It’s December 4th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1991, pop singer and dancer Paula Abdul (who’s mother was from Manitoba) received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She had hits like “Straight Up,” “Cold Hearted,” and “Opposites Attract.”
- In 1979, U2 performed for only nine people (including record label execs) at The Hope and Anchor in Islington, London. The band, which was promoted as “The U2s,” left the stage early after The Edge broke a guitar string.
- In 2015, Canada’s Justin Bieber had one of his songs (“Love Yourself”) bump another of his songs (“Sorry”) from No. 1 to No. 2 on the UK chart. The last living act to do this was The Beatles in 1963.
- In 1987, pop superstar Madonna filed for divorce from actor Sean Penn, citing irreconcilable differences. Court documents indicated the couple separated on Nov. 30 and that a prenuptial agreement was in place. Madonna called off the divorce less than two weeks later – but filed again in January 1989.
- In 1969, Shawn Corey Carter was born in Brooklyn. After a troubled childhood, he began a rap career under the name Jay-Z. His hits have included “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)” and “99 Problems.”
- In 2002, an episode of Primetime aired in which Whitney Houston admitted to Diane Sawyer that she used drugs and alcohol. But, she said, “let’s get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make way too much money to ever smoke crack.”
And that’s what popped on this day.