It’s October 21st, and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 2003, Canada’s Barenaked Ladies released their sixth studio album, Everything To Everyone. Recorded in Los Angeles, it featured 14 tracks written by members of the band – marking the first time BNL didn’t use an outside writer. The album, featuring a painting by Canadian artist Chris Woods, peaked at No. 6 in Canada.
- In 1989, “That’s What I Like” by Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers – the father-son duo of Andy and John Pickles – had the No. 1 song in the UK. The track used the theme from Hawaii Five-O as its hook and sampled several other classic songs, including “Let’s Twist Again” and “Great Balls of Fire.” The song was at the top of the UK chart for three weeks.
- In 1998, Coolio pleaded not guilty to charges of carrying a concealed weapon and possession of marijuana possession in Torrance, California following a September traffic stop. Police said the “Gangsta’s Paradise” rapper was driving his SUV on the wrong side of the road.
- In 1953, Charlotte Irene Caffey was born in California. After playing bass guitar in a punk band, she joined the Go-Go’s in 1978. Caffey wrote one of the band’s biggest hits, “We Got The Beat.”
- In 1992, Madonna’s coffee-table book Sex was published. The controversial collection of photos sold 150,000 copies on its first day of release in the U.S. alone and was on best-seller lists around the world.
- In 1972, Chuck Berry earned his first and only No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “My Ding-a-Ling,” a cover of a Dave Bartholomew song. The song might very well be about exactly what you think.
- In 2003, singer-songwriter Elliott Smith died from two self-inflicted stab wounds to the chest. He was 34. Smith was best known for his song “Miss Misery,” which was featured on the soundtrack to the Toronto-shot 1997 film Good Will Hunting and was up for Best Original Song at the Oscars.
And that’s what popped on this day.