This Date in Rock Music History: February 20

1949:  Ricky Nelson joined his parents, Ozzie and Harriet, on their radio show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
1958:  Buddy Holly released his self-titled album on Coral Records, which included "Peggy Sue" and "Rave On".

1958:  Buddy Holly & the Crickets, the Everly Brothers, Bill Haley & the Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmie Rodgers opened up the Big Gold Record Stars Tour in Florida.
1963:  The Beatles drove all night from Liverpool to London to perform "Love Me Do" and "Please Please Me" on the live lunchtime BBC radio show Parade of the Pops, an appearance that lasted just over four minutes.  They then drove 160 miles for a concert that night at the Swimming Baths in Doncaster, Yorkshire.
1964:  The Beach Boys recorded "Don't Worry Baby".  (Note:  some websites report that the song was recorded on January 7.  Although recording for the album 'Shut Down Volume Two' began January 1-10, the group recorded "Don't Worry Baby" in the final sessions for the album on February 20, according to the book 'The Beach Boys:  The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio' by Keith Badman.)
1964:  The Bachelors scored a #1 U.K. hit with "Diane".
1965:  One of The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era* first appeared on the radio as the Moody Blues debuted on the chart with their first career single--"Go Now".

1965:  The Temptations scored a third straight week at #1 on the R&B chart with the great song "My Girl".
1965:  Gary Lewis & the Playboys had the new #1 song with "This Diamond Ring".
1969:  Goodbye Cream, the movie that featured Cream's farewell concert (November 26,1968 at Royal Albert Hall in London) premiered in the United States in Baltimore, Maryland.











1970:  John Lennon released the single "Instant Karma".








 

1971:  Australian Helen Reddy first appeared on the radio with her first career hit--"I Don't Know How to Love Him".  She had released "One Way Ticket" in 1968, but it failed to chart outside of her native country.
1971:  Queen opened for Yes at the Kingston Polytechnic in London.
1971:  The Soundtrack to "Jesus Christ Superstar" moved to #1 on the Album chart.
1971:  Gordon Lightfoot reached #1 on the Adult chart with his first hit--"If You Could Read My Mind".
1971:  The Temptations appeared to have another winner as "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" moved from 51 to 29.





     
                  The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band hit the Top 10...

1971:  The Osmonds remained the target at #1 for a second week with "One Bad Apple", while "Knock Three Times" by Dawn was still second after falling from the top.  Lynn Anderson had a huge crossover hit with "Rose Garden" and Dave Edmunds had a great sound with "I Hear You Knocking".  The rest of the Top 10:  Newcomer Gordon Lightfoot bounced from 11 to 5 with "If You Could Read My Mind", the Jackson 5 hit #6 with "Mama's Pearl", King Floyd and "Groove Me", Wadsworth Mansion moved from 15-8 with "Sweet Mary", the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had their first Top 10 with "Mr. Bojangles" and the Bee Gees smash "Lonely Days" was now at #10.
1974:  One day after husband Sonny Bono filed for separation, Cher filed for divorce at the Santa Monica County Courthouse.  (Note:  Much misinformation exists on the Internet.  Numerous websites report that on February 20, Cher filed for separation, then filed for divorce "shortly afterwards", some say February 27.  The authors of the websites are getting the facts confused.  The truth is that Sonny filed for separation on February 19, citing "irreconcilable differences", according to an Associated Press article.  Cher then turned around the next day and filed for divorce seeking dissolution of the marriage, according to the books 'You Haven't Seen The Last of Me' by Daryl Easlea and 'Cher:  If You Believe' by Mark Bego.)  
1976:  The members of KISS placed their footprints on the sidewalk in front of the Grauman Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California.








1978:  ABBA had another #1 song in the U.K. with "Take A Chance On Me".

1982:  Pat Benatar married her guitarist, Neil Geraldo in Maui, Hawai'i.
1982:  Stevie Wonder notched his 14th #1 of his career on the R&B chart with "That Girl", tying the Temptations for fourth all-time in the list for #1 R&B songs.
1982:  Barry Manilow hit #1 for the 12th time in 22 releases on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Somewhere Down The Road".






     
                        "Juke Box Hero" on Foreigner's "4"...

1982:  Freeze-Frame had a lock on #1 on the Album chart for the J. Geils Band for a third week.  Escape by Journey was second with the Go-Go's moving from 9 to 3 with Beauty and the Beat.  The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra once again was fourth with Hooked On Classics.  The rest of the Top 10:  Private Eyes from Hall & Oates, the Police moved to 6 with their new release--Ghost in the Machine, AC/DC was steady at 7 with For Those About to Rock We Salute You, Foreigner's great album 4 was still in the Top 10 after 31 weeks, the self-titled debut by Quarterflash entered the list and Shake It Up by the Cars was still at #10.






                   Air Supply continued their winning ways...

1982:  One of the great stories of the Rock Era, and a song that helped strengthen it--"I Love Rock 'N Roll" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, moved from #39 to #18.
1982:  "Centerfold" by the J. Geils Band held on to #1 for a third week with former #1 "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" by Hall & Oates #2 for a third week.  Quarterflash was right in the hunt with "Harden My Heart" while Journey's "Open Arms" was fourth.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Cars and "Shake It Up", Stevie Wonder motored up from 22 to 6 with "That Girl", Juice Newton's latest--"The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)", Air Supply was at #8 with "Sweet Dreams", Olivia Newton-John wanted to get "Physical" and Dan Fogelberg climbed to #10 with "Leader Of The Band".
1985:  The Bangles were in concert at the Marquee Club in London.
1986:  Stevie Wonder was a guest on The Cosby Show on NBC-TV.
1988:  Pebbles had the top R&B song with "Girlfriend".
1988:  Expose took over at the top of the AC chart with "Seasons Change".








1988:  Expose made it a Daily Double by taking over at #1 overall with "Seasons Change".  The Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield had the runner-up with "What Have I Done To Deserve This?".  Tiffany's former #1 "Could've Been" was now third while George Michael took a big leap (12-4) with "Father Figure".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Hungry Eyes" from Eric Carmen, Foreigner's 19th hit--"Say You Will", Patrick Swayze and Wendy Fraser were now at position #7 with "She's Like The Wind", Rick Astley entered the Top 10 with "Never Gonna' Give You Up", great singer Paul Carrack and "Don't Shed A Tear" while Roger tumbled down with "I Want To Be Your Man".
1988:  Faith by George Michael remained at #1 on the Album chart for a fourth week.  The Soundtrack to "Dirty Dancing" moved up to challenge, while the self-titled Tiffany, Kick from INXS, Michael Jackson's Bad and Hysteria from Def Leppard were right behind.




1991:  Bob Dylan received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys.












1993:  Whitney Houston released the single "I Have Nothing".











1993:  The compilation album of Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Words of Love, was the #1 album in the U.K., 34 years after Holly's death.
1993:  Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle remained at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the fifth week with "A Whole New World ('Aladdin's' Theme)".










1993:  Whitney Houston remained at #1 for the 13th week with "I Will Always Love You", tying Boyz II Men with their song "End Of The Road" for the Rock Era record at the time.
1994:  Tori Amos owned the top U.K. album with Under the Pink.
2000:  The movie Little Richard was shown by ABC-TV.








       "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning"...

2002:  Alan Jackson had the top album with Drive.
2003:  A pyrotechnic display used by the group Great White ignited a blaze that killed guitarist Ty Longley and 99 other people, injured another 200, and destroyed the nightclub The Station in West Warwick, Rhode Island.  (Note:  some websites claim the tragedy was February 19, but the correct date is February 20, according to 'Billboard'.)
2004:  Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age announced that the group would go on despite losing bassist Nick Oliveri and lead singer Mark Lanegan.
2004:  Brian Wilson played the lost Beach Boys album Smile in its entirety at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
2004:  Bobby Brown was thrown in jail without bond in Georgia after violating his probation.
2005:  Jennifer Lopez rose to #1 in the U.K. with "Get Right".



2007:  Christina Aguilera began a North American tour at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.  The Black Eyed Peas and Pussycat Dolls opened for her on the tour.

Born This Day:
1937:  Nancy Wilson (not the one in Heart), who had the 1964 hit "(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am", was born in Chillicothe, Ohio.
1940:  Barbara Ellis of the Fleetwoods ("Come Softly To Me") was born in Olympia, Washington.
1941:  Buffy Sainte-Marie, songwriter who helped pen "Up Where We Belong" (for Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes), among others, was born on the Piapot Reserve in Saskatchewan, Canada.
1944:  Lew Soloff, trumpeter of Blood, Sweat & Tears, was born in Brooklyn, New York.  (Note:  some websites report that Soloff was born in New York City, when he was actually born in Brooklyn, according to his official website.)
1945:  Alan Hull, songwriter, singer and guitarist with Lindisfarne ("Run For Home"), was born in Benwell, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England; died of a heart attack November 17, 1995.
1946:  John W. Geils, Jr,, founder, singer-songwriter and lead guitarist of the J. Geils Band, was born in New York City.

1950:  Walter Becker, songwriter, bassist, guitarist and vocalist of Steely Dan and also a producer, was born in Queens, New York.  (Note:  some websites list his birthplace as New York City, but the Long Island Hall of Fame shows that Becker was born in Queens.)
1951:  Randy California, songwriter, guitarist, vocalist and co-founder of Spirit ("I Got A Line On You") ; died January 2, 1997 while rescuing his 12 year-old son who had been sucked into a riptide off the coast of Molokai, Hawai'i.

1967:  Kurt Cobain, singer-songwriter and lead guitarist of Nirvana, was born in Aberdeen, Washington; died when he shot himself in Seattle, Washington on April 5, 1994.









1975:  Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys was born in Lexington, Kentucky.
1977:  Edwin Graham, drummer of the Darkness ("I Believe In A Thing Called Love" from 2003), was born in Great Yarmouth, England.







1988:  Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados.