It’s March 2nd and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1962, John Francis Bongiovi Jr. was born in New Jersey. By the time he was a teen, he was performing in clubs and working in a recording studio. He formed Bon Jovi, which released its debut album in 1984.
- In 2008, Canadian singer-guitarist Jeff Healey died of cancer in Toronto. He was 41. He and his band had hits like “Angel Eyes” and the Beatles cover “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
- In 2004, Ontario-born Natalie Appleton of All Saints welcomed son Ace Billy Howlett with Liam Howlett of The Prodigy. More than a decade earlier, Appleton had daughter Rachel with dancer Carl Robinson.
- In 1985, Wham! started a three-week run at No.1 on the Billboard 200 album chart with Make It Big. The album included the hits “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” “Everything She Wants,” “Freedom” and “Careless Whisper.”
- In 1977, Christopher Anthony John Martin was born in England. While studying at University College London, he formed what became Coldplay with friends Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman.
- In 2014, U.S. chain Arby’s bought the hat Pharrell Williams wore to the Grammy Awards for $44,100 U.S. in an online charity auction and donated it to a museum in Washington, DC. Williams’ hat, which went viral, was widely compared to the one in the Arby’s logo.
- In 1988, Canada’s Daniel Lanois won a Grammy for Album of the Year as co-producer of U2’s The Joshua Tree. The band also won Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
- In 2007, R&B singer Kelis was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence at 4:30 a.m. after rushing at undercover officers in Miami Beach and yelling racial slurs. The “Milkshake” singer was out with then-husband Nas. Kelis was eventually acquitted.
And that’s what popped on this day.