This Date in Rock Music History: October 20

1955:  Harry Belafonte recorded "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)".

1955:  Elvis Presley, Pat Boone and Bill Haley & the Comets filmed a performance at Brooklyn High School in Cleveland, Ohio in the afternoon and a concert at St. Michael's Hall at night.  (Note:  numerous sites show the date as the 19th, but the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website shows it as October 20.) 
1956:  Elvis Presley entered the chart with "Love Me Tender".
1958:  Bobby Day enjoyed a third straight week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Rock-in Robin".
1959:  Patty Duke starred in the Broadway production of The Miracle Worker, which opened today. at the Playhouse Theatre
1960:  The Elvis Presley movie G.I. Blues premiered in theaters.  (Note:  the film premiered at the Majestic Theater in Dallas, Texas on August 18, and was shown on military bases beginning October 23, but the movie did not open nationally until November 23, according to numerous Elvis websites)

1960:  Roy Orbison hit #1 in the U.K. with "Only The Lonely"
1961:  The Beatles did their usual lunchtime show at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, then performed at night at the Knotty Ash Village Hall in Liverpool.
1961:  Bobby Rydell hosted the Miss Teenage America contest in Dallas, Texas.
1962:  We were introduced to a great new singer with a whole lot of soul, although most wouldn't come to know him until later.  Marvin Gaye's first single debuted on the charts on this date--"A Stubborn Kind of Fellow".

1962:  The Contours had the #1 R&B song with "Do You Love Me".









1962:  Just in time for Halloween, "Monster Mash" spooked the other songs and took over the #1 spot for Bobby "Boris" Pickett".  "Sherry" was dethroned after five weeks to the disappointment of the 4 Seasons.  The Contours' great song "Do You Love Me" was third but the Crystals moved from 11-4 with "He's a Rebel".  The rest of the Top 10:  "I Remember You" by Frank Ifield, Dickey Lee's "Patches" at #6, Nat King Cole fell with "Ramblin' Rose", Gene Pitney moved from 13 to 8 with "Only Love Can Break A Heart", Booker T. & the M.G.'s "Green Onions" tumbled to #9 and Chris Montez closed the group with "Let's Dance".

1963:  The Beatles recorded a performance for the British program Thank Your Lucky Stars on ABC-TV at the Alpha Television Studios in Birmingham, England.  The show was broadcast on October 26.
1965:  The Beatles began recording "We Can Work It Out" in two four-plus hour sessions at Studio 2 at the EMI Studios in London.  The flip side to "Day Tripper", which had already been recorded, "We Can Work It Out" was finished on October 29.
1968:  Cream and Deep Purple appeared in concert at the San Diego Sports Arena.  What a show!



1969:  John Lennon released the single Cold Turkey.
1969:  The Who began the first of a six-night run at Fillmore East in New York City playing the rock opera Tommy in its entirety.
1972:  Joe Cocker was arrested for the second time in four days, this time for assault as well as resisting arrest in Melbourne, Australia and was deported.






1973:  One of the great soul songs of the 70's--"Midnight Train To Georgia" by Gladys Knight & the Pips was the new #1 R&B song.












1973:  A rock band from Boston was making noise and on this date, Aerosmith debuted with their first single release "Dream On".
1973:  Ringo Starr was on the move with "Photograph", climbing from 60 to 29.
1973:  The Rolling Stones reached #1 with "Angie".
1974:  Eric Burdon (Animals and War) and his wife Rose became the parents of daughter Mirage.
1976:  The Eagles performed at The Forum in Los Angeles.





1976:  The Led Zeppelin movie The Song Remains the Same premiered at Cinema 1 in New York City.










1977:  Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines of Lynyrd Skynyrd were killed along with group manager Dean Kilpatrick when their rented plane ran out of fuel and crashed in a densely-wooded area of a swamp in Gillsburg, Missouri.  The rest of the band and crew were seriously injured.
1978:  The Police made their debut in the United States with a show at C.B.G.B.s. in New York City.
1979:  Bob Dylan performed three songs from the album Slow Train Coming on Saturday Night Live.
         
          The incomparable Donna Summer...

1979:  Herb Alpert enjoyed his second #1 song "Rise", 15 years after his first #1--"This Guy's In Love With You".  Michael Jackson slipped down with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", M was up to #3 with "Pop Muzik", the Commodores' great song "Sail On" remained fourth with Dionne Warwick in the #5 position with "I'll Never Love This Way Again".  The rest of an outstanding Top 10:  Donna Summer and "Dim All the Lights", Robert John with "Sad Eyes", the former #1 "My Sharona" from the Knack, the Eagles had their seventh Top 10 song out of their last nine releases ("Heartache Tonight", which moved from 15-9) and the Commodores were at warp speed with a 38-10 move for their new release "Still".  
1979:  The great album In Through the Out Door remained #1 for the sixth week for Led Zeppelin.  The Eagles were in rarefied air with a debut for The Long Run at #2, Get the Knack from the Knack fell to 3 and the Commodores were still at 4 with Midnight Magic.  The rest of the Top 10:  Off the Wall from Michael Jackson, Foreigner's Head Games was #6, Cheap Trick entered the Top 10 with Dream Police, Bob Dylan held position #8 with Slow Train Coming, Supertramp's landmark Breakfast In America was #9 and Styx moved from 21 to 10 with Cornerstone.
1980:  U2 released their fist album Boy in the U.K. and Europe.
1984:  Wham! had the top song in the U.K.--"Freedom".
1984:  Stevie Wonder continued to have the #1 R&B song with "I Just Called To Say I Love You".
  
 Springsteen kept the hits coming from Born in the U.S.A....

1984:  Stevie Wonder remained at the top with his eighth #1 song--"I Just Called To Say I Love You".  Billy Ocean closed with "Caribbean Queen" and Chicago was up to #3 with "Hard Habit To Break".  The rest of the Top 10:  Madonna edged up with "Lucky Star", the Cars slipped into reverse with "Drive", the new one from Bruce Springsteen ("Cover Me") was up to #7, John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band got their first taste of the Top 10 with "On The Dark Side", Prince shot up from 18 to 9 with "Purple Rain" and the Pointer Sisters were feeling good about their new hit "I'm So Excited".
1984:  "I Just Called to Say I Love You" was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for Stevie Wonder.
1984:  Prince reigned for the 12th week on the Album chart with Purple Rain.  Born in the U.S.A. from Bruce Springsteen was second, followed by Private Dancer from Tina Turner, Sports from Huey Lewis & the News and Heartbeat City by the Cars.  It was the ninth consecutive week that those five releases held down the Top 5 albums, believed to be the only time in the Rock Era that the feat has occurred.


1987:  Genesis released the new single "Land of Confusion".











1990:  James Ingram's great song "I Don't Have The Heart" took over at #1 with "Black Cat" from Janet Jackson leaping to #2.
1990:  The Razors Edge by AC/DC was one of three new albums in the Top 10.
1992:  Madonna released the album Erotica.
1994:  Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young joined Bob Dylan onstage at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City to perform "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" and "Highway 61 Revisited".

1997:  Henry Vestine, guitarist of Canned Heat, was found dead from heart and respiratory failure in a hotel room in France at the age of 52.
1999:  Ricky Martin kicked off a tour at the Miami Arena in Florida.
2001:  Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Michael Jackson, the Who, Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, James Brown, P. Diddy, 'N Sync and David Bowie performed in concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City and RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. to raise millions for victims of the September 11 attacks.
2002:  Nelly and Kelly Rowland had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Dilemma".
2003:  Prince played a secret concert at Bennetts Lane Jazz Club in Melbourne, Australia.
2003:  Jimmy Cliff ("I Can See Clearly Now") was honored for his work in music and film with Jamaica's the Order of Merit.

2004:  Ricky Martin asked world leaders at the United Nations to help combat child sex tourism and child prostitution.
2004:  George Strait had the number one album with 50 Number Ones.
2005:  Kanye West had the #1 song for the seventh week with "Gold Digger".


Born This Day:
1937:  Wanda Jackson ("In the Middle of a Heartache" from 1961) was born in Maud, Oklahoma.
1939:  Ray Jones, bassist of the Dakotas until 1964, was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England; died January 20, 2000.
1939:  Jay Siegel of the Tokens, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1945:  Ric Lee, drummer of Ten Years After ("I'd Love to Change The World"), was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England.

1950:  Tom Petty was born in Gainesville, Florida.









1951:  Al Greenwood, keyboardist with Foreigner, was born in New York City.
1958:  Mark King, bassist with Level 42, was born in Cowes, England.
1958:  Ricky Byrd of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
1964:  Jim Sonefeld, one of the founding members of Hootie & the Blowfish, was born in Lansing, Michigan.
1964:  David Ryan, drummer of the Lemonheads
1971:  Snoop Dogg was born in Long Beach, California.
1978:  Paul Wilson, bass guitarist for Snow Patrol ("Chasing Cars") was born in Kinlochleven, Scotland.

This Date in Rock Music History: October 19

1955:  Elvis Presley and Pat Boone were in concert in Cleveland, Ohio.

1958:  Brenda Lee recorded "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree".
1959:  "Mack The Knife" spent a third week at #1 for Bobby Darin and it wasn't close to done.  Paul Anka would have to settle for #2 with "Put Your Head On My Shoulder".  The Fleetwood had song #3--"Mr. Blue" while Sandy Nelson's great instrumental "Teen Beat" took #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Everly Brothers and "('Til) I Kissed You", Santo & Johnny with another of The Top 100 Instrumentals of the Rock Era*--"Sleep Walk", Andy Williams and "Lonely Street" at #7, the Coasters with "Poison Ivy", Frankie Avalon was back with "Just Ask Your Heart" and the Browns with their former #1 "The Three Bells".
1963:  The Beatles performed at the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton, England.
1964:  Bobby Vinton released the single "Mr. Lonely".

1966:  The Yardbirds, with co-lead guitarists Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, arrived in New York City for their first American tour.  Guitarist Jeff Beck, however, left the band later on the tour to form the Jeff Beck Group. 
1967:  Jose Feliciano recorded his version of "Light My Fire".
1967:  The Beatles finished vocal and guitar parts for "Hello Goodbye" at Abbey Road Studios in London.





1967:  Smokey Robinson & the Miracles released the single "I Second That Emotion" on Tamla Records.
1967:  The Soundtrack to "The Sound of Music" was the #1 album in the U.K.
1968:  Eighteen-year-old Peter Frampton played guitar with the Small Faces at a concert in London.
1968:  The Vogues reached #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "My Special Angel".






1970:  Chicago released the single "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?".
1973:  Art Garfunkel owned the top Easy Listening song for the third week with "All I Know".
1974:  The Eagles performed at the Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina for the On the Border tour.
1974:  B.T. Express hit #1 on the R&B chart with "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)".





1974:  The Three Degrees were hotter than that, moving from 72 to 40 with "When Will I See You Again".









1974:  Billy Preston took over at #1 with "Nothing From Nothing".  Dionne Warwick & the Spinners were close with "Then Came You" and Stevie Wonder's powerful protest song "You Haven't Done Nothin'" was third.  The former #1 from Olivia Newton-John ("I Honestly Love You") was #4 with Carole King from Stanley, Idaho moving from 15-5 with "Jazzman".  The rest of the Top 10:  "The Bitch Is Back" from Elton John, although most stations placed it at #1, Blue Swede with their second hit "Never My Love", Bad Company's "Can't Get Enough" was #8, Tony Orlando & Dawn had "Steppin' Out" and the Osmonds moved into the Top 10 with "Love Me For A Reason".






1979:  Styx released the album Cornerstone.

1979:  Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers released their breakthrough album Damn the Torpedoes.
1979:  After a highly successful tour of North America, ABBA began the European leg of the tour at the Scandinavian in Gothenburg, Sweden.
1980:  AC/DC began their first tour since the death of lead singer Bon Scott at Colston Hall in Bristol, England.






1981:  Lindsey Buckingham released his solo single "Trouble".
1981:  The Clash performed at the Lyceum Ballroom in London.








1985:  A talented new singer from Florida and her band debuted on the chart for the first time with their first single "Conga".  Gloria Estefan & the Miami Sound Machine had their first hit on this date.
1985:  A-Ha had the #1 song with "Take On Me".
1987:  A new album was out and people were starting to figure out that it was pretty good.  On this date, George Michael released the title track to Faith.
1989:  Alan Murphy, guitarist of Level 42 who also worked with Mike + the Mechanics, Go West and Kate Bush, died from pneumonia due to AIDS at age 35.
1991:  "Romantic" by Karyn White topped the R&B chart.







1991:  Cathy Dennis scaled the Adult Contemporary chart to #1 with "Too Many Walls".










        Karyn White had a big hit...


1991:  Mariah Carey spent a second week at #1 with "Emotions" with competition coming from "Do Anything" by Natural Selection.  Karyn White's "Romantic" was third followed by "Hole Hearted" from Extreme and "Something To Talk About" by Bonnie Raitt.  The rest of the Top 10:  Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch with "Good Vibrations", "I Adore Mi Amor" from Color Me Badd, Aaron Neville moved up to #8 with "Everybody Plays The Fool", Bryan Adams collected his seventh Top 10 song--"Can't Stop This Thing We Started" and Martika entered the list with "Love...Thy Will Be Done".



1993:  Mariah Carey released the single "Hero" on Columbia Records
1993:  Pearl Jam released the great album Vs.
1996:  Boyzone's remake of the great Bee Gees song "Words" was #1 in the U.K.
1996:  Simply Red reached #1 on the U.K. album chart with their Greatest Hits package.







                                        No Mercy in the Top 10...

1996:  "Macarena" by Los Del Rio was #1 for the 12th week, four off the Rock Era record set the year before by Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men ("One Sweet Day").  Donna Lewis spent a record ninth week at #2 with "I Love You Always Forever", probably a #1 song in almost any other time.  Celine Dion had her lucky 13th hit with "It's All Coming Back To Me Now", BLACKstreet with Dr. Dre moved from 48 to 4 with "No Diggity" and No Mercy had their great song "Where Do You Go" at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Twisted" by Keith Sweat, "Change The World" from Eric Clapton, the Quad City DJ's slipped with "C'Mon N' Ride It (The Train)", Az Yet and "Last Night" and Toni Braxton's great double sided hit "You're Makin' Me High"/"Let It Flow".

1997:  Glen Buxton, guitarist for Alice Cooper and co-writer of "School's Out", died of pneumonia at age 49.  (Note:  several websites state that Glen's death was October 18.  According to the book 'The Tombstone Tourist:  Musicians' by Scott Staton, 'The Arizona Republic' newspaper, and the North Central Iowa Genealogical Society, Buxton caught pneumonia on October 18, and died the next morning at North Central Iowa Mercy Medical Center.  Some websites report his place of death as Clarion--Buxton lived in Clarion at the time, but North Central Iowa Mercy Medical Center is in Mason City.)





1998:  Famed producer Sir George Martin, known as "The Fifth Beatle", retired from the music business.  Martin produced every Beatles record from "Love Me Do" through Abbey Road, with the exception of post-production on the Let It Be album, and also produced artists including Elton John, America, and Jeff Beck.
2003:  The Sugababes took over at #1 in the U.K. with "Hole in the Head".
2004:  Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, formerly with Nirvana, appeared in public together for the first time in ten years at a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
2005:  Bono of U2 was invited to the White House where he discussed the G8 and fighting AIDS with U.S. President George W. Bush.

2005:  Alicia Keys led the Album chart with Unplugged.
2007:  Johnny Marr, guitarist of the Smiths and Modest Mouse, was hired as a visiting professor of music at the University of Salford in Manchester, England.  Marr taught several workshops and master classes to students pursuing the BA Popular Music and Recording degree.

2007:  Trini Lopez, who scored his biggest hit with a remake of the Peter, Paul & Mary song "If I Had a Hammer" in 1963, was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Latinos of Distinction Awards in Ontario, California.
2008:  Keane owned the top U.K. album with Perfect Symmetry.

2012:  Raphael Ravenscroft died of a heart attack in Exeter, England at the age of 70.  He'll be forever remembered for his classic sax solo in Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street", but Ravenscroft played on scores of great albums, working with ABBA, Pink Floyd, Marvin Gaye, America, Kim Carnes, Maxine Nightingale, Bonnie Tyler, Daft Punk, and many more. 

Born This Day:

1944:  George McCrae, who had one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era* with "Rock Your Baby" in 1975, was born in West Palm Beach, Florida.
1945:  Patrick Simmons, guitarist with the Doobie Brothers, was born in Aberdeen, Washington.
1945:  Jeannie C. Riley ("Harper Valley P.T.A." from 1968) was born in Stamford, Texas.  (Note:  many websites report her birthplace as Anson, Texas.  She was born in Stamford and raised in Anson, according to her official website 'jeanniec.com'.)
1946:  Keith Reid, lyricist of Procol Harum, was born in Welwyn, Garden City, Hertfordshire, England.
1947:  Wilbert Hart of the Delfonics ("La La Means I Love You" from 1968) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.






1950:  Patrick Simmons, founding member and guitarist of the Doobie Brothers, was born in Aberdeen, Washington.  (Note:  some websites claim Simmons was born on January 23, 1950, but he was born on October 19, 1948, according to the official website for the Doobie Brothers.)
1955:  Nino DeFranco, guitarist of the DeFranco Family ("Heartbeat...It's A Lovebeat" from 1973)









1960:  Jennifer Holliday ("And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going") was born in Riverside, Texas.
1960:  Dan Woodgate, drummer of Madness, was born in London.
1972:  Pras Michel of the Fugees was born in Brooklyn, New York.  (Note:  some websites report his birthplace as Haiti, and still others as New Jersey.  Michel is of Haitian heritage, but according to 'MTV', he was born in Brooklyn and raised in New Jersey.)

Top Track: "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" by the Beatles

These guys had so many great songs that nearly all of them could have been hits.  Here's a Top Track* from Abbey Road:

This Date In Rock Music History: October 18

1957:  Paul McCartney performed with the Quarrymen for the first time at the New Clubmoor Hall in Liverpool, England.  McCartney, who played lead guitar, didn't perform well in his solo, which eventually led to George Harrison being invited into the group and Paul switching to bass.

1957:  Peggy Sue Gerron first heard the song that was named for her when she went to see Buddy Holly & the Crickets in concert in Sacramento, California.  Gerron later married Crickets drummer Jerry Allison.
1963:  Chuck Berry was released from federal prison in Springfield, Missouri after serving 19 months for transporting a minor across state lines for an immoral purpose.

1964:  The Beatles recorded "I Feel Fine", "Eight Days A Week", "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey", "I'll Follow The Sun", "Mr. Moonlight", "Rock And Roll Music", "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" and "Words Of Love" in a marathon nine-hour recording session at the EMI Studios on Abbey Road in London.  The group was working to complete the songs on their upcoming Beatles for Sale album.  
1964:  The Animals set out on their first tour of the United Kingdom at the ABC in Manchester, England.  Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent and the Nashville Teens opened. 
1967:  The movie How I Won the War starring John Lennon premiered in theatres in London.





1967:  The Bee Gees topped the U.K. chart with "Massachusetts".
1968:  John Lennon and Yoko Ono were arrested for possession of marijuana when police raided Ringo Starr's apartment.
1969:  Rod Stewart joined the group Faces as its lead singer.
1969:  The Jackson 5 made their television debut on the show Hollywood Palace on ABC-TV.
1969:  The Temptations had the top song on the R&B chart for the third week with "I Can't Get Next To You".

 African-American artists have gone into an abyss lately but in 1969 the Temptations were amazing!

1969:  The Temptations rose to #1 with "I Can't Get Next To You".  Sly & the Family Stone had the #2 song with "Hot Fun In The Summertime" and after four weeks at #1, the Archies slipped with "Sugar, Sugar".  Oliver's "Jean" was #4 followed by "Little Woman" from Bobby Sherman.  The rest of the Top 10: The 111th hit for Elvis Presley--"Suspicious Minds", "That's The Way Love Is" by Marvin Gaye entered the Top 10, "Wedding Bell Blues" shot up from 25 to 8 for the 5th Dimension, Three Dog Night's big hit "Easy To Be Hard" was now #9 and "Tracy" by the Cuff Links came in #10.

1971:  Bread released their single "Baby I'm-a-Want You".  (Note:  one naive website claims the song was released October 23.  "Baby I'm-a-Want You" debuted on the Singles chart on October 23.  It is physically impossible for a record company to mail a 45, be received by radio stations, listened to and added to radio station playlists, reported to the trade papers, and printed and published by the trade papers, all in one day.)
1972:  The Diana Ross movie Lady Sings the Blues opened in theaters.  (Note:  some websites report the opening as October 8 or October 12, but according to the book 'If You Can't be Free, be a Mystery:  In Search of Billie Holliday', the film premiered at the Lowes State Theater in Manhattan New York on October 18.)
1974:  Mary Woodson threw a pot of boiling grits on her boyfriend, Al Green, when he was getting out of the bathtub, then shot herself.
1974:  Sweet Sensation owned the #1 song in the U.K.--"Sad Sweet Dreamer".
1975:  The Eagles performed at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the One of These Nights tour.




1975:  Simon and Garfunkel reunited on the second episode of Saturday Night Live on NBC-TV.
 1975:  Olivia Newton-John scored her fourth consecutive #1 and sixth straight Top 3 song on the Easy Listening chart with "Something Better To Do".







       
                            More soul than 1,000 rappers combined...

1975:  The Spinners reached #1 on the R&B chart with "Games People Play".
1975:  Silver Convention rose from 87 to 48 with "Fly, Robin, Fly".








                              The amazing 4 Seasons story wasn't over yet...

1975:  Neil Sedaka and Elton John remained at #1 with "Bad Blood" in an excellent Top 10.  John Denver held steady with "Calypso"/"I'm Sorry" and "Miracles" by Jefferson Starship moved up to #3.  The Eagles had their third Top 10 in a row with "Lyin' Eyes" which jumped up from 10 to 4 and Sweet climbed into the #5 spot with "Ballroom Blitz".  The rest of the Top 10:  Orleans and "Dance With Me", Morris Albert's "Feelings", Hellen Reddy couldn't budge with "Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady", the Spinners entered the Top 10 with "Games People Play" and, in an amazing Rock Era story, the 4 Seasons reached the Top 10 for the first time in eight years with the 43rd hit of their career--"Who Loves You".





1975:  The fine album Windsong by John Denver took over from Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here as the top album.  Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run was third with Jefferson Airplane cruising in with Red Octopus.  The rest of the Top 10:  Win, Lose or Draw from the Allman Brothers Band, the Eagles' great album One of These Nights was at #6, Linda Ronstadt moved to 7 with Prisoner in Disguise, the Spinners and Pick of the Litter, Jethro Tull moved up with Minstrel in the Gallery and George Harrison's Extra Texture moved from 34-10.






1976:  Leo Sayer released the single "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing".
1979:  Elton John performed for the first of nine nights at the Palladium in New York City.









1979:  The Buggles rose to #1 in the U.K. with "Video Killed The Radio Star".
1980:  The Game by Queen was #1 on the Album chart for the fifth week but Guilty from Barbra Streisand moved from 15 to 2.  Diana by Diana Ross came in third while the excellent "Xanadu" Soundtrack was #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  One Step Closer from the Doobie Brothers, Crimes of Passion by Pat Benatar remained at #6, Give Me the Night by George Benson, the Cars slipped with Panorama, Emotional Rescue by the Rolling Stones was #9 and AC/DC logged a third straight week at #10 with Back in Black.






1980:  Queen had the biggest hit of their career with "Another One Bites The Dust" which remained #1 for a third week.  Barbra Streisand was poised at #2 with "Woman In Love" while Diana Ross was at #3 with her 24th solo hit and 57th overall (counting the Supremes)--"Upside Down".  Air Supply was officially #4 with "All Out Of Love" even though it was a #1 song in most markets.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Pointer Sisters were up big (12-5) with "He's So Shy", the Doobie Brothers edged up with "Real Love", Kenny Loggins remained at #7 with "I'm Alright", Olivia Newton-John and ELO combined for "Xanadu", Eddie Rabbitt with "Drivin' My Life Away" and Paul Simon fell to 10 with "Late In The Evening".










1982:  Don Henley released one of The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era*--"Dirty Laundry", a seething satire on the media and specifically, television news.
1986:  Christine McVie married Eduardo Quintela.
1986:  Cameo owned the top song on the R&B chart for the third week with "Word Up".
1986:  Genesis had the top Adult Contemporary song again with "Throwing It All Away".






1986:  The great album Fore!  from Huey Lewis & the News was #1 but Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi was a strong second.  The "Top Gun" Soundtrack fell to 3, Lionel Richie's Dancing on the Ceiling was in the #4 position and Raising Hell from Run-D.M.C. was 5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Back in the High Life from Steve Winwood, Madonna dropped with True Blue, Billy Joel's The Bridge, Invisible Touch from Genesis remained at #9 and Janet Jackson held on to #10 with Control.
1987:  The Smiths starred in a documentary shown on television in the U.K. filmed during the recording of Strangeways.





1988:  The Traveling Wilburys released the amazing album Volume One.
1989:  Axl Rose, lead singer of Guns N' Roses, announced to the crowd at the Coliseum in Los Angeles, California that he was quitting the group.







1994:  In 1980, the members of the supergroup the Eagles vowed they would get back together "when hell freezes over."  Here it was 14 years later and that is what happened, and the band jokingly called their album Hell Freezes Over.  It contained live tracks from an immensely successful tour and four new songs.  On this date, they released their first single in 14 years--"Get Over It".
1994:  Lee Allen, great saxophone player who played on such songs as "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard, and "I'm Walking" by Fats Domino, who worked with the Rolling Stones, the Stray Cats, Etta James, and numerous others, died at the age of 67.
1997:  Hanson sang the U.S. national anthem at the opening game of the World Series in Florida.
1997:  "Candle In The Wind 1997" by Elton John, which had debuted at #1 the week before, remained in that spot. 
2000:  The New York State Supreme Court overturned a Court of Appeals ruling and ruled that the Ronettes did not have the right to share in money earned by producer Phil Spector from movies, television and advertising in using the group's songs.  The Court cited a 1963 contract in reaching their decision and ended a 15-year dispute.

2000:  Julie London ("Cry Me A River" from 1955), who had suffered a severe stroke in 1995, died in Encino, California at age 74.
2005:  Midge Ure of Ultravox and co-founder of Live Aid, earned an Order of the British Empire medal from the Queen at Buckingham Palace in London.
2008:  Adele appeared on Saturday Night Live on NBC-TV.
2008:  T.I. had the #1 album with Paper Trail.


Born This Day:

1926:  Chuck Berry was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

1937:  Cynthia Weil, lyricist for Don Kirshner's Aldon Music, who wrote such hits as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and "On Broadway", was born in New York City.
1938:  Ronnie Bright of the Coasters was born in New York City.
1943:  Russ Gugiere, guitarist and vocalist for the Association, was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.






1947:  Singer/songwriter Laura Nyro, whose songs "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Stoned Soul Picnic" were big hits for the 5th Dimension, and also wrote "Eli's Comin'" for Three Dog Night, "And When I Die" for Blood, Sweat & Tears, and "Stoney End" for Barbra Streisand, was born in The Bronx, New York; died of ovarian cancer in Danbury, Connecticut on April 8, 1997.
1949:  Gary Richrath, guitarist for REO Speedwagon, was born in Peoria, Illinois; died September 13, 2015.
1949:  Joe Egan, singer/songwriter and co-founder of Stealer's Wheel ("Stuck in the Middle With You" from 1973) was born in Paisley, Scotland.
1974:  Peter Svenson, main songwriter and guitarist of the Cardigans ("Lovefool"), was born in Jönköping, Sweden.
1975:  Baby Bash was born in Vallejo, California.
1982:  Ne-Yo was born in Camden, Arkansas.
1987:  Zachary Efron, singer from High School Musical and famous actor, was born in San Luis Obispo, California.