February 22

Pop art lost its founding icon today in 1987 when Andy Warhol died at 58 following routine gallbladder surgery, ending the life of the artist who managed the Velvet Underground and whose Factory scene made him as important to rock culture as any musician…

 

Jefferson Airplane's veteran violinist Papa John Creach died on this day in 1994 at 76, ending the career of the electric fiddle pioneer who joined the band at age 46 and proved that psychedelic rock could embrace traditional string instruments with progressive vision…

 

Ska-punk's most tragic voice was born today in 1968 when Sublime founder Bradley Nowell entered the world in Long Beach, California, destined to create the band's genre-blending sound before heroin killed him at 28 in 1996, just as mainstream success arrived…

 

Power pop perfection was achieved today in 1972 with the release of Todd Rundgren's 'Something/Anything?,' the double album where the multi-instrumentalist played nearly everything himself, proving that studio wizardry and pop craftsmanship could create timeless songs…

 

Soul's most powerful modern voice found global success today in 2011 when Adele's '21' was released in the US, the heartbreak album featuring "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You" that would spend 24 weeks at number one and become one of the best-selling albums ever.