It’s May 9th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1979, Pierre Charles Bouvier was born in Montreal. As a young teen, he formed punk band Reset with best friend Chuck Comeau. The two later created Simple Plan with former schoolmates David Desrosiers, Jeff Stinco and Sébastien Lefebvre. Since 2002, they have released five studio albums with hits like “Welcome to My Life,” “Perfect” and “Crazy.”
- In 1970, Canada’s The Guess Who topped the Billboard Hot 100 with “American Woman” for the first of three consecutive weeks. The song – which is a tribute to Canadian women – was originally improvised by the band on a stage in Ontario.
- In 2015, “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the third of six consecutive weeks. It would spend a total of 12 weeks at the top of the chart.
- In 1949, William Martin Joel was born in Brooklyn, New York. He learned to play piano at an early age and went on to perform in a piano bar after a short stint as a competitive boxer. Billy Joel would become a Grammy-winning music icon with dozens of hits, including “Just the Way You Are,” “Uptown Girl,” “Tell Her About It” and “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
- In 2017, DJ Robert Miles (aka Roberto Concina) died in Ibiza, Spain at the age of 47 after a battle with cancer. He had released five studio albums, including the 1996 hit “Children,” which topped the dance chart in Canada and several other countries.
- In 1962, David Callcott was born in England. In the early ‘80s, as Dave Gahan, he joined a band called Composition of Sound, which became Depeche Mode. Their hits include “People Are People,” “See You” and “Enjoy the Silence.”
- In 2015, Shawn Mendes’ debut album Handwritten was knocked out of the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart after one week by Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes.
- In 1992, Bruce Springsteen made his debut on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest on an episode hosted by Tom Hanks. He was supporting his ninth studio album, Human Touch.
And that’s what popped on this day.