Birthdays:
Paul Mauriat (1968 #1 single chart "Love Is Blue") (1925)
Eric Allandale - Foundations (1936)
Bobby Womack (1944)
Chris Squire - Yes (1948)
Emilio Estefan - Miami Sound Machine (1950)
Chris Rea (1951)
Jason Newsted - Metallica (1963)
Richard March - Pop Will Eat Itself (1965)
Patrick Hannan - Sundays (1966)
Evan Dando - Lemonheads (1967)
Feargal Lawlor - Cranberries (1971)
They Are Missed:
Younger brother of The Bee Gees, Andy Gibb died in hospital, five days after his 30th birthday in 1978. His death from myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) followed a long battle with cocaine addiction, which had weakened his heart. In the United States, Gibb became the first male solo artist to chart three consecutive #1 singles with "I Just Want to Be Your Everything," "Love Is) Thicker Than Water" and "Shadow Dancing."
American songwriter Howard Greenfield died of a brain tumour in 1986 (age 50). Working out of the famous Brill Building with Neil Sedaka he co-wrote many hits including "Calendar Girl." "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" and "Crying In The Rain" with Carole King. Also wrote TV theme songs including the theme to 'Bewitched.'
Richard Manuel (The Band) committed suicide in 1986 at the age of 41.
Village People singer Glenn Hughes died of lung cancer in 2001 (age 50). He was the original "Biker" character in the disco group who scored the 1978 #1 "Y.M.C.A."
In 2002, Doreen Waddell, singer with Soul II Soul was killed after attempting to run across the A27 in Brighton, England after being caught shoplifting.
History:
In 1955, jazz great Charlie Bird Parker played at Birdland in what would be his last public performance.
The winners of the first Grammy Awards were announced in 1959. Domenico Modugno's "Volare" was Record of the Year; Henry Mancini's 'Peter Gunn' was Album of the Year and The Champs "Tequila" won best R&B performance.
In 1966, John Lennon's statement that The Beatles were 'more popular than Jesus Christ' was published in The London Evening Standard. “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. We’re more popular then Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was alright, but his disciples were thick and ordinary.” Christian group's in the US were outraged resulting in some states burning Beatles records. Lennon later apologized.
The Rolling Stones went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1967 with "Ruby Tuesday," the group's fourth US #1 single. "Lets Spend The Night Together" was the original A side but after radio stations banned the song "Tuesday" became the A side.
In 1970, Janis Joplin was fined $200 for onstage profanity by a Tampa, Florida judge.
Badfinger went gold with “Day After Day” in 1972.
Pink Floyd starts a three week U.S. tour in 1973 in support of their new album “Dark Side of the Moon.”
Hall & Oates recorded "Rich Girl" in 1976.
In 1977, CBS released The Clash's self- titled first album in the UK. CBS in the US refused to release it until 1979. Americans bought over 100,000 imported copies of the record making it one of the biggest- selling import records of all time.
The Rolling Stones recorded their "Love You Live" album in Toronto in 1977.
In 1978, the US internal Revenue Service carried out a dawn raid at the home of Jerry Lee Lewis and removed cars worth over $170,000 to pay off his tax debts.
In 1979, Randy Jackson of The Jackson Five was seriously injured in a car crash breaking both legs and almost died in the emergency room when a nurse inadvertently injects him with methadone.
Frank Zappa's son Dweezil and his daughter Moon Unit formed a band called Fred Zeppelin in 1982. Their first single was "My Mother is a Space Cadet."
Debbie Gibson started a three week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1989 with "Lost In Your Eyes," her second US #1.
Kurt Cobain was rushed to hospital after overdosing on alcohol and drugs in a Rome hotel during a Nirvana European tour in 1994. Cobain had taken 50-60 pills of Rohypnol mixed with champagne; rumours on the internet claimed that Kurt was dead.
In 2004, Brian Wilson appeared at the Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow during his 11-date UK tour. The shows saw Wilson performing the full suite of songs from his unreleased masterpiece 'Smile' Wilson's 'teenage symphony to God.'
Jaheim was at #1 on the US album chart in 2006 with ‘Ghetto Classics’ the American R&B singer’s third album release.
The Doors concert album, “Live In Pittsburgh 1970” was released in 2007. The set captured a show from the band's final U.S. tour. Also the Doors issue, “Vinyl Box,” a seven-LP collection containing the original stereo mixes of all six of the group's studio albums, as well as the mono version of the Doors' self-titled debut.
An expanded edition of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Street Survivors," commemorating the 30th anniversary of the '77 album's release (a tad late), was available in 2008. The two-CD collection includes the final live tracks recorded before the plane crash that killed three band members. There's also a previously un-issued Tom Dowd-produced version that Skynyrd rejected in favor of a self-produced effort they recorded later.
Instamatic Karma: Photographs of John Lennon was in bookstores in 2008. The volume was published by Lennon’s "lost weekend" lover, May Pang. "For years, only my closest friends got to see these photos -- which were literally tucked away in a shoebox in my closet," writes Pang in the book. Lennon’s “lost weekend” was a period in the ‘70s when the ex-Beatle and Yoko Ono had split. They later reconciled.
Rockabye Baby!, a company that produces mellow instrumental versions of popular Rock songs geared toward infants, released an album of reworked AC/DC tunes in 2008. “Rockabye Baby!: Lullaby Renditions of AC/DC “ features versions of "Highway To Hell" and "Back In Black." Is nothing sacred?
Britney Spears kicked off a world tour in New Orleans in 2009, her first concert tour for five years. The 27-year-old who dressed as a ringmaster in the show, featured jugglers, acrobats and martial arts dancers.
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