This Day in Music: July 8th

Born on this day:
1944, Jai Johanny Johnson, drums, Allman Brothers Band
1945, Ricky Wolf, The Flowerpot Men
1948, Raffi, children’s singer
1957, Carlos Cavazo, guitar, Quiet Riot, Ratt
1961, Andrew Fletcher, bass, synthesizer, Depeche Mode
1970, Beck, singer, songwriter, guitarist
1976, David Kennedy, guitar, Angels and Airwaves
1985, Jamie Cook, guitar, Arctic Monkeys

1954, Producer Sam Phillips took an acetate recording of Elvis Presley singing “That’s All Right” to Memphis radio station WHBQ DJ Dewey Phillips. He played the song just after 9:30 that evening; the phone lines lit up asking the DJ to play the song again.

1967, The Monkees began a 29-date tour with The Jimi Hendrix Experience as a support act. Hendrix and The Monkees parted ways after only a handful of dates, after it was evident his band’s performances weren’t meshing with the teenybopper audience. For more on this story see today’s This Day in Music Spotlight.

1971, A minor riot occurred during a Mott the Hoople gig at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England. Some fans were injured and two boxes were damaged causing a temporary ban on rock gigs at the venue. The group paid ?1,467 for damages to property.

1978, Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon from The Clash were arrested for being drunk and disorderly after a gig at the Apollo in Glasgow; both were fined.

1995, TLC started a seven-week run at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Waterfalls,” the group's second U.S. #1, a #4 hit in the U.K.

1999, Take That’s former manager Nigel Martin Smith started a new business, as an undertaker. It was reported that he was unhappy with a service he had used so he decided to buy a local funeral firm in Manchester.

2004, Mark Purseglove, known as the world’s “biggest bootlegger,” was sentenced to 3 years, 6 months in jail by Blackfriars Crown Court. Purseglove had built up a ?15 million pirate CD empire by bootlegging live concerts of some of the world’s biggest stars including The Beatles, David Bowie and Pink Floyd.

2007, Prince was forced off stage by police halfway through his set at the First Avenue nightclub during a late-night gig in his home town of Minneapolis. The club was only allowed to stay open until 3 a.m. but Prince took to the stage at 2:45 a.m. Prince had already played two concerts in Minneapolis before his late-night club appearance; His first performance was at a department store, where he promoted his new cologne with a nine-song, 45-minute set.

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