Déjà Vu – A Day in Music History: Feb 21st

Having Déjà Vu today? Here are some notable events in the history of music for Feb 21st.

Birthdays

1933 – Nina Simone, US jazz, blues singer who had the 1959 US No.18 single ‘I Love You, Porgy’, and the 1968 UK No.2 single ‘Ain’t Got No I Got Life’. Nina Simone died of cancer on April 21st 2003

1954 – British musician and DJ Mike Pickering, who with M People had the 1993 UK No.2 single ‘Moving On Up’, plus over 15 other UK Top 40 singles.

1962 – Mark Arm is a singer and guitarist with American alternative rock band Mudhoney. Their early releases on the Sub Pop label were influential on the Seattle music scene.

1989 – Corbin Bleu is an American actor and singer from High School Musical, as part of the cast had the 2006 US No.1 ‘High School Musical’ album and 2007, US No.1 ‘High School Musical 2’ album. The premier of High School Musical was watched by Over 17 million viewers in the United States; making it the highest rated basic cable broadcast in U.S. history.

Notable Events

1964 – New York band The Echoes discovered a new young piano player, named Billy Joel.

1968 – Otis Redding had his first entry on the UK singles chart when ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay’ entered the chart, it went on to be a No.3 hit. The song became the first posthumous single to top the charts in the US.

1970 – Simon and Garfunkel went to No.1 on the UK chart with Bridge Over Troubled Water. The album went on to stay on the chart for over 300 weeks, returning to the top of the charts on eight separate occasions and spending a total of 41 weeks at No.1.

1981 – Dolly Parton started a two week run at No.1 on the US charts with ‘9 to 5’, the singers first No.1, a No.47 hit in the UK.

1987 – Ben E King was at No.1 in the UK singles chart with ‘Stand By Me.’ The track was first released in 1961 and became a hit in 1987 after being featured in the film ‘Stand By Me.’

1998 – Celine Dion went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘My Heart Will Go On’. The song was the theme from the movie Titanic. The world’s best selling single of 1998.

2012 – Five members of the Russian feminist punk rock group Pussy Riot staged a performance at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior where their actions were stopped by church security officials. By that evening, they had turned the performance into a music video entitled “Punk Prayer – Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!” 

2019 – American musician Peter Tork died age 77. He was diagnosed with a rare form of tongue cancer in 2009. The Monkees were brought together for an American sitcom TV series in 1966. Best known as the keyboardist and bass guitarist, they had the 1967 UK & US No.1 single ‘I’m A Believer’ plus other hits including ‘Last Train to Clarksville’, ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’, and ‘Daydream Believer’.

Check out https://www.thisdayinmusic.com for more music history facts.