Sunday, December 10, 2017

This Date in Rock Music History: November 19

1954:  Sammy Davis, Jr. was in a serious car accident in San Bernadino, California.  Three days later, Davis lost his ability to see with his left eye.




1958:   David Seville, who magically created the fictitious group the Chipmunks through amazing studio work, released the single "The Chipmunk Song".









1958:  The Exciters released the single "Tell Him".
1962:  Proof that the great ones indeed do pay their dues.  The Beatles did three concerts in one day--first the usual lunchtime show at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, then an 85-mile drive to the Midlands where they gave a show at the Smethwick Baths Ballroom (known to the locals as the Thimblemill Baths, and today called the Smethwick Swimming Centre) and then a concert at the Adelphi Ballroom in West Bromwich, Staffordshire.
1964:  The Supremes became the first all-female group to reach #1 in the U.K. as "Baby Love" climbed to the top.
1965:  Roger Daltrey, lead singer of the Who, walked out on the group during a performance at the Glad Rags Ball in London after there was a problem with the sound.  The Kinks, the Hollies and Wilson Pickett also performed at the Ball and had no such problems.
1965:  The Doors were at the Hughes Aircraft Union Dance at the Royce Hall Auditorium in Los Angeles.
1966:  Eddie Floyd had the #1 R&B song with the original version of "Knock On Wood".

1966:  Donovan had a popular song on his hands as his distinctive "Mellow Yellow" moved from 65 to 24 on this date.










1966:  The Supremes achieved their eighth career #1 in their last 13 releases with one of their biggest hits--"You Keep Me Hangin' On".
1966:  The Soundtrack to "The Sound of Music" re-entered the Top 10 on the Album chart after 88 weeks of release.
1967:  The Bee Gees were in concert at the Saville Theatre in London.
1968 - The Supremes performed at a Royal Variety Show in London with Queen Elizabeth in attendance. 
1970:  James Brown married Deidre Yvonne Jenkins in Barnwell, South Carolina.




1973:  Led Zeppelin began recording the song "Driving To Kashmir", which was later shortened to "Kashmir", at Headley Grange in East Hampshire, England for their sixth album.  The session ended when bassist John Paul Jones threatened to leave the group to become a choirmaster.






1973:  Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra released the fabulous single "Love's Theme".








1973:  Barbra Streisand released the single "The Way We Were". (Note:  some websites falsely report that the single was simultaneous released with the release of 'The Original Soundtrack' in January of 1974, and others state that the date of release was September 26, but according to the book 'The Invisible Art of Film Music:  A Comprehensive History' by Laurence E. MacDonald, the song was released in November.  Also, since the song debuted on the chart on November 24, 1973, it is impossible that the song was released in January.)






1974:  Linda Ronstadt released the single "You're No Good".









1974:  Average White Band released the single "Pick Up The Pieces". 

1976:  George Harrison and Paul Simon recorded a sketch for Saturday Night Live that was broadcast the following night, November 20.
1977:  Earth, Wind & Fire achieved a #1 song on the R&B chart with "Serpentine Fire".
1977:  Debby Boone had the new #1 on the Easy Listening chart--"You Light Up My Life".






1977:  Heart debuted at #84 with one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*--"Kick It Out".









    Linda Ronstadt accomplished a rare feat...


1977:  Debby Boone stood all alone at #1 for the sixth week with "You Light Up My Life".  Linda Ronstadt became one of a select few artists in the Rock Era to have two singles in the Top 10 simultaneously as "It's So Easy" joined "Blue Bayou" on this date.






      Steely Dan had their biggest career album...


1977:  Rumours by Fleetwood Mac topped the Album chart for a then-record 28th week.  Linda Ronstadt had one of the only albums in that seven month period that could challenge it--Simple Dreams.  Steely Dan's fine album Aja was third followed by the debut from Foreigner.  The rest of the Top 10:  Elvis In Concert by Elvis Presley, Chicago XI, Lynyrd Skynyrd jumped from 50 to 7 with Street Survivors, Barry White Sings for Someone You Love, Kansas was up to #9 with Point of Know Return and Rose Royce II/In Full Bloom cracked the Top 10.
1979:  Chuck Berry was released from Lompoc Prison in California after serving jail time for income tax evasion.
1983:  Tom Evans, bass guitarist of Badfinger, who also wrote the classic "Without You" for Nilsson, committed suicide.  (Note:  several websites show his death as November 23, but according to the 'BBC', 'Billboard', and other reputable sources, it was on November 19.)

1983:  Synchronicity by the Police remained at #1 on the Album chart for the 16th week, tied for 10th-longest in the Rock Era.  
1983:  Tina Turner had a song on the charts for the first time in 10 years with "Let's Stay Together".
1988:  Anita Baker held on to #1 on the R&B chart with "Giving You The Best That I Got".







               The landmark Silhouette album hit the Top 10...


1988:  U2 held on to #1 on the Album chart with Rattle and Hum.  Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses and Hysteria by Def Leppard remained in the Top 10 after long stints at #2 and #6, respectively.  The Soundtrack to "Cocktail" was #3 with New Jersey from Bon Jovi falling and Anita Baker moving up to #5 with Giving You the Best That I Got.  The rest of the Top 10:  Don't Be Cruel by Bobby Brown, the great Faith album by George Michael, Luther Vandross entered the list with Any Love and Kenny G's great Silhouette album moved from 16-10.





1988:  Bon Jovi collected their third #1 with "Bad Medicine".  The Escape Club fell with "Wild, Wild West" while Kylie Minogue had the third version of "The Loco-Motion" to reach the Top 10.  U2's "Desire" moved to #4, just ahead of "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys.  The rest of the Top 10:  Will to Power with "Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley", George Michael was up to #7 with "Kissing A Fool", Breathe cracked the Top 10 with "How Can I Fall?", Chicago scored their 18th Top 10 song and 44th career hit with "Look Away" and Whitney Houston fell with "One Moment In Time".







1990:  Celine Dion released her first single "Where Does My Heart Beat Now".
1990:  Milli Vanilli was forced to relinquish their Grammy Award for Best New Artist after it was discovered that other singers had in fact done the work on the album Girl You Know It's True.







1991:  U2 released the album Achtung Baby.
1993:  Nirvana recorded an Unplugged concert in New York City.
1994:  Barry White scored his seventh and final #1 on the R&B chart with "Practice What You Preach".






1994:  TLC had a hot song as "Creep" moved from #71 to #25. 
1994:  Boyz II Men, who this week made it 12 weeks at #1 with "I'll Make Love To You", fifth-best in the Rock Era at the time, had another song debut at #14--"On Bended Knee".







1995:  Bob Dylan performed "Restless Farewell" and Paula Abdul sang "Luck Be A Lady" at the 80th birthday tribute to Frank Sinatra at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
1997:  St. Luke's Orchestra played the premiere of the Standing Stone operetta by Sir Paul McCartney at Carnegie Hall in New York City.




1997:  Michael Hutchence, lead singer of INXS, arrived in Sydney, Australia to begin rehearsing for the group's 20th anniversary tour.
1998:  Motley Crue opened a retail store, S'Crue, in Los Angeles.
2000:  Anthology I by the Beatles was the top album in the U.K.
2000:  LeAnn Rimes led the way in the U.K. with "Can't Fight The Moonlight".
2001:  Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots was arrested again, this time for fighting with his wife at a hotel.
2003:  The Stone Temple Pilots announced they were splitting up.
2003:  A warrant was issued for Michael Jackson for suspicion of molesting a 12-year-old boy from Los Angeles.  Jackson was acquitted of all charges.
2003:  Greg Ridley, bassist with Spooky Tooth and Humble Pie, died of pneumonia in Javea, Spain at the age of 61.  (Note:  some websites show his place of death as Alicante--in the book  'Rock Obituaries:  Knocking on Heaven's Door' by Nick Talevski states that Ridley died at Alicante Hospital in Javea. 
2004:  In today's edition of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music, Young Buck was arrested in Santa Monica, California for stabbing a man at the Vibe hip-hop awards.
2004:  Terry Melcher of the Rip Chords ("Hey Little Cobra" from 1964), and son of Doris Day, a producer for the Beach Boys, Boise, Idaho's Paul Revere and the Raiders, Glen Campbell, Pat Boone, the Mamas and Papas and the Byrds, died at his home in Beverly Hills, California at age 62 after battling the effects of melanoma.
2005:  Christina Aguilera married record executive Jordan Bratman in Rutherford, California.  (Note:  Some websites show the wedding date as November 26 and other dates, but the book 'Christina Aguilera:  A Biography' by Mary Anne Donovan, as well as 'People' and 'UPI' show the date as November 19.)
2006:  George Michael had the #1 album in the U.K. with Twenty-Five.

Born This Day:

1934:  Dave Guard, vocalist and guitarist for the Kingston Trio, was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i; died of lymphatic cancer at age 57 on March 22, 1991 in Rollinsford, New Hampshire.  (Note:  some websites say that Guard was born in San Francisco; according to the official site for the Kingston Trio, as well as the book Rock Obituaries-Knocking on Heaven's Door' by Nick Talevski,  Dave was born in Hawai'i and moved to California after graduating from high school.)
1936:  Robert White, session musician for Motown who played guitar on the album What's Going On by Marvin Gaye, was born in Billmyre, Pennsylvania; died October 27, 1994.  (Note:  some websites print that White was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but according to the book 'Motown Encyclopedia' by Graham Betts, White was born in Billmyre.)
1937:  Geoff Goddard, songwriter and keyboard player for the Tornadoes ("Telstar" from 1962); died May 15, 2000.  (Note:  many websites report Goddard's birth as November 17--according to Tornadoes bandmate Joe Meek, Goddard was born on November 19.)
1937:  Ray Collins, singer, guitarist, and co-founder of Mothers of Invention, was born in Pomona, California; died of a heart attack December 24, 2012 in Pomona.  (Note:  some websites report his birth year as 1936, but according to the newspaper 'The Daily Bulletin', Collins was born in 1937.)
1938:  Hank Medress of the Tokens ("The Lion Sleeps Tonight" from 1961) was born in Brooklyn, New York; died June 18, 2007 in Manhattan, New York of lung cancer.
1939:  Warren "Pete" Moore of the Miracles, who wrote "Going To A Go-Go" and other songs for the group, was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1943:  Fred Lipsius, original saxophonist and arranger of Blood, Sweat & Tears, was born in The Bronx, New York.
1946:  Joe Correro, drummer of Paul Revere & the Raiders, was born in Greenwood, Mississippi.
1960:  Matt Sorum, drummer and percussionist with the Cult and Guns N' Roses, was born in Long Beach, California.  (Note:  some websites inaccurately report his birthplace as Mission Viejo, a town that wasn't even around at the time of Sorum's birth (it was incorporated in 1988.)  The fact that cities spring up all the time doesn't mean people were born there (a birth certificate isn't going to show a future city)--Sorum was born in Long Beach.)
1969:  Travis McNabb, drummer with Better Than Ezra, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1971:  Tony Rich of the Tony Rich Project ("Nobody Knows" from 1994) was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1971:  Justin Chancellor, bassist of Peach and Tool
1975:  Tamika Scott of Xscape was born in College Park, Georgia.  (Note:  some websites report Scott's birthday as November 20, but according to 'NBC News', Scott was born on November 19.)

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