JUNE 8TH
On this day in 1949, celebrities including Edward G. Robinson, John Garfield, Danny Kaye, and Helen Keller were named as Communists by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
That's right, Helen Keller. The blind, deaf woman. Could there be a bigger threat to national security? I think not.
It is all-too appropriate that George Orwell's book 1984 was published on the very same day.
Full Version: This Day In History
June 15th
- Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (1783), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever casualties of an air crash when their hot air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel.
- Near earth asteroid 2002 MN misses our planet by 75,000 miles (120,000 km) about one third the distance to the moon.
- Born on this day: Waylon Jennings, Jim Varney, James Belushi, Courtney Cox, Ice Cube, Leah Remini, Niel Patrick Harris, and Helen Hunt
Late, but oh well...
June 10th in Military History
Born
1613 Johan Georg II of Saxony (1656-80)
1688 The Old Pretender, "James III"
1735 John Morgan, physician-in-chief of Continental Army
1835 Grand Duke Ferdinand IV of Tuscany
1840 Thomas Fentress Toon, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1902
1899 Raoul Salan, most decorated officer in the French Army, putschist
1921 Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, sometime naval officer
1929 James McDivitt, USAF, astronaut (Gemini 4, Apollo 9)
Died
1190 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, drowned in the Saleph River on Crusade
1580 Luís Vaz de Camoëns, Portuguese soldier and epic poet
1839 Nathaniel Pryor, sergeant on the Lewis and Clark Expedition
1860 Thomas Sidney Jessup (b. 1788), QM General from 1818
1861 Lt. J. T. Greble, 2nd Art, 1st Regular Army officer KIA in the Civil War, Big Bethel
1868 Prince Michael Obrenovic of Serbia, murdered
1903 King Alexander I and Queen Draga of Serbia, assassinated
1924 Giacomo Matteotti, Italian socialist, assassinated by fascists
1941 Marcus Garvey, fascistic black nationalist leader, at 52
Event
1179 Battle of Marj Ayun: Saladin defeats King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem
1201 Battle of Capua: Walter of Brienne defeats Dietpoldo di Acerra
1328 Battle of Fucecchio: The Luccans defeat the Florentines
1624 Treaty of Compiegne: England, France & the Netherlands ally against Spain
1772 British revenue cutter Gaspe burned by Rhode Islanders
1776 Congress appoints a committee to write a Declaration of Independence
1801 Tripoli declares war on the US, for refusing to pay protection
1807 Battle of Heilsberg: French defeat the Russians
1826 Sultan Mahmud II initiates slaughter of the Janissaries, c. 20,000 die
1848 Third Battle of Vicenza: Austrians defeat Veneto-Papal forces
1861 Big Bethel, the "first battle" of the Civil War
1863 Brice's Crossroads: Bedford Forrest's most notable victory
1864 Battle of Kellar's Bridge/Licking River, KY
1864 Battle of Waynesboro VA
1898 Naval skirmish off Havana
1908 Aeronautical Society of New York founded, world's first flying club
1915 British and French troops secure German Cameroon, Africa
1916 The Great Arab Revolt begins at Medina and Mecca
1918 Italian torpedo boat sinks the Austrian BB Szent Istvan
1920 League of Nations convenes for the first time
1940 Italy declares war on France and Britain
1943 Sub Trigger torpedoes the Japanese CV Hiyo off Japan.
1944 Ouradour-sur-Glane: SS massacre 642 men, women, & children
1945 Australian troops land at Brunei Bay, Borneo.
1945 Ticker tape parade on Broadway for General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower
1955 Pius XII excommunicates Argentine dictator Juan Peron
1967 Cease fire in Six Day War (Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt vs. Israel)
1979 Pope John Paul II visits Poland
1982 Israeli troops reach outskirts of Beirut
1985 French agents blow up Greenpeace boat Rainbow Warrior in the Pacific
June 10th in Military History
Born
1613 Johan Georg II of Saxony (1656-80)
1688 The Old Pretender, "James III"
1735 John Morgan, physician-in-chief of Continental Army
1835 Grand Duke Ferdinand IV of Tuscany
1840 Thomas Fentress Toon, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1902
1899 Raoul Salan, most decorated officer in the French Army, putschist
1921 Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, sometime naval officer
1929 James McDivitt, USAF, astronaut (Gemini 4, Apollo 9)
Died
1190 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, drowned in the Saleph River on Crusade
1580 Luís Vaz de Camoëns, Portuguese soldier and epic poet
1839 Nathaniel Pryor, sergeant on the Lewis and Clark Expedition
1860 Thomas Sidney Jessup (b. 1788), QM General from 1818
1861 Lt. J. T. Greble, 2nd Art, 1st Regular Army officer KIA in the Civil War, Big Bethel
1868 Prince Michael Obrenovic of Serbia, murdered
1903 King Alexander I and Queen Draga of Serbia, assassinated
1924 Giacomo Matteotti, Italian socialist, assassinated by fascists
1941 Marcus Garvey, fascistic black nationalist leader, at 52
Event
1179 Battle of Marj Ayun: Saladin defeats King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem
1201 Battle of Capua: Walter of Brienne defeats Dietpoldo di Acerra
1328 Battle of Fucecchio: The Luccans defeat the Florentines
1624 Treaty of Compiegne: England, France & the Netherlands ally against Spain
1772 British revenue cutter Gaspe burned by Rhode Islanders
1776 Congress appoints a committee to write a Declaration of Independence
1801 Tripoli declares war on the US, for refusing to pay protection
1807 Battle of Heilsberg: French defeat the Russians
1826 Sultan Mahmud II initiates slaughter of the Janissaries, c. 20,000 die
1848 Third Battle of Vicenza: Austrians defeat Veneto-Papal forces
1861 Big Bethel, the "first battle" of the Civil War
1863 Brice's Crossroads: Bedford Forrest's most notable victory
1864 Battle of Kellar's Bridge/Licking River, KY
1864 Battle of Waynesboro VA
1898 Naval skirmish off Havana
1908 Aeronautical Society of New York founded, world's first flying club
1915 British and French troops secure German Cameroon, Africa
1916 The Great Arab Revolt begins at Medina and Mecca
1918 Italian torpedo boat sinks the Austrian BB Szent Istvan
1920 League of Nations convenes for the first time
1940 Italy declares war on France and Britain
1943 Sub Trigger torpedoes the Japanese CV Hiyo off Japan.
1944 Ouradour-sur-Glane: SS massacre 642 men, women, & children
1945 Australian troops land at Brunei Bay, Borneo.
1945 Ticker tape parade on Broadway for General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower
1955 Pius XII excommunicates Argentine dictator Juan Peron
1967 Cease fire in Six Day War (Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt vs. Israel)
1979 Pope John Paul II visits Poland
1982 Israeli troops reach outskirts of Beirut
1985 French agents blow up Greenpeace boat Rainbow Warrior in the Pacific
Today in music history: 6/15/07
1965, Bob Dylan recorded what would be his first 'electric' hit, 'Like A Rolling Stone' which peaked at No.2 in the US and No.4 on the UK singles chart.
1967, Guitarist Peter Green quit the John Mayall Band. Green went on to form Fleetwood Mac.
1974, Abba's debut album 'Waterloo' entered the UK chart for the first time peaking at No.28.
1976, The Sex Pistols recorded their first demos in Clapham's Majestic studios followed by a gig that night at The 100 club, London.
1977, The Sex Pistols held a party on a boat as it sailed down The River Thames in London. The Pistols performed 'Anarchy In The UK' outside The Houses Of Parliament resulting in members from the party being arrested when the boat docked later that day.
1978, during a European tour Bob Dylan played the first of six sold out nights at London's Earl Court.
1982, Pete Farndon bass player with The Pretenders was fired from the group, he went on to form a group with Topper Headon from The Clash. Farndon was found dead in his bath on 14th April 1983.
1985, Dire Straits started a nine-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with, 'Brothers In Arms'.
1985, Bryan Ferry went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Boys And Girls' his first solo No.1 LP.
1986, U2 and Sting headlined a concert in New Jersey celebrating 25 years of Amnesty International.
1989, Nirvana's debut album 'Bleach' was released in the US. The title for the album came from a poster 'Bleach Your Works' urging drug users to bleach their needles.
1991, Paula Abdul started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Rush Rush', her 5th US No.1, a No.6 hit in the UK.
2003, Metallica were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘St Anger’, the bands fourth US No.1, a No.3 hit in the UK.
2003, Radiohead scored their fourth UK No.1 album with ‘Hail To The Thief.’
2005, Coldplay went straight to No.1 on US album chart with their third album 'X&Y', having already entered at number one in the UK. The last time a British artist had a simultaneous US and UK number one was in November 2000 with '1', a compilation of hits by The Beatles. The last studio album to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic was Radiohead's 'Kid A' in October 2000. 'X&Y' went on to top over 30 global charts.
1965, Bob Dylan recorded what would be his first 'electric' hit, 'Like A Rolling Stone' which peaked at No.2 in the US and No.4 on the UK singles chart.
1967, Guitarist Peter Green quit the John Mayall Band. Green went on to form Fleetwood Mac.
1974, Abba's debut album 'Waterloo' entered the UK chart for the first time peaking at No.28.
1976, The Sex Pistols recorded their first demos in Clapham's Majestic studios followed by a gig that night at The 100 club, London.
1977, The Sex Pistols held a party on a boat as it sailed down The River Thames in London. The Pistols performed 'Anarchy In The UK' outside The Houses Of Parliament resulting in members from the party being arrested when the boat docked later that day.
1978, during a European tour Bob Dylan played the first of six sold out nights at London's Earl Court.
1982, Pete Farndon bass player with The Pretenders was fired from the group, he went on to form a group with Topper Headon from The Clash. Farndon was found dead in his bath on 14th April 1983.
1985, Dire Straits started a nine-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with, 'Brothers In Arms'.
1985, Bryan Ferry went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Boys And Girls' his first solo No.1 LP.
1986, U2 and Sting headlined a concert in New Jersey celebrating 25 years of Amnesty International.
1989, Nirvana's debut album 'Bleach' was released in the US. The title for the album came from a poster 'Bleach Your Works' urging drug users to bleach their needles.
1991, Paula Abdul started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Rush Rush', her 5th US No.1, a No.6 hit in the UK.
2003, Metallica were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘St Anger’, the bands fourth US No.1, a No.3 hit in the UK.
2003, Radiohead scored their fourth UK No.1 album with ‘Hail To The Thief.’
2005, Coldplay went straight to No.1 on US album chart with their third album 'X&Y', having already entered at number one in the UK. The last time a British artist had a simultaneous US and UK number one was in November 2000 with '1', a compilation of hits by The Beatles. The last studio album to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic was Radiohead's 'Kid A' in October 2000. 'X&Y' went on to top over 30 global charts.
June 11th in Military History
Born
1519 Grand Duke Cosimo I de'Medici of Florence (1537-1574), son of Giovanni degli Bande Neri
1807 James Findlay Schenck, naval officer, U.S., d. 1882
1808 Charles Henry Poor, naval officer, U.S., d. 1882
1816 Robert Huston Milroy, Maj Gen, U.S., inept commander, d. 1890
1822 Samuel Davis Sturgis, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1889
1823 James Lawson Kemper, Maj Gen, C.S.A., d. 1895
1895 Nikolai A Bulganin, premier of the USSR (1955-58)
1910 Jacques Cousteau, Vichyite naval officer, d. 1997
1920 King Mahendra of Nepal (1955-1972)
1930 Charles B Rangel, sometime Marine, Member of Congress
Died
90 -BC- Roman Consul P. Rutilius Rufus, kia
1216 Henry, Latin Emperor of Constantinople (1206-16)
1512 Giulio Cesare Malvizzi, Patrician of Bologna, Captain of the Holy Church, murdered.
1727 King George I of England
1936 Robert E. Howard, author ("Conan"), suicide at 30
1948 Col. David "Mikey" Marcus, General of Israel, accident
1960 Commodore Dudley W. Knox, naval historian and theoretician
1963 Quang Duc, Buddhist monk, self-immolation in Saigon
1979 John Wayne, IV-F actor ("Sands of Iwo Jima", "Fighting SeaBees")
2001 Timothy McVeigh, executed for the Murrah Federal Building bombing
Event
90 -BC- Social War: Battle of the Tolenus - Consuls P Rutilius Rufus & G. Marius defeat Vettius Scato
88 -BC- Social War: T. Didius & M. Magius storm Herculaneum
1184 -BC- The Greeks take Troy
1298 Battle of Campaldino: Tuscan Guelfs (including Dante) defeat the Arretine Ghibellines
1346 Election of Charles IV of Luxembourg as Holy Roman Emperor
1488 Battle of Sauchieburn: Duke James of Rothesay defeats King James III of Scotland
1666 Three Day Anglo-Dutch Naval Battle of Vierdaagse begins
1727 George II becomes King of England
1798 Bonaparte's Egyptian Expedition captures Malta
1859 Liberal insurrection at Modena
1861 Battle of Romney, WVa: Union victory
1861 Maj R. B. Hayes, Pvt Wm McKinley, and the 23rd Ohio muster into federal service
1864 Battle of Laurel Hill, WVa
1864 Battle of Trevillian Station/Central Railroad, VA
1882 Moslems massacre 300 Christians at Alexandria, Egypt
1898 US naval landing at Fisher's Point, Cuba
1906 Police foil an anarchist attempt to bomb the NYC subway
1917 Austro-Hungarian sub sinks Japanese DD Sakaki, in the Mediterranean
1927 Charles A. Lindbergh is the first man awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, at his ticker tape parade up Broadway
1934 Disarmament conference in Geneva fails
1939 FDR serves hot dogs to Mr. & Mrs. George Windsor, at Hyde Park
1940 Italian air raid on Malta
1940 RAF raids Genoa and Turin
1942 Italo-German forces halted at El Alamein, North Africa
1943 Allies land on Pantelleria, Italy
1943 Kiska: Japanese submarine I-9 sunk by U.S. DD Frazier
1944 US carrier raids on the Marianas: 200 Japanese a/c destroyed
1970 US leaves Wheelus AFB Libya in wake of Qadaffi coup
1977 Dutch Marines rescue hostages on a train held by Moluccan terrorists
1982 Israel & Syria stop fighting in Lebanon
June 12th in Military History
Born
1519 Duke Cosimo I de' Medici of Florence (1569-1574)
1795 John Marston Jr, naval officer, U.S., d. 1885
1798 Samuel Cooper, Gen, C.S.A., d. 1876
1821 Henry Moses Judah, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1866
1825 John Cook, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1910
1877 Thomas C Hart, Admiral, who knew what "war warning" meant
1908 Otto Skorzeny, Hitler's commando
Died
1675 Duke Charles Emanuel II of Savoy (1638-75), at 40
1734 James FitzJames, First Duke of Berwick-upon-Tweed, illegitimate son of James II, Marshal of France, kia at Philipsburg at 64
1946 Count Hisaichi Terauchi, Japanese field marshal
1963 Medgar Evers, veteran, slain at 37 by white supremacists, Jackson, Ms
2002 Bill Blass, ETO deception specialist, at 79
Event
0 "Troy Games" at Rome; Young noblemen engage in mounted drill
526 Consecration of Pope St. Felix IV [III] (526-530)
1298 Battle of the Black Ironside: William Wallace routs the English
1340 Naval Battle of Sluys: English defeat the French off Flanders
1365 King Edward III bans football, to insure archery practice
1442 King Alfonso V of Aragon is crowned King of Naples
1493 Lucrezia Borgia (12) marries Giovanni Sforza (23), annuled 1497
1665 Nieuw Amsterdam becomes New York
1701 Act of Settlement: English crown to descend in the House of Hanover
1775 USS Unity takes British Margaretta: 1st naval victory of the Revolutionary War
1839 Abner Doubleday invents baseball, by bogus tradition
1859 Liberal inusrrection in the Papal Legations
1864 Lee sends Jubal Early into the Shenandoah Valley to raid Washington
1867 Union of Austria and Hungary is proclaimed
1897 Carl Elsener patents the "Swiss Army Knife"
1916 "Bayonet Trench", Verdun: German shells inter the 3rd Co, French 137th Infantry
1918 First air raid by an American aviation unit, France
1921 President Warren Harding urges all young man to voluntarily take military training
1924 Turret explosion in battleship Mississippi, 48 dead
1935 Three-year long Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay ends
1937 The Purges: Stalin executes senior Army commanders
1942 Anne Frank begins her diary, on her 13th birthday
1942 Hitler orders use of Slavic forced laborers in German industry
1943 Guadalcanal: air battle, Allies lose 6, Japanese 31 a/c
1943 Himmler orders extermination of all Polish ghettos
1944 First V-1 cruise missile attack on London
1944 Mao Tse-tung says Communists will support Nationalist Chiang Kai-shek against Japan
1944 US troops liberate Carentan and Chaumont, Normandy
1945 Okinawa: 7th Inf Div breaks the SE end of Japanese front
1945 Okinawa: 7th Marines attack Kunishi Ridge
1962 USAF Maj Robert M White takes X-15 to 56,270 m
1982 750,000 anti-nuclear demonstrators rally in Central Park
1987 Ronald Reagan says, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."
1991 Leningrad becomes St. Petersburg again
1999 NATO peacekeeping forces begin operating in Kosovo, Yugoslavia
July 13th in Military History
Born
Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom and war
40 Caius Julius Agricola, Roman general, conqueror of the Iceni, d. 93
823 King Charles II of France (843-77), Holy Roman Emperor (875-77)
1786 Winfield "Old Fuss and Feathers" Scott, d. 1866
1809 Philip St George Cooke, Brig. Gen., U.S., d. 1895
1821 Gustavus Vasa Fox, greatest Asst SecNavy, d. 1883
1823 Gustave Paul Cluseret, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1900
1825 Benjamin Jefferson Hill, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1880
1924 George Herbert Walker Bush, naval aviator, President (1989-1993)
Died
323 -BC- King Alexander III "the Great" of Macedonia, at 32
1142 Duke Godfried II of Brabant and Lorraine
1886 "Mad" King Ludwig II of Bavaria, drowned
1905 Theodoros Delyannis, premier Greece, murdered
1993 Donald "Deke" K Slayton, astronaut (Apollo 18), at 69
Event
313 Roman Emperor Licinius issues an Edict of Toleration
1003 Consecration of Pope John XVII [XVIII] (13 June-6 Nov 1003)
1275 Battle of San Procolo: The Montefeltri defeat the Bolognese
1373 Anglo-Portuguese alliance, the world's oldest, signed
1777 Marquis de Lafayette lands in US
1863 Gettysburg Campaign: Battle of Winchester VA
1881 USS Jeannette crushed in Arctic ice
1898 Havana: US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries
1900 Boxer Rebellion begins in China
1912 First successful parachute jump from an airplane, Capt Albert Berry, Jefferson, Ms
1917 German air raid on London
1940 French government evacuates Paris as the Germans advance
1940 Uruguay arrests local Nazis for plotting coup
1942 Peenemunde: 1st V-2 rocket reaches 1.3 km
1944 First V-1 raid: one of ten missiles fired strikes London, 6 die
1946 King Umberto II of Italy abdicates
1951 UN forces reach Pyongyang, Korea
1952 Soviet fighters down Swedish DC-3 over the Baltic, 8 die
June 14th in Military History
Born
1529 Archduke Ferdinand of Austria
1805 Robert Anderson, Maj Gen, U.S., Hero of Ft. Sumter, d. 1871
1811 Harriet Beecher Stowe, author ("Uncle Tom's Cabin")
1836 Thomas Wilberforce Egan, Brig Gen, U.S.
1882 Ion Antonescu, Dictator of Romania
1928 Ernesto "Che" Guevara Serna, professional revolutionary
Died
1205 Enrico Dandolo, Doge of Venice, Conqueror of Constantinople, over 90
1473 Zaffira Manfredi, poisoned at c. 35 by her husband Pino II Ordelaffi, Lord of Forli.
1497 Giovanni Borgia, The Duke of Gandia, assassinated, perhaps by brother Cesare
1609 Giulia Orsini, Princess of Bisignano, poisoned
1646 Maille-Breze, French Admiral, kia, Ortebello
1801 Benedict Arnold, American hero & traitor, in London
1828 Grand Duke Charles Augustus of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
1864 C.S. Lt Gen Leonidas Polk, kia, Pine Mt.
Event
Flag Day
Birthday of the United States Army
1300 Battle of Ponza: Roger de Lauria's Sicilian-Catalan fleet defeats the Angevin-Sicilians
1645 Naseby: Cromwell's Roundheads defeat the Royalists
1646 Naval Battle of Orbetello: the Spanish defeat the French
1775 US Army formed from the New England militia forces besieging Boston
1777 Congress adopts the Stars & Stripes over the Grand Union flag
1777 John Paul Jones takes command of the USS Ranger
1789 Capt William Bligh & HMS Bounty loyalists reach Timor in a small boat
1800 Battle of Marengo: Bonaparte defeats the Austrians
1809 Battle of the Raab: French defeat the Austrians
1814 Wellington thanks his Army for its performance in the Peninsula
1815 Napoleon opens the Waterloo Campaign
1846 Pro-American California "Bear Flag" Republic proclaimed in Sonoma
1847 Commodore Matthew C Perry makes amphibious landing at Tabasco, Mexico
1861 Flag Day first observed, Hartford, Ct.
1863 Second Battle of Winchester, Virginia
1864 Battle of Pine Mountain
1864 Congress orders Black soldiers be paid the same as whites
1898 Santiago: US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries
1906 Pogrom against Jews in Bialystok, Polish Russia
1917 General John J. Pershing and his staff reach Paris
1936 Oranienburg Concentration Camp opens
1940 FDR signs the Naval Expansion Act, increasing the fleet by 11%
1940 Germans occupy Paris
1940 Nazis open a concentration camp at Auschwitz
1942 German merchant cruiser Thor enters the Indian Ocean
1942 The bazooka goes into production at Bridgeport, Ct
1943 Japanese form collaborationist "Indian National Army"
1943 Supreme Court rules laws compelling students to salute the flag unconsitituional.
1944 China: Japanese capture Liu-yang
1944 First B-29 raid on Japan; 60 bombers hit steel works on Honshu
1949 State of Vietnam formed under Emperor Bao Dai
1952 Keel laid for Nautilus, the first nuclear powered submarine
1953 Gen Gustavo Rojas Pinilla stages coup in Colombia
1982 Falklands: Argentines surrender to Britain; 74-day war ends
1985 Lebanese Shiite gunmen hijack TWA 847 after takeoff from Athens
1989 Former Pres Reagan receives an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II
June 15th in Military History
Born
1330 Edward, "the Black Prince," Prince of Wales (1343-1376)
1833 Edward McCook, Brig Gen, U.S., of the "fighting McCooks," d. 1909
1914 Yuri Andropov, Chekist (1967-1982), Premier of the USSR
Died
923 Robert I, claimant to the throne of France, kia at Soissons
948 Byzantine Emperor Romanus I Lecapenus (919-44)
1341 Byzantine Emperor Andronicus III Paleologus (1328-41)
1381 Wat Tyler, English peasant leader, beheaded in London
1397 The Count of Eu, in Turkish captivity
1467 Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy, at 76
1785 Francis Pilatre de Rosier, in a fall from a balloon, near Boulogne
1794 Freteau de St. Just, French radical, guillotined at Paris
1849 James K. Polk, militiaman, president (1845-1849), at 53
1888 Kaiser Frederik III von Hohenzollern of Germany (1888)*
1985 Robert D. Stethem, USN, murdered by Moslem hijackers of Flight 847
Event
923 Battle of Soissons: Charles "The Simple" defeats the usurper "Robert I" of France
1094 El Cid liberates Valencia from the Moors
1215 King John signs Magna Carta at Runnymede, England
1219 Battle of Reval: The Danes defeat the Estonians, and design a flag
1520 Pope Leo X condemns Martin Luther as a heretic
1567 Battle of Carberry Hill: the Earl of Moray defeats the Earl of Bothwell
1567 Jews are expelled from Genoa
1639 Battle of Megray Hill: The Covenanters defeat Colonel William Gunn
1674 Battle of Sinsheim: The French defeat the Imperialists
1734 Charles of Parma invests Gaeta (falls August 6)
1743 Battle of Dettingen, English under George II crush the French
1775 George Washington appointed commander-in-chief of the Army
1776 Americans burn and abandon Montreal
1779 Maj Gen "Mad" Anthony Wayne storms Stony Point, NY
1785 First fatal aeronautical accident: two French balloonists die
1802 Toussaint L'Ouverture leaves Haiti, a prisoner of the French
1807 Battle of Friedland: Napoleon defeats the Russians
1814 US trans-lacustrine raid on Point Dover and Long Point, Ontario
1815 The Duchess of Richmond gives a ball at Brussels
1858 Battle of the Tre Ponti: The Garibaldini defeat the Austrians
1861 Joe Johnston evacuates Harpers Ferry
1862 General JEB Stuart completes his "ride around McClellan", well, one of them.
1864 Battle of Petersburg: Grant’s first assault
1864 Robert E Lee's home, Arlington, becomes a military cemetery
1866 Prussia declares war on Austria
1877 Henry O Flipper becomes the first black graduate of West Point
1898 Marines land at Caimanera, Cuba
1904 Steamer General Slocum burns in the East River, 1,031 die
1907 Second Hague Peace Conference; 44 nations meet
1931 Poland & USSR sign friendship treaty
1934 Hitler meets Mussolini for the first time, Rome
1940 Bread & flour rationed in German-occupied Holland
1940 Italians Air Force bombs Luc-en-Province
1940 Soviet Army occupies Lithuania
1940 The Germans capture Verdun
1943 German raider Michel sinks a 7700-ton merchant ship west of Australia
1944 Marines land on Saipan
1955 First nationwide civil defense drill
1964 Last French troops leave Algeria
1978 Soyuz 29 carries two cosmonauts to Salyut 6, to stay 139 days
1991 Mt Pinatubo, the Philippines erupts, closes Clark Air Force Base
1994 Israel and the Vatican establish diplomatic relations
Born
1519 Grand Duke Cosimo I de'Medici of Florence (1537-1574), son of Giovanni degli Bande Neri
1807 James Findlay Schenck, naval officer, U.S., d. 1882
1808 Charles Henry Poor, naval officer, U.S., d. 1882
1816 Robert Huston Milroy, Maj Gen, U.S., inept commander, d. 1890
1822 Samuel Davis Sturgis, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1889
1823 James Lawson Kemper, Maj Gen, C.S.A., d. 1895
1895 Nikolai A Bulganin, premier of the USSR (1955-58)
1910 Jacques Cousteau, Vichyite naval officer, d. 1997
1920 King Mahendra of Nepal (1955-1972)
1930 Charles B Rangel, sometime Marine, Member of Congress
Died
90 -BC- Roman Consul P. Rutilius Rufus, kia
1216 Henry, Latin Emperor of Constantinople (1206-16)
1512 Giulio Cesare Malvizzi, Patrician of Bologna, Captain of the Holy Church, murdered.
1727 King George I of England
1936 Robert E. Howard, author ("Conan"), suicide at 30
1948 Col. David "Mikey" Marcus, General of Israel, accident
1960 Commodore Dudley W. Knox, naval historian and theoretician
1963 Quang Duc, Buddhist monk, self-immolation in Saigon
1979 John Wayne, IV-F actor ("Sands of Iwo Jima", "Fighting SeaBees")
2001 Timothy McVeigh, executed for the Murrah Federal Building bombing
Event
90 -BC- Social War: Battle of the Tolenus - Consuls P Rutilius Rufus & G. Marius defeat Vettius Scato
88 -BC- Social War: T. Didius & M. Magius storm Herculaneum
1184 -BC- The Greeks take Troy
1298 Battle of Campaldino: Tuscan Guelfs (including Dante) defeat the Arretine Ghibellines
1346 Election of Charles IV of Luxembourg as Holy Roman Emperor
1488 Battle of Sauchieburn: Duke James of Rothesay defeats King James III of Scotland
1666 Three Day Anglo-Dutch Naval Battle of Vierdaagse begins
1727 George II becomes King of England
1798 Bonaparte's Egyptian Expedition captures Malta
1859 Liberal insurrection at Modena
1861 Battle of Romney, WVa: Union victory
1861 Maj R. B. Hayes, Pvt Wm McKinley, and the 23rd Ohio muster into federal service
1864 Battle of Laurel Hill, WVa
1864 Battle of Trevillian Station/Central Railroad, VA
1882 Moslems massacre 300 Christians at Alexandria, Egypt
1898 US naval landing at Fisher's Point, Cuba
1906 Police foil an anarchist attempt to bomb the NYC subway
1917 Austro-Hungarian sub sinks Japanese DD Sakaki, in the Mediterranean
1927 Charles A. Lindbergh is the first man awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, at his ticker tape parade up Broadway
1934 Disarmament conference in Geneva fails
1939 FDR serves hot dogs to Mr. & Mrs. George Windsor, at Hyde Park
1940 Italian air raid on Malta
1940 RAF raids Genoa and Turin
1942 Italo-German forces halted at El Alamein, North Africa
1943 Allies land on Pantelleria, Italy
1943 Kiska: Japanese submarine I-9 sunk by U.S. DD Frazier
1944 US carrier raids on the Marianas: 200 Japanese a/c destroyed
1970 US leaves Wheelus AFB Libya in wake of Qadaffi coup
1977 Dutch Marines rescue hostages on a train held by Moluccan terrorists
1982 Israel & Syria stop fighting in Lebanon
June 12th in Military History
Born
1519 Duke Cosimo I de' Medici of Florence (1569-1574)
1795 John Marston Jr, naval officer, U.S., d. 1885
1798 Samuel Cooper, Gen, C.S.A., d. 1876
1821 Henry Moses Judah, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1866
1825 John Cook, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1910
1877 Thomas C Hart, Admiral, who knew what "war warning" meant
1908 Otto Skorzeny, Hitler's commando
Died
1675 Duke Charles Emanuel II of Savoy (1638-75), at 40
1734 James FitzJames, First Duke of Berwick-upon-Tweed, illegitimate son of James II, Marshal of France, kia at Philipsburg at 64
1946 Count Hisaichi Terauchi, Japanese field marshal
1963 Medgar Evers, veteran, slain at 37 by white supremacists, Jackson, Ms
2002 Bill Blass, ETO deception specialist, at 79
Event
0 "Troy Games" at Rome; Young noblemen engage in mounted drill
526 Consecration of Pope St. Felix IV [III] (526-530)
1298 Battle of the Black Ironside: William Wallace routs the English
1340 Naval Battle of Sluys: English defeat the French off Flanders
1365 King Edward III bans football, to insure archery practice
1442 King Alfonso V of Aragon is crowned King of Naples
1493 Lucrezia Borgia (12) marries Giovanni Sforza (23), annuled 1497
1665 Nieuw Amsterdam becomes New York
1701 Act of Settlement: English crown to descend in the House of Hanover
1775 USS Unity takes British Margaretta: 1st naval victory of the Revolutionary War
1839 Abner Doubleday invents baseball, by bogus tradition
1859 Liberal inusrrection in the Papal Legations
1864 Lee sends Jubal Early into the Shenandoah Valley to raid Washington
1867 Union of Austria and Hungary is proclaimed
1897 Carl Elsener patents the "Swiss Army Knife"
1916 "Bayonet Trench", Verdun: German shells inter the 3rd Co, French 137th Infantry
1918 First air raid by an American aviation unit, France
1921 President Warren Harding urges all young man to voluntarily take military training
1924 Turret explosion in battleship Mississippi, 48 dead
1935 Three-year long Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay ends
1937 The Purges: Stalin executes senior Army commanders
1942 Anne Frank begins her diary, on her 13th birthday
1942 Hitler orders use of Slavic forced laborers in German industry
1943 Guadalcanal: air battle, Allies lose 6, Japanese 31 a/c
1943 Himmler orders extermination of all Polish ghettos
1944 First V-1 cruise missile attack on London
1944 Mao Tse-tung says Communists will support Nationalist Chiang Kai-shek against Japan
1944 US troops liberate Carentan and Chaumont, Normandy
1945 Okinawa: 7th Inf Div breaks the SE end of Japanese front
1945 Okinawa: 7th Marines attack Kunishi Ridge
1962 USAF Maj Robert M White takes X-15 to 56,270 m
1982 750,000 anti-nuclear demonstrators rally in Central Park
1987 Ronald Reagan says, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."
1991 Leningrad becomes St. Petersburg again
1999 NATO peacekeeping forces begin operating in Kosovo, Yugoslavia
July 13th in Military History
Born
Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom and war
40 Caius Julius Agricola, Roman general, conqueror of the Iceni, d. 93
823 King Charles II of France (843-77), Holy Roman Emperor (875-77)
1786 Winfield "Old Fuss and Feathers" Scott, d. 1866
1809 Philip St George Cooke, Brig. Gen., U.S., d. 1895
1821 Gustavus Vasa Fox, greatest Asst SecNavy, d. 1883
1823 Gustave Paul Cluseret, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1900
1825 Benjamin Jefferson Hill, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1880
1924 George Herbert Walker Bush, naval aviator, President (1989-1993)
Died
323 -BC- King Alexander III "the Great" of Macedonia, at 32
1142 Duke Godfried II of Brabant and Lorraine
1886 "Mad" King Ludwig II of Bavaria, drowned
1905 Theodoros Delyannis, premier Greece, murdered
1993 Donald "Deke" K Slayton, astronaut (Apollo 18), at 69
Event
313 Roman Emperor Licinius issues an Edict of Toleration
1003 Consecration of Pope John XVII [XVIII] (13 June-6 Nov 1003)
1275 Battle of San Procolo: The Montefeltri defeat the Bolognese
1373 Anglo-Portuguese alliance, the world's oldest, signed
1777 Marquis de Lafayette lands in US
1863 Gettysburg Campaign: Battle of Winchester VA
1881 USS Jeannette crushed in Arctic ice
1898 Havana: US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries
1900 Boxer Rebellion begins in China
1912 First successful parachute jump from an airplane, Capt Albert Berry, Jefferson, Ms
1917 German air raid on London
1940 French government evacuates Paris as the Germans advance
1940 Uruguay arrests local Nazis for plotting coup
1942 Peenemunde: 1st V-2 rocket reaches 1.3 km
1944 First V-1 raid: one of ten missiles fired strikes London, 6 die
1946 King Umberto II of Italy abdicates
1951 UN forces reach Pyongyang, Korea
1952 Soviet fighters down Swedish DC-3 over the Baltic, 8 die
June 14th in Military History
Born
1529 Archduke Ferdinand of Austria
1805 Robert Anderson, Maj Gen, U.S., Hero of Ft. Sumter, d. 1871
1811 Harriet Beecher Stowe, author ("Uncle Tom's Cabin")
1836 Thomas Wilberforce Egan, Brig Gen, U.S.
1882 Ion Antonescu, Dictator of Romania
1928 Ernesto "Che" Guevara Serna, professional revolutionary
Died
1205 Enrico Dandolo, Doge of Venice, Conqueror of Constantinople, over 90
1473 Zaffira Manfredi, poisoned at c. 35 by her husband Pino II Ordelaffi, Lord of Forli.
1497 Giovanni Borgia, The Duke of Gandia, assassinated, perhaps by brother Cesare
1609 Giulia Orsini, Princess of Bisignano, poisoned
1646 Maille-Breze, French Admiral, kia, Ortebello
1801 Benedict Arnold, American hero & traitor, in London
1828 Grand Duke Charles Augustus of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
1864 C.S. Lt Gen Leonidas Polk, kia, Pine Mt.
Event
Flag Day
Birthday of the United States Army
1300 Battle of Ponza: Roger de Lauria's Sicilian-Catalan fleet defeats the Angevin-Sicilians
1645 Naseby: Cromwell's Roundheads defeat the Royalists
1646 Naval Battle of Orbetello: the Spanish defeat the French
1775 US Army formed from the New England militia forces besieging Boston
1777 Congress adopts the Stars & Stripes over the Grand Union flag
1777 John Paul Jones takes command of the USS Ranger
1789 Capt William Bligh & HMS Bounty loyalists reach Timor in a small boat
1800 Battle of Marengo: Bonaparte defeats the Austrians
1809 Battle of the Raab: French defeat the Austrians
1814 Wellington thanks his Army for its performance in the Peninsula
1815 Napoleon opens the Waterloo Campaign
1846 Pro-American California "Bear Flag" Republic proclaimed in Sonoma
1847 Commodore Matthew C Perry makes amphibious landing at Tabasco, Mexico
1861 Flag Day first observed, Hartford, Ct.
1863 Second Battle of Winchester, Virginia
1864 Battle of Pine Mountain
1864 Congress orders Black soldiers be paid the same as whites
1898 Santiago: US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries
1906 Pogrom against Jews in Bialystok, Polish Russia
1917 General John J. Pershing and his staff reach Paris
1936 Oranienburg Concentration Camp opens
1940 FDR signs the Naval Expansion Act, increasing the fleet by 11%
1940 Germans occupy Paris
1940 Nazis open a concentration camp at Auschwitz
1942 German merchant cruiser Thor enters the Indian Ocean
1942 The bazooka goes into production at Bridgeport, Ct
1943 Japanese form collaborationist "Indian National Army"
1943 Supreme Court rules laws compelling students to salute the flag unconsitituional.
1944 China: Japanese capture Liu-yang
1944 First B-29 raid on Japan; 60 bombers hit steel works on Honshu
1949 State of Vietnam formed under Emperor Bao Dai
1952 Keel laid for Nautilus, the first nuclear powered submarine
1953 Gen Gustavo Rojas Pinilla stages coup in Colombia
1982 Falklands: Argentines surrender to Britain; 74-day war ends
1985 Lebanese Shiite gunmen hijack TWA 847 after takeoff from Athens
1989 Former Pres Reagan receives an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II
June 15th in Military History
Born
1330 Edward, "the Black Prince," Prince of Wales (1343-1376)
1833 Edward McCook, Brig Gen, U.S., of the "fighting McCooks," d. 1909
1914 Yuri Andropov, Chekist (1967-1982), Premier of the USSR
Died
923 Robert I, claimant to the throne of France, kia at Soissons
948 Byzantine Emperor Romanus I Lecapenus (919-44)
1341 Byzantine Emperor Andronicus III Paleologus (1328-41)
1381 Wat Tyler, English peasant leader, beheaded in London
1397 The Count of Eu, in Turkish captivity
1467 Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy, at 76
1785 Francis Pilatre de Rosier, in a fall from a balloon, near Boulogne
1794 Freteau de St. Just, French radical, guillotined at Paris
1849 James K. Polk, militiaman, president (1845-1849), at 53
1888 Kaiser Frederik III von Hohenzollern of Germany (1888)*
1985 Robert D. Stethem, USN, murdered by Moslem hijackers of Flight 847
Event
923 Battle of Soissons: Charles "The Simple" defeats the usurper "Robert I" of France
1094 El Cid liberates Valencia from the Moors
1215 King John signs Magna Carta at Runnymede, England
1219 Battle of Reval: The Danes defeat the Estonians, and design a flag
1520 Pope Leo X condemns Martin Luther as a heretic
1567 Battle of Carberry Hill: the Earl of Moray defeats the Earl of Bothwell
1567 Jews are expelled from Genoa
1639 Battle of Megray Hill: The Covenanters defeat Colonel William Gunn
1674 Battle of Sinsheim: The French defeat the Imperialists
1734 Charles of Parma invests Gaeta (falls August 6)
1743 Battle of Dettingen, English under George II crush the French
1775 George Washington appointed commander-in-chief of the Army
1776 Americans burn and abandon Montreal
1779 Maj Gen "Mad" Anthony Wayne storms Stony Point, NY
1785 First fatal aeronautical accident: two French balloonists die
1802 Toussaint L'Ouverture leaves Haiti, a prisoner of the French
1807 Battle of Friedland: Napoleon defeats the Russians
1814 US trans-lacustrine raid on Point Dover and Long Point, Ontario
1815 The Duchess of Richmond gives a ball at Brussels
1858 Battle of the Tre Ponti: The Garibaldini defeat the Austrians
1861 Joe Johnston evacuates Harpers Ferry
1862 General JEB Stuart completes his "ride around McClellan", well, one of them.
1864 Battle of Petersburg: Grant’s first assault
1864 Robert E Lee's home, Arlington, becomes a military cemetery
1866 Prussia declares war on Austria
1877 Henry O Flipper becomes the first black graduate of West Point
1898 Marines land at Caimanera, Cuba
1904 Steamer General Slocum burns in the East River, 1,031 die
1907 Second Hague Peace Conference; 44 nations meet
1931 Poland & USSR sign friendship treaty
1934 Hitler meets Mussolini for the first time, Rome
1940 Bread & flour rationed in German-occupied Holland
1940 Italians Air Force bombs Luc-en-Province
1940 Soviet Army occupies Lithuania
1940 The Germans capture Verdun
1943 German raider Michel sinks a 7700-ton merchant ship west of Australia
1944 Marines land on Saipan
1955 First nationwide civil defense drill
1964 Last French troops leave Algeria
1978 Soyuz 29 carries two cosmonauts to Salyut 6, to stay 139 days
1991 Mt Pinatubo, the Philippines erupts, closes Clark Air Force Base
1994 Israel and the Vatican establish diplomatic relations
JUNE 16TH
In 1858, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous "House Divided" speech in Springfield, Illinois.
101 years later in 1959, George Reeves, a boxer who was probably better known for his portrayal of Superman in the early TV series, died under mysterious circumstances in his home. While the police's official conclusion was that the celebrity committed suicide, suspicious details in the case have caused controversy to swirl over it to this day.
In 1858, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous "House Divided" speech in Springfield, Illinois.
101 years later in 1959, George Reeves, a boxer who was probably better known for his portrayal of Superman in the early TV series, died under mysterious circumstances in his home. While the police's official conclusion was that the celebrity committed suicide, suspicious details in the case have caused controversy to swirl over it to this day.
JUNE 17TH
In 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived from France. It was in 350 pieces, but it was here. The Statue did not start out beloved by Americans. In fact, fundraising for the pedestal had not even reached its goal by the time the Statue shipped, and construction was not complete until April 1886. After staying in her crates for 11 months, it took until October 1886 to assemble Lady Liberty. President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue on October 28th, even though he had vetoed a bill to help fund the project while he was Governor of New York.
In 1994, former football superstar O.J. Simpson could be found taking a leisurely drive with his buddy Al Cowlings on the highways of Los Angeles, California.
In 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived from France. It was in 350 pieces, but it was here. The Statue did not start out beloved by Americans. In fact, fundraising for the pedestal had not even reached its goal by the time the Statue shipped, and construction was not complete until April 1886. After staying in her crates for 11 months, it took until October 1886 to assemble Lady Liberty. President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue on October 28th, even though he had vetoed a bill to help fund the project while he was Governor of New York.
In 1994, former football superstar O.J. Simpson could be found taking a leisurely drive with his buddy Al Cowlings on the highways of Los Angeles, California.
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1954, guitarist Danny Cedrone dies … he recorded the jazzy guitar solo on "Rock Around The Clock" with Bill Haley & His Comets … tragically Cedrone broke his neck falling down a flight of stairs before he could enjoy the acclaim of generations of rock guitarists … eight months after his death, the song became a huge hit … if you really want to be a guitar god, take a crack at that final chromatic run …
1970, New Orleans jazz and R&B singer and guitarist Lonnie Johnson passes on … one of the earliest players to use an electric guitar, he worked with some of the biggest names in popular music including Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong … by the late 1950s, he had dropped out of sight but enjoyed a revival in the 1960s when he was discovered working as a hotel janitor and was recruited to tour Europe with American Folk Blues Festival (out on DVD by the way) … death was brought on when he was struck by an auto in Toronto in 1969 and died a year later from the effects …
1973, also struck and killed by a motorist, legendary guitarist Clarence White was loading gear after a gig when he was hit by a drunken driver … White was known for his lightning-fast bluegrass flatpicking … he was brought in to play electric guitar on some pioneering country-rock tunes on The Byrds Younger Than Yesterday album in 1966 … White later joined The Byrds and stayed with them until they finally broke up in 1973 … perhaps he is best known for co-inventing the Parsons-White B-Bender, a device that bent his Telecaster’s B-string when he pulled down on his guitar strap, which activated pulleys and levers routed in the back of the guitar … the B-Bender permitted White to imitate a pedal steel guitar
1982, James Honeyman-Scott of the Pretenders dies of a cocaine and heroin overdose in his sleep in London at the age of 25 … ironically the guitarist was among the band members who voted out bass player Pete Farndon for drug abuse a mere two days earlier … after Honeyman-Scott’s death, frontwoman Chrissie Hynde pens the tune "Back on the Chain Gang" as a tribute to him … the song will go on to be one of the band’s biggest hits … guitarist Robbie McIntosh, whom Honeyman-Scott was trying to talk into joining the band just before his untimely death, is enlisted to replace him … a year later Pete Farndon will also die from drug-related causes …
1993, blues guitarist Luther Tucker dies … working mostly for Chess Records, the hard-edged Chicago blues guitarist backed Little Walter, Muddy Waters, and Howlin’ Wolf …
1995, he was a blues-rock guitarist who rolled up his plaid flannel shirtsleeves, strapped on his battle-scarred 1961 Stratocaster and gave his all at every show … Rory Gallagher dies from complications following a liver transplant … Rory specialized in a no-nonsense, no-holds-barred, two-fisted style of blues-tinged rock … excelling at flatpicking, fingerpicking, and slide guitar, Rory avoided using special effects, content to wring exciting solo after solo from the classic setup of his faithful Strat run through a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster into a Vox AC-30 … some of the ways his memory is revered: in his homeland Ireland, a pub is named after him, a sculpture and bronze statue have been created in his likeness, and the Rory Gallagher Music Library was opened in Cork in 2004 …
2004, Iggy Pop and The Stooges are reported to be working on songs for their first new studio record in 31 years … Pop speculates that they may record the album in Los Angeles noting, "That will torture me deeply." … Pop is joined by original Stooges guitarist Scott Asheton and his brother Ron Asheton on drums …
2006, co-founder and guitarist for Kool & The Gang, Claydes Charles Smith dies … he wrote the hits "Joanna" and co-wrote "Celebration" … Stones guitarist Ron Wood enters a rehab facility in London to dry out just before the band embarks on yet another tour …
And that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
June 14: Burl Ives (1909), pianist Cy Coleman (1929), Junior Walker (1931), Muff Winwood, bassist for The Spencer Davis Group (1943), Rod Argent of the Zombies (1945), Alan White of Yes (1949), Boy George (1961), Chris DeGarmo of Queensryche (1963), British pop diva Billie Myers (1971)
June 15: Jaki Byard (1921), Nigel Pickering of Spanky & Our Gang (1929), Waylon Jennings (1937), Harry Nilsson (1941), Doug Roberts (1941), Ian Matthews (1946), Russell Hitchcock of Air Supply (1949), Steve Walsh of Kansas (1951), country-pop singer Terri Gibbs (1954), Garry Roberts of Boomtown Rats (1954), Scott Rockenfield of Queensryche (1963), Michael Britt (1966), Ice Cube (1969), Dryden Mitchell of Alien Ant Farm (1976)
June 16: lyricist Ben Raleigh (1913), saxophonist Lucky Thompson (1924), Charlie Byrd (1925), Motown songwriter-producer Lamont Dozier (1941), Eddie Levert of the O'Jays (1942), Pete Rivera of Rare Earth (1945), James Smith of the Stylistics (1950), Gino Vanelli (1952)
June 17: Igor Stravinsky (1882), guitarist Cliff Gallup of Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps (1930), Norman Kuhlke of The Swinging Blue Jeans (1942), Chris Spedding (1944), Barry Manilow born Barry Alan Pinkus (1946), Paul Young (1956), Kevin Thornton of Color Me Badd (1969)
June 18: Jeanette MacDonald (1907), lyricist Sammy Cahn (1913), Paul McCartney (1942), Carl Radle (1942), Jerome Smith of KC and The Sunshine Band (1953), Tom Bailey of The Thompson Twins (1957), West Arkeen (1960), Alison Moyet (1961), Dizzy Reed (1963), Nathan Morris of Boyz II Men (1971)
June 19: Tommy Devito of The Four Seasons (1936), Shirley Goodman of vocal duo Shirley and Lee (1936), Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane of Spanky & Our Gang (1942), Robert Gordon (1945), Nick Drake (1948), Ann Wilson of Heart (1950), Paula Abdul (1962), Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe (1964), Korn's Brian Welch (1969)
June 20: Guy Lombardo (1902), Jimmy Driftwood (1907), Chet Atkins (1924), Billy Guy of The Coasters (1936), Brian Wilson (1942), Anne Murray (1945), pianist Andre Watts (1946), Lionel Richie (1949), Alan Longmuir of The Bay City Rollers (1953), Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony (1955), John Taylor of Duran Duran (1960), Sugar Ray's Murphy Karges (1968), Jeordie White of Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle and aka Twiggy Ramirez of Marilyn Manson (1972)
Obiruaries
June 14: blind flamenco singer Delores Alcantara (1999), Rory Gallagher (1995), Henry Mancini (1994), Brenda Payton of Brenda and the Tabulations (1992), songwriter-producer Cliff Goldsmith (1991), Pete DeFreitas of Echo and the Bunnymen (1989), Wynonie Harris (1969)
June 15: Lew Chudd founder of Imperial Records (1998), Ella Fitzgerald (1996), Kin Vassy (1994), Wes Montgomery (1968)
June 16: Ben Shabalala (2004), The Savages singer Screaming Lord Such born David Edward Such (1999), John Wolters (1997), Kristen Pfaff of Hole (1994), John Jordan (1988), James Honeyman-Scott (1982), Warren Ryanes (1982), Don Robey, founder of Peacock Records (1975), Lonnie Johnson (1970), Jack McFadden, Nashville manager of Buck Owens (1968)
June 17: Mark Cherron (1994)
June 18: Luther Tucker (1993), Danny Cedrone (1954)
June 19: Bobby Helms of "Jingle Bell Rock" fame (1997), composer Vivian Ellis (1996), Walter Jackson (1983), Clarence White of The Byrds (1973)
June 20: Claydes Charles Smith (2006), Bobby Gimby (1998), Lawrence Payton of The Four Tops (1997), Jim Ellison (1996), Louis Benjamin (1994)
1954, guitarist Danny Cedrone dies … he recorded the jazzy guitar solo on "Rock Around The Clock" with Bill Haley & His Comets … tragically Cedrone broke his neck falling down a flight of stairs before he could enjoy the acclaim of generations of rock guitarists … eight months after his death, the song became a huge hit … if you really want to be a guitar god, take a crack at that final chromatic run …
1970, New Orleans jazz and R&B singer and guitarist Lonnie Johnson passes on … one of the earliest players to use an electric guitar, he worked with some of the biggest names in popular music including Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong … by the late 1950s, he had dropped out of sight but enjoyed a revival in the 1960s when he was discovered working as a hotel janitor and was recruited to tour Europe with American Folk Blues Festival (out on DVD by the way) … death was brought on when he was struck by an auto in Toronto in 1969 and died a year later from the effects …
1973, also struck and killed by a motorist, legendary guitarist Clarence White was loading gear after a gig when he was hit by a drunken driver … White was known for his lightning-fast bluegrass flatpicking … he was brought in to play electric guitar on some pioneering country-rock tunes on The Byrds Younger Than Yesterday album in 1966 … White later joined The Byrds and stayed with them until they finally broke up in 1973 … perhaps he is best known for co-inventing the Parsons-White B-Bender, a device that bent his Telecaster’s B-string when he pulled down on his guitar strap, which activated pulleys and levers routed in the back of the guitar … the B-Bender permitted White to imitate a pedal steel guitar
1982, James Honeyman-Scott of the Pretenders dies of a cocaine and heroin overdose in his sleep in London at the age of 25 … ironically the guitarist was among the band members who voted out bass player Pete Farndon for drug abuse a mere two days earlier … after Honeyman-Scott’s death, frontwoman Chrissie Hynde pens the tune "Back on the Chain Gang" as a tribute to him … the song will go on to be one of the band’s biggest hits … guitarist Robbie McIntosh, whom Honeyman-Scott was trying to talk into joining the band just before his untimely death, is enlisted to replace him … a year later Pete Farndon will also die from drug-related causes …
1993, blues guitarist Luther Tucker dies … working mostly for Chess Records, the hard-edged Chicago blues guitarist backed Little Walter, Muddy Waters, and Howlin’ Wolf …
1995, he was a blues-rock guitarist who rolled up his plaid flannel shirtsleeves, strapped on his battle-scarred 1961 Stratocaster and gave his all at every show … Rory Gallagher dies from complications following a liver transplant … Rory specialized in a no-nonsense, no-holds-barred, two-fisted style of blues-tinged rock … excelling at flatpicking, fingerpicking, and slide guitar, Rory avoided using special effects, content to wring exciting solo after solo from the classic setup of his faithful Strat run through a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster into a Vox AC-30 … some of the ways his memory is revered: in his homeland Ireland, a pub is named after him, a sculpture and bronze statue have been created in his likeness, and the Rory Gallagher Music Library was opened in Cork in 2004 …
2004, Iggy Pop and The Stooges are reported to be working on songs for their first new studio record in 31 years … Pop speculates that they may record the album in Los Angeles noting, "That will torture me deeply." … Pop is joined by original Stooges guitarist Scott Asheton and his brother Ron Asheton on drums …
2006, co-founder and guitarist for Kool & The Gang, Claydes Charles Smith dies … he wrote the hits "Joanna" and co-wrote "Celebration" … Stones guitarist Ron Wood enters a rehab facility in London to dry out just before the band embarks on yet another tour …
And that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
June 14: Burl Ives (1909), pianist Cy Coleman (1929), Junior Walker (1931), Muff Winwood, bassist for The Spencer Davis Group (1943), Rod Argent of the Zombies (1945), Alan White of Yes (1949), Boy George (1961), Chris DeGarmo of Queensryche (1963), British pop diva Billie Myers (1971)
June 15: Jaki Byard (1921), Nigel Pickering of Spanky & Our Gang (1929), Waylon Jennings (1937), Harry Nilsson (1941), Doug Roberts (1941), Ian Matthews (1946), Russell Hitchcock of Air Supply (1949), Steve Walsh of Kansas (1951), country-pop singer Terri Gibbs (1954), Garry Roberts of Boomtown Rats (1954), Scott Rockenfield of Queensryche (1963), Michael Britt (1966), Ice Cube (1969), Dryden Mitchell of Alien Ant Farm (1976)
June 16: lyricist Ben Raleigh (1913), saxophonist Lucky Thompson (1924), Charlie Byrd (1925), Motown songwriter-producer Lamont Dozier (1941), Eddie Levert of the O'Jays (1942), Pete Rivera of Rare Earth (1945), James Smith of the Stylistics (1950), Gino Vanelli (1952)
June 17: Igor Stravinsky (1882), guitarist Cliff Gallup of Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps (1930), Norman Kuhlke of The Swinging Blue Jeans (1942), Chris Spedding (1944), Barry Manilow born Barry Alan Pinkus (1946), Paul Young (1956), Kevin Thornton of Color Me Badd (1969)
June 18: Jeanette MacDonald (1907), lyricist Sammy Cahn (1913), Paul McCartney (1942), Carl Radle (1942), Jerome Smith of KC and The Sunshine Band (1953), Tom Bailey of The Thompson Twins (1957), West Arkeen (1960), Alison Moyet (1961), Dizzy Reed (1963), Nathan Morris of Boyz II Men (1971)
June 19: Tommy Devito of The Four Seasons (1936), Shirley Goodman of vocal duo Shirley and Lee (1936), Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane of Spanky & Our Gang (1942), Robert Gordon (1945), Nick Drake (1948), Ann Wilson of Heart (1950), Paula Abdul (1962), Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe (1964), Korn's Brian Welch (1969)
June 20: Guy Lombardo (1902), Jimmy Driftwood (1907), Chet Atkins (1924), Billy Guy of The Coasters (1936), Brian Wilson (1942), Anne Murray (1945), pianist Andre Watts (1946), Lionel Richie (1949), Alan Longmuir of The Bay City Rollers (1953), Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony (1955), John Taylor of Duran Duran (1960), Sugar Ray's Murphy Karges (1968), Jeordie White of Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle and aka Twiggy Ramirez of Marilyn Manson (1972)
Obiruaries
June 14: blind flamenco singer Delores Alcantara (1999), Rory Gallagher (1995), Henry Mancini (1994), Brenda Payton of Brenda and the Tabulations (1992), songwriter-producer Cliff Goldsmith (1991), Pete DeFreitas of Echo and the Bunnymen (1989), Wynonie Harris (1969)
June 15: Lew Chudd founder of Imperial Records (1998), Ella Fitzgerald (1996), Kin Vassy (1994), Wes Montgomery (1968)
June 16: Ben Shabalala (2004), The Savages singer Screaming Lord Such born David Edward Such (1999), John Wolters (1997), Kristen Pfaff of Hole (1994), John Jordan (1988), James Honeyman-Scott (1982), Warren Ryanes (1982), Don Robey, founder of Peacock Records (1975), Lonnie Johnson (1970), Jack McFadden, Nashville manager of Buck Owens (1968)
June 17: Mark Cherron (1994)
June 18: Luther Tucker (1993), Danny Cedrone (1954)
June 19: Bobby Helms of "Jingle Bell Rock" fame (1997), composer Vivian Ellis (1996), Walter Jackson (1983), Clarence White of The Byrds (1973)
June 20: Claydes Charles Smith (2006), Bobby Gimby (1998), Lawrence Payton of The Four Tops (1997), Jim Ellison (1996), Louis Benjamin (1994)
JUNE 18TH
In 1812, the US Congress declared war on the United Kingdom. The War of 1812 was far from conclusive for either side, but considering that Washington, D.C. was burned to the ground and our only major military victory occurred after the treaty to end the war had been signed, America didn't exactly acquit itself with distinction. The English let us keep all our shit, though.
In 1959, the Governor of Louisiana, Earl K. Long, was committed to an insane asylum. But he got better. Sort of.
In 1812, the US Congress declared war on the United Kingdom. The War of 1812 was far from conclusive for either side, but considering that Washington, D.C. was burned to the ground and our only major military victory occurred after the treaty to end the war had been signed, America didn't exactly acquit itself with distinction. The English let us keep all our shit, though.
In 1959, the Governor of Louisiana, Earl K. Long, was committed to an insane asylum. But he got better. Sort of.
JUNE 19TH
The first game of what we would recognize as modern baseball was played in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1846. The first strike was the following year. I kid, I kid!
In 1870, all the Confederate States of America were formally admitted back into the Union.
And in 1978, Jim Davis publishes the first Garfield strip. Human-cat relations will never be the same, as a whole generation wonders why their feline won't actually chow down on lasagna.
The first game of what we would recognize as modern baseball was played in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1846. The first strike was the following year. I kid, I kid!
In 1870, all the Confederate States of America were formally admitted back into the Union.
And in 1978, Jim Davis publishes the first Garfield strip. Human-cat relations will never be the same, as a whole generation wonders why their feline won't actually chow down on lasagna.
June 16th in Military History
Born
1239 Edward I of England (1272-1307)
1742 William Hooper, Signer
1836 Wesley Merritt, Civil & Spanish War commander, d. 1910
1837 Eli Long, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1903
1858 King Gustav V of Sweden
1914 John Hershey, war correspondent ("Hiroshima", "A Bell for Adano")
Died
1686 -BC- King Hammurabi of Babylon, lawgiver
956 Duke Hugo "the Great" of France
1216 Pope Innocent III - Lotario de' Conti (1198-1216)
1443 Annibale Marescotti, Patrician of Bologna, murdered by Ermes by Giovanni II Bentivoglio
1443 Gianluigi Marescotti, his brother, Patrician of Bologna, assassinated by Giovanni II Bentivoglio
1443 Tideo Marescotti, their cousin, Patrician of Bologna, assassinated by Giovanni II Bentivoglio
1487 Edward de la Pole, the Earl of Lincoln, kia fighting for the Pseudo-Edward VI
1487 Lord Lovell, kia fighting for the Pseudo-Edward VI
1599 Marcantonio Massimo, Roman Nobleman, Knight of Malta, decapitated at Rome for poisoning his brother Luca to claim his inheritance.
1671 Stenka Razin, Don Cossack hetman, tortured, at c. 40
1793 Count Louis d'Affry, French general and diplomat
1815 Duke Frederick William of Brunswick (1813-15), KIA at Quatre Bras
1939 Eugene Weidmann, in the last public guillotining, Versailles
1944 Marc Bloch, historian, soldier, resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis at 57
1958 Imre Nagy, Former Hungarian Premier, hanged by the Soviets
1977 Wernher von Braun, Nazi rocket scientist (V1/V2), at 65
1979 Gen. Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, former dictator of Ghana (1972-1978), executed
Event
1282 Battle of Dinefwr Llandeilo: Pr. Llewellyn of Gwynedd defeats Baron Gilbert de Clare
1287 Calabria: Gesso attacks Querzola, and is defeated
1426 Battle of Aussig: The Hussites defeat the Imperialists
1443 Coup by Giovanni II Bentivoglio seizes mastery of Bologna
1487 Battle of Stoke Field: King Henry VII defeats the Earl of Lincoln & pardons the bogus "Edward VI" - Lambert Shimnel
1567 Mary Queen of Scots imprisoned in Lochleven Castle
1654 Queen Christina of Sweden abdicates
1755 British capture Fort Beausojour, Nova Scotia, expel Acadians
1797 Nore mutiny in the Royal Navy ends (began May 12th)
1815 Battle of Ligny: Napoleon defeats Blucher's Prussians, forcing a retreat
1815 Battle of Quatre Bras: English defeat the French, then retreat
1832 Blackhawk War: Battle of Kellogg's Grove, Ill
1846 Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti elected Pope St. Pius IX (1846-1878)
1858 Lincoln says "A house divided against itself cannot stand"
1861 Battle of Secessionville/James Island, SC
1864 Battle of Lynchburg Va
1864 Siege of Petersburg & Richmond begins
1898 Havana: US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries
1898 Santiago: US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries
1904 Bloomsday
1923 Sun Yat Sen founds the Whampoa Military Academy
1940 USSR occupies Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia
1942 Japanese sub-borne airplane reconnoiters Mauritius
1943 Japanese lose 100 aircraft over Guadalcanal, but only damage three ships
1952 Soviet fighters shoot down Swedish Catalina airplane
1953 Soviet tanks crush workers' protest in Berlin
1954 Ngo Dinh Diem elected president of Vietnam
1955 Abortive coup against President Juan Peron or Argentina
1955 Pope Pius XII excommunicates Argentine Pres Juan Peron
1957 French offensive in Algeria
1963 First Woman in Space: Valentina Tereshkova, 26
1989 State Funeral at Budapest for Imre Nagy, executed leader of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
June 17th in Military History
Born
1604 Count Maurice of Nassau-Siegen, inventor of the modern army
1682 King Charles XII of Sweden (1697-1718), boy wonder commander
1742 William Hooper, Signer
1817 Thomas Maley Harris, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1906
1823 John Henry Hobart Ward, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1903
1830 Richard Montgomery Gano, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1913
Died
656 Caliph Uthman, hacked to death by rebels
900 Archbishop Fulk of Rheims, murdered by the Count of Flanders
1091 Count Dirk V of Holland
1245 Alberigo Manfredi, Ghibelline leader in the Romagna, kia, San Lucia
1501 King Jan I Olbracht of Poland (1492-1501)
1696 King Jan III Sobieski of Poland (1674-96)
1797 Shah Aga Mohammed Khan of Persia, executed, after being castrated
1815 Hammida, Algerian admiral, kia, frigate Mashouda
1905 Maximo Gomez, Cuban revolutionary hero, at 68
1989 David S Griggs, astronaut, crash of a WW II warbird
Event
Memorial of the Blessed Paolo Burali d'Arezzo
827 Arab conquest of Sicily begins: Asad ibn al-Furat lands with c. 15,000 troops.
1053 Battle of Civitate: Normans defeat a Papal-Lombard army
1245 Battle of San Lucia: Guelf-Ghibbeline clash in the Romagna
1291 Moslems recover Acre, after nearly 200 years of Crusader control
1397 Union of Kalmar established among Denmark, Sweden & Norway
1497 Battle of Blackheath/Deptford Bridge: King Henry VII defeats Cornish rebels under James Touchet, Baron Audley
1744 Battle of Velletri I: Neapolitans under Charles III raid Austrian lines
1745 American colonials capture Louisburg, Cape Breton I, from French
1775 Battle of Bunker Hill
1799 Battle of the Trebbia, Day 1: Austro-Russians v. French
1815 Stephen Decatur captures Algerian frigate Mashouda
1848 Battle of Governolo: Piedmontese defeat the Austrians
1861 Battle of Boonville, Miss
1861 Lincoln witnesses Dr. Thaddeus Lowe’s balloon flight over the White House
1861 Skirmish at Vienna, Va
1863 Battle of Aldie
1863 Warsaw Sound, Ga: USS Weehawken clashes with CSS Atlanta
1864 Washington Arsenal: blast kills 21 women munitions workers
1870 USS Mohican destroys the Mexican pirate ship Forward
1876 Battle of the Rosebud: Crazy Horse fights Crook to a draw
1898 The Navy Hospital Corps is established
1916 Pershing leads a Punitive Expedition into Mexico
1940 France asks Germany for terms of surrender
1940 Operation Ariel: Last British & Allied troops evacuated from France
1944 Iceland declares independence from Denmark
1944 U.S. Navy air raids on Iwo Jima and the Bonin Islands
1945 Final Japanese defensive line on Okinawa breached
1965 Vietnam: First B-52 raid, 50 km north of Saigon
1967 China becomes world's fourth thermonuclear power
1972 Watergate
1998 USS Missouri ties up for the last time, Pearl Harbor.
June 18th in Military History
Born
1809 Sylvanus William Godon, naval officer, U.S., d. 1879
1839 William Henry Seward Jr, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1920
1868 Admiral Miklos Horthy von Nagybanya, Regent of Hungary (1920-44)
1877 James Montgomery Flagg, illustrator ("Uncle Sam wants you!")
1884 Edouard Daladier, premier France, appeaser
1937 Vitali M Zholobov, cosmonaut (Soyuz 21)
Died
655 Caliph Othman, assassinated at Medina
741 Byzantine Emperor Leo III "the Isaurian" (717-741), Savior of Constantinople
1291 King Alfonso III of Aragon (1285-91), at 24
1629 Piet Heyn, Dutch naval hero, kia against Dunkerque.
1815 Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton, kia Waterloo
1824 Archduke Ferdinand III of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany, 55
1916 Helmuth von Moltke "the Younger", German chief of general staff
1945 Lt Gen Simon B Buckner, Commander, Tenth Army, KIA, Okinawa
1973 Fredrick Fraske, last veteran of the frontier army, at 101
1974 Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgi Zhukov, at 78
Event
653 Byzantines depose Pope St. Martin I (649-653), exile him to the Crimea
806 Strassburg: Charlemagne mobilizes an army against the Sorbs
1155 Pope Adrian IV crowns Frederick I Barbarossa Holy Roman Emperor
1291 King Jaime II of Sicily ascends the throne of Aragon
1429 Battle of Patay: French defeat the English, retreating from Orleans
1450 Battle of Seven Oaks: Jack Cade’s Kentish rebels defeat Sir Humphrey Stafford
1472 Volterra is sacked & razed by the Florentines under Lorenzo "il Magnifico" De’Medici
1538 Treaty of Nice: HRE Charles V & Francis I of France
1675 Battle of Fehrbellim: The Prussians defeat the Swedes
1757 Battle of Kolin: Marshal Daun‚ Austrians defeat Frederick the Great’s Prussians
1778 British evacuate Philadelphia
1799 Battle of the Trebbia, Day 2: Austro-Russians v. French
1812 US declares war against Britain
1815 Battle of Waterloo: Wellington crushes Napoleon, with the help of Blucher
1815 Battle of Wavre: Prussians keep the French right from reinforcing Napoleon
1817 Waterloo Bridge, over the Thames in London, opens
1823 The British Army adopts trousers for infantry, in lieu of breeches & gaithers
1861 Combat at Camp Cole, Mo
1864 Joshua Chamberlain wounded at Petersburg
1878 Congress creates the US Life-Saving Service (which, much later, merges into the Coast Guard).
1900 Empress Tsu-tse orders the Boxers to expel foreigners from China
1910 Ticker tape parade on Broadway for Theodore Roosevelt, on his return from Africa.
1940 Hitler and Mussolini confer in Munich
1940 Winston Churchill says "this was their finest hour"
1942 Churchill arrives in Washington to confer with FDR
1942 Dr. Bernard Whitfield Robinson becomes the first black officer in the Navy
1944 First Army isolates Cherbourg
1944 Japanese take Changsha, on the 3rd try.
1945 William "Lord Haw-Haw" Joyce, charged with treason
June 19th in Military History
Born
1417 Sigismondo Malatesta, Lord of Rimini (1432-1468), condottiero, d. 1468
1556 King James VI of Scotland (1567-1625)/I of England (1603-25)
1764 Jose Gervasio Artigas, general and father of Uruguay
1811 Henry Prince, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1892
1856 Elbert Hubbard, author ("A Message to Garcia")
1933 Viktor I Patsayev, USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 11)
Died
1312 Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall, favorite of Edward II, beheaded at c. 28
1867 Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, Archduke of Austria, firing squad
1867 Maj. Gen. Miguel Miramon, Imperial Mexican Army, firing squad
1867 Maj. Gen. Tomas Meija, Imperial Mexican Army, firing squad
1953 Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, executed at Sing Sing for espionage
1989 I. F. Stone, Soviet-apologist and muckraker, at 81
Event
Juneteenth, the day word of the end of the Civil War and freedom for slaves reached Texas
870 Zanji Kharijite rebels sack Ubulla, Persia
987 Louis IV crowned king of France
1195 Battle of Al Arcos: The Almohads defeat the Castillians
1269 Louis IX of Frances decrees Jews must wear a badge of shame
1306 Battle of Methven: The Earl of Pembroke defeats the Bruce‚s rebels
1498 Niccolo Machiavelli is appointed Secretary to the Signoria, effectively Minister of War
1778 Washington's troops leave Valley Forge
1799 Battle of the Trebbia, Day 3: Austro-Russians defeat the French
1800 Battle of Hochstadt: French defeat the Austrians
1821 Battle of Dragasani: Turks defeat the Greeks
1864 CSS Alabama sunk by USS Kearsarge off Cherbourg
1865 Slaves in Texas are declared free by Union forces
1868 Maj Gen E R S Canby removes mayor of Columbia, SC
1878 Congress passes the Posse Comitatus Act, to prevent the Army from enforcing civil rights laws
1933 Austrian Premier Dollfuss bans Nazi-organizations
1936 Max Schmeling KOs Joe Louis
1937 Franco's Nationalists capture Bilbao from the Republicans
1940 Goring orders seizure of Dutch horses, cars, buses, and ships
1942 U.S. submarine S-27 lost by grounding in the Aleutians.
1944 "Marianas Turkey Shoot" - Battle of the Philippine Sea: by 21st Japanese lose 3 CVs, 426 a/c, US c. 70 a/c.
1944 French troops free Elba from the Nazis
1947 An F-80 becomes the first plane to exceed 600 mph
1948 USSR blocks access to West-Berlin: Berlin Blockade begins
1963 Valentina Tereshkova 1st woman in space returns to Earth
1967 Muhammad Ali is convicted for refusing induction into the Army
June 20th in Military History
Born
1469 Gian Galeazzo II Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (1476-1494), d. 1494
1566 King Sigismund III of Poland and Sweden
1634 Duke Charles Emanuel II Savoy (1638-75)
1647 Johan Georg III of Saxony (1680-91)
1823 Jesse Lee Reno, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1862
1824 John Tyler Morgan, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1907
1899 Jean Moulin, hero of the French Resistance
1909 Errol Flynn, actor ("Objective Burma")
1924 Audie Murphy, d. 1971
Died
1649 Richard Brandon, executioner of Charles I, natural causes
1837 King William IV of England
1876 Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, often president of Mexico, 82
1913 Ens W. D. Billingsley, the first naval aviation fatality, Annapolis
1923 "Pancho Villa" - Doroteo Arango, assassinated
Event
1361 Battle of San Ruffillo: The Papacy defeats the Visconti
1402 Battle of Angora: Mongols defeat Ottomans
1499 Battle of Frastanz: The Swiss defeat the Hapsburgs
1567 Jews are expelled from Brazil by order of regent Don Henrique
1593 Battle of Sissex: The Hapsburgs defeat the Ottoman Turks
1622 Battle of Hochst: Imperialst under Tilly and Cordoba defeat Christian of Brunswick
1756 Black Hole of Calcutta: Most of 146 British prisoners die
1779 American Revolution: Battle of Stone Ferry
1782 Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States
1783 Battle of Cuddalore: Suffren‚s French fleet defeats an English squadron off India
1791 Varennes: Louis XVI is caught trying to escape Revolutionary France
1813 U.S. gunboats engage three British ships at Hampton Roads, Va
1815 USN accepts steam battery Fulton I, at New York
1837 Victoria ascends the British throne
1841 Texas Pres. Lamar sends 321 men on ill-fated expedition to Santa Fe
1864 Battle of Abingdon, VA
1864 Battle of Kinston, NC
1867 US buys Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million
1871 Klansmen put on trial in federal court in Oxford, Miss
1941 The Army Air Corps is reorganized as the Army Air Forces
1942 Japanese sub I-26 shells Port Estevan, near Vancouver.
1943 Germans round up Jews in Amsterdam
1943 New Guinea: Japanese attack Australian 17th Bde on Mubo-Lababia Ridge
1943 Two days of race riots begin in Detroit, 30 die
1944 Philippine Sea: Japanese CV Hijo sunk by US air attack
1947 Congress charters Central Intelligence Agency
1963 Washington-Moscow "hot line" established
Born
1239 Edward I of England (1272-1307)
1742 William Hooper, Signer
1836 Wesley Merritt, Civil & Spanish War commander, d. 1910
1837 Eli Long, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1903
1858 King Gustav V of Sweden
1914 John Hershey, war correspondent ("Hiroshima", "A Bell for Adano")
Died
1686 -BC- King Hammurabi of Babylon, lawgiver
956 Duke Hugo "the Great" of France
1216 Pope Innocent III - Lotario de' Conti (1198-1216)
1443 Annibale Marescotti, Patrician of Bologna, murdered by Ermes by Giovanni II Bentivoglio
1443 Gianluigi Marescotti, his brother, Patrician of Bologna, assassinated by Giovanni II Bentivoglio
1443 Tideo Marescotti, their cousin, Patrician of Bologna, assassinated by Giovanni II Bentivoglio
1487 Edward de la Pole, the Earl of Lincoln, kia fighting for the Pseudo-Edward VI
1487 Lord Lovell, kia fighting for the Pseudo-Edward VI
1599 Marcantonio Massimo, Roman Nobleman, Knight of Malta, decapitated at Rome for poisoning his brother Luca to claim his inheritance.
1671 Stenka Razin, Don Cossack hetman, tortured, at c. 40
1793 Count Louis d'Affry, French general and diplomat
1815 Duke Frederick William of Brunswick (1813-15), KIA at Quatre Bras
1939 Eugene Weidmann, in the last public guillotining, Versailles
1944 Marc Bloch, historian, soldier, resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis at 57
1958 Imre Nagy, Former Hungarian Premier, hanged by the Soviets
1977 Wernher von Braun, Nazi rocket scientist (V1/V2), at 65
1979 Gen. Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, former dictator of Ghana (1972-1978), executed
Event
1282 Battle of Dinefwr Llandeilo: Pr. Llewellyn of Gwynedd defeats Baron Gilbert de Clare
1287 Calabria: Gesso attacks Querzola, and is defeated
1426 Battle of Aussig: The Hussites defeat the Imperialists
1443 Coup by Giovanni II Bentivoglio seizes mastery of Bologna
1487 Battle of Stoke Field: King Henry VII defeats the Earl of Lincoln & pardons the bogus "Edward VI" - Lambert Shimnel
1567 Mary Queen of Scots imprisoned in Lochleven Castle
1654 Queen Christina of Sweden abdicates
1755 British capture Fort Beausojour, Nova Scotia, expel Acadians
1797 Nore mutiny in the Royal Navy ends (began May 12th)
1815 Battle of Ligny: Napoleon defeats Blucher's Prussians, forcing a retreat
1815 Battle of Quatre Bras: English defeat the French, then retreat
1832 Blackhawk War: Battle of Kellogg's Grove, Ill
1846 Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti elected Pope St. Pius IX (1846-1878)
1858 Lincoln says "A house divided against itself cannot stand"
1861 Battle of Secessionville/James Island, SC
1864 Battle of Lynchburg Va
1864 Siege of Petersburg & Richmond begins
1898 Havana: US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries
1898 Santiago: US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries
1904 Bloomsday
1923 Sun Yat Sen founds the Whampoa Military Academy
1940 USSR occupies Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia
1942 Japanese sub-borne airplane reconnoiters Mauritius
1943 Japanese lose 100 aircraft over Guadalcanal, but only damage three ships
1952 Soviet fighters shoot down Swedish Catalina airplane
1953 Soviet tanks crush workers' protest in Berlin
1954 Ngo Dinh Diem elected president of Vietnam
1955 Abortive coup against President Juan Peron or Argentina
1955 Pope Pius XII excommunicates Argentine Pres Juan Peron
1957 French offensive in Algeria
1963 First Woman in Space: Valentina Tereshkova, 26
1989 State Funeral at Budapest for Imre Nagy, executed leader of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
June 17th in Military History
Born
1604 Count Maurice of Nassau-Siegen, inventor of the modern army
1682 King Charles XII of Sweden (1697-1718), boy wonder commander
1742 William Hooper, Signer
1817 Thomas Maley Harris, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1906
1823 John Henry Hobart Ward, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1903
1830 Richard Montgomery Gano, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1913
Died
656 Caliph Uthman, hacked to death by rebels
900 Archbishop Fulk of Rheims, murdered by the Count of Flanders
1091 Count Dirk V of Holland
1245 Alberigo Manfredi, Ghibelline leader in the Romagna, kia, San Lucia
1501 King Jan I Olbracht of Poland (1492-1501)
1696 King Jan III Sobieski of Poland (1674-96)
1797 Shah Aga Mohammed Khan of Persia, executed, after being castrated
1815 Hammida, Algerian admiral, kia, frigate Mashouda
1905 Maximo Gomez, Cuban revolutionary hero, at 68
1989 David S Griggs, astronaut, crash of a WW II warbird
Event
Memorial of the Blessed Paolo Burali d'Arezzo
827 Arab conquest of Sicily begins: Asad ibn al-Furat lands with c. 15,000 troops.
1053 Battle of Civitate: Normans defeat a Papal-Lombard army
1245 Battle of San Lucia: Guelf-Ghibbeline clash in the Romagna
1291 Moslems recover Acre, after nearly 200 years of Crusader control
1397 Union of Kalmar established among Denmark, Sweden & Norway
1497 Battle of Blackheath/Deptford Bridge: King Henry VII defeats Cornish rebels under James Touchet, Baron Audley
1744 Battle of Velletri I: Neapolitans under Charles III raid Austrian lines
1745 American colonials capture Louisburg, Cape Breton I, from French
1775 Battle of Bunker Hill
1799 Battle of the Trebbia, Day 1: Austro-Russians v. French
1815 Stephen Decatur captures Algerian frigate Mashouda
1848 Battle of Governolo: Piedmontese defeat the Austrians
1861 Battle of Boonville, Miss
1861 Lincoln witnesses Dr. Thaddeus Lowe’s balloon flight over the White House
1861 Skirmish at Vienna, Va
1863 Battle of Aldie
1863 Warsaw Sound, Ga: USS Weehawken clashes with CSS Atlanta
1864 Washington Arsenal: blast kills 21 women munitions workers
1870 USS Mohican destroys the Mexican pirate ship Forward
1876 Battle of the Rosebud: Crazy Horse fights Crook to a draw
1898 The Navy Hospital Corps is established
1916 Pershing leads a Punitive Expedition into Mexico
1940 France asks Germany for terms of surrender
1940 Operation Ariel: Last British & Allied troops evacuated from France
1944 Iceland declares independence from Denmark
1944 U.S. Navy air raids on Iwo Jima and the Bonin Islands
1945 Final Japanese defensive line on Okinawa breached
1965 Vietnam: First B-52 raid, 50 km north of Saigon
1967 China becomes world's fourth thermonuclear power
1972 Watergate
1998 USS Missouri ties up for the last time, Pearl Harbor.
June 18th in Military History
Born
1809 Sylvanus William Godon, naval officer, U.S., d. 1879
1839 William Henry Seward Jr, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1920
1868 Admiral Miklos Horthy von Nagybanya, Regent of Hungary (1920-44)
1877 James Montgomery Flagg, illustrator ("Uncle Sam wants you!")
1884 Edouard Daladier, premier France, appeaser
1937 Vitali M Zholobov, cosmonaut (Soyuz 21)
Died
655 Caliph Othman, assassinated at Medina
741 Byzantine Emperor Leo III "the Isaurian" (717-741), Savior of Constantinople
1291 King Alfonso III of Aragon (1285-91), at 24
1629 Piet Heyn, Dutch naval hero, kia against Dunkerque.
1815 Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton, kia Waterloo
1824 Archduke Ferdinand III of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany, 55
1916 Helmuth von Moltke "the Younger", German chief of general staff
1945 Lt Gen Simon B Buckner, Commander, Tenth Army, KIA, Okinawa
1973 Fredrick Fraske, last veteran of the frontier army, at 101
1974 Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgi Zhukov, at 78
Event
653 Byzantines depose Pope St. Martin I (649-653), exile him to the Crimea
806 Strassburg: Charlemagne mobilizes an army against the Sorbs
1155 Pope Adrian IV crowns Frederick I Barbarossa Holy Roman Emperor
1291 King Jaime II of Sicily ascends the throne of Aragon
1429 Battle of Patay: French defeat the English, retreating from Orleans
1450 Battle of Seven Oaks: Jack Cade’s Kentish rebels defeat Sir Humphrey Stafford
1472 Volterra is sacked & razed by the Florentines under Lorenzo "il Magnifico" De’Medici
1538 Treaty of Nice: HRE Charles V & Francis I of France
1675 Battle of Fehrbellim: The Prussians defeat the Swedes
1757 Battle of Kolin: Marshal Daun‚ Austrians defeat Frederick the Great’s Prussians
1778 British evacuate Philadelphia
1799 Battle of the Trebbia, Day 2: Austro-Russians v. French
1812 US declares war against Britain
1815 Battle of Waterloo: Wellington crushes Napoleon, with the help of Blucher
1815 Battle of Wavre: Prussians keep the French right from reinforcing Napoleon
1817 Waterloo Bridge, over the Thames in London, opens
1823 The British Army adopts trousers for infantry, in lieu of breeches & gaithers
1861 Combat at Camp Cole, Mo
1864 Joshua Chamberlain wounded at Petersburg
1878 Congress creates the US Life-Saving Service (which, much later, merges into the Coast Guard).
1900 Empress Tsu-tse orders the Boxers to expel foreigners from China
1910 Ticker tape parade on Broadway for Theodore Roosevelt, on his return from Africa.
1940 Hitler and Mussolini confer in Munich
1940 Winston Churchill says "this was their finest hour"
1942 Churchill arrives in Washington to confer with FDR
1942 Dr. Bernard Whitfield Robinson becomes the first black officer in the Navy
1944 First Army isolates Cherbourg
1944 Japanese take Changsha, on the 3rd try.
1945 William "Lord Haw-Haw" Joyce, charged with treason
June 19th in Military History
Born
1417 Sigismondo Malatesta, Lord of Rimini (1432-1468), condottiero, d. 1468
1556 King James VI of Scotland (1567-1625)/I of England (1603-25)
1764 Jose Gervasio Artigas, general and father of Uruguay
1811 Henry Prince, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1892
1856 Elbert Hubbard, author ("A Message to Garcia")
1933 Viktor I Patsayev, USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 11)
Died
1312 Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall, favorite of Edward II, beheaded at c. 28
1867 Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, Archduke of Austria, firing squad
1867 Maj. Gen. Miguel Miramon, Imperial Mexican Army, firing squad
1867 Maj. Gen. Tomas Meija, Imperial Mexican Army, firing squad
1953 Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, executed at Sing Sing for espionage
1989 I. F. Stone, Soviet-apologist and muckraker, at 81
Event
Juneteenth, the day word of the end of the Civil War and freedom for slaves reached Texas
870 Zanji Kharijite rebels sack Ubulla, Persia
987 Louis IV crowned king of France
1195 Battle of Al Arcos: The Almohads defeat the Castillians
1269 Louis IX of Frances decrees Jews must wear a badge of shame
1306 Battle of Methven: The Earl of Pembroke defeats the Bruce‚s rebels
1498 Niccolo Machiavelli is appointed Secretary to the Signoria, effectively Minister of War
1778 Washington's troops leave Valley Forge
1799 Battle of the Trebbia, Day 3: Austro-Russians defeat the French
1800 Battle of Hochstadt: French defeat the Austrians
1821 Battle of Dragasani: Turks defeat the Greeks
1864 CSS Alabama sunk by USS Kearsarge off Cherbourg
1865 Slaves in Texas are declared free by Union forces
1868 Maj Gen E R S Canby removes mayor of Columbia, SC
1878 Congress passes the Posse Comitatus Act, to prevent the Army from enforcing civil rights laws
1933 Austrian Premier Dollfuss bans Nazi-organizations
1936 Max Schmeling KOs Joe Louis
1937 Franco's Nationalists capture Bilbao from the Republicans
1940 Goring orders seizure of Dutch horses, cars, buses, and ships
1942 U.S. submarine S-27 lost by grounding in the Aleutians.
1944 "Marianas Turkey Shoot" - Battle of the Philippine Sea: by 21st Japanese lose 3 CVs, 426 a/c, US c. 70 a/c.
1944 French troops free Elba from the Nazis
1947 An F-80 becomes the first plane to exceed 600 mph
1948 USSR blocks access to West-Berlin: Berlin Blockade begins
1963 Valentina Tereshkova 1st woman in space returns to Earth
1967 Muhammad Ali is convicted for refusing induction into the Army
June 20th in Military History
Born
1469 Gian Galeazzo II Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (1476-1494), d. 1494
1566 King Sigismund III of Poland and Sweden
1634 Duke Charles Emanuel II Savoy (1638-75)
1647 Johan Georg III of Saxony (1680-91)
1823 Jesse Lee Reno, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1862
1824 John Tyler Morgan, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1907
1899 Jean Moulin, hero of the French Resistance
1909 Errol Flynn, actor ("Objective Burma")
1924 Audie Murphy, d. 1971
Died
1649 Richard Brandon, executioner of Charles I, natural causes
1837 King William IV of England
1876 Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, often president of Mexico, 82
1913 Ens W. D. Billingsley, the first naval aviation fatality, Annapolis
1923 "Pancho Villa" - Doroteo Arango, assassinated
Event
1361 Battle of San Ruffillo: The Papacy defeats the Visconti
1402 Battle of Angora: Mongols defeat Ottomans
1499 Battle of Frastanz: The Swiss defeat the Hapsburgs
1567 Jews are expelled from Brazil by order of regent Don Henrique
1593 Battle of Sissex: The Hapsburgs defeat the Ottoman Turks
1622 Battle of Hochst: Imperialst under Tilly and Cordoba defeat Christian of Brunswick
1756 Black Hole of Calcutta: Most of 146 British prisoners die
1779 American Revolution: Battle of Stone Ferry
1782 Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States
1783 Battle of Cuddalore: Suffren‚s French fleet defeats an English squadron off India
1791 Varennes: Louis XVI is caught trying to escape Revolutionary France
1813 U.S. gunboats engage three British ships at Hampton Roads, Va
1815 USN accepts steam battery Fulton I, at New York
1837 Victoria ascends the British throne
1841 Texas Pres. Lamar sends 321 men on ill-fated expedition to Santa Fe
1864 Battle of Abingdon, VA
1864 Battle of Kinston, NC
1867 US buys Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million
1871 Klansmen put on trial in federal court in Oxford, Miss
1941 The Army Air Corps is reorganized as the Army Air Forces
1942 Japanese sub I-26 shells Port Estevan, near Vancouver.
1943 Germans round up Jews in Amsterdam
1943 New Guinea: Japanese attack Australian 17th Bde on Mubo-Lababia Ridge
1943 Two days of race riots begin in Detroit, 30 die
1944 Philippine Sea: Japanese CV Hijo sunk by US air attack
1947 Congress charters Central Intelligence Agency
1963 Washington-Moscow "hot line" established
June 21st in Military History
Born
1002 Bruno of Egesheim - Pope St. Leo IX (1049-1054)
1596 Tsar Michael Theodorovich (1613-45), the first Romanov
1736 Enoch Poor, Continental brigadier, d. 1780
1817 James Brewerton Ricketts, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1887
1818 Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1844-93), composer
1818 Joseph Abel Haskin, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1874
1823 Edward Elmer Potter, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1889
1839 John Decatur Barry, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1867
1851 Daniel Carter Beard, first American Boy Scout leader
1905 Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialistic Nazi collaborator & Communist apologist
1947 Lex van Delden, actor ("Soldier of Orange")
1982 Prince William of the United Kingdom
Died
546-BC Thales, philosopher
1208 King Philip of Germany (1198-1208), murdered at c. 41 by Otto of Wittelsbach, Count Palatine of Bavaria, having rejected him as a prospective son-in-law
1377 King Edward III of England (1327-77)
1527 Niccolo Machiavelli
1582 Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), Japanese warlord, murdered at 47
1631 Captain John Smith of Virginia
1862 Col. Charles Ellet, US, of wounds received at Memphis, June 6th.
1970 Achmed Sukarno, Indonesian dictator (1945-67), at 68
2003 Leon Uris, Marine, novelist ("Battle Cry")
Event
Feast of St. Alban, Patron of Refugees
400 -BC- Solar eclipse visibile at Rome
217 -BC- Battle of Lake Trasimenus: Hannibal defeats Rome
1128 Battle of Hackespol: The French defeat the Alsatians
1495 Battle of Seminara I: The French defeat the Neapolitans
1498 Emperor Maximillian orders Jews expelled from Nuremberg
1502 Cesare Borgia captures Urbino, aided by Leonardo’s siege engines
1655 Battle off the Dardanelles: Venetian fleet defeats the Turks
1813 Battle of Vitoria: Wellington ousts the French from Spain
1814 Belgium annexed to the Kingdom of the Netherlands
1824 Turks-Egyptians storm Psara, Greece, slay or enslave the inhabitants
1876 General Terry sends Custer's 7th Cavalry to scout the Little Bighorn River
1898 US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries at Santiago, Cuba
1915 Anti-British revolt in South Africa ends with arrest of Gen De Law
1919 Scapa Flow: Germans scuttle over 400,000 tons of warships
1942 Rommel takes Tobruk
1943 New Georgia: Marine 4th Raider Bn lands at Segi Point
1943 New Guinea: US Army 112th Cavalry (dismounted) lands on Woodlark Island
1948 Berlin Airlift begins
1962 USAF Maj Robert M White takes X-15 to 75,190 m
1963 Giovanni Battista Montini elected Pope, as Paul VI
1964 Andrew Goodman, murdered by racists in Mississippi
1964 James Cheney, murdered by racists in Mississippi
1964 Michael Schwerner, murdered by racists in Mississippi
1993 Madrid: Basque terrorist bombing, 7 killed, 24 injured
June 22nd in Military History
Born
1478 Philip the Fair, Archduke of Austria, husband to Juana la Loca, Queen of Spain
1805 Giuseppe Mazzini, "The Soul of Italian Unification"
1856 H. Rider Haggard, author ("King Solomon's Mines")
1858 Giacomo Puccini, composer ("Madama Butterfly")
1898 Erich Maria Remarque, Frontsoldat, novelist ("All Quiet on the Western Front")
1922 Bill Blass, ETO deception specialist, fashion designer, d. 2002
Died
1101 King Roger I of Sicily
1276 Pope Bl. Innocent V - Peter of Tarentais (21 Jan-22 Jun 1276)
1522 Sigismondo da Varano, 2nd Duke of Camerino (1521-1522), assassinated near Rome, by his uncle Giovanni Maria da Varano, the 3rd Duke
1535 Bishop John Fisher, beheaded on Tower Hill
1627 Francois de Montmorency Bouteville, beheaded for dueling
1634 Johann Reichsgraf von Aldringen, Imperial Field Marshal, kia at Landshut, at c. 46
1922 FM Henry H. Wilson, fighting the IRA sword in hand
1945 Lt.Gen. Mitsuri Ushijima, 32nd Army, Okinawa, hara-kiri
Event
217 BC- Battle of Raphia: Egypt’s Ptolemy IV defeats Syria’s Antiochus III; only major engagement of African vs. Asian elephants
168 BC- Battle of Pydna: Lucius Aemilius Paulus defeats Perseus of Macedon
816 Election of Pope Stephen IV [V] (22 June 816-24 Jan 817)
1402 Battle of Nesbit Moor: the English defeat Scots raiders
1402 Battle of Pilleth/Bryn Glas: Owain Glen Dwyr’s Welch beat Edward Mortimer’s English
1476 Battle of Morat: The Swiss defeat the Burgundians
1487 Lorenzo the Magnificent's Florentines capture Sarzana
1558 The French liberate Thioville from the English
1559 Jewish quarter of Prague burned & looted
1560 Battle of Okehazama: Oda defeats Imagawa
1593 Battle of Sisak: Imperialists defeat the Turks
1611 Henry Hudson set adrift by mutineers in Hudson’s Bay
1634 Battle of Landshut
1636 Battle of Tornavento: Charles de Crequi’s Franco-Savoyard Army defeats the Spanish
1645 Battle of Llorens: The French defeat the Spanish in Catalonia
1772 Judicial ruling restricts slavery in England
1807 HMS Leopard makes unprovoked attack on USS Chesapeake
1808 First Air Combat (Balloon): M. de Grandpre downs M. le Pique over Paris
1815 Napoleon I abdicates for the second time, after Waterloo
1864 Wilson's Raid: Battle of Ream's Station, Va
1884 Ellesmere I.: Cdr W S Schley rescues Lt A.W. Greely’s expedition
1898 San Juan: US blockaders skirmish with Spanish ships.
1898 Santiago: US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries
1898 U.S. V Corps commences landing at Siboney and Daiquiri, Cuba
1898 US ships bombard Aguadores, Cuba
1906 Haakon VII crowned king of Norway
1911 Coronation of George V as King of Great Britain
1915 Austro-German forces capture Lemberg from the Russians
1918 Ivanhoe, Illinois: Troop train rams a circus train, 68 die
1938 Joe Louis KOs Max Schmeling in 2:04, in Yankee Stadium
1940 France signs an armistice with Nazi Germany at Compiegne
1941 Operation Barbarossa Begins: Axis invade Russia
1942 The US introduces "V-Mail" for military personnel
1944 FDR signs "the GI Bill of Rights"
1944 Italian & British UDT sink German-held CA Bolzano, La Spezia
1944 Relief of Imphal: British and Indians end 10 week Japanese siege.
1945 Okinawa secured: 110,000 Japanese troops, 100,000 civilians, 17,520 US troops died
1955 Soviets shoot down US patrol plane over the Bering Sea
1992 Yekaterinburg: Remains of Tsar Nicholas II & his wife identified
June 23rd in Military History
Born
47 BC- Ptolemy XV Caesarion, son of Cleopatra & Caesar, executed 30 BC
1534 Oda Nobunaga, Japanese warlord, d. 1582
1763 Josephine Beauharnais Bonaparte, Empress of France (1804-10), d. 1814
1801 Daniel Smith Donelson, Maj Gen, C.S.A., d. 1863
1822 Young Marshall Moody, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1866
1838 Edwin Henry Stoughton, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1868
1842 Edouard Manet, impressionist ("The Kearsarge and Alabama")
1894 The Duke of Windsor (erstwhile Edward the VIII)
1912 Alan Turing, mathematician, cryptologist
1917 Peter Brunt, historian ("Italian Manpower, 225 BC - AD 14), d. 2005.
1921 Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (1964-), last absolute monarch in Europe
Died
79 Roman Emperor Vespasian (69-79), becoming a god
840 King Louis I "le debonnaire" of France
Event
1258 Naval Battle of Acre: Venetians defeat the Genoese
1287 Battle of the Counts: Ruggiero di Lauria’s Aragonese-Sicilian fleet defeats the Angevins off Naples, taking many noble prisoners
1495 French take Gaeta from the Neapolitans amid great slaughter
1532 Peace of Nuremburg: Charles V secures peace in Germany by making concessions to the Protestants
1606 Treaty of Vienna: The Habsburgs grant religious freedom to Protestants
1757 Battle of Plassey: Clive's 2,800 troops defeat 50,000 Sirajis
1758 Battle of Krefeld: Anglo-Hanoverians defeat the French
1760 Battle of Landshut: Austrians defeat the Prussians
1784 Edward Warrern, 13, takes the first balloon flight in the US
1863 William Rosecrans begins the Tullahoma Campaign, TN
1865 Stand Watie surrenders the last Confederate force still in the field
1898 Spanish blockade runners escape US ships off Havana
1902 Germany, Austria-Hungary, & Italy renew the Triple Alliance for 12 years
1915 First Battle of the Isonzo begins (to Jul 7)
1917 Ammunition factory explodes in Boleweg, Bohemia, 1,000 die
1917 Japanese DD Matsu sunk by a German U-boat in the Mediterranean.
1933 USS Macon is commissioned, the last Navy rigid airship
1938 Congress establishes the U.S. Maritime Service
1939 France turns the Sanjak of Alexandretta over to Turkey
1942 Rommel breaks the Gazala Line and drives on Egypt
1943 Japanese sub Ro-103 sinks two transports off Guadalcanal.
1943 Trobriand Island: 158th Regimental Combat Team lands on Kirwina
1944 Russians begin the Destruction of German Army Group Center
1956 Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes president of Egypt
1960 US-Japan security treaty signed
1961 Antarctic Treaty goes into effect
1961 USAF Major Robert M White takes X-15 to 32,830 m
1964 Maxwell Taylor appointed ambassador to South Vietnam
1985 Bomb destroys Air India Boeing 747 off Ireland, 329 die
1990 Moldavia declares independence from the Soviet Union
June 24th in Military History
Born
1244 Count Henrich I "the Child" of Hesse (1256-1308)
1771 E. I. Du Pont, gunpowder manufacturer
1820 Henry Rootes Jackson, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1898
1822 Birkett Davenport Fry, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1891
1832 Edward Harland, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1915
1842 Ambrose Bierce, veteran, satirist ("Devil's Dictionary")
1850 Horatio Herbert Kitchener, soldier, kia 1916.
1939 Henry Lawrence Garett III, SecNav (1989-92)
Died
217 BC- Consul Gaius Flaminius Nepos, kia, Lake Trasimenus
1295 Lippoo Mannelii, in Siena by partisans of the Velluti family, in vendetta for a murder committed in 1267
1445 Annibale I Bentivoglio, Lord of Bologna(1438-1445), stabbed by Battista Canneschi while leaving church
1497 Michael An Gof, Cornish rebel, executed in London
1497 Thomas Flamank, Cornish rebel, executed in London
1519 Lucrezia Borgia d‚Este, 39, bearing her 7th child
Event
51 BC- Cicero arrives at Athens, en route to his provincial command in Cilicia
1128 Battle of S. Mamede: Pr. Afonso of Portugal defeats his mother Theresa, overthrows regency
1298 Jews of Ifhausen, Austria, massacred
1314 Robert the Bruce frees Scotland from the English at Bannockburn
1322 Jews are expelled from France for the third time
1396 Crusaders under the Count of Nevers reach Vienna
1397 Sultan Bajezid I ransoms Crusaders captured at Nicopolis
1509 Henry VIII crowned King of England
1540 Henry VIII divorces Anne of Cleves, wife No. 4
1622 Portuguese repulse Dutch attack on Macau
1675 Indians raid Swansee, initiating King Philip's War
1762 Battle of Wilhelmstahl: The Prussians defeat the French
1793 France adopts its first republican constitution
1813 Battle of Beaver Dam: British and Indians defeat US forces
1817 Nationalist outbreak at Macerata, the Papal States
1821 Battle of Carabobo: Bolivar defeats Royalists at Caracas
1859 Battle of San Martino: Sardinians defeat the Austrians
1859 Battle of Solferino: French defeat the Austrians
1861 Tennessee becomes 11th and last state to secede from the Union
1862 US ships support an Anglo-French attack on the Taku Forts, China
1863 Gettysburg Campaign: Lee crosses the Potomac, and enters the Valley
1866 Second Battle of Custoza: Austrians defeat the Italians
1898 San Juan: US blockaders & Spanish ships skirmish
1898 Skirmish at Las Guasimas, Cuba: US loses 16 KIA, Spanish 12
1914 Aged Peter I of Serbia names his son Alexander Prince Regent
1917 Russian Black Sea fleet mutinies at Sebastopol
1923 Pope Pius XI condemns the Franco-Belgian occupation of the Rhur
1940 France signs an armistice with Italy
1941 Nazis exterminate entire male population of Gargzdai
1942 Japanese submarine I-25 shells Port Stevens, Oregon.
1943 Subhas Chandra Bose calls for Indian revolution against Britain
1945 Australians liberate Sarawak from the Japanese
1961 Iraq demands dominion over Kuwait
1966 Period of European Great Power peace following WW II exceeds that which followed WW I
June 25th in Military History
Born
1373 Queen Giovanna II of Naples (1414-35)
1796 Tsar Nicholas I of Russia (1825-1855)
1813 William Hugh Keim, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1862
1823 James Dunwody Bulloch, naval officer, C.S.N., d. 1901
1886 General of the Army Henry "Hap" Arnold
1900 Admiral of the Fleet Lord Louis Mountbatten of Burma
1903 Eric Blair [George Orwell], author ("Homage to Catalonia")
1941 Ames Aldrich, CIA officer who spied for the USSR
Died
1212 Simon de Montfort, leader of the Albigensian Crusade, at 67
1673 Charles de Batz-Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan, shot in the throat during the siege of Maastricht, at c. 62
1876 Lt Col George A Custer, KIA
1876 Boston Custer, George's brother, KIA
1876 Capt. Thomas W Custer, twice MoH, George’s brother, KIA
1876 Harry A Reed, Custer's nephew, 18, KIA
1876 Isaiah Dorman, black Quartermaster employee, KIA
1876 Lame White Man and perhaps 50 other Indians, KIA
1876 Lt. James Calhoun, Custer's sister's husband, KIA
1876 Some 250 other members of the 7th Cavalry, KIA
1906 Stanford White, shot by Harry K Thaw over Evelyn Nesbit, Madison Square Garden
1997 Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Vichyite, at 87
Event
841 Battle of Fontenay: Embroglio among Charlemagne’s heirs
1080 Schismatic Council of Brixen declares Archbishop Guibert [Anti-]Pope Clement III (1080-1100)
1139 Battle of Ourique: Porgual’s Afonso I defeats the Moors
1183 Peace of Constance: the Lombards secure autonomy from the Holy Roman Empire
1243 Sinibaldo de' Fieschi elected Pope Innocent IV (1243-1254)
1298 250 Jews killed in Rothenburg, Germany
1386 Battle of Brentelle: The Carrano defeat the Scaligers
1569 Battle of La Roche l'Abeille: French Huguenots defeat the Catholics
1570 Battle of Arnay-le duc: French Catholics defeat the Huguenots
1862 Battle of Oak Grove, Va
1863 George Meade replaces Joe Hooker as CG, Army of the Potomac
1864 Petersburg: Union troops begin a tunnel under Confederate lines
1870 Isabella II of Spain abdicates after a 27-year reign
1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn: Crazy Horse does in Custer
1898 Skirmish at Aguadores, Cuba
1905 Polish uprising against Russian domination
1920 Greeks capture 8,000 Turkish troops at Smyrna
1925 Military coup by Gen. Theodorus Pangoulos in Greece
1940 Hitler tours Paris: Eiffel Tower, Napoleon’s Tomb, the Opera
1941 FDR bars racial discrimination in war industries
1941 Finland declares war on the Soviet Union
1942 Eisenhower takes command of U.S. forces in Europe
1942 Papua: Australians form Maroubra Force for the Kokoda Trail
1942 RAF raids Bremen
1942 Sub Nautilus sinks Japanese DD Yamakaze, off Tokyo Bay
1943 Crematory III at Birkenau is finished
1943 Race riots in Detroit
1943 US submariners finally convince the Navy that its torpedoes suck
1948 Truman signs Displaced Persons Act: 205,000 refugees enter the US
1950 North Korea invades South Korea to "defend ourselves"
1981 Supreme Court holds male-only draft registration constitutional
1991 Slovenia and Croatia declare independence from Yugoslavia
1991 The last Soviet troops leave Czechoslovakia
1996 Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: Islamists bomb Khobar Towers, 19 Americans die, c. 500 Saudis & Americans injured
June 26th in Military History
Born
1742 Arthur Middleton, Signer, d. 1787
1819 Abner Doubleday, Maj. Gen, U.S., who didn't invent baseball
1837 Martin Davis Hardin II, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1923
1837 Victor Jean Baptiste Girardey, Brig Gen, C.S.A.
1865 Bernard Berenson, Fascist-friendly art critic, d 1959
1898 Willy Messerschmitt, German aircraft designer
Died
363 Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363), kia
1296 The Duke du Brabant, murdered
1541 Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conquistador, murdered
1757 Maximilian Ulysses, Reichsgraf von Browne, Imperial Field Marshal, at 52 of wounds from the Battle of Prague, May 6th,
1830 King George IV of Great Britain (1820-1830)
1922 Prince Albert I of Monaco (1889-1922), French naval officer, oceanographer, at 73
Event
1242 Battle of Kuzadagh: The Mongols defeat the Seljuks
1249 Battle of Fossalta: The Bolognese defeat the Modenese
1402 Battle of Casalecchio: Bolognese & Florenties under Giovanni I Bentivoglio of Bologna defeat Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan, the Malatesta of Rimini, & the Gonzaga of Mantua
1483 Richard III usurps English throne
1707 Marshal Daun’s Austrian Army invades Spanish-held Naples
1775 Washington visits NY en route to Boston.
1794 Battle of Fleurus: French defeat the Austro-English, secure Belgium
1830 William IV ascends the British throne
1848 Battle of Castrovillari: The Neapolitan Borbons defeat Sicilian-Calabrese revolutionaries
1857 First Victoria Crosses issued
1857 Indian Mutiny: Cawnpore massacre
1861 Skirmish at Patterson's Ford/Kelly's Island, Va
1862 Beaver Dam Creek, Va: Union troops repulse Confederates
1862 Day 2 of the Seven Days: Battle of Mechanicsville
1898 Santiago: US and Spanish troops skirmish at Sevilla
1898 Santiago: US ships & Spanish batteries exchange fire
1902 Britain establishes Order of Merit
1917 First American combat troops arrive in France
1924 US Marines leave the Dominican Republic, after 8 years of occupation
1934 Germany and Poland sign a non-aggression pact
1941 Nazi-collaborators in Lithuania massacre 2,300 Jews in Kovno
1942 NE New Guinea: Australian Kanga Force raids Salamaua.
1943 Since Dec 7, 1941, Japan has lost 2 million g.r.t. of shipping
1944 Japanese capture U.S. airbase at Hengyang, China
1963 Berlin: Kennedy’s "Ich bin ein Berliner" is wildly applauded (even though the phrase was not correctly translated into German).
1978 Breton separatists bomb the Palace of Versailles in France
June 27th in Military History
Born
1462 King Louis XII "the Just" of France (1498-1515)
1550 King Charles IX of France (1560-74)
1682 King Charles XII of Sweden
1828 Junius Daniel, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1864
1846 Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish nationalist leader
1869 Emma Goldman, Anarchist
1872 Paul Lawrence Dunbar, poet ("The Unsung Heroes"), d. 1906
1898 Lewis "Chesty" Puller, Marine, d. 1971
Died
363 Roman Emperor Julian "the Apostate", possibly murdered
992 Duke Conan I of Brittany
1276 King Jaime I of Aragon (1217-1276), at 68
1296 Count Florian V of Holland and Zeeland
1458 King Alfonso V of Aragon and Sicily, & I of Naples
1638 Patriarch Kyrillos Loukaris of Istanbul, strangled by Sultan Murad IV as a traitor
1776 Thomas Hickey, hanged for trying to betray Washington to the British
1794 Philippe, Count of Noailles, Marshal of France, guillotined at 79, along with his, daughter-in-law, & grand-daughter.
1844 Joseph Smith, Mormon prophet, lynched in Carthage, Ill.
1844 Hyman Smith, bother of Joseph, lynched in Carthage, Ill.
1861 Cdr James H. Ward, 1st naval officer KIA in the Civil War.
1952 Elmo Lincoln
1973 Earl Browder, leader CPUSA (1930-45), at 82
1980 Reza Pahlevi, deposed Shah of Iran
2003 Strom Thurmond, D-Day veteran, segregationist, at 100.
2005 Shelby Foote, novelist, historian ("The Civil War: A Narrative"), at 88
Event
81 BC- First Day of Sulla’s Triumph, for the defeat of Mithridates
1136 Naval Battle of Yell Sound, Shetlands: Earl Paul defeats Earl Ragnvald
1276 Pedro III "the Great" ascends the throne of Aragon
1684 Battle of Vaccia: Imperialists defeat the Turks
1693 First Naval Battle of Lagos: England and Holland vs France
1743 English under George II defeat French at Dettingen
1787 Edward Gibbon completes "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"
1787 Edward Gibbon completes "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"
1795 Quiberon Bay: Anglo-French force lands to support counter-revolutionaries
1806 Buenos Aires is captured by the British
1848 Battle of Maida: Calabrese insurgents defeat Borbon troops
1861 Battle of Mathia's Point, VA: USN attacks Confederate batteries
1862 Day 3 of the Seven Days: Battle of Gaines' Mill
1864 Atlanta Campaign: Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
1874 Second Battle of Adobe Walls, Texas: Hunters beat off Indian attack
1905 The Potemkin Mutiny
1918 Two German airmen make the 1st combat parachute jumps
1923 Yugoslav Premier Nikola Pachitch survives assassination attempt
1926 Office of Assistant SecNav for Aeronautics created
1927 The USMC adopts "Sgt Jiggs," an English bulldog, as its mascot
1941 The Germans capture Bialystock
1942 Convoy PQ-17 leaves Iceland for Archangelsk
1942 FBI captures 8 Nazi saboteurs, landed by U-boat on Long Island
1944 American troops liberate Cherbourg from the Germans
1945 Moscow: Victory parade ends with German battle flags thrown at Stalin's feet
1945 Stalin promotes himself to "Generalissimo of the Soviet Union"
1950 North Koreans troops reach Seoul
1950 Security Council calls on UN members to aid South Korea
1950 Truman orders Air Force & Navy into Korean conflict
1950 US sends 35 military advisers to South Vietnam
1954 CIA-sponsored rebels overthrow government of Guatemala
1962 Joseph Walker takes the X-15 to 6,606 kph and 37,700 m
1976 First women cadets enter the Air Force Academy
1976 Israelis raid Entebbe, Uganda, liberate hostages from hijacked airliner
June 28th in Military History
Born
1476 Giovanni Pietro Caraffa - Pope Paul IV (1555-1559)
1491 King Henry VIII
1742 William Hooper, Signer, d. 1790
1902 Richard Rodgers, composer ("Victory at Sea")
Died
548 Theodora, joy girl and Empress
683 Pope St Leo II (681-683)
1385 Byzantine Emperor Andronicus IV Paleologus
1389 Sultan Murad I of Turkey, assassinated by a Serb on the morning of the Battle of Kosovo
1389 Prince Lazar of Serbia, kia, the Battle of Kosovo
1497 Lord Audley, beheaded for treason in the Tower
1497 Michael Joseph, beheaded for treason in the Tower
1497 Thomas Flammock, beheaded for treason in the Tower
1836 James Madison, militiaman, President (1809-1817), at 75
1904 Daniel Decatur Emmett, composer ("Dixie")
1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand Austria, assassinated at Sarajevo
1914 Duchess Sophie, his wife, assassinated at Sarajevo
Event
81 BC- Second Day of Sulla’s Triumph, for the defeat of Mithridates
1098 Battle of Antioch: Crusaders defeat the Syrians
1119 Battle of Balat/Sarmada: Emir Ilghazi defeats the Principlaity of Antioch
1147 Afonso I of Portugal lays siege to Lisbon (falls Oct 24)
1389 Battle of Kosovo: Turks defeat the Serbs (OS = June 15) (see 1900)
1461 Edward IV crowned king of England
1495 Battle of Seminara II: Bernard Stuart's French defeat Gonzalo de Cordoba, micromanaged by King Ferdinand
1651 Battle of Berestechko, 1st Day: Poles vs. Ukrainians & Tatars
1675 Brandurgers under Frederick William "the Great Elector" defeat the Swedes
1776 Charleston repulses a British naval attack
1778 Washington ties the British at Monmouth
1794 Joshua Humphreys appointed master builder of the USN, at $2,000 a year
1814 USS Wasp captures HMS Reindeer
1838 Queen Victoria is crowned in Westminster Abbey
1862 Day 4 of the Seven Days: First Day of Savage's Station
1865 CSS Shenandoah takes 11 American whalers, two months after Appomattox
1900 Marriage of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria to the Countess Sophie Chotek (See Deaths; 1914)
1909 1st French air show, Concours d'Aviation opens
1914 Gavrilo Princep does his thing in Sarajevo (see 1389, 1900).
1919 Treaty of Versailles is signed
1940 Romania cedes Bessarabia to the Soviet Union
1945 Puppet Polish Provisional Government set up by Soviets
1948 Berlin Airlift begins
1956 Two days of anti-communist riots begin in Poznan, Poland; 38 die
1965 President Johnson orders US ground forces to Vietnam
1968 Daniel Ellsberg indicted for leaking the Pentagon Papers
June 29th in Military History
Born
1397 King Juan II of Aragon
1475 Beatrice Sforza, Duchess of Milan
1831 William Thomas Clark, Brig Gen, d. 1905
1858 George Washington Goethals, military engineer (Panama Canal)
1880 Ludwig Beck, Chief, German general staff , inept anti-Nazi, suicide in 1944
1900 Antoine Saint-Euxpery, aviator, author ("The Little Prince"), d. 1943
1911 Bernard von Lippe-Biesterfeld, Prince of the Netherlands, Hero of the Resistance, d. 2004
Died
67 St Peter, Apostle and Pope (32-67), martyred
1528 Scipione Colonna, Abbot of Subiavo, Bishop of Rieti, kia, Magliano
1799 Neapolitan Adm. Francesco Caracciolo, hanged by Nelson
1840 Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's smarter brother, at 65
1971 Georgi T Dobrovolsky, cosmonaut, at 43
1971 Viktor Patsayev, cosmonaut, at 38
1971 Vladimir Volkov, cosmonaut, at 35
1992 President Mohammad Boudiaf of Algeria, assassinated
Event
626 Avars & Persians invest Constantinople (retreat, 10 Aug 626)
1149 Battle of Inab: Turks defeat the Principlaity of Antioch
1236 King Ferdinand III of Castilla-Leon liberates Cordoba from the Moors
1308 Battle of the River Dee: Edward Bruce defeats the English
1312 Coronation of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII
1377 French naval raids on Rye, Folkestone, Portsmouth, Weymouth, Plymouth, Dartmouth, and Lewes
1440 Battle of Anghiari: The Anti-Visconti League (Revived) defeats the Visconti
1529 Peace of Barcelona: Pope Clement VII confirms Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor
1575 Battle of Nagashino: the Tokugawa defeat the Takeda
1651 Battle of Berestechko, 2nd Day: Poles vs. Ukrainians & Tatars
1734 War of the Polish Succession: Battle of Parma - Franco-Spanish forces defeat the Austrians
1767 British pass Townshend Acts, levying taxes on American colonies
1835 Battle of Anahuac: Texians capture Mexican garrison
1858 Treaty of Algun: China cedes Trans-Amur region to Russia
1862 Day 5 of the Seven Days: Second Day of Savage's Station
1863 Lee orders his forces to concentrate near Gettysburg
1880 France annexes Tahiti
1898 Rio San Juan, P.R: US landing party driven off, 1 killed
1913 Second Balkan War begins: Bulgaria attacks Greece and Serbia
1932 Military coup in Siam installs a constitutional monarchy
1932 USSR & China sign non-aggression pact
1940 US passes Alien Registration Act
1944 Bobriusk: Soviets encircle portions of German Army Group Center
1945 Operation Olympic: Truman sets the invasion of Japan for Nov 1st
1945 Typhoon off Okinawa damages many U.S. ships
1949 US troops withdraw from Korea after WW II
1952 USS Oriskany becomes the first aircraft carrier to round Cape Horn
1965 USAF Capt Joseph Henry Engle reaches 85,530 m in X-15
1966 North Vietnam: US bombs fuel storage facilities
1967 Israel declares the reunification of Jerusalem
1970 US/ARVN end two month military offensive into Cambodia
1971 Soviet Soyuz 11 landing accident, three cosmonauts die
June 30th in Military History
Born
1470 Charles VIII of France (1483-98)
1503 Johan Frederik of Saxony (1532-47)
1837 Stephen D Ramseur, Maj Gen, C.S.A.
1894 Gavrilo Princip, assassin
Died
350 Roman Emperor-aspirant Julius Nepotian (June 3-30, 350), murdered.
1109 King Alfonso VI of Leon
1520 Emperor Motecuhzoma II of the Aztec, of wounds, at Tenochtitlan
1685 Archibald Campbell, ninth Earl of Argyle, beheaded at Edinburgh
1797 Richard Parker, who led the Nore mutiny, hanged from the yardarm of HMS Neptune
1882 Charles Guiteau, assassin of President Garfield, hanged
1934 Ernst Rohm, head of the Brown Shirts, 46, murdered by Hitler
1934 Gregor Strasser, Nazi leader, murdered by Hitler
1934 Karl Earnest, Brown Shirt leader, murdered by Hitler
1934 Kurt von Schleicher, chancellor (1932-33), murdered by Hitler
1938 Caroline Poulder King, last War of 1812 veteran’s widow; b. 1850, married veteran Darius King, 70, in 1870.
1942 Mary C. Kimbro, 1st American woman merchant Mariner to die in WW II, City of Birmingham, torpedoed, North Atlantic
Event
296 Consecration of Pope Saint Marcellinus (296-304)
1294 Jews are expelled from Bern, Switzerland
1409 Battle of San Luri: The Aragonese defeat Arborea (Sardinia)
1422 Battle of Arbedo: The Milanese defeat the Swiss
1520 La Noche Trise: Cortez evacuates Tenochtitlan with heavy losses
1596 The Earl of Essex sacks Cadiz
1651 Battle of Berestechko, 3rd Day: Poles defeat Tatars & Ukrainians
1689 Convention of Altoona: Peace between Denmakr and Holstein-Gottorp
1690 Battle of Beachy Head: Torrington’s Anglo-Dutch fleet defeats Tourville’s French squadron
1794 Indians fail to capture Fort Recovery, Ohio Territory
1807 Battle of Lemnos: Russian squadron defeats the Turks
1815 USS Peacock takes HMS Nautilus, 6 months after the War of 1812 has ended
1821 First US rail movement of troops, to Baltimore to crush rioting
1848 Battle of Rotonda: Calabrese insurgents defeat Borbon troops
1849 The Republic of Rome surrenders to the French
1859 Franco-Piedmontese fleet begins operating in the Gulf of Venice
1861 CSS Sumter slips past USS Brooklyn, on blockade at the Head of Passes, Mississippi R.
1862 Day 6 of the Seven Days: White Oak Swamp/Frayser's Farm
1863 Chambersburg: Confederates destroy large stores of whiskey
1865 Eight are convicted in the assassination of Lincoln
1871 Peasant uprising in Guatemala demanding land reform
1894 Korea declares independence from China, asks for Japanese aid
1898 Manzanillo, Cuba: USN raids harbor, sinks several vessels
1898 Tayabacoa, Cuba: US landing party driven off
1908 The Tunguska Event (meteor or comet explodes over Siberia)
1917 Greece declares war on the Central Powers
1934 "The Night of Long Knives": Hitler's "blood purge"
1936 Haile Selassie asks League of Nations to sanction Italy
1936 Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind" is published
1939 Heinkel He-76 rocket plane flies for 1st time, at Peenemunde
1941 Pro-Nazi group declares Ukraine independent of the USSR
1942 Congress votes $42 billion (c. $650 billion today) for defense.
1944 General strike against Nazi occupation in Copenhagen
1962 French Foreign Legion leaves Algeria for the last time
1967 Maj Robert H Lawrence Jr named 1st black astronaut
1997 Hong Kong reverts to China, ending 150 years of British rule
Born
1002 Bruno of Egesheim - Pope St. Leo IX (1049-1054)
1596 Tsar Michael Theodorovich (1613-45), the first Romanov
1736 Enoch Poor, Continental brigadier, d. 1780
1817 James Brewerton Ricketts, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1887
1818 Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1844-93), composer
1818 Joseph Abel Haskin, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1874
1823 Edward Elmer Potter, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1889
1839 John Decatur Barry, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1867
1851 Daniel Carter Beard, first American Boy Scout leader
1905 Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialistic Nazi collaborator & Communist apologist
1947 Lex van Delden, actor ("Soldier of Orange")
1982 Prince William of the United Kingdom
Died
546-BC Thales, philosopher
1208 King Philip of Germany (1198-1208), murdered at c. 41 by Otto of Wittelsbach, Count Palatine of Bavaria, having rejected him as a prospective son-in-law
1377 King Edward III of England (1327-77)
1527 Niccolo Machiavelli
1582 Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), Japanese warlord, murdered at 47
1631 Captain John Smith of Virginia
1862 Col. Charles Ellet, US, of wounds received at Memphis, June 6th.
1970 Achmed Sukarno, Indonesian dictator (1945-67), at 68
2003 Leon Uris, Marine, novelist ("Battle Cry")
Event
Feast of St. Alban, Patron of Refugees
400 -BC- Solar eclipse visibile at Rome
217 -BC- Battle of Lake Trasimenus: Hannibal defeats Rome
1128 Battle of Hackespol: The French defeat the Alsatians
1495 Battle of Seminara I: The French defeat the Neapolitans
1498 Emperor Maximillian orders Jews expelled from Nuremberg
1502 Cesare Borgia captures Urbino, aided by Leonardo’s siege engines
1655 Battle off the Dardanelles: Venetian fleet defeats the Turks
1813 Battle of Vitoria: Wellington ousts the French from Spain
1814 Belgium annexed to the Kingdom of the Netherlands
1824 Turks-Egyptians storm Psara, Greece, slay or enslave the inhabitants
1876 General Terry sends Custer's 7th Cavalry to scout the Little Bighorn River
1898 US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries at Santiago, Cuba
1915 Anti-British revolt in South Africa ends with arrest of Gen De Law
1919 Scapa Flow: Germans scuttle over 400,000 tons of warships
1942 Rommel takes Tobruk
1943 New Georgia: Marine 4th Raider Bn lands at Segi Point
1943 New Guinea: US Army 112th Cavalry (dismounted) lands on Woodlark Island
1948 Berlin Airlift begins
1962 USAF Maj Robert M White takes X-15 to 75,190 m
1963 Giovanni Battista Montini elected Pope, as Paul VI
1964 Andrew Goodman, murdered by racists in Mississippi
1964 James Cheney, murdered by racists in Mississippi
1964 Michael Schwerner, murdered by racists in Mississippi
1993 Madrid: Basque terrorist bombing, 7 killed, 24 injured
June 22nd in Military History
Born
1478 Philip the Fair, Archduke of Austria, husband to Juana la Loca, Queen of Spain
1805 Giuseppe Mazzini, "The Soul of Italian Unification"
1856 H. Rider Haggard, author ("King Solomon's Mines")
1858 Giacomo Puccini, composer ("Madama Butterfly")
1898 Erich Maria Remarque, Frontsoldat, novelist ("All Quiet on the Western Front")
1922 Bill Blass, ETO deception specialist, fashion designer, d. 2002
Died
1101 King Roger I of Sicily
1276 Pope Bl. Innocent V - Peter of Tarentais (21 Jan-22 Jun 1276)
1522 Sigismondo da Varano, 2nd Duke of Camerino (1521-1522), assassinated near Rome, by his uncle Giovanni Maria da Varano, the 3rd Duke
1535 Bishop John Fisher, beheaded on Tower Hill
1627 Francois de Montmorency Bouteville, beheaded for dueling
1634 Johann Reichsgraf von Aldringen, Imperial Field Marshal, kia at Landshut, at c. 46
1922 FM Henry H. Wilson, fighting the IRA sword in hand
1945 Lt.Gen. Mitsuri Ushijima, 32nd Army, Okinawa, hara-kiri
Event
217 BC- Battle of Raphia: Egypt’s Ptolemy IV defeats Syria’s Antiochus III; only major engagement of African vs. Asian elephants
168 BC- Battle of Pydna: Lucius Aemilius Paulus defeats Perseus of Macedon
816 Election of Pope Stephen IV [V] (22 June 816-24 Jan 817)
1402 Battle of Nesbit Moor: the English defeat Scots raiders
1402 Battle of Pilleth/Bryn Glas: Owain Glen Dwyr’s Welch beat Edward Mortimer’s English
1476 Battle of Morat: The Swiss defeat the Burgundians
1487 Lorenzo the Magnificent's Florentines capture Sarzana
1558 The French liberate Thioville from the English
1559 Jewish quarter of Prague burned & looted
1560 Battle of Okehazama: Oda defeats Imagawa
1593 Battle of Sisak: Imperialists defeat the Turks
1611 Henry Hudson set adrift by mutineers in Hudson’s Bay
1634 Battle of Landshut
1636 Battle of Tornavento: Charles de Crequi’s Franco-Savoyard Army defeats the Spanish
1645 Battle of Llorens: The French defeat the Spanish in Catalonia
1772 Judicial ruling restricts slavery in England
1807 HMS Leopard makes unprovoked attack on USS Chesapeake
1808 First Air Combat (Balloon): M. de Grandpre downs M. le Pique over Paris
1815 Napoleon I abdicates for the second time, after Waterloo
1864 Wilson's Raid: Battle of Ream's Station, Va
1884 Ellesmere I.: Cdr W S Schley rescues Lt A.W. Greely’s expedition
1898 San Juan: US blockaders skirmish with Spanish ships.
1898 Santiago: US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries
1898 U.S. V Corps commences landing at Siboney and Daiquiri, Cuba
1898 US ships bombard Aguadores, Cuba
1906 Haakon VII crowned king of Norway
1911 Coronation of George V as King of Great Britain
1915 Austro-German forces capture Lemberg from the Russians
1918 Ivanhoe, Illinois: Troop train rams a circus train, 68 die
1938 Joe Louis KOs Max Schmeling in 2:04, in Yankee Stadium
1940 France signs an armistice with Nazi Germany at Compiegne
1941 Operation Barbarossa Begins: Axis invade Russia
1942 The US introduces "V-Mail" for military personnel
1944 FDR signs "the GI Bill of Rights"
1944 Italian & British UDT sink German-held CA Bolzano, La Spezia
1944 Relief of Imphal: British and Indians end 10 week Japanese siege.
1945 Okinawa secured: 110,000 Japanese troops, 100,000 civilians, 17,520 US troops died
1955 Soviets shoot down US patrol plane over the Bering Sea
1992 Yekaterinburg: Remains of Tsar Nicholas II & his wife identified
June 23rd in Military History
Born
47 BC- Ptolemy XV Caesarion, son of Cleopatra & Caesar, executed 30 BC
1534 Oda Nobunaga, Japanese warlord, d. 1582
1763 Josephine Beauharnais Bonaparte, Empress of France (1804-10), d. 1814
1801 Daniel Smith Donelson, Maj Gen, C.S.A., d. 1863
1822 Young Marshall Moody, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1866
1838 Edwin Henry Stoughton, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1868
1842 Edouard Manet, impressionist ("The Kearsarge and Alabama")
1894 The Duke of Windsor (erstwhile Edward the VIII)
1912 Alan Turing, mathematician, cryptologist
1917 Peter Brunt, historian ("Italian Manpower, 225 BC - AD 14), d. 2005.
1921 Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (1964-), last absolute monarch in Europe
Died
79 Roman Emperor Vespasian (69-79), becoming a god
840 King Louis I "le debonnaire" of France
Event
1258 Naval Battle of Acre: Venetians defeat the Genoese
1287 Battle of the Counts: Ruggiero di Lauria’s Aragonese-Sicilian fleet defeats the Angevins off Naples, taking many noble prisoners
1495 French take Gaeta from the Neapolitans amid great slaughter
1532 Peace of Nuremburg: Charles V secures peace in Germany by making concessions to the Protestants
1606 Treaty of Vienna: The Habsburgs grant religious freedom to Protestants
1757 Battle of Plassey: Clive's 2,800 troops defeat 50,000 Sirajis
1758 Battle of Krefeld: Anglo-Hanoverians defeat the French
1760 Battle of Landshut: Austrians defeat the Prussians
1784 Edward Warrern, 13, takes the first balloon flight in the US
1863 William Rosecrans begins the Tullahoma Campaign, TN
1865 Stand Watie surrenders the last Confederate force still in the field
1898 Spanish blockade runners escape US ships off Havana
1902 Germany, Austria-Hungary, & Italy renew the Triple Alliance for 12 years
1915 First Battle of the Isonzo begins (to Jul 7)
1917 Ammunition factory explodes in Boleweg, Bohemia, 1,000 die
1917 Japanese DD Matsu sunk by a German U-boat in the Mediterranean.
1933 USS Macon is commissioned, the last Navy rigid airship
1938 Congress establishes the U.S. Maritime Service
1939 France turns the Sanjak of Alexandretta over to Turkey
1942 Rommel breaks the Gazala Line and drives on Egypt
1943 Japanese sub Ro-103 sinks two transports off Guadalcanal.
1943 Trobriand Island: 158th Regimental Combat Team lands on Kirwina
1944 Russians begin the Destruction of German Army Group Center
1956 Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes president of Egypt
1960 US-Japan security treaty signed
1961 Antarctic Treaty goes into effect
1961 USAF Major Robert M White takes X-15 to 32,830 m
1964 Maxwell Taylor appointed ambassador to South Vietnam
1985 Bomb destroys Air India Boeing 747 off Ireland, 329 die
1990 Moldavia declares independence from the Soviet Union
June 24th in Military History
Born
1244 Count Henrich I "the Child" of Hesse (1256-1308)
1771 E. I. Du Pont, gunpowder manufacturer
1820 Henry Rootes Jackson, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1898
1822 Birkett Davenport Fry, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1891
1832 Edward Harland, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1915
1842 Ambrose Bierce, veteran, satirist ("Devil's Dictionary")
1850 Horatio Herbert Kitchener, soldier, kia 1916.
1939 Henry Lawrence Garett III, SecNav (1989-92)
Died
217 BC- Consul Gaius Flaminius Nepos, kia, Lake Trasimenus
1295 Lippoo Mannelii, in Siena by partisans of the Velluti family, in vendetta for a murder committed in 1267
1445 Annibale I Bentivoglio, Lord of Bologna(1438-1445), stabbed by Battista Canneschi while leaving church
1497 Michael An Gof, Cornish rebel, executed in London
1497 Thomas Flamank, Cornish rebel, executed in London
1519 Lucrezia Borgia d‚Este, 39, bearing her 7th child
Event
51 BC- Cicero arrives at Athens, en route to his provincial command in Cilicia
1128 Battle of S. Mamede: Pr. Afonso of Portugal defeats his mother Theresa, overthrows regency
1298 Jews of Ifhausen, Austria, massacred
1314 Robert the Bruce frees Scotland from the English at Bannockburn
1322 Jews are expelled from France for the third time
1396 Crusaders under the Count of Nevers reach Vienna
1397 Sultan Bajezid I ransoms Crusaders captured at Nicopolis
1509 Henry VIII crowned King of England
1540 Henry VIII divorces Anne of Cleves, wife No. 4
1622 Portuguese repulse Dutch attack on Macau
1675 Indians raid Swansee, initiating King Philip's War
1762 Battle of Wilhelmstahl: The Prussians defeat the French
1793 France adopts its first republican constitution
1813 Battle of Beaver Dam: British and Indians defeat US forces
1817 Nationalist outbreak at Macerata, the Papal States
1821 Battle of Carabobo: Bolivar defeats Royalists at Caracas
1859 Battle of San Martino: Sardinians defeat the Austrians
1859 Battle of Solferino: French defeat the Austrians
1861 Tennessee becomes 11th and last state to secede from the Union
1862 US ships support an Anglo-French attack on the Taku Forts, China
1863 Gettysburg Campaign: Lee crosses the Potomac, and enters the Valley
1866 Second Battle of Custoza: Austrians defeat the Italians
1898 San Juan: US blockaders & Spanish ships skirmish
1898 Skirmish at Las Guasimas, Cuba: US loses 16 KIA, Spanish 12
1914 Aged Peter I of Serbia names his son Alexander Prince Regent
1917 Russian Black Sea fleet mutinies at Sebastopol
1923 Pope Pius XI condemns the Franco-Belgian occupation of the Rhur
1940 France signs an armistice with Italy
1941 Nazis exterminate entire male population of Gargzdai
1942 Japanese submarine I-25 shells Port Stevens, Oregon.
1943 Subhas Chandra Bose calls for Indian revolution against Britain
1945 Australians liberate Sarawak from the Japanese
1961 Iraq demands dominion over Kuwait
1966 Period of European Great Power peace following WW II exceeds that which followed WW I
June 25th in Military History
Born
1373 Queen Giovanna II of Naples (1414-35)
1796 Tsar Nicholas I of Russia (1825-1855)
1813 William Hugh Keim, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1862
1823 James Dunwody Bulloch, naval officer, C.S.N., d. 1901
1886 General of the Army Henry "Hap" Arnold
1900 Admiral of the Fleet Lord Louis Mountbatten of Burma
1903 Eric Blair [George Orwell], author ("Homage to Catalonia")
1941 Ames Aldrich, CIA officer who spied for the USSR
Died
1212 Simon de Montfort, leader of the Albigensian Crusade, at 67
1673 Charles de Batz-Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan, shot in the throat during the siege of Maastricht, at c. 62
1876 Lt Col George A Custer, KIA
1876 Boston Custer, George's brother, KIA
1876 Capt. Thomas W Custer, twice MoH, George’s brother, KIA
1876 Harry A Reed, Custer's nephew, 18, KIA
1876 Isaiah Dorman, black Quartermaster employee, KIA
1876 Lame White Man and perhaps 50 other Indians, KIA
1876 Lt. James Calhoun, Custer's sister's husband, KIA
1876 Some 250 other members of the 7th Cavalry, KIA
1906 Stanford White, shot by Harry K Thaw over Evelyn Nesbit, Madison Square Garden
1997 Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Vichyite, at 87
Event
841 Battle of Fontenay: Embroglio among Charlemagne’s heirs
1080 Schismatic Council of Brixen declares Archbishop Guibert [Anti-]Pope Clement III (1080-1100)
1139 Battle of Ourique: Porgual’s Afonso I defeats the Moors
1183 Peace of Constance: the Lombards secure autonomy from the Holy Roman Empire
1243 Sinibaldo de' Fieschi elected Pope Innocent IV (1243-1254)
1298 250 Jews killed in Rothenburg, Germany
1386 Battle of Brentelle: The Carrano defeat the Scaligers
1569 Battle of La Roche l'Abeille: French Huguenots defeat the Catholics
1570 Battle of Arnay-le duc: French Catholics defeat the Huguenots
1862 Battle of Oak Grove, Va
1863 George Meade replaces Joe Hooker as CG, Army of the Potomac
1864 Petersburg: Union troops begin a tunnel under Confederate lines
1870 Isabella II of Spain abdicates after a 27-year reign
1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn: Crazy Horse does in Custer
1898 Skirmish at Aguadores, Cuba
1905 Polish uprising against Russian domination
1920 Greeks capture 8,000 Turkish troops at Smyrna
1925 Military coup by Gen. Theodorus Pangoulos in Greece
1940 Hitler tours Paris: Eiffel Tower, Napoleon’s Tomb, the Opera
1941 FDR bars racial discrimination in war industries
1941 Finland declares war on the Soviet Union
1942 Eisenhower takes command of U.S. forces in Europe
1942 Papua: Australians form Maroubra Force for the Kokoda Trail
1942 RAF raids Bremen
1942 Sub Nautilus sinks Japanese DD Yamakaze, off Tokyo Bay
1943 Crematory III at Birkenau is finished
1943 Race riots in Detroit
1943 US submariners finally convince the Navy that its torpedoes suck
1948 Truman signs Displaced Persons Act: 205,000 refugees enter the US
1950 North Korea invades South Korea to "defend ourselves"
1981 Supreme Court holds male-only draft registration constitutional
1991 Slovenia and Croatia declare independence from Yugoslavia
1991 The last Soviet troops leave Czechoslovakia
1996 Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: Islamists bomb Khobar Towers, 19 Americans die, c. 500 Saudis & Americans injured
June 26th in Military History
Born
1742 Arthur Middleton, Signer, d. 1787
1819 Abner Doubleday, Maj. Gen, U.S., who didn't invent baseball
1837 Martin Davis Hardin II, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1923
1837 Victor Jean Baptiste Girardey, Brig Gen, C.S.A.
1865 Bernard Berenson, Fascist-friendly art critic, d 1959
1898 Willy Messerschmitt, German aircraft designer
Died
363 Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363), kia
1296 The Duke du Brabant, murdered
1541 Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conquistador, murdered
1757 Maximilian Ulysses, Reichsgraf von Browne, Imperial Field Marshal, at 52 of wounds from the Battle of Prague, May 6th,
1830 King George IV of Great Britain (1820-1830)
1922 Prince Albert I of Monaco (1889-1922), French naval officer, oceanographer, at 73
Event
1242 Battle of Kuzadagh: The Mongols defeat the Seljuks
1249 Battle of Fossalta: The Bolognese defeat the Modenese
1402 Battle of Casalecchio: Bolognese & Florenties under Giovanni I Bentivoglio of Bologna defeat Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan, the Malatesta of Rimini, & the Gonzaga of Mantua
1483 Richard III usurps English throne
1707 Marshal Daun’s Austrian Army invades Spanish-held Naples
1775 Washington visits NY en route to Boston.
1794 Battle of Fleurus: French defeat the Austro-English, secure Belgium
1830 William IV ascends the British throne
1848 Battle of Castrovillari: The Neapolitan Borbons defeat Sicilian-Calabrese revolutionaries
1857 First Victoria Crosses issued
1857 Indian Mutiny: Cawnpore massacre
1861 Skirmish at Patterson's Ford/Kelly's Island, Va
1862 Beaver Dam Creek, Va: Union troops repulse Confederates
1862 Day 2 of the Seven Days: Battle of Mechanicsville
1898 Santiago: US and Spanish troops skirmish at Sevilla
1898 Santiago: US ships & Spanish batteries exchange fire
1902 Britain establishes Order of Merit
1917 First American combat troops arrive in France
1924 US Marines leave the Dominican Republic, after 8 years of occupation
1934 Germany and Poland sign a non-aggression pact
1941 Nazi-collaborators in Lithuania massacre 2,300 Jews in Kovno
1942 NE New Guinea: Australian Kanga Force raids Salamaua.
1943 Since Dec 7, 1941, Japan has lost 2 million g.r.t. of shipping
1944 Japanese capture U.S. airbase at Hengyang, China
1963 Berlin: Kennedy’s "Ich bin ein Berliner" is wildly applauded (even though the phrase was not correctly translated into German).
1978 Breton separatists bomb the Palace of Versailles in France
June 27th in Military History
Born
1462 King Louis XII "the Just" of France (1498-1515)
1550 King Charles IX of France (1560-74)
1682 King Charles XII of Sweden
1828 Junius Daniel, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1864
1846 Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish nationalist leader
1869 Emma Goldman, Anarchist
1872 Paul Lawrence Dunbar, poet ("The Unsung Heroes"), d. 1906
1898 Lewis "Chesty" Puller, Marine, d. 1971
Died
363 Roman Emperor Julian "the Apostate", possibly murdered
992 Duke Conan I of Brittany
1276 King Jaime I of Aragon (1217-1276), at 68
1296 Count Florian V of Holland and Zeeland
1458 King Alfonso V of Aragon and Sicily, & I of Naples
1638 Patriarch Kyrillos Loukaris of Istanbul, strangled by Sultan Murad IV as a traitor
1776 Thomas Hickey, hanged for trying to betray Washington to the British
1794 Philippe, Count of Noailles, Marshal of France, guillotined at 79, along with his, daughter-in-law, & grand-daughter.
1844 Joseph Smith, Mormon prophet, lynched in Carthage, Ill.
1844 Hyman Smith, bother of Joseph, lynched in Carthage, Ill.
1861 Cdr James H. Ward, 1st naval officer KIA in the Civil War.
1952 Elmo Lincoln
1973 Earl Browder, leader CPUSA (1930-45), at 82
1980 Reza Pahlevi, deposed Shah of Iran
2003 Strom Thurmond, D-Day veteran, segregationist, at 100.
2005 Shelby Foote, novelist, historian ("The Civil War: A Narrative"), at 88
Event
81 BC- First Day of Sulla’s Triumph, for the defeat of Mithridates
1136 Naval Battle of Yell Sound, Shetlands: Earl Paul defeats Earl Ragnvald
1276 Pedro III "the Great" ascends the throne of Aragon
1684 Battle of Vaccia: Imperialists defeat the Turks
1693 First Naval Battle of Lagos: England and Holland vs France
1743 English under George II defeat French at Dettingen
1787 Edward Gibbon completes "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"
1787 Edward Gibbon completes "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"
1795 Quiberon Bay: Anglo-French force lands to support counter-revolutionaries
1806 Buenos Aires is captured by the British
1848 Battle of Maida: Calabrese insurgents defeat Borbon troops
1861 Battle of Mathia's Point, VA: USN attacks Confederate batteries
1862 Day 3 of the Seven Days: Battle of Gaines' Mill
1864 Atlanta Campaign: Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
1874 Second Battle of Adobe Walls, Texas: Hunters beat off Indian attack
1905 The Potemkin Mutiny
1918 Two German airmen make the 1st combat parachute jumps
1923 Yugoslav Premier Nikola Pachitch survives assassination attempt
1926 Office of Assistant SecNav for Aeronautics created
1927 The USMC adopts "Sgt Jiggs," an English bulldog, as its mascot
1941 The Germans capture Bialystock
1942 Convoy PQ-17 leaves Iceland for Archangelsk
1942 FBI captures 8 Nazi saboteurs, landed by U-boat on Long Island
1944 American troops liberate Cherbourg from the Germans
1945 Moscow: Victory parade ends with German battle flags thrown at Stalin's feet
1945 Stalin promotes himself to "Generalissimo of the Soviet Union"
1950 North Koreans troops reach Seoul
1950 Security Council calls on UN members to aid South Korea
1950 Truman orders Air Force & Navy into Korean conflict
1950 US sends 35 military advisers to South Vietnam
1954 CIA-sponsored rebels overthrow government of Guatemala
1962 Joseph Walker takes the X-15 to 6,606 kph and 37,700 m
1976 First women cadets enter the Air Force Academy
1976 Israelis raid Entebbe, Uganda, liberate hostages from hijacked airliner
June 28th in Military History
Born
1476 Giovanni Pietro Caraffa - Pope Paul IV (1555-1559)
1491 King Henry VIII
1742 William Hooper, Signer, d. 1790
1902 Richard Rodgers, composer ("Victory at Sea")
Died
548 Theodora, joy girl and Empress
683 Pope St Leo II (681-683)
1385 Byzantine Emperor Andronicus IV Paleologus
1389 Sultan Murad I of Turkey, assassinated by a Serb on the morning of the Battle of Kosovo
1389 Prince Lazar of Serbia, kia, the Battle of Kosovo
1497 Lord Audley, beheaded for treason in the Tower
1497 Michael Joseph, beheaded for treason in the Tower
1497 Thomas Flammock, beheaded for treason in the Tower
1836 James Madison, militiaman, President (1809-1817), at 75
1904 Daniel Decatur Emmett, composer ("Dixie")
1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand Austria, assassinated at Sarajevo
1914 Duchess Sophie, his wife, assassinated at Sarajevo
Event
81 BC- Second Day of Sulla’s Triumph, for the defeat of Mithridates
1098 Battle of Antioch: Crusaders defeat the Syrians
1119 Battle of Balat/Sarmada: Emir Ilghazi defeats the Principlaity of Antioch
1147 Afonso I of Portugal lays siege to Lisbon (falls Oct 24)
1389 Battle of Kosovo: Turks defeat the Serbs (OS = June 15) (see 1900)
1461 Edward IV crowned king of England
1495 Battle of Seminara II: Bernard Stuart's French defeat Gonzalo de Cordoba, micromanaged by King Ferdinand
1651 Battle of Berestechko, 1st Day: Poles vs. Ukrainians & Tatars
1675 Brandurgers under Frederick William "the Great Elector" defeat the Swedes
1776 Charleston repulses a British naval attack
1778 Washington ties the British at Monmouth
1794 Joshua Humphreys appointed master builder of the USN, at $2,000 a year
1814 USS Wasp captures HMS Reindeer
1838 Queen Victoria is crowned in Westminster Abbey
1862 Day 4 of the Seven Days: First Day of Savage's Station
1865 CSS Shenandoah takes 11 American whalers, two months after Appomattox
1900 Marriage of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria to the Countess Sophie Chotek (See Deaths; 1914)
1909 1st French air show, Concours d'Aviation opens
1914 Gavrilo Princep does his thing in Sarajevo (see 1389, 1900).
1919 Treaty of Versailles is signed
1940 Romania cedes Bessarabia to the Soviet Union
1945 Puppet Polish Provisional Government set up by Soviets
1948 Berlin Airlift begins
1956 Two days of anti-communist riots begin in Poznan, Poland; 38 die
1965 President Johnson orders US ground forces to Vietnam
1968 Daniel Ellsberg indicted for leaking the Pentagon Papers
June 29th in Military History
Born
1397 King Juan II of Aragon
1475 Beatrice Sforza, Duchess of Milan
1831 William Thomas Clark, Brig Gen, d. 1905
1858 George Washington Goethals, military engineer (Panama Canal)
1880 Ludwig Beck, Chief, German general staff , inept anti-Nazi, suicide in 1944
1900 Antoine Saint-Euxpery, aviator, author ("The Little Prince"), d. 1943
1911 Bernard von Lippe-Biesterfeld, Prince of the Netherlands, Hero of the Resistance, d. 2004
Died
67 St Peter, Apostle and Pope (32-67), martyred
1528 Scipione Colonna, Abbot of Subiavo, Bishop of Rieti, kia, Magliano
1799 Neapolitan Adm. Francesco Caracciolo, hanged by Nelson
1840 Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's smarter brother, at 65
1971 Georgi T Dobrovolsky, cosmonaut, at 43
1971 Viktor Patsayev, cosmonaut, at 38
1971 Vladimir Volkov, cosmonaut, at 35
1992 President Mohammad Boudiaf of Algeria, assassinated
Event
626 Avars & Persians invest Constantinople (retreat, 10 Aug 626)
1149 Battle of Inab: Turks defeat the Principlaity of Antioch
1236 King Ferdinand III of Castilla-Leon liberates Cordoba from the Moors
1308 Battle of the River Dee: Edward Bruce defeats the English
1312 Coronation of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII
1377 French naval raids on Rye, Folkestone, Portsmouth, Weymouth, Plymouth, Dartmouth, and Lewes
1440 Battle of Anghiari: The Anti-Visconti League (Revived) defeats the Visconti
1529 Peace of Barcelona: Pope Clement VII confirms Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor
1575 Battle of Nagashino: the Tokugawa defeat the Takeda
1651 Battle of Berestechko, 2nd Day: Poles vs. Ukrainians & Tatars
1734 War of the Polish Succession: Battle of Parma - Franco-Spanish forces defeat the Austrians
1767 British pass Townshend Acts, levying taxes on American colonies
1835 Battle of Anahuac: Texians capture Mexican garrison
1858 Treaty of Algun: China cedes Trans-Amur region to Russia
1862 Day 5 of the Seven Days: Second Day of Savage's Station
1863 Lee orders his forces to concentrate near Gettysburg
1880 France annexes Tahiti
1898 Rio San Juan, P.R: US landing party driven off, 1 killed
1913 Second Balkan War begins: Bulgaria attacks Greece and Serbia
1932 Military coup in Siam installs a constitutional monarchy
1932 USSR & China sign non-aggression pact
1940 US passes Alien Registration Act
1944 Bobriusk: Soviets encircle portions of German Army Group Center
1945 Operation Olympic: Truman sets the invasion of Japan for Nov 1st
1945 Typhoon off Okinawa damages many U.S. ships
1949 US troops withdraw from Korea after WW II
1952 USS Oriskany becomes the first aircraft carrier to round Cape Horn
1965 USAF Capt Joseph Henry Engle reaches 85,530 m in X-15
1966 North Vietnam: US bombs fuel storage facilities
1967 Israel declares the reunification of Jerusalem
1970 US/ARVN end two month military offensive into Cambodia
1971 Soviet Soyuz 11 landing accident, three cosmonauts die
June 30th in Military History
Born
1470 Charles VIII of France (1483-98)
1503 Johan Frederik of Saxony (1532-47)
1837 Stephen D Ramseur, Maj Gen, C.S.A.
1894 Gavrilo Princip, assassin
Died
350 Roman Emperor-aspirant Julius Nepotian (June 3-30, 350), murdered.
1109 King Alfonso VI of Leon
1520 Emperor Motecuhzoma II of the Aztec, of wounds, at Tenochtitlan
1685 Archibald Campbell, ninth Earl of Argyle, beheaded at Edinburgh
1797 Richard Parker, who led the Nore mutiny, hanged from the yardarm of HMS Neptune
1882 Charles Guiteau, assassin of President Garfield, hanged
1934 Ernst Rohm, head of the Brown Shirts, 46, murdered by Hitler
1934 Gregor Strasser, Nazi leader, murdered by Hitler
1934 Karl Earnest, Brown Shirt leader, murdered by Hitler
1934 Kurt von Schleicher, chancellor (1932-33), murdered by Hitler
1938 Caroline Poulder King, last War of 1812 veteran’s widow; b. 1850, married veteran Darius King, 70, in 1870.
1942 Mary C. Kimbro, 1st American woman merchant Mariner to die in WW II, City of Birmingham, torpedoed, North Atlantic
Event
296 Consecration of Pope Saint Marcellinus (296-304)
1294 Jews are expelled from Bern, Switzerland
1409 Battle of San Luri: The Aragonese defeat Arborea (Sardinia)
1422 Battle of Arbedo: The Milanese defeat the Swiss
1520 La Noche Trise: Cortez evacuates Tenochtitlan with heavy losses
1596 The Earl of Essex sacks Cadiz
1651 Battle of Berestechko, 3rd Day: Poles defeat Tatars & Ukrainians
1689 Convention of Altoona: Peace between Denmakr and Holstein-Gottorp
1690 Battle of Beachy Head: Torrington’s Anglo-Dutch fleet defeats Tourville’s French squadron
1794 Indians fail to capture Fort Recovery, Ohio Territory
1807 Battle of Lemnos: Russian squadron defeats the Turks
1815 USS Peacock takes HMS Nautilus, 6 months after the War of 1812 has ended
1821 First US rail movement of troops, to Baltimore to crush rioting
1848 Battle of Rotonda: Calabrese insurgents defeat Borbon troops
1849 The Republic of Rome surrenders to the French
1859 Franco-Piedmontese fleet begins operating in the Gulf of Venice
1861 CSS Sumter slips past USS Brooklyn, on blockade at the Head of Passes, Mississippi R.
1862 Day 6 of the Seven Days: White Oak Swamp/Frayser's Farm
1863 Chambersburg: Confederates destroy large stores of whiskey
1865 Eight are convicted in the assassination of Lincoln
1871 Peasant uprising in Guatemala demanding land reform
1894 Korea declares independence from China, asks for Japanese aid
1898 Manzanillo, Cuba: USN raids harbor, sinks several vessels
1898 Tayabacoa, Cuba: US landing party driven off
1908 The Tunguska Event (meteor or comet explodes over Siberia)
1917 Greece declares war on the Central Powers
1934 "The Night of Long Knives": Hitler's "blood purge"
1936 Haile Selassie asks League of Nations to sanction Italy
1936 Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind" is published
1939 Heinkel He-76 rocket plane flies for 1st time, at Peenemunde
1941 Pro-Nazi group declares Ukraine independent of the USSR
1942 Congress votes $42 billion (c. $650 billion today) for defense.
1944 General strike against Nazi occupation in Copenhagen
1962 French Foreign Legion leaves Algeria for the last time
1967 Maj Robert H Lawrence Jr named 1st black astronaut
1997 Hong Kong reverts to China, ending 150 years of British rule
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1939, "Cherokee" is recorded for the first time by Charlie Barnet and his orchestra … the tune will be recorded by scores of jazz greats and often played at a breakneck pace to humble neophytes …
1953, a young sideburned truck driver—last name of Presley—drops in at the Memphis Recording Service studio, plunks down his four bucks, and records "My Happiness" on an acetate disc as a gift for his mother …
1954, Elvis Presley officially ends his career as a truck driver when he signs his first record contract with Sun Records …
1962, The Rolling Stones play out for the first time at the Marquee Club in London … Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, Mick Avery, and Dick Taylor constitute the lineup …
1964, The Rolling Stones cover of Buddy Holly’s "Not Fade Away" makes it to number 48 on the chart … it is the first in their long line of hits …
1966, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker form Cream, the first "supergroup" and one of rock’s most celebrated trios …
1968, Steppenwolf releases the ultimate biker anthem "Born To Be Wild" … this same week The Beatles’ full-length animated film Yellow Submarine debuts at the Pavilion Theatre in London with John, Paul, and George in attendance …
1969, Blind Faith makes their American concert debut at Madison Square Garden in New York City …
1973, the Everly Brothers arrive at an ignominious career low when the sweet-harmonizing siblings’ set at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, is stopped by the theme park’s entertainment director who feels Don is doing a poor job … brother Phil sees red, smashes his guitar, and stalks offstage … Don performs the third set as a solo and announces that the Everly Brothers are history …
1974, John Lennon is given two months to leave the United States by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, who have denied him an extension on his visa, supposedly because he pled guilty to a pot charge in England in 1968 … it will be revealed later that he is under surveillance by the FBI … in early 2007 the FBI’s dossier on Lennon is made public … among its not-so-shocking revelations: British leftists failed to get Lennon to bankroll a bookstore and that J. Edgar Hoover considered the singer "a sympathizer of Trotskyist communists in England" …
1978, as Bob Dylan leaves England after completion of his U.K. tour, over 200,000 gather at Blackbush Airport to see him off …
1982, Moon Unit Zappa, still a young teenager, makes her debut with dad, Frank, recording "Valley Girl," which becomes FZ’s highest-charting single at #32 and wins Grammy nominations for father and daughter alike …
1986, after 28 years of collaboration, Columbia Records drops Johnny Cash, who then signs with Mercury …
1995, a bear-bone flute is found in an archaeological dig in the Idrijca River Valley in Slovenia … at an estimated 45,000 years old, it is the oldest musical instrument ever found …
1996, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin loses his gig with the Smashing Pumpkins after he ODs on smack with touring percussionist-keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin in a New York hotel room … Melvoin dies and Chamberlin is told to take a hike … he will not rejoin the band until 1999 … this is the second time Chamberlin has been booted on this tour, the previous vacation mandated after an overdose in Thailand and another in Portugal …
1998, Harry Chapin lives! … his policy of donating half of his concert proceeds to such humanitarian causes as fighting hunger is carried on after his death by the Harry Chapin Tribute Concert … the performers include past members of Chapin’s band … the audience donates food …
2002, Bob Seger wins the Port Huron to Mackinac Island Sailboat Race, his second sailing title in two years …
2006, It’s announced that Twyla Tharp’s musical based on the music of Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A Changin’, is Broadway-bound in October … the show opened in San Diego earlier in 2006 to mixed reviews … Dylan endorses the show saying, "Twyla’s artistry knocks me out. Her production is the best presentation of my songs I have ever seen or heard on any stage" … after a contentious history with the Internet and downloading in general, and Apple’s iTunes in particular, Metallica relents and agrees that iTunes may sell individual band tracks instead of entire albums …
And that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
July 12: Oscar Hammerstein II (1895), Barbara Cowsill (1928), Van Cliburn (1934), blues guitarist Sammy Lawhorne (1935), Christine McVie (1943), John Wetton of Asia (1949), Eric Carr of KISS (1950), Liz Mitchell of Boney M (1952), Sandi Patti (1956), Soul Asylum’s Dan Murphy (1962), UB40’s Alan Duval (1963), John Petrucci of Dream Theater (1967)
July 13: drummer Steven Jo Bladd of the J. Geils Band (1942), Roger McGuinn (1942), Cheech Marin (1946), Louise Mandrell (1954), Mark Mendoza of Twisted Sister (1956), rock journalist and movie maker Cameron Crowe (1957), Gerald Levert (1966), Coldplay’s Will Champion (1978)
July 14: Woody Guthrie (1912), D.J. Zenas Sears (1913), Cliff Trenier (1919), Lowman Pauling of the "5" Royales (1926), Bob Scholl (1938), Vince Taylor (1939), soul singer Ty Hunter (1940), Trevor Horn of Buggles and Yes (1949), Chris Cross (1952), Tanya Donelly of Belly (1966), Ellen Reid of Crash Test Dummies (1966), Tameka Cottle of Xscape (1975), Taboo of Black Eyed Peas (1975)
July 15: Cowboy Copas (1913), Motown drummer William "Benny" Benjamin (1925), potty-mouth soul star Millie Jackson (1944), Peter Lewis of Moby Grape (1945), Linda Ronstadt (1946), guitarist for .38 Special Jeff Carlisi (1952), Johnny Thunders (1952), Joe Satriani (1956), Ian Curtis of Joy Division (1956)
July 16: Sollie McElroy of the Flamingos (1934), Denise LaSalle (1939), Ruben Blades (1948), Stewart Copeland (1952), Ed Kowalczyk of Live (1971)
July 17: Texas R&B singer Peppermint Harris (1925), Spencer Davis (1941), The Sweet’s Mick Tucker (1948), Black Sabbath’s Terry "Geezer" Butler (1949), Nicolette Larson (1952), Doobie Brother Chet McCracken (1952), Phoebe Snow (1952), JC of PM Dawn (1973)
July 18: Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (1929), Papa Dee Allen of War (1931), Dion DiMucci (1937), Ian Stewart (1938), Brian Auger (1939), Martha Reeves (1941), Tim Lynch of The Flamin’ Groovies (1946), Golden Earring’s Caesar Zuiderwijk (1950), Ricky Skaggs (1954), Terry Chambers of XTC (1955), Pearl Jam’s Jack Irons (1962), Tony Fagenson of Eve 6 (1962)
Obituaries
July 12: Sandy y Papo’s Luis "Papo" Deschamps (1999), Jimmie Driftwood (1998)
July 13: Arthur "Killer" Kane of the New York Dolls (2004), Chicago blues pianist Eddie Boyd (1994)
July 14: "British Queen of the Blues" Beryl Bryden (1998), Phillipe Wynne of the Spinners (1984), Malcolm Owen of the Rutts (1980), progressive country guitarist Clarence White of The Byrds (1973)
July 15: rapper Too Poetic aka Anthony Berkeley (2001), Bobby Day (1990), Rick Garberson (1979)
July 16: Styx drummer John Panozzo (1996), Sun Records’ Bill Justis (1982), Harry Chapin (1981), Peter Cowap of Herman’s Hermits (1977)
July 17: Paul Young of Mike and the Mechanics (2000), Marc Hunter of Dragon (1998), Hendrix manager Chas Chandler (1996), blues pianist Roosevelt Sykes (1983), John Coltrane (1967), Billie Holiday (1959), harpin’ bluesman Henry Strong (1954)
July 18: Haroon Shamsher of Joi (2001), Nico (1988), Jimmy Liggins (1983), Hi Records owner Joe Cuoghi (1970), Bobby Fuller (1966)
1939, "Cherokee" is recorded for the first time by Charlie Barnet and his orchestra … the tune will be recorded by scores of jazz greats and often played at a breakneck pace to humble neophytes …
1953, a young sideburned truck driver—last name of Presley—drops in at the Memphis Recording Service studio, plunks down his four bucks, and records "My Happiness" on an acetate disc as a gift for his mother …
1954, Elvis Presley officially ends his career as a truck driver when he signs his first record contract with Sun Records …
1962, The Rolling Stones play out for the first time at the Marquee Club in London … Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, Mick Avery, and Dick Taylor constitute the lineup …
1964, The Rolling Stones cover of Buddy Holly’s "Not Fade Away" makes it to number 48 on the chart … it is the first in their long line of hits …
1966, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker form Cream, the first "supergroup" and one of rock’s most celebrated trios …
1968, Steppenwolf releases the ultimate biker anthem "Born To Be Wild" … this same week The Beatles’ full-length animated film Yellow Submarine debuts at the Pavilion Theatre in London with John, Paul, and George in attendance …
1969, Blind Faith makes their American concert debut at Madison Square Garden in New York City …
1973, the Everly Brothers arrive at an ignominious career low when the sweet-harmonizing siblings’ set at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, is stopped by the theme park’s entertainment director who feels Don is doing a poor job … brother Phil sees red, smashes his guitar, and stalks offstage … Don performs the third set as a solo and announces that the Everly Brothers are history …
1974, John Lennon is given two months to leave the United States by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, who have denied him an extension on his visa, supposedly because he pled guilty to a pot charge in England in 1968 … it will be revealed later that he is under surveillance by the FBI … in early 2007 the FBI’s dossier on Lennon is made public … among its not-so-shocking revelations: British leftists failed to get Lennon to bankroll a bookstore and that J. Edgar Hoover considered the singer "a sympathizer of Trotskyist communists in England" …
1978, as Bob Dylan leaves England after completion of his U.K. tour, over 200,000 gather at Blackbush Airport to see him off …
1982, Moon Unit Zappa, still a young teenager, makes her debut with dad, Frank, recording "Valley Girl," which becomes FZ’s highest-charting single at #32 and wins Grammy nominations for father and daughter alike …
1986, after 28 years of collaboration, Columbia Records drops Johnny Cash, who then signs with Mercury …
1995, a bear-bone flute is found in an archaeological dig in the Idrijca River Valley in Slovenia … at an estimated 45,000 years old, it is the oldest musical instrument ever found …
1996, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin loses his gig with the Smashing Pumpkins after he ODs on smack with touring percussionist-keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin in a New York hotel room … Melvoin dies and Chamberlin is told to take a hike … he will not rejoin the band until 1999 … this is the second time Chamberlin has been booted on this tour, the previous vacation mandated after an overdose in Thailand and another in Portugal …
1998, Harry Chapin lives! … his policy of donating half of his concert proceeds to such humanitarian causes as fighting hunger is carried on after his death by the Harry Chapin Tribute Concert … the performers include past members of Chapin’s band … the audience donates food …
2002, Bob Seger wins the Port Huron to Mackinac Island Sailboat Race, his second sailing title in two years …
2006, It’s announced that Twyla Tharp’s musical based on the music of Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A Changin’, is Broadway-bound in October … the show opened in San Diego earlier in 2006 to mixed reviews … Dylan endorses the show saying, "Twyla’s artistry knocks me out. Her production is the best presentation of my songs I have ever seen or heard on any stage" … after a contentious history with the Internet and downloading in general, and Apple’s iTunes in particular, Metallica relents and agrees that iTunes may sell individual band tracks instead of entire albums …
And that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
July 12: Oscar Hammerstein II (1895), Barbara Cowsill (1928), Van Cliburn (1934), blues guitarist Sammy Lawhorne (1935), Christine McVie (1943), John Wetton of Asia (1949), Eric Carr of KISS (1950), Liz Mitchell of Boney M (1952), Sandi Patti (1956), Soul Asylum’s Dan Murphy (1962), UB40’s Alan Duval (1963), John Petrucci of Dream Theater (1967)
July 13: drummer Steven Jo Bladd of the J. Geils Band (1942), Roger McGuinn (1942), Cheech Marin (1946), Louise Mandrell (1954), Mark Mendoza of Twisted Sister (1956), rock journalist and movie maker Cameron Crowe (1957), Gerald Levert (1966), Coldplay’s Will Champion (1978)
July 14: Woody Guthrie (1912), D.J. Zenas Sears (1913), Cliff Trenier (1919), Lowman Pauling of the "5" Royales (1926), Bob Scholl (1938), Vince Taylor (1939), soul singer Ty Hunter (1940), Trevor Horn of Buggles and Yes (1949), Chris Cross (1952), Tanya Donelly of Belly (1966), Ellen Reid of Crash Test Dummies (1966), Tameka Cottle of Xscape (1975), Taboo of Black Eyed Peas (1975)
July 15: Cowboy Copas (1913), Motown drummer William "Benny" Benjamin (1925), potty-mouth soul star Millie Jackson (1944), Peter Lewis of Moby Grape (1945), Linda Ronstadt (1946), guitarist for .38 Special Jeff Carlisi (1952), Johnny Thunders (1952), Joe Satriani (1956), Ian Curtis of Joy Division (1956)
July 16: Sollie McElroy of the Flamingos (1934), Denise LaSalle (1939), Ruben Blades (1948), Stewart Copeland (1952), Ed Kowalczyk of Live (1971)
July 17: Texas R&B singer Peppermint Harris (1925), Spencer Davis (1941), The Sweet’s Mick Tucker (1948), Black Sabbath’s Terry "Geezer" Butler (1949), Nicolette Larson (1952), Doobie Brother Chet McCracken (1952), Phoebe Snow (1952), JC of PM Dawn (1973)
July 18: Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (1929), Papa Dee Allen of War (1931), Dion DiMucci (1937), Ian Stewart (1938), Brian Auger (1939), Martha Reeves (1941), Tim Lynch of The Flamin’ Groovies (1946), Golden Earring’s Caesar Zuiderwijk (1950), Ricky Skaggs (1954), Terry Chambers of XTC (1955), Pearl Jam’s Jack Irons (1962), Tony Fagenson of Eve 6 (1962)
Obituaries
July 12: Sandy y Papo’s Luis "Papo" Deschamps (1999), Jimmie Driftwood (1998)
July 13: Arthur "Killer" Kane of the New York Dolls (2004), Chicago blues pianist Eddie Boyd (1994)
July 14: "British Queen of the Blues" Beryl Bryden (1998), Phillipe Wynne of the Spinners (1984), Malcolm Owen of the Rutts (1980), progressive country guitarist Clarence White of The Byrds (1973)
July 15: rapper Too Poetic aka Anthony Berkeley (2001), Bobby Day (1990), Rick Garberson (1979)
July 16: Styx drummer John Panozzo (1996), Sun Records’ Bill Justis (1982), Harry Chapin (1981), Peter Cowap of Herman’s Hermits (1977)
July 17: Paul Young of Mike and the Mechanics (2000), Marc Hunter of Dragon (1998), Hendrix manager Chas Chandler (1996), blues pianist Roosevelt Sykes (1983), John Coltrane (1967), Billie Holiday (1959), harpin’ bluesman Henry Strong (1954)
July 18: Haroon Shamsher of Joi (2001), Nico (1988), Jimmy Liggins (1983), Hi Records owner Joe Cuoghi (1970), Bobby Fuller (1966)
July 1st in Military History
Born
1534 King Frederick II of Denmark and Norway (1559-88)
1725 Jean Baptiste, Comte de Rochambeau, who would win the Battle of the Virgnia Capes, insuring victory at Yorktown
1731 Adm Viscount Duncan, in Dundee
1802 Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, d. 1878
1833 Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert, Brig Gen, U.S.
1872 Louis Bleriot, first to fly an airplane across English Channel
1903 Amy Johnson, aviatrix, k. 1941
Died
975 King Edgar of England
1277 Sultan Baibars of Mamluke Egypt (1260-1277), accidental poisoning
1360 Giacomo I Caetani, Lord of Sermoneta, condottiero, hanged at c. 40
1582 Admiral Crichton, assassinated at Mantua
1690 Frederick, Duke Schomberg, xyz kia, Battle of the Boyne,
1776 Francis Salvador, first Jewish-American be kia
1839 Sultan Mahmud II of Turkey (1808-39), at 53
1863 John Reynolds, Maj. Gen., U.S.A., kia, Gettysburg
1914 Albert Pollio, Chief-of-Staff of the Italian Army, heart attack
1943 Auguste Reitsma, Dutch resistance fighter, executed by the Nazis
1943 C Baker, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 C L Barentsen, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Coos Hartogh, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Cor Rose, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Henri Halberstadt, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Johan Brouwer, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Karl Groger, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Koen Limperg, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Rudy Bloemgarten, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Willem Arondeus, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Willem Brouwer, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1944 Adm Nagumo, Victor of Pearl Harbor, suicide on Saipan.
Event
776 BC- The First Olympiad begins.
291 BC- Triumph of Q. Fabius Maximus Gurges for the defeat of the Samnites
81 BC- Sulla ends the proscriptions
1097 Battle of Doryleum: Crusaders defeat Sultan Kilidj Arslan's Seljuk Turks near Nicaea
1266 Treaty of Perth: Scotland "rents" the Western Isles from Norway at 100 marks a year
1482 Battle of Loja: the Moors defeat the Castillians & Aragonese
1543 Treaty of Greenwich: King Edward VI of Engldan (9) is betrothed to his cousin Mary Queen of Scots (14)
1690 Battle of Fleurs: The French defeat the Imperialists
1690 The Boyne: Protestants massacre Catholics (12th NS)
1782 American privateers raid Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
1816 French frigate Medusa wrecked, inspiring Gericault's "The Raft of the Medusa"
1823 United Provinces of Central America gain independence from Mexico
1861 Skirmish at Falling Waters/Martinsburg, Md: Union victory
1862 Battle of Holly Spring, MS
1862 Day 7 of the 7 Days: Malvern Hill/Harrison's Landing/Crew's Farm, Va.
1862 US taxes incomes of $600 or more to help finance the Civil War
1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Day1: Lee wins
1864 Battle of Petersburg (lasts to July 31)
1867 The Dominion of Canada is formed
1870 James W Smith becomes the first black man to enter West Point
1873 Henry Flipper of Georgia is the second black man to enter West Point
1898 Battles of El Caney and San Juan Hill, outside Santiago, Cuba
1898 Skirmish at Aguadores, Cuba
1898 US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries, Havana
1903 Geronimo is baptized in the Methodist Church
1913 Second Balkan War: Serbia & Greece declare war on Bulgaria
1916 Battle of the Somme begins
1942 The Germans capture Sevastopol after a long siege
1943 Japanese DD Hokaze damaged by US sub Thresher in the Southwest Pacific.
1943 Marine 4th Raider Battalion captures Viru Harbor on New Georgia.
1945 Australians land at Balikpapan, Borneo, against stiff resistance
1946 US test atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll, the 4th nuclear explosion
1950 First US ground troops arrive in Korea
1960 USSR shoots down US RB-47
1961 British troops land in Kuwait to prevent an Iraqi invasion
1962 Belgian "Trust Territories" of Burundi and Rwanda became independent
1969 Prince Charles is invested as the Prince of Wales
July 2nd in Military History
Born
419 Valentinian III, Roman Emperor (425-455)
1830 John Bordenave Villepigue, Brig Gen, C.S.A.
1836 Henry Eugene Davies, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1894
1903 King Olav V of Norway (1957-1991)
1925 Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician and communist, murdered, 1960
Died
783 Bertha, mother of Charlemagne
936 Henry I "the Fowler", Duke of Saxony (912-36), King of the Germans (919-36)
1298 King Adolf von Nassau-Weilburg of Germany, kia Goellheim/Worms
1504 Prince Stefan III "the Great" Bogdanowitz of Moldavia (1457-1504)
1822 Denmark Vesey and five others, hanged in Charleston for a slave conspiracy
1850 Sir Robert Peel, founder of the London Police Force
1863 George Nixon, 73rd Ohio, died of wounds at Gettysburg; great-grand-father of a president
1863 Strong Vincent, Brig. Gen., U.S.A., kia, Gettysburg
1903 Pope Leo XIII - Giacchino Pecci 1878-1903)
1915 Porfirio Diaz, revolutionary general, president of Mexico, d 1915
1918 Sultan Mohammed V Resjad of Turkey (1909-18)
1937 Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan, lost in the Pacific
1961 Ernest Hemingway, war correspondent, suicide, at 61
1987 Karl Linnas, accused Nazi, of heart failure awaiting trial in Russia
2004 Marlon Brando, actor ("Morituri"), at 80
Event
310 Accession of Pope St. Militades (or maybe 311), d. 314
1187 Saladin captures Tiberias, besieges the Citadel (falls 5th)
1214 Battle of La Roche-aux-Moines (Angers)
1247 Emperor Frederick II lays siege to Parma (lifted Feb 18,1248)
1298 Battle of Goellheim\Worms: Albert of Austria defeats Adolf von Nassau-Weilburg, his rival for Holy Roman Emperor
1431 Battle of Bulgneville: The Angevins defeat the Lorrainers
1461 Battle of Nidastore: The Malatesti of Rimini defeat Pope Pius II’s forces
1600 Battle of Nieuport: Dutch defeat the Spanish
1625 Breda falls to the Spanish after a year’s siege
1644 Battle of Marston Moor: Roundheads defeat the Royalists
1704 Battle of Schellenberg: Anglo-Imperialists defeat the Franco-Bavarians
1747 Battle of Lauffeld: Marshal Saxe’s French defeat the Duke of Cumberland’s Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverians
1776 Continental Congress declares the Thirteen Colonies independent
1777 Vermont becomes 1st American "state" to abolish slavery
1814 Jacob Brown captures Ft. Erie, Ontario, from the British
1820 Carbonari coup at Naples installs a liberal Constitution
1861 Battle of Hoke's Run, WV
1862 Lincoln calls for an additional 300,000 volunteers
1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Day 2: A draw
1863 John Hunt Morgan's Burksville-Salineville Raid begins(to July 26)
1864 Jubal's Raid: Winchester falls
1882 James Garfield, veteran, mortally wounded by a disappointed office seeker
1898 Skirmishing outside Santiago, as US begins close investment
1898 US ships engage Spanish batteries at Cape Tunas, Cuba
1898 US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries, Santiago
1900 Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin's first airship, the LZ-1, flies
1903 US leases Guantanamo Bay from Cuba for $2,000 a year
1923 Naval Research Laboratory established in Washington
1926 Army Air Corps becomes an arm of the service
1926 Congress authorizes the Distinguished Flying Cross.
1934 General Lazaro Cardenas elected president of Mexico
1941 Nazis murder 7,000 in Lvov
1942 Chiang names Stilwell commander of Chinese forces in India.
1942 JCS authorize "Operation Watchtower," the seizure of Guadalcanal
1942 New York Times reports Nazi mass murder of Jews
1943 37th and 43rd Divs and Marines land on Munda on New Georgia.
1943 Japanese cruisers and destroyers shell U.S. positions at Rendova
1943 Lieutenant Charles Hall becomes the first black pilot to shoot down a Nazi plane
1944 Marshal von Kluge replaces General von Rundstedt in command in France
1944 Saipan: Japanese retire northwards to make a last stand.
1944 US troops land on Noemfoor, off New Guinea.
1951 "Plan 9 from Outer Space" released; generally regarded as the worst movie in history (although "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" comes in a close second)
1957 Grayback launched, first sub designed to fire guided missiles
1957 Seawolf completed, first sub with liquid metal cooled reactor
1966 First French nuclear explosion, Mururoa atoll
1980 President Carter resumes draft registration for 18 year old men
1993 Moslem fundamentalists set hotel on fire in Sivas, Turkey, 36 die
July 3rd in Military History
Born
1423 King Louis XI of France (1461-83)
1567 Samuel de Champlain
1737 Samuel Huntington, Signer, d. 1791
1878 George M. Cohan, not on the 4th, as he claimed
1886 Admiral Raymond A Spruance, Victor of Midway
1913 Hugh MacKenzie, British vice admiral
1951 Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, sometime dictator of Haiti
Died
1191 Albéric Clément, the first Marshal of France, of natural causes at Acre
1541 Antonio Rincon, French emissary to the Grand Turk, murdered in Italy by agents of His Royal Excellency Charles V
1541 Cesare Fregoso, French emissary to the Most Serene Republic, murdered in Italy by agents of His Royal Excellency Charles V
1642 Marie de'Medici, widow of Henri IV of France; inventor of French cooking
1863 Lewis A. Armistead, Brig Gen, C.S.A., KIA, Gettysburg
1863 Lt. Alonzo Cushing, U.S.A., KIA, Gettysburg at 19
1863 Richard B Garnett, Brig Gen, C.S.A., KIA, Gettysburg
Event
323 Battle of Adrianople: Constantine defeats Licinius
987 Hugh Capet crowned King of France
1428 Treaty of Delft: Between Jacob of Bavaria and Philip the Good of France
1448 Battle of Scutari: The Albanians defeat the Venetians
1620 Treaty of Ulm: German states declare neutrality in the Hapsburg-Bohemian conflict
1657 Battle of the Dardanelles, Day 1: Venetians skirmish with the Turks
1775 Washington takes command of Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass
1778 British & Indians massacre 360 men, women & children in Wyoming, Pa
1790 Naval Battle of Viborg: Swedish fleet breaks out of the Russian blockade (since May 22)
1798 Geo. Washington commissioned Lt Gen for the Quasi-War with France
1861 Martinsburg, Va: Confederates pull out before US advance
1863 Battle Gettysburg, Day 3: "Pickett’s Charge" is shattered
1863 Battle of Donaldsonville, LA
1864 Battle of Chattahoochee River, GA [continues until Jul 9]
1898 Joshua Slocum completes first solo circumnavigation of the globe
1898 Naval Battle of Santiago: Spanish squadron is annihilated
1915 Erich Muenter blows up the Senate reception room
1939 Ernst Heinkel demonstrates 800-kph rocket plane to Hitler
1940 Royal Navy inflicts heavy losses on the French fleet at Oran, Algeria
1941 Germans slaughter c. 2,000 Jews in Bialystock
1942 Japanese from Tulagi land on Guadalcanal to construct an airfield
1943 New Guinea: Australian 3rd Division links with MacKechnie Force, Nassau Bay
1944 U.S. Navy ships bombard Iwo Jima and the Bonin Islands.
1945 Australian troops capture oil fields at Balikpapan, Borneo.
1947 USSR refuses to join the "Imperialistic" Marshall Plan
1950 First US-North Korean clash: TF Smith is overrun
1954 World War II food rationing ends in Britain
1976 Entebbe Raid: Israel rescues 103 held by Palestinian hijackers in Uganda
1986 Relighting of the Statue of Liberty after protracted renovations
1988 USS Vincennes accidentally shoots down an Iranian airliner, 290 die
July 4th in Military History
Born
1546 Sultan Murad III of Turkey (1574-95)
1799 King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway (1844-59)
1804 Nathaniel Hawthorne, militiaman, novelist ("The Scarlet Letter")
1807 Giuseppe Garibaldi - "Hero of Two Continents"
1826 Green Clay Smith, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1895
1828 James Johnston Pettigrew, Brig Gen, C.S.A.
1872 Calvin Coolidge, only President born on the 4th
1883 Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff
1916 Iva "Tokyo Rose" Toguri D'Aquino, d. 2006
Died
1187 Prince Reynoud de Chatillon of Antioch, kia at Hattin
1307 Rudolf III, Duke of Austria and King of Bohemia
1450 Lord Saye and Seal, beheaded at London
1500 Guid Antonio Malvizzi, Patrician of Bologna, assassinated.
1657 Avise Mocenigo, Venetian admiral, when his flagship blows up in action against the Turks
1787 Prince Charles de Rohan-Soubise, Marshal of France, 71
1826 John Adams, Signer, President
1826 Thomas Jefferson, Signer, sometime militiaman, President, at 83
1831 James Monroe, major of the Continental Line, President, at 73
1881 Billy the Kid, shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico
1943 Wladyslaw Sikorski, Polish Premier-in-Exile, plane crash at Gibraltar
1971 Admiral Thomas Hart, 94
1974 Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammed al-Husseini, Nazi collaborator
Event
1187 Battle of Hattin: Saladin defeats the Crusaders under King Guy of Jerusalem
1190 King Philip II's French & Richard I's English armies unite at Vezelay, to begin the 3rd Crusade
1299 Battle of Cape Orlando: Roger de Lauria's Catalan fleet defeats the Sicilians
1301 Battle of Breukelen: Holland defeats Lichtenberg.
1547 Battle of Oglio: the French defeat the Spanish
1642 Castro War: Battle of Codigoro - Papal Army defeats the Venetians
1657 Battle of the Dardanelles, Day 2: Venetian fleet defeats the Turks
1708 Battle of Holowczin: The Swedes defeat the Russians
1754 George Washington surrenders Ft. Necessity to the French
1763 Ojibwa and Sauk Indians capture Ft. Michilimackinac from the British
1776 Independence Day: The Signing of the Declaration of Independence begins
1777 John Paul Jones hoists the Stars and Stripes on Ranger, Portsmouth, NH.
1801 1st Presidential Review of the Marine Band and Marines, at the White House.
1802 US Military Academy opens at West Point
1806 Battle of Maida: upset British victory over the French in Calabria
1818 Congress rules the flag shall have 13 stripes, and one star for each state
1832 Samuel Francis Smith's "America" sung in public for the first time
1842 Gunboat Boxer is sunk in first trials of electrical underwater "torpedo"
1848 "The Communist Manifesto" is published, inspiring countless murders
1857 Great Battle between the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery B'hoys in The Bowery
1861 Skirmish at Harper's Ferry, WV
1862 Battle of Port Royal, SC
1862 Morgan's Raid: Tomkinsville, KY to Somerset, KY, by JUL 28
1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Day 4: The armies hold their ground
1863 Skirmish at Smithburg, TN
1863 Vicksburg surrenders to U.S. Grant
1866 Battle of Monte Sullo: The Austrians defeat the Garibaldini
1866 Battle of Vezza d'Oglio: The Garibaldini defeat the Austrians
1875 White rioters kill blacks in Vicksburg
1879 Battle of Ulundi: The British crush the Zulu Army
1895 "America the Beautiful," by Katherine Lee Bates, is publishes
1936 League of Nations applies sanctions on Italy over Ethiopia.
1942 Aussie coastwatchers report Japanese airfield building on Guadalcanal.
1942 First American bombing mission over Nazi-occupied Europe
1942 Japanese Destroyer Nehoni is sunk in the Aleutians by U.S. submarine Triton.
1942 The American Volunteer Group ("Flying Tigers") becomes the Fourteenth Air Force
1943 Elements of the US 37th Infantry Division land at Bairoko, on Kula Gulf
1943 Japanese destroyers with reinforcements for Vila, Kula Gulf, sink a U.S. destroyer
1944 Elements of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment drop on Noemfoor, to reinforce troops there
1946 Anti-Jewish riots in Kielce, Poland, 39 die
1946 Philippines gain independence from US, on schedule despite World War II
1950 USS Valley Forge & HMS Triumph make first UN air strikes of the Korean War
1987 Nazi Klaus Barbie, "Butcher of Lyon" convicted by a French court
July 5th in Military History
Born
1781 Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore
1801 David Glasgow Farragut, the First Admiral, d. 1870
1853 Cecil John Rhodes, imperialist
1889 Jean Cocteau, artistic Nazi collaborator
1902 Henry Cabot Lodge, tanker, diplomat
Died
965 Pope Benedict V (964-965)
1950 Private Kenneth Shadrick, first American kia in Korea
1950 Salvatore Giuliano, Sicilian bandit-hero, killed by police
1969 Tom Mboya, Kenyan economics minister, assassinated in Nairobi
2005 Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale, Medal of Honor, b. 1923
Event
46 Caesar returns to Rome following victory in the African War.
663 Constans II visits Rome, the first emperor to do so in over a century
1044 Battle of Menfo: The Germans defeat the Magyars
1187 Saladin captures the citdael of Tiberias (invested the 2nd)
1294 Pietro di Murrone is elected Pope St. Celestine V (5 Jul-13 Dec 1294), later abdicates, d. 1296
1450 Battle of Southwark: Jack Cade’s Kentish rebels beat Matthew Gough
1750 Slave revolt in Curacao
1806 Spanish defeat a British attempt to take Buenos Aires
1809 Battle of Wagram, Day 1: Napoleon v. the Austrians (ends 6th)
1809 Rome: Napoleon’s troops kidnap Pope Pius VII and carry him into exile
1811 Venezuela declares independence from Spain
1814 Battle of Chippewa: "By God, these are regulars!"
1814 US Sloop-of-War Peacock captures four British ships
1830 The French capture Algiers
1861 Battle of Carthage, Missouri
1861 Skirmish at Newport News: US retakes Gosport Naval Base
1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Day 5: Lee retreats
1863 Battles of Jackson and Birdsong Ferry, Mississippi
1865 US forms the Secret Service, to combat counterfeiting
1924 Military revolt in Sao Paulo, Brazil
1932 Antonio de Oliveira Salazar becomes premier/dictator of Portugal (1932-1968)
1933 Catholic Center Party disbanded by the Nazis
1942 Aerial recon confirms Japanese airfield construction on Guadalcanal.
1942 Aleutians: Sub Growler sinks Japanese destroyer Arare near Kiska.
1943 "Tokyo Express" supply mission departs Rabaul
1943 At Kiska, damaged Japanese submarine I-7 is scuttled.
1943 Japan cedes five Malaya provinces to Siam, as a bribe.
1943 The Battle of Kursk beings
1944 Japanese at Imphal decide to withdraw, having lost 53,000 troops
1962 Algeria becomes independent of France
1975 Cape Verde Islands gain independence after 500 years under Portugal
1977 Pakistan: coup by Gen Mohammad Zia ul-Haq
1993 Kurdish guerrillas murder 32 villagers in East Turkey
Born
1534 King Frederick II of Denmark and Norway (1559-88)
1725 Jean Baptiste, Comte de Rochambeau, who would win the Battle of the Virgnia Capes, insuring victory at Yorktown
1731 Adm Viscount Duncan, in Dundee
1802 Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, d. 1878
1833 Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert, Brig Gen, U.S.
1872 Louis Bleriot, first to fly an airplane across English Channel
1903 Amy Johnson, aviatrix, k. 1941
Died
975 King Edgar of England
1277 Sultan Baibars of Mamluke Egypt (1260-1277), accidental poisoning
1360 Giacomo I Caetani, Lord of Sermoneta, condottiero, hanged at c. 40
1582 Admiral Crichton, assassinated at Mantua
1690 Frederick, Duke Schomberg, xyz kia, Battle of the Boyne,
1776 Francis Salvador, first Jewish-American be kia
1839 Sultan Mahmud II of Turkey (1808-39), at 53
1863 John Reynolds, Maj. Gen., U.S.A., kia, Gettysburg
1914 Albert Pollio, Chief-of-Staff of the Italian Army, heart attack
1943 Auguste Reitsma, Dutch resistance fighter, executed by the Nazis
1943 C Baker, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 C L Barentsen, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Coos Hartogh, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Cor Rose, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Henri Halberstadt, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Johan Brouwer, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Karl Groger, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Koen Limperg, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Rudy Bloemgarten, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Willem Arondeus, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1943 Willem Brouwer, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by the Nazis
1944 Adm Nagumo, Victor of Pearl Harbor, suicide on Saipan.
Event
776 BC- The First Olympiad begins.
291 BC- Triumph of Q. Fabius Maximus Gurges for the defeat of the Samnites
81 BC- Sulla ends the proscriptions
1097 Battle of Doryleum: Crusaders defeat Sultan Kilidj Arslan's Seljuk Turks near Nicaea
1266 Treaty of Perth: Scotland "rents" the Western Isles from Norway at 100 marks a year
1482 Battle of Loja: the Moors defeat the Castillians & Aragonese
1543 Treaty of Greenwich: King Edward VI of Engldan (9) is betrothed to his cousin Mary Queen of Scots (14)
1690 Battle of Fleurs: The French defeat the Imperialists
1690 The Boyne: Protestants massacre Catholics (12th NS)
1782 American privateers raid Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
1816 French frigate Medusa wrecked, inspiring Gericault's "The Raft of the Medusa"
1823 United Provinces of Central America gain independence from Mexico
1861 Skirmish at Falling Waters/Martinsburg, Md: Union victory
1862 Battle of Holly Spring, MS
1862 Day 7 of the 7 Days: Malvern Hill/Harrison's Landing/Crew's Farm, Va.
1862 US taxes incomes of $600 or more to help finance the Civil War
1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Day1: Lee wins
1864 Battle of Petersburg (lasts to July 31)
1867 The Dominion of Canada is formed
1870 James W Smith becomes the first black man to enter West Point
1873 Henry Flipper of Georgia is the second black man to enter West Point
1898 Battles of El Caney and San Juan Hill, outside Santiago, Cuba
1898 Skirmish at Aguadores, Cuba
1898 US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries, Havana
1903 Geronimo is baptized in the Methodist Church
1913 Second Balkan War: Serbia & Greece declare war on Bulgaria
1916 Battle of the Somme begins
1942 The Germans capture Sevastopol after a long siege
1943 Japanese DD Hokaze damaged by US sub Thresher in the Southwest Pacific.
1943 Marine 4th Raider Battalion captures Viru Harbor on New Georgia.
1945 Australians land at Balikpapan, Borneo, against stiff resistance
1946 US test atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll, the 4th nuclear explosion
1950 First US ground troops arrive in Korea
1960 USSR shoots down US RB-47
1961 British troops land in Kuwait to prevent an Iraqi invasion
1962 Belgian "Trust Territories" of Burundi and Rwanda became independent
1969 Prince Charles is invested as the Prince of Wales
July 2nd in Military History
Born
419 Valentinian III, Roman Emperor (425-455)
1830 John Bordenave Villepigue, Brig Gen, C.S.A.
1836 Henry Eugene Davies, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1894
1903 King Olav V of Norway (1957-1991)
1925 Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician and communist, murdered, 1960
Died
783 Bertha, mother of Charlemagne
936 Henry I "the Fowler", Duke of Saxony (912-36), King of the Germans (919-36)
1298 King Adolf von Nassau-Weilburg of Germany, kia Goellheim/Worms
1504 Prince Stefan III "the Great" Bogdanowitz of Moldavia (1457-1504)
1822 Denmark Vesey and five others, hanged in Charleston for a slave conspiracy
1850 Sir Robert Peel, founder of the London Police Force
1863 George Nixon, 73rd Ohio, died of wounds at Gettysburg; great-grand-father of a president
1863 Strong Vincent, Brig. Gen., U.S.A., kia, Gettysburg
1903 Pope Leo XIII - Giacchino Pecci 1878-1903)
1915 Porfirio Diaz, revolutionary general, president of Mexico, d 1915
1918 Sultan Mohammed V Resjad of Turkey (1909-18)
1937 Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan, lost in the Pacific
1961 Ernest Hemingway, war correspondent, suicide, at 61
1987 Karl Linnas, accused Nazi, of heart failure awaiting trial in Russia
2004 Marlon Brando, actor ("Morituri"), at 80
Event
310 Accession of Pope St. Militades (or maybe 311), d. 314
1187 Saladin captures Tiberias, besieges the Citadel (falls 5th)
1214 Battle of La Roche-aux-Moines (Angers)
1247 Emperor Frederick II lays siege to Parma (lifted Feb 18,1248)
1298 Battle of Goellheim\Worms: Albert of Austria defeats Adolf von Nassau-Weilburg, his rival for Holy Roman Emperor
1431 Battle of Bulgneville: The Angevins defeat the Lorrainers
1461 Battle of Nidastore: The Malatesti of Rimini defeat Pope Pius II’s forces
1600 Battle of Nieuport: Dutch defeat the Spanish
1625 Breda falls to the Spanish after a year’s siege
1644 Battle of Marston Moor: Roundheads defeat the Royalists
1704 Battle of Schellenberg: Anglo-Imperialists defeat the Franco-Bavarians
1747 Battle of Lauffeld: Marshal Saxe’s French defeat the Duke of Cumberland’s Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverians
1776 Continental Congress declares the Thirteen Colonies independent
1777 Vermont becomes 1st American "state" to abolish slavery
1814 Jacob Brown captures Ft. Erie, Ontario, from the British
1820 Carbonari coup at Naples installs a liberal Constitution
1861 Battle of Hoke's Run, WV
1862 Lincoln calls for an additional 300,000 volunteers
1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Day 2: A draw
1863 John Hunt Morgan's Burksville-Salineville Raid begins(to July 26)
1864 Jubal's Raid: Winchester falls
1882 James Garfield, veteran, mortally wounded by a disappointed office seeker
1898 Skirmishing outside Santiago, as US begins close investment
1898 US ships engage Spanish batteries at Cape Tunas, Cuba
1898 US ships exchange fire with Spanish batteries, Santiago
1900 Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin's first airship, the LZ-1, flies
1903 US leases Guantanamo Bay from Cuba for $2,000 a year
1923 Naval Research Laboratory established in Washington
1926 Army Air Corps becomes an arm of the service
1926 Congress authorizes the Distinguished Flying Cross.
1934 General Lazaro Cardenas elected president of Mexico
1941 Nazis murder 7,000 in Lvov
1942 Chiang names Stilwell commander of Chinese forces in India.
1942 JCS authorize "Operation Watchtower," the seizure of Guadalcanal
1942 New York Times reports Nazi mass murder of Jews
1943 37th and 43rd Divs and Marines land on Munda on New Georgia.
1943 Japanese cruisers and destroyers shell U.S. positions at Rendova
1943 Lieutenant Charles Hall becomes the first black pilot to shoot down a Nazi plane
1944 Marshal von Kluge replaces General von Rundstedt in command in France
1944 Saipan: Japanese retire northwards to make a last stand.
1944 US troops land on Noemfoor, off New Guinea.
1951 "Plan 9 from Outer Space" released; generally regarded as the worst movie in history (although "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" comes in a close second)
1957 Grayback launched, first sub designed to fire guided missiles
1957 Seawolf completed, first sub with liquid metal cooled reactor
1966 First French nuclear explosion, Mururoa atoll
1980 President Carter resumes draft registration for 18 year old men
1993 Moslem fundamentalists set hotel on fire in Sivas, Turkey, 36 die
July 3rd in Military History
Born
1423 King Louis XI of France (1461-83)
1567 Samuel de Champlain
1737 Samuel Huntington, Signer, d. 1791
1878 George M. Cohan, not on the 4th, as he claimed
1886 Admiral Raymond A Spruance, Victor of Midway
1913 Hugh MacKenzie, British vice admiral
1951 Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, sometime dictator of Haiti
Died
1191 Albéric Clément, the first Marshal of France, of natural causes at Acre
1541 Antonio Rincon, French emissary to the Grand Turk, murdered in Italy by agents of His Royal Excellency Charles V
1541 Cesare Fregoso, French emissary to the Most Serene Republic, murdered in Italy by agents of His Royal Excellency Charles V
1642 Marie de'Medici, widow of Henri IV of France; inventor of French cooking
1863 Lewis A. Armistead, Brig Gen, C.S.A., KIA, Gettysburg
1863 Lt. Alonzo Cushing, U.S.A., KIA, Gettysburg at 19
1863 Richard B Garnett, Brig Gen, C.S.A., KIA, Gettysburg
Event
323 Battle of Adrianople: Constantine defeats Licinius
987 Hugh Capet crowned King of France
1428 Treaty of Delft: Between Jacob of Bavaria and Philip the Good of France
1448 Battle of Scutari: The Albanians defeat the Venetians
1620 Treaty of Ulm: German states declare neutrality in the Hapsburg-Bohemian conflict
1657 Battle of the Dardanelles, Day 1: Venetians skirmish with the Turks
1775 Washington takes command of Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass
1778 British & Indians massacre 360 men, women & children in Wyoming, Pa
1790 Naval Battle of Viborg: Swedish fleet breaks out of the Russian blockade (since May 22)
1798 Geo. Washington commissioned Lt Gen for the Quasi-War with France
1861 Martinsburg, Va: Confederates pull out before US advance
1863 Battle Gettysburg, Day 3: "Pickett’s Charge" is shattered
1863 Battle of Donaldsonville, LA
1864 Battle of Chattahoochee River, GA [continues until Jul 9]
1898 Joshua Slocum completes first solo circumnavigation of the globe
1898 Naval Battle of Santiago: Spanish squadron is annihilated
1915 Erich Muenter blows up the Senate reception room
1939 Ernst Heinkel demonstrates 800-kph rocket plane to Hitler
1940 Royal Navy inflicts heavy losses on the French fleet at Oran, Algeria
1941 Germans slaughter c. 2,000 Jews in Bialystock
1942 Japanese from Tulagi land on Guadalcanal to construct an airfield
1943 New Guinea: Australian 3rd Division links with MacKechnie Force, Nassau Bay
1944 U.S. Navy ships bombard Iwo Jima and the Bonin Islands.
1945 Australian troops capture oil fields at Balikpapan, Borneo.
1947 USSR refuses to join the "Imperialistic" Marshall Plan
1950 First US-North Korean clash: TF Smith is overrun
1954 World War II food rationing ends in Britain
1976 Entebbe Raid: Israel rescues 103 held by Palestinian hijackers in Uganda
1986 Relighting of the Statue of Liberty after protracted renovations
1988 USS Vincennes accidentally shoots down an Iranian airliner, 290 die
July 4th in Military History
Born
1546 Sultan Murad III of Turkey (1574-95)
1799 King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway (1844-59)
1804 Nathaniel Hawthorne, militiaman, novelist ("The Scarlet Letter")
1807 Giuseppe Garibaldi - "Hero of Two Continents"
1826 Green Clay Smith, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1895
1828 James Johnston Pettigrew, Brig Gen, C.S.A.
1872 Calvin Coolidge, only President born on the 4th
1883 Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff
1916 Iva "Tokyo Rose" Toguri D'Aquino, d. 2006
Died
1187 Prince Reynoud de Chatillon of Antioch, kia at Hattin
1307 Rudolf III, Duke of Austria and King of Bohemia
1450 Lord Saye and Seal, beheaded at London
1500 Guid Antonio Malvizzi, Patrician of Bologna, assassinated.
1657 Avise Mocenigo, Venetian admiral, when his flagship blows up in action against the Turks
1787 Prince Charles de Rohan-Soubise, Marshal of France, 71
1826 John Adams, Signer, President
1826 Thomas Jefferson, Signer, sometime militiaman, President, at 83
1831 James Monroe, major of the Continental Line, President, at 73
1881 Billy the Kid, shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico
1943 Wladyslaw Sikorski, Polish Premier-in-Exile, plane crash at Gibraltar
1971 Admiral Thomas Hart, 94
1974 Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammed al-Husseini, Nazi collaborator
Event
1187 Battle of Hattin: Saladin defeats the Crusaders under King Guy of Jerusalem
1190 King Philip II's French & Richard I's English armies unite at Vezelay, to begin the 3rd Crusade
1299 Battle of Cape Orlando: Roger de Lauria's Catalan fleet defeats the Sicilians
1301 Battle of Breukelen: Holland defeats Lichtenberg.
1547 Battle of Oglio: the French defeat the Spanish
1642 Castro War: Battle of Codigoro - Papal Army defeats the Venetians
1657 Battle of the Dardanelles, Day 2: Venetian fleet defeats the Turks
1708 Battle of Holowczin: The Swedes defeat the Russians
1754 George Washington surrenders Ft. Necessity to the French
1763 Ojibwa and Sauk Indians capture Ft. Michilimackinac from the British
1776 Independence Day: The Signing of the Declaration of Independence begins
1777 John Paul Jones hoists the Stars and Stripes on Ranger, Portsmouth, NH.
1801 1st Presidential Review of the Marine Band and Marines, at the White House.
1802 US Military Academy opens at West Point
1806 Battle of Maida: upset British victory over the French in Calabria
1818 Congress rules the flag shall have 13 stripes, and one star for each state
1832 Samuel Francis Smith's "America" sung in public for the first time
1842 Gunboat Boxer is sunk in first trials of electrical underwater "torpedo"
1848 "The Communist Manifesto" is published, inspiring countless murders
1857 Great Battle between the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery B'hoys in The Bowery
1861 Skirmish at Harper's Ferry, WV
1862 Battle of Port Royal, SC
1862 Morgan's Raid: Tomkinsville, KY to Somerset, KY, by JUL 28
1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Day 4: The armies hold their ground
1863 Skirmish at Smithburg, TN
1863 Vicksburg surrenders to U.S. Grant
1866 Battle of Monte Sullo: The Austrians defeat the Garibaldini
1866 Battle of Vezza d'Oglio: The Garibaldini defeat the Austrians
1875 White rioters kill blacks in Vicksburg
1879 Battle of Ulundi: The British crush the Zulu Army
1895 "America the Beautiful," by Katherine Lee Bates, is publishes
1936 League of Nations applies sanctions on Italy over Ethiopia.
1942 Aussie coastwatchers report Japanese airfield building on Guadalcanal.
1942 First American bombing mission over Nazi-occupied Europe
1942 Japanese Destroyer Nehoni is sunk in the Aleutians by U.S. submarine Triton.
1942 The American Volunteer Group ("Flying Tigers") becomes the Fourteenth Air Force
1943 Elements of the US 37th Infantry Division land at Bairoko, on Kula Gulf
1943 Japanese destroyers with reinforcements for Vila, Kula Gulf, sink a U.S. destroyer
1944 Elements of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment drop on Noemfoor, to reinforce troops there
1946 Anti-Jewish riots in Kielce, Poland, 39 die
1946 Philippines gain independence from US, on schedule despite World War II
1950 USS Valley Forge & HMS Triumph make first UN air strikes of the Korean War
1987 Nazi Klaus Barbie, "Butcher of Lyon" convicted by a French court
July 5th in Military History
Born
1781 Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore
1801 David Glasgow Farragut, the First Admiral, d. 1870
1853 Cecil John Rhodes, imperialist
1889 Jean Cocteau, artistic Nazi collaborator
1902 Henry Cabot Lodge, tanker, diplomat
Died
965 Pope Benedict V (964-965)
1950 Private Kenneth Shadrick, first American kia in Korea
1950 Salvatore Giuliano, Sicilian bandit-hero, killed by police
1969 Tom Mboya, Kenyan economics minister, assassinated in Nairobi
2005 Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale, Medal of Honor, b. 1923
Event
46 Caesar returns to Rome following victory in the African War.
663 Constans II visits Rome, the first emperor to do so in over a century
1044 Battle of Menfo: The Germans defeat the Magyars
1187 Saladin captures the citdael of Tiberias (invested the 2nd)
1294 Pietro di Murrone is elected Pope St. Celestine V (5 Jul-13 Dec 1294), later abdicates, d. 1296
1450 Battle of Southwark: Jack Cade’s Kentish rebels beat Matthew Gough
1750 Slave revolt in Curacao
1806 Spanish defeat a British attempt to take Buenos Aires
1809 Battle of Wagram, Day 1: Napoleon v. the Austrians (ends 6th)
1809 Rome: Napoleon’s troops kidnap Pope Pius VII and carry him into exile
1811 Venezuela declares independence from Spain
1814 Battle of Chippewa: "By God, these are regulars!"
1814 US Sloop-of-War Peacock captures four British ships
1830 The French capture Algiers
1861 Battle of Carthage, Missouri
1861 Skirmish at Newport News: US retakes Gosport Naval Base
1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Day 5: Lee retreats
1863 Battles of Jackson and Birdsong Ferry, Mississippi
1865 US forms the Secret Service, to combat counterfeiting
1924 Military revolt in Sao Paulo, Brazil
1932 Antonio de Oliveira Salazar becomes premier/dictator of Portugal (1932-1968)
1933 Catholic Center Party disbanded by the Nazis
1942 Aerial recon confirms Japanese airfield construction on Guadalcanal.
1942 Aleutians: Sub Growler sinks Japanese destroyer Arare near Kiska.
1943 "Tokyo Express" supply mission departs Rabaul
1943 At Kiska, damaged Japanese submarine I-7 is scuttled.
1943 Japan cedes five Malaya provinces to Siam, as a bribe.
1943 The Battle of Kursk beings
1944 Japanese at Imphal decide to withdraw, having lost 53,000 troops
1962 Algeria becomes independent of France
1975 Cape Verde Islands gain independence after 500 years under Portugal
1977 Pakistan: coup by Gen Mohammad Zia ul-Haq
1993 Kurdish guerrillas murder 32 villagers in East Turkey
JULY 16TH
In 1945, The Manhattan Project successfully detonated the first plutonium-based nuclear weapon near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
On the same day, President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Josef Stalin meet in Potsdam, Germany to determine the future of the defeated Germans.
In 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Caroline Bessette, and her sister Lauren were all killed when the Piper Saratoga airplane Kennedy was flying crashed into the ocean just off of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
In 1945, The Manhattan Project successfully detonated the first plutonium-based nuclear weapon near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
On the same day, President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Josef Stalin meet in Potsdam, Germany to determine the future of the defeated Germans.
In 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Caroline Bessette, and her sister Lauren were all killed when the Piper Saratoga airplane Kennedy was flying crashed into the ocean just off of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
July 6th in Military History
Born
1747 John Paul Jones, who would go "in harm's way."
1796 Tsar Nicholas I of Russia (1825-55)
1814 Justus McKinstry, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1897
1821 Edward Winston Pettus, Brig Gen, C.S.A. d. 1907
1832 Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, Emperor of Mexico, executed 1867
1892 Baron Willy Coppens de Houthulst, Belgian ace
1909 Andrei Gromyko, Soviet Foreign Minister (1957-1985)
1918 Eugene List, GI pianist for the "Big Three" at Potsdam
Died
1187 200 Christian knights captured at Hattin are murdered by Saladin
1189 King Henry II of England (1154-89), at 56
1415 Jan Hus, burned for heresy, Constance, Germany
1535 Sir Thomas More, beheaded in England for treason
1553 King Edward VI Tudor of England (1547-53)
1796 Tsar Nicholas I of Russia (1825-1855)
1849 Geoffredo Mameli, Italian nationalist, soldier-composer ("Fratelli d'Italia"), d/w at 21
1893 Guy de Maupassant, Volunteer of 71, author ("Ball of Fat")
1975 Otto Skorzeny, Nazi special operations wiz
Event
83 BC- The Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus burns
432 Consecration of Pope St. Sixtus III (432-440)
1266 Norway cedes Man and the Hebridies to Scotland
1322 Battle of the Bassignana: The Visconti defeat their enemies
1483 England's King Richard III crowned
1495 Battle of Foronovo: French King Charles VIII defeats the Italian League
1553 Mary I ascends the throne of England
1560 Treaty of Edinburgh: Scotland abandons its French ties to ally with England
1641 Battle of Sedan: Imperialists defeat the French
1652 Netherlands declares war on England: First Anglo-Dutch War begins (1652-54)
1685 Battle of Sedgemoor: King James II defeats the Duke of Monmouth
1699 Capt William Kidd arrested in Boston
1758 Carlo Della Torre Rezzonico elected Pope Clement XIII (1758-1769)
1777 Burgoyne’s British & Hessians capture Fort Ticonderoga
1782 Battle of Negapatam: Indecisive Anglo-French naval clash off India
1785 Congress introduces the dollar
1801 First Naval Battle of Algeciras: Franco-Spanish squadron defeats the British
1809 Battle of Wagram, Day 2: Napoleon defeats the Austrians (ends 6th)
1861 Skirmish at Middle Creek Fork/Buckhannon, WVa
1862 Battle of Devall's Bluff, AR
1863 Battle of Williamsport, Md begins (to Jul 7)
1864 Battle of Chattahoochee River, Ga., begins (to Jul 10)
1864 Jubal Early’s Rebs capture Hagerstown, Maryland
1898 US Auxiliary Cruiser Dixie captures three Spanish merchantmen
1911 First naval air station established, Annapolis, MD.
1917 T.E. Lawrence and the Arab Army capture Aqaba
1923 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics formed
1937 Battle of Brunete: Spanish Republicans open offensive (defeated by 26th)
1942 German troops capture Voronez, USSR
1942 The Frank family seeks shelter in the After house, Amsterdam
1943 Kula Gulf: USS Helena lost to "Tokyo Express," which loses a destroyer
1943 U.S. ships begin periodic shelling of Japanese positions on Kiska
1945 Movement of captured German scientists and equipment begins to the US
1945 President Truman establishes the Medal of Freedom
1967 Biafran War erupts as Nigerian forces invade secessionist province
1976 Women enter the U.S. Naval Academy for the first time
1985 USS submarine Nautilus arrives at Groton, Ct., to become a museum
1987 Sikh extremists begin a series of massacres in India
1989 Col. Oliver North convicted in the Iran-Contra Scandal
1998 Anti-Catholic rioting in Northern Ireland
July 7th in Military History
Born
1813 William Scott Ketchum, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1871
1816 Isaac Fitzgerald Shepard, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1889
1824 Alfred Pleasonton, Maj Gen, U.S., commander of union cavalry through Gettysburg, d. 1897
1827 James Murrell Shackelford, Brig Gen, U.S.
1827 William Montague Browne, Brig Gen, C.S.A.
1907 Robert Heinlein, sometime naval officer
1919 William Kunstler, Maj., U.S. Army, WW II, leftist attorney
Died
716 BC- Romulus, Founder and King of Rome (753-716) [Traditional]
1307 King Edward I of England (1272-1307)
1865 David Herold, hanged for Lincoln’s assassination
1865 George Atzerodt, hanged for Lincoln’s assassination
1865 Lewis Paine, hanged for Lincoln’s assassination
1865 Mary Surratt, hanged for Lincoln’s assassination
1930 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Event
54 BC- Caesar defeats the Britons near Bigbury
1124 Tyre surrenders to the Crusaders
1191 Battle of Rudiano: Brescians defeat the Bergamescans
1456 Ecclesiastical court clears Joan of Arc of witchcraft charge, posthumously
1460 Battle of the Sarno/Salmi: The Angevins defeat the Ferrante I of Naples
1495 Ferrante II recovers Naples from Charles VIII's French
1498 Lucrezia Borgia (18) marries Alfonso d‚Aragona (17)
1540 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado captures the Zuni Pueblo of Hawikul, NM
1647 Masaniello's Rebellion against Spanish rule begins in Naples
1674 Anti-Spanish uprising begins at Messina
1798 Congress rescinds treaties with France; Quasi War begins
1798 US Frigate Delaware captures French privateer Croyable.
1801 Toussaint L'Ouverture declares Haitian independence
1807 Tilsit: Napoleon makes peace with Prussia & Russia
1829 Royal Military Chapel established
1838 Central American Federation is dissolved
1846 Commodore John D. Sloat takes Monterey, claims California for the US
1861 Skirmish at Great Falls, Va
1864 Jubal's Raid: Skirmish at Middleton, MD
1908 Great White Fleet leaves San Francisco Bay
1915 First Battle of the Isonzo ends (from Jun 23)
1916 Thomas Edison becomes head of Naval Consulting Board, to study new technology
1920 USN aircraft tests the "radio compass", Norfolk, Va
1937 Marco Polo Bridge: Japanese initiate the "China Incident"
1941 Iceland: Marines relieve British forces to fight elsewhere
1941 Nazis murder 5,000 Jews in Kovono, Lithuania
1943 Japanese ships sail from Paramushiro to evacuate the Kiska garrison.
1944 RAF drops 2,572 tons on Caen, to support ground attack
1944 Saipan: Japanese troops make a final "Banzai" charge
1944 U.S. B-29s from China attack Japan.
1944 US troops capture Rosignano, NW of Rome
1948 First women sworn into the Naval Reserve
1956 Dynamite explosion, Cali, Columbia, over 1,000 die
1960 USSR shoots down a US aircraft over Barents Sea
1966 Marines initiate "Operation Hasting" - to clear NVA from the DMZ
1999 Sierra Leone: Agreement between Pres Ahmad Tejan Kabbah & Foday Sankoh ends civil war.
2005 Islamist terrorists detonate 4 bombs on London subways and a bus, over 50 k, c. 700 injured.
July 8th in Military History
Born
1528 Duke Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy
1545 Don Carlos, Prince of Spain, who was retarded, not mad, d. 1568
1819 Alexander Hays, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1864
1821 William H. L. Wallace, Brig Gen, U.S.
1824 Waldimir Krzyzanowski, Brig Gen, U.S.
1826 Benjamin Henry Grierson, Maj Gen, U.S., musician
1826 Robert Kingston Scott, Brig Gen, U.S.
1838 Count Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin
Died
810 King Pepin III of the Franks
975 King Edgar of Northumbria & Mercia (958-975), at c. 32
1115 Peter the Hermit, who led the "Beggars' Crusade"
1151 Pope Bl Eugene III - Bernardo Pignatelli (1145-1151)
1253 Thibaud IV, Count of Champagne and King of Navarra, poet
1623 Pope Gregory XV - Alessandro Ludovisi (1621-1623)
1730 The Second Marshal Villeroi
1859 King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway (1844-59), at 60
1933 Anthony Hope, author ("The Prisoner of Zenda"), at 70
1959 Dale Buisand & Chester Ovnand, first Americans killed in the Vietnam War
1994 Kim Il-sung, "The Great Leader", at 82
Event
452 Pope Leo I convinces Atilla the Hun not to attack Rome
1191 Saladin burns Haifa
1283 Battle of Malta: Ruggiero di Lauria’s Aragonese & Sicilians defeat the Angevin fleet in Malta Harbor
1520 Battle of Otumba: Cortes defeats the Aztecs [OS]
1573 Spanish capture Haarlem from the Dutch after a seven month siege
1709 Poltava: Tsar Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden
1758 Anglo-Colonial assault on French-held Ft. Ticonderoga
1776 Col John Nixon gives first public reading of Declaration of Independence
1838 Arabs attack Jewish community of Safed
1853 Commodore Matthew C. Perry sails frigate Susquehanna into Tokyo Bay
1861 Skirmish at Florida, MI
1861 Skirmish at Laurel Hill/Bealington, WVa
1865 C.E. Barnes receives a patent for a machine gun
1898 Commodore George Dewey's US forces occupy Isla Grande at Manila
1912 Capt Enrico Millo takes an Italian MTB sqn into the Dardanelles, raids Turkish shipping
1918 Ernest Hemingway wounded at Fossalto, on the Italian Front
1941 Nazis order Jews in the Baltic States to wear a Star of David
1944 British troops capture Caen, after weeks of effort
1944 Guam shelled by U.S. ships
1945 TF38 arrives off Japan with 20 carriers; it will stay until the war is over
1950 Douglas MacArthur named CinC UN forces in Korea
1954 Military junta makes Colonel Armas president of Guatemala
July 9th in Military History
Born
1578 Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia and Hungary (1619-37)
1777 Henry Hallam, historian ("View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages"), d. 1859
1857 Grand Duke Frederick II of Baden (1907-18)
1887 Samuel Eliot Morison, sailor, historian ("Admiral of the Ocean Sea")
1956 Tom Hanks, actor ("Saving Private Ryan")
Died
518 Eastern Roman Emperor Anastasius I Dikoros (491-518), at c. 91
1386 Emperor Leopold II, kia at Sempach
1500 Count Giacomo V Caetani of Sermoneta, poisoned by the Borgias, at 50
1553 Maurice of Saxony, d/w from the Battle of Sievershausen
1746 King Philip V of Spain (1700-46)
1755 Maj Gen Edward Braddock, d/w on the Monongahela
1797 Edmund Burke, at 68
1850 The Bab, murdered in Tabriz, Iran
1850 Zachary Taylor, former military man, in the White House at 65
1920 Admiral of the Fleet Sir John "Jackie" Fisher, b. 1841
Event
US National Prisoner-of-War/Missing-in-Action Recognition Day
586 -BC- Babylonian King Nebukadnezar II defeated at Jerusalem
455 Eparchius Avitus proclaimed Roman Emperor (455-456); deposed, d. 457
1553 Battle of Sievershausen: Maurice of Saxony defeats Albert of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
1755 Braddock's Defeat: the Battle of the Monangahela
1776 New Yorkers pull down George III’s statue at Bowling Green, to make musket balls
1776 Declaration of Independence is read to Washington's troops in NY
1790 2d Battle of Ruotsinaslami/Svenksund: Russo-Swedish fleets clash (to 10th)
1816 Argentina declares independence from Spain
1846 Landing party from USS Portsmouth occupies San Francisco.
1860 Moslems commence 3-day massacre of Christians at Damascus
1862 General John Hunt Morgan captures Tompkinsville, Ky
1863 Union troops capture Port Hudson
1864 Jubal's Raid: Battle of Monocacy, Md,
1864 Jubal's Raid: Confederates extort $200,000 from Frederick, Md
1876 Black landowner murdered by white supremacists in Hamburg, SC
1900 Commonwealth of Australia established
1915 German South West Africa captured by South African troops
1916 Cargo submarine Deutschland arrives in US from Germany
1917 HM Battleship Vanguard blows up at Scapa Flow, 804 die
1918 Congress establishes the Distinguished Service Cross
1918 Henry Ford launches the first of 100 Eagle boats
1926 Chang Kai-shek appointed national-revolutionary supreme commander
1926 Gen. Sinel de Cordes leads coup in Portugal
1934 Reichsfuhrer-SS Himmler takes command of German Concentration Camps
1940 Battle of Punta Stilo: indecisive British-Italian fleet action
1940 RAF bombs Germany
1941 British break the German Russian Front air-ground ops code
1942 Toscanini conducts the American premiere of Shoshtakovich’s "Leningrad Symphony" in New York
1943 Italian blockade running sub Capellini reaches Sumatra.
1943 US ships shelling Munda beat off c. 100 Japanese aircraft.
1944 US secures Saipan: 3,200 US, 27,000 Japanese KIA, & many civilian suicides
1945 TF38 arrives off Japan with 20 carriers, will remain until the war is over.
July 10th in Military History
Born
1509 John Calvin, Protestant reformer with a high body count
1818 John Stuart "Cerro Gordo" Williams, Brig Gen, C.S.A
1820 Andrew Porter, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1872
1821 Christopher Columbus Augur, Maj Gen, U.S.
1833 Lucius Eugene Polk, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1892
1834 James Whistler, USMA drop-out, artist ("Whistler’s Mother")
1883 Johann Blaskowitz, German general
1927 David N. Dinkins, Marine, Mayor of New York (1991-1995)
Died
138 Hadrian, Roman Emperor, "Optimus Princeps" (117-138)
472 Western Roman Emperor Anthemius (467-472), executed
983 Pope Benedict VII
1024 Pope Benedict VIII
1086 King Canute IV of Denmark
1099 Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar - El Cid Campeador, in bed at c. 55
1103 King Erik I "the Good Hearted" of Denmark (1095-1103)
1290 King Ladislaus IV of Hungary, murdered
1480 Rene I d'Anjou, king-aspirant of Naples, Sicily, & Jerusalem
1559 King Henry II of France (1547-59)
1584 William, first Prince of Orange, assassinated at Delft
1653 John Gerrard, English gentleman, hanged at Tyburn for brawling in the streets with Pantaleon Sa.
1653 Pantaleon Sa, Portuguese nobleman, hanged on Tower Hill with four of his servants, for brawling in the streets with John Gerrard.
1747 Nadir Shah of Persia, assassinated
1920 Eugenie de Montijo y de Guzman, Mrs. Napoleon III, at 94
1937 Rafael de Nogales Mendez Bey, soldier-of-fortune, in bed at 60
1944 Count Giovanni Pallavicini, kia, Warsaw.
1945 Robert Goddard, rocketeer
Event
1460 Battle of Northampton: Lord Grey defeats King Henry VI
1609 German Catholic League established under Maximillian of Bavaria
1690 Battle of Beachy Head: French fleet defeats Anglo-Dutch fleet
1721 Peace of Nystad: Ends the Great Northern War (1700-1721)
1775 Horatio Gates orders blacks excluded from the Continental Army
1790 2d Battle of Ruotsinaslami/Svenksund: Swedish fleet beats Russians (from 9th)
1821 U.S. takes possession of Florida from Spain
1861 Combat at Monroe Sta., Va.
1863 Battle of Jackson, Ms, beings (ends Jul 16)
1863 Siege of Morris Island, SC, begins (ends Sep 6)
1898 Marchand's French column occupies Fashoda, Sudan (stays until December)
1898 Santiago: Skirmishing between US & Spanish troops
1913 Romania declares war on Bulgaria
1917 Emma Goldman imprisoned for obstructing the draft
1923 All non-fascist parties in Italy are dissolved
1938 Howard Hughes completes 91-hour 'round-the-world flight, NY-NY
1941 Polish residents of Jedwabne massacre 1,600 Jews, and blame the Nazis
1942 Himmler orders sterilization of all Jewish woman in Ravensbruck Camp
1942 USAAF agrees to increase a/c in the Pacific, slowing buildup in Britain
1943 First B-25 raid on Paramushiro (Kuriles) from Attu time.
1943 Operation Husky: US & Commonwealth forces invade Sicily
1944 Burma: Chinese engage in heavy fighting on the Salween front
1944 Isolated Japanese troops launch a counter attack at Aitape, New Guinea.
1944 Marion Anderson sings "La Marseillaise" for de Gaulle, La Guardia, & NYC
1945 Massive U.S./Br CV raids on airfields and industrial sites around Tokyo
1953 American troops abandon Pork Chop Hill, Korea
1960 Belgium sends troops to Congo
July 11th in Military History
Born
1274 King Robert I of Scotland
1274 King Robert the Bruce of Scotland (1306-29)
1657 King Frederick I of Prussia (1701-13)
1662 Duke Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria
1767 John Quincy Adams
1825 Edward Henry Hobson, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1901
1841 William Paul Roberts, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1910
1844 King Peter I Karadjordjevic of Serbia (1903—1921)
1888 Carl Schmitt, Nazi lawyer
1890 Arthur W Tedder, British air marshal
1915 Colin Kelly, American airman, kia 1941
Died
1174 King Amalric I of Jerusalem
1302 Jacques de Chatillon, Count of Saint-Pol
1450 Jack Cade, English peasant rebel leader, killed near Lewes
1535 Joachim I Nestor of Brandenburg, at 51
1540 Jan Szapolyai, Usurper of the Crown of Hungary
1804 Alexander Hamilton, shot by Aaron Burr in a duel at Weehawken
1806 James Smith, Signer, b. 1711
1989 Laurence Olivier, actor ("Henry V"), at 82
Event
355 Silvanus proclaimed Roman Emperor at Colonia Agrippina (Aug 11-Sep 7, 355)
1244 The Khwarismian Turks take Jerusalem, amid great slaughter
1269 Battle of the Val d'Elsa: Florentine Guelfs defeat the Sienese Ghibellines
1276 Election of Pope Hadrian V (Jul 11-Aug 18, 1276
1289 Battle of Campaldino: The Guelf Florentines (including Dante) defeat the Ghibbeline Arretines
1302 Battle of Courtrai: Flemish burgers defeat French knights
1740 Jews are expelled from Belarus by Tsarina Anne
1786 US pays Morocco $10,000 to "protect" our ships from pirates
1792 Prussia invades France
1798 Congress reactivates the USMC, inactive since 1784
1812 US invades Canada near Detroit
1859 Peace of Villafranca: Austria cedes northern Italy to Sardinia
1861 Battle of Rich Mountain, VA: Gen Rosecrans forces rebels to surrender
1862 Lincoln appoints Henry Halleck general-in-chief
1898 USN bombards Santiago harbor defenses
1915 Germany cruiser Konigsberg scuttled near Dar-es-Salam, Tanganyika
1919 Navy Pay Corps becomes the Supply Corps
1934 FDR is the first sitting president to transit the Panama Canal
1942 Japanese GHQ acknowledges the results of the Battle of Midway
1943 U.S. cruisers and destroyers shell Munda.
1943 USN surface ships break German-Italian tank attack at Gela, Sicily
1955 USAF Academy opens with 300 cadets at Lowry AFB, Colo.
1975 8,000 porcelain soldiers are unearthed in the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi
1977 Martin Luther King, Jr., posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom
1999 Puerto Barrios, Guatemala: Cols Bill Gross & Austin Bay lend a hand in a 6.8 earthquake,
July 12th in Military History
Born
1807 Silas Casey, Maj Gen, U.S.,
1821 Daniel Harvey Hill, Lt Gen, C.S.A., d. 1889
1870 Prince Louis II Onorato of Monaco (1921-1949), French general, d. 1949
1895 Kirsten Flagstead, Norwegian soprano, Nazi
1904 Pablo Neruda, poet, Communist apologist
Died
1434 Berardo III da Varano, Co-Lord of Camerino (1424-1434), killed at mass by a mob, at c. 45
1434 Gentile IV Pandolfo da Varano, Co-Lord of Camerino (1424-1434), brother to Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, at c. 50
1434 Ansovino, son of Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, c. 13
1434 Bartolomeo, son of Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, c. 15
1434 Gian Filippo, son of Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, c. 17
1434 Giovanni Venanzio, son of Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, c. 22
1434 Ladislao, son of Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, c. 20
1434 Rodolfo Angelo, son of Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, c. 24
1640 Count Henry Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz
1691 General St. Ruth, killed at Aghrim, Ireland
1723 26 pirates, hanged by the British at Newport, RI
1935 Maj. Alfred Dreyfus - see Events
Event
1096 "Beggars‚ Crusade" under Peter the Hermit reaches Sofia in Hungary
1109 Crusaders capture Tripoli, Syria
1151 Election of Pope Anastasius IV (1151-1152)
1191 Richard Lionheart & the Crusades take Acre after a long siege
1260 Battle of Kroissenburnn: The Bohemians defeat the Hungarians
1276 Ottobuono Fieschi elected Pope Adrian V (12 Jul-18 Aug 1276)
1290 King Edward I orders the Jews expelled from England
1434 Massacre of Camerino: Slaughter of the Varano at mass
1470 Turks capture Negroponte [Euboea] from the Venetians amid great slaughter
1543 England's King Henry VIII weds Catherine Parr, his sixth and last wife
1573 Haarlem falls to the Spanish, after a siege begun on Dec 11, 1572
1691 Battle of Aughrim, England, William III defeats James II
1702 Battle of Klissow: The Swedes defeat the Saxons
1730 Lorenzo Corsini elected Pope Clement XII (1730-40)
1784 Spanish-Neapolitan-Portuguese-Maltese fleet bombards Algiers (to 21st) to supress piracy
1794 Calvi, Corsica: Lord Nelson loses his right eye
1801 Second Naval Battle of Algeciras: British defeat a Franco-Spanish squadron
1806 Napoleon establishes the Confederation of the Rhine
1812 Gen Hull’s US forces invade Canada
1836 First USN Engineer Officer commissioned, Charles H. Haswell
1861 Combat at Barboursville/Red House, WVa
1861 Combat of Beverly Ford, Va
1862 The Medal of Honor is authorized
1864 Battle of Ft. Stevens: Lincoln observes Jubal Early's Rebel skirmishers
1906 Alfred Dreyfus is finally cleared of all charges by the French Army - see Deaths
1916 Arm Cr North Carolina becomes the first American ship regularly operating aircraft
1921 Congress creates the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics
1941 First Luftwaffe air raid on Moscow
1941 Germans murder c. 5,000 Jews near Bialystock
1942 New Guinea: Australian Maroubra Force reach Kokoda
1942 U-Boat lands four German saboteurs on Long Island, who are soon captured
1943 Kolombangara: "Tokyo Express" tangles with Allied ships, who lose, badly
1943 Russians halt German offensive at Kursk
1944 Allied attempt to take Myitkina, Burma, foiled by "friendly" air attacks
1944 Theresienstadt Concentration Camp disbanded, with 4,000 people gassed
1948 First jets to fly the Atlantic: 6 RAF de Havilland Vampires
1978 Puerto Rican nationalist Willie Morales is severely injured by a blast in his bomb factory in New York.
1982 FEMA promises that survivors of a nuclear war will get their mail
July 13th in Military History
Born
100 -BC- Gaius Julius Caesar, murdered 44 BC.
40 Gnaeus Julius Agricola, Roman general, d. 93
1396 Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
1489 Francesco Ferrucci, Captain of Florence, kia, Gavinana, 1530
1590 Emilio Altieri - Pope Clement X (1670-1676)
1608 Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Bohemia
1821 Nathan Bedford Forrest, Lt Gen, C.S.A., Klansman, d. 1877
1894 Gavrilo Princep, who attained a measure of fame in 1914, d. 1918.
Died
574 Pope John III (561-574)
939 Pope Leo VII (936-939)
1024 King Henry II "the Monk" of Germany (1002-24)
1380 Bertrand du Guesclin, Constable of France, hero of the Hundred Years' War, at c. 60
1712 Richard Cromwell, sometime "Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland" (1658-1659), at 86
1793 Jean Paul Marat, revolutionary, by Charlotte Corday in his bath
1807 Henry Cardinal Stuart (King "Henry IX" of England)
1890 John C Fremont, soldier, explorer, politician, at 76
1989 Arnaldo Ochoa Sanchez, Cuban general, murdered by Castro
Event
633 Battle of Ajnadain: Arab Moslems defeat the Byzantines
982 Battle of Cape Colonna: Moslems defeat Otto II
1462 Battle of Mondolfo: The Papal Army defeats the Malatesti of Rimini
1494 French Fleet prevents the Neapolitan Fleet from capturing Genoa
1534 Ottomans capture Tabriz, Persia
1643 Battle of Roundway Down: Cavaliers beat the Roundheads
1863 Battle of Bayou La Fourche, Louisiana
1863 Battle of Tupelo/Harrisburg, Mississippi, begins (ends Jul 15)
1863 USS Wyoming defeats Japanese warlord at Shimonoseki Straits
1864 Ashville, Georgia, captured by Union cavalry
1864 Jubal Early retreats from Washington, towards the Shenandoah Valley
1878 Congress of Berlin restructures the Balkans
1919 Race riots in Longview & Gregg Counties, Texas
1941 Anglo-Soviet mutual assistance pact is concluded
1942 SS shoots 1,500 Jews in Josefov, Poland
1943 New Guinea: Australian 3rd Division clears the Japanese from the Mubo
1944 Fighting continues on Noemfoor.
July 14th in Military History
Born
1602 Giulio Mazarini (Cardinal Mazarin), sometime soldier
1610 Grand Duke Ferdinando II de' Medici of Tuscany (1621-1670)
1804 Ludwig Benedek, Austrian general, who lost at Konnigratz
1818 Nathaniel Lyon, Brig Gen, U.S., KIA, Wilson's Creek, d. 1861
1830 Richard Henry Jackson, Brig. Gen, U.S.
1831 William Dwight, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1888
1913 Gerald Ford, naval officer, President (1974-1976), d. 2006
Died
664 King Erconberct of Kent
1223 King Philippe II Augustus of France (1180-1223)
1253 Count Theobald I of Champagne (1201-1253)/King Theobald IV of Navarre (1235-1253), at c. 52
1483 The Princes of the Tower
1500 Astorre Baglioni, murdered on his wedding night.
1500 Gismondo Baglioni, his brother, murdered
1500 Guido Baglioni, their father, Lord of Perugia, murdered
1500 Simonetto Baglioni, his nephew, murdered
1607 St. Camillo de Lellis, Soldier and Physician, b. 1550
1686 Col. Francesco Pallavicino, Patrician of Naples & Siena, kia at Buda, at 32
1711 Prince Johan Willem Friso of Orange, Lord of Nassau-Dietz
1790 General Laudohn, who served in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian Armies.
1817 Baroness de Staël Holstein — Salon keeper to the illustrious
1904 President Paul Kruger of the Transvaal (1883-1902), in exile at 78
1918 Quentin Roosevelt, airman, kia, France, at 18
1958 King Faisal II of Iraq (1939-58), murdered in Baghdad
1958 Crown Prince Abdul Illah of Iraq, murdered in Baghdad
1958 Premier Noeri el-Said of Iraq, murdered in Baghdad
1974 Carl A Spaatz, bomber baron, USAF chief of staff, at 83
Event
914 Papal-Italo-Lombard-Byzantine Army invests Arab-held Minturno (falls September)
939 Acession of Pope Stephen [VIII] IX (939-942)
1187 Saladin captures Nablus
1223 Louis VIII becomes King of France (1223-1226)
1291 Egyptian Mamlukes take Sidon
1420 Battle of Vitkov: Hussites defeat the Imperialists
1456 Battle of Belgrade: The Hungarians defeated the Ottomans
1500 The "Wedding of Blood": Astorre Baglioni marries Lavinia Colonna in Perugia, and estranged family members stage a coup
1536 Pact of Lyon: France and Portugal ally against Spain
1714 Aland Is: Russian fleet routs larger Swedish one
1789 Citizens of Paris storm the Bastille
1799 Michele Pezza [Fra Diavolo] weds Fortunata Rachele, Itri
1808 Battle of Medina de Rio Seco: The French defeat the Spanish
1813 Lt John M. Gamble, becomes the only US Marine to command a ship, prize Greenwich
1822 Denmark Vesey "Slave Conspiracy" in South Carolina uncovered
1825 Lafayette reviews 2nd Bn, 11th NY Arty (7th NY) - "The National Guard" is born
1853 Commo Matthew Perry holds first meeting with Japanese
1861 Battle at Carrick's Ford, Va
1861 Bull Run Campaign: Gen McDowell advances toward Fairfax Courthouse
1861 USN establishes a blockade of Wilmington, NC
1863 Battle of Falling Waters, Md.
1867 Alfred Nobel gives the first public demonstration of dynamite;
1882 Four U.S. ships help British restore order in Alexandria, Egypt.
1900 The "China Relief Expedition" captures Tientsin from the Boxers
1933 Nazi Party becomes the only legal party in Germany
1938 Mussolini begins persecution of Jews and other "non-Aryans"
1942 India: Supply flights begin over "The Hump" to China
1942 Yamamoto creates the Eighth Fleet for operations in the South Pacific
1943 Japanese sub I-179 is lost to an accident in home waters.
1952 First supercarrier laid down, USS Forrestal
1959 First nuclear-powered cruiser commissioned, USS Long Beach
1969 Soccer War: El Salvador invades Honduras, c. 1000 die
1972 Vietnam: Jane Fonda makes first of 10 propaganda broadcasts on Radio Hanoi.
July 15th in Military History
Born
1798 Charles H Bell, naval officer, U.S., d. 1875
1907 Air Marshal Paterson Fraser, RAF
1917 Robert Conquest, sometime soldier, historian ("The Great Terror")
1920 Air Chief Marshal Ruthven Wade, RAF
1926 Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentine general, dictator, d. 2003
Died
668 Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II (641-668), at c. 58
1291 Rudolf I, Holy Roman Emperor
1416 Duke Jean de Berry, Captain of Paris
1648 Masaniello, Neapolitan nationalist leader, murdered by a Spanish agent
1685 James, Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles II, beheaded in the Tower by James II
1869 Capt A J Hayne, black Arkansas militia officer, assassinated
1948 General of the Armies John J Pershing, at 87
Event
496 -BC- Battle of Lake Regillius: Romans defeat the Tarquins
485 -BC- Dedication of the Temple of Castor at Rome
111 -BC- Double Triumph of the Metelli Brothers: Marcus for the conquest of Sardinia, Gaius for Thrace
1099 Crusaders capture Jerusalem, c. 40,000 slaughtered
1410 Battle of Tannenburg: Poles and Lithuanians trounce Teutonic Knights
1500 Alfonso d’Aragona, husband of Lucrezia Borgia, is brutally attacked at St. Peter’s (see 18 Aug)
1544 "Battle of the Shirts" (Invergarry): Clans Ranald, Cameron, & Donald (8 of c. 600 survived) defeat Clan Fraser (4 of 300)
1761 Vellinghuasen: Austrian night attack defeats the French by the 16th
1779 "Mad" Anthony Wayne captures Stony Point, NY, at bayonet point
1789 The Marquis de Lafayette is named Commander of the National Guard of Paris
1795 The "Marseillaise" becomes the French national anthem
1862 CSS Arkansas fights USS Cardondelet & Queen of the West, at Yazoo Pass on the Mississippi River.
1864 Confederate Prisoner of War train collides with a coal train, 65 die, 109 injured
1869 Margarine patented by Hippolye Mega-Mouris, for use by the French Navy
1870 Congress establishes the Navy Pay Corps, later renamed the Supply Corps.
1907 Turret blast in battleship Georgia, 10 dead, 27 injured
1916 William Boeing founds an aircraft company in Seattle
1918 Second Battle of Marne begins
1937 Buchenwald Concentration Camp opens
1942 Submarine USS Grunion sinks 3 Japanese sub chasers and a ship in the Aleutians
1943 Central Solomons: in a daylight air battle, the Japanese lose 45 aircraft to 3 US.
1944 Greenwich Observatory damaged by V-1 flying bomb
1944 Heavy fighting in the Aitape area of New Guinea.
1945 U.S. Battleships raid the Japanese Home Islands, shell Kamamishi
1958 Marines land in Lebanon, to support government (remain until October).
1974 Greek extremists depose Archbishop Makarios as President of Cyprus
1992 Aretha Franklin sings the national anthem at the Democratic National Convention, NYC
Born
1747 John Paul Jones, who would go "in harm's way."
1796 Tsar Nicholas I of Russia (1825-55)
1814 Justus McKinstry, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1897
1821 Edward Winston Pettus, Brig Gen, C.S.A. d. 1907
1832 Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, Emperor of Mexico, executed 1867
1892 Baron Willy Coppens de Houthulst, Belgian ace
1909 Andrei Gromyko, Soviet Foreign Minister (1957-1985)
1918 Eugene List, GI pianist for the "Big Three" at Potsdam
Died
1187 200 Christian knights captured at Hattin are murdered by Saladin
1189 King Henry II of England (1154-89), at 56
1415 Jan Hus, burned for heresy, Constance, Germany
1535 Sir Thomas More, beheaded in England for treason
1553 King Edward VI Tudor of England (1547-53)
1796 Tsar Nicholas I of Russia (1825-1855)
1849 Geoffredo Mameli, Italian nationalist, soldier-composer ("Fratelli d'Italia"), d/w at 21
1893 Guy de Maupassant, Volunteer of 71, author ("Ball of Fat")
1975 Otto Skorzeny, Nazi special operations wiz
Event
83 BC- The Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus burns
432 Consecration of Pope St. Sixtus III (432-440)
1266 Norway cedes Man and the Hebridies to Scotland
1322 Battle of the Bassignana: The Visconti defeat their enemies
1483 England's King Richard III crowned
1495 Battle of Foronovo: French King Charles VIII defeats the Italian League
1553 Mary I ascends the throne of England
1560 Treaty of Edinburgh: Scotland abandons its French ties to ally with England
1641 Battle of Sedan: Imperialists defeat the French
1652 Netherlands declares war on England: First Anglo-Dutch War begins (1652-54)
1685 Battle of Sedgemoor: King James II defeats the Duke of Monmouth
1699 Capt William Kidd arrested in Boston
1758 Carlo Della Torre Rezzonico elected Pope Clement XIII (1758-1769)
1777 Burgoyne’s British & Hessians capture Fort Ticonderoga
1782 Battle of Negapatam: Indecisive Anglo-French naval clash off India
1785 Congress introduces the dollar
1801 First Naval Battle of Algeciras: Franco-Spanish squadron defeats the British
1809 Battle of Wagram, Day 2: Napoleon defeats the Austrians (ends 6th)
1861 Skirmish at Middle Creek Fork/Buckhannon, WVa
1862 Battle of Devall's Bluff, AR
1863 Battle of Williamsport, Md begins (to Jul 7)
1864 Battle of Chattahoochee River, Ga., begins (to Jul 10)
1864 Jubal Early’s Rebs capture Hagerstown, Maryland
1898 US Auxiliary Cruiser Dixie captures three Spanish merchantmen
1911 First naval air station established, Annapolis, MD.
1917 T.E. Lawrence and the Arab Army capture Aqaba
1923 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics formed
1937 Battle of Brunete: Spanish Republicans open offensive (defeated by 26th)
1942 German troops capture Voronez, USSR
1942 The Frank family seeks shelter in the After house, Amsterdam
1943 Kula Gulf: USS Helena lost to "Tokyo Express," which loses a destroyer
1943 U.S. ships begin periodic shelling of Japanese positions on Kiska
1945 Movement of captured German scientists and equipment begins to the US
1945 President Truman establishes the Medal of Freedom
1967 Biafran War erupts as Nigerian forces invade secessionist province
1976 Women enter the U.S. Naval Academy for the first time
1985 USS submarine Nautilus arrives at Groton, Ct., to become a museum
1987 Sikh extremists begin a series of massacres in India
1989 Col. Oliver North convicted in the Iran-Contra Scandal
1998 Anti-Catholic rioting in Northern Ireland
July 7th in Military History
Born
1813 William Scott Ketchum, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1871
1816 Isaac Fitzgerald Shepard, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1889
1824 Alfred Pleasonton, Maj Gen, U.S., commander of union cavalry through Gettysburg, d. 1897
1827 James Murrell Shackelford, Brig Gen, U.S.
1827 William Montague Browne, Brig Gen, C.S.A.
1907 Robert Heinlein, sometime naval officer
1919 William Kunstler, Maj., U.S. Army, WW II, leftist attorney
Died
716 BC- Romulus, Founder and King of Rome (753-716) [Traditional]
1307 King Edward I of England (1272-1307)
1865 David Herold, hanged for Lincoln’s assassination
1865 George Atzerodt, hanged for Lincoln’s assassination
1865 Lewis Paine, hanged for Lincoln’s assassination
1865 Mary Surratt, hanged for Lincoln’s assassination
1930 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Event
54 BC- Caesar defeats the Britons near Bigbury
1124 Tyre surrenders to the Crusaders
1191 Battle of Rudiano: Brescians defeat the Bergamescans
1456 Ecclesiastical court clears Joan of Arc of witchcraft charge, posthumously
1460 Battle of the Sarno/Salmi: The Angevins defeat the Ferrante I of Naples
1495 Ferrante II recovers Naples from Charles VIII's French
1498 Lucrezia Borgia (18) marries Alfonso d‚Aragona (17)
1540 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado captures the Zuni Pueblo of Hawikul, NM
1647 Masaniello's Rebellion against Spanish rule begins in Naples
1674 Anti-Spanish uprising begins at Messina
1798 Congress rescinds treaties with France; Quasi War begins
1798 US Frigate Delaware captures French privateer Croyable.
1801 Toussaint L'Ouverture declares Haitian independence
1807 Tilsit: Napoleon makes peace with Prussia & Russia
1829 Royal Military Chapel established
1838 Central American Federation is dissolved
1846 Commodore John D. Sloat takes Monterey, claims California for the US
1861 Skirmish at Great Falls, Va
1864 Jubal's Raid: Skirmish at Middleton, MD
1908 Great White Fleet leaves San Francisco Bay
1915 First Battle of the Isonzo ends (from Jun 23)
1916 Thomas Edison becomes head of Naval Consulting Board, to study new technology
1920 USN aircraft tests the "radio compass", Norfolk, Va
1937 Marco Polo Bridge: Japanese initiate the "China Incident"
1941 Iceland: Marines relieve British forces to fight elsewhere
1941 Nazis murder 5,000 Jews in Kovono, Lithuania
1943 Japanese ships sail from Paramushiro to evacuate the Kiska garrison.
1944 RAF drops 2,572 tons on Caen, to support ground attack
1944 Saipan: Japanese troops make a final "Banzai" charge
1944 U.S. B-29s from China attack Japan.
1944 US troops capture Rosignano, NW of Rome
1948 First women sworn into the Naval Reserve
1956 Dynamite explosion, Cali, Columbia, over 1,000 die
1960 USSR shoots down a US aircraft over Barents Sea
1966 Marines initiate "Operation Hasting" - to clear NVA from the DMZ
1999 Sierra Leone: Agreement between Pres Ahmad Tejan Kabbah & Foday Sankoh ends civil war.
2005 Islamist terrorists detonate 4 bombs on London subways and a bus, over 50 k, c. 700 injured.
July 8th in Military History
Born
1528 Duke Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy
1545 Don Carlos, Prince of Spain, who was retarded, not mad, d. 1568
1819 Alexander Hays, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1864
1821 William H. L. Wallace, Brig Gen, U.S.
1824 Waldimir Krzyzanowski, Brig Gen, U.S.
1826 Benjamin Henry Grierson, Maj Gen, U.S., musician
1826 Robert Kingston Scott, Brig Gen, U.S.
1838 Count Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin
Died
810 King Pepin III of the Franks
975 King Edgar of Northumbria & Mercia (958-975), at c. 32
1115 Peter the Hermit, who led the "Beggars' Crusade"
1151 Pope Bl Eugene III - Bernardo Pignatelli (1145-1151)
1253 Thibaud IV, Count of Champagne and King of Navarra, poet
1623 Pope Gregory XV - Alessandro Ludovisi (1621-1623)
1730 The Second Marshal Villeroi
1859 King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway (1844-59), at 60
1933 Anthony Hope, author ("The Prisoner of Zenda"), at 70
1959 Dale Buisand & Chester Ovnand, first Americans killed in the Vietnam War
1994 Kim Il-sung, "The Great Leader", at 82
Event
452 Pope Leo I convinces Atilla the Hun not to attack Rome
1191 Saladin burns Haifa
1283 Battle of Malta: Ruggiero di Lauria’s Aragonese & Sicilians defeat the Angevin fleet in Malta Harbor
1520 Battle of Otumba: Cortes defeats the Aztecs [OS]
1573 Spanish capture Haarlem from the Dutch after a seven month siege
1709 Poltava: Tsar Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden
1758 Anglo-Colonial assault on French-held Ft. Ticonderoga
1776 Col John Nixon gives first public reading of Declaration of Independence
1838 Arabs attack Jewish community of Safed
1853 Commodore Matthew C. Perry sails frigate Susquehanna into Tokyo Bay
1861 Skirmish at Florida, MI
1861 Skirmish at Laurel Hill/Bealington, WVa
1865 C.E. Barnes receives a patent for a machine gun
1898 Commodore George Dewey's US forces occupy Isla Grande at Manila
1912 Capt Enrico Millo takes an Italian MTB sqn into the Dardanelles, raids Turkish shipping
1918 Ernest Hemingway wounded at Fossalto, on the Italian Front
1941 Nazis order Jews in the Baltic States to wear a Star of David
1944 British troops capture Caen, after weeks of effort
1944 Guam shelled by U.S. ships
1945 TF38 arrives off Japan with 20 carriers; it will stay until the war is over
1950 Douglas MacArthur named CinC UN forces in Korea
1954 Military junta makes Colonel Armas president of Guatemala
July 9th in Military History
Born
1578 Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia and Hungary (1619-37)
1777 Henry Hallam, historian ("View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages"), d. 1859
1857 Grand Duke Frederick II of Baden (1907-18)
1887 Samuel Eliot Morison, sailor, historian ("Admiral of the Ocean Sea")
1956 Tom Hanks, actor ("Saving Private Ryan")
Died
518 Eastern Roman Emperor Anastasius I Dikoros (491-518), at c. 91
1386 Emperor Leopold II, kia at Sempach
1500 Count Giacomo V Caetani of Sermoneta, poisoned by the Borgias, at 50
1553 Maurice of Saxony, d/w from the Battle of Sievershausen
1746 King Philip V of Spain (1700-46)
1755 Maj Gen Edward Braddock, d/w on the Monongahela
1797 Edmund Burke, at 68
1850 The Bab, murdered in Tabriz, Iran
1850 Zachary Taylor, former military man, in the White House at 65
1920 Admiral of the Fleet Sir John "Jackie" Fisher, b. 1841
Event
US National Prisoner-of-War/Missing-in-Action Recognition Day
586 -BC- Babylonian King Nebukadnezar II defeated at Jerusalem
455 Eparchius Avitus proclaimed Roman Emperor (455-456); deposed, d. 457
1553 Battle of Sievershausen: Maurice of Saxony defeats Albert of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
1755 Braddock's Defeat: the Battle of the Monangahela
1776 New Yorkers pull down George III’s statue at Bowling Green, to make musket balls
1776 Declaration of Independence is read to Washington's troops in NY
1790 2d Battle of Ruotsinaslami/Svenksund: Russo-Swedish fleets clash (to 10th)
1816 Argentina declares independence from Spain
1846 Landing party from USS Portsmouth occupies San Francisco.
1860 Moslems commence 3-day massacre of Christians at Damascus
1862 General John Hunt Morgan captures Tompkinsville, Ky
1863 Union troops capture Port Hudson
1864 Jubal's Raid: Battle of Monocacy, Md,
1864 Jubal's Raid: Confederates extort $200,000 from Frederick, Md
1876 Black landowner murdered by white supremacists in Hamburg, SC
1900 Commonwealth of Australia established
1915 German South West Africa captured by South African troops
1916 Cargo submarine Deutschland arrives in US from Germany
1917 HM Battleship Vanguard blows up at Scapa Flow, 804 die
1918 Congress establishes the Distinguished Service Cross
1918 Henry Ford launches the first of 100 Eagle boats
1926 Chang Kai-shek appointed national-revolutionary supreme commander
1926 Gen. Sinel de Cordes leads coup in Portugal
1934 Reichsfuhrer-SS Himmler takes command of German Concentration Camps
1940 Battle of Punta Stilo: indecisive British-Italian fleet action
1940 RAF bombs Germany
1941 British break the German Russian Front air-ground ops code
1942 Toscanini conducts the American premiere of Shoshtakovich’s "Leningrad Symphony" in New York
1943 Italian blockade running sub Capellini reaches Sumatra.
1943 US ships shelling Munda beat off c. 100 Japanese aircraft.
1944 US secures Saipan: 3,200 US, 27,000 Japanese KIA, & many civilian suicides
1945 TF38 arrives off Japan with 20 carriers, will remain until the war is over.
July 10th in Military History
Born
1509 John Calvin, Protestant reformer with a high body count
1818 John Stuart "Cerro Gordo" Williams, Brig Gen, C.S.A
1820 Andrew Porter, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1872
1821 Christopher Columbus Augur, Maj Gen, U.S.
1833 Lucius Eugene Polk, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1892
1834 James Whistler, USMA drop-out, artist ("Whistler’s Mother")
1883 Johann Blaskowitz, German general
1927 David N. Dinkins, Marine, Mayor of New York (1991-1995)
Died
138 Hadrian, Roman Emperor, "Optimus Princeps" (117-138)
472 Western Roman Emperor Anthemius (467-472), executed
983 Pope Benedict VII
1024 Pope Benedict VIII
1086 King Canute IV of Denmark
1099 Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar - El Cid Campeador, in bed at c. 55
1103 King Erik I "the Good Hearted" of Denmark (1095-1103)
1290 King Ladislaus IV of Hungary, murdered
1480 Rene I d'Anjou, king-aspirant of Naples, Sicily, & Jerusalem
1559 King Henry II of France (1547-59)
1584 William, first Prince of Orange, assassinated at Delft
1653 John Gerrard, English gentleman, hanged at Tyburn for brawling in the streets with Pantaleon Sa.
1653 Pantaleon Sa, Portuguese nobleman, hanged on Tower Hill with four of his servants, for brawling in the streets with John Gerrard.
1747 Nadir Shah of Persia, assassinated
1920 Eugenie de Montijo y de Guzman, Mrs. Napoleon III, at 94
1937 Rafael de Nogales Mendez Bey, soldier-of-fortune, in bed at 60
1944 Count Giovanni Pallavicini, kia, Warsaw.
1945 Robert Goddard, rocketeer
Event
1460 Battle of Northampton: Lord Grey defeats King Henry VI
1609 German Catholic League established under Maximillian of Bavaria
1690 Battle of Beachy Head: French fleet defeats Anglo-Dutch fleet
1721 Peace of Nystad: Ends the Great Northern War (1700-1721)
1775 Horatio Gates orders blacks excluded from the Continental Army
1790 2d Battle of Ruotsinaslami/Svenksund: Swedish fleet beats Russians (from 9th)
1821 U.S. takes possession of Florida from Spain
1861 Combat at Monroe Sta., Va.
1863 Battle of Jackson, Ms, beings (ends Jul 16)
1863 Siege of Morris Island, SC, begins (ends Sep 6)
1898 Marchand's French column occupies Fashoda, Sudan (stays until December)
1898 Santiago: Skirmishing between US & Spanish troops
1913 Romania declares war on Bulgaria
1917 Emma Goldman imprisoned for obstructing the draft
1923 All non-fascist parties in Italy are dissolved
1938 Howard Hughes completes 91-hour 'round-the-world flight, NY-NY
1941 Polish residents of Jedwabne massacre 1,600 Jews, and blame the Nazis
1942 Himmler orders sterilization of all Jewish woman in Ravensbruck Camp
1942 USAAF agrees to increase a/c in the Pacific, slowing buildup in Britain
1943 First B-25 raid on Paramushiro (Kuriles) from Attu time.
1943 Operation Husky: US & Commonwealth forces invade Sicily
1944 Burma: Chinese engage in heavy fighting on the Salween front
1944 Isolated Japanese troops launch a counter attack at Aitape, New Guinea.
1944 Marion Anderson sings "La Marseillaise" for de Gaulle, La Guardia, & NYC
1945 Massive U.S./Br CV raids on airfields and industrial sites around Tokyo
1953 American troops abandon Pork Chop Hill, Korea
1960 Belgium sends troops to Congo
July 11th in Military History
Born
1274 King Robert I of Scotland
1274 King Robert the Bruce of Scotland (1306-29)
1657 King Frederick I of Prussia (1701-13)
1662 Duke Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria
1767 John Quincy Adams
1825 Edward Henry Hobson, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1901
1841 William Paul Roberts, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1910
1844 King Peter I Karadjordjevic of Serbia (1903—1921)
1888 Carl Schmitt, Nazi lawyer
1890 Arthur W Tedder, British air marshal
1915 Colin Kelly, American airman, kia 1941
Died
1174 King Amalric I of Jerusalem
1302 Jacques de Chatillon, Count of Saint-Pol
1450 Jack Cade, English peasant rebel leader, killed near Lewes
1535 Joachim I Nestor of Brandenburg, at 51
1540 Jan Szapolyai, Usurper of the Crown of Hungary
1804 Alexander Hamilton, shot by Aaron Burr in a duel at Weehawken
1806 James Smith, Signer, b. 1711
1989 Laurence Olivier, actor ("Henry V"), at 82
Event
355 Silvanus proclaimed Roman Emperor at Colonia Agrippina (Aug 11-Sep 7, 355)
1244 The Khwarismian Turks take Jerusalem, amid great slaughter
1269 Battle of the Val d'Elsa: Florentine Guelfs defeat the Sienese Ghibellines
1276 Election of Pope Hadrian V (Jul 11-Aug 18, 1276
1289 Battle of Campaldino: The Guelf Florentines (including Dante) defeat the Ghibbeline Arretines
1302 Battle of Courtrai: Flemish burgers defeat French knights
1740 Jews are expelled from Belarus by Tsarina Anne
1786 US pays Morocco $10,000 to "protect" our ships from pirates
1792 Prussia invades France
1798 Congress reactivates the USMC, inactive since 1784
1812 US invades Canada near Detroit
1859 Peace of Villafranca: Austria cedes northern Italy to Sardinia
1861 Battle of Rich Mountain, VA: Gen Rosecrans forces rebels to surrender
1862 Lincoln appoints Henry Halleck general-in-chief
1898 USN bombards Santiago harbor defenses
1915 Germany cruiser Konigsberg scuttled near Dar-es-Salam, Tanganyika
1919 Navy Pay Corps becomes the Supply Corps
1934 FDR is the first sitting president to transit the Panama Canal
1942 Japanese GHQ acknowledges the results of the Battle of Midway
1943 U.S. cruisers and destroyers shell Munda.
1943 USN surface ships break German-Italian tank attack at Gela, Sicily
1955 USAF Academy opens with 300 cadets at Lowry AFB, Colo.
1975 8,000 porcelain soldiers are unearthed in the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi
1977 Martin Luther King, Jr., posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom
1999 Puerto Barrios, Guatemala: Cols Bill Gross & Austin Bay lend a hand in a 6.8 earthquake,
July 12th in Military History
Born
1807 Silas Casey, Maj Gen, U.S.,
1821 Daniel Harvey Hill, Lt Gen, C.S.A., d. 1889
1870 Prince Louis II Onorato of Monaco (1921-1949), French general, d. 1949
1895 Kirsten Flagstead, Norwegian soprano, Nazi
1904 Pablo Neruda, poet, Communist apologist
Died
1434 Berardo III da Varano, Co-Lord of Camerino (1424-1434), killed at mass by a mob, at c. 45
1434 Gentile IV Pandolfo da Varano, Co-Lord of Camerino (1424-1434), brother to Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, at c. 50
1434 Ansovino, son of Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, c. 13
1434 Bartolomeo, son of Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, c. 15
1434 Gian Filippo, son of Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, c. 17
1434 Giovanni Venanzio, son of Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, c. 22
1434 Ladislao, son of Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, c. 20
1434 Rodolfo Angelo, son of Berardo, killed at mass by a mob, c. 24
1640 Count Henry Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz
1691 General St. Ruth, killed at Aghrim, Ireland
1723 26 pirates, hanged by the British at Newport, RI
1935 Maj. Alfred Dreyfus - see Events
Event
1096 "Beggars‚ Crusade" under Peter the Hermit reaches Sofia in Hungary
1109 Crusaders capture Tripoli, Syria
1151 Election of Pope Anastasius IV (1151-1152)
1191 Richard Lionheart & the Crusades take Acre after a long siege
1260 Battle of Kroissenburnn: The Bohemians defeat the Hungarians
1276 Ottobuono Fieschi elected Pope Adrian V (12 Jul-18 Aug 1276)
1290 King Edward I orders the Jews expelled from England
1434 Massacre of Camerino: Slaughter of the Varano at mass
1470 Turks capture Negroponte [Euboea] from the Venetians amid great slaughter
1543 England's King Henry VIII weds Catherine Parr, his sixth and last wife
1573 Haarlem falls to the Spanish, after a siege begun on Dec 11, 1572
1691 Battle of Aughrim, England, William III defeats James II
1702 Battle of Klissow: The Swedes defeat the Saxons
1730 Lorenzo Corsini elected Pope Clement XII (1730-40)
1784 Spanish-Neapolitan-Portuguese-Maltese fleet bombards Algiers (to 21st) to supress piracy
1794 Calvi, Corsica: Lord Nelson loses his right eye
1801 Second Naval Battle of Algeciras: British defeat a Franco-Spanish squadron
1806 Napoleon establishes the Confederation of the Rhine
1812 Gen Hull’s US forces invade Canada
1836 First USN Engineer Officer commissioned, Charles H. Haswell
1861 Combat at Barboursville/Red House, WVa
1861 Combat of Beverly Ford, Va
1862 The Medal of Honor is authorized
1864 Battle of Ft. Stevens: Lincoln observes Jubal Early's Rebel skirmishers
1906 Alfred Dreyfus is finally cleared of all charges by the French Army - see Deaths
1916 Arm Cr North Carolina becomes the first American ship regularly operating aircraft
1921 Congress creates the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics
1941 First Luftwaffe air raid on Moscow
1941 Germans murder c. 5,000 Jews near Bialystock
1942 New Guinea: Australian Maroubra Force reach Kokoda
1942 U-Boat lands four German saboteurs on Long Island, who are soon captured
1943 Kolombangara: "Tokyo Express" tangles with Allied ships, who lose, badly
1943 Russians halt German offensive at Kursk
1944 Allied attempt to take Myitkina, Burma, foiled by "friendly" air attacks
1944 Theresienstadt Concentration Camp disbanded, with 4,000 people gassed
1948 First jets to fly the Atlantic: 6 RAF de Havilland Vampires
1978 Puerto Rican nationalist Willie Morales is severely injured by a blast in his bomb factory in New York.
1982 FEMA promises that survivors of a nuclear war will get their mail
July 13th in Military History
Born
100 -BC- Gaius Julius Caesar, murdered 44 BC.
40 Gnaeus Julius Agricola, Roman general, d. 93
1396 Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
1489 Francesco Ferrucci, Captain of Florence, kia, Gavinana, 1530
1590 Emilio Altieri - Pope Clement X (1670-1676)
1608 Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Bohemia
1821 Nathan Bedford Forrest, Lt Gen, C.S.A., Klansman, d. 1877
1894 Gavrilo Princep, who attained a measure of fame in 1914, d. 1918.
Died
574 Pope John III (561-574)
939 Pope Leo VII (936-939)
1024 King Henry II "the Monk" of Germany (1002-24)
1380 Bertrand du Guesclin, Constable of France, hero of the Hundred Years' War, at c. 60
1712 Richard Cromwell, sometime "Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland" (1658-1659), at 86
1793 Jean Paul Marat, revolutionary, by Charlotte Corday in his bath
1807 Henry Cardinal Stuart (King "Henry IX" of England)
1890 John C Fremont, soldier, explorer, politician, at 76
1989 Arnaldo Ochoa Sanchez, Cuban general, murdered by Castro
Event
633 Battle of Ajnadain: Arab Moslems defeat the Byzantines
982 Battle of Cape Colonna: Moslems defeat Otto II
1462 Battle of Mondolfo: The Papal Army defeats the Malatesti of Rimini
1494 French Fleet prevents the Neapolitan Fleet from capturing Genoa
1534 Ottomans capture Tabriz, Persia
1643 Battle of Roundway Down: Cavaliers beat the Roundheads
1863 Battle of Bayou La Fourche, Louisiana
1863 Battle of Tupelo/Harrisburg, Mississippi, begins (ends Jul 15)
1863 USS Wyoming defeats Japanese warlord at Shimonoseki Straits
1864 Ashville, Georgia, captured by Union cavalry
1864 Jubal Early retreats from Washington, towards the Shenandoah Valley
1878 Congress of Berlin restructures the Balkans
1919 Race riots in Longview & Gregg Counties, Texas
1941 Anglo-Soviet mutual assistance pact is concluded
1942 SS shoots 1,500 Jews in Josefov, Poland
1943 New Guinea: Australian 3rd Division clears the Japanese from the Mubo
1944 Fighting continues on Noemfoor.
July 14th in Military History
Born
1602 Giulio Mazarini (Cardinal Mazarin), sometime soldier
1610 Grand Duke Ferdinando II de' Medici of Tuscany (1621-1670)
1804 Ludwig Benedek, Austrian general, who lost at Konnigratz
1818 Nathaniel Lyon, Brig Gen, U.S., KIA, Wilson's Creek, d. 1861
1830 Richard Henry Jackson, Brig. Gen, U.S.
1831 William Dwight, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1888
1913 Gerald Ford, naval officer, President (1974-1976), d. 2006
Died
664 King Erconberct of Kent
1223 King Philippe II Augustus of France (1180-1223)
1253 Count Theobald I of Champagne (1201-1253)/King Theobald IV of Navarre (1235-1253), at c. 52
1483 The Princes of the Tower
1500 Astorre Baglioni, murdered on his wedding night.
1500 Gismondo Baglioni, his brother, murdered
1500 Guido Baglioni, their father, Lord of Perugia, murdered
1500 Simonetto Baglioni, his nephew, murdered
1607 St. Camillo de Lellis, Soldier and Physician, b. 1550
1686 Col. Francesco Pallavicino, Patrician of Naples & Siena, kia at Buda, at 32
1711 Prince Johan Willem Friso of Orange, Lord of Nassau-Dietz
1790 General Laudohn, who served in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian Armies.
1817 Baroness de Staël Holstein — Salon keeper to the illustrious
1904 President Paul Kruger of the Transvaal (1883-1902), in exile at 78
1918 Quentin Roosevelt, airman, kia, France, at 18
1958 King Faisal II of Iraq (1939-58), murdered in Baghdad
1958 Crown Prince Abdul Illah of Iraq, murdered in Baghdad
1958 Premier Noeri el-Said of Iraq, murdered in Baghdad
1974 Carl A Spaatz, bomber baron, USAF chief of staff, at 83
Event
914 Papal-Italo-Lombard-Byzantine Army invests Arab-held Minturno (falls September)
939 Acession of Pope Stephen [VIII] IX (939-942)
1187 Saladin captures Nablus
1223 Louis VIII becomes King of France (1223-1226)
1291 Egyptian Mamlukes take Sidon
1420 Battle of Vitkov: Hussites defeat the Imperialists
1456 Battle of Belgrade: The Hungarians defeated the Ottomans
1500 The "Wedding of Blood": Astorre Baglioni marries Lavinia Colonna in Perugia, and estranged family members stage a coup
1536 Pact of Lyon: France and Portugal ally against Spain
1714 Aland Is: Russian fleet routs larger Swedish one
1789 Citizens of Paris storm the Bastille
1799 Michele Pezza [Fra Diavolo] weds Fortunata Rachele, Itri
1808 Battle of Medina de Rio Seco: The French defeat the Spanish
1813 Lt John M. Gamble, becomes the only US Marine to command a ship, prize Greenwich
1822 Denmark Vesey "Slave Conspiracy" in South Carolina uncovered
1825 Lafayette reviews 2nd Bn, 11th NY Arty (7th NY) - "The National Guard" is born
1853 Commo Matthew Perry holds first meeting with Japanese
1861 Battle at Carrick's Ford, Va
1861 Bull Run Campaign: Gen McDowell advances toward Fairfax Courthouse
1861 USN establishes a blockade of Wilmington, NC
1863 Battle of Falling Waters, Md.
1867 Alfred Nobel gives the first public demonstration of dynamite;
1882 Four U.S. ships help British restore order in Alexandria, Egypt.
1900 The "China Relief Expedition" captures Tientsin from the Boxers
1933 Nazi Party becomes the only legal party in Germany
1938 Mussolini begins persecution of Jews and other "non-Aryans"
1942 India: Supply flights begin over "The Hump" to China
1942 Yamamoto creates the Eighth Fleet for operations in the South Pacific
1943 Japanese sub I-179 is lost to an accident in home waters.
1952 First supercarrier laid down, USS Forrestal
1959 First nuclear-powered cruiser commissioned, USS Long Beach
1969 Soccer War: El Salvador invades Honduras, c. 1000 die
1972 Vietnam: Jane Fonda makes first of 10 propaganda broadcasts on Radio Hanoi.
July 15th in Military History
Born
1798 Charles H Bell, naval officer, U.S., d. 1875
1907 Air Marshal Paterson Fraser, RAF
1917 Robert Conquest, sometime soldier, historian ("The Great Terror")
1920 Air Chief Marshal Ruthven Wade, RAF
1926 Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentine general, dictator, d. 2003
Died
668 Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II (641-668), at c. 58
1291 Rudolf I, Holy Roman Emperor
1416 Duke Jean de Berry, Captain of Paris
1648 Masaniello, Neapolitan nationalist leader, murdered by a Spanish agent
1685 James, Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles II, beheaded in the Tower by James II
1869 Capt A J Hayne, black Arkansas militia officer, assassinated
1948 General of the Armies John J Pershing, at 87
Event
496 -BC- Battle of Lake Regillius: Romans defeat the Tarquins
485 -BC- Dedication of the Temple of Castor at Rome
111 -BC- Double Triumph of the Metelli Brothers: Marcus for the conquest of Sardinia, Gaius for Thrace
1099 Crusaders capture Jerusalem, c. 40,000 slaughtered
1410 Battle of Tannenburg: Poles and Lithuanians trounce Teutonic Knights
1500 Alfonso d’Aragona, husband of Lucrezia Borgia, is brutally attacked at St. Peter’s (see 18 Aug)
1544 "Battle of the Shirts" (Invergarry): Clans Ranald, Cameron, & Donald (8 of c. 600 survived) defeat Clan Fraser (4 of 300)
1761 Vellinghuasen: Austrian night attack defeats the French by the 16th
1779 "Mad" Anthony Wayne captures Stony Point, NY, at bayonet point
1789 The Marquis de Lafayette is named Commander of the National Guard of Paris
1795 The "Marseillaise" becomes the French national anthem
1862 CSS Arkansas fights USS Cardondelet & Queen of the West, at Yazoo Pass on the Mississippi River.
1864 Confederate Prisoner of War train collides with a coal train, 65 die, 109 injured
1869 Margarine patented by Hippolye Mega-Mouris, for use by the French Navy
1870 Congress establishes the Navy Pay Corps, later renamed the Supply Corps.
1907 Turret blast in battleship Georgia, 10 dead, 27 injured
1916 William Boeing founds an aircraft company in Seattle
1918 Second Battle of Marne begins
1937 Buchenwald Concentration Camp opens
1942 Submarine USS Grunion sinks 3 Japanese sub chasers and a ship in the Aleutians
1943 Central Solomons: in a daylight air battle, the Japanese lose 45 aircraft to 3 US.
1944 Greenwich Observatory damaged by V-1 flying bomb
1944 Heavy fighting in the Aitape area of New Guinea.
1945 U.S. Battleships raid the Japanese Home Islands, shell Kamamishi
1958 Marines land in Lebanon, to support government (remain until October).
1974 Greek extremists depose Archbishop Makarios as President of Cyprus
1992 Aretha Franklin sings the national anthem at the Democratic National Convention, NYC
JULY 24TH
In 1701, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded a trading post at Fort Pontchartrain, which would later become the city of Detroit, Michigan...and would in turn make plenty of Cadillacs.
In 1956, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis perform their last comedy show together.
In 1983, the Kansas City Royals got their one glimmer of lasting notoriety when George Brett stormed out of the dugout against the Yankees, after his game-winning home run was nullified by an obscure rule that stated that pine tar, a substance commonly used by hitters to improve grip, could extend no further than 18 inches up the handle of the bat. "The Pine Tar Incident," as it came to be known, is easily the most widely-recognized sports moment in Kansas City history, and likely one of the most-remembered moments in all of sports.
In 1701, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded a trading post at Fort Pontchartrain, which would later become the city of Detroit, Michigan...and would in turn make plenty of Cadillacs.
In 1956, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis perform their last comedy show together.
In 1983, the Kansas City Royals got their one glimmer of lasting notoriety when George Brett stormed out of the dugout against the Yankees, after his game-winning home run was nullified by an obscure rule that stated that pine tar, a substance commonly used by hitters to improve grip, could extend no further than 18 inches up the handle of the bat. "The Pine Tar Incident," as it came to be known, is easily the most widely-recognized sports moment in Kansas City history, and likely one of the most-remembered moments in all of sports.
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1958, the first stereo records and phonographs hit the marketplace … demo LPs simulating planes taking off and the sound of ping-pong balls caroming between the left and right speakers are all the rage …
1960, Nancy Sinatra weds pop singer Tommy Sands … in five years the Sands run out on the dissolving marriage … Nancy dons her boots and walks …
1962, The Beatles hit Abbey Road recording studio for the first time, recording "Love Me Do" in about 16 takes with drummer Andy White … six years later to the week, Eric Clapton lays down one of the most famous solos ever on The Beatles tune "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" …
1963, first record companies forced their artists to cash in on The Twist craze, then the surf music boom … and now Muddy Waters is recording Muddy Waters: Folk Singer for Chess Records at Tel Mar Studios in Chicago … helping Muddy connect with his folkier side are Buddy Guy on second acoustic guitar, Clifton James on drums, and Chess stalwart Willie Dixon on bass … a folk album in name only, the tunes are mostly written by Muddy and/or Willie and include unplugged blues classics like "Good Morning Little School Girl" … in 1968, Chess will subject Muddy to recording a "psychedelic" album with funk session men and wah-wah pedals … Electric Mud features Muddy essaying his way through The Rolling Stones’ "Let’s Spend The Night Together" … how about that for acknowledging your roots? … what’s next? … Otis Redding recording "Satisfaction"? …
1964, Rod Stewart cuts his first single—the blues chestnut "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" …
1965, an ad in Variety announces auditions for the new TV show The Monkees … would-be Monkees who fail to make the cut include Stephen Stills, Danny Hutton later of Three Dog Night, songwriter Paul Williams, and Charles Manson … interesting how different people deal with disappointment …
1970, from the One-Hit Wonders Department: the good timey, washboard and jug band sound of Mungo Jerry reaches #3 on the U.S. pop charts with their debut single "In The Summertime" … Mungomania briefly took hold of the U.K. as the band shuffled its way to 10 top singles … but the U.S. quickly tired of the shtick … singer Ray Dorset finally called it quits later in the ’70s …
1973, porn star Linda Lovelace is deeply honored to introduce Elton John in his first Hollywood Bowl engagement …
1975, Steve Anderson brings new meaning to the phrase "blistering guitar solo," when he sets an endurance record for guitar picking by going at it without a break for 114 hours, 7 minutes …
1978, Who drummer Keith Moon succumbs to an overdose of the drug Heminevrin prescribed to combat his alcoholism … an autopsy reveals that he’d washed down 32 of the pills with champagne … his death occurs in the same apartment in which Mama Cass of The Mamas & The Papas met her demise in 1974 …
1987, Jaco Pastorius, brilliant bassist with Weather Report, dies from a fractured skull suffered in a tussle with a nightclub bouncer …
1990, Tom Fogerty, 48, an original member of Creedence Clearwater Revival and brother of John, dies of tuberculosis … he had parted from the band at the height of its success in 1971, a casualty of sibling rivalry … and although Tom recorded a number of albums on his own, he never scored a hit after his CCR days …
2000, Rage Against the Machine bassist Timothy Commerford pleads guilty to charges of assault and disorderly conduct at the MTV Video Awards … while raging against Limp Bizkit’s acceptance of the award for Best Rock Video—which was coincidentally up against Rage’s video for "Sleep Now In The Fire"—Commerford climbed a 15-foot arch that was part of the stage set … stage hands and security swarmed the stage to extricate Tim, who would "sleep now in the slammer" … the soundtrack for Almost Famous is released … it’s notable for including four vintage Led Zeppelin tracks—a first for any soundtrack … Robert Plant and Jimmy Page agree to the tunes’ inclusion after falling in love with Cameron Crowe’s filmed semi-autobiographical remembrance of a teenaged rock journalist in the ’70s … however, Page/Plant don’t allow Crowe to use "Stairway to Heaven" for a scene in the theatrical release … in the subsequent director’s cut DVD version, Crowe shows the deleted scene and instructs viewers to cue up their CDs of "Stairway" and wait for the onscreen countdown to press play so the scene can be experienced the way Crowe intended it, as the actors respond to the lyrics and musical changes in the song …
2003, The Pixies announce that band members have buried the hatchet and will embark on a reunion tour in 2004 … the Pixies dust the competition, going on to huge success in the face of a lackluster touring season …
2004, a jet-lagged Elton John, set upon by Taiwanese paparazzi, has a hissy fit, calling them "rude, vile pigs!" … the 6th Circuit Court in Cincinnati rules that artists should pay for every sample they use … previously courts had held that as long as short samples could not be identified, licensing was unnecessary … in this new decision, the court, acknowledging other cases involving digital piracy says, "If you cannot pirate the whole sound recording, can you ’lift’ or ’sample’ something less than the whole? Our answer to that question is in the negative." … ironically, a two-second sample of a Funkadelic record in NWA’s "100 Miles and Runnin" was at the heart of the ruling … Funkadelic and Parliament leader and founder George Clinton has historically been supportive of sampling, having produced two albums titled Sample Some of Dis and Sample Some of Dat, that permitted remixers to use Clinton’s music without legal considerations …
2005, getting back to basics, The Rolling Stones release A Bigger Bang, their first studio album in eight years … the 16 new Jagger-Richards songs are stripped-down rockers and country-tinged numbers and there’s nary a guest star in sight … Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, versatile blues, cajun, jazz, and R&B guitarist, vocalist, and fiddler, dies in Baton Rouge at his brother’s house after leaving his home in Slidell, LA, due to Hurricane Katrina …
2006, Paul McCartney agrees to donate $3 million to Adopt-a-Minefield after having backed out of playing a benefit for the charity hosted by his estranged wife Heather Mills … apparently, Pat Benetar was right, love is a battlefield … after being found guilty of tax evasion, the IRS orders Ron Isley to pay $3.1 million in delinquent taxes and sentences him to 37 months in prison … the 65-year-old Isley, who is rebounding from kidney cancer and a stroke, will probably do his time in a federal prison hospital … Linda Ronstadt cancels the balance of her 2006 tour schedule after undergoing surgery for an unspecified condition … a documentary about Kurt Cobain is debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival … titled Kurt Cobain: About a Son, the film is based on more than 25 hours of audio interviews with the Nirvana frontman recorded for a biography that was scratched following Cobain’s suicide in 1994 … filmmaker AJ Schnack edited down the tapes in which the troubled Cobain recalls his childhood, domestic troubles, and the downside of fame, matching them up with newly-created stills of places significant to Cobain … Athens, Georgia, music fans get an unexpected thrill when R.E.M. shows up unannounced at a fundraiser at the 40 Watt Club … drummer Bill Berry, who split the band in 1997 to become a gentleman farmer, rejoins his bandmates to rip through a set of faves …
Birthdays
September 6: bluesman Jimmy Reed (1925), blues drummer Fred Below (1926), Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters (1943), Dave Bargeron of Blood Sweat & Tears (1942), androgynous disco star Silvester aka Silvester James (1947), Dennis "Fast Fingers" Kambury (1953), Perry Bamonte of The Cure (1960), Pal Waaktar of A-Ha (1961), CeCe Peniston (1969), Dolores O’Riordon of The Cranberries (1971), Nina Persson of The Cardigans (1974), Foxy Brown (1979)
September 7: Hank Williams (1923), tenor sax giant Sonny Rollins (1930), bluesman Little Milton (Campbell) (1934), Buddy Holly born Charles Hardin Holley (1936), Joe Negroni of Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers (1940), Continental Drift’s Jim Gault (1943), Alfa Anderson of Chic (1946), disco diva Gloria Gaynor (1949), Chrissie Hynde (1951), session guitarist Chuck Beattie (1954), Brad Houser of Edie Brickell & New Bohemians (1960), Chris Acland of Lush (1966), Chad Sexton of 311 (1970), Eazy-E of N.W.A. (1973)
September 8: composer Antonin Dvorak (1841), "The Singing Brakeman" Jimmie Rodgers (1897), Western swing pioneer Milton Brown (1903), Modern Records co-founder Jules Bihari (1913), Patsy Cline born Virginia Patterson Hensley (1932), soul sermonizer Joe Tex (1933), Dante Drowty of Dante & The Evergreens (1941), Brian Cole of The Association (1944), Cathy Jean (1945), Kelly Groucutt of E.L.O. (1945), Ron "Pigpen" McKernan of The Grateful Dead (1945), Atlanta Rhythm Section’s Dean Daughtry (1946), David Steele of Fine Young Cannibals (1960)
September 9: Jacob Carey of The Flamingos (1926), jazz drummer Elvin Jones (1927), soul singer Otis Redding (1941), Inez Foxx (1944), Billy Preston (1946), Iron Butterfly’s Doug Ingle (1947), Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics (1952)
September 10: R&B shouter Roy Brown (1925), vibist Roy Ayers (1940), Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night (1942), Jose Feliciano (1945), Barrymore Barlow of Jethro Tull (1949), Aerosmith’s Joe Perry (1950), Don Powell of Slade (1950), Johnny Fingers of Boomtown Rats (1956), Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama (1957), Cracker’s Dave Lowrey (1960), Bush drummer Robin Goodridge (1966), Big Daddy Kane (1968)
September 11: tenor saxman Bobby Fields (1928), Bernard Dwyer of Freddie And The Dreamers (1940), fingerstyle guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke (1945), Mickey Hart (1950), Tommy Shaw of STYX (1953), Jon Moss of Culture Club (1957), bassist Victor Wooten (1964), Moby born Richard Melville Hall (1965), Harry Connick, Jr. (1967), Ludacris (1977)
September 12: Maurice Chevalier (1888), blues singer Alger "Texas" Alexander (1900), Mel "The Velvet Fog" Torme (1925), country vocalist George Jones (1931), Warren Corbin of The Cleftones (1943), Maria Muldaur (1943), suave soulman Barry White (1944), Gerry Beckley of America (1952), Rush drummer Neil Peart (1952), Barry Andrews of XTC (1956), Larry LaLonde of Primus (1968), Liam Gallagher of Oasis (1972)
Obituaries
September 6: co-founder of Atari Teenage Riot, Carl Crack (2001), standup country bassist Roy Husky Jr. (1997), Tom Fogerty of CCR (1990), Josh White (1964)
September 7: Erma Franklin, sister of Aretha (2002), composer Niccolo Castiglioni (1996), Keith Moon (1978), Tenor Luciano Pavarotti (2007)
September 8: songwriter Dick Heard (1998), Beatle publicist Derek Taylor (1997), Jack Vigliatura and Bill White of For Squirrels (1996)
September 9: conga player Miguel "Anga" Diaz (2006), singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti (1998), bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe (1996), Sandra Tilley of Martha Reeves & The Vandellas (1983)
September 10: Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (2005), zydeco accordionist Beau Jocque (1999)
September 11: Raybeez AKA Raymond Barbieri of Warzone (1997), Peter Tosh (1987)
September 12: Nashville session drummer Kenny Buttrey (2004), Johnny Cash (2003), Stanley Turrentine (2000), ABBA producer Stig "Stikkan" Anderson (1997), Jaco Pastorius (1987)
1958, the first stereo records and phonographs hit the marketplace … demo LPs simulating planes taking off and the sound of ping-pong balls caroming between the left and right speakers are all the rage …
1960, Nancy Sinatra weds pop singer Tommy Sands … in five years the Sands run out on the dissolving marriage … Nancy dons her boots and walks …
1962, The Beatles hit Abbey Road recording studio for the first time, recording "Love Me Do" in about 16 takes with drummer Andy White … six years later to the week, Eric Clapton lays down one of the most famous solos ever on The Beatles tune "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" …
1963, first record companies forced their artists to cash in on The Twist craze, then the surf music boom … and now Muddy Waters is recording Muddy Waters: Folk Singer for Chess Records at Tel Mar Studios in Chicago … helping Muddy connect with his folkier side are Buddy Guy on second acoustic guitar, Clifton James on drums, and Chess stalwart Willie Dixon on bass … a folk album in name only, the tunes are mostly written by Muddy and/or Willie and include unplugged blues classics like "Good Morning Little School Girl" … in 1968, Chess will subject Muddy to recording a "psychedelic" album with funk session men and wah-wah pedals … Electric Mud features Muddy essaying his way through The Rolling Stones’ "Let’s Spend The Night Together" … how about that for acknowledging your roots? … what’s next? … Otis Redding recording "Satisfaction"? …
1964, Rod Stewart cuts his first single—the blues chestnut "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" …
1965, an ad in Variety announces auditions for the new TV show The Monkees … would-be Monkees who fail to make the cut include Stephen Stills, Danny Hutton later of Three Dog Night, songwriter Paul Williams, and Charles Manson … interesting how different people deal with disappointment …
1970, from the One-Hit Wonders Department: the good timey, washboard and jug band sound of Mungo Jerry reaches #3 on the U.S. pop charts with their debut single "In The Summertime" … Mungomania briefly took hold of the U.K. as the band shuffled its way to 10 top singles … but the U.S. quickly tired of the shtick … singer Ray Dorset finally called it quits later in the ’70s …
1973, porn star Linda Lovelace is deeply honored to introduce Elton John in his first Hollywood Bowl engagement …
1975, Steve Anderson brings new meaning to the phrase "blistering guitar solo," when he sets an endurance record for guitar picking by going at it without a break for 114 hours, 7 minutes …
1978, Who drummer Keith Moon succumbs to an overdose of the drug Heminevrin prescribed to combat his alcoholism … an autopsy reveals that he’d washed down 32 of the pills with champagne … his death occurs in the same apartment in which Mama Cass of The Mamas & The Papas met her demise in 1974 …
1987, Jaco Pastorius, brilliant bassist with Weather Report, dies from a fractured skull suffered in a tussle with a nightclub bouncer …
1990, Tom Fogerty, 48, an original member of Creedence Clearwater Revival and brother of John, dies of tuberculosis … he had parted from the band at the height of its success in 1971, a casualty of sibling rivalry … and although Tom recorded a number of albums on his own, he never scored a hit after his CCR days …
2000, Rage Against the Machine bassist Timothy Commerford pleads guilty to charges of assault and disorderly conduct at the MTV Video Awards … while raging against Limp Bizkit’s acceptance of the award for Best Rock Video—which was coincidentally up against Rage’s video for "Sleep Now In The Fire"—Commerford climbed a 15-foot arch that was part of the stage set … stage hands and security swarmed the stage to extricate Tim, who would "sleep now in the slammer" … the soundtrack for Almost Famous is released … it’s notable for including four vintage Led Zeppelin tracks—a first for any soundtrack … Robert Plant and Jimmy Page agree to the tunes’ inclusion after falling in love with Cameron Crowe’s filmed semi-autobiographical remembrance of a teenaged rock journalist in the ’70s … however, Page/Plant don’t allow Crowe to use "Stairway to Heaven" for a scene in the theatrical release … in the subsequent director’s cut DVD version, Crowe shows the deleted scene and instructs viewers to cue up their CDs of "Stairway" and wait for the onscreen countdown to press play so the scene can be experienced the way Crowe intended it, as the actors respond to the lyrics and musical changes in the song …
2003, The Pixies announce that band members have buried the hatchet and will embark on a reunion tour in 2004 … the Pixies dust the competition, going on to huge success in the face of a lackluster touring season …
2004, a jet-lagged Elton John, set upon by Taiwanese paparazzi, has a hissy fit, calling them "rude, vile pigs!" … the 6th Circuit Court in Cincinnati rules that artists should pay for every sample they use … previously courts had held that as long as short samples could not be identified, licensing was unnecessary … in this new decision, the court, acknowledging other cases involving digital piracy says, "If you cannot pirate the whole sound recording, can you ’lift’ or ’sample’ something less than the whole? Our answer to that question is in the negative." … ironically, a two-second sample of a Funkadelic record in NWA’s "100 Miles and Runnin" was at the heart of the ruling … Funkadelic and Parliament leader and founder George Clinton has historically been supportive of sampling, having produced two albums titled Sample Some of Dis and Sample Some of Dat, that permitted remixers to use Clinton’s music without legal considerations …
2005, getting back to basics, The Rolling Stones release A Bigger Bang, their first studio album in eight years … the 16 new Jagger-Richards songs are stripped-down rockers and country-tinged numbers and there’s nary a guest star in sight … Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, versatile blues, cajun, jazz, and R&B guitarist, vocalist, and fiddler, dies in Baton Rouge at his brother’s house after leaving his home in Slidell, LA, due to Hurricane Katrina …
2006, Paul McCartney agrees to donate $3 million to Adopt-a-Minefield after having backed out of playing a benefit for the charity hosted by his estranged wife Heather Mills … apparently, Pat Benetar was right, love is a battlefield … after being found guilty of tax evasion, the IRS orders Ron Isley to pay $3.1 million in delinquent taxes and sentences him to 37 months in prison … the 65-year-old Isley, who is rebounding from kidney cancer and a stroke, will probably do his time in a federal prison hospital … Linda Ronstadt cancels the balance of her 2006 tour schedule after undergoing surgery for an unspecified condition … a documentary about Kurt Cobain is debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival … titled Kurt Cobain: About a Son, the film is based on more than 25 hours of audio interviews with the Nirvana frontman recorded for a biography that was scratched following Cobain’s suicide in 1994 … filmmaker AJ Schnack edited down the tapes in which the troubled Cobain recalls his childhood, domestic troubles, and the downside of fame, matching them up with newly-created stills of places significant to Cobain … Athens, Georgia, music fans get an unexpected thrill when R.E.M. shows up unannounced at a fundraiser at the 40 Watt Club … drummer Bill Berry, who split the band in 1997 to become a gentleman farmer, rejoins his bandmates to rip through a set of faves …
Birthdays
September 6: bluesman Jimmy Reed (1925), blues drummer Fred Below (1926), Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters (1943), Dave Bargeron of Blood Sweat & Tears (1942), androgynous disco star Silvester aka Silvester James (1947), Dennis "Fast Fingers" Kambury (1953), Perry Bamonte of The Cure (1960), Pal Waaktar of A-Ha (1961), CeCe Peniston (1969), Dolores O’Riordon of The Cranberries (1971), Nina Persson of The Cardigans (1974), Foxy Brown (1979)
September 7: Hank Williams (1923), tenor sax giant Sonny Rollins (1930), bluesman Little Milton (Campbell) (1934), Buddy Holly born Charles Hardin Holley (1936), Joe Negroni of Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers (1940), Continental Drift’s Jim Gault (1943), Alfa Anderson of Chic (1946), disco diva Gloria Gaynor (1949), Chrissie Hynde (1951), session guitarist Chuck Beattie (1954), Brad Houser of Edie Brickell & New Bohemians (1960), Chris Acland of Lush (1966), Chad Sexton of 311 (1970), Eazy-E of N.W.A. (1973)
September 8: composer Antonin Dvorak (1841), "The Singing Brakeman" Jimmie Rodgers (1897), Western swing pioneer Milton Brown (1903), Modern Records co-founder Jules Bihari (1913), Patsy Cline born Virginia Patterson Hensley (1932), soul sermonizer Joe Tex (1933), Dante Drowty of Dante & The Evergreens (1941), Brian Cole of The Association (1944), Cathy Jean (1945), Kelly Groucutt of E.L.O. (1945), Ron "Pigpen" McKernan of The Grateful Dead (1945), Atlanta Rhythm Section’s Dean Daughtry (1946), David Steele of Fine Young Cannibals (1960)
September 9: Jacob Carey of The Flamingos (1926), jazz drummer Elvin Jones (1927), soul singer Otis Redding (1941), Inez Foxx (1944), Billy Preston (1946), Iron Butterfly’s Doug Ingle (1947), Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics (1952)
September 10: R&B shouter Roy Brown (1925), vibist Roy Ayers (1940), Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night (1942), Jose Feliciano (1945), Barrymore Barlow of Jethro Tull (1949), Aerosmith’s Joe Perry (1950), Don Powell of Slade (1950), Johnny Fingers of Boomtown Rats (1956), Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama (1957), Cracker’s Dave Lowrey (1960), Bush drummer Robin Goodridge (1966), Big Daddy Kane (1968)
September 11: tenor saxman Bobby Fields (1928), Bernard Dwyer of Freddie And The Dreamers (1940), fingerstyle guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke (1945), Mickey Hart (1950), Tommy Shaw of STYX (1953), Jon Moss of Culture Club (1957), bassist Victor Wooten (1964), Moby born Richard Melville Hall (1965), Harry Connick, Jr. (1967), Ludacris (1977)
September 12: Maurice Chevalier (1888), blues singer Alger "Texas" Alexander (1900), Mel "The Velvet Fog" Torme (1925), country vocalist George Jones (1931), Warren Corbin of The Cleftones (1943), Maria Muldaur (1943), suave soulman Barry White (1944), Gerry Beckley of America (1952), Rush drummer Neil Peart (1952), Barry Andrews of XTC (1956), Larry LaLonde of Primus (1968), Liam Gallagher of Oasis (1972)
Obituaries
September 6: co-founder of Atari Teenage Riot, Carl Crack (2001), standup country bassist Roy Husky Jr. (1997), Tom Fogerty of CCR (1990), Josh White (1964)
September 7: Erma Franklin, sister of Aretha (2002), composer Niccolo Castiglioni (1996), Keith Moon (1978), Tenor Luciano Pavarotti (2007)
September 8: songwriter Dick Heard (1998), Beatle publicist Derek Taylor (1997), Jack Vigliatura and Bill White of For Squirrels (1996)
September 9: conga player Miguel "Anga" Diaz (2006), singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti (1998), bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe (1996), Sandra Tilley of Martha Reeves & The Vandellas (1983)
September 10: Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (2005), zydeco accordionist Beau Jocque (1999)
September 11: Raybeez AKA Raymond Barbieri of Warzone (1997), Peter Tosh (1987)
September 12: Nashville session drummer Kenny Buttrey (2004), Johnny Cash (2003), Stanley Turrentine (2000), ABBA producer Stig "Stikkan" Anderson (1997), Jaco Pastorius (1987)
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1957, in Sydney, Australia, Little Richard announces his intention to give up rock-and-roll and "live for the Lord" … demonstrating his sincerity he tosses four diamond rings into a river … Richard flies to Los Angeles the following day and is baptized as a Seventh Day Adventist … five years later he resumes his music career …
1962, just after his return to show biz, Little Richard headlines a concert in Liverpool … The Beatles are the warm-up act … it is reported they all hit it off splendidly … also this week, "Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit … cannily released to coincide with Halloween, the novelty tune with a Boris Karloff-like spoken vocal reappears on the charts in 1970 and 1973 …
1966, Grace Slick replaces expectant mother Signe Anderson in The Jefferson Airplane … she leaves her current band The Great Society bringing along two songs that will be at the forefront of the San Francisco music scene: "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" … across the bay, Joan Baez is arrested along with 124 others at an anti-draft demonstration outside a military induction center in Oakland …
1968, The New Yardbirds, a band later renamed Led Zeppelin, plays its first British show at Surrey University …
1969, blues giant Muddy Waters is severely injured in a car crash in which three others are killed …
1971, Creedence Clearwater Revival is sued by a music publisher claiming that John Fogerty’s song "Travelin’ Band" is a ripoff of "Good Golly, Miss Molly" … the suit is later dropped …
1972, in the wake of weak sales of their latest album Mardi Gras, and dissension by band members over John Fogerty’s lock on writing and publishing of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s music, the band calls it quits … leader Fogerty goes on to a robust solo career while the rest of the Revivalists descend into relative obscurity … this same week, Chuck Berry scores his first and last #1 Pop Chart hit with "My Ding-a-Ling," a slightly salacious bit of silliness …
1973, The Stones’ "Angie" is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit … supposedly a paean to David Bowie’s missus, the song is covered by Tori Amos in the ’90s …
1986, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards rock out at an affair honoring Chuck Berry on his 60th birthday …
1988, UB40’s "Red Red Wine" is the Billboard No. 1 Pop Hit … the British group originally released the Neil Diamond-penned song in 1984 when it rose to No. 34 …
1991, John Mellencamp is hospitalized in Seattle after suffering a dizzy spell during a Seattle radio appearance … a doctor later attributes his malady to "too much coffee, stress, and not enough breakfast" …
1992, Sinead O’Connor is booed off the stage at Madison Square Garden at a concert honoring Bob Dylan … the hostile crowd is reacting to the singer’s appearance two weeks earlier on Saturday Night Live when she tore up a picture of the Pope …
1993, Peter Gabriel’s "Sledgehammer" video is ranked No. 1 in video history by Rolling Stone magazine … it also racks up a record-setting nine MTV awards …
1995, Sting’s former financial adviser is sentenced to six years in the cooler for bilking the performer out of $9.4 million …
1995, Rhino Home Video releases a 21-cassette collection encompassing all 58 episodes of The Monkees TV show … it’s the biggest boxed video set ever …
1996, singer-songwriter John Denver dies when his experimental aircraft goes down in California’s Monterey Bay …
1997, Patricia Richardson, a Virginia concert promoter, brings a suit against Snoop Doggy Dog and his manager, charging that they duped her into bringing packages with seven pounds of pot to a venue where Snoop was performing, leading to her arrest …
1998, the Crossroads Centre of Antigua opens … the treatment facility for drug addicts is bankrolled by Eric Clapton …
1999, Carlos Santana’s Supernatural is the Billboard best-selling album … it’s the first No. 1 release for a Santana-led record in 28 years …
2000, Santana is presented with a key to the city of Tijuana where he grew up …
2006, after a protracted battle with its landlord, New York punk Mecca CBGB closes its doors forever … on hand to close the joint is Patti Smith who performs most of the songs from her 1975 Horses album … club owner Hilly Kristal, who founded CBGB as a country venue in 1973, is offered a new location by the city of New York but passes on it saying renovation costs are too steep … talk persists about the club moving to Vegas together with many of its storied decorations as well as its legendarily filthy basement toilets …
And that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
October 11: Art Blakey (1919), Little Willie Littlefield (1931), jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie (1941), Gary Mallaber of The Steve Miller Band (1946), Daryl Hall (1949), Andrew Woolfolk of Earth, Wind & Fire (1950), Scott Johnson of The Gin Blossoms (1962),
October 12: composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872), Guitar Gabriel aka Robert Lewis Jones (1925), Sam Moore of Sam and Dave (1935), Luciano Pavarotti (1935), Melvin Franklin of The Temptations (1942), Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens (1955), Bob Mould (1960), Garfield Bright of Shai (1969), Martie Seidel of The Dixie Chicks (1969), Ashanti (1980)
October 13: Paul Simon (1941), Robert Lamm of Chicago (1944), Sammy Hagar (1947), Simon Nicol of Fairport Convention (1950), Marie Osmond (1959)
October 14: Jimmy Liggins (1922), monster picker Mickey "Guitar" Baker of Mickey & Sylvia (1925), Bill Justis (1926), Robert "Barefootin" Parker (1930), Barry McGuire of The New Christy Minstrels (1935), Marv Johnson (1938), Cliff Richard (1940), Colin Hodgkinson of Whitesnake (1945), Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward (1946), Danish pop king Tommy Seebach (1949), Thomas Dolby (1958), A.J. Pero of Twisted Sister (1959), Karyn White (1965), Natalie Maines of The Dixie Chicks (1974), Shaznay Lewis of All Saints (1975), Usher (1978)
October 15: singer Victoria Spivey (1906), Bobby Gimby (1918), Barry Sadler (1939), Richard Carpenter of The Carpenters (1946), Chris DeBurgh of "Lady in Red" fame (1948), Tito Jackson (1953)
October 16: Big Joe Williams (1899), Nico of the Velvet Underground (1938), Fred Turner of BTO (1943), Bob Weir (1947), Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet (1959), Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962), Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips (1969), John Mayer (1977)
October 17: jazz drummer Cozy Cole (1909), recording expert John Mosley (1914), British record executive Louis Benjamin (1922), trombonist Rico Rodriguez of The Specials (1934), Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts (1941), Gary Puckett (1942), James Tucker of The Turtles (1946), Mike Hossack of the Doobie Bros. (1948), Allen Jackson (1958), Rene Dif of Aqua (1967), Ziggy Marley (1968), Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC (1971), Eminem (1972), Wyclef Jean (1972)
Obituaries
October 11: Edith Piaf (1963)
October 12: bluesman Frank Frost (1999), John Denver (1997), Ricky Wilson of the B-52’s (1985), Gene Vincent (1971), songwriter Baker Knight (2005)
October 13: Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks of The Ohio Players (1996), Shirley Brickley of The Orlons (1977), Ed Sullivan (1974)
October 14: Leonard Bernstein (1990), Bing Crosby (1977)
October 15: songwriter Terry Gilkyson (1999), Tasha Thomas (1984), Jud Strunk (1981), Bobby Lester of The Moonglows (1980), Cole Porter (1974)
October 16: jazz vocalist Etta Jones (2001), singer Ella Mae Morse of "Cow Cow Boogie" fame (1999), Richard Kermode (1996), Art Blakey (1990), Gene Krupa (1973), Leonard Chess, co-founder of Chess Records (1969)
October 17: composer Berthold Goldschmidt (1996), Chris Acland of Lush (1996), Criss Oliva of Savatage (1993), Tennessee Ernie Ford (1991), Alberta Hunter (1984), Edgar V. Blanchard (1972)
1957, in Sydney, Australia, Little Richard announces his intention to give up rock-and-roll and "live for the Lord" … demonstrating his sincerity he tosses four diamond rings into a river … Richard flies to Los Angeles the following day and is baptized as a Seventh Day Adventist … five years later he resumes his music career …
1962, just after his return to show biz, Little Richard headlines a concert in Liverpool … The Beatles are the warm-up act … it is reported they all hit it off splendidly … also this week, "Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit … cannily released to coincide with Halloween, the novelty tune with a Boris Karloff-like spoken vocal reappears on the charts in 1970 and 1973 …
1966, Grace Slick replaces expectant mother Signe Anderson in The Jefferson Airplane … she leaves her current band The Great Society bringing along two songs that will be at the forefront of the San Francisco music scene: "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" … across the bay, Joan Baez is arrested along with 124 others at an anti-draft demonstration outside a military induction center in Oakland …
1968, The New Yardbirds, a band later renamed Led Zeppelin, plays its first British show at Surrey University …
1969, blues giant Muddy Waters is severely injured in a car crash in which three others are killed …
1971, Creedence Clearwater Revival is sued by a music publisher claiming that John Fogerty’s song "Travelin’ Band" is a ripoff of "Good Golly, Miss Molly" … the suit is later dropped …
1972, in the wake of weak sales of their latest album Mardi Gras, and dissension by band members over John Fogerty’s lock on writing and publishing of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s music, the band calls it quits … leader Fogerty goes on to a robust solo career while the rest of the Revivalists descend into relative obscurity … this same week, Chuck Berry scores his first and last #1 Pop Chart hit with "My Ding-a-Ling," a slightly salacious bit of silliness …
1973, The Stones’ "Angie" is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit … supposedly a paean to David Bowie’s missus, the song is covered by Tori Amos in the ’90s …
1986, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards rock out at an affair honoring Chuck Berry on his 60th birthday …
1988, UB40’s "Red Red Wine" is the Billboard No. 1 Pop Hit … the British group originally released the Neil Diamond-penned song in 1984 when it rose to No. 34 …
1991, John Mellencamp is hospitalized in Seattle after suffering a dizzy spell during a Seattle radio appearance … a doctor later attributes his malady to "too much coffee, stress, and not enough breakfast" …
1992, Sinead O’Connor is booed off the stage at Madison Square Garden at a concert honoring Bob Dylan … the hostile crowd is reacting to the singer’s appearance two weeks earlier on Saturday Night Live when she tore up a picture of the Pope …
1993, Peter Gabriel’s "Sledgehammer" video is ranked No. 1 in video history by Rolling Stone magazine … it also racks up a record-setting nine MTV awards …
1995, Sting’s former financial adviser is sentenced to six years in the cooler for bilking the performer out of $9.4 million …
1995, Rhino Home Video releases a 21-cassette collection encompassing all 58 episodes of The Monkees TV show … it’s the biggest boxed video set ever …
1996, singer-songwriter John Denver dies when his experimental aircraft goes down in California’s Monterey Bay …
1997, Patricia Richardson, a Virginia concert promoter, brings a suit against Snoop Doggy Dog and his manager, charging that they duped her into bringing packages with seven pounds of pot to a venue where Snoop was performing, leading to her arrest …
1998, the Crossroads Centre of Antigua opens … the treatment facility for drug addicts is bankrolled by Eric Clapton …
1999, Carlos Santana’s Supernatural is the Billboard best-selling album … it’s the first No. 1 release for a Santana-led record in 28 years …
2000, Santana is presented with a key to the city of Tijuana where he grew up …
2006, after a protracted battle with its landlord, New York punk Mecca CBGB closes its doors forever … on hand to close the joint is Patti Smith who performs most of the songs from her 1975 Horses album … club owner Hilly Kristal, who founded CBGB as a country venue in 1973, is offered a new location by the city of New York but passes on it saying renovation costs are too steep … talk persists about the club moving to Vegas together with many of its storied decorations as well as its legendarily filthy basement toilets …
And that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
October 11: Art Blakey (1919), Little Willie Littlefield (1931), jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie (1941), Gary Mallaber of The Steve Miller Band (1946), Daryl Hall (1949), Andrew Woolfolk of Earth, Wind & Fire (1950), Scott Johnson of The Gin Blossoms (1962),
October 12: composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872), Guitar Gabriel aka Robert Lewis Jones (1925), Sam Moore of Sam and Dave (1935), Luciano Pavarotti (1935), Melvin Franklin of The Temptations (1942), Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens (1955), Bob Mould (1960), Garfield Bright of Shai (1969), Martie Seidel of The Dixie Chicks (1969), Ashanti (1980)
October 13: Paul Simon (1941), Robert Lamm of Chicago (1944), Sammy Hagar (1947), Simon Nicol of Fairport Convention (1950), Marie Osmond (1959)
October 14: Jimmy Liggins (1922), monster picker Mickey "Guitar" Baker of Mickey & Sylvia (1925), Bill Justis (1926), Robert "Barefootin" Parker (1930), Barry McGuire of The New Christy Minstrels (1935), Marv Johnson (1938), Cliff Richard (1940), Colin Hodgkinson of Whitesnake (1945), Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward (1946), Danish pop king Tommy Seebach (1949), Thomas Dolby (1958), A.J. Pero of Twisted Sister (1959), Karyn White (1965), Natalie Maines of The Dixie Chicks (1974), Shaznay Lewis of All Saints (1975), Usher (1978)
October 15: singer Victoria Spivey (1906), Bobby Gimby (1918), Barry Sadler (1939), Richard Carpenter of The Carpenters (1946), Chris DeBurgh of "Lady in Red" fame (1948), Tito Jackson (1953)
October 16: Big Joe Williams (1899), Nico of the Velvet Underground (1938), Fred Turner of BTO (1943), Bob Weir (1947), Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet (1959), Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962), Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips (1969), John Mayer (1977)
October 17: jazz drummer Cozy Cole (1909), recording expert John Mosley (1914), British record executive Louis Benjamin (1922), trombonist Rico Rodriguez of The Specials (1934), Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts (1941), Gary Puckett (1942), James Tucker of The Turtles (1946), Mike Hossack of the Doobie Bros. (1948), Allen Jackson (1958), Rene Dif of Aqua (1967), Ziggy Marley (1968), Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC (1971), Eminem (1972), Wyclef Jean (1972)
Obituaries
October 11: Edith Piaf (1963)
October 12: bluesman Frank Frost (1999), John Denver (1997), Ricky Wilson of the B-52’s (1985), Gene Vincent (1971), songwriter Baker Knight (2005)
October 13: Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks of The Ohio Players (1996), Shirley Brickley of The Orlons (1977), Ed Sullivan (1974)
October 14: Leonard Bernstein (1990), Bing Crosby (1977)
October 15: songwriter Terry Gilkyson (1999), Tasha Thomas (1984), Jud Strunk (1981), Bobby Lester of The Moonglows (1980), Cole Porter (1974)
October 16: jazz vocalist Etta Jones (2001), singer Ella Mae Morse of "Cow Cow Boogie" fame (1999), Richard Kermode (1996), Art Blakey (1990), Gene Krupa (1973), Leonard Chess, co-founder of Chess Records (1969)
October 17: composer Berthold Goldschmidt (1996), Chris Acland of Lush (1996), Criss Oliva of Savatage (1993), Tennessee Ernie Ford (1991), Alberta Hunter (1984), Edgar V. Blanchard (1972)
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1908, Columbia runs an ad in The Saturday Evening Post touting their new two-sided records …
1949, future Dead Boys leader Stiv Bators is born Stivan John Bator in Youngstown, Ohio …
1954, The Penguins record the doo-wop classic, "Earth Angel" … the song will choreograph a million back-seat couplings …
1956, "Love Me Tender" is the first single to enter the pop charts at #1 … Elvis’ slow dance tune also appears on the Country and Western and R&B charts …
1958, Tommy Facenda, a backup vocalist for Gene Vincent, charts with a single called "High School U.S.A." … the tune is released in 28 versions, each name-dropping a different major high school across the country … the combined sales get the single to #28 on the pop chart …
1961, 20-year-old Bob Dylan records his eponymous debut album accompanied only by his guitar and harmonica … studio cost is a whopping $400 … filling out the studio’s tax reporting form, he lists his name as "Blind Boy Grunt" … the young folkie goes on to become one of the most important musical figures of the 20th century … meanwhile in Britain, the Beatles join forces with Gerry & The Pacemakers for a one-off show … the combine is billed as The Beatmakers …
1962, the artist known as Little Stevie Wonder makes his first recording … Steveland Morris Judkins’ first single sinks without a trace but the accolades are not far away … this same week James Brown records a live show in the face of objections from his record label—an in-concert soul album has never been done before … Live at the Apollo turns out to be among the Godfather of Soul’s most brilliant performances and the album goes on to sell millions …
1964, a London band known as the High Numbers is rejected after an audition with EMI … formerly known as The Who, the four young rockers have recently come under the influence of manager Pete Meaden, who suggests the name change and dresses the boys in mod suits … Meaden’s all wet, but the kids are all right … in the coming months they’ll assume their old name and ride the magic bus to fame …
1966, The Beach Boys’ "Good Vibrations" charts for the first time on its way to #1 … the single is the result of six month’s work and 17 sessions in four different studios at a then-unprecedented cost of $16,000 …
1969, The Who start a six-night stand at New York’s Fillmore East in support of Tommy …
1973, John Lennon files suit against the U.S. government alleging that the FBI tapped his phone in an effort to deport him …
1974, soul singer Al Green is seriously burned when a disturbed girlfriend tosses a pot of boiling grits on him … the incident results in Green becoming a minister and leaving secular music behind … it will be 2003 before he releases another non-religious record …
1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd fans take a gut shot this week when they learn that band members Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and Ronnie Van Zant have died along with three members of their entourage in a plane crash in a swamp near Gillsburg, Mississippi …
1978, Sid Vicious attempts to off himself at New York’s Rikers Island jail, where he’s awaiting trial for the murder of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen … the bad Pistol will get out and OD before he can be tried for the crime … this same week, the bad Rolling Stone, Keith Richards, receives a suspended one-year sentence after pleading guilty to heroin possession in Toronto … he’s also ordered to play a charity concert for the blind …
1986, former Tubes singer Jane Dornacker, who had gone on to a new career as a traffic reporter, dies in a New York helicopter crash … this week also marks the first time ever that three femme popsters hold down the first three positions on the pop chart … in order they are: Janet Jackson with her "When I Think of You," "Typical Male" by Tina Turner, and Cyndi Lauper with "True Colors" …
1988, Fantasy Records, after more than a decade of rancorous relations with John Fogerty, files a suit claiming he plagiarized his own song, "Run Through the Jungle," during the composition of "The Old Man Down the Road" … it will be 1995 before the court finally rules that Fantasy is fantasizing …
1991, legendary rock promoter Bill Graham attends a Huey Lewis and the News show in Concord, California, where he gets the band to agree to perform at a benefit concert for the victims of the 1991 Oakland firestorm … he returns to his helicopter, but is stopped by the News’ bass player Mario Cippolina, who, in a flash of clairvoyance, urges Graham to take a limo … after being reassured by the pilot, Graham decides to take the flight … moments after take-off, the helicopter’s rotors became entangled in power lines and the craft plummets to the ground killing Graham, his girlfriend, and the pilot …
1992, long before her career as a writer of children’s books, Madonna releases Sex—a steel-bound book of erotic photos of herself and other beautiful people that sells out the first run of a half million copies in no time … she also releases her album Erotica this week … it will sell over two million copies … country singer Lynn Anderson is sprung from a Nashville jail after doing two days for contempt of court … the sentence stemmed from cursing at her former husband in front of their teenage children …
1995, Generation X loses another of its greatest voices when Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon is found dead of a cocaine overdose on the band’s tour bus in New Orleans … Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde makes a return trip to her hometown of Cleveland to sing the national anthem at game three of the World Series …
1998, the publisher of Alice Cooper’s "Eighteen" files suit against Cooper’s primary makeup rock emulators, KISS, claiming they ripped off his song "Eighteen" for their song, "Dreamin’" … Cooper has nothing to do with it, and hasn’t even heard the KISS tune … asked about the outcome years later, Cooper says, "I think we all forgot to show up at court. Paul Stanley bought me a cheeseburger to make up for the whole thing" … meanwhile in Toledo, Ohio, singer Eddie Nichols of the swing band Royal Crown Revue is arrested for taking a swing at a sheriff in a diner …
2001, VH1 hosts its Concert for New York, which raises over $30 million for victims of 9/11 with performances by such heavy hitters as The Who, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elton John, and Bon Jovi …
2003, singer-songwriter Elliot Smith takes his own life in his Los Angeles apartment … a hero of the Portland, Oregon, indie-rock scene in the ’90s, Smith gained national prominence after director Gus Van Sant tapped him for the soundtrack to the 1997 film Good Will Hunting … Smith’s song "Miss Misery" was nominated for an Oscar the following year … a posthumous release, From A Basement On A Hill, includes material the singer was working on when he died …
2004, crusading New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announces an investigation of payola practices in the music business … EMI, Warner Music Group, Sony-BMG, and Universal all receive subpoenas demanding that they produce communications with independent record promoters, the middlemen paid by record companies to get airplay … before it’s all over the labels will fork over large cash fines …
2005, Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton is arrested in connection with the beating of six gay men in June 2004 … Banton had a hit with the song "Boom Bye Bye," whose lyrics addressed burning and shooting gays … Rivers Cuomo, frontman for Weezer announces he’ll return to Harvard University to complete his last semester for a bachelor’s degree … Cuomo’s higher education had been interrupted a couple of times by touring and recording … U2 guitarist the Edge, producer Bob Ezrin, Gibson Guitar, and Guitar Center join forces to supply instruments to Gulf Coast musicians devastated by Hurricane Katrina … the two corporate partners pledge a minimum of $1 million … after taking heat over its copy-protection system that buried software deep in Window’s-based computers, making them susceptible to viruses, Sony BMG announces it will stop embedding the software on its CDs while seeking another approach to piracy prevention …
2006, Neil Young’s 20th Bridge School acoustic concerts host an array of unusual performances including Trent Reznor playing unplugged in front of a string quartet … other headliners include Dave Matthews Band, Death Cab for Cutie, and Brian Wilson … Young sits in with, and energizes, many of the sets … Axl Rose’s manager, Merck Mercuriadis, tells Rolling Stone that the much anticipated Chinese Democracy album will be released before the year is out … word has it that the album is now in the mixing stage and has cost upward of $13 million so far … no one is holding their breath …
And that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
October 18: Chuck Berry (1926), Ronnie Bright of the Coasters (1938), The Association’s Russ Giguere (1943), singer-songwriter Laura Nyro (1947), Gary Richrath of REO Speedwagon (1949), Doobie Brother Keith Knudson (1952), Wynton Marsalis (1961), Peter Svensson of The Cardigans (1974)
October 19: Piano Red born William Lee Perryman (1911), Kings of Rhythm drummer Billy Gayles (1931), Dave Guard of The Kingston Trio (1934), Peter Tosh (1944), George McCrae (1944), Jeannie C. Riley (1945), Procol Harum lyricist Keith Reid (1946), Wilbert Hart of The Delfonics (1947), Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers (1948), Nino DeFranco (1956), Karl Wallinger of World Party (1957), Jennifer Holliday (1960), Dan "Woody" Woodgate of Madness (1960), Pras Michel of the Fugees (1972)
October 20: jazz innovator Jellyroll Morton born Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe (1890), Johnny Moore of The Blazers (1906), master producer Tom Dowd (1925), electric sax man Eddie Harris (1934), rockabilly-ette Wanda Jackson (1937), Jay Siegel of The Tokens (1939), Ric Lee of Ten Years After (1945), Al Greenwood of Foreigner (1951), Tom Petty (1953), Mark King of Level 42 (1958), James George "Soni" Sonefeld of Hootie and The Blowfish (1964), Snoop Dogg (1971)
October 21: Dizzy Gillespie (1917), salsa queen Celia Cruz (1924), manager Jo Lustig (1925), Manfred Mann AKA Michael Lubowitz (1940), Memphis guitarist and producer Steve Cropper (1941), Elvin Bishop (1942), Kathy Young of Kathy Young & The Innnocents (1945), Lee Loughnane of Chicago (1946), Brent Mydland of the Grateful Dead (1952), Go-Go’s guitarist Charlotte Caffey (1953), Eric Faulkner of Bay City Rollers (1955), Julian Cope of Teardrop Explodes (1957), six-string slinger Steve Lukather (1957)
October 22: Franz Liszt (1811), Annette Funicello (1942), Bobby "I Fought The Law" Fuller (1943), Leslie West of Mountain (1945), Eddie Brigati of The (Young) Rascals (1945), Dean Kastran of The Ohio Express (1948), Dead Boy Stiv Bators (1949), Curt Kirkwood of The Meat Puppets (1960), Shaggy (1968), Zac Hanson of Hanson (1985)
October 23: rockabilly artist Johnny Carroll (1937), songwriter Ellie Greenwich (1939), Charlie Foxx of Charlie & Inez Foxx (1939), Freddie Marsden of Gerry & The Pacemakers (1940), Greg Ridley of Spooky Tooth/Humble Pie (1943), Barbara Hawkins of The Dixie Cups (1943), Pauline Black of The Selector (1953), Dwight Yoakam (1954), rock parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic (1959), Take 6’s David Thomas (1966), Shelby Lynne (1968)
October 24: blues harpist Sonny Terry (1911), jump blues shouter Willie Mabon (1925), contemporary composer George Crumb (1929), The Big Bopper aka J.P. Richardson (1930), former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman born William Perks (1936), Jerry Edmonton of Steppenwolf (1946), Dale Griffin of Mott the Hoople (1950), Speech of Arrested Development (1968), Silverchair’s Ben Gillies (1979), Monica (1980)
Obituaries
October 18: singer-actress Julie London (2000), Broadway singer Gwen Verdon (2000), New Orleans sax man Lee Allen (1994), songwriter Ed Labunski (1980), Houston bluesman L.C. Williams (1960)
October 19: rock journalist Greg Shaw (2004), Glen Buxton (1997), soul singer Wade Flemons (1993), Level 42 guitarist Alan Murphy (1989), Son House (1988)
October 20: jazz pianist and vocalist Shirley Horn (2005), Merle Travis (1983), Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines—all of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1977)
October 21: Elliot Smith (2003), Henry Vestine of Canned Heat (1997), Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon (1995), Bill Black (1965), Jay Perkins, brother of Carl and Luther (1958)
October 22: jazz pianist-vocalist Shirley Horn (2005), album cover artist Reverend Howard Finster (2001), Vagabonds guitarist Robert E. True (1998), sideman and brother of Benny Goodman, Harry Goodman (1997), producer Jimmy Miller (1994), Celtic music star Ewan MacColl (1989), Jane Dornacker of The Tubes (1986), crooner Tommy Edwards (1969), barrelhouse pianist Walter Davis (1963)
October 23: soul singer Ted Taylor (1988), flatpicker Merle Watson (1985), "Mother" Maybelle Carter of The Carter Family (1978), Leonard Lee of Shirley and Lee (1976), Buddy Holly impersonator David Box (1964), singer Joe Henderson (1964), Al Jolson (1950)
October 24: Sandy West of The Runaways (2006), album cover artist Phil Hays (2005), gospel-trained crooner Joe Henderson (1964)
1908, Columbia runs an ad in The Saturday Evening Post touting their new two-sided records …
1949, future Dead Boys leader Stiv Bators is born Stivan John Bator in Youngstown, Ohio …
1954, The Penguins record the doo-wop classic, "Earth Angel" … the song will choreograph a million back-seat couplings …
1956, "Love Me Tender" is the first single to enter the pop charts at #1 … Elvis’ slow dance tune also appears on the Country and Western and R&B charts …
1958, Tommy Facenda, a backup vocalist for Gene Vincent, charts with a single called "High School U.S.A." … the tune is released in 28 versions, each name-dropping a different major high school across the country … the combined sales get the single to #28 on the pop chart …
1961, 20-year-old Bob Dylan records his eponymous debut album accompanied only by his guitar and harmonica … studio cost is a whopping $400 … filling out the studio’s tax reporting form, he lists his name as "Blind Boy Grunt" … the young folkie goes on to become one of the most important musical figures of the 20th century … meanwhile in Britain, the Beatles join forces with Gerry & The Pacemakers for a one-off show … the combine is billed as The Beatmakers …
1962, the artist known as Little Stevie Wonder makes his first recording … Steveland Morris Judkins’ first single sinks without a trace but the accolades are not far away … this same week James Brown records a live show in the face of objections from his record label—an in-concert soul album has never been done before … Live at the Apollo turns out to be among the Godfather of Soul’s most brilliant performances and the album goes on to sell millions …
1964, a London band known as the High Numbers is rejected after an audition with EMI … formerly known as The Who, the four young rockers have recently come under the influence of manager Pete Meaden, who suggests the name change and dresses the boys in mod suits … Meaden’s all wet, but the kids are all right … in the coming months they’ll assume their old name and ride the magic bus to fame …
1966, The Beach Boys’ "Good Vibrations" charts for the first time on its way to #1 … the single is the result of six month’s work and 17 sessions in four different studios at a then-unprecedented cost of $16,000 …
1969, The Who start a six-night stand at New York’s Fillmore East in support of Tommy …
1973, John Lennon files suit against the U.S. government alleging that the FBI tapped his phone in an effort to deport him …
1974, soul singer Al Green is seriously burned when a disturbed girlfriend tosses a pot of boiling grits on him … the incident results in Green becoming a minister and leaving secular music behind … it will be 2003 before he releases another non-religious record …
1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd fans take a gut shot this week when they learn that band members Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and Ronnie Van Zant have died along with three members of their entourage in a plane crash in a swamp near Gillsburg, Mississippi …
1978, Sid Vicious attempts to off himself at New York’s Rikers Island jail, where he’s awaiting trial for the murder of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen … the bad Pistol will get out and OD before he can be tried for the crime … this same week, the bad Rolling Stone, Keith Richards, receives a suspended one-year sentence after pleading guilty to heroin possession in Toronto … he’s also ordered to play a charity concert for the blind …
1986, former Tubes singer Jane Dornacker, who had gone on to a new career as a traffic reporter, dies in a New York helicopter crash … this week also marks the first time ever that three femme popsters hold down the first three positions on the pop chart … in order they are: Janet Jackson with her "When I Think of You," "Typical Male" by Tina Turner, and Cyndi Lauper with "True Colors" …
1988, Fantasy Records, after more than a decade of rancorous relations with John Fogerty, files a suit claiming he plagiarized his own song, "Run Through the Jungle," during the composition of "The Old Man Down the Road" … it will be 1995 before the court finally rules that Fantasy is fantasizing …
1991, legendary rock promoter Bill Graham attends a Huey Lewis and the News show in Concord, California, where he gets the band to agree to perform at a benefit concert for the victims of the 1991 Oakland firestorm … he returns to his helicopter, but is stopped by the News’ bass player Mario Cippolina, who, in a flash of clairvoyance, urges Graham to take a limo … after being reassured by the pilot, Graham decides to take the flight … moments after take-off, the helicopter’s rotors became entangled in power lines and the craft plummets to the ground killing Graham, his girlfriend, and the pilot …
1992, long before her career as a writer of children’s books, Madonna releases Sex—a steel-bound book of erotic photos of herself and other beautiful people that sells out the first run of a half million copies in no time … she also releases her album Erotica this week … it will sell over two million copies … country singer Lynn Anderson is sprung from a Nashville jail after doing two days for contempt of court … the sentence stemmed from cursing at her former husband in front of their teenage children …
1995, Generation X loses another of its greatest voices when Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon is found dead of a cocaine overdose on the band’s tour bus in New Orleans … Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde makes a return trip to her hometown of Cleveland to sing the national anthem at game three of the World Series …
1998, the publisher of Alice Cooper’s "Eighteen" files suit against Cooper’s primary makeup rock emulators, KISS, claiming they ripped off his song "Eighteen" for their song, "Dreamin’" … Cooper has nothing to do with it, and hasn’t even heard the KISS tune … asked about the outcome years later, Cooper says, "I think we all forgot to show up at court. Paul Stanley bought me a cheeseburger to make up for the whole thing" … meanwhile in Toledo, Ohio, singer Eddie Nichols of the swing band Royal Crown Revue is arrested for taking a swing at a sheriff in a diner …
2001, VH1 hosts its Concert for New York, which raises over $30 million for victims of 9/11 with performances by such heavy hitters as The Who, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elton John, and Bon Jovi …
2003, singer-songwriter Elliot Smith takes his own life in his Los Angeles apartment … a hero of the Portland, Oregon, indie-rock scene in the ’90s, Smith gained national prominence after director Gus Van Sant tapped him for the soundtrack to the 1997 film Good Will Hunting … Smith’s song "Miss Misery" was nominated for an Oscar the following year … a posthumous release, From A Basement On A Hill, includes material the singer was working on when he died …
2004, crusading New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announces an investigation of payola practices in the music business … EMI, Warner Music Group, Sony-BMG, and Universal all receive subpoenas demanding that they produce communications with independent record promoters, the middlemen paid by record companies to get airplay … before it’s all over the labels will fork over large cash fines …
2005, Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton is arrested in connection with the beating of six gay men in June 2004 … Banton had a hit with the song "Boom Bye Bye," whose lyrics addressed burning and shooting gays … Rivers Cuomo, frontman for Weezer announces he’ll return to Harvard University to complete his last semester for a bachelor’s degree … Cuomo’s higher education had been interrupted a couple of times by touring and recording … U2 guitarist the Edge, producer Bob Ezrin, Gibson Guitar, and Guitar Center join forces to supply instruments to Gulf Coast musicians devastated by Hurricane Katrina … the two corporate partners pledge a minimum of $1 million … after taking heat over its copy-protection system that buried software deep in Window’s-based computers, making them susceptible to viruses, Sony BMG announces it will stop embedding the software on its CDs while seeking another approach to piracy prevention …
2006, Neil Young’s 20th Bridge School acoustic concerts host an array of unusual performances including Trent Reznor playing unplugged in front of a string quartet … other headliners include Dave Matthews Band, Death Cab for Cutie, and Brian Wilson … Young sits in with, and energizes, many of the sets … Axl Rose’s manager, Merck Mercuriadis, tells Rolling Stone that the much anticipated Chinese Democracy album will be released before the year is out … word has it that the album is now in the mixing stage and has cost upward of $13 million so far … no one is holding their breath …
And that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
October 18: Chuck Berry (1926), Ronnie Bright of the Coasters (1938), The Association’s Russ Giguere (1943), singer-songwriter Laura Nyro (1947), Gary Richrath of REO Speedwagon (1949), Doobie Brother Keith Knudson (1952), Wynton Marsalis (1961), Peter Svensson of The Cardigans (1974)
October 19: Piano Red born William Lee Perryman (1911), Kings of Rhythm drummer Billy Gayles (1931), Dave Guard of The Kingston Trio (1934), Peter Tosh (1944), George McCrae (1944), Jeannie C. Riley (1945), Procol Harum lyricist Keith Reid (1946), Wilbert Hart of The Delfonics (1947), Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers (1948), Nino DeFranco (1956), Karl Wallinger of World Party (1957), Jennifer Holliday (1960), Dan "Woody" Woodgate of Madness (1960), Pras Michel of the Fugees (1972)
October 20: jazz innovator Jellyroll Morton born Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe (1890), Johnny Moore of The Blazers (1906), master producer Tom Dowd (1925), electric sax man Eddie Harris (1934), rockabilly-ette Wanda Jackson (1937), Jay Siegel of The Tokens (1939), Ric Lee of Ten Years After (1945), Al Greenwood of Foreigner (1951), Tom Petty (1953), Mark King of Level 42 (1958), James George "Soni" Sonefeld of Hootie and The Blowfish (1964), Snoop Dogg (1971)
October 21: Dizzy Gillespie (1917), salsa queen Celia Cruz (1924), manager Jo Lustig (1925), Manfred Mann AKA Michael Lubowitz (1940), Memphis guitarist and producer Steve Cropper (1941), Elvin Bishop (1942), Kathy Young of Kathy Young & The Innnocents (1945), Lee Loughnane of Chicago (1946), Brent Mydland of the Grateful Dead (1952), Go-Go’s guitarist Charlotte Caffey (1953), Eric Faulkner of Bay City Rollers (1955), Julian Cope of Teardrop Explodes (1957), six-string slinger Steve Lukather (1957)
October 22: Franz Liszt (1811), Annette Funicello (1942), Bobby "I Fought The Law" Fuller (1943), Leslie West of Mountain (1945), Eddie Brigati of The (Young) Rascals (1945), Dean Kastran of The Ohio Express (1948), Dead Boy Stiv Bators (1949), Curt Kirkwood of The Meat Puppets (1960), Shaggy (1968), Zac Hanson of Hanson (1985)
October 23: rockabilly artist Johnny Carroll (1937), songwriter Ellie Greenwich (1939), Charlie Foxx of Charlie & Inez Foxx (1939), Freddie Marsden of Gerry & The Pacemakers (1940), Greg Ridley of Spooky Tooth/Humble Pie (1943), Barbara Hawkins of The Dixie Cups (1943), Pauline Black of The Selector (1953), Dwight Yoakam (1954), rock parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic (1959), Take 6’s David Thomas (1966), Shelby Lynne (1968)
October 24: blues harpist Sonny Terry (1911), jump blues shouter Willie Mabon (1925), contemporary composer George Crumb (1929), The Big Bopper aka J.P. Richardson (1930), former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman born William Perks (1936), Jerry Edmonton of Steppenwolf (1946), Dale Griffin of Mott the Hoople (1950), Speech of Arrested Development (1968), Silverchair’s Ben Gillies (1979), Monica (1980)
Obituaries
October 18: singer-actress Julie London (2000), Broadway singer Gwen Verdon (2000), New Orleans sax man Lee Allen (1994), songwriter Ed Labunski (1980), Houston bluesman L.C. Williams (1960)
October 19: rock journalist Greg Shaw (2004), Glen Buxton (1997), soul singer Wade Flemons (1993), Level 42 guitarist Alan Murphy (1989), Son House (1988)
October 20: jazz pianist and vocalist Shirley Horn (2005), Merle Travis (1983), Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines—all of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1977)
October 21: Elliot Smith (2003), Henry Vestine of Canned Heat (1997), Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon (1995), Bill Black (1965), Jay Perkins, brother of Carl and Luther (1958)
October 22: jazz pianist-vocalist Shirley Horn (2005), album cover artist Reverend Howard Finster (2001), Vagabonds guitarist Robert E. True (1998), sideman and brother of Benny Goodman, Harry Goodman (1997), producer Jimmy Miller (1994), Celtic music star Ewan MacColl (1989), Jane Dornacker of The Tubes (1986), crooner Tommy Edwards (1969), barrelhouse pianist Walter Davis (1963)
October 23: soul singer Ted Taylor (1988), flatpicker Merle Watson (1985), "Mother" Maybelle Carter of The Carter Family (1978), Leonard Lee of Shirley and Lee (1976), Buddy Holly impersonator David Box (1964), singer Joe Henderson (1964), Al Jolson (1950)
October 24: Sandy West of The Runaways (2006), album cover artist Phil Hays (2005), gospel-trained crooner Joe Henderson (1964)
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1920, The first radio receivers are marketed …
1960, in an odd bit of synchronicity, singer Johnny ("Battle of New Orleans") Horton dies in an auto wreck after playing a date at the Skyline Club in Austin, Texas, the same venue that hosted Hank Williams' final gig … Horton's widow had once been Mrs. Williams …
1966, Bill Graham's Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco opens its doors … the venue is destined to become the focal point for psychedelic music …
1970, MGM Records drops 18 acts from its roster in one fell swoop, a move president Mike Curb states is to discredit musicians who "exploit and promote hard drugs through music." … among the dropped artists are notorious drug abusers the Cowsills, Connie Francis, and the estate of Judy Garland, while squeaky-clean Eric Burdon escapes the axe …
1975, the Sex Pistols play their first gig at St. Martin's School of Art in London …
1977, Martin Scorcese’s film The Last Waltz commemorating The Band’s last concert opens to rave reviews in New York …
1979, the movie version of Quadrophenia—sans the mental illness theme—premieres with future superstar Sting playing the part of Ace, a Mod hero character …
1988, the U2 concert film Rattle And Hum opens in theaters worldwide … one of the highlights of the movie is a live rendition of "All Along the Watchtower" recorded in Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco … during the song Bono spray-paints the words "Rock and Roll Stops the Traffic" on the monstrous Vaillancourt Fountain … the graffiti is removed a few days later and the band issues a formal apology …
1991, a crowd of more than 300,000 attend a free show in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park to commemorate the death of rock promoter Bill Graham … the bill includes the Grateful Dead; Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young; Joan Baez; Santana; and Journey who reunite for the memorial show … Graham had died on October 25 when the helicopter in which he was traveling hit utility lines …
1992, blues, soul, rock, and country are all well represented when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Bobby "Blue" Bland, Booker T & The MGs, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, The Isley Brothers, The Yardbirds, and Sam and Dave …
2003, Sean whatever-his-name-is-this-month Combs runs in the New York City Marathon to raise money for charities dedicated to improving the lives of children … Diddy finishes in 4 hours, 14 minutes, and 54 seconds and raises two million dollars …
2004, Eric Clapton is made a commander of the Order of the British Empire in an official ceremony held at Buckingham Palace … Commander Clapton uses the opportunity to announce he and wife Melia McEnery are expecting a child …
2005, following an unfriendly Supreme Court decision about its file-sharing software and website, Grokster shuts down … it is reported that it will pay the music and movie industries $50 million in settlement of lawsuits … also in the courts this week, Mike Love of the Beach Boys files suit against his cuz Brian Wilson claiming that a British promotion for Wilson’s 2004 album Smile that gave away 2.6 million Beach Boys compilations discs cut into the band’s sales … this marks the seventh time that Beach Boys have sued one another …
2006, former Orleans singer and guitarist John Hall is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 19th New York congressional district … at his celebration party he elects to skip playing his signature tune "Still the One" in favor of Steven Van Zandt’s "I Am a Patriot" … this same week, neo glam-rock outfit My Chemical Romance rules the pop chart roost with its new album The Black Parade …
And that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
November 1: Sippie Wallace (1898), Don Robey (1903), Rick Grech, bass player for Blind Faith and Traffic (1946), Dan Peek of America (1950), Ronald Bell of Kool and the Gang (1951), Lyle Lovett (1956), Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962), Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen (1963), Willie D of The Geto Boys (1966), LaTavia Roberson of Destiny's Child (1981)
November 2: Bunny Berigan (1908), Keith Emerson (1944), J.D. Souther (1945), Dave Pegg of Jethro Tull (1947), Maxine Nightingale (1952), Carter Beauford of the Dave Matthews Band (1957), Bobby Dall of Poison (1958), Matt Sorum of Cult, Guns 'N' Roses, and Velvet Revolver (1960), k.d. lang (1961), Alex James of Blur (1968), Reginald Arvizu of Korn (1969), John Hampson of Nine Days (1971), Nelly (1978)
November 3: Brian Poole of The Tremeloes (1941), Marie McDonald Lawrie a.k.a. Lulu (1948), Adam Ant (1954)
November 4: John Jordan (1913), Delbert McClinton (1940), Dan Hartman (1951), Squeeze singer-guitarist Chris Difford (1954), pianist Yanni (1954), James Honeyman-Scott, guitarist for the Pretenders (1957), Puff Daddy (1970)
November 5: Roy Rogers born Leonard Slye (1911), Ike Turner (1931), Art Garfunkel (1941), Gram Parsons (1946), Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits (1947), Don McDougall of Guess Who (1948), Mike Score of A Flock Of Seagulls (1957), Bryan Adams (1959), David Bryson of Counting Crows (1961), Jon Greenwood of Radiohead (1971), Ryan Adams (1974)
November 6: Adolphe Sax, inventor of the sax (1814), John Philip Sousa (1854), composer-pianist Ignace Jan Paderewski (1860), composer Gus Kahn (1886), Ray Conniff (1927), Joseph Pope (1933), Glenn Frey (1948), Rozz Williams (1963), Corey Glover of Living Colour (1964)
November 7: John Jordan (1913), N'awlins trumpeter Al Hirt (1922), Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary (1937), Dee Clark (1938), Joe Gilbert (1940), Johnny Rivers (1942), Joni Mitchell born Roberta Joan Anderson (1943), Dino Valenti (1943), Nick Gilder (1951), Jellybean Benitez (1957), Liam O Maonlai of Hothouse Flowers (1964), Russell Barrett of Chapterhouse (1968)
Obituaries
November 1: Grand Funk Railroad manager Terry Knight (2004), classic blues singer and pianist Sippie Wallace (1986), pioneer Delta blues singer Tommy Johnson (1956)
November 2: Sammy Kaye Band singer Wandra Merrell (1994), Latin bandleader Xavier Cugat (1990), Steve Peregrine Took of T. Rex (1980), Mississippi John Hurt (1966)
November 3: singer Art Wood (2006), Lonnie Donegan (2002), blues harmonica player William Clarke (1996), songwriter Mort Shuman (1991)
November 4: Mana "China" Nishiura (2005), Bobby Nunn of the Coasters (1987), Hi-Lites singer Ronnie Goodson (1980)
November 5: Link Wray (2005), Robert Lee "Bobby" Hatfield of The Righteous Brothers (2003), saxophonist Eddie Harris (1996), jazz pianist Bobby Scott (1990), Barry "Green Beret" Sadler (1989), Vladimir Horowitz (1989), Bobby Nunn (1986), Guy Lombardo (1977), Robert "Nighthawk" McCollum (1967), Johnny Horton (1960), piano magician Art Tatum (1956), Orioles singer Tommy Gaither (1950)
November 6: jazz pianist Pete Jolly (2004), Meadowlarks leader Don Julian (1998), Dickie Goodman (1989), New York Dolls drummer Billy Murcia (1972)
November 7: jazz drummer Vernel Fournier (2000), studio bassist Jimmy Jones (1995), Carter Cornelius (1991), A.P. Delaney Carter of The Carter Family (1960)
1920, The first radio receivers are marketed …
1960, in an odd bit of synchronicity, singer Johnny ("Battle of New Orleans") Horton dies in an auto wreck after playing a date at the Skyline Club in Austin, Texas, the same venue that hosted Hank Williams' final gig … Horton's widow had once been Mrs. Williams …
1966, Bill Graham's Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco opens its doors … the venue is destined to become the focal point for psychedelic music …
1970, MGM Records drops 18 acts from its roster in one fell swoop, a move president Mike Curb states is to discredit musicians who "exploit and promote hard drugs through music." … among the dropped artists are notorious drug abusers the Cowsills, Connie Francis, and the estate of Judy Garland, while squeaky-clean Eric Burdon escapes the axe …
1975, the Sex Pistols play their first gig at St. Martin's School of Art in London …
1977, Martin Scorcese’s film The Last Waltz commemorating The Band’s last concert opens to rave reviews in New York …
1979, the movie version of Quadrophenia—sans the mental illness theme—premieres with future superstar Sting playing the part of Ace, a Mod hero character …
1988, the U2 concert film Rattle And Hum opens in theaters worldwide … one of the highlights of the movie is a live rendition of "All Along the Watchtower" recorded in Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco … during the song Bono spray-paints the words "Rock and Roll Stops the Traffic" on the monstrous Vaillancourt Fountain … the graffiti is removed a few days later and the band issues a formal apology …
1991, a crowd of more than 300,000 attend a free show in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park to commemorate the death of rock promoter Bill Graham … the bill includes the Grateful Dead; Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young; Joan Baez; Santana; and Journey who reunite for the memorial show … Graham had died on October 25 when the helicopter in which he was traveling hit utility lines …
1992, blues, soul, rock, and country are all well represented when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Bobby "Blue" Bland, Booker T & The MGs, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, The Isley Brothers, The Yardbirds, and Sam and Dave …
2003, Sean whatever-his-name-is-this-month Combs runs in the New York City Marathon to raise money for charities dedicated to improving the lives of children … Diddy finishes in 4 hours, 14 minutes, and 54 seconds and raises two million dollars …
2004, Eric Clapton is made a commander of the Order of the British Empire in an official ceremony held at Buckingham Palace … Commander Clapton uses the opportunity to announce he and wife Melia McEnery are expecting a child …
2005, following an unfriendly Supreme Court decision about its file-sharing software and website, Grokster shuts down … it is reported that it will pay the music and movie industries $50 million in settlement of lawsuits … also in the courts this week, Mike Love of the Beach Boys files suit against his cuz Brian Wilson claiming that a British promotion for Wilson’s 2004 album Smile that gave away 2.6 million Beach Boys compilations discs cut into the band’s sales … this marks the seventh time that Beach Boys have sued one another …
2006, former Orleans singer and guitarist John Hall is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 19th New York congressional district … at his celebration party he elects to skip playing his signature tune "Still the One" in favor of Steven Van Zandt’s "I Am a Patriot" … this same week, neo glam-rock outfit My Chemical Romance rules the pop chart roost with its new album The Black Parade …
And that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
November 1: Sippie Wallace (1898), Don Robey (1903), Rick Grech, bass player for Blind Faith and Traffic (1946), Dan Peek of America (1950), Ronald Bell of Kool and the Gang (1951), Lyle Lovett (1956), Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962), Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen (1963), Willie D of The Geto Boys (1966), LaTavia Roberson of Destiny's Child (1981)
November 2: Bunny Berigan (1908), Keith Emerson (1944), J.D. Souther (1945), Dave Pegg of Jethro Tull (1947), Maxine Nightingale (1952), Carter Beauford of the Dave Matthews Band (1957), Bobby Dall of Poison (1958), Matt Sorum of Cult, Guns 'N' Roses, and Velvet Revolver (1960), k.d. lang (1961), Alex James of Blur (1968), Reginald Arvizu of Korn (1969), John Hampson of Nine Days (1971), Nelly (1978)
November 3: Brian Poole of The Tremeloes (1941), Marie McDonald Lawrie a.k.a. Lulu (1948), Adam Ant (1954)
November 4: John Jordan (1913), Delbert McClinton (1940), Dan Hartman (1951), Squeeze singer-guitarist Chris Difford (1954), pianist Yanni (1954), James Honeyman-Scott, guitarist for the Pretenders (1957), Puff Daddy (1970)
November 5: Roy Rogers born Leonard Slye (1911), Ike Turner (1931), Art Garfunkel (1941), Gram Parsons (1946), Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits (1947), Don McDougall of Guess Who (1948), Mike Score of A Flock Of Seagulls (1957), Bryan Adams (1959), David Bryson of Counting Crows (1961), Jon Greenwood of Radiohead (1971), Ryan Adams (1974)
November 6: Adolphe Sax, inventor of the sax (1814), John Philip Sousa (1854), composer-pianist Ignace Jan Paderewski (1860), composer Gus Kahn (1886), Ray Conniff (1927), Joseph Pope (1933), Glenn Frey (1948), Rozz Williams (1963), Corey Glover of Living Colour (1964)
November 7: John Jordan (1913), N'awlins trumpeter Al Hirt (1922), Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary (1937), Dee Clark (1938), Joe Gilbert (1940), Johnny Rivers (1942), Joni Mitchell born Roberta Joan Anderson (1943), Dino Valenti (1943), Nick Gilder (1951), Jellybean Benitez (1957), Liam O Maonlai of Hothouse Flowers (1964), Russell Barrett of Chapterhouse (1968)
Obituaries
November 1: Grand Funk Railroad manager Terry Knight (2004), classic blues singer and pianist Sippie Wallace (1986), pioneer Delta blues singer Tommy Johnson (1956)
November 2: Sammy Kaye Band singer Wandra Merrell (1994), Latin bandleader Xavier Cugat (1990), Steve Peregrine Took of T. Rex (1980), Mississippi John Hurt (1966)
November 3: singer Art Wood (2006), Lonnie Donegan (2002), blues harmonica player William Clarke (1996), songwriter Mort Shuman (1991)
November 4: Mana "China" Nishiura (2005), Bobby Nunn of the Coasters (1987), Hi-Lites singer Ronnie Goodson (1980)
November 5: Link Wray (2005), Robert Lee "Bobby" Hatfield of The Righteous Brothers (2003), saxophonist Eddie Harris (1996), jazz pianist Bobby Scott (1990), Barry "Green Beret" Sadler (1989), Vladimir Horowitz (1989), Bobby Nunn (1986), Guy Lombardo (1977), Robert "Nighthawk" McCollum (1967), Johnny Horton (1960), piano magician Art Tatum (1956), Orioles singer Tommy Gaither (1950)
November 6: jazz pianist Pete Jolly (2004), Meadowlarks leader Don Julian (1998), Dickie Goodman (1989), New York Dolls drummer Billy Murcia (1972)
November 7: jazz drummer Vernel Fournier (2000), studio bassist Jimmy Jones (1995), Carter Cornelius (1991), A.P. Delaney Carter of The Carter Family (1960)
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1824, one of the world's best-loved pieces of music, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, is performed for the first time …
1891, New York City's Music Hall, which will later become Carnegie Hall, throws its grand opening with a performance by Tchaikovsky … the concert takes place just two days before Tchaikovsky's 51st birthday …
1953, Clyde McPhatter is signed by Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records after leaving Billy Ward and the Dominoes … in his new role as lead singer of the newly formed Drifters he will enjoy several big hits including a doo-wop version of "White Christmas" that prominently features his lilting tenor … after leaving the Drifters in the mid-'50s he has sporadic success as a solo act, but his career is undermined by alcoholism and he will die of a dissolute lifestyle at age 39 …
1958, The Coasters' single "Yakety Yak," featuring a disaffected, back-talkin' teen's lament, is released … though six of the group's novelty tunes will land in the Top Ten, this will be their only #1 hit …
1960, in a strange recording-history footnote, Cathy Jean & the Roomates cut the single "Please Love Me Forever" which will rise to #12 on the pop chart … but the lead singer and her backup group will remain strangers … the Roomates arrive to do their vocal backing track after Cathy's left the studio …
1961, Tony Orlando makes his TV debut on American Bandstand singing his hit "Halfway to Paradise" … he fails to notice that his fly is down …
1963, when producer Quincy Jones learns that Phil Spector is planning to cover Lesley Gore's teen-angst single "It's My Party" with a version by the Crystals, he rushes the Gore 45 to stores just two days after cutting the track …
1964, Keith Moon takes the bandstand for the first time with The Detours who will later rename themselves The Who … 15 years later to the day, Kenney Jones takes over the Who's drum throne following Moon's death … The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" enjoys its fifth and final week at the top of the pop chart … Louis Armstrong's "Hello Dolly" will knock it out of that spot a week later …
1965, while toying with a newly acquired fuzz box in a Florida hotel room, Keith Richards comes up with the riff that will later become the hook in "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" …
1968, Buffalo Springfield calls it quits …
1969, the agent for Tommy James and the Shondells blows off a chance for the band to play Woodstock dismissing it as "a stupid gig on a pig farm in upstate New York" …
1972, Scottish guitarist Les Harvey is fatally electrocuted when he touches an ungrounded mic in front of 1,200 fans at a show in Wales …
1973, Paul Simon starts his first solo tour following his divorce from Art Garfunkel …
1980, despite suffering from a brain tumor, rock 'n' roll pioneer Bill Haley sets off on a South African tour …
1987, a victim of prodigious drinking and drugging, Chicago harp player Paul Butterfield dies … son of an affluent lawyer, Butterfield was a classically trained flutist who fell in love with the raucous sound of electrified Chicago blues and became a master of the blues harp … it was his Paul Butterfield Blues Band that provided the amplified backing when Dylan first whipped out his electrified rocker persona at the Newport Folk Festival much to the dismay of purists …
1998, tens of thousands of young fans shut down central Tokyo in an outpouring of grief over the suicide of X-Japan guitarist Hide Matsumoto … one fan follows him in suicide and two others fail in the attempt …
2000, Lars Ulrich of Metallica goes to Napster headquarters in San Mateo, California, and presents a list of 300,000 Napster visitors he claims were using the site to illegally share the group's music … by mid-2001, Napster, is closed down as a file-sharing business and will be reborn as a pay-to-play MP3 download site …
2005, 37 years after Cream played its farewell concert, the revived '60s supergroup performs the first of four sold-out concerts … the two-hour set encompasses all of Cream's biggest hits including: "Sunshine of Your Love," "Spoonful," and "White Room," triggering countless acid flashbacks among veteran concertgoers … Bruce Springsteen's new album Devils & Dust debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Chart … the top-of-the-chart debut is the seventh in the Boss' portfolio … his first was 1980's The River …
2006, 1,572 guitarists simultaneously play Jimi Hendrix' song "Hey Joe" in the town square of Wrocław, Poland, breaking a Guinness world record …
And that was the week that was.
Birthdays
May 1: Delta blues singer Charlie Patton (1891), R&B singer Big Maybelle, born Mabel Louise Smith (1924), Harry Belafonte (1927), Sonny James (1929), blues harp master Little Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs (1930), songwriter Titus Turner (1933), jazz singer and pianist Shirley Horn (1934), folksinger Judy Collins (1939), folksinger Mimi Fariña (1945), Ray Parker Jr. (1954), Johnny Colt of the Black Crowes (1966), country star Tim McGraw (1967), D'Arcy Wretsky-Brown of Smashing Pumpkins (1968), Nick Traina, member of punk bands Link 80 and Knowledge (1978)
May 2: Link Wray, born Frederick Lincoln Wray, progenitor of surf music and the power chord (1929), jazz-blues organist Richard "Groove" Holmes (1931), saxman Bunk Gardner of the Mothers of Invention (1933), crooner Engelbert Humperdinck, born Arnold George Dorsey (1936), Hilton Valentine of The Animals (1943), Goldy McJohn, born John Goadsby, of Steppenwolf (1945), pop singer Lesley Gore (1946), country singer Larry Gatlin (1948), Lou Gramm of Foreigner (1950), Prescott Niles of The Knack (1954), Joe Callis of Human League (1955)
May 3: crooner Bing Crosby (1903), folksinger-songwriter Pete Seeger (1919), Godfather of Soul James Brown (1933), Frankie Valli of The Four Seasons born Frank Castelluccio (1937), Mary Hopkin of "Those Were the Days" fame (1950), pop singer Christopher Cross (1951), Bruce Hall of REO Speedwagon (1953)
May 4: Ed Cassidy of Spirit (1923), jazz trumpeter and bandleader Maynard Ferguson (1928), surf guitar pioneer Dick Dale (1937), jazz bassist Ron Carter (1937), soul singer Tyrone Davis (1938), Nick Ashford (1942), Ronnie Bond of The Troggs (1942), Peggy Santiglia of The Angels (1944), George Wadenius of Blood Sweat & Tears (1945), Jackie Jackson of The Jackson Five (1951), country artist Randy Travis (1959), Mike Dirnt of Green Day (1972), Lance Bass of 'N Sync (1979)
May 5: blues pioneer Blind Willie McTell (1901), soul singer Johnnie Taylor (1938), Tammy Wynette (1942), Bill Ward of Black Sabbath (1948), guitarist Martin Simpson (1953), Kevin Mooney of Adam and the Ants (1962), Kevin James LaBrie of Dream Theater (1963)
May 6: singer Peggy Lee (1920), Chicago bluesman Eddie C. Campbell (1939), Herb Cox of the Cleftones (1939), Mungo Jerry keyboardist Colin Earl (1942), Bob Seger (1945), Davey Johnstone of Elton John's band (1951), Billy Burnette of Fleetwood Mac (1954), John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants (1960), Mark Ryan of Hootie and the Blowfish (1967)
May 7: Johannes Brahms (1833), Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840), jazz/pop singer Teresa Brewer (1931), Beatles' publicist Derek Taylor (1932), Motown singer Jimmy Ruffin (1939), Johnny Maestro of The Crests (1939), Jerry Nolan of The New York Dolls (1945), Bill Dannoff of Starland Vocal Band (1946), folksinger and composer Janis Ian (1951), Marty Wilson-Piper of The Church (1959), Motorhead's Phil Campbell (1961)
Obituaries
May 1: Johnny Pocisk, sax player with Johnny and the Hurricanes (2006), Italian tenor Sergio Franchi (1990), novelty bandleader Spike Jones (1965)
May 2: jazz drummer Billy Higgins (2001), former X-Japan lead guitarist Hide, born Hideto Matsumoto (1998)
May 3: Dion bandmember Peter Falcaglia (1995), Triumvirat bassist-guitarist Helmut Köllen (1977), Stone the Crows guitarist Les Harvey (1972)
May 4: Dudu Zulu born Dudu Mntowaziwayo Ndlovu, percussionist for Johnny Clegg & Savuka (1992), blues harp player Paul Butterfield (1987)
May 5: reggae producer Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd (2004), zydeco pioneer Boozoo Chavis (2001), Chicago bluesman Andrew Tibbs (1991), singer Ralph Garone of the Bob Knight Four (1986), Clarence Quick of the Del Vikings (1983), blues pioneer Reverend Gary Davis (1972)
May 6: Chicago harp player Carey Bell (2007), Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens (2006), jazz pianist Hilton Ruiz (2006), jazz guitarist Barney Kessel (2004), Otis Blackwell, writer of "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up" (2002), Clarence Paul of The "5" Royales (1995), guitarist Billy Johnson of The Moonglows (1987), Skatalites leader Don Drummond (1969)
May 7: Eddie Rabbit (1998), Alphonso Howell of The Sensations (1998), Cult drummer Nigel Preston (1992), Pacific Gas and Electric singer Charles Allen (1990)
On this day in 1982, the emoticon was invented! :-)
QUOTE(TwinkyMaster @ Sep 19 2008, 03:25 PM) 
On this day in 1982, the emoticon was invented! :-)
Too bad he couldn't get rich off of it. :-)
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1959, Seth Lover, working for Gibson guitars, is granted patent #2,896,491 by the U.S. Patent Office for his "magnetic pickup for stringed musical instrument" better known as the humbucker pickup … the patent was applied for on June 22, 1955 … Gibson added the new pickups to its electric solidbody and archtop guitars in 1957, including the Les Paul … during late 1957, a small black decal with gold lettering was added to the underside of the pickup that read, "Patent Applied For" … (today, PAF pickups are the most collectible and desirable pickups, fetching upwards of $1,000 each among vintage guitar collectors) … by mid-to-late 1962, Gibson changed the pickup decal to read, "Patent No. 2,737,842" … interestingly enough, the patent number listed on the decal was not for Seth's pickup design but was for Les Paul's trapeze tailpiece … not one to raise a legal fuss, apparently Seth really is a Lover, not a fighter …
1965, the crowd at the Newport Folk Festival turns surly and Pete Seeger seems especially incensed, threatening to take an axe to PA cables, when Bob Dylan, backed by a pickup band composed of Paul Butterfield Blues Band personnel, delivers an abbreviated electrified set … the performance is met with a mixture of applause and booing … Dylan promptly leaves the stage only to be coaxed back to perform a couple of acoustic tunes with just his harp and guitar … the cause of the audience's hostility is the subject of dispute … some maintain that folk purists in the crowd were put off by Dylan's conversion to rock while others maintain that a highly distorted PA was to blame … The Beatles second feature film Help debuts in London with that pretty nice girl Queen Elizabeth in attendance …
1966, Bob Dylan suffers major injuries when the brakes on his Triumph motorcycle lock up near his home in Woodstock, New York, (karmic payback for going electric? You decide) … though the exact nature of his injuries are never disclosed, it is clear that he suffered a broken neck and used his lengthy convalescence to marshal his artistic resources … reflecting on the wreck later, Dylan says, "When I had that motorcycle accident, I woke up and caught my senses, I realized that I was just workin' for all these leeches. And I really didn't want to do that." …
1968, after sustaining heavy losses and being forced by neighboring businesses to remove the psychedelic mural adorning its exterior walls, The Beatles shut down their Apple Boutique in London … a near-riot ensues when the shop's stock is given away to the public …
1973, a rock show at Watkins Glen racetrack in upstate New York pulls in a record 600,000 fans to see The Band, The Allman Brothers, and The Grateful Dead …
1976, John Lennon receives his green card from U.S. immigration authorities more than three years after he was ordered to leave the country …
1980, Back In Black, the new album from AC/DC, is released … it's the band's first album with new singer Brian Johnson … Johnson joined the band after the untimely, alcohol-driven death of singer Bon Scott, and the album is a tribute of sorts to the fallen rocker … released just five months after Scott's death, the disc races up the charts … by 1997 it will have sold 16 million copies in the U.S. alone …
1992, Bruce Springsteen opens his first U.S. tour since 1988 in New Jersey (natch) at The Meadowlands entertainment complex … he and the E-Street Band will play 11 sold-out concerts in the 21,000-seat Brendan Byrne arena, with some of the shows going until one in the morning … it’s good to be the Boss …
1998, Aerosmith cancels the first 13 dates of its U.S. tour after drummer Joey Kramer suffers second-degree burns in a freak gas-station fire … this is the second crimp in the band's tour plans … in April dates had to be scrapped on account of Steven Tyler's knee injury and subsequent surgery … this same week, Toad The Wet Sprocket, after 12 years and six albums, finally croaks …
2000, the Aiken County, SC, sheriff's office finally catches up with James Brown who's been overseas at a gig … utility worker Russell Eubanks has filed a complaint that Brown threatened him by brandishing a steak knife when Eubanks came to Brown's home to respond to a power-outage report …
2005, in a settlement over payola charges brought by crusading New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Sony BMG Music Entertainment coughs up $10 million … Spitzer's investigation reveals that the label had plied major stations with cash and gifts in return for airplay of its releases … Spitzer presented evidence in the form of dozens of emails in which the record company solicited airplay in return for payola … one particularly damning message from an Epic record plugger inquired of a Clear Channel programmer, "What do I have to do to get Audioslave on WKSS this week?!!?. Whatever you can dream up, I can make it happen!!!" … also this week, an unnamed bidder coughs up $1.1 million for a scrap of paper on which John Lennon had scrawled the lyrics for "All You Need is Love" in preparation for the Beatles' 1966 BBC satellite broadcast … Lennon had tossed the sheet following the show and it was retrieved by a BBC employee … during the same auction a pair of Lennon's specs go for $98,000 … the former lead singer of the Motown act Martha Reeves and The Vandellas is qualified to appear on the ballot in her bid for a seat on Detroit’s city council … says Reeves, "Summer’s here and it’s time to run." … she will ultimately win and Detroit’s voters will dance in the streets …
2006, Kazaa, the file-sharing website, settles with major record companies for $115 million … the site announces it plans to relaunch as a legal purveyor of downloads … U2's Bono, along with five partners, buys a 40-percent stake in Forbes magazine for a reported $250-300 million … an unexpected move for the musician-political activist, but then again, most musicians aren't that good at finances … perhaps he's hoping the magazine can tell him how much money he has … Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen fire off a letter to actor Luke Wilson charging that his brother Owen has misappropriated the name of a character from their song "Cousin Dupree" for the movie You, Me and Dupree in which Wilson's Dupree character is a couch-hopping loser … the letter, posted on the Steely Dan website, warns Wilson that "There are some pretty heavy people who are upset about this whole thing and we can't guarantee what kind of heat little Owen may be bringing down on himself" … the letter goes on to suggest that Wilson should make an appearance at a Dan concert and apologize to their fans … they also invite him to bring his bongos and sit in … the tongue-in-cheek feud continues when Wilson fires back, "I have never heard the song 'Cousin Dupree' and I don't even know who this gentleman, Mr. Steely Dan, is. I hope this helps to clear things up and I can get back to concentrating on my new movie, HEY 19." … the long-running Brit TV pop music show Top of the Pops poops out … the show had aired on the Beeb continuously since 1964 … Lance Bass of 'NSync devastates countless fans of the boy-band singer when he announces that he is not only happy, but gay … says Bass, "I'm more liberated and happy than I've been my whole life." … a court awards Jimi Hendrix's stepsister control of the late, great guitarist's estate, cutting out his brother Leon … this comes after years of legal wrangling among family members …
2007, Brian May is completing his doctorate in astrophysics more than 30 years after he abandoned his studies to form the rock group Queen … the 60-year-old guitarist and songwriter says he plans to submit his thesis, "Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud," at Imperial College London within the next two weeks … May was an astrophysics student at Imperial when Queen, which included Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, was formed in 1970 … he dropped his doctoral pursuit when the glam rock band blew up … after Mercury's death in 1991, May recorded several solo albums, including 1998's Another World, but his interest in astronomy continued and he co-wrote the book, Bang! The Complete History of the Universe …
2008, Frank Zappa is honored with a Berlin street named after him …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
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Birthdays
July 23: Cleve Duncan of The Penguins (1935), Joe Santollo of The Duprees (1943), Tony Joe White (1943), Dino Danelli of The Young Rascals (1945), Andy Mackay of Roxy Music (1946), David Essex (1947), Keith Ferguson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds (1947), Blair Thornton of BTO (1950), Depeche Mode's Martin Gore (1961), Tim Kellett of Simply Red (1964), Slash (1965), Sam Watters of Color Me Badd (1970), Alison Krauss (1971), Chad Gracey of Live (1973), Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child (1980)
July 24: Rudy Collins of The Dizzy Gillespie Quintet (1934), country singer Pam Tillis, daughter of Mel Tillis (1957), Paul Geary of Extreme (1961), Jennifer Lopez (1970), Mecca of Digable Planets (1973), Lynval Golding, guitarist for The Specials (1951), bassist Heinz Burt of The Tornados (1942), Barbara Love of The Friends Of Distinction (1941)
July 25: Rudy West, lead singer of The Five Keys (1932), Nazareth guitarist Manny Charlton (1941), Bruce Woodley of The Seekers (1942), Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds (1943), Santana percussionist Jose "Chepito" Areas (1946), singer-songwriter Steve Goodman (1948), Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire (1951), Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth (1958)
July 26: jazz drummer Louie Bellson (1924), Darlene Love of The Blossoms (1938), Bobby Hebb, best known for his hit "Sunny" (1938), Mick Jagger (1943), Roger Taylor of Queen (1949), Gary Cherone of Extreme (1961), Headliner (Tim Barnwell) of Arrested Development (1967)
July 27: country yodeler Elton Britt (1927), Harvey Fuqua of The Moonglows (1928), Nick Reynolds of The Kingston Trio (1933), Elsbearry Hobbs of The Drifters (1936), country-pop crossover singer, Bobbie Gentry (1944), Al Ramsey of Gary Lewis and the Playboys (1946), singer Maureen McGovern (1949), drummer Simon Kirke of Bad Company (1949), Karl Mueller of Soul Asylum (1963), Rex Brown of Pantera (1964), guitarist-singer-songwriter Juliana Hatfield (1967), singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Yorn (1974)
July 28: megaphone crooner of the '30s, Rudy Vallee (1901), blind flamenco singer Dolores Alcantara (1908), Mississippi bluesman Junior Kimbrough (1930), George Cummings of Dr. Hook (1938), blues/rock guitarist Mike Bloomfield (1944), Rick Wright of Pink Floyd (1945), singer Jonathan Edwards (1946), Steve Peregrine-Took, of T.Rex, born Steve Porter (1949), guitarist Steve Morse (1954)
July 29: revolutionary jazz guitarist Charlie Christian (1916), guitar amp maker Jim Marshall (1929), Neal Doughty of REO Speedwagon (1946), Geddy Lee (1953), Patti Scialfa of the E Street Band (1956), John Sykes of Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy (1959), country singer Martina McBride (1966), Chris Gorman of Belly (1967), Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men (1972)
Obituaries
July 23: songwriter Ron Miller (2007), Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers (1993), actor-singer Bert Summer (1990), Grateful Dead keyboardist Keith Godchaux (1980)
July 24: British solo act and songwriter Jerry Lordan (1995), KC-based R&B singer Priscilla Bowman (1988), Bobby Ramirez, drummer with Edgar Winter (1972)
July 25: bop saxophonist Johnny Griffin (2008), Erik Braunn of Iron Butterfly (2003), jazz guitarist Tal Farlow (1998), country music star Charlie Rich (1995), producer Alex Sadkin (1987), albino blues pianist Piano Red, born William Lee Perryman (1985), blues singer Big Mama Thornton (1984)
July 26: Chico Ryan, bassist for Sha-Na-Na (1998), composer Evelyn Levine (1996), '60s soul singer Mary Wells (1992), Grateful Dead keyboard player Brent Mydland (1990)
July 27: Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Leon Wilkeson (2001), saxophonist Harold Land (2001), Harry "Sweets" Edison, trumpeter-arranger-composer with Count Basie (1999), Bobby Day, aka Robert James Byrd Sr. who had a hit with "Rockin' Robin" (1990), Cliff Burton of Metallica (1986), blues guitarist Lightnin' Slim, born Otis Hicks (1974)
July 28: South African mbaqanga singer Simon "Mahlathini" Nkabinde (1999), Margie Ganser of The Shangi-Las (1996), Muscle Shoals session guitarist Eddie Hinton (1995), Johann Sebastian Bach (1750)
July 29: jazz bassist Art Davis (2007), Eugene Record of the Chi-Lites (2005), Al McKibbon, jazz bassist with Dizzy Gillespie (2005), Anita Carter of the Carter Sisters (1999), Rare Earth percussionist Eddie Guzman (1993), pedal steel guitarist Pete Drake (1988), Gordon Mills, manager and songwriter for Tom Jones (1986), singer Cass Elliot of The Mamas & The Papas (1979)
1959, Seth Lover, working for Gibson guitars, is granted patent #2,896,491 by the U.S. Patent Office for his "magnetic pickup for stringed musical instrument" better known as the humbucker pickup … the patent was applied for on June 22, 1955 … Gibson added the new pickups to its electric solidbody and archtop guitars in 1957, including the Les Paul … during late 1957, a small black decal with gold lettering was added to the underside of the pickup that read, "Patent Applied For" … (today, PAF pickups are the most collectible and desirable pickups, fetching upwards of $1,000 each among vintage guitar collectors) … by mid-to-late 1962, Gibson changed the pickup decal to read, "Patent No. 2,737,842" … interestingly enough, the patent number listed on the decal was not for Seth's pickup design but was for Les Paul's trapeze tailpiece … not one to raise a legal fuss, apparently Seth really is a Lover, not a fighter …
1965, the crowd at the Newport Folk Festival turns surly and Pete Seeger seems especially incensed, threatening to take an axe to PA cables, when Bob Dylan, backed by a pickup band composed of Paul Butterfield Blues Band personnel, delivers an abbreviated electrified set … the performance is met with a mixture of applause and booing … Dylan promptly leaves the stage only to be coaxed back to perform a couple of acoustic tunes with just his harp and guitar … the cause of the audience's hostility is the subject of dispute … some maintain that folk purists in the crowd were put off by Dylan's conversion to rock while others maintain that a highly distorted PA was to blame … The Beatles second feature film Help debuts in London with that pretty nice girl Queen Elizabeth in attendance …
1966, Bob Dylan suffers major injuries when the brakes on his Triumph motorcycle lock up near his home in Woodstock, New York, (karmic payback for going electric? You decide) … though the exact nature of his injuries are never disclosed, it is clear that he suffered a broken neck and used his lengthy convalescence to marshal his artistic resources … reflecting on the wreck later, Dylan says, "When I had that motorcycle accident, I woke up and caught my senses, I realized that I was just workin' for all these leeches. And I really didn't want to do that." …
1968, after sustaining heavy losses and being forced by neighboring businesses to remove the psychedelic mural adorning its exterior walls, The Beatles shut down their Apple Boutique in London … a near-riot ensues when the shop's stock is given away to the public …
1973, a rock show at Watkins Glen racetrack in upstate New York pulls in a record 600,000 fans to see The Band, The Allman Brothers, and The Grateful Dead …
1976, John Lennon receives his green card from U.S. immigration authorities more than three years after he was ordered to leave the country …
1980, Back In Black, the new album from AC/DC, is released … it's the band's first album with new singer Brian Johnson … Johnson joined the band after the untimely, alcohol-driven death of singer Bon Scott, and the album is a tribute of sorts to the fallen rocker … released just five months after Scott's death, the disc races up the charts … by 1997 it will have sold 16 million copies in the U.S. alone …
1992, Bruce Springsteen opens his first U.S. tour since 1988 in New Jersey (natch) at The Meadowlands entertainment complex … he and the E-Street Band will play 11 sold-out concerts in the 21,000-seat Brendan Byrne arena, with some of the shows going until one in the morning … it’s good to be the Boss …
1998, Aerosmith cancels the first 13 dates of its U.S. tour after drummer Joey Kramer suffers second-degree burns in a freak gas-station fire … this is the second crimp in the band's tour plans … in April dates had to be scrapped on account of Steven Tyler's knee injury and subsequent surgery … this same week, Toad The Wet Sprocket, after 12 years and six albums, finally croaks …
2000, the Aiken County, SC, sheriff's office finally catches up with James Brown who's been overseas at a gig … utility worker Russell Eubanks has filed a complaint that Brown threatened him by brandishing a steak knife when Eubanks came to Brown's home to respond to a power-outage report …
2005, in a settlement over payola charges brought by crusading New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Sony BMG Music Entertainment coughs up $10 million … Spitzer's investigation reveals that the label had plied major stations with cash and gifts in return for airplay of its releases … Spitzer presented evidence in the form of dozens of emails in which the record company solicited airplay in return for payola … one particularly damning message from an Epic record plugger inquired of a Clear Channel programmer, "What do I have to do to get Audioslave on WKSS this week?!!?. Whatever you can dream up, I can make it happen!!!" … also this week, an unnamed bidder coughs up $1.1 million for a scrap of paper on which John Lennon had scrawled the lyrics for "All You Need is Love" in preparation for the Beatles' 1966 BBC satellite broadcast … Lennon had tossed the sheet following the show and it was retrieved by a BBC employee … during the same auction a pair of Lennon's specs go for $98,000 … the former lead singer of the Motown act Martha Reeves and The Vandellas is qualified to appear on the ballot in her bid for a seat on Detroit’s city council … says Reeves, "Summer’s here and it’s time to run." … she will ultimately win and Detroit’s voters will dance in the streets …
2006, Kazaa, the file-sharing website, settles with major record companies for $115 million … the site announces it plans to relaunch as a legal purveyor of downloads … U2's Bono, along with five partners, buys a 40-percent stake in Forbes magazine for a reported $250-300 million … an unexpected move for the musician-political activist, but then again, most musicians aren't that good at finances … perhaps he's hoping the magazine can tell him how much money he has … Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen fire off a letter to actor Luke Wilson charging that his brother Owen has misappropriated the name of a character from their song "Cousin Dupree" for the movie You, Me and Dupree in which Wilson's Dupree character is a couch-hopping loser … the letter, posted on the Steely Dan website, warns Wilson that "There are some pretty heavy people who are upset about this whole thing and we can't guarantee what kind of heat little Owen may be bringing down on himself" … the letter goes on to suggest that Wilson should make an appearance at a Dan concert and apologize to their fans … they also invite him to bring his bongos and sit in … the tongue-in-cheek feud continues when Wilson fires back, "I have never heard the song 'Cousin Dupree' and I don't even know who this gentleman, Mr. Steely Dan, is. I hope this helps to clear things up and I can get back to concentrating on my new movie, HEY 19." … the long-running Brit TV pop music show Top of the Pops poops out … the show had aired on the Beeb continuously since 1964 … Lance Bass of 'NSync devastates countless fans of the boy-band singer when he announces that he is not only happy, but gay … says Bass, "I'm more liberated and happy than I've been my whole life." … a court awards Jimi Hendrix's stepsister control of the late, great guitarist's estate, cutting out his brother Leon … this comes after years of legal wrangling among family members …
2007, Brian May is completing his doctorate in astrophysics more than 30 years after he abandoned his studies to form the rock group Queen … the 60-year-old guitarist and songwriter says he plans to submit his thesis, "Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud," at Imperial College London within the next two weeks … May was an astrophysics student at Imperial when Queen, which included Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, was formed in 1970 … he dropped his doctoral pursuit when the glam rock band blew up … after Mercury's death in 1991, May recorded several solo albums, including 1998's Another World, but his interest in astronomy continued and he co-wrote the book, Bang! The Complete History of the Universe …
2008, Frank Zappa is honored with a Berlin street named after him …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Birthdays
July 23: Cleve Duncan of The Penguins (1935), Joe Santollo of The Duprees (1943), Tony Joe White (1943), Dino Danelli of The Young Rascals (1945), Andy Mackay of Roxy Music (1946), David Essex (1947), Keith Ferguson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds (1947), Blair Thornton of BTO (1950), Depeche Mode's Martin Gore (1961), Tim Kellett of Simply Red (1964), Slash (1965), Sam Watters of Color Me Badd (1970), Alison Krauss (1971), Chad Gracey of Live (1973), Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child (1980)
July 24: Rudy Collins of The Dizzy Gillespie Quintet (1934), country singer Pam Tillis, daughter of Mel Tillis (1957), Paul Geary of Extreme (1961), Jennifer Lopez (1970), Mecca of Digable Planets (1973), Lynval Golding, guitarist for The Specials (1951), bassist Heinz Burt of The Tornados (1942), Barbara Love of The Friends Of Distinction (1941)
July 25: Rudy West, lead singer of The Five Keys (1932), Nazareth guitarist Manny Charlton (1941), Bruce Woodley of The Seekers (1942), Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds (1943), Santana percussionist Jose "Chepito" Areas (1946), singer-songwriter Steve Goodman (1948), Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire (1951), Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth (1958)
July 26: jazz drummer Louie Bellson (1924), Darlene Love of The Blossoms (1938), Bobby Hebb, best known for his hit "Sunny" (1938), Mick Jagger (1943), Roger Taylor of Queen (1949), Gary Cherone of Extreme (1961), Headliner (Tim Barnwell) of Arrested Development (1967)
July 27: country yodeler Elton Britt (1927), Harvey Fuqua of The Moonglows (1928), Nick Reynolds of The Kingston Trio (1933), Elsbearry Hobbs of The Drifters (1936), country-pop crossover singer, Bobbie Gentry (1944), Al Ramsey of Gary Lewis and the Playboys (1946), singer Maureen McGovern (1949), drummer Simon Kirke of Bad Company (1949), Karl Mueller of Soul Asylum (1963), Rex Brown of Pantera (1964), guitarist-singer-songwriter Juliana Hatfield (1967), singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Yorn (1974)
July 28: megaphone crooner of the '30s, Rudy Vallee (1901), blind flamenco singer Dolores Alcantara (1908), Mississippi bluesman Junior Kimbrough (1930), George Cummings of Dr. Hook (1938), blues/rock guitarist Mike Bloomfield (1944), Rick Wright of Pink Floyd (1945), singer Jonathan Edwards (1946), Steve Peregrine-Took, of T.Rex, born Steve Porter (1949), guitarist Steve Morse (1954)
July 29: revolutionary jazz guitarist Charlie Christian (1916), guitar amp maker Jim Marshall (1929), Neal Doughty of REO Speedwagon (1946), Geddy Lee (1953), Patti Scialfa of the E Street Band (1956), John Sykes of Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy (1959), country singer Martina McBride (1966), Chris Gorman of Belly (1967), Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men (1972)
Obituaries
July 23: songwriter Ron Miller (2007), Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers (1993), actor-singer Bert Summer (1990), Grateful Dead keyboardist Keith Godchaux (1980)
July 24: British solo act and songwriter Jerry Lordan (1995), KC-based R&B singer Priscilla Bowman (1988), Bobby Ramirez, drummer with Edgar Winter (1972)
July 25: bop saxophonist Johnny Griffin (2008), Erik Braunn of Iron Butterfly (2003), jazz guitarist Tal Farlow (1998), country music star Charlie Rich (1995), producer Alex Sadkin (1987), albino blues pianist Piano Red, born William Lee Perryman (1985), blues singer Big Mama Thornton (1984)
July 26: Chico Ryan, bassist for Sha-Na-Na (1998), composer Evelyn Levine (1996), '60s soul singer Mary Wells (1992), Grateful Dead keyboard player Brent Mydland (1990)
July 27: Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Leon Wilkeson (2001), saxophonist Harold Land (2001), Harry "Sweets" Edison, trumpeter-arranger-composer with Count Basie (1999), Bobby Day, aka Robert James Byrd Sr. who had a hit with "Rockin' Robin" (1990), Cliff Burton of Metallica (1986), blues guitarist Lightnin' Slim, born Otis Hicks (1974)
July 28: South African mbaqanga singer Simon "Mahlathini" Nkabinde (1999), Margie Ganser of The Shangi-Las (1996), Muscle Shoals session guitarist Eddie Hinton (1995), Johann Sebastian Bach (1750)
July 29: jazz bassist Art Davis (2007), Eugene Record of the Chi-Lites (2005), Al McKibbon, jazz bassist with Dizzy Gillespie (2005), Anita Carter of the Carter Sisters (1999), Rare Earth percussionist Eddie Guzman (1993), pedal steel guitarist Pete Drake (1988), Gordon Mills, manager and songwriter for Tom Jones (1986), singer Cass Elliot of The Mamas & The Papas (1979)
*Soylent Daveage heads to Wikipedia to cite some references...
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1956, the Platters become the first black group to score a number-one pop hit when “My Prayer” reaches the top spot on the Billboard pop chart …
1957, ABC TV’s American Bandstand with its forever-young DJ, Dick Clark, makes its national TV debut … the teen dance show had originally aired locally on a Philadelphia affiliate … after going nationwide, the show will play an important role in shaping teen dances, clothing, and the careers of the performers whose singles will be aired on the program …
1958, the aching teen ballad “To Know Him is to Love Him” is released … it will go the top of the pops and mark Phil Spector’s coming-out party as a producer … the title is a lift from the inscription on his father’s tombstone … this same week, Billboard publishes its first Hot 100 chart … Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool” nails the top spot …
1960, a band of teenagers called The Beatles is relegated to playing backup for strippers at a sub rosa Hamburg club … remembering the gig and a certain dancer named Janice years later, Paul McCartney reminisced, “At the end of her act she would turn around and … well, we were all young lads, we’d never seen anything like it before, and all blushed … four blushing, red-faced lads” … meanwhile across the Atlantic, Ike Turner is producing the propulsive R&B single “A Fool in Love” … he had planned to use a male vocal by one of his backup musicians, but when the guy fails to show, Ike presses seven-month-pregnant Annie Mae Bullock who’s carrying his child into service to sing a demo … Turner’s blown away by her intense vocal reading … the resulting single blows up on both the R&B and pop charts … Turner changes the name of his vocalist from Little Ann to Tina and the Ike and Tina Turner Revue is born … the newly christened Tina will perform the song the following October on ABC’s American Bandstand, a full nine months pregnant …
1963, in their typically productive fashion, The Beatles enter Abbey Road Studios and emerge a few hours later with five tracks under their belts … in the can are: “All My Loving,” “It Won’t Be Long,” “Please Mister Postman,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Till There Was You” … but the lads would have been hard pressed to match the performance of gospel icons, the Golden Gate Quartet, who in this same week in 1937, cut 14 songs in two hours in Charlotte, North Carolina …
1964, at one of their earliest gigs, The Who share the bill at the Goldhawk Social Club in Shepherds Bush with Gerry and the Pacemakers and The Nashville Teens … the promoter cajoles a reluctant Townshend and company into backing unknown vocalist Valerie McCullam in order to get their own set … rockabilly pioneer Johnny Burnett is killed when his unlit fishing boat is plowed into at dusk by a cabin cruiser zooming across a California lake … country singer Jim Reeves dies along with keyboardist-manager Dale Manuel when their plane goes down in thick fog en route to Nashville …
1965, Bob Dylan records the 11-minute epic “Desolation Row” for his album Highway 61 Revisited … it’s the only acoustic tune on the otherwise electrified record …
1966, The Troggs’ “Wild Thing” owns the top spot on the pop chart … Hendrix will later tear it up with his incendiary cover … and speaking of incendiary, Beatles record burnings flare up around the world after John Lennon’s comment, “We’re bigger than Jesus now” is published …
1967, Pandora’s Box, a teen nightspot on L.A.’s Sunset Strip, feels the wrath of the wrecking ball in the wake of teenage riots the previous year … local politicos say the club played a big role in turning West Hollywood into a teenage wasteland …
1971, George Harrison organizes the Concert for Bangladesh to help war victims of the South Asian country … the stellar lineup includes Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Ravi Shankar, and members of Badfinger …
1972, Simon and Garfunkel perform for 600,000 Romans at a free concert …
1975, Stevie Wonder inks a $13 million, seven-year contract, a record-setter for its day …
1979, a benefit is held this week for the widow and children of the late Little Feat singer-guitarist Lowell George … former members of Little Feat, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Nicolette Larson, Emmylou Harris, and Bonnie Raitt are among the performers …
1981, MTV bursts onto the airwaves broadcasting The Buggles' somewhat prophetic "Video Killed the Radio Star" … this same week in 1987 MTV Europe is launched with the Dire Straits “Money for Nothing” video that includes the line, “I want my MTV” …
1983, legendary Motown bassist James Jamerson succumbs to liver disease in L.A. … his propulsive bass lines drove all the big ’60s hits of the Detroit label … Jamerson was the only member of the vaunted Motown house band to make the move to California when Berry Gordy relocated his operation there, but left the label in 1973 after refusing to meet the demands of new producers … the man behind some of the most memorable bass lines in pop dies in poverty …
1984, Prince’s album Purple Rain begins a 24-week run at the top of the album charts … the album will sell 10 million copies …
1992, 38-year-old Toto drummer Jef Porcaro is felled by a heart attack triggered by inhalation of an insecticide he’s spraying in his garden … an autopsy reveals an undiagnosed heart problem …
1993, sax player Donald Myrick, who worked with Bobby Bland and Diana Ross, is shot and killed by a policeman searching for drugs in his Santa Monica, California, apartment … the cop mistakes a long pencil-style butane lighter Myrick is holding for a gun … crack pipes and other drug paraphernalia are found … his family will settle their wrongful death suit with the police for $400,000 …
1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley announce they were secretly married in the Dominican Republic 11 weeks earlier … the union will last 21 months…
1996, Aerosmith cans their manager Tim Collins saying they're tired of constant pressure to get involved in social causes he's promoting … Oasis roadie James Hunter is crushed to death when he’s caught between a forklift and truck …
1998, in San Fernando, California, Grammy-winning gospel singer Sandra Crouch is ordained as a minister of the Christ Memorial Church … the ceremony is led by her twin brother Andrae, also a gospel star … the pair defy Church of God in Christ rules that forbid female ministers …
1999, after running into legal roadblocks, the leading record labels drop their suit against Diamond Multimedia, makers of the Rio MP3 music player … they had charged that the device would encourage online piracy …
2005, gifted chitlin circuit guitarist-singer “Little” Milton Campbell suffers a fatal stroke … he had labored for years in the shadow of B.B. King, largely failing to make a crossover to white audiences …
2007, during Pearl Jam’s set at Lollapalooza, Eddie Vedder sings “George Bush, leave this world alone” to rousing cheers from the crowd … however, the audience viewing the show at home on AT&T’s Blue Room website are treated to 16 seconds of silence when the company providing AT&T’s feed pulls the plug on the audio stream … later AT&T is apologetic … commenting on the censorship, PJ guitarist Mike McReady writes, “When one person or company decides what others can hear, that is totalitarian thinking” …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
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Birthdays
July 30: blues guitarist Buddy Guy (1936), singer-songwriter Paul "Havin' My Baby" Anka (1941), saxophonist David Sanborn (1945), Jethro Tull bassist Jeffrey Hammond (1946), Marc Bolan of T. Rex (1947), The Sweet's Andy Scott (1949), Hugh Nicholson of Marmalade (1949), Stewart Copeland of The Police (1952), Rat Scabies – born Chris Miller of The Damned (1957), singer-songwriter-producer Kate Bush (1958), Aztec Camera and Smiths guitarist Craig Gannon (1966), Manic Street Preachers drummer Sean Moore (1968), Brad Hargraves of Third Eye Blind (1972)
July 31: R&B and jump blues singer Roy Milton (1907), Bob Welch of Fleetwood Mac (1946), Karl Green of Herman's Hermits (1946), singer Gary Lewis (1946), bassist Carlo Karges (1947), ELO's Hugh MacDowell (1953), Daniel Ash of Love and Rockets (1957), Bill Berry of R.E.M. (1958), Jim Corr, vocalist and guitarist with The Corrs (1964), guitarist John 5 – born John William Lowery (1971), Coldplay's Will Champion (1978)
August 1: “Star Spangled Banner” writer Francis Scott Key (1778), Piano Slim aka Robert T. Smith (1928), Ramblin' Jack Elliot – born Elliott Charles Adnopoz (1931), Jerry Garcia (1942), producer Denny Cordell (1943), Geoff Britton of Wings (1943), Boz Burrell of Bad Company (1946), Flash Cadillac guitarist Linn Phillips (1947), Rick Anderson of The Tubes (1947), Rick Coonce of The Grass Roots (1947), rock guitarist Tommy Bolin (1951), BTO's Tim Bachman (1951), bluesman Robert Cray (1953), Joe Elliott of Def Leppard (1960), Public Enemy's Chuck D (1960), rapper Coolio (1963), Adam Duritz of Counting Crows (1964), Ashley Angel of O-Town (1981)
August 2: big band singer Helen Morgan (1900), blues singer-pianist "Big" Walter Price (1917), country singer Hank Walters (1933), country star Hank Cochran (1935), Garth Hudson of The Band (1937), Edward Patten of Gladys Knight and The Pips (1939), Doris Coley Kenner of The Shirelles (1941), guitarist Larry Coryell (1943), steel guitarist Hank DeVito (1948), guitarist Andy Fairweather-Low (1948) funk band leader “Fat” Larry James (1949), Ted Turner of Wishbone Ash (1950), singer-songwriter-session musician Andrew Gold (1951) Clive Wright of Cock Robin (1953), Apollonia – born Patricia Kotero (1961), Pete De Freitas of Echo and the Bunnymen (1961), Zelma Davis of C+C Music Factory (1970)
August 3: Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence (1910), crooner Tony Bennett (1926), blues harp player Alex Randall (1934), Gordon Stoker of The Jordanaires (1935), Roscoe Mitchell of The Art Ensemble of Chicago (1940), Beverly Lee of The Shirelles (1941), Byrds bassist John York (1946), B. B. Dickerson of War (1949), John Graham of Earth, Wind and Fire (1951) guitarist Steve Hillage (1951), Spear of Destiny guitarist-vocalist Kirk Brandon (1956), James Hetfield of Metallica (1963), Ed Roland of Collective Soul (1963), South African reggae star Lucky Dube (1964), Shirley Manson of Garbage (1966), Lonestar keyboard man Dean Sams (1966)
August 4: Louis Armstrong (1901), Elsbeary Hobbs of The Drifters (1936), singer Frankie Ford (1939), Big Dee Irwin of The Pastels (1939), David Carr of The Fortunes (1940), Larry Knechtel of Bread (1940), big-voiced vocalist Timi Yuro (1940), Klaus Schultze of Tangerine Dream (1947), Paul Layton of The New Seekers (1947), Clannad's Maire Ni Bhraonian (1952), Mark O'Connor (1962), Paul Reynolds of A Flock of Seagulls (1962), Jody Turner of Rock Goddess (1963), Immature's Marques Houston (1981)
August 5: jazz singer Jeri Southern (1926), country singer Vern Gosdin (1934), R&B vocalist Damita Jo (1940), guitarist Lenny Breau (1941), percussionist Airto Moreira (1941), Dave Clark Five bassman Rick Huxley (1942), country star Sammi Smith (1943), Rick Derringer of The McCoys (1947), Greg Leskew of Guess Who (1947), soul singer Phillip Bailey (1951), Eddie Ojeda of Twisted Sister (1954), Pat Smear of Foo Fighters (1959), Pete Burns of Dead Or Alive (1959), Adam Yauch of The Beastie Boys (1964)
Obituaries
July 30: swing and bebop saxophonist Eli "Lucky" Thompson (2005), Sun Studios founder Sam Phillips (2003), Brit bassist Rob Jones (1993), saxophonist Donald Myrick (1993), Glenn Goins, guitarist and vocalist with George Clinton (1978)
July 31: R&B sax honker Bull Moose Jackson (1989), original American Bandstand host Bob Horn (1966), Jim Reeves (1964), Jim Reeves' pianist-manager Dean Manuel (1964)
August 1: Irish singer Tommy Makem of The Clancy Brothers (2007), pianist Svyatoslav Richter (1997), jump blues singer, multi-instrumentalist, and leader of The Honeydrippers, Joe Liggins (1987), rockabilly pioneer Johnny Burnette (1964)
August 2: Ron Townson of The 5th Dimension (2001), guitarist Jerome Smith of KC and the Sunshine Company (2000), Afrobeat star Fela Anikulapo-Kuti (1997), Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs bassist David Martin (1987), legendary Motown bassist James Jamerson (1983), former Pink Floyd road manager Peter "Puddy" Watts (1976), Brian Cole of The Association (1972)
August 3: Lou Teicher of the piano duo Ferrante and Teicher (2008), folk singer Eric Darling (2008), John Mayall guitarist Roger Dean (2008), Arthur Lee of Love (2006), jazz bassist Leroy Vinnegar (1999), reedman Bob Tate (1993), Don Lang of The Frantic Five (1992), Richard Nickens of The El Dorados (1991)
August 4: singer-songwriter-producer Lee Hazlewood (2007), classical and rock violinist Monroe Clark (2006), R&B/blues singer-guitarist "Little" Milton Campbell (2005), jazz singer Jeri Southern (1991), pop impresario Larry Parnes (1989)
August 5: singer-songwriter Robert Hazard (2008), bassist Randy Hobbs of The McCoys and Johnny Winter And (1993), drummer Jeff Porcaro of Toto (1992), N'awlins pianist Isidore "Tuts" Washington (1984), avant-garde bassist George Scott (1980), The Who's first manager Pete Meadon (1978), country guitarist Luther Perkins (1968), one-man blues band Joe Hill Louis (1957)
1956, the Platters become the first black group to score a number-one pop hit when “My Prayer” reaches the top spot on the Billboard pop chart …
1957, ABC TV’s American Bandstand with its forever-young DJ, Dick Clark, makes its national TV debut … the teen dance show had originally aired locally on a Philadelphia affiliate … after going nationwide, the show will play an important role in shaping teen dances, clothing, and the careers of the performers whose singles will be aired on the program …
1958, the aching teen ballad “To Know Him is to Love Him” is released … it will go the top of the pops and mark Phil Spector’s coming-out party as a producer … the title is a lift from the inscription on his father’s tombstone … this same week, Billboard publishes its first Hot 100 chart … Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool” nails the top spot …
1960, a band of teenagers called The Beatles is relegated to playing backup for strippers at a sub rosa Hamburg club … remembering the gig and a certain dancer named Janice years later, Paul McCartney reminisced, “At the end of her act she would turn around and … well, we were all young lads, we’d never seen anything like it before, and all blushed … four blushing, red-faced lads” … meanwhile across the Atlantic, Ike Turner is producing the propulsive R&B single “A Fool in Love” … he had planned to use a male vocal by one of his backup musicians, but when the guy fails to show, Ike presses seven-month-pregnant Annie Mae Bullock who’s carrying his child into service to sing a demo … Turner’s blown away by her intense vocal reading … the resulting single blows up on both the R&B and pop charts … Turner changes the name of his vocalist from Little Ann to Tina and the Ike and Tina Turner Revue is born … the newly christened Tina will perform the song the following October on ABC’s American Bandstand, a full nine months pregnant …
1963, in their typically productive fashion, The Beatles enter Abbey Road Studios and emerge a few hours later with five tracks under their belts … in the can are: “All My Loving,” “It Won’t Be Long,” “Please Mister Postman,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Till There Was You” … but the lads would have been hard pressed to match the performance of gospel icons, the Golden Gate Quartet, who in this same week in 1937, cut 14 songs in two hours in Charlotte, North Carolina …
1964, at one of their earliest gigs, The Who share the bill at the Goldhawk Social Club in Shepherds Bush with Gerry and the Pacemakers and The Nashville Teens … the promoter cajoles a reluctant Townshend and company into backing unknown vocalist Valerie McCullam in order to get their own set … rockabilly pioneer Johnny Burnett is killed when his unlit fishing boat is plowed into at dusk by a cabin cruiser zooming across a California lake … country singer Jim Reeves dies along with keyboardist-manager Dale Manuel when their plane goes down in thick fog en route to Nashville …
1965, Bob Dylan records the 11-minute epic “Desolation Row” for his album Highway 61 Revisited … it’s the only acoustic tune on the otherwise electrified record …
1966, The Troggs’ “Wild Thing” owns the top spot on the pop chart … Hendrix will later tear it up with his incendiary cover … and speaking of incendiary, Beatles record burnings flare up around the world after John Lennon’s comment, “We’re bigger than Jesus now” is published …
1967, Pandora’s Box, a teen nightspot on L.A.’s Sunset Strip, feels the wrath of the wrecking ball in the wake of teenage riots the previous year … local politicos say the club played a big role in turning West Hollywood into a teenage wasteland …
1971, George Harrison organizes the Concert for Bangladesh to help war victims of the South Asian country … the stellar lineup includes Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Ravi Shankar, and members of Badfinger …
1972, Simon and Garfunkel perform for 600,000 Romans at a free concert …
1975, Stevie Wonder inks a $13 million, seven-year contract, a record-setter for its day …
1979, a benefit is held this week for the widow and children of the late Little Feat singer-guitarist Lowell George … former members of Little Feat, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Nicolette Larson, Emmylou Harris, and Bonnie Raitt are among the performers …
1981, MTV bursts onto the airwaves broadcasting The Buggles' somewhat prophetic "Video Killed the Radio Star" … this same week in 1987 MTV Europe is launched with the Dire Straits “Money for Nothing” video that includes the line, “I want my MTV” …
1983, legendary Motown bassist James Jamerson succumbs to liver disease in L.A. … his propulsive bass lines drove all the big ’60s hits of the Detroit label … Jamerson was the only member of the vaunted Motown house band to make the move to California when Berry Gordy relocated his operation there, but left the label in 1973 after refusing to meet the demands of new producers … the man behind some of the most memorable bass lines in pop dies in poverty …
1984, Prince’s album Purple Rain begins a 24-week run at the top of the album charts … the album will sell 10 million copies …
1992, 38-year-old Toto drummer Jef Porcaro is felled by a heart attack triggered by inhalation of an insecticide he’s spraying in his garden … an autopsy reveals an undiagnosed heart problem …
1993, sax player Donald Myrick, who worked with Bobby Bland and Diana Ross, is shot and killed by a policeman searching for drugs in his Santa Monica, California, apartment … the cop mistakes a long pencil-style butane lighter Myrick is holding for a gun … crack pipes and other drug paraphernalia are found … his family will settle their wrongful death suit with the police for $400,000 …
1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley announce they were secretly married in the Dominican Republic 11 weeks earlier … the union will last 21 months…
1996, Aerosmith cans their manager Tim Collins saying they're tired of constant pressure to get involved in social causes he's promoting … Oasis roadie James Hunter is crushed to death when he’s caught between a forklift and truck …
1998, in San Fernando, California, Grammy-winning gospel singer Sandra Crouch is ordained as a minister of the Christ Memorial Church … the ceremony is led by her twin brother Andrae, also a gospel star … the pair defy Church of God in Christ rules that forbid female ministers …
1999, after running into legal roadblocks, the leading record labels drop their suit against Diamond Multimedia, makers of the Rio MP3 music player … they had charged that the device would encourage online piracy …
2005, gifted chitlin circuit guitarist-singer “Little” Milton Campbell suffers a fatal stroke … he had labored for years in the shadow of B.B. King, largely failing to make a crossover to white audiences …
2007, during Pearl Jam’s set at Lollapalooza, Eddie Vedder sings “George Bush, leave this world alone” to rousing cheers from the crowd … however, the audience viewing the show at home on AT&T’s Blue Room website are treated to 16 seconds of silence when the company providing AT&T’s feed pulls the plug on the audio stream … later AT&T is apologetic … commenting on the censorship, PJ guitarist Mike McReady writes, “When one person or company decides what others can hear, that is totalitarian thinking” …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
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Birthdays
July 30: blues guitarist Buddy Guy (1936), singer-songwriter Paul "Havin' My Baby" Anka (1941), saxophonist David Sanborn (1945), Jethro Tull bassist Jeffrey Hammond (1946), Marc Bolan of T. Rex (1947), The Sweet's Andy Scott (1949), Hugh Nicholson of Marmalade (1949), Stewart Copeland of The Police (1952), Rat Scabies – born Chris Miller of The Damned (1957), singer-songwriter-producer Kate Bush (1958), Aztec Camera and Smiths guitarist Craig Gannon (1966), Manic Street Preachers drummer Sean Moore (1968), Brad Hargraves of Third Eye Blind (1972)
July 31: R&B and jump blues singer Roy Milton (1907), Bob Welch of Fleetwood Mac (1946), Karl Green of Herman's Hermits (1946), singer Gary Lewis (1946), bassist Carlo Karges (1947), ELO's Hugh MacDowell (1953), Daniel Ash of Love and Rockets (1957), Bill Berry of R.E.M. (1958), Jim Corr, vocalist and guitarist with The Corrs (1964), guitarist John 5 – born John William Lowery (1971), Coldplay's Will Champion (1978)
August 1: “Star Spangled Banner” writer Francis Scott Key (1778), Piano Slim aka Robert T. Smith (1928), Ramblin' Jack Elliot – born Elliott Charles Adnopoz (1931), Jerry Garcia (1942), producer Denny Cordell (1943), Geoff Britton of Wings (1943), Boz Burrell of Bad Company (1946), Flash Cadillac guitarist Linn Phillips (1947), Rick Anderson of The Tubes (1947), Rick Coonce of The Grass Roots (1947), rock guitarist Tommy Bolin (1951), BTO's Tim Bachman (1951), bluesman Robert Cray (1953), Joe Elliott of Def Leppard (1960), Public Enemy's Chuck D (1960), rapper Coolio (1963), Adam Duritz of Counting Crows (1964), Ashley Angel of O-Town (1981)
August 2: big band singer Helen Morgan (1900), blues singer-pianist "Big" Walter Price (1917), country singer Hank Walters (1933), country star Hank Cochran (1935), Garth Hudson of The Band (1937), Edward Patten of Gladys Knight and The Pips (1939), Doris Coley Kenner of The Shirelles (1941), guitarist Larry Coryell (1943), steel guitarist Hank DeVito (1948), guitarist Andy Fairweather-Low (1948) funk band leader “Fat” Larry James (1949), Ted Turner of Wishbone Ash (1950), singer-songwriter-session musician Andrew Gold (1951) Clive Wright of Cock Robin (1953), Apollonia – born Patricia Kotero (1961), Pete De Freitas of Echo and the Bunnymen (1961), Zelma Davis of C+C Music Factory (1970)
August 3: Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence (1910), crooner Tony Bennett (1926), blues harp player Alex Randall (1934), Gordon Stoker of The Jordanaires (1935), Roscoe Mitchell of The Art Ensemble of Chicago (1940), Beverly Lee of The Shirelles (1941), Byrds bassist John York (1946), B. B. Dickerson of War (1949), John Graham of Earth, Wind and Fire (1951) guitarist Steve Hillage (1951), Spear of Destiny guitarist-vocalist Kirk Brandon (1956), James Hetfield of Metallica (1963), Ed Roland of Collective Soul (1963), South African reggae star Lucky Dube (1964), Shirley Manson of Garbage (1966), Lonestar keyboard man Dean Sams (1966)
August 4: Louis Armstrong (1901), Elsbeary Hobbs of The Drifters (1936), singer Frankie Ford (1939), Big Dee Irwin of The Pastels (1939), David Carr of The Fortunes (1940), Larry Knechtel of Bread (1940), big-voiced vocalist Timi Yuro (1940), Klaus Schultze of Tangerine Dream (1947), Paul Layton of The New Seekers (1947), Clannad's Maire Ni Bhraonian (1952), Mark O'Connor (1962), Paul Reynolds of A Flock of Seagulls (1962), Jody Turner of Rock Goddess (1963), Immature's Marques Houston (1981)
August 5: jazz singer Jeri Southern (1926), country singer Vern Gosdin (1934), R&B vocalist Damita Jo (1940), guitarist Lenny Breau (1941), percussionist Airto Moreira (1941), Dave Clark Five bassman Rick Huxley (1942), country star Sammi Smith (1943), Rick Derringer of The McCoys (1947), Greg Leskew of Guess Who (1947), soul singer Phillip Bailey (1951), Eddie Ojeda of Twisted Sister (1954), Pat Smear of Foo Fighters (1959), Pete Burns of Dead Or Alive (1959), Adam Yauch of The Beastie Boys (1964)
Obituaries
July 30: swing and bebop saxophonist Eli "Lucky" Thompson (2005), Sun Studios founder Sam Phillips (2003), Brit bassist Rob Jones (1993), saxophonist Donald Myrick (1993), Glenn Goins, guitarist and vocalist with George Clinton (1978)
July 31: R&B sax honker Bull Moose Jackson (1989), original American Bandstand host Bob Horn (1966), Jim Reeves (1964), Jim Reeves' pianist-manager Dean Manuel (1964)
August 1: Irish singer Tommy Makem of The Clancy Brothers (2007), pianist Svyatoslav Richter (1997), jump blues singer, multi-instrumentalist, and leader of The Honeydrippers, Joe Liggins (1987), rockabilly pioneer Johnny Burnette (1964)
August 2: Ron Townson of The 5th Dimension (2001), guitarist Jerome Smith of KC and the Sunshine Company (2000), Afrobeat star Fela Anikulapo-Kuti (1997), Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs bassist David Martin (1987), legendary Motown bassist James Jamerson (1983), former Pink Floyd road manager Peter "Puddy" Watts (1976), Brian Cole of The Association (1972)
August 3: Lou Teicher of the piano duo Ferrante and Teicher (2008), folk singer Eric Darling (2008), John Mayall guitarist Roger Dean (2008), Arthur Lee of Love (2006), jazz bassist Leroy Vinnegar (1999), reedman Bob Tate (1993), Don Lang of The Frantic Five (1992), Richard Nickens of The El Dorados (1991)
August 4: singer-songwriter-producer Lee Hazlewood (2007), classical and rock violinist Monroe Clark (2006), R&B/blues singer-guitarist "Little" Milton Campbell (2005), jazz singer Jeri Southern (1991), pop impresario Larry Parnes (1989)
August 5: singer-songwriter Robert Hazard (2008), bassist Randy Hobbs of The McCoys and Johnny Winter And (1993), drummer Jeff Porcaro of Toto (1992), N'awlins pianist Isidore "Tuts" Washington (1984), avant-garde bassist George Scott (1980), The Who's first manager Pete Meadon (1978), country guitarist Luther Perkins (1968), one-man blues band Joe Hill Louis (1957)
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1927, bluesman Texas Alexander records "Range In My Kitchen Blues" for Paramount Records in New York City …
1937, George Beauchamp is granted patent #2,089,171 by the U.S. Patent Office for an "Electrical Stringed Musical Instrument" … the original "frying pan" electric guitar … George was a Hawaiian musician living in Los Angeles … Bunny Berrigan and his orchestra record the jazz standard, "I Can’t Get Started" … the chord changes from this oft-covered tune become a staple for bebop musicians a decade later …
1949, Louis Jordan and His Tympani Five record "Saturday Night Fish Fry," an influential proto-rock song …
1957, John Lennon and his band The Quarry Men play their debut date at Liverpool’s Cavern Club, a venue devoted to jazz and skiffle … after the band performs "Come Go With Me," “Hound Dog," and "Blue Suede Shoes," irate club owner Alan Sytner sends a note up to the stage reading, "Cut out the bloody rock!" … so it was back to standard skiffle fare such as "Rock Island Line" and "Midnight Special" … in 1997, the five original Quarry Men (besides Lennon) will reunite for some gigs: Len Garry, formerly on tea-chest bass, will have moved to guitar and lead vocals; Rod Davis, originally on banjo, will have moved to guitar; drummer Colin Hanton; washboard player Pete Shotton, who retired in 2000, and guitarist Eric Griffiths, who will die in 2005 …
1960, 25,000 copies of the death-rock single "Tell Laura I Love Her" by Ray Peterson are destroyed by Decca Records after a critic deems the song "too tasteless and vulgar for English sensibility" … it is interesting to speculate what that critic may have made of Ozzy Osbourne or the Sex Pistols a little later on …
1962, "Your Heart Belongs to Me" by the Supremes debuts on the Hot 100 chart … it’s the first of their eventual 47 hits …
1964, Rod Stewart makes his television debut singing with the Hootchie Coochie Men on the British show The Beat Room … The Rolling Stones know they have arrived when they get the chance to hang out with two of their idols, Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon, while recording at Chicago's Chess studios … the band's name resulted from a tune by Muddy …
1965, singer-organist Mike Smith of The Dave Clark Five suffers two fractured ribs when he’s pulled off the stage by an enthusiastic fan …
1967, Beatle George Harrison hangs out at a love-in in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park … he’s less than enchanted recalling "It was full of hideous, spotty little teenagers. It turned me off to the whole thing" … Fleetwood Mac plays their first gig at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Windsor, England a month before John McVie joins the band and despite the fact that the band's name is derived from Mick Fleetwood's and McVie's last names … recording sessions resume for the classic Love album Forever Changes … sessions that began in June were marked with bickering and personnel changes that resulted in the producer bringing in session musicians from L.A.’s "The Wrecking Crew" to record backing tracks for three tunes … properly chastened, the band members went back to work …
1968, performing at England's National Jazz and Blues Festival, Jerry Lee Lewis whips the crowd into a frenzy that begins to turn violent … three rockers leave with bleeding mouths, a stage assistant loses four teeth, and thanks to a six-inch scaffold coupling pin being thrown through the bass drum of Andrew Steele, his band The Herd, doesn’t get heard … fearing a full-scale riot, officials ask Lewis to leave the stage … "I don’t care about you all dancing on the stage,’’ Lewis tells his fans, "but some of these people do." … interestingly, The Herd’s lead guitarist is none other than a young Peter Frampton, who later splits from the band after a long hitless spell to form Humble Pie with Steve Marriott … this same week, the record industry marks its first billion-dollar year several years ahead of expectations …
1969, photographer Ian Macmillan gets on a stepladder in the middle of London’s Abbey Road to snap The Beatles as they stride across the zebra crossing … several crossings and six pictures later, the session is over … Paul picks the best one, which ends up as the cover for Abbey Road … because The Fabs (as George called them) are so famous, no other graphics are used …
1970, Janis Joplin springs for a headstone to mark Bessie Smith’s grave … the blues singer was one of her idols … four days later she makes her last concert performance at Harvard Stadium … Jim Morrison's trial for allegedly exposing himself during a 1969 concert begins in Miami...Morrison will be found guilty on one count each of profanity and indecent exposure but will appeal the convictions …
1973, Stevie Wonder is seriously injured in North Carolina when the auto in which he’s riding is hit by logs rolling off a truck … he emerges from a coma after four days sans his sense of smell …
1974, in Beverly Hills, J. Geils Band lead singer Peter Wolf marries actress Faye Dunaway … their union will end in 1979 …
1975, Hank Williams Jr. tumbles 500 feet down a Montana mountain … after two year’s worth of surgeries he will resume his career … The Bee Gees begin a two-week stint at #1 in the U.S. singles charts with "Jive Talkin’" …
1978, Muddy Waters plays for President Jimmy Carter at the White House …
1979, The Knack starts a five-week hold on the top spot of the U.S. album charts with Get The Knack … this triggers an anti-Knack backlash that will hasten the group’s demise …
1980, The Plasmatics show that was to feature an exploding car at the London’s Hammersmith Odeon is canceled after fire inspectors watch a demonstration and find that safety techniques are inadequate …
1981, The Pretenders second album, cleverly titled Pretenders II is released containing the single "Message of Love" … Minneapolis’ The Replacements unleash their initial waxing "I’m In Trouble" … prior to that, the band, then called The Impediments, showed up drunk at their first gig a halfway house for alcoholics … facing a citywide ban, they had to come up with a replacement name … so …
1985, introduced to the benefits of owning publishing rights by friend Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson purchases the ATV music catalog that includes 251 Lennon/McCartney songs at auction for $47.5 million … McCartney and Yoko Ono had attempted to purchase the songs only to be outbid by Jackson … McCartney and Jackson's friendship ends promptly as a result … Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon nearly drowns after his yacht capsizes during a race off the coast of England …
1986, Queen (the Freddie Mercury version) give their last live performance at the Knebworth Festival …
1988, Guns N’ Roses Appetite For Destruction reaches #1 in the U.S. after spending 57 weeks on the album chart …
1991, a group called On A Friday plays at the Jericho Tavern in Oxford, England … they will soon change their name to Radiohead …
1992, citing a sore throat, Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses cuts short the band’s set in Montreal … many of the 55,000 fans in attendance riot … this is a fitting end to a concert in which Metallica also cuts their set short after singer James Hetfield suffers third-degree burns from a pyro effect …
1994, the Woodstock ’94 festival in Saugerties, New York, includes performances from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Aerosmith, and Nine Inch Nails … the crowd of 30,000 endured the same rainy and resulting mud as the original event …
1996, former Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil runs into trouble at an Indiana club date … after starting the show four hours late, Neil pulls the plug after just three songs saying he is feeling ill and suggests that the audience of "rednecks" doesn’t appreciate his talent … a riot by 500 surly ticket holders is narrowly averted by the prompt arrival of the cops … after touring as part of the sixth annual Lollapalooza festival, The Ramones soldier on to Los Angeles to perform their 2,263rd and final show …
1999, Kiss unveil their own star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame …
2001, harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler dies at the age of 87 … self-taught, Adler turned pro at age 14 and went on to perform compositions expressly written for the mouth organ by composers Vaughan Williams and Darius Milhaud … Adler’s classical repertoire included adaptations of violin concertos by Bach and Vivaldi as well as works by Bartok, Debussy, Mozart, Ravel, and Stravinksy … one of his last recordings was in 1994 on his 80th birthday when he performed "Rhapsody in Blue" for The Glory of Gershwin album produced by George Martin …
2002, in an interview with Spin magazine, Motorhead leader Lemmy says he is thinking of having his notorious facial warts removed … the bassist adds, "Yeah, I could sell them on the internet" … thankfully, he later clarifies he's not serious about the latter statement …
2005, Leonard Cohen files a suit against his former business manager charging that Kelley Lynch ripped him off for $5 million from 1994 through 1999 while Cohen was chilling in a Buddhist center … FCC chairman Kevin Martin announces that his agency is investigating payola by record labels in the wake of Sony BMG Music Entertainment’s settlement of $10 million with New York over charges that the company plied key radio stations with lavish gifts and money to get its releases played … the list of artists who benefitted from Sony’s generosity include Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Avril Lavigne, Maroon 5, Franz Ferdinand, Good Charlotte, Gretchen Wilson, Audioslave, and Celine Dion …
2008, the format of Rolling Stone magazine is downsized from large-format pages to a traditional magazine size to spur lagging sales … singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, who has a long history of supporting liberal causes, files suit against presidential candidate John McCain and the Ohio Republican Party for using his 1977 hit "Running on Empty" without permission … The Allman Brothers sue Universal Music Group for more than $10 million charging that they are owed royalties on downloads and CD sales of material they cut on the Capricorn label between 1969 and 1980 … The Police cap their 150-show world tour with a two-hour tour de force at Madison Square Garden … the first Police tour in 20 years, it started shakily and gained momentum as it went along … reflecting on the early shows, drummer Stewart Copeland is brutally frank, "At the beginning, we were crap. Each one of us had our own opinion of what was wrong … which could be summed up as ‘the other two guys’" …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
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Arrivals:
August 6: Delta bluesman Willie Brown (1900), The Ravens' Jimmy Ricks (1924), jazz bassist Charlie Haden (1937), Isaac Hayes (1938), Judy Craig of The Chiffons (1946), guitarist Allan Holdsworth (1948), Pat McDonald of Timbuk 3 (1951), Randy DeBarge (1958), singer-songwriter Elliot Smith (1969), Geri Halliwell a.k.a. Ginger Spice of the Spice Girls (1972)
August 7: multi-instrumentalist jazz bandleader Benny Carter (1907), swing bandleader Freddie Slack (1910), pianist Mose Vinson (1917), lyricist Felice Bryant (1925), The Platters’ Herb Reed (1931), multi-instrumentalist jazz titan Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1936), Magic Slim - born Morris Holt (1937), pop vocalist Ron Holden (1939), B.J. Thomas (1942), Alfa Anderson of Chic (1946), Rodney Crowell (1950), bassist-songwriter Andy Fraser of Free (1952), Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden – not the Bruce Dickinson (1958), Jacqui O’Sullivan of Bananarama (1960), Ian Dench of EMF (1964), Kristen Hersh of Throwing Muses (1964)
August 8: bandleader Lucky Millender (1900), honky tonk vocalist Webb Pierce (1921), blues and jazz singer Jimmy Witherspoon (1923), blues singer Al King (1923), Sonny Til of The Orioles (1925), Mel Tillis (1932), pedal steel player extraordinaire Pete Drake (1932), Joe Tex (1933), pop singer Connie Stevens (1938), Philip E. Balsley of the Statler Brothers (1939), John "Jay" David of Dr. Hook (1942), English guitar virtuoso John Renbourn (1944), The Grateful Dead's Ron "Pig Pen" McKernan (1946), Airrion Love of The Stylistics (1949), Stax-Volt drummer Willie Hall (1950), Madness guitarist Chris Foreman (1955), Ali Score of Flock of Seagulls (1956), Dennis Drew of 10,000 Maniacs (1957), Ricki Rockett of Poison (1959), U2's The Edge a.k.a. David Evans (1961), Kool Moe Dee (1962), Aaron Abeyta of NOFX (1965), Creed singer Scott Stapp (1973), JC Chasez of *NSYNC (1976), Drew Lachey of 98 Degrees (1976)
August 9: barrelhouse pianist Robert Shaw (1908), string band musician Odell Thompson (1911), Harry Mills of The Mills Brothers (1913), Bill Henderson of The Spinners (1939), jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette (1942), Rinus Gerritsen of Golden Earring (1946), Barbara Mason (1947), Cars bassist Benjamin Orr (1955), rapper Kurtis Blow (1959), Aimee Mann (1960), Whitney Houston (1963), Arion Salazar of Third Eye Blind (1970)
August 10: Leo Fender (1909), country singer-sausage king Jimmy Dean (1928), bluegrass ace Jimmy Martin (1929), country-pop entertainer Larry Finnegan (1938), Righteous Brother Bobby Hatfield (1940), Ronnie Spector of The Ronettes (1947), Ian Anderson (1947), Patti Austin (1948), INXS drummer John Farriss (1961), singer Neneh Cherry (1964), Todd Nichols of Toad The Wet Sprocket (1967), Michael Bivins of New Edition (1968), Aaron Kamin of The Calling (1977)
August 11: Mike Hugg of Manfred Mann (1942), David Box - a Buddy Holly soundalike who ironically died in a plane crash (1943), Jim Kale of Guess Who (1943), Eric Carmen (1949), Joe Jackson (1955), Bragi Olaffson of The Sugarcubes (1962), guitarist Charlie Sexton (1968), Chris "Mack Daddy" Kelly of Kriss Kross (1968), Ali of A Tribe Called Quest (1970), J-Boog of B2K (1985)
August 12: R&B singer-songwriter Percy Mayfield (1920), singer-songwriter Joe Jones (1926), Porter Wagoner (1927), Buck Owens, creator of "The Bakersfield Sound" (1929), pop songstress Jennifer Warren (1941), Mark Knopfler (1949), August Darnell of Kid Creole and the Coconuts (1950), jazz guitarist Pat Metheny (1954), Suzanne Vega (1959), Roy Hay of Culture Club (1961)
Departures:
August 6: Italian opera legend Luciano Pavarotti (2007), jazz bassist Keter Betts (2005), legendary Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer (2005), Rick James (2004), guitarist Tommy Mottola (2004), the U.K.'s answer to Louis Armstrong, Nat Gonella (1998), new wave singer Klaus Nomi (1983), blueswoman Memphis Minnie (1973), trumpeter Bix Beiderbecke (1931)
August 7: country guitarist William "Billy" Byrd (2001), harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler (2001), record store mogul Sam Goody (1991), R&B chanteuse Esther Phillips (1984), Homer a.k.a. Henry Haynes of Homer & Jethro (1971)
August 8: pianist Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan (2006), alto sax man Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (1975)
August 9: composer David Raskin (2004), Drowning Pool's Dave Williams (2002), producer Bob Herbert (1999), Jerry Garcia (1995), New Orleans session sax man Clarence Ford (1994), reggae singer Wilfred "Jackie" Edwards (1992), Brandon Mitchell, rapper with Wreckx-N-Effects (1990), trumpet player Bill Chase (1974), Lillian Roxon, one of rock's first music critics (1973), Joe Gilbert of Joe and Eddie (1966)
August 10: singer-songwriter-soul man Isaac Hayes (2008), Widespread Panic guitarist Mikey Houser (2002), Bill Baker of The Five Satins (1994), New Orleans sax man Clarence Ford (1994), Ed Roberts of Ruby And The Romantics (1993), jazz singer Ernestine Allen (1992), swing bandleader Freddie Slack (1965), blues diva Lucille Bogan of "Shave 'em Dry" infamy (1948)
August 11: pedal steel player Don Helms (2008), singer-talk show host Mike Douglas (2006), conductor Rafael Kubelick (1996), The Ventures drummer Mel Taylor, drummer of The Ventures (1996), bandleader-pianist Sonny Thompson (1989), Percy Mayfield - one day short of his 64th birthday (1984)
August 12: singer-talk show host Merv Griffin (2007), Luther Allison (1997), John Cage (1992), Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto (1985), Buddy Holly producer Norman Petty (1984)
1927, bluesman Texas Alexander records "Range In My Kitchen Blues" for Paramount Records in New York City …
1937, George Beauchamp is granted patent #2,089,171 by the U.S. Patent Office for an "Electrical Stringed Musical Instrument" … the original "frying pan" electric guitar … George was a Hawaiian musician living in Los Angeles … Bunny Berrigan and his orchestra record the jazz standard, "I Can’t Get Started" … the chord changes from this oft-covered tune become a staple for bebop musicians a decade later …
1949, Louis Jordan and His Tympani Five record "Saturday Night Fish Fry," an influential proto-rock song …
1957, John Lennon and his band The Quarry Men play their debut date at Liverpool’s Cavern Club, a venue devoted to jazz and skiffle … after the band performs "Come Go With Me," “Hound Dog," and "Blue Suede Shoes," irate club owner Alan Sytner sends a note up to the stage reading, "Cut out the bloody rock!" … so it was back to standard skiffle fare such as "Rock Island Line" and "Midnight Special" … in 1997, the five original Quarry Men (besides Lennon) will reunite for some gigs: Len Garry, formerly on tea-chest bass, will have moved to guitar and lead vocals; Rod Davis, originally on banjo, will have moved to guitar; drummer Colin Hanton; washboard player Pete Shotton, who retired in 2000, and guitarist Eric Griffiths, who will die in 2005 …
1960, 25,000 copies of the death-rock single "Tell Laura I Love Her" by Ray Peterson are destroyed by Decca Records after a critic deems the song "too tasteless and vulgar for English sensibility" … it is interesting to speculate what that critic may have made of Ozzy Osbourne or the Sex Pistols a little later on …
1962, "Your Heart Belongs to Me" by the Supremes debuts on the Hot 100 chart … it’s the first of their eventual 47 hits …
1964, Rod Stewart makes his television debut singing with the Hootchie Coochie Men on the British show The Beat Room … The Rolling Stones know they have arrived when they get the chance to hang out with two of their idols, Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon, while recording at Chicago's Chess studios … the band's name resulted from a tune by Muddy …
1965, singer-organist Mike Smith of The Dave Clark Five suffers two fractured ribs when he’s pulled off the stage by an enthusiastic fan …
1967, Beatle George Harrison hangs out at a love-in in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park … he’s less than enchanted recalling "It was full of hideous, spotty little teenagers. It turned me off to the whole thing" … Fleetwood Mac plays their first gig at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Windsor, England a month before John McVie joins the band and despite the fact that the band's name is derived from Mick Fleetwood's and McVie's last names … recording sessions resume for the classic Love album Forever Changes … sessions that began in June were marked with bickering and personnel changes that resulted in the producer bringing in session musicians from L.A.’s "The Wrecking Crew" to record backing tracks for three tunes … properly chastened, the band members went back to work …
1968, performing at England's National Jazz and Blues Festival, Jerry Lee Lewis whips the crowd into a frenzy that begins to turn violent … three rockers leave with bleeding mouths, a stage assistant loses four teeth, and thanks to a six-inch scaffold coupling pin being thrown through the bass drum of Andrew Steele, his band The Herd, doesn’t get heard … fearing a full-scale riot, officials ask Lewis to leave the stage … "I don’t care about you all dancing on the stage,’’ Lewis tells his fans, "but some of these people do." … interestingly, The Herd’s lead guitarist is none other than a young Peter Frampton, who later splits from the band after a long hitless spell to form Humble Pie with Steve Marriott … this same week, the record industry marks its first billion-dollar year several years ahead of expectations …
1969, photographer Ian Macmillan gets on a stepladder in the middle of London’s Abbey Road to snap The Beatles as they stride across the zebra crossing … several crossings and six pictures later, the session is over … Paul picks the best one, which ends up as the cover for Abbey Road … because The Fabs (as George called them) are so famous, no other graphics are used …
1970, Janis Joplin springs for a headstone to mark Bessie Smith’s grave … the blues singer was one of her idols … four days later she makes her last concert performance at Harvard Stadium … Jim Morrison's trial for allegedly exposing himself during a 1969 concert begins in Miami...Morrison will be found guilty on one count each of profanity and indecent exposure but will appeal the convictions …
1973, Stevie Wonder is seriously injured in North Carolina when the auto in which he’s riding is hit by logs rolling off a truck … he emerges from a coma after four days sans his sense of smell …
1974, in Beverly Hills, J. Geils Band lead singer Peter Wolf marries actress Faye Dunaway … their union will end in 1979 …
1975, Hank Williams Jr. tumbles 500 feet down a Montana mountain … after two year’s worth of surgeries he will resume his career … The Bee Gees begin a two-week stint at #1 in the U.S. singles charts with "Jive Talkin’" …
1978, Muddy Waters plays for President Jimmy Carter at the White House …
1979, The Knack starts a five-week hold on the top spot of the U.S. album charts with Get The Knack … this triggers an anti-Knack backlash that will hasten the group’s demise …
1980, The Plasmatics show that was to feature an exploding car at the London’s Hammersmith Odeon is canceled after fire inspectors watch a demonstration and find that safety techniques are inadequate …
1981, The Pretenders second album, cleverly titled Pretenders II is released containing the single "Message of Love" … Minneapolis’ The Replacements unleash their initial waxing "I’m In Trouble" … prior to that, the band, then called The Impediments, showed up drunk at their first gig a halfway house for alcoholics … facing a citywide ban, they had to come up with a replacement name … so …
1985, introduced to the benefits of owning publishing rights by friend Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson purchases the ATV music catalog that includes 251 Lennon/McCartney songs at auction for $47.5 million … McCartney and Yoko Ono had attempted to purchase the songs only to be outbid by Jackson … McCartney and Jackson's friendship ends promptly as a result … Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon nearly drowns after his yacht capsizes during a race off the coast of England …
1986, Queen (the Freddie Mercury version) give their last live performance at the Knebworth Festival …
1988, Guns N’ Roses Appetite For Destruction reaches #1 in the U.S. after spending 57 weeks on the album chart …
1991, a group called On A Friday plays at the Jericho Tavern in Oxford, England … they will soon change their name to Radiohead …
1992, citing a sore throat, Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses cuts short the band’s set in Montreal … many of the 55,000 fans in attendance riot … this is a fitting end to a concert in which Metallica also cuts their set short after singer James Hetfield suffers third-degree burns from a pyro effect …
1994, the Woodstock ’94 festival in Saugerties, New York, includes performances from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Aerosmith, and Nine Inch Nails … the crowd of 30,000 endured the same rainy and resulting mud as the original event …
1996, former Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil runs into trouble at an Indiana club date … after starting the show four hours late, Neil pulls the plug after just three songs saying he is feeling ill and suggests that the audience of "rednecks" doesn’t appreciate his talent … a riot by 500 surly ticket holders is narrowly averted by the prompt arrival of the cops … after touring as part of the sixth annual Lollapalooza festival, The Ramones soldier on to Los Angeles to perform their 2,263rd and final show …
1999, Kiss unveil their own star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame …
2001, harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler dies at the age of 87 … self-taught, Adler turned pro at age 14 and went on to perform compositions expressly written for the mouth organ by composers Vaughan Williams and Darius Milhaud … Adler’s classical repertoire included adaptations of violin concertos by Bach and Vivaldi as well as works by Bartok, Debussy, Mozart, Ravel, and Stravinksy … one of his last recordings was in 1994 on his 80th birthday when he performed "Rhapsody in Blue" for The Glory of Gershwin album produced by George Martin …
2002, in an interview with Spin magazine, Motorhead leader Lemmy says he is thinking of having his notorious facial warts removed … the bassist adds, "Yeah, I could sell them on the internet" … thankfully, he later clarifies he's not serious about the latter statement …
2005, Leonard Cohen files a suit against his former business manager charging that Kelley Lynch ripped him off for $5 million from 1994 through 1999 while Cohen was chilling in a Buddhist center … FCC chairman Kevin Martin announces that his agency is investigating payola by record labels in the wake of Sony BMG Music Entertainment’s settlement of $10 million with New York over charges that the company plied key radio stations with lavish gifts and money to get its releases played … the list of artists who benefitted from Sony’s generosity include Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Avril Lavigne, Maroon 5, Franz Ferdinand, Good Charlotte, Gretchen Wilson, Audioslave, and Celine Dion …
2008, the format of Rolling Stone magazine is downsized from large-format pages to a traditional magazine size to spur lagging sales … singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, who has a long history of supporting liberal causes, files suit against presidential candidate John McCain and the Ohio Republican Party for using his 1977 hit "Running on Empty" without permission … The Allman Brothers sue Universal Music Group for more than $10 million charging that they are owed royalties on downloads and CD sales of material they cut on the Capricorn label between 1969 and 1980 … The Police cap their 150-show world tour with a two-hour tour de force at Madison Square Garden … the first Police tour in 20 years, it started shakily and gained momentum as it went along … reflecting on the early shows, drummer Stewart Copeland is brutally frank, "At the beginning, we were crap. Each one of us had our own opinion of what was wrong … which could be summed up as ‘the other two guys’" …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Read past issues of the Week in Review »
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Arrivals:
August 6: Delta bluesman Willie Brown (1900), The Ravens' Jimmy Ricks (1924), jazz bassist Charlie Haden (1937), Isaac Hayes (1938), Judy Craig of The Chiffons (1946), guitarist Allan Holdsworth (1948), Pat McDonald of Timbuk 3 (1951), Randy DeBarge (1958), singer-songwriter Elliot Smith (1969), Geri Halliwell a.k.a. Ginger Spice of the Spice Girls (1972)
August 7: multi-instrumentalist jazz bandleader Benny Carter (1907), swing bandleader Freddie Slack (1910), pianist Mose Vinson (1917), lyricist Felice Bryant (1925), The Platters’ Herb Reed (1931), multi-instrumentalist jazz titan Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1936), Magic Slim - born Morris Holt (1937), pop vocalist Ron Holden (1939), B.J. Thomas (1942), Alfa Anderson of Chic (1946), Rodney Crowell (1950), bassist-songwriter Andy Fraser of Free (1952), Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden – not the Bruce Dickinson (1958), Jacqui O’Sullivan of Bananarama (1960), Ian Dench of EMF (1964), Kristen Hersh of Throwing Muses (1964)
August 8: bandleader Lucky Millender (1900), honky tonk vocalist Webb Pierce (1921), blues and jazz singer Jimmy Witherspoon (1923), blues singer Al King (1923), Sonny Til of The Orioles (1925), Mel Tillis (1932), pedal steel player extraordinaire Pete Drake (1932), Joe Tex (1933), pop singer Connie Stevens (1938), Philip E. Balsley of the Statler Brothers (1939), John "Jay" David of Dr. Hook (1942), English guitar virtuoso John Renbourn (1944), The Grateful Dead's Ron "Pig Pen" McKernan (1946), Airrion Love of The Stylistics (1949), Stax-Volt drummer Willie Hall (1950), Madness guitarist Chris Foreman (1955), Ali Score of Flock of Seagulls (1956), Dennis Drew of 10,000 Maniacs (1957), Ricki Rockett of Poison (1959), U2's The Edge a.k.a. David Evans (1961), Kool Moe Dee (1962), Aaron Abeyta of NOFX (1965), Creed singer Scott Stapp (1973), JC Chasez of *NSYNC (1976), Drew Lachey of 98 Degrees (1976)
August 9: barrelhouse pianist Robert Shaw (1908), string band musician Odell Thompson (1911), Harry Mills of The Mills Brothers (1913), Bill Henderson of The Spinners (1939), jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette (1942), Rinus Gerritsen of Golden Earring (1946), Barbara Mason (1947), Cars bassist Benjamin Orr (1955), rapper Kurtis Blow (1959), Aimee Mann (1960), Whitney Houston (1963), Arion Salazar of Third Eye Blind (1970)
August 10: Leo Fender (1909), country singer-sausage king Jimmy Dean (1928), bluegrass ace Jimmy Martin (1929), country-pop entertainer Larry Finnegan (1938), Righteous Brother Bobby Hatfield (1940), Ronnie Spector of The Ronettes (1947), Ian Anderson (1947), Patti Austin (1948), INXS drummer John Farriss (1961), singer Neneh Cherry (1964), Todd Nichols of Toad The Wet Sprocket (1967), Michael Bivins of New Edition (1968), Aaron Kamin of The Calling (1977)
August 11: Mike Hugg of Manfred Mann (1942), David Box - a Buddy Holly soundalike who ironically died in a plane crash (1943), Jim Kale of Guess Who (1943), Eric Carmen (1949), Joe Jackson (1955), Bragi Olaffson of The Sugarcubes (1962), guitarist Charlie Sexton (1968), Chris "Mack Daddy" Kelly of Kriss Kross (1968), Ali of A Tribe Called Quest (1970), J-Boog of B2K (1985)
August 12: R&B singer-songwriter Percy Mayfield (1920), singer-songwriter Joe Jones (1926), Porter Wagoner (1927), Buck Owens, creator of "The Bakersfield Sound" (1929), pop songstress Jennifer Warren (1941), Mark Knopfler (1949), August Darnell of Kid Creole and the Coconuts (1950), jazz guitarist Pat Metheny (1954), Suzanne Vega (1959), Roy Hay of Culture Club (1961)
Departures:
August 6: Italian opera legend Luciano Pavarotti (2007), jazz bassist Keter Betts (2005), legendary Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer (2005), Rick James (2004), guitarist Tommy Mottola (2004), the U.K.'s answer to Louis Armstrong, Nat Gonella (1998), new wave singer Klaus Nomi (1983), blueswoman Memphis Minnie (1973), trumpeter Bix Beiderbecke (1931)
August 7: country guitarist William "Billy" Byrd (2001), harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler (2001), record store mogul Sam Goody (1991), R&B chanteuse Esther Phillips (1984), Homer a.k.a. Henry Haynes of Homer & Jethro (1971)
August 8: pianist Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan (2006), alto sax man Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (1975)
August 9: composer David Raskin (2004), Drowning Pool's Dave Williams (2002), producer Bob Herbert (1999), Jerry Garcia (1995), New Orleans session sax man Clarence Ford (1994), reggae singer Wilfred "Jackie" Edwards (1992), Brandon Mitchell, rapper with Wreckx-N-Effects (1990), trumpet player Bill Chase (1974), Lillian Roxon, one of rock's first music critics (1973), Joe Gilbert of Joe and Eddie (1966)
August 10: singer-songwriter-soul man Isaac Hayes (2008), Widespread Panic guitarist Mikey Houser (2002), Bill Baker of The Five Satins (1994), New Orleans sax man Clarence Ford (1994), Ed Roberts of Ruby And The Romantics (1993), jazz singer Ernestine Allen (1992), swing bandleader Freddie Slack (1965), blues diva Lucille Bogan of "Shave 'em Dry" infamy (1948)
August 11: pedal steel player Don Helms (2008), singer-talk show host Mike Douglas (2006), conductor Rafael Kubelick (1996), The Ventures drummer Mel Taylor, drummer of The Ventures (1996), bandleader-pianist Sonny Thompson (1989), Percy Mayfield - one day short of his 64th birthday (1984)
August 12: singer-talk show host Merv Griffin (2007), Luther Allison (1997), John Cage (1992), Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto (1985), Buddy Holly producer Norman Petty (1984)
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1938, legendary bluesman Robert Johnson dies in Greenwood, Mississippi … Johnson's moonshine had been poisoned days earlier … known for his womanizing, the murderer was presumed to be the angered spouse of one of his paramours … it was rumored that Johnson's talent came at the expense of his soul, the result of a midnight deal struck with Satan at a Mississippi crossroads … probably the most influential bluesman to emerge in the 20th century, his songs and riffs have become a foundation for the genre …
1939, pioneering electric guitarist Charlie Christian sits in with Benny Goodman’s group at a club in Bevery Hills, CA … Goodman isn’t interested in hearing an electric guitar, but Charlie’s manager John Hammond sneaks him onstage while Goodman is on a break … he proceeded to wow audiences and musicians alike with his seemingly endless single-string virtuosity …
1962, Ringo Starr joins the Beatles onstage for the first time at the Cavern Club in Liverpool after taking over for Pete Best, who was deemed not fab enough to be one of the four …
1964, The Chipmunks Sing the Beatles is reportedly selling 25,000 copies of John and Paul's compositions a day … the Fab Four begin their first tour of the U.S. at the Cow Palace in San Francisco … the Righteous Brothers and Jackie DeShannon are also on the bill …
1965, The Jefferson Airplane, finally cleared for take-off, plays their first live show at the Matrix Club in San Francisco … the band will ink a deal with RCA before the year's end, one of the first rock bands in the Bay Area scene to do so …
1966, John Lennon generates more controversy after his recent "Jesus" comments by publicly expressing his admiration for American draft dodgers while the band is in Toronto …
1968, The Jimi Hendrix Experience performs their instrumental version of the "Star Spangled Banner" for the first time in concert … a year later, Hendrix will perform it at Woodstock …
1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Festival is held on Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York … nearly half a million gather to celebrate "3 Days of Peace and Music" (and mud, lots of mud) and enjoy performances by a Who's Who of rock-and-roll, including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ten Years After, and Jefferson Airplane … Mick Jagger is accidentally shot in the hand during the filming of Ned Kelly in Australia … his wound is not serious … Miles Davis goes into the studio in New York for the first sessions of the landmark album, Bitches Brew with Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Benny Maupin, John McLaughlin, Larry Young, Harvey Brooks, Lenny White, Don Alias, and Jumma Santos …
1977, Elvis leaves the building, never to return … the 42-year-old Elvis Presley is found dead in his bathroom by girlfriend, Ginger Alden … according to the autopsy, death resulted from coronary arrhythmia … it's a black day at Graceland when over 75,000 people gather to lay the King to rest … Presley is entombed near his mother in a marble mausoleum in Memphis at Forest Hill Cemetery … the day before the funeral, Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD) sells more flowers than they have for any other single event … within days his passing becomes a media event of major proportions … it also sparks the debate as to whether his death has been staged and that he is really alive and well … the Police play their first gig as a threesome after guitar man Henri Padovani leaves the band …
1990, in a tragic freak accident, part of a lighting rig falls on Curtis Mayfield during a performance in Brooklyn, New York … the incident leaves Mayfield permanently paralyzed from the neck down …
1997, promoting their upcoming Bridges to Babylon tour, The Rolling Stones show up for a media event at the Brooklyn Bridge in a red '55 Cadillac with Mick at the wheel …
1999, The Backstreet Boys break box office records by selling all 765,000 tickets for their North American tour in just one day, taking in a cool $30 million, most of it within just a single hour … Spin Doctors lead singer Chris Barron is diagnosed with a rare condition causing paralysis of the vocal chords … he will make a slow recovery in the following months …
2002, in keeping with his tradition of audience bashing, Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil storms off the stage during a solo nightclub gig in Steamboat Springs, Colorado … after opening with a few Crüe classics, Neil turns to his solo material and is apparently angered at the lackluster response … a shouting match with the audience ensues, culminating with Neil chucking the mic into the crowd and leaving the stage … the club offers refunds to the 250 attendees …
2004, free-wheeling jam band Phish perphorms its final 2-day concert in Coventry, VT, ending a 21-year career … The U.S. Court of Appeals rules that filesharing services such as Grokster and StreamCast do not bear responsibility for users’ illegal activities … the ruling puts a crimp in the RIAA’s attacks on peer-to-peer services that enable the dissemination of MP3s … instead, the recording industry will go after individual violators of copyright laws …
2005, a civil court judge rules that the landmark punk club CBGB's can't be evicted from its Bowery location … in her ruling, Judge Joan Kenney praises the club's impact on the neighborhood, which she said was plagued by "destitution, degradation and substance abuse" when the club opened in 1973 … "CBGB has proven itself worthy of being recognized as a landmark—a rare achievement for any commercial tenant in the ever diverse and competitive real estate market of New York City." … despite the ruling, in what can only be described as a Bowery bummer, the birthplace of punk will lose its lease a year later and consider moving to Las Vegas, much to the dismay of New York punkers and politicians alike … Eminem cancels a European tour and checks into rehab … a representative says the sojourn is for a "dependency on sleep medication" … in what could be medically termed an Eminenema, the 11-date tour cancellation cleans out the rapper to the tune of $18 million in ticket sales … a reworked version of the musical Lennon opens on Broadway following a debut in San Francisco that met with hostile reviews … the storyline is revamped into a more linear flow when critics and audiences alike are mystified by the original libretto … A tearful Courtney Love is yet again ordered into rehab by a judge after a court-ordered drug test comes up positive … Ozzy Osbourne announces that he won’t be headlining on his annual Ozzfest shows any longer due to voice and other health problems … the singer says he will appear on a few select dates during the 2006 tour … Madonna breaks her collarbone, hand, and three ribs when she’s tossed from a horse in England … the ride was in celebration of her 47th birthday … during an appearance on The Today Show, the performer-producer stuns the nation by announcing that henceforth he will be known as just "Diddy" … previous variations of his appellation include Sean Combs, Puff Daddy, and Puffy … charges by a makeup artist claiming that Snoop Dogg drugged and raped her following a Jimmy Kimmel Live taping in 2003 are dropped … according to a Dogg spokesman, there was no payoff to the plaintiff …
2007, John Lennon’s solo material is offered on iTunes, making him the third Beatle to have his catalog become available online …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Read past issues of the Week in Review »
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Birthdays
August 13: jazz pianist George Shearing (1919), "Baby Boy" Robert Warren (1919), Don Ho (1930), Dave "Baby" Cortez (1938), Son Seals (1942), Dan Fogelberg (1951), Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch (1953), Feargal Sharkey of The Undertones (1958)
August 14: swing and jazz violinist Stuff Smith (1909), R&B singer Jackie Brenston (1927), songwriter Carol Joyner Gourley (1938), Dash Crofts of Seals and Crofts (1940), David Crosby (1941), Tim Bogart of Vanilla Fudge (1944), inventor of the slap bass, Larry Graham (1946), Slim Dunlap of The Replacements (1951), Sharon Bryant of Atlantic Star (1956), Kevin Cadogan of Third Eye Blind (1970)
August 15: blues harp player Buster Brown, born Waymon Glasco (1911), Oscar Peterson (1925), bluegrass-country singer Rose Maddox (1925), Bill Pinkney of The Drifters (1925), R&B singer Bobby Byrd (1934), singer Bobby Helms (1936), Peter York of the Spencer Davis Group (1942), songwriter Jimmy Webb (1946), Tom Johnston of The Doobie Brothers (1948), Tommy Aldridge of Black Oak Arkansas (1950), MCA of The Beastie Boys (1967)
August 16: baritone jazz crooner Al Hibbler (1915), jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans (1929), English country and pop singer Karl Denver (1931), chanteuse Eydie Gormé (1931), lead singer of The Dubs, Richard Blandon (1934), New Orleans R&B singer Bobby Mitchell (1935), R&B singer-songwriter Barbara George (1942), songwriter and touring musician Kin Vassy (1943), Barry Hay of Golden Earring (1948), J.T. Taylor of Kool & The Gang (1953), Tim Farriss of INXS (1957), Madonna (born Louise Ciccone) (1958), Chris Pederson of Camper Van Beethoven (1960), Emily Erwin of Dixie Chicks (1972), singer-songwriter-pianist Vanessa Carlton (1980)
August 17: ’50s pop singer Georgia Gibbs (1919), Sam Butera, tenor sax player with Louis Prima (1927), Mark Dinning of "Teen Angel" fame (1933), bluesman Luther Allison (1939), Sib Hashian of Boston (1949), guitar virtuoso Eric Johnson (1954), XTC's Colin Moulding (1955), Gilby Clark of Guns N' Roses (1962), singer-songwriter Maria McKee (1964), Steve Gorman of Black Crowes (1965), Jill Cunniff of Luscious Jackson (1966), Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block (1969), Posdnuous of De La Soul (1969)
August 18: lyricist Otto Harbach (1873), folk singer Cisco Houston (1918), pop singer Johnny Preston (1939), singer-songwriter-producer-actor-author Nona Hendryx (1945), Dennis Elliot of Foreigner (1950), Ron Stryker of Men at Work (1957), lead vocalist and founder member of The Go-Go’s, Belinda Carlisle (1958), rapper-singer-songwriter Everlast, born Erik Schrody (1969)
August 19: jazz pianist Jimmy Rowles (1918), Cream drummer Ginger Baker (1939), singer Johnny Nash of "I Can See Clearly Now" fame (1940), vocalist Billy J. Kramer of the Dakotas (1943), Ian Gillian of Deep Purple (1945), Queen's John Deacon (1951), country singer-songwriter Lee Ann Womack (1966)
Obituaries
August 13: John Loder, founder of the punk label Southern Records (2005), composer David Tudor (1996), blues drummer Fred Below (1988), soul singer Joe Tex, born Joseph Arrington Jr. (1982), soulful sax man King Curtis (1971), R&B star Joe Hinton (1968)
August 14: Johnny Duncan (2006), Esther Wong, owner of the L.A. punk venue Madame Wong’s (2005), Tony Williams, lead vocalist of The Platters (1992), Hawkwind vocalist Robert Calvert (1989), guitarist Roy Buchanan (1988)
August 15: William Herbert "Lum" York, bass player for Hank Williams (2004), singer-songwriter Joe Seneca (1996), Jamaican singer-songwriter Jackie Edwards (1996), Thomas Wayne (1971), Stick Mcghee, born Granville McGhee, most associated with his song, "Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" (1961), influential bluesman Big Bill Broonzy (1958)
August 16: jazz drummer Max Roach (2007), percussionist Ray Romero (2006), country fiddler Vassar Clements (2005), Bobby DeBarge, member of R&B groups Switch and DeBarge (1995), Christian rock songwriter Mark Heard (1992), Stacy Sutherland, guitarist for The 13th Floor Elevators (1978), The King, Elvis Presley (1977), legendary bluesman Robert Johnson (1938)
August 17: Skatalite trumpeter, Dizzy Moore (2008), Bernard Odum, bassist with James Brown (2004), guitar-maker to the stars, Tony Zemaitis (2002), Chicago soul singer Johnny Sayles (1993), Phil Seymour, guitarist and singer with The Dwight Twilley Band (1993), singer-actress Pearl Bailey (1990), soul singer Lorraine Ellison (1985), Paul Williams, singer and guitarist for The Temptations (1973)
August 18: Pervis Jackson, founding member of the Spinners (2008), film composer Elmer Bernstein (2004), founder of the Country Gentlemen, bluegrass picker Charlie Waller (2004), Leonard "Chick" Carbo, lead singer of The Spiders (1998), Belgian impresario and concert promoter Freddy Cousaert (1998) highly regarded R&B and funk session pianist Richard Tee, born Richjard Ten Ryk (1993), psychedelic concert poster artist Rick Griffin (1991)
August 19: LeRoi Moore, saxophonist with The Dave Matthews Band (2008), Joseph Hill, lead singer and founder of reggae band Culture (2006), Dorsey Burnette, bass player of rockabilly institution The Rock and Roll Trio (1979), 12-string guitarist Blind Willie McTell, composer of "Statesboro Blues" (1959)
1938, legendary bluesman Robert Johnson dies in Greenwood, Mississippi … Johnson's moonshine had been poisoned days earlier … known for his womanizing, the murderer was presumed to be the angered spouse of one of his paramours … it was rumored that Johnson's talent came at the expense of his soul, the result of a midnight deal struck with Satan at a Mississippi crossroads … probably the most influential bluesman to emerge in the 20th century, his songs and riffs have become a foundation for the genre …
1939, pioneering electric guitarist Charlie Christian sits in with Benny Goodman’s group at a club in Bevery Hills, CA … Goodman isn’t interested in hearing an electric guitar, but Charlie’s manager John Hammond sneaks him onstage while Goodman is on a break … he proceeded to wow audiences and musicians alike with his seemingly endless single-string virtuosity …
1962, Ringo Starr joins the Beatles onstage for the first time at the Cavern Club in Liverpool after taking over for Pete Best, who was deemed not fab enough to be one of the four …
1964, The Chipmunks Sing the Beatles is reportedly selling 25,000 copies of John and Paul's compositions a day … the Fab Four begin their first tour of the U.S. at the Cow Palace in San Francisco … the Righteous Brothers and Jackie DeShannon are also on the bill …
1965, The Jefferson Airplane, finally cleared for take-off, plays their first live show at the Matrix Club in San Francisco … the band will ink a deal with RCA before the year's end, one of the first rock bands in the Bay Area scene to do so …
1966, John Lennon generates more controversy after his recent "Jesus" comments by publicly expressing his admiration for American draft dodgers while the band is in Toronto …
1968, The Jimi Hendrix Experience performs their instrumental version of the "Star Spangled Banner" for the first time in concert … a year later, Hendrix will perform it at Woodstock …
1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Festival is held on Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York … nearly half a million gather to celebrate "3 Days of Peace and Music" (and mud, lots of mud) and enjoy performances by a Who's Who of rock-and-roll, including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ten Years After, and Jefferson Airplane … Mick Jagger is accidentally shot in the hand during the filming of Ned Kelly in Australia … his wound is not serious … Miles Davis goes into the studio in New York for the first sessions of the landmark album, Bitches Brew with Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Benny Maupin, John McLaughlin, Larry Young, Harvey Brooks, Lenny White, Don Alias, and Jumma Santos …
1977, Elvis leaves the building, never to return … the 42-year-old Elvis Presley is found dead in his bathroom by girlfriend, Ginger Alden … according to the autopsy, death resulted from coronary arrhythmia … it's a black day at Graceland when over 75,000 people gather to lay the King to rest … Presley is entombed near his mother in a marble mausoleum in Memphis at Forest Hill Cemetery … the day before the funeral, Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD) sells more flowers than they have for any other single event … within days his passing becomes a media event of major proportions … it also sparks the debate as to whether his death has been staged and that he is really alive and well … the Police play their first gig as a threesome after guitar man Henri Padovani leaves the band …
1990, in a tragic freak accident, part of a lighting rig falls on Curtis Mayfield during a performance in Brooklyn, New York … the incident leaves Mayfield permanently paralyzed from the neck down …
1997, promoting their upcoming Bridges to Babylon tour, The Rolling Stones show up for a media event at the Brooklyn Bridge in a red '55 Cadillac with Mick at the wheel …
1999, The Backstreet Boys break box office records by selling all 765,000 tickets for their North American tour in just one day, taking in a cool $30 million, most of it within just a single hour … Spin Doctors lead singer Chris Barron is diagnosed with a rare condition causing paralysis of the vocal chords … he will make a slow recovery in the following months …
2002, in keeping with his tradition of audience bashing, Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil storms off the stage during a solo nightclub gig in Steamboat Springs, Colorado … after opening with a few Crüe classics, Neil turns to his solo material and is apparently angered at the lackluster response … a shouting match with the audience ensues, culminating with Neil chucking the mic into the crowd and leaving the stage … the club offers refunds to the 250 attendees …
2004, free-wheeling jam band Phish perphorms its final 2-day concert in Coventry, VT, ending a 21-year career … The U.S. Court of Appeals rules that filesharing services such as Grokster and StreamCast do not bear responsibility for users’ illegal activities … the ruling puts a crimp in the RIAA’s attacks on peer-to-peer services that enable the dissemination of MP3s … instead, the recording industry will go after individual violators of copyright laws …
2005, a civil court judge rules that the landmark punk club CBGB's can't be evicted from its Bowery location … in her ruling, Judge Joan Kenney praises the club's impact on the neighborhood, which she said was plagued by "destitution, degradation and substance abuse" when the club opened in 1973 … "CBGB has proven itself worthy of being recognized as a landmark—a rare achievement for any commercial tenant in the ever diverse and competitive real estate market of New York City." … despite the ruling, in what can only be described as a Bowery bummer, the birthplace of punk will lose its lease a year later and consider moving to Las Vegas, much to the dismay of New York punkers and politicians alike … Eminem cancels a European tour and checks into rehab … a representative says the sojourn is for a "dependency on sleep medication" … in what could be medically termed an Eminenema, the 11-date tour cancellation cleans out the rapper to the tune of $18 million in ticket sales … a reworked version of the musical Lennon opens on Broadway following a debut in San Francisco that met with hostile reviews … the storyline is revamped into a more linear flow when critics and audiences alike are mystified by the original libretto … A tearful Courtney Love is yet again ordered into rehab by a judge after a court-ordered drug test comes up positive … Ozzy Osbourne announces that he won’t be headlining on his annual Ozzfest shows any longer due to voice and other health problems … the singer says he will appear on a few select dates during the 2006 tour … Madonna breaks her collarbone, hand, and three ribs when she’s tossed from a horse in England … the ride was in celebration of her 47th birthday … during an appearance on The Today Show, the performer-producer stuns the nation by announcing that henceforth he will be known as just "Diddy" … previous variations of his appellation include Sean Combs, Puff Daddy, and Puffy … charges by a makeup artist claiming that Snoop Dogg drugged and raped her following a Jimmy Kimmel Live taping in 2003 are dropped … according to a Dogg spokesman, there was no payoff to the plaintiff …
2007, John Lennon’s solo material is offered on iTunes, making him the third Beatle to have his catalog become available online …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Read past issues of the Week in Review »
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Birthdays
August 13: jazz pianist George Shearing (1919), "Baby Boy" Robert Warren (1919), Don Ho (1930), Dave "Baby" Cortez (1938), Son Seals (1942), Dan Fogelberg (1951), Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch (1953), Feargal Sharkey of The Undertones (1958)
August 14: swing and jazz violinist Stuff Smith (1909), R&B singer Jackie Brenston (1927), songwriter Carol Joyner Gourley (1938), Dash Crofts of Seals and Crofts (1940), David Crosby (1941), Tim Bogart of Vanilla Fudge (1944), inventor of the slap bass, Larry Graham (1946), Slim Dunlap of The Replacements (1951), Sharon Bryant of Atlantic Star (1956), Kevin Cadogan of Third Eye Blind (1970)
August 15: blues harp player Buster Brown, born Waymon Glasco (1911), Oscar Peterson (1925), bluegrass-country singer Rose Maddox (1925), Bill Pinkney of The Drifters (1925), R&B singer Bobby Byrd (1934), singer Bobby Helms (1936), Peter York of the Spencer Davis Group (1942), songwriter Jimmy Webb (1946), Tom Johnston of The Doobie Brothers (1948), Tommy Aldridge of Black Oak Arkansas (1950), MCA of The Beastie Boys (1967)
August 16: baritone jazz crooner Al Hibbler (1915), jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans (1929), English country and pop singer Karl Denver (1931), chanteuse Eydie Gormé (1931), lead singer of The Dubs, Richard Blandon (1934), New Orleans R&B singer Bobby Mitchell (1935), R&B singer-songwriter Barbara George (1942), songwriter and touring musician Kin Vassy (1943), Barry Hay of Golden Earring (1948), J.T. Taylor of Kool & The Gang (1953), Tim Farriss of INXS (1957), Madonna (born Louise Ciccone) (1958), Chris Pederson of Camper Van Beethoven (1960), Emily Erwin of Dixie Chicks (1972), singer-songwriter-pianist Vanessa Carlton (1980)
August 17: ’50s pop singer Georgia Gibbs (1919), Sam Butera, tenor sax player with Louis Prima (1927), Mark Dinning of "Teen Angel" fame (1933), bluesman Luther Allison (1939), Sib Hashian of Boston (1949), guitar virtuoso Eric Johnson (1954), XTC's Colin Moulding (1955), Gilby Clark of Guns N' Roses (1962), singer-songwriter Maria McKee (1964), Steve Gorman of Black Crowes (1965), Jill Cunniff of Luscious Jackson (1966), Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block (1969), Posdnuous of De La Soul (1969)
August 18: lyricist Otto Harbach (1873), folk singer Cisco Houston (1918), pop singer Johnny Preston (1939), singer-songwriter-producer-actor-author Nona Hendryx (1945), Dennis Elliot of Foreigner (1950), Ron Stryker of Men at Work (1957), lead vocalist and founder member of The Go-Go’s, Belinda Carlisle (1958), rapper-singer-songwriter Everlast, born Erik Schrody (1969)
August 19: jazz pianist Jimmy Rowles (1918), Cream drummer Ginger Baker (1939), singer Johnny Nash of "I Can See Clearly Now" fame (1940), vocalist Billy J. Kramer of the Dakotas (1943), Ian Gillian of Deep Purple (1945), Queen's John Deacon (1951), country singer-songwriter Lee Ann Womack (1966)
Obituaries
August 13: John Loder, founder of the punk label Southern Records (2005), composer David Tudor (1996), blues drummer Fred Below (1988), soul singer Joe Tex, born Joseph Arrington Jr. (1982), soulful sax man King Curtis (1971), R&B star Joe Hinton (1968)
August 14: Johnny Duncan (2006), Esther Wong, owner of the L.A. punk venue Madame Wong’s (2005), Tony Williams, lead vocalist of The Platters (1992), Hawkwind vocalist Robert Calvert (1989), guitarist Roy Buchanan (1988)
August 15: William Herbert "Lum" York, bass player for Hank Williams (2004), singer-songwriter Joe Seneca (1996), Jamaican singer-songwriter Jackie Edwards (1996), Thomas Wayne (1971), Stick Mcghee, born Granville McGhee, most associated with his song, "Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" (1961), influential bluesman Big Bill Broonzy (1958)
August 16: jazz drummer Max Roach (2007), percussionist Ray Romero (2006), country fiddler Vassar Clements (2005), Bobby DeBarge, member of R&B groups Switch and DeBarge (1995), Christian rock songwriter Mark Heard (1992), Stacy Sutherland, guitarist for The 13th Floor Elevators (1978), The King, Elvis Presley (1977), legendary bluesman Robert Johnson (1938)
August 17: Skatalite trumpeter, Dizzy Moore (2008), Bernard Odum, bassist with James Brown (2004), guitar-maker to the stars, Tony Zemaitis (2002), Chicago soul singer Johnny Sayles (1993), Phil Seymour, guitarist and singer with The Dwight Twilley Band (1993), singer-actress Pearl Bailey (1990), soul singer Lorraine Ellison (1985), Paul Williams, singer and guitarist for The Temptations (1973)
August 18: Pervis Jackson, founding member of the Spinners (2008), film composer Elmer Bernstein (2004), founder of the Country Gentlemen, bluegrass picker Charlie Waller (2004), Leonard "Chick" Carbo, lead singer of The Spiders (1998), Belgian impresario and concert promoter Freddy Cousaert (1998) highly regarded R&B and funk session pianist Richard Tee, born Richjard Ten Ryk (1993), psychedelic concert poster artist Rick Griffin (1991)
August 19: LeRoi Moore, saxophonist with The Dave Matthews Band (2008), Joseph Hill, lead singer and founder of reggae band Culture (2006), Dorsey Burnette, bass player of rockabilly institution The Rock and Roll Trio (1979), 12-string guitarist Blind Willie McTell, composer of "Statesboro Blues" (1959)
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1906, the first Victrola phonograph, with wind-up drive and its own horn, is marketed by Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey, for $200 …
1938, one of the most covered standards ever, "Ain't Misbehavin'" by Fats Waller, Harry Brooks, and Andy Razaf is recorded by Waller, a master of stride piano …
1947, in yet another demonstration that fame can get you almost anything, President Truman's daughter Margaret makes her singing debut before an audience of 15,000 at the Hollywood Bowl …
1958, Eddie Cochran's biggest hit, "Summertime Blues," enters Billboard's Top 100, where it will peak at #18 and sell over a million copies … it will later be covered by such groups as Blue Cheer and The Who …
1962, the #1 Billboard Pop Hit is "The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva … the singer, a former babysitter for the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, achieves Cinderella-like stardom after the couple ask her to cut a demo of the song … both Grand Funk and Kylie Minogue will chart with their covers of the tune in 1974 and 1988 respectively …
1965, the bobbies show what they think of those unruly rock 'n' rollers by turning a fire hose on a bunch of Rolling Stones fans gathered at a planned TV taping in Manchester …
1966, The Beatles arrive in New York for a concert at Shea Stadium … a couple of girl fans threaten to jump from their hotel room's 22nd-floor window unless they see the group … they get to see some cops instead and are charged with disorderly conduct …
1967, The New York Times reports on a new noise-reduction system for records and tapes pioneered by the Dolby brothers … drummers everywhere pan the system as a cymbal killer …
1968, Who drummer Keith Moon caps a truly bacchanalian 21st birthday bash by driving a Rolls Royce into the pool at a Holiday Inn in Flint, MI … though a Moon biographer maintains it never happened, Who vocalist Roger Daltrey begs to differ … "I saw it. We paid the bill (for the damages). It was $50,000. It's vague now, but I just remember the car in the pool. And the chaos. And Keith being rushed off to the dentist after being arrested because he knocked his front tooth out … But then I read in the biography that never happened, so maybe I've been living someone else's life, I don't know" …
1969, Frank Zappa's "tired of playing for people who clap for all the wrong reasons," so he breaks up the Mothers of Invention … most of the other Mothers take it very hard since Frank didn't found the band and they have all been putting up with his dictatorial style in order to get to the big time … at the moment they finally arrive, Frank cuts them loose … some of the band members will play in later incarnations of the Mothers, but the original lineup is history …
1970, Duane Allman begins sessions as a member of Derek & The Dominos … Eric Clapton praises Allman as the catalyst in a double-album project, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, that is completed in only 10 days …
1975, Queen begins recording "Bohemian Rhapsody" at Rockfield Studio One in Monmouth, Wales … altogether, five studios will be used, making it one of the most expensive singles ever … the 30-second opera portion takes three weeks to record with 180 overdubbed voices … the vocal harmony parts are duplicated so many times the original vocal parts are eight generations down … the original 24-track tape becomes so worn it has to be copied to a fresh tape …
1981, some simpering loser whose name we won't mention is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the murder of John Lennon …
1986, Paul Simon releases his landmark Graceland album …
1990, a Nevada court exonerates heavy metal band Judas Priest in a $6.2 million civil suit filed by the parents of two youths who shot themselves allegedly as a result of listening to the band's records …
1992, after 10 years of going steady, Sting and Trudi Styler tie the knot …
1994, drummer Dave Abbruzzese is dismissed as Pearl Jam's drummer … though the band tells the media he left to pursue music studies, Abbruzzese maintains he was fired for reasons unknown … fans speculate that singer Eddie Vedder was unhappy with Abbruzzese's media-friendly embrace of the band's superstardom, something the other members were uncomfortable with … Jimmy Buffett loses control of his plane on takeoff from Nantucket, MA … it flips and splashes down in the cold North Atlantic but Buffett is able to swim to safety … parrot heads everywhere breathe a sigh of relief …
1995, singer Natalie Merchant becomes the first guest on Elektra's new online chat site … the former 10,000 Maniacs frontwoman later says she won't make a habit of virtual chatting as it hurts her eyes and would make her feel lonely when her computer's off …
1997, a 50-mile section of Interstate 65 in Alabama is dedicated as the "Hank Williams Memorial Lost Highway" …
1998, the little sister John Lennon had been told of but was never able to find materializes in the person of 53-year-old Ingrid Pedersen … she had been waiting for the death of her adoptive mother before coming forward … in Miami, a concert by Compay Segundo of Buena Vista Social Club fame is interrupted by a bomb threat … Segundo is accompanied by 13 fellow Cuban musicians all given special visas by the U.S. State Department … though no culprit is found, it is suspected the bomb scare came from an anti-Castro Cuban emigre …
2004, Queen becomes the first band to have a rock album legally released in Iran … the album is a compilation of the band's hits and includes an insert with lyrics and production notes … Queen's vocalist, Freddie Mercury, was of Iranian extraction …
2005, Robert Moog, inventor of the Moog synthesizer, dies from a brain tumor at the age of 71 … in 1964 he demonstrated his first synthesizer that used a keyboard and controller … by 1971, his company, Moog Music, is producing the MiniMoog Model D, one of the first portable synths that soon will be a standard part of the keyboard array of artists such as Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman …
2006, Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton undergoes treatment for throat cancer, forcing him to sit out the first half of the band's Route of All Evil Tour, the first time he has missed any shows in the band's history … longtime band friend David Hull fills in until his return … a settlement of five separate suits is struck between Apple, maker of the category-leading iPod, and rival Creative Technology, manufacturer of the Zen player … the computer maker agrees to pay Creative $100 million in return for the use of Creative's patented technology which it had charged Apple had incorporated into its iPod … the payout gives Creative a shot in the arm but its trouncing in the marketplace by Apple continues unabated …
2007, now you can call him "Dr. May" … Queen guitarist Brian May earns his PhD in astronomy from London's Imperial College … May handed in his 48,000-word doctoral thesis, "Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud," earlier in the month—36 years after he started it—and then took a three-hour oral exam … May already has two honorary doctorates … The Stones wrap their Bigger Bang tour having grossed $558 million, eclipsing the record formerly held by U2's 2005 Vertigo tour that brought in a paltry $389 million … commenting on the end of the long-running tour, Mick Jagger acknowledges, "I'm sort of glad it's done. I need to do some resting" … British neo-soul singer Amy Winehouse postpones her planned U.S. tour three weeks before the kickoff … word has it she needs to kick alcohol and drug dependencies …
2008, the Democratic National Convention in Denver takes on the look of a Lollapalooza show as dozens of top-flight acts descend on the Mile-High City in support of Barack Obama … artists include Melissa Etheridge, Dave Matthews Band, David Crosby and Graham Nash, John Legend, Wyclef Jean, Stevie Wonder, and Daughtry … the inaugural Outside Land Music and Arts Festival is held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park … a flood of 130,000 fans including plenty of neo-hippies enjoy a star-studded lineup headlined by Radiohead, Jack Johnson, Tom Petty, and Wilco …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Read past issues of the Week in Review »
Birthdays
August 20: jazz trombonist-vocalist Jack Teagarden (1905), country singer Jim Reeves (1924), jazz guitarist Jimmy Raney (1927), Paul Robi of The Platters (1931), bluesman J.J. Malone (1935), country singer-songwriter Justin Tubb (1935), Tom Coster of Santana (1941), Isaac Hayes (1942), John Povey of The Pretty Things (1942), James Pankow of Chicago (1947), Robert Plant (1948), Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy (1951), Rudy Gatlin of The Gatlin Brothers (1952), Doug Fieger of The Knack (1952), singer-songwriter John Hiatt (1952), Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit (1970)
August 21: William "Count" Basie (1904), big-band singer Savannah Churchill (1920), gospel singer Clara Ward (1924), songwriter Carolyn Leigh (1926), Kenny Rogers (1938), country picker James Burton (1939), Harold W. Reid of The Statler Brothers (1939), Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple (1952), Steve Smith of Journey (1954), Joe Strummer of The Clash (1955), Budgie—born Pete Clark—of Siouxsie and the Banshees (1957), Kim Sledge of Sister Sledge (1958), Liam Howlett of Prodigy (1971)
August 22: Claude Debussy (1862), classic blues singer Addie "Sweet Peas" Spivey (1910), pianist and bandleader Sonny Thompson (1916), John Lee Hooker (1917), Carolina Slim, born Edward P. Harris (1923), Bob Flanigan of The Four Freshmen (1926), producer Jerry Capehart (1928), Freddie Milano of The Belmonts (1939), Jackie De Shannon (1944), Donna Godchaux of The Grateful Dead (1947), Teresa Davis of The Emotions (1950), country chirper and writer Holly Dunn (1957), Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid (1958), Debbi Peterson of The Bangles (1961), Roland Orzabal of Tears For Fears (1961), Tori Amos (1963), James DeBarge of DeBarge (1963), Layne Staley of Alice in Chains (1967), Matchbox 20's Paul Douchette (1972), Howie Dorough of Backstreet Boys (1973)
August 23: dancer Gene Kelly (1912), country star Tex Williams (1917), The Drifters' Rudy Lewis (1936), Jamaican producer Bunny Lee (1941), Ramon Phillips of The Nashville Teens (1941), Keith Moon (1947), Rick Springfield (1949), Shadows of Knight's Jim Sohns (1949), Jim Jamison of Survivor (1951), Steve Clark of Def Leppard (1960), Dean DeLeo of the Stone Temple Pilots (1961), Colin Angus of The Shamen (1961), The Happy Mondays' Shaun Ryder (1962)
August 24: bluesman and Elvis influence Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (1905), jump-blues shouter Wynonie Harris (1915), country songwriter Fred Rose (1917), William Winfield of The Harptones (1929), David Frieberg of Quicksilver Messenger Service (1938), Mason "Classical Gas" Williams (1938), Ernest Wright of Little Anthony and the Imperials (1939), Procol Harum manager and pirate radio operator Tony Secunda (1940), Joe Chambers of The Chambers Brothers (1942), soul singer Fontella Bass (1942), Jimmy Soul, born James McCleese (1942), John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service (1943), Jim Capaldi of Traffic (1944), Malcolm Duncan of Average White Band (1945), Ken Hensley of Uriah Heep (1945), Heart's Mike DeRosier (1951), Juan Nelson (1958), Mark Bedford of Madness (1961), Pebbles, born Perri McKissack (1964)
August 25: Charlie Burse of The Memphis Jug Band (1901), composer Leonard Bernstein (1918), jazz reedman Wayne Shorter (1933), Walter Williams of The O'Jays (1942), jazz guitar phenom Pat Martino (1944), Tavares drummer Francis A. Donia (1945), Gene Simmons, born Chaim Witz (1949), Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford (1951), Elvis Costello, born Declan McManus (1954), Billy Ray Cyrus (1961), Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard (1962), Mia Zapata of The Gits (1965), country chirper Jo Dee Messina (1969)
August 26: jazz and blues shouter Jimmy "Mr. Five by Five" Rushing (1903), Chris Curtis of The Searchers (1941), Valerie Simpson of Ashford and Simpson (1948), Bill Rush of The Asbury Dukes (1952), Branford Marsalis (1960), Shirley Manson of Garbage (1966), Dan Vickrey of Counting Crows (1966), Adrian Young of No Doubt (1969)
Obituaries
August 20: Blues Traveler bassist Bobby Sheehan (1999), singer Rio Reiser (1996), masterful steel guitarist Leon McAuliffe of Bob Wills' Texas Playboys (1988), jazz trumpeter Thad Jones (1986)
August 21: producer Jerry Finn (2008), Nashville session drummer Buddy Harman (2008), Robert Moog (2005), Tarheel Slim, born Alden Bunn (1977), country guitarist Sam McGee (1975)
August 22: singer Ralph Young (2008), honky-tonk legend Floyd Tilman (2003), blues pianist Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston (1987), bluesman John Lee Granderson (1979)
August 23: high-note jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson (2006), Eleanor O. Guest, one of Gladys Knight's Pips (1997), Skinny Puppy drummer Dwayne Goettell (1995), Broadway songwriter-director Oscar Hammerstein II (1960)
August 24: producer-arranger Gene Page (1998), Doug Stegmeyer, bassist for Billy Joel (1995), Jesse Bolian of The Artistics (1994), Gene Knight of The Showmen (1992), Motown drummer Larry Londin (1992), bluesman L.C. Greene (1985), trumpeter-pop singer Louis Prima (1978)
August 25: R&B star Aaliyah (2001), Ronnie White of The Miracles (1995), bandleader Stan Kenton (1979)
August 26: Laura Branigan (2004), Ronnie White of The Miracles (1995), zydeco squeezebox star Rockin' Dopsie (1993), "Professor" Eddie Lusk (1992), honking sax man Jimmy Forrest (1980), Lee Hays of The Weavers (1981)
1906, the first Victrola phonograph, with wind-up drive and its own horn, is marketed by Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey, for $200 …
1938, one of the most covered standards ever, "Ain't Misbehavin'" by Fats Waller, Harry Brooks, and Andy Razaf is recorded by Waller, a master of stride piano …
1947, in yet another demonstration that fame can get you almost anything, President Truman's daughter Margaret makes her singing debut before an audience of 15,000 at the Hollywood Bowl …
1958, Eddie Cochran's biggest hit, "Summertime Blues," enters Billboard's Top 100, where it will peak at #18 and sell over a million copies … it will later be covered by such groups as Blue Cheer and The Who …
1962, the #1 Billboard Pop Hit is "The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva … the singer, a former babysitter for the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, achieves Cinderella-like stardom after the couple ask her to cut a demo of the song … both Grand Funk and Kylie Minogue will chart with their covers of the tune in 1974 and 1988 respectively …
1965, the bobbies show what they think of those unruly rock 'n' rollers by turning a fire hose on a bunch of Rolling Stones fans gathered at a planned TV taping in Manchester …
1966, The Beatles arrive in New York for a concert at Shea Stadium … a couple of girl fans threaten to jump from their hotel room's 22nd-floor window unless they see the group … they get to see some cops instead and are charged with disorderly conduct …
1967, The New York Times reports on a new noise-reduction system for records and tapes pioneered by the Dolby brothers … drummers everywhere pan the system as a cymbal killer …
1968, Who drummer Keith Moon caps a truly bacchanalian 21st birthday bash by driving a Rolls Royce into the pool at a Holiday Inn in Flint, MI … though a Moon biographer maintains it never happened, Who vocalist Roger Daltrey begs to differ … "I saw it. We paid the bill (for the damages). It was $50,000. It's vague now, but I just remember the car in the pool. And the chaos. And Keith being rushed off to the dentist after being arrested because he knocked his front tooth out … But then I read in the biography that never happened, so maybe I've been living someone else's life, I don't know" …
1969, Frank Zappa's "tired of playing for people who clap for all the wrong reasons," so he breaks up the Mothers of Invention … most of the other Mothers take it very hard since Frank didn't found the band and they have all been putting up with his dictatorial style in order to get to the big time … at the moment they finally arrive, Frank cuts them loose … some of the band members will play in later incarnations of the Mothers, but the original lineup is history …
1970, Duane Allman begins sessions as a member of Derek & The Dominos … Eric Clapton praises Allman as the catalyst in a double-album project, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, that is completed in only 10 days …
1975, Queen begins recording "Bohemian Rhapsody" at Rockfield Studio One in Monmouth, Wales … altogether, five studios will be used, making it one of the most expensive singles ever … the 30-second opera portion takes three weeks to record with 180 overdubbed voices … the vocal harmony parts are duplicated so many times the original vocal parts are eight generations down … the original 24-track tape becomes so worn it has to be copied to a fresh tape …
1981, some simpering loser whose name we won't mention is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the murder of John Lennon …
1986, Paul Simon releases his landmark Graceland album …
1990, a Nevada court exonerates heavy metal band Judas Priest in a $6.2 million civil suit filed by the parents of two youths who shot themselves allegedly as a result of listening to the band's records …
1992, after 10 years of going steady, Sting and Trudi Styler tie the knot …
1994, drummer Dave Abbruzzese is dismissed as Pearl Jam's drummer … though the band tells the media he left to pursue music studies, Abbruzzese maintains he was fired for reasons unknown … fans speculate that singer Eddie Vedder was unhappy with Abbruzzese's media-friendly embrace of the band's superstardom, something the other members were uncomfortable with … Jimmy Buffett loses control of his plane on takeoff from Nantucket, MA … it flips and splashes down in the cold North Atlantic but Buffett is able to swim to safety … parrot heads everywhere breathe a sigh of relief …
1995, singer Natalie Merchant becomes the first guest on Elektra's new online chat site … the former 10,000 Maniacs frontwoman later says she won't make a habit of virtual chatting as it hurts her eyes and would make her feel lonely when her computer's off …
1997, a 50-mile section of Interstate 65 in Alabama is dedicated as the "Hank Williams Memorial Lost Highway" …
1998, the little sister John Lennon had been told of but was never able to find materializes in the person of 53-year-old Ingrid Pedersen … she had been waiting for the death of her adoptive mother before coming forward … in Miami, a concert by Compay Segundo of Buena Vista Social Club fame is interrupted by a bomb threat … Segundo is accompanied by 13 fellow Cuban musicians all given special visas by the U.S. State Department … though no culprit is found, it is suspected the bomb scare came from an anti-Castro Cuban emigre …
2004, Queen becomes the first band to have a rock album legally released in Iran … the album is a compilation of the band's hits and includes an insert with lyrics and production notes … Queen's vocalist, Freddie Mercury, was of Iranian extraction …
2005, Robert Moog, inventor of the Moog synthesizer, dies from a brain tumor at the age of 71 … in 1964 he demonstrated his first synthesizer that used a keyboard and controller … by 1971, his company, Moog Music, is producing the MiniMoog Model D, one of the first portable synths that soon will be a standard part of the keyboard array of artists such as Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman …
2006, Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton undergoes treatment for throat cancer, forcing him to sit out the first half of the band's Route of All Evil Tour, the first time he has missed any shows in the band's history … longtime band friend David Hull fills in until his return … a settlement of five separate suits is struck between Apple, maker of the category-leading iPod, and rival Creative Technology, manufacturer of the Zen player … the computer maker agrees to pay Creative $100 million in return for the use of Creative's patented technology which it had charged Apple had incorporated into its iPod … the payout gives Creative a shot in the arm but its trouncing in the marketplace by Apple continues unabated …
2007, now you can call him "Dr. May" … Queen guitarist Brian May earns his PhD in astronomy from London's Imperial College … May handed in his 48,000-word doctoral thesis, "Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud," earlier in the month—36 years after he started it—and then took a three-hour oral exam … May already has two honorary doctorates … The Stones wrap their Bigger Bang tour having grossed $558 million, eclipsing the record formerly held by U2's 2005 Vertigo tour that brought in a paltry $389 million … commenting on the end of the long-running tour, Mick Jagger acknowledges, "I'm sort of glad it's done. I need to do some resting" … British neo-soul singer Amy Winehouse postpones her planned U.S. tour three weeks before the kickoff … word has it she needs to kick alcohol and drug dependencies …
2008, the Democratic National Convention in Denver takes on the look of a Lollapalooza show as dozens of top-flight acts descend on the Mile-High City in support of Barack Obama … artists include Melissa Etheridge, Dave Matthews Band, David Crosby and Graham Nash, John Legend, Wyclef Jean, Stevie Wonder, and Daughtry … the inaugural Outside Land Music and Arts Festival is held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park … a flood of 130,000 fans including plenty of neo-hippies enjoy a star-studded lineup headlined by Radiohead, Jack Johnson, Tom Petty, and Wilco …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Read past issues of the Week in Review »
Birthdays
August 20: jazz trombonist-vocalist Jack Teagarden (1905), country singer Jim Reeves (1924), jazz guitarist Jimmy Raney (1927), Paul Robi of The Platters (1931), bluesman J.J. Malone (1935), country singer-songwriter Justin Tubb (1935), Tom Coster of Santana (1941), Isaac Hayes (1942), John Povey of The Pretty Things (1942), James Pankow of Chicago (1947), Robert Plant (1948), Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy (1951), Rudy Gatlin of The Gatlin Brothers (1952), Doug Fieger of The Knack (1952), singer-songwriter John Hiatt (1952), Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit (1970)
August 21: William "Count" Basie (1904), big-band singer Savannah Churchill (1920), gospel singer Clara Ward (1924), songwriter Carolyn Leigh (1926), Kenny Rogers (1938), country picker James Burton (1939), Harold W. Reid of The Statler Brothers (1939), Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple (1952), Steve Smith of Journey (1954), Joe Strummer of The Clash (1955), Budgie—born Pete Clark—of Siouxsie and the Banshees (1957), Kim Sledge of Sister Sledge (1958), Liam Howlett of Prodigy (1971)
August 22: Claude Debussy (1862), classic blues singer Addie "Sweet Peas" Spivey (1910), pianist and bandleader Sonny Thompson (1916), John Lee Hooker (1917), Carolina Slim, born Edward P. Harris (1923), Bob Flanigan of The Four Freshmen (1926), producer Jerry Capehart (1928), Freddie Milano of The Belmonts (1939), Jackie De Shannon (1944), Donna Godchaux of The Grateful Dead (1947), Teresa Davis of The Emotions (1950), country chirper and writer Holly Dunn (1957), Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid (1958), Debbi Peterson of The Bangles (1961), Roland Orzabal of Tears For Fears (1961), Tori Amos (1963), James DeBarge of DeBarge (1963), Layne Staley of Alice in Chains (1967), Matchbox 20's Paul Douchette (1972), Howie Dorough of Backstreet Boys (1973)
August 23: dancer Gene Kelly (1912), country star Tex Williams (1917), The Drifters' Rudy Lewis (1936), Jamaican producer Bunny Lee (1941), Ramon Phillips of The Nashville Teens (1941), Keith Moon (1947), Rick Springfield (1949), Shadows of Knight's Jim Sohns (1949), Jim Jamison of Survivor (1951), Steve Clark of Def Leppard (1960), Dean DeLeo of the Stone Temple Pilots (1961), Colin Angus of The Shamen (1961), The Happy Mondays' Shaun Ryder (1962)
August 24: bluesman and Elvis influence Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (1905), jump-blues shouter Wynonie Harris (1915), country songwriter Fred Rose (1917), William Winfield of The Harptones (1929), David Frieberg of Quicksilver Messenger Service (1938), Mason "Classical Gas" Williams (1938), Ernest Wright of Little Anthony and the Imperials (1939), Procol Harum manager and pirate radio operator Tony Secunda (1940), Joe Chambers of The Chambers Brothers (1942), soul singer Fontella Bass (1942), Jimmy Soul, born James McCleese (1942), John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service (1943), Jim Capaldi of Traffic (1944), Malcolm Duncan of Average White Band (1945), Ken Hensley of Uriah Heep (1945), Heart's Mike DeRosier (1951), Juan Nelson (1958), Mark Bedford of Madness (1961), Pebbles, born Perri McKissack (1964)
August 25: Charlie Burse of The Memphis Jug Band (1901), composer Leonard Bernstein (1918), jazz reedman Wayne Shorter (1933), Walter Williams of The O'Jays (1942), jazz guitar phenom Pat Martino (1944), Tavares drummer Francis A. Donia (1945), Gene Simmons, born Chaim Witz (1949), Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford (1951), Elvis Costello, born Declan McManus (1954), Billy Ray Cyrus (1961), Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard (1962), Mia Zapata of The Gits (1965), country chirper Jo Dee Messina (1969)
August 26: jazz and blues shouter Jimmy "Mr. Five by Five" Rushing (1903), Chris Curtis of The Searchers (1941), Valerie Simpson of Ashford and Simpson (1948), Bill Rush of The Asbury Dukes (1952), Branford Marsalis (1960), Shirley Manson of Garbage (1966), Dan Vickrey of Counting Crows (1966), Adrian Young of No Doubt (1969)
Obituaries
August 20: Blues Traveler bassist Bobby Sheehan (1999), singer Rio Reiser (1996), masterful steel guitarist Leon McAuliffe of Bob Wills' Texas Playboys (1988), jazz trumpeter Thad Jones (1986)
August 21: producer Jerry Finn (2008), Nashville session drummer Buddy Harman (2008), Robert Moog (2005), Tarheel Slim, born Alden Bunn (1977), country guitarist Sam McGee (1975)
August 22: singer Ralph Young (2008), honky-tonk legend Floyd Tilman (2003), blues pianist Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston (1987), bluesman John Lee Granderson (1979)
August 23: high-note jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson (2006), Eleanor O. Guest, one of Gladys Knight's Pips (1997), Skinny Puppy drummer Dwayne Goettell (1995), Broadway songwriter-director Oscar Hammerstein II (1960)
August 24: producer-arranger Gene Page (1998), Doug Stegmeyer, bassist for Billy Joel (1995), Jesse Bolian of The Artistics (1994), Gene Knight of The Showmen (1992), Motown drummer Larry Londin (1992), bluesman L.C. Greene (1985), trumpeter-pop singer Louis Prima (1978)
August 25: R&B star Aaliyah (2001), Ronnie White of The Miracles (1995), bandleader Stan Kenton (1979)
August 26: Laura Branigan (2004), Ronnie White of The Miracles (1995), zydeco squeezebox star Rockin' Dopsie (1993), "Professor" Eddie Lusk (1992), honking sax man Jimmy Forrest (1980), Lee Hays of The Weavers (1981)
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1920, bebop innovator and consummate alto saxophonist Charlie "Yardbird" Parker is born …
1955, Elvis buys his mama a pink Cadillac …
1956, Elvis begins recording his second album in Los Angeles … it is to include covers of Little Richard hits "Rip It Up," "Long Tall Sally," and "Ready Teddy" … Elvis even plays piano on some of the tracks …
1965, another wild child is born this week in the form of G.G. Allin, the punk rocker notorious for covering himself in blood, feces, and urine, sometimes flinging these substances at his audiences …
1963, "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes hits the charts … the song will later be cited as the perfect pop song by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys and one can maybe hear a touch of it in Brian’s own "Good Vibrations" …
1968, The Beatles release the single "Hey Jude" that eclipses Dylan’s "Like a Rolling Stone" as the longest single to receive Top-40 airplay by nearly a minute at 7:06 … it is the first release from newly formed Apple Records and becomes The Beatles’ biggest hit, going to number one around the world … the recording took two days and involved a 36-piece orchestra who also clapped and sang the na-na-nahs on the fadeout … the epic ballad begins with Paul playing the piano and ends with 50 layered instruments …
1970, The Kinks’ transvestite-themed single "Lola" is released … the song, which revives the band’s flagging popularity, was inspired by their manager’s drunken club experience unknowingly dancing with a she-man … Ray Davies had to re-record the line "You drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola" at the last minute because the BBC refused to play the song with its original lyrics, "it tastes just like Coca-Cola," fearing repercussions from the beverage maker … Lola reappears in "Paranoia," a later Kinks tune …
1971, Paul McCartney’s jaunty single "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is the number one pop hit of the week … the former Beatle reveals that he actually had an Uncle Albert who used to get drunk and quote the Bible …
1990, the world of rock and modern blues takes a big hit when Stevie Ray Vaughan is killed in a Wisconsin helicopter crash that also takes the lives of three members of Eric Clapton’s entourage … this same week a Nevada court exonerates metal band Judas Priest in a $6.2 million civil suit filed by the parents of two youths who shot themselves, allegedly as a result of listening to the band’s records …
1995, in a landmark rock ’n’ roll event, veteran rocker Neil Young headlines the Reading Festival with Seattle's Pearl Jam backing him up …
1996, Isaac Hayes, co-writer of the song "Soul Man," writes a letter to senator Bob Dole protesting his use of the song in his presidential campaign that had changed the chorus to "I'm A Dole Man" …
1999, Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx is arrested at a show in Raleigh, N.C., charged with felony rioting and three counts of misdemeanor inciting to riot, assault, and disorderly conduct ... the charges stem from bad behavior at a Greensboro concert in 1997 ... Sixx allegedly assaulted a security guard and encouraged a melee among fans ...
2000, The Doobie Brothers offer 15 new tracks for free download to launch the promotion of their latest album, Sibling Rivalry …
2002, Eminem draws boos at the MTV Video Music Awards after he calls Moby a girl and tries to pick a fight with the diminutive techno popper … Moby had called the rapper’s music misogynistic and homophobic … M also mixes it up with Triumph The Insult Comic Dog after Triumph tells the crowd "Eminem should lighten up. I mean, my mom was a bitch too, but I don’t go writing songs about it." … this portion is removed from repeat broadcasts …
2006, one of the last iTunes holdouts Linkin Park reverses their position and Apple begins selling all three of their studio albums along with bonus cuts and videos …
2007, rock pioneer Bo Diddley suffers a heart attack …
2008, in a marketing move that’s becoming more and more common, AC/DC announces that its forthcoming album Black Ice will be sold exclusively in Wal-Mart stores …
And that was the week that was …
Birthdays
August 27: bluegrass guitarist Carter Stanley (1925), harpist-keyboardist Alice Coltrane (1937), avant-garde guitarist Sonny Sharrock (1940), Daryl Dragon of Captain & Tennille (1942), Jeff Cook of Alabama (1949), Simon Kirke of Free and Bad Company (1949), Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson (1953), Glen Matlock of The Sex Pistols (1956), gospel powerhouse Yolanda Adams (1962), Tony Kanal of No Doubt (1970), rapper Ma$e (1977), John Siebles of Eve 6 (1979), Mario (1986)
August 28: John Perkins of The Crew Cuts (1931), David Soul (1943), Daniel Seraphine of Chicago (1948), Wayne Osmond (1951), Shania Twain (1965), LeAnn Rimes (1982)
August 29: bluesman Jimmy Bell (1910), bebop innovator Charlie "Yardbird" Parker (1920), versatile jazz and blues chanteuse Dinah Washington (1924), gospel singer Marion Williams (1927), Dick Halligan of Blood, Sweat & Tears (1943), Sterling Morrison of The Velvet Underground (1944), Chris Copping of Procol Harum (1945), Stone Canyon Band bassist Patrick Woodward (1948), Dave Jenkins of Pablo Cruise (1949), Rick Downey of Blue Oyster Cult (1953), punk rocker G.G. Allin (1956), Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Frazer (1958), Michael Jackson (1958), singer-bassist Me’shell NdegeOcello (1969), Carl Martin of Shai (1970), Kyle Cook of Matchbox 20 (1975), David Desrosiers of Simple Plan (1980)
August 30: blues pianist Mercy Dee Walton (1915), Kitty Wells (1919), vaudeville-blues singer Olive Brown (1922), John McNally of The Searchers (1931), bluesman Luther "Georgia Snake Boy" Johnson (1934), John Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas (1935), Mick Moody of Whitesnake (1950), Horace Panter of General Public (1953), Sir Horace Gentleman of The Specials (1954), Martin Jackson of Swing Out Sister (1958), drummer Nicky Hammerhead (1960), Rich Cronan of LFO (1974) Well known Ogre and guitar player extraordinaire Gelfogre (1964)
August 31: jazz pianist Todd Rhodes (1900), tunesmith Alan Jay Lerner (1918), "Spider" John Koerner (1938), Jerry Allison of The Crickets (1939), Wilton Felder of The Crusaders (1940), Van Morrison (1945), Rudolf Schenker of the Scorpions (1948), Gina Schock of The Go-Go’s (1957), Squeeze singer-songwriter Glenn Tilbrook (1957), Tony DeFranco (1959), Chris Whitley (1960), Debbie Gibson (1970)
September 1: Brook Benton (1931), Conway Twitty (1933), Tommy Evans of The Drifters (1934), Archie Bell of The Drells (1944), Barry Gibb (1946), Greg Errico of Sly & The Family Stone (1946), The Jam’s Bruce Foxton (1955), Gloria Estefan (1957), DJ Sprigg Nice of Lost Boyz (1970)
September 2: composer Hugo Montenegro (1925), Bobby Purify (1939), Sam Gooden of The Impressions (1939), Rosalind Ashworth of Martha and The Vandellas (1943), Joe Simon (1943), Mik Kaminski of E.L.O. (1951), Simply Red’s Fritz McIntyre (1956), Steve Porcaro of Toto (1957) Jerry Augustyniak of 10,000 Maniacs (1958), Jonathan Segal of Camper Van Beethoven (1963), K-Ci Hailey of Jodeci (1969)
Obituaries
August 27: Stevie Ray Vaughan (1990), KRS-One rapper Scott LaRock (1987), Bob Schol of The MelloKings (1975), Beatles manager Brian Epstein (1967)
August 28: CBGB founder Hilly Kristal (2007), Sun Records rockabilly and songwriter Ronnie Self (1981)
August 29: rockabilly pioneer Ervin L. "Wee Willie" Williams (1999), rockabilly singer-songwriter Charlie Feathers (1998), record store mogul "Waxie Maxie" Silverman (1989), country star Archie Campbell (1987), eecentric DJ and Clash producer Guy Stevens (1981), blues legend Jimmy Reed (1976)
August 30: trumpeter-bandleader Maynard Ferguson (2006), Swedish producer Denniz Pop aka Dag Volle (1998), keyboardist Dwayne Goettel of Skinny Puppy (1995), Sterling Morrison of The Velvet Underground (1995), Thomas Sylvester aka "Papa" Dee Allen of War (1988)
August 31: Carl Wayne, singer for The Move (2004), Cajun artist Joe Berry (2004), jazz vibes man and bandleader Lionel Hampton (2002), rocker Vince Taylor (1991), bluesman Son Bonds (1947)
September 1: Jerry Reed (2008), Aussie rocker Ted Mulry (2001), composer Vagn Holmboe (1996), gospel singer Joseph Hutchinson
September 2: Fritz Fryer of The Four Pennies (2007), saxophonist Dewey Redman (2006), New York Metropolitan Opera impresario Sir Rudolf Bing (1997), composer Otto Luening (1996), violinist Cyril Reuben (1996)
1920, bebop innovator and consummate alto saxophonist Charlie "Yardbird" Parker is born …
1955, Elvis buys his mama a pink Cadillac …
1956, Elvis begins recording his second album in Los Angeles … it is to include covers of Little Richard hits "Rip It Up," "Long Tall Sally," and "Ready Teddy" … Elvis even plays piano on some of the tracks …
1965, another wild child is born this week in the form of G.G. Allin, the punk rocker notorious for covering himself in blood, feces, and urine, sometimes flinging these substances at his audiences …
1963, "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes hits the charts … the song will later be cited as the perfect pop song by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys and one can maybe hear a touch of it in Brian’s own "Good Vibrations" …
1968, The Beatles release the single "Hey Jude" that eclipses Dylan’s "Like a Rolling Stone" as the longest single to receive Top-40 airplay by nearly a minute at 7:06 … it is the first release from newly formed Apple Records and becomes The Beatles’ biggest hit, going to number one around the world … the recording took two days and involved a 36-piece orchestra who also clapped and sang the na-na-nahs on the fadeout … the epic ballad begins with Paul playing the piano and ends with 50 layered instruments …
1970, The Kinks’ transvestite-themed single "Lola" is released … the song, which revives the band’s flagging popularity, was inspired by their manager’s drunken club experience unknowingly dancing with a she-man … Ray Davies had to re-record the line "You drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola" at the last minute because the BBC refused to play the song with its original lyrics, "it tastes just like Coca-Cola," fearing repercussions from the beverage maker … Lola reappears in "Paranoia," a later Kinks tune …
1971, Paul McCartney’s jaunty single "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is the number one pop hit of the week … the former Beatle reveals that he actually had an Uncle Albert who used to get drunk and quote the Bible …
1990, the world of rock and modern blues takes a big hit when Stevie Ray Vaughan is killed in a Wisconsin helicopter crash that also takes the lives of three members of Eric Clapton’s entourage … this same week a Nevada court exonerates metal band Judas Priest in a $6.2 million civil suit filed by the parents of two youths who shot themselves, allegedly as a result of listening to the band’s records …
1995, in a landmark rock ’n’ roll event, veteran rocker Neil Young headlines the Reading Festival with Seattle's Pearl Jam backing him up …
1996, Isaac Hayes, co-writer of the song "Soul Man," writes a letter to senator Bob Dole protesting his use of the song in his presidential campaign that had changed the chorus to "I'm A Dole Man" …
1999, Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx is arrested at a show in Raleigh, N.C., charged with felony rioting and three counts of misdemeanor inciting to riot, assault, and disorderly conduct ... the charges stem from bad behavior at a Greensboro concert in 1997 ... Sixx allegedly assaulted a security guard and encouraged a melee among fans ...
2000, The Doobie Brothers offer 15 new tracks for free download to launch the promotion of their latest album, Sibling Rivalry …
2002, Eminem draws boos at the MTV Video Music Awards after he calls Moby a girl and tries to pick a fight with the diminutive techno popper … Moby had called the rapper’s music misogynistic and homophobic … M also mixes it up with Triumph The Insult Comic Dog after Triumph tells the crowd "Eminem should lighten up. I mean, my mom was a bitch too, but I don’t go writing songs about it." … this portion is removed from repeat broadcasts …
2006, one of the last iTunes holdouts Linkin Park reverses their position and Apple begins selling all three of their studio albums along with bonus cuts and videos …
2007, rock pioneer Bo Diddley suffers a heart attack …
2008, in a marketing move that’s becoming more and more common, AC/DC announces that its forthcoming album Black Ice will be sold exclusively in Wal-Mart stores …
And that was the week that was …
Birthdays
August 27: bluegrass guitarist Carter Stanley (1925), harpist-keyboardist Alice Coltrane (1937), avant-garde guitarist Sonny Sharrock (1940), Daryl Dragon of Captain & Tennille (1942), Jeff Cook of Alabama (1949), Simon Kirke of Free and Bad Company (1949), Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson (1953), Glen Matlock of The Sex Pistols (1956), gospel powerhouse Yolanda Adams (1962), Tony Kanal of No Doubt (1970), rapper Ma$e (1977), John Siebles of Eve 6 (1979), Mario (1986)
August 28: John Perkins of The Crew Cuts (1931), David Soul (1943), Daniel Seraphine of Chicago (1948), Wayne Osmond (1951), Shania Twain (1965), LeAnn Rimes (1982)
August 29: bluesman Jimmy Bell (1910), bebop innovator Charlie "Yardbird" Parker (1920), versatile jazz and blues chanteuse Dinah Washington (1924), gospel singer Marion Williams (1927), Dick Halligan of Blood, Sweat & Tears (1943), Sterling Morrison of The Velvet Underground (1944), Chris Copping of Procol Harum (1945), Stone Canyon Band bassist Patrick Woodward (1948), Dave Jenkins of Pablo Cruise (1949), Rick Downey of Blue Oyster Cult (1953), punk rocker G.G. Allin (1956), Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Frazer (1958), Michael Jackson (1958), singer-bassist Me’shell NdegeOcello (1969), Carl Martin of Shai (1970), Kyle Cook of Matchbox 20 (1975), David Desrosiers of Simple Plan (1980)
August 30: blues pianist Mercy Dee Walton (1915), Kitty Wells (1919), vaudeville-blues singer Olive Brown (1922), John McNally of The Searchers (1931), bluesman Luther "Georgia Snake Boy" Johnson (1934), John Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas (1935), Mick Moody of Whitesnake (1950), Horace Panter of General Public (1953), Sir Horace Gentleman of The Specials (1954), Martin Jackson of Swing Out Sister (1958), drummer Nicky Hammerhead (1960), Rich Cronan of LFO (1974) Well known Ogre and guitar player extraordinaire Gelfogre (1964)
August 31: jazz pianist Todd Rhodes (1900), tunesmith Alan Jay Lerner (1918), "Spider" John Koerner (1938), Jerry Allison of The Crickets (1939), Wilton Felder of The Crusaders (1940), Van Morrison (1945), Rudolf Schenker of the Scorpions (1948), Gina Schock of The Go-Go’s (1957), Squeeze singer-songwriter Glenn Tilbrook (1957), Tony DeFranco (1959), Chris Whitley (1960), Debbie Gibson (1970)
September 1: Brook Benton (1931), Conway Twitty (1933), Tommy Evans of The Drifters (1934), Archie Bell of The Drells (1944), Barry Gibb (1946), Greg Errico of Sly & The Family Stone (1946), The Jam’s Bruce Foxton (1955), Gloria Estefan (1957), DJ Sprigg Nice of Lost Boyz (1970)
September 2: composer Hugo Montenegro (1925), Bobby Purify (1939), Sam Gooden of The Impressions (1939), Rosalind Ashworth of Martha and The Vandellas (1943), Joe Simon (1943), Mik Kaminski of E.L.O. (1951), Simply Red’s Fritz McIntyre (1956), Steve Porcaro of Toto (1957) Jerry Augustyniak of 10,000 Maniacs (1958), Jonathan Segal of Camper Van Beethoven (1963), K-Ci Hailey of Jodeci (1969)
Obituaries
August 27: Stevie Ray Vaughan (1990), KRS-One rapper Scott LaRock (1987), Bob Schol of The MelloKings (1975), Beatles manager Brian Epstein (1967)
August 28: CBGB founder Hilly Kristal (2007), Sun Records rockabilly and songwriter Ronnie Self (1981)
August 29: rockabilly pioneer Ervin L. "Wee Willie" Williams (1999), rockabilly singer-songwriter Charlie Feathers (1998), record store mogul "Waxie Maxie" Silverman (1989), country star Archie Campbell (1987), eecentric DJ and Clash producer Guy Stevens (1981), blues legend Jimmy Reed (1976)
August 30: trumpeter-bandleader Maynard Ferguson (2006), Swedish producer Denniz Pop aka Dag Volle (1998), keyboardist Dwayne Goettel of Skinny Puppy (1995), Sterling Morrison of The Velvet Underground (1995), Thomas Sylvester aka "Papa" Dee Allen of War (1988)
August 31: Carl Wayne, singer for The Move (2004), Cajun artist Joe Berry (2004), jazz vibes man and bandleader Lionel Hampton (2002), rocker Vince Taylor (1991), bluesman Son Bonds (1947)
September 1: Jerry Reed (2008), Aussie rocker Ted Mulry (2001), composer Vagn Holmboe (1996), gospel singer Joseph Hutchinson
September 2: Fritz Fryer of The Four Pennies (2007), saxophonist Dewey Redman (2006), New York Metropolitan Opera impresario Sir Rudolf Bing (1997), composer Otto Luening (1996), violinist Cyril Reuben (1996)
This is the week that was in matters musical…
1814, Francis Scott Key pens the lyrics to "The Star Spangled Banner" while watching the British attack Fort McHenry… the song will be adopted as the U.S. national anthem over 100 years later on March 3, 1931, and because of its rather extreme range from lowest note to highest note and idiosyncratic lyrics, the song continues to be among the most badly butchered vocal exercises to this day… repeated efforts to replace S-S-B with the more peaceful, vocal-friendly "America, The Beautiful" are thwarted…
1955, Little Richard records "Tutti Frutti" in New Orleans at Cosmo Matassa's J&M Studios… backing musicians include Huey Smith ("Rockin' Pneumonia and Boogie Woogie Flu") on piano, Lee Allen on tenor sax, and Earl Palmer on drums, all part of Fats Domino's band… original lyric: "tutti frutti, good booty"…
1956, Elvis begins a five-week run at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Don't Be Cruel"…
1960, the FCC bans payola, outlawing the pervasive practice of record companies making payments to radio DJs to spin their releases … the practice resurges four decades later and New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer collects hefty fines from all the major labels for engaging in the pay-to-play game…
1964, a pair of enterprising Beatles fans pack themselves into a carton marked "Beatles Fan Mail" and arrange to have it delivered to the Baltimore Civic Center where the Fab Four are appearing… their plot is foiled when the girls are discovered by guards checking deliveries… Rod Stewart rasps his first single—the blues chestnut "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"… a different kind of rasping characterizes Dave Davies guitar as he power chords The Kinks "You Really Got Me" to #1 in the UK this same week…
1965, 8-track players are introduced… notable for their low fidelity and propensity for eating their closed-loop tapes, they will give way to superior cassette-based players in the 1970s… The Toys, a New York-based girl group, scores a #2 pop hit with "Lover's Concerto"… the song is based on a Bach minuet… after scoring hits in the guise of a crooner and rock 'n' roller, Bobby Darin reinvents himself as a folk singer with the release of "If I Were a Carpenter"… the Tim Hardin tune reinvigorates his flagging career… although Tim gets the royalties, Bobby totally cops Tim's vocal style from the demo recording…
1966, zany situation comedy interspersed with A Hard Day's Night-style music videos, hey hey it's The Monkees, the half-hour show debuts on NBC-TV starring four young men—Mickey Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones—who answered an audition ad in Variety… the group was formed, and a surefire hit single released to promote the show… the success of the Pre-Fab Four will force a David Jones in England to change his name to David Bowie…
1968, Roy Orbison's home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, burns down while he's touring England… his two eldest sons die in the fire…
1969, during Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's set at the Big Sur Festival, a yahoo in the crowd starts heckling the band for being rich rock stars… Stills, wearing a flamboyant fur coat, leaps off the stage, chases the heckler down, and administers a pounding while from the stage Crosby pleads for "Peace and love, peace and love"… Stills gets back onstage and reflects, "Y'know, we think about what that guy was saying, and we look at these coats and these pretty guitars and fancy cars and say, 'Wow man, what am I doin'?'"…
1971, the Saturday morning cartoon series Jackson Five debuts on ABC-TV…
1974, the influential-after-their-time proto-glam rockers The New York Dolls break up after two albums… lead singer David Johansen will go onto fame as Buster Poindexter ("Hot Hot Hot")…
1977, Marc Bolan of T. Rex is killed outside London when his intoxicated wife crashes their Mini GT into a tree…
1978, The Grateful Dead do a three-night stand at the Son Et Lumiere Theater in Giza, Egypt, with the Great Pyramids as a backdrop…
1979, the first rap single "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang is released… Patti Smith plays a concert before 85,000 fans at a stadium in Florence, Italy… after the show she retires from showbiz in Detroit with former MC5 guitarist Fred Smith…
1980, XTC's new album is Black Sea containing "Majors and Generals" and "Respectable Street"… Joe Walsh announces he is entering the presidential race against political heavyweights Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan… his campaign slogan is "Free Gas For All" and he says he's running to raise awareness about the importance of the elections… Walsh will re-enter the political fray in 1992 to run for vice president…
1981, Devo's contribution to the Heavy Metal soundtrack, an update of Lee Dorsey's "Working In A Coal Mine" is turned into a single… San Francisco's The Residents' release Mark of the Mole, the first album in "The Mole Trilogy"… from the Land Down Under, Men At Work release their debut single "Who Can It Be Now?"…
1984, the burgeoning MTV network holds its first Video Music Awards ceremony at New York's Radio City Music Hall… the show is co-hosted by Bette Midler and Dan Aykroyd and honors the top music videos of the year… the event is conceived as a hip alternative to the Grammys… winners including Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper,The Police, and Herbie Hancock are awarded Moon Man trophies that depict an astronaut with an American flag, one of the network's earliest icons…
1987, former Wailer Peter Tosh is shot to death in his Jamaican home during a robbery… an article in Rolling Stone suggests the killing was actually the result of a feud… Tosh's previous home had been burned down by an arsonist a year earlier… brilliant but mentally troubled bassist Jaco Pastorius tries to get back into the Midnight Club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is severely beaten by a bouncer… Jaco dies two weeks later from his injuries… the soundtrack to La Bamba featuring Los Lobos begins a two-week stay at #1 on the U.S. album charts…
1988, British glam-rock star Gary Glitter makes a court appearance on charges of producing child porn and sexual assault… he is later convicted and imprisoned… Guns N' Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine" tops the charts in the U.S.… the signature opening riff was improvised by guitarist Slash while warming up…
1990, Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks announce they're leaving Fleetwood Mac when their current tour is over…
1991, in a publicity stunt, Alice Cooper sells copies of his new album Hey Stoopid in New York's Times Square for 99 cents a pop… Nirvana's anthemic "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is released… it's part grunge, punk, and heavy metal… future American Idol judge Paula Adbul racks up her sixth #1 single on the U.S. charts with "The Promise Of A New Day"…
1995, Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" tops the U.S. charts… it would later go on to win a Grammy…
1996, Wal-Mart refuses to carry Sheryl Crow's second album because the song "Love is a Good Thing" includes the lyrics, "Watch out sister/Watch out brother/Watch our children as they kill each other/With a gun they bought at the Wal-Mart discount stores."… rapper/film actor Tupac Shakur dies in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas…
2000, the soundtrack for Almost Famous is released… it's notable for including four vintage Led Zeppelin tracks—a first for any soundtrack… Robert Plant and Jimmy Page agree to the tunes' inclusion after falling in love with Cameron Crowe's filmed semi-autobiographical remembrance of a rock journalist-groupie in the '70s… Page/Plant withhold permission for use of "Stairway to Heaven" so the scene that is built around it is cut from the final print… years later, the cut scene is included as a special-edition DVD extra… viewers can cue up their copy of "Stairway" and watch the actors reacting to the song—for example, air drumming—as it plays in the main character's living room…
2004, the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, announces that she and her entourage will travel in a three-bus caravan to Las Vegas and L.A. for a handful of shows … it's been over 20 years since she has performed on the West Coast due to her severe fear of flying… a source close to the singer is quoted as saying, "Her albums don't sell like they used to—she's got to tour"… Johnny Ramone dies in his Los Angeles home after five years battling prostate cancer… Johnny exits surrounded by his wife Linda Cummings and friends Eddie Vedder, singer Rob Zombie and his wife Sherrie Zombie, Lisa Marie Presley, Pete Yorn, Vincent Gallo, and Talia Shire…
2006, the documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival… the movie chronicles the fallout that resulted from the group's criticism of the Bush administration… also debuting at the festival is the documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon that examines the government's campaign to deport John Lennon due to his vociferous opposition to the Vietnam war… Justin Timberlake's concept album FutureSex/LoveSounds is released…
2007, Chicago alt-rock station Q101 spins the hook-laden single "Great Divide" to positive response from listeners while failing to disclose it's the work of the has-been brother act Hanson … Spike, the station's music director notes, "There's a stigma attached to them" … DJs credited the tune to "a mystery artist"… Mötley Crüe files a $20 million lawsuit against drummer Tommy Lee after his announcement that he's leaving the band… also in a litigious mood this week, Prince is reported to be preparing lawsuits against websites such as BitTorrent, YouTube, and eBay charging wholesale piracy of his songs and videos… in his campaign to stamp out Prince-targeted piracy he has retained London-based Web Sheriff, a company that scours the web for illegal usage of copyrighted material…
2008, MTV announces its ending its popular video countdown show Total Request Live after a ten-year run… an Islamic militant leader warns that former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney could be the target of suicide bombers unless he cancels his first concert in Israel… Omar Bakri, an Islamic preacher, says McCartney's decision to perform as part of Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations makes him the enemy of Muslims worldwide… Paris becomes a major Parrothead destination this summer when Jimmy Buffett plays a pair of intimate shows at that city's New Morning jazz club… Journey hits the tour circuit with a new singer they found on YouTube … but the vocalist, Arnel Pineda, a native of the Philippines, is having no fun… when the new lineup debuts in Chile before a crowd of 30,000 Pineda comes down with a serious case of stage fright and it is only after a gentle push from guitarist Neal Schon that he takes the stage… after patching up some personal differences, the original stoner act, Cheech and Chong, hits the road with a series of shows that include classic bits from the duo's records and movies as well as new material… commenting on the reunion that took 27 years, Tommy Chong says, "We went from Nixon to Bush. That's about all that's changed."… acknowledging that the pair are still "herbalists," Chong notes they no longer need to carry a stash with them… "if you need weed you can get weed faster than a pizza almost anywhere"…… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician's Friend copywriting staff]
Arrivals:
September 10: Waldo Semon, invented vinyl, later used to make LPs (1898), R&B shouter Roy Brown (1925), vibist Roy Ayers (1940), Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night (1942), Jose Feliciano (1945), Barrymore Barlow of Jethro Tull (1949), Aerosmith's Joe Perry (1950), Don Powell of Slade (1950), Johnny "Fingers" Moyett of Boomtown Rats (1956), Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama (1957), T'Pau vocalist Carol Decker (1957), Cracker's Dave Lowrey (1960), Bush drummer Robin Goodridge (1966), Big Daddy Kane (1968)
September 11: blues musician Barbecue Bob (1902), tenor saxman Bobby Fields (1928), Bernard Dwyer of Freddie And The Dreamers (1940), fingerstyle guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke (1945), British guitarist-singer-songwriter John Martyn, born Iain David McGeachy (1948), Mickey Hart (1950), Tommy Shaw of STYX (1953), session guitarist Hiram Bullock (1955), Jon Moss of Culture Club (1957), Style Council keyboardist Mick Talbot (1958), bassist Victor Wooten (1964), Moby born Richard Melville Hall (1965), Harry Connick, Jr. (1967), guitarist-vocalist Richard Ashcroft of The Verve (1971), Ludacris (1977), Coldplay guitarist Jonny Buckland (1977)
September 12: bluesman Gus Cannon (1883), Maurice Chevalier (1888), blues singer Alger "Texas" Alexander (1900), Mel "The Velvet Fog" Torme (1925), country vocalist George Jones (1931), Redbone guitarist Tony Bellamy (1940), Warren Corbin of The Cleftones (1943), Maria Muldaur (1943), suave soulman Barry White (1944), Foundations vocalist Colin Young (1944), Iron Butterfly singer Darryl DeLoach (1947), Gerry Beckley of America (1952), Rush drummer Neil Peart (1952), Barry Andrews of XTC (1956), Larry LaLonde of Primus (1968)
September 13: swing sax player Leon "Chu" Berry (1910), bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe (1911), suave bluesman Charles Brown (1922), Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac (1922), Joseph "Mr. Google Eyes" August (1931), producer Gene Page (1938), Dave Quincy of Manfred Mann's Earth Band (1939), David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears (1941), Peter Cetera of Chicago (1944), Fred "Sonic" Smith (1949), Randy Jones of The Village People (1952), producer Don Was (1952), Dave Mustaine of Megadeth and Metallica (1961), Steve Perkins of Jane's Addiction (1967), Fiona Apple (1977)
September 14: composer Johann Michael Haydn (1737), New Orleans pianist Archibald born Leon T. Gross (1912), "Heartbreak Hotel" co-writer and mother of Hoyt Axton, Mae Boren Axton (1914), Pete Agnew, bass player for Nazareth (1946), Steve Gaines of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1949), Free's Paul Kossoff (1950), Barry Cowsill, drummer-bassist for The Cowsills (1954), Steve Berlin of Los Lobos (1955), A-Ha vocalist Morten Harket (1959), Kay Gee of Naughty by Nature (1970), Everclear's Craig Montoya (1970)
September 15: country legend Roy Acuff (1903), alto sax wizard Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (1928), New York DJ Jack Specter AKA Vic Venus (1928), Les Braid of The Swinging Blue Jeans (1941), Lee Dorman of Iron Butterfly (1942), English soul singer Jaki Graham (1956), George Howard of Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes (1957), Mitch Dorge of Crash Test Dummies (1960)
September 16: Scepter Records founder Florence Greenberg (1913), Korla Pandit, "The Godfather of Exotica" (1921), B.B. King (1925), Bernard Calvert of The Hollies (1943), Betty Kelly of Martha and The Vandellas (1944), Kenny Jones of Small Faces and The Who (1948), David Bellamy of The Bellamy Brothers (1950), Wire's Colin Newman (1954), Peter Zaremba of The Fleshtones (1956), popster Richard Marx (1963), Marc Anthony (1968)
Departures:
September 10: Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (2005), zydeco accordionist Beau Jocque (1999)
September 11: New Orleans funk and soul keyboardist, songwriter, and singer Wilson "Willie Tee" Turbinton (2007), jazz pianist-composer Joe Zawinul (2007), Raybeez AKA Raymond Barbieri of Warzone (1997), Peter Tosh (1987)
September 12: R&B singer and James Brown bandleader Bobby Byrd (2007), Nashville session drummer Kenny Buttrey (2004), Johnny Cash (2003), Stanley Turrentine (2000), ABBA producer Stig "Stikkan" Anderson (1997), Jaco Pastorius (1987), country blues guitarist Frank Stokes (1955)
September 13: rapper Tupac Shakur (1996), singer Helen Humes (1981), conductor-arranger Leopold Stokowski (1977)
September 14: crooner-actor Anthony Newley (1999), R&B vocalist Johnny Adams (1998), Cuban bandleader and "King of the Mambo" Perez Prado (1989), bluesman Walter "Furry" Lewis (1981)
September 15: Richard "Rick" Wright (2008), jazz pianist Bill Evans (1980)
September 16: Motown songwriter Norman Whitfield (2008), the legendary Johnny Ramone (2004), Izadora Rhodes of Weather Girls (2004), CBS producer Tom Wilson (1978), Marc Bolan of T-Rex (1977), opera diva Maria Callas (1977), Leroy Griffin of The Nutmegs (1966)
1814, Francis Scott Key pens the lyrics to "The Star Spangled Banner" while watching the British attack Fort McHenry… the song will be adopted as the U.S. national anthem over 100 years later on March 3, 1931, and because of its rather extreme range from lowest note to highest note and idiosyncratic lyrics, the song continues to be among the most badly butchered vocal exercises to this day… repeated efforts to replace S-S-B with the more peaceful, vocal-friendly "America, The Beautiful" are thwarted…
1955, Little Richard records "Tutti Frutti" in New Orleans at Cosmo Matassa's J&M Studios… backing musicians include Huey Smith ("Rockin' Pneumonia and Boogie Woogie Flu") on piano, Lee Allen on tenor sax, and Earl Palmer on drums, all part of Fats Domino's band… original lyric: "tutti frutti, good booty"…
1956, Elvis begins a five-week run at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Don't Be Cruel"…
1960, the FCC bans payola, outlawing the pervasive practice of record companies making payments to radio DJs to spin their releases … the practice resurges four decades later and New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer collects hefty fines from all the major labels for engaging in the pay-to-play game…
1964, a pair of enterprising Beatles fans pack themselves into a carton marked "Beatles Fan Mail" and arrange to have it delivered to the Baltimore Civic Center where the Fab Four are appearing… their plot is foiled when the girls are discovered by guards checking deliveries… Rod Stewart rasps his first single—the blues chestnut "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"… a different kind of rasping characterizes Dave Davies guitar as he power chords The Kinks "You Really Got Me" to #1 in the UK this same week…
1965, 8-track players are introduced… notable for their low fidelity and propensity for eating their closed-loop tapes, they will give way to superior cassette-based players in the 1970s… The Toys, a New York-based girl group, scores a #2 pop hit with "Lover's Concerto"… the song is based on a Bach minuet… after scoring hits in the guise of a crooner and rock 'n' roller, Bobby Darin reinvents himself as a folk singer with the release of "If I Were a Carpenter"… the Tim Hardin tune reinvigorates his flagging career… although Tim gets the royalties, Bobby totally cops Tim's vocal style from the demo recording…
1966, zany situation comedy interspersed with A Hard Day's Night-style music videos, hey hey it's The Monkees, the half-hour show debuts on NBC-TV starring four young men—Mickey Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones—who answered an audition ad in Variety… the group was formed, and a surefire hit single released to promote the show… the success of the Pre-Fab Four will force a David Jones in England to change his name to David Bowie…
1968, Roy Orbison's home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, burns down while he's touring England… his two eldest sons die in the fire…
1969, during Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's set at the Big Sur Festival, a yahoo in the crowd starts heckling the band for being rich rock stars… Stills, wearing a flamboyant fur coat, leaps off the stage, chases the heckler down, and administers a pounding while from the stage Crosby pleads for "Peace and love, peace and love"… Stills gets back onstage and reflects, "Y'know, we think about what that guy was saying, and we look at these coats and these pretty guitars and fancy cars and say, 'Wow man, what am I doin'?'"…
1971, the Saturday morning cartoon series Jackson Five debuts on ABC-TV…
1974, the influential-after-their-time proto-glam rockers The New York Dolls break up after two albums… lead singer David Johansen will go onto fame as Buster Poindexter ("Hot Hot Hot")…
1977, Marc Bolan of T. Rex is killed outside London when his intoxicated wife crashes their Mini GT into a tree…
1978, The Grateful Dead do a three-night stand at the Son Et Lumiere Theater in Giza, Egypt, with the Great Pyramids as a backdrop…
1979, the first rap single "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang is released… Patti Smith plays a concert before 85,000 fans at a stadium in Florence, Italy… after the show she retires from showbiz in Detroit with former MC5 guitarist Fred Smith…
1980, XTC's new album is Black Sea containing "Majors and Generals" and "Respectable Street"… Joe Walsh announces he is entering the presidential race against political heavyweights Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan… his campaign slogan is "Free Gas For All" and he says he's running to raise awareness about the importance of the elections… Walsh will re-enter the political fray in 1992 to run for vice president…
1981, Devo's contribution to the Heavy Metal soundtrack, an update of Lee Dorsey's "Working In A Coal Mine" is turned into a single… San Francisco's The Residents' release Mark of the Mole, the first album in "The Mole Trilogy"… from the Land Down Under, Men At Work release their debut single "Who Can It Be Now?"…
1984, the burgeoning MTV network holds its first Video Music Awards ceremony at New York's Radio City Music Hall… the show is co-hosted by Bette Midler and Dan Aykroyd and honors the top music videos of the year… the event is conceived as a hip alternative to the Grammys… winners including Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper,The Police, and Herbie Hancock are awarded Moon Man trophies that depict an astronaut with an American flag, one of the network's earliest icons…
1987, former Wailer Peter Tosh is shot to death in his Jamaican home during a robbery… an article in Rolling Stone suggests the killing was actually the result of a feud… Tosh's previous home had been burned down by an arsonist a year earlier… brilliant but mentally troubled bassist Jaco Pastorius tries to get back into the Midnight Club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is severely beaten by a bouncer… Jaco dies two weeks later from his injuries… the soundtrack to La Bamba featuring Los Lobos begins a two-week stay at #1 on the U.S. album charts…
1988, British glam-rock star Gary Glitter makes a court appearance on charges of producing child porn and sexual assault… he is later convicted and imprisoned… Guns N' Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine" tops the charts in the U.S.… the signature opening riff was improvised by guitarist Slash while warming up…
1990, Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks announce they're leaving Fleetwood Mac when their current tour is over…
1991, in a publicity stunt, Alice Cooper sells copies of his new album Hey Stoopid in New York's Times Square for 99 cents a pop… Nirvana's anthemic "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is released… it's part grunge, punk, and heavy metal… future American Idol judge Paula Adbul racks up her sixth #1 single on the U.S. charts with "The Promise Of A New Day"…
1995, Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" tops the U.S. charts… it would later go on to win a Grammy…
1996, Wal-Mart refuses to carry Sheryl Crow's second album because the song "Love is a Good Thing" includes the lyrics, "Watch out sister/Watch out brother/Watch our children as they kill each other/With a gun they bought at the Wal-Mart discount stores."… rapper/film actor Tupac Shakur dies in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas…
2000, the soundtrack for Almost Famous is released… it's notable for including four vintage Led Zeppelin tracks—a first for any soundtrack… Robert Plant and Jimmy Page agree to the tunes' inclusion after falling in love with Cameron Crowe's filmed semi-autobiographical remembrance of a rock journalist-groupie in the '70s… Page/Plant withhold permission for use of "Stairway to Heaven" so the scene that is built around it is cut from the final print… years later, the cut scene is included as a special-edition DVD extra… viewers can cue up their copy of "Stairway" and watch the actors reacting to the song—for example, air drumming—as it plays in the main character's living room…
2004, the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, announces that she and her entourage will travel in a three-bus caravan to Las Vegas and L.A. for a handful of shows … it's been over 20 years since she has performed on the West Coast due to her severe fear of flying… a source close to the singer is quoted as saying, "Her albums don't sell like they used to—she's got to tour"… Johnny Ramone dies in his Los Angeles home after five years battling prostate cancer… Johnny exits surrounded by his wife Linda Cummings and friends Eddie Vedder, singer Rob Zombie and his wife Sherrie Zombie, Lisa Marie Presley, Pete Yorn, Vincent Gallo, and Talia Shire…
2006, the documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival… the movie chronicles the fallout that resulted from the group's criticism of the Bush administration… also debuting at the festival is the documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon that examines the government's campaign to deport John Lennon due to his vociferous opposition to the Vietnam war… Justin Timberlake's concept album FutureSex/LoveSounds is released…
2007, Chicago alt-rock station Q101 spins the hook-laden single "Great Divide" to positive response from listeners while failing to disclose it's the work of the has-been brother act Hanson … Spike, the station's music director notes, "There's a stigma attached to them" … DJs credited the tune to "a mystery artist"… Mötley Crüe files a $20 million lawsuit against drummer Tommy Lee after his announcement that he's leaving the band… also in a litigious mood this week, Prince is reported to be preparing lawsuits against websites such as BitTorrent, YouTube, and eBay charging wholesale piracy of his songs and videos… in his campaign to stamp out Prince-targeted piracy he has retained London-based Web Sheriff, a company that scours the web for illegal usage of copyrighted material…
2008, MTV announces its ending its popular video countdown show Total Request Live after a ten-year run… an Islamic militant leader warns that former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney could be the target of suicide bombers unless he cancels his first concert in Israel… Omar Bakri, an Islamic preacher, says McCartney's decision to perform as part of Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations makes him the enemy of Muslims worldwide… Paris becomes a major Parrothead destination this summer when Jimmy Buffett plays a pair of intimate shows at that city's New Morning jazz club… Journey hits the tour circuit with a new singer they found on YouTube … but the vocalist, Arnel Pineda, a native of the Philippines, is having no fun… when the new lineup debuts in Chile before a crowd of 30,000 Pineda comes down with a serious case of stage fright and it is only after a gentle push from guitarist Neal Schon that he takes the stage… after patching up some personal differences, the original stoner act, Cheech and Chong, hits the road with a series of shows that include classic bits from the duo's records and movies as well as new material… commenting on the reunion that took 27 years, Tommy Chong says, "We went from Nixon to Bush. That's about all that's changed."… acknowledging that the pair are still "herbalists," Chong notes they no longer need to carry a stash with them… "if you need weed you can get weed faster than a pizza almost anywhere"…… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician's Friend copywriting staff]
Arrivals:
September 10: Waldo Semon, invented vinyl, later used to make LPs (1898), R&B shouter Roy Brown (1925), vibist Roy Ayers (1940), Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night (1942), Jose Feliciano (1945), Barrymore Barlow of Jethro Tull (1949), Aerosmith's Joe Perry (1950), Don Powell of Slade (1950), Johnny "Fingers" Moyett of Boomtown Rats (1956), Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama (1957), T'Pau vocalist Carol Decker (1957), Cracker's Dave Lowrey (1960), Bush drummer Robin Goodridge (1966), Big Daddy Kane (1968)
September 11: blues musician Barbecue Bob (1902), tenor saxman Bobby Fields (1928), Bernard Dwyer of Freddie And The Dreamers (1940), fingerstyle guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke (1945), British guitarist-singer-songwriter John Martyn, born Iain David McGeachy (1948), Mickey Hart (1950), Tommy Shaw of STYX (1953), session guitarist Hiram Bullock (1955), Jon Moss of Culture Club (1957), Style Council keyboardist Mick Talbot (1958), bassist Victor Wooten (1964), Moby born Richard Melville Hall (1965), Harry Connick, Jr. (1967), guitarist-vocalist Richard Ashcroft of The Verve (1971), Ludacris (1977), Coldplay guitarist Jonny Buckland (1977)
September 12: bluesman Gus Cannon (1883), Maurice Chevalier (1888), blues singer Alger "Texas" Alexander (1900), Mel "The Velvet Fog" Torme (1925), country vocalist George Jones (1931), Redbone guitarist Tony Bellamy (1940), Warren Corbin of The Cleftones (1943), Maria Muldaur (1943), suave soulman Barry White (1944), Foundations vocalist Colin Young (1944), Iron Butterfly singer Darryl DeLoach (1947), Gerry Beckley of America (1952), Rush drummer Neil Peart (1952), Barry Andrews of XTC (1956), Larry LaLonde of Primus (1968)
September 13: swing sax player Leon "Chu" Berry (1910), bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe (1911), suave bluesman Charles Brown (1922), Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac (1922), Joseph "Mr. Google Eyes" August (1931), producer Gene Page (1938), Dave Quincy of Manfred Mann's Earth Band (1939), David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears (1941), Peter Cetera of Chicago (1944), Fred "Sonic" Smith (1949), Randy Jones of The Village People (1952), producer Don Was (1952), Dave Mustaine of Megadeth and Metallica (1961), Steve Perkins of Jane's Addiction (1967), Fiona Apple (1977)
September 14: composer Johann Michael Haydn (1737), New Orleans pianist Archibald born Leon T. Gross (1912), "Heartbreak Hotel" co-writer and mother of Hoyt Axton, Mae Boren Axton (1914), Pete Agnew, bass player for Nazareth (1946), Steve Gaines of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1949), Free's Paul Kossoff (1950), Barry Cowsill, drummer-bassist for The Cowsills (1954), Steve Berlin of Los Lobos (1955), A-Ha vocalist Morten Harket (1959), Kay Gee of Naughty by Nature (1970), Everclear's Craig Montoya (1970)
September 15: country legend Roy Acuff (1903), alto sax wizard Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (1928), New York DJ Jack Specter AKA Vic Venus (1928), Les Braid of The Swinging Blue Jeans (1941), Lee Dorman of Iron Butterfly (1942), English soul singer Jaki Graham (1956), George Howard of Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes (1957), Mitch Dorge of Crash Test Dummies (1960)
September 16: Scepter Records founder Florence Greenberg (1913), Korla Pandit, "The Godfather of Exotica" (1921), B.B. King (1925), Bernard Calvert of The Hollies (1943), Betty Kelly of Martha and The Vandellas (1944), Kenny Jones of Small Faces and The Who (1948), David Bellamy of The Bellamy Brothers (1950), Wire's Colin Newman (1954), Peter Zaremba of The Fleshtones (1956), popster Richard Marx (1963), Marc Anthony (1968)
Departures:
September 10: Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (2005), zydeco accordionist Beau Jocque (1999)
September 11: New Orleans funk and soul keyboardist, songwriter, and singer Wilson "Willie Tee" Turbinton (2007), jazz pianist-composer Joe Zawinul (2007), Raybeez AKA Raymond Barbieri of Warzone (1997), Peter Tosh (1987)
September 12: R&B singer and James Brown bandleader Bobby Byrd (2007), Nashville session drummer Kenny Buttrey (2004), Johnny Cash (2003), Stanley Turrentine (2000), ABBA producer Stig "Stikkan" Anderson (1997), Jaco Pastorius (1987), country blues guitarist Frank Stokes (1955)
September 13: rapper Tupac Shakur (1996), singer Helen Humes (1981), conductor-arranger Leopold Stokowski (1977)
September 14: crooner-actor Anthony Newley (1999), R&B vocalist Johnny Adams (1998), Cuban bandleader and "King of the Mambo" Perez Prado (1989), bluesman Walter "Furry" Lewis (1981)
September 15: Richard "Rick" Wright (2008), jazz pianist Bill Evans (1980)
September 16: Motown songwriter Norman Whitfield (2008), the legendary Johnny Ramone (2004), Izadora Rhodes of Weather Girls (2004), CBS producer Tom Wilson (1978), Marc Bolan of T-Rex (1977), opera diva Maria Callas (1977), Leroy Griffin of The Nutmegs (1966)
This is the week that was in matters musical…
1958, while crossing the Atlantic on his way to a couple of years of Army service in Germany, Elvis is asked to put together a talent show and ends up playing piano in the impromptu band he organizes …
1959, The Isley Brothers’ classic "Shout" is released … the song is later covered by The Beatles in a TV special, and again in 1978 by Otis Day and the Knights in the movie Animal House …
1962, Bob Dylan makes his first appearance at Carnegie Hall … The Springfields are the first British vocal act to score a U.S. Top 20 hit with the single "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" … their lead singer is Mary O'Brien, who will later sustain a major solo career using the stage name Dusty Springfield …
1966, The Yardbirds, with lead guitarists Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, embark upon a British tour with The Rolling Stones and Tina Turner …
1967, London’s UFO Club, memorable for being the place Pink Floyd launched its career, is shuttered following the drug bust of its owner …
1969, in the midst of rock’s golden era, The Archies' bubblegum ditty "Sugar Sugar" hits #1 and stays there for four weeks … proving once again that you can’t go broke underestimating the public’s taste …
1970, 27-year-old Jimi Hendrix dies in a basement bedroom at the Samarkand Hotel in Notting Hill Gate, London … the room is rented to Monika Danneman who later claims that she and Jimi were to be married … he had taken about nine hits of quinalbarbitone and is already quite dead when the medics arrive, despite Danneman's later claims that he had been alive at that time … the coroner's report cites "inhalation of vomit due to barbiturate intoxication" as the cause of death … in 1993 the investigation into Hendrix's death is reopened by Scotland Yard in order to clear up discrepancies about how and when the ambulance was called … Danneman is vilified in books and other media, and in 1996, commits suicide after losing a libel case brought by Kathy Etchingham, who originally reopened the Hendrix case … Black Sabbath releases its second album Paranoid featuring "War Pigs" and "Iron Man," songs that would become heavy metal classics …
1973, Gram Parsons of the Byrds dies after a fatal combination of alcohol and morphine in Joshua Tree, California … his coffin is stolen from the airport by his manager, Phil Kaufman, and a former Byrds roadie before it can be sent to New Orleans for a family burial … according to Kaufman, he and Parsons had made a pact months earlier that when one of them died "the survivor would take the other guy's body out to Joshua Tree, have a few drinks, and burn it" … the two make their way into the desert night after toasting their departed friend at a local bar, pour five gallons of gasoline onto the body, and light it … the fire is spotted quickly, before the cremation is complete … days later, Kaufman will be found and charged with stealing a coffin and sentenced to pay $750 for the casket …
1980, a newly formed Geffen Records signs John Lennon … David Bowie makes his Broadway debut playing the title character in The Elephant Man …
1983, the members of KISS appear on MTV sans their trademark makeup … the band had already lost original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, and are trying to reinvent themselves … the ploy seems to work, as their next release Lick it Up became their first platinum album in four years …
1984, Mötley Crüe makes its concert debut at the Monsters of Rock festival in England …
2004, Cat Stevens is kicked out of the United States after a jet bound for Washington from London is diverted to unload him … the former pop singer now known as Yusuf Islam, born Stephen Georgiou, enjoyed a string of hits in the 1960s and 70s, including "Wild World" and "Morning Has Broken" … he released two songs, including a rerecording of "Peace Train," to express his opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq … officials say he was refused entry under the Immigration and Naturalization Act "based on national security grounds" …
2006, three bad boys of rock, Pete Doherty of Babyshambles, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, and Tom Chaplin of Keane, all residents at London's Priory rehab treatment center, are reported to be jamming together … this despite Hawkins having referred earlier to Doherty as being "a talentless waste of skin" … apparently their shared rehab dilemma has healed old wounds … meanwhile the British tabloids have dubbed the trio "The Arctic Junkies" …
2007, it’s reported that director Martin Scorsese is working on a documentary about George Harrison and will have the cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the late Beatle’s widow, Olivia …
2008, in a real turnabout, Metallica fans ask the veteran heavy metalists to turn it down … in recording the band’s latest album, Death Magnetic, the sound was cranked and compressed so severely that the CD is riddled with distortion … 11,000 fans sign an online petition asking the band to remix and reissue the album … it is soon discovered that the same tracks appearing in the game Guitar Hero aren’t compressed to a flat waveform and sound much better … Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks implores Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder to write a song in support of the team’s World Series aspirations … Vedder’s "All The Way" is the result, but the Cubbies still fail to make the Series …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
September 17: composer Gustav Holst (1874), country music icon, Hank Williams (1923), Bill Black, Elvis’s upright bass player (1926), LaMonte McLemore of The 5th Dimension (1940), Steely Dan drummer Jimmy Hodder (1947), James Gang bassist Dale Peters (1947), Fee Waybill, lead singer of The Tubes (1950), Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders (1951), R&B and gospel singer Bebe Winans (1962), Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian (1968), Vinnie Brown of Naughty By Nature (1970), Maile Misajon of Eden's Crush (1976), Chuck Comeau of Simple Plan (1979)
September 18: jazz vocalist of "Mr Wonderful" fame, Teddi King (1929), pop singer Jimmie Rodgers (1933), teen idol Frankie Avalon (1939), Kerry Livgren of Kansas (1949), Dee Dee Ramone, born Douglas Colvin (1952), Joanne Catherall of Human League (1962), Ian Spice of Breathe (1966), Ricky Bell of Bell Biv Devoe (1967)
September 19: R&B singer-songwriter Brook Benton (1931), Beatles manager Brian Epstein (1934), Nick Massi, bassist and bass singer of The Four Seasons (1935), Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers (1940), singer-songwriter-pianist Paul Williams (1940), Mama Cass Elliot of The Mamas & The Papas, born Ellen Naomi Cohen (1941), singer-actress Freda Payne (1942), bluegrass guitarist David Bromberg (1945), Lol Creme of 10cc (1947), U2 producer Daniel Lanois (1951), Nile Rodgers of Chic (1952), country artist Trisha Yearwood (1962)
September 20: singer and New Orleans-style pianist Eddie Bo (1930), funk and jazz guitarist Eric Gale (1939), John Panozzo, drummer for Styx (1948), Alannah Currie of The Thompson Twins (1959), Cowboy of The Furious Five, born Robert Keith Wiggins (1960), Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme (1966), Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, twin sons of Ricky Nelson (1967), Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden (1968), Rick Woolstenhulme of Lifehouse (1979)
September 21: jazz drummer Chico Hamilton, born Forestorn Hamilton (1921), singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen (1934), pop singer Dickey Lee, born Dickey Lee Lipscomb (1969), Don Felder of The Eagles (1947), lead singer-guitarist of Oasis, Liam Gallagher (1972)
September 22: Mike Patto, leader and vocalist for ’70s Brit rock band Patto (1942)
September 23: R&B and jazz bandleader Tiny Bradshaw (1905), Marion Kelsker, assistant to Sun Records' Sam Phillips who urged him to record Elvis (1917), blues guitarist-harpist Joe Hill Louis (1921), jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane (1926), jazz bassist Jimmy Woode (1928), Wally Whyton, leader of the British skiffle band The Vipers (1929), blues guitarist Fenton Robinson (1935), blues, rock, and jazz guitarist Roy Buchanan (1939), singer-songwriter Charlie Fox (1939), British one-man blues band Duster Bennett (1943), songwriter-producer-session pianist Don Grolnick (1947), Jerry Corbetta of Sugarloaf (1947), Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh (1950), John Baker Saunders, bassist for Seattle band Mad Season (1954)
Obituaries
September 17: rock guitarist Al Casey, who worked with Lee Hazelwood, The Beach Boys, and others (2006), Rob Tyner of MC5 (1991), Dave Patillo of doo-wop group The Red Caps (1967)
September 18: singer-songwriter Charlie Fox of "Mockingbird" fame (1998), blues and jazz singer Jimmy Witherspoon (1997), R&B jump blues singer Roy Milton (1983), Jimi Hendrix (1970), country blues harmonica player Will Shade (1966)
September 19: saxophonist Danny Flores of "Tequila" fame (2006), Motown writer-producer Willie Hutch (2005), crossover country singer Skeeter Davis, born Mary Frances Penick (2004) Australian folkie Slim Dusty (2003), contemporary Christian singer Rich Mullins (1997), Motown arranger and session keyboardist Earl Van Dyke (1992), Gram Parsons of The Byrds, born Cecil Ingram Connor (1973)
September 20: Texas swing singer-yodeler Don Walser (2006) Broadway composer Jule Styne (1994), singer-songwriter Steve Goodman (1984), singer-songwriter Jim Croce (1973), Maury Muehleisen, guitarist with Jim Croce (1973), Country Music Hall of Famer Red Foley (1968)
September 21: former Fender CEO William "Bill" Schultz (2006), Bad Company bassist Raymond "Boz" Burrell (2006)
September 22: big band singer Connie Haines (2008)
September 23: blues harmonica player-vocalist-songwriter Gary Primich (2007), Etta Baker, Piedmont blues guitarist prominent in the folk revival of the 1960s (2006), Mississippi blues singer-guitarist Houston Stackhouse (1980), Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh (1974)
1958, while crossing the Atlantic on his way to a couple of years of Army service in Germany, Elvis is asked to put together a talent show and ends up playing piano in the impromptu band he organizes …
1959, The Isley Brothers’ classic "Shout" is released … the song is later covered by The Beatles in a TV special, and again in 1978 by Otis Day and the Knights in the movie Animal House …
1962, Bob Dylan makes his first appearance at Carnegie Hall … The Springfields are the first British vocal act to score a U.S. Top 20 hit with the single "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" … their lead singer is Mary O'Brien, who will later sustain a major solo career using the stage name Dusty Springfield …
1966, The Yardbirds, with lead guitarists Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, embark upon a British tour with The Rolling Stones and Tina Turner …
1967, London’s UFO Club, memorable for being the place Pink Floyd launched its career, is shuttered following the drug bust of its owner …
1969, in the midst of rock’s golden era, The Archies' bubblegum ditty "Sugar Sugar" hits #1 and stays there for four weeks … proving once again that you can’t go broke underestimating the public’s taste …
1970, 27-year-old Jimi Hendrix dies in a basement bedroom at the Samarkand Hotel in Notting Hill Gate, London … the room is rented to Monika Danneman who later claims that she and Jimi were to be married … he had taken about nine hits of quinalbarbitone and is already quite dead when the medics arrive, despite Danneman's later claims that he had been alive at that time … the coroner's report cites "inhalation of vomit due to barbiturate intoxication" as the cause of death … in 1993 the investigation into Hendrix's death is reopened by Scotland Yard in order to clear up discrepancies about how and when the ambulance was called … Danneman is vilified in books and other media, and in 1996, commits suicide after losing a libel case brought by Kathy Etchingham, who originally reopened the Hendrix case … Black Sabbath releases its second album Paranoid featuring "War Pigs" and "Iron Man," songs that would become heavy metal classics …
1973, Gram Parsons of the Byrds dies after a fatal combination of alcohol and morphine in Joshua Tree, California … his coffin is stolen from the airport by his manager, Phil Kaufman, and a former Byrds roadie before it can be sent to New Orleans for a family burial … according to Kaufman, he and Parsons had made a pact months earlier that when one of them died "the survivor would take the other guy's body out to Joshua Tree, have a few drinks, and burn it" … the two make their way into the desert night after toasting their departed friend at a local bar, pour five gallons of gasoline onto the body, and light it … the fire is spotted quickly, before the cremation is complete … days later, Kaufman will be found and charged with stealing a coffin and sentenced to pay $750 for the casket …
1980, a newly formed Geffen Records signs John Lennon … David Bowie makes his Broadway debut playing the title character in The Elephant Man …
1983, the members of KISS appear on MTV sans their trademark makeup … the band had already lost original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, and are trying to reinvent themselves … the ploy seems to work, as their next release Lick it Up became their first platinum album in four years …
1984, Mötley Crüe makes its concert debut at the Monsters of Rock festival in England …
2004, Cat Stevens is kicked out of the United States after a jet bound for Washington from London is diverted to unload him … the former pop singer now known as Yusuf Islam, born Stephen Georgiou, enjoyed a string of hits in the 1960s and 70s, including "Wild World" and "Morning Has Broken" … he released two songs, including a rerecording of "Peace Train," to express his opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq … officials say he was refused entry under the Immigration and Naturalization Act "based on national security grounds" …
2006, three bad boys of rock, Pete Doherty of Babyshambles, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, and Tom Chaplin of Keane, all residents at London's Priory rehab treatment center, are reported to be jamming together … this despite Hawkins having referred earlier to Doherty as being "a talentless waste of skin" … apparently their shared rehab dilemma has healed old wounds … meanwhile the British tabloids have dubbed the trio "The Arctic Junkies" …
2007, it’s reported that director Martin Scorsese is working on a documentary about George Harrison and will have the cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the late Beatle’s widow, Olivia …
2008, in a real turnabout, Metallica fans ask the veteran heavy metalists to turn it down … in recording the band’s latest album, Death Magnetic, the sound was cranked and compressed so severely that the CD is riddled with distortion … 11,000 fans sign an online petition asking the band to remix and reissue the album … it is soon discovered that the same tracks appearing in the game Guitar Hero aren’t compressed to a flat waveform and sound much better … Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks implores Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder to write a song in support of the team’s World Series aspirations … Vedder’s "All The Way" is the result, but the Cubbies still fail to make the Series …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
September 17: composer Gustav Holst (1874), country music icon, Hank Williams (1923), Bill Black, Elvis’s upright bass player (1926), LaMonte McLemore of The 5th Dimension (1940), Steely Dan drummer Jimmy Hodder (1947), James Gang bassist Dale Peters (1947), Fee Waybill, lead singer of The Tubes (1950), Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders (1951), R&B and gospel singer Bebe Winans (1962), Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian (1968), Vinnie Brown of Naughty By Nature (1970), Maile Misajon of Eden's Crush (1976), Chuck Comeau of Simple Plan (1979)
September 18: jazz vocalist of "Mr Wonderful" fame, Teddi King (1929), pop singer Jimmie Rodgers (1933), teen idol Frankie Avalon (1939), Kerry Livgren of Kansas (1949), Dee Dee Ramone, born Douglas Colvin (1952), Joanne Catherall of Human League (1962), Ian Spice of Breathe (1966), Ricky Bell of Bell Biv Devoe (1967)
September 19: R&B singer-songwriter Brook Benton (1931), Beatles manager Brian Epstein (1934), Nick Massi, bassist and bass singer of The Four Seasons (1935), Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers (1940), singer-songwriter-pianist Paul Williams (1940), Mama Cass Elliot of The Mamas & The Papas, born Ellen Naomi Cohen (1941), singer-actress Freda Payne (1942), bluegrass guitarist David Bromberg (1945), Lol Creme of 10cc (1947), U2 producer Daniel Lanois (1951), Nile Rodgers of Chic (1952), country artist Trisha Yearwood (1962)
September 20: singer and New Orleans-style pianist Eddie Bo (1930), funk and jazz guitarist Eric Gale (1939), John Panozzo, drummer for Styx (1948), Alannah Currie of The Thompson Twins (1959), Cowboy of The Furious Five, born Robert Keith Wiggins (1960), Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme (1966), Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, twin sons of Ricky Nelson (1967), Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden (1968), Rick Woolstenhulme of Lifehouse (1979)
September 21: jazz drummer Chico Hamilton, born Forestorn Hamilton (1921), singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen (1934), pop singer Dickey Lee, born Dickey Lee Lipscomb (1969), Don Felder of The Eagles (1947), lead singer-guitarist of Oasis, Liam Gallagher (1972)
September 22: Mike Patto, leader and vocalist for ’70s Brit rock band Patto (1942)
September 23: R&B and jazz bandleader Tiny Bradshaw (1905), Marion Kelsker, assistant to Sun Records' Sam Phillips who urged him to record Elvis (1917), blues guitarist-harpist Joe Hill Louis (1921), jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane (1926), jazz bassist Jimmy Woode (1928), Wally Whyton, leader of the British skiffle band The Vipers (1929), blues guitarist Fenton Robinson (1935), blues, rock, and jazz guitarist Roy Buchanan (1939), singer-songwriter Charlie Fox (1939), British one-man blues band Duster Bennett (1943), songwriter-producer-session pianist Don Grolnick (1947), Jerry Corbetta of Sugarloaf (1947), Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh (1950), John Baker Saunders, bassist for Seattle band Mad Season (1954)
Obituaries
September 17: rock guitarist Al Casey, who worked with Lee Hazelwood, The Beach Boys, and others (2006), Rob Tyner of MC5 (1991), Dave Patillo of doo-wop group The Red Caps (1967)
September 18: singer-songwriter Charlie Fox of "Mockingbird" fame (1998), blues and jazz singer Jimmy Witherspoon (1997), R&B jump blues singer Roy Milton (1983), Jimi Hendrix (1970), country blues harmonica player Will Shade (1966)
September 19: saxophonist Danny Flores of "Tequila" fame (2006), Motown writer-producer Willie Hutch (2005), crossover country singer Skeeter Davis, born Mary Frances Penick (2004) Australian folkie Slim Dusty (2003), contemporary Christian singer Rich Mullins (1997), Motown arranger and session keyboardist Earl Van Dyke (1992), Gram Parsons of The Byrds, born Cecil Ingram Connor (1973)
September 20: Texas swing singer-yodeler Don Walser (2006) Broadway composer Jule Styne (1994), singer-songwriter Steve Goodman (1984), singer-songwriter Jim Croce (1973), Maury Muehleisen, guitarist with Jim Croce (1973), Country Music Hall of Famer Red Foley (1968)
September 21: former Fender CEO William "Bill" Schultz (2006), Bad Company bassist Raymond "Boz" Burrell (2006)
September 22: big band singer Connie Haines (2008)
September 23: blues harmonica player-vocalist-songwriter Gary Primich (2007), Etta Baker, Piedmont blues guitarist prominent in the folk revival of the 1960s (2006), Mississippi blues singer-guitarist Houston Stackhouse (1980), Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh (1974)
This is the week that was in matters musical…
1953, in what is now considered the golden age of vocal groups, seven of the R&B chart's Top 10 positions are occupied by doo-wop acts including The Orioles, The Clovers, The Five Royales, The Royals, The Spaniels, The Dominoes, and The Coronets …
1954, Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips secures his place in rock 'n' roll history when he spins a test pressing of Elvis Presley’s "That’s All Right" on radio station WHBQ … it’s the first time an Elvis record hits the airwaves …
1956, Elvis Presley’s much-anticipated single "Love Me Tender" notches a music biz record when advance orders for the record top one million …
1963, "She Loves You" is played on the radio by influential DJ Murray "The K" Kaufman on WINS in New York … it is the first time a Beatles song is played on U.S. airwaves … Murray later becomes a staunch Beatles advocate and supporter, helping them to break into New York and America …
1967, the previously sedate British Broadcasting Company discovers rock and launches its new BBC Radio 1 service … the first record played is The Move's "Flowers in the Rain" …
1975, soulman Jackie Wilson suffers a heart attack in mid-performance at the Latin Casino in Camden, N.J. … the singer, dubbed "Mr. Excitement," falls off the stage and strikes his head on the concrete floor, causing permanent brain damage … he lapses into a coma and spends the rest of his life hospitalized until death overtakes him in 1984 … the soul group The Spinners donate $60,000 for his medical care but much of that money is consumed in lawyer's fees due to relatives tussling over control of Wilson's estate … the singer will be laid to rest in an unmarked grave … the Wilson family is haunted by tragedy … son Jackie Jr. was killed in 1970 during a burglary, daughter Sandra will die of a heart attack in 1977, and daughter Jacqueline will be shot to death in a 1987 drive-by shooting …
1976, Jerry Lee Lewis nearly lives up to his nickname while taking a little target practice at a soda bottle with his .357 magnum … The Killer completely misses the bottle and shoots his bass player, Norman "Butch" Owens, twice in the chest … Owens reportedly clutches his chest and staggers out onto the front porch before collapsing … Owens lives to sue Lewis, who is charged with shooting a firearm within city limits …
1982, the first compact discs and players hit the market in Japan … a joint venture between Sony and Philips, the CD will become a dominant musical format within five years …
1991, arguably one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, the legendary Miles Davis leaves this mortal coil …
1996, Smashing Pumpkins get off to a delayed tour start … the band needed extra time to integrate former Filter drummer Matt Walker and former Frogs' keyboardist Dennis Flemion … the pair replace former keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin who died three months earlier from a heroin OD and drummer Jimmie Chamberlin who was canned following a drug possession bust … leader Billie Corgan will later acknowledge the replacements were a bad idea that hurt the band’s music and reputation … in 1999 a rehabilitated Chamberlin will rejoin the Pumpkins …
1997, the Audio Engineering Society unveils the new DVD Audio format in New York …
1998, rock fan Drew Carey hosts a truckload of big-name musicians on The Drew Carey Show in an episode titled "La Ramada Vida"… they all appear as themselves to try out for lead guitarist of Carey's band … the list includes Joey Ramone, Slash, Dusty Hill, Roy Clark, Jonny Lang, Lisa Loeb, Matthew Sweet, Dave Mustaine, Rick Nielsen, and Joe Walsh …
2004, Dolly Parton, who is considering breast-reduction surgery, complains, "My boobs are killing me and I don’t know if I can stand the pain any longer." …
2005, while touring, Paul McCartney sings his reportedly anti-Yoko song from 1971 "Too Many People" … a few days later, while accepting a posthumous tribute for John Lennon at the Q Awards in London, Ono recounts how her late husband asked why his songs were not covered as extensively as McCartney’s, to which she had replied, "You’re a good songwriter, it’s not just 'June' and 'spoon' that you write"… later, she comments on her earlier remarks saying, "I certainly did not mean to hurt Paul, and if I did, I’m very sorry." …
2006, following a six-month hiatus prompted by Steven Tyler's surgery for a broken blood vessel in his larynx and bassman Tom Hamilton's chemo treatments for throat cancer, Aerosmith reunites for a show at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts … it's been a tough year for the band with Tyler slicing his hand while opening a suitcase and battling hepatitis C …
2007, Van Halen kicks off its first reunion tour since 1984 in Charlotte, North Carolina with David Lee Roth aboard … the band rips through a best-of set list with Eddie Van Halen and Roth bouncing off each other without a hint of the bad blood that has existed between the pair for decades … Eric Clapton's Clapton: the Autobiography is released … the guitar maestro candidly addresses the highs and lows of his career and life including marital troubles, drug and alcohol problems, and the death of his son …
2008, E Street Band axeman Nils Lofgren undergoes double hip replacement surgery …
And that was the week that was.
Birthdays
September 24: gospel, blues, and doo-wop singer Allen Bunn (1924), Carl Feaster of The Chords (1930), actor and singer-songwriter Anthony Newley (1931), Ventures drummer Mel Taylor (1933), James "Shep" Sheppard of Shep & The Limelites (1935), session reed player Steve Douglas (1938), Barbara Allbut of The Angels (1940), Phyllis Allbut of The Angels (1942), Linda McCartney (1942), Gerry Marsden of Gerry And The Pacemakers (1942), Cedric Dent of Take 6 (1962), Marty Cintron of No Mercy (1971)
September 25: Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich (1906), Erik Darling of The Rooftop Singers (1933), bluesman Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes (1936), Ian Tyson of folk duo Ian and Sylvia (1933), Joseph Russell of The Persuasions (1939), Wade Flemons of Earth, Wind and Fire (1940), co-founder of Love, Bryan MacLean (1946), Italian rocker Zucchero (1955), actor and hip-hop artist Will Smith (1968), Diana Ortiz of Dream (1985)
September 26: George Gershwin (1898), New Orleans guitarist Rene Hall (1912), country singer Marty Robbins (1925), George Chambers of The Chambers Brothers (1931), Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music (1945), country singer Lynn Anderson (1947), Olivia Newton-John (1948), Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos (1954), Craig Chaquico of Jefferson Starship (1954), country vocalist Carlene Carter (1955), Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl (1962), Cindy Herron of En Vogue (1965), Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon (1967), Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men (1972), pop and R&B singer Christina Milian (1981)
September 27: bluesman "Mighty" Joe Young (1927), producer Don Nix (1941), Randy Bachman of BTO (1943), Meat Loaf aka Marvin Lee Aday (1947), Greg Ham of Men At Work (1953), reggae bassist Robbie Shakespeare (1953), teen throb Shaun Cassidy (1958), Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind (1966), Mark Calderon of Color Me Badd (1970), Avril Lavigne (1984)
September 28: Ed Sullivan (1902), bluesman Houston Stackhouse (1910), country singer Tommy Collins (1930), gospel singer Joseph Hutchinson (1931), Chicago blues songstress Koko Taylor (1935), soul singer and former Drifter Ben E. King (1938), bassist Nick St. Nicholas of Steppenwolf (1943), jazz pianist Kenny Kirkland (1955), George Lynch of Dokken (1955), Alannah Currie of The Thompson Twins (1959), pop singer Jennifer Rush (1960), teen popster Hilary Duff (1987)
September 29: Gene Autry (1907), Jerry Lee Lewis (1935), jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty (1942), singer-songwriter Tommy Boyce (1944), Mark Farner of Grand Funk (1948), Mike Pinera of Iron Butterfly (1948), Suzzy Roche of The Roches (1956), Les Claypool of Primus (1963), Barry D of Jesus Jones (1965), Brad Smith of Blind Melon (1968)
September 30: jazz drummer Buddy Rich (1917), New Orleans soul man Chris Kenner (1929), soul and gospel singer Cissy Houston (1933), crooner Johnny Mathis (1935), soul singer Z.Z. Hill (1935), Frankie Lymon (1942), Dewey Martin of Buffalo Springfield (1942), producer Gus Dudgeon (1942), Marilyn McCoo of The 5th Dimension (1943), Sylvia Peterson of The Chiffons (1946), Mark Bolan of T. Rex (1947), R&B singer Patrice Rushen (1954), singer-songwriter Basia (1956), Trey Anastasio of Phish (1964), Robby Takac of The Goo Goo Dolls (1964)
Obituaries
September 24: British folk singer-songwriter Matthew Jay (2003), folk rocker Tim Rose (2002)
September 25: Jamie Lyons of The Music Explosion (2006), Steve Canaday of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils (1999), Led Zeppelin's hard-hitting drummer John Bonham (1980)
September 26: eclectic British vocalist Robert Palmer (2003), songwriter Carl Sigman (2000), jazz diva Betty Carter (1998), pianist and writer Arnold Shaw (1989), blues guitarist Auburn "Pat" Hare (1980), "Empress of the Blues" Bessie Smith (1937)
September 27: rockabilly guitarist Paul Burlison (2003), Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch (1979)
September 28: country star Bob Gibson (1996), Marcels baritone singer Allen Johnson (1995), D.O.A. drummer Ken "Dimwit" Montgomery (1994), jazz titan Miles Davis (1991), Rory Storm born Alan Caldwell (1972), D.J. Dewey Phillips (1968), bandleader Lucky Millinder (1966)
September 29: D.J. Scott Muni (2004)
September 30: Moonglows singer Prentiss Barnes (2006), songwriter-psychologist Jacques Levy (2004), Texas rockabilly pioneer Ronnie Dawson (2003), disco-era songwriter Paul Jabara (1992), pop singer Mary Ford (1977)
1953, in what is now considered the golden age of vocal groups, seven of the R&B chart's Top 10 positions are occupied by doo-wop acts including The Orioles, The Clovers, The Five Royales, The Royals, The Spaniels, The Dominoes, and The Coronets …
1954, Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips secures his place in rock 'n' roll history when he spins a test pressing of Elvis Presley’s "That’s All Right" on radio station WHBQ … it’s the first time an Elvis record hits the airwaves …
1956, Elvis Presley’s much-anticipated single "Love Me Tender" notches a music biz record when advance orders for the record top one million …
1963, "She Loves You" is played on the radio by influential DJ Murray "The K" Kaufman on WINS in New York … it is the first time a Beatles song is played on U.S. airwaves … Murray later becomes a staunch Beatles advocate and supporter, helping them to break into New York and America …
1967, the previously sedate British Broadcasting Company discovers rock and launches its new BBC Radio 1 service … the first record played is The Move's "Flowers in the Rain" …
1975, soulman Jackie Wilson suffers a heart attack in mid-performance at the Latin Casino in Camden, N.J. … the singer, dubbed "Mr. Excitement," falls off the stage and strikes his head on the concrete floor, causing permanent brain damage … he lapses into a coma and spends the rest of his life hospitalized until death overtakes him in 1984 … the soul group The Spinners donate $60,000 for his medical care but much of that money is consumed in lawyer's fees due to relatives tussling over control of Wilson's estate … the singer will be laid to rest in an unmarked grave … the Wilson family is haunted by tragedy … son Jackie Jr. was killed in 1970 during a burglary, daughter Sandra will die of a heart attack in 1977, and daughter Jacqueline will be shot to death in a 1987 drive-by shooting …
1976, Jerry Lee Lewis nearly lives up to his nickname while taking a little target practice at a soda bottle with his .357 magnum … The Killer completely misses the bottle and shoots his bass player, Norman "Butch" Owens, twice in the chest … Owens reportedly clutches his chest and staggers out onto the front porch before collapsing … Owens lives to sue Lewis, who is charged with shooting a firearm within city limits …
1982, the first compact discs and players hit the market in Japan … a joint venture between Sony and Philips, the CD will become a dominant musical format within five years …
1991, arguably one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, the legendary Miles Davis leaves this mortal coil …
1996, Smashing Pumpkins get off to a delayed tour start … the band needed extra time to integrate former Filter drummer Matt Walker and former Frogs' keyboardist Dennis Flemion … the pair replace former keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin who died three months earlier from a heroin OD and drummer Jimmie Chamberlin who was canned following a drug possession bust … leader Billie Corgan will later acknowledge the replacements were a bad idea that hurt the band’s music and reputation … in 1999 a rehabilitated Chamberlin will rejoin the Pumpkins …
1997, the Audio Engineering Society unveils the new DVD Audio format in New York …
1998, rock fan Drew Carey hosts a truckload of big-name musicians on The Drew Carey Show in an episode titled "La Ramada Vida"… they all appear as themselves to try out for lead guitarist of Carey's band … the list includes Joey Ramone, Slash, Dusty Hill, Roy Clark, Jonny Lang, Lisa Loeb, Matthew Sweet, Dave Mustaine, Rick Nielsen, and Joe Walsh …
2004, Dolly Parton, who is considering breast-reduction surgery, complains, "My boobs are killing me and I don’t know if I can stand the pain any longer." …
2005, while touring, Paul McCartney sings his reportedly anti-Yoko song from 1971 "Too Many People" … a few days later, while accepting a posthumous tribute for John Lennon at the Q Awards in London, Ono recounts how her late husband asked why his songs were not covered as extensively as McCartney’s, to which she had replied, "You’re a good songwriter, it’s not just 'June' and 'spoon' that you write"… later, she comments on her earlier remarks saying, "I certainly did not mean to hurt Paul, and if I did, I’m very sorry." …
2006, following a six-month hiatus prompted by Steven Tyler's surgery for a broken blood vessel in his larynx and bassman Tom Hamilton's chemo treatments for throat cancer, Aerosmith reunites for a show at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts … it's been a tough year for the band with Tyler slicing his hand while opening a suitcase and battling hepatitis C …
2007, Van Halen kicks off its first reunion tour since 1984 in Charlotte, North Carolina with David Lee Roth aboard … the band rips through a best-of set list with Eddie Van Halen and Roth bouncing off each other without a hint of the bad blood that has existed between the pair for decades … Eric Clapton's Clapton: the Autobiography is released … the guitar maestro candidly addresses the highs and lows of his career and life including marital troubles, drug and alcohol problems, and the death of his son …
2008, E Street Band axeman Nils Lofgren undergoes double hip replacement surgery …
And that was the week that was.
Birthdays
September 24: gospel, blues, and doo-wop singer Allen Bunn (1924), Carl Feaster of The Chords (1930), actor and singer-songwriter Anthony Newley (1931), Ventures drummer Mel Taylor (1933), James "Shep" Sheppard of Shep & The Limelites (1935), session reed player Steve Douglas (1938), Barbara Allbut of The Angels (1940), Phyllis Allbut of The Angels (1942), Linda McCartney (1942), Gerry Marsden of Gerry And The Pacemakers (1942), Cedric Dent of Take 6 (1962), Marty Cintron of No Mercy (1971)
September 25: Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich (1906), Erik Darling of The Rooftop Singers (1933), bluesman Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes (1936), Ian Tyson of folk duo Ian and Sylvia (1933), Joseph Russell of The Persuasions (1939), Wade Flemons of Earth, Wind and Fire (1940), co-founder of Love, Bryan MacLean (1946), Italian rocker Zucchero (1955), actor and hip-hop artist Will Smith (1968), Diana Ortiz of Dream (1985)
September 26: George Gershwin (1898), New Orleans guitarist Rene Hall (1912), country singer Marty Robbins (1925), George Chambers of The Chambers Brothers (1931), Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music (1945), country singer Lynn Anderson (1947), Olivia Newton-John (1948), Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos (1954), Craig Chaquico of Jefferson Starship (1954), country vocalist Carlene Carter (1955), Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl (1962), Cindy Herron of En Vogue (1965), Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon (1967), Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men (1972), pop and R&B singer Christina Milian (1981)
September 27: bluesman "Mighty" Joe Young (1927), producer Don Nix (1941), Randy Bachman of BTO (1943), Meat Loaf aka Marvin Lee Aday (1947), Greg Ham of Men At Work (1953), reggae bassist Robbie Shakespeare (1953), teen throb Shaun Cassidy (1958), Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind (1966), Mark Calderon of Color Me Badd (1970), Avril Lavigne (1984)
September 28: Ed Sullivan (1902), bluesman Houston Stackhouse (1910), country singer Tommy Collins (1930), gospel singer Joseph Hutchinson (1931), Chicago blues songstress Koko Taylor (1935), soul singer and former Drifter Ben E. King (1938), bassist Nick St. Nicholas of Steppenwolf (1943), jazz pianist Kenny Kirkland (1955), George Lynch of Dokken (1955), Alannah Currie of The Thompson Twins (1959), pop singer Jennifer Rush (1960), teen popster Hilary Duff (1987)
September 29: Gene Autry (1907), Jerry Lee Lewis (1935), jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty (1942), singer-songwriter Tommy Boyce (1944), Mark Farner of Grand Funk (1948), Mike Pinera of Iron Butterfly (1948), Suzzy Roche of The Roches (1956), Les Claypool of Primus (1963), Barry D of Jesus Jones (1965), Brad Smith of Blind Melon (1968)
September 30: jazz drummer Buddy Rich (1917), New Orleans soul man Chris Kenner (1929), soul and gospel singer Cissy Houston (1933), crooner Johnny Mathis (1935), soul singer Z.Z. Hill (1935), Frankie Lymon (1942), Dewey Martin of Buffalo Springfield (1942), producer Gus Dudgeon (1942), Marilyn McCoo of The 5th Dimension (1943), Sylvia Peterson of The Chiffons (1946), Mark Bolan of T. Rex (1947), R&B singer Patrice Rushen (1954), singer-songwriter Basia (1956), Trey Anastasio of Phish (1964), Robby Takac of The Goo Goo Dolls (1964)
Obituaries
September 24: British folk singer-songwriter Matthew Jay (2003), folk rocker Tim Rose (2002)
September 25: Jamie Lyons of The Music Explosion (2006), Steve Canaday of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils (1999), Led Zeppelin's hard-hitting drummer John Bonham (1980)
September 26: eclectic British vocalist Robert Palmer (2003), songwriter Carl Sigman (2000), jazz diva Betty Carter (1998), pianist and writer Arnold Shaw (1989), blues guitarist Auburn "Pat" Hare (1980), "Empress of the Blues" Bessie Smith (1937)
September 27: rockabilly guitarist Paul Burlison (2003), Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch (1979)
September 28: country star Bob Gibson (1996), Marcels baritone singer Allen Johnson (1995), D.O.A. drummer Ken "Dimwit" Montgomery (1994), jazz titan Miles Davis (1991), Rory Storm born Alan Caldwell (1972), D.J. Dewey Phillips (1968), bandleader Lucky Millinder (1966)
September 29: D.J. Scott Muni (2004)
September 30: Moonglows singer Prentiss Barnes (2006), songwriter-psychologist Jacques Levy (2004), Texas rockabilly pioneer Ronnie Dawson (2003), disco-era songwriter Paul Jabara (1992), pop singer Mary Ford (1977)
This is the week that was in matters musical…
1902, the Gibson Mandolin Guitar Company is formed …
1957, rock and roll wild man Jerry Lee Lewis records "Great Balls of Fire"… this same day, while touring Australia, another one of rock’s wild men, Little Richard, announces he’s giving up music for the ministry … his decision was made when a flight he's on develops engine trouble and Richard hears God direct him to this new work … Richard will stick to the new path for five years before resuming his musical career …
1958, an article in Billboard reports that Phil Spector, the writer and arranger of the Teddy Bears’ hit "To Know Him is to Love Him," is studying to be a court reporter … though the reclusive producer, famed for creating wall-of-sound recordings in the 1960s, never takes up that profession, his indictment, two trials, and subsequent conviction for the murder of starlet Lana Clarkson in 2003 presumably gave him lots of courtroom experience … Eddie Cochran records the rockabilly anthem "C’mon Everybody" … the Sex Pistols will also enjoy a hit with their cover in 1979 …
1961, the Beatle haircut is born when Paul and John celebrate John’s 21st birthday in Paris … they meet up with Jurgen Vollmer, a friend from Hamburg who wears his hair brushed forward in a style popular with French teens … Paul and John like the look and have Jurgen give them haircuts in their hotel room … the rest is history …
1966, Grace Slick replaces expectant mom Signe Anderson in The Jefferson Airplane … she leaves her current band Great Society bringing along two songs that will be at the forefront of the San Francisco music scene: "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit"…
1969, blues giant Muddy Waters is severely injured in a car crash that kills three others …
1970, the musical Jesus Christ Superstar opens on Broadway … meanwhile The Carpenters occupy the No. 2 pop chart position with their hit "We’ve Only Just Begun" … the tune was originally created by dwarfish songwriter Paul Williams as a jingle used in United California Bank TV ads …
1971, Creedence Clearwater Revival is sued by a music publisher claiming that John Fogerty’s song "Travelin’ Band" is a ripoff of "Good Golly, Miss Molly"… the suit is later dropped …
1973, Elvis and Priscilla Presley are splitsville after six years of hip-shakin’ matrimony …
1975, Neil Young undergoes surgery on his vocal chords … his recovery is slow and he is obliged to quit midway through a tour with Stephen Stills the following year due to the strain on his voice …
1980, Bob Marley collapses in New York while preparing for a tour … he is diagnosed with cancer and will die seven months later …
1986, Janet Jackson’s "When I Think of You" reaches No. 1, thus making her and brother Michael the first siblings to each have a number-one hit in the rock era …
1990, members of the British alt-rock band Stone Roses are fined $5,100 each after being convicted of trashing their former record label’s offices …
1993, Peter Gabriel’s "Sledgehammer" video is ranked No. 1 in video history by Rolling Stone … it had also racked up a record-setting nine MTV awards … Nirvana’s In Utero debuts in the top slot on the U.S. album chart …
1996, former Smashing Pumpkin Jimmy Chamberlain pleads guilty to disorderly conduct … the charges relate to fellow band member Jonathan Melvoin’s death from a heroin O.D. …
1997, Sir Paul McCartney receives six curtain calls at the Royal Albert Hall for the world premiere of his symphonic poem Standing Stone performed by the London Symphony … despite the acclaim, critics give the composition low marks saying it’s forgettable and dull … a continent away this same day, singer-songwriter John Denver dies when the ultralight aircraft he is piloting crashes into California’s Monterey Bay …
1998, UB40’s "Red Red Wine" is the Billboard No. 1 Pop Hit … the British reggae group is getting double mileage out of the Neil Diamond-penned song that they previously released in 1984 when it rose to No. 34 … meanwhile in the Caribbean, the Crossroads Centre of Antigua opens … the treatment facility for drug addicts is bankrolled by Eric Clapton, a former junkie himself …
2004, five Vote for Change concerts in support of presidential candidate John Kerry are mounted across the U.S. on the same night … on the bill in Clearwater, Florida are George W. Bush’s nemeses Dixie Chicks along with James Taylor … Taylor tells the crowd he’s a "big old yellow-dog Democrat" and reveals that his songs "Line ‘Em Up" and "Slap Leather" were composed to celebrate the end of the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan respectively … this same week Melissa Etheridge undergoes breast cancer surgery …
2005, a recently discovered live recording of the Thelonious Monk Quartet featuring John Coltrane debuts in the #2 spot on the Billboard jazz chart … the tape of the 1957 Carnegie Hall performance was discovered in a dusty Library of Congress archive the previous January by a researcher … following protests by anti-violence groups, some billboards promoting 50 Cents’ movie Get Rich or Die Tryin’ are removed … they had depicted the rapper with a mic in one hand and a gun in the other … meanwhile at Coventry Cathedral in England, Yoko Ono observes what would have been John Lennon’s 65th birthday by planting a tree … schoolchildren sing "Imagine" …
2006, Weezer files suit against Miller Brewing Co. after the beer monolith airs ads that include images of ticket stubs for the band’s shows along with those of Audioslave, Devo, and Incubus … Incubus also filed suit in 2005 charging misappropriation of its name … the Weezer action seeks millions in damages for "dilution of the value of the Weezer name and good will"… meanwhile in Cleveland, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame mounts an exhibit titled Revolution Rock: The Story of the Clash, featuring 150 artifacts including lyric sheets and Joe Strummer’s well-worn Tele … meanwhile in California, Grace Slick is on hand to help "Gubernator" Arnold Schwarzenegger christen the first of a new fleet of Virgin Airlines planes with the moniker "Jefferson Airplane" … while the pair do the champagne bottle thing, "White Rabbit" plays … commenting on the name choice, Slick observes dryly that, "The Grateful Dead would’ve been a bad name so they picked us"…
2007, Radiohead releases its newest album, In Rainbows exclusively via online download, allowing fans to decide how much they’d like to pay for the music … a conventional CD release with added material is planned for the end of the year … this, coupled with news that Madonna is leaving her label, Warner Music, to cut a novel deal with concert promoter Live Nation that includes records and tours, leaves the beleaguered record industry reeling …
2008, Robert Plant squashes rumors of a Led Zep reunion tour when he posts a statement on his website saying, ""It’s both frustrating and ridiculous for this story to continue to rear its ugly head when all the musicians that surround the story are keen to get on with their individual projects and move on." … apparently Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Jason Bonham, who have been reported to be continuing rehearsals without Plant at the mic, didn’t get the memo … Eminem releases his memoir The Way I Am … in it the rapper reveals that his blonde hair was the result of an Ecstacy trip and his 2003 song "Superman" was the outcome of a romance with Mariah Carey …
And that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend writing staff.]
Birthdays
October 8: composer Toru Takemitsu (1930), Doc Green, baritone with The Drifters (1934), Tornados guitarist George Bellamy (1940), Redbone drummer Butch Rillera (1945), Ray Royer of Procol Harum (1945), Toni Wilson of Hot Chocolate (1947), Johnny Ramone born John Cummings (1948), Hamish Stewart of Average White Band (1949), Robert "Kool" Bell of Kool & The Gang (1950), Cliff Adams of Kool & The Gang (1952), roots blues revivalist Lonnie Pirchford (1955), Steve Perry of Cherry Poppin' Daddies (1963), C.J. Ramone, aka Christopher James Ward of the Ramones (1965), R&B singer Teddy Riley (1967)
October 9: John Lennon (1940), John Entwistle of The Who (1944), Jackson Browne (1948), P. J. Harvey (1969), Sean Ono Lennon (1975)
October 10: composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813), Ivory Joe Hunter, R&B singer, songwriter, and pianist, best known for his hit recording "Since I Met You, Baby" (1914), inventive pianist-composer Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917), "The Big Bopper," born Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. (1932), country singer Dottie West (1932), soul singer O.V. Wright (1939), singer-songwriter John Prine (1946), Edward Freche of the Neville Brothers band (1947), singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Midge Ure (1953), David Lee Roth (1955), Tanya Tucker (1958), singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl (1959), Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet (1961), Mike Malinin of Goo Goo Dolls (1967), Michael Bivens of Bel Biv Devoe (1968), Nine Days drummer Vinnie Tattanelli (1972), pop and R&B singer Mya Harrison (1979)
October 11: hard-hitting jazz drummer Art Blakey (1919), bluesman Little Willie Littlefield (1931), jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie (1941), Gary Mallaber of The Steve Miller Band (1946), blue-eyed soul singer Daryl Hall (1949), Andrew Woolfolk of Earth, Wind & Fire (1950), Haircut 100 drummer Blair Cunningham (1957), Scott Johnson of The Gin Blossoms (1962)
October 12: composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872), Guitar Gabriel AKA Robert Lewis Jones (1925), Sam Moore of soul duo Sam and Dave (1935), Luciano Pavarotti (1935), Melvin Franklin of The Temptations (1942), Status Quo guitarist and vocalist Rick Parfitt (1948), Irish singer-songwriter Brian Kennedy (1948), Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens (1955), Bob Mould (1960), Garfield Bright of Shai (1969), Dixie Chicks singer Martie Seidel (1969),
October 13: Paul Simon (1941), Robert Lamm of Chicago (1944), Sammy Hagar (1947), Simon Nicol of Fairport Convention (1950), Marie Osmond (1959) R&B vocalist Ashanti (1980)
October 14: R&B guitarist and bandleader Jimmy Liggins (1922), monster picker Mickey "Guitar" Baker of Mickey & Sylvia (1925), rockabilly pioneer Bill Justis (1926), Robert "Barefootin" Parker (1930), Barry McGuire of The New Christy Minstrels (1935), pop vocalist Marv Johnson (1938), British rocker and leader of The Shadows Cliff Richard (1940), Colin Hodgkinson of Whitesnake (1945), Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward (1946), Detroit Emeralds guitarist and vocalist Ivory Tilmon (1948), Danish pop king Tommy Seebach (1949), English musician-producer Thomas Dolby (1958), A.J. Pero of Twisted Sister (1959), Karyn White (1965), Natalie Maines of Dixie Chicks (1974), Shaznay Lewis of All Saints (1975), R&B smoovie Usher (1978)
Obituaries
October 8: singer-songwriter Nicky James (2007), Nat "King" Cole Trio guitarist Oscar Moore (1991), country singer Harold Dorman (1988), Cliff Gallup of Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps (1988), Dr. Demento favorite Jimmy Cross (1978)
October 9: founder of The Modern Jazz Quartet, Milt Jackson (1999), New Orleans R&B artist Joseph "Mr. Google Eyes" August (1992), Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel (1978), R&B and gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1973) R&B sax honker Earl Bostic (1965)
October 10: Darren Robinson, 400-pound member of The Fat Boys known as The Human Beat Box (1995), Lenny Peters of British pop duo Peters and Lee (1992)
October 11: reggae star Alton Ellis (2008), composer Neal Hefti (2008), Werner von Trapp, member of the singing family (2007), BBC star and pop singer Andy Stewart (1993), Edith Piaf (1963)
October 12: songwriter Baker Knight (2005), bluesman Frank Frost (1999), John Denver (1997), Ricky Wilson of the B-52’s (1985), rockabilly pioneer Gene Vincent (1971)
October 13: Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks of The Ohio Players (1996), Shirley Brickley of The Orlons (1977), Ed Sullivan (1974)
October 14: Tex-Mex star Freddie Fender (2006), conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein (1990), Bing Crosby (1977)
1902, the Gibson Mandolin Guitar Company is formed …
1957, rock and roll wild man Jerry Lee Lewis records "Great Balls of Fire"… this same day, while touring Australia, another one of rock’s wild men, Little Richard, announces he’s giving up music for the ministry … his decision was made when a flight he's on develops engine trouble and Richard hears God direct him to this new work … Richard will stick to the new path for five years before resuming his musical career …
1958, an article in Billboard reports that Phil Spector, the writer and arranger of the Teddy Bears’ hit "To Know Him is to Love Him," is studying to be a court reporter … though the reclusive producer, famed for creating wall-of-sound recordings in the 1960s, never takes up that profession, his indictment, two trials, and subsequent conviction for the murder of starlet Lana Clarkson in 2003 presumably gave him lots of courtroom experience … Eddie Cochran records the rockabilly anthem "C’mon Everybody" … the Sex Pistols will also enjoy a hit with their cover in 1979 …
1961, the Beatle haircut is born when Paul and John celebrate John’s 21st birthday in Paris … they meet up with Jurgen Vollmer, a friend from Hamburg who wears his hair brushed forward in a style popular with French teens … Paul and John like the look and have Jurgen give them haircuts in their hotel room … the rest is history …
1966, Grace Slick replaces expectant mom Signe Anderson in The Jefferson Airplane … she leaves her current band Great Society bringing along two songs that will be at the forefront of the San Francisco music scene: "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit"…
1969, blues giant Muddy Waters is severely injured in a car crash that kills three others …
1970, the musical Jesus Christ Superstar opens on Broadway … meanwhile The Carpenters occupy the No. 2 pop chart position with their hit "We’ve Only Just Begun" … the tune was originally created by dwarfish songwriter Paul Williams as a jingle used in United California Bank TV ads …
1971, Creedence Clearwater Revival is sued by a music publisher claiming that John Fogerty’s song "Travelin’ Band" is a ripoff of "Good Golly, Miss Molly"… the suit is later dropped …
1973, Elvis and Priscilla Presley are splitsville after six years of hip-shakin’ matrimony …
1975, Neil Young undergoes surgery on his vocal chords … his recovery is slow and he is obliged to quit midway through a tour with Stephen Stills the following year due to the strain on his voice …
1980, Bob Marley collapses in New York while preparing for a tour … he is diagnosed with cancer and will die seven months later …
1986, Janet Jackson’s "When I Think of You" reaches No. 1, thus making her and brother Michael the first siblings to each have a number-one hit in the rock era …
1990, members of the British alt-rock band Stone Roses are fined $5,100 each after being convicted of trashing their former record label’s offices …
1993, Peter Gabriel’s "Sledgehammer" video is ranked No. 1 in video history by Rolling Stone … it had also racked up a record-setting nine MTV awards … Nirvana’s In Utero debuts in the top slot on the U.S. album chart …
1996, former Smashing Pumpkin Jimmy Chamberlain pleads guilty to disorderly conduct … the charges relate to fellow band member Jonathan Melvoin’s death from a heroin O.D. …
1997, Sir Paul McCartney receives six curtain calls at the Royal Albert Hall for the world premiere of his symphonic poem Standing Stone performed by the London Symphony … despite the acclaim, critics give the composition low marks saying it’s forgettable and dull … a continent away this same day, singer-songwriter John Denver dies when the ultralight aircraft he is piloting crashes into California’s Monterey Bay …
1998, UB40’s "Red Red Wine" is the Billboard No. 1 Pop Hit … the British reggae group is getting double mileage out of the Neil Diamond-penned song that they previously released in 1984 when it rose to No. 34 … meanwhile in the Caribbean, the Crossroads Centre of Antigua opens … the treatment facility for drug addicts is bankrolled by Eric Clapton, a former junkie himself …
2004, five Vote for Change concerts in support of presidential candidate John Kerry are mounted across the U.S. on the same night … on the bill in Clearwater, Florida are George W. Bush’s nemeses Dixie Chicks along with James Taylor … Taylor tells the crowd he’s a "big old yellow-dog Democrat" and reveals that his songs "Line ‘Em Up" and "Slap Leather" were composed to celebrate the end of the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan respectively … this same week Melissa Etheridge undergoes breast cancer surgery …
2005, a recently discovered live recording of the Thelonious Monk Quartet featuring John Coltrane debuts in the #2 spot on the Billboard jazz chart … the tape of the 1957 Carnegie Hall performance was discovered in a dusty Library of Congress archive the previous January by a researcher … following protests by anti-violence groups, some billboards promoting 50 Cents’ movie Get Rich or Die Tryin’ are removed … they had depicted the rapper with a mic in one hand and a gun in the other … meanwhile at Coventry Cathedral in England, Yoko Ono observes what would have been John Lennon’s 65th birthday by planting a tree … schoolchildren sing "Imagine" …
2006, Weezer files suit against Miller Brewing Co. after the beer monolith airs ads that include images of ticket stubs for the band’s shows along with those of Audioslave, Devo, and Incubus … Incubus also filed suit in 2005 charging misappropriation of its name … the Weezer action seeks millions in damages for "dilution of the value of the Weezer name and good will"… meanwhile in Cleveland, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame mounts an exhibit titled Revolution Rock: The Story of the Clash, featuring 150 artifacts including lyric sheets and Joe Strummer’s well-worn Tele … meanwhile in California, Grace Slick is on hand to help "Gubernator" Arnold Schwarzenegger christen the first of a new fleet of Virgin Airlines planes with the moniker "Jefferson Airplane" … while the pair do the champagne bottle thing, "White Rabbit" plays … commenting on the name choice, Slick observes dryly that, "The Grateful Dead would’ve been a bad name so they picked us"…
2007, Radiohead releases its newest album, In Rainbows exclusively via online download, allowing fans to decide how much they’d like to pay for the music … a conventional CD release with added material is planned for the end of the year … this, coupled with news that Madonna is leaving her label, Warner Music, to cut a novel deal with concert promoter Live Nation that includes records and tours, leaves the beleaguered record industry reeling …
2008, Robert Plant squashes rumors of a Led Zep reunion tour when he posts a statement on his website saying, ""It’s both frustrating and ridiculous for this story to continue to rear its ugly head when all the musicians that surround the story are keen to get on with their individual projects and move on." … apparently Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Jason Bonham, who have been reported to be continuing rehearsals without Plant at the mic, didn’t get the memo … Eminem releases his memoir The Way I Am … in it the rapper reveals that his blonde hair was the result of an Ecstacy trip and his 2003 song "Superman" was the outcome of a romance with Mariah Carey …
And that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend writing staff.]
Birthdays
October 8: composer Toru Takemitsu (1930), Doc Green, baritone with The Drifters (1934), Tornados guitarist George Bellamy (1940), Redbone drummer Butch Rillera (1945), Ray Royer of Procol Harum (1945), Toni Wilson of Hot Chocolate (1947), Johnny Ramone born John Cummings (1948), Hamish Stewart of Average White Band (1949), Robert "Kool" Bell of Kool & The Gang (1950), Cliff Adams of Kool & The Gang (1952), roots blues revivalist Lonnie Pirchford (1955), Steve Perry of Cherry Poppin' Daddies (1963), C.J. Ramone, aka Christopher James Ward of the Ramones (1965), R&B singer Teddy Riley (1967)
October 9: John Lennon (1940), John Entwistle of The Who (1944), Jackson Browne (1948), P. J. Harvey (1969), Sean Ono Lennon (1975)
October 10: composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813), Ivory Joe Hunter, R&B singer, songwriter, and pianist, best known for his hit recording "Since I Met You, Baby" (1914), inventive pianist-composer Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917), "The Big Bopper," born Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. (1932), country singer Dottie West (1932), soul singer O.V. Wright (1939), singer-songwriter John Prine (1946), Edward Freche of the Neville Brothers band (1947), singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Midge Ure (1953), David Lee Roth (1955), Tanya Tucker (1958), singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl (1959), Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet (1961), Mike Malinin of Goo Goo Dolls (1967), Michael Bivens of Bel Biv Devoe (1968), Nine Days drummer Vinnie Tattanelli (1972), pop and R&B singer Mya Harrison (1979)
October 11: hard-hitting jazz drummer Art Blakey (1919), bluesman Little Willie Littlefield (1931), jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie (1941), Gary Mallaber of The Steve Miller Band (1946), blue-eyed soul singer Daryl Hall (1949), Andrew Woolfolk of Earth, Wind & Fire (1950), Haircut 100 drummer Blair Cunningham (1957), Scott Johnson of The Gin Blossoms (1962)
October 12: composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872), Guitar Gabriel AKA Robert Lewis Jones (1925), Sam Moore of soul duo Sam and Dave (1935), Luciano Pavarotti (1935), Melvin Franklin of The Temptations (1942), Status Quo guitarist and vocalist Rick Parfitt (1948), Irish singer-songwriter Brian Kennedy (1948), Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens (1955), Bob Mould (1960), Garfield Bright of Shai (1969), Dixie Chicks singer Martie Seidel (1969),
October 13: Paul Simon (1941), Robert Lamm of Chicago (1944), Sammy Hagar (1947), Simon Nicol of Fairport Convention (1950), Marie Osmond (1959) R&B vocalist Ashanti (1980)
October 14: R&B guitarist and bandleader Jimmy Liggins (1922), monster picker Mickey "Guitar" Baker of Mickey & Sylvia (1925), rockabilly pioneer Bill Justis (1926), Robert "Barefootin" Parker (1930), Barry McGuire of The New Christy Minstrels (1935), pop vocalist Marv Johnson (1938), British rocker and leader of The Shadows Cliff Richard (1940), Colin Hodgkinson of Whitesnake (1945), Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward (1946), Detroit Emeralds guitarist and vocalist Ivory Tilmon (1948), Danish pop king Tommy Seebach (1949), English musician-producer Thomas Dolby (1958), A.J. Pero of Twisted Sister (1959), Karyn White (1965), Natalie Maines of Dixie Chicks (1974), Shaznay Lewis of All Saints (1975), R&B smoovie Usher (1978)
Obituaries
October 8: singer-songwriter Nicky James (2007), Nat "King" Cole Trio guitarist Oscar Moore (1991), country singer Harold Dorman (1988), Cliff Gallup of Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps (1988), Dr. Demento favorite Jimmy Cross (1978)
October 9: founder of The Modern Jazz Quartet, Milt Jackson (1999), New Orleans R&B artist Joseph "Mr. Google Eyes" August (1992), Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel (1978), R&B and gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1973) R&B sax honker Earl Bostic (1965)
October 10: Darren Robinson, 400-pound member of The Fat Boys known as The Human Beat Box (1995), Lenny Peters of British pop duo Peters and Lee (1992)
October 11: reggae star Alton Ellis (2008), composer Neal Hefti (2008), Werner von Trapp, member of the singing family (2007), BBC star and pop singer Andy Stewart (1993), Edith Piaf (1963)
October 12: songwriter Baker Knight (2005), bluesman Frank Frost (1999), John Denver (1997), Ricky Wilson of the B-52’s (1985), rockabilly pioneer Gene Vincent (1971)
October 13: Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks of The Ohio Players (1996), Shirley Brickley of The Orlons (1977), Ed Sullivan (1974)
October 14: Tex-Mex star Freddie Fender (2006), conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein (1990), Bing Crosby (1977)
This is the week that was in matters musical…
1908, Columbia runs an ad in The Saturday Evening Post touting its new two-sided records …
1949, future Dead Boys leader Stiv Bators is born Stivan John Bator in Youngstown, Ohio …
1954, The Penguins record the doo-wop classic "Earth Angel" … the song will choreograph a million back seat couplings …
1956, "Love Me Tender" is the first single to enter the pop charts at #1 … Elvis’ recording, based on the sentimental Civil War ballad "Aura Lee," also appears on the Country and Western and R&B charts …
1957, Paul McCartney makes his live debut with the Quarry Men at New Clubmoor Hall Conservative Club in Liverpool …
1958, Tommy Facenda, a backup vocalist for Gene Vincent, charts with a single called "High School U.S.A." … the tune is released in 28 versions, each name-dropping a different major high school across the country … the combined sales get the single to #28 on the pop chart …
1961, 20-year-old Bob Dylan records his eponymous debut album accompanied only by his guitar and harmonica … studio cost is a whopping $400 … filling out the studio’s tax reporting form, he lists his name as "Blind Boy Grunt" … the young folkie goes on to become one of the most important musical figures of the 20th century … meanwhile in Britain, the Beatles join forces with Gerry & The Pacemakers for a one-off show … the combine is billed as The Beatmakers …
1962, "Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit … cannily released to coincide with Halloween, the novelty tune with a Boris Karloff-like spoken vocal reappears on the charts in 1970 and 1973 … James Brown records a live show in the face of objections from his record label—an in-concert soul album has never been done before … Live at the Apollo turns out to be among the Godfather of Soul’s most brilliant performances and the album goes on to sell millions …
1965, a San Francisco collective calling itself The Family Dog presents a rock ’n’ roll dance and concert at the Longshoremen’s Hall … on the bill for "A Tribute to Dr. Strange" are The Jefferson Airplane, The Charlatans, The Marbles, and The Great Society …
1967, the "tribal rock" musical Hair opens off-Broadway … Jimi Hendrix sits in with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers at a club in northwest London … Jimi borrows Mick Taylor’s Les Paul Sunburst and manages to burn some incredible blues even while playing lefty with a guitar strung for a right-handed guitarist, that is, upside-down with low E string nearest the floor …
1968, RCA releases Jose Feliciano’s groundbreaking, bluesy rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" … the blind singer had been roundly booed for his performance of the song at a World Series game earlier that month … Led Zeppelin make their live debut appearing at University of Surrey, England … John and Yoko are busted for possessing pot at their London apartment … a month later, they plead guilty and are fined $150 … this would later cause problems with the U.S. immigration office and the FBI …
1969, with about a year’s worth of practice, practice, practice, under their belts, Led Zeppelin kicks off their third U.S. tour at New York’s Carnegie Hall … also in The Big Apple, The Who start a six-night stand at the Fillmore East with a two-hour show featuring their new rock opera Tommy … Leonard Chess, the founder of Chess Records, dies of a heart attack at age 52 … one-hit-wonders the Crazy World of Arthur Brown reach #2 on the pop charts with "Fire" co-written by lead singer Brown and organist Vincent Crane … Brown’s stage act is highlighted by his wearing a crown that’s on—wait for it—fire …
1971, a crowd expecting ’50s teen idol Rick Nelson to play all his old hits at a Madison Square Garden show turns surly when he insists on performing new material … the hostile reception is later memorialized in his song "Garden Party" that becomes a hit the following year … a line from the song goes, "If memories are all I’d sing, I’d rather drive a truck"…
1972, in the wake of weak sales of their latest album Mardi Gras, and dissension by band members over John Fogerty's lock on writing and publishing of Creedence Clearwater Revival's music, the band calls it quits … leader Fogerty goes on to a robust solo career while rhythm section Stu Cook and Doug Clifford eventually form Creedence Clearwater Revisited over the opposition of Fogerty … Chuck Berry scores his first and only #1 Pop Chart hit with "My Ding-a-Ling," an ever-so-slightly salacious bit of silliness …
1973, John Lennon files suit against the U.S. government alleging that the FBI tapped his phone in an effort to deport him … The Stones’ "Angie" is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit … supposedly a paean to David Bowie’s missus, the song is covered by Tori Amos in the ’90s … the Supreme Court refuses to review a Federal Communications Commission directive ordering broadcasters to censor songs with drug-oriented lyrics before airing them … it will be another three decades before the FCC becomes concerned over breasts…
1974, soul singer Al Green is seriously burned when a disturbed girlfriend tosses a pot of boiling grits on him … the incident results in Green becoming a minister … it will be 2003 before he releases another recording of secular music …
1976, Ike and Tina Turner split up their act … the Sex Pistols sign to EMI records for $68,000 … Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots reach #1 on the U.S. hit parade with "Disco Duck" …
1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd fans are stunned this week when they learn that band members Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and Ronnie Van Zant have died along with three members of their entourage in a plane crash in a swamp near Gillsburg, Mississippi …
1978, Keith Richards receives a suspended one-year sentence after pleading guilty to heroin possession in Toronto … he’s also ordered to play a charity concert for the blind … at CBGB’s in NYC, The Police make their U.S. debut … the tour consists of 23 gigs in 27 days across the U.S. in a station wagon packed with their gear …
1979, Swedish popsters ABBA appear in Vancouver for their first North American concert … The Buggles top the UK pop chart with "Video Killed The Radio Star" …
1980, The Dead Kennedys unleash their latest 45rpm vinyl assault "Kill The Poor" … the picture sleeve shows a bulldozer with a scoop full of dead bodies …
1985, A-Ha becomes the first Norwegian group to score a #1 U.S. hit with "Take On Me" …
1986, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards rock out at an affair honoring Chuck Berry on his 60th birthday captured on film for the movie Hail, Hail, Rock ’n’ Roll … former Tubes singer Jane Dornacker, who had gone on to a new career as a traffic reporter, dies in a New York helicopter crash … this week also marks the first time ever that three femme popsters hold down the first three positions on the pop chart … in order they are: Janet Jackson with her "When I Think of You," "Typical Male" by Tina Turner, and Cyndi Lauper with "True Colors" …
1988, Fantasy Records, after more than a decade of rancorous relations with John Fogerty, files a suit claiming he plagiarized his own song, "Run Through the Jungle," during the composition of "The Old Man Down the Road" … it will be 1995 before the court finally rules that Fantasy is fantasizing …
1991, John Mellencamp is hospitalized in Seattle after suffering a dizzy spell … a doctor later attributes his malady to "too much coffee, stress, and not enough breakfast" …
1992, the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Tribute concert in Madison Square Garden includes guest George Harrison, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Roger McGuinn, and Tom Petty … Sinead O’Connor is booed off the stage by the hostile crowd reacting to the singer’s appearance two weeks earlier on Saturday Night Live when she tore up a picture of the Pope …
1995, Generation X loses another distinctive voice when Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon is found dead of a cocaine overdose on the band’s tour bus in New Orleans … Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde makes a return trip to her hometown of Cleveland to sing the national anthem at game three of the World Series …
1997, Elton John’s loving tribute to Princess Diana, a remix of "Candle In The Wind," is declared by the Guinness Book of Records to have become the biggest-selling single of all time, having sold 31.8 million copies in less than 40 days and raising $34 million for charity …
1998, the publisher of Alice Cooper’s "Eighteen" files suit against Cooper’s primary makeup-rock competitors KISS, claiming they ripped off his song "Eighteen" for their song, "Dreamin’" … Cooper has nothing to do with it and hasn’t even heard the KISS tune … asked about the outcome years later, Cooper says, "I think we all forgot to show up at court. Paul Stanley bought me a cheeseburger to make up for the whole thing" …
2001, VH1 hosts its Concert for New York, which raises over $30 million for victims of 9/11 with performances by such heavy hitters as The Who, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elton John, and Bon Jovi …
2003, singer-songwriter Elliot Smith takes his life in Los Angeles … a hero of the Portland, Oregon, indie-rock scene in the ’90s, Smith gained national prominence after director Gus Van Sant tapped him for the soundtrack to the 1997 film Good Will Hunting … Smith’s song "Miss Misery" was nominated for an Oscar the following year … a posthumous release, From A Basement On A Hill, includes material the singer was working on when he died …
2005, Rivers Cuomo, frontman for Weezer, announces he’ll return to Harvard University to complete his last semester for a bachelor’s degree … Cuomo’s higher education had been interrupted a couple of times by touring and recording in the College of Musical Knowledge …
2006, New Zealand country singer Keith Urban checks into rehab to deal with an alcohol addiction, causing him to miss the Country Music Association Awards show where he is nominated in four categories … Neil Young’s 20th Bridge School acoustic concerts host an array of unusual performances including Trent Reznor playing unplugged in front of a string quartet … other headliners include Dave Matthews Band, Death Cab for Cutie, and Brian Wilson … Young sits in with, and energizes, many of the sets … after completing the first leg of a North American tour, Who leader Pete Townshend reveals a new, curmudgeonly persona in an interview with Rolling Stone … the aging rocker disses aging rockers proclaiming that he doesn’t want to witness "old guys in their self-congratulatory mode" … rambling on, he says, "I don't want to go out and see Bob Dylan. I don't want to go out and see The Stones. I wouldn't pay money to go see The Who, not even with new songs." … leading some old-time Who fans to wonder if going out to see the latest incarnation of the Moon-less, Entwistle-less band could result in their being fooled again …
2007, former member of The Smiths and current Modest Mouse multi-instrumentalist Johnny Marr is appointed visiting professor at Salford University, near Marr’s home town of Manchester, England … he’ll teach classes about recording and pop music … on a more peaceful note, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne, and David Crosby sing a rousing rendition of CSN’s "Teach Your Children" and other peace-oriented songs at the Pray for Peace concert held in Washington D.C.’s National Cathedral …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
October 15: blues singer Victoria Spivey (1906), orchestra leader Bobby Gimby (1918), R&B singer Marv Johnson (1938), Richard Carpenter of The Carpenters (1946), Chris De Burgh of "Lady in Red" fame (1948), Tito Jackson of The Jackson Five (1953), R&B singer Ginuwine, born Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (1970)
October 16: Mississippi bluesman Big Joe Williams (1899), songwriter-producer Burt Kaempfert (1923), Nico of the Velvet Underground (1938), Fred Turner of BTO (1943), Bob Weir (1947), Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet (1959), Michael Balzary, better known as Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962), Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips (1969), Chad Gray, lead vocalist for Mudvayne and Hellyeah (1971), pop/blues-rock singer-songwriter-guitarist John Mayer (1977)
October 17: jazz drummer Cozy Cole (1909), recording expert John Mosley (1914), British record executive Louis Benjamin (1922), trombonist Rico Rodriguez of The Specials (1934), Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts (1941), pop singer Gary Puckett (1942), James Tucker of The Turtles (1946), Mike Hossack of the Doobie Bros. (1948), country singer Allen Jackson (1958), Rene Dif of Aqua (1967), reggae singer Ziggy Marley, son of Bob Marley (1968), Chris Kirkpatrick of ’N Sync (1971), Eminem born Marshall Bruce Mathers (1972), hip hop/reggae musician Wyclef Jean (1972)
October 18: Chuck Berry (1926), Ronnie Bright of the Coasters (1938), The Association’s Russ Giguere (1943), singer-songwriter Laura Nyro (1947), Joe Egan of Steeler’s Wheel (1949), Gary Richrath of REO Speedwagon (1949), Doobie Brother Keith Knudson (1952), trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (1961), Dan Lilker, bassist for Anthrax, S.O.D., Nuclear Assault, and Brutal Truth (1964), Peter Svensson of The Cardigans (1974)
October 19: Piano Red born William Lee Perryman (1911), Kings of Rhythm drummer Billy Gayles (1931), Dave Guard of The Kingston Trio (1934), Peter Tosh of The Wailers (1944), soul singer George McCrae who had the hit "Rock Your Baby" (1944), Jeannie C. Riley "Harper Valley P.T.A." (1945), Procol Harum lyricist Keith Reid (1946), Wilbert Hart of The Delfonics (1947), Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers (1948), Nino DeFranco, singer and guitarist with The DeFranco Family (1956), Karl Wallinger of World Party (1957), singer/Broadway actress Jennifer Holliday (1960), Dan "Woody" Woodgate of Madness (1960), Pras Michel of The Fugees (1972)
October 20: jazz innovator Jellyroll Morton born Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe (1890), Johnny Moore of The Blazers (1906), master producer Tom Dowd (1925), electric sax man Eddie Harris (1934), rockabilly-ette Wanda Jackson (1937), Jay Siegel of The Tokens (1939), Ric Lee of Ten Years After (1945), Al Greenwood of Foreigner (1951), rocker Tom Petty (1953), Mark King of Level 42 (1958), James George "Soni" Sonefeld of Hootie and The Blowfish (1964), rapper Snoop Dogg born Cordazar Calvin Broadus (1971)
October 21: bop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie (1917), salsa queen Celia Cruz (1924), manager Jo Lustig (1925), Manfred Mann AKA Michael Lubowitz (1940), Memphis guitarist and producer Steve Cropper (1941), blues guitarist Elvin Bishop (1942), Kathy Young of Kathy Young & The Innnocents (1945), Lee Loughnane of Chicago (1946), Brent Mydland of the Grateful Dead (1952), Go-Go’s guitarist Charlotte Caffey (1953), Eric Faulkner of Bay City Rollers (1955), Julian Cope of Teardrop Explodes (1957), six-string slinger Steve Lukather (1957), early rapper Harold "Whiz Kid" McGuire (1961)
Obituaries
October 15: Canadian punk rocker Frank Kerr (2008), songwriter Terry Gilkyson (1999), Tasha Thomas (1984), singer-songwriter Jud Strunk "Daisy A Day" (1981), Bobby Lester of The Moonglows (1980), pop songwriting giant Cole Porter (1974) October 16: jazz vocalist Etta Jones (2001), singer Ella Mae Morse of "Cow Cow Boogie" fame (1999), Santana keyboardist Rich Kermode (1996), jazz drummer Art Blakey (1990), jazz drummer Gene Krupa (1973), Leonard Chess, co-founder of Chess Records (1969)
October 17: pop songstress Teresa Brewer (2007), composer Berthold Goldschmidt (1996), Chris Acland of Lush (1996), Criss Oliva of Savatage (1993), country-pop singer Tennessee Ernie Ford (1991), blues woman Alberta Hunter (1984), New Orleans guitarist Edgar V. Blanchard (1972)
October 18: soul singer Dee Dee Warwick (2008), reggae star Lucky Dube (2007), singer-actress Julie London (2000), Broadway singer-dancer Gwen Verdon (2000), New Orleans sax man Lee Allen (1994), songwriter Ed Labunski (1980), Houston bluesman L.C. Williams (1960)
October 19: New Orleans drummer Earl Palmer (2008), actor-singer-comedian Rudy Ray Moore (2008), harmonica great James "Snooky" Prior (2006), rock journalist Greg Shaw (2004), Alice Cooper lead guitarist Glen Buxton (1997), soul singer Wade Flemons (1993), Level 42 guitarist Alan Murphy (1989), Delta bluesman Son House (1988)
October 20: bassist Paul Raven of Killing Joke and Ministry (2007), jazz pianist and vocalist Shirley Horn (2005), Merle Travis (1983), Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines—all of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1977)
October 21: jazz trumpeter David Ayler, younger brother of saxophonist Albert Ayler (2001), J Church frontman Lance (2007), singer-songwriter Elliot Smith (2003), Henry Vestine of Canned Heat (1997), Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon (1995), Elvis’ bassman Bill Black (1965), Jay Perkins, brother of Carl and Luther (1958)
1908, Columbia runs an ad in The Saturday Evening Post touting its new two-sided records …
1949, future Dead Boys leader Stiv Bators is born Stivan John Bator in Youngstown, Ohio …
1954, The Penguins record the doo-wop classic "Earth Angel" … the song will choreograph a million back seat couplings …
1956, "Love Me Tender" is the first single to enter the pop charts at #1 … Elvis’ recording, based on the sentimental Civil War ballad "Aura Lee," also appears on the Country and Western and R&B charts …
1957, Paul McCartney makes his live debut with the Quarry Men at New Clubmoor Hall Conservative Club in Liverpool …
1958, Tommy Facenda, a backup vocalist for Gene Vincent, charts with a single called "High School U.S.A." … the tune is released in 28 versions, each name-dropping a different major high school across the country … the combined sales get the single to #28 on the pop chart …
1961, 20-year-old Bob Dylan records his eponymous debut album accompanied only by his guitar and harmonica … studio cost is a whopping $400 … filling out the studio’s tax reporting form, he lists his name as "Blind Boy Grunt" … the young folkie goes on to become one of the most important musical figures of the 20th century … meanwhile in Britain, the Beatles join forces with Gerry & The Pacemakers for a one-off show … the combine is billed as The Beatmakers …
1962, "Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit … cannily released to coincide with Halloween, the novelty tune with a Boris Karloff-like spoken vocal reappears on the charts in 1970 and 1973 … James Brown records a live show in the face of objections from his record label—an in-concert soul album has never been done before … Live at the Apollo turns out to be among the Godfather of Soul’s most brilliant performances and the album goes on to sell millions …
1965, a San Francisco collective calling itself The Family Dog presents a rock ’n’ roll dance and concert at the Longshoremen’s Hall … on the bill for "A Tribute to Dr. Strange" are The Jefferson Airplane, The Charlatans, The Marbles, and The Great Society …
1967, the "tribal rock" musical Hair opens off-Broadway … Jimi Hendrix sits in with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers at a club in northwest London … Jimi borrows Mick Taylor’s Les Paul Sunburst and manages to burn some incredible blues even while playing lefty with a guitar strung for a right-handed guitarist, that is, upside-down with low E string nearest the floor …
1968, RCA releases Jose Feliciano’s groundbreaking, bluesy rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" … the blind singer had been roundly booed for his performance of the song at a World Series game earlier that month … Led Zeppelin make their live debut appearing at University of Surrey, England … John and Yoko are busted for possessing pot at their London apartment … a month later, they plead guilty and are fined $150 … this would later cause problems with the U.S. immigration office and the FBI …
1969, with about a year’s worth of practice, practice, practice, under their belts, Led Zeppelin kicks off their third U.S. tour at New York’s Carnegie Hall … also in The Big Apple, The Who start a six-night stand at the Fillmore East with a two-hour show featuring their new rock opera Tommy … Leonard Chess, the founder of Chess Records, dies of a heart attack at age 52 … one-hit-wonders the Crazy World of Arthur Brown reach #2 on the pop charts with "Fire" co-written by lead singer Brown and organist Vincent Crane … Brown’s stage act is highlighted by his wearing a crown that’s on—wait for it—fire …
1971, a crowd expecting ’50s teen idol Rick Nelson to play all his old hits at a Madison Square Garden show turns surly when he insists on performing new material … the hostile reception is later memorialized in his song "Garden Party" that becomes a hit the following year … a line from the song goes, "If memories are all I’d sing, I’d rather drive a truck"…
1972, in the wake of weak sales of their latest album Mardi Gras, and dissension by band members over John Fogerty's lock on writing and publishing of Creedence Clearwater Revival's music, the band calls it quits … leader Fogerty goes on to a robust solo career while rhythm section Stu Cook and Doug Clifford eventually form Creedence Clearwater Revisited over the opposition of Fogerty … Chuck Berry scores his first and only #1 Pop Chart hit with "My Ding-a-Ling," an ever-so-slightly salacious bit of silliness …
1973, John Lennon files suit against the U.S. government alleging that the FBI tapped his phone in an effort to deport him … The Stones’ "Angie" is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit … supposedly a paean to David Bowie’s missus, the song is covered by Tori Amos in the ’90s … the Supreme Court refuses to review a Federal Communications Commission directive ordering broadcasters to censor songs with drug-oriented lyrics before airing them … it will be another three decades before the FCC becomes concerned over breasts…
1974, soul singer Al Green is seriously burned when a disturbed girlfriend tosses a pot of boiling grits on him … the incident results in Green becoming a minister … it will be 2003 before he releases another recording of secular music …
1976, Ike and Tina Turner split up their act … the Sex Pistols sign to EMI records for $68,000 … Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots reach #1 on the U.S. hit parade with "Disco Duck" …
1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd fans are stunned this week when they learn that band members Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and Ronnie Van Zant have died along with three members of their entourage in a plane crash in a swamp near Gillsburg, Mississippi …
1978, Keith Richards receives a suspended one-year sentence after pleading guilty to heroin possession in Toronto … he’s also ordered to play a charity concert for the blind … at CBGB’s in NYC, The Police make their U.S. debut … the tour consists of 23 gigs in 27 days across the U.S. in a station wagon packed with their gear …
1979, Swedish popsters ABBA appear in Vancouver for their first North American concert … The Buggles top the UK pop chart with "Video Killed The Radio Star" …
1980, The Dead Kennedys unleash their latest 45rpm vinyl assault "Kill The Poor" … the picture sleeve shows a bulldozer with a scoop full of dead bodies …
1985, A-Ha becomes the first Norwegian group to score a #1 U.S. hit with "Take On Me" …
1986, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards rock out at an affair honoring Chuck Berry on his 60th birthday captured on film for the movie Hail, Hail, Rock ’n’ Roll … former Tubes singer Jane Dornacker, who had gone on to a new career as a traffic reporter, dies in a New York helicopter crash … this week also marks the first time ever that three femme popsters hold down the first three positions on the pop chart … in order they are: Janet Jackson with her "When I Think of You," "Typical Male" by Tina Turner, and Cyndi Lauper with "True Colors" …
1988, Fantasy Records, after more than a decade of rancorous relations with John Fogerty, files a suit claiming he plagiarized his own song, "Run Through the Jungle," during the composition of "The Old Man Down the Road" … it will be 1995 before the court finally rules that Fantasy is fantasizing …
1991, John Mellencamp is hospitalized in Seattle after suffering a dizzy spell … a doctor later attributes his malady to "too much coffee, stress, and not enough breakfast" …
1992, the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Tribute concert in Madison Square Garden includes guest George Harrison, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Roger McGuinn, and Tom Petty … Sinead O’Connor is booed off the stage by the hostile crowd reacting to the singer’s appearance two weeks earlier on Saturday Night Live when she tore up a picture of the Pope …
1995, Generation X loses another distinctive voice when Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon is found dead of a cocaine overdose on the band’s tour bus in New Orleans … Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde makes a return trip to her hometown of Cleveland to sing the national anthem at game three of the World Series …
1997, Elton John’s loving tribute to Princess Diana, a remix of "Candle In The Wind," is declared by the Guinness Book of Records to have become the biggest-selling single of all time, having sold 31.8 million copies in less than 40 days and raising $34 million for charity …
1998, the publisher of Alice Cooper’s "Eighteen" files suit against Cooper’s primary makeup-rock competitors KISS, claiming they ripped off his song "Eighteen" for their song, "Dreamin’" … Cooper has nothing to do with it and hasn’t even heard the KISS tune … asked about the outcome years later, Cooper says, "I think we all forgot to show up at court. Paul Stanley bought me a cheeseburger to make up for the whole thing" …
2001, VH1 hosts its Concert for New York, which raises over $30 million for victims of 9/11 with performances by such heavy hitters as The Who, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elton John, and Bon Jovi …
2003, singer-songwriter Elliot Smith takes his life in Los Angeles … a hero of the Portland, Oregon, indie-rock scene in the ’90s, Smith gained national prominence after director Gus Van Sant tapped him for the soundtrack to the 1997 film Good Will Hunting … Smith’s song "Miss Misery" was nominated for an Oscar the following year … a posthumous release, From A Basement On A Hill, includes material the singer was working on when he died …
2005, Rivers Cuomo, frontman for Weezer, announces he’ll return to Harvard University to complete his last semester for a bachelor’s degree … Cuomo’s higher education had been interrupted a couple of times by touring and recording in the College of Musical Knowledge …
2006, New Zealand country singer Keith Urban checks into rehab to deal with an alcohol addiction, causing him to miss the Country Music Association Awards show where he is nominated in four categories … Neil Young’s 20th Bridge School acoustic concerts host an array of unusual performances including Trent Reznor playing unplugged in front of a string quartet … other headliners include Dave Matthews Band, Death Cab for Cutie, and Brian Wilson … Young sits in with, and energizes, many of the sets … after completing the first leg of a North American tour, Who leader Pete Townshend reveals a new, curmudgeonly persona in an interview with Rolling Stone … the aging rocker disses aging rockers proclaiming that he doesn’t want to witness "old guys in their self-congratulatory mode" … rambling on, he says, "I don't want to go out and see Bob Dylan. I don't want to go out and see The Stones. I wouldn't pay money to go see The Who, not even with new songs." … leading some old-time Who fans to wonder if going out to see the latest incarnation of the Moon-less, Entwistle-less band could result in their being fooled again …
2007, former member of The Smiths and current Modest Mouse multi-instrumentalist Johnny Marr is appointed visiting professor at Salford University, near Marr’s home town of Manchester, England … he’ll teach classes about recording and pop music … on a more peaceful note, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne, and David Crosby sing a rousing rendition of CSN’s "Teach Your Children" and other peace-oriented songs at the Pray for Peace concert held in Washington D.C.’s National Cathedral …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
October 15: blues singer Victoria Spivey (1906), orchestra leader Bobby Gimby (1918), R&B singer Marv Johnson (1938), Richard Carpenter of The Carpenters (1946), Chris De Burgh of "Lady in Red" fame (1948), Tito Jackson of The Jackson Five (1953), R&B singer Ginuwine, born Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (1970)
October 16: Mississippi bluesman Big Joe Williams (1899), songwriter-producer Burt Kaempfert (1923), Nico of the Velvet Underground (1938), Fred Turner of BTO (1943), Bob Weir (1947), Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet (1959), Michael Balzary, better known as Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962), Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips (1969), Chad Gray, lead vocalist for Mudvayne and Hellyeah (1971), pop/blues-rock singer-songwriter-guitarist John Mayer (1977)
October 17: jazz drummer Cozy Cole (1909), recording expert John Mosley (1914), British record executive Louis Benjamin (1922), trombonist Rico Rodriguez of The Specials (1934), Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts (1941), pop singer Gary Puckett (1942), James Tucker of The Turtles (1946), Mike Hossack of the Doobie Bros. (1948), country singer Allen Jackson (1958), Rene Dif of Aqua (1967), reggae singer Ziggy Marley, son of Bob Marley (1968), Chris Kirkpatrick of ’N Sync (1971), Eminem born Marshall Bruce Mathers (1972), hip hop/reggae musician Wyclef Jean (1972)
October 18: Chuck Berry (1926), Ronnie Bright of the Coasters (1938), The Association’s Russ Giguere (1943), singer-songwriter Laura Nyro (1947), Joe Egan of Steeler’s Wheel (1949), Gary Richrath of REO Speedwagon (1949), Doobie Brother Keith Knudson (1952), trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (1961), Dan Lilker, bassist for Anthrax, S.O.D., Nuclear Assault, and Brutal Truth (1964), Peter Svensson of The Cardigans (1974)
October 19: Piano Red born William Lee Perryman (1911), Kings of Rhythm drummer Billy Gayles (1931), Dave Guard of The Kingston Trio (1934), Peter Tosh of The Wailers (1944), soul singer George McCrae who had the hit "Rock Your Baby" (1944), Jeannie C. Riley "Harper Valley P.T.A." (1945), Procol Harum lyricist Keith Reid (1946), Wilbert Hart of The Delfonics (1947), Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers (1948), Nino DeFranco, singer and guitarist with The DeFranco Family (1956), Karl Wallinger of World Party (1957), singer/Broadway actress Jennifer Holliday (1960), Dan "Woody" Woodgate of Madness (1960), Pras Michel of The Fugees (1972)
October 20: jazz innovator Jellyroll Morton born Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe (1890), Johnny Moore of The Blazers (1906), master producer Tom Dowd (1925), electric sax man Eddie Harris (1934), rockabilly-ette Wanda Jackson (1937), Jay Siegel of The Tokens (1939), Ric Lee of Ten Years After (1945), Al Greenwood of Foreigner (1951), rocker Tom Petty (1953), Mark King of Level 42 (1958), James George "Soni" Sonefeld of Hootie and The Blowfish (1964), rapper Snoop Dogg born Cordazar Calvin Broadus (1971)
October 21: bop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie (1917), salsa queen Celia Cruz (1924), manager Jo Lustig (1925), Manfred Mann AKA Michael Lubowitz (1940), Memphis guitarist and producer Steve Cropper (1941), blues guitarist Elvin Bishop (1942), Kathy Young of Kathy Young & The Innnocents (1945), Lee Loughnane of Chicago (1946), Brent Mydland of the Grateful Dead (1952), Go-Go’s guitarist Charlotte Caffey (1953), Eric Faulkner of Bay City Rollers (1955), Julian Cope of Teardrop Explodes (1957), six-string slinger Steve Lukather (1957), early rapper Harold "Whiz Kid" McGuire (1961)
Obituaries
October 15: Canadian punk rocker Frank Kerr (2008), songwriter Terry Gilkyson (1999), Tasha Thomas (1984), singer-songwriter Jud Strunk "Daisy A Day" (1981), Bobby Lester of The Moonglows (1980), pop songwriting giant Cole Porter (1974) October 16: jazz vocalist Etta Jones (2001), singer Ella Mae Morse of "Cow Cow Boogie" fame (1999), Santana keyboardist Rich Kermode (1996), jazz drummer Art Blakey (1990), jazz drummer Gene Krupa (1973), Leonard Chess, co-founder of Chess Records (1969)
October 17: pop songstress Teresa Brewer (2007), composer Berthold Goldschmidt (1996), Chris Acland of Lush (1996), Criss Oliva of Savatage (1993), country-pop singer Tennessee Ernie Ford (1991), blues woman Alberta Hunter (1984), New Orleans guitarist Edgar V. Blanchard (1972)
October 18: soul singer Dee Dee Warwick (2008), reggae star Lucky Dube (2007), singer-actress Julie London (2000), Broadway singer-dancer Gwen Verdon (2000), New Orleans sax man Lee Allen (1994), songwriter Ed Labunski (1980), Houston bluesman L.C. Williams (1960)
October 19: New Orleans drummer Earl Palmer (2008), actor-singer-comedian Rudy Ray Moore (2008), harmonica great James "Snooky" Prior (2006), rock journalist Greg Shaw (2004), Alice Cooper lead guitarist Glen Buxton (1997), soul singer Wade Flemons (1993), Level 42 guitarist Alan Murphy (1989), Delta bluesman Son House (1988)
October 20: bassist Paul Raven of Killing Joke and Ministry (2007), jazz pianist and vocalist Shirley Horn (2005), Merle Travis (1983), Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines—all of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1977)
October 21: jazz trumpeter David Ayler, younger brother of saxophonist Albert Ayler (2001), J Church frontman Lance (2007), singer-songwriter Elliot Smith (2003), Henry Vestine of Canned Heat (1997), Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon (1995), Elvis’ bassman Bill Black (1965), Jay Perkins, brother of Carl and Luther (1958)
QUOTE(GelfOgre @ Oct 15 2009, 02:54 PM)
This is the week that was in matters musical…
1908, Columbia runs an ad in The Saturday Evening Post touting its new two-sided records …
1908, Columbia runs an ad in The Saturday Evening Post touting its new two-sided records …
Huh. Until now, it hadn't even occurred to me that records might have been sold single-sided to begin with.
QUOTE
1958, Tommy Facenda, a backup vocalist for Gene Vincent, charts with a single called "High School U.S.A." … the tune is released in 28 versions, each name-dropping a different major high school across the country … the combined sales get the single to #28 on the pop chart …
Now there's a marketing gimmick.
QUOTE
1962, "Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit … cannily released to coincide with Halloween, the novelty tune with a Boris Karloff-like spoken vocal reappears on the charts in 1970 and 1973 …
Definitely canny timing on that. It's still pretty much the song you can expect to see on any Halloween compilation album.
QUOTE
1962, "Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers is the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit
1972... Chuck Berry scores his first and only #1 Pop Chart hit with "My Ding-a-Ling," an ever-so-slightly salacious bit of silliness …
1976… Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots reach #1 on the U.S. hit parade with "Disco Duck" …
1972... Chuck Berry scores his first and only #1 Pop Chart hit with "My Ding-a-Ling," an ever-so-slightly salacious bit of silliness …
1976… Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots reach #1 on the U.S. hit parade with "Disco Duck" …
Wow. This was the week in Novelty Songs...
QUOTE
1972, in the wake of weak sales of their latest album Mardi Gras, and dissension by band members over John Fogerty's lock on writing and publishing of Creedence Clearwater Revival's music, the band calls it quits … leader Fogerty goes on to a robust solo career while rhythm section Stu Cook and Doug Clifford eventually form Creedence Clearwater Revisited over the opposition of Fogerty …
For what it's worth, I'm with Fogerty on this one. CCR was a four-man band. The rhythm guitarist was dead when "Revisited" was formed, and the lead guitarist/lead singer wasn't with them. That's not CCR, any more than you could have a Beatles reunion with just Paul and Ringo. (Not that you'd see that; both McCartney and Starr have more class, not to mention the talent to make it on their own without such stunts.) Considering the abbreviation was the same, they were often billed as just "Creedence Clearwater Rev.", and the already-existing confusion in some people about the "Revival" part of the name (I long ago lost count of the number of people I've had to tell that "Revival" was the original band), and it really does seem like intentionally deceptive marketing.
QUOTE
1988, Fantasy Records, after more than a decade of rancorous relations with John Fogerty, files a suit claiming he plagiarized his own song, "Run Through the Jungle," during the composition of "The Old Man Down the Road" … it will be 1995 before the court finally rules that Fantasy is fantasizing …
One wonders if Fogerty has come to hate late October... again, I'm on his side on this one. Absolutely absurd, and a good example of why so many established rockers fight so hard to get the rights to all of their own music back into their own hands.
QUOTE
1998, the publisher of Alice Cooper’s "Eighteen" files suit against Cooper’s primary makeup-rock competitors KISS, claiming they ripped off his song "Eighteen" for their song, "Dreamin’" … Cooper has nothing to do with it and hasn’t even heard the KISS tune … asked about the outcome years later, Cooper says, "I think we all forgot to show up at court. Paul Stanley bought me a cheeseburger to make up for the whole thing" …
Yeah, that sounds how Cooper would view it. He was always supportive of KISS, and even told them where to buy the makeup...
And a big thank you to CO for proof that someone reads these things. 
What, getting cited by Wikipedia wasn't good enough for you? 
QUOTE(GelfOgre @ Oct 15 2009, 05:54 PM)
1958, Tommy Facenda, a backup vocalist for Gene Vincent, charts with a single called "High School U.S.A." … the tune is released in 28 versions, each name-dropping a different major high school across the country … the combined sales get the single to #28 on the pop chart …
QUOTE(Chaomancer Omega @ Oct 15 2009, 09:39 PM)
Huh. Until now, it hadn't even occurred to me that records might have been sold single-sided to begin with.
Now there's a marketing gimmick.
Now there's a marketing gimmick.
That reminds me of the several versions of Billy Ocean's "Caribbean Queen". There was initially an "American Queen", a "European Queen", "African Queen", etc. Only "Caribbean Queen" charted in the US (and was his first US #1 single).
QUOTE(GelfOgre @ Oct 16 2009, 11:40 AM)
And a big thank you to CO for proof that someone reads these things.
I read 'em!
I skim 'em!
This is the week that was in matters musical…
1883, New York sees the grand opening of its Metropolitan Opera House …
1956, R&B singer Clarence Henry’s "Ain’t Got No Home" is released on the Argo Records label … because he sings like a frog on the record, he is nicknamed "Frogman," and for the rest of his career is known as Clarence "Frogman" Henry … on a lesser note, an oddly gyrating singer with an equally unusual name makes his second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show … he’s called "Elvis" something or other …
1960, Ben E. King, former lead singer for The Drifters, records his first solo numbers, "Spanish Harlem" and "Stand by Me" …
1962, Steveland Morris Judkins makes his first recording … instant success eludes him with this first record, but the accolades are not far away for the artist eventually known as Stevie Wonder … James Brown records a live show in the face of objections from his record label … an in-concert soul album has never been done before … Live at the Apollo, financed by Brown himself, turns out to be among the Godfather of Soul’s most brilliant performances … the album goes on to sell millions …
1964, after an audition with EMI, a London band known as The High Numbers is rejected … who? … exactly … formerly known as The Who, the name change is imposed by manager Pete Meaden, who, adding further insult, dresses the boys in mod suits … not to worry, the kids turn out alright … they resume their name and climb to fame … Buddy Holly sound-alike David Box who worked briefly with The Crickets following Holly’s death, ironically dies in a plane crash coming back from a gig …
Oh, boy...
1966, The Beach Boys’ "Good Vibrations" charts for the first time on its way to #1 … the single is the result of six months work and 17 sessions in four different studios at an unprecedented cost of $16,000 …
1972, Philly soul singer Billy Paul gets on the soul charts with "Me and Mrs. Jones" … the song holds the top position for three weeks and later becomes a soul classic …
1973, John Lennon files suit against the U.S. government alleging that the FBI tapped his phone in an effort to deport the former Beatle …
1975, justifying his title The Boss, Bruce Springsteen makes both the cover of Time and Newsweek …
1978, Sid Vicious attempts to off himself at Rikers Island, where he's awaiting trial for the murder of Nancy Spungen … the misfiring Pistol will get out and O.D. before he can be prosecuted for the crime …
1980, Jefferson Starship bassist Paul Kantner's brain starts bleeding during a recording session … he recovers fully after a few weeks in the hospital …
Truly mind blowing!
1988, after more than a decade of rancorous relations with John Fogerty, the aptly named Fantasy Records launches a suit claiming he plagiarized his own song, "Run Through the Jungle" with his solo effort "The Old Man Down the Road" … despite the fact that John Fogerty apparently sounds alike, this is one Fantasy that will not be fulfilled … the court rules in Fogerty’s favor six years later …
1995, business manager Yolanda Saldivar is sentenced to life for the murder of Tejano singing star Selena … she murdered the singer upon being confronted about embezzled funds … and let that be a lesson to all those contemplating a life of crime as hedge fund managers … never try to cover up embezzlement with murder … it doesn’t play well in court …
1999, an animated debut of Korn’s new single "Falling Away From Me" debuts on the season premiere of South Park … Tina Turner announces plans for her final stadium concert tour …
2001, in the midst of flagging computer sales, Apple announces its new MP3 player, the iPod … the immensely popular portable player signifies a new beginning for Apple and new company mantra, "iPod, therefore I am" (financially solvent, that is) …
thankyouthankyouthankyou
2004, Ashlee Simpson is busted lip-synching on Saturday Night Live when the backing tracks with vocals from the song Simpson had performed earlier in the evening begin to play just as she is about to perform her second number … always a woman of integrity, Simpson takes the heat explaining, "My band started playing the wrong song." … earlier in her career, in an interview with Lucky Magazine, Simpson talked about lip-synching: "I'm totally against it and offended by it. I'm going out to let my real talent show, not to just stand there and dance around. Personally, I'd never lip-synch. It's just not me" … crusading New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announces that he has launched an investigation of payola practices in the music business … EMI, Warner Music Group, Sony-BMG, and Universal receive subpoenas demanding that they produce communications with independent record promoters—the middlemen paid by record companies to get airplay … during a call-in talk show on San Francisco radio station KGO shockjock Howard Stern tears into FCC Commission Chairman Michael Powell, whose agency had previously issued big fines against Stern for indecent on-air remarks … Stern accuses Powell of getting his government gig by virtue of his father Colin Powell’s heft as U.S. Secretary of State …
2005, U2 guitarist The Edge, producer Bob Ezrin, Gibson Guitar, and Guitar Center join forces under The Edge’s Music Rising banner to supply instruments to Gulf Coast musicians devastated by Hurricane Katrina … the two corporate partners pledge a minimum of $1 million … after taking heat for a copy-protection system that buried software deep in computers making them susceptible to viruses, Sony BMG announces it will stop embedding the anti-piracy software on its CDs
2006, in an odd case of life imitating art, Paul McPike, a 32-year-old grocery store employee from Medford, OR, files a lawsuit charging that Green Day's American Idiot album is entirely made up of songs that he wrote 12 years earlier when he was in high school … McPike says that he used to regale his high school pals with the original versions of "Jesus of Suburbia" and other classics back in 1992 … he believes that someone must have surreptitiously recorded one of his performances and leaked them to Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong … McPike, who has not recorded or performed since high school, offered Green Day’s album itself as evidence, claiming that Billie Joe didn’t sing the lyrics exactly as written on the album’s insert … we’d make the obvious Paul McPike/American Idiot joke, but it’s far too easy, and American Psycho is already taken …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
Birthdays
October 22: Bobby Fuller of "I Fought The Law" fame (1943), punk rocker Stiv Bator, born Stivin Bator (1949)
October 23: rockabilly artist Johnny Carroll (1937), Freddie Marsden of Gerry & The Pacemakers (1940), Brill Building songwriter Ellie Greenwich (1940), rock parodist Weird Al Yankovic (1959)
October 24: harmonica player Sonny Terry (1911), 1950s R&B singer and pianist Willie Mabon (1925), Santo Farina of Santo and Johnny (1937), record producer Ted Templeman (1944), Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton (1946), R&B singer-songwriter Monica, born Monica Denise Arnold (1980)
October 25: Jon Anderson of Yes (1944), Arrested Development rapper Speech, born Todd Thomas (1968)
October 26: country singer Keith Urban (1967)
October 27: Nashville pianist Floyd Cramer (1933), session guitarist Kermit Chandler (1945)
October 28: country fiddler Charlie Daniels (1936), gravel-voiced singer Ted Hawkins (1936), British blues-rock legend Graham Bond (1937), Hank Marvin of The Shadows (1941), Wayne Fontana, of Wayne Fontana and the Mind Benders (1945), Rickie Reynolds of Black Oak Arkansas (1948), Thelma Hopkins of Tony Orlando & Dawn (1948), Stephen Morris of New Order (1957), singer-songwriter-guitarist Ben Harper (1969), singer Justin Guarini (1978)
Obituaries
October 22: Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller (1994), folk singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl (1989), Jane Dornacker, singer and dancer with The Tubes (1986), ’50s pop crooner Tommy Edwards (1969), barrelhouse pianist Walter Davis (1963)
October 23: R&B singer Ted Taylor (1988), Leonard Lee of the pop duo Shirley and Lee (1976), Buddy Holly sound-alike David Box (1964), Al Jolson (1950)
October 24: keyboardist Merle Saunders (2008), Sandy West, drummer and cofounder of The Runaways (2006), album cover illustrator Phil Hays (2005), gospel-trained crooner Joe Henderson (1964)
October 25: BBC DJ John Peel (2004), R&B keyboard player and singer Jon Thomas (1995), singer George Lee of Ruby and the Romantics (1994), Howard Blauvelt, bassist with Billy Joel (1993), country crossover singer Roger "King of the Road" Miller (1992), legendary rock promoter Bill Graham, born Wolfgang Grajonca (1991), singer Margo Sylvia of The Tune Weavers (1991), Johnnie Richardson, female half of the R&B duo Johnnie & Joe (1988), R&B/jazz saxophonist Willis "Gator" Jackson (1987), Gary Holton, lead singer of The Heavy Metal Kids (1985)
October 26: U.K. pop star Alma Cogan (1966), singer Wilbert Harrison (1994)
October 27: legendary producer Tom Dowd (2002), rockabilly artist Donnie Owens (1994), founding T-Rex member Steve Peregrine-Took, born Steven Ross Porter (1980)
October 28: Dolly’s partner, country singer Porter Wagoner (2007), R&B singer Billy Wright (1991), jazz arranger Oliver Nelson (1975), R&B reedman Earl Bostic (1965)
1883, New York sees the grand opening of its Metropolitan Opera House …
1956, R&B singer Clarence Henry’s "Ain’t Got No Home" is released on the Argo Records label … because he sings like a frog on the record, he is nicknamed "Frogman," and for the rest of his career is known as Clarence "Frogman" Henry … on a lesser note, an oddly gyrating singer with an equally unusual name makes his second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show … he’s called "Elvis" something or other …
1960, Ben E. King, former lead singer for The Drifters, records his first solo numbers, "Spanish Harlem" and "Stand by Me" …
1962, Steveland Morris Judkins makes his first recording … instant success eludes him with this first record, but the accolades are not far away for the artist eventually known as Stevie Wonder … James Brown records a live show in the face of objections from his record label … an in-concert soul album has never been done before … Live at the Apollo, financed by Brown himself, turns out to be among the Godfather of Soul’s most brilliant performances … the album goes on to sell millions …
1964, after an audition with EMI, a London band known as The High Numbers is rejected … who? … exactly … formerly known as The Who, the name change is imposed by manager Pete Meaden, who, adding further insult, dresses the boys in mod suits … not to worry, the kids turn out alright … they resume their name and climb to fame … Buddy Holly sound-alike David Box who worked briefly with The Crickets following Holly’s death, ironically dies in a plane crash coming back from a gig …
Oh, boy...
1966, The Beach Boys’ "Good Vibrations" charts for the first time on its way to #1 … the single is the result of six months work and 17 sessions in four different studios at an unprecedented cost of $16,000 …
1972, Philly soul singer Billy Paul gets on the soul charts with "Me and Mrs. Jones" … the song holds the top position for three weeks and later becomes a soul classic …
1973, John Lennon files suit against the U.S. government alleging that the FBI tapped his phone in an effort to deport the former Beatle …
1975, justifying his title The Boss, Bruce Springsteen makes both the cover of Time and Newsweek …
1978, Sid Vicious attempts to off himself at Rikers Island, where he's awaiting trial for the murder of Nancy Spungen … the misfiring Pistol will get out and O.D. before he can be prosecuted for the crime …
1980, Jefferson Starship bassist Paul Kantner's brain starts bleeding during a recording session … he recovers fully after a few weeks in the hospital …
Truly mind blowing!
1988, after more than a decade of rancorous relations with John Fogerty, the aptly named Fantasy Records launches a suit claiming he plagiarized his own song, "Run Through the Jungle" with his solo effort "The Old Man Down the Road" … despite the fact that John Fogerty apparently sounds alike, this is one Fantasy that will not be fulfilled … the court rules in Fogerty’s favor six years later …
1995, business manager Yolanda Saldivar is sentenced to life for the murder of Tejano singing star Selena … she murdered the singer upon being confronted about embezzled funds … and let that be a lesson to all those contemplating a life of crime as hedge fund managers … never try to cover up embezzlement with murder … it doesn’t play well in court …
1999, an animated debut of Korn’s new single "Falling Away From Me" debuts on the season premiere of South Park … Tina Turner announces plans for her final stadium concert tour …
2001, in the midst of flagging computer sales, Apple announces its new MP3 player, the iPod … the immensely popular portable player signifies a new beginning for Apple and new company mantra, "iPod, therefore I am" (financially solvent, that is) …
thankyouthankyouthankyou
2004, Ashlee Simpson is busted lip-synching on Saturday Night Live when the backing tracks with vocals from the song Simpson had performed earlier in the evening begin to play just as she is about to perform her second number … always a woman of integrity, Simpson takes the heat explaining, "My band started playing the wrong song." … earlier in her career, in an interview with Lucky Magazine, Simpson talked about lip-synching: "I'm totally against it and offended by it. I'm going out to let my real talent show, not to just stand there and dance around. Personally, I'd never lip-synch. It's just not me" … crusading New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announces that he has launched an investigation of payola practices in the music business … EMI, Warner Music Group, Sony-BMG, and Universal receive subpoenas demanding that they produce communications with independent record promoters—the middlemen paid by record companies to get airplay … during a call-in talk show on San Francisco radio station KGO shockjock Howard Stern tears into FCC Commission Chairman Michael Powell, whose agency had previously issued big fines against Stern for indecent on-air remarks … Stern accuses Powell of getting his government gig by virtue of his father Colin Powell’s heft as U.S. Secretary of State …
2005, U2 guitarist The Edge, producer Bob Ezrin, Gibson Guitar, and Guitar Center join forces under The Edge’s Music Rising banner to supply instruments to Gulf Coast musicians devastated by Hurricane Katrina … the two corporate partners pledge a minimum of $1 million … after taking heat for a copy-protection system that buried software deep in computers making them susceptible to viruses, Sony BMG announces it will stop embedding the anti-piracy software on its CDs
2006, in an odd case of life imitating art, Paul McPike, a 32-year-old grocery store employee from Medford, OR, files a lawsuit charging that Green Day's American Idiot album is entirely made up of songs that he wrote 12 years earlier when he was in high school … McPike says that he used to regale his high school pals with the original versions of "Jesus of Suburbia" and other classics back in 1992 … he believes that someone must have surreptitiously recorded one of his performances and leaked them to Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong … McPike, who has not recorded or performed since high school, offered Green Day’s album itself as evidence, claiming that Billie Joe didn’t sing the lyrics exactly as written on the album’s insert … we’d make the obvious Paul McPike/American Idiot joke, but it’s far too easy, and American Psycho is already taken …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
Birthdays
October 22: Bobby Fuller of "I Fought The Law" fame (1943), punk rocker Stiv Bator, born Stivin Bator (1949)
October 23: rockabilly artist Johnny Carroll (1937), Freddie Marsden of Gerry & The Pacemakers (1940), Brill Building songwriter Ellie Greenwich (1940), rock parodist Weird Al Yankovic (1959)
October 24: harmonica player Sonny Terry (1911), 1950s R&B singer and pianist Willie Mabon (1925), Santo Farina of Santo and Johnny (1937), record producer Ted Templeman (1944), Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton (1946), R&B singer-songwriter Monica, born Monica Denise Arnold (1980)
October 25: Jon Anderson of Yes (1944), Arrested Development rapper Speech, born Todd Thomas (1968)
October 26: country singer Keith Urban (1967)
October 27: Nashville pianist Floyd Cramer (1933), session guitarist Kermit Chandler (1945)
October 28: country fiddler Charlie Daniels (1936), gravel-voiced singer Ted Hawkins (1936), British blues-rock legend Graham Bond (1937), Hank Marvin of The Shadows (1941), Wayne Fontana, of Wayne Fontana and the Mind Benders (1945), Rickie Reynolds of Black Oak Arkansas (1948), Thelma Hopkins of Tony Orlando & Dawn (1948), Stephen Morris of New Order (1957), singer-songwriter-guitarist Ben Harper (1969), singer Justin Guarini (1978)
Obituaries
October 22: Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller (1994), folk singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl (1989), Jane Dornacker, singer and dancer with The Tubes (1986), ’50s pop crooner Tommy Edwards (1969), barrelhouse pianist Walter Davis (1963)
October 23: R&B singer Ted Taylor (1988), Leonard Lee of the pop duo Shirley and Lee (1976), Buddy Holly sound-alike David Box (1964), Al Jolson (1950)
October 24: keyboardist Merle Saunders (2008), Sandy West, drummer and cofounder of The Runaways (2006), album cover illustrator Phil Hays (2005), gospel-trained crooner Joe Henderson (1964)
October 25: BBC DJ John Peel (2004), R&B keyboard player and singer Jon Thomas (1995), singer George Lee of Ruby and the Romantics (1994), Howard Blauvelt, bassist with Billy Joel (1993), country crossover singer Roger "King of the Road" Miller (1992), legendary rock promoter Bill Graham, born Wolfgang Grajonca (1991), singer Margo Sylvia of The Tune Weavers (1991), Johnnie Richardson, female half of the R&B duo Johnnie & Joe (1988), R&B/jazz saxophonist Willis "Gator" Jackson (1987), Gary Holton, lead singer of The Heavy Metal Kids (1985)
October 26: U.K. pop star Alma Cogan (1966), singer Wilbert Harrison (1994)
October 27: legendary producer Tom Dowd (2002), rockabilly artist Donnie Owens (1994), founding T-Rex member Steve Peregrine-Took, born Steven Ross Porter (1980)
October 28: Dolly’s partner, country singer Porter Wagoner (2007), R&B singer Billy Wright (1991), jazz arranger Oliver Nelson (1975), R&B reedman Earl Bostic (1965)
QUOTE(GelfOgre @ Oct 23 2009, 03:51 PM)
1962, Steveland Morris Judkins makes his first recording … instant success eludes him with this first record, but the accolades are not far away for the artist eventually known as Stevie Wonder …
Steveland?
QUOTE
1964, after an audition with EMI, a London band known as The High Numbers is rejected … who? … exactly … formerly known as The Who, the name change is imposed by manager Pete Meaden, who, adding further insult, dresses the boys in mod suits … not to worry, the kids turn out alright … they resume their name and climb to fame …
...Talk about mismanagement. Did he give them all Beatles-esque bowl cuts too? (I ask only because that seems to have been the fashion, judging by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, the Enemies....)
QUOTE
1966, The Beach Boys’ "Good Vibrations" charts for the first time on its way to #1 … the single is the result of six months work and 17 sessions in four different studios at an unprecedented cost of $16,000 …
And it shows. Or sounds, rather. You know what I mean.
QUOTE
1973, John Lennon files suit against the U.S. government alleging that the FBI tapped his phone in an effort to deport the former Beatle …
Probably true.
QUOTE
2001, in the midst of flagging computer sales, Apple announces its new MP3 player, the iPod … the immensely popular portable player signifies a new beginning for Apple and new company mantra, "iPod, therefore I am" (financially solvent, that is) …
thankyouthankyouthankyou
thankyouthankyouthankyou
I have to hand it to Apple's marketing department on this one. Here's this thing which functionally isn't really any different than any other MP3 player, with MP3 players being only a modest success, and they go and turn it into something that millions of people view as a necessity. Mind-boggling.
This is the week that was in matters musical…
1900, Len Spencer, believed to be the first nationally known recording star, releases his biggest hit "Arkansaw Traveler" … his other hits include "Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom De Ay," "A Hot Time In The Old Town," and "Hello! Ma Baby" …
The alien chestburster really did the definitive version of that last one though.
1928, a candle starts a fire in a French Gypsy caravan … the left hand of 18-year-old guitarist Django Reinhardt is badly burned, leaving two fingers useless … with his right leg also injured, Django is bedridden for 18 months and uses that time for therapy, rebuilding his guitar chops so that by the mid-1930s he is a master of swing guitar and ultimately one of the best guitarists in any genre …
1964, "Oh Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison turns gold … it is his ninth and last Top Ten single …
1970, Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas marries actor Dennis Hopper … proving wrong those who said the marriage wouldn't last a week, they divorce eight days later … Bob Dylan records "George Jackson," a tribute to the black militant leader killed in a California prison shootout …
1971, while The Allman Brothers are on a break from touring and recording, guitarist Duane Allman loses control of his Harley-Davidson and is killed … Allman was trying to avoid a construction vehicle that abruptly stopped midway through a turn …
1972, James Taylor and Carly Simon tie the knot in her Manhattan apartment … they will separate ten years later …
1975, Queen releases "Bohemian Rhapsody" as a single … with three and-a-half minutes being the standard time limit for a single, the band and producer Roy Thomas Baker have to convince EMI executives to release the six-minute recording without any edits … the single tops the U.K. chart for nine weeks and goes to #2 in the U.S … it will go to #1 again in the U.K. in 1991 after lead singer Freddie Mercury's AIDS-related death …
1977, Martin Scorsese's film The Last Waltz, commemorating The Band's last concert at Winterland in San Francisco, opens to rave reviews in New York …
1983, Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon becomes the longest-running album ever on the Billboard chart at 491 continuous weeks …
1986, The Beastie Boys release their debut License To Ill … it will become the first rap album to reach #1 …
1988, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain smashes his guitar onstage for the first time at the Evergreen State Dorm Room Party in Olympia, Washington …
Copycat poser.
1991, a crowd of more than 300,000 attend a free show in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park called "A Benefit for Laughter, Love & Music" to commemorate the death of rock promoter Bill Graham … the bill includes The Grateful Dead; Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young; Joan Baez; Santana; and Journey who reunite for the memorial show … Graham died on October 25 when his helicopter hit a utility tower … blues, soul, rock, and country are all well represented when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Bobby "Blue" Bland, Booker T & The MGs, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, The Isley Brothers, The Yardbirds, and Sam and Dave …
1992, Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin sign a $39 million publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music …
1995, Hootie and the Blowfish and Bob Dylan reach an out-of-court settlement over the band's unauthorized use of Dylan's lyrics in their song, "Only Want To Be With You" …
Don't mess with the Zimmerman
1998, Kiss launches its Psycho Circus tour on Halloween in Los Angeles … thousands attend in costume and The Smashing Pumpkins are the opener … Ol' Dirty Bastard of Wu Tang Clan is arrested for threatening to kill his former girlfriend … he is apprehended while climbing over a security gate at the woman's place of employment …
1999, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and John Entwistle, the surviving members of The Who, reunite for the first time in two years for a concert in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand … KISS, Tony Bennett, and the Dixie Chicks also are on the bill … the webcast concert marks the launch of Internet video company Pixelon …
for the first time in 2 years? Sheesh, that barely even qualifies as a break.
2002, hip-hop giant Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC is shot dead in his Jamaica, Queens recording studio … police pursue many leads and theories as to motive: unpaid drug bills, rival rappers, armed robbery, insurance scams, a rivalry with Murder, Inc. over 50 Cent, and more … the crime remains unsolved …
2004, Eric Clapton is made a commander of the Order of the British Empire in a Buckingham palace ceremony … Commander Clapton also announces that he and his wife Melia McEnery are expecting a child in January …
2006, a mere five months after settling to the tune of $12 million with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer over payola charges, Universal Music Group is back in hot water on charges that two of its labels engaged in pay-to-play practices that boosted the chart positions of CDs by JoJo and Nickelback … L.A.-area boy scout troops have begun offering a patch to scouts who learn about copyright laws and pledge not to pirate movies and music … scout's honor …
… and that was the week that was.
Birthdays
October 29: composer Vivian Ellis (1904), jazz arranger-composer Neal Hefti (1922), The Big Bopper J.P. Richardson (1930), Mickey Gallagher of Frampton's Camel (1940), Denny Laine of the Moody Blues and Wings (1944), Peter Green, founder of Fleetwood Mac (1946), Roger O'Donnell of The Cure (1955), Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot (1955), Randy Jackson of the Jackson 5 (1961), Einar Orn Benediktsson of The Sugarcubes (1962), Peter Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies (1965), Douglas "SA" Vincent Martinez of 311 (1970), Toby Smith of Jamiroquai (1970)
October 30: trumpeter Clifford Brown (1930), rockabilly star Ray Smith (1934), Grace Slick born Grace Wing (1939), Timothy Schmidt of The Eagles (1947), Jim Messina (1947), David Green of Air Supply (1949), Otis Williams of the Temptations (1949), Joey BellaDonna of Anthrax (1960), Gavin Rossdale of Bush (1967)
October 31: Dale Evans (1912), Bernard Edwards of Chic (1952), South African rocker Johnny Clegg (1953), U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. (1961), Adam Horovitz a.k.a. King Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys (1966), Vanilla Ice born Robert Van Winkle (1967), Linn Berggren of Ace Of Base (1970)
November 1: blues songstress Sippie Wallace (1898), Peacock Records founder Don Robey (1903), Barry "Ballad of Green Berets" Sadler (1940), Rick Grech, bass player for Blind Faith and Traffic (1946), Dan Peek of America (1950), Ronald Bell of Kool and the Gang (1951), Lyle Lovett (1956), Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962), Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen (1963), Willie D of The Geto Boys (1966), LaTavia Roberson of Destiny's Child (1981)
November 2: trumpet legend Bunny Berigan (1908), Keith Emerson (1944), J.D. Souther (1945), Dave Pegg of Jethro Tull (1947), Maxine Nightingale (1952), Carter Beauford of the Dave Matthews Band (1957), Bobby Dall of Poison (1958), Matt Sorum of Cult, Guns N' Roses, and Velvet Revolver (1960), k.d. lang born Katherine Dawn Lang (1961), Alex James of Blur (1968), Reginald Arvizu of Korn (1969), John Hampson of Nine Days (1971), Nelly (1978)
November 3: Brian Poole of The Tremeloes (1941), Marie McDonald Lawrie a.k.a. Lulu (1948), Adam Ant born Stuart Leslie Goddard (1954)
November 4: Four Vagabonds singer John Jordan (1913), Delbert McClinton (1940), Dan Hartman (1951), Squeeze singer-guitarist Chris Difford (1954), pianist Yanni born Yiannis Hrysomallis (1954), James Honeyman-Scott, guitarist for the Pretenders (1957), Puff Daddy (1970)
Obituaries
October 29: saxophonist Henry Berthold "Spike" Robinson (2001), jazz bandleader Woody Herman (1987), King Harvest drummer Wells Kelly (1984), guitar master Duane Allman (1971)
October 30: crooner Robert Goulet (2007), Ramones co-manager Linda Stein (2007), Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC (2002), TV host and musician Steve Allen (2000), British blues diva Jo-Ann Kelly (1990), hard swingin' sax man Chu Berry (1941)
October 31: John Holohan, drummer for Bayside (2005), record exec Lester Sill (1994), A Chorus Line producer Joseph Papp (1991), Procol Harum drummer B.J. Wilson (1990), guitarist Malcolm Hale of Spanky and Our Gang (1968)
November 1: Mothers of Invention drummer Jimmy Carl Black (2008), hip-hop record exec Shakir Sweet (2008), Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac (2008), Grand Funk Railroad manager Terry Knight (2004), classic blues singer and pianist Sippie Wallace (1986), pioneer Delta blues singer Tommy Johnson (1956)
November 2: Sammy Kaye Band singer Wandra Merrell (1994), Mississippi John Hurt (1966)
November 3: singer Art Wood (2006), Lonnie Donegan (2002), blues harmonica player William Clarke (1996), songwriter Mort Shuman (1991)
November 4: Shonen Knife drummer Mana "China" Nishiura (2005), Bobby Nunn of the Coasters (1987), Hi-Lites singer Ronnie Goodson (1980)
1900, Len Spencer, believed to be the first nationally known recording star, releases his biggest hit "Arkansaw Traveler" … his other hits include "Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom De Ay," "A Hot Time In The Old Town," and "Hello! Ma Baby" …
The alien chestburster really did the definitive version of that last one though.
1928, a candle starts a fire in a French Gypsy caravan … the left hand of 18-year-old guitarist Django Reinhardt is badly burned, leaving two fingers useless … with his right leg also injured, Django is bedridden for 18 months and uses that time for therapy, rebuilding his guitar chops so that by the mid-1930s he is a master of swing guitar and ultimately one of the best guitarists in any genre …
1964, "Oh Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison turns gold … it is his ninth and last Top Ten single …
1970, Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas marries actor Dennis Hopper … proving wrong those who said the marriage wouldn't last a week, they divorce eight days later … Bob Dylan records "George Jackson," a tribute to the black militant leader killed in a California prison shootout …
1971, while The Allman Brothers are on a break from touring and recording, guitarist Duane Allman loses control of his Harley-Davidson and is killed … Allman was trying to avoid a construction vehicle that abruptly stopped midway through a turn …
1972, James Taylor and Carly Simon tie the knot in her Manhattan apartment … they will separate ten years later …
1975, Queen releases "Bohemian Rhapsody" as a single … with three and-a-half minutes being the standard time limit for a single, the band and producer Roy Thomas Baker have to convince EMI executives to release the six-minute recording without any edits … the single tops the U.K. chart for nine weeks and goes to #2 in the U.S … it will go to #1 again in the U.K. in 1991 after lead singer Freddie Mercury's AIDS-related death …
1977, Martin Scorsese's film The Last Waltz, commemorating The Band's last concert at Winterland in San Francisco, opens to rave reviews in New York …
1983, Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon becomes the longest-running album ever on the Billboard chart at 491 continuous weeks …
1986, The Beastie Boys release their debut License To Ill … it will become the first rap album to reach #1 …
1988, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain smashes his guitar onstage for the first time at the Evergreen State Dorm Room Party in Olympia, Washington …
Copycat poser.
1991, a crowd of more than 300,000 attend a free show in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park called "A Benefit for Laughter, Love & Music" to commemorate the death of rock promoter Bill Graham … the bill includes The Grateful Dead; Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young; Joan Baez; Santana; and Journey who reunite for the memorial show … Graham died on October 25 when his helicopter hit a utility tower … blues, soul, rock, and country are all well represented when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Bobby "Blue" Bland, Booker T & The MGs, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, The Isley Brothers, The Yardbirds, and Sam and Dave …
1992, Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin sign a $39 million publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music …
1995, Hootie and the Blowfish and Bob Dylan reach an out-of-court settlement over the band's unauthorized use of Dylan's lyrics in their song, "Only Want To Be With You" …
Don't mess with the Zimmerman
1998, Kiss launches its Psycho Circus tour on Halloween in Los Angeles … thousands attend in costume and The Smashing Pumpkins are the opener … Ol' Dirty Bastard of Wu Tang Clan is arrested for threatening to kill his former girlfriend … he is apprehended while climbing over a security gate at the woman's place of employment …
1999, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and John Entwistle, the surviving members of The Who, reunite for the first time in two years for a concert in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand … KISS, Tony Bennett, and the Dixie Chicks also are on the bill … the webcast concert marks the launch of Internet video company Pixelon …
for the first time in 2 years? Sheesh, that barely even qualifies as a break.
2002, hip-hop giant Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC is shot dead in his Jamaica, Queens recording studio … police pursue many leads and theories as to motive: unpaid drug bills, rival rappers, armed robbery, insurance scams, a rivalry with Murder, Inc. over 50 Cent, and more … the crime remains unsolved …
2004, Eric Clapton is made a commander of the Order of the British Empire in a Buckingham palace ceremony … Commander Clapton also announces that he and his wife Melia McEnery are expecting a child in January …
2006, a mere five months after settling to the tune of $12 million with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer over payola charges, Universal Music Group is back in hot water on charges that two of its labels engaged in pay-to-play practices that boosted the chart positions of CDs by JoJo and Nickelback … L.A.-area boy scout troops have begun offering a patch to scouts who learn about copyright laws and pledge not to pirate movies and music … scout's honor …
… and that was the week that was.
Birthdays
October 29: composer Vivian Ellis (1904), jazz arranger-composer Neal Hefti (1922), The Big Bopper J.P. Richardson (1930), Mickey Gallagher of Frampton's Camel (1940), Denny Laine of the Moody Blues and Wings (1944), Peter Green, founder of Fleetwood Mac (1946), Roger O'Donnell of The Cure (1955), Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot (1955), Randy Jackson of the Jackson 5 (1961), Einar Orn Benediktsson of The Sugarcubes (1962), Peter Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies (1965), Douglas "SA" Vincent Martinez of 311 (1970), Toby Smith of Jamiroquai (1970)
October 30: trumpeter Clifford Brown (1930), rockabilly star Ray Smith (1934), Grace Slick born Grace Wing (1939), Timothy Schmidt of The Eagles (1947), Jim Messina (1947), David Green of Air Supply (1949), Otis Williams of the Temptations (1949), Joey BellaDonna of Anthrax (1960), Gavin Rossdale of Bush (1967)
October 31: Dale Evans (1912), Bernard Edwards of Chic (1952), South African rocker Johnny Clegg (1953), U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. (1961), Adam Horovitz a.k.a. King Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys (1966), Vanilla Ice born Robert Van Winkle (1967), Linn Berggren of Ace Of Base (1970)
November 1: blues songstress Sippie Wallace (1898), Peacock Records founder Don Robey (1903), Barry "Ballad of Green Berets" Sadler (1940), Rick Grech, bass player for Blind Faith and Traffic (1946), Dan Peek of America (1950), Ronald Bell of Kool and the Gang (1951), Lyle Lovett (1956), Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962), Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen (1963), Willie D of The Geto Boys (1966), LaTavia Roberson of Destiny's Child (1981)
November 2: trumpet legend Bunny Berigan (1908), Keith Emerson (1944), J.D. Souther (1945), Dave Pegg of Jethro Tull (1947), Maxine Nightingale (1952), Carter Beauford of the Dave Matthews Band (1957), Bobby Dall of Poison (1958), Matt Sorum of Cult, Guns N' Roses, and Velvet Revolver (1960), k.d. lang born Katherine Dawn Lang (1961), Alex James of Blur (1968), Reginald Arvizu of Korn (1969), John Hampson of Nine Days (1971), Nelly (1978)
November 3: Brian Poole of The Tremeloes (1941), Marie McDonald Lawrie a.k.a. Lulu (1948), Adam Ant born Stuart Leslie Goddard (1954)
November 4: Four Vagabonds singer John Jordan (1913), Delbert McClinton (1940), Dan Hartman (1951), Squeeze singer-guitarist Chris Difford (1954), pianist Yanni born Yiannis Hrysomallis (1954), James Honeyman-Scott, guitarist for the Pretenders (1957), Puff Daddy (1970)
Obituaries
October 29: saxophonist Henry Berthold "Spike" Robinson (2001), jazz bandleader Woody Herman (1987), King Harvest drummer Wells Kelly (1984), guitar master Duane Allman (1971)
October 30: crooner Robert Goulet (2007), Ramones co-manager Linda Stein (2007), Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC (2002), TV host and musician Steve Allen (2000), British blues diva Jo-Ann Kelly (1990), hard swingin' sax man Chu Berry (1941)
October 31: John Holohan, drummer for Bayside (2005), record exec Lester Sill (1994), A Chorus Line producer Joseph Papp (1991), Procol Harum drummer B.J. Wilson (1990), guitarist Malcolm Hale of Spanky and Our Gang (1968)
November 1: Mothers of Invention drummer Jimmy Carl Black (2008), hip-hop record exec Shakir Sweet (2008), Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac (2008), Grand Funk Railroad manager Terry Knight (2004), classic blues singer and pianist Sippie Wallace (1986), pioneer Delta blues singer Tommy Johnson (1956)
November 2: Sammy Kaye Band singer Wandra Merrell (1994), Mississippi John Hurt (1966)
November 3: singer Art Wood (2006), Lonnie Donegan (2002), blues harmonica player William Clarke (1996), songwriter Mort Shuman (1991)
November 4: Shonen Knife drummer Mana "China" Nishiura (2005), Bobby Nunn of the Coasters (1987), Hi-Lites singer Ronnie Goodson (1980)
This is the week that was in matters musical…
1954, the first practical transistor radio made in any significant numbers, the pocket-sized Regency TR-1, is mass-marketed at $49.95 …
1955, Carl Perkins records "Blue Suede Shoes" at Sun Studios in Memphis …
1957, Elvis drops in at the mansion of Tennessee governor Frank Clement and after a little coaxing starts vocalizing along with fellow guests the Prisonaires, a quartet of Tennessee State Prison inmates who recently enjoyed an R&B chart hit with their rendition of "Just Walking in the Rain" … lead Prisonaire singer Johnny Bragg and Elvis know each other from Sun Studios sessions … the party doesn’t break up until the wee hours …
1960, U.S. patent #2,960,900 is granted to Fender for the "off-set waist" design of its Jazzmaster and Jaguar guitars … Gibson’s introduction of the Firebird with it’s asymmetrical "reverse" body shape led to a dispute between the two guitar makers … avoiding a court battle, Gibson redesigned the Firebird in 1965 with a "non-reverse" body style …
1961, blues shouter Howlin’ Wolf arrives in London as part of a lineup of American blues musicians who take Britain, and later, the continent by storm … a series of annual American Folk Blues Festivals follow leading to a generation of Brits such as Clapton, Page, Watts, and Richards becoming blues devotees who during the mid-’60s introduce white America to its own roots-music heritage …
1965, Bob Dylan marries Sara Lowndes but holds off telling just about everybody until February 1966 … Mr. and Mrs. Dylan move to Woodstock, New York … the Blonde On Blonde song "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" is one of many songs Mr. D would write about Sara—the title obliquely refers to her name … in 1977, Sara Dylan files for divorce and custody of their five children …
1966, The Monkees’ eponymous first album is the number one LP in the U.S … after 12 weeks at the top it is replaced by More of The Monkees …
1967, The Strawberry Alarm Clock’s single "Incense and Peppermints," from the album of the same name, reaches #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 …
1968, Electric Ladyland by the Jimi Hendrix Experience reaches #1 on the U.S. album charts … the gatefold double album features "Crosstown Traffic," "Voodoo Child," and the JHE’s only U.S. hit single, their dramatic re-working of Bob Dylan’s "All Along The Watchtower" … The Monkees film Head opens in six cities … Frank Zappa makes a cameo appearance … the script was co-written by Jack Nicholson, who also compiled the movie soundtrack album … one song "As We Go Along" has guitar work supplied by Neil Young, Ry Cooder, Carole King (co-writer), and Danny Kortchmar, who avoid stepping on each others parts … The Beatles, better known as The White Album, is released in the UK … the 30 tracks on the double LP span styles and genres including country, blues, folkish strummery, whimsical singalong ditties, flat-out rockers, and just plain weirdness … producer George Martin recommended picking the best tunes for a single LP … what songs would you have thrown out and included? …
1971, following the death of The Doors lead singer Jim Morrison, the surviving members tell Rolling Stone that the band will continue … it officially disbands two years later after releasing two lackluster albums with keyboardist Ray Manzarek supplying the vocals … Isaac Hayes’ "Theme From Shaft" tops the single charts …
1974, 70 minutes into The Who concert at the Cow Palace in Daly City, Keith Moon collapses behind the drums … Pete Townshend asks if there’s anyone in the audience who not only can play drums but, as he puts it "I meant somebody good" … 19-year Scot Halpin is recruited from the throng by promoter Bill Graham to fill in … despite not having played drums for a year, Halpin manages to keep up with The Who for three songs to close the concert …
1975, reviewers with advance copies of Patti Smith’s debut album Horses give it rave reviews …
1976, a Jerry Lee Lewis two-fer this week: … first, he’s busted for drunk driving after plunging his Rolls Royce into a ditch at 9 a.m… . the next day he’s arrested again for showing up at Graceland and demanding to see Elvis while brandishing a loaded derringer … The Band bids adieu to its fans at San Francisco’s Winterland with a star-studded show that includes their former boss Ronnie Hawkins, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, The Staple Singers, Dr. John, Eric Clapton, and many more … Martin Scorsese is on hand to film the proceedings resulting in the movie, The Last Waltz, widely regarded as one of the best rock movies ever … in 2002, the film is reissued on DVD with remixed 5.1 sound and lots of additional performances not seen in the theatrical release … one of the extras is an extended jam with Morrison, Clapton, Wood, et al, during which the motors in Scorsese’s cinema cameras melted down as they were not designed to handle the continuous shooting … hence the final part of the jam is an audio-only affair …
1977, The Sex Pistols are in British court coming to the defense of a shopkeeper who displayed their debut album Never Mind The Bollocks in his front window … prosecutors say the word "bollocks" is offensive and violates the Indecent Advertising Act … historians testify the word "bollocks" goes back 1,000 years and was used to describe a ball and is also included in present-day English place names … after 20 minutes of deliberation the charges are dropped …
1979, Chuck Berry is released from the slammer following a four-month stretch on tax evasion charges … new wave group Pearl Harbor & The Explosions from San Francisco release their debut 45 "Drivin’" … it sells well locally and picks up college radio airplay … enough to lead to a record deal with Warner Brothers …
1981, Human League’s new single is "Don’t You Want Me Baby" …
1983, Michael Jackson’s 14-minute "Thriller" video premieres in Los Angeles …
1984, Bono, Boy George, Sting, George Michael, and other British pop artists record the single "Do They Know It’s Christmas?" to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia …
1985, pre-bad Bobby Brown announces he is leaving New Edition to begin a solo career …
1988, Bon Jovi’s "Bad Medicine" starts a two-week run at number one …
1994, after extensive alcohol and drug abuse as well as hepatitis C, David Crosby gets a healthy new liver via transplant …
1995, The Ghost of Tom Joad, Bruce Springsteen's 13th album, is released … the title refers to a character in John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, about the 1930s Dust Bowl emigration …
1997, ex-Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten appears on Judge Judy when a drummer sues him for $5,000 in lost wages and claims Rotten hit him … Johnny maintains the guy quit days before the tour was to begin … Judy rules for Johnny … Garth Brooks’ much-delayed seventh album, Sevens, is finally released … a day after its release, the album sets a record by placing 12 of its 14 tracks in the Hot Country 100 Singles and Tracks chart, eclipsing the former record of eight tracks also set by Brooks with his album Fresh Horses … the Zombies’ original lineup including Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone, Chris White, Paul Atkinson, and Hugh Grundy reunite to play a gig at London’s Jazz Café …
1999, country star Patty Loveless rides a train across Appalachia distributing 15 tons of Christmas gifts to poor families in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia …
2004, U2 surprises New York City with a 45-minute concert at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge before a crowd of 3,000 who were alerted to the concert via fan websites …
2006, Eddie Van Halen fires original bass player Michael Anthony replacing him with Eddie’s 15-year-old son Wolfgang … talking up his progeny’s skills, Van Halen says, "This kid is f***ing dangerous. If I excel at the speed of sound, he excels at the speed of light." … the Eagles of Death Metal are summarily fired onstage by Axl Rose after playing the first of 15 planned opening sets on the Guns n’ Roses North American tour … following the Eagles set, Rose asks the crowd, "How’d you like the Pigeons of Sh*t Metal? Don’t worry, that’s the last show they’re playing with us." … responding to the firing, Eagles leader Jesse Hughes reflects, "When [Axl] goes off his meds, [he’s] not Paxil Rose anymore." … Guitar Center sells out its entire allotment of 185 reproductions of Eric Clapton’s mid-’60s Strat affectionately known as "Blackie" in seven hours … the original axe that Clapton pieced together from several Stratocasters was bought by Guitar Center at auction and was torn down by Fender luthiers in the process of creating the specially aged replicas … The Doors—minus Jim Morrison of course—reunite for a one-off show at Hollywood’s Whisky a Go Go … it’s been four decades since the band has played the legendary club … Slash and Perry Farrell are on hand to flesh out the lineup …
2007, The Red Hot Chili Peppers file suit against Showtime claiming that the cable network’s use of the name Californication—also the title of the RHCP’s 1999 album—was a misuse of the band’s intellectual property … Nirvana’s celebrated MTV Unplugged show from November, 1993 is released on DVD … Nirvana: Unplugged In New York includes rehearsal footage and two songs that weren’t broadcast … My Morning Jacket leader Jim James reveals that the songs he has written for the band’s forthcoming 2008 album release were mightily influenced by listening to Sam Cooke—both the singer’s pop songs as well as his earlier gospel work with the Soul Stirrers … "hearing the gospel he did before blew my f***ing mind. No guitars, no bullsh*t" … Bob Dylan, Jack White, Lucinda Willliams, and Alan Jackson are reported to be working on renditions of 35 songs written by country pioneer Hank Williams but never recorded before … the project began years earlier when Acuff-Rose, Williams’ music publisher approached Dylan with a briefcase containing the songs … Dylan then moved into the role of project coordinator engaging the artists and arranging the recording sessions … the music, originally said to be due out "in a year or two" on Egyptian Records, Dylan’s Columbia label, as of today is still not released … wildfires in Malibu torch Flea’s $4.8 million mansion … the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist had rented out the home to producer Butch Walker who lost everything including a collection of vintage studio gear in the blaze … Axl Rose’s home avoids a similar fate when the G N’ R frontman wields a hose to wet down his roof … apparently the Chinese Democracy tapes were not damaged, and if they were, what’s another delay? …
2008, still bearing a grudge against Jack Bruce, drummer Ginger Baker says in a Rhythm magazine interview that there will be no more Cream reunions … Baker says the bassist played too loudly at concerts at Madison Square Garden in 2005 … 13 years after they began writing and recording their follow-up to 1991’s Use Your Illusion I and II, Gun N’ Roses finally release the long-anticipated Chinese Democracy with 14 tracks, all written by Axl Rose with various co-composers … according to a New York Time article, the production costs exceed $13 million … China dismisses the album as a "venomous attack" on the nation and bans sale of the album … and after all the rumor, hype, and expense, the album sells well below expectations … meanwhile, Atlantic Records becomes the first major record label to report that its digital sales have finally outsold the sale of its physical CDs …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
Birthdays
November 19: bandleader Tommy Dorsey (1905), gospel singer J.D. Sumner (1914), Funk Brothers pianist Joe Hunter (1927), singer Ray Collins of The Mothers of Invention (1937), Hank Medress of The Tokens (1938), Pete Moore of The Miracles (1939), Blood, Sweat & Tears piano and sax man Fred Lipsius (1943), Paul Revere & The Raiders drummer Joe Correro, Jr. (1946), drummer Matt Sorum of Guns N' Roses (1960), Travis McNabb of Better Than Ezra (1969), Justin Chancellor, bass player for Peach and Tool (1971), Tamika Scott of Xscape (1975)
November 20: Dick Smothers (1939), Tony Butala of The Lettermen (1940), Norman Greenbaum, writer-performer of "Spirit in the Sky" (1942), Duane Allman (1946), Joe Walsh (1947), drummer George Grantham of Poco (1947), guitarist Steve Ferguson of NRBQ (1949), Jim Brown of UB40 (1957), Todd Nance of Widespread Panic (1962), Mike "D" Diamond of The Beastie Boys (1965), Sen Dog of Cypress Hill (1965), songwriter Kevin Gilbert (1966), Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest (1970)
November 21: tenor sax giant Coleman Hawkins (1904), R&B producer-manager Buck Ram (1907), blues and jazz pianist Lloyd Glenn (1909), vocalist-saxophonist "Big" John Greer (1923), Malcolm John Rebennack AKA Dr. John (1941), Lonnie Jordan of War (1948), Steve Ferguson of NRBQ (1949), Livingston Taylor (1950), Peter Koppes of The Church (1955), Stacy Guess of Squirrel Nut Zippers (1964), singer-songwriter Björk (1965), Blur's Alex James (1968), Pretty Lou of Lost Boyz (1974), Kelsi Osborn of SHeDAISY (1984)
November 22: composer-conductor Benjamin Britten (1913), Rod Price of Foghat (1940), composer-pianist Hoagy Carmichael (1940), drummer Steve Wahrer of The Trashmen, one-hit-wonders with "Surfin’ Bird" (1941), Jamie Troy of The Classics (1942), drummer Floyd Sneed of Three Dog Night (1943), reggae musician Aston "Family Man" Barrett (1946), "Little" Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band (1950), bassist Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads (1950), Craig Hundley, pianist-composer and inventor of the Blaster Beam instrument used in Star Trek soundtracks (1954), Jason Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorchers (1958), James Morrison aka Jim Bob, singer with Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine (1960), Rasa Don of Arrested Development (1968)
November 23: Chicago blues producer and bassist Al Smith (1923), Johnny Kidd, of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, who wrote "Shakin’ All Over," later covered by The Who (1939), "The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)" vocalist Betty Everett (1939), John Hunter, drummer for Memphis psychedelic band The Hombres (1941), Alan Paul of Manhattan Transfer (1949), keyboardist-vocalist Bruce Hornsby (1954)
November 24: ragtime pianist Scott Joplin (1868), Jim Yester, guitarist-vocalist with The Association (1939), pre-Ringo Beatles drummer Pete Best (1941), Booker T. and the MGs and Blues Brothers bassist, Donald "Duck" Dunn (1941), singer-actor-comedian Billy Connolly of The Humblebums with Gerry Rafferty (1942), session pianist Richard Tee, born Richard Ten Ryk (1943), Robin Williamson of The Incredible String Band (1943), organist-singer Lee Michaels (1945), Bev Bevan of The Move and ELO (1946), drummer Clem Burke of Blondie, and briefly, The Ramones (1955), Chris Hayes of Huey Lewis & The News (1957), John Squire of Stone Roses (1962), Chad Taylor of Live (1970)
November 25: Eddie Boyd, Chicago blues pianist whose big hit was "Five Long Years" (1914), singer Percy Sledge (1940), Bob "Elusive Butterfly" Lind (1942), country crossover artist Amy Grant (1960), singer Stacy Lattisaw (1966), Rodney Sheppard of Sugar Ray (1967)
Obituaries
November 19: The Byrds, The Beach Boys, and Paul Revere & The Raiders producer Terry Melcher (2004), songwriter Bobby Russell (1992), songwriter Carolyn Leigh (1983), Claude Feaster of The Chords (1975)
November 20: washtub bassist and jug player Fritz Richmond (2006), singer-songwriter Chris Whitley (2005), album cover artist Gene Greif (2004), Roland Alphonso of the Skatalites (1998), rock critic and blues producer Robert Palmer (1997), Chess and Vee-Jay Records session drummer Earl Phillips (1990)
November 21: blues guitarist Robert Lockwood Jr. (2006), singer Alvin Cash (1999), Matthew Ashman of Adam & the Ants and Bow Wow Wow (1995), Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant (1995)
November 22: Alan Gordon, wrote "Happy Together" and "Celebrate" (2008), rapper MC Breed (2008), jazz impresario Norman Ganz (2001), Michael Hutchence, lead singer of INXS (1997), Epick Soundtracks of The Swell Maps (1997), June Abbit AKA Joe Abbit Sr. of The 5 Royales (1995)
November 23: Anita O’Day, jazz singer with Gene Krupa and Stan Kenton (2006), Michael Stewart, co-founder of We Five and producer of Billy Joel (2002), jazz saxophonist Art Porter (1996), Junior Walker of Junior Walker and the Allstars (1995), Badfinger bassist Tom Evans (1983)
November 24: Michael Lee, drummer for Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (2008), Casey Calvert of Hawthorne Heights (2007), Melanie Thornton of La Bouche (2001), songwriter Tommy Boyce (1994), blues guitarist Albert Collins (1993), KISS drummer Eric Carr (1991), Freddie Mercury (1991), Big Joe Turner (1985), Chicago sax player J.T. Brown (1969)
November 25: Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot (2007), Artie Mogull, record exec who signed Bob Dylan to his publishing deal (2004), underappreciated blues guitar player and singer Fenton Robinson (1997), French chanteuse Barbara (1997), British dance-pop artist Wildchild, born Roger McKenzie (1995), lead singer with techno band Mi-Sex, Steve Gilpin (1991), Nick Drake, English singer-songwriter who has achieved posthumous popularity (1974), free-jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler (1970)
1954, the first practical transistor radio made in any significant numbers, the pocket-sized Regency TR-1, is mass-marketed at $49.95 …
1955, Carl Perkins records "Blue Suede Shoes" at Sun Studios in Memphis …
1957, Elvis drops in at the mansion of Tennessee governor Frank Clement and after a little coaxing starts vocalizing along with fellow guests the Prisonaires, a quartet of Tennessee State Prison inmates who recently enjoyed an R&B chart hit with their rendition of "Just Walking in the Rain" … lead Prisonaire singer Johnny Bragg and Elvis know each other from Sun Studios sessions … the party doesn’t break up until the wee hours …
1960, U.S. patent #2,960,900 is granted to Fender for the "off-set waist" design of its Jazzmaster and Jaguar guitars … Gibson’s introduction of the Firebird with it’s asymmetrical "reverse" body shape led to a dispute between the two guitar makers … avoiding a court battle, Gibson redesigned the Firebird in 1965 with a "non-reverse" body style …
1961, blues shouter Howlin’ Wolf arrives in London as part of a lineup of American blues musicians who take Britain, and later, the continent by storm … a series of annual American Folk Blues Festivals follow leading to a generation of Brits such as Clapton, Page, Watts, and Richards becoming blues devotees who during the mid-’60s introduce white America to its own roots-music heritage …
1965, Bob Dylan marries Sara Lowndes but holds off telling just about everybody until February 1966 … Mr. and Mrs. Dylan move to Woodstock, New York … the Blonde On Blonde song "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" is one of many songs Mr. D would write about Sara—the title obliquely refers to her name … in 1977, Sara Dylan files for divorce and custody of their five children …
1966, The Monkees’ eponymous first album is the number one LP in the U.S … after 12 weeks at the top it is replaced by More of The Monkees …
1967, The Strawberry Alarm Clock’s single "Incense and Peppermints," from the album of the same name, reaches #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 …
1968, Electric Ladyland by the Jimi Hendrix Experience reaches #1 on the U.S. album charts … the gatefold double album features "Crosstown Traffic," "Voodoo Child," and the JHE’s only U.S. hit single, their dramatic re-working of Bob Dylan’s "All Along The Watchtower" … The Monkees film Head opens in six cities … Frank Zappa makes a cameo appearance … the script was co-written by Jack Nicholson, who also compiled the movie soundtrack album … one song "As We Go Along" has guitar work supplied by Neil Young, Ry Cooder, Carole King (co-writer), and Danny Kortchmar, who avoid stepping on each others parts … The Beatles, better known as The White Album, is released in the UK … the 30 tracks on the double LP span styles and genres including country, blues, folkish strummery, whimsical singalong ditties, flat-out rockers, and just plain weirdness … producer George Martin recommended picking the best tunes for a single LP … what songs would you have thrown out and included? …
1971, following the death of The Doors lead singer Jim Morrison, the surviving members tell Rolling Stone that the band will continue … it officially disbands two years later after releasing two lackluster albums with keyboardist Ray Manzarek supplying the vocals … Isaac Hayes’ "Theme From Shaft" tops the single charts …
1974, 70 minutes into The Who concert at the Cow Palace in Daly City, Keith Moon collapses behind the drums … Pete Townshend asks if there’s anyone in the audience who not only can play drums but, as he puts it "I meant somebody good" … 19-year Scot Halpin is recruited from the throng by promoter Bill Graham to fill in … despite not having played drums for a year, Halpin manages to keep up with The Who for three songs to close the concert …
1975, reviewers with advance copies of Patti Smith’s debut album Horses give it rave reviews …
1976, a Jerry Lee Lewis two-fer this week: … first, he’s busted for drunk driving after plunging his Rolls Royce into a ditch at 9 a.m… . the next day he’s arrested again for showing up at Graceland and demanding to see Elvis while brandishing a loaded derringer … The Band bids adieu to its fans at San Francisco’s Winterland with a star-studded show that includes their former boss Ronnie Hawkins, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, The Staple Singers, Dr. John, Eric Clapton, and many more … Martin Scorsese is on hand to film the proceedings resulting in the movie, The Last Waltz, widely regarded as one of the best rock movies ever … in 2002, the film is reissued on DVD with remixed 5.1 sound and lots of additional performances not seen in the theatrical release … one of the extras is an extended jam with Morrison, Clapton, Wood, et al, during which the motors in Scorsese’s cinema cameras melted down as they were not designed to handle the continuous shooting … hence the final part of the jam is an audio-only affair …
1977, The Sex Pistols are in British court coming to the defense of a shopkeeper who displayed their debut album Never Mind The Bollocks in his front window … prosecutors say the word "bollocks" is offensive and violates the Indecent Advertising Act … historians testify the word "bollocks" goes back 1,000 years and was used to describe a ball and is also included in present-day English place names … after 20 minutes of deliberation the charges are dropped …
1979, Chuck Berry is released from the slammer following a four-month stretch on tax evasion charges … new wave group Pearl Harbor & The Explosions from San Francisco release their debut 45 "Drivin’" … it sells well locally and picks up college radio airplay … enough to lead to a record deal with Warner Brothers …
1981, Human League’s new single is "Don’t You Want Me Baby" …
1983, Michael Jackson’s 14-minute "Thriller" video premieres in Los Angeles …
1984, Bono, Boy George, Sting, George Michael, and other British pop artists record the single "Do They Know It’s Christmas?" to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia …
1985, pre-bad Bobby Brown announces he is leaving New Edition to begin a solo career …
1988, Bon Jovi’s "Bad Medicine" starts a two-week run at number one …
1994, after extensive alcohol and drug abuse as well as hepatitis C, David Crosby gets a healthy new liver via transplant …
1995, The Ghost of Tom Joad, Bruce Springsteen's 13th album, is released … the title refers to a character in John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, about the 1930s Dust Bowl emigration …
1997, ex-Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten appears on Judge Judy when a drummer sues him for $5,000 in lost wages and claims Rotten hit him … Johnny maintains the guy quit days before the tour was to begin … Judy rules for Johnny … Garth Brooks’ much-delayed seventh album, Sevens, is finally released … a day after its release, the album sets a record by placing 12 of its 14 tracks in the Hot Country 100 Singles and Tracks chart, eclipsing the former record of eight tracks also set by Brooks with his album Fresh Horses … the Zombies’ original lineup including Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone, Chris White, Paul Atkinson, and Hugh Grundy reunite to play a gig at London’s Jazz Café …
1999, country star Patty Loveless rides a train across Appalachia distributing 15 tons of Christmas gifts to poor families in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia …
2004, U2 surprises New York City with a 45-minute concert at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge before a crowd of 3,000 who were alerted to the concert via fan websites …
2006, Eddie Van Halen fires original bass player Michael Anthony replacing him with Eddie’s 15-year-old son Wolfgang … talking up his progeny’s skills, Van Halen says, "This kid is f***ing dangerous. If I excel at the speed of sound, he excels at the speed of light." … the Eagles of Death Metal are summarily fired onstage by Axl Rose after playing the first of 15 planned opening sets on the Guns n’ Roses North American tour … following the Eagles set, Rose asks the crowd, "How’d you like the Pigeons of Sh*t Metal? Don’t worry, that’s the last show they’re playing with us." … responding to the firing, Eagles leader Jesse Hughes reflects, "When [Axl] goes off his meds, [he’s] not Paxil Rose anymore." … Guitar Center sells out its entire allotment of 185 reproductions of Eric Clapton’s mid-’60s Strat affectionately known as "Blackie" in seven hours … the original axe that Clapton pieced together from several Stratocasters was bought by Guitar Center at auction and was torn down by Fender luthiers in the process of creating the specially aged replicas … The Doors—minus Jim Morrison of course—reunite for a one-off show at Hollywood’s Whisky a Go Go … it’s been four decades since the band has played the legendary club … Slash and Perry Farrell are on hand to flesh out the lineup …
2007, The Red Hot Chili Peppers file suit against Showtime claiming that the cable network’s use of the name Californication—also the title of the RHCP’s 1999 album—was a misuse of the band’s intellectual property … Nirvana’s celebrated MTV Unplugged show from November, 1993 is released on DVD … Nirvana: Unplugged In New York includes rehearsal footage and two songs that weren’t broadcast … My Morning Jacket leader Jim James reveals that the songs he has written for the band’s forthcoming 2008 album release were mightily influenced by listening to Sam Cooke—both the singer’s pop songs as well as his earlier gospel work with the Soul Stirrers … "hearing the gospel he did before blew my f***ing mind. No guitars, no bullsh*t" … Bob Dylan, Jack White, Lucinda Willliams, and Alan Jackson are reported to be working on renditions of 35 songs written by country pioneer Hank Williams but never recorded before … the project began years earlier when Acuff-Rose, Williams’ music publisher approached Dylan with a briefcase containing the songs … Dylan then moved into the role of project coordinator engaging the artists and arranging the recording sessions … the music, originally said to be due out "in a year or two" on Egyptian Records, Dylan’s Columbia label, as of today is still not released … wildfires in Malibu torch Flea’s $4.8 million mansion … the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist had rented out the home to producer Butch Walker who lost everything including a collection of vintage studio gear in the blaze … Axl Rose’s home avoids a similar fate when the G N’ R frontman wields a hose to wet down his roof … apparently the Chinese Democracy tapes were not damaged, and if they were, what’s another delay? …
2008, still bearing a grudge against Jack Bruce, drummer Ginger Baker says in a Rhythm magazine interview that there will be no more Cream reunions … Baker says the bassist played too loudly at concerts at Madison Square Garden in 2005 … 13 years after they began writing and recording their follow-up to 1991’s Use Your Illusion I and II, Gun N’ Roses finally release the long-anticipated Chinese Democracy with 14 tracks, all written by Axl Rose with various co-composers … according to a New York Time article, the production costs exceed $13 million … China dismisses the album as a "venomous attack" on the nation and bans sale of the album … and after all the rumor, hype, and expense, the album sells well below expectations … meanwhile, Atlantic Records becomes the first major record label to report that its digital sales have finally outsold the sale of its physical CDs …
… and that was the week that was in matters musical.
Birthdays
November 19: bandleader Tommy Dorsey (1905), gospel singer J.D. Sumner (1914), Funk Brothers pianist Joe Hunter (1927), singer Ray Collins of The Mothers of Invention (1937), Hank Medress of The Tokens (1938), Pete Moore of The Miracles (1939), Blood, Sweat & Tears piano and sax man Fred Lipsius (1943), Paul Revere & The Raiders drummer Joe Correro, Jr. (1946), drummer Matt Sorum of Guns N' Roses (1960), Travis McNabb of Better Than Ezra (1969), Justin Chancellor, bass player for Peach and Tool (1971), Tamika Scott of Xscape (1975)
November 20: Dick Smothers (1939), Tony Butala of The Lettermen (1940), Norman Greenbaum, writer-performer of "Spirit in the Sky" (1942), Duane Allman (1946), Joe Walsh (1947), drummer George Grantham of Poco (1947), guitarist Steve Ferguson of NRBQ (1949), Jim Brown of UB40 (1957), Todd Nance of Widespread Panic (1962), Mike "D" Diamond of The Beastie Boys (1965), Sen Dog of Cypress Hill (1965), songwriter Kevin Gilbert (1966), Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest (1970)
November 21: tenor sax giant Coleman Hawkins (1904), R&B producer-manager Buck Ram (1907), blues and jazz pianist Lloyd Glenn (1909), vocalist-saxophonist "Big" John Greer (1923), Malcolm John Rebennack AKA Dr. John (1941), Lonnie Jordan of War (1948), Steve Ferguson of NRBQ (1949), Livingston Taylor (1950), Peter Koppes of The Church (1955), Stacy Guess of Squirrel Nut Zippers (1964), singer-songwriter Björk (1965), Blur's Alex James (1968), Pretty Lou of Lost Boyz (1974), Kelsi Osborn of SHeDAISY (1984)
November 22: composer-conductor Benjamin Britten (1913), Rod Price of Foghat (1940), composer-pianist Hoagy Carmichael (1940), drummer Steve Wahrer of The Trashmen, one-hit-wonders with "Surfin’ Bird" (1941), Jamie Troy of The Classics (1942), drummer Floyd Sneed of Three Dog Night (1943), reggae musician Aston "Family Man" Barrett (1946), "Little" Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band (1950), bassist Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads (1950), Craig Hundley, pianist-composer and inventor of the Blaster Beam instrument used in Star Trek soundtracks (1954), Jason Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorchers (1958), James Morrison aka Jim Bob, singer with Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine (1960), Rasa Don of Arrested Development (1968)
November 23: Chicago blues producer and bassist Al Smith (1923), Johnny Kidd, of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, who wrote "Shakin’ All Over," later covered by The Who (1939), "The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)" vocalist Betty Everett (1939), John Hunter, drummer for Memphis psychedelic band The Hombres (1941), Alan Paul of Manhattan Transfer (1949), keyboardist-vocalist Bruce Hornsby (1954)
November 24: ragtime pianist Scott Joplin (1868), Jim Yester, guitarist-vocalist with The Association (1939), pre-Ringo Beatles drummer Pete Best (1941), Booker T. and the MGs and Blues Brothers bassist, Donald "Duck" Dunn (1941), singer-actor-comedian Billy Connolly of The Humblebums with Gerry Rafferty (1942), session pianist Richard Tee, born Richard Ten Ryk (1943), Robin Williamson of The Incredible String Band (1943), organist-singer Lee Michaels (1945), Bev Bevan of The Move and ELO (1946), drummer Clem Burke of Blondie, and briefly, The Ramones (1955), Chris Hayes of Huey Lewis & The News (1957), John Squire of Stone Roses (1962), Chad Taylor of Live (1970)
November 25: Eddie Boyd, Chicago blues pianist whose big hit was "Five Long Years" (1914), singer Percy Sledge (1940), Bob "Elusive Butterfly" Lind (1942), country crossover artist Amy Grant (1960), singer Stacy Lattisaw (1966), Rodney Sheppard of Sugar Ray (1967)
Obituaries
November 19: The Byrds, The Beach Boys, and Paul Revere & The Raiders producer Terry Melcher (2004), songwriter Bobby Russell (1992), songwriter Carolyn Leigh (1983), Claude Feaster of The Chords (1975)
November 20: washtub bassist and jug player Fritz Richmond (2006), singer-songwriter Chris Whitley (2005), album cover artist Gene Greif (2004), Roland Alphonso of the Skatalites (1998), rock critic and blues producer Robert Palmer (1997), Chess and Vee-Jay Records session drummer Earl Phillips (1990)
November 21: blues guitarist Robert Lockwood Jr. (2006), singer Alvin Cash (1999), Matthew Ashman of Adam & the Ants and Bow Wow Wow (1995), Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant (1995)
November 22: Alan Gordon, wrote "Happy Together" and "Celebrate" (2008), rapper MC Breed (2008), jazz impresario Norman Ganz (2001), Michael Hutchence, lead singer of INXS (1997), Epick Soundtracks of The Swell Maps (1997), June Abbit AKA Joe Abbit Sr. of The 5 Royales (1995)
November 23: Anita O’Day, jazz singer with Gene Krupa and Stan Kenton (2006), Michael Stewart, co-founder of We Five and producer of Billy Joel (2002), jazz saxophonist Art Porter (1996), Junior Walker of Junior Walker and the Allstars (1995), Badfinger bassist Tom Evans (1983)
November 24: Michael Lee, drummer for Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (2008), Casey Calvert of Hawthorne Heights (2007), Melanie Thornton of La Bouche (2001), songwriter Tommy Boyce (1994), blues guitarist Albert Collins (1993), KISS drummer Eric Carr (1991), Freddie Mercury (1991), Big Joe Turner (1985), Chicago sax player J.T. Brown (1969)
November 25: Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot (2007), Artie Mogull, record exec who signed Bob Dylan to his publishing deal (2004), underappreciated blues guitar player and singer Fenton Robinson (1997), French chanteuse Barbara (1997), British dance-pop artist Wildchild, born Roger McKenzie (1995), lead singer with techno band Mi-Sex, Steve Gilpin (1991), Nick Drake, English singer-songwriter who has achieved posthumous popularity (1974), free-jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler (1970)
This is the week that was in matters musical…
1944, a plane carrying bandleader Glen Miller vanishes over the English Channel … the fate of the aircraft and its passengers remains a mystery …
1952, "Stormy Weather" by The Five Sharps is issued this week … it has become known as the rarest of all R&B records and only three 78rpm copies are known to exist … at auction the record is worth an estimated $20,000 … no 45rpm copies are known to exist…
1957, Jerry Lee Lewis weds Myra Gale Brown…she is his third wife, his third cousin, and 13 years old … this same week, Al Priddy, a disc jockey at station KEX in Portland, Oregon, is fired for playing Elvis Presley's version of "White Christmas" … the station had instituted a ban of the song due to a behind–the–scenes deal with original song composer Irving Berlin, who detested The King’s version of his tune … KEX management states the song is "not in the spirit we associate with Christmas" whatever that means …
1960, German authorities deport 17–year–old George Harrison as he’s too young to perform with the Beatles in the raucous Hamburg nightclubs that hosted the band in its early days …
1961, The Beatles sign with manager Brian Epstein …
1964, Sam Cooke is shot and beaten to death by a motel manager in Los Angeles … Cooke was apparently running amok wearing only a sport coat and shoes … he was chasing a young woman who had fled his room with his clothes after he had assaulted her … in pursuit, Cooke broke open the door to the manager’s office, resulting in her shooting him three times and then beating the singer for good measure … he is dead when police arrive … original blue–eyed soul singers The Righteous Brothers release the Phil Spector–produced mega–hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin’" … besides being deliriously catchy with an instantly memorable melody, the song records several firsts … it is the first four–minute single to hit number one in the U.S. and the first tune produced by Spector to top the charts in England … Spector refuses to cut the song to the under the time required for radio … instead, the last two digits of the running time are reversed to appear as 3:05 … it takes programming directors weeks to discover why shows are suddenly running long … the trick works, though, as "Lovin’ Feelin’" was already a hit and in demand …
1965, Bill Graham promotes his first concert at the Fillmore Auditorium as a benefit for the San Francisco Mime Troupe … Graham rents the venue from leaseholder Charles Sullivan, an African–American man who, during the 1950s and 1960s, is the largest promoter of black music west of the Mississippi … Graham will later take over all shows at the venue and the Fillmore will become a Mecca for psychedelic bands and their patchouli–scented fans …
1967, Otis Redding is killed when his tour plane crashes into Lake Monona near Madison, Wisconsin…the "Love Man" is 26 … killed with Redding are the pilot and four members of his backup group, the Bar–Kays … The scheduled warm–up band for Redding’s show that evening is a group called The Grim Reaper … The Beach Boys are given transcendental meditation instruction by the guru to the Beatles, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi …
1968, The Rolling Stones film Rock & Roll Circusis shot in front of a live audience in London…the circus performers include The Rolling Stones, The Who, Marianne Faithful, Jethro Tull, and temporary rock supergroup Dirty Mac, consisting of John Lennon, Mitch Mitchell, Eric Clapton, and Keith Richards…Yoko Ono makes an appearance on one Dirty Mac tune … the rock–concert extravaganza was intended for broadcast as a television special but never makes it … the film will not see release until 1996 …
1971, Frank Zappa is pushed off the stage at the Rainbow Theatre in London … he gets the shove from the jealous boyfriend of an ardent young fan … Frank suffers a broken leg, broken ankle, fractured skull, and crushed larynx, but it’s the damage to his spine which keeps him in a wheel chair for most of the year …
1977, The Sex Pistols are denied U.S. visas two days before the band is to appear on Saturday Night Live …
1982, actress–choreographer–one–hit–wonder Toni Basil hits number one on the BillBoard pop chart with "Mickey"…
1984, various popular artists, who are part of Bob Geldof’s Band–Aid rock charity, release the well–intentioned but campy single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" …
1988, James Brown draws a prison sentence of six years for fleeing cops during an interstate car chase … he is paroled in February 1991 …
1999, rapper Notorious B.I.G.’s second posthumous album, Born Again, sells nearly half a million copies in its first week … it bumps Celine Dion out of the top spot with national retailers … in announcing that he’ll run for mayor of London, former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren enumerates the novel planks of his political platform: legalize boozing in public libraries, legalize pot, legalize all–night pubs, and last but not least, install brothels outside the houses of Parliament … he drops out of the race a couple of months later …
2004, James Brown announces that he will be operated on for prostate cancer …
2005, singer Nellie McKay is dropped by Columbia Records following a protracted squabble over her sophomore release…she wants to release a 23–track version of the album while the label wants to pare it down to 16 … referring to her breakup with the label she invokes fellow Columbia artist Bob Dylan’s lyric: "I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more" …
2006, daredevil Evel Knievel files suit against Kanye West charging trademark infringement over the rapper’s "Touch the Sky" video in which West, using the alter–ego "Evel Kanyevel" attempts to jump a canyon on a motorcycle … apparently not a West fan, Knievel terms the video, "… the most worthless piece of crap I’ve ever seen in my life."…
2007, Led Zep reunites for a one–off show at London’s O2 arena as a part of a tribute to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun who died a year earlier … the two–hour set included many of the band’s biggest hits and represented Zep’s first full–length show since drummer John Bonham died in 1980 … filling in on drums is John’s son, Jason who acquitts himself well … rumors swirl about a reunion tour … also this week, a half dozen tracks posted online by garage rockers Foxboro Hot Tubs get heightened attention when word leaks that the songs are actually the work of pop punksters Green Day … a full–length album, Stop Drop and Roll, containing the singles will be released the following April …
…and that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
December 10: jazz bandleader Jerry Blaine (1910), Guitar Slim, born Eddie Jones (1926), Ralph Tavares of Tavares (1948), J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., born Joseph Donald Mascis (1965), Timothy Christian Riley of Tony! Toni! Tone! (1966), Scot Alexander of Dishwalla (1971), Meg White of The White Stripes (1974)
December 11: Yodeling Slim Clark (1917), Big Mama Thornton aka Willie Mae Thornton (1926), Buddy Ace aka the Root Doctor (1936), David Gates of Bread (1940), Booker T. Jones of Booker T and The MGs (1944), Brenda Lee (1944), Jermaine Jackson (1954), Mike Mesaros of The Smithereens (1958), Nikki Sixx (1958), Justin Curie of Del Amitri (1964)
December 12: Frank Sinatra (1915), big–band singer Joe Williams (1918), Sun Records founder Sam Phillips (1923), jazz guitarist Jim Hall (1930), Connie Francis (1938), Dionne Warwick (1941), Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers (1943), Motor City 5 singer Rob Tyner (1944), Clive Bunker of Jethro Tull (1946), Martin Stone of Savoy Brown (1946), George Brown of Kool & The Gang (1949), Chris Stein of Blondie (1950), Don Baird of The Georgia Satellites (1953), Cy Curnin of The Fixx (1957), Sheila E. (1959), Eric Schenkman of Spin Doctors (1963), Grant Young of Soul Asylum (1964), Kate Schellenbach of Luscious Jackson (1965), Nick Dimichino of Nine Days (1967), Danny Boy of House Of Pain (1968), Marilyn Manson (1969), Dino Meneghin of The Calling (1977)
December 13: Wayne "Duster" Bennett (1932), Robert Covington (1941), Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (1948), Ted Nugent (1948), Randy Owen of Alabama (1949), Television's Tom Verlaine (1949), country star John Anderson (1954), Berton Averre of The Knack (1954), Tom DeLonge of blink–182 (1975)
December 14: Spike Jones (1911), country star Charlie Rich (1932), Warren Ryanes of The Monotones (1937), Don Addrisi (1938), surf music producer Gary Usher (1938), Joyce Vincent Wilson of Dawn (1946), Patty Duke (1946), Cliff Williams of AC/DC (1949), singer Tamara Daanz (1952), The Waterboys' Mike Scott (1958), Peter Stacy of The Pogues (1958), Brian Dalyrimple of Soul for Real (1975)
December 15: guitarist Oscar Moore of the Nat "King" Cole Trio (1912), Max Yasgur whose dairy farm was the site of Woodstock (1919), DJ Alan Freed (1922), country singer–songwriter Ernie Ashworth (1928), R&B balladeer Jesse Belvin (1933), Johnny Moore of The Drifters (1934), Cindy Birdsong of The Supremes (1939), Dave Clark of the Dave Clark 5 (1942), Carmine Appice of Vanilla Fudge (1946), Harry Ray of The Moments (1946), Paul Simonon of The Clash (1955)
December 16: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770), Ernie Freeman (1922), New Orleans saxman Clarence Ford (1922), Tony Hicks of The Hollies (1943), John Abercrombie (1944), Benny Andersson of ABBA (1946), Harry Ray of Ray, Goodman, & Brown (1946), ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons (1950), guitarist Robben Ford (1951), Steve Lundy of Force M.D.’s (1965), Christopher Thorn of Blind Melon (1968), Michael McCary of Boyz II Men (1971)
Obituaries
December 10: fingerpickin’ Delta blues legend Jerry Ricks (2007), Rick Danko of The Band (1999), lyricist Buddy Feyne (1998), Jake Carey, bass singer with The Flamingos (1997), country singer Faron Young (1996), rapper Darren Robinson of The Fat Boys (1995), Willie Harris of the Clovers (1988), Otis Redding (1967), Bar–Kays guitarist Jimmy King (1967), Bar–Kays sax player Phalin Jones (1967), Bar–Kays drummer Carl Cunningham (1967), Bar–Kays organ player Ronnie Caldwell ( all 1967)
December 11: Snot member Lynn Strait (1998), Sam Cooke (1964)
December 12: king of zydeco accordion Clifton Chenier (1987), session pianist and founding member of The Rolling Stones Ian Stewart (1985)
December 13: slide guitarist "Homesick" James Williamson (2006), children's composer Larry Troxel (1998)
December 14: legendary record label honcho Ahmet Ertegun (2006), Zal Yanovsky of the Lovin' Spoonful (2002), jazz trumpeter Conte Condoli (2001), Kurt Winter of The Guess Who? (1997), Pattie Santos of It’s A Beautiful Day (1989), Dinah Washington (1963)
December 15: Rufus "Walkin’ The Dog" Thomas (2001), Bianca Halstead of Betty Blowtorch (2001), music industry executive Nat Tarnopol (1987), Will Shatter of Flipper (1983), R&B shouter Jackie Brenston (1979), Uriah Heep bassist Gary Thain (1975), Glenn Miller (1944), Fats Waller (1943)
December 16: country singer Gary Stewart (2003), Stuart Adamson of Big Country (2001), Nicolette Larson (1997), androgynous disco star Sylvester James (1988)
1944, a plane carrying bandleader Glen Miller vanishes over the English Channel … the fate of the aircraft and its passengers remains a mystery …
1952, "Stormy Weather" by The Five Sharps is issued this week … it has become known as the rarest of all R&B records and only three 78rpm copies are known to exist … at auction the record is worth an estimated $20,000 … no 45rpm copies are known to exist…
1957, Jerry Lee Lewis weds Myra Gale Brown…she is his third wife, his third cousin, and 13 years old … this same week, Al Priddy, a disc jockey at station KEX in Portland, Oregon, is fired for playing Elvis Presley's version of "White Christmas" … the station had instituted a ban of the song due to a behind–the–scenes deal with original song composer Irving Berlin, who detested The King’s version of his tune … KEX management states the song is "not in the spirit we associate with Christmas" whatever that means …
1960, German authorities deport 17–year–old George Harrison as he’s too young to perform with the Beatles in the raucous Hamburg nightclubs that hosted the band in its early days …
1961, The Beatles sign with manager Brian Epstein …
1964, Sam Cooke is shot and beaten to death by a motel manager in Los Angeles … Cooke was apparently running amok wearing only a sport coat and shoes … he was chasing a young woman who had fled his room with his clothes after he had assaulted her … in pursuit, Cooke broke open the door to the manager’s office, resulting in her shooting him three times and then beating the singer for good measure … he is dead when police arrive … original blue–eyed soul singers The Righteous Brothers release the Phil Spector–produced mega–hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin’" … besides being deliriously catchy with an instantly memorable melody, the song records several firsts … it is the first four–minute single to hit number one in the U.S. and the first tune produced by Spector to top the charts in England … Spector refuses to cut the song to the under the time required for radio … instead, the last two digits of the running time are reversed to appear as 3:05 … it takes programming directors weeks to discover why shows are suddenly running long … the trick works, though, as "Lovin’ Feelin’" was already a hit and in demand …
1965, Bill Graham promotes his first concert at the Fillmore Auditorium as a benefit for the San Francisco Mime Troupe … Graham rents the venue from leaseholder Charles Sullivan, an African–American man who, during the 1950s and 1960s, is the largest promoter of black music west of the Mississippi … Graham will later take over all shows at the venue and the Fillmore will become a Mecca for psychedelic bands and their patchouli–scented fans …
1967, Otis Redding is killed when his tour plane crashes into Lake Monona near Madison, Wisconsin…the "Love Man" is 26 … killed with Redding are the pilot and four members of his backup group, the Bar–Kays … The scheduled warm–up band for Redding’s show that evening is a group called The Grim Reaper … The Beach Boys are given transcendental meditation instruction by the guru to the Beatles, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi …
1968, The Rolling Stones film Rock & Roll Circusis shot in front of a live audience in London…the circus performers include The Rolling Stones, The Who, Marianne Faithful, Jethro Tull, and temporary rock supergroup Dirty Mac, consisting of John Lennon, Mitch Mitchell, Eric Clapton, and Keith Richards…Yoko Ono makes an appearance on one Dirty Mac tune … the rock–concert extravaganza was intended for broadcast as a television special but never makes it … the film will not see release until 1996 …
1971, Frank Zappa is pushed off the stage at the Rainbow Theatre in London … he gets the shove from the jealous boyfriend of an ardent young fan … Frank suffers a broken leg, broken ankle, fractured skull, and crushed larynx, but it’s the damage to his spine which keeps him in a wheel chair for most of the year …
1977, The Sex Pistols are denied U.S. visas two days before the band is to appear on Saturday Night Live …
1982, actress–choreographer–one–hit–wonder Toni Basil hits number one on the BillBoard pop chart with "Mickey"…
1984, various popular artists, who are part of Bob Geldof’s Band–Aid rock charity, release the well–intentioned but campy single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" …
1988, James Brown draws a prison sentence of six years for fleeing cops during an interstate car chase … he is paroled in February 1991 …
1999, rapper Notorious B.I.G.’s second posthumous album, Born Again, sells nearly half a million copies in its first week … it bumps Celine Dion out of the top spot with national retailers … in announcing that he’ll run for mayor of London, former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren enumerates the novel planks of his political platform: legalize boozing in public libraries, legalize pot, legalize all–night pubs, and last but not least, install brothels outside the houses of Parliament … he drops out of the race a couple of months later …
2004, James Brown announces that he will be operated on for prostate cancer …
2005, singer Nellie McKay is dropped by Columbia Records following a protracted squabble over her sophomore release…she wants to release a 23–track version of the album while the label wants to pare it down to 16 … referring to her breakup with the label she invokes fellow Columbia artist Bob Dylan’s lyric: "I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more" …
2006, daredevil Evel Knievel files suit against Kanye West charging trademark infringement over the rapper’s "Touch the Sky" video in which West, using the alter–ego "Evel Kanyevel" attempts to jump a canyon on a motorcycle … apparently not a West fan, Knievel terms the video, "… the most worthless piece of crap I’ve ever seen in my life."…
2007, Led Zep reunites for a one–off show at London’s O2 arena as a part of a tribute to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun who died a year earlier … the two–hour set included many of the band’s biggest hits and represented Zep’s first full–length show since drummer John Bonham died in 1980 … filling in on drums is John’s son, Jason who acquitts himself well … rumors swirl about a reunion tour … also this week, a half dozen tracks posted online by garage rockers Foxboro Hot Tubs get heightened attention when word leaks that the songs are actually the work of pop punksters Green Day … a full–length album, Stop Drop and Roll, containing the singles will be released the following April …
…and that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
December 10: jazz bandleader Jerry Blaine (1910), Guitar Slim, born Eddie Jones (1926), Ralph Tavares of Tavares (1948), J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., born Joseph Donald Mascis (1965), Timothy Christian Riley of Tony! Toni! Tone! (1966), Scot Alexander of Dishwalla (1971), Meg White of The White Stripes (1974)
December 11: Yodeling Slim Clark (1917), Big Mama Thornton aka Willie Mae Thornton (1926), Buddy Ace aka the Root Doctor (1936), David Gates of Bread (1940), Booker T. Jones of Booker T and The MGs (1944), Brenda Lee (1944), Jermaine Jackson (1954), Mike Mesaros of The Smithereens (1958), Nikki Sixx (1958), Justin Curie of Del Amitri (1964)
December 12: Frank Sinatra (1915), big–band singer Joe Williams (1918), Sun Records founder Sam Phillips (1923), jazz guitarist Jim Hall (1930), Connie Francis (1938), Dionne Warwick (1941), Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers (1943), Motor City 5 singer Rob Tyner (1944), Clive Bunker of Jethro Tull (1946), Martin Stone of Savoy Brown (1946), George Brown of Kool & The Gang (1949), Chris Stein of Blondie (1950), Don Baird of The Georgia Satellites (1953), Cy Curnin of The Fixx (1957), Sheila E. (1959), Eric Schenkman of Spin Doctors (1963), Grant Young of Soul Asylum (1964), Kate Schellenbach of Luscious Jackson (1965), Nick Dimichino of Nine Days (1967), Danny Boy of House Of Pain (1968), Marilyn Manson (1969), Dino Meneghin of The Calling (1977)
December 13: Wayne "Duster" Bennett (1932), Robert Covington (1941), Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (1948), Ted Nugent (1948), Randy Owen of Alabama (1949), Television's Tom Verlaine (1949), country star John Anderson (1954), Berton Averre of The Knack (1954), Tom DeLonge of blink–182 (1975)
December 14: Spike Jones (1911), country star Charlie Rich (1932), Warren Ryanes of The Monotones (1937), Don Addrisi (1938), surf music producer Gary Usher (1938), Joyce Vincent Wilson of Dawn (1946), Patty Duke (1946), Cliff Williams of AC/DC (1949), singer Tamara Daanz (1952), The Waterboys' Mike Scott (1958), Peter Stacy of The Pogues (1958), Brian Dalyrimple of Soul for Real (1975)
December 15: guitarist Oscar Moore of the Nat "King" Cole Trio (1912), Max Yasgur whose dairy farm was the site of Woodstock (1919), DJ Alan Freed (1922), country singer–songwriter Ernie Ashworth (1928), R&B balladeer Jesse Belvin (1933), Johnny Moore of The Drifters (1934), Cindy Birdsong of The Supremes (1939), Dave Clark of the Dave Clark 5 (1942), Carmine Appice of Vanilla Fudge (1946), Harry Ray of The Moments (1946), Paul Simonon of The Clash (1955)
December 16: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770), Ernie Freeman (1922), New Orleans saxman Clarence Ford (1922), Tony Hicks of The Hollies (1943), John Abercrombie (1944), Benny Andersson of ABBA (1946), Harry Ray of Ray, Goodman, & Brown (1946), ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons (1950), guitarist Robben Ford (1951), Steve Lundy of Force M.D.’s (1965), Christopher Thorn of Blind Melon (1968), Michael McCary of Boyz II Men (1971)
Obituaries
December 10: fingerpickin’ Delta blues legend Jerry Ricks (2007), Rick Danko of The Band (1999), lyricist Buddy Feyne (1998), Jake Carey, bass singer with The Flamingos (1997), country singer Faron Young (1996), rapper Darren Robinson of The Fat Boys (1995), Willie Harris of the Clovers (1988), Otis Redding (1967), Bar–Kays guitarist Jimmy King (1967), Bar–Kays sax player Phalin Jones (1967), Bar–Kays drummer Carl Cunningham (1967), Bar–Kays organ player Ronnie Caldwell ( all 1967)
December 11: Snot member Lynn Strait (1998), Sam Cooke (1964)
December 12: king of zydeco accordion Clifton Chenier (1987), session pianist and founding member of The Rolling Stones Ian Stewart (1985)
December 13: slide guitarist "Homesick" James Williamson (2006), children's composer Larry Troxel (1998)
December 14: legendary record label honcho Ahmet Ertegun (2006), Zal Yanovsky of the Lovin' Spoonful (2002), jazz trumpeter Conte Condoli (2001), Kurt Winter of The Guess Who? (1997), Pattie Santos of It’s A Beautiful Day (1989), Dinah Washington (1963)
December 15: Rufus "Walkin’ The Dog" Thomas (2001), Bianca Halstead of Betty Blowtorch (2001), music industry executive Nat Tarnopol (1987), Will Shatter of Flipper (1983), R&B shouter Jackie Brenston (1979), Uriah Heep bassist Gary Thain (1975), Glenn Miller (1944), Fats Waller (1943)
December 16: country singer Gary Stewart (2003), Stuart Adamson of Big Country (2001), Nicolette Larson (1997), androgynous disco star Sylvester James (1988)
This is the week that was in matters musical…
1930, underappreciated guitarist Auburn “Pat” Hare is born … an impassioned blues player with a fiery temper and guitar style to match, he worked with some of the biggest names including Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf … one of his records, “Gonna Murder My Baby,” proved prophetic … Hare died in prison while doing a life sentence for murdering his girlfriend and a policeman …
1942, Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” tops the Billboard pop chart … the song is re–released during ensuing holiday seasons and nails the top spot again in 1945 and 1947, and ultimately becomes one of the biggest singles ever …
1955, Carl Perkins writes “Blue Suede Shoes” and records the song less than 48 hours later … Elvis covers the tune later that year cementing its position in the rockabilly canon …
1958, ooh–wee baby … Frankie Ford’s rocking “Sea Cruise” is released this week …it will eventually rise to #3 on the pop chart and become a staple of the Crescent City R&B sound … the tune, originally recorded by Huey “Piano” Smith with Bobby Marchan on vocals, is re–recorded with Ford dubbing his singing over that funky backing track … thanks to his gritty reading of the song, most listeners assume Ford is black … in reality he’s a pompadoured white boy who could easily play the role of a teen idol …
1959, Chuck Berry is arrested for transporting a minor across state lines for an immoral purpose … Berry had invited a young Native American woman he met in El Paso to come work as a hat check girl in his Club Bandstand in Missouri … the young woman is fired two weeks later and hustles at a local hotel for a few days before calling police for help getting back home … the call leads to Berry’s trial and a conviction that is later overturned because the judge made racist remarks …
1960, Elvis Presley is inducted into the Los Angeles Indian Tribal Council … the ceremony coincides with the opening of his movie Flaming Star in which the singer plays a half–breed …
1964, following a flight from L.A. to Houston during which Brian Wilson suffered a mental collapse, the Beach Boy gives up touring … he is replaced on tour by studio musician Glen Campbell …
1967, Grateful Dead soundman and pharmacist to the Love Generation, Owsley Stanley, is busted with 350,000 doses of LSD … in his defense, Stanley maintains the psychedelics were for his personal use … the judge thinks he’s tripping and Stanley gets three years in the slammer …
1969, Elton John and Bernie Taupin form one of the most successful songwriting teams of the 20th century …
1975, Ike and Tina Turner are robbed of a suitcase filled with concert receipts totaling $86,000 …
1977, Cat Stevens converts to Islam and changes his name to Yusuf Islam …
1978, Rod Stewart releases “Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?” … apparently someone does, because the song quickly soars to No. 1 on the pop chart … this same week the Who's drummer slot, recently and tragically vacated by Keith Moon, is amply filled by Kenny Jones …
1985, Minutemen guitarist Dennis Boon dies when the tour van piloted by his girlfriend veers off a road in Arizona … the vehicle had previously been owned by the Meat Puppets …
1992, guitarist Eddie Hazel dies after years of alcohol and drug abuse … influenced by Jimi Hendix, Hazel was part of the funk band Parliament–Funkadelic … his blazing 10–minute guitar solo on “Maggot Brain” in which his amp’s speaker can be heard self–destructing is revered by psychedelic guitarists and was played at Hazel’s funeral …
1996, crooner Tony Bennett has just arrived at the White House for a holiday dinner with the Clintons when he suffers an erupted hernia and is rushed to a hospital where he undergoes emergency surgery …
1998, two of Charlie Daniels’ backup players demonstrate an extraordinary work ethic when they schedule surgeries to coincide with their boss’s appointment for knee surgery … all three go under the knife on the same day in the same hospital in order to minimize show cancellations … bassist Jerry Charlie Hayward has a tonsillectomy while drummer Jack Gavin has shoulder surgery …
1999, former singing cowboy Rex Allen is killed when his caregiver accidentally runs him over in the driveway of his Tucson home … meanwhile in Sicily, the Goo Goo Dolls nearly bite the big one when the military transport they’re flying in skids off a runway damaging its landing gear and a wing, obliging the Goo Goos to beat a hasty retreat via an emergency chute …
2000, the British music journal Melody Maker prints its final issue after continuous publication since 1926 …
2004, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan sue the Applebee’s restaurant chain over an ad which modified lyrics to their 1967 hit “Happy Together" … in the ad, the words “Imagine me and you, I do/I think about you day and night, it's only right” become “Imagine steak and shrimp, or shrimp and steak/Imagine both of these on just one plate” … according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court, the pair argue the changes transformed “a sweet love song [in]to a crass paean to shrimp and steak combination plates" …
2005, U2 wraps a 118–date world tour with a show in Portland, OR … rated among the band’s best tours ever by fans, the shows brought in $260 million, a sum only exceeded by the Rolling Stones … Evanescence (you remember them, right?) lead singer Amy Lee files suit against her ex–manager Dennis Rider charging he sexually assaulted and swindled her … her suit also claims conflict of interest since Rider also represents her former bandmate and paramour, Ben Moody … in other news, Microsoft and MTV announce they are joining forces to launch Urge, a new online music store intended to compete with Apple’s iTunes … the service will not be compatible with iPods … the partners pull the plug in 2007 when the service fails to gain traction and MTV affiliates with the Rhapsody digital download store …
2006, The Complete Motown Singles – Vol. 6: 1966 is released … included are two tracks cut by The Mynah Birds, an unsung R&B outfit with the unlikely combination of Rick James on vocals and future Buffalo Springfield members Neil Young and Bruce Palmer providing backing … the tunes were originally shelved following James’ bust for going AWOL from the navy … David Gilmour releases a three–song EP as a tribute to recently deceased former Pink Floyd bandmate Syd Barrett … two interpretations of Barrett’s “Arnold Layne” are included …
2007, Willie Nelson appears in an anti–dogfighting TV spot … the ad runs just as Atlanta Falcons football star Michael Vick is about to be sentenced on dogfighting–related charges … Willie also appears this same month on the cover of High Times magazine fondling a hank of his favorite herb … this just eight months after Willie’s pot–possession bust in Louisiana …
2008, put Slipknot’s Corey Taylor down as a confirmed Coldplay hater … the masked metal man, commenting on the British band’s album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, calls it “one of the most self–celebratory pieces of s**t I've ever f***ing heard in my entire f***ing life” … c’mon Corey, tell us how you really feel …
…and that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
December 17: Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler (1894), pop singer Tommy Steele (1936), New Orleans singer–keyboardist Art Neville (1938), New Orleans R&B pianist James Booker (1939), Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations (1939), Chicago harp player Paul Butterfield (1942), Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers (1949), drummer Carlton Barrett of The Wailers (1950), Wanda Hutchinson of The Emotions (1951), Mike Mills of R.E.M. (1956), Bob Stinson of The Replacements (1959), Sarah Dallin of Bananarama (1961), Craig “DJ Homicide” Bullock of Sugar Ray (1972)
December 18: swing bandleader Fletcher Henderson (1897), blues guitarist Pee Wee Crayton (1914), Jimi Hendrix manager Chas Chandler (1938), Keith Richards (1943), Elliot Easton of The Cars (1953), Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth (1954), DMX (1970), DJ Lethal of Limp Bizkit (1972), Christina Aguilera (1980)
December 19: Edith Piaf (1915), alto sax man and singer Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson (1917), New Orleans piano pioneer Professor Longhair aka Henry Roeland (Roy) Byrd (1918), activist–folkie Phil Ochs (1940), Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White (1941), blues–rock guitarist Alvin Lee (1944), The Lovin’ Spoonful’s Zal Yanofsky (1944), John McEuen of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1945), Doug Johnson of Loverboy (1957), Australian bassist Tracy Pew (1957), Kajagoogoo’s Limahl (1958), Charles “Mercury” Nelson of Force M.D.s (1964), Kevin Shepard of Zoo Story (1968)
December 20: New Orleans pianist Cousin Joe (1907), blues guitarist Auburn “Pat” Hare (1930), Blood, Sweat and Tears drummer Bobby Colomby (1944), Peter Criss of Kiss (1947), Easybeats singer Stevie Wright (1948), British punk–protest singer Billy Bragg (1957), Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes (1966), R&B singer JoJo (1990)
December 21: seminal bluesman Peetie Wheatstraw born William Bunch (1902), jazz and R&B saxophonist Hank Crawford (1934), Frank Zappa (1940), Ray Hildebrand of the ’60s vocal duo Paul and Paula (1940), Brit fingerpicking guitar hero Albert Lee (1943), Beach Boy Carl Wilson (1946), The Rumour’s Martin Belmont (1948), singer–songwriter Nick Gilder (1951), Jellybean Benitez (1951), cleanup woman Betty Wright (1953), Gabriel Glaser of Luscious Jackson (1965), Brett Scallions of Fuel (1971)
December 22: composer Giacomo Puccini (1858), Austin bluesman T.D. Bell AKA Little T–Bone (1922), bluesman Alvin “Shine” Robinson (1937), Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew (1941), The Animals’ Barry Jenkins (1944), Maurice and Robin Gibb (1949), Cheap Trick’s Rick Neilsen (1954), bass player John Patitucci (1959)
December 23: country singer Harold Dorman (1926), R&B singer Esther Phillips (1935), Eugene Record of The Chi–Lites (1940), Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen (1940), singer–songwriter Tim Hardin (1941), Harry Shearer aka Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap (1943), Spooky Tooth’s Luther Grosvenor (1949), Adrian Belew of King Crimson (1949), Iron Maiden’s Dave Murray (1958), Will Sin of The Shamen (1960), Slash (1965), Eddie Vedder (1966)
Obituaries
December 17: pianist Oscar Peterson (2007), Atlantic Records producer Joel Dorn (2007), opera diva Martha Moedl (2001), singer Bianca Halstead of Betty Blowtorch (2001), smoove saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. (1999), producer Andy Wiswell (1999), singing cowboy Rex Allen Sr. (1999), Irish singer Ruby Murray (1996), Pilot keyboardist Billy Lyall (1989), Delta bluesman Big Joe Williams (1982), master of the slide–guitar boogie Theodore “Hound Dog” Taylor (1975)
December 18: English singer–songwriter Clifford T. Ward (2001), folk and pop singer Kirsty MacColl (2000), reggae singer and Bob Marley mentor Joe Higgs (1999), long–time James Brown guitarist Jimmy “Chank” Nolen (1983), New Colony Six bassist Les Kummel (1978), The Manhattans’ George “Smitty” Smith (1970), Blind Lemon Jefferson (1929), master luthier Antonio Stradivari (1737)
December 19: Roebuck “Pops” Staples (2000), jazz bassist and photographer Milt Hinton (2000), 10,000 Maniacs guitarist Robert Buck (2000), Sony founder Masaru Ibuka (1997), Muddy Waters sideman Jimmy Rogers (1997), The Byrds’ Michael Clarke (1993)
December 20: Tejano singing star Lydia Mendoza (2007), The Dave Clark Five’s sax and harmonica player Denny Payton (2006), bluesman Son Seals (2004), Spanish singer Carlos Cano (2000), country singer Hank Snow (1999), drummer Nicky Hammerhead (1992), pop singer Bobby Darin (1973), Charlie Burse of the Memphis Jug Band (1965)
December 21: British country singer Karl Denver (1998), jazz trumpeter Johnny Coles (1997), bassist Charlie Tumahai of Be–Bop Deluxe (1995), blues–guitar master Albert King (1992), Paul Jeffries of Cockney Rebel (1988), original No Doubt vocalist John Spence (1987), blues pianist Peetie Wheatstraw (1941)
December 22: country singer Dave Dudley (2003), Lawrence Berk, founder of Berklee College of Music (1995), Dennis Boon of The Minutemen (1985), classic blues diva Ma Rainey born Gertrude Melissa Nix Pridgett (1939)
December 23: composer and classical guitarist John Duarte (2004), Jackie Landry of The Chantels (1997), singer Carl Hogan of the Valentines (1997), British jazz musician and club owner Ronnie Scott (1996), studio guitarist Dan Hamilton (1994), songwriter Jimmy Silva (1994), Eddie Hazel of Parliament–Funkadelic (1992)
1930, underappreciated guitarist Auburn “Pat” Hare is born … an impassioned blues player with a fiery temper and guitar style to match, he worked with some of the biggest names including Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf … one of his records, “Gonna Murder My Baby,” proved prophetic … Hare died in prison while doing a life sentence for murdering his girlfriend and a policeman …
1942, Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” tops the Billboard pop chart … the song is re–released during ensuing holiday seasons and nails the top spot again in 1945 and 1947, and ultimately becomes one of the biggest singles ever …
1955, Carl Perkins writes “Blue Suede Shoes” and records the song less than 48 hours later … Elvis covers the tune later that year cementing its position in the rockabilly canon …
1958, ooh–wee baby … Frankie Ford’s rocking “Sea Cruise” is released this week …it will eventually rise to #3 on the pop chart and become a staple of the Crescent City R&B sound … the tune, originally recorded by Huey “Piano” Smith with Bobby Marchan on vocals, is re–recorded with Ford dubbing his singing over that funky backing track … thanks to his gritty reading of the song, most listeners assume Ford is black … in reality he’s a pompadoured white boy who could easily play the role of a teen idol …
1959, Chuck Berry is arrested for transporting a minor across state lines for an immoral purpose … Berry had invited a young Native American woman he met in El Paso to come work as a hat check girl in his Club Bandstand in Missouri … the young woman is fired two weeks later and hustles at a local hotel for a few days before calling police for help getting back home … the call leads to Berry’s trial and a conviction that is later overturned because the judge made racist remarks …
1960, Elvis Presley is inducted into the Los Angeles Indian Tribal Council … the ceremony coincides with the opening of his movie Flaming Star in which the singer plays a half–breed …
1964, following a flight from L.A. to Houston during which Brian Wilson suffered a mental collapse, the Beach Boy gives up touring … he is replaced on tour by studio musician Glen Campbell …
1967, Grateful Dead soundman and pharmacist to the Love Generation, Owsley Stanley, is busted with 350,000 doses of LSD … in his defense, Stanley maintains the psychedelics were for his personal use … the judge thinks he’s tripping and Stanley gets three years in the slammer …
1969, Elton John and Bernie Taupin form one of the most successful songwriting teams of the 20th century …
1975, Ike and Tina Turner are robbed of a suitcase filled with concert receipts totaling $86,000 …
1977, Cat Stevens converts to Islam and changes his name to Yusuf Islam …
1978, Rod Stewart releases “Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?” … apparently someone does, because the song quickly soars to No. 1 on the pop chart … this same week the Who's drummer slot, recently and tragically vacated by Keith Moon, is amply filled by Kenny Jones …
1985, Minutemen guitarist Dennis Boon dies when the tour van piloted by his girlfriend veers off a road in Arizona … the vehicle had previously been owned by the Meat Puppets …
1992, guitarist Eddie Hazel dies after years of alcohol and drug abuse … influenced by Jimi Hendix, Hazel was part of the funk band Parliament–Funkadelic … his blazing 10–minute guitar solo on “Maggot Brain” in which his amp’s speaker can be heard self–destructing is revered by psychedelic guitarists and was played at Hazel’s funeral …
1996, crooner Tony Bennett has just arrived at the White House for a holiday dinner with the Clintons when he suffers an erupted hernia and is rushed to a hospital where he undergoes emergency surgery …
1998, two of Charlie Daniels’ backup players demonstrate an extraordinary work ethic when they schedule surgeries to coincide with their boss’s appointment for knee surgery … all three go under the knife on the same day in the same hospital in order to minimize show cancellations … bassist Jerry Charlie Hayward has a tonsillectomy while drummer Jack Gavin has shoulder surgery …
1999, former singing cowboy Rex Allen is killed when his caregiver accidentally runs him over in the driveway of his Tucson home … meanwhile in Sicily, the Goo Goo Dolls nearly bite the big one when the military transport they’re flying in skids off a runway damaging its landing gear and a wing, obliging the Goo Goos to beat a hasty retreat via an emergency chute …
2000, the British music journal Melody Maker prints its final issue after continuous publication since 1926 …
2004, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan sue the Applebee’s restaurant chain over an ad which modified lyrics to their 1967 hit “Happy Together" … in the ad, the words “Imagine me and you, I do/I think about you day and night, it's only right” become “Imagine steak and shrimp, or shrimp and steak/Imagine both of these on just one plate” … according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court, the pair argue the changes transformed “a sweet love song [in]to a crass paean to shrimp and steak combination plates" …
2005, U2 wraps a 118–date world tour with a show in Portland, OR … rated among the band’s best tours ever by fans, the shows brought in $260 million, a sum only exceeded by the Rolling Stones … Evanescence (you remember them, right?) lead singer Amy Lee files suit against her ex–manager Dennis Rider charging he sexually assaulted and swindled her … her suit also claims conflict of interest since Rider also represents her former bandmate and paramour, Ben Moody … in other news, Microsoft and MTV announce they are joining forces to launch Urge, a new online music store intended to compete with Apple’s iTunes … the service will not be compatible with iPods … the partners pull the plug in 2007 when the service fails to gain traction and MTV affiliates with the Rhapsody digital download store …
2006, The Complete Motown Singles – Vol. 6: 1966 is released … included are two tracks cut by The Mynah Birds, an unsung R&B outfit with the unlikely combination of Rick James on vocals and future Buffalo Springfield members Neil Young and Bruce Palmer providing backing … the tunes were originally shelved following James’ bust for going AWOL from the navy … David Gilmour releases a three–song EP as a tribute to recently deceased former Pink Floyd bandmate Syd Barrett … two interpretations of Barrett’s “Arnold Layne” are included …
2007, Willie Nelson appears in an anti–dogfighting TV spot … the ad runs just as Atlanta Falcons football star Michael Vick is about to be sentenced on dogfighting–related charges … Willie also appears this same month on the cover of High Times magazine fondling a hank of his favorite herb … this just eight months after Willie’s pot–possession bust in Louisiana …
2008, put Slipknot’s Corey Taylor down as a confirmed Coldplay hater … the masked metal man, commenting on the British band’s album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, calls it “one of the most self–celebratory pieces of s**t I've ever f***ing heard in my entire f***ing life” … c’mon Corey, tell us how you really feel …
…and that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
December 17: Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler (1894), pop singer Tommy Steele (1936), New Orleans singer–keyboardist Art Neville (1938), New Orleans R&B pianist James Booker (1939), Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations (1939), Chicago harp player Paul Butterfield (1942), Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers (1949), drummer Carlton Barrett of The Wailers (1950), Wanda Hutchinson of The Emotions (1951), Mike Mills of R.E.M. (1956), Bob Stinson of The Replacements (1959), Sarah Dallin of Bananarama (1961), Craig “DJ Homicide” Bullock of Sugar Ray (1972)
December 18: swing bandleader Fletcher Henderson (1897), blues guitarist Pee Wee Crayton (1914), Jimi Hendrix manager Chas Chandler (1938), Keith Richards (1943), Elliot Easton of The Cars (1953), Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth (1954), DMX (1970), DJ Lethal of Limp Bizkit (1972), Christina Aguilera (1980)
December 19: Edith Piaf (1915), alto sax man and singer Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson (1917), New Orleans piano pioneer Professor Longhair aka Henry Roeland (Roy) Byrd (1918), activist–folkie Phil Ochs (1940), Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White (1941), blues–rock guitarist Alvin Lee (1944), The Lovin’ Spoonful’s Zal Yanofsky (1944), John McEuen of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1945), Doug Johnson of Loverboy (1957), Australian bassist Tracy Pew (1957), Kajagoogoo’s Limahl (1958), Charles “Mercury” Nelson of Force M.D.s (1964), Kevin Shepard of Zoo Story (1968)
December 20: New Orleans pianist Cousin Joe (1907), blues guitarist Auburn “Pat” Hare (1930), Blood, Sweat and Tears drummer Bobby Colomby (1944), Peter Criss of Kiss (1947), Easybeats singer Stevie Wright (1948), British punk–protest singer Billy Bragg (1957), Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes (1966), R&B singer JoJo (1990)
December 21: seminal bluesman Peetie Wheatstraw born William Bunch (1902), jazz and R&B saxophonist Hank Crawford (1934), Frank Zappa (1940), Ray Hildebrand of the ’60s vocal duo Paul and Paula (1940), Brit fingerpicking guitar hero Albert Lee (1943), Beach Boy Carl Wilson (1946), The Rumour’s Martin Belmont (1948), singer–songwriter Nick Gilder (1951), Jellybean Benitez (1951), cleanup woman Betty Wright (1953), Gabriel Glaser of Luscious Jackson (1965), Brett Scallions of Fuel (1971)
December 22: composer Giacomo Puccini (1858), Austin bluesman T.D. Bell AKA Little T–Bone (1922), bluesman Alvin “Shine” Robinson (1937), Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew (1941), The Animals’ Barry Jenkins (1944), Maurice and Robin Gibb (1949), Cheap Trick’s Rick Neilsen (1954), bass player John Patitucci (1959)
December 23: country singer Harold Dorman (1926), R&B singer Esther Phillips (1935), Eugene Record of The Chi–Lites (1940), Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen (1940), singer–songwriter Tim Hardin (1941), Harry Shearer aka Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap (1943), Spooky Tooth’s Luther Grosvenor (1949), Adrian Belew of King Crimson (1949), Iron Maiden’s Dave Murray (1958), Will Sin of The Shamen (1960), Slash (1965), Eddie Vedder (1966)
Obituaries
December 17: pianist Oscar Peterson (2007), Atlantic Records producer Joel Dorn (2007), opera diva Martha Moedl (2001), singer Bianca Halstead of Betty Blowtorch (2001), smoove saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. (1999), producer Andy Wiswell (1999), singing cowboy Rex Allen Sr. (1999), Irish singer Ruby Murray (1996), Pilot keyboardist Billy Lyall (1989), Delta bluesman Big Joe Williams (1982), master of the slide–guitar boogie Theodore “Hound Dog” Taylor (1975)
December 18: English singer–songwriter Clifford T. Ward (2001), folk and pop singer Kirsty MacColl (2000), reggae singer and Bob Marley mentor Joe Higgs (1999), long–time James Brown guitarist Jimmy “Chank” Nolen (1983), New Colony Six bassist Les Kummel (1978), The Manhattans’ George “Smitty” Smith (1970), Blind Lemon Jefferson (1929), master luthier Antonio Stradivari (1737)
December 19: Roebuck “Pops” Staples (2000), jazz bassist and photographer Milt Hinton (2000), 10,000 Maniacs guitarist Robert Buck (2000), Sony founder Masaru Ibuka (1997), Muddy Waters sideman Jimmy Rogers (1997), The Byrds’ Michael Clarke (1993)
December 20: Tejano singing star Lydia Mendoza (2007), The Dave Clark Five’s sax and harmonica player Denny Payton (2006), bluesman Son Seals (2004), Spanish singer Carlos Cano (2000), country singer Hank Snow (1999), drummer Nicky Hammerhead (1992), pop singer Bobby Darin (1973), Charlie Burse of the Memphis Jug Band (1965)
December 21: British country singer Karl Denver (1998), jazz trumpeter Johnny Coles (1997), bassist Charlie Tumahai of Be–Bop Deluxe (1995), blues–guitar master Albert King (1992), Paul Jeffries of Cockney Rebel (1988), original No Doubt vocalist John Spence (1987), blues pianist Peetie Wheatstraw (1941)
December 22: country singer Dave Dudley (2003), Lawrence Berk, founder of Berklee College of Music (1995), Dennis Boon of The Minutemen (1985), classic blues diva Ma Rainey born Gertrude Melissa Nix Pridgett (1939)
December 23: composer and classical guitarist John Duarte (2004), Jackie Landry of The Chantels (1997), singer Carl Hogan of the Valentines (1997), British jazz musician and club owner Ronnie Scott (1996), studio guitarist Dan Hamilton (1994), songwriter Jimmy Silva (1994), Eddie Hazel of Parliament–Funkadelic (1992)
This is the week that was in matters musical …
1906, the first radio broadcast of a music program is carried out by Reginald Fessenden…
1918, German composer Franz Gruber pens the music for "Silent Night"… the words have been written by Josef Mohr…it is performed for the first time the next day—Christmas day—at Oberndorff, Austria in the Church of St. Nikolaus…
1954, musical boy wonder Johnny Ace offs himself… Ace is backstage at a Houston concert playing Russian roulette…he first points and clicks the gun harmlessly at two others backstage… but when he points it at his own head the folly of this pastime is brought home instantly and irrevocably…
1955, the Lennon Sisters make their debut as regulars on ABC-TV's musical variety program The Lawrence Welk Show…
1959, an 18-year-old Richard Starkey gets his first drum kit as a Christmas present… the kit will take him far…
1962, pop songbird Brenda Lee narrowly escapes the flames while dashing into her burning Nashville home in an attempt to rescue her poodle Cee Cee… Lee is slightly injured, Cee Cee dies from smoke inhalation, and the home is destroyed… British band The Tornadoes score a #1 Billboard hit with their instrumental "Telstar" named for the first communications satellite… they'll go down in pop history as the first Brits to have a #1 hit in the U.S. …
1963, The Beatles begin an annual tradition of sorts when they hold their first "Beatles Christmas Show" at the Astoria Cinema in Finsbury Park, London… . the show features hits and comedy skits by the Beatles and other musical acts including Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, Cilla Black, and Rolf Harris…
1965, Rubber Soul goes gold after just two weeks on sale… a cover version of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice" by The Wonder Who tops out at #12 on Christmas Day… it doesn't take but a few seconds of hearing it to identify the lead singer as Franki Valli… because of its nom-de-disc, the group qualifies for one-hit-wonder status… the recording is part of Dylan tribute album that was never finished… reportedly Valli couldn't nail the vocal to his satisfaction but the Philips label though it had enough goofy charm to be released…
1967, The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour, which Tom Wolfe will later claim is inspired by the travels of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, premieres on BBC-TV… shot in color, it airs in black and white… it creates plenty of mystery in its own right when audiences try to figure out what the Liverpudlian novice filmmakers could possibly have been thinking…
1968, Led Zeppelin gives its debut U.S. performance in Denver supporting Vanilla Fudge and The MC5 … the second Miami Pop Festival, a two-day event provides some valuable experience for promoter Michael Lang who staged the Woodstock festival the following year … 100,000 music fans pay six or seven dollars to see performances covering a wide range of genres and styles: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Procol Harum, The Turtles, Country Joe & The Fish, The Grass Roots, Three Dog Night, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Amboy Dukes, Iron Butterfly, The Grateful Dead, Canned Heat, Buffy St. Marie, Joe Tex, Marvin Gaye, Flatt & Scruggs, Richie Havens, Ian & Sylvia, Steppenwolf, Junior Walker & The All-Stars, Jose Feliciano, Charles Lloyd Quartet, Sweetwater, Hugh Masakela, Joni Mitchell, and Chuck Berry …
1969, Led Zeppelin II is #1 on the US album charts… for months to come, this disc and Crosby, Stills & Nash are played at just about every party across the land…
1970, George Harrison hits the post-Beatles' charts with the three-disc set All Things Must Pass… Harrison had demo'd several of the songs to The Beatles while they were recording "The White Album" but the tunes were met with what could be described as aggressive indifference…
1972, local residents raise hell about all the noise coming from a Manfred Mann concert in Miami… authorities pull the plug mid-concert and the crowd goes berserk… destruction results…
1973, just two weeks before his band's release of What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers goes down for reefer possession…
1974, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, and Joni Mitchell take to the streets of Los Angeles singing Christmas carols…
1975, a whacked-out fan levels a loaded .44 at super-hunter Ted Nugent but is brought down without incident by a combined force of security guards and fans…
1976, proving that they scored big when they got Joe Walsh on board, the Eagles check into platinum sales status and an eight-week residence at #1 with Hotel California… in London, The Sex Pistols record "God Save The Queen"…
1977, The Sex Pistols tour of the U.S. is held up by immigration officials who refuse entry visas until questions about band members' criminal records are answered… the four members have wracked up rap sheets for drug possession, burglary, theft, and assault… after some scrutiny, they get their papers the next day…
1978, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Falkstad (both of ABBA) announce their separation and that they plan to divorce…
1979, Elvis Costello performs in London at a Christmas Day concert with Paul McCartney & Wings, and Rockpile… Emerson, Lake & Palmer announce their breakup…
1980, Depeche Mode announce that Vince Clarke is leaving the band to become a solo artist…
1981, singer-songwriter-bandleader and occasional movie actor Hoagy Carmichael dies at age 82… he composed many standards including the music for "Georgia On My Mind," ‘Stardust," "Up A Lazy River," and "Heart and Soul"… his most memorable film roles were as—what else?—a piano player in the Humphrey Bogart-Lauren Bacall classic "To Have And Have Not" and "The Best Years Of Our Lives"… he wrote "Stardust" in 1927 on an old upright piano at the Book Nook, across the street from the Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana where Carmichael earned his law degree…
1982, the unlikely duo of David Bowie and Bing Crosby score a #1 hit in the UK with "Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth," the performance was broadcast five years earlier on a TV special… Simon Gallup leaves The Cure with Robert Smith and Laurence Tolhurst remaining on board…
1988, Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" begins a three-week stint at #1 on the U.S. singles chart… meanwhile Nirvana records their first album Bleach using $600 borrowed from a school friend… .
1989, a former cook in the restaurant owned by Chuck Berry takes her erstwhile boss to court for allegedly placing a camera in the ladies' room…
1992, Harry Connick Jr. is busted at Kennedy Airport trying to smuggle a 9mm pistol onto a plane…
1993, country-pop queen Shania Twain marries her producer and co-songwriter Robert John "Mutt" Lange… in 2008, they separate…
1994, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes pleads guilty to an arson charge for destroying the million-dollar Atlanta mansion of her boyfriend, Atlanta Falcon Andre Rison… Lopes is sentenced to five years probation and a $10,000 fine… she and Rison will get back together several times following the incident… Pearl Jam's Vitalogy is #1 on the U.S. album charts…
1999, George Harrison and wife Olivia manage to subdue a home invader… Harrison is stabbed several times but will recover… the intruder is later arrested by police…
2004, Pollstar reports that Prince was the top concert draw in 2004 with $87.4 million in ticket sales… English singer-songwriter Seal and German supermodel Heidi Klum are engaged atop a glacier in Whistler, Canada… Grammy Award-winner John Mayer returns to his Connecticut alma mater to be inducted into its Hall of Fame—and wound up in the headmaster's office… the 27-year-old guitarist and singer, a 1995 graduate of Fairfield Warde High School, decided to attend the induction ceremony but was barred due to school officials' concerns about security… "We were not ready for John Mayer," said Jim Conley, chairman of the school's hall of fame committee…Mayer says he was taken to the headmaster's office, where officials stalled him until the ceremony was under way and then walked him to his car… 2005, singer Tom Jones is knighted and thus joins the ranks of Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, and Sir Mick Jagger…
[Compiled by the Musician's Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
December 24: New Orleans R&B titan Dave Bartholomew (1920), New Orleans R&B singer Lee Dorsey (1924), MGM Records president Mike Curb (1944), Lemmy AKA Ian Kilminster of Motorhead (1945), Jan Akkerman of Focus (1946), Human League's Ian Burden (1955), Mary Ramsey of 10,000 Maniacs (1963), Latino start Ricky Martin (1971)
December 25: Tampa Red born Hudson Whittaker (1900), bandleader Cab Calloway (1907), R&B guitarist Oscar Moore (1912), Tony Martin (1913), R&B singer Chris Kenner (1929), soul-gospel singer McKinley Mitchell (1934), O'Kelly Isley of The Isley Brothers (1937), Fairport Convention's Trevor Lucas (1943), Canned Heat's Henry Vestine (1944), Noel Redding of The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1945), Jimmy Buffett (1946), Barbara Mandrell (1948), UB40's Robin Campbell (1954), Annie Lennox (1954), guitarist Steve Wariner (1940), The Pogues' Shane MacGowan (1957), Noel Hogan of The Cranberries (1971), Dido (1972)
December 26: Steve Allen (1921), Abdul "Duke" Fakir of The Four Tops (1935), Phil Spector (1940), Lars Ulrich of Metallica (1963), J. Yuenger of White Zombie (1967), Peter Klett of Candlebox (1969)
December 27: actress, singer, and entertainer, Marlene Dietrich (1901), pianist-composer Oscar Levant (1906), John "Buddy" Bailey of The Clovers (1931), guitarist Scotty Moore (1931), Leslie McGuire of Gerry and the Pacemakers (1941), Mike Pinder of The Moody Blues (1941), The Animals' Dave Rowberry (1943), Mick Jones of Foreigner (1944), vocalist Tracy Nelson of Mother Earth (1947), Larry Byrom of Steppenwolf (1948), drummer Terry Bozzio of Missing Persons (1950), David Knopfler of Dire Straits (1952), singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff (1952)
December 28: jazz pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines (1903), gospel/R&B singer Roebuck "Pops" Staples (1914), Leonard "Chick" Carbo, leader of the '50s New Orleans doo-wop group The Spiders (1927), R&B bandleader Johnny Otis (1928), rockabilly bass player Dorsey Burnette (1932), Charles Neville of The Neville Brothers (1938), Edgar Winter (1946)
December 29: Ray Thomas of the Moody Blues (1942), singer and ex-Jagger girlfriend Marianne Faithfull (1946), drummer Cozy Powell (1947), singer Yvonne Elliman (1951)
December 30: Bo Diddley (1928), session guitarist Red Rhodes (1930), country crossover artist Skeeter Davis, born Mary Francis Pennick (1931), singer-songwriter John Hartford (1937), Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary (1937), Del Shannon born Charles Weedon Westover (1939), Felix Pappalardi, bassist with Mountain and producer of Cream (1939), Bon Jovi producer Bruce Fairbairn (1949), Michael Nesmith of the Monkees (1942), Davy Jones of the Monkees (1945), Jeff Lynne of ELO and The Traveling Wilburys (1947), Alex Chilton of The Box Tops and Big Star (1950), Jay Kay of Jamiroquai (1969), Tyrese (1978)
Obituaries
December 24: Nick Massi of The Four Seasons (2000), Zeke Carey of The Flamingos (1999), Buddy Ace AKA The Root Doctor (1994), Bobby LaKind of The Doobie Brothers (1992), film composer Bernard Hermann (1975), Johnny Ace (1954)
December 25: sultry "Santa Baby" singer Eartha Kitt (2008), blues singer-guitarist Robert Ward (2008), James Brown, the hardest working man in show business (2006), jazz guitarist Derek Bailey (2005), Love's Bryan MacLean (1998), jazz vocalist Damita Jo (1998), Dean Martin (1995), Intruders vocalist Eugene "Bird" Daughtry (1994), blues guitarist Eddie Taylor (1981), Clayton Perkins—Carl Perkins' brother and bass player (1973)
December 26: Armand Zildjian, head of Zildjian Cymbal Co. (2002), rock photographer Herb Ritz (2002), Curtis Mayfield (1999), Lowman Pauling of The "5" Royales (1973)
December 27: singer-songwriter-producer Delaney Bramlett (2008), legendary country, rock, and jazz guitarist Hank Garland (2004), music mogul and founder of Chance Records, Ewart G. Abner (1997), Walter Scott, vocalist for Bob Kuban and the In Men (1983), Hoagy Carmichael (1981), 1950s rockabilly artist Bob Luman (1978)
December 28: Barry Cowsill (2005), Beach Boy drummer Dennis Wilson (1983), Chris Bell of The Box Tops (1978), Texas blues guitarist Freddy King (1976)
December 29: jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (2008), conductor Takashi Asahina (2001), French singer-songwriter Mireille (1996), Marion Keisker assistant to Sam Phillips at Sun Records (1989), Steve Torbert, bassist for New Riders of the Purple Sage (1982), folk singer-songwriter Tim Hardin (1980)
December 30: blues singer "Weepin': Willie Robinson (2007), bandleader Artie Shaw (2004), Hong Kong pop singer Anna Mui (2003), singer with The Drifters, Johnny Moore (1998), Clarence G. Satchell, horn player for The Ohio Players (1995), lyricist Mack David, older brother of Hal David who also collaborated with Burt Bacharach (1993), lead singer of The Dubs, Richard Blandon (1991), Broadway composer Richard Rodgers (1979), Delta bluesman Willie Brown, who traveled with Robert Johnson and is mentioned in Johnson's "Crossroad Blues" (1952)
1906, the first radio broadcast of a music program is carried out by Reginald Fessenden…
1918, German composer Franz Gruber pens the music for "Silent Night"… the words have been written by Josef Mohr…it is performed for the first time the next day—Christmas day—at Oberndorff, Austria in the Church of St. Nikolaus…
1954, musical boy wonder Johnny Ace offs himself… Ace is backstage at a Houston concert playing Russian roulette…he first points and clicks the gun harmlessly at two others backstage… but when he points it at his own head the folly of this pastime is brought home instantly and irrevocably…
1955, the Lennon Sisters make their debut as regulars on ABC-TV's musical variety program The Lawrence Welk Show…
1959, an 18-year-old Richard Starkey gets his first drum kit as a Christmas present… the kit will take him far…
1962, pop songbird Brenda Lee narrowly escapes the flames while dashing into her burning Nashville home in an attempt to rescue her poodle Cee Cee… Lee is slightly injured, Cee Cee dies from smoke inhalation, and the home is destroyed… British band The Tornadoes score a #1 Billboard hit with their instrumental "Telstar" named for the first communications satellite… they'll go down in pop history as the first Brits to have a #1 hit in the U.S. …
1963, The Beatles begin an annual tradition of sorts when they hold their first "Beatles Christmas Show" at the Astoria Cinema in Finsbury Park, London… . the show features hits and comedy skits by the Beatles and other musical acts including Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, Cilla Black, and Rolf Harris…
1965, Rubber Soul goes gold after just two weeks on sale… a cover version of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice" by The Wonder Who tops out at #12 on Christmas Day… it doesn't take but a few seconds of hearing it to identify the lead singer as Franki Valli… because of its nom-de-disc, the group qualifies for one-hit-wonder status… the recording is part of Dylan tribute album that was never finished… reportedly Valli couldn't nail the vocal to his satisfaction but the Philips label though it had enough goofy charm to be released…
1967, The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour, which Tom Wolfe will later claim is inspired by the travels of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, premieres on BBC-TV… shot in color, it airs in black and white… it creates plenty of mystery in its own right when audiences try to figure out what the Liverpudlian novice filmmakers could possibly have been thinking…
1968, Led Zeppelin gives its debut U.S. performance in Denver supporting Vanilla Fudge and The MC5 … the second Miami Pop Festival, a two-day event provides some valuable experience for promoter Michael Lang who staged the Woodstock festival the following year … 100,000 music fans pay six or seven dollars to see performances covering a wide range of genres and styles: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Procol Harum, The Turtles, Country Joe & The Fish, The Grass Roots, Three Dog Night, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Amboy Dukes, Iron Butterfly, The Grateful Dead, Canned Heat, Buffy St. Marie, Joe Tex, Marvin Gaye, Flatt & Scruggs, Richie Havens, Ian & Sylvia, Steppenwolf, Junior Walker & The All-Stars, Jose Feliciano, Charles Lloyd Quartet, Sweetwater, Hugh Masakela, Joni Mitchell, and Chuck Berry …
1969, Led Zeppelin II is #1 on the US album charts… for months to come, this disc and Crosby, Stills & Nash are played at just about every party across the land…
1970, George Harrison hits the post-Beatles' charts with the three-disc set All Things Must Pass… Harrison had demo'd several of the songs to The Beatles while they were recording "The White Album" but the tunes were met with what could be described as aggressive indifference…
1972, local residents raise hell about all the noise coming from a Manfred Mann concert in Miami… authorities pull the plug mid-concert and the crowd goes berserk… destruction results…
1973, just two weeks before his band's release of What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers goes down for reefer possession…
1974, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, and Joni Mitchell take to the streets of Los Angeles singing Christmas carols…
1975, a whacked-out fan levels a loaded .44 at super-hunter Ted Nugent but is brought down without incident by a combined force of security guards and fans…
1976, proving that they scored big when they got Joe Walsh on board, the Eagles check into platinum sales status and an eight-week residence at #1 with Hotel California… in London, The Sex Pistols record "God Save The Queen"…
1977, The Sex Pistols tour of the U.S. is held up by immigration officials who refuse entry visas until questions about band members' criminal records are answered… the four members have wracked up rap sheets for drug possession, burglary, theft, and assault… after some scrutiny, they get their papers the next day…
1978, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Falkstad (both of ABBA) announce their separation and that they plan to divorce…
1979, Elvis Costello performs in London at a Christmas Day concert with Paul McCartney & Wings, and Rockpile… Emerson, Lake & Palmer announce their breakup…
1980, Depeche Mode announce that Vince Clarke is leaving the band to become a solo artist…
1981, singer-songwriter-bandleader and occasional movie actor Hoagy Carmichael dies at age 82… he composed many standards including the music for "Georgia On My Mind," ‘Stardust," "Up A Lazy River," and "Heart and Soul"… his most memorable film roles were as—what else?—a piano player in the Humphrey Bogart-Lauren Bacall classic "To Have And Have Not" and "The Best Years Of Our Lives"… he wrote "Stardust" in 1927 on an old upright piano at the Book Nook, across the street from the Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana where Carmichael earned his law degree…
1982, the unlikely duo of David Bowie and Bing Crosby score a #1 hit in the UK with "Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth," the performance was broadcast five years earlier on a TV special… Simon Gallup leaves The Cure with Robert Smith and Laurence Tolhurst remaining on board…
1988, Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" begins a three-week stint at #1 on the U.S. singles chart… meanwhile Nirvana records their first album Bleach using $600 borrowed from a school friend… .
1989, a former cook in the restaurant owned by Chuck Berry takes her erstwhile boss to court for allegedly placing a camera in the ladies' room…
1992, Harry Connick Jr. is busted at Kennedy Airport trying to smuggle a 9mm pistol onto a plane…
1993, country-pop queen Shania Twain marries her producer and co-songwriter Robert John "Mutt" Lange… in 2008, they separate…
1994, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes pleads guilty to an arson charge for destroying the million-dollar Atlanta mansion of her boyfriend, Atlanta Falcon Andre Rison… Lopes is sentenced to five years probation and a $10,000 fine… she and Rison will get back together several times following the incident… Pearl Jam's Vitalogy is #1 on the U.S. album charts…
1999, George Harrison and wife Olivia manage to subdue a home invader… Harrison is stabbed several times but will recover… the intruder is later arrested by police…
2004, Pollstar reports that Prince was the top concert draw in 2004 with $87.4 million in ticket sales… English singer-songwriter Seal and German supermodel Heidi Klum are engaged atop a glacier in Whistler, Canada… Grammy Award-winner John Mayer returns to his Connecticut alma mater to be inducted into its Hall of Fame—and wound up in the headmaster's office… the 27-year-old guitarist and singer, a 1995 graduate of Fairfield Warde High School, decided to attend the induction ceremony but was barred due to school officials' concerns about security… "We were not ready for John Mayer," said Jim Conley, chairman of the school's hall of fame committee…Mayer says he was taken to the headmaster's office, where officials stalled him until the ceremony was under way and then walked him to his car… 2005, singer Tom Jones is knighted and thus joins the ranks of Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, and Sir Mick Jagger…
[Compiled by the Musician's Friend copywriting staff]
Birthdays
December 24: New Orleans R&B titan Dave Bartholomew (1920), New Orleans R&B singer Lee Dorsey (1924), MGM Records president Mike Curb (1944), Lemmy AKA Ian Kilminster of Motorhead (1945), Jan Akkerman of Focus (1946), Human League's Ian Burden (1955), Mary Ramsey of 10,000 Maniacs (1963), Latino start Ricky Martin (1971)
December 25: Tampa Red born Hudson Whittaker (1900), bandleader Cab Calloway (1907), R&B guitarist Oscar Moore (1912), Tony Martin (1913), R&B singer Chris Kenner (1929), soul-gospel singer McKinley Mitchell (1934), O'Kelly Isley of The Isley Brothers (1937), Fairport Convention's Trevor Lucas (1943), Canned Heat's Henry Vestine (1944), Noel Redding of The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1945), Jimmy Buffett (1946), Barbara Mandrell (1948), UB40's Robin Campbell (1954), Annie Lennox (1954), guitarist Steve Wariner (1940), The Pogues' Shane MacGowan (1957), Noel Hogan of The Cranberries (1971), Dido (1972)
December 26: Steve Allen (1921), Abdul "Duke" Fakir of The Four Tops (1935), Phil Spector (1940), Lars Ulrich of Metallica (1963), J. Yuenger of White Zombie (1967), Peter Klett of Candlebox (1969)
December 27: actress, singer, and entertainer, Marlene Dietrich (1901), pianist-composer Oscar Levant (1906), John "Buddy" Bailey of The Clovers (1931), guitarist Scotty Moore (1931), Leslie McGuire of Gerry and the Pacemakers (1941), Mike Pinder of The Moody Blues (1941), The Animals' Dave Rowberry (1943), Mick Jones of Foreigner (1944), vocalist Tracy Nelson of Mother Earth (1947), Larry Byrom of Steppenwolf (1948), drummer Terry Bozzio of Missing Persons (1950), David Knopfler of Dire Straits (1952), singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff (1952)
December 28: jazz pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines (1903), gospel/R&B singer Roebuck "Pops" Staples (1914), Leonard "Chick" Carbo, leader of the '50s New Orleans doo-wop group The Spiders (1927), R&B bandleader Johnny Otis (1928), rockabilly bass player Dorsey Burnette (1932), Charles Neville of The Neville Brothers (1938), Edgar Winter (1946)
December 29: Ray Thomas of the Moody Blues (1942), singer and ex-Jagger girlfriend Marianne Faithfull (1946), drummer Cozy Powell (1947), singer Yvonne Elliman (1951)
December 30: Bo Diddley (1928), session guitarist Red Rhodes (1930), country crossover artist Skeeter Davis, born Mary Francis Pennick (1931), singer-songwriter John Hartford (1937), Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary (1937), Del Shannon born Charles Weedon Westover (1939), Felix Pappalardi, bassist with Mountain and producer of Cream (1939), Bon Jovi producer Bruce Fairbairn (1949), Michael Nesmith of the Monkees (1942), Davy Jones of the Monkees (1945), Jeff Lynne of ELO and The Traveling Wilburys (1947), Alex Chilton of The Box Tops and Big Star (1950), Jay Kay of Jamiroquai (1969), Tyrese (1978)
Obituaries
December 24: Nick Massi of The Four Seasons (2000), Zeke Carey of The Flamingos (1999), Buddy Ace AKA The Root Doctor (1994), Bobby LaKind of The Doobie Brothers (1992), film composer Bernard Hermann (1975), Johnny Ace (1954)
December 25: sultry "Santa Baby" singer Eartha Kitt (2008), blues singer-guitarist Robert Ward (2008), James Brown, the hardest working man in show business (2006), jazz guitarist Derek Bailey (2005), Love's Bryan MacLean (1998), jazz vocalist Damita Jo (1998), Dean Martin (1995), Intruders vocalist Eugene "Bird" Daughtry (1994), blues guitarist Eddie Taylor (1981), Clayton Perkins—Carl Perkins' brother and bass player (1973)
December 26: Armand Zildjian, head of Zildjian Cymbal Co. (2002), rock photographer Herb Ritz (2002), Curtis Mayfield (1999), Lowman Pauling of The "5" Royales (1973)
December 27: singer-songwriter-producer Delaney Bramlett (2008), legendary country, rock, and jazz guitarist Hank Garland (2004), music mogul and founder of Chance Records, Ewart G. Abner (1997), Walter Scott, vocalist for Bob Kuban and the In Men (1983), Hoagy Carmichael (1981), 1950s rockabilly artist Bob Luman (1978)
December 28: Barry Cowsill (2005), Beach Boy drummer Dennis Wilson (1983), Chris Bell of The Box Tops (1978), Texas blues guitarist Freddy King (1976)
December 29: jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (2008), conductor Takashi Asahina (2001), French singer-songwriter Mireille (1996), Marion Keisker assistant to Sam Phillips at Sun Records (1989), Steve Torbert, bassist for New Riders of the Purple Sage (1982), folk singer-songwriter Tim Hardin (1980)
December 30: blues singer "Weepin': Willie Robinson (2007), bandleader Artie Shaw (2004), Hong Kong pop singer Anna Mui (2003), singer with The Drifters, Johnny Moore (1998), Clarence G. Satchell, horn player for The Ohio Players (1995), lyricist Mack David, older brother of Hal David who also collaborated with Burt Bacharach (1993), lead singer of The Dubs, Richard Blandon (1991), Broadway composer Richard Rodgers (1979), Delta bluesman Willie Brown, who traveled with Robert Johnson and is mentioned in Johnson's "Crossroad Blues" (1952)
This is the week that was in matters musical, ELVIS' BIRTHDAY EDITION!…
1935, the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Aaron Presley, is born in Tupelo, Mississippi …
1954, Muddy Waters records "I’m Your Hootchie–Cootchie Man" at Chess Records in Chicago …
1955, Etta James releases her first hit, "Wallflower" …
1956, Elvis Presley records "Heartbreak Hotel" in a two–day session at a converted church in Nashville, Tennessee … in addition to bassist Bill Black and guitarist Scotty Moore, RCA producer Steve Sholes hires drummer DJ Fontana, guitarist Chet Atkins, piano player Floyd Cramer, and a gospel vocal trio … because Elvis is jumping around so much, Sholes places three microphones around the singer to make sure his vocal is captured …
1958, The Five Royales’ "Dedicated to the One I Love" is released … three years later the Shirelles will take it to #3 … in 1967 The Mamas & The Papas revive the tune one more time scoring a #2 hit …
1959, Berry Gordy borrows the staggering sum of $800 for the purpose of starting Motown records, which will become one of the most successful and influential labels of the 20th century …
1962, "The Twist" by Chubby Checker tops the charts … the song was written and first recorded by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters …
1963, Bob Dylan performs in a radio play aired by the BBC called The Madhouse of Castle Street … yielding to typecasting, he plays a folk singer … Gary "U.S." Bonds brings a $100,000 suit against Chubby Checker, claiming Checker plagiarized "Quarter to Three" and turned it into "Dancin’ Party" … the case is settled out of court …
1964, Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire becomes the first country LP to top the Billboard pop chart …
1965, the musical–variety show Hullabaloo premiers on the NBC network … each week the show is hosted by a revolving cast including Sammy Davis Jr. and Frankie Avalon … recording sessions begin at Columbia studios in New York City for Bob Dylan’s fifth album, Bringing It All Back Home … the album will feature one side of acoustic songs and one side with (yikes!) a band … the album includes Dylan’s first charting single, "Subterranean Homesick Blues" …
1966, the last episode of ABC–TV’s Shindig! airs featuring The Kinks and The Who … the show was among the first prime–time programs to feature rock acts …
1967, the first Be–In takes place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park … the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Timothy Leary, and poet Allen Ginsburg entertain and inform … the gatherings of the incense–and–sandals set go on to become a Bay–Area fixture …
1968, underground San Francisco station KMPX holds a "grass ballot" election in which listeners vote for national officeholders … Bob Dylan is named president, Paul Butterfield gets the nod as VP, George Harrison is voted U.N. ambassador, the Jefferson Airplane are named Secretary of Transportation, and the Grateful Dead are voted the new attorney general … London’s Daily Mirror reports that Jimi Hendrix has moved into a townhouse where Handel was said to have composed the Messiah … the guitar master tells a reporter he plans to do his own composing there and "not let the tradition down" …
1969, while shooting the TV show Get Back, George Harrison announces that he is leaving The Beatles … commenting on this turn of events, Ringo says, "George had to leave because he thought that Paul was dominating him. Well, he was." … many think that Yoko Ono’s often–intrusive presence plays a role in the "quiet Beatles’" decision …
1981, Eagles Live goes platinum … the double LP proves to be the band’s final release until their 1994 comeback album Hell Freezes Over … John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s LP Double Fantasy goes platinum just over a month after Lennon’s murder …
1992, Paul Simon is the first international star to perform in South Africa following the end of the U.N.’s cultural boycott … in the 1980s the singer–songwriter had been subjected to criticism for going to South Africa to record his groundbreaking record Graceland during the apartheid era …
1993, the U.S. Postal Service releases a first–class stamp bearing the likeness of the 1950s–era Elvis … the USPS had asked the public to choose between that image and a portrait of an older, plumper King … the younger, svelter version won hands down …
1994, Nirvana play their last U.S. show at Center Arena in Seattle …
2000, the renowned Chicago club Lounge Axe goes out in a blaze of glory with a surprise appearance by Wilco … the alt–country quartet plays a two–and–a–half–hour set before a standing–room–only crowd … fans queue up for over seven hours to catch the band …
2005, the Liverpool orphanage commemorated in the 1967 Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever" closes as a children’s center … John Lennon played on the grounds of the Salvation Army facility during his childhood …
2007, the home of ?, singer with legendary ’60s garage band ? and the Mysterians, suffers the loss of his Clio, Michigan home when it burns to the ground … more than four decades’ worth of memorabilia is destroyed … Queen Elizabeth gives Bono an honorary knighthood for his humanitarian efforts joining the ranks of other rock peerage including Sirs Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney and Commanders Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart …
2008, Ron Wood undergoes surgery to repair a hernia he suffered in 2007 on the Bigger Bang tour … Eddie Vedder wins a Golden Globe award for "Guaranteed," a song he wrote for Sean Penn’s film Into the Wild
…and that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting January staff]
Birthdays
January 7: flutist Jean–Pierre Rampal (1922), Lefty Baker of Spanky and Our Gang (1942), Paul Revere Dick of Paul Revere and the Raiders (1942), Kenny Loggins (1948), Kathy Valentine of The Go–Gos (1959)
January 8: guitarist Luther Perkins of Johnny Cash’s Tennessee Three (1928), legendary rock concert promoter Bill Graham (1931), Elvis Presley (1935), pop singer Shirley Bassey (1937), R&B/soul singer Little Anthony (1940), Marcus Hutson of The Whispers (1943), Robbie Krieger of The Doors (1946), David Bowie (1947), Terry Sylvester of The Hollies (1947), Mike Reno of Loverboy (1955), Wall of Voodoo guitarist Marc Moreland (1958), R. Kelly (1967), Jeff Abercrombie of Fuel (1969), dancehall musician Sean Paul (1975)
January 9: Mississippi Delta bluesman Ishmon Bracey (1901), Al Silver, owner of New York doo–wop and R&B labels Herald and Ember (1914), Joan Baez (1941), singer Roy Head (1943), The Manhattan’s Kenneth Kelly (1943), Jimmy Page (1944), Steeleye Span’s Tim Hart (1948), Cassie Gaines of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1948), David Johansen of The New York Dolls (1950), country songstress Crystal Gayle (1951), Eric Erlandson of Hole (1963), Carl Bell of Fuel (1967), Dave Matthews (1967), Steve Harwell of Smash Mouth (1967), A.J. McLean of The Backstreet Boys (1978)
January 10: jazz/blues pianist Buddy Johnson (1915), Aretha Franklin producer Jerry Wexler (1918), masterful be–bop drummer Max Roach (1924), pop crooner Johnnie Ray (1927), Domenico Modungo of "Volare" fame (1928), swamp rocker Ronnie Hawkins (1935), Scott McKenzie aka Philip Blondheim (1939), Jim Croce (1943), Rod Stewart (1945), legendary rock drummer Aynsley Dunbar (1946), Donald Fagen of Steely Dan (1948), Pat Benatar (1953), rock–guitar god Michael Schenker (1955), Shawn Colvin (1956), Brad Roberts of Crash Test Dummies (1964), Aerle Taree of Arrested Development (1973), Chris Smith aka Kris Kross (1979)
January 11: Texas Playboys vocalist Tommy Duncan (1911), Chuck Barksdale of The Dells (1935), country/pop singer–songwriter Bobby Goldsboro (1941), singer Don Cherry (1924), bluesman Slim Harpo born James Moore (1924), E Street Band saxophonist "The Big Man" Clarence Clemons (1942), Janice Pought of The Bobettes (1945), Naomi Judd (1946), "Captain Fingers" Lee Ritenour (1952), Vicki Peterson of The Bangles (1960), guitarist Tom Dumont of No Doubt (1968), Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands (1971), Mary J. Blige (1971)
January 12: bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell (1904), country singer Tex Ritter born Woodward Maurice Ritter (1905), country/western singer Ray Price (1926), folk singer Glenn Yarbrough (1930), Oak Ridge Boy William Lee Golden (1939), British bluesman Long John Baldry, who launched the career of Rod Stewart (1941), Sly & The Family Stone trumpeter Cynthia Robinson (1946), Chris Bell of Big Star (1951), Charlie Gillingham of Counting Crows (1960), Rob Zombie (1966), Raekwon of Wu Tang Clan (1968), Melanie Chisholm aka Sporty Spice of the Spice Girls (1974)
January 13: singer/actress Sophie Tucker (1884), Modern Records founder Lester Sill (1918), British music publisher David Platz (1929), singer Bobby Lester of The Moonglows (1932), The Dells’ original lead singer Johnny Funches (1935), Trevor Rabin of Yes (1954), Earth, Wind, and Fire drummer Fred White (1955), guitarist Tim Kelly of Slaughter (1963), Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against The Machine (1970)
Obituaries
January 7: Bernice Petkere, "Queen of Tin Pan Alley" (2000), legendary Nashville producer Owen Bradley (1998), lead singer/songwriter for The Rivingtons Carl White (1980), pioneering British blues harp player Cyril Davies (1964)
January 8: Allman Brothers guitar tech/Grinderswitch bassist Joe Dan Petty (2000), Louisiana bluesman Silas Hogan (1994), Def Leppard guitarist Steve Clark (1991), New Orleans pianist Archibald born Leon T. Gross (1973)
January 9: British pop/rock singer Dave Dee (2009), smooth–voiced soul/jazz singer Lou Rawls (2006), Lynne Denicker of The Aquatones (2001), Howie Johnson, original drummer for The Ventures (1998)
January 10: Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden (2005), guitarist Bryan Gregory of The Cramps (2001), Creation singer Kenny Pickett (1997), Beach Blanket Bingo lyricist Guy Bonson Hemric (1993), Addie (Micki) McFadden of the Shirelles (1982), Howlin’ Wolf (1976), organist Earl Grant (1970)
January 11: psychobilly drummer Andy DeMize (2009), Jimmy Griffin, co–founder of Bread (2005), percussionist and former T. Rex sideman Mickey Finn (2003), Sean McDonald, singer and guitar player with Surgery (1995), Barry Kramer, founder of Creem magazine (1981)
January 12: harpist/keyboardist Alice Coltrane (2007), singer Randy VanWarmer (2004), Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees (2003), Brazilian composer–guitarist Luis Bonfa (2001), Robert Peterson, Grateful Dead songwriter (1987)
January 13: saxophonist Michael Brecker (2007), Brian Keenan, drummer with the Chambers Brothers Band (1985), soul singer–songwriter Donny Hathaway (1979), Stephen Foster, "Father of American Music" (1864)
1935, the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Aaron Presley, is born in Tupelo, Mississippi …
1954, Muddy Waters records "I’m Your Hootchie–Cootchie Man" at Chess Records in Chicago …
1955, Etta James releases her first hit, "Wallflower" …
1956, Elvis Presley records "Heartbreak Hotel" in a two–day session at a converted church in Nashville, Tennessee … in addition to bassist Bill Black and guitarist Scotty Moore, RCA producer Steve Sholes hires drummer DJ Fontana, guitarist Chet Atkins, piano player Floyd Cramer, and a gospel vocal trio … because Elvis is jumping around so much, Sholes places three microphones around the singer to make sure his vocal is captured …
1958, The Five Royales’ "Dedicated to the One I Love" is released … three years later the Shirelles will take it to #3 … in 1967 The Mamas & The Papas revive the tune one more time scoring a #2 hit …
1959, Berry Gordy borrows the staggering sum of $800 for the purpose of starting Motown records, which will become one of the most successful and influential labels of the 20th century …
1962, "The Twist" by Chubby Checker tops the charts … the song was written and first recorded by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters …
1963, Bob Dylan performs in a radio play aired by the BBC called The Madhouse of Castle Street … yielding to typecasting, he plays a folk singer … Gary "U.S." Bonds brings a $100,000 suit against Chubby Checker, claiming Checker plagiarized "Quarter to Three" and turned it into "Dancin’ Party" … the case is settled out of court …
1964, Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire becomes the first country LP to top the Billboard pop chart …
1965, the musical–variety show Hullabaloo premiers on the NBC network … each week the show is hosted by a revolving cast including Sammy Davis Jr. and Frankie Avalon … recording sessions begin at Columbia studios in New York City for Bob Dylan’s fifth album, Bringing It All Back Home … the album will feature one side of acoustic songs and one side with (yikes!) a band … the album includes Dylan’s first charting single, "Subterranean Homesick Blues" …
1966, the last episode of ABC–TV’s Shindig! airs featuring The Kinks and The Who … the show was among the first prime–time programs to feature rock acts …
1967, the first Be–In takes place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park … the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Timothy Leary, and poet Allen Ginsburg entertain and inform … the gatherings of the incense–and–sandals set go on to become a Bay–Area fixture …
1968, underground San Francisco station KMPX holds a "grass ballot" election in which listeners vote for national officeholders … Bob Dylan is named president, Paul Butterfield gets the nod as VP, George Harrison is voted U.N. ambassador, the Jefferson Airplane are named Secretary of Transportation, and the Grateful Dead are voted the new attorney general … London’s Daily Mirror reports that Jimi Hendrix has moved into a townhouse where Handel was said to have composed the Messiah … the guitar master tells a reporter he plans to do his own composing there and "not let the tradition down" …
1969, while shooting the TV show Get Back, George Harrison announces that he is leaving The Beatles … commenting on this turn of events, Ringo says, "George had to leave because he thought that Paul was dominating him. Well, he was." … many think that Yoko Ono’s often–intrusive presence plays a role in the "quiet Beatles’" decision …
1981, Eagles Live goes platinum … the double LP proves to be the band’s final release until their 1994 comeback album Hell Freezes Over … John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s LP Double Fantasy goes platinum just over a month after Lennon’s murder …
1992, Paul Simon is the first international star to perform in South Africa following the end of the U.N.’s cultural boycott … in the 1980s the singer–songwriter had been subjected to criticism for going to South Africa to record his groundbreaking record Graceland during the apartheid era …
1993, the U.S. Postal Service releases a first–class stamp bearing the likeness of the 1950s–era Elvis … the USPS had asked the public to choose between that image and a portrait of an older, plumper King … the younger, svelter version won hands down …
1994, Nirvana play their last U.S. show at Center Arena in Seattle …
2000, the renowned Chicago club Lounge Axe goes out in a blaze of glory with a surprise appearance by Wilco … the alt–country quartet plays a two–and–a–half–hour set before a standing–room–only crowd … fans queue up for over seven hours to catch the band …
2005, the Liverpool orphanage commemorated in the 1967 Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever" closes as a children’s center … John Lennon played on the grounds of the Salvation Army facility during his childhood …
2007, the home of ?, singer with legendary ’60s garage band ? and the Mysterians, suffers the loss of his Clio, Michigan home when it burns to the ground … more than four decades’ worth of memorabilia is destroyed … Queen Elizabeth gives Bono an honorary knighthood for his humanitarian efforts joining the ranks of other rock peerage including Sirs Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney and Commanders Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart …
2008, Ron Wood undergoes surgery to repair a hernia he suffered in 2007 on the Bigger Bang tour … Eddie Vedder wins a Golden Globe award for "Guaranteed," a song he wrote for Sean Penn’s film Into the Wild
…and that was the week that was.
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting January staff]
Birthdays
January 7: flutist Jean–Pierre Rampal (1922), Lefty Baker of Spanky and Our Gang (1942), Paul Revere Dick of Paul Revere and the Raiders (1942), Kenny Loggins (1948), Kathy Valentine of The Go–Gos (1959)
January 8: guitarist Luther Perkins of Johnny Cash’s Tennessee Three (1928), legendary rock concert promoter Bill Graham (1931), Elvis Presley (1935), pop singer Shirley Bassey (1937), R&B/soul singer Little Anthony (1940), Marcus Hutson of The Whispers (1943), Robbie Krieger of The Doors (1946), David Bowie (1947), Terry Sylvester of The Hollies (1947), Mike Reno of Loverboy (1955), Wall of Voodoo guitarist Marc Moreland (1958), R. Kelly (1967), Jeff Abercrombie of Fuel (1969), dancehall musician Sean Paul (1975)
January 9: Mississippi Delta bluesman Ishmon Bracey (1901), Al Silver, owner of New York doo–wop and R&B labels Herald and Ember (1914), Joan Baez (1941), singer Roy Head (1943), The Manhattan’s Kenneth Kelly (1943), Jimmy Page (1944), Steeleye Span’s Tim Hart (1948), Cassie Gaines of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1948), David Johansen of The New York Dolls (1950), country songstress Crystal Gayle (1951), Eric Erlandson of Hole (1963), Carl Bell of Fuel (1967), Dave Matthews (1967), Steve Harwell of Smash Mouth (1967), A.J. McLean of The Backstreet Boys (1978)
January 10: jazz/blues pianist Buddy Johnson (1915), Aretha Franklin producer Jerry Wexler (1918), masterful be–bop drummer Max Roach (1924), pop crooner Johnnie Ray (1927), Domenico Modungo of "Volare" fame (1928), swamp rocker Ronnie Hawkins (1935), Scott McKenzie aka Philip Blondheim (1939), Jim Croce (1943), Rod Stewart (1945), legendary rock drummer Aynsley Dunbar (1946), Donald Fagen of Steely Dan (1948), Pat Benatar (1953), rock–guitar god Michael Schenker (1955), Shawn Colvin (1956), Brad Roberts of Crash Test Dummies (1964), Aerle Taree of Arrested Development (1973), Chris Smith aka Kris Kross (1979)
January 11: Texas Playboys vocalist Tommy Duncan (1911), Chuck Barksdale of The Dells (1935), country/pop singer–songwriter Bobby Goldsboro (1941), singer Don Cherry (1924), bluesman Slim Harpo born James Moore (1924), E Street Band saxophonist "The Big Man" Clarence Clemons (1942), Janice Pought of The Bobettes (1945), Naomi Judd (1946), "Captain Fingers" Lee Ritenour (1952), Vicki Peterson of The Bangles (1960), guitarist Tom Dumont of No Doubt (1968), Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands (1971), Mary J. Blige (1971)
January 12: bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell (1904), country singer Tex Ritter born Woodward Maurice Ritter (1905), country/western singer Ray Price (1926), folk singer Glenn Yarbrough (1930), Oak Ridge Boy William Lee Golden (1939), British bluesman Long John Baldry, who launched the career of Rod Stewart (1941), Sly & The Family Stone trumpeter Cynthia Robinson (1946), Chris Bell of Big Star (1951), Charlie Gillingham of Counting Crows (1960), Rob Zombie (1966), Raekwon of Wu Tang Clan (1968), Melanie Chisholm aka Sporty Spice of the Spice Girls (1974)
January 13: singer/actress Sophie Tucker (1884), Modern Records founder Lester Sill (1918), British music publisher David Platz (1929), singer Bobby Lester of The Moonglows (1932), The Dells’ original lead singer Johnny Funches (1935), Trevor Rabin of Yes (1954), Earth, Wind, and Fire drummer Fred White (1955), guitarist Tim Kelly of Slaughter (1963), Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against The Machine (1970)
Obituaries
January 7: Bernice Petkere, "Queen of Tin Pan Alley" (2000), legendary Nashville producer Owen Bradley (1998), lead singer/songwriter for The Rivingtons Carl White (1980), pioneering British blues harp player Cyril Davies (1964)
January 8: Allman Brothers guitar tech/Grinderswitch bassist Joe Dan Petty (2000), Louisiana bluesman Silas Hogan (1994), Def Leppard guitarist Steve Clark (1991), New Orleans pianist Archibald born Leon T. Gross (1973)
January 9: British pop/rock singer Dave Dee (2009), smooth–voiced soul/jazz singer Lou Rawls (2006), Lynne Denicker of The Aquatones (2001), Howie Johnson, original drummer for The Ventures (1998)
January 10: Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden (2005), guitarist Bryan Gregory of The Cramps (2001), Creation singer Kenny Pickett (1997), Beach Blanket Bingo lyricist Guy Bonson Hemric (1993), Addie (Micki) McFadden of the Shirelles (1982), Howlin’ Wolf (1976), organist Earl Grant (1970)
January 11: psychobilly drummer Andy DeMize (2009), Jimmy Griffin, co–founder of Bread (2005), percussionist and former T. Rex sideman Mickey Finn (2003), Sean McDonald, singer and guitar player with Surgery (1995), Barry Kramer, founder of Creem magazine (1981)
January 12: harpist/keyboardist Alice Coltrane (2007), singer Randy VanWarmer (2004), Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees (2003), Brazilian composer–guitarist Luis Bonfa (2001), Robert Peterson, Grateful Dead songwriter (1987)
January 13: saxophonist Michael Brecker (2007), Brian Keenan, drummer with the Chambers Brothers Band (1985), soul singer–songwriter Donny Hathaway (1979), Stephen Foster, "Father of American Music" (1864)
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