It’s June 9th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1990, M.C. Hammer’s debut album, Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart thanks to the hit “U Can’t Touch This.” It was only the second rap album ever to top the chart (after Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill) and spent a record-breaking 21 weeks at No. 1, interrupted for one week by New Kids on the Block’s Step by Step.
- In 1992, Canadian producer and composer David Foster was behind the wheel of a car that struck singer Ben Vereen as he walked along a road in Malibu. Vereen suffered internal injuries and a broken leg. He had been walking because he crashed his car into a tree. Foster was not charged.
- In 1984, Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” began a two-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
- In 1994, Lisa ‘Left-Eye’ Lopes of TLC set fire to the home of her boyfriend, NFL player André Rison. She was charged with arson and criminal damage to property and later sentenced to five years probation and ordered to attend therapy. Lopes died in a car crash in 2002.
- In 1979, the Bee Gees went to No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Love You inside Out.”
- In 2007, George Michael became the first music artist to perform at the new Wembley Stadium in London. Bon Jovi, the last act to perform at the old Wembley, was scheduled to be the first but construction delays made this impossible.
- In 1990, “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips topped the Billboard Hot 100, exactly 25 years after members Wendy and Carnie Wilson’s father Brian Wilson was at No. 1 with the Beach Boys’ “Help Me Rhonda.”
- In 2007, “Umbrella” by Rihanna ft. Jay-Z starts a seven-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
And that’s what popped on this day.