This Date in Rock Music History: March 17

1956:  Carl Perkins made his television debut on Ozark Jamboree.

1956:  Elvis Presley appeared on Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey's Stage Show on CBS-TV.

1956:  Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers moved to #1 on the R&B chart with "Why Do Fools Fall In Love".

1957:  Elvis Presley's father Vernon signed a sales contract that confirmed the Presleys had made a $1,000 cash deposit (believed to have been made the previous night by Elvis's mother Glayds) on the 18-room, 10,000-square foot Graceland mansion (the mansion was renovated aby Presley nd now includes 23 rooms) in Memphis, Tennessee. 

 (Note:  some websites claim that Presley bought the home on this date.  In fact, according to the official real estate contract signed by his father, Vernon, with Virginia Grant Realty, the only thing that happened was that the Presleys signed an agreement (subject to approval from Elvis) to put the cash deposit on the home.  On March 19, Presley agreed to buy the home, the Presleys signed an official sales contract on March 21, and on March 26, the sale closed (the official date of the sale.  This information courtesy of Heritage Auctions, University Archives, and the book 'Elvis Presley:  Rock & Roll's King' by Stephanie Watson.)
1958:  A new artist with a twangy guitar first debuted on the chart on this date.  Duane Eddy's first single was "Movin' N' Groovin'".
1958:  "Tequila" hit #1 for the Champs.
1962:  Jay & the Americans first appeared on the chart with their debut single--"She Cried".

1962:  "Soldier Boy" was released by the Shirelles
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1962:  The Shirelles released the single "Soldier Boy". 1962:  Ray Charles started his own record label, Tangerine.









1962:  "Duke Of Earl" by Gene Chandler continued as the #1 R&B song for the fifth week.
1966:  The Walker Brothers scored a #1 in the U.K. with "The Sun Ain't Gonna' Shine Anymore".
1967:  The Beatles began work on the track "She's Leaving Home".  (Note:  some websites claim that the song was recorded only on March 17, or that the group added vocals on this date.  According to the reliable source 'Beatles Bible', as well as the book 'The Beatles Encyclopedia:  Everything Fab Four' by Kenneth Womack, the group was likely not present in the studio on March 17, when the strings were recorded for the song.  Vocals were recorded on March 20.) 
1968:  The Bee Gees made their United States television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show, performing "To Love Somebody" and "Words".











1969:  Cream released the single "Badge".















1972:  Dr. Hook released the single "Sylvia's Mother".
1973:  "Danny's Song" by Anne Murray was the new #1 on the Adult chart.
1973:  Gladys Knight & the Pips had another hot song as they took over at the top of the R&B chart with "Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)".










                                                          The young Anne Murray...

1973:  Roberta Flack spent a fourth week at #1 with one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*--"Killing Me Softly With His Song".  Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell remained at #2 for just as long with "Dueling Banjos" while the O'Jays were up to #3 with their great song "Love Train".  Deodato's great instrumental "Also Sprach Zarathustra" was fourth followed by Edward Bear's "Last Song".  The rest of the Top 10:  Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show with "The Cover Of The Rolling Stone", the Spinners slipped to 7 with "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love", Gladys Knight & the Pips roared from 16 to 8 with "Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)", Jermaine Jackson and "Daddy's Home" and Anne Murray scored another Top 10 with "Danny's Song".
1973:  Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd first entered the Album charts.  It would go on to be the longest-running album of all-time.






1975:  John Denver released the single "Thank God I'm A Country Boy".
1975:  Cher was on the cover of Time magazine.
1978:  U2 won $850 and a chance to audition for CBS Ireland in a talent contest in Dublin.
1979:  Gloria Gaynor moved to #1 in the U.K. with "I Will Survive".
1979:  The Bee Gees has the top album in the U.K. with Spirits Having Flown.







                                 "Steamer Lane Breakdown" from 'Minute By Minute'...

1979:  Spirits Having Flown by the Bee Gees was #1 on the Album chart for the third week.  Former #1 Blondes Have More Fun from Rod Stewart was runner-up, followed by two excellent albums--Minute By Minute by the Doobie Brothers and Dire Straits with their self-titled debut.  








1980:  Robbie Dupree released the single "Steal Away".
1982:  Samuel George Jr. of the Capitols ("Cool Jerk" from 1965) was stabbed to death in Detroit, Michigan during a family argument at the age of 39.  Guess everything in general is just not the same as it was back in the 60's.

1984:  Rockwell owned the new #1 on the R&B chart with "Somebody's Watching Me".









 

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Van Halen, with one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*

1984:  Van Halen made it four weeks at #1 with "Jump", heading off Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun".  Rockwell came in a solid #3 with "Somebody's Watching Me" while Nena's former #2 song "99 Luftballons" dropped and Kenny Loggins jumped up to #5 with his new song "Footloose".  The rest of the Top 10:  Michael Jackson and "Thriller", Huey Lewis & the News were at #7 with "I Want A New Drug", the Eurythmics and "Here Comes The Rain Again", the posthumous release from John Lennon--"Nobody Told Me" and Duran Duran scored their fifth Top 10 out of six released with "New Moon On Monday".







 

"Thumbelina" from Chrissie & the Pretenders, one of the most incredible songs you don't know...

1984:  Thriller, which had just set the Rock Era record for weeks at #1 one week before on the Album chart, logged a 33rd week at #1 for Michael Jackson.  This despite that it was in its 65th week of release.  1984 from Van Halen was second with Culture Club's Colour By Numbers and Lionel Richie's Can't Slow Down trailing.  Learning to Crawl, the best album the Pretenders did, was fifth with Sports from Huey Lewis & the News moving up to #6.  The rest of the Top 10:  Synchronicity by the Police, Billy Joel fell with An Innocent Man, the Soundtrack from "Footloose" moved from 21-9 and Duran Duran with Seven and the Ragged Tiger.








1986:  Simply Red released the single "Holding Back the Years".
1988:  Michael McDonald & Patti Austin released the single "On My Own".  (Note:  some websites claim the single was released on March 17, the date the song debuted on the charts.  It is physically impossible for a song to be released by a record company to radio stations, the song listened to and added to radio station playlists, reported by the radio stations to the trade papers, and printed and published by the trade papers, all on the same date.)
1988:  George Michael played at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia.

1990:  Wilson Phillips first appeared on the chart with their debut single "Hold On".
1990:  That's What Friends Are For, an AIDS benefit concert that also celebrateed Arista's 15th birthday, featured Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston and Hall and Oates.
1990:  Rick Grech, bassist with Blind Faith and Traffic, died from kidney and liver failure at age 43 in Leicester, Lancashire, England.
1990:  Janet Jackson scored a third week at #1 with "Escapade".  Roxette was #2 with "Dangerous", the B-52's found themselves at 3 with "Roam" while newcomer Alannah Myles rose from 9 to 4 with "Black Velvet".

1990:  Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville teamed for the #1 Adult Contemporary song for the third straight week--"All My Life".

1990:  Paula Abdul, who logged one week at #1 on the Album chart back in October with Forever Your Girl, then returned to the #1 spot four months later in its 81st week of release, was now the rage as she spent her eighth week at the top.  

1995:  Suzanne Vega ("Luka") married Mitchell Froom.
1996:  Terry Stafford ("Suspicion") died of liver failure at the age of 54 in Amarillo, Texas.

1997:  The RIAA announced that the Eagles Greatest Hits album had tied Michael Jackson's Thriller as the best-selling album of all-time.
1997:  Jermaine Stewart ("We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" from 1986), who also worked with Shalamar, the Temptations and Boy George, died of AIDS-related liver cancer in Homewood, Illinois at the age of 39.

1998:  Van Halen released Van Halen III, the group's first album with lead singer Gary Cherrone (formerly of Extreme) aboard, on Warner Brothers Records.
2002:  Nickelback had the #1 album in the U.K. with Silver Side Up.

2004:  Ray Davies of the Kinks was awarded a Commander of the British Empire medal by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
2006:  The Smiths turned down a $5 million offer to reform for the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival.






2006:  Michael Jackson closed his Neverland Ranch in California.
2008:  Heather Mills was awarded $48.6 million in her divorce settlement from Paul McCartney.
2010:  Alex Chilton, singer-songwriter with the Box Tops and later a producer, died at the age of 59 from a heart attack in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2011:  Ferlin Husky ("Gone" from 1957) died of congestive heart failure in Westmoreland, Tennessee at the age of 85.


Born This Day:

1919:  Nat "King" Cole was born in Montgomery, Alabama; died from lung cancer in Santa Monica, California on February 15, 1965.
1935:  Adam Wade ("The Writing On The Wall" from 1961) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1937:  Vince Martin ("Cindy, Oh Cindy" from 1956) was born in New York City, New York.
1938:  Zola Taylor, original member of the Platters; died of pneumonia after several strokes in Riverside, California on April 30, 2007.  (Note:  some websites say Taylor was born in 1934, while 'Allmusic.com' states she was born in 1943.  According to the much more reliable source 'The New York Times', Taylor was born in 1938.)
1942:  Clarence Collins of Little Anthony & the Imperials was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1943:  Jim Weatherly ("The Need To Be" from 1974), who also wrote "Midnight Train To Georgia", Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye) and "Best Thing That Happened to Me" for Gladys Knight & the Pips and was an All-American quarterback at the University of Mississippi, was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi.

1944:  John Sebastian, singer, songwriter and guitarist of Lovin' Spoonful and a solo artist ("Welcome Back Kotter") was born in New York City.  (Note:  some websites erroneously say Sebastian was born in Greenwich Village, New York City.  Greenwich Village is a neighborhood, not a city, and of course New York City is not a state.  The official place of birth is New York City, New York.)











1944:  Paul Kantner, co-founder and guitarist of Jefferson Airplane and Starship, was born in San Francisco, California.
Note:  some websites state Kantner was born on March 12, but the official website for Jefferson Airplane, as well as the book 'Got a Revolution!:  The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane' by Jeff Tamarkin and other reputable sources says Kantner was born March 17.)

1944:  Pat McAuley, keyboardist and drummer of Them ("Gloria"), was born in Colerain, Londonderry, Ireland.
1946:  Harold Brown, founding member, drummer and vocalist of War, was born in Long Beach, California
1951:  Scott Gorham, guitarist and songwriter of Thin Lizzy, was born in Glendale, California.  (Note:  some websites claim Gorham was born in Los Angeles, but according to the official Thin Lizzy website, Scott was born in Glendale.)
1953:  Wally Stocker, guitarist of the Babys, who also worked with Air Supply and Humble Pie, was born in London.  (Note:  some websites say Stocker was born in 1954.  Although no credible sources exist for either birth year, our best information is that he was born in 1953.)
1959:  Mike Lindup, keyboardist with Level 42 ("Something About You")

1967:  Billy Corgan, singer, songwriter and guitarist of the Smashing Pumpkins, was born in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.  (Note:  some websites claim Corgan was born in Chicago, or in Elk Grove, Illinois.  There is no such city as Elk Grove; the name of the city is Elk Grove Village.  Corgan was born in Elk Grove Village, according to Dr. William E. Watson and Dr. Eugene J. Halus in their book 'Irish Americans:  The History and Culture of a People.) 1972:  Melissa Auf der Maur, bassist of Hole, was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
1973:  Caroline Corr, singer and drummer of the Corrs, was born in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland.
1975:  Justin Hawkins, lead singer and lead guitarist of the Darkness, was born in Chertsey, Surrey, England.
1976:  Stephen Gately, a lead singer of Boyzone, was born in Dublin, Ireland; died October 10, 2009 in Mallorca, Spain of pulmonary oedema.

Top Tracks: "Find The River" by R.E.M.

This great group gave us a lot of songs that weren't singles.  This is from their album Automatic for the People:

Shameless Promotion

We've been working on this for a long time, and hope you're looking forward to it.  You've heard and seen One-Hit Wonder features before, but nothing like this.  We believe this will bve the best One-Hit Wonder special ever anywhere, and not just because of sheer numbers.  Most of these features include 100 One-Hit Wonders; ours is 500.  Why 500?  Because we believe there are that many quality one-hot wonders to showcase.

And that gets us to the next and most important point.  Other organizations mock these people.  Probably because they could never come close to being that successful themselves.  It's the age-old adage:  if you're making fun of someone else, it's because you don't have confidence in your own ability.  Rather, we not only celebrate the accomplishments of the One-Hit Wonders, but marvel at them.  For many of them, the surprising thing is that they didn't score more hits--there's plenty of talent here.

We're putting the final touches on this production, and will draw open the curtains Wednesday, March 20 for the opening day.  Please join us for the fun!

This Date in Rock Music History: March 16

1957:  Mickey and Sylvia moved to #1 on the R&B chart with "Love Is Strange".
1959:  The Platters moved to #1 in the U.K. with "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes".











1963:  Skeeter Davis took over at #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "The End Of The World".  
1963:  The 4 Seasons continued to own the top song with "Walk Like A Man" for the third week.  Ruby & the Romantics were at #2 with "Our Day Will Come", Bobby Darin moved to 3 with "You're The Reason I'm Living" and Skeeter Davis moved from 7-4 with "The End Of The World".  The rest of the Top 10:  The Cascades with their smash "Rhythm Of The Rain", Dion's "Ruby Baby", Paul & Paula were down with their former #1 "Hey Paula", Eydie Gorme placed "Blame It on the Bossa Nova" at #8, Johnny Mathis with "What Will Mary Say" and the Chiffons bounced from 19-10 with "He's So Fine".
1964:  The Beatles sold 2,100,000 advance copies of their single "Can't Buy Me Love", setting a new record.
1965:  The Beatles continued to film their second movie Help! with skiing scenes of the Beatles in Obertauern, Austria.   

1965:  The Rolling Stones had the top song in the U.K. with "The Last Time".
1968:  Blooming Hits by Paul Mariat & His Orchestra was the #1 album for a third week.  Bob Dylan would have to settle for #2 with John Wesley Harding while the Jimi Hendrix Experience had #3--Axis:   Bold As Love.
1968:  Otis Redding had the top R&B song with "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay".
1968:  Paul Mauriat had a huge hit on his hands, as "Love Is Blue" was #1 on the Adult chart for the fifth week.




 

1968:  "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" began a five-week run at #1 on the U.S. charts.  The song was posthumously released in 1968 after Otis Redding died in a plane crash on December 10, 1967, three days after recording the song.

















 

1970:  The Guess Who released the double-sided single "American Woman"/"No Sugar Tonight".


















1970:  Novelty artist Ray Stevens shocked everyone by coming up with the single "Everything Is Beautiful", which he released on this day.  (Note:  some websites naively state that the song was released on August 24.  "Everything Is Beautiful" first debuted on the charts on April 6, 1970.  It is physically impossible for a song to make the Singles chart if it has not been released as a single yet.)

1970--Tammi Terrell died of a bran tumor at the age of 24.  Terrell had collapsed onstage October 14, 1967 during a concert in Hampton, Virginia.  Terrell was famous for recording duets with Marvin Gaye, including "Your Precious Love" and "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing".  After her death, Gaye took four years off from performing and went into isolation.  







 

                                       The historic duo won top prizes at the Grammys...

1971--Grammy Awards were given to Simon and Garfunkel for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and Album of the Year for the album Bridge Over Troubled Water and to the Carpenters for Best New Artist and Best Vocal Performance.
1972:  Neil Diamond performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
1972:  John Lennon and Yoko Ono were served with deportation papers.  Lennon immediately filed an appeal with the U.S. Immigration Office in New York City.
1974:  Elvis Presley played the first of four concerts (two shows on March 16, and evening shows on the 17th and 20th) at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.




 

                                             "Free Man In Paris" from Joni's great LP...

1974:  Barbara Streisand's The Way We Were was atop the U.S. Album chart.  Joni Mitchell's excellent Court And Spark was #2 for a third week with previous #1 Planet Waves from Bob Dylan falling to third.  John Denver's Greatest Hits was in the #4 position followed by Hotcakes from Carly Simon.  The rest of the Top 10:  Tales From Topographic Oceans by Yes, Mike Oldfield was at #7 with Tubular Bells, Paul McCartney & Wings with Band on the Run, Elton John moved back up with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Jim Croce was at #10 after 56 weeks with You Don't Mess Around With Jim.
1974:  John Denver reached #1 on the Adult chart with "Sunshine On My Shoulders".







             
                           Paul McCartney & Wings landed in the Top 10 with "Jet"...

1974:  Terry Jacks made it three straight weeks at #1 with "Seasons In The Sun".  Eddie Kendricks' great song "Boogie Down" landed at #2.  Cher's "Dark Lady" was #3 while John Denver shot up from 10 to 4 with "Sunshine On My Shoulders".  Barbra Streisand's former #1 "The Way We Were" was at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Carly Simon & James Taylor with "Mockingbird", Kool and the Gang dropped with "Jungle Boogie", David Essex was on the way down with "Rock On", Jim Stafford slipped with "Spiders & Snakes" and Paul McCartney & Wings enjoyed their seventh Top 10 song in 10 releases with "Jet".
1977:  Paper Lace owned the top song in the U.K. with "Billy Don't Be A Hero".

1979:  Twisted Sister sold out New York City's Palladium (3,000 capacity) without ever releasing a record.  The group did not sign a music deal until three years later.  
1979:  Wings Over the World, a television special featuring Paul McCartney & the group, aired on ABC.  (Note:  several websites claim that the television special Wings Over America was broadcast on this date.  There is no such show; the name of the documentary is Wings Over the World, according to the book 'The Beatles Diary Volume 2:  After the Break-Up 1970-2001).)


1981:  REO Speedwagon released the single "Take It On The Run".
1985:  Julian Lennon had the #1 Adult Contemporary song with "Too Late For Goodbyes".
1985:  The Commodores achieved #1 on the R&B chart without Lionel Richie with the song "Nightshift".









                                   "Centerfield", the title track from the great Fogerty...

1985:  Make It Big by Wham was #1 on the Album chart for a third week, just ahead of Centerfield from John Fogerty and Born in the U.S.A. from Bruce Springsteen.













1991:  Gloria Estefan's great song "Coming Out Of The Dark" was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1991:  Mariah Carey had the #1 song with "Someday".  Timmy T was second with "One More Try" , Styx was up to #3 with "Show Me The Way" and Gloria Estefan moved from 9 to 4 with "Coming Out Of The Dark".  The rest of the Top 10:  Sting with "All This Time", Tracie Spencer at #6 with "This House", Whitney Houston's former #1 "All The Man That I Need", Oleta Adams reached the Top 10 with "Get Here", Celine Dion slipped with "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" and Tara Kemp was at #10 with "Hold You Tight".
1991:  The self-titled debut Mariah Carey was #1 on the Album chart for a third week.
1996:  Joseph Pope of the Tams ("What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am)" from 1964) died of heart failure in Atlanta, Georgia at age 62.






1996:  "One Sweet Day", by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, spent a 16th week at #1, breaking all Rock Era records.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1998:  Popular television and movie star Will Smith had a number one song with "Gettin' Jiggy 'Wit It".
1999--The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) presented the first Diamond Awards. The awards are given in recognition of albums and singles that have sold 10 million copies or more. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2002:  Jennifer Lopez topped the charts with "Ain't It Funny".
2005:  Billy Joel responsibly checked himself into a rehabilitation center for alcohol abuse.
2008:  Ola Brunkert, drummer with ABBA, was found dead at the age of 62 in his garden on the Spanish island of Malloca after he had hit his head against a glass door in the dining room of his home and gone outside to get help.  Brunkert had played on every album with the group.

2010:  ABBA, Genesis and the Hollies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.  
2011:  James Taylor was on an episode of Mr. Sunshine on ABC-TV.
2011:  The Eagles performed at the Olympic Gymnasium in Seoul, South Korea.

Born This Day:
1929:  Betty Johnson ("I Dreamed" from 1956) was born in Guilford County, North Carolina.  (Note:  some websites claim Betty was born in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Some websites say she was born in 1931.  'Allmusic.com' claims she was born in 1932 in Possum Walk, North Carolina.  According to the special library collection (Betty Johnson Papers, 1947-2012) at the University of North Carolina, she was born March 16, 1929 in Guilford County.)

1942:  Jerry Jeff Walker (real name Ronald Crosby), US singer/songwriter ("Mr Bojangles" for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) was born in Oneonta, New York.

1948:  Michael Bruce, guitarist for Alice Cooper, was born in Phoenix, Arizona.

1954:  Nancy Wilson, singer, songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of Heart, was born in San Francisco, California.
1959:  Flavor Flav (real name is William Jonathan Drayton, Jr.) of Public Enemy, was born in Roosevelt, New York.  (Note:  some websites erroneously say he was born in Roosevelt, Long Island, New York.  Long Island is neither a city or a state, and it is unprofessional to say it is an official birthplace.  Roosevelt is the name of the city where he was born.)
2011:  Inside The Rock Era, the #1 website for music, news, statistics, charts and lists, was born in Boise, Idaho, U.S.A.

In Concert: Van Halen--"Panama" from 1989

This Date in Rock Music History: March 15

1956:  Elvis Presley hired Colonel Tom Parker as his manager.

1964:  Berry Gordy, Jr., the founder of Motown Records, and his wife celebrated the birth of son Kennedy William Gordy, who would later be known as Rockwell ("Somebody's Watching Me"), in Detroit, Michigan.
1964:  The Rolling Stones began a tour of the U.K. at the Invicta Ballroom in Chatham, Kent, England.

1965:  Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders released the single "Game Of Love".
1965:  Neil Sedaka was a guest star on I've Got a Secret on CBS-TV.  (Note:  several websites list the date of the appearance as March 5.  In a 1965 edition of 'Billboard', the magazine reported that Sedaka would appear on February 1, but the websites which report the appearance as March 5 are missing a digit, and 'Billboard' got their information wrong; the correct date is March 15, according to the newspaper 'The Daily Times-News' in Burlington, North Carolina, as well as 'TV.com'.)
1965:  Freddy Cannon appeared on the television show No Time for Sergeants on ABC.

1966:  The Grammy Awards turned eight years old today, and Frank Sinatra won Album of the Year with his great LP September of My Years.




1966:  "A Taste Of Honey" from Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass won the Grammy for Record of the Year.
1967:  The Beatles began recording "Within You, Without You" with George Harrison being the only member of the group to perform on the song.  Harrison played the swordmandel and tamboura, Natver Soni played tabla and Amrat Gajjar played dilruba, PD Josh was also on swordmandel.

1968: LIFE magazine called Jimi Hendrix "the most spectacular guitarist in the world."

1969:  Marc Bolan, lead singer of T. Rex, published a book of poetry called The Warlock of Love.

1969:  Janis Joplin was on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
1969:  Bob Cowsill of the Cowsills ("Hair" from 1969) appeared on an episode of The Dating Game on ABC-TV.

1969:  Cream had the top U.K. album with Goodbye.

1969:  What a classic looks like--the 5th Dimension moved from #89 to #37 with "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In".








                 
                                                     The Zombies hit the Top 10...

1969:  Tommy Roe earned a #1 song with "Dizzy".  CCR was stuck at #2 with "Proud Mary" while previous #1 "Everyday People" from Sly & the Family Stone fell to #3.  The Foundations were on their way down with "Build Me Up Buttercup" but the Classics IV, featuring the great voice of Dennis Yost, moved from 17-5 with their latest, "Traces".  The rest of the Top 10:  Former #1 "Crimson And Clover" from Tommy James & the Shondells, Dionne Warwick had another Top 10 with "This Girl's In Love With You", the 1910 Fruitgum Company provided comic relief with "Indian Giver", the Zombies were up strong (20 to 9) with "Time Of The Season" and Jay & the Americans slipped with "This Magic Moment".













1971:  Neil Diamond released the single "I Am...I Said".













1971:  Bread released the single "If".

1974:  The Emerson, Lake and Palmer movie Pictures at an Exhibition premiered in Los Angeles.

1975:  The group T. Rex ("Bang A Gong" from 1972) broke up.
1975:  Led Zeppelin owned the #1 album in the U.K. with Physical Graffiti.







1975:  Former Drifter Ben E. King topped the R&B chart with "Supernatural Thing".
1975:  Olivia Newton-John (Have You Never Been Mellow) overtook Bob Dylan (Blood on the Tracks) for the top album.  Led Zeppelin debuted at #3 with Physical Graffiti.
1976:  KISS released the album Destroyer on Casablanca Records.








1975:  The Doobie Brothers had their first #1 as "Black Water" moved to the top.  Frankie Valli was poised and ready with "My Eyes Adored You" and LaBelle was going to be a factor with "Lady Marmalade".  Previous #1 "Have You Never Been Mellow" was now fourth with Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You" at 5 and "Lady" from Styx close behind.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Lonely People" from America, B.T. Express moved from 13 to 8 with the instrumental "Express", ELO's first big hit--"Can't Get It Out Of My Head" climbed to #9 and Sugarloaf entered the Top 10 with "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You".
1977:  Pink Floyd opened in the first of five sellouts at Empire Pool in London.
1978:  The movie American Hot Wax, about the life of early rock disc jockey Alan Freed, premiered in New York City.  There are appearances by Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.
1980:  The Whispers held on to #1 on the R&B chart with "And the Beat Goes On".
1980:  For the third week, Chuck Mangione's "Give It All You Got" was #1 on the Adult chart.

1980:  Queen had one of their biggest career hits as "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" spent a fourth week at #1.  Dan Fogelberg was up to #2 with "Longer" while "Another Brick In The Wall" by Pink Floyd was making its move.  Andy Gibb ("Desire") and Donna Summer ("On The Radio") both peaked this week.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Spinners with "Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me, Girl", Teri DeSario and K.C. had "Yes, I'm Ready", Rupert Holmes was up to the #8 spot with "Him", Shalamar with "The Second Time Around" and Kool and the Gang were "Too Hot".







                    
                           Fogelberg's album was right there near the top...

1980:  The Wall from Pink Floyd remained strong for a ninth week on the Album chart.  Damn the Torpedoes by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers was runner-up for the sixth straight week while Phoenix by Dan Fogelberg peaked at #3.  Rush came in next with Permanent Waves while Linda Ronstadt debuted at #5 with Mad Love.  The rest of the Top 10:  Fans were glad for Heart's new album as Bebe Le Strange moved from 19 to 6 in its second week of release, the Whispers were up with their self-titled album, Fun and Games from Chuck Mangione, Kenny by Kenny Rogers remained in the #9 position and Michael Jackson tumbled Off the Wall.    
1986:  After 51 weeks, Whitney Houston was at her peak with her self-titled debut album, which spent a second week at #1.  It was just getting started.
1986:  One of the hottest new songs was "Bad Boy" from Miami Sound Machine, up from 76 to 55.








           
                                  Mellencamp had one of his biggest hits...

1986:  Starship had their 27th hit (counting their days as Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship) and second consecutive #1 with "Sara".  Heart was making a bid with "These Dreams" while previous #1 "Kyrie" by Mr. Mister relinquished its spot.  Atlantic Starr was up with "Secret Lovers" but Whitney Houston finally was falling after 15 weeks with "How Will I Know".  The rest of the Top 10:  John Cougar Mellencamp burst into the list with "R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A.", Falco jumped from 14 to 7 with "Rock Me Amadeus", Mike + the Mechanics and "Silent Running", the Thompson Twins edged up with "King For A Day" and Elton John reached the Top 10 again with "Nikita".






1986:  Heart was back in a big way as "These Dreams" reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1988:  Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones went on his first solo tour, debuting at the Osakajo Castle Hall in Osaka, Japan.  (Note:  many websites report that Jagger went on tour in 1982, but he had no albums nor solo releases that year, and the credible websites report his first tour as being in 1988.)
1989:  The Rolling Stones signed a contract to play 50 concerts in the United States for $70 million, the largest contract to that point in the Rock Era.

1990:  13.7 million households signed up to see a pay-per-view special by New Kids on the Block, breaking the record for PPV events.

1997:  The Spice Girls became the first act to ever hit #1 with their first four singles in the U.K., as "Mama" reached the top.

1997:  Pop by U2 was the #1 album in the U.K.

1997:  For the fourth week, newcomers the Spice Girls had the #1 song with "Wannabe".

1999:  If every class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was this small and this accomplished, they'd have credibility.  Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and Dusty Springfield were inducted into the Hall.  At the ceremony, Springsteen performed with the E Street Band for the first time in a decade.
2000:  Mick Jagger was ordered by a court to increase his child support payments to Luciana Morad from $5,500 a month to $10,000.  Now we know why the Rolling Stones have to tour so much.
2002:  Marshall Lieb, an original member of the Teddy Bears ("To Know Him Is To Love Him" from 1958) and later a member of the Hollywood Argyles, died of a heart attack in Northridge, California at the age of 63.

2002:  Yoko Ono unveiled a seven-foot bronze statue of John Lennon in the Liverpool John Lennon airport.  The airport also featured a sketch of Lennon's face with the words "Above Us Only Sky".

2004:  Whitney Houston entered a drug rehabilitation program.

2004:  George Harrison, Prince, Bob Seger, Jackson Browne, ZZ Top, Traffic and the Dells were all inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

2008:  The musical I Am Who I Am (The Teddy Pendergrass Story) opened in Chicago, Illinois.  

2010:  Sony Music announced a recording deal with the estate of the late Michael Jackson that would pay Jackson's heirs $200 million over seven years, the largest contract in music history.
2011:  Nate Dogg died at the age of 41 in Long Beach, California of complications from multiple strokes.




2015:  Mike Porcaro, bassist of Toto, and brother of Jeff and Steve Porcaro, died of Amyotophic lateral sclerosis in Los Angeles.  Jeff was 59 years old.  In addition to being with Toto for nearly 25 years, Porcaro also worked with Seals & Crofts, Boz Scaggs and Larry Carlton.

Born This Day:
1931:  James Mitchell, saxophonist of the Memphis Horns, who worked with Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, the Doobie Brothers, Al Green, Sam and Dave and Otis Redding; died December 18, 2000.
 

1932:  Arif Mardin, producer of "Jive Talkin'" by the Bee Gees, "Respect" for Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Norah Jones, Dusty in Memphis for Dusty Springfield and "I Feel for You" by Chaka Khan and many others, was born in Istanbul, Turkey; died June 25, 2006 in New York City.

1940:  Phil Lesh, bassist of Grateful Dead, was born in Berkeley, California.








1941:  Singer-songwriter Mike Love of the Beach Boys was born in Baldwin Hills, California.  (Note:  some websites claim Love was born in Los Angeles, but he was born in Baldwin Hills, according to the official Beach Boys website.)

1943:  Sly Stone of Sly & the Family Stone was born in Denton, Texas.  (Note:  some sites show his birthday in 1941 or 1943, but according to the official website for Sly, he was born in 1944.)
1944:  David Costell of Gary Lewis and the Playboys, was born in Pittsburg, California.  (Note:  some websites say Costell was born in Pittsburgh, California.  There is no such city.  There is a Pittsburg, California, which is where Costell was born.)
1946:  Howard Scott, guitarist with War, was born in San Pedro, California.








1947:  Ry Cooder, great guitarist with Captain Beefheart, who worked with the Rolling Stones, Gordon Lightfoot, Eric Clapton and Randy Newman and was also a solo artist, was born in Santa Monica, California.  (Note:  some websites say Ry was born in Los Angeles.  According to 'Billboard', the newspaper 'The Guardian', and the book 'Legends of Rock Guitar:  The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarist' by Pete Prown and Harvey P. Newquist, Cooder was born in Santa Monica.)
1947:  Francisco Hernandez "Frank" Lugo, bassist of ? & the Mysterians ("96 Tears" from 1966), was born in Weslaco, Texas. 

1953:  Preston Hubbard, the bassist for the Fabulous Thunderbirds ("Tuff Enough"), was born in Providence, Rhode Island.

1955:  Daniel "Dee" Snider, lead singer of Twisted Sister, was born in Queens, New York.  (Note:  some websites say he was born in Astoria, Queens, New York, others in Massapequa, Long Island.  First off, Astoria is a not a city, but rather a neighborhood, so that rules that out as the official birthplace.   Massapequa is indeed a hamlet and census-designated place, but Long Island is not a state, so Massapequa, Long Island gets the buzzer as well.  According to the book 'The Robert Englund Handbook - Everything you need to know about Robert Englund' by Emily Smith, Snider was not born in Massapequa, but Queens.)
1962:  Terence Trent D'Arby ("Wishing Well" from 1987) was born in Manhattan, New York.
1962:  Steve Coy, singer-songwriter and keyboardist of Dead or Alive ("You Spin Me 'Round (Like A Record)"), was born in Liverpool, England.
1963:  Bret Michaels, lead singer of Poison, was born in Butler, Pennsylvania.
1964:  Rockwell ("Somebody's Watching Me") was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1968:  Mark McGrath, lead singer of Sugar Ray ("Every Morning" from 1999), was born in Hartford, Connecticut.




1972:  Mark Hoppus, co-lead singer and bassist of Blink-182, was born in Ridgecrest, California.










1975:  Will.I.am (real name William Adams) of the Black Eyed Peas was born in Los Angeles.