bmusic - Newsletter No. 253

In 1958, Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" was released.

In 1958, Eddie Cochran recorded the rock and roll classic "Summertime Blues".

In 1964, The Beatles complete their global domination by occupying the top six spots on the Australian singles chart.

In 1964, the Beatles became the first pop stars ever to be cast in wax by Madame Tassaud's Wax Museum.

In 1967, at a London concert, Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire for the first time.

In 1969, lead singer Jim Morrison of the Doors surrendered to the FBI in Los Angeles. He was charged with interstate flight to avoid prosecution on six charges of lewd behavior and public exposure at a concert in Miami.

In 1969, the Beach Boys sued Capitol Records for more than US$2-million in royalties and producer's fees.

In 1971, Ringo Starr's first solo single, "It Don't Come Easy" (produced by George Harrison), was released.

In 1975, Led Zeppelin had all six of it's albums on the Top 100 chart simultaneously, something never achieved before in the history of the chart.

In 1976, the Rolling Stones' tour of Britain drew more than one-million ticket applications. The tickets, moved by security men to specially guarded vaults, were awarded by a lottery.

In 1976, the British punk group the Sex Pistols played their first show at London's 100 club, attracting only a reported 50 people to the venue where they began a weekly residency in June of that year.

In 1978, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon of the British band the Clash were arrested in London for shooting pigeons from the roof of a rehearsal hall.

In 1979, Eric Clapton married Patti Boyd, the ex-wife of his friend, George Harrison.

In 1979, British singer and songwriter Kate Bush made her concert debut at a theatre in Liverpool, England. Her 1978 single, "Wuthering Heights," was a number-one hit in Britain.

In 1980, Ronald Selle, a Chicago antique dealer and part-time musician and songwriter successfully sued the Bee Gees claiming their hit "How Deep Is Your Love" had plagiarised two sections of a song he composeed, recorded and sent to eleven record companies. The Bee Gees claimed they had never heard Selle's song "Let It End" and that the whole thing was a conincidence. The Bee Gees successfully appealed the decision three years later.

In 1982, The Doobie Brothers announced their break-up. The band started in the '70s with the #11 hit "Listen to the Music."

In 1982, David Crosby was arrested in Los Angeles for possession of Quaaludes and drug paraphernalia, driving under the i nfluence of cocaine and carrying a concealed pistol.

In 1986, Van Halen played its first show with Sammy Hagar as lead singer, in Shreveport, Louisiana.

In 1987, U2 performed a free, hour-long concert on a rooftop in downtown Los Angeles. Parts of the performance were included in the video of "Where the Streets Have No Name."

In 1988, soul singer James Brown turned himself in to police in Aiken, South Carolina to face charges that he beat his third wife with a pipe and fired a gun into a car she was sitting in.

In 1989, 23 people were arrested after several thousand fans without tickets tried to crash a Grateful Dead concert at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. An estimated 15,000 non-ticketholders had camped outside the arena. A similar incident occurred at a Dead concert in Irvine, California later in the month.

In 1990, Lou Gramm left the group Foreigner. Gramm had already begun a solo career several years earlier, scoring a hit in 1987 with "Midnight Blue." Foreigner's guitarist Mick Jones said Gramm's solo efforts conflicted with his band commitments.

In 1992, Billy Idol pleaded no contest to punching a woman in the face. He was fined and told to make public service announcements against alcohol and drug use.

In 1993, Ray Charles became the first performer to have hits on the U.S. charts in six different decades when his version of Leon Russell's "A Song For You" entered the U.S. Billboard Hot R'n'B singles chart.

In 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would use a case involving 2 Live Crew to decide whether copyright holders can ban song parodies. The Miami rappers later won their dispute with the holders of the rights to Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman", which the band had parodied.

In 1996, rapper Hammer (formerly known as M.C. Hammer) filed for bankruptcy.

In 1996, Phil Collins announced his departure from Genesis to concentrate on his solo career.

In 1997, the Notorious BIG's "Life After Death" topped the Billboard album chart three weeks after the rapper was gunned down in Los Angeles.

In 2000, Jimmy Page received an undisclosed figure in damages after he sued Ministry magazine for claiming he contributed to the death of former Led Zeppelin bandmate John Bonham. The magazine published an article claiming Page contributed to Bonham's death by wearing a Satanic robe and chanting spells while the dying drummer was choking on his vomit. Page donated all of the money to Action for Brazil's Children Trust.

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Births In 1915, bluesman Muddy Waters, whose real name was McKinley Morganfield, was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.

In 1922, singer and actress Doris Day.

In 1930, Rolf Harris, famous the world over for "Jake The Peg" and "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport", was born.

In 1932, singer-actress Debbie Reynolds.

In 1939, Motown hitmaker Marvin Gaye was born in Washington, DC. "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" was his first hit, in 1962. Gaye's biggest hit was his 1969 chart-topper "I Heard It Through the Grapevine."

In 1942, Graeme Edge, drummer with the Moody Blues, was born in Staffordshire, England.

In 1943, jazz guitarist Larry Coryell.

In 1945, guitar legend Eric Clapton was born in Ripley, England.

In 1946, bassist Ronnie (Plonk) Lane of the Faces was born in London. Lane and Steve Marriott formed the group, at first called the Small Faces, in 1966. They had hits with "Itchycoo Park" and "Lazy Sunday." Singer Rod Stewart joined the group in 1970, about the same time the "small" disappeared from the band's name. Ronnie Lane died on June 4th, 1997, of multiple sclerosis at his home in Colorado.

In 1947, British pop musician Robin Scott, who recorded the number-one single "Pop Muzik" in 1979 under the pseudonymn "M."

In 1947, country singer Emmylou Harris was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She first hit the country charts in 1975 with a remake of the Louvin Brothers "If I Could Only Win Your Love," which went all the way to number one.

In 1948, Mick Ralphs, guitar player with Mott the Hoople and Bad Company.

In 1950, Agnetha Anna Faltskog of the Swedish vocal group Abba was born.

In 1950, Genesis keyboard player Tony Banks.

In 1954, Rick Richards, guitarist with the Georgia Satellites.

In 1954, the late Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro.

In 1959, INXS keyboardist Andrew Farriss.

In 1959, AC/DC guitarist Angus Young.

In 1961, Mark White of the group ABC.

In 1963, rapper Hammer (ex MC Hammer), whose real name is Stanley Kirk Burrell.

In 1964, singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman.

In 1968, Canadian singing mega-star Celine Dion.

In 1969, Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction and Porno For Pyros.

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Deaths In 1917, Scott Joplin, the "King of Ragtime," died in a mental institution in New York City. Joplin fell into a deep depression - which eventually led to insanity - after the failure of his opera "Treemonisha."

In 1974, the author of Elvis' hit "That's All Right (Mama)", bluesman Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup died of a stroke at the age of 69.

In 1984, Motown recording star Marvin Gaye was shot to death by his father, Marvin Gay Senior, in Los Angeles. Although he rarely performed in concert, Gaye was one of Motown's most consistent hitmakers throughout the 1960s and '70s.

In 1985, Jeanine Dekers, the former Singing Nun, and her female companion committed suicide in Wavre, Belgium. Dekers was 52.

In 1987, legendary jazz drummer Buddy Rich died in Los Angeles of a heart attack at age 69. Two weeks earlier he had undergone surgery for a brain tumor. Rich played with many big bands in the 1930s and '40s, including those of Artie Shaw and Tommy Dorsey.

In 1992, Paula Kelly, the former lead singer of the Modernaires, died in Costa Mesa, California at age 72. The vocal group was featured on many Glenn Miller recordings, including the 1941 million-seller "Chattanooga Choo Choo."

In 1990, legendary jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, known as the "Divine One," died in Los Angeles of lung cancer eight days after her 66th birthday.

In 1995, Tejano music star Selena was shot to death at a motel in Corpus Christi, Texas, by a former president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldivar.
Saldivar had allegedly embezzled money from a boutique she ran for the singer, and the two had arranged to meet to discuss the matter. Saldivar was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Selena, whose full name was Selena Quintanilla Perez, was only 23 when she died, but already had begun to expand the popularity of Tejano beyond its core audience in Texas. Tejano, sung in both Spanish and English, mixes the sound of the accordion and 12-string guitar, and developed in southern Texas in the early 1900s. Almost four months after Selena's death, her album "Dreaming of You" debuted at number one on the Billboard chart.

In 1995, producer Paul Rothchild, renowned for his work with the Doors, Janis Joplin and other icons of the 1960's, died in Hollywood, California of lung cancer at the age of 59. He produced the Doors' six studio albums, Joplin's "Pearl," as well as albums by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Love. In later years he worked with Bonnie Raitt and produced the soundtracks to Bette Midler's "The Rose" and Oliver Stone's "The Doors."

In 1998, one half of disgraced pop duo Milli Vanilli, Rob Pilatus died from a drug and alcohol overdose at the age of 32.

In 1999, composer of one of rock and roll's original hits, "Shake, Rattle & Roll", Jesse Stone (aka Charles E. Calhoun), died from long term kidney and heart problems at the age of 97.

In 1999, composer Lionel Bart died at the age of 69. Bart wrote the musical "Oliver" as well as writing Cliff Richard's "Living Doll" and songs for other artists such as Shirley Bassey and Anthony Newley.

In 2001, Theodore M. "Ted" McCarty died at the age of 90. McCarty was a former president of the Gibson Guitar Company where he helped bring to life the Les Paul, the Explorer and the Flying V guitars. He also owned the Bigsby Company, which manufactures vibratos for guitars.

In 2002, singer B.J. Baker (Betty Jane Phillips) died after complications from a stroke. She worked with Elvis Presley ("I Can't Help Falling In Love With You"), Frank Sinatra ("That's Life"), Jackie Wilson ("Baby Workout"), The Righteous Brothers ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling"), Sam Cooke ("You Send Me"), Lloyd Price ("Stagger Lee") and Bobby Darin ("Dream Lover"). Baker was married to Mickey Rooney, composer Buddy Baker and guitarist Barney Kessel.

In 2003, soul singer/songwriter Edwin Starr, author of the political hit "War" brought to mass prominence Bruce Springsteen, passed away at the age of 61. The Iraq war had begun and Starr's song was as relevant when he died as the day it was written.

In 2005, former Split Enz and Crowded House drummer Paul Hester. Paul, battling personal demons that belied the wonderful persona that was outwardly observed by most Australians, took his own life on March 27th 2005. He is survived by his two young daughters.

In 2006, Rose Tattoo guitarist Pete Wells passed away after a long battle with prostate cancer.

In 2006, one of pop music's originals, Gene Pitney, passed away on April 5th, 2006. He was found dead in his Cardiff hotel room after suffering a suspected heart attack. Gene was found just hours before he was due to hit the stage as part of his UK tour. Not too many blokes still touring like he was at age 65. He is survived by his wife and their three sons.

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