Dean Torrence of
Jan & Dean ("
Drag City") turns 68.
LaVern Baker ("
Jim Dandy") died from heart failure in 1997.
Andy Gibb ("
I Just Want To Be Your Everything") died from a viral infection of his heart in 1988.
In 1979, at the invitation of country star Porter Wagoner,
James Brown performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, singing "
Your Cheatin' Heart,” "
Tennessee Waltz" and "
Papa's Got A Brand New Bag.” Some Country artists such as Jean Shepard complained, but others like Barbara Mandrell said that Brown should have been invited five years earlier.
In 2005, Danny Joe Brown, lead singer of Southern rockers
Molly Hatchet, died from pneumonia complications. The 53-year-old rocker once released a solo album credited to Danny Joe Brown and the Danny Joe Brown Band.
In 2005, Dave Blood, bassist with punk rockers the
Dead Milkmen, committed suicide. The Milkmen's 1988 single "
Punk Rock Girl" was an MTV staple.
In 2003, a Spanish hairdresser pays over a thousand dollars for a lock of hair
George Harrison cut off in 1964. The hair will be displayed in Rafael Pages' hairdressing museum in Barcelona. (hairdressing museum?)
John Lennon released his cover of Ben E. King's "
Stand by Me" as a single in the U.S. in 1975.
In 1971,
Beatles manager Allen Klein was barred from involvement in the band's affairs as the Fab Four's career together winds down. According to legend, it is also on this night that John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr go to Paul McCartney's London townhouse and throw a brick through one of the windows. (All You Need Is Love)
In 1966,
Edie Brickell was born in Oak Cliff, Texas.
The
Beatles' "
Eight Days a Week" goes to No. 1 in 1965. It's the first single by a British act to top the American charts but not make the charts in Britain, where it was unreleased.
In 1964,
Neneh Cherry, the innovative R&B/hip-hop singer responsible for the "
Buffalo Stance," was born in Stockholm.
Jeff Ament, the bassist in
Pearl Jam and leader of Three Fish, was born in Big Sandy, Montana in 1963.
Pop mastermind Tom Scholz of
Boston was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1947.
In 1955 RCA Records placed a half page ad in Billboard Magazine claiming that
Elvis Presley was 'the new singing rage’.
In 1964,
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel recorded "
The Sounds Of Silence" as an acoustic duo. It wasn't until electric guitar, bass and drums were added that the song would become a hit.
In 1973,
Pink Floyd's "
Dark Side Of The Moon" was released in America, where it would spent over 740 weeks on the chart.
Gloria Gaynor's "
I Will Survive" found its way from B-side obscurity to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979. It was also a #1 in the UK.
Today in 1962, the song "
Hey! Baby" by
Bruce Channel topped the charts and stayed there for 3 weeks.
