Category: Flashback Pop Music

From the MCRFB music calendar:

Events on this date: DECEMBER 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1925: George Gershwin premieres his “Concerto In F,” the first jazz concerto for piano and orchestra, at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. Gershwin is also the featured soloist on flugelhorn.

1960: The Lerner and Loewe play Camelot, featuring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews, opens at the Majestic Theatre in New York City.

1961: The Beatles meet Brian Epstein for the first time, at his Liverpool record store, NEMS. Later, at six that afternoon, they meet again to discuss Brian’s management of the group.

1965: Keith Richards is electrocuted and knocked unconscious during a Rolling Stones concert in Sacramento, CA.

1966: Having been convicted of heroin and marijuana possession, Ray Charles is given a five-year suspended sentence and fined $10,000.

1966: The Monkees make their stage debut in Honolulu, HI.

1967: The Supremes guest star on “Tennessee” Ernie Ford’s TV special.

1968: Elvis Presley’s “comeback” TV special airs on NBC. Sponsored by the Singer Sewing Machine Company, the special also features a taped, semi-unplugged performance given earlier at Burbank Studios before a live audience. This was Elvis’ first appearance before a live audience since 1961.

1969: John Lennon is asked to play the title role in the rock opera Jesus Christ, Superstar, but the offer is withdrawn the next day.

1976: A 40-foot inflatable pig being photographed at Battersea Power Station outside of London for the cover of Pink Floyd’s Animals album breaks its moorings and drifts toward the east, reaching a height of 18,000 feet before coming down in Kent.

1976: Seven gunman fire shots into Bob Marley’s house in Kingston, Jamaica, where he and his band, the Wailers, are in rehearsal. Marley and his wife Rita are hit, as are an unidentified friend and Wailers manager Don Taylor. No one is seriously hurt, however, and while the assailants are never caught, Marley and his band perform as scheduled two nights later.

1977: After a record 29 weeks at #1 on Billboard‘s album chart, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours is replaced by Linda Ronstadt’s Simple Dreams LP.

1979: Before the Who concert this evening at Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum, eleven people are trampled to death and dozens are injured in a rush for “festival” (i.e., unreserved) seating. The resulting controversy (and lawsuits) force promoters to rethink the practice.

1980: Photographer Annie Leibovitz takes the last known photos of John Lennon and Yoko Ono together at their apartment in New York’s Dakota building.

1988: Carole King and Gerry Goffin receive a Lifetime Achievement award from the US National Academy of Songwriters.

1991: Legendary DJ and promoter Alan Freed is awarded a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

 

Birthdays: 1907: Connee Boswell. 1927: Ferlin Husky. 1928: Andy Williams. 1931: Jaye P. Morgan. 1940: John Cale (Velvet Underground). 1945: Paul Nicholas. 1948: Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath). 1949: Mickey Thomas (Jefferson Starship).

Releases: 1965: The Beatles; Rubber Soul (UK). 1973: Ringo Starr; “You’re Sixteen.”

Recording: 1944: Frank Sinatra; “Old Man River.”

Certifications: 1968: The O’Kaysions’ “Girl Watcher” is certified gold by the RIAA. 1968: The Grass Roots’ “Midnight Confessions” is certified gold by the RIAA. 1968: The Crazy World of Arthur Brown’s “Fire” is certified gold by the RIAA. 1968: Aretha Franklin’s ‘Aretha Now’ LP is certified gold by the RIAA. 1968: Iron Butterfly’s ‘In-a-Gadda-da-Vida’ LP is certified gold by the RIAA. 1968: Cream’s ‘Fresh Cream’ LP is certified gold by the RIAA.

Charts: 1960: Elvis Presley’s “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” hits #1 on the charts. 1966: The New Vaudeville Band’s “Winchester Cathedral” hits #1 on the charts. 1966: Paul Revere and The Raiders’ “Good Thing” enters the pop charts. 1977: Linda Ronstadt’s ‘Simple Dreams’ album hits #1 on the LP charts.

Deaths: none

 

 

 

 

 

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    3

From the MCRFB music calendar:

Events on this date: OCTOBER 13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1957: CBS television (see YouTube “The Edsel Show”, below) presents a star-studded new musical variety special sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, featuring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and the Four Preps all singing praises of… the Ford Edsel, a new model which would soon be considered the standard by which all automobiles flops are measured.

1962: At London’s Prince of Wales Theater, the Everly Brothers’ Don Everly collapses from exhaustion during rehearsal for the duo’s upcoming tour of the U. K. Brother Phil continues the tour alone.

1963: Beatlemania begins in earnest as the Beatles appears on the popular BBC television show Sunday Night At The Palladium, performing “She Loves You,” “From Me To You,” “I’ll Get You,” and “Twist And Shout.” 15 million people in the U. K. alone watch the live performance on television, while thousands of fans pack Argyll street to catch a glimpse of the group.

1968: Ex-Supreme Florence Ballard gives birth to premature twin daughters, Michelle and Nicole.

1970: The ashes of Janis Joplin are scattered into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Stinson Beach in California.

1975: Neil Young undergoes throat surgery in Los Angeles to remove a growth from his vocal cords.

1990: In a move that stuns his longtime fans, Bob Dylan is invited to perform at the West Point Military Academy. Oddly, he take the opportunity to perform his scathing anti-war attack “Masters Of War”; even more strangely, a cadre of cadets turn his protest song “Blowin’ In The Wind” into a choral unified singalong.

2000: The Eagles’ Don Henley is sued by a fan who claims the singer bashed her on the head with a pair of maracas after she tried to take his picture at a concert in Arkansas.

2001: Country legend Merle Haggard, who has a history of heart disease, cancels the remainder of his U. S. tour after complaining of tightness in his chest.

2004: The US Internal Revenue Service charges Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers with five counts of tax evasion for failing to report income from 1997 through 2002. Exactly one year later to the day, he goes on trial in Los Angeles for the charges and is sentenced to three years in prison.

 

Deaths: Ed Sullivan; 1974. Shirley Brickley (Orlons); 1977. Wade Flemons (Earth, Wind and Fire); 1993. Craig Atkinson (Count Five); 1998. Peter Doyle (New Seekers); 2001.

Releases: “American Pie,” Don McLean; 1971.

Recording: “Problems,” Everly Brothers; 1958. “Drive My Car,” Beatles; 1965. “My Generation,” The Who; 1965. “Julia,” Beatles; 1968.

Charts: 1958: ‘Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely,’ (LP) Frank Sinatra; hits No. 1 on the LP charts. 1973: ‘Goat’s Head,’ Rolling Stones; hits No. 1 on the LP charts. 1979: “Don’t Stop ‘Til You get Enough,” Michael Jackson; hits No. 1 on the charts.

Certification: 1971: “Go Away Little Girl,” Donny Osmond; certified gold by the RIAA.

 

And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day….

From the MCRFB music calendar:

Events on this date: SEPTEMBER 21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1957: Elvis Presley’s longtime guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black leave the King’s band, dissatisfied over being denied pay raises by manager Colonel Tom Parker. Drummer D. J. Fontana stays on.

1962: A year and a half before the Beatles break in the United States, the Springfields’ “Silver Threads And Golden Needles” becomes the first British song to reach the top 20 in the U.S. Later, member Dusty Springfield would have several more solo hits of her own.

1965: Having signed with Beatles manager Brian Epstein, the Moody Blues play their first major gig , as part of the manager’s “Evening Of Popular Music” at Royal Albert Hall in London. Other acts include Manfred Mann, the Kinks, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames.

1968: Janis Joplin announces her upcoming departure from her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, which observant listeners had decried as too amateurish for her talents.

 1980: Bob Marley, who had refused treatment for spreading melanoma due to his religious beliefs, collapses while jogging in New York’s Central Park and is hospitalized. Two nights later he performs the next date on his North American Tour, the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, but sadly it proves to be his last.

1980: Elton John leaves longtime label MCA and signs with David Geffen’s new label by signing a six-year contract.

1986: The US Department of Health and Human Services honors Dionne Warwick for “exceptional services as a leading health ambassador” in fighting the spread of AIDS.

1991: The Status Quo band (1968 hit: “Pictures Of Matchstick Men”) set a world record when they play four separate British arenas in one 11-hour period.

1999: While being searched at London’s Heathrow Airport, Diana Ross allegedly assaults the security guard in question and is detained for five hours.

2004: Cat Stevens, known as Yusaf Islam since the late Seventies, is stopped from entering the US after his name is erroneously found on a terrorist watch list.

 

Deaths: 1998: Oz Bach (Spanky and our Gang).

Releases: 1968: “All Along The Watchtower,” Jimi Hendrix. 1974: “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

Recording: NONE for this date —

Charts: 1955: “Only You,” The Platters; enters the charts. 1959: “Sleep Walk,” Santo and Johnny; hits No. 1 on the charts. 1963: “Blue Velvet,” Bobby Vinton; hit No. 1 on the charts. 1968: “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” Jeannie C. Riley; hits No. 1 on the charts. 1974: “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe,” Barry White; hits No. 1 on the charts.

Certifications: 1971: “Another Day,” “Admiral Halsey,” Paul McCartney; certified gold by the RIAA. 1976: ‘Children Of The World,’ (LP) Bee Gees; is certified gold by the RIAA.

 

 

 

 

 

And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day….

From the MCRFB music calendar:

Events on this date: AUGUST 15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1956: “Colonel” Tom Parker, actually a dutch immigrant who merely played at being a Southern “aristocrat,” became “special adviser” to Elvis Presley, effectively taking over management duties from Bob Neal, who knew managing the King was about to become a full-time job.

1958: Buddy Holly marries Maria Elena Santiago, a former receptionist at his music publishing company, at a private ceremony held at Holly’s boyhood home in Lubbock, Texas.

1964: After the massive success of the Beatles first film, A Hard Day’s Night by United Artists, Warner Bros. sign up the Dave Clark Five to a film project entitled Catch Us If You Can (which was released in the United States as Having A Wild Weekend).

1965: At 8 PM EST, the Beatles take the stage at Shea Stadium in New York City, marking the very first time a rock band would headline a stadium concert and a major promotion victory for Sid Bernstein, who had arranged the concert after his gamble of booking the then-unknown British band at Carnegie Hall had paid off. Tickets for the show, sold merely by word-of-mouth created by kids who asked Bernstein about the next Beatles show while he strolled through Central Park, sold out in just three weeks, beating the stadium’s old seating record with 56,000 seats sold. Two thousand professionals were pressed into service for security. The concert, filmed for the BBC and the NBC Television Network, also featured openers Brenda Holloway, The King Curtis Band, and Bernstein’s new obsession, The Young Rascals.

1969: Promising “three days of peace, love, and music,” The Woodstock Music and Art Fair begins on Max Yasgur’s sixty-acre farm in Bethel, New York (nearby Woodstock being the original location). Featuring two dozen of the country’s hottest bands, the festival draws over 450,000 hippies to the tiny town, causing unimaginable traffic and logistic problems, but nevertheless impressing the ordinary citizens. Three deaths, two births, four miscarriages, and a wedding are all reported prior as Jimi Hendrix ends the festivities with his legendary rendition of the US national anthem. Also appearing were (in part) Joe Cocker, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Santana, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Canned Heat, Joan Baez, Melanie, Ten Years After, Sly and the Family Stone, Johnny Winter, The Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Skankar, Country Joe and the Fish, Blood, Sweat and Tears, and Arlo Guthrie. Among those who elected not to attend were Tommy James and The Shondells, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Jethro Tull, and the Moody Blues.

1973: Baltimore, Maryland declares today “Cass Elliot Day” in honor of the native singer for the Mamas and The Papas.

1980: George Harrison’s acclaimed autobiography I Me Mine — the first book by any Beatle — hits the bookshelves all over the UK and the United States.

1980: John Lennon enters the Record Plant Studios in New York to record his “comeback” album, Double Fantasy. 

1996: A New York women’s shelter refuses to take money raised by a recent benefit concert when they learn that one of the performers was James Brown, more often than not, accused of emotional and physical abuse towards women.

2007: The Osmonds reunite for the first time in over two decades to perform their 50th anniversary concert for PBS Television.

 

Deaths: Thomas Wayne; 1971. Norman Petty; 1984. Jackie Edwards; 1992.

Releases: NONE for this date.

Recording: 1966: “If I Were A Carpenter,” Bobby Darin. 1968: “Rocky Raccoon,” The Beatles. 1969: “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” “The End,” “Something,” “Here Comes The Sun,” The Beatles.

Charts: 1953: “No Other Love,” Perry Como; hits No. 1 on the charts. 1960: “It’s Now Or Never,” Elvis Presley; hits No. 1 on the charts. 1964: “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime,” Dean Martin; hits No. 1 on the charts. 1970: “Looking Out My Back Door,” Creedence Clearwater Revival; enters the charts.

Certifications: 1969: ‘Three Dog Night,” self-titled LP; certified gold by the RIAA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day….

From the MCRFB music calendar:

Events on this date: JULY 27

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1958: A study by Esso Oil (formerly Standard Oil, eventually Exxon) finds that drivers speed more and therefore waste more gas when listening to the new fad of rock and roll music blaring over the car radio.

1968: A riot erupts at Chicago’s Grant Park after Sly and the Family Stone fail to appear for a free concert.

1969: Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees purportedly collapses from “nervous exhaustion” just as the group is about to embark on their first U.S. tour, but its actually a ruse designed to hasten his exit from the group.

1974: After 23 years, Dinah Shorr leaves the NBC-TV network when it cancels her morning program Dinah’s Place in order to concentrate on games shows.

1976: John Lennon ends his four-year battle to stay in the United States, as a special government hearing grants him a US immigration department green card (Number A-17-597-321).

1976: Bruce Springsteen’s meteoric rise is stalled when he sues his manager Mike Appel for fraud and breach of contract, keeping him from performing and recording over a year.

1976: After years of alleged physical and verbal abuse, and having been left over the Fourth of July holiday with nothing but pocket change and a gas station credit card, Tina Turner files for divorce from her husband of sixteen-years, Ike.

1979: A firebomb destroys Alice Cooper’s Indian art store in Scottsdale, AZ., causing $200,000 worth of damages to, among other things, some of Cooper’s gold records. The singer jokes that perhaps “a disco music freak” torched the place, as Alice has gone on the record as being boisterous about not liking the new music trend.

1992: Michael Jackson sues the London tabloid Daily Mirror over claims that too many plastic surgeries has left him permanently disfigured.

1994: Bob Seger serves jury duty in Michigan and, as the foreman in a criminal trial, finds the defendant guilty as charged.

 

Deaths: Bobby Day; 1990. Leon Wilkeson (Lynyrd Skynyrd); 2001. John Entwistle (the Who); 2002.

Releases:  “Sleepwalk,” Santo & Johnny; 1959. “People Got To Be Free,” The Rascals; 1968. “Dream A Little Dream Of Me,” Mama Cass Elliot; 1968. “Sweet Home Alabama,” Lynyrd Skynyrd; 1974.

Recording: “Why Don’t You Do Right,” Peggy Lee; 1942. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” The Tokens; 1961.

Charts:  1955: “Maybelline,” Chuck Berry; enters the charts. 1957: “Mr. Lee,” The Bobbettes; enters the charts. 1974: “Annie’s Song,” John Denver; hits No. 1. on the charts.

Certifications: None for this date.

 

 

 

 

And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day….

From the MCRFB music calendar:

Events on this date: JULY 20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1940: Billboard magazine publishes their first combined record sales chart, ranking the hits of all major labels. Sitting atop the ten entries is Tommy Dorsey’s “I’ll Never Smile Again,” by lead singer Frank Sinatra.

1954: Taking their name from their local hit recording of “Blue Moon Over Kentucky,” Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore, and Bill Black perform a concert as the Blue Moon Boys on the back of a flatbed truck outside the grand opening of a Memphis drugstore.

1961: British paper Mersey Beat announces that the Beatles — or rather, the Beat Brothers, as they were then known — have just signed their first recording contract. Not with Capitol, but with famed German producer Bert Kaempfert.

1963: The Beatles nab their first UK No. 1 LP with Please Please Me.

1965: Frank Sinatra leaves his hand prints in cement outside Hollywood landmark Grauman’s Chinese Theater at 6925 Hollywood Blvd.

1968: Aware of Paul McCartney’s various affairs, his fiancee, Jane Asher, announces on the BBC program Dee Time that she has broken off her engagement with the Beatle: “I haven’t broken it off, but it is broken off, finished… I know it sounds corny, but we still see each other, and love each other, but it hasn’t worked out. Perhaps we’ll be childhood sweethearts and meet again, and get married when we’re around seventy.” Paul, watching at home, is reportedly surprised, but rumors has been swirling for months, so perhaps not.

1970: The Carpenters appear as guest bachelor and bachelorette on ABC-TV’s The Dating Game show.

1975: Steven Van Zandt makes his first appearance in concert with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

1986: Carlos Santana celebrates his 39th birthday, as well as the 20th anniversary of his band, by playing a concert in San Francisco featuring all 17 original members of his group.

 

Deaths: Roy Hamilton; 1969.

Releases: “Judy’s Turn To Cry,” Lesley Gore; 1963. “I’ll Cry Instead,” “And I Lover Her,” The Beatles; 1964. “Do You Believe In Magic,” Lovin’ Spoonful; 1965. “Like A Rolling Stone,” Bob Dylan; 1965.

Recording: “I’m In Love Again,” “Midnight Special,” Paul McCartney; 1987.

Charts: 1963: “Surf City,” Jan and Dean; hits No. 1 on the charts. 1968: “Grazing In The Grass,” Hugh Masekela; hits No. 1 on the charts. 1968: “In The Gada-Da-Vida,” Iron Butterfly; enters the charts.

Certifications: 1963: “Concert In Rhythm,” “Memories Are Made Of This,” Ray Conniff Singers; are both certified gold.

 

 

 

 

And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day….

 

From the MCRFB music calendar:

Events on this date: June 29

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1957: The  government of Iran officially bans rock and roll after declaring Western rock dancing is “harmful to health.” The ban would stay in place until the 1990s.

1959: Dick Clark announces his first series of four “Caravan Of Stars” concerts over a course of the coming year, for 1960, with his first being headlined by the Skyliners of “Since I Don’t Have You” fame.

1966: Neil Diamond makes his first television appearance on ABC-TV’s American Bandstand, performing his first Bang Records charted hit, “Cherry, Cherry.”

1967: Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones is sentenced to three months in jail and lead singer Mick Jagger to a full year after a raid of Richards’ home in February turned up cannibus residue. After a public outpouring of sympathy, including an essay in the London Times defending the pair (“Who Breaks A Butterfly Upon A Wheel?” July 1, 1967), Richards’ charges are dropped and Jagger’s’ sentenced is reduced to probation.

1967: While on tour with the Hollies, Graham Nash writes a song called, “Marrakash Express,” which will later find itself as a hit with his new band in 1969, Crosby, Stills and Nash.

1969: The Jimi Hendrix Experience perform their last gig together at the Denver Pop Festival.

1970: NBC-TV presents the Liza Minnelli special Liza, also starring songwriters Anthony Newley, Jimmy Webb, and Randy Newman.

1973: Deep Purple “Mark II,” the most famous incarnation of the band, comes to an end after tonight’s show in Osaka, Japan, with lead singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover abruptly leaving the group.

1975: Elton John appears onstage with the Doobie Brothers in Oakland, California for an impromptu duet on the Doobie’s hit, “Listen To The Music.”

1976: The Memphis City Council votes to change Elvis’ home street, Highway 51 South,  to Elvis Presley Boulevard.

1978: While driving with his girlfriend in the Bahamas, Peter Frampton crashes his car and severely injures himself, breaking his left arm, cracking several ribs, causing a concussion, and cutting short his rise to superstardom as he mends his injuries in a local hospital for months.

1985: New York’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum fetches a record $2,229,000 for John Lennon’s “Roller,” a 1965 Rolls Royce Phantom V painted with groovy psychedelic colors by Apple associates The Fool.

1988: Brenda Richie, wife of Lionel Richie, is arrested for assault after allegedly striking her husband after finding him in bed with another woman. She is later released on $5,000 bail.

1998: George Harrison shocks the world when he announces that he is undergoing chemotherapy for throat cancer, assuring his fans that he’s fine and that “I’m not going to die on you folks just yet.” Harrison would succumb to the disease three years later.

2000: The casket holding Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer Ronnie Van Zandt is stolen from it’s mausoleum in Jacksonville, Florida, but vandals left it after they were unable to open it; band member Steve Gaines ashes are spilled from its urn, which was stolen.

 

Deaths: 1969: Shorty Long.

Releases: 1959: “A Big Hunk O’ Love,” Elvis Presley. 1963: “(You’re The) Devil In Disguise,” Elvis Presley. 1968: “A Saucerful Of Secrets,” Pink Floyd. 

Recordings: 1956: “Just Walking In The Rain,” Johnny Ray. 1957: “Peggy Sue,” Buddy Holly. 1966: “Double Trouble,” “I Love Only One Girl,” “It Won’t Be Long,” “Long Legged Girl,” Elvis Presley.

1968: Live studio performances for “68 Comeback Special”; Elvis Presley: Heartbreak Hotel,” “Hound Dog,” “One Night (With You),” “All Shook Up,” “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Love Me Tender,” and seven more Elvis greats….

1968: “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” Donovan; enters the charts. 1974: “Sundown,” Gordon Lightfoot; hits No. 1 on the charts.

Certifications: None.

 

 

 

And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day….

From the MCRFB music calendar:

Events on this date: JUNE 28

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1957: Jerry Lee Lewis makes his U.S. television debut, performing “Whole Lot Of Shakin’ Goin’ On” on the Steve Allen Show, on NBC-TV, achieving superstar status for his appearance on the show.

1965: Dick Clark’s latest rock and roll variety show, Where The Action Is, premieres on ABC-TV, featuring performances by Jan and Dean, Dee Dee Sharp, and Linda Scott, and also introduces a new house band by the name, Paul Revere & The Raiders. Meanwhile, over on CBS-TV, influential New York DJ Murry The K’s variety special It’s What’s Happening, Baby! features performances by the Supremes, The Ronettes, The Temptations, Martha and The Vandellas, The Righteous Brothers, The Drifters, The Miracles, Tom Jones, The Dave Clark Five, Patti Labelle & The Bluebells, and Gary Lewis & The Playboys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X_Hxem1mkw

1968: At NBC studios in Hollywood, Elvis Presley tapes the “gospel medley” portion of his “68 Comeback” special, as well as a controversial “bordello” scene that was never broadcast: NBC television censors had no objections, but the sponsor, Singer Sewing Machines, didn’t want to upset the viewers, objecting instead.

1968: Aretha Franklin is featured on the cover of Time magazine, under a banner headed ‘The Sound Of Soul.’

1973: Helen Reddy begins her own NBC-TV “summer replacement” series called, naturally enough, The Helen Reddy Show.

1973: Following it’s highly successful “Fifties Revival” oldies show the year before, Madison Square Garden holds a British Invasion-themed version, featuring Gerry and The Pacemakers, Herman’s Hermits, The Searchers, and Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders.

1975: Tim Buckley gives what is to be his last concert in Dallas, tragically overdosing on heroine and morphine and found dead the following day.

1980: Roy Orbison begins an amazing Eighties comeback by making the country music charts with “That Lovin’ You Feeling Again,” with EmmyLou Harris.

1988: Berry Gordy sells Motown to MCA for $61 million, effectively ending the golden era of independent ownership.

1993: Wilson Pickett pleads guilty to drunk driving in New Jersey after hitting a pedestrian in April of the previous year. He is sentenced to a year in jail and five years probation, a well as a $5,000 fine and 200 hours of community service.

1997: George Harrison secretly undergoes surgery to have a cancerous lump removed from his throat. Although it turns out to be benign, the ex-Beatle will eventually succumb to the disease in 2001.

 

Deaths: None.

Releases: 1969: ‘Crosby, Stills & Nash,’ LP; Crosby, Stills & Nash. 1969: “Sweet Caroline,” Neil Diamond. 1972: “Obscured By Clouds,” Pink Floyd. 1975: “Fame,” David Bowie. 

Recordings: 1962: “Up On The Roof,” The Drifters. 1966: “There’s So Much World To See,” Elvis Presley. 1968: “Good Night,” The Beatles (White Album).

Charts: 1969: “Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet,” Henry Mancini; hits No. 1 on the charts. 1975: ‘One Of These Nights,’ Eagles; LP hits No. 1.

Certifications: 1968: “A Beautiful Morning,” Rascals; certified gold by the RIAA.

 

 

 

 

And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day . . . .  J  U  N  E   2  8

 

From the MCRFB news archives:

Events on this date: JUNE 27

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959: West Side Story closes on Broadway after a record 732 performances.

1959: Paul Anka, Frankie Avalon, and Eddie “Kookie” Byrnes are the musical guests on ABC-TV’s variety show Coke Time With Eddie Fisher.

1963: Brenda Lee signs a million-dollar contract with Decca Records.

1968: As part of his filming of his “68 Comeback” special, Elvis Presley and his band tape an informal jam session on center stage at NBC-TV’s Studio 4, a performance many consider his best of all time. However, Presley’s manager “Colonel” Tom Parker, unhappy with the direction of the show, withholds all tickets to the performance, forcing staffers to run into a nearby Bob’s Big Boy restaurant (4211 W. Riverside Drive, Burbank), and informs all patrons they are more than welcome to attend the Elvis Presley telecast, first come, first served. Two shows, one in the afternoon and the other in the evening, are performed.

1970: The UK band Smile, having recently changed their name, performs for the first time as Queen, playing the Truro City Hall in Cornwall, England.

1970: With their latest single, “The Love You Save,” The Jackson 5 becomes the first-ever group to score three consecutive No. 1 hits. They’d soon make it four straight with “I’ll Be There.”

1971: Legendary rock promoter Bill Graham closes the Fillmore East, the New York version of his legendary San Francisco “rock ballroom.” The Allman Brothers, The Edgar Winter Group, The Beach Boys, Country Joe McDonald are on the bill for the final show.

1976: After years of fighting deportation from a government that objected to his professed radicalism, John Lennon finally gets his “green card” allowing him to stay in the United States.

 

1978: Kansas, the band, is named the first musical Ambassadors of Goodwill by UNICEF.

1989: Tom Jones is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame at 6608 Hollywood Blvd., in Los Angeles.

1989: The Who perform their rock opera Tommy for the first time in it’s entirety since 1972, performing for charity at the Radio City Music Hall in NYC.

1991: At the Liverpool Cathedral, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra perform Paul McCartney’s first classical composition, Liverpool Oratorio.

1991: Carlos Santana is arrested in Houston after airport security finds marijuana in his luggage.

1998: Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray and Bryan Adams become the first three honorees to be awarded a star on Canada’s new Walk Of Fame on Toronto’s King Street.

2000: The Rolling Stones are found in copyright of Robert Johnson’s “Love In Vain” and “Stop Breaking Down,” both of which the Stones had covered and incorrectly labeled as in the public domain.

2001: Cat Stevens is given a cash settlement by members of the Flaming Lips after they acknowledge their song “Flight Test” is similar to Stevens’ 1970 song Father And Son.”

 

Deaths: 2002: John Entwistle; The Who. 2008: Raymond LeFevre. 2009: Gale Storm. 2009: Fayette Pinkney; The Three Degrees.

Recordings: 1949: “Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Gene Autry. 1961: “Candy Man,” Roy Orbison. 1963: “Bad To Me,” Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas. 1968: “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey,” The Beatles.

Releases: 1964: “The Little Old Lady from Pasadena,” Jan and Dean. 

Charts: 1960: “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,” Connie Francis; hits No. 1. 1964: “A World Without Love,” Peter and Gordon; Hits No. 1. 1964: “Under The Boardwalk,” The Drifters; enters the charts. 1970: “The Love You Save,” Jackson 4; hits No. 15

Certifications: 1962: ZZ Top’s LP ‘Fandango!’ is certified gold by the RIAA.

 

 

 

 

And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day…. JUNE 27.

From the MCRFB music calender:

Events on this date: JUNE 26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1954: Sam Phillips, head of Sun Records, calls a young singer named Elvis Presley, who had recorded a few songs earlier in the year, to ask him to record two songs, “Without You” and “Rag Mop.” He sings the first, attempting to match the demo made by an unknown artist hanging around the studio, but it proves too much for him, and, according to Dave marsh’s book Elvis, beats the walls of the studio shouting, “I Hate Him! I Hate Him!” The singer, whom Elvis could not match is lost to history. Phillips mollifies the young Elvis by asking him to sing something else, and Presley impresses him anyway, to the point he makes plans to set the singer up to record with musicians for a future date.

1955: Decca Records, home to Bill Haley & The Comets, announces that the group has hold three million records in the past year, due mostly to “Rock Around The Clock” and “Shake, Rattle And Roll.”

1961: The Marcels make their U.S. television debut, performing “Blue Moon” on ABC-TV’s American Bandstand.

1963: After a Beatles performance at the Majestic Ballroom, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England, John Lennon and Paul McCartney writes “She Loves You” in their hotel room, originally an answer song of sorts to the 1963 Bobby Rydell hit, “Forget Him.”

1971: WNEW-FM in New York becomes the first radio station in the nation to play Don McLean’s new single, “American Pie,” which it features in it’s 8:36 entirety.

1973: Model and singer Marsha Hunt, inspiration for the song, “Brown Sugar,” names Mick Jagger in a paternity suit, claiming the band’s lead fathered her two-year old daughter, Karis. That same day, Stone guitarist Keith Richard is busted, along with girlfriend Anita Pallenberg, in his home in his Chelsea home for possession of heroin, pharmaceutical drugs, guns, and ammo.

1975: Cher’s divorce from Sonny Bono is final, leaving her free to marry Greg Allman of the Allman Brothers just four days later.

1977: Elvis Presley performs what would be his last concert, performing at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana, before a crowd of 18,000 fans. Although by this time Elvis appears weak, pale, and overweight (as he had with increasing regularity), there is nothing to suggest his impending death — indeed, there is nothing unusual about this show on the tour, except that Elvis for some reason introduces practically everyone who had been connected with his life while on stage. Some take this as “proof” that Elvis knew he was in his final days; others maintain that The King was worried about the imminent-publication of Elvis: What Happened?, a tell-all biography by former bodyguards Sonny and Red West that publicly broke the story of his drug abuse, and what those revelations might do to his image. The last song he performs onstage is “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” Footage from the final concert is taken but has not been widely seen since; the audio portion can be heard on the LP The Last Farewell (released on CD as Adios: The Final Performance, A.J. Records CD 92-2002). Elvis Presley’s father, Vernon, will pass away two years later to the day of his son’s last concert date.

1982: Roxy Music leader Bryan Ferry marries his first wife, model Lucy Helmore. The same day, Marie Osmond marries her first husband, Brigham Young University basketball player Steve Craig.

1993: Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers marries his first wife, R&B singer Angela Winbush of Angele and Renee 1980s R&B hits fame.

 

Releases: 1964: “It’s All Over Now,” The Rolling Stones. 1965: “I Want Candy,” The Strangeloves; enters the charts. 1965: “Mr. Tambourine Man,” The Byrds; hits No. 1 on the charts.

Certifications: 1975: “The Hustle,” Van McCoy; certified gold by the RIAA.

 

 

 

 

And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day…. JUNE 26.