Tuesday, October 25, 2011

This Date in Rock Music History: October 26


1959:  Marty Robbins released the single "El Paso".
1959:  B.B. King and wife celebrated the birth of their daughter Shirley in Memphis, Tennessee.








1959:  "Mack The Knife" by Bobby Darin was #1 for a fourth week and it wasn't even close to done. 
1961:  Bob Dylan signed with Columbia Records.
1962:  Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Marvelettes, Mary Wells, Martha & the Vandellas and the Contours were part of the Motortown Revue that began touring on this date in Washington, D.C.







1962:  The Beatles debuted on the U.K. chart with their first single "Love Me Do". 



1963:  Bobby Vinton had one of the Top Easy Listening songs of the 60's with "Blue Velvet", which remained #1 for an eighth week.









1963:  Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs ruled the roost for a third week with "Sugar Shack", one of the great hits in the early years of the Rock Era.








1964:  The Beach Boys released the single "Dance, Dance, Dance".
1964:  The Beatles finished work for their upcoming album Beatles for Sale by recording "Honey Don't" in five takes.  While in the studio, Carl Perkins, who had written Ringo Starr's vocal part, paid the Beatles a visit.







1964:  Lorne Greene released the single "Ringo".










1965:  The Beatles received Member of the British Empire medals at Buckingham Palace in London.  (Note:  some websites claim the group received the awards September 26.  The correct date is October 26, according to 'Beatlesbible'.)







1967:  Pink Floyd performed for the first of three shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco, California.






    
       The Los Angeles group Grass Roots--part of what made the 60's so special...

1968:  The Beatles made it five weeks at the top with their landmark hit "Hey Jude", one of The Top 10 Songs of the Rock Era*.  "Little Green Apples" by O.C. Smith was second with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown falling with "Fire".  Mary Hopkin had a monster hit with 'Those Were The Days", moving up 13-4.  The rest of a solid Top 10:  The O'Kaysions with "Girl Watcher", the Grass Roots and "Midnight Confessions", Gary Puckett & the Union Gap with "Over You", Jeannie C. Riley in retreat with "Harper Valley P.T.A.", the Turtles climbed up from 14 to 9 with 'Elenore" and the Bee Gees were still in the list with "I've Gotta' Get A Message To You".




1970:  Elton John released the single "Your Song", at the time the "B" side of the "A" side "Take Me To The Pilot".
1970:  A wake for Janis Joplin was held at the Lion's Share in San Anselmo, California.  Joplin was cremated at the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Mortuary in Los Angeles and her ashes were scattered from a plane into the Pacific Ocean and along Stinson Beach.
1970:  Repercussions from one of the worst days of the Rock Era--the disastrous Altamont Festival starring the Rolling Stones.  Meredith Hunter, mother of the man killed by the Hell's Angels, who had been hired to run security, sued the Stones.








1973:  Paul McCartney & Wings released the single "Helen Wheels".








   We Couldn't Get Enough of this new band--Bad Company...

1974:  A collaboration that made a lot of people happy--"Then Came You" by Dionne Warwick & the Spinners gave each artist their first #1 song on this date.  Stevie Wonder was one step away with "You Haven't Done Nothin'".  Guitarist Randy Bachman had split from the Guess Who and formed a hot new group and BTO was roaring up the chart from 17 to 6 with the great song "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet".  One of the best-sounding opens of any song you'll hear.  Carole King from Stanley, Idaho had song #4--"Jazzman" while "The Bitch Is Back" by Elton John came in fifth.  The rest of the Top 10:  newcomer Bad Company was at 6 with "Can't Get Enough", Tony Orlando & Dawn had the #7 song with "Steppin' Out" although I can tell you that few stations played it, Lynyrd Skynyrd had their first Top 10 song with "Sweet Home Alabama", which moved from 15-8, Mac Davis decided to "Stop And Smell The Roses" and the Osmonds were at 10 with "Love Me For A Reason".
1974:  John Denver's "Back Home Again" sailed to the top of the Easy Listening chart.
1974:  The outpouring of respect continued to come for the late Jim Croce, whose posthumous greatest hits collection Photographs & Memories entered the Top 10 on the Album chart.

1975:  Elton John knew how to close out his highly successful tour in style.  Decked out in a sequined Los Angeles Dodger outfit, Elton played the second and final night at Dodger Stadium.
1976:  Leonard Lee of Shirley & Lee ("Let the Good Times Roll") died of a heart attack in New Orleans, Louisiana at the age of 40.  (Note:  some websites show his death as October 23, but according to the book 'Rock Obituaries:  Knocking on Heaven's Door' by Nick Talevski, the correct date is October 26.)
1978:  The Police performed for the first time in the United States at the Rat Club in Boston, Massachusetts.





1980:  Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship suffered a brain hemorrhage during a recording session.  He was able to fully recover after 15 days in a Los Angeles hospital.
1985:  George Benson hit #1 on the U.K. Album chart with The Love Songs Collection.








1985:  Glenn Frey scored his second Top 10 hit with "You Belong To The City".
1985:  Dire Straits sat in the #1 spot for the ninth week on the Album chart with Brothers in Arms.








1987:  Whitney Houston released the single "So Emotional".









Very few acts could pull off this great of a sound a cappella.  You didn't have very good ears if you didn't know this group was going to be huge.

1991:  Boyz II Men landed a #1 song on the R&B chart with "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday".

1991:  Mariah Carey couldn't miss early in her career while she had Tommy Mottola helping her.  She spent a third week at #1 with "Emotions".
1991:  Erasure climbed to #1 on the U.K. Album chart with Chorus.





1991:  The monumental album Ropin' the Wind by Garth Brooks was #1 for a third week.  
1992:  Pearl Jam set a career high when the album Vs. sold 950,000 copies in its first week.
1992:  John Fogerty and wife Julie celebrated the birth of son Tyler Jackson.








1994:  Wilbert Harrison ("Kansas City") died of a stroke at the age of 64 in a Spencer, North Carolina nursing home.
1996:  The Spice Girls kept their momentum with the #1 U.K. song "Say You'll Be There".
1996:  Celine Dion regained the #1 album with Falling Into YouThe Moment by Kenny G was second.






1999:  Singer/songwriter Hoyt Axton passed away of a heart attack at age 61 in Victor, Montana.  Axton (whose mother wrote Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel"), who penned songs for Elvis, Three Dog Night (their all-time smash "Joy to the World"), John Denver, Ringo Starr and Glen Campbell. among others, died of a heart attack at the age of 61.

2003:  The Sugababes went to #1 in the U.K. with "Hole In The Head".






2003:  Dido owned the top U.K. album with Life for Rent.
2004:  The Eagles performed in Yokohama, Japan.
2005:  Ashlee Simpson had the #1 album with I Am Me
2007:  In today's episode of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music, T.I. was arrested for unlawfully possessing firearms, unregistered machine guns and silencers.
2008:  Girls Aloud had the #1 U.K. song with "Promise".
2007:  Donovan announced he was planning to create "The Invincible Donovan University" of transcendental meditation in Glasgow, Scotland.
2008:  Patti LaBelle sang the national anthem of the United States prior to Game Four of the World Series in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2008:  AC/DC owned the top U.K. album with Black Ice.

Born This Day:
1944:  Allen Henderson, bassist for Them ("Gloria") was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
1946:  Keith Hopwood, guitarist of Herman's Hermits, was born in Manchester, England.
1951:  William "Bootsy" Collins, bass guitarist for James Brown, Parliament and Funkadelic, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1951:  Maggie Roche, who sang backing vocals for Paul Simon, was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1952:  David Was of Was Not Was ("Walk The Dinosaur") was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1953:  Keith Strickland, drummer and guitarist with the B-52's, was born in Athens, Georgia.

1963:  Natalie Merchant was born in Jamestown, New York.
1978:  Mark Barry of BBMak ("Back There") was born in Manchester, England.

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