Friday, August 14, 2009

This Date In Music History-August 14

Birthdays:

Dash Crofts - Seals and Crofts (1940)

David Crosby – Byrds/CSN&Y (1941)

Gil Bridges - Rare Earth (1942)

Larry Graham - Sly and The Family Stone/Graham Central Station (1946)

George Newsome - Climax Blues Band (1947)

Terry Adams – NRBQ (1950)

Slim Dunlap – Replacements (1951)

Sharon Bryant - Atlantic Starr (1956)

Mark Collins – Charlatans (1965)

Tanya Donelly - Throwing Muses/Breeders (1966)

Kevin Cadogan - Third Eye Blind (1970)

Ana Matronic, (Ana Lynch) - Scissor Sisters (1974)


They Are Missed:

Johnny Burnette died in a boating accident on Clear Lake in California in 1964.

In 1965, Carl Fizer of the Olympics ("Western Movies") was shot and killed during rioting in the Watts section of Los Angeles.

In 1971, the great King Curtis ("Soul Twist") was stabbed to death in New York. As well as playing for the Coasters and blowing on his own hits, Curtis led Aretha Franklin's band the Kingpins.

Lead singer, poet and frontman of Hawkwind Robert Calvert died of a heart attack in 1988. He was a member of Hawkwind from 1972-1979.

In 1988, guitarist Roy Buchanan died after hanging himself by his own shirt in Fairfax County Jail, Virginia after being arrested for drunkenness. Buchanan released over 15 solo albums; Jeff Beck dedicated the song “Cause We've Ended As Lovers” to Buchanan in 1975 on his Blow by Blow album.

Tony Williams lead singer with The Platters died in his sleep of emphysema in 1992 (age 64). He sang most of the group’s hits up until 1961 when he was replaced by Sonny Turner

In 2002, Dave Williams lead singer of US heavy rock band Drowning Pool was found dead on the band’s tour bus during Ozzy Osbournes Ozzfest tour in Manassas, Virginia. The autopsy concluded that he suffered from a form of heart disease.

Edith Wong, a promoter who booked bands like the Police, X, the Go-Gos, Oingo Boingo, the Motels, the Knack, the Textones and Plane English at her string of Madame Wong's clubs in Los Angeles, died in 2005 (age 88).


History:

Etta James hits #1 on the R&B chart in 1955 with "The Wallflower" and #6 on the R&B chart with "Good Rockin Daddy".



NBC pulled the plug on the popular Nat King Cole Show in 1957 after a yearlong search for a sponsor. Cole said, "The advertising agencies are afraid of the dark. They don't take any chances. I think the show can be sold if the agency men look at it from a money point of view rather than from that of a race issue. The network likes me and so do the TV viewers." Nat's show had attracted quality guests like Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, and Harry Belafonte.

Unhappy with drummer Pete Best's role in The Beatles Brian Epstein and the other three members decide to fire him in 1962. Best played his last gig the following night at The Cavern, Liverpool. Ringo Starr who was nearing the end of a three-month engagement with Rory Storm & the Hurricanes at a Butlin's holiday camp received a telephone call from John Lennon, asking him to join The Beatles. Ringo gave Rory Storm three days notice and on August 18, appeared as a member of The Beatles for the first time.

In 1964, the Beatles cut Little Willie John's "Leave My Kitten Alone" at EMI Studios in London. Intended for album 'Beatles For Sale' ('Beatles '65' in the US), it was left off and remained unreleased until 'Anthology 1' in 1995.

Sonny & Cher started a three week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1965 with “I Got You Babe.”

The McCoys' "Hang On Sloopy" was released in 1965.



Little Anthony & The Imperials, (Steve Van Zandt’s band), The Shadows and The Castiles (with Bruce Springsteen on vocals) all appeared at the Surf ‘n See Club in Seabright New Jersey in 1966.

In 1966, London's Catholic Herald calls John Lennon's apology for his remark about the Beatles being more popular than Jesus Christ, "arrogant." However the publication admits, as Lennon asserted, it's probably true. Amen.

Rod Stewart released "Maggie May" in 1971. It became his breakthrough single in the U.S., going to #1.

In 1989, after decades of mass bootlegging by Soviet Rock fans, Bon Jovi’s “New Jersey” LP becomes the first U.S. album legally released in the Soviet Union. The group’s first royalty payment is a truckload of firewood. No joke! It’s because rubles, the Soviet currency, can’t leave the country.

In 1999, 765,000 tickets to a Backstreet Boys North American tour were sold in one day.

Sun Records became a National Historic Landmark in 2003. Jerry Lee Lewis, B.B. King, Johnny Cash and, of course, Elvis Presley started their careers there. Countless others recorded there before and after. It’s the first recording studio to be named a Historic Landmark.

Faith Hill was at #1 on the US chart in 2005 with “Fireflies,” Hill's third consecutive album to debut at #1 on both the country and Billboard album charts.

John Lennon's solo catalog was available for purchase on iTunes in 2007. "John would have loved the fact that his music will now be available in a format suited to a new generation of listeners," says Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono.

No comments:

Post a Comment