ‘Without You’.
1943 – French rock and roll and pop singer Johnny Hallyday was born Jean-Philippe Leo Smet today in Paris. He is one of the best-selling artists of all time with over 110 million records sold worldwide.
1946 – English singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor Neville “Noddy” Holder was born in Walsall on this day June 15 in music history. He rose to fame as the frontman of the rock group Slade.
1946 – Founding member and lead guitarist of the funk band The Meters, Leo Nocentelli was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1949 – Australian singer and drummer Russell Hitchcock was born on this day June 15 in Melbourne. Best known as one half of the soft rock duo Air Supply.
1951 – Singer and songwriter Steve Walsh was born on this day in St. Louis, Missouri. Best known as a longtime member of the rock band Kansas.
1954 – Blind country music singer and keyboardist Teresa “Terri” Gibbs was born on this day June 15 in Miami, Florida. She rose to fame with her 1980 hit single ‘Somebody’s Knockin’‘ that peaked at No.13 on the Hot 100 chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
1956 – Canadian singer Bernard “Bernie” Shaw was born in Victoria, British Columbia. Best known as the frontman of the rock band Uriah Heep.
1963 – American drummer and composer Scott Rockenfield also known by his stage name SRock was born in Seattle, Washington on this day June 15 in music history. Best known for co-founding metal band Queensryche and for playing with the hard rock supergroup Slave to the System.
1969 – American rapper O’Shea Jackson Sr. better known professionally as Ice Cube was born in Los Angeles, California. He came to prominence as a member of the hip hop group N.W.A.
1981 – Guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin was born on this day June 15 in Annapolis, Maryland. Best known as a member of the pop punk band Good Charlotte.
1985 – Irish singer, model and actress Nadine Coyle was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. She rose to fame as a member of the girl group Girls Aloud.
1996 – Norwegian singer, songwriter and producer Aurora Aksnes was born in Stavanger on this day June 15 in music history.