Today in Pop Star History
Pop Music: Pop Bands
Events in Music
Event of Interest
1979-05-01 Elton John becomes 1st pop star to perform in Israel
Elton John
- 1979-05-20 Elton John is the 1st western pop star to tour USSR
Event of Interest
1985-01-28 Charity single "We Are the World" is recorded by supergroup USA for Africa (Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and other pop stars)
- 1990-11-19 Pop duo Milli Vanilli are stripped of their Grammy Award after it is learned they did not sing on their award-winning "Girl You Know Its True" album
- 2001-10-21 "United We Stand" benefit concert for September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks victims, held at RFK Stadium Washington, D.C. organized and headlined by Michael Jackson and featuring Aerosmith, Mariah Carey and The Backstreet Boys
- 2011-07-05 "Somebody That I Used to Know" single released by Gotye ft. Kimbra (Grammy Award Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Record of the Year 2013)
- 2018-08-30 Ugandan pop star MP Bobi Wine re-arrested attempting to leave the country
- 2019-11-29 K-pop stars Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon sentenced to prison for gang-raping unconscious fans and distributing footage of it (Jung)
Birthdays in Music
- 1909-02-12 Barry Wood [Louis Rappaport], American pop vocalist (Your Hit Parade; "We Did It Before (And We Can Do It Again)"), born in New Haven, Connecticut
- 1919-08-11 June Hutton [Cowan], American pop vocalist (The Pied Pipers: Afterglow), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1973)
- 1919-12-16 Manke Nelis [Cornelis Pieters], Dutch folk-pop vocalist (Small Yodel Boy), and double bassist, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1993)
- 1924-05-02 Lynn Evans [Carolyn Hargate], American pop vocalist (The Chordettes - "Mr. Sandman"; "Lollipop"), born in Youngstown, Ohio (d. 2020)
- 1929-07-30 Christine McGuire, American pop vocalist (McGuire Sisters - "Sincerely"; "Sugartime"), born in Middletown, Ohio (d. 2018)
- 1930-02-13 Dorothy "Dottie" McGuire, American pop vocalist (McGuire Sisters - "Sincerely"; "Sugartime"), born in Middletown, Ohio (d. 2012)
- 1930-02-16 Peggy King, American jazz and pop vocalist, former TV personality and actress (George Gobel Show), born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania
- 1931-02-14 Phyllis McGuire, American pop vocalist (McGuire Sisters - "Sincerely"; "Sugartime"), born in Middletown, Ohio (d. 2020)
- 1931-07-11 Thurston Harris, American pop vocalist (The Sharps, Little Bitty Pretty One), born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 1990)
- 1933-11-11 Marlene VerPlanck [Pampinella], American jazz and pop vocalist, born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2018)
- 1935-01-06 Nino Tempo [Antonino LoTempio], American session saxophonist and pop vocalist ("Deep Purple"; "Sister James"), born in Niagara Falls, New York
- 1935-09-30 Johnny Mathis, American pop vocalist ("Chances Are"; "Wild Is The Wind"; The Twelfth of Never"), born in Gilmer, Texas
- 1937-11-30 Jimmy Bowen, American record producer and pop star (I'm Stickin' With You), born in Santa Rita, New Mexico
- 1939-02-10 Roberta Flack, American pop vocalist ("The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song"), born in Black Mountain, North Carolina
John Lennon
1940-10-09 John Lennon, English musician and member of The Beatles (Imagine), born in Liverpool, England (d. 1980)
John Lennon
- 1941-02-18 Herb Santiago, American pop vocalist (Frankie Lymon & Teenagers - "Why Do Fools Fall In Love")
- 1941-11-18 Conleth "Con" Cluskey, Irish pop vocalist (The Bachelors - "Diane"; "I Wouldn't Trade You For The World"), born in Dublin, Ireland
- 1942-10-17 Gary Puckett, American pop vocalist (Gary Puckett & The Union Gap - "Woman, Woman"; "Lady Willpower"), born in Hibbing, Minnesota
George Harrison
1943-02-25 George Harrison, British guitarist, singer, songwriter, and sitar player (Beatles -"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"; "Here Comes The Sun"; solo - "If Not For You"; Traveling Wilburys - "Handle With Care"), born in Liverpool, England (d. 2001)
George Harrison
- 1944-03-06 Mary Wilson, American pop vocalist (Supremes - "Where Did Our Love Go?"), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2021) [1]
- 1946-09-30 Sylvia Peterson, American pop vocalist (Chiffons - "He's So Fine"), born on The Bronx, New York
- 1948-01-23 Anita Pointer, American pop vocalist (Pointer Sisters - "He's So Shy"; "I'm So Excited"), born in Oakland, California
- 1950-03-02 Karen Carpenter, American pop vocalist and drummer ("We've Only Just Begun"; "Rainy Days And Mondays"; "Top Of The World"), born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 1983)
- 1955-11-12 Leslie McKeown, Scottish pop vocalist (Bay City Rollers - "Saturday Night"),born in Edinburgh, Scotland
- 1957-03-01 Jon Carroll, American pop vocalist (Starland Vocal Band - "Afternoon Delight"), born in Washington, D.C.
- 1958-02-23 Ria Brieffies, Dutch pop vocalist (Dolly Dots), born in Lutjebroek, Netherlands (d. 2009)
- 1968-02-12 Chynna Phillips, American pop vocalist (Wilson Philips - "Hold On"), born in Los Angeles, California
Kylie Minogue
1968-05-28 Kylie Minogue, Australian pop star and singer (Locomotion), born in Melbourne, Victoria
Kylie Minogue
- 1970-02-16 Serdar Ortaç, Turkish pop singer, born in Istanbul, Turkey
- 1974-08-11 Hadiqa Kiyani, Pakistani pop star
Psy
1977-12-31 Psy [Park Jae-sang], South Korean pop star (Gangnam Style), born in Seoul, South Korea
Psy
Jessica Simpson
1980-07-10 Jessica Simpson, American singer and popstar ("I Wanna Love You Forever" "I Think I'm In Love" and "Where You Are"), born in Abilene, Texas
Jessica Simpson
Britney Spears
1981-12-02 Britney Spears, American popstar ("Baby One More Time," "Oops! ...I did it again" and "I'm A Slave 4 U"), born in McComb, Mississippi
Britney Spears
- 1982-02-12 Bobi Wine [Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu], Ugandan politician and pop star, born in Mpigi District, Uganda
- 1985-04-07 Saad Lamjarred, Moroccan pop star (Lmaallem), born in Rabat, Morocco
- 1985-05-11 Sifow (Shiho Fujita), Japanese pop star and business woman, born in Chiba, Japan
- 1986-02-23 Kazuya Kamenashi, Japanese pop star (KAT-TUN), born in Tokyo, Japan
Weddings in Music
Wedding of Interest
2004-09-18 Pop star Britney Spears (22) weds rapper-dancer Kevin Federline (26) in Studio City, California
Britney Spears
Wedding of Interest
2010-08-07 British pop star Robbie Williams (36) weds actress Ayda Field (31) in an intimate ceremony at a Beverly Hills mansion
Robbie Williams
- 2012-05-23 Grammy-winning Spanish pop star Alejandro Sanz (43) weds longtime girlfriend Raquel Perera (37) in Barcelona
Divorces in Music
Divorce of Interest
2007-07-30 Pop star Britney Spears (25) divorces rapper-dancer Kevin Federline (29) due to irreconcilable differences after over two years of marriage
Britney Spears
Divorce of Interest
2012-04-09 Salsa artist Marc Anthony (42) divorces pop star and actress Jennifer Lopez (43) due to irreconcilable differences after 7 years of marriage
Jennifer Lopez
Divorce of Interest
2012-07-16 Actor-comedian Russell Brand (36) divorces popstar Katy Perry (27) due to irreconcilable differences a year after the fairy-tale wedding in India
Russell Brand
Katy Perry
Deaths in Music
- 1973-05-02 June Hutton [Cowan], American pop vocalist (The Pied Pipers; Afterglow), dies at 52
John Lennon
1980-12-08 John Lennon, British musician, pop star and member of The Beatles (Imagine), shot and murdered in NY by Mark David Chapman at 40
John Lennon
- 1983-02-04 Karen Carpenter, American pop vocalist and drummer ("We've Only Just Begun"; "Rainy Days And Mondays"; "Top Of The World"), dies of anorexia nervosa at 32
- 1990-04-14 Thurston Harris, American pop vocalist (The Sharps, Little Bitty Pretty One), dies of a heart attack at 58
George Harrison
2001-11-29 George Harrison, British guitarist, singer, songwriter, and sitar player (Beatles -"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"; "Here Comes The Sun"; solo - "If Not For You"; Traveling Wilburys - "Handle With Care"), dies of lung cancer at 58
George Harrison
- 2012-09-07 Dorothy "Dottie" McGuire, American pop vocalist (McGuire Sisters - "Sincerely"; "Sugartime"), dies at 84
Natalie Cole
2015-12-31 Natalie Cole, American pop vocalist ('Pink Cadillac"; "Miss You Like Crazy"), dies at 65
Natalie Cole
- 2018-01-14 Marlene VerPlanck [Pampinella], American jazz and pop vocalist, dies of pancreatic cancer at 84
- 2018-12-28 Christine McGuire, American pop vocalist (McGuire Sisters - "Sincerely"; "Sugartime"), dies at 92
- 2020-02-06 Lynn Evans [Carolyn Hargate], American pop vocalist (The Chordettes - "Mr. Sandman"; "Lollipop"), dies of a stroke at 95
- 2020-12-29 Phyllis McGuire, American pop vocalist (McGuire Sisters - "Sincerely"; "Sugartime"), dies at 89
- 2021-02-08 Mary Wilson, American pop vocalist (Supremes - "Where Did Our Love Go?"), dies at 76 [1]
Cher 
Emma Bunton
George Michael
Justin Bieber