This Date in Rock Music History: July 18

1960:  Elvis Presley took out a mortgage on the Graceland mansion he had purchased in 1960 for $160,000.  Presley had several buildings and additions constructed and made several improvements to the property. 
1960:  Hank Ballard and the Midnighters released the single "The Twist".

1960:  Brenda Lee moved to #1 with "I'm Sorry". 
1963:  The Beatles recorded "Til There Was You", "You Really Got a Hold on Me" and "Money (That's What I Want)".
1964:  The Rolling Stones had the top U.K. song with "It's All Over Now".











1964:  "C'mon And Swim" by Bobby Freeman moved up from #100 to #58.












1964: Getz & Gilberto had the #1 Easy Listening hit "The Girl From Ipanema".











 

1964:  "Rag Doll" by the 4 Seasons was the #1 song, followed by "Memphis" by Johnny Rivers and the former #1 "I Get Around" from the Beach Boys.  The Dave Clark Five edged up with "Can't You See That She's Mine" and Stan Getz & Astrud Gilbeto teamed for the #5 smash "The Girl From Ipanema".  The rest of the Top 10:  Jan & Dean climbed from 12 to 6 with "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena", Gerry & the Pacemakers had #7 with "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying", Roger Miller moved up with "Dang Me", Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop" fell and the Impressions were at 10 with "Keep On Pushing".









1966:  The Beach Boys released the single "Wouldn't It Be Nice".
1966:  Bobby Fuller of the Bobby Fuller Four ("I Fought The Law" from 1966) died at the age of 23 in Hollywood, California.  Fuller's body was found in a parked car in front of his apartment, and although some suspected the Mafia was involved, the death was ruled a suicide from asphyxiation.
1968:  The Grateful Dead released the album  Anthem of the Sun.
1968:  Des O'Connor had the top U.K. hit with "I Pretend".
1968:  The Beatles recorded "Cry Baby Cry" and three rehearsal takes of "Helter Skelter".
1969:  Ringo Starr recorded the lead vocal for "Octopus's Garden" at Abbey Road Studios.
1970:  Pink Floyd and Deep Purple gave a free concert at Hyde Park in London that attracted just 20,000 fans.
1970:  Anne Murray debuted on the chart with her first single "Snowbird".





1970:  Edwin Starr moved from #72 to #44 with "War".
1970:  The Jackson 5 had the #1 R&B hit for a fifth week with "The Love You Save".
1970:  "Close To You" by the Carpenters was #1 for a second week on the Adult chart.










                                  Blues Image scored a Top 10 hit...


1970:  Three Dog Night remained at #1 with "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)".  The Jackson 5 were at #2 with their former #1 "The Love You Save" while a new duo, the Carpenters, were climbing up fast with "Close to You".  Freda Payne had "Band Of Gold" up to #4 while the Temptations fell with "Ball Of Confusion".  The rest of the Top 10:  Blues Image and "Ride Captain Ride", Melanie with "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)", the Five Stairsteps had their great song "O-o-h Child" at #8, the Pipkins were up to 9 with "Gimme Dat Ding" and Bread's first single moved from 20-10--"Make It With You".










1972:  They could have just as easily been rap stars--they'd fit right in.  Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones were thrown in jail for fighting with a photographer in Providence, Rhode Island.
1973:  Jethro Tull sold out three concerts from July 20-22 at the Los Angeles Forum, so a fourth was added on this date.









1977:  Monday fell on this date, and that meant new releases.  Foreigner released their second single of their career "Cold As Ice".  (Note:  several websites naively say that the single was released July 23.  "Cold As Ice" debuted on the 'Billboard' charts on July 23.  Repeat after us--it is physically impossible for a record company to release a single, mail it to radio stations, be received and listened to by the radio stations, added to the station playlists and reported to the trade papers, and printed and published by the trade papers, all in the same day.)
1978:  Def Leppard made their debut at Westfield School in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.  The audience:  150 students.
1980:  No Nukes, a documentary showing the No Nukes benefit concerts from Bruce Springsteen and James Taylor, debuted at Cinema I in New York City.  (Note:  several websites claim the movie opened on Monday, July 16, 1980, which in itself is an odd day of the week to premiere a movie.  According to the city's newspaper, 'The New York Times', 'No Nukes' opened July 18.  That date is confirmed by the book 'Jackson Browne:  His Life and Music' by Mark Bego.)








1981:  Kim Carnes made it nine weeks at #1 with one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*, "Bette Davis Eyes". 
1984:  Prince released the second 45 from Purple Rain--"Let's Go Crazy".
1987:  Whitney Houston made it three weeks in a row at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me).
1989:  Jefferson Airplane got back together with original members Paul Kantner, Marty Balin and Grace Slick joined by Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady.
1991:  Nine Inch Nails, Jane's Addiction and Living Colour appeared on the Lollapalooza Tour at the Compton Terrace in Phoenix, Arizona.







1992:  Jon Secada debuted in the Top 10 with "Just Another Day" from his great first album.












 
1992:  Luther Vandross, Janet Jackson, BBD & Ralph Tresvant combined for the top R&B song--"The Best Things In Life Are Free".
1992:  One of the dark days of the Rock Era--Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown were married at Whitney's estate in New Jersey.  Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Natalie Cole, Patti Labelle and Freddie Jackson were among those in attendance.   Brown would not only ruin his own life but drag Whitney down with him.
1994:  The Rolling Stones arranged a secret concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for their fans.
1994:  Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries married Don Burton at Holy Cross Abbey, in Tipperary, Ireland.
1995:  Neil Young and manager Eliot Roberts began the recording label Vapor Records.
1995:  Selena's album Dreaming Of You was released following her murder.
2000:  Metallica performed at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.
2001:  MTV premiered the movie Hysteria - The Def Leppard Story.
2002:  In today's episode of "Inmates Run Rap Music", Mystikal was arrested for raping a 40-year-old woman in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  One of these days, you're going to listen to me about this idiotic form of "music".
2004:  Usher had the #1 song with "Confessions, Part 2".
2005:  This is what happens when you let Inmates Run Rap Music.  Lil' Kim, fresh from getting out of prison for perjuring herself, sued Lil' Cease, saying that he used her name and likeness without her permission to promote a DVD by Junior M.A.F.I.A.  Cease had testified against Kim in the perjury case.  Inmate + Inmate = Mass Chaos.

2015: Buddy Buie, prolific songwriter, producer, and manager, who wrote "Spooky", "Stormy" and "Traces" for the Classics IV, as well as many songs for other artists, died of a heart attack in Dothan, Alabama at age 74.  Buie stayed on with the group as their main songwriter, manager and producer when they evolved into the Atlanta Rhythm Section in 1971, writing hits such as "So Into You" and "Imaginary Lover".  Buie also wrote for Garth Brooks, Santana, Gloria Estefan, and Tommy Roe, among others.  Buie was 74.

Born This Day: 
1929:  Jay Hawkins ("I Put A Spell On You" from 1956) was born in Cleveland, Ohio; died February 12, 2000 after an emergency surgery for an aneurysm in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
1931:  Thomas Allen, percussionist with War, was born in Wilmington, Delaware; died on stage of a heart attack August 30, 1988 in Vallejo, California.
1935:  Johnny Funches, singer of the Dells ("Stay In My Corner" from 1968), was born in Harvey, Illinois; died of pneumonia January 23, 1998.
1938:  Ian Stewart, keyboardist with the Rolling Stones, was born in Pittenweem, Scotland; died of a heart attack December 12, 1985 in London.

1939:  Dion DiMucci was born in the Bronx, New York.













1941:  Martha Reeves was born in Eufaula, Alabama.  (Note:  several websites report that Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan.  According to the books 'Setting the Record Straight:  The Music and Careers of Recording Artists from the 1950s and early 1960s' by Anthony P. Musso and 'Motown:  The Golden Years' by Bill Dahl, Reeves was born in Eufaula and her family moved soon after to Detroit.) 
1941:  Lonnie Mack ("Memphis" from 1963) was born in Dearborn County, Indiana.
1943:  Robin McDonald, rhythm guitarist with Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, was born in Nairn, Scotland.
1945:  Danny McCulloch, bass guitarist for the Animals, was born in Shepherd's Bush, Middlesex; died January of heart failure 29, 2015.  (Note:  several websites say McCulloch was born in London, or in Shepherd's Bush, London.  According to the magazine 'New Music Express", Danny was born in Shepherd's Bush, a census-designated area in London.  While the area is now included in the Greater London county, in 1945, when McCullock was born, Shepherd's Bush was part of the county of Middlesex.)
1948:  Phil Harris of Ace ("How Long" from 1975), was born in Muswell Hill, Middlesex, England.  (Note:  several websites incorrectly state that Harris was born in Muswell Hill, London.  Muswell Hill, a suburb of London, was not part of the county of London until 1974, long after Harris was born.  When Phil was born in 1948, Muswell Hill was in the county of Middlesex.) 
1949:  Wally Bryson, guitarist of the Raspberries, was born in Gastonia, North Carolina.
1948:  Cesar Zuiderwijk, drummer of Golden Earring, was born in The Hague, the Netherlands.
1950:  Glenn Hughes of the Village People was born in the Bronx, New York; died March 4, 2001 of lung cancer in Manhattan, New York.  (Note:  some websites list his birthplace as New York City, which of course is made up of several boroughs.  Hughes was born in the Bronx, according to the book 'Fade to Black:  A Book of Movie Obituaries' by Paul Donnelley.)
1950:  Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Records, was born in Blackheath, Surrey, England.  (Note:  several websites claim Branson was born in Blackheath, London, but according to 'CNN', he was born in Surrey.  The sources are likely confused because of the Local Government Act of 1972, which changed the governance relating to counties, changing the boundaries of many, dropping others, and naming new counties.  The changes took place in 1974.  Blackheath was once part of the county of Surrey, and is now a part of Greater London.  Back in 1940, when Branson was born, Blackheath was part of Surrey, and his place of birth was Blackheath, Surrey, England)
1955:  Terry Chambers, drummer of XTC, was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, England.
1958:  Nigel Twist of the Alarm was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England.
1962:  Jack Irons, drummer of Pearl Jam beginning in 1994, was born in Los Angeles.
1975:  Daron Malakian of System of a Down was born in Hollywood, California.
1978:  Tony Fagenson, songwriter and drummer of Eve 6
1982:  Ryan Cabrera was born in Dallas, Texas.