September 29th: The Biggest Music Headlines

Scroll down the page to see all the music headlines, stories and events for September 29 throughout music history

Photo: Bob King/Redferns

The Police Score Their First No.1

On September 291979, The Police scored their first No.1 hit in the UK with “Message In A Bottle.” The song also topped the charts in Ireland and reached No. 5 in Australia, but despite its popularity in England and Ireland, “Message In A Bottle” puzzlingly stalled in the US, topping out at No.74. Later, however, it would go on to become one of the most celebrated songs in the band’s sterling discography.

In 2018, Blues Hall of Famer Otis Rush died at 84. The legendary guitarist, singer, songwriter, and famous lefty was known for his distinctive guitar playing, as heard in such hits as “I Can’t Quit You Baby,” “Double Trouble,” and “All Your Love (I Miss Loving).”

In 1956, early rock’n’roll star Bill Haley celebrated five hit singles in the UK Top 30, including “Rock Around the Clock,” “See You Later Alligator,” and “Hot Dog Buddy Buddy,” which led at No.4.

In 1984, Prince and the Revolution began a two-week run at the top of the US Pop chart with “Let’s Go Crazy.” The track became Prince’s second No.1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, while also topping the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Dance Club Play charts, proving the song’s versatility.

In 1973, Grand Funk Railroad soared to No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “We’re An American Band.” The song marked the group’s first of two US chart toppers – the other being “The Loco-Motion.”

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Keep scrolling for all of the headlines for September 29.

BORN ON SEPTEMBER 29:

1907: Gene Autry
1930: Billy Strange (Wrecking Crew)
1935: Jerry Lee Lewis
1948: Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad)
1958: Mick Harvey (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
1967: Brett Anderson (Suede)
1987: Joshua Farro (Paramore)
1994: Halsey

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Keep scrolling for all of our September 29 birthdays.

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September 29th

On this day in music

29 Sep 2024 English singer and songwriter Martin Lee, a member of pop group Brotherhood of Man died aged 77. They had the 1976 hit 'Save Your Kisses for Me' which represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976. The song became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in many countries, including the UK, where it became the biggest-selling song of the year.
29 Sep 2023 U2 played the first night of their concert residency U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at the Sphere in Paradise, Nevada, in the Las Vegas Valley. Scheduled to consist of 40 concerts the performances focused on the group's 1991 album Achtung Baby. The shows featured the venue's immersive video and sound capabilities, which included a 160,000-square-foot (15,000 m2) LED screen with a 16K resolution that wraps around the interior. The first 17 shows grossed $109.8 million from 281,000 tickets sold.
29 Sep 2020 American country music singer, songwriter, and actor Mac Davis died age 78. During his early career he wrote for Elvis Presley, providing him with the hits 'Memories", "In the Ghetto', 'Don't Cry Daddy', and 'A Little Less Conversation'. A subsequent solo career in the 1970s produced hits such as 'Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me'. Davis also starred in his own variety show, a Broadway musical, and various films and TV shows.
29 Sep 2020 Australian-American singer, songwriter Helen Reddy died age 78. During the 1970s she placed 15 singles on the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Six made the top 10 and three reached number one, including her signature hit 'I Am Woman'.
29 Sep 2019 American songwriter, record producer, publisher, record label executive, Michael James Ryan Busbee (known professionally as busbee), died from a form of brain cancer age 43. Busbee has written for and co-written with a broad range of artists including Gwen Stefani, Pink, Shakira, Keith Urban, Florida Georgia Line and Lady Antebellum.
29 Sep 2018 American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Otis Rush died from complications of a stroke aged 84. His distinctive guitar style featured a slow-burning sound and long bent notes. His first single, ‘I Can't Quit You Baby’, in 1956 reached No.6 on the Billboard R&B chart. Two of his other best-known songs, are ‘Double Trouble’ and ‘All Your Love (I Miss Loving).’
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29 Sep 2015 The original contract signed by The Beatles and manager Brian Epstein sold at Sotheby's for £365,000, ($548.000). The 1962 document was said to be one of the most important contracts in popular music, marking the beginning of the band's journey to international fame.
29 Sep 2012 The UK press reported that there really was a girl who works down the chip shop and swears she's Elvis' daughter, after Lisa Marie Presley was spotted serving up deep-fried treats on a mobile motor called Mr Chippy. The 44-year-old, offspring of Elvis and actress Priscilla, donned an apron and cooked battered cod for the locals. Kim Scales, who owned the business, said: "Lisa Marie likes to see how we live and experience British life. We were laughing because the customers didn't know who she was. She really enjoyed it." The singer, had moved to the quaint village of Rotherfield, East Sussex, two years ago from Los Angeles.
29 Sep 2004 The Sun reported that Michael Jackson had a secret fourth child who was now 19. The story claimed that Norwegian Omar Bhatti was born after a one night stand and had stayed with Jackson at his Neverland home in California.
29 Sep 2004 Keith Moon's five-piece drum kit, custom-made for The Who drummer in 1968, sold for £120,000 pounds ($215,772) in London to an American collector, setting a world auction record for a set of drums.
29 Sep 1999 The Manic Street Preachers were given a bill for £28.000 after smashing up equipment during their show at Scotland's T In The Park festival.
29 Sep 1992 American singer, songwriter Paul Jabara died from lymphoma related to AIDS at the age of 44. He wrote Donna Summer's Oscar and Grammy Award-winning hit ‘Last Dance’ and Barbra Streisand's ‘The Main Event/Fight’ and co-wrote the Weather Girls hit, ‘It's Raining Men’ with Paul Shaffer.
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29 Sep 1990 Maria McKee was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Show Me Heaven' the song featured in the Tom Cruise film 'Days Of Thunder'.
29 Sep 1989 While travelling on his motorbike from Los Angeles, Bruce Springsteen called in at Matt's Saloon in Prescott, Arizona and jammed with the house band. Bruce played a bunch of rock and roll classics, including Elvis Presley's 'Don’t Be Cruel,' and Chuck Berry's 'Sweet Little Sixteen' and 'Route 66.’ Bruce also donated $100,000 to a barmaid's hospital bill.
29 Sep 1987 Pink Floyd's thirteenth studio album A Momentary Lapse Of Reason was on the UK chart. The shoot for the album cover involved dragging 800 hospital beds onto Saunton Sands in Devon, but rain interrupted the session and they had to repeat the exercise two weeks later. A hang glider can be seen in the sky, a possible reference to the track 'Learning to Fly'. Photographer Robert Dowling won a gold award at the Association of Photographers' Awards for the image, which took about two weeks to create.
29 Sep 1984 Prince and the Revolution started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Let's Go Crazy', his second US No.1, and a No.7 hit in the UK. It was the opening track on both the album and the film Purple Rain.
29 Sep 1979 The Police had their first UK No.1 single with 'Message In A Bottle' the group's third Top 20 hit. The song was released as the first single from Reggatta de Blanc and also topped the charts in Ireland and reached No.5 in Australia. Despite its popularity in the UK, the single only reached No.74 in the United States.
29 Sep 1976 Enjoying his own birthday celebrations singer Jerry Lee Lewis accidentally shot his bass player Norman Owens in the chest. Lewis had been blasting holes in an office door. Owens survived but sued his boss.
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29 Sep 1975 Jackie Wilson had a heart attack while performing live on stage at the Latin Casino, New Jersey. Wilson collapsed into a coma suffering severe brain damage. Ironically, he was in the middle of singing one of his biggest hits, 'Lonely Teardrops' and was two words into the line, "....my heart is crying" when he collapsed to the stage, striking his head heavily. He remained semi-comatose for nine years until his death in 1984, at the age of 49. Van Morrison wrote the song 'Jackie Wilson Said', covered by Dexy's Midnight Runners.
29 Sep 1973 Grand Funk Railroad went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'We're An American Band', the group's first of two US chart toppers.
29 Sep 1971 On the last night of their first ever Japanese tour Led Zeppelin appeared at Osaka Festival Hall. Near the end of the set the group played a medley of songs during an extended version of 'Whole Lotta Love', including 'Let That Boy Boogie', 'I Gotta Know', 'Twist and Shout', 'Fortune Teller', 'Good Times Bad Times' and 'You Shook Me'.
29 Sep 1967 Working at Abbey Road in London, The Beatles mixed the new John Lennon song ‘I Am The Walrus’, which included the sound of a radio being tuned through numerous stations, coming to rest on a BBC production of William Shakespeare's "King Lear". Lennon composed the song by combining three songs he had been working on. When he learned that a teacher at his old primary school was having his students analyse Beatles' lyrics, he added a verse of nonsense words.
29 Sep 1961 Robert Shelton, wrote a glowing review of Bob Dylan's support slot at Gerde's Folk City in the New York Times, calling him ‘One of the most distinctive stylists to play Manhattan in months’. On the same day Dylan played harmonica at a recording session produced by John Hammond.
29 Sep 1960 Ricky Valance was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Tell Laura I Love Her', making him the first Welsh singer to top the charts, and a One-hit Wonder.
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29 Sep 1959 Berry Gordy's third release on the newly established Motown Records, 'Bad Girl' by The Miracles, entered the Billboard Pop chart.
29 Sep 1956 Bill Haley had five songs in the UK Top 30; 'Rockin Through The Rye', 'Saints Rock n' Roll', Rock Around the Clock, 'Razzle Dazzle', and 'See You Later Alligator'.

Born on this day in music

29 Sep 1995 American indie rock singer and guitarist Julien Baker from Boygenius. Their debut studio album, The Record (2023), won three Grammy Awards and topped the charts in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands, and peaked at No.4 on the US Billboard 200.
29 Sep 1994 American singer and songwriter Ashley Nicolette Frangipane known professionally as Halsey. Halsey achieved success with the release of 'Closer' (2016), a collaboration with The Chainsmokers. The song topped the charts in over 10 countries including the US and UK.
29 Sep 1987 Joshua Farro, guitarist, from American rock band Paramore, who had the 2009 UK No.1 album Brand New Eyes and their 2013 self-titled fourth studio album hit No.1 on the US chart.
29 Sep 1981 English actress, singer and television personality Suzanne Shaw who with Hear'Say had the 2001 UK No.1 single, 'Pure and Simple'. Shaw is now an established musical theatre and West End performer, actress, model and television presenter in her own right.
29 Sep 1978 Norwegian singer Kurt Nilsen. He won the first season of the Norwegian reality show Idol, (2003). He then won a one-off international version of Pop Idol called World Idol on 1 January 2004. His cover version of the Canadian singer-songwriter Tal Bachman song 'She's So High' (2003) reached No.1 in Norway and was Norway's best-selling single ever, selling over 80,000 copies. It became an international hit a year later.
29 Sep 1968 Twin brothers Matt and Luke Goss from English pop band Bros, who had the 1988 UK No.1 single 'I Owe You Nothing' plus 10 other UK Top 40 singles. Bros have been certified for sales of 1.3 million albums and 750,000 singles in the UK and are estimated to have sold 16 million records worldwide. In 2017, the Goss twins reunited to perform two dates as Bros at the O2 Arena in London.
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29 Sep 1967 Brett Anderson, singer, songwriter from English alternative rock band Suede, who had the 1994 UK No.3 single 'Stay Together'. Their debut album, Suede, (1993) reached No.1 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in nearly a decade. It won the Mercury Music Prize and helped propel Britpop as a musical era. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he briefly fronted The Tears, and has released four solo albums. Suede re-formed in 2010; they continue to record and tour.
29 Sep 1966 Tony Foster, English guitarist who worked with Julian Cope and Olive who scored the 1997 UK No.1 single 'You're Not Alone'.
29 Sep 1965 Ian Baker Keyboards with English group Jesus Jones who had the 1990 US No.2 hit with 'Right Here Right Now' and the 1991 UK No.7 single 'International Bright Young Thing'.
29 Sep 1963 American musician, singer, songwriter, Les Claypool best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, and primary songwriter of Primus. Claypool appears in the opening titles of the animated comedy series South Park, for which Primus has performed the theme song since its debut in 1997.
29 Sep 1958 Mick Harvey, from Australian rock band Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds who have released over 15 studio albums including the 2013 Australian No.1 Push the Sky Away.
29 Sep 1957 British pop and jazz singer Mari Wilson, who had the 1982 UK No.8 single 'Just What I Always Wanted' and a 1983 hit with a cover of 'Cry Me a River'.
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29 Sep 1956 American singer Suzzy Roche, best known for her work with the vocal group the Roches, alongside sisters Maggie and Terre. Suzzy is the youngest of the three, and joined the act in 1977. In 2004 Roche appeared on Crash Test Dummies album Songs of the Unforgiven.
29 Sep 1948 Mark Farner, American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist for Grand Funk Railroad who had the US No.1 single with their version of 'The Loco-Motion' which was produced by Todd Rundgren. They were the most successful US Heavy Metal band of the 70s selling over 20m albums.
29 Sep 1948 American guitarist, singer, and songwriter Mike Pinera who with Blues Image had the 1970 US No.4 single, 'Ride Captain Ride'. He was the lead guitarist for Alice Cooper from 1980 to 1982. He died of liver failure on 20 November 2024, at the age of 76
29 Sep 1944 American composer Mike Post. He best known for his television theme music for various shows, including Law & Order, The A-Team; NYPD Blue, The Rockford Files, L.A. Law, Quantum Leap, Magnum, P.I., and Hill Street Blues. He won his first of five Grammy Awards at age 23 for Best Instrumental Arrangement on Mason Williams' 'Classical Gas', a No.2 hit song in 1968. Post also produced Dolly Parton's hit album 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs in 1981.
29 Sep 1943 Manuel Fernandez, from Spanish beat group Los Bravos who had the 1966 UK No.2 & US No.4 single 'Black Is Black'. They were the first Spanish rock band to have a UK & US hit single.
29 Sep 1942 French jazz and jazz fusion violinist and composer Jean-Luc Ponty. He is considered a pioneer of jazz-rock, particularly for his use of the electric violin starting in the 1970s. He rose to prominence for his collaborations with Frank Zappa and Elton John playing on Honky Chateau (1972).
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29 Sep 1939 American singer-songwriter Tommy Boyce, who in 1968 had the US No 8 single with Bobby Hart, 'I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite'. Boyce and Hart wrote for other artists as well as the Monkees', '(Theme from) The Monkees', '(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Ston' and 'Last Train to Clarksville'. Boyce struggled with depression, and later had a brain aneurysm. On November 23, 1994, he died by suicide by gunshot. He was 55 years old.
29 Sep 1937 American blues musician Joe 'Guitar' Hughes. He worked with T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Little Richard, Bobby Bland and Big Joe Turner. Hughes died of a heart attack on May 20, 2003 age 65.
29 Sep 1935 American singer and pianist, Jerry Lee Lewis, (often known by his nickname, The Killer). He had the 1958 UK No.1 & US No.1 single 'Great Balls Of Fire', and the 1957 multi million seller 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On'. Lewis made his first recordings in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis. Lewis died on 28 October 2022 age 87.
29 Sep 1930 American singer, songwriter, guitarist Billy Strange who was a session musician with the famed Wrecking Crew. He appeared on hit songs for Elvis Presley, including 'A Little Less Conversation', Nancy and Frank Sinatra's 'Somethin' Stupid' and worked with The Ventures, Willie Nelson, The Everly Brothers, Wanda Jackson, The Beach Boys, Randy Newman, and Nat King Cole, among others. He died on February 22, 2012, aged 81.
29 Sep 1921 American musician Franny Beecher, who was the lead guitarist for Bill Haley & His Comets from 1954 to 1962. By the time Beecher became associated with Bill Haley, he had already had a lengthy career as a guitarist, having performed and recorded with the Benny Goodman Orchestra, which he joined in 1948, at a time Goodman was experimenting with music in the bebop idiom. Beecher died on February 24, 2014.
29 Sep 1907 American actor, musician, singer, composer, and rodeo performer Gene Autry, know as America's singing cowboy. During his career, Autry scored 25 successive Top 10 Country hits, his signature song 'Back in the Saddle Again' was first released in 1939. From 1934 to 1953, Autry appeared in 93 motion pictures. Between 1950 and 1956, he hosted The Gene Autry Show television series. In many of them, he appeared with Champion, his Morgan horse. He died on 2nd October 1998 aged 91.
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