Thursday, June 28, 2012

This Date in Rock Music History: June 29

1956:  Elvis Presley sang "Hound Dog" on The Steve Allen television show.


1957:  Buddy Holly began recording "Peggy Sue" in Clovis, New Mexico.
1957:  Dick Clark announced he was scheduling a series of Caravan of Stars.
1959:  This artist would go on to score 30 hits in the Rock Era, but on this date he first appeared on the chart with his debut single--"Kissin' Time"--Bobby Rydell.
1959:  "Personality" by Lloyd Price reached #1 on the R&B chart.








1959:  "The Battle Of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton held down #1 for a 6th week.  "Personality" by Lloyd Price was a strong #2 for a third week with "Lonely Boy" from Paul Anka closing to #3 and "Dream Lover" by Bobby Darin coming in at #4. 
1961:  Del Shannon had the top song in the U.K. with "Runaway".










1963:  The Surfaris rode the wave from 86 to #51 with their great instrumental "Wipe Out".












1963:  "Surf City" crashed the Top 10 for Jan & Dean, moving from 20 to 10.
1966:  Neil Diamond made his national television debut on the ABC television show American Bandstand.
1966:  The Beatles gave a concert in Tokyo and over 500 police were needed to keep fans from the stage.
1967:  Graham Nash wrote the song "Marrakesh Express" while on tour with the Hollies in Yugoslavia.
1967:  Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones was found guilty of allowing his property to be used for smoking marijuana and was fined and sentenced to one year in jail.  Fellow jailbird Mick Jagger was found guilty of illegal possession of pep pills and was sentenced to three months behind bars.
1968:  Pink Floyd performed a free show in London's Hyde Park to promote their new album A Saucerful of Secrets.  Jethro Tull and T. Rex also performed.
1968:  Aretha Franklin urged people to "Think" with her third week at #1 on the R&B chart.

1968:  Herb Alpert owned the #1 Adult song for the fourth straight week--"This Guy's In Love With You".












      
                                           "Old Friends"/Bookends Theme"...

1968:  The great album Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel took over from the soundtrack to The Graduate as the #1 album.  The Beat of the Brass from Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass was still 3, Disraeli Gears from Cream was #4 and Honey by Bobby Goldsboro was #5.
1969:  The Jimi Hendrix Experience played in public for the final time at the Denver Pop Festival in Colorado.  Also playing that night were Three Dog Night and Joe Cocker.
1969:  Led Zeppelin played two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
1969: Shorty Long ("Here Comes The Judge"), singer, songwriter, musician and producer for Motown Records, drowned at the age of 29 when his sailboat sank off of Sandwich Island in Ontario, Canada.  (Note:  some websites report Long died in Detroit, Michigan.  He died on the Ontario side of the Detroit River.)









1970:  We would soon find all about a bright new talent from Canada.  Anne Murray released her first  single "Snowbird" on this date.












1970:  Chicago released the single "25 Or 6 To 4".
1973:  Vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover left Deep Purple following a concert in Osaka, Japan.
1974:  Neil Peart replaced John Rustey on drums for Rush.











1974:  Three superb songs made their first entry into the Top 10 on this date--it was a great summer for music.  The Hues Corporation had "Rock The Boat" moving from 12-6, George McCrae's great song "Rock Your Baby" slid up from 15-9 and John Denver climbed up from 27 to 10 with "Annie's Song".












1974:  Gordon Lightfoot scored his second #1 as "Sundown" hit the top spot in the country. 
1975:  The Doobie Brothers and Eagles performed in Oakland, California.  Elton John dropped by to sing a song with each group.
1976:  Elvis Presley Boulevard was dedicated in Memphis, Tennessee.
1976:  Jefferson Starship released their album Spitfire.












1976:  Boz Scaggs released the single "Lowdown".
1977:  Fleetwood Mac performed in Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York.
1978:  Peter Frampton was injured in a serious car crash in the Bahamas, suffering a broken arm and cracked ribs.










1979:  Lowell George died of a heart attack brought on by drugs at the age of 34 while on tour with Little Feat in Arlington, Virginia.
1980:  The Eagles were in concert at the Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California.
1984:  Motown Records shipped two million copies of the Jacksons' album Victory.
1984:  Bruce Springsteen performed at the Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
1985:  Mick Jagger and David Bowie began recording their remake of the Martha & the Vandellas classic "Dancing In The Street".  (Note:  several websites falsely say the song was recorded only on the 29th.  The duo started recording on the 29th, but it was not completed until 13 hours later, which took them into the morning of the 30th.)
1985:  U2 played at Droke Park in Dublin, Ireland.







                               The Eurythmics had another Top 10 song...

1985:  Bryan Adams remained at #1 with "Heaven", holding off Phil Collins and "Sussudio".  Duran Duran edged to #3 with "A View To A Kill" while Prince & the Revolution were stuck at 4 with "Raspberry Beret".  The rest of the Top 10:  Madonna had her seventh hit and sixth Top 10 in a row with "Angel", Survivor moved up nicely from 10-6 with "The Search Is Over", Tears for Fears were down to 7 with their former #1 "Everybody Wants To Rule The World", the Eurythmics entered the Top 10 with "Would I Lie To You?" (moving from 14-10), Howard Jones came in at #9 with "Things Can Only Get Better" and the Mary Jane Girls were "In My House".
1991:  Paul Abdul commanded the top spot with "Rush, Rush" for a third week in a row. 
1991:  Cher had the top album in the U.K. with Love Hurts.
1991:  When you're on top of both the Popular chart and the Adult Contemporary chart, you own about 2/3 of the rock audience.  That's what Paula Abdul had when "Rush, Rush" reached #1 on the AC chart.
1994:  Barbra Streisand garnered $16 million in sales from concerts at New York City's Madison Square Garden, setting a record for the largest-grossing concert series of all-time.
1996:  Record producer George Martin of the Beatles received Knighthood in Great Britain.






           
                                                      "Let It Flow"...



                                    "You're Makin' Me High"...


1996:  It was a pretty solid Top 10 other than the #1 song, which was highly overrated.  Toni Braxton had a huge double-sided #2 smash with "You're Makin' Me High" and "Let It Flow".  Tracy Chapman remained at 3 with "Give Me One Reason".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Always Be My Baby" from Mariah Carey was her 19th hit, her 15th Top 10 and, being a former #1, it was her 11th chart-topper, "Because You Loved Me" was another former #1 from Celine Dion at #6, Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen teamed up for the "Theme From 'Mission:  Impossible", Los Del Rio entered the Top 10 for the first time after 28 weeks on the chart with "Macarena" (It would go on to become one of the biggest hits of the Rock Era), the Tony Rich Project slipped to #9 with their smash "Nobody Knows" and Alanis Morissette was at 10 with "Ironic".
1997:  Sheryl Crow, Sting and Van Morrison highlighted the final day of the Glastonbury Festival in England.
1999:  Leif Garret was arrested at an apartment in Los Angeles for drug possession.
1999:  Michael Jackson suffered severe bruises as the result of a 50-foot fall when a bridge collapsed at Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany.
2000:  Trouble was catchy once you joined the Rolling Stones.  Ron Wood checked himself into a rehab center for alcohol addiction.
2000:  Nine people were trampled to death and 26 were injured after falling in the mud in front of the stage at a Pearl Jam concert at the Roskilde Festival near Copenhagen, Denmark.  (Note:  some websites report that eight people died.  The official count was nine, according to the magazine 'Rolling Stone'.)
2003:  Robbie Williams performed in front of 62,000 fans in Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland.
2003:  Beyonce had the top album in the U.K. with Dangerously in Love.


2003:  Monica owned the #1 U.S. album with After the Storm.
2004:  Beyonce captured Best Female R&B artist, Jay-Z won Best Male Hip-Hop Artist and "Crazy In Love" won for Best Collaboration at the BET Awards.  Outkast was named Best Group while their single "Hey Ya!" won for Video of the Year.
2006:  In today's edition of "Inmates Run Rap Music", DMX was sentenced to return home (jail) in White Plains, New York after he failed to appear at a traffic violation hearing.  Then he could be with all of his "homies"!
2008:  Neil Diamond, John Mayer, Gilbert O'Sullivan and the Verve headlined the closing day of the U.K. Glastonbury Festival.


Born This Day:
1938:  Billy Storm of the Alley Cats was born in Dayton, Ohio.
1940:  L. Russell Brown, who wrote "Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Ole Oak Tree", "C'mon Marianne" and others, was born in Newark, New Jersey.


1943:  Little Eva was born in Belhaven, North Carolina; died April 10, 2003, 18 months after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.
1948:  Ian Paice, drummer of Deep Purple and Whitesnake, was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England.





1953:  Colin Hay of Men at Work was born in Saltcoats, Scotland.  (Note:  several websites mistakenly say he was born in Kilwinning, Scotland.  According to Colin on his official website, he was born in Saltcoats.)
1960:  Evelyn "Champagne" King ("Shame" from 1978) was born in the Bronx, New York.
1978:  Nicole Scherzinger, lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i.
1979:  Tim McCord, bass guitarist for Evanescence, was born in Sacramento, California.  (Note:  some websites claim Tim McChord of Evanescence was born on this date.  The group has never had a bass player by that name--the correct spelling is McCord.)
1979:  Richard Breen, singer for Five, was born in London.

Two "Can't Miss" Specials

There are two high-profile specials coming in the next few days that you won't want to miss.  The first is The Top 100 Adult Contemporary Artists of the 1980's*--that is coming up Sunday and will be presented in ten parts, with 10 artists featured each day.


In the middle of that, something unprecedented on the internet or on the radio--America has built quite a history of providing great music during the Rock Era, and to honor that, we'll be featuring over 700 songs representing the best the country has offered.  Don't miss that on July 4th!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

This Date in Rock Music History: June 28

1959:  Bobby Darin topped all others on the U.K. Singles chart with "Dream Lover".
1962:  The Drifters recorded the song "Up On The Roof".



1965:  Herman's Hermits released the single "I'm Henry VIII, I Am".
1966:  Small Faces were in concert at the Marquee Club in London.










1968:  Aretha Franklin was on the cover of Time magazine.
1969:  Crosby, Stills & Nash did not release their great self-titled debut album on this date as some web sites report who aren't familiar with how the music business works.  Thankfully, you follow this blog and learned the album was actually released May 29.
1969:  Neil Diamond didn't release "Sweet Caroline" on this date either (a Saturday) as some web sites report.  That actually happened on Monday, June 23, 1969 (as Inside the Rock Era told you about), since Billboard magazine goes to print each Wednesday.  That's kind of like the other web sites showing up at a party five days too late!
1969:  What "Sweet Caroline" did do on this date was debut on the chart (quite different from being released today).  It was the highest debut at #59.
1969:  A great show was lined up at the Bath Festival of Blues in England--Led ZeppelinFleetwood Mac, John Mayall, Chicken Shack, Savoy Brown, Nice, Ten Years After--They were all there.


1969:  Zager & Evans had one of the hottest songs on the chart on this date as "In The Year 2525" moved from 72 to 35.
1969:  The Who's album Tommy reached the Top 10 on this date, four weeks after its release.












                                                  CCR had the #2 song...

1969:  It was an excellent Top 10 as Henry Mancini moved to #1 with "Love Theme From 'Romeo & Juliet'".  CCR challenged with "Bad Moon Rising" while the former #1 "Get Back" from the Beatles fell to 3.  Marvin Gaye was "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and Three Dog Night's classic "One" was at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Blood, Sweat & Tears reached #6 with their second hit "Spinning Wheel" while Elvis Presley was at #7 with his 109th hit "In The Ghetto", Oliver remained at 8 with "Good Morning Starshine", Desmond Dekker & the Aces moved into the Top 10 with "Israelites" and the Friends of Distinction had a great song at #10--"Grazing In The Grass".
1970:  Led Zeppelin, the Moody Blues, Santana, the Byrds, Jefferson Airiplane, Dr. John, Country Joe, Hot Tuna and Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention performed at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in Bath, England.









1971:  Rod Stewart released the single "Maggie May".
1973:  Herman's Hermits, the Searchers, Gerry & the Pacemakers and Wayne Fontana appeared in concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
1973:  Helen Reddy's summer television series premiered on NBC.










                                                     "You're So Static" ...

1974:  Elton John released the great album Caribou.
1975:  Roger Waters, annoyed that the fans were screaming during a Pink Floyd song, spat on the audience.  Guess he thinks Pink Floyd is "better" than their fans, and above everyone else. 
1975:  Venus & Mars by Wings was the #1 album in the U.K. 
1977:  Elton John became the Chairman of the Watford Football Club in England.
1978:  The Clash were at Friars in Aylesbury, England.











1978:  UNICEF named members of the group Kansas as Deputy Ambassadors of Goodwill.
1980:  Roxy Music's Flesh and Blood was the top album in the U.K.
1980:  The #1 R&B song was "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" by the S.O.S. Band.











1980:  Pure Prairie League had a pure song at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Let Me Love You Tonight".













                        All those years paying dues were paying off for Seger...

1980:  Paul McCartney & Wings wrestled the top spot away from Lipps, Inc. as "Coming Up" beat out "Funkytown".  Bette Midler climbed to #3 with "The Rose" and Billy Joel moved up with "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me".  The competition was fierce so Bob Seger had to remain at 5 with "Against The Wind".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Little Jeannie" from Elton John, Robbie Dupree's "Steal Away" at #7, Ambrosia fell to #8 with their great song "Biggest Part Of Me", the Spinners entered the Top 10 with their medley of "Cupid" and "I've Loved You For A Long Time" and Michael Jackson didn't budge from #10 with "She's Out Of My Life".
1986:  Wham! appeared in concert for the final time at Wembley Stadium in London.
1986:  Wham! reached #1 in the U.K. with "The Edge Of Heaven".
1986:  Madonna debuted with her single "Papa Don't Preach" at #42.
1986:  Billy Ocean took over at #1 on the R&B chart with "There'll Be Sad Songs".
1986:  Howard Jones reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "No One Is To Blame".

                                                       Billy Ocean had arrived...

1986:  Another great Top 10 on this date as Michael McDonald and Patti LaBelle were #1 for the third week with "On My Own".  Billy Ocean's "There'll Be Sad Songs" remained at 2 and the Jets came in third with "Crush On You".  Simply Red's great song "Holding Back The Years" moved from 8 to 4, leapfrogging Howard Jones, who nonetheless moved up with "No One Is To Blame".  The rest of the Top 10:  El DeBarge with "Who's Johnny", George Michael's "A Different Corner" stuck at 7, Genesis roared from 17 to 8 with "Invisible Touch", "Nasty" by Janet Jackson entered the Top 10 as did Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer".







1988:  Stryper reeased the album In God We Trust.
1990:  Paul McCartney performed the John Lennon songs "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Help!" and "Give Peace A Chance" for the first time in public at a concert at King's Dock in Liverpool, England.
1991:  Paul McCartney debuted his "Liverpool Oratorio" at the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool.
1993:  Wilson Pickett pleaded guilty to drunk driving.
1994:  David Lee Roth began a solo tour in Los Angeles.
1996:  Burt Bacharach was at the Royal Albert Hall in London.  He was joined onstage by Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher for the song "This Guy's In Love With You".
1996:  Def Leppard was in concert at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
1997:  Radiohead, the Chemical Brothers and Neneh Cherry performed on day two of the Glastonbury Festival in England.
1997:  LeeAnn Rimes moved from 89 to 49 with "How Do I Live".


1997:  The Backstreet Boys debuted at #24 with their single "Quit Playing Games With My Heart".
2003:  In this edition of "Inmates Run Rap Music", we see that DMX was arrested yet again, this time at a concert on the island of St. Kitts for obscenity charges.







2003:  Metallica performed at the Rock Werchter Festival in Belgium.  (Note:  some websites claim Metallica performed at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark on this date.  The group performed June 26 at the Roskilde Festival and on June 28 in Werchter, Belgium, according to the group's official website.)  
2005:  Kanye West won Best Male Hip-Hop Artist and Video of the Year for "Jesus Walks" at the BET Awards.  Neither Taylor Swift nor Beck stormed the stage in protest.
2005:  Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 and Avril Lavigne announced their engagement.
2007:  Jimmie Rodgers had successful brain surgery in Hot Springs, Arkansas to remove the steel plate that had been inserted 40 years previous. Doctors reported that his skull had completely regenerated.
2008:  Jay-Z, Crowded House, Amy Winehouse, James Blunt and the Raconteurs performed on the second day of the Glastonbury Festival in England.
2009:  Three days following his death, the Michael Jackson album Number Ones topped the U.K. Album chart.

Born This Day:
1936:  Cathy Carr ("Ivory Tower") was born in the Bronx, New York; died November 22, 1988 in Fayetteville, New York.
1945:  David Knights of Procol Harum was born in Islington, London, England.
1963:  Andy Cousin, bass guitarist for All About Eve, was born in Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England.  (Note:  some websites naively say Cousin was born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire and some simply list the county as Yorkshire.  Huddersfield was located in the county called West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974, when the Local Government Act of 1972 took effect and its county became West Yorkshire.  Cousin was born 11 years before, and you will never see West Yorkshire listed as his County of Birth on his official birth certificate.)
1963:  Charles Clouser, one-time keyboardist and drummer with Nine Inch Nails who has also worked with the Deftones, was born in Hanover, New Hampshire.