This Date in Rock Music History: April 28

1956:  Little Richard earned a third week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Long Tall Sally".
1958:  The Big Beat Show, Alan Freed's rock and roll show, had two performances at Central High School Auditorium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  The tour featured Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frankie Lymon, the 
Diamonds, the Chantels, Danny & the Juniors and others.

1958:  The Platters took over at #1 on the R&B chart with "Twilight Time".
1962:  Dee Dee Sharp had the new #1 R&B song with "Mashed Potato Time".
1964:  The Beatles recorded their television special "Around the Beatles" at Wembley studios in England.  
1965:  Barbra Streisand hosted her first television show My Name Is Barbra on CBS-TV.
1966:  The Kinks appeared at the Mecca Ballroom in Nottingham, England.
1968:  The Seeds ("Pushin' Too Hard") were the guests on The Mothers-In-Law on NBC-TV.










1969:  The album Chicago Transit Authority was released to debut the career of the classic supergroup.  They shortened their name to Chicago after the Transit Authority in the Windy City filed suit against the use of their name.  (Note:  some websites say the album was released May 17, but numerous sources, including 'Billboard' and the book 'The Emergence of Rock and Roll:  Music and the Rise of American Youth Culture' by Mitchell K. Hall, state that the album was released in April.  'MTV' reports that it was issued April 1; however, the official Chicago website and 'Mojo' magazine state that the album was released April 28.) 

 

1969:  Three Dog Night released the single "One".
1973:  Faces had the #1 album in the U.K. with Ooh La La.
1973:  Sylvia owned the top R&B song with "Pillow Talk".













                                           "The Cisco Kid" was a friend of mine...


1973:  Tony Orlando & Dawn remained at #1 with "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree".  War had their biggest hit with "The Cisco Kid" while the Carpenters held steady at 3 with "Sing".  Vicki Lawrence saw her former #1 "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" drop but Sweet reached #5 with "Little Willy".  The rest of the Top 10:  Stevie Wonder had his 31st hit and 14th career Top 10 song with "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", the Temptations were back with "Masterpiece", Donny Osmond found himself at #8 with "The Twelfth Of Never", although few stations played it, Stealers Wheel scored their only Top 10 song with "Stuck In The Middle With You" and the Four Tops finished the list with "Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got)".





                                 "Us and Them" helped Pink Floyd have a #1 album...


1973:  The album Dark Side of the Moon rose to #1 for Pink Floyd.  It would be the only week the album would top the charts.  Aloha from Hawai'i via Satellite by Elvis Presley would knock the Floyd off the following week but on this day settled for #2.  Billion Dollar Babies from Alice Cooper fell from 1-3 with the Best of Bread landing at #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin at #5, War's The World Is a Ghetto, Masterpiece from the Temptations at 7, the Soundtrack to "Lady Sings the Blues" by Diana Ross falling to #8, the Beatles/1962-1966 moving from 23-9 and the Beatles/1967-1970 jumping from 24-10.














1974:  Olivia Newton-John released the single that would jump-start her career--"I Honestly Love You".
1975:  John Lennon was a guest on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show.
1975:  Ringo Starr sang "No No Song" on The Smothers Brothers Show.
1978:  Blue Oyster Cult began a 14-date U.K. tour at the Apollo Theatre in Manchester, England.  (Note:  some websites list the opening date as April 27, but according to the group's official website, the correct date is April 28.)
1978:  Mike Oldfield played the first of three shows at Wembley Arena in London.  (Note:  some websites show that Oldfield only played two nights at Wembley, but according to his official website, he played on April 28 and 29th and May 2.)
1979:  The Very Best of Leo Sayer topped the U.K. Album chart.
1979:  Peaches & Herb climbed to #1 on the R&B chart with their great song "Reunited".







1979:  Donna Summer titled her new song right as "Hot Stuff" was up from #79 to #29 on this date.
1979:  Blondie had their first #1 song with "Heart Of Glass", although Peaches & Herb were right there with "Reunited".  Amii Stewart's former #1 "Knock On Wood" fell to #3 while Frank Mills remained at #4 with one of The Top 100 Instrumentals of the Rock Era*, "Music Box Dancer".








                                  George Benson had another smash album...


1979:  Minute By Minute by the Doobie Brothers took over from the Bee Gees' Spirits Having Flown on the Album chart.  2 Hot! from Peaches & Herb came in at #3 while Dire Straits' debut was at 4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Desolation Angels from Bad Company, Parallel Lines by Blondie was #6, George Benson had #7 with Livin' Inside Your Love, Supertramp's landmark Breakfast in America landed inside the 10 for the first time, the Allman Brothers Band had #9 with Enlightened Rouges and Rod Stewart fell to 10 with Blondes Have More Fun.





1980:  Elton John released the single "Little Jeannie".  (Note:  some websites naively say the song was released May 1.  "Little Jeannie" debuted on the Singles chart on May 3, and the Tuesday deadline for reporting new adds by radio stations in 1980 was April 29, making a claim of May 3 impossible.)













1980:  Bob Seger released the single "Against The Wind".
1980:  Tommy Caldwell of the Marshall Tucker Band died at age 30 of head injuries sustained in an April 22 car crash near his hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina.  
1981:  Steve Currie, former bassist of T Rex, was killed in a car crash returning to his home near Vale de Parra, Algarve, Portugal.  He was 33.
1983:  U2 appeared at the Rochester Institute of Technology Ice Rink in New York.







                                                                       The Cars' first single from 'Heartbeat City'...


1984:  Phil Collins continued to set the pace at #1 with "Against All Odds".  Lionel Richie had another great song making a challenge--"Hello".  The Cars had the top new song in the Top 10 with "You Might Think".
1987:  Ray Charles encouraged the United States Congress to increase funding for hearing research.  "My eyes may be my handicap," he said, "but my ears are my opportunity."
1988:  Pink Floyd was in concert at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas.
1988:  B.W. Stevenson ("My Maria") died after heart valve surgery in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 38.
1989:  Jon Bon Jovi married high school sweetheart Dorothea Hurley in Las Vegas, Nevada.

1990:  Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses married Erin Everly.  The marriage lasted for 27 days before Erin finally woke up.  (Note:  some websites report the date of the marriage as April 27, but as you can see from the copy of the marriage certificate above, the correct date is April 28.  This date is confirmed by the book 'Watch You Bleed:  The Saga of Guns N' Roses' by Stephen Davis.)   







                                                                                  Bolton's new song...

1990:  Sinead O'Connor remained at #1 with "Nothing Compares 2 (sic) U (sic)".  Jane Child had the #2 song "Don't Wanna' Fall In Love", Calloway edged up to 3 with "I Wanna' Be Rich", Lisa Stansfield had #4 with "All Around The World" and Michael Bolton moved up to #5 with "How Can We Be Lovers".
1991:  Bonnie Raitt married Michael O'Keefe in Tarrytown, New York.  (Note:  some websites report the marriage as April 27, but according to both 'The New York Times' and 'The Chicago Tribune', the correct date is April 28.)
1998:  The Dave Matthews Band released the album Before These Crowded Streets.
1998:  Stevie Nicks released the boxed set Enchanted.

1999:  Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1999:  The Verve announced that they had split up for a second time.  (Note:  some websites report that the group broke up on April 27.  The band's management company released a statement announcing the group's breakup on April 28, according to 'MTV'.)
2002:  Sugababes had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Freak Like Me".
2004:  The Recording Industry Association of America sued 477 people, accusing them of illegally swapping MP3's.  
2004:  George Michael was named as the most-played artist on British radio over the previous two decades.
2007:  Amelle Berrabah of Sugababes was arrested for assaulting an 18-year-old woman in a Guildford, Surrey, England bar.  What kind of people are we giving our money to these days?





Born This Day:
1943:  Fantastic Johnny C ("Boogaloo Down Broadway") was born in Greenwood, South Carolina.
1945:  John Wolters, drummer for Dr. Hook, was born in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey; died of liver cancer in San Francisco, California on June 16, 1997.
1953:  Kim Gordon, bass player of Sonic Youth, was born in Rochester, New York.
1955:  Eddie Jobson, keyboardist and violinist with Roxy Music, Jethro Tull and Mothers of Invention, was born in Billingham, County Durham, England.
1961:  Roland Gift, lead vocalist of the Fine Young Cannibals, was born in Birmingham, England.
1968:  Howard Donald of Take That was born in Droylsden, Lancashire, England.  (Note:  websites which don't know their history mistakenly say Donald was born in Droylsden, Manchester, England.  Droylsden did not become part of Manchester until the Local Government Act of 1972, four years after Donald was born.  Thus, it is impossible for Donald to have been born in Droylsden, Manchester.) 

This Date in Rock Music History: April 27

1957:  Little Richard took over at #1 on the R&B chart with his classic "Lucille".
1959:  Wilbert Harrison's new song was the talk of the town as "Kansas City" moved from #71 all the way to #24.
1959:  The Fleetwoods remained at #1 for a third week with "Come Softly To Me".
1963:  "He's So Fine" by the Chiffons topped the R&B chart for the fourth straight week.








1963:  "I Will Follow Him" became Little Peggy March's only #1 song on this date.  "Can't Get Used To Losing You" remained at 2 for Andy Williams, the Chiffons' former #1 "He's So Fine" fell to 3, Peter, Paul & Mary held at #4 with "Puff The Magic Dragon" and Jackie Wilson was at #5 with "Baby Workout".  Two of The Top 100 Instrumentals of the Rock Era* were in the Top 10 simultaneously--"Pipeline" from the Chantay's was #6 and Mongo Santamaria entered the Top 10 at #10 with "Watermelon Man".  The Drifters scored a Top 10 hit as "On Broadway" held position #9.






1964:  In the wake of their big hit "I Want To Hold Your Hand", the Beatles re-released their first U.K. hit "Love Me Do" on Vee-Jay Records.











1964:  The Dixie Cups released the single "Chapel Of Love".
1967:  Sandy Shaw hit #1 in the U.K. with "Puppet On A String".










1968:  Simon & Garfunkel debuted on the chart with "Mrs. Robinson".  (Beware:  other music history sites tell you that they released the song on this date, and lose considerable credibility by saying that.  Not true.  Charts are printed up in advance--in fact, printing begins on Wednesday for a chart that is released on a Saturday.  So you see, a song can't be released on the same day that a music chart appears in print.)








1968:  The great sound of composer Burt Bacharach coupled with the singing of Dionne Warwick paid off as "Do You Know The Way To San Jose" moved from #61 to #27.











1968:  "Honey", one of the biggest hits of the rock era, was #1 for the third week for Bobby Goldsboro.  The Box Tops edged up to #2 with "Cry Like A Baby", Gary Puckett & the Union Gap was at #3 with their biggest hit "Young Girl" and the Beatles held fast at #4 with "Lady Madonna".  
1969:  Jose Feliciano invited guests Glen Campbell, Andy Williams and Dionne Warwick on his television special on NBC.
1969:  Pink Floyd appeared at the Mother's Club in Birmingham, England.  The concert was recorded for the upcoming album Ummagumma.






1969:  Joe Cocker made his television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.













1970:  This guy had struggled for years writing songs for other artists.  He decided it was time to break free and put out his own music.  On this date, Elton John released his first single--"Border Song".













1971:  The Rolling Stones released "Brown Sugar", the first 45 from their new Rolling Stones Records.  (Note:  some websites naively say the song was released May 7 in the United States.  "Brown Sugar" debuted on the charts on May 1.  It is physically impossible for a song to debut on the Singles chart if it has not yet been released as a single.)
1971:  The Grateful Dead performed at the Fillmore East in New York City.  The Beach Boys joined them onstage when both groups did a set of Beach Boys songs.
1979:  Stevie Wonder made a surprise appearance at a tribute to Duke Ellington at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles.  Stevie played "Sir Duke" and covered Ellington's "C-Jam Blues".












1981:  A great singer with a lot of promise released his first record on this date.  James Ingram released the single "Just Once".
1981:  Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach were married in London.  The two met while filming the movie Caveman.
1981:  The group Wings officially broke up.  (Note:  some websites claim the breakup was April 25, but the official date of the announcement was April 27, according to the book 'Penny Laine's Anthology' by Terry Rowan.)
1985:  DeBarge had the #1 R&B song with "Rhythm Of The Night".








                                                     Animotion was on the move...


1985:  U.S.A. for Africa remained at #1 with "We Are The World", a third week at the top for the humanitarian project.  Madonna was patient at #2 with "Crazy For You" while DeBarge landed the #3 song with "Rhythm Of The Night".  The Commodores proved they could be successful without Lionel Richie with "Nightshift" and Simple Minds had the perfect ending to the great movie The Breakfast Club (which should be required viewing for all junior high and high school kids...) with "Don't You (Forget About Me)".  The rest of a fine Top 10:  Murray Head was back with "One Night In Bangkok", newcomers Animotion had a hot song in "Obsession", the Power Station moved to #8 with "Some Like It Hot", Bruce Springsteen declared "I'm On Fire" and Don Henley reached the Top 10 with his solo hit "All She Wants To Do Is Dance".  
1987:  R.E.M. released their first single "Dead Letter Office".
1988:  Queensryche released their album Operation:  Mindcrime.  (Note:  some websites report the album was released May 3.  According to 'MTV', the date of release was April 27.)

 

1991:  Amy Grant scored a #1 hit with "Baby Baby".  Roxette moved up to #2 with "Joyride" while the former #1 "You're In Love" by Wilson Phillips fell to #3.
1994:  The Fillmore re-opened in San Francisco.
1994:  John Mellencamp's wife Elaine gave birth to the couple's son, Hud, in Bloomington, Indiana.  Hud went on to become a two-time Golden Gloves division boxing champion in Indiana, and in 2014, was a reserve cornerback for the Duke University football team.








1996:  Celine Dion could not be budged from the #1 position with "Because You Loved Me", which scored a sixth straight week at #1.  Mariah Carey was #2 with "Always Be My Baby", the Tony Rich Project had #3 with Nobody Knows and Alanis Morissette remained at #4 with "Ironic".











1999:  Al Hirt ("Java") died of liver disease in New Orleans, Louisiana at the age of 76.
2001:  The Bee Gees performed many of their biggest hits in the A&E television show Live By Request, recorded at the Manhattan Center in New York.
2003:  Madonna owned the top album in the U.K. with American Life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2003:  Vicki Sue Robinson ("Turn The Beat Around") died of cancer in Wilton, Connecticut at age 45.
2004:  Martie Maguire, fiddle and mandolin player with the Dixie Chicks, gave birth to twins Eva and Kathleen.
2005:  President George W. Bush signed into law a bill that established a three-year jail term for anyone caught pirating music or film on the Internet.
2006:  Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones was admitted to a hospital in Fiji after he reportedly fell out of a palm tree.  The reports did not indicate what he was doing up there to begin with.  
2009:  The Tennessee state legislature voted to rename a stretch of road the "Jerry Lee Lewis Highway".
2011:  Rod Stewart received the Founders Award from the American Society of Composers & Publishers (ASCAP).
2015:  Jack Ely, lead singer and guitarist of the Kingsmen, passed away Monday in Redmond, Oregon.  The Kingsmen's version of "Louie Louie" was one of the biggest hits early in the Rock Era.  Ely was 71.  (Note:  some websites report he died in Terrebonne, but he died in Redmond, according to 'Billboard' magazine.)

Born This Day:

1932:  Casey Kasem, the longtime voice of American Top 40 who had high praise for Inside The Rock Era's The Top 5000 Songs of the Rock Era*, was born in Detroit, Michigan; died June 15, 2014 in Gig Harbor, Washington from complications of dementia.
1932:  Maxine Brown of the Browns was born in Campti, Louisiana.
1944:  Cuba Gooding, Sr. of the Main Ingredient was born in New York City.
1947:  Gordon Haskell, bassist and vocalist of King Crimson, was born in Verwood, Dorset, England.  (Note:  several websites report that he was born in Bournemouth, England.  These sites likely got Bournemouth from Haskell's official website, but all that site says is that he was born "in a nursing home near Bournemouth".  Verwood is just 15 miles (25km) from Bournemouth, and according to the 'BBC', Haskell was born in Verwood.)
1947:  Ann Peebles (the first hit version of "I Can't Stand The Rain") was born in St. Louis, Missouri.  (Note:  'Allmusic' and other naïve websites claim Peebles was born in East St. Louis, Missouri.  There is no such city--East St. Louis is a city in Illinois.  The correct birthplace is St. Louis, Missouri.)
1947:  Pete Ham, singer-songwriter and guitarist of Badfinger, was born in Swansea, Wales; committed suicide in Surrey, England on April 24, 1975.  (Note:  some websites claim Ham was born on April 26--according to the official website for Badfinger, Ham was born in April 27.)
1948:  Kate Pierson, founding member and lead singer of the B-52's, was born in Weehawken, New Jersey.  (Note:  'Billboard' reports Pierson was born in Weehawken, New York.  There is no such city.  Although Weehawken is considered part of the New York metropolitan area, it is located in the state of New Jersey.)
1949:  Herb Murrell of the Stylistics was born in Lane, South Carolina.

1951:  Ace Frehley of Kiss was born in the Bronx, New York.  (Note:  some websites report he was born in Brooklyn, and others in New York City.  According to the book 'The Hard Rock Masters' by Harvey P. Newquist and Rich Maloof and 'Billboard' magazine, Frehley was born in the Bronx.)

 

 

 

1959:  Sheena Easton was born in Bellshill, Scotland.
1979:  Will Boyd, former bass player with Evanescence, was born in Little Rock, Arkansas.
1984:  Patrick Stump, singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer of Fall Out Boy, was born in Evanston, Illinois.

This Date in Rock Music History: April 26

1960:  The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Dave Clark Five were the top performers at the NME poll winner's concert at Wembley Empire Pool in London.
1960:  Elvis Presley began filming for the movie G.I. Blues in Hollywood, California.  (Note:  Director Hal Wallis had shot footage in West Germany from August 17-29, 1969 of Presley's battalion on maneuvers and everyday activities.)
1961:  Ben E. King released the single "Stand By Me".
1965:  The Who performed at Bridgewater Town Hall in England.
1965:  Bob Dylan arrived at the London Airport to begin a tour of the U.K. to promote his new album Bringing It All Back Home.








1966:  Dusty Springfield topped the U.K. Singles chart with "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me".
1967:  Mama Cass Elliott gave birth to daughter Owen Vanessa in Los Angeles.









1967:  Janis Ian performed "Society's Child" at the age of 17 on Leonard Bernstein's CBS-TV special Inside Pop:  The Rock Revolution.  
1969:  The Soundtrack to "Hair" was the new #1 album, replacing the self-titled Blood, Sweat & Tears.  Galveston by Glen Campbell was #3, with Donovan's Greatest Hits at 4 and Cloud Nine from the Temptations fifth.
1969:  Led Zeppelin performed for the second of three nights at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.
1969:  The Beatles, with keyboard help from Billy Preston, reached #1 in the U.K. with "Get Back".






1969:  On the other side of the Atlantic, an even better song was #1 as 5th Dimension were flying high for the third week with "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In".  Blood, Sweat & Tears remained at 2 with "You've Made Me So Very Happy", the Isley Brothers took #3 with "It's Your Thing" and "Only The Strong Survive" from Jerry Butler came in fourth.  The rest of the Top 10:  The former #1 "Dizzy" from Tommy Roe at #5, "Galveston" from Glen Campbell, "Hair" from the Cowsills at #7, "Twenty-Five Miles" by Edwin Starr moving up to 8, the Zombies checked in at #9 with "Time Of The Season" and Steppenwolf had their third Top 10 hit with "Rock Me".
1970:  Tom Jones was the guest on Raquel Welch's Raquel! television special on CBS.





1971:  The Rolling Stones released the single "Brown Sugar" in the U.S.  It was released April 16 in the U.K.  (Note:  some websites claim the song was released May 7 in the United States.









 
                             Hot Chocolate with one of their biggest career hits...

1975:  B.J. Thomas set a record with the longest title ever to hit #1--"(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song".  Elton John slipped to 2 with "Philadelphia Freedom" while Tony Orlando & Dawn was at #3 with "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)".  The rest of the Top 10:  Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You", Ben E. King had #5 with "Supernatural Thing", Sammy Johns climbed in his "Chevy Van" for #6, Freddy Fender had song #7 with "Before The Next Teardrop Falls", Hot Chocolate was at 8 with "Emma", Barry White had another winner--"What Am I Gonna' Do With You" and the Blackbyrds' hit "Walking In Rhythm" was at #10.







1976:  Starland Vocal Band released the single "Afternoon Delight".







 


1976:  The Captain & Tennille released their remake of the Miracles hit "Shop Around".










1976:  The Brothers Johnson released the single "I'll Be Good to You".
1977:  Grateful Dead were in concert for the third night at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey.

1977:  Studio 54 opened in New York City at 254 West 54th Street.  Cher was on hand for opening night.
1978:  Ringo Starr appeared in his television special Ringo, which was a musical version of The Prince and the Pauper.  The movie also starred Michael Douglas, Angie Dickinson and Art Carney.
1980:  The Carpenters starred in the television special Music, Music, Music on ABC.
1980:  Blondie prevailed on the U.K. Singles chart with "Call Me".

Seger got help from Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles...

1980:  Blondie was also #1 in the States, trailed by Christopher Cross's "Ride Like The Wind" and "Another Brick In The Wall" from Pink Floyd.  Billy Preston & Syreeta had #4 "With You I'm Born Again".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Special Lady" from Ray, Goodman & Brown, Air Supply's "Lost In Love", Bob Seger remained at 7 with "Fire Lake", the Eagles had song #8--"I Can't Tell You Why", Billy Joel stormed into the Top 10 with "You May Be Right" and Dr. Hook rose to #10 with "Sexy Eyes".
1982:  Paul McCartney released the album Tug of War.  (Note:  some websites claim he released the album September 6.  The correct date of release is April 26, according to the official website for McCartney.)
1982:  Meat Loaf gave the first of four sold out shows at Wembley Arena in London.






1984:  If you journey to England for a Beatles Tour as part of your bucket list, be sure to check this out.  Mike McCartney (Paul's brother) unveiled the statue of the Beatles by John Doubleday at the new Cavern Walks Shopping Centre in Liverpool, England.
1986:  Prince & the Revolution held on to #1 on the R&B chart for a fourth week with "Kiss".
1990:  Nirvana performed at the Pyramid Club in New York City.
1997:  Ernest Stewart, keyboardist with KC and the Sunshine Band, died of asthma.
1999:  Sinead O'Connor was ordained as the first woman priest at Latin Tridentine Church.





2001:  Destiny's Child held the #1 position in the U.K. with their smash "Survivor".

2003:  The bridge that James Taylor sang about in his song "Carolina In My Mind" was named after him in a dedication ceremony in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where Taylor grew up.
2006:  In today's episode of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music, Snoop Dogg was today's daily arrest of a rap star.  Dogg was taken into custody at London's Heathrow Airport after a fight in the business lounge.  He and his entourage of more than 30 people were upset when they were told they could not board their flight and starting hitting police officers.  Once again the moral compass-challenged fans of rap music are left scratching their heads for answers.  
2008:  Leona Lewis had the #1 album with Spirit.


2011:  Phoebe Snow died at the age of 60 after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage on April 19, slipping into a coma, and enduring blood clots, pneumonia and congestive heart failure.  


Born This Day:
1925:  Jorgen Ingmann ("Apache" in 1961) was born in Copenhagen, Denmark; died March 21, 2015 in Denmark.



1938:  Duane Eddy ("Because They're Young"), who developed the technique of playing lead on the bass strings of his guitar that gave it a twangy sound, was born in Corning, New York.  (Note:  some websites claim Eddy was born on April 28, but the Rock Hall of Fame and the book 'The Encyclopedia of Sixties Cool:  A Celebration of the Grooviest People' by Chris Strodder and 'Legends of Rock Guitar:  The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists' by Pete Prown and Harvey P. Newquist all say Eddy was born on April 26.)   1938:  Maurice Williams ("Stay") was born in Lancaster, South Carolina.
1940:  Giorgio Moroder, producer of Donna Summer and a solo artist ("Chase") was born in Ortisei, Italy.
1941:  Claudine Clark, whose one and only hit "Party Lights" hit the Top 5 in 1962, was born in Macon, Georgia.

1942:  Robert Ridarelli, better known as Bobby Rydell ("Wild One"), was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

1943:  Gary Wright of Spooky Tooth and a solo star, was born in Cresskill, New Jersey. 
1945:  Tony Murray, bassist of the Troggs, was born in Dublin, Ireland.
1946:  Johnny "Buck" Wilkins (Ronny of Ronny & the Daytonas)
1951:  Nick Garvey, lead singer and guitarist of the Motors ("Love And Loneliness"), was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.






1960:  Roger Taylor, drummer for Duran Duran, was born in Birmingham, England.
1961:  Chris Mars, drummer of the Replacements, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
1970:  Tionne Watkins, known as T-Boz in the group TLC, was born in Des Moines, Iowa.
1971:  Stanley Wayne DeMarcus, Jr. (Jay DeMarcus), songwriter, bassist and keyboardist of Rascal Flatts, was born in Columbus, Ohio.
1975:  Joey Jordison, songwriter and drummer of Slipknot and a producer, was born in Des Moines, Iowa.
1976:  Jose Pasillas, drummer of Incubus, was born in Calabasas, California.
1982:  Jonathan Lee, vocalist of S Club 7, was born in Croydon, Surrey, England.  (Note:  some websites say Lee was born in Devon, England.  While unfortunately no credible sources exist for his birthplace, our best information indicates that Jonathan was born in Croydon.)

This Date in Rock Music History: April 25

1960:  Bill Black, the bassist behind Elvis Presley for his early Rock Era hits, had formed Bill Black's Combo and they took over on the R&B chart with "White Silver Sands".

1960:  "Stuck On You" moved from #6 to #1 for Elvis Presley on this date, finally breaking the hold that "The Theme From 'A Summer Place'" by Percy Faith had on the top spot.  Faith had dominated the charts at #1 for nine weeks in a row but slipped to #4.  The Brothers Four had #2 with "Greenfields", Johnny Horton climbed to #3 with "Sink The Bismark" and "He'll Have To Go" by Jim Reeves was #5.










1964:  The Beatles placed an incredible 14 songs on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, a feat no touring and recording artist has come anywhere close to since.  In fact, that's a pretty good accomplishment for 10 years of work, let alone one.  "Can't Buy Me Love" continued to set the pace at #1, with "Twist And Shout" stuck at #2 behind it and "Do You Want To Know A Secret" at #3.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Hello, Dolly!" by Louis Armstrong, which would eventually rise to #1, "Suspicion" from Terry Stafford as song #5, "Glad All Over" and "Bits And Pieces" getting positions 6 and 7, respectively, for the Dave Clark Five, "Don't Let The Rain Come Down" by the Serendipity Singers, Mary Wells' big hit "My Guy" moving from 14-9, and Jan & Dean at #10 with "Dead Man's Curve".
1965:  The Rolling Stones performed at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
1967:  Having completed work on their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band four days previous, the Beatles began recording the theme to the movie Magical Mystery Tour at EMI Studios, recording three takes of the backing track.  (Note:  some websites report that the Beatles recorded the song on this date, as if they finished everything they needed to do.  The group continued to work on the song for the next two days, and final mixing wasn't completed until November 7, according to 'The Beatles Bible'.)
1970:  Dionne Warwick - Souled Out aired on British TV with guests Creedence Clearwater Revival and Glen Campbell.
1970:  The Jackson 5 achieved a fourth straight week at #1 on the R&B chart with "ABC".
1970:  The Beatles spent a third week atop the Adult Contemporary chart with "Let It Be".

1970:  The Jackson 5 took over from the Beatles on the Popular chart with "ABC".  "Spirit In The Sky" was #3 for Norman Greenbaum while John Ono Lennon had #4 with "Instant Karma".  The rest of the Top 10:  "American Woman" from the Guess Who, moving from 9-5, Edison Lighthouse at #6 with "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)", Badfinger stuck at 7 with "Come And Get It", the Friends of Distinction remaining at 8 with "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely", "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel still in the Top 10 at #9 and "Turn Back The Hands Of Time" giving Tyrone Davis his only Top 10 hit.







                                   Ringo got to sing lead for "Octopus's Garden"...

1970:  Bridge Over Troubled Water was #1 for an eighth week on the Album chart for Simon and Garfunkel.  The rest of the Top 10:  Deja Vu, the great album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, was at #2, Hey Jude from the Beatles fell to 3, Santana was #4, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5 moved up to 5, Chicago II was #6, Morrison Hotel by the Doors was #7, Led Zeppelin II fell to #8, Abbey Road by the Beatles was at #9 in its 29th week and Psychedelic Shack from the Temptations rounded out the Top 10.






1971:  Carole King released the single "It's Too Late".
1974:  Gregg Allman performed the last date of a solo tour and, to prove the Allman Brothers Band were not splitting up, the entire band came out on stage for a 90-minute encore.
1977:  Paul Anka starred in the television special Music--My Way on ABC-TV; Natalie Cole was one of his guests.

                               This is an actual picture of Elvis at the Civic Center.


1977:  As it turned out, Elvis Presley made the last recordings of his life at a concert at Michigan Civic Center in Saginaw.  Three songs from that show were on the album Moody Blue released after Presley's death.
1979:  Donna Summer released the album Bad Girls on Casablanca Records.
1979:  The Ramones' movie Rock 'n' Roll High School opened.  (Note:  some websites report that the movie opened on August 4 or August 24.  According to director Allan Arkush, in an interview with 'The Village Voice', the movie opened in April in Texas and New Mexico, and did not reach New York City until August.)
1979:  The Police made their public debut on the Top of the Pops show on BBC-TV, playing "Roxanne".
1981:  Juice Newton had the #1 Adult Contemporary song for the third consecutive week with "Angel Of The Morning".





                                              The Police with their new song...

1981:  Hall & Oates spent their third and final week at #1 on the Popular music chart with "Kiss On My List".  Sheena Easton closed at #2 with "Morning Train" and Smokey Robinson made a move from 8-3 with "Being With You".  Bill Withers sang lead on Grover Washington, Jr's "Just The Two of Us" and Juice Newton's remake of "Angel Of The Morning" was #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Rapture" from Blondie was at #6, Steve Winwood held strong at #7 with "While You See A Chance", John Lennon's "Woman" fell to #8, Styx remained at 9 with "The Best Of Times" and the Police had #10 with "Don't Stand So Close To Me".






1981:  Hi Infidelity remained at #1 on the Album chart for REO Speedwagon, with Styx's Paradise Theater and Steve Winwood's Arc of a Diver trailing.  The rest of the Top 10:  Moving Pictures from Rush at #4, Winelight by Grover Washington, Jr., Face Dances from the Who at #6, Zenyatta Mondatta coming in at 7 for the Police, Eric Clapton's Another Ticket moving up to 8, Double Fantasy by John Lennon & Yoko Ono at #9 and the Soundtrack to "The Jazz Singer" by Neil Diamond completing the list.
1982:  Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder had the #1 U.K. song with "Ebony And Ivory".
1985:  Queen played the first of four nights at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Australia.
1985:  Roger Miller's Broadway musical Big River opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and would go on to win a Tony for Best Musical.
1987:  Madonna led the way on the U.K. Singles chart with "La Isla Bonita".
1987:  "The Finer Things" by Steve Winwood moved into the top spot on the Adult Contemporary chart.




1988:  INXS released the single "New Sensation".








 

1990:  Jimi Hendrix's Fender Stratocaster that the guitarist famously used to play "The Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock was auctioned off for $295,000.
1992:  Right Said Fred had the #1 album in the U.K. with Up.
1992:  Eric Clapton had the #1 Adult Contemporary song for the second week in a row with "Tears In Heaven".
1992:  Adrenalize by Def Leppard remained at #1 on the Album chart.  Bruce Springsteen's album Human Touch was #2, followed by Totally Krossed Out from Kris Kross, Lucky Town by Springsteen and Wyonna's self-titled album at #5.
1994:  Not only did Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys attack a TV cameraman, but he had the poor taste of doing it at memorial services for actor River Phoenix in the previous November.  Horovitz was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for the incident on this date in history.  All of you reading this deserve to be more successful than Horovitz, and yet some people give money to a loser like that.

1994:  The Eagles played the first of four concerts at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California on their Hell Freezes Over tour.  Back together for the first time in 14 years, the group named the album after an earlier quote from Don Henley, who responded to the question "When would the Eagles get back together?".
1998:  Next spent the first of four weeks at #1 with "Too Close".
1999:  Westlife had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Swear It Again".
1999:  Nas had the #1 album in the U.S. with I Am.
1999:  Paul Simon sang "Mrs. Robinson" on Joe DiMaggio day at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
2000:  Eric Clapton performed with ex-Derek & the Dominoes keyboard player Bobby Whitlock for the first time in 29 years on the British television show Later With Jools Holland.



2002:  Lisa Lopes of TLC was killed in an automobile accident in La Ceiba, Honduras at the age of 30.  
2003:  Kelly Clarkson and Styx both canceled concerts in Toronto, Ontario, Canada following warnings about the respiratory disease SARS.
2004:  Billy Joel drove his car into a house in Bayville, New York.  Luckily, no one was injured in the crash but it was Joel's third accident in two years.  (Note:  some websites report the crash was in Long Island, New York.  Long Island is not a city, and the specific city where the crash occurred was Bayville, according to 'CBS News' and the newspapers 'The New York Post' and 'The New York Daily News'.  When you read things on the Internet, learn to distinguish between the "amateurs" and the professionals.)
2005:  Bruce Springsteen opened his Devils & Dust Tour at the Fox Theater in Detroit, Michigan.







2007:  Bobby "Boris Pickett ("The Monster Mash") died of leukemia in Los Angeles at the age of 69.
2009:  Rascal Flatts had the #1 album with Unstoppable.
2010:  Engelbert Humperdinck was inducted into the Walk of Fame in Leicester, England.



Born This Day:

1933:  Songwriter and producer Jerry Leiber, who worked for Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, the Monkees and Cliff Richard; wrote "Hound Dog" for Elvis and "Charlie Brown" for the Coasters, was born in Baltimore, Maryland; died in Los Angeles August 22, 2011 from cardio-pulmonary failure.  (Note:  some websites report that Leiber died on August 23.  The correct date is August 23, according to the newspaper 'The New York Times'.)
1937:  Dick Kniss, stand-up bassist for Peter, Paul and Mary and and songwriter (co-wrote "Sunshine On My Shoulders" for John Denver), was born in Portland, Oregon; died January 25, 2012 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Kingston, New York.  (Note:  some websites claim Kniss died on April 24, but the correct date is the 25th, according to the newspaper 'The New York Times'.)



1945:  Bjorn Ulvaeus, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for ABBA, was born in Gothenburg, Sweden.

1945:  Stu Cook, bass guitarist of Creedence Clearwater Revival, was born in Oakland, California.  (Note:  some websites report that Cook was born in Palo Alto, California.  Although no credible sources exist for either city, our best information indicates Cook was born in Oakland.) 1945:  Michael Kogel, lead singer of Los Bravos ("Black Is Black"), was born in Berlin, Germany.
1946:  Ronnie Gilbert, bassist of the Blues Magoos ("We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet"),
1949:  Michael Brown, songwriter and keyboardist of the Left Bank  ("Walk Away Renee"), was born in New York City; died March 19, 2015 of heart failure in Englewood, New Jersey.
1950:  Steve Ferrone, drummer with Average White Band ("Pick Up The Pieces") and Eric Clapton, was born in Brighton, England.
1955:  David Sikes, bass guitarist of Boston and Giuffria
1964:  Andy Bell of Erasure ("Chains Of Love" and "A Little Respect") was born in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England.
1965:  Eric Avery, original bassist of Jane's Addition, was born in Los Angeles, California.
1980:  Jacob Underwood of O-Town was born in El Cajon, California.