It’s August 9th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1963, Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born in New Jersey. As a child, she performed in a church choir and took singing lessons from her mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston. By 15, she was singing back-up for Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls. After a stint as a model, Houston signed a record deal and released her self-titled debut in 1985. She went on to become one of the most successful female artists of all time thanks to hits like “How Will I Know,” “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” “I’m Every Woman” and her covers of “I Will Always Love You” and “Greatest Love Of All.” Houston died in 2012 at 48.
- In 2007, Jennifer Lopez was awarded $545,000 US in her lawsuit against ex-husband Ojani Noa, who had threatened to publish a tell-all book that included claims the pop star had multiple affairs. An arbitrator also issued a permanent injunction prohibiting Noa from ever “criticising, denigrating, casting in a negative light or otherwise disparaging” Lopez.
- In 1975, The Bee Gees were at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of two weeks with “Jive Talkin’” – the lead single from Main Course that was also featured on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
- In 2003, Joey McIntyre of New Kids on the Block married real estate agent Barrett Williams at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, exactly one year after they met. The couple has three children.
- In 2014, the self-titled debut album by 5 Seconds of Summer reached the No.1 spot on the Billboard 200. It marked the first time a debut album by an Australian act topped the chart.
And that’s what popped on this day.