This Date in Rock Music History: July 21

1960:  Brian Hyland was the guest on the popular CBS television show To Tell the Truth.
1961:  The Everly Brothers reached #1 with "Temptation" in the U.K.

1962:  Bobby Vinton's "Roses Are Red" was the #1 song, followed by "The Wah Watusi" from the Orlons and the former #1 "I Can't Stop Loving You" from Ray Charles.













 
1965:  Barry McGuire released the single "Eve Of Destruction".
1965:  Sonny & Cher appeared in concert at The Power House in San Diego, California.
1967:  The Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of three nights at the Café au -GoGo in New York City.
1969:  The Beatles began working on "Come Together" at Abbey Road Studios in London.
1973:  Canned Heat, Chuck Berry and Nazareth were among the acts at the Buxton Festival at the Booth Farm in Derbyshire, England.
1973:  Detroit, Michigan declared it "Mary Wilson & the Supremes Day".
1973:  The Carpenters made it three weeks in a row at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Yesterday Once More".








1973:  Jim Croce scored his first #1 song with "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown".  Billy Preston fell with "Will It Go 'Round In Circles" and the Carpenters had their 13th hit in four years ("Yesterday Once More"), with all but three of those going Top 10.  Three Dog Night's classic "Shambala" was at #4 and Paul Simon's "Kodachrome" was at 5.  The rest of the Top 10:  George Harrison with "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)", Deep Purple with "Smoke On The Water", Bette Midler blasted into the Top 10 with "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", Clint Holmes with "Playground In My Mind" and Bloodstone placed "Natural High" at #10.
1976:  The Eagles performed at the Center & Exhibition Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
1977:  The Rolling Stones were joined onstage at the Tucson Community Center by Linda Ronstadt in her hometown of Tucson, Arizona, for "Tumbling Dice", which Ronstadt remade for her Simple Dreams album.
1979:  Tubeway Army owned the top U.K. album with Replicas.
1979:  "Bad Girls" by Donna Summer took over at #1 on the 
R&B chart.







1979:  Earth, Wind & Fire were exploding up the chart (68-46) with "After the Love Has Gone".
1980:  The Thompson Twins appeared at Hope & Anchor in London.
1980:  Keith Godchaux of Grateful Dead was critically injured in a car accident in Marin County, California, and lost his life two days later. 
1982:  Queen played at the Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 
1984:  Prince registered his fourth week at #1 on the R&B chart with "When Doves Cry". 
1984:  Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen once again ruled the Album chart with Huey Lewis & the News trailing with Sports.  Prince moved up from 11 to 3 with Purple Rain while the Cars' great album Heartbeat City was at #4. 





           
                                                 Billy Idol was in the Top 5...

1984:  Prince made it three weeks in a row at #1 with "When Doves Cry", one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.  Bruce Springsteen was stuck at 2 with "Dancing In The Dark" while Ray Parker, Jr. moved from 8 to 3 with "Ghostbusters".  Billy Idol had a huge hit at #4--"Eyes Without A Face".  The rest of the Top 10:  the Pointer Sisters with "Jump (For My Love)", the Jacksons moved into the Top 10 with "State Of Shock", Ann Wilson & Mike Reno were still at 7 with "Almost Paradise", ZZ Top was up to 8 with "Legs", Elton John moved from 16-9 with his 38th career hit "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" and Rod Stewart was right behind with "Infatuation".  
1987:  Guns n' Roses released their debut album Appetite for Destruction on Geffen Records.
1989:  UHF, the first movie starring Weird Al Yankovic, opened in theaters.
1990:  Roger Waters organized a production of "The Wall" at Potsdamer Platz (the Berlin Wall) in Germany.  Bryan Adams, Phil Collins, Cyndi Lauper, Van Morrison and Sinead O'Connor helped out in the benefit show.



     
                                                      Idol rocked 'em good..

1990:  Glenn Medeiros and Bobby Brown moved to #1 with "She Ain't Worth It" while En Vogue moved to challenge with "Hold On".  Billy Idol was at 3 with "Cradle Of Love".  Johnny Gill moved to #4 with "Rub You The Right Way" and Mariah Carey's first release "Vision Of Love" climbed from 14 to 5.
1990:  Lisa Stansfield had the #1 R&B song with "You Can't Deny It".
1995:  MC Hammer and his wife celebrated the birth of their third child.
1996:  Kim Thayil of Soundgarden was arrested for hitting a fan who was trying to take his picture at a hotel in Rockingham, North Carolina.  Man, it must be fun to be a fan of that group.
1996:  The Eagles were in concert at the Maritime Museum in Stockholm, Sweden.
1996:  Alanis Morissette's album Jagged Little Pill returned to #1 in the U.K.
1998:  Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots was arrested in Los Angeles on a felony warrant.  Weiland was a no-show at a July 9 court ate.
1999:  MP3.com sold stock in an initial public offering.  The stock made spokeswoman Alanis Morissette worth $42 million.  The stock more than doubled on its first day of trading.
2001:  Madonna went out on tour for the first time in eight years, performing at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania.
 
  2002:  Famed producer Gus Dudgeon, who worked with Elton John, the Beach Boys, David Bowie, Kiki Dee, XTC and Joan Armatrading, died in a car accident near Reading, Berkshire, England.  Dudgeon was 59.
2003:  Iron Maiden and Motorhead performed at Centrum Centre in Worcester, Massachusetts.
2003:  Coldplay performed the second of two concerts at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia.  The recorded show would soon be their 
live CD and DVD.
2005:  Ashanti was found guilty of breach of contract and thus owed producer Genard Parker $630,000.  She promised Parker he could produce two songs on her debut if he released her from an earlier contract and then reneged.  The great thing about courts is that they hold you to your word even if you're not brought up to hold yourself to your
word.







 
2005:  Mariah Carey had her biggest hit in over a decade with "We Belong Together", which remained at #1 for the 
fourth week.












2005:  Long John Baldry of Blues Incorporated, intertwined with so many other artists in rock's beginnings in England, died in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the age of 64 after battling a chest infection for four months.  Baldry discovered both Rod Stewart and Elton John.
2006:  Herb Kalin of the Kalin Twins ("When" from 1958) died of a heart attack at the age of 72 in Waldorf, Maryland.
 2007:  Nancy Sinatra was given the Excellence in Arts award by the Vietnam Veterans of America at their national convention in Springfield, Illinois.
2008:  The Eagles were in concert at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.
2008:  The Police performed the first of two concerts at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.

Born This Day:
 
1922:  Kay Starr, who gave us one of the great songs of the Rock Era ("Rock And Roll Waltz", a #1 song for six weeks in 1955), was born in Dougherty, Oklahoma.
1931:  Plas Johnson, studio saxophone player on hits such as "The Pink Panther Theme" by Henry Mancini, "The Great Pretender" by the Platters, "Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley and "My Special Angel" by Bobby Helms, was born in Donaldsonville, Louisiana.
1939:  Kim Fowley, singer and producer who produced the song "Alley-Oop" and worked with the Beach Boys, Frank Zappa, Slade, and the Runaways, was born in Los Angeles; died January 15, 2015 of bladder cancer in Hollywood, California.  (Note:  some websites claim Fowley was born in 1942.  He was born in 1939, according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times'.)
1946:  Barry Whitwam, drummer of Herman's Hermits, was born in Manchester, England.
1947:  Rosie Hamlin of Rosie & the Originals ("Angel Baby", a #5 hit in 1960 that Hamlin wrote at the age of 14) was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon.  (Note:  some websites insist Rosie was born in San Diego, California.  Rosie and her family did not move to San Diego until she was 11--she was born in Klamath Falls, according to her official website.)
 
1948:  Cat Stevens was born in London.
1953:  Eric Bazilian, singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer of the Hooters, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1955:  Howie Epstein, bass guitarist of the Heartbreakers, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; died February 23, 2003 from drugs in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
1955:  Taco (last name Ockerse--"Puttin' On The Ritz" from 1983) was born in Jakarta, Indonesia.
1961:  Jim Martin, guitarist of Faith No More, was born in Oakland, California.
1969:  Emerson Hart, lead singer and songwriter of Tonic, was born in Washington, Pennsylvania.  ('Billboard', 'Allmusic.com', and several other websites claim he was born in South Orange, New Jersey.  According to the newspaper 'News-Times' in Connecticut, Hart was born in Washington, Pennsylvania and grew up in New Jersey.)
1981:  Blake Lewis ("How Many Words") was born in Redmond, Washington.

This Date In Rock Music History: July 20

1954:  Elvis Presley, with Scotty Moore and Bill Black as the Blue Moon Boys, gave his first concert in the flat bed of a truck in Memphis, Tennessee.


1959:  Lloyd Price scored another week at #1 on the R&B chart, his fourth, with "Personality".
1963:  The Beatles performed at the Ritz Ballroom in Rhyl, North Wales.
1963:  The Rolling Stones got down at the Wisbech Corn Exchange in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England.









1963:  The Essex had the top R&B song with "Easier Said Than Done". 
1965:  Bob Dylan released the single "Like A Rolling Stone". Bob's still a little hesitant about having his music played on this new thing we call the Internet, so we'll honor his request about not having his song played.
1965:  Frank Sinatra left his handprints in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood to promote his new film Von Ryan's Express, which opened the following day. 
1968:  Jane Asher announced that Paul McCartney broke off their engagement.







 

                           Mason Williams was going somewhere in a hurry on the chart...

1968:  "Grazing In The Grass" by Hugh Masekela became the new #1 song.  Gary Puckett (from Twin Falls, Idaho) and the Union Gap rose to #2 with their latest "Lady Willpower" while the Rolling Stones remained at 3 with "Jumpin' Jack Flash".  Herb Alpert fell from #1 with "This Guy's In Love With You".  The rest of the Top 10:  Cliff Nobles & Company fell from 2-5 with "The Horse", the 5th Dimension with "Stoned Soul Picnic", Donovan was the first of three strong movers (12-7) with "Hurdy Gurdy Man", Mason Williams moved from 29 to 8 with "Classical Gas", the Doors climbed from 22-9 with "Hello, I Love You" and the Cowsills remained at 10 with "Indian Lake".  Three instrumentals are part of the Top 10 on this date; it is one of the only times in the Rock Era that this occurred.
1969:  Roy Hamilton, one of several artists who had a hit with "Unchained Melody", died after suffering a stroke at the age of 40 in New Rochelle, New York.
1970:  The Carpenters were guest bachelor and bachelorette on the ABC television show The  Dating Game.









1971:  The Carpenters premiered their NBC television summer series Make Your Own Kind of Music, with guests Herb Alpert and Mark Lindsay, the lead singer of Paul Revere & the Raiders from Boise, Idaho.
1974:  Drummer Joey Ramone became the lead singer for the Ramones.
1974:  The Doobie Brothers, Van Morrison and the Allman Brothers performed at the Knebworth Festival at Knebworth Park (on the grounds of the Knebworth House) in Knebworth, Hertfordshire, England (about 29 miles (47 kilometers) north of London).
1974:  George McCrae and Rufus were on American 
Bandstand.






 
1974:  John Denver captured the #1 spot on the Adult Contemporary chart for the third week with "Annie's Song". 







 

1974:  George McCrae remained at the #1 slot with "Rock Your Baby", a song that would go on to sell 11 million copies--the top-selling song of the 70's!  "Annie's Song" by John Denver was #2 while the Righteous Brothers made their move (10-3) with "Rock And Roll Heaven", their 19th hit and sixth Top 10.  Elton John was up to 4 with "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me".  The rest of the Top 10:  "On And On" from Gladys Knight & the Pips, Steely Dan had a winner with "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", up 13 to 7, Anne Murray remained at 8 with "You Won't See Me", the Hollies were at 9 with "The Air That I Breathe" and Olivia Newton-John reached the Top 10 for the second time in her career with "If You Love Me 
(Let Me Know)".
1975:  The Rolling Stones were in concert at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado, where Elton John joined them onstage.  (Note:  several websites erroneously say the concert was in Denver, Colorado, and some say it was on July 19, but it was in Fort Collins on July 20, according to the newspaper 'The Fort Collins Coloradoan'.)
 
1975:  Steven Van Zandt performed in concert for the first time as one of the members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band at the Palace Theatre in Providence, Rhode Island.
1976:  The Eagles were at Olympic Stadium in Detroit, Michigan.
1977:  Gary Kellgren, famous engineer, drowned in a swimming pool at age 38 in Hollywood, California.  Kellgren worked on Jimi Hendrix's album Electric Ladyland, albums by John Lennon, George Harrison and Barbra Streisand, and was the operator of the Record Plant studio in Los Angeles.















1979:  ELO released what would turn out to be the biggest hit of their career--"Don't Bring Me Down".   ELO purchased advertisements in several trade papers dedicating the release of "Don't Bring Me Down" to the NASA space station Skylab, which re-entered the Earth's atmosphere over Australia and the Indian Ocean on July 11.   (Note:  some websites report that the group released the song on July 21.  While there are no credible sources for either date, it is highly likely and makes the most sense that the group timed the advertisements to run the day that the single was released to radio stations.)


1979:  Herb Alpert released the single "Rise".
1985:  DeBarge completed the climb to #1 on the AC chart with "Who's  Holding Donna Now".











1985:  Songs from the Big Chair by Tears for Fears was #1 again on the Album chart with No Jacket Required from Phil Collins still at #2.  Bryan Adams was at #3 in his 35th week with the great album Reckless.  Prince & the Revolution held down #4 with Around the World in a Day and Bruce Springsteen's album Born in the U.S.A. was at #5 after 57 weeks.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Soundtrack to "Beverly Hills Cop", The Power Station at 7 with their self-titled album, Madonna was at #8 with Like a Virgin, the Eurythmics found their album Be Yourself Tonight at #9 and Ratt finished the list with Invasion of Your Privacy. 
1986:  Carlos Santana played a concert with the original members of his band on his 39th birthday. 
1987:  Prince completed work on his third movie, Sign O' the Times in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 
1990:  Madonna played at Wembley Stadium in
London, the first of three nights at Wembley.





           
                                              "Right Now" from Van Halen...


1991:  Van Halen remained at #1 on the Album chart with For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge but Natalie Cole was challenging with Unforgettable with Love.  Skid Row fell with Slave to the Grind and Paula Abdul was at 4 with Spellbound.  The rest of the Top 10:  Gonna' Make You Sweat from C + C Music Factory, Luck of the Draw by Bonnie Raitt, the Soundtrack to "Robin Hood:  Prince of Thieves" debuted at #7, R.E.M. was at #8 with their album Out of Time, EFIL4ZAGGIN by N.W.A. was #9 and Garth Brooks was still in the Top 10 after 44 weeks with No Fences.








1991:  EMF reached #1 in their 15th week of release with "Unbelievable". 
1991:  Paula Abdul made it four weeks in a row at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Rush Rush".
1996:  Kim Thayil of Soundgarden was arrested for assault. 
1996:  Gary Barlow had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Forever Love". 
1999:  The Rolling Stones reported an income of $337 million for two years of touring. 
2005:  R. Kelly had the top album with TP.3 Reloaded. 
2015:  Wayne Carson, songwriter of 2 of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*--"The Letter" by the Box Tops and "Always On My Mind" by Willie Nelson, died Monday at the age of 72.  Carson also produced, and played piano, guitar, bass, and percussion.  In addition to the two monster hits listed above, he wrote "Soul Deep" for the Box Tops and also worked with Brenda Lee, Glen Campbell, Alabama, B.J. Thomas, the Pet Shop Boys, and Ike & Tina Turner, just to name a few.



Born This Day:
1933:  Buddy Knox ("Party Doll" in 1957) was born in Happy, Texas; died February 14, 1999 of lung cancer in Bremerton, Washington.


 
1943:  Dennis Yost, the great lead singer of the Classics IV, was born in Detroit, Michigan; died December 7, 2008 of respiratory failure (had been hospitalized since December of
2006 with a brain injury). 

1945:  John Lodge, bassist, singer and songwriter for the Moody Blues, was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England.  (Note:  some websites claim Lodge was born in Erdington, Birmingham, England.  Erdington is a suburb of Birmingham, but Lodge states that he was born in Birmingham on his official website.  In 1945, when John was born, Birmingham was part of the county of Warwickshire.) 











1946:  Kim Carnes was born in Los Angeles.

1947:  Carlos Santana was born in Autlán de Navarro, Mexico.
1952:  Jay Jay French, guitarist of Twisted Sister, was born in New York City.

1956:  Paul Cook, drummer of the Sex Pistols and later producer of Bananarama, was born in London.
1957:  Merlina DeFranco, drummer with the DeFranco Family

1958:  Michael MacNeil, keyboardist and songwriter of Simple Minds, was born in Isle of Barra, Scotland.

1962:  Dig Wayne (real name Timothy Ball) of the JoBoxers, was born in Cambridge, Ohio. 

1964:  Chris Cornell, lead singer for Soundgarden and Audioslave, was born in Seattle, Washington.

1966:  Stone Gossard, rhythm guitarist of Pearl Jam, was born in Seattle, Washington.

1972:  Vitamin C (real name Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick), who had the hit "Graduation (Friends Forever)", was born in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey.

1978:  Elliott Yamin, former "American Idol" contestant ("Wait For You"), was born in Los Angeles .

This Date In Rock Music History: July 19

1954:  Elvis Presley released his first single on Sun Records--"That's All Right".
1957:  Bobby Darin, Andy Williams, Chuck Berry and Frankie Lymon performed on Alan Freed's television show The Big Beat on ABC.
1958:  Manager George Treadwell fired all of the original Drifters and inserted the Five Crowns in their place.
1960:  Brian Hyland sang "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" on the popular television show American Bandstand. 








1963:  Frank Ifield enjoyed another #1 in the U.K. with "Confessin'".
1964:  The Rolling Stones performed at the Hippodrome in Brighton, England.
1966:  Frank Sinatra, age 50, married Mia Farrow, 21 years old.  Hey, she was legal.
1967:  Elvis Presley began work on his 27th movie, Speedway co-starring Nancy Sinatra, at the MGM Soundstage in Hollywood, California.
1967:  The Beatles charted at #1 in the U.K. with "All You Need Is Love".
1968:  Bo Diddley performed at the Hippodrome in San Diego, California.
1969:  The Spencer Davis Group broke up.






1969:  "Marrakesh Express" by Crosby, Stills & Nash debuted on the chart.












1969:  The Soundtrack to "Hair" was #1 on the Album chart in its 51st week while another soundtrack--"Romeo & Juliet" was #2.  Blood, Sweat & Tears had the #3 album, followed by The Age of Aquarius from the 5th Dimension.  The rest of the Top 10:  This is Tom Jones, A Warm Shade of Ivory by Henry Mancini & His Orchestra, Tommy from the Who at #7, Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline coming in at #8, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly at #9 and the debut from Crosby, Stills & Nash entered the Top 10 in its fourth week of release.
1969:  Jr. Walker & the All-Stars landed at #1 on the R&B chart with "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)".
1969:  Henry Mancini's "Love Theme From 'Romeo & Juliet' was number one on the Easy Listening chart for a sixth week.









1973:  Paul Simon released the single "Loves Me Like A Rock".












1973:  Clarence White, guitarist of the Byrds, was laid to rest.  White had been killed by a drunk driver at the age of 29.
1974:  The Eagles headlined the Ozark Mountain Festival at the Missouri County Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri.  It was probably one of the Top 10 Festivals in history, with over 350,000 people attending.  Among the acts performing over the three days were Aerosmith, Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, America, REO Speedwagon, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Boz Scaggs,  Joe Walsh, Blue Oyster Cult, the Charlie Daniels Band, the Marshall Tucker Band, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Spirit, and the Souther Hillman Furay Band.  
1975:  The Bay City Rollers were on top in the U.K. with "Give A Little Love".
1975:  The Isley Brothers owned the #1 R&B hit with "Fight the Power Part 1".
1975:  Olivia Newton-John's "Please Mr. Please" was the #1 Adult Contemporary song.







 
                                      10cc made a big move on the chart...


1975:  Wings scored at #1 with "Listen to What the Man Said".  Van McCoy remained at 2 with "The Hustle" while the British group 10cc moved from 10-3 with "I'm Not in Love".  The Eagles were racing up as well with "One of These Nights" and Olivia Newton-John moved "Please Mr. Please to #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Magic" from Pilot, Frankie Valli at position #7 with "Swearin' To God", the Captain & Tennille took a tumble with their former #1 "Love Will Keep Us Together", the Bee Gees had their 22nd hit and fifth Top 10 with "Jive Talkin'" and Gwen McCrae's "Rockin' Chair" was at #10.
1976:  Deep Purple split up.

















1979:  Michael Jackson released the first single from his new solo album Off the Wall--"Don't Stop ('Til You Get Enough)".
1980:  An art exhibit featuring paintings from Joni Mitchell, John Mayall, Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones and Commander Cody opened at Vorpal Gallery in Laguna Beach, California.
1980:  Queen had the top U.K. album with The Game.










                                             Jermaine had a Top 10 of his own...


1980:  Billy Joel earned his first Gold single--"It's Still Rock And Roll To Me", which also hit #1 on this date.  "Coming Up" from Paul McCartney & Wings slipped to #2 and Elton John had hit #29 with "Little Jeannie".  The Spinners' "Cupid/I've Loved You For A Long Time" was fourth followed by the Manhattans, which rose up from 11 to 5 with the great song "Shining Star".  The rest of the Top 10:  Robbie Dupree's "Steal Away", "Magic" from Olivia, Bette Midler's "The Rose"
at #8, Jermaine Jackson with "Let's Get Serious" and Pure Prairie League at 10 with "Let Me Love You Tonight".
1980:  David Bowie made his theatrical debut as the title character in The Elephant Man at the Denver Center of Performing Arts in Denver, Colorado. 
1980:  Olivia Newton-John rejoiced as "Magic" was the #1 Adult Contemporary hit.
1981:  Odessa, Texas celebrated "Roy Orbison Day", giving Orbison keys to the city.
1986:  The Timex Social Club had the #1 R&B song with "Rumors".





1982:  Monday was the day for new single releases to radio stations and on this day, John Cougar (Mellencamp) released the follow-up to "Hurts So Good"--"Jack & Diane".








1986:  Patti LaBelle registered her only #1 album in Winner in You, toppling Janet Jackson's Control after two weeks.  So from Peter Gabriel, the Soundtrack to "Top Gun" and Invisible Touch by Genesis followed.  The rest of the Top 10:  Billy Ocean's Love Zone, the self-titled Whitney Houston, Like a Rock from Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, The Other Side of Life by the Moody Blues at #9 and 5150 from Van Halen.








1986:  Genesis reached #1 with "Invisible Touch" and former Genesis member Peter Gabriel had #2--"Sledgehammer".  Janet Jackson's "Nasty" held down position #3 while Kenny Loggins was at 4 with "Danger Zone".

1986:  Peter Cetera moved into the #1 slot on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Glory Of Love".
1987:  Bruce Springsteen performed in East Germany in front of 300,000 people.
1989:  James Brown was switched to a medium security cell after $40,000 in cash and checks was discovered in his minimum security cell.
1990 - Vikki Carr opened the ceremonies for dedication of the The Nixon Library. She sang in front of four Presidents, President Nixon, President Ford, President Reagan and President Bush, all which she had performed for at the White House during their terms. Henry Kissinger, Alexander Haig and Gene Autry were also present. 







1991:  A wax effigy of Gloria Estefan was presented at the Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park, California.













1993:  Billy Joel released the single "River Of Dreams".
1995:  George Nichopoulos, former doctor for Elvis Presley, lost his medical license 19 years after it made any difference to Presley, for being "too liberal" when prescribing addictive drugs.
1997:  Oasis reached #1 on the U.K. chart with "D'You Know What I Mean".
2001:  Soul and gospel singer Judy Clay, who sang with the Sweet Inspirations and worked with Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Billy Vera and William Bell, died at the age of 62 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, two weeks after suffering severe injuries in a car accident.
2001:  In today's episode of "Inmates Run Rap Music", Russell Jones, rapper of Wu Tang Clan, was sentenced to 2-4 years behind bars for drug possession.
2005:  James Blunt led the way in the U.K. with "You're Beautiful".
2006:  Thom Yorke debuted at #2 with his solo album The Eraser.
2008:  In today's episode of "Inmates Run Rap Music", DMX was arrested at a mall in Phoenix, Arizona for giving a false name to get out of paying for hospital expenses.  (Note:  some websites, which got their information from a story in the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times', report that DMX was arrested July 20, 2008.  The common person understands that newspapers report events that happened the previous day, but even if the website owners did not know this, the story says that DMX was arrested Saturday.  Saturday in 2008 was on July 19.) 


Born This Day:
1937:  George Hamilton IV ("A Rose And A Baby Ruth" from 1956) was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
1941:  Vicki Carr ("It Must Be Him") was born in El Paso, Texas.
1944:  George Frayne IV (Commander Cody), who sang and played piano in Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen ("Hot Rod Lincoln") was born in Boise, Idaho.
1946:  Alan Gorrie, guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist of the Average White Band ("Pick Up The Pieces" from 1975), was born in Perth, Scotland.

1947:  Bernie Leadon of the Eagles was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1947:  Brian May, elite guitarist of Queen, was born in Twickenham, England.  (Note:  some websites claim May was born in Twickenham, England.  According to the book 'The Queen Chronology:  The Recording & Release History of Queen' by Patrick Lemieux and Adam Unger, Brian was born in Hampton, Middlesex, England.

1948:  Keith Godchaux, keyboardist of Grateful Dead, was born in San Francisco; died in a car crash in Marin County, California July 23, 1979.  ('Billboard' reports that Godchaux was born in San Francisco, California, 'The American Book of the Dead' by Oliver Trager states that Keith was born in Concord, California, and the book 'The Grateful Dead FAQ:  All That's Left to Know About the Greatest Jam Band...' by Tony Sclafani shows him born in Seattle, Washington.  Our best research indicates that Keith was born in Seattle and moved to Concord, California with his family.)  








1952:  Allen Collins, elite guitarist of Lynyrd Skynyrd and later the Rossington-Collins Band, was born in Jacksonville, Florida; died July 23, 1990 in Jacksonville at the age of 37 from chronic pneumonia resulting from a 1986 alcohol-related car accident in which his girlfriend was killed and Collins was paralyzed from the waist down.
1960:  Kevin Haskins of Love & Rockets was born in Northampton, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom.

Top Track: "Sylvia" by Focus

You're probably familiar with "Hocus Pocus" from this group, one of The Top 100 Instrumentals of the Rock Era*.  But they also gave us this one from their album in 1972.

This Date in Rock Music History: July 18

1960:  Elvis Presley took out a mortgage on the Graceland mansion he had purchased in 1960 for $160,000.  Presley had several buildings and additions constructed and made several improvements to the property. 
1960:  Hank Ballard and the Midnighters released the single "The Twist".

1960:  Brenda Lee moved to #1 with "I'm Sorry". 
1963:  The Beatles recorded "Til There Was You", "You Really Got a Hold on Me" and "Money (That's What I Want)".
1964:  The Rolling Stones had the top U.K. song with "It's All Over Now".











1964:  "C'mon And Swim" by Bobby Freeman moved up from #100 to #58.












1964: Getz & Gilberto had the #1 Easy Listening hit "The Girl From Ipanema".











 

1964:  "Rag Doll" by the 4 Seasons was the #1 song, followed by "Memphis" by Johnny Rivers and the former #1 "I Get Around" from the Beach Boys.  The Dave Clark Five edged up with "Can't You See That She's Mine" and Stan Getz & Astrud Gilbeto teamed for the #5 smash "The Girl From Ipanema".  The rest of the Top 10:  Jan & Dean climbed from 12 to 6 with "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena", Gerry & the Pacemakers had #7 with "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying", Roger Miller moved up with "Dang Me", Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop" fell and the Impressions were at 10 with "Keep On Pushing".









1966:  The Beach Boys released the single "Wouldn't It Be Nice".
1966:  Bobby Fuller of the Bobby Fuller Four ("I Fought The Law" from 1966) died at the age of 23 in Hollywood, California.  Fuller's body was found in a parked car in front of his apartment, and although some suspected the Mafia was involved, the death was ruled a suicide from asphyxiation.
1968:  The Grateful Dead released the album  Anthem of the Sun.
1968:  Des O'Connor had the top U.K. hit with "I Pretend".
1968:  The Beatles recorded "Cry Baby Cry" and three rehearsal takes of "Helter Skelter".
1969:  Ringo Starr recorded the lead vocal for "Octopus's Garden" at Abbey Road Studios.
1970:  Pink Floyd and Deep Purple gave a free concert at Hyde Park in London that attracted just 20,000 fans.
1970:  Anne Murray debuted on the chart with her first single "Snowbird".





1970:  Edwin Starr moved from #72 to #44 with "War".
1970:  The Jackson 5 had the #1 R&B hit for a fifth week with "The Love You Save".
1970:  "Close To You" by the Carpenters was #1 for a second week on the Adult chart.










                                  Blues Image scored a Top 10 hit...


1970:  Three Dog Night remained at #1 with "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)".  The Jackson 5 were at #2 with their former #1 "The Love You Save" while a new duo, the Carpenters, were climbing up fast with "Close to You".  Freda Payne had "Band Of Gold" up to #4 while the Temptations fell with "Ball Of Confusion".  The rest of the Top 10:  Blues Image and "Ride Captain Ride", Melanie with "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)", the Five Stairsteps had their great song "O-o-h Child" at #8, the Pipkins were up to 9 with "Gimme Dat Ding" and Bread's first single moved from 20-10--"Make It With You".










1972:  They could have just as easily been rap stars--they'd fit right in.  Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones were thrown in jail for fighting with a photographer in Providence, Rhode Island.
1973:  Jethro Tull sold out three concerts from July 20-22 at the Los Angeles Forum, so a fourth was added on this date.









1977:  Monday fell on this date, and that meant new releases.  Foreigner released their second single of their career "Cold As Ice".  (Note:  several websites naively say that the single was released July 23.  "Cold As Ice" debuted on the 'Billboard' charts on July 23.  Repeat after us--it is physically impossible for a record company to release a single, mail it to radio stations, be received and listened to by the radio stations, added to the station playlists and reported to the trade papers, and printed and published by the trade papers, all in the same day.)
1978:  Def Leppard made their debut at Westfield School in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.  The audience:  150 students.
1980:  No Nukes, a documentary showing the No Nukes benefit concerts from Bruce Springsteen and James Taylor, debuted at Cinema I in New York City.  (Note:  several websites claim the movie opened on Monday, July 16, 1980, which in itself is an odd day of the week to premiere a movie.  According to the city's newspaper, 'The New York Times', 'No Nukes' opened July 18.  That date is confirmed by the book 'Jackson Browne:  His Life and Music' by Mark Bego.)








1981:  Kim Carnes made it nine weeks at #1 with one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*, "Bette Davis Eyes". 
1984:  Prince released the second 45 from Purple Rain--"Let's Go Crazy".
1987:  Whitney Houston made it three weeks in a row at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me).
1989:  Jefferson Airplane got back together with original members Paul Kantner, Marty Balin and Grace Slick joined by Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady.
1991:  Nine Inch Nails, Jane's Addiction and Living Colour appeared on the Lollapalooza Tour at the Compton Terrace in Phoenix, Arizona.







1992:  Jon Secada debuted in the Top 10 with "Just Another Day" from his great first album.












 
1992:  Luther Vandross, Janet Jackson, BBD & Ralph Tresvant combined for the top R&B song--"The Best Things In Life Are Free".
1992:  One of the dark days of the Rock Era--Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown were married at Whitney's estate in New Jersey.  Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Natalie Cole, Patti Labelle and Freddie Jackson were among those in attendance.   Brown would not only ruin his own life but drag Whitney down with him.
1994:  The Rolling Stones arranged a secret concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for their fans.
1994:  Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries married Don Burton at Holy Cross Abbey, in Tipperary, Ireland.
1995:  Neil Young and manager Eliot Roberts began the recording label Vapor Records.
1995:  Selena's album Dreaming Of You was released following her murder.
2000:  Metallica performed at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.
2001:  MTV premiered the movie Hysteria - The Def Leppard Story.
2002:  In today's episode of "Inmates Run Rap Music", Mystikal was arrested for raping a 40-year-old woman in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  One of these days, you're going to listen to me about this idiotic form of "music".
2004:  Usher had the #1 song with "Confessions, Part 2".
2005:  This is what happens when you let Inmates Run Rap Music.  Lil' Kim, fresh from getting out of prison for perjuring herself, sued Lil' Cease, saying that he used her name and likeness without her permission to promote a DVD by Junior M.A.F.I.A.  Cease had testified against Kim in the perjury case.  Inmate + Inmate = Mass Chaos.

2015: Buddy Buie, prolific songwriter, producer, and manager, who wrote "Spooky", "Stormy" and "Traces" for the Classics IV, as well as many songs for other artists, died of a heart attack in Dothan, Alabama at age 74.  Buie stayed on with the group as their main songwriter, manager and producer when they evolved into the Atlanta Rhythm Section in 1971, writing hits such as "So Into You" and "Imaginary Lover".  Buie also wrote for Garth Brooks, Santana, Gloria Estefan, and Tommy Roe, among others.  Buie was 74.

Born This Day: 
1929:  Jay Hawkins ("I Put A Spell On You" from 1956) was born in Cleveland, Ohio; died February 12, 2000 after an emergency surgery for an aneurysm in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
1931:  Thomas Allen, percussionist with War, was born in Wilmington, Delaware; died on stage of a heart attack August 30, 1988 in Vallejo, California.
1935:  Johnny Funches, singer of the Dells ("Stay In My Corner" from 1968), was born in Harvey, Illinois; died of pneumonia January 23, 1998.
1938:  Ian Stewart, keyboardist with the Rolling Stones, was born in Pittenweem, Scotland; died of a heart attack December 12, 1985 in London.

1939:  Dion DiMucci was born in the Bronx, New York.













1941:  Martha Reeves was born in Eufaula, Alabama.  (Note:  several websites report that Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan.  According to the books 'Setting the Record Straight:  The Music and Careers of Recording Artists from the 1950s and early 1960s' by Anthony P. Musso and 'Motown:  The Golden Years' by Bill Dahl, Reeves was born in Eufaula and her family moved soon after to Detroit.) 
1941:  Lonnie Mack ("Memphis" from 1963) was born in Dearborn County, Indiana.
1943:  Robin McDonald, rhythm guitarist with Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, was born in Nairn, Scotland.
1945:  Danny McCulloch, bass guitarist for the Animals, was born in Shepherd's Bush, Middlesex; died January of heart failure 29, 2015.  (Note:  several websites say McCulloch was born in London, or in Shepherd's Bush, London.  According to the magazine 'New Music Express", Danny was born in Shepherd's Bush, a census-designated area in London.  While the area is now included in the Greater London county, in 1945, when McCullock was born, Shepherd's Bush was part of the county of Middlesex.)
1948:  Phil Harris of Ace ("How Long" from 1975), was born in Muswell Hill, Middlesex, England.  (Note:  several websites incorrectly state that Harris was born in Muswell Hill, London.  Muswell Hill, a suburb of London, was not part of the county of London until 1974, long after Harris was born.  When Phil was born in 1948, Muswell Hill was in the county of Middlesex.) 
1949:  Wally Bryson, guitarist of the Raspberries, was born in Gastonia, North Carolina.
1948:  Cesar Zuiderwijk, drummer of Golden Earring, was born in The Hague, the Netherlands.
1950:  Glenn Hughes of the Village People was born in the Bronx, New York; died March 4, 2001 of lung cancer in Manhattan, New York.  (Note:  some websites list his birthplace as New York City, which of course is made up of several boroughs.  Hughes was born in the Bronx, according to the book 'Fade to Black:  A Book of Movie Obituaries' by Paul Donnelley.)
1950:  Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Records, was born in Blackheath, Surrey, England.  (Note:  several websites claim Branson was born in Blackheath, London, but according to 'CNN', he was born in Surrey.  The sources are likely confused because of the Local Government Act of 1972, which changed the governance relating to counties, changing the boundaries of many, dropping others, and naming new counties.  The changes took place in 1974.  Blackheath was once part of the county of Surrey, and is now a part of Greater London.  Back in 1940, when Branson was born, Blackheath was part of Surrey, and his place of birth was Blackheath, Surrey, England)
1955:  Terry Chambers, drummer of XTC, was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, England.
1958:  Nigel Twist of the Alarm was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England.
1962:  Jack Irons, drummer of Pearl Jam beginning in 1994, was born in Los Angeles.
1975:  Daron Malakian of System of a Down was born in Hollywood, California.
1978:  Tony Fagenson, songwriter and drummer of Eve 6
1982:  Ryan Cabrera was born in Dallas, Texas.