1957: Ricky Nelson released his first single "Teenager's Romance" on Verve Records. (Note: some websites claim the song was released April 27. We know that Ricky made his musical debut on April 10 before the single was released, and it debuted on the charts on May 13. According to 'United Press International', Ricky released the single on April 24.)
1958: After an earlier release on Mohawk Records failed, Dion & the Belmonts switched to Laurie Records and released the single I Wonder Why". (Note: some websites say the song was his first single release, ignoring the release on Mohawk. Others say the song was released May 5. According to 'United Press International', the song was released on April 24.)
1959: Buddy Holly hit #1 on the U.K. Singles chart six weeks after his death with the Paul Anka song "It Doesn't Matter Anymore".
1959: "There Goes My Baby" by the Drifters, the first song to feature new lead singer Ben E. King, was released on Atlantic Records.
1961: 19-year-old Bob Dylan played harmonica on the song "Calypso King" for Harry Belafonte.
1961: Ernie K-Doe rose to the top of the R&B chart with "Mother-In-Law".
1961: The classic "Runaway" by Del Shannon took over as the #1 song as "Blue Moon" by the Marcels dropped to #2. Ernie K-Doe had #3 with "Mother-In-Law", Clarence Henry moved up to #4 with "But I Do" and Floyd Cramer had #5 with "On The Rebound".
1963: 18-year-old Brenda Lee married her husband Ronnie Shacklett. The couple is still together.
1965: "Ticket To Ride" by the Beatles was #1 in the U.K.
1965: "Shotgun" by Jr. Walker & the All-Stars returned to #1 on the R&B chart for a fourth week at #1.
1965: Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders were the proud owners of the new #1 song with "Game Of Love". Herman's Hermits moved from 12 to #2 with "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter". The rest of the Top Five: The former #1 "I'm Telling You Now" by Freddie & the Dreamers, Petula Clark's "I Know A Place" at #4 and the Supremes at 5 with their former #1 "Stop! In The Name Of Love".
Julie Andrews' "A Spoonful of Sugar" helped the Soundtrack and the movie become a classic..
1965: The Soundtrack to "Mary Poppins" was #1 on the Album chart for the third out of 13 weeks. Introducing Herman's Hermits was #2, followed by another soundtrack (Goldfinger) at #3, The Return of Roger Miller at #4 and The Rolling Stones, Now! at #5.
1967: Aretha Franklin released the single "Respect". (Note: some websites mistakenly report that the single was released April 29. "Respect" debuted on the Singles chart on April 29. It is physically impossible for a record company to release a single to record companies, the song to be listened to and added to radio station playlists, reported by the radio station to the trade papers, and printed and published by the trade papers, all on the same day.)
1968: After performing "This Guy's In Love With You" on the television special The Beat of the Brass two days previously, Herb Alpert released the single on A&M Records.
1968: The Beatles' record company Apple Records turned down an offer from David Bowie to sign him.
1968: This was definitely a warning sign--while celebrating his birthday, Who drummer Keith Moon drove his car into a Holiday Inn swimming pool.
1968: Louis Armstrong reached #1 in the U.K. with "What A Wonderful World", making Armstrong (66 years, 10 months) the oldest act ever to hit #1. Tom Jones later broke his record in 2009 as part of a charity cover of "Islands In The Stream"--he was 68 years old at the time. "What A Wonderful World" did not catch on in the U.S. until 1987.
1971: "If" by Bread reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1971: Marvin Gaye's classic "What's Going On" held on to #1 for a fifth week on the R&B chart.
1971: Three Dog Night enjoyed the second of six weeks at #1 with their classic "Joy To The World" while Marvin Gaye remained at 2 with "What's Going On". The rest of the Top 10: Ocean with "Put Your Hand In The Hand", the Jackson 5 made a bid from 13-4 with "Never Can Say Goodbye", Paul McCartney remained at 5 with "Another Day", Neil Diamond climbed from 12-6 with "I Am...I Said", the Temptations' former #1 "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" was at 7, Bread shot up from 20-8 with "If", Tom Jones fell to #9 with "She's A Lady" and the Bells had themselves a Top 10 record with "Stay Awhile".
1975: Peter Ham, the highly successful singer-songwriter with Badfinger, committed suicide in his Surrey, England home at the age of 27.
1976: Paul and Linda McCartney spent the night watching Saturday Night Live on television with John Lennon in New York. SNL producer Lorne Michaels made an on-air offer asking the Beatles to show up and play three songs live. Lennon and McCartney mulled over the possibility of taking a taxi to the television studio but decided they were too tired. The next day was the final occasion the famous songwriting team saw each other.
1976: Led Zeppelin hit familiar territory with their sixth #1 album in the U.K., Presence.
1976: "Come On Over", a song written for Olivia Newton-John by the Bee Gees, topped the Adult Contemporary chart.
1976: We all do it, and on this day "Living For The Weekend" by the O'Jays was the #1 R&B song.
Gary Wright had himself a great album...
1976: Wings at the Speed Of Sound took over at #1 on the Album chart. Led Zeppelin debuted at #2 with Presence and the Eagles' blockbuster album Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 fell from 1 to 3. The rest of the Top 10: A Night at the Opera from Queen held down #4, Eargasm from Johnnie Taylor was #5, Frampton Comes Alive! was #6, Gary Wright's The Dream Weaver remained at #7, Fleetwood Mac's self-titled album moved up again in its 39th week, Desire from Bob Dylan was #9 and Song of Joy by Captain & Tennille was at #10.
1977: Santana and Joan Baez gave a free concert for the inmates of Soledad Prison in Salinas, California.
1979: "Georgia On My Mind" by Ray Charles was declared the state song of Georgia.
1981: New Order began work on their debut album at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, England.
1982: Status Quo topped the U.K. Album chart with 1982.
Might as well "Jump"!
1982: Vangelis's hit song "Chariots Of Fire" gave him the #1 album in the country for a second week with his album of the same name. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' I Love Rock-n-Roll was #2 followed by Beauty and the Beat from the Go-Go's. The rest of the Top 10: Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet from Rick Springfield, Concert in Central Park from Simon & Garfunkel at #6, Freeze Frame by the J. Geils Band at #7, Get Lucky from Loverboy was at #8, Escape by Journey moved up to 9 and Quincy Jones' album The Dude was at 10 with great help from James Ingram and others.
1982: Vangelis also ruled the Adult Contemporary chart for the fourth of five weeks in a row with "Chariots Of Fire".
867-5309 became one of the most dialed phone numbers...
1982: Joan Jett & the Blackhearts dominated the Singles chart with "I Love Rock 'N Roll", remaining for a sixth week at #1. The Go-Go's challenged at 2 with "We Got The Beat, "Chariots Of Fire" by Vangelis was at 3 and the J. Geils Band stayed at 4 with "Freeze Frame". The rest of the Top 10: Rick Springfield's "Don't Talk To Strangers", Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder teamed for the epic song "Ebony And Ivory" that rose from 21-6, Huey Lewis & the News remained at 7 with their debut "Do You Believe In Love", Bertie Higgins held strong at 8 with "Key Largo", Paul Davis entered the Top 10 with "'65 Love Affair" and Tommy Tutone posted their first and only top Ten song with "867-5309".
1984: If at first you don't succeed....Jerry Lee Lewis married 22-year-old Kerrie McCarver, his sixth wife.
1984: R.E.M. began a short tour of the U.K. at the Tin Can Club in Birmingham, England.
1984: The Talking Heads released the concert film Stop Making Sense.
1989: Richard Marx released the single "Satisfied".
1989: Tom Petty released his first solo album (away from the Heartbreakers) Full Moon Fever.
1989: The State of Massachusetts declared April 24 to be "New Kids on the Block Day".
1992: Jimmy Buffett gave a concert in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to benefit his organization "Save the Manatees".
1992: David Bowie married Iman (real name Imaan Maxamed Cabdimajiid) in the beautiful town of Lausanne, Switzerland.
1993: Farm Aid Six took place in Ames, Iowa, led by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Bryan Adams, Ringo Starr,Neil Young and Bruce Hornsby.
1993: "Love Is" by Vanessa Williams & Brian McKnight held on to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1993: Duran Duran had already made a huge comeback with "Ordinary World", and now had their latest, "Come Undone" move from #86 to #59.
Whitney had yet another smash hit...
1993: Snow remained at #1 for the seventh week with "Informer". Silk's "Freak Me" was #2, followed by Dr. Dre with "Nuthin' But A "G" Thang" (sic), Whitney Houston was at position #4 with "I Have Nothing" and Jade spent another week at #5 with "Don't Walk Away".
1993: "The Bodyguard" Soundtrack was #1 on the Album chart for a third week, followed by Kenny G's Breathless, Pocket Full of Kryptonite by the Spin Doctors at #3, Eric Clapton's Unplugged and 12 Inches of Snow by Snow at #5.
1996: Stone Temple Pilots announced that Scott Weiland was in drug rehab and the group would have to cancel several shows.
2001: The Bee Gees released This Is Where I Came In on their 35th Anniversary on Polydor Records in the U.K. and Universal Records in the U.S.
2002: Jewel suffered a broken collarbone and a broken rib after being thrown from a horse.
2003: Sinead O'Connor announced on her website that she was retiring from music and asked for her privacy.
2005: Akon climbed to #1 on the U.K. Album chart with Trouble.
Born This Day:
1933: Freddie Scott ("Hey Girl") was born in Providence, Rhode Island; died June 4, 2007 in Queens, New York. (Note: some websites claim Scott died in New York City, and 'Allmusic.com' says he died in Jamaica, Queens, New York. Jamaica is a neighborhood, not a city, town or borough, and Queens certainly is not a state. A neighborhood will never be listed on an official death certificate--the correct and professional place of birth is Queens, New York.)
1940: George Tomsco, co-founder and guitarist of the Fireballs ("Bottle Of Wine"), was born in Raton, New Mexico.
1942: Barbra Streisand, who at one time was the only person in history to ever win a Grammy, an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1944: St. Clair Lee (real name Bernard Henderson) of Hues Corporation ("Rock The Boat") was born in San Francisco, California.
1945: Robert Knight ("Everlasting Love" from 1967) was born in Franklin, Tennessee.
1945: Doug Clifford, great drummer of Creedence Clearwater Revival, was born in Palo Alto, California.
1947: Hubert Ann Kelly of Hues Corporation was born in Fairchild, Alabama.
1948: Steve York, bassist of Manfred Mann, was born in London.
1951: Nigel Harrison, bassist of Blondie from 1977-82 and later Silverhead, was born in Stockport, Cheshire, England.
1954: Jack Blades, bass guitar player for Night Ranger, Rubicon and the Damn Yankees, was born in Palm Desert, California.
1957: David J. (real name David Haskins), bassist of Bauhaus ("Ziggy Stardust") and Love & Rockets ("So Alive")
1957: Boris Williams, drummer for the Cure, was born in Versailles, France. (Note: some websites report that Boris was born in 1958. Although no credible sources exist for either year, our best information indicates that he was born in 1957.)
1963: Billy Gould, bassist of Faith No More ("I'm Easy"), and a producer, was born in Los Angeles.
1967: Patty Schemel, drummer of Hole, was born in Marysville, Washington.
1967: Shannon Larkin, drummer for Ugly Kid Joe and Godsmack, was born in Chicago, Illinois. (Note: some websites report that Shannon was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, but according to the magazine 'Drummerworld', Larkin was born in Chicago.)
1968: Aaron Comess, drummer for the Spin Doctors ("Two Princes"), was born in Phoenix, Arizona.
1974: Brian Marshall, co-founder, songwriter and bass guitar player for Creed, was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
1982: Kelly Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas.
