Pick a Day

12 OCTOBER

In Music History

2022 Following years as a featured vocalist for the likes of Jonas Blue, Jax Jones and David Guetta, Raye releases her breakthrough single, "Escapism," a song about "running away from reality as fast as you possibly can." Months later, it's included on her debut album, My 21st Century Blues.

2018 The biographical film First Man, inspired by the life of astronaut Neil Armstrong, debuts in US theaters. R&B singer Leon Bridges appears as jazz musician Gil Scott-Heron, reciting the poem "Whitey On The Moon."

2013 Pharrell Williams marries the model Helen Lasichanh. She inspires several tracks on his 2014 album, G I R L, including the song "It Girl."

2011 Joel 'Taz' DiGregorio, keyboard player in the Charlie Daniels Band, is killed in a car accident before the band's gig at the Cumming Country Fair in Tennessee. DiGregorio, who was 67 at the time of his death, co-wrote many songs with the group, including "The Devil Went Down To Georgia."

2011 Paul Leka, songwriter, pianist, arranger and orchestrator, dies of lung cancer in Sharon, Connecticut, at age 68. Co-wrote the '60s hits "Green Tambourine" and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye."

2009 Justin Bieber, 16, meets 14-year-old fan Hailey Baldwin (daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin) backstage at the Today show. Years later they start dating, and in 2018 they get married.

2009 Michael Jackson's from-the-vaults track "This Is It" is released as a promotional single to accompany the concert documentary of the same name. It's the first release since his death in June.More

2009 Blue Cheer singer/bassist Dickie Peterson dies from liver cancer at the age of 63, in Erkelenz, Germany.

2003 The blind Puerto Rican singer Jose Feliciano performs the "The Star Spangled Banner" for the first time since his flavorful rendition at a Tigers/Cardinals World Series game in 1968. His performance in Miami at the Marlins/Cubs playoff goes off without incident.

2003 Rapper 50 Cent takes home all five trophies for which he is nominated at the World Music Awards, held in Monaco. Russian teen duo t.A.T.u. picks up three awards, while Norah Jones and Eminem win two.

2002 Bandleader/arranger Ray Conniff dies after he slips in his bathtub in Escondido, California, at age 85.

2002 Court-TV's crime documentary series Forensic Files depicts the murder of Walter Scott, lead singer of the '60s rock 'n' roll band Bob Kuban & the In-Men. Scott disappeared in 1983 and his body was found hidden in a cistern four years later, leading to the arrest of his widow's new husband.

2002 Faith Hill is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, hosted by Sarah Michelle Gellar, and performs "Cry" and "Free."

2001 Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland quits the band. A post on the group's website states, "Limp Bizkit and Wes Borland have amicably decided to part ways. Both Limp Bizkit and Borland will continue to pursue their respective musical careers." He returns in 2009.

1999 Frank Frost, Delta blues harmonica player, dies of a cardiac arrest in Helena, Arkansas, at age 63.