Inside the Rock Era

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

This Date in Rock Music History: August 8

1957: We were introduced to the Fat Man as Fats Domino released his debut album This Is Fats.
1960: Ferrante & Teicher had one of the fastest-rising songs of the decade as "Theme From 'The Apartment'" moved from #85 to #36.
1960: Chubby Checker performed his smash hit "The Twist" on American Bandstand.

Elvis closed in on #1 with "It's Now or Never"...

1960: It did it. Sixteen-year-old Brian Hyland's "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" moved to #1 on this date as Brenda Lee took a back seat with "I'm Sorry". Elvis Presley loomed at #3 with "It's Now Or Never" while Roy Orbison remained at 4 with "Only The Lonely". The rest of the Top 10: the Hollywood Argyles with "Alley-Oop", the Safaris were stuck at 6 with "Image Of A Girl", the Ventures shot up from 18-7 with "Walk--Don't Run", "Tell Laura I Love Her" from Ray Peterson, Hank Locklin tumbled with "Please Help Me, I'm Falling" and Fats Domino moved into the Top 10 with "Walking To New Orleans".
1963: The Searchers had the #1 U.K. song with "Sweets For My Sweet".

1961: Elvis Presley released the single "Little Sister".
1964: A new group was out. Their name was the Animals and they first charted with "The House Of The Rising Sun" on this date.
1964: Bob Dylan released his album Another Side of Bob Dylan on Columbia Records.
1964: The Dave Clark Five moved from 60 to 22 with "Because".
1965: The Animals, the Spencer Davis Group, and Long John Baldry helped conclude the three-day National Jazz and Blues Festival in Richmond, Surrey, England.

1966: The Beatles released the double-sided single "Eleanor Rigby"/"Yellow Submarine".
1969: The Beatles filmed the famous "road-crossing" scene for the cover of their upcoming Abbey Road album. Iain McMillan was the photographer, who took six pictures of the group walking in the crosswalk while balanced on a step-ladder. The band then recorded overdubs of "Oh! Darling", "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and "The "End" for the album.
1969: This was a great show. Jethro Tull opened for Led Zeppelin at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, California.

1969: But the place to be in 1969 was at the Plumpton Race Track in East Sussex, England, for the ninth annual National Jazz and Blues Festival. Sussex was the fourth location in the event's history, following Richmond, Windsor, and Sunbury. Pink Floyd and Soft Machine were among the acts on opening night.

1970: Black Sabbath, Cat Stevens, Peter Green, the Chicago Climax Blues Band, Fotheringay, and the Strawbs thrilled fans at the 10th annual National Jazz and Blues Festival at the Plumpton Race Track in East Sussex, England. The Festival spread to four days for the first and final time.

1970: Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 moved into the #1 slot on the Album chart with CCR's great Cosmo's Factory close behind. The Soundtrack to "Woodstock" was the previous #1, followed by Let It Be from the Beatles and McCartney by Paul McCartney. The rest of the Top 10: ABC from the Jackson 5, Deja Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Self Portrait by Bob Dylan, Chicago II moving into the Top 10 and the Who with Live at Leeds.
1970: The Carpenters owned the #1 Easy Listening song for the fourth week with "Close To You".

Alive & Kicking had one of the great-sounding songs of the summer...

1970: The Carpenters were up to three weeks at #1 with "Close To You". Bread's "Make It With You" was hanging around at #2 and Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" was third. Eric Burdon & War moved up to #4 with "Spill The Wine" and Freda Payne had song #5--"Band Of Gold". The rest of the Top 10: Three Dog Night's former #1 "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)" was #6, Alive & Kicking with "Tighter, Tighter" (above), the Jackson 5 had #8 with "The Love You Save", the Temptations with "Ball Of Confusion" and the Five Stairsteps rounded out the list with "O-o-h Child".
1972: The Eagles performed at the Center Coliseum in Seattle, Washington.
1975: Cannonball Adderley ("Mercy, Mercy, Mercy") died of a stroke at the age of 46 while performing on stage in Gary, Indiana.
1981: The Pretenders began a second American tour in Fort Pierce, Florida.
1981: Long Distance Voyager by the Moody Blues was once again the #1 album for the third week. Precious Time by Pat Benatar moved to #2 while Street Songs by Rick James was third. Foreigner moved from 13 to 4 with their album 4. The rest of the Top 10: Mistaken Identity from Kim Carnes, Hard Promises at 6 by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Kenny Rogers remained at 7 with Share Your Love, REO Speedwagon was finally down to #8 after 35 weeks with Hi Infidelity, Styx and Paradise Theater and Air Supply landed at #10 with The One That You Love.

1981: "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield held on to #1 but Diana Ross & Lionel Richie were gaining fast with "Endless Love", which moved from 14 to 2 on this date. Joey Scarbury's "Theme From 'Greatest American Hero' (Believe It Or Not)" was at 3 while Kenny Rogers remained at #4 with "I Don't Need You".
1982: Mickey Thomas (Jefferson Starship) married Sara Kendrick in San Francisco. (Note: several websites claim that Mickey Thompson married Sara Kendrick on this date. That would be news to Sara, and to Mickey Thomas as well. There has never been anyone by that name in the Jefferson Starship lineup--the correct spelling of his last name is Thomas.)

1983: The Police released the single "King Of Pain".

1986: Genesis released the single "Throwing It All Away".
1986: David Crosby was released from prison after serving his sentence for drug and weapons possession in Huntsville, Texas.
1987: "The Pleasure Principle", title song from Janet Jackson's album, topped the R&B chart.

T'Pau had one hit, but it was a great one...

1987: U2 climbed to #1 and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". George Michael was up to #2 with "I Want Your Sex" and Bob Seger's former #1 "Shakedown was #3. T'Pau's "Heart And Soul" was next followed by Suzanne Vega's "Luka" and Gloria Estefan with "Rhythm Is Gonna' Get You".
1992: Axl Rose cut a concert by Guns 'N' Roses short in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, because of a sore throat. Fans weren't too understanding because they rioted.

1992: Snap! topped the U.K. chart with "Rhythm Is A Dancer".
1992: Madonna scored her 26th hit, 23rd Top 10 and 10th #1 song with "Used To Be My Playground".

1992: TLC had the #1 R&B song with "Baby-Baby-Baby".
1998: The Spice Girls hit #1 for the seventh time in the U.K. with "Viva Forever".
2000: The head of security for James Brown was arrested in connection with an Augusta, Georgia fire that destroyed Brown's offices.
2005: Marc Cohn (the great 1991 song "Memphis") was shot in the head after his tour van was stopped in Denver, Colorado--he miraculously survived.
2005: In today's "Inmates Run Rap Music" segment, rapper Young Buck and Lloyd Banks were arrested for possessing a handgun and loaded gun.
2006: Travis Barker of Blink-182 filed for divorce from wife Shanna Moakler.

Born This Day:

1933: Joe Tex (Joseph Arrington, Jr. whose biggest hit was "I Gotcha'" from 1972) was born in Rogers, Texas; died August 12, 1982, two days after suffering a heart attack in Navasota, Texas. (Note: some websites say that Joe was born in Baytown, Texas. According to the book 'Handbook of Texas Music' by Laurie E. Jasinski, he was born in Rogers, then moved later to Baytown. Some websites report Joe died on August 13. He died prior to midnight on August 12, according to his official death certificate.)

1938: Connie Stevens ("Sixteen Reasons" from 1960) and a popular actress, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1938: Don Jacobucci of the Regents
1942: John "Jay" David, drummer of Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
1944: Michael Johnson ("Bluer Than Blue" from 1978) was born in Alamosa, Colorado.
1949: Keith Carradine, actor and Oscar winner of best song from the movie Nashville ("I'm Easy) was born in San Mateo, California. (Note: some websites report that Keith was born in Modesto, California. According to the newspaper 'The New York Times', he was born in San Mateo.)
1949: Airrion Love, singer with the Stylistics, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1952: Anton Fig, who was the drummer for Bob Dylan and Cyndi Lauper, was born in Cape Town, South Africa.
1952: Ali Score, drummer with of A Flock of Seagulls, was born in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. (Note: some websites report he was born in 1956. Although there are no credible sources for his birth year, our best research indicates he was born in 1952. Some sites incorrectly state he was born in Beverley, Yorkshire, England. Yorkshire did not become a county until 1974, long after Ali was born. In 1952, Beverley was in the county East Riding of Yorkshire.)
1957: Dennis Drew, founding member and keyboardist of 10,000 Maniacs was born in Jamestown, New York. (Note: some websites report Drew was born on August 7, but the correct date of birth, according to the newspaper 'The New York Times', is August 8.)
1958: Christopher Foreman, guitarist with Madness, was born in London. (Note: some websites report Foreman was born in St. Pancras, London. St. Pancras is an area of London, and although there is a branch of the University College Hospital in St. Pancras, Christopher was born at the Hospital on Euston Road, which is in London, according to the book 'House of Fun: The Story of Madness' by John Reed.)
1959: Rikki Rockett (real name Richard Ream), drummer of Poison, was born in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

1961: The Edge (David Evans), guitarist of U2, was born in Barking, Essex, England. (Some websites claim Evans was born in Dublin, Ireland, but according to 'The Biography Channel', he was born in Barking.)
1961: Paul Jackson, bassist with T'Pau ("Heart And Soul" from 1987), was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. (Note: some websites state Jackson was born in Telford, England. The town of Telford was named in 1968 when the Dawley New Town Amendment Order was made on November 29. Thus, in 1961, when Jackson was born, Telford did not exist.)
1963: Joan Osborne ("One Of Us") was born in Anchorage, Kentucky.
1968: Ian Moore, guitarist who has appeared with Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and ZZ Top, was born in Berkeley, California.
1970: Beck (real name Bek David Campbell), and certainly not to be confused with elite guitarist Jeff Beck, was born in Los Angeles.
1974: Brian Harvey, former singer with East 17, was born in Walthamstow, London.
1976: Joshua Chasez of *N Sync and producer for the Backstreet Boys, among others, was born in Washington, D.C. (Note: some websites report Chasez was born in Bowie, Maryland. He was born in D.C., then was adopted and lived in Bowie.)
1981: Bradley Mcintosh of S Club 7 was born in London.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

This Date in Rock Music History: August 7

1954: Elvis Presley appeared at the Eagle's Nest in Memphis, Tennessee.

1955: It was official, because it was on The Ed Sullivan Show. Bill Haley & the Comets performed "Rock Around The Clock". When the song went to #1 on July 9, the Rock Era began.
1957: The Quarrymen (minus Paul McCartney, who was at Boy Scout Camp) made their first appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England.
1957: Paul Anka appeared on American Bandstand.
1957: Buddy Holly and The Crickets begin their first major tour at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C.

1963 - The movie Beach Party, starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, debuted.
1963: The Beatles had the top U.K. album with Please Please Me. The Shadows' Greatest Hits package was #2, followed by Cliff Richards and Cliff's Hit Album, the Soundtrack to "West Side Story" was #4 with Elvis Presley's album It Happened at the World Fair #5.

1964: The Rolling Stones kicked off the National Jazz Festival on the Richmond Athletic Grounds in Richmond, Surrey, England.
1965: Mike Smith of the Dave Clark Five suffered broken ribs when loser fans pulled him from the stage in Chicago, Illinois.

1965: The single was written for the Turtles by Bob Dylan, called "It Ain't Me Babe". "It Ain't Me Babe" debuted on the chart on this date, starting the Turtles on their journey.
1965: "Help" by the Beatles replaced "Mr. Tambourine Man" by the Byrds as the #1 song in England.
1965: Gary Lewis & the Playboys were on top of the Easy Listening chart with "Save Your Heart For Me".

1965: Wilson Pickett's great song "In The Midnight Hour" was #1 on the R&B chart.
1965: Herman's Hermits reached #1 with "I'm Henry VIII, I Am", knocking off the Rolling Stones and "Satisfaction". Tom Jones remained at 3 with "What's New Pussycat?", Gary Lewis & the Playboys had "Save Your Heart For Me" and Sonny & Cher moved from 22 to 5 with "I Got You Babe".

1967: The Box Tops released their single "The Letter".

1967: Jackie Wilson released "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher".

1970: Christine McVie joined the group Fleetwood Mac.
1970: Chicago, Rod Stewart, Jethro Tull, Bob Seger, Ten Years After, Mountain, the James Gang, John Sebastian, Brownsville Station, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Stooges with Iggy Pop and MC5 appeared at the three-day Goose Lake International Music Festival in Leoni, Michigan from August 7-9. Over 200,000 attended the Festival over the three days.

1971: Olivia Newton-John's first hit, her version of Bob Dylan's "If Not For You", reached #1 on the Easy Listening chart.

1971: Aretha Franklin moved from 69 to 29 with "Spanish Harlem".

                                           The Raiders with their biggest career hit...

1971: The Bee Gees moved up in a big way when "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" climbed from 6 to 1.  Paul Revere & the Raiders from Boise, Idaho remained at 2 with their former #1 "Indian Reservation". The previous #1 "You've Got A Friend" by James Taylor was now at 3, with Jean Knight's "Mr. Big Stuff" and "Draggin' The Line" by Tommy James trailing. The rest of the Top 10: "Take Me Home, Country Roads" from John Denver, Carole King, from Stanley, Idaho,with "It's Too Late"/"I Feel the Earth Move", her double-sided smash, Chicago, with a double-sided hit of their own--"Beginnings" and "Colour My World", moving from 16-8, Tom Clay at #9 with "What The World Needs Now Is Love/Abraham, Martin And John" and Marvin Gaye's socially conscious "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)".
1972: The Eagles were at the PNE Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
1976: "Getaway" from Earth, Wind & Fire was the top R&B song.

1976:  Elton John & Kiki Dee teamed up for the smash of the summer--"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" that reached #1. Gary Wright had to settle for #2 on "Love Is Alive" while newcomer Starbuck was next with "Moonlight Feels Right". Wings had #4 with "Let 'Em In", the Bee Gees jumped from 11 to 5 with "You Should Be Dancing" and the Beach Boys were at 6 with "Rock And Roll Music". The rest of the Top 10: "Got To Get You Into My Life" from the Beatles, the Manhattans fell hard with "Kiss And Say Goodbye", Lou Rawls entered the Top 10 with "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" and the former #1 from Starland Vocal Band was at 10 with "Afternoon Delight".
1980: John Lennon and Yoko Ono began recording of the album Double Fantasy at The Hit Factory in New York City. (Note: Some websites say that John Lennon began recording what turned out to be his final studio album, 'Double Fantasy', on August 4, 1980. Other websites give various other dates as the beginning of the sessions. According to keyboardist George Small, in the book 'Starting Over: The Making of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Double Fantasy"' by Ken Sharp, rehearsals were held August 2, 4 and 5, but Lennon didn't begin recording until August 7.)
1981: Phil Taylor of Motorhead was found guilty of possession of drugs.
1982: Dexy's Midnight Runners found the top of the chart in the U.K. with "Come On Eileen".

1982: Mirage by Fleetwood Mac was the new #1 album with Asia falling to #2. Eye of the Tiger by Survivor moved up to 3 while John Cougar (Mellencamp) was fourth with the great album American Fool. The rest of the Top 10: Pictures at Eleven from Robert Plant, Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band, REO Speedwagon's Good Trouble at #7, the classic Toto IV at #8, Willie Nelson with Always On My Mind and Crosby, Stills & Nash with Daylight Again.
1984: Esther Phillips ("What A Difference A Day Makes") died of liver and kidney failure in Torrance, California at the age of 48. (Note: some websites say Phillips died in Los Angeles, while 'MTV' and others say she died in Carson, California. 'MTV' says she died at the UCLA Medical Center in Carson. There is a UCLA Medical Center on Carson Street, but it isn't in Carson, but rather in Torrance, confirmed by the newspaper 'The New York Times'.)
1991: Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses was charged with assault and property damage for a riot he caused at a concert in St. Louis, Missouri.
1991: In an effort to pay backtaxes, Willie Nelson sold his Colorado ranch for $803,000.
1995: LL Cool J married Simone Johnson.
2000: Jimi Hendrix's family won an international case to evict the owner of the Internet web site www.jimihendrix.com.
2001: Usher released the album 8701, named after the day it arrived in music stores.
2002: Noel Gallagher, Andy Bell and Jay Darlington of Oasis were injured when their taxi was involved in a crash in Indianapolis. They were taken to the hospital and treated for cuts and bruises.

2002: The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania saluted the group Yes with a day in their honor.
2003: The Osmonds received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2005: James Blunt had the top U.K. song with "You're Beautiful".
2005: Mariah Carey owned the U.S. chart with "We Belong Together".
2007: Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers began serving a three-year sentence in federal prison for income tax evasion.
2008: A jumpsuit owned by Elvis Presley sold for $300,000, the highest price that a piece of Elvis memorabilia had ever gone for. The white outfit with blue and gold peacock design was hand-embroidered on the front and back and along the pant legs.

Born This Day:

1925: Felice Bryant (birth name Matilda Genevieve Scaduto), who, together with husband Boudleaux wrote several Everly Brothers hits ("All I Have To Do Is Dream", "Wake Up Little Susie" and "Bye Bye Love"), "Raining In My Heart" for Buddy Holly, and many others, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; died April 22, 2003 after being diagnosed with cancer in Gatlinburg, Tennesse.
1928: Herb Reed of the Platters, an original Platter and the last surviving member who sang on the group's big hits, was born in Kansas City, Missouri; died June 4, 2012 of lung disease in Boston, Massachusetts. (Note: some websites claim Reed was born in 1931. According to the newspapers 'The New York Times' and 'The Los Angeles Times' and 'Billboard' magazine, he was born in 1928.)

1942: B.J. Thomas was born in Hugo, Oklahoma.

1945: Kerry Chater, bassist of Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, was born in the beautiful city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
1947: David Hodo (real name Richard Davis) of the Village People was born in Palo Alto, California. (Note: some websites state Davis was born in San Andreas, California, but according to 'MTV', he was born in Palo Alto.)
1949: Carlo Novi, songwriter and tenor saxophonist of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, was born in Mexico City, Mexico.
1950: Rodney Crowell, singer, songwriter and guitarist, was born in Houston, Texas.
1952: Andy Fraser, songwriter and bassist of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and a founding member of the group Free at age 15, was born in Paddington, Middlesex, England; died March 16, 2015 after battling cancer and AIDS. (Note: some websites insist Fraser was born in Paddington, London or London. London was not a county in 1952. When Fraser was born, Paddington was included in the county of Middlesex.)
1958: Bruce Dickinson, vocalist of Iron Maiden, was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England.
1960: Jacqui O'Sullivan, singer/songwriter of Bananarama, was born in Hendon, Middlesex, England. (Note: several websites falsely report she was born in Hendon, London. Hendon was historically in the county of Middlesex, and was not included in Greater London until 1965, five years after she was born.)
1964: Ian Dench, guitarist and main songwriter of EMF, was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.
1966: Kristin Hersh, lead singer and guitarist with Throwing Muses and a solo performer, was born in Atlanta, Georgia.

Artists of the Rock Era From Detroit, Michigan

Detroit was home to the legendary Motown sound, but its artists have influenced more than R&B. You might be surprised to learn the variety of artists that have come from the Motor City: