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Friday, October 14, 2016

This Date in Rock Music History: October 15

1955:  Fans were lucky to be at this show.  Buddy Holly opened for Elvis Presley in Lubbock, Texas.  Talent scout Eddie Crandall saw the show and afterwards, arranged for Holly to audition for Decca Records.
1955:  For the 11th week, "Maybelline" by Chuck Berry topped the R&B chart.  





1960:  Ringo Starr was the drummer for the Beatles, sitting in for Pete Best, as the group backed Lu Walters (real name Wally Eymond) at the Akustik studio in Hamburg, Germany.  The musicians recorded a version of George Gershwin's "Summertime" that featured the first time that John, Paul, George and Ringo recorded together.









1962:  The 4 Seasons released the single "Big Girls Don't Cry".
1965:  Jimi Hendrix signed his first recording contract that paid him $1 and 1% of the earnings on his recordings.
1965:  The San Francisco group Great Society, which included Grace Slick and her husband Darby, made their live debut at the Coffee Gallery in North Beach, California.  (Note:  most websites indicate the date as September 15, but the official Jefferson Airplane website says it was October 15.)
1966:  Signe Anderson, singer with Jefferson Airplane, made her final appearance with the group at the Fillmore in San Francisco, California.  Anderson left the group in order to devote attention to her new baby. 
1966:  The Temptations ruled the R&B chart for the fourth week with "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep".





1966:  The Four Tops took a turn at #1 with their great song "Reach Out I'll Be There".  "Cherish" by the Association finally relinquished after three great weeks at #1.  ? & the Mysterians were at 3 with "96 Tears" while the Monkees' first release "Last Train To Clarksville" was up to #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Psychotic Reaction" from Count Five, Neil Diamond's first Top 10 of a great career ("Cherry Cherry") was #6, the Left Banke flowed into the Top 10 with a 14-7 move for "Walk Away Renee", Jimmy Ruffin's solo hit "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" entered the Top 10, "I've Got You Under My Skin" from the 4 Seasons was #9 and the Supremes closed out the list with their former #1--"You Can't Hurry Love".
1966:  Revolver by the Beatles was #1 for a sixth week on the Album chart.  The "Doctor Zhivago" Soundtrack remained at #2 with Somewhere My Love from Ray Conniff & Singers third.  Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass was fourth with What Now My Love while The Supremes A' Go-Go moved from 12 to 5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Whipped Cream & Other Delights from Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass was #6 after 75 weeks, the amazing Soundtrack to "The Sound of Music" was finally on its way down after 83 weeks, the Mamas & the Papas moved from 21-8, Sinatra at the Sands came in at #9 and Aftermath by the Rolling Stones was down to 10 after 15 weeks.


1968:  Stevie Wonder released the single "For Once In My Life".
1971:  Pink Floyd began a tour at the Winterland Arena in San Francisco, California.
1971:  You have to wonder what was going through the fans' minds:  Rick Nelson was actually booed in Madison Square Garden in New York City when he performed a new song.  The experience was immortalized in Rick's single "Garden Party".



1973:  Elton John released the single "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road".
1973:  Keith Richards, guitarist of the Rolling Stones, was convicted of drug trafficking in Nice, France.
1977:  "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me" from Barry White was #1 on the R&B chart for the third straight week.
1977:  Carly Simon held on to #1 on the Easy Listening chart for the sixth week with "Nobody Does It Better".




1977:  It had been a pretty swift climb up and all signs pointed to a monster hit for Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life", the new #1 song on this date.
1977:  Rumours by Fleetwood Mac was the #1 album for week #23.  Simple Dreams by Linda Ronstadt was #2, Shaun Cassidy held on to 3 with his debut and Moody Blue from the recently departed Elvis Presley was #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Foreigner moved up with their self-titled release, Anytime...Anywhere by Rita Coolidge was #6, the Soundtrack to "Star Wars" was #7, JT by James Taylor, I Robot from the Alan Parsons Project was #9 and the Doobie Brothers slipped into the Top 10 with Livin' On the Fault Line.
1979:  Donna Summer released her double album greatest hits package On the Radio:  Volumes I & II.
1979:  John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono contributed $1,000 to a campaign to buy bulletproof vests for New York City policemen.

1979:  The Eagles played at the War Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York.
1979:  ABBA played the first of their limited number of career concerts in North America at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
1980:  Bobby Lester, founding singer with the Moonglows, died in Louisville, Kentucky at the age of 50.  
1983:  Genesis had the top U.K. album with their self-titled release.




   
         The Police had another monster hit from Synchronicity...

1983:  Bonnie Tyler logged a third week at #1 with "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", topping a great Top 10.  Air Supply remained in the runner-up spot with "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All".  The Police were stuck at three with "King Of Pain", Spandau Ballet had the #4 song--"True" and Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton combined for song #5--"Islands In Rhe Stream".  The rest of the Top 10:  The Fixx with "One Thing Leads To Another", Lionel Richie was on the move with "All Night Long (All Night)", Men Without Hats were still in the Top 10 after 17 weeks with "The Safety Dance", Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It" and the Stray Cats were down with "(She's) Sexy + 17".
1987:  Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead began a series of solo performances on Broadway in New York City.

1988:  UB40 reached #1 with "Red Red Wine", taking over from Def Leppard's "Love Bites".



1988:  New Jersey by Bon Jovi moved to #1 on the Album chart, moving Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses out after just three weeks.  Hysteria by Def Leppard was still third after 61 weeks of release with the "Cocktail" Soundtrack coming in fourth.  The rest of the Top 10:  Tracy Chapman with her debut, ...And Justice for All from Metallica at #6, Bobby McFerrin's Simple Pleasures, Roll With It from Steve Winwood, the great album Kick by INXS re-entered the Top 10 after 49 weeks and George Michael was hanging on to #10 after 48 weeks with Faith.



1990:  Whitney Houston released the single "I'm Your Baby Tonight".
1991:  John Fogerty and wife Julie celebrated the birth of son Shane.
1994:  Take That topped the U.K. chart with "Sure".
1994:  Monster from R.E.M. became the latest album to debut at #1.  Ho-hum.  II by Boyz II Men was second, and From the Cradle by Eric Clapton, which had debuted at #1 two weeks before, was now #3.  Rhythm of Love by Anita Baker, which had debuted at #3 a couple weeks before, was fourth followed by Songs from Luther Vandross, which had debuted at #5 the week before.  The rest of the Top 10:  "The Lion King" Soundtrack, Smash from Offspring, Slayer's Divine Intervention debuted at #8, Dookie from Green Day was #9 and The Concert by Barbra Streisand debuted at #10.  If you didn't know it, you'd say the competition this week was no better than when rock began in 1955.  And you'd be right.
1994:  "I'll Make Love To You", one of the Top Songs of the 1990's, was #1 for the ninth week on the R&B chart.

1994:  Boyz II Men had the #1 song for the eighth straight week with "I'll Make Love To You".
1997:  Michael Jackson concluded a highly successful HIStory Tour at King's Park Rugby Stadium in Durban, South Africa.  Jackson did 82 shows and performed before 4.5 million fans on the tour.
1999:  Terry Gilkyson, lead singer of the Easy Riders ("Marianne" in 1957) died while visiting family in Austin, Texas at the age of 83.  
2000:  Dave Edmunds ("I Hear You Knockin'") had triple heart bypass surgery at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.
2000:  U2 earned the #1 song in the U.K. with "Beautiful Day".
2006:  My Chemical Romance had the top U.K. hit with "Welcome to the Black Parade".
2008:  It seemed no artist would give permission for Republicans to use their songs.  Jon Bon Jovi was the latest to tell presidential hopeful John McCain that he was illegally using his song "Who Says You Can't Go Home".  Heart, Jackson Browne and the Foo Fighters had all previously told McCain to cease using their material.
2008:  Madonna and Guy Ritchie announced that their seven-year marriage was over.


Born This Day:
1925:  Mickey Baker, who had a hit with Sylvia ("Love Is Strange") and worked with artists such as the Drifters, Ray Charles, Big Joe Turner and Ivory Joe Hunter, was born in Louisville, Kentucky; died of heart and kidney failure on November 27, 2012 in Montastruc-la-Conseillère, France.

1935:  Barry McGuire ("Eve Of Destruction") was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
1938:  Marv Johnson, who recorded the 45 "Come to Me", the first record released on Tamla Records, was born in Detroit, Michigan; died of a stroke at a concert in Columbia, South Carolina on May 16, 1993.
1942:  Don Stevenson, drummer of Moby Grape, was born in Seattle, Washington.





1946:  Richard Carpenter, the genius behind the best-selling duo the Carpenters, was born in New Haven, Connecticut.



1948:  Chris De Burgh was born in Venado Tuerto, Santa Fe Province, Argentina.
1953:  Tito Jackson of the Jackson 5 was born in Gary, Indiana.
1970:  Ginuwine was born in Washington, D.C.

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