Saturday, September 7, 2013

This Date in Rock Music History: September 8

1956:  Eddie Cochran signed a one-year deal with Liberty Records.
1956:  Elvis Presley was on the cover of TV Guide.
1957:  Paul Anka and Jimmy Rodgers appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1958:  Paul Anka started a tour of Southeast Asia in Tokyo, Japan.
1962:  "The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva remained #1 on the R&B chart for a third week.

     
                                            Buddy Holly's influence is unmistakable...

1962:  "Sheila" by Tommy Roe was #1 with Ray Charles in the runner-up spot with "You Don't Know Me".  Little Eva's former #1 "The Loco-Motion" came in third while Nat King Cole jumped from 11 to 4 with "Ramblin' Rose".  The rest of the Top 10:  Elvis Presley with "She's Not You", Neil Sedaka and "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do", Claudine Clark and "Party Lights", Bobby Darin's "Things" at #8, Rick Nelson jumped from 17 to 9 with "Teen Age Idol" and Connie Francis had #10--"Vacation".
1964:  The Who were in concert at the Railway Hotel in Wealdstone, London.
1965:  Advertisements appeared in The Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety magazine asking for applicants for The Monkees television show.
1967:  The Doors appeared at the Lagoon Patio Gardens in Farmington, Utah.  (Note:  some websites claim the Lagoon is in Salt Lake City.  The Lagoon is located 17 miles north of Salt Lake City in Farmington.)
1968:  The Beatles performed "Hey Jude" on the television show Frost on Sunday on BBC-TV.  (Note:  some sources incorrectly report the show as Frost on Saturday, but September 8 in 1970 was a Sunday.)
1971:  The Tams earned the #1 song in the U.K. with "Hey Girl Don't Bother Me".
1972:  Jr. Walker and the All-Stars and Howlin' Wolf performed on opening night at the Ann Arbor Jazz & Blues Festival in Michigan.
1973:  Paul Simon rolled up to #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Loves Me Like A Rock".
1973:  The Allman Brothers Band motored up from 58 to 35 with "Ramblin' Man".
1973:  The Allman Brothers Band owned the top album with Brothers and Sisters.  That ended a six-week reign for Chicago VIThe Dark Side of the Moon slipped down to #3 for Pink Floyd. 







1973:  Marvin Gaye reached #1 as "Let's Get It On" passed "Brother Louie" by the Stories.  Helen Reddy was a strong #3 with "Delta Dawn".  Tony Orlando & Dawn moved up to 4 with "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose" and Diana Ross was at 5 with her former #1--"Touch Me In The Morning".  The rest of the Top 10:  Paul Simon and "Loves Me Like A Rock", Wings were down with "Live And Let Die", Grand Funk roared into the Top 10 with "We're An American Band", War had song #9 with "Gypsy Man" and Al Green came in at #10 with "Here I Am (Come And Take Me)".
1974:  The Beach Boys, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Joni Mitchell shared a bill at the Summersault '74 at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York.





1975:  Neil Sedaka and Elton John released the single "Bad Blood".
1976:  United States President Gerald Ford asked Peter Frampton to spend a day at the White House.
1977:  Jimmy McCulloch left Paul McCartney & Wings to join the reformed group Small Faces and drummer Joe English also left Wings.
1979:  Led Zeppelin registered their eighth #1 album in the U.K. when In Through the Out Door rose to the top.
1979:  Michael Jackson moved into the #1 position on the R&B chart with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".





1979:  Maureen McGovern had a big hit among adults as "Different Worlds" reached #1 on the AC chart.
1979:  The Knack had the top album with Get the Knack but Breakfast in America by Supertramp remained at #2 in its 24th week of release.  The Cars and Candy-O came in third followed by I Am by Earth, Wind & Fire.  Million Mile Reflections by the Charlie Daniels Band remained at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Discovery from ELO, Chic's Risque, Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Midnight Magic from the Commodores and Led Zeppelin debuted at #10 with In Through the Out Door.





   
                                                             ELO with their biggest career hit...

1979:  "My Sharona" by the Knack took on all challengers with a third straight week at #1.  Chic could not get there with "Good Times".  Earth, Wind & Fire was up to 3 with "After The Love Has Gone" while ELO was up to position #4 with "Don't Bring Me Down".  The rest of an excellent Top 10:  The Charlie Daniels Band with their memorable "The Devil Went Down To Georgia", Maxine Nightingale edged up with "Lead Me On", Robert John had his biggest hit since his Top 10 remake of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1972 with "Sad Eyes", Barbra Streisand was on her way down with "The Main Event/Fight", Dionne Warwick had the #9 song--'I'll Never Love This Way Again" and the Little River Band had their third straight Top 10 song with "Lonesome Loser".
1984:  Stevie Wonder had his first #1 in the U.K. with "I Just Called To Say I Love You".
1984:  Billy Joel had the top Adult Contemporary song with "Leave A Tender Moment Alone".
1984:  Billy Ocean's great song "Caribbean Queen" held the #1 spot on the R&B chart.

1984:  Comeback queen Tina Turner made it two weeks at #1--"What's Love Got To Do With It".  John Waite, former lead singer of the Babys, remained at #2 with "Missing You" while newcomer Cyndi Lauper had #3 with "She Bop".  Ray Parker Jr.'s former #1 "Ghostbusters" was at #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Lionel Richie with "Stuck On You", Prince came in at #6 with "Let's Go Crazy", Huey Lewis & the News had another winner from the album Sports--"If This Is It", Scandal came charging in with "The Warrior", Corey Hart was at #9 with "Sunglasses At Night" and the Cars rolled in with their 11th hit--"Drive".
1989:  Robert Wiggins of Grandmaster Flash died of a heart attack brought on by cocaine use at the age of 28 in Queens, New York.
1990:  Jon Bon Jovi's solo hit "Blaze Of Glory" made it to #1 but Wilson Phillips was on his tail with "Release Me".




1990:  Janet Jackson made it three consecutive weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Come Back To Me".
1990:  M.C. Hammer made it 13 weeks at #1 on the Album chart with Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em, followed closely by Wilson Phillips, which spent their fifth week at #2 with their self-titled release.
2000:  In our Inmates Run Rap Music episode for today, Sean Combs pleaded guilty to assault charges in New York Criminal Court.  The charges were a result of Combs' assault on Interscope Records executive Steve Stoute.
2002:  Gordon Lightfoot had an emergency stomach operation in a Toronto hospital after he experienced acute stomach pain.
2002:  Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden, began a new job as an airline pilot.
2003:  If you can't reach fans in the traditional way, experiment.  David Bowie premiered his new album Reality in a live performance in London that was broadcast to select movie theatres around the world.
2003:  There's so much material for the Inmates Run Rap Music series that today's version is extended.  C-Murder was arrested and charged with a nightclub shooting death in 2002 and further charges were added when he attempted to bribe guards to smuggle his cellphone into jail.
2003:  The Record Industry Association of America began legal action against 261 people accused of sharing music files on the Internet.
2005:  Radiohead, Gorillaz and other artists recorded "the fastest album ever released".  Less than 24 hours later, the album Help:  A Day in the Life went on sale with proceeds benefiting the charity War Child.
2006:  Whitney Houston filed for divorce from Bobby Brown.  Finally a good decision, but it proved to be too late to help her.

2007:  Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
2007:  In our Inmates Run Rap Music, Part III, Foxy Brown was jailed for a year in New York for violation of probation.  Brown had already assaulted a neighbor in 2004 and two nail salon workers in 2006.  This is what happens when you give people like this money.  You might be the next "neighbor" of a rapper.  Or a salon worker.



Born This Day:
1927:  Harlan Howard, who wrote "Heartaches By The Number" among over 4,000 songs, was born in Detroit Michigan; died March 3, 2002 in Nashville, Tennessee of an apparent heart attack.  (Note:  the notorious 'Allmusic'.com claims Howard was born in Lexington, Kentucky.  According to the newspapers 'The New York Times' and "The Los Angeles Times' and BMI, Howard was born in Detroit.) 
1928:  Earl Nelson of the duo Bob & Earl ("Harlem Shuffle") was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
1942:  Brian Cole, bass guitarist and vocalist of the Association, was born in Tacoma, Washington; died August 2, 1972 from heroin in Los Angeles, California.
1942:  Sal Spampinato (stage name Sal Valentino) of the Beau Brummels was born in San Francisco, California.
1945:  Kelly Groucutt, bass guitarist of the Electric Light Orchestra, was born in Coseley, Staffordshire, England; died of a heart attack February 19, 2009 in Worcester, Worcestershire, England.
1945:  Ron McKernan, keyboard player for the Grateful Dead, was born in San Bruno, California; died of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage at the age of 27 on March 8, 1973.  (Note:  some websites claim Ron was born in Palo Alto, California.  According to the book 'Grateful Dead:  What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been' by Michele C. Hollow, McKernan was born in San Bruno.)
1945:  Cathy Jean Giordano of the Roommates ("Please Love Me Forever" from 1961) was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1946:  Dean Daughtry, keyboard player with the Classics IV and co-founder of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, was born in Kinston, Alabama.

1947:  Benjamin Orr of the Cars was born in Lakewood, Ohio; died from pancreatic cancer on October 4, 2000 in Atlanta, Georgia.  (Note:  Orr's birthday is reported as August 9, September 8, and September 9, with several sources of each.  MTV Italy, The Guardian, and the Orlando Sentinel report his birthday as August 9.  AllMusic, MTV, Wikipedia, IMDB.com, ArtistDirect.com, and numerous other sites report his birth as September 8, while Last.fm and several fan sites post the birth as September 9.  There are even some sites that show his birthday as 1955! 



We went with the date on his tombstone, although most sites report his death on October 3.  The facts are that he died close to midnight on the 3rd, but by law, a doctor must pronounce you dead, and they did not show up until after midnight.  So the official death is October 4, 2000)
1958:  David Lewis, lead singer and guitarist of Atlantic Starr








1960:  Aimee Mann, songwriter and lead singer of 'Til Tuesday, was born in Richmond, Virginia.
1960:  David Steele, bassist of the Fine Young Cannibals, was born in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England.  (Note:  one website reports Steele was born in Birmingham, England.  Unfortunately there are no credible sources for either site, but our best research indicates that David was born in Isle of Wight.)
1975:  Richard Hughes, drummer of Keane, was born in Gravesend, Kent, England.








1979:  Pink (Alicia Moore) was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

Top Track: Heart's "Kick It Out"

I always thought when Heart's album Little Queen was released in 1977 that this was a great track.  Good to see it receiving the airplay it deserves.  "Kick It Out" is the featured Top Track* on Inside The Rock Era:

Sting's New Album Set for Release September 24


Sting's new album (The Last Ship) is scheduled to be released September 24.  It highlights the month of new releases.

Friday, September 6, 2013

This Date in Rock Music History: September 7

1957:  Sam Cooke released the single "You Send Me" on Keen Records.
1958:  Georgia Gibbs and Johnnie Ray appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show(Note:  some websites claim the performances were on September 6.  The show aired Sundays on CBS.  In 1958, Sunday fell on September 7.)
1959:  Frankie Avalon, the Coasters, Lou Rawls, Bobby Rydell and Annette Funicello performed on closing night of their four-day appearance at the Michigan State Fair as part a tour organized by Dick Clark.
1959:  Lloyd Price moved back up to #1 on the R&B chart with "I'm Gonna' Get Married".







1959:  Paul Anka glided up from #67 to #41 with "Put Your Head On My Shoulder".
1963:  The Beatles had the top song in the U.K. with "She Loves You".
1963:  Bobby Vinton took over #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Blue Velvet".
1963:  Little Stevie Wonder remained at #1 on the R&B chart for the sixth straight week with "Fingertips Pt. 2".






                                                    Charlie and Inez Foxx...


1963:  The Angels remained at #1 with "My Boyfriend's Back".  Allan Sherman laughed it up with "Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh!" and Trini Lopez reached #3 with "If I Had A Hammer".  Bobby Vinton jumped from 11 to 4 with "Blue Velvet" while the 4 Seasons had song #5--"Candy Girl".  The rest of the Top 10:  Martha & the Vandellas moved from 14-6 with "Heat Wave", Inez & Charlie Foxx came in at #7 with "Mockingbird", Major Lance entered the list with "The Monkey Time", Peter, Paul & Mary were on their way down with the former #1 "Blowin' In The Wind" and Freddie Scott climbed into the Top 10 with "Hey, Girl".
1966:  Roy Orbison and Sam the Sham began filming The Fastest Guitar Alive in Culver City, California.




1968:  Creedence Clearwater Revival first appeared on the chart as their first single release "Suzie Q" debuted.
1968:  Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 reached #1 on the Easy Listening chart with their remake of the Beatles' song "The Fool On The Hill".
1969:  The Beatles Saturday morning cartoon show aired for the final time.  The show debuted on September 25, 1965.










1970:  Simon & Garfunkel released "El Condor Pasa" from the album Bridge Over Troubled Water.
1973:  Mike Curb, president of MGM Records, resigned at the age of 28, going on to become the Lieutenant Governor of California.
1974:  Soul great Barry White assumed the #1 spot on the R&B chart with "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe".










                                                     Chaka Khan and Rufus were up to #3...

1974:  Paul Anka made it three weeks at the top with "(You're) Having My Baby" but Eric Clapton was poised to take over with "I Shot The Sheriff".  Rufus had their biggest career hit--"Tell Me Something Good" at #3 and Andy Kim was up nicely with "Rock Me Gently".  The rest of the Top 10:  Donny & Marie Osmond with "(I'm Leaving It (All) Up To You", Barry White was up to 6 with "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe", Billy Preston moved from 12 to 7 with "Nothing From Nothing", the former Paper Lace #1 "The Night Chicago Died" was at #8, Helen Reddy edged up with "You And Me Against The World" and a collaboration between Dionne Warwick & the Spinners reached the Top 10 on this date--"Then Came You".






1975:  The Eagles released the single "Lyin' Eyes".
1975:  The Guess Who played their final concert before breaking up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
1976:  Paul McCartney paid tribute to Buddy Holly on what would have been his 40th birthday by organizing "Buddy Holly Week" in England.
1978:  Keith Moon, drummer of the Who, died in London after overdosing (32 tablets) on the prescription drug Heminevrin at the age of 32.  (Note:  several websites incorrectly say that Moon died after taking Hemenephirin.  There is no such drug.  Moon died after taking himinevrin, according to 'Billboard' magazine.  Himinevrin contains the active ingredient Clomethiazol, used to combat the effects of acute alcohol withdrawal, according to the book 'GC/MS in Clinical Chemistry' by Petra Gerhards, Ulrich Bons, and Jürgen Sawazki.)









1983:  Madonna released her first career single "Holiday".
1985:  Ringo Starr became the first Beatle to be a grandfather as his son Zak celebrated the birth of a son.
1985:  Newcomer John Parr hit #1 on this date with "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)", overtaking "The Power Of Love" from Huey Lewis & the News.  Tina Turner had #3--"We Don't Need Another Hero", swapping places with Aretha Franklin's "Freeway Of Love".  The rest of the Top 10:  Bryan Adams from Reckless with "Summer Of '69", Dire Straits with their biggest hit since "Sultans Of Swing" in 1979--"Money For Nothing", Kool & the Gang and "Cherish", Phil Collins with his fifth consecutive Top 10 song "Don't Lose My Number" and Prince registered his 16th hit "Pop Life", with exactly half of those reaching the Top 10.
1985:  Kool & the Gang remained at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with the classic "Cherish".
1986:  Michael Nesmith reunited with the other original members of the Monkees for the first time since the band broke up in 1969 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
1988:  Barry Sadler ("The Ballad Of The Green Berets") was shot at his home in Guatemala City, Guatemala.  The former Vietnam hero suffered brain damage and would die from those injuries the next year.
             
                                                     The Scorpions with their timeless song...

1991:  A pretty good Top 10 on this date--something you usually didn't find after about 1986--Bryan Adams scored week #5 at the top with "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You", Paul Abdul moved up to challenge with "The Promise Of A New Day" and Boyz II Men were up from 9 to 3 with "Motownphilly".  C+C Music Factory had the #4 song--"Things That Make You Go Hmmmm..." and KLF had song #5 with "3 A.M. Eternal".  The rest of the Top 10:  Color Me Badd moved from 15 to 6 with "I Adore Mi Amor", Seal's first release "Crazy" hit #7, the Scorpions owned the #8 position with "Wind Of Change", Michael Bolton enjoyed his 11th hit "Time, Love And Tenderness" and Hi-Five dropped with "I Can't Wait Another Minute".
1991:  Bryan Adams had one of the top Adult Contemporary songs of the 1990's as his song from the movie Robin Hood--"(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" was #1 again for the sixth straight week.


1992:  P.M. Dawn released the single "I'd Die Without You".  (Note:  some naive websites report that the song was released October 9.  According to 'Billboard' magazine, the single debuted on September 12.  It is physically impossible for a song to debuted on the Singles chart if it has not been released as a single.)
1993:  David Crosby appeared on The John Larroquette Show.
1994:  After a Pink Floyd concert at Stadion Strahov in Prague that drew 110,000, Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel invited the group to dinner.









               
                                                        Donna Lewis had a strong #2 hit...

1996:  Los Del Rio had the #1 song for a sixth week with "Macarena" and Donna Lewis remained at #2 with "I Love You Always Forever".  Alanis Morissette had the only new song in the Top 10 with the double-sided hit "You Learn"/"You Oughta' Know".
2000:  Timothy Commerford of Rage Against the Machine was arrested and ordered to jail.  Commerford decided to climb a scaffold during the MTV Music Awards Show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, delaying the show by over 20 minutes.
2000:  Family members of Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of TLC were concerned after she missed a family barbecue and a press conference in Las Vegas.





2001:  Michael Jackson performed in the first of two 30-year anniversary concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City.  (Note:  several sources incorrectly report the date of this concert as being October 5, but the first was September 7, as you can see from the poster above.  There was a second concert on September 10.  Both shows were recorded by CBS-TV for airing in November.)









2003:  Warren Zevon ("Werewolves Of London") died in his sleep in Los Angeles at the age of 56 from mesothelioma.  (Note:  news reports at the time of his death claimed Zevon died from lung cancer, but according to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, Warren died of mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos.)
2003:  The Black Eyed Peas had the top song in the U.K.--"Where Is the Love".
2003:  The Darkness topped the U.K. Album chart with Permission to Land.
2004:  Franz Ferdinand captured Britain's Mercury Music Prize given for the British or Irish debut album of the year at the Grosvenor House hotel in London.
2005:  Kanye West debuted at #1 on the Album chart with Late Registration.





2005:  Aretha Franklin was given a Lady of Soul award for career achievement at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. 
2007:  Connie Stevens began filming Saving Grace, her debut as a movie director, in Arrow Rock, Missouri. (Note:  some websites report that Connie began filming the movie in Boonville, Missouri.  Although Stevens spent time filming in Boonville, she began filming the movie at the Arrow Rock Country Store in Arrow Rock, according to the newspaper 'The Marshall-Democrat News'.)







2012:  Dorothy McGuire of the McGuire Sisters ("Sincerely" from 1955 and "Sugartime" from 1958) and noted actress for roles in Gentleman's Agreement, A Summer Place, Three Coins in the Fountain, Old Yeller, The Greatest Story Ever Told and Swiss Family Robinson, among others, died at age 84 of cardiac arrest after suffering from Parkinson's disease in Paradise Valley, Arizona.  (Note:  one website claims McGuire died on September 14.  The respected newspaper 'The New York Times' and 'CBS News' both reported that McGuire died on September 7.)


Born This Day:
1934:  Little Milton (Campbell) was born in Inverness, Mississippi; died August 4, 2005 after suffering a stroke in Memphis, Tennessee.





1936:  Buddy Holly (real name Charles Holley) was born in Lubbock, Texas; died February 3, 1959 in a crash of a light plane in Clear Lake, Iowa.
1939:  Latimore ("Let's Straighten It Out") was born in Charleston, Tennessee.
1940:  Ronnie Dove was born in Herndon, Virginia.
1946:  Alfa Anderson, vocalist for Chic and backup singer for Bryan Adams, was born in New York City, New York.
1947:  Morris Albert ("Feelings" from 1975) was born in São Paulo , Brazil.
1949:  Gloria Gaynor ("I Will Survive" from 1978) was born in Newark, New Jersey.







1951:  Chrissie Hynde, singer-songwriter, guitarist and leader of the Pretenders, was born in Akron, Ohio.
1954:  Benmont Tench, keyboard player of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, was born in Gainesville, Florida.
1957:  Margot Chapman of the Starland Vocal Band was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i.
1960:  Brad Houser, bassist of Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, was born in Dallas, Texas.
1970:  Chad Sexton, drummer of 311, was born in Lexington, Kentucky.

Five Best: Herman's Hermits

A group whose name (Herman) was derived from the cartoon character Sherman of the cartoon The Bullwinkle Show, this group was a big part of the British Invasion of the 1960's.  Here are the Five Best* (plus two more) from Herman's Hermits:
1.  Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter


2.  I'm Henry VIII, I Am
 
 
3.  Can't You Hear My Heartbeat

4.  No Milk Today
 


5.  Silhouettes


6.  There's A Kind of Hush
 

7.  Listen People

Thursday, September 5, 2013

This Date in Rock Music History: September 6

1959:  "Bad Boys" by the Miracles was the first single on Barry Gordy's newly-formed Motown Records.
1960:  Sam Cooke's daughter, Tracy, was born.
1961:  Bob Dylan performed at the Gaslight Cafe in New York City.




1968:  Eric Clapton recorded the guitar solo for the Beatles' song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at the Abbey Road Studios in London.
1969:  James Brown announced his retirement following a live performance at the Mid-Southern Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.









                                              The timeless "Get Together"...

1969:  The Rolling Stones held on to #1 for a third week with "Honky Tonk Women".  Johnny Cash couldn't get past them with "A Boy Named Sue".  The Archies remained poised to move with "Sugar, Sugar" and CCR was up well with "Green River".  The rest of an excellent Top 10:  The Youngbloods with "Get Together", Jackie DeShannon's "Put A Little Love In Your Heart", Bob Dylan and "Lay Lady Lay", Three Dog Night was up from 13-8 with "Easy To Be Hard", Neil Diamond slipped with "Sweet Caroline" and Tom Jones had song #10--"I'll Never Fall In Love Again".
1972:  John Lennon appeared on the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon.
1975:  The Carpenters hit #1 on the Easy Listening chart with their remake of the great Neil Sedaka song "Solitaire".








1975:  "Mr. Jaws" from Dickie Goodman was the highest debuting song at #49.










1975:  Glen Campbell had the top song on this date with "Rhinestone Cowboy".  Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds were still hanging around at #2 with "Fallin' In Love".  K.C. and the Sunshine Band's former #1 "Get Down Tonight" was at #3 with Janis Ian moving up three with "At Seventeen".  The rest of the Top 10:  James Taylor's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", the Bee Gees with their former #1 "Jive Talkin'", David Bowie with his biggest career hit "Fame" at #7, the Isley Brothers and "Fight The Power", Barry Manilow's adaptation of Frederic Chopin ("Could It Be Magic") moved into the Top 10 and the former #1 from the Eagles--"One of These Nights" was #10.








1975:  Red Octopus completed an amazing comeback for Jefferson Starship, rising to the #1 album.  Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John fell to 2 while Janis Ian enjoyed the biggest album of her career with Between the Lines.  The Eagles held steady at #4 with One of These Nights.
1978:  Tom Wilson, producer of the Bob Dylan album Highway 61 Revisted, died of a heart attack at the age of 47 in Los Angeles.
1980:  Diana Ross remained at #1 for a fourth week on the R&B chart with "Upside Down".






1980:  The 24th hit from Diana Ross became her fifth solo #1--"Upside Down".










1983:  Cyndi Lauper released the single "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", although it wouldn't become a hit until months later.
1986:  Gloria Loring & Carl Anderson reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Friends And Lovers".
1990:  Paul Anka was naturalized as a U.S. citizen.








1990:  Tom Fogerty, rhythm guitarist of CCR, died of AIDS at the age of 48 in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Fogerty had contracted HIV when he had blood transfusions for his back ailments. 
1993:  Don Henley, Elton John, Sting, Aerosmith and Jimmy Buffett performed in a benefit concert that Henley arranged in Boston for Walden Woods.









1994:  Nicky Hopkins died at the age of 50 in Nashville, Tennessee after complications following an operation for a stomach ailment.  Hopkins played piano for the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, John Lennon and the Kinks.  (Note:  some websites claim Hopkins died in London, but according the official website for Hopkins, he died in Nashville.)
1995:  Bruce Hornsby and Branford Marsalis performed the U.S. National Anthem in Camden Yards in Baltimore Maryland prior to the baseball game in which the great Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles set the all-time record for consecutive games played.
1997:  Elton John sang an updated version of "Candle In The Wind" at the funeral of England's Princess Diana at Westminster Abbey in London.  The song, which was named "Candle In The Wind '97"  would go on to become one of the top-selling singles of all-time.
1999:  Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots was sentenced to one year in jail for violating parole.
2008:  The Eagles performed at the BOK in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
2010:  Jane's Addiction announced that bass guitarist Duff McKagan was leaving the group.


Born This Day:
1942:  Dave Bargeron, trombone player of Blood, Sweat & Tears, was born in Athol, Massachusetts.



1944:  Roger Waters of Pink Floyd was born in Great Bookham, Surrey, England.
1961:  Pal Waaktaar, guitarist and songwriter with A-Ha, was born in Oslo, Norway.
1969:  CeCe Peniston ("Finally") was born in Dayton, Ohio.
1971:  Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of the Cranberries, was born in Limerick, Ireland.
1974:  Nina Persson of the Cardigans ("Lovefool") was born in Orebro, Narke, Sweden.
1978:  Foxy Brown was born in New York City.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

This Date in Rock Music History: September 5




1964:  A new British group first appeared on the charts on this date.  Manfred Mann, which had released the single "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" on August 31, first appeared on the chart with that release.







1964:  After just five weeks, the Animals concluded a frantic race up the charts with "The House Of The Rising Sun" as the song hit #1.  The Supremes slipped with "Where Did Our Love Go".  
1964:  The Rolling Stones began a tour of the U.K. at the Astoria Theatre in Finsbury Park in London.








1965:  The Rolling Stones began recording "Get Off My Cloud" at RCA Studios in Los Angeles.
1966:  John Lennon flew to Hannover, Germany to begin filming the movie How I Won the War.
1970:  Cosmo's Factory by CCR was the #1 album for the third week.
1970:  Stevie Wonder landed a sixth week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)".










1970:  Three Dog Night moved from #90 to #68 with "Out In The Country".
1971:  John Lennon and Yoko Ono offered the films Cold Turkey, The Ballad of John and Yoko, Give Peace a Chance, Instant Karma and Up Your Leg at the London Art Spectrum in Alexandra Palace.
1978:  Joe Negroni of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in New York City at the age of 37.
1981:  Bruce Springsteen came onstage at Perkins Palace in Pasadena, California to join the Pretenders in singing the Jackie Wilson song "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher".







1981:  Bella Donna from Stevie Nicks moved into the #1 position on the Album chart, taking over from Foreigner's 4, which slipped to 2.  Journey's great album Escape locked in the #3 spot while Pat Benatar was fourth with Precious Time and Billy Squier landed #5 with Don't Say No.  The rest of the Top 10:  Rickie Lee Jones with Pirates, Rick Springfield and Working Class Dog, Street Songs from Rick James, the Moody Blues fell to #9 with Long Distance Voyager and REO Speedwagon closed the list with Hi Infidelity in its 39th week of release.
1981:  "Endless Love" topped the AC chart by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie.









1981:  Rick Springfield moved from #65 to #43 with "I've Done Everything For You".
1981:  "Endless Love" by Ross & Richie made it four weeks at #1, holding off "Slow Hand" from the Pointer Sisters.  "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" from Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers came in third before the hard-charging "Urgent" from Foreigner.  The rest of the Top 10:  Ronnie Milsap and "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me", Juice Newton remained the same with "Queen Of Hearts", Journey was up to #7 with "Who's Crying Now", the Commodores with "Lady (You Bring Me Up)", "Jessie's Girl" from Rick Springfield and Joey Scarbury had #10--"Theme From Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)".
1982:  Fleetwood Mac, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, Hoyt Axton, Jerry Jeff Walker, and the Grateful Dead played to wrap up the highly successful US Festival near San Bernadino, California.












1985:  John Mellencamp released his great album Scarecrow.  (Note:  some websites falsely report the album was released November 4.  The album debuted on the charts in the U.S. on September 21, 1985.  It is physically impossible for a release to appear on the Album chart if it has not been released as an album.)
1986:  Dire Straits won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Video with "Money For Nothing". 
1987:  Bob Dylan performed at Park Hayarkon in Tel Aviv, Israel.






1987:  Dick Clark's American Bandstand was canceled after 30 years on television.
1987:  Los Lobos spent a second week at #1 with "La Bamba" but Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett were moving up with "I Just Can't Stop Loving You".  Madonna came in third with "Who's That Girl" and Debbie Gibson was up to #4 with "Only In My Dreams".  The rest of the Top 10:  Whitney Houston's "Didn't We Almost Have It All", Richard Marx on his way south with "Don't Mean Nothing", Dan Hill with Vonda Sheppard moved "Can't We Try" up to #7, Whitesnake's only Top 10 of their career "Here I Go Again" moved from 15 to 8, the Whispers were "Rock Steady" and Huey Lewis & the News landed their 11th Top 10 hit out of 14 releases with "Doing It All For My Baby".






1988:  Boy Meets Girl released the single "Waiting For A Star To Fall".











1992:  The Heights released the single "How Do You Talk To An Angel".
1992:  John Mellencamp married Elaine Irwin.  The two met while John was recording the video "Get a Leg Up".
1992:  Boyz II Men were up to three weeks at #1 with "End Of The Road".  TLC came in second again for the fourth week with "Baby-Baby-Baby" while Guns N' Roses had the #3 song--"November Rain".










1992:  Peter Cetera from Sun Valley, Idaho held down the #1 Adult Contemporary chart with "Restless Heart".












1993:  Guitarist Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
1996:  Capitol Records released the eight-disc Laserdisc set The Beatles Anthology, featuring over ten hours of video of the group.
2000:  Noel Gallagher, guitarist and songwriter of Oasis, split with wife Meg Matthews.
2000:  Tori Amos and husband Mark Hawley celebrated the birth of daughter Natashya "Tash" Lórien Hawley in London.
2002:  Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys, Eve, Enrique Iglesias and 'N Sync's Joey Fatone performed at the National Football League concert in Times Square in New York City prior to the opening game between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.

2003:  The Neil Young-directed film Greendale premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.
2003:  We haven't had an episode of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music in a few days--this should suffice.  Beanie Sigel had his bail revoked after the judge heard testimony that the rapper was threatening witnesses.
2005:  Sheryl Crow announced she was engaged to multiple Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
2012:  Joe South, singer, songwriter and guitarist who did "Games People Play" and "Walk A Mile In My Shoes", died of heart failure in Flowery Branch, Georgia at age 72.  South also wrote songs for Elvis Presley, Deep Purple, the Osmonds, Gene Vincent, Lynn Anderson ("Rose Garden") and Billy Joe Royal and worked with Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Tommy Roe and others.  (Note:  some websites report Joe died in Buford, Georgia.  According to the newspaper 'The New York Times', he died in Flowery Branch.)

Born This Day:



1939:  John Stewart, who wrote "Daydream Believer" for the Monkees and kept "Gold" for himself, was born in San Diego, California; died January 19, 2008 in San Diego after suffering a massive stroke.
1945:  Dean Ford, lead singer of Marmalade ("Reflections Of My Life" from 1969), was born in Coatbridge, Scotland.








1945:  Al Stewart was born in Glasgow, Scotland.









1946:  Freddie Mercury (real name Farookh Bulsara), lead singer of Queen, was born in Zanzibar, Tanzania; died November 24, 1991 of the AIDS virus.
1946:  Loudon Wainwright III ("Dead Skunk" from 1973) was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
1947:  Buddy Miles, drummer with Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys, Santana, Electric Flag and yes, the California Raisins, was born in Omaha, Nebraska.
1949:  Clem Clempson of Humble Pie was born in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England.
1966:  Terry Ellis of En Vogue was born in Houston, Texas.
1968:  Brad Wilk, drummer of Rage Against the Machine, was born in Portland, Oregon.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

This Date in Rock Music History: September 4

1952:  Gladys Knight & the Pips formed following a birthday party for Bubba Knight in Atlanta, Georgia.
1959:  "Mack the Knife" by Bobby Darin was banned by a radio station in New York City.
 
1961:  A new girl group appeared on the charts for the first time as the Marvelettes' first single "Please Mr. Postman" debuted.
1961:  Elvis Presley had the fastest-rising song as "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame" moved from 66 to 32.
1961:  Bobby Vee was rocketing up the charts with his hit "Take Good Care of My Baby", which moved from 23 to 6 on this date.




1961:  Bobby Lewis had one of the top R&B songs of the Rock Era with "Tossin' and Turnin", which on this date spent its 10th week at #1.
1962:  The Beatles recorded "Love Me Do" and five other songs at Abbey Road Studio in London.
1964:  The Animals made their live debut at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, New York.
1965:  The Rolling Stones performed two shows at the Adelphi Theatre in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
1965:  We Five conquered the #1 position on the Easy Listening chart with "You Were on My Mind".

1965:  The McCoys climbed from 49 to 22 with "Hang On Sloopy".










1965:  "Help!" became the Beatles' 36th hit and ninth #1 song...in less than two years.  Bob Dylan rose from 6 to 2 with "Like a Rolling Stone", jumping "California Girls" by the Beach Boys.  The Righteous Brothers were still at 4 with their classic "Unchained Melody" and the Four Tops remained at position #5 with "It's the Same Old Song".  The rest of a fantastic Top 10:  Sonny & Cher's former #1 "I Got You Babe", We Five jumped into the list with "You Were on My Mind", James Brown was at 8 with "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", Barry McGuire shot up from 27 to 9 with "Eve of Destruction" while Mel Carter fell with "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me".

1967:  Monday is of course the date for new releases.  Imagine you work as a Music Director on this date and come in to listen to these brand new 45's--Lulu released the single "To Sir with Love".







1967:  Sam & Dave released the single "Soul Man".
1970:  The Rolling Stones released the live album Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out on Decca Records.







1971:  The new #1 Easy Listening song was "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" from Joan Baez.
1971:  Tapestry was still the #1 album for a 12th week from Carole King of Stanley, Idaho.  She was approaching the record at the time of 18 by the album More of the Monkees.  The Moody Blues, meanwhile, made a strong move (8-2) with Every Good Boy Deserves Favour while Paul & Linda McCartney slipped with Ram.  Rod Stewart's Every Picture Tells a Story came in fourth.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Who with Who's Next, James Taylor and Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, Jethro Tull and Aqualung, the Carpenters and their self-titled release, the Soundtrack to "Jesus Christ Superstar" and Marvin Gaye moved back in the Top 10 with What's Going On.



1971:  Paul & Linda McCartney recorded the third-highest jump to #1 of the Rock Era (the other two are by the Beatles), as they rose from #12 to #1 with one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*--"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey".  That ended the Bee Gees' four-week run at the top with "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart".  The Undisputed Truth moved up strong with "Smiling Faces Sometimes" and Aretha Franklin's big hit "Spanish Harlem" was at #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Donny Osmond's remake of "Go Away Little Girl", Bill Withers moved from 13 to 6 with "Ain't No Sunshine", John Denver's first hit "Take Me Home, Country Roads" was at 7, the Five Man Electrical Band were at 8 after peaking at #3 with "Signs", Three Dog Night were at 9 with their sixth Top 10 hit "Liar" and Rare Earth crashed into the Top 10 with "I Just Want to Celebrate".

1972:  Johnny Nash released the single "I Can See Clearly Now".
1975:  The Eagles were in concert at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu, Hawai'i.
1976:  Abba had the #1 song in the U.K.--"Dancing Queen".
1976:  War had the perfect #1 song on the Adult Contemporary chart--"Summer".
1976:  The #1 R&B song was "Play That Funky Music" from Wild Cherry.



1976:  On the other side of the Atlantic, the Bee Gees moved to #1 with "You Should Be Dancing", holding off Lou Rawls and "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine".  Wings could not fly past 3 with "Let 'Em In" while new duo England Dan & John Ford Coley moved up with "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight".  The rest of an outstanding Top 10:  K.C. & the Sunshine Band with "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", Wild Cherry at 6--"Play That Funky Music", Walter Murphy moved up with 'A Fifth of Beethoven", Elton John & Kiki Dee took a tumble from #1 with "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", Boz Scaggs moved from 16 to 9 with "Lowdown" and George Benson had song #10--"This Masquerade".
1976:  After 58 weeks, the self-titled Fleetwood Mac LP moved to #1, the fourth-longest time before reaching #1 of the Rock Era.  

1978:  Gino Vannelli released the 45 "I Just Wanna' Stop".









1978:  Donna Summer released her remake of "MacArthur Park".
1980:  Yes performed the first of three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
1982:  Pat Benatar, the Cars, Santana, the Kinks, Eddie Money and Dave Edmunds played on a spectacular day of music at the US Festival at the Glen Helen Regional Park near San Bernadino, California.





1982:  Glenn Frey had one of the hottest songs on this date as his solo release "The One You Love" moved from 75 to 53.








1982:  The Steve Miller Band moved to #1 with "Abracadabra", which meant for the first time in seven weeks, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor was not #1.  Chicago moved from 5-3 with "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" and at #4--Fleetwood Mac's "Hold Me".  Air Supply reached #5 with "Even the Nights Are Better".  The rest of the Top 10:  Melissa Manchester moved from 11 to 6 with her biggest career hit "You Should Hear How She Talks About You", John Cougar Mellencamp dropped with "Hurts So Good", the Go-Go's remained on "Vacation", Crosby Stills & Nash were at 9 with "Wasted On the Way" and Sir Paul McCartney was in the #10 spot with "Take It Away".
1982:  Chicago remained at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Hard to Say I'm Sorry".
1986:  After getting his license back after a five-year suspension, Gregg Allman celebrated by getting arrested for drunk driving in Florida.
1993:  Paula Abdul hosted an AIDS awareness television special called In a New Light '93.

1993:  UB40 spent a seventh week at #1 with their remake of the Elvis Presley classic "Can't Help Falling in Love".
1996:  Yusaf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, signed copies of his first album in 18 years.  Islam used the occasion to promote the spoken-word album praising Allah--The Life of the Last Prophet.
1996:  Kiss performed on the MTV Video Music Awards.
1997:  Bruce Springsteen joined the Wallflowers onstage to sing "One Headlight" at the MTV Video Music Awards.
1997:  After the Foo Fighters performed at the MTV Video Music Awards, guitarist Pat Smear announced that he was quitting the group.
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2002:  Kelly Clarkson won the first "American Idol" competition.
2003:  The Spin Doctors announced that they were getting back together.
2003:  Aerosmith, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige and Good Charlotte performed at the Washington Mall in Washington, D.C. to kick off the National Football League season.
2003:  Universal Music Group announced that they were slashing prices of CD's to $12.98.
2003:  North Carolina Reverend Paul Scott slammed the Nelly-endorsed energy drink Pimp Juice, saying "As black men we should be building a nation of strong black leaders, not a nation of super energized, drunk pimps."
2012:  Lillian Lopez, singer with Odyssey ("Native New Yorker"), died of cancer at age 76.

Born This Day:

1942:  Gene Parsons of the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers was born in Morongo Valley, California.
1942:  Merald "Bubba" Knight of Gladys Knight and the Pips was born in Atlanta, Georgia
1946:  Gary Duncan, guitarist of Quicksilver Messenger Service, was born in San Diego, California.
1946:  Greg Elmore, drummer of Quicksilver Messenger Service, was born in the Coronado Naval Air Station, California.
1950:  Ronald LaPread of the Comodores

1951:  Martin Chambers, great drummer of the Pretenders, was born in Hereford, England.








1960:  Kim Thayil, elite guitarist with Soundgarden, was born in Seattle, Washington.
1980:  Dan Miller of O-Town was born in Laconia, New Hampshire.



1981:  Beyonce Knowles was born in Houston, Texas.