Thanks Tony, not so much effort nowadays, new source helps a lot but not as so reliable. Anyway here goes another week...
Week In Review
May 5, 2011
You Be Ilyich … Waits Gets Lay's … Page's Puff Piece
1824, one of the world's best-loved pieces of music, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, is performed for the first time …
1891, romantic era rocker Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky (or Пётр Ильич Чайковский as he is known to his friends) conducts his Coronation March at the grand opening of Andrew Carnegie's new Music Hall, which will become Carnegie Hall … the concert takes place just two days before Tchaikovsky's 51st birthday … on his birthday, he conducts his Suite No. 3 at the Music Hall …
1911, Robert Johnson is born in Hazelhurst, Mississippi … probably the most influential bluesman to emerge in the 20th century; his songs and riffs have become a foundation for the genre …
1937, blues legend John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson cuts his first tracks at the Aurora Studios in Aurora, Illinois, including "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" …
1944, country singer Jimmie Davis becomes governor of Louisiana … his most famous composition, "You Are My Sunshine," will become the state song …
1958, The Coasters' single "Yakety Yak," featuring a disaffected, back-talkin' teen's lament, is released … though six of the group's novelty tunes will land in the Top Ten, this will be their only #1 hit …
1960, Neil Sedaka's "Stairway to Heaven" peaks at #9 on the Billboard pop chart … the teen-romance ditty has nothing whatever to do with Led Zep's later hit of the same name, which apparently has a lot to do with Randy California's "Taurus" …
1963, The Rolling Stones cut their first 45, a cover of a Chuck Berry obscurity "Come On" … producer Quincy Jones learns that Phil Spector is planning to cover Lesley Gore's teen-angst single "It's My Party" with a version by the Crystals … he rushes the Gore 45 to stores just two days after cutting the track … and it will be Quincy's party for decades to come … perhaps Spector should have covered "Jailhouse Rock" instead … it would certainly suit his current surroundings …
1965, while toying with a newly acquired fuzz box in a Florida hotel room, Keith Richards comes up with the riff that will later become the hook in "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" …
1968, proto-supergroup Buffalo Springfield (named after a tractor), the band that spawned the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Jim Messina, and Richie Furay, calls it quits … The Springfield ends due to creative clashes between its most fiery personalities, Stills and Young, while the band's most easy-going member, Richie Furay, who simply wants to be a pop star, will never reach the level of fame of his former bandmates … Stills will find mega-fame in Crosby, Stills & Nash; Jim Messina will team up with Furay to form Poco, which doesn't make as big a splash as Messina will when he ditches Poco and joins Kenny Loggins for a stellar run as Loggins & Messina; and Neil Young will go on to become … well, Neil Young … eventually Furay will find his peace as a pastor at the Calvary Chapel in Broomfield, Colorado, while maintaining a solo career …
1969, at the invitation of First Daughter Tricia Nixon, the Turtles perform at Tricky Dick's White House … singer Mark Volman is so happy to be there he reportedly falls off the stage five times … legend has it that the band spent the night smoking spliffs in the Lincoln Bedroom …
1972, in an apparent effort to show that famous entertainers can be interested in something beside themselves, Warren Beatty brings together 30 artists, including Michelle Phillips, Mama Cass, Judy Collins, Goldie Hawn, and Jack Nicholson, for a series of 12 benefits underwriting George McGovern's bid for the presidency … despite their best efforts, the nation re-elects Nixon, the man who admittedly targeted rock music, only to have him resign in shame facing impeachment halfway through his term … like Neil said, "Rock and roll will never die" … unfortunately, neither will corrupt politicians …
1973, Paul Simon starts his first solo tour following his divorce from Art Garfunkel …
1981, reggae star Bob Marley succumbs to cancer …
1990, Tom Waits is awarded 2.3 million bucks by a jury in a suit against Frito-Lay, who brazenly ripped off Waits' vocal and songwriting style for a Doritos ad … the decision will be appealed and wind up at an appeals court in January 1993, where Frito-Lay will finally be forced to cough up the money …
1991, Ozzy Osbourne wins a court case in which a couple of Macon, Georgia, parents blamed their son's suicide on Ozzy's music … Bushwick Bill of the rap group The Geto Boys takes a bullet in the face from his girlfriend … the 4-1/2 foot-tall rapper winds up losing his eye after threatening the woman's three-month-old son, then handing her a loaded .22, saying he wants to die …
1994, Tupac Shakur goes to jail for a couple weeks as a result of his 1993 attack on Allen Hughes, the director of the movie Menace II Society in which Shakur had a part … the rapper was cut from the production …
1995, B.B. King, Jimmie Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and Robert Cray reunite to play a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan in the late guitar slinger's hometown of Austin, Texas … all five had appeared with SRV at his last show on August 26, 1990, just before he took that fateful helicopter ride …
1998, in perhaps the most unlikely pairing since Hendrix opened for the Monkees, Jimmy Page duets on Saturday Night Live with rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs … the pair perform "Come With Me," featuring a sampled guitar riff from Zep's "Kashmir" …
2000, a federal appeals court gives Michael Bolton the thumbs down when he tries to weasel out of a $5.4 million jury award levied against him for ripping off the Isley Brothers' "Love is a Wonderful Thing" in his song of the same name …
2006, after holding out for three years, Red Hot Chili Peppers agrees to post its catalog on the iTunes website … the deal includes the band's latest 28-song double CD, Stadium Arcadium that can be downloaded for $19.90 … after spending 736 weeks on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon enjoys another 759 weeks on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart … that adds up to a staggering 1,500 weeks total … the nearest competitor is Bob Marley's Legend … but it's years behind, having notched a mere 845 weeks … Keith Richards undergoes surgery in New Zealand for a head injury sustained while scaling a palm tree in Fiji trying to retrieve coconuts …
2007, indie label Kill Rock Stars issues a two-disc compilation of mostly unreleased material by the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith … titled New Moon, the CD set includes tracks recorded between 1994 and 1997 … Smith's body bearing two stab wounds was discovered at his L.A. home in October 2003 … although the cause of death was widely reported as suicide, the coroner never established that … it's official: British band New Order, which arose from the ashes of post-punk band Joy Division in the early 1980s, is breaking up according to a web posting by the group's bass player … Sammy Hagar reaps a cool $80 million when he sells off his majority interest in the Cabo Wabo tequila brand to Campari/Skyy Spirits … that should keep his margarita glass well salted …
2009, the album Playing for Change debuts at #10 on the Billboard album chart … the record is the work of L.A. engineer Mark Johnson, who spent four years circling the globe with a digital recording rig, capturing performances of classic tunes like Bob Marley's "One Love" by street musicians … back in the studio, Johnson edited the performances together to create seamless songs that took YouTube by storm followed by a theatrically released documentary … TV producer Norman Lear, who saw the doc at the Tribeca Film Festival, is impressed enough to release the CD through his Concord Music Group … Bob Dylan is spotted on a public tour of John Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool that's now a museum to the late Beatle … a staff member recalls that Dylan "seemed to enjoy his visit, really poring over the books and photos; [he] found the kitchen fascinating, commenting that it reminded him of his own upbringing" … Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell tears a calf muscle mid-set in Atlanta … recalling the injury Farrell says "It felt like a knot exploded and went in two directions, like a rubber band" … like a trooper, Farrell finishes the set before having his leg examined … "There was this hot male nurse, and my wife came along—it was pretty kinky. We should've shot a porn" … Farrell acknowledges he's blown off his doctor's orders by getting rid of the prescribed crutches, "But I am following his advice and taking all the great meds!" … and in other medically related news this week, Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan is successfully operated on for a malignant bladder tumor … the surgery interrupts the band's months-long European stadium tour that is set to resume June 8 …
Arrivals:
May 5: bluesman Blind Willie McTell of "Statesboro Blues" fame (1901), R&B-soul-pop singer Johnnie Taylor (1938), country singing star Tammy Wynette (1942), Bill Ward of Black Sabbath (1948), British folk singer-guitarist-songwriter Martin Simpson (1953), Kevin Mooney of Adam and the Ants (1962), Kevin James LaBrie of Dream Theater (1963), R&B-pop singer Chris Brown (1989)
May 6: Chicago bluesman Eddie C. Campbell (1939), Herb Cox of the Cleftones (1939), Mungo Jerry keyboardist Colin Earl (1942), singer-songwriter-guitarist Bob Seger (1945), Robbie McIntosh of Average White Band (1950), Davey Johnstone of Elton John's band (1951), John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants (1960), Mark Bryan of Hootie and the Blowfish (1967)
May 7: composer Johannes Brahms (1833), composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840), jazz/pop singer Teresa Brewer (1931), Beatles' publicist Derek Taylor (1932), Motown singer Jimmy Ruffin (1939), Johnny Maestro of The Crests (1939), Jerry Nolan of The New York Dolls (1946), Bill Dannoff of Starland Vocal Band (1946), Whitesnake axeman Bernie Marsden (1951), film composer and Art Of Noise founder Anne Dudley, born Anne Jennifer Beckingham (1956), guitarist Marty Wilson-Piper of The Church (1958), Motörhead's Phil Campbell (1961)
May 8: jazz pianist Mary Lou Willams (1910), blues legend Robert Johnson (1911), Top 40 radio format pioneer Todd Storz (1924), teen idol turned singer-songwriter Ricky Nelson (1940), Toni Tennille of the Captain and Tennille (1940), blue-eyed soul, Cajun swamp pop, and bubble-gum pop performer John Fred (1941), Paul Samwell-Smith of The Yardbirds (1943), Chris Frantz of Talking Heads (1951), Phillip Bailey of Earth Wind & Fire (1951), Billy Burnette of Fleetwood Mac (1953), drummer and brother of Eddie, Alex Van Halen (1953), Dave Rowntree of Blur (1964), Savage Garden's Darren Hayes (1972), Latino pop star Enrique Iglesias (1975
May 9: country singer Hank Snow (1914), Nokie Edwards of The Ventures (1935), Dave Prater of Sam and Dave (1937), Sonny Curtis of The Crickets (1937), Pete Birrell of Freddie and The Dreamers (1941), pop singer Tommy Roe (1942), Richie Furay of Buffalo Springfield and Poco (1944), Blood, Sweat and Tears' Steve Katz (1945), piano man Billy Joel (1949), Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode (1962), Paul Heaton of The Housemartins (1962)
May 10: dancer-singer Fred Astaire (1899), country pioneer "Mother" Maybelle Carter (1909), session guitarist Bert Weedon (1920), Cliff Goldsmith of The Olympics (1925), New Orleans singer Larry Williams (1935), soul singer Arthur Alexander (1940), Texas rockabilly figure "Groovy" Joe Poovey (1941), Danny Rapp of Danny & The Juniors (1941), Donovan born Donovan Phillips Leitch (1946), Graham Goldman of 10cc (1946), Traffic's Dave Mason (1947), prolific reggae drummer Sly Dunbar (1952), Sid Vicious, born John Simon Ritchie (1957), Bono, born Paul Hewson (1960), Young MC, born Marvin Young (1967), Jason Dalyrimple of Soul for Real (1980)
May 11: songwriter Irving Berlin (1888), British blues diva Beryl Bryden (1920), record exec Ewart Abner, born Edward Gladstone Abner Jr. (1923), Kit Lambert, manager of The Who (1935), jazz pianist-composer Carla Bley (1938), Eric Burdon of The Animals and War (1941), Les Chadwick of Gerry and the Pacemakers (1943), Arnie Satin of The Dovells, born Arnold Harris Silver (1945), Art of Noise's Jonathan Jeczalik (1955)
Departures:
May 5: Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, reggae producer and owner of Studio One record label (2004), zydeco pioneer Boozoo Chavis (2001), Chicago blues singer Andrew Tibbs (1991), Ralph Garone, singer with The Bob Knight Four (1986), Clarence Quick, singer with The Del-Vikings (1985), blues and gospel singer-guitarist Reverend Gary Davis (1972)
May 6: Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Ean Evans (2009), Chicago harp player Carey Bell (2007), Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens (2006), jazz pianist Hilton Ruiz (2006), jazz guitarist Barney Kessel (2004), Otis Blackwell, writer of "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up" (2002), Clarence Paul of The "5" Royales (1995), Skatalites leader Don Drummond (1969)
May 7: country singer Eddie Rabbit (1998), Alphonso Howell of The Sensations (1998), Pacific Gas and Electric singer Charles Allen (1990)
May 8: country star Eddie Arnold (2008), Phil Spector's chief engineer Larry Levine (2008), Abbey Road cover photographer Iain Macmillan (2006), jazz yodeler Leon Thomas (1999), Ronald Koal of Ronald Koal and the Trillionaires (1993), pianist Rudolf Serkin (1991), disco record exec Neil Bogart (1982), English R&B trailblazer Graham Bond (1974)
May 9: guitarist Stephen Bruton (2009), blues harpist Lester Butler (1998), cowboy-chic tailor Nudie Cohn (1984)
May 10: jazz pianist John Hicks (2006), Colombian singer Soraya (2006), songwriter Shel Silverstein (1999), confidante to the stars and Astral Studios mogul Burnetta "Bunny" Jones (1998)
May 11: original Rush drummer John Rutsey (2008), Philadelphia International artist and producer John Whitehead (2004), Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding (2003), Chess Records singer-guitarist Danny Overbea (1994), reggae legend Bob Marley (1981), banjo star Lester Flatt (1979)
Re:Chas's Music Column - Bumber December Issue W/E 15th, 22nd & 29thr
Week In Review
May 19, 2011
Sonny Boy Shuffles Off … Clinton Funks SNL … Head Head Sues Crist …
1951, "Sixty Minute Man," a risque song by the Dominoes becomes one of the first up-tempo R&B singles to cross over to the pop chart when it lands at #17 …
1954, Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" is released but will not be successful until 1955 when it is featured on the soundtrack of the movie Blackboard Jungle … Robert Allen Zimmerman who will achieve fame as Bob Dylan celebrates his bar mitzvah …
1955, Ruth Brown's signature song "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean" is banned in Britain by the BBC on the grounds that it might encourage wife beaters … Chuck Berry records his first single, "Ida Red" … during the session Leonard Chess, who is producing, wants a name change … the new name is "Maybellene," inspired by a Chess secretary's makeup case …
1956, upon his return to England following a U.S. tour, bandleader Ted Heath observes: "Rock 'n' roll is mainly performed by colored people for colored people and is therefore unlikely to prove popular in Britain" …
1958, it's a big week for R&B as The Clovers sign with Poplar Records after seven years with Atlantic, The Drifter's classic "Drip Drop" is released, and Jerry Butler & the Impressions make their recording debut with "For Your Precious Love" … Jerry Lee Lewis is in England for a debut tour there, but it will be canceled after only three performances when the British press reports that Lewis has just married his 14-year-old cousin …
1960, before launching his solo career Ben E. King cuts his final two singles with The Drifters … they are "I Count the Tears," which tops out at #17, and "Save The Last Dance For Me," which will score big by going all the way to the top of the pop and R&B charts …
1964, a Shreveport, LA, radio station proclaims Elvis Presley Week … they feature a Presley song every hour and give away Presley albums and singles … all in a failed attempt to counter all the attention being given to The Beatles … Jamaican singer Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop" charts for the first time … playing harmonica on the recording is an unknown British singer named Rod Stewart … the tune registers strongly because of its infectious ska-like rhythm …
1965, blues harp great Sonny Boy Williamson dies in Helena, Arkansas … born Aleck Ford Miller aka Rice Miller … although an accomplished harp player, singer, and songwriter in his own right, Aleck appropriated the name of another harp player, John "Sonny Boy" Williamson of Chicago, who during the 1940s had more visibility due to a series of records issued on Bluebird … in time, Sonny Boy II (as some would designate him) established his own reputation both as the host of the long-running King Biscuit Time radio show out of Helena, Arkanasas, as well as through a series of well-received records on the Trumpet and Chess record labels … some of Aleck's more notable songs had sly lyrics punctuated by his laconic vocals and powerful harp style. These included "Don't Start Me Talkin'," "Your Funeral and My Trial," "One Way Out," and the suggestively titled "Fattenin' Frogs for Snakes" … along with Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, he exerted a huge influence on many blues rockers who followed in his footsteps … in Great Britain, "You Really Got Me" takes on new meaning for the Kinks … upon finishing the aforementioned song at Cardiff's Capitol Theater, Dave Davies insults Mick Avory and kicks over his drum kit as revenge for a drunken fight the previous night in Taunton, apparently won by Mick … the normally mild-mannered Avory responds by giving Davies a thorough bashing about the head and ears with his hi-hat pedal … Davies is knocked unconscious, requiring 16 stitches to fix the kinks in his melon … Avory flees, hiding out for days to avoid arrest for Grievous Bodily Harm … to placate the police, the drummer later claims that it's all part of a new act in which band members would bludgeon each other with their instruments …
1966, The Byrd's single "Eight Miles High" is banned by some radio stations because of the lyrics' alleged drug references …
1967, Jimi Hendrix signs with Reprise Records, his first recording deal with a major American company … from the One Hit Wonders Department, Australia's Easybeats reach number 16 on the U.S. charts with their fidgety "Friday On My Mind" … the band is led by founder/guitarist George Young, who must have greatly influenced his younger brothers Malcolm and Angus … although the Easybeats had bigger hits Down Under, the success of "Friday" in the States seemed to signal their downfall due to management hassles, personnel changes, and yes, dope …
1968, John Lennon and Yoko Ono make a home tape that is later released with the title Two Virgins … the album has the two of them sans clothing on the cover … adding to the air of scandal, John's wife Cynthia returns home this same day to find the pair in bed, Yoko wearing her nightshirt … John and Yoko will flee to Montreal where they will begin their infamous 10-day "bed-in" two days later …
1970, The Grateful Dead play at the Hollywood Rock Festival in England … it is their first concert outside of the United States …
1979, Eric Clapton and Patti Boyd are married … Boyd's marriage to Clapton's friend George Harrison ended in 1977 … often portrayed as a muse to both musicians, Boyd inspired Clapton to write "Layla" about his unrequited love for Boyd, and later "Wonderful Tonight" once they were together … three of The Beatles—Paul, Ringo, and George—are joined by Mick Jagger for a performance at the reception … it is the first time since their '69 breakup that the three have played together … Tom Petty files for bankruptcy protection … the move in part arises out of a dispute with his record label …
1981, George Harrison's "All Those Years Ago," a tribute to John Lennon who died a year before, charts for the first time … Ringo Starr and Paul and Linda McCartney are also on the recording …
1986, Funkmeister George Clinton is the musical guest on NBC's Saturday Night Live … he jams on "Take It To The Stage" and "Do Fries Go With That Shake" … Clinton's New Orleans revue-meets-Robert Heinlein stage show was influenced by Sun Ra, who, with his Arkestra, appeared on SNL in 1978 performing "Space is the Place" and "Space-Loneliness" …
1992, bidding a musical adieu to Johnny Carson, Bette Midler appears on the late-night host's final Tonight Show telecast serenading him with "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)"...
2004, during a humanitarian African tour the Canadian band Sum 41 is overrun by the Congo's ongoing civil war obliging the rockers to hide out in a hotel bathroom near the Rwandan border … after seven hours they make their escape in a tank … in a bizarre appearance at a New Hampshire casino, singer-songwriter Jewel frequently interrupts her set with long diatribes dissing the audience, her fat fans, and rambling on about the drugs Zoloft and Paxil … after the show, pissed-off former fans scream obscenities as the tour bus departs the venue …
2006, Madonna opens her Confessions world tour in Los Angeles … tickets are sold out in minutes in North America, Europe, and Asia, resulting in new dates being added … the tour will gross more than $260 million—the biggest take in history by a female artist …
2007, a reconstituted Smashing Pumpkins plays their first show in seven years—an epic three-hour affair in Paris that features many songs from the new album Zeitgeist … after switching to a talk-radio format in 2006, New York's K-Rock reverts to playing modern rock … the first song played is Nirvana's "All Apologies"...this move is mirrored across the country with major stations that had abandoned the rock format switching back … Linkin Park provides a shot in the arm to what has so far been a dismal year for record sales … the band moves 623,000 copies of its Minutes to Midnight album and moves to the head of the Top 40 chart … 79-year-old Fats Domino plays his first gig since Hurricane Katrina struck the Big Easy … his 30-minute set at Tipitina's reprises all his big hits including "I'm Walkin'" and "Blueberry Hill" …
2008, Steven Tyler checks into a Pasadena clinic to deal with substance abuse … The Grateful Dead donate thousands of artifacts to the University of California at Santa Cruz for a planned Dead research center … at a press conference announcing the gift, Dead drummer Mickey Hart jokingly warns curators not to lick any envelopes or touch the stuff without gloves …
2010, David Byrne is suing the governor of Florida, alleging that he used the Talking Heads' 1985 single "Road to Nowhere" without permission or proper licenses … Byrne is seeking $1 million in damages from Gov. Charlie Crist, who's also Florida's former attorney general, and his senatorial campaign for use of the song earlier this year in a website and YouTube ad attacking his then-Republican primary opponent, Marco Rubio … Crist has since changed his campaign and is running as an independent candidate …
Arrivals:
May 19: UK pop star Alma Cogan (1932), The Who's Pete Townshend (1945), Phil Rudd of AC/DC (1946), Blood, Sweat and Tears saxophonist Gregory Herbert (1947), T-Rex bass player Steve Currie (1947), ZZ Top's Joseph Michael "Dusty" Hill (1949), Joey Ramone (1951), Grace Jones (1952), Heaven 17's Martyn Ware (1956), Iain Harvie of Del Amitri (1962), Jenny Berggren of Ace of Base (1972)
May 20: Vic Ames of the Ames Brothers (1926), Ink Spots singer and solo pianist Shorty Long (1940), Jill Jackson aka Paula of Paul and Paula (1942), Joe Cocker (1944), Cher, born Cherilyn Sarkisian La Pier (1946), Jimmie Henderson of Black Oak Arkansas (1954), The Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin (1958), Susan Cowsill of the Cowsills (1960), Haircut 100's Nick Heyward (1961), Tom Gorman of Belly (1966), Busta Rhymes (1972), Naturi Naughton of 3LW (1984)
May 21: pianist-composer Thomas "Fats" Waller (1904), Tejano pioneer Lydia Mendoza (1916), King Records producer-songwriter Henry Glover (1921), Ronald Isley of The Isley Brothers (1941), Vincent Crane of Atomic Rooster (1943), Hilton Valentine of The Animals (1943), Bill Champlin of Chicago (1947)
May 22: composer Richard Wagner (1813), Jimmy Keyes, first tenor with The Chords (1930), Jackie Landry of The Chantels (1941), lyricist and Elton John collaborator, Bernie Taupin (1950), (Steven Patrick) Morrissey of The Smiths (1959), Jesse Valenzuela of The Gin Blossoms (1962), singer-songwriter Johnny Gill of New Edition (1966), Dan Roberts of Crash Test Dummies (1967)
May 23: Vee-Jay Records founder-songwriter James Bracken (1908), singer-dancer Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers (1910), jazz clarinetist-composer-bandleader Artie Shaw (1910), avant-garde jazz keyboardist Sun Ra, born Herman Blount (1914), R&B songwriter Robert "Bumps" Blackwell (1918), flashy R&B singer Billy Wright (1918), bluesman Arthur Gunter (1926), singer-actress Rosemary Clooney (1928), synth pioneer Robert Moog (1934), Jim Mankey of Concrete Blond (1955), Phil Selway of Radiohead (1967), R&B artist Maxwell, born Gerald Maxwell Rivera (1972), singer-songwriter Jewel Kilcher (1974)
May 24: novelty tunesmith Nervous Norvus, born James Drake (1912), Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman (1941), Derek Quinn of Freddie & the Dreamers (1942), R&B and soul singer Patti LaBelle (1942), Sarah Dash of Labelle (1942), Steve Upton of Wishbone Ash (1946), Albert Bouchard of Blue Oyster Cult (1947), singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash (1955), rapper Heavy D, born Dwight Myers (1967), Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes (1969), country wunderkind Billy Gilman (1988)
May 25: record store founder "Waxie Maxie" Silverman (1910), avant-garde composer-percussionist Moondog, born Louis Thomas Hardin (1916), Buddy Holly's producer Norman Petty (1927), R&B singer Donnie Elbert (1936), Levon Helm of The Band (1942), Ray Innes of The Swinging Blue Jeans (1942), country music artist Jessi Colter, born Miriam Johnson Eddy (1943), John "Poli" Palmer of Family (1943), Garry Peterson of The Guess Who (1945), Mitch Margo of The Tokens (1947), Klaus Meine of The Scorpions (1948), Stevie Nicks (1948), Hank Williams Jr. (1949), Verden Allen of Mott the Hoople (1949), mod/punk singer-songwriter Paul Weller (1958), rocker Lenny Kravitz (1964), singer-rapper-songwriter Lauryn Hill (1975)
Departures:
May 19: blues singer Arnold "Gatemouth" Moore (2004), jazz singer Susannah McCorkle (2001), gospel and soul singer Odia Coates (1991), tenor sax master Coleman Hawkins (1969), composer Charles Ives (1954)
May 20: Italian orchestra leader Renato Carosone (2001), session guitarist Michael Ferrell (2000), harp player Willie Foster (2001), music publisher David Platz (1994), Rudy Lewis, vocalist with The Drifters (1964)
May 21: Nicholas Dante, co-author of A Chorus Line (1991), music industry entrepreneur Morris Levy (1990)
May 22: voice actor-singer Thurl Ravenscroft
May 23: folk singer Utah Phillips (2008), Jimmy Fernandez, bassist with God Machine (1994), jazz guitarist Joe Pass (1994), Craig Pike, bassist for Iggy Pop (1992), Will Sin of the Scottish synth band The Shamen, born William Sinnot (1991), jazz and blues pianist Lloyd Glenn (1985)
May 24: Wilco singer-songwriter Jay Bennett (2009), Gene Clark of The Byrds (1991), Duke Ellington (1974), slide guitar ace Elmore James (1967)
May 25: album photographer David Gahr (2008), Bradley Nowell, lead singer and guitarist of Sublime (1996), Franco-American bebopper Barney Wilen (1996), funk and jazz guitarist Eric Gale (1994), surf rock musician-songwriter-music producer Gary Usher (1990), New Orleans R&B star Roy Brown (1981), bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson, AKA Aleck Ford "Rice" Miller (1965)
May 19, 2011
Sonny Boy Shuffles Off … Clinton Funks SNL … Head Head Sues Crist …
1951, "Sixty Minute Man," a risque song by the Dominoes becomes one of the first up-tempo R&B singles to cross over to the pop chart when it lands at #17 …
1954, Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" is released but will not be successful until 1955 when it is featured on the soundtrack of the movie Blackboard Jungle … Robert Allen Zimmerman who will achieve fame as Bob Dylan celebrates his bar mitzvah …
1955, Ruth Brown's signature song "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean" is banned in Britain by the BBC on the grounds that it might encourage wife beaters … Chuck Berry records his first single, "Ida Red" … during the session Leonard Chess, who is producing, wants a name change … the new name is "Maybellene," inspired by a Chess secretary's makeup case …
1956, upon his return to England following a U.S. tour, bandleader Ted Heath observes: "Rock 'n' roll is mainly performed by colored people for colored people and is therefore unlikely to prove popular in Britain" …
1958, it's a big week for R&B as The Clovers sign with Poplar Records after seven years with Atlantic, The Drifter's classic "Drip Drop" is released, and Jerry Butler & the Impressions make their recording debut with "For Your Precious Love" … Jerry Lee Lewis is in England for a debut tour there, but it will be canceled after only three performances when the British press reports that Lewis has just married his 14-year-old cousin …
1960, before launching his solo career Ben E. King cuts his final two singles with The Drifters … they are "I Count the Tears," which tops out at #17, and "Save The Last Dance For Me," which will score big by going all the way to the top of the pop and R&B charts …
1964, a Shreveport, LA, radio station proclaims Elvis Presley Week … they feature a Presley song every hour and give away Presley albums and singles … all in a failed attempt to counter all the attention being given to The Beatles … Jamaican singer Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop" charts for the first time … playing harmonica on the recording is an unknown British singer named Rod Stewart … the tune registers strongly because of its infectious ska-like rhythm …
1965, blues harp great Sonny Boy Williamson dies in Helena, Arkansas … born Aleck Ford Miller aka Rice Miller … although an accomplished harp player, singer, and songwriter in his own right, Aleck appropriated the name of another harp player, John "Sonny Boy" Williamson of Chicago, who during the 1940s had more visibility due to a series of records issued on Bluebird … in time, Sonny Boy II (as some would designate him) established his own reputation both as the host of the long-running King Biscuit Time radio show out of Helena, Arkanasas, as well as through a series of well-received records on the Trumpet and Chess record labels … some of Aleck's more notable songs had sly lyrics punctuated by his laconic vocals and powerful harp style. These included "Don't Start Me Talkin'," "Your Funeral and My Trial," "One Way Out," and the suggestively titled "Fattenin' Frogs for Snakes" … along with Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, he exerted a huge influence on many blues rockers who followed in his footsteps … in Great Britain, "You Really Got Me" takes on new meaning for the Kinks … upon finishing the aforementioned song at Cardiff's Capitol Theater, Dave Davies insults Mick Avory and kicks over his drum kit as revenge for a drunken fight the previous night in Taunton, apparently won by Mick … the normally mild-mannered Avory responds by giving Davies a thorough bashing about the head and ears with his hi-hat pedal … Davies is knocked unconscious, requiring 16 stitches to fix the kinks in his melon … Avory flees, hiding out for days to avoid arrest for Grievous Bodily Harm … to placate the police, the drummer later claims that it's all part of a new act in which band members would bludgeon each other with their instruments …
1966, The Byrd's single "Eight Miles High" is banned by some radio stations because of the lyrics' alleged drug references …
1967, Jimi Hendrix signs with Reprise Records, his first recording deal with a major American company … from the One Hit Wonders Department, Australia's Easybeats reach number 16 on the U.S. charts with their fidgety "Friday On My Mind" … the band is led by founder/guitarist George Young, who must have greatly influenced his younger brothers Malcolm and Angus … although the Easybeats had bigger hits Down Under, the success of "Friday" in the States seemed to signal their downfall due to management hassles, personnel changes, and yes, dope …
1968, John Lennon and Yoko Ono make a home tape that is later released with the title Two Virgins … the album has the two of them sans clothing on the cover … adding to the air of scandal, John's wife Cynthia returns home this same day to find the pair in bed, Yoko wearing her nightshirt … John and Yoko will flee to Montreal where they will begin their infamous 10-day "bed-in" two days later …
1970, The Grateful Dead play at the Hollywood Rock Festival in England … it is their first concert outside of the United States …
1979, Eric Clapton and Patti Boyd are married … Boyd's marriage to Clapton's friend George Harrison ended in 1977 … often portrayed as a muse to both musicians, Boyd inspired Clapton to write "Layla" about his unrequited love for Boyd, and later "Wonderful Tonight" once they were together … three of The Beatles—Paul, Ringo, and George—are joined by Mick Jagger for a performance at the reception … it is the first time since their '69 breakup that the three have played together … Tom Petty files for bankruptcy protection … the move in part arises out of a dispute with his record label …
1981, George Harrison's "All Those Years Ago," a tribute to John Lennon who died a year before, charts for the first time … Ringo Starr and Paul and Linda McCartney are also on the recording …
1986, Funkmeister George Clinton is the musical guest on NBC's Saturday Night Live … he jams on "Take It To The Stage" and "Do Fries Go With That Shake" … Clinton's New Orleans revue-meets-Robert Heinlein stage show was influenced by Sun Ra, who, with his Arkestra, appeared on SNL in 1978 performing "Space is the Place" and "Space-Loneliness" …
1992, bidding a musical adieu to Johnny Carson, Bette Midler appears on the late-night host's final Tonight Show telecast serenading him with "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)"...
2004, during a humanitarian African tour the Canadian band Sum 41 is overrun by the Congo's ongoing civil war obliging the rockers to hide out in a hotel bathroom near the Rwandan border … after seven hours they make their escape in a tank … in a bizarre appearance at a New Hampshire casino, singer-songwriter Jewel frequently interrupts her set with long diatribes dissing the audience, her fat fans, and rambling on about the drugs Zoloft and Paxil … after the show, pissed-off former fans scream obscenities as the tour bus departs the venue …
2006, Madonna opens her Confessions world tour in Los Angeles … tickets are sold out in minutes in North America, Europe, and Asia, resulting in new dates being added … the tour will gross more than $260 million—the biggest take in history by a female artist …
2007, a reconstituted Smashing Pumpkins plays their first show in seven years—an epic three-hour affair in Paris that features many songs from the new album Zeitgeist … after switching to a talk-radio format in 2006, New York's K-Rock reverts to playing modern rock … the first song played is Nirvana's "All Apologies"...this move is mirrored across the country with major stations that had abandoned the rock format switching back … Linkin Park provides a shot in the arm to what has so far been a dismal year for record sales … the band moves 623,000 copies of its Minutes to Midnight album and moves to the head of the Top 40 chart … 79-year-old Fats Domino plays his first gig since Hurricane Katrina struck the Big Easy … his 30-minute set at Tipitina's reprises all his big hits including "I'm Walkin'" and "Blueberry Hill" …
2008, Steven Tyler checks into a Pasadena clinic to deal with substance abuse … The Grateful Dead donate thousands of artifacts to the University of California at Santa Cruz for a planned Dead research center … at a press conference announcing the gift, Dead drummer Mickey Hart jokingly warns curators not to lick any envelopes or touch the stuff without gloves …
2010, David Byrne is suing the governor of Florida, alleging that he used the Talking Heads' 1985 single "Road to Nowhere" without permission or proper licenses … Byrne is seeking $1 million in damages from Gov. Charlie Crist, who's also Florida's former attorney general, and his senatorial campaign for use of the song earlier this year in a website and YouTube ad attacking his then-Republican primary opponent, Marco Rubio … Crist has since changed his campaign and is running as an independent candidate …
Arrivals:
May 19: UK pop star Alma Cogan (1932), The Who's Pete Townshend (1945), Phil Rudd of AC/DC (1946), Blood, Sweat and Tears saxophonist Gregory Herbert (1947), T-Rex bass player Steve Currie (1947), ZZ Top's Joseph Michael "Dusty" Hill (1949), Joey Ramone (1951), Grace Jones (1952), Heaven 17's Martyn Ware (1956), Iain Harvie of Del Amitri (1962), Jenny Berggren of Ace of Base (1972)
May 20: Vic Ames of the Ames Brothers (1926), Ink Spots singer and solo pianist Shorty Long (1940), Jill Jackson aka Paula of Paul and Paula (1942), Joe Cocker (1944), Cher, born Cherilyn Sarkisian La Pier (1946), Jimmie Henderson of Black Oak Arkansas (1954), The Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin (1958), Susan Cowsill of the Cowsills (1960), Haircut 100's Nick Heyward (1961), Tom Gorman of Belly (1966), Busta Rhymes (1972), Naturi Naughton of 3LW (1984)
May 21: pianist-composer Thomas "Fats" Waller (1904), Tejano pioneer Lydia Mendoza (1916), King Records producer-songwriter Henry Glover (1921), Ronald Isley of The Isley Brothers (1941), Vincent Crane of Atomic Rooster (1943), Hilton Valentine of The Animals (1943), Bill Champlin of Chicago (1947)
May 22: composer Richard Wagner (1813), Jimmy Keyes, first tenor with The Chords (1930), Jackie Landry of The Chantels (1941), lyricist and Elton John collaborator, Bernie Taupin (1950), (Steven Patrick) Morrissey of The Smiths (1959), Jesse Valenzuela of The Gin Blossoms (1962), singer-songwriter Johnny Gill of New Edition (1966), Dan Roberts of Crash Test Dummies (1967)
May 23: Vee-Jay Records founder-songwriter James Bracken (1908), singer-dancer Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers (1910), jazz clarinetist-composer-bandleader Artie Shaw (1910), avant-garde jazz keyboardist Sun Ra, born Herman Blount (1914), R&B songwriter Robert "Bumps" Blackwell (1918), flashy R&B singer Billy Wright (1918), bluesman Arthur Gunter (1926), singer-actress Rosemary Clooney (1928), synth pioneer Robert Moog (1934), Jim Mankey of Concrete Blond (1955), Phil Selway of Radiohead (1967), R&B artist Maxwell, born Gerald Maxwell Rivera (1972), singer-songwriter Jewel Kilcher (1974)
May 24: novelty tunesmith Nervous Norvus, born James Drake (1912), Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman (1941), Derek Quinn of Freddie & the Dreamers (1942), R&B and soul singer Patti LaBelle (1942), Sarah Dash of Labelle (1942), Steve Upton of Wishbone Ash (1946), Albert Bouchard of Blue Oyster Cult (1947), singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash (1955), rapper Heavy D, born Dwight Myers (1967), Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes (1969), country wunderkind Billy Gilman (1988)
May 25: record store founder "Waxie Maxie" Silverman (1910), avant-garde composer-percussionist Moondog, born Louis Thomas Hardin (1916), Buddy Holly's producer Norman Petty (1927), R&B singer Donnie Elbert (1936), Levon Helm of The Band (1942), Ray Innes of The Swinging Blue Jeans (1942), country music artist Jessi Colter, born Miriam Johnson Eddy (1943), John "Poli" Palmer of Family (1943), Garry Peterson of The Guess Who (1945), Mitch Margo of The Tokens (1947), Klaus Meine of The Scorpions (1948), Stevie Nicks (1948), Hank Williams Jr. (1949), Verden Allen of Mott the Hoople (1949), mod/punk singer-songwriter Paul Weller (1958), rocker Lenny Kravitz (1964), singer-rapper-songwriter Lauryn Hill (1975)
Departures:
May 19: blues singer Arnold "Gatemouth" Moore (2004), jazz singer Susannah McCorkle (2001), gospel and soul singer Odia Coates (1991), tenor sax master Coleman Hawkins (1969), composer Charles Ives (1954)
May 20: Italian orchestra leader Renato Carosone (2001), session guitarist Michael Ferrell (2000), harp player Willie Foster (2001), music publisher David Platz (1994), Rudy Lewis, vocalist with The Drifters (1964)
May 21: Nicholas Dante, co-author of A Chorus Line (1991), music industry entrepreneur Morris Levy (1990)
May 22: voice actor-singer Thurl Ravenscroft
May 23: folk singer Utah Phillips (2008), Jimmy Fernandez, bassist with God Machine (1994), jazz guitarist Joe Pass (1994), Craig Pike, bassist for Iggy Pop (1992), Will Sin of the Scottish synth band The Shamen, born William Sinnot (1991), jazz and blues pianist Lloyd Glenn (1985)
May 24: Wilco singer-songwriter Jay Bennett (2009), Gene Clark of The Byrds (1991), Duke Ellington (1974), slide guitar ace Elmore James (1967)
May 25: album photographer David Gahr (2008), Bradley Nowell, lead singer and guitarist of Sublime (1996), Franco-American bebopper Barney Wilen (1996), funk and jazz guitarist Eric Gale (1994), surf rock musician-songwriter-music producer Gary Usher (1990), New Orleans R&B star Roy Brown (1981), bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson, AKA Aleck Ford "Rice" Miller (1965)
Week In Review
June 9, 2011
A Family Tradition Starts … Adam Ant Strips … Dylan Plugs Politically …
1910, Chester Burnett is born in rural White Station, Mississippi … later known as Howlin' Wolf, he'll become legendary for his huge, raw voice and matching physique … one of the pioneers of electric blues, Wolf will exert a powerful influence on many British blues musicians and his songs such as "Spoonful," "Smoke Stack Lightning," and "Little Red Rooster" will be covered by a generation of rockers including The Stones …
1949, Hank Williams makes a big impression at his Grand Ole Opry debut, earning an unprecedented six encores from the Nashville crowd …
1957, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" hits the C&W charts for Jerry Lee Lewis … the record will ease over onto the pop chart within a week to become a crossover hit … John Lennon and The Quarrymen enter a talent competition in Liverpool but lose to The Sunnyside Skiffle group … I think we know who truly won in the end …
1958, Jerry Lee Lewis' producer, Sam Phillips, forces the rocker to sign an apologetic letter to his fans … Phillips then runs it as a full-page ad in Billboard trying in vain to bolster Lewis' plummeting reputation in the fallout from his marriage to 14-year-old second-cousin Myra … the letter doesn't help much … the Killer's career will remain in the toilet until he reinvents himself as a country star in the 1960s …
1961, country singer Patsy Cline is involved in a near-fatal head-on crash in Nashville … she is slammed into the windshield where she receives scars she hides with makeup and wigs the remainder of her career … she is still recovering when she records the Willie Nelson-penned "Crazy," her signature hit …
1963, Kyu Sakamoto's "Sukiyaki" hits number one on the U.S. pop chart … it is the first and last Japanese song to do so …
1964, Ringo Starr comes down with acute tonsillitis days before a Beatles world tour is to begin … his replacement is session drummer Jimmy Nichol who thereby becomes a Beatle for 11 days …
1965, it is announced that The Beatles will receive MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) medals from Queen Elizabeth in October … in the controversy that ensues, some previous recipients return their awards … in 1969 John Lennon will return his medal, symbolizing his opposition to Britain's support of the U.S. in Vietnam …
1966, "Paperback Writer" is released by The Beatles … the b-side is "Rain," a song they created using a reversed-tape effect for the first time … it's the same technique that will later incite "Paul-is-dead" rumors … this same week, rumors of Roger Daltrey's death are greatly exaggerated as European radios spew misinformation after Pete Townshend is injured in a car wreck …
1970, Derek & The Dominos, featuring established blues rock guitarist Eric Clapton and nobody named Derek, plays its first gig together at London's Lyceum Theatre…
1972, One of America's most lilting pop voices is silenced when singer Clyde McPhatter dies of a heart attack at 39 after years of hard living … McPhatter was signed by Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records after leaving Billy Ward and the Dominoes to become the lead singer of the newly formed Drifters … this lineup (there would be many) enjoys several big hits including a doo-wop version of "White Christmas" that prominently features his tenor … after leaving the Drifters in the mid-'50s, McPhatter will have sporadic success as a solo act, but his career is undermined by alcoholism …
1973, American Graffiti, directed by George Lucas and featuring a pre-Han Solo Harrison Ford, opens up in theaters in New York … the movie is a success as is the soundtrack having gone triple platinum in the US and peaking at #10 on the Billboard 200 charts album charts…
1977, Alice Cooper's boa constrictor, a major component of the shock-rocker's stage schtick, dies after being bitten by a rat intended as the snake's snack … Joe Strummer and Topper Headon of The Clash are each fined $8 by a London judge for spray-painting the band's name on a wall … a couple days later they're back in front of another London magistrate, this time for having pinched a pillowcase from a Holiday Inn … the fine is stiffer: $170 apiece …
1982, Mick Jagger is knighted by Queen Elizabeth … no romantic entanglements are reported …
1986, Jerry Garcia goes into a five-day diabetic coma requiring the Dead to cancel shows … three Ozzy Osbourne fans die when they plunge from a balcony at a Long Beach, California, concert …
1988, a birthday bash held in London for Nelson Mandela features performers Stevie Wonder, Dire Straits, and Simple Minds …
1988, Nirvana's debut album, Bleach, is released … the name comes from ubiquitous street posters warning junkies to bleach their works …
1990, 25 years to the day after their father Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys owned the top of the pops with "Help Me Rhonda," Wilson Phillips, the trio composed of Carnie and Wendy Wilson together with Chynna Phillips, owns the same spot on the Top 100 chart with their single, "Hold On" …
1991, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin perform at the funeral of Temptations' lead singer David Ruffin … The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, pays for the event … speaking of paying, Ruffin's bandmate Eddie Kendricks is arrested at the funeral for not paying child support … Kendricks will die the following year …
1992, a judge in L.A. dismisses a $25 million palimony suit brought by model Kelly Emberg against Rod Stewart … she charges that they had lived together in a marital-like state between 1985 and 1990 and had a child together … despite their current contretemps, sources close to Emberg report that she still thinks Rod is sexy …
1994, Falcons wide receiver Andre Rison's Atlanta mansion burns to the ground … it's later determined that his girlfriend Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of the R&B girl group TLC committed the arson in a fit of pique …
1995, 90 minutes before he's to perform at a Texas police convention, country star Ty Herndon is busted by an undercover cop for drug possession … he will plead guilty …
1998, a judge in the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court hears opening arguments in a suit brought by '60s girl group The Ronettes against their former producer, Phil Spector, charging him with breaching their 34-year-old contract by failing to pay royalties … in 2002 the reclusive studio guru is finally ordered to pay the girls $2.9 million plus interest …
2000, Bobby Brown is sentenced to 75 days in jail after pleading guilty to 2 charges of probation violation from a 1996 drunk driving charge … when passing through U.S. Customs at Newark International Airport in New Jersey with then-wife Whitney Houston, his name is run through a computer database where an outstanding warrant is spotted for failing a drug test … He admits to being an addict and alcoholic, stating "Hopefully I can get back to what I do best, dancing and singing. The day I get out will be the day I start working again." … as of this writing, we're still waiting for a new album, allegedly titled The Masterpiece … when it's released is his prerogative …
2003, Adam Ant is busted for stripping off his clothes in a London café after smashing his neighbors' windows with stones …
2004, following a layoff of 1,000 employees in March, Warner Music Group announces that it's cutting its artist roster by nearly one-half in the face of a continuing soft market for music … Iggy Pop and The Stooges are reported to be working on songs for their first new studio record in 31 years … Pop speculates that they may record the album in Los Angeles noting, "That will torture me deeply" … after complaining about what he believes to be a pinched nerve in his shoulder, David Bowie receives an emergency angioplasty to deal with a severely blocked artery …
2005, after deliberating for 32 hours, a California jury finds Michael Jackson not guilty of child molestation charges …
2006, despite having a #1 album with Taking the Long Way Home, The Dixie Chicks are having trouble selling seats in some venues for their summer tour … it is believed anger over Chicks singer Natalie Maines' criticism of George W. Bush in 2003 is behind the sluggish box office … Jacob the Jeweler aka Jacob Abarov, purveyor of bling to hip-hop's glitterati, is busted by the Feds on charges of money laundering in a case that also includes drug peddling by the Black Mafia Family of Detroit … he will be sentenced to 30 months in federal slam and ordered to pay a $2 million fine …
2008, AC/DC's next studio album will be exclusively sold at Wal-Mart stores in the United States, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal … while touring Europe, Bob Dylan tells The London Times he supports Barack Obama's run for the White House … the historically apolitical Dylan says, "Right now, America is in a state of upheaval. Poverty is demoralizing. You can't expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor. But we've got this guy out there now who is redefining what a politician is, so we'll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I'm hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to." … Rolling Stone names Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" the all-time greatest guitar record … Jimi's "Purple Haze" and Cream's "Crossroads" place second and third respectively …
2009, Blur make their live comeback after a 10-year live hiatus at an intimate gig at the East Anglian Railway Museum near Cochester near where they made their first-ever public performance 20 years before …
2010, R. Kelly and the Soweto Spiritual Singers perform "Sign of Victory" during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Anthem in front of a sold-out crowd at Soweto's Soccer City …
Arrivals:
June 9: songwriter Cole Porter (1891), bandleader and financial backer of the first electric blender Fredrick Waring (1900), Les Paul born Lester Polfus (1915), R&B singer and Russian roulette-ist Johnny Ace born John Marshall Alexander Jr. (1929), operatic soul singer Jackie Wilson (1934), Wild Jimmy Spruill (1934), Deep Purple's Jon Lord (1941), Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell (1947), guitarist Paul Chapman of UFO and Lone Star (1954), Dean Felber of Hootie & The Blowfish (1967), Dean Dinning of Toad the Wet Sprocket (1967), neo-classical metal guitarist Rick Renstrom (1971), black metal guitarist Samoth, born Tomas Haugen, of Emperor and Zyklon (1974), Muse frontman, guitarist, and pianist Matthew Bellamy (1978), sitarist Anousha Shankar, daughter of Ravi Shankar (1981), Chloë Agnew, youngest singer in Irish group Celtic Woman (1989)
June 10: Chester Burnett AKA Howlin' Wolf (1910), Judy Garland (1922), Brazilian singer and guitarist João Gilberto (1931), British free-improvisational drummer John Stevens (1940), Mickey Jones of The First Edition (1941), The Shirelle's Shirley Alston (1941), Skyliners vocalist Janet Vogel (1942), The Move's Rick Price (1944), Will Shatter of Flipper (1956), Stray Cats guitarist and frontman Brian Setzer (1959), Kim and Kelley Deal of The Breeders (1961), Jimmy Chamberlin of Smashing Pumpkins (1964), Pixies lead guitarist Joey Santiago (1965), Darren Robinson of The Fat Boys (1967), guitarist Emma Anderson of Lush (1967), N.W.A. rapper The D.O.C., born Tracy Curry (1968), Mike Doughty of Soul Coughing (1970), Joel "Jo-Jo" Hailey of K-Ci & Jo-Jo (1971), guitarist Erik Rutan of Hate Eternal (1971) Faith Evans (1973), Lemisha Grinsted of 702 (1973), rapper Flesh-N-Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, born Stanley Howse (1973)
June 11: boogie-woogie pianist Clarence "Pine Top" Smith (1904), West Coast jazz drummer Shelly Manne, born Sheldon Manne (1920), country vocalist Jud Strunk (1936), drummer Bernard Purdie, creator of the funky "Purdie Shuffle" (1939), Joe DiNicola of Joey Dee and the Starlighters (1940), Frank Beard of ZZ Top (1949), free-jazz bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, born Rudy McDaniel (1956), Donnie Van Zant of .38 Special (1952), Dan Lavery of Tonic (1969), multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips (1969), contemporary Christian musician Chris Rice (1970)
June 12: New Orleans jazz cornet player Emmett Louis Hardy (1903), bandleader Archie Bleyer (1909), R&B bassist Eddie Williams of Johnny Moore and The Three Blazers (1912), Jim Nabors (1941), pioneer rockabilly Charlie Feathers (1932), keyboardist Chick Corea (1941), British folksinger-songwriter Roy Harper (1941), The Dovelles' Len Barry, born Leonard Borisoff (1942), Reg Presley of The Troggs (1943), bassist John Wetton of Asia (1949), Brad Delp of Boston (1951), Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick (1951), bassist Pete Farndon of The Pretenders (1952), John Linnell of They Might Be Giants (1959), Michael Hausman of 'til tuesday (1960), bassist Kira Roessler of Black Flag (1961), Grandmaster Dee of Whodini (1962), keyboardist Paul Clark of The Bolshoi (1962), Bobby Sheehan of Blues Traveler (1968), Bardi Martin of Candlebox (1969), blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd (1977), Robyn (1979), country singer Chris Young (1985)
June 13: Bobby Freeman of "Do You Wanna Dance" fame (1940), Arlester "Dyke" Christian of Dyke and the Blazers (1943), John Kahn of the Jerry Garcia Band (1947), vocalist and guitarist Dennis Locorriere of Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show (1949), Howard Leese of Heart (1951), James Smith of The Stylistics (1951), Bo Donaldson (1954), Godsmack's Robbie Merrill (1963), Paul DeLisle of Smash Mouth (1963), David Gray (1968), Denise Pearson of Five Star (1968), Søren Rasted of Aqua (1969), Rivers Cuomo of Weezer (1970), Jason "J" Brown of Five (1976), country singer Jason Michael Carroll (1978), Canadian fiddler Natalie MacMaster Raz B of B2K (1985)
June 14: folk singer and actor Burl Ives (1909), pianist Cy Coleman (1929), Motown sax man Junior Walker (1931), Renaldo "Obie" Benson of The Four Tops (1936), session organist Spooner Oldham (1943), Rod Argent of the Zombies (1945), Barry "Fish" Melton of Country Joe and the Fish (1947), Jim Lea of Slade (1949), Alan White of Yes (1949), King Diamond (1956), Maxi Jazz, rapper for Faithless, born Maxwell Fraser (1957), jazz musician Marcus Miller (1959), gender-bending popster Boy George (1961), Chris DeGarmo of Queensryche (1963), guitarist Matt Freeman of Operation Ivy and Rancid (1966), rapper MC Ren, born Lorenzo Patterson (1969), British pop diva Billie Myers (1971), Rob Nanna of Braid and Hey Mercedes (1975), Siobhán Donaghy of Sugababes (1984)
June 15: jazz pianist Jaki Byard (1922), Nigel Pickering of Spanky & Our Gang (1929), Waylon Jennings (1937), singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (1941), Doug Roberts of Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs (1941), Muff Winwood, bassist for The Spencer Davis Group (1943), French pop singer Johnny Halliday (1943), Muscle Shoals session guitarist Eddie Hinton (1944), Noddy Holder of Slade (1946), Russell Hitchcock of Air Supply (1949), Steve Walsh of Kansas (1951), country-pop singer Terri Gibbs (1954), Garry Roberts of Boomtown Rats (1954), drummer Scott Rockenfield of Queensryche (1963), Michael Britt of Lonestar (1966), Ice Cube (1969), Dryden Mitchell of Alien Ant Farm (1976), Gordon Lightbody of Snow Patrol (1976), guitarist Billy Martin of Good Charlotte (1981), Nadine Coyle of Girls Aloud (1985)
Departures:
June 9: German singer Drafi Deutscher (2006), folksinger Walter Pardon (1996), '60s R&B singer Arthur Alexander (1993), jazz and blues singer Clarence "Big" Miller (1992)
June 10: The Swampers' keyboardist Barry Beckett (2009), Jamaican singer Ruddy Thomas (2006), Graeme Kelling of Deacon Blue (2004), Ray Charles (2004), Steve Sanders of The Oak Ridge Boys (1998), Alan Blakely of the Tremoloes (1996), Jimmy Weston of the Danleers (1993), American jazz pianist and arranger for Woody Herman, Nat Pierce (1992), The Shirelles' Addie "Mickey" Harris (1982), organist Earl Grant (1970)
June 11: A.R.E. Weapons guitarist Ryan Noel (2004), Al Rinker of the Rhythm Boys with Bing Crosby (1982)
June 12: Danny Davis of The Nashville Brass (2008), drummer Matthew Fletcher of Heavenly (1996), "Shaddup You Face" novelty Italian-American singer Lou Monte (1989), the "Vee" in Vee-Jay Records, Vivian Carter (1989), American Dixieland trumpeter and bandleader Bob Scobey (1963), jazz legend Jimmy Dorsey (1957)
June 13: country singer and sausage slinger Jimmy Dean (2010), jazz saxophonist and composer Ken McIntyre (2001), Southern blues guitarist John Campbell (1993), bandleader and clarinetist Benny Goodman (1986), Clyde McPhatter of The Drifters (1972)
June 14: Ventures bassist Bob Bogle (2009), jazz pianist Esbjörn Svensson of E.S.T. (2008), flamenco singer Delores Alcantara (1999), bluesman Rory Gallagher (1995), composer Henry Mancini (1994), Brenda Payton of Brenda and the Tabulations (1992), songwriter-producer Cliff Goldsmith (1991), drummer Pete DeFreitas of Echo and the Bunnymen (1989), reedman Charles Miller of War (1980), jump blues singer Wynonie Harris (1969)
June 15: pianist for Janis Joplin's Full Tilt Boogie Band, Richard Bell (2007), jazz double-bassist Leonard Bush (2004), Lew Chudd, founder of Imperial Records (1998), Ella Fitzgerald (1996), tour musician Kin Vassy (1994), Steely Dan drummer Jim Hodder (1990), "Music Man" composer, songwriter, conductor, and playwright Meredith Wilson (1984), jazz alto saxophonist Art Pepper (1982), jazz guitar great Wes Montgomery (1968)
June 9, 2011
A Family Tradition Starts … Adam Ant Strips … Dylan Plugs Politically …
1910, Chester Burnett is born in rural White Station, Mississippi … later known as Howlin' Wolf, he'll become legendary for his huge, raw voice and matching physique … one of the pioneers of electric blues, Wolf will exert a powerful influence on many British blues musicians and his songs such as "Spoonful," "Smoke Stack Lightning," and "Little Red Rooster" will be covered by a generation of rockers including The Stones …
1949, Hank Williams makes a big impression at his Grand Ole Opry debut, earning an unprecedented six encores from the Nashville crowd …
1957, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" hits the C&W charts for Jerry Lee Lewis … the record will ease over onto the pop chart within a week to become a crossover hit … John Lennon and The Quarrymen enter a talent competition in Liverpool but lose to The Sunnyside Skiffle group … I think we know who truly won in the end …
1958, Jerry Lee Lewis' producer, Sam Phillips, forces the rocker to sign an apologetic letter to his fans … Phillips then runs it as a full-page ad in Billboard trying in vain to bolster Lewis' plummeting reputation in the fallout from his marriage to 14-year-old second-cousin Myra … the letter doesn't help much … the Killer's career will remain in the toilet until he reinvents himself as a country star in the 1960s …
1961, country singer Patsy Cline is involved in a near-fatal head-on crash in Nashville … she is slammed into the windshield where she receives scars she hides with makeup and wigs the remainder of her career … she is still recovering when she records the Willie Nelson-penned "Crazy," her signature hit …
1963, Kyu Sakamoto's "Sukiyaki" hits number one on the U.S. pop chart … it is the first and last Japanese song to do so …
1964, Ringo Starr comes down with acute tonsillitis days before a Beatles world tour is to begin … his replacement is session drummer Jimmy Nichol who thereby becomes a Beatle for 11 days …
1965, it is announced that The Beatles will receive MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) medals from Queen Elizabeth in October … in the controversy that ensues, some previous recipients return their awards … in 1969 John Lennon will return his medal, symbolizing his opposition to Britain's support of the U.S. in Vietnam …
1966, "Paperback Writer" is released by The Beatles … the b-side is "Rain," a song they created using a reversed-tape effect for the first time … it's the same technique that will later incite "Paul-is-dead" rumors … this same week, rumors of Roger Daltrey's death are greatly exaggerated as European radios spew misinformation after Pete Townshend is injured in a car wreck …
1970, Derek & The Dominos, featuring established blues rock guitarist Eric Clapton and nobody named Derek, plays its first gig together at London's Lyceum Theatre…
1972, One of America's most lilting pop voices is silenced when singer Clyde McPhatter dies of a heart attack at 39 after years of hard living … McPhatter was signed by Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records after leaving Billy Ward and the Dominoes to become the lead singer of the newly formed Drifters … this lineup (there would be many) enjoys several big hits including a doo-wop version of "White Christmas" that prominently features his tenor … after leaving the Drifters in the mid-'50s, McPhatter will have sporadic success as a solo act, but his career is undermined by alcoholism …
1973, American Graffiti, directed by George Lucas and featuring a pre-Han Solo Harrison Ford, opens up in theaters in New York … the movie is a success as is the soundtrack having gone triple platinum in the US and peaking at #10 on the Billboard 200 charts album charts…
1977, Alice Cooper's boa constrictor, a major component of the shock-rocker's stage schtick, dies after being bitten by a rat intended as the snake's snack … Joe Strummer and Topper Headon of The Clash are each fined $8 by a London judge for spray-painting the band's name on a wall … a couple days later they're back in front of another London magistrate, this time for having pinched a pillowcase from a Holiday Inn … the fine is stiffer: $170 apiece …
1982, Mick Jagger is knighted by Queen Elizabeth … no romantic entanglements are reported …
1986, Jerry Garcia goes into a five-day diabetic coma requiring the Dead to cancel shows … three Ozzy Osbourne fans die when they plunge from a balcony at a Long Beach, California, concert …
1988, a birthday bash held in London for Nelson Mandela features performers Stevie Wonder, Dire Straits, and Simple Minds …
1988, Nirvana's debut album, Bleach, is released … the name comes from ubiquitous street posters warning junkies to bleach their works …
1990, 25 years to the day after their father Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys owned the top of the pops with "Help Me Rhonda," Wilson Phillips, the trio composed of Carnie and Wendy Wilson together with Chynna Phillips, owns the same spot on the Top 100 chart with their single, "Hold On" …
1991, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin perform at the funeral of Temptations' lead singer David Ruffin … The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, pays for the event … speaking of paying, Ruffin's bandmate Eddie Kendricks is arrested at the funeral for not paying child support … Kendricks will die the following year …
1992, a judge in L.A. dismisses a $25 million palimony suit brought by model Kelly Emberg against Rod Stewart … she charges that they had lived together in a marital-like state between 1985 and 1990 and had a child together … despite their current contretemps, sources close to Emberg report that she still thinks Rod is sexy …
1994, Falcons wide receiver Andre Rison's Atlanta mansion burns to the ground … it's later determined that his girlfriend Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of the R&B girl group TLC committed the arson in a fit of pique …
1995, 90 minutes before he's to perform at a Texas police convention, country star Ty Herndon is busted by an undercover cop for drug possession … he will plead guilty …
1998, a judge in the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court hears opening arguments in a suit brought by '60s girl group The Ronettes against their former producer, Phil Spector, charging him with breaching their 34-year-old contract by failing to pay royalties … in 2002 the reclusive studio guru is finally ordered to pay the girls $2.9 million plus interest …
2000, Bobby Brown is sentenced to 75 days in jail after pleading guilty to 2 charges of probation violation from a 1996 drunk driving charge … when passing through U.S. Customs at Newark International Airport in New Jersey with then-wife Whitney Houston, his name is run through a computer database where an outstanding warrant is spotted for failing a drug test … He admits to being an addict and alcoholic, stating "Hopefully I can get back to what I do best, dancing and singing. The day I get out will be the day I start working again." … as of this writing, we're still waiting for a new album, allegedly titled The Masterpiece … when it's released is his prerogative …
2003, Adam Ant is busted for stripping off his clothes in a London café after smashing his neighbors' windows with stones …
2004, following a layoff of 1,000 employees in March, Warner Music Group announces that it's cutting its artist roster by nearly one-half in the face of a continuing soft market for music … Iggy Pop and The Stooges are reported to be working on songs for their first new studio record in 31 years … Pop speculates that they may record the album in Los Angeles noting, "That will torture me deeply" … after complaining about what he believes to be a pinched nerve in his shoulder, David Bowie receives an emergency angioplasty to deal with a severely blocked artery …
2005, after deliberating for 32 hours, a California jury finds Michael Jackson not guilty of child molestation charges …
2006, despite having a #1 album with Taking the Long Way Home, The Dixie Chicks are having trouble selling seats in some venues for their summer tour … it is believed anger over Chicks singer Natalie Maines' criticism of George W. Bush in 2003 is behind the sluggish box office … Jacob the Jeweler aka Jacob Abarov, purveyor of bling to hip-hop's glitterati, is busted by the Feds on charges of money laundering in a case that also includes drug peddling by the Black Mafia Family of Detroit … he will be sentenced to 30 months in federal slam and ordered to pay a $2 million fine …
2008, AC/DC's next studio album will be exclusively sold at Wal-Mart stores in the United States, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal … while touring Europe, Bob Dylan tells The London Times he supports Barack Obama's run for the White House … the historically apolitical Dylan says, "Right now, America is in a state of upheaval. Poverty is demoralizing. You can't expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor. But we've got this guy out there now who is redefining what a politician is, so we'll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I'm hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to." … Rolling Stone names Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" the all-time greatest guitar record … Jimi's "Purple Haze" and Cream's "Crossroads" place second and third respectively …
2009, Blur make their live comeback after a 10-year live hiatus at an intimate gig at the East Anglian Railway Museum near Cochester near where they made their first-ever public performance 20 years before …
2010, R. Kelly and the Soweto Spiritual Singers perform "Sign of Victory" during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Anthem in front of a sold-out crowd at Soweto's Soccer City …
Arrivals:
June 9: songwriter Cole Porter (1891), bandleader and financial backer of the first electric blender Fredrick Waring (1900), Les Paul born Lester Polfus (1915), R&B singer and Russian roulette-ist Johnny Ace born John Marshall Alexander Jr. (1929), operatic soul singer Jackie Wilson (1934), Wild Jimmy Spruill (1934), Deep Purple's Jon Lord (1941), Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell (1947), guitarist Paul Chapman of UFO and Lone Star (1954), Dean Felber of Hootie & The Blowfish (1967), Dean Dinning of Toad the Wet Sprocket (1967), neo-classical metal guitarist Rick Renstrom (1971), black metal guitarist Samoth, born Tomas Haugen, of Emperor and Zyklon (1974), Muse frontman, guitarist, and pianist Matthew Bellamy (1978), sitarist Anousha Shankar, daughter of Ravi Shankar (1981), Chloë Agnew, youngest singer in Irish group Celtic Woman (1989)
June 10: Chester Burnett AKA Howlin' Wolf (1910), Judy Garland (1922), Brazilian singer and guitarist João Gilberto (1931), British free-improvisational drummer John Stevens (1940), Mickey Jones of The First Edition (1941), The Shirelle's Shirley Alston (1941), Skyliners vocalist Janet Vogel (1942), The Move's Rick Price (1944), Will Shatter of Flipper (1956), Stray Cats guitarist and frontman Brian Setzer (1959), Kim and Kelley Deal of The Breeders (1961), Jimmy Chamberlin of Smashing Pumpkins (1964), Pixies lead guitarist Joey Santiago (1965), Darren Robinson of The Fat Boys (1967), guitarist Emma Anderson of Lush (1967), N.W.A. rapper The D.O.C., born Tracy Curry (1968), Mike Doughty of Soul Coughing (1970), Joel "Jo-Jo" Hailey of K-Ci & Jo-Jo (1971), guitarist Erik Rutan of Hate Eternal (1971) Faith Evans (1973), Lemisha Grinsted of 702 (1973), rapper Flesh-N-Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, born Stanley Howse (1973)
June 11: boogie-woogie pianist Clarence "Pine Top" Smith (1904), West Coast jazz drummer Shelly Manne, born Sheldon Manne (1920), country vocalist Jud Strunk (1936), drummer Bernard Purdie, creator of the funky "Purdie Shuffle" (1939), Joe DiNicola of Joey Dee and the Starlighters (1940), Frank Beard of ZZ Top (1949), free-jazz bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, born Rudy McDaniel (1956), Donnie Van Zant of .38 Special (1952), Dan Lavery of Tonic (1969), multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips (1969), contemporary Christian musician Chris Rice (1970)
June 12: New Orleans jazz cornet player Emmett Louis Hardy (1903), bandleader Archie Bleyer (1909), R&B bassist Eddie Williams of Johnny Moore and The Three Blazers (1912), Jim Nabors (1941), pioneer rockabilly Charlie Feathers (1932), keyboardist Chick Corea (1941), British folksinger-songwriter Roy Harper (1941), The Dovelles' Len Barry, born Leonard Borisoff (1942), Reg Presley of The Troggs (1943), bassist John Wetton of Asia (1949), Brad Delp of Boston (1951), Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick (1951), bassist Pete Farndon of The Pretenders (1952), John Linnell of They Might Be Giants (1959), Michael Hausman of 'til tuesday (1960), bassist Kira Roessler of Black Flag (1961), Grandmaster Dee of Whodini (1962), keyboardist Paul Clark of The Bolshoi (1962), Bobby Sheehan of Blues Traveler (1968), Bardi Martin of Candlebox (1969), blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd (1977), Robyn (1979), country singer Chris Young (1985)
June 13: Bobby Freeman of "Do You Wanna Dance" fame (1940), Arlester "Dyke" Christian of Dyke and the Blazers (1943), John Kahn of the Jerry Garcia Band (1947), vocalist and guitarist Dennis Locorriere of Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show (1949), Howard Leese of Heart (1951), James Smith of The Stylistics (1951), Bo Donaldson (1954), Godsmack's Robbie Merrill (1963), Paul DeLisle of Smash Mouth (1963), David Gray (1968), Denise Pearson of Five Star (1968), Søren Rasted of Aqua (1969), Rivers Cuomo of Weezer (1970), Jason "J" Brown of Five (1976), country singer Jason Michael Carroll (1978), Canadian fiddler Natalie MacMaster Raz B of B2K (1985)
June 14: folk singer and actor Burl Ives (1909), pianist Cy Coleman (1929), Motown sax man Junior Walker (1931), Renaldo "Obie" Benson of The Four Tops (1936), session organist Spooner Oldham (1943), Rod Argent of the Zombies (1945), Barry "Fish" Melton of Country Joe and the Fish (1947), Jim Lea of Slade (1949), Alan White of Yes (1949), King Diamond (1956), Maxi Jazz, rapper for Faithless, born Maxwell Fraser (1957), jazz musician Marcus Miller (1959), gender-bending popster Boy George (1961), Chris DeGarmo of Queensryche (1963), guitarist Matt Freeman of Operation Ivy and Rancid (1966), rapper MC Ren, born Lorenzo Patterson (1969), British pop diva Billie Myers (1971), Rob Nanna of Braid and Hey Mercedes (1975), Siobhán Donaghy of Sugababes (1984)
June 15: jazz pianist Jaki Byard (1922), Nigel Pickering of Spanky & Our Gang (1929), Waylon Jennings (1937), singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (1941), Doug Roberts of Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs (1941), Muff Winwood, bassist for The Spencer Davis Group (1943), French pop singer Johnny Halliday (1943), Muscle Shoals session guitarist Eddie Hinton (1944), Noddy Holder of Slade (1946), Russell Hitchcock of Air Supply (1949), Steve Walsh of Kansas (1951), country-pop singer Terri Gibbs (1954), Garry Roberts of Boomtown Rats (1954), drummer Scott Rockenfield of Queensryche (1963), Michael Britt of Lonestar (1966), Ice Cube (1969), Dryden Mitchell of Alien Ant Farm (1976), Gordon Lightbody of Snow Patrol (1976), guitarist Billy Martin of Good Charlotte (1981), Nadine Coyle of Girls Aloud (1985)
Departures:
June 9: German singer Drafi Deutscher (2006), folksinger Walter Pardon (1996), '60s R&B singer Arthur Alexander (1993), jazz and blues singer Clarence "Big" Miller (1992)
June 10: The Swampers' keyboardist Barry Beckett (2009), Jamaican singer Ruddy Thomas (2006), Graeme Kelling of Deacon Blue (2004), Ray Charles (2004), Steve Sanders of The Oak Ridge Boys (1998), Alan Blakely of the Tremoloes (1996), Jimmy Weston of the Danleers (1993), American jazz pianist and arranger for Woody Herman, Nat Pierce (1992), The Shirelles' Addie "Mickey" Harris (1982), organist Earl Grant (1970)
June 11: A.R.E. Weapons guitarist Ryan Noel (2004), Al Rinker of the Rhythm Boys with Bing Crosby (1982)
June 12: Danny Davis of The Nashville Brass (2008), drummer Matthew Fletcher of Heavenly (1996), "Shaddup You Face" novelty Italian-American singer Lou Monte (1989), the "Vee" in Vee-Jay Records, Vivian Carter (1989), American Dixieland trumpeter and bandleader Bob Scobey (1963), jazz legend Jimmy Dorsey (1957)
June 13: country singer and sausage slinger Jimmy Dean (2010), jazz saxophonist and composer Ken McIntyre (2001), Southern blues guitarist John Campbell (1993), bandleader and clarinetist Benny Goodman (1986), Clyde McPhatter of The Drifters (1972)
June 14: Ventures bassist Bob Bogle (2009), jazz pianist Esbjörn Svensson of E.S.T. (2008), flamenco singer Delores Alcantara (1999), bluesman Rory Gallagher (1995), composer Henry Mancini (1994), Brenda Payton of Brenda and the Tabulations (1992), songwriter-producer Cliff Goldsmith (1991), drummer Pete DeFreitas of Echo and the Bunnymen (1989), reedman Charles Miller of War (1980), jump blues singer Wynonie Harris (1969)
June 15: pianist for Janis Joplin's Full Tilt Boogie Band, Richard Bell (2007), jazz double-bassist Leonard Bush (2004), Lew Chudd, founder of Imperial Records (1998), Ella Fitzgerald (1996), tour musician Kin Vassy (1994), Steely Dan drummer Jim Hodder (1990), "Music Man" composer, songwriter, conductor, and playwright Meredith Wilson (1984), jazz alto saxophonist Art Pepper (1982), jazz guitar great Wes Montgomery (1968)
STP Hippie Additive ... Old Rockers Go Postal ... KFed Xed ...
Week In Review
June 16, 2011
1948, CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) demonstrates the long-playing microgroove recording, playing at 33-1/3 revolutions per minute, replacing albums consisting of several 10- or 12-inch 78rpms with a single record … in response, RCA Victor, who had experimented with 33-1/3 in 1931, comes out with its own innovation, the seven-inch 45rpm record that becomes the standard for single releases … 78rpms are gone by 1960 … Amazing whaetever will they think of next
1955, Sun Records releases Johnny Cash's first single, "Cry Cry Cry" … Johnny will be cashing in for quite some time to come, as it's the first in a string of over 100 hit singles by the Man in Black …
1962, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, who wrote and first recorded "The Twist," are scheduled to perform the song on American Bandstand but have to cancel the date … in an odd twist, Chubby Checker is hired as a replacement to perform his version of the song, which will climb higher on the pop chart than Ballard's original … twice … it will hit number one and then do it again a year later …
1963, on his way to becoming huge, Little Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips Pt. 2" becomes the 13-year-old's first of 61 records to hit the charts …
1964, in the midst of an American tour, The Rolling Stones spend $2,500 in airfares to get back to England in order to play a date at Oxford's Magdalen College committed to a year earlier … the gig pays $170 …
1965, The Byrds' folk-rock version of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" starts its week at the top of the charts …
1967, the Monterey Pop Festival in California debuts with a stellar lineup including Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Otis Redding … the three-day event is a precursor to Woodstock and many more giant outdoor rock festivals … hippies gather in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury district to celebrate the Summer of Love … as an ominous harbinger of more troubling times, dozens are carted off to psycho wards after ingesting STP, a newly-developed psychedelic that produces scary three-day trips … the following October, a mock funeral for the death of the hippie is held in "the Haight" … that, along with The Stones' disastrous Altamont concert, signals that the honeymoon is over, and the Summer of Love will soon turn into the winter of our discontent …
1969, Mick Taylor makes his stage debut with The Rolling Stones at a concert in Rome … he replaces guitarist Brian Jones and will stay with the band until 1975, when he retires and is replaced by Ron Wood … Taylor holds the distinction of being the only Stones guitarist to quit the band and live … Jimi Hendrix earns the largest paycheck to date for a single show, receiving $125,000 for a single set at the Newport Jazz Festival … Also this week, the Hollies record "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," with Elton John playing piano … the song reaches No. 7 on Billboard's singles chart …
1970, "Cinnamon Girl" by Neil Young goes gold, bringing Neil's search for a heart of the same substance that much closer …
1973, The Rocky Horror Picture Show opens for the first time in London … after seeing audiences quivering with antici … pation, Tim Curry will reprise his role for the movie version two years later …
1975, Alice Cooper takes a tumble from a stage in Vancouver, British Columbia, resulting in six broken ribs … his makeup, however, emerges unscathed …
1980, Led Zeppelin begins a three-week tour with a concert in Dortmund, Germany … held at the Westfalenhalle, it is their first concert on the European continent since 1973 … however, due to John Bonham's death in September, it will be the group's last European tour … they open the show with "Train Kept A Rollin'," a song they haven't played since 1969 and which Page also performed with the original Yardbirds … the Tiny Bradshaw composition was popularized by Johnny Burnette and will later be covered by rockers ranging from Alex Chilton to Motorhead to, most famously, Aerosmith …
1981, Donald Fagan and Walter Becker announce the break-up of Steely Dan … Mark David Chapman pleads guilty to killing John Lennon …
1990, Little Richard hitting the big time is commemorated with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame …
1993, the U.S. Postal Service releases a set of stamps that feature iconic images of Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Clyde McPhatter, Elvis Presley, Otis Redding, Ritchie Valens, and Dinah Washington …
1994, Hole bassist Kristen Pfaff is found slumped over her bathtub, dead of a heroin overdose … next to her body is a cosmetic bag with more than just lipstick inside … tragically, this occurs just after Kristen had packed her bags to move back to Minneapolis to escape Seattle and its too-easy-to-cop drug scene … Pfaff dies just two months after Kurt Cobain ended his life … it's been a swell couple of months for Courtney Love …
1996, the Furthur Festival kicks off in Atlanta, as the surviving members of The Grateful Dead perform together for the first time since the death of Jerry Garcia …
1998, Paul McCartney personally selects and arranges the flowers—45,000 of them—at Manhattan Riverside Church where friends and family gather to say farewell to his wife Linda …
1999, the band Pantera rides a float in the Dallas Stars Stanley Cup victory parade in downtown Dallas … the honor is bestowed upon the band because Pantera, in addition to being huge Stars fans, wrote the team's theme song, which is played multiple times at every home game …
2000, exactly 30 years and two days after "Cinnamon Girl" went gold, Neil Young is honored in Toronto with a star on the Canada Walk Of Fame … the Toronto native joins prior honorees Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, Gordon Lightfoot, Rush, Christopher Plummer, Jim Carey, and director Norman Jewison …
2003, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announces plans to fight Internet piracy by suing hundreds of individual computer users who illegally share music files online … many industry experts argue that suing one's customers is not a formula for repeat business; however, the RIAA says it will start the following day … hey RIAA, what about selling a better product for less money? … that still works …
2004, Britney Spears announces her engagement to boyfriend, dancer Kevin Federline … the engagement comes about six months after the pop vixen dissolved her Las Vegas marriage to childhood "friend" Jason Allan Alexander, who hails from her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana … proving once again that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, the wedding was annulled after two days of intensive marital bliss … Spears' lawyers contended before a Nevada court that she "lacked understanding of her actions." … lucky for Kevin, Britney's had a good six months to figure out the whole getting married thing … however, as time will show, she'll never really quite get the hang of it, as Federline will be Fed-exed out of her existence …
2006, while traveling in the Middle East with his Dark Side of the Moon world tour, Roger Waters visits a concrete wall built by the Israeli government in the East Bank to keep out Palestinian suicide bombers … Waters scribbles sentiments on the structure such as, "Tear Down the Wall!" … the next day the Pink Floyd founder decides to play in a community called Neveh Shalom where Israelis and Arabs peacefully live together instead of Tel Aviv as originally planned … it's reported that those opposed to the barrier have adopted Waters' song "Another Brick in the Wall" as a rallying cry … in an ironic twist, the New Cars' Road Rage tour has the brakes slammed on when the band's tour bus suddenly swerves to avoid a head-on … guitarist Elliot Easton breaks a clavicle in the incident … rumors that the New Cars next tour will be sponsored by State Farm Insurance and called, "The $500 Deductible Tour," with Mike And The Mechanics playing warm up, are sadly unfounded … Korn pulls the plug on its European tour when singer Jonathan Davis comes down with a blood disorder … Davis posts a note on the band's website saying that head-banging with his condition could lead to instant death by brain hemorrhage … then again, so could standing in front of the PA speakers … just before The Stones embark on yet another tour, guitarist Ron Wood enters rehab, apparently he didn't hab right the first time …
2007, New Order get their marching orders as bassist Peter Hook confirms the breakup of the band to BBC 6 Music … Hook seems upset as he explains the situation, "It has been very sad actually, and it has been very difficult to live with, but that is life, isn't it? But you pick yourself up, you dust yourself off, and you start all over again." … pushed to give a reason for the split, he replied simply, "It's personal." …
2008, presidential contender Barack Obama continues to rack up support in the rock community with Michael Stipe, Pete Wentz, Billie Joe Armstrong, Bob Weir, Dave Matthews, Jeff Tweedy, and Conor Oberst all signing on to give his campaign support … commenting on the candidate, The Dead's Weir says, "The contagion of hope is real" … subsequently, the CDC was able to stamp out the contagion in short order … or was that the GOP …
Arrivals:
June 16: lyricist Ben Raleigh (1913), honkin' saxophonist Lucky Thompson (1924), jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd (1925), Motown songwriter-producer Lamont Dozier (1941), Eddie Levert of the O'Jays (1942), Pete Rivera of Rare Earth (1945), James Smith of the Stylistics (1950), pop singer Gino Vanelli (1952), Tupac Shakur (1971)
June 17: Igor Stravinsky (1882), guitarist Cliff Gallup of Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps (1930), Norman Kuhlke of The Swinging Blue Jeans (1942), Chris Spedding (1944), Barry Manilow born Barry Alan Pinkus (1946), Paul Young (1956), Kevin Thornton of Color Me Badd (1969)
June 18: Jeanette MacDonald (1907), lyricist Sammy Cahn (1913), Paul McCartney (1942), bassist Carl Radle (1942), pop singer Sandy Posey (1944), Jerome Smith of KC and The Sunshine Band (1953), Tom Bailey of The Thompson Twins (1957), West Arkeen (1960), Alison Moyet (1961), Guns N' Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed (1963), Nathan Morris of Boyz II Men (1971)
June 19: bandleader Guy Lombardo (1902), Tommy Devito of The Four Seasons (1936), rockabilly bad boy Robert Gordon (1945), singer-songwriter Nick Drake (1948), Ann Wilson of Heart (1950) Paula Abdul (1962), Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe (1964), Brian Welch of Korn (1969)
June 20: producer Mickie Most (1938), Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys (1942), singer Anne Murray (1945), Lionel Richie (1949), Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony (1955), John Taylor of Duran Duran (1960), Murphy Karges of Sugar Ray (1968), Twiggy Ramirez of Marilyn Manson (1972)
June 21: Ray Davies of The Kinks (1944), Joey Molland of Badfinger (1948), Joey Kramer of Aerosmith (1950), Nils Lofgren (1951), Mark Brzezicki of Big Country (1957), country singer-songwriter Kathy Mattea (1959), Marcella Detroit of Shakespears Sister (1959), British singer and DJ Sonique, born Sonia Clarke (1968), Mike Einziger of Incubus (1976)
June 22: jazz guitarist Johnny Smith (1922), Kris Kristofferson (1936), Peter Asher of Peter & Gordon (1944), singer Howard Kaylan of The Turtles (1947), Todd Rundgren (1948), Alan Osmond of The Osmonds (1949), Cyndi Lauper (1953), Derek Forbes, bassist with Simple Minds (1956), bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS (1957), Cowboy Junkies' bassist Alan Anton (1959), singer Jimmy Somerville of Bronski Beat and The Communards (1961), Mike Edwards of Jesus Jones (1964), Tom Cunningham of Wet Wet Wet (1965), singer-guitarist-songwriter Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies (1970)
Departures:
June 16: Ben Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo (2004), The Savages singer Screaming Lord Sutch born David Edward Sutch (1999), Dr. Hook drummer John Wolters (1997), Kristen Pfaff of Hole (1994), John Jordan of The Four Vagabonds (1988), James Honeyman-Scott (1982), Warren Ryanes of The Monotones (1982), Don Robey, founder of Peacock Records (1975), pioneer electric guitarist Lonnie Johnson (1970), Jack McFadden, Nashville manager of Buck Owens (1968)
June 17: Karl Mueller of Soul Asylum (2005), jazz singer Jackie Paris (2004), songwriter Mark Cherron (1994)
June 18: Luther Tucker (1993), "Rock Around The Clock" guitar soloist Danny Cedrone (1954)
June 19: mariachi singer-actor Antonio Aguilar (2007), Bobby Helms of "Jingle Bell Rock" fame (1997), composer Vivian Ellis (1996), R&B artist Walter Jackson (1983)
June 20: Kool & The Gang co-founder and guitarist, Claydes Charles Smith (2006), Canadian one-hit-wonder, Bobby Gimby (1998), Lawrence Payton of The Four Tops (1997), Jim Ellison, lead singer and guitarist with Material Issue (1996)
June 21: Mississippi bluesman John Lee Hooker (2001), jazz and R&B crooner Arthur Prysock (1997), gospel singer Thomas Whitfield (1992), bandleader Bert Kaempfert (1980)
June 22: Kripp Johnson, born Corinthian Johnson, lead singer for The Del Vikings (1990), Jesse "Ed" Davis, session guitarist with Taj Mahal (1988), singer-radio personality Dennis Day (1988) Fred Astaire (1987), Warren Corbin, bass vocalist with the Cleftones (1978), Pere Ubu guitarist Peter Laughner (1977), composer Darius Milhaud (1974)
Week In Review
June 16, 2011
1948, CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) demonstrates the long-playing microgroove recording, playing at 33-1/3 revolutions per minute, replacing albums consisting of several 10- or 12-inch 78rpms with a single record … in response, RCA Victor, who had experimented with 33-1/3 in 1931, comes out with its own innovation, the seven-inch 45rpm record that becomes the standard for single releases … 78rpms are gone by 1960 … Amazing whaetever will they think of next
1955, Sun Records releases Johnny Cash's first single, "Cry Cry Cry" … Johnny will be cashing in for quite some time to come, as it's the first in a string of over 100 hit singles by the Man in Black …
1962, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, who wrote and first recorded "The Twist," are scheduled to perform the song on American Bandstand but have to cancel the date … in an odd twist, Chubby Checker is hired as a replacement to perform his version of the song, which will climb higher on the pop chart than Ballard's original … twice … it will hit number one and then do it again a year later …
1963, on his way to becoming huge, Little Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips Pt. 2" becomes the 13-year-old's first of 61 records to hit the charts …
1964, in the midst of an American tour, The Rolling Stones spend $2,500 in airfares to get back to England in order to play a date at Oxford's Magdalen College committed to a year earlier … the gig pays $170 …
1965, The Byrds' folk-rock version of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" starts its week at the top of the charts …
1967, the Monterey Pop Festival in California debuts with a stellar lineup including Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Otis Redding … the three-day event is a precursor to Woodstock and many more giant outdoor rock festivals … hippies gather in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury district to celebrate the Summer of Love … as an ominous harbinger of more troubling times, dozens are carted off to psycho wards after ingesting STP, a newly-developed psychedelic that produces scary three-day trips … the following October, a mock funeral for the death of the hippie is held in "the Haight" … that, along with The Stones' disastrous Altamont concert, signals that the honeymoon is over, and the Summer of Love will soon turn into the winter of our discontent …
1969, Mick Taylor makes his stage debut with The Rolling Stones at a concert in Rome … he replaces guitarist Brian Jones and will stay with the band until 1975, when he retires and is replaced by Ron Wood … Taylor holds the distinction of being the only Stones guitarist to quit the band and live … Jimi Hendrix earns the largest paycheck to date for a single show, receiving $125,000 for a single set at the Newport Jazz Festival … Also this week, the Hollies record "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," with Elton John playing piano … the song reaches No. 7 on Billboard's singles chart …
1970, "Cinnamon Girl" by Neil Young goes gold, bringing Neil's search for a heart of the same substance that much closer …
1973, The Rocky Horror Picture Show opens for the first time in London … after seeing audiences quivering with antici … pation, Tim Curry will reprise his role for the movie version two years later …
1975, Alice Cooper takes a tumble from a stage in Vancouver, British Columbia, resulting in six broken ribs … his makeup, however, emerges unscathed …
1980, Led Zeppelin begins a three-week tour with a concert in Dortmund, Germany … held at the Westfalenhalle, it is their first concert on the European continent since 1973 … however, due to John Bonham's death in September, it will be the group's last European tour … they open the show with "Train Kept A Rollin'," a song they haven't played since 1969 and which Page also performed with the original Yardbirds … the Tiny Bradshaw composition was popularized by Johnny Burnette and will later be covered by rockers ranging from Alex Chilton to Motorhead to, most famously, Aerosmith …
1981, Donald Fagan and Walter Becker announce the break-up of Steely Dan … Mark David Chapman pleads guilty to killing John Lennon …
1990, Little Richard hitting the big time is commemorated with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame …
1993, the U.S. Postal Service releases a set of stamps that feature iconic images of Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Clyde McPhatter, Elvis Presley, Otis Redding, Ritchie Valens, and Dinah Washington …
1994, Hole bassist Kristen Pfaff is found slumped over her bathtub, dead of a heroin overdose … next to her body is a cosmetic bag with more than just lipstick inside … tragically, this occurs just after Kristen had packed her bags to move back to Minneapolis to escape Seattle and its too-easy-to-cop drug scene … Pfaff dies just two months after Kurt Cobain ended his life … it's been a swell couple of months for Courtney Love …
1996, the Furthur Festival kicks off in Atlanta, as the surviving members of The Grateful Dead perform together for the first time since the death of Jerry Garcia …
1998, Paul McCartney personally selects and arranges the flowers—45,000 of them—at Manhattan Riverside Church where friends and family gather to say farewell to his wife Linda …
1999, the band Pantera rides a float in the Dallas Stars Stanley Cup victory parade in downtown Dallas … the honor is bestowed upon the band because Pantera, in addition to being huge Stars fans, wrote the team's theme song, which is played multiple times at every home game …
2000, exactly 30 years and two days after "Cinnamon Girl" went gold, Neil Young is honored in Toronto with a star on the Canada Walk Of Fame … the Toronto native joins prior honorees Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, Gordon Lightfoot, Rush, Christopher Plummer, Jim Carey, and director Norman Jewison …
2003, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announces plans to fight Internet piracy by suing hundreds of individual computer users who illegally share music files online … many industry experts argue that suing one's customers is not a formula for repeat business; however, the RIAA says it will start the following day … hey RIAA, what about selling a better product for less money? … that still works …
2004, Britney Spears announces her engagement to boyfriend, dancer Kevin Federline … the engagement comes about six months after the pop vixen dissolved her Las Vegas marriage to childhood "friend" Jason Allan Alexander, who hails from her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana … proving once again that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, the wedding was annulled after two days of intensive marital bliss … Spears' lawyers contended before a Nevada court that she "lacked understanding of her actions." … lucky for Kevin, Britney's had a good six months to figure out the whole getting married thing … however, as time will show, she'll never really quite get the hang of it, as Federline will be Fed-exed out of her existence …
2006, while traveling in the Middle East with his Dark Side of the Moon world tour, Roger Waters visits a concrete wall built by the Israeli government in the East Bank to keep out Palestinian suicide bombers … Waters scribbles sentiments on the structure such as, "Tear Down the Wall!" … the next day the Pink Floyd founder decides to play in a community called Neveh Shalom where Israelis and Arabs peacefully live together instead of Tel Aviv as originally planned … it's reported that those opposed to the barrier have adopted Waters' song "Another Brick in the Wall" as a rallying cry … in an ironic twist, the New Cars' Road Rage tour has the brakes slammed on when the band's tour bus suddenly swerves to avoid a head-on … guitarist Elliot Easton breaks a clavicle in the incident … rumors that the New Cars next tour will be sponsored by State Farm Insurance and called, "The $500 Deductible Tour," with Mike And The Mechanics playing warm up, are sadly unfounded … Korn pulls the plug on its European tour when singer Jonathan Davis comes down with a blood disorder … Davis posts a note on the band's website saying that head-banging with his condition could lead to instant death by brain hemorrhage … then again, so could standing in front of the PA speakers … just before The Stones embark on yet another tour, guitarist Ron Wood enters rehab, apparently he didn't hab right the first time …
2007, New Order get their marching orders as bassist Peter Hook confirms the breakup of the band to BBC 6 Music … Hook seems upset as he explains the situation, "It has been very sad actually, and it has been very difficult to live with, but that is life, isn't it? But you pick yourself up, you dust yourself off, and you start all over again." … pushed to give a reason for the split, he replied simply, "It's personal." …
2008, presidential contender Barack Obama continues to rack up support in the rock community with Michael Stipe, Pete Wentz, Billie Joe Armstrong, Bob Weir, Dave Matthews, Jeff Tweedy, and Conor Oberst all signing on to give his campaign support … commenting on the candidate, The Dead's Weir says, "The contagion of hope is real" … subsequently, the CDC was able to stamp out the contagion in short order … or was that the GOP …
Arrivals:
June 16: lyricist Ben Raleigh (1913), honkin' saxophonist Lucky Thompson (1924), jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd (1925), Motown songwriter-producer Lamont Dozier (1941), Eddie Levert of the O'Jays (1942), Pete Rivera of Rare Earth (1945), James Smith of the Stylistics (1950), pop singer Gino Vanelli (1952), Tupac Shakur (1971)
June 17: Igor Stravinsky (1882), guitarist Cliff Gallup of Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps (1930), Norman Kuhlke of The Swinging Blue Jeans (1942), Chris Spedding (1944), Barry Manilow born Barry Alan Pinkus (1946), Paul Young (1956), Kevin Thornton of Color Me Badd (1969)
June 18: Jeanette MacDonald (1907), lyricist Sammy Cahn (1913), Paul McCartney (1942), bassist Carl Radle (1942), pop singer Sandy Posey (1944), Jerome Smith of KC and The Sunshine Band (1953), Tom Bailey of The Thompson Twins (1957), West Arkeen (1960), Alison Moyet (1961), Guns N' Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed (1963), Nathan Morris of Boyz II Men (1971)
June 19: bandleader Guy Lombardo (1902), Tommy Devito of The Four Seasons (1936), rockabilly bad boy Robert Gordon (1945), singer-songwriter Nick Drake (1948), Ann Wilson of Heart (1950) Paula Abdul (1962), Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe (1964), Brian Welch of Korn (1969)
June 20: producer Mickie Most (1938), Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys (1942), singer Anne Murray (1945), Lionel Richie (1949), Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony (1955), John Taylor of Duran Duran (1960), Murphy Karges of Sugar Ray (1968), Twiggy Ramirez of Marilyn Manson (1972)
June 21: Ray Davies of The Kinks (1944), Joey Molland of Badfinger (1948), Joey Kramer of Aerosmith (1950), Nils Lofgren (1951), Mark Brzezicki of Big Country (1957), country singer-songwriter Kathy Mattea (1959), Marcella Detroit of Shakespears Sister (1959), British singer and DJ Sonique, born Sonia Clarke (1968), Mike Einziger of Incubus (1976)
June 22: jazz guitarist Johnny Smith (1922), Kris Kristofferson (1936), Peter Asher of Peter & Gordon (1944), singer Howard Kaylan of The Turtles (1947), Todd Rundgren (1948), Alan Osmond of The Osmonds (1949), Cyndi Lauper (1953), Derek Forbes, bassist with Simple Minds (1956), bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS (1957), Cowboy Junkies' bassist Alan Anton (1959), singer Jimmy Somerville of Bronski Beat and The Communards (1961), Mike Edwards of Jesus Jones (1964), Tom Cunningham of Wet Wet Wet (1965), singer-guitarist-songwriter Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies (1970)
Departures:
June 16: Ben Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo (2004), The Savages singer Screaming Lord Sutch born David Edward Sutch (1999), Dr. Hook drummer John Wolters (1997), Kristen Pfaff of Hole (1994), John Jordan of The Four Vagabonds (1988), James Honeyman-Scott (1982), Warren Ryanes of The Monotones (1982), Don Robey, founder of Peacock Records (1975), pioneer electric guitarist Lonnie Johnson (1970), Jack McFadden, Nashville manager of Buck Owens (1968)
June 17: Karl Mueller of Soul Asylum (2005), jazz singer Jackie Paris (2004), songwriter Mark Cherron (1994)
June 18: Luther Tucker (1993), "Rock Around The Clock" guitar soloist Danny Cedrone (1954)
June 19: mariachi singer-actor Antonio Aguilar (2007), Bobby Helms of "Jingle Bell Rock" fame (1997), composer Vivian Ellis (1996), R&B artist Walter Jackson (1983)
June 20: Kool & The Gang co-founder and guitarist, Claydes Charles Smith (2006), Canadian one-hit-wonder, Bobby Gimby (1998), Lawrence Payton of The Four Tops (1997), Jim Ellison, lead singer and guitarist with Material Issue (1996)
June 21: Mississippi bluesman John Lee Hooker (2001), jazz and R&B crooner Arthur Prysock (1997), gospel singer Thomas Whitfield (1992), bandleader Bert Kaempfert (1980)
June 22: Kripp Johnson, born Corinthian Johnson, lead singer for The Del Vikings (1990), Jesse "Ed" Davis, session guitarist with Taj Mahal (1988), singer-radio personality Dennis Day (1988) Fred Astaire (1987), Warren Corbin, bass vocalist with the Cleftones (1978), Pere Ubu guitarist Peter Laughner (1977), composer Darius Milhaud (1974)
Apologies peeps missed a few due to selling and buying houses and looking for new job, the houses thing is done and dusted well almost Banks have their say now apart from that its really just a job I'm looking for now anyway enjoy the read.
Week in Review
Elvis parks the truck ... Doors re-opened ... Jack White hoses a digit ...
Week In Review
July 7, 2011
1954, Elvis Presley's career comes to a crashing end—his career as a truck driver that is … he signs his first contract with Sun Records …
1955, "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets becomes the first rock-and-roll record to hit #1 on the national pop charts …
1958, silky-voiced jazz vocalist Norma Jean Egstrom, better known as Peggy Lee, soars up the charts to the #8 spot with her definitive version of "Fever." The tune is destined to become her signature song … The piece is covered by many others, including Elvis, Madonna, and Beyoncé …
1962, The Rolling Stones play out for the first time at the Marquee Club in London … Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, Mick Avory, and Dick Taylor constitute the lineup … ( A few names a few would not know! I hazard a guess!)
1967, in one of the strangest rock-and-roll pairings ever, the Jimi Hendrix Experience joins The Monkees' North American tour in Jacksonville, FL … the teenybopper crowds don't know what to make of Hendrix's wild performances, resulting in the Experience leaving the tour after only a few dates … the persistent rumor that Hendrix is kicked off the tour after protests by Daughters of the American Revolution that his show was "too erotic," is false …
1968, Steppenwolf releases the ultimate biker anthem—"Born To Be Wild" …
1969, Blind Faith makes their American concert debut at Madison Square Garden in New York City … Elvis Presley's cool comes to a crashing end as the heavily sequined King plays to a packed house at the International Hotel in Vegas … not being one to let an opportunity pass, manager Colonel Parker works out a multi-year, multimillion-dollar contract covering return engagements … the terms are jotted down on a tablecloth in the hotel's coffee shop …
1974, Crosby, Stills, and Nash start their reunion tour in Seattle …
1977, just like his namesake, Elvis Costello's career comes to a sudden stop—his career as a computer operator at a cosmetic factory, that is … ignoring the advice given to all rock star hopefuls, Elvis quits his day job to enter rock history …
1985, more than 50 acts perform to raise money for starving Africans in two simultaneous events named Live Aid … one is broadcast from Philadelphia, the other from London … the lineup includes such luminaries as Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John, David Bowie, The Who, Queen, Joan Baez, Tina Turner, Patti LaBelle, The Pretenders, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Black Sabbath, and many more …
1995, Jerry Garcia plays his final show with The Grateful Dead … the guitarist, vocalist, and founder of the band will die of a heart attack a month later while in a California rehab center … (Sad end of an era)
1998, a Los Angeles judge issues a bench warrant for Scott Weiland when the Stone Temple Pilots singer fails to appear in court for a second time on drug possession charges … in what's becoming a bad week for Weiland, he's sentenced to three years' probation and a stint in rehab this same week in 2004 for a DUI arrest the previous October …
1999, Limp Bizkit leader Fred Durst is arrested in St. Paul, MN, for suspicion of aggravated assault following the band's show at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium … during the performance, Durst's bodyguard attempts to remove a fan who had jumped onstage … venue security mistook the bodyguard for an unruly fan and attempted to remove him from the stage … at this point Durst allegedly kicked one of the guards in the head …
2002, the surviving members of The Doors announce that they will be joined by The Cult singer Ian Astbury at an upcoming concert at the California Motor Speedway … It's announced at the band's first concert that John Densmore will not be the drummer as he is suffering from tinnitus … Densmore will later fight a legal battle with Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger over the use of the band's name … Stewart Copeland plays several dates with The Doors of the 21st Century before leaving the tour after breaking his arm in a bike wreck, precipitating more lawsuits …
2003, Jack White of The White Stripes breaks his finger in a car wreck in his hometown of Detroit … as a result of the injury, the band must cancel two European performances and reschedule their North American tour … White spends his recuperation time producing an album for country star Loretta Lynn and posts a video clip of his finger surgery on the band's website to prove the injury's not a publicity stunt …
2006, in a sorry commentary on the state of pop music sales and the vapidity of the product being crammed down the throats of the music-buying public, the soundtrack to Disney's High School Musical scores top-seller status through the first half of 2006 with 2.6 million discs sold, while the industry continues to struggle with overall CD sales down four percent … rap and rock are the biggest losers while digital downloads offer a ray of hope with a 77-percent increase … but the online business consists mostly of sales of singles and the profit margins for the record companies and artists are much slimmer … country music is an exception posting a 17-percent increase in disc sales … The Grateful Dead cut a long-term deal with Rhino Records to handle the band's vast archive of live-show recordings and market Dead-related merch … Rhino executive vice president Gregg Goldman promises the label will be selective in the deals it makes with potential advertisers, averring that, "We are sensitive to the legacy. We would never pitch to The Grateful Dead that they should do a deal with a fast food company or a soda company." … (Whats wrong with Hells Pizza a NZ Icon people)
2008, Bon Jovi treats a crowd of 60,000 to a two-hour set of hits on Central Park's Great Lawn … three days later, the Jersey band wraps up its Lost Highway tour after grossing $56 million, making it the biggest money-maker of the festival season … the drumhead from the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band brings in $1.1 million at an auction in London … other items at Christie's include the guitar on which Pete Townshend composed "Behind Blue Eyes" that fetches $27,000; some multicolored pants worn by Jimi Hendrix go for $40,000; and John Lennon's tinted prescription sunglasses fetch $78,000 …
Arrivals:
July 7: Gustav Mahler (1860), blues pianist Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (1913), Tiny Grimes (1916), Doc Severinsen (1927), Mary Ford (1928), Joe Zawinul (1932), Ringo Starr (1940), David Hodo of the Village People (1947), Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt of Iron Butterfly (1948), Mark White of Spin Doctors (1962)
July 8: Louis Jordan (1908), Billy Eckstein (1914), pioneering rock 'n' roll pianist Johnnie Jones (1924), Earl Van Dyke (1930), Jai Johnny Johanson of the Allman Brothers Band (1944), Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode (1961), Toby Keith (1961), Joan Osborne (1962), Beck (1970)
July 9: jump blues singer Joe Liggins (1916), producer Lee Hazelwood (1929), Phil Leavitt of The Diamonds (1935), Donald McPherson of the Main Ingredient (1941), drummer Mitch Mitchell of The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1946), Bon Scott of AC/DC (1946), Debbie Sledge of Sister Sledge (1954), Soft Cell's Marc Almond (1959), Jim Kerr of Simple Minds (1959), singer-songwriter Courtney Love (1965)
July 10: composer-music educator Carl Orff (1895), Arkansas blues slide guitarist Casey Bill Weldon (1909), heavy metal shrieker Ronnie James Dio (1942), Jerry Miller of Moby Grape (1943), Arlo Guthrie of "Alice's Restaurant" fame and son of Woody Guthrie (1947), Dave Smalley of The Raspberries (1949), Greg Kihn, singer-songwriter-guitarist and frontman of the Greg Kihn Band (1950), Neil Tennant of The Pet Shop Boys (1954), banjo-meister Béla Fleck of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones (1958), Peter DiStefano of Porno for Pyros (1965), pop singer Jessica Simpson (1980)
July 11: blues guitarist Blind Lemon Jefferson (1897), actor-singer Tab Hunter (1931), R&B singer Thurston Harris (1931), Jeff Hanna of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1947), Bonnie Pointer of The Pointer Sisters (1950), Benny DeFranco of The DeFranco Family (1954), singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega (1959), Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi (1960), rapper Li'l Kim (1975)
July 12: lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895), Barbara Cowsill, mother and member of The Cowsills (1928), concert pianist Van Cliburn (1934), KISS drummer Eric Carr (1950), Chicago electric blues guitarist Sammy Lawhorne (1935), singer-keyboardist Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac (1943), Liz Mitchell of Boney M (1952), Phillip Taylor Kramer, bassist with Iron Butterfly (1952), singer Sandi Patti (1956), Soul Asylum's Dan Murphy (1962), UB40's Alan Duval (1963), John Petrucci of Dream Theater (1967)
July 13: Cajun artist Joe Berry, born Joseph Barrios (1939), drummer Steven Jo Bladd of the J. Geils Band (1942), Roger McGuinn of The Byrds (1942), comedian Cheech Marin (how'd he get in here?), who sang on the hidden track of Korn's Follow the Leader (oh, that's how) (1946), country singer and multi-instrumentalist, Louise Mandrell (1954), Mark Mendoza of Twisted Sister (1956), rock journalist and movie maker Cameron Crowe (1957), R&B singer Gerald Levert, son of O'Jays lead singer Eddie Levert (1966)
Departures:
July 7: Syd Barrett, founder of Pink Floyd, born Roger Keith Barrett (2006), folk singer Fred Neil (2001), Mia Zapata of The Gits (1993)
July 8: drummer Chaino (1999)
July 9: for one day in rock history, everybody lives!
July 10: music journalist, producer, and talent scout who discovered Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Hammond Sr. (1987), Boston Pops Orchestra conductor Arthur Fiedler (1979), "Jelly Roll" Morton, born Ferdinand Joseph Lemott (1941)
July 11: Helen Forrest, popular big band jazz vocalist who worked with Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and Harry James (1999), Louis Gottlieb, bassist and lofty comic spokesman for The Limeliters (1996), Afro-Cuban jazz maestro Mario Bauza (1993), Hubert Johnson of The Contours (1981), composer George Gershwin (1937)
July 12: rapper Luis "Papo" Deschamps of Sandy Y Papo (1999), Jimmie Driftwood, born James Corbett Morris, the "Father of Arkansas Folk Music" (1998), Jonathan Melvoin of the Smashing Pumpkins (1996), Chris Wood of Traffic (1983), singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton, known for her 5-1/2 octave range (1979)
July 13: Arthur "Killer" Kane, New York Dolls bassist (2004), Compay Segundo, Cuban musician featured on the Buena Vista Social Club CD (2003), Chicago blues pianist Eddie Boyd (1994)
Week in Review
Elvis parks the truck ... Doors re-opened ... Jack White hoses a digit ...
Week In Review
July 7, 2011
1954, Elvis Presley's career comes to a crashing end—his career as a truck driver that is … he signs his first contract with Sun Records …
1955, "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets becomes the first rock-and-roll record to hit #1 on the national pop charts …
1958, silky-voiced jazz vocalist Norma Jean Egstrom, better known as Peggy Lee, soars up the charts to the #8 spot with her definitive version of "Fever." The tune is destined to become her signature song … The piece is covered by many others, including Elvis, Madonna, and Beyoncé …
1962, The Rolling Stones play out for the first time at the Marquee Club in London … Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, Mick Avory, and Dick Taylor constitute the lineup … ( A few names a few would not know! I hazard a guess!)
1967, in one of the strangest rock-and-roll pairings ever, the Jimi Hendrix Experience joins The Monkees' North American tour in Jacksonville, FL … the teenybopper crowds don't know what to make of Hendrix's wild performances, resulting in the Experience leaving the tour after only a few dates … the persistent rumor that Hendrix is kicked off the tour after protests by Daughters of the American Revolution that his show was "too erotic," is false …
1968, Steppenwolf releases the ultimate biker anthem—"Born To Be Wild" …
1969, Blind Faith makes their American concert debut at Madison Square Garden in New York City … Elvis Presley's cool comes to a crashing end as the heavily sequined King plays to a packed house at the International Hotel in Vegas … not being one to let an opportunity pass, manager Colonel Parker works out a multi-year, multimillion-dollar contract covering return engagements … the terms are jotted down on a tablecloth in the hotel's coffee shop …
1974, Crosby, Stills, and Nash start their reunion tour in Seattle …
1977, just like his namesake, Elvis Costello's career comes to a sudden stop—his career as a computer operator at a cosmetic factory, that is … ignoring the advice given to all rock star hopefuls, Elvis quits his day job to enter rock history …
1985, more than 50 acts perform to raise money for starving Africans in two simultaneous events named Live Aid … one is broadcast from Philadelphia, the other from London … the lineup includes such luminaries as Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John, David Bowie, The Who, Queen, Joan Baez, Tina Turner, Patti LaBelle, The Pretenders, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Black Sabbath, and many more …
1995, Jerry Garcia plays his final show with The Grateful Dead … the guitarist, vocalist, and founder of the band will die of a heart attack a month later while in a California rehab center … (Sad end of an era)
1998, a Los Angeles judge issues a bench warrant for Scott Weiland when the Stone Temple Pilots singer fails to appear in court for a second time on drug possession charges … in what's becoming a bad week for Weiland, he's sentenced to three years' probation and a stint in rehab this same week in 2004 for a DUI arrest the previous October …
1999, Limp Bizkit leader Fred Durst is arrested in St. Paul, MN, for suspicion of aggravated assault following the band's show at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium … during the performance, Durst's bodyguard attempts to remove a fan who had jumped onstage … venue security mistook the bodyguard for an unruly fan and attempted to remove him from the stage … at this point Durst allegedly kicked one of the guards in the head …
2002, the surviving members of The Doors announce that they will be joined by The Cult singer Ian Astbury at an upcoming concert at the California Motor Speedway … It's announced at the band's first concert that John Densmore will not be the drummer as he is suffering from tinnitus … Densmore will later fight a legal battle with Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger over the use of the band's name … Stewart Copeland plays several dates with The Doors of the 21st Century before leaving the tour after breaking his arm in a bike wreck, precipitating more lawsuits …
2003, Jack White of The White Stripes breaks his finger in a car wreck in his hometown of Detroit … as a result of the injury, the band must cancel two European performances and reschedule their North American tour … White spends his recuperation time producing an album for country star Loretta Lynn and posts a video clip of his finger surgery on the band's website to prove the injury's not a publicity stunt …
2006, in a sorry commentary on the state of pop music sales and the vapidity of the product being crammed down the throats of the music-buying public, the soundtrack to Disney's High School Musical scores top-seller status through the first half of 2006 with 2.6 million discs sold, while the industry continues to struggle with overall CD sales down four percent … rap and rock are the biggest losers while digital downloads offer a ray of hope with a 77-percent increase … but the online business consists mostly of sales of singles and the profit margins for the record companies and artists are much slimmer … country music is an exception posting a 17-percent increase in disc sales … The Grateful Dead cut a long-term deal with Rhino Records to handle the band's vast archive of live-show recordings and market Dead-related merch … Rhino executive vice president Gregg Goldman promises the label will be selective in the deals it makes with potential advertisers, averring that, "We are sensitive to the legacy. We would never pitch to The Grateful Dead that they should do a deal with a fast food company or a soda company." … (Whats wrong with Hells Pizza a NZ Icon people)
2008, Bon Jovi treats a crowd of 60,000 to a two-hour set of hits on Central Park's Great Lawn … three days later, the Jersey band wraps up its Lost Highway tour after grossing $56 million, making it the biggest money-maker of the festival season … the drumhead from the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band brings in $1.1 million at an auction in London … other items at Christie's include the guitar on which Pete Townshend composed "Behind Blue Eyes" that fetches $27,000; some multicolored pants worn by Jimi Hendrix go for $40,000; and John Lennon's tinted prescription sunglasses fetch $78,000 …
Arrivals:
July 7: Gustav Mahler (1860), blues pianist Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (1913), Tiny Grimes (1916), Doc Severinsen (1927), Mary Ford (1928), Joe Zawinul (1932), Ringo Starr (1940), David Hodo of the Village People (1947), Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt of Iron Butterfly (1948), Mark White of Spin Doctors (1962)
July 8: Louis Jordan (1908), Billy Eckstein (1914), pioneering rock 'n' roll pianist Johnnie Jones (1924), Earl Van Dyke (1930), Jai Johnny Johanson of the Allman Brothers Band (1944), Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode (1961), Toby Keith (1961), Joan Osborne (1962), Beck (1970)
July 9: jump blues singer Joe Liggins (1916), producer Lee Hazelwood (1929), Phil Leavitt of The Diamonds (1935), Donald McPherson of the Main Ingredient (1941), drummer Mitch Mitchell of The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1946), Bon Scott of AC/DC (1946), Debbie Sledge of Sister Sledge (1954), Soft Cell's Marc Almond (1959), Jim Kerr of Simple Minds (1959), singer-songwriter Courtney Love (1965)
July 10: composer-music educator Carl Orff (1895), Arkansas blues slide guitarist Casey Bill Weldon (1909), heavy metal shrieker Ronnie James Dio (1942), Jerry Miller of Moby Grape (1943), Arlo Guthrie of "Alice's Restaurant" fame and son of Woody Guthrie (1947), Dave Smalley of The Raspberries (1949), Greg Kihn, singer-songwriter-guitarist and frontman of the Greg Kihn Band (1950), Neil Tennant of The Pet Shop Boys (1954), banjo-meister Béla Fleck of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones (1958), Peter DiStefano of Porno for Pyros (1965), pop singer Jessica Simpson (1980)
July 11: blues guitarist Blind Lemon Jefferson (1897), actor-singer Tab Hunter (1931), R&B singer Thurston Harris (1931), Jeff Hanna of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1947), Bonnie Pointer of The Pointer Sisters (1950), Benny DeFranco of The DeFranco Family (1954), singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega (1959), Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi (1960), rapper Li'l Kim (1975)
July 12: lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895), Barbara Cowsill, mother and member of The Cowsills (1928), concert pianist Van Cliburn (1934), KISS drummer Eric Carr (1950), Chicago electric blues guitarist Sammy Lawhorne (1935), singer-keyboardist Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac (1943), Liz Mitchell of Boney M (1952), Phillip Taylor Kramer, bassist with Iron Butterfly (1952), singer Sandi Patti (1956), Soul Asylum's Dan Murphy (1962), UB40's Alan Duval (1963), John Petrucci of Dream Theater (1967)
July 13: Cajun artist Joe Berry, born Joseph Barrios (1939), drummer Steven Jo Bladd of the J. Geils Band (1942), Roger McGuinn of The Byrds (1942), comedian Cheech Marin (how'd he get in here?), who sang on the hidden track of Korn's Follow the Leader (oh, that's how) (1946), country singer and multi-instrumentalist, Louise Mandrell (1954), Mark Mendoza of Twisted Sister (1956), rock journalist and movie maker Cameron Crowe (1957), R&B singer Gerald Levert, son of O'Jays lead singer Eddie Levert (1966)
Departures:
July 7: Syd Barrett, founder of Pink Floyd, born Roger Keith Barrett (2006), folk singer Fred Neil (2001), Mia Zapata of The Gits (1993)
July 8: drummer Chaino (1999)
July 9: for one day in rock history, everybody lives!
July 10: music journalist, producer, and talent scout who discovered Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Hammond Sr. (1987), Boston Pops Orchestra conductor Arthur Fiedler (1979), "Jelly Roll" Morton, born Ferdinand Joseph Lemott (1941)
July 11: Helen Forrest, popular big band jazz vocalist who worked with Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and Harry James (1999), Louis Gottlieb, bassist and lofty comic spokesman for The Limeliters (1996), Afro-Cuban jazz maestro Mario Bauza (1993), Hubert Johnson of The Contours (1981), composer George Gershwin (1937)
July 12: rapper Luis "Papo" Deschamps of Sandy Y Papo (1999), Jimmie Driftwood, born James Corbett Morris, the "Father of Arkansas Folk Music" (1998), Jonathan Melvoin of the Smashing Pumpkins (1996), Chris Wood of Traffic (1983), singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton, known for her 5-1/2 octave range (1979)
July 13: Arthur "Killer" Kane, New York Dolls bassist (2004), Compay Segundo, Cuban musician featured on the Buena Vista Social Club CD (2003), Chicago blues pianist Eddie Boyd (1994)
Gotta bit catch up to do sorry this is late team.
The King’s Career Launches ... The Stones Score Their First Hit ... Cream Rises ...
Week In Review
July 14, 2011
1939, "Cherokee" is recorded for the first time by Charlie Barnet and his orchestra … the tune will be recorded by scores of jazz greats and often played at a breakneck pace to humble neophytes …
1953, a young sideburned truck driver—last name of Presley—drops in at the Memphis Recording Service studio, plunks down his four bucks, and records "My Happiness" as a gift for his mother …
1954, Elvis is back in Sun Studios to record the first commercially available Elvis single, "That's Alright Mama" … that same week, Presley turns up at the grand opening of a Memphis drugstore where he performs on the back of a flatbed truck …
1958, following a backstage fight between a member of The Drifters and the manager of New York's Apollo Theater, the group's manager, George Treadwell, fires the entire lineup, then recruits the members of the opening act, The Five Crowns, to become a new incarnation of The Drifters with Ben E. King handling lead vocals … this is one more chapter in a bewildering history during which rival groups billed as The Drifters will tour simultaneously and band rosters will change dozens of times …
1960, Duane Eddy appears on Dick Clark's prime time show and performs "Ramrod," a work in progress … the appearance spurs orders for 150,000 copies, but there's no way to fill them since the record hasn't been finished … producer Lee Hazelwood hits the studio and adds sax and vocal overdubs so the single can be rushed to the pressing plant … it later turns out that the remix probably doesn't include Eddy on guitar … the twangalicious work having been done by studio vet Al Casey …
1963, The Essex score a #1 R&B hit with "Easier Said Than Done" … it'll later clinch the top spot on the pop chart too … all the members of the group are active Marines and they have to get the Corps' approval to tour behind their hit …
1964, The Rolling Stones cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" makes it to #48 on the chart … it is the first in their long line of hits …
1965, Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" is released … it turns out to be his biggest hit ever, climbing to #2 on the U.S. pop chart …
1966, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker get together to form one of rock's most celebrated trios, Cream … 50-year-old crooner Frank Sinatra marries Mia Farrow, 30 years his junior …
1968, Jane Asher calls it quits with Paul McCartney … the announcement that they are no longer engaged is made on the British television show Dee Time while McCartney, who hasn't been told yet, is watching … Asher came home unexpectedly one night to find Paul with another woman … Asher left the home soon after … despite this occurrence, Asher and McCartney are seen together in public appearances … however, the relationship is acknowledged over when McCartney shows up alone at the Yellow Submarine premiere later in the week … the album In-a-Gadda-da-Vida from Iron Butterfly debuts on the U.S. charts … the title track, clocking in at a whopping 17 minutes, features one of the longest drum solos in rock history … according to producer Jim Hilton, the song's title results from singer Doug Ingle's slurred pronunciation of "In Our Garden of Eden" when he was asked for the name of a new song the band was rehearsing … the producer jotted the title down phonetically … Hilton recollects, "I felt it was more interesting and a lot more mystical than the straight title … the band thought I had lost my mind, but it was too late to change it, I had already given my OK on the cover for printing" …
1970, British pop star Arthur Brown is held overnight in a Sicilian jail and faces a prison sentence of up to five years after being charged with committing obscene acts in a public place … Brown was performing at the Palermo Pop Festival when he inexplicably stripped naked on stage in front of 15,000 people … the crowd throws things at him and he is arrested and put in solitary confinement for four days … while in solitary, he receives a petition signed by 200 locals requesting that he leave Italy and never return …
1972, a bomb explodes near a Rolling Stones equipment truck in Montreal … the bomb was placed under a ramp and blows the cones out of a lot of PA cabs … nobody is hurt, it's never determined who placed the bomb … the show goes on as planned …
1973, The Everly Brothers arrive at an ignominious career low when the sweet-harmonizing siblings' set at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, is stopped by the theme park's entertainment director who feels Don is doing a poor job … brother Phil sees red, smashes his guitar, and stalks offstage … ironically, Don performs the third set as a solo and announces that the Everly Brothers are history … Clarence White, singer and guitarist for the Byrds, is run down and killed by a drunk driver while loading equipment after a gig in Palmdale, California …
1974, John Lennon is given two months to leave the United States by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, who have denied him an extension on his visa, supposedly because he pled guilty to a pot charge in England in 1968 … it will be revealed later that he is under surveillance by the FBI … Joey Ramone slides out from behind the drum kit and steps up to the mic to assume vocal duties for The Ramones …
1978, as Bob Dylan leaves England after completion of his U.K. tour, over 200,000 gather at Blackbushe Airport to see him off …
1982, Moon Unit Zappa, still a young teenager, makes her debut with dad, Frank, recording "Valley Girl," which becomes FZ's highest-charting single at #32 and wins Grammy nominations for father and daughter alike …
1986, after 28 years of collaboration, Columbia Records drops Johnny Cash, who then signs with Mercury … the film Sid and Nancy premieres at the Limelight Club in London … the film relates the mostly true biographical tale of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen … the raw, dark film culminates in the stabbing death of Nancy, Sid's arrest for suspicion of murder, and his heroin OD shortly thereafter …
1988, a California appeals court puts the quash on the old "let's-blame-our-child's-suicide-on-a-rock-band" game when it upholds a lower court's decision dismissing a suit against Ozzy Osbourne and CBS … the suit held Ozzy and CBS responsible for the death of a teen who committed suicide after listening to Osbourne's "Suicide Solution" …
1989, Venice, Italy, is overrun by 200,000 loonies who show up in town for a free Pink Floyd concert and annoy the locals with noise, littering, and drug use …
1991, former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler files suit against the band, claiming they peer-pressured him into heroin addiction, then ousted him from the band when he entered a rehab program … eventually, Adler will accept an out-of-court settlement to the tune of 2.5 million bucks …
1995, a bear-bone flute is found in an archaeological dig in the Indrijca River Valley in Slovenia … at an estimated 45,000 years old, it is the oldest musical instrument ever found …
1996, Kim Thayil of Soundgarden is arrested for assault and released the same day in North Carolina … the band had just wrapped up their day as main-stage headliners on the Lollapalooza festival stop at Rockingham Dragway … from his own mouth: "It wasn't even a fan and it wasn't even at our show. It was in the lobby of our hotel in North Carolina. These people heard that we were staying in the hotel so they're sneaking out to look and they had been drinking so they were a little bit verbally abusive. I told one of them to go away with a twist of the wrist and that was it, just once. It wouldn't have been a big deal had I not been who I am—a guy in a rock band." … thanks for the clarification, Kim …
2002, Bob Seger wins the Port Huron to Mackinac Island Sailboat Race, his second sailing title in two years …
2004, singer Linda Ronstadt not only gets booed, she gets the boot after lauding filmmaker Michael Moore and his new movie Fahrenheit 9/11 during a performance at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas …
2006, the Boston jam band Dispatch sells out three 20,000-seat shows at Madison Square Garden with proceeds going to poverty-stricken and AIDS-infested Zimbabwe … near uninterrupted touring builds huge buzz for the band and MySpace proves to be a major force in helping to sell the tickets … Rolling Stone Keith Richards receives a pardon from the state of Arkansas over a 31-year-old conviction for reckless driving … The Vatican, upset by aspects of Madonna's Confessions Tour stage show, calls for the singer's excommunication …
2007, Prince angers the music industry and stirs up trouble among British retailers by giving away his new album with a tabloid newspaper for a weekend …
2008, pre-grunge superstar band Green River reunites to play at record label Sub Pop's 20th anniversary party … though the band never saw much success outside of the '80s Seattle scene, members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament went on to great success with Mother Love Bone and Pearl Jam, while Mark Arm and Steve Turner became grunge legends themselves with Mudhoney …
2009, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch announces that he has a "very treatable" tumor in his salivary gland … the B-Boys cancel their planned tour so MCA can focus on his treatment …
Arrivals:
July 14: American folk legend Woody Guthrie (1912), influential Atlanta DJ Zenas "Daddy" Sears (1913), Cliff Trenier of '50s doo-wop group The Treniers (1919), Lowman Pauling of The "5" Royales (1926), Bob Scholl, member of The Mello-Kings (1938), expatriate British rocker Vince Taylor, role model for Bowie's Ziggy Stardust (1939), Detroit soul singer Ty Hunter (1940), Trevor Horn of Buggles and Yes (1949), singer-songwriter Christopher Cross (1952), singer, songwriter, and guitarist Tanya Donelly of Belly (1966), keyboardist-vocalist Ellen Reid of Crash Test Dummies (1966), singer-songwriter Tameka "Tiny" Cottle of Xscape (1975), rapper Taboo of Black Eyed Peas, born Jaime Luis Gómez (1975)
July 15: Cowboy Copas, country singing star who died in the same plane as Patsy Cline (1913), Motown house drummer William "Benny" Benjamin (1925), singer-actress Nina, Baroness van Pallandt (1932), soul star Millie Jackson (1944), guitarist (and son of actress Loretta Young) Peter Lewis of Moby Grape (1945), singer-songwriter-producer Linda Ronstadt (1946), flamboyant New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale Jr. (1952), guitarist for .38 Special Jeff Carlisi (1952), Joy Division vocalist Ian Curtis (1956), instrumental rock guitarist Joe Satriani (1956)
July 16: Sollie McElroy of The Flamingos (1934), soul songstress Denise LaSalle (1939), Ruben Blades (1948), Stewart Copeland (1952), Ed Kowalczyk of Live (1971)
July 17: Texas R&B singer Peppermint Harris (1925), Spencer Davis (1941), The Sweet's Mick Tucker (1948), Black Sabbath's Terry "Geezer" Butler (1949), Nicolette Larson (1952), Doobie Brother Chet McCracken (1952), Phoebe Snow (1952), JC of PM Dawn (1973)
July 18: Screamin' Jay Hawkins (1929), Papa Dee Allen of War (1931), Dion DiMucci (1937), Rolling Stones pianist-road manager Ian Stewart (1938), Brian Auger (1939), Martha Reeves (1941), Tim Lynch of The Flamin' Groovies (1946), Golden Earring's Caesar Zuiderwijk (1950), Ricky Skaggs (1954), drummer Terry Chambers of XTC (1955), Pearl Jam's Jack Irons (1962), Tony Fagenson of Eve 6 (1962)
July 19: ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax (1902), singer-guitarist Buster Benton (1932), Bo Diddley's fellow guitarist-vocalist Lady Bo born Peggy Jones (1940), pop singer Vikki Carr (1941), Clarence White of The Byrds (1944), Average White Band's Alan Gorrie (1946), Bobby Neal of the Stone Canyon Band (1947), Brian May (1947), The Eagles' Bernie Leadon (1947), Dead keyboardist Keith Godchaux (1948), Allen Collins of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1952), Kevin Haskins of Love & Rockets (1960)
July 20: Buddy Knox (1933), Kim Carnes (1945), The Moody Blues' John Lodge (1945), Carlos Santana (1947), Twisted Sister's Jay Jay French (1954), Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols (1956), Simple Minds' Mick McNeil (1958), Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave (1964), Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam (1966), Vitamin C (1972)
Departures
July 14: Beryl Bryden, dubbed the "British Queen of the Blues" (1998), Phillippe Wynne of the Spinners (1984), Malcolm Owen of the Rutts (1980),
progressive country guitarist Clarence White of The Byrds (1973)
July 15: country songwriter Hank Cochran (2010), rapper Too Poetic, born Anthony Berkeley (2001), Bizarros drummer Rick Garberson (1979)
July 16: singer and radio star Jo Stafford (2008), agent-manager Don Arden (2007), salsa singer Celia Cruz (2003), Styx drummer John Panozzo (1996), Sun Records' Bill Justis (1982), Harry Chapin (1981), Peter Cowap of Herman's Hermits (1977)
July 17: Gordon Waller of '60s duo Peter & Gordon (2009), opera singer Teresa Stich-Randell (2007), Paul Young of Mike and the Mechanics (2000), Marc Hunter of Dragon (1998), Hendrix manager Chas Chandler (1996), blues pianist Roosevelt Sykes (1983), sax giant John Coltrane (1967), "Lady Day" Billie Holiday (1959), harpin' bluesman Henry Strong (1954)
July 18: tenor Jerry Hadley (2007), Haroon Shamsher of Joi (1999), Velvet Underground chanteuse Nico, born Christa Päffgen (1988), bandleader Jimmy Liggins (1983), Hi Records owner Joe Cuoghi (1970), Bobby Fuller (1966)
July 19: Big Star bassist Andy Hummel (2010), highlife bandleader Emmanuel Tettey "E.T." Mensah (1996), R&B sax man Red Prysock (1993)
July 20: guitarist-producer-songwriter Artie Traum (2008), singer-guitarist Buster Benton (2007), musician-music executive-manager Jim Tyrrell (1998), recording engineer Gary Kellgren (1977), Roy Hamilton (1969)
The King’s Career Launches ... The Stones Score Their First Hit ... Cream Rises ...
Week In Review
July 14, 2011
1939, "Cherokee" is recorded for the first time by Charlie Barnet and his orchestra … the tune will be recorded by scores of jazz greats and often played at a breakneck pace to humble neophytes …
1953, a young sideburned truck driver—last name of Presley—drops in at the Memphis Recording Service studio, plunks down his four bucks, and records "My Happiness" as a gift for his mother …
1954, Elvis is back in Sun Studios to record the first commercially available Elvis single, "That's Alright Mama" … that same week, Presley turns up at the grand opening of a Memphis drugstore where he performs on the back of a flatbed truck …
1958, following a backstage fight between a member of The Drifters and the manager of New York's Apollo Theater, the group's manager, George Treadwell, fires the entire lineup, then recruits the members of the opening act, The Five Crowns, to become a new incarnation of The Drifters with Ben E. King handling lead vocals … this is one more chapter in a bewildering history during which rival groups billed as The Drifters will tour simultaneously and band rosters will change dozens of times …
1960, Duane Eddy appears on Dick Clark's prime time show and performs "Ramrod," a work in progress … the appearance spurs orders for 150,000 copies, but there's no way to fill them since the record hasn't been finished … producer Lee Hazelwood hits the studio and adds sax and vocal overdubs so the single can be rushed to the pressing plant … it later turns out that the remix probably doesn't include Eddy on guitar … the twangalicious work having been done by studio vet Al Casey …
1963, The Essex score a #1 R&B hit with "Easier Said Than Done" … it'll later clinch the top spot on the pop chart too … all the members of the group are active Marines and they have to get the Corps' approval to tour behind their hit …
1964, The Rolling Stones cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" makes it to #48 on the chart … it is the first in their long line of hits …
1965, Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" is released … it turns out to be his biggest hit ever, climbing to #2 on the U.S. pop chart …
1966, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker get together to form one of rock's most celebrated trios, Cream … 50-year-old crooner Frank Sinatra marries Mia Farrow, 30 years his junior …
1968, Jane Asher calls it quits with Paul McCartney … the announcement that they are no longer engaged is made on the British television show Dee Time while McCartney, who hasn't been told yet, is watching … Asher came home unexpectedly one night to find Paul with another woman … Asher left the home soon after … despite this occurrence, Asher and McCartney are seen together in public appearances … however, the relationship is acknowledged over when McCartney shows up alone at the Yellow Submarine premiere later in the week … the album In-a-Gadda-da-Vida from Iron Butterfly debuts on the U.S. charts … the title track, clocking in at a whopping 17 minutes, features one of the longest drum solos in rock history … according to producer Jim Hilton, the song's title results from singer Doug Ingle's slurred pronunciation of "In Our Garden of Eden" when he was asked for the name of a new song the band was rehearsing … the producer jotted the title down phonetically … Hilton recollects, "I felt it was more interesting and a lot more mystical than the straight title … the band thought I had lost my mind, but it was too late to change it, I had already given my OK on the cover for printing" …
1970, British pop star Arthur Brown is held overnight in a Sicilian jail and faces a prison sentence of up to five years after being charged with committing obscene acts in a public place … Brown was performing at the Palermo Pop Festival when he inexplicably stripped naked on stage in front of 15,000 people … the crowd throws things at him and he is arrested and put in solitary confinement for four days … while in solitary, he receives a petition signed by 200 locals requesting that he leave Italy and never return …
1972, a bomb explodes near a Rolling Stones equipment truck in Montreal … the bomb was placed under a ramp and blows the cones out of a lot of PA cabs … nobody is hurt, it's never determined who placed the bomb … the show goes on as planned …
1973, The Everly Brothers arrive at an ignominious career low when the sweet-harmonizing siblings' set at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, is stopped by the theme park's entertainment director who feels Don is doing a poor job … brother Phil sees red, smashes his guitar, and stalks offstage … ironically, Don performs the third set as a solo and announces that the Everly Brothers are history … Clarence White, singer and guitarist for the Byrds, is run down and killed by a drunk driver while loading equipment after a gig in Palmdale, California …
1974, John Lennon is given two months to leave the United States by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, who have denied him an extension on his visa, supposedly because he pled guilty to a pot charge in England in 1968 … it will be revealed later that he is under surveillance by the FBI … Joey Ramone slides out from behind the drum kit and steps up to the mic to assume vocal duties for The Ramones …
1978, as Bob Dylan leaves England after completion of his U.K. tour, over 200,000 gather at Blackbushe Airport to see him off …
1982, Moon Unit Zappa, still a young teenager, makes her debut with dad, Frank, recording "Valley Girl," which becomes FZ's highest-charting single at #32 and wins Grammy nominations for father and daughter alike …
1986, after 28 years of collaboration, Columbia Records drops Johnny Cash, who then signs with Mercury … the film Sid and Nancy premieres at the Limelight Club in London … the film relates the mostly true biographical tale of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen … the raw, dark film culminates in the stabbing death of Nancy, Sid's arrest for suspicion of murder, and his heroin OD shortly thereafter …
1988, a California appeals court puts the quash on the old "let's-blame-our-child's-suicide-on-a-rock-band" game when it upholds a lower court's decision dismissing a suit against Ozzy Osbourne and CBS … the suit held Ozzy and CBS responsible for the death of a teen who committed suicide after listening to Osbourne's "Suicide Solution" …
1989, Venice, Italy, is overrun by 200,000 loonies who show up in town for a free Pink Floyd concert and annoy the locals with noise, littering, and drug use …
1991, former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler files suit against the band, claiming they peer-pressured him into heroin addiction, then ousted him from the band when he entered a rehab program … eventually, Adler will accept an out-of-court settlement to the tune of 2.5 million bucks …
1995, a bear-bone flute is found in an archaeological dig in the Indrijca River Valley in Slovenia … at an estimated 45,000 years old, it is the oldest musical instrument ever found …
1996, Kim Thayil of Soundgarden is arrested for assault and released the same day in North Carolina … the band had just wrapped up their day as main-stage headliners on the Lollapalooza festival stop at Rockingham Dragway … from his own mouth: "It wasn't even a fan and it wasn't even at our show. It was in the lobby of our hotel in North Carolina. These people heard that we were staying in the hotel so they're sneaking out to look and they had been drinking so they were a little bit verbally abusive. I told one of them to go away with a twist of the wrist and that was it, just once. It wouldn't have been a big deal had I not been who I am—a guy in a rock band." … thanks for the clarification, Kim …
2002, Bob Seger wins the Port Huron to Mackinac Island Sailboat Race, his second sailing title in two years …
2004, singer Linda Ronstadt not only gets booed, she gets the boot after lauding filmmaker Michael Moore and his new movie Fahrenheit 9/11 during a performance at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas …
2006, the Boston jam band Dispatch sells out three 20,000-seat shows at Madison Square Garden with proceeds going to poverty-stricken and AIDS-infested Zimbabwe … near uninterrupted touring builds huge buzz for the band and MySpace proves to be a major force in helping to sell the tickets … Rolling Stone Keith Richards receives a pardon from the state of Arkansas over a 31-year-old conviction for reckless driving … The Vatican, upset by aspects of Madonna's Confessions Tour stage show, calls for the singer's excommunication …
2007, Prince angers the music industry and stirs up trouble among British retailers by giving away his new album with a tabloid newspaper for a weekend …
2008, pre-grunge superstar band Green River reunites to play at record label Sub Pop's 20th anniversary party … though the band never saw much success outside of the '80s Seattle scene, members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament went on to great success with Mother Love Bone and Pearl Jam, while Mark Arm and Steve Turner became grunge legends themselves with Mudhoney …
2009, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch announces that he has a "very treatable" tumor in his salivary gland … the B-Boys cancel their planned tour so MCA can focus on his treatment …
Arrivals:
July 14: American folk legend Woody Guthrie (1912), influential Atlanta DJ Zenas "Daddy" Sears (1913), Cliff Trenier of '50s doo-wop group The Treniers (1919), Lowman Pauling of The "5" Royales (1926), Bob Scholl, member of The Mello-Kings (1938), expatriate British rocker Vince Taylor, role model for Bowie's Ziggy Stardust (1939), Detroit soul singer Ty Hunter (1940), Trevor Horn of Buggles and Yes (1949), singer-songwriter Christopher Cross (1952), singer, songwriter, and guitarist Tanya Donelly of Belly (1966), keyboardist-vocalist Ellen Reid of Crash Test Dummies (1966), singer-songwriter Tameka "Tiny" Cottle of Xscape (1975), rapper Taboo of Black Eyed Peas, born Jaime Luis Gómez (1975)
July 15: Cowboy Copas, country singing star who died in the same plane as Patsy Cline (1913), Motown house drummer William "Benny" Benjamin (1925), singer-actress Nina, Baroness van Pallandt (1932), soul star Millie Jackson (1944), guitarist (and son of actress Loretta Young) Peter Lewis of Moby Grape (1945), singer-songwriter-producer Linda Ronstadt (1946), flamboyant New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale Jr. (1952), guitarist for .38 Special Jeff Carlisi (1952), Joy Division vocalist Ian Curtis (1956), instrumental rock guitarist Joe Satriani (1956)
July 16: Sollie McElroy of The Flamingos (1934), soul songstress Denise LaSalle (1939), Ruben Blades (1948), Stewart Copeland (1952), Ed Kowalczyk of Live (1971)
July 17: Texas R&B singer Peppermint Harris (1925), Spencer Davis (1941), The Sweet's Mick Tucker (1948), Black Sabbath's Terry "Geezer" Butler (1949), Nicolette Larson (1952), Doobie Brother Chet McCracken (1952), Phoebe Snow (1952), JC of PM Dawn (1973)
July 18: Screamin' Jay Hawkins (1929), Papa Dee Allen of War (1931), Dion DiMucci (1937), Rolling Stones pianist-road manager Ian Stewart (1938), Brian Auger (1939), Martha Reeves (1941), Tim Lynch of The Flamin' Groovies (1946), Golden Earring's Caesar Zuiderwijk (1950), Ricky Skaggs (1954), drummer Terry Chambers of XTC (1955), Pearl Jam's Jack Irons (1962), Tony Fagenson of Eve 6 (1962)
July 19: ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax (1902), singer-guitarist Buster Benton (1932), Bo Diddley's fellow guitarist-vocalist Lady Bo born Peggy Jones (1940), pop singer Vikki Carr (1941), Clarence White of The Byrds (1944), Average White Band's Alan Gorrie (1946), Bobby Neal of the Stone Canyon Band (1947), Brian May (1947), The Eagles' Bernie Leadon (1947), Dead keyboardist Keith Godchaux (1948), Allen Collins of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1952), Kevin Haskins of Love & Rockets (1960)
July 20: Buddy Knox (1933), Kim Carnes (1945), The Moody Blues' John Lodge (1945), Carlos Santana (1947), Twisted Sister's Jay Jay French (1954), Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols (1956), Simple Minds' Mick McNeil (1958), Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave (1964), Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam (1966), Vitamin C (1972)
Departures
July 14: Beryl Bryden, dubbed the "British Queen of the Blues" (1998), Phillippe Wynne of the Spinners (1984), Malcolm Owen of the Rutts (1980),
progressive country guitarist Clarence White of The Byrds (1973)
July 15: country songwriter Hank Cochran (2010), rapper Too Poetic, born Anthony Berkeley (2001), Bizarros drummer Rick Garberson (1979)
July 16: singer and radio star Jo Stafford (2008), agent-manager Don Arden (2007), salsa singer Celia Cruz (2003), Styx drummer John Panozzo (1996), Sun Records' Bill Justis (1982), Harry Chapin (1981), Peter Cowap of Herman's Hermits (1977)
July 17: Gordon Waller of '60s duo Peter & Gordon (2009), opera singer Teresa Stich-Randell (2007), Paul Young of Mike and the Mechanics (2000), Marc Hunter of Dragon (1998), Hendrix manager Chas Chandler (1996), blues pianist Roosevelt Sykes (1983), sax giant John Coltrane (1967), "Lady Day" Billie Holiday (1959), harpin' bluesman Henry Strong (1954)
July 18: tenor Jerry Hadley (2007), Haroon Shamsher of Joi (1999), Velvet Underground chanteuse Nico, born Christa Päffgen (1988), bandleader Jimmy Liggins (1983), Hi Records owner Joe Cuoghi (1970), Bobby Fuller (1966)
July 19: Big Star bassist Andy Hummel (2010), highlife bandleader Emmanuel Tettey "E.T." Mensah (1996), R&B sax man Red Prysock (1993)
July 20: guitarist-producer-songwriter Artie Traum (2008), singer-guitarist Buster Benton (2007), musician-music executive-manager Jim Tyrrell (1998), recording engineer Gary Kellgren (1977), Roy Hamilton (1969)
Dylan Be Illin’ . . . Pops Stops . . . Faith: No More! . . .
Week In Review
July 28, 2011
1955, Ted McCarty of Gibson is given patent #2,714,326 by the U.S. Patent Office for his design for "Stringed Musical Instrument Of The Guitar Type And Combined Bridge And Tailpiece Therefor," the one-piece adjustable bridge/tailpiece for the Gibson Les Paul solidbody guitar …
1956, the Platters become the first black group to have a number-one pop hit when "My Prayer" reaches the top spot on the Billboard chart …
1958, The Teddy Bears' aching teen ballad "To Know Him is To Love Him" is released … a singer in the group, Phil Spector produces the session … the song title is reportedly taken from his late father's headstone … Billboard publishes its first Hot 100 chart …
1959, Seth Lover, working for Gibson guitars, is granted patent #2,896,491 by the U.S. Patent Office for his "magnetic pickup for stringed musical instrument," better known as the humbucker pickup … the patent was applied for on June 22, 1955 … Gibson added the new pickups to its electric solidbody and archtop guitars in 1957, including the Les Paul … during late 1957, a small black decal with gold lettering was added to the underside of the pickup that read "Patent Applied For" … (today, PAF pickups are the most collectible and desirable pickups, fetching upwards of $1,000 each among vintage guitar collectors) … by mid-to-late 1962, Gibson changed the pickup decal to read "Patent No. 2,737,842" … interestingly enough, the patent number listed on the decal was not for Seth's pickup design but was for Les Paul's trapeze tailpiece … not one to raise a legal fuss, apparently Seth really is a Lover, not a fighter …
1960, when the scheduled vocalist fails to show for a recording session, producer Ike Turner presses his wife Tina into service on the track, "A Fool in Love" … much sampled by modern hip-hop and R&B acts, the single will be the first of 20 Hot 100 hits produced by the contentious couple … this same day future soul star Aretha Franklin cuts her first secular sides …
1965, The Beatles' second feature film, Help, debuts in London with that pretty nice girl Queen Elizabeth in attendance …
1966, Bob Dylan suffers major injuries when the brakes on his Triumph motorcycle lock up near his home in Woodstock, New York … though the exact nature of his injuries are never disclosed, it is clear that he suffered a broken neck and used his lengthy convalescence to marshal his artistic resources … reflecting on the wreck later, Dylan says, "When I had that motorcycle accident … I woke up and caught my senses, I realized that I was just workin' for all these leeches. And I really didn't want to do that." …
1967, Pandora's Box, the hippie nightspot on the Sunset Strip, feels the wrath of the wrecking ball in the wake of teenage riots the previous year … local politicos say the club played a big role in turning West Hollywood into a teenage wasteland …
1968, The Beatles enter the studio to cut "Hey Jude" … the song will top the Hot 100 Chart for nine weeks and become The Beatles' biggest hit …
1969, Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys is indicted for draft dodging after he fails to show up for work as a hospital orderly in lieu of military service …
1971, George Harrison organizes the Concert for Bangladesh to help war victims of the South Asian country … the stellar lineup includes Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Ravi Shankar, and members of Badfinger …
1980, the FBI arrests John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas on cocaine charges … he is later sentenced to five years hard time but dodges prison by delivering 250 hours of anti-drug lectures as an alternative sentence …
1981, MTV bursts onto the airwaves by broadcasting The Buggles' somewhat prophetic "Video Killed the Radio Star" … of course, that job was later completed by file sharing …
1992, in Warwick, Rhode Island, Patti Labelle abruptly pulls the plug on her concert there after complaining that the food backstage isn't up to snuff … after all, it's common knowledge that you can't sing unless the stomach is full …
1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley announce they were secretly married in the Dominican Republic 11 weeks earlier … the union will last for 21 months …
1996, Aerosmith cans their manager Tim Collins saying they're tired of constant pressure to get involved in social causes he's committed to … like the "Let's Buy Tim Collins a Ferrari" fund perhaps? …
1998, in San Fernando, California, Grammy-winning gospel singer Sandra Crouch is ordained as a minister of the Christ Memorial Church … ordained by her twin brother Andrae, also a gospel star, the pair defy Church of God in Christ rules that forbid female ministers … after 12 years and six albums, Toad The Wet Sprocket finally croaks …
2001, rap group D12 executes a brutal attack on Detroit rap rivals Esham and T.N.T. during a Warped Tour stop in Camden, New Jersey … T.N.T. is bruised and cut while Esham suffers a broken nose, ruptured eyeball, concussion, and hearing damage … D12 is promptly kicked off the tour … that same day in L.A., 300 fortunate Foo Fighters fans are treated to a rare club gig when the band plays the legendary Troubador … attendees are chosen from entries emailed to the Fighters' website …
2004, Simon and Garfunkel play a free concert in Rome for 600,000 lucky Italians …
2005, newly-unearthed documents relating to Mick Jagger's drug bust in 1969 reveal that the Stones singer had alleged he was framed and that a cop planted heroin in his home offering to quash the charges if Jagger paid £1,000 … at the time his allegations were swept aside and he was ultimately fined £200 for pot possession … an unnamed bidder coughs up $1.1 million for a scrap of paper on which John Lennon had scrawled the lyrics for "All You Need is Love" in preparation of the Beatles' 1966 BBC satellite broadcast … the paper, tossed by Lennon after the show, was retrieved by a BBC employee … during the same auction a pair of Lennon's specs go for $98,000 …
2006, a court awards Jimi Hendrix's stepsister control of the late great guitarist's estate, cutting out his brother Leon … this comes after years of legal wrangling between the family members … Bono, along with five partners, buys a 40-percent stake in Forbes magazine for a reported $250-300 million … A 30-year-old man is beaten to death at the Atlanta stop of the ironically titled Family Values tour led by Korn … the victim was attempting to protect a pregnant friend from two unruly fans … a suspect is arrested a week later … in England the long-running Brit TV pop music show Top of the Pops breathes its last gasp … the show had aired on the BBC continuously since 1964 … on the domestic dissolution front, Travis Barker files a divorce suit against Shanna Moakler, his wife of two years and former Miss USA … and keeping up with the Barkers, Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes and his missus, actress Kate Hudson, file for divorce … Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen fire off a letter to actor Luke Wilson charging that his brother, director Owen Wilson has misappropriated the name of a character from their song "Cousin Dupree" for the movie You, Me, and Dupree, in which Luke Wilson's Dupree character is a couch-hopping loser … the letter, posted on the Steely Dan website warns Wilson that, "There are some pretty heavy people who are upset about this whole thing and we can't guarantee what kind of heat little Owen may be bringing down on himself" … the letter goes on to suggest that Wilson should make an appearance at a Dan concert and apologize to their fans … the tongue-in-cheek feud continues when Wilson fires back, "Cousin Dupree and I don't even know who this gentleman, Mr. Steely Dan, is. I hope this helps to clear things up and I can get back to concentrating on my new movie, HEY 19." …
2007, when a ballsy female concertgoer reaches out and grabs Tim McGraw's nether regions at the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana, his missus, Faith Hill, tells the errant fan in no uncertain terms that that sort of behavior is frowned upon in them there parts … well, depending on who's doing the grabbing … Berlin names Street 13 in former communist East Germany Frank-Zappa-Strasse or Frank Zappa Street to honor Frank Zappa … in a letter of thanks, Zappa's brother Bobby says the Grammy-winning rocker, who died in 1993, would have been pleased …
2008, a funeral is held in the Midtown offices of Hachette, the book publisher, to mourn the passing of what it called a "dear friend," the cassette tape … long abandoned by the music industry, cassettes lived on in audio books … R.I.P. cassettes …
… and that was the week that was.
Arrivals:
July 28: singer, actor, bandleader Rudy Vallée (1901), flamenco and Andalusian copla singer Dolores Jiménez Alcántara (1909), Mississippi bluesman Junior Kimbrough (1930), George Cummings of Dr. Hook (1938), Michael Bloomfield, guitarist with Al Kooper and Electric Flag (1943), keyboardist Richard "Rick" Wright of Pink Floyd (1943), singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards (1946), guitarist Steve Morse of Dixie Dregs and Deep Purple (1954)
July 29: revolutionary jazz guitarist Charlie Christian (1916), guitar amp maker Jim Marshall (1923), Neal Doughty of REO Speedwagon (1946), Geddy Lee (1953), Patti Scialfa of the E Street Band (1953), John Sykes of Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy (1959), country singer Martina McBride (1966), Chris Gorman of Belly (1967), Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men (1973)
July 30: blues guitarist Buddy Guy (1936), Paul Anka (1941), saxophonist David Sanborn (1945), Jethro Tull bassist Jeffrey Hammond (1946), guitarist Hughie Nicholson of Blue (1949), Rat Scabies of The Damned, born Chris Miller (1957), singer-songwriter Kate Bush (1958), Craig Gannon, guitarist with The Smiths (1966), Manic Street Preachers drummer Sean Moore (1968), Brad Hargraves of Third Eye Blind (1971)
July 31: R&B singer-drummer-bandleader Roy Milton (1907), producer and founder of Atlantic records Ahmet Ertegun (1923), singer and son of Jerry, Gary Lewis (1946), Karl Green of Herman's Hermits (1947), ELO's Hugh MacDowell (1953), Daniel Ash of Love and Rockets (1957), Bill Berry of R.E.M. (1958), Norman Quentin Cook, aka Fatboy Slim of The Housemartins (1963), John 5, born John William Lowery, guitarist with Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie (1971), Coldplay's Will Champion (1978)
August 1: Francis Scott Key (1779), Piano Slim, born Robert T. Smith (1928), folk singer Ramblin' Jack Elliot, born Elliott Charles Adnopoz (1931), Jerry Garcia (1942), Geoff Britton of Wings (1943), Boz Burrell of Bad Company (1946), Rick Coonce of The Grass Roots (1946), Rick Anderson of The Tubes (1947), Tommy Bolin, guitarist with Zephyr, The James Gang, and Deep Purple (1951), BTO's Tim Bachman (1951), bluesman Robert Cray (1953), Joe Elliott of Def Leppard (1959), Public Enemy's Chuck D, born Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (1960), rapper Coolio, born Artis Leon Ivey, Jr. (1963), Adam Duritz of Counting Crows (1964), Ashley Angel of O-Town (1981)
August 2: big band singer Helen Morgan (1900), blues singer-pianist "Big" Walter Price, born Walter Travis Price (1914), country singer Hank Walters (1933), country star Hank Cochran (1935), Garth Hudson of The Band (1937), Doris Coley Kenner of The Shirelles (1941), steel guitarist-songwriter Hank DeVito (1948), guitarist Andy Fairweather-Low (1948), funk bandleader "Fat" Larry James (1949), Ted Turner of Wishbone Ash (1950), singer-songwriter Andrew Gold (1951), Clive Wright of Cock Robin (1953), singer-actress Apollonia Kotero, born Patricia Kotero (1959), Pete De Freitas of Echo and the Bunnymen (1961), Zelma Davis of C+C Music Factory (1970)
August 3: Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence (1910), Tony Bennett (1926), blues harp player Alex Randall (1934), Gordon Stoker of The Jordanaires (1935), Roscoe Mitchell of The Art Ensemble of Chicago (1940), Beverly Lee of The Shirelles (1941), B. B. Dickerson of War (1949), John Graham of Earth, Wind & Fire (1951) guitarist Steve Hillage (1951), Andrew Gold (1951), James Hetfield of Metallica (1963), Ed Roland of Collective Soul (1963), Shirley Manson of Garbage (1966)
Departures:
July 28: cassette tapes (2008) Marguerite "Marge" Ganser of The Shangri-Las (1996), Muscle Shoals guitarist Eddie Hinton (1995), Johann Sebastian Bach (1750)
July 29: jazz bassist Art Davis (2007), Al McKibbon, jazz bassist with Dizzy Gillespie (2005), Anita Carter of the Carter Sisters (1999), Rare Earth percussionist Eddie Guzman (1993), pedal steel guitarist Pete Drake (1988), Gordon Mills, manager and songwriter for Tom Jones (1986), singer Cass Elliot of The Mamas & The Papas (1974), guitarist and vocalist Glenn Goins (1978)
July 30: swing & bebop saxophonist Eli "Lucky" Thompson (2005), Sun Studios founder Sam Phillips (2003), sax man Donald Myrick (1993)
July 31: Rob Jones of Wonder Stuff (1993), blues singer-saxophonist Benjamin Clarence "Bull Moose" Jackson (1989), Bob Horn, original host of TV's Bandstand (1966), country singer-songwriter Jim Reeves (1964), Jim Reeves' pianist-manager Dean Manuel (1964)
August 1: Irish singer Tommy Makem of The Clancy Brothers (2007), pianist Sviatoslav Richter (1997)
August 2: Ron Towson of The 5th Dimension (2001), Afrobeat star Fela Anikulapo Kuti (1997), Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs bassist David Martin (1987), Motown bassist James Jamerson (1983), former Pink Floyd road manager Peter "Puddy" Watts (1976), Brian Cole of The Association (1972)
August 3: Arthur Lee (2006), reedman Bob Tate (1993), Don Lang of The Frantic Five (1992), Richard Nickens of The Eldorados (1991)
Week In Review
July 28, 2011
1955, Ted McCarty of Gibson is given patent #2,714,326 by the U.S. Patent Office for his design for "Stringed Musical Instrument Of The Guitar Type And Combined Bridge And Tailpiece Therefor," the one-piece adjustable bridge/tailpiece for the Gibson Les Paul solidbody guitar …
1956, the Platters become the first black group to have a number-one pop hit when "My Prayer" reaches the top spot on the Billboard chart …
1958, The Teddy Bears' aching teen ballad "To Know Him is To Love Him" is released … a singer in the group, Phil Spector produces the session … the song title is reportedly taken from his late father's headstone … Billboard publishes its first Hot 100 chart …
1959, Seth Lover, working for Gibson guitars, is granted patent #2,896,491 by the U.S. Patent Office for his "magnetic pickup for stringed musical instrument," better known as the humbucker pickup … the patent was applied for on June 22, 1955 … Gibson added the new pickups to its electric solidbody and archtop guitars in 1957, including the Les Paul … during late 1957, a small black decal with gold lettering was added to the underside of the pickup that read "Patent Applied For" … (today, PAF pickups are the most collectible and desirable pickups, fetching upwards of $1,000 each among vintage guitar collectors) … by mid-to-late 1962, Gibson changed the pickup decal to read "Patent No. 2,737,842" … interestingly enough, the patent number listed on the decal was not for Seth's pickup design but was for Les Paul's trapeze tailpiece … not one to raise a legal fuss, apparently Seth really is a Lover, not a fighter …
1960, when the scheduled vocalist fails to show for a recording session, producer Ike Turner presses his wife Tina into service on the track, "A Fool in Love" … much sampled by modern hip-hop and R&B acts, the single will be the first of 20 Hot 100 hits produced by the contentious couple … this same day future soul star Aretha Franklin cuts her first secular sides …
1965, The Beatles' second feature film, Help, debuts in London with that pretty nice girl Queen Elizabeth in attendance …
1966, Bob Dylan suffers major injuries when the brakes on his Triumph motorcycle lock up near his home in Woodstock, New York … though the exact nature of his injuries are never disclosed, it is clear that he suffered a broken neck and used his lengthy convalescence to marshal his artistic resources … reflecting on the wreck later, Dylan says, "When I had that motorcycle accident … I woke up and caught my senses, I realized that I was just workin' for all these leeches. And I really didn't want to do that." …
1967, Pandora's Box, the hippie nightspot on the Sunset Strip, feels the wrath of the wrecking ball in the wake of teenage riots the previous year … local politicos say the club played a big role in turning West Hollywood into a teenage wasteland …
1968, The Beatles enter the studio to cut "Hey Jude" … the song will top the Hot 100 Chart for nine weeks and become The Beatles' biggest hit …
1969, Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys is indicted for draft dodging after he fails to show up for work as a hospital orderly in lieu of military service …
1971, George Harrison organizes the Concert for Bangladesh to help war victims of the South Asian country … the stellar lineup includes Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Ravi Shankar, and members of Badfinger …
1980, the FBI arrests John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas on cocaine charges … he is later sentenced to five years hard time but dodges prison by delivering 250 hours of anti-drug lectures as an alternative sentence …
1981, MTV bursts onto the airwaves by broadcasting The Buggles' somewhat prophetic "Video Killed the Radio Star" … of course, that job was later completed by file sharing …
1992, in Warwick, Rhode Island, Patti Labelle abruptly pulls the plug on her concert there after complaining that the food backstage isn't up to snuff … after all, it's common knowledge that you can't sing unless the stomach is full …
1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley announce they were secretly married in the Dominican Republic 11 weeks earlier … the union will last for 21 months …
1996, Aerosmith cans their manager Tim Collins saying they're tired of constant pressure to get involved in social causes he's committed to … like the "Let's Buy Tim Collins a Ferrari" fund perhaps? …
1998, in San Fernando, California, Grammy-winning gospel singer Sandra Crouch is ordained as a minister of the Christ Memorial Church … ordained by her twin brother Andrae, also a gospel star, the pair defy Church of God in Christ rules that forbid female ministers … after 12 years and six albums, Toad The Wet Sprocket finally croaks …
2001, rap group D12 executes a brutal attack on Detroit rap rivals Esham and T.N.T. during a Warped Tour stop in Camden, New Jersey … T.N.T. is bruised and cut while Esham suffers a broken nose, ruptured eyeball, concussion, and hearing damage … D12 is promptly kicked off the tour … that same day in L.A., 300 fortunate Foo Fighters fans are treated to a rare club gig when the band plays the legendary Troubador … attendees are chosen from entries emailed to the Fighters' website …
2004, Simon and Garfunkel play a free concert in Rome for 600,000 lucky Italians …
2005, newly-unearthed documents relating to Mick Jagger's drug bust in 1969 reveal that the Stones singer had alleged he was framed and that a cop planted heroin in his home offering to quash the charges if Jagger paid £1,000 … at the time his allegations were swept aside and he was ultimately fined £200 for pot possession … an unnamed bidder coughs up $1.1 million for a scrap of paper on which John Lennon had scrawled the lyrics for "All You Need is Love" in preparation of the Beatles' 1966 BBC satellite broadcast … the paper, tossed by Lennon after the show, was retrieved by a BBC employee … during the same auction a pair of Lennon's specs go for $98,000 …
2006, a court awards Jimi Hendrix's stepsister control of the late great guitarist's estate, cutting out his brother Leon … this comes after years of legal wrangling between the family members … Bono, along with five partners, buys a 40-percent stake in Forbes magazine for a reported $250-300 million … A 30-year-old man is beaten to death at the Atlanta stop of the ironically titled Family Values tour led by Korn … the victim was attempting to protect a pregnant friend from two unruly fans … a suspect is arrested a week later … in England the long-running Brit TV pop music show Top of the Pops breathes its last gasp … the show had aired on the BBC continuously since 1964 … on the domestic dissolution front, Travis Barker files a divorce suit against Shanna Moakler, his wife of two years and former Miss USA … and keeping up with the Barkers, Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes and his missus, actress Kate Hudson, file for divorce … Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen fire off a letter to actor Luke Wilson charging that his brother, director Owen Wilson has misappropriated the name of a character from their song "Cousin Dupree" for the movie You, Me, and Dupree, in which Luke Wilson's Dupree character is a couch-hopping loser … the letter, posted on the Steely Dan website warns Wilson that, "There are some pretty heavy people who are upset about this whole thing and we can't guarantee what kind of heat little Owen may be bringing down on himself" … the letter goes on to suggest that Wilson should make an appearance at a Dan concert and apologize to their fans … the tongue-in-cheek feud continues when Wilson fires back, "Cousin Dupree and I don't even know who this gentleman, Mr. Steely Dan, is. I hope this helps to clear things up and I can get back to concentrating on my new movie, HEY 19." …
2007, when a ballsy female concertgoer reaches out and grabs Tim McGraw's nether regions at the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana, his missus, Faith Hill, tells the errant fan in no uncertain terms that that sort of behavior is frowned upon in them there parts … well, depending on who's doing the grabbing … Berlin names Street 13 in former communist East Germany Frank-Zappa-Strasse or Frank Zappa Street to honor Frank Zappa … in a letter of thanks, Zappa's brother Bobby says the Grammy-winning rocker, who died in 1993, would have been pleased …
2008, a funeral is held in the Midtown offices of Hachette, the book publisher, to mourn the passing of what it called a "dear friend," the cassette tape … long abandoned by the music industry, cassettes lived on in audio books … R.I.P. cassettes …
… and that was the week that was.
Arrivals:
July 28: singer, actor, bandleader Rudy Vallée (1901), flamenco and Andalusian copla singer Dolores Jiménez Alcántara (1909), Mississippi bluesman Junior Kimbrough (1930), George Cummings of Dr. Hook (1938), Michael Bloomfield, guitarist with Al Kooper and Electric Flag (1943), keyboardist Richard "Rick" Wright of Pink Floyd (1943), singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards (1946), guitarist Steve Morse of Dixie Dregs and Deep Purple (1954)
July 29: revolutionary jazz guitarist Charlie Christian (1916), guitar amp maker Jim Marshall (1923), Neal Doughty of REO Speedwagon (1946), Geddy Lee (1953), Patti Scialfa of the E Street Band (1953), John Sykes of Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy (1959), country singer Martina McBride (1966), Chris Gorman of Belly (1967), Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men (1973)
July 30: blues guitarist Buddy Guy (1936), Paul Anka (1941), saxophonist David Sanborn (1945), Jethro Tull bassist Jeffrey Hammond (1946), guitarist Hughie Nicholson of Blue (1949), Rat Scabies of The Damned, born Chris Miller (1957), singer-songwriter Kate Bush (1958), Craig Gannon, guitarist with The Smiths (1966), Manic Street Preachers drummer Sean Moore (1968), Brad Hargraves of Third Eye Blind (1971)
July 31: R&B singer-drummer-bandleader Roy Milton (1907), producer and founder of Atlantic records Ahmet Ertegun (1923), singer and son of Jerry, Gary Lewis (1946), Karl Green of Herman's Hermits (1947), ELO's Hugh MacDowell (1953), Daniel Ash of Love and Rockets (1957), Bill Berry of R.E.M. (1958), Norman Quentin Cook, aka Fatboy Slim of The Housemartins (1963), John 5, born John William Lowery, guitarist with Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie (1971), Coldplay's Will Champion (1978)
August 1: Francis Scott Key (1779), Piano Slim, born Robert T. Smith (1928), folk singer Ramblin' Jack Elliot, born Elliott Charles Adnopoz (1931), Jerry Garcia (1942), Geoff Britton of Wings (1943), Boz Burrell of Bad Company (1946), Rick Coonce of The Grass Roots (1946), Rick Anderson of The Tubes (1947), Tommy Bolin, guitarist with Zephyr, The James Gang, and Deep Purple (1951), BTO's Tim Bachman (1951), bluesman Robert Cray (1953), Joe Elliott of Def Leppard (1959), Public Enemy's Chuck D, born Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (1960), rapper Coolio, born Artis Leon Ivey, Jr. (1963), Adam Duritz of Counting Crows (1964), Ashley Angel of O-Town (1981)
August 2: big band singer Helen Morgan (1900), blues singer-pianist "Big" Walter Price, born Walter Travis Price (1914), country singer Hank Walters (1933), country star Hank Cochran (1935), Garth Hudson of The Band (1937), Doris Coley Kenner of The Shirelles (1941), steel guitarist-songwriter Hank DeVito (1948), guitarist Andy Fairweather-Low (1948), funk bandleader "Fat" Larry James (1949), Ted Turner of Wishbone Ash (1950), singer-songwriter Andrew Gold (1951), Clive Wright of Cock Robin (1953), singer-actress Apollonia Kotero, born Patricia Kotero (1959), Pete De Freitas of Echo and the Bunnymen (1961), Zelma Davis of C+C Music Factory (1970)
August 3: Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence (1910), Tony Bennett (1926), blues harp player Alex Randall (1934), Gordon Stoker of The Jordanaires (1935), Roscoe Mitchell of The Art Ensemble of Chicago (1940), Beverly Lee of The Shirelles (1941), B. B. Dickerson of War (1949), John Graham of Earth, Wind & Fire (1951) guitarist Steve Hillage (1951), Andrew Gold (1951), James Hetfield of Metallica (1963), Ed Roland of Collective Soul (1963), Shirley Manson of Garbage (1966)
Departures:
July 28: cassette tapes (2008) Marguerite "Marge" Ganser of The Shangri-Las (1996), Muscle Shoals guitarist Eddie Hinton (1995), Johann Sebastian Bach (1750)
July 29: jazz bassist Art Davis (2007), Al McKibbon, jazz bassist with Dizzy Gillespie (2005), Anita Carter of the Carter Sisters (1999), Rare Earth percussionist Eddie Guzman (1993), pedal steel guitarist Pete Drake (1988), Gordon Mills, manager and songwriter for Tom Jones (1986), singer Cass Elliot of The Mamas & The Papas (1974), guitarist and vocalist Glenn Goins (1978)
July 30: swing & bebop saxophonist Eli "Lucky" Thompson (2005), Sun Studios founder Sam Phillips (2003), sax man Donald Myrick (1993)
July 31: Rob Jones of Wonder Stuff (1993), blues singer-saxophonist Benjamin Clarence "Bull Moose" Jackson (1989), Bob Horn, original host of TV's Bandstand (1966), country singer-songwriter Jim Reeves (1964), Jim Reeves' pianist-manager Dean Manuel (1964)
August 1: Irish singer Tommy Makem of The Clancy Brothers (2007), pianist Sviatoslav Richter (1997)
August 2: Ron Towson of The 5th Dimension (2001), Afrobeat star Fela Anikulapo Kuti (1997), Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs bassist David Martin (1987), Motown bassist James Jamerson (1983), former Pink Floyd road manager Peter "Puddy" Watts (1976), Brian Cole of The Association (1972)
August 3: Arthur Lee (2006), reedman Bob Tate (1993), Don Lang of The Frantic Five (1992), Richard Nickens of The Eldorados (1991)