This Date in Rock Music History: December 28

1959:  "Teen Angel" by Mark Dinning moved from #100 to #50.
1960:  The movie Where the Boys Are, starring Connie Francis, premiered in the Gateway Theatre in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Radio City Music Hall in New York City.  (Note:  some websites claim the premiere was on December 31, but according to the newspaper 'The Sun-Sentinel', the simultaneous premieres were on December 28.)

1963:  The Singing Nun wrapped up a four-week stay at #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Dominique".
1963:  "Dominique" was #1 for a fourth week overall.  Bobby Vinton provided the closest competition with "There!  I've Said It Again".
1963:  The Soundtrack to "West Side Story" re-entered the Top 10 in its 114th week of release.

1968:  Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Jeff Beck and the Pretty Things appeared at the Flight to Lowlands Paradise II festival at the Margriethal-Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
1968:  In essentially what was a precursor to Woodstock, Three Dog Night, Joni Mitchell, the Turtles, Fleetwood Mac, Marvin Gaye, the Grass Roots, Chuck Berry, Steppenwolf, the Box Tops, Canned Heat, Jr. Walker and the Allstars, Procol Harum, Iron Butterfly, the McCoys, the Grateful Dead, Blues Image, Procol Harum, Jose Feliciano, Richie Havens, Country Joe and the Fish, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and others performed at the Miami Pop Festival at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida.
1968:  The Rolling Stones debuted at #3 in the U.K. with their album Beggar's Banquet.

1968:  Marvin Gaye ruled the R&B chart for a third week with "I Heard It Through The Grapevine".
1968:  Glen Campbell scored a third week at #1 on the Adult chart with "Wichita Lineman".
1968:  The Beatles reached #1 with The White Album after just three weeks.  Wichita Lineman from Glen Campbell was second with Cheap Thrills from Big Brother & the Holding Company in third.







1968:  Marvin Gaye had the biggest hit of his career with "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", #1 for a third week.  The Temptations climbed into the Top 10 with "Cloud Nine".
1969:  Detroit, Michigan declared it "Temptations Day".
1974:  Stevie Wonder registered his 11th #1 song on the R&B chart, and fifth out of his last seven releases, with "Boogie On Reggae Woman".
1974:  Barry Manilow rose to #1 on the Adult chart with his first single, "Mandy".






1974:  Helen Reddy owned the new #1 with "Angie Baby".  Elton John moved to challenge with his remake of the Beatles' song "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds".  Barry White was up to 3 with "You're The First, The Last, My Everything", Carl Douglas surrendered to #4 with "Kung Fu Fighting" and the previous #1 "Cat's In The Cradle" from Harry Chapin was fifth.  The rest of an excellent Top 10:  Paul McCartney & Wings with their double-sided "Junior's Farm"/"Sally G", the Three Degrees with "When Will I See You Again", Neil Sedaka was back with his first Top 10 in 12 years--"Laughter In The Rain", Ringo Starr bounced up from 14 with "Only You" and Stevie Wonder collected his 36th hit and his sixth Top 10 in his last seven releases with "Boogie On Reggae Woman".

The group Jethro Tull was up to #2...

1974:  Elton John's Greatest Hits was the #1 album for the fifth week with War Child from Jethro Tull #2 and Neil Diamond's Serenade #3.  Harry Chapin moved to #4 with Verities & Balderdash while John Denver edged up with Back Home Again.  The rest of the Top 10:  Fire from the Ohio Players, the Rolling Stones fell hard with It's Only Rock 'N Roll, Loggins & Messina were at #8 with Mother Lode, Helen Reddy's Free and Easy stopped off at #9 and Ringo Starr entered the Top 10 with Goodnight Vienna.
1979:  At the third of Paul McCartney's concerts in London to benefit the country of Kampuchea, the Who and the Pretenders joined him.

1983:  Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys drowned while diving near his boat in the harbor of Marina del Ray, California.









"Minutes to Memories", one of the best songs you've never heard (unless you've been a regular visitor on this blog!

1985:  The "Miami Vice" Soundtrack moved back up to #1 on the Album chart, taking over from the self-titled Heart.  John Cougar Mellencamp remained in the #3 spot with his great album Scarecrow while Barbra Streisand was up to #4 with The Broadway Album.  Knee Deep in the Hoopla from Starship and Songs from the Big Chair by newcomers Tears for Fears each entered the Top 10.






1985:  Lionel Richie remained at the top of the Adult Contemporary chart for a fourth week with "Say You, Say Me".  Incredibly, Richie had hit #1 with four straight songs and nine out of 10 since he left the Commodores.  More impressively, Lionel had accumulated 20 weeks at #1 on the Adult chart in his last four releases and 41 weeks in a five-year period.
1988:  Nirvana performed at the Hollywood Underground in Seattle, Washington.
1991:  The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam and Nirvana combined for a show at Pat O'Brien Pavilion in Del Mar, California.
1992:  Paul Simon and Edie Brickell celebrated the birth of Adrian Edward Simon.
1993:  Shania Twain married her producer, Robert "Mutt" Lange.
1993:  The Spice Girls achieved their third #1 song in the U.K. with "2 Become 1".
   
   In most other times, R. Kelly would have a #1 song...

1996:  Toni Braxton dominated the competition with a fourth week at #1 with "Un-Break My Heart".  R. Kelly was second with "I Believe I Can Fly" while En Vogue closed to #3 with "Don't Let Go (Love)".
2004:  Bono of U2 was the guest editor on BBC Radio 4's news program Today.








2005:  Mary J. Blige debuted at #1 on the Album chart with The Breakthrough.


Born This Day--Birthdays of Rock Era Personalities:
1914:  Roebuck "Pops" Staples, songwriter, guitarist and singer with the Staples Singers ("Respect Yourself"), was born in Winona, Mississippi; died December 19, 2000 after suffering a concussion from a fall in his home in Chicago, Illinois.
1921:  Johnny Otis ("Willie And The Hand Jive" from 1958), composer, arranger, singer, drummer and percussionist, talent scout and producer, was born in Vallejo, California; died of natural causes at the age of 90 in Los Angeles.
1932:  Dorsey Burnette, brother of Johnny and father of Billy Burnette, and who wrote songs for Jerry Lee Lewis, Rick Nelson and others, was born in Memphis, Tennessee; died August 19, 1979 of a massive coronary in Canoga Park, California.
1938:  Charles Neville of Joey Dee & the Starlighters and the Neville Brothers, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1938:  Gene Thomas (real name Gene Thomasson) of Gene & Debbe ("Playboy") was born in Palestine, Texas; died August 26, 2012 of lung cancer in Fredericksburg, Texas.

1946:  Edgar Winter, famous multi-instrumentalist and leader of the Edgar Winter Group, and young brother of Johnny, was born in Beaumont, Texas.
1947:  Dick Diamonde (real name Dingeman Ariaan Henry van der Sluijs), bass guitarist of the Easybeats ("Friday On My Mind") was born in Hilversum, the Netherlands.

1950:  Alex Chilton, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the Box Tops and later a producer, was born in Memphis, Tennessee; died of a heart attack March 17, 2010.
1954:  David Jaymes, bassist of Modern Romance, was born in Woodford, Essex, England.  (Note:  some websites say that the Modern Romance musician was David Jaynes--that is false.  David Jaynes was a quarterback in football; David Jaymes was the bassist in Modern Romance.  Some websites show his birthday as November 28--reputable sites report that his date of birth was December 28, and in the book 'The Great Indie Discovery' by Martin Charles Strong, Strong confirms that James was born on December 28.)

1978:  John Legend (real name John Stephens), solo artist and session vocalist and musician, was born in Springfield Ohio.

This Date in Rock Music History: December 27

1960:  The Miracles made their television debut singing "Shop Around" on American Bandstand.  (Note:  numerous websites report that the group made their debut on the popular show on February 27, 1960, but this is inaccurate.  "Shop Around" was not released nationally until October 15, making the February 27 date impossible.  Jack Ryan, in his book 'Recollections, the Detroit Year:  The Motown Sound by the People who Made It', The Official R&B Music Hall of Fame, and 'TV.com' all confirm that the correct date is December 27, and that not only did the Miracles make their debut on the show, but they were the first Motown act to appear on 'American Bandstand'.)
1960:  The Beatles played to a welcome home crowd at the Litherland Town Hall in Liverpool after performing as the resident band in Hamburg, Germany.  Bassist Stuart Sutcliffe stayed in Germany for the winter.  It was after this performance, when they were cheered loudly for the first time, that the Beatles realized that they were good.

1963:  The Animals debuted on the radio on the BBC show Saturday Club.  This would soon lead to a record contract with Columbia.

1963:  The London Times named John Lennon and Paul McCartney "The Outstanding Composers of 1963", saying they are "the greatest composers since Beethoven".  This was uncanny observation and foresight by the newspaper, considering the two were just starting out.
1964:  The Who performed at the Ealing Club in London.
1964:  The Supremes made their first of 16 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.  (Note:  some websites state that the group made 20 appearances.  The group did 16 shows; the other 4 were reruns, according to the official website for 'The Ed Sullivan Show'.)
1967:  Bob Dylan released the album John Wesley Harding.
1967:  The Doors performed on The Jonathon Winters Show on CBS television.

Led Zeppelin put out a great album and people were taking notice...

1969:  Led Zeppelin II was the new #1 album, displacing Abbey Road by the Beatles after eight weeks.  Let It Bleed from the Rolling Stones was third with Tom Jones Live in Las Vegas in pursuit.  The rest of the Top 10:  WIlly and the Poorboys from CCR moved from 11-5, Was Captured Live at the Forum from Three Dog Night at #6, Green River by CCR at #7, the self-titled debut from Blood, Sweat & Tears, the debut by Crosby, Stills & Nash and Puzzle People by the Temptations slipped to #10.
1969:  Diana Ross & the Supremes continued to hold on to #1 on the R&B chart for a third week with "Someday We'll Be Together". 
1969:  B.J. Thomas logged a third week at #1 on the Adult chart with "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head".

          CCR dominated the airwaves in the late 60's.

1969:  Diana Ross & the Supremes climbed to #1 with "Someday We'll Be Together", the group's final #1 song.  Peter, Paul & Mary dropped down with "Leaving On A Jet Plane", B.J. Thomas was up to 3 with "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head", CCR's double-sided smash "Down On The Corner"/"Fortunate Son" was fourth and Steam's former #1 "(Na Na Hey Hey) Kiss Him Goodbye" dropped to #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Holly Holy" from Neil Diamond, the Beatles with "Come Together"/"Something", the Jackson 5 moved from 17-8 with "I Want You Back", skipping over Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta' Love", which did manage to get to #9, and R.B. Greaves was at #10 with "Take A Letter Maria".
1970:  The play Hello Dolly! closed after 2,844 performances on Broadway in New York City.
1971:  The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour began as a regular series on CBS-TV.  Up until this time, it had been a summer replacement show.
1975:  Queen rose to #1 on the Album chart with A Night at the Opera.



    
                 America was golden in the 70's...

1975:  Chicago IX - Chicago's Greatest Hits was #1 on the Album chart for the third week.  Gratitude from Earth, Wind & Fire was second with History/America's Greatest Hits remaining at #3.
1975:  "Love Rollercoaster" by the Ohio Players was the #1 R&B song.







1975:  The Staple Singers climbed the final rung of the ladder to #1 with "Let's Do It Again".  The Bay City Rollers weren't going away with "Saturday Night" while "That's the Way (I Like It)" by K.C. and the Sunshine Band dropped to make room.  The Ohio Players had by far their biggest hit with "Love Rollercoaster".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Theme From 'Mahogany' (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" from Diana Ross, Barry Manilow's "I Write the Songs" was up to 6, C.W. McCall drove up from 14 with "Convoy", Sweet was in the #8 position with "Fox On The Run", Silver Convention and "Fly, Robin, Fly" and the O'Jays scored a Top 10 with "I Love Music".














1977:  Rose Royce released their new single "I Wanna' Get Next To You".
1978:  Bob Luman ("Let's Think About Living" from 1960) died from pneumonia in Nashville, Tennessee at age 41.
1979:  Paul McCartney, the Clash and Ian Dury played in the second of four concerts organized by McCartney to benefit Kampuchea.








             Before he left us, he gave us this great song...

1980:  Double Fantasy by John Lennon moved from 11 to 1 on the Album chart with Guilty by Barbra Streisand second.  Stevie Wonder remained at #3 with Hotter Than July and AC/DC stayed fourth with Back In Black.  Pat Benatar remained at #5 with Crimes of Passion and the Eagles Live was sixth.  The rest of the Top 10:  Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits, Zenyatta Mondatta from the Police at #8, "The Jazz Singer" Soundtrack by Neil Diamond at #9 at Steely Dan found the Top 10 with Gaucho.
1980:  Leo Sayer moved to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "More Than I Can Say". 



1980:  One of the fastest-rising songs was "Same Old Lang Syne", Dan Fogelberg's great release that rose from 59 to 37.
1980:  Just 19 days after his death, John Lennon's song "(Just Like) Starting Over" went to #1. 
1983:  Walter Scott, lead singer of Bob Kuban & the In-Men ("The Cheater" from 1966) was seen alive for the last time.  His body was found floating face down in a cistern on April 10, 1987, the victim of a murder.

1985:  Metallica finished work on the album Master of Puppets.

1985:  Simon Le Bon, lead singer of Duran Duran, married Yasmin Parvanah in Oxford, England.

                 Do you know what a Wang Chung is?

1986:  The Bangles held off all challengers to score a second week at #1 with "Walk Like An Egyptian", one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.  Wang Chung moved up with "Everybody Have Fun Tonight", while Double Duran was third with "Notorious".  Newcomer Gregory Abbott wanted to "Shake You Down", while Bruce Hornsby & the Range's "The Way It Is", was fifth.  The rest of the Top 10:  "C'est La Vie" from Robbie Nevil, Janet Jackson exploded into the Top 10 with "Control", Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's remake of "War" was #8, Ben E. King remained at #9 and the Pretenders moved to 10 with "Don't Get Me Wrong".




1993:  Ace of Base released "The Sign".
1997:  Mark Morrison was arrested outside the Pink Coconut night club in Derby, England for threatening a police officer.
1997:  The Spice Girls ruled the U.K. chart with "Too Much".
1997:  For the third straight week, Garth Brooks held down #1 on the Album chart with Sevens.

1997:  Elton John registered his 12th week at #1 with his tribute to the late Princess Diana of England ("Candle In The Wind 1997").  There were just five songs in the Rock Era that had more--"One Sweet Day" from Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men (16 weeks), "Macarena" by Los Del Rio, "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men and "I Will Always Love You" from Whitney Houston (14 each) and "End Of The Road" by Boyz II Men (13 weeks).  Elton wasn't done just yet.  LeAnn Rimes was still at #2 with "How Do I Live", Usher was backed up at 3 with "You Make Me Wanna'..." and Janet (Jackson) moved from 9 to 4 with "Together Again".  Savage Garden had the only new Top 10 with "Truly Madly Deeply".
1998:  It's been a few days since we ran an episode of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music but now that Christmas is over, their exploits of course continued.  Busta Rhymes (real name is Trevor Smith) was arrested for criminal possession of a loaded, unregistered pistol in his car.
2003:  Dick St. John of Dick & Dee Dee ("Thou Shalt Not Steal") died in Pacific Palisades, California at age 60 from injuries resulting from a fall off a ladder.

2004:  Hank Garland, guitarist who played for Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison among others, died from a staph infection in Orange Park, Florida at the age of 74.

2008:  Delaney Bramlett, a member of Delaney & Bonnie who worked with George Harrison, John Lennon, the Everly Brothers, Eric Clapton and Janis Joplin, died at age 69 in Los Angeles after gall bladder surgery.
2008:  Taylor Swift led the way on the Album chart with Fearless.
Born This Day:

1931:  Scotty Moore, elite guitarist who helped Elvis Presley define rock & roll in its early years, was born in Gadsden, Tennessee.
1941:  Mike Pinder, founding member and keyboardist of the Moody Blues, was born in Erdington, Birmingham, England.
1941:  Leslie Maguire of Gerry & the Pacmakers was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, England.
1943:  Peter Sinfield, lyricist and co-founder of King Crimson and an accomplished songwriter for other artists:  Celine Dion, Cher, Cliff Richard and others, was born in Fulham, London.

1944:  Mick Jones, great guitarist and songwriter with Spooky Tooth, co-founder of Foreigner and a producer, was born in Somerton, Somerset, England.  (Note:  websites claim all kinds of birthplaces for Jones, and some get him confused with the Mick Jones of Clash.  'Allmusic.com' claims he was born in Brixton, London.  Other cities listed are Portsmouth and Horsell.  In an interview with the newspaper 'The Portsmouth News', Jones stated he was born in Somerset but since he had family in Portsmouth, spent a good deal of time there.  Foreigner formed in Brixton, but Jones was not born there.  The newspaper 'The Daily Mail' confirms that Jones was born in Somerton)
1948:  Larry Byrom, songwriter and guitarist of Stepenwolf and later for Kenny Rogers, was born in Huntsville, Alabama.
1950:  Terry Bozzio of Captain Beefheart and Missing Persons was born in San Francisco, California.
1951:  Karla Bonoff, backup vocalist for Linda Ronstadt, solo artist ("Personally" from 1981) and songwriter, was born in Santa Monica, California.

1952:  David Knopfler, singer, songwriter, rhythm guitarist, pianist and co-founder of Dire Straits with his brother Mark, was born in Glasgow, Scotland.
1972:  Matt Slocum, lead guitarist, songwriter, pianist and cellist of Sixpence None the Richer ("Kiss Me") 

Fontella Bass Has Died

Fontella Bass, who gave us the great song "Rescue Me", has died at the age of 72 of complications from a heart attack.