Thursday, March 20, 2008

This Day In Music History- March 20

John Lennon marries Yoko in Gibraltar, Spain in 1969. The subsequent single, "The Ballad of John and Yoko," explains the couples trials and tribulations.

Jerry Reed ("Amos Moses") turns 71.

Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer ("Lucky Man") is 58.

Joe Rivers of Johnnie & Joe ("Over The Mountain, Across The Sea") is 71.

David Bowie marries his wife, Angela (subject of the Rolling Stones' song, "Angie" four years later) in 1970.

In 1968, Eric Clapton, Neil Young and Poco members Richie Furay and Jim Messina are all arrested in Los Angeles on drug charges (Eric is freed, the others fined).

Today in 1971, the song "Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin topped the charts and stayed there for 2 weeks.

The song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts topped the charts and stayed there for 7 weeks in 1982.

In 2003, the South Carolina House of Representatives pass a resolution urging the Dixie Chicks to make a public apology for derogatory statements about President Bush, and back it up with a concert for the families of troops serving in the Iraq conflict. (For stating what is obviously right?)

The No.1 album in America in 2002 is the soundtrack to "O Brother Where Art Thou?," with performances by bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley and vocalist-fiddler Alison Krauss.

Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland in 1964. The singer-songwriter's first single is the smash hit, "Fast Car."

In 1960, Elvis Presley begins his first recording session since exiting the U.S. Army on March 5. With longtime guitarist Scotty Moore, he records "Stuck on You" and "Fame and Fortune" at the RCA Studios in Nashville.

Guitarist Jimmie Vaughan of the Fabulous Thunderbirds was born in Austin in 1951.

In 1971, the Iron Butterfly’s In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” slipped off the Billboard album chart after a 138 week run.

Bobby Helms, who is best remembered for his Christmas classic, "Jingle Bell Rock", had his biggest single reach the US Country chart in 1957. The song was called "Fraulein" and it would eventually hit number 1, spending 52 weeks on the chart, longer than any other Country song of the 1950s. Later in the year, he had another number one record with "My Special Angel". Jingle Bell Rock was first released in November 1957, and would return to the US Top 40 on two other occasions.

In 1989, Dick Clark announced his retirement from American Bandstand.

In 1991, Eric Clapton's four year old son, Conor, fell to his death from the 53rd story of a New York City apartment window. The boy was in the custody of his mother, Italian actress, Lori Del Santo and the pair were visiting a friend's apartment. The housekeeper had just cleaned a room and opened the window to air it out. Eric was staying in a nearby hotel after taking his son to the circus the previous evening. The tragedy inspired his song "Tears in Heaven".

Costello To Release New Album on Vinyl

To help celebrate the mass reissuing of Elvis Costello’s back catalog on remastered CDs, the “Allison” singer will release his first album in four years on vinyl–only vinyl. The disc, dubbed "Momofuku," will be available on April 22nd, complete with a special download code which will allow buyers to download the album onto their computers.