Birthdays:
Manny Charlton - Nazareth (1941)
Bruce Woodley - Seekers (1942)
Jim McCarty - Yarbirds (1943)
Tom Dawes – Cyrkle (1944)
Mark Clarke - Uriah Heep/Rainbow (1950)
Verdine White - Earth, Wind and Fire (1951)
Thurston Moore - Sonic Youth (1958)
They Are Missed:
Born on this day in 1925, Bennie Benjamin session drummer, one of ‘The Funk Brothers’ played on many Tamla Motown hits. Died April 20, 1969.
Blues singer Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton died in Los Angeles in 1984 of a heart attack (age 57). She was best known for recording the original version of the Elvis Presley hit "Hound Dog." She also wrote and recorded “Ball 'n' Chain,” which Janis Joplin recorded.
Steve Rubell died in 1989. He was the mastermind behind Studio 54.
Country singer Charlie Rich died in 1995 of a blood clot in the lungs (age 62). Rich began as a rockabilly artist but didn't gain wide success until 1973 when his ballads "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl" crossed over to the pop charts.
Erik Braunn of Iron Butterfly died of cardiac failure in 2003 (age 52). Braunn was just 16 years old when he joined Iron Butterfly who had the 1968 US No.14 single 'In-A- Gadda-Da-Vida’.
The late Steve Goodman (wrote "City Of New Orleans") was born in 1948.
History:
In 1960, Roy Orbison reached #2 on the US singles chart with “Only the Lonely,” his first hit. The song was turned down by The Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley, so Orbison decided to record the song himself.
In 1964, Billboard reported that England had a hot new band. The Animals debut single "House of the Rising Sun" entered the U.K. chart at #16. The next week, it's at #3 and seven days later it's number one. To promote the group in the U.S., disc jockeys were sent boxes of animal crackers wrapped with special promotional material.
Bob Dylan, backed by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, horrified the audience at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 with his new electric sound. He was booed off stage after three tunes but returned with his acoustic guitar to play two songs.
The Monkees recorded "Last Train To Clarksville" in 1966.
The Beatles begin recording "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (with Eric Clapton on guitar) in 1966.
In 1967, the Beatles and other U.K. rock groups urged the British government to legalize marijuana. Their comments were made in a London Times advertisement signed by all four of the Beatles.
In 1969, Neil Young made his first appearance with Crosby, Stills and Nash at New York's Fillmore East. Young was initially asked to help out with live material only, but ended up joining the group on and off for the next 30 years.
Led Zeppelin played Milwaukee at the Midwest Rock Festival in 1969. Former Yardbird Eric Clapton, who was playing with Blind Faith the next day, caught the set by fellow former Yardbird Jimmy Page's new band. "They were very loud," he later remembers. "I thought it was unnecessarily loud. I liked some of it; I really did like some of it. But a lot of it was just too much. They overemphasized whatever point they were making, I thought." Um, OK, I guess they knew what they were doing, Sir Eric…..
Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" was released in 1970.
AC/DC released “Back In Black,” in 1980, their first album with Brian Johnson as lead singer.
Woodstock '99 goes up in flames. Rioters set fires and loot vendors while the Red Hot Chili Peppers heat up the stage as the festival's final act. Real sensible kids…
Jimmy Buffett went to #1 on the US album chart in 2004 with ‘License To Chill’, the singer songwriters first #1 album.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
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