Monday, June 16, 2008

This Date In Music History- June 16

Birthdays:

Gino Vannelli ("I Just Wanna Stop") is 56.

Songwriter Lamont Dozier (co-wrote most the Supremes' and Four Tops' hits) is 67.

David "Little Caesar" Johnson of Little Caesar & the Romans ("Those Oldies But Goodies") turns 74.

Eddie Levert of the O'Jays was born in Canton, Ohio in 1942.

History:

Over 200,000 people attended the first Monterey Pop Festival this week in 1967. Many of the leading Rock acts of the time appeared, including Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Simon and Garfunkel, Canned Heat, The Mamas and The Papas, The Grateful Dead, Eric Burdon and The Animals, The Association, Booker T. and The MGs, David Crosby, Steve Miller, The Who, Jefferson Airplane and The Byrds. John Phillips, of The Mamas and The Papas would later write, "San Francisco" (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)" about the festival, which became a big hit for Scott McKenzie.

'Trout Mask Replica,' by Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, was released in 1969. This avant-garde classic was produced by Frank Zappa and released on his Straight record label.

In 1993, the U.S. Postal Service issued stamps honoring Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Otis Redding, Ritchie Valens, Clyde McPhatter and Dinah Washington.

The Elvis Presley/Nancy Sinatra movie "Speedway" premiered in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1968, where much of it was filmed.

A young woman named Gogi Grant knocked Elvis out of Billboard's number one spot in 1956 with a song called "The Wayward Wind". It was a tune that she recorded almost as an after thought, with just fifteen minutes of studio time remaining. Six weeks later, Elvis would be back on top with "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You".

Also in 1956, Patti Page saw what would be her biggest hit, "Allegheny Moon" enter the Billboard chart, where it would reach #2 during a 22 week run. In all, the Oklahoma native would place sixteen songs in the Top 40 between 1954 and 1965.

Accusing them of harassment during deportation proceedings, John Lennon files a suit against former U.S. Attorneys General John Mitchell and Richard Kleindienst in 1975.

1990- Inexplicably, the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" goes to No. 1 in the Netherlands 24 years after it was first released.

In 2003, Toto apologized to keyboardist David Paich after claiming he was sitting out their summer tour to get a sex change operation. Paich is actually tending to a sick family member. Guitarist Steve Lukather says he's sorry the joke got out of control. Uh, bad joke.

1970 - Woodstock Ventures, the sponsors of the original Woodstock, announced that they lost more than $1.2 million on the festival.

The New York Jazz Museum opened in 1972.

Herman's Hermits were awarded their first gold record in 1965 for "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter". The song was originally an album cut that got so much air play, MGM Records released it as a single.

The Rolling Stones were the most powerful Rock act in the world, according to Forbes magazine's 2006 Celebrity 100 list. The band sits at #2 behind actor Tom Cruise, on the survey, which rates stars on their earnings and media visibility during the past year. Other Rock artists ranking on the Celebrity 100 include U2 (#4), Bruce Springsteen (#11) and Paul McCartney (#14).

Pretenders guitarist, 25 year old James Honeyman Scott, died in his sleep in London, England in 1982. The official cause of death is "cocaine related heart failure."

In 1982, Donny Van Zant of .38 Special is arrested on stage in Tulsa, Oklahoma for public drinking. Oops, Tulsa was a dry town.

Snoop Dogg, who has turned recreational smoking into something of a rap career, is stopped in Temecula, Calif. in 2000, after border-patrol officers detect the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. A posse member cops to owning the bud, and Snoop is free to play the Up in Smoke tour in San Jose.

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