It’s June 17th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 2008, Katy Perry released her breakthrough album One of the Boys. It fared better than her 2001 gospel album (released under her real name Katy Hudson) thanks to hit singles “I Kissed a Girl” and “Hot n Cold.”
- In 2016, Prince Be (aka Attrell Cordes, Jr.) of P.M. Dawn died in a New Jersey hospital of complications from diabetes. He was 46. The duo was best known for the ‘90s hit “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss.”
- In 2014, British singer Sam Smith released his debut album, In the Lonely Hour, in the U.S. and Canada. Powered by hits like “Stay with Me” and “I’m Not the Only One,” it peaked at No. 2 on the charts and was named Best Pop Vocal Album at the Grammys.
- In 1987, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born in California. He started putting out mixtapes as a teen and went on to become a popular rapper with four studio albums, more than a dozen Grammys and hits like “Humble.”
- In 1978, Andy Gibb’s “Shadow Dancing” started a seven-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Gibb and his brothers, the Bee Gees. He became the first solo artist ever to have his first three singles go to No. 1.
And that’s what popped on this day.