This Date in Rock Music History: October 25

1958:  Cliff Richard made his radio debut on Saturday Night on the BBC.

1962:  Paul Petersen performed "My Dad" on The Donna Reed Show in ABC-TV.
1962:  Ronnie Smith, who replaced Buddy Holly as lead singer of the Crickets for the remainder of the Winter Dance Party after Holly died in a plane crash, hung himself in a Texas state hospital after he had been committed for drug abuse.  The Day the Music Died indeed.




1963:  Ricky Nelson and his wife celebrated the birth of daughter Tracy in Santa Monica, California.
1963:  The Beatles began their first tour of Sweden, playing at the Nya Aulan, Sundstavagen in Karistad.  
1964:  The Rolling Stones made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing "Around And Around" and "Time Is On My Side".

1967:  The Monkees released the single "Daydream Believer".
1968:  The Jimi Hendrix Experience released the album Electric Ladyland.







 

1968:  Led Zeppelin made their live debut at the Great Hall at Surrey University in England.  (Note:  numerous websites incorrectly show the date as October 15.  It is believed that the group performed under the name the New Yardbirds on October 15 in Surrey, but according to the book 'Led Zeppelin:  A Celebration' by Dave Lewis, the group played its final performance under the name the Yardbirds on October 19 in Liverpool, and according to the group's official website, as well as the book 'Whole Lotta' Led Zeppelin:  The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All-Time' by Jon Bream, the band made its live debut as Led Zeppelin in Surrey on October 25 (even though promotional posters continued to bill them as the New Yardbirds).)
1969:  Pink Floyd released the album Ummagumma.
1969:  Johnny Winter and Led Zeppelin performed before 17,000 at the Boston Garden in Massachusetts.
1969:  "Sugar, Sugar" moved into the #1 position for the Archies on the U.K. chart, where it would stay for eight weeks.
1969:  For the fourth straight week at #1 on the R&B chart, the Temptations were on fire with "I Can't Get Next To You".
1969:  Stevie Wonder made a nice move (94 to 59) with "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday".
1969:  We first began to hear of a great guitarist with a unique sound as Santana debuted on the chart with their first single--"Jingo".

                          1969--One of the great times in the Rock Era that included Smith...

1969:  The Temptations remained at #1 with one of their biggest career hits--"I Can't Get Next To You".  Sly & the Family Stone would have to settle for #2 this time with "Hot Fun In The Summertime".  The former #1 classic by the Archies--"Sugar, Sugar" was still at #3 after 14 weeks while Oliver's "Jean" was at #4 and Elvis Presley was moving up with "Suspicious Minds".  The rest of the Top 10:  Bobby Sherman's "Little Woman", "Wedding Bell Blues" the new smash by the 5th Dimension, Smith moved from 13 to 8 with "Baby It's You", the Cuff Links were up to 9 with "Tracy" and Lou Christie entered the Top 10 with "I'm Gonna' Make You Mine".
1969:  Green River by CCR was #1 on the Album chart for a fourth week but something was happening that even it couldn't contend with.  Johnny Cash At San Quentin was #2 and the Rolling Stones rolled backwards with Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Volume 2).  In one of the biggest chart moves in Rock Era history, the Beatles moved from #178 to #4 with Abbey Road.  Pretty good sign that it's an album for all-time.  The rest of the Top 10:  Blind Faith with their self-titled album, In-A Gadda-Da-Vida from Iron Butterfly, the great debut from Blood, Sweat & Tears, Isaac Hayes with Hot Buttered Soul (that sounds tasty...), the Best of Cream and Santana with their great debut.

1971:  Jonathan Edwards released the single "Sunshine".
1973:  The Osmonds performed at the Apollo in Glasgow, Scotland.
1973:  Rick Nelson was a guest star on The Streets of San Francisco on ABC-TV.







1974:  Barry White released the single "You're The First, The Last, My Everything".
1975:  Art Garfunkel's remake of the Flamingos' 1959 hit "I Only Have Eyes For You" was the #1 song in the U.K.
1975:  Five years after they split, Simon & Garfunkel's one-song reunion "My Little Town" roared up from 81 to 47.







                                  The Starship was flying high...

1975:  "Bad Blood" remained at #1, done by Neil Sedaka & Elton John.  John Denver held steady at #2 with one of The Top #2 songs of the Rock Era*--the double-sided "Calypso" and "I'm Sorry".  Jefferson Starship ("Miracles") and the Eagles ("Lyin' Eyes") remained at 3 and 4, respectively, while the Spinners rolled up to #5 with "Games People Play".  The rest of the Top 10:  Morris Albert and "Feelings", the 4 Seasons and "Who Loves You", Elton John rose from 36 to 8 with "Island Girl", Sweet fell after peaking at #5 with their great song "Ballroom Blitz" and Tavares had their first Top 10 with "It Only Takes A Minute".




     The Pointers found that shy guys were where it was at...

1980:  Barbra Streisand registered the fifth #1 song of her career with "Woman In Love", taking over from Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust".  The Pointer Sisters slid up with "He's So Shy", the former #1 "Upside Down" from Diana Ross took a turn for the worse and "Real Love" by the Doobie Brothers amazingly was at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  An obvious big hit for Kenny Rogers as "Lady" jumped from 17-6, Donna Summer collected her 11th Top 10 song--"The Wanderer", Air Supply's huge hit "All Out Of Love" was #8, Kenny Loggins dropped after peaking at #7 and Stephanie Mills joined the party with "Never Knew Love Like This Before".
1980:  Guilty by Barbra Streisand took over at #1 on the Album chart after just three weeks of release.  That sent The Game by Queen to #2 while the Doobie Brothers hopped to 3 with One Step Closer.  Diana by Diana Ross was fourth followed by the sensational Crimes of Passion album from Pat Benatar.  The rest of the Top 10:  The "Xanadu" Soundtrack, Give Me the Night from George Benson, The Cars stalled at 8 with Panorama, the new Back in Black Album by AC/DC was making noise and Paris from Supertramp was #10.

1980:  Streisand made it a sweep of the top three charts with the #1 AC song as well--"Woman in Love".
1985:  R.E.M., the Smiths and Tom Waits performed at Tyne Tree Television Studios in Newcastle, England.
1986:  Mark Knopfler, singer/songwriter, founder and elite guitarist of Dire Straits, broke his collarbone after crashing in a celebrity car race prior to the Australian Grand Prix.
1986:  Toto enjoyed the #1 Adult Contemporary song--"I'll Be Over You".




1986:  Gregory Abbott's great song "Shake You Down" moved to #1 on the R&B chart.









1986:  Bon Jovi first moved into the #1 position on the Album chart with Slippery When Wet after seven weeks of release.  The great Fore! album from Huey Lewis & the News slipped from the top spot while Boston's third album, Third Stage, moved from 15 to 3.  The "Top Gun" Soundtrack was #4 with Lionel Richie's Dancing on the Ceiling trailing.  
1988:  Chico and Bobby DeBarge of the group DeBarge were convicted of trafficking cocaine in Michigan.

1991:  Bill Graham, whose concert promotion boosted the careers of the Rolling Stones, the Who, Bob Dylan, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Janis Joplin, the Allman Brothers Band and more, died when a helicopter he was riding in hit the top of a Pacific Gas and Electric transmission tower near Sears Point (northwest of Vallejo, California) and exploded. (Note: some websites report Graham's death as October 26, but according to 'The New York Times", as well as the tombstone above, one can plainly see he died on Friday, October 25.)
1991:  Margo Sylvia of the Tuneweavers ("Happy, Happy Birthday Baby" from 1957) died at age 55 in San Diego, California of a heart attack and stroke.






1992:  Roger Miller ("King Of The Road"), who won eleven Grammy Awards as a songwriter and seven Tony Awards for his work in Big River,  died in Los Angeles of lung and throat cancer at the age of 56. 
1993:  Radiohead opened for Tears for Fears at the Aladdin Theater in Las Vegas.





1995:  Cliff Richard was honored with knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
1997:  The Spice Girls owned the top song in the U.K. with "Spice Up Your Life".
1997:  The Velvet Rope by Janet Jackson debuted at #1.  Other good albums in the Top 10:  Evolution by Boyz II Men, Butterfly from Maria Carey, Fleetwood Mac's The Dance, Aquarium from Aqua and Songbook - A Collection of Hits by Trish Yearwood.
1997:  "Candle in the Wind 1997" by Elton John was #1 for a third week.  And it wasn't even close to done.
2000:  William Martin, drummer of Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs ("Wooly Bully" from 1965), died of a heart attack at his home in Sykesville, Maryland the age of 56.

2002:  Richard Harris, actor and singer who had the original hit with "MacArthur Park", died of cancer at age 72 in Camden, London.
2003:  Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Pearl Jam, the Dave Matthews Band and Incubus were among the performers on the first of two days at the Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, California.
2003:  Dave Buckner, drummer of Pearl Jam, married Mia Tyler during a performance by Mia's Dad Stephen of Aerosmith in Las Vegas, Nevada.





2004:  Robbie Williams' Greatest Hits was the best album in the U.K.
2006:  Andy Taylor, guitarist of Duran Duran, quit the band for the second time.
2006:  Ronnie James Dio, Tommy Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward (all part of Black Sabbath) reformed as Heaven and Hell.

2014:  Jack Bruce, bassist with Cream, who also played with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Manfred Mann, the Graham Bond Quartet, and Robin Trower, died of liver disease in Suffolk, England at age 71.




Born This Day:

1924:  Earl Palmer, a first call session drummer for Frank Sinatra, Glen Campbell, the Monkees, the Mamas and the Papas, Little Richard, Duane Eddy, and many, many others, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana; died September 19, 2008 in Banning, California after a long illness.  (Note:  several websites report he died in New Orleans, however 'The Los Angeles Times" story shows that he died in Banning.)  Palmer played on songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" by the Righteous Brothers, "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena" and "Dead Man's Curve" by Jan & Dean, "La Bamba" and "Donna" by Ritchie Valens, "The Lonely Bull" by Herb Alpert, "Summertime Blues" by Eddie Cochran, "Rockin' Robin" by Bobby Day, and numerous R&B songs.  Palmer also played drums on scores of movies and television theme songs, including The Flintstones, Mission : Impossible, Green Acres, The Brady Bunch, M*A*S*H, Ironside, The Odd Couple, Mannix, I Dream of Jeannie, and Peyton Place.  
1937:  Jeanne Black ("He'll Have to Stay") was born in Pomona, California; died October 23, 2014 in Orem, Utah.

1942:  Helen Reddy was born in Melbourne, Australia. (Note:  some websites claim she was born in 1942, but in Reddy's book 'The Woman I Am:  A Memoir', she was born in 1941).
1943:  Roy Lynes, keyboardist of Status Quo ("Pictures Of Matchstick Men"), was born in Redhill, Surrey, England. (Note: some websites say he was born on November 25, but 'AllMusic.com' and other reputable sites place his birth on October 25.)
1943:  Dick Dodds, lead singer and drummer of the Standells ("Dirty Water"), was born in Hermosa Beach, California; died of cancer in Fountain Valley, California November 29, 2013.





1944:  Jon Anderson, lead singer of Yes, was born in Accrington, Lancashire, England.
1944:  Taffy Danoff, singer-songwriter of Starland Vocal Band ("Afternoon Delight" from 1976), was born in Washington, D.C.







1947:  Glenn Tipton, guitarist of Judas Priest, was born in Blackheath, England.
1950:  Chris Norman of Smokie ("If You Think You Know How to Love Me" from 1975), who also teamed with Suzi Quatro for her 1979 hit "Stumblin' In", was born in Redcar, North Yorkshire, England.
1951:  Richard Lloyd, singer/songwriter and guitarist for the group Television, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1955:  Matthias Jabs, guitarist of the Scorpions, was born in Hanover, Germany.
1957:  Robbie McIntosh, guitarist of the Pretenders, was born in Sutton, Surrey, England.
1959:  Christina Amphlett, lead singer of the Divinyls, was born in Geelong, Victoria, Australia; died April 21, 2013 in New York City of breast cancer and multiple sclerosis.
1961:  Chad Smith, drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, was born in Richfield, Minnesota.
1963:  John Leven, bassist of Europe, was born in Stockholm, Sweden.
1968:  "Speech" (Chad Thomas) of Arrested Development
1970:  Ed Robertson, founder, songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of Barenaked Ladies, was born in Scarbourough, Ontario, Canada.

1984:  Katy Perry was born in Santa Barbara, California.

1985:  Ciara was born in Austin, Texas.