April 21

2016: Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson) dies at fifty-seven.  His biggest hits were Purple Rain, Little Red Corvette, When Doves Cry, 1999 and Nothing Compares 2 U, which he wrote for a side project called The Family and was a big hit for Sinead O’Connor.  Tributes and memorials followed his death.  Among then was Bruce Springsteen’s version of Purple Rain.  Click here for the video.  Sales of Prince’s music soared after his death.  As did plays of this video of Prince’s incendiary performance at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and this video of his NFL Super Bowl half-time set.

2004: Jennifer Hudson gets voted off American Idol, where she finishes seventh.  She wins an Oscar in 2006 for Dreamgirls.

1990: Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead O’Connor hits #1.

1984: Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) becomes Phil Collins’ first US #1 hit.

1977: The musical Annie premieres on Broadway.  Tomorrow is a hit song from the show.

1963: The Beatles and the Rolling Stones meet for the first time backstage at a Rolling Stones gig.

1967: The Beatles finish recording Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

1958: The Platters’ Twilight Time hits #1.

1956: Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel hits #1.

1951: Les Paul and Mary Ford’s How High The Moon hits #1.

Song of The Day:

Nothing Compares 2 U (Sinead O’Connor); Against All Odds (Phil Collins); Twilight Time (The Platters); Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis Presley); How High The Moon (Les Paul and Mary Ford); Tomorrow (Annie); A Day In The Life (The Beatles); Purple Rain (Prince); Little Red Corvette (Prince); 1999 (Prince)