Categories
Today in Music History

November, 19

  • 1999 It is announced that pop singer Jewel has pulled the plug on her anticipated New Year’s Eve concert in Anchorage, Alaska, citing, among other things, worries over possible Y2K problems. But many Alaskans say the real problem is jacked-up ticket prices. At the time of the cancellation, only 1,000 of 8,000 available tickets ($65-$99) have been sold.
  • 1998 Motley Crue fans are able to fulfill all their fashion needs when the bands new retail store, S’Crue, opens at 7201 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles. The store stocks merchandise from the band’s worldwide tours, clothing from both the clothing lines by bassist Nikki Sixx and vocalist Vince Neil and all Motley Crue albums.
  • 1998 Songwriters/producers/musicians Vada Nobles, Johari Newton, Tejumold Newton, and Rasheem Pugh file lawsuit against Lauryn Hill alleging that the Ruffhouse/Columbia artist failed to give them proper writing and producing credits or pay them royalties for their work on the hit album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.”
  • 1997 The U.S. premiere of Sir Paul McCartney’s “Standing Stone” is played in Carnegie Hall by St. Luke’s Orchestra under the baton of Laurence Foster.
  • 1997 Johnny Cash is listed in serious but stable condition at Baptist Hospital in Nashville after contracting double pneumonia. The 65-year-old country legend suffers from Shy-Drager Syndrome, a form of Parkinson’s Disease.
  • 1997 Heston Houston, editor in chief of Billboard Music Group’s four Airplay Monitor Publications, dies in New York after an extended battle with colon cancer. He is 29.
  • 1996 Raul Malo, lead singer of the Mavericks, and wife Betty welcome their second son into the world at 1:49 p.m. at a Nashville-area hospital. Victor Antonio Malo weighs 7 pounds, 4 ounces and is born on brother Dino’s first birthday.
  • 1995 Bruce Springsteen’s 13th album, “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” is released.
  • 1993 Nirvana records an MTV unplugged concert in New York. The show is shot in one take – imperfections and all – and is aired one month later.
  • 1990 The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences strips the 1989 best new artist Grammy from the group Milli Vanilli because Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan didn’t actually sing on their debut album, “Girl You Know It’s True.” It is the first time a Grammy has ever been taken back.
  • 1979 Chuck Berry is released from Lompoc Prison, Calif., after serving a sentence for income tax evasion.
  • 1971 B.B. King marks his 25th anniversary in music by opening a European tour in London.
  • 1968 The Supremes perform at the Royal Variety Show in London, with Queen Elizabeth in attendance.