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Today in Music

February, 26

  • 1998 Rocker Tommy Lee of Motley Crue fame is formally charged with abusing his wife, actress Pamela Anderson Lee, and one of their sons, Dylan.
  • 1998 In his keynote address at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, Garth Brooks says that he is planning a release for a DVD album that would be among the first to use the new format.
  • 1997 At the 39th annual Grammy Awards held in New York, surprising wins include The Beatles for Best Pop Performance by a Duo Or Group With Vocal for the song “Free As A Bird,” Best Music Video, Short Form for the video to “Free As A Bird,” and Best Music Video, Long Form for “The Beatles Anthology.” A Grammy for Best Spoken Word or Nonmusical Album also goes to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for “It Takes A Village.”
  • 1996 Quincy Jones is named MusiCares Man of the Year. Jones is the most-nominated artist in Grammy history with 76 nominations and 26 statues.
  • 1995 Former Led Zeppelin duo Jimmy Page and Robert Plant kick off a year-long world tour in Pensacola, Fla., supporting their live “No Quarter” reunion album.
  • 1990 Cornell Gunter, former lead tenor for the Coasters, is murdered in Las Vegas, Nev. He is 53. “Yakety Yak,” the group’s only No. 1 hit, was released during Gunter’s four years with the Coasters.
  • 1985 Tina Turner wins Grammys for “What’s Love Got to Do with It” and “Better Be Good to Me.”
  • 1975 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Best of My Love,” Eagles. The song is the group’s first No. 1 hit.
  • 1961 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Pony Time,” Chubby Checker. A version of the song by the Goodtimers entered the chart the same week as Checker’s version, but only reached No. 60.
  • 1954 Singer/songwriter Michael Bolton (Michael Bolotin) is born in New Haven, Conn.
  • 1932 Country star Johnny Cash is born in Kingsland, Ark. He writes his first song at age 12. Among his No. 1 country hits are “I Walk the Line” in 1956, “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town” in 1959, “Ring of Fire” in 1963 and “A Boy Named Sue” in 1969. He is elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980.
  • 1928 Fats Domino (Antoine Domino) is born in New Orleans. His biggest hit on the pop charts is the 1956 song “Blueberry Hill,” which reaches No. 2 and receives a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1987. He has nine No. 1 singles on the R&B charts, including “Ain’t That a Shame.”