It’s January 12th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1993, Zain Javadd Malik was born in England. He took an interest in the performing arts in his teens and auditioned for The X Factor in 2010. As Zayn, he was put together with four other competitors to form One Direction, which became one of the most successful boy bands ever. Zayn left the group in 2015 to focus on a solo career.
- In 1999, Britney Spears released her debut album ...Baby One More Time. In addition to the title track, it included hit singles like “(You Drive Me) Crazy” and “Sometimes.”
- In 2002, Adam Ant was arrested in London for firearms possession and assault after an incident at a pub. The “Goody Two Shoes” singer, whose real name is Stuart Goddard, was later committed to a psychiatric hospital for observation.
- In 1974, Melanie Jayne Chisholm was born in England. After studying at a performing arts school, she became Melanie C – or Mel C, or Sporty Spice – in the pop group Spice Girls. Chisholm has also recorded several solo albums and had a hit with Canada’s Bryan Adams, “When You’re Gone.”
- In 1954, Felipe Ortiz Rose was born in New York to a Puerto Rican mother and a Lakota Sioux father. After studying dance, he went on to portray “the Indian” in the disco group Village People, who had hits like “Y.M.C.A.” and “Macho Man.”
- In 1974, the Steve Miller Band went to No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “The Joker.” It was the group’s first of three songs to top the chart.
- In 2003, Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees died in a Miami Beach hospital during abdominal surgery. He was 53.
And that’s what popped on this day.