Saturday, April 9, 2011

This Date in Rock Music History: April 9

1963:  Henry Mancini won the Oscar for Best Original Song (for "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's) at the Academy Awards.
1964:  Capitol Records won the rights to distribute music by the Beatles in the U.S. in a settlement out of court with Vee Jay Records.

1965:  Bruce Johnston permanently replaced Brian Wilson in public appearances by the Beach Boys, playing bass and singing Brian's vocal parts.
1965:  The Rolling Stones made their first live performance on the British TV show Ready Steady Go!
1966:  Guitarist Jeff Beck collapsed onstage during a Yardbirds concert in Marseilles, France.









1966:  The Righteous Brothers began a three-week stay at #1 with "(You're My) Soul And Inspiration".  Here is the rest of the Top Ten:  #2 "Daydream" by Lovin' Spoonful, #3 "19th Nervous Breakdown" by the Rolling Stones, "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" by Cher, SSsgt. Barry Sadler fell from #1 to #5 with "The Ballad Of The Green Berets", the Beatles had #6 with "Nowhere Man", Johnny Rivers was #7 with a fast-climbing "Secret Agent Man", #8 was "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" by B.J. Thomas, Gary Lewis & the Playboys had #9 with "Sure Gonna' Miss Her" and the Mamas & Papas were at #10 with their former #4 song "California Dreamin'".







1967:  The Doors and Jefferson Airplane appeared in concert at the Cheetah on the Santa Monica Pier in Venice, California.
1968:  Gene Pitney and Status Quo ("Pictures Of Matchstick Men") gave a concert at the Odeon in Glasgow, Scotland.









1969:  King Crimson made their debut at the Speakeasy in London.
1970:  Pink Floyd began their second tour of North America at the Fillmore East in Manhattan, New York.
1970:  Paul McCartney quit the Beatles.  The news was announced the following day.
1973:  Queen played at the Marquee Club in London.








1973:  Paul McCartney and Wings released the single "My Love" in the United States.  It had been released in the U.K. on March 23.










1974:  Terry Jacks became the first Canadian to hit #1 on the U.K. Singles chart since Paul Anka in 1957 with the smash "Seasons In The Sun".
1974:  The Jackson 5 played the first of 15 concerts at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.
1974:  Bruce Springsteen met Jon Landau, who would become his manager and producer, at Charlie's Place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Springsteen was performing.
1976:  Stevie Wonder signed a $13 million deal with Motown Records.  (Note:  some websites report the date of signing as April 13.  According to the book 'Motown Encyclopedia' by Graham Betts, Wonder inked the deal on April 9.)








 
1977:  Shaun Cassidy performed his cover of "Da Doo Ron Ron" on Dick Clark's American Bandstand.
1977:  Guitarist Jimmy Page collapsed onstage an hour into Led Zeppelin's concert at Chicago Stadium in Illinois from food poisoning.   
1977:  David Soul had the #1 Adult Contemporary song with "Don't Give Up On Us".
1977:  The top mover on this date?  "Sir Duke" from Stevie Wonder, which moved up nicely from 74 to 48.







1977:  The new Singles chart was out on this date and ABBA had their first American #1 with "Dancing Queen".  "Don't Give Up On Us" by David Soul was #2, "Don't Leave Me This Way", the great song from Thelma Houston, was third, Hall & Oates fell from #1 to #4 with "Rich Girl" and Glen Campbell had #5 with "Southern Nights".  The rest of the Top 10:  10cc with "The Things We Do For Love", the Eagles edged up with "Hotel California", Natalie Cole positioned herself at #8, Barbra Streisand's former #1 "Evergreen" and the Atlanta Rhythm Section celebrated their first career Top 10 with "So Into You".
1979:  Donna Summer took home the honor of "Best Original Song" at the Academy Awards at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles for "Last Dance".





1979:  Producer Georgio Moroder also won an Oscar for the score to Midnight Express.
1981:  Not Goody Two Shoes.......the Sam Goody record chain was convicted of selling pirated music.
1982:  Weird Al Yankovic opened for Missing Persons at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in California.









1982:  Tina Turner was in concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.
1983:  David Bowie reached #1 on the U.K. Singles chart with "Let's Dance", featuring blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan.
1983:  Dan Fogelberg reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Make Love Stay".









                        San Francisco's Greg Kihn Band with their biggest hit...

1983:  Michael Jackson spent a sixth week at #1 with "Billie Jean".  Culture Club had to settle for #2 with "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" and Duran Duran was stationary with "Hungry Like The Wolf".  Dexy's Midnight Runners blew in from 11 to 4 with "Come On Eileen".  The rest of the Top 10:  "We've Got Tonight" from Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton, Hall & Oates and "One On One", Journey held steady with "Separate Ways", the Greg Kihn Band had their only Top 10 hit with "Jeopardy" and Michael Jackson's follow-up wasted no time getting in as "Beat It" was #10 after just seven weeks.







                                    "Foolin", one of the early Def Leppard greats...

1983:  The Michael Jackson album Thriller was #1 for the seventh straight week.  Frontiers from Journey came in second with H2O by Hall & Oates behind them.  Men At Work were still in the Top 10 after 41 weeks of release with Business As Usual.  The rest of the Top 10:  Kilroy Was Here from Styx, Duran Duran's Rio, Lionel Richie at #7, the amazing Toto IV, Def Leppard held steady at #9 with Pyromania and Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band held down #10 with The Distance.
1984:  R.E.M. released their second album Reckoning in the U.K.  The album was released on April 17 in the United States.








                     "Take your passion......and Make it happen!"


1984:  Irene Cara won the Oscar for Best Original Song From a Motion Picture with her phenomenal "Flashdance".








Heaven by Bryan Adams on Grooveshark
1985:  Bryan Adams released the single "Heaven".
1986:  The Dave Clark musical Time, starring Cliff Richard, Dionne Warwick, Freddie Mercury of Queen,  Leo Sayer and Sir Laurence Olivier, opened at the Dominion Theatre in London.  (According to the books 'The Billboard Book of Number One Hits' by Fred Bronson and 'The Queen Chronology:  The Recording & Release History of the Band' by Patrick Lamieux and Adam Unger and other reputable sources, the correct date of the opening is April 9.)
1988:  The Pet Shop Boys began three weeks on top in the U.K. with "Heart".
1988:  Whitney Houston spent a second week atop the Adult Contemporary chart with "Where Do Broken Hearts Go".








1988:  Dave Prater of Sam & Dave ("Soul Man") died in a traffic accident at the age of 50 when his car hit a tree in Syracuse, Georgia on the way to his mother's house.







 
1988:  Brook Benton ("It's Just A Matter Of Time" and "Rainy Night In Georgia" died of pneumonia in Queens, New York at the age of 56.
1989:  Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones announced he was getting married to 19-year old Mandy Smith, saying the two had been dating for six years.  Wyman knew that women with any more intelligence or maturity would have said "No!".








1988:  Billy Ocean roared into #1 with "Get Outta' My Dreams, Get Into My Car".












1990:  Billy Idol released the single "Cradle Of Love".










1991:  Luther Vandross released the single "Power Of Love/Love Power".
1994:  Pantera debuted at #1 on the Album chart with Far Beyond Driven.  Bonnie Raitt almost matched that with a debut at #2 with Longing in Their Hearts.









1994:  Bruce Springsteen had one of his only Top 10 songs not on the Born in the U.S.A. album, "Streets Of Philadelphia", which moved in on this date.
1997:  The members of Soundgarden announced that they were breaking up.
1997:  A Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded Michael Jackson $2.7 million in damages from Victor Gutierrez of the television show Hard Copy for defamation of character.





 
1997:  Songwriter Mae Boren Axton drowned in her bathtub at the age of 82 in Hendersonville, Tennessee after an apparent heart attack.  Axton wrote over 200 songs including co-writing "Heartbreak Hotel" for Elvis.
1999:  Faith Hill kicked off her first solo tour in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
2000:  Craig David topped the U.K. Singles chart with "Fill Me In".
2000:  Moby began five weeks at the top of the U.K. Album chart with Play.




2000:  *N SYNC was #1 on the other side of the Atlantic with No Strings Attached.
2003:  Paul McCartney performed in Manchester, England for the first time in 24 years at the Manchester Evening News Arena.
2004:  There comes a point when you think "It doesn't matter how much I like their music....."  Motley Crue's Vince Neil pleaded no contest to battery charges against a prostitute in Nevada.
2006:  Former Smiths vocalist Morrissey reached #1 on the U.K. Album chart with Ringleader of the Tormentors.
2009:  Randy Cain, founding member of the Delfonics, died at the age of 63 in Maple Shade Township, New Jersey.


Born This Day:

1932:  Carl Perkins was born in Tiptonville, Tennessee; died January 19, 1998 in Jackson, Tennessee after suffering several strokes.









 
1944:  Gene Parsons, singer-songwriter and drummer of the Byrds, was born in Morongo Valley in the Mojave Desert, California.  (Note:  some websites claim Parsons was born in Los Angeles.  Parson was born on the family farm in Morongo Valey, according to the book 'The Byrds:  Timeless Flight Revisited' by Johnny Rogan.) 
1948:  Philip Wright, vocalist and drummer for Paper Lace ("The Night Chicago Died"), was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England.
1977:  Gerard Way, lead vocalist and co-founder of My Chemical Romance, was born in Summit, New Jersey.  (Note:  some websites report Way was born in Newark New Jersey, but according to 'MTV', he was born in Summit.)
1978:  Rachel Stevens, vocalist with S Club 7, was born in London.
1980:  Albert Hammond Jr., guitarist of the Strokes ("Last Night"), and son of Albert Hammond Sr. ("It Never Rains In Southern California"), was born in Los Angeles.
1987:  Jesse McCartney, actor and singer ("Leavin'" from 2008), was born in Ardsley, New York.

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