1960: Johnny Horton ("Battle Of New Orleans" and "North To Alaska") was killed in a car accident in Milano, Texas at age 33. The drunk driver who killed Horton received only minor injuries. 1963: The Beatles gave two shows at the Adelphi Cinema in Slough, England. 1965: The Doors played for a private party on the Pioneer Club Boat Ride in Los Angeles.
For the music lover in your family, this is a great reference book to get them for Christmas. Or, you could drop the hint to an important person in your life that in fact YOU would like it for Christmas. Either way, it's loaded with 505 pages of background, information and statistics on the 100 most successful female performers of the last 60 years.
Kay Starr (pictured above with Louis Armstrong, left and Tony Bennett), whose #1 song "Rock And Roll Waltz" was one of the biggest hits early in the Rock Era (#1 for 6 weeks) has died at the age of 94. Starr passed away last night at her home in Los Angeles from complications of Alzheimer's disease.
Starr was popular in the big band era, but was so adaptable that she enjoyed Country hits and then scored her biggest hit as Rock & Roll emerged. Kay continued to perform for decades after leaving the charts to enthusiastic audiences.
For those who first discovered the Bee Gees from Saturday Night Fever, the group had a slew of great songs before then. Here's one such song from their early years:
"Massachusetts"
Bee Gees
Written by Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb
Feel I'm goin' back to Massachusetts, Something's telling me I must go home. And the lights all went out in Massachusetts The day I left her standing on her own.
Tried to hitch a ride to San Francisco, Gotta do the things I wanna do. And the lights all went out in Massachusetts They brought me back to see my way with you.
Talk about the life in Massachusetts, Speak about the people I have seen, And the lights all went out in Massachusetts And Massachusetts is one place I have seen.
1957: We first heard of a new singer from Detroit on this date as Jackie Wilson debuted with his first chart single--"Reet Petite (The Finest Girl You Ever Want To Meet)".
1959: "Mack The Knife" by Bobby Darin was #1 for the fifth consecutive week.
1963: Dion walked out of a taping of the British television show Ready Steady Go!, complaining that the go-go dancers were distracting him. Welcome to the club.
1955: The Famous Flames, led by lead singer James Brown, recorded their first demo, singing "Please, Please, Please" at a radio station in Macon, Georgia.
1952: 26 year-old Chuck Berry was hired as a guitarist in Johnnie Johnson's band playing evening gigs in St. Louis, Missouri. Berry kept his job as a hairdresser for the next three years.
1959: The Quarrymen changed their name to Johnny and the Moondogs. 1960: The Drifters took the #1 spot on the R&B chart with "Save The Last Dance For Me". 1960: The Drifters moved up to #1 overall with "Save The Last Dance For Me".
