This Date in Rock Music History: August 11

1957:  Jerry Lee Lewis performed on The Steve Allen Show on NBC-TV.  (Note:  some websites claim Lewis was on 'The Big Beat Show' on ABC-TV.  He performed on that show on August 2--on August 11, he was on 'The Steve Allen Show', according to 'Spin' magazine and 'TV.com'.  'The Big Beat Show" only lasted four episodes, with the last one being on August 2, the date that Lewis performed.)
1958:  "Patricia" by Perez Prado was #1 on the R&B chart.
1958:  In Billboard's second chart, Ricky Nelson remained at #1 ("Poor Little Fool") but Domenico Modugno rose from 54 to 2 with "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)".
1962:  Kid Galahad starring Elvis Presley premiered in theaters.  (Note:  there are websites which report the film's release as July 25 (one quotes a 'Variety' magazine article about the movie premiere from July 25, 1962 which we cannot find.  The official Graceland website reports that the film opened nationally in theaters on August 28 (some websites say August 29).  Unfortunately, there are no sources which definitively decide the correct date for the premiere, but our best research indicates that the film premiered on August 11.)




1962:  "Green Onions" became the first hit for Booker T. & the MG's on this date.
1962:  An all-female singing group debuted on the chart with their first single on this date--The Supremes with "Your Heart Belongs To Me".
1962:  Neil Sedaka enjoyed his first #1 song with "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do".  He would have to wait 12 years for another one.
1963:  The Rolling Stones and Long John Baldry performed at the National Jazz and Blues Festival, on the Richmond Athletic Grounds in Richmond, Surrey, England.  The Stones were paid all of £30.








1963:  The Kingston Trio were the mystery guests on the television show What's My Line?
1964:  The Beatles began recording their album Beatles For Sale at EMI Studios in London.
1965:  Sonny Bono performed "Laugh At Me" on the television show Shindig on ABC.  The Rolling Stones, Donovan, the Ronettes and Bobby Goldsboro also performed.
1965:  The Beatles' movie Help! premiered in the United States in New York City.  The world premiere was at the Pavilion Theatre in London on July 6.
1966:  The Beatles arrived at O'Hare Airport in Chicago for their final tour of the United States.

1967:  Small Faces, the Move, Tomorrow, and Marmalade performed on the opening night of the seventh annual Jazz & Blues Festival at the Windsor Royal Racecourse in Windsor, England. 
1968:  It was an amazing conclusion to the 8th annual National Jazz & Blues Festival, which had moved to the Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury-on-Thames, England.  Jethro Tull, the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Al Stewart, John Mayall, the Incredible String Band, and Chicken Shack (with Christine McVie) all performed.
1968:  The Beatles announced the formation of Apple Records.
1969:  Diana Ross invited 350 friends to a club in Beverly Hills, California to see a brand new act called the Jackson 5.
1972:  The mayor of San Antonio, Texas declared it Cheech & Chong Day.

1972:  The annual U.K. Festival, which began in 1961 as the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Richmond, had undergone several changes.  The location had moved, first to Windsor, then to Sunbury, then to Sussex, before settling on Reading, now the permanent home of the event.  It was now called the National Jazz, Blues, Folk & Rock Festival.  Genesis, Nazareth and Mungo Jerry were among the acts on the opening day. 
1973:  Bill Aucoin offered to become the manager of KISS after seeing them play at the Crystal Ballroom of Hotel Diplomat in New York City the night before.










1973: Elton John was up big (74-34) with "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting".











                                                                          Charlie Daniels and "Uneasy Rider"...

1973:  Maureen McGovern enjoyed a fast climb up the charts (20-9-1) and she remained at #1 with "The Morning After".  Wings closed to #2 with "Live And Let Die" while the Stories were up from 8-3 with "Brother Louie".  Diana Ross was at position #4 with her second big solo hit "Touch Me In The Morning" and Jim Croce's former #1 "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" was at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Deep Purple with "Smoke On The Water", Marvin Gaye was up from 17-7 with "Let's Get It On", the Carpenters were on the way down with "Yesterday Once More", Charlie Daniels came in ninth with "Uneasy Rider" and Bobby "Boris" Pickett entered the Top 10 with "Monster Mash".
1976:  Keith Moon, drummer of the Who, collapsed and was hospitalized in Miami, Florida.
1979:  Led Zeppelin played their final concert in the U.K. at the Knebworth Festival at Knebworth Park, in Knebworth, England.
1979:  Chic owned the top R&B song for the third week with "Good Times".










1979:  ELO had a huge hit on their hands as "Don't Bring Me Down" motored up from #41 to #18.













1980:  Queen released the single "Another One Bites The Dust".  (Note:  some websites naively say the single was released August 22.  "Another One Bites The Dust" debuted on the Singles chart on August 16, 1980.  It is physically impossible for a song to be included on the Singles chart if it has not been released as a single.)
1982: The Police performed at Stade Percival-Molson Stadium on the campus of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.1982:  Donna Summer and husband Buce Sudano celebrated the birth of daughter Amada Grace Sudano.
1984:  Lionel Richie had his second #1 on the AC chart from his great album Can't Slow Down as "Stuck On You" was #1 for a second week.









1984:  Ray Parker, Jr. had his biggest career hit as "Ghostbusters" reached #1.  That ended Prince's hold on the top spot with his great song "When Doves Cry".
1984:  Purple Rain was in its fifth week of release with two at #1 on the Album chart.  Sports by Huey Lewis & the News was now moving up after 45 weeks while Born in the U.S.A. fell to #3 after 8 weeks.  The Jacksons had #4 with Victory and the Cars were back with another great album--Heartbeat City.  The rest of the Top 10:  Lionel Richie was still hanging around with Can't Slow Down after 40 weeks, Ratt couldn't climb with Out of the Cellar, the Soundtrack to "Ghostbusters", Tina Turner had a Top 10 album with Private Dancer and Billy Idol closed out the group with Rebel Yell.
1984:  Prince made it seven weeks in a row with one of the top R&B songs of the 1980's--"When Doves Cry".
1985:  Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran had a scare after his yacht capsized off of the English coast during a race.  The Royal Navy rescued him after LeBon was trapped for 40 minutes under the hull in an underwater air pocket.
1986:  The first four albums by the Monkees amazingly re-entered the Top 200 albums chart.








1990:  Mariah Cary reached #1 on the R&B chart with her first single "Vision Of Love".
1992:  Ray Charles sang "America The Beautiful" at the opening of the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota.












1995:  The funeral of Jerry Garcia was held in Belvedere, California.
1996:  Mel Taylor, famous drummer of the Ventures ("Hawai'i Five-O" and "Walk Don't Run"), died of lung cancer at the age of 62.  (Note:  some websites claim he was 63 when he died, but Mel was 62.  Although some articles report he was 63, all sources agree that he was born September 24, 1933, which made him 62 at the date of his death.  Some sites say he died in Los Angeles, but he died at the Tarzana Medical Center, which is in Tarzana, California, not Los Angeles, according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times'.)
1999:  KISS received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 
2003:  Kelly Rowland and Nelly had the #1 song with "Dilemma".
2003:  S.W.A.T. starring LL Cool J was the #1 movie of the week.

2005:  The Eagles performed at Harrah's Outdoor Arena in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
2005:  Was there anything to challenge it?  "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey was #1 for an 11th week with not one song worthy of taking over #1.




Born This Day:
1942:  Michael Hugg, drummer and a founding member of Manfred Mann, was born in Gosport, Hampshire, England.  (Note:  some websites report Hugg was born in Andover, Hampshire, England.  According to the book Then, Now and Rare British Beat 1960-1969 by Terry Rawlings,  Michael was born in Gosport.)
1942:  Guy Villari, lead singer of the Regents, was born in the Bronx, New York.  (Note:  some websites say he was born in New York City, but according to 'Billboard' magazine, Guy was born in the Bronx.)

1943:  Kenny Gamble, who wrote so many great hits with Leon Huff, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1943:  Denis Payton, saxophone player of the Dave Clark Five, was born in Walthamstow, Essex, England; died December 17, 2006 of cancer in Bournemouth  Dorset, England.  (Note:  some websites mistakenly say that Payton was born in Walthamstow, London.  London did not become the county of Walthamstow until 1974, long after Payton's birth.  At the time Denis was born, Walthamstow was included in the county of Essex.)
1943:  Jim Kale, bass guitarist of the Guess Who, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

1949:  Eric Carmen of the Raspberries and a great solo star, was born in Cleveland, Ohio.
1952:  Erik Braunn, guitarist of Iron Butterfly, was born in Pekin, Illinois; died July 25, 2003. (Note:  some websites claim Braunn died of a Myocardial infection, and some say he died July 26 or July 28.  He died on Friday, July 25, 2003 of cardiac arrest, according to the newspaper 'The New York Times')

1954:  Joe Jackson was born in Burton-on-Trent, England.
1954:  Bryan Bassett, guitarist of Foghat, Molly Hatchet and Wild Cherry, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1957:  Richie Ramone (real name Richard Reinhardt), drummer of the Ramones, was born in Passaic, New Jersey.
1968:  Charlie Sexton, singer, songwriter and guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band, a session musician for Don Henley and others and a solo performer ("Beats So Lonely"), was born in San Antonio, Texas.
1970:  Andy Bell, who joined Oasis in 1999, was born in Cardiff, Wales.
1976:  Ben Gibbard, singer for Death Cab for Cutie, was born in Bremerton, Washington.
1978:  Chris Kelly of Kriss Kross was born in Atlanta, Georgia; died May 1, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia from drugs.

Featured Unknown/Underrated Song of the Rock Era: "The Dream Is Still Alive" by Wilson Phillips

This trio of sisters with great musical genes exploded onto the scene in 1990 with four Top 5 songs.  The fifth single from their debut album, which oddly was one of their best, only reached #12.  Since radio failed to place it in the Top 10, it makes The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era* club!

"The Dream Is Still Alive

Wilson Phillips

Lyrics by Glenn Ballard, Music by Wilson Phillips

Not so long ago we were so in phase
You and I could never forget the days
But then the fire seemed to flicker
Cold wind came and it carried us away
But we'll get back someday, baby

The dream is still alive
Look here in my eyes
Can you see what I'm feeling?
The dream is still alive
The one of you and I
And my heartache is healing
I couldn't let it die
No I knew it would survive
The dream is still alive

Not so long ago in a purple haze
People dreamed out loud they were not afraid
They stopped the war but not the dying
Some got a little bit lost along the way
But somehow we're here today
And we say

The dream is still alive
After all this time
The flame keeps on burning
The dream is still alive
The one of you and I
And my heartache is healing
I couldn't let it die
No I knew it would survive
The dream is, the dream is still alive

Oh yeah..

The dream is still alive
Look here in my eyes
Can you see what I'm feeling
The dream is still alive
The one of you and I
And my heartache is healing
I couldn't let it die
For all the times we tried
The dream is still alive 

Who had more hits--Three Dog Night or Journey?

Three Dog Night was one of the biggest acts of the late 60's and 70's, while Journey was red-hot in the late 70's and 80's.  Which supergroup had more hits (defined as making the Hot 100 for the week)? (Answer after the break)...

Eydie Gorme Passes On At Age 84

Eydie Gorme, wife of Steve Lawrence and cousin of Neil Sedaka, who gave us that great song featured above, died at age 84 in Las Vegas.  

This Date in Rock Music History: August 10

1954:  Elvis Presley sang his new song "That's Alright Mama" at Overton Park in Memphis, Tennessee.




1959:  Brook Benton had the top R&B song with "Thank You Pretty Baby".
1959:  Elvis Presley moved to #1 with his 37th hit, "A Big Hunk O' Love".
1961:  14-year-old Helen Shapiro became the youngest person to reach #1 in the U.K. with "You Don't Know".
1963:  Cliff Richard and the Shadows, the Searchers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, and Brian Poole and the Tremeloes were on the 100th edition of Thank Your Lucky Stars on BBC-TV.
1963:  The Rolling Stones, Acker Bilk and Long John Baldry were all at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Richmond, Surrey, England.  Sounds like they couldn't find enough jazz artists to perform.








1963:  Peter, Paul & Mary were at #1 for a second week with "Blowin' In The Wind".
1967:  Paul Revere & the Raiders from Boise, Idaho performed before the largest crowd in the 115-year history of the Illinois State Fair (27,000).
1968:  The Dells rose to #1 on the R&B chart with "Stay In My Corner".

 

1968:  The annual National Jazz & Blues Festival had some snags after being held the previous two years in Windsor--among them, the Windsor Borough Council refused to grant a dancing license.  Finally, the Festival was moved to the  Kempton Park Race Course in Sunbury-On-Thames, England, and it was an amazing event.  Deep Purple, Joe Cocker, Jeff Beck, T. Rex, Ten Years After, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and the Nice performed on the second day.
1968:  Tom Jones rose to the top of the U.K. Album chart with Delilah.









1968:  "This Guy's In Love with You" by Herb Alpert remained #1 for a 10th week on the Easy Listening chart.
1969:  The three-day National Jazz and Blues Festival, this time held in Sussex, England, concluded with The Nice, Pentangle, and Long John Baldry among the performers.











1970:  Neil Diamond released the single "Cracklin' Rosie".













1970:  Elvis Presley began performing at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
1970:  Simon & Garfunkel dominated the U.K. Album chart with Bridge Over Troubled Water.  The Beatles were at #2 with Let It Be while Bob Dylan had the #3 album Self Portrait.










1974:  Roberta Flack topped the Easy Listening chart with "Feel Like Makin' Love".










                                                                     Saluting Blue Magic's Top 10 hit...

1974:  Roberta Flack moved to #1 with "Feel Like Makin' Love", holding off Paper Lace and "The Night Chicago Died" for the moment.  John Denver's #1 "Annie's Song" was at #3 followed by Elton John with "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me".  The rest of the Top 10:  Dave Loggins with "Please Come To Boston", Chicago's "Call On Me", ABBA's first hit "Waterloo" entering the Top 10, Blue Magic with "Sideshow", Jim Stafford and "Wildwood Weed" and Rufus moving from 19 to 10 with "Tell Me Something Good".









1974:  John Denver took over from Elton John's Caribou with Back Home Again, the new #1 album.  Bob Dylan & the Band had Before the Flood, 461 Ocean Boulevard by Eric Clapton was #4 and Loggins & Messina had #5 with On Stage.  The rest of the Top 10:  Bachman-Turner Overdrive II, Journey to the Center of the Earth by Rick Wakeman, Tres Hombres by ZZ Top, Steely Dan's Pretzel Logic at #9 and Paul McCartney & Wings were at #10 after 34 weeks with Band on the Run.
1975:  Manhattan Transfer got their own summer variety show which debuted on CBS-TV.










1976:  Elton John sold out 10 concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City and opened the first show on this date.  He grossed $1.25 million to break the previous record at the venue.
1979:  Michael Jackson released the album Off the Wall on Epic Records.
1982:  Frank Zappa and Moon Unit Zappa performed "Valley Girl" on Late Night with David Letterman.
1982:  Queen performed at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut.
1983:  Kajagoogoo ("Too Shy" from 1983) fired lead singer Limahl, who began a solo career.
1985:  Michael Jackson took the advice of Paul McCartney and invested $47.5 million in the ATV catalog which contained 251 songs written by McCartney and John Lennon as well as songs by Pat Benatar, the Pretenders, and others.  Jackson made the purchase along with record company executive David Geffen, John Johnson, founder of Ebony magazine, and John Branca, who has handled the finances of scores of groups including the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys.  McCartney had advised him to invest in music publishing a few years earlier, not knowing that Jackson would end up owning the Beatles' songs.  McCartney and Lennon had lost the rights to their songs in 1968 through bad business dealings.  McCartney had considered buying the rights back but thought the asking price too much.  By the way, the ATV catalog, which Jackson sold back to Sony in 2008, is now worth over one billion dollars.  (Note:  some websites say Jackson acquired the rights on August 14, but the correct date is August 10, according to the book 'Michael Jackson in Memoriam' by Javier Fisac Seco.  Some websites say that Jackson outbid McCartney for the rights.  McCartney and Lennon lost the rights to the Northern Songs catalog after manager Brian Epstein died in 1967.  Dick James, the co-owner with Epstein, decided to sell his share in 1968.  Lennon and McCartney tried to buy the rights at that time but failed.  McCartney and Ono (Lennon's widow) had been offered the catalog in 1981 for $40 million, but Yoko thought the two could get the catalog for $20 million and thus McCartney let the bid fall through.  McCartney was not among the bidders in 1985 when Jackson won the rights, according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times'.  Some websites also claim Jackson sold the rights to the Beatles' songs in 2008.  This isn't true either.  While the ATV catalog was merged with Sony in 2008, Jackson retained a one-half ownership in the ATV catalog in which his heirs still own, according to 'Forbes' magazine.)1985:  Paul Young led the way on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Everytime You Go Away".








1985:  After 38 weeks, Reckless by Bryan Adams reached #1 on the Album chart.  Tears for Fears were second with Songs from the Big Chair and Phil Collins held fast at #3 with No Jacket Required.  Sting had #4--The Dream of the Blue Turtles while Bruce Springsteen was #5 with Born in the U.S.A.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Power Station with their debut, Motley Crue with Theatre of Pain at #7, Prince & the Revolution had #8 with Around the World in a Day, Ratt was stuck at 9 with Invasion of Your Privacy and Dire Straits entered the Top 10 with Brothers in Arms.
1987:  Wilson Pickett was found guilty of possessing a shotgun with intent to endanger life in a New Jersey court.
1992:  Def Leppard began an extensive tour at Madison Square Garden.
1993:  The Dave Matthews Band played at The Flood Zone in Richmond, Virginia.  Two of the songs at the performance were included on the album Remember Two Things.
1994:  The Eagles were at the Great Woods Performing Arts Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts.  (Note:  some websites say the concert was in Boston, but the Performing Arts Center is located in Mansfield, about 35 miles from Boston.)






1995:  Van Halen appeared on Late Night with David Letterman.
1995:  Jimmy Buffett was the musical act for United States President Bill Clinton's birthday celebration at the White House.
1999:  Oasis announced that rhythm guitarist Paul Arthurs was leaving the group.
2004:  Esquire Magazine named Andre 3000 of OutKast the Best Dressed Man.  (Note:  some websites report the news occurred on August 11, but the story first appeared in 'The Village Voice' on August 10.
2004:  Rick Fox of the Los Angeles Lakers filed for divorce from Vanessa Williams.
2006:  Barbara George "I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)" from 1961) died of a lung infection in Chauvin, Louisiana at the age of 63.
2008:  Isaac Hayes, singer-songwriter most noted for the #1 song "Theme From 'Shaft'" died at his home in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 65.








2010:  Olivia Newton-John was made an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia by the Governor-General in Canberra.




Born This Day:
1909:  Leo Fender, inventor of that great guitar, was born in Anaheim, California; died March 21, 1991 in Fullerton, California from complications of Parkinson's disease.





1928:  Jimmy Dean ("Big Bad John") was born in Olton, Texas; died of natural causes June 13, 2010 in Varina, Virginia.  (Note:  some websites claim Jimmy (real name:  Seth Ward) was born in Plain View, Texas, Plainview, Texas or Olton, Texas.  According to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times', Jimmy was born in Olton and was raised in Plainview.  There is no such city as Plain View in Texas.)
1928:  Eddie Fisher was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died September 22, 2010 from complications of hip surgery in Berkeley, California.











1940:  Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin; died November 5, 2003 of a heart attack brought on by cocaine.
1940:  Michael "Tunes" Antunes, saxophonist of John Cafferty's Beaver Brown Band
1940:  Daddy Dewdrop (real name Richard Monda), who gave us "Chick-A-Boom" in 1971, was born in Cleveland, Ohio.








1943:  Ronnie Spector was born in New York City.
1943:  James Griffin of Bread was born in Cincinnati, Ohio; died of cancer January 11, 2005 at his home in Franklin, Tennessee.  (Note:  the magazine 'Rolling Stone' reports he was born in Memphis, Tennessee.  According to the much more reliable 'Billboard', Griffin was born in Cincinnati and moved to Memphis.)
1945:  Larry Larden of Every Mother's Son
1947:  Ian Anderson, lead singer, songwriter and flautist of Jethro Tull, was born in Dunfermline, Fife, United Kingdom.  (Note:  some websites claim he was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.  According to the book 'Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play:  Inside Two Long Songs' by Tim Smolko, Anderson was born in Dunfermline, then lived in Edinburgh.)1948:  Patti Austin (The #1 song "Baby, Come To Me" with James Ingram) was born in New York City.
1949:  Andy Cresswell-Davis, singer, guitarist and keyboardist of the Korgis ("Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime"), was born in Yatton, Somerset, England.
1959:  Mark Price, drummer for All About Eve who also worked with the Cure and Right Said Fred, was born in Burnley, Lancashire, England.
1961:  Jon Farriss, drummer of INXS, was born in Perth, Western Australia.
1962:  Julia Fordham, backing singer for Kim Wilde, was born in Portsmouth, England.
1967:  Lorraine Pearson of 5 Star was born in Romford, Essex, England.  (Note:  some websites report that Lorraine was born in Wembley, England.  According to the book 'The Encyclopedia of Popular Music' by Colin Larkin, Pearson was born in Romford.  The town is now included in the county of London, but that change did not occur until after Pearson was born.)
 1968:  Michael Bivins of New Edition and later Bell Biv Devoe was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

Five Best: Natalie Cole

When you're the daughter of a legend, one could have self-placed pressure to live up to their father.  This woman had a very successful career in her own right, piling up 17 hits.  With Honorable Mention to "I Live For Your Love", here are the Five Best from Natalie Cole:

1.  This Will Be

 

 

 

2.  I've Got Love On My Mind

 

 

 

3.  Unforgettable

 

 

 

4.   Miss You Like Crazy

 

 

 

5.  Our Love

In Concert: Elvis Presley & "Heartbreak Hotel"

Elvis gives a standout performance of his first #1 hit: 

This Date in Rock Music History: August 9

1958:  Cliff Richard signed a recording contract with EMI Records and also began a four-week residency at Butlins Holiday Camp in Clacton-On-Sea, Essex.
1960:  Johnny Horton recorded "North To Alaska" at Quonset Hut Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
1963:  The British television show Ready Steady Go! debuted on the BBC.
1964:  The Rolling Stones were live at the New Elizabeth Ballroom in Belle Vue, Manchester.
1965:  The Silkie recorded their version of "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away".  Paul McCartney played guitar, George Harrison played tambourine and John Lennon produced the song.

1967:  Love was contagious.  On this date, Scott McKenzie hit #1 in the U.K. with his great song "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair").
1968:  Jerry Lee Lewis, Marmalade, and the Herd helped kick things off at the annual National Jazz and Blues Festival, which was moved to the Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury-on-Thames, England.











1969:  A new group appeared on the scene.  They first hit the chart on this date with "Questions 67 And 68".  Their name originally was Chicago Transit Authority, but we know them as simply Chicago.

1969:  Brian Jones was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.  (Note:  some websites mistakenly say the issue was dated July 26, but as you can see from the photo above, the correct date is August 9.)
1969:  The Who, Yes, King Crimson, Chicken Shack, and the Strawbs thrilled crowds on the second day of the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Sussex, England.
1969:  The great album Blood, Sweat & Tears continued to be #1 on the Album chart, followed by the Soundtrack to "Hair", which was in its 53rd week of release.  The Soundtrack to "Romeo & Juliet" was next, followed by This is Tom Jones and A Warm Shade of Ivory by Henry Mancini & His Orchestra.  The rest of the Top 10:  In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly, Cream, up 25-7 with the Best of Cream, the self-titled Crosby, Stills & Nash, Johnny Cash At San Quentin entered the Top 10 and the 5th Dimension was at 10 with The Age of Aquarius.
1969:  "Commotion" by CCR moved from #71 to #34 on this date.







                                       One of the most important songs ever released--Jackie DeShannon...


























1969:  "In the Year 2525" by Zager and Evans continued to roll along at #1 for a fourth week with "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James & the Shondells one step away.  The Rolling Stones moved from #8 to #3 with "Honky Tonk Women" .  All three songs are still ranked high in The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.  Jr. Walker & the All-Stars owned #4--"What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" and Neil Diamond moved to #5 with "Sweet Caroline".  The rest of the Top 10:  Kenny Rogers & the First Edition with "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town", Johnny Cash moved from 20-7 with "A Boy Named Sue", Stevie Wonder with "My Cherie Amour", Jackie DeShannon jumped up from 25 to 9 with "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" and Andy Kim fell with "Baby, I Love You".
1970:  Deep Purple, Yes, Wishbone Ash and the Incredible String Band helped wrap up the four-day National Jazz and Blues Festival at the Plumpton Race Track in East Sussex, England.
1973:  Guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell left the group Wings.
1974:  Bill Chase (39 years old), keyboardist Wally Yohn (27), drummer Walter Clark (25), and guitarist John Emma (22) of the group Chase ("Get It On" from 1971) died in a small plane crash in Jackson, Minnesota.
1975:  Don Kirshner held the first Rock Music Award Show in Santa Monica, California.  The Eagles, Stevie Wonder and Bad Company were among the winners.
1975:  Janis Ian's biting "At Seventeen" was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.





         
                                                                      Glen Campbell was headed to the top...



1975:  The Bee Gees scored their first #1 song in four years with "Jive Talkin'", hopping over 10 cc's "I'm Not In Love", which had to settle for being a #2 song for three weeks.  Olivia Newton-John was beginning to cross over on a regular basis as "Please Mr. Please" was #3.  The previous #1 from the Eagles ("One Of These Nights") was at #4 followed by Elton John's classic "Someone Saved My Life Tonight".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Midnight Blue" by Melissa Manchester followed by four new entries, "Rhinestone Cowboy" by Glen Campbell which moved 14-7, War's "Why Can't We Be Friends?", James Taylor jumped up from 15 to 9 with his remake of the Marvin Gaye hit "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" and Mike Post at #10 with "The Rockford Files".
















                                                      The Isley Brothers were up to #2...


1975:  One of These Nights by the Eagles had only been out seven weeks but three of those were at #1 as the quality was already evident.  The Isley Brothers had the biggest album of their career--The Heat Is On at #2.  The Captain & Tennille were at 3 with Love Will Keep Us Together while Elton John's amazing Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy album was at #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Cut the Cake by Average White Band, Venus and Mars from Wings, James Taylor placed Gorilla at #7, the Greatest Hits package from Cat Stevens was at #8, Earth, Wind & Fire were in the 22nd week of release with That's the Way of the World and Jefferson Starship was staging one of rock's most incredible comebacks with Red Octopus, which entered the Top 10.













  






1976:  Abba released the single "Fernando".






























1976:  Linda Ronstadt released her cover of Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day".
1980:  ABBA had the top song in the U.K. with "The Winner Takes It All".
1980:  AC/DC hit #1 in the U.K. with the album Back in Black.





















1980:  The Rolling Stones remained at #1 on the Album chart for the third week with Emotional Rescue.  Jackson Browne's great album Hold Out moved to #2 while Billy Joel remained at 3 with Glass Houses.  Those are three great albums.  The Soundtrack to "Urban Cowboy" was at #4 while Queen's The Game was fifth.  The rest of the Top 10:  Diana from Diana Ross, Empty Glass by Pete Townshend, the Soundtrack to "The Empire Strikes Back" was at #8, the debut from Christopher Cross moved from 19 to 9 and another of The Top 100 Albums of All-Time in the Rock Era*--Against the Wind from Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band entered the Top 10.
1980:  Olivia Newton-John had one of her biggest hits as "Magic" was #1 for a third week on the Adult Contemporary chart.








1980:  Diana Ross had one of the hottest up-and-coming songs in the nation as "Upside Down" moved from 49 to 10.
1985:  "The Motown Review", hosted by Smokey Robinson, premiered on television.
1986:  The classic lineup of Queen appeared in concert for the final time at Knebworth Park in Knebworth, Hertfordshire, England.
1986:  Peter Cetera from Sun Valley, Idaho remained at #1 for the third week on the AC chart with "Glory Of Love".









1991:  The great group the 5th Dimension earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
















1995:  Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead died of a heart attack in Forest Knolls, California at the age of 53.
1996:  The Ramones broke up.

                                                            Matchbox 20 entered the Top 10...


1997:  No Way Out debuted at #1 on the Album chart by Puff Daddy & the Family.  The Soundtrack to "Men in Black" had to fall, while Spice by the Spice Girls was #3.  Hanson owned #4--Middle of Nowhere and Sarah McLachlan's fine Surfacing fell to #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Fat of the Land by Prodigy, Supa Dupa Fly from Missy Elliott, Jewel was now moving back up at #8 with Pieces of You in its 76th week, Matchbox entered the Top 10 with their great album Yourself or Someone Like You and the self-titled God's Property was at #10.
1999:  Bob Herbert, manager of the Spice Girls, was killed in a car crash in Windsor, Berkshire, England at the age of 57.
2003:  Hanson began their acoustic tour of the United States at the Recher Theatre in Towson, Maryland.









2003:  The Eagles performed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2005:  In Today's edition of "Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music", rapper Beanie Sigel was released from federal prison in Fairton, New Jersey. 
2008:  Bo Diddley was given an honorary doctorate posthumously from the University of Florida in Gainesville.


Born This Day:
1939:  Billy Henderson of the Spinners was born in Indianapolis, Indiana; died February 2, 2007 in Daytona Beach, Florida of complications from diabetes.  (Note:  some websites claim Henderson was born in Detroit, Michigan; he was born in Indianapolis, then moved with his family to Detroit as a child, according to the newspaper 'The Indianapolis Recorder'.)
1946:  Marinus Gerritsen, bassist and keyboardist of Golden Earring, was born in Hague, the Netherlands.








1947:  Barbara Mason ("Yes I'm Ready") was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1954:  Pete Thomas, elite drummer of Elvis Costello's Attractions, was born in Hillsborough, Sheffield, England.
1955:  Charlie Morgan, drummer and percussionist who worked with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Tina Turner, Orleans and Kate Bush, was born in Hammersmith, London, England.
1959:  Kurtis Blow (real name Kurtis Walker) was born in Manhattan, New York (Note:  some websites say he was born in the Bronx, some simply say New York City.  According to the book 'Hip Hop Culture' by Emmett George Price, Walker was born in the neighborhood of Harlem, which of course is in Manhattan.)

 

 

1963:  Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey; died February 11, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California when she drowned in her hotel bathtub after taking drugs.
1972:  Arion Salazar, bass guitarist of Third Eye Blind, was born in Oakland, California.