It’s April 25th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 2002, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of TLC died in a car accident in La Ceiba, Honduras. She was 30. The singer was driving a vehicle with seven passengers when she lost control and was ejected.
- In 1994, a jury in Los Angeles ruled that Michael Bolton’s 1991 hit “Love Is A Wonderful Thing” ripped off The Isley Brothers’ 1966 song of the same name. Bolton and his co-writer and record label were ordered to pay more than $5 million U.S.
- In 2018, Kanye West was criticized after a series of tweets in which he praised U.S. president Donald Trump. “The mob can’t make me not love him,” read one. “We are both dragon energy. He is my brother.” West also referred to himself as the future president.
- In 1992, “Jump” by Kris Kross (aka 13-year-olds Chris Kelly and Chris Smith) went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of eight weeks. The track is credited to 14 songwriters because it samples seven songs.
- In 1987, U2 began its nine-week run at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart with The Joshua Tree. Co-produced by Canada’s Daniel Lanois, the album spawned hits like “Where the Streets Have No Name” and “With or Without You.”
- In 1945, Björn Kristian Ulvaeus was born in Sweden. After completing military service, he studied business and law before launching a music career. As one-fourth of ABBA, he had global hits like “Mamma Mia!” and “Dancing Queen.”
- In 1974, Steely Dan released Rikki Don't Lose That Number,” which went on to become the band’s most successful song. Part of the album Pretzel Logic, it features a guitar solo by Jeff Baxter, who went on to join The Doobie Brothers.
And that’s what popped on this day.