Thursday, February 18, 2016

This Date in Rock Music History: February 19

1956:  Elvis Presley performed three shows (2, 5 and 8 p.m.) at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in Tampa, Florida.

  1957:  Tab Hunter topped the U.K. chart with "Young Love", one of the great songs early in the Rock Era.
1958:  Carl Perkins left Sun Records to sign a deal with Columbia.











1958:  A brand new group released their first single "Got A Job", an answer song to the hit "Get A Job" by the Silhouettes.  And thus, the Miracles were introduced to us.













1965:  The Beatles recorded the basic track for "You're Going To Lose That Girl" in two takes at Studio Two at Abbey Road studios in London.  Overdubs were added, with final overdubs added on March 30.  The song would appear on the Help!  album.
1966:  B.J. Thomas debuted on the charts with his first career single--"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry".
1966:  For the fifth straight week, Stevie Wonder held down #1 on the R&B chart with "Uptight (Everything's Alright)".
1966:  The fastest-rising song was Ssgt. Barry Sadler's "The Ballad Of The Green Berets", which moved from 51 to 10.







1966:  Lou Christie saw an opening and moved to #1 with "Lightnin' Strikes" but Nancy Sinatra was a woman with a mission as "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" moved from #15 to #2.  Stevie Wonder held on with "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" and former #1 "My Love" from Petula Clark tumbled to 4.
1966:  Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, which had already spent six weeks at #1 on the Album chart, outlasted Rubber Soul by the Beatles and returned to #1.  Another album by Alpert & the Brass--Going Places, was third.  The timeless Soundtrack to "The Sound of Music" was fourth.
1968:  Paul McCartney (with partner Jane Asher) and Ringo Starr (along with his wife Maureen) flew to India, joining the Lennons and the Harrisons, to learn meditation from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.  Donovan, Mike Love of the Beach Boys, and actress Mia Farrow also were there at the same time.
1968:  Gerry Marsden of Gerry & the Pacemakers began a 3 1/2 year run in the leading role of the play Charlie's Girl in London., effectively breaking up the group
1970:  Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart ("I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight") were guests on the popular television show Bewitched on ABC.






1972:  Sammy Davis, Jr. was a guest star on All in the Family on CBS-TV.












              "Long Distance Runaround", the progressive sound of Yes...

1972:  American Pie by Don McLean remained #1 on the Album chart for a fifth week, holding off George Harrison's album The Concert for Bangladesh.  Stanley, Idaho's Carole King was third with Music while the compilation Hot Rocks 1964-1971 by the Rolling Stones came in fourth.  The rest of the Top 10:  Led Zeppelin IV, Faces with A Nod Is As Good As a Wink...To a Blind Horse, Traffic moved to #7 with The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, Yes reached the Top 10 with Fragile, Nilsson Schmilsson by Nilsson moved from 16-9 and Emerson, Lake & Palmer found the Top 10 with Pictures At An Exhibition.
1972:  Nilsson took over at #1 on the Adult chart with "Without You".
1972:  Al Green remained at #1 for a seventh week on the R&B chart with "Let's Stay Together".



1972:  Nilsson had one of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era*, and "Without You" moved to #1 on this date.  Al Green relinquished with "Let's Stay Together", the Carpenters had their sixth Top 3 song in three years with "Hurting Each Other" and newcomer Climax remained fourth with "Precious And Few".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Never Been To Spain" by Three Dog Night, the Osmonds with "Down By The Lazy River", Don McLean's classic "American Pie" was on its way down, the great instrumental "Joy" by Apollo 100 was #8, Robert John's remake of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" hit the Top 10 and Bread moved from 28 to 10 with "Everything I Own".
1974:  Kiss made their television debut on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert.






1974:  Dick Clark's new awards show (the American Music Awards), debuted on ABC-TV.  Smokey Robinson, Helen Reddy and Roger Miller co-hosted the ceremony.
1974:  Sonny Bono filed for separation from wife Cher, citing "irreconcilable differences".  (Note:  much misinformation exists on the Internet, with some sites claiming Cher filed for separation on February 20, then filed for divorce one week later, on February 27.  Some sites say Sonny filed for separation on February 20.  The Associated Press article that was reprinted in nearly every newspaper in America on February 20 reported that Sonny filed for separation on February 19.  Cher then filed for divorce the following day, according to the books 'You Haven't Seen The Last of Me' by Daryl Easlea and 'Cher:  If You Believe' by Mark Bego.)  
1976:  Rich Stevens, lead singer of Tower of Power, was arrested for the murders of three men the night before in San Jose, California.








1977:  Stevie Wonder won the Grammy Award for Best Album for Songs in the Key of Life.  The album of course is one of The Top 5 of the Rock Era*.
1977:  Leo Sayer's "When I Need You" was the #1 song in the U.K.
1977:  Natalie Cole reached #1 on the R&B chart with "I've Got Love On My Mind".
1977:  Barbra Streisand remained in the #1 position on the Adult Contemporary chart for the sixth straight week with "Evergreen".
1977:  Rod Stewart had one of the hottest new songs as "The First Cut Is The Deepest" moved from 77 to 46.







                    Rose Royce scored a big hit about a very ordinary subject...

1977:  Although Bruce Springsteen hadn't had a Top 10 song yet, his song "Blinded By The Light" by Manfred Mann's Earth Band reached #1.  The Eagles waited with "New Kid In Town" with former #1 "Torn Between Two Lovers" by Mary MacGregor now #3.  Barbra Streisand was heading upward with "Evergreen" and Kenny Nolan placed "I Like Dreamin'" at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Enjoy Yourself", a comeback hit for the Jacksons, Rose Royce and "Car Wash", Steve Miller found the Top 10 with "Fly Like An Eagle", Bread with "Lost Without Your Love" and, after eight years of recording, Bob Seger scored his first Top 10 with "Night Moves".
1977:  Bob Seger had indeed arrived, as the album Night Moves moved from 23-10.










1980:  Bon Scott, lead singer of AC/DC, died from alcohol poisoning in London at age 33.
1981:  George Harrison was ordered by a judge to pay ABKCO Music $587,000 for "subconscious plagiarism" between his smash "My Sweet Lord" and "He's So Fine" by the Chiffons.
1983:  Kajagoogoo owned the #1 song in the U.K. with "Too Shy".
1983:  "Shame On The Moon" by Bob Seger remained #1 on the AC chart.






1983:  Men At Work remained at #1 for the 15th week with their album Business As Usual--that still ranks in the Top 25 in the Rock Era for weeks at #1.  
1995:  Jon Bon Jovi and wife Dorothea celebrated the birth of son Jesse James Louis.
1995:  Roxette performed in Beijing, China, the first concert by a Western artist in that country since George Michael was there in 1984.
1998:  The Stay Cats reunited for a benefit concert at the House of Blues in Hollywood, California for the Carl Perkins Foundation.  The group closed the show with their cover of Eddie Cochran's song "Summertime Blues".  (Note: several websites report that the show was in Los Angeles.  The House of Blues is at 8430 on Sunset Boulevard (the famous Sunset Strip) in Hollywood.






2000:  Savage Garden returned to #1 with the song "I Knew I Loved You".







2008:  A new breed of rose was named for Olivia Newton-John in Melbourne, Australia by the Landsdale Rose Gardens of Perth.


Born This Day:
1936:  Bob Engemann, an original member of the Lettermen, was born in Highland Park, Michigan; died January 20, 2013 in Provo, Utah of complications from his heart bypass surgery on December 13, 2013.









1940:  Smokey Robinson, acclaimed songwriter and lead singer of the Miracles and a solo star, was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1940:  Bobby Rogers, one of the original members of the Miracles, was born in Detroit, Michigan; died March 3, 2013 from complications of diabetes in Detroit.  He was born in the same hospital (Herman Kiefer) as fellow Miracles member Smokey Robinson above.












1943:  Lou Christie (real name Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco), who had the hit "Lightnin' Strikes" in 1966, was born in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania.  (Note:  'Allmusic.com' and other websites claim Christie was born in Glen Willard, Pennsylvania.  There is no such city--the correct spelling of the Pennsylvania township is Glenwillard.)
1946:  Pierre Van Den Linden, drummer of Focus ("Hocus Pocus" from 1973), was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.









1948:  Tony Iommi, elite guitarist of Black Sabbath, was born in Handsworth, West Midlands, England.
1948:  Mark Andes, bassist and an early member of Canned Heat (before they had a recording contract), Spirit, Firefall and Heart, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1949:  Eddie Hardin, singer-songwriter and pianist of the Spencer Davis Group, was born in London; died July 22 of a heart attack.
1950:  Andy Powell, founding member and guitarist of Wishbone Ash, was born in Stepney, Greater London.
1956:  Dave Wakeling, singer, songwriter and guitarist of General Public, was born in Birmingham, England.
1957:  Falco (real name is Johann Hölzel ), who had the hit "Rock Me Amadeus", was born in Vienna, Austria; died in a car accident in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic on February 6, 1998.




 
1963:  Seal (real name Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adelo Samuel) was born in Paddington, Greater London, England.
1975:  Daniel Adair, drummer of 3 Doors Down ("When I'm Gone" From 2003) and Nickelback, was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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