This Date In Music History-February 18

Birthdays:

Juice Newton (1952)

Robbie Bachman-Bachman-Turner Overdrive (1953)

Yoko Ono (1933)

Dennis DeYoung- Styx (1947)

Dr. Dre (1965)

Irma Thomas (1941)


They Are Missed:

Country singer Johnny Paycheck died in 2003. He had been in a nursing home, suffering from emphysema and asthma. During his career, Paycheck recorded 70 albums and had more than two dozen hit singles, the biggest of which was the working man's anthem, "Take This Job and Shove It".

Former Replacements lead guitarist Bob Stinson died from a drug overdose in 1995.


History:

In 2006, Robin and Barry Gibb, returned to the stage for the first time since their brother Maurice died three years ago. The pair reunited for a charity concert in Miami to raise money for the Diabetes Research Institute, where they played many of the hits from their 35 year career.

Today in 1956, the song "The Great Pretender" by the Platters topped the charts and stayed there for 2 weeks.

In 2004, Norah Jones has the #1 album in the United States after selling a whopping 1.02 million copies of her sophomore record, Feels Like Home.

Also in 2004, Billy Corgan blamed the 2000 split of the Smashing Pumpkins on guitarist James Iha. "James Iha broke up the Smashing Pumpkins's, not me," he writes. "I would have gone on forever, the Smashing Pumpkins were essentially my entire life."

The song "Sign O' The Times" was released by Prince in 1987.

Vince Neil quit as lead singer of Motley Crue in 1992. After 11 years with the group he says he wants to spend more time on his career as a race car driver. The band reunited on the "American Music Awards" 5 years later.

In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, in 2006, the Rolling Stones gave a free concert before a crowd of over 1 million people at Copacabana Beach.

In 1978, the #1 album in the U.S. today was the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever.

In 1980, Bill Wyman announced that he's leaving the Rolling Stones. After an intervention by the rest of the band, the bassist was convinced to stay. He quits in 1992.

Pat Boone's cover version of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" hits #12 on the pop chart in 1956.

Although she was reluctant to record it in the first place, "Rock and Roll Waltz" by Kay Starr becomes the first number one record by a female in the Rock era. The disc would go on to sell over a million copies in 1956, but Kay would later say that she was never asked to perform the record on TV and seldom sang it during a live show.

On weekend leave from marine training in 1962, The Everly Brothers appeared on The Ed Sullivan show. Wearing full uniform and regulation cropped hair, the duo sang their new single, "Crying In The Rain", which was currently number 6 on the Billboard chart.

After a short series of minor hits, The Buckinghams score their first US Top 10 smash when "Kind Of A Drag" reaches #1 in 1967.

In 1968, Pink Floyd members fired Syd Barrett from the band and permanently replaced him with David Gilmour. Roger Waters later wrote and dedicated the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" to the increasingly unstable Barrett, who checked into a psychiatric hospital before going into seclusion.

In 1969, more than three thousand uninvited guests show up to see solo singer Lulu and Bee Gee Maurice Gibb get married at St. James' Church, Gerrard's Cross, Buchs, England. The union would last until early 1973.

In 1974, Yes sold out the first of two nights at Madison Square Garden without any advertising. Fans learned of the show from listings at ticket outlets.

Kiss released their self titled debut album in 1974, but it would barely crack the Hot 100. It would take three more attempts for the band to establish itself.

The third time would be the charm for a Topeka based group called Kansas. After scoring Top 40 hits with "Carry On Wayward Son" (#11) and "Point Of Know Return" (#28), "Dust In The Wind" entered the Billboard chart in 1978 on its way to becoming the group's only Top 10 hit.