1977: Marvel Comics issues the first of two comic books based on the costumed characters of the group KISS. The popular rumor of the day was that red ink was mixed with small amounts of blood from each group member. This however, turned out to be a hoax.
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1988: MTV bans Neil Young's video "This Note Is For You", which parodied corporate Rock by showing a Michael Jackson look-alike whose hair catches fire. The ban would soon be lifted and the video was put into heavy rotation, resulting in it eventually winning the MTV Video Music Award for Best Video of the Year in 1989.
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1972: 34 year old Bill Withers had the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Lean On Me", his second US Top Ten hit after "Ain't No Sunshine" in September 1971. The song reached #18 in the UK. Just a couple of years earlier, Withers was making toilet seats for Boeing 747s.
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1969: The Status Quo achieve their only hit record in America when "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" enters the Billboard Top 40, where it will top out at #12. Guitarist Francis Rossi said he wrote most of the song while sitting in a toilet, trying to get away from his wife and mother-in-law. Shortly after the song became a hit, the band dropped "The" from their name.
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1957: Jerry Lee Lewis makes his first appearance on The Steve Allen Show, performing "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On". After the program airs, sales of the record soar, pushing it to #3 on the Billboard pop chart and #1 on the Billboard R&B chart.
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