Category Archive: Music History

Today In Music History: He Wrote The Religious Song That Wasn't

Posted at 6:05 AM on November 20, 2009 by Steve Seel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Singer/guitarist Joe Walsh is 62.
Rapper Mike D of the Beastie Boys is 44.
Bassist Jared Followill of Kings of Leon is 23.

Today in:

1970 - Kinks singer Ray Davies re-recorded one word for the single "Apeman." The song contained the word "foggin'," which sounded too much like an expletive.
1973 - Who drummer Keith Moon collapsed twice during a concert in San Francisco, apparently because of jet lag. Guitarist Pete Townshend asked for a volunteer from the audience to finish the set -- and got one.
1990 - The two performers known as Milli Vanilli held a press conference to discuss the lip-synching scandal that cost them their Grammy. Rob Pilatus (pih-LAY'-tuhs) told kids to get a good lawyer if they want to get into show business.
1994 - Musician David Crosby got a liver transplant.

Today's highlight:

Singer Norman Greenbaum is 67 today; his big hit, released in 1969 was "Spirit In The Sky." He was inspired to write the song after watching Porter Wagoner on TV singing a gospel song. Greenbaum later said, "I thought, 'Yeah, I could do that,' knowing nothing about gospel music, so I sat down and wrote my own gospel song. It came easy. I wrote the words in 15 minutes." "Spirit in the Sky" contains lyrics about the afterlife, making several references to Jesus. However, Greenbaum, who is Jewish, stated that he had no particular religious intentions with the song.

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Today In Music History: The Original Blue Suede Shoes

Posted at 6:07 AM on November 19, 2009 by Steve Seel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Drummer Matt Sorum of Guns N' Roses, The Cult and Velvet Revolver is 49.

Today in:

1964 - The Beefeaters changed their name to The Byrds.
1968 - Diana Ross interrupted a set by The Supremes at the Royal Command Variety Performance in London to make a plea for racial harmony. The audience applauded for two minutes.
1990 - Pop duo Milli Vanilli were stripped of their Grammy because other singers had lent their voices to the "Girl You Know It's True" album.
2002 - Michael Jackson dangled his baby son over a fourth-floor balcony at a hotel in Berlin for fans waiting outside.

History highlight:

Today in 1955, Carl Perkins recorded "Blue Suede Shoes" at Sun Studios in Memphis. The rock 'n' roll classic became a US No.2 & UK No.10 hit for Perkins in 1956, and has been covered by many acts including Elvis Presley and John Lennon. A lot of people associate the tune with Elvis in fact, but we played the original this morning.

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Today In Music History: The Needle And The Damage Done

Posted at 6:44 AM on November 18, 2009 by Steve Seel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Guitarist Kirk Hammett of Metallica is 47.
Singer Tim DeLaughter (dee-LAW'-ter) of Polyphonic Spree (and Tripping Daisy) is 44.

Today in:

1970 - Jerry Lee Lewis and his cousin Myra Gale Brown were divorced in Memphis. She had described their recent years together as a nightmare.
1987 - The band U2 opened for itself as a country-rock group called the Dalton Brothers during a Los Angeles concert.
1993 - Nirvana recorded their MTV unplugged special at Sony Studios, New York.
1997 - Police arrested singer Gary Glitter and questioned him about child pornography allegedly found on his computer. He later pleaded guilty to 54 charges of making indecent computer images of children. All together now: "ick."

History highlight:

Today in 1972, Danny Whitten, member of Neil Young's Crazy Horse, died of a drug overdose aged 29. Whitten wrote "I Don't Wanna Talk About It", covered by Rod Stewart, Rita Coolidge and Everything But The Girl. He led a tragic short life, but he was immortalized in song, as Neil Young wrote his classic tune "The Needle and the Damage Done" about Whitten (before he died of an overdose).

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Today In Music History: Jeff Buckley Is Born

Posted at 6:23 AM on November 17, 2009 by Steve Seel (1 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Guitarist Gerry McGee of The Ventures is 72.
Singer Gordon Lightfoot is 71.
Guitarist Isaac Hanson of Hanson is 29.

Today in:

1963 - John Weightman, the Headmaster of a Surrey Grammar School in England, banned all pupils from having Beatle haircuts saying, "this ridiculous style brings out the worst in boys physically. It makes them look like morons."
1968 - Glen Campbell received gold records for the singles "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" and "Gentle On My Mind."
1990 - David Crosby broke his left leg, ankle and shoulder in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles. Police said he was speeding and was not wearing a helmet.

History highlight:

Singer songwriter Jeff Buckley was born on this day in 1966; he would have been 43 today. The son of singer songwriter father Tim Buckley, he released one completed studio album before his death by drowning in 1997: 1994's Grace. While it initially had poor sales (peaking at #149 in the U.S.), it received wide critical acclaim and has now sold over 2 million copies worldwide. Grace contains gems like "Last Goodbye" and Buckley's extremely beloved cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (considered by some to be the definitive version of the song). We played a less-often-heard album cut: "So Real."

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Today In Music History: Whatever Gets You Through The Night

Posted at 6:20 AM on November 16, 2009 by Steve Seel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Today in:

1956 - Elvis Presley's film debut, "Love Me Tender," opened in New York.
1960 - Patsy Cline recorded the song "I Fall To Pieces" in Nashville. She also recorded the songs "Shoes" and "Lovin' In Vain" during that same session.
1968 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience went to No.1 on the US album chart with "Electric Ladyland". The double album included "Crosstown Traffic," "Voodoo Chile" and "All Along the Watchtower" and featured guest appearances by Dave Mason, Steve Winwood and Al Kooper.
1973 - David Bowie's first TV special, "1980 Floor Show" aired on NBC.

History highlight:

Today in 1974, John Lennon was at No.1 in the US singles chart with "Whatever Gets You Through The Night." Elton John played on the session and made a deal with Lennon that if the song reached No.1, Lennon would have to appear on stage live with Elton. Lennon kept his side of the deal and appeared live with Elton. They played three songs together: "I Saw Her Standing There," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and "Whatever Gets You Through the Night." Backstage after the concert, Lennon got back with Yoko Ono after a temporary split.

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Today In Music History: They Still Had Each Other, Babe

Posted at 6:09 AM on November 13, 2009 by Steve Seel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Today in:

1974 - An impostor posing as Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore borrowed a Porsche and crashed it in Iowa City. He eventually was charged with misrepresentation.
1976 - Rod Stewart started an 8 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with "Tonight's The Night". It was Rod's second US No.1; it made No.5 in the UK after being banned by many radio stations due to song being about the seduction of a virgin.
1992 - Elton John performed in Mexico for the first time. An estimated 90,000 people attended the concert at a stadium in Mexico City.

History highlight:

Today in 1987, Sonny and Cher reunited for a performance on Late Night with David Letterman, where they sang "I Got You Babe." The couple's divorce in the mid '70s had initially been bitter, but a reconcilation followed and the two became friends again some time after that. How can we pass up an opportunity to play this song, anyway?

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Today In Music History: Booker T. is 65

Posted at 6:02 AM on November 12, 2009 by Steve Seel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Neil Young is 64.

Today in:

1970 - Singer Jim Morrison performed with The Doors for the last time during a concert in New Orleans. Morrison died in July 1971.
1980 - Bruce Springsteen earned his first number-one album, with "The River."
1984 - Madonna released her "Like A Virgin" album.
1987 - Sly Stone showed up over an hour late to his comeback concert in Los Angeles. When he got there, he was arrested for nonpayment of child support.

History highlight:

Organist Booker T. Jones of Booker T. and the MG's is 65 today. Jones has worked in the studios with some of the highest regarded artists of our time, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement, but it's his work fronting his band the MG's (including the likes of guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Duck Dunn) that earned him his greatest fame, playing organ on such tracks as the hugely succesful "Green Onions" and our track today, "Mo' Onions."

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Today In Music History: The Duke Of Stratosphear

Posted at 6:13 AM on November 11, 2009 by Steve Seel (1 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Today in:

1958 - Hank Ballard and The Midnighters recorded the original version of "The Twist." It became a number-one hit in 1960 after Chubby Checker recorded it.
1965 - The Velvet Underground made their concert debut at a high school dance in Summit, New Jersey.
1969 - Doors lead singer Jim Morrison was arrested for public drunkenness and for interfering with the flight of an aircraft. Morrison allegedly had annoyed a flight attendant on a trip from Los Angeles to Phoenix. The charges eventually were dropped.

History highlight:

Andy Partridge of XTC is 56 today. Partridge founded XTC in the late '70s as a hyperactive mix of punk, ska, new wave and pop, and the band enjoyed significant commercial success until he suffered an onstage nervous breakdown in Paris in 1982. Revealing that he suffered from a severe strain of stage fright, XTC thereafter became a studio-only band, but went on to produce some of the most critically acclaimed records of the '80s, including their Todd Rundgren-produced Skylarking, widely considered their masterpiece. We played the song Partridge may forever be known for more than any other: "Dear God."

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Today In Music History: Remember When Elton Rocked?

Posted at 6:40 AM on November 10, 2009 by Steve Seel (3 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake and Palmer is 62.

Today in:

1976 - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers began their first major tour, opening for Kiss.
1984 - Singer Chaka Khan was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'I Feel For You.' Written by Prince, the song featured Stevie Wonder on harmonica and the Rap was by Grandmaster Melle Mel. The repetition of Khan's name by rapper Melle Mel at the beginning of the song was originally a mistake made by producer Arif Mardin, who then decided to keep it.
1992 - A judge found Axl Rose guilty of assault and property damage in connection with a riot at a 1991 Guns N' Roses concert near St. Louis. Rose's sentence was suspended and he was put on probation. Rose also was ordered to pay $10,000 each to five
charities.

History highlight:

Today in 1973, Elton John started a eight week run at No.1 on the Billboard album chart with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, his third No.1 album. A double LP that was John's most ambitious and sprawling work to date, it contained such hits as "Bennie and the Jets," "Candle In The Wind" and the soft-rock smash title track, as well as what was likely John's one and only true rocker: "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting." It's a testament to the power of the original version that even though others have covered the song (such as The Who on the Elton John tribute record Two Rooms), the Elton original still rocks the hardest.

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Today In Music History: See Ya, Dave

Posted at 6:08 AM on November 9, 2009 by Steve Seel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Rapper Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa is 40.

Lots of Beatles stuff today:

1953 - Brian Epstein first saw The Beatles perform at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. He soon became the band's manager.
1966 - Paul McCartney supposedly was killed in a car crash, according to the "Paul is Dead" hoax that circulated in 1969.
1967 - Rolling Stone magazine began publication, with John Lennon on the first cover.

And a non-Beatles item: Today in 1967, Roger McGuinn expelled David Crosby from The Byrds. McGuinn and Chris Hillman had become aggrivated by what they saw as Crosby's growing egotism and his attempts to control the band, not to mention his drug use and lengthy tirades onstage at such gigs as the Monterey Pop Festival (where he droned on about everything from the JFK assassination to the benefits of giving LSD to "every man, woman and child" in the country). Finally, his insistence that his song "Triad" (about the joys of a menage a trois) be included on an album proved too much for the others. "Eight Miles High" felt like an appropriate choice today given the widespread suspicion that it was a drug song ( it's not - McGuinn wrote it about a plane ride).

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Today In Music History: What Would You Say If I Sang Out Of Tune?

Posted at 6:08 AM on November 6, 2009 by Steve Seel (3 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Glenn Frey of The Eagles is 61.
Corey Glover of Living Colour is 45.

Today in:

1967 - During a three hour session Bob Dylan recorded "All Along The Watchtower" and "John Wesley Harding" at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.
1970 - Aerosmith performed their first ever gig when they played at Nipmuc Regional High School in Mendon, Massachusetts.
1973 - Singer Gram Parsons' manager, Phil Kaufman, was fined $300 for stealing Parsons' body from the Los Angeles International Airport. The body was cremated instead of being taken to Parsons' funeral. Kaufman claimed that it was Parsons' wish to be cremated.
1975 - The Sex Pistols played their first concert, at a London art school dance. Ten minutes into it, the school social programmer unplugged their amps.

Music history highlight:

Today in 1968, Joe Cocker was at No.1 in the UK singles chart with his version of The Beatles song "With A Little Help From My Friends". Cocker's rendition of this song became one of his signature tunes (not to mention a target for easy parody by the likes of John Belushi in his awesome Joe Cocker impersonation).

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Today In Music History: Saluting The Grievous Angel

Posted at 6:12 AM on November 5, 2009 by Steve Seel (2 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Art Garfunkel is 68.
Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits is 62.
Bryan Adams is 50.
Guitarist Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead is 38.
Ryan Adams is 35.

Today in:

1956 - "The Nat King Cole Show" debuted on NBC-TV. The Cole program was the first of its kind hosted by an African-American.
1966 - The Monkees went to No.1 on US singles chart with "Last Train To Clarksville", the group's first No.1. They revealed during a press conference that no members of the group had played on the record.
1971 - Elvis Presley kicked off a 15-date North American tour at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Minneapolis. Announcer Al Dvorin uttered the well known phrase: "Elvis has left the building" at the end of the show. He was asked to make the announcement in an effort to quiet the fans who continued to call for an encore.
1995 - Producer Butch Vig's new band Garbage made their US live debut when they played at The 7th Street Entry.

Today's history highlight:

Singer songwriter Gram Parsons was born on this day in 1946. Parsons was a Member of The International Submarine Band, The Byrds, and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and had his own influential, if short-lived, solo career, with two studio albums to his credit: "G.P." and "Return Of The Greivous Angel." He died on 19th September 1973 from a heroin overdose at age 26. Since his death, his music has been credited with inspiring the genres of country rock and alt-country. This morning we honored him by playing "Return of the Greivous Angel."

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Today In Music History: Jackie Wilson Debuts

Posted at 6:35 AM on November 4, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Singer-guitarist Chris Difford of Squeeze is 55.
Rapper-producer Diddy (Sean Combs) is 40.

Today in:

1963 - The Beatles performed for the Queen Mother in London. This is when John Lennon commented that people in the cheap seats could clap and the rest could rattle their jewelry.
1976 - A Bruce Springsteen concert in New York was interrupted by a bomb threat. Springsteen joked that the threat could have come from his former manager, with whom he was involved in a legal battle.
1978 - The band Boston played the city of Boston for the first time, in a sold-out show.
1984 - Prince launched his Purple Rain tour in (wait for it) Detroit.
1986 - Country singer Tammy Wynette checked in to the Betty Ford Clinic for addiction to painkillers.

Today's history highlight: On this day in 1957, Jackie Wilson made his US chart debut with "Reet Petite", (it made No.1 in the UK in 1986, 29 years after its first release).

Today In Music History: Great Balls of Fire!

Posted at 6:20 AM on November 3, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Singer Adam Ant (Stuart Goddard) is 55.

Today in:

1961 - Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and Fred Rose became the first people to be elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
1977 - Elton John announced at a London performance that he was retiring from concerts. However, he started performing again in 1979.
1990 - "Ice Ice Baby", by Vanilla Ice became the first rap record to top the US singles chart, it was also a UK No.1 single. The track was initially released as the B-side to the rapper's cover of "Play That Funky Music", and became the A-side after US DJ's started playing the track.
2002 - Eminem started a 12 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with "Lose Yourself."

Today's music history highlight: It was today in 1957 that Sun Records released "Great Balls Of Fire", by Jerry Lee Lewis. The single went on to sell over five million copies worldwide, a No.1 in the UK & No.2 in the US.

Today In Music History: Happy B-Day Chris Walla

Posted at 6:12 AM on November 2, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays;

Keyboardist Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer is 65.
Singer k.d. lang is 48.
Bassist Bobby Dall of Poison is 46.

Today in:

1963 - Dion walked out of a live taping of the British TV program "Ready, Steady, Go," claiming that he was distracted by the go-go dancers.
1963 - The single "Be True to Your School" by the Beach Boys was released.
1979 - The movie version of the Who's Quadrophenia opened.
1985 - The TV soundtrack from Miami Vice went to No.1 on the US album chart. It spent a total of 11 weeks at No.1.

Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie is 34 today. In addition to his work with Death Cab (both performing in the band and producing as well), Walla has earned a reputation as an acclaimed producer for other artists, including The Postal Service, The Long Winters, Teagan and Sara, Hot Hot Heat, and even The Decemberists' The Crane Wife. Today we honor Chris with a track from his solo record Field Manual, "Sing Again."

Today In Music History: When Grace Was Ten Feet Tall

Posted at 6:09 AM on October 30, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Today in:

1964 - Roy Orbison was awarded a gold record for "Oh, Pretty Woman."
1967 - Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones pleaded guilty to drug possession and was sentenced to nine months in jail. He was released pending an appeal.
1970 - Jim Morrison of The Doors was sentenced to six months in jail and fined $500 for exposing himself in Miami.
1978 - The animated TV movie "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park" aired on NBC.
2002 - Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC was shot and killed at his recording studio in New York. He was 37.

Singer Grace Slick is 70 today.

DONNA E. NATALE PLANAS/MIAMI HERALD

Born Grace Barnett Wing on October 30, 1939, Slick was an important figure in the 1960s psychedelic rock genre as one of the lead singers of the rock groups The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Starship, and also as a solo artist for nearly three decades, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s. Known for her powerful, throaty voice heard in such Jefferson Airplane classics like "White Rabbit," we honored Grace with a track from the Airplane's 1967 Monterey Pop Festival appearance, "Somebody To Love."

Today In Music History: It's A Filthy Business (But I Like It?)

Posted at 6:05 AM on October 29, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Guitarist Denny Laine (Wings, Moody Blues) is 65.

Today in:

1964 - The "T.A.M.I. Show" (for Teenage Awards Music International) was filmed in Santa Monica, California. It featured performances by the Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Lesley Gore, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Rolling Stones and The Supremes.
1970 - Neil Diamond received a gold record for "Cracklin' Rosie."
1983 - Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" became the longest-running album on the "Billboard" music charts, with a total of 491 weeks. That record has since been broken.

On this day in 1996, Manchester band The Stone Roses split up. Singer Ian Brown said "having spent the last ten years in the filthiest business in the universe, it's a pleasure to announce the end of The Stone Roses." The Stone Roses led a highly celebrated, if short, career - with their debut album at one point chosen as the greatest album in British history by the readers of NME. From that album, we played "She Bangs The Drums."

Today In Music History: Ben Harper is The Big 4-0

Posted at 6:08 AM on October 28, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Country musician Charlie Daniels is 73.
Singer-guitarist William Reid of The Jesus and Mary Chain is 51.

Today in:

1956 - Elvis Presley made his second appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." He sang several songs, including "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog." Contrary to popular myth, the cameras shot his entire body - not just from the waist up.
1977 - The Sex Pistols released their album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols in the U.S. It was released in the U.K. four days later.
1977 - Steve Perry joined Journey for their first public concert together, in San Francisco.
1997 - R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry announced that he was leaving the group after 17 years, becoming a farmer.

Singer Ben Harper is the big 4-0 today, born in 1969 in Claremont, California. A tip-of-the-hat to Ben this morning, as we played "In The Colors."

Today In Music History: The Vice Squad? Are You Kidding?

Posted at 6:05 AM on October 27, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Guitarist K.K. Downing of Judas Priest is 58.
Singer Simon LeBon of Duran Duran is 51.
Singer Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver is 42.

Today in:

1960 - Ben E. King recorded "Spanish Harlem" and "Stand By Me" during his first solo recording session for Atlantic Records.
1964 - The single "Come See About Me" by The Supremes was released.
1975 - Bruce Springsteen appeared on the covers of both "Newsweek" and "Time."
1988 - U2's film Rattle And Hum, received its world wide premiere in the group's hometown Dublin.

Today in 1957, after a show at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles, local police told Elvis Presley that he was not allowed to wiggle his hips onstage. The local press also ran headlines saying Elvis would have to clean up his act. The next night, the Los Angeles Vice Squad (!) filmed his entire concert, to study his performance. We honored Elvis's hips with "Hound Dog" this morning.

Today In Music History: Why Can't We Give Love One More Chance?

Posted at 6:16 AM on October 26, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Bassist Bootsy Collins is 58.
Guitarist Keith Strickland of The B-52's is 56.

Today in:

1965 - The Beatles were made Members of the British Empire by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
1978 - "Hot Child In The City" by Nick Gilder hit number one on the Billboard pop chart.
1993 - Roman Catholic churches in San Juan, Puerto Rico, opened their doors for the night and urged residents to tie black ribbons on trees to protest Madonna's first concert there.

Today in1981, David Bowie met with Queen in Montreaux, Switzerland, to record "Under Pressure" in an all-night session. The song marked Bowie's first released collaboration with another recording artist as a performer, and the song reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also number 31 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s. The September 2005 edition of online music magazine Stylus singled out the bassline as the best in popular music history.

Today In Music History: There's a Battle Outside And It Is Ragin'

Posted at 6:19 AM on October 23, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Singer "Weird Al" Yankovic is 50.
Bassist Robert Trujillo of Suicidal Tendencies, Ozzy Osbourne's band and Metallica is 45.

Today in:

1962 - A 12-year-old named Little Stevie Wonder recorded his first single for Motown Records. It was called "Thank You For Loving Me All The Way."
1976 - Led Zeppelin made their US television debut on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, they performed "Black Dog" and "Dazed And Confused".
1978 - Maybelle Carter, the matriarch of the musical Carter family, died. Maybelle was the mother of June Carter, who became Mrs. Johnny Cash. Maybelle Carter was 69.
1984 - Musician Bob Geldof watched a documentary on the BBC about Ethiopia's famine. He was so moved he called his friend, Midge Ure, and together they wrote the charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas."
2004 - Ashlee Simpson walked off stage after the wrong vocal track was played during her performance on Saturday Night Live, which revealed she was lip-synching.

Today in 1963, Bob Dylan recorded "The Times They Are A-Changin" at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City. In the liner notes for the 1985 collection Biograph, Dylan notes, "This was definitely a song with a purpose. I wanted to write a big song, with short concise verses that piled up on each other in a hypnotic way. The civil rights movement and the folk music movement were pretty close for a while and allied together at that time." It would become one of Dylan's signature songs.

Today In Music History: Good Vibrations!

Posted at 6:03 AM on October 22, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Cris Kirkwood of Meat Puppets is 49.

Today in:

1949 - Stiv Bators was born in Youngstown, Ohio. Best known for his bands The Dead Boys and Lords of the New Church, he died in 1990 after being struck by a taxi in Paris.
1976 - Drummer Keith Moon of The Who played in what ended up
being his final concert, in Toronto. Moon died less than two years
later.

Today in 1966, The Beach Boys' song "Good Vibrations" was released. At that time, it was the most expensive single ever recorded, costing $40,000 dollars to make.

Today In Music History: Play It Steve!

Posted at 6:09 AM on October 21, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Guitarist Charlotte Caffey of The Go-Go's is 56.
Singer Julian Cope is 52.
Singer-bassist Nick Oliveri of Queens Of The Stone Age is 38.

Today in:

1958 - Buddy Holly held what ended up being his last recording session. "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," which he recorded in that session in one take, became a hit after he died.
1961 - Bob Dylan recorded his first album for Columbia Records. The self-titled album was recorded in one day and cost $400.
1972 - After 17 years of recording rock classics, Chuck Berry finally got a number-one hit with "My Ding-A-Ling."
1995 - Singer Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon died of a cocaine overdose in New Orleans. He was 28.

Guitarist Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's is 68. His playing can be heard on classics like "Green Onions" and "Groovin'," and he was even appeared in the cast of The Blues Brothers movie as the lead guitarist in the band. This morning we played the Booker T. and the MGs' "Booker-Loo."

Today In Music History: The Brits Love "Only The Lonely"

Posted at 6:01 AM on October 20, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Tom Petty is 59.
Snoop Dogg (born Cordazar Calvin Broadus) is 38.

Today in:

1976 - Led Zeppelin's concert film "The Song Remains The Same" premiered in London.
1977 - Three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd were killed in the crash of a privately-chartered plane in Mississippi. The crash took the lives of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines.
1978 - The Police made their US debut at CBGB.'s. The trio had flown on low-cost tickets with Laker AirTrain from the UK, carrying their instruments as hand luggage.
1992 - Madonna's album "Erotica" was released, one day before her book "Sex" hit the bookshelves.

Today in 1960, Roy Orbison went to #1 in Britain for the first time with "Only The Lonely" his first of 33 hits in the US and UK. The song had been turned down by The Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley, so Orbison decided to record the song himself. It would be one of his signature songs.

Today In Music History: I Second That Emotion

Posted at 6:05 AM on October 19, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Karl Wallinger of World Party and The Waterboys is 52.

Today in:

1952 - Hank Williams and his second wife, Billie Jean, repeated their wedding vows on a New Orleans stage. Williams died less than three months later.
1974 - Billy Preston went to No.1 with "Nothing From Nothing", the singers second and last No.1.
1985 - A-Ha went to No.1 on the Billboard singles chart with "Take On Me", making them the first Norwegian group to score a US No.1.
1990 - The jury in the 2 Live Crew obscenity trial in Florida asked the judge for permission to laugh out loud. Some of the jurors said it actually was causing them pain to hold in their
laughter.
1995 - During a North American tour Oasis appeared live on The Late Show with David Letterman. The band made an impression when they snubbed Letterman as he attempted to shake their hands.

Today in 1967, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles released "I Second That Emotion." Robinson got the idea for the song from his friend and Motown colleague Al Cleveland, who mispronounced the phrase "I second that motion" as "I second that emotion" while the pair were Christmas shopping in late 1966. The tune went on to be a Top 5 single on the Billboard chart, and a #1 hit on the Billboard "Black Singles Chart," back when the R&B/Hip-Hop chart was called that.

Today in Music History: Flea Dusts Off His Birthday Suit

Posted at 8:50 AM on October 16, 2009 by Jill Riley
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:
C.F. Turner of Bachman-Turner Overdrive (Bass player) is 66
Singer Bob Mould (Husker Du) is 49
Singer Wendy Wilson (Wilson Phillips) is 40
John Mayer is 32

On October 16th, 1957, "You Send Me" by Sam Cooke was
released. It was his first million-seller.
In 1967, Joan Baez and about 120 other anti-draft demonstrators
were arrested for blocking the entrance to a military center in
Oakland, Calif. They were jailed for ten days.
In 1968, the New Yardbirds played their first concert at a club
in London. They later changed their name to Led Zeppelin.
In 1969, Leonard Chess died of a heart attack. He founded Chess Records with his brother Phil in the early 1950s.
In 1972, the members of Creedence Clearwater Revival announced they were breaking up.
In 1976, Stevie Wonder's album "Songs In The Key Of Life" was
released.
In 1992, singer Sinead (shuh-NAYD') O'Connor was booed off the
stage at a Madison Square Garden show honoring Bob Dylan's 30 years of music. The crowd was still reacting to O'Connor's appearance on "Saturday Night Live" two weeks earlier, when she had torn up a picture of the pope.
In 2003, Simon and Garfunkel reunited for their first concert
tour in two decades, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

It's Flea's 47th birthday today. The question is, will be celebrate in his birthday suit? We played Red Hot Chili Peppers version of Higher Ground.

Today in Music History: My Name is Not Bryan!

Posted at 8:01 AM on October 15, 2009 by Jill Riley
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:
Tito Jackson (The Jackson 5) is 56
Richard Carpenter (the Carpenters) is 63
Don Stevenson (Moby Grape) is 67
Barry McGuire is 74

On this day in 1955, "Grand Ole Opry" made its TV debut on ABC.
In 1971, Rick Nelson was booed when he performed new material at an oldies show in New York. It inspired him to write the song "Garden Party."
In 1976, Ike and Tina Turner split up as a musical act.
In 1977, Fleetwood Mac released "Rumours," one of the best-selling albums of all time.
In 1987, Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia opened a sold-out two-week run of solo shows on Broadway.
In 1996, drummer Tommy Lee of Motley Crue was charged with attacking a tabloid TV cameraman. The photographer was trying to take pictures of Lee and his wife, actress Pamela Anderson Lee, outside a nightclub in suburban Los Angeles.

It was on this day in 2002, musician Ryan Adams jumped into the audience at a show in Nashville to find a fan who had yelled out a request for "Summer of '69," a Bryan Adams song. Adams gave the fan $30 as a refund and refused to continue the show until the man left. I have a nagging feeling that joke was unfunny the first 500 times Ryan heard it. This morning, we played a tune from his 2002 release Demolition called, "Starting to Hurt."

Today in Music History: Influence or Plagiarism?

Posted at 8:07 AM on October 14, 2009 by Jill Riley
Filed under: Music History

Thomas Dolby is 51

In 1955, Bill Haley and his Comets, at the height of their fame
with "Rock Around the Clock," played a concert in Lubbock, Texas.
The opening act was the then-little-known Buddy Holly.
In 1964, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts secretly married
Shirley Ann Arnold.
In 1972, singer Joe Cocker was arrested in a drug raid after a
concert in Adelaide, Australia. Cocker could have been fined and
jailed for two years, but police instead ordered him to leave the
country within four hours.
Also in 1972, Michael Jackson had his first solo hit, with
"Ben."
In 1977, singer Bing Crosby died near Madrid, Spain, at age 73.
In 1998, "polka king" Frankie Yankovic died at his home in New
Port Richey, Florida, a week after suffering a fall. He was 83.

On this day in 1971, John Fogerty was sued for allegedly plagiarizing Little
Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly" for Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Travelin' Band." We played the two songs back to back this morning. What do you think? Was John Fogerty just incorporating the influence of the 1950's rock 'n roll sound, or is it just a rip off?

This Day in Music History: Talkin' Bout a Generation

Posted at 8:16 AM on October 13, 2009 by Jill Riley (2 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:
Paul Simon is 68
Sammy Hagar is 62

On this day in 1975, musician Neil Young underwent surgery in Los Angeles to have a growth removed from his vocal cords.
In 1980, AC/DC's "Back In Black" album went platinum.
In 1985, guitarist Ricky Wilson of The B-52's died of
complications from AIDS. He was 32.
In 1992, the Supreme Court decided not to reinstate lawsuits
alleging that Ozzy Osbourne's music prompted the suicides of a
Georgia teen and a South Carolina teen.

It was on this day in 1965, The Who recorded "My Generation" in London. Pete Townshend wrote the song to express the British youth's frustration with the older generation, who didn't understand them. "My Generation" is a song that still has relevance today and you can find it on just about every "greatest song in rock n roll" list out there.

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Music History:Little Richard Rocks On

Posted at 9:04 AM on October 12, 2009 by Jill Riley
Filed under: Music History

Sam Moore of Sam and Dave is 74

In 1975, Rod Stewart and The Faces played their last show
together at a concert on Long Island, New York.
In 1978, Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols was arrested in New York
in connection with the stabbing death of his girlfriend, Nancy
Spungen.
In 1979, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull was injured when a fan
threw a rose on stage and a thorn pierced his eye. The band was
forced to cancel two shows.
In 1971, singer Gene Vincent died in Los Angeles of a seizure
brought on by a bleeding ulcer. He was 36.
In 1996, the film documentary "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll
Circus" was released. It had been filmed in December 1968 but was
shelved for nearly 28 years because the Stones reportedly were
afraid that The Who upstaged them in the film.
In 1997, singer John Denver was killed when his experimental
plane crashed into Monterey Bay in California. He was 53.

On this day in 1957, Little Richard announced that he was
giving up rock and roll for religion. He later was ordained as a
minister, but eventually went back to playing rock and roll.
Just five years late on this day in 1962, Little Richard played a gig in Liverpool, with a then-unknown local band called The Beatles opening for him. There's no doubt he had an influence on The Beatles, they even covered his music. We played Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally" this morning.

Today In Music History: Imagine What Would Have Been

Posted at 6:39 AM on October 9, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Jackson Browne is 61.
P.J. Harvey is 40.
Sean Lennon is 34 (born in 1975 on his father John's 35th birthday).

Today in:

1940 - John Lennon was born in Liverpool, England. He would have been 69 today.
1944 - John Entwistle, bass, The Who, was born. He died in 2002.
1966 - John Lennon met Yoko Ono for the first time at an art gallery in London, on his 26th birthday.
1961 - Ray Charles started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with "Hit The Road Jack."
1973 - Elvis and Priscilla Presley were divorced in Santa Monica, California. They had been married since May first, 1967, and had one child, Lisa Marie.
1980 - John Lennon celebrated his 40th birthday by releasing the single "(Just Like) Starting Over."

There's obviously always a lot you could play In honor of John Lennon's birthday today. We decided we'd go with one of his dreamier tunes from his solo career: the title track to his 1973 solo album, Mind Games.

Today In Music History: Long Live Johnny Ramone

Posted at 6:30 AM on October 8, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Singer Robert "Kool" Bell of Kool and the Gang is 59.

Today in:

1966 - Cream drummer Ginger Baker collapsed after performing a 20-minute drum solo in Sussex, England. Doctors diagnosed him as having acute exhaustion and the flu.
1968 - Cass Elliot made her solo debut at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. However, she was suffering with tonsillitis, and her band had not rehearsed enough. She ended up canceling the two-week engagement after opening night.
1980 - Bob Marley collapsed during a concert in Pittsburgh. He was flown to a hospital in New York. Marley never performed again; he died in 1981.
1987 - The three members from ZZ Top made advance bookings for seats on the first passenger flight to the Moon. The boys are still waiting for confirmation of the trip.

History highlight:

Johnny Ramone, guitarist for The Ramones, was born on this day in 1948 (born John William Cummings in Forest Hills, Queens, New York). He died in 2004 after a five year battle with prostate cancer. Johnny was known for his fast, high-energy style that influenced both the first- and second-wave of punk, and his technique even inspired the so called "new wave" Of British heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. This morning we played a Ramones classic, "Judy Is A Punk."

Today In Music History: Big Country See The Country

Posted at 6:13 AM on October 7, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

John Mellencamp is 58.
Drummer Tico Torres of Bon Jovi is 56.
Thom Yorke is 41.

Today in:

1967 - Cass Elliot from The Mamas And The Papas spent the night in a London jail after being accused of stealing from a hotel. A TV and concert appearance had to be cancelled.
1975 - John Lennon won his battle against U.S. immigration authorities when a federal appeals court overturned an order to deport him. Officials had wanted to kick Lennon out of the country because of a drug arrest in Britain.
1995 - Rapper Tone Loc was arrested for allegedly taking $80 from a pizza parlor in Los Angeles, arguing with the owner over a pizza, and demanding his money back. He pleaded no contest to the charges.
1995 - Alanis Morissette went to No.1 on the US album chart with "Jagged Little Pill". The album went on to become the biggest selling album ever by a female artist with sales over 30 million.

History Highlight:

On this day in 1984, Big Country kicked off an 11 date UK tour at The Glasgow Apollo. Who needs an excuse to play a little Big Country? We played "Fields of Fire."

Today In Music History: Mr. Village Gorilla Head

Posted at 6:57 AM on October 6, 2009 by Steve Seel (1 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Singer Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon is 58.
Guitarist David Hidalgo of Los Lobos is 55.
Matthew Sweet is 45.

Today in:

1969 - A George Harrison song became the A-side of a Beatles single for the first time, when The Beatles released "Something" backed with "Come Together."
1976 - Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots received a gold record for the novelty single "Disco Duck." The single eventually went platinum.
1978 - Mick Jagger apologized to the Reverend Jesse Jackson for offensive lyrics in the Rolling Stones song "Some Girls," but he refused to change the words.
1991 - Michael Jackson gave away the bride at Elizabeth Taylor's seventh wedding, held at Jackson's Neverland Ranch. The Groom was construction worker Larry Fortensky, whom Taylor would divorce in 1996.

Tommy Stinson is 43 today. Happy birthday Tommy! While locals still celebrate Tommy's contributions to The Replacements, and a wide audience these days knows him as the bassist for Guns N' Roses since 1998, we thought we'd take the occasion to play some of his solo stuff: from his 2004 release Village Gorilla Head, we played "Motivation."

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Today In Musc History: Honoring Eddie Kendricks

Posted at 6:10 AM on October 5, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Singer-guitarist Steve Miller is 66.
Brian Johnson of AC/DC is 62.
Bob Geldof is 55.
Colin Meloy of The Decemberists is 35.

Today in:

1962 - The Beatles' single "Love Me Do" backed with "P.S. I Love You" was released in Britain. It wasn't a hit in the U.S. until 1964.
1988 - Smashing Pumpkins played their first show together, at a club in Chicago. They earned $50.

Today in 1992, former Temptations singer Eddie Kendricks died of lung cancer at an Alabama hospital. He was 52. Kendricks died hours after his doctor announced he had been taken off chemotherapy and had only a few days to live. We honored Kendricks' soulful voice this morning with The Temptations' "Papa Was A Rolling Stone."

Today In Music History: He Was Born In The 50's

Posted at 6:24 AM on October 2, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Don McLean ("American Pie") is 64.
Singer Gillian Welch is 42.

1957 - Connie Francis recorded "Who's Sorry Now." She hated the song but recorded it anyway.
1965 - The Who made their American TV debut on "Shindig!" performing "I Can't Explain."
1967 - Narcotics agents with the San Francisco police raided the communal house of the Grateful Dead on Ashbury Street for marijuana possession. Several members of the band were arrested, but Jerry Garcia happened to not be home at the time.
1977 - The bodies of Elvis Presley and his mother, Gladys, were moved from Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis to the grounds of Graceland after an apparent attempt to steal the bodies.

Sting is 58 today, born Gordon Sumner on this date in 1951. So why not some old Police? From their second album Regatta de Blanc, we played "It's Alright For You."

Today In Music History: Birth of The Band

Posted at 6:03 AM on October 1, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Tim O'Reagan (The Jayhawks) is 51.

Today in:

1956 - After test audiences gave a negative reaction to Elvis Presley dying at the end of the film Love Me Tender, The King was called back to re-shoot the scene. In the new ending, the hero lived.
1967 - Pink Floyd arrived in the U.S. for their first American tour, a month after their debut album, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn," was released.
1970 - Jimi Hendrix was buried in his hometown of Seattle.

Today in 1965, Bob Dylan appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York City and introduced his new touring band made up of guitarist Robbie Robertson, organist Garth Hudson, bassist Rick Danko, pianist Richard Manual and drummer Levon Helm. They will become known simply as The Band. We played what would be one of their big hits, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."

Today In Music History: Skynyrd V. Cult Grudge Match!

Posted at 6:03 AM on September 30, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Singer Johnny Mathis is 74.
Trey Anastasio of Phish is 45.
Rapper T-Pain is 25.

Today in:

1950 - The Grand Ole Opry was first televised by Nashville station WSM. WSM-AM had been broadcasting the Opry on radio since 1925.
1965 - Donovan made his American TV debut on "Shindig!"
1967 - John Lennon and Paul McCartney appeared on "The David Frost Show" to talk about the virtues of transcendental meditation as taught by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
1974 - Police were called to a Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blue Oyster Cult concert after a fight broke out between two sound engineers. The Skynyrd roadie claimed that the sound had been deliberately turned off during the bands set.
1993 - Kate Pierson from The B-52's was charged with criminal mischief and trespassing during an anti-fur protest at Vogue's New York City offices.

Today In Music History: The Original Gangsta?

Posted at 6:13 AM on September 29, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Jerry Lee Lewis is 74.
Guitarist Mike Pinera of Iron Butterfly is 61.

Today In:

1977 - James Brown's band walked out on him in Hallendale, Fla., complaining that he underpaid them.
1984 - Prince and the Revolution started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with "Let's Go Crazy."

Today in 1976, while enjoying his birthday celebration a bit too much, Jerry Lee Lewis accidentally shot his bass player, Norman "Butch" Owens, while trying to shoot at a soda bottle with a .357 Magnum. Lewis was charged with shooting a firearm within city limits. This morning, Jerry Lee keept his hands on the keyboard when we played "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On."

Today In Music History: Janis Announces Her Solo Intensions

Posted at 6:00 AM on September 28, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Actress and singer Brigitte Bardot is 75.
Singer Ben E. King is 71.

Today in :

1975 - 40,000 people got to see Jefferson Starship and Jerry Garcia and Friends perform for free in San Francisco. "Jerry Garcia and Friends" ended up being the Grateful Dead, who had not performed together in more than a year.
1988 - Singer John Denver offered the Soviet Union $10 million to put him on a Soyuz spacecraft.
1991 - Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis died of pneumonia, respiratory failure and a stroke. He was 65.

Today in 1968, Janis Joplin's manager announced Joplin would leave Big Brother and the Holding Company in November after fulfilling current obligations. Joplin said she and the band "weren't growing together anymore." Joplin would live only just under two years more, dying from an overdose of heroin and alcohol in October of 1970. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Joplin number 46 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Honoring Janis Joplin this morning, we played "Get It While You Can," the final track on her final album, Pearl.

Today In Music History: Jackie, Hey Watcha Doin' Now?

Posted at 6:26 AM on September 25, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

1965 - The Beatles cartoon series premiered on ABC. The first story was titled "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and had the group exploring the ocean floor in a diving bell where they met a lovesick octopus.
1973 - The Rolling Stones album Goat's Head Soup went gold, even though the band admitted it wasn't their favorite album.
1980 - Drummer John Bonham of Led Zeppelin died from choking on his own vomit after drinking a huge amount of vodka the night before the band's U.S. tour. He was 32.
1990 - Drummer Dave Grohl joined Nirvana.

On this date in 1975, singer Jackie Wilson suffered a heart attack while performing in Cherry Hill, N.J. He collapsed just as he sang the line "My heart is crying" from "Lonely Teardrops." He emerged from a coma with significant brain damage, eventually passing away in 1984. Considered one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and Rock history, he influenced generations of performers from James Brown to Michael Jackson - but also, significantly, Elvis Presley. We honor Jackie Wilson this morning with his hit single "Reet Petite."

Today In Music History: Your Mother Should Know

Posted at 6:21 AM on September 24, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers is 67 today.

Today in:

1988 - James Brown was arrested after a high-speed chase through Georgia and South Carolina. He eventually was sentenced to six years in jail.
1991 - Nirvana's album Nevermind was released in America, entering the chart at No. 144 on its first week, peaking at No.1 in January 1992.

1967 - Filming continued for The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour at West Malling Air Station, Maidstone, Kent, with the shooting of the "Your Mother Should Know" ballroom finale. The Beatles all dressed in white suits and shoes, gliding down a glittery staircase as 160 members of Peggy Spencer's Dance Team swirled around. We could argue as to whether or not the musical numbers from Magical Mystery Tour were any more successful than the rest of the utterly chaotic bomb of a movie, but one thing's for sure: the image of the Beatles in white tuxedos doing synchronized dancing is a classic trippy image from their career.

Today In Music History: They'e Saying "Bruce"

Posted at 6:52 AM on September 23, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Ani DiFranco is 39.

Today in:

1967 - Making their UK live debut, The Mothers Of Invention appeared at the Royal Albert Hall London.
1967 - The Box Tops started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with "The Letter." The record went on to sell over four million copies and receive two Grammy nominations. It was also a Top Ten hit for Joe Cocker in 1970.
1969 -The Northern Star newspaper of Northern Illinois University ran a story claiming that Paul McCartney had been killed in a car crash in 1966 and had been replaced by a look-a-like. Russell Gibb of WKNR-FM in Detroit picked up on the claim and the story went worldwide. By late October 1969 the rumour was so well established that McCartney came out of seclusion at his Scottish farm to deny the story. When McCartney was asked to comment, he said "Do I look dead? I'm as fit as a fiddle."

Holy cow - Bruce Springsteen is 60 today. Does he look 60? Um, no. With a career that has spanned four decades, Bruce shows no sights of slowing down - go see him live if you need any proof of this. We assume a background paragraph on Bruce's career is unnecessary, so howabout some trivia? Did you know he's good friends with Tom Hanks? He originally wrote "Hungry Heart" for The Ramones? He grew up wanting to be a baseball player? In 1975 he appeared on the covers of Time and Newsweek simultaneously, something that before that had only happened with world leaders?

We played "The Promised Land" from Darkness At the Edge of Town this morning. Happy birthday Bruce!

Today In Music History: She Loves Rock n' Roll

Posted at 6:39 AM on September 22, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

David Coverdale of Whitesnake and Deep Purple is 58.
Nick Cave is 52.
Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde is 52.

1965 - Roger Daltry nearly got thrown out of The Who for punching out drummer Keith Moon on the opening date of their Scandinavian tour in Copenhagen.
1985 - Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty all appeared at the first Farm Aid concert. The event to help small farmers was held at the Memorial Stadium at the University of Illinois, Champaign.
1999 - Diana Ross was arrested and subjected to a full body search while trying to board a plane in London's Heathrow Airport. A security guard had accused her of assault, but no
charges were filed.

Joan Jett is 51, today, born Joan Marie Larkin on September 22nd 1958 in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. One of the guitarists of the all-female band The Runaways from 1975-1979 which had hits such as "Cherry Bomb," Jett struck out on her own in the late '70s, eventually forming her band The Blackhearts in 1981. Joan is one of those artists whose integrity and career longevity we applaud enthusiastically around here; we played "Bad Reputation."

Today In Music History: You're Our Man, Leonard

Posted at 6:51 AM on September 21, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Liam Gallagher of Oasis is 37 today.

Today in:

1979 - The New York Post reported that The Beatles would reunite for a concert to benefit boat people. It never happened.
1981 - Adam And The Ants were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their second No.1 "Prince Charming".
1985 - With the help Of heavy MTV exposure, "Money For Nothing" gave Dire Straits their first US No.1 single.
1986 - The National Enquirer ran a photo of Michael Jackson lying in an oxygen chamber with the headline, "Michael Jackson's Bizarre Plan to Live to 150." Jackson later said he was simply lying in a chamber he had purchased for burn victims.

Leonard Cohen is 75 today. Cohen is recovering today after collapsing onstage in Spain on Friday; he was performing his song "Bird on a Wire" in concert in Valencia when he collapsed. His music company says Cohen was taken to a hospital
with a stomach complaint but was released early Saturday. He's scheduled to perform the last stop of his Spanish tour tonight in Barcelona, and the equipment for his concert has been set up as usual. We certainly hope the Barcelona crowd gives him a solid ovation for his 75th tonight, and for an amazing life and career. Today, we honor him with "Suzanne."

Today In Music History: You Say It's Your Birthday

Posted at 6:16 AM on September 18, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Mark Olson of The Jayhawks is 48.

1970 - Jimi Hendrix was found dead in a London apartment. He was 27.
1976 - "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry hit number one on the pop chart.
1978 - The comedy "WKRP in Cincinnati" made its debut on CBS.
1983 - Kiss appeared without make-up for the first time, on MTV.
1984 - David Bowie won Video of the year for 'China Girl' at the first MTV Video awards.

Today in 1968, working at Abbey Road studios on new songs for their forthcoming 'White Album', The Beatles recorded 20 takes of "Birthday." (Yup, 20 takes). Roadie Mal Evans added handclaps, and Yoko Ono and Georrge Harrison's wife Pattie Harrison contributed backing vocals on the track. A lot of work for such a trifle of a song? Well, would you want to live in a world where "Birthday" had never been recorded?

Today In Music History: Hey Good Lookin'

Posted at 7:00 AM on September 17, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Fee Waybill of The Tubes is 59.
Vocalist Keith Flint of Prodigy is 40.

Today in:

1931 - RCA Victor demonstrated the first 33-and-a-third RPM long-playing record in New York.
1967 - The Doors performed "Light My Fire" on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Jim Morrison had been asked to change the line "Girl, we couldn't get much higher," but Morrison sang it anyway.
1967 - The Who appeared on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour." Drummer Keith Moon had set a flash powder explosion in his drum kit, not knowing technicians had already done so. The resulting explosion sent a cymbal into Moon's leg and singed Pete Townshend's hair.
1991 - Geffen Records released "Use Your Illusion One" and "Use Your Illusion Two" by Guns N' Roses. The two albums went on sale at many stores nationwide just after midnight.
1996 - London police intercepted and destroyed a booby-trapped book that an obsessed fan sent to Bjork. The fan shot himself to death hours after mailing the package. The package never reached Bjork's home.

Hank Williams was born on this day in 1923. Arguably the biggest ever country star, he scored 36 Top 10 Country hits including, "Your Cheating Heart" and "Hey Good Lookin". Williams died in the backseat of a Cadillac on 1st January 1953 on the way to a gig. We played "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" in Hank's honor today.

Today In Music History: Hey, Baby Bubba

Posted at 6:54 AM on September 16, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

B.B. King is 84.
Singer Betty Kelly of Martha and the Vandellas is 65.
Drummer Kenney Jones (Small Faces, Faces, The Who) is 61.

Today in:

1964 - The rock and roll TV show "Shindig" premiered on ABC. The show was considered a cut above its competitors at the time because the acts performed on stage, rather than just lip-synched. The first show featured Bobby Sherman, the Everly Brothers, the Righteous Brothers and Sam Cooke.
1970 - A poll in Britain's "Melody Maker" magazine found that Led Zeppelin was the most popular band. It was the first time in eight years that The Beatles had not topped the list.
1977 - Marc Bolan, leader of the band T. Rex, died in a car crash near London. His girlfriend was at the wheel.
1978 - The Grateful Dead performed a concert before the pyramids of Egypt.

Thirty years ago today, September 16th 1979, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang was released. It's often called "the first rap record," although there were a number of performers around the early New York hip-hop scene in the late 70s who could rightly lay claim to creating such a thing before the Sugarhill Gang (check out the Wikipedia entry on the song and this fascinating background account for more of the story). Still, the song was an incredible phenomenon when it first hit the national airwaves, and most of America's first exposure to rap, a totally unfamiliar art form to most. You don't honestly think we could let the day pass without playing it, do you?

Today In Music History: Johnny Ramone Passes

Posted at 6:02 AM on September 15, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

1969 - TV host Ed Sullivan released "The Sulli-Gulli," his first and only rock record. He was hoping it would create a new dance.
1979 - ABBA began its first North American tour, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
1980 - David Bowie opened on Broadway in the title role of the play "The Elephant Man." The production had already played in Denver and Chicago.
1990 - Steve Miller's song "The Joker" hit No. 1 in Europe, 16 years after it had hit No. 1 one in the U.S. The song saw newfound popularity after it had been used in a Levi jeans
commercial.

Today in 2004, Guitarist Johnny Ramone of The Ramones died of prostate cancer in his home in Los Angeles. He was 55. A little Johnny Ramone salute today: "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker."

Today In Music History: Quadrophenia, The Film

Posted at 6:17 AM on September 14, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Singer Morten Harket of A-ha is 50.
Rapper Nas (Nasir Jones) is 36.
Amy Winehouse is 26.

Today in:

1955 - Little Richard recorded "Tutti Frutti."
1968 - Pete Townshend of The Who announced his plans to write a rock opera called "Tommy" about a "deaf, dumb and blind boy."
1984 - The first MTV Video Music Awards were held in New York. Herbie Hancock was the big winner, winning five awards for his "Rockit" video. However, Madonna stole the show with her performance of "Like A Virgin" in which she rolled around on the stage in a wedding dress.
1989 - Sting made his stage debut in "The Three Penny Opera" in Washington. He was pummeled by critics, including one who wrote "prepare to be stung."

Today in 1979, a film premiered that did feature a dramatic success for Sting - The Who's Quadrophenia, based on their 1973 album about social life in 1960s London and Brighton telling the story of two opposing gangs, the Mods and the Rockers. The '79 release of the film sparked a renewed excitement about the original album; this morning we played one of the album's highlight's, "5:15."

Today In Music History: Get Up, Stand Up

Posted at 6:07 AM on September 11, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Drummer Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead is 66.
Tommy Shaw of Styx is 56.
Moby is 44.
Ben Lee is 31.

1962 - The Beatles held their first recording session in London for EMI's Parlophone label. They recorded "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You."
1971 - "The Jackson Five" animated TV series debuted on ABC.
The show used the voices of the five brothers: Michael, Marlon, Jackie, Tito and Jermaine.
1992 - Rick James pleaded innocent to charges he sexually assaulted and tortured a woman in his California home.

Today in 1987, Reggae star Peter Tosh was shot to death in his home in Jamaica. Police say Tosh was shot in the head after he refused to turn over money to three robbers. We celebrate Tosh's life and significant contributions to reggae music this morning, with "Get Up, Stand Up."

Today In Music History: Pioneers of Glam Call It Quits

Posted at 6:13 AM on September 10, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Guitarist Joe Perry of Aerosmith is 59.
Singer-guitarist David Lowery of Cracker is 49.
Guitarist Matthew Followill of Kings of Leon is 25.

Today in:

1964 - Rod Stewart recorded his first single, a version of Willie Dixon's "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl."
1996 - Sheryl Crow's self-titled album was banned in Wal-Mart because of the song "Love Is A Good Thing," which mentions children killing each other "with a gun they bought at the Wal-Mart discount stores."
1998 - Some Hindu groups criticized Madonna's performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. She wore a see-through shirt and a Hindu facial marking while performing "Ray of Light."

Today in 1974, The New York Dolls spit up. The influential band formed in 1972 and made just two albums, the 1973 New York Dolls and 1974 Too Much Too Soon. During their short career, they influenced the look and style of a host of other bands to follow them with their over-the-top androgyny. We honored the Dolls this morning with one of their early hits, "Trash."

Today In Music History: Actually, The Hips Were In The Shot

Posted at 6:32 AM on September 9, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Today in:

1965 - The Hollywood reporter ran the following advertisement: "Madness folk & roll musicians, singers wanted for acting roles in new TV show. Parts for 4 insane boys." The Monkees were born.
1996 - Bluegrass legend Bill Monroe died in Springfield, Tennessee, at the age of 84.
2008 - Noel Gallagher of Oasis was injured when a man ran on stage at their concert in Toronto and shoved Gallagher into a speaker.

Today in 1956, Elvis Presley made his first of three appearances on the "Ed Sullivan Show." He sang "Love Me Tender," "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel" and "Ready Teddy." A popular myth is that Sullivan prohibited the cameras from showing Elvis' gyrating hips, insisting the TV audience only see Presley from the waist up. Actually, Elvis' entire body was visible in many shots throughout the performance. Sullivan had in fact been originally opposed to Presley being on his show, but that had been due to rumors that the King's style was far dirtier than it actually turned out to be when Sullivan finally saw footage of Presley performing. Today we played "Hound Dog" in honor of the guy who had the girls screaming long before The Beatles ever did.

Today In Music History: Must Be All That Boxing

Posted at 6:17 AM on September 8, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Neko Case is 39.
Drummer Richard Hughes of Keane is 34.

Today in:

1962 - "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett made its debut on the charts.
1968 - The Beatles performed 'Hey Jude' on the UK television show 'Frost On Sunday' in front of an invited audience.
1973 - Marvin Gaye started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Let's Get It On', his second US No.1.
2002 - Singer Gordon Lightfoot was rushed to the emergency room suffering from a weakened blood vessel in his abdomen. He spent three months in the hospital.
2002 - Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson started his new job as an airline pilot. The singer qualified as a first officer with English airline Astraeus.

Aimee Mann is 49 today. Born in the town of Midlothian, Virginia, she started her musical career in the punk band Young Snakes before forming 'Til Tuesday in 1983, which had a major MTV hit with the song "Voices Carry" in 1985. The early years of Mann's solo career were a critical success, but a nightmare in terms of record company dealings: her first record, Whatever, was lost in the collapse of its record label, Imago; the second, I'm With Stupid, suffered from a near total lack of promotion on the part of Geffen. Finally, it was her success penning the Magnolia soundtrack that kick-started a career that's been going strong ever since. 49? You must be kidding; we should all look so healthy at that age. Today, from her Lost In Space album, we played "Guys Like Me."

Today In Music History: Them's Fightin' Music

Posted at 6:14 AM on September 4, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Drummer Martin Chambers of The Pretenders is 58.
Guitarist Kim Thayil of Soundgarden is 49.
Beyonce' Knowles is 28.

Today in:

1965 - The Who had their equipment van stolen in England while they were inside an animal shelter buying a guard dog.
1972 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono appeared on Jerry Lewis' Muscular Dystrophy Telethon.
1976 - The Bee Gees went to No.1 on the US singles chart with "You Should Be Dancing", the group's third US No.1, a No.5 hit n the UK.
1986 - Gregg Allman was arrested for drunken driving in Florida. He had just gotten his driver's license back after a five-year suspension.
1996 - Oasis created outrage at the MTV awards held at New York's Radio City Hall. During the bands performance of "Champagne Supernova" singer Liam spat on stage and threw a beer into the crowd.

Today in 1968, radio stations in several U.S. cities banned the Rolling Stones song "Street Fighting Man" because of fears it might incite violence. We trust there's no such fear out there today ...

Today In Music History: I Am The (Naked) God of Hell Fire

Posted at 6:41 AM on September 3, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Singer-guitarist Al Jardine (Beach Boys) is 67.
Guitarist Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols is 54.

Today in:

1955 - Bill Haley and the Comets turned down their first invitation to tour outside the U.S. because they were afraid of flying.
1967 - Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones announced he was applying for a pilot's licence.
1982 - The three-day "US" Festival opened in San Bernardino, California. More than 400,000 people turned out to see bands like The Cars, Fleetwood Mac and Talking Heads. The show was expected to bring in $10 million, but lost money because of artists like David Bowie and Van Halen demanded huge fees.
1992 - A spokesman for Prince announced that the musician had signed a deal worth up to $100 million, making him the highest paid pop star. Under the reported terms, Prince would receive $10 million per album, for six albums, plus royalties.
2006 - Hundreds of Paris Hilton albums were tampered with in record stores in Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow and London in the latest stunt by "guerrilla artist" Banksy. Banksy had replaced Hilton's CD with his own remixes and gave them titles such as "Why am I Famous?", "What Have I Done?" and "What Am I For?". He had also changed pictures of her on the CD sleeve to show the US socialite topless and with a dog's head.

1970 - Arthur Brown was arrested at the Palermo Pop '70 Festival in Italy, after he set fire to his helmet (during the performance of his hit "Fire"), and stripped naked during his stage performance, which he was known to do from time to time - usually getting away with it, but not this time. In Arthur Brown's honor we played "Fire."

Today In Music History: Fight The Power, Until You Get Caught

Posted at 6:16 AM on September 2, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Singer Rosalind Ashford of Martha and the Vandellas is 66.

Today in:

1978 - George Harrison married Olivia Trinidad Arias, a secretary at his Dark Horse Records company.
1989 - Singer Ric Ocasek of The Cars married model Paulina Porizkova (por-is-KOH'-vah).
1989 - Ozzy Osbourne was arrested for allegedly trying to kill his wife, Sharon, after a drinking binge. The case was dropped after he went into rehab and the couple reconciled.
1995 - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened in Cleveland. The event featured a concert with Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry, and several others.
2005 - Kanye West went off the script during an NBC telethon to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. He said, among other things, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

Today in 2006, lead singer of the Isley Brothers, Ronald Isley was sentenced to three years in a US prison for multiple counts of tax fraud. The 64-year-old was also ordered to pay more than $3.1 million to the US tax service for "pathological" evasion. What else to playe for Ronald Isley this morning than the Isley Brothers' "Fight The Power"?

Today In Music History: Blondie Gets Signed

Posted at 6:04 AM on September 1, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees is 63.
Grant Lee Phillips is 46.

1956 - Elvis Presley bought his mother, Gladys, a pink Cadillac.
1989 - A judge in Dublin, Ireland, decided not to convict U2 bassist Adam Clayton of marijuana possession, even though he admitted to the crime. Clayton agreed to contribute money to a women's center in Dublin.
2007 - Supergrass were forced to put all plans on hold after band member Mick Quinn broke his back. The bass player and vocalist sleepwalked out of a first floor window of a villa where he was staying in the South of France.

Today in 1977, Blondie, featuring former Playboy Bunny Debra Harry, signed their first major record company contract with Chrysalis Records. Their self-titled debut record had been released the previous year on the small Private Stock records, but after Private Stock subsequently dropped them, Chrysalis picked them up and re-released the album the following year. From Blondie, we played "Rip Her To Shreds."

Today In Music History: Farewell Hilly

Posted at 6:01 AM on August 31, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Van Morrison is 64.
Singer Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze is 52.
Drummer Gina Schock of The Go-Go's is 52.
Singer Deborah Gibson is 39.

Today in:

1974 - Rolling Stone Keith Richards was quoted as saying; 'I gave up drugs when the doctor told me I had six months to live.'
1976 - George Harrison was found guilty of 'subconscious plagiarism' of the Ronnie Mack song "He's So Fine" when writing "My Sweet Lord". Earnings from the song were awarded to Mack's estate; The Chiffons then recorded their own version of "My Sweet Lord".
1987- The album Bad by Michael Jackson was released in North America.
1988 - Actress-model Julianne Phillips filed for divorce from singer Bruce Springsteen, citing irreconcilable differences.
1991 - Metallica started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with, 'Metallica'. The album featured 'Enter Sandman' 'Sad But True', 'The Unforgiven' and 'Nothing Else Matters' went on to sell over 10 million copies in the US alone.

Two years ago today, Hilly Kristal, founder of the New York punk club CBGB, died from complications arising from lung cancer at the age of 75. Kristal was credited with discovering Patti Smith and The Ramones and his club became a breeding ground for punk rock. The New York City venue, whose full title CBGB OMFUG stood for "Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music for Uplifting Gourmandisers", was originally launched to showcase country music. This morning, we honored CBGB with The Ramones' "Beat On The Brat."

Today In Music History: Ziggy Debuts

Posted at 6:40 AM on August 28, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

1961 - Motown released its first number-one hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes.
1964 - The Beatles met Bob Dylan, who supposedly introduced them to marijuana.
1965 - Bob Dylan was booed off stage at Forest Hills Stadium in New York for playing electric guitar.
1996 - Issac Hayes, who co-wrote the Sam and Dave's classic "Soul Man", sent a protest letter to presidential candidate Bob Dole, requesting Dole to stop using his song, which supporters had changed to "I'm A Dole Man."

Today in 1972, David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars made their debut at Carnegie Hall in New York. Bowie gave the performance while he was sick with the flu (what a dedicated showman). We honored the debut by playing "Starman" from The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.

Today In Music History: Travelin' Highway 61

Posted at 6:22 AM on August 27, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Guitarist Alex Lifeson of Rush is 56.
Bassist Glen Matlock of The Sex Pistols is 53.

Today in:

1965 - The Beatles met Elvis Presley. The meeting was very awkward, and Presley reportedly greeted the Beatles while playing his guitar to the music on TV - leaving The Beatles with the impression that Presley's personality was decidedly "unmagnetic". John Lennon remarked soon after, "Where's Elvis? It was like meeting Engelbert Humperdinck."
1967 - Beatles manager Brian Epstein was found dead at his London home. He had overdosed on sleeping pills. At the time, The Beatles were on a retreat with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
1990 - Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and three members of Eric Clapton's entourage were killed in a helicopter crash in Wisconsin. The pilot also was killed. Vaughan was 35. Two years later, federal investigators said pilot error was the probable cause of the crash.

Today in 1965, Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited was released. It was Dylan's first record to be recorded entirely using a full rock band, and it's often seen as the apex of Dylan's "angry young man" period. The record features such classics as "Like A Rolling Stone," "Ballad Of a Thin Man," "Desolation Row," and our choice this morning, "From A Buick 6."

Today In Music History: Ray Gets ... A Post Office

Posted at 6:47 AM on August 26, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Shirley Manson of Garbage is 43.

Today in:

1968 - The Beatles released "Hey Jude" as a single.
1970 - Jimi Hendrix played what proved to be his last concert, at the Isle of Wight Pop Festival off the English coast. Three weeks later, Hendrix died in London.
1987 - Sonny Bono, who once said that he never voted until he was 53, announced that he was running for mayor of Palm Springs, California. He won the election in 1988 and went on to win a seat in Congress in 1996.

Today in 2005, a post office near the Los Angeles studio where Ray Charles recorded much of his music was renamed after the R&B legend. A federal bill was signed by US President George Bush to rename the post office. Charles, died in June 2004 at the age of 74, suffering from acute liver disease. We played "Unchain My Heart."

Today In Music History: Do The Loco-Motion!

Posted at 6:04 AM on August 25, 2009 by Steve Seel (1 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Gene Simmons of Kiss is 60.
Rob Halford of Judas Priest is 58.
Elvis Costello is 55.
DJ Terminator X of Public Enemy is 43.
Jeff Tweedy of Wilco is 42.

Today in:

1970 - Elton John made his U.S. debut at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles. The performance kicked off a brief tour and led to a recording contract with MCA.
1976 - Boston released its self-titled album.
1986 - Paul Simon's "Graceland" album was released.

On August 25th 1962, Little Eva (Eva Narcissus Boyd) went to No.1 on the US singles chart with "The Loco-Motion". The Carole King and Gerry Goffin song was offered to Dee Dee Sharp ("Mashed Potato Time"), who turned it down. Eva had recorded the demo version, and since producer Don Kirshner had liked Eva's voice anyway, he suggested she simply be the one to record the single.

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Today In Music History: Jai Guru Deva

Posted at 6:10 AM on August 24, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Guitarist Mason Williams ("Classical Gas") is 71.
Singer Mika is 26.

1968 - Who drummer Keith Moon drove a Lincoln into the swimming pool of a hotel in Flint, Michigan, to cap off his birthday.
1979 - The Cars played before half a million people in New York's Central Park.
1981 - Mark David Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the shooting death of John Lennon in New York.
1990 - A judge in Reno, Nevada, ruled that Judas Priest was not responsible for a suicide pact formed by two fans. But, he said the band's "Stained Class" album did contain hidden messages.
Also in 1990, singer Sinead O'Connor banned the "Star-Spangled Banner" from her show in New Jersey. Some radio stations, in turn, refused to play O'Connor's music.

1967 - The Beatles met the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for the first time in London. During a private meeting, the Maharishi accepted them as disciples. The Beatles relationship with the Maharishi would grow the following year as they stayed with him for an extended time in India, studying Transcendental Meditation. It would end acrimoniously, however, after John and Paul were told the Maharishi had made amorous advances toward some of his followers, including Mia Farrow. This falling out led Lennon to pen the tune "Sexy Sadie" about his disillusionment with the Maharishi. However, in later years, Lennon, Harrison and the other Beatles claimed they had probably been misled into believing false attacks. That's why we thought we'd play a different Beatles tune today: one inspired by the positive teachings they received from him. "Across The Universe" contains the phrase "Jai Guru Deva," which is Sanskrit for "Hail Divine Teacher."

Today In Music History: Raise A Toast To Saint Joe Strummer

Posted at 6:49 AM on August 21, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Kenny Rogers is 71.
Jackie DeShannon is 68.
Serj Tankian of System Of A Down is 42.

1961 - Patsy Cline recorded the classic Willie Nelson song, "Crazy". She was still on crutches after going through a car windshield in a head-on collision two months earlier.
1972 - Grace Slick was sprayed with Mace and Paul Kantner was slammed to the floor by police following a chaotic show by Jefferson Airplane in Akron, Ohio. A bomb threat had been phoned in, fans threw rocks at police cars, and officers responded with
tear gas.
1994 - John Denver was charged with drunken driving after he crashed his Porsche into a tree.
1996 - Singer Rick James was released from prison after serving two years for assaulting a woman. Two days earlier, the woman he was to marry was jailed for shoplifting a $39 pair of boots.
Also in 1996, singer David Byrne sued to prevent the rest of Talking Heads from touring as "The Heads." The suit was settled out of court.

Joe Strummer would have been 57 today, born on August 21st 1952. Co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead singer of The Clash, he was also a member of the The 101'ers, The Mescaleros and, for a short period, The Pogues.

What can be said about The Clash? At their 2003 induction ceremony into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, the band was aptly described as "of the most overtly political, explosive and exciting bands in rock and roll history." With Strummer at the helm, The Clash forcefully tackled issues like war, poverty, racism and oppression - in the minds of many, they were the band that led the way in the re-invigoration of rock at the dawn of the 1980s.

He died on December 22nd 2002 of an undiagnosed congenital heart defect. We honor his birth this morning with "Police and Thieves."

Today In Music History: Happy Birthday KRS-One

Posted at 6:10 AM on August 20, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Robert Plant is 61.
Singer Doug Fieger of The Knack is 57.
Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit is 39.

1969 - Frank Zappa disbanded the Mothers of Invention. He said he was tired of performing for people who clapped for the "wrong reasons."
1969 - After finishing '" Want You, (She's So Heavy)," The Beatles worked on the running order for the Abbey Road album; it was the last time the Beatles were together in Abbey Road Studios. A preliminary master tape was compiled, the medley was originally slated for side one of the album, and the placement of "Octopus's Garden" and "Oh! Darling" were reversed from the final version. The album was to end with the slashed guitar chord that finishes "I Want You (She's So Heavy)."
1992 - Sting and his longtime girlfriend Trudie Styler got married in England. It was his second marriage, her first.

Rapper KRS-One is 44 today. Founder and leader of Boogie Down Productions, one of the most influential hip-hop acts of the 80s, KRS-One went on to have his own influential solo career, writing socially-conscious rhymes that earned him the nickname "The Teacher." In his honor today we played some early Boogie Down Productions, "Ghetto Music."

Today In Music History: Phil Lynott In Bronze

Posted at 6:41 AM on August 19, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

1967 - The Beatles scored their 14th US No.1 single with "All You Need Is Love". Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, Graham Nash, Marianne Faithfull and Walker Brother Gary Leeds all sang backing vocals on the track.
1977 - The Sex Pistols started an undercover UK tour as The Spots, (an acronym for Sex Pistols on tour secretly).
1980 - Christopher Cross' debut album went platinum.

Four years ago today, a life-size bronze statue of Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street in Dublin. The ceremony was attended by his former Thin Lizzy band members Gary Moore, Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham. Lynott died in 1986 of heart failure and pneumonia at the age of 36, after years of drug and alcohol dependency. With Thin Lizzy, Lynott sung on such singles as a rock version of the traditional Irish song "Whiskey in the Jar," and their biggest international hit, the 1976 song "The Boys are Back in Town", which reached the top 10 in the UK, Ireland and Canada, and peaked at #12 in the US. We honored Phil today with a less-often played Thin Lizzy tune, "Waitin' For An Alibi."

Today In Music History: Elvis' Memorial

Posted at 6:16 AM on August 18, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

1962 - Ringo Starr made his debut with The Beatles, replacing Pete Best. He'd had two hours to rehearse.
1969 - Mick Jagger was accidentally shot in the hand during filming of Ned Kelly in Australia.
1984 - George Michael was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his first solo single "Careless Whisper." It made him the first person to reach No.1 as a solo artist and a member of a band (Wham!) in the same year. It also gave Epic records UK their first UK million seller, and the song was No.1 in nearly 25 countries, selling over six million copies worldwide.
1986 - Bon Jovi released their "Slippery When Wet" album.
1992 - Kurt Cobain became a father when his wife Courtney Love gave birth to a daughter, Francis Bean Cobain. Math time! That means Francis Bean is 17 today.

On August 18th 1977, Elvis Presley was buried at a Memphis cemetery, with about 75,000 people gathered outside. His body was ultimately moved to the grounds of Graceland after burglars tried to break into the original mausoleum. Honoring Elvis today, we played "Are You Lonesome Tonight."

Today In Music History: Oh Say Can You See

Posted at 6:16 AM on August 17, 2009 by Steve Seel (3 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

(updated below w/ YouTube video)

Birthdays:

John Seiter of Spanky And Our Gang is 65.
Singer Kevin Rowland of Dexy's Midnight Runners is 56.
Bassist and singer Colin Moulding of XTC is 54.
Singer Belinda Carlisle of The Go-Go's is 51.
Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids On The Block is 40.

1955 - Elvis Presley released his first number 1 hit, "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" b/w "Mystery Train". It hit the top of the country charts several months later and stayed there for 5 weeks.
1964 - The single "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks was released in Britain.
1979 - The New York post reported that Anita Pallenberg (wife of Keith Richards) was linked to a witches coven in South Salem, New York where Richards owned a house. A policeman claimed he was attacked by a flock of black-hooded, caped people and a local youth claimed he had been invited by Pallenburg to take part in "pot smoking sex orgies". Locals also claimed they found "ritualistic stakes" and small animals that had been "sacrificed" near the house.
1986 - Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen played his first concert with the band since losing his left arm in a car accident in 1984.
1995 - Depeche Mode singer Dave Gahan was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre after an apparent suicide attempt. Police had found him at his Los Angeles home with a two-inch laceration on his wrist.

Today in 1969, the final day of the three day Woodstock festival took place at Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York. Acts who appeared included Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Sha Na Na, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, The Band, Johnny Winter and Paul Butterfield Blues Band. GIven that this is the day Jimi Hendrix played, you know what that means: it's the 40th anniversary of one of the most significant days in rock n' roll (and counter-culture) history, Hendrix's feedback-laden performance of The Star Spangled Banner.

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Today In Music History: Thumpin' and Pluckin'

Posted at 6:06 AM on August 14, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

David Crosby is 68.
Slim Dunlap is 58.
Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses, Breeders) is 43.

1962 - Unhappy with drummer Pete Best's role in The Beatles, Brian Epstein and the other three members decide to fire him. Best played his last gig the following night at The Cavern, Liverpool.
1965 - Sonny & Cher started a three week run at No.1 on the Billboard singles chart with "I Got You Babe".
1970 - Stephen Stills was arrested on suspected drugs charges while staying at a San Diego Hotel after being found crawling along a corridor in an incoherent state. Still's was later freed on bail.
1971 - Rod Stewart released "Maggie May."
1974 - "(You're) Having My Baby" by Paul Anka was awarded a gold record. Some feminists objected to the word "my," saying it should have been "our."
1985 - Michael Jackson outbid both Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono for the ATV music publishing catalog, which included many Beatles songs. Jackson paid $47.5 million dollars.
1989 - Bon Jovi's New Jersey was the first American album to be released legally in what was then the Soviet Union.

Bassist Larry Graham is 63 today. Graham has played with Sly and the Family Stone and later Prince, as well as his own band Graham Central Station. He is credited with the invention of the so called "slapping" technique, which opened up the sonic possibilities of the bass considerably (although Graham himself refers to the technique as "Thumpin' and Pluckin'"). A great example of his slapping technique in it's early state: Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin."

Today In Music History: As Soon As I Get Thing Disconnected, I'm Gonna Throw It At You

Posted at 6:10 AM on August 13, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Danny Bonaduce of The Partridge Family turns 50 today

1965 - Jefferson Airplane made their live debut at San Francisco's Matrix Club.
1971 - John Lennon flew from Heathrow Airport to New York and never set foot on British soil again.
1977 - Bachman Turner Overdrive split up.
1980 - Four masked robbers broke in to Todd Rundgren's New York house, tied Rundgren and three others up, and proceeded to steal electronic equipment and paintings. It was reported that one of the intruders had been humming Rundgren's hit "I Saw The Light."
1988 - Robert Smith of The Cure married his childhood sweetheart Mary Poole.

Today in 2002, Adam Ant pleaded guilty to threatening drinkers at The Prince Of Wales Pub in London in January of this year. Ant had returned to the bar with a starting pistol after being refused entry. He had also thrown a car alternator through the window of the pub (?!!!).

Today In Music History: As Funky As Possible

Posted at 7:02 AM on August 11, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

1964 - The High Numbers, (later to become The Who), played at The Railway Hotel in Harrow, England. Just before the band were due on stage, Roger Daltry's father-in law came into the venue and dragged the singer outside and hit him. The band started their set and Daltry appeared back on stage after the fight.
1968 - The Beatles released "Hey Jude" backed with "Revolution," the first single from their Apple Records label.
1972 - Elvis and Priscilla Presley filed for divorce. They had married in May of 1967.
1985 - Simon LeBon of Duran Duran was rescued from his yacht, which had capsized during a race off the British coast. His rescuer later received a medal of bravery.
1986 - Six early albums by The Monkees re-entered Billboard's top albums chart after almost 20 years.
1996 - Drummer Mel Taylor of The Ventures died of lung cancer in Tarzana, Calif. He was 62.
1999 - Bassist Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue was arrested for allegedly inciting violence at a show in Las Vegas. Police say he told the crowd to flip cop cars.

On August eleventh, 1962, the Booker T. and the MG's classic instrumental "Green Onions" was released by Stax Records. According to guitarist Steve Cropper, the song's name came from the band members' desire to think of a title that was "as funky as possible". In addition to its original chart success, "Green Onions" has been used extensively in TV, movies, and advertising for decades, and it's also been a traditional favorite at baseball parks for many years.

Today in Music History: Happy B-Day Mr. Fender

Posted at 8:56 AM on August 10, 2009 by Jim McGuinn
Filed under: Music History

Ronnie Spector (The Ronettes) will be our little baby at 66.
Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) hops on a foot playing the flute at 62.

1964: On his way to visit two injured fans in Liverpool, England, Mick Jagger is pulled over and fined 32 pounds for speeding and driving without insurance.
1970: Jim Morrison of the Doors goes on trial in Miami, FL, for an infamous incident on March 1, 1969, where he allegedly exposed himself on stage.
1972: Paul and Linda McCartney are arrested backstage in Gothenburg, Sweden, for possession of six ounces of marijuana. The couple are released after paying a combined fine of $1,200.
1987: Wilson Pickett is found guilty of threatening patrons at a New Jersey bar with a loaded shotgun after a brawl inside the club. He is given two years' probation and fined $1000.
2004: The Rolling Stones' Charlie Watts confirms that he is undergoing treatment for throat cancer, which will eventually go into remission.

Today also marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Leo Fender, who along with Les Paul, is probably the most influential figure in the development of the electric guitar. Telecaster, Stratocaster, Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Precision and Jazz basses, Twin Reverb and Bassman amps - practically everything you've heard in the history of rock and roll has brushed up against a Fender. Fender lived a long life, passing in 1991 at the age of 81.

I spent a few years staring at pictures of Joe Strummer and saving up before I could get my first Fender, a 1983 Telecaster that survived many gigs, drops, and slams on stages throughout the Midwest before breaking the neck in half when it took a bad fall in a very un-rock and roll accident pulling the guitar off my shoulder at the end of a band practice... R.I.P.

Today In Music History: The Pistols Make The Cover

Posted at 7:32 AM on August 7, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) is 51.
Raul Malo (The Mavericks) is 44.
Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses) is 43.

1957 - The Quarry Men played at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, (without Paul McCartney who was away at Boy Scout summer camp). The Cavern was still a jazz club, but skiffle was tolerated. However, when John Lennon played "Hound Dog" and "Blue Suede Shoes," the club owner sent a note to the stage saying, "Cut out the bloody rock!"
1965 - Herman's Hermits went to No.1 with "I'm Henry VIII I Am."
1974 - Peter Wolf from The J Geils Band married actress Faye Dunaway in Beverly Hills. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979.
1997 - Garth Brooks played to the largest crowd ever in New York's Central Park. An estimated 1 million people attended the live concert with an additional 14.6 million viewing live on HBO.

Today in 1976, the British music weekly Melody Maker gave The Sex Pistols their first front cover. Since some Sex Pistols would go so well with a Friday morning, I played you "Holidays In The Sun."

Today In Music History: Saint Elliott

Posted at 6:29 AM on August 6, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

1965 - The Beatles released their fifth album and soundtrack to their second film Help! which included the title track, "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," "Ticket to Ride" and "Yesterday."
1974 - Abba scored their first US top 10 hit when "Waterloo" went to No.6.
1983 - Avant-garde musician (and one time David Bowie backing singer) Klaus Nomi died at the age of 39 of AIDS in New York City aged 38. Nomi was one of the first celebrities to contract AIDS.
1988 - Appetite For Destruction, Guns N' Roses debut album, went to No.1 after spending 57 weeks on the Billboard album chart and selling over 5 million copies.
2004 - Rick James was found dead at his Los Angeles home. Addicted to cocaine, he once admitted to spending $7,000 a week on drugs for five years.

Singer songwriter Elliot Smith would have been 40 today - born Stephen Paul Smith on this day in 1969 in Omaha, Nebraska. Smith spent a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity, first with the band Heatmiser and second as a solo act. He rose to mainstream prominence when his song "Miss Misery" (from soundtrack for the film Good Will Hunting) was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category in 1997.

Smith battled depression and drug addiction, topics that often made their way into his lyrics in songs that seemed to contain just about as much dark and forboding imagery as jangly, Beatle-esque pop and melodic sophistication. At age 34, he died in Los Angeles from two stab wounds to the chest. The autopsy evidence was inconclusive as to whether the wounds were self-inflicted.

For Elliott today, I played "Stupidity Tries" from Figure 8.

Today In Music History: The Greatest Rock n' Roll Record Ever?

Posted at 6:23 AM on August 5, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

1975 - Kim Fowley formed the first ever all female hard rock band, The Runaways. Joan Jett was one of the members.
1978 - The Rolling Stones went to No.1 on the Billboard singles chart with "Miss You", the group's eighth No.1 hit.
1989 - Prince was at No.1 on the US singles chart with "Batdance" from the Batman movie.
2007 - DNA testing on about a dozen people who claimed James Brown was their father revealed that at least two of them were telling the truth.

Today in 1966, The Beatles' Revolver was released in the UK. The band's seventh album, Revolver is often cited as one of the greatest albums in rock music history - and sometimes as the greatest, usually ranking along with The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and The Beatles' own Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. It has been credited with ushering in the psychedelic era in music, witht it's use of innovative studio effects, varying musical genres from track to track, and relation (both in it's creation and consumption) to the use of psychedelic drugs. It's hard to know which track to spotlight from Revolver, given that they're all significant in some way - "Taxman," "Eleanor Rigby," "I'm Only Sleeping," "Here, There and Everywhere," "Got To Get You Into My Life," "And Your Bird Can Sing" and several others - but in some ways, the album's final song serves as a culmination of it's innovation and tone: "Tomorrow Never Knows."

Today In Music History: Honoring Lee Hazelwood

Posted at 7:08 AM on August 4, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

1901 - Louis Armstrong (great American singer, bandleader, trumpeter) was born. He died July 6th 1971.
1958 - Billboard introduced "The Hot 100 Singles Chart". Ricky Nelson was at No.1 with "Poor Little Fool".
1967 - A female Monkees fan stowed away on the bands plane between shows in Minneapolis and St Louis. The girl's father threatened to bring charges for transporting a minor across state lines.
1980 - John Lennon began recording what would become his final album, Double Fantasy, at The Hit Factory, New York.
1984 - Prince started a 24 week run at the top of the US album charts with Purple Rain. It went on to sell over 10 million copies.

Today in 2007, singer, songwriter Lee Hazlewood died of cancer, in his home near Las Vegas aged 78. Hazlewood wrote and produced many of Nancy Sinatra's most famous hits, including "These Boots Were Made For Walkin." He also produced Duane Eddy and Gram Parsons, and "Something Stupid" - the duet Nancy recorded with her father Frank in 1967. In Lee's honor, I played "These Boots" sung by Nancy.

Today In Music History: Farewell To Arthur Lee

Posted at 6:11 AM on August 3, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Tony Bennett is 83.
Martin Atkins (Public Image Ltd) is 50.
James Hetfield (Metallica) is 46.
Shirley Manson (vocals, Garbage) is 43.

1963 - The Beatles played their last ever performance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. Their fee for their first performance at the Cavern had been £5; on this final gig, they were paid £300.
1971 - Paul McCartney announced the formation of his new group Wings with his wife Linda and former Moody Blues guitarist and singer Denny Laine.
1985 - Tears For Fears started a three week run at No.1 on the Billboard singles chart with "Shout", the duo's second No.1.
2007 - Queen guitarist Brian May completed his astronomy PhD thesis - 36 years after abandoning it to join the band. May had recently carried out observational work where he studied the formation of "zodiacal dust clouds".

Arthur Lee, singer and guitarist of the influential 1960s band Love, died in Memphis on this date in 2006 at the age of 61 following a battle with acute myeloid leukaemia. He called himself the "first black hippie" and formed Love in Los Angeles in 1965. Best known for the critically acclaimed 1967 album, Forever Changes, Love's biggest single was the tune "Alone Again Or."

Today In Music History: Eight Tracks for Hey Jude

Posted at 6:38 AM on July 31, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Daniel Ash (Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets) is 52.
Bill Berry (drums, R.E.M.) is 51.
Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim; The BPA; Housemartins) is 46.
Will Champion (drums, Coldplay) is 31.

1964 - A Rolling Stones concert in Belfast was stopped after only 12 minutes because of rioting fans.
1968 - The Beatles recorded four takes of "Hey Jude", working at Trident studios in London with its 8-track equipment (EMI was still using 4-track recorders),
1991 - Black Crowes lead singer Chris Robinson was given six months probation for spitting on a customer in a 7-Eleven store in Denver.
1996 - Aerosmith fired longtime manager Tim Collins, who later hinted that the band was back on drugs.

Today In Music History: Happy Birthday Kate Bush

Posted at 6:17 AM on July 30, 2009 by Steve Seel (1 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

1966 - The Troggs started a two week run at No.1 on the Billboard singles chart with "Wild Thing".
1966 - The Beatles started a five week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Yesterday...And Today', the group's 8th No.1 album.
1986 - Variety magazine reported that RCA had dropped John Denver from its roster after the release of his single, "What Are We Making Weapons For". Variety said the song upset the record company's new owner, General Electric, one of the largest defense contractors in the US.
1991 - A police officer was forced to tear up a traffic ticket given to the limousine that Axl Rose was travelling in after it made an illegal turn. Rose threatened to cancel that night's Guns N' Roses gig if the ticket was issued.
2003 - The largest concert in Canadian history took place, when The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who, Justin Timberlake, The Flaming Lips, Sass Jordan and The Isley Brothers played a benefit concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to prove that the city is safe from SARS. 450,000 spectators attended.
2003 - Sam Phillips the founder of the legendary Sun Records and studio died of respiratory failure at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Kate Bush is 51 today, born on this date in 1958. Her achievements include her 1978 British No.1 single "Wuthering Heights" plus over 20 other UK Top singles. Her 1985 UK No.1 album 'Hounds Of Love' spent 52 weeks on the chart. I played one of my favorite Kate tunes this morning, "Running Up That Hill."

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Today In Music History: Farewell to Mama Cass

Posted at 6:08 AM on July 29, 2009 by Steve Seel (2 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Geddy Lee of Rush is 56.
Simon Jones (bass, The Verve) is 37.

1966 - The magazine Datebook published an interview with John Lennon in which he said "We're bigger than Jesus now." American Christians reacted with outrage, organizing "Beatle bonfires" burning the group's records.
1966 - Bob Dylan was involved in a motorcycle accident near Woodstock, N.Y. He suffered critical injuries and took months to recover.
1966 - Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker made their live debut as Cream.
1967 - The Doors started a three week run at No.1 on the singles chart with "Light My Fire".
1980 - David Bowie starred in the stage play of The Elephant Man, in Denver, Colorado.
2007 - Heart problems forced Kiss singer and guitarist Paul Stanley to abandon a show in California. Paramedics stopped and restarted his heart to give it a regular rhythm after his heart spontaneously jumped to 190 plus beats per minute.

Today in 1974, Mamas And The Papas singer Cass Elliot died in her sleep from a heart attack after playing a sold out show in London, England. She was staying at Harry Nilson's London apartment when she died. Her only solo hit was "Dream a Little Dream of Me," which also featured the rest of The Mamas and The Papas.

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Today In Music History: The Killer on Steve Allen

Posted at 6:11 AM on July 28, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Drummer Simon Kirke of Bad Company is 60.
Bassist Marc Perlman of The Jayhawks is 48.

1945 - Rick Wright (keyboards, Pink Floyd) was born. Wright died in Sept of 2008 at age 65 from cancer.
1954 - The first press interview with 19-year-old Elvis Presley was published in the 'Memphis Press- Scimitar'.
1969 - Police in Moscow reported that thousands of public phone booths had been vandalised after thieves were stealing parts of the phones to convert their acoustic guitars to electric. A feature in a Russian youth magazine had shown details on how to do this.
1979 - "I Don't Like Mondays" gave The Boomtown Rats their second UK No.1 single. Bob Geldof wrote the song after reading a report on the shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who fired at children playing in a school playground across the street from her home in San Diego. Her full explanation for her actions was "I don't like Mondays, this livens up the day."
1987 - The surviving Beatles sued Nike and Capitol Records over the use
of the song "Revolution" in TV commercials.

1957 - Jerry Lee Lewis made his television debut on "The Steve Allen Show." How could we not play The Killer to mark the occasion? "A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" seemed appropriate.

Today In Music History: Missing Karl Mueller

Posted at 6:16 AM on July 27, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Bobbie Gentry (1967 No.1 single "Ode To Billie Joe") is 65.
Juliana Hatfield is 42.

1958 - Rock & roll music fans were warned that tuning into music on the car radio could cost you more money. Researchers from the Esso gas company said the rhythm of rock & roll could cause the driver to be foot heavy on the pedal, making them waste fuel.
1976 - Tina Turner filed for divorce from her husband Ike, ending their violent 16-year marriage and successful musical partnership.
1976 - Bruce Springsteen filed a fraud and breach of trust lawsuit against his manager Mike Appel (ah-PEL'). Appel countersued.
1976 - After a four-year legal fight, John Lennon was awarded his Green card, allowing him permanent residence in the US.
1986 - Queen became the first western act since Louis Armstrong in 1964 to perform in Easton Europe when they played at Budapest's Nepstadion, Hungary, the gig was filmed and released as Queen Magic in Budapest.
1992 - Michael Jackson sued the British paper The Daily Mirror over photos and an article that said he was left a "scar face" from numerous plastic surgeries.

1962 - Karl Mueller, bassist for Soul Asylum was born. He died in 2005 after a battle with throat cancer. We played a tune from Soul Asylum's first major label release, Hang Time: "Cartoon."

Today In Music History: Come And Get It

Posted at 6:06 AM on July 24, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Gary Cherone (vocals, Extreme) is 48.
Jennifer Lopez is 40.

1965 - The Byrds were at No.1 on the British singles chart with their version of the Bob Dylan song "Mr Tambourine Man". It was the first Bob Dylan song to reach No.1.
1967 - The Beatles meet Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for the first time, whose lecture on Transcendental Meditation (TM) they had gone to hear at the Hilton Hotel in London. That same day ...
1967 - All four Beatles and their manager Brian Epstein signed a petition printed in The Times of London newspaper calling for the legalization of marijuana.
1978 - The movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released, featuring The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton.
1982 - Survivor started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with "Eye Of The Tiger", taken from the film Rocky III. Survivor went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance for the song.
1990 - A wrongful death trial involving Judas Priest opened in Reno, Nevada. Parents had charged in a lawsuit that the band's Stained Class album contained subliminal messages that drove two teenagers to attempt suicide.

Today in 1969, Paul McCartney recorded a demo of his new song "Come and Get It" at Abbey Road studios in London. McCartney gave the song to The Iveys, soon to become known as Badfinger. It would be one of Badfinger's biggest singles.

Today In Music History: Happy Birthday Andy Mackay

Posted at 6:21 AM on July 23, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Martin Gore (keyboards, Depeche Mode) is 48.
Slash (Saul Hudson) is 44.
Alison Krauss is 39.
Fran Healy (vocals, Travis) is 36.

1966 - Frank Sinatra went to No.1 on the Billboard album chart with Strangers In The Night.
1977 - Drummer Keith Moon joined Led Zeppelin on stage during a gig at The Forum in Los Angles playing a duet with Zeppelin drummer John Bonham before taking to the microphone and attempting to sing.
1983 - The Police went to No.1 on the Billboard album chart with Synchronicity. The album spent a total of seventeen weeks at No.1.
1988 - After forty-nine weeks on the US album chart, Hysteria by Def Leppard finally went to the No.1 position.
1999 - Woodstock '99 began in Rome, N.Y. The three-day festival started off peacefully but ended in fires, lootings and accusations of rape.
2008 - Kid Rock was sentenced to a year on probation and fined $1,000 for his part in a fight in an Atlanta Waffle House the previous year. He also received 80 hours community service and six hours of anger management counselling.

Andy Mackay, saxophonist for Roxy Music is 63 today. Over the years he's played parts ranging from the raucus to the lovely (the latter particularly on Roxy's final album Avalon), but this morning we went with a tune featuring some of his edgier playing: "Do The Strand."

Today In Music History: Johnny Cash's Final "American" Recording

Posted at 6:09 AM on July 22, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

George Clinton (Parliament, Funkadelic) is 68.
Don Henley (Eagles) is 62.
Rufus Wainwright is 36.

1969 - Aretha Franklin was arrested for disorderly conduct after a disturbance in a Detroit parking lot.
1977 - Stiff Records released My Aim Is True,the debut album from Elvis Costello. (It was released later that October in America).
1979 - Little Richard, now known as the Reverend Richard Pennman, told his congregation about the evils of rock & roll music, declaring "If God can save an old homosexual like me, he can save anybody."
1989 - The Batman soundtrack by Prince started a six-week run at No.1 on the Billboard album chart.

Today in 2006, Johnny Cash was at No.1 on the US album chart with American V: A Hundred Highways. An ailing Cash recorded all the vocal parts first, and the instrumental tracks were recorded after his death in 2005. The record was a mix of Cash originals, standards, and covers by other artists - continuing the sucessful formula of the previous Amercian recordings produced by Rick Rubin, the covers are sometimes by unusual or unlikely choices of artists, in this case Bruce Sprinsteen and Gordon Lightfoot. We played a Cash original, "Like the 309."

Today In Music History: Stephen Cat Yusuf Georgiou Islam Stevens

Posted at 6:09 AM on July 21, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

1977 - The Sex Pistols made their debut on British music TV show Top Of The Pops.
1987 - Guns N' Roses released their debut album, "Appetite for Destruction."
1990 - Roger Waters' The Wall - his own solo production of his Pink Floyd work - took place at the Berlin Wall in Potzdamer Platz, Berlin with over 200,000 people attending. The event was broadcast live throughout the world. Van Morrison, Bryan Adams, Joni Mitchell, The Scorpions, Cyndi Lauper, Sinead O'Connor were among the performers.
1994 - Oasis played their first ever American show as part of the New Music Seminar at Wetlands in New York City.
2003 - Coldplay singer Chris Martin was charged with malicious damage in Australia after he allegedly attacked a photographer's car after he had taken pictures of him surfing on a beach. Martin admitted he had lost his temper and smashed the photographer's windsheild and let the air out of his tires.

Today is the 61st birthday of Yusuf Islam, born Stephen Georgiou, but best known by his stage name Cat Stevens. He changed his named to Yusuf Islam in 1978 after converting to Islam the previous year. In the past couple of years, he has returned to performance, using simply the name Yusuf. In his career as Cat Stevens he sold over 60 milliion records worldwide and recorded a number of huge hits that are beloved to this day. Our choice today: "Another Saturday Night."

Today In Music History: Some Famous Mancunians In One Room

Posted at 6:05 AM on July 20, 2009 by Steve Seel (1 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Carlos Santana is 62.
Paul Cook (drums, Sex Pistols) is 53.
Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave) is 45.

1940 - Billboard published its first comprehensive record chart. The magazine had previously published best-seller lists submitted by the individual record companies, but the new chart combined the top sellers from all major labels. Their first number one song was "I'll Never Smile Again" by Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
1963 - Jan and Dean started a two week run with "Surf City", written by Beach Boy Brian Wilson, with the Beach Boys on backing vocals.
1965 - Bob Dylan's single "Like A Rolling Stone" was released by Columbia Records.
1968 - Jane Asher announced on national TV in Britain that her engagement to Paul McCartney was off. McCartney reportedly was watching and was surprised by the news.
1975 - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the opening night on their Born To Run Tour at The Palace Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island. This was also Steven Van Zandt's first show as a member of The E Street Band.
1999 - A coalition of church groups claimed that pictures of Britney Spears printed in Rolling Stone magazine encouraged child pornography. The shots showed Britney with not many clothes on in her bedroom.

Today in 1976, The Buzzcocks made their live debut supporting The Sex Pistols and The Damned at The Lesser Free Trade Hall, Manchester. In the audience, Morrissey, Bernard Sumner Peter Hook of Joy Division, and Mark E. Smith of The Fall. Tickets: one pound, or about a buck fifty. A Buzzcock's tune that might have inspired any one of those kids to go on and form their own bands: "Everybody's Happy Nowadays."

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Today In Music History: Ian Curtis Is Born

Posted at 6:51 AM on July 15, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Linda Ronstadt is 63.
Drummer Marky Ramone (The Ramones) is 53.
Drummer Jason Bonham is 43.

1952 - Johnny Thunders (John Genzale - guitar, vocals, The New York Dolls) was born. He died of a drug overdose on April 23rd of 1991.
1973 - Singer Ray Davies announced during a concert in London that he was leaving The Kinks. He returned after a few days.
1978 - The Rolling Stones started a two-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with Some Girls, the group's seventh No.1 album.
1985 - Nude photos of Madonna taken in 1977 appeared in this months Playboy and Penthouse Magazines.
1986 - Columbia Records dropped Johnny Cash after 28 years. Cash signed a new recording contract with Polygram the next year.
1988 - MTV banned the video for Neil Young's "This Note's For You" because it ridiculed MTV sponsors.

1956 - Ian Curtis (vocals, guitar, Joy Division) was born. He would have been 53 today. Curtis hanged himself in the kitchen of his house at the age of 23 in 1980, and the story of Curtis' troubled life, career and suicide is one of the sadder tales in rock history. But we don't want to let the day pass without marking Curtis' birth, and his sizeable contributions to the sound of what would become New Wave and subsequent decades of dark, brooding rock. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" will always stand as a classic.

Today In Music History: This Machine Kills Fascists

Posted at 6:38 AM on July 14, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

1967 - The Who began their first full North American tour, supporting Herman's Hermits.
1973 - During an Everyly Brothers concert in Hollywood, Phil Everly smashed his guitar and stormed of stage. Don finished the set by himself and announced that The Everly Brothers had split.
1982, The film version of Pink Floyd's The Wall, had it's movie premier in London.
1989, At The Peach Festival, South Carolina, 432 guitarist's broke the world record for the most guitarists playing in unison for the longest period of time, when they performed "Louie Louie" for 30 minutes.
2007 - A pair of glasses worn by John Lennon sparked a bidding war after being offered for sale online. The circular sunglasses were worn by Lennon during the Beatles 1966 tour of Japan, where the band played some of their last ever live dates. Anonymous rival bidders had pushed the price as high as $1,207,000.

On this day in 1912, Woody Guthrie was born. Guthrie was a major influence on Bob Dylan and American folk music in general. He died in October of 1967. Guthrie wrote hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, and frequently performed with the slogan "This Machine Kills Fascists" inscribed on his guitar in keeping with his populist, left-leaning politics. Many of his recorded songs are archived in the Library of Congress. Easily his best-known song is "This Land Is Your Land." We played one of his less-often heard tunes today, "Hobo's Lullaby."

Today In Music History: Goodbye to Cream

Posted at 6:11 AM on July 10, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Arlo Guthrie (singer, songwriter, son of folksinger Woody Guthrie) is 62.
Ronnie James Dio (vocals, Rainbow, Black Sabbath) is 60.
Neil Tennant (vocals, Pet Shop Boys) is 55.

1954 - Producer Sam Phillips took a recording of Elvis Presley singing "That's All Right" to Memphis radio station WHBQ DJ Dewey Phillips. Philips played the song just after 9.30 that evening, and the phone lines lit up asking him to play the song again.
1965 - The Rolling Stones started a four week run at No.1 with "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", the group's first US No.1.
1969 - Rolling Stone guitarist Brian Jones' funeral took place.
1976 - One hit wonders Starland Vocal Band started a two week run at No.1 with "Afternoon Delight" (and we now apologize that that song is stuck in your head).
1980 - Bob Marley and the Wailers began what would be Marley's last ever UK tour when they appeared in Dublin, Ireland.

Today in 1968, Eric Clapton announced that Cream would break-up after their current tour. The band had been one of the first true "supergroups" in rock n' roll, not to mention the band first pioneering the "power trio" format of guitar, bass and drums. Even after band's dissolution however, there would still be one more release: Goodbye, released the rollowing year and containing both live and studio material. This was as good a reason as any today to play one of Cream's greatest tracks, taken from that album: "Badge," co-writtten by Clapton and George Harrison.

Today In Music History: Elvis Goes Pro

Posted at 6:39 AM on July 9, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays.

Marc Almond (Soft Cell) is 50.
Jim Kerr (vocals, Simple Minds) is 50.
Courtney Love is 44.
Isaac Brock (singer, guitarist, Modest Mouse) is 34.
Jack White (born John Gillis) is 34.

1946 - Bon Scott (vocals, AC/DC) was born. Scott died in February 1980; the coroner's report stated he had "drunk himself to death."
1983 - The Police started an eight week run at No.1 on the Billboard chart with "Every Breath You Take."
1988 - Cheap Trick went to No.1 with "The Flame", the group's only No.1 single.
1999 - Elton John was fitted with a pacemaker, forcing him to cancel a series of concerts.
2004 - David Bowie was forced to cancel a string of European shows after emergency heart surgery.

It was on this day in 1977 that Elvis Costello quit his day job at Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics to focus on his musical career. It seems appropriate to play his first single to mark the occasion, which would subsequently show up on his debut record My Aim Is True: "Less Than Zero."

Today In Music History: Can You Believe Ringo is Almost 70?

Posted at 6:16 AM on July 7, 2009 by Steve Seel
Filed under: Music History

1968, The Yardbirds played their last gig before splitting up when they appeared in Luton.
1969, George Harrison recorded his new song "Here Comes the Sun" with just two other Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Star at Abbey Road in London. John Lennon was absent recovering from a car crash in Scotland.
1980, Led Zeppelin played their last-ever concert when they appeared in West Berlin at the end of a European tour.
1984 - Bruce Springsteen went to No.1 on the US album chart with Born In The USA. The album went on to spend a total of 139 weeks on the US chart. Its also one of three albums (Michael Jackson's Thriller and Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814) to produce seven Top-ten US singles.
1984 - Prince started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with "When Doves Cry", his first US No.1 which went on to sell over 2 million copies.
1989 - It was announced that for the first time compact discs were out selling vinyl albums.
2006 - Syd Barrett died from complications arising from diabetes aged 60.

Ringo Starr (born Richard Starkey) is 69 today. Ringo sang lead vocals on one track on most Beatles albums. He also had his own US No.1 single, "You're Sixteen" plus 9 other US Top 40 hits. We played one of our favorite Ringo vocal tracks this morning: "Octopus's Garden," from Abbey Road.