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Today In Music History

September 14 in Music History: Remembering Amy Winehouse on her birthday

Amy Winehouse onstage in London in 2007.
Amy Winehouse onstage in London in 2007.Hayley Madden/Redferns

by Jill Riley and Christy Taylor

September 14, 2023

History Highlight:

Amy Winehouse was born today in 1983. Known for her deep vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues, jazz and reggae, Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was a critical success in the U.K., and her 2006 follow-up album, Back to Black, led to five 2008 Grammy Awards, tying what was then a record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made her the first British female to win five Grammys -- including three of the general field "Big Four" awards: Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. In 2012, Winehouse was ranked 26th on VH1's 100 Greatest Women In Music, and the BBC has called her "the pre-eminent vocal talent of her generation." 

Also, Today In: 

1955 - Little Richard recorded the song "Tutti Frutti." The session had not been going well, but with only 15 minutes left in the session, Richard recorded the song and coined the phrase, "A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom." 

1963 - Pete Seeger, who has been blacklisted from network TV after being found in contempt by the the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1955, agrees to appear on the ABC variety show Hootenanny but refuses when the network asks him to sign a loyalty oath. 

1968 - The first episode of the animated series, The Archies, based on the comic strip, aired on television. Rock mogul Don Kirshner (who also brought us The Monkees), was put in charge of the show's studio musicians. 

1968 - Roy Orbison's house in Nashville burned down, and his two eldest sons both died in the blaze. Orbison was on a U.K. tour at the time of the incident. 

1969 - Genesis take the stage for the first time, playing at the cottage owned by leader Peter Gabriel's former Sunday School teacher. 

1970 - Stevie Wonder marries his first wife, the Motown demo singer and songwriter Syreeta Wright (their collaborations include Stevie's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" and The Spinners' "It's A Shame"). They divorce in 1972. 

1974 - Eric Clapton scored a US No.1 with his version of the Bob Marley song 'I Shot The Sheriff' which was first released in 1973 on The Wailers' album Burnin'. 

1974 - Stevie Wonder started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Fulfillingness First Finale, his second No. 1 album. 

1979 - The film Quadrophenia was released. Based on The Who's 1973 rock opera, the film featured Phil Daniels, Toyah Willcox, Ray Winstone, Michael Elphick and Sting. 

1984 - David Bowie won Video of the Year for "China Girl" at the first MTV Video awards. 

1984 - At the very first MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna performs "Like A Virgin" in a white wedding gown accessorized by her famous "Boy Toy" belt. 

1987 - American Bandstand becomes the longest-running entertainment show in America. 

1993 - Sixteen years after releasing his landmark album Bat Out Of Hell, Meat Loaf issues the sequel, Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell, again with songs written by Jim Steinman. The first single, "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)," tops the charts in many territories, including the US. 

1994 - The Temptations get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  

1995 - The lyrics to The Beatles song 'Getting Better' hand-written by Paul McCartney sold for £161,000 (about $250,000) at a Sotheby's auction in London. 

1998 - MTV debuts Total Request Live, a countdown of the Top 10 fan-requested music videos, hosted by Carson Daly. By the end of its 10-year run, the show is a cultural phenomenon. 

2001 - Program directors at Clear Channel Communications, the largest owner of radio stations in the United States, begin circulating a list of songs that might be considered offensive in light of the September 11 attacks. 

2002 - No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani married Gavin Rossdale of Bush in St. Paul's church London. 

2003 - Australian rock band Jet released their debut album Get Born that went on to sell over 3.5 million copies worldwide. The album is an homage to a lyric from the Bob Dylan song "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and includes Jet's most popular song, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl". 

2004 - Megadeth return after a two-year hiatus with The System Has Failed. This was originally intended to be a solo album by the band's founder Dave Mustaine, but due to contractual obligations owed to his publishing company, it had to be billed as a Megadeth album. 

2004 - Arcade Fire release their debut album Funeral. 

2005 - Tim Foreman, bassist of Switchfoot, speaks out against Copy Protection that Sony have placed on the band's album Nothing Is Sound. Foreman provides fans with a detailed workaround on Switchfoot's message board, although the forum posting is later deleted by Sony. 

2014 - A life-size bronze statue of Amy Winehouse was unveiled in London, in the late singer-songwriter’s favorite neighborhood, Camden. Winehouse, who would have turned 31 years old that day, passed away in 2011. 

Birthdays: 

John Bauman (Bowzer) of Sha Na Na is 76. 

Steve Berlin musician (The Blasters, Los Lobos) and producer (R.E.M., The Replacements, the Go-Go's, many others) is 68. 

Morten Harket of A-ha is 64. 

John Power of the LA's is 56. 

Craig Montoya, bassist from Everclear, is 53. 

Mark Webber of Pulp is 53. 

Rapper Nas (Nasir Jones) is 50. 

Ashley Roberts, singer of The Pussycat Dolls is 42. 

Amy Winehouse was born in 1983. She passed in 2011. 

AJ Jackson from Bloomington and front guy of Saint Motel is 40. 

Fred "Sonic" Smith of MC5 was born. He passed in 1994. 

Steve Gaines was born today in 1949. 

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Song Facts and Wikipedia.