13th March Today in Music History Events
1933 Mike Stoller born in New York. One half of the famous Leiber/Stoller US Songwriting team.They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as “Hound Dog” (1952) and “Kansas City” (1952). Later in the 1950s, particularly through their work with The Coasters, they created a string of ground-breaking hits—including “Young Blood” (1957), “Searchin'” (1957), and “Yakety Yak” (1958). Leiber and Stoller wrote hits for Elvis Presley, including “Love Me” (1956), “Jailhouse Rock” (1957), “Loving You”, “Don’t”, and “King Creole”.[4] They also collaborated with other writers on such songs as “On Broadway”, written with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil; “Stand By Me”, written with Ben E. King; “Young Blood”, written with Doc Pomus; and “Spanish Harlem”, co-written by Leiber and Phil Spector.
1939 Neil Sedaka born in Brooklyn, New York. US Singer/Songwriter, (1959 UK No.3 single ‘Oh Carol’ plus over 30 US & 14 UK other Top 40 singles, 1962 US No.1 & UK No.7 single ‘Breaking Up Is Hard To Do’).
1940 Daniel Bennie born in Johnstone, Scotland. US singer with the Reflections. Died April 7, 2008. They had one hit single in 1964 called “(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet”
1949 Donald York born in Boise, Idaho. US singer with Sha Na Na.
1940 Candi Staton (Canzetta Maria Staton) born in Hanceville, Alabama. US Singer. She is best known for her disco hit “Young Hearts Run Free” and dance hit “You Got The Love”.
1948 Peggy Lee goes to #1 in America with “Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me).”
1958 The Recording Industry Association of America introduced its awards for record sales, (RIAA). The Beatles hold the record for being awarded the most with 76 platinum certifications.
1958 Mick Jagger went to the East Ham Granada Cinema, in Wollwich, England, to see rocker Buddy Holly perform, who opened the show with “Not Fade Away.”
1959 Greg Norton Husker Du, (1987 album ‘Warehouse Songs And Stories’).
1959 Ronnie Rogers born in , Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. UK guitarist/songwriter with T’Pau, (1987 UK No. 1 with ‘China In Your Hand, 1987 US No.4 single ‘Heart And Soul’).
1959 An emergency plane landing in a South Bend, Indiana, field nearly kills The Kingston Trio’s band members.
1960 Adam Clayton born in Oxfordshire, England. Bass guitarist with rock band U2. (1984 UK No.3 single ‘Pride, In The Name Of Love’ plus over 25 other UK Top singles, 1987 UK and world wide No.1 album ‘The Joshua Tree’).
1960 Johnny Preston was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Running Bear’, also No.1 in the US.
1961 “Baby Sittin’ Boogie” by Buzz Clifford peaked at #6 on the US singles chart.
1961 Ricky Nelson records “Travelin’ Man.”
1964 “Cash Box” lists four Beatles singles in the top four positions on its chart: “She Loves You,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Please Please Me” and “Twist and Shout.” Already, “Meet the Beatles” has sold over 3-and-a-half million copies in the U.S. It’s the most in recording history thus far.
1964 Billboard reported that sales of Beatles singles currently accounted for 60 percent of the US singles market and The Beatles album Meet the Beatles had reached a record 3.5 million copies sold.
1965 The Beatles started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Eight Days A Week’, the group’s 7th US No.1. Paul McCartney would later say the name of the song came from a chauffeur who drove him one day. “I said, ‘How’ve you been?’. ‘Oh working hard,’ he said, ‘Working eight days a week.'”
1965 Eric Clapton quit The Yardbirds due to musical differences with the other band members. Clapton wanted to continue in a blues type vein, while the rest of the band preferred the more commercial style of their first hit, ‘For Your Love’.
1965 Tom Jones made his first major TV appearance on BBC TVs ‘Billy Cotton Band Show.’
1965 “Midnight Special” by Johnny Rivers peaked at #20 on the US singles chart.
1966 Rod Stewart left the British blues band Steampacket to work as a solo artist. Arguably, the UK’s first “supergroup” Steampacket was formed in 1965 by Long John Baldry and also featured singer Julie Driscoll, organist Brian Auger and guitarist Vic Briggs.
1966 Pink Floyd appeared for the first time at The Marquee in Wardour Street, London, England. The Marquee became the most important venue for the emerging British scene and witnessed the rise of some of the most important artists in the 1960s and 1970s, such as Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Manfred Mann, The Who, Yes, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, King Crimson and Genesis.
1967 Working at Abbey Road studios in London, six members of Sounds, Inc. recorded the horn parts for The Beatles song ‘Good Morning Good Morning’ (three saxophones, two trombones, and one french horn).
1968 Beatles released “Lady Madonna” in the U.K.
1968 The Byrds received a gold record certified by the RIAA for the album, “Greatest Hits”, which featured “Turn! Turn! Turn!” written by Pete Seeger (excerpted from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible); “Eight Miles High”; “Mr. Spaceman”; “Mr. Tambourine Man”; “All I Really Want To Do”; and “My Back Pages”. The group consisted of Jim McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Mike Clarke. Kevin Kelly, Gram Parsons, Clarence White, John York and Gene Parsons were other personnel of the group through the years. The Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
1969 Elvis Presley’s Charro! movie opens.
1971 Brewer and Shipley entered the US singles chart with ‘One Toke Over The Line’. The song, which featured The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia on steel guitar, peaked at No.10 despite being banned by radio stations for its drug references. Brewer and Shipley maintained that the word “toke” meant “token” as in ticket, hence the line “waitin’ downtown at the railway station, one toke over the line.”
1971 “For All We Know” by Carpenters peaked at #3 on the pop singles chart.
1971 “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” by Credence Clearwater Revival peaked at #8 on the US singles chart
1972 Rapper Common is born Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. in Chicago, Illinois.
1972 Harry Nilsson was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of The Peter Ham and Tom Evans song ‘Without You’. Also No.1 for Mariah Carey in 1994.
1973 David Draiman born in Brooklyn, New York. Lead Vocalist with Disturbed, (2005 US No.1 album ‘Ten Thousand Fists’).
1973 Ed Sloan (frontman for Crossfade) is born in South Carolina.
1973 David Cassidy appeared at Bell Vue Kings Hall in Manchester, the first of 10 sold out UK shows. The saucer-like arena was capable of seating 7,000 people. Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Rolling Stones, 10cc, Supertramp, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton and Led Zeppelin all appeared here during the 60’s and 70’s.
1974 Phil Burton born in Sydney, NSW. Singer with Australian vocal group Human Nature.
1976 The Four Seasons started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘December 1963, (Oh What A Night)’, the group’s 5th US No.1, also their only UK No.1.
1976 “Love Hurts” by Nazareth peaked at #8 on the US singles chart.
1976 “Take It To The Limit” by Eagles peaked at #4 on the US singles chart.
1976 #1 Billboard Album: Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)
1977 Iggy Pop and David Bowie kicked off a North American tour at Le Plateau Theatre, Montreal, Canada with Blondie as the opening act.
1977 Manhattan Transfer were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Chanson D’amour’, the group’s only UK No.1. The retro Jazz vocal harmony group had been working in New York gay bars, singing 40s and 50s swing classics.
1977 David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Blondie begin a North American tour.
1978 “Stayin’ Alive” single by Bee Gees was certified Platinum by the RIAA
1979 “Destiny” album by The Jacksons was certified Gold by the RIAA. Including ‘Blame It On The Boogie’ & ‘Shake Your Body Down To The Ground’.
1979 Toni Lundow, singer, Liberty X, (2002 UK No.1 single ‘Just A Little’).
1980 Phoenix” album by Dan Fogelberg was certified Gold and Platinum by the RIAA. Including ‘Longer’.
1980 “September Morn” album by Neil Diamond was certified Gold by the RIAA. Also including ‘I’m A Believer’.
1980 Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” goes platinum a few weeks into its fifteen week stay at Number One. The two-record set is largely the brainchild of bass player Roger Waters, who now emerges as the group’s creative head.
1982 “Spirits In The Material World” by The Police peaked at #11 on the US singles chart.
1983 U2 topped the UK album chart for the first time with “War.” Including ‘New Years Day’, ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ & ‘Two Hearts Beat As One’.
1985 “Valotte” album by Julian Lennon was certified Platinum by the RIAA
1985 Bob Geldof and Midge Ure received the Best Selling A Side award at the 30th Ivor Novello Awards for ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas.’
1987 Bryan Adams’ “Heat Of The Night” was the first cassette single released, putting another nail in the coffin of the deloved vinyl 45.
1987 Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1988 Bob Seger receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1992 Bad Religion release their sixth full-length studio album, Generator. This is the band’s debut album with drummer Bobby Schayer, who remains in the band until 2000’s The New America.
1993 Canadian rapper Snow, (Darrin O’Brien), started a 7-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Informer’, a No.2 hit in the UK.
1993 Eric Clapton started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Unplugged.’
1993 Lenny Kravitz started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way.’
1993 This week’s Radio One’s UK Top 40 Chart Show was in chaos after Gallup who compiled the chart got 20 of the forty entries wrong.
1994 Mariah Carey started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Music Box.’
1998 English reggae and ska artist Judge Dread (Alex Hughes) died after collapsing as he walked off stage in Canterbury, England. He achieved 10 UK hit singles during the 70’s and was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica. Dread has the most banned songs at radio of all time.
1999 Cher started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Believe’, making Cher the oldest woman to top the Hot 100 at the age of 53.
2000 NSYNC went to No.1 on the singles chart with ‘Bye Bye Bye’. Staying at No.1 for 5wks.
2002 Wall Of Voodoo guitarist Marc Moreland died in Paris of Kidney failure aged 44.
2002 Danny Bonaduce of The Partridge Familywins his bout against Barry Williams (Greg from The Brady Bunch) on the Fox TV special Celebrity Boxing. In another bout, Todd Bridges from Diff’rent Strokes whoops up on Vanilla Ice.
2004 Luciano Pavarotti makes his 379th and last performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, playing the painter Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca. He receives a 12-minute standing ovation.
2005 50 Cent went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘The Massacre’, the US rappers first UK No.1. The album was also a US No.1 spending six weeks at the top of the chart.
2006 The Sex Pistols refused to attend their own induction into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. . Blondie, Herb Alpert and Black Sabbath were all inducted but the Pistols posted a handwritten note on their website, calling the institution “urine in wine”, adding “We’re not your monkeys, we’re not coming. You’re not paying attention”.
2006 The Kinks came out the top earners for music used in TV adverts in the US, earning them £6m a year. The sixties group were enjoying a resurgence with their music being used to sell washing powder, computers and medicines. Led Zeppelin came in second place with £4m and The Rolling Stones third with £2.3m.
2007 Coffee house Starbucks announced the launch of its own music label, saying it would sign both established and new artists. The chain, which had 13,000 stores worldwide, had already released albums under its Hear Music brand, licensing songs from other companies. Starbucks bosses said the label would now become more independent and that music fitted with the firm’s identity.
2007 Amy Winehouse’s second album, Back to Black, is released in the US. It enters the Billboard chart the following week at #7, and surges to its chart peak of #2 after Winehouse wins five Grammy awards for the album the following year, including Record of the year and Song of the Year for “Rehab.”
2008 Michael Jackson refinanced his Neverland ranch to save it from being auctioned off, after being told that if he failed to pay $25m (£12.5m) he owed on the California property, it would be auctioned within a week. Jackson bought Neverland in 1987 intending to create a fantasy land for children naming it after an island in the story Peter Pan, where children never grow up.
2013 Jimi Hendrix scored his highest chart debut since 1969 when his new studio album, People, Hell & Angels, consisting of unreleased tracks recorded with a variety of musicians between 1968 and 1970, sold 72,000 copies in the US on the week of release and made its debut at No.2 on the charts.
2014 Two people were killed and 23 injured after a drunk driver crashed through barricades set up for the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas. The driver was thought to have been trying to escape from the police when the accident happened. Two other people later died in hospital.
2015 Daevid Allen, Australian jazz-rock guitarist (of Gong, Soft Machine), dies of cancer at age 77.