This Date in Rock Music History: June 12

1957:  Jimmy Dorsey ("So Rare") died of throat cancer at the age of 53 in New York City.
1961:  Frankie Avalon began a 15-day tour of South America.

                                  King's song was on its way to becoming a classic...

1961:  "Travelin' Man" became Ricky Nelson's second #1 song of his career after "Poor Little Fool".  "Moody River" jumped from 7 to 2 for Pat Boone while the previous #1, "Running Scared" from Roy Orbison, ranked third.  Former Drifters singer Ben E. King was up with "Stand By Me" and Dee Clark's "Raindrops" hit #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Adam Wade with "The Writing On The Wall", Elvis Presley dropped with "I Feel So Bad", the Pips moved from 21-8 with "Every Beat Of My Heart", Gary U.S. Bonds roared from 33 to 9 with "Quarter To Three" and Brook Benton entered the Top 10 with "The Boll Weevil Song".
1962:  Brenda Lee was hospitalized at Cooper Hospital in Camden, New Jersey with a dislocated neck, suffered during a concert at the Latin Casino in New Jersey.
1963:  Brenda Lee graduated from Hollywood Professional High School.
1963:  The Beach Boys recorded two great songs on this date--"Little Deuce Coupe" and "Surfer Girl"--at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, California.
1965:  The Who performed at the Town Hall in Dudley, Worcestershire, England.  (Note:  some websites claim that the group performed in Dudley, Birmingham, England.  Dudley is not and has never been in the county of Birmingham.  Historically, it was in Worcestershire, and was in that county in 1965 when the Who performed.  In 1966, Dudley's county was changed to Staffordshire briefly, before being included in the county of West Midlands in the Local Government Reorganization Act of 1974.)

1965:  Sonny and Cher made their television debut on Dick Clark's American Bandstand.














1965:  "Crying In The Chapel" by Elvis Presley spent a fourth week out of seven on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1965:  The Soundtrack to "Mary Poppins" spent a 10th consecutive week at #1 on the Album chart.  The incredible Soundtrack to "The Sound of Music" was #2.












1965:  The Supremes scored their fifth consecutive #1 song with "Back In My Arms Again", a Rock Era record that would stand until the Bee Gees broke it in 1979.  Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs had to settle with a #2 peak for "Wooly Bully" with Elvis Presley reaching #3 with "Crying In The Chapel".  The Four Tops moved impressively (7-4) with "I Can't Help Myself".  The rest of the Top 10:  previous #1 "Help Me Rhonda" from the Beach Boys, the Byrds flew up from 17 to 6 with "Mr. Tambourine Man", Roger Miller and "Engine Engine #9", Hermans Hermits were back with their remake of the Sam Cooke song "Wonderful World", the Beatles and "Ticket To Ride" while the Beau Brummels dropped "Just A Little".








1965:  The Beatles received the "Most Excellent Order of the British Empire" awards from Queen Elizabeth.
1966:  The Dave Clark Five performed on The Ed Sullivan Show for the 11th time.  (Note:  some websites claim this was the group's 12th performance on the show, but according to the band's official website, it was appearance #11.  Some websites claim the group performed 18 times on the show but according to the official website of the group, they appeared a total of 13 times.  Five of those air dates were reruns, which explains the confusion.  Only taped episodes count as performances--you will never find 18 taped episodes, but rather 13. )
1968:  Aretha Franklin released the album Aretha Now on Atlantic Records.
1968:  The movie Speedway, starring Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra, opened in theatres.

1970:  No longer with Big Brother & the Holding Company, Janis Joplin performed in Louisville, Kentucky in front of 4,000 fans at Freedom Hall (16,000 capacity).  (Note:  the book Notable Moments of Women in Music' by Jay Warner, claims Joplin performed on July 12, but as you can see from the poster above, the correct date is June 12.)

1971:  A new artist appeared on the music scene as Roberta Flack debuted on the chart with her first single release--her version of "You've Got A Friend".  She would go on to score 18 hits in her fabulous career.










  1971:  "Want Ads" by the Honey Cone was the #1 song, toppling the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar".  
1971:  "Rainy Days and Mondays" was #1 for a third week for the Carpenters on the Easy Listening chart.
1972:  The Sound Broadcasting Act was passed in England, allowing for 21 additional radio stations.
1973:  Grand Funk recorded "We're An American Band".
1976:  "Save Your Kisses For Me" by the Brotherhood of Man topped everyone on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1976:  The great award-winning album Breezin' by George Benson reached the Top 10. 








           
                                                        Henry Gross reached #6...


1976:  "Silly Love Songs" assumed the #1 spot on this date.  "Get Up And Boogie" from the Silver Convention was #2 with Dorothy Moore ("Misty Blue") and Diana Ross's former #1 "Love Hangover" trailing.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Happy Days" from Pratt & McClain, Henry Gross with "Shannon" at 6, Hall & Oates moving up with "Sara Smile", the Captain & Tennille moving up to 8 with "Shop Around", Andrea True Connection entering the Top 10 with "More, More More" and the Rolling Stones unable to climb past 10 with "Fool To Cry".
1978:  Dire Straits appeared at Eric's in Liverpool, England.
1979:  The Police were in concert at the Locarno in Bristol, England.
1982:  Linda Ronstadt, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Jackson Browne and Gary "U.S." Bonds were on hand for the biggest political rally in the history of the United States.  The Rally for Nuclear Disarmament drew 750,000 people to Central Park in Manhattan, New York.
1982:  Adam Ant amazingly had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Goody Two Shoes".








1982:  "Ebony and Ivory" was #1 for a fifth week for Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1989:  Lou Monte, who gave us many novelty records including "Pepino, The Italian Mouse in 1962", passed away at age 72 in Pompano Beach, Florida.
1989:  The Elvis Presley Autoland Museum opened, featuring over 20 automobiles of the King.
1990:  Mariah Carey released her monumental debut album on Columbia Records on this date.
1993:  UB40 had the #1 song in the U.K. with their remake of the Elvis Presley song "(Can't Help) Falling In Love".
1993:  "That's the Way Love Goes" by Janet Jackson remained #1 for the fifth week in a weak time in music in the United States.
1999:  Oasis paid Gary Glitter ("Rock And Roll, Pt. 2") $340,000 in an out-of-court settlement for using his lyrics in their song "Hello".







2001:  Blink-182 debuted at #1 on the Album chart with Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.
2003:  50 Cent and Nate Dogg had the #1 song "21 Questions".
2003:  Metallica had the #1 album with St. Anger, holding off an impressive #2 debut for Jewel's album 0304.
2004:  In an effort to be like third-world citizens, 50 Cent left the stage at Hot 97's Summerjam concert at Giants Stadium in New Jersey after chairs were thrown during his appearance.  The guy worth 50 cents had derogatory comments about R. Kelly and also verbally attacked Ja Rule.  Fans of other music styles could be heard snickering.
2005:  Pink Floyd announced that bassist Roger Waters, who left the group in 1985, would join them July 2 for the Live 8 London concert..  The reunion would mark the first concert for the group in 24 years.
2006:  Korn had to cancel a European tour after Jonathan Davis was hospitalized for a blood disorder.  (Note:  several websites incorrectly report that Davis was hospitalized on June 12.  Davis was hospitalized on Friday, June 9 according to the 'BBC'.  Korn issued a press release on June 12 canceling the rest of the European dates.)

2006:  Prince was awarded a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in Manhattan, New York.
2007:  Canada Post issued postage stamps in honor of Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Paul Anka and Anne Murray.
2008:  Amy Winehouse performed at an art gallery in Moscow, Russia.
2009:  Johnny Rivers was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
2009:  The Eagles performed at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland.
2011:  Clarence Clemons, saxophonist with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, suffered a stroke.  He died six days later.







2011:  Carl Gardner, founder and lead singer of the Coasters and a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, died at the age of 83 in Port St. Lucie, Florida from congestive heart failure and vascular dementia. 


Born This Day:
1928:  Vic Damone ("On the Street Where You Live" from 1958) was born in Brooklyn, New York
1941:  Reg Presley of the Troggs was born in Andover, Hampshire, England; died February 4, 2014 in Andover after losing a battle to lung cancer.
1942:  Len Barry (Leonard Borisoff who had the hit "1-2-3") was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1944:  Harold Cowart of John Fred & His Playboy Band ("Judy In The Sky (With Glasses)" from 1968)
1948:  Barry Bailey, original lead guitarist of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, was born in Decatur, Georgia.





1951:  Bun E. Carlos, great drummer of Cheap Trick, was born in Rockford, Illinois.



















1951:  Brad Delp, lead singer of Boston, was born in Peabody, Massachusetts; committed suicide March 7, 2007.  (Note:  many websites list Boston as Delp's birthday or say he was born in Danvers, Massachusetts.  The family later lived in Danvers, but Brad was born in Peabody.)
1952:  Pete Farndon, bass guitarist for the Pretenders, was born in Hereford, Herefordshire, England; died in London of drugs on April 14, 1983.
1953:  Rocky Burnette ("Tired Of Toein' The Line") and the son of rock pioneer Johnny Burnette, was born in Memphis, Tennessee.
1958:  Meredith Brooks ("Bitch") was born in Oregon City, Oregon.
1959:  John Linnell, who played accordion, keyboards and sax for They Might Be Giants ("Birdhouse In Your Soul" from 1990), was born in New York City, New York.
1960:  Michael Hausman, drummer of 'Til Tuesday and later a manager of Aimee Mann, Suzanne Vega, Marc Cohn and Michael Penn 
1968:  Bobby Sheehan, founding member and bassist of Blues Traveler, was born in Summit, New Jersey; died of drugs August 20, 1999 in New Orleans, Louisiana.  (Note:  some websites list Bobby's birthday as June 11, perhaps confusing him with the Bobby Sheehan of Boston Bruins National Hockey League fame, who was born on January 11.)
1969:  Bardi Martin, bassist of Candlebox
1979:  Robyn ("Show Me Love") was born in Stockholm, Sweden.

This Date in Rock Music History: June 11

1957:  Elvis Presley released the single "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear".  (Note:  several websites claim the song was released June 1.  According to the book 'Elvis Presley:  The King of Rock 'n' Roll' by Jean-Pierre Hornbach, it was released June 11.)

1960:  We have those two or three moments in our lives when we have to make an important decision, choose a fork in the road.  Drummer Tommy Moore had one of those moments on this date.  Tommy decided to return to his job as a forklift driver instead of continuing with the Beatles. 
1962:  The Beatles recorded a show for the BBC radio program "Here We Go" at the Playhouse Theatre in Manchester, England.  Many of the patrons of the Cavern Club were on hand who had become huge fans of the group.
1964:  Manfred Mann recorded "Do Wah Diddy Diddy".
1964:  The Rolling Stones held a press conference on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois before police broke it up.  The group wasn't smart enough to know you have to let authorities know about things like that in advance.
1966:  Elvis Presley began filming his 26th movie Double Trouble.  (Note:  some websites insist filming began July 11, but the correct date is June 11, according to the book 'The Man Who Made the Jailhouse Rock:  Alex Romero, Hollywood Choreographer' by Mark Knowles.) 

1966:  The Beatles had a super high debut with "Paperback Writer"--#28.

1966:  "Paint It Black" became the new #1 song for the Rolling Stones.  Lovin' Spoonful closed to #2 with "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" while Simon & Garfunkel challenged with "I Am A Rock". 
1967:  Country Joe and the Fish, the Sons of Champlin, Every Mother's Son, Tim Buckley, the Seeds, the Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, the Grass Roots, the Steve Miller Band and the 5th Dimension performed at the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival in Marin County, California.
1968:  John Lennon recorded "Revolution 9" in one studio at Abbey Road while Paul McCartney recorded "Blackbird" in another for their upcoming LP which became known as The White Album.
1968:  While the Rolling Stones were recording their upcoming album Beggars Banquet, Olympic Studio in London caught fire.  Now that's hot music.
1969:  "The Ballad Of John And Yoko" became the 17th number one song for the Beatles in the U.K.
1976:  The Carpenters released the album A Kind of Hush.
1976:  Fleetwood Mac performed on The Midnight Special with guest host Helen Reddy.





                                          Foreigner was on their way...

1977:  "I'm Your Boogie Man" by K.C. and the Sunshine Band unseated "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder, who took one of the biggest falls from #1 in the Rock Era, descending all the way to #9.  Fleetwood Mac was at #2 with "Dreams", Marvin Gaye edged up to #3 with "Got To Give It Up" while Bill Conti was at 4 with the second-best version of "Gonna' Fly Now".  The rest of the Top 10:  Foreigner's first hit "Feels Like The First Time" moved from 9 to 5, Kenny Rogers had song #6--"Lucile", former Linda Ronstadt backup singer Andrew Gold's "Lonely Boy" was #7, Alan O'Day's one and only hit "Undercover Angel" reached the Top 10 and Climax Blues Band fell to 10 with "Couldn't Get It Right".
1979:  Chuck Berry pleaded guilty to charges of income tax evasion and was sentenced to four months in prison.
1979:  The Knack released the album Get the Knack.



1983:  Loverboy had the highest debuting song with "Hot Girls In Love".
1983:  Alex Van Halen, drummer for the group Van Halen, married Valeri Kendall in Los Angeles.  Alex's brother Eddie was best man.
1983:  "My Love" by Lionel Richie was #1 for the fourth straight week on the Adult Contemporary chart.

1983:  Irene Cara was halfway through her run at #1 (three weeks already) with "Flashdance...What A Feeling".  David Bowie was stuck at 2 with "Let's Dance" while Culture Club edged up to 3 with "Time (Clock of the Heart)".  Men At Work dropped with "Overkill" with Lionel Richie's "My Love" moving up to #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Michael Jackson's former #1 "Beat It" remained at 6, Thomas Dolby slipped to #7 with "She Blinded Me With Science", Naked Eyes scored a Top 10 with "Always Something There To Remind Me", Styx moved from 14-9 with "Don't Let It End" and Rick Springfield had his 11th hit--"Affair Of The Heart".
1988:  Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Eric Clapton, George Michael, the Eurythmics, Simple Minds and UB40 performed at the 70th birthday tribute for Nelson Mandela at Wembley Stadium in London.  The tribute was broadcast to 40 countries with an estimated audience of 1 billion people.

                                              Carlisle enjoyed another solo hit...

1988:  There were three new songs in the Top 10--"Dirty Diana" by Michael Jackson, "Circle In The Sand" from former Go-Go Belinda Carlisle and "The Valley Road" from Bruce Hornsby & the Range.
1988:  George Michael remained at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the third week with "One More Try".
1988:  George Michael's album Faith had been bumped from #1 three times on the Album chart and each time, it returned to the top spot, a remarkable achievement.  On this date, it was in week #11 at #1.  

1990:  Olivia Newton-John was named an environmental ambassador of the United Nations.
1993:  The film biography of Ike and Tina Turner What's Love Got To Do With It opened in theaters.  (Note:  some websites report the movie opened June 9.  It was on June 11, according to 'New York Magazine'.
1994:  "Any Time, Any Place" by Janet Jackson was the new #1 song on the R&B chart.
1996:  Metallica's gig at a small San Francisco, California club was broadcast live via the Internet.






1996:  Carl Perkins was awarded a spot on Hollywood's Rock Walk.
1998:  Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots missed a scheduled court date and checked himself into a drug rehabilitation center.
1999:  Ricky Martin appeared on the NBC-TV show Today in New York City.
2000:  Aaliyah hit #1 with "Try Again".
2001:  Depeche Mode played at the Pepsi Center in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
2001: Sir Paul McCartney married Heather Mills at St. Salvator's Church in Ireland.
2002:  The Bee Gees released their live album One Night Only on CD.  The album was originally released September 7, 1998.
2006:  Nelly Furtado was on top in the U.K. with "Maneater".


Born This Day:
1936:  Jud Strunk ("Daisy A Day") was born in Jamestown, New York; died October 5, 1981 when he suffered a heart attack while taking off in his private plane in Carrabassett Valley, Maine.

1940:  Joey Dee (leader of the Starliters who had the #1 "Peppermint Twist" in 1961) was born in Passaic, New Jersey.
1943:  Reg Presley, lead singer of the Troggs, was born in Andover, Hampshire, England; died February 4, 2013 in Andover after a year-long battle with lung cancer.








1947:  Glenn Leonard of the Temptations was born in Washington, D.C.
1947:  Richard Palmer-James, lyricist for Supertramp and King Crimson, was born in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.  (Note:  some websites insist Richard was born in the county of Dorset, but Bournemouth did not become part of Dorset until after the 1974 Local Government Reorganization Act.  Since Palmer-James was born in 1947, 27 years before the change took place, it is physically impossible for him to have been born in the county of Dorset and you will never see Dorset listed as the county of birth on his official birth certificate.  At the time of his birth, Bournemouth was located in the county of Hampshire.)







1949:  Frank Beard, the only member of ZZ Top who doesn't have a beard, was born in Frankston, Texas.












1950:  Graham Russell of Air Supply was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England.  (Note:  some websites claim Russell was born on June 1.  They are missing a digit; he was born on June 11, according to Russell on Air Supply's official website.)  








1952:  Donnie Van Zant, lead singer and guitarist with .38 Special, was born in Jacksonville, Florida.
1964:  Penny Ford, who sang the lead vocal for Snap on "The Power" was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.  (Note:  some websites show her birthday as November 6, but her talent agency, CA International Artists, indicates that it was on June 11.)
1969:  Dan Lavery of Tonic

Top Track "Sunspot Baby" by Bob Seger

In the late 70's, Bob Seger's albums were on fire, as every tracked burned itself into the public consciousness.  This one was never released as a single, but one of the hot songs from Night Moves: