Madonna was at the beginning of her career when on January 27th, 1984, she debuted on the British Television. The artist was making her way in the music industry when she was offered the chance to be portrayed in the UK on the British program The Tube. The music show was broadcast live from Manchester’s Hacienda Club.
In her performance, she presented her hit “Holiday.”
Jan 28, 1985: We Are The World
On this day in music, January 28, 1985, music’s biggest stars (collectively dubbed “USA for Africa”) assembled at Los Angeles’ A&M Recording Studios to record “We Are the World.” Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, the Grammy-winning charitable single was inspired by Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (released a month earlier to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia). More than three-dozen artists took part in the epic recording session, including 21 soloists. Among them were Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and Paul Simon. Bob Geldof, who organized “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” joined the chorus, alongside The Pointer Sisters, Bette Midler, and Harry Belafonte, among many others, while Quincey Jones served as conductor. Between record and merch sales, as well as private donations, “We Are the World” raised more than $50 million for the humanitarian fund.
The soloist artists in “We Are The World” are the following (in order of appearance):
- Lionel Richie
- Stevie Wonder
- Paul Simon
- Kenny Rogers
- James Ingram
- Tina Turner
- Billy Joel
- Michael Jackson
- Diana Ross
- Dionne Warwick
- Willie Nelson
- Al Jarreau
- Bruce Springsteen
- Kenny Loggins
- Steve Perry
- Daryl Hall
- Huey Lewis
- Cyndi Lauper
- Kim Carnes
- Bob Dylan
- Ray Charles
Moreover, all the other artists who joined in the chorus are:
Dan Aykroyd, Harry Belafonte, Lindsey Buckingham, Mario Cipollina, Johnny Colla, Sheila E., Bob Geldof, Bill Gibson, Chris Hayes, Sean Hopper, Jackie Jackson, La Toya Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Randy Jackson, Tito Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Bette Midler, John Oates, Jeffrey Osborne, Anita Pointer, June Pointer, Ruth Pointer and Smokey Robinson.
Jan 29, 2009: The rise of Kelly Clarkson
On this day in music, January 29, 2009, Kelly Clarkson broke US chart records with her single “My Life Would Suck Without You.” During its first second week of release, the song jumped a staggering 96 positions on the Billboard Hot 100 – from No.97 to No.1. Clarkson, who rose to fame after winning the inaugural season of American Idol, previously topped the chart with 2002’s “A Moment Like This,” while six of her previous singles (including “Since U Been Gone” and “Because of You”) landed in the US Top Ten.
