On This Day In Music 22nd March
1936 Roger Whittaker born in Nairobi, British Kenya.Kenyan/British singer-songwriter and musician. (1969 UK No.12 single ‘Durham Town’, 1975 UK No.2 & US No.19 single ‘The Last Farewell’).
1937 Johnny Ferguson born in Nashville, Tennessee. US Singer who word as a Disc Jockey in the late 50’s. His only hit was ‘Angela Jones’ in 1960.
1943 George Benson born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. US jazz /pop singer, guitarist, (1980 US No. 4 & UK No.7 single ‘Give Me The Night’).
1943 Keith Relf born in Richmond, Surrey, England. UK Singer/Harmonica Player/Songwriter with The Yardbirds, (1965 UK No.3 & US No.6 single ‘For Your Love’). Relf died on November 14th 1976 from electrocution, in the basement of his home, while playing his improperly earthed (electrically grounded) guitar. Relf had dealt with several health issues throughout his life, including emphysema and asthma, which may have contributed to his inability to survive the electric shock.
1944 Jeremy Clyde born in Buckinghamshire, England. One half of the English 60’s deuo Chad & Jeremy.
1944 Tony McPhee born in at Redlands House, near Humberston, Lincolnshire. English blues guitarist, and founder of The Groundhogs.(1971 UK No.5 album ‘Split’).
1947 Harry Vanda (Johannes Vandenberg) born in The Hague, Holland. Australian Musician/Songwriter/Producer. Guitarist with The Easybeats, (1966 UK No.6 & US No.16 single ‘Friday On My Mind’). Vanda & young had a hit in 1971 with Lazy River and well as writing
1947 Patrick Olive born in Grenada, West Indies. UK Guitarist/Percussionist for 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).
1948 Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber born in London, England. songwriter, producer with Tim Rice, (1977 UK No.1 single by Julie Covington, ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’, biggest selling UK single by a female artist, until 1985, taken from musical ‘Evita’).
1948 Randy Hobbs born in Union City, Indiana. Bass Guitarist, Johnny Winter group, McCoys, (1965 US No.1 & UK No.5 single ‘Hang On Sloopy’). Hobbs died on August 5th 1993 from a drug overdose, aged 45.
1956 While driving to New York for appearances on ‘The Perry Como Show’, and ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’, the car that Carl Perkins was traveling in was involved in an accident putting Perkins in hospital for several months. The singer received four broken ribs and a broken shoulder, his brother Jay was killed in the accident.
1957 Stephanie Mills born in New York. US singer. Her only Australian hit was in 1981 with ‘Never Knew Love Like This Before’.
1958 Pete Wylie, singer, Wah! (1982 UK No.3 single ‘Story Of The Blues’).
1963 Susanne Sulley born in Sheffield, England. UK Singer with The Human League, (1981 UK No.1 & 1982 US No.1 single ‘Don’t You Want Me’ plus over 15 other UK Top 40 singles).
1965 Bringing It All Back Home’, Bob Dylan’s fifth studio album was released. The album reached No.6 on Billboard’s Pop Albums chart, the first of Dylan’s LPs to break into the US top 10, and it also topped the UK charts later that Spring. The lead-off track, Subterranean Homesick Blues, became Dylan’s first single to chart in the US, peaking at No.39. The album’s iconic cover, photographed by Daniel Kramer, features Sally Grossman, wife of Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman, lounging in the background. The artefacts scattered around the room include vinyl LPs by The Impressions and Robert Johnson.
1968 Mickey Dale, keyboards, Embrace, (2006 UK No. 2 single ‘Natures Law’, 2006 UK No.1 album ‘This New Day’).
1970 Andreas Johnson, Swedish musician and songwriter had the 2000 UK No. 4 single ‘Glorious.’
1971 US police arrested all the members from The Allman Brothers Band for heroin and marijuana possession.
1975 Frankie Valli went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘My Eyes Adored You’, his first solo No.1.
1975 Led Zeppelin started a six-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with Physical Graffiti, the group’s fourth US No.1 album. On its first day of release in the US, the album shipped a million copies – no other album in the history of Atlantic records had generated so many sales. Physical Graffiti has now been certified 16 times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for US sales in excess of 16 million copies.
1975 The tartan teen sensations Bay City Rollers were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Bye Bye Baby’, the group’s first of two UK No.1’s.
1975 Tom Jones started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with his ’20 Greatest Hits’ collection.
1978 The Police signed to A&M Records. The band scored over 15 UK Top 40 hits with the label including the worldwide No.1 ‘Every Breath You Take.’
1978 The Rutles’ ‘All You Need Is Cash’, an affectionate spoof of the Beatles’ career, was broadcast for the first time in the US.
1979 Aaron Wright North, guitarist, Nine Inch Nails, (2005 US No.1 album ‘White Teeth’).
1980 Shannon Bex, singer, Danity Kane, (formed on the MTV reality show Making the Band 3). 2006 US No.1 self-titled album.
1980 Johnny Mathis went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Tears And Laughter.’
1980 Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall, (Part 2) started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart. The track, which was the group’s only US chart topper, was also a No.1 in the UK, Germany, Australia, Italy and in many other countries around the world. Pink Floyd received a Grammy nomination for Best Performance by a Rock Duo or Group for the song, but lost to Bob Seger’s Against The Wind.
1980 The Jam had their first UK No.1 with their tenth release, ‘Going Underground / Dreams Of Children’ the first single of the 80s to debut at No.1.
1981 Shawn Mims, American rapper, (2007 US No.1 single ‘This Is Why I’m Hot’).
1982 Moving Pictures made No.1 in Australia with the single ‘What Aobut Me’. It remained at No.1 for 6 weeks. In 2004 it went to No.1 for Shannon Noll.
1984 Queen filmed the video for ‘I Want To Break Free’ at Limehouse Studio in London, England. Directed by David Mallet, it was a parody of the northern British soap opera Coronation Street with the band members dressed in drag. Guitarist Brian May later said the video ruined the band in America, and was initially banned by MTV in the US.
1986 Heart went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘These Dreams’, it made No.8 in the UK in 1988.
1986 Mark Dinning – US Singer, died aged 52 of a heart attack.
1986 Amy Studt, UK singer, (2003 UK No.4 single ‘Misfit’).
1989 The Fine Young Cannibals went to No.1 in the Australian Singles Chart with ‘She Drives Me Crazy’. Staying at the top for the charts for 6 weeks in a row.
1992 Polygram Records officially announced that Tears For Fears had split up, Roland Orzabal continued using the name Tears For Fears. During their career they scored 15 UK Top 40 singles and two US No.1’s. Re-formed in 2004.
1993 Lenny Kravitz went to No.1 in the Australian Singles Chart with ‘Are You Gonna go My Way’. Staying at the top spot for 2wks.
1994 Singer, songwriter, producer Dan Hartman died of a brain tumor in Westport, Connecticut. Was a member of the Edgar Winter Group and wrote the band’s hit ‘Free Ride.’ Had the 1978 No.1 dance hit ‘Instant Replay,’ wrote ‘Relight My Fire’ a UK No.1 for Take That and Lulu, collaborated with Tina Turner, Dusty Springfield, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Tyler, Paul Young, James Brown, Holly Johnson and Steve Winwood.
1997 Puff Daddy featuring Mase started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down’, his first US No.1, a No.19 hit in the UK.
2000 Yusuf Islam the former singer Cat Stevens joined the campaign to save the Section 28 ban on the promotion of homosexuality in UK schools. He praised peers for fighting the government’s plans to scrap Section 28.
2004 A new book claimed that Elvis Presley’s ancestors came from a small village called Lonmay in the North East of Scotland. Author Allan Morrison said he’d found evidence that Elvis’s great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather was married in the village 300 years ago.
2005 Rod Price, former member of Black Cat Bones and a founding member of Foghat died after falling down a stairway at his home after suffering a heart attack. The 57 year old English guitarist played on Foghat’s highest charting US single ‘Slow Ride’ a hit in 1976.
2009 Lady Gaga Started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Poker Face’, her second UK chart topper and a No.1 hit in over 20 countries.
2016 American rapper Phife Dawg died in Contra Costa County, California, due to complications relating to diabetes at the age of 45. He was a member of the group A Tribe Called Quest and was also known as the ‘Five Foot Assassin’ and ‘The Five Footer’ because he stood at 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m).
2016 Dave Grohl leapt to the defence of a teenage heavy metal band from Cornwall, England, after their local council said they were too loud. The Black Leaves of Envy were told they would have to stop practising in a family garage after noise complaints from neighbours. Foo Fighters frontman Grohl penned an open letter to the authority after the band contacted himasking Cornwall Council to ‘reconsider the restrictions’.