It’s April 18th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1984, Michael Jackson underwent 80 minutes of laser surgery at the Brotman Medical Center in California to repair damage to his scalp when his hair caught fire during filming of a Pepsi commercial in January. “The operation was very important to him – to have a full head of hair without the necessity of wigs or other hair coverings,” said plastic surgeon Dr. Steven Hoefflin. “He wanted to get it over with.”
- In 1987, Aretha Franklin and George Michael started a two-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me).” The song peaked at No. 4 in Canada.
- In 1996, musician and producer Bernard Edwards of Chic – who also worked with pop acts like ABC, Sheila E, Sister Sledge and Power Station – died of pneumonia in his Tokyo hotel room. He was 43.
- In 1992, Def Leppard’s Adrenalize was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for the first of five weeks, thanks to songs like “Let’s Get Rocked.”
- In 1971, the Diana Ross prime time special Diana! aired on ABC. Guests included Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby.
- In 2013, Donna Summer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her hits include “Hot Stuff,” “Last Dance” and “MacArthur Park Suite.” Other inductees included Heart, Randy Newman, Public Enermy and Canada’s Rush.
- In 2012, longtime American Bandstand host Dick Clark died of a heart attack at 82. His namesake company continues to produce music events like the American Music Awards and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.
And that’s what popped on this day.