Wednesday, February 22, 2017

This Date in Rock Music History: February 20

1949:  Ricky Nelson joined his parents, Ozzie and Harriet, on their radio show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
1958:  Buddy Holly released his self-titled album on Coral Records, which included "Peggy Sue" and "Rave On".
1958:  Buddy Holly & the Crickets, the Everly Brothers, Bill Haley & the Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmie Rodgers opened up the Big Gold Record Stars Tour in Florida.
1963:  The Beatles drove all night from Liverpool to London to perform "Love Me Do" and "Please Please Me" on the live lunchtime BBC radio show Parade of the Pops, an appearance that lasted just over four minutes.  They then drove 160 miles for a concert that night at the Swimming Baths in Doncaster, Yorkshire.
1964:  The Beach Boys recorded "Don't Worry Baby".  (Note:  some websites report that the song was recorded on January 7.  Although recording for the album 'Shut Down Volume Two' began January 1-10, the group recorded "Don't Worry Baby" in the final sessions for the album on February 20, according to the book 'The Beach Boys:  The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio' by Keith Badman.)
1964:  The Bachelors scored a #1 U.K. hit with "Diane".
1965:  One of The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era* first appeared on the radio as the Moody Blues debuted on the chart with their first career single--"Go Now".

1965:  The Temptations scored a third straight week at #1 on the R&B chart with the great song "My Girl".
1965:  Gary Lewis & the Playboys had the new #1 song with "This Diamond Ring".
1969:  Goodbye Cream, the movie that featured Cream's farewell concert (November 26,1968 at Royal Albert Hall in London) premiered in the United States in Baltimore, Maryland.











1970:  John Lennon released the single "Instant Karma".








 


1971:  Australian Helen Reddy first appeared on the radio with her first career hit--"I Don't Know How to Love Him".  She had released "One Way Ticket" in 1968, but it failed to chart outside of her native country.
1971:  Queen opened for Yes at the Kingston Polytechnic in London.
1971:  The Soundtrack to "Jesus Christ Superstar" moved to #1 on the Album chart.
1971:  Gordon Lightfoot reached #1 on the Adult chart with his first hit--"If You Could Read My Mind".
1971:  The Temptations appeared to have another winner as "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" moved from 51 to 29.





      
                  The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band hit the Top 10...

1971:  The Osmonds remained the target at #1 for a second week with "One Bad Apple", while "Knock Three Times" by Dawn was still second after falling from the top.  Lynn Anderson had a huge crossover hit with "Rose Garden" and Dave Edmunds had a great sound with "I Hear You Knocking".  The rest of the Top 10:  Newcomer Gordon Lightfoot bounced from 11 to 5 with "If You Could Read My Mind", the Jackson 5 hit #6 with "Mama's Pearl", King Floyd and "Groove Me", Wadsworth Mansion moved from 15-8 with "Sweet Mary", the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had their first Top 10 with "Mr. Bojangles" and the Bee Gees smash "Lonely Days" was now at #10.
1974:  One day after husband Sonny Bono filed for separation, Cher filed for divorce at the Santa Monica County Courthouse.  (Note:  Much misinformation exists on the Internet.  Numerous websites report that on February 20, Cher filed for separation, then filed for divorce "shortly afterwards", some say February 27.  The authors of the websites are getting the facts confused.  The truth is that Sonny filed for separation on February 19, citing "irreconcilable differences", according to an Associated Press article.  Cher then turned around the next day and filed for divorce seeking dissolution of the marriage, according to the books 'You Haven't Seen The Last of Me' by Daryl Easlea and 'Cher:  If You Believe' by Mark Bego.)  
1976:  The members of KISS placed their footprints on the sidewalk in front of the Grauman Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California.








1978:  ABBA had another #1 song in the U.K. with "Take A Chance On Me".









1982:  Pat Benatar married her guitarist, Neil Geraldo in Maui, Hawai'i.
1982:  Stevie Wonder notched his 14th #1 of his career on the R&B chart with "That Girl", tying the Temptations for fourth all-time in the list for #1 R&B songs.
1982:  Barry Manilow hit #1 for the 12th time in 22 releases on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Somewhere Down The Road".






      
                        "Juke Box Hero" on Foreigner's "4"...

1982:  Freeze-Frame had a lock on #1 on the Album chart for the J. Geils Band for a third week.  Escape by Journey was second with the Go-Go's moving from 9 to 3 with Beauty and the Beat.  The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra once again was fourth with Hooked On Classics.  The rest of the Top 10:  Private Eyes from Hall & Oates, the Police moved to 6 with their new release--Ghost in the Machine, AC/DC was steady at 7 with For Those About to Rock We Salute You, Foreigner's great album 4 was still in the Top 10 after 31 weeks, the self-titled debut by Quarterflash entered the list and Shake It Up by the Cars was still at #10.






                   Air Supply continued their winning ways...

1982:  One of the great stories of the Rock Era, and a song that helped strengthen it--"I Love Rock 'N Roll" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, moved from #39 to #18.
1982:  "Centerfold" by the J. Geils Band held on to #1 for a third week with former #1 "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" by Hall & Oates #2 for a third week.  Quarterflash was right in the hunt with "Harden My Heart" while Journey's "Open Arms" was fourth.  The rest of the Top 10:  The Cars and "Shake It Up", Stevie Wonder motored up from 22 to 6 with "That Girl", Juice Newton's latest--"The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)", Air Supply was at #8 with "Sweet Dreams", Olivia Newton-John wanted to get "Physical" and Dan Fogelberg climbed to #10 with "Leader Of The Band".
1985:  The Bangles were in concert at the Marquee Club in London.
1986:  Stevie Wonder was a guest on The Cosby Show on NBC-TV.
1988:  Pebbles had the top R&B song with "Girlfriend".
1988:  Expose took over at the top of the AC chart with "Seasons Change".








1988:  Expose made it a Daily Double by taking over at #1 overall with "Seasons Change".  The Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield had the runner-up with "What Have I Done To Deserve This?".  Tiffany's former #1 "Could've Been" was now third while George Michael took a big leap (12-4) with "Father Figure".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Hungry Eyes" from Eric Carmen, Foreigner's 19th hit--"Say You Will", Patrick Swayze and Wendy Fraser were now at position #7 with "She's Like The Wind", Rick Astley entered the Top 10 with "Never Gonna' Give You Up", great singer Paul Carrack and "Don't Shed A Tear" while Roger tumbled down with "I Want To Be Your Man".
1988:  Faith by George Michael remained at #1 on the Album chart for a fourth week.  The Soundtrack to "Dirty Dancing" moved up to challenge, while the self-titled Tiffany, Kick from INXS, Michael Jackson's Bad and Hysteria from Def Leppard were right behind.




1991:  Bob Dylan received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys.











 1993:  Whitney Houston released the single "I Have Nothing".











1993:  The compilation album of Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Words of Love, was the #1 album in the U.K., 34 years after Holly's death.
1993:  Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle remained at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the fifth week with "A Whole New World ('Aladdin's' Theme)".










1993:  Whitney Houston remained at #1 for the 13th week with "I Will Always Love You", tying Boyz II Men with their song "End Of The Road" for the Rock Era record at the time.
1994:  Tori Amos owned the top U.K. album with Under the Pink.
2000:  The movie Little Richard was shown by ABC-TV.








       "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning"...

2002:  Alan Jackson had the top album with Drive.
2003:  A pyrotechnic display used by the group Great White ignited a blaze that killed guitarist Ty Longley and 99 other people, injured another 200, and destroyed the nightclub The Station in West Warwick, Rhode Island.  (Note:  some websites claim the tragedy was February 19, but the correct date is February 20, according to 'Billboard'.)
2004:  Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age announced that the group would go on despite losing bassist Nick Oliveri and lead singer Mark Lanegan.
2004:  Brian Wilson played the lost Beach Boys album Smile in its entirety at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
2004:  Bobby Brown was thrown in jail without bond in Georgia after violating his probation.
2005:  Jennifer Lopez rose to #1 in the U.K. with "Get Right".



2007:  Christina Aguilera began a North American tour at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.  The Black Eyed Peas and Pussycat Dolls opened for her on the tour.

Born This Day:
1937:  Nancy Wilson (not the one in Heart), who had the 1964 hit "(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am", was born in Chillicothe, Ohio.
1940:  Barbara Ellis of the Fleetwoods ("Come Softly To Me") was born in Olympia, Washington.
1941:  Buffy Sainte-Marie, songwriter who helped pen "Up Where We Belong" (for Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes), among others, was born on the Piapot Reserve in Saskatchewan, Canada.
1944:  Lew Soloff, trumpeter of Blood, Sweat & Tears, was born in Brooklyn, New York; died of a heart attack March 8, 2015 in New York City.  (Note:  some websites lazily report that Soloff was born in New York City, which of course is made up of several boroughs.  Several sites also report he died in New York City.  Soloff was actually born in Brooklyn, according to his official website, and he died there, according to the newspaper 'The New York Times'.)
1945:  Alan Hull, songwriter, singer and guitarist with Lindisfarne ("Run For Home"), was born in Benwell, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England; died of a heart attack November 17, 1995.
1946:  John W. Geils, Jr,, founder, singer-songwriter and lead guitarist of the J. Geils Band, was born in New York City.

1950:  Walter Becker, songwriter, bassist, guitarist and vocalist of Steely Dan and also a producer, was born in Queens, New York.  (Note:  some websites list his birthplace as New York City, but the Long Island Hall of Fame shows that Becker was born in Queens.)
1951:  Randy California, songwriter, guitarist, vocalist and co-founder of Spirit ("I Got A Line On You") ; died January 2, 1997 while rescuing his 12 year-old son who had been sucked into a riptide off the coast of Molokai, Hawai'i.






1967:  Kurt Cobain, singer-songwriter and lead guitarist of Nirvana, was born in Aberdeen, Washington; died when he shot himself in Seattle, Washington on April 5, 1994.









1975:  Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys was born in Lexington, Kentucky.
1977:  Edwin Graham, drummer of the Darkness ("I Believe In A Thing Called Love" from 2003), was born in Great Yarmouth, England.







1988:  Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados.

Saturday, February 18, 2017

This Date in Rock Music History: February 19

1956:  Elvis Presley performed three shows (2, 5 and 8 p.m.) at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in Tampa, Florida.
1957:  Tab Hunter topped the U.K. chart with "Young Love", one of the great songs early in the Rock Era.
1958:  Carl Perkins left Sun Records to sign a deal with Columbia.


Friday, February 17, 2017

This Date in Rock Music History: February 18



1956:  The Platters ruled the R&B chart for the seventh week with "The Great Pretender".
1959:  Elvis Presley performed after hours at the Lido Club in Paris, France while on leave from the United States Army.
1962:  While on leave from training in the United States Marines, the Everly Brothers appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, in full uniform and cropped hair, singing "Crying In The Rain".








1963:  Peter, Paul & Mary released the single "Puff (The Magic Dragon)".  (Note:  several websites naively state the single was released on March 16.  "Puff" debuted on the Singles chart on March 16.  It is physically impossible for a record company to release a single to radio stations, have the song listened to and added to radio station playlists, reported by the radio station to the trade papers, and have the trade papers printed and published, all in the same day.  There are no reputable sources that state the exact day of release, but our best research uncovered a February 15, 1963 'Billboard' magazine that revealed that Peter, Paul & Mary would release "Puff (The Magic Dragon)" as their next single.)
1965:  The Beatles recorded two new songs--"You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" and "Tell Me What You See" at Abbey Road studios in London.
1965:  The Kinks topped the U.K. chart with "Tired Of Waiting For You".
1967:  Ed Ames had the #1 Easy Listening song for the third week with "My Cup Runneth Over".
1968:  Boise, Idaho's Paul Revere & the Raiders had the highest debut of the week, "Ups And Downs", at #77.







          The Spencer Davis Group gave us this great song...

1968:  The Buckinghams had the new #1 song with "Kind Of A Drag", ending seven weeks at the top for the Monkees' "I'm A Believer".  The Rolling Stones edged up with "Ruby Tuesday" while the former #2 smash "Georgy Girl" by the Seekers fell this week.  The rest of the Top 10:  "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" by Blues Magoos, the Supremes were back with "Love Is Here And Now You're Gone", Keith remained steady at "98.6", Aaron Neville and "Tell It Like It Is", Sonny & Cher were at #9 with "The Beat Goes On" and the Spencer Davis Group rolled up from 17 to 10 with "Gimme' Some Lovin'".





1968:  Pink Floyd fired frontman Syd Barrett.  After being released from a psychiatric hospital, Barrett went into seclusion.  (Note:  many websites claim Gilmour replaced Barrett on this date.  Not true.  Gilmour had already joined the band in December, 1967 as a fifth member, according to the book 'Pink Floyd- The Music and the Mystery' by Andy Mabbett.  Peter Buckley, in his book 'The Rough Guide to Rock' said that Gilmour joined in "early 1968".  In any case, Gilmour was already a member of the group by this time, as you can tell from the January, 1968 photo above.  What happened on this date was the firing of Barrett.) 
1969:  The Jimi Hendrix Experience were in concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
1969:  Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees and Lulu ("To Sir With Love") were married at St. James' Church in Gerrard's Cross, England in front of over 3,000 guests.  
1974:  KISS released their self-titled debut album on Casablanca Records.
1974:  Yes performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City.








  
        The Trammps' "Disco Inferno" helped fuel 'Saturday Night Fever'...

1978:  The Soundtrack to "Saturday Night Fever" was the #1 album for a fifth week.  The Stranger from Billy Joel moved to challenge while Queen's News of the World was third.  Earth, Wind & Fire were at #4 with All 'N All and Rod Stewart dropped with Foot Loose & Fancy Free.  The rest of the Top 10:  Neil Diamond's I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight, Styx and The Grand Illusion, Jackson Browne edged up to #8 with Running On Empty, Randy Newman placed ninth with Little Criminals and Fleetwood Mac's Rumours was still in the Top 10 after 52 weeks.
1978:  Working off of two consecutive number ones, the Bee Gees positioned themselves well with another single--"Night Fever" moving from 32 to 17.





                           Dan Hill had himself a Top 5 song...

1978:  "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees stayed at #1 for the third week.  The group had spent six of the last nine weeks at #1 counting their previous #1 "How Deep Is Your Love".  Brother Andy Gibb was now #2 with "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water", Billy Joel moved to #3 with "Just The Way You Are" and Queen's "We Are The Champions" remained fourth.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Sometimes When We Touch" by Dan Hill, Samantha Sang and the Bee Gees were up to 6 with "Emotion", Chic and "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)", Randy Newman dropped with "Short People", the former #1 "Baby Come Back" by Player and the Bee Gees were still at 10 after 22 weeks with their earlier #1 "How Deep Is Your Love".














1980:  Bob Seger released the single "Fire Lake".
1984:  Christopher Cross controlled the Adult Contemporary chart for a third week with "Think Of Laura".










                 
                            Newcomer Cyndi Lauper...

1984:  Culture Club remained at #1 with "Karma Chameleon".  "Jump" by Van Halen was #2 in an awesome Top 10.  Kool & the Gang were down with "Joanna", newcomer Nena's "99 Luftballoons" elevated from 12 to 4 and the Romantics were at #5 after 20 weeks with their biggest hit "Talking In Your Sleep".  The rest of the Top 10:  "That's All!"  from Genesis, Michael Jackson moved from 20 to 7 with "Thriller", Yes and "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", the first hit ever from Cyndi Lauper--"Girls Just Want To Have Fun" and Shannon entered the list with "Let the Music Play".
1984:  Thriller by Michael Jackson was #1 on the Album chart for the 29th week, just two shy of the Rock Era record set in 1977 by Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.





1985:  Simple Minds released the single "Don't You (Forget About Me)".  (Note:  some websites erroneously report the date of release as February 20.  The song debuted on the Singles chart on February 23, and the deadline for new releases to make the chart each week is Tuesday.  Tuesday in 1985 fell on February 18.)










1985:  Don Henley released the single "All She Wants To Do Is Dance".










1989: Sheriff grabbed the #1 spot on the AC chart with the great song "When I'm With You". 1989:  The Fine Young Cannibals owned the #1 album in the U.K. with The Raw and the Cooked.
1992:  Vince Neil, lead singer of Motley Crue for 11 years, quit the band.
1993:  Patrick Waite, founder of Musical Youth ("Pass The Dutchie" from 1982) died at age 24 of a hereditary heart condition.
1995:  Newcomers Hootie & the Blowfish scored their first Top 10 song as "Hold My Hand" reached #10.
1995:  TLC had the #1 song for a fourth week with "Creep".
2001:  James Taylor married his longtime girlfriend Caroline "Kim" Smedvig at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Boston, Massachusetts.
2001:  Joe and Mystikal had the #1 song with "Stutter".
2006:  The Rolling Stones gave a free concert at Copacabana Beach in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil before one million people.
2007:  Norah Jones went to #1 on the Album chart with Not Too Late, her third consecutive #1.
2008:  Carpenters fans objected to plans to have the duo's former family home in Downey, California bulldozed.  The current owners said they objected to fans looking in the windows and leaving floral tributes.  You know what?  If you didn't want that, you shouldn't have bought the house.  Duh.  The United States does a horrible job of preserving history.
2012:  Otis "Damon" Harris, who joined the Temptations in 1971 at age 21 when original lead singer Eddie Kendricks left, died of prostate cancer at the age of 62 in a Baltimore hospice.

Born This Day:
1934:  Skip Battin, singer-songwriter and bassist of the Byrds, the New Riders of the Purple Sage and the Flying Burrito Brothers, was born in Gallipolis, Ohio; died July 6, 2003 from complications associated with Alzheimer's in Salem, Oregon.  (Note:  some websites list his birthplace as Gallipolis, West Virginia.  There isn't a Gallipolis in West Virginia--there is a Gallipolis Ferry, but Battin wasn't born there.  He was born in Ohio, according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times'.)
1939:  Bobby Hart (real name Robert Harshman), singer-songwriter with Tommy Boyce ("I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" from 1968), who also wrote "Last Train To Clarksville" and "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" for the Monkees, was born in Phoenix, Arizona.
1941:  Irma Thomas ("Wish Someone Would Care" from 1964) was born in Ponchatoula, Louisiana.
1941:  Herman Santiago of Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1943:  Denny Zager of Zager & Evans ("In The Year 2525" from 1969) was born in Wymore, Nebraska.  (Note:  some websites list his birthday as February 15, 1944, but according to the official website for Zager Guitars, he was born in 1943.)
1947:  Dennis DeYoung, lead singer and keyboardist with Styx, was born in Chicago, Illinois.










1948:  Keith Knudsen, songwriter and drummer of the Doobie Brothers, was born in LeMars, Iowa; died February 8, 2005 of pneumonia.  (Note:  numerous websites incorrectly show Keith's date of birth as October 18, some show it as November 3, and many show his birth as being in Ames, Iowa.  According to "The LeMars Sentinel' newspaper and 'Allmusic.com', and the tombstone pictured above, Keith was born on February 18 in LeMars.)








1952:  Juice Newton was born in Virginia Beach, New Jersey.  (Note:  some websites claim she was born in Lakehurst, New Jersey--she was born in Virginia Beach, according to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times'.)
1953:  Robbie Bachman, drummer of BTO, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
1953:  Derek Pellicci, co-founder and drummer of the Little River Band, was born in London.
1954:  John Travolta, movie superstar who teamed with Olivia Newton-John for the #1 song "You're the One That I Want" as well as the big hit "Summer Nights" and was also a solo artist ("Let Her In") was born in Englewood, New Jersey.
1965:  Dr. Dre (real name Andre Young) was born in Compton, California.