This Date in Rock Music History: November 18

1956:  Fats Domino performed "Blueberry Hill" on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1964:  The Supremes and the Righteous Brothers were on the television show Shindig!

1967:  Diana Ross and the Supremes Greatest Hits topped the Album chart for a fourth week with the former #1 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles still #2.  Strange Days, which had moved from 100-4 the previous week, was slowed down by the superior top two, while The Doors was fourth.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Four Tops Greatest Hits, Vanilla Fudge took #6 with their self-titled release, Ode to Billie Joe by Bobbie Gentry, Bee Gees 1st moved into the Top 10, the Soundtrack to "Doctor Zhivago" was #9 and Groovin' from the Young Rascals finished the list.

                 The Cowsills weren't just a one-hit act...

1967:  One of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era*, "To Sir With Love" by Lulu, remained #1 for a fifth week.  "Soul Man" from Sam & Dave took the runner-up spot with the great Strawberry Alarm Clock song 'Incense And Peppermints" #3.  The Cowsills were up to challenge with "The Rain, The Park & Other Things; Vikki Carr, however, slipped to #5 with "It Must Be Him".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Please Love Me Forever" from Bobby Vinton, "Your Precious Love" by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, Dionne Warwick jumped from 22-5 with "I Say A Little Prayer", Soul Survivors remained at 9 with "Expressway To Your Heart" and the Who enjoyed their first and only Top 10 hit with "I Can See for Miles".

1968:  The Steve Miller Band released their first career single "Living In The U.S.A.".
1968:  Spiral Starecase began recording "More Today Than Yesterday".
1970:  Jerry Lee Lewis and wife Myra Brown divorced in Memphis, Tennessee.
1972:  Danny Whitten, singer/songwriter (wrote "I Don't Want To Talk About It" for Rod Stewart) and a member of Neil Young's Crazy Horse band, died at age 29 in Los Angeles of drugs.
1972:  A new act appeared on the scene on this date.  Steely Dan debuted with their first career single--"Do It Again".

                              Yes...

1972:  Catch Bull at Four by Cat Stevens was the new #1 album, taking over from Curtis Mayield's Superfly.  The incredible Days of Future Passed by the Moody Blues was still at #3 after 62 weeks of release, 38 more weeks than any other album in the Top 10.  All Directions from the Temptations remained in the #4 position with Ben from Michael Jackson fifth.  The rest of the Top 10:  Rock of Ages from The Band, Close to the Edge by Yes, Stanley, Idaho's Carole King moved from 20 to 8 with her new album Rhymes & Reasons, Rod Stewart was stuck on 9 with Never a Dull Moment and The London Chuck Berry Sessions wrapped up the list.

1972:  Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes rose to #1 on the R&B chart with "If You Don't Know Me By Now".
1972:  Johnny Nash held on to the top spot on the Easy Listening chart for the third week with "I Can See Clearly Now".







The Moody Blues were just a bit ahead of their time with this one...

1972:  "I Can See Clearly Now" was the top song for a third week.  Lobo moved to #2 with his great song "I'd Love You To Want Me" while the Spinners had song #3--"I'll Be Around".  Helen Reddy couldn't be ignored at #4 with "I Am Woman" and "Nights In White Satin" by the Moody Blues was still in the Top 10 after 16 weeks.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Temptations logged their 14th Top 10 and 36th career hit as "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" jumped from 13-6, "Freddie's Dead" dropped for Curtis Mayfield, "Convention '72" by the Delegates was #8, the Eagles placed "Witchy Woman" at #9 and Seals & Crofts joined the group with "Summer Breeze".
1975:  Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen were the guest stars on Police Woman on NBC-TV.

1975:  Bruce Springsteen performed at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

1978:  Billy Joel notched his second straight #1 album with 52nd Street.




                 Foreigner was runner-up to Ms. Summer...

1978:  Donna Summer remained at #1 with the fantastic "MacArthur Park".  Foreigner was up to #2 with "Double VIsion" with Ambrosia right behind with "How Much I Feel".  Anne Murray's former #1 "You Needed Me" dropped, but "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" from Barbra (Streisand) & Neil (Diamond) rose from 16-4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Two former #1's--"Hot Child In The City" by Nick Gilder and Exile's "Kiss You All Over", Canada's Gino Vannelli with "I Just Wanna' Stop" at #8, Kenny Loggins dropped with "Whenever I Call You Friend" and the Captain & Tennille edged up with "You Never Done It Like That".
1982:  Joan Jett & the Blackhearts released the album I Love Rock 'n' Roll.
1983:  R.E.M. appeared on the show The Tube in the U.K.
1988:  The movie Buster starring Phil Collins debuted in theaters.
1989:  Super songwriter Diane Warren had the #1 and #2 songs as she penned "When I See You Smile" by Bad English" as well as "Blame It On The Rain" by Milli Vanilli.  "We Didn't Start The Fire" by Billy Joel and "Angelia" from Richard Marx both entered the Top 10. 

1989:  Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 was on top for a third week on the Album chart, holding off Girl You Know It's True by Milli Vanilli.  I don't know how it did it.  Even more embarrassing, the Rolling Stones album Steel Wheels was unable to beat Milli Vanilli, having to settle for third behind the fake vocalists.  Paula Abdul moved back up with Forever Your Girl after 70 weeks of release, leaping over Aerosmith's Pump.  The rest of the Top 10:  Hangin' Tough by New Kids on the Block, Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood, Billy Joel rushed into the Top 10 with Storm Front, Tracy Chapman stayed at 9 with Crossroads and the B-52's reached the list with Cosmic Thing.

1989:  Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville set the pace on the Adult Contemporary chart or the third week with "Don't Know Much".
1990:  Paul McCartney's birth certificate sold for $18,000 at an auction.
1992:  Black Sabbath earned a star on the Rock Walk in Hollywood, California (not the famous Walk of Fame).
1995:  The Rolling Stones were still being pioneers, becoming the first major act to broadcast a concert on the Internet.
1995:  "You Remind Me Of Something" by R. Kelly was the new #1 song on the R&B chart.



1995:  Mariah Carey kept "Fantasy" at #1 for an eighth week, tied for 17th-longest in the Rock Era. 








1997:  The final recording of John Denver, The Unplugged Collection, was released.
1997:  AC/DC released the boxed set Bonfire.
1999:  Doug Sahm, who was with the Sir Douglas Quintet ("She's About A Mover") died of a heart attack caused by heart diease in a hotel room in Raos, New Mexico at age 58.
2001:  Britney Spears scored another #1 album with Britney.
2003:  Michael Jackson released the compilation album Number Ones in the U.S.
2003:  Michael Kamen, who wrote "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" for Bryan Adams, conducted the orchestra on the album S&M by Metallica, and worked with Pink Floyd, Queen, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, Rush and many others, died of a heart attack at the age of 55 in London.  (Note:  some websites report his place of death as Los Angeles, but BMI states that occurred at Kamen's home in London.)


2003:  The lyrics to "Nowhere Man" by the Beatles, handwritten by John Lennon, fetched $300,000 at an auction in New York City.
2005:  A judge ruled that Madonna had copied part of the song of a Belgian songwriter for "Frozen".  Record stores were thereby ordered to remove copies of Madonna's song.
2010:  Cher had her hand and foot prints placed in cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Born This Day:



1909:  Johnny Mercer, who wrote over 1,500 songs including "Moon River", "That Old Black Magic", and "Days Of Wine And Roses", and co-founded Capitol Records and served as its first president and chief talent scout, was born in Savannah, Georgia; died June 25, 1976 in Bel Air, California after an in operable brain tumor was diagnosed.  (Note:  some websites, many years after his death, still report Mercer's place of death as Los Angeles.  He died in Bel Air, according to 'The Los Angeles Times' and other respectable sources.)







1927:  Hank Ballard of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters and the author of "The Twist" by Chubby Checker was born in Detroit, Michigan; died of throat cancer in Los Angeles on March 2, 2003.  (Note:  Ballard for years lied about his age, saying he was born in 1936, and some websites still believe that, but he didn't fool us in the end, as his gravestone reads born 1927.)
1941:  Con Clusky of the Bachelors ("Diane" from 1964) was born in Dublin, Ireland.
1949:  Herman Rarebell, drummer of the Scorpions, was born in Saarbrücken, Germany.
1950:  Graham Parker ("Wake Up (Next To You)" from 1985) was born in East London.  (Note:  some websites show his birthday as November 15, but the 'BBC' reports it as November 18.)
1950:  Rudy Sarzo, bass guitarist of Quiet Riot and Whitesnake, was born in Havana, Cuba.
1954:  Charles Williams of K.C. and the Sunshine Band
1954:  John Parr ("St. Elmo's Fire") was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England.
1958:  Michael Ramos, keyboardist of the BoDeans

1960:  Kim Wilde ("Kids In America" and "You Keep Me Hangin' On") was born in Chiswick, London, England.








1962:  Kirk Hammett, elite guitarist and songwriter of Metallica, was born in San Francisco, California.
1969:  Duncan Sheik ("Barely Breathing") was born in Montclair, New Jersey.
1977:  Fabolous (real name John David Jackson) was born in Brooklyn, New York.<

This Date in Rock Music History: November 17

1957:  Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps appeared on national television for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show.  (Note:  numerous other "timeline" websites and other sites show that this date was November 25.  In the first place, The Ed Sullivan Show aired on Sunday nights, not Monday, and in 1957, Sunday fell on November 3, 10, 17 and 24th.  According to the book 'Handbook of Texas Music' by Laurie E. Jasinski, as well as the book 'Race with the Devil:  Gene Vincent's Life in the Fast Lane' by Susan VanHecke, as well as 'TV.com' and other television history sites, the correct date is November 17.)
1958:  Duane Eddy roared up the chart from 71 to 25 with "Cannonball".

1958:  The Kingston Trio hit #1 with "Tom Dooley".  
1961:  The Beatles played a lunch show at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, then ventured to the Village Hall, Knotty Ash for a nighttime concert.
1962:  "Big Girls Don't Cry" was the new #1 song on the R&B chart for the 4 Seasons.

1962:  The 4 Seasons blasted into the #1 position with "Big Girls Don't Cry".  Elvis Presley edged up with "Return To Sender" while the Crystals' former #1 "He's A Rebel" was third.
1963:  Nancy Sinatra was on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1966:  "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys was #1 in the U.K.
1967:  Davy Jones, lead singer of the Monkees, opened his clothing boutique Zilch (named after a song on the Headquarters album) in Greenwich Village, New York.
1970:  Elton John recorded a show at A&R Recording Studios in New York City for live broadcast on radio station WABC-FM that was later released as the 11-17-70 album.
1973:  Billy Preston's "Space Race" took over the #1 spot on the R&B chart.
1973:  Helen Reddy moved from 59 to 29 with "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)".

                Ringo captured the moment...

1973:  Eddie Kendricks maintained with "Keep On Truckin'" at #1 while the previous #1 "Midnight Train To Georgia" by Gladys Knight & the Pips was still #2.  The DeFranco Family surprisingly had song #3--"Heartbeat - It's A Lovebeat", Ringo Starr was up to 4 with "Photograph" and Billy Preston's instrumental "Space Race" was at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Marie Osmond with "Paper Roses", the Carpenters had their 14th hit in just three years with "Top Of The World", the Rolling Stones tumbled with "Angie", Chicago had their seventh Top 10 with "Just You 'N' Me" and the late Jim Croce entered the list with "I Got A Name".

1973:  Elton John had the top album with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.  Goats Head Soup was second by the Rolling Stones and Brothers and Sisters by the Allman Brothers was awarded the #3 position.  The Who were up from 24 to 4 in their second week with Quadrophenia. 
1974:  ABBA ventured out of their native Sweden for the first time.  But not too far--just on a tour of Europe, which began at the Falkonercentret in Copenhagen, Denmark.
1976:  A Very Special Olivia Newton-John was shown on ABC television.
1976:  The Carpenters played two sold-out concerts at the Playhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland.



1977:  Neil Diamond released the single "Desiree".
1978:  Led Zeppelin recorded two takes of "All My Love" at ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden for Led Zep's forthcoming album In Through the Out Door.
1979:  John Glascock, bassist of Jethro Tull in the studio, died at the age of 28 of a congenital heart valve defect in London.  (Note:  some websites show that Glascock died at age 26--he was 28 as reported by the 'BBC'.)




1979:  ABBA was verified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the top-selling group in recording history.
1979:  ABBA had their fifth #1 album in the U.K. with Greatest Hits, Volume 2.
1979:  Kool & the Gang stood on top of the R&B chart for the third week with "Ladies Night".

 

 

 1979:  "You're Only Lonely" by J.D. Souther became the new #1 song on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1979:  The Commodores enjoyed their second #1 song with "Still".
1979:  The Eagles had a stranglehold on the #1 album with their great release The Long Run.  Led Zeppelin was second with In Through the Out Door, Styx's Cornerstone was third and Tusk by Fleetwood Mac moved to 4.  The rest of the Top 10:  On the Radio--Greatest Hits Volumes I & II by Donna Summer, Midnight Magic from the Commodores, Herb Alpert's Rise was #7, Barbra Streisand edged up with Wet, One Voice from Barry Manilow captured the #9 spot and Bee Gees Greatest, a two-album set, debuted way up at #10.

1980:  John Lennon released the album Double Fantasy.









1980:  Dolly Parton released the single "9 to 5".
1980:  Aretha Franklin and Sammy Davis, Jr. performed for Queen Elizabeth in London.

1984:  The exciting Chaka Kahn had the top R&B song with "I Feel For You".





 

1984:  Giuffria had one of the fastest-moving songs as "Call To The Heart" climbed from 82 to 66.









     
               Sheena Easton changed her image...

1984:  Wham! moved up to #1 with "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go".  Prince peaked at #2 with "Purple Rain" and Billy Ocean's first #1 song "Caribbean Queen" was down to #3.  Chaka Khan had song #4 with "I Feel For You" and Stevie Wonder's former #1--"I Just Called To Say I Love You" was fifth.  The rest of the Top 10:  Hall & Oates were stuck on 6 with "Out Of Touch", Tina Turner and "Better Be Good To Me", Sheena Easton had her 12th hit with "Strut", Cyndi Lauper moved in with "All Through The Night" and Lionel Richie's "Penny Lover" was #10.
1984:  Lionel Richie was making history with his seventh #1 song on the AC chart out of eight releases.  "Penny Lover" took over at the top.
1985:  Wham!  led the way on the U.K. Album chart with Make It Big.
1987:  Madonna released her compilation You Can Dance.  (Note:  some websites report the date of release as November 18--according to Madonna's official website, it was November 17.)
1990:  David Crosby broke his left leg, ankle and shoulder in an accident on his motorcycle in Los Angeles.

1990:  Debbie Gibson was the honorary chairperson at the seventh annual Music Industry Tennis Party to benefit the T.J. Martell Foundation at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow, New York.
1990:  The Rhythm of the Saints by Paul Simon moved from 11-5 on the Album chart, the only new entry in the Top 10.

 

 

 

 

1990:  Bette Midler continued her momentum as "From A Distance" remained #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the third week.








1990:  Mariah Carey remained at #1 with "Love Takes Time".  M.C. Hammer was sitting back with "Pray" and Alias moved up to #3 with their great song "More Than Words Can Say".  Deee-Lite had song #4--"Groove Is In The Heart".  The rest of the Top 10:  Whitney Houston moved from 13 to 5 with "I'm Your Baby Tonight", her 11th Top 10 song in 13 tries, Vanilla Ice cooled off with "Ice Ice Baby", Poison and "Something To Believe In", newcomer Stevie B moved from 15-8 with "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)", James Ingram with "I Don't Have The Heart" and Bette Midler moved into the Top 10 with "From A Distance".
1992:  In what was becoming a trend, Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers received $4 million in back payments from the song "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".  What?  Corporations doing something evil by withholding money from employees?  Shocking.
1997:  Metallica released their album Reload.
1998:  Mariah Carey released the album #1's

1998:  Jewel released the album Spirit.
2000:  The two-hour documentary The Beatles Revolution was shown on ABC-TV.
2000:  Cher was a guest star on the show Will & Grace on NBC-TV.
2003:  Britney Spears (21 years old) became the youngest singer to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  In other words, they give one to anyone these days.
2003:  Arthur Conley ("Sweet Soul Music" in 1967) died of intestinal cancer in Ruurlo, The Netherlands at age 57.
2007:  The Eagles' great album Long Road out of Eden was #1.
2010  Legendary songwriters Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff had a street in front of their Philadelphia International studios named after them.

Born This Day:
1937:  Gerry McGee, guitarist of the Ventures, was born in Eunice, Louisiana.


1938:  Gordon Lightfoot was born in Orillia, Ontario, Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1942:  Bob Gaudio, of the Royal Teens ("Short Shorts" from 1958) and who wrote many of the hits for the 4 Seasons with Bob Crewe and also produced several Neil Diamond albums, was born in The Bronx, New York.








1944:  Gene Clark, songwriter and guitarist for the New Christy Minstrels, the Byrds and later McGuinn, Clark & Hillman, was born in Tipton, Missouri; died of a heart attack at the age of 47 brought on by years of consumption of alcohol and drugs on May 24, 1991 in Sherman Oaks, California.







1946:  Martin Barre, lead guitarist of Jethro Tull, was born in King's Heath, Birmingham, England.
1947:  Rod Clements of Lindisfarne was born in North Shields, England.
1947:  Robert "Stewkey" Antoni, vocalist and keyboard player for the Nazz and Utopia
1955:  Peter Cox of Go West was born in Kingston, Surrey, England.
1957:  Jim Babjak, lead guitarist and founding member of the Smithereens, was born in Cartaret, New Jersey.
1967:  Ronnie Devoe of New Edition and Bell Biv Devoe was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1967:  Ben Wilson, keyboardist of Blues Traveler, was born in Chicago, Illinois
1980:  Isaac Hanson of the group Hanson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

This Date in Rock Music History: November 16

1959:  "Mr. Blue" by the Fleetwoods finally dislodged "Mack The Knife" by Bobby Darin as the #1 song after six weeks.  But Macky would be back for more.

1960:  The Shirelles released the single written by Stanley, Idaho's Carole King--"Will You Love Me Tomorrow".
1962:  The Beatles recorded for their second appearance on Radio Luxembourg for The Friday Spectacular program at the EMI Records headquarters in Manchester Square in London.  The group was interviewed before a live audience and performed "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You".  The show aired on November 23.
1963:  "Dominique" by the Singing Nun moved from 64 to 19.
1963:  "Deep Purple" by Nino Tempo & April Stevens was the new #1 song, as "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs moved out after five weeks.
1963:  "It's All Right" by the Impressions was #1 on the R&B chart for a second week.

1963:  Peter, Paul & Mary ruled the Album chart as the memorable trio had the #1 album In the Wind, #6 (Moving) and #8 (Peter, Paul and Mary).  Barbra Streisand owned #2--The Second Barbra Streisand Album while Elvis' Golden Records, Volume 3 by Elvis Presley was third.
1964:  The Animals recorded "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood".
1965:  Frank Sinatra was featured on Sinatra:  An American Original with Walter Cronkite on CBS-TV.
1966:  The Temptations released their Greatest Hits package.

1968:  Led Zeppelin performed at the Manchester College of Science & Technology in Manchester, England.

1968:  Electric Ladyland by the Jimi Hendrix Experience moved into the #1 position on the Album chart, sparking an interest in his first album Are You Experienced?, which re-entered the Top 10 at #8 after 65 weeks of release. 
1968:  Mary Hopkin remained at #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Those Were The Days".






1968:  We were first introduced to the new singer with the gravelly voice on this date--Joe Cocker released his first career single, a remake of the Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends".
1968:  "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell showed it was going to be a factor as it jumped up from #67 to #23 on this date.






         The Turtles were slow to move out of the Top 10...

1968:  The Beatles registered an eighth straight week at #1 with "Hey Jude", second in the Rock Era at the time to Bobby Darin's "Mack The Knife".  The great Mary Hopkin song "Those Were The Days" was second for a third week with the Supremes at #3 with "Love Child".  Steppenwolf's rocker "Magic Carpet Ride" moved from 7 to 4.  The rest of an excellent Top 10:  "Hold Me Tight" from Johnny Nash, Cream's "White Room" remaining at #6, O.C. Smith with "Little Green Apples", Johnnie Taylor moved from 21 to 8 with "Who's Making Love", Dion was up from 18-9 with "Abraham, Martin and John" and the Turtles were still hanging around with  "Elenore".





1971:  New artist Cat Stevens released the first single of his career on this date--"Wild World".

1972:  America released their fine album Homecoming.












The Rolling Stones challenged for the top spot...


1974:  Walls and Bridges by John Lennon took over at the top of the Album chart with Jim Croce's Photographs & Memories coming in second.  The Rolling Stones moved from 19-3 with It's Only Rock 'N Roll and America's great album Holiday was #4, swapping places with Not Fragile from BTO.  
1974:  Neil Diamond hit #1 for the second time (the other being "Song Sung Blue") on the Easy Listening chart with "Longfellow Serenade".
1974:  Barry Manilow debuted on the chart with his first single "Mandy".

Gordon Lightfoot had his third Top 10 hit with "Carefree Highway"

1974:  John Lennon and Elton John moved up to #1 with "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night".  B.T. Express closed in with "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)" and Bobby Vinton's comeback hit "My Melody Of Love" was third.  America was solid at #4 with "Tin Man", John Denver's "Back Home Again" was #5 again and Billy Swan swooped up from #15 to #6 with "I Can Help".  The rest of the Top 10:  Neil Diamond scored the eighth Top 10 of his career with "Longfellow Serenade", Reunion was up with "Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)", Carl Carlton entered the list with "Everlasting Love" and Gordon Lightfoot had song #10 with "Carefree Highway".









1976:  Al Stewart released the single "Year of the Cat".
1976:  Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys granted an interview for the first time in eight years on the television show Old Grey Whistle Test on BBC in the U.K.









1977:  Rush was awarded Gold albums for 2112, All the World's a Stage and A Farewell to Kings.
1978:  Queen performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
1979:  The Infinity record label, which included Hot Chocolate, Orleans, Rupert Holmes, and Spyro Gyra among its acts, closed its doors and was absorbed by MCA.
1985:  U2 debuted their own record label Mother Records.
1985:  Sade had the top U.K. album with Promise.
1985:  "Separate Lives" by Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin took over as the new #1 Adult Contemporary chart.





1985:  After 26 releases, Starship reached #1 for the first time with "We Built This City".  Glenn Frey's "You Belong To The City" was second, pushing the previous #1 "'Miami Vice' Theme" by Jan Hammer to #3.  Tears for Fears were tumbling with "Head Over Heels" and Stevie Wonder was down with "Part-Time Lover".  The rest of the Top 10:  Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin edged up with "Separate Lives" a new group called Mr. Mister broke into the list with "Broken Wings", Heart achieved their fourth Top 10 song with "Never", ABC peaked at #9 with "Be Near Me" and thee Thompson Twins peaked at #10 with "Lay Your Hands On Me".
1987:  Topper Headon, drummer of the Clash, was put away for 15 months at Maidstone Crown Court in England for supplying heroin to a man who died as a result.
1988:  Stan Love, former manager of the Beach Boys and the brother of lead singer Mike Love, was sentenced to five years probation for embezzling more than $1,000,000 from the group.
1989:  Stevie Nicks and Richard Marx were in concert at the NEC in Birmingham, England.
1991:  Enya achieved a #1 album in the U.K. with her incredible release Shepherd Moons.
 
    Amy Grant with another smash from 'Heart In Motion'...

1991:  Prince owned the #1 song with "Cream" and Bryan Adams peaked at #2 with "Can't Stop This Thing We Started".  It would be time to begin searching for a new #1 and Michael Bolton's "When A Man Loves A Woman" would start the list.  Boyz II Men moved up with "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" while PM Dawn was up from 11-5 with "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss".  The rest of the Top 10:  Roberta Flack and Maxi Priest had song #6--"Set The Night To Music", "O.P.P." by Naughty By Nature, Amy Grant enjoyed another Top 10 as "That's What Love Is For" moved from 17-8, Karyn White's former #1 "Romantic" was #9 and Guns N' Roses burst into the Top 10 with "Don't Cry".
1991:  By this time, the Adult chart was a far more accurate portrayal of the most popular songs and Michael Bolton already had three weeks at #1 with his remake of the Percy Sledge classic "When A Man Loves a Woman".

1993:  Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams & Sting released their single "All For Love".  (Please click on "Play" icon in the top left-hand portion of the video...)
1994:  Dino Valente, singer with Quicksilver Messenger Service who also wrote the timeless classic "Get Together", one of The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era*, died in Danbury, Connecticut at the age of 57.
1996:  The Spice Girls rocketed to #1 on the U.K. Album chart with their self-titled release.




1996:  Anthology Volume 3 by the Beatles was the #1 album, making the group the only act in the Rock Era to have three #1 albums in a 12-month period.

2001:  A life-sized statue of Sonny Bono was unveiled in Palm Springs, California.
2004:  U2 played a concert before about 20 contest winners at their studio in Dublin, Ireland.


Born This Day:
1916:  Herb Abramson, co-founder of Atlantic Records, was born in Brooklyn, New York; died in Henderson, Nevada on November 9, 1999.
1933:  Garnet Mimms of the Enchantments ("Cry Baby") was born in Ashland, West Virginia.
1938:  Troy Seals, a member of James Brown's band and a cousin of Dash Seals of Seals & Crofts, was born in Bighill, Kentucky.
1940:  John Ryanes of the Monotones ("Book Of Love") was born in Newark, New Jersey; died May 30, 1972 in Newark.
1943:  Blue Lovett, songwriter, vocalist, and co-founder with the Manhattans ("Shining Star') and later a producer, was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.
1948:  Chi Coltrane, songwriter and solo artist ("Thunder And Lightning") was born in Racine, Wisconsin.
1949:  Pattie Santos, lead singer of the group It's a Beautiful Day ("White Bird"); died in a car crash near Healdsburg, California on December 14, 1989 after drinking and speeding before missing a curve and crashing into two trees.
1959:  Harry Rushakoff, drummer of Concrete Blonde, was born in Chicago

1964:  Diana Krall, one of the best-selling jazz artists in history, was born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.

1969:  Bryan Abrams of Color Me Badd ("I Adore Mi Amor") was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
1979:  Trevor Penick of O-Town ("All or Nothing" from 2000) was born in San Bernadino County, California.

This Date in Rock Music History: November 15

1956:  Elvis Presley appeared in a movie for the first time as Love Me Tender opened at the Paramount Theatre in New York City.  (Note:  there are conflicting reports of the date of the premiere.  The books 'Icons of Rock:  An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever' by Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz and 'Elvis:  Day by Day' by Peter Guralnick and Ernst Jorgensen state that the movie premiered on November 15.  The newspaper 'The Examiner' and The Graceland.com website also show the premiere as the 15th.  The books 'The Elvis Movies' by James L. Neibaur and 'Elvis Presley:  A Biography' by Kathleen Tracy state that the premiere was on November 16.  This would be a tossup to determine the accurate date, unless those sources all saw the picture of the marquee above, which clearly shows that the premiere was on the 15th...)   

1964:  Peter & Gordon appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.  (Note:  some websites report the date as November 9, but according to 'TV.com' and other online sites where you can watch video of the performance, it was November 15.)
1965:  The Beatles finished recording the album Rubber Soul.






1965:  The Rolling Stones performed "Get Off Of My Cloud", which aired on Hullabaloo on NBC-TV on this date.







1969:  The Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, where the Beatles performed in their early years, announced it was closing its doors at the end of the month.








1969:  Glen Campbell enjoyed the top Easy Listening song with "Try A Little Kindness".










1969:  We first heard of a new group called the Jackson 5 as their first single "I Want You Back" debuted on the chart.











     
               R.B. Greaves had a huge hit

1969:  The 5th Dimension remained at #1 with "Wedding Bell Blues" while the Beatles crowded around with "Come Together" at #2 and "Something" at #3.  Blood, Sweat & Tears rose from 8-4 with "And When I Die" and Smith was still at #5 with "Baby It's You".  The rest of the Top 10:  Two former #1's--"I Can't Get Next To You" by the Temptations and "Suspicious Minds" from Elvis Presley, the Flying Machine were at #8 with "Smile A Little Smile For Me", the Archies' former #1 "Sugar, Sugar" and R.B. Greaves took a leap from 18-10 with "Take A Letter Maria".

1969:  Abbey Road by the Beatles spent a third week at #1 on the Album chart with CCR's Green River second.
1972:  America released their fine album Homecoming.
1972:  Harry Chapin and his wife celebrated the birth of son Joshua Burke.









1974:  The Doobie Brothers released the single "Black Water".
1975:  ABBA were in the United States for the only time in their career, performing "S.O.S." and "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" on American Bandstand on ABC-TV.








1975:  Silver Convention achieved a #1 song on the R&B chart with "Fly, Robin, Fly".
1975:  Diana Ross had another big solo hit as the "Theme Rrom 'Mahogany' (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" moved from 79 to 53.








1975:  "Island Girl" by Elton John was the #1 song for a third week as "Lyin' Eyes" officially would have to settle for being one of the top #2 songs of the Rock Era--many stations had it #1, however.  The Four Seasons were up to #3 with "Who Loves You", their biggest hit since "Let's Hang On" in 1965.  Jefferson Starship edged up with "Miracles" while Linda Ronstadt's double-sided hit "Heat Wave"/"Love Is A Rose" was at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  K.C. and the Sunshine Band moved from 19 to 6 with "That's The Way (I Like It)", Natalie Cole's "This Will Be", Morris Albert had song #8 with "Feelings", the Captain & Tennille with "The Way I Want to Touch You" and War rode into the Top 10 with "Low Rider".
1977:  Debby Boone had the #1 Easy Listening song with "You Light Up My Life".
1978:  Barbra Streisand released her Greatest Hits Volume 2 package.
1978:  Echo & the Bunnymen made their live debut at Eric's Club in Liverpool, England.

1980:  Kenny Rogers' 12th solo hit became his first career #1 as "Lady" moved into the coveted position.  That moved "Woman In Love" by Barbra Streisand out as adult songs dominated the chart.  Donna Summer was at #3 with "The Wanderer" and Queen remained at #4 with "Another One Bites The Dust".  The rest of the Top 10:  Diana Ross and "I'm Coming Out", Stephanie Mills was up to #6 with "Never Knew Love Like This Before", Steve Wonder's "Master Blaster" took position #7, the Pointer Sisters dropped with their huge hit "He's So Shy", Leo Sayer bumped into the Top 10 with "More Than I Can Say" and John Lennon jumped from 32-10 in only his third week with his first big hit in six year--"(Just Like) Starting Over".










1983:  Culture Club released the single "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" in the United States.










1984:  Glenn Frey released his solo single "The Heat Is On".












1984:  Billy Ocean released the follow-up to "Caribbean Queen"--"Loverboy".  (Note:  one website shows the release as December 1, an impossibility since it is physically and logistically impossible for a song to debut on the chart (December 1) on the date it is released.)










                 Eddie Money with his biggest career hit...

1986:  For the second week, Boston held on to #1 with "Amanda".  The Human League were at #2 with "Human", Madonna's "True Blue" took home the #3 prize and Eddie Money was fourth with "Take Me Home Tonight".  Newcomers Bon Jovi had their first Top 10 with "You Give Love A Bad Name".  The rest of the Top 10:  "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On" by Robert Palmer, Cameo's "Word Up", Sun Valley, Idaho's Peter Cetera teamed with Amy Grant to enter the Top 10 with "The Next Time I Fall", Oran "Juice" Jones moved "The Rain" to #9 and Cyndi Lauper dropped with "True Colors".

                Winwood's classic had become a fixture in the Top 10...and for All-Time...


1986:  Boston's Third Stage was #1 on the Album chart for the third week while former #1 Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi was still hanging around and Fore!  by Huey Lewis & the News remained third.  Cyndi Lauper's True Colors came in #4 and Tina Turner dropped to #5 with Break Every Rule.  The rest of the Top 10:  Dancing on the Ceiling from Lionel Richie, Steve Winwood's great album Back in the High Life, the Soundtrack to "Top Gun", The Bridge by Billy Joel at #9 and Madonna snuck into the Top 10 with True Blue.
1988:  Queensryche opened for Metallica as their tour of North America kicked off at the Toledo Sports Arena in Toledo, Ohio.
1990:  Frank Farian, producer of Milli Vanilli, admitted that Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus of the group didn't actually sing any notes on their album and lip-synched in live performances.



1997:  Robyn had the highest-debuting song with "Show Me Love".
1997:  Elton John spent a sixth week at #1 with "Candle In The Wind 1997", his tribute to the late Princess Diana.  It was Elton's 66th career hit, his 27th Top 10 and ninth #1.  Usher was a distant #2 with "You Make Me Wanna'" while LeAnn Rimes had #3--"How Do I Live".
2003:  The city of Augusta, Georgia announced plans to construct a statue of James Brown and rename a music festival in the singer's honor.
2005:  Madonna released the album Confession on a Dance Floor.  (Note:  some websites show the date of release as November 11, but it was the 15th, according to the official Madonna website.)

Born This Day:

1932:  Petula Clark was born in Epsom, England.

 

 

 

 

 

1932:  Clyde McPhatter, vocalist with the Drifters and Billy Ward & the Dominoes and a solo artist ("A Lover's Question" from 1958), was born in Durham, North Carolina; died June 13, 1972 in New York City of a heart attack from complications from heart, liver and kidney disease brought on by years of drinking alcohol.  (Note:  some websites report Clyde's birth year as either 1931 or 1933, but according to the book 'Rock Obituaries:  Knocking on Heaven's Door' by Nick Talevski, as well as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website and other credible sources, he was born in 1932.)  
1937:  Little Willie John ("Fever") was born in Cullendale, Arkansas.






1945:  Anni-Frid Lyngstad of ABBA was born in Ballangen, Norway.  (Note:  some websites show her birthplace as Narvik, Norway, but she was born in Ballangen, which is just outside of Narvik, according to the newspaper 'The Daily Mail'.)
1949:  Steve Fossen, founding member and bassist of Heart 
1953:  Alexander O'Neal, solo artist who also co-produced the album Control for Janet Jackson, was born in Natchez, Mississippi.
1954:  Tony Thompson, drummer of Chic and the Power Station and session musician for Diana Ross, Rod Stewart and Duran Duran, was born in Queens, New York; died November 12, 2003 in Encino, California, less than a month after being diagnosed with kidney cancer.
1957:  Joe Leeway of the Thompson Twins was born in Islington, London.