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Today in Music

June, 9

  • 2000 Boyz II Men release to radio stations “Pass You By,” their first new single in more than three years.
  • 2000 Kenny G, Diana Krall, and Joe Sample featuring Lalah Hathaway are big winners at the Billboard/BET On Jazz Awards, presented at the BET On Jazz Studios in Washington, D.C. Awards include Kenny G, for contemporary jazz artist; Krall’s “When I Look In Your Eyes,” mainstream jazz album; Sample’s “The Song Lives On,” contemporary jazz vocal album.
  • 1998 The Ronettes finally get their day in court, as a judge in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York hears first-day arguments in their lawsuit vs. producer Phil Spector. The Ronettes – whose Spector-helmed hits include “Be my Baby” and “Walking In The Rain” – charge that the producer, his Philles Records label, and successor labels breached the group’s 34-year-old contract by paying the members, led by Spector’s ex-wife Ronnie Greenfield, no royalties since 1963.
  • 1998 The Spice Girls team up with Luciano Pavarotti in Modena, Italy for their first appearance since announcing the departure of Geri “Ginger Spice” Halliwell. The televised charity songfest “Pavarotti and Friends” is directed by Spike Lee and co-stars pop performers Celine Dion and Stevie Wonder. Proceeds benefit poor children in Liberia.
  • 1996 Carpenter and traditional singer Walter Pardon dies at the age of 82.
  • 1992 Jazz and blues singer Clarence “Big” Miller dies in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, of a heart attack. He was 70. He had performed with such jazz legends as Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis.
  • 1990 25 years to the day after their father Brian and his band The Beach Boys hold the No. 1 spot for “Help Me Rhonda,” Carnie and Wendy Wilson’s trio Wilson Phillips (with Chyna Phillips) move into the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with their single “Hold On.”
  • 1987 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Always,” Atlantic Starr.
  • 1977 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “I’m Your Boogie Man,” KC & the Sunshine Band.
  • 1970 Bob Dylan is awarded an honorary degree in music from Princeton University.
  • 1967 Everett Dean Felber, bassist for Hootie & The Blowfish, is born in Bethesda, Md.
  • 1963 Johnny Depp is born in Owensboro, Ken. Depp, a high school dropout, begins his performance career by being a floating member of numerous garage bands. His band the Kids opened for Iggy Pop. Depp is a permanent member of the group P that also includes former Sex Pistol Steve Jones and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea.
  • 1934 Blues guitarist Wild Jimmy Spruill is born.
  • 1934 R&B star Jackie Wilson is born in Detroit. He scores six No. 1 songs on Billboard’s R&B singles chart, while his biggest pop hit is “Night,” which reaches No. 4 in 1960. His goddaughter is Jody Watley. He is posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.