This Date In Music History - July 28

Birthdays:

Jonathan Edwards ("Sunshine") is 64



George Cummings - Dr Hook (1938)

Simon Kirke - Free, Bad Company (1949)

Guitarist Steve Morse was born in Hamilton, OH. Aside from a solo career, Morse had a short stint with Kansas and a lengthier stay with Deep Purple. He replaced Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple following Blackmore's second departure, in ‘94. (1954)

Rachel Sweet (1962)

Nick Banks - Pulp (1965)

Texas Axile -Transvision Vamp (1965)

Dan Warton - Neds Atomic Dustbin (1972)

Jacoby Dakota Shaddix - Papa Roach (1986)

DeAndre Cortez Way (Soulja Boy) (1990)


They Are Missed:

Born on this day in 1949, Steve Took, percussion, T Rex. Took died on October 27, 1980.

Marge Ganser from The Shangri-Las died of breast cancer in 1996. The group scored over ten hits during the 60's including the 1964 US #1 "Leader Of The Pack."



Born today in 1949, Peter Doyle, singer, The New Seekers. Doyle died on 13th October 2001.

Soul singer George Williams from The Tymes died of cancer in 2004. Had the 1963 US million seller "So Much in Love."

Born on this day in 1945, Rick Wright, keyboards, vocals, Pink Floyd. 1973 album 'Dark Side Of The Moon', spent a record breaking 741 weeks on the US chart. Pink Floyd have sold over 200 million albums worldwide. Wright died on Sept 15, 2008 (age 65) from cancer. Wright appeared on the group's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in 1967 alongside Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and Nick Mason.


History:

Johann Sebastian Bach died in 1750 after an unsuccessful eye operation.

The first singing telegram was sent in 1933. It was given to Rudy Vallee on his 32nd birthday.

Judy Garland recorded "Over the Rainbow" in 1939.

The first press interview with 19-year-old Elvis Presley was published in the 'Memphis Press- Scimitar' in 1954.

In 1956, Gene Vincent made his first appearance on national TV in the US on The Perry Como Show. Vincent had released "Woman Love" the previous month, but it was the B-side, "Be-Bop-A-Lula," that eventually made the top 10. The song had been purchased from a fellow hospital patient when Vincent was recovering from leg injuries. A demo of the song made its way to Capitol Records as part of an Elvis sound-alike contest and a re-recorded version gave Vincent a hit.



"I Want You, I Need You, I Love You” was Elvis Presley’s second #1 (“Heartbreak Hotel” was the first) in 1956.

Jerry Lee Lewis made his network television debut in 1957 on The Steve Allen Show performing "Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On." Afterwards, the song’s sales go through the roof. The appearance was a ratings triumph for Allen. A win-win all the way around.



On their second visit to Sweden in 1964, the Beatles played two shows at an ice hockey arena, the Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm. During the first show, both Paul McCartney and John Lennon received mild electrical shocks from ungrounded microphones. Supporting acts included The Kays, The Moonlighters, and The Streaplers.

James Brown appeared at The Apollo Theatre in New York City in 1966.

In 1969, police in Moscow reported that thousands of public phone booths had been vandalised after thieves were stealing parts of the phones to convert their acoustic guitars to electric. A feature in a Russian youth magazine had shown details on how to do this.

Mick Jagger's "Ned Kelly" movie premiered in Glenrowan, Australia in 1970, near where the film's title character lived.

Grand Funk Railroad's "We're An American Band" was released in 1973.

Chicago went to #1 on the US album chart in 1973 with 'Chicago IV', the group's second US #1.

MCA Records introduced Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1973. They’d just signed the Southern Rock group.

In 1973, the Watkins Glen outdoor summer jam was held outside of Watkins Glen, New York with The Allman Brothers, The Grateful Dead and The Band. Over 600,000 rock fans attended. Many historians claimed the event was the largest gathering of people in the history of the United States. 150,000 tickets were sold for $10 each, but for all the other people it was a free concert. The crowd was so huge that a large part of the audience was not able to see the stage.

In 1979, 'I Don't Like Mondays' gave The Boomtown Rats their second UK #1 single. Bob Geldof wrote the song after reading a report on the shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who fired at children playing in a school playground across the street from her home in San Diego, California. She killed two adults and injured eight children and one police officer. Spencer showed no remorse for her crime, and her full explanation for her actions was "I don't like Mondays, this livens up the day."



The World Series of Rock was held at Cleveland Stadium in 1979, with Journey, Ted Nugent and Thin Lizzy.

In 1987, the Beatles sued Nike over the use of their song "Revolution" in a TV commercial for the athletic company.



In 1991, almost 100 arrests were made after an estimated 2,000 youths rioted after a MC Hammer concert in Penticon, Canada.

The 10,000 Maniacs played their last show with lead singer Natalie Merchant in 1993. Merchant left the group to pursue a solo career.

In 1995, Jimi Hendrix' father James Al Hendrix won back the rights to his son's name, likeness, image and music after a number of companies had profited from them over the years.

It was announced in 1998 that Toad The Wet Sprocket was disbanding.

Mary J. Blige's first album, "What's the 411?", was released in 1998.

Dave Matthews Band went to #1 on the US album chart in 2002 with ‘Busted Stuff.’

Listen Live Now! allows Rolling Stones fans to hear a direct feed from the soundboard at each of the Stones’ last 15 stops of their European tour in 2006 (starting with their Paris show) via both cell phones and land lines, at $1.99 for seven minutes.

A second edition of Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival was held in Chicago in 2007. Aside from Slowhand, there's B.B. King, the Allman Brothers Band's Derek Trucks, fellow Blind Faith vet Steve Winwood, ex-Band guitarist Robbie Robertson, ex-Yardbirds axeman Jeff Beck and Blues legend Buddy Guy. "Some of it's mapped and some of it isn't," says Eric Clapton, the festival's founder. "We have to leave a little bit of it to chance." Proceeds go to the Crossroads Centre, a rehab facility founded by Clapton on the island of Antigua.

George Thorogood & the Destroyers issue “The Dirty Dozen” in 2009. The 12-track effort (hence the title) has six new recordings and a selection of fan favorites. "This album is . . . a real Rocker, full of songs we've always loved playing," says Thorogood. The album contains "Drop Down Mama," "Tail Dragger" and "Twenty Dollar Gig."

“At Woburn,” a Jimi Hendrix Experience concert CD was released in 2009. Recorded in ’68 at the Woburn Music Festival in Bedfordshire, England, the set includes "Purple Haze,” "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," and a cover of The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."