This Date in Rock Music History: September 30

1961:  After hearing 20-year-old Bob Dylan play harmonica in the studio for Carolyn Hester, producer John Hammond signed Dylan to a recording contract with Columbia Records and scheduled a recording session in October.

1963:  Sid Bernstein contacted Beatles manager Brian Epstein to inquire about arranging a U.S. tour for the group, which eventually led to Bernstein promoting the famous Beatles concert at Shea Stadium in New York City.
1964:  The Who were in concert at the Town Hall in Greenwich, Southeast London.
1965:  Donovan made his U.S. television debut on the television show Shindig!, joined by the Hollies, the Turtles and Lesley Gore.  Some sources also claim that the Dave Clark Five was on the show, but this is disputed.
1967:  Paul McCartney and John Lennon appeared on The David Frost Show.
1967:  "Funky Broadway" by Wilson Pickett set the pace on the R&B chart.

1967:  Frank Sinatra remained at #1 on the Easy Listening chart for the fifth week with "The World We Knew (Over And Over)".
1968:  Hunter Davies published The Beatles, the only authorized biography of the group.








 
1968:  The Supremes released the single "Love Child".

1968:  Cream released the single "White Room".  (Note:  one naive website reports that "White Room" entered the 'Billboard Hot 100' on September 29.  According to 'Billboard, 'White Room" debuted on October 5.)

1969:  The album Crosby, Stills & Nash went Gold.
1969:  David Crosby's girlfriend Christine Gail Hinton was killed in a head-on automobile accident north of San Francisco, California.








1972:  The album Chicago V had been out nine weeks with six of those at #1.  Never a Dull Moment by Rod Stewart was second followed by Big Bambu from Cheech & Chong.  Leon Russell's Carney and Moods by Neil Diamond remained at 4 and 5, respectively.  The rest of the Top 10:  Trilogy from Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Three Dog Night was next with Seven Separate Fools, Elton John edged up to 8 with Honky Chateau, Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles!  Live!  was #9 and Gilbert O'Sullivan-Himself took #10.
1972:  Mac Davis spent a third week at #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me".





        
                                      Ode to New York City from 1972...

1972:  There was no doubt that Cashman & West had a hot song, moving from 90 to 63 with "American City Suite".









       
                       The Main Ingredient had a smash hit...

1972:  "Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me" by Mac Davis continued as the #1 song with Three Dog Night's "Black & White" and Chicago's "Saturday In The Park" behind.  The O'Jays were persistent with "Back Stabbers" while Michael Jackson hit #5 with "Ben".  The Main Ingredient's great song "Everybody Plays The Fool" was #6.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Raspberries moved to 7 with "Go All The Way", Bill Withers climbed into the list with "Use Me", Elvis Presley achieved his 38th and final Top 10 with "Burning Love" and Hot Butter were up to 10 with "Popcorn".
1977:  Foghat played a charity concert to raise money for the New York City Public Library to buy a collection of rare blues records.
1977:  Mary Ford, who had a string of hits with husband Les Paul, including "Hummingbird" in 1955, died of cancer after being in a diabetic coma for 54 days at the age of 53 in Arcadia, California.
1978:  Sonny Bono appeared on the popular ABC-TV series The Love Boat.
1978:  Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Summer Nights".
1978:  Funkadelic moved into the #1 slot on the R&B chart with "One Nation Under A Groove".
1978:  Gerry Rafferty's "Right Down The Line" returned to #1 on the Easy Listening chart.
1978:  Foreigner moved from 67 to 38 with "Double Vision".

1978:  The classic "Kiss You All Over" by Exile moved to #1, tapping "Boogie Oogie Oogie" by A Taste of Honey on the shoulder to move.  Olivia Newton-John remained in the third position with "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and it had been six weeks since the Commodores were at #1 with "Three Times A Lady" but they were still at #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Summer Nights" by Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta, Boston's "Don't Look Back", Nick Gilder edged up with "Hot Child In The City", the Little River Band was up to 8 with "Reminiscing", John Paul Young reached the Top 10 with "Love Is In The Air" and Andy Gibb closed out the list with "An Everlasting Love".  

1987:  Roy Orbison filmed his upcoming cable television special A Black & White Night with Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello and Tom Waits at Coconut Grove in Los Angeles.

1988:  John Lennon received a star posthumously on the Hollywood Walk of Fame near 1750 Vine Street with hundreds of fans lining the streets, hanging from office windows and singing "Give Peace A Chance".
1989:  The Rolling Stones filmed the video for "Rock And A Hard Place" at Foxboro-Sullivan Stadium just outside of Boston, Massachusetts.

1989:  Neil Young amazed a national television audience with his performance of "Rockin' In The Free World" on Saturday Night Live.  The song was later selected as one of the best musical performances of all-time on Saturday Night Live on the show's 25th anniversary in 1999. 
1989:  Tina Turner was on top of the U.K. Album chart with Foreign Affair.
1989:  Cher topped the Adult Contemporary chart with "If I Could Turn Back Time".
1993:  Kate Pierson of the B-52's was arrested for her part in a sit-in at the offices of Vogue magazine in New York City.  Pierson was protesting the use of fur in ads and clothing.
1993:  David Crosby and George Harrison were on the season premiere of The Simpsons.
1994:  Michael Stipe from R.E.M. inked a movie deal with New Line Cinema.
1995:  "Fantasy" by Mariah Carey was the new #1 R&B song.
1995:  Cracked Rear View by Hootie & the Blowfish returned to #1 on the Album chart for the fifth time (and eighth week total), believed to be the only time in the Rock Era that this feat has occurred.

1997:  Bob Dylan released the album Time Out of Mind on Columbia Records.
1997:  The Rolling Stones released the album Bridges To Babylon in the United States.
1998:  Jonny Lang, Slash of Guns N' Roses, Joey Ramone and Rick Nielson of Cheap Trick auditioned to be lead guitarist for the band in The Drew Carey Show.









2003:  Sting released the album Sacred Love.  (Note:  some websites report the album was released on September 29.  According to 'Billboard' magazine, the album was released September 30.)
2003:  Elton John auctioned off items from his London home (including an oil painting and a 19th-century portrait of Lieutenant George Dyer) at Sotheby's in London, with proceeds to benefit an AIDS charity.  
2003:  In today's Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music feature, rapper C-Murder was found guilty of second degree murder after a nightclub shooting of sixteen-year-old Steve Thomas and was sentenced to life behind bars.  Next.
2004:  Ciara had the #1 song with "Goodies".
2006:  Isaac Hanson of the group Hanson married Nicole Dufresne in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
2007:  The Foo Fighters owned the top album in the U.K.--Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.
2009:  Wanda Jackson ("In The Middle Of A Heartache" from 1961) was honored with a street ("Wanda Jackson Way") dedicated to her by the City of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

2011:  Marv Tarplin, guitarist and songwriter of the Miracles, having won the BMI Songwriter's Award and the ASCAP Award of Merit for writing many of the group's biggest hits, died at age 70 in Las Vegas, Nevada.





Born This Day:
1933:  Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, member of the Sweet Inspirations, the Drinkard Singers (with niece Dionne Warwick), and a backup singer with Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross and Chaka Khan, was born in Newark, New Jersey.

1935:  Johnny Mathis was born in Gilmer, Texas.











1940:  Dewey Martin, drummer with Buffalo Springfield, was born in Chesterville, Ontario, Canada; found dead at his home in Van Nuys, California, believed to have passed away of natural causes on January 31, 2009. 








1942:  Frankie Lymon was born in Manhattan, New York; died February 27, 1968 from heroin.  (Note:  some websites state Lymon was born in Harlem, New York.  Harlem is a neighborhood within the borough of Manhattan, not its own city, and you will never see Harlem listed as the City of Birth on Lymon's official birth certificate.  Some sources say Lymon died in Washington Heights, New York.  Again, Washington Heights is not a city but a neighborhood, and will never be listed as the City of Death on an official birth certificate.)








1942:  Gus Dudgeon, sound engineer with Bruce Channel, the Zombies ("She's Not There") and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, and who was Elton John's main producer from 1969-1976 who also produced many other artists including the Beach Boys and Chris Rea, was born in Woking, Surrey, England; died July 21, 2002 in a car accident in Berkshire, England that also claimed the life of his wife.

1943:  Marilyn McCoo of the 5th Dimension and later part of a duo with her husband Billy Davis, Jr., was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.
1946:  Sylvia Peterson of the Chiffons was born in the Bronx, New York.
1946:  Moses Dillard, session guitarist for Al Green and James & Bobby Purify among others, was born in Greenville, South Carolina.
1947:  Marc Bolan, outrageous lead singer of T. Rex, was born in Hackney, Middlesex, England; died September 16, 1977 in a car accident in London.
1952:  John Lombardo, founding member and chief songwriter of 10,000 Maniacs, was born in Jamestown, New York.
1954:  Patrice Rushen ("Forget Me Nots") was born in Los Angeles, California.

1959:  Basia ("Time And Tide") was born in Jaworzno, Poland.
1964:  Elite guitarist Trey Anastasio of Phish was born in Fort Worth, Texas.
1984:  Keisha Buchanan of the Sugababes was born in Kingsbury, London, England.
1964:  Robby Takac, founding member and bassist of the Goo Goo Dolls, was born in Buffalo, New York.
1985:  T-Pain (Faheem Majm) was born in Tallahassee, Florida.  (Note:  some websites claim he was born June 30, but according to 'Spin" magazine, he was born September 30.)