Sunday, December 10, 2017

This Date in Rock Music History: November 13

1961:  "Please Mr. Postman" delivered a #1 R&B song for the Marvelettes.
1961:  "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean was #1 for a second week.  The only new Top 10 song was a big one--"Please Mr. Postman" by the Marvelettes.
1964:  The first official biography of the Rolling Stones, Our Own Story, was published.




1965:  After 35 weeks, the Soundtrack to "The Sound of Music" reached #1 on the Album chart.  That album toppled Help! by the Beatles while the Ramsey Lewis Trio dropped with The In Crowd.  Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass moved back up with Whipped Cream & Other Delights and Bob Dylan was down after peaking at #3 with Highway 61 Revisited.  The rest of the Top 10:  Look At Us from Sonny & Cher, Out of Our Heads by the Rolling Stones, the Soundtrack to "Mary Poppins", Barbra Streisand was emphatic with My Name Is Barbra and Herman's Hermits dropped to #10 with Herman's Hermits On Tour.





  1965:  Fontella Bass spent a third week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Rescue Me".
1965:  Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass held on to #1 on the Easy Listening chart for the third week with one of The Top 100 Instrumentals of the Rock Era*--"Taste Of Honey".
1965:  The Rolling Stones spent a second week at #1 with "Get Off Of My Cloud".  The Toys could not get any higher with "A Lover's Concerto" but "1-2-3" was making a move (8-3) for Len Barry.  The Vogues had song #4 with "You're The One" and the Supremes saw their 12th hit become their sixth Top 10--"I Hear A Symphony".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Rescue Me" from Fontella Bass, Gary Lewis & the Playboys turned downward with "Everybody Loves A Clown", the 4 Seasons were up to #8 with their 24th hit "Let's Hang On!", Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass and "Taste Of Honey" and Marvin Gaye jumped into the party with "Ain't That Peculiar".
1968:  Brian Jones, founder of the Rolling Stones, bought Cotchford Farms in Sussex, England, the place where A.A. Milne wrote Winnie the Pooh.  Months later, Jones was discovered dead at the bottom of his swimming pool.




1968:  The Beatles' animated movie Yellow Submarine opened in theaters.
1969:  After buying the island of Dorinch off the Ireland coast, John Lennon announced that any hippie who wanted to was free to live there.








1971:  Santana III took over as the #1 album as the Soundtrack to "Shaft" slipped to #2.  Rod Stewart was right behind with Every Picture Tells a Story, John Lennon's Imagine remained at 4 and Cat Stevens edged up with Teaser and the Firecat.  The rest of the Top 10:  Stanley, Idaho's Carole King was at #6 after 32 weeks with Tapestry, The Carpenters stood at 7, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour from the Moody Blues remained in the #8 position, Paul & Linda McCartney saw Ram at #9 and Three Dog Night joined the group, moving from 16-10 with Harmony.
1971:  Cat Stevens purred for a third week at #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Peace Train".
1973:  Jerry Lee Lewis's son, 19 year-old Jerry Lee Lewis, Jr., who was the drummer in his father's band, was killed in a car accident near Hernando, Mississippi.
1976:  Barry Manilow owned the new #1 Easy Listening song--"This One's For You".


 
             Lightfoot's incredible song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"...

1976:  Rod Stewart took one of the biggest jumps to #1 of the Rock Era (8-1) with "Tonight's The Night (Gonna' Be Alright)".  "Disco Duck" by Rick Dees was still floating around and Gordon Lightfoot had a big hit with "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald".  The Bee Gees crept closer with "Love So Right" and the Captain & Tennille took their remake of the America song "Muskrat Love" to #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Steve Miller dropped with "Rock 'N Me", Chicago's former #1 "If You Leave Me Now" was now at #7, the Commodores and "Just To Be Close to You", the Spinners moved from 15-9 with "Rubberband Man" and Peter Frampton found the Top 10 with his epic "Do You Feel Like We Do".




                      The #4 Album of the Rock Era*...


1976:  Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder continued to hold off some great albums at the #1 slot.  The Soundtrack to "The Song Remains the Same" by Led Zeppelin advanced to #2 and Elton John's new album Blue Moves debuted at #3.  Elton's last three albums (Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Rock of the Westies and now Blue Moves) debuted at #1, #1 and #3, respectively.  The incredible Frampton Comes Alive! album by Peter Frampton moved back up to #4 and Spirit from Earth, Wind & Fire was fifth.  The rest of the Top 10:  A Night on the Town from Rod Stewart at #7, the Bee Gees (Children of the World) and Lynyrd Skynyrd (One More from the Road) remained in their slots and the Steve Miller Band fell to #10 with Fly Like An Eagle.



Too Much Heaven by Bee Gees on Grooveshark
1978:  The Bee Gees released the single "Too Much Heaven".  All proceeds from the song released at the height of their career were given to UNICEF.










1978:  Olivia Newton-John released the single "A Little More Love".








1982:  New Wave was in full steam and Men At Work were positioned nicely with Business As Usual taking over as the #1 album.  Mirage from Fleetwood Mac was stuck at 2 and Bruce Springsteen peaked at #3 with Nebraska.  The previous #1 American Fool from John Cougar was fourth.  Lionel Richie moved from 16-5 with his debut and another New Wave act--the Stray Cats, jumped up from 15 to 6 with Built for Speed.  The rest of the Top 10:  Eye in the Sky from the Alan Parsons Project, It's Hard by the Who, Billy Joel's The Nylon Curtain at #9 and Emotions in Motion from Billy Squier.



Maneater by Hall & Oates on Grooveshark
1982:  Hall & Oates had a monster hit as "Maneater" moved from 36 to 12.
1982:  For the second straight week, the great Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes song from An Officer and a Gentleman--"Up Where We Belong" topped the chart.  Lionel Richie's first hit "Truly" moved from 10-2.
1982:  Neil Diamond's song inspired by the blockbuster movie E.T.--"Heartlight" held on to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the fourth consecutive week.
1985:  An exhibition honoring Bob Dylan's 25 years in music opened at the Whitney Museum in New York City.







1989:  Rod Stewart released the single "Downtown Train".







Peace In Our Time by Eddie Money on Grooveshark
1989:  Eddie Money released the single "Peace In Our Time".
1990:  Madonna released the album The Immaculate Collection(Note:  some websites report the release as November 9, but both 'MTV' and 'Allmusic.com' peg the release as November 13.)








1992:  Elton John performed in concert before 90,000 in Mexico City, Mexico.
1992:  Ronnie Bond of the Troggs died at Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, Hampshire, England at the age of 52.
1995:  MC Hammer played a benefit show for Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin's political party, Our Home Is Russia in Moscow.
1997:  Celine Dion released the single "Be The Man" in Japanese only.  It was the theme to the Japanese television show Eve.
1999:  R.J. Vealey, drummer of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, died from a heart attack at the age of 37 after performing with the group in Orlando, Florida.
2000:  Elton John released the live album One Night Only, recorded at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
2001:  Jewel released her third album This Way.
2001:  Madonna released her compilation GHV2 (Note:  some websites show the release as November 12, but both 'Billboard' and 'MTV" show it as November 13.)
2005:  Madonna had the top song in the U.K. with "Hung Up".

Born This Day:
1932:  Buddy Killen, producer, music publisher and a song promoter who brought "Heartbreak Hotel" to the attention of Elvis Presley and also began the Dial Records label to distribute the songs of Joe Tex, was born in Florence, Alabama; died November 1, 2006 of pancreatic cancer in Nashville, Tennessee.
1939:  Nathaniel Dove, keyboardist with the Robert Cray Band, was born in Mumford, Texas.  (Note:  some websites report Dove's birthplace as Bryan, Texas, but according to Dove's official website, he was born in Mumford.)
1940:  Justine "Baby" Washington ("That's How Heartaches Are Made") was born in Bamberg, South Carolina. 
1944:  Timmy Thomas ("Why Can't We Live Together") was born in Evansville,Indiana.
1947:  Toy Caldwell, guitarist and founding member of the Marshall Tucker Band ("Heard It In A Love Song), was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina; died February 25, 1993 at his home in Moore, Carolina after cocaine caused his heart to stop beating.  (Note:  a few websites report that Caldwell was killed in an accident with a garbage truck.  That was a different person that had that mishap.  According to Spartanburg County Coroner Jim Burnett, Caldwell died in his sleep after using cocaine.) 
1949:  Roger Steen, singer-songwriter and guitarist of the Tubes ("She's A Beauty"), was born in Pipestone, Minnesota.
1951:  Bill Gibson, drummer of Huey Lewis & the News, was born in Sacramento, California.

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