This Date in Rock Music History: May 25

1959:  "Bongo Rock", the great instrumental from Preston Epps, was the biggest mover of the week, rising from 80 all the way to 48.













1960:  Fifteen-year-old Brenda Lee released the single "I'm Sorry".
1963:  We were introduced to a new talent as radio stations first began playing the debut single from Otis Redding, "These Arms Of Mine".  He would go on to have 30 hits in his career before dying in a plane crash on December 10, 1967.
1963:  Jimmy Soul spent a second week at #1 with "If You Wanna' Be Happy" but the former #1 "I Will Follow Him" from Little Peggy March hung in at #2.  The Beach Boys had #3 "Surfin' U.S.A." while the Shirelles edged up to #4 with "Foolish Little Girl".









1960:  The Ventures released the single "Walk -Don't Run".
1965:  Dave Davies of the Kinks was knocked unconscious after running into drummer Mick Avory's cymbal while performing one of his antics during a London concert.  The remaining dates of the tour had to be canceled.
1968:  The Monterey Pop Festival was canceled.
1968:  Hugo Montenegro's great instrumental "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" from the movie of the same name, was the #1 song for another week on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1968:  "Think" by Aretha Franklin was one of the biggest movers of all-time on this date, rising from 67 to 16.





1968:  The great album Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel deservedly reached #1 on the Album chart.















1970:  Free released the single "All Right Now".
1969:  Led Zeppelin and the Who were in concert at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.
1973:  Carole King performed before 100,000 fans at a free concert in Central Park in New York City.
1974:  KISS had their first hit when "Kissin' Time" debuted on this date.  It would reach #83.










1974:  Joni Mitchell ruled the Adult Contemporary chart with "Help Me".
1978:  Keith Moon performed with the Who for the last time before his death before invited guests at Shepperton Studios in London.


1981:  The Pointer Sisters released the single "Slow Hand".








1982:  Survivor released the single "Eye Of The Tiger".
1985:  Whitney Houston had the #1 R&B song with "You Give Good Love".
1985:  Billy Ocean moved into the #1 slot on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Suddenly", the title song from his album.
1985:  Phil Collins was on top of the Album chart with No Jacket Required.  Prince & the Revolution had #2--Around the World in a Day while the Soundtrack to "Beverly Hills Cop" was #3.  Bruce Springsteen's classic album Born in the U.S.A. was still at #4 after 49 weeks.  The rest of the Top 10:  We Are the World from USA For Africa, Sade's album Diamond Life was at #6, Madonna held #7 Like a Virgin, Wham! moved to #8 with Make It Big, Tears For Fears had #9 with Songs From the Big Chair and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers were at 10 with Southern Accents.


                                                                                                  Howard Jones was feeling upbeat...

1985:  Wham! had their third #1 song--"Everything She Wants".  Simple Minds was relegated to #2 with "Don't You (Forget About Me)" while Tears For Fears was making a move with "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" with a jump from 9-3.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Axel F" was #4 for Harold Faltermeyer, Sade had "Smooth Operator", Madonna fell to #6 with "Crazy For You", Murray Head had song #7--"One Night In Bangkok", Billy Ocean entered the Top 10 with "Suddenly", the Power Station had "Some Like It Hot" and Howard Jones moved up to #10 with "Things Can Only Get Better".








1987:  Suzanne Vega released the single "Luka".












  1991:  Michael Bolton regained the #1 spot on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Love Is A Wonderful Thing".
1991:  Bolton was proving the strength of the AC format with the new #1 album Time, Love & Tenderness.  Three tremendous albums were still in the Top 10--Mariah Carey at #3 after 48 weeks, No Fences from Garth Brooks at #4 after 36 weeks and Wilson Phillips was at #9 after 59 weeks on the album chart.










                                          Queensryche with their best-known song...

1991:  Mariah Carey rose from #8 to #1 with "I Don't Wanna' Cry", her fourth consecutive #1 song to begin her career.  Carey became just the second newcomer to achieve four straight #1's with their first four releases (The Jackson 5 were the other.)  Cathy Dennis peaked at #2 with "Touch Me (All Night Long)" while Extreme would be a factor after bouncing from 9 to 3 with "More Than Words".  Hi-Five slipped from the top with "I Like The Way (The Kissing Game)" and Rod Stewart had his 42nd hit but only his 12th Top 10 with "Rhythm Of My Heart".  The rest of the Top 10:  "I Touch Myself" from the Divinyls, C+C Music Factory with "Here We Go", Color Me Badd was back with "I Wanna' Sex You Up", Michael Bolton moved into the Top 10 with "Love Is A Wonderful Thing" and Queensryche edged up with "Silent Lucidity".
1992:  Khalil Rountree, the manager for Boyz II Men while they were on tour, was shot and killed at a hotel in Chicago.  The group was on tour with M.C. Hammer at the time.
1996:  Bradley Nowell of Sublime died of a drug overdose at the age of 26 in San Francisco, California.

1998:  It was "Ramsey Lewis Week" in Chicago.
2003:  Elton John, Taylor Dayne and Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys performed at the benefit concert Life Ball in Vienna, Austria for AIDS charities.
2004:  Phish announced they were splitting up at the end of the summer.
2005:  System of a Down had the #1 album with Mesmerize.

2006:  Desmond Dekker ("Israelites") died of a heart attack at the age of 64 in Thornton Heath, Surrey, England.  (Note:  some websites incorrectly say he died on May 26.  According to both the 'BBC' and the newspaper 'The Guardian', Dekker's manager announced the death on the 26th, saying Desmond died the day before, May 25.)

2010:  The Michigan state legislature passed a resolution honoring Tommy James for "his contributions in the music and recording world".




Born This Day:


1921:  Hal David, songwriting partner of Burt Bacharach, was born in Manhattan, New York; died of a stroke September 1, 2012  in Los Angeles.  (Note:  some websites claim David was born in Brooklyn, while others say he was born in New York City.  The authority on all things New York, the newspaper 'The New York Times', reports that David was born in Manhattan and moved to Brooklyn with his family when he was one year old.  This is confirmed by Bill DeMain in his book 'In Their Own Words:  Songwriters Talk about the Creative Process'.) 1927:  Norman Petty, Buddy Holly's producer, was born in Clovis, New Mexico; died of leukemia August 15, 1984 in Lubbock, Texas.
1936:  Donnie Elbert ("Where Did Our Love Go?" from 1972) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana; died January 26, 1989 after suffering a massive stroke in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1936:  Tom T. Hall ("I Love") was born in Olive Hill, Kentucky.
1947:  Mitch Margo of the Tokens was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1948:  Klaus Meine, lead singer of the Scorpions, was born in Hannover, Germany
1950:  Jean Millington of Fanny ("Butter Boy") was born in Manila, the Philippines.
1950:  Robert Steinhardt, violinist and co-lead singer of Kansas
1955:  John Grimaldi, guitarist of Argent, was born in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England; died of multiple sclerosis November 15, 1983.
1958:  Paul Weller of the Style Council ("My Ever Changing Moods") was born in Sheerwater, Surrey, England.  Woking, Surrey. (Note:  some websites report he was born in Woking, England, or Woking, Surrey, England.  According to 'Songwriter' magazine, Paul was born in Sheerwater, a small suburb of Woking.)
1969:  Glen Drover, guitarist of Megadeth, was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.  (Note:  some websites report Glen was born in Missisauga, Ontario, Canada.  There is no such city in Canada--the correct spelling of his birthplace is Mississauga.) 

1975:  Lauryn Hill of the Fugees and a solo artist, was born in East Orange, New Jersey.  (Note:  several websites claim Hill was born in South Orange, New Jersey.  She was born in East Orange, then raised in South Orange, according to 'MTV'.)
1980:  Joe King, singer, songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of the Fray, was born in Rochester, New York.  (Note:  some websites report King was born in Denver, Colorado.  Although there are no credible sources for either city as Joe's place of birth, our best research indicates he was born in Rochester.)