Apr. 22, 1978: The Blues Brothers hit Saturday Night Live for the first time 🎤
John Belushi & Dan Aykroyd debuted with (I'm A) Soul Man—inspired by Sam & Dave—and turned a sketch into a full-blown cultural phenomenon 🎬
Mission from God, officially underway. 😎
Apr. 22, 1950: Peter Frampton was born in Beckenham, England.
From Humble Pie to solo superstardom, his Frampton Comes Alive! is still one of the biggest live albums ever 🎸
“Show Me the Way,” “Baby, I Love Your Way,” “I’m in You”—all classics.
76 candles today. 🎂
Apr. 22, 1936: Glen Campbell was born in Arkansas.
From “Wichita Lineman” to “Rhinestone Cowboy,” he became a country-pop legend—but before that, he was a go-to session guitarist on iconic tracks for Sinatra, The Monkees, and Elvis.
Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011, he died in 2017 at age 81.
Apr. 21, 2016: We lost Prince at 57.
A once-in-a-generation artist, he gave us 1999, Purple Rain, Sign O’ the Times and 30+ albums of brilliance.
And on this same day in 1990, Sinéad O'Connor took “Nothing Compares 2 U” to no. 1.
Nothing does. Nothing did. Nothing will. 💜
Apr. 21, 1984: “Against All Odds” hits no. 1 — Phil Collins’ first solo chart-topper.
Reworked for the film Against All Odds from an unused demo, it won a Grammy and scored an Oscar nom (lost to Stevie Wonder).
Collins eventually got his Oscar in ’99 for You'll Be In My Heart from Tarzan.
Apr. 21, 1947: Punk icon Iggy Pop was born in Muskegon, MI.
With The Stooges and as a solo act, Iggy became one of the most influential and authentic Punk performers - raw, loud, and unpredictable.
Stage diving? He helped invent it. Rolling in broken glass? Yep…that too 😳🩸
Absolute legend.
Apr. 20, 1992: Queen plays Wembley’s Concert for Life—a tribute to Freddie Mercury and a fundraiser for AIDS awareness.
With David Bowie, Elton John, U2, Guns N' Roses, George Michael + more.
A legendary sendoff for a legend.
Apr. 20, 1976: George Harrison snuck onstage with Monty Python in NYC, dressed as a Mountie for “The Lumberjack Song.” Almost nobody noticed.
Two years later, he literally saved "Life of Brian" when funding fell through by financing it himself.
Ultimate fan energy.
Apr. 20, 1971: Five California teens came up with “4:20” as code for smoking pot 🌿
Now April 20—and 4:20 pm—are unofficial celebration times.
Bonus trivia: Boston’s “Smokin’” is 4:20 long…and multiply the numbers in Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” and you get 420 🤯
Apr. 19, 2012: Levon Helm passed away at 71. 🥁
Touring Canada with Ronnie Hawkins alongside his future bandmates as The Hawks, they split in ’65 and became The Band.
They went on to back Bob Dylan and shape a legendary Americana sound, closing (for a time) with The Last Waltz in 1976. 🎶
Apr. 19, 1988: Sonny Bono of Sonny & Cher was sworn in as mayor of Palm Springs.
Fed up with red tape, he went from pop star to politician—serving from 1988–92, helping launch the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and later winning a seat in Congress in 1994.
Apr. 19, 1986: Prince hit no. 1 with “Kiss.”
No. 2 was “Manic Monday” by The Bangles — also his song.
Plus “A Love Bizarre” with Sheila E. was on the chart.
You don’t have to be cruel to rule his world!
Apr. 18, 2012: Dick Clark passed away at 82.
The longtime host of American Bandstand and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve helped bring rock & roll to the masses 🎶
He gave early national exposure to artists like Stevie Wonder and Simon & Garfunkel — and became a TV icon in the process.
Apr. 18, 1987: Aretha Franklin & George Michael hit no. 1 with “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me).”
Aretha’s first chart-topper since “Respect” (1967) — and a record-setting gap between no. 1s for a female artist.
Apr. 18, 1963: Paul McCartney met Jane Asher after a Beatles performance at Royal Albert Hall 🎤
They become one of Britain’s biggest couples—engaged, but done by ’68.
Their relationship inspired Beatles classics like “All My Loving” and “I’m Looking Through You.”
Apr. 17, 1998: Linda McCartney died at 56.
📸 Before Wings, she was a trailblazing rock photographer — shooting The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan — and becoming the first woman to land a Rolling Stone cover.
Her 29-year marriage with Paul McCartney was built on music, family, and purpose.
Apr. 17, 1982: Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force dropped “Planet Rock,” a game-changer that fused hip-hop with electronic sound.
Driven by the Roland TR-808, it rewrote the rules—no band, no breakbeats—and shaped later hip-hop acts like Run-D.M.C.
Apr. 17, 1970: Johnny Cash played the White House for Richard Nixon. But, it wasn’t exactly a friendly jam session.
Nixon reportedly asked for “Welfare Cadilac” (there's only one L in the title).
Cash declined, instead playing songs like “What Is Truth?” — a subtle statement in itself.
Apr. 16, 1969: The MC5 get dropped by Elektra Records after feuding with Hudson's Department Store in Detroit over Kick Out The Jams.
One word—“motherf—ker”—was enough to spark a boycott threat and kill the deal.
Punk attitude meets corporate limits.
Apr. 16, 1947: Gerry Rafferty was born in Scotland.
First finding success with Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck In The Middle With You”, a mid-’70s legal battle paused his career—but he came roaring back in ’78 with five U.S. Top 40 hits.
Gone in 2011 at 63, but that sound? Timeless.
Apr. 16, 1939: Dusty Springfield was born 🎤
From tomboy “Dusty” to the White Queen of Soul, she bridged UK pop & Memphis soul—peaking with Dusty in Memphis (“Son of a Preacher Man”).
Died in 1999, only weeks before her Rock Hall induction.
Timeless voice and an icon forever.
Apr. 15, 2001: Joey Ramone died at 49.
Frontman of the Ramones, he helped define punk with “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “I Wanna Be Sedated.”
From Queens outsider to icon—gone just weeks before he turned 50, but forever loud.
Apr. 15, 1989: Roy Orbison’s “You Got It” hits no. 9 in the U.S. — his first Top 10 since 1964 — four months after his death.
Gone at 52, but not forgotten.
Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame a month later, presented by Eric Clapton.
Apr. 15, 1964: After a long day of filming their first movie, The Beatles’ Ringo Starr said, “it’s been a hard day’s night.”
John Lennon turned the phrase into a song—and just like that, the film became A Hard Day's Night.
A hit with critics, earning 2 Oscar nominations.
Apr. 14, 2016: Prince played his final show—an intimate “Piano & a Microphone” night in Atlanta, GA.
Two sets, just him and a piano.
It ended with “Purple Rain”…and the crowd singing him out. 💜
Apr. 14, 1998: VH1’s first Divas Live raised the roof (and funds) for music education.
Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan & Shania Twain—with Carole King—made it iconic.
The album hit no. 21. Voices for days. 📀🎶
Apr. 14, 1989: "Say Anything…" hits theatres.
John Cusack’s boombox serenade with Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes turns a modest chart hit into an all-time movie moment.
Proof a song doesn’t need to be no. 1 to become legendary.
Apr. 13, 1982: David Crosby was busted in Dallas for freebasing cocaine—part of a spiral that led to arrests, rehab failures, and eventually prison.
In 1986, behind bars in Texas, Crosby got sober and started turning things around 🙏
He later thanked the judge, saying the sentence saved his life.
Apr. 13, 1973: Bob Marley & The Wailers dropped Catch a Fire—the album that lit the fuse for reggae’s global takeover 🌍🔥
Its first pressing had a wild Zippo lighter cover that actually opened…but it was too expensive, so it got replaced after 20,000 copies with the famous Marley smoking shot.
Apr. 13, 1962: The Beatles hit Hamburg’s Star Club.
After name changes and endless gigs (172 hours of shows in 48 days), they returned to England sharp, signed, and ready.
Beatlemania was warming up.