It’s October 30th, and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1987, George Michael released his first solo album, Faith. In addition to the title track, the former Wham! frontman had hits like “I Want Your Sex” and “Father Figure.” It went to No. 1 in Canada and won a Grammy and American Music Award.
- In 1982, “Who Can It Be Now?” by Australia’s Men At Work went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was released in the U.S. in August after already finding success in Australia in 1981 and in Canada earlier in 1982.
- In 1969, Darrin Kenneth O'Brien was born in Toronto. A Jamaican family who lived nearby called him Snow – a nickname he kept when he started a music career. He is best known for the 1992 hit “Informer,” which won the Juno Award for Best Reggae Recording in 1994.
- In 2002, Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay (aka Jason William Mizell) was shot to death at a recording studio in New York.
- In 1984, Bruce Springsteen released “Born in the U.S.A.” as a single, from the album of the same name. The song peaked at No. 9 in the U.S. and only made it to No. 11 in Canada. Its video is infamous for being poorly synched, reportedly due to time constraints.
And that’s what popped on this day.