It’s May 31st and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1962, Corey Mitchell Hart was born in Montreal. As a young boy he performed for fellow Canadian Paul Anka and represented Canada at the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo. After contacting Billy Joel, who was doing a concert in Montreal, Hart recorded demos and got signed to a record deal at the age of 20. His hits include “Sunglasses at Night,” “Never Surrender” and “It Ain’t Enough.”
- In 2000, René Elizondo Jr. filed for divorce from Janet Jackson in Los Angeles Superior Court citing “irreconcilable differences.” The petition revealed that the pair got married on March 31, 1991 and separated in January 1999. Jackson said she kept the marriage a secret in hopes she could “have a normal family life.”
- In 1980, Lipps Inc. started a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Funkytown.” It also topped the singles chart in Canada.
- In 1998, a lawyer representing Geri Halliwell (aka Ginger Spice) told reporters in London that she had quit the Spice Girls. The statement quoted the pop star as blaming “differences between us.”
And that’s what popped on this day.