This Date in Rock Music History: May 15

1957: Chuck Berry recorded "Rock & Roll Music" at the Chess Studios in Chicago, Illinois. (Note: some websites report that he recorded the song on either May 6 or May 21, but according to the book 'Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings' by Steve Sullivan, Berry recorded the song on May 15.) 

1961:  "Runaway" by Del Shannon charted a fourth week at #1.  Ernie K-Doe was second with "Mother-In-Law" while Gene McDaniels held steady with "A Hundred Pounds Of Clay".  Linda Scott remained in the #4 position with "I've Told Every Little Star".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Daddy's Home" by Shep & the Limelites, Brenda Lee with "You Can Depend On Me", former #1 "Blue Moon" by the Marcels, Ricky Nelson jumped from 18 to 8 with "Travelin' Man", the Shirelles were back with "Mama Said" and Adam Wade with "Take Good Care Of Her".
1963:  Ray Charles won Best R&B Recording at the Grammies with "I Can't Stop Loving You".






1965:  You won't find too many more days more important to music than this one.  Rare is it that two artists of this caliber both debuted on the chart with the first singles of their careers.  It was indeed a magical time in music, in fact a Renaissance in our lifetime.  This Scottish artist would give us thought-provoking music for 10 years, enjoying 17 hits.  On this date, his first single debuted on the chart.  It was "Catch The Wind" from Donovan...











1965:  This folk rock act gave us some great songs, recording 16 hits in just six years, including one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.  After their split, many of the members went on to great success as they went their separate ways, and their influence was felt far and wide.  On this date, the Byrds debuted on the chart with their first single--"Mr. Tambourine Man".
1965:  The Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry taped performances for the television show Hollywood A Go-Go.  (Note:  some websites claim the show was May 16.  The Stones and Berry taped the show on May 15, and it was broadcast on May 22, according to 'TV.com'.)






  
                                        The Hermits had two of the Top 10...

1965:  Herman's Hermits remained at #1 with "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" for a third week.  Gary Lewis & the Playboys were stuck at 2 with "Count Me In", the Beatles held at 3 with "Ticket To Ride" and the Seekers had the #4 song--"I'll Never Find Another You".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Silhouettes" from Herman's Hermits was #5, the Beach Boys got a 21-6 jump from "Help Me Rhonda", Petula Clark had song #7 with "I Know A Place" and there were three new songs in the Top 10--"I'll Be Doggone" from Marvin Gaye, "Just Once In My Life" by the Righteous Brothers at #9 and "Wooly Bully", the classic from Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs at #10.
1967:  Paul McCartney went to the Bag O' Nails club in London, where he met Linda Eastman, who would be Linda McCartney before long.

1970:  The Carpenters released their second album Close to You.







1970:  The Carpenters released the single "Close To You".
1971:  The Cannes Film Festival in France showed two short films by John Lennon.
1971:  "Knock Three Times" from Tony Orlando & Dawn was the #1 song in the U.K.
1971:  The new release by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young--4 Way Street, took just four weeks to reach #1 on the Album chart.
1971:  The Jackson 5 achieved a third week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Never Can Say Goodbye".

1971:  Lobo hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Me And You And A Dog Named Boo".












                                                    Neil Diamond's big hit...

1971:  Three Dog Night made it five weeks at #1 with "Joy To The World".  It was the supergroup's ninth hit and fifth Top 10 song.  The Jackson 5 were next with "Never Can Say Goodbye", Ocean followed with "Put Your Hand In The Hand" and Bread edged up with "If".  The rest of the Top 10:  Lobo moved impressively from 10-5 with "Me And You And A Dog Named Boo", the Rolling Stones were up to 6 with "Brown Sugar", Aretha Franklin's version of the Simon & Garfunkel classic, "Bridge Over Troubled Water", was #7, the Bells with "Stay Awhile", Neil Diamond was on the way down with "I Am...I Said" and Daddy Dewdrop dropped with "Chick-A-Boom".
1973:  The Pointer Sisters were off and running, making their live debut at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.
1974:  Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones released a solo album Monkey Grip.
1975:  Fleetwood Mac appeared in El Paso, Texas with a new lineup:  Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie and their two newest members--Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.

                            "Tequila Sunrise", one of the Eagles' great early hits...

1976:  The Rolling Stones, which had debuted at #8 with their album Black and Blue one week earlier, hit #1.  Wings at the Speed of Sound from Paul McCartney & company held on to #2 with Frampton Comes Alive! by Peter Frampton third.  Led Zeppelin's Presence fell from the top after a brief stay.  The rest of the Top 10:  I Want You from Marvin Gaye, the Eagles with Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, Fleetwood Mac's self-titled release, Eargasm from Johnnie Taylor, the Doobie Brothers were up from 15 to 9 with Takin' It to the Streets and Brass Construction found the Top 10 with their self-titled album.
1976:  Diana Ross's great song, "Love Hangover", ruled the roost on the R&B chart.






1976:  You can look far and wide--you won't find too many better summer songs than this one. The hottest new song belong to Brothers Johnson, who moved from 72 to 47 with their new release, "I'll Be Good To You".











1977:  Heart released the single "Barracuda".















                                      "The Voice" helped ensure a successful return...

1981:  The Moody Blues released their comeback album Long Distance Voyager on Decca Records.
1982:  Deniece Williams reached #1 on the R&B chart with "It's Gonna' Take A Miracle".
1982:  Newly formed Asia hit #1 on the Album chart with their self-titled project.
1982:  Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder reached #1 for the first of five weeks with "Ebony And Ivory".
1984:  Nils Lofgren took over for "Miami" Steve Van Zandt in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.







1993:  Janet Jackson completed one of the fastest rises to #1 in the Rock Era when "That's the Way Love Goes" went from #14 to 2 to 1 in three weeks.  
1994:  Sting and Nancy Wilson of Heart received honorary music doctorate degrees from the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
1995:  Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots was arrested for trying to buy drugs in a motel parking lot in Pasadena, California.
1995:  R.E.M. resumed their Monster tour at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California after Bill Berry recovered from an aneurysm.  (Note:  some websites claim the tour resumed in San Francisco, but the Shoreline Amphitheatre is in Mountain View, not San Francisco.  The newspaper 'The Examiner' confirms that the show was in Mountain View)










1998:  Sonny and Cher received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2000:  Bob Dylan received Sweden's Polar Music Prize in Stockholm.


Born This Day:
1937:  Trini Lopez ("If I Had A Hammer" in 1963) was born in Dallas, Texas.







1947: Graeham Goble, singer-songwriter, guitarist, and a founding member of Little River Band and later a record producer, was born in Adelaide, Australia.










1948: Brian Eno, keyboardist and synthesizer player with Roxy Music and record producer with U2, the Talking Heads, and others, was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England.
1948:  Gary Thain, bassist of Uriah Heap, was born in Christchurch, New Zealand; died from drugs in London December 8, 1975.
1951:  Dennis Frederiksen, lead singer of Angel, LeRoux and later of Toto, was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan; died January 18, 2014 of liver cancer in Mound, Minnesota.
1953: Mike Oldfield, the artist behind the haunting "Tubular Bells", the theme used in the great movie The Exorcist, was born in Reading, Berkshire, England.
1970:  Prince Be (Attrell Cordes) of P.M. Dawn was born in Jersey City, New Jersey; died June 17 in New Jersey after suffering from diabetes and renal kidney disease.
1982: Jessica Sutta of the Pussycat Dolls was born in Miami, Florida.

Five Best Songs: The Grass Roots

This is one of my favorite groups from the 60's.  Lead singer Rob Grill passed away in 2011, but toured right up until his death.  Here are the five best songs from the Los Angeles group:

1.  "Midnight Confessions"



2.  "Temptation Eyes"



3.  "I'd Wait a Million Years"



4.  "Sooner or Later"



5.  "Let's Live For Today"

The #88 Album of All-Time in the Rock Era--"Rubber Soul" by the Beatles

Rubber Soul was the sixth studio album from the legendary Beatles, released on December 3,1965.


The album was recorded in just over four weeks in order to be released in time for Christmas, yet it sounds polished.  Prior to this album, the Beatles recorded songs in between tour dates, filming projects or other commitments in their busy schedules.  Beginning with Rubber Soul, the group reserved blocks of time specifically for recording albums.  And this was the first album they did that earns a spot in the Top 100.





The Beatles began to push the limits musically.  Beginning with Rubber Soul, you begin to hear sounds you've never heard in rock music.  And that is why you hear people say that the rock era is divided into everything heard before the Beatles, and everything from the Beatles onward.  They changed music forever.  Everything you hear today is a result of innovations in songwriting and musicianship spurred by the Beatles. 


This album gives the group the opportunity to present their softer side; it contains three of the best love songs of their career--"Michelle", "In My Life" and "Girl".  John Lennon's "Norwegian Wood" is another highlight.






Side One
1.  "I've Just Seen a Face" 2:07
2.  "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" 2:05
3.  "You Won't See Me" 3:22
4.  "Think for Yourself"  2:19
5.  "The Word" 2:43
6.  "Michelle" 2:42


Side Two   
1.  "It's Only Love" 1:55
2.  "Girl" 2:33
3.  "I'm Looking Through You" 2:31
4.  "In My Life" 2:27
5.  "Wait" 1:16
6.  "Run for Your Life" 2:18

Musicians on Rubber Soul:

The Beatles

John Lennon--rhythm guitar, six and twelve-string acoustic guitars, harmonium, tambourine, cowbell and maracas

Paul McCartney--bass guitar, lead and acoustic guitars, fuzz bass, piano

George Harrison--lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars, twelve-string electric guitar, sitar

Ringo Starr--drums, tambourine, maracas, Hammond organ

additionally:

George Martin--piano on "In My Life", harmonium on "The Word"

Mal Evans:  Hammond organ on "You Won't See Me"

Rubber Soul was recorded in June, October and November of 1965 at EMI Studios in London.  It was Produced by George Martin, Martin and Norman Smith mixed the sound while Smith engineered the project.

The album ruled the chart for six weeks and remained in the Top Ten for 14 weeks.  It remained on the album chart for 59 weeks, over a year.  The album has sold six million copies to date and it produced a Track Rating of an even 9.0.  None of those numbers are spectacular in and of themselves, but together, they are impressive enough to give the Beatles the #88 spot for the Rock Era--Rubber Soul.

This Date in Rock Music History: May 14

                                         The top group of the 50's was born...


1956:  The self-titled album by the Platters was released on Mercury Records.
1956:  Buddy Holly's doctor gave him contact lenses for his 20/800 eyesight (didn't know they were around back then!), but Buddy could not get used to them, so his trademark glasses remained.
1959:  Cliff Richard starred in his first movie, Serious Charges.
1963:  The Beatles performed at the Rink Ballroom in Sunderland, England.
1965:  The Rolling Stones, Boise, Idaho's Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Byrds and the Beau Brummels appeared at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.



1966:  Apparently lots of people could identify with this song--the Lovin' Spoonful rose from 65 to 25 with "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?"
1966:  Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass owned not only the #1 album (for a fifth week) with Going Places, but the #2 album as well, Whipped Cream & Other Delights.

1968:  Paul McCartney and John Lennon appeared on The Tonight Show, which was guest hosted by Joe Garagiola.
1968:  The Rascals recorded "People Got To Be Free".
1969:  Lead singer Dennis Yost and bassist Wally Eaton of Classics IV were seriously hurt in a car crash near Atlanta, Georgia.  Eaton was never able to tour with the group after that. 
1969:  Drummer Martin Lamble of Fairport Convention were killed in a car crash in London while returning from a concert in Birmingham.   Jeanne Franklin, girlfriend of guitarist Richard Thompson, was also killed in the crash.
1976:  Former Yardbirds member Keith Relf was electrocuted by his son's electric guitar at his home in London at the age of 33.
1977:  The Talking Heads performed at the Rock Garden in London.  Brian Eno was in the audience and eventually became their producer.
1977:  For the third week, Marvin Gaye held on to #1 on the R&B chart with "Got to Give It Up".




1977:  Leo Sayer had a #1 song with "When I Need You".  "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder waited its turn with the classic "Hotel California" dropping to #3.  Glen Campbell's "Southern Nights" came in next followed by "Couldn't Get It Right" from the Climax Blues Band.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Right Time Of The Night" from Jennifer Warnes, the Atlanta Rhythm Section with "So In To You", "I'm Your Boogie Man" from KC and the Sunshine Band at #8, Marvin Gaye with "Got To Give It Up" and Rose Royce had a great song entering the top 10--"I Wanna' Get Next To You".
1977:  The Eagles held off Rumors for a seventh week at #1 on the Album chart with Hotel California.




1978:  Joe Walsh released the single "Life's Been Good".











1983:  They first sang together in a group called the Tourists from 1977-1980.  They formed a duo and on this date, the Eurythmics debuted on the chart with their first single.  They were a handful of artists to go all the way to #1 with their debut.  They had 15 hits in the 1980's, but none bigger than their first--"Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)".










1983:  There aren't too many times in the Rock Era when two amazing acts debuted on the chart for the first time simultaneously.  This artist started out as the lead singer of a group called Blackjack in the late 1970's.  On this date, his first career single debuted on the chart.  He has had a tremendous career to this day, and he is one of The Top Adult Contemporary Artists of the 1990's and one of The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era*.  His first single, which only reached #82 (a bit underrated), was "Fool's Game", by Michael Bolton.







      
                                     Thomas Dolby blinded us with science...

1983:  "Beat It" spent a third week at #1 for Michael Jackson.  David Bowie's "Let's Dance" was #2, followed by "Jeopardy" from the Greg Kihn Band, "Overkill" by Men At Work and Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science".  The rest of the Top 10:  The former #1 from Dexys Midnight Runners, "Come On Eileen", took position #6, Irene Cara had a monster hit moving from 13-7--"Flashdance", Prince moved to #8 with "Little Red Corvette", Laura Branigan entered the Top 10 with "Solitaire" and After the Fire hung on to #10 with "Der Kommissar".
1983:  Thriller by Michael Jackson was #1 for a 12th week on the Album chart.






  1984:  Tina Turner released her comeback single, "What's Love Got to Do With It".  (Note:  some naïve website owners claim Turner released the song June 4.  "What's Love Got To Do With It" debuted on the Singles chart on May 19--it is physically impossible for a song to be included on the Singles chart if it has not yet been released as a single.)












1985:  Michael Jackson was given a humanitarian award from United States President Ronald Reagan at the White House.
1987:  Frank Sinatra condemned apartheid in South Africa.
1988:  Atlantic Records celebrated their 40th anniversary with a nearly-non stop 13 hour concert at Madison Squard Garden in New York City.  The former surviving members of Led Zeppelin reunited with John Bonham's son, Jason on drums.
1988:  Al B. Sure enjoyed a third week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Nite And Day".
1988:  Foreigner reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "I Don't Want to Live Without You".  
    
    Johnny Hates Jazz--one of the great One-Hit Wonders

1988:  Gloria Estefan had a #1 with "Anything For You".  Johnny Hates Jazz had one of the top songs ever to peak at #2--"Shattered Dreams", while "Wishing Well" from Terence Trent D'Arby was at #3, George Michael's great song "One More Try" rose from 14 to 4 and Natalie Cole's cover of "Pink Cadillac" remained at #5.









1988:  Faith by George Michael regained the #1 spot on the Album chart ten weeks after it had fallen from the top.  The Soundtrack to "Dirty Dancing" slipped to second.
1991:  Paula Abdul released the album Spellbound.
1992:  KISS released the album Revenge, featuring new drummer Eric Singer.
1993:  Duran Duran performed at Tower Records in Los Angeles in a show broadcast live to Tokyo, London and Sydney.  (Note:  some websites claim the show was May 15.  Incorrect--according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times' and an article in 'Billboard' magazine dated May 22, the show was May 14.)
1993:  It was time to pick up some music history at an auction at Christies in London.  The acoustic guitar that Elvis used in his first recordings in 1954 was up for bid and it sold for £130,285 ($152,000).  Four costumes worn by KISS sold for  £20,000 ($35,385).
1994:  After four weeks at #1 and four weeks at #2, "The Sign" by Ace of Base had now climbed back up to the top and remained there for another week.   
1998:  George Michael pleaded "no contest" to committing a lewd act in a park restroom.

1998:  Frank Sinatra died at the age of 82 of a heart attack in Los Angeles.
2004:  Chris Martin of Coldplay and his wife, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, became the parents of a baby girl in London.
2006:  The Red Hot Chili Peppers reached #1 on the U.K. Album chart with Stadium Arcadium.
2007:  Bobby Darin was inducted into the Las Vegas Walk of Stars posthumously on what have been his 71st birthday.
2008:  Metallica kicked off a tour at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, California.


Born This Day:
1928:  Will "Dub" Jones, singer of the Coasters, was born in Shreveport, Louisiana; died January 16, 2000 in Long Beach, California from the effects of diabetes.
1932:  Bob Johnston, who produced the albums Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme and Sounds of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel and Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde for Bob Dylan, died August 14 in Nashville, Tennessee.  Johnston also produced for Aretha Franklin, the Byrds, Johnny Cash, Patti Page, and Leonard Cohen, among others. 
1936:  Bobby Darin (Walden Robert Cassato) was born in the Bronx, New York; died December 20, 1973 at the age of 37 after not taking medication for his heart and developing blood poisoning in Los Angeles.
1936:  Charlie Gracie ("Butterfly") was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1939:  Troy Shondell (real name Gary Shelton) was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana; died January 7, 2016 of complication of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease in Picayune, Mississippi.  (Note:  some websites claim Troy was born in 1940 while others say he was born in 1944.  According to 'U.S. News & World Report', he was born in 1939.)
1943:  Derek Leckenby, guitarist of Herman's Hermits, was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England; died June 4, 1994 of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.  (Note:  several websites naively say that Leckenby was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.  Leeds did not become part of the county of the county of West Yorkshire until 1974, long after Leckenby was born.  In 1943, Leeds was part of the county West Riding of Yorkshire.)

1943:  Jack Bruce, bassist for Cream, was born in Bishopbriggs, Scotland.  (Note:  some websites claim Bruce was born in Glasgow, Scotland.  According to the newspapers 'The Herald Scotland' and 'The Express", Bruce was born in Bishopbriggs.)
1944:  Troy Shondell (real name Gary Shelton), who had the Top 10 hit "This Time" in 1961, was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
1946:  Gene Cornish, guitarist and harmonica player of the Young Rascals, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
1947:  Al Ciner, guitarist of the American Breed ("Bend Me, Shape Me" from 1967") and later a member of Three Dog Night, was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1952:  David Byrne, guitarist of the Talking Heads, was born in Dumbarton, Scotland.
1952:  Tom Cochrane, lead singer of Red Rider and a solo artist, was born in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, Canada.
1953:  John Rutsey, drummer of Rush, was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada; died May 11, 2008 in his sleep of an apparent heart attack resulting from complications of diabetes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
1960:  Shelley Preston of Bucks Fizz, was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England.  (Note:  some websites naively report that Preston was born in Hillingdon, London.  While Hillingdon, a Borough of London, is today located in the county of Greater London, Hillingdon was part of the county of Middlesex until 1974.  Preston was born long before there was such a thing as the county of London.)
1962:  Ian Astbury, songwriter and lead vocalist of the Cult, was born in Heswall, Merseyside, England.  (Note:  'Allmusic.com' and 'Billboard' magazine naively and lazily say Astbury was born in the county of Merseyside, and some websites follow suit and say he was born in Heswall, Merseyside.  Astbury was born in the town of Heswall.  Heswall is today located in the county of Merseyside, but until 1974, Heswall was in the county of Cheshire.  That is long after Astbury was born, and thus you will never see the county of Merseyside listed on Ian's official birth certificate.)

1963:  C.C. DeVille (real name  Bruce Anthony Johannesson), elite guitarist of Poison, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1966:  Mike Inez, bass guitarist of Alice in Chains, was born in San Francisco, California.  (Note:  some websites report that Inez was born in San Fernando.  According to 'Time' magazine, he was born in San Francisco.)
1966:  Fabrice Morvan of Milli Vanilli was born in Paris, France.  (Note:  some websites report that he was born in Guadeloupe.  According to Morvan's official website, he was born in Paris.)
1966:  Raphael Saadiq, bassist and vocalist of Tony!  Toni!  Tone!, was born in Oakland, California.
1969:  Danny Wood of New Kids on the Block, was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1973:  Natalie Appleton of All Saints, was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

1973:  Shanice (Lorraine Wilson-Knox) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1976:  Hunter Burgan, bass guitarist of AFI, was born in Long Beach, California.  (Note:  some websites claim Burgan was born in Grass Valley, California.  According to the AFI official website, Burgan was born in Long Beach and grew up in Grass Valley.)

The #89 Album of All-Time in the Rock Era--"Whitney" by Whitney Houston

The albums get better as we count down, and we're up to #89 of All-Time, Whitney by Whitney Houston.

It was recorded in 1986 and 1987 and more than met expectations that had been raised by her great debut album.  Houston became the first female artist to ever debut at #1 on the album chart and it was only the fourth studio album by a solo artist to achieve the feat.  The only other ones to achieve that feat were Elton John's Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy and Rock of the Westies and Stevie Wonder's masterpiece Songs in the Key of Life.  

Whitney featured four smash hits--"I Wanna' Dance With Somebody", "So Emotional", "Didn't We Almost Have It All" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", all of which reached #1, making Houston the first female artist to have four #1 songs on the same album.  Combined with her three #1's from her first album, that gave Whitney seven consecutive #1 songs to break the existing record held by the Beatles and Bee Gees.  These singles, combined with a fifth, "Love Will Save the Day" served to keep the album front and center on radio stations across the country and across the world.


Whitney was nominated for three Grammys including Album of the Year, and she won one for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance for "I Wanna' Dance With Somebody".  She won American Music Awards for Best Pop (Rock) Female Artist and Best Pop (Rock) Single for "I Wanna' Dance...".

The album was a blockbuster across the world.  It was #1 in the U.K., becoming the first in history to debut at #1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom.  The album was #1 for 11 weeks, #2 for 12 weeks, 30 in the Top Ten and 85 weeks on the album chart in the U.S.  It was #1 in Canada for 11 weeks, #1 in Germany for 11 weeks, #1 in Norway for 11 weeks, #1 in Italy for five, #1 in the Netherlands for six weeks, #1 in Switzerland for 11 weeks, #1 in Sweden for four, Australia for three, Austria and New Zealand for two weeks and #1 in Spain, Finland and Taiwan just to name a few.


To date, the album has sold nine million copies and has a Track Rating of 8.77.

^{1.   "I Wanna' Dance With Somebody" (George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam) --4:52}

^{2.   "Just the Lonely Talking Again" (Sam Dees) --5:34}

^{3.   "Love Will Save the Day" (Toni C.) --5:25}

^{4.   "Didn't We Almost Have It All" (Michael Masser, Will Jennings) --5:07}

^{5.   "So Emotional" (Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly) --4:37}

^{6.   "Where You Are" (LeMel Humes, James Calabrese, Dyan Humes) --4:11}

^{7.   "Love Is a Contact Sport" (Preston Glass) --4:19}

^{8.   "You're Still My Man" (Michael Masser, Gerry Goffin) --4:18}

^{9.   "For the Love of You" (O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Marvin Isley, Chris Jasper) --5:33}

^{10.  "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" (Frank Wildhorn & Chuck Jackson) --4:38}

^{11.  "I Know Him So Well" (with Cissy Houston) --Tim Rice, Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus --4:30}

Narada was the drummer on the album, Paul Jackson, Jr. played guitar and Corrado Rustici played guitar synthesizer.  Jennifer Hall, Jim Gilstrap, Kitty Beethoven and Nikki Harris provided backing vocals.
 

The album was recorded at New Music Group Studios in Stamford, Connecticut, Tarpan Studios in San Rafael, California, The Record Plant Studios in Sausalito, California, Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, Larrabee Studios, Hitsville, Leed's L'Mobile and Devonshire Studio in Los Angeles, Z Studios in Brooklyn, New York and Right Track Studios, The Sound Track, Sigma Sound Studios, Record Plant Studios, Soundworks Digital Studios, The Hit Factory and Clinton Recording Studios in New York City.  Jellybean Benitez, one of the most popular producers at the time, worked on one track while Kashif, Michael Masser and Narada Michael Walden from Perfection Light Productions did most of the work on the album.  Walden arranged the album; it was mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound.  Milton Sincoff provided Art Direction and Richard Avedon was the Photographer.

The album was released on June 2, 1987 on Arista Records. At #89 All-Time--Whitney, by Whitney Houston.

This Date in Rock Music History: May 13

1958:  Jerry Lee Lewis was granted a divorce from his second wife six months after marrying 14-year-old cousin Myra.





1963:  The Kingsmen released their version of "Louie, Louie".  It didn't become a hit until being re-released in October.










1963:  Bobby Vinton released the single "Blue On Blue".
1965:  Elvis Presley's new movie, Tickle Me, premiered in Hollywood, California.
1966:  The Kinks recorded "Sunny Afternoon" at Pye Studios in London.









  1967:  Scott McKenzie released the single "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)".












1967:  "The Happening" became the Supremes' 10th #1 song of their career on this date.  Only Elvis Presley & the Beatles had more to this juncture.  "Sweet Soul Music" by Arthur Conley was a strong #2, Nancy & Frank Sinatra fell to 3 with "Something' Stupid.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Young Rascals' smash "Groovin'" rose from 19 to 4, the Monkees had #5 with "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You", the Buckinghams moved up one with "Don't You Care", the Dave Clark Five were a familiar Top 10 fixture at #7 with "You Got What It Takes", the original Peaches and Herb were at 8 with "Close Your Eyes", The Happenings entered the Top 10 with "I Got Rhythm" and Tommy James & the Shondells were still hanging around in their 14th week with "I Think We're Alone Now".












1970:  The Jackson 5 released the single "The Love You Save".
1970:  Badfinger began recording the song "No Matter What" at Abbey Road Studios in London.
1970:  The Beatles movie Let It Be premiered in New York City.
1971:  After an all-night recording session, lead singer Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane crashed her car into a concrete wall in the vicinity of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.  Slick had made the foolish decision to race guitarist Jorma Kaukonen into a tunnel, and nearly died as a result.







1972:  "Morning Has Broken" hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for Cat Stevens.
1972:  First Take from Roberta Flack continued to rule the Album chart for the third straight week, with Neil Young's great album Harvest close behind.  The self-titled America album was at 3, Yes at #4 with Fragile and Graham Nash & David Crosby had a winner with their album.  The rest of the Top 10:  Smokin' from Humble Pie at #6, Eat a Peach by the Allman Brothers Band at #7, Manassas from Stephen Stills was #8, Carole King remained at #9 in her 58th week with Tapestry and Paul Simon's debut solo release was at #10.

1972:  Roberta Flack made it five weeks at #1 with "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".

1974:  More than 50 people were injured when youths started throwing bottles outside a Jackson 5 concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.  43 people were arrested for the incident.
1975:  Listeners in Jacksonville, Florida knocked out phone service in that city while calling in to win tickets from a radio station to an Elvis Presley concert.
1977:  Dolly Parton performed for the first of three nights at the Bottom Line in New York City.   Olivia Newton-John, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Candice Bergen, and John Belushi are among those in the audience.
1978:  Jimmy Buffett sang "Son Of A Sailor" on the television show Saturday Night Live.
1978:  "Feels So Good" hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for Chuck Mangione.
"More Than a Woman"--Never released as a single, but of course one of The Top Underrated Songs of All-Time...

  1978:  The count was up to 17 weeks at #1 for the Soundtrack to "Saturday Night Fever".  Wings had a distant #2 with London Town while Eric Clapton Slowhand was #3.  Kansas remained at #4 with Point of Know Return and Jefferson Starship checked in at 5 with Earth.  The rest of the Top 10:  Jackson Browne's Running On Empty was #6, Chuck Mangione moved up to 7 with Feels So Good, Warren Zevon had a Top 10 album in Excitable Boy, Billy Joel's great album The Stranger was finally on its way down at #9 in its 32nd week and Champagne Jam, a very underrated album from the Atlanta Rhythm Section was #10.






1978:  "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman became the fourth song from Saturday Night Fever to reach #1 on this date.  It finally toppled "Night Fever" by the Bee Gees, which fell to #5 after eight consecutive weeks at the top.  The Bee Gees also set a Rock Era record by writing four songs that were consecutive #1's for 15 weeks.  They were "Stayin' Alive", "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" for Andy Gibb, "Night Fever" and finally the #1 for Elliman.  That broke the record set by the Beatles, when they wrote three songs ("I Want To Hold Your Hand", "She Loves You" and "Can't Buy Me Love"), that topped the charts for a total of 14 weeks.  "The Closer I Get To You", from Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway was #2 and Wings had the third most popular song "With A Little Luck".  Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams teamed for #4--"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" and "Night Fever", John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John had already moved on with "You're the One That I Want" from the great Grease Soundtrack, Jefferson Starship's fine "Count On Me" was #8, Kansas placed their classic "Dust In The Wind" at #9 after 16 weeks and "Imaginary Lover" became the second Top 10 for the Atlanta Rhythm Section.
1979:  The Donny & Marie Osmond television special A Little Bit of Country, A Little Bit of Rock 'n' Roll aired on ABC with guests Chuck Berry and Chubby Checker.
1981:  Joan Weber, whose one and only hit, "Let Me Go, Lover" spent four weeks at #1 in 1955, died of heart failure at the age of 45 in Ancora, New Jersey. 


1983:  The Police released the single "Every Breath You Take".
1985:  Bruce Springsteen married Julianne Phillips in Lake Oswego, Oregon.







1989:  "Ill Be There For You" was Bon Jovi's 12th career hit and fourth #1.  It replaced "Like A Prayer", which fell to #2 for Madonna.  Jody Watley remained at 3 with "Real Love", while Paula Abdul's "Forever Your Girl" was destined for the top.  The rest of the Top 10:  Donny Osmond's comeback "Soldier Of Love" hit #5, Cher & Peter Cetera came in at 6 with "After All", "Second Chance" was at #7 for .38 Special, Michael Damian's remake of "Rock On" was #8, Guns N' Roses had #9 with "Patience" and Bette Midler moved from 19-10 with "Wind Beneath My Wings".
2003:  Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong ("Earache My Eye") pleaded guilty to federal drug charges of selling drug paraphernalia over the Internet.
2006:  Godsmack topped the Album chart with IV.
2007:  Bo Diddley was hospitalized in Omaha, Nebraska after suffering a stroke.
2010:  Jimmy Dean died at the age of 81 of natural causes at his home in Varina, Virginia.
2010:  Patti LaBelle received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from her hometown university of Temple in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2012:  Donald Dunn, bass guitarist of the Mar-Keys ("Last Night") and Booker T. & the M.G.'s, died in his sleep May 13, 2012 in Tokyo, Japan.  He was 70.


Born This Day:
1930:  Teddy Randazzo, who wrote many of Little Anthony's hits, was born in Brooklyn, New York; died of a heart attack November 21, 2003 at his home in Orlando, Florida.  (Note:  some websites say Randazzo was born May 20, but he was born on May 13, according to the newspaper 'The Honolulu Advertiser'.)

1941:  Ritchie Valens was born in Pacoima, California; died February 3, 1959 at the age of 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.  (Note:  some websites claim Pacoima is a neighborhood, but it is a census-designated place, and the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times' and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame confirm Valens was born in Pacoima.)







1943:  Mary Wells was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1949:  Pete Watts, bass player of Mott the Hoople, was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England.  (Note:  many websites make the mistake of saying Watts was born in Yardley, Birmingham, England.  Yardley is an area of Birmingham, not a town, and Birmingham is not a county.  At the time of Pete's birth, Birmingham was located in the county of Warwickshire.) 

1950:  Steveland Morris, the great Stevie Wonder, was born in Saginaw, Michigan.













1950:  Danny Kirwan, singer and elite guitarist for Fleetwood Mac, was born in Brixton, London.
1951:  Paul Thompson, drummer for Roxy Music, was born in Jarrow, England.  (Note:  some websites claim Thompson was born in Jarrow, Northumberland, England.  Jarrow is not and has never been a part of the county of Northumberland.  At the time of Thompson's birth, Jarrow was part of the county of Durham.)
1966:  Darius Rucker, lead singer and rhythm guitarist of Hootie & the Blowfish, was born in Charleston, South Carolina.
1967:  Melanie Thornton, lead singer of LaBouche, was born in Charleston, South Carolina; died November 24, 2001 in a plane crash near Bassersdorf, Switzerland.



1969:  Buckethead (real name Brian Carroll), virtuoso guitarist of Guns N' Roses
1979:  Michael "Mickey" Madden, bassist of Maroon 5, was born in Austin, Texas.