Wednesday, August 5, 2015

This Date in Rock Music History: August 6

1955:  "A Fool For You" by Ray Charles & His Band topped the R&B chart.
1956:  Chuck Berry, LaVern Baker, Frankie Lymon and Connie Francis (singing for actress Tuesday Weld) began work on the movie Rock, Rock, Rock!
1960:  The Beatles went to evaluate drummer Pete Best at the Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool, England.  Best was with the group the Blackjacks and was the son of Casbah owner Mona Best.
1960:  Chubby Checker performed "The Twist" on The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show.
1963:  Bob Dylan began recording the album The Times They Are A-Changin'.
1964:  Rod Stewart appeared on television for the first time with his group the Hootchie Coochie Men on the British show The Beat Room.
1965:  The Beatles released the album Help! in the U.K.  They released the album the following week (August 13) in the United States.

1965:  The Who, the Moody Blues, and the Yardbirds opened the fifth annual National Jazz and Blues Festival on the Richmond Athletic Grounds in Richmond, Surrey, England.











1966:  "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by the Temptations racked up a sixth week at #1 on the R&B chart.












                                                          The ever-popular Paul Revere & the Raiders...

1966:  Yesterday...and Today was the #1 album again from the Beatles, holding off Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra and Aftermath by the Rolling Stones.  What Now My Love from Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass was #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Soundtrack to "Doctor Zhivago" was #5, Going Places by Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Somewhere My Love from Ray Coniff & the Singers moved from 20-7, Alpert's Whipped Cream & Other Delights moved back into the Top 10 after 65 weeks, Paul Revere & the Raiders from Boise, Idaho were at #9 with Midnight Ride and If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears by the Mamas and the Papas was #10.







1969:  Sly & the Family Stone released the single "Hot Fun In The Summertime".
1969:  Led Zeppelin appeared at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California.
1970:  Creedence Clearwater Revival, Paul Simon, Steppenwolf, Janis Joplin, Poco, the James Gang and Johnny Winters performed at the Festival for Peace at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York.










1971:  Procol Harum recorded a concert done with the Edmonton Symphony in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  The event would later be released as the album Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.












1973:  The Allman Brothers Band released the single "Ramblin' Man".
1973:  Stevie Wonder was seriously hurt in a car accident with a logging truck near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, that  put him in a coma for four days and also permanently robbed him of his sense of smell.













1975:  The Spinners released the single "Games People Play".














1976:  Manfred Mann's Earth Band released the single "Blinded By The Light".
1977:  The Police played at the Mont du Marsan Punk Festival in France, their final gig as a four-piece.
1977:  Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" was #1 in the U.K.  Boney M had #2--"Ma Baker", "Angelo" by Brotherhood of Man was third, followed by "Pretty Vacant" from the Sex Pistols and "Fanfare For The Common Man" by Emerson, Lake & Palmer.








1977:  The great song "Strawberry Letter 23" by Brothers Johnson was the #1 R&B hit.













1980:  Pat Benatar released her classic album Crimes of Passion on Chrysalis Records.
1982:  The Pink Floyd movie The Wall premiered in New York City.
1983:  A new duo first charted with the song "Change".  You probably know them better for their second single, released two years later called "Everybody Wants To Rule the World".  They were Tears for Fears.
1983:  The Very Best of the Beach Boys topped the U.K. Album chart.
1983:  Rita Coolidge had the #1 Adult Contemporary song with "All Time High".









1984:  Billy Ocean released the single "Caribbean Queen".  (Note:  some websites say the single was released August 11; others say it was September 7--both are impossible.  "Caribbean Queen" debuted on the Singles chart on August 11.  It is physically impossible for a single to be released by a record company, received by and listened to by radio stations, added to radio station playlists, reported to trade papers, and printed and published by the trade papers, all in one day, and physically impossible for a song to debut on the Singles chart if it has not yet been released as a single.)
1984:  The Cars premiered their video for "Drive".
1987:  The Beastie Boys sued the city of Jacksonville Florida for including the phrase "mature audience" on promotional materials and concert tickets.  What the city should have done was include the phrase "immature band" and that would have saved everyone from having to see the losers.
1987:  The movie Who's That Girl starring Madonna premiered at Times Square in New York City.
1988:  Steve Winwood reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Roll With It".








1988:  Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses moved to #1 on the Album chart after 50 weeks, dropping the great Hysteria by Def Leppard to #2 after 51 weeks on the chart.  Steve Winwood's Roll with It was third followed by Tracy Chapman's debut and the Soundtrack to "Dirty Dancing".  
1990:  Ace of Base made their concert debut in Gothenburg, Sweden.








1994:  Domenico Modugno, who co-wrote and sang the smash hit "Volare", died of a heart attack in Lampedusa, Italy at the age of 66.










1994:  Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories edged up to #1 with "Stay (I Missed You)".  That knocked out All-4-One's 11-week run at the top with "I Swear".  Coolio was third with "Fantastic Voyage", Elton John owned song #4--"Can You Feel The Love Tonight", Janet Jackson was at #5 with "Any Time, Any Place" and Ace of Base had #6 with "Don't Turn Around".
1998:  Boyz II Men, Mary J. Blige, Simply Red and Hanson appeared on Magic Johnson's talk show "The Magic Hour".
1998:  George Michael performed at the Capital Centre in Washington, D.C.
1999:  Three for the price of one--Journey, Foreigner and Nazareth played in Cardwell, Montana.
2000:  A sign that maybe it's time to call it quits?  Oasis had to abandon their show at the Sudoeste Festival in Portugal when their audience started throwing rocks at them.  (Note:  some websites falsely report that the incident occurred August 8.  According to the magazine New Musical Express, the correct date is August 6.)
2000:  Ronan Keating, former member of Boyzone, had the #1 album in the U.K. with Ronan.
2000:  Robbie Williams led the way on the U.K. Singles chart with "Rock D.J.".
2004:  Rick James was found dead in his home from drugs in Los Angeles.  He was 56.
2006:  Shakira and Wyclef Jean had the top song in both the U.K. and Australia with "Hips Don't Lie".  
2006:  James Morrison topped the U.K. Album chart with Undiscovered.
2009:  Steven Tyler, lead singer of Aerosmith, was sent to the hospital after falling off stage at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota onto fans, suffering neck and shoulder injuries.








2012:  Marvin Hamlisch, famed composer and conductor, who wrote music for the movies The Sting, Ordinary People, Sophie's Choice and The Spy Who Loved Me, died in Los Angeles at age 68.  Hamlisch, who worked with Barbra Streisand, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Mathis and countless others, was a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Born This Day:
1928:  Andy Warhol, manager of Velvet Underground, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; died February 22, 1987 at the age of 58 during recovery from a routine operation in New York City.
1939:  Sonny Sanders, who wrote "Please Mr. Postman" for the Marvelettes and "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher" for Jackie Wilson, and was an in-demand musician and arranger, was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois.  (Note:  some websites insist Sanders was born in Detroit, Michigan.  He was born in Chicago Heights, according to the book 'Motown:  The Golden Years' by Bill Dahl and Weldon A. McDougal, III.) 
1952:  Pat MacDonald of Timbuk 3 ("The Future's So Bright, I Gotta' Wear Shades) was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
1958:  Randy DeBarge of the group DeBarge was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
1959:  John Keeble, drummer of Spandau Ballet, was born in London.

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