This day in 'Musical' history

Oct 9th:
.
1965
The Ohio State University marching band plays "Hang On Sloopy" for the first time when their football team takes on Illinois. It soon becomes an OSU favorite, and in 1985 is designated the state song of Ohio.

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1969 - Top Of The Pops
For the first time in the history of the show, the BBC’s Top Of The Pops producers refused to air the No. 1 song, ‘Je T’aime... Moi Non Plus’, the erotic French language love song by Serge Gainsbourg and actress Jane Birkin.

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The song, an instrumental with the voices of Gainsbourg and Birkin apparently recorded in the act of love and superimposed over the top, caused such a stir in Britain that the original label, Fontana, dropped the record despite it being No. 2 on the charts.

A small record company, (Major Minor), bought the rights and saw the song climb to the top of the charts, the first French language song to ever do so.
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Oct 9th:
.
1971 - The Who
The Who played a small, low-key show at the University of Surrey, Guildford, with guest John Sebastian joining in on harmonica on ‘Magic Bus’ ‘ the only outside musician ever to jam with The Who on stage.
  • Backstage, the group celebrated John Entwistle’s 27th birthday.
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1973 - Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley and Priscilla divorced after six years of marriage. Priscilla was awarded property, $725,000 cash and $4,200 a month support.
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1976 - Walter Murphy
One hit wonders Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'A Fifth Of Beethoven', included in the Disco smash film 'Saturday Night Fever' , it made No.28 in the UK.
 
Oct 9th:
.
LENNON:

1940
John Winston Lennon is born in Liverpool, England. The "Winston" comes from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
- John would later add "Ono" to his middle name in honor of Yoko.

*-----------------------------------------*
1975
On father John Lennon's 35th birthday, Yoko Ono gives birth to Sean Ono Taro Lennon (Sean Lennon).

*-----------------------------------------*

1985
On what would have been John Lennon's 45th birthday, a section of Central Park in New York City is christened "Strawberry Fields" in his memory.

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Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, funds the project with a gift of $500,000, and appears with mayor Ed Koch at the dedication ceremony.

Months after Lennon's 1980 murder, the city designated the area in his honor - it's located near the Dakota building, where John and Yoko lived. With Yoko's funding, the Garden of Peace is built in 1984 as a place of meditation and quiet contemplation.
In the garden is the Imagine monument, a circular mosaic with the word "Imagine" at its center.Strawberry Fields becomes a popular destination for Beatles fans, who often place flowers on the Imagine monument.

Every December 8th, fans gather there to honor Lennon on the anniversary of his death.

*-----------------------------------------*

2000
--- On what would have been John Lennon's 60th birthday, the book Lennon Remembers, The Complete Rolling Stone Interviews is released, containing material too controversial to publish years earlier.

--- The John Lennon museum opens in Japan on what would have been his 60th birthday. Yoko Ono allows it to operate for 10 years before terminating the agreement, as she feels Lennon's spirit should stay in motion.

*-----------------------------------------
 

Oct 10th:
.
1964
The Olympic Games open in Tokyo, inspiring the song "Tokyo Melody."


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1970 - Sounds
The first issue of Sounds the British music paper was published. It was intended to be a weekly rival to titles such as Melody Maker and New Musical Express and was well known initially for giving away posters in the centre of the paper.

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- Sounds closed on April 6, 1991.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sounds_(magazine)
*--------------------------------------------------------*

1972
James Brown alienates much of his audience by meeting with President Richard Nixon in the White House and endorsing him in his bid for re-election.

Brown, who doesn't claim a political affiliation, uses the brief meeting to push for a national holiday celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Nixon says he's "aware of that.
-- "Tape recordings from the Oval Office reveal Nixon pushing back against the meeting, saying, "No more black stuff.
--- No more blacks from now on. Just don't bring 'em in here."

When an aide explains that Brown has huge influence in the black community, he reluctantly agrees.
- Nixon is despised by most black voters, but Brown is politically conservative, hewing to a message of rising up on your own.
-- His hope is that Nixon will provide opportunities that African Americans can use to rise up as business owners.
--- His support for Nixon leads to protests, with some fans calling him a sell-out.After Nixon won in 1968, Brown played at his inauguration; after Nixon's victory in 1972,
Brown skips it because the White House refuses to pay for the performance.Brown soon grows frustrated with Nixon, and takes him to task on the 1973 song "You Can Have Watergate Just Gimme Some Bucks And l'll Be Straight."
  • When Jimmy Carter is elected president in 1976, Brown attends one of his inaugural balls.
 
Oct 10th:
.
1978
The second Stiff Records UK tour kicked off featuring;
  • Wreckless Eric,
  • Jona Lewie,
  • Rachel Sweet,
  • Lene Lovich and
  • Micky Jupp.
The UK tour was undertaken by train, and then continued on to the USA, without Jupp, who was afraid of flying.
*----------------------------------------------------------*

1980 - John Bonham
The funeral took place of Led Zeppelin's drummer John Bonham ‘Bonzo’ was found dead at guitarists Jimmy Page's house of what was described as asphyxiation, after inhaling his own vomit after excessive vodka consumption, (40 shots in 4 hours) aged 32.

*----------------------------------------------------------*

1999 - Elvis Presley
A charity auction selling Elvis Presley's belongings was held at The Grand Hotel, Las Vegas.
  • A wristwatch sold for $32,500,
  • a cigar box $25,000,
  • an autographed baseball sold for $19,000, and
  • a 1956 Lincoln Continental sold for $250,000.
*----------------------------------------------------------*
 
Oct 11th:
.
1970
Elvis Presley is made an honorary "special" deputy sheriff of Bel Air, California. - adding to his collection of law enforcement badges. He received the badge as part of his growing interest in law enforcement and badge collecting, which began around this time.

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1981
Opening a show for The Rolling Stones at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, Prince gets booed off the stage.
The Stones have good intentions in bringing in a rising star, but his act isn't a good fit for this crowd, and when he opens his trench coat to reveal bikini briefs, it gets ugly.

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  • Prince never again performs as an opening act.
 
Oct 11th
.
1997
- are among the musicians who perform at a tribute to Muddy Waters at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
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2004
.
The Vote for Change tour wraps up in Washington, DC. with a concert featuring
- The goal of the tour is to get president George W. Bush voted out of office in the November elections. Bush wins by a narrow margin.
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2011
.
After it's launch in 2004 ( People magazine had been handing out the Sexiest Man Alive award since 1985).
Esquire names Rihanna the Sexiest Woman Alive.

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She's the only musician ever to win the award, which they bestow from 2004-2015.
Other winners include Minka Kelly and Halle Berry.

Their first sexy woman was Angelina Jolie, and every selection thereafter is an actress, until Rihanna is selected in 2011.
The story is written based on a dispatch from her Loud tour, with the reporter noting how Rihanna doesn't really dance, but instead does what amounts to "choreographed oozing." Noting her saucy stage show, he crowns her the "indisputable champion of carnal pop."

For the cover shot, Rihanna is wearing nothing but seaweed, as if she just washed up on shore.
  • On the cover of her next album, Unapologetic, she's naked, concealed with some carefully placed graphics.
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Oct 11th
.
1966
The Moody Blues split up, with Denny Laine signing a solo deal with their label, Deram

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The group re-forms a month later with new members Justin Hayward and John Lodge.

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*--------------------*

1968 - Janis Joplin
Big Brother And The Holding Company went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Cheap Thrills'.

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The cover, drawn by underground cartoonist Robert Crumb, replaced the band's original idea, a picture of the group naked in bed together.

Crumb had originally intended his art to be the LP's back cover, but Joplin demanded that Columbia Records use it for the front cover.
  • Initially the album title was to have been Sex, Dope and Cheap Thrills, but this didn't go down too well at Columbia Records.
 
Oct 12th:
.
1974 - Blondie
Blondie appeared at CBGB’s in New York City, under the name Blondie for the first time.
The name is derived from comments made by truck drivers who catcalled "Hey, Blondie" to Debbie Harry as they drove by.

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(Valentine, Stein, Burke,Destri and Harry))
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1975 - Rod Stewart and the Faces
...... made their final live appearance when they played at Nassau Coliseum, Long Island.
The group produced four studio albums:
  • First Step (1970),
  • Long Player (1971),
  • A Nod Is As Good As a Wink... to a Blind Horse (1971) and
  • Ooh La La (1973).
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1979
Fleetwood Mac release Tusk, - - - their first album since the wildly successful Rumours in 1977.
The set of songs that cost the band over $1 million to record.

The double album peaked at No.4 in the US and achieved sales in excess of two million copies, spawning two Top Ten singles, 'Sara' and the title track.
It reached No.1 in the UK and achieved Platinum status.

- Though it has less commercial appeal, Mick Fleetwood credits it with keeping the band together, as the band members were free to experiment.
 
Oct 12th:
.
1994 - Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd played the first of a 15-night run at Earls Court, London, England.

Less than a minute after the band had started playing 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', a scaffolding stand holding 1200 fans, collapsed, throwing hundreds of people 20 feet to the ground.

It took over an hour to free everyone from the twisted wreckage, ninety-six people were injured, with 36 needing hospital treatment.
Six were detained overnight with back, neck and rib injuries.
Pink Floyd sent a free T-shirt and a note of apology to all the fans who had been seated in the stand that collapsed.
- The show was immediately cancelled and re-scheduled.

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1996 - Rolling Stones
28 years after its creation, The Rolling Stones' Rock & Roll Circus was finally released.
The 1968 event put together by The Stones comprised two concerts on a circus stage and included performaces by
  • The Who,
  • Taj Mahal,
  • Marianne Faithfull and
  • Jethro Tull.
  • John Lennon and Yoko Ono performed as part of a supergroup called The Dirty Mac, - along with Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell and Keith Richards.
  • It was originally planned to be aired on BBC TV.
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Oct 12th
.
1997
John Denver was killed when the handmade, experimental airplane he was flying ran out of gas and crashed off the coast of Monterey Bay, California.

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The 53 year old star had scored 15 songs on Billboard's Top 40 Pop chart, ten of which reached number one on either Billboard's Adult Contemporary or Country chart.

Denver's plane has a fuel selection valve behind the pilot's head, forcing him to balance on the right rudder in order to switch tanks.
Denver left the airport with less fuel than he should have, and when attempting to switch tanks, he hits the right rudder, causing the crash.
  • Denver was the aircraft's sole occupant.
Although Denver was an experienced pilot who logged over 2,700 hours on various aircrafts, he wasn't actually allowed to be flying at the time of his death due to his past arrests for drunk driving, but an autopsy proves he wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol during his final flight.
  • The crash is so devastating, the only way the singer's body could be identified is through his fingerprints.
When his death is announced, Colorado governor Roy Romer orders the state's flags to be lowered to half staff.
Colorado always held a special place in the singer's heart. Born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., the New Mexico native borrowed his new surname from his favorite state's capital, and eventually settled in Aspen after the success of his 1972 hit "Rocky Mountain High."

Having released his breakthrough album, Poems, Prayers, and Promises, the previous year, Denver's crossover appeal continued throughout the '70s with a steady stream of country folk hits inspired by his love of nature, including "Sunshine On My Shoulders" and "Annie's Song" (written after an invigorating jaunt on the ski slopes). Colorado returned the favor by naming him Poet laureate of the state and making "Rocky Mountain High" one of the official state songs.
  • As his chart success began to wane, Denver leaned into political activism and humanitarian work, founding
The Hunger Project to campaign against hunger and the Windstar Foundation to promote sustainable living.
His distaste for right-wing politics led to his controversial track "Let Us Begin (What Are We Making Weapons For?)" from his 1986 album, One World.
In the years before his death, he remained in the public eye, publishing an autobiography, Take Me Home, that details his struggles with drug use and infidelity, and accepting a spot in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

His only two Grammy Awards were given posthumously: All Aboard! took home Best Musical Album For Children in 1997 and his classic 1971 hit "Take Me Home Country Roads" was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998

John Denver - Wikipedia
 
Oct 13th:
.
1965 - The Who
The Who recorded 'My Generation' at Pye studios, London.
When released as a single it reached No.2 on the UK chart, held off the No.1 position by The Seekers 'The Carnival Is Over'.
  • Roger Daltrey would later say that he stuttered the lyrics to try to fit them to the music.
  • The BBC initially refused to play the song because it did not want to offend people who stutter.
*------------------------------------*

1974 - Ed Sullivan
TV host Ed Sullivan died.

Leader of the Ed Sullivan Singers and Orchestra, he introduced The Beatles and other UK acts to America via his Ed Sullivan TV show, from New York City, which ran from June 20, 1948 to June 6, 1971, on CBS every Sunday night at 8pm.

Ed Sullivan - Wikipedia

The Beatles appearance on February 9th 1964 is considered a milestone in American pop culture and the beginning of the British Invasion in music. The broadcast drew an estimated 73 million viewers.

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The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show - Wikipedia
 
Oct 13th:
.
1986
Neil Young headlines the first Bridge School benefit concert in support of the non-profit institution that provides education for children with verbal and physical disabilities.

Young and his wife Pegi co-founded the school when their son, Ben, was born with cerebral palsy.

The all-acoustic concert - featuring performances by Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Tom Petty, and a reunited Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - turns into an annual event that adds many more big-name acts to the roster, including regular guests Pearl Jam.
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2004 - The Isley Brothers
The US Internal Revenue Service charged 63-year-old Ronald Isley, lead singer of the Isley Brothers, with tax evasion for failing to report income from royalties and performances by the band between 1997 and 2002.
  • He was later found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison.
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2011 - Maroon 5
American band Maroon 5 were on the top 10 of the UK singles chart with 'Moves Like Jagger', featuring Christina Aguilera.
Its lyrics referred to a male's ability to impress a female with his dance moves, which he compared to those of Mick Jagger.
The video featured old video footage of Jagger and his iconic dance moves.
Moves Like Jagger was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 54th Grammy Awards.

*-------------------------------------------*

2016
Bob Dylan is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "For having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."
Previous winners in this category include William Golding, John Steinbeck, and William Faulkner.
He's the first American to win since Toni Morrison in 1993.

2016 Nobel Prize in Literature - Wikipedia
 
Oct 14th:
.
1959 - Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Mack The Knife'.
From Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera, the song won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1960.

*---------------------------------------------*

1966
Grace Slick makes her first stage appearance with the band Jefferson Airplane at their Fillmore West gig in San Francisco.

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*-----------------------------------------------*

1970
Leading up to his "War On Drugs" initiative, US President Richard Nixon encourages radio stations to work with him in stopping drug abuse.
"If you can make a contribution here, I believe you will be serving the national interest," he says at the White House Conference on Drug Abuse.

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*------------------------------------------------*
 
Oct 14th:
.
1990
In Baghdad, Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), secures the release of four British prisoners (all Muslim) Pilgrims who had been unable to leave Iraq after the country's invasion of Kuwait.
Their release was secured just before former British Prime Minister Edward Heath arrived in Baghdad to negotiate the release of other British citizens - detained as Iraq prepares for the Gulf War.
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1994
Pulp Fiction opens in theaters, reviving classic '60s songs such as "Misirlou," "Son Of A Preacher Man" and "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon."

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2004 - Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton was suspended from driving in France after being caught speeding at 134mph in his Porsche 911 Turbo near Merceuil.
He was given a 750 euro (£515) fine and his UK licence was confiscated.

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After paying his fine Clapton posed for photographs with French police and then left the scene in his Porsche - with his secretary behind the wheel.
 
Oct 15th:
.
1955
Buddy & Bob (Buddy Holly) opened for Elvis Presley at the ‘Big D Jamboree’, held at Lubbock’s Cotton Club, Texas.
Nashville talent scout Eddie Crandall was in audience and arranged for Holly to audition and record demos for the Decca US label.
*-------------------------------------------------*

1964
British singer Screaming Lord Sutch runs for the English Parliament.
Champion of the "Monster Raving Looney Party"
He goes on to lose 40 elections (mostly by-elections).

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screaming_Lord_Sutch
*-------------------------------------------------*

1966
  • Pink Floyd (who were paid £15 for the gig),
  • The Move,
  • Denny Laine,
  • Soft Machine,
  • Yoko Ono and a
  • West Indian steel band
all appeared at the launch for the International Times (which became the first and longest running British hippy paper), at London's Roundhouse.
Beatle Paul McCartney attended the event in Arabian dress.
The flyers for the evening stated: '
Bring your own poison, bring flowers & gass (sic), filled balloons'.
Admission was 10 shillings (50p) on the door.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Times
*-------------------------------------------------*
 
Oct 15th:
.
1971
Rick Nelson (formerly Ricky) plays the "Rock & Roll Spectacular" concert at Madison Square Garden.

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When he plays some newer songs, the hit-hungry audience boos.
Nelson writes the song "Garden Party" about the experience, and it becomes a hit, reviving his career.

Oldies shows didn't exist until 1969 when the promotor Richard Nader held the first Rock & Roll Revival concert at Madison Square Garden.

It was wildly successful, and over the next few years similar concerts take place at the venue with a wide array of performers who were big in the '50s. Ricky Nelson wants nothing to do with these shows, but relents when Nader agrees to change the name to "Rock & Roll Spectacular" so it won't seem so musty.

Nelson is listed as a "special guest star" on the bill, which also includes Chuck Berry, Bobby Rydell, The Shirelles, The Coasters, Gary U.S. Bonds and Bo Diddley.

Nelson is one of the biggest hitmakers of the '50s, but he's also still active writing and recording new material, mostly in the country-rock vein. The concept of a nostalgia show is alien to him, so he figures he can play some hits and then sneak in some new material. He starts out playing some of his chestnuts, including "Be-Bop Baby" and "Hello Mary Lou," delighting the crowd. He plays "She Belongs to Me," a minor hit from just two years earlier, and then sits down at a piano and goes into his cover of "Honky Tonk Women" from his upcoming album.

When he completes the song and walks back to his guitar, some in the audience boo him, which catches him off guard - he had been playing new material at college shows for a while without a problem, and is surprised by the hostile reaction. He plays one more song and then leaves the building, making him a no-show for the finale.Early in his career, Nelson didn't write his own songs, which was standard practice. In the '70s, he became a songwriter, composing tunes he recorded with his backing group, the Stone Canyon Band.

After getting booed at the Garden, he comes up with a new song, "Garden Party," where he sings:It's all right nowI learned my lesson wellYou see, you can't please everyoneSo you gotta please yourselfIt becomes the title track to his 1972 album and is released as a single, reaching #6 on the Hot 100, Nelson's first Top 10 hit since 1964.

He cites the song as his greatest musical achievement.
"It renewed my opinion of myself and what I should be doing," he says. "You can't take something wrong and make it right."

 
Oct 15th:
.
1992
Madonna holds a "Sex" party at Industria Superstudio in Manhattan to promote her upcoming book Sex.
She shows up dressed like Little Bo Peep, carrying a stuffed lamb.

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2013
Madonna was banned from a US cinema chain after being accused of texting during a film.
Attending the New York Film Festival screening of 12 Years a Slave, the 55-year-old was reportedly asked to stop texting by an audience member.
Tim League, CEO of the Alamo Drafthouse chain, tweeted: "Until she apologizes to movie fans, Madonna is banned from watching movies at Alamo."
 
Oct 16th:
.
1962
The first night of a two month Motown Records package tour started in Washington DC, featuring.....

1966
Folk singer Joan Baez is among 124 antiwar protesters arrested for blocking entrance to an Army Induction Center in Oakland, California.
She is sentenced to ten days in jail.


1975
Bruce Springsteen begins a series of shows at The Roxy in Los Angeles, where he earns adulation from many celebrities and a glowing review in the L.A. Times.
This leads to cover stories on Springsteen in both Time and Newsweek on October 27th.


1976
Stevie Wonder's 'Songs In The Key Of Life', went to No.1 on the US album chart, (the working title was Let's See Life the Way It Is).
Featuring the tracks '
  • Sir Duke',
  • 'I Wish', '
  • Pastime Paradise' and
  • 'Isn't She Lovely'.
It was Wonder's third US No.1 and became the best-selling and most critically acclaimed album of Wonder's career.
 
Oct 16th:
.
1982
Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," a #1 Country hit in 1974, goes back to the top spot thanks to its use in the movie The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas.

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This makes it the first song to top that chart twice.

*-----------------------------------------------------------------------------*

1986
Chuck Berry's 60th birthday bash (held three days before his actual birthday) takes place in St. Louis with a tribute concert featuring .....
Footage is shot for the 1987 documentary Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll.

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Oct 17th:
.
1987
"You Win Again" by the Bee Gees hits #1 in the UK, making them the first group with UK chart-toppers in three different decades
(the '60s, )


(the '70s)

(the '80s).


... which went to No.1 on the UK singles chart.
  • The brothers fifth and last No.1.
*--------------------------------------------------------*
 
Oct 18th:
.
1956 - Elvis Presley
21-year-old Elvis Presley pulled into a Memphis gas station where he started to attract a small crowd of autograph seekers.
After repeatedly asking Elvis to move on so he could resume normal business, station manager Ed Hopper slapped Presley on the head and found himself on the receiving end of a punch in the face from Elvis.
Station employee Aubrey Brown tried to help his boss, but was no match for Presley.
  • After police are called, Hopper and Brown were charged with assault and were fined $25 and $15 respectively.
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1969
The Jackson 5 make their national TV debut, performing on the ABC variety show Hollywood Palace.


In January 1970, the song "I Want You Back" tops the Hot 100.
 
Oct 18th:
.
1974 - Al Green
Al Green was taking a shower at his Memphis home when his ex-girlfriend Mary Woodson bursts in, poursd boiling hot grit over him - and then shoots herself dead.
- Green suffered second degree burns.

The "Grits Incident":
When a stewardess friend of Green's shows up to meet the singer, he ends up at his Memphis home with her and his companion, Mary Woodson, who is dangerously obsessed with the singer.

When Green goes into the bathroom to brush his teeth, Woodson bursts in and pours a pot of boiling grits on him, burning him badly before going in the next room and killing herself with his gun.

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Green takes these disturbing events as a sign from God and focuses his career on gospel music and preaching.

Green is cleared of any wrongdoing in the death of Mary Woodson, who was married with four children (Green claims he didn't know this) and had a history of psychiatric problems.
- She left behind two suicide notes, including one proclaiming her love for Green.
He says that before her death, she told him he would someday become a great preacher.

Green honors her memory with a nameplate at his church.
 
Oct 19th:
.
1964
The incredibly influential English concert called the "American ***** Blues Festival" kicks off, featuring
Howlin' Wolf,
Willie Dixon,
Lightnin' Hopkins, and
Sonny Boy Williamson, among others.
It is the first glimpse of these bluesmen for many upcoming British R&B and rock legends.

American Folk Blues Festival - Wikipedia
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1973 - David Bowie
David Bowie released his seventh album Pin Ups.

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The album, which features supermodel Twiggy on the front cover, is a collection of cover versions of some of the singer’s favourite songs, including tracks by
Pink Floyd,
The Pretty Things,
The Who,
The Yardbirds and
The Kinks.

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Oct 19th
.
1985
Thanks to an innovative video that takes place in a comic book, "Take On Me" gives the Norwegian group a-ha a #1 hit in America.


Earlier versions of "Take On Me" flopped hard, but when Warner Bros' exec Jeff Ayeroff got a look at the band, he knew their swoonworthy looks were made for MTV and commissioned a music video to promote a more radio friendly version of the tune.

In the clip, helmed by "Billie Jean" director Steve Barron, an animated version of a-ha frontman Morten Harket lures an attractive girl into his cartoon world.

The comic landscape was created by husband-and-wife team Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger using rotoscoping, which involves tracing over live action footage to create realistic movements in animation.
Their video work continues on Paula Abdul's "Opposites Attract" and Suzanne Vega's "Luka." The groundbreaking video helps push "Take On Me" to #1 and earns six accolades at the MTV Video Music Awards, including Best Special Effects, Best Concept, and Viewer's Choice.

It also forever traps a-ha in their seminal hit, at least in the US, where they never reach the apex of the Hot 100 again.

By the time "Take On Me" reaches its 30th anniversary, however, a-ha has taken on the rest of the world with a moodier brand of pop and a legacy of hits on several European charts.
 

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