bmusic - Newsletter No. 79

In 1955, Bill Haley filed a lawsuit against David Miller of Essex Records claiming the recordings were of "inferior quality to the plaintiff's current releases".

In 1957, the Everly Brothers premiered "Wake Up Little Susie" during an appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show."

In 1963, the Beatles played their last gig at the legendary Cavern Club in Liverpool.

In 1966, John Lennon's comment that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ, actually made to a reporter several months earlier, was widely reported around the globe. The statement caused a public outcry and bonfires of Beatle records. Lennon later apologised for the comment.

In 1966, the Beatles' album "Revolver" was released in Britain.

In 1967, Pink Floyd's first album, "Piper at the Gates of Dawn," was released in Britain.

In 1969, Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys is indicted for failure to report for civilian duty in lieu of serving two years in the army. Wilson did report to the L.A. County Hospital at his appointed date. However, he conducted music classes for handicapped patients rather than to act as an institutional helper.

In 1970, Christine McVie became the first female member of the British rock band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was the wife of the group's bassist, John McVie, and had previously performed with the blues rock band Chicken Shack.

In 1970, Janis Joplin bought a tombstone for blues singer Bessie Smith's unmarked grave in a Philadelphia cemetery. Less than two months later, Joplin herself was dead of a drug overdose. Smith had died following an auto accident in 1942 at the age of 37.

In 1973, Stevie Wonder was seriously injured when the car he was riding in collided with a truck in Salisbury, North Carolina. Wonder spent four days in a coma, but recovered with only his sense of smell seriously damaged.

In 1974, actress Faye Dunaway married Peter Wolf, lead singer for the J. Geils Band, in Beverly Hills, California. The couple divorced in 1978.

In 1974, guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and drummer Jim Hodder left their rock group Steely Dan. Members of the Steely Dan touring group, drummer Jeff Porcaro and keyboardist Michael McDonald, replaced them.

In 1975, Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant and his family were taken to hospital in the back of an open fruit truck after being seriously injured when his wife Maureen drove their rental car over a cliff and into a tree. The Plants were vacationing on the Greek island of Rhodes.

In 1983, rock singer David Crosby, reported to have slept through most of the trial, was sentenced to eight years in prison for drug and firearms possession. He was paroled in 1986.

In 1986, a judge in Los Angeles dismissed a lawsuit against Ozzy Osbourne by the parents of a teenage suicide victim. The 19 year-old had killed himself while listening to Osbourne's "Suicide Solution."

In 1990, three bandits, armed with handguns and a replica hand grenade, robbed a New Kids On The Block concert at Montreal's Olympic Stadium in Canada. US$300,000 worth of merchandising receipts were stolen during the hold-up.

In 1996, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen pleaded guilty to spousal battery for choking his wife and slamming her head into a wall at Los Angeles International Airport.

In 1996, a federal appeals court in New York ruled that two former members of the Teenagers waited too long to claim their rights as co-writers of the group's 1955 hit "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" A previous court ruling had found that Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago were entitled to royalties for co-writing the song with lead singer Frankie Lymon. Lymon died of a heroin overdose in 1968.

In 2002, police in Beverly Hills issued a warrant for the arrest of Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil, who allegedly attacked a record producer in a nightclub parking lot. Neil's management issued a statement saying, "Vince Neil has fully cooperated with the L.A. County investigators. We believe that the charges against him are ridiculous and that he will be fully exonerated."

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Births In 1936, Elsberry Hobbs, bass singer with The Drifters, beginning in 1959.

In 1938, Isaac Hayes, one of the most important forces in the development of Memphis soul music, was born in Covington, Tennessee.
He played piano in the house band at Stax Records in the 1960's, and also began composing hit songs, such as "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Coming" for Sam and Dave and "BABY" for Carla Thomas.
Hayes's 1969 album "Hot Buttered Soul" established his reputation as a performer. The lushly orchestrated and often lengthy songs that became his trademark laid the foundation for the disco music of such artists as Barry White. Hayes himself, with tights, cape and gold chains around his bare chest was the '70s forerunner to Mr. T.
Hayes's commercial peak came in 1971 with his double soundtrack album for "Shaft." "The Theme From Shaft" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and made Hayes an international superstar. But by 1976, mismanagement and personal excesses had forced Isaac Hayes into bankruptcy.
He made several comeback attempts, one of them in 1979 producing the gold album, "Don't Let Go." He is currently the voice of 'Chef' on the hit adult cartoon "South Park".

In 1942, John (Jay) David, former drummer with Dr. Hook.

In 1958, Iron Maiden frontman, Bruce Dickinson.

In 1958, Chris (Chrissy Boy) Thompson of the group Madness.

In 1959, Pete Burns of British dance group Dead or Alive.

In 1960, Steven Kaufmann of metal band Accept.

In 1961, Dave (the Edge) Evans of U2.

In 1965, Adam Yauch, aka MCA, of the Beastie Boys.

In 2002, Christine Anu and her partner, Rodger Corser, celebrated the birth of Anu's second child Zipporah Mary Corser. Named after Christine's mother, Zipporah is a sister for Kuiam.

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Deaths In 1968, Luther Perkins, the guitar player who backed Johnny Cash on his original Sun recordings in the 1950's, died.

In 1973, dixieland jazz guitarist Eddie Condon died in New York of a bone disease at the age of 67.

In 1975, jazz alto saxophonist Julian (Cannonball) Adderley died of a stroke at the age of 47.

In 1986, 27 year-old US musician, Michael Rudetski, died of a drug overdose at the London home owned by Boy George. Boy George was not in the house at the time. One week earlier, Boy George had been fined for heroin possession.

In 1987, country singer Kenny Price, known as the "Round Mound of Sound" because of his girth, died of a heart attack in Florence, Kentucky. He was 56. Price was known to TV viewers as Elrod the sheriff on the "Hee-Haw" series.

In 1992, drummer Jeff Porcaro of Toto dropped dead while spraying pesticides in the garden of his suburban Los Angeles home. It was first thought that Porcaro, who was 38, had suffered an allergic reaction to the pesticide. But an autopsy revealed that his death was related to hardening of the arteries stemming from cocaine use.

In 1994, Italian singer Domenico Modugno, whose "Volare" topped the US charts in 1958, died of a heart attack near his home on the island of Lampedusa. He was 66.

In 1995, Jerry Garcia, suffered a fatal heart attack. Besides gaining cult status as a Grateful Dead member, Garcia also played for 'Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions' and 'The Warlocks'.

In 1999, Bob Herbert, Spice Girls 'inventor' and manager and manager of boy band Five, was killed in a car accident.

In 2000, Mark Hickey, singer for hard core punk rock outfit, Aggression, died of liver and kidney failure. He was 42.

In 2001, singer/guitarist Chris Williams died when the car he was driving veered off the road and plunged 600 feet. His bandmates were bass player Berry Oakley Jr., the son of The Allman Brothers' Berry Oakley, drummer Alex Orbison, the son of Roy Orbison and guitarist Duane Betts, the son of The Allman Brothers' Dickey Betts. Chris Williams was born to his father, songwriter Jerry Lynn Williams, in 1970.

In 2001, mouth organist Larry Adler. Born in 1914, Adler's career involved work with George Gershwin, Paul Whiteman, Jack Benny, Django Reinhardt and Sting.

In 2001, blues Saxophonist, Ray "Daddy" Arvizu. He died of respiratory infection, thought to have been linked to a freak accident five years earlier when a piece of nightclub ceiling fell on him, broke his back and led to pulmonary hypertension. He was 48.

In 2002, Daniel Kelly, patriarch of Irish-American folk-pop group the Kelly Family, died in Berlin after a long illness. He was 71.

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