This Date in Rock Music History: June 16

1956:  The world was introduced to a guy on this date that would become a superstar.  Roy Orbison humbly debuted on the chart with "Ooby Dooby".
1958:  This famous R&B group originally known as the Roosters would go on to register 39 hits, but on this date, they first appeared on the charts with "For Your Precious Love", the first single for Jerry Butler & the Impressions.
1959:  Russ Conway had the top U.K. hit with "Roulette".
1961:  Gary "U.S." Bonds appeared on American Bandstand.
1962:  "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles was #1 on the R&B chart for the fourth week in a row.
1965:  Bob Dylan recorded "Like A Rolling Stone."   (Note:  some websites report that Dylan recorded the song on June 14 and others say it was on June 15.  According to 'Rolling Stone' magazine, Bob recorded it on June 16.)
1965:  Petula Clark and Gary Lewis & the Playboys appeared on the television show Shindig!

1966:  John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, which at the time featured Eric Clapton on guitar, performed at the Marquee Club in London.
1966:  The Beatles made an appearance on the U.K. television show Top of the Pops, performing "Paperback Writer" and "Rain".
1966:  Cliff Richard appeared on stage with the Reverend Billy Graham at Earls Court in London and talked about his discovery of the Christian faith.
1967:  Pink Floyd released the single "See Emily Play".  Not too many people did.

1967:  The famous three-day Monterey Pop Festival was the place to be on this date at the Monterey, California Fairgrounds.  Simon and Garfunkel, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin became international superstars as a result of the Monterey Pop Festival.  Simon and Garfunkel, the Association, Johnny Rivers and Eric Burdon performed on opening night.
1968:  Santana, Steve Miller and Janis Joplin performed at the Fillmore West in San Francisco with proceeds going towards keeping the Matrix Club in San Francisco open.




1969:  A famous day in music, for this is the day that Zager & Evans released "In The Year 2525".  And we inexplicably race to prove them right.
1970:  Woodstock Ventures, sponsors of the famous concert and gathering in 1969, announced that they had lost more than $1.2 million on the festival.






1970:  "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry ruled the U.K. chart.
1973:  The Spinners owned the top R&B song for the second week with "One Of A Kind (Love Affair)".
1973: The Carpenters had the Biggest Mover (69-38) on the Popular chart with "Yesterday Once More".







1973:  Paul McCartney & Wings spent a third week at #1 with "My Love".  Clint Holmes moved to 2 with "Playground In My Mind" and Sylvia remained at #3 with "Pillow Talk".  Barry White was at 4 with "I'm Gonna' Love You Just A Little More Baby", while "Daniel" was down to 5 for Elton John and "Frankenstein" slipped to 6 for the Edgar Winter Group.  The rest of the Top 10:  Billy Preston moved from 14-7 with "Will It Go 'Round In Circles", George Harrison posted his third Top 10 solo hit with "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)", Paul Simon jumped from 17 to 9 with "Kodachrome" and the former #1 from Dawn--"Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Ole Oak Tree" was at #10.








1975:  James Taylor released the single "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)".
1975:  Don Robey, whose Peacock Records was the home of Little Richard and Bobby Bland, among others, died of a heart attack in Houston, Texas at the age of 71.
1975:  John Lennon sued Attorneys General John Mitchell and Richard Kleindienst of the United States government, charging that he was being denied immigration through selective prosecution and that Mitchell and Kleindienst had harassed him in deportation proceedings.
1976:  The first episode of the television show The Jacksons aired on CBS.  The show lasted four months.
1977:  The play Beatlemania opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway in New York City.
1977:  Kenny Rogers rose to #1 in the U.K. with "Lucille".

1978:  Mac Davis hosted The Midnight Special with guests Todd Rundgren and Andrew Gold.
1978:  The movie Grease (adapted from the famous Broadway play) premiered in New York City.
1979:  ELO topped the U.K. album chart with Discovery.







1979:  Donna Summer had the hottest song around with "Hot Stuff".  Sister Sledge and "We Are Family" reached #2 with "Ring My Bell" from Anita Ward third.  Randy Vanwarmer was heating up with "Just You When I Needed You Most".  The Bee Gees' sixth consecutive #1, "Love You Inside Out", slipped to 5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Supertramp's "The Logical Song", Rickie Lee Jones was at position #7 with "Chuck E.'s In Love", Kenny Rogers moved from 10 to 8 with "She Believes In Me", former #1 "Reunited" from Peaches & Herb, and Earth, Wind & Fire with the Emotions jumped from 18-10 with "Boogie Wonderland".
1980:  The movie The Blues Brothers opened in Chicago.  The film starred John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as the Blues Brothers and also included Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Ray Charles.
1982:  Donny Van Zant of .38 Special was arrested on stage during a concert in Tulsa, Oklahoma for public drinking.
1982:  James Honeyman Scott, the great guitarist of the Pretenders, died of drugs in London at the age of 25.
1984:  "Let's Hear It For The Boy" made it three weeks atop the R&B chart for Deniece Williams.

1984:  Cyndi Lauper held on to #1 with "Time After Time".
1987:  The Ben & Jerry ice cream company was given permission to sell a flavor called Cherry Garcia, after longtime Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia.
1988:  Pink Floyd played a concert in West Berlin, Germany.  More than 2,000 East Berliners lined up at the wall to listen.
1989:  The Glastonbury Festival took place in the U.K. with Suzanne Vega among the opening day performers.




1989:  Smokey Robinson introduced a new woman's fragrance on the market called Smoke.
1990:  The great movie Pretty Woman was out, and from the film, Roxette moved to #1 with "It Must Have Been Love".
1993:  The United States Postal Service unveiled a new set of stamps featuring Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, Otis Redding, Ritchie Valens, Clyde McPhatter and Dinah Washington.
1994:  Kristen Ptaff, bassist of Hole, died of heroin at age 26 in Seattle, Washington. 
1996:  Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Smashing Pumpkins, Beck, Rage Against the Machine, Sonic Youth and the Fugees performed at the Tibetan Freedom Concert at Golden Gate Park.  Over 100,000 fans attended.
1996:  Metallica had the top album with Load.
1997:  Radiohead released the album OK Computer in the U.K.  The album was released July 1 in the U.S.
1999:  Cher debuted her "Believe Tour" at America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

1999:  Phil Collins was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2004:  Ben Shabalala, a former member of the South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo that was featured on Paul Simon's landmark Graceland album was shot to death in Durban, South Africa.
2004:  Velvet Revolver owned the #1 album with Contraband.
2005:  "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey was the #1 song for a fourth week.
2007:  Rod Stewart married Penny Lancaster in Portofino, Italy.
2008:  Coldplay began a world tour at the Carling Brixton Academy in London.


Born This Day:

1941:  Lamont Dozier of the famous Motown songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland, was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1942:  Eddie Levert of the O'Jays (and father of Gerald Levert) was born in Bessemer, Alabama.  (Note:  some websites insist Eddie was born in Canton, Ohio.  According to Eddie on his official website, he was born in Bessemer, then moved with his family to Canton when Levert was six years old.)
1946:  Iain Matthews of Fairport Convention and Matthews Southern Comfort and a solo performer (who went by Ian Matthews on the 1978 solo hit "Shake It") was born in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England.
1949:  Peppy Castro of Blues Magoos and Balance ("Breaking Away") was born in Manhattan, New York.  (Note:  some websites lazily say Castro was born in New York City, when NYC of course is made up of separate boroughs, each census designated.  Some websites claim Castro was born in the Bronx, New York.  According to a 2011 interview with Peppy, he said he was born in Manhattan and moved to the Bronx with his family when he was four.)
1950:  James Smith of the Stylistics

1952:  Gino Vannelli ("I Just Wanna' Stop", "Living Inside Myself" and "Nightwalker") was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
1954:  Garry Roberts, lead singer with the Boomtown Rats, was born in Dublin, Ireland.
1958:  Patrick Waite, bassist of Musical Youth, was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England; died February 18, 1993 of a hereditary heart condition at the age of 35 in Birmingham, West Midlands, England.  (Note:  some websites report Patrick was born on May 16.  Although no credible sources exist for either date, our best information tells us that he was born on June 16.  Some websites naively say Waite was born in Birmingham, West Midlands.  The county of West Midlands did not exist until 1974, 16 years after Waite was born, so it is physically impossible for him to have been born there and no official birth certificate will show West Midlands as his county of birth.)
1971:  Tupac Shakur (Lesane Parish Crooks) was born in Manhattan, New York; shot and killed on September 13th, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Top Track: "Every Love Song" by the Greg Kihn Band

You know "Jeopardy" (not the TV show, the song!) and "The Breakup Song" by San Francisco's Greg Kihn Band.  This one didn't get quite the attention of those two, but still a hot song.  We don't place it in the category of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*, which only includes songs that should have made the Top 10.  But it deserves attention.

This Date in Rock Music History: June 15

1958 - The Platters sang "Twilight Time" on The Ed Sullivan Show. 
1958:  The all-music show Oh Boy was broadcast for the first time in the U.K.
1959:  Paul Anka's "Lonely Boy" was the only new entry into the Top 10, but it made a huge move--18-8 on this date.  

1959:  Johnny Horton had the #1 song for the third week with "The Battle Of New Orleans".  "Personality" by Lloyd Price would become one of the top songs ever to peak at #2, while Bobby Darin's "Dream Lover" was at 3.  
1961:  Elvis Presley topped the U.K. chart with "Surrender".
1963:  Kyu Sakamoto moved to #1 with "Sukiyaki".  Three songs entered the Top 10 Songs Club of the Rock Era--"Blue On Blue" from Bobby Vinton, "Hello Stranger" by Barbara Lewis and "18 Yellow Roses" by Bobby Darin.
1964:  The Beatles were in concert for two shows at the Festival Hall in Melbourne, Australia.

  1964:  The 4 Seasons released the single "Rag Doll".  (Misinformation warning--some websites claim "Rag Doll" entered the 'Billboard' chart on June 14.  According to 'Billboard', it debuted on June 20.)
1965:  Bob Dylan recorded "Like A Rolling Stone", featuring organ from Al Kooper, for his upcoming album Highway 61 Revisited.
1965:  The Hollies and Rolling Stones performed at the Odeon Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland.
1966:  The Beatles released the album Yesterday & Today on Capitol Records.  (Note:  one website claims the album was released June 20.  According to BeatlesBible.com, the album was released June 15.)







1967:  Peter Green left John Mayall's Bluesbreakers to form Fleetwood Mac with former Bluesbreakers' drummer Mick Fleetwood.











1968:  Music directors at radio stations across the country received a new 45 on Fantasy Records from a new group called Creedence Clearwater Revival.  They didn't know much about them other than their first single was called "Suzie Q".  So, most of them decided to sit on it.  The leaders among the music directors, however, played the song, the followers eventually joined in, the song debuted on the chart on September 7, and the rest is history.
1968:  The Beatles announced at a press conference in London that their visit with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi about transcendental meditation was a mistake.
1968:  Are You Experienced? by the Jimi Hendrix Experience entered the Top 10 on the Album chart for a third time.  On the first two tries, it had only reached #7.
1968:  The classic "Mrs. Robinson" remained at #1 for a third week for Simon & Garfunkel.  Herb Alpert was closing fast with "This Guy's In Love With You" while Tommy James & the Shondells were up to 3 with "Mony Mony".

1969:  The Doors were in concert at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minnesota.
1969:  Led Zeppelin appeared at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England.
1970:  Jimi Hendrix recorded at his Electric Ladyland studio in New York City for the first time.













1973:  Jim Croce hosted The Midnight Special.
1974:  Geoff Britton replaced Denny Seiwell on drums in the group Paul McCartney & Wings.
1974:  A band from Alabama saw their first hit debut on the charts on this date.  The Commodores debuted with "Machine Gun".
1974:  Elvis Presley played at the Tarrant County Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
1974:  "Rock Your Baby" by George McCrae moved from 62 to 34 on this date.
1974:  Gordon Lightfoot spent a second week at #1 on the Adult chart with "Sundown".






1974:  "Sideshow" by Blue Magic deservedly reached #1 on the R&B chart.












                                                  "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding"...

1974:  The album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John was still in the Top 10, 35 weeks after its release.
1978:  Bob Dylan performed in the U.K. for the first time in 12 years with the first of six concerts at Earls Court in London.
1985:  Former Roxy Music star Bryan Ferry's solo album Boys and Girls was the top U.K. album.

                                        The first big hit for England's Howard Jones...

1985:  Tears For Fears ruled the chart for a second week with "Everybody Wants To Rule The World".  Bryan Adams had a smash at #2 with "Heaven" while "Axel F" peaked at #3 for Harold Faltermeyer.  The rest of the Top 10:  Billy Ocean's "Suddenly" at #4, Howard Jones moved up to 5 with "Things Can Only Get Better", "Sussudio" was the ninth hit for Phil Collins, moving from 12-6, the Mary Jane Girls had song #7--"In My House", Wham! was on the way down with "Everything She Wants", Madonna registered her sixth consecutive Top 10 song with "Angel" which moved into the list this week, and Katrina & the Waves remained at #10 with "Walking On Sunshine".



                                 One of the great albums in the Top 10 of 1985 on this date...

1985:  There were some great albums out, although I wouldn't include the #1 Around the World in a Day by Prince in that category.  No Jacket Required from Phil Collins was #2, with the Soundtrack to "Beverly Hills Cop" third, Songs From the Big Chair by Tears For Fears at #4 and Born In the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen still hanging around after 52 weeks.  The rest of the Top 10:  Wham! with Make It Big, Bryan Adams' Reckless, Sade's smooth Diamond Life at #8, Madonna at 9 with Like a Virgin and The Power Station had a Top 10 album with their debut.
1986:  U2 and Sting performed at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Amnesty International in the sixth and final concert of the series.
1989:  Nirvana released their first album Bleach.

1991:  On this date, a great new Philadelphia R&B group first appeared on the chart.  They would go on to be near the top of the music business with eight Top Three songs over the next five years.  "Motownphilly" debuted on the singles chart and would eventually reach #3 and be certified as a Platinum single (over 2 million copies sold)--Boyz II Men...
1991:  Spellbound by Paula Abdul continued to set the pace on the Album chart.







1991:  "Power Of Love/Love Power" by Luther Vandross topped all on the R&B chart.
1991:  "Rush, Rush" became Paula Abdul's fifth #1 song out of her last six releases.
1996:  The great album The Score by the Fugees was #1 for the fourth week.  Jagged Little Pill was moving back up after 51 weeks while Celine Dion had #3--Falling Into You.  New Beginning by Tracy Chapman was fourth, followed by Soundgarden's Down on the Upside.







1998:  The Spice Girls began a North American tour at the Coral Sky Amphitheater in Miami, Florida.
2000:  In today's edition of Inmates Run Rap Music, the guy who called himself "Flesh-N'Bone" of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony was convicted of assault with a firearm.  Being an ex-convict already, he wasn't even supposed to have the firearm and was convicted for that crime as well.
2003:  Former members of the Grateful Dead performed at the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.
2003:  Radiohead sat atop the U.K. Album chart with Hail to the Thief.
2003:  Over on the other side of the Atlantic, Metallica had the #1 album with St. Anger.
2004:  Glen Campbell was sentenced to 10 days in jail for extreme drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident in Phoenix, Arizona.
2004:  Alanis Morissette announced her engagement to actor Ryan Reynolds.  The two never tied the know.
2005:  Bo Bice married Caroline Merrin Fisher in Helena, Alabama.


                                                      "The Hardest Part" from Coldplay...

2005:  Coldplay topped the Album chart with X&Y.  The Black Eyed Peas debuted at #2 with Monkey Business.
2008:  Coldplay once again hit #1 in the U.K. with their album Viva La Vida.
2008:  Lionel Richie was given a TV Land Icon Award.

2014:  Casey Kasem, one of the all-time top DJ's and founder and host of American Top 40 for 39 years, died at the age of 82 in Gig Harbor, Washington.


Born This Day:
1910:  David Rose, songwriter, pianist, arranger and composer whose biggest hit was "The Stripper" in 1962, was born in London; died August 23, 1990 of heart failure in Burbank, California.
1929:  Nigel Pickering of Spanky & Our Gang was born in Pontiac, Michigan; died May 5, 2011 in St. Augustine, Florida.
1934:  Ruby Nash of Ruby & the Romantics was born in Akron, Ohio.






1941:  Harry Nilsson (Harry Edward Nelson III) was born in Brooklyn, New York; died of heart failure on January 15, 1994 in Agoura Hills, California. 
1943:  Muff Winwood of the Spencer Davis Group who later became a producer and A&R man, was born in Erdington, Birmingham, England.  (Note:  some websites naively say Winwood was born in Erdington, Birmingham, England or Erdington, West Midlands, England.  First, Birmingham is not a county but a city.  Erdington is a suburb of Birmingham, but did not become part of the newly created West Midlands county until 1974, 31 years after Winwood was born.  It is therefore physically impossible for Muff to have been born in the county of West Midlands and you will never see it listed as his county of birth on his official birth certificate.)
1946:  Noddy Holder, lead vocalist and guitarist of Slade, was born in Walsall, Staffordshire, England.  (Note:  similar to above, some websites falsely claim Holder was born in Walsall, West Midlands, England.  Again, West Midlands was not even a county until 1974, making it impossible for Holder to have been born in the county of West Midlands.)

1949:  Russell Hitchcock, talented vocalist of Air Supply, was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
1949:  Michael "Sam" Lutz, bassist of Brownsville Station ("Smokin' In The Boy's Room" from 1973), was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan.









1951:  Steve Walsh, lead singer of Kansas, was born in St. Louis, Missouri.  (Note:  several websites incorrectly say that Steve was born in St. Joseph's, Missouri.  He was born in St. Louis and after being adopted as an infant, grew up in St. Joseph's.)
1954:  Terri Gibbs ("Somebody's Knockin'" from 1981) was born in Miami, Florida.  (Note:  some websites report Terri was born in Augusta, Georgia.  She was born in Miami then later lived in Grovetown, Georgia, a suburb of Augusta.)
1956:  Bernie Shaw, lead singer of Uriah Heap, was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
1963:  Scott Rockenfield, drummer of Queensryche, was born in Seattle, Washington.
1966:  Michael Britt, guitarist of Lonestar, was born in Fort Worth, Texas.
1966:  Rob Mitchell of Sixpence None the Richer ("Kiss Me")
1968:  Ice Cube (real name O'Shea Jackson) was born in Los Angeles.
1976:  Gary Lightbody, vocalist and guitarist of Snow Patrol, was born in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland.  (Note:  some websites report he was born on June 15.  Gary was born June 18, according to the 'BBC'.)
1981:  Billy Martin, guitarist of Good Charlotte, was born in Annapolis, Maryland.  (Note:  some websites report Martin was born in Naptown, Maryland.  He lived in Naptown, but he was born in Annapolis.)
1985:  Nadine Coyle of Girls Aloud was born in Derry, Northern Ireland.

This Date in Rock Music History: June 14

1963:  The Beatles performed at the new Brighton Tower in England, with Gerry & the Pacemakers opening.
1964:  250,000 people in Australia were on hand to greet the Beatles in Melbourne.
1965:  Paul McCartney of the Beatles recorded the song "Yesterday" in two takes.  It was a significant departure from the Beatles' norm, as McCartney was the only group member on the song.


1965:  Sonny & Cher released the single "I Got You Babe".  (Note:  some websites naively say the song was released July 9.  The song debuted on the Singles chart on July 10.  It is physically impossible for a record company to release a single, mail it to radio stations throughout the country, be received by those stations, listened to and added to radio station playlists, reported to trade papers, and be printed and published by the trade papers, all in one day.  The song was released June 14.)
1967:  The Monkees began recording "Daydream Believer".
1967:  The Doors were in concert at Steve Paul's The Scene in New York City with Jimi Hendrix in attendance.

1969:  Marvin Gaye spent a second week at the top of the R&B chart with "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby".  It would hold off all challengers for four more weeks.
1969:  "Love Theme From "Romeo & Juliet", one of the Top Instrumentals of the Rock Era*, was #1 on the Easy Listening chart for a second week.  
1969:  The Soundtrack to "Hair" was #1 on the Album chart for the eighth week.  Blood, Sweat & Tears spent their 12th week in the Top Three with their debut while Nashville Skyline by Bob Dylan was #3.  
1969:  "Crystal Blue Persuasion", the great song from Tommy James and the Shondells, moved from 89 to 57.
1970:  Eric Clapton's new band, Derek and the Dominos, made their first appearance at the Lyceum in London.

                                        Three Dog Night was on their way...

1969:  The Beatles ruled for a fourth week with "Get Back", holding off Henry Mancini, who made an 8-2 move with "Love Theme From 'Romeo & Juliet'".  Elvis Presley's brilliant song "In The Ghetto" was third with CCR closing with their newest, "Bad Moon Rising".  The rest of the Top 10:  Newcomers Mercy with "Love (Can Make You Happy)", the Friends of Distinction were groovin' with "Grazing In The Grass", the Edwin Hawkins Singers dropped with "Oh Happy Day", Marvin Gaye was at position #8 with "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby", the Guess Who was still strong after 11 weeks with "These Eyes" and Three Dog night scored the first Top 10 of their career with "One".




1970:  Grand Funk purchased a billboard in New York's Times Square to advertise their new single "Closer To Home".
1972:  The Greatest Hits album of Simon and Garfunkel was released two years after the duo split up.
1972:  Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.  Led Zep played for three hours and gave four encores in front of over 16,000 fans.
1972:  Simon and Garfunkel and Peter, Paul & Mary played a benefit concert for United States presidential contender George McGovern at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
1975:  Gwen McCrae watched husband George score a #1 R&B and Top 40 smash with "Rock Your Baby" earlier in the year and then went into the recording studio and recorded "Rockin' Chair", which became the #1 R&B song on this date.

1975:  The classic song "Wildfire" reached #1 for Michael Murphey on the Adult chart.
1975:  Elton John's album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, which debuted at #1, continued as the top album in the land.  New entries in the Top 10 included Stampede from the Doobie Brothers, Four Wheel Drive by Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Spirit of America from the Beach Boys.






1975:  America scored their second #1 song (following their debut "A Horse With No Name" in 1972) with "Sister Golden Hair".  The Captain & Tennille were closing fast (12-2) with their debut hit "Love Will Keep Us Together" and Linda Ronstadt moved to challenge with "When Will I Be Loved".  Grand Funk had a solid hit with "Bad Time" at #4 and Chicago was stuck at 5 with "Old Days".  The rest of the Top 10:  "I'm Not Lisa" from Jessi Colter, Major Harris at 7 with "Love Won't Let Me Wait", John Denver tumbled to #8 with "Thank God I'm A Country Boy", the former #1 "Philadelphia Freedom" was amazingly back in the Top 10 for the Elton John Band and Joe Simon was at #10 with "Get Down, Get Down (Get On the Floor)".
1979:  Little Feat announced they were breaking up.
1980:  The movie Roadie, starring Meat Loaf, debuted in theaters.

  1980:  "Little Jeannie" by Elton John climbed to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.  It was Elton's 5th AC #1, following "Daniel", "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" and "Mama Can't Buy You Love".

  

The Pretenders remained in the Top 10 because of songs like one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*--"Mystery Achievement"...


1980:  Glass Houses took over at #1 on the Album chart, giving Billy Joel his second #1 album.  Against the Wind slipped to 2 after six weeks at the top.  Just One Night by Eric Clapton was surprisingly up to 3 with Pink Floyd slipping to #4 with The Wall.  The rest of the Top 10:  Mouth To Mouth by Lipps, Inc., Van Halen's Women and Children First at #6, the debut from Christopher Cross up to #7, Middle Man from Boz Scaggs at #8, the Pretenders' great debut at #9 and the Soundtrack to "The Empire Strikes Back" moving from 17-10.
1981:  The "No Nukes" concert, featuring Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and others, was held at the Hollywood Bowl.
1982:  The Pretenders fired bass player Pete Farndon.
1986:  Queen scored a #1 album in the U.K. with A Kind of Magic.

1986:  "Glory of Love" by Sun Valley, Idaho's Peter Cetera was the Biggest Mover, climbing from 62-49.
1986:  "Nasty" by Janet Jackson reached #1 on the R&B chart.
1986:  "On My Own", the duet pairing Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald, reached #1 after 13 weeks, replacing Madonna's "Live To Tell" at the top spot.  "I Can't Wait" from Nu Shooz was #3 with Billy Ocean's "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" at #4, his fifth Top 10 in his last six releases.  The rest of the list:  "Crush On You" from the Jets, Whitney Houston's former #1 "Greatest Love Of All", George Michael's first solo hit "A Different Corner" at #7, Howard Jones moved up from 14-8 with "No One Is To Blame", Mike + the Mechanics on their way down with "All I Need Is A Miracle" and Level 42's "Something About You" at #10.

1986:  Incredibly, the album Whitney Houston was still at #1 nearly a year after its release.
1989:  Pete DeFreitas, drummer of Echo & the Bunnymen died in a motorcycle accident at age 27.  DeFreitas was en route from Liverpool, England to London and was instantly killed when his motorcycle collided with a car neaer Longdon Green, Staffordshire. 

1994:  Henry Mancini died at the age of 70 from pancreatic and liver cancer in Los Angeles.
1995:  Michael Jackson and wife Lisa Marie Presley appeared on television for a live interview with Diane Sawyer.  The appearance drew an audience of 60 million people.
1995:  Elite guitarist Rory Gallagher died in London.  While waiting for a liver transplant, Gallagher spent 13 weeks in intensive care, and it was during this time that he contracted a staphylococcal infection and died as a result.  
1997:  Only in 1997 could a song of this caliber do this--"I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy & Faith Evans debuted at #1.    To let you know how hard it was, they replaced "MMMBop" by Hanson at #1.
1997:  Spice by the Spice Girls was #1 on the Album chart for the fourth straight week.  
2003:  Queen Elizabeth awarded Gerry Marsden of Gerry & the Pacemakers a Member of the Order of the British Empire medal.

 
2003:  Queen Elizabeth conferred upon Sting the title of Commander of the British Empire.
2004:  Warner Brothers bought out Madonna's shares in Maverick Records, a label she had owned for 12 years.  Alanis Morissette and the Deftones recorded on Maverick.  (Note:  some websites report the deal was announced June 13.  According to 'CBS News' and other reliable sources, the deal was announced Monday, June 14.)
2006:  AFI had the top album with Decemberunderground.
2010:  Michael Jackson was posthumously inducted and Aretha Franklin was inducted to the Apollo Theater Hall of Fame in Harlem, New York.


Born This Day:
1909:  Burl Ives ("A Holly Jolly Christmas") was born in Hunt City, Illinois; died of oral cancer from smoking April 14, 1995 in Anacortes, Washington.
1931:  Junior Walker ("Shotgun") was born in Blytheville, Arkansas; died of cancer at the age of 64 on November 23, 1995 in Battle Creek, Michigan.

1945: Rod Argent, vocalist and keyboardist of the Hollies, the Zombies and Argent, was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England.
1947:  Barry "The Fish" Melton, co-founder and lead guitarist of Country Joe & the Fish, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1949: Alan White, drummer with John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band as well as Yes, was born in Pelton, County Durham, England.
1952: Jim Lea of Slade ("Run Runaway") was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England.  (Note:  some websites naively say Lea was born in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England.  The county of West Midlands was not created until 1976, 24 years after Lea was born, making it physically impossible for him to have been born in the county of West Midlands.  Wolverhampton was included in the county of Staffordshire in 1952, the year Lea was born.)
1958: Nick Van Eede of the Cutting Crew was born in Cuckfield, West Sussex, England.
1961:  Boy George (George O'Dowd) was born in Bexley, Kent, England.  (Note:  one website claims Boy George was born in London.  Another says he was born in Eltham, Kent, England.  According to his official website, George was born in Bexley, which in 1961 was in the county of Kent.  Bexley did not become part of the county of London until 1965, four years after George was born.)
1963:  Chris Degarmo of Queensryche was born in Wenatchee, Washington.
1971:  Billie Myers ("Kiss The Rain" from 1998) was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England.  (Note:  some websites naively say Myers was born in Coventry, West Midlands, England.  West Midlands did not become a county until 1974, three years after Myers was born, so it is physically impossible for her to have been born in West Midlands and you will never see West Midlands listed as her county of birth on an official birth certificate.)
1983:  Siobhan Donaghy of the Sugababes was born in London, England.

Featured Unknown/Underrated Song: Erasure's "A Little Respect"

This British duo scored a #14 song in the United States with "A Little Respect" in 1989.  We believe it's better than that, and should have made the Top 10:

A Little Respect

Erasure

Lyrics and Music by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell

I try to discover
A little something to make me sweeter
Oh baby refrain from breaking my heart
I'm so in love with you
I'll be forever blue
That you give me no reason
Why you're making me work so hard

That you give me no
That you give me no
That you give me no
That you give me no

Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby please give a little respect to me

And if I should falter
Would you open your arms out to me
We can make love not war
And live at peace in our hearts
I'm so in love with you
I'll be forever blue
What religion or reason
Could drive a man to forsake his lover

Don't you tell me no
Don't you tell me no
Don't you tell me no
Don't you tell me no

Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby please give a little respect to me

I'm so in love with you
I'll be forever blue
That you give me no reason
You know you're making me work so hard

That you give me no
That you give me no
That you give me no
That you give me no

Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby please give a little respect to me

Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby please give a little respect to me

This Date in Rock Music History: June 13

1958 - Frank Zappa graduated from Antelope Valley High in Lancaster, CA. 
1960:  Little Brenda Lee took a giant leap up the charts, moving from 76 to 38 with "I'm Sorry".






1960:  "Cathy's Clown" by the Everly Brothers was becoming one of the biggest hits of the '60s, remaining at #1 for a fourth week.  Elvis Presley was stuck at two with "Stuck On You". 
1964:  The Rolling Stones performed on the television show Hollywood Palace hosted by Dean Martin on ABC.









1964:  "People" became Barbra Streisand's first Top 10 of her storied career.
1967:  The Bee Gees appeared on the U.K. television show As You Like It and performed "New York Mining Disaster 1941".
1969:  20-year-old Mick Taylor joined the Rolling Stones, taking the place of Brian Jones, who wasn't satisfied with the musical direction the band was going.
1970:  Grand Funk Railroad, with Steel Mill (featuring Bruce Springsteen) opening, performed at the Ocean Ice Palace in Bricktown, New Jersey.  Admission was $5.  Yep, that's when it was the music that mattered, not the money (for agents, managers, record companies...et al.)





  1970:  A brand new band debuted on the charts as Bread's first single "Make It With You" debuted.
1970:  The last single ever released from a Beatles studio album was "The Long And Winding Road", and on this date it made one of the biggest hops to #1 in the history of the Rock Era, going from 10 to 1 in its fourth week.
1972:  Clyde McPhatter of the Drifters died of a heart attack from complications of heart, liver and kidney disease, brought on by years of alcohol abuse in the Bronx, New York at the age of 39.







1975:  The newly reformed and renamed Jefferson Starship released the song "Miracles", which would become their first Top 10 song in eight years.  








 
1975:  John Lennon performed on television for the final time, singing his classic "Imagine".  The show was taped on April 18 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel












1977:  James Taylor released the single "Handy Man".
1980:  Pat Benatar performed at a home baseball game for the Philadelphia Phillies.
1981:  Smokey Robinson had the #1 U.K. hit with "Being With You".
1981:  Neil Diamond scored a #1 on the ever more popular Adult Contemporary chart with "America".








                                           Newcomers Franke & the Knockouts...

1981:  It was week #5 at the top for Kim Carnes' smash "Bette Davis Eyes".  The Stars on 45 had a surprise hit with "Medley" and A Taste of Honey was moving up with their remake of "Sukiyaki".  The rest of the Top 10:  Smokey Robinson slipped to #4 with "Being With You", Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio found themselves at #5 with "A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)", Gino Vannelli had song #6--"Living Inside Myself", George Harrison, who was inspired to write "All Those Years Ago" following the tragic death of John Lennon, Neil Diamond edged up to #8 with the third hit from "The Jazz Singer" Soundtrack--"America", REO Speedwagon were on their way down with "Take It On The Run" and Franke & the Knockouts had a fine song at #10 with "Sweetheart".
1983:  Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble released their debut album Texas Flood on Epic Records.
1987:  Whitney Houston had the top U.K. album with Whitney.




1987:  One of the hottest artists of the late '80s and '90s first entered the chart on this date.  "Don't Mean Nothing" paved the way for a great career for Richard Marx.











1987:  Genesis reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "In Too Deep".
1987:  Atlantic Starr completed the climb to #1 in their 12th week with "Always".
1987:  The Joshua Tree spent an eighth week at #1 on the Album chart for U2.  Whitesnake's impressive debut was at #2 with Bon Jovi still hanging around with Slippery When Wet.

1989:  Jerry Lee Lewis got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1991:  Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall announced that they were having their third child together.  The baby was born January 12, 1992.











1992:  "Hold On My Heart" by Genesis completed a five-week run at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1995:  Alanis Morissette released the album Jagged Little Pill.
1999:  S Club 7 rose to the top in the U.K. with "Bring It All Back".
2000:  Bobby Brown admitted in a Florida court that he was an alcoholic saying "I have a disease, I am an addict."  And it has destroyed his life, not to mention Whitney's.  Rather than do the responsible thing and join AA, he let everything slide.
2004:  "I Don't Wanna' Know" by Mario Winans was the #1 U.K. song.

2012:  Adele notched her 24th week at #1 on the Album chart with the album 21.  The achievement put her in rarified air--behind only the albums Thriller by Michael Jackson and Rumours by Fleetwood Mac for weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 (which made its debut in 1963).


Born This Day:
1934:  Uriel Jones, session drummer for the Funk Brothers (Motown's studio band) who played on "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye, "Cloud Nine" by the Temptations", "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder and many, many others, was born in Detroit, Michigan; died March 24, 2009 in Dearborn, Michigan from complications from a heart attack.
1940:  Bobby Freeman ("Do You Wanna' Dance") was born in San Francisco, California.
1941: Marv Tarplin, guitarist of the Miracles and songwriter for Motown, was born in Atlanta; died September 30, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Note:  some websites claim Tarplin was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  He was born in Atlanta before moving with his family to Detroit, Michigan, according to the newspaper 'The New York Times'.)

1949: Dennis Locorriere, lead singer of Dr. Hook, was born in Union City, New Jersey.  (Note:  some websites report he was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.  According to fan sites as well as 'the BBC', he was born in Union City.)
1950:  Bo Donaldson ("Billy, Don't Be A Hero") was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1951:  Howard Leese, who produced Heart's demo record at Mushroom Records in 1974 and was asked to join the band later that year, was born in Hollywood, California.
1954: Jorge Santana of Malo and a solo artist, was born in Autlán, Jalisco, Mexico. 
1957:  Rolf Brendel, drummer of Nena ("99 Luftballoons"), was born in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany.
1963:  Paul DeLisle, bassist of Smashmouth, was born in Exeter, Ontario, Canada.
1963:  Robbie Merrill, bass guitarist of Godsmack, was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
1968:  David Gray ("Babylon") was born in Sale, Cheshire, England.  (Note:  some naive websites claim Gray was born in Sale, Manchester, England.  Sale was part of the county of Cheshire until the Local Government Act of 1972 changed county boundaries and made Sale part of Manchester county in 1974.  Since Gray was born six years before the change took place, it is physically impossible for him to have been born in the county of Manchester and you will never see Manchester listed as the county of birth on his official birth certificate.)
1968:  Denise (sometimes credited as Deneice) Pearson of 5 Star was born in Islington, London, England.  (Note:  the notorious 'Allmusic' and some other websites report Pearson was born in Romford, Essex, England.  She was born in Islington, according to the Civil Registration in England.)  
1969:  Soren Rasted, songwriter, keyboardist, guitarist and producer for Aqua ("Barbie Girl") was born in Blovstrød, Denmark. 
1970:  Rivers Cuomo, songwriter, lead singer and lead guitarist of Weezer.
1976:  Jason Brown, vocalist with Five, was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, England.
1985:  Raz B of B2K was born in Cleveland, Ohio.