This Date In Music History- June 26

Birthdays:

Larry Taylor, bassist with Canned Heat, was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1942.

Keyboardist with Van Morrison and a British chart-topper with his own "Yeh Yeh," Georgie Fame was born in Lancashire, England in 1943.

The Clash's Mick Jones was born in London in 1955.

Billy Davis, Jr. of the 5th Dimension ("Up- Up And Away") turns 68.

Chris Isaak, author and singer of "Wicked Game," was born in Stockton, Calif in 1956.

Singer Patti Smyth was born in New York in 1957.

Berlin vocalist Terri Nunn was born in L.A. in 1961. Berlin is known for the song "No More Words" and the ballad, "Take My Breath Away," from the Top Gun soundtrack.

History:

After it was leaked to radio in 1964, United Artists Records released A Hard Day's Night, the first Beatles album made up of their own compositions.

Today in 1956, in Look magazine, clarinet-tootling god Benny Goodman was asked his opinion about rock music. "I guess it's okay, man," he said. "At least it has a beat."

The late Colonel Tom Parker (Elvis Presley's manager) was born in Holland in 1910.

Sonny & Cher's divorce became final in 1975. Cher married Gregg Allman four days later.

Elvis Presley played the final concert of his career on June 26th 1977, at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis. Before the show, he was presented with a plaque commemorating the 2 billionth record to come out of RCA's pressing plant. The last song the King ever performed publicly was "Can't Help Falling In Love".

In an eerie coincidence, Elvis' father, Vernon Presley died of a heart attack in Tupelo, Mississippi at the age of 63 on June 26, 1979. Nearly two years earlier, he cried at Elvis' coffin, "Son, Daddy will be with you soon. Daddy will be with you soon." Vernon is buried next to his son at Graceland.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney composed "She Loves You" in a hotel room in Newcastle, England while on tour there in 1963.

Elvis Presley recorded "His Latest Flame" and "Little Sister" in 1961.

In the midst of a German tour in 1966, the Beatles made a long-awaited return to Hamburg, the city where they got their start performing in local clubs. This time they came back in an eight-car motorcade and played to 7,000 people at Ernst Mercky Halle.

Bob Dylan officially released the long-bootlegged Basement Tapes in 1975.

Gary U.S. Bonds had his only US number 1 hit, "Quarter to Three" in 1961. Bonds and Gene Barge (Daddy G.) added lyrics to an instrumental called, "A Night With Daddy G". Although he released several more singles in the US including "Dear Lady Twist", Bonds found more success in England than his homeland.

The Byrds "Mr. Tambourine Man" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965, but the only member of the group to actually play on the record was Jim McGuinn on vocals and 12 string guitar. Studio musicians Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, Larry Knechtel, and Hal Blaine recorded the other instruments while the Byrds' David Crosby and Gene Clark sang background vocals.

In 1966, the Rolling Stones play San Francisco's Cow Palace, with Jefferson Airplane and Sopwith Camel opening.

1986 - James Hetfield (Metallica) broke his wrist while trying to skateboard down a hill. One show was cancelled and the remainder of dates on the tour James was on vocals only and John Marshall (later with Metal Church) was on guitar.

At the height of the "Summer of Love" in 1967, the Mothers of Invention released 'Absolutely Free,' a dark-themed album from the anti-establishment mind of bandleader Frank Zappa.

In 1955, Decca Records announced that Bill Haley and His Comets had sold more than 3 million records in thirteen months. Both "Rock Around The Clock" and "Shake Rattle and Roll" sold a million copies, while "Dim, Dim the Lights" and "Mambo Rock" sold about 500,000.

The Five Sharps

Have some extra cash laying around? Check out this rare and valuable record being auctioned off at Christie's Auction House:

The Five Sharps "Stormy Weather/Sleepy Cowboy" Jubilee 5104
Original 78 RPM record, circa 1952. 10"


Sale Information
SALE 2012, 25 June 2008
POP CULTURE

Conditions of Business for this Sale
Estimate(Set Currency) $20,000 - $30,000 Christie's Buying Guide

Previously unknown example of this legendary rarity. Recorded in 1952 Stormy Weather by The Five Sharps has attained vaulted status among record collectors, not necessarily for the music but more for the fascinating story of its discovery and subsequent history. Jubilee 5104 was the first and only release by the teenage quintet from Jamaica, Queens The Five Sharps. The recording of Stormy Weather and flip side Sleepy Cowboy, took a few hours, and the group of was paid in hot dogs and soda. An unknown quantity of records were released but somehow it failed to make an impression. It was rediscovered in 1961 when a copy was found, and Time Square Records owner Slim Rose played it on his popular radio show.

On the way home from the studio Rose snapped the fragile 78 record in half (although some accounts have his pet raccoon Teddy doing the deed). In an attempt to find another copy, Rose advertised a reward in his shop. Over the next few years the reward got more and more lucrative, but no one came forward. Since then, a scant few have surfaced and legend of Stormy Weather has grown.

The offered example was purchased by our consignor in 1952, at the Blue Note Record Shop in Harlem. A Harlem resident, she enjoyed music, and looked forward to purchasing a new record each week, which she then would meticulously record in her 78 album sleeves (not offered, see inset for illustration). It has been in her and her family's possession ever since.

Source:

http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5095614

More New Vinyl Releases

The Hold Steady have unveiled some bonus material for the upcoming physical release of their new album. The record is titled "Stay Positive" and is due out July 15, 2008.

The band apparently pushed out a digital release quickly to counter a leak, and so the physical releases will include bonus tracks. The vinyl version will include "Ask Her for Adderall" and the CD version will include "Adderall" in addition to two other tracks, "Cheyenne Sunrise" and "Two Handed Handshake."

Charlatans Release Tenth Studio Album

Brit-rock pioneers The Charlatans have recently released their tenth full-length record. Described as an album of "childhood fantasies and adult realities," the LP finds the UK quintet reinvigorating the 80s with a contemporary sensibility.

Available earlier this Spring as a free download from a UK site, You Cross My Path was downloaded more than 90,000 times. The album is available now via Cooking Vinyl.

You Cross My Path Tracklist:

1. Oh! Vanity
2. Bad Days
3. Mis-takes
4. The Misbegotten
5. A Day for Letting Go
6. You Cross My Path
7. Missing Beats (of a Generation)
8. My Name is Despair
9. Bird Reprise
0. This is the End


Other recent and upcoming vinyl record releases:

Adele: 19 [vinyl]
Black Lips: Black Lips! (reissue) [vinyl]
Booka Shade: The Sun & the Neon Light [vinyl]
The Builders and the Butchers: The Builders and the Butchers (reissue) [vinyl]
The Cure: Freakshow (Mix 13) (single)
Dosh: Wolves and Wishes [vinyl]
Elbow: One Day Like This (import single)
Emylou Harris: All I Intended to Be [vinyl]
Foals: Red Socks Pugie (import single)
Foxboro Hot Tubs: Stop Drop and Roll!!! (with bonus CD) [vinyl]
Gas: Nah und Fern (2-LP) [vinyl]
James Hunter: The Hard Way [vinyl]
KaiserCartel: March Forth [vinyl]
Levon Helm: Dirt Farmer [vinyl]
Madonna: Hard Candy (3-LP edition with CD) [vinyl]
Mars Volta: The Bedlam In Goliath [vinyl]
Miss Kittin: Kittin Is High [vinyl]
My Morning Jacket: At Dawn [vinyl]
My Morning Jacket: The Tennessee Fire [vinyl]
Odd Nosdam: Pretty Swell Explode [vinyl]
Old 97s: Blame It on Gravity [vinyl]
Plants and Animals: Parc Avenue [vinyl]
Robert Pollard: Robert Pollard Is Off to Business [vinyl]
Subtle: Exiting Arm [vinyl]
Supergrass: Diamond Hoo Ha [vinyl]
Various Artists: Body of War: Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran [vinyl]
Vetiver: A Thing of the Past [vinyl]
The Virgins: The Virgins [vinyl]

Massive Vinyl Record Sale

The Music Exchange To Open Doors After Two Years for Massive Blowout Sale


Gregg Pfister of Sunflower Auction announced the news that his auction house is working with former Music Exchange employee Steve Franz and the widow of the store's late owner Ron Rooks, Nancy Rooks, to sell off the hundreds of thousands of records plus all the posters, flyers and memorabilia -- Ron called the stuff "Americana" -- contained in the West Bottoms building to which Ron moved his Westport institution in May of 2006, five months before he died.

"It's pretty much like he left it," reports Pfister, describing the two-story complex at 1413 West 13th Terrace in the Bottoms as holding about a quarter of a million LPs, a hundred thousand 78s, and twenty to thirty thousand 45s -- a half million records, overall, Pfister thinks.

With the exception of a handful of special LPs that will be reserved for an auction on Saturday, July 12, at 10 a.m. that will serve to sell the non-vinyl items (i.e., the Americana), the vast majority of records will be on sale for $1 each -- including many that are worth more than that -- on the following days: Wednesday, July 16 - Saturday, July 19 and Wednesday, July 23 - Saturday, July 26 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Daily).

This Date In Music History- June 24

Birthdays:

Arthur Brown - formerly of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown - was born in Whitby, England in 1944.

Curt Smith of Tears for Fears was born in Bath, England in 1961.

Jeff Beck of the Yardbirds ("Over, Under Sideways Down") is 64.

Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac ("Tusk") turns 61.

Colin Blunstone (lead singer of the Zombies "She's Not There") is 63.

Dire Straits founding member, bassist John Illsley, starts life in Leicester, England in 1949.

History:

Pink Floyd made their debut performance on the BBC's Top of the Pops in 1967, performing their new single "See Emily Play." Syd Barrett wore a suit of velvet and satin.

The final Beatles world tour began in Munich in 1966.

The Richard Carpenter Trio (with sister Karen on drums) won a "Battle Of The Bands" at the Hollywood Bowl in 1966. Heavy, man, heavy.

In Fort Worth Texas in 1972, the Rolling Stones filmed the concert that will be released as "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Rolling Stones."

In 1975, the US Attorney in Newark, New Jersey handed down indictments to 19 music industry executives after a two year investigation. Counts of income tax evasion and payola are leveled against Clive Davis, former president of Columbia Records and Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, architects of the Philadelphia sound of the 70's.

In 1999, Eric Clapton raised over $5 million for his Crossroads Centre at Antigua, and alcohol and drug-dependency treatment center in the West Indies by selling 100 guitars. "Brownie," the 1956 sunburst Fender he composed "Layla" on, goes for a record-breaking $497,500.

A Lennon/McCartney song topped the country charts for the first time in 1989. It's Rosanne Cash's cover of "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party."

John Lennon's second book, A Spaniard in the Works was published in 1965. It consisted of nonsensical stories and drawings similar to the style of his previous effort, 1964's In His Own Write.

In 2000, KISS begin auctioning off costumes and props from their 25 years in show business. The items brought in $876,000 on the first day of the two day event.

The beginning of the end came for The Lovin' Spoonful when guitarist Zal Yanovsky quit after a performance in New York at the Forest Hills Music Festival in 1967. One year later, John Sebastian would also leave the band to go solo. Although he made several unannounced guest appearances during John Sebastian concerts, Yanovsky gradually withdrew from music altogether and eventually became a restaurateur. He was 58 years old when he suffered a fatal heart attack on December 13th, 2002 at his farm near Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Also in 1967, Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" entered the Billboard chart, where it peaked at #5. The song was written by the band around a melody composed by the group's organist, Matthew Fisher, who was inspired by the chord progression of Johann Sebastian Bach's "Orchestral Suite in D".

Brownsville Station leader, singer and guitarist Cub Koda died from complications due to kidney failure in 2000. Coda co-wrote, along with bassist Michael Lutz, the great “Smokin’ In The Boy’s Room.”

Sam Cooke started a two week stay at New York's Copacabana Club in 1964. A 70-foot billboard announcing the engagement was erected in Times Square.

Destiny's Child singer Beyonce Knowles releaseed her solo debut "Dangerously in Love" in 2003, featuring guest appearances from her boyfriend Jay-Z, Sean Paul and Missy Elliott.

The Insane Clown Posse released their album The Great Milenko in 1997, which Hollywood Records pulled from stores the same day. Good thinking.

Johnny Cash joined Kris Kristofferson onstage in Nashville in 1998 to sing "Sunday Morning Coming Down." It's Cash's first live performance since announcing he suffers from Shy-Drager Syndrome.

At the Cow Palace in 1966, the Beach Boys' Summer Spectacular featured performances by the Jefferson Airplane, the Lovin' Spoonful, Percy Sledge, the Byrds, and the Sir Douglas Quintet.

Mr. Carlin- You Will Be Missed

As I reflect on the 'passing' of one of the most intelligent and provacative comedians of all time, I recall all the times he made me laugh. In fact, I have one of his CD's in my machine now, it has been there for weeks. Although I have heard his 'schitck' many, many times, I still find it funny. Kind of like the Three Stooges humor, you knew what was coming, but it made you laugh anyway.

Mr. George Carlin had that gift, he could make anyone laugh...pretty much about anything. And nothing was 'off limits' for this comic genius. Yes, he is coarse and crude, but, as he explains, they are just words. And that is what I will miss the most, his words. May you rest in peace, Mr. Carlin.

I am posting a couple of his more recent "thoughts" and be warned, it will contain language that some will consder offensive:

This Date In Music History- June 22

Birthdays:

Jesus Jones vocalist, Mike Edwards, has a birthday (1964).

Happy birthday to a Barenaked Lady, Stephen Page who was born in 1970.

INXS bassist Garry Gary Beers was born in 1957.

Vern Allison, tenor with the Dells, was born in Chicago in 1936.

Peter Asher of Peter & Gordon ("Woman") is 64.

Country outlaw and Rhodes scholar Kris Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, Texas in 1936. Besides acting opposite Barbara Streisand, he wrote the Johnny Cash masterpiece, "Sunday Morning Coming Down" as well as the legendary “Me And Bobby Mcgee.”

Todd Rundgren ("Hello It's Me") is 60.

Howard Kaylan was born in New York in 1947. He became famous as the latter half of Flo & Eddie, the lead singers of the Turtles. That's also him you hear singing backing vocals on Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart."

Jimmy Castor, who recorded such novelty favorites as "Troglodyte (Cave Man)" and "The Bertha Butt Boogie," was also born in New York in 1947.

History:

In Paris France, 32 year old Adolphe Sax, a Belgian musician and musical instrument designer, patents the saxophone in 1846. Sax continued to make instruments throughout his life, however, rival instrument makers challenged the legitimacy of his patents and initiated a campaign of litigation against him and his company, driving him into bankruptcy twice, in 1856 and 1873.

Corinthian "Kripp" Johnson of the Dell-Vikings ("Whispering Bells"), died of prostate cancer in 1990.

Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to murdering John Lennon in December of 1980 and was sentenced to 20-years-to-life in prison. The most hated man in Rock and Roll history was denied parole at his first hearing in October of 2000 and again in October 2002, October 2004 and October 2006. He is still in New York's Attica state prison. Idiot.

Elvis Presley's "Wild In The Country" movie opened nationally in 1961.

At a recording session in Hamburg in 1961, the Beatles layed down the tracks "Ain't She Sweet," "Cry for a Shadow," "When the Saints Go Marching In," "Why," "Nobody's Child," and "My Bonnie."

In 1963, Little Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips, Part 2" became the first live single to go to No. 1.

Jimi Hendrix's handwritten lyrics to "Room Full of Mirrors" sold for $35,200 at a New York auction in 1991.

Blind Faith's first and only LP was released in 1969.

The Safaris' "Wipe Out" was released in the US in 1963. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 two weeks later and reached #2. The same record would be re-issued in 1966 and climb to #16.

After placing 17 instrumental singles on Billboard's Hot 100, Herb Alpert's initial vocal attempt, "This Guy's In Love With You" became his first number one hit in 1968. The song reached #3 in the UK.

Mason Williams' "Classical Gas" was released in 1968. It entered the Billboard charts three weeks later and reached #2 on the Pop chart and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The record has since received more US radio airplay than any other instrumental in Rock history.

Linkin Park's "Minutes To Midnight" is certified platinum by the RIAA in 2007, the record-industry organization. The album takes less than a month to hit the 1 million-sales mark. The single "What I've Done" tops both the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and the Hot Modern Rock Tracks charts.

Both The Beatles and Grand Funk Railroad played NY’s Shea Stadium (home of the Mets) but Billy Joel is the first Rock performer to appear in concert at Yankee Stadium in 1990.

At New York's Madison Square Garden in 1975, Eric Clapton joined the Rolling Stones onstage to jam on "Sympathy for the Devil."

"Sky Pilot,” by Eric Burdon and the Animals, entered the Top Forty in 1968. It is the Animals’ last Top Forty hit in the U.S. and one of my all-time favorites

Vinyl LP records - still spinning after 60 years!

The Power Of Vinyl!

Vinyl records reunite old sweethearts

By AP Press wire


GRAND CHUTE, Wis. -- They fell in love in 1942 but lost touch after Don Spooner went to war.

Spooner, then 21, and Shirley Brown, then 17, spent a last day together on the shore of Lake Michigan and he took a photo of "Shirl" sitting on the sand.

"We talked about getting engaged before I went overseas, but if I came home without an arm or a leg, it wouldn't be fair to her," he said.

He was gone for three years. Brown married another man and the two never spoke for six decades. Until now.

Spooner's memories were revived last month when he found two 78 rpm records in his old army trunk. Spooner said his parents had decided the recordings would be a great way to send their voices to him.

But Spooner couldn't find a phonograph to play them while overseas. So he didn't listen to them.

But after finding the records again, he was curious to hear the sounds if only he could find a machine to play them.

Spooner, 87, a widower, mentioned his dilemma at the car dealership where he works as a part-time driver.

Co-worker Robb Szymik used a record player and computer to put them on a CD. Spooner could hear his parents, Brown and others talking and singing.

"I went through a half a box of Kleenex," Spooner said. "All the voices were just as I remembered them."

He figured Brown also would love to hear them. He used an alumni directory to track her down. The two plan to meet tomorrow.

"I can't believe all this," Spooner said. "It's all because of the records."

sgt pepper fans warned about the 'record collecting gene'

New site seeks to forewarn potential music widows.

To mark the fortieth anniversary of Britain’s all time favourite album, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (released on June 1, 1967), online record collecting superstore 911.com is issuing a warning aimed at the hundreds of thousands of music fans whose taste has been in some way influenced by the seminal Beatles album.

Newly published, independent psychological research suggests that men aged between 25and 45 who are into music featuring ‘proper’ bands with guitars are most at risk from something termed ‘the record collecting gene.’

If allowed to go unchecked, record collecting can cost the addict tens of thousands of pounds and, in extreme cases, their marriage / relationship - potentially creating a nation of music widows.

Using interviews with record collectors, chartered psychologist, Professor Alex Gardner, built a profile of a typical record collector. His in-depth study identified several key attributes and behaviours to help create a portrait of the type of person most at risk of developing from being a simple music lover to vinyl junkie.

According to the research conducted by Professor Gardner, the group most at risk consists of:

· Men, aged between 25 and 45 who are into "proper bands with guitars"

· These men are likely to assign more importance to music than the car that they drive and even the clothes that they wear - for instance he’ll put more effort into choosing the music for a dinner party than what he is actually wearing when his friends come round

· They are likely to arrange their records and CDs alphabetically and will take care to keep them apart from any other music in the house (or flat)

· In addition, they’ll have a tendency towards what they refers to as ‘the good old days’, often citing early incarnations of the likes of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, The Jam, The Clash, The Smiths and Oasis as the only ones worthy of contemplation

· Even in the age of digital downloads, they remain perfectly happy buying their music on records and CDs even though they may carry much of it around on their iPod

Professor Gardner stated: "My findings show that record collectors would rather forgo holidays, cars and even clothing rather than have anything happen to their precious collection. One married respondent even said he’d rather lose his wife than part with his records."

"Some collectors spend over £2,000 a month on their habit - readily admitting it is more than a hobby - and talk about it in terms of the affective domain or feeling component as distinct from the cognitive or thinking one. In other words they let it rule their heart rather than their head."

The research was commissioned by 991.com, the world’s largest single source of rare vinyl, CDs and music memorabilia. 991.com felt it had a duty of care to music fans and their partners to highlight those people most likely to succumb to such a potentially addictive and expensive habit.

The British company has now posted this portrait, together with a suitable warning, on the site’s homepage.

Source: http://991.com/

Who is in the famous and legendary cover Sgt. Pepper? Visit here to find out the 'players':

http://math.mercyhurst.edu/~griff/sgtpepper/people.html

New Vinyl Releases

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!

Cream - Fresh Cream

Cream - Wheels of Fire

Cure - Faith

Cure - Pornography

Cure - Three Imaginary Boys

Hawkwind - Space Ritual Sundown, Volume 2

Madonna - Confessions on a Dance Floor

Jonathan Richman- Because Her Beauty is Raw & Wild

Who - Who Sell Out

Columbia Records to Release 'David Gilmour Live In Gdansk' -- Double Live Album and Concert DVD Available On September 16, 2008 Featuring Pink Floyd Songs Never Previously Performed Live with Orchestra

David Gilmour Live In Gdansk (Vinyl) -- 5 LP Box Set and 20-page
booklet, plus web-pass to download the album, features:
The full Live In Gdansk concert including 'Wot's...Uh The Deal?,' plus
extra audio tracks that include two of the private recording sessions
known as the 'Barn Jams.'

This Date In Music History- June 20

Birthdays:

Creative genius Beach Boy Brian Wilson was born in 1942. As songwriter, arranger, singer and musician he creates some incredible Rock ‘n’ Roll but at an extreme personal and professional price.

Duran Duran bassist, John Taylor (Nigel John Taylor), starts life in Birmingham, England in 1960.

Anne Murray was born in Springhill, Nova Scotia in 1945.

Cyndi Lauper has a birthday today (1953).

Lionel Richie also has a birthday today (1949).

Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony was born in Chicago in 1955.

The late Chet Atkins (country star and guitarist on many early Elvis Presley recordings) was born in 1924.

Billy Guy was born in 1936.

History:

Bob Dylan and the Band release the live album Before the Flood in 1974.

In 1980, Billy Joel went to No. 1 with "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me." It was his first chart-topper.

Toast Of The Town, which would later be called The Ed Sullivan Show, premiered on CBS-TV in 1948. The first telecast was produced on a meager budget of $1,375. Only $375 was allocated for talent and $200 of that was shared by the young stars of that night's program, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

The 3 day Newport '69 Festival started in Northridge, California in 1969. 150,000 make it to hear Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, CCR, Ike & Tina Turner, Jethro Tull, The Rascals, Steppenwolf and others. Hendrix receives $125,000 for his appearance, at the time it was the highest fee ever paid to a single rock act for a single appearance.

Also in 1969, David Bowie signed with Philips Records and then entered Trident Studios in London to record "Space Oddity".

On June 20th 1972, the Tallahatchie Bridge, made famous in Bobbie Gentry's "Ode To Billie Joe,” collapsed.

Neil Diamond appeared on the 20th anniversary show of American Bandstand in 1973, along with Little Richard, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Cheech and Chong and Three Dog Night.

In 1995, a judge in Los Angeles awarded ownership of the Kingsmen's recordings to the group itself and away from Scepter-Wand Records. The court ruled that the company breached its contract by not paying the Kingsmen their proper royalties. The main song in question was "Louie, Louie", recorded in 1963.

Lawrence Payton of the Four Tops died on June 20, 1997 of liver cancer at his home in Southfield, Michigan. He was 59.

June 20, 2004, marked the 3000th time that Paul McCartney took to the stage as a professional musician. He had performed 2,535 concerts with the Quarrymen and the Beatles, 140 gigs with Wings and 325 solo shows.

Claydes Charles Smith, a co-founder and lead guitarist of Kool & the Gang died on June 20, 2006 after a long illness. He was 57.

In 2006, the BBC announced they are axing their flagship music program Top of the Pops. The show debuted in 1964, with The Rolling Stones singing "I Wanna be Your Man."

The Byrds' folk-rock version of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" will spend a week at the top of the charts in 1965.

After topping record charts around the world, a medley of hits credited to Stars On 45 reaches number one in America in 1981.

Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” goes gold in 1970.

The Tear Jar

I received a call from DJ Tom over at www.ilike2rock.net and he was very excited to tell me about a local (he lives in PA) project that he has just added to the radio station. Read about the new musical below and if you love Blues music, I encourage you to visit the site and give a listen to some fresh, new Blues music that is bound to thrill your ears. I can see this production heading for Broadway in the near future, and you can here the music first!


The Tear Jar

An Explosion Of Blues Music

written by Robert Benson

Anyone who has ever listened to the “Blues” knows that it is more than just music, but an inspiration, an unfolding of the emotions that we all feel. From Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon and many other influential Blues legends, to the more contemporary Blues artists such as Robert Cray, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Blues music has and always be a part of out musical heritage.

Capturing the essence and spirit that the Blues represent is a novel “Blues Musical” called “The Tear Jar.” Not focusing on a particular band or individual, the “Tear Jar” instead is a collaboration and meeting of the minds of many talented people including producer Chris Bravacos, song writer Robert Welch, audio engineer Frank Silver and writer Jerry King Musser.

Blended into the musical are the rare talents of musicians such as: industry veteran Diane Wilson (singing the character of Savannah), talented Bluesman Don Johnson (singing the character of Mason Ball), Blues guitar virtuoso Jared James Nichols (singing the character of JD Hunter), Jazz sensation Rose Hudson (singing the part of Chandra), veteran Gospel singer Eugene Barclift (playing the character of Stubs) and Soul Music vet Charles Lee (as the Preacher), among others.

To set up the story, one needs to know what a ‘tear jar’ is and what it represents. In ancient cultures, water was a prized possession and giving up water from one’s own body, in the form of tears, was considered a personal sacrifice. They would catch their precious tears in tiny pitchers or ‘tear jars.” The ‘saved’ tears could then be used to ward off evil or to help a sick child. The writer takes this belief and implements into the storyline and applies it to the infectious Blues songs that encompass and define the musical. Here is a brief synopsis of the story:

“Seasoned, itinerant blues man, Mason Ball, returns to The Blue Rose, a club in which he enjoys playing, with an owner he deeply 'admires.' Upon his arrival, he's surprised to discover that a 'new kid in town' has claimed the stage and attention of an appreciative audience. This young upstart, one JD Hunter, is unwilling to relinquish the limelight and makes it clear that the 'old blues' is dead. To add to the tension, Mason's private love interest shares with him a serious, personal loss. Frustrated with his inability to appease her emotional pain, Mason dips his finger into a jar of tears given him by his recently departed mother and touches her with the potion. This act, apparently, manifests in wondrous results... relieving her of her anguish. Mason doubts his healing powers, yet can't dismiss the changes he seems to have made. When word gets out, the audience demands Mason's appearance onstage and seem to come for his 'gift of healing' as much as his gift of song. JD challenges Mason's abilities, those both spiritual and musical. When a plan to expose Mason backfires, JD Hunter learns what it's like to be on the receiving end of 'the gift.' But, gift or not, the characters in this story find themselves at a new place in their lives after discovering life's potential magic is available to anyone.”

I have not seen the production, but have listened to some of the music and was overjoyed to hear a dizzying array of crisp, fresh Blues cuts that are certain to be standards and will have die-hard Blues fans clamoring for more.

“When Does The Healing Begin” is full of Gospel-fueled licks and superb vocals that fuses the Blues and Gospel in an explosion of sound. The cut called “The Magic,” like any great Blues song, just bleeds emotion, from the growling vocals and the Stevie Ray Vaughan-like riffs, yet it still remains achingly tender. “Satisfier” is expertly played and sang, with sultry vocals and is sung with immeasurable passion and strength. “I’m Gone,” is bound to become a classic blues rocker, tight and structured, and just compels you to bob your head or tap your foot with melodic adventure. “Stormbringer” perfectly fuses Soul and Blues music, with impassioned vocals and stellar guitar and organ work.

“The Tear Jar” is bound to become an instant classic Blues production, with fresh Blues music for all fans of the genre, who are sure to be pleased with the efforts of all the performers and everyone who is involved with this wondrous project. In its beginning stages, “The Tear Jar” has a performance slated for the Sunoco Performance Theater on Thursday, August 7 and Friday August 8, 2008 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. And with an intriguing storyline, a stellar cast and new Blues standards, it will soon make a bold impression in the music world and specifically Blues music.

To learn more about this inventive project and learn more about the players visit:

www.tearjar.com

This Date In Music History- June 18

Birthdays:

Nathan Morris of Boyz II Men is born in Philadelphia in 1971.

Sandy Posey ("Born A Woman") turns 61.

Tommy Hunt of the Flamingos was born in 1933.

James Paul McCartney was born in Liverpool, England in 1942.

History:

In 1918, Morganfield receives the nickname "Muddy Waters" as a result of his grandmother calling him "little muddy baby" because he liked to play in dirty water puddles and a muddy creek. "Waters" was added later, thus resulting in the moniker Muddy Waters.

In 1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at the Monterey International Pop Festival. Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones introduced him as "the most exciting performer I've ever heard." At the end of his performance, he burns his Fender Stratocaster. "The time I burned my guitar it was like a sacrifice," Jimi said. "You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar. I'd just finished painting it that day and was really into it." Literally overnight, the Jimi Hendrix Experience became one of the most popular acts in rock music.

Hank Medress of the Tokens ("The Lion Sleeps Tonight") died from lung cancer in 2007.

In 1977, Fleetwood Mac scored their only Billboard number one hit with "Dreams.” Over the next dozen years, they would reach the Top 40, thirteen more times.

1977- The No. 1 album in the U.K. is The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, a live album created by splicing together two performances at the venue from 1964 and 1965.

In 1987, a concertgoer sued Motley Crue, claiming that she went deaf because their PA was turned up too loud.

In 1948, Columbia Records began the first mass production of the 33 1/3 RPM LP. The new format could contain a maximum of 23 minutes of music per side, versus the approximately three minutes that could be squeezed on to a 78 RPM disc.

Guitarist Danny Cedrone died in 1954, following a freak stairway fall, just a month after he had recorded the lead on "Rock Around The Clock" with Bill Haley and His Comets.

Our parents were delighted to find out that Frank Sinatra's "Strangers In The Night" overtook The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" as the best selling single in the US in 1966.

Ray Charles' funeral was held at the First AME Church in Los Angeles in 2004. Among the performers at the service are Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, and B.B. King. Also in attendance are Little Richard, Berry Gordy Jr. and Jesse Jackson.

The epic “River Deep Mountain High” was released in 1966. The Ike & Tina Turner’s single, produced by Phil Spector, who considered the record his masterpiece, falls far short of the Top 40 in the U.S. causing a disillusioned Spector to go into semi-retirement. The song does go to #1 in the U.K.

In 1993, A&M Records chairman Jerry Moss and vice-chairman Herb Alpert announced they were leaving the company they founded more than 30 years earlier. They had sold A&M in 1990 to Polygram for about $500-million. Moss and Alpert started the label in the garage of Alpert's Los Angeles home in 1962.

In 1977, the Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten gets his face and hands slashed by some thugs who apparently didn’t take to kindly to the group’s U.K. hit “God Save The Queen.”

Rare Earth drummer Peter Hoorelbeke was arrested in 1974, after throwing his drumsticks into the crowd.

R&B legend Fats Domino recorded "I Want to Walk You Home" in New Orleans in 1959.

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Week Ending 06/07/2008

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5) 45rpm - George Harrison "Love Comes To Everyone" / "Soft Touch" Dark Horse Picture Sleeve - $2,199.00