Saturday, October 6, 2012

This Date in Rock Music History: October 7

1957:  RCA Victor Records announced that 500,000 advance orders for Elvis' Christmas album had been received.
1957:  "Honeycomb" by Jimmie Rodgers was the #1 R&B song.
1959:  Connie Stevens starred in Hawai'i'an Eye on ABC TV.  The series would last four years.
1961:  The Biggest Show of Stars tour, featuring the Platters, the Drifters, Del Shannon, Dee Clark, Gary U.S. Bonds, the Clefftones and Curtis Lee, performed at the Wichita Forum in Wichita, Kansas.
1963:  The Rolling Stones recorded the song "I Wanna' Be Your Man" that their friends John Lennon and Paul McCartney had written for them at DeLane Lea Studios in London.
1964:  The Beatles appeared on the television show Shindig!, performing "I'm A Loser", "Kansas City" and "Boys".

1966:  Johnny Kidd of the Pirates died in a car accident in Radcliffe, England at the age of 27.
1967:  After a dispute over a hotel charge, Cass Elliot of the Mamas & Papas spent the night in a jail in London.
1967:  The Beatles turned down an offer of $1 million to give a second concert in Shea Stadium.  
1967:  Jackie Wilson topped the R&B chart with the original version of "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher".







1967:  Aretha Franklin was on fire with "A Natural Woman", which jumped from 70 to 38 on this date.
1967:  The Young Rascals had the highest debut in the Top 10 with "How Can I Be Sure".







                          Hendrix had his top album...


1967:  Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles made it 15 weeks at #1 on the Album chart out of just 16 weeks of release.  Ode To Billie Joe by Bobbie Gentry was second with The Doors at #3.  The Rolling Stones achieved the #4 album with Flowers and Aretha Arrives from Aretha Franklin was in the fifth position.  The rest of the Top 10:  Headquarters from the Monkees, The Byrds' Greatest Hits, Groovin' by the Young Rascals at #8, Jefferson Airplane with Surrealistic Pillow and the Jimi Hendrix Experience were at 10 with Are You Experienced?
1968:  Jose Feliciano sang the United States national anthem at the World Series.





1969:  The Jackson 5 released their first single "I Want You Back".
1970:  Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones was one of the stars in the movie Ned Kelly, which premiered in England.









1971:  Michael Jackson released the single "Got to Be There".
1972:  James Brown had the #1 R&B song for the fourth week with "Get On The Good Foot".
1972:  Three Dog Night ruled the Easy Listening chart with "Black & White".






            Eric Carmen and the Raspberries were in the Top 5...

1972:  Mac Davis remained at #1 for the third week with "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me".  Michael Jackson was on the verge of his first solo #1 song with "Ben".  The O'Jays closed to #3 with "Back Stabbers", the Main Ingredient was at #4 with "Everybody Plays The Fool" and the Raspberries reached #5 with "Go All The Way".






1974:  Neil Sedaka released the single "Laughter In The Rain".









1974:  Barry Manilow released the first single of his career--"Mandy".









1974:  Helen Reddy released the single "Angie Baby".
1974:  Elite guitarist Steven Stills backed his wife, Veronique Sanson, in her debut at the Olympia in Paris, France.
1975:  A U.S. Appeals Court ruled that John Lennon could stay in America, saying a 1968 arrest for marijuana was an invalid reason to force him to leave the country.  The truth is that the Republican Nixon Administration was trying to get him deported in retaliation for his protests against the government.






1978:  Dire Straits released their landmark debut album.










1978:  There was an amazing new group introduced to us on this date.  Formerly, they had been the backing musicians for Boz Scaggs.  Now, Toto had a hit song with their first single release--"Hold The Line".
1978:  The Rolling Stones were on Saturday Night Live.

1978:  The "Grease" Soundtrack was the #1 album in the U.K.



1978:  Boston scored the #1 album with Don't Look Back, the follow-up to their monumental debut.  The "Grease" Soundtrack was second, Foreigner's Double Vision was #3 and the Who remained at #4 with Who Are You.  The rest of the Top 10:  Some Girls from the Rolling Stones, the self-titled A Taste of Honey, Nightwatch from Kenny Loggins, the Soundtrack to "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", Blam!! by the Brothers Johnson at #9 and Dan Fogelberg & Tim Weisberg combined for the #10 album--Twin Songs of Different Mothers.
1978:  The great-sounding "Love Is In The Air" by John Paul Young was the #1 Easy Listening song.

                            The Little River Band's timeless classic...

1978:  Exile had a hold on #1 with their great song "Kiss You All Over".  A Taste of Honey's former #1 "Boogie Oogie Oogie" was at #2 with Nick Gilder's "Hot Child In The City" in pursuit.  Boston was up to #4 with "Don't Look Back" while the second collaboration of John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John from Grease ("Summer Nights") was song #5.  The rest of an excellent Top 10:  "Reminiscing" from Little River Band, "Hopelessly Devoted To You" by Olivia Newton-John, John Paul Young edged up with "Love Is In The Air", Anne Murray moved into the Top 10 with "You Needed Me" and Kenny Loggins had the #10 song "Whenever I Call You Friend", with help from friend Stevie Nicks.
1980:  Dusty Springfield performed onstage for the first time in eight years at the Grand Finale club in New York City.

1986:  Run D.M.C. spoke and performed for 4,000 children at an anti-crack rally in New York City.
1989:  Jefferson Starship set a precedent with a unique promotion--for their concert on this date, the admission charge was a can of food, which would go to the San Francisco Food Bank.
1989:  The Pet Shop Boys owned the top U.K. album with The Seeds of Love.
1989:  Soul II Soul secured the #1 spot on the R&B chart with "Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)".

1989:  Janet Jackson had her sixth Top 10 out of nine releases and second #1 with "Miss You Much".  Madonna moved up with "Cherish" while previous #1 "Girl I'm Gonna' Miss You" by Milli Vanilli was third.  Warrant dropped with "Heaven" and Cher was down with her song "If I Could Turn Back Time".  The rest of the Top 10:  The Rolling Stones moved into the list with their 23rd and final Top 10 song out of 56 releases--"Mixed Emotions", the Cure were up to 7 with "Love Song", "18 and Life" was the title of the #8 song by Skid Row, Young MC moved up with "Bust A Move" and prolific and popular songwriter Babyface kept "It's No Crime" for himself, moving up to #10.

1989:  After peaking at #4 on March 25 and then dropping out of the Top 10, Paula Abdul completed an amazing run to the top with her album Forever Your Girl, in its 64th week of release.  Girl You Know It's True by Milli Vanilli was toppled and Steel Wheels, the best Rolling Stones album in well over a decade, was #3.  New Kids On the Block were Hangin' Tough at #4 and Motley Crue had #5 with Dr. Feelgood.  The rest of the Top 10:  Full Moon Fever from Tom Petty, the self-titled Skid Row, Repeat Offender, the great album by Richard Marx, was #8, Aerosmith moved from 23 to 9 with Pump and Fine Young Cannibals were down with The Raw & the Cooked.



1989:  "Cherish" by Madonna was the new #1 song on the Adult Contemporary chart, which had become the more reliable one.
1995:  Tone Loc ("Funky Cold Medina" and "Wild Thing" in the late 80's) was arrested in Los Angeles for taking $80 from a pizza place.
1995:  Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA attended the premiere of their new musical Kristina Fran Duvemala at the Storan Theatre in Malmö, Sweden.





1995:  An album by a newcomer from Canada first reached #1 on this date.  Jagged Little Pill was the name of the album from Alanis Morissette, and it would go on to become one of The Top 10 Albums of the Rock Era*.
1996:  Bruce Springsteen sold out an acoustic performance in Charlotte, North Carolina in eight minutes.





2001:  Peter Criss performed with Kiss for the final time in Charleston, South Carolina prior to the reunion tour in 1995.
2003:  Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith of Tears for Fears announced that they were reforming.
2004:  Melissa Etheridge announced that she was cancelling her tour to undergo surgery and treatment for breast cancer.
2005:  Boy George of Culture Club was arrested after police found over 3.5 grams of cocaine in his New York City apartment.  
2006:  In today's segment of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music, Jadakiss was arrested in Yonkers, New York for gun and drugs possession.  Police found not only marijuana but a stolen .38 revolver in his car.
2007:  And you get a bonus segment of Inmates Run Rap Music.  Lil' Wayne was arrested after a concert in Boise, Idaho on a Georgia warrant from a drug possession charge.
2007:  Bruce Springsteen landed the top U.K. album with Magic.


 Born This Day:
1927:  Al Martino ("I Love You Because" from 1963) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died October 13, 2009 in Springfield, Pennsylvania.
1939:  Colin Cooper, lead singer, harmonica player, and co-founder of Climax Blues Band, was born in Durham, England; died July 3, 2008 of cancer.
1941:  Tony Silvester, a founding member of Main Ingredient ("Everybody Plays the Fool" in 1972), was born in Colon, Panama; died November 26, 2006 after a six-year battle with multiple myeloma.
1941:  Martin Murray, founding member and rhythm guitarist of the Honeycombs ("Have I the Right" from 1964), was born in London.
1943:  Dino Valenti (real name Chester Powers), songwriter of "Get Together" for the Youngbloods and lead singer of Quicksilver Messenger Service in later years, was born in Danbury, Connecticut; died November 16, 1994 in Santa Rosa, California.
1945:  Kevin Godley, drummer of 10cc, was born in Prestwich, Lancashire, England.  (Note:  some sources state his birthplace as Manchester, but he was born in Prestwich, a town outside of Manchester.)
1949:  Dave Hope, bass guitarist of Kansas
1950:  David Taylor, bass guitarist of Edison Lighthouse ("Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes")

1951:  John Mellencamp was born in Seymour, Indiana
1953:  Tico Torres, drummer of Bon Jovi, was born in New York City.









1968:  Toni Braxton was born in Severn, Maryland.  (Note:  some sites show her birth year as 1967, but both 'The Baltimore Sun' newspaper and 'Billboard' state her birth year as 1968.)








1968:  Thom F. Yorke, lead vocalist and main songwriter of Radiohead, was born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England.
1969:  Leeroy Thornhill, keyboardist of the Prodigy, was born in Barking, Greater London.
1976:  Taylor Hicks was born in Birmingham, Alabama.

Friday, October 5, 2012

This Date in Rock Music History: October 6

1958:  "Rockin' Robin" by Bobby Day ("Rock-In Robin" on some 45's) was #1 on the R&B chart.
1958:  "Tom Dooley" by the Kingston Trio raced up from #83 to #37 on this date.
1962:  After their first single "Love Me Do" had been released the day before, the Beatles signed records at Dawson's Music Shop on Church Street in Widnes, Cheshire, England.  It was one of only three official autograph sessions the Beatles did in their career.  The four Beatles signed their names on the single's red and silver label.  Copies today are rare today and extremely valuable due to the limited duration of the signing.

1962:  "Sherry" by the 4 Seasons was the #1 R&B song.
1963:  The Yardbirds were in concert at Studio 51 at Leicester Square in London.
1964:  The Beatles recorded 13 takes of "Eight Days A Week" in two sessions at the EMI Studios on Abbey Road in London.  Afterwards, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr went to the Ad Lib Club in London, where they spent time with Mick Jagger, the Ronettes, and Cilla Black. 




 

1966:  The Supremes released the single "I Hear A Symphony".  (Note:  some websites show different dates for the release, but Mary Wilson, in her book 'Dreamgirl and Supreme Faith:  My Life as a Supreme' said the date of release was October 6.) 



 


 1967:  Police in San Francisco closed down the Matrix Club (3838 Fillmore) during a performance by Big Brother & the Holding Company.
1967:  The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded a show for Top Gear on BBC Radio.  Stevie Wonder, who was also on the show, jammed with the group.



1969:  For the first time in the history of the Beatles, a George Harrison song was released as the featured song on a 45 ("Something").  It was released on October 31 in the U.K.










1973:  The great song "All I Know" by Art Garfunkel was the #1 Easy Listening song.









1973:  Eddie Kendricks' great R&B song "Keep On Truckin'" led the way in that genre.
1973:  Cher had the #1 song with "Half Breed".  Paul Simon moved to #2 with "Loves Me Like A Rock", Marvin Gaye's former #1 (Let's Get It On") was third followed by the previous #1 "We're An American Band" by Grand Funk.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Higher Ground" from Stevie Wonder, "That Lady" by the Isley Brothers, the Allman Brothers Band had their biggest hit with "Ramblin' Man", the Rolling Stones collected their 30th career hit and 15th Top 10 when "Angie" reached #8, Helen Reddy slipped with "Delta Dawn" and former Temptations member Eddie Kendricks said "Keep On Truckin'".










1978:  Benny Andersson and Frida Lyngstad of ABBA were married.
1979:  Lobo again had the #1 Adult Contemporary song with "Where Were You When I Was Falling In Love".
1979:  Michael Jackson registered a fifth week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".







1979:  Robert John rose all the way to #1 with "Sad Eyes".  Michael Jackson moved into the #1 position with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", Herb Alpert attempted to get his second career #1 song with "Rise", the previous #1 "My Sharona" from the Knack was #4 and the Commodores were back with "Sail On".  The rest of the Top 10:  Little River Band with "Lonesome Loser", Dionne Warwick remained at 7 with her comeback hit "I'll Never Love This Way Again", M's "Pop Muzik" moved into the Top 10, Earth, Wind & Fire's great ballad "After The Love Has Gone" was now #9 and Donna Summer continued her streak with her sixth consecutive Top 10 song--"Dim All The Lights".






                            Neil Young gets his fourth Top 10 album...

1979:  Led Zeppelin once again reigned high above the rest with one of The Top Albums of the Rock Era*--In Through the Out Door.  Get the Knack, the previous #1 from the Knack, was still at #2 with Bob Dylan remaining at #3 with Slow Train Coming.  The Commodores' Midnight Magic was working and Michael Jackson's breakthrough album Off the Wall scaled up to #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Supertramp, in their 28th week with Breakfast In America, Chic's Risque, Foreigner's third album Head Games was up from #19 to #8, Rust Never Sleeps debuted in the list for Neil Young & Crazy Horse and First Under the Wire from the Little River Band was #10.
1980:  Johnny Lydon, ex frontman of the Sex Pistols, was arrested in Dublin, Ireland for his part in a barroom brawl.  Lydon was thrown in his cell at Mountjoy prison.

1981:  Journey released their great single "Don't Stop Believin'".










1981:  Don Henley and Stevie Nicks released their great collaboration "Leather And Lace".








1983:  Barry Manilow played a benefit concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, attended by Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
 1984:  "Let's Go Crazy" from Prince was #1 on the R&B chart.

1984:  The Cars continued to own the #1 Adult Contemporary song with "Drive".
1984:  The count reached 10 for weeks at #1 for Prince's excellent Purple Rain album.  The previous #1 from Bruce Springsteen, Born in the U.S.A., however, had been in the Top Three every week since being dethroned and was not going away.  Sports by Huey Lewis & the News, itself a #1 album, was now moving back up after 53 weeks of release!  Private Dancer from Tina Turner was now at 4 and the Cars held steady with Heartbeat City.  So great were these five albums that they had made up the Top Five in various order for the past seven weeks.  Another note:  the debut album from Madonna reached the Top 10 for the first time--in its 58th week of release.

                       A second smash from Born in the U.S.A...

1984:  Prince remained on top with "Let's Go Crazy" as he had the #1 song, the #1 R&B song and the #1 album.  Stevie Wonder's 52nd career hit was now just one step away--"I Just Called To Say I Love You".  The Cars were in neutral with "Drive", John Waite dropped with "Missing You" and Cyndi Lauper was on her way down with "She Bop".  The rest of the Top 10:  Chicago reached the Top 10 with "Hard Habit To Break", Sheila E. was up to #7 with "The Glamorous Life", Madonna's "Lucky Star", Scandal was at #9 with "The Warrior" and Bruce Springsteen maintained with "Cover Me".
1990:  Paul Young made it three weeks in a row at #1 on the AC chart with his remake of the Chi-Lites tune "Oh Girl".
1990:  Pebbles climbed to the top of the R&B chart with "Giving You The Benefit".
1990:  The Righteous Brothers had the highest-debuting song ("Unchained Melody"), 25 years after it was a huge hit.





1990:  M.C. Hammer tied the "Dirty Dancing" Soundtrack and More of the Monkees with the 18th week at #1 on the Album chart for Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em.  That would rank #7 for the Rock Era but the Hammer wasn't done.  Wilson Phillips had one of the top #2 albums of the Rock Era with their debut, holding off Mariah Carey with a debut of her own.  Blaze of Glory/Young Guns II by Jon Bon Jovi was fourth but George Michael's masterpiece Listen Without Prejudice moved from 22 to 5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Bell Biv DeVoe with Poison, Queensryche and Empire, the "Graffiti Bridge" Soundtrack from Prince, the "Ghost" Soundtrack moved from 15 to 9 and Flesh & Blood from Poison came in #10.
1994:  Glenn Frey underwent colon surgery to relieve pain from an inflamed colon that had forced the Eagles to put their reunion tour on hold.




1996:  Faith Hill married Tim McGraw in a small family ceremony in Rayville, Louisiana.








1998:  Alabama earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (7060 Hollywood Boulevard).
2004:  Rascal Flatts rose to #1 on the album chart with Feels Like Today.






Born This Day:
1917:  Bob Neal, early manager of Elvis Presley and who also managed Johnny Cash, was born in the Belgium Congo; died May 9, 1983 in Nashville, Tennessee.

1946:  Millie Small ("My Boy Lollipop") was born in Clarendon, Jamaica.
1949:  Thomas McClary, guitarist and singer of the Commodores, was born in Eustis, Florida.
1949:  Bobby Farrell of Boney M ("Rivers of Babylon") was born in Oranjestad, Aruba; died December 30, 2010 in his hotel room in St. Petersburg, Russia after a performance.






1951:  Kevin Cronin, lead singer and rhythm guitarist of REO Speedwagon, was born in Evanston, Illinois.
1954:  David Hidalgo, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of Los Lobos, was born in Los Angeles.
1961:  Tim Burgess, drummer of T'Pau, was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England.
1964:  Matthew Sweet, singer-songwriter, session musician, collaborater with numerous artists and actor (an extra in Terms of Endearment) was born in Lincoln, Nebraska.
1966:  Tommy Stinson, bassist of the Replacements and later Guns N' Roses, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

This Date in Rock Music History: October 5

1958:  Cliff Richard and the Shadows played their first show together at Victoria Hall in Hanley, England.
1959:  A new Motown group was first introduced to us as the Miracles as their first single--"Bad Girl" debuted on this date.
1959:  "Poison Ivy" was the top R&B Song for the Coasters.
1959:  Ernie Field's Combo were racing up the charts (95 to 46) with "In the Mood".

1959:  An historic day in the Rock Era as "Mack the Knife" by Bobby Darin moved into the #1 position.  It would remain there for six weeks and go on to become one of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era*.
1961:  The Shadows topped the U.K. chart with "Kon-Tiki".







1962:  The Beatles released the first single of their career in the U.K.--"Love Me Do".  It was premiered on Radio Luxembourg. 
1963:  Bobby Vinton saw "Blue Velvet" remain at #1 on the Easy Listening chart for the fifth week.
1963:  Martha & the Vandellas logged a fourth week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Heat Wave".
1963:  "Blue Velvet" by Bobby Vinton was still #1 overall but "Sally, Go 'Round the Roses" by the Jaynetts and "Be My Baby" from the Ronettes were close behind and "Sugar Shack" moved from 19-4.
1967:  The Doors played at Steve Paul's Scene in New York City.
1968:  Cream began their final tour of the United States.
1968:  The Who, Small Faces, Joe Cocker and the Crazy World of Arthur Brown began a tour together in London.

1968:  Waiting for the Sun by the Doors was the new #1 album, taking over from Time Peace/The Rascals' Greatest Hits.  Feliciano from Jose was third and Big Brother & the Holding Company held tight with Cheap Thrills.  The rest of the Top 10:  Are You Experienced? from the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Gentle On My Mind from Glen Campbell, Johnny Rivers with Realization at #7, Cream and Wheels of Fire, the debut from Steppenwolf and Iron Butterfly flew into the Top 10 with In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.

1968:  "Hey Jude" by the Beatles remained #1.  "Harper Valley P.T.A." from Jeannie C. Riley was second followed by "Fire" from The Crazy World of Arthur Brown".  "Little Green Apples" was up from 20 to 4 for O.C. Smith.  
1969:  Gladys Knight & the Pips appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1970:  Violinist Papa John Creach joined Jefferson Airplane.
1970:  Led Zeppelin released their third album, Led Zeppelin III.

1973:  Elton John released one of The Top Double Albums of the Rock Era*--Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
1974:  Randy Newman performed together with an 87-piece symphony at the Atlanta Symphony Hall in Georgia, playing his new album Good Old Boys.
1974:  Most of us wouldn't become familiar with them until a few years later but on this date, the Atlanta Rhythm Section first charted with their song "Doraville".
1974:  Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield was the #1 album in the U.K.

      BTO had a hot album

1974:  Endless Summer from the Beach Boys was the new #1 album while previous #1 Bad Company slipped to #3.  In between, Olivia Newton-John's If You Love Me, Let Me Know.  Bachman-Turner Overdrive was in full gear with Not Fragile and Elton John remained at #5 with Caribou.  The rest of the Top 10:  Barry White moved from 9 to 6 with Can't Get Enough, John Denver was Back Home Again, Chicago VII held position #8, Welcome Back, My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends -Ladies and Gentlemen from Emerson, Lake & Palmer moved into the Top 10 and Quincy Jones closed the list with Body Heat.
1974:  Stevie Wonder ruled the R&B chart with "You Haven't Done Nothin'".

1974:  America achieved their first #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Tin Man".









1974:  Olivia Newton-John had the #1 song with "I Honestly Love You".
1976:  Hall & Oates received a Gold record for the album Abandoned Luncheonette.
1985:  Dire Straits spent a sixth week at #1 on the Album chart with Brothers In Arms.  That meant a logjam for The Dream of the Blue Turtles by Sting, Tears for Fears and Songs From the Big Chair, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. at #4 after 68 weeks, the debut from Whitney Houston and the Greatest Hits, Volume I & Volume II package from Billy Joel.  The rest of the Top 10:  Bryan Adams was moving back up to 7 with his career best Reckless after 46 weeks, Phil Collins and No Jacket Required, the great album Scarecrow from John Cougar Mellencamp and the self-titled Heart at #10.

1985:  Freddie Jackson scored one of his biggest hits with a song that was #1 on the R&B chart on this date--"You Are My Lady".
1985:  Whitney Houston earned the #1 song on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Saving All My Love For You".
1985:  Dire Straits registered their third week at #1 with "Money For Nothing".  "Cherish" by Kool & the Gang was #2 with Ready for the World up to #3 with "Oh Sheila".  Norway's A-Ha had song #4--"Take On Me" while Madonna moved up with "Dress You Up".
1987:  Johnny Marr, formerly with the Smiths, began rehearsing with the Pretenders to get ready for a North American tour with U2.
1991:  Bryan Adams scored a #1 U.K. album with Waking Up the Neighbours.


1991:  Amy Grant had a hot song moving up (67-49)--"That's What Love Is For".
1991:  Guns N' Roses debuted at #1 on the Album chart with Use Your Illusion II and they debuted at #2 with Use Your Illusion I.  Ropin' the Wind by Garth Brooks would step aside for a moment but it would be back to resume its dominance.  Emotions by Mariah Carey debuted at #4 ahead of the falling self-titled album from Metallica.  The rest of the Top 10:  Unforgettable With Love by Natalie Cole, No More Tears from Ozzy Osbourne, the Soundtrack to "The Commitments", Luck of the Draw by Bonnie Raitt was #9 and C.M.B. from Color Me Badd held the #10 slot.

1992:  Eddie Kendricks, lead singer of the Temptations and a solo artist ("Keep On Truckin'" from 1974), died at the age of 52 of lung cancer in Birmingham, Alabama, one year after having one lung removed.
1993:  The popular 1962-1966 and 1966-1970 albums by the Beatles were released on CD in the U.S.
1996:  "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Deep Blue Something was the #1 song in the U.K.



1996:  Celine Dion took over at #1 on the album chart with Falling Into You.  Very little in the way of quality in the Top 10 with the exception of Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette and No Code from Pearl Jam.
1999:  Roger Daltey announced that the Who were reforming.
2000:  The Beatles' autobiography (The Beatles Anthology) was released and on the first day, brought in 1.5 million orders.  Stores in Japan and England opened at midnight to handle demand.




2003:  Beyonce had the top song with "Baby Boy".
2005:  Gretchen Wilson had the top album with All Jacked Up.  Sheryl Crow was #2 with Wildflower.
2006:  Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" topped the charts for a sixth week.
2008:  Pink had the top U.K. song with "So What".

Born This Day:
1938:  Carlo Mastrangelo of the Belmonts was born in The Bronx, New York.
1941:  Arlene Smith of the Chantells was born in New York City.
1941:  Wally Lester, tenor of the Skyliners, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1942:  Richard Street, who joined the Temptations after Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams left, was born in Detroit, Michigan; died of pulmonary embolism in Las Vegas on  February 27, 2013.









1943:  Steve Miller was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.










1945:  Brian Connolly, lead singer of Sweet, was born in Hamilton, Scotland; died February 9, 1997.  (Note:  early Sweet biographies claim he was born in 1949.  Some websites show his death as February 10th.  Both dates are a direct contradiction to the gravestone shown above.  Some websites report his birthplace as England, but he and his family did not move there until Brian was 12.  Some sites show his birthplace as Glasgow, but according to 'The Herald', a newspaper based in Glasgow, Scotland, he was born in Hamilton.)
1946:  Richard Kermode, keyboardist on albums by Santana and Janis Joplin, was born in Lovell, Wyoming; died of cancer on January 16, 1996 in Denver, Colorado.










1947:  Brian Johnson, the lead singer of AC/DC since 1980, was born in Dunston, Gateshead, England.  (Note:  some websites show his birthplace as Newcastle Upon Tyne, but he was born in Dunston, according to the 'BBC', 'CBS', and other reliable sources. 
1948:  Lucius Ross, rhythm guitarist of Funkadelic, was born in Wagram, North Carolina.






stevensonbwpic
1949:  B.W. Stevenson ("Take A Letter, Maria") was born in Dallas, Texas; died April 28, 1988 while undergoing heart valve surgery at the age of 38.








1950:  "Fast" Eddie Clarke, elite guitarist of Motorhead, was born in Twickenham, London.









1952:  Harold Faltermeyer, recording artist ("Axel F") and a musician, arranger and producer who has worked with Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, Glenn Frey, Blondie, Billy Idol, Cheap Trick and many others, was born in Munich,   Germany.








1954:  Sir Bob Geldof, singer, songwriter, and lead singer of the Boomtown Rats ("I Don't Like Mondays"), but even more important the founder of Live Aid, was born in Dún Laoghaire, Ireland.
1955:  Leo Barnes, saxophonist of Hothouse Flowers, who also worked with Michelle Shocked, among others, was born in Dublin, Ireland.
1957:  Lee Thompson, saxophone player and co-founder of Madness, was born in London.
1974:  Heather Headley, singer, songwriter and producer ("In My Mind" from 2005), was born in Barataria, Trinidad and Tobago.
1978:  James Valentine, lead guitarist of Maroon 5, was born in Lincoln, Nebraska.
1980:  Paul Thomas, bassist of Good Charlotte, was born in Waldorf, Maryland.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

This Date in Rock Music History: October 4

1956:  The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show began on NBC-TV.
1961:  Bob Dylan performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City before an audience of 50 people.
1962:  The Tornadoes blew into the #1 spot in the U.K. with "Telstar".
1963:  Eric Clapton replaced Anthony Topham in the Yardirds at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, England.  
1963:  The Beatles appeared on the British television show Ready!  Steady!  Go!

1966:  The New Vaudeville Band released the single "Winchester Cathedral".
1966:  The Byrds performed at the Village Gate in New York City.
1968:  Paul McCartney began recording "Martha My Dear" for the White Album (he finished the next day) at Trident Studios in London.






1968:  Cream began a farewell tour at Oakland Coliseum in California.
1969:  The Beatles had the top U.K. album with Abbey Road.
1969:  The 5th Dimension gravitated from 67 to 35 with "Wedding Bell Blues".







                  Nilsson made a big move with "Everbody's Talkin'"...

1969:  It was a sweet time in the Rock Era as the Archies remained at #1 for a third week with "Sugar, Sugar".  Oliver moved from 7-2 with "Jean" and Bobby Sherman did his best with "Little Woman".  Three Dog Night was ranked much higher in most markets with "Easy To Be Hard".  The rest of the Top 10:  The Temptations with "I Can't Get Next To You", the Rolling Stones with their former #1 "Honky Tonk Women", "Green River" from CCR, Nisson was up big (17-8) with "Everybody's Talkin'", Sly & the Family Stone were at #9 with "Hot Fun in the Summertime" and the Dells remained at 10 with "Oh, What A Night".
1970:  Janis Joplin was found dead from heroin at the age of 27 at the Landmark Motor Hotel in Hollywood, California.
1971:  Pink Floyd played the first of four nights at the Roman Amphitheater in Pompeii, Italy.  The film Live at Pompeii was later released documenting the shows.
1973:  David Crosby and Graham Nash joined Stephen Stills onstage at Winterland in San Francisco and soon Neil Young joined them, marking the first CSNY appearance together in two years.
1973:  The 500th edition of Top of the Pops aired on BBC-TV with The Osmonds, Gary Glitter and Slade.
1975:  Pink Floyd had the #1 album in the U.K. with Wish You Were Here.
1975:  Helen Reddy was awarded her seventh #1 song on the Easy Listening chart with "Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady".
1975:  The Captain & Tennille followed up their #1 "Love Will Keep Us Together" with "The Way I Want To Touch You", which moved from 80 to 33 on this date.

                      Sweet with their biggest career hit...


1975:  "Fame" hit #1 for David Bowie but the #3 song--"Rhinestone Cowboy" by Glen Campbell was actually the top song in most markets.  John Denver fell with "I'm Sorry" and David Geddes had #4--"Run, Joey, Run".  The rest of the Top 10:  Dickie Goodman crashed the Top 10 with "Mr. Jaws", Neil Sedaka and Elton John moved from 25-6 with "Bad Blood", Sweet's great song "Ballroom Blitz" was 7, Orleans reached the Top 10 with "Dance With Me", Helen Reddy was at position #9 with "Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady" and Austin Roberts shot into the Top 10 (24-10) with "Rocky".





1976:  Burton Cummings, lead singer of the top Canadian band in history, Guess Who, released his first solo single--"Stand Tall".
1980:  Carly Simon collapsed on stage at Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from nervous exhaustion, forcing the cancellation of the rest of her tour.
1980:  Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac presented the USC Trojan Marching Band with a platinum record for their part in the Tusk album (the band was featured on the title song.






1980:  Queen reached the pinnacle for the second time in their career with "Another One Bites The Dust.  Air Supply was #2 in its 17th week with "All Out Of Love" and the former #1 ("Upside Down") from Diana Ross was third.  George Benson and "Give Me The Night" was followed by country crossover Eddie Rabbitt and "Drivin' My Life Away".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Late In The Evening" from Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand had her 30th career hit with "Woman In Love", which rose from 12 to 7, "I'm Alright" by Kenny Loggins from the funny movie Caddyshack, Johnny Lee's "Lookin' For Love" at #9 and Olivia Newton-John and ELO joined forces for the #10 song--"Xanadu".
1982:  The group Squeeze ("Tempted") broke up.  They would get back together three years later.
1986:  Van Halen announced that Gary Cherone, formerly of Extreme, would take over as lead singer for Sammy Hagar.
1986:  Paul Simon owned the #1 U.K. album with Graceland.







         
                     Genesis scored their third Top 10 song...

1986:  Huey Lewis & the News told all about being "Stuck With You", #1 for a third week.  Genesis had the top new entry in the Top 10 with "Throwing It All Away".
1988:  Kenny G released his monumental album Silhouette.
1991:  J. Frank Wilson ("Last Kiss") died of a heart attack at the age of 49.
1994:  The Eagles reunion tour was halted temporarily as Glen Frey had to have emergency stomach surgery.
1997:  Farm Aid in Tinley, Illinois raised over $1 million for farmers in the United States.
1998:  Julian Lennon performed at the International Association Against Drugs in San Patrignano, Italy.
1999:  A good day as Sting, Tony Bennett and Wyclef Jean performed at the reopening of the famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
2003:  Bob Dylan joined Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band for "Highway 61 Revisited" during the final stop on Springsteen's tour at Shea Stadium in New York City.

2005:  Michael Gibbins, drummer with Badfinger, died in his sleep of a brain aneurysm at his home in Oviedo, Florida at the age of 56.
2006:  Barbra Streisand began a rare concert tour in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2007:   Isaac Hanson from the group Hanson had surgery to remove a blood clot from his lungs in Dallas, Texas after being diagnosed with a potentially fatal condition  (Venous Thoracic Outlet Syndrome).  (Note:  several sources report that the surgery was October 5.  They got this information from newspapers, which, as you know, are printed the day after news happens.  The surgery was October 4, and Isaac was released on October 5.) 



2007:  The Rolling Stones set a new Rock Era record with their A Bigger Bang tour for the top grossing tour of all-time.  The tour from late 2005 to August of 2007 earned $437 million, eclipsing the mark previously set by U2, which earned $389 million.




Born This Day:
1922:  Leroy Van Dyke ("Walk On By" from 1961) was born in Mora, Missouri.
1942:  Marshall Jones, founding member and bassist of the Ohio Players, was born in Dayton, Ohio.  (Note:  some sources state his birthplace as Natchitoches, Louisiana, but the book 'Disco, Punk, New Wave, Heavy Metal, and More: Music in the 1970s and 1980s', by Britannica Educational Publishing, shows it as Dayton.)
1944:  Marlena Davis of Orlons ("The Wah Watusi"); died February 27, 1993 of lung cancer.
1947:  Jim Fielder, bassist for Blood, Sweat & Tears, Buffalo Springfield and the Mothers of Invention, was born in Denton, Texas.
1957:  Barbara Kooyman (also known by her stage name of Barbara K. and by Barbara K. MacDonald) of Timbuk 3 ("The Future's So Bright I Gotta' Wear Shades" from 1987) was born in Wausau, Wisconsin.
1959:  Chris Lowe, keyboardist of the Pet Shop Boys, was born in  Blackpool, Lancashire, England.

1961:  Jon Secada was born in Havana, Cuba.