This Date in Rock Music History: October 13

1957:  Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra introduced the new product from Ford, the Ford Edsel, on an hour long television special.

1958:  Frank Sinatra had the top album with Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely.
1958:  "It's All In the Game" by Tommy Edwards was the #1 song.
1962:  Don Everly collapsed while rehearsing at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London prior to the first of 22 dates of an Everly Brothers concert tour of the U.K.  He flew back to the United States for treatment and brother Phil performed solo for the entire tour.

1962:  For the fifth week, "Ramblin' Rose" by Nat King Cole was #1 on the Easy Listening chart.
1963:  The Beatles were on ITV's Sunday Night at the Palladium, their first major appearance on television.  15 Million people saw the program and thousands more crowded the streets of London to get a glimpse of the band.  The group played "From Me To You", "She Loves You", "Twist and Shout" and "I'll Get You".  
1965:  The Who recorded "My Generation" at Pye Studios in London.
1965:  The Beatles finished recording "Drive My Car" in a marathon five-hour session that ended after midnight at EMI Studios in London.

1966:  The Jimi Hendrix Experience played their first concert a week after forming the group at the Olympia in Paris, France.  (Note:  many websites claim the group's first show was in Paris, but according to the book 'The Essential Jimi Hendrix' by Rotimi Ogunjobi, the tour began at the Novelty Club in Evreux, Normandy, France on October 13, and the Paris show wasn't until the 18th.)1967:  Pat Boone, who became the owner of the Oakland Oaks basketball team, sang the national anthem at the first game of the new American Basketball Association.

1968:  Florence Ballard gave birth to twins.
1968:  John Lennon recorded three takes of "Julia" as a solo contribution to The White Album.

1969:  Peter, Paul & Mary released the single "Leaving On A Jet Plane".

1969:  Neil Diamond released the single "Holly Holy".










1969:  Mary Hopkin performed at the Savoy Theatre in London.  Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr, who produced "Those Were The Days" for Hopkin on their Apple Records label, were in attendance.
1970:  The ashes of Janis Joplin were scattered at Stinson Beach in Marin County, California.







1971:  Bing Crosby, part owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, threw out the first ball for Game 4 of the World Series between the Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles.








          One of the greats in a long string for Stevie Wonder...


1973:  Goats Head Soup moved to #1 on the Album chart for the Rolling Stones.  Brothers and Sisters by the Allman Brothers Band was now #2 with Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On third and Los Cochinos from Cheech & Chong in the fourth position.  The rest of the Top 10:  the great Innervisions album by Stevie Wonder, We're An American Band from Grand Funk at #6, Deliver the Word by War, Killing Me Softly from Roberta Flack at #8, Long Hard Climb by Helen Reddy and Joe Walsh entered the Top 10 with The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get.




1973:  Jim Croce, who had died less than a month before, didn't get to see one of his biggest hits ("I Got A Name") race up from 76 to 40.








       
                        The Isley Brothers had a Top 10 hit...

1973:  "Half-Breed" from Cher remained #1 but the Allman Brothers Band made a strong bid with "Ramblin' Man", which moved from 7-2.  Marvin Gaye held on with "Let's Get It On" and Stevie Wonder edged up with "Higher Ground".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Angie" from the Rolling Stones, the Isley Brothers with "That Lady", Paul Simon's #2 song "Loves Me Like a Rock" was now at 7, Gladys Knight & the Pips scored their 25th hit and fifth Top 10 with "Midnight Train To Georgia", Eddie Kendricks said "Keep On Truckin'" and Grand Funk fell to the 10th spot with "We're An American Band".







1974:  Ed Sullivan, television host of the popular show which bore his name, died at the age of 73 in New York City.  The show ran from June 20, 1948 to June 6, 1971 on CBS every Sunday night.  He introduced numerous acts to audiences and the show featuring the Beatles on February 9, 1964 is one of the milestones in popular culture, viewed by 73 million people.  







1975:  Simon & Garfunkel reunited for the single "My Little Town", which they released on this date.
1975:  Neil Young had surgery on his vocal chords in Los Angeles.
1977:  Shirley Brickley of Orlons ("The Wah Watusi") was shot and killed by an intruder in her home.  She was 32.
1978:  Led Zeppelin began rehearsing for a new album, which would turn out to be their last, the great In Through the Out Door.
1979:  The Police collected a #1 album in the U.K. with Regatta De Blanc.
1979:  Anne Murray notched her third consecutive #1 Adult Contemporary song as "Broken Hearted Me" took over.


1979:  John Cougar (Mellencamp) appeared on the charts for the first time with his debut single "I Need A Lover".
1979:  The Eagles moved from #52 to #15 in their second week with "Heartache Tonight".









                 M had everybody talking about "Pop Muzik"...

1979:  Michael Jackson had his first #1 in seven years and the second of his career with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".  Herb Alpert was a solid #2 with "Rise" while Robert John fell with "Sad Eyes" after just one week at the top.  The Commodores had a winner with "Sail On" and the former #1 smash "My Sharona" from the Knack was at #5.  The Rest of the Top 10:  Dionne Warwick's 42nd career hit was her first Top 10 in five years--"I'll Never Love This Way Again", M and "Pop Muzik" was #7, Donna Summer was up with "Dim All the Lights", Little River Band had song #9--"Lonesome Loser" and Earth, Wind & Fire closed out the list with "After The Love Has Gone".
1979:  Led Zeppelin's new album In Through the Out Door was #1 for the fifth week in a row.





1980:  Air Supply released their third single--"Every Woman In The World".











1980:  The AC/DC album Back In Black went Platinum. 
1984:  U2 reached #1 in the U.K. with The Unforgettable Fire. 
1984:  Stevie Wonder's song "I Just Called To Say I Love You" took over at the #1 position on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1984:  Wonder also ruled the R&B chart with "I Just Called To Say I Love You".






1984:  And Stevie Wonder made it a trifecta with "I Just Called To Say I Love You", #1 overall.  "Let's Go Crazy" from Prince was dethroned and the Cars were in neutral with "Drive".  Chicago reached #4 with "Hard Habit To Break" and Madonna had song #5--"Lucky Star".  The rest of the Top 10:  Billy Ocean and his first Top 10 song "Caribbean Queen", John Waite was on his way down with "Missing You", Bruce Springsteen's "Cover Me", Sheila E. and "The Glamorous Life" was #9 with Cyndi Lauper in the 10th position with "She Bop".






1984:  The Prince album Purple Rain spent a 15th week at #1.  Born in the U.S.A. from Bruce Springsteen was second, with Tina Turner's Private Dancer, Sports by Huey Lewis & the News and Heartbeat City by the Cars holding their ground.  The rest of the Top 10:  1100 Bel Air Place by Julio Iglesias, Can't Slow Down, still #7 after 49 weeks, Break Out by the Pointer Sisters, "Eddie and the Cruisers" Soundtrack by John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band and Madonna's debut at #10.





1990:  Because of the popularity of the movie Ghost which features the song, the Righteous Brothers went all the way to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Unchained Melody", 25 years after it first was a hit.








1990:  George Michael collected his ninth #1 song and sixth as a solo artist with "Praying For Time".  
1990:  The album Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em by M.C. Hammer remained #1 for a 15th week.
1993:  Wade Flemons of Earth, Wind & Fire died of cancer in Battle Creek, Michigan at age 53.
1995:  In today's Inmates Run Rap Music segment, Tupac Shakur was released from jail after 8 months.







1998:  After years of planning, the Crossroads Centre of Antigua opened.  The project was the dream of Eric Clapton and promised that no one will be turned away that needs treatment for drug or alcohol addiction.
2001:  Peter Doyle of the New Seekers ("I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" and "What Have They Done To My Song Ma") and a solo artist, died of throat cancer in Castlemaine, Australia at the age of 52.
2002:  Las Ketchup reached #1 in the U.K. with "The Ketchup Song", also a #1 song in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Switzerland, Romania, Argentina and Mexico.
2003:  Tickets for the Duran Duran reunion at Kentish Town Forum in London sold out in four minutes.
2004:  Ronald Isley was indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles and charged with five counts of tax evasion for failing to report income from royalties and one count of failing to file an income tax return.  The Internal Revenue Service  had discovered royalty checks deposited to Ronald's account that were issued to his dead brother O'Kelly.  (Note:  some websites report the date of the indictment as October 14, but that was the date the story appeared in newspapers; according to 'Billboard', the indictment was handed down on October 13.
2006:  Justin Hawkins, lead singer of the Darkness, announced he was leaving the group.

2009:  Al Martino, who had 35 hits from 1959 to 1977, including "I Love You Because" and "Spanish Eyes" and starred in The Godfather, died at age 82 in Springfield, Pennsylvania.  
2010:  The great Graham Nash of the Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire medal from Queen Elizabeth of England at Buckingham Palace.
2010:  General Norman Johnson, lead singer of Chairmen of the Board ("Give Me Just a Little More Time") died of lung cancer at age 69.
2011:  The city of Clear Lake, Iowa named Ritchie Valens Drive and J.P. Richardson Avenue to join the existing Buddy Holly Place after the three stars killed in a plane crash following a concert in Clear Lake on February 3, 1959.


Born This Day:

1941:  Paul Simon was born in Newark, New Jersey.










1944:  Robert Lamm, keyboardist with Chicago, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1946:  Dorothy Moore ("Misty Blue" from 1975) was born in Jackson, Mississippi.








1947:  Sammy Hagar, lead singer with Montrose and Van Halen and a solo artist, was born in Monterey, California.









1948:  John Ford Coley, half of the duo Dan & Coley ("I'd Really Love To See You Tonight"), was born in Dallas, Texas.
1948:  Peter David Spencer of Smokie ("If You Think You Know How To Love Me".
1950:  Simon Nicol, founder, singer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist of Fairport Convention and also a record producer, was born in Muswell Hill, London.




1959:  Marie Osmond was born in Ogden, Utah.
1962:  Rob Marche, guitarist of the Jo Boxers ("Just Got Lucky")








1980:  Ashanti was born in Glen Cove, New York. 

This Date in Rock Music History: October 12

1957:  Buddy Holly & the Crickets, the Drifters and Chuck Berry were in concert at the Mission Beach Ballroom in San Diego, California.

1962:  The Beatles opened for Little Richard with Billy J. Kramer also appearing at the Tower Ballroom in Wallasey, Merseyside, England. 

1963:  For the sixth consecutive week, "Blue Velvet" by Bobby Vinton topped the chart.
1963:  Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs first moved into the #1 slot on this date with "Sugar Shack".  
1964:  The 45 "I Feel Fine" by the Beatles had 750,000 advance orders in the U.K. alone.
1965:  The Beatles recorded "This Bird Has Flown", later renamed "Norwegian Wood", with George Harrison on sitar for the first time.  They also recorded "Run for Your Life" in five takes.  Both tracks were recorded at Abbey Road studios and would appear on the Rubber Soul album.
1966:  The Jimi Hendrix Experience was formed in London, with Hendrix, Noel Redding and Mitch Miller combining their talents.
1966:  Sammy Davis, Jr. did a cameo appearance on the popular television series Batman.
1967:  The Doors were in concert at the Surf Club in Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts.
1968:  The Hollies had the top U.K. album with their Greatest Hits package.

1968:  Cheap Thrills by Big Brother & the Holding Company moved into the #1 position on the Album chart.  Waiting for the Sun from the Doors dropped and Feliciano! by Jose Feliciano was #3.  The Rascals were at #4 with Time Peace, their Greatest Hits album, and Glen Campbell moved up to #5 with Gentle On My Mind.  The rest of the Top 10:  In-A-Gadda-Da Vida by Iron Butterfly, containing the memorable title track, Realization by Johnny Rivers, The Time Has Come by the Chambers Brothers moved from 13 to 8, Crown of Creation by Jefferson Airplane entered the Top 10 and the self-titled Steppenwolf was #10.
1968:  "The Fool On The Hill", the remake by Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, spent a sixth week at #1 on the Easy Listening chart.






1968:  A song that sounds every bit as good today as it did when it moved from #54 to #18--"Those Were The Days" by Mary Hopkin.








    
      Another of those great 60's groups--the Grass Roots...

1968:  The count had reached three for weeks at #1 for "Hey Jude" by the Beatles.  Jeannie C. Riley was a distant second with "Harper Valley P.T.A." and "Fire" from the Crazy World of Arthur Brown was third.  O.C. Smith remained at 4 with "Little Green Apples".  The rest of the Top 10:  "Girl Watcher" from the O'Kaysions, the Grass Roots had their biggest song move from 17 to 6--"Midnight Confessions", the Vogues climbed into the Top 10 with "My Special Angel", the Bee Gees were at 8 with "I've Gotta' Get A Message To You", Gary Puckett from Twin Falls, Idaho & the Union Gap moved from 25-9 with "Over You" and Clarence Carter dropped with "Slip Away".
1969:  Russ Gibb, a Detroit, Michigan DJ received a call alerting him that if you play the song "Strawberry Fields Forever", at the very end you hear the words "I buried Paul."  This started a worldwide rumor that Paul McCartney was dead.









1970:  Badfinger released the single "No Matter What" on Apple Records.  (Note:  one naive website claims the song was released November 6.  "No Matter What" debuted on the Singles chart on October 17.  It is physically impossible for a song to be included on the Singles chart if it has not been released as a single.)









1970:  The 5th Dimension released the single "One Less Bell To Answer".
1970:  Promoter Bill Graham auctioned off rock memorabilia, including a guitar that was smashed by Pete Townshend, at the Fillmore East in New York City to benefit peace campaigns.
1971:  Gene Vincent ("A Town Without Pity") died of a perforated ulcer in Newhall, California at age 36.
1974:  The Bay City Rollers' album Rollin' topped the U.K. chart.






   The First Class had this winner from the great year of 1974...

1974:  Olivia Newton-John remained at #1 with "I Honestly Love You".  Billy Preston waited behind with "Nothing From Nothing" while Dionne Warwick & the Spinners came in third with "Then Came You", the First Class was at 4 with "Beach Baby" and Stevie Wonder held strong at #5 with "You Haven't Done Nothin'".  The rest of the Top 10:  Cat Stevens and "Another Saturday Night", Elton John's 15th career hit was on fire--"The Bitch Is Back", which moved from 18 to 7, Blue Swede's remake of the Association classic "Never My Love", "Earache My Eye" by Cheech & Chong was #9 and Bad Company's first big hit was "Can't Get Enough".
1975:  The Eagles performed at the University of Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana.
1975:  The group Faces played their final concert at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York.






1976:  Helen Reddy posted her eighth #1 song and 12th consecutive Top 5 song on the Easy Listening chart with "I Can't Hear You No More".
1978:  Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark debuted at Eric's in Liverpool, England.
1978:  Sid Vicious, bassist and singer with the Sex Pistols, was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.  Vicious died of drugs before his murder trial began.
1979:  The Human League played their last live performance with their original lineup in London.
1979:  Fleetwood Mac released their great double album Tusk.
1982:  The Clash opened for the Who on the first of two nights at Shea Stadium in New York City.









1983:  Don Henley released the single "Dirty Laundry".











1983:  The Carpenters received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1985:  Ricky Wilson of the B-52's died from AIDS at age 32.
1985:  Jennifer Rush owned the #1 song in the U.K. with "The Power of Love".  Celine Dion would enjoy one of her biggest career hits with a remake and Air Supply covered the song as well.
1991:  Metallica kicked off a tour at the Oakland-Alameda County Stadium in Oakland, California.  (Note:  several websites falsely say the tour began September 29 in Peoria, Illinois.  Metallica played in Peoria, but it was October 29, and the tour started 17 days before their Peoria date in Oakland.)
1991:  Simply Red topped the U.K. Album chart with Stars, which would be the top seller in both 1991 and 1992 and go on to spend 134 weeks on the chart.
1991:  Some good albums in here--Use Your Illusion II was #1 with Use Your Illusion I #2, both by Guns N' Roses.  Garth Brooks remained at 3 with one of The Top 15 Albums of the Rock Era*, Ropin' the Wind, Mariah Carey's Emotions was #4 and Metallica's debut remained fifth.  The rest of the Top 10: Bryan Adams debuted at #6 with Waking Up the Neighbours, Natalie Cole was on the way down--Unforgettable With Love, "The Commitments" Soundtrack came in at position #8, Bonnie Raitt remained at #9 with Luck of the Draw and Boyz II Men climbed into the Top 10 with Cooleyhighharmoney.

  
        Color Me Badd with their huge hit "I Adore Mi Amor"...

1991:  "Emotions" became Mariah Carey's fifth consecutive #1 song to begin her career.  "Good Vibrations" from Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch was #2.  Natural Selection's "Do Anything", Color Me Badd with "I Adore Mi Amor" and Karyn White's "Romantic" trailed.  The rest of the Top 10:  "Something To Talk About" by Bonnie Raitt at #6, Extreme's follow-up to "More Than Words"--"Hole Hearted" was #7, Firehouse slowed things down with "Love Of A Lifetime", Boyz II Men were on their way down with "Motownphilly" and Aaron Neville's remake of the Main Ingredient hit "Everybody Plays The Fool" was at #10.
1992:  Ray Conniff, famous band leader and arranger of the Ray Conniff Singers ("Somewhere My Love" and some of the greatest Christmas arrangements ever recorded) died at the age of 85 in Escondido, California after falling and hitting his head.
1994:  On the first night of a planned 15-show series at Earls Court in London, Pink Floyd had to cancel the show.  Less than a minute after they began playing, a scaffolding stand holding 1,200 fans collapsed, throwing people 20 feet to the ground.  96 people were injured and another 36 needed hospital treatment.
1996:  The Chemical Brothers topped the U.K. chart with "Setting Sun".

1996:  Falling Into You by Celine Dion was #1 for the second week on the Album chart.
1996:  "Macarena" spent an 11th week at #1 for Los Del Rio and amazingly, Donna Lewis logged week eight at #2--one of the top #2 songs of the Rock Era.






1997:  Beloved John Denver died at the age of 53 when his small plane crashed into Monterey Bay, California.
1999:  Adrian Young, drummer of No Doubt, proposed to his girlfriend before the group's encore for a show in San Francisco, California.

1999:  The Isle of Man issued six postage stamps honoring the Bee Gees.
2003:  Jose Feliciano sang the U.S. national anthem before a World Series game for the first time in 35 years.  In 1968, Feliciano's slow-moving version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" led some to call for Feliciano to be deported.
2005:  Live Aid co-founder Midge Ure received an honorary degree from the University of Abertay in Dundee, England.
2008:  Dig Out Your Soul, the final studio album from Oasis, rose to #1 in the U.K.
2009:  Dickie Peterson, lead singer and bass guitarist with Blue Cheer ("Summertime Blues") died of cancer in Erkelenz, Germany, at age 63.


Born This Day:
1935:  Sam Moore of the duo Sam & Dave was born in Miami, Florida.

1942:  Melvin Franklin, one of the original members of the great Temptations and the guy with the amazing bass voice, was born in Montgomery, Alabama; died of a brain seizure February 23, 1995 in Los Angeles.
1948:  Rick Parfitt, guitarist for Status Quo, was born in Woking, Susrrey, England.
1955:  Pat DiNizio, lead singer and songwriter of the Smithereens, was born in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.
1966:  Brian Kennedy, an Irish singer who worked with Van Morrison, was born in Belfast, Ireland.
1969:  Martie Maguire, national fiddling champion and multi-instrumentalist of the Dixie Chicks was born in York, Pennsylvania.
1969:  Garfield Bright of Shai

This Date in Rock Music History: October 11