1956: Rock ‘n Roll’s dominance of the UK’s is complete: for the first time, all of the Top 10 singles are those of American artists (although all hits are not quite all rock).
Scotty Moore, Elvis and the Jordanaires onstage at Empire Stadium, August 31, 1957. (Click on image for larger view).
1957: Elvis Presley makes his last concert appearance ever outside the U.S., performing at Canada Empire Stadium in Vancouver before a crowd of 26,000 screaming fans.
1958: Ricky Nelson takes the stage for the first time as a solo rock star, performing at Atlantic City’s Steel Pier for two dates and selling a record 44,000 tickets.
1961: Bob Wooler’s piece about the Beatles in today’s edition of Mersey Beat is the first printed reference given to the still-unknown British group.
1968: The Beatles new single, “Hey Jude,” debuts at No. 10, a record for the Billboard Hot 100 Chart at the time.
1969: After spending three-years supposedly recuperating from a motorcycle accident that temporarily derailed his stardom, Bob Dylan reappears on stage for the first time since 1966, playing the Isle of Wight festival in England with backing by a group simply known as The Band.
1974: The final episode of The Partridge Family airs on ABC-TV.
FBI doc affirming Hoover’s federal bureau’s surveillance on John Lennon in 1972. (Click on image for larger view).
1974: During his deportation battle, John Lennon testifies in court that President Nixon had started the proceedings in order to silence the ex-Beatle for his anti-Vietnam war stance.
1976: Though no one ever claims George Harrison stole the song intentionally, the ex-Beatle is nonetheless found guilty of “subconsciously” lifting several key melodic elements from the Chiffons’ 1963 hit “He’s So Fine” for his 1970 smash “My Sweet Lord.” Harrison, who always maintained he was trying to write something like the Edwin Hawkins Singers’ R&B gospel hit “Oh Happy Day,” would appeal 5 years but eventually be ordered to pay the $587,000. The Chiffons, who never saw royalties from their original hits, head back into the studios to cut a version of. . . . “My Sweet Lord.”
1980: In Beverly Hills, Karen Carpenter marries her first and only husband, real estate developer Thomas Burris.
2009: Patty LaBelle is ordered by the IRS to pay $330,000 in back taxes owed.
Deaths: Joe Barry; 2004. Carl Wayne (The Move) 2004.
Releases: 1968: “Street Fighting Man,” The Rolling Stones. 1974: ‘Goat’s Head Soup,’ (LP); The Rolling Stones.
Charts: 1963: “My Boyfriend’s Back,” The Angels; hits No. 1 n the charts. 1963: “Be My Baby,” The Ronettes; enters the charts. 1968: ‘Fresh Cream,’ (LP)The Cream; enters the LP charts.
Certifications: 1973: “Live And Let Die,” Paul McCartney and Wings; certified gold by the RIAA.
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day. . . . AUGUST 31.
1967: After a two-year bout battling depression and stage-fright, Beach Boy founder and resident genius Brian Wilson returns to playing live with the band.
An Elton John capture in iconic ’70s mod-print colors. (Click on image for larger view).
1970: Singer-songwriter Elton John begins a seventeen-night run at the Los Angeles club The Troubadour, his first US club appearance and a move which will catapult him into pop stardom. On the first night, he is first introduced by labelmate Neil Diamond. Quincy Jones and Leon Russell are in the audience, as is future Eagles member Don Henley. The first’s night show includes John’s first hit “Your Song,” “Take Me To The Pilot” and “Country Comfort.”
1970: Jimi Hendrix throws a party to celebrate the opening of his Electric Lady studios in New York City.
1973: Bobby Darin takes to the stage in what is to be his last concert performance before his death, appearing at the Vegas Hilton.
Helen Reddy in the 1970s.
1973: Butch Trucks, drummer for the Allman Brothers, crashes his car near Macon, Georgia, breaking his leg in the process.
1976: Frankie Avalon’s television summer replacement series, Easy Does It, debuts on the CBS Television Network.
1977: California Governor Jerry Brown appoints singer and long-time environmental activist Helen Reddy to the state’s Park’s Commission.
1989: Chicago Mayor Richard Michael Daley declares today “Pop Staples Day,” in honor of the native musician and leader of the Staple Singers.
1994: Billy Joel is officially divorced from model Christy Brinkley. Their marriage lasted nine years, producing a daughter.
1994: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin reunite in a London studio to record the concert that would become the MTV special Unledded.
Jimmy Buffett recently was in Detroit for a concert at Comerica Park, July 2014.
1994: Jimmy Buffett crashes his seaplane while attempting to take off from Nantucket, Massachusetts. Fortunately, he swims to safety.
2006: Longtime Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton misses his first gig in 24 years after being diagnosed with throat cancer.
2007: While singing his 1968 hit “Fire” on stage in Lewes, England, Arthur Brown catches on fire after wearing his customary tin-foil hat with a small fire burning in the center.
Deaths: Stan Kenton; 1979. Jack Nitzsche; 2000.
Releases: 1973: “Ramblin’ Man,” The Allman Brothers. 1975: “Born To Run,” Bruce Springsteen. 1976: ‘Boston’ (LP), Boston.
Charts:1958: “Little Star,” The Elegants; enters the charts. 1962: “Sherry,” The Four Seasons; enters the charts. 1962: “The Locomotion,” Little Eva; hits No. 1 on the charts. 1973: “Brother Louie,” The Stories; hits No. 1 on the charts.
Certifications: 1964: “A Hard Day’s Night,” The Beatles; certified gold by the RIAA.
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day….
1936:Billboard magazine publishes its very first record sales chart, with the first Number One listed as Joe Venuti’s “Stop! Look! Listen!”
1940: New York radio station W2XDG, broadcasting from the Empire State Building, becomes the first to broadcast with the new Frequency Modulation technology, making it the first FM station in the world licensed by the FCC.
1950:Sam Phillips, a 26-year-old disc jockey, opens his new Memphis Recording Service — later to be immortalized as Sun Studios — in Memphis, TN, at the corner of Union and Marshall streets.
1957: BBC-TV premieres its new musical variety show Cool For Cats.
1959: While on furlough from his Army outfit, Elvis Presley takes his new BMW out for a spin on Germany’s famed Autobahn highway and totals it (fortunately leaving the scene of the accident without a scratch).
1959: For the first time, ABC-TV’s teen dance program American Bandstand leads the US daytime television ratings.
1960:Johnny Cash makes his very first appearance on stage in a prison, singing for the inmates at San Quentin prison in San Rafael, CA, including one Merle Haggard, currently serving a three-year stint for burglary.
1962: The Beatles (still with Pete Best on drums) perform at their very first major-label audition, recording “Like Dreamers Do,”“Money (That’s What I Want),”“Till There Was You,”“The Sheik Of Araby,”“To Know Her Is To Love Her,” “Take Good Care Of My Baby,”“Memphis, Tennessee,”“Sure To Fall (In Love With You),” “Hello Little Girl,”“Three Cool Cats,”“Crying, Waiting, Hoping,” “September In The Rain,”“Besame Mucho,” “Searchin’,” and the lone original song, “Love Of The Loved,” for Decca Records.
Decca A&R man Dick Rowe, in an infamous move, passes on signing them, and instead signs Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, who had also recorded a test session this day. Rowe’s reasoning for his personal decline in signing the lads, as he tells manager Brian Epstein:“Guitar groups are on the way out.”
Jimmy Savile was host to the popular British BBC-TV hit “Top Of The Pops” in 1964 (click image for larger view)
1964: BBC-TV premieres a new musical variety show entitled Top Of The Pops, kicked off by Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want To Be With You,” followed by lip-synced performances from the Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, The Hollies and The Swinging Blue Jeans.
1965: British acts The Zombies, The Nashville Teens, and the Hullabaloos — all currently in the US as part of a package tour — have their work visas denied by the US State Department.
1966: CBS-TV’s Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, a mainstay on television for 14 years, and 12 before that on NBC radio, as well as the launching pad for Ricky Nelson’s stardom, films its very last episode.
1967: The San Francisco chapter of the Hell’s Angels holds the first annual New Year’s Wail, a goodwill concert for the Haight-Ashbury hippies who bailed one of their members out of jail. Musical guests include the Grateful Dead and Big Brother and the Holding Company, featuring Janis Joplin.
Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969(Click image for larger view)
1968: Berkeley, CA rock group The Golliwogs (huh?) makes the momentous decision to change its name to Creedence Clearwater Revival.
1968: According to Billboard magazine, LPs are now outselling 45 rpm singles for the first time.
1972: The annual New Year’s Day Tournament of Roses parade allows its first rock group on a float — in this case, Three Dog Night.
1976:Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant walks for the first time following his horrible car accident in Greece the previous year.
1980:Cliff Richard is honored with an MBE (Member of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II, only the third rocker to be so honored, behind the Beatles and Elton John.
George Harrison, in 2000, pictured here at 57. Harrison succumbs to lung cancer in 2001(click on image for large view)
1987:Elton John is admitted to a hospital in Sydney, Australia, for emergency throat surgery, and is forbidden from performing for four months.
1990: Florida’s WKRL-FM switches to an all-Led Zeppelin format, kicking off the change with 24 straight hours of “Stairway To Heaven.”
1993: Elton John’s new single “The Last Song” hits the Top 40, giving him a unbroken record-setting string of consecutive years with a chart hit — 23, beating out Elvis Presley’s old record of 22.
2000:George Harrison is informed that he will be able to play guitar again following knife injuries to his hand during Michael Abram’s recent home invasion.
2002: At the christening of his daughter, Julie Rose, Eric Clapton surprises the attendees by marrying the mother, Melia McEnery, a woman almost half his age.
2003: Michigan’s first female governor, Jennifer Granholm, is sworn into office, with special guest Aretha Franklin performing the US National Anthem.
Birthdays: 1942:Country Joe McDonald;1950:Morgan Fisher (Mott The Hoople)
Releases: 1956:“Blue Suede Shoes,” Carl Perkins
Recordings: 1964:“Fun, Fun, Fun,” The Beach Boys
Charts: 1955: Joan Weber’s “Let Me Go Lover” hits No. 1 on the charts; 1966: Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sounds Of Silence” hits No. 1 on the charts; 1972: Carole King’s LP Music hits No. 1 on the Billboard LP charts.
Certifications: none
1953:Hank Williams;1984:Alexis Korner;1991:Buck Ram;1997:Townes Van Zandt;2007:Del Reeves
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day . . . .
H A P P Y N E WY E A R2013F R O MM C R F B . C O M!!!
1955:Elvis Presley performs at the B&I Club in Swifton, Arkansas, and introduces his new song, “Heartbreak Hotel,” by claiming “It’s gonna be my first hit.”
1962:Bobby Darin appears as the “mystery guest” on CBS’ What’s My Line show.
1967: The Doors’ Jim Morrison is arrested at a New Haven, CT show for “breach of the peace” and a resultant “resisting arrest” charge. The singer had been mistaken for a fan backstage by a security guard, and in the resulting altercation, he was maced. Morrison went on about the incident onstage during a performance of “Back Door Man” and was arrested.
The Supremes TCBing on an NBC-TV special (along with the Temptations) on December 9, 1968 (Click on image for larger view)
1968: NBC airs the joint Supremes and Temptations television TCB (Takin’ Care Of Business).
1972: An all-star orchestral version of The Who’s Tommy opened at London’s Rainbow Theatre. Advance tickets went for the then-princely sum of $50, but the show itself was a major disappointment, with most of the “actors” floundering (except Who singer Roger Daltrey and Steve Winwood as Tommy’s father). Narrator Pete Townshend, for his part, was observed to be drunk. None of this stopped the cast recording from being recorded and eventually becoming a hit in ’73.
1984 Jackson Victory Tour ticket-stub, Denver, Colorado
1984: The Jacksons’ five-month Victory tour — Michael Jackson’s last group tour — ends after 55 performances in 19 cities.
1991: A long legal battle over the Bob Marley estate ends when the nearly $12 million estate is awarded to his widow, Rita, and her children. In honor of the verdict, son Ziggy names his daughter, who was born that day, Justice Marley.
1992: After more than thirty years, Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman quits the group.
Birthdays: 1906:Freddy Martin. 1934:Junior Wells. 1938:David Houston 1940:Sam Strain (Little Anthony and the Imperials, The O’Jays). 1941:Dan Hicks. 1943: Rick Danko (The Band). 1944:George Baker; Shirley Brickley (The Orlons); Neil Innes (The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, The Rutles). 1957:Donny Osmond.
Releases: 1963: The Supremes; ‘Meet The Supremes (LP).’ 1972:Elton John; “Crocodile Rock.” 1974:George Harrison, ‘Dark Horse’ (LP). 1978:The Blues Brothers; “Soul Man.”
Certifications: 1974:The Who; ‘Odds and Sods’ album is certified gold by the RIAA.
Charts: 1967:Cream; ‘Disraeli Gears’ album enters the LP charts.1972:Helen Reddy; “I Am Woman” hits No. 1 on the charts. 1972:The Moody Blues; ‘Seventh Sojourn’ album hits No. 1 on the LP charts. 1978:Steely Dan; ‘Greatest Hits’ album enters the LP charts. 1978:Chic; “Le Freak” hits No. 1 on the charts.
Deaths: 1981:Sonny Til; (The Orioles).
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day . . . . D E C E M B E R 9
1960: Teen idol Fabian visits Elvis Presley at his Graceland mansion in Memphis. Elvis rips his pants demonstrating his new passion, karate, and Fabian lends him his pair.
1962: Legendary DJ and promoter Alan Freed appears at his payola trial in New York City and testifies to receiving money from labels to play their records on the air. He is found guilty, fined $300, and given six months probation, but the irreparable damage to his career has been done.
Frank Sinatra, Jr. addresses the press after his kidnapping ordeal in 1963 (Click on image for larger view)
1963:Frank Sinatra, Jr. is kidnapped in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and freed three days later after his famous father pays the $240,000 ransom. The three men responsible are eventually caught and incarcerated.
1969: In a Toronto, Canada courtroom, Jimi Hendrix testifies in his trial for possession of hashish and heroin. Claiming to have “outgrown” drugs, the guitarist gives a very detailed history of his drug use. After eight hours, the jury returns a verdict of not guilty.
1975: The benefit concert “A Night of the Hurricane” is held at Madison Square Garden. The last date on Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour, the show features many non-musical celebrities and raises over $100,000 for the release of wrongly imprisoned boxer “Hurricane” Carter and his alleged accomplice. Carter himself calls the stage from jail.
1976:The Carpenters’ Very First Special, featuring guest star John Denver, airs on ABC.
1980: At 11:07 PM EST, former Beatle John Lennon is murdered in New York by a deranged fan just outside the Dakota Hotel, New York City. Lennon was shot in his chest, back and left arm and was pronounced dead thirty minutes later. Earlier that day, the killer had met Lennon outside the Dakota and had him sign a copy of his latest album, Double Fantasy.
Outside his residence at the Dakota, John Lennon signs an autograph on Mark David Chapman’s copy of Double Fantasy, photographed here, just hours before the killer returns later that evening and shoots him dead
1995: Four months after the death of founding member Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead officially announce their breakup.
1998: The FBI opens its 1,300 page file on Frank Sinatra to the public.
2003:Ozzy Osbourne suffers several fractures in his upper body in an ATV accident.
Birthdays: 1921:Johnny Otis. 1925:Sammy Davis, Jr., Jimmy Smith. 1939:Jerry Butler (The Impressions). 1942:Bobby Elliott (The Hollies). 1943:Jim Morrison (The Doors). 1946:Graham Knight (Marmalade). 1947:Gregg Allman (The Allman Brothers Band).
Releases: 1961:The Beach Boys; “Surfin,'” (LP). 1967:The Beatles; Magical Mystery Tour (UK; EP). 1967:Traffic; Mr. Fantasy (LP).
Recording: 1941:Ray Eberle and The Modernaires with The Glenn Miller Orchestra; “Moonlight Cocktail.” 1960:Henry Mancini, “Moon River.” 1966:The Beatles; “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “When I’m Sixty-Four.” 1969:The Beatles, “Octopus’s Garden.”
Charts: 1954:The Drifters; “White Christmas” enters the R&B charts. 1956:Guy Mitchell; “Singing the Blues” hits No. 1 on the charts. 1979:Styx; “Babe” hits No. 1 on the charts.
Deaths: 1980:John Lennon. 1981:Big Walter Horton. 1982:Marty Robbins. 1991:Buck Clayton.
John Lennon was shot to death on this date, December 8, 1980
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day . . . . D E C E M B E R 8
1956: Britain’s Tommy Steele makes his concert debut at Finsbury Park, Astoria, London. Reviews proclaim him “Britain’s answer to Elvis.”
1963: The Beatles appear as panelists on the BBC show Juke Box Jury to rate records. Elvis’ new single, “Kiss Me Quick,” is declared a “hit.”
1964: The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson suffers a nervous breakdown while on a flight from Los Angeles to Houston. He would stop touring with the group soon after.
1966:Nancy Sinatra guest-stars on the CBS TV special Frank Sinatra: A Man & His Music, Part II.
Crosby, Stills and Nash in 1968 (Click on image for larger view)
1967: In Britain’s New Musical Express magazine, the Hollies’ recently-departed Graham Nash announces the formation of Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
1967: The Beatles’ Apple Boutique officially opens its doors at 94 Baker Street in London.
1968: The Animals’ lead singer, Eric Burdon, announces that the group will officially disband after a December 22 concert at Newcastle City Hall. Eric would pursue an ill-fated acting career in California.
1973: Fleetwood Mac’s then-manager, Clifford Davis, claims ownership of the band’s name and assembles a fake version of the group for a national tour.
The Gloved One in 1984 (Click on image for larger view)
1984: In a $5 million plagiarism suit brought against him in Chicago, IL, Michael Jackson testifies that he did not steal his hit “The Girl Is Mine” from an Illinois man. He eventually wins the case.
1987:Bruce Springsteen,Paul Simon, and Judy Collins (among others) appear onstage at Carnegie Hall to pay tribute to Harry Chapin, who would have been celebrating his 45th birthday. That same day, Chapin received a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor (#111) for his work in fighting hunger.
Birthdays: 1911:Louis Prima. 1924:Boyd Bennett, Bent Fabric. 1931:Bobby Osborne (The Osborne Brothers). 1940:Carole Simpson. 1942:Harry Chapin. 1947:Gregg Allman (The Allman Brothers). 1949:Tom Waits.
Releases: None
Recording:1974:Linda Ronstadt, “You’re No Good.”
Certifications: None
Charts: 1957:Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me” hits No. 1 on the charts. 1963:The Singing Nun’s “Dominique” hits No. 1 on the charts. 1974:Carl Douglas’ “Kung Fu Fighting” hits No. 1 on the charts.
Deaths: 1990:Dee Clark.
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day . . . . D E C E M B E R 7
1948: The CBS television show Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts debuts.
1957:Elvis visits radio station WDIA in Memphis and meets two of his idols, Little Junior Parker and Bobby Bland.
“14 Fantastic song hits!”(Click on image for larger view)
1964:The Gerry and the Pacemakers movie “Ferry Cross The Mersey” debuts at the New Victoria Cinema in London.
1968: President Richard Nixon sends out 66,000 signed letters to potential administrative office holders, including Elvis Presley. 1969:Cab Calloway stars in NBC’s “Hallmark Hall of Fame” presentation of The Littlest Angel.
1969: The infamous rock concert known as Altamont, featuring Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and the Rolling Stones, takes place at the speedway of the same name in Altamont, CA.
Headliners the Rolling Stones, who organized the show as a free “thank you” concert, hire Hell’s Angels instead of cops for security, resulting in the deaths of four people in the crowd of 300,000 (including Meredith Hunter, stabbed to death by the Angels).
1970: The Rolling Stones tour documentary Gimme Shelter, featuring footage of the infamous Altamont concert, opens in New York City.
1980:John Lennon mixes Yoko Ono’s “Walking On Thin Ice.” It is the last time he would be in a studio.
Ringo Starr, named endorser for Sun Country wine cooler in 1986 (Click on image for larger view)
1986: Ringo becomes the first Beatle to use his name in an advertisement, for Sun Country wine cooler.
1993: At a video shoot for Travis Tritt’s remake of the Eagles’ “Take It Easy,” the Eagles themselves reunite and decide to reform for new songs and a tour.
1995:Michael Jackson collapses in a New York theater during a rehearsal for an upcoming TV special and is hospitalized.
Releases: 1957:The Diamonds, “The Stroll.” 1963:The Beatles, The First Christmas Record. 1965:The Beatles, “We Can Work It Out” b/w “Day Tripper.” 1965:The Beatles, Rubber Soul (US). 1965:Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, “Going to a Go-Go.”
Recording: 1944:The Count Basie Orchestra, “Red Bank Boogie.” 1965:The Rolling Stones: “19th Nervous Breakdown,” “Mother’s Little Helper.” 1966:The Beatles, “When I’m Sixty-Four.”
Certifications: 1968:The Beatles(aka ‘The White Album’) is certified gold by the RIAA. 1973:Steve Miller’s ‘The Joker’ album is certified gold by the RIAA.
Charts: 1952:The Mills Brothers’ “The Glow-Worm” hits No. 1 on the charts.1969:Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” hits No. 1 on the charts. 1975:Paul Simon’s ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’ hits No. 1 on the LP charts. 1975:Tyrone Davis’ “Turning Point” enters the R&B charts.
1936:Bing Crosby takes over as host of the Kraft Music Hall radio show.
1955: The BMI Annual Awards in New York City score big for R&B, with rhythm and blues songs winning a record eleven awards.
Alan Freed’s Rock! Rock! Rock! theater poster circa 1956 (Click on image for larger view)
1956:The Alan Freed movie Rock! Rock! Rock!, starring Chuck Berry, The Flamingos, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Lavern Baker, and Johnny Burnette premieres in New York City.
1960:Billboard reports that five “answer records” to Elvis Presley’s “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” have been released — four versions of “Yes, I’m Lonesome Tonight” and one “Oh, How I Miss You Tonight.”
1967: The Beatles throw a party to celebrate the opening of the Apple Boutique.
1968:Graham Nash quits the Hollies and within three days forms the “supergroup” Crosby, Stills and Nash.
1968: The Rolling Stones hold a “Beggar’s Banquet” at Elizabeth Rooms, London, to promote their release of the new album with the same name. The “banquet” ends with a pie fight.
1976:Elvis Presley falls onstage at a show in Las Vegas and sprains his ankle.
Yoko and John, photographed in November 1980 by Allan Tannebaum, the month before his death (Click on image for larger view)
1980:John Lennon gives what would be his last interview, with Rolling Stone‘s Jonathan Cott.
2002:Elton John guest stars on NBC’s Will and Grace.
2003: Original Elvis Presley guitarist Scotty Moore undergoes surgery to repair a subdural hematoma.
Birthdays: 1899:Sonny Boy Williamson (II).1922:Don Robertson. 1935:Little Richard. 1936:Chad Mitchell (The Chad Mitchell Trio).1938: J. J. Cale. 1943:Mike Smith (The Dave Clark Five).1946:Andy Kim.1947:Jim Messina (formerly of Buffalo Springfield; Poco; Loggins and Messina).
Releases: None
Recording: None
Certifications: 1975:The ‘Fleetwood Mac’ LP is certified gold by the RIAA. 1975: Earth, Wind and Fire’s ‘Gratitude’ LP is certified gold by the RIAA.
Charts: 1964:Lorne Greene’s “Ringo” hits #1 on the charts. 1964:The Zombies’ “She’s Not There” enters the pop charts.1964:The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” enters the pop charts.
Deaths (Updated): December 5, 2012: Today, legendary jazz great Dave Brubeck. (See our MCRFB news brief, posted 12/05/12: ‘Dave Brubeck Dead at 91′).
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day . . . . D E C E M B E R 5
1927: Duke Ellington’s new, larger big band opens Harlem’s legendary Cotton Club.
1956:Elvis Presley visits the Sun recording studio with his companion, Marilyn Evans, a showgirl from Las Vegas, interrupting a Carl Perkins session that featured Jerry Lee Lewis on piano. Fellow labelmate Johnny Cash also arrives and the four begin running through an impromptu jam on a series of songs they all know (mainly spirituals). Producer Sam Phillips records what would become famously known as the “Million Dollar Quartet” sessions, although they don’t get released to the public officially until the early Eighties.
Elvis Presley’s 1957 Christmas album (Click on image for larger view)
1957: Because of the furor created by Elvis Presley’s recently released Christmas album, radio station CKWS in Kingston, Ontario plays the album in its entirety, opening the phones to public comment. Most listeners approve of the album.
1965:Jacques Brel makes his American debut in concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
1969: President Richard Nixon, Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew, and forty US governors view “simulated acid trip” films and listen to rock music in order to comprehend the generation gap.
1980:Led Zeppelin officially disbands following the death by misadventure of drummer John Bonham due to excessive alcohol intake.
1988:Roy Orbison gives what would prove to be his last concert, in (Highland Heights) Akron, Ohio. He dies two days later.
Roy Orbison in the 1980s
Birthdays: 1915: Eddie Heywood, Jr. 1940:Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon. 1942:Chris Hillman (The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Byrds), Bob Mosley (Moby Grape). 1944:Dennis Wilson (The Beach Boys). 1948:Southside Johnny. 1951:Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd; The Rossington-Collins Band).
Releases: 1961: Gene Chandler, “Duke Of Earl.” 1964:The Beatles, ‘Beatles For Sale’ (LP).
Recording: 1934:Ethel Merman, “I Get a Kick Out of You.”
Certifications: 1969:The ‘Santana’ album is certified gold. 1970:Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper and Steven Stills’ ‘Supersession’ album is certified gold. 1972:Billy Paul’s “Me and Mrs. Jones” is certified gold. 1975:KISS’ ‘Alive! ‘ album is certified goldby the RIAA.
Charts: 1954:The Chordettes’ “Mr. Sandman” hits #1 on the charts. 1965:The Byrds’ “Turn! Turn! Turn!” hits #1 on the charts. 1965:The Kinks’ “A Well Respected Man” enters the pop charts. 1965:The Knickerbockers’ “Lies” enters the pop charts. 1971:Sly and the Family Stone’s “Family Affair” hits #1 on the charts.
Deaths: 1976:Tommy Bolin (Deep Purple; The James Gang). 1993:Frank Zappa.
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day . . . . D E C E M B E R 4
From the MCRFB music calendar:
