It’s December 6th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 2006, Canadian singer-musician Diana Krall welcomed twins Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James in New York City, on her third wedding anniversary with Elvis Costello.
- In 1995, Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” was named Hot 100 Song at the Billboard Music Awards. He performed it on the show accompanied by Stevie Wonder, whose “Pastime Paradise” is sampled.
- In 2000, Tina Turner performed the last show of her Twenty Four Seven Tour in Anaheim, California. The tour, which started in March, included stops in six Canadian cities. Turner promoted it as her final tour but then hit the road again in 2008.
- In 1995, Michael Jackson collapsed on stage at the Beacon Theatre in New York City while rehearsing for an HBO special. He was rushed to hospital with “abnormally low” blood pressure. The King of Pop was scheduled to tape Michael Jackson: One Night Only over two nights for broadcast on Dec. 10. The show was cancelled.
- In 1970, Ulf Gunnar Ekberg was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. A member of neo-Nazi band in his early teens, he went on to co-found the pop group Ace of Base, which released its debut album in 1992 and had hits like “All That She Wants” and “The Sign.”
- In 2005, Robbie Williams (formerly of boy band Take That) accepted “substantial undisclosed libel damages” in a settlement with several publications that alleged he had participated in gay sex acts. The pop singer’s lawyer told the court: “Mr. Williams is not, and has never been, homosexual.”
- In 2008, Beyoncé’s I Am… Sasha Fierce debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making her the decade’s third female artist – after Britney Spears and Alicia Keys – to have her first three albums debut at the top. It was bumped from the No. 1 spot a week later by Kanye West.
- In 1969, a fictitious band named Steam started a two-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” The song has since been covered many times, including by Bananarama and Canada’s The Nylons in 1987.
And that’s what popped on this day.