8-track players are introduced … notable for their low fidelity and propensity for eating their closed-loop tapes
think I still have a box of these somewhere, I sat one night trying to tape together a 8 track of Badfinger, thank God they finally came out on CD
Re:Chas's Music Column - Bumber December Issue W/E 15th, 22nd & 29thr
Week In Review
September 16, 2010
UFO Shot Down … T. Wrecks … KISS Off …
1958, while crossing the Atlantic on his way to a couple of years of Army service in Germany, Elvis is asked to put together a talent show and ends up playing piano in the impromptu band he organizes …
1959, The Isley Brothers' classic "Shout" is released … the song is later covered by The Beatles in a TV special, and again in 1978 by Otis Day and the Knights in the movie Animal House …
1962, Bob Dylan makes his first appearance at Carnegie Hall … The Springfields are the first British vocal act to score a U.S. Top 20 hit with the single "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" … their lead singer is Mary O'Brien, who will later sustain a major solo career using the stage name Dusty Springfield …
1967, London's UFO Club, memorable for being the place Pink Floyd launched its career, is shuttered following the drug bust of its owner …
1969, in the midst of rock's golden era, The Archies' bubblegum ditty "Sugar Sugar" hits #1 and stays there for four weeks … proving once again that you can't go broke underestimating the public's taste …
1970, 27-year-old Jimi Hendrix dies in a basement bedroom at the Samarkand Hotel in Notting Hill Gate, London … the room is rented to Monika Danneman who later claims that she and Jimi were to be married … he had taken about nine hits of quinalbarbitone and is already quite dead when the medics arrive, despite Danneman's later claims that he had been alive at that time … the coroner's report cites "inhalation of vomit due to barbiturate intoxication" as the cause of death … in 1993 the investigation into Hendrix's death is reopened by Scotland Yard in order to clear up discrepancies about how and when the ambulance was called … Danneman is vilified in books and other media, and in 1996, commits suicide after losing a libel case brought by Kathy Etchingham, who originally reopened the Hendrix case … Black Sabbath releases its second album Paranoid featuring "War Pigs" and "Iron Man," songs that will become heavy metal classics …
1973, Gram Parsons of the Byrds dies after a fatal combination of alcohol and morphine in Joshua Tree, California … his coffin is stolen from the airport by his manager, Phil Kaufman, and a former Byrds roadie before it can be sent to New Orleans for a family burial … according to Kaufman, he and Parsons had made a pact months earlier that when one of them died "the survivor would take the other guy's body out to Joshua Tree, have a few drinks, and burn it" … giving new meaning to the phrase, "smoked a gram," the two make their way into the desert night after toasting their departed friend at a local bar, pour five gallons of gasoline onto the body, and light it … the fire is spotted quickly, before the cremation is complete … days later, Kaufman will be found and charged with stealing a coffin and sentenced to pay $750 for the casket …
1977, Marc Bolan of T. Rex is killed outside of London when his intoxicated wife crashes their mini-GT into a tree … Hence the song.. 'Wrap a Purple Mini Round Ye Old Oak Tree'
1980, a newly formed Geffen Records signs John Lennon … Joe Walsh announces he is entering the race for President of the United States against political heavyweights Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan … his campaign slogan is "Free Gas For All" and he states his purpose for running is to raise awareness of the importance of the elections … Walsh will re-enter the political fray in 1992 to run for Vice President of the United States …
1983, the members of KISS appear on MTV, only this time, their traditional "Kabuki makeup from hell" is off … after losing original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, the band are trying to reinvent themselves by exposing their bare faces in public … the ploy seems to work, as their next release Lick it Up becomes their first platinum album in four years …
1984, Mötley Crüe makes its concert debut at the Monsters of Rock festival in England …
1998, hard rock act White Zombie will no longer feast on the brains of the living … the group disbands shortly after the release of singer Rob Zombie's solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe … together for the first time in 24 years, the members of '70s British rock band Mott The Hoople get back together to perform at the Virgin Megastore in London …
2005, soul singer D'Angelo is seriously injured when his Hummer hits a fence in Virginia and flips … INXS announces they have hired a former Canadian Elvis impersonator, J.D Fortune, to replace former frontman Michael Hutchence, who committed suicide in 1997 … the band eventually splits with Fortune, who literally blows it thanks to his predilection for white powder … apparently Fortune favors the strung (out) … Garbage announces on the band's website that it's on an indefinite hiatus … the posting reads, "We have made a decision to take some time off. We are not breaking up." …
2006, three bad boys of rock, Pete Doherty of Babyshambles, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, and Tom Chaplin of Keane, all residents at London's Priory rehab treatment center, are reported to be jamming together … this despite Hawkins having referred earlier to Doherty as being "a talentless waste of skin" … apparently their shared rehab dilemma has healed old wounds … meanwhile the British tabloids have dubbed the trio "The Arctic Junkies" … perhaps if Ben and Jerry's got onto the act, we'd have a new ice cream flavor called, "Junky Monkey" … the documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival … the movie chronicles the fallout that resulted from the group's criticism of the Bush administration … also debuting at the festival is the documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon that examines the U.S. government's campaign to deport John Lennon due to his anti-Viet Nam war stance …
2007, it's reported that director Martin Scorsese is working on a documentary about George Harrison and will have the cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the late Beatle's widow, Olivia … Chicago alt-rock station Q101 spins the hook-laden single "Great Divide" to positive response from listeners while failing to disclose it's the work of the has-been brother act Hanson … Spike, the station's music director, notes, "There's a stigma attached to them" … DJs credited the tune to "a mystery artist" …
2008, in a real turnabout, Metallica fans ask the veteran heavy metalists to turn it down … in recording the band's latest album, Death Magnetic, the sound was cranked and compressed so severely that the CD is riddled with distortion … 11,000 fans sign an online petition asking the band to remix and reissue the album … it is soon discovered that the same tracks appearing in the game Guitar Hero aren't compressed to a flat waveform and sound much better … Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks implores Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder to write a song in support of the team's World Series aspirations … Vedder's "All The Way" is the result, but the Cubbies still fail to make the Series … after patching up some personal differences, the original stoner act, Cheech and Chong, hits the road with a series of shows that include classic bits from the duo's records and movies as well as new material … commenting on the reunion that took 27 years, Tommy Chong says, "We went from Nixon to Bush. That's about all that's changed." … acknowledging that the pair are still "herbalists," Chong notes they no longer need to carry a stash with them … "if you need weed you can get weed faster than a pizza almost anywhere" …
…and that was the week that was.
Arrivals:
September 16: Scepter Records founder Florence Greenberg (1913), organist-composer Korla Pandit, "The Godfather of Exotica" (1921), B.B. King (1925), Bernard Calvert of The Hollies (1943), Betty Kelly of Martha and The Vandellas (1944), Kenny Jones of Small Faces and The Who (1948), David Bellamy of The Bellamy Brothers (1950), Wire's Colin Newman (1954), Peter Zaremba of The Fleshtones (1956), pop singer-songwriter Richard Marx (1963), salsa singer-songwriter Marc Anthony (1968)
September 17: composer Gustav Holst (1874), country music icon, Hank Williams (1923), Bill Black, Elvis's standup bass player (1926), LaMonte McLemore of The 5th Dimension (1940), Steely Dan drummer Jimmy Hodder (1947), James Gang bassist Dale Peters (1947), Fee Waybill, lead singer of The Tubes (1950), Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders (1951), R&B and gospel singer Bebe Winans (1962), Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian (1968), Vinnie Brown of Naughty By Nature (1970), Maile Misajon of Eden's Crush (1976), Chuck Comeau of Simple Plan (1979)
September 18: jazz vocalist of "Mr Wonderful" fame, Teddi King (1929), pop singer Jimmie Rodgers (1933), teen idol Frankie Avalon (1939), Kerry Livgren of Kansas (1949), Dee Dee Ramone, born Douglas Colvin (1952), Joanne Catherall of Human League (1962), Ian Spice of Breathe (1966), Ricky Bell of Bell Biv Devoe (1967)
September 19: R&B singer-songwriter Brook Benton (1931), Beatles manager Brian Epstein (1934), Nick Massi, bassist and bass singer of The Four Seasons (1935), Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers (1940), singer-songwriter-pianist Paul Williams (1940), Mama Cass Elliot of The Mamas & The Papas, born Ellen Naomi Cohen (1941), singer-actress Freda Payne (1942), bluegrass guitarist David Bromberg (1945), Lol Creme of 10cc (1947), U2 producer Daniel Lanois (1951), Nile Rodgers of Chic (1952), country artist Trisha Yearwood (1962), James Tapp AKA rapper Soulja Slim (1977)
September 20: singer and New Orleans-style pianist Eddie Bo (1930), funk and jazz guitarist Eric Gale (1939), John Panozzo, drummer for Styx (1948), Alannah Currie of The Thompson Twins (1959), Cowboy, of The Furious Five, born Robert Keith Wiggins (1960), Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme (1966), Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, twin sons of Ricky Nelson (1967), Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden (1968), Rick Woolstenhulme of Lifehouse (1979)
September 21: jazz drummer Chico Hamilton, born Forestorn Hamilton (1921), singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen (1934), pop singer Dickey Lee, born Dickey Lee Lipscomb (1969), Don Felder of The Eagles (1947), lead singer-guitarist of Oasis, Liam Gallagher (1972)
September 22: Mike Patto, leader and vocalist for '70s Brit rock band Patto (1942)
Departures:
September 16: Motown songwriter Norman Whitfield (2008), the legendary Johnny Ramone (2004), Izadora Rhodes of Weather Girls (2004), CBS producer Tom Wilson (1978), Marc Bolan of T-Rex (1977), opera diva Maria Callas (1977), Leroy Griffin of The Nutmegs (1966)
September 17: rock guitarist Al Casey, who worked with Lee Hazelwood, The Beach Boys, and others (2006), Rob Tyner of MC5 (1991), Dave Patillo of doo-wop group The Red Caps (1967)
September 18: singer-songwriter Charlie Fox of "Mockingbird" fame (1998), blues and jazz singer Jimmy Witherspoon (1997), R&B jump blues singer Roy Milton (1983), Jimi Hendrix (1970), country blues harmonica player Will Shade (1966)
September 19: saxophonist Danny Flores of "Tequila" fame (2006), Motown writer-producer Willie Hutch (2005), crossover country singer Skeeter Davis, born Mary Frances Penick (2004) Australian folkie Slim Dusty (2003), contemporary Christian singer Rich Mullins (1997), Motown arranger and session keyboardist Earl Van Dyke (1992), Gram Parsons of The Byrds, born Cecil Ingram Connor (1973)
September 20: Texas swing singer-yodeler Don Walser (2006) Broadway composer Jule Styne (1994), singer-songwriter Steve Goodman (1984), singer-songwriter Jim Croce (1973), Maury Muehleisen, guitarist with Jim Croce (1973), Country Music Hall of Famer Red Foley (1968)
September 21: former Fender CEO William "Bill" Schultz (2006), Bad Company bassist Raymond "Boz" Burrell (2006)
September 22: big band singer Connie Haines (2008)
September 16, 2010
UFO Shot Down … T. Wrecks … KISS Off …
1958, while crossing the Atlantic on his way to a couple of years of Army service in Germany, Elvis is asked to put together a talent show and ends up playing piano in the impromptu band he organizes …
1959, The Isley Brothers' classic "Shout" is released … the song is later covered by The Beatles in a TV special, and again in 1978 by Otis Day and the Knights in the movie Animal House …
1962, Bob Dylan makes his first appearance at Carnegie Hall … The Springfields are the first British vocal act to score a U.S. Top 20 hit with the single "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" … their lead singer is Mary O'Brien, who will later sustain a major solo career using the stage name Dusty Springfield …
1967, London's UFO Club, memorable for being the place Pink Floyd launched its career, is shuttered following the drug bust of its owner …
1969, in the midst of rock's golden era, The Archies' bubblegum ditty "Sugar Sugar" hits #1 and stays there for four weeks … proving once again that you can't go broke underestimating the public's taste …
1970, 27-year-old Jimi Hendrix dies in a basement bedroom at the Samarkand Hotel in Notting Hill Gate, London … the room is rented to Monika Danneman who later claims that she and Jimi were to be married … he had taken about nine hits of quinalbarbitone and is already quite dead when the medics arrive, despite Danneman's later claims that he had been alive at that time … the coroner's report cites "inhalation of vomit due to barbiturate intoxication" as the cause of death … in 1993 the investigation into Hendrix's death is reopened by Scotland Yard in order to clear up discrepancies about how and when the ambulance was called … Danneman is vilified in books and other media, and in 1996, commits suicide after losing a libel case brought by Kathy Etchingham, who originally reopened the Hendrix case … Black Sabbath releases its second album Paranoid featuring "War Pigs" and "Iron Man," songs that will become heavy metal classics …
1973, Gram Parsons of the Byrds dies after a fatal combination of alcohol and morphine in Joshua Tree, California … his coffin is stolen from the airport by his manager, Phil Kaufman, and a former Byrds roadie before it can be sent to New Orleans for a family burial … according to Kaufman, he and Parsons had made a pact months earlier that when one of them died "the survivor would take the other guy's body out to Joshua Tree, have a few drinks, and burn it" … giving new meaning to the phrase, "smoked a gram," the two make their way into the desert night after toasting their departed friend at a local bar, pour five gallons of gasoline onto the body, and light it … the fire is spotted quickly, before the cremation is complete … days later, Kaufman will be found and charged with stealing a coffin and sentenced to pay $750 for the casket …
1977, Marc Bolan of T. Rex is killed outside of London when his intoxicated wife crashes their mini-GT into a tree … Hence the song.. 'Wrap a Purple Mini Round Ye Old Oak Tree'
1980, a newly formed Geffen Records signs John Lennon … Joe Walsh announces he is entering the race for President of the United States against political heavyweights Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan … his campaign slogan is "Free Gas For All" and he states his purpose for running is to raise awareness of the importance of the elections … Walsh will re-enter the political fray in 1992 to run for Vice President of the United States …
1983, the members of KISS appear on MTV, only this time, their traditional "Kabuki makeup from hell" is off … after losing original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, the band are trying to reinvent themselves by exposing their bare faces in public … the ploy seems to work, as their next release Lick it Up becomes their first platinum album in four years …
1984, Mötley Crüe makes its concert debut at the Monsters of Rock festival in England …
1998, hard rock act White Zombie will no longer feast on the brains of the living … the group disbands shortly after the release of singer Rob Zombie's solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe … together for the first time in 24 years, the members of '70s British rock band Mott The Hoople get back together to perform at the Virgin Megastore in London …
2005, soul singer D'Angelo is seriously injured when his Hummer hits a fence in Virginia and flips … INXS announces they have hired a former Canadian Elvis impersonator, J.D Fortune, to replace former frontman Michael Hutchence, who committed suicide in 1997 … the band eventually splits with Fortune, who literally blows it thanks to his predilection for white powder … apparently Fortune favors the strung (out) … Garbage announces on the band's website that it's on an indefinite hiatus … the posting reads, "We have made a decision to take some time off. We are not breaking up." …
2006, three bad boys of rock, Pete Doherty of Babyshambles, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, and Tom Chaplin of Keane, all residents at London's Priory rehab treatment center, are reported to be jamming together … this despite Hawkins having referred earlier to Doherty as being "a talentless waste of skin" … apparently their shared rehab dilemma has healed old wounds … meanwhile the British tabloids have dubbed the trio "The Arctic Junkies" … perhaps if Ben and Jerry's got onto the act, we'd have a new ice cream flavor called, "Junky Monkey" … the documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival … the movie chronicles the fallout that resulted from the group's criticism of the Bush administration … also debuting at the festival is the documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon that examines the U.S. government's campaign to deport John Lennon due to his anti-Viet Nam war stance …
2007, it's reported that director Martin Scorsese is working on a documentary about George Harrison and will have the cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the late Beatle's widow, Olivia … Chicago alt-rock station Q101 spins the hook-laden single "Great Divide" to positive response from listeners while failing to disclose it's the work of the has-been brother act Hanson … Spike, the station's music director, notes, "There's a stigma attached to them" … DJs credited the tune to "a mystery artist" …
2008, in a real turnabout, Metallica fans ask the veteran heavy metalists to turn it down … in recording the band's latest album, Death Magnetic, the sound was cranked and compressed so severely that the CD is riddled with distortion … 11,000 fans sign an online petition asking the band to remix and reissue the album … it is soon discovered that the same tracks appearing in the game Guitar Hero aren't compressed to a flat waveform and sound much better … Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks implores Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder to write a song in support of the team's World Series aspirations … Vedder's "All The Way" is the result, but the Cubbies still fail to make the Series … after patching up some personal differences, the original stoner act, Cheech and Chong, hits the road with a series of shows that include classic bits from the duo's records and movies as well as new material … commenting on the reunion that took 27 years, Tommy Chong says, "We went from Nixon to Bush. That's about all that's changed." … acknowledging that the pair are still "herbalists," Chong notes they no longer need to carry a stash with them … "if you need weed you can get weed faster than a pizza almost anywhere" …
…and that was the week that was.
Arrivals:
September 16: Scepter Records founder Florence Greenberg (1913), organist-composer Korla Pandit, "The Godfather of Exotica" (1921), B.B. King (1925), Bernard Calvert of The Hollies (1943), Betty Kelly of Martha and The Vandellas (1944), Kenny Jones of Small Faces and The Who (1948), David Bellamy of The Bellamy Brothers (1950), Wire's Colin Newman (1954), Peter Zaremba of The Fleshtones (1956), pop singer-songwriter Richard Marx (1963), salsa singer-songwriter Marc Anthony (1968)
September 17: composer Gustav Holst (1874), country music icon, Hank Williams (1923), Bill Black, Elvis's standup bass player (1926), LaMonte McLemore of The 5th Dimension (1940), Steely Dan drummer Jimmy Hodder (1947), James Gang bassist Dale Peters (1947), Fee Waybill, lead singer of The Tubes (1950), Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders (1951), R&B and gospel singer Bebe Winans (1962), Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian (1968), Vinnie Brown of Naughty By Nature (1970), Maile Misajon of Eden's Crush (1976), Chuck Comeau of Simple Plan (1979)
September 18: jazz vocalist of "Mr Wonderful" fame, Teddi King (1929), pop singer Jimmie Rodgers (1933), teen idol Frankie Avalon (1939), Kerry Livgren of Kansas (1949), Dee Dee Ramone, born Douglas Colvin (1952), Joanne Catherall of Human League (1962), Ian Spice of Breathe (1966), Ricky Bell of Bell Biv Devoe (1967)
September 19: R&B singer-songwriter Brook Benton (1931), Beatles manager Brian Epstein (1934), Nick Massi, bassist and bass singer of The Four Seasons (1935), Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers (1940), singer-songwriter-pianist Paul Williams (1940), Mama Cass Elliot of The Mamas & The Papas, born Ellen Naomi Cohen (1941), singer-actress Freda Payne (1942), bluegrass guitarist David Bromberg (1945), Lol Creme of 10cc (1947), U2 producer Daniel Lanois (1951), Nile Rodgers of Chic (1952), country artist Trisha Yearwood (1962), James Tapp AKA rapper Soulja Slim (1977)
September 20: singer and New Orleans-style pianist Eddie Bo (1930), funk and jazz guitarist Eric Gale (1939), John Panozzo, drummer for Styx (1948), Alannah Currie of The Thompson Twins (1959), Cowboy, of The Furious Five, born Robert Keith Wiggins (1960), Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme (1966), Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, twin sons of Ricky Nelson (1967), Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden (1968), Rick Woolstenhulme of Lifehouse (1979)
September 21: jazz drummer Chico Hamilton, born Forestorn Hamilton (1921), singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen (1934), pop singer Dickey Lee, born Dickey Lee Lipscomb (1969), Don Felder of The Eagles (1947), lead singer-guitarist of Oasis, Liam Gallagher (1972)
September 22: Mike Patto, leader and vocalist for '70s Brit rock band Patto (1942)
Departures:
September 16: Motown songwriter Norman Whitfield (2008), the legendary Johnny Ramone (2004), Izadora Rhodes of Weather Girls (2004), CBS producer Tom Wilson (1978), Marc Bolan of T-Rex (1977), opera diva Maria Callas (1977), Leroy Griffin of The Nutmegs (1966)
September 17: rock guitarist Al Casey, who worked with Lee Hazelwood, The Beach Boys, and others (2006), Rob Tyner of MC5 (1991), Dave Patillo of doo-wop group The Red Caps (1967)
September 18: singer-songwriter Charlie Fox of "Mockingbird" fame (1998), blues and jazz singer Jimmy Witherspoon (1997), R&B jump blues singer Roy Milton (1983), Jimi Hendrix (1970), country blues harmonica player Will Shade (1966)
September 19: saxophonist Danny Flores of "Tequila" fame (2006), Motown writer-producer Willie Hutch (2005), crossover country singer Skeeter Davis, born Mary Frances Penick (2004) Australian folkie Slim Dusty (2003), contemporary Christian singer Rich Mullins (1997), Motown arranger and session keyboardist Earl Van Dyke (1992), Gram Parsons of The Byrds, born Cecil Ingram Connor (1973)
September 20: Texas swing singer-yodeler Don Walser (2006) Broadway composer Jule Styne (1994), singer-songwriter Steve Goodman (1984), singer-songwriter Jim Croce (1973), Maury Muehleisen, guitarist with Jim Croce (1973), Country Music Hall of Famer Red Foley (1968)
September 21: former Fender CEO William "Bill" Schultz (2006), Bad Company bassist Raymond "Boz" Burrell (2006)
September 22: big band singer Connie Haines (2008)
Chasplaya wrote:
Cheech and Chong are 'herbalists'?!?! Say it ain't so, Chas, say it ain't so. :laugh: :laugh:
acknowledging that the pair are still "herbalists," Chong notes they no longer need to carry a stash with them … "if you need weed you can get weed faster than a pizza almost anywhere" …
Cheech and Chong are 'herbalists'?!?! Say it ain't so, Chas, say it ain't so. :laugh: :laugh:
Week In Review
September 23, 2010
Elvis & The Beatles Hit The Airwaves … Bowie Hits Broadway … Roth & Van Halen Hit The Stage (Again) …
1953, in what will later be considered the golden age of vocal groups, seven of the R&B chart's Top 10 positions are occupied by doo-wop acts including The Orioles, The Clovers, The Five Royales, The Royals, The Spaniels, The Dominoes, and The Coronets …
1954, Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips secures his place in rock 'n' roll history when he spins a test pressing of Elvis Presley's "That's All Right" on radio station WHBQ … it's the first time an Elvis record hits the airwaves …
1956, Elvis Presley's much-anticipated single "Love Me Tender" notches a music biz record when advance orders for the record top one million …
1963, "She Loves You" is played on the radio by influential DJ Murray "The K" Kaufman on WINS in New York … it is the first time a Beatles song is played on U.S. airwaves … Murray later becomes a staunch Beatles advocate and supporter, helping them to break into New York and America …
1966, The Yardbirds, with lead guitarists Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, embark upon a British tour with The Rolling Stones and Tina Turner …
1975, soul man Jackie Wilson suffers a heart attack in mid-performance at the Latin Casino in Camden, N.J. … the singer, dubbed "Mr. Excitement," falls off the stage and strikes his head on the concrete floor, causing permanent brain damage … he lapses into a coma and spends the rest of his life hospitalized until death overtakes him in 1984 … the soul group The Spinners donate $60,000 for his medical care but much of that money is consumed in lawyer's fees due to relatives tussling over control of Wilson's estate … the singer will be laid to rest in an unmarked grave … the Wilson family is haunted by tragedy … son Jackie Jr. was killed in 1970 during a burglary, daughter Sandra will die of a heart attack in 1977, and daughter Jacqueline will be shot to death in a 1987 drive-by shooting …
1976, Jerry Lee Lewis nearly lives up to his nickname while taking a little target practice at a soda bottle with his .357 magnum … The Killer completely misses the bottle and shoots his bass player, Norman "Butch" Owens, twice in the chest … Owens reportedly clutches his chest and staggers out onto the front porch before collapsing … Owens lives to sue Lewis, who is charged with shooting a firearm within city limits … British bobbies take The Runaways into custody following the disappearance of a hair dryer from a hotel room …
1980, David Bowie makes his Broadway debut playing the title character in The Elephant Man …
1982, the first compact discs and players hit the market in Japan … a joint venture between Sony and Philips, the CD will become a dominant musical format within five years …
1988, Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" becomes the first a capella song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 … the single will also land George Bush the elder in hot water when he uses it in his presidential campaign without permission … in 2008, Billboard listed the tune in its top ten One Hit Wonders from the last 50 years … McFerrin, a classically trained musician and conductor, later expresses reservations about the single, saying "It's not that I don't love the song. My songs are like my children: some you want around and some you want to send off to college as soon as possible." …
1991, Garth Brooks' album Ropin' the Wind debuts at number one on the Billboard Pop chart … it is the first country album to do so …
1993, former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler settles his lawsuit with his former band and its managers for $2.5 million just before the case goes to the jury, this despite having signed an agreement in 1990 giving up his partnership interest in the band … during the trial guitarist Slash had testified that Adler had signed the agreement while he was "strung out" … Adler had been booted from the band when he couldn't kick his heroin habit … five years to the day later, Adler is back in court, this time for sentencing on charges of having beaten two women he dated as well as violating probation on an earlier domestic case … he gets 150 days jail time …
1996, Smashing Pumpkins get off to a delayed tour start … the band needed extra time to integrate former Filter drummer Matt Walker and former Frogs' keyboardist Dennis Flemion … the pair replace former keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin who died three months earlier from a heroin OD and drummer Jimmie Chamberlin who was canned following a drug possession bust … leader Billie Corgan will later acknowledge the replacements were a bad idea that hurt the band's music and reputation … in 1999 a rehabilitated Chamberlin will rejoin the Pumpkins …
1997, wearing a white cowboy hat, Bob Dylan performs his "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" in Bologna, Italy, with an apparently bored John Paul II looking on … the Audio Engineering Society unveils the new DVD Audio format in New York …
2002, Mike Batt of The Planets settles a lawsuit filed by the John Cage Trust for "an undisclosed six-figure sum" … at issue is one minute of silence on the band's latest CD Classical Graffitti … the avant-garde composer's estate had claimed Batt plagiarized Cage's 1952 composition "4'33"—which was completely silent—when he credited his piece "A One Minute Silence" to "Batt/Cage" …
2004, Cat Stevens is kicked out of the United States after a jet bound for Washington from London is diverted to unload him … the former pop singer now known as Yusuf Islam, born Stephen Georgiou, enjoyed a string of hits in the 1960s and 70s, including "Wild World" and "Morning Has Broken" … he released two songs, including a rerecording of "Peace Train," to express his opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq … officials say he was refused entry under the Immigration and Naturalization Act "based on national security grounds" … Dolly Parton, who is considering breast-reduction surgery, complains, "My boobs are killing me and I don't know if I can stand the pain any longer." …
2005, Wyclef Jean signs a deal with HBO to star in a comedy that the former Fugee describes as "like a hip-hop version of Curb Your Enthusiasm" … he goes on to say that "it's based on real s**t" …
2006, U2 and Green Day join forces by performing at New Orleans' Superdome at the Saints' first game in the arena since Hurricane Katrina shredded the venue more than a year earlier … broadcast on ESPN, the game draws 15 million viewers, the second-highest audience ever for a cable broadcast … following a six-month hiatus prompted by Steven Tyler's surgery for a broken blood vessel in his larynx and bassist Tom Hamilton's chemo treatments for throat cancer, Aerosmith reunites for a show at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts … it's been a tough year for the band with Tyler slicing his hand while opening a suitcase and battling hepatitis C …
2007, Van Halen kicks off its first reunion tour since 1984 in Charlotte, North Carolina with David Lee Roth aboard … the band rips through a best-of set list with Eddie Van Halen and Roth bouncing off each other without a hint of the bad blood that has existed between the pair for decades … amazon.com launches its MP3 music download site … it's expected that Amazon's variable pricing scheme will put pressure on iTunes to adopt a similar strategy … Bruce Springsteen gives his hometown supporters a thrill when he and the E Street Band play a rehearsal show at the diminutive Asbury Park Convention Hall as warm-up for a world tour … The Boss warns the crowd that "There may be some mistakes. But I doubt it." …
2008, talking about his forthcoming solo album that's been in the works for a decade, former Velvet Revolver and Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland says, "It may turn off some STP fans. That's just the way it is. At my age, I just do what I wanna do. There's art and there's commerce, and I've already accomplished the commerce part of my career" … working on his next gazillion dollars, Jay-Z launches his new label, StarRoc Records …
…and that was the week that was.
Arrivals:
September 23: R&B and jazz bandleader Tiny Bradshaw (1905), Marion Keisker, assistant to Sun Records' Sam Phillips who urged him to record Elvis (1917), blues guitarist-harpist Joe Hill Louis (1921), jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane (1926), jazz bassist Jimmy Woode (1928), Wally Whyton, leader of the British skiffle band The Vipers (1929), blues guitarist Fenton Robinson (1935), blues, rock, and jazz guitarist Roy Buchanan (1939), singer-songwriter Charlie Fox (1939), British one-man blues band Duster Bennett (1943), songwriter-producer-session pianist Don Grolnick (1947), Jerry Corbetta of Sugarloaf (1947), Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh (1950), John Baker Saunders, bassist for Seattle band Mad Season (1954)
September 24: gospel, blues, and doo-wop singer Allen Bunn (1924), Carl Feaster of The Chords (1930), actor and singer-songwriter Anthony Newley (1931), Ventures drummer Mel Taylor (1933), James "Shep" Sheppard of Shep & The Limelites (1935), session reed player Steve Douglas (1938), Barbara Allbut of The Angels (1940), Phyllis Allbut of The Angels (1942), Linda McCartney (1942), Gerry Marsden of Gerry And The Pacemakers (1942), Cedric Dent of Take 6 (1962), Marty Cintron of No Mercy (1971)
September 25: Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich (1906), Erik Darling of The Rooftop Singers (1933), bluesman Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes (1936), Ian Tyson of folk duo Ian and Sylvia (1933), Joseph Russell of The Persuasions (1939), Wade Flemons of Earth, Wind and Fire (1940), co-founder of Love, Bryan MacLean (1946), Italian rocker Zucchero (1955), actor and hip-hop artist Will Smith (1968), Diana Ortiz of Dream (1985)
September 26: George Gershwin (1898), New Orleans guitarist Rene Hall (1912), country singer Marty Robbins (1925), George Chambers of The Chambers Brothers (1931), Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music (1945), country singer Lynn Anderson (1947), Olivia Newton-John (1948), Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos (1954), Craig Chaquico of Jefferson Starship (1954), country vocalist Carlene Carter (1955), Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl (1962), Cindy Herron of En Vogue (1965), Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon (1967), Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men (1972), pop and R&B singer Christina Milian (1981)
September 27: bluesman "Mighty" Joe Young (1927), producer Don Nix (1941), Randy Bachman of BTO (1943), Meat Loaf aka Marvin Lee Aday (1947), Greg Ham of Men At Work (1953), reggae bassist Robbie Shakespeare (1953), teen throb Shaun Cassidy (1958), Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind (1964), Mark Calderon of Color Me Badd (1970), Avril Lavigne (1984)
September 28: Ed Sullivan (1902), bluesman Houston Stackhouse (1910), country singer Tommy Collins (1930), gospel singer Joseph Hutchinson (1931), Chicago blues songstress Koko Taylor (1935), soul singer and former Drifter Ben E. King (1938), bassist Nick St. Nicholas of Steppenwolf (1943), jazz pianist Kenny Kirkland (1955), George Lynch of Dokken (1955), Alannah Currie of The Thompson Twins (1959), pop singer Jennifer Rush (1960), teen popster Hilary Duff (1987)
September 29: Gene Autry (1907), Jerry Lee Lewis (1935), jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty (1942), singer-songwriter Tommy Boyce (1944), Mark Farner of Grand Funk (1948), Mike Pinera of Iron Butterfly (1948), Suzzy Roche of The Roches (1956), Les Claypool of Primus (1963), Barry D of Jesus Jones (1965), Brad Smith of Blind Melon (1968)
Departures:
September 23: blues harmonica player-vocalist-songwriter Gary Primich (2007), Etta Baker, Piedmont blues guitarist prominent in the folk revival of the 1960s (2006), Mississippi blues singer-guitarist Houston Stackhouse (1980), Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh (1974)
September 24: British folk singer-songwriter Matthew Jay (2003), folk rocker Tim Rose (2002)
September 25: Jamie Lyons of The Music Explosion (2006), Steve Canaday of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils (1999), Led Zeppelin's hard-hitting drummer John Bonham (1980)
September 26: eclectic British vocalist Robert Palmer (2003), songwriter Carl Sigman (2000), jazz diva Betty Carter (1998), pianist and writer Arnold Shaw (1989), blues guitarist Auburn "Pat" Hare (1980), "Empress of the Blues" Bessie Smith (1937)
September 27: rockabilly guitarist Paul Burlison (2003), D.O.A. drummer Ken "Dimwit" Montgomery (1994), Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch (1979)
September 28: D.J. Scott Muni (2004), country star Bob Gibson (1996), Marcels baritone singer Allen Johnson (1995), jazz titan Miles Davis (1991), Rory Storm born Alan Caldwell (1972), D.J. Dewey Phillips (1968), bandleader Lucky Millinder (1966)
September 29: engineer-producer-label exec Greg Ladanyi (2009)
September 23, 2010
Elvis & The Beatles Hit The Airwaves … Bowie Hits Broadway … Roth & Van Halen Hit The Stage (Again) …
1953, in what will later be considered the golden age of vocal groups, seven of the R&B chart's Top 10 positions are occupied by doo-wop acts including The Orioles, The Clovers, The Five Royales, The Royals, The Spaniels, The Dominoes, and The Coronets …
1954, Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips secures his place in rock 'n' roll history when he spins a test pressing of Elvis Presley's "That's All Right" on radio station WHBQ … it's the first time an Elvis record hits the airwaves …
1956, Elvis Presley's much-anticipated single "Love Me Tender" notches a music biz record when advance orders for the record top one million …
1963, "She Loves You" is played on the radio by influential DJ Murray "The K" Kaufman on WINS in New York … it is the first time a Beatles song is played on U.S. airwaves … Murray later becomes a staunch Beatles advocate and supporter, helping them to break into New York and America …
1966, The Yardbirds, with lead guitarists Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, embark upon a British tour with The Rolling Stones and Tina Turner …
1975, soul man Jackie Wilson suffers a heart attack in mid-performance at the Latin Casino in Camden, N.J. … the singer, dubbed "Mr. Excitement," falls off the stage and strikes his head on the concrete floor, causing permanent brain damage … he lapses into a coma and spends the rest of his life hospitalized until death overtakes him in 1984 … the soul group The Spinners donate $60,000 for his medical care but much of that money is consumed in lawyer's fees due to relatives tussling over control of Wilson's estate … the singer will be laid to rest in an unmarked grave … the Wilson family is haunted by tragedy … son Jackie Jr. was killed in 1970 during a burglary, daughter Sandra will die of a heart attack in 1977, and daughter Jacqueline will be shot to death in a 1987 drive-by shooting …
1976, Jerry Lee Lewis nearly lives up to his nickname while taking a little target practice at a soda bottle with his .357 magnum … The Killer completely misses the bottle and shoots his bass player, Norman "Butch" Owens, twice in the chest … Owens reportedly clutches his chest and staggers out onto the front porch before collapsing … Owens lives to sue Lewis, who is charged with shooting a firearm within city limits … British bobbies take The Runaways into custody following the disappearance of a hair dryer from a hotel room …
1980, David Bowie makes his Broadway debut playing the title character in The Elephant Man …
1982, the first compact discs and players hit the market in Japan … a joint venture between Sony and Philips, the CD will become a dominant musical format within five years …
1988, Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" becomes the first a capella song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 … the single will also land George Bush the elder in hot water when he uses it in his presidential campaign without permission … in 2008, Billboard listed the tune in its top ten One Hit Wonders from the last 50 years … McFerrin, a classically trained musician and conductor, later expresses reservations about the single, saying "It's not that I don't love the song. My songs are like my children: some you want around and some you want to send off to college as soon as possible." …
1991, Garth Brooks' album Ropin' the Wind debuts at number one on the Billboard Pop chart … it is the first country album to do so …
1993, former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler settles his lawsuit with his former band and its managers for $2.5 million just before the case goes to the jury, this despite having signed an agreement in 1990 giving up his partnership interest in the band … during the trial guitarist Slash had testified that Adler had signed the agreement while he was "strung out" … Adler had been booted from the band when he couldn't kick his heroin habit … five years to the day later, Adler is back in court, this time for sentencing on charges of having beaten two women he dated as well as violating probation on an earlier domestic case … he gets 150 days jail time …
1996, Smashing Pumpkins get off to a delayed tour start … the band needed extra time to integrate former Filter drummer Matt Walker and former Frogs' keyboardist Dennis Flemion … the pair replace former keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin who died three months earlier from a heroin OD and drummer Jimmie Chamberlin who was canned following a drug possession bust … leader Billie Corgan will later acknowledge the replacements were a bad idea that hurt the band's music and reputation … in 1999 a rehabilitated Chamberlin will rejoin the Pumpkins …
1997, wearing a white cowboy hat, Bob Dylan performs his "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" in Bologna, Italy, with an apparently bored John Paul II looking on … the Audio Engineering Society unveils the new DVD Audio format in New York …
2002, Mike Batt of The Planets settles a lawsuit filed by the John Cage Trust for "an undisclosed six-figure sum" … at issue is one minute of silence on the band's latest CD Classical Graffitti … the avant-garde composer's estate had claimed Batt plagiarized Cage's 1952 composition "4'33"—which was completely silent—when he credited his piece "A One Minute Silence" to "Batt/Cage" …
2004, Cat Stevens is kicked out of the United States after a jet bound for Washington from London is diverted to unload him … the former pop singer now known as Yusuf Islam, born Stephen Georgiou, enjoyed a string of hits in the 1960s and 70s, including "Wild World" and "Morning Has Broken" … he released two songs, including a rerecording of "Peace Train," to express his opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq … officials say he was refused entry under the Immigration and Naturalization Act "based on national security grounds" … Dolly Parton, who is considering breast-reduction surgery, complains, "My boobs are killing me and I don't know if I can stand the pain any longer." …
2005, Wyclef Jean signs a deal with HBO to star in a comedy that the former Fugee describes as "like a hip-hop version of Curb Your Enthusiasm" … he goes on to say that "it's based on real s**t" …
2006, U2 and Green Day join forces by performing at New Orleans' Superdome at the Saints' first game in the arena since Hurricane Katrina shredded the venue more than a year earlier … broadcast on ESPN, the game draws 15 million viewers, the second-highest audience ever for a cable broadcast … following a six-month hiatus prompted by Steven Tyler's surgery for a broken blood vessel in his larynx and bassist Tom Hamilton's chemo treatments for throat cancer, Aerosmith reunites for a show at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts … it's been a tough year for the band with Tyler slicing his hand while opening a suitcase and battling hepatitis C …
2007, Van Halen kicks off its first reunion tour since 1984 in Charlotte, North Carolina with David Lee Roth aboard … the band rips through a best-of set list with Eddie Van Halen and Roth bouncing off each other without a hint of the bad blood that has existed between the pair for decades … amazon.com launches its MP3 music download site … it's expected that Amazon's variable pricing scheme will put pressure on iTunes to adopt a similar strategy … Bruce Springsteen gives his hometown supporters a thrill when he and the E Street Band play a rehearsal show at the diminutive Asbury Park Convention Hall as warm-up for a world tour … The Boss warns the crowd that "There may be some mistakes. But I doubt it." …
2008, talking about his forthcoming solo album that's been in the works for a decade, former Velvet Revolver and Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland says, "It may turn off some STP fans. That's just the way it is. At my age, I just do what I wanna do. There's art and there's commerce, and I've already accomplished the commerce part of my career" … working on his next gazillion dollars, Jay-Z launches his new label, StarRoc Records …
…and that was the week that was.
Arrivals:
September 23: R&B and jazz bandleader Tiny Bradshaw (1905), Marion Keisker, assistant to Sun Records' Sam Phillips who urged him to record Elvis (1917), blues guitarist-harpist Joe Hill Louis (1921), jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane (1926), jazz bassist Jimmy Woode (1928), Wally Whyton, leader of the British skiffle band The Vipers (1929), blues guitarist Fenton Robinson (1935), blues, rock, and jazz guitarist Roy Buchanan (1939), singer-songwriter Charlie Fox (1939), British one-man blues band Duster Bennett (1943), songwriter-producer-session pianist Don Grolnick (1947), Jerry Corbetta of Sugarloaf (1947), Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh (1950), John Baker Saunders, bassist for Seattle band Mad Season (1954)
September 24: gospel, blues, and doo-wop singer Allen Bunn (1924), Carl Feaster of The Chords (1930), actor and singer-songwriter Anthony Newley (1931), Ventures drummer Mel Taylor (1933), James "Shep" Sheppard of Shep & The Limelites (1935), session reed player Steve Douglas (1938), Barbara Allbut of The Angels (1940), Phyllis Allbut of The Angels (1942), Linda McCartney (1942), Gerry Marsden of Gerry And The Pacemakers (1942), Cedric Dent of Take 6 (1962), Marty Cintron of No Mercy (1971)
September 25: Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich (1906), Erik Darling of The Rooftop Singers (1933), bluesman Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes (1936), Ian Tyson of folk duo Ian and Sylvia (1933), Joseph Russell of The Persuasions (1939), Wade Flemons of Earth, Wind and Fire (1940), co-founder of Love, Bryan MacLean (1946), Italian rocker Zucchero (1955), actor and hip-hop artist Will Smith (1968), Diana Ortiz of Dream (1985)
September 26: George Gershwin (1898), New Orleans guitarist Rene Hall (1912), country singer Marty Robbins (1925), George Chambers of The Chambers Brothers (1931), Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music (1945), country singer Lynn Anderson (1947), Olivia Newton-John (1948), Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos (1954), Craig Chaquico of Jefferson Starship (1954), country vocalist Carlene Carter (1955), Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl (1962), Cindy Herron of En Vogue (1965), Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon (1967), Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men (1972), pop and R&B singer Christina Milian (1981)
September 27: bluesman "Mighty" Joe Young (1927), producer Don Nix (1941), Randy Bachman of BTO (1943), Meat Loaf aka Marvin Lee Aday (1947), Greg Ham of Men At Work (1953), reggae bassist Robbie Shakespeare (1953), teen throb Shaun Cassidy (1958), Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind (1964), Mark Calderon of Color Me Badd (1970), Avril Lavigne (1984)
September 28: Ed Sullivan (1902), bluesman Houston Stackhouse (1910), country singer Tommy Collins (1930), gospel singer Joseph Hutchinson (1931), Chicago blues songstress Koko Taylor (1935), soul singer and former Drifter Ben E. King (1938), bassist Nick St. Nicholas of Steppenwolf (1943), jazz pianist Kenny Kirkland (1955), George Lynch of Dokken (1955), Alannah Currie of The Thompson Twins (1959), pop singer Jennifer Rush (1960), teen popster Hilary Duff (1987)
September 29: Gene Autry (1907), Jerry Lee Lewis (1935), jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty (1942), singer-songwriter Tommy Boyce (1944), Mark Farner of Grand Funk (1948), Mike Pinera of Iron Butterfly (1948), Suzzy Roche of The Roches (1956), Les Claypool of Primus (1963), Barry D of Jesus Jones (1965), Brad Smith of Blind Melon (1968)
Departures:
September 23: blues harmonica player-vocalist-songwriter Gary Primich (2007), Etta Baker, Piedmont blues guitarist prominent in the folk revival of the 1960s (2006), Mississippi blues singer-guitarist Houston Stackhouse (1980), Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh (1974)
September 24: British folk singer-songwriter Matthew Jay (2003), folk rocker Tim Rose (2002)
September 25: Jamie Lyons of The Music Explosion (2006), Steve Canaday of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils (1999), Led Zeppelin's hard-hitting drummer John Bonham (1980)
September 26: eclectic British vocalist Robert Palmer (2003), songwriter Carl Sigman (2000), jazz diva Betty Carter (1998), pianist and writer Arnold Shaw (1989), blues guitarist Auburn "Pat" Hare (1980), "Empress of the Blues" Bessie Smith (1937)
September 27: rockabilly guitarist Paul Burlison (2003), D.O.A. drummer Ken "Dimwit" Montgomery (1994), Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch (1979)
September 28: D.J. Scott Muni (2004), country star Bob Gibson (1996), Marcels baritone singer Allen Johnson (1995), jazz titan Miles Davis (1991), Rory Storm born Alan Caldwell (1972), D.J. Dewey Phillips (1968), bandleader Lucky Millinder (1966)
September 29: engineer-producer-label exec Greg Ladanyi (2009)
Week In Review
September 30, 2010
Dinah Walks Alone … Beatles Buy A Hit … Madness to the Method …
This is the week that was in matters musical…
1944, Dinah Shore's "I'll Walk Alone" moves to the top spot on the American singles chart … it is the first-ever #1 U.S. hit for a female artist …
1954, singing "Blue Moon of Kentucky," Elvis makes his debut at the Grand Ole Opry … he elicits an unenthusiastic response from the hard-core country audience …
1960, Tommy Roe & The Satins release "Sheila" on Judd Records … the single will prove a flop … a revised version will be released two years later by Tommy Roe alone on ABC-Paramount and will streak to the top of the chart, the first of over 20 hits for the artist … just a little reminder to stay in the game …
1962, The Beatles release their first single in the U.K., "Love Me Do," backed by "P.S. I Love You" … according to rumor, in an act of faith manager Brian Epstein orders 10,000 copies for the record store chain he owns … all 10,000 are purchased, assuring The Beatles a spot in the British Top 20 …
1966, The Jimi Hendrix Experience is formed in London … his song "Fire" will become one of the most played songs in rock … despite the song's sexual overtones, the actual inspiration came while spending a cold December night at the home of bassist Noel Redding's mother … Jimi asked if he could stand next to her fireplace … though she agreed, apparently her Great Dane did not … hence the spoken line before the solo, "Aw, move over, Rover, and let Jimi take over" …
1967, Woody Guthrie dies in Creedmoor State Hospital in Queens, New York, at the age of 55 … the legendary singer-songwriter had been in and out of various New York area hospitals since 1954, receiving treatment for Huntington's disease, a hereditary illness that Guthrie's mother, Nora, also died of and son Arlo suffers from … in 1998 and 2000, urban folk troubadour Billy Bragg and Wilco will issue two CDs of songs based on lyrics Guthrie wrote before his death that were given to Bragg by his widow Nora … State narcs execute a raid on the Grateful Dead house in Haight-Ashbury … Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and Bob Weir are arrested along with managers Rock Scully and Danny Rifkin, equipment manager Bob Matthews, and six friends … the cops, though they had no warrant, knocked down the front door, then confiscated money and records belonging to the band as well as the Haight-Ashbury Legal Organization whose office is part of this den of iniquity … after everyone has been bailed out the next morning, the band hosts a press conference in their living room … when Rifkin is asked by a reporter how long it took for the manager to grow his hair long, Rifkin produces a large, frothy bowl of whipped cream that he says has been reserved for the first reporter to ask a stupid question … when the reporter cringes, Rifkin relents …
1968, after rising to the top with three million-seller albums, supergroup Cream begins its farewell tour … Fleetwood Mac are at CBS Studios in central London … the Sunday session begins with a recording of guitarist/leader Peter Green's instrumental "Albatross" … the tune is reminiscent of Santo and Johnny's "Sleepwalk" but features twin guitar harmonies by Green and Danny Kirwan over a gently loping bass by John McVie, with Mick Fleetwood playing tom-toms with mallets … the recording is a huge international hit and influences John Lennon in writing "Sun King" for The Beatles Abbey Road album … years later, Green still plays the tune in concert …
1970, Janis Joplin is found dead in her room at Hollywood's Landmark Hotel, the victim of a heroin overdose … she had just finished recording her second solo album, entitled Pearl … at the time of her death, Joplin is only 27 years old … Jimi Hendrix is buried on October 1, 1970, at Greenwood Memorial Cemetery in Renton, Washington … the planned memorial service is canceled because of lack of time and concerns with crowd control …
1986, CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather is attacked while walking down Park Avenue in New York City about 11 PM … he is knocked to the ground and kicked repeatedly by a mentally unstable citizen who asks over and over, "Kenneth, what's the frequency?" … his assailant is William Tager, a diagnosed psychotic who suspected the media of beaming hostile messages to him, and wanted Rather to tell him the frequency being used for the nefarious plot … nearly ten years later R.E.M. will write a song loosely based on the event titled "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" …
1990, record store owner Charles Freeman of Fort Lauderdale, FL, is convicted of obscenity charges for selling the 2 Live Crew rap album Nasty As They Wanna Be … he is fined $2,000 …
1992, Sinead O'Connor puts a serious crimp in her career when she appears on Saturday Night Live … after singing an acapella version of Bob Marley's "War" in which she inserts a verse about sexual abuse in the Catholic church, the Irish singer tears up a photo of the Pope and says, "Fight the real enemy" … the following week, guest host Joe Pesci holds up the photo, taped back together … during Madonna's next SNL appearance, she holds up a photo of Joey Buttafuoco saying, "Fight the real enemy" … nowadays, when Comedy Central airs the original episode, the incident is replaced with O'Connor holding up a picture of a black child taken from a rehearsal tape …
1997, there's a madness to the Method Man, who is being sued after he leaps off the stage and lands on a Wu-Tang fan, knocking her unconscious … the suit is against band members Method Man, RZA, and Redman, as well as the student government that sponsored the show … the fan, Juanita L. Evans, says she was distracted by Redman and therefore didn't see the flying Method Man … it's like the old adage says, "When in doubt, sue everyone" …
2004, five Vote for Change concerts are mounted on the same night in Florida, considered a state up for grabs in the 2004 presidential election … Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Tracy Chapman, and John Fogerty perform in Orlando where Chapman sings a stirring rendition of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" … the lineup in Gainesville is Dave Matthews, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, and Jurassic 5 … in Kissimmee, Pearl Jam and Death Cab for Cutie do their bit to try and unseat the incumbent … Bonnie Raitt, Keb' Mo', and Sheryl Crow perform in Jacksonville, where the three sing a show-closing rendition of the Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" … meanwhile in Clearwater, the Dixie Chicks and James Taylor hit the stage … Taylor describes himself as a "big old yellow-dog Democrat" and reveals that his songs "Line 'Em Up" and "Slap Leather" were composed to celebrate the end of the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan respectively … the following night, John Mellencamp and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds perform in Chicago in support of the John Kerry candidacy … Howard Stern tells his 12 million listeners that in 2006 he will move over to Sirius Satellite Radio … six stations fired the breast-fixated broadcaster from their rosters after Clear Channel Broadcasting was hit with $495,000 in FCC fines … though Clear Channel president John Hogan admitted that Stern hadn't committed any recent sins, the company decided to drop him anyway … reportedly the decision was based on Stern's lifetime fascination with biology … his "lectures" on applied female anatomy in particular … Stern fires back saying, "As soon as I came out against Bush, that's when my rights to free speech were taken away. It had nothing to do with indecency." …
2006, a victim of plummeting record sales, record retailer Tower Records is liquidated … 3,000 employees in 20 states lose their jobs … Elton John is joined by, among others, Elvis Costello, Moby, Liv Tyler, and Neil Young in a fundraiser for his AIDS charity … Young wows the crowd with an acoustic set that includes a duet with John on "Your Song" …
2007, in the first lawsuit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America against illegal downloaders to go to trial, the RIAA is awarded a $220,000 judgment against Jammie Thomas of Brainerd, MN, who was charged with downloading 24 copyright-protected songs … the RIAA had originally offered to settle with Thomas in 2005 for $4,750, which was refused by the defendant who argued that she hadn't downloaded the tunes … more than 26,000 suits have been filed against alleged song pirates by the RIAA to date … it later became known that the RIAA withheld roughly $400 million from artists for years … the RIAA gained the money through lawsuits claiming to defend the rights of artists, although none of the artists whose music was "illegally" downloaded have received any of the settlement money … the RIAA has also lobbied for a decrease in artist royalty payments … an odd way to protect artist's rights, to say the least … Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor announces that he is no longer under contract with Interscope Records, allowing him to be able to distribute any future Nine Inch Nails and solo work in whatever form he desires … he also expresses his belief that being free from contract will enable him to have more direct contact with his fanbase and get his material to them in a more efficient and cost-effective manner … this is bad news for the record industry coming on the heels of Radiohead going indie with its web-only distribution of In Rainbows and Madonna's split with Warner to cut a deal with Live Nation that covers both concert and record business …
2008, E Street Band axeman Nils Lofgren undergoes double hip replacement surgery … one of the last artists to resist making his music downloadable throws in the towel when Rhapsody.com begins offering Kid Rock's catalog online … at Rock's stipulation, only entire albums—not singles—are offered … the Kid is still holding out where iTunes is concerned … he is quoted as saying, "It's funny, I have a sh*tload of stock in Apple, but it's just not very American to me when Apple tells you how they want to sell your product and they tell you what it's worth" …
2009, the ninth annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival is held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park … spread over seven stages, acts comprise a virtual who's-who of roots and country music … an estimated 750,000 fans enjoy sets by Doc Watson, Emmylou Harris, Earl Scruggs, Del McCoury, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Ralph Stanley, and a host of other living legends … monster Nashville producer and guitarist Buddy Miller wows the crowd with his gritty road show that includes a guest appearance by Robert Plant … Hardly Strictly is an entirely free event—a gift to the city from real estate developer and bluegrass fan Warren Hellman …
…and that was the week that was.
Arrivals:
September 30: jazz drummer Buddy Rich (1917), New Orleans soul man Chris Kenner (1929), soul and gospel singer Cissy Houston (1933), crooner Johnny Mathis (1935), soul singer Z.Z. Hill (1935), Frankie Lymon (1942), Dewey Martin of Buffalo Springfield (1942), producer Gus Dudgeon (1942), Marilyn McCoo of The 5th Dimension (1943), Sylvia Peterson of The Chiffons (1946), Mark Bolan of T. Rex (1947), Patrice Rushen (1954), Basia (1956), Trey Anastasio of Phish (1964), Robby Takac of The Goo Goo Dolls (1964)
October 1: piano maestro Vladimir Horowitz (1904), Texas bluesman Albert Collins (1932), Julie Andrews (1935), Capitols singer-drummer Samuel George (1942), saxist Jerry Martini of Sly & the Family Stone (1943), pop singer Scott McKenzie (1944), Herbert Rhoad of The Persuasions (1944), Barbara Paritt of The Toys (1944), R&B singer-songwriter Donnie Hathaway (1945), bassist-vocalist Martin Turner of Wishbone Ash (1947), Tubes singer Jane Dornacker (1947), Senegalese vocalist Youssou N'Dour (1959), Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra (1968), Xscape's LaTocha Scott (1974)
October 2: Ron Griffiths of Badfinger (1942), singer-songwriter Don McLean (1945), Michael Rutherford of Genesis (1950), Sting, born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner (1951), The Diamonds' David Somerville (1953), Phillip Oakey of Human League (1955), soul singer Freddie Jackson (1956), singer-songwriter Robbie Nevil (1960), Siggi Baldursson of The Sugarcubes (1962), Claude McKnight of Take 6 (1962), Sean McDonald, singer and guitarist with Surgery (1965), Bud Graugh of Sublime (1967), teen pop singer Tiffany (1971)
October 3: R&B pianist and saxophonist Monk Higgins, born Milton Bland (1930), influential American rock-and-roller Eddie Cochran, who co-wrote "Summertime Blues" (1938), former Mountain bass player and Cream producer Felix Pappalardi (1938), Chubby Checker, born Ernest Evans, who popularized the dance The Twist (1941), Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac (1948), Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954), Mötley Crüe's Tommy Lee (1961), Gwen Stefani (1969), Kevin Richardson of Backstreet Boys (1971), soul and R&B singer India.Arie (1975)
October 4: Leon Thomas, jazz vocalist who worked with Pharoah Sanders and Santana (1937), Marlena Easley of The Orlons (1944), bassist Jim Fielder of Blood, Sweat & Tears, The Mothers of Invention, and Buffalo Stringfield (1947), blues singer-guitarist-songwriter Keb' Mo', born Kevin Moore (1951), Barbara K. MacDonald of Timbuk 3 (1958), Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys (1959), singer-songwriter Jon Secada (1961), Lena Katina of tATu (1984), Ashlee Simpson (1984)
October 5: blues musician George "Little Hat" Jones (1899), Delta singer and guitarist Jessie Mae Hemphill (1934), guitarist-singer-dancer Abi Ofarim (1939), Richard Street of The Temptations (1942), Steve Miller (1943), Richard Kermode, keyboardist who worked with Janis Joplin and Santana (1946), Brian Johnson of AC/DC (1947), seminal country rocker B.W. Stevenson (1949), Bob Geldof (1954), Paul Thomas of Good Charlotte (1980)
October 6: Cliff White, session guitarist with Sam Cooke (1921), Walter Kimble, sax player with Fats Domino (1946), Millie Small of "My Boy Lollipop" fame (1948), Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon (1951), David Hidalgo of Los Lobos (1954), singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet (1964), Tommy Stinson of The Replacements (1966)
Departures:
September 30: Moonglows singer Prentiss Barnes (2006), Jacques Levy (2004), Texas rockabilly pioneer Ronnie Dawson (2003), disco-era songwriter Paul Jabara (1992), pop singer Mary Ford (1977)
October 1: Richard Avedon (2004), bassist Bruce Palmer of Buffalo Springfield (2004), Booker T. & The MGs drummer Al Jackson Jr. (1975)
October 2: "The Singing Cowboy" Gene Autry (1998), Evelyn Young, Memphis sax player who appeared on early B.B. King records (1990), New Orleans R&B and jazz pianist Pleasant "Cousin Joe" Joseph (1989)
October 3: Darryl DeLoach, original lead vocalist with Iron Butterfly (2002), Cars bassist Benjamin Orr (2000), blues singer Victoria Spivey (1976), blues master Skip James, whose blues classics were covered by rockers including Cream and Canned Heat (1969), American folk icon Woody Guthrie (1967)
October 4: bebop trumpeter Art Farmer (1998), country fiddler Jerry River (1996), guitarist Danny Gatton (1994), 1950s R&B singer Varetta Dillard (1993), J.Frank Wilson, lead vocalist of J.Frank Williams and the Cavaliers (1991), Ray Stephens, singer with The Village People (1990), Atlanta DJ Zenas "Daddy" Sears (1988), Jimmy Springs, drummer and singer for The Red Caps (1987), Janis Joplin (1970)
October 5: The Temptations' Eddie Kendricks (1992)
October 6: Portuguese fado singer Amalia Rodriguez (1999), raspy-voiced Texas rockabilly singer "Groovey" Joe Poovey (1998), arranger-composer-orchestra leader Nelson Riddle (1985), Johnny O'Keefe, Australia's first rock star (1978)
September 30, 2010
Dinah Walks Alone … Beatles Buy A Hit … Madness to the Method …
This is the week that was in matters musical…
1944, Dinah Shore's "I'll Walk Alone" moves to the top spot on the American singles chart … it is the first-ever #1 U.S. hit for a female artist …
1954, singing "Blue Moon of Kentucky," Elvis makes his debut at the Grand Ole Opry … he elicits an unenthusiastic response from the hard-core country audience …
1960, Tommy Roe & The Satins release "Sheila" on Judd Records … the single will prove a flop … a revised version will be released two years later by Tommy Roe alone on ABC-Paramount and will streak to the top of the chart, the first of over 20 hits for the artist … just a little reminder to stay in the game …
1962, The Beatles release their first single in the U.K., "Love Me Do," backed by "P.S. I Love You" … according to rumor, in an act of faith manager Brian Epstein orders 10,000 copies for the record store chain he owns … all 10,000 are purchased, assuring The Beatles a spot in the British Top 20 …
1966, The Jimi Hendrix Experience is formed in London … his song "Fire" will become one of the most played songs in rock … despite the song's sexual overtones, the actual inspiration came while spending a cold December night at the home of bassist Noel Redding's mother … Jimi asked if he could stand next to her fireplace … though she agreed, apparently her Great Dane did not … hence the spoken line before the solo, "Aw, move over, Rover, and let Jimi take over" …
1967, Woody Guthrie dies in Creedmoor State Hospital in Queens, New York, at the age of 55 … the legendary singer-songwriter had been in and out of various New York area hospitals since 1954, receiving treatment for Huntington's disease, a hereditary illness that Guthrie's mother, Nora, also died of and son Arlo suffers from … in 1998 and 2000, urban folk troubadour Billy Bragg and Wilco will issue two CDs of songs based on lyrics Guthrie wrote before his death that were given to Bragg by his widow Nora … State narcs execute a raid on the Grateful Dead house in Haight-Ashbury … Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and Bob Weir are arrested along with managers Rock Scully and Danny Rifkin, equipment manager Bob Matthews, and six friends … the cops, though they had no warrant, knocked down the front door, then confiscated money and records belonging to the band as well as the Haight-Ashbury Legal Organization whose office is part of this den of iniquity … after everyone has been bailed out the next morning, the band hosts a press conference in their living room … when Rifkin is asked by a reporter how long it took for the manager to grow his hair long, Rifkin produces a large, frothy bowl of whipped cream that he says has been reserved for the first reporter to ask a stupid question … when the reporter cringes, Rifkin relents …
1968, after rising to the top with three million-seller albums, supergroup Cream begins its farewell tour … Fleetwood Mac are at CBS Studios in central London … the Sunday session begins with a recording of guitarist/leader Peter Green's instrumental "Albatross" … the tune is reminiscent of Santo and Johnny's "Sleepwalk" but features twin guitar harmonies by Green and Danny Kirwan over a gently loping bass by John McVie, with Mick Fleetwood playing tom-toms with mallets … the recording is a huge international hit and influences John Lennon in writing "Sun King" for The Beatles Abbey Road album … years later, Green still plays the tune in concert …
1970, Janis Joplin is found dead in her room at Hollywood's Landmark Hotel, the victim of a heroin overdose … she had just finished recording her second solo album, entitled Pearl … at the time of her death, Joplin is only 27 years old … Jimi Hendrix is buried on October 1, 1970, at Greenwood Memorial Cemetery in Renton, Washington … the planned memorial service is canceled because of lack of time and concerns with crowd control …
1986, CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather is attacked while walking down Park Avenue in New York City about 11 PM … he is knocked to the ground and kicked repeatedly by a mentally unstable citizen who asks over and over, "Kenneth, what's the frequency?" … his assailant is William Tager, a diagnosed psychotic who suspected the media of beaming hostile messages to him, and wanted Rather to tell him the frequency being used for the nefarious plot … nearly ten years later R.E.M. will write a song loosely based on the event titled "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" …
1990, record store owner Charles Freeman of Fort Lauderdale, FL, is convicted of obscenity charges for selling the 2 Live Crew rap album Nasty As They Wanna Be … he is fined $2,000 …
1992, Sinead O'Connor puts a serious crimp in her career when she appears on Saturday Night Live … after singing an acapella version of Bob Marley's "War" in which she inserts a verse about sexual abuse in the Catholic church, the Irish singer tears up a photo of the Pope and says, "Fight the real enemy" … the following week, guest host Joe Pesci holds up the photo, taped back together … during Madonna's next SNL appearance, she holds up a photo of Joey Buttafuoco saying, "Fight the real enemy" … nowadays, when Comedy Central airs the original episode, the incident is replaced with O'Connor holding up a picture of a black child taken from a rehearsal tape …
1997, there's a madness to the Method Man, who is being sued after he leaps off the stage and lands on a Wu-Tang fan, knocking her unconscious … the suit is against band members Method Man, RZA, and Redman, as well as the student government that sponsored the show … the fan, Juanita L. Evans, says she was distracted by Redman and therefore didn't see the flying Method Man … it's like the old adage says, "When in doubt, sue everyone" …
2004, five Vote for Change concerts are mounted on the same night in Florida, considered a state up for grabs in the 2004 presidential election … Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Tracy Chapman, and John Fogerty perform in Orlando where Chapman sings a stirring rendition of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" … the lineup in Gainesville is Dave Matthews, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, and Jurassic 5 … in Kissimmee, Pearl Jam and Death Cab for Cutie do their bit to try and unseat the incumbent … Bonnie Raitt, Keb' Mo', and Sheryl Crow perform in Jacksonville, where the three sing a show-closing rendition of the Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" … meanwhile in Clearwater, the Dixie Chicks and James Taylor hit the stage … Taylor describes himself as a "big old yellow-dog Democrat" and reveals that his songs "Line 'Em Up" and "Slap Leather" were composed to celebrate the end of the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan respectively … the following night, John Mellencamp and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds perform in Chicago in support of the John Kerry candidacy … Howard Stern tells his 12 million listeners that in 2006 he will move over to Sirius Satellite Radio … six stations fired the breast-fixated broadcaster from their rosters after Clear Channel Broadcasting was hit with $495,000 in FCC fines … though Clear Channel president John Hogan admitted that Stern hadn't committed any recent sins, the company decided to drop him anyway … reportedly the decision was based on Stern's lifetime fascination with biology … his "lectures" on applied female anatomy in particular … Stern fires back saying, "As soon as I came out against Bush, that's when my rights to free speech were taken away. It had nothing to do with indecency." …
2006, a victim of plummeting record sales, record retailer Tower Records is liquidated … 3,000 employees in 20 states lose their jobs … Elton John is joined by, among others, Elvis Costello, Moby, Liv Tyler, and Neil Young in a fundraiser for his AIDS charity … Young wows the crowd with an acoustic set that includes a duet with John on "Your Song" …
2007, in the first lawsuit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America against illegal downloaders to go to trial, the RIAA is awarded a $220,000 judgment against Jammie Thomas of Brainerd, MN, who was charged with downloading 24 copyright-protected songs … the RIAA had originally offered to settle with Thomas in 2005 for $4,750, which was refused by the defendant who argued that she hadn't downloaded the tunes … more than 26,000 suits have been filed against alleged song pirates by the RIAA to date … it later became known that the RIAA withheld roughly $400 million from artists for years … the RIAA gained the money through lawsuits claiming to defend the rights of artists, although none of the artists whose music was "illegally" downloaded have received any of the settlement money … the RIAA has also lobbied for a decrease in artist royalty payments … an odd way to protect artist's rights, to say the least … Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor announces that he is no longer under contract with Interscope Records, allowing him to be able to distribute any future Nine Inch Nails and solo work in whatever form he desires … he also expresses his belief that being free from contract will enable him to have more direct contact with his fanbase and get his material to them in a more efficient and cost-effective manner … this is bad news for the record industry coming on the heels of Radiohead going indie with its web-only distribution of In Rainbows and Madonna's split with Warner to cut a deal with Live Nation that covers both concert and record business …
2008, E Street Band axeman Nils Lofgren undergoes double hip replacement surgery … one of the last artists to resist making his music downloadable throws in the towel when Rhapsody.com begins offering Kid Rock's catalog online … at Rock's stipulation, only entire albums—not singles—are offered … the Kid is still holding out where iTunes is concerned … he is quoted as saying, "It's funny, I have a sh*tload of stock in Apple, but it's just not very American to me when Apple tells you how they want to sell your product and they tell you what it's worth" …
2009, the ninth annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival is held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park … spread over seven stages, acts comprise a virtual who's-who of roots and country music … an estimated 750,000 fans enjoy sets by Doc Watson, Emmylou Harris, Earl Scruggs, Del McCoury, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Ralph Stanley, and a host of other living legends … monster Nashville producer and guitarist Buddy Miller wows the crowd with his gritty road show that includes a guest appearance by Robert Plant … Hardly Strictly is an entirely free event—a gift to the city from real estate developer and bluegrass fan Warren Hellman …
…and that was the week that was.
Arrivals:
September 30: jazz drummer Buddy Rich (1917), New Orleans soul man Chris Kenner (1929), soul and gospel singer Cissy Houston (1933), crooner Johnny Mathis (1935), soul singer Z.Z. Hill (1935), Frankie Lymon (1942), Dewey Martin of Buffalo Springfield (1942), producer Gus Dudgeon (1942), Marilyn McCoo of The 5th Dimension (1943), Sylvia Peterson of The Chiffons (1946), Mark Bolan of T. Rex (1947), Patrice Rushen (1954), Basia (1956), Trey Anastasio of Phish (1964), Robby Takac of The Goo Goo Dolls (1964)
October 1: piano maestro Vladimir Horowitz (1904), Texas bluesman Albert Collins (1932), Julie Andrews (1935), Capitols singer-drummer Samuel George (1942), saxist Jerry Martini of Sly & the Family Stone (1943), pop singer Scott McKenzie (1944), Herbert Rhoad of The Persuasions (1944), Barbara Paritt of The Toys (1944), R&B singer-songwriter Donnie Hathaway (1945), bassist-vocalist Martin Turner of Wishbone Ash (1947), Tubes singer Jane Dornacker (1947), Senegalese vocalist Youssou N'Dour (1959), Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra (1968), Xscape's LaTocha Scott (1974)
October 2: Ron Griffiths of Badfinger (1942), singer-songwriter Don McLean (1945), Michael Rutherford of Genesis (1950), Sting, born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner (1951), The Diamonds' David Somerville (1953), Phillip Oakey of Human League (1955), soul singer Freddie Jackson (1956), singer-songwriter Robbie Nevil (1960), Siggi Baldursson of The Sugarcubes (1962), Claude McKnight of Take 6 (1962), Sean McDonald, singer and guitarist with Surgery (1965), Bud Graugh of Sublime (1967), teen pop singer Tiffany (1971)
October 3: R&B pianist and saxophonist Monk Higgins, born Milton Bland (1930), influential American rock-and-roller Eddie Cochran, who co-wrote "Summertime Blues" (1938), former Mountain bass player and Cream producer Felix Pappalardi (1938), Chubby Checker, born Ernest Evans, who popularized the dance The Twist (1941), Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac (1948), Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954), Mötley Crüe's Tommy Lee (1961), Gwen Stefani (1969), Kevin Richardson of Backstreet Boys (1971), soul and R&B singer India.Arie (1975)
October 4: Leon Thomas, jazz vocalist who worked with Pharoah Sanders and Santana (1937), Marlena Easley of The Orlons (1944), bassist Jim Fielder of Blood, Sweat & Tears, The Mothers of Invention, and Buffalo Stringfield (1947), blues singer-guitarist-songwriter Keb' Mo', born Kevin Moore (1951), Barbara K. MacDonald of Timbuk 3 (1958), Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys (1959), singer-songwriter Jon Secada (1961), Lena Katina of tATu (1984), Ashlee Simpson (1984)
October 5: blues musician George "Little Hat" Jones (1899), Delta singer and guitarist Jessie Mae Hemphill (1934), guitarist-singer-dancer Abi Ofarim (1939), Richard Street of The Temptations (1942), Steve Miller (1943), Richard Kermode, keyboardist who worked with Janis Joplin and Santana (1946), Brian Johnson of AC/DC (1947), seminal country rocker B.W. Stevenson (1949), Bob Geldof (1954), Paul Thomas of Good Charlotte (1980)
October 6: Cliff White, session guitarist with Sam Cooke (1921), Walter Kimble, sax player with Fats Domino (1946), Millie Small of "My Boy Lollipop" fame (1948), Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon (1951), David Hidalgo of Los Lobos (1954), singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet (1964), Tommy Stinson of The Replacements (1966)
Departures:
September 30: Moonglows singer Prentiss Barnes (2006), Jacques Levy (2004), Texas rockabilly pioneer Ronnie Dawson (2003), disco-era songwriter Paul Jabara (1992), pop singer Mary Ford (1977)
October 1: Richard Avedon (2004), bassist Bruce Palmer of Buffalo Springfield (2004), Booker T. & The MGs drummer Al Jackson Jr. (1975)
October 2: "The Singing Cowboy" Gene Autry (1998), Evelyn Young, Memphis sax player who appeared on early B.B. King records (1990), New Orleans R&B and jazz pianist Pleasant "Cousin Joe" Joseph (1989)
October 3: Darryl DeLoach, original lead vocalist with Iron Butterfly (2002), Cars bassist Benjamin Orr (2000), blues singer Victoria Spivey (1976), blues master Skip James, whose blues classics were covered by rockers including Cream and Canned Heat (1969), American folk icon Woody Guthrie (1967)
October 4: bebop trumpeter Art Farmer (1998), country fiddler Jerry River (1996), guitarist Danny Gatton (1994), 1950s R&B singer Varetta Dillard (1993), J.Frank Wilson, lead vocalist of J.Frank Williams and the Cavaliers (1991), Ray Stephens, singer with The Village People (1990), Atlanta DJ Zenas "Daddy" Sears (1988), Jimmy Springs, drummer and singer for The Red Caps (1987), Janis Joplin (1970)
October 5: The Temptations' Eddie Kendricks (1992)
October 6: Portuguese fado singer Amalia Rodriguez (1999), raspy-voiced Texas rockabilly singer "Groovey" Joe Poovey (1998), arranger-composer-orchestra leader Nelson Riddle (1985), Johnny O'Keefe, Australia's first rock star (1978)
Thanks Chas for the report. I remember watching the Sinead O'Connors incident as she was very popular then and I was a fan of Saturday Night live. Just could not believe the useless statement she was making. She just vanished from the radar after that. What a waste, she was definitely one of the best female voice of her generation.
Marc
Marc
Week In Review
October 7, 2010
Crosby Tossed … Grace Quips … Plant Squashes …
1957, rock-and-roll wildman Jerry Lee Lewis records "Great Balls of Fire" … in Sydney, Australia, another wildman, Little Richard, announces his intention to give up rock-and-roll and "live for the Lord" … he flies to Los Angeles the following day and is baptized as a Seventh Day Adventist … the erstwhile piano pounder and shouter will abide by his decision for five years before resuming his musical career …
1958, Eddie Cochran records the rock-and-roll anthem "C'mon Everybody" … the Sex Pistols will also enjoy a hit with their cover in 1979 … an article in Billboard reports that Phil Spector, the writer and arranger of the Teddy Bears' hit "To Know Him is to Love Him," is studying to be a court reporter … though the reclusive producer, famed for creating "wall of sound" recordings in the 1960s, never takes up that profession, his trial and conviction for the 2003 murder of Lana Clarkson provides him with lots of courtroom experience …
1959, Bobby Darin becomes the youngest to ever headline at the Copa Room of the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. He displaces the prior record-holder Johnny Mathis who headlined when he was 23 … Darin is 22 …
1961, the Beatle haircut is born when Paul and John are celebrating John's 21st birthday in Paris … they meet up with Jurgen Vollmer, a friend from Hamburg who wears his hair brushed forward in a cut popular with French teens … Paul and John like the style and have Jurgen give them haircuts in their hotel room … the rest is sartorial history …
1962, Little Richard and Sam Cooke begin a European tour in Doncaster, England … playing keyboards on the tour is a 16-year-old Billy Preston and the M.C. is Gene Vincent of "Be-Bop-A-Lula" fame, who wasn't allowed to perform because his work permit had expired … for later concerts it is oddly decided by authorities that Vincent will be allowed to sing, but only in front of the stage, not on it …
1966, the Jimi Hendrix Experience plays its first ever gig at a concert in Paris supporting French pop start Johnny Halliday … the Experience played a 15-minute set of "Hey Joe" (soon to be their first single), "Killing Floor," and soul standards "Land of a Thousand Dances," "Respect," and "Have Mercy" … in San Francisco, Grace Slick replaces expectant mother Signe Anderson in The Jefferson Airplane … Grace leaves her current band Great Society and brings along two songs that will be at the forefront of the San Francisco music scene: "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" …
1967, David Crosby is bounced from The Byrds by leader Roger McGuinn after months of acrimony … Crosby complained that some of his songs the band recorded weren't being released or, if they were, promoted properly including "Triad," a song promoting a relationship between two men and a woman … McGuinn called it a "freak-out orgy tune"… Crosby took the song to the Jefferson Airplane who will release their version in 1968's Crown of Creation … although recorded by The Byrds it was not released until 1987 …
1969, blues giant Muddy Waters is severely injured in a car crash in which three others are killed …
1970, the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber opens on Broadway to mixed reviews, harsh criticism from Webber, and condemnation from some religious groups … the show will close in 1973 after 711 performances …
1976, Joe Perry and Steven Tyler are injured during an Aerosmith concert in Philadelphia when a fan throws a cherry bomb onto the stage … The Sex Pistols enter Landsdowne Studios in London with producer Dave Goodman and engineer Hugh Padgham to attempt to record their debut single "Anarchy In The U.K." … unhappy with the results they try again a week later at Wessex Studios with Chris Thomas producing and Bill Price engineering … a key to the recording is Thomas layering Steve Jones' guitar parts to create a roaring wall of sound …
1980, Bob Marley collapses in New York while preparing for a tour … he is diagnosed with cancer and will die seven months later …
1987, the three members of ZZ Top book their seats on the first passenger flight to the moon … at press time, they are still awaiting their confirmations …
1990, members of the British alt-rock band The Stone Roses are fined $5,100 each after being convicted of trashing their former record company's offices …
1996, former Smashing Pumpkin Jimmy Chamberlain pleads guilty to disorderly conduct … the charges are related to fellow band member Jonathan Melvoin's death from a heroin overdose …
1998, the Crossroads Centre of Antigua opens … the treatment facility for drug addicts is bankrolled by Eric Clapton …
2000, British scandal sheet, The Daily Mirror, reports that singer Toni Braxton will skip England's MOBO Awards ceremonies celebrating black singers after one of her breast implants explodes …
2001, U2 launches the third leg of its Elevation tour with a South Bend, Indiana, concert inviting the world to see and hear it for free … the performance is webcast and accessible to U.S. fans on U2.com …
2005, Marilyn Manson announces he's working on a line of perfumes and cosmetics … a recently discovered live recording of the Thelonious Monk Quartet featuring John Coltrane debuts in the #2 spot on the Billboard jazz chart … the tape of the 1957 Carnegie Hall performance was discovered in a dusty Library of Congress archive the previous January by a researcher … Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe is treated in Casper, Wyoming, for second-degree burns after sparks from a pyrotechnic display during a show burn his arms and face …
2006, Weird Al Yankovic scores his first Top Ten hit with "White & Nerdy" … after a 30-year hiatus, proto punk band The Stooges hit a Chicago studio to cut a new record … Weezer files suit against Miller Brewing Co. after the beer monolith airs ads that include images of ticket stubs for its shows along with those of Audioslave, Devo, and Incubus … Incubus also filed suit in 2005 charging misappropriation of its name … the Weezer action seeks millions in damages for "dilution of the value of the Weezer name and good will" … the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame mounts an exhibit titled Revolution Rock: The Story of the Clash featuring 150 artifacts including lyric sheets and Joe Strummer's well-worn Telecaster … Grace Slick is on hand to help California Gubernator Arnold Schwarzenegger christen the first of a new fleet of Virgin Airlines planes with the moniker "Jefferson Airplane" … while the pair do the champagne thing, "White Rabbit" plays … commenting on the the name choice, Slick observes dryly that, "The Grateful Dead would've been a bad name so they picked us." …
2008, Eminem releases his memoir The Way I Am … in it the rapper reveals that his blonde hair was the result of an Ecstacy trip and that his 2003 "Superman" was the outcome of a romance with Mariah Carey … in their first gig together in four years, Grateful Dead alumni Mickey Hart, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzmann play a benefit for Barack Obama at Penn State University … on the other hand, Robert Plant squashes rumors of a Led Zeppelin reunion tour when he posts a statement on his website saying, "It's both frustrating and ridiculous for this story to continue to rear its ugly head when all the musicians that surround the story are keen to get on with their individual projects and move on." … apparently this word hasn't reached Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Jason Bonham who have been reported to be continuing rehearsals without Plant at the mic … and here's a union, not a reunion: Ritchie Blackmore marries longtime live-in musical partner Candice Night at the Castle on the Hudson in England … they have been recording and performing as Blackmore's Night since 1997 …
…and that was the week that was.
Arrivals:
October 7: banjo player-singer-songwriter-comedian "Uncle" Dave Macon (1870), Martin Murray of The Honeycombs (1941), Dino Valenti of Quicksilver Messenger Service (1943), Kevin Godley of 10cc (1945), David Hope of Kansas (1949), John Mellencamp (1951), Tico Torres of Bon Jovi (1953), singer-songwriter Toni Braxton (1968), Radiohead's Thom Yorke (1968), Leeroy Thornhill of Prodigy (1969)
October 8: composer Toru Takemitsu (1930), Doc Green, baritone with The Drifters (1934), Tornados guitarist George Bellamy (1940), Redbone drummer Butch Rillera (1945), Ray Royer of Procol Harum (1945), Toni Wilson of Hot Chocolate (1947), Johnny Ramone born John Cummings (1948), Hamish Stewart of Average White Band (1949), Robert "Kool" Bell of Kool & The Gang (1950), Cliff Adams of Kool & The Gang (1952), roots blues revivalist Lonnie Pitchford (1955), Steve Perry of Cherry Poppin' Daddies (1963), C.J. Ramone, aka Christopher James Ward of the Ramones (1965), R&B singer Teddy Riley (1967)
October 9: John Lennon (1940), John Entwistle of The Who (1944), Jackson Browne (1948), Brendan Mullen, founder of L.A. punk club Masque (1949), P. J. Harvey (1969), Sean Ono Lennon (1975)
October 10: composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813), Ivory Joe Hunter, R&B singer-songwriter-pianist, best known for his hit recording "Since I Met You, Baby" (1914), inventive pianist-composer Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917), "The Big Bopper" born Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. (1932), country singer Dottie West (1932), soul singer O.V. Wright (1939), singer-songwriter John Prine (1946), Edward Freche of the Neville Brothers band (1947), singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Midge Ure (1953), David Lee Roth (1955), Tanya Tucker (1958), singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl (1959), Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet (1961), Mike Malinin of Goo Goo Dolls (1967), Michael Bivens of Bel Biv Devoe (1968), Nine Days drummer Vinnie Tattanelli (1972), pop and R&B singer Mya Harrison (1979)
October 11: hard-hitting jazz drummer Art Blakey (1919), bluesman Little Willie Littlefield (1931), jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie (1941), Gary Mallaber of The Steve Miller Band (1946), blue-eyed soul singer Daryl Hall (1949), Andrew Woolfolk of Earth, Wind & Fire (1950), Haircut 100 drummer Blair Cunningham (1957), Scott Johnson of The Gin Blossoms (1962), MC Lyte (1971)
October 12: composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872), Guitar Gabriel AKA Robert Lewis Jones (1925), Sam Moore of soul duo Sam and Dave (1935), Luciano Pavarotti (1935), Melvin Franklin of The Temptations (1942), Status Quo guitarist and vocalist Rick Parfitt (1948), Irish singer-songwriter Brian Kennedy (1948), Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens (1955), Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould (1960), Garfield Bright of Shai (1969), Dixie Chicks fiddle player Martie McGuire (1969)
October 13: Paul Simon (1941), Robert Lamm of Chicago (1944), Sammy Hagar (1947), Simon Nicol of Fairport Convention (1950), Marie Osmond (1959) R&B vocalist Ashanti (1980)
Departures:
October 7: NRBQ guitarist Steve Ferguson (2009), British rocker Johnny Kidd (1966), blues singer Overton Amos Lemons aka Smiley Lewis (1966), American tenor and movie star Mario Lanza (1959)
October 8: singer-songwriter Nicky James (2007), Nat "King" Cole Trio guitarist Oscar Moore (1991), country singer Harold Dorman (1988), Cliff Gallup of Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps (1988), Dr. Demento favorite Jimmy Cross (1978)
October 9: founder of The Modern Jazz Quartet, Milt Jackson (1999), New Orleans R&B artist Joseph "Mr. Google Eyes" August (1992), Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel (1978), R&B and gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1973), R&B sax honker Earl Bostic (1965)
October 10: Darren Robinson, 400-pound member of The Fat Boys known as The Human Beat Box (1995), Lenny Peters of British pop duo Peters and Lee (1992)
October 11: reggae star Alton Ellis (2008), composer Neal Hefti (2008), Werner von Trapp, member of the singing family (2007), BBC star and pop singer Andy Stewart (1993), Edith Piaf (1963)
October 12: Blue Cheer bassist-vocalist Dickie Peterson (2009), Brendan Mullen, founder of L.A. punk club Masque (2009), songwriter Baker Knight (2005), bluesman Frank Frost (1999), John Denver (1997), Ricky Wilson of the B-52's (1985), rockabilly pioneer Gene Vincent (1971)
October 13: singer-actor Al Martino (2009), Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks of The Ohio Players (1996), Shirley Brickley of The Orlons (1977), Ed Sullivan (1974)
October 7, 2010
Crosby Tossed … Grace Quips … Plant Squashes …
1957, rock-and-roll wildman Jerry Lee Lewis records "Great Balls of Fire" … in Sydney, Australia, another wildman, Little Richard, announces his intention to give up rock-and-roll and "live for the Lord" … he flies to Los Angeles the following day and is baptized as a Seventh Day Adventist … the erstwhile piano pounder and shouter will abide by his decision for five years before resuming his musical career …
1958, Eddie Cochran records the rock-and-roll anthem "C'mon Everybody" … the Sex Pistols will also enjoy a hit with their cover in 1979 … an article in Billboard reports that Phil Spector, the writer and arranger of the Teddy Bears' hit "To Know Him is to Love Him," is studying to be a court reporter … though the reclusive producer, famed for creating "wall of sound" recordings in the 1960s, never takes up that profession, his trial and conviction for the 2003 murder of Lana Clarkson provides him with lots of courtroom experience …
1959, Bobby Darin becomes the youngest to ever headline at the Copa Room of the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. He displaces the prior record-holder Johnny Mathis who headlined when he was 23 … Darin is 22 …
1961, the Beatle haircut is born when Paul and John are celebrating John's 21st birthday in Paris … they meet up with Jurgen Vollmer, a friend from Hamburg who wears his hair brushed forward in a cut popular with French teens … Paul and John like the style and have Jurgen give them haircuts in their hotel room … the rest is sartorial history …
1962, Little Richard and Sam Cooke begin a European tour in Doncaster, England … playing keyboards on the tour is a 16-year-old Billy Preston and the M.C. is Gene Vincent of "Be-Bop-A-Lula" fame, who wasn't allowed to perform because his work permit had expired … for later concerts it is oddly decided by authorities that Vincent will be allowed to sing, but only in front of the stage, not on it …
1966, the Jimi Hendrix Experience plays its first ever gig at a concert in Paris supporting French pop start Johnny Halliday … the Experience played a 15-minute set of "Hey Joe" (soon to be their first single), "Killing Floor," and soul standards "Land of a Thousand Dances," "Respect," and "Have Mercy" … in San Francisco, Grace Slick replaces expectant mother Signe Anderson in The Jefferson Airplane … Grace leaves her current band Great Society and brings along two songs that will be at the forefront of the San Francisco music scene: "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" …
1967, David Crosby is bounced from The Byrds by leader Roger McGuinn after months of acrimony … Crosby complained that some of his songs the band recorded weren't being released or, if they were, promoted properly including "Triad," a song promoting a relationship between two men and a woman … McGuinn called it a "freak-out orgy tune"… Crosby took the song to the Jefferson Airplane who will release their version in 1968's Crown of Creation … although recorded by The Byrds it was not released until 1987 …
1969, blues giant Muddy Waters is severely injured in a car crash in which three others are killed …
1970, the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber opens on Broadway to mixed reviews, harsh criticism from Webber, and condemnation from some religious groups … the show will close in 1973 after 711 performances …
1976, Joe Perry and Steven Tyler are injured during an Aerosmith concert in Philadelphia when a fan throws a cherry bomb onto the stage … The Sex Pistols enter Landsdowne Studios in London with producer Dave Goodman and engineer Hugh Padgham to attempt to record their debut single "Anarchy In The U.K." … unhappy with the results they try again a week later at Wessex Studios with Chris Thomas producing and Bill Price engineering … a key to the recording is Thomas layering Steve Jones' guitar parts to create a roaring wall of sound …
1980, Bob Marley collapses in New York while preparing for a tour … he is diagnosed with cancer and will die seven months later …
1987, the three members of ZZ Top book their seats on the first passenger flight to the moon … at press time, they are still awaiting their confirmations …
1990, members of the British alt-rock band The Stone Roses are fined $5,100 each after being convicted of trashing their former record company's offices …
1996, former Smashing Pumpkin Jimmy Chamberlain pleads guilty to disorderly conduct … the charges are related to fellow band member Jonathan Melvoin's death from a heroin overdose …
1998, the Crossroads Centre of Antigua opens … the treatment facility for drug addicts is bankrolled by Eric Clapton …
2000, British scandal sheet, The Daily Mirror, reports that singer Toni Braxton will skip England's MOBO Awards ceremonies celebrating black singers after one of her breast implants explodes …
2001, U2 launches the third leg of its Elevation tour with a South Bend, Indiana, concert inviting the world to see and hear it for free … the performance is webcast and accessible to U.S. fans on U2.com …
2005, Marilyn Manson announces he's working on a line of perfumes and cosmetics … a recently discovered live recording of the Thelonious Monk Quartet featuring John Coltrane debuts in the #2 spot on the Billboard jazz chart … the tape of the 1957 Carnegie Hall performance was discovered in a dusty Library of Congress archive the previous January by a researcher … Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe is treated in Casper, Wyoming, for second-degree burns after sparks from a pyrotechnic display during a show burn his arms and face …
2006, Weird Al Yankovic scores his first Top Ten hit with "White & Nerdy" … after a 30-year hiatus, proto punk band The Stooges hit a Chicago studio to cut a new record … Weezer files suit against Miller Brewing Co. after the beer monolith airs ads that include images of ticket stubs for its shows along with those of Audioslave, Devo, and Incubus … Incubus also filed suit in 2005 charging misappropriation of its name … the Weezer action seeks millions in damages for "dilution of the value of the Weezer name and good will" … the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame mounts an exhibit titled Revolution Rock: The Story of the Clash featuring 150 artifacts including lyric sheets and Joe Strummer's well-worn Telecaster … Grace Slick is on hand to help California Gubernator Arnold Schwarzenegger christen the first of a new fleet of Virgin Airlines planes with the moniker "Jefferson Airplane" … while the pair do the champagne thing, "White Rabbit" plays … commenting on the the name choice, Slick observes dryly that, "The Grateful Dead would've been a bad name so they picked us." …
2008, Eminem releases his memoir The Way I Am … in it the rapper reveals that his blonde hair was the result of an Ecstacy trip and that his 2003 "Superman" was the outcome of a romance with Mariah Carey … in their first gig together in four years, Grateful Dead alumni Mickey Hart, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzmann play a benefit for Barack Obama at Penn State University … on the other hand, Robert Plant squashes rumors of a Led Zeppelin reunion tour when he posts a statement on his website saying, "It's both frustrating and ridiculous for this story to continue to rear its ugly head when all the musicians that surround the story are keen to get on with their individual projects and move on." … apparently this word hasn't reached Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Jason Bonham who have been reported to be continuing rehearsals without Plant at the mic … and here's a union, not a reunion: Ritchie Blackmore marries longtime live-in musical partner Candice Night at the Castle on the Hudson in England … they have been recording and performing as Blackmore's Night since 1997 …
…and that was the week that was.
Arrivals:
October 7: banjo player-singer-songwriter-comedian "Uncle" Dave Macon (1870), Martin Murray of The Honeycombs (1941), Dino Valenti of Quicksilver Messenger Service (1943), Kevin Godley of 10cc (1945), David Hope of Kansas (1949), John Mellencamp (1951), Tico Torres of Bon Jovi (1953), singer-songwriter Toni Braxton (1968), Radiohead's Thom Yorke (1968), Leeroy Thornhill of Prodigy (1969)
October 8: composer Toru Takemitsu (1930), Doc Green, baritone with The Drifters (1934), Tornados guitarist George Bellamy (1940), Redbone drummer Butch Rillera (1945), Ray Royer of Procol Harum (1945), Toni Wilson of Hot Chocolate (1947), Johnny Ramone born John Cummings (1948), Hamish Stewart of Average White Band (1949), Robert "Kool" Bell of Kool & The Gang (1950), Cliff Adams of Kool & The Gang (1952), roots blues revivalist Lonnie Pitchford (1955), Steve Perry of Cherry Poppin' Daddies (1963), C.J. Ramone, aka Christopher James Ward of the Ramones (1965), R&B singer Teddy Riley (1967)
October 9: John Lennon (1940), John Entwistle of The Who (1944), Jackson Browne (1948), Brendan Mullen, founder of L.A. punk club Masque (1949), P. J. Harvey (1969), Sean Ono Lennon (1975)
October 10: composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813), Ivory Joe Hunter, R&B singer-songwriter-pianist, best known for his hit recording "Since I Met You, Baby" (1914), inventive pianist-composer Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917), "The Big Bopper" born Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. (1932), country singer Dottie West (1932), soul singer O.V. Wright (1939), singer-songwriter John Prine (1946), Edward Freche of the Neville Brothers band (1947), singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Midge Ure (1953), David Lee Roth (1955), Tanya Tucker (1958), singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl (1959), Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet (1961), Mike Malinin of Goo Goo Dolls (1967), Michael Bivens of Bel Biv Devoe (1968), Nine Days drummer Vinnie Tattanelli (1972), pop and R&B singer Mya Harrison (1979)
October 11: hard-hitting jazz drummer Art Blakey (1919), bluesman Little Willie Littlefield (1931), jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie (1941), Gary Mallaber of The Steve Miller Band (1946), blue-eyed soul singer Daryl Hall (1949), Andrew Woolfolk of Earth, Wind & Fire (1950), Haircut 100 drummer Blair Cunningham (1957), Scott Johnson of The Gin Blossoms (1962), MC Lyte (1971)
October 12: composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872), Guitar Gabriel AKA Robert Lewis Jones (1925), Sam Moore of soul duo Sam and Dave (1935), Luciano Pavarotti (1935), Melvin Franklin of The Temptations (1942), Status Quo guitarist and vocalist Rick Parfitt (1948), Irish singer-songwriter Brian Kennedy (1948), Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens (1955), Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould (1960), Garfield Bright of Shai (1969), Dixie Chicks fiddle player Martie McGuire (1969)
October 13: Paul Simon (1941), Robert Lamm of Chicago (1944), Sammy Hagar (1947), Simon Nicol of Fairport Convention (1950), Marie Osmond (1959) R&B vocalist Ashanti (1980)
Departures:
October 7: NRBQ guitarist Steve Ferguson (2009), British rocker Johnny Kidd (1966), blues singer Overton Amos Lemons aka Smiley Lewis (1966), American tenor and movie star Mario Lanza (1959)
October 8: singer-songwriter Nicky James (2007), Nat "King" Cole Trio guitarist Oscar Moore (1991), country singer Harold Dorman (1988), Cliff Gallup of Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps (1988), Dr. Demento favorite Jimmy Cross (1978)
October 9: founder of The Modern Jazz Quartet, Milt Jackson (1999), New Orleans R&B artist Joseph "Mr. Google Eyes" August (1992), Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel (1978), R&B and gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1973), R&B sax honker Earl Bostic (1965)
October 10: Darren Robinson, 400-pound member of The Fat Boys known as The Human Beat Box (1995), Lenny Peters of British pop duo Peters and Lee (1992)
October 11: reggae star Alton Ellis (2008), composer Neal Hefti (2008), Werner von Trapp, member of the singing family (2007), BBC star and pop singer Andy Stewart (1993), Edith Piaf (1963)
October 12: Blue Cheer bassist-vocalist Dickie Peterson (2009), Brendan Mullen, founder of L.A. punk club Masque (2009), songwriter Baker Knight (2005), bluesman Frank Frost (1999), John Denver (1997), Ricky Wilson of the B-52's (1985), rockabilly pioneer Gene Vincent (1971)
October 13: singer-actor Al Martino (2009), Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks of The Ohio Players (1996), Shirley Brickley of The Orlons (1977), Ed Sullivan (1974)
Week In Review
October 14, 2010
Un-Baez-ed … Green Gets Gritty … Urban Miss …
1949, future Dead Boys leader Stiv Bators is born Stivan John Bator in Youngstown, Ohio …
1954, The Penguins record the doo-wop classic "Earth Angel" … the song will choreograph a million back-seat couplings …
1956, "Love Me Tender" is the first single to enter the pop charts at #1 … Elvis' recording, based on the sentimental Civil War ballad "Aura Lee," also appears on the country and western and R&B charts …
1957, Paul McCartney makes his live debut with the Quarry Men at New Clubmoor Hall Conservative Club in Liverpool …
1958, Tommy Facenda, a backup vocalist for Gene Vincent, charts with a single called "High School U.S.A." … the tune is released in 28 versions, each name-dropping a different major high school across the country … the combined sales get the single to #28 on the pop chart …
1961, The Beatles join forces with Gerry & The Pacemakers for a one-off show … the combine is billed as The Beatmakers …
1962, "Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit … cannily released to coincide with Halloween, the novelty tune with a Boris Karloff-like spoken vocal reappears on the charts in 1970 and 1973 …
1965, a San Francisco collective calling itself The Family Dog presents a rock 'n' roll dance and concert at the Longshoremen's Hall … on the bill for "A Tribute to Dr. Strange" are The Jefferson Airplane, The Charlatans, The Marbles, and The Great Society …
1966, Joan Baez is arrested along with 124 others at an anti-draft demonstration outside an induction center in Oakland, California …
1967, the "tribal rock" musical Hair opens off-Broadway … Jimi Hendrix sits in with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers at a club in northwest London Would have loved to ben there for that… Jimi borrows Mick Taylor's Les Paul sunburst and manages to burn some incredible blues even while playing lefty with a guitar strung for a right-handed guitarist, that is, upside-down with low E string nearest the floor …
1968, RCA releases Jose Feliciano's groundbreaking, bluesy rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" … the blind singer had been roundly booed for his performance of the song at a World Series game earlier that month … Led Zeppelin make their live debut appearing at University of Surrey, England … John and Yoko are busted for possessing pot at their London apartment … a month later, they plead guilty and are fined $150 … this would later cause problems with the U.S. immigration office and the FBI …
1969, with about a year's worth of practice, practice, practice, under their belts, Led Zeppelin kicks off their third U.S. tour at New York's Carnegie Hall … also in The Big Apple, The Who start a six-night stand at the Fillmore East with a two-hour show featuring their new rock opera Tommy … Leonard Chess, the founder of Chess Records, dies of a heart attack at age 52 … one-hit-wonders the Crazy World of Arthur Brown reach #2 on the pop charts with "Fire" co-written by lead singer Brown and organist Vincent Crane … Brown's stage act is highlighted by his wearing a crown that's on—wait for it—fire …
1971, a crowd expecting '50s teen idol Rick Nelson to play all his old hits at a Madison Square Garden show turns surly when he insists on performing new material … the hostile reception is later memorialized in his song "Garden Party" that becomes a hit the following year … a line from the song goes, "If memories are all I'd sing, I'd rather drive a truck" … Creedence Clearwater Revival is sued by a music publisher claiming that John Fogerty's song "Travelin' Band" is a ripoff of "Good Golly, Miss Molly" … the suit is later dropped …
1972, in the wake of weak sales of their latest album Mardi Gras, and dissension by band members over John Fogerty's lock on writing and publishing of Creedence Clearwater Revival's music, the band calls it quits … leader Fogerty goes on to a robust solo career while rhythm section Stu Cook and Doug Clifford eventually form Creedence Clearwater Revisited over the opposition of Fogerty … Chuck Berry scores his first and only #1 Pop Chart hit with "My Ding-a-Ling," an ever-so-slightly salacious bit of silliness …
1973, The Stones' "Angie" is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit … supposedly a paean to David Bowie's missus, the song is covered by Tori Amos in the '90s … the Supreme Court refuses to review a Federal Communications Commission directive ordering broadcasters to censor songs with drug-oriented lyrics before airing them … it will be another three decades before the FCC becomes concerned over breasts … seriously, FCC dudes, you need to lighten up …
1974, soul singer Al Green is seriously burned when a disturbed girlfriend tosses a pot of boiling grits on him … the incident results in Green becoming a minister … it will be 2003 before he releases another recording of secular music …
1976, Ike and Tina Turner split up their act … the Sex Pistols sign to EMI records for $68,000 … Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots reach #1 on the U.S. hit parade with "Disco Duck" …
1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd fans are stunned this week when they learn that band members Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and Ronnie Van Zant have died along with three members of their entourage in a plane crash in a swamp near Gillsburg, Mississippi …
1978, Keith Richards receives a suspended one-year sentence after pleading guilty to heroin possession in Toronto … he's also ordered to play a charity concert for the blind … The Police make their U.S. debut at CBGB's in NYC … the tour consists of 23 gigs in 27 days across the U.S. in a station wagon packed with their gear …
1979, Swedish popsters ABBA appear in Vancouver for their first North American concert … The Buggles top the U.K. pop chart with "Video Killed The Radio Star" …
1980, The Dead Kennedys unleash their latest 45rpm vinyl assault "Kill The Poor" … the picture sleeve shows a bulldozer with a scoop full of dead bodies …
1985, A-Ha becomes the first Norwegian group to score a #1 U.S. hit with "Take On Me" …
1986, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards rock out at an affair honoring Chuck Berry on his 60th birthday captured on film for the movie Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll … former Tubes singer Jane Dornacker, who had gone on to a new career as a traffic reporter, dies in a New York helicopter crash … this week also marks the first time ever that three femme popsters hold down the first three positions on the pop chart … in order they are: Janet Jackson with "When I Think of You," "Typical Male" by Tina Turner, and Cyndi Lauper with "True Colors" …
1991, John Mellencamp is hospitalized in Seattle after suffering a dizzy spell … a doctor later attributes his malady to "too much coffee, stress, and not enough breakfast" …
1992, the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Tribute concert in Madison Square Garden includes guest George Harrison, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Roger McGuinn, and Tom Petty … Sinead O'Connor is booed off the stage by the hostile crowd reacting to the singer's appearance two weeks earlier on Saturday Night Live when she tore up a picture of the Pope …
1993, Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" video is ranked No. 1 in video history by Rolling Stone … it had also racked up a record-setting nine MTV awards … Nirvana's In Utero debuts in the top slot on the U.S. album chart …
1995, Generation X loses another distinctive voice when Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon is found dead of a cocaine overdose on the band's tour bus in New Orleans … Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde makes a return trip to her hometown of Cleveland to sing the national anthem at game three of the World Series …
1997, Elton John's loving tribute to Princess Diana, a remix of "Candle In The Wind," is declared by the Guinness Book of Records to have become the biggest-selling single of all time, having sold 31.8 million copies in less than 40 days and raising $34 million for charity …
1998, the publisher of Alice Cooper's "Eighteen" files suit against Cooper's primary makeup-rock competitors KISS, claiming they ripped off his song "Eighteen" for their song "Dreamin'" … Cooper has nothing to do with it and hasn't even heard the KISS tune … asked about the outcome years later, Cooper says, "I think we all forgot to show up at court. Paul Stanley bought me a cheeseburger to make up for the whole thing" …
2001, VH1 hosts its Concert for New York, which raises over $30 million for victims of 9/11 with performances by such heavy hitters as The Who, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elton John, and Bon Jovi …
2003, singer-songwriter Elliot Smith takes his life in Los Angeles … a hero of the Portland, Oregon, indie-rock scene in the '90s, Smith gained national prominence after director Gus Van Sant tapped him for the soundtrack to the 1997 film Good Will Hunting … Smith's song "Miss Misery" was nominated for an Oscar the following year … a posthumous release, From A Basement On A Hill, includes material the singer was working on when he died …
2005, Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton is arrested in connection with the beating of six gay men in June 2004 … Banton had a hit with the song "Boom Bye Bye," whose lyrics refer to burning and shooting gays … Rivers Cuomo, frontman for Weezer, announces he'll return to Harvard University to complete his last semester for a bachelor's degree … Cuomo's higher education had been interrupted a couple of times by touring and recording in the College of Musical Knowledge … Paul McCartney joins forces with the co-sponsor of his 2005 tour, Fidelity Investments, to establish the Music Lives Foundation … the non-profit will fund music programs and provide students with instruments in the U.S. and U.K… . observing what would have been John Lennon's 65th birthday, Yoko Ono plants a tree at England's Coventry Cathederal … school children sing "Imagine" during the ceremony …
2006, New Zealand country singer Keith Urban checks into rehab to deal with an alcohol addiction, causing him to miss the Country Music Association Awards show where he is nominated in four categories … Neil Young's 20th Bridge School acoustic concerts host an array of unusual performances including Trent Reznor playing unplugged in front of a string quartet … other headliners include Dave Matthews Band, Death Cab for Cutie, and Brian Wilson … Young sits in with, and energizes, many of the sets … after completing the first leg of a North American tour, Who leader Pete Townshend reveals a new, curmudgeonly persona in an interview with Rolling Stone … the aging rocker disses aging rockers proclaiming that he doesn't want to witness "old guys in their self-congratulatory mode" … rambling on, he says, "I don't want to go out and see Bob Dylan. I don't want to go out and see The Stones. I wouldn't pay money to go see The Who, not even with new songs." … leading some old-time Who fans to wonder if going out to see the latest incarnation of the Moon-less, Entwistle-less band could result in them being fooled again …
2007, former member of The Smiths and current Modest Mouse multi-instrumentalist Johnny Marr is appointed visiting professor at Salford University, near Marr's home town of Manchester, England … he'll teach classes about recording and pop music …
Arrivals:
October 14: R&B guitarist and bandleader Jimmy Liggins (1922), monster picker Mickey "Guitar" Baker of Mickey & Sylvia (1925), rockabilly pioneer Bill Justis (1927), Robert "Barefootin" Parker (1930), Barry McGuire of The New Christy Minstrels (1935), pop vocalist Marv Johnson (1938), British rocker and leader of The Shadows Cliff Richard (1940), Colin Hodgkinson of Whitesnake (1945), Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward (1946), English musician-producer Thomas Dolby (1958), A.J. Pero of Twisted Sister (1959), R&B singer Karyn White (1965), Natalie Maines of Dixie Chicks (1974), Shaznay Lewis of All Saints (1975), R&B artist Usher (1978)
October 15: blues singer Victoria Spivey (1906), orchestra leader Bobby Gimby (1918), R&B singer Marv Johnson (1938), Richard Carpenter of The Carpenters (1946), Chris De Burgh of "Lady in Red" fame (1948), Tito Jackson of The Jackson Five (1953), R&B singer Ginuwine, born Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (1975)
October 16: Mississippi bluesman Big Joe Williams (1903), songwriter-producer Burt Kaempfert (1923), Nico of the Velvet Underground (1938), Fred Turner of BTO (1943), Bob Weir (1947), Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet (1959), Michael Balzary, better known as Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962), Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips (1969), Chad Gray, lead vocalist for Mudvayne and Hellyeah (1971), pop/blues-rock singer-songwriter-guitarist John Mayer (1977)
October 17: jazz drummer Cozy Cole (1909), British record executive Louis Benjamin (1922), noted classical music recording engineer and audio technology developer John Mosley (1933), trombonist Rico Rodriguez of The Specials (1934), Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts (1941), pop singer Gary Puckett (1942), Jim Tucker of The Turtles (1946), Mike Hossack, 2nd drummer of the Doobie Bros. (1946), country singer Alan Jackson (1958), Rene Dif of Aqua (1967), reggae singer Ziggy Marley, son of Bob Marley (1968), Chris Kirkpatrick of 'N Sync (1971), Eminem born Marshall Bruce Mathers (1972), hip hop/reggae musician Wyclef Jean (1972)
October 18: Chuck Berry (1926), Ronnie Bright of the Coasters (1938), The Association's Russ Giguere (1943), singer-songwriter Laura Nyro (1947), Joe Egan of Stealers Wheel (1946), Gary Richrath of REO Speedwagon (1949), Doobie Brother Keith Knudsen (1948), trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (1961), Dan Lilker, bassist for Anthrax, S.O.D., Nuclear Assault, and Brutal Truth (1964), Peter Svensson of The Cardigans (1974)
October 19: barrelhouse blues pianist Piano Red, born William Lee Perryman (1911), Kings of Rhythm drummer Billy Gayles (1931), Dave Guard of The Kingston Trio (1934), Peter Tosh of The Wailers (1944), soul singer George McCrae who had the hit "Rock Your Baby" (1944), Jeannie C. Riley "Harper Valley P.T.A." (1945), Procol Harum lyricist Keith Reid (1946), Wilbert Hart of The Delfonics (1947), Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers (1948), Nino DeFranco, singer and guitarist with The DeFranco Family (1956), Karl Wallinger of World Party (1957), singer/Broadway actress Jennifer Holliday (1960), Dan "Woody" Woodgate of Madness (1960), Pras Michel of The Fugees (1972)
October 20: jazz innovator Jelly Roll Morton, born Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe (1890), Johnny Moore of The Blazers (1906), master producer Tom Dowd (1925), electric sax man Eddie Harris (1934), rockabilly-ette Wanda Jackson (1937), Jay Siegel of The Tokens (1939), Ric Lee of Ten Years After (1945), Al Greenwood of Foreigner (1951), rocker Tom Petty (1950), Mark King of Level 42 (1958), James George "Soni" Sonefeld of Hootie and The Blowfish (1964), rapper Snoop Dogg born Cordazar Calvin Broadus (1971)
Departures:
October 14: Tex-Mex star Freddy Fender, born Baldemar Huerta (2006), conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein (1990), crooner-actor Bing Crosby (1977)
October 15: Canadian punk rocker Frank Kerr (2008), songwriter Terry Gilkyson (1999), singer-songwriter-actor Tasha Thomas (1984), Bobby Lester of The Moonglows (1980), pop songwriting giant Cole Porter (1964)
October 16: jazz vocalist Etta Jones (2001), singer Ella Mae Morse of "Cow Cow Boogie" fame (1999), Santana keyboardist Rich Kermode (1996), jazz drummer Art Blakey (1990), jazz drummer Gene Krupa (1973), Leonard Chess, co-founder of Chess Records (1969)
October 17: pop songstress Teresa Brewer (2007), composer Berthold Goldschmidt (1996), Chris Acland of Lush (1996), Criss Oliva of Savatage (1993), country-pop singer Tennessee Ernie Ford (1991), blues singer-songwriter Alberta Hunter (1984), New Orleans guitarist Edgar V. Blanchard (1972)
October 18: soul singer Dee Dee Warwick (2008), reggae star Lucky Dube (2007), singer-actress Julie London (2000), Broadway singer-dancer Gwen Verdon (2000), New Orleans sax man Lee Allen (1994), songwriter Ed Labunski (1980), Houston bluesman L.C. Williams (1960)
October 19: actor-singer-comedian Rudy Ray Moore (2008), harmonica great James "Snooky" Prior (2006), rock journalist Greg Shaw (2004), Alice Cooper lead guitarist Glen Buxton (1997), Level 42 guitarist Alan Murphy (1989), Delta bluesman Son House (1988)
October 20: bassist Paul Raven of Killing Joke and Ministry (2007), jazz pianist and vocalist Shirley Horn (2005), country and western singer-songwriter Merle Travis (1983), Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines—all of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1977)
October 14, 2010
Un-Baez-ed … Green Gets Gritty … Urban Miss …
1949, future Dead Boys leader Stiv Bators is born Stivan John Bator in Youngstown, Ohio …
1954, The Penguins record the doo-wop classic "Earth Angel" … the song will choreograph a million back-seat couplings …
1956, "Love Me Tender" is the first single to enter the pop charts at #1 … Elvis' recording, based on the sentimental Civil War ballad "Aura Lee," also appears on the country and western and R&B charts …
1957, Paul McCartney makes his live debut with the Quarry Men at New Clubmoor Hall Conservative Club in Liverpool …
1958, Tommy Facenda, a backup vocalist for Gene Vincent, charts with a single called "High School U.S.A." … the tune is released in 28 versions, each name-dropping a different major high school across the country … the combined sales get the single to #28 on the pop chart …
1961, The Beatles join forces with Gerry & The Pacemakers for a one-off show … the combine is billed as The Beatmakers …
1962, "Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit … cannily released to coincide with Halloween, the novelty tune with a Boris Karloff-like spoken vocal reappears on the charts in 1970 and 1973 …
1965, a San Francisco collective calling itself The Family Dog presents a rock 'n' roll dance and concert at the Longshoremen's Hall … on the bill for "A Tribute to Dr. Strange" are The Jefferson Airplane, The Charlatans, The Marbles, and The Great Society …
1966, Joan Baez is arrested along with 124 others at an anti-draft demonstration outside an induction center in Oakland, California …
1967, the "tribal rock" musical Hair opens off-Broadway … Jimi Hendrix sits in with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers at a club in northwest London Would have loved to ben there for that… Jimi borrows Mick Taylor's Les Paul sunburst and manages to burn some incredible blues even while playing lefty with a guitar strung for a right-handed guitarist, that is, upside-down with low E string nearest the floor …
1968, RCA releases Jose Feliciano's groundbreaking, bluesy rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" … the blind singer had been roundly booed for his performance of the song at a World Series game earlier that month … Led Zeppelin make their live debut appearing at University of Surrey, England … John and Yoko are busted for possessing pot at their London apartment … a month later, they plead guilty and are fined $150 … this would later cause problems with the U.S. immigration office and the FBI …
1969, with about a year's worth of practice, practice, practice, under their belts, Led Zeppelin kicks off their third U.S. tour at New York's Carnegie Hall … also in The Big Apple, The Who start a six-night stand at the Fillmore East with a two-hour show featuring their new rock opera Tommy … Leonard Chess, the founder of Chess Records, dies of a heart attack at age 52 … one-hit-wonders the Crazy World of Arthur Brown reach #2 on the pop charts with "Fire" co-written by lead singer Brown and organist Vincent Crane … Brown's stage act is highlighted by his wearing a crown that's on—wait for it—fire …
1971, a crowd expecting '50s teen idol Rick Nelson to play all his old hits at a Madison Square Garden show turns surly when he insists on performing new material … the hostile reception is later memorialized in his song "Garden Party" that becomes a hit the following year … a line from the song goes, "If memories are all I'd sing, I'd rather drive a truck" … Creedence Clearwater Revival is sued by a music publisher claiming that John Fogerty's song "Travelin' Band" is a ripoff of "Good Golly, Miss Molly" … the suit is later dropped …
1972, in the wake of weak sales of their latest album Mardi Gras, and dissension by band members over John Fogerty's lock on writing and publishing of Creedence Clearwater Revival's music, the band calls it quits … leader Fogerty goes on to a robust solo career while rhythm section Stu Cook and Doug Clifford eventually form Creedence Clearwater Revisited over the opposition of Fogerty … Chuck Berry scores his first and only #1 Pop Chart hit with "My Ding-a-Ling," an ever-so-slightly salacious bit of silliness …
1973, The Stones' "Angie" is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit … supposedly a paean to David Bowie's missus, the song is covered by Tori Amos in the '90s … the Supreme Court refuses to review a Federal Communications Commission directive ordering broadcasters to censor songs with drug-oriented lyrics before airing them … it will be another three decades before the FCC becomes concerned over breasts … seriously, FCC dudes, you need to lighten up …
1974, soul singer Al Green is seriously burned when a disturbed girlfriend tosses a pot of boiling grits on him … the incident results in Green becoming a minister … it will be 2003 before he releases another recording of secular music …
1976, Ike and Tina Turner split up their act … the Sex Pistols sign to EMI records for $68,000 … Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots reach #1 on the U.S. hit parade with "Disco Duck" …
1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd fans are stunned this week when they learn that band members Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and Ronnie Van Zant have died along with three members of their entourage in a plane crash in a swamp near Gillsburg, Mississippi …
1978, Keith Richards receives a suspended one-year sentence after pleading guilty to heroin possession in Toronto … he's also ordered to play a charity concert for the blind … The Police make their U.S. debut at CBGB's in NYC … the tour consists of 23 gigs in 27 days across the U.S. in a station wagon packed with their gear …
1979, Swedish popsters ABBA appear in Vancouver for their first North American concert … The Buggles top the U.K. pop chart with "Video Killed The Radio Star" …
1980, The Dead Kennedys unleash their latest 45rpm vinyl assault "Kill The Poor" … the picture sleeve shows a bulldozer with a scoop full of dead bodies …
1985, A-Ha becomes the first Norwegian group to score a #1 U.S. hit with "Take On Me" …
1986, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards rock out at an affair honoring Chuck Berry on his 60th birthday captured on film for the movie Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll … former Tubes singer Jane Dornacker, who had gone on to a new career as a traffic reporter, dies in a New York helicopter crash … this week also marks the first time ever that three femme popsters hold down the first three positions on the pop chart … in order they are: Janet Jackson with "When I Think of You," "Typical Male" by Tina Turner, and Cyndi Lauper with "True Colors" …
1991, John Mellencamp is hospitalized in Seattle after suffering a dizzy spell … a doctor later attributes his malady to "too much coffee, stress, and not enough breakfast" …
1992, the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Tribute concert in Madison Square Garden includes guest George Harrison, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Roger McGuinn, and Tom Petty … Sinead O'Connor is booed off the stage by the hostile crowd reacting to the singer's appearance two weeks earlier on Saturday Night Live when she tore up a picture of the Pope …
1993, Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" video is ranked No. 1 in video history by Rolling Stone … it had also racked up a record-setting nine MTV awards … Nirvana's In Utero debuts in the top slot on the U.S. album chart …
1995, Generation X loses another distinctive voice when Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon is found dead of a cocaine overdose on the band's tour bus in New Orleans … Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde makes a return trip to her hometown of Cleveland to sing the national anthem at game three of the World Series …
1997, Elton John's loving tribute to Princess Diana, a remix of "Candle In The Wind," is declared by the Guinness Book of Records to have become the biggest-selling single of all time, having sold 31.8 million copies in less than 40 days and raising $34 million for charity …
1998, the publisher of Alice Cooper's "Eighteen" files suit against Cooper's primary makeup-rock competitors KISS, claiming they ripped off his song "Eighteen" for their song "Dreamin'" … Cooper has nothing to do with it and hasn't even heard the KISS tune … asked about the outcome years later, Cooper says, "I think we all forgot to show up at court. Paul Stanley bought me a cheeseburger to make up for the whole thing" …
2001, VH1 hosts its Concert for New York, which raises over $30 million for victims of 9/11 with performances by such heavy hitters as The Who, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elton John, and Bon Jovi …
2003, singer-songwriter Elliot Smith takes his life in Los Angeles … a hero of the Portland, Oregon, indie-rock scene in the '90s, Smith gained national prominence after director Gus Van Sant tapped him for the soundtrack to the 1997 film Good Will Hunting … Smith's song "Miss Misery" was nominated for an Oscar the following year … a posthumous release, From A Basement On A Hill, includes material the singer was working on when he died …
2005, Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton is arrested in connection with the beating of six gay men in June 2004 … Banton had a hit with the song "Boom Bye Bye," whose lyrics refer to burning and shooting gays … Rivers Cuomo, frontman for Weezer, announces he'll return to Harvard University to complete his last semester for a bachelor's degree … Cuomo's higher education had been interrupted a couple of times by touring and recording in the College of Musical Knowledge … Paul McCartney joins forces with the co-sponsor of his 2005 tour, Fidelity Investments, to establish the Music Lives Foundation … the non-profit will fund music programs and provide students with instruments in the U.S. and U.K… . observing what would have been John Lennon's 65th birthday, Yoko Ono plants a tree at England's Coventry Cathederal … school children sing "Imagine" during the ceremony …
2006, New Zealand country singer Keith Urban checks into rehab to deal with an alcohol addiction, causing him to miss the Country Music Association Awards show where he is nominated in four categories … Neil Young's 20th Bridge School acoustic concerts host an array of unusual performances including Trent Reznor playing unplugged in front of a string quartet … other headliners include Dave Matthews Band, Death Cab for Cutie, and Brian Wilson … Young sits in with, and energizes, many of the sets … after completing the first leg of a North American tour, Who leader Pete Townshend reveals a new, curmudgeonly persona in an interview with Rolling Stone … the aging rocker disses aging rockers proclaiming that he doesn't want to witness "old guys in their self-congratulatory mode" … rambling on, he says, "I don't want to go out and see Bob Dylan. I don't want to go out and see The Stones. I wouldn't pay money to go see The Who, not even with new songs." … leading some old-time Who fans to wonder if going out to see the latest incarnation of the Moon-less, Entwistle-less band could result in them being fooled again …
2007, former member of The Smiths and current Modest Mouse multi-instrumentalist Johnny Marr is appointed visiting professor at Salford University, near Marr's home town of Manchester, England … he'll teach classes about recording and pop music …
Arrivals:
October 14: R&B guitarist and bandleader Jimmy Liggins (1922), monster picker Mickey "Guitar" Baker of Mickey & Sylvia (1925), rockabilly pioneer Bill Justis (1927), Robert "Barefootin" Parker (1930), Barry McGuire of The New Christy Minstrels (1935), pop vocalist Marv Johnson (1938), British rocker and leader of The Shadows Cliff Richard (1940), Colin Hodgkinson of Whitesnake (1945), Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward (1946), English musician-producer Thomas Dolby (1958), A.J. Pero of Twisted Sister (1959), R&B singer Karyn White (1965), Natalie Maines of Dixie Chicks (1974), Shaznay Lewis of All Saints (1975), R&B artist Usher (1978)
October 15: blues singer Victoria Spivey (1906), orchestra leader Bobby Gimby (1918), R&B singer Marv Johnson (1938), Richard Carpenter of The Carpenters (1946), Chris De Burgh of "Lady in Red" fame (1948), Tito Jackson of The Jackson Five (1953), R&B singer Ginuwine, born Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (1975)
October 16: Mississippi bluesman Big Joe Williams (1903), songwriter-producer Burt Kaempfert (1923), Nico of the Velvet Underground (1938), Fred Turner of BTO (1943), Bob Weir (1947), Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet (1959), Michael Balzary, better known as Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962), Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips (1969), Chad Gray, lead vocalist for Mudvayne and Hellyeah (1971), pop/blues-rock singer-songwriter-guitarist John Mayer (1977)
October 17: jazz drummer Cozy Cole (1909), British record executive Louis Benjamin (1922), noted classical music recording engineer and audio technology developer John Mosley (1933), trombonist Rico Rodriguez of The Specials (1934), Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts (1941), pop singer Gary Puckett (1942), Jim Tucker of The Turtles (1946), Mike Hossack, 2nd drummer of the Doobie Bros. (1946), country singer Alan Jackson (1958), Rene Dif of Aqua (1967), reggae singer Ziggy Marley, son of Bob Marley (1968), Chris Kirkpatrick of 'N Sync (1971), Eminem born Marshall Bruce Mathers (1972), hip hop/reggae musician Wyclef Jean (1972)
October 18: Chuck Berry (1926), Ronnie Bright of the Coasters (1938), The Association's Russ Giguere (1943), singer-songwriter Laura Nyro (1947), Joe Egan of Stealers Wheel (1946), Gary Richrath of REO Speedwagon (1949), Doobie Brother Keith Knudsen (1948), trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (1961), Dan Lilker, bassist for Anthrax, S.O.D., Nuclear Assault, and Brutal Truth (1964), Peter Svensson of The Cardigans (1974)
October 19: barrelhouse blues pianist Piano Red, born William Lee Perryman (1911), Kings of Rhythm drummer Billy Gayles (1931), Dave Guard of The Kingston Trio (1934), Peter Tosh of The Wailers (1944), soul singer George McCrae who had the hit "Rock Your Baby" (1944), Jeannie C. Riley "Harper Valley P.T.A." (1945), Procol Harum lyricist Keith Reid (1946), Wilbert Hart of The Delfonics (1947), Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers (1948), Nino DeFranco, singer and guitarist with The DeFranco Family (1956), Karl Wallinger of World Party (1957), singer/Broadway actress Jennifer Holliday (1960), Dan "Woody" Woodgate of Madness (1960), Pras Michel of The Fugees (1972)
October 20: jazz innovator Jelly Roll Morton, born Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe (1890), Johnny Moore of The Blazers (1906), master producer Tom Dowd (1925), electric sax man Eddie Harris (1934), rockabilly-ette Wanda Jackson (1937), Jay Siegel of The Tokens (1939), Ric Lee of Ten Years After (1945), Al Greenwood of Foreigner (1951), rocker Tom Petty (1950), Mark King of Level 42 (1958), James George "Soni" Sonefeld of Hootie and The Blowfish (1964), rapper Snoop Dogg born Cordazar Calvin Broadus (1971)
Departures:
October 14: Tex-Mex star Freddy Fender, born Baldemar Huerta (2006), conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein (1990), crooner-actor Bing Crosby (1977)
October 15: Canadian punk rocker Frank Kerr (2008), songwriter Terry Gilkyson (1999), singer-songwriter-actor Tasha Thomas (1984), Bobby Lester of The Moonglows (1980), pop songwriting giant Cole Porter (1964)
October 16: jazz vocalist Etta Jones (2001), singer Ella Mae Morse of "Cow Cow Boogie" fame (1999), Santana keyboardist Rich Kermode (1996), jazz drummer Art Blakey (1990), jazz drummer Gene Krupa (1973), Leonard Chess, co-founder of Chess Records (1969)
October 17: pop songstress Teresa Brewer (2007), composer Berthold Goldschmidt (1996), Chris Acland of Lush (1996), Criss Oliva of Savatage (1993), country-pop singer Tennessee Ernie Ford (1991), blues singer-songwriter Alberta Hunter (1984), New Orleans guitarist Edgar V. Blanchard (1972)
October 18: soul singer Dee Dee Warwick (2008), reggae star Lucky Dube (2007), singer-actress Julie London (2000), Broadway singer-dancer Gwen Verdon (2000), New Orleans sax man Lee Allen (1994), songwriter Ed Labunski (1980), Houston bluesman L.C. Williams (1960)
October 19: actor-singer-comedian Rudy Ray Moore (2008), harmonica great James "Snooky" Prior (2006), rock journalist Greg Shaw (2004), Alice Cooper lead guitarist Glen Buxton (1997), Level 42 guitarist Alan Murphy (1989), Delta bluesman Son House (1988)
October 20: bassist Paul Raven of Killing Joke and Ministry (2007), jazz pianist and vocalist Shirley Horn (2005), country and western singer-songwriter Merle Travis (1983), Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines—all of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1977)