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September 21, 2026
STORY · Soul
Jaco Pastorius Died at 35 After a Life That Rewired Bass
Jaco Pastorius, who rewired the electric bass and joined Weather Report, died on September 21, 1987, at 35. His legacy still defines the instrument.
3 min read
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3 min read
STORY · Electronic
Lindsey Stirling: The Violinist Who Danced Past Every 'No'
Lindsey Stirling, born September 21, 1986, turned a 2007 YouTube channel into a career fusing classical violin with dance, pop, and EDM. She faced early rejection on America's Got Talent.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Pop
Why Chen's April, and a Flower Still Sounds Like a Risk
In 2019, EXO's Chen released a debut solo album on April 1, a quiet ballad collection. It reached number two on the Gaon chart and became an unexpected power move.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Rock
Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell: Why It Defied Punk
In 1977, Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell, produced by Todd Rundgren with songs by Jim Steinman, defied punk's minimalism. It became one of the best-selling albums in history.
5 min read
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5 min read
September 20, 2026
STORY · Jazz
Ben Webster's 53-Year Silence Since That Amsterdam Night
Ben Webster, the American jazz tenor saxophonist, died in Amsterdam on September 20, 1973. Fifty-three years later, his subtonic sound still shapes how players approach the instrument.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Pop
Safura Alizadeh: How a saxophone dream led to Eurovision
Safura Alizadeh, born in Baku in 1992, turned a childhood saxophone dream into a fifth-place finish at Eurovision 2010 with 'Drip Drop'.
4 min read
Akkurat, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Why Did the Stills-Young Band Only Make One Album?
The Stills–Young Band released only one album, Long May You Run, in 1976. Despite gold certification and a Billboard 200 placement, the partnership collapsed.
3 min read
Cover of “Long May You Run” by The Stills-Young Band. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Rock
Why Demi Lovato's Unbroken still feels like a reset 15 years on
Demi Lovato's third album Unbroken, released September 20, 2011, marked a deliberate break from her pop-rock past. It pushed toward R&B and dance-pop after a year of personal upheaval.
3 min read
Cover of “Unbroken” by Demi Lovato. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Other
Tupac Shakur: Who Sang His Words on The Rose, Vol. 2?
In 2005, Amaru Entertainment released The Rose, Vol. 2, a posthumous Tupac Shakur poetry album where the poet's words are sung by Ludacris and Bone Thugs n Harmony.
3 min read
Cover of “The Rose, Vol. 2” by Tupac Shakur. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Pop
Why Did Mia Martini Sing Like She Knew the End?
Mia Martini, born Domenica Rita Adriana Berté in 1947, turned Italian pop into confession. She won Festivalbar twice and left a catalog that still haunts listeners.
5 min read
Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
5 min read
STORY · Rock
The Tomato That Renamed a Yes Album
In 1978, a tomato thrown inside the Hipgnosis studio landed on the artwork for Yes's ninth album. It renamed the record from Yes Tor to Tormato, giving it an accidental identity.
5 min read
Cover of “Tormato” by Yes. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
5 min read
STORY · Rock
Jim Croce: Why His Final Flight Ended an Unfinished Story
Jim Croce's final flight ended a life that had already outgrown the music business. He left behind a catalog of songs about the people he met on the road.
5 min read
ABC Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
5 min read
STORY · Pop
Elton John: Why a Death Date Never Silenced the Catalog
Elton John, born Reginald Dwight in 1947, built a catalog that outlived the alarms of 1997. His 'Candle In The Wind 97' became the best-selling single in recorded history.
5 min read
Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
5 min read
STORY · Rock
Chuck and John Panozzo: Why Styx Had Two Twin Rhythms
Chuck and John Panozzo, twins who anchored Styx's rhythm section, shared a birthday in 1949. They died months apart in 1996, leaving a legacy of classic hits.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Alternative
Rick Woolstenhulme: Why Lifehouse's Drummer Defined Their Sound
Rick Woolstenhulme, born into a family of musicians, became the rhythmic anchor of Lifehouse. The American rock group sold over 15 million albums worldwide.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Rock
Led Zeppelin: Why a 36-Hour Studio Session Rewrote Rock
Jimmy Page financed the debut album sessions at Olympic Studios in September 1968, turning a borrowed Yardbirds identity into Led Zeppelin.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Alternative
David Hemmingway: Why the Housemartins bassist never stopped
David Hemmingway, born on 20 September 1960, built a four-decade career on melodic bass lines. From The Housemartins through The Beautiful South to ongoing solo work.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Rock
John Lennon's Double Fantasy: Why the Final Album Divided Critics
John Lennon's final album, Double Fantasy, was inspired by a Bermuda flower and divided critics on release, only to top charts after his death in 1980.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Metal
Why did Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz shock 1980?
Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz, released in 1980, became the biggest-selling album of his career after his firing from Black Sabbath.
3 min read
Cover of “Blizzard of Ozz” by Ozzy Osbourne. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Pop
Björk's Homogenic and the 29-Year-Old Iceland She Built
Björk's 1997 album Homogenic, recorded after a stalker's attack forced her to leave London. It fused electronic beats with strings and defined Iceland in musical terms.
3 min read
Cover of “Homogenic” by Björk. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Electronic
Why Nils Frahm's piano sounds unlike anyone else's
Nils Frahm, born 20 September 1982, turns 44 today. His Berlin studio setup reveals why his piano sound blends classical discipline with synthesizer engineering.
3 min read
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3 min read
STORY · Other
Sophia Loren: From Pageants to an Oscar in Italian
A teenage girl steps onto a beauty pageant stage in postwar Naples, and the trajectory of European cinema shifts. On September 20, 1934, in Rome, Sophia Loren w…
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Electronic
Asia Argento: the name the law refused to accept
Born in 1975 under a name Italian law refused to accept, Asia Argento became an actress, director, and a visible #MeToo figure. She later faced her own accusation in 2018.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Pop
Namie Amuro Was 14 When She Stopped Being an Idol
The stage lights at a small Okinawa venue caught a fourteen-year-old girl mid-spin, her sneakers squeaking against the floor as five other dancers moved in sync…
5 min read
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STORY · Soundtracks
Jean Sibelius: The Silence After Seven Symphonies
Jean Sibelius, born in 1865 in Tavastehus, shaped Finland's national identity through seven symphonies and Finlandia. Then, after the mid-1920s, he fell silent for three decades.
3 min read
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STORY · Classical
Pablo de Sarasate: The Queen's Gift and a Perfect Passage
Pablo de Sarasate, born in Pamplona in 1844, took the violin from his father's hands and became a celebrated virtuoso. His compositions still challenge players today.
5 min read
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STORY · Pop
Why did Loredana Bertè start as a go-go dancer?
Loredana Bertè, born in 1950 in Bagnara Calabra, spent the early 1970s as a go-go dancer on Italian television. She later became a solo artist who worked with Ennio Morricone and Pino Daniele.
4 min read
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September 19, 2026
STORY · Pop
Diana Ross: How 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' Hit No. 1
Diana Ross reached her first solo number one on September 19, 1970. The single was 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough,' a dramatic rearrangement of an Ashford & Simpson song.
5 min read
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STORY · Hip-Hop
Skepta: The Grime Architect Who Refused to Wait
From a Tottenham pirate radio booth in 2005 to the Mercury Prize in 2016, Skepta built grime's independent empire on his own terms.
4 min read
Batiste Safont, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
4 min read
STORY · Pop
Why Did Doll Domination End The Pussycat Dolls?
The Pussycat Dolls' second album Doll Domination sold five million copies yet ended the group's studio career. Carmit Bachar left before release, and Nicole Scherzinger carried the vocals.
4 min read
Cover of “Doll Domination” by The Pussycat Dolls. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read