This Date in Rock Music History: September 19

1955:  Frank Sinatra sang "Love And Marriage" on the "Producer's Showcase" production of the play Our Town on NBC-TV.

1957:  Cliff Richard, 16 years old and known by his real name (Harry Webb), joined the Dick Teague Skiffle Group.
1960:  "Kiddio" by Brook Benton was #1 on the R&B chart for the fourth week. 
1960:  Hank Ballard and the Midnighters became the first group to own three songs in the Top 100 simultaneously--"Finger Poppin' Time", "Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go" and "The Twist".  After the group refused to perform "The Twist" on television, Dick Clark suggested Chubby Checker do the song.  He did, and... 
1960:  "The Twist" worked its way to #1 for Chubby Checker.
1963:  Jimmy Dean premiered his prime time television show on ABC.  It lasted three seasons.
1964:  Dean Martin notched week #8 on top of the Easy Listening chart with "Everybody Loves Somebody".







1964:  An excellent Top 10 on this date--The Animals held on to #1 for a third week with "The House Of The Rising Sun".  The Newbeats happy-go-lucky song about staples "Bread And Butter" was #2 while the Supremes' former #1 "Where Did Our Love Go" was on its way down.  Quite the opposite for Roy Orbison, who moved from 10 to 4 with "Oh Pretty Woman".  The rest of the Top 10:  Ronny & the Daytonas had #5--"G.T.O.", good ol' Dean Martin was at 6 with "Everybody Loves Somebody", the Shangri-Las were back with "Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)", the Dave Clark Five had "Because", Manfred Mann owned one of the hottest songs of the year with "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", which jumped from 31-9 while Martha & the Vandellas couldn't match that but were close (25-10) with "Dancing In The Street".
1966:  John Lennon flew to Spain to begin filming How I Won the War.  Lennon played Private Gripweed in the movie.


1968:  Steppenwolf was awarded a Gold record for the single "Born To Be Wild".
1969:  CCR sat on top in the U.K. with "Bad Moon Rising".












1969:  CCR released the double-sided smash "Fortunate Son"/"Down On The Corner" on Fantasy Records.
1970:  Anne Murray enjoyed her fourth week at #1 on the Easy Listening chart with her first hit "Snowbird".
1970:  Newcomer James Taylor's great song "Fire And Rain" moved from 83 to 50.






1970:  Diana Ross had her 13th #1 but her first as a solo artist with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".
1970:  The great LP Cosmo's Factory by CCR remained at #1 for the fifth week, trailed by the Soundtrack to "Woodstock" and Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen.  Tommy by the Who moved up to #4 while Chicago II was at position #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Blood, Sweat & Tears 3, Stage Fright from the Band, Live at Leeds by the Who, Grand Funk Railroad came in ninth with Closer to Home and Neil Diamond/Gold moved from 16 to 10.
1971:  The Jackson 5 starred in the television special "Goin' Back To Indiana", which aired on NBC.
1973:  Gram Parsons of the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers died of drugs at the age of 26 in Joshua Tree, California.
1974:  Max Weinberg debuted as drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band at the Main Point in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

1974:  Bad Company's debut album was certified Gold.
1975:  Queen signed John Reid, manager of Elton John, to be their manager as well.
1974:  Eric Clapton was awarded a Gold record for the single "I Shot The Sheriff".








1977:  The Bee Gees released the single "How Deep Is Your Love".
1978:  Linda Ronstadt released the album Living in the U.S.A, which had advance orders of two million copies.

1979:  The Doobie Brothers, Tom Petty, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Carly Simon, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Poco and Bonnie Raitt appeared in the first No Nukes Concert (the first of five nights) at Madison Square Garden in New York City.







1981:  An historic date in the history of the Rock Era.  Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel recorded The Concert in Central Park before 750,000 fans in New York City for an HBO special.
1981:  The Rolling Stones moved from 8 to 1 with their album Tattoo You.  They didn't mean it literally.
1981:  Lionel Richie & Diana Ross remained at #1 for a third week on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Endless Love".
1981:  Ross & Richie spent a fifth week at #1 on the R&B chart.




1981:  Great singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg had one of the big movers of the week, rising from 45 to 29 with "Hard To Say".









1983:  Billy Joel released the single "Uptown Girl".  (Note:  one naive website claims the song was released September 29.  "Uptown Girl" debuted on the Singles chart on September 24.  It is physically impossible for a song to be included on the Singles chart if it has not been released as a single.)
1985:  A United States Senate committee heard testimony on labeling and rating of rock music, initiated by the Parents Music Resource Center.  The procedures were put into place but only work if parents pay attention to them.
1987:  The third annual Farm Aid benefit concert took place at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska with John Mellencamp, John Denver, Steppenwolf, Neil Young, Joe Walsh, and Lou Reed among the performers.
1987:  Michael Jackson moved to #1 on the R&B chart with "I Just Can't Stop Loving You".



1987:  The Soundtrack to "Dirty Dancing" was the new #1 album, taking the place of Tunnel of Love from Bruce Springsteen.  Bad by Michael Jackson fell to 3 followed by Whitesnake's self-titled release and A Momentary Lapse of Reason from Pink Floyd.  The rest of the Top 10:  Hysteria by Def Leppard, The Lonesome Jubilee from John Cougar Mellencamp, Whitney by Whitney Houston, The Joshua Tree by U2 at #9 and Billy Idol moved into the list with Vital Idol.
1987:  Whitney Houston climbed to #1 on the AC chart with "Didn't We Almost Have It All".





1987:  Los Lobos was down to 3 with "La Bamba" and Whitesnake remained at 4 with "Here I Go Again".  The rest of the Top 10:  ABC and "When Smokey Sings", Huey Lewis & the News and "Doing it All For My Baby", Dan Hill with Vonda Sheppard--"Can't We Try", Bananarama had song #8--"I Heard A Rumour", Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam moved from 16-9 with "Lost In Emotion" and Grateful Dead had their only Top 10 of their career--"Touch Of Grey".
1988:  Bon Jovi released the album New Jersey on Mercury Records.
1989:  Janet Jackson released her album Rhythm Nation 1814 on A&M Records.






1992:  Don Henley & Patti Smyth had the new #1 AC song on this date with "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough".
1992:  This was week #6 for Boyz II Men at #1 with "End Of The Road", one of the Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.











1996:  George Benson was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (7055 Hollywood Boulevard).
1997:  A "Storytellers" concert featuring Elton John from the House of Blues in New Orleans, Louisiana was aired on VH1.
1998:  Fabian married his third wife, Andrea Patrick, who is a former Miss Pennsylvania (1980) and Miss West Virginia (1983), at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa in Farmington, Pennsylvania.
1998:  Robbie Williams grabbed his first #1 song in the U.K. with "Millennium".





1998:  Lauryn Hill had the top album with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
1999:  Edward Cobb, singer, songwriter ("Tainted Love" for Soft Cell in 1981) and producer, and member of the Four Preps ("Big Man" in 1958), died at the age of 61 from leukemia in Honolulu, Hawai'i.
1999:  Eiffel 65 from Italy had the #1 song in the U.K., Austria, Finland, Germany, Denmark and Norway ("Blue (Da Ba Dee)").
2000:  Madonna released the album Music.
2000:  Glenn Frey released his compilation 20th Century Masters -The Millennium Collection on MCA Records.
2003:  Jack Bruce, bass guitarist of Cream, underwent a successful liver transplant.




 2004:  Skeeter Davis, who gave us the great song "The End Of The World" from 1963 and others, died in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 72 after a long battle with cancer.
2004:  Embrace had the top U.K. album with Out of Nothing.
2005:  In today's episode of Inmates Run Rap Music, Lil' Kim began a sentence of 366 days in prison for perjury.
2005:  Willie Hutch, who wrote "I'll Be There" and "Never Can Say Goodbye" for the Jackson 5, and also worked with Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles,  died at the age of 59 in Dallas, Texas.  (Note:  some websites claim Hutch was 60 when he died--according to 'Billboard', he was 59.)
2006:  Danny Flores, saxophone player of the Champs who wrote "Tequila" (and was the group member who shouted "Tequila" during the recording), died of pneumonia at the age of 77 in Huntington Beach, California.
2008: Earl Palmer, session drummer for the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, the Monkees, the Righteous Brothers ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling"), Ike and Tina Turner, Neil Young, Little Richard ("Tutti Frutti"), Fats Domino and many others, died at his home in Banning, California at the age of 83 after a long illness.

2009:  Arthur Ferrante, half of the amazing piano duo Ferrante & Teicher ("Exodus", "Theme from 'The Apartment'", "Midnight Cowboy" and "Tonight"), known as "The Grand Twins of the Twin Grands", died of natural causes at his home in Longboat Key, Florida at the age of 88.
2009:  Whitney Houston returned to #1 on the Album chart for the first time in 17 years with I Look To You.
2010:  Joey Dee was honored in his hometown of Passaic, New Jersey as "Joey Dee & the Starliters Square" was dedicated.
2010:  A bust of Frank Zappa was dedicated at a library in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.


Born This Day:
1921:  Bill Ward of the Dominoes was born in Los Angeles, California; died February 16, 2002 in Inglewood, California.

1931:  Brook Benton was born in Lugoff, South Carolina; died April 9, 1988 of pneumonia in Queens, New York.  (Note:  many sources report his birthplace as Camden.  Brook was born in Lugoff, and sang in choir in nearby Camden, according to 'The New York Times' and 'The Daily Item', a newspaper in nearby Sumpter.)










1934:  Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles, was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England; died of an overdose of Carbitrol, a form of sleeping pill, on August 27, 1967 in London.
1935:  Nick Massi, bass singer and bass guitarist of the Four Seasons, was born in Newark, New Jersey; died of cancer in Newark on December 24, 2000.
1936:  Gene Dinwiddie, saxophone player with Paul Butterfield Blues Band, was born in Louisville, Kentucky; died January 11, 2002 in Los Angeles, California.

1940:  Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers and later a successful solo star, was born in Los Angeles, California.  (Note:  some sources report his birthplace as Santa Ana--according to his own website, he was born in Los Angeles and moved to Santa Ana.)
1942:  Danny Kalb of the Blues Project was born in Brooklyn, New York.  (Note:  sources are split on Kalb's birthday between the 9th and the 19th.  The most reliable ones show the 19th.  The latter sources also report that he was born in Brooklyn and moved to Mount Vernon, New York, while some sources report his birthplace as Mount Vernon.)
1940:  Paul Williams, successful songwriter of tunes such as "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days And Mondays" for the Carpenters, "An Old Fashioned Love Song" for Three Dog Night and "Evergreen" for Barbra Streisand, was born in Omaha, Nebraska.
1942:  Lee Dorman, bass guitarist of Iron Butterfly, was born in St. Louis, Missouri; died December 21, 2012 of natural causes in Laguna Niguel, California.  (Note:  some sources report birthday as September 15, but 'The New York Times' and 'Huffingtonpost.com', among others, report his birthday as the 19th.

1943:  Cass Elliot (real name Ellen Cohen) of the Mamas & Papas was born in Baltimore, Maryland; died of a heart attack on July 19, 1974 in her hotel room in London after a concert series at the London Palladium.
1945:  Freda Payne, who gave us "Band Of Gold" in 1970, was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1945:  David Bromberg, guitarist, fiddler and mandolin player who worked with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson, among others, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1946:  John Coghlan, drummer of Status Quo, was born in London, England.
1947:  Lol Creme of 10cc and Godley & Creme ("Cry") was born in Prestwich, Lancashire, England.  (Note:  some sources report the birthplace as Prestwich, Manchester, but that is incorrect.  Prestwich was not included in the county of Manchester until 1974 by virtue of the Local Government Act of 1972.  As that was 27 years after Creme was born, it is physically impossible for him to have been born in the county of Manchester.)
1951:  Daniel Lanois, producer of U2 (The Joshua Tree), Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson and many others, was born in Hull, Quebec, Canada.

1952:  Nile Rodgers, songwriter and guitarist of Chic, who became a prolific producer and arranger, was born in the Bronx, New York.
1956:  Rex Smith ("You Take My Breath Away") was born in Jacksonville, Florida.








1958:  Lita Ford, guitarist of the Runaways and a solo artist, was born in London.  (Note:  some sources report birth year as 1959.  According to 'Billboard', Lita was born in 1958.)
1969:  Candy Dulfer, saxophone player ("Lily Was Here" with David Stewart) was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
1977:  Ryan Dusick, drummer of Maroon 5, was born in Los Angeles.

This Date in Rock Music History: September 18

1954:  Elvis Presley was at Bellevue Park in Memphis, Tennessee.  (Note:  some websites claim the show was at the Eagle's Nest in Memphis.  According to the official website for guitarist Scotty Moore, Elvis played at Bellevue Park on this date.)

1957:  The Big Record debuted on CBS-TV, with Patti Page hosting.
1959:  The first Dick Clark Caravan of Stars tour began with Paul Anka, the Coasters, Lloyd Price, Duane Eddy, the Coasters and Bobby Rydell at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.
1960:  The Tab Hunter Show premiered on NBC-TV.
1960:  Frankie Avalon was given $600,000 on his 20th birthday as earnings accumulated when he was a minor.
1963:  The Patty Duke Show premiered on ABC-TV.  It would last three seasons.
1964:  The Beatles performed at Dallas Memorial Auditorium in Texas.
1965:  A new group was introduced to us as the Vogues first charted on this date with their first single "You're the One".
1965:  James Brown reigned on the R&B chart for the sixth week with "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag Part 1".
1965:  We Five were on top of the Adult chart for a third week with the great song "You Were On My Mind".

     
                                           The Turtles were crawling up the chart...

1965:  The Beatles made it three consecutive weeks at #1 with "Help!".  Barry McGuire edged up one spot closer with "Eve Of Destruction" while Bob Dylan slipped with "Like A Rolling Stone".  We Five had "You Were On My Mind" and the Dave Clark Five moved from 13-5 with "Catch Us If You Can".  The rest of the Top 10:  The instrumental "The 'In' Crowd" from the Ramsey Lewis Trio, the McCoys slipped into the Top 10 with "Hang On Sloopy", the Turtles were moving slower with "It Ain't Me Babe", Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe" came in ninth and the Yardbirds reached the list with "Heart Full Of Soul".
1966:  The Doors and the Seeds ("Pushin' Too Hard") were in concert at Bido Lito's in Hollywood, California.
1967:  The Beach Boys released the album Smiley Smile. (Note:  the Internet is all over the map on the date of release, with dates of September 5 and 11 reported.  The books 'Icons of Rock:  An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever' by Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz, 'Heroes and Villains: Essays on Music, Movies, Comics, and Culture' by Steven S. Gaines, and Keith Badman's book 'The Beach Boys:  The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band On Stage and in the Studio' clear this up for them by confirming our report that the album was released September 18.)

1967:  The Doors released the single "People Are Strange".  (Note:  some sources incorrectly report the release date as September 25, the same day as the album 'Strange Days'.  It is quite common for the release date of singles to predate album releases.  Also, since "People Are Strange" first charted on September 23, that reported date of 9/25 is physically impossible.  A song cannot make the Singles chart if it has not yet been released as a single.)
1968:  Having returned from India, the Beatles recorded 20 takes of the track "Birthday" at Abbey Road Studios in London, with Mal Evans, a roadie, producing the handclaps and Patti Harrison and Yoko Ono on backing vocals.  




1970:  Jimi Hendrix died in his apartment from an overdose of sleeping pills in London at the age of 27.  Hendrix was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Mary Abbott's Hospital in London.  Hendrix had left a message on his manager's answering phone earlier in the evening--"I need help man."  Indeed.  
1971:  The Bobby Sherman show Getting Together premiered on ABC-TV.

1971:  Pink Floyd became the first rock act to appear at the Classical Music Festival (Festival de Musique Classique) on September 18-19 at the Pavilion de Montreux in Montreaux, Switzerland, performing songs from their album Atom Heart Mother.  (Note:  many sources incorrectly report the year as 1970.  Even though Pink Floyd's tour began in June of 1970, the Montreux dates were in 1971, as the album cover above clearly shows.)
1971:  The Who, the Faces, Mott the Hoople and Lindisfarne performed at Goodbye Summer, a fundraiser for famine victims of Bangla Desh, at the Oval Cricket Ground in Kennington, London.  (Note:  many sources incorrectly report the year as 1972, but first-hand accounts from members of the Faces and famous photographers who took pictures on that day indicate the year as 1971.)
1971:  The Who scored their only #1 album in the U.K. with Who's Next.



1971:  Joan Baez remained on top of the Easy Listening chart for the third week with "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down".
1971:  Stanley, Idaho's Carole King dominated the Album chart once again as Tapestry was #1 for the 14th week in a row.  The Moody Blues remained in the runner-up spot with Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and Rod Stewart was next with Every Picture Tells a Story.  Who's Next was next followed by Ram from Paul & Linda McCartney.  The rest of the Top 10:  The self-titled Carpenters, Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon by James Taylor, the Soundtrack to "Shaft" by Isaac Hayes, Black Sabbath with Master of Reality and the epic What's Going On by Marvin Gaye.
1974:  John Lennon was a guest DJ on WNEW-FM in New York City.
1976:  The second annual Rock Music Awards, presented by promoter Don Kirshner, were televised on CBS.  Fleetwood Mac won awards for Best Group and Best Album (for their self-titled release).

1976:  Olivia Newton-John set a chart record that still stands when "Don't Stop Believin'" hit #1 on the Easy Listening chart.  That gave the incredible Australian songstress seven consecutive #1 songs in that format, surpassing the record of six set by fellow Australian Helen Reddy in 1975 and equaled by the Carpenters in 1976.
1976:  K.C. and the Sunshine Band returned to #1 on the R&B chart with "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty".

1976:  The Spinners were shooting up the chart with "Rubberband Man", which moved from 84 to 62 on this date.
1976:  Newcomer Wild Cherry reached #1 with "Play That Funky Music", meaning K.C. and the Sunshine Band had a short stay at the top with "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty".  England Dan & John Ford Coley were up with "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight".  Walter Murphy had song #4 with "A Fifth Of Beethoven" while Lou Rawls dropped after peaking at #2 with "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Lowdown", the great song from Boz Scaggs, Cliff Richard, who had enjoyed dozens of hits in his native England, notched his first big hit with "Devil Woman", War's ode to "Summer" came in eighth, Chicago registered their 11th Top 10 with "If You Leave Me Now" and the Bee Gees' former #1 "You Should Be Dancing" came in #10.

1978:  KISS members Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss all released solo albums.
1978:  Neil Young & Crazy Horse performed on the first of two nights at the Pine Knob Music Theatre on Sugar Mountain in Clarkston, Michigan.  (Note:  numerous sources incorrectly report the 'Rust Never Sleeps Tour' as starting September 18 at the Cobo in Detroit.  Young only performed at the Cobo in 1973, 1983 and 1986.  A review of Neil's show at the Pine Knob can be found in 'The Michigan Daily' on September 21.)






1979:  The Eagles released the single "Heartache Tonight".
1980:  The Paradise Club in Amsterdam hosted a two-day festival to celebrate the life of Jimi Hendrix on the 10th anniversary of his death.  1,100 fans showed up each night.  
1981:  Gary Numan ("Cars" from 1980) attempted a trip around the world in a single engine Cessna, beginning his ambitious trip taking off from London.  He was later forced to land in India and was arrested on suspicion of spying.  Gary Numan a spy?  You can't make this stuff up!
1982:  "Private Investigations" by Dire Straits was #2 in the U.K., beat out only by "Eye Of The Tiger" from Survivor.



1982:  Chicago landed at #1 for a second week with "Hard To Say I'm Sorry", holding off "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band for the moment.  Survivor's #1 smash "Eye Of The Tiger" was third and John Cougar (Mellencamp) was on a roll with "Jack & Diane".  Melissa Manchester was up to 5 with "You Should Hear How She Talks About You".  The rest of the Top 10:  Air Supply and "Even the Nights Are Better", Fleetwood Mac's "Hold Me", John Cougar (Mellencamp's) "Hurts So Good", the Alan Parsons Project and the great "Eye In The Sky" and Sir Paul McCartney was at #10 with "Take It Away".
1983:  KISS released the album Lick It Up.  That same day, members appeared on MTV without makeup.
1991:  Rob Tyner, lead singer of MC5, died of a heart attack at the age of 47 close to his hometown of Berkley, Michigan.
1992:  Earl Van Dyke of the Funk Brothers, who played keyboards on songs by the Temptations and the Miracles,   died of prostate cancer at age 62 in Detroit, Michigan.
1993:  Meat Loaf reached #1 in the U.K. with the album Bat Out of Hell II.
1993:  SWV (Sisters With Voices) owned the top song on the R&B chart with "Right Here/Human Nature".

                            Blind Melon's top five album...


1993:  Competition was so weak on the Album chart that two albums were able to debut at #1 and #2.  Garth Brooks grabbed the top spot with In Pieces while Mariah Carey moved right in to #2 with Music Box.  Billy Joel took a back seat with River of Dreams while Blind Melon fell to #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Soundtrack to "Sleepless in Seattle", Janet from Janet Jackson, Core by Stone Temple Pilots, Black Sunday was #8 from Cypress Hill, UB40 had Promises and Lies while "The Bodyguard" Soundtrack slipped to #10.  And those were the 10 best, mind you.
1996:  Consider yourself fortunate if you own lyrics to Beatles songs.  Julian Lennon was able to win the bid ($39,000) for the recording notes to "Hey Jude", the song that was written for him by Paul McCartney, at a Sotheby's auction at the Hard Rock Café in London.  Are we alone in wondering why the notes weren't just given to him?  John Lennon's lyrics to "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite" sold for $103,500. 
1997:  The Rolling Stones performed at the Double Door Club in Chicago, Illinois.
1999:  Tennessee Governor Don Sundquis declared it "Carl Perkins Day" in Tennessee a year after the star's death.

2002:  Bon Jovi performed at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London before a Webcast audience of 375,000.
2004:  John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dave Matthews and Willie Nelson performed at the 19th annual Farm Aid at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, Washington.
2004:  Members of the Fugees reunited at Dave Chappelle's Block Party in Brooklyn.  Joining them at the show were Kanye West, Erykah Badu and Big Daddy Kane.
2004:  Britney Spears married Kevin Federline in Studio City, California. 
2005:  Neil Young, Dave Matthews and Willie Nelson performed at the 20th anniversary Farm Aid in Tinley Park, Illinois.
2005:  "Don't Cha'" by the Pussycat Dolls topped the U.K. chart.
2005:  David Gray had the #1 album in the U.K. with Life In Slow Motion.
2006:  Willie Nelson and four members of his band were charged with drug possession after their tour bus was stopped in Saint Martin Parish, Louisiana.
2006:  Sir Cliff Richard unveiled a Green Plaque at the 2 i's Coffee Bar at 59 Old Compton Street in London.  The tiny basement was said to have been the birthplace of British rock and roll in 1956.  The Shadows, Tornados and Tommy Steele were among the many acts who performed at the 2 i's.
2007:  Britney Spears was dropped by her management company one month after she hired them.  Seller's remorse.
2007:  The Elvis:  Viva Las Vegas documentary aired on ABC-TV.
2010:  Tommy James was given a day in his honor in Morristown, New Jersey prior to a concert by Tommy James & the Shondells that night at the Community Theatre.

Born This Day
1933:  Jimmy Rodgers ("Honeycomb" from 1957) was born in Camas, Washington.

1940:  Frankie Avalon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1945:  P.F. Sloan, who wrote such songs as "Eve Of Destruction" for Barry McGuire, "Secret Agent Man" for Johnny Rivers, "You Baby" and "Let Me Be" by the Turtles, "Where Were You When I Needed You" by the Grass Roots and "A Must To Avoid" by Herman's Hermits, was born in New York City; died of pancreatic cancer November 15, 2015 in Los Angeles.  
1946:  Alan King, lead guitarist of Ace ("How Long" from 1975), was born in London.  (Note:  one website claims King was born in Kentish Town, London.  Kentish Town is not a city nor a county; it is simply an area within the city of London.)

1949:  Kerry Livgren, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist of Kansas, was born in Topeka, Kansas.
1951:  Dee Dee Ramone (real name Douglas Colvin), bass guitarist of the Ramones, was born in Fort Lee, Virginia; died of drugs June 5, 2002 in Hollywood, California.
1961:  Martin Beedle, drummer of the Cutting Crew, was born in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. 
1962:  Joanne Catherall, singer with the Human League, was born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England.
1966:  Ian Spice ("Spike"), drummer of Breathe ("Hands To Heaven"); died in 2000.
1967:  Ricky Bell of Bell Biv Devoe and the New Edition was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  (Some websites naively say Bell was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts.  While Roxbury was once a city, it was annexed into Boston in 1868, nearly 100 years before Bell was born, and it is now simply a neighborhood.  Bell was born in Boston, and you will never see Roxbury listed as his City of Birth on an official birth certificate.)

This Date in Rock Music History: September 17

1931:  RCA Records demonstrated the first players to play 33 1/3 records at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in New York City.

1955:  Tennessee Ernie Ford recorded "Sixteen Tons" at the Capitol Records Melrose Avenue Recording Studios in Hollywood, California.
1955:  "Maybellene" by Chuck Berry logged week #7 at the top of the R&B chart.
1962:  The Beatles, Billy Kramer, and the Coasters played the last of three Monday night gigs at the Queen's Hall in Widnes, Lancashire, England.  (Note:  Some sources claim that Rory Storm and the Hurricanes also played this night, when they only played the first two Beatles shows (September 3 and September 10, according to the websites 'Beatles Bible' and 'Liverpool Beat'.  Some sources also say the Beatles played in Widnes, Cheshire, England.  Widnes did not become part of the county of Cheshire until 1974, 12 years after the concert, so it is physically impossible for the Beatles to have played in Widnes, Cheshire.)  

1964:  The Supremes released the single "Baby Love" on Motown Records.  
1964:  The Beatles were in concert at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, an event promoted by Charles Finley, owner of the Kansas City Athletics baseball team.  Finley first offered Beatles manager Brian Epstein $50,000 and was turned down, then $100,000 with a similar result, and finally $150,000.  It was the most money ever offered for one performance at that time.  Other acts on the bill included Jackie DeShannon, the Exciters, and the Bill Black Combo. 
1966:  Wilson Pickett boogied up to #1 with "Land Of 1000 Dances".
1966:  "Born Free" by Roger Williams was #1 on the Easy Listening chart.

                                         The Sandpipers scored a Top 10 hit...

1966:  The Supremes spent a second week at #1 with the original version of "You Can't Hurry Love".  The Beatles moved up to challenge with "Yellow Submarine", swapping places with "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan.  The Association were on the move (14-4) with "Cherish" while the Hollies' big hit "Bus Stop" stopped off at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  "See You In September" from the Happenings, Wilson Pickett was at position #7 with "Land Of 1000 Dances", the Beach Boys entered the list with "Wouldn't It Be Nice", the Sandpipers were up to 9 with "Guantanamera" and Bobby Hebb had "Sunny".
1967:  The Doors performed "Light My Fire" and "People are Strange" on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1967:  The Who performed on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.  But that's just part of the story.  Drummer Keith Moon rigged his drum set to explode at the conclusion of "My Generation", which he did for every show during the period.  Only this time, the jokester rigged several times the normal amount of explosives, and didn't tell the rest of the group.  The result of the stunt was a massive explosion on stage.  One of Moon's drum cymbals shattered, causing cuts to Moon's leg and arms was cut.  Guitarist Pete Townshend was closest to the blast, which singed his hair. 
1968:  Diana Ross recorded the vocal for "Love Child" without the other Supremes.  The Andantes performed backing vocals on the song, which was completed September 20.
1972:  The Eagles were in concert at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida.




1973:  Billy Joel began recording "Piano Man" in the first of five sessions at Devonshire Sound in Los Angeles.

1975:  Silver Convention released the single "Fly, Robin, Fly".
1975:  The mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada declared today "Guess Who Day" in honor of Canada's all-time top band.
1977:  20 Golden Greats by Diana Ross and the Supremes was the #1 album in the U.K.
1977:  Carly Simon remained at #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Nobody Does it Better".

1977:  Ronnie McDowell gave us a touching instant tribute to Elvis Presley who died in August.  He moved from 89 to 40 with "The King Is Gone".









1977:  Andy Gibb reached #1 with his first single "I Just Want to Be Your Everything", holding off the Floaters and "Float On".  The four-week #1 "Best Of My Love" from the Emotions was at #3 and James Taylor peaked at 4 with "Handy Man".  The rest of the Top 10:  Fleetwood Mac with the third hit from Rumours--"Don't Stop", K.C. and the Sunshine Band and "Keep It Comin' Love", the Brothers Johnson were up to 7 with "Strawberry Letter 23", ELO and "Telephone Line", the Sanford/Townsend Band had #9--"Smoke From A Distant Fire" and the London Symphony Orchestra reached #10 with the main title from the legendary movie Star Wars.







1977:  Rumours by Fleetwood Mac broke the all-time record for weeks at #1 on the Album chart with 19 on this date.  The blockbuster went on to record its 31st non-consecutive week at #1 on January 14, 1978, a mark that held until March 10, 1984, when Michael Jackson's Thriller scored its 32nd week at #1.  Thriller eventually racked up its 37th week at #1 on April 14, 1984.
1980:  The Bette Midler concert movie Divine Madness premiered in Los Angeles.  (Note:  some websites claim the movie premiered at the Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California.  Those sites have their facts wrong--Midler recorded the performances featured in the movie during four shows at the Civic Auditorium in February, but the movie premiered in Los Angeles on September 17, according to 'Turner Classic Movies'.)
1983:  Vanessa Williams (Miss New York) was crowned Miss America.
1983:  Here's a good show--Def Leppard, Eddie Money, Motley Crue and Uriah Heap in front of 55,000 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California.
1983:  Paul Young topped the U.K. Album chart with No Parlez.
1983:  Prince had a hot song that moved from 55 to 37 on this date--"Delirious".





                                                    Newcomers Men Without Hats...


1983:  Michael Sembello remained at #1 with "Maniac" with Billy Joel climbing up with "Tell Her About It".  Men Without Hats were up to #3 with "The Safety Dance" and Bonnie Tyler's great song "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" was going to be a serious factor in the weeks to come.  The rest of the Top 10:  two former 1's--the Eurythmics and "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" and "Every Break You Take" from the Police, Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" at #7, Taco with "Puttin' On The Ritz", Air Supply roared up from 15 to 9 with "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" and Asia cracked the Top 10 with "Don't Cry".
1983:  Synchronicity returned to #1 for the Police on the Album chart, temporarily derailing Thriller by Michael Jackson.  The Soundtrack to "Flashdance" was third with Pyromania by Def Leppard logging a 33rd week on the chart.
1988:  Peter Cetera from Sun Valley, Idaho owned the #1 Adult Contemporary song for a third week with "One Good Woman".
1988:  Michael Jackson had the #1 R&B song with "Another Part of Me".
1988:  Hysteria sent a sixth week at #1 on the Album chart for Def Leppard. 

1989:  Paula Abdul won an Emmy Award for Best Choreography for her work on The Tracey Ullman Show.
1991:  Guns N' Roses released the albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II.
1994:  Boyz II Men made it five weeks at #1 on the R&B chart with "I'll Make Love To You".

1994:  Boyz II Men owned the top song with "I'll Make Love To You", Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories were at #2 with "Stay (I Missed You)" and Changing Faces were going to "Stroke You Up".  Babyface was stuck at 4 with "When Can I See You" while John Mellencamp and Me'Shell Ndegeocello dropped with the remake of the Van Morrison song "Wild Night".  The rest of the Top 10:  Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey had a good remake of "Endless Love" that climbed from 31-6, Coolio's "Fantastic Voyage" was on its way down, Elton John was still in the Top 10 after 18 weeks with "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", Sheryl Crow's first big hit "All I Wanna' Do" joined the Top 10 and Warren G had "This D.J.". 

1995:  The Eagles performed at the Arrowhead Pond (now the Honda Center) in Anaheim, California.

1997:  Fleetwood Mac began a reunion tour at the Meadows Music Theater in Hartford, Connecticut.

2002:  Bono of U2 met with U.S. President George W. Bush to discuss giving more money towards AIDS initiatives.  Afterwards, Bono said "I'm not peddling a cause.  Seven thousand people dying per day is not a cause.  It's an emergency."  Bush did not increase funding.
2003:  David Lee Roth tried to be cute on stage at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pennsylvania and it cost him.  He attempted a 15th-century samurai move and the microphone stand he was using swung around and him in the face.  Roth required 21 stitches and had to cancel the remainder of his tour, but no word on if it knocked some sense into him.
2005:  Kanye West had the top album with Late Registration.

2005:  Joel Hirschhorn, who won Academy Awards for Song of the Year for "The Morning After" from The Poseidon Adventure and "We May Never Love This Way Again" from The Towering Inferno, died at the age of 67.  Hirschhorn also wrote songs for many artists including Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and the Osmonds.  (Note:  several sources incorrectly report the death as September 18, 2005 but as you can clearly see from his tombstone pictured above, it was the 17th.)
2006:  The Scissor Sisters owned the #1 song in the U.K. with "I Don't Feel Like Dancing".
2004:  Israeli police arrested two Madonna bodyguards after they assaulted photographers waiting for Madonna at her hotel.  Hooray for Israel!!
2008:  The United States House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring the late Isaac Hayes ("Theme From 'Shaft'") as a "passionate humanitarian".
2009:  John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival was given a Lifetime Award for Songwriting at the Americana Music Association Awards.



Born This Day:

1926:  Bill Black (right, with guitarist Scotty Moore (left) and Elvis Presley (center)), famed bassist for Elvis and leader of the Bill Black Combo, was born in Memphis, Tennessee; died of a brain tumor in Memphis October 21, 1965.









1939:  Lamonte McLemore, founder and vocalist with the Fifth Dimension, was born in St. Louis, Missouri.
1950:  John Waldo "Fee" Waybill, vocalist of the Tubes ("She's A Beauty") was born in Omaha, Nebraska.
1962:  BeBe Winans was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1962:  Baz Luhrmann ("Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen") was born in Sydney, Australia.
1968:  Anastacia was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1970:  Vincent Brown of Naughty By Nature, who went by the stage name of Vin Rock, was born in East Orange, New Jersey.
1976:  Maile Misajon of Eden's Crush was born in Long Beach, California.
1979:  Chuck Comeau, drummer of Simple Plan, was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
1985:  Jonathan Jacob Walker, bassist of Panic at the Disco, was born in Chicago, Illinois.