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On This Day In Music 29th March

1930 Donny Conn was born in Waterbury, Connecticut. Vocalist with The Playmates. He wrote the song ‘Beep Beep’. He died on the 2nd September 2015, aged 85. 
1940 American musician Ray Davis the original bass singer and one of the founding members of The Parliaments, and subsequently the bands Parliament, and Funkadelic. Davis died in New Brunswick, New Jersey on July 5, 2005, at the age of 65, of respiratory problems.
1940 Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer Astrud Gilberto Her version of ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. 
1942 Eden Kane (Richard Sarstedt) born in Delhi, India. English Singer. (1961 UK No.1 ‘Well I Ask You’, brother of Peter Sarsted). 
1943 Chad Allan (Allan Kobel) Vocalist/Guitarist with Guess Who, he left in 1969. (1970 US No.1 & UK No.19 single ‘American Woman’). 
1943 Evangelos Odyssey Papathanassiou, (Vangelis) Greek Musician/Songwriter. 1981 UK No.12 & 1982 US No.1 single ‘Chariots Of Fire.’ 
1945 John ‘Speedy’ Keen born in Ealing, London, England. English Musician. He wrote & Sang lead on Thunderclap Newman’s 1969 hit ‘something In The air’. , drums, vocals, Thunderclap Newman, (1969 UK No.1 & US No.37 single ‘Something In The Air’). Died March 21, 2002 (heart failure). 
1946 Billy Thorpe born in Manchester, England. Australia Singer/Musician. He migrated to Australia when he was 9. He died of a heart attack at St.Vincents Hopital Sydney on the 28th Feb’07. 
1946 Terry Jacks born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.. Canadian Singer/Songwriter, Member of the Poppy Family. Solo Single (1974 UK & US No.1 single ‘Seasons In The Sun’, also a UK No.1 hit for Westlife in 1999). 
1947 Bobby Kimball (Robert Toteaux) born in Vinton, Los Angeles. US Leadsinger/Songwriter with Toto, (1983 US No.1 & UK No.3 single ‘Africa’). 
1949 Dave Greenfield born in Brighton, England. Keyboard Player with The Stranglers(1986 UK No.2 single ‘Golden Brown’ and over 20 over other UK Top 40 singles).
1949 Michael Brecker, Brecker Brothers. Notable jazz and rock collaborations included work with Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Donald Fagen, Dire Straits, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, John Lennon, Aerosmith, Dan Fogelberg, Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, Bruce Springsteen, Roger Daltrey, and Parliament-Funkadelic. He died on January 13, 2007. 
1956 Patty Donahue born in Akron, Ohio. US Singer with The Waitresses, (1982 UK No.45 single ‘Christmas Wrapping’). Died of lung cancer 6th December 1996. 
1959 American singer-songwriter and musician Perry Farrell from Jane’s Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for Jane’s Addiction in 1991; it has since evolved into an annual destination festival. Farrell has also led the alternative rock groups Porno for Pyros and Satellite Party.
1962 Gene Chandler reveives a gold record for the biggest hit of his career, “Duke of Earl.”
1963 The Shadows had their fifth and final UK No.1 single with ‘Foot Tapper.’ 
1966 Vika Bull born in Melbourne, Victoria. Australian Singer with The Black Sorrows and with her sister Linda as Vika & Linda. 
1966 Rolling Stone Mick Jagger was injured during a gig in Marseilles, Southern France after a fan threw a chair at the stage. Jagger required eight stitches in the cut. 
1967 Working at Abbey Road studios The Beatles finished recording ‘Good Morning Good Morning’. They then started work on a new song ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’, (originally titled ‘Bad Finger Boogie’), recording 10 takes of the rhythm track, then Ringo overdub a double-tracked lead vocal.
1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Black Sabbath, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, Curved Air, J.J. Jackson’s Dilemma, Shy Limbs, Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Sunflower Brass Band and Toe Fat all appeared at the London Free Easter Festival in Bethnal Green, London, England. 
1969 Blood Sweat & Tears went to No.1 on the US album chart with their self- titled album.
1969 “Traces” by Classics IV/Dennis Yost peaked at #2 on the US US singles chart. 
1969 “Time Of The Season” by Zombies peaked at #3 on the US singles chart.
1969 “Run Away Child, Running Wild” by Temptations peaked at #6 on the US singles chart.
1971 “Amos Moses” single by Jerry Reed was certified Gold by the RIAA
1973 After their single “The Cover Of Rolling Stone” was first played, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show were actually pictured on the front of that particular magazine. The next week, their single went gold. Inside, a “Rolling Stone” writer confirmed that members of the group (Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show) bought five copies of the mag for their moms, just like in the song’s lyrics! 
1973 Elton John went to No.1 on the Australian Singles Chart with ‘Crocodile Rock’. Staying at the top spot for 3wks. 
1975 Labelle went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Lady Marmalade’, the groups only No.1. British act All Saints had an UK No.1 with the song in 1998. 
1975 Led Zeppelin saw all six of their albums in the US Top 100 chart in the same week, alongside their latest album Physical Graffiti at No.1. 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 SAME WRITERS DIFFERENT SONGS SAME SUCCESS It’s back-to-back #1 hits for the songwriting duo of BOB CREWE & KENNY NOLAN, as LABELLE’s “LADY MARMALADE” replaces FRANKIE VALLI and “MY EYES ADORED YOU” at the top of the charts… They wrote both songs
1975 “You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker peaked at #5 on the US singles chart.
1975 “Express” by B.T. Express peaked at #4 on the US singles chart.
1975 “Shame, Shame, Shame” by Shirley (& Company) peaked at #12 on the US singles chart.
1976 Mark Holden released ‘Never Gonna Fall In Love Again’ (written by Eric Carmen). 
1976 “December, 1963 (oh, What A Night)” single by The Four Seasons was certified Gold by the RIAA
1977 “Queen” album by Queen was certified Gold by the RIAA 
1977 “Works, Volume I” album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer was certified Gold by the RIAA. Including ‘Fanfare For The Common Man’. 
1977 “Dancing Queen” single by Abba was certified Gold by the RIAA
1978 “Chic” album by Chic was certified Gold by the RIAA. Including ‘Everybody Dance’ & ‘Dance Dance Dance (Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah)
1978 David Bowie kicked off his Low / Heroes 77-date World Tour at San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California.
1979 “Music Box Dancer” single by Frank Mills was certified Gold by the RIAA. 
1979 After attending a Dire Straits show during their residency at the Roxy in Los Angeles, Bob Dylan asked Mark Knopfler and drummer Pick Withers to play on the sessions for his next album. Slow Train Coming was the album, recorded in Muscle Shoals in May of 1979, with Jerry Wexler producing. Dylan had first heard Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler when his assistant Arthur Rosato played him the single ‘Sultans of Swing’. 
1980 Mantovani, (Annunzio Paolo Mantovan), Orchestra leader died aged 74. Born in Italy his family moved to England in 1912, where he studied at Trinity College of Music in London. He recorded over 50 albums for Decca records, including Song from Moulin Rouge and Cara Mia, both reached No. 1 in the UK. In the United States, between 1955 and 1972, he released over 40 albums with 27 reaching the Top 40 and 11 the Top Ten. His biggest success was with the album Film Encores, which made it to No. 1 in 1957. 
1980 Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’, spent it’s 303rd week on the US album chart, beating the record set by Carole King’s album ‘Tapestry.’ 
1980 Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me, Girl” by Spinners peaked at #2 on the US singles chart.
1980 “Him” by Rupert Holmes peaked at #6 on the US singles chart.
1981 PJ Morton, American R&B singer, musician, producer and one of the keyboardists in Maroon 5. 
1981 Shakin’ Stevens was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of the Rosemary Clooney hit ‘This Ole House’, the Welsh singers first of four UK No.1’s. 
1983 “Another Page” album by Christopher Cross was certified Gold by the RIAA. Including ‘Alright’ & ‘No Time For Talk’. 
1984 “The Big Chill” album (soundtrack) was certified Platinum by the RIAA
1985 Jeanine Deckers, The Singing Nun, died aged 52 after taking an overdose of sleeping pills in a suicide pact with a friend. Her 1963 US No.1 & UK No.7 single ‘Dominique’ sold over 1.5 million copies, winning a Grammy Award for the year’s best Gospel song. Deckers wrote about her financial difficulties in a suicide note, and in a great irony, the very day of her suicide and unknown to her, the Belgian association that collects royalties for songwriters awarded her $300,000 (571,658 Belgian francs). 
1986 Austrian singer Falco started a three-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Rock Me Amadeus’, also a No.1 in the UK. 
1986 Cliff Richard and The Young Ones were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with a charity version of Cliff Richards hit from 1959 ‘Living Doll.’ 
1986 “This Could Be The Night” by Loverboy peaked at #10 on the pop singles chart.
1988 “Skyscrapper” album by David Lee Roth was certified Gold and Platinum by the RIAA. Including ‘Just Like Paradise’
1989 “Mystery Girl” album by Roy Orbison was certified Gold and Platinum by the RIAA. Including ‘You Got It’ & ‘She’s A Mystery To Me’. 
1989 “Electric Youth” album by Debbie Gibson was certified Multi Platinum 2.00 by the RIAA 
1989 “Hangin’ Tough” album by New Kids On The Block was certified Platinum by the RIAA
1989 “Melissa Etheridge” album by Melissa Etheridge was certified Gold by the RIAA. Including ‘Like The Way I Do’, ‘Bring Me Some Water’ & ‘Similar Features’. 
1989 “You Got It (the Right Stuff)” single by New Kids On The Block was certified Gold by the RIAA 
1989 “Straight Up” single by Paula Abdul was certified Platinum by the RIAA
1996 Two former members of the 1950s group, The Teddy Bears filed suit in Los Angeles, California, against producer Phil Spector and several labels. Carol Connors and Marshall Lieb alleged they had not received royalties from re-issues of their 1958 No.1 hit ‘To Know Him Is To Love Him’. 
1999 The David Bowie Internet Radio Network broadcast its first show for Rolling Stone Radio. The show was Bowie’s favourite songs with Bowie introducing each track. 
2000 “Breathe” album by Faith Hill was certified Multi Platinum 3.0 by the RIAA
2000 Phil Collins took out a high court action against two former members of Earth, Wind & Fire. Collins claimed his company had overpaid the musicians by £50,000 ($85,000) in royalties on tracks including ‘Sussudio’ and ‘Easy Lover’. 
2001 Brian Wilson was honored in a three hour tribute at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Guest performances included Billy Joel,Paul Simon, The Go-Gos and the trio of Carly Simon, David Crosby and Jimmy Webb. Also singing Beach Boy songs were Ann and Nancy Wilson, Elton John and Aimee Mann. Brian Wilson himself joined the fun when he took the stage for the final three songs, ‘Barbara Ann’, ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’ and ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’. 
2004 A court in Lithuania sentenced French rock star Bertrand Cantat, lead singer with Noir Desir to eight years in prison for killing his actress girlfriend during a fight. Cantat was convicted of fatally beating Marie Trintignant in a Vilnius hotel room in 2003. Cantat had admitted killing Ms Trintignant but said it was an accident. 
2005 Neil Young was treated for a brain aneurysm at a hospital in New York. Doctors expected the 59 year old to make a full recovery. The aneurysm was discovered when Young’s vision became blurred after the induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month.
2007 U2 singer Bono accepted an honorary knighthood at a ceremony in Dublin. Fellow band members The Edge and Adam Clayton joined the frontman’s wife and four children at the British ambassador David Reddaway’s official residence. The rock star and campaigner, 46, was not entitled to be called “Sir” because he is not a British citizen. The U2 singer’s new title is Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE). 
2007 ‘Umbrella’, by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z was released in the US. The track went on to reach No.1 in various countries, including the US. A No.1 in the UK for 10 consecutive weeks making it the longest running No.1 single since Wet Wet Wet’s ‘Love Is All Around’ in 1994, and the longest running No.1 by a female artist since Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You.’
2011 A website that illegally sold Beatles songs online for 25 cents each agreed to pay record companies almost $1m (£625,000) to settle a legal case. BlueBeat.com, based in the US, streamed and sold music by The Beatles, Coldplay and others until it was sued in 2009. In the few days before it was forced to shut down, it had distributed more than 67,000 Beatles tracks. 
2015 72-year-old Norman Greenbaum, who wrote and sang the 1969 hit ‘Spirit in the Sky’, was critically injured when the car he was riding in turned left, crossing into the path of an on-coming motorcycle. The 20-year-old motorcyclist was killed and his passenger was severely injured. After a lengthy recovery, Greenbaum returned to the stage in Santa Rosa, California on November 15, 2015.
2016 Andy Newman from Thunderclap Newman died aged 73. Thunderclap Newman, whose 1969 No.1 hit ‘Something in the Air’ became one of the indestructible staples of British 1960s pop. Primarily a keyboard player his schoolfriends nicknamed him Thunderclap in honour of his playing technique. The band that would become Thunderclap Newman was formed in late 1968 at the instigation of the Who’s Pete Townshend.
2017 George Michael’s funeral took place, three months after his sudden death at the age of 53. His family said a “small, private ceremony” was attended by “family and close friends”. The coroner’s verdict on Michael’s death only came three weeks before his funeral. Tests were ordered because an initial post-mortem examination was “inconclusive”.

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