26 Mar 1917
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music
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birth Rufus Thomas, singer, (1963 US No.10 single with Walking The Dog and a 1970 UK No.18 & US No.28 single with Do The Funky Chicken). Thomas died on December 15th 2001.
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26 Mar 1944
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music
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birth Diana Ross, (Diane Earle), singer, The Supremes, singer, (1964 UK & US No.1 single 'Baby Love' plus over 20 other US & UK Top 40 hits). Solo (1980 US No.1 single 'Upside Down, 1986 UK No.1 single 'Chain Reaction').
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26 Mar 1948
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music
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birth Richard Tandy, keyboards, vocals, Electric Light Orchestra, (1979 UK No.3 & US No. 4 single 'Don't Bring Me Down' plus 26 other top 40 UK hits).
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26 Mar 1948
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music
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birth Steven Tyler, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of Aerosmith, known as the "Demon of Screamin'". Aerosmith scored the 1989 UK No.13 single 'Love In An Elevator', their 1989 album 'Pump' spent 53 weeks on the US charts, and the 1993 US No.1 & UK No.2 album 'Get A Grip', as well as the 1998 US No.1 & UK No.4 single 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing'. In 2011, Tyler made his debut appearance as a judge on American Idol.
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26 Mar 1949
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music
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birth Fran Sheehan, bass, Boston, (1977 UK No.22 single 'More Than A Feeling', 1986 US No.1 single 'Amanda').
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26 Mar 1950
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music
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birth Teddy Pendergrass, soul singer, (1978 US No.25 single 'Close The Door', 1994 UK No.35 single 'The More I Get The More I Want'). One time member of Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes. Died on 13th Jan 2010 at the age of 59 following a difficult recovery from colon cancer surgery.
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26 Mar 1953
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music
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birth William Lyall, keyboards, Pilot, (1975 UK No.1 single 'January'). Also worked with Sheena Easton and The Bay City Rollers. Lyall died in 1989.
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26 Mar 1955
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music
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birth Martin Price, 808 State, (1989 UK No.10 single 'Pacific State').
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26 Mar 1956
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music
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Kay Starr was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Rock And Roll Waltz.' The song is told from the point-of-view of a teenager who comes home early from a date, and catches her parents attempting to dance to one of her rock and roll records.
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26 Mar 1957
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music
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birth Paul Morley, Art Of Noise, (1988 UK No.5 single with Tom Jones, 'Kiss'), music journalist.
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26 Mar 1961
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music
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The Beatles performed at the Casbah Coffee Club, West Derby, Liverpool, their last performance before travelling to Hamburg, West Germany, for their second visit.
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26 Mar 1965
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music
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Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman all received electric shocks from a faulty microphone on stage during a Rolling Stones show in Denmark. Bill Wyman was knocked unconscious for several minutes.
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26 Mar 1968
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music
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birth James Jonas Iha, guitar, Smashing Pumpkins, (1995 US No.1 album 'Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness', 1996 UK No.7 single 'Tonight Tonight').
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26 Mar 1968
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music
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birth Kenny Chesney, US country singer, songwriter, (2002 US No.1 album No Shoes, No Shirt, 2005 US No.1 album 'Be As You Are'). Married Bridget Jones and Chicago actress Renee Zellweger in May 2005.
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26 Mar 1969
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music
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Marvin Gaye was at No.1 on the UK singles chart, with 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'. The song was first recorded by The Miracles and had also been a million seller in 1967 for Gladys Knight and the Pips.
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26 Mar 1970
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music
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Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul and Mary pleaded guilty to 'taking immoral liberties' with a 14 year old girl in Washington D.C. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three months in jail. Just days earlier, the trio had won a Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children for their album, 'Peter, Paul and Mommy'.
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26 Mar 1971
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music
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birth John Hendy, East 17, (1994 UK No.1 single 'Stay Another Day', plus over 15 other UK Top 40 singles).
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26 Mar 1976
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music
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One-man blues band Duster Bennett was killed in a car accident. 1970 album 'Smiling Like I'm Happy.' Worked with Alexis Korner, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Fleetwood Mac and B.B. King.
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26 Mar 1976
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music
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Anita Pallenberg the girlfriend of Rolling Stone Keith Richards gave birth to a baby boy, Tara, (he died ten weeks later from pneumonia).
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26 Mar 1977
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music
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Hall and Oates started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Rich Girl', the duo's first US No.1, not a hit in the UK.
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26 Mar 1980
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music
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The Police became the first Western pop group to play in Bombay, India for over ten years when they played a one off gig in the city.
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26 Mar 1981
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music
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birth Jay Sean, British producer, 2009 US No.1 single 'Down' with Lil Wayne.
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26 Mar 1983
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music
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Duran Duran went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Is There Something I Should Know'. Their first No.1 and their eighth single release. The group were on a US promotional trip on this day, where they were greeted by 5,000 screaming fans at an in-store appearance in New York City.
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26 Mar 1985
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music
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Radio stations in South Africa banned all of Stevie Wonder's records after he dedicated the Oscar he had won the night before at The Academy Awards to Nelson Mandela.
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26 Mar 1988
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music
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British reggae band Aswad were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Don't Turn Around.' Ace of Base scored a US No.1 hit in 1994 with their version of the Diane Warren song.
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26 Mar 1988
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music
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Michael Jackson started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Man In The Mirror', a No.21 hit in the UK.
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26 Mar 1988
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music
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Morrissey went to No.1 on the UK album chart with his debut solo LP 'Viva Hate.'
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26 Mar 1994
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music
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Soundgarden entered the US album chart at No.1 with 'Superunknown'.
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26 Mar 1995
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music
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Rapper producer, and record executive Eazy-E (Eric Lynn Wright) died of AIDS in Los Angeles aged 31. Formed Ruthless Records, worked with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube.
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26 Mar 1996
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music
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The Woman in Me the second studio album by Shania Twain was at No.1 on the Country chart. It went onto become her biggest-selling recording at the time of its release, selling 4 million copies by the end of the year. 'Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?', a song about a woman confronting her lover about his frequent infidelity, was released at the first single from the album.
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26 Mar 2000
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music
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Melanie C scored her first solo UK No.1 single with 'Never Be The Same Again' with Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes from TLC. She replaced her former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell from the top of the charts.
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26 Mar 2000
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music
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Phil Collins won an Oscar at the Academy Awards for Best Original Song with 'You'll Be In My Heart' from the Disney animated feature 'Tarzan.'
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26 Mar 2000
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music
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Santana started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Supernatural.' The album went on to win eight Grammy Awards including Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year (for Smooth) and Song Of The Year.
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26 Mar 2001
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music
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The toy figure of Eminem was facing a ban from UK shops. Woolworth's and Hamleys were refusing to stock the dolls. Psychologists warned parents who buy the dolls for children will be inadvertently giving their approval to bad language.
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26 Mar 2002
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music
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Randy Castillo drummer with the Ozzy Osbourne band died of cancer aged 51. Worked with Osbourne during the 1980s and early 1990s. Also worked with Lita Ford and Motley Crue.
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26 Mar 2003
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music
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Kelly Rowland postponed her European tour because of the war in Iraq. The dates were due to start in the UK on 13 April.
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26 Mar 2004
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music
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Jan Berry of Jan and Dean, died at the age of 62, after being in poor health sustained in a 1966 car crash. Had the 1963 US No.1 & UK No.26 single 'Surf City', (co written by Beach Boy Brian Wilson). At the height of their fame, Jan and Dean hosted and performed at The T.A.M.I. Show, the film also featured The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.
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26 Mar 2005
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music
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Australian drummer Paul Hester died aged 46, after he "attempted suicide" and died from strangulation after being found hanged in a park in Melbourne. He had been a member of Crowded House, Split Enz and Largest Living Things. After leaving Crowded House in 1994 Hester appeared on many TV and radio shows in Australia.
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26 Mar 2006
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music
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Readers of Total Guitar magazine voted the guitar solo by Jimmy Page in Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven' as the greatest guitar solo of all time. The 1971 track was voted ahead of tracks by Van Halen, Queen, Jimi Hendrix and The Eagles. On the 20th anniversary of the original release of the song, it was announced via US radio sources that the song had logged up an estimated 2,874,000 radio plays - back to back, that would run for 44 years solid.
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26 Mar 2006
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music
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U2's The Edge donated his favourite guitar a 1975 Gibson Les Paul to a charity he co-founded to replace instruments lost or destroyed when Hurricane Katrina hit the US.
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26 Mar 2006
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music
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Journey South went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their self-titled album. Journey South were made up of brothers Carl and Andy Pemberton who were the third place runners up on the 2005 X Factor TV show.
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26 Mar 2008
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music
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The Los Angeles Times apologised for claiming rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs was involved in a 1994 shooting of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur. The LA Times, which published the original story on its website, initially said its claims were based on FBI records, witness accounts and other unnamed sources. The apology followed a claim that the newspaper was conned by a prisoner who doctored the documents used.
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