Music Almanac: February 17
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| Billie Joe Armstrong |
- 1902 - Orville "Hoppy" Jones (Ink Spots) (d. 1944)
- 1922 - Tommy Edwards (d. 1969)
- 1925 or 1933 - Bobby Lewis (79 or 87)
- 1935 - Johnny Bush (77)
- 1937 - Mickey McGill (Dells) (75)
- 1938 - Buck Trent (inventor electric banjo) (74)
- 1939 - John Leyton (73)
- 1941 - Gene Pitney (d. 2006)
- 1949 - Fred Firth (Henry Cow) (63)
- 1950 - Rick Medlocke (Blackfoot, Lynyrd Skynyrd) (62)
- 1952 - Bruce Ruffin (60)
- 1954 - Lou Ann Barton (58)
- 1957 - Loreena McKennitt (55)
- 1965 - Samuel Bayer (video director (Smells Like Teen Spirit, No Rain, American Idiot) (47)
- 1966 - Melissa Brooke Bellard (Voice of the Beehive) (46)
- 1967 - Chanté Moore (45)
- 1970 - Tim Mahoney (311) (42)
- 1972 - Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) (40)
- 1972 - Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) (40)
- 1974 - Bryan White (38)
- 1981 - John Hassall (Libertines) (31)
Deaths
- 1982 - Jazz great Thelonious Monk - Stroke (64)
- 1998 - Songwriter Bob Merrill (How Much is That Doggie in the Window, People) committed suicide.
- 2006 - Ray Barretto - Heart failure (76)
- 1955 - Little Richard submitted an audition tape to Specialty Records.
- 1960 - Elvis Presley received his first gold album for Elvis.
- 1960 - The Everly Brothers signed with Warner Brothers Records for $1 million
- 1964 - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass put on their first concert in Los Angeles.
- 1965 - Tennessee Waltz was named the Tennessee state song.
- 1970 - Joni Mitchell announced that she was retiring from live performing. She was back to it by the end of the year.
- 1970 - Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees opened in London's West End in Sing a Rude Song.
- 1972 - Radio stations KDAY in Los Angeles played two stolen Rolling Stone songs over-and-over for a day.
- 1976 - Bette Midler is named Woman of the Year by the Harvard Hasty Pudding Theatrical Society.
- 1979 - The Clash opened the U.S. leg of their Pearl Harbor '79 Tour in New York.
- 2001 - Brad Paisley joined the Grand Ole Opry.
- 2003 - Lou Pearlman, the man behind the Backstreet Boys and, later, *NSYNC, was accused in Florida of getting actors and singers to pay up front for appearing on his company's website while promising to help them find work.
- 2005 - Franz Ferdinand became the first artist to win the British Mercury Music Prize, Brit Awards and NME Awards in the same year.
Marriages
- 1989 - David Coverdale of Whitesnake and Twany Kitaen were married.
- 2006 - Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Lockwood
Divorces
- 2007 - Hank Williams, Jr. and Mary Jane (filed)
Recorded
- 1966 - Good Vibrations - Beach Boys (Brian Wilson started working on the recording)
- 1969 - Girl From the North Country - Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash
Released
- 1975 - High Voltage - AC/DC (debut album)
- 1976 - Greatest Hits (1971-1975) - Eagles
- 1998 - Destiny's Child - Destiny's Child (debut album)
Awards
- 2004 - Brit Awards
- British Male - Daniel Bedingfield
- British Female - Dido
- British Group, British Rock Act - Darkness
- British Breakthrough Act - Busted
- British Pop Act - Busted
- British Urban Act - Lemar
- British Dance Act - Basement Jaxx
- British Single - White Flag - Dido
- British Album - Permission to Land - Darkness
- International Male - Justin Timberlake
- International Female - Beyonce
- International Group - White Stripes
- International Breakthrough Act - 50 Cent
- International Album - Justified - Justin Timberlake
- Outstanding Contribution - Duran Duran
Broadcasts
- 1971 - Johnny Cash Show - James Taylor (TV debut)
- 1979 - Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion had its first broadcast as part of NPR's Folk Festival America.
- 1990 - Saturday Night Live - Aerosmith (Wayne's World sketch)
