It’s March 18th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1979, Adam Noah Levine was born in Los Angeles. In the ‘90s he was in a band called Kara’s Flowers. In 2002, Levine debuted Maroon 5, which went on to have hits like “This Love,” “Moves Like Jagger” and “Sugar.”
- In 1978, a high school band that had just changed its name from The Hype to U2 Malahide won the Limerick Civic Week Pop ’78 talent competition. They were awarded a trophy and about $800 CAD. “This means we can solve our money problems in a big way,” singer Paul Hewson (who became Bono) told the Evening Press. “Now we hope to be able to buy a van.”
- In 1972, Canada’s Neil Young went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Heart of Gold.” Released on his album Harvest, the song features backing vocals by James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt.
- In 2017, Katy Perry accepted the National Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign for her support of LGBT rights. Referring to her 2008 hit “I Kissed a Girl,” Perry said: “Truth be told … I did more than that.”
- In 1978, “Night Fever” by the Bee Gees started an eight-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song, from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, bumped “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water” by Andy Gibb – the Bee Gees’ brother – from the top spot.
- In 2002, the Sun Valley Mall in Concord, California was temporarily shut down when more than 1,500 fans rushed the Sam Goody store where boy band B2K was scheduled to do an autograph session.
- In 2001, four teenage girls were crushed to death at a shopping mall in Jakarta, Indonesia where British boy band a1 was making an appearance. Two other fans were critically injured.
And that’s what popped on this day.