This Date in Rock Music History: September 2

1957:  Elvis Presley had the #1 R&B song with "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear".








1959:  The Isley Brothers released the single "Shout".  It would not become immensely popular until years later--at the time it only reached #47!  (Note:  some sources report the release date as September 21.  This is physically impossible, as people in the business know.  "Shout" first charted on September 21, and there is no way a song can chart the same day it is mailed to radio stations.)
1965:  The Beatles earned a Gold record for the single "Help!"
1965:  The Rolling Stones recorded a performance for the BBC-TV show Ready Steady Go!  (Note:  several websites claim that the Rolling Stones and Manfred Mann appeared on 'Ready Steady Go!' on this date.  The program aired on Fridays, which fell on September 3 and September 10 in 1965.  The Stones and Manfred Mann appeared on the show on September 10, according to 'TV.com', with footage of the Stones taped on September 2.)

1967:  After five short weeks, "Ode To Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry was #1.  The Beatles' former #1 "All You Need Is Love" remained at #2 but the Supremes were up big (8-3) with "Reflections".  "Light My Fire" by the Doors completed as good a Top Four as you will ever find in music at the same time.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Baby I Love You" from Aretha Franklin, "Come Back When You Grow Up" moved from 14 to 6 for Bobby Vee, "Cold Sweat" remained at position #7 for James Brown, the Monkees slid down with "Pleasant Valley Sunday", the Temptations maintained at #9 with "You're My Everything" and Stevie Wonder was at 10 with "I Was Made to Love Her".





1967:  Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles was the #1 album for the 10th week in a row.  Headquarters by the Monkees was second followed by Flowers from the Rolling Stones.  The Doors was at #4 with Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Young Rascals with Groovin', which moved from 18 to 6, Release Me from Engelbert Humperdinck, Insight Out from the Association at #8, Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved a Man The Way I Love You at #9 and the Temptations jumped in at #10--With a Lot O' Soul.







1968:  The Turtles released the single "Elenore".









1970:  Genesis put out an ad in Melody Maker, looking for applications.  Drummer Phil Collins responded and eventually got the job.
1972:  The Eagles were on their first tour as a group; they played at the Dane County Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin.
1972:  Gilbert O'Sullivan spent a sixth week at #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Alone Again (Naturally)".
1972;  Gilbert O'Sullivan had already spent four weeks at #1 but after a week away, "Alone Again (Naturally)" moved back to the top spot, one of the few times in the Rock Era that this has happened.  The Hollies were up with "Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)" and Al Green owned #3--"I'm Still In Love With You".  The former #1 from Looking Glass ("Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)") was now at 4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Argent with "Hold Your Head Up", Mac Davis was up to #6 with his big crossover "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me", the Carpenters held down #7--"Goodbye To Love", Jim Croce had song #8 with "You Don't Mess Around With Jim", Gary Glitter moved from 17 to 9 with "Rock And Roll Part 2" and the O'Jays were in the Top 10 with "Back Stabbers".


1974:  Elton John released the single "The Bitch is Back".











1978:  Teddy Pendergrass gave a "Ladies Only" concert at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.  What guys wouldn't give to have been Teddy on that night.
1978:  The Grateful Dead performed before 66,000 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.
1978:  Boston's second album Don't Look Back debuted at #10.
1978:  The Commodores held on to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Three Times A Lady".










  1978:  Boston moved from 36 to 19 with the title track "Don't Look Back".











                                         Ms. King had an exciting song in the Top 10 on this date...

1978:  Frankie Valli made it two weeks at #1 with "Grease" while the former #1 "Three Times A Lady" by the Commodores remained at #2.  A Taste of Honey crawled up with "Boogie Oogie Oogie" and Foreigner was at #4 with "Hot Blooded".  Another song from Grease, "Hopelessly Devoted To You" by Olivia Newton-John, was #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Miss You" from the Rolling Stones, Exile's classic "Kiss You All Over" debuted in the Top 10, Andy Gibb was up to 8 with "An Everlasting Love", Walter Egan had song #9--"Magnet And Steel" and Evelyn "Champagne" King moved in with "Shame".

1978:  George Harrison married Olivia Trinidad Arias in a private ceremony.  Olivia was with him until the day he died.












1985:  Starship released the single "We Built This City".
1987:  Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Tracy Chapman and Peter Gabriel performed at Wembley Stadium in London as part of the Amnesty International Tour.
1989:  "It's No Crime" by Babyface was the #1 R&B song.
1989:  "Right Here Waiting" from Richard Marx was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for a fifth week.  It ranks as the sixth Top AC song of the 1980's.








      
                                 Estefan was rapidly climbing the charts...

1989:  Paula Abdul registered her third consecutive #1 song with "Cold Hearted" as Richard Marx slipped to 2 after three weeks at the top with "Right Here Waiting".  New Kids on the Block were "Hangin' Tough" at #3 and Gloria Estefan's great song "Don't Wanna' Lose You" was #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Jeff Healey Band moved from 10-5 with "Angel Eyes", Warrant moved from 15-6 with "Heaven", Karyn White had a "Secret Rendezvous" at #7, Surface entered the Top 10--"Shower Me With Your Love", Don Henley's  "End Of The Innocence" was at 9 and Jody Watley with Eric B. & Rakim came in 10th with "Friends".






1989:  The great album Repeat Offender moved into the #1 slot for Richard Marx.  

1991:  Garth Brooks released the album Ropin' the Wind.
1993:  Neil Young and Pearl Jam performed Young's song "Rockin' In The Free World" at the MTV Video Music Awards.
1995:  Michael Jackson reigned on the R&B chart with "You Are Not Alone".








1995:  Michael Jackson debuted at #1 with "You Are Not Alone", holding off the hot song "Gangsta's Paradise" from Coolio and the great movie Dangerous Minds.  Seal's "Kiss From A Rose" was #3 with TLC's "Waterfalls" completing an excellent Top Four.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Boombastic/Summer Time" from Shaggy, All-4-One with "I Can Love You Like That", Vanessa Williams at 7 with "Colors Of The Wind", Blues Traveler secured the 8th spot with "Run-Around", "He's Mine" from MoKenStef and "Only Wanna' Be With You" by Hootie & the Blowfish gave the group their third Top 10 song from the album Cracked Rear View.

                                                       Toni Braxton takes top honor...

2000:  Toni Braxton won the Aretha Franklin Award for Entertainer of the Year at the Soul Train Lady of Soul show in Santa Monica, California.  Destiny's Child, Angie Stone and Mary J. Blige each captured two statuettes each.
2003:  The Clash received a lifetime achievement award at the GQ Men of the Year awards in London.
2004:  Ciara and Petey Pablo had the #1 song with "Goodies".
2005:  Kanye West blasted U.S. President George W. Bush in his appearance at A Concert for Hurricane Relief, saying he "doesn't care about black people" and did not respond quickly enough to flooding as a result of Hurricane Katrina.




2012:  Mark Abrahamian, guitarist who worked with Starship, Christopher Cross, John Cafferty, Pat Travers and Tommy Tutone, died of a heart attack at age 46 after a Starship concert in Norfolk, Nebraska.

Born This Day:
1938:  Jimmy Clanton ("Just A Dream") was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  (Note:  several websites claim Clanton was born in 1940.  In an interview with Norman N. Night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Clanton said the 1940 date was wrong and that he was born in 1938.) 
1939:  Bobby Purify of the brother duo James & Bobby Purify ("I'm Your Puppet") was born in Tallahassee, Florida; died December 29, 2011.
1939:  Sam Gooden of the Impressions was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 





1943: Joe Simon ("The Chokin' Kind") was born in Simmesport, Louisiana.
1943:  Rosalind Ashford of Martha and the Vandellas was born in Detroit, Michigan.








1946:  Billy Preston was born in Houston, Texas; died June 6, 2006 in Scottsdale, Arizona after falling into a coma the previous November.  (Note:  many sources incorrectly show his birthday as September 9--this was pointed out by his website following his death.)
1951:  Mik Kaminski, violin player of ELO, was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England.  (Note:  several websites incorrectly say Kaminski was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.  In 1951, when Kaminski was born, Harrogate was in the county of West Riding of Yorkshire, and was not included in the new county of North Yorkshire until 1974.)
1956:  Fritz McIntyre, keyboardist of Simply Red, was born in Birmingham, England.
1958:  Jerry Augustyniak, drummer of 10,000 Maniacs, was born in Sloan, New York.  (Note:  some websites report Jerry was born in Jamestown, New York.  Although none of the credible sources we look at have information regarding his birthplace, our best research indicates that he was born in Sloan.)

1969:  K-Ci Hailey of Jodeci and later a member of the duo K-Ci & Jo Jo (Note:  various websites show his birth as Charlotte, North Carolina, while others say he was born in Monroe, North Carolina, and still others in Charlotte, North Carolina.  There are no credible sources for any of these, so we will leave his birthplace blank until he steps up and tells the world where he was born.) 
1975:  Tony Thompson, lead singer of Hi-Five, was born in Waco, Texas; died June 1, 2007 from the “inhaling a toxic amount of Freon" near an air conditioning unit outside an apartment complex in Waco.