If you thought Gary Wright's music started and ended with The Dream Weaver, you would be wrong. Of course, he began as a member as Spooky Tooth. And the album The Light of Smiles that followed The Dream Weaver is a high-quality project that was mistakenly ignored. On a side note, I see that the CD for this goes for over $130 on Amazon! We went to that LP to pull this gem from Wright:
Saturday, April 5, 2014
This Date in Rock Music History: April 6
1956: Elvis Presley signed a seven-year, three-movie contract with Paramount Pictures. (Note: some websites report that
Elvis signed a three-movie deal with Paramount on April 4. Some sites claim that Presley signed a one-picture deal, with an option for six more, on April 25. According to the book 'The Gospel According to Elvis' by Kevin Crouch and Tanya Crouch, Presley signed his first contract, a seven-year, three-movie contract, on April 6. The April 6 date is confirmed by the newspaper 'The Chicago Tribune', as well as the official website for guitarist Scotty Moore.)
1956: Capitol Tower, the home of Capitol Records, was dedicated in Los Angeles, California. The iconic building was the first circular building (13 stories and 92 feet in diameter) in America.
1957: Fats Domino held off the competition to remain at #1 for a third week on the R&B chart with "I'm Walkin'".
1959: Johnny Horton released the single "The Battle Of New Orleans" on Columbia Records.
The Fleetwoods...
1959: "Venus" by Frankie Avalon was #1 for a fifth consecutive week. The Fleetwoods were second with "Come Softly To Me" while Brook Benton's crossover hit "It's Just A Matter of Time" grabbed the #3 spot.
1962: The communist newspaper Pravda warned youths about the dangers of twisting (Chubby Checker had just released a smash hit about the dance "The Twist".) The youth of Russia decided they would rather be free, and they later got that freedom with the collapse of the Soviet communist empire.
1963: The great Motown group Martha & the Vandellas were a brand new act on this date. Although most wouldn't know them until a bit later, their first single, "Come And Get These Memories", debuted on the chart.
1963: The Kingsmen recorded their version of "Louie, Louie".
1963: Skeeter Davis had the top Easy Listening song for a third week with "The End Of The World".
1963: The Chiffons took over at #1 on the R&B chart with "He's So Fine".
1965: The Beach Boys began recording "California Girls" with the recording of the instrumental track at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, California. It took 44 takes before Brian Wilson of the group felt it was satisfactory. The song was completed June 4 with vocal overdubs.
1965: Elvis Presley released the single "Crying In The Chapel" on RCA Victor Records.
1966: The first studio session for the Beatles' album Revolver began at Abbey Road studios in London as the group recorded the rhythm track and vocals for "Tomorrow Never Knows".
1967: The first master tape of the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was made. The Beatles were insistent that there be no gaps between tracks, a revolutionary idea at the time.
1968: Cliff Richard's song "Congratulations" finished second at the Eurovision Song Contest at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
1968: Pink Floyd made the announcement that group founder Syd Barrett was leaving the group. Barrett's drug use had caused him to suffer from psychiatric disorders.
1968: Apple Records, the new Beatles record company, opened in London.
1968: Simon and Garfunkel reached #1 on the Album chart with "The Graduate" Soundtrack.
1968: Paul Mauriat was #1 on the Adult chart for an eighth week with "Love Is Blue".
One of the great voices of the Rock Era...
1968: The late Otis Redding remained at #1 for the fourth week with "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay". Gary Puckett, from Twin Falls, Idaho, and the Union Gap moved nicely from 7 to 2 with "Young Girl". The Monkees were next with "Valleri" and the Delfonics climbed to 4 with "La - La - Means I Love You". The rest of the Top 10: Aretha Franklin and "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone", the Box Tops exploded from 15 to 6 with "Cry Like A Baby", the Beatles were up with "Lady Madonna", Georgie Fame and "The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde", Paul Mauriat's #1 smash was finally down and Bobby Goldsboro moved from 23-10 with "Honey".
1971: Carly Simon met James Taylor after her concert at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. The two married November 3, 1972.
1971: The Rolling Stones, ever wanting to copy the Beatles and share in some of that success, launched their own record label, Rolling Stones Records, albeit three years after the Beatles did.
1971: Pete Quaife announced he was leaving the Kinks.
1974: ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo".
1974: Gladys Knight & the Pips moved to #1 on the R&B chart with "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me".
The incomparable Joni Mitchell...
1974: John Denver's Greatest Hits was #1 again on the Album chart, holding off Band on the Run from Paul McCartney & Wings and Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark.
1974: The Stylistics were hot with their new song--"You Make Me Feel Brand New" rose from 70 to 48.
1974: Billy Joel had his first Top 40 hit with "Piano Man".
1974: Blue Swede grabbed #1 with their remake of "Hooked On A Feeling". Elton John moved to challenge with "Bennie And The Jets" and John Denver's #1--"Sunshine On My Shoulders" fell to #3. Terry Jacks' former #1 "Seasons In The Sun" was ahead of Sister Janet Mead's "The Lord's Prayer" and "Come And Get Your Love" from Redbone. The rest of the Top 10: Cher with "Dark Lady", MFSB with the Three Degrees moved from 12 to 8 with "TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia)", Carly Simon & James Taylor with "Mockingbird" and Gladys Knight & the Pips entered the list with "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me".
1974: California Jam 1 Festival took place in Ontario, California. The Eagles, Earth, Wind & Fire, Seals & Crofts, Deep Purple, Rare Earth, Black Sabbath, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Black Oak Arkansas were some of the performers. The Festival attracted over 400,000 fans.
1978: Peter Frampton was a guest star on the final episode of Black Sheep Squadron on NBC-TV. (Note: some websites show the date as April 5, but the correct date is April 6, according to 'TV Guide'.)
1979: Rod Stewart married Alana Hamilton in Beverly Hills, California.
1981: Bob Hite of Canned Heat died of a heart attack in Los Angeles at the age of 36. 36? Sounds like mitigating circumstances. And indeed, you're right if you think that. Hite died of a heart attack brought on by drugs April 6, 1981 in Los Angeles, California. (Some websites report that Hite died on April 5, and others on April 16. Websites also report that he died in Hollywood. This is the truth as close as we can piece it together:
Canned Heat performed April 5 at the Palomino Club in Hollywood. In between sets, Hite was given a drug vile by a fan backstage. Thinking it was cocaine, he snorted it up his nose. The vile was heroin, and Hite immediately collapsed. Hite's condition was further compromised when fans fed him cocaine, which he impulsively snorted. Hite was then loaded into his van, and taken to a nearby home in Los Angeles. Hite died in the back of the van there, and the place of death of Los Angeles is confirmed by the Blues Hall of Fame. Hite died on April 6, also according to Scott Stanton's book, The Blues Hall of Fame, as well as the newspapers 'The New York Times' and 'The Independent'.)
1984: Thomas Dolby ("She Blinded Me With Science") made his first U.S. concert appearance at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center - Mair Hall in Poughkeepsie, New York.
1984: Miami Steve Van Zandt left Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, replaced by Nils Lofgrin.
1985: Gilbert O'Sullivan won a lawsuit against former manager Gordon Mills for unpaid royalties and was awarded $2 million.
1985: Paul Young earned his second #1 album in the U.K. with The Secret of Association featuring the song "Everytime You Go Away".
1985: The Commodores worked the "Nightshift" to #1 for a fourth week on the R&B chart.
1984: Ral Donner ("You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It" from 1961) died of lung cancer at age 41 in Chicago, Illinois.
1987: Roger Waters' attorneys released a statement saying that Roger believed he was the driving force behind Pink Floyd and that he would contest the use of the name by anyone else, including former band members.
1990: Tommy Lee of Motley Crue gave himself a concussion after falling from his elevated drum kit in New Haven, Connecticut. Lee had been dangling from the scaffolding prior to the fall.
"Nothing's Changed" from Chris Isaak...
1991: The self-titled Mariah Carey was #1 on the Album chart for a sixth week. Gonna' Make You Sweat by C&C Music Factory was second with the great debut from Wilson Phillips third after 53 weeks of release. Shake Your Money Maker by the Black Crowes was fourth, while R.E.M. bounded from 16 to 5 in their third week with Out of Time. The rest of the Top 10: Sting with The Soul Cages, Chris Isaak's excellent Heart Shaped World, "The Doors" Soundtrack, Vanilla Ice with To the Extreme and Gloria Estefan had #10 with Into the Light.
1992: Celline Dion released the single "If You Asked Me To" in Canada and the United States. She released the song in June in the U.K.
1992: George Harrison played his first full concert in the U.K. since prior to the Beatles' breakup to benefit the Natural Law Party.1996: The Beatles' album Anthology 2 reached #1 on the Album chart, 26 years after the famous group's breakup.
The Tony Rich Project with their huge hit...
1996: Celine Dion remained at #1 for a third week with "Because You Loved Me". Mariah Carey debuted at #2 with "Always Be My Baby" while the Tony Rich Project were still at #3 after 17 weeks of release with "Nobody Knows".
1998: Dick Clark, Chubby Checker, Lesley Gore and Fabian appeared on the television show Murphy Brown.
1999: Tipper Gore played congas with Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart at a fund-raiser for her husband and presidential candidate, Vice President Al Gore.
2000: A tribute to Joni Mitchell was given at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Elton John, Bryan Adams, James Taylor, Shawn Colvin and Cyndi Lauper were among the performers.
"Numb" from Linkin Park...
2003: Linkin Park reached #1 on the US Album chart with Meteroa, the band's debut album.
2003: K-Ci & Jojo were released from prison in Raleigh, North Carolina after being held for tax evasion.
2003: Avril Lavigne won four Juno Awards including Album of the Year and Best New Artist of the Year. Shania Twain won three statues including Best Artist of the Year.
2004: Niki Sullivan, singer and guitarist, died of a heart attack at his home in Sugar Creek, Missouri at the age of 66. Sullivan was one of the original members of Buddy Holly's group the Crickets. (Note: some websites report his place of death as Independence, Missouri. His funeral was held in Independence, but Sullivan died at his home in Sugar Creek, according to the newspaper 'The St. Petersburg Times'.)
Born This Day:
1947: Tony Connor, drummer of Hot Chocolate, was born in Romford, Essex, England. (Note: some websites report Connor was born in Romford, Havering, England. This is not correct. First, Havering is not a county, but rather a borough of London, located in the county of Greater London. Second, Havering was created in 1965, long after Connor's birth.)
1951: Ralph Cooper, drummer for Air Supply
1962: Stan Cullimore, guitarist of the Housemartins (#1 UK hit "Caravan Of Love"), was born in Hull, England.
Friday, April 4, 2014
In Concert: Yes's "Roundabout" from London in 1972
This great British group came up with this winner in 1972, and you see it here live from the same year it was released.
This Date in Rock Music History: April 5
1962: In 1962, you would find the Beatles performing often at the Cavern Club in their native Liverpool, and that's where they were on this day 49 years ago. It was a special occasion sponsored by their ever-growing fan club.
1964: The Searchers made their U.S. debut with an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1967: The Elvis Presley movie Double Trouble premiered in theaters.
Although they barely said "Hello", Cream said farewell...
1969: Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell was the new #1 album as Blood, Sweat & Tears temporarily relinquished the spot with their self-titled album. Ball from Iron Butterfly was next with Cream's Goodbye followed by In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly in fifth. The rest of the Top 10: Donovan's Greatest Hits, the Greatest Hits package from the Association moved back up to #7, Cloud Nine by the Temptations moved from 15-8, Help Yourself from Tom Jones and the latest release from CCR, Bayou Country, was #10.
1969: Jerry Butler elevated to #1 on the R&B chart with "Only The Strong Survive".
Blood, Sweat & Tears...
1969: Tommy Roe had the #1 song on this date with "Dizzy", Roe's fourth week at the top. The 5th Dimension moved to #2 in just their fifth week with "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In". "Time Of The Season" from the Zombies was #3, becoming that group's biggest hit and Blood, Sweat & Tears rose from 12 to 4 with "You've Made Me So Very Happy".
1972: Elvis Presley began a 15-day tour with a concert at Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York.
1974: The Guess Who hosted a charity tennis event to benefit Ballet of Canada.
1975: The Carpenters jumped from #74 to 47 with "Only Yesterday".
1975: Minnie Riperton grabbed the #1 song with "Lovin' You". Elton John had to wait another week with "Philadelphia Freedom" while Ringo Starr had the "No No Song" in third place. B.T. Express remained at 4 with "Express" and Joe Cocker had his biggest solo hit with "You Are So Beautiful". The rest of the Top 10: Phoebe Snow with "Poetry Man", LaBelle's former #1 "Lady Marmalade", B.J. Thomas entered the list with "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" and former #1's from Olivia Newton-John ("Have You Never Been Mellow) and Frankie Valli ("My Eyes Adored You").
"Young Americans" helped David Bowie land a Top 10 album...
1975: Led Zeppelin held on to #1 on the Album chart for the third week with Physical Graffiti. Have You Never Been Mellow by Olivia Newton-John was next with An Evening with John Denver in third. Blood on the Tracks from Bob Dylan was on its way down while Perfect Angel from Minnie Riperton was still in the Top 10 after 34 weeks of release. The rest of the Top 10: For Earth Below from Robin Trower, Labelle's Nightbirds, Rock 'N' Roll by John Lennon, Kraftwerk was next with Autobahn and David Bowie had a rare Top 10 album with Young Americans.
1977: Jackson Browne, John Sebastian and others raised $150,000 at an environmental charity concert in Tokyo.
1977: David Bowie was one of the guests on The Dinah Shore Show.
1978: Duran Duran made their first public appearance at the Lecture Theatre at Birmingham Polytechnic University in Birmingham, England.
1979: The Genesis album Duke went to the top of the charts in the U.K.1978: Duran Duran made their first public appearance at the Lecture Theatre at Birmingham Polytechnic University in Birmingham, England.
1980: R.E.M. appeared live for the first time at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia.
1980: Brothers Johnson snatched the new #1 on the R&B chart with "Stomp!".
1980: One of the hottest new songs belonged to Boz Scaggs. The Boz Man moved from 65 to 47 with "Breakdown Dead Ahead".
1980: Pink Floyd remained at #1 with "Another Brick In The Wall".
1980: Air Supply returned to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Lost In Love".
1982: James Ingram & Patti Austin released the single "Baby, Come To Me". The song peaked at #73, but when it was featured on the soap opera General Hospital, the song was re-released in October. The second time around, it went to #1.
1982: Record World magazine ceased publication and filed for bankruptcy.
1983: The Beach Boys were banned from a Fourth of July concert at the White House by President Ronald Reagan's staff because they "attracted the wrong element". After public outcry, Reagan rescinded the ban two days later.
1983: Danny Rapp, leader of Danny and the Juniors, committed suicide at a hotel in Quartsite, Arizona.
1984: Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" was named Top Female Video and was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2nd annual MTV Music Awards.
1984: Marvin Gaye's funeral was at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles. Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy and other Motown luminaries were at the service.
1985: Gilbert O'Sullivan ("Alone Again (Naturally)") won a $2 million lawsuit against his former manager for unpaid royalties, something that became very common in the industry.
1985: UB40, the Style Council, Spandau Ballet, Alison Moyet, Bronski Beat, the Pogues and Frankie Goes to Hollywood were featured on the U.K. music show The Tube.
1986: "Kiss" from Prince & the Revolution was the new #1 R&B song.
1988: Tracy Chapman released her great self-titled debut album on Elektra Records.
1990: James Brown was transferred from a Georgia jail to the Lower Savannah Work Center in South Carolina. Brown spent the last part of his sentence counseling drug abusers.
1994: Kurt Cobain of Nirvana committed suicide at his home in Seattle, Washington. His body wasn't discovered until three days later by a worker who was there to install a security system. High amounts of heroin were found in his body.
1997: The Chemical Brothers worked their way to #1 in the U.K. with "Block Rockin' Beats". The song later won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
1998: Drummer Cozy Powell was killed at age 50 when his car, that he was driving at a highly dangerous 104 miles per hour, ran into crash barriers on a road in Bristol, England. Powell had worked with Black Sabbath, Rainbow and Emerson, Lake and Palmer and was a session musician for Donovan, Jeff Beck, Roger Daltrey, Brian May, Gary Moore and Jack Bruce.
2002: Layne Staley, lead singer of Alice in Chains, died of a drug overdose at age 34 in Seattle, Washington. His body was found April 19.
2003: Paul McCartney began the U.K. portion of his "Back in the World" Tour at Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England.
2003: Carlos Santana sharply criticized President George W. Bush and Iraq leader Saddam Hussein at a concert in Melbourne, Australia. Santana said "We are the architects of the world and our agenda is different than Saddam Hussein and George Bush. Dignity and grace are our weapons--unity, salvation and elegance."
2007: Former KISS guitarist Mark St. John died of an apparent brain hemorrhage from methamphetamines at the age of 51 in Hollywood, California. (Note: one website claims he died in New York City, while others day he died in Hollywood or Los Angeles. The Orange County coroner determined his cause of death, so the site that reports he died in New York City is incorrect. Unfortunately, there are no credible sources that state his place his death, but our best information is that St. John died in Hollywood.)
2008: Toto performed their final concert at Dom Art Hall in Seoul, South Korea, before breaking up.
2008: Danity Kane had the #1 album with Welcome to the Dollhouse.
2008: Lady GaGa had the #1 U.K. album with her debut The Fame.
2009: The Temptations sang the national anthem of the United States before the NCAA College Basketball Championship.
Born This Day:
Gale Storm, singer (six Top 10 hits in the 1950's, including "I Hear You Knockin"), actor and television star (My Little Margie) was born in Bloomington, Texas; died June 27,2009 in Danville, California.
1928: Tony Williams, the amazing lead singer of the Platters, was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey; died of emphysema in New York City August 14, 1992.
1929: Joe Meek, producer who produced the Tornadoes with their #1 "Telstar", the Honeycombs ("Have I The Right") Petula Clark, Gene Vincent, and Tom Jones, was born in Newent, Gloucestershire, England; died February 3, 1967 after killing his landlady and then himself in London.
1932: Billy Bland ("Let The Little Girl Dance" from 1960) was born in Wilmington, North Carolina.
1941: Dave Swarbick, singer/songwriter and elite fiddle player of Fairport Convention, was born in New Malden, Surrey, England.
1942: Alan Clarke, founding member and the great lead singer of the Hollies, was born in Salford, Lancashire, England.
1944: Nicholas Caldwell of the Whispers was born in Loma Linda, California.
1944: Crispian St. Peters ("The Pied Piper", a #4 hit in 1966) was born in Swanley, Kent, England.
1948: Dave Holland, drummer of Judas Priest, was born in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England; served prison time for attempted rape of a 17-year old boy. (Note: some websites show his birth place as Northamptonshire, Wolverhampton, England. Northamptonshire is a county, not a city or village. Northampton is the county town of Northamptonshire. Wolverhampton is a city in the West Midlands, so it is impossible for Holland to have been born in both Northamptonshire county and Wolverhampton city.)
1951: Everton Morton of the Beat ("Can't Get Used To Losing You").
1954: Stan Ridgway, songwriter, lead singer and multi-instrumentalist of Wall of Voodoo, was born in Barstow, California.
1961: Jacob Slichter, drummer of Semisonic, was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1965: Mike McCready, lead guitarist of Pearl Jam, was born in Pensacola, Florida.
1968: Paula Cole ("I Don't Want To Wait") was born in Rockport, Massachusetts.
1973: Pharrell Williams, the artist who gave you "Happy", and a songwriter who teamed with Chad Hugo and produced hits for Mystikal, Jay-Z, N' Sync, Britney Spears and Nelly, was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Featured Unknown/Underrated Song*: April Wine's "All Over Town"
We love featuring quality undiscovered or unappreciated music with our series Top Tracks*. Sometimes, the track is so good that it should have been a big hit but wasn't, either because it wasn't released as a single or was wrongly ignored by radio (hint: most good songs would be loved by the public if radio gave them a chance...).
You might be familiar with this Canadian group from their song "Just Between You and Me". You see, record companies (and by association radio stations) incorrectly felt that ballads were the only songs that hard rock groups could have hits with. So the record company never released this song.
Try this one on for size, Capitol Records--years after your corporate decision, we are featuring "All Over Town" and not "Just Between You and Me".
"All Over Town"
April Wine
Lyrics and Music by Myles Goodwyn
Someone said you was, runnin' 'round
Like you owned the world
It's no secret, you're the talk of the town
You know, the best of the girls
That's right, and now you
Walked right out of my heart
You know it's all over town
I said you walked walked, right right, out of my heart
You know it's all over town
Now it's all over
You're so neat, you're so cute, you're so fine
You know that everybody wants some action
They see you comin' and they act like it's cool
Because they know that somethin's happenin'
That's right, because you
Walked right out of my heart
And now it's all over town
I said you walked walked, right right, out of my heart
You know the word's goin' 'round
Now it's all over, now it's all over
I don't care (he don't care)
I don't care
I don't care care what they say about us anymore
I don't care what they wanna do
Baby all my heart is for you
No matter what happens
There's no reason why we still can't be friends
You know we all need someone we can talk to
No matter what they say, we both know I'm right
After all we've been through
And now you walked right out of my heart
You know it's all over town
I said you walked (walked), right (right), out of my heart
You know the word's goin' 'round
Now it's all over
I said you walked, right out of my heart
I said you walked (walked), right (right), out of my heart
You walked right out of my heart
And now it's all over town
Like you owned the world
It's no secret, you're the talk of the town
You know, the best of the girls
That's right, and now you
Walked right out of my heart
You know it's all over town
I said you walked walked, right right, out of my heart
You know it's all over town
Now it's all over
You're so neat, you're so cute, you're so fine
You know that everybody wants some action
They see you comin' and they act like it's cool
Because they know that somethin's happenin'
That's right, because you
Walked right out of my heart
And now it's all over town
I said you walked walked, right right, out of my heart
You know the word's goin' 'round
Now it's all over, now it's all over
I don't care (he don't care)
I don't care
I don't care care what they say about us anymore
I don't care what they wanna do
Baby all my heart is for you
No matter what happens
There's no reason why we still can't be friends
You know we all need someone we can talk to
No matter what they say, we both know I'm right
After all we've been through
And now you walked right out of my heart
You know it's all over town
I said you walked (walked), right (right), out of my heart
You know the word's goin' 'round
Now it's all over
I said you walked, right out of my heart
I said you walked (walked), right (right), out of my heart
You walked right out of my heart
And now it's all over town
Thursday, April 3, 2014
This Date in Rock Music History: April 4
1956: Elvis Presley played the first of two nights in San Diego Arena. The San Diego Police chief released a statement saying that if he ever performed like he did again, he would be arrested for disorderly conduct.
The great group the Platters...
1958: The Platters released the single "Twilight Time". (Note: several websites report that the single was released on April 7. While there are no credible sources as to the exact date of release, there is an article in Billboard magazine, dated April 7, 1958, which says "The Platters have seldom missed, and are currently blazing with "Twilight Time", implying that the record was already released before April 7.)
1959: Buddy Holly's song "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" hit #13. It was the first posthumous release from Holly after his tragic plane crash.
1960: Elvis Presley recorded "Are You Lonesome Tonight".
1960: Percy Faith's "The Theme From 'A Summer Place'" was #1 for the seventh week in a row, and it wasn't close to done.
1964: We were first introduced to an amazing new talent whose body of work in film, stage and music overpowers nearly everyone in the Rock Era. Her first single debuted on the chart on this date. It was called "People"...by Barbra Streisand.
1964: Meet the Beatles! was the #1 album for the eighth consecutive week.
1964: The Beatles had #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5 on the U.S. Singles chart. They were #1 "Can't Buy Me Love", #2 "Love Me Do", #3 "She Loves You", #4 "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and #5 "Please Please Me". It was the first and only time any recording act has ever achieved the feat. The Beatles also had nine other singles on the Hot 100 for a total of 14 at the same time, also still a record for legitimate groups.
1965: John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote "Help!", the title song for the Beatles' second movie.
1966: Percy Sledge released the single "When A Man Loves a Woman". (Note: some websites naively state that the song was released on April 16. Percy's classic debuted on the Singles chart on April 9. It is physically impossible for a song to make the Singles chart if it has not been released as a single yet.)
1967: Paul McCartney told Monterey Pop Festival organizer (and Beatles publicist) Derek Taylor that the Festival should invite a guitarist named Jimi Hendrix.
1967: Jimi Hendrix appeared on the first edition of the U.K. BBC-TV show Dee Time along with Kiki Dee and Cat Stevens.
1968: James Brown made a national television appeal for calm following the assassination of Martin Luther King.
1968: Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Al Kooper and Ted Nugent jammed at an all-night blues, folk and rock session at the New Generation Club in New York after hearing news of Martin Luther King's assassination.
1969: Jim Morrison of the Doors turned himself in to FBI authorities in Los Angeles, after being sought for six counts of lewd behavior and public exposure in Miami, Florida at a concert March 2. (Note: many websites claim this happened on April 3, but the correct date is April 4, according to the official website for the Doors and the book 'Miami's Criminal Past Uncovered' by Sergio Bustos and Luisa Yanez.) 1970: Janis Joplin reunited with Big Brother & the Holding Company at a concert in San Francisco, California.
1970: The Jackson 5 reached #1 on the R&B chart with "ABC".
1970: Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" logged a sixth week at #1 on the Adult chart.
1970: The superb album Bridge Over Troubled Water, one of The Top 20 Albums of the Rock Era* on Inside the Rock Era, was #1 on the Album chart for a sixth week. Deja Vu, the first album to feature Neil Young with the trio of Crosby, Stills & Nash, debuted at #9.
1970: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young had one of the hot new songs with their version of the Joni Mitchell song "Woodstock".
1970: The classic song "Bridge Over Troubled Water" stood tall at #1 for a sixth week for Simon & Garfunkel. The Beatles patiently waited with "Let It Be" while a solo hit from John Lennon--"Instant Karma" was third.
1973: The Supremes appeared at the Granada Cinema in Tooting, England, the last date on a 20-day U.K. tour.
1977: ABBA received a Gold record for the album Arrival.
1981: The documentary This Is Elvis premiered at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, Texas.
1981: Despite having several albums that are better, Paradise Theater became Styx's first #1 album. The Chicago group broke a record with four consecutive albums to go triple platinum (3 million sales).
1981: The legendary Smokey Robinson was the proud new owner of the #1 R&B song with his solo hit "Being With You".
1981: Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb remained on top of the Adult Contemporary chart for the fourth week with "What Kind Of Fool".
1981: Gino Vannelli had another big hit as "Living Inside Myself" moved from #59 to #32.
Winwood's gift of positive thinking...
1981: Blondie held on to #1 with "Rapture", while "Woman" by the late John Lennon was second. Styx's "The Best Of TImes" peaked at 3 while Hall & Oates made a bid for another #1 with "Kiss On My List". Don McLean's remake of the Roy Orbison song "Crying" remained fifth. The rest of the Top 10: "Hello Again" from Neil Diamond, Grover Washington, Jr. & Bill Withers edged up with "Just The Two Of Us", REO Speedwagon's former #1 "Keep On Loving You", Steve Winwood scored his first solo Top 10 with "While You See a Chance" and "What Kind Of Fool" represented the 44th career hit for Barbra Streisand and the 38th for Barry Gibb.
1985: The Eurythmics released the single "Would I Lie To You".
1987: "Mandolin Rain" by Bruce Hornsby was #1 on the AC chart for the third straight week.
1987: Jody Watley controlled the R&B chart for a third week with "Looking For A New Love".
1987: U2 entered the Album chart at #7 with The Joshua Tree. It was the highest chart debut on the Album charts in seven years.
1987: With all their great songs, Starship officially had their second #1 song of their career with "Nothing's Gonna' Stop Us Now", although anyone who didn't have "White Rabbit", "Somebody To Love" and "Miracles" at #1 probably didn't deserve to be in the radio business.
1990: Gloria Estefan was able to leave the hospital after her serious car crash on March 20. Estefan required surgery to repair broken vertebrae.
1992: Bruce Springsteen hit #1 in the U.K. with his album Human Touch.
1992: One of The Top 10 Songs of 1992*, "Save The Best For Last" by Vanessa Williams was #1 for a third week. Mariah Carey scored her seventh straight Top 10 to open her career as "Make It Happen" moved in.
1994: Kurt Cobain's mother filed a missing persons report on her son.
1996: Take That ("Back For Good") appeared on The Ivo Niehe Show on Dutch television for the final time.
1996: Wilson Pickett was arrested for possession of cocaine while on probation, adding another year of jail time.
1996: The ashes of Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead were scattered in the Ganges River in India.
1998: Madonna's "Frozen" peaked at #2, tying her with Elvis Presley and Creedence Clearwater Revival for the most #2 hits in the Rock Era.
1998: K-Ci & Jojo began three weeks at the top with their #1 song "All My Life".
1999: The Coors album Talk On Corners reached #1 on the U.K. chart for the 10th time. It was the biggest-selling album of 1998 in the U.K.
2000: Pink released her first album Can't Take Me Home.
2002: Injuries to Dave Mustaine's left arm and hand forced Megadeth to break up after 19 years.
2002: R. Kelly was investigated on charges of child pornography in Chicago. On June 6, he was indicted on 21 counts.
2003: Meat Loaf announced his retirement following a last tour. He lied, and did not in fact retire.
2003: The Rolling Stones played their first concert in India, performing at the Palace Grounds in n Bangalore in front of 30,000 fans.
2003: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers premiered "Black Leather Woman" on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.
2004: Nickelback won Best Group at the Canadian Juno Awards.
2004: Beck married actress Marissa Ribisi at the San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, California.
2006: In today's episode of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music, Rapper Black Rob was sentenced to seven years in prison for grand larceny. And moral compass-challenged people continue to like the "music".
2008: The Rolling Stones documentary Shine a Light opened in theaters.
2008: Beyonce Knowles married Jay-Z at his New York apartment.
2008: Procol Harum's Gary Brooker won back his full royalty rights to "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" at the Court of Appeals in London. The decision overturned a 2006 ruling that organist Matthew Fisher was entitled to a 40% portion of the royalties for the 1967 hit after Fisher argued that he had written the organ melody for the song. The Appeals Court ruled that there had been an "excessive delay" in the claim (40 years after the song came out).
2010: Laughter in the Rain, a musical based on the life of Neil Sedaka, premiered at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, England.
Born This Day:
1934: Clive Davis, producer and record executive with Columbia and Arista, was born in Brooklyn, New York. (Note: some websites say that Davis was born in New York City, but the truth is that he was born in Brooklyn, a borough in New York, according to the book 'Whitney Houston We Love You Forever' by Jean-Pierre Hombach. 1936: Margo Sylvia of the Tune Weavers ("Happy, Happy Birthday Baby" from 1957) was born in Woburn, Massachusetts; died of a heart attack and stroke October 25, 1991 in San Diego, California. (Note: 'Allmusic.com' inaccurately says that Sylvia died on October 29. She died on October 25, according to credible sources including the Associated Press and the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times'.)
1939: Hugh Masekela, songwriter, singer and trumpet player who had a #1 song with his version of "Grazing In The Grass", was born in Witbank, South Africa.
1940: Sharon Sheeley, songwriter whose credits include "Poor Little Fool" for Ricky Nelson and "Somethin' Else" for Eddie Cochran, was born in Los Angeles. Sheeley became Cochran's girlfriend and survived the 1960 car crash that claimed Cochran's life. Sheeley died from complications following a cerebral hemorrhage. May 17, 2002 at the age of 62.
1939: Major Lance ("Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" from 1964) was born in Winterville,Mississippi; died of heart disease in Decatur, Georgia on September 3, 1994. (Note: some websites claim Lance was born in 1941 or 1942. They need to see the above photo.)
1948: Berry Oakley, founding member and bassist for the Allman Brothers Band, was born in Chicago, Illinois; died in a motorcycle crash November 11, 1972.
1948: Carol Douglas, a member of the regrouped Chantels, who went on to have the hit "Doctor's Orders" in 1974, was born in Brooklyn, New York. (Note: several websites say that Douglas was born on April 7. Her 'MySpace' page says she was born on April 4. Some websites report that Douglas was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. Bedford-Stuyvesant is a neighborhood, not a city, and neighborhoods are not shown on official birth certificates.)
1948: Pick Withers, original drummer for Dire Straits, was born in Leicester, England.
1952: Dave Hill, lead guitarist for Slade, was born in Holbeton, Devon, England. (Note: some websites claim Hill was born in Fleet Castle, Devon, England. First of all, it is the Fleat House and estate, not Fleet. Second, it is a building, not a city, and will never be included on an official birth certificate. Hill was born in the village of Holbeton in the county of Devon.)
1952: Gary Moore, the elite guitar player and vocalist for Skid Row and Thin Lizzy who came out with the spectacular solo album Still Got the Blues, was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland; died February 6, 2011 while on holiday in Spain
1952: Pete Haycock, lead guitarist of Climax Blues Band, was born in Stafford, Staffordshire, England.
1957: Graeme Kelling, guitarist of Deacon Blue, was born in Paisley, Scotland; died of pancreatic cancer in Glasgow, Scotland June 10, 2004.
1966: Mike Starr, original bassist of Alice In Chains, was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i; died March 8, 2011 from a prescription drug overdose combined with alcohol in Salt Lake City, Utah.
1971: Josh Todd, lead singer of Buckcherry, was born in Los Angeles.
1972: Magnus Sveningsson, bassist for the Cardigans ("Lovefool"), was born in Falköping, Sweden.
The great group the Platters...
1958: The Platters released the single "Twilight Time". (Note: several websites report that the single was released on April 7. While there are no credible sources as to the exact date of release, there is an article in Billboard magazine, dated April 7, 1958, which says "The Platters have seldom missed, and are currently blazing with "Twilight Time", implying that the record was already released before April 7.)
1959: Buddy Holly's song "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" hit #13. It was the first posthumous release from Holly after his tragic plane crash.
1960: Elvis Presley recorded "Are You Lonesome Tonight".
1960: Percy Faith's "The Theme From 'A Summer Place'" was #1 for the seventh week in a row, and it wasn't close to done.
1964: We were first introduced to an amazing new talent whose body of work in film, stage and music overpowers nearly everyone in the Rock Era. Her first single debuted on the chart on this date. It was called "People"...by Barbra Streisand.
1964: Meet the Beatles! was the #1 album for the eighth consecutive week.
1964: The Beatles had #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5 on the U.S. Singles chart. They were #1 "Can't Buy Me Love", #2 "Love Me Do", #3 "She Loves You", #4 "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and #5 "Please Please Me". It was the first and only time any recording act has ever achieved the feat. The Beatles also had nine other singles on the Hot 100 for a total of 14 at the same time, also still a record for legitimate groups.
1965: John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote "Help!", the title song for the Beatles' second movie.
1966: Percy Sledge released the single "When A Man Loves a Woman". (Note: some websites naively state that the song was released on April 16. Percy's classic debuted on the Singles chart on April 9. It is physically impossible for a song to make the Singles chart if it has not been released as a single yet.)
1967: Paul McCartney told Monterey Pop Festival organizer (and Beatles publicist) Derek Taylor that the Festival should invite a guitarist named Jimi Hendrix.
1968: James Brown made a national television appeal for calm following the assassination of Martin Luther King.
1968: Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Al Kooper and Ted Nugent jammed at an all-night blues, folk and rock session at the New Generation Club in New York after hearing news of Martin Luther King's assassination.
1969: Jim Morrison of the Doors turned himself in to FBI authorities in Los Angeles, after being sought for six counts of lewd behavior and public exposure in Miami, Florida at a concert March 2. (Note: many websites claim this happened on April 3, but the correct date is April 4, according to the official website for the Doors and the book 'Miami's Criminal Past Uncovered' by Sergio Bustos and Luisa Yanez.) 1970: Janis Joplin reunited with Big Brother & the Holding Company at a concert in San Francisco, California.
1970: The Jackson 5 reached #1 on the R&B chart with "ABC".
1970: Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" logged a sixth week at #1 on the Adult chart.
1970: The superb album Bridge Over Troubled Water, one of The Top 20 Albums of the Rock Era* on Inside the Rock Era, was #1 on the Album chart for a sixth week. Deja Vu, the first album to feature Neil Young with the trio of Crosby, Stills & Nash, debuted at #9.
1970: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young had one of the hot new songs with their version of the Joni Mitchell song "Woodstock".
1970: The classic song "Bridge Over Troubled Water" stood tall at #1 for a sixth week for Simon & Garfunkel. The Beatles patiently waited with "Let It Be" while a solo hit from John Lennon--"Instant Karma" was third.
1973: The Supremes appeared at the Granada Cinema in Tooting, England, the last date on a 20-day U.K. tour.
1977: ABBA received a Gold record for the album Arrival.
1981: The documentary This Is Elvis premiered at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, Texas.
1981: Despite having several albums that are better, Paradise Theater became Styx's first #1 album. The Chicago group broke a record with four consecutive albums to go triple platinum (3 million sales).
1981: The legendary Smokey Robinson was the proud new owner of the #1 R&B song with his solo hit "Being With You".
1981: Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb remained on top of the Adult Contemporary chart for the fourth week with "What Kind Of Fool".
1981: Gino Vannelli had another big hit as "Living Inside Myself" moved from #59 to #32.
Winwood's gift of positive thinking...
1981: Blondie held on to #1 with "Rapture", while "Woman" by the late John Lennon was second. Styx's "The Best Of TImes" peaked at 3 while Hall & Oates made a bid for another #1 with "Kiss On My List". Don McLean's remake of the Roy Orbison song "Crying" remained fifth. The rest of the Top 10: "Hello Again" from Neil Diamond, Grover Washington, Jr. & Bill Withers edged up with "Just The Two Of Us", REO Speedwagon's former #1 "Keep On Loving You", Steve Winwood scored his first solo Top 10 with "While You See a Chance" and "What Kind Of Fool" represented the 44th career hit for Barbra Streisand and the 38th for Barry Gibb.
1985: The Eurythmics released the single "Would I Lie To You".
1987: "Mandolin Rain" by Bruce Hornsby was #1 on the AC chart for the third straight week.
1987: Jody Watley controlled the R&B chart for a third week with "Looking For A New Love".
1987: U2 entered the Album chart at #7 with The Joshua Tree. It was the highest chart debut on the Album charts in seven years.
1987: With all their great songs, Starship officially had their second #1 song of their career with "Nothing's Gonna' Stop Us Now", although anyone who didn't have "White Rabbit", "Somebody To Love" and "Miracles" at #1 probably didn't deserve to be in the radio business.
1990: Gloria Estefan was able to leave the hospital after her serious car crash on March 20. Estefan required surgery to repair broken vertebrae.
1992: Bruce Springsteen hit #1 in the U.K. with his album Human Touch.
1992: One of The Top 10 Songs of 1992*, "Save The Best For Last" by Vanessa Williams was #1 for a third week. Mariah Carey scored her seventh straight Top 10 to open her career as "Make It Happen" moved in.
1994: Kurt Cobain's mother filed a missing persons report on her son.
1996: Take That ("Back For Good") appeared on The Ivo Niehe Show on Dutch television for the final time.
1996: Wilson Pickett was arrested for possession of cocaine while on probation, adding another year of jail time.
1996: The ashes of Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead were scattered in the Ganges River in India.
1998: Madonna's "Frozen" peaked at #2, tying her with Elvis Presley and Creedence Clearwater Revival for the most #2 hits in the Rock Era.
1998: K-Ci & Jojo began three weeks at the top with their #1 song "All My Life".
1999: The Coors album Talk On Corners reached #1 on the U.K. chart for the 10th time. It was the biggest-selling album of 1998 in the U.K.
2002: Injuries to Dave Mustaine's left arm and hand forced Megadeth to break up after 19 years.
2002: R. Kelly was investigated on charges of child pornography in Chicago. On June 6, he was indicted on 21 counts.
2003: Meat Loaf announced his retirement following a last tour. He lied, and did not in fact retire.
2003: The Rolling Stones played their first concert in India, performing at the Palace Grounds in n Bangalore in front of 30,000 fans.
2003: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers premiered "Black Leather Woman" on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.
2004: Nickelback won Best Group at the Canadian Juno Awards.
2004: Beck married actress Marissa Ribisi at the San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, California.
2006: In today's episode of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music, Rapper Black Rob was sentenced to seven years in prison for grand larceny. And moral compass-challenged people continue to like the "music".
2008: The Rolling Stones documentary Shine a Light opened in theaters.
2008: Procol Harum's Gary Brooker won back his full royalty rights to "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" at the Court of Appeals in London. The decision overturned a 2006 ruling that organist Matthew Fisher was entitled to a 40% portion of the royalties for the 1967 hit after Fisher argued that he had written the organ melody for the song. The Appeals Court ruled that there had been an "excessive delay" in the claim (40 years after the song came out).
2010: Laughter in the Rain, a musical based on the life of Neil Sedaka, premiered at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, England.
1934: Clive Davis, producer and record executive with Columbia and Arista, was born in Brooklyn, New York. (Note: some websites say that Davis was born in New York City, but the truth is that he was born in Brooklyn, a borough in New York, according to the book 'Whitney Houston We Love You Forever' by Jean-Pierre Hombach. 1936: Margo Sylvia of the Tune Weavers ("Happy, Happy Birthday Baby" from 1957) was born in Woburn, Massachusetts; died of a heart attack and stroke October 25, 1991 in San Diego, California. (Note: 'Allmusic.com' inaccurately says that Sylvia died on October 29. She died on October 25, according to credible sources including the Associated Press and the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times'.)
1948: Berry Oakley, founding member and bassist for the Allman Brothers Band, was born in Chicago, Illinois; died in a motorcycle crash November 11, 1972.
1948: Carol Douglas, a member of the regrouped Chantels, who went on to have the hit "Doctor's Orders" in 1974, was born in Brooklyn, New York. (Note: several websites say that Douglas was born on April 7. Her 'MySpace' page says she was born on April 4. Some websites report that Douglas was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. Bedford-Stuyvesant is a neighborhood, not a city, and neighborhoods are not shown on official birth certificates.)
1948: Pick Withers, original drummer for Dire Straits, was born in Leicester, England.
1952: Dave Hill, lead guitarist for Slade, was born in Holbeton, Devon, England. (Note: some websites claim Hill was born in Fleet Castle, Devon, England. First of all, it is the Fleat House and estate, not Fleet. Second, it is a building, not a city, and will never be included on an official birth certificate. Hill was born in the village of Holbeton in the county of Devon.)
1952: Gary Moore, the elite guitar player and vocalist for Skid Row and Thin Lizzy who came out with the spectacular solo album Still Got the Blues, was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland; died February 6, 2011 while on holiday in Spain
1952: Pete Haycock, lead guitarist of Climax Blues Band, was born in Stafford, Staffordshire, England.
1957: Graeme Kelling, guitarist of Deacon Blue, was born in Paisley, Scotland; died of pancreatic cancer in Glasgow, Scotland June 10, 2004.
1966: Mike Starr, original bassist of Alice In Chains, was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i; died March 8, 2011 from a prescription drug overdose combined with alcohol in Salt Lake City, Utah.
1971: Josh Todd, lead singer of Buckcherry, was born in Los Angeles.
1972: Magnus Sveningsson, bassist for the Cardigans ("Lovefool"), was born in Falköping, Sweden.