This Date in Rock Music History: February 8

1956:  Buddy Holly signed a recording contract with Decca Records.

1960:  The Special House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight opened hearings on disc jockey payola.

                        1960--One of the best times to be a teenager in history!

1960:  Bobby Rydell had a hot song as "Wild One" moved from 72 to 29.
1960:  Mark Dinning moved to #1 with "Teen Angel".
1964:  On their first full day in New York City, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr (George had a sore throat) went for a walk around Central Park.  Over 400 female fans followed and extra police had to be brought in to control them.







1964:  People who weren't around at the time and take music for granted ask:  "Why were the Beatles so popular?"  A valid question--take notes.  On this day, the Beatles' first album in the U.S.--Meet the Beatles, moved from #92 to #3 on the Album chart in just its second week.  The #1 album at the time, typical of popular music at the time, was The Singing Nun by the Singing Nun.  It had ruled the chart for 10 straight weeks.  After the Beatles hit, your very rarely saw a #1 album that wasn't a rock and roll album or at least soft rock.  The Beatles weren't just popular.  They were so talented and so innovative that they changed music forever.  None of the acts we listen to today would even be possible were it not for the Beatles.  So you see, they weren't just a group that hit it big; they made rock the dominant form of music from 1964 through the present day.






                          The Marketts great instrumental...

1964:  The Beatles had the #1 song for a second week with "I Want To Hold Your Hand".  Lesley Gore was second with "You Don't Own Me" while the Marketts ("Out Of Limits" and the Rip Chords ("Hey Little Cobra") remained in their positions.  The rest of the Top 10:  Major Lance with "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um", the Trashmen had "Surfin' Bird", the Beatles' follow-up--"She Loves You", moved from 21 to 7 in its third week, Rick Nelson edged up with "For You", Dionne Warwick remained at #9 with "Anyone Who Had A Heart" and Bobby Vinton tumbled down with "There!  I've Said It Again". 












1965:  The Supremes released the single "Stop!  In the Name of Love".

1967:  Peter & Gordon ("A World Without Love") went their separate ways.
1969: Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Steve Winwood announced the formation of a new group. After bassist Rich Grech came aboard, the quartet would be known as Blind Faith.
1969:  Although we would come to know them better by dozens of great songs in the years to come, Three Dog Night first appeared on the radio and on the chart on this date with their first single--"Try A Little Tenderness".

1969:  Janis Joplin and the Kozmic Blues Band went to Rindge, New Hampshire to begin an intensive rehearsal schedule.




                The complete version of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"...

1969:  TCB by Diana Ross & the Supremes with the Temptations moved to #1 on the Album chart, temporarily knocking off The White Album by the Beatles after six weeks.  Wichita Lineman from Glen Campbell took third, with the super Greatest Hits album by the Association and another collaboration from Diana Ross & the Supremes & the Temptations--Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations, trailing.  The rest of the Top 10:  In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida from Iron Butterfly, The Second by Steppenwolf, Elvis Presley entered the Top 10 with Elvis, Young-Holt Unlimited had a great sound with Souful Strut, which moved from 24-9 and the self-titled Blood, Swet & Tears moved from 26-10 in just its second week.








1969:  The classic "Crimson And Clover" by Tommy James & the Shondells, remained at #1.  "Everyday People" from Sly & the Family Stone patienty waited behind while the Brooklyn Bridge remained steady with "Worst That Could Happen".  The Doors had another big hit with "Touch Me" and the Foundations were up to 5 with "Build Me Up Buttercup".  The rest of the Top 10:  The Bee Gees had their eighth career hit and second Top 10 song with "I Started A Joke", Marvin Gaye's #1 smash "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", Diana Ross & the Supremes & the Temptations were at 8 with "I'm Gonna' Make You Love Me", Booker T & the MG's with one of The Top 100 Instrumentals of the Rock Era*, "Hang 'Em High" and Tyrone Davis entered the Top 10 with "Can I Change My Mind".
1971:  Bob Dylan's documentary Eat the Document premiered at the Academy of Music in New York City.  Proceeds went towards ending strip mining in Pike County, Kentucky.







1973:  Max Yasgur, owner of the dairy farm in Bethel, New York that was the site of the famous Woodstock festival, died of a heart attack in Marathon, Florida at age 53.










1975:  A new British act that would go on to enjoy substantial success first appeared on the chart.  Queen debuted with their first single--"Killer Queen".
1975:  John Denver had the #1 Adult song with "Sweet Surrender".

1980:  David Bowie and his wife Angie were divorced after ten years of marriage.

1981:  R.E.M. recorded for the first time at Bombay Studios in Smyrna, Georgia.

1982:  Cher opened on Broadway in New York City in the play Come Back to the Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.

1986:  Billy Ocean rose to the #1 position in the U.K. with "When the Going Gets Tough (The Tough Get Going)".

                                 Mellencamp...

 1986:  Barbra Streisand owned the top album with The Broadway Album.  Promise by Sade was a solid #2, followed by the self-titled Heart and the amazing Scarecrow by John Cougar Mellencamp.
1986:  "That's What Friends Are For" from Dionne & Friends (Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight & Dionne Warwick) was #1 for a third week on the R&B chart.









1986:  Sade scored a #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "The Sweetest Taboo".













1986:  ELO had a fast-rising song as "Calling America" moved from 91 to 69.













             "Kyrie Eleison", meaning Lord, have mercy...

1986:  Dionne & Friends registered a fourth week at #1 with "That's What Friends Are For".  Survivor had "Burning Heart" while Wham!  was #3 with "I'm Your Man".  Billy Ocean moved to #4 with "When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going" and Whitney Houston had her third Top 10 of her career with "How Will I Know".  The rest of the Top 10:  newcomers Mr. Mister and "Kyrie", Paul McCartney moved to #7 with "Spies Like Us", Stevie Nicks was on her way down with "Talk To Me", James Brown's "Living In America" entered the Top 10 and Gloria Estefan & the Miami Sound Machine were at #10 with "Conga".











1988:  Billy Ocean was on a roll and he released the single "Get Outta' My Dreams, Get Into My Car".












1988:  INXS released the single "Devil Inside".  (Note:  some websites incorrectly list the release date as February 13, the day the song debuted on the chart.  Everyone repeat after me:  It is physically impossible for a song to be mailed to radio stations, added by radio stations to their playlists, reported by radio stations to the trade papers, and the charts printed and distributed by the trade papers all on the same day.)

1988:  The surviving members of the Who reunited for their 25th anniversary at the British Phonographic Industry Awards in London.

1990:  Del Shannon, who gave us one of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era* in "Runaway", died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Santa Clarita, California.  
1992:  Jodeci had the new #1 on the R&B chart with "Stay".

               "Love is a Wonderful Thing"...one of five hits on Michael Bolton's new album...

1992:  Garth Brooks accomplished the rare feat of returning to #1 for a fourth time with the same album.  He did that on this date with Ropin' the Wind, and the cumulative count now reached 11 weeks at #1 for one of The Top 15 Albums of the Rock Era*.  He toppled Nevermind from Nirvana while Garth's previous album, No Fences, was incredibly moving back up to #3 after 73 weeks of release.  Dangerous from Michael Jackson was #4 while Too Legit To Quit by Hammer was at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Achtung Baby from U2, Cooleyhighharmony, the solid album by Boyz II Men, Time, Love & Tenderness by Michael Bolton, Metallica with their self-titled debut and Diamonds and Pearls moved to #10 for Prince & the New Power Generation.
1993:  Tom Jones was a guest on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air on NBC-TV.
1994:  Some people just don't deserve any success.  Oasis were forced to cancel their first tour in foreign countries after being deported from Holland.  The group was involved in a drunken brawl on a ferry resulting in members of the band being arrested and locked away.
1997:  No Doubt ruled the Album chart for an eighth week with Tragic Kingdom.  Soundtracks from "Evita" and "Romeo & Juliet" were next, followed by Celine Dion's smash album Falling Into You.

1997:  Toni Braxton notched a 10th week at #1 with "Un-Break My Heart".

1999:  Universal Music, Warner Music, BMG, Sony Music and EMI introduced Project Madison, developed by IBM to allow fast, secure distribution of full-length, CD-quality albums on the Internet.
2009:  Chris Brown surrendered to police and was arrested for an attack on girlfriend Rihanna the night before following a pre-Grammys party. 

2000:  Stan Lee announced that he would create a comic book based on the Backstreet Boys.
2002:  Bob Wooler, resident disc jockey and person in charge of booking talent at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England in the early 60's, who booked the Beatles for many shows and introduced the group to their manager, Brian Epstein, died in Liverpool at age 76.  

2005:  Keith Knudsen, drummer of the Doobie Brothers, died of pneumonia at age 56 in Kentfield, California.  (Note:  some websites incorrectly list the place of death as San Francisco, California.  According to Bruce Cohn, longtime manager of the Doobie Brothers, as well as The Associated Press and the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times', Cohn died in Kentfield.)  

2006:  U2 captured five Grammy awards including Album of the Year for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.  John Legend was honored as Best New Artist.











2006:  Kelly Clarkson won Grammys for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for "Since U (sic) Been Gone") and Best Pop Vocal Album (for Breakaway).












2009:  Robert Plant won five Grammy Awards for his collaboration with Alison Krauss, including Album of the Year (Raising Sand) and Record of the Year for "Please Read The Letter".  (Note:  many websites incorrectly report the date as February 9, the date that newspapers ran the story.  As you know, newspapers are printed the day following the news.  The Grammy Awards are telecast on Sunday nights, and in 2009, Sunday fell on February 8.)

2009:  Coldplay won the Grammy for Song of the Year with "Viva La Vida".  (See above note about false date shown for Grammy Awards on other websites.)
2009:  John Mayer won the Grammy for Best Male Vocal Performance for "Gravity".

2009:  Ringo Starr earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  (Note:  many websites incorrectly report the date of the event--according to United Press International, Starr earned his star on February 8.)

Born This Day:

1932:  John Williams, acclaimed conductor and composer, was born in New York City.  (Note:  numerous places are listed as places of birth for John:  Queens, Flushing, New York City, Floral Park, and Long Island.  'MTV' lists his birthplace as Floral Park, and for once, they are right.  Floral Park is an incorporated village, formerly included as part of Queens, but it became incorporated in 1908, well before the birth of John Williams, and it is also included in the census.)
1936:  Larry Verne (the #1 "Mr. Custer" from 1960) was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota; died October 8, 2013 in Sylmar, California from heart failure.
1943:  Creed Bratton (real name William Charles Schneider), guitarist of the Grass Roots, was born in Los Angeles.
1946:  Paul Wheatbread, drummer of Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, was born in San Diego, California.
1946:  Adolpho De La Para, drummer of Canned Heat, was born in Mexico City, Mexico.




1948:  Dan Seals of England Dan & John Ford Coley was born in McCarney, Texas; died March 25, 2009 of mantle cell lymphoma in Nashville, Tennessee.











1961:  Vince Neil, lead singer of Motley Crue, was born in Hollywood, California
1961:  Sam Llanas, singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist of the BoDeans ("Closer To Free" from 1993), was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

1971:  Will Turpin,bassist of Collective Soul, was born in Fairbanks, Alaska.
1977:  Dave "Phoenix" Ferrel, bassist of Linkin Park ("In The End" from 2002), was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts.