Monday, December 24, 2007

Best Album Covers 2007

Why Album Cover Art Matters

This Day In Music History- December 24

A Carnegie Hall concert in 1955 featuring the Weavers, was seen as the beginning of the folk revival.

In 1969, The Buddy Holly Story, a best-of album that has been in print since 1959, is certified gold (500,000 copies sold).

"How Deep Is Your Love," the Bee Gees' first single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, hits #1 for the first of three weeks in 1977. Remaining in the Top Ten for 17 consecutive weeks, it sets a 'Billboard' chart record for longevity.

In 1988, Poison hits #1 with "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."

In 1989, MTV presents highlights from the "Moscow Music Peace Festival," the first-ever worldwide rock ‘n' roll jam to take place in Lenin Stadium in Moscow.

Zeke Carey of the Flamingos passed away in 1999.

Nick Massi, bass singer with the Four Seasons ("Big Girls Don't Cry") died in 2000.

The late Lee Dorsey ("Working In The Coal Mine") was born in 1924.

In 1972, Miami police cut the power to a noisy Manfred Mann concert, causing a two-hour riot.

Graying rock legend Iggy Pop was fined by the Swiss city of Lucerne for performing his music too loud at the Blue Balls festival in July. Pop and The Stooges were clocked at 102.5 decibels (2005)

In 1974, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt and Joni Mitchell get into the Christmas spirit by going around Los Angeles singing carols.

In 1973, Doobie Brothers guitarist Tom Johnson was arrested in Visalia, Calif., for marijuana possession.

On this date in 1970, Rolling Stone Magazine ran the first part of an off-the-cuff interview with John Lennon by Jann Wenner. Among Lennon's pearls is this summary of the Beatles reaction to Yoko Ono: "You sit through 60 sessions with the most big-headed uptight people on earth and see what it’s f*ckin' like, and be insulted just because you love someone... I'll never forgive them……..I don't forgive 'em for that."

In 1968, rock legends Led Zeppelin leave Britain to start their first American tour. Robert Plant remembered, "It was Christmas, and Christmas away from home for the English is the end of the world."

In 1963, The Beatles kick off their first series of London Christmas concerts at the Astoria Cinema in Finsbury Park. Also appearing on the bill are Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, Tommy Quickly, Cilla Black, the Fourmost, and the Barron Knights with the Duke D'Mond. After the show, manager Brian Epstein flies the bill up to Liverpool so they can spend Christmas with their loved ones.

The Beatles begin a second annual series of Christmas concerts at London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1964. Support comes from the Yardbirds, Freddie and the Dreamers, Jimmy Saville, Elkie Brooks, Mike Haslam, and the Mike Cotton Sound.

In 1961, the #1 American single is "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," by the Tokens. The South African folk song is also the first African song to reach the top spot.

In 1960, The Philadelphia Orphan's Court tells hit-maker Chubby Checker that his allowance will be raised from $150 to $200. Checker, only 19, is still a ward of the court, despite having a huge hit with "The Twist."

"Bad to the Bone" bluesman George Thorogood was born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1950.

Happy Birthday to Jan Akkerman, guitarist with Dutch rockers Focus, who was born in Amsterdam in 1946.

Lemmy, the leader of Motorhead and a bassist with Hawkwind, was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England as Ian Willis in 1945.

Lee Dorsey, who brought the New Orleans R&B sound to the charts in 1961 with "Ya Ya," was born in 1924.

Dave Bartholomew, who produced and co-wrote Fats Domino's "Ain't It a Shame" and "Blue Monday," was born in Edgard, La in 1920. He was later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with other New Orleans rockers.

In 1955, The Lennon Sisters debuted as featured vocalists on "The Lawrence Welk Show" on ABC-TV.