This Date In Music History - September 4

Birthdays:

Bubba Knight - The Pips (1942)

Gene Parsons - Byrds (1944)

Ronald Lepread - Commodores (1946)

Gary Duncan - Quicksilver Messenger Service (1946)

Martin Chambers - Pretenders (1951)



Kim Thayil - Soundgarden (1960)

Jan Stenfors - Hanoi Rocks (1963)

Igor Cavalera - Sepultura (1970)

Guto Pryce - Super Furry Animals (1972)

Carmit Bachar - Pussycat Dolls (1974)

Mark Ronson (1975)

Dan Miller - O-Town (1980)

Beyonce (1981)


They Are Missed:

Dottie West died at the age of 58 in 1991. She died from injuries incurred in a car accident 5 days earlier. West was the first female country Grammy winner.

Born on this day in 1971, Ty Longley - Great White. Had the 1989 hit with a cover of Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten Twice Shy." Longley died on February 20, 2003 along with 100 fans after pyrotechnics ignited a club during a Great White gig in West Warwick, Rhode Island.

Mike Gibbins, drummer with Badfinger, died in his sleep at his Florida home in 2005 (age 56).



History:

Gladys Knight & the Pips were formed after a birthday party for Bubba Knight in 1952.

To coincide with the release of his second Sun single in 1954, "Good Rockin' Tonight," Elvis Presley, along with Bill Black and Scotty Moore made their first appearance at The Grand Old Opry. The audience reaction was so poor, the Opry's manager, Jim Denny told Elvis that he should go back to driving a truck.

"The Buddy Deane Bandstand" debuted in Baltimore, MD in 1957.

In 1959, Bobby Darin's "Mack The Knife" was banned by WCBS radio in New York after seveal local stabbings.


Dick Clark's traveling show opened at the Michigan State Fair in 1959. The line-up included Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Duane Eddy, The Coasters, LaVern Baker and Jan and Dean.

The Highwaymen started a two week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1961 with "Michael." The group were made up of five university students.

The Beatles' first formal recording session at EMI's Abbey Road studios took place in 1962. George Martin was unhappy with a previous session on June 6, so he called The Beatles back into the studio to try again. They recorded six songs, including "Love Me Do" and "Please Please Me."

The Animals made their US concert debut at New York's Paramount Theatre in 1964.

The Beatles started a three week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1965 with "Help," the title of their second film and the group's ninth US #1.

In 1965, the Who had their van stolen containing over $10,000 worth of equipment outside the Battersea Dogs Home. The band were inside the home at the time buying a guard dog.

The Beatles recorded promotional videos for "Hey Jude" and ‘Revolution’ at Twickenham Film Studios in 1968. The vocals are recorded live over the pre-recorded instrumental tracks to get round the current British Musicians Union ban on lip-sync performances. For "Hey Jude," The Beatles were accompanied by a 36-piece orchestra and 300 fans and other assorted extras who join in singing the long refrain. We DID have MTV back then (except the networks would air it!)



"Street Fighting Man," by the Rolling Stones, was banned in several cities in the US in 1968. Authorities feared it might incite public disorder.

The film 'Easy Rider' starring Jack Nicholson Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper opened at The Classic London in 1969.

"Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" was released by the Rolling Stones in 1970.

Taken from the album 'Ram', Paul and Linda McCartney went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1971 with the "Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey." It was McCartney's first US solo #1 hit.

The Doors dark and brooding “Riders On The Storm” peaked at #14 in 1971. It’s on the “L.A. Woman” album.



Concessionaire Francisco Caruso was killed during a Wishbone Ash concert in Texas in 1972 after refusing to give a fan a free sandwich.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono appeared on Jerry Lewis' Muscular Dystrophy Telethon Show in 1972.

The KISS single "Beth" was released in 1976.

Fleetwood Mac went to #1 on the US album chart in 1976 with their self-titled album after being on the charts for over a year. The album went on to sell over 5 million copies in the US and was the first of three #1 albums for the group.

The Bee Gees went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1976 with "You Should Be Dancing."

The Sex Pistols made their television debut in 1976 when they appeared on the Manchester based Granada TV program 'So It Goes.'

In 1980, a new version of Yes, with Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn played the first of three sold out nights at New York's Madison Square Garden.

The Steve Miller Band started a two week run at #2 on the US singles chart with "Abracadabra" the group's third US #1.

In 1986, and after just getting his driving license back after a five-year suspension, Gregg Allman from The Allman Brothers Band was arrested in Florida for drunk driving. Smart....

The 13th MTV Music Video Awards at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in 1996 played like a Smashing Pumpkins tribute. They win Best Alternative Music Video (“1979”), Best Video and Breakthrough Video (“Tonight, Tonight”). Beck manages to land Best Male Video (“Where It’s At”) while the Foo Fighters take home Best Group Video (“Big Me”). Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher throws a beer at the audience during the band's performance of "Champagne Supernova." Kiss also performed - under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Cat Stevens (Yusaf Islam) emerged in 1996 to sign copies of his first album in 18 years.

Enrique Iglesias was at #1 on the US singles chart in 1999 with "Ballamos."

In 2002, singer Kelly Clarkson was voted the first "American Idol" on the Fox TV series.

The Rob Zombie-directed remake of the '78 horror classic Halloween was #1 at the box office in 2007 taking in $31 million over the Labor Day weekend. That's better than the original or any of the sequels. "I kept the idea of the same three girls (antagonist Michael Myers terrorizes), but the events play out differently and the girls' characters are different," says Zombie. Cool.....

The Police played the first UK date on their Reunion tour in 2007 when they played two nights at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.



Billboard announced that Aerosmith was working closely with the creators of a new "Guitar Hero" release in 2008 which would be dedicated to the band's music. The game was released on June 29, 2008.

The Small Faces (and late manager Don Arden) are awarded a Green Plaque on London's Carnaby Street in 2007. Drummer Kenney Jones (who was also a vet of the Faces and The Who) attended the ceremony. "It’s great to see the Small Faces being officially recognized at this stage of my life," says Jones. "There’s a sense of reflection, when I think back to everything we did in those days and how the Small Faces was responsible for creating much of the mod music and fashion revolution in the UK." Green Plaques draw attention to... people of renown (from London's Westminster district) who have made lasting contributions to society. The Small Faces plaque is the 73rd unveiled.

In 2008, the first guitar torched on stage by Jimi Hendrix sold for $495,000 at an auction of rock memorabilia. The Fender Stratocaster was burned at the end of a show at the Astoria in Finsbury Park, north London, in 1967. The sale held in London also included the Beatles' first management contract, signed in 1962 by all four members of the group and manager Brian Epstein, sold for $370,000.

Also in 2008, friends and family of Michael Jackson paid their last respects to the singer at a funeral held at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Los Angeles. Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Quincy Jones, Macaulay Culkin, Berry Gordy and Lisa Marie Presley were among the 200 invited guests. The singer's family arrived in a motorcade of 31 vehicles, Jackson's brothers - Randy, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon - acted as pallbearers carrying Jackson’s gold-plated coffin.