This Date in Rock Music History: January 25

1958:  "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley became the first single to debut on the U.K. chart at #1.

1960:  Sam Cooke recorded "Chain Gang" at the RCA Recording Studios in New York City.

1960:  Bill Black's Combo made it three weeks at #1 on the R&B chart with the great instrumental "Smokie".
1960:  Bobby Darin had a fast-rising song as "Beyond The Sea" moved from 74 to 34.  
1960:  The great Soundtrack to "The Sound of Music" moved to #1 on the Album chart, the first of 16 weeks at the top.








1963:  Cilla Black made her live debut at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, where she started out as the hat check girl.
1963:  Janis Joplin performed in San Francisco, California at the North Beach coffeehouse.
1964:  Bobby Vinton was on top of the Easy Listening chart for a fourth week with "There!  I've Said It Again".
1964:  Dusty Springfield first appeared on the chart as her first single--"I Only Want to Be With You" debuted.







1964:  Bobby Vinton will forever have the distinction of having the last #1 song before the Beatles changed music.  Vinton was on top with "There!  I've Said It Again".  No offense, Bobby, but most fans will be glad that the Beatles changed music from this style.  Now I grant you that there are some that don't like the Beatles and would rather have music like that of Bobby Vinton.  The Kingsmen were still at #2 with "Louie Louie" while the Beatles moved from 45 to 3 in their second week of release with "I Want To Hold Your Hand".  The Trashmen were at #4 with "Surfin' Bird" while the Murmaids fell with "Popsicles And Icicles".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Out Of Limits" from the Marketts, the Rip Chords and "Hey Little Cobra", Bobby Rydell dropped with "Forget Him", Major Lance had a song called "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" and Jan & Dean were at #10 with "Drag City".






1965:  "King Of the Road", which was written by Roger Miller at the Idanha Hotel in Boise, Idaho, was released as a single.
1967:  The Beatles did a last-minute remix of "Penny Lane" before pressing their double-sided single that also included "Strawberry Fields Forever".
1969:  Cilla Black married manager Bobby Willis.
1969:  The Best of the New Seekers was the #1 album in the U.K.





       
          Music that Matters...from the 'White Album'...

1969:  The Beatles ruled the Album chart for a fifth week with The White Album while TCB by Diana Ross & the Supremes with the Temptations was second.  Glen Campbell moved to 3 with Wichita Lineman, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 had Fool on the Hill and the Rolling Stones were stuck at 5 with Beggars Banquet.  The rest of the Top 10:  Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations, Iron Butterfly moved from 12-7 with In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Big Brother & the Holding Company with Cheap Thrills, Judy Collins was at 9 with Wildflowers, in its 56th week of release and Steppenwolf's The Second was #10.
1969:  Marvin Gaye had the #1 song on the R&B chart for a seventh week--"I Heard It Through The Grapevine".





1969:  Marvin Gaye achieved a seventh week at #1 with "I Heard It Through The Grapevine".  It was a great time in music as Tommy James & the Shondells rose to #2 with "Crimson And Clover", challenging Marvin.  Diana Ross & the Supremes combined with the Temptations for "I'm Gonna' Make You Love Me" while the great instrumental "Soulful Strut" from Young-Holt Unlimited was fourth.  The rest of the Top 10:  Sly & the Family Stone took a ride up from 15 to 5 with "Everyday People", B.J. Thomas with "Hooked On A Feeling" (the one that doesn't go "Ooga Chaka, Ooga Chaka"), the Doors were at 7 with "Touch Me", Brooklyn Bridge were at 8 with "Worst That Could Happen", the Bee Gees gained a solid seven with "I Started A Joke" and Dusty Springfield was steady with "Son-of-a Preacher Man".





1971:  The single "Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin was released posthumously.  It would be the only big hit Joplin ever had.












1971:  Helen Reddy released her first career single "I Don't Know How to Love Him".
1974:  Want to know how big Led Zeppelin was in their heyday?  On this date, they appeared before 17,000 fans at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana.
1975:  Donny & Marie Osmond reached #1 on the Adult chart with "Morning Side Of The Mountain".






1975:  The Carpenters achieved one of the rare feats of the Rock Era, turning the Marvelettes' #1 song "Please Mr. Postman" into a #1 song of their own.  Linda Ronstadt moved from 21-6 with "You're No Good" while the Average White Band from Scotland entered the Top 10 with "Pick Up The Pieces".
1975:  Elton John's Greatest Hits registered a ninth week at #1--one of the biggest albums of the 70's.
1984:  Yoko Ono, widow of John Lennon, donated $375,000 to the Strawberry Fields retirement home in Liverpool.  Strawberry Fields used to be a children's home, and was the inspiration for the song "Strawberry Fields Forever".
1985:  Phil Collins released his third solo album--No Jacket Required.




1986:  A great new female group was introduced to us on this date.  They debuted on the chart with a song written for them by Prince--"Manic Monday".  The Bangles went on to become the top self-contained girl group of the Rock Era.
1986:  Albert Grossman, manager of Bob Dylan, died of a heart attack at the age of 59 while flying to London.







       As usual, words of great wisdom from Mellencamp...

1986:  The Broadway Album from Barbra Streisand was #1, the superstar's sixth #1 album.  The Soundtrack to "Miami Vice" fell to second with Heart's self-titled release #3.  The great Scarecrow from John Cougar Mellencamp was next followed by Sade's breakthrough album Promise.  The rest of the Top 10:  Dire Straits was at #6 after 34 weeks with Brothers In Arms, ZZ Top with Afterburner, Starship made a big comeback with Knee Deep in the Hoopla, Mr. Mister reached the Top 10 with Welcome to the Real World and Bruce Springsteen's album Born in the U.S.A. was still in the Top 10 after 84 weeks.
1986:  Dionne & Friends reached #1 on the R&B chart with "That's What Friends Are For".





                        Klymaxx with their slow jam...

1986:  Dionne Warwick & Friends held on to #1 with "That's What Friends Are For".  Lionel Richie's former #1 spent a second week at #2--"Say You, Say Me".  Survivor was hot with "Burning Heart" (8-3), Stevie Nicks reached #4 with one of her biggest solo hits ("Talk To Me") and Wham!  slammed into the Top 10 (12-5) with "I'm Your Man".  The rest of the Top 10:  Bruce Springsteen made Rock Era history with his seventh Top 10 song from the album Born in the U.S.A. with "My Hometown", Dire Straits were at #7 with "Walk Of Life", Klymaxx and "I Miss You", Eddie Murphy tumbled with "Party All The Time" and Paul McCartney had his 38th solo hit and 22nd Top 10 with "Spies Like Us".  Counting his work with the Beatles, McCartney now had 110 hits with 89 of those going Top 10.

1987:  Neil Diamond sang the national anthem of the United States at Super Bowl XXI at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.









1988:  Aerosmith released the single "Angel".
1989:  Bobby Brown was arrested for an overtly sexually suggestive performance after a show in Columbus, Georgia.  They should have just charged him with an overtly loser life and that would have covered it.  (Note:  some websites say the arrest occurred in Columbus, Ohio, when in fact it was in Columbus, Georgia, according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times'.)
1989:  Madonna began divorce proceedings from Sean Penn and moved into a new house in Hollywood Hills, California.  (Note:  some websites claim the divorce was finalized on January 25, but according to 'The Los Angeles Times', the petition was filed on this date.)

1989:  Alvin Robinson, guitarist on several songs from Dr. John, died in New Orleans at age 51. 

1990:  Paul McCartney was profiled on the CBS-TV show 48 Hours.
1990:  Bill Medley appeared on the popular television show Cheers on NBC.


1992:  Amy Grant was up from 69 to 32 with another song from Hearts In Motion--"Good for Me".
1992:  Color Me Badd's "All 4 Love" broke a seven-week run at #1 for "Black Or White" by Michael Jackson.  Mariah Carey took advantage of the drop and moved to #2 with "Can't Let Go" with the live "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" from George Michael and Elton John third.  Jackson was fourth followed by Ce Ce Peniston with "Finally" and Prince with "Diamonds And Pearls".  The rest of the Top 10:  Shanice with "I Love Your Smile", Nirvana edged up with "Smells Like Teen Spirit", U2 moved from 15-9 with their great song "Mysterious Ways" and Right Said Fred had #10 with "I'm Too Sexy".   



      
  Mariah isn't shy about having her songs heard in public, unlike Garth...

1992:  Garth Brooks posted a 10th week at #1 for the landmark Ropin the Wind album.  The former #1 Dangerous by Michael Jackson was second with Hammer's Too Legit to Quit third.  Nirvana's former #1 Nevermind followed, with Michael Bolton close behind with Time, Love & Tenderness.  The rest of a solid Top 10:  U2 with Achtung Baby, Metallica and their debut, Boyz II Men with Cooleyhighharmony, Mariah Carey's Emotions at #9 and Garth was so hot that his previous album No Fences re-entered the Top 10 after 71 weeks.





1997:  Spice Fever was alive and well as on this date, the Spice Girls first debuted on the chart with their first single "Wannabe".
1997:  No Doubt made it six weeks at #1 on the Album chart with Tragic Kingdom.  Celine Dion was #3 with Falling Into You while Alanis Morissette was still in the Top 10 after 83 weeks with Jagged Little Pill.







            Sheryl Crow was a bright new force in music.

1997:  Toni Braxton had one of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era* as "Un-Break My Heart" spent an eighth week at #1.  En Vogue gave chase with "Don't Let Go (Love)" while R. Kelly remained third with "I Believe I Can Fly".  Sheryl Crow had the only new Top 10--"If It Makes You Happy".
2000:  Third Eye Blind fired Kevin Cadogan shortly after the group's performance at the Sundance Film Festival.
2001:  In today's segment of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music, jury selection ended in the trial of Puff Daddy for weapons possession and bribery in Manhattan, New York.
2003:  Billy Joel totaled his Mercedes on a highway in Long Island, New York.
2003:  Clarence Carter and Eddie Floyd were inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

2005:  Ray Peterson ("Tell Laura I Love Her") died of cancer at age 65.


 

2006:  Motley Crue received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2008:  Billy Joel donated $500,000 to "Homes for Our Troops", which aided disabled veterans.

2010:  The members of KISS rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

2010:  Rolf Harris ("Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport") received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Hope University in Liverpool, England.  The degree was later taken away when Harris was convicted of 12 charges of having sex with underage women.

2011:  Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy, a former Miss Canada finalist, became the first person in the world to graduate with a Masters degree in the Beatles.  The degree was launched at Liverpool Hope University in England in March of 2009.

Born This Day:
1915:  Ewan MacColl, who wrote "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" for Roberta Flack, was born in Salford, Lancashire, England; died October 22, 1989 in London.

1927:  Antonio Carlos Jobim, famous jazz composer who wrote "The Girl From Ipanema" and "Desfinado" for the landmark album Getz/Gilberto, was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; died December 8, 1994 in New York City from cardiac arrest while recovering from surgery to remove a tumor from his bladder. 

1931:  Stig Anderson, co-songwriter ("Waterloo", "Mamma Mia", "Dancing Queen", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "S.O.S." and "Fernando"), manager and producer of ABBA, was born in Hova, Sweden; died of a heart attack in Stockholm, Sweden on September 12, 1997.

1938:  Etta James was born in Los Angeles, California; died January 12, 2012 of leukemia in Riverside, California.
1941:  Bobby Wood, keyboardist for Elvis Presley, Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson
1950:  Michael Cotten, synthesizer player of the Tubes ("She's A Beauty"), was born in Kansas City, Missouri.
1953:  Mal Green, drummer of Split Enz
1956:  Andy Cox, guitarist of the Fine Young Cannibals, was born in Birmingham, England.
1958:  Gary Tibbs, bassist for Roxy Music and Adam & the Ants, was born in Northwood, Middlesex, England.

1981:  Alicia Keys was born in New York City.

Top Tracks, Part Ten

We are adding another page to the Top Tracks* feature to keep download times to a minimum.  Be sure to check out all the pages!

"Scarecrow's Dream"

Dan Fogelberg (From the album Portrait)

Scenes From An Italian Restaurant"

Billy Joel (From the album The Stranger)

   
"School"
Supertramp (From the album Crime of the Century)
















"Seagull"
Bad Company (From the album Bad Company)

"See The Changes"

Crosby, Stills & Nash (From the album CSN)

"Silent Fury" Gary Wright (From the album The Light of Smiles)

"A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)"
Simon & Garfunkel (From the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme)

Top Tracks Part One

Top Tracks Part Two

Top Tracks, Part Three

Top Tracks, Part Four

Top Tracks, Part Five

Top Tracks, Part Six

Top Tracks, Part Seven

Top Tracks, Part Eight

Top Tracks, Part Nine

Top Tracks, Part 11

Top Tracks, Part 12

Top Tracks, Part 13


Top Tracks, Part 14

Top Track: "Oh Pretty Woman" by Gary Moore

We think it's safe to say that one of the best albums that few people know about is Gary Moore's superb Still Got the Blues.

If you don't know about it, check it out--many excellent tracks throughout, such as this one!

 

New Featured Unknown/Underrated Song*: "Summer Rain" from Johnny Rivers

When this song was released in 1967, it only reached #14.  Music Directors who play things mostly "by the book" will look at that and figure the song just wasn't a big hit.  But that would be a huge mistake.  "Summer Rain" consistently tests out extremely well year after year in audience surveys.  There's a good reason for that.

One of the innovative things Inside The Rock Era has done in the industry is to introduce the concept of competition and the importance of it in any song ranking, whether it be simply a weekly list of the most popular current songs, or a comprehensive list of the top songs of all-time.  Speaking of which, Inside The Rock Era is hard at work updating our database of over 12,000 songs with the most current airplay and sales statistics.  When we are finished, we will unveil our signature music special, The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*, just in time for the big 60th birthday celebration of rock & roll!

But competition must always be considered in any ranking, and that includes movies, television shows, football teams, or what have you.  It can truly be said that a song is only as good as its competition; otherwise, a #1 ranking means absolutely nothing.  There are countless times in the Rock Era in which a #4 or #5 song in one time period is more popular than a #1 song in a weaker time period.

And that is what we have in this example, "Summer Rain".  We mentioned above that it peaked at #14.  And we mentioned that the less insightful of the Music Directors would not be playing the song today merely because of that low peak for the song. 

Well, it so happens that "Summer Rain" faced some of the toughest competition of the Rock Era in November and December of 1967 and January of 1968.  Let's review that competition.

When it was released, "Summer Rain" was out at the same time as the following songs:  "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" by Otis Redding, "Ode To Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry, "Hello Goodbye" by the Beatles, "To Sir With Love" from Lulu, "The Letter" by the Box Tops, "Love Is Blue" by Paul Mauriat, "Never My Love" by the Association, the Monkees with "Daydream Believer", "Incense And Peppermints" from Strawberry Alarm Clark, "Judy In Disguise" by John Fred & His Playboy Band, "How Can I Be Sure" from the Rascals", Aretha Franklin's "Chain Of Fools", "The Rain, The Park & Other Things" by the Cowsills, "Soul Man" from Sam & Dave, and "Spooky" by the Classics IV.

That #14 ranking doesn't look so bad against the above songs, does it?  You can conduct an expensive and time-consuming audience survey to show you that "Summer Rain" is actually one of Johnny Rivers' most popular songs, or you can make Inside The Rock Era as a favorite page of yours, and learn intuitively why "Summer Rain" is still popular, as it was in 1967. 

 

"Summer Rain"

Johnny Rivers

 

Written by James Hendrix (not the Jimi Hendrix)

Summer rain taps at my window
West wind soft as a sweet dream
My love warm as the sunshine
Sittin' here by me, she's here by me

She stepped out of the rainbow
Golden hair shinin' like moon glow
Warm lips soft as a soul
Sittin' here by me, she's here by me

All summer long, we spent dancin' in the sand
And the jukebox kept on playin'
Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

We sailed into the sunset
Drifted home, caught by a gulf stream
Never gave a thought for tomorrow
Just let tomorrow be, now, let tomorrow be

She wants to live in the Rockies
She says that's where we'll find peace
Settle down, raise up a fam'ly
To call our own, yeah, we'll have a home

All summer long, we spent groovin' in the sand
Everybody kept on playin'
Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The snow drifts by my window
North wind blowin' like thunder
Our love's burnin' like fire
And she's here by me, yeah, she's here with me
Let tomorrow be

 



Top Unknown/Underrated Songs* Now Over 7,500 Views

We started the feature right away when Inside The Rock Era began nearly four years ago, and it has always been one of our post popular.  The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era* is approaching 8,000 views.  It will only get better as new songs are added--a great way to find some new favorite songs! 

Part Nineteen of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs*

Our popular Unknown/Underrated Songs* category continues to expand, and we are proactively limiting the number of songs per page for faster load time for you:

Calendar Clarification: The Ganser Twins

Inside The Rock Era has done mountains of research in our overhaul of Calendar*, which will be the #1 source for Rock Music History when we are completely done.  But we have never come across so much misinformation and debate about birthdays, birth years, places of birth, date of death, place of death, and cause of death.  And this case involves sisters.

Marguerite ("Margie", or "Marge") and Mary Ann Ganser were twin sisters in the great girl group the Shangri-Las.  It is sad that fans today debate the facts of their births and deaths rather than let them rest in peace.  Inside The Rock Era, as usual, has done extensive research on their birth and death records, and has reached a conclusive decision on both twins.

There is much dispute on the Internet regarding Marguerite's vital statistics.  The dates of February 2, 1947, February 8, 1948 and November 8, 1947 are all thrown around.  According to the book Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars by Jeremy Simmonds, Margie was born February 4, 1948 in Queens, New York.  Nick Talevski, in his book Rock Obituaries:  Knocking on Heaven's Door, agrees that the Ganser twins were born on February 4, 1948, but says that they were born in Oceanside (a census-designated place) on Long Island, and raised in Queens.  The Long Island newspaper Newsday confirms that Marguerite was in fact born in Oceanside.  Her place of death, on July 28, 1996 unfortunately is also disputed.  Some websites say she died in Valley Stream, New York, while others say she died in New York City.  Marguerite worked in Valley Stream, but she died at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, according to The Associated Press.

 

 

 

Mary Ann's death is also shrouded in myth.  Some websites say that Mary Ann died in 1971, and most websites state that Mary Ann died of encephalitis from a mosquito bite, but according to the newspaper The Los Angeles Times, Mary Ann in fact died on March 14, 1970 from a drug overdose.  Further proof of the sisters' birthdays is shown from Mary Ann's gravestone at Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.  While the birthday shown above confirms the information in the two books referred to above, and gravestones are nearly always final proof of vital statistics, in rare instances, the date of death can be wrong.  The shown date of March 16 was the date that Mr. Ganser identified Mary Ann's body, but according to the newspaper The New York Times, Mary Ann was found dead on Sunday, March 15, and an official Coroner's report showed that she died on March 14.    

One can only hope that these findings put an end to disrespectful speculation about dates and places, and the world instead focuses on their great music.

This Date in Rock Music History: January 24

1958:  The Quarrymen performed at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, the group's first and last performance there until they changed their name to the Beatles.

1961:  The Beatles officially signed a contract with manager Brian Epstein, although Epstein's signature is not on the contract.  Epstein, who always had the interests of the group at heart, vowed not to sign the contract until he had obtained a record deal for the group.  Epstein also provided the group with a chance to walk away from the deal if they found a better offer.  Epstein immediately gave them a better stage presentation, with matching suits and bows to the audience.  Epstein was to receive 25% of the group's gross earnings, far above the normal of 10%. 

 Epstein of course did secure a recording contract through much perseverance, and on October 1, 1962, a new management contract was drawn up, and that one, Epstein signed along with the Beatles.
1962:  Elvis Presley had the #1 album in the U.K. with Blue Hawai'i--it would go on to stay #1 for 18 weeks.

1963:  Otto Harbach, who co-wrote "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" for the Platters in 1958, died at age 90 in New York City.
1965:  The Animals performed on The Ed Sullivan Show.  (Note:  some websites claim this performance occurred on January 21, but according to the official website for 'The Ed Sullivan Show' and 'TV.com', the correct date was January 24.  This is confirmed by the fact that 'The Ed Sullivan Show' was shown on Sunday nights, and in 1965, Sunday night fell on January 24.)
1967:  The Who began a world tour at Central Pier in Morecambe, England.

1969:  Jethro Tull played its first concert in the United States, opening for Blood, Sweat & Tears at the Fillmore East in New York City.  (Note:  numerous websites falsely say that Jethro Tull opened for Led Zeppelin on this night.  According to the book 'Jethro Tull:  A History of the Band 1968-2001' by Scott Allen Nollen, Jethro Tull opened for Blood, Sweat & Tears on both January 24 and January 25, then opened for groups such as Led Zeppelin and Vanilla Fudge in subsequent days at bars and clubs.  This information is corroborated by the official website for the Fillmore East.  The official website for Led Zeppelin also confirms that Led Zep was in Boston, Massachusetts on January 24.)
1969:  The Doors performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1970:  Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young were at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

1970:  James Sheppard, lead singer of Shep and the Limelites, was murdered at age 34 in his car on the Long Island Expressway in New York. 

1970:  The Jackson 5 had the #1 R&B song for a third week with "I Want You Back".
1970:  B.J. Thomas hit the new decade running with his seventh week at #1 on the Adult chart for "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head".
1970:  The Temptations moved from 95 to 38 with "Psychedelic Shack".







    
         People couldn't get enough of the Shocking Blue.

1970:  B.J. Thomas made it four weeks at #1 overall with "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head".  The Shocking Blue wasn't going away with "Venus" while "I Want You Back" from the Jackson 5 was #3.  Dionne Warwick sped into the Top 10 with "I'll Never Fall In Love Again".
1970:  A third return to #1 netted the 11th week at the top of the Album chart for Abbey Road by the Beatles.  







1972:  Bread released the single "Everything I Own".  Although it is interpreted as a love song and has great lyrics for a romantic song, it is rather a tribute by David Gates to his late father.  (Note:  some websites incorrectly show the date of release as January 29, the date the song debuted on the singles charts.  It is physically impossible for a record company to release a single to radio stations, radio stations to add the song to their playlists, radio stations to report the song as "added" to the trade papers, and the new editions of the trade papers are printed and published all in the same day.  We will keep repeating this until everyone in the world knows that a website that reports a single being released earlier than four days before the song debuts on the charts can only be run by a person ignorant of how the music business works.  We also know that the song was not released prior to January 23, because in the January 22, 1970 edition of 'Billboard', the magazine contains an article about Bread revealing that the group's next single will be "Everything I Own"; in other words, it had not yet been released as of the date of the article)  
1975:  Pink Floyd recorded tracks for the album Wish You Were Here at Abbey Road Studios in London.






     
              "Bandstand Boogie" from Barry Manilow...

1976:  Earth, Wind & Fire's live album Gratitude was #1 for a second week.  Former #1 Chicago IX, Chicago's Greatest Hits was second followed by History, the Greatest Hits package from America.  Paul Simon took advantage of an opportunity and moved up with Still Crazy After All These Years while Helen Reddy's Greatest Hits was fifth.  The rest of the Top 10:  Barry Manilow's third album--Tryin' to Get the Feeling, moved from 12-6, the O'Jays enjoyed a Family Reunion, Joni Mitchell dropped with her latest, The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Kiss moved into the Top 10 with Alive!  and Art Garfunkel remained at #10 with Breakaway.
1976:  Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were at the top of the R&B chart for a second week with their great song "Wake Up Everybody".









1976:  Elton John had the highest-debuting song with the double-sided "Grow Some Funk Of Your Own"/"I Feel Like A Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)".









         A song to help you dance from Earth, Wind & Fire...

1976:  Diana Ross rose to #1 for the third time as a solo artist with "Theme From 'Mahogany' (Do You Know Where You're Going To)".  Barry Manilow headed down with "I Write The Songs" while the Ohio Players were up to 3 with "Love Rollercoaster".  Earth, Wind & Fire reached the Top 10 with "Sing a Song".







1977:  Natalie Cole released the single "I've Got Love On My Mind".










1977:  Boston released the single "Long Time", which if you don't hear with the instrumental prelude "Foreplay", sue the radio station.  I'm kidding.  Sort of.
















1977:  Kenny Rogers released the single "Lucille".
1980:  Georgeanna Gordon (Tillman) of the Marvelettes died of lupus and sickle cell anemia in Inkster, Michigan at the age of 35.
1980:  Spandau Ballet was at the Blizt Club in London.
1981:  Steven Tyler, lead singer of Aerosmith, was admitted to the hospital after a crash on his motorcycle.  (Note:  the dates of the accident are all over the map--some say the summer of 1980, others say the fall of 1980, and still others say it was in late 1981.  Obviously, not too many people cared, because there is no credible news source with an article about the crash.  Most of the dates center on January 24, 1981.)
1981:  Kool & the Gang wouldn't let go of #1 on the R&B chart as "Celebration" led the way for a sixth week.







1981:  There were two new entries in the Top 10:  Eddie Rabbitt with "I Love A Rainy Night" and "It's My Turn" from the movie of the same name by Diana Ross.












1982:  Diana Ross sang the national anthem of the United States at Super Bowl XVI at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.
1983:  Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton released their remake of the Bob Seger hit "We've Got Tonight".







1983:  Hall & Oates released the single "One On One".















1987:  Expose released their career single "Come Go With Me" on Arista Records.

1987:  Luther Vandross remained at #1 on the R&B chart with "Stop To Love".
1987:  Billy Joel topped the Adult Contemporary chart for a third week with "This Is The Time".
1987:  A great new female act first appeared on the chart on this date.  They debuted with their first single release "Come Go With Me" and would go on to become one of the Best Artists of the Rock Era out of the Gate*.  We first heard of Expose on this date.





                           
 
                                    Canada's Glass Tiger...

Billy Vera & the Beaters reached #1 with "At This Moment".  Robbie Nevil's C'est La Vie" and former #1 "Shake You Down" from Gregory Abbott turned and headed down the chart.  Madonna was up to 4 with "Open Your Heart", Janet Jackson moved to #5 with "Control" and Genesis was now at 6 with "Land Of Confusion".  Glass Tiger had the highest new song in the Top 10--"Someday", which moved from 12 to 7.







           
                  "In a Different Light" from the Bangles...

1987:  Bon Jovi earned a third week at #1 on the Album chart with Slippery When Wet.  Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Live/1975-1985 was second with Boston's Third Stage at #3.  Different Light, the amazing album by the Bangles, moved up to #4 after 52 weeks of release and Bruce Hornsby & the Range had a fine album also with The Way It Is.  The rest of the Top 10:  Cinderella's Night Songs, True Blue from Madonna, Fore!  by Huey Lewis & the News was a great follow-up to Sports, Dancing on the Ceiling from Lionel Richie was #9 and Janet Jackson edged into the Top 10 with Control.
1995:  Van Halen released the album Balance, the last album with lead singer Sammy Hagar.
1995:  David Cole, keyboardist for C+C Music Factory ("Gonna' Make You Sweat" from 1991), who also produced for Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, died of spinal meningitis at age 32.




1998:  Oasis rose to #1 in the U.K. with "All Around The World", the longest #1 song ( nine minutes, 38 seconds) in the history of the U.K. chart.
1998:  The Soundtrack to Titanic moved from #11 to #1 on the Album chart, displacing Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love.  Tubthumper by Chumbawamba was third with Usher moving from 12-4 with My Way.







2006:  Lou Rawls ("You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" from 1976) died at age 72 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after battling lung cancer.
2007:  "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow, original steel guitar player with the Flying Burrito Brothers and a session musician with John Lennon and Joni Mitchell, died at age 72 in Petaluma, California after battling Altzheimer's for the past year.

Born This Day:
1933:  Zeke Carey of the Flamingos ("I Only Have Eyes For You" from 1959) was born in Bluefield, West Virginia; died December 24, 1999 in Washington, D.C.

1939:  Ray Stevens (real name Harold Ray Ragsdale) was born in Clarkdale, Georgia. 

1941:  Neil Diamond was born in Brooklyn, New York.








 

1941:  Aaron Neville of the Neville Brothers was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.











1947:  Warren Zevon ("Werewolves Of London") was born in Chicago, Illinois; died September 7, 2003 at his home in Los Angeles after a year-long bout with cancer.









1949:  John Belushi of the Blues Brothers, a group that he formed with fellow Saturday Night Live castmate Dan Aykroyd, was born in Chicago, Illinois; died March 5, 1982 of drugs in Hollywood, California.  (Note:  some websites claim Belushi was born in Wheaton, Illinois; he was born in Chicago and raised in Wheaton, according to his official website.)








1953:  Matthew Wilder ("Break My Stride") was born in Manhattan, New York.
1955:  Jools Holland, founding member, songwriter, singer and pianist of Squeeze, was born in Blackheath, London.
1963:  Keech Rainwater, drummer of Lonestar ("Amazed") was born in Plano, Texas.

Calendar Clarification: Diana Ross

Several websites claim that Diana Ross and Arne Naess were married on February 1, 1986 in Geneva, Switzerland. 

What took place on that day was not a wedding, but renewal of vows.  The two were married October 23, 1985 in New York City, but exchanged vows in a lavish wedding in Romainmôtier, Switzerland, not Geneva, according to both the Associated Press and People magazine.  The two then held a reception at the Beau Rivage Palace hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland, where friend Stevie Wonder serenaded the guests with "I Just Called To Say I Love You".

Calendar Correction: Beatles

A heads-up for DJ's preparing their shows for the next week...

You will see several stories that on February 1, the Beatles began recording the title song from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  Some websites claim that the Beatles came up with the concept idea of the album after recording it and decided to name the album after the song.  According to the book All We Are Saying by David Sheff, John Lennon said in an interview that the idea for Sgt. Pepper's came  when the Beatles visited the United States for the final time.  According to Lennon, Paul McCartney was struck by the interesting names of U.S. groups, and in November of 1966, on a flight from Nairobi to England, McCartney came up with the idea for an alter-ego for the band.