From the MCRFB music calendar:
Events on this date: JUNE 20
1966: Capitol Records executives made the decision to replace the original “butcher cover” of the US album Yesterday And Today — which featured the Fab Four posing with decapitated dolls and raw meat, to the horror of Beatles fans and record retailers — with a more tranquil, traditional band pose for their new LP.
1968: At Hollywood’s Western Recorder, Elvis Presley records the song, “Nothingville,” “Let Yourself Go,” Guitar Man,” and “Big Boss Man.” He will use these as guides for his upcoming NBC prime-time “comeback” television special.
1969: Northridge, California host the Newport Rock Festival, featuring Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Rascals, Ike & Tina Turner, Steppenwolf, Joe Cocker, Jethro Tull and Jimi Hendrix, whose $125,000 fee is the highest ever paid to a rock act for one show.
1972: The Tallahatchie Bridge in Sidon, Mississippi, made famous by Bobbi Gentry’s “Ode To Billie Joe,” collapses. Today, motorists uses the newer bridge on County Road 512 to cross over the river.
1973: American Bandstand airs it’s 20th anniversary special on ABC-TV, featuring Little Richard, Paul Revere & The Raiders, Three Dog Night, Johnny Mathis, Annette Funicello, and Cheech and Chong. The special also features the first appearance of his many huge “all- star” rock jams.
1981: A disco medley of oldies hits called “Stars On 45” hits No. 1 in the U.S., becoming a national phenomenon. The medley, which originated in Dutch dance clubs, begins with re-creations of the Shocking Blue’s “Venus,” and The Archies’ “Sugar Sugar,” before segueing into an expert mimic of early Beatles hits.
1983: Twang king guitarist Duane Eddy performs his first concert in fifteen years with a show in San Francisco.
1987: Teddy Pendergrass marries his first and only wife, Karen Still.
1994: Beatles fans learn that the three surviving members of the group are working on a “new” song for their upcoming Anthology projects, as they overdub themselves onto a 1970s John Lennon demo-song titled, “Free As A Bird.”
1995: A Los Angeles judge ruled that the Kingsmen, and not their label Scepter, are sole owners of their 1963 smash hit, “Louie Louie,” and are entitled to royalties due the band (from the record label) the court ruled in the final judgment.
2004: Paul McCartney plays his 3,000 professional concert, performing in the Palace Square in St. Petersburg, Russia.
2008: Surrey University in England awarded Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page an honorary Doctorate in Music.
Deaths: Bruce Tate, The Penguins; 1973. Lawrence Payton, The Four Tops; 1994. Claydes Charles Smith, Kool & The Gang; 2006.
Releases: Bob Dylan with The Band, “Before The Flood,” 1974.
Recordings: 1955: The Four Lads, “Moments To Remember.” 1962: Ricky Nelson, “Teenage Idol.” 1967: The Buckinghams, “Susan” and “Hey Baby They’re Playing Our Song.” 1968: Beatles, “Revolution 9.” 1969: David Bowie, “Space Oddity.”
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day…. JUNE 20.
