*Thursday, January 5th 1984, 14:05 hours, St, Josephs Hospital Downtown Houston, Harris County, TX, USA, North America, Western Northern Hemisphere, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy; Herman Jon-Anthony De La Rosa was born.
January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 360 days remaining until the end of the year (361 in leap years).
The 12th Day of Christmas
* 1477 - Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France.
* 1500 - Duke Ludovico Sforza conquers Milan.
* 1527 - Felix Manz, a leader of the Anabaptist congregation in Zürich, is executed by drowning.
* 1554 - A great fire occurs in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
* 1675 - Battle of Colmar: the French army beats Brandenburg.
* 1757 - Louis XV of France survives the assassination attempt by Robert–François Damiens, the last person to be executed in France by the traditional and gruesome form of capital punishment used for regicides.
* 1759 - George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis.
* 1781 - American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia, is burned by British naval forces led by Benedict Arnold.
* 1846 - The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the United Kingdom.
* 1854 - The San Francisco steamer sinks, killing 300 people.
* 1889 - Preston North End is declared winner of the original football league.
* 1895 - Dreyfus Affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island.
* 1896 - An Austrian newspaper reports that Wilhelm Roentgen has discovered a type of radiation later known as X-rays.
* 1900 - Irish leader John Edward Redmond calls for a revolt against British rule.
* 1909 - Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama.
* 1912 - The Prague Party Conference takes place.
* 1913 - First Balkan War: During the Naval Battle of Lemnos, Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it did not venture for the rest of the war.
* 1914 - The Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage of $5 for a day's labor.
* 1918 - The Free Committee for a German Workers Peace, which would become the Nazi party, is founded.
* 1925 - Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female governor in the United States.
* 1933 - Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.
* 1940 - FM radio is demonstrated to the FCC for the first time.
* 1944 - The Daily Mail becomes the first transoceanic newspaper.
* 1945 - The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet government of Poland.
* 1962 - A replica of the miraculous statue, the Holy Infant of Good Health, is presented to Blessed Pope John XXIII.
* 1968 - Alexander Dubček comes to power: "Prague Spring" begins in Czechoslovakia.
* 1969 - Members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) damage property and assault occupants in the Bogside in Derry, Northern Ireland. In response, residents erect barricades and establish Free Derry.
* 1972 - U.S. President Richard Nixon orders the development of a space shuttle program.
* 1974 - An earthquake in Lima, Peru, kills six people, and damages hundreds of houses.
* 1975 - The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.
* 1976 - Cambodia is renamed Democratic Kampuchea by the Khmer Rouge.
* 1993 - The oil tanker MV Braer runs aground on the coast of the Shetland Islands, spilling 84,700 tons of crude oil.
* 1993 - Washington state executes Westley Allan Dodd by hanging (the first legal hanging in America since 1965).
* 1996 - Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone.
* 2005 - Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system, is discovered by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz using images originally taken on October 21, 2003, at the Palomar Observatory.
Births
* 1209 - Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1272)
* 1548 - Francisco Suarez, Spanish theologian (d. 1617)
* 1587 - Xu Xiake, Chinese geographer (d. 1641)
* 1592 - Shah Jahan, Mughal Emperor of India (d. 1666)
* 1614 - Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (d. 1662)
* 1667 - Antonio Lotti, Italian composer (b. 1740)
* 1696 - Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/painter (d. 1757)
* 1717 - William Wildman Shute Barrington, British statesman (d. 1793)
* 1762 - Constanze Mozart, wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (d. 1842)
* 1779 - Zebulon Pike, American explorer (d. 1813)
* 1779 - Stephen Decatur, American naval officer (d. 1820)
* 1829 - Sir Roger Tichborne, missing U.K. heir who was the subject of the longest criminal trial in British history (d. c. 1854)
* 1834 - William John Wills, English explorer of Australia, member of the Burke and Wills expedition (d. 1861)
* 1838 - Camille Jordan, French mathematician (d. 1922)
* 1846 - Rudolf Christoph Eucken, German writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1926)
* 1855 - King Camp Gillette, American inventor (d. 1932)
* 1864 - Bob Caruthers, American baseball player (d. 1911)
* 1864 - Ban Johnson, American baseball executive (d. 1931)
* 1865 - Julio Garavito Armero, Colombian astronomer (d. 1920)
* 1871 - Frederick Converse, U.S. composer (d. 1940)
* 1874 - Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)
* 1876 - Konrad Adenauer, German statesman (d. 1967)
* 1879 - Hans Eppinger, Austrian physician (d. 1946)
* 1880 - Nikolay Medtner, Russian composer (d. 1951)
* 1882 - Herbert Bayard Swope, U.S. journalist who coined the term "Cold War" (d. 1958)
* 1885 - Humbert Wolfe, Italian-British poet (d. 1940)
* 1893 - Zoltán Böszörmény, Hungarian Nazi politician (d. unknown)
* 1893 - Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian guru (d. 1952)
* 1895 - Jeannette Piccard, American teacher, scientist, priest, and aeronaut (d. 1981)
* 1895 - Elizabeth Cotten, American musician (d. 1987)
* 1900 - Yves Tanguy, French painter (d. 1955)
* 1902 - Stella Gibbons, English novelist (d. 1989)
* 1903 - Harold Gatty, Australian aviator, navigator with Wiley Post (d. 1957)
* 1904 - Erica Morini, Austrian violinist (d. 1995)
* 1904 - Jeane Dixon, American astrologer (d. 1997)
* 1906 - Kathleen Kenyon, English archaeologist (d. 1978)
* 1908 - George Dolenz, American actor (d. 1963)
* 1909 - Stephen Kleene, American mathematician (d. 1994)
* 1909 - Lucienne Bloch, Swiss-U.S. sculptor, muralist, photographer (d. 1995)
* 1910 - Jack Lovelock, New Zealand athlete (d. 1949)
* 1910 - Hugh Brannum, American actor (d. 1987)
* 1911 - Jean-Pierre Aumont, French actor (d. 2001)
* 1914 - Nicolas de Staël, French-Russian painter (d. 1955)
* 1914 - George Reeves, American actor (d. 1959)
* 1915 - Arthur H. Robinson, Canadian-born cartographer (d. 2004)
* 1917 - Wieland Wagner, German stage director (d. 1966)
* 1917 - Jane Wyman, American actress (d. 2007)
* 1917 - Francis L. Kellogg, U.S. diplomat and prominent socialite (d. 2006)
* 1917 - Lucienne Day, textile designer
* 1919 - Severino Gazzelloni, Italian flautist (d. 1992)
* 1920 - Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist (d. 1995)
* 1921 - Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss writer (d. 1990)
* 1921 - Paul Governali, American professional football player (d. 1978)
* 1921 - Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
* 1922 - Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot, Chief of the Australian Defence Force (d. 2001)
* 1923 - Sam Phillips, American music producer (d. 2003)
* 1924 - Dr Gilbert Bogle, Australian scientist who died in the Bogle-Chandler case (1963)
* 1926 - Hosea Williams, American activist (d. 2000)
* 1926 - William De Witt Snodgrass, American poet
* 1928 - Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Pakistani statesman (d. 1979)
* 1928 - Walter Mondale, American politician
* 1929 - Wilbert Harrison, American singer (d. 1994)
* 1931 - Alvin Ailey, American choreographer (d. 1989)
* 1931 - Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist
* 1931 - Joan Coxsedge, Australian politician
* 1931 - Robert Duvall, American actor
* 1932 - Raisa Gorbacheva, wife of Mikhail Gorbachev (d. 1999)
* 1932 - Umberto Eco, Italian writer
* 1932 - Chuck Noll, American football coach
* 1934 - William Bendeck, Bolivian rally driver (d. 1971)
* 1936 - Florence King, American humorist
* 1938 - King Juan Carlos I of Spain
* 1938 - Jim Otto, American football player
* 1938 - Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Kenyan writer
* 1940 - Michael O'Donoghue, American writer (d. 1994)
* 1940 - Yuri Ershov, Russian mathematician
* 1940 - Athol Guy, Australian singer, member of The Seekers
* 1940 - General Sir Michael Rose, UK military officer, prominent in Bosnia
* 1941 - Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese film maker
* 1941 - Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Indian cricketer
* 1942 - Jan Leeming, English television presenter and newsreader
* 1942 - Terenci Moix, Spanish writer (d. 2003)
* 1942 - Maurizio Pollini, Italian pianist
* 1942 - Charlie Rose, American talk show host
* 1943 - Justice Mary Gaudron, first female judge of the High Court of Australia
* 1944 - Ed Rendell, American politician
* 1945 - Chuck McKinley, U.S. tennis player (d. 1986)
* 1945 - Roger Spottiswoode, Canadian-born film director
* 1946 - Diane Keaton, American actress
* 1947 - Mercury Morris, American football player
* 1948 - Ted Lange, American actor
* 1949 - George Brown, American drummer (Kool & The Gang)
* 1950 - Ioan Petru Culianu, Romanian-born professor (d. 1991)
* 1950 - John Manley, Canadian politician
* 1950 - Charlie Richmond, Canadian entrepreneur
* 1950 - Chris Stein, American guitarist (Blondie)
* 1951 - Steve Arnold, English footballer
* 1953 - Steve Archer, American singer (The Archers)
* 1953 - Pamela Sue Martin, American actress
* 1953 - Mike Rann, Australian politician
* 1953 - George Tenet, American CIA director
* 1954 - Alex English, American basketball player
* 1956 - Chen Kenichi, Japanese-born chef
* 1957 - Kevin Hastings, Australian rugby league footballer
* 1958 - Nancy Delahunt, Canadian athlete (curling)
* 1959 - Clancy Brown, American actor
* 1960 - Steve Jones, British aviator (Red Bull Air Race World Series)
* 1960 - Glenn Strömberg, Swedish footballer
* 1960 - Phil Thornalley, English bass guitarist (The Cure)
* 1962 - Suzy Amis, American actress
* 1962 - Perry Fenwick, English actor
* 1962 - Danny Jackson, American baseball player
* 1963 - Jeff Fassero, American baseball player
* 1964 - Grant Young, American drummer (Soul Asylum)
* 1965 - Vinnie Jones, English-born Welsh footballer and actor
* 1966 - Kate Schellenbach, American drummer (Luscious Jackson)
* 1967 - Joe Flanigan, American actor
* 1968 - DJ Bobo, Swiss singer
* 1968 - Ricky Paull Goldin, American actor
* 1968 - Andrew Golota, Polish boxer
* 1968 - Carrie Ann Inaba, American dancer and choreographer
* 1968 - Joé Juneau, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1969 - Marilyn Manson, American singer
* 1969 - Paul McGillion, Scottish actor
* 1970 - Rick Campanelli, Canadian TV presenter
* 1971 - Mayuko Takata, Japanese actress
* 1972 - Sakis Rouvas, Greek singer
* 1973 - Phil Joel, Australian bassist (Newsboys)
* 1975 - Kylie Bax, New Zealand model
* 1975 - Bradley Cooper, American actor
* 1975 - Warrick Dunn, American football player
* 1975 - Mike Grier, American ice hockey player
* 1976 - Diego Tristán, Spanish footballer
* 1976 - Matt Wachter, American bassist (30 Seconds to Mars)
* 1978 - January Jones, American actress
* 1978 - Franck Montagny, French Formula One driver
* 1978 - Sabrina Harman, American military figure and accused torturer
* 1979 - Kyle Calder, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1979 - Ronnie O'Brien, Irish footballer
* 1980 - Bennie Joppru, National Football League tight end
* 1981 - Corey Flynn, New Zealand rugby union footballer
* 1981 - Brooklyn Sudano, American actress
* 1982 - Janica Kostelić, Croatian skier
* 1983 - Sean Dockery, American basketball player
* 1984 - Amanda Hearst, American heiress
* 1985 - Michael Cuccione, Canadian actor (d. 2001)
* 1985 - Yoon So-Yi, South Korean actress
* 1986 - Deepika Padukone, Indian model and actress
* 1986 - Teppei Koike, Japanese actor and singer
* 1988 - Pauline, French singer
* 1989 - Krisztián Németh, Hungarian footballer
* 1996 - Max Baldry, English actor
Deaths
* 842 - Al-Mu'tasim, Abbasid caliph (b. 794)
* 1066 - Edward the Confessor, King of England (b. 1004)
* 1387 - King Peter IV of Aragon (b. 1319)
* 1400 - John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English politician (executed) (b. c. 1350)
* 1448 - Christopher of Bavaria (b. 1416)
* 1465 - Charles, Duke of Orléans, French poet (b. 1394)
* 1477 - Charles, Duke of Burgundy (killed in battle) (b. 1433)
* 1524 - Marko Marulić, Croatian poet (b. 1450)
* 1527 - Felix Manz, Swiss leader (executed) (b. 1498)
* 1588 - Qi Jiguang, Chinese general (b. 1528)
* 1589 - Catherine de' Medici, queen of Henry II of France (b. 1519)
* 1713 - Jean Chardin, French explorer (b. 1643)
* 1740 - Antonio Lotti, Italian composer (b. 1667)
* 1762 - Empress Elizabeth of Russia (b. 1709)
* 1771 - John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, British statesman (b. 1710)
* 1823 - Major George Johnston, Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales (b. 1764)
* 1846 - Alfred Thomas Agate, American artist (b. 1812)
* 1858 - Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Austrian field marshal (b. 1766)
* 1860 - Saint John Nepomucene Neumann, first American bishop to be canonized (b. 1811)
* 1883 - Charles Tompson, first Australian published poet (b. 1806)
* 1888 - Henri Herz, Austrian pianist (b. 1803)
* 1891 - Emma Abbott, American soprano (b. 1849)
* 1904 - Karl Alfred von Zittel, German palaeontologist (b. 1839)
* 1910 - Léon Walras, French economist (b. 1834)
* 1922 - Ernest Shackleton, Irish explorer (b. 1874)
* 1933 - Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States (b. 1872)
* 1937 - Marie Booth, child of William and Catherine Booth (b. 1864)
* 1939 - Amelia Earhart, American aviator declared dead after disappearance in 1937. (b. 1897)
* 1940 - Humbert Wolfe, Italian-British poet (b. 1885)
* 1941 - Amy Johnson, English aviator (b. 1903)
* 1943 - George Washington Carver, American educator (b. 1864)
* 1946 - Kitty Cheatham, American singer (b. 1864)
* 1951 - Andrei Platonov, Russian writer (b. 1899)
* 1952 - Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, Viceroy of India (b. 1887)
* 1952 - Hristo Tatarchev, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1869)
* 1954 - Rabbit Maranville, American baseball player (b. 1891)
* 1956 - Mistinguett, French singer (b. 1875)
* 1963 - Rogers Hornsby, American baseball player (b. 1896)
* 1970 - Max Born, German physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1882)
* 1970 - Cyril Fagan, Irish astrologer (b. 1896)
* 1970 - Roberto Gerhard, Catalan composer (b. 1896)
* 1971 - Douglas Shearer, Canadian film engineer (b. 1899)
* 1974 - Lev Oborin, Russian pianist (b. 1907)
* 1976 - John A. Costello, Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1891)
* 1976 - Mal Evans, Beatles' "roadie" (b. 1935)
* 1979 - Charles Mingus, American musician (b. 1922)
* 1981 - Harold C. Urey, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1893)
* 1981 - Lanza del Vasto, Italian philosopher (b. 1901)
* 1982 - Sir Edmund Herring, Australian military commander, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria (b. 1892)
* 1982 - Hans Conried, American actor (b. 1917)
* 1982 - Harvey Lembeck, American actor (b. 1923)
* 1985 - Robert L. Surtees, American Oscar-winning cinematographer (Ben-Hur) (b. 1906)
* 1987 - Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-born Canadian cross-country skier (b. 1875)
* 1987 - Margaret Laurence, Canadian Author (b. 1926)
* 1988 - Pete Maravich, American basketball player (b. 1947)
* 1990 - Arthur Kennedy, American actor (b. 1914)
* 1991 - Vasko Popa, Yugoslav poet (b. 1922)
* 1994 - Brian Johnston, English cricket commentator (b. 1912)
* 1994 - Tip O'Neill, American politician (b. 1912)
* 1996 - Lincoln Kirstein, American writer, impresario, art connoisseur (b. 1907)
* 1996 - Yahya Ayyash, Palestinian freedom fighter (b. 1966)
* 1997 - Burton Lane, American composer and lyricist (b. 1912)
* 1997 - André Franquin, Belgian cartoonist (Gaston Lagaffe) (b. 1924)
* 1998 - Sonny Bono, American entertainer and politician (b. 1935)
* 1998 - Ken Forssi, American musician (Love) (b. 1943)
* 2001 - Nancy Parsons, American actress (b. 1942)
* 2003 - Massimo Girotti, Italian film actor (b. 1918)
* 2003 - Roy Jenkins, British politician (b. 1920)
* 2003 - Doreen Carwithen, British composer, widow of William Alwyn (b. 1922)
* 2003 - Jean Kerr, American author (b. 1923)
* 2004 - Tug McGraw, American baseball player, father of Tim McGraw (b. 1944)
* 2005 - Danny Sugerman, American music manager (The Doors) (b. 1954)
* 2006 - Lord Merlyn-Rees, British politician (b. 1920)
* 2007 - Momofuku Ando, inventor of instant noodles and cup noodles (b. 1910)
* 2007 - Chih Ree Sun, Chinese-American physicist and poet (b. 1923)
* 2008 - Clinton Grybas, Australian sports commentator (b. 1975)
984 marked the high watermark of the "New Music" of the Eighties (see 1983-The Year in Music), and the British invasion was still a force to be reckoned with. In March, 24 of the Top 50 singles in the U.S. were by British acts. It was also a year when soundtracks produced one big hit after another; the Footloose soundtrack was the biggest of these, with Kenny Loggins, Deniece Williams, and the duo of Mike Reno and Ann Wilson all having Top Ten hits off the album. Prince scored several hits, and reached the pinnacle of his career, with songs from the Purple Rain soundtrack, and Ray Parker, Jr. enjoyed a #1 hit with the theme from Ghostbusters -- as well as a plagiarism lawsuit filed by Huey Lewis and the News. Tina Turner made the biggest comeback in rock history, Madonna introduced herself in her first (but certainly not last) incarnation as a "boy toy," and Phil Collins and Steve Perry -- of Genesis and Journey respectively -- discovered just how successful you could be in a solo career if you followed a few simple guidelines: make your music danceable and MTV-compatible. Critics, of course, deplored the paucity of "message" in the New Music, and many blamed video. But there could be no denying that the music industry, suffering so grievously in the late Seventies, was healthy again. And even people like Bruce Springsteen and Hall and Oates, while initially scornful of video's importance to their careers, jumped on the bandwagon -- and profited greatly for the compromise.
Reggae entered the mainstream, thanks in no small part to UB40's Labour of Love, and a growing infatuation in white suburbia accounted for a steady stream of Bob Marley albums, singles, videos and books. Electro-pop insinuated itself into every genre, making itself indispensible to artists as diverse as Earth, Wind & Fire to New Order. In fact, in many respects, electro took over soul music and invigorated rap. Just ask deejay-rapper Afrika Bambaata. The Thompson Twins proved you could make some really good music with nothing but high-tech equipment. It seemed like everyone was employing the beatbox and the synth -- even Dr. John ("Jet Set"). Electro continued to stir controversy, as old-fashioned sorts persisted in their belief that the Oberheim DMX and other electronic contraptions betrayed music because anybody could make music with them. As though there was something inherently wrong with that.
As controversial as electro remained, the biggest controversy of the year surrounded Frankie Goes To Hollywood, who dared address the twin taboos of sex and politics with their monster hits "Relax" and "Two Tribes." The video for the former was banned in Britain because it dealt with gay sex -- insuring that the single would zoom to #1. The latter stayed at the #1 spot for nine weeks and went gold in seven days. The lesson: even a group of moderately talented fellows producing average material could soar to superstardom if they were willing to be just a little outrageous and iconoclastic. A mirror of the times, music had become awfully conservative. This was nowhere more evident than in country-and-western, where the most unusual thing to happen was that Willie Nelson teamed up with Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias for a hit single. C&W was never more homogenized; The Osmonds went country, Vegas lounge singer Lee Greenwood was named Best Male Singer and Slim Whitman was all the rage in Britain. Before the decade was out, however, country music would be fundamentally changed.
On the business end of things, this was the year when the record companies began to rethink giving away videos as free promotional material, and starting thinking of them as a mean to make a profit. MTV cut deals with several major labels, paying out millions for exclusive rights to videos. Nonetheless, MTV showed a profit for the first time in the first quarter of '84. Other entities showed profits, some tremendous. CBS enjoyed a 500% increase in profits. Industry-wide, the number of albums certified gold was up 25% over the previous year. Cassette sales outstripped LPs. On the legal front, a lower court ruled that the Federal Trade Commission failed to prove that the proposed merger of Warner's and Polygram's domestic record operations was an anti-trust violation. The merger would concentrate 26% of the American record market under a single joint venture.
Notable Events of the Year
Reggae entered the mainstream, thanks in no small part to UB40's Labour of Love, and a growing infatuation in white suburbia accounted for a steady stream of Bob Marley albums, singles, videos and books. Electro-pop insinuated itself into every genre, making itself indispensible to artists as diverse as Earth, Wind & Fire to New Order. In fact, in many respects, electro took over soul music and invigorated rap. Just ask deejay-rapper Afrika Bambaata. The Thompson Twins proved you could make some really good music with nothing but high-tech equipment. It seemed like everyone was employing the beatbox and the synth -- even Dr. John ("Jet Set"). Electro continued to stir controversy, as old-fashioned sorts persisted in their belief that the Oberheim DMX and other electronic contraptions betrayed music because anybody could make music with them. As though there was something inherently wrong with that.
As controversial as electro remained, the biggest controversy of the year surrounded Frankie Goes To Hollywood, who dared address the twin taboos of sex and politics with their monster hits "Relax" and "Two Tribes." The video for the former was banned in Britain because it dealt with gay sex -- insuring that the single would zoom to #1. The latter stayed at the #1 spot for nine weeks and went gold in seven days. The lesson: even a group of moderately talented fellows producing average material could soar to superstardom if they were willing to be just a little outrageous and iconoclastic. A mirror of the times, music had become awfully conservative. This was nowhere more evident than in country-and-western, where the most unusual thing to happen was that Willie Nelson teamed up with Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias for a hit single. C&W was never more homogenized; The Osmonds went country, Vegas lounge singer Lee Greenwood was named Best Male Singer and Slim Whitman was all the rage in Britain. Before the decade was out, however, country music would be fundamentally changed.
On the business end of things, this was the year when the record companies began to rethink giving away videos as free promotional material, and starting thinking of them as a mean to make a profit. MTV cut deals with several major labels, paying out millions for exclusive rights to videos. Nonetheless, MTV showed a profit for the first time in the first quarter of '84. Other entities showed profits, some tremendous. CBS enjoyed a 500% increase in profits. Industry-wide, the number of albums certified gold was up 25% over the previous year. Cassette sales outstripped LPs. On the legal front, a lower court ruled that the Federal Trade Commission failed to prove that the proposed merger of Warner's and Polygram's domestic record operations was an anti-trust violation. The merger would concentrate 26% of the American record market under a single joint venture.
Notable Events of the Year
Bob Geldorf orchestrates a gathering of rock stars called Band Aid to record "Do They Know It's Christmas," the proceeds from which will go towards famine relief in Ethiopia. The song debuted at #1 in the UK (November), and two weeks later made the top of the US chart. Written by Geldorf, the song would eventually sell 50 million copies. Among those who performed: Bananarama, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Heaven 17, Kool and the Gang, Paul McCartney, Paul Young, Phil Collins, Sting, U2 and Wham!
Michael Jackson's Thriller, having sold 30 million units (so far) and a record-breaking 32 weeks at the top of the album chart, earns the artist a record eight Grammy Awards and seven American Music Awards. On 26 January, Michael's hair catches on fire while he's filming a Pepsi commercial; the artist suffers second-degree burns.
The Jacksons' Victory tour is the biggest grossing road show of the year. Michael Jackson earned $5 million -- and gave all of it to charity. Meanwhile Bruce Springsteen's Born In The USA tour visited 61 cities in 11 countries -- and was seen by 4.7 million fans.
Britain's first cable TV channel, Sky Channel, begins operations in January. And, while on the subject of the UK, "Relax" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood becomes Britain's bestselling single of the 1980s. The song's 43-week chart run would be the longest since Englebert Humperdinck's "Release Me" in 1967-68. The band's debut album, Welcome To The Pleasuredome, set a new record of over one million advance orders and entered the UK chart at #1.
After spending eight years in a stroke-induced coma, soul great Jackie Wilson dies, age 49. Other deaths in 1984: blues singers Big Mama Thornton and Alberta Hunter, country legend Ernest Tubb, R&B's Z.Z. Hill, jazz band leader Count Basie (79), bluegrass picker Don Reno ("Dueling Banjos"), age 58, and songwriter Meredith Wilson. Ethel Merman dies at 75. Soul superstar Marvin Gaye is shot to death by his father, a retired minister, during a family argument. ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill accidentally shoots himself in the abdomen with a .38 caliber pistol, but survives.
* AT&T Broken Up
* The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale
* Sony and Philips introduce the first commercial CD Players
* Sony makes the first 3 1/2" computer disk
* The Space Shuttle Discovery has its maiden voyage
* First Ever flight in Space by Human untethered using jet back Packs
* Genetic fingerprinting or DNA profiling was developed and is now in wide by Forensic scientists when obtaining evidence in a crime
The Official Music of the XXIII Olympiad: Los Angeles 1984 LP featured
Loverboy, Foreigner, Toto, and composer John Williams
Top Ten Singles
January
1. "Owner Of A Lonely Heart," Yes
2. "Say Say Say," Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
3. "Talking In Your Sleep," Romantics
4. "Break My Stride," Matthew Wilder
5. "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues," Elton John
6. "Twist Of Fate," Olivia Newton-John
7. "Karma Chameleon," Culture Club
8. "Say It Isn't So," Hall and Oates
9. "Union Of The Snake," Duran Duran
10. "Running With The Night," Lionel Richie
Albums of the Year
Building the Perfect Beast, Don Henley; Sports, Huey Lewis & The News;
Like A Virgin, Madonna
Building the Perfect Beast, Don Henley (Geffen)
The '70s supergroup The Eagles broke up as the Eighties dawned, and while band member Glenn Frey embarked on a safe (and profitable) commercial path, drummer Don Henley did it differently. Throughout the 1980s he worked deliberately, painstakingly, to craft music with meaning, releasing only three solo albums during the decade. Building the Perfect Beast remains his most enduring classic. Aided by Danny Kortchmar (who wrote nine of the ten tracks on the album), Henley heroically carried the mantle of the Eagles with dignity and breathtaking skill as he forged a sound by fusing electronic and rock, creating in the opinion of many one of the ultimate albums of the '80s, complete with sometimes searing sociopolitical indictments, yet all cloaked in irresistible music, the prime examples of which are "Boys Of Summer," "Sunset Grill," and "All She Wants To Do Is Dance." The album was released in November 1984; the singles dominated the charts in early 1985.
Sports, Huey Lewis and the News (Chrysalis)
This Marin County, California group, formed in 1980, had a Top 10 hit with "Do You Believe In Love" from their previous album, but it wasn't until the release of Sports that they became superstars. This album, a perfectly easygoing rock-soul fusion, produced four consecutive Top 10 hits, including "The Heart of Rock 'n' Roll," "If This Is It," and "I Want A New Drug." Though Huey Lewis and the News would not have their first #1 until 1985 -- "Power of Love" from the hit movie Back To The Future --it was Sports that proved to be the band's highwater mark, and its defining moment as the chief purveyors of a pop-rock-soul sound that appealed to music fans across a broad spectrum.
Like A Virgin, Madonna (Sire)
1983's self-titled debut album introduced Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone to the music world, and produced several hits that hovered in the Top 10 realm of the charts throughout the early part of 1984 -- hits like "Borderline" and "Lucky Star." But it was her second platter, Like A Virgin, released in November 1984, that would establish Madonna as a superstar, and that there was a lot more behind the boytoy image. This albums singles wouldn't dominate the charts until 1985; "LIke A Virgin" would hit the top on December 22, 1984 and stay there for six weeks, and "Material Girl" would do nearly as well a few months later. In fact, it wasn't until a year after release that Like A Virgin would hit the top of the album chart. But that was indicative of Madonna's remarkable staying power.
Purple Rain, Prince and the Revolution (Warner Bros.)
Those who dismissed this album, initially, as a film soundtrack were in for a big surprise. It was, in fact, Prince's most brilliant and cohesive work, his (and the Revolution's) finest hour, an almost instant classic that would showcase the artist's genius as no other album before or since. Though Prince had a clear vision of the film by the same name, and theoretically wrote all the tracks with that vision in mind, the songs stand independently of the film, and five of them were hit singles, with a couple of #1's: "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy." The album would eventually sell 14 million units, and to no one's surprise. It was his masterpiece, and everyone, including Prince, could tell. Ironically, while Prince downplayed the overt sexuality inherent on past records, it was the lyrics of a song in this collection, "Darling Nikki," that inspired Tipper Gore to form the Parents Music Resource Center that agitated for warning labels on music.
Run D.M.C., Run D.M.C. (Profile)
The raw and innovative sound of nineteen-year-old rappers Run (Joseph Simmons), D.M.C. (Darryl McDaniels) and DJ Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) did for rap what Van Halen's Jump did for metal -- it made it accessible to mainstream music listeners. And it did it by blending styles; the influential hit "Rock Box" ends with a blazing heavy-metal guitar piece by Eddie Martinez. This hugely successful rap-metal fusion would lead to greater things -- Run D.M.C.'s own remake of "Walk This Way" with Aerosmith, not to mention The Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right to Party" and Tone-Loc's "Wild Thing." "Rock Box" was also MTV's first rap video. In so many ways, this album proved that rap with positive messages and innovative absorbtion of other musical styles, could have broad appeal.
The Smiths, The Smiths (Sire)
The Smith's debut album entered the UK charts at the #2 spot -- and did it without benefit of a major label, a video, or much promotion to speak of. The reason for this success was simple enough; guitarist Johnny Marr and singer/songwriter Morrissey discovered a recipe for success, a commercial sound, as epitomized by the hit single "This Charming Man," fused with uncompromising lyrics arising from their indie roots. The album became an alternative radio favorite in the U.S. and rightly so, and The Smiths proved that even in the mid-Eighties there was a place for a band that rejected the "chart group" mentality and did things differently.
Born In The USA, Bruce Springsteen (Columbia)
Ten years after his classic Born To Run, and in the wake of his spare, solo Nebraska effort, the Boss reunited with the E Street Band to produce a rock album that produced seven Top 10 singles and made The Boss an American icon in the process. Seven of the tracks -- including "Born In The USA" -- were actually written and/or recorded prior to 1982's Nebraska. New songs were recorded but most, with the exceptions of "My Hometown" and "Dancing In The Dark," were discarded. The campaigns of both 1984 presidential candidates misinterpreted and exploited the title track; though wrapped in mainstream rock, these songs were tough and sometimes bitter condemnations of everything The Boss thought was wrong with American politics and society.
Private Dancer, Tina Turner (MCA)
Described by Rolling Stone as probably the greatest comeback album of the decade, Private Dancer went multi-platinum, reaffirmed Turner's place in the rock pantheon, and was a perfect example of the genre-blending style of Eighties music. The #1 hit "What's Love Got To Do With It" was built on a reggae foundation, "I Can't Stop The Rain" was electro-pop at its best, and Jeff Beck backed Turner on rock tunes like "Steel Claw." The album's opening track, "I Might Have Been Queen," penned by Jeanette Obstoj, is based on Turner's life story as related by the artist to producer Rupert Hine, and is as autobiographical as any song could be.
1984, Van Halen (Warner Bros.)
This metal band featuring flamboyant front man David Lee Roth, guitar virtuoso Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony had been one of the hottest live acts for almost a decade. Prior to Jump, they'd generally cut albums to augment their road show reputation. This time, though, they were bored with the same old stuff, and took their time, learning how to mesh the new synth-pop sound very much in vogue in the mid-Eighties with their raucous guitar-based rock. The end result, their bestselling album yet, and their first #1, the title track. Some low-budget but highly popular videos propelled them into MTV staples, as well. This album made metal accessible to the mainstream music buyers, and paved the way for the invasion of the Top Forty by Bon Jovi and others.
Zen Arcade, Husker Du (SST)
This album didn't chart, but that doesn't detract from its importance as a landmark in elevating punk rock from the helpless rage of its previous incarnation into something far more expansive -- and hopeful. Husker Du, a Minneapolis-based trio, had set the thrash-rock standard in 1981 with their debut album; with Zen Arcade the band delivered a powerful message to disaffected youth: It's not enough to scream and rant about the inequities of life. You have to do something about it. As with so many great albums of '84, Husker Du expanded their musical repertoire, borrowing from other genres, including folk and psychedelic rock. Though not a commercial success, the album is undoubtedly a cultural (or subcultural) milestone.
Major Events of 1984
* Indira Gandhi murdered
UK and China agree on Hong Kong
Poison gas escapes from Union Carbide factories
300 people die when Indian Army attacks the Sikh Temple
Moderates win elections in El Salvador
AIDS breaks out
Sports:
1984 Olympics-Los Angeles
NBA: Boston Celtics vs. LA Lakers Series: 4-3
NCAA Football: Brigham Young University Record: 13-0-0
Heisman Trophy: Doug Flutie, boston college, QB points: 2,240
Stanley Cup: Edmunton Oilers vs. New York Islanders Series: 4-1
Super Bowl XVIII: Los Angeles Raiders vs. Washington Redskins Score: 38-9
US Open Golf: Fuzzy Zoller Score: 276* Course: Winged Foot GC Location: Mamaroneck, NY (* Playoff with Greg Norman)
World Series: Detroit Tigers vs. San Diego Padres Series: 4-1
Top Ten Movies
1. Beverly Hills Cop
2. Footloose
3. Ghostbusters
4. Gremlins
5. Greystoke
6. The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
7. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
8. The Karate Kid
9. The Natural
10. Police Academy
Most Popular Books
Fiction
1. "The Talisman" by Stephen King
2. "The Aquitaine Progression" by Robert Ludlum
3. "The Sicilian" by Mario Puzo
4. "Love and War" by John Jakes
5. "The Butter Battle Book" by Dr. Seuss
Nonfiction
1. "Iacocca: An Autobiography" by Lee Iacocca
2. "Loving Each Other" by Leo Buscaglia
3. "Eat to Win" by Robert Haas, M. D.
4. "Pieces of My Mind" by Andrew Rooney
5. "Weight Watchers' Fast and Fabulous Cookbook"
Most Popular Television Shows
1. Dynasty (ABC)
2. Dallas (CBS)
3. The Cosby Show (NBC)
4. 60 Minutes (CBS)
5. Family Ties (NBC)
6. The A-Team (NBC)
7. Simon & Simon (CBS)
8. Murder, She Wrote (CBS)
9. Knots Landing (CBS)
10. Falcon Crest (CBS)
Academy Awards
Best Picture: "Amadeus"
Best Director:Milos Forman ... "Amadeus"
Best Actor:F. Murray Abraham ... "Amadeus"
Best Actress:Sally Field ... "Places in the Heart"
Grammy Awards
Record of the Year: "What's Love Got To Do With It?" ... Tina Turner
Song of the Year: "What's Love Got To Do With It?" ...Graham Lyle, Terry Britten
Best Album: "Can't Slow Down" ... Lionel Richie
Male Vocalist: Phil Collins ... "Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)" Female Vocalist:Tina Turner ... "What's Love Got To Do With It?"
Nobel Prizes
Chemistry
MERRIFIELD, ROBERT BRUCE, U.S.A., Rockefeller University, New York, NY, b.1921:
"for his development of methodology for chemical synthesis on a solid
matrix"
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Literature
EIFERT, JAROSLAV, Czechoslovakia, b. 1901, d. 1986:
"for his poetry which endowed with freshness, sensuality and rich
inventiveness provides a liberating image of the indomitable spirit and
versatility of man"
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Peace
TUTU, DESMOND MPILO, South Africa, b. 1931: Bishop of Johannesburg, former Secretary General South African Council of Churches (S.A.C.C.). for his work against apartheid.
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Physiology or Medicine
The prize was awarded jointly to:
JERNE, NIELS K., Denmark, Basel Institute for Immunology, Basel,
Switzerland, b. 1911, d. 1994;
KOHLER, GEORGES J.F., Federal Republic of Germany, Basel Institute for
Immunology, Basel, Switzerland, b. 1946, d. 1995; and
MILSTEIN, CESAR, Great Britain and Argentina, MRC Laboratory of Molecular
Biology, Cambridge, b. 1927 (in Bahia Blanca, Argentina):
"for theories concerning the specificity in development and control of the
immune system and the discovery of the principle for production of
monoclonal antibodies"
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Physics
The prize was awarded jointly to:
RUBBIA, CARLO, Italy, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, b. 1934; and
VAN DER MEER, SIMON, the Netherlands, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, b. 1925:
"for their decisive contributions to the large project, which led to the
discovery of the field particles W and Z, communicators of weak interaction"
Pulitzer Prizes
Drama:David Mamet ... "Glengarry Glen Ross"
Fiction:William Kennedy ... "Ironweed"
International Reporting: Thomas L. Friedman ... "New York Times" & Loren Jenkins ... "Washington Post"
National Reporting: Staff ... John Noble Wilford ... "New York Times"
Public Service:"Los Angeles Times"
Tony Awards
Best Play: "The Real Thing" ... Tom Stoppard
Best Musical: "La Cage aux Folles"
"Best Actor in a play:
Jeremy Irons ... "The Real Thing"
Best Actress in a play:Glenn Close ... "The Real Thing"
Best Actor in a musical: George Hearn ... "La Cage Aux Folles"
Best Actress in a musical:Chita Rivera ... "The Rink"
Economics
US GDP (1998 dollars): $3,902.40 billion
Federal spending: $851.85 billion
Federal debt: $1564.7 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars): $22,415
Consumer Price Index: 103.9
Unemployment: 7.5%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.20
How Much things cost in 1984
Yearly Inflation Rate USA4.3 %
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 1211
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve 10.75%
Average Cost of new house $86,730.00
Average Income per year $21,600.00
Average Monthly Rent $350.00
Movie Ticket $2.50
1 gallon of gas $1.10
Dodge RAM 50 Truck $8,995.00
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Stirling
Average House Price 37,182
Gallon of Petrol 1.83
Yearly Inflation Rate UK 5.0%
Interest Rates Year End Bank of England 9.50%
opular Culture 1984
# The MTV Video Music Awards Started
* 36 of Britain and Ireland's top pop musicians gathered in a Notting Hill studio to form Band Aid and recorded the song "Do They Know It's Christmas" in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia
* Michael Jackson wins unprecedented acclaim for his Album Thriller and sales over 37 million copies
Popular Films
* Ghostbusters
* Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
* Gremlins
* Beverly Hills Cop
* Terms of Endearment
* The Karate Kid
* Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
* Police Academy
* Romancing the Stone
* Splash
* The Terminator
* Amadeus
* The Killing Fields
* A Passage To India
What do you remember ? was this the year you graduated ?, what music was being played the year you were born?
Popular Musicians
* Phil Collins
* Alison Moyet
* Billy Joel
* Tina Turner with " What's Love got to do with it "
* David Bowie
* Wham! with " Wake Me up Before You Go "
* Billy Ocean
* UB40
* Stevie Wonder with " I Just Called to say I love You "
* Bruce Springsteen
* Kenny Rogers
* Bananarama
* Duran Duran with " The Reflex "
* Ultravox
* Cars
Popular TV Programmes
* Magnum, P.I.
* Dynasty
* Entertainment Tonight
* Falcon Crest
* Hill Street Blues
* Cagney and Lacey
* Cheers
* Fame
* Knight Rider
* The A-Team
* Jeopardy!
