On This Day In Music 15th April
1933 Roy Clark born in Meherrin, Virginia. US Country Singer, (1969 US No.19 single, ‘Yesterday, When I Was Young’). Clark died on November 15, 2018, at 85 at his Tulsa home due to complications of pneumonia.
1939 Reginald Smith (Marty Wilde) born in London, England. 1959 UK No.2 single ‘A Teenager In Love’, plus over 10 other UK Top 40 singles). Father of 80’s singer Kim Wilde.
1944 Dave Edmunds born in Cardiff, Wales. Welsh Musician. guitar, vocals, producer, Love Sculpture, (1968 UK No.5 single ‘Sabre Dance’), solo (1970 UK No.1 and US No.4 single ‘I Hear You Knocking’). Member of Rockpile.
1947 Michael Chapman born in Nambour, Queensland. Australian Songwriter who worked with Nicky Chinn. Chinnichap productions, (producer and writer for Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Mud).
1947 Wooly Woolsenholme born in Chadderton, Lancashire, England. UK Keyboard Player & Singer with Barclay James Harvest, (eight UK Top 40 albums from 1974-87). Wolstenholme took his own life on 13 December 2010, after a battle with mental illness.
1948 Michael Kamen, American composer and orchestral arranger. Worked with many acts including Pink Floyd, Queen, Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Kamen co-wrote Bryan Adams’ ballad ‘(Everything I Do), I Do It for You.’ Kamen was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1997. He died in London, England from a heart attack on November 18, 2003, at the age of 55.
1962 Nick Kamen (Ivor Neville Kamen) born in Harlow, Essex, England. UK Singer, (1986 UK No.5 single ‘Each Time You Break My Heart’).
1962 Billboard No. 1 Pop Hit: “Good Luck Charm,” Elvis Presley.
1964 Lee Kernaghan born in Corowa, NSW. Australian country singer/songwriter.
1964 The Beatles filmed outside shots at the Scala Theatre in Tottenham Street London for their forthcoming movie ‘A Hard Day’s Night’.
1965 Oscar Harrison born in Birmingham, England. Drummer with Ocean Colour Scene, (1996 UK No.4 single ‘The Day We Caught The Train’, plus over 12 other Top 40 singles, 1997 UK No.1 album ‘Marchin’ Already’).
1965 Cliff Richard was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Country music song ‘The Minute You’re Gone.’ The singers eighth UK No.1.
1965 Linda Perry born in Springfield, Massachusetts. Is an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer. Once known as the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, (1993 UK No.2 single ‘What’s Up’, 1993 UK No. 4 album ‘Bigger Better Faster More!). Wrote ‘Beautiful’ for Christina Aguilera, plus Jewel, Courtney Love, Gwen Stefani, Sugarbabes, Robbie William
1966 Graeme Clark born in Glasgow, Scotland. Bass player, founder member and song-writer with Wet Wet Wet, (1994 UK No.1 single ‘Love Is All Around’, 15 weeks at No.1, plus over 20 other UK Top 40 singles).
1966 Samantha Fox- former model, singer, (1986 UK No.3 single ‘Touch Me, I Want Your Body’).
1967 Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Somethin’ Stupid’. They became the only father and daughter act ever to score a No.1 single. UB40 singer Ali Cambell covered the song in 1995 with his daughter Kibbi. Robbie Williams had a 2001 UK No.1 with his version of the song featuring Nicole Kidman.
1967 Jimi Hendrix, The Walker Brothers, Cat Stevens and Engelbert Humperdink all appeared at the The Odeon, Blackpool, England, tickets cost 5 and 10 shillings, ($0.70 and $1.40).
1967 Frankie Poullian – Bassist with the Darkness, (2003 UK No.2 single ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’, 2003 UK No.1 album ‘Permission To Land’). Left the band in 2005.
1968 Edward John O’Brien born in Oxford, England. English Guitarist with Radiohead. Their 1993 debut single ‘Creep’ was initially unsuccessful, but it became a worldwide hit several months after the release of their debut album, ‘Pablo Honey’. Their 1997 album ‘OK Computer’ appeared in many 1997 critics’ lists and listener polls for best album of the year.
1972 Roberta Flack started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’. Written in 1957 by political singer/songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, who was later to become his wife. At the time the couple were lovers, although MacColl was married to someone else. MacColl is the father of singer/songwriter Kirsty MacColl. The song was featured in the Clint Eastwood film ‘Play Misty For Me.’
1973 Billboard No. 1 Pop Hit: “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree,” Dawn featuring Tony Orlando. The song with a happy ending is based on a true story.
1978 American country and bluegrass musician Chris Stapleton who scored the 2015 US No.1 album Traveller. Stapleton who is a former member of The SteelDrivers has also written hits for Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Adele and George Strait.
1978 Puerto Rican singer songwriter and actor Luis Fonsi best known for the song ‘Despacito’, a remix with Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee was No.1 in 2017.
1980 Patrick Carney born in Akron, Ohio. American drummer for The Black Keys, who had the 2014 US No.1 album Turn Blue. He also has a side-project rock band called Drummer.
1982 Billy Joel, spent a month in hospital after breaking his left wrist when his motorbike hit a car in Long Island, New York.
1985 During his Born In The USA world tour, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the fourth of five sold out nights at Yoyogi Olympic Pool in Tokyo, Japan.
1987 Queen were presented with an award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music at the 32nd annual Ivor Novello Awards held in London, England.
1989 American all girl group The Bangles started a four week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Eternal Flame.’ Also a No.1 in Australia (biggest selling single of 1989) and the United States.
1989 Deacon Blue were at No.1 on the UK album chart with their second album, ‘When The World Knows Your Name.’
1989 “She Drives Me Crazy” by Fine Young Cannibals peaked at #1 on the US singles chart, a song parodied into “Weird Al”‘s “She Drives Like Crazy” and Guns ‘n Moses’s “She Drives Me Brady”.
1989 “Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)” by Enya (Whimsical Will’s fave) peaked at #24 on the pop singles chart.
1995 Montell Jordan started a seven week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘This Is How We Do It’, a No.11 hit in the UK.
1996 Milli Vanilli singer Rob Pilatus was jailed for 90 days by a Los Angeles judge for three violent attacks and parole violation.
1996 The rest of Jerry Garcia’s ashes were scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. A small portion had been scattered in the Ganges River in India 11 days earlier. The Grateful Dead leader had died on 9th Aug 1995.
1999 The body of Tammy Wynette was exhumed from her grave in an attempt to settle a dispute over how the country music legend died. A new autopsy was conducted on her a week after three of her daughters filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her doctor and her husband and manager, George Richey, claiming they were responsible for her death 12 months ago. Richey said he had requested the autopsy because of the allegations made against him.
2001 Punk pioneer Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Ross Hyman) singer of The Ramones died after losing a long battle with lymphatic cancer aged 49. On November 30, 2003, a block of East 2nd Street in New York City was officially renamed Joey Ramone Place.
2001 Janet Jackson started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘All For You.’
2003 Beyonce was sued by the Wilhemina Artist Agency who claimed she hadn’t paid them the commission for her L’Oreal ads. The agency claimed the singer refused to pass on the 10 percent of the $1m (£640,000), deal that was brokered by the agency.
2005 John Fred Gourrier, singer from John Fred and his Playboy Band died after a long battle with kidney disease aged 63. Had the 1967 US No.1 single ‘Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)’, a parody of The Beatles song ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’.
2007 Aerosmith, Velvet Revolver, Placebo, Keane and Evanescence all appeared at the Quilmes Rock festival at River stadium in Argentina.
2008 Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa proclaimed this day as Mariah Carey day in Los Angeles, California.
2010 After receiving some bad reviews and even enduring some boos during her performance, Whitney Houston brushed off criticism of her first show in the UK in over eleven years by insisting she was playing to a “tough crowd”. She had recently been hospitalized with chronic rhinopharyngitis, which is a swelling of the membranes in the nose and throat.
2015 It was reported that Digital music revenues matched physical sales for the first time in 2014, thanks to strong growth in the streaming market. The digital market rose 6.9% to $6.9 billion (£4.6 billion), representing 46% of all global music sales. CDs, vinyl and other physical formats also accounted for 46% of the market. Pharrell Williams’s ‘Happy’ was the most-downloaded single globally in 2014, with Taylor Swift the most popular artist.