November 19 – On This Day Music History
1828 Austrian composer Franz Schubert dies in Vienna, Austria, at age 31. The cause is listed as typhoid fever, though some scholars believe it was syphilis.
1905 Bandleader Tommy Dorsey is born in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. On November 26, 1956, Dorsey died at age 51 in his Greenwich, Connecticut, home.
1927 Folk singer and, yes, actual postman The Singing Postman is born Allan Smethurst is born in Walshaw, Lancashire, England. Smethurst left the music industry in 1970, later admitting he had an alcohol problem and that he had spent all of his money and was penniless. He spent his last few years living quietly in a Salvation Army hostel in Grimsby, where he died from a heart attack in December 2000.
1936 Ray Collins (vocalist, percussionist for Mothers of Invention) is born in Pomona, California. Collins resided in Claremont California, until his death on December 24, 2012. He was 76 years old
1937 Geoff Goddard (The Tornados) is born in Reading, Berkshire, England. He was an English songwriter, singer and instrumentalist.Wrote John Leyton’s hit UK single “Johnny Remember Me” (1961). Working for Joe Meek in the early 1960s, he wrote songs for Heinz, Mike Berry, Gerry Temple, The Tornados, Kenny Hollywood, The Outlaws, Freddie Starr, Screaming Lord Sutch, The Ramblers and John Leyton. His song for Leyton, “Johnny Remember Me”, reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart. Goddard died from a heart attack in May 2000, at the age of 62.
1938 Hank Menress born in Brooklyn, New York. Tenor Vocalist with The Tokens, (1961 US No.1 & UK No.11 single ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’). After leaving the Tokens, Medress co-produced (with Dave Appell) many of Tony Orlando and Dawn’s hits as well as Melissa Manchester’s LP. Later, he worked with David Johansen, Rick Springfield, Dan Hill, and Richard Simmons. He was president of EMI Music Publishing Canada, from 1990 to 1992. He died of lung cancer at his Manhattan home on June 18, 2007, aged 68
1939 Warren “Pete” Moore born in Detroit, Michigan. Bass Vocalist with The Miracles, (1970 UK & US No.1 single with Smokey Robinson, ‘The Tears Of A Clown’). Pete Moore died on his 79th birthday in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the 19th November 2017.
1943 Fred Lipsius born in The Bronx, New York. Piano & Alto Sax with Blood Sweat & Tears, (1969 US No.12 & UK No.35 single ‘You’ve Made Me So Very Happy’).
1944 Charlie Coe – US Bassist with Paul Revere & The Raiders from 1967-1968.
1946 Joe Correro in Greenwood, Mississippi. Druumer with Paul Revere and the Raiders from 1967. , (1971 US No.1 single ‘Indian Reservation’, plus 14 other US Top 30 hit singles).
1948 William Shakespeare (John Cave) Australian Singer. He had two No.1 Hits in 1974 with the Harry Vanda/George Young songs ‘Can’t Stop Myself From Loving You’ & ‘My Little Angel’. He died suddenly in Sydney on 5 October 2010.
1950 Robin Jolley. Australian singer. He had his biggest hit in 1972 with the Brian Cadd/Don Mudie song Marshall’s Portable Music Machine
1952 Bill Sharpe born in Bishop’s Stortford, England. Keyboardist with Shakatak, (1982 UK No.9 single ‘Night Birds’).
1952 Eddie Rayner born in Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand. He spent twelve years as a keyboardist in the band Split Enz. He has also played in the groups Orb, Space Waltz, Crowded House, The Makers and 801.
1954 Annette Guest (of the girl group First Choice) is born in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia trio First Choice was known for ’70s disco hits like “Armed and Extremely Dangerous,” “Smarty Pants,” and “Love Thang,” among others.
1954 While driving from Vegas to Los Angeles, Sammy Davis Jr. crashes into another car on Route 66 in San Bernadino, California, and three days later, permanently loses use of his left eye. While in the hospital, friend Eddie Cantor tells Davis about the twin struggles of the Jewish and African-Americans, leading Davis to convert to Judaism. (The accident, paradoxically, increased his popularity.)
1955 Carl Perkins recorded ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ at Sun Studios in Memphis. The rock ‘n’ roll classic became a US No.2 & UK No.10 hit for Perkins in 1956, and has been covered by many acts including Elvis Presley and John Lennon.
1960 Matt Sorum born in Venice Beach or Mission Viejo, California. American drummer and percussionist. He is best known as both a former member of the hard rock band Guns N’ Roses, with whom he recorded three studio albums, and as a member of the supergroup Velvet Revolver. Sorum is currently a member of the touring project, Kings of Chaos, and is a former member of both The Cult and Y Kant Tori Read. Sorum was also a member of Guns N’ Roses side-projects, Slash’s Snakepit and Neurotic Outsiders, and released a solo album, Hollywood Zen, in 2004.
1960 While in Los Angeles during the filming of his seventh movie, Wild In The Country, Elvis Presley suffers a bit of road rage, pulling a gun on a group of passengers in another car who had supposedly insulted him.
1962 Beatles Performing at a lunchtime session from 12 until 2 at The Cavern Club, 10 Mathew Street Liverpool, The Beatles.
1964 Bobby Goldsboro recorded ‘Little Thing’ & Gary Lewis & Playboys recorded ‘This Diamond Ring’ on this day.
1964 The Supremes became the first all girl group to have a UK No.1 single when ‘Baby Love’ went to the top of the charts.
1965 Jason Pierce, vocals, guitar, Spiritualized, (1995 UK No.30 single ‘Let It Flow’).
1965 Pete Kember, (Sonic Boom), Spacemen 3, 1990 album ‘Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To’.
1965 Appearing at The Marquee Club, London, David Bowie and the Lower 3rd.
1965 Appearing at the Glad Rag Ball, Empire Pool; London, The Kinks, The Who, Georgie Fame & The Blue Fames, The Hollies, Wilson Pickett, The Golden Apples Of The Sun. Tickets 30 shillings, ($4.20).
1966 The Supremes started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘You Keep Me Hanging On’, the groups 7th US No.1. It made No.8 in the UK.
1967 Bee Gees Appearing at the Saville Theatre, London, The Bee Gees, The Flowerpot Men and The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
1968 Onstage with The Supremes at the Royal Command Variety Performance in London, Diana Ross interrupts the show with a plea for greater interracial understanding. She receives a two-minute ovation from the audience, which includes members of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth II herself stands after Ross’ moving performance of West Side Story’s “Somewhere.”
1969 Travis McNabb (drummer for Better Than Ezra) is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1971 Justin Chancellor, Peach, Tool, (2001 US No.1 album ‘Lateralus’).
1971 R&B singer-songwriter Tony Rich is born Antonio Jeffries Jr. in Detroit, Michigan. Known for the 1996 hit single “Nobody Knows.”
1974 Alex Lloyd (Alex Wasiliev) Australian singer – song of a Russian Father & an Irish Mother. He had his firt big hit in 2001 with amazing.
1976 UK music weekly ‘Sounds’ made The Sex Pistols debut 45, ‘Anarchy In The UK’ it ‘s single of the week.
1977 Little River Band peaked at no.14 on the US Chart with ‘Help Is On Its Way’.
1979 Chuck Berry was released from prison after serving a four-month sentence for tax evasion.
1983 Tom Evans of Badfinger commits suicide. Eight years earlier, his bandmate Pete Ham died in similar fashion. The acclaimed band had extraordinary bad business dealings with their record labels, Apple and Warner Bros., which were a contributing factor in their deaths. He was born 5th June, 1947.
1983 Tina Turner made her first chart appearance in over ten years with her version of the Al Green hit ‘Let’s Stay Together’.
1988 T’Pau Appearing at Leeds Town Hall, England, T’Pau.
1988 Appearing at the NEC, Birmingham, England, Sade, tickets £12.50.
1988 Bon Jovi started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Bad Medicine’, the groups third US No.1, a No.17 hit in the UK.
1988 Canadian singer and one hit wonder Robin Beck was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘First Time.’ The song was from a TV advertisement for Coca- Cola.
1990 Pia King the wife of Level 42 main-man Mark King was granted a ‘quickie’, divorce after her husband ran of with their children’s nanny.
1990 The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences strips the 1989 best new artist Grammy from the group Milli Vanilli because Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan didn’t actually sing on their debut album, Girl You Know It’s True. It is the first time a Grammy has ever been taken back.
1992 Bobby Russell, US Singer/Songwriter died aged 52 of Heart Disease. He wrote Honey, Little Green Apples, The Joker Went Wild and The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia, recorded by his former wife – Vicki Lawrence.
1994 Crosby Stills & Nash member David Crosby had a successful liver transplant operation at Dumont-UCLA in Los Angeles. Crosby’s liver was deteriorated from extensive alcohol and drug abuse, as well as hepatitis-C.
1994 Nirvana entered the US album chart at No.1 with ‘MTV Unplugged In New York’.
1995 Alan Hull singer songwriter with Lindisfarne died of a heart attack aged 50. (1972 UK No.3 single ‘Lady Eleanor’).
1996 Raul Malo (The Mavericks) and wife Betty welcome Victor Antonio Malo, their second son, on brother Dino’s first birthday.
1998 All Saints Melanie Blatt and Stuart Zender became parents to a daughter Lilliella.
1999 Shane MacGowan was released on bail by a London court on charges of drug possession.
2000 LeAnn Rimes started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Can’t Fight The Moonlight’, the singer’s first UK chart topper.
2000 The Beatles started an eleven-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘The Beatles 1’.
2001 Mick Jagger released his new solo album ‘Goddess In The Doorway’. First day sales stood at 954 copies.
2001 Stone Temple Pilots Scott Weiland lead singer with The Stone Temple Pilots was arrested after allegedly fighting with his wife at the Hard Rock hotel in Las Vegas. Weiland was booked on one count of domestic battery and was released 12 hours later. The band had performed at the club that night.
2002 Safety experts blasted Michael Jackson after dangling his baby from a third- floor hotel balcony. Jacko was in Berlin for an awards ceremony and was showing his nine-month old baby to his fans outside the hotel.
2003 Rock bassist Greg Ridley (Humble Pie, Spooky Tooth) dies of pneumonia in Alicante, Spain, at age 56. (1969 UK No.4 single ‘Natural Born Bugie’).
2003 Police issued an arrest warrant for Michael Jackson following allegations of sexual abuse of a 12-year old boy. Jackson who was in Las Vegas filming a video, negotiated with police to arrange a time and place to hand himself in.
2003 Actor, dancer, Gene Anthony Ray, (Leroy in ‘Fame’) died from a stroke aged 41.
2003 Guy Sebastian aged 22 from Adelaide was voted the Australian Idol Winner. Over 3 Million TV Viewers Watched The Event.
2004 Rapper Young Buck was arrested over a stabbing at the Vibe hip-hop awards. Young Buck, (real name David Darnell Brown),was arrested on suspicion of stabbing a man who allegedly punched rap star Dr Dre in the face. He was released on $500,000 (£270,000) bail after surrendering to police in Los Angeles.
2004 Record producer Terry Melcher, who co-wrote The Beach Boys’ “Kokomo,” dies after a long battle with melanoma at age 62. He was the only child of actress Doris Day., he co-wrote ‘Kokomo’ for The Beach Boys, produced ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ for the Byrds, as well as hits for The Mamas and the Papas.
2006 A guitar played by George Harrison was set to fetch more than £100,000 at a London auction. The Maton MS500 guitar was used on The Beatles first album.
2007 Queen guitarist Brian May is named Chancellor of Liverpool’s John Moores University.
2007 Kevin DuBrow (lead vocalist for Quiet Riot) dies of a presumed accidental cocaine overdose. He would be found in his Las Vegas home six days later.
2007 At Caroline Kennedy’s 50th birthday party, guest performer Neil Diamond reveals that his 1970 hit “Sweet Caroline” was actually written about her.
2012 Two farmers were found not guilty of health and safety offences after a giant hay bale crushed former ELO cellist Mike Edwards to death. He was killed instantly when the 600kg bale rolled down a field and landed on his van near Totnes in Devon in September 2010. In March 2011 in Plymouth an inquest jury returned a verdict of accidental death on Mr Edwards.
2013 People magazine names Adam Levine “Sexiest Man Alive,” making him the first musician to earn the title.
2016 A furious letter from John Lennon to Paul McCartney and his wife, Linda, written after The Beatles’ break-up sold for nearly $30,000 (£24,200), to an anonymous collector in Dallas. In the two-page typed draft with handwritten notes, Lennon criticises the couple for their treatment of him and his wife, Yoko Ono. The attack is said to be in response to Linda’s criticism of him not publicly announcing his departure from the band.