This Day in Music: May 19th

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Born on this day:

1945, Pete Townshend, guitarist, The Who (For more on this story, see the This Day in Music Spotlight.)
1948, Grace Jones, singer, model
1949, Dusty Hill, bassist, ZZ Top
1952, Joey Ramone (born Jeffrey Ross Hyman), singer, The Ramones
1954, Phil Rudd, drummer, AC/DC
1956, Martyn Ware, keyboardist, producer, The Human League, Heaven 17
1972, Jenny Berggren, singer, Ace of Base

1956, English skiffle king Lonnie Donegan made his U.S. television debut, singing “Rock Island Line” on The Perry Como Show.

1958, Bobby Darin released the single, “Splish Splash.” The song was co-written by New York City DJ Murray the K’s mother, Jean Kaufman (credited as Jean Murray), who suggested the song’s opening line and title. The song went to #3 on the U.S. charts.

1960, American DJ Alan Freed was indicted along with seven others for accepting $30,650 in payola from six record companies. Two years later, he was convicted and given a suspended sentence and a $300 fine.

1969, Coleman Hawkins, one of the most influential saxophonists in the history of jazz, died of pneumonia at the age of 64.

1973, Paul Simon released the single, “Kodachrome,” which became a hit in the U.S., but was banned from airplay in the U.K. because it contained a brand name.

1978, Dire Straits released their first major label single, “Sultans of Swing,” recorded on a ?120 budget.

1979, Eric Clapton held a party at his Surrey house celebrating his recent marriage to Pattie Boyd. Clapton had set up a small stage in the garden and, as the evening progressed, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr ended up jamming together along with Clapton, Ginger Baker and Mick Jagger. The all-star band ran through old Little Richard and Eddie Cochran songs.

1985, the NBC TV special, Motown Returns to the Apollo, celebrated the 50th anniversary of the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem with performances by James Brown, The Cadillacs, Joe Cocker, The Commodores, The Drifters, The Four Tops, Rod Stewart, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and other stars.

2001, Mike Sammes, founder of The Mike Sammes Singers, died at the age of 73. He worked with Tom Jones, Cliff Richard and was featured on The Beatles’ “I am the Walrus” and “The Long and Winding Road.”

2006, Freddie Garrity, whose comical Freddie and the Dreamers was one of the most popular bands of the British Invasion, died at the age of 69 after a lengthy battle with emphysema. The group had a 1964 #1 in the U.S. with “I’m Telling You Now” and four Top Ten hits in the U.K.

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