* Heavyweight champion Sonny Liston dies December 30

* 8-track tapes become obsolete

* August 17, WCIU-TV begins airing the original version of "Soul Train": became an instantaneous, local hit, throughout Chicago (became a national syndication on October 2, 1971)

1971:

* India & Pakistan war leads to liberation of Bangladesh

* July 6, Jazz great Louis Armstrong dies of heart failure

1972:

* US drops a "Christmas bomb" on Hanoi and Haiphong, hitting numerous civilian targets

* USSR beats US in Olympic basketball in a controversial, and still argued, game: American team refused to accept the silver medal

* Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids are born

1973:

* Miami Dolphins defeat Washington Redskins in SuperBowl VII

* Watergate affair (need I say more?)

1974:

* DJ Kool Herc is blowing up Bronx house parties with his new underground mix style

* Newspaper heiress Patty Hearst is kidnapped

1975:

* Afrika Bambaata and Grandmaster Flash hit the scene- a new phase of hip hop begins: mixing & scratching

* July: International Brotherhood of Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa disappears

* Entertainer Josephine Baker dies: April 12, in Paris

1976:

* Bob Marley & The Wailers perform live At The Apollo Theater in Harlem

* Zulu Nation is formed

1977:

* Graffiti art becomes widely visible on New York's subway cars

* Magic Johnson outpolls Larry Bird by 40.2%-34.0% to win the NBA Player of the Decade poll

1978:

* Leon Spinks is the undisputed heavyweight champion

* Crippling blizzard paralyzes New England

* Esther Rolle wins an Emmy Award for her work in the TV movie, "Summer of my German Soldier"

1979:

* Mother Teresa wins the Nobel Peace Prize

* The SugarHill Gang`s "Rapper`s Delite" is released on & becomes the first sucessful rap song on wax

70s Pop Culture:

Pop rock candy, jelly shoes, bell bottom pants, platform shoes, afros, 12" records, Black Power, Black Panther Movement, Jimi Hendricks, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Dianna Ross, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Muhammad Ali, Richard Pryor, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, The Commodores, Josephine Baker, The Temptations, Dr. J, Barry White, Isley Brothers, The Supremes, Magic Johnson, Bobby Womack, and of course The Jacksons!!

1980:

* November 21, MGM Grand Hotel Fire: 89 guests were killed

* "Fame" the movie becomes a box office hit

* Rap begins to get regular air play on local radio stations

1981:

* May 11, Robert Nesta Marley (a.k.a. Bob Marley) dies at the age of 36

* WBA Heavyweight Championship: Larry Holmes retains his title in a three-round bout against Leon Spinks

* The Harlem Globetrotters appear on Gilligan`s Island

1982:

* Steven Spielberg`s E.T. becomes a box office phenomenon

* January 7, "Fame" the TV series is launched

* Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video breaks begins the era of "music video movies"

1983:

* "Flashdance" becomes a box office hit

* Def Jam Records gives birth to: Run-DMC, LL Cool J, EPMD, Slick Rick, Public Enemy, and the Beastie Boys

1984:

* April 1, singer Marvin Gaye is shot & killed by his father, Marvin Gaye Senior

* The Cosby Show the series is born

* Michael Jackson does the moonwalk on the Grammy's

* In July, Prince Rogers Nelson who was known as a media recluse stars in his own semi-autobiography, Purple Rain which turns into an immediate box-office hit and skyrockets his career into super stardom. 1985:

* Halley's Comet appears

* Berry Gordy releases "The Last Dragon" (remeber Bruce LeRoy?)

1986:

* January 28, The Challenger Space Shuttle explodes during the launch of STS-51-L from the Kennedy Space Center killing a crew of 7 astronauts

* November 22, Mike Tyson wins WBC Heavyweight title

1987:

* Member of Pennsylvania state house of representatives Budd Dwyer () is convicted of bribery and conspiracy, before he is sentenced, he called a press conference, insisted he was innocent, then put a gun in his mouth & pulled the trigger in front of spectators and TV cameras

* February 22, American artist Andy Warhol dies at the NY Hospital after a gallbladder operation

* July, Lt. Colonel Oliver North lies to Congress at the Congressional Iran Contra Hearings

1988:

* Gangsta rappers N.W.A. get put on the map when they piss off the FBI with controversial hit "Fuck Tha Police" off their Straight Outta Compton cd

* YO! MTV Raps is aired & helps bring rap music into mainstream media

1989:

* Detroit Pistons win back-to-back 1989-1990 NBA World Championship

* The Arsenio Hall show is aired late night (1989-1994)

* Denzel Washington is nominated & wins Oscar Award for role in Glory

80s Pop Culture:

Block parties, break dancing, rap music, Adidas sneakers, name belts, cassette singles, walkmen, Lionel Richie, Pointer Sisters, Marvin Gaye, Patti LaBelle, Arsenio Hall, Oprah Winfrey, DeBarge, Minnie Riperton, Patrice Rushen, Debbie Allen, Eddie Murphy, Russell Simmons, Teena Marie, Sister Sledge, Donna Summers, Irene Cara, Rick James, Evelyn "Champaign" King, Vanessa Williams, Whitney Houston, Bill Cosby, Gladys Knight, Michael Jordan, Gene Anthony Ray, Mike Tyson, Stacey Lattisaw, Chaka Khan, New Edition, Vanity 6, Prince & Michael Jackson!!!

1990:

* Dr. Jack Kevorkian (a.k.a. "Dr. Death") assists his first suicide patient, 54-year-old Alzheimer's disease sufferer Jane Adkins, in his van

1991:

* March 3, LAPD officers pull over motorist Rodney King & proceed to beat him unmercilessly, the incident is caught on tape and was immediately broadcast nationwide; a jury of six men and six women found the officers not guilty, the public's response was rioting, arson, and looting in the Los Angeles area

* Anita Hill brings sexual harrassment charges against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

* Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is convicted of rape

* September 28, Jazz great Miles Davis dies

1992:

* 17-year-old Amy Fisher is named the "Long Island Lolita" by media after shooting lover Joey Buttafucco's wife Mary Jo in the head

* The USA compiles an NBA "Dream Team" for the Olympic games in Barcelona: Michael Jordan, Earvin 'Magic' Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, David Robinson, John Stockton, Clyde Drexler, Chris Mullin and Christian Laettner

1993:

* February 26, the World Trade Center in New York is bombed by terrorists

* August, Chicago Bulls NBA all-star Michael Jordan's father James Jordan is murdered

* 27-year-old Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis collapses and dies of heart failure on a practice court

* April 19, religious cult leader David Koresh commits mass suicide with members of the The Branch Davidian at the Waco, TX Compound as it is being seized by the FBI

1994:

* Gunman opens fire with a rifle and kills 2 while wounding 5 others in an attack on abortion clinics in Brookline, Mass

* January 7, U.S. national champion figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked by competition Tanya Harding's ex-husband

1995:

* October 4, Orenthal James Simpson (O.J. Simpson) is acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her associate Ronald Goldman in the "Trial of the Century"

* April 19, Bomb is set off in Oklahoma City Federal Building

1996:

* July 27, Summer Olympic Games are held in the US (Atlanta, GA) and a pipe bomb explodes in Olympic Centennial Park

* September 13, Rap star Tupac Amaru Shakur dies one week after being shot in Las Vegas following a Mike Tyoson fight

1997:

* January 16, Bill Cosby's son Ennis was murdered along a California highway

* Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson gets his Nevada boxing license revoked after being disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield on both ears

* March 9, rapper Notorious B.I.G. (aka Christopher Wallace/Biggie Smalls) was shotand killed in a drive-by, many say as retaliation for the shooting of Tupac Shakur

* March 27, 39 cult members believing they were going to meet a UFO hiding behind the Hale-Bopp comet, orchestrate a mass suicide involving sedatives, vodka and plastic bags used to suffocate themselves

* August 31, Royal Princess Diana dies in a car crash

1998:

* Chicago Bulls win NBA Championship for the THIRD time in a row (a repeat of their '91, '92, '93 performance)

* August 17, US President Bill Clinton admits to lying about his "inappropriate" relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky on national television

1999:

* Prince releases an EP of remixes of his mega-hit "1999"

* President Bill Clinton is cleared of all charges in his impeachment trial * April 20, Denver Colorado, two Columbine High School students shot and killed 12 of their classmates and one teacher

* May, The New Hampshire House finally passes the bill to allow permanent Martin Luther King Jr. holiday

* July 23, Three-day Woodstock '99 music festival in Rome, New York ends in chaos as 10,000 rioted, committed arson, looted concession stands and ATM cash machines, blew up vehicles and committed scores of rapes and sexual assaults

* Total solar eclipse occurs on August 11

* December 8, Charles Barkley retires in Philly, where it all began

90s Pop Culture:

Affordable home computers, the Internet boom, 70s fashions are back, cd singles, Tupac Shakur, Notorious Big, Nia Long, Steve Harvey, Morris Chestnut, Wesley Snipes, Halle Berry, Chris Tucker, Omar Epps, DMX, Missy Elliott, Brian McKnight, Judge Ito, Boyz II Men, Jodeci, Tyson Beckford, Public Enemy, Clarence Thomas, LL Cool J, Suge Knight, Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Sean Puffy Combs, Cedric the Entertainer, Master P, Bernie Mack, Tyra Banks, Big Pun, Mike Tyson, Oprah Winfrey, Chris Rock, President Bill Clinton, Jay-Z

2000:

* Y2K scare is a big hoax, millions of people around the world stay home New Year's Eve in fear of the end of the world

* Rapper Big Pun (Christopher Rios) dies of a heart attack at age 28, he was 698 pounds

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