It’s October 1st, and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 2011, Winnipeg-born Burton Cummings, whose solo hits include “Stand Tall” and “Break It to Them Gently,” was inducted onto Canada’s Walk of Fame during a ceremony in Toronto. “This is a big day for me,” he told CTV at the time. Cummings was previously inducted in 2001 as a member of The Guess Who.
- In 1977, Meco’s disco track “Star Wars Theme / Cantina Band,” became the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the charts in Canada.
- In 1962, The Beach Boys released their debut album Surfin’ Safari. It went on to spend 37 week on the U.S. album charts but peaked at No. 32.
- In 1983, Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse Of The Heart,” released in May, hit No. 1 on the U.S. chart. It spent four weeks at the top.
- In 2006, police found George Michael slumped over the steering wheel of his car in London in the early morning hours. He was arrested for being unfit to drive and possession of cannabis.
- In 1990, Bette Midler released her single “From A Distance” off her seventh studio album Some People’s Lives. Written and recorded by Julie Gold in 1985, Midler’s version (which went to No. 1 in Canada) went on to win a Grammy for Song of the Year.
- In 2007, The Spice Girls reunion concert on Dec. 15 at London’s O2 Arena sold out in 38 seconds. Three more London dates were added to the tour, which started Dec. 2 in Vancouver.
- In 1958, Martin Cooper was born in Liverpool, England. He went on to become a member of pop group Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, whose hits in the ‘80s included “If You Leave” from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack.
- In 1982, Sony introduced the world’s first commercially-available digital CD player. Launched in Tokyo, it had a selling price of about $944 CAD at the time.
- In 1991, Michael Jackson’s white crystal-beaded glove was stolen from the Motown Museum in Detroit. The King of Pop had donated the glove and a hat to the museum in 1988. MC Hammer offered a cash reward for the return of the stolen glove – but police soon recovered it.
And that's what popped on this day!