Sad News from Linda Ronstadt

Inside The Rock Era has received word that Linda Ronstadt, the multi-talented singer successful in numerous musical styles and one of The Top Artists of the Rock Era*, has Parkinson's disease.  The 67-year old is unable to sing a note.  She will publish her memoir called Simple Dreams next month. 

Ronstadt has won 11 Grammy Awards, had 32 hits and sold over 31 million albums in the United States alone.  It is estimated that Linda's worldwide sales exceed 50 million.  

We are deeply saddened by this news and pray for her in the days, months and years to come.

We love you Linda!

This Date in Rock Music History: August 25

1956:  The Platters spent another week at #1 on the R&B chart with the classic "My Prayer".
1957:  Paul Anka topped the U.K. chart with "Diana".
1958:  Jimmy Clanton had the top R&B song with "Just A Dream".








 
1958:  Tommy Edwards moved from #96 to #40 on this date with "It's All In The Game".









1958:  It was only the fourth chart in Billboard history and already we had our third #1 song--"Little Star" by the Elegants.  Domenico Modugno fell with "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Bul (Volare)" while the Everly Brothers got in on the fun with "Bird Dog", which moved from 17-3.
1960:  The Shadows had the first of five #1's in the U.K. with "Apache".

1961:  The Beatles played at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in the afternoon, then hopped aboard the riverboat M.V. Royal Iris in Merseyside to open for Acker Bilk, one of four "riverboat shuffles" that the group took part in.
1962:  She had written many songs for other artists, but on this date Carole King's first single "It Might As Well Rain Until September" debuted on the chart.








1962:  "The Loco-Motion", written by Stanley, Idaho's Carole King, became the new #1 R&B song.










1962:  Peter, Paul & Mary moved from 90 to 59 with "If I Had A Hammer".
1962:  Little Eva reached #1 after nine weeks with "The Loco-Motion".  Neil Sedaka feel from his perch with "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" while Bobby Darin was up to 3 with "Things".  Ray Charles edged up with "You Don't Know Me" while Tommy Roe had the song "Sheila", which moved from 12 to 5.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Roses Are Red" from Bobby Vinton, Claudine Clark with "Party Lights", Elvis Presley was up to 8 with "She's Not You", Ray Stevens had song #9--"Ahab, The Arab" and Dion fell with "Little Diane".
1965:  The movie Wild on the Beach, with appearances from Sonny & Cher and Sandy Nelson, opened in theaters.
1967:  Brian Wilson joined the Beach Boys in concert at the Honolulu International Center in Honolulu, Hawai'i after taking two years off from touring.
1970:  Elton John made his debut in the United States, opening for David Ackles at the Troubadour in Hollywood, California.  Neil Diamond introduced Elton to the crowd.

1971:  Led Zeppelin played at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, Texas.
1973:  Butch Trucks, drummer for the Allman Brothers Band, broke his leg in a car crash near Macon, Georgia.
1973:  Faces, Status Quo, and Lindsfarne performed on the second day of the annual National Jazz, Blues and Rock Festival in Reading, England.
1973:  Donny Osmond had the #1 U.K. song with "Young Love".







1973:  The Stories climbed all the way to #1 with "Brother Louie", leapfrogging the Wings hit "Live And Let Die".  Diana Ross slipped with her former #1 "Touch Me In The Morning".  Marvin Gaye ("Let's Get It On") and Maureen McGovern ("The Morning After") swapped places.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Delta Dawn" from Helen Reddy, "Get Down" by Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose" by Tony Orlando & Dawn moved from 14 to 8, Charlie Daniels was still at 9 with "Uneasy Rider" and Jim Croce's former #1 smash "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" was song #10. 

1975:  Bruce Springsteen released the album Born to Run on Columbia Records.
1975:  Elton John performed for the first of three nights at the Troubadour in Los Angeles to raise $150,000 for the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA.
1976:  Frankie Avalon debuted his four-week variety series, Easy Does It, on CBS-TV.











1976:  Boston released their epic debut album on Epic Records (pun intended).  (Note:  some websites list the debut as August 5.  While there are no credible sources for its release, our best research indicates that it was released August 25.)
1977:  Helen Reddy was appointed as a member of the California State Parks Commission.
1979:  Cheap Trick, Thin Lizzy, Inner Circle, and Bram Tchaikovsky performed on the second day of the U.K. Reading Festival in Reading, England.
1979:  The #1 song in the U.K. was "We Don't Talk Anymore" by Cliff Richard, his first #1 in 11 years.
1979:  Elton John took over at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Mama Can't Buy You Love".







1979:  If you like hard rock, you have this song to thank, for it may have saved the future of the genre.  On this date, "My Sharona" by the Knack became the first rock song to reach #1 since "Blinded By The Light" back on February 19 of 1975.  There was nothing remotely of a heavier sound in between to reach #1.









1979:  Get the Knack by the Knack was the #1 album in a pretty good list.  The former #1 Breakfast in America by Supertramp moved back up to #2.  The Cars' follow-up Candy-O moved to 3 while Bad Girls by Donna Summer was at 4.  The rest of the Top 10:  I Am by Earth, Wind & Fire, Discovery from ELO, the Charlie Daniels Band had #7 with Million Mile Reflections, the Soundtrack to "The Kids Are Alright" by the Who, Neil Young & Crazy Horse's Rust Never Sleeps and John Stewart had #10 with Bombs Away Dream Babies.








1984:  "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker, Jr. was the new #1 on the R&B chart.










1984:  Purple Rain by Prince spent a fourth week at #1 on the Album chart.  Sports from Huey Lewis & the News moved back up to 2 after 47 weeks of release.  Bruce Springsteen switched places after 10 weeks of release with Born in the U.S.A. but Private Dancer from Tina Turner was up strong.  The rest of the Top 10: the great Cars album Heartbeat City was at 5, the Soundtrack to "Ghostbusters" came in sixth, the Jacksons' farewell album Victory Can't Slow Down, Ratt's Out of the Cellar could not move past 9 and the Pointer Sisters entered the Top 10 with Break Out.
1988:  Metallica released the album And Justice for All on Elektra Records.
1989:  Simon LeBon of Duran Duran and his wife Yasmin announced the birth of daughter Amber Rose.
1990:  "Come Back To Me" by Janet Jackson was the new #1 Adult Contemporary song.

1990:  M.C. Hammer spent an 11th non-consecutive week at #1 on the Album chart with Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em.  Wilson Phillips climbed up to #2 with their fantastic self-titled release while Poison was at 3 with Flesh & Blood.  Mariah Carey remained at #4 with her debut.  The rest of the Top 10:  Anita Baker's fine Compositions at 5, Bell Biv DeVoe with Poison, Keith Sweat came in at #8 with I'll Give All My Love to You, Madonna with the Soundtrack to "I'm Breathless" and the "Pretty Woman" Soundtrack.
1994:  The marriage between Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley was formally dissolved with their divorce.
1994:  Jimmy Buffett's light plane flipped after taking off in Nantucket, Massachusetts.  He swam safely to shore.

1994:  Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, formerly of Led Zeppelin, reunited in London to record the "Unplugged" show on MTV.  The show was called "Unledded".  (Note:  some websites falsely say the show was called "Unleaded", but the album was entitled 'Unledded'.)
1994:  Take That began a tour of the U.K. with three nights at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow, Scotland.
1995:  The U.K. Reading Festival has always been able to attract top talent and this year was no exception.  Green Day, the Smashing Pumpkins and Beck opened the festivities for the three-day event.







1999:  Lionel Richie played a concert in front of the Sphinx in Egypt.
1999:  Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan, bass guitarist, left the group Oasis.  McGuigan was the final founding member of the group to leave.  (Note:  several websites report he left on August 24, but according to the newspapers 'The Independent', 'The Guardian' and 'The Mirror', he left on August 25.)
1999:  Rob Fisher, keyboardist and songwriter of Naked Eyes and Climie Fisher, died of cancer in Surrey, England at the age of 42.  

2000:  Jack Nitzsche, who produced for the Rolling Stones and Neil Young and also co-wrote "Up Where We Belong" for the classic movie An Officer and a Gentleman, died of cardiac arrest brought on by a recurring bronchial infection in Hollywood, California at the age of 63.








2001:  Aaliyah and eight others were killed when their plane crashed in Marsh Harbor in the Abacos islands of the northern Bahamas.  The cause of the crash was engine failure due to the plane being overloaded.
2002:  Eva Cassidy had the #1 U.K. album with Imagine.
2006:  Tom Hamilton, bassist for Aerosmith, began recovering from tongue cancer after undergoing seven weeks of radiation treatment.  (Note:  some websites say that Hamilton underwent treatment on this date.  According to the newspaper 'The Washington Post', Hamilton announced on August 25 that he was recovering from radiation treatment, which he had been undergoing for seven weeks.  Some websites report that he had treatment from tongue and throat cancer on this date.  According to the sources mentioned above, it was only for tongue cancer.  The cancer later spread to his throat, which forced Hamilton to undergo non-invasive surgery for in 2009.)
2006:  Franz Ferdinand, the Kaiser Chiefs, Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, and the Subways opened the entertainment at the three-day Reading Festival in Leeds and Reading, England.
2007:  Arthur Brown accidentally set himself on fire while singing the song "Fire" in Lewes, Sussex, England.
2007:  Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arcade Fire, and Panic!  at the Disco performed on the second day of the Carling Weekend Reading Festival in Leeds and Reading, England.
2010:  An inside look at the early years of the Beatles was unveiled in Liverpool, England at the University of Liverpool's Victoria Gallery and Museum.  Photographs taken by Astrid Kirchherr, the former fiancé of original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, were displayed, including pictures of the group on vacation in Tenerife and the making of the movie A Hard Day's Night.


Born This Day:
1943:  Walter Williams of the O'Jays was born in Canton, Ohio.  (Note:  several websites report Williams was born in 1942.  According to Walter's official website and his official Facebook page, he was born in 1943.)
1947:  Keith Tippett, pianist with King Crimson, was born in Bristol, England.
1949:  Gene Simmons, songwriter and bass guitarist of KISS,was born in Haifa, Israel.

1951:  Rob Halford, lead singer of Judas Priest, was born in Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, England.  (Note:  'Billboard' and MTV report Halford was born in Birmingham, England, and some websites claim he was born in Walsall, Staffordshire, England.  Sutton was born at his aunt's home in Sutton Coldfield, and raised in Walsall, according to the book 'The Story of Judas Priest:  Defenders of the Faith' by Neil Daniels.)
1951:  James Warren, singer and bassist of the Korgis ("Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime"), was born in Bristol, Somerset, England.
1952:  Geoff Downs, keyboardist and songwriter of the Buggles, Yes and Asia, was born in Stockport, Cheshire, England.
1954:  Elvis Costello (Declan Patrick MacManus), singer and husband of the great Diana Krall, was born in Paddington, Middlesex, England.  (Note:  several websites make the mistake of saying Costello was born in Paddington, London, with London being the county Paddington is currently a part of.  In 1954, the time of Elvis's birth, Paddington was in the county of Middlesex, so you will never see an official birth certificate from 1954 with Paddington listed in the county of London.)






1962:  Vivian Campbell, elite guitarist of Def Leppard and Whitesnake, was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
1966:  DJ Terminator X (Norman Rogers) of Public Enemy

This Date in Rock Music History: August 24

In Concert: Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven"

Led Zep does one of the all-time classics live:

This Date in Rock Music History: August 23

1962:  John Lennon married Cynthia Powell at the Mount Pleasant Registry Office in Liverpool, England with fellow Beatles George Harrison and Paul McCartney present.
























1962:  Bobby "Boris" Pickett released the single "Monster Mash".
1963:  The Rolling Stones appeared for the first time on the British television show Ready  Steady  Go!, along with the Hollies, Lulu, and the Yardbirds.
1966:  Big Brother & the Holding Company signed with Mainstream Records in return for airfare back to San Francisco.  Talk about a shoestring budget.
1966:  The Beatles' double-sided hit "Yellow Submarine"/"Eleanor Rigby" became the group's 11th #1 in the U.K.
1967:  Joni Mitchell was in concert for the first time in the U.K., opening for the Piccadilly Line at the Marquee Club in London.
1968:  The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Big Brother & the Holding Company, the Chambers Brothers, and Soft Machine played before an overflow audience of 18,000 at the New York Rock Festival at the Singer Bowl at Flushing Meadows Park in Queens.










1969:  The Temptations climbed from #84 to #48 with "I Can't Get Next To You".
1969:  Johnny Cash At San Quentin was the new #1 album, replacing the great Blood, Sweat & Tears debut.  The Soundtrack to "Hair" was third, followed by the Best of Cream.  Blind Faith made an unbelievable jump from #111 to #5 with their debut.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Soft Parade by the Doors, the Soundtrack to "Romeo & Juliet" fell to #7, This Is Tom Jones took position #8, the self-titled Crosby, Stills & Nash was #9 and Iron Butterfly was still hanging around after 58 weeks with In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
1969:  Aretha Franklin scored her seventh #1 song on the R&B chart with "Share Your Love With Me".
1969:  Zager & Evans made it two weeks at #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "In The Year 2525".













                                                                 Neil Diamond with an early career classic...

1969:  The Rolling Stones registered their 24th career hit and fifth #1 with "Honky Tonk Women".  Johnny Cash had everyone talking with "A Boy Named Sue" and Tommy James & the Shondells sang one of The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era*--"Crystal Blue Persuasion".  Neil Diamond was fourth with "Sweet Caroline" and Zager and Evans slipped after six weeks at #1 with "In The Year 2525".  The rest of the Top 10:  Jackie DeShannon with another of The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era*--"Put A Little Love In Your Heart", Creedence Clearwater Revival took "Green River" from 15 to 7, Tony Joe White entered the Top 10 with "Polk Salad Annie", the Youngbloods with the third member of The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era* in the Top 10 on this date (imagine that, three being from 1969) with "Get Together" and the Guess Who landed at 10 with "Laughing".

1970:  Emerson, Lake and Palmer performed for the first time at Plymouth Guildhall in Plymouth, England.
1970:  Lou Reed left the Velvet Underground after a performance at Max's in Kansas City, Missouri.
1971:  Diana Ross had the #1 U.K. song with "I'm Still Waiting".
































1972:  Jim Croce released the single "Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels".

1975:  Paul Kassoff, former guitarist of Free, came back to life after his heart stopped beating for 35 minutes.  Doctors removed a blood clot in his leg and he was released.
1975:  Yes, Supertramp and Thin Lizzy were among the performers on the second day of a very successful Reading Festival in Reading, England.
1975:  James Taylor moved to #1 on the Adult chart with "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)".


















 
1975:  K.C. and the Sunshine Band landed a #1 song on the R&B chart with "Get Down Tonight".


































1975:  Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds rose to the top with "Fallin' In Love", jumping over the Eagles' "One Of These Nights".  K.C. and the Sunshine Band had a hot song with "Get Down Tonight", moving from 12 to 3.  The former #1 "Jive Talkin'" was fourth by the Bee Gees.  The rest of the Top 10:  Glen Campbell and "Rhinestone Cowboy", War with "Why Can't We Be Friends?", James Taylor edged up with "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", Elton John's epic "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" was on its way down, Janis Ian's song "At Seventeen" pierced through the radio and rose from 16 to 9 and Olivia Newton-John took the #10 spot with "Please Mr. Please".










1977:  Monday fell on this date, and that of course meant the release date for new singles.  Linda Ronstadt released her remake of the Roy Orbison song "Blue Bayou".1980:  Iron Maiden, UFO, and the Pat Travers Band were among the performers on the second day of the annual Reading Festival in Reading, England.
1980:  The Pretenders, B-52's, Talking Heads and Elvis Costello performed at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada for the Heatwave Festival.
















1980:  David Bowie had the #1 single in the U.K. with "Ashes To Ashes".

































1980:  Olivia Newton-John remained #1 for the fourth week with "Magic" while Christopher Cross was poised to strike at #2 with the beautiful "Sailing".  The S.O.S. Band somehow found their way at #3 with "Take Your Time (Do It Right)", the Rolling Stones were still at 4 with "Emotional Rescue" and Diana Ross maintained at 5 with "Upside Down".  The rest of the Top 10:  Billy Joel's former #1 "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me", Irene Cara blasted into the Top 10 with "Fame", Air Supply moved from 21 to 8 with their second single "All Out Of Love", Pete Townshend's solo hit "Let My Love Open the Door" was at 9 and Kim Carnes closed the list with "More Love".
1985:  Aerosmith opened a tour at the Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, Wisconsin.












1986:  The Miami Sound Machine were the vehicle for Gloria Estefan, and on this date, they rose to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Words Get In The Way".
1989:  Ric Ocasek of the Cars married Paulina Porizkova.
1990:  An anonymous buyer purchased the childhood home of Bob Dylan in Hibbing, Minnesota.














1990:  David Rose, the composer who wrote one of The Top 100 Instrumentals of the Rock Era* ("The Stripper") and also wrote the themes to the popular television shows Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie, died of a heart attack in Burbank, California at the age of 80.
1991:  The re-formed Dire Straits began a world tour at Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland.
1991:  Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Babes in Toyland and Iggy Pop were among the performers at the three-day Reading Festival in England.














1993:  Duran Duran was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, next to John Lennon's on the corner of Vine and Yucca.



































1994:  The Eagles performed at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
1996:  Rage Against the Machine, the Offspring, the Prodigy, and Ice T performed on the opening day of the Reading Festival in Reading, England.
1997:  Texas had the top U.K. song with "White On Blonde".
1997:  Usher debuted at #25 with "You Make Me Wanna'".  (Note:  some websites mistakenly say the song debuted at #4.  According to the official "Billboard' website, it debuted at #25 on August 23, 1997.)

2000:  Kenny Loggins was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
2002:  Guns N' Roses, the Offspring, Incubus, Slipknot, and Puddle of Mudd headlined the U.K. Carling Leeds-Reading Festival.
2003:  Bobby Brown was arrested while eating dinner with former wife Whitney Houston at an Atlanta, Georgia restaurant.  Brown had violated parole.
2003:  Linkin Park, Stained, Blink-182 and Jay-Z headlined the second day at the U.K. Reading and Leeds Festival.
2003:  Floetry won Best Single ("Say Yes"), Best Album (Floetic) and Best New Group at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards.
2004:  Queen became the first U.K. group to receive approval to play in Iran.
2008:  Madonna began a world tour at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
2008:  The Killers, the Raconteurs, and the Subways performed on the second day of the Carling Weekend Reading Festival in Reading and Leeds, England.
2009:  Calvin Harris owned the top album in the U.K. with Ready for the Weekend.

Born This Day:
1936:  Rudy Lewis of the Drifters was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died May 20, 1964 in his hotel in Manhattan, New York of a probable drug overdose.
1938:  David (Roger Greenaway) of David & Jonathan, who, along with Roger Cook, wrote many songs for other artists, including "My Baby Loves Lovin'" for White Plains, "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" for the Hollies, and also a noted producer, was born in Fishponds, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.
1942:  Tony Micale, lead singer of the Reflections "(Just Like) Romeo & Juliet"), was born in the Bronx, New York.

1947:  Keith Moon, drummer of the Who, was born in Wembley, Middlesex, England; died September 7, 1978 of an overdose of Heminevrin, a drug intended to curb alcohol abuse.  (Note:  some websites report that he was born in London, while others say Willesden or Harlesden.  According to the official website for the Who, Moon was born in Wembley, Middlesex.)



















1949:  Rick Springfield was born in Sydney, Australia.
1951:  Jim Jamison, lead singer of Survivor, was born in Durant, Mississippi; died August 31, 2014 of a hemorrhagic brain stroke in Memphis, Tennessee.
1951:  Mark Hudson of the Hudson Brothers, backing vocalist for Alice Cooper, Jon Bon Jovi and Hanson, and a songwriter and producer who worked with Aerosmith, Cher, Ringo Starr, and Harry Nilsson, was born in Portland, Oregon.
1953:  Bobby G. (real name Robert Gubby), vocalist of Bucks Fizz, was born in Epsom, Surrey, England.
1954:  Mark Avsec, songwriter and keyboardist for Wild Cherry and co-founder and lead guitarist of Donnie Iris & the Cruisers
1961:  Dean DeLeo, guitarist of Stone Temple Pilots was born in Montclair, New Jersey.  (Note:  several websites report Dean was born in Newark, Jersey, while others say he was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey; 'Allmusic.com' even throws in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.  He was born in Montclair, a suburb of Newark, and grew up in Point Pleasant.)
1974:  Shifty Shellshock (real name Seth Brooks Binzer) of Crazy Town ("Butterfly" from 2001) was born in Los Angeles, California.
1978:  Julian Casablancas, guitarist and lead singer of the Strokes, was born in New York City.
1979:  Richard Neville, vocalist of Five, was born in Solihull, Birmingham, England.
1981:  Natalie Horler, singer of the German dance group Cascada, was born in Bonn, Germany.

This Date in Rock Music History: August 22

1956:  Elvis Presley began filming his first movie Love Me Tender.  It was originally going to be called The Reno Brothers.

1960:  "The Chain Gang" was one of the fastest-moving songs (79 to 54) for Sam Cooke.
1960:  "It's Now Or Never" by Elvis Presley was #1 for a second week.  
1962:  The Beatles filmed a lunchtime performance for Granada Television at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England for their first TV appearance. However, the film was judged too grainy to be shown, so Granada shelved it until the group became famous.  It was shown for the first time on Granada's Scene At 6:30 on November 6, 1963.
1964:  Liberty Records announced that the album The Chipmunks Sing the Beatles was selling 25,000 copies a day.
1964:  The Beatles were in concert at Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, playing to 20,261 fans.  The Bill Black Combo, the Exciters, the Righteous Brothers, and Jackie DeShannon opened for the group.  The show was broadcast locally by CKNW.

1964:  The Four Tops moved from 90 to 54 with "Baby I Need Your Loving".
1964:  The Supremes had the top R&B song with "Where Did Our Love Go".














                                                                                 Dusty with one of her biggest hits ...

1964:  The Supremes slid into the #1 spot with "Where Did Our Love Go", taking over from Dean Martin's "Everybody Loves Somebody".  The Beatles remained at #3 with "A Hard Day's Night" while the Drifters were up to 4 with "Under The Boardwalk" and the Animals were already up to #5 since the release of "The House Of The Rising Sun" three weeks previous.  The rest of the Top 10:  "C'mon And Swim" from Bobby Freeman, the Dave Clark Five moved from 14 to 7 with "Because", the Ventures" were at position number eight--"Walk-Don't Run '64", Dusty Springfield with "Wishin' And Hopin'" and Gerry & the Pacemakers scored a Top 10 hit with "How Do You Do It?".

1965:  The Beatles performed two shows at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.  Mike Love and Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys stopped by between shows to meet the group.

 

 

 

1966:  The Association released the single "Cherish".
1966:  Jerry Lee Lewis signed a contract to play Iago in the London production of Catch My Soul, a rock version of Shakespeare's play Othello.
1968:  Cynthia Powell Lennon countersued for divorce from John (John had sued for divorce previously).
1968:  Ringo Starr temporarily quit the Beatles during sessions for The White Album but later returned.
1969:  The Beatles gathered at John Lennon's home in Tittenhurst Park, England for their final photo session together, two days after their final recording session together.  
1970:  Elton John signed a recording contract with UNI, a division of MCA Records.
1970:  Elvis Presley announced his first nationwide tour since 1958.  Some of the dates were filmed for the documentary Elvis--That's The Way It Is. 
1970:  Derek and the Dominoes were in concert at the Van Dike Club in Plymouth, Devon, England.
1970:  The Moody Blues captured the #1 spot on the Album chart in the U.K. with A Question of Balance.








                                                 Sugarloaf with one of the best keyboard solos by Jerry Corbetta...

1970:  Sugarloaf had the fastest-rising song of the week with "Green-Eyed Lady", which moved from 92 to 65 on this date.
1970:  B.J. Thomas was on top of the Easy Listening chart with "I Just Can't Help Believing".









                                                                   Clarence Carter had a winner with "Patches" ...


1970:  Bread reached #1 with their first hit--"Make It With You".  That ended a five-week reign for the Carpenters' classic "(They Long To Be) Close To You".  Eric Burdon & War were up to #3 with "Spill The Wine" while the song "War" was at #4 for Edwin Starr.  The rest of the Top 10:  Mungo Jerry with "In The Summertime", Stevie Wonder had #6--"Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)", Clarence Carter moved from 16 to 7 with "Patches", Freda Payne's "Band Of Gold", B.J. Thomas moved into the list with "I Just Can't Help Believing" and one of the great One-Hit Wonders of the Rock Era*, "Tighter, Tighter" by Alive & Kicking was still alive at #10.
1971:  Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul & Mary and Joan Baez were at the Odeon Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland.












1974:  Carole King released her single "Jazzman".
1974:  The Eagles played the Music Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts.

1975:  U.F.O. and Hawkwind helped kick off the three-day Reading Festival in Reading, England.
1977:  Peter Frampton played the first of three sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden. 
1979:  Led Zeppelin released their final studio album In through the Out Door.
1980:  Queen performed at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1981:  The Carpenters collected their 15th #1 song on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Touch Me When We're Dancing".








                                                                                       Foreigner's "Woman in Black"...

1981:  4 moved up to #1 on the Album chart for Foreigner after just five weeks.  That meant a short stay for Pat Benatar with Precious Time.  Stevie Nicks was up big with Bella Donna (12-3), Journey were at #4 with Escape and the Moody Blues had #5--Long Distance Voyager.  The rest of the Top 10:  Kenny Rogers owned #6 with Share Your Love, Billy Squier slid up to #7 with Don't Say No, Rick James had the #8 album with Street Songs, Rick Springfield entered the Top 10 with Working Class Dog and Air Supply maintained at 10 with The One That You Love.
1981:  "Endless Love", the duet by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie, was #1 on the R&B chart.











1983:  Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton released the single "Islands In The Stream".

1987:  Bon Jovi was the main attraction at the Monsters of Rock Festival at Donington  Park in Castle Donington, Leicestershire, England.












                                                             The talented Debbie Gibson had a Top 10 smash...

1987:  "Who's That Girl" by Madonna became her sixth number one and 13th consecutive Top 10 song.  "La Bamba" by Los Lobos moved up to challenge, Suzanne Vega was at 3 with "Luka" and Richard Marx was up to #4 with "Don't Mean Nothing".  The rest of the Top 10:  "I Want Your Sex" by George Michael, U2 fell from #1 with "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", Debbie Gibson edged up with "Only In My Dreams", the Whispers found the Top 10 with "Rock Steady", T'Pau slipped with "Heart And Soul" and the first single from Bad by Michael Jackson (with Siedah Garrett on this one)--"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" moved from 16 to 10.
1988:  PBS-TV broadcast the documentary Aretha Franklin - Queen of Soul.








1992:  "End Of The Road" by Boyz II Men was the new #1 song on the R&B chart.
1997:  U2 played the first of two sold-out concerts at Wembley Stadium in London.  The superstars performed a medley of material and six full-length songs during their encore.
1999:  Prince appeared with Sheryl Crow on the Lilith Fair Tour in Toronto to sing "Everyday Is A Winding Road".
1999:  Geri Halliwell, formerly with the Spice Girls, topped the U.K. chart with "Mi Chico Latino".
1999:  Travis owned the top U.K. album with The Man Who.









2001:  The album Junichiro Koizumi Presents:  My Favorite Elvis Songs was released exclusively in Japan.  The album is a collection of Elvis Presley songs chosen by the prime minister.
2001:  Stevie Nicks postponed two concerts for treatment of severe bronchitis.
2002:  Caroline Corr, drummer of the Corrs, married Frank Woods in a candelit church on the Spanish island of Mallorca.
2003:  Pink sent an open letter to Prince William of England requesting that he stop hunting.

2003:  Metallica, System of a Down, Sum 41, Primal Scream, Good Charlotte, and the Lostprophets were among those who performed on the opening day of the U.K. Carling Reading Festival. 
2004:  Natasha Bedingfield's "These Words" was the #1 song in the U.K.









2004:  Maroon 5 had the #1 album in the U.K. with Songs About Jane.
2006:  Tom Chaplin of Keane announced that he was undergoing treatment for drinking and drug problems. "The time has come to get the professional help I need to sort myself out," he said.
2006:  The City of Augusta, Georgia named its Civic Center after native son James Brown.
2008:  Rage Against the Machine and Queens of the Stone Age headlined the opening day of the Carling Weekend Reading Festival in Leeds and Reading, England.
2009:  Johnny Horton and guitarist James Burton were inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

2011:  Jerry Leiber, who along with Mike Stoller, wrote many of Elvis Presley's big early hits, including "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock", as well as "Kansas City" for Wilbert Harrison, "Stand By Me" for Ben E. King and "On Broadway" for the Drifters, died in Los Angeles of cardiopulmonary failure at the age of 78.

2011:  Nickolas Ashford of the duo Ashford & Simpson, who wrote songs such as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "You're All I Need To Get By", "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing", and "I'm Every Woman" with wife Valerie Simpson, and who also was a stellar producer, died at the age of 70 from throat cancer (Note:  Rolling Stone incorrectly reports that he was 69, and some websites incorrectly say he was 71.  According to reputable sources such as the newspapers 'The New York Times' and 'The Washington Post', Ashford was 70.)

Born This Day:

1936:  Dale Hawkins, who had the original hit of "Susie-Q", was born on a plantation in Goldmine, Louisiana; died February 13, 2010 from colon cancer in Little Rock, Arkansas.
1941  Howard Grimes, who was a session drummer for Al Green, Rufus Thomas and Otis Clay, was born in Memphis, Tennessee.
1942:  Joseph Chambers of the Chambers Brothers ("The Time Has Come Today') was born in Forest, Mississippi.
1944:  Gary Withem of Gary Puckett & the Union Gap was born in San Diego, California.  (Note:  several websites report he was born in 1946.  According to the book 'Echoes of the Sixties' by Marti Smiley Childs and Jeff March, Gary was born in 1944.)1945:  Ron Dante, singer and songwriter for the Archies and Cufflinks ("Tracy" from 1969), was born in Staten Island, New York.
1947:  David Leon "Billy" Knight, brother of Gladys Knight, who played percussion on many songs such as "Midnight Train To Georgia" and "The Way We Were", was born in Atlanta, Georgia; died December 4, 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
1947:  Donna Godchaux, who sang backing vocals on "Suspicious Minds" for Elvis Presley, "When A Man Loves A Woman" for Percy Sledge, and on Boz Scaggs's first solo album at the famous Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, and later helped Grateful Dead on vocals, was born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
1948:  David Marks, an early member of the Beach Boys, was born in Newcastle, Pennsylvania.
1958:  Ian Mitchell, guitarist of the Bay City Rollers, was born in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland.
1958:  Vernon Reid of Living Colour was born in London.

1961:  Debbie Peterson, vocalist and drummer of the Bangles, was born in Los Angeles, California.  (Note:  some websites naively say she was born in Northridge, Los Angeles, California.  Northridge is a neighborhood, not a city, and you will never see it on Debbie's official birth certificate.)
1961:  Roland Orzabal, singer-songwriter and co-founder of Tears for Fears, and later a producer, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.








1963:  Tori Amos was born in Newton, North Carolina.
1963:  James DeBarge of DeBarge was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1967:  Layne Staley, co-founder, co-songwriter and lead singer of Alice in Chains, was born in Kirkland, Washington; died April 5, 2002 of a mix of heroin and cocaine--his drug addiction left him at 86 pounds when his body was discovered on April 19.
1972:  Paul Doucette, rhythm guitarist and drummer of Matchbox 20, was born in North Huntington, Pennsylvania.  (Note:  some websites report Paul was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He was born in North Huntington, a suburb about 15 miles from Pittsburgh.)
1973:  Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys was born in Orlando, Florida.
1978:  Jeff Stinco, lead guitarist of Simple Plan, was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.