This Date in Rock Music History: February 6

1960:  Jesse Belvin ("Guess Who" from 1959), who also co-wrote "Earth Angel" for the Penguins, died at age 27 in a car accident in Hope, Arkansas that also claimed the life of his wife and the driver of the car.

1961:  "Shop Around" by the Miracles was #1 on the R&B chart for a fourth week.

1964:  Tickets to see the Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show sold out.








          'Fiddler on the Roof', the smash hit of the year...

1965:  The Beatles had the #1 album for the fourth week with Beatles '65.  Where Did Our Love Go by the Supremes was runner-up, the Soundtrack to "Mary Poppins" was third, followed by the Soundtrack to "My Fair Lady".  The rest of the Top 10:  Beach Boys Concert, Robert Goulet at #6 with My Love Forgive Me, the Soundtrack to "Fiddler on the Roof", Barbra Streisand's People at #8, Coast to Coast from the Dave Clark Five and the Soundtrack to "Roustabout" by Elvis Presley.







1965:  The Righteous Brothers climbed the final rung to #1 with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling".  Petula Clark gave way with "Downtown" while Shirley Ellis maintained at #3 with "The Name Game".  Gary Lewis & the Playboys reached #4 with "This Diamond Ring".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Hold What You've Got" by Joe Tex, the Searchers were on their way down with "Love Potion Number Nine", the Kinks moved to position #7 with "All Day And All Of The Night", the Temptations entered the Top 10 with one of their biggest hits--"My Girl", Marvin Gaye slipped with "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You" and a posthumous release by Sam Cooke ("Shake") moved to #10.






1967:  The Turtles released the single "Happy Together".











1970:  John Lennon released the single "Instant Karma" in the U.K.

1970:  Eric Clapton played guitar for Delaney and Bonnie for the first of two shows at the Fillmore East in New York City.  The shows were recorded and later released as the album Live at Fillmore East.  
1971:  For the fifth week, Bobby Goldsboro had the #1 Adult song with "Watching Scotty Grow".







      
               The great sound of Gladys Knight & the Pips...

1971:  Dawn continued to own the #1 song with "Knock Three Times".  The Osmonds jumped from 9 to 2 with "One Bad Apple" while George Harrison's all-time smash "My Sweet Lord" was third.  The Bee Gees dropped from a peak of #3 with "Lonely Days while Lynn Anderson had a big hit with "Rose Garden".  The rest of the Top 10:  Dave Edmunds with "I Hear You Knocking", King Floyd's "Groove Me", Elton John had his first career hit with "Your Song", the 5th Dimension's former #2 song "One Less Bell To Answer" was ninth and Gladys Knight & the Pips edged up with "If I Were Your Woman".






                          "Pagan Baby" from CCR...

1971:  George Harrison remained on top of the Album chart for a sixth week with All Things Must Pass,  We had the first indication that Elton John was going to be something special as he owned two of the week's Top 10 albums--his self-titled release which moved back up to #4 after 19 weeks, and his new release Tumbleweed Connection, which burst into the Top 10 in just its third week of release.  The Soundtrack to "Jesus Christ Superstar" was second with Santana's Abraxas third.  The rest of the Top 10:  Greatest Hits from Sly & the Family Stone at #5, Pendulum from CCR, Chicago III roared from 22 to 8, The Partridge Family Album and the self-titled LP from Stephen Stills. 






1976:  Vince Guaraldi, the jazz pianist who wrote the music for the Peanuts television cartoons, including "Linus And Lucy", died in Menlo Park, California at age 47.
1981:  Former Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison joined to record a musical tribute to the late John Lennon, entitled "All Those Years Ago".

1981:  Hugo Montenegro, composer who had the 1968 instrumental smash "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly", died from emphysema at age 55 in Palm Springs, California.











1982:  A new group from San Francisco, California with a great infectious sound first debuted on the chart.  "Do You Believe In Love" was the name of that first single, for Huey Lewis & the News.









1982:  Another new act also debuted on the chart with their first single.  Rock and roll had been down for a good many years, but this song single-handedly brought it back--"I Love Rock & Roll" from Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.
1982:  Apparently Belfast, Ireland isn't a good place to go.  Brian Downey, drummer of Thin Lizzy, had to be hospitalized after being attacked at a concert there.
1982:  Skyy owned the top R&B song with "Call Me".

                           Bringing the classics back...

1982:  Freeze Frame from the J. Geils Band moved to #1 on the Album chart, the peak period for the group.  Journey's Escape logged its 28th week in the Top 5 and 8th at #2, while 4 by Foreigner slipped after 29 weeks.  Hooked On Classics was still solid for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra but Tattoo You by the Rolling Stones was losing steam.  The rest of the Top 10:  Bella Donna from Stevie Nicks, AC/DC remained at #7 with For Those About to Rock We Salute You, Hall & Oates with Private Eyes, the Police were steady with Ghost in the Machine and the Cars' new album Shake It Up reached the Top 10.

1982:  After years of being together, the time for the J. Geils
Band had come.  The group reached #1 on this date with "Centerfold", taking the place of "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" by Hall & Oates.  Foreigner was still at #3 after 18 weeks of release with "Waiting For A Girl Like You", while newcomer Quarterflash earned the #4 position with "Harden My Heart".  The rest of the Top 10:  George Benson's "Turn Your Love Around", Don Henley & Stevie Nicks combined for "Leather And Lace", a song that was ranked much higher on most radio stations, Olivia Newton-John and "Physical", Juice Newton was up to #8 with "The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)", the Cars reached the Top 10 again with their new one--"Shake It Up" and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra maintained with "Hooked On Classics".

1982:  Dan Fogelberg's great tribute to his father--"Leader Of The Band" was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1987:  Joan Jett made her acting debut in Light of Day, which opened in theatres.
1987:  Sonny Bono of Sonny & Cher declared his candidacy for mayor of Palm Springs, California.








1988:  Tiffany had the top song with "Could've Been".  The Bangles were up to #2 with "Hazy Shade Of Winter" with previous #1 "Need You Tonight" by INXS falling to #3.  Expose edged up with "Seasons Change".  The rest of the Top 10:  Roger's "I Want To Be Your Man", Eric Carmen with "Hungry Eyes", the Pet Shop Boys brought back 60's superstar Dusty Springfield to help on "What Have I Done To Deserve This?", which moved from 12 to 7, Foreigner had their 19th career hit with "Say You Will", Bruce Springsteen cleared the way to #9 with "Tunnel Of Love" and Prince found the Top 10 again with "I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man".
1988:  Tiffany reached #1 on the AC chart with "Could've Been".
1988:  The George Michael album Faith returned to #1 and it wasn't going away soon. 









1990:  Billy Idol broke several bones in a serious motorcycle accident when he ran a stop sign in Los Angeles.  Idol had to bow out of a major starring role in Oliver Stone's movie The Doors, but Stone did find a minor role for Idol in the film.
1992:  Whitney Houston remained unstoppable in her 10-week reign on top of the R&B chart with "I Will Always Love You".
1993:  Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle combined for the #1 Adult Contemporary song for a third week--"A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)".







                        Duran Duran was back in a big way...

1993:  "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston was #1 for the 11th week.    Shai posted their fourth straight week at #2 with "If I Ever Fall In Love" and Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle were up to 3 with "A Whole New World".  Boyz II Men's big hit "In the Still of the Nite (I'll Remember)", Shanice's "Saving Forever for You" and "Rump Shaker" from Wreckx-N-Effect all dropped a spot.  The rest of the Top 10:  Duran Duran had their first Top 10 in five years and it was a monster--"Ordinary World" rose from 21 to 7, "7" from Prince & the N.P.G. was #8, Madonna was on the way down with "Deeper And Deeper" and Arrested Development arrived at #10 with "Mr. Wendal".
1995:  Brian Wilson, formerly with the Beach Boys, married Melinda Ledbetter.
1995:  In Part One of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music, Tupac Shakur was scheduled to be sentenced for sexual assault.  The loser faced one and a half years of prison time.

1998:  Carl Wilson, singer and guitarist with the Beach Boys, died from lung cancer in Los Angeles at age 51.

1998:  Falco ("Rock Me Amadeus") died at age 40 in a traffic accident when a bus collided with his car in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
2001:  Don Felder, guitarist of the Eagles, was fired from the group.
2003:  50 Cent released his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin'".  Ahh, the misconceptions of people who think happiness is derived from money.
2003:  The Rolling Stones played a free concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to raise people's awareness of global warming.
2003:  A Michael Jackson documentary was televised by ABC on their program 20/20.
2005:  In today's second episode of Inmates Run Rap Music, Suge Knight was arrested in Barstow, California for not only violating parole but possession of marijuana.  Plus, the loser didn't even have insurance.  




2005:  Paul McCartney performed a 12-minute set of Beatles songs plus "Live And Let Die" at halftime of Super Bowl XXXIX at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.

2007:  Frankie Laine ("Moonlight Gambler" from 1957), whose career spanned 75 years, died at the age of 93 of heart failure in San Diego, California.

2009:  Neil Diamond was named the MusiCares Person of the Year by the Grammy organization.










2011:  Gary Moore, one of The Top 100 Guitarists of the Rock Era* as a member of Thin Lizzy and a great solo artist, died of a heart attack after a night of binge drinking at the age of 68 in Estepona, Spain.

Born This Day:

1936:  Donnie Brooks ("Mission Bell" from 1960) was born in Dallas, Texas; died of a heart attack February 23, 2007 in Los Angeles.  (Note:  some websites report he died of a heart attack, and others say he died in Burbank.  Brooks lived in Burbank, but died in Los Angeles of congestive heart failure, according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times'.)
1942:  John London, session bass guitarist who worked with Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, the Monkees and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, was born in Bryan, Texas; died February 12, 2000 in Rockport, Texas.






1942:  Fabian (Fabian Forte) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1945:  Bob Marley was born in Nine Mile, Saint Ann, Jamaica; died May 11, 1981 of melanoma in Miami, Florida.
1947:  Alan Jones, saxophonist for Amen Corner, was born in Swansea, South Wales.













1950:  Natalie Cole, major star and daughter of Nat King Cole, was born in Los Angeles, California; died in Los Angeles December 31, 2015 of congestive heart failure.  
1962:  Axl Rose (born as William Bruce Rose, raised as William Bailey), lead singer of Guns N' Roses, was born in Lafayette, Indiana.
1962:  Richie McDonald, vocalist and guitarist with Lonestar, was born in Lubbock, Texas.








1966:  Rick Astley was born in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England.