It’s January 8th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1947, David Robert Jones was born in Brixton, England. As a child, he sang in a school choir, played the recorder, and showed a talent for dancing. He formed a band at the age of 15 and later, after recording several songs, changed his surname to Bowie to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees. David Bowie became a music icon with hits like “Changes,” “Let’s Dance” and “Space Oddity.” He died in 2016.
- In 1997, an episode of Newsradio titled “Rap” aired in which Bill (played by Canada’s Phil Hartman) is shocked by rap lyrics. Chuck D appears in the episode as himself.
- In 1989, “Right Here Waiting” singer Richard Marx married actress-dancer Cynthia Rhodes, who appeared in the video for his song “Don’t Mean Nothing.” They welcomed three sons together but divorced in 2014.
- In 1967, Robert Sylvester Kelly was born in Chicago. He entered a school talent show and went on to form vocal group MGM (Musically Gifted Men) with friends. As R Kelly, he became a successful R&B singer with hits like “I Believe I Can Fly” and “Bump N’ Grind.” His career has been tainted by a marriage to an underage Aaliyah, the 2002 release of a sex tape with an underage female, and allegations of sexual abuse by multiple women (which he has denied).
And that’s what popped on this day.