We sing along to songs on the radio, we hum them, we whistle, we make up our own words to them, we turn them up, we use them for mood music, but when a song really makes us think, the song and its writer(s) have accomplished something great.
Inside the Rock Era is saluting those songs that, in their own way, helped change the world. For if the song changed one person, it changed the course of history. It is appropriate on this most evil of days to remind everyone that "...Nothing ever came from violence...Nothing ever could." This one is the great song "Fragile" from Sting.
"Fragile"
by Sting
Words and Music by Sting
If blood will flow when flesh and steel are one
Drying in the colour of the evening sun
Tomorrow's rain will wash the stains away
But something in our minds will always stay
Perhaps this final act was meant
To clinch a lifetime's argument
That nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could
For all those born beneath an angry star
Lest we forget how fragile we are
On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are how fragile we are
On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are how fragile we are
How fragile we are how fragile we are
1958: Lloyd Price recorded the original version of "Stagger Lee". 1960: Nancy Sinatra married Tommy Sands. 1961: The Beatles recorded the single "Love Me Do" (A side) and "P.S. I Love You" (B side). 1961: Three new songs debuted in the Top 10--"Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor (On the Bedpost Over Night)" by Lonnie Donegan, Barry Mann moved from 14-8 with "Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)" and Elvis Presley climbed in with "Little Sister". 1962: Producer George Martin called the Beatles to return to EMI's Abbey Road Studios to re-record "Love Me Do". They also recorded "P.S. I Love You" and an early version of "Please Please Me". 1962: Neil Sedaka married his wife Leba. 1964: George Harrison announced the formation of Harrissongs, his own song publishing company. 1964: The Beatles performed in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. 1965: The Rolling Stones hit #1 in the U.K. with "Satisfaction".
1965: We Five owned the top Easy Listening song for a second week with "You Were on My Mind". 1965: The Beatles registered what still is the seventh biggest leap to #1 in the Rock Era on the album chart--Help! moved from 61 to 1 on this date. Sonny & Cher moved up with Look at Us, the Rolling Stones fell with Out of Our Heads and the Soundtrack to "The Sound of Music" was fourth. The rest of the Top 10: Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) by the Beach Boys, Herman's Hermits on Tour, The Soundtrack to "Mary Poppins" came in #7, Beatles VI was #8, Sinatra '65, and Bob Dylan brought up the rear with Bringing It All Back Home. 1967: Frank Sinatra was denied credit at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, and lost two teeth in the ensuing fight. 1967: The Jimi Hendrix Experience performed at the Grona Lund in Stockholm, Sweden. 1967: The single "All You Need is Love" by the Beatles was certified gold. 1967: The Beatles' psychedelic bus "Magical Mystery Tour" began cruising the English countryside to begin filming for their next movie project. The group visited Somerset, Cornwall, Devon and the Kent airport. 1968: Larry Graham of Sly & the Family Stone was arrested for possession of drugs, forcing the group to cancel an appearance on television. 1968: The Beatles recorded 34 takes of "Glass Onion" for The White Album. 1971: The animated series The Jackson Five made its debut on ABC-TV.
1971: Joan Baez had the #1 Easy Listening song again with "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down".
1971: Aretha Franklin held on to #1 on the R&B chart for the third week with her great song "Spanish Harlem".
1971: The Carpenters catapulted from 49 to 17 with "Superstar". 1972: A rockin' group from Chicago, Illinois released their first single on this date. Although most did not know of them until three years later with a song called "Lady", Styx released "Best Thing" on Monday, September 11, 1972. 1974: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Joni Mitchell and the Band gave 80,000 people plenty of reasons to fill London's Wembley Stadium to capacity. 1975: Aerosmith's debut album was certified gold. 1976: ELO released their great album A New World Record.
1976: Elton John & Kiki Dee's multi-format smash "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. 1976: Peter Frampton hopped up to #1 for the third time on the album chart with Frampton Comes Alive!, sending the self-titled Fleetwood Mac to #2. Jefferson Starship was at 3 with Spitfire and George Benson remained at 4 with Breezin'. The rest of the Top 10: Silk Degrees from Boz Scaggs, Linda Ronstadt jumped from 18 to 6 with Hasten Down the Wind, Lou Rawls came in at #7 with All Things in Time, the self-titled Wild Cherry was #8, Chicago X, and Spirit from John Denver. 1977: Famous lyricist Bernie Taupin made his television acting debut on The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula on ABC-TV. 1977: David Bowie and Bing Crosby recorded a duet of the popular Christmas classic "The Little Drummer Boy". 1978: Robert Palmer was in concert at the Odeon in Birmingham, England. 1979: The Who appeared in concert at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey but it wasn't the same. The drummer was not Keith Moon, but rather Kenny Jones.
1982: Elton John rose to #1 on the AC chart with "Blue Eyes". 1982: American Fool from John Cougar (Mellencamp) took its place as the #1 album, sending Mirage by Fleetwood Mac downward. Eye of the Tiger by Survivor was third, followed by Abracadabra from the Steve Miller Band and Pictures at Eleven by Robert Plant. The rest of the Top 10: Asia, REO Speedwagon's Good Trouble, Daylight Again, the new Crosby, Stills & Nash album, Vacation from the Go-Go's and Chicago 16 reached the Top 10. 1982: John Cougar (Mellencamp) became the only male artist to have two Top 10 songs at the same time that he had the #1 album. "Jack & Diane" was #4 and "Hurts So Good" #8. 1982: Chicago scored the second #1 song of their career with "Hard to Say I'm Sorry". It was their 14th Top 10 and 32nd hit. 1984: Bruce Springsteen gave the first of six sold-out performances at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1987: Geffen Records released the compilation album Elton John's Greatest Hits, Volume 3.
1987: Prince's recording studio Paisley Park officially opened. 1987: Peter Gabriel won Best Video, Best Male Video and seven other MTV Awards for "Sledgehammer". 1987: Lorne Greene, who had the #1 song "Ringo" in 1964 and of course was the father on one of the all-time top television shows Bonanza, died of cardiac arrest. 1988: Metallica began a tour of Europe in Budapest, Hungary.
1988: Michael Jackson performed in front of 125,000 fans at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. 1990: George Michael released his second solo album Listen Without Prejudice. 1993: Mariah Carey reached #1 for the seventh time in just nine releases with "Dreamlover", knocking out UB40, who had been there for seven weeks with their remake of the Elvis Presley classic "Can't Help Falling in Love". Billy Joel posted yet another Top 10 song with his 39th hit "River of Dreams". 1995: Janet Jackson became the first woman in the Rock Era to debut in the Top 10 when "Runaway" achieved the feat.
1999: TLC reached #1 with "Unpretty". 2000: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio unveiled the new Jimi Hendrix Surround Sound Theater and exhibit. 2000: Boyz II Men appeared at Beacon Theater in New York City to raise nearly $60,000 to benefit the VH1 Save the Music foundation. 2000: Sixpence None the Richer ("Kiss Me") spent the day building houses for the wonderful Habitat for Humanity project in Harlem, New York. 2003: Termome "T-Bone" Hannon, bass guitarist for Jewel, died of a stroke at the age of 39. 2003: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck postponed their wedding because of a media frenzy. 2003: Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong was sentenced to nine months in federal prison for selling drug paraphernalia over the Internet. 2003: Fleetwood Mac, Cher, Bruce Springsteen and Steely Dan, all touring in the fall, did not schedule a show on this, the second anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. 2004: Brian McFadden, former singer with Westlife tackled a mugger who had stolen a German tourist's handbag in North London and was celebrated as a hero. 2005: The Pussycat Dolls had the top U.K. song with "Don't Cha'".
Born This Day: 1938: Charles Patrick of the Monotones ("Book of Love") 1940: Bernie Dwyer of Freddie & the Dreamers 1943: Mickey Hart, drummer of Grateful Dead 1946: Dennis Tufano, lead singer of the Buckinghams, was born in Chicago, Illinois. 1948: John Martyn, singer, songwriter and guitarist who worked with Eric Clapton and David Gilmour, was born in New Maiden, Surrey, England. 1953: Tommy Shaw, guitarist of Styx, was born in Montgomery, Alabama. 1957: Jon Moss, drummer for Culture Club, was born in Wandsworth, England. 1958: Mick Talbot, keyboardist with Style Council ("My Ever Changing Moods"), was born in Wimbledon, England. 1965: Moby (Richard Hall) was born in Darien, Connecticut. 1967: Harry Connick, Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. 1971: Richard Ashcroft, guitarist and vocalist with the Verve, was born in Billinge, Wigan, England. 1975: Brad Fischetti of LFO 1977: Ludacris (Christopher Brian Bridges) was born in Champaign, Illinois. 1977: Jon Buckland of Coldplay was born in Islington, London, England.
Logic would tell you that not all of the Most Important Songs of the Rock Era are positive songs about mankind. Some point out our shortcomings. We all know that kids say the most hurtful things because they haven't learned one of the most important lessons yet--if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all. Some adults never learn that.
But in 1975, Janis Ian put this song out there and it caused millions of people to look inward, reassess their lives and change how they treat others. In every person that we see in our lives, there's a soul, a spirit. For people over the age of 17, this incredible song perhaps caused some regrets about the way they had behaved through school. If anyone under 17 can grasp this message, they are way ahead of the rest of us. Here is the YouTube version with the biting lyrics below of one of the most powerful songs ever written.
"At Seventeen"
by Janis Ian
Words and Music by Janis Ian
I learned the truth at seventeen,
That love was meant for beauty queens.
In high school, girls with clear-skin smiles,
Who married young and then retired.
The valentines I never knew.
The Friday night charades of youth,
Were spent on one more beautiful.
At seventeen I learned the truth.
And those of us with ravaged faces,
Lacking in the social graces,
Desperately remained at home,
Inventing lovers on the phone.
Who called to say come dance with me.
And murmured vague obscenities.
It isn't all it seems,
At seventeen.
A brown-eyed girl in hand-me-downs.
Whose name I never could pronounce,
Said, "Pity, please, the ones who serve,
They only get what they deserve."
And the rich-relationed, hometown queen,
Marries into what she needs.
With a guarantee of company,
And haven for the elderly.
Remember those who win the game,
Lose the love they sought to gain.
In debentures [3] of quality,
And dubious integrity.
The small-town eyes will gape at you,
In dull surprise, when payment due,
Exceeds accounts received.
At seventeen.
[Instrumental break.]
To those of us who knew the pain,
Of valentines that never came.
And those whose names were never called,
When choosing sides for basketball.
It was long ago and far away,
The world was younger than today.
And dreams were all they gave for free,
To ugly-duckling girls like me.
We all play the game and when we dare,
To cheat ourselves at solitaire.
Inventing lovers on the phone,
Repenting other lives unknown,
That call and say, come dance with me,
An' murmur vague obscenities,
At ugly girls like me,
At seventeen.
1956: Music fans stormed into record stores with requests to purchase the song "Love Me Tender", which had not even been released yet. 1963: The Rolling Stones ran into Paul McCartney and John Lennon at Studio 51 Jazz Club in London. The two Beatles played the song "I Wanna' Be Your Man" for the Stones, who later recorded it. 1963: The Beatles received the award for Top Vocal Group of the Year from the Variety Club of Great Britain. 1964: Rod Stewart recorded his first single "Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl" with the Hoochie Koochie Men. Future Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones played on the song. 1964: The Kinks had the top song in the U.K. with "You Really Got Me". 1965: The Byrds began recording the song "Turn! Turn! Turn!".
Things were looking up for Bobby Hebb
1965: Revolver by the Beatles shot up from #45 to #1 to leave no doubt which was the top album. That's still the 12th-biggest leap to #1 of the Rock Era. 1966: The Rolling Stones performed on The Ed Sullivan Show.
The great Hollies had a hot song... 1966: The Supremes scored their seventh #1 song out of 17 released with "You Can't Hurry Love". Donovan barely had time to get comfortable at the position with "Sunshine Superman", which fell to #2. The Beatles had hit #45 in their first three years with "Yellow Submarine". The Happenings fell with "See You in September" while the former #1 "Summer in the City" from Lovin' Spoonful was song #5. The rest of the Top 10: Wilson Pickett & "Land of 1,000 Dances", "Sunny" from Bobby Hebb, Lee Dorsey remained at 8 with "Working in the Coal Mine", the Hollies popped from 18 to 9 with "Bus Stop" and "Guantanamera" by the Sandpipers moved into the Top 10. 1968: The Beatles posted their 15th #1 song in the U.K. with "Hey Jude". 1970: Michael Nesmith of the Monkees celebrated the birth of his daughter Jessica. 1972: The Eagles played at the War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse, New York. 1975: Kiss released the double album Alive, which featured live performances of tracks on their first three albums. 1975: Bob Dylan recorded "Hurricane", "Oh Sister" and "Simple Twist of Fate" for the television special The World of John Hammond, Hammond being the man who signed him to Columbia Records.
1977: The Sanford Townsend Band had the only new entry in the Top 10 on this date--"Smoke from a Distant Fire". 1977: Carly Simon ("Nobody Does It Better") took over the #1 spot on the Adult Contemporary chart from then-husband James Taylor ("Handy Man"), believed to be the only time in the Rock Era that feat has occurred.
1977: The album Rumours by Fleetwood Mac tied the existing Rock Era record for weeks at #1, set in 1967 by the album More of the Monkees. On this date, the two were tied for that mark with 18. 1979: Patti Smith ("Because the Night" from 1978) told an audience of 85,000 in Florence, Italy she was retiring from live performance. She wanted to spend more time with husband Fred "Sonic" Smith of MC5. 1980: Peter Comita replaced Tom Peterson in Cheap Trick. 1983: Michael Sembello, formerly the guitarist for Stevie Wonder, completed a charge up to #1 with "Maniac", taking the place of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" from the Eurythmics. Men Without Hats had song #3--"The Safety Dance" while Taco was "Puttin' on the Ritz". The rest of the Top 10: Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It" from the album An Innocent Man, the Police with their former #1 "Every Breath You Take", Donna Summer with her 24th career hit "She Works Hard for the Money", Bonnie Tyler moved from 15-8 with her great song "Total Eclipse of the Heart", Michael Jackson was at 9 with "Human Nature" and Culture Club fell with "I'll Tumble 4 (sic) Ya". 1983: The album Thriller by Michael Jackson regained the #1 position to notch week #20 at the top spot.
1984: The comeback train was full steam ahead and on this date Tina Turner released the single "Better Be Good to Me". 1988: Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits began an American tour together. 1988: Phil Collins reached #1 in the U.K. with "A Groovy Kind of Love".
1988: The song with that unforgettable guitar open--"Sweet Child O' Mine" from Guns N' Roses was the new #1 song with Robert Palmer's "Simply Irresistible" and "Perfect World" from Huey Lewis & the News trailing. "Monkey" slid down for George Michael and Van Halen had song #5 with "When It's Love". The rest of the Top 10: "Fast Car" from Tracy Chapman, Taylor Dayne was up with "I'll Always Love You", #8 belonged to the New Edition and "If It Isn't Love", Bobby McFerrin was all smiles with "Don't Worry Be Happy", which moved from 15-9 and Kenny Loggins collected his 18th hit with "Nobody's Fool". 1988: Def Leppard registered a fifth week at #1 on the album chart with Hysteria, now in its 56th week. It was an interesting test of endurance as Guns N' Roses had the #2 album Appetite for Destruction, which was in its 55th week.
1990: Swing Out Sister released the single "Break Out". 1990: Mariah Carey released her song "Love Takes Time". 1990: Will Smith made his television debut in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. 1990: The Hard Rock Cafe opened a restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada. 1991: Garth Brooks released the album Ropin' the Wind. 1992: Slash (he also went by the name Buckethead), guitarist for Guns N' Roses, married Renee Suran. 1994: Boyz II Men remained at #1 on the R&B chart for a fourth week with "I'll Make Love to You". 1995: Cyndi Lauper received an Emmy Award for her guest appearance on the television show "Mad About You".
1996: Ray Coleman died of cancer. Coleman was a prominent journalist with the U.K. weekly magazine Melody Maker throughout the career of the Beatles and into the mid-70's. 1998: Gary Glitter ("Rock and Roll, Pt. 2" from 1973) appeared in court on child pornography charges. 2005: U2, Alicia Keys, Green Day, Kelly Clarkson, Game, Nine Inch Nails, Good Charlotte, Kanye West and David Banner performed at a benefit for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. 2005: Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, session guitarist who recorded with Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Frank Zappa and others, died at the age of 81 in Orange, Texas. 2007: Girls Aloud broke the U.K. record for consecutive Top 10 songs by a female act when "Sexy" gave the group their 16th in a row. 2008: Peoria, Illinois named a street "Dan Fogelberg Parkway" after the late superstar. 2008: Peter Gabriel was given the Ambassador of Conscience Award from Amnesty International in London.
Born This Day: 1898: Waldo Semon, the inventor of vinyl in 1926, the substance used to make LP and 45 records; died May 26, 1998 at the age of 100.
1942: Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night was born in Buncrana, Donegal, Ireland.
1945: Jose Feliciano was born in Lares, Puerto Rico. 1949: Barriemore Barlow, drummer and percussionist of Jethro Tull, was born in Birmingham, England. 1950: Joe Perry, elite guitarist of Aerosmith, was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. 1950: Don Powell, drummer of Slade ("Run Runaway) 1951: Pete Tolson, bass guitarist for Pretty Things, was born in Bishops Stortford, England. 1955: Pat Mastelotto, drummer with Mr. Mister, was born in Chico, California. 1956: Johnny Fingers of the Boomtown Rats 1957: Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama was born in Dunshaughlin, County Meath, Ireland. 1957: Carol Decker, lead singer of T'Pau ("Heart and Soul"), was born in Huyton, Lancashire, England. 1966: Robin Goodridge, drummer of Bush, was born in Crawler, Sussex, England. 1966: Miles Zuniga of Fastball 1968: Big Daddy Kane of the Juice Crew was born in Brooklyn, New York. 1980: Mikey Way, bass guitarist for My Chemical Romance, was born in Newark, New Jersey.
TLC was one of the most successful acts of the 90's and one of The Top Female Artists of the Rock Era*. They have sold over 42 million albums to date. Here is their complete Hits List:
You could tell from their debut album that this was a hip band. Here is the complete Discography from Dire Straits:
1978: Dire Straits (#2, #5 U.K., #10 Norway, #6 Sweden)--their best album 1979: Communique (#11, #5 U.K., #2 Norway, #1 Sweden) 1980: Making Movies (#19, #4 U.K., #1 Norway, #4 Sweden) 1982: Love Over Gold (#19, #1 U.K., #1 Norway, #2 Sweden)
1985: Brothers in Arms (#1, #1 U.K., #1 Norway, #1 Sweden) 1991: On Every Street (#12, #1 U.K., #1 Norway, #1 Sweden)
Live Albums: 1984: Alchemy (#46, #3 U.K., #7 Norway, #19 Sweden) 1993: On the Night (#116, #4 U.K., #1 Norway, #1 Sweden) 1995: Live at the BBC (#71 U.K.)
Compilations: 1988: Money for Nothing (#62, #1 U.K., #3 Norway, #8 Sweden) 1998: Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits (#6 U.K., #2 Norway, #7 Sweden) 2005: The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations (#20 U.K., #5 Norway, #6 Sweden)
Train appealed to our better side in this classic song, pledging not to give up and fight for what is right. It is a timeless message and never more important than right now.
"Calling All Angels"
by Train
Words and Music by Charlie Colin, Pat Monahan, Scott Underwood and James W. Stafford
I need a sign to let me know you're here
All of these lines are being crossed over the atmosphere
I need to know that things are gonna look up
'Cause I feel us drowning in a sea spilled from a cup
When there is no place safe and no safe place to put my head
When you can feel the world shake from the words that are said
[Chorus:]
And I'm calling all angels
I'm calling all you angels
I won't give up if you don't give up [Repeat x4]
I need a sign to let me know you're here
'Cause my TV set just keeps it all from being clear
I want a reason for the way things have to be
I need a hand to help build up some kind of hope inside of me
[Chorus]
When children have to play inside so they don't disappear
While private eyes solve marriage lies cause we don't talk for years
And football teams are kissing Queens
and losing sight of having dreams
In a world that what we want is only what we want until it's ours
1954, Elvis Presley played at the opening of the Lamar-Airways Shopping Center in Memphis, Tennessee. 1955: The J.P. Seeburg Corporation came out with the Dual Music System Jukebox which was the first of its kind to hold 100 45's. 1956: Elvis Presley made his first of three appearances on the Ed Sullivan show Toast of the Town. Contrary to myth, he was not shown from just the waist up but was in full view. If you read that somewhere, you can discount that source's credibility. (For the third appearance, he indeed did appear from the waist up but speculation was that his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had ordered the semblance of censorship to generate publicity for Presley.) 1956: The Johnny Burnette Trio appeared on Ted Mack's Amateur Hour on ABC-TV. 1957: Jerry Lee Lewis took over at #1 on the R&B chart with "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On". 1965: The Rolling Stones had the top song in the U.K. with "Satisfaction". 1967: The Doors performed at the Village Theater in New York City, which would later be known as Fillmore East. 1967: James Brown topped the R&B chart with "Cold Sweat - Part 1". 1967: The Association soared from 59 to 25 with "Never My Love".
1967: It was a magical time in music as "Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry was the #1 song, having taken over from the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love". That song replaced "Light My Fire" by the Doors, which was the successor to "Windy" from the Association. On its way up from 15-5 was "The Letter" from the Box Tops. In between--"Reflections" from Diana Ross & the Supremes (as they were billed at the time), Bobby Vee's "Come Back When You Grow Up" at #3 and "Baby I Love You" by Aretha Franklin. "The rest of the Top 10: "All You Need is Love", "You're My Everything" by the Temptations, "Light My Fire", Jay & the Techniques with "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie" and the great sound of the Animals with "San Franciscan Nights", which moved from #25 to 10 on this date. 1968: The Beatles recorded 17 takes of "Helter Skelter" for The White Album. 1970: Elvis Presley began his first tour in nine years in Phoenix, Arizona. 1971: John Lennon released the album Imagine. 1972: "Back Stabbers" by the O'Jays was the new #1 on the R&B chart. 1972: Chicago V landed at #1 again for the fourth week. Never a Dull Moment came in second followed by Big Bambu from Cheech & Chong. Elton John's Honky Chateau was #4, itself a former #1 album. The rest of the Top 10: Moods from Neil Diamond, Carney by Leon Russell, Trilogy at #7 for Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live!, Seven Separate Fools by Three Dog Night at #9 and Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits coming in tenth.
1972: Bread owned the #1 Easy Listening song with "The Guitar Man".
1972 New group the Doobie Brothers had a hot song on this date, moving from 89 to 62 with their first release "Listen to the Music". 1972: Gilbert O'Sullivan logged a sixth week at #1 with "Alone Again (Naturally)". The Hollies couldn't get higher than #2 with "Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)". Al Green had song #3--"I'm Still in Love with You" and Mac Davis was looking good with "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me". The rest of the Top 10: Looking Glass and their former #1 "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)", "Back Stabbers" from the O'Jays, Gary Glitter with "Rock and Roll Part 2", Jim Croce's "You Don't Mess Around with Jim", Three Dog Night with their ninth Top 10 "Black & White" and Chicago jumped in with "Saturday in the Park". 1975: Wings set out on a world tour, beginning in Southampton, England. 1978: U2 opened for the Stranglers at the Top Hat Ballroom in Dublin, Ireland. 1978: Boney M topped the album chart in the U.K. with Night Flight To Venus.
1978: Newcomer Chris Rea had the top Adult Contemporary song with "Fool (If You Think It's Over)".
1979: Yuself Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) married Fouzia Ali.
1980: Abba in Concert was televised on British television.
1981: Sting of the Police and Phil Collins of Genesis both made their solo debuts at Amnesty International's "The Secret Policeman's Other Ball" in London.
1982: Al Green and Patti LaBelle starred in the gospel musical Your Arm's Too Short to Box with God, which opened at Alvin Theatre in New York City.
1985: Glenn Frey released the single "You Belong to the City". 1989: Sonic Youth and Nirvana performed at the Caberet Metro in Chicago, Illinois. 1989: Richard Marx made it six weeks at #1 on the AC chart with "Right Here Waiting". 1991: On the heels of his massive #1 "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", Bryan Adams released another great one--"Can't Stop This Thing We Started". 1995: Chynna Phillips of Wilson Phillips married actor William Baldwin.
1995: Combine a great song with a great movie and you get a #1 song. Coolio with L.V. climbed to #1 with "Gangsta's Paradise", a remake of Stevie Wonder's song "Pastime Paradise". Michael Jackson had to fall with "You Are Not Alone, Seal remained at #3 with "Kiss from a Rose" and TLC completed an excellent Top Four with "Waterfalls". 1996: Tom Petty's wife, Jane, filed for divorce. 1999: D'Arcy Wretzky, bass guitarist of the Smashing Pumpkins, left the group. 1999: Nine Inch Nails performed at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. 2000: Neil Peart of Rush married photographer Carrie NuttallMontecito, California. 2001: Aaliyah had the #1 album with her self-titled release. 2003: Simon and Garfunkel announced they would reform for a fall tour. 2003: Velvet Revolver inked a recording contract with RCA Records. 2003: John Mayer released his third album Heavier Things. 2003: A Kiss concert at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne, Australia from February (recorded with a 60-piece symphony orchestra) was shown in movie theaters in 21 cities in the United States. 2003: Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland of Coldplay constructed four giant letters which spelled "hope" on a beach outside where the World Trade Organization was conducting a meeting in Cancun, Mexico. The group represented the organization Make Trade Fair. 2003: In today's episode of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music, the guy who is worth 50 cents (50 Cent) was asked to turn himself in after fleeing the scene in which shots were fired in a New Jersey hotel that the rapper was seen entering moments before. 2005: The Eagles were in concert at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. 2006: Travis Barker, formerly the drummer in Blink-182, broke his arm while shooting a video for his new group +44. 2006: Danity Kane rose to #1 on the album chart with their self-titled release.
Born This Day: 1940: Joe Negroni of Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, was born in New York City. 1941: Otis Redding; died in a plane crash in 1967 three days after releasing the single "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", was born in Dawson, Georgia. 1942: Luther Simmons of the Main Ingredient 1942: Inez Foxx, who combined with brother Charles for the 1963 hit "Mockingbird", was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. 1945: Dee Dee Sharp (real name Dione LaRue, who did "Mashed Potato Time" in 1962) as born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1946: Billy Preston was born in Houston, Texas. 1946: Bruce Palmer, bass guitarist with Buffalo Springfield, was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. 1946: Inez Foxx ("Mockingbird" from 1963) was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. 1946: Doug Ingle, keyboard player of Iron Butterfly, was born in Omaha, Nebraska. 1947: Freddy Weller, who co-wrote "Dizzy" with Tommy Roe and played a brief time as lead guitarist with the Boise, Idaho group Paul Revere & the Raiders, was born in Atlanta, Georgia. 1952: David Stewart of the Eurythmics was born in Sunderland, England. 1953: John McFee, guitarist with the Doobie Brothers, was born in Santa Cruz, California. 1959: Kurtis Blow was born in Harlem, New York. 1960: Aimee Mann, lead singer of 'Til Tuesday, was born in Richmond, Virginia.
1963: Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey. 1975: Michael Buble was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. 1972: Arion Salazar, former bassist of Third Eye Blind, was born in Oakland, California.
There are many examples through the years of songs criticizing the idiocy of war. Few have done it in such a thought-provoking way that hits home about the realities of war and their effects on the young people of the world. The Animals produced a classic with "Sky Pilot".
"Sky Pilot"
by the Animals
Words and Music by Barry Jenkins, Danny McCulloch, Eric Burdon, Johnny Weider and Vic Briggs
He blesses the boys as they stand in line
The smell of gun grease and the bayonets they shine
He's there to help them all that he can
To make them feel wanted he's a good holy man
Sky pilot.....sky pilot
How high can you fly
You'll never, never, never reach the sky
He smiles at the young soldiers
Tells them its all right
He knows of their fear in the forthcoming fight
Soon there'll be blood and many will die
Mothers and fathers back home they will cry
Sky pilot.....sky pilot
How high can you fly
You'll never, never, never reach the sky
He mumbles a prayer and it ends with a smile
The order is given
They move down the line
But he's still behind and he'll meditate
But it won't stop the bleeding or ease the hate
As the young men move out into the battle zone
He feels good, with God you're never alone
He feels tired and he lays on his bed
Hopes the men will find courage in the words that he said
Sky pilot.....sky Pilot
How high can you fly
You'll never, never, never reach the sky You're soldiers of God you must understand
The fate of your country is in your young hands
May God give you strength
Do your job real well
If it all was worth it
Only time it will tell
In the morning they return
With tears in their eyes
The stench of death drifts up to the skies
A soldier so ill looks at the sky pilot
Remembers the words
"Thou shalt not kill"
Sky pilot.....sky pilot
How high can you fly
You never, never, never reach the sky
1956: Eddie Cochran signed a one-year deal with Liberty Records. 1956: Elvis Presley was on the cover of TV Guide. 1957: Bobby Helms made his television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. 1958: Paul Anka started a tour of Southeast Asia. 1962: "The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva remained #1 on the R&B chart for a third week.
Buddy Holly's influence is unmistakable
1962: Sweet Little "Sheila" by Tommy Roe was #1 with Ray Charles in the runner-up spot with "You Don't Know Me". Little Eva's former #1 "The Loco-Motion" came in third while Nat King Cole jumped from 11 to 4 with "Ramblin' Rose". The rest of the Top 10: Elvis Presley with "She's Not You", Neil Sedaka and "Breaking Up is Hard to Do", Claudine Clark and "Party Lights", Bobby Darin's "Things" at #8, Rick Nelson jumped from 17 to 9 with "Teen Age Idol" and Connie Francis had #10--"Vacation". 1964: The Who were in concert at the Railway Hotel, Harrow and Wealdston in England. 1965: An advertisement appeared in Variety magazine asking for applicants for The Monkees television show. 1967: The Doors appeared at the Lagoon Patio Gardens in Salt Lake City, Utah. 1968: The Beatles performed "Hey Jude" on the television show Frost on Sunday on BBC-TV. 1969: Elvis Presley released the single "Suspicious Minds". 1971: Elvis Presley was honored as the sixth honoree of the Bing Crosby Award, joining its namesake, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Irving Berlin. The description on the award is that it is given to recording artists who "during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic or scientific significance to the field of phonograph records." 1971: The Tams earned the #1 song in the U.K. with "Hey Girl Don't Bother Me". 1972: Dr. John, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf performed at the Ann Arbor Jazz & Blues Festival in Michigan. 1973: Paul Simon rolled up to #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Loves Me Like a Rock".
1973: The Allman Brothers Band motored up from 58 to 35 with "Ramblin' Man". 1973: The Allman Brothers Band owned the top album with Brothers and Sisters. That ended a six-week reign for Chicago VI. The Dark Side of the Moon slipped down for Pink Floyd. 1973: Marvin Gaye reached #1 as "Let's Get it On" passed "Brother Louie" by the Stories. Helen Reddy was a strong #3 with "Delta Dawn". Tony Orlando & Dawn moved up to 4 with "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose" and Diana Ross was at 5 with her former #1--"Touch Me in the Morning". The rest of the Top 10: Paul Simon and "Loves Me Like a Rock", Wings were down with "Live and Let Die", Grand Funk roared into the Top 10 with "We're an American Band", War had song #9 with "Gypsy Man" and Al Green came in at #10 with "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)". 1974: The Beach Boys, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Joni Mitchell shared a bill at the Summersault '74 at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York. 1975: Neil Sedaka and Elton John released the single "Bad Blood". 1976: United States President Gerald Ford asked Peter Frampton to spend a day at the White House. 1977: Jimmy McCulloch left Paul McCartney & Wings to join the reformed group Small Faces and drummer Joe English also left Wings. 1979: Led Zeppelin registered their eighth #1 album in the U.K. when In Through the Out Door rose to the top. 1979: Michael Jackson moved into the #1 position on the R&B chart with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".
1979: Maureen McGovern had a big hit among adults as "Different Worlds" reached #1 on the AC chart. 1979: The Knack had the top album with Get the Knack but Breakfast in America by Supertramp remained at #2 in its 24th week of release. The Cars and Candy-O came in third followed by I Am by Earth, Wind & Fire. Million Mile Reflections by the Charlie Daniels Band remained at #5. The rest of the Top 10: Discovery from ELO, Chic's Risque, Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Midnight Magic from the Commodores and Led Zeppelin debuted at #10 with In Through the Out Door.
ELO with their biggest career hit
1979: "My Sharona" by the Knack took on all challengers with a third straight week at #1. Chic could not get there with "Good Times". Earth, Wind & Fire was up to 3 with "After the Love Has Gone" while ELO was up to position #4 with "Don't Bring Me Down". The rest of an excellent Top 10: The Charlie Daniels Band with their memorable "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", Maxine Nightingale edged up with "Lead Me On", Robert John had his biggest hit since his Top 10 remake of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1972 with "Sad Eyes", Barbra Streisand was on her way down with "The Main Event/Fight", Dionne Warwick had the #9 song--'I'll Never Love This Way Again" and the Little River Band had their third straight Top 10 song with "Lonesome Loser". 1982: Cher begam filming the movie Silkwood. 1984: Stevie Wonder had his first #1 in the U.K. with "I Just Called To Say I Love You". 1984: Billy Joel had the top Adult Contemporary song with "Leave a Tender Moment Alone". 1984: Billy Ocean's great song "Caribbean Queen" held the #1 spot on the R&B chart. 1984: Comeback queen Tina Turner made it two weeks at #1--"What's Love Got to Do with It". John Waite, former lead singer of the Babys, remained at #2 with "Missing You" while newcomer Cyndi Lauper had #3 with "She Bop". Ray Parker Jr.'s former #1 "Ghostbusters" was at #4. The rest of the Top 10: Lionel Richie with "Stuck on You", Prince came in at #6 with "Let's Go Crazy", Huey Lewis & the News had another winner from the album Sports--"If This is It", Scandal came charging in with "The Warrior", Corey Hart was at #9 with "Sunglasses at Night" and the Cars rolled in with their 11th hit--"Drive". 1986: Huey Lewis & the News released the album Fore! 1988: Elton John sold some of his old costumes (including those famous boots he wore in the movie Tommy) and memorabilia from his concerts at a London auction for $6.2 million. 1989: Robert Wiggins of Grandmaster Flash died of a heart attack. 1990: Jon Bon Jovi's solo hit "Blaze of Glory" made it to #1 but Wilson Phillips was on his tail with "Release Me".
1990: Janet Jackson made it three consecutive weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Come Back to Me". 1990: M.C. Hammer made it 13 weeks at #1 on the album chart with Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em, followed closely by Wilson Phillips, which spent their fifth week at #2 with their self-titled release.
1997: Jewel released the double-sided hit "Foolish Games"/"You Were Meant for Me". 2000: In our Inmates Run Rap Music episode for today, Sean Combs plead guilty to assault charges in New York Criminal Court. The charges were a result of Combs' assault on Interscope Records executive Steve Stoute. 2002: Gordon Lightfoot had an emergency stomach operation in a Toronto hospital. 2002: Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden, began a new job as an airline pilot. 2003: If you can't reach fans in the traditional way, experiment. David Bowie premiered his new album Reality in a live performance in London that was broadcast to select movie theatres around the world. 2003: There's so much material for the Inmates Run Rap Music series that today's version is extended. C-Murder was arrested and charged with a nightclub shooting death in 2002 and further charges were added when he attempted to bribe guards to smuggle his cellphone into jail. 2003: The Record Industry Association of America began legal action against hundreds of people accused of sharing music files on the Internet. 2005: Radiohead, Gorillaz and other artists recorded "the fastest album ever released". Less than 24 hours later, the album Help: A Day in the Life went on sale with proceeds benefiting the charity War Child. 2006: Whitney Houston filed for divorce from Bobby Brown. Attagirl. 2007: Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Atlanta. 2007: In our Inmates Run Rap Music, Part II, Foxy Brown was jailed for a year in New York for violation of probation. Brown had already assaulted a neighbor in 2004 and two nail salon workers in 2006. This is what happens when you give people like this money.
Born This Day: 1928: Earl Nelson of the duo Bob & Earl ("Harlem Shuffle") was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana. 1929: Harlan Howard, who wrote "Heartaches by the Number" among over 4,000 songs, was born in Detroit Michigan; died March 3, 2002. 1942: Brian Cole, bass guitarist and vocalist of the Association; died August 2, 1972. 1942: Sal Spampinato of the Beau Brummels. 1945: Kelly Groucutt, bass guitarist of the Electric Light Orchestra, was born in Coseley, Staffordshire, England; died of a heart attack February 19, 2009. 1945: Ron McKernan, keyboard player for the Grateful Dead, was born in San Bruno, California; died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 27 on March 8, 1973. 1945: Cathy Jean Giordano of the Roommates ("Please Love Me Forever" from 1961) 1946: Dean Daughtry of the Atlanta Rhythm Section 1958: David Lewis of Atlantic Starr 1960: Aimee Mann, songwriter and lead singer of 'Til Tuesday, was born in Richmond, Virginia. 1960: David Steele of the Fine Young Cannibals, was born in Birmingham, England. 1975: Richard Hughes, drummer of Keane, was born in Gravesend, Kent, England. 1979: Pink (Alicia Moore) was born in New Hope, Pennsylvania.
.BMP)
