10 ready-to-read segments for November 14, lead story first. Free to use on air; a quick credit to Today in Tunes is appreciated.
On this day in 1983, 43 years ago: Michael Jackson's Thriller video is first screened. The 14-minute John Landis short was shown privately at the Crest Theater in Los Angeles. It later became the first music video picked for the National Film Registry. Here's Michael Jackson with “Thriller.”
On this day in 1960, 66 years ago: Ray Charles's "Georgia on My Mind" hits No. 1. His version of the standard was the top song on the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart dated November 14, 1960.
On this day in 1990, 36 years ago: Milli Vanilli's lip-sync secret comes out. Producer Frank Farian told a Munich press conference that the duo never sang on their records and fired them. Their Grammy was taken back five days later.
On this day in 1995, 31 years ago: The Waiting to Exhale soundtrack is released. Babyface gathered Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blige and more. Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100.
On this day in 2003, 23 years ago: Jay-Z releases The Black Album. Billed as his farewell, it opened at No. 1 with 463,000 copies sold and gave us "99 Problems" and "Dirt off Your Shoulder". He was back by 2005.
On this day in 1900, 126 years ago: Aaron Copland is born in Brooklyn. The composer of Appalachian Spring, Rodeo and Fanfare for the Common Man wrote open, slowly shifting harmonies that many hear as the sound of America. Peers and critics dubbed him the "Dean of American Music".
On this day in 1939, 87 years ago: Electronic composer Wendy Carlos is born. Her 1968 album Switched-On Bach played Bach on the Moog, won three Grammys and sold a million, drawing new attention to the synthesizer. She later scored A Clockwork Orange and Tron.
On this day in 1947, 79 years ago: Zydeco star Buckwheat Zydeco is born in Louisiana. Stanley Dural Jr. led the first zydeco act signed to a major label and won a Grammy in 2010 for Lay Your Burden Down.
On this day in 1984, 42 years ago: Reggae producer Keith Hudson dies at 38. His 1974 album Pick a Dub is often called the first deliberately themed dub album, and he was among the first to record the deejay U-Roy.
On this day in 2016, 10 years ago: Country singer Holly Dunn dies at 59. She wrote her breakthrough hit "Daddy's Hands" as a tribute to her father, and later scored No. 1s with "Are You Ever Gonna Love Me" and "You Really Had Me Going".
Every segment comes from a fact checked against the source linked with it. Spot a problem? Email hello@todayintunes.com.