September 9th

 

Musical birthdays today include former Blues Project guitarist Danny Kalb (78), R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp (75), ex-Iron Butterfly keyboardist Doug Ingle (74), ex-Paul Revere & the Raiders guitarist Freddy Weller (73), groupie Pamela Des Barres (72), Doobie Brothers guitarist John McFee (70), Dave Stewart (68), Michael Bublé (45) and Boys Like Girls frontman Martin Johnson (35). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz legend Elvin Jones, born 0n this day in 1927... for Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers founding member Joe Negroni, who would have been 80... for Otis Redding, who would have been 79... for Buffalo Springfield bassist Bruce Palmer, who would have been 74... for bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe, who died on this date in 1996... and for guitar maker Ernie Ball, who left us in 2004. 

Also on September 9: Wagner begins composing the music to Lohengrin (1846)... Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash meet for the first time, after a show given by the former at a shopping center opening in Memphis (1954)... Elvis makes his debut appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (1956)... 'She Loves You', which will remain the Beatles' biggest-selling single in the UK, is at № 1 on the British charts today. 'Please Please Me' is also the № 1 album (1963)... The Rolling Stones top the UK charts with '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction'. As Keith Richards later told the story, he recorded a rough version of the song's famous riff in a Florida hotel room. He ran through it once before falling asleep. He said "When I listened back to it in the morning, there was about 2 minutes of acoustic guitar before you could hear me drop the pick, and then 40 minutes of me snoring" (1965)... The Beatles record 'Helter Skelter' at Abbey Road studios. John plays bass and honks on a saxophone, roadie Mal Evans tries his hand at the trumpet, and George runs around the studio with a flaming ashtray on his head as Paul records the lead vocal (1968)... John Lennon releases the album Imagine (1971)... David Bowie appears on Marc Bolan's ITV show 'Marc' performing 'Heroes' as well as a duet with Bolan on 'Standing Next to You', which is prematurely terminated when Bolan falls from the stage, much to Bowie's amusement. After the show the pair record demos together that will never be finished, as Bolan is killed in a car crash a week later (1977)... In Dublin, U2 open for the Stranglers at the Top Hat Ballroom. Since the headliners and their entourage have taken up both dressing rooms, Bono and his bandmates must make all pre-show preparations behind the speaker stacks on stage (1978)... Both Sting and Phil Collins make their live solo debuts at Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball concert in London (1981)... Al Green and Patti LaBelle open on Broadway in the gospel musical 'Your Arms Too Short to Box with God' (1982)... New Kids on the Block have the № 1 album in America today with 'Hangin' Tough' (1989)... Krist Novoselic of Nirvana knocks himself unconscious during the VMAs when he is hit on the head with his guitar after throwing it up in the air (1992)... After 22 years of marriage, Jane Petty files for divorce from husband Tom (1996)... Liverpool City Council announce plans to demolish Ringo Starr's birthplace because it has 'no historical significance'. The house in the Dingle is one of 460 dwellings scheduled for demolition as part of an urban regeneration project. A spokesman for the council says the members decided that Madryn Street had no significance because Ringo spent only the first three months of his life there... A 3-day international conference on the life, work and influence of Bruce Springsteen opens at Monmouth University in New Jersey. The proceedings include live acts as well address by rock critics and music industry representatives. Among the 150 papers presented are 'Bruce Springsteen and American Folklore', 'Springsteen and Dylan's Dreamscapes', 'Born to Run at 30' and 'New Jersey and the Boss and the Bible' (2005).