The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com.
SEPT 1: Happy birthday to Gloria Estefan, born today in 1957! 🎂🎤 The singer, songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur began her music career as the lead singer of the Miami Latin Boys, which would later become the Miami Sound Machine. She has won three Grammys and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
SEPT 2: Billy Preston was born today in 1946. The child prodigy began his career playing organ for several gospel singers at age 10. By age 11, he was making television appearances. He would join Little Richard's band when he was just 16, which would lead to his meeting the Beatles. The meeting would lead to Preston working with the Beatles a couple years later. He would be referred to as the "Fifth Beatle." During the 1970s, Preston would become a successful solo artist. He passed away in 2006 after more than six months in a coma due to complications from pericarditis. RIP
SEPT 3: Today in 1982, the Steve Miller Band was at #1 with "Abracadabra". Miller's record company, Capitol, did not think that the track had hit potential. However, Miller was able to release it in Europe as he had a different deal with the label Phonogram. It became a huge hit in Europe and Capitol then released it in the U.S. The song would stay in the Top 10 for 14 weeks!
SEPT 4: Today in 1964, The Animals play their first U.S. show in NYC at the Paramount Theatre. They would go on to have a string of hits in the U.S., including "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" and "House Of The Rising Sun".
SEPT 5: On this day in 1976, Garry Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd fell asleep at the wheel. He crashes his car into a tree and a house. The incident inspires Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins to write the song "That Smell". The song was a warning about the consequences of overusing alcohol and drugs, as the band had been involved in increasingly reckless acts.
SEPT 6: On this day in 1997, Elton John would sing his re-written song "Candle In The Wind 1997" at Princess Diana's funeral. John vowed to never sing the song again unless asked by Diana's sons. He has not performed the song since. All the proceeds went to charities that Diana supported. The song would go on to break sales records in the U.K. and U.S. It is the second best selling single of all time at 33 million copies - the best-selling since modern charts - with Bing Crosby at the top with "White Christmas".
SEPT 7: Happy birthday to Chrissie Hynde, born today in 1951!🎂🎤🎸 She is a founding member and the only consistent member of The Pretenders. In 1973, Hynde moved to London to work in architecture. While in London, she tried to convince Johnny Rotten and then Sid Vicious to marry her so she could get a work permit to stay in the country! Both fell through. During the mid-1970s, she attempted to form and join bands with little to no success. In 1978, The Pretenders were formed and Hynde never looked back. She has also pursue solo and business opportunities over the years.
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