This Date In Music History-February 2

Birthdays:

Graham Nash - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1942)

Peter Macbeth - Foundations (1943)

Ronnie Goodson - John Fred and His Playboy Band (1945)

Howard Bellamy - Bellamy Brothers (1946)

Derek Shulman - Gentle Giant (1947)

Peter Lucia - Tommy James and the Shondells (1947)

Alan Mckay - Earth Wind and Fire (1948)

Ross Valory - Steve Miller Band (1949)

Robert Deleo - Stone Temple Pilots (1966)

Ben Mize - Counting Crows (1971)

Born on this day in 1977, Shakira, (Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll) - Highest selling Colombian artist of all time, having sold over forty million albums.


They Are Missed:

Tenor saxophonist Stan Getz was born in Philadelphia in 1927 (died June 6, 1991)

Bass player Skip Battin of the Byrds was born in 1934. Member of New Riders Of The Purple Sage and The Flying Burrito Brothers. Battin died on July 6th 2003.

Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious died of a heroin overdose in New York City in 1979. There had been a party to celebrate Vicious’ release on $50,000 bail pending his trial for the murder of his former girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, the previous October. Party guests, said that Vicious had taken heroin at midnight. An autopsy confirmed that Vicious died from an accumulation of fluid in the lungs that was consistent with heroin overdose. A syringe, spoon and heroin residue were discovered near the body.

Alfred Lion, the founder of Blue Note records, died in Los Angeles in 1987 at the age of 78.

Born today in 1969, John Spence, singer, original member of No Doubt in the late 1980's. Committed suicide on December 21, 1987 by shooting himself.

Born on this day 1963, Eva Cassidy, US singer. She is the only artist to score three posthumous UK #1 albums: 2001’s 'Songbird'; 2002’s 'Imagine' and 2003’s 'American Tune'. Eva died of skin cancer on November 1st 1996, (age 33).

Born today in 1940, Alan Caddy, guitarist with The Tornadoes, who had a 1962 UK & US #1 single with "Telstar." This was the first major hit from a UK act on the American chart. Caddy died on August 16th 2000.



Billy Henderson, one of the founders of US soul group The Spinners, died in 2007 (age 67) after complications from diabetes. Had the 1980 UK #1 & US #2 single "Working My Way Back To You."

Keyboardist Joe Hunter, a veteran session musician as one of the Funk Brothers who helped craft the distinctive Motown sound, died in Detroit, Michigan in 2007 (age of 79). Hunter performed with such legendary Motown acts as Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Martha and the Vandellas.


History:

RCA released the first 45 RPM records in 1949 (seven 45's in various genres, including the original "That's All Right Mama" by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup).

Atlantic Records signed the Coasters in 1956, and rushed to release their first record, "Down in Mexico," written by new Atlantic writers Leiber and Stoller.

Dale Hawkins recorded the immortal "Susie-Q" in 1957.



Fats Domino sang "Blueberry Hill" and "Blue Monday" on Perry Como's television show in 1957.

In 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper make their last onstage appearances during the GAC Winter Show tour, at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.

The Coasters song, "Charlie Brown," was released in 1959.

Frankie Avalon's "Venus" was released on Chancellor Records in 1959. It will become the teen idol's greatest hit.

The Beatles played their first professionally organised gig outside of Liverpool at The Oasis Club, Manchester in 1962. The group’s set started with their version of ‘Hippy Hippy Shake.’

The Rolling Stones released "19th Nervous Breakdown" in 1966.



The Jimi Hendrix Experience played live on UK TV show Top Of The Pops in 1967 performing "Purple Haze."

In 1973, NBC-TV debuted its entry into the rock TV shows sweepstakes, "Midnight Special." The program was more middle-of-the-road than ABC's "In Concert" and was hosted by Helen Reddy.

Also in 1973, Keith Emerson of Emerson Lake and Palmer injured his hands when his piano rigged to explode as a stunt, detonated prematurely during a concert in San Francisco. He suffers various cuts and a broken fingernail.

Barbra Streisand started a four week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1974 with the theme from the film "The Way We Were." The single won an Oscar and a Grammy for Song of the Year.

The Patti Smith Group released their debut, "Horses" in 1976.

Van Halen signed with Warner Brothers Records in 1978.

In 1980, in honor of the first anniversary of the death of ex-Sex Pistol Sid Vicious, 1,000 punks march from London's Chelsea section to Hyde Park. Vicious' mother, Ann Beverly, was to have been at the head of the march, however, the night before she was sent to the hospital for a drug overdose. How fitting.....

REO Speedwagon have the biggest album of the year with Hi-Infidelity, as it goes platinum on this date in 1981. It reached #1 and stayed there for 14 weeks.

Foreigner started a two-week run at #1 on the US singles charts in 1985 with "I Want To Know What Love Is."

Frank Zappa opened his "Broadway the Hardway" tour before a soldout house of 3,000 in Albany, New York in 1988.

In 1989, relatives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. (Big Bopper) Richardson gather in Richardson's hometown of Port Arthur, Texas for the unveiling of life-size statues of the rock 'n' roll stars.

In 1993, Willie Nelson's lawyer announced that the US Internal Revenue Service would accept nine million dollars from the singer to settle his $17-million tax debt. Under the agreement, the IRS says it would take proceeds from sales of Nelson's "Who'll Buy My Memories?" — The IRS Tapes, plus any judgment the singer might win in a lawsuit against his former accountant.

In 2002, The P.P.L. (Phonographic Performance Ltd), launched performersmoney.com for artists to check if they were owed any of the £10 million ($17 million) in unclaimed money. It showed that Michael Jackson was owed over £100,000 ($170,000) for ‘Say, Say, Say’, Stevie Wonder had money owing for ‘Ebony And Ivory’ and Ray Davies of The Kinks was owed a six-figure fee for ‘You Really Got Me’. Director Dominic McGonigal said “If anyone has seen Rick Astley please let him know, he is still earning money for his hits.”

Jennifer Lopez started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart in 2003 with "All I Have."

In 2004, TV network CBS apologized for its broadcast of the American Super Bowl after Janet Jackson was left exposed when Justin Timberlake ripped her top. The pair had been performing a raunchy half-time duet when one of Jackson’s breasts was exposed as Timberlake pulled at her top. CBS quickly cut away from the scene but was still flooded with calls from angry viewers about the half-time entertainment, produced by MTV. Timberlake insisted it had been an accident saying "I am sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the half-time performance of the Super Bowl."

The day the music died revisited. Graham Nash, Wanda Jackson and the Cricketts commemorate the 50th anniversary of Buddy Holly’s last show at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa in 2009(see above). Shortly after midnight following that fateful performance, Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) died when their charted plane crashed.

Rob Zombie's “Hellbilly Deluxe 2” was unleashed in 2010. The release was preceded by a supporting tour which marked the first time Zombie had worked under the "Hellbilly" moniker since the original run in '98.