Inside the Rock Era: 5/8/11

Saturday, May 14, 2011

This Date in Rock Music History: May 15

1961: "Runaway" by Del Shannon charted a fourth week at #1. Ernie K-Doe was second with "Mother-In-Law" while Gene McDaniels held steady with "A Hundred Pounds of Clay". Linda Scott remained in the #4 position with "I've Told Every Little Star". The rest of the Top 10: "Daddy's Home" by Shep & the Limelites, Brenda Lee with "You Can Depend On Me", former #1 "Blue Moon" by the Marcels, Ricky Nelson jumped from 18 to 8 with "Travelin' Man", the Shirelles were back with "Mama Said" and Adam Wade with "Take Good Care of Her".
1963: Ray Charles won Best R&B Recording at the Grammies with "I Can't Stop Loving You".

1965: You won't find too many more days more important to music than this one. Rare is it that two artists of this caliber both debuted on the chart with the first singles of their careers. It was indeed a magical time in music, in fact a Renaissance in our lifetime. This Scottish artist would give us thought-provoking music for 10 years, enjoying 17 hits. On this date, his first single debuted on the chart. It was "Catch the Wind" from Donovan...

1965: This folk rock act gave us some great songs, recording 16 hits in just six years, including two of the Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era. After their split, many of the members went on to great success as they went their separate ways. On this date, the Byrds debuted on the chart with their first single--"Mr. Tambourine Man".

The Hermits had two of the Top Ten

1965: Herman's Hermits remained at #1 with "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" for a third week. Gary Lewis & the Playboys were stuck at 2 with "Count Me In', the Beatles held at 3 with "Ticket To Ride" and the Seekers had the #4 song--"I'll Never Find Another You". The rest of the Top Ten: "Silhouettes" from Herman's Hermits was #5, the Beach Boys got a 21-6 jump from "Help Me Rhonda", Petula Clark had song #7 with "I Know a Place" and there were three new songs in the top ten--"I'll Be Doggone" from Marvin Gaye, "Just Once In My Life" by the Righteous Brothers at #9 and "Wooly Bully", the classic from Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs at #10.
1967: Paul McCartney went to the Bag O' Nails club in London, where he meets Linda Eastman, who would be Linda McCartney before long.
1970: Black Sabbath released their debut album.

1970: The Carpenters released their second album Close to You.
1971: The Cannes Film Festival in France showed two short films by John Lennon.
1971: "Knock Three Times" from Tony Orlando & Dawn was the #1 song in the U.K.
1971: The new release by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young--4 Way Street, took just four weeks to reach #1 on the album chart.
1971: The Jackson 5 achieved a third week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Never Can Say Goodbye".

1971: Lobo hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo".

Neil Diamond's big hit...

1971: Three Dog Night made it five weeks at #1 with "Joy to the World". It was the supergroup's ninth hit and fifth Top 10 song. The Jackson 5 were next with "Never Can Say Goodbye", Ocean followed with "Put Your Hand in the Hand" and Bread edged up with "If". The rest of the Top 10: Lobo moved impressively from 10-5 with "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo", the Rolling Stones were up to 6 with "Brown Sugar", Aretha Franklin's version of the Simon & Garfunkel classic, "Bridge Over Troubled Water", was #7, the Bells with "Stay Awhile", Neil Diamond was on the way down with "I Am...I Said" and Daddy Dewdrop dropped with "Chick-A-Boom".
1973: The Pointer Sisters were off and running, making their live debut at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.
1974: Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones released a solo album Monkey Grip.
1975: Fleetwood Mac appeared in El Paso, Texas with a new lineup: Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie and their two newest members--Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.

"Tequila Sunrise", one of the Eagles' great early hits...

1976: The Rolling Stones, which had debuted at #8 with their album Black and Blue one week earlier, hit #1. Wings at the Speed of Sound from Paul McCartney & company held on to #2 with Frampton Comes Alive! by Peter Frampton third. Led Zeppelin's Presence fell from the top after a brief stay. The rest of the Top 10: I Want You from Marvin Gaye, the Eagles with Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, Fleetwood Mac's self-titled release, Eargasm from Johnnie Taylor, the Doobie Brothers were up from 15 to 9 with Takin' It to the Streets and Brass Construction found the Top 10 with their self-titled album.
1976: Diana Ross's great song, "Love Hangover", ruled the roost on the R&B chart.

1976: The hottest new song belong to Brothers Johnson, who moved from 72 to 47 with their new release, "I'll Be Good to You".

"The Voice" helped ensure a successful return...

1981: The Moody Blues released their comeback album Long Distance Voyager.
1982: Deniece Williams reached #1 on the R&B chart with "It's Gonna' Take a Miracle".
1982: Newly formed Asia hit #1 on the album chart with their self-titled project.
1982: Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder reached #1 for the first of five weeks with "Ebony and Ivory".
1984: Nils Lofgren took over for "Miami" Steve Van Zandt in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.

1993: Janet Jackson completed one of the fastest rises to #1 in the rock era when "That's the Way Love Goes" went from #14 to 2 to 1 in three weeks.
1994: Sting and Nancy Wilson of Heart received honorary music Doctorate Degrees from Berklee College of Music in Boston.
1995: Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots was arrested for trying to buy drugs in a motel parking lot in Pasadena, California.
1995: R.E.M. resumed their Monster tour after Bill Berry recovered from an aneurysm.

1998: Sonny and Cher received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2000: Bob Dylan received Sweden's Polar Music Prize.

Born This Day:
1937: Trini Lopez ("If I Had a Hammer" in 1963) was born in Dallas, Texas.

1947: Graeham Goble, singer-songwriter, guitarist and a founding member of Little River Band and later a record producer, was born in Adelaide, Australia.

1948: Brian Eno, keyboardist and synthesizer player with Roxy Music and record producer with U2, the Talking Heads, and others, was born in Woodbridge, England.
1948: Gary Thain, bassist of Uriah Heap, was born in Christchurch, New Zealand; died from drugs December 8, 1975.
1951: Dennis, Frederiksen, lead singer of Angel, LeRoux and Toto, was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
1953: Mike Oldfield, the artist behind the haunting "Tubular Bells", the theme used in the great movie The Exorcist, was born in Reading, Pennsylvania.
1982: Jessica Sutta of the Pussycat Dolls was born in Miami, Florida.

Five Best Songs: The Grass Roots

This is one of my favorite groups from the 60's. Lead singer Rob Grill passed away in 2011, but toured right up until his death. Here are the five best songs from the Los Angeles group:

1. "Midnight Confessions"

2. "Temptation Eyes"

3. "I'd Wait a Million Years"

4. "Sooner or Later"

5. "Let's Live For Today"

The #88 Album of All-Time in the Rock Era--"Rubber Soul" by the Beatles

Rubber Soul was the sixth studio album from the legendary Beatles, released on December 3,1965.

The album was recorded in just over four weeks in order to be released in time for Christmas, yet it sounds polished. Prior to this album, the Beatles recorded songs in between tour dates, filming projects or other commitments in their busy schedules. Beginning with Rubber Soul, the group reserved blocks of time specifically for recording albums. And this was the first album they did that earns a spot in the Top 100.

The Beatles began to push the limits musically. Beginning with Rubber Soul, you begin to hear sounds you've never heard in rock music. And that is why you hear people say that the rock era is divided into everything heard before the Beatles, and everything from the Beatles onward. They changed music forever. Everything you hear today is a result of innovations in songwriting and musicianship spurred by the Beatles.

This album gives the group the opportunity to present their softer side; it contains three of the best love songs of their career--"Michelle", "In My Life" and "Girl". John Lennon's "Norwegian Wood" is another highlight.

Side One
1. "I've Just Seen a Face" 2:07
2. "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" 2:05
3. "You Won't See Me" 3:22
4. "Think for Yourself" 2:19
5. "The Word" 2:43
6. "Michelle" 2:42

Side Two
1. "It's Only Love" 1:55
2. "Girl" 2:33
3. "I'm Looking Through You" 2:31
4. "In My Life" 2:27
5. "Wait" 1:16
6. "Run for Your Life" 2:18

Musicians on Rubber Soul:

The Beatles
John Lennon--rhythm guitar, six and twelve-string acoustic guitars, harmonium, tambourine, cowbell and maracas
Paul McCartney--bass guitar, lead and acoustic guitars, fuzz bass, piano
George Harrison--lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars, twelve-string electric guitar, sitar
Ringo Starr--drums, tambourine, maracas, Hammond organ

additionally:
George Martin--piano on "In My Life", harmonium on "The Word"
Mal Evans: Hammond organ on "You Won't See Me"

Rubber Soul was recorded in June, October and November of 1965 at EMI Studios in London. It was Produced by George Martin, Martin and Norman Smith mixed the sound while Smith engineered the project.

The album ruled the chart for six weeks and remained in the Top Ten for 14 weeks. It remained on the album chart for 59 weeks, over a year. The album has sold six million copies to date and it produced a Track Rating of an even 9.0. None of those numbers are spectacular in and of themselves, but together, they are impressive enough to give the Beatles the #88 spot for the Rock Era--Rubber Soul.

This Date in Rock Music History: May 14

The top group of the 50's was born

1956: The self-titled album by the Platters was released.
1956: Buddy Holly's doctor gave him contact lenses for his 20/800 eyesight (didn't know they were around back then!), but Buddy could not get used to them, so his trademark glasses remained.
1959: Cliff Richard starred in his first movie, Serious Charges.
1963: The Beatles performed at the Rink Ballroom in Sunderland, England.
1964: Jan & Dean began recording "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena".
1965: The Rolling Stones, Boise, Idaho's Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Byrds and the Beau Brummels appeared at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.

1966: Apparently lots of people could identify with this song--the Lovin' Spoonful rose from 65 to 25 with "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?"
1966: Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass owned not only the #1 album (for a fifth week) with Going Places, but the #2 album as well, Whipped Cream & Other Delights.
1968: Paul McCartney and John Lennon appeared on The Tonight Show, which was guest hosted by Joe Garagiola.
1968: The Rascals recorded "People Got To Be Free".
1969: Dennis Yost and Wally Eaton of Classics IV were seriously hurt in a car crash near Atlanta, Georgia.
1969: Jeanne Franklin and Martin Lamble of Fairport Convention were killed in a car crash in London while returning from a concert in Birmingham.
1970: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released their epic and poignant single "Ohio", ten days after the shootings at Kent State University that inspired it.

1973: Three Dog Night released the single "Shambala".

1973: George Harrison released the single "Give Me Love - Give Me Peace On Earth".

1973: Paul Simon released the single "Kodachrome".
1976: Former Yardbirds member Keith Relf was electrocuted by his son's electric guitar at the age of 33.
1977: The Talking Heads performed at the Rock Garden in London. Brian Eno was in the audience and eventually became their producer.
1977: For the third week, Marvin Gaye held on to #1 on the R&B chart with "Got to Give It Up".

1977: Leo Sayer had a #1 song with "When I Need You". "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder waited its turn with the classic "Hotel California" dropping to #3. Glen Campbell's "Southern Nights" came in next followed by "Couldn't Get It Right" from the Climax Blues Band. The rest of the Top Ten: "Right Time of the Night" from Jennifer Warnes, the Atlanta Rhythm Section with "So In To You", "I'm Your Boogie Man" from K.C. & the Sunshine Band at #8, Marvin Gaye with "Got To Give It Up" and Rose Royce had a great song entering the top 10--"I Wanna' Get Next To You".
1977: The Eagles held off Rumors for a seventh week at #1 on the album chart with Hotel California.

1983: They first sang together in a group called the Tourists from 1977-1980. They formed a duo and on this date, the Eurythmics debuted on the chart with their first single. They were a handful of artists to go all the way to #1 with their debut. They had 15 hits in the 1980's, but none bigger than their first--"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)".

1983: There aren't too many times in the Rock Era when two amazing acts debuted on the chart for the first time simultaneously. This artist started out as the lead singer of a group called Blackjack in the late 1970's. On this date, his first career single debuted on the chart. He has had a tremendous career to this day, is one of The Top Adult Contemporary Artists of the 1990's and one of The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era. His first single, which only reached #82 (a bit underrated), was "Fool's Game", by Michael Bolton.

Thomas Dolby blinded us with science...

1983: "Beat It" spent a third week at #1 for Michael Jackson. David Bowie's "Let's Dance" was #2, followed by "Jeopardy" from the Greg Kihn Band, "Overkill" by Men At Work and Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science". The rest of the Top Ten: The former #1 from Dexys Midnight Runners, "Come On Eileen" took position #6, Irene Cara had a monster hit moving from 13-7--"Flashdance", Prince moved to #8 with "Little Red Corvette", Laura Branigan entered the top ten with "Solitaire" and After the Fire hung on to #10 with "Der Kommissar".
1983: Thriller by Michael Jackson was #1 for a 12th week on the Album chart.
1984: Tina Turner released her comeback single, "What's Love Got to Do With It".

1985: Michael Jackson was given a humanitarian award from United States President Ronald Reagan.
1987: Frank Sinatra condemned apartheid in South Africa.
1988: Atlantic Records celebrated their 40th anniversary. The former surviving members of Led Zeppelin reunited with John Bonham's son, Jason on drums.
1988: Al B. Sure enjoyed a third week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Nite and Day".
1988: Foreigner reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "I Don't Want to Live Without You".

  Johnny Hates Jazz--one of the great One-Hit Wonders

1988: Gloria Estefan had a #1 with "Anything For You". Johnny Hates Jazz had one of the top songs ever to peak at #2--"Shattered Dreams", while "Wishing Well" from Terence Trent D'Arby was at #3, George Michael's great song "One More Try" rose from 14 to 4 and Natalie Cole's cover of "Pink Cadillac" remained at #5.

1988: Faith by George Michael regained the #1 spot on the album chart ten weeks after it had fallen from the top. The Soundtrack to "Dirty Dancing" slipped to second.
1992: Kiss released the album Revenge, featuring new drummer Eric Singer.
1993: Duran Duran performed at Tower Records in Los Angeles in a show broadcast live to Tokyo, London and Sydney.
1993: It was time to pick up some music history at an auction at Christies in London. The acoustic guitar that Elvis used in his first recordings in 1954 was up for bid and it sold for $152,000. Four costumes worn by Kiss sold for $35,385.
1994: After four weeks at #1 and four weeks at #2, "The Sign" by Ace of Base had now climbed back up to the top and remained there for another week.
1998: George Michael plead "no contest" to committing a lewd act in a park restroom.

1998: Frank Sinatra died at the age of 82 of a heart attack.
2004: Chris Martin of Coldplay and his wife, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, became the parents of a baby girl.
2006: The Red Hot Chili Peppers reached #1 on the U.K. album chart with Stadium Arcadium.
2007: Bobby Darin is inducted into the Las Vegas Walk of Stars posthumously on what have been his 71st birthday.
2008: Metallica kicked off a tour at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, California.

Born This Day:
1928: Will "Dub" Jones, singer of the Coasters, was born in Shreveport, Louisiana; died January 16, 2000 in Long Beach, California from the effects of diabetes.
1932: Bob Johnston, producer of Simon & Garfunkel and several of Bob Dylan's albums, was born in Hillsboro, Texas.

1936: Bobby Darin (Walden Robert Cassato) was born in The Bronx, New York; died December 20, 1973 at the age of 37 after not taking medication for his heart and developing blood poisoning.
1936: Charlie Gracie ("Butterfly") was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1943: Derek Leckenby, guitarist of Herman's Hermits, was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England; died June 4, 1994 of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

1943: Jack Bruce, bassist for Cream, was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland.
1944: Troy Shondell, who had the Top 10 hit "This Time" in 1961, was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
1946: Gene Cornish, guitarist and harmonica player of the Young Rascals, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
1947: Al Ciner, guitarist of the American Breed ("Bend Me, Shape Me" from 1967") and later a member of Three Dog Night, was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1952: David Byrne, guitarist of the Talking Heads, was born in Dumbarton, Scotland.
1952: Tom Cochrane, lead singer of Red Rider and a solo artist, was born in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, Canada.
1953: John Rutsey, drummer of Rush, was born in Ontario, Canada.
1960: Shelley Preston of Bucks Fizz, was born in Hillingdon, England.
1962: Ian Astbury, songwriter and lead vocalist of the Cult, was born in Heswall, Merseyside, England.

1963: C.C. DeVille, guitarist of Poison, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1966: Mike Inez, bass guitarist of Alice in Chains, was born in San Fernando, California.
1966: Fabrice Morvan of Milli Vanilli was born in Guadeloupe.
1966: Raphael Saadiq, bassist and vocalist of Tony! Toni! Tone!, was born in Oakland, California.
1969: Danny Wood of New Kids on the Block, was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1973: Natalie Appleton of All Saints, was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

1973: Shanice (Lorraine Wilson-Knox) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1976: Hunter Burgan, bass guitarist of AFI, was born in Grass Valley, California.

Friday, May 13, 2011

The #89 Album of All-Time in the Rock Era--"Whitney" by Whitney Houston

The albums get better as we count down, and we're up to #89 of All-Time, Whitney by Whitney Houston.

It was recorded in 1986 and 1987 and more than met expectations that had been raised by her great debut album. Houston became the first female artist to ever debut at #1 on the album chart and it was only the fourth studio album by a solo artist to achieve the feat. The only other ones to achieve that feat were Elton John's Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy and Rock of the Westies and Stevie Wonder's masterpiece Songs in the Key of Life. Whitney featured four smash hits--"I Wanna' Dance With Somebody", "So Emotional", "Didn't We Almost Have It All" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", all of which reached #1, making Houston the first female artist to have four #1 songs on the same album. Combined with her three #1's from her first album, that gave Whitney seven consecutive #1 songs to break the existing record held by the Beatles and Bee Gees. These singles, combined with a fifth, "Love Will Save the Day" served to keep the album front and center on radio stations across the country and across the world.

Whitney was nominated for three Grammies including Album of the Year, and she won one for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance for "I Wanna' Dance With Somebody". She won American Music Awards for Best Pop (Rock) Female Artist and Best Pop (Rock) Single for "I Wanna' Dance...".

The album was a blockbuster across the world. It was #1 in the U.K., becoming the first in history to debut at #1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The album was #1 for 11 weeks, #2 for 12 weeks, 30 in the Top Ten and 85 weeks on the album chart in the U.S. It was #1 in Canada for 11 weeks, #1 in Germany for 11 weeks, #1 in Norway for 11 weeks, #1 in Italy for five, #1 in the Netherlands for six weeks, #1 in Switzerland for 11 weeks, #1 in Sweden for four, Australia for three, Austria and New Zealand for two weeks and #1 in Spain, Finland and Taiwan just to name a few.

To date, the album has sold nine million copies and has a Track Rating of 8.77.

^{1. "I Wanna' Dance With Somebody" (George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam) --4:52}

^{2. "Just the Lonely Talking Again" (Sam Dees) --5:34}

^{3. "Love Will Save the Day" (Toni C.) --5:25}

^{4. "Didn't We Almost Have It All" (Michael Masser, Will Jennings) --5:07}

^{5. "So Emotional" (Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly) --4:37}

^{6. "Where You Are" (LeMel Humes, James Calabrese, Dyan Humes) --4:11}

^{7. "Love Is a Contact Sport" (Preston Glass) --4:19}

^{8. "You're Still My Man" (Michael Masser, Gerry Goffin) --4:18}

^{9. "For the Love of You" (O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Marvin Isley, Chris Jasper) --5:33}

^{10. "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" (Frank Wildhorn & Chuck Jackson) --4:38}

^{11. "I Know Him So Well" (with Cissy Houston) --Tim Rice, Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus --4:30}

Narada was the drummer on the album, Paul Jackson, Jr. played guitar and Corrado Rustici played guitar synthesizer. Jennifer Hall, Jim Gilstrap, Kitty Beethoven and Nikki Harris provided backing vocals.

The album was recorded at New Music Group Studios in Stamford, Connecticut, Tarpan Studios in San Rafael, California, The Plant Studios in Sausalito, California, Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, Larrabee Studios, Hitsville, Leed's L'Mobile and Devonshire Studio in Los Angeles, Z Studios in Brooklyn, New York and Right Track Studios, The Sound Track, Sigma Sound Studios, Record Plant Studios, Soundworks Digital Studios, The Hit Factory and Clinton Recording Studios in New York City. Jellybean Benitez, one of the most popular producers at the time, worked on one track while Kashif, Michael Masser and Narada Michael Walden from Perfection Light Productions did most of the work on the album. Walden arranged the album; it was mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound. Milton Sincoff provided Art Direction and Richard Avedon was the Photographer.

The album was released on June 2, 1987 on Arista Records. At #89 All-Time--Whitney, by Whitney Houston.

This Date in Rock Music History: May 13

1958: Jerry Lee Lewis was granted a divorce from his second wife six months after marrying 14-year-old cousin Myra.
1963: Bobby Vinton released the single "Blue on Blue".
1965: Elvis Presley's new movie, Tickle Me, premiered in Hollywood, California.
1966: The Kinks recorded "Sunny Afternoon".

1967: "The Happening" became the Supremes' 10th #1 song of their career on this date. Only Elvis & the Beatles had more to this juncture. "Sweet Soul Music" by Arthur Conley was a strong #2, Nancy & Frank Sinatra fell to 3 with "Something' Stupid. The rest of the Top Ten: The Young Rascals' smash "Groovin'" rose from 19 to 4, the Monkees had #5 with "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You", the Buckinghams moved up one with "Don't You Care", the Dave Clark Five were a familiar top ten fixture at #7 with "You Got What It Takes", the original Peaches and Herb were at 8 with "Close Your Eyes", The Happenings entered the top ten with "I Got Rhythm" and Tommy James & the Shondells were still hanging around in their 14th week with "I Think We're Alone Now".

1968: Herb Alpert released the single "This Guy's in Love With You".
1970: Badfinger began recording the song "No Matter What".
1970: The Beatles movie Let It Be premiered in New York City.
1971: Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane crashed her car into a concrete wall in the vicinity of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

1972: "Morning Has Broken" hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for Cat Stevens.
1972: First Take from Roberta Flack continued to rule the album chart for the third straight week, with Neil Young's great album Harvest close behind. The self-titled America album was at 3, Yes at #4 with Fragile and Graham Nash & David Crosby had a winner with their album. The rest of the Top Ten: Smokin' from Humble Pie at #6, Eat a Peach by the Allman Brothers Band at #7, Manassas from Stephen Stills was #8, Carole King remained at #9 in her 58th week with Tapestry and Paul Simon's debut solo release was at #10.

(Note...the original is unavailable on You Tube, but this live version is indeed touching...

1972: Roberta Flack made it five weeks at #1 with "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".
1974: More than 50 people were injured when youths started throwing bottles outside a Jackson 5 concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. 43 people were arrested for the incident.
1975: Listeners in Jacksonville, Florida knocked out phone service in that city while calling in to win tickets from a radio station to an Elvis Presley concert.
1977: Dolly Parton performed at the Bottom Line in New York City.
1978: Jimmy Buffett sang "Son of a Sailor" on the television show Saturday Night Live.
1978: "Feels So Good" hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for Chuck Mangione.

"More Than a Woman"--Never released as a single, but of course of of The Top Underrated Songs of All-Time...

1978: The count was up to 17 weeks at #1 for the Soundtrack to "Saturday Night Fever". Wings had a distant #2 with London Town while Eric Clapton Slowhand was #3. Kansas remained at #4 with Point of Know Return and Jefferson Starship checked in at 5 with Earth. The rest of the Top Ten: Jackson Browne's Running On Empty was #6, Chuck Mangione moved up to 7 with Feels So Good, Warren Zevon had a top ten album in Excitable Boy, Billy Joel's great album The Stranger was finally on its way down at #9 in its 32nd week and Champagne Jam, a very underrated album from the Atlanta Rhythm Section was #10.

1978: "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman became the fourth song from Saturday Night Fever to reach #1 on this date. It finally toppled "Night Fever" by the Bee Gees, which fell to #5 after eight consecutive weeks at the top. The Bee Gees also set a Rock Era record by writing four songs that were consecutive #1's for 15 weeks. They were "Stayin' Alive", "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" for Andy Gibb, "Night Fever" and finally the #1 for Elliman. That broke the record set by the Beatles, when they wrote three songs ("I Want to Hold Your Hand", "She Loves You" and "Can't Buy Me Love"), that topped the charts for a total of 14 weeks. "The Closer I Get To You", from Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway was #2 and Wings had the third most popular song "With a Little Luck". Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams teamed for #4--"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" and "Night Fever", John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John had already moved on with "You're the One That I Want" from the great Grease Soundtrack, Jefferson Starship's fine "Count On Me" was #8, Kansas placed their classic at #9 after 16 weeks and "Imaginary Lover" became the second top ten for the Atlanta Rhythm Section.
1979: The Donny & Marie Osmond television special A Little Bit of Country, A Little Bit of Rock 'n' Roll aired on ABC with guests Chuck Berry and Chubby Checker.
1981: Joan Weber, whose one and only hit, "Let Me Go, Lover" spent four weeks at #1 in 1955, died of heart failure at the of 45 in Ancora, New Jersey.
1985: Bruce Springsteen married Julianne Phillips.

1989: "Ill Be There For You" was Bon Jovi's 12th career hit and fourth #1. It replaced "Like a Prayer" which fell to #2 for Madonna. Jody Watley remained at 3 with "Real Love", Paula Abdul's "Forever Your Girl" was destined for the top. The rest of the Top Ten: Donny Osmond's comeback "Soldier Of Love" hit #5, Cher & Peter Cetera came in at 6, "Second Chance" was at #7 for .38 Special, Michael Damian's remake of "Rock On" was #8, Guns N' Roses had #9 with "Patience" and Bette Midler moved from 19-10 with "Wind Beneath My Wings".
2003: Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong ("Earache My Eye") plead guilty to selling drug paraphernalia over the Internet.
2007: Bo Diddley was hospitalized after suffering a stroke.
2010: Jimmy Dean died at the age of 81 of natural causes at his home in Varina, Virginia.
2010: Patti LaBelle received an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from her hometown university of Temple in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2012: Donald Dunn, bass guitarist of the Mar-Keys ("Last Night") and Booker T. & the M.G.'s, died May 13, 2012 in Tokyo, Japan.

Born This Day:

1941: Ritchie Valens was born in Pacolma, California; died February 3, 1959 at the age of 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.

1943: Mary Wells was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1949: Pete Watts, bass player of Mott the Hoople, was born in Birmingham, England.

1950: Steveland Morris, the great Stevie Wonder, was born in Saginaw, Michigan.

1950: Danny Kirwan, singer and elite guitarist for Fleetwood Mac, was born in London.
1951: Paul Thompson, drummer for Roxy Music, was born in Jarrow, England.
1966: Darius Rucker, lead singer and Rhythm guitarist of Hootie & the Blowfish, was born in Charleston, South Carolina.
1967: Melanie Thornton, lead singer of LaBouche, was born in Charleston, South Carolina; died November 24, 2001 in a plane crash near Zurich, Switzerland.

1969: Buckethead (real name Brian Carroll), virtuoso guitarist of Guns N' Roses
1979: Michael Madden, bassist of Maroon 5, was born in Austin, Texas.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

This Date in Rock Music History: May 12

1958: The movie Let's Rock, starring Paul Anka, Danny & the Juniors and the Royal Teens opened to audiences.

1960: Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley appeared on Sinatra's Welcome Home Elvis television special on ABC. Elvis sang "Witchcraft" while Sinatra sang Elvis's hit "Love Me Tender".

1962: Billboard announced that "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean was the top jukebox song of 1961.
1962: "Mashed Potato Time" by Dee Dee Sharp was the top R&B song for a third week.
1962: Mr. Acker Bilk continued to hold down the #1 spot on the Easy Listening chart for a fourth week with "Stranger on the Shore".
1963: Bob Dylan walked out of rehearsals for The Ed Sullivan Show after CBS censors told him he could not perform "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues".

1964: "The Days of Wine and Roses" was named Best Song at the Grammy Awards.
1967: Pink Floyd played Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, experimenting with quadrophonic sound.
1967: A British radio station debuted Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in its entirety.

1967: Archie Bell of the Drells was drafted into the United States military for a tour of Vietnam.
1971: Jerry Lee Lewis divorced his cousin Myra.
1971: Mick Jagger married Bianca Perez Morena de Macias in St. Tropez. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills and the other members of the Stones were in attendance.
1972: The Rolling Stones released the album Exile on Main Street.
1973: "Daniel" hit #1 for Elton John on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Dobie Gray could only reach #5 amidst stiff competition.

1973: It was one of the best times for music in rock history. "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree" spent a fourth week at #1 for Dawn, with Stevie Wonder moving up to #2 with "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". Sweet's "Little Willy" remained at #3, War was at 4 with "The Cisco Kid" and Dobie Gray had #5 with "Drift Away". The rest of the Top Ten: "Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel, the Edgar Winter Group's classic "Frankenstein" at #7, Vicki Lawrence at #8 with her former #1 "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia", "Daniel" entering the top ten at #9 for Elton John and Donny Osmond at #10 with "The Twelfth Of Never".

1975: 10cc released the single "I'm Not in Love".
1975: Jefferson Starship gave a free concert in New York City's Central Park to commemorate the group's 10th anniversary.

1977: The song "Hotel California" by the Eagles was certified gold.
1979: Jefferson Starship gave a free concert in San Francisco, introducing new lead singer Mickey Thomas.

1979: "Love Is the Answer", the timeless song from England Dan & John Ford Coley, remained at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1979: Peaches & Herb remained at the top of the R&B chart for a third week with "Reunited".
1983: Meat Loaf filed for bankruptcy.
1984: "Hello" spent a sixth week at #1 for Lionel Richie on the Adult Contemporary chart.

1984: "Hello" also hit #1 on the popular chart, taking down the great Phil Collins song "Against All Odds". The Thompson Twins had #3 "Hold Me Now" while Deniece Williams was climbing fast with "Let's Heart It For the Boy", another single from the movie Footloose. The rest of the Top Ten: Rick Springfield's rocker "Love Somebody", Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson teamed up for #6 "To All the Girls I've Loved Before", the Cars held steady at 7 with "You Might Think", "Footloose" was #8 for Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry's first solo hit "Oh Sherrie" entered the top 10 at #9 and Cyndi Lauper had #10--"Time After Time".

1985: Lionel Richie earned an honorary Doctor of Music degree from his Alma mater of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
1986: Janet Jackson released the single "Nasty".
1990: Former Eagles members Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmidt performed together at a rock and roll convention in Los Angeles.
1990: Sinead O'Connor topped the chart for a fourth week with "Nothing Compares 2 (sic) U" (sic).

Ummm--perhaps Man of the Century?

1992: Paul Simon and Billy Joel met with the great Mikhail Gorbachev, who gave so many people freedom.
1995: Peter Tork of the Monkees made an appearance on the ABC-TV show Boy Meets World.
1998: Garbage released their second album Version 2.0.
2000: Thieves stole the gates to the famous children's home Strawberry Fields in Liverpool, England. A scrap dealer later saves the day by turning them in.

2001: The great Perry Como, whose recording and television career spanned 50 years and whose popularity spanned generations, died shortly before his 89th birthday.
2002: Dionne Warwick was arrested at Miami International Airport after baggage screeners found 11 marijuana cigarettes inside her lipstick container.
2002: Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton found out that his Cape Cod home was destroyed by fire. The house was under construction at the time.

2003: The great jazz artist and pianist Diana Krall confirmed her engagement to Elvis Costello.
2004: John Whitehead of the duo McFadden & Whitehead ("Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now", the platinum single from 1979) was shot dead while fixing his car by an unknown assailant. He was 55.
2006: Guns N' Roses played at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, previewing six songs from their upcoming Chinese Democracy album.
2011: Stevie Wonder received an honorary degree from Tulane University in New Orleans.

Born This Day:

1929: Burt Bacharach, who wrote "Close To You" and many of Dionne Warwick's hits, was born in Kansas City, Missouri.
1935: Steve Knight, keyboardist of Mountain, was born in New York City; died January 19, 2013 from complications of Parkinson's disease.

1942: Billy Swan, who gave us "I Can Help" in 1974, was born in Cape Giradeau, Missouri .
1944: James Purify (of James & Bobby Purify--"I'm Your Puppet") was born in Pensacola, Florida.
1946: Ian McLagen of Small Faces and Faces was born in Hounslow, England.

Winwood joined the Spencer Davis Group at age 15

1948: Steve Winwood, member of Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic and huge solo star, was born in Birmingham, England.

1950: Billy Squier was born in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts.
1958: Eric Singer, drummer for Kiss, was born in Cleveland, Ohio.
1961: Billy Duffy, guitarist and songwriter of the Cult, was born in Hulme, Manchester, England.
1967: Paul D'Amour, bass guitarist of Tool, was born in Spokane, Washington.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Five Best Songs--Heart

Obviously, these are tougher to do for the giants of the music business but this is a pretty good list. "Straight On" and "Nothing At All" just missed the cut. I have also included Heart's five best songs that did not reach the Top Ten: