This Date in Rock Music History: July 15

1952:  Patti Page hosted a summer replacement series for Perry Como on television.
1952:  Eight-year-old Gladys Knight won the talent competition on the nationwide television program Ted Mack's Amateur Hour.  (Note:  some websites say Gladys was seven when she won the competition.  According to the book 'Notable Moments of Women in Music' by Jay Warner, Knight was eight.  She was born May 28, 1944 according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and other credible sources.) 1956:  Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers climbed to #1 in the U.K. with "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".
1957:  Paul Anka debuted on the chart with his first single "Diana".  It had been released Monday, July 3.

1957:  "Searchin' by the Coasters was #1 for the 10th week on the R&B chart.










1959:  Johnny & the Hurricanes released the great instrumental "Red River Rock", a rock and roll version of "Red River Valley".
1963:  Elvis Presley began work on the movie Viva Las Vegas.
1965:  Jan & Dean sang "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena" on the television show Where the Action Is.
1967:  Jefferson Airplane and the Doors were in concert for two shows on opening night at the brand new Anaheim Convention Center in California.
1967:  Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles was the #1 album in the U.K.  Headquarters by the Monkees was #2, followed by the Soundtrack to "The Sound of Music", Are You Experienced by Jimi Hendrix and the "Fiddler on the Roof" Soundtrack.








1967:  Stevie Wonder scored a #1 R&B hit with "I Was Made To Love Her".
1967:  The Doors' debut album reached the Top 10.
1967:  Petula Clark took over at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Don't Sleep In The Subway".











1967:  "Windy" by the Association spent a third week at #1, with the Music Explosion camped out at #2 with "Little Bit O' Soul".  Frankie Valli ("Can't Take My Eyes Off You"), Scott McKenzie ("San Francisco") and Petula Clark ("Don't Sleep In The Subway" remained at their positions in a tough top five.  The rest of the Top 10:  Every Mothers' Son at #6 with "Come On Down To My Boat", the 5th Dimension at 7 with their great song "Up-Up and Away", the Doors entered the Top 10 with "Light My Fire", the 4 Seasons collected their 13th Top 10 and 34th hit song in "C'mon Marianne" and Procol Harum reached #10 with "A Whiter Shade Of Pale".
1969:  Judy Collins was in Ibsen's "Peer Gynt" at the New York Shakespeare Festival.
1972:  Honky Chateau became Elton John's first #1 album, toppling the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street.








                                         Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose...

1972:  The Summer of 1972 was turning out to be a good one for music--Bill Withers led the pack with "Lean On Me" but Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose had a strong #2 with "Too Late To Turn Back Now".  Billy Preston fell with "Outa-Space", Neil Diamond was at 4 with "Song Sung Blue" and Looking Glass appeared to have a winner in "Brandy", which moved past a lot of good songs from 12 to 5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Elton John's "Rocket Man", Wayne Newton with "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast", Gilbert O'Sullivan climbed from 20-8 with "Alone Again (Naturally)", Luther Ingram was still wrong with "(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" and Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway reached the Top 10 with "Where Is The Love".






1972:  Neil Diamond did it again--#1 for "Song Sung Blue" on the Adult Contemporary chart for the seventh week in a row.
1973:  Grand Funk released the album We're An American Band.
1973:  Sky & the Family Stone, the Kinks, the Edgar Winter Group, Canned Heat and Lindisfarne appeared at the Great Western Express Festival at White City in West London.  












1974:  Monday fell on this date, the day to release new singles--Cat Stevens released "Another Saturday Night".
1974:  Elton John signed a new recording contract with MCA that would pay him $8 million for his next five albums.
1978:  Bob Dylan performed before the largest concert audience for a solo performer as 200,000 fans showed up at Blackbushe Airport in England, although a lot of that might have had to do with the fact that Eric Clapton also performed.  Later, the Simon & Garfunkel reunion concert drew 600,000 at the Coliseum in Rome, Italy.









1978:  Andy Gibb made it five weeks in a row with "Shadow Dancing" at #1.  Gerry Rafferty had been at #2 for four of those weeks with "Baker Street".  ABBA remained at 3 with "Take A Chance On Me" while the O'Jays held on with "Use Ta Be My Girl".  The rest of the Top 10:  Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band with "Still The Same", the Stones rolled up one with "Miss You", Heatwave had song #7--"The Groove Line", Peter Brown's "Dance With Me" was #8, Bonnie Tyler fell with "It's A Heartache" and Donna Summer scored a Top 10 with "Last Dance".
1980:  Linda Ronstadt made her acting debut as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance at the New York City Shakespeare Festival in Central Park.
1982:  Bill Justis, who had the #45 Instrumental of the Rock Era* ("Raunchy") died of cancer in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 55.









1985:  Monday fell on this date, which was the release date for new singles.  Wham released "Freedom".














1989:  It was a pretty good Top 10 as Simply Red reached the pinnacle with "If You Don't Know Me By Now" and Madonna challenged with "Express Yourself".  The Fine Young Cannibals dropped with their former #1 "Good Thing" and Martika had a strong song in "Toy Soldiers".  The rest of the Top 10:  Milli Vanilli with "Baby Don't Forget My Number", Prince slid up to #6 with "Batdance", Natalie Cole was at position #7 with "Miss You Like Crazy", Expose's "What You Don't Know", the Doobie Brothers posted their 26th hit and fifth Top 10 (and first in nine years) with "The Doctor" and newcomer Love & Rockets had people excited about "So Alive".
1990:  Troy Dixon of Heavy D & the Boyz died from an accidental fall at the age of 22.
1994:  Phil Collins announced that he was filing for divorce from wife Jill.
1994:  Wet Wet Wet made it six weeks in a row at #1 in the U.K. with their remake of "Love Is All Around".
1995:  Sinead O'Connor announced that she would not perform at Lollapalooza because she was pregnant.





1995:  The classic "Waterfalls" by TLC remained at #1.
1997:  Ary Groenhuijzen, keyboardist with the Teddy Bears (The #1 "To Know Him Is To Love Him" from 1958), died at age 51.
1998:  Joey Kramer, drummer of Aerosmith, suffered second-degree burns on his arms and legs when the car that he was filling up with gas caught fire.  
1999:  The original Drifters got together for a performance on The Today Show on NBC-TV.
1999:  Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead married Natascha Münter.
2000:  Paul Young of Sad Cafe and Mike + the Mechanics died of a heart attack at his home in Manchester, England at the age of 53.
2001:  Usher reached #1 in the U.K. with the album 8701.







2002:  Bob Seger captained a boat that won its division in the 78th annual Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island Sailboat Race.
2004:  P. Diddy had suddenly developed a conscience.  He met with Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry at the NAACP Convention in Philadelphia and Young Republicans in New York City to talk about issues important to young people.








2003:  The Eagles released the single "Hole In The World".
2006:  Avril Lavigne married Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 in Montecito, California.
2006:  India.Arie had the top album with Testimony:  Volume 1, Life & Relationship.
2010:  Robbie Williams rejoined Take That to record the group's first album in 15 years.


Born This Day:
1936:  H.B. Barnum, pianist, arranger, songwriter and producer of the O'Jays and the 5th Dimension, was born in Houston, Texas.
1944:  Millie Jackson ("Hurts So Good" from 1973) was born in Thomson, Georgia.  (Note:  many websites place her date of birth as January 23, 1943, but according to both 'the BBC' and 'Allmusic.com', she was born on July 15.  Some websites misspell her birthplace as Thompson--there is no such town in Georgia.)
1945:  Peter Lewis of Moby Grape was born in Los Angeles, California.

1946:  Linda Ronstadt was born in Tucson, Arizona.
1947:  Peter Banks, original guitarist of Yes, was born in Burnet, Hertfordshire, England; died of heart failure March 7, 2013 in London.  (Note:  some websites report that Banks was born in London, and some say he was born in Burnet, London, England.  Burnet is a borough of London, and according to the newspaper 'The Telegraph" and other reputable sources, he was born in Burnet.  Burnet is currently located in the county of Greater London, but the county change occurred in 1974, long after Peter was born.  In 1947, Burnet was in the county of Hertfordshire.)

1948:  Artimus Pyle, drummer with Lynyrd Skynyrd, was born in Louisville, Kentucky.
1949:  Trevor Horn, who was a member of the Buggles ("Video Killed The Radio Star") and produced songs by Yes ("Owner Of A Lonely Heart"), Frankie Goes to Hollywood ("Relax"), and Seal ("Crazy"), was born in Hertfordshire, England.
1952:  Jeff Carlisli, guitarist of .38 Special
1953:  Alicia Bridges ("I Love The Night Life" from 1978) was born in Lawndale, North Carolina.
1956:  Marky Ramone, drummer of the Ramones, was born in Brooklyn, New York.  (Note:  some websites claim Marky was born in 1952.  According to the book 'Hey Ho Let's Go:  The Story of the Ramones' by Everett True, he was born in 1956.)
1973:  John Dolmayan, songwriter and drummer with System of a Down, was born in Beirut, Lebanon.
1977:  Ray Toro, guitarist for My Chemical Romance, was born in Kearny, New Jersey.

Hits List: Lesley Gore

She recorded her first single, "It's My Party" at age 16.  Thirty-six singles later, here is the complete Hits List for Lesley Gore:

1963:  "It's My Party" (#1, #1 R&B, #9 U.K.)
           "Judy's Turn to Cry" (#5, #10 R&B)
           "She's a Fool" (#5, #26 R&B)
1964:  "You Don't Own Me" (#2)
           "I Don't Know Anymore"
           "That's the Way Boys Are" (#12)
           "I Don't Wanna' Be a Loser" (#37, #12 Easy Listening)
           "Maybe I Know" (#14, #20 U.K.)
           "Hey Now" (#76)
1965:  "Look of Love" (#27)
           "All My Life" (#71)
           "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows" (#13)
           "My Town, My Guy, and Me" (#32)
           "I Won't Love You Anymore (Sorry)" (#80)
1966:  "We Know We're in Love" (#76)
           "Young Love" (#50)
           "Off and Running"
           "Treat Me Like a Lady"

1967:  "California Nights" (#16)
           "Summer and Sandy" (#65)
           "Brink of Disaster" (#82)
           "Magic Colors"
1968:  "Small Talk"
           "He Gives Me Love (La, La, La)"
           "I Can't Make It Without You"
           "I'll Be Standing By"
1969:  "Take Good Care (Of My Heart)"
           "98.6-Lazy Day" (#36 Easy Listening)
           "Wedding Bell Blues"
1970:  "Why Doesn't Love Make Me Happy" (#39 EL)
           "Come Softly to Me"
           "When Yesterday Was Tomorrow"
1971:  "Back Together"
1972:  "She Said That"

1975:  "Immortality"
           "Sometimes" (with Brothers Johnson)

This Date in Rock Music History: July 14

1956:  "I'm In Love Again" from Fats Domino was #1 on the R&B chart for a ninth week.
1958:  "Yakety Yak" by the Coasters maintained the #1 position for a seventh week on the R&B chart.
1962:  The Beatles played at the Regent Dansette in Rhyl, Wales.
1962:  "Roses Are Red" by Bobby Vinton edged up to #1. 








1964:  The Rolling Stones topped the U.K. chart with "It's All Over Now". 
1965:  Herman's Hermits appeared on the television show Where the Action Is.
1967:  The Who opened for Herman's Hermits on the Who's first American tour, performing at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon on this date.












1969:  The Archies released the single "Sugar, Sugar" on Don Kirshner's label after the initial release on Calendar Records failed to chart.
1969:  Bob Dylan showed up to perform with The Band at the Mississippi River Rock Festival.
1971:  The Byrds and James Taylor headlined the U.K. Lincoln Folk Festival.
1972:  The Eagles performed at the Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana on their first tour.
1973:  The Everly Brothers announced their breakup during a concert at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.
1973:  The Carpenters had the #1 Adult Contemporary song for a second week with "Yesterday Once More".









1973:  Billy Preston continued to hold on to #1 with "Will it Go 'Round In Circles" and Paul Simon peaked at 2 with "Kodachrome".  Jim Croce was moving up with "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and Three Dog Night was up to 4 with "Shambala".  The rest of the Top 10:  George Harrison  was on his way down with the former #1 "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)", the Carpenters had the #6 song--"Yesterday Once More", Clint Homes placed "Playground In My Mind" at #7, Deep Purple debuted in the Top 10 with "Smoke On The Water", Paul McCartney & Wings were at 9 with their former #1 "My Love" and Dr. John closed out the list with "Right Place Wrong Time".
1979:  "Lead Me On" by Maxine Nightingale was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for a second week.







1979:  Donna Summer had her fifth Top Five song in a row and this time, she reached the top with "Bad Girls".  Anita Ward's worthless "Ring My Bell" was #2 followed by Summer's first hit from the album--"Hot Stuff" at #3.  "Chuck E.'s In Love" by Rickie Lee Jones was #4 with Kenny Rogers holding steady at #5 with "She Believes In Me".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Boogie Wonderland" from Earth, Wind & Fire with the Emotions, TV star David Naughton's "Makin' It" at #7, Cheap Trick with "I Want You to Want Me", ELO with their 16th hit "Shine A Little Love" and John Stewart mined a Top 10 song with "Gold".
1980:  Allen Klein, former manager of both the Beatles and Rolling Stones, served two months of jail time for cheating on his tax return.
1980:  Bryan Ferry collapsed in his hotel room in France and was flown back to London after suffering from a kidney infection.
1982:  The movie Pink Floyd's the Wall debuted at the Empire Theatre in London's Leicester Square.
1982:  Van Halen began their American tour at the Augusta/Richmond County Civic Center in Augusta, Georgia.

1984:  Elite guitarist Eddie Van Halen joined Michael Jackson on stage for a performance of "Beat It" during the Jacksons' Victory Tour in Dallas, Texas.  Some websites report the event occurred on July 13.  (The Jacksons played in Dallas from July 13-15, and according to the book 'Michael Jackson:  A Visual Documentary 1958-2009:  The Tribute Edition' by Adrian Grant and the magazine 'Guitar World', the event occurred on the second night (July 14), not the first.)
1984:  Philippe Wynne, former lead singer of the Spinners, died of a heart attack at age 43 while singing in Oakland, California.







1984:  "Ghostbusters" from Ray Parker, Jr. moved from #19 to #8 on this date.










1987:  Steve Miller was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1988:  Michael Jackson performed the first of seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium in London.
1990:  The Go-Go's rejoined to record a new album, go on tour, write a book and star in a movie.  (Note:  some websites report the reunion took place in 2000.  According to Jane Wiedlin of the group, the Go-Go's reunited in 1990.  By the way, at last report, the group is still together.)
1992:  Aretha Franklin sang the U.S. National Anthem at the Democratic National Convention in New York City.

1992:  Olivia Newton-John announced that she had breast cancer.  Thankfully, she has made it through so far and best wishes for many more happy years.
1998:  Arista Records boss Clive Davis organized a party in New York City's Central Park to celebrate triple platinum status for Sarah McLachlan's album Surfacing.
2001:  The Eagles were in concert in Lucca, Italy.
2002:  Gareth Gates had the #1 U.K. song with "Anyone Of Us".
2002:  The Red Hot Chili Peppers were on top of the Album chart in the U.K. with By the Way.

2004:  Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks gave birth to her second child, a boy named Beckett.
2005:  Joe Harnell, who recorded The #79 Instrumental of the Rock Era* ("Fly Me To The Moon") died of heart failure at the age of 80.  (Note:  some websites report Harnell died of liver failure.  According to the newspaper 'The New York Times', he died of heart failure.)
2007:  A pair of glasses worn by John Lennon during the 1966 tour of Japan attracted a price of 750,000 pounds for an online auction.
2009:  Shirley Jones, formerly with the Partridge Family, appeared on an episode of The Cleaner on HBO-TV.
2009:  Fans from all over the world gathered at London's O2 Arena, where Michael Jackson's concerts would have been held had he lived.  Jackson died June 25.
2010:  Bono, lead singer of U2, announced that he had fully recovered from emergency back surgery back in May.
2010:  It was announced that Bob Geldof's global Live Aid concert was being made into a movie called When Harvey Met Bob.


Born This Day:
1948:  Tommy Mottola, record executive with Columbia, was born in the Bronx, New York; married Mariah Carey in 1993, divorced in 1997.
1952:  Bob Casale, guitarist, keyboardist and singer with Devo, brother of Devo bassist Gerald Casale, and a sound engineer (for Andy Summers), was born in Kent, Ohio; died of heart failure in Los Angeles on February 17, 2014.
1952:  Chris Cross, bassist with Ultravox, was born in Tottenham, London, England.
1965:  Igor Khoroshev, keyboard player of Yes from 1997-2001, was born in Moscow, Russia.
1966:  Ellen Reid, keyboardist and vocalist of the Crash Test Dummies, was born in Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada.
1971:  Nick McCabe, guitarist with the Verve, was born in Haydock, Lancashire, England.  (Note:  'Allmusic.com' and other websites claim McCabe was born in St. Helens, Lancashire, England.  According to the official website for the Verve, Nick was born in Haydock.  Haydock is a village within the borough of St. Helens.  Some websites report that McCabe was born in the county of Merseyside.  Haydock did not become part of Merseyside until 1974--when McCabe was born in 1971, Haydock was part of the county of Lancashire.)
1975:  Taboo (real name Jaime Luis Gómez) of the Black-Eyed Peas was born in Los Angeles.
1975:  Tameka Cottle, singer-songwriter of Xscape, was born in College Park, Georgia.
1978:  Ruben Studdard was born in Birmingham, Alabama.  (Note:  some websites claim Studdard was born in Frankfurt am Maim, West Germany.  According to the newspaper 'The New York Times', Ruben was born in Birmingham.)

This Date in Rock Music History: July 13

1958:  Buddy Holly nearly drowned trying to swim across a lake in the North Woods, near Rhinelander, Wisconsin while on tour.
1962:  Bob Dylan signed a contract with publisher Witmark.
1963:  Elvis Presley had one of the hottest songs, "(You're The) Devil In Disguise", moving up from 49- to 16.
1963:  Rolf Harris scored a #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport".  












1963:  The Surfaris rode into the Top 10 with "Wipe Out".
1964:  The Supremes recorded "Come See About Me"
















1964:  The Beatles released the single "A Hard Day's Night".
1964:  The Animals reached #1 in the U.K. with "The House Of The Rising Sun".
1965:  John Lennon and Paul McCartney were presented with five Ivor Novello awards.
1967:  The Who opened for Herman's Hermits at the Stampede Corral in Calgary, Alberta.
1968:  Hugh Masekela's instrumental "Grazing In The Grass" was the top R&B song.








1968:  The Doors had one of the fastest-rising songs of the decade as "Hello, I Love You" climbed from #77 to #22 on this date.








  
       
                                  Puckett & the Union Gap had a Top 5 hit...


1968:  Herb Alpert remained at #1 for the fourth week in a row with "This Guy's In Love With You".  Cliff Nobles & Company's great instrumental "The Horse" was at #2 while the Rolling Stones were stopped at three with "Jumpin' Jack Flash".  Gary Puckett (from Twin Falls, Idaho) & the Union Gap moved up to #4 with "Lady Willpower" while Hugh Masekela's instrumental "Grazing In The Grass" was song #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 with "The Look Of Love", Merrilee Rush had #7--"Angel Of The Morning", the 5th Dimension shot up from 17-8 with "Stoned Soul Picnic", Shorty Long's "Here Comes The Judge" was #9 and the Cowsills had the #10 song--"Indian Lake".  
1969:  Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Ten Years After, the Jeff Beck Group and Vanilla Fudge played at the Singer Bowl Music Festival in New York's Flushing Meadows.  One of the highlights was when lead guitarist Jimmy Page, lead singer Robert Plant, and drummer John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Glenn Cornick of Jethro Tull, Alvin Lee of Ten Years After, and Rod Stewart and Ron Wood of Faces jammed with the Jeff Beck Group, playing "Jailhouse Rock". 
1971:  David Cassidy had an operation to have his gall bladder removed at age 21.
1973:  Bob Dylan released the Soundtrack to "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid".  (Note:  many websites report the album was released July 16.  The books 'The Gospel According to Bob Dylan:  The Old, Old Story of Modern Times' by Michael J. Gilmour and 'Dylan:  Disc by Disc' by Jon Bream state that the album was released July 13.)





1973:  Queen released their self-titled debut album on EMI Records.
1973:  Smokey Robinson and the Miracles were guest hosts of The Midnight Special, welcoming the Stylistics and Rare Earth.












1974:  Dionne Warwick & the Spinners released their collaboration "Then Came You".
1974:  Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played at the Bottom Line in Greenwich Village in Manhattan, New York.
1974:  Caribou by Elton John was the #1 album in the U.K.
1974:  "Annie's Song" by John Denver was #1 on the Adult chart for a second week.









                                         "Grimsby" from Caribou...


1974:  Caribou by Elton John took over as the #1 album after debuting at #5 in its first week.  Another hot album was Back Home Again by John Denver, which moved from 17-2.  Gordon Lightfoot was third with Sundown followed by Paul McCartney & Wings with Band on the Run.  The Soundtrack to "The Sting" by Marvin Hamlisch was #5.  The Rest of the Top 10:  John Denver's Greatest Hits at #6 in its 32nd week of release, Diamond Dogs from David Bowie, Journey to the Centre of the Earth by former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman at #8, Cat Stevens with Buddha and the Chocolate Box and Loggins & Messina On Stage at #10.







1974:  George McCrae moved into the #1 slot with "Rock Your Baby" while John Denver was making a move (8-2) with "Annie's Song".  The former #1 from the Hues Corporation, "Rock The Boat" moved down to 3.  Gordon Lightfoot was at #4 with "Sundown".  The rest of the Top 10:  "On And On" from Gladys Knight & the Pips, Elton John moved from 25-6 with "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods were at 7 with "Billy, Don't Be A Hero", Anne Murray edged up with "You Won't See Me", the Hollies scored their 20th hit with "The Air That I Breathe" and the Righteous Brothers reminded us of the great stars in "Rock and Roll Heaven" at #10.  
1974:  George McCrae returned for a second week atop the R&B chart with "Rock Your Baby".
1981:  Always feeling he was above talking to the press, Bob Dylan suddenly met with the media and answered questions for two hours after seeing the transcript of an interview with an man who posed as Dylan in a Danish newspaper.





1981:  Pat Benatar released the single "Fire And Ice".
















1981:  Journey released "Who's Crying Now".
1985:  Elton John re-signed with MCA Records, a five-album deal worth $8 million.  At the time, the contract was the biggest in history.










1985:  Live Aid concerts were featured at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wembley Stadium in London.  George Michael sang lead vocals on Elton John's performance of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me".
1985:  Survivor owned the top Adult Contemporary song for the fourth straight week with "The Search Is Over".
1986:  Stevie Nicks and Peter Frampton performed at the San Diego Sports Arena in California.
1988:  Sting gave a concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. to benefit the rainforests.
1990:  Curtis Mayfield was seriously injured when a strong gust of wind blew a lighting scaffold down that hit Curtis in the back of the neck during an outdoor concert at Wingate Field in Brooklyn, New York.  Mayfield suffered a critical spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed below the neck.
1991:  INXS, Jesus Jones and Deborah Harry performed at Wembley Arena in London.
1991:  Bryan Adams had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Everything I Do) I Do It For You".
1991:  Bonnie Raitt debuted at #9 on the Album chart with Luck of the Draw.
1993:  Janet Jackson released the single "If".
1995:  Geddy Lee of Rush sang "Oh Canada" before the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland.
1996:  Over 2,000 guitarists, including Chet Atkins and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, set a new world record for the largest jam session when they played "Heartbreak Hotel" for 75 minutes at Riverfront Park in Nashville, Tennessee.  The previous mark was set when Randy Bachman led 1,322 guitarists in a 68-minute performance in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on May 7, 1994.
1996:  The Eagles performed in Wembley Stadium in London.









1996:  Metallica had the top album with Load, holding off Jagged Little Pill from Alanis Morissette, which was making yet another bid for #1 after 55 weeks  The Fugees owned #3--The Score while Toni Braxton fell to 4 with Secrets and Keith Sweat debuted at 5 with his self-titled debut.  The rest of the Top 10:  Tracy Chapman's New Beginning, E. 1999 Eternal from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Celine Dion at 8 with Falling Into You, the Soundtrack to "The Nutty Professor" at #9 and No Doubt slipped into the Top 10 with Tragic Kingdom..  
1997:  The Prodigy topped the U.K. album chart with The Fat of the Land.
1999:  Paul McCartney displayed 73 of his paintings at the Kunstforum Lÿz gallery in Siegen, Germany.







2000:  The Corrs had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Breathless".
2001:  The Eagles were in concert at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland.
2002:  Green Day and No Doubt headlined the opening of the two-day T in the Park Festival in Kinross, Scotland.
2003:  Prince released his new album N.E.W.S. as a digital download.
2003:  Ashanti had the #1 album with Chapter II.










 
2004:  Jimmy Buffett released the album License to Chill.
2004:  In today's "Inmates Run Rap Music" segment, Joe Budden was arrested in Queens, New York for driving with a suspended license.
2004:  Hal Carter, manager, agent and producer who worked with the Kinks, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent, died of liver cancer in London at the age of 69.
2005:  R. Kelly had the #1 album with TP.3 Reloaded.
2008:  Les Crane, who gave us "Desiderata", died at the age of 74 in Greenbrae, California.



Born This Day:
1935:  Pete Escovedo, percussionist of Santana, was born in Pittsburg, California.

1942:  Roger McGuinn, singer and guitarist with the Byrds and later McGuinn, Clark & Hillman, was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1942:  Stephen Bladd, drummer for the J. Geils Band, was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1945:  Diane Renay, who reached #6 with "Navy Blue" in 1964, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1946:  Cheech Marin of Cheech & Chong ("Basketball Jones" and "Santa Claus And His Old Lady") was born in Los Angeles.
1955:  Mark Mendoza, bass guitarist of Twisted Sister, was born in West Hempstead, New York.  (Note:  some websites report Mendoza was born in Long Island, New York.  Long Island is not a city and will not be shown on an official birth certificate.  Mendoza was born in West Hempstead.)
1966:  Gerald Levert, son of Eddie Levert of the Four Tops and a solo performer, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died after a lethal combination of prescription and over-the-counter drugs in Cleveland, Ohio on November 10, 2006.  (Note:  'Allmusic.com' claims Levert was born in Cleveland.  He was born in Philadelphia, and was raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio, according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times' and other credible sources.)
1974:  Deborah Cox ("Nobody's Supposed To Be Here") was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

This Date in Rock Music History: July 12

1954:  Here's a case where someone did indeed "quit their day job" and it worked out fine.  Elvis Presley quit his job as a truck driver and signed a recording contract with Sun Records.
1957:  DJ Alan Freed began a 13-week Big Beat show on ABC television with the Everly Brothers, Connie Francis & Frankie Lymon.
1960:  Floyd Cramer recorded "Last Date".
1961:  Pat Boone began a 10-day tour of South Africa at the Ice Dome in Durban.
1962:  The Rolling Stones made their live debut at the Marquee Club in London.















1963:  The Crystals released their hit "Then He Kissed Me".
1964:  The Beatles performed at the Hippodrome Theatre in Brighton, England.
1965:  The Beach Boys recorded "Sloop John B" at Western Recorders in Hollywood, California.










1965:  The Beach Boys released the single "California Girls".
















1965:  The Righteous Brothers released "Unchained Melody" as a single.  (Note:  some websites naively say the song was released July 17.  "Unchained Melody" debuted on the charts on July 17.  It is physically impossible for a song to be mailed to radio stations, listened to by radio stations and added to playlists, reported to the trade papers, and printed and published by the trade papers, all in one day.  The single was released July 12.)









1965:  Monday fell on this date and the new single from the McCoys was released called "Hang On Sloopy".







1965:  The Turtles released their 45 "It Ain't Me Babe".
1968:  The Bee Gees recorded "I've Got To Get A Message To You".
1968:  Micky Dolenz of the Monkees married Samantha Juste.
1969:  Elvis Presley appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.










1969:  Blind Faith performed before a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York City in the first date of their North American tour.  (Note:  some websites claim that the group made their live debut at Madison Square Garden on August 12.  There are two problems with that:  1) their North American debut was July 12 at Madison Square Garden, and 2) the group performed for the first time at Hyde Park in London on June 7, according to the book '1969:  The Year Everything Changed' by Rob Kirkpatrick.)   1969:  We wish African-Americans could put out music like this now--we're starving!!!  On this date, Marvin Gaye was at #1 on the R&B chart for the sixth consecutive week with "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby".
1969:  Henry Mancini remained at #1 for the eighth straight week on the Easy Listening chart with the beautiful "Love Theme From 'Romeo & Juliet'".







         
                           Blood, Sweat & Tears in the runner-up position...


1969:  Previously unknown Zager & Evans fought through the crowd and after four weeks, had the #1 song with "In The Year 2525", which made one of  the biggest leaps to the top (8-1) in the Rock Era.  Blood, Sweat & Tears was solid at 2 with "Spinning Wheel" while Oliver moved up with "Good Morning Starshine" and the former #1 "Love Theme From 'Romeo & Juliet'" by Henry Mancini was #4.  Three Dog Night's classic "One" was #5 while Tommy James & the Shondells' "Crystal Blue Persuasion edged up to 6.

Henley (2nd from left), Leadon (3rd from left), Ronstadt, Frey, Meisner (4th from right)

 

1971:  Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner performed together for the first time, as Linda Ronstadt's musicians, for a concert in Disneyland, California.  After the show, the four formed a new group, the Eagles.  (Note:  some websites claim the concert was on June 12, and some say July 15, but the correct date is July 12, according to the book 'Hotel California: The True-Life Adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young' by Barney Hoskyns.)











1972:  Michael Jackson released the single "Ben".
1973:  Hues Corporation recorded "Rock The Boat".  It wouldn't become a hit until a year later.
1975:  Johnny Nash had the #1 U.K. Song with "Tears On My Pillow".










1975:  One of the biggest groups of the mid-70's first charted on this date.  K.C. and the Sunshine Band first debuted on the chart with their first single, "Get Down Tonight".
1975:  Elton John's song "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" rose from 51 to 25 on this date.













1975:  Olivia Newton-John had control of the Adult Contemporary chart with "Please Mr. Please".
1975:  "The Hustle" by Van McCoy reached #1 on the R&B chart.













1976:  Orleans had a great single released on this date--"Still The One".
1979:  Ian Pace, drummer of Deep Purple, joined fellow Purple alums Jon Lord and David Coverdale in Whitesnake.










1979:  Minnie Riperton, who gave us the #1 "Lovin' You" in 1975, died four years later from breast cancer in Los Angeles.  She was 31 years old.
1980:  U2 was in concert at the Moonlight Club in West Hampstead, London.
1980:  Olivia Newton-John and ELO paced the U.K. chart with "Xanadu".










1980:  Pure Prairie League led the AC chart for the third week with "Let Me Love You Tonight".














1980:  Glass Houses was the top album for the fifth week, beating out Just One Night by Eric Clapton.  McCartney II was actually #3, the Soundtrack to "The Empire Strikes Back" came in fourth while Pete Townshend's solo effort Empty Glass was #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Jermaine Jackson with Let's Get Serious, the Commodores at 7 with Heroes, the former #1 blockbuster Against the Wind by Bob Seger, the Soundtrack to "Urban Cowboy" which starred John Travolta and Debra Winger, and Lipps, Inc. had #10 covered with Mouth To Mouth.








1983:  Chris Wood, founding member and saxophone player for Traffic, died of pneumonia at the age of 39 in Birmingham, England.
1986:  The Moody Blues had scored a big comeback as "Your Wildest Dreams" was #1 again on the Adult Contemporary chart.











                      Kenny Loggins had a big hit from "Top Gun"...


1986:  Simply Red reached #1 with "Holding Back The Years" in its 15th week of release.  Genesis was up strong from 6 to 2 with "Invisible Touch" while the previous #1 from Billy Ocean--"There'll Be Sad Songs" fell to 3.  Janet Jackson's "Nasty" was song #4 and El DeBarge had a solo hit away from family with "Who's Johnny".  The rest of the Top 10:  Peter Gabriel with "Sledgehammer", Kenny Loggins with "Danger Zone", Howard Jones on his way down with "No One Is To Blame", the Moody Blues at 9 with "Your Wildest Dreams" and the Fabulous Thunderbirds entered the Top 10 with "Tuff Enuff".
1988:  Michael Jackson arrived in England for the first solo performances of his career.

1992:  The city of Dallas, Texas unveiled a memorial to Buddy Holly, who was from Lubbock.
1992:  Axl Rose was arrested at JFK International Airport in New York City on a St. Louis, Missouri warrant.  Rose was wanted on charges resulting from a disastrous 1991 Guns N' Roses concert in which Rose incited a riot.
1993:  Prince performed a concert at his Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota to benefit a community radio station.
1996:  Jonathan Melvoin of the Smashing Pumpkins was found dead from drugs at the age of 34 in a New York City hotel.
1997:  Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, broke his wrist in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles.  If I were driving in Los Angeles, I would want all the protection I could get, which certainly isn't on a motorcycle.






1997:  Shawn Colvin debuted at #8 with "Sunny Came Home".
1997:  The incredible album Pieces of You by Jewel re-entered the Top 10 after 72 weeks of release.
1998:  The Spice Girls backed out of a promise to perform a free concert at Toronto's City Hall, choosing instead to appear on the Canadian television show Much Music.
1999:  In today's segment of "Inmates Run Rap Music", DMX was arrested in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad in the middle of a concert for using obscene language.  Good to see some countries have held to their principles.
1999:  Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit wasn't a rapper, but had the same values system.  He was arrested in St. Paul, Minnesota for kicking a local security guard in the head during a Limp Bizkit performance.
2003:  Rob Halford of Judas Priest announced he had rejoined the group for their first album and tour in 13 years.
2003:  R.E.M., the Cardigans and the Proclaimers performed on the opening day of the two-day T in the Park Festival in Kincross, Scotland.










2007:  Rod Stewart received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire medal from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.
2008:  Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones left his wife of 23 years and took up with an 18-year-old Russian cocktail waitress.
2008:  Earl Nelson, who sang in the duo Bob and Earl and also sang backing vocals on Jackson 5 remake of "Rockin' Robin", died in Los Angeles.  Earl, who had suffered from Alzheimer's disease, was 79.  (Note:  some websites claim he died in Lake Charles, Louisiana, but according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times', he died at this home in Los Angeles.)
2008:  George Martin, producer of the Beatles, was honored by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences as the most successful producer of all-time.
2010:  The state of California declared it "Pat Boone Day".
2010:  Gerry Marsden of Gerry & the Pacemakers received an honorary fellowship from Liverpool's John Moores University.
2011:  David Carr of the Fortunes died of a heart attack at the age of 67.


Born This Day:
1928:  Barbara Cowsill of the Cowsills ("Hair"), was born in Cranston, Rhode Island; died January 31, 1985 of emphysema in Tempe, Arizona.

1943:  Christine McVie (real name Christine Perfect) was born in Bouth, Cumbria, England.  (Note:  some websites claim she was born in Grenodd, Lancashire, England, and others say Birmingham, England.  According to 'Billboard', Christine was born in Bouth.)
1947:  Wilko Johnson, guitarist of Dr. Feelgood, was born in Canvey Island, Essex, England.

1948:  Walter Egan ("Magnet And Steel" and "Hot Summer Nights") was born in Jamaica, New York.
1950:  Eric Carr, drummer for KISS, was born in Brooklyn, New York; died November 24, 1991 of heart cancer in New York City.
1952:  Phil Kramer, bass guitarist for Iron Butterfly, was born in Youngstown, Ohio; his date of death was placed at February 12, 1995 after photographers found his body at the bottom of Decker Canyon near Malibu, California four years after he was reported missing (his death was ruled a probable suicide).
1952:  Liz Mitchell, singer of Boney M ("Rivers Of Babylon") was born in Clarendon, Jamaica.
1960  Ray Gillen, vocalist of Black Sabbath, was born in New York City; died December 1, 1993 in New York City of an AIDS-related disease.  (Note:  'AllMusic.com' got it wrong again, saying he was born in Cliffside Park, New Jersey.  Gillen was born in New York City and raised in Cliffside Park.)
1962:  Dan Murphy, guitarist of Soul Asylum, was born in Duluth, Minnesota.
1963:  Alan Duval of UB40
1976:  Tracie Spencer ("This House" from 1990) was born in Waterloo, Iowa.
1977:  Dominic Howard, drummer of Muse, was born in Stockport, Manchester, England.