Monday, August 22, 2011

This Date in Rock Music History: August 23


1962:  John Lennon married Cynthia Powell at the Mount Pleasant Registry Office in Liverpool, England with fellow Beatles George Harrison and Paul McCartney present.














1962:  Bobby "Boris" Pickett released the single "Monster Mash".
1963:  The Rolling Stones appeared for the first time on the British television show Ready  Steady  Go!, along with the Hollies, Lulu, and the Yardbirds.
1966:  Big Brother & the Holding Company signed with Mainstream Records in return for airfare back to San Francisco.  Talk about a shoestring budget.
1966:  The Beatles' double-sided hit "Yellow Submarine"/"Eleanor Rigby" became the group's 11th #1 in the U.K.
1967:  Joni Mitchell was in concert for the first time in the U.K., opening for the Piccadilly Line at the Marquee Club in London.
1968:  The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Big Brother & the Holding Company, the Chambers Brothers, and Soft Machine played before an overflow audience of 18,000 at the New York Rock Festival at the Singer Bowl at Flushing Meadows Park in Queens.










1969:  The Temptations climbed from #84 to #48 with "I Can't Get Next To You".
1969:  Johnny Cash At San Quentin was the new #1 album, replacing the great Blood, Sweat & Tears debut.  The Soundtrack to "Hair" was third, followed by the Best of Cream.  Blind Faith made an unbelievable jump from #111 to #5 with their debut.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Soft Parade by the Doors, the Soundtrack to "Romeo & Juliet" fell to #7, This Is Tom Jones took position #8, the self-titled Crosby, Stills & Nash was #9 and Iron Butterfly was still hanging around after 58 weeks with In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
1969:  Aretha Franklin scored her seventh #1 song on the R&B chart with "Share Your Love With Me".
1969:  Zager & Evans made it two weeks at #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "In The Year 2525".











                                                                 Neil Diamond with an early career classic...

1969:  The Rolling Stones registered their 24th career hit and fifth #1 with "Honky Tonk Women".  Johnny Cash had everyone talking with "A Boy Named Sue" and Tommy James & the Shondells sang one of The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era*--"Crystal Blue Persuasion".  Neil Diamond was fourth with "Sweet Caroline" and Zager and Evans slipped after six weeks at #1 with "In The Year 2525".  The rest of the Top 10:  Jackie DeShannon with another of The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era*--"Put A Little Love In Your Heart", Creedence Clearwater Revival took "Green River" from 15 to 7, Tony Joe White entered the Top 10 with "Polk Salad Annie", the Youngbloods with the third member of The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era* in the Top 10 on this date (imagine that, three being from 1969) with "Get Together" and the Guess Who landed at 10 with "Laughing".










1970:  Emerson, Lake and Palmer performed for the first time at Plymouth Guildhall in Plymouth, England.
1970:  Lou Reed left the Velvet Underground after a performance at Max's in Kansas City, Missouri.
1971:  Diana Ross had the #1 U.K. song with "I'm Still Waiting".














1972:  Jim Croce released the single "Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels".















1975:  Paul Kassoff, former guitarist of Free, came back to life after his heart stopped beating for 35 minutes.  Doctors removed a blood clot in his leg and he was released.
1975:  Yes, Supertramp and Thin Lizzy were among the performers on the second day of a very successful Reading Festival in Reading, England.
1975:  James Taylor moved to #1 on the Adult chart with "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)".










 
1975:  K.C. and the Sunshine Band landed a #1 song on the R&B chart with "Get Down Tonight".










1975:  Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds rose to the top with "Fallin' In Love", jumping over the Eagles' "One Of These Nights".  K.C. and the Sunshine Band had a hot song with "Get Down Tonight", moving from 12 to 3.  The former #1 "Jive Talkin'" was fourth by the Bee Gees.  The rest of the Top 10:  Glen Campbell and "Rhinestone Cowboy", War with "Why Can't We Be Friends?", James Taylor edged up with "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", Elton John's epic "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" was on its way down, Janis Ian's song "At Seventeen" pierced through the radio and rose from 16 to 9 and Olivia Newton-John took the #10 spot with "Please Mr. Please".








1977:  Monday fell on this date, and that of course meant the release date for new singles.  Linda Ronstadt released her remake of the Roy Orbison song "Blue Bayou".
1980:  Iron Maiden, UFO, and the Pat Travers Band were among the performers on the second day of the annual Reading Festival in Reading, England.
1980:  The Pretenders, B-52's, Talking Heads and Elvis Costello performed at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada for the Heatwave Festival.









1980:  David Bowie had the #1 single in the U.K. with "Ashes To Ashes".












1980:  Olivia Newton-John remained #1 for the fourth week with "Magic" while Christopher Cross was poised to strike at #2 with the beautiful "Sailing".  The S.O.S. Band somehow found their way at #3 with "Take Your Time (Do It Right)", the Rolling Stones were still at 4 with "Emotional Rescue" and Diana Ross maintained at 5 with "Upside Down".  The rest of the Top 10:  Billy Joel's former #1 "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me", Irene Cara blasted into the Top 10 with "Fame", Air Supply moved from 21 to 8 with their second single "All Out Of Love", Pete Townshend's solo hit "Let My Love Open the Door" was at 9 and Kim Carnes closed the list with "More Love".
1985:  Aerosmith opened a tour at the Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, Wisconsin.











1986:  The Miami Sound Machine were the vehicle for Gloria Estefan, and on this date, they rose to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Words Get In The Way".
1989:  Ric Ocasek of the Cars married Paulina Porizkova.
1990:  An anonymous buyer purchased the childhood home of Bob Dylan in Hibbing, Minnesota.










1990:  David Rose, the composer who wrote one of The Top 100 Instrumentals of the Rock Era* ("The Stripper") and also wrote the themes to the popular television shows Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie, died of a heart attack in Burbank, California at the age of 80.
1991:  The re-formed Dire Straits began a world tour at Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland.
1991:  Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Babes in Toyland and Iggy Pop were among the performers at the three-day Reading Festival in England.











1993:  Duran Duran was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, next to John Lennon's on the corner of Vine and Yucca.










1994:  The Eagles performed at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
1996:  Rage Against the Machine, the Offspring, the Prodigy, and Ice T performed on the opening day of the Reading Festival in Reading, England.
1997:  Texas had the top U.K. song with "White On Blonde".
1997:  Usher debuted at #25 with "You Make Me Wanna'".  (Note:  some websites mistakenly say the song debuted at #4.  According to the official "Billboard' website, it debuted at #25 on August 23, 1997.)










2000:  Kenny Loggins was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
2002:  Guns N' Roses, the Offspring, Incubus, Slipknot, and Puddle of Mudd headlined the U.K. Carling Leeds-Reading Festival.
2003:  Bobby Brown was arrested while eating dinner with former wife Whitney Houston at an Atlanta, Georgia restaurant.  Brown had violated parole.
2003:  Linkin Park, Stained, Blink-182 and Jay-Z headlined the second day at the U.K. Reading and Leeds Festival.
2003:  Floetry won Best Single ("Say Yes"), Best Album (Floetic) and Best New Group at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards.
2004:  Queen became the first U.K. group to receive approval to play in Iran.
2008:  Madonna began a world tour at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
2008:  The Killers, the Raconteurs, and the Subways performed on the second day of the Carling Weekend Reading Festival in Reading and Leeds, England.
2009:  Calvin Harris owned the top album in the U.K. with Ready for the Weekend.



Born This Day:
1936:  Rudy Lewis of the Drifters was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died May 20, 1964 in his hotel in Manhattan, New York of a probable drug overdose.
1938:  David (Roger Greenaway) of David & Jonathan, who, along with Roger Cook, wrote many songs for other artists, including "My Baby Loves Lovin'" for White Plains, "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" for the Hollies, and also a noted producer, was born in Fishponds, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.
1942:  Tony Micale, lead singer of the Reflections "(Just Like) Romeo & Juliet"), was born in the Bronx, New York.

1947:  Keith Moon, drummer of the Who, was born in Wembley, Middlesex, England; died September 7, 1978 of an overdose of Heminevrin, a drug intended to curb alcohol abuse.  (Note:  some websites report that he was born in London, while others say Willesden or Harlesden.  According to the official website for the Who, Moon was born in Wembley, Middlesex.)



















1949:  Rick Springfield was born in Sydney, Australia.
1951:  Jim Jamison, lead singer of Survivor, was born in Durant, Mississippi; died August 31, 2014 of a hemorrhagic brain stroke in Memphis, Tennessee.
1951:  Mark Hudson of the Hudson Brothers, backing vocalist for Alice Cooper, Jon Bon Jovi and Hanson, and a songwriter and producer who worked with Aerosmith, Cher, Ringo Starr, and Harry Nilsson, was born in Portland, Oregon.
1953:  Bobby G. (real name Robert Gubby), vocalist of Bucks Fizz, was born in Epsom, Surrey, England.
1954:  Mark Avsec, songwriter and keyboardist for Wild Cherry and co-founder and lead guitarist of Donnie Iris & the Cruisers
1961:  Dean DeLeo, guitarist of Stone Temple Pilots was born in Montclair, New Jersey.  (Note:  several websites report Dean was born in Newark, Jersey, while others say he was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey; 'Allmusic.com' even throws in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.  He was born in Montclair, a suburb of Newark, and grew up in Point Pleasant.)
1974:  Shifty Shellshock (real name Seth Brooks Binzer) of Crazy Town ("Butterfly" from 2001) was born in Los Angeles, California.
1978:  Julian Casablancas, guitarist and lead singer of the Strokes, was born in New York City.
1979:  Richard Neville, vocalist of Five, was born in Solihull, Birmingham, England.
1981:  Natalie Horler, singer of the German dance group Cascada, was born in Bonn, Germany.

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