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.