On This Day In Music 16th March

1932 Betty Johnson born in Guilford County, North Carolina. North Carolina. US Singer. 
1942 Jerry Jeff Walker (Paul Crosby) born in New York. US singer, songwriter, wrote ‘Mr Bojangles’ a hit for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. 
1948 Michael Bruce – US Guitarist/Keyboard Player with The Alice Cooper Band, until the group disbanded in 1975. (1972 UK No.1 & US No.7 single ‘School’s Out’). 
1954 Jimmy Nail (James Bradford) born in Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. English Actor & Singer. UK actor and singer, (1992 UK No.1 single ‘Ain’t No Doubt’).
1954 Nancy Wilson born in San Francisco, California. US Vocalist. Nancy & her older Sister were the nucleus for their band Heart, (1987 US No.1 & UK No.3 single ‘Alone’). 
1958 The Coasters recorded ‘Yakety Yak’. 
1959 Doo-wop group The Platters scored their only UK No.1 hit with ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.’ Also a US No.1 hit. 
1963 Stuart Kerr born in Glasgow, Scotland. Drummer with Love & Money as well as Texas, (1989 UK No. 8 single ‘I Don’t Want A Lover’, left in 1991). 
1963 Peter Paul & Mary released Puff the Magic Dragon. 
1964 The Beatles set a new record for advance sales in the U.S. with 2,100,000 copies of their latest single ‘Can’t Buy Me Love.’ When pressed by American journalists in 1966 to reveal the song’s “true” meaning, Paul McCartney stated “I think you can put any interpretation you want on anything, but when someone suggests that ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ is about a prostitute, I draw the line.” 
1965 The Rolling Stones were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Last Time’, the bands third UK No.1 and first No.1 for songwriters Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. 
1965 The Beatles continue filming in Austria for their second movie, Help! They completed the “ski lift” segment of the film. 
1968 The posthumously released Otis Redding single ‘Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay’, started a five week run at No.1 on the US chart, (a No.3 hit the UK). Otis was killed in a plane crash on 10th December 1967 three days after recording the song. ‘Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay’, became the first posthumous No.1 single in US chart history and sold over four million copies worldwide. 
1969 Fleetwood Mac, The Move, Amen Corner, Peter Sarstedt, The Tymes, Harmony Grass and Geno Washington all appeared at ‘Pop World 69’ at London’s Wembley Empire Pool, England. 
1970 Motown singer Tammi Terrell died of a brain tumour at the age of 24. She had collapsed onstage on October 14, 1967 into Marvin Gaye’s arms during a concert in Hampton, Virginia. Initially Terrell recorded solo, but from 1967 onwards she recorded a series of duets with Marvin Gaye, including the 1967 US No.5 ‘Your Precious Love’ and the 1968, ‘Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing’. Marvin Gaye reacted to her death by taking a four year hiatus from concert performance and went into self-isolation.’ 
1971 Winners at this years Grammy Awards included, Simon and Garfunkel who won Record of the year, Song of the year and Album of the year for ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, The Carpenters won Best new act and Best vocal performance. 
1972 Andrew Dunlop born in Lenzie, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Lead Guitarist with Travis, (1999 UK No.1 album ‘The Man Who’, 1999 UK No.10 single ‘Why Does It Always Rain On Me’, plus over 10 other UK Top 40 singles).
1972 John Lennon lodged an appeal with the US immigration office in New York, after he was served with deportation orders arising from his 1968 cannabis possession conviction. 
1973 David Cassidy played the first of six sold out shows at the Empire Pool, Wembley. 
1974 Barbra Streisand started a two-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘The Way We Were’, the singers second US No.1. 
1974 During a US tour Elvis Presley played the first of four nights at the Midsouth Coliseum in Memphis Tennessee. This was the first time Elvis had played in Memphis since 1961. 
1977 Boney M went to No.1 in the Australian Singles Chart with ‘Daddy Cool’. Staying at the top spot for 3wks. 
1977 Paper Lace were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the anti-war pop song ‘Billy Don’t Be A Hero,’ the group’s only No.1. Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods scored a US No.1 with their version of the song. 
1977 After being with the label for just six days The Sex Pistols were fired from A&M due to pressure from other label artists and its Los Angeles head office. 25,000 copies of ‘God Save The Queen’ were pressed and the band made £75,000 ($127,500) from the deal. 
1977 Pink Floyd played the second of five sold-out nights at Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England. The set list included: Sheep, Pigs on the Wing 1, Dogs, Pigs on the Wing 2, Pigs (Three Different Ones), Wish You Were Here, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Welcome to the Machine, Have a Cigar, Money and Us and Them. 
1979 Leena Peisa, keyboards, Lordi. Became Finland’s first ever Eurovision Song Contest winners after their song ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah’ won the contest held in Athens in 2006. 
1989 MTV America launched a contest to give away Jon Bon Jovi’s childhood home. 
1989 Bez from The Happy Mondays was arrested at Manchester Airport moments before boarding a flight to Belfast for a gig and charged for trying to leave the country, breaking bail conditions set after a previous arrest. 
1991 The Farm scored their only UK No.1 album with ‘Spartacus.’ 
1991 Seven members of Country singer Reba McEntire’s band and her road manager were among 10 people who were killed when their private jet crashed in California just north of the Mexican border. McEntire, who had given a private concert in San Diego for IBM employees the night before, was not on the plane. 
1992 During a Metallica gig at Orlando Arena fans dangled an usher by his ankles from the balcony as trouble broke out at the concert. The band were charged $38,000 (£22,353) for repairs and cleaning after the audience trashed the building. 
1993 Johnny Cymbal – US singer/Songwriter, died aged 48. He had a novelty hit in 1963 with Mr Bass Man and as Derek he charted in 1968 with Cinnamon. He co-wrote Rock Me Baby which was a hit for John Farnham. 
1996 Charles Pope singer with US soul group The Tams died of heart failure. (1971 UK No.1 single ‘Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me’). 
1996 The Ramones performed what they claimed would be their last ever date in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 
2002 Liza Minnelli takes her fourth trip down the aisle when she marries promoter David Gest in New York. Michael Jackson serves as best man and Elizabeth Taylor is matron of honor. 
2003 Gareth Gates featuring The Kumars started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Spirit In The Sky.’ The song had been a UK No.1 for Norman Greenbaum in 1970 and for Doctor and the Medics in 1986. Also a 1982 UK airplay hit for The Cheaters. 
2005 Billy Joel checked into a rehabilitation centre for alcohol abuse. A statement from the 55-year-old singer’s spokesperson put his latest problems down to “a recent bout of severe gastrointestinal distress.” 
2009 Songwriter Jack Lawrence dies at age 96 after he falls at his home in Redding, Connecticut. Co-wrote Frank Sinatra’s first solo hit, “All or Nothing at All.” 
2010 Abba were inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with Genesis and The Hollies. Abba’s Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad accepted their trophies, in New York. 
2010 A rare Led Zeppelin recording from the group’s 1971 gig at St Matthew’s Baths Hall in Ipswich, England was unearthed at a car boot sale. The bootleg copy of the audio from the group’s gig on November 16th 1971 was picked up for just “two or three pounds” by music fan Vic Kemp. “I was going through a stand of CDs at the car boot at Portman Road and the guy who was selling them said, ‘You might be interested in this,'” Vic Kemp told the Evening Star. “It must have been recorded by someone standing at the front with a microphone. You can hear Robert Plant talking to the audience quite clearly.” 
2012 A series of “medical mishaps” forced Morrissey to cancel the rest of his forthcoming concerts in the US. The ex-Smiths frontman had suffered a number of illnesses including a bleeding ulcer, Barrett’s oesophagus and double pneumonia. The 53-year-old, had already called off 21 gigs this year due to poor health. 
2013 Bobby Smith died of from pneumonia and influenza on this day aged 76 in Orlando Florida. He was an American R&B singer, the principal lead singer of the classic Motown/Philly group, The Spinners,[2] also known as the Detroit Spinners or the Motown Spinners, throughout its history.
2015 Don Robertson died in California on this day aged 92. He was an American songwriter and pianist, mostly in the country and popular music genres. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. As a performer, he hit the US Top 10 with “The Happy Whistler” in 1956. 
2015 Sam Smith stopped Madonna from topping the UK album chart, denying her the 12th No.1 of her career. Madonna’s latest album, Rebel Heart, had been in pole position throughout the week, but Smith’s In The Lonely Hour sneaked ahead at the last minute, beating Madonna by 12,000 sales. In The Lonely Hour had now spent six separate spells at No.1 – a record for a male solo artist. 
2015 Andy Fraser songwriter and bass guitarist with Free died in California aged 62. The London-born musician became a founding member of the British group when he was just 15 and went on to write most of the material with Free lead singer Paul Rodgers, including Free’s 1970 hit ‘All Right Now’. 
2017 American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter James Cotton died from pneumonia aged 81. Cotton worked in Howlin’ Wolf’s band in the early 1950s. In 1955, he was recruited by Muddy Waters to come to Chicago and join his band. In 2006, Cotton was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.