Musical birthdays today include jazz drummer Idris Muhammad (74), John P. Hammond (71), session guitarist & sideman Terry Reid (64), Pogues drummer Andrew Ranken (60), Aldo Nova (57), Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture (35), and rapper Jibbs (23).
Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz pianist Hampton Hawes, who would have been 85 today... for Marshall Tucker Band guitarist Toy Caldwell, who would have been 66... for former Troggs drummer Ronnie Bond, who died on this date in 1992... for Mills Brothers vocalist Donald Mills, who left us today in 1999... and for experimental musician John Balance [co-founder of Coil] who was killed in a home accident on this day in 2004.
Also on November 13: The
Beatles record a television interview at Westward Television
Studios in Plymouth, Devon, for the local teen program 'Move Over,
Dad'. Due to the large crowd of excited fans outside, the group has to be smuggled from their dressing-room at the ABC Cinema, where
they are scheduled to appear that night, into an adjacent building,
then through a tunnel, to get to Westward Studios for the interview
taping (1963)... Decca
Records release The Rolling Stones’ 'Little Red Rooster'. Written by
Willie Dixon (as The Red Rooster), and previously recorded by Howlin’
Wolf and Sam Cooke, the single was recorded at Chess Studios in
Chicago. The single will become a No.1 hit in the UK and remains the only
time a blues song has ever topped the British pop chart (1964)... Brian
Jones buys 'Cotchford Farm' in Sussex from the estate of A.A. Milne, who wrote Winnie the Pooh when he was living in the house (1968)... Crosby Stills Nash & Young open a four-night stand at the Winterland
Ballroom in San Francisco (1969)... Rod
Stewart starts an 8 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with
'Tonight's The Night'. It is Rod's second US No.1; it made No.5 in
the UK despite being banned by many radio stations owing to the song's lyric about the seduction of a virgin. The song features whispers from
actress Britt Ekland, who was Stewart's girlfriend at the time... In Britain, Melody
Maker announces UK dates for the first major punk tour, with The Sex
Pistols and the Ramones co-headlining along with Talking Heads, The
Vibrators and Chris Spedding. The 14-date tour which is due to start
at Newcastle City Hall on Nov 29th will never take place (1976)... U2
kick off a 23 date North American 'October' tour at JB Scott's in
Albany, NY (1981)... Rod Stewart fan Patricia
Boughton files a lawsuit against the singer claiming that a football
he kicked into the crowd during a concert at the Pine Knob Music Theater in Clarkston, MI ruptured a tendon in the middle finger of her right hand; the injury had allegedly made sex between her and her husband difficult (1990)... The
Beatles launch their first official website, www.thebeatles.com. The
site goes live on the same day as the release of their retrospective
'Compilation 1' album (2000).
Musical birthdays today include producer Bob Crewe (82), Bo0ker T. Jones (69), Neil Young (68), Blue
Öyster Cult guitarist Buck Dharma (66), Errol Brown (65), country singer Barbara Fairchild (65), ex-Bay City Rollers lead singer Les McKeown (58), ex-Fall guitarist Brix Smith (51), Megadeath bassist Dave Ellefson (49), former Bikini Kill lead singer Kathleen Hanna (45), singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer (43), and Taking Back Sunday bassist Shaun Cooper (33).
Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Alexander Borodin, born on this date in 1833... for blues legend Bukka White, born in 1909... for big band singer Jo Stafford, who would have been 96 today... for former Walker Brothers frontman John Walker, who would have been 70... for Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, who left us today in 2008... and for composer Henryk
Górecki, who passed away in 2010.
Also on November 12: Johnnie
Ray is at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Just Walking In The
Rain.' It will stay at the top for seven weeks, making it this years
Christmas No.1 (1956)... The
Beatles make a return appearance at the Star Club, Hamburg, opening for headliner Little Richard (1962)... After
changing his name from Toby Tyler to Marc Bolan, the future T Rex
star performs his first single 'The Wizard' on the UK TV show Ready
Steady Go!... In America, the Velvet
Underground make their live debut, playing a Homecoming dance at Summit High
School in New Jersey. The band are paid $75 for the gig (1965)... Pink
Floyd appears at the Corn Exchange, Bedford. The set list includes 'Let's Roll Another One',
'Gimme A Break', 'Interstellar Overdrive', 'Astronomy Domine' and
'Stoned Alone'. 'Stoned Alone' was also known as 'I Get Stoned', and is considered by many rock historians to be the first song that Syd Barrett wrote for the group (1966)... UK
book and record chain W.H. Smiths announce their refusal to display The Jimi Hendrix
Experience album 'Electric Ladyland' due to the naked girls featured
on the sleeve (1968)... Mott
The Hoople kick off a 20-date UK tour at Leeds Town Hall with an up and coming group called Queen as their opening act (1973)... The
Sex Pistols go to No.1 on the UK album chart with their debut LP Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols. The album was met by a hail of controversy upon its
release. The first problems involved the allegedly 'obscene' name of
the album, resulting in the prosecution of the manager of the
Nottingham Virgin record shop for having displayed it in a window.
More outrage was sparked by the lyrics of the songs 'God Save the
Queen' and 'Anarchy in the UK' (1977)... Bob
Dylan’s album Infidels reaches its highest position when it
peaks at #9 on the UK chart. Dylan's 22nd studio album was
co-produced with Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler. Dylan had also
approached Elvis Costello, David Bowie and Frank Zappa as possible
producers (1983)... Ron
Wood breaks both his legs after crashing his car on the M4 motorway
near Marlborough, Wiltshire (1990)... Die-hard
Beatles fans are outraged after Paul McCartney alters the song
writing credits on his Back In The US 2002 album, changing them to
McCartney and Lennon from Lennon and McCartney (2002).
Musical birthdays today include Mose Allison (86), singer-songwriter Chris Smither (69), Yardbirds rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja (68), Vanilla Fudge lead guitarist Vince Martell (68), songwriter and Survivor guitarist Jim Peterik (63), Marshall Crenshaw (60), former XTC frontman Andy Partridge (60), ex-Blasters guitarist Dave Alvin (58), ex-Human League synth player Ian Craig Marsh (57), Green Day lead guitarist Jason White (40), and Death from above 1979 bassist & synth player Jesse F. Keeler (34).
Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Nashville session guitarist Hank Garland, who would have been 83 today... for rapper Static Major, who would have been 39... for songwriter Jerome Kern, who died on this date in 1945... for former Allman
Brothers bass player Berry Oakley, who was killed in 1972 when his motorcycle hit
a bus at the same intersection as former band member Duane Allman,
who had died a year earlier. Oakley was 24 years old... for
film score composer Dimitri Tiomkin, who died in 1979... and for
jazzman Erskine Hawkins, who left us 20 years ago today.
Also on November 11: Louis Armstrong makes his first recordings with the Hot Five at the Okeh Studios in Chicago (1925)... Bill
Haley & the Comets score their first US Top ten single with 'Shake Rattle And
Roll' (1954)... Elvis Presley appears at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, for his last concert of the '50s (1957)... The
final recording session for Rubber Soul takes place at Abbey Road. The Beatles need three new songs to finish the
album, so an old song ~ ‘Wait’ ~ is pulled off the shelf, and the group
records two new songs from start to finish. The basic tracks for both Paul's ‘You Won't See
Me’ and John's ‘Girl’ are completed in two takes (1965)... Agents from the FBI's Phoenix, AZ office arrest Jim Morrison for drunk and disorderly
conduct aboard a plane. The Doors singer, who was on his way to a
Rolling Stones concert with actor Tom Baker, had been drinking and harassing the flight attendants. The pair spend the night in jail and are released on $2,500 bail (1969)... Thirty
US radio stations broadcast a 'live' Mott the Hoople concert. In
reality it is the band recorded in the studio with the applause
dubbed in (1973)... Donna Summer holds down the top spots on both the Billboard singles and album charts, with 'Macarthur Park' and Live and More, respectively (1978)... Prince
kicks off his 87-date '1999' North American tour at the Soldiers and
Sailors Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, TN (1982)... Pink
Floyd issue a press statement saying that they intend to continue
using the band's name without Roger Waters and are in the process of recording their next
album (1986)... The Smashing Pumpkins top the US album charts with Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)... Britney Spears wins four MTV Awards: Best Female Singer, Best Pop Act, Best
Song ['...Baby One More Time'], and Best Breakthrough Artist (1999)... Liza
Minnelli's former bodyguard accuses the singer of forcing him to have
sex with her in order to keep his job, court documents reveal.
M'hammed Soumayah is suing Minnelli for $100 million in damages, saying she
made "many repeated attempts" to compel him into sex and that he
"eventually succumbed" (2004)... The
four original band members of Black Sabbath announce that they are
reuniting and recording a new album, which will be followed by a world tour in 2012 (2011).
Musical birthdays today include film score composer Ennio Morricone (85), composer-songwriter Marilyn Bergman (84), lyricist Sir Tim Rice (69), Donna Fargo (68), Greg Lake (66), rapper Warren G (43), Guns N' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba (41), rapper Eve (35), Babyshambles bassist Drew McConnell (35), and country singer Miranda Lambert (30).
Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer François Couperin, born on this date in 1668... for songwriter Johnny Marks, born in 1909... for trumpeter and composer [of the Batman theme, among others] Billy May, born in 1916... for original Alice Cooper guitarist Glen Buxton, who would have been 66 today... and for session guitarist Tommy Tedesco, who left us today in 1997.
Also on November 10: Elvis
Presley attends the fourth Country Music Disc Jockey Convention in Nashville. Back at his hotel, Mae Boren Axton plays him a
demo of a new song she has written with Tommy Durden called
‘Heartbreak Hotel' (1955)... An 18-year-old guitarist named Eric Clapton makes his live debut with The Yardbirds as they play a gig at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, Surrey (1963)... The
Beatles film three promotional films for their new single ‘Hello
Goodbye’ at the Saville Theatre in London. Each of the three clips feature different costumes and Beatle antics. In the first, they wear their 'Sgt. Pepper' uniforms, for the second, everyday clothes, while the third film clip
features shots from the first two films, plus additional shots of The
Beatles (especially John) doing the twist. A Musician's Union ban on
lip-sync broadcasts prevents the film being used on British
television (1967)... Bob Dylan arrives in Durango, Mexico for a meeting with director Sam Peckinpah to discuss the possibility of a role in the director's upcoming film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. After a dinner of roast goat, Dylan plays his new composition 'Billy' for Peckinpah, Kris Kristofferson and James Coburn (1972)... Elton
John starts an eight week run at the top of the US album chart with
'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road', the singer's third stateside No.1. The album, which had the working titles of 'Vodka and Tonics' and 'Silent Movies,
Talking Pictures', remains his best selling studio album with worldwide
sales of over 15 million copies. Recorded at the Château
d'Hérouville northwest of Paris, the album contains the Marilyn Monroe tribute 'Candle
in the Wind', as well as three successful singles: 'Bennie and the
Jets', 'Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting' and the title track (1973)... The Eagles have their final US no. 1 single with 'Heartache Tonight' (1979)... Frankie
Goes To Hollywood make their debut US TV appearance on Saturday Night
Live performing 'Two Tribes' and 'Born To Run' (1984)... After
the anti-child-abuse group Kidscape files a complaint, the British
exam board recall all copies of a high school music test that includes convicted
child molester Gary Glitter's 1973 hit 'I'm the Leader of the
Gang' in its 'suggested listening' section. Group head
Michele Elliott said "The role model is morally decrepit. It's
just inappropriate" (2008).
Musical birthdays today include photographer Robert Frank, director of Cocksucker Blues, the classic documentary of the Rolling Stones' 1972 US tour (89), The Pretty Things lead singer Phil May (69), Singer-songwriter Benny Mardones (67), Blue
Öyster Cult bassist Joe Bouchard (65), operatic bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff (54), hip-hop pioneer
Roxanne
Shanté (44), Partyline lead singer Allison Wolfe (44), former Sleater-Kinney singer & guitarist Corin Tucker (41), and rapper Hodgy Beats (23).
Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Peter, Paul & Mary vocalist Mary Travers, who would hve been 77 today... for Creedence Clearwater Revival rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, who would have been 72... for South African singer Miriam Makeba [the first African woman to win Grammy], who passed away in 2008... and for Delfonics vocalist Major Harris, who left us a year ago today.
Also on November 9: The
Everly Brothers make their first studio recordings cutting four
tracks in 22 minutes, at Nashville's Old Tulane Hotel studios (1955)... Elvis
Presley's 'Hound Dog' exceeds three million copies sold in the USA,
becoming only the third single to do so. Bing Crosby's 'White
Christmas' & 'Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer' by Gene Autry were the other two (1958)... Brian
Epstein sees the Beatles playing live for the first time during a
lunchtime session at The Cavern Club (1961)... John
Lennon meets Yoko Ono for the first time when he visits her art
exhibition 'Unfinished Paintings and Objects' at the Indica Gallery
in London (1966)... The first issue of Rolling Stone Magazine is published in San Francisco. It features a photo of John Lennon on the cover, dressed in army fatigues while acting in his recent film How I Won the War. The debut issue also includes a free roach clip (1967)... Led
Zeppelin play their first ever London show when they appear at
The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm on the same bill as John Lee Hooker, The Deviants, John James and the Tyres. Robert Plant, who married
his girlfriend Maureen in London earlier in the day, holds the reception
at the gig (1968)... Bachman
Turner Overdrive top the US singles chart with 'You Ain't
Seen Nothin' Yet', the group's only No.1 (1974)... The IRS seizes all of Willie Nelson's
bank accounts and real estate holdings in connection with a
$16 million tax debt (1990)... The
Dave Matthews Band release their first album, Remember Two
Things, on the Bama Rags label (1993)... It is announced that Madonna's latest movie Swept Away will not be
released in the UK because it was such a box office flop in the
US. The Washington Post said the film was 'as awful as you've
heard and as bad as you've imagined' (2003).
Musical birthdays today include Delaney & Bonnie vocalist Bonnie Bramlett (69), ELO multi-instrumentalist & songwriter Roy Wood (67), Bonnie Raitt (64), Rickie Lee Jones (59), jazz singer Patricia Barber (58), ex-Cure guitarist Porl Thompson (56), Leif Garrett (52), rapper Tech N9ne (42), Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace (33), and singer-songwriter & Glee cast member Riker Lynch (22).
Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Patti Page, who would have been 86 today... for Minnie Riperton, who would have been 66... for composer César Franck, who died on this date in 1890... for blues pianist Ivory Joe Hunter, who died in 1974... for New Orleans R&B pianist James Booker ~ once described by Dr. John as "the best gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced" ~ who passed away today in 1983 at the age of 43... and for film score composer Basil Poledouris, who left us today in 2006.
Also on November 8: The
first ever pop chart in Britain is published by the New Musical Express
after staff asked 53 record shops to divulge their sales returns.
‘Here In My Heart’ by Al Martino was the first No.1. The song will stay at No.1 for 9 weeks (1952)... Dusty
Springfield sets out on her first solo tour, hitting the road in the UK with The Searchers, Freddie & The Dreamers and Brian Poole & The
Tremeloes sharing the bill. The first night is in Halifax (1963)... The
Beatles spend the afternoon working on George's new song ‘Think For Yourself’
at Abbey Road for their forthcoming Rubber Soul album. After the rehearsals, they record the basic instrumental track in
one take (1965)... 'Something', the first Beatles A-side written by George, enters the UK
singles chart, where it will peak at No. 4; it goes on to be a no. 1 in the US (1969)... Led
Zeppelin release their fourth album. With no title printed on the
album, and referred to most commonly as either Led Zeppelin IV, 'the
Runes Album' or 'Zoso' [from the names of the runes], it will go to
sell over 37 million copies worldwide. The 19th century rustic oil
painting on the front of the album was purchased by Robert Plant from
an antique shop in Reading, Berks. The 20th century urban tower block
on the back of the full gatefold LP cover is Butterfield Court in
Eves Hill, Dudley, W. Midlands (1971)... David Bowie makes his US TV debut, performing 'Fame' on Cher's CBS variety show (1975)... Berlin are at no. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with 'Take My Breath away' from the Top Gun soundtrack (1986)... During a party to launch their new album forever, Spice Girl Mel C goes off on a tirade against Westlife, calling them "a useless bunch of talentless tossers" and "hyped-up shite", among other things (2000)... Former
Smiths frontman Morrissey stops a concert halfway through his
second song after being struck by a projectile. The 50-year-old singer, who was hit in the eye by a plastic bottle of beer, says goodnight to
the 8,000 strong crowd in Liverpool before walking off (2009).
