This Date in Rock Music History: July 18

1960:  Elvis Presley took out a mortgage on the Graceland mansion he had purchased in 1960 for $160,000.  Presley had several buildings and additions constructed and made several improvements to the property. 
1960:  Hank Ballard and the Midnighters released the single "The Twist".

1960:  Brenda Lee moved to #1 with "I'm Sorry". 
1963:  The Beatles recorded "Til There Was You", "You Really Got a Hold on Me" and "Money (That's What I Want)".
1964:  The Rolling Stones had the top U.K. song with "It's All Over Now".











1964:  "C'mon And Swim" by Bobby Freeman moved up from #100 to #58.












1964: Getz & Gilberto had the #1 Easy Listening hit "The Girl From Ipanema".











 

1964:  "Rag Doll" by the 4 Seasons was the #1 song, followed by "Memphis" by Johnny Rivers and the former #1 "I Get Around" from the Beach Boys.  The Dave Clark Five edged up with "Can't You See That She's Mine" and Stan Getz & Astrud Gilbeto teamed for the #5 smash "The Girl From Ipanema".  The rest of the Top 10:  Jan & Dean climbed from 12 to 6 with "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena", Gerry & the Pacemakers had #7 with "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying", Roger Miller moved up with "Dang Me", Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop" fell and the Impressions were at 10 with "Keep On Pushing".









1966:  The Beach Boys released the single "Wouldn't It Be Nice".
1966:  Bobby Fuller of the Bobby Fuller Four ("I Fought The Law" from 1966) died at the age of 23 in Hollywood, California.  Fuller's body was found in a parked car in front of his apartment, and although some suspected the Mafia was involved, the death was ruled a suicide from asphyxiation.
1968:  The Grateful Dead released the album  Anthem of the Sun.
1968:  Des O'Connor had the top U.K. hit with "I Pretend".
1968:  The Beatles recorded "Cry Baby Cry" and three rehearsal takes of "Helter Skelter".
1969:  Ringo Starr recorded the lead vocal for "Octopus's Garden" at Abbey Road Studios.
1970:  Pink Floyd and Deep Purple gave a free concert at Hyde Park in London that attracted just 20,000 fans.
1970:  Anne Murray debuted on the chart with her first single "Snowbird".





1970:  Edwin Starr moved from #72 to #44 with "War".
1970:  The Jackson 5 had the #1 R&B hit for a fifth week with "The Love You Save".
1970:  "Close To You" by the Carpenters was #1 for a second week on the Adult chart.










                                  Blues Image scored a Top 10 hit...


1970:  Three Dog Night remained at #1 with "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)".  The Jackson 5 were at #2 with their former #1 "The Love You Save" while a new duo, the Carpenters, were climbing up fast with "Close to You".  Freda Payne had "Band Of Gold" up to #4 while the Temptations fell with "Ball Of Confusion".  The rest of the Top 10:  Blues Image and "Ride Captain Ride", Melanie with "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)", the Five Stairsteps had their great song "O-o-h Child" at #8, the Pipkins were up to 9 with "Gimme Dat Ding" and Bread's first single moved from 20-10--"Make It With You".










1972:  They could have just as easily been rap stars--they'd fit right in.  Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones were thrown in jail for fighting with a photographer in Providence, Rhode Island.
1973:  Jethro Tull sold out three concerts from July 20-22 at the Los Angeles Forum, so a fourth was added on this date.









1977:  Monday fell on this date, and that meant new releases.  Foreigner released their second single of their career "Cold As Ice".  (Note:  several websites naively say that the single was released July 23.  "Cold As Ice" debuted on the 'Billboard' charts on July 23.  Repeat after us--it is physically impossible for a record company to release a single, mail it to radio stations, be received and listened to by the radio stations, added to the station playlists and reported to the trade papers, and printed and published by the trade papers, all in the same day.)
1978:  Def Leppard made their debut at Westfield School in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.  The audience:  150 students.
1980:  No Nukes, a documentary showing the No Nukes benefit concerts from Bruce Springsteen and James Taylor, debuted at Cinema I in New York City.  (Note:  several websites claim the movie opened on Monday, July 16, 1980, which in itself is an odd day of the week to premiere a movie.  According to the city's newspaper, 'The New York Times', 'No Nukes' opened July 18.  That date is confirmed by the book 'Jackson Browne:  His Life and Music' by Mark Bego.)








1981:  Kim Carnes made it nine weeks at #1 with one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*, "Bette Davis Eyes". 
1984:  Prince released the second 45 from Purple Rain--"Let's Go Crazy".
1987:  Whitney Houston made it three weeks in a row at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me).
1989:  Jefferson Airplane got back together with original members Paul Kantner, Marty Balin and Grace Slick joined by Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady.
1991:  Nine Inch Nails, Jane's Addiction and Living Colour appeared on the Lollapalooza Tour at the Compton Terrace in Phoenix, Arizona.







1992:  Jon Secada debuted in the Top 10 with "Just Another Day" from his great first album.












 
1992:  Luther Vandross, Janet Jackson, BBD & Ralph Tresvant combined for the top R&B song--"The Best Things In Life Are Free".
1992:  One of the dark days of the Rock Era--Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown were married at Whitney's estate in New Jersey.  Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Natalie Cole, Patti Labelle and Freddie Jackson were among those in attendance.   Brown would not only ruin his own life but drag Whitney down with him.
1994:  The Rolling Stones arranged a secret concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for their fans.
1994:  Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries married Don Burton at Holy Cross Abbey, in Tipperary, Ireland.
1995:  Neil Young and manager Eliot Roberts began the recording label Vapor Records.
1995:  Selena's album Dreaming Of You was released following her murder.
2000:  Metallica performed at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.
2001:  MTV premiered the movie Hysteria - The Def Leppard Story.
2002:  In today's episode of "Inmates Run Rap Music", Mystikal was arrested for raping a 40-year-old woman in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  One of these days, you're going to listen to me about this idiotic form of "music".
2004:  Usher had the #1 song with "Confessions, Part 2".
2005:  This is what happens when you let Inmates Run Rap Music.  Lil' Kim, fresh from getting out of prison for perjuring herself, sued Lil' Cease, saying that he used her name and likeness without her permission to promote a DVD by Junior M.A.F.I.A.  Cease had testified against Kim in the perjury case.  Inmate + Inmate = Mass Chaos.

2015: Buddy Buie, prolific songwriter, producer, and manager, who wrote "Spooky", "Stormy" and "Traces" for the Classics IV, as well as many songs for other artists, died of a heart attack in Dothan, Alabama at age 74.  Buie stayed on with the group as their main songwriter, manager and producer when they evolved into the Atlanta Rhythm Section in 1971, writing hits such as "So Into You" and "Imaginary Lover".  Buie also wrote for Garth Brooks, Santana, Gloria Estefan, and Tommy Roe, among others.  Buie was 74.

Born This Day: 
1929:  Jay Hawkins ("I Put A Spell On You" from 1956) was born in Cleveland, Ohio; died February 12, 2000 after an emergency surgery for an aneurysm in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
1931:  Thomas Allen, percussionist with War, was born in Wilmington, Delaware; died on stage of a heart attack August 30, 1988 in Vallejo, California.
1935:  Johnny Funches, singer of the Dells ("Stay In My Corner" from 1968), was born in Harvey, Illinois; died of pneumonia January 23, 1998.
1938:  Ian Stewart, keyboardist with the Rolling Stones, was born in Pittenweem, Scotland; died of a heart attack December 12, 1985 in London.

1939:  Dion DiMucci was born in the Bronx, New York.













1941:  Martha Reeves was born in Eufaula, Alabama.  (Note:  several websites report that Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan.  According to the books 'Setting the Record Straight:  The Music and Careers of Recording Artists from the 1950s and early 1960s' by Anthony P. Musso and 'Motown:  The Golden Years' by Bill Dahl, Reeves was born in Eufaula and her family moved soon after to Detroit.) 
1941:  Lonnie Mack ("Memphis" from 1963) was born in Dearborn County, Indiana.
1943:  Robin McDonald, rhythm guitarist with Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, was born in Nairn, Scotland.
1945:  Danny McCulloch, bass guitarist for the Animals, was born in Shepherd's Bush, Middlesex; died January of heart failure 29, 2015.  (Note:  several websites say McCulloch was born in London, or in Shepherd's Bush, London.  According to the magazine 'New Music Express", Danny was born in Shepherd's Bush, a census-designated area in London.  While the area is now included in the Greater London county, in 1945, when McCullock was born, Shepherd's Bush was part of the county of Middlesex.)
1948:  Phil Harris of Ace ("How Long" from 1975), was born in Muswell Hill, Middlesex, England.  (Note:  several websites incorrectly state that Harris was born in Muswell Hill, London.  Muswell Hill, a suburb of London, was not part of the county of London until 1974, long after Harris was born.  When Phil was born in 1948, Muswell Hill was in the county of Middlesex.) 
1949:  Wally Bryson, guitarist of the Raspberries, was born in Gastonia, North Carolina.
1948:  Cesar Zuiderwijk, drummer of Golden Earring, was born in The Hague, the Netherlands.
1950:  Glenn Hughes of the Village People was born in the Bronx, New York; died March 4, 2001 of lung cancer in Manhattan, New York.  (Note:  some websites list his birthplace as New York City, which of course is made up of several boroughs.  Hughes was born in the Bronx, according to the book 'Fade to Black:  A Book of Movie Obituaries' by Paul Donnelley.)
1950:  Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Records, was born in Blackheath, Surrey, England.  (Note:  several websites claim Branson was born in Blackheath, London, but according to 'CNN', he was born in Surrey.  The sources are likely confused because of the Local Government Act of 1972, which changed the governance relating to counties, changing the boundaries of many, dropping others, and naming new counties.  The changes took place in 1974.  Blackheath was once part of the county of Surrey, and is now a part of Greater London.  Back in 1940, when Branson was born, Blackheath was part of Surrey, and his place of birth was Blackheath, Surrey, England)
1955:  Terry Chambers, drummer of XTC, was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, England.
1958:  Nigel Twist of the Alarm was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England.
1962:  Jack Irons, drummer of Pearl Jam beginning in 1994, was born in Los Angeles.
1975:  Daron Malakian of System of a Down was born in Hollywood, California.
1978:  Tony Fagenson, songwriter and drummer of Eve 6
1982:  Ryan Cabrera was born in Dallas, Texas.

This Date in Rock Music History: July 17

1961:  "Buttered Popcorn" was released as the second single from a new group called the Supremes.

1961:  Brook Benton had the top Easy Listening song with "The Boll Weevil Song". 
1961:  Bobby Lewis had the top R&B song for the third straight week with "Tossin' And Turnin'".
1965:  The Kinks arrived in New York City to begin their first American tour.
1965:  Beatles VI was #1 on the Album chart for the second week in only its fourth week of release while Herman's Hermits On Tour was #2.








1965:  It was a good time in music with "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones remaining at #1, the classic Four Tops song "I Can't Help Myself" still at #2 after reaching #1 itself, Herman's Hermits with the fun "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" at #3 and the Byrds at 4 with their classic "Mr. Tambourine Man".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Cara Mia" from Jay & the Americans, Barbara Mason's "Yes, I'm Ready", "Seventh Son" by Johnny Rivers at #7, Ian Whitcomb's "You Turn Me On", Jackie DeShannon with "What The World Needs Now Is Love" at #9 and moving from 17-10, Tom Jones with "What's New Pussycat?".
1965:  The Four Tops were spinning right as "I Can't Help Myself" was the #1 R&B song for the seventh consecutive week.
1968:  The Beatles' animated film Yellow Submarine premiered at the London Pavilion.











1971:  Two solo artists debuted on the chart with their first singles.  Rod Stewart's first song was "Maggie May".












1971.  Bill Withers released his first single--"Ain't No Sunshine".










1971:  Detroit D.J. Tom Clay's great rendition of "What The World Needs Now Is Love/Abraham, Martin And John" moved from #84 to #49.
1971:  Carole King had the top Adult Contemporary song for the fourth straight week with "It's Too Late".










           Stanley, Idaho with majestic Sawtooth Mountains in the background...


1971:  Stanley, Idaho's Carole King remained at #1 on the Album chart for the fifth week with Tapestry.










Carly Simon hit the Top 10 with her first single...


1971:  Carole King had one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*, "It's Too Late" at #1 for a fourth week.  Boise, Idaho's Paul Revere and the Raiders were at #2 with "Indian Reservation".  James Taylor was making a strong move (6-3) with "You've Got A Friend" while the biggest career hit for Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds--"Don't Pull Your Love" edged up to #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Treat Her Like A Lady", the great song from Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose, "Mr. Big Stuff" from Jean Knight, the Carpenters on their way down with "Rainy Days And Mondays", Tommy James' first solo hit "Draggin' The Line" moving from 14-8, an even faster riser "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" from the Bee Gees and "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" from Carly Simon.










1972:  Bread released the single "Guitar Man".
1974:  The innovative Moody Blues opened their own recording studio in London, which would be the first to allow recordings in quadrophonic sound.
1974:  The Eagles performed at the Mississippi River Festival in Edwardsville, Illinois.
1976:  Neil Diamond achieved his fourth #1 Adult Contemporary song with "If You Know What I Mean".









1976:  The Bee Gees stepped up from #51 to #25 with "You Should Be Dancing".











                                                The great title track from Breezin'...

1976:  Wings at the Speed of Sound was the #1 album, followed by the Beatles' Rock 'N' Roll Music, a #2 album released six years after their breakup.  George Benson's superb Breezin' was #3 with Chicago X moving up to #4 and the self-titled Fleetwood Mac at 5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Aerosmith's Rocks at #6, Frampton Comes Alive! at #7, Beautiful Noise from Neil Diamond, Look Out for #1 by the Brothers Johnson at 9 and Changesonebowie by David Bowie rounding out the list.








   
                                                       Starbuck hit the Top 10...


1976:  "Afternoon Delight" by Starland Vocal Band was #1 for the second week, with the Manhattans getting impatient waiting at #2 with "Kiss And Say Goodbye".  The Brothers Johnson held on to #3 with their great summer smash "I'll Be Good to You", the Andrea True Connection was at position #4 with "More, More, More" and newcomer Starbuck moved up from 13-5 with "Moonlight Feels Right".  The rest of a solid Top 10:  Gary Wright's "Love Is Alive", the Captain & Tennille with "Shop Around", the Beatles' 65th hit "Got To Get You Into My Life" at #8, "Silly Love Songs" from Wings at #9 and the Beach Boys' 45th hit "Rock And Roll Music".













 
1979:  The Little River Band released the single "Reminiscing". 
1982:  Ronnie Milsap maintained the #1 position on the AC chart for the fifth week with "Any Day Now".
1982:  Asia owned the top album for the fifth week with their self-titled debut.









                                                  .38 Special reached the Top 10...

1982:  The Human League held on to #1 for a third week with "Don't You Want Me" while Toto's superior "Rosanna" remained second for the third week.  "Hurts So Good" by John Mellencamp had #3 with "Hurts So Good" and Survivor were making their move with "Eye Of The Tiger".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Let It Whip" from the Dazz Band, Fleetwood Mac moved up from 12 to 6 with "Hold Me", Juice Newton scored her fourth straight Top 10 with "Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me", Soft Cell moved up to #8 with "Tainted Love", the Motels were at 9 with "Only The Lonely" and once again .38 Special claimed the #10 spot with their great song "Caught Up in You". 






 





1991:  Color Me Badd released "I Adore Mi Amor".
1991:  Lynyrd Skynyrd added several new members and began a world tour in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1991:  James Brown was released after two years in prison.
1992:  Cover your ears!  Guns N' Roses, Metallica and Faith No More were on the same bill as they began a tour at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
1993:  Take That reached #1 in the U.K. with "Pray".
1993:  U2 had the top U.K. album with Zooropa.
1993:  Music lovers had been starving for good music so much that Barbra Streisand's album Back to Broadway debuted at #1.  Janet by Janet Jackson fell to #2.  Core by the Stone Temple Pilots at #3 and Breathless from Kenny G at #7 are the only other Top 10 albums worth mentioning.

1993:  Expose rose to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with their great song "I'll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me)".
1994:  Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS made a surprise visit to a KISS Convention.
1995:  Robbie Williams left the group Take That.
1996:  Jimmy Chamberlin was fired from the Smashing Pumpkins, a week after being arrested in connection with the drug death of touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin.











1996:  Chas Chandler, bass guitarist for the Animals who later became Jimi Hendrix's manager, recruited musicians to be in the Jimi Hendrix Experience and managed Slade, died of a heart condition at Newcastle Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, England at the age of 58.
1996:  The Eagles were in concert at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
1997:  Michael Jackson performed at Wembley Stadium in London for the final night of his three-night gig.
1999:  Kevin Wilkinson, drummer with Howard Jones who also worked with Squeeze, hung himself at home in Baydon, Wiltshire, England at the age of 41.
2003:  Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were interviewed on the NBC show Dateline.






2005:  James Blunt controlled the U.K. with "You're Beautiful" and Back to Bedlam holding down the #1 positions on the single and Album chart, respectively.
2005:  R. Kelly rose to the top of the Album chart in the U.S. with TP.3 Reloaded.
2006:  Dave Navarro, guitarist with Jane's Addiction, and Carmen Electra announced they were divorcing.  (Note:  several websites report the split occurring July 18, but the correct date is July 17, according to 'MTV'.  Navarro addressed the matter on his website July 18, but the two first announced the breakup to 'Star' magazine.)
2009:  Gordon Waller of Peter & Gordon died of a heart attack at the age of 64.  (Note:  several websites report his death as being July 16.  Those websites pulled the plug on Waller a bit early.  He went into the emergency room in a hospital in Norwich, Connecticut on Thursday, July 16, and died early Friday morning, July 17, according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times'.)


Born This Day:
1932:  Vince Guaraldi, who gave us the great instrumentals "Cast Your Fate To The Wind" and "Linus And Lucy", was born in San Francisco, California; died February 6, 1976 of a heart attack in between sets in Menlo Park, California.

1939:  Spencer Davis, founder, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with the Spencer Davis Group, a member of Traffic, and a solo star, was born in Bonymaen, Swansea, Wales.  
1942:  Gale Garnett ("We'll Sing In The Sunshine" from 1964) was born in Auckland, New Zealand.
1947:  Wolfgang Flur, who played electronic drums for the group Kraftwerk (the great song "Autobahn" from 1975), was born in Frankfurt, Gemany.
1947:  Mick Tucker, drummer of Sweet, was born in Harlesden, Middlesex, England; died of leukemia on February 14, 2002 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England.
1949:  Mike Vale, bass guitarist for Tommy James & the Shondells, was born in New Alexanderia, Pennsylvania.
1949:  Terry "Geezer" Butler, bass guitarist and lyricist of Black Sabbath, was born in Aston, Birmingham, England.
1949:  John Wetton, bass guitarist for King Crimson, and later with Roxy Music and Asia, was born in Derby, Derbyshire, England.  (Note:  some websites report he was born on June 12, and some report he was born in Willington, Derbyshire, England.  Unfortunately, there are no credible sources for either his birthdate or birthplace.  Our best research indicates he was born in Willington on July 17.)

1950:  Phoebe Snow (Phoebe Ann Laub) was born in New York City; died April 26, 2011 in Edison, New Jersey after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage in 2010.

1950:  Damon Harris, member of the Temptations from 1971-1975, was born in Baltimore, Maryland; died February 18, 2013 of prostate cancer in a Baltimore, Maryland hospice.










1952:  Nicolette Larson was born in Helena, Montana; died December 16, 1997 in Los Angeles at the age of 45 from cerebral edema brought on by liver failure.
1952:  Chet McCracken, drummer of the Doobie Brothers beginning in 1979, was born in Seattle, Washington.

1963:  Regina Belle was born in Englewood, New Jersey.
1971:  JC (Jarrett Cordes) of PM Dawn was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Deep Purple Elite Keyboardist Jon Lord Has Died

Jon Lord, one of the great keyboard players of the Rock Era for Deep Purple, has died at age 71 after battling pancreatic cancer.  Lord suffered a blockage of the lung artery, according to a statement posted on his website.

Lord was born in Leicester, England on June 9, 1941 and took classical music lessons as a child.  As a key component of Deep Purple, Lord blended classical and heavy metal music using a Hammond C3 organ, distorting the sound, and routing it through amplifiers.  Lord co-wrote Deep Purple's biggest hit, "Smoke on the Water" in 1973, one of the biggest heavy metal successes of all-time.


Deep Purple sold over 100 million records in their career, and rivaled the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin in their heyday.


Lord retired from the group in 2002 and spent his last years working on solo material and collaborating with other musicians.