It’s July 9th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1983, The Police started an eight-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Every Breath You Take,” which went on to win Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance at the Grammys. Sting later told BBC Radio: “The song is very, very sinister and ugly and people have actually misinterpreted it as being a gentle little love song, when it's quite the opposite.”
- In 1988, Stevie Wonder told reporters at the Taste of Chicago festival that he would “probably” run for mayor of Detroit in the 1992 election. “I'm not making a formal announcement,” he said. “I wouldn't do that in Chicago; I would do it in Detroit.” Wonder didn’t run.
- In 1988, Cheap Trick’s “The Flame” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of two weeks. The band recorded the song after it was turned down by British singer Elkie Brooks.
- In 2001, four of the Backstreet Boys announced on MTV’s TRL that they were rescheduling tour dates – including several in Canada – because AJ McLean checked himself into rehab for depression, anxiety and alcohol abuse. “He came to us yesterday for the first time,” Brian Littrell said. “We figured this was the best for him. It's all about him being healthy.”
- In 1959, James Kerr was born in Scotland. In his late teens he was part of a punk band that eventually became Simple Minds. The band had hits like "Alive and Kicking" and "Sanctify Yourself" but its biggest, “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” is the only one they didn’t write.
And that’s what popped on this day.