On This Day In Music 17th March

1919 Nat King Cole (Nathaniel Coles) born in alabama. US Singer/Jazz Pianist. (1955 US No.2 single ‘A Blossom Fell’, 1957 UK No.2 single ‘When I Fall In Love’ plus over 20 other US & UK Top 40 singles). Father of singer Natalie Cole. Nat died of lung cancer on February 15th 1965.
1937 Adam Wade born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. US Singer/TV Anouncer/Actor with Three Top Ten Hits in 1961.(often appeared on the ‘Tony Orlando & Dawn’ TV show.) 
1939 Clarence Collins born in Brooklyn, New York. US Singer with Little Anthony & The Imperials. 
1939 Dean Mathis born in Hahira, Georgia. US Singer with the Newbeats. 
1941 Zola Taylor born in California. Female singer with The Platters. Taylor was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Platters. Zola Taylor died on the April 30, 2007, in Riverside, CA at age 69, from pneumonia, following a series of strokes.
1944 Bob Johnson – UK Guitarist/Singer/Songwrite with Steeleye Span, (1975 UK No.5 single ‘All Around My Hat’). 
1944 John Sebastian born in New York City, New York. Lead Singer for the The Lovin Spoonful, (1966 UK No.2 single ‘Daydream’, and 1966 US No.1 single ‘Summer in The City’), solo (1976 US No.1 single ‘Welcome Back’). 
1944 Pat Mcauley born in Coleraine, N. Ireland. Drummer with Them, (1965 UK No.2 & US No.24 single ‘Here Comes The Night’). 
1944 Patti Boyd born in Taunton, Somerset, England. English Model & Former wife to George Harrison (they met on the set of A Hard Day’s Night) and Eric Clapton. She inspired the Eric Clapton songs ‘Laya’ & ‘Wonderful Tonight’ and Harrison’s composition ‘Something’. 
1946 Harold Brown – US Drummer with War, (1976 UK No.12 & US No.12 single ‘Low Rider’). 
1948 Fran Byrne born in Dublin, Ireland. He joined Ace is 1974 as their Drummer. 
1948 Pat Lloyd born in London, England.UK Guitarist with The Equals, (1968 UK No.1 & US No.32 single ‘Baby Come Back’). 
1949 Little Pattie (Patricia Amphlett) Born in Sydney, NSW. Australian 60’s Singer. Her cousin is Chrissie Amphlett from the Divinyls. 
1951 Scott Gorham born in Santa Monica, California. UK Guitarist with Thin Lizzy, he joined in 1974. (1973 UK No.6 single ‘Whisky In The Jar’, 1976 US No.12 single ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’). 
1954 Rena Jones – US singer with Champaign. 
1957 Elvis Presley bought the Graceland mansion from Mrs Ruth Brown-Moore for $102,500. (£60,295). The 23 room, 10,000 square foot home, on 13.8 acres of land, would be expanded to 17,552 square feet of living space before the king moved in a few weeks later. The original building had at one time been a place of worship, used by the Graceland Christian Church and was named after the builder’s daughter, Grace Toof. 
1958 The Champs started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Tequila’, a No.5 hit in the UK. 
1959 Mike Lindup born in London, England. UK Keyboard Player & Singer with Level 42, (1986 UK No.3 & US No.12 single ‘Lessons In Love’ plus 19 other top 40 singles). 
1962 Clare Grogan born in Glasgow, Scotland. UK Singer/Songwriter with Altered Images, (1981 UK No.2 single ‘Happy Birthday’), actress & VH1 presenter.
1962 The Shadows started an eight week run at No. 1 in the UK with the single ‘Wonderful Land’ the bands third No.1. 
1963 Michael Ivins, bass, Flaming Lips, (2002 UK No. 32 single ‘Do You Realize’). 
1966 The Walker Brothers had their second UK No.1 with the single ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’, (originally recorded by Frankie Valli). 
1967 Billy Corgan, vocals, guitar, Smashing Pumpkins, (1995 US No.1 album ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’, 1996 UK No.7 & US No.36 single ‘Tonight Tonight’). 
1967 Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles finished the recording of ‘She’s Leaving Home’ after adding backing vocals to the track. Harpist Sheila Bromberg who was part of the string section on the track became the first woman to play on a Beatles recording. 
1968 The Bee Gees made their US television debut when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show 
1972 Melissa Auf Der Maur, Hole, (1995 UK No.16 & US No.58 single ‘Doll Parts’). 
1973 Caroline Corr born in Dundalk, Ireland. Drummer/Vocalist with the Irish family group The Corrs, (1998 UK No.3 single ‘What Can I Do’. ‘Talk On Corners’ was the best selling UK album of 1998).
1973 Eric Weissberg started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Dueling Banjos.’ Taken from the film ‘Deliverance.’ 
1973 Eric Weissberg started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Dueling Banjos.’ Taken from the film ‘Deliverance.’ 
1973 Dr Hook’s single ‘On The Cover Of Rolling Stone peaked at No.6 on the US chart. The single was banned in the UK by the BBC due to the reference of the magazine. 
1975 Justin Hawkins, vocals, The Darkness. (2003 UK No.2 single ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’, 2003 UK No.1 album ‘Permission To Land’). 
1976 Black American Boxer Reuben ‘Hurricane’ Carter was granted a retrial, thanks in part to Bob Dylan’s hit song ‘Hurricane’. 
1976 Stephen Gately, vocals, Boyzone, (1996 UK No.1 single ‘Words’ plus 15 other Top 5 singles and 4 UK No.1 albums. Solo 2000 UK No.3 single ‘New Beginning / Bright Eyes’). Died of natural causes on 10th Oct 2009. 
1976 Boney M went to No.1 in the Australian Singles Chart with ‘Daddy Cool’. Staying at the top spot for 3wks. 
1976 Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers appeared at CBGB’S, in New York City. 
1978 U2 won £500 ($850) and a chance to audition for CBS Ireland in a talent contest held in Dublin. The Limerick Civic Week Pop ’78 Competition was sponsored by The Evening Express and Guinness Harp Lager. 
1979 Gloria Gaynor started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I Will Survive.’ The song was originally released as the B-side to a song first recorded by The Righteous Brothers called ‘Substitute.’ 
1979 The Bee Gees went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Spirits Having Flown.’ 
1982 Samuel George Jr, lead singer of US group The Capitols was killed aged 39 after being stabbed during a family argument. Had the 1966 US No. 7 single ‘Cool Jerk.’ 
1982 Moving Pictures went to No.1 in the Australian Singles Chart with ‘What About Me’. Staying at No.1 for 4wks in a row. 
1984 Howard Jones scored his first UK No.1 album with his debut release ‘Human’s Lib’. Including ‘What Is Love’, ‘New Song’, ‘Pearl In The Shell’ & ‘Hide & Seek’. 
1984 Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ peaked at No.1 in the US. Over the years David Lee Roth has given various accounts of the meaning behind the lyrics, but most often says they are about a TV news story he saw where a man was about to kill himself by jumping off a building. 
1990 Hozier (Andrew Hozier-Byrne) born in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. Irish singer-songwriter. His self-titled 2014 album went to No.1 in nine European countries. 
1990 Rick Grech, bass player with Family, Blind Faith and Traffic died of kidney and liver failure. 
1996 Terry Stafford died in Amarillo, Texas. Best known for his 1964 hit ‘Suspicion’. 
1997 US singer Jermaine Stewart died of cancer. (1986 UK No.2 single ‘We Don’t Have To…Take Our Clothes Off’). Also worked with Shalamar, The Temptations and Boy George. 
1997 Elvis Presley Enterprises of Memphis, Tennessee, lost its Court of Appeal battle to stop London trader Sid Shaw using the name of ‘The King’ on his souvenirs. The legal tussle with Mr Shaw, who ran a memorabilia shop called ‘Elvisly Yours’, had been going on for over 17 years. Speaking after the ruling, Mr Shaw said: “I’m delighted. I’ve proved that Elvis belongs to all of us – Elvis is part of our history, part of our culture. 
2000 Shania Twain’s “Come On Over” is certified for sales of 17 million in the U.S., making it the best-selling solo album by a female artist, according to the RIAA.
2004 The Kinks singer Ray Davies received his CBE medal from the Queen at Buckingham Palace for services to the music industry. 
2004 The Kinks singer Ray Davies received his CBE medal from the Queen at Buckingham Palace for services to the music industry. 
2005 Justin Hawkins from The Darkness became the centre of the latest hands-on activity at Madame Tussauds in London. His wax double would judge the air guitar skills of visitors who would be invited to play an imaginary guitar with smoke and music pumping out. Hawkins said: “I find the process of air guitaring rather silly. What makes a good air guitarist? Alcohol.” 
2006 The Smiths turned down a $5m (£2.8m) offer to reform for a music festival. The band who split acrimoniously in 1987, rejected the bid to get back together for this year’s Coachella US festival. 
2008 Ola Brunkert, the former drummer with the Swedish group Abba, was found dead with his throat cut at his home in Majorca, Spain. Brunkert died after he hit his head against a glass door in the dining room at his home. He was found dead in his garden after trying to seek help. The 62 year old musician had played on every Abba album and had toured with the group. 
2010 Alex Chilton singer and guitarist with Big Star and The Box Tops, died in hospital of heart problems in New Orleans aged 59. As a teenager Chilton had been a member of The Box Tops who had the 1967 hit ‘The Letter’. 
2011 Ferlin Husky died aged 85, at his daughter’s home in Westmoreland, Tennessee of congestive heart failure. He was an early American country music singer who was equally adept at the genres of traditional honky-tonk, ballads, spoken recitations, and rockabilly pop tunes. In the 1950s and 60s, Husky’s hits included “Gone” and “Wings of a Dove”, each reaching No. 1 on the country charts. 
2013 John Lennon and George Harrison were honored with a blue plaque at the site of the former Apple Boutique in a ceremony in London held at at 94 Baker Street. The new plaque reads “John Lennon, M.B.E., 1940-1980, and George Harrison, M.B.E., 1943-2001, worked here.” 
2016 English indie rock band The 1975 were at No.1 on the US album chart with their second album I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It. The album title set the record for the longest of a Billboard No.1 album with 71 characters.