It’s April 1st and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 2007, Ottawa’s Alanis Morissette released a slowed-down version of the Black Eyed Peas hit “My Humps,” accompanied only by piano, as an April Fool’s treat. She shared a video for the cover on MySpace and on her official website.
- In 1970, John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono issued a press release announcing they had checked into a clinic in London to undergo gender-reassignment operations. It was, of course, an April Fool’s joke.
- In 1996, MC Hammer, who had a global hit with “U Can’t Touch This” in 1990, filed for bankruptcy protection in Oakland, California. The rapper, whose real name is Stanley Burrell, and wife Stephanie claimed the have $10 million U.S. in debts and only $1 million in assets.
- In 1989, “Eternal Flame” by the Bangles went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track was co-written by William Steinberg and Tom Kelly, the pair who co-wrote hits like “Like a Virgin” and “True Colors.” “Eternal Flame” peaked at No. 4 in Canada.
- In 1992, Billy Idol was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay a $2,700 U.S. fine for punching a woman in the face at a restaurant in October 1991. The singer, whose real name is William Broad, was also ordered to make a PSA about drugs and alcohol and to attend therapy. He had pleaded guilty in January.
- In 1984, Marvin Gaye was shot to death by his father after the singer intervened in a fight between his parents. He was 44. Gaye's hits included "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Sexual Healing."
And that’s what popped on this day.
