November 12 – On This Day in Music

1920 Jo Stafford born in Coalinga, California.American traditional pop music singer and occasional actress, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. She died July 16, 2008. Aged 90.
1931 Bob Crewe (Stanley Robert Crewe) born in Newark, New Jersey. US Songwriter and producer for the Four Seasons. Crewe died in the nursing home on September 11, 2014, at the age of 83.He had been in declining health for several years following a fall.
1936 Mort Shuman born in Brooklyn, New York City. US songwriter. Wrote many early 60’s hits with Doc Pomus including ‘Sweets For My Sweet’, ‘Teenager In Love’, ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’. He died of cancer on November 2, 1991, aged 54, leaving his wife, Maria-Pia and their four daughters, Maria-Cella, Barbara, Maria-Pia and Eva-Maria. Doc Pomus had died in March of the same year.
1943 Brian Hyland born in Woodhaven, Queens, New York. US singer, (1960 US No.1 & UK No.8 single ‘Itsy Bitsy Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’).
1943 John Joseph Maus born in New York City, known professionally as John Walker. Vocalist with The Walker Brothers, (1966 UK No.1 & US No. 13 single ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’). In 2010, Walker was diagnosed with liver cancer. He died of the disease, at his Los Angeles home, on 7 May 2011.
1944 Booker T. Jones born in Memphis, Tennessee. American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.’s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.(1962 US No. 3 single ‘Green Onions’, 1969 UK No.4 single ‘Time Is Tight’).
1945 Neil Young born (Neil Percival Young) in Toronto, Ontario. Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, Buffalo Springfield, (1967 US No.17 single ‘For What It’s Worth’). Crosby Stills Nash & Young, (1970 US No.1 & UK No.5 album ‘DjVu’).
1946 Arthur Tavares – US Singer with Tavares. (1976 UK No.4 & US No.15 single ‘Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel’).
1947 Donald Roeser born in Long Island, New York. US Guitarist/Singer/Songwriter with Blue Oyster Cult, (1976 US No.12 & 1978 UK No.16 single ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’).
1948 Errol Brown (Lester Errol Brown) born in Kingston, Jamaica. UK singer with Hot Chocolate, (1975 US No.3 single ‘You Sexy Thing’, 1977 UK No.1 single ‘So You Win Again’ plus over 25 other Top 40 hits). In 2003, Queen Elizabeth II named Brown a Member of the Order of the British Empire for “services to popular music for the United Kingdom”.[12][13] In 2004 he received an Ivor Novello Award for outstanding contributions to British music. Brown died of liver cancer at his home in the Bahamas on 6 May 2015. He was 71.
1950 Barbara Fairchild – US Country Singer & Songwriter.
1953 Calum Macdonald, Runrig, (1995 UK No.18 single ‘An Ubhal As Airde, The Highest Apple’).
1955 Les McKeown born in Edinburgh, Scotland to Northern Irish parents. UK Lead Singer with The Bay City Rollers, (1975 UK No.1 single ‘Bye Bye Baby’, plus 11 other UK Top 20 singles’).
1956 Johnnie Ray was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Just Walking In The Rain.’ It stayed at No.1 for seven weeks making it this years Christmas No.1.
1957 Paul Gildea born in Coburg, Victoria. Australian musician, music educator and talent manager. He is best known as lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the band Icehouse. He joined the band in 1990.
1964 David Ellefson born in Jackson, Minnesota. American bassist and co-founding member of the American thrash metal band Megadeth from 1983 to 2002 and again from 2010. (1990 UK No.13 single ‘No More Mr Nice Guy’).
1965 After changing his name from Toby Tyler to Marc Bolan, the future T Rex star performed his first single ‘The Wizard’ on the UK TV show ‘Ready Steady Go!’
1965 Velvet Underground made their live debut when the played at Summit High School, New Jersey, the band were paid $75 for the gig.
1966 The Monkees debut album started a 13- week run at No.1 on the US album chart, selling over 3 million copies in 3 months.
1966 Johnny Rivers went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Poor Side Of Town’. Not a hit in the UK.
1968 Jo Dunne, bass, We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Gonna Use It, (1989 UK No.11 single ‘International Rescue’).
1968 UK book and record chain W.H. Smiths refused to display The Jimi Hendrix Experience album ‘Electric Ladyland’ due to the naked girls featured on the sleeve.
1971 Appearing at Friars, Aylesbury, England, The Velvet Underground, tickets 75p.
1971 Appearing at The Locarno, Sunderland, England, Led Zeppelin, tickets 75p.
1971 The Supremes kicked off a 13-date UK tour at The Regal, Edmonton.
1973 Mott The Hoople kicked off a 20-date UK tour at Leeds Town Hall with support group Queen.
1977 Appearing at Friars, Aylesbury, England, Blondie supported by XTC.
1977 The Sex Pistols went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their debut LP ‘Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’, the punk groups only No.1 album.
1980 Bruce Springsteen scored his first No.1 US album with ‘The River’, featuring the US No.5 & UK No.44 single ‘Hungry Heart.’
1983 Lionel Richie started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘All Night Long’, becoming Motown’s biggest seller to date, it made No.2 in the UK.
1984 After a high profile move by Taylor Swift to pull her entire back catalogue from the song-streaming service Spotify, their chief executive Daniel Ek’s defended its business model, saying it has paid out $2bn (£1.2bn) to the music industry to date.
1988 U2 started a six-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Rattle And Hum.’
1988 UK group The Escape Club went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Wild Wild West’, not a hit in the UK.
1990 Rolling Stone Ron Wood broke both his legs after his car crashed on the M4 motorway near Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Wood was trying to wave other cars past his when he was run over.
1993 John Otway played at London’s Astoria. It was Otway’s 2,000 gig, (his highest chart position until now was with ‘Cor Baby, That’s Really Free’ which made UK No.27).
1994 Sparks played their first live gig for 19 years in front of 200 people at Leicester University, England.
1997 US singer, keyboard player Billy Preston was jailed for three years for possessing cocaine.
1997 George Michael launched his fanclub ‘Members Online’ on the internet.
1998 Winners at the MTV Europe Awards included Madonna, best female artist and album for ‘Ray Of Light’, The Spice Girls won best group, All Saints won breakthrough artist, Robbie Williams, best male artist and Na
1999 Gary Glitter was sentenced to four months in a Bristol prison after being found guilty of downloading child pornography from the Internet. He was released on 11th January 2000.
1999 Oasis announced their new bass player was Andy Bell, the ex- Ride guitarist, who until recently looked set to join Gay Dad.
2000 A1 went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Same Old Brand New You.’
2000 Destiny’s Child started an eleven week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Independent Woman Part 1.’
2000 LeAnn Rimes sued Curb Records to void a contract signed by her parents on her behalf in 1995. In the suit the 18 year- old singer asked Curb to relinquish its rights and publishing interests in Rimes’ past work, as well as futu
2000 R Kelly started a two week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘TP- 2.Com‘
2000 Westlife went to No.1 on the UK album charts with ‘Coast To Coast.’
2001 Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker made an appearance as a DJ at Pentonville Prison, North London as part of his club night ‘Desperate.’
2002 Die hard Beatles fans were enraged after Paul McCartney altered the song writing credits on his ‘Back In The US 2002’ album, changing them to McCartney and Lennon from Lennon and McCartney.
2002 The city of Atlanta declared this day as TLC day to remember Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes who was killed in a car crash on 26th April 2002 aged 30.
2003 Drummer Tony Thompson, who had played drums with Led Zeppelin at Live Aid in 1985, died of cancer. He was most famous as the drummer with Chic, whose single ‘Le Freak’ hit No.1 in the US, and No.7 in the UK. He also played on David Bowie’s hit single ‘Let’s Dance’.
2004 The funeral of DJ John Peel took place at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker, Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey and The White Stripes were among mourners, while Sir Elton John left a wreath of yellow roses.
2007 Former Culture Club frontman, Boy George was charged with the false imprisonment of a 28-year-old man. Police said the offence was alleged to have taken place at the 47-year-old’s home in Hackney, in London on 28 April of this year. The singer, DJ was bailed and was due to appear before Thames Magistrates’ Court on 22 November.
2008 Mitch Mitchell, the British drummer with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, was found dead in his US hotel room aged 61. Mitchell had been working with Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames when in 1966 he was invited to audition for a new band being formed to back Jimi Hendrix. During the 70’s Mitchell failed an audition for Paul McCartney’s new band, Wings.
2012 A guitar signed by some of the biggest names in Manchester’s music scene sold for £6,600 in a charity auction. The Madchester Guitar, which was sold through online auction site eBay, was covered in signatures from the likes of the Stone Roses, Oasis, Elbow and Buzzcocks.
2014 After a high profile move by Taylor Swift to pull her entire back catalogue from the song-streaming service Spotify, their chief executive Daniel Ek’s defended its business model, saying it has paid out $2bn (£1.2bn) to the music industry to date.
2016 Robbie Williams broke the record for the most No.1 albums by a British solo artist. The singer’s latest album, The Heavy Entertainment Show, debuted at No.1 on this week’s chart. It is his 12th album to reach the summit and pushed him ahead of David Bowie who has 11 No.1 albums to his name.