#1 Songs in America
(February 26th)
1980 - "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
Queen
2/23 - 3/21
1981 - "9 to 5"
Dolly Parton
2/21 - 2/27
1982 - "Centerfold"
J. Geils Band
2/6 - 3/19
1983 - "Baby, Come to Me"
Patti Auston and James Ingram
2/19 - 3/4
1984 - "Jump"
Van Halen
2/25 - 3/30
1985 - "Careless Whisper"
Wham!
2/16 - 3/8
1986 - "How Will I Know"
Whitney Houston
2/15 - 2/28
1987 - "Livin' on a Prayer"
Bon Jovi
2/14 - 3/13
1988 - "Seasons Change"
Expose
2/20 - 2/26
1989 - "Straight Up"
Paula Abdul
2/11 - 3/3
Click Here For More Music Fun Facts and Awards
Other Notable Dates
(February 26th)
1919 - The Grand Canyon Was Established as a National Park
Other Notable Birthdays
Levi Strauss (German Born American Businessman)
February 26, 1829 - September 26, 1902
Birthplace: Buttenheim, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Confederation
Passed Away at Age 73
* Unknown Cause of Death
The Founder of Levi’s Jeans
Buffalo Bill (Soldier)
February 26, 1846 - January 10, 1917
Birthplace: Le Claire, Iowa
Passed Away at Age 70
* Unknown Cause of Death
Bill Was a Rider For The Pony Express at at 15
Fun Fact!
Buffalo Bill Founded the Buffalo Bill Wild West in 1883
John Harvey Kellogg (Inventor and Physician)
February 26, 1852 - December 14, 1943
Birthplace: Tyrone, Michigan
Passed Away at Age 90
* Unknown Cause of Death
Created Corn Flakes
Grover Cleveland Alexander (Baseball)
February 26, 1887 - November 4, 1950
Birthplace: Elba, Nebraska
Passed Away at Age 63
* Unknown Cause of Death
Wins Leader: 6
ERA Leader: 4
Strikeout Leader: 6
Career Wins: 373
Career Losses: 208
ERA: 2.56
Strikeouts: 2,198
3x Triple Crown Winner (Wins, ERA, Strikeouts)
Fun Fact!
Grover Cleveland Alexander Was a 3x Triple Crown Winner
* The Leader in Wins, ERA, and Strikeouts
Elected to the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938 (3rd Ballot)
Jackie Gleason (Actor)
February 26, 1916 - June 24, 1987
Birthplace: New York City
Passed Away at Age 71 From Colon Cancer
* Best Known For Playing Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners
Tony Randall (Actor)
February 26, 1920 - May 17, 2004
Birthplace: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Passed Away at Age 84 From Pneumonia
* Following Coronary Bypass Surgery
Won an Emmy Award in 1975 For His Role as Felix Unger on the The Odd Couple
Grammy Nominations: 6
Verne Gagne (Wrestling)
February 26, 1926 - April 27, 2015
Birthplace: Corcoran, Minnesota
Passed Away at Age 89 From Alzheimer's Disease
* Possibly Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Caused by a Career of Head Injuries
Founded AWA Wrestling
Johnny Cash (Singer)
February 26, 1932 - September 12, 2003
Birthplace: Kingsland, Arkansas
Passed Away at Age 71 of Complication From Diabetes
* One of the Best Selling Artists of All-Time With Over 90 Million Albums Sold Worldwide
Inducted Into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1992
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Passed Away
(On This Day)
Jef Raskin (Computer Science)
March 9, 1943 - February 26, 2005
Birthplace: New York City
Passed Away at Age 61 From Pancreatic Cancer
* Haskin Was a Human-Computer Interface Expert
Created the Macintosh Project at the Apple, Inc. in the 1970’s
Judge Wapner (American Judge)
November 15, 1919 - February 26, 2017
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
Passed Away at Age 97 From Respiratory Failure
* Best Known For the Reality Show The People’s Court From 1981 to 1993
The People’s Court Was the First Reality Court TV Show
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1982 - Evilspeak
Director: Eric Weston
Starring: Clint Howard, R. G. Armstrong, Joseph Cortese and Claude Earl Jones
Budget: $1 Million
Box Office: N/A
1988 - Bloodsport
Director: Newt Arnold
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres and Bolo Yeung
Budget: $2 Million
Box Office: $65 Million
1988 - Frantic
Director: Roman Polanski
Starring: Harrison Ford and Emmanuelle Seigner
Budget: $20 Million
Box Office: $17.6 Million
1988 - Hairspray
Director: John Waters
Starring: Ricki Lake, Divine, Debbie Harry, Sonny Bono, Jerry Stiller, Leslie Ann Powers, Colleen Fitzpatrick and Michael St. Gerard
Budget: $2 Million
Box Office: $8.3 Million
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80s Television
(On This Day)
1983 - Brothers Jeff and Beau Bridges Hosted Saturday Night Live
Musical Guest: Randy Newman
1983 - Wizard and Warriors Premiered on CBS
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 8
Starring Jeff Conway
1984 - Star Wars Aired on CBS
* The First Time Star Wars Aired on Network Television
1985 - The 27th Annual Grammy Awards Aired on CBS
Host: John Denver
Location: Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles
Awards
Record of the Year: “What's Love Got To Do With It”
Artist: Tina Turner
Album of the Year: Can't Slow Down
Artist: Lionel Richie
Song of the Year: “What's Love Got To Do With It”
Artist: Tina Turner
Best New Artist: Cyndi Lauper
1985 - Final Episode of Pink Panther and Sons (Animation)
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 26
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1981 - Point Entry
Judas Priest (7th Album)
Billboard Charts: #39
1982 - Set
The Thompson Twins (2nd Album)
* Reached #48 in the UK
In Other 80s Music News
1987 - The First 4 Beatles Albums Were Transferred to a CD (Compact Disc)
Please Please Me (1963)
With the Beatles (1963)
Introducing... the Beatles (1964)
Meet the Beatles! (1964)
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1981 - A Record 84 Penalties Were Given After a Brawl Between the Boston Bruins and the Minnesota North Stars
* Bruins Won 5 - 1
1987 - Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) Scored 58 Points Against the New Jersey Nets
* The Bulls Beat the Nets 128 - 113 in Chicago
Attendance: 14,008
1987 - The Washington Bullets Tied an NBA Record with 20 Blocks Against the Indiana Pacers
* The Bullets Beat the Pacers 100 - 94 in Washington
Manute Bol 15 blocks
Attendance: 10,187
1989 - The Dallas Cowboys Fired Tom Landry After 29 Seasons
* Replaced by Jimmy Johnson
Regular Season: 250 - 162 - 6
Post Season: 20 - 16
Super Bowl Appearances: 5
Super Bowl Wins: 2
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<- February 25th February 27th ->
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On February 26, 1988 Frantic Starring Harrison Ford Premiered in Theaters
February 26th in 80s History
Happy 80s Birthdays
1942 - Karen Grassle (Actress) Little House on the Prairie
Birthplace: Berkeley, California
1943 - Bill Duke (Actor) Predator
Birthplace: Poughkeepsie, New York
1953 - Michael Bolton (Singer)
Birthplace: New Haven, Connecticut
1958 - Greg Germann (Actor) Miss Firecracker
Birthplace: Houston, Texas
Fun Fact!
Michael Bolton’s First #1 Song Was the 1989 Song “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You”
Fun Fact!
The First Aerosol Hairspray Product Went on Sale in the United States in 1948 by Chase Products
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1989 -Hairspray Premiered in Theaters
* Starring Ricki Lake, Divine, Debbie Harry, Sonny Bono and Jerry Stiller
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Frantic
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1985 - The 27th Annual Grammy Awards Aired on CBS
Location: Shrine Auditorium
City: Los Angeles
Host: John Denver
Awards
Record of the Year: “What’s Love Got To Do With It” (Tina Turner)
Album of the Year: Can’t Slow Down (Lionel Richie)
Song of the Year: “What’s Love Got To Do With It” (Tina Turner)
Best New Artist: Cyndi Lauper
Prince and Tina Turner Won the Most Grammys With 4
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Thriller Became the #1 Album in America
Headlines
(February 26th)
1983 - Michael Jackson’s Thriller Became the #1 Album in America
* Also Hit #1 in the UK, Canada, France, Netherlands, Austria and Australia
Fun Fact!
Thriller is the Top Selling Album of All-Time With Over 70 Million Copies Sold Worldwide
#2 Back in Black (AC/DC) 50 Million
#3 The Bodyguard (Whitney Houston) 45 Million
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1988 - Bloodsport Premiered in Theaters
* Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme