Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Live Wire: Music on Television April 9-15
Just because MTV doesn’t play music anymore doesn’t mean there’s not tons of live music on television these days. Consider our weekly feature “Live Wire,” your guide to performances, concerts and rock star appearances on the tube. All times are ET.
Live Wire Spotlight – Slash on Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m. Tuesday, ABC)
Slash will debut his new single, “You’re a Lie,” on Tuesday night’s edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live. To promote his forthcoming album, Apocalyptic Love, the guitar god will be joined by singer Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators – the same group that played on the record. The boys also will perform a mini concert for those who show up to see the band play in Hollywood. Fingers crossed that the footage of all the performances will appear Kimmel show’s website for everyone to see.
Monday, April 9
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (check local listings, syndicated): Cee-Lo Green
The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m., CBS): Tennis
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC): Esperanza Spalding
Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m., ABC): LL Cool J
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m., NBC): Pulp, Seun Kuti
Tuesday, April 10
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (check local listings, syndicated): Bonnie Raitt
Conan (11 p.m., TBS): M. Ward
The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m., CBS): Shooter Jennings
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC): Eric Turner with Lupe Fiasco and Tinie Tempah
Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m., ABC): Slash
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m., NBC): White Rabbits
Wednesday, April 11
The View (11 a.m., ABC): Trisha Yearwood
The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m., CBS): Kaiser Chiefs
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC): Neon Trees
Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m., ABC): The Civil Wars
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m., NBC): The Ting Tings
Thursday, April 12
The View (11 a.m., ABC): Shooter Jennings
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (check local listings, syndicated): Karmin
Conan (11 p.m., TBS): Arctic Monkeys
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC): Blake Shelton, Feist
Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05 a.m., ABC): The Shins
Friday, April 13
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC): Far East Movement
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m., NBC): The Fray
Saturday, April 14
That Metal Show (11 p.m., VH1 Classic): George Lynch, Jeff Pilson, Mick Brown, Brian Tichy
Saturday Night Live (11:30 p.m., NBC): Gotye
Austin City Limits (check local listings, PBS): John Legend and The Roots
This Day in Music: April 4th
Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com
Born on this day:
1915, Muddy Waters, U.S. blues singer, guitarist
1952, Dave Hill, guitarist (Slade)
1952, Gary Moore, guitarist (Skid Row, Thin Lizzy, solo)
1980, Johnny Borrell, guitarist, singer (Razorlight)
1964, The Beatles held the top five places on the Billboard U.S. singles chart: #1 “Can’t Buy Me Love,” #2 “Love Me Do,” #3 “Roll Over Beethoven,” #4 “I Want to Hold You Hand” and #5 “Please Please Me.” The group also had another nine singles on the chart, bringing their total to 14 singles on the Hot 100.
1968, after hearing the news of Martin Luther King’s assassination, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Joni Mitchell, Al Kooper and Ted Nugent congregated for an all night blues, folk and rock session at The New Generation Club in New York.
1976, the Sex Pistols played the first night of a residency at the El Paradiso club in Soho, London.
1987, U2 entered the U.S. album chart at #7 with The Joshua Tree, making it the highest new chart entry in America in seven years.
1992, Bruce Springsteen scored his third #1 album in the U.K. with Human Touch.
1999, The Corrs album Talk On Corners reached #1 on the U.K. album chart for the 10th time. The Irish group also had the #2 position with Forgiven, Not Forgotten. Both albums had spent over a year on the chart.
2008, at London’s Court of Appeal, Procol Harum singer/pianist Gary Brooker won a royalty battle over the band’s worldwide hit, “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” brought by original organist Matthew Fisher. The decision overturned a 2006 ruling that Fisher was entitled to a 40% portion of royalties after he argued he had written the song’s organ melody. The court ruled there was an “excessive delay” in the claim being made – the claim was made nearly 40 years after the song was recorded.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Top 10 Stories of the Week in Music News
It’s been another wild and crazy week in the world of rock and roll. Slash announced a release show for his new album, Lindsey Buckingham set some solo tour dates – as did Joe Walsh – while ZZ Top said they’ll be touring this year with 3 Doors Down. Gibson released a roaring Paul Landers (of Rammstein fame) signature Les Paul and some of Mr. Paul’s own rare guitars were prepared to hit the auction block. Sadly, the music world lost banjo genius and bluegrass pioneer Earl Scruggs. R.I.P. Earl. Finally, in a moment of inspired craziness, the Flaming Lips promised an album smeared with Ke$ha’s blood. Now that’s definitely rock and roll!
1. Slash Announces NYC Album Release Show
2. Rammstein’s Paul Landers Signature Les Paul Released
3. Joe Walsh of the Eagles Announces 2012 Solo Tour Dates
4. Paul Weller and Roger Daltrey to Collaborate?
5. Carlos Santana Preparing Guitar-Centric Album
6. Les Paul’s Guitars and Gear Hit the Auction Block
7. Bluegrass Legend Earl Scruggs Dead at 88
8. New Flaming Lips Album to be Smeared with Ke$ha’s Blood?
9. Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham Plans Solo Tour
10. ZZ Top to Tour with 3 Doors Down
This Day in Music: April 5th
Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.
Born on this day:
1928, Tony Williams, vocals, The Platters
1942, Allan Clarke, vocals, The Hollies
1948, Dave Holland, drums, Judas Priest
1950, Agnetha Faltskog, vocals, ABBA
1964, Christopher “Kid” Reid, rapper, Kid ’n Play
1966, Mike McCready, guitar, Pearl Jam
1968, Paula Cole, singer-songwriter
1970, Miho Hatori, vocals, keyboards, Cibo Matto
1973, Pharrell Williams, singer, producer, N.E.R.D., The Neptunes
1978, Duran Duran made their live debut at The Lecture Theatre, Birmingham Polytechnic.
1980, R.E.M. played their first ever gig when they appeared at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia. For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.
1981, Canned Heat singer Bob “The Bear” Hite died of a heart attack at age 36. The band played at both the 1967 Montery Pop Festival and the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
1984, Marvin Gaye’s funeral took place at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Los Angeles. Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy and other Motown singers, writers and producers attended the service.
1994, Kurt Cobain committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at his home in Seattle. Cobain’s body wasn’t discovered until April 8, by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system, who initially believed that Cobain was asleep, until he saw the shotgun pointing at his chin. A suicide note was found that said, “I haven’t felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing ... for too many years now.”
1998, British drummer Cozy Powell was killed when his car smashed into crash barriers on a motorway in Bristol, England. Powell had worked with Whitesnake, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Black Sabbath, Rainbow and the ELP spin-off Emerson, Lake & Powell. Plus he did session work with Donovan, Roger Daltrey, Jack Bruce, Jeff Beck, Gary Moore and Brian May.
2006, Gene Pitney was found dead at age 65 in his bed in a Cardiff hotel. The American singer was on a U.K. tour and had shown no signs of illness. Pitney helped The Rolling Stones break the American market with his endorsement of the band. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote his hit “That Girl Belongs to Yesterday,” which became the Stones duo’s first composition to reach the American charts. He scored the 1962 U.S. #4 single “Only Love Can Break a Heart,” plus more than 15 other U.S. and U.K. Top 40 hits.
2007, Former KISS guitarist Mark St. John died from an apparent brain hemorrhage at the age of 51. St. John was KISS’s third official guitarist, having replaced Vinnie Vincent in 1984 and appeared on the album Animalize.
2008, Apple’s iTunes overtook Wal-Mart to become the largest music retailer in the U.S. Market research firm NPD said iTunes surpassed Wal-Mart in January and February if 12 downloads are considered equal to the sale of one CD album. At that point, iTunes had sold more than four billion songs since its launch in 2003.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
This Day In Music: March 16
Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.
Born on this day:
1942, Jerry Jeff Walker, US singer, songwriter
1948, Michael Bruce, guitar (Alice Cooper)
1954, Jimmy Nail, UK actor, singer
1954, Nancy Wilson, vocals (Heart)
1959, Flavor Flav (Public Enemy)
1959, doo-wop group The Platters scored their only U.K. and U.S. #1 with “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.”
1964, The Beatles set a new record for advance sales in the U.S. with 2,100,000 copies of their latest single, “Can’t Buy Me Love.”
1965, The Rolling Stones were at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “The Last Time.” the group’s third U.K. #1 and the first A-side for songwriters Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
1969, Fleetwood Mac, The Move, Amen Corner, Peter Sarstedt, The Tymes, Harmony Grass and Geno Washington all appeared at Pop World ‘69 at London’s Wembley Empire Pool.
1970, Motown singer Tammi Terrell died of a brain tumor at the age of 24. Initially Terrell recorded solo but from 1967 onwards she recorded a series of duets with Marvin Gaye. She had collapsed onstage into Gaye’s arms on October 14, 1967 during a concert in Hampton, Virginia. Marvin reacted to her death by taking a four-year hiatus from concert performance and went into self-isolation.
1972, John Lennon lodged an appeal with the U.S. INS office in New York, after he was served with deportation orders arising from a 1968 cannabis possession conviction.
1989, Bez from The Happy Mondays was arrested at Manchester Airport moments before boarding a flight to Belfast for a gig, charged with breaking bail conditions set from a previous arrest.
1991, seven members of country singer Reba McEntire’s band and her road manager are among 10 people killed when their private jet crashed in California just north of the Mexican border. For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.
This Day in Music: March 17th
Broughto you by ThisDayinMusic.com.
Born on this day:
1919, Nat King Cole, singer
1938, Zola Taylor, vocals, The Platters
1941, Paul Kantner, vocals, guitar, Jefferson Airplane
1944, John Sebastian, vocals, guitar, The Lovin’ Spoonful
1951, Scott Gorham, guitar, Thin Lizzy (For more on Gorham, see This Day in Music Spotlight.)
1962, Clare Grogan, vocals, Altered Images
1967, Billy Corgan, vocals, guitar, Smashing Pumpkins
1970, Gene Ween (Aaron Freeman), guitar, vocals, Ween
1973, Caroline Corr, drums, vocals, The Corrs
1975, Justin Hawkins, vocals, The Darkness
1957, Elvis Presley bought the Graceland mansion from Mrs. Ruth Brown-Moore for $102,500. The 23-room, 10,000-square-foot home, on 13.8 acres of land, would be expanded to 17,552 square feet of living space before the King moved in a few weeks later. The original building had at one time been a place of worship, used by the Graceland Christian Church and was named after the builder’s daughter, Grace Toof.
1966, The Walker Brothers had their second U.K. #1 with the single “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” (originally recorded by Frankie Valli).
1967, Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave and Booker T. and The M.G.’s appeared at London’s Finsbury Park Astoria on the first night of a 17-date U.K. tour.
1968, The Bee Gees made their U.S. television debut when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1973, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show’s single “The Cover of the Rolling Stone” peaked at #6 on the U.S. chart. The single was banned in the U.K. by the BBC due to the reference of the magazine.
1978, U2 won ?500 ($850) and a chance to audition for CBS Ireland in a talent contest held in Dublin. The Limerick Civic Week Pop ’78 Competition was sponsored by The Evening Express and Guinness Harp Lager.
2004, Kinks singer Ray Davies received his CBE medal from the Queen at Buckingham Palace for services to the music industry.
2006, The Smiths turned down a $5 million (?2.8m) offer to reform for a music festival. The band, which split acrimoniously in 1987, rejected the bid to get back together for the year’s Coachella festival.
2008, Ola Brunkert, the former drummer with the Swedish group ABBA, was found dead with his throat cut at his home in Majorca, Spain. Brunkert died after he hit his head against a glass door in the dining room at his home. He was found dead in his garden after trying to seek help. The 62-year-old musician had played on every ABBA album and had toured with the group.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Music Stars Pay Tribute to Rolling Stones
An all-star cast of music stars, past and present, will tip their caps to the musical legacy of The Rolling Stones in concert at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. The show takes place on Tuesday, March 13, according to Ultimate Classic Rock.
Jackson Browne, Steve Earle, Taj Mahal, Ronnie Spector, members of TV on the Radio, Marianne Faithful, the Mountain Goats, Ian Hunter and many others will recreate every single track on the Stones’ hits compilation Hot Rocks: 1964-1971.
It’s mostly a mystery as to which artists will play which songs. A few have tipped their hands: Rosanne Cash hinted that she will sing “Gimme Shelter” with John Sebastian and Earle told Billboard that he’s playing “Mother’s Little Helper,” because it’s the first song he learned on guitar.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
This Day in Music: March 14th
Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.
Born on this day:
1933 Quincy Jones, producer
1945 Walter Parazaider, sax (Chicago)
1946 Jim Pons, bass guitar (The Leaves, The Turtles)
1983 Jordan Taylor Hanson (Hanson)
1955, CBS talent scout Arthur Godfrey turned down the chance to sign Elvis Presley. Instead, at the same audition, he signed Pat Boone.
1963, Cliff Richard & The Shadows were at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “Summer Holiday.” Taken from the film of the same name, it was Cliff’s seventh U.K. #1.
1968, the promotional film for The Beatles’ “Lady Madonna” was broadcast in black and white on BBC’s Top Of The Pops. The film was shot while the group was recording the track “Hey Bulldog” in Studio 2, EMI Studios.
1972, soul singer Linda Jones, who had a 1967 U.S. #21 single with “Hypnotized,” died at the age of 26 in New York after collapsing into a diabetic coma following a performance at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre.
1983, Jon Bon Jovi formed the band Bon Jovi. See This Day in Music Spotlight .
1985, Dead Or Alive were taken off the U.K. music television show The Tube after admitting they were incapable of playing live. The group had scored a 1985 U.K. #1 with “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record).”
1990, Flea and Chad Smith from The Red Hot Chili Peppers were arrested for sexually harassing a woman in Daytona Beach, Florida. There were each fined $1,000.
1991, American songwriter Doc Pomus died. He co-wrote with Mort Shuman many early ’60s hits, including “A Teenager in Love,” “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “Sweets for My Sweet,” “Can’t Get Used to Losing You,” “Little Sister,” “Suspicion,” “Surrender” and “Viva Las Vegas.”
1995, with the release of Me Against The World, Tupac Shakur became the first male solo artist to have a #1 album on the Billboard chart while in prison.
2001, Peter Blake, who designed The Beatles’ classic Sgt. Pepper album cover, sued the group’s record company, EMI, for more money. Blake was given a one-off payment of $340 in 1967, but became “cheesed off” that the company had not offered to pay more money.
2006, U2 topped Rolling Stone’s annual list of 2005’s biggest money earners with $154.2 million. The top five were rounded out by The Rolling Stones ($92.5 million), The Eagles ($ 63.2 million), Paul McCartney ($56 million) and Elton John ($48.9 million).
This Day in Music: March 15th
Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.
Born on this day:
1940, Phil Lesh, bass, The Grateful Dead
1941, Mike Love, vocals, The Beach Boys
1944, Sly Stone, vocals, organ, guitar, Sly and the Family Stone
1946, Howard E. Scott, guitar, War
1947, Ry Cooder, guitarist
1955, Dee Snider, vocals, Twisted Sister
1962, Terence Trent D’Arby, singer
1963, Bret Michaels, vocals, Poison
1968, Mark McGrath, vocals, Sugar Ray
1972, Mark Hoppus, bass, vocals, Blink-182
1975, Will.i.am, rapper, producer, Black Eyed Peas
1977, Joe Hahn, DJ, Linkin Park
1955, Elvis Presley signed a management contract with Colonel Tom Parker. Parker had previously managed the Great Parker Pony Circus with one of the acts being a troupe of dancing chickens.
1964, The Rolling Stones kicked off a 58-date U.K. tour at the Invicta Ballroom in Chatham, Kent. Half the dates saw the Stones playing two shows in one evening.
1973, Roberta Flack was at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Killing Me Softly with His Song” and Elton John had the #1 album with Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player.
1975, Led Zeppelin went to #1 on the U.K. chart with the double album Physical Graffiti, the first on their own Swan Song label. The album spent six weeks at #1 on the U.S. chart.
1977, Pink Floyd played the first of six sold-out nights at Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England.
1986, The Bangles were at #2 on the U.K. singles chart with “Manic Monday,” a song written by Prince under the pseudonym Christopher. It also made #2 in the U.S., held off #1 by Prince’s own “Kiss.”
1989, The Rolling Stones signed a $70 million (?40 million) contract to play 50 North American dates. It was the largest contract in rock history.
2002, Yoko Ono unveiled a seven-foot bronze statue of John Lennon overlooking the check-in hall of Liverpool’s John Lennon airport. The re-branding of the airport featured a sketch of Lennon's face with the words “Above Us Only Skies.” For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.
2004, Former Crazy Town guitarist Rust Epique died of heart failure from an apparent heart attack at his home in Las Vegas. Epique was 35. Crazy Town had the 1999 world-wide #1 single “Butterfly.”
Top 10 Stories of the Week in Music News
It’s been another fascinating week in the crazy world of rock and roll. The Rolling Stones are getting an all-star tribute in New York and Keith Richards celebrated the Stones picking up 9 million Facebook fans. Sadly, rock and roll lost Ronnie Montrose, and Sammy Hagar was quick to pay tribute to the guitar great. Also, in the wake of Davy Jones’ death, fellow Monkee Michael Nesmith said that, in his opinion, Jones was The Monkees. Finally, Motley Crue’s Vince Neil opened his own strip club. Now that’s rock and roll!
1. Sammy Hagar and Lita Ford Pay Tribute to Ronnie Montrose
2. Music Stars Pay Tribute to Rolling Stones
3. Taylor Swift is Pop’s Biggest Earner in 2011
4. Jack White Performs Solo Show at Third Man Records Birthday Party
5. Keith Richards Celebrates 9 Million Stone Facebook Fans
6. Gibson Launches Artist in Residency Program
7. Michael Nesmith: Davy Jones Was The Monkees
8. Sharon Osbourne on Zakk Wylde: ‘He is Like Our Oldest Son’
9. John Frusciante to Miss Chili Peppers’ Rock Hall Induction
10. Motley Crue’s Vince Neil to Open Girls Girls Girls Strip Club
This Day in Music: March 13th
Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.
Born on this day:
1933, Mike Stoller, songwriter
1939, Neil Sedaka, singer, songwriter
1959, Ronnie Rogers, guitar, T’Pau
1960, Adam Clayton, bass, U2
1972, Common, rapper
1973, David Draiman, vocals, Disturbed
1964, Billboard reported that sales of Beatles singles currently accounted for 60 percent of the U.S. singles market and The Beatles’ album, Meet the Beatles, had reached a record 3.5 million copies sold.
1965, Eric Clapton quit The Yardbirds due to musical differences with the other band members. Clapton wanted to continue in a blues-type vein, while the rest of the band preferred the more commercial style of their first hit, “For Your Love.”
1971, Brewer and Shipley entered the U.S. singles chart with “One Toke Over the Line.” The song, which featured The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia on steel guitar, peaked at #10 despite being banned by radio stations for drug references. Brewer and Shipley maintained that the word “toke” meant token, as in ticket – hence the line “waitin’ downtown at the railway station, one toke over the line.”
1976, The Four Seasons started a three-week run at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with “December 1963 (Oh What a Night),” the group’s fifth U.S. #1. It also was their only U.K. #1.
1985, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure received the best-selling A-side award at the 30th Ivor Novello Awards for “Do They Know it’s Christmas.”
1987, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1998, English reggae and ska artist Judge Dread (Alex Hughes) died after collapsing as he walked off stage in Canterbury, England. He achieved 10 U.K. hit singles during the ’70s and was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica. Dread has the most banned radio songs of all time.
1999, Cher started a four-week run at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Believe,” making Cher, at 53, the oldest woman to top the Hot 100.
2006, The Sex Pistols refused to attend their own induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Blondie, Herb Alpert, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Miles Davis and Black Sabbath were also inducted. For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.
2007, Coffee house Starbucks announced the launch of its own music label, saying it would sign both established and new artists. The chain, which had 13,000 stores worldwide, had already released albums under its Hear Music brand, licensing songs from other companies. Starbucks bosses said the label would now become more independent and that music fit the firm’s identity.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Wilco Take on <em>Popeye</em> in New Music Video
Wilco are going Gorillaz. Kind of. In the alt-rock band’s latest music video for “Dawned on Me,” the Chicago gents joined up with King Features to get animated beside Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto and the whole Popeye crew. Watch the Darren Romanelli-directed video at the bottom of the page.
Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche recently checked in with the Los Angeles Times blog to talk about his experience replacing Wilco’s original drummer, Ken Coomer, in 2001. “Those guys at that point would be in the studio at 5 a.m., and then I had my first drum lesson at 7 a.m. out in the suburbs, so I was getting no sleep,” he explained. “When they asked me to join, I had no expectations of anything. I thought, ‘Here’s this band, and I don’t even know if I’m the right fit.’
“I was wary of touring that much, and I thought the fans would hate me because I replaced Ken. Then the label dropped us. The future was pretty uncertain. People always say, ‘That must have been so crazy,’ but you know what? Not really. It was a functional situation. It was business as usual. This is how bands are. There’s usually a couple freaks and there’s a lot of drama and things don’t always go the way you want them to go. Worst-case scenario, we would have been on an indie label.”
Ever want to get Wilco’s live guitar sound? Check out our feature with tips on how to rock out like Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline.
This Day in Music: January 27th
Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.
Born on this day:
1918, Elmore James, blues guitarist and singer
1944, Nick Mason, drums, Pink Floyd
1946, Nedra Talley, vocals, The Ronettes
1951, Brian Downey, drums, Thin Lizzy
1957, Janick Gers, guitar, Iron Maiden
1961, Gillian Gilbert, keyboards, New Order
1968, Mike Patton, vocals, Faith No More
1968, Tricky, rapper
1969, Michael Kulas, vocals, James
1971, Lil Jon, producer, rapper
1956, Elvis Presley’s single, “Heartbreak Hotel,” was released by RCA Records, which had just purchased Presley’s contract from Sun Records for $35,000. The song sold 300,000 copies in its first week and would eventually sell over a million, becoming Elvis’ first gold record.
1961, Frank Sinatra played a benefit show at Carnegie Hall in New York City for Martin Luther King Jr.
1971, David Bowie arrived in the U.S. for the first time. He couldn’t play live because of work permit restrictions, but attracted publicity when he wore a dress at a promotion event.
1972, American gospel singer Mahalia Jackson died in Chicago of heart failure and diabetes complications at age 60. Known as the “Queen of Gospel Music,” she recorded over 30 albums.
1973, “Superstition” gave Stevie Wonder had his second #1 single in the U.S., 10 years after his first #1. For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.
1977, The Clash signed to CBS Records in the U.K. for ?100,000.
1980, Def Leppard played the first of two nights at The Marquee, London. Tickets cost ?2 ($3.40).
1984, Madonna made her first appearance in the U.K. when she appeared on C4 TV music program The Tube, performing “Holiday.” The show was broadcast live from the Hacienda Club in Manchester.
1994, Oasis made their London live debut when the played at King’s Cross Water Rats. The gig was by invite only.
1996, Babylon Zoo started a five-week run at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “Spaceman,” the fastest-selling single by a debut artist in the U.K. (420,000 copies in six days). The song was used for a Levi Jeans TV commercial. The single also went to #1 in 23 other countries.
2002, Beach Boy Brian Wilson played the first of four sold-out nights at The Royal Festival Hall, London.
2006, Gene McFadden, R&B vocalist and songwriter, best known as half of the Philly soul team McFadden & Whitehead, died of cancer at the age of 56. The duo had the 1979 hit “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now,” which sold more than 8 million copies and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
This Day in Music: January 26th
Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.
Born on this day:
1943, Jean Knight, R&B singer
1948, Corky Laing, drums, Mountain
1951, David Briggs, guitar, Little River Band
1953, Lucinda Williams, singer-songwriter
1955, Eddie Van Halen, guitarist
1958, Anita Baker, R&B singer
1961, Tom Keifer, vocals, guitar, Cinderella
1963, Andrew Ridgeley, guitar, vocals, Wham!
1970, Kirk Franklin, gospel singer
1980, Brian Fallon, guitar, vocals, The Gaslight Anthem
1986, Matt Heafy, guitar, vocals, Trivium
1961, Elvis Presley was at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” It was the singer’s sixth U.K. #1. The single included a spoken passage loosely based on Shakespeare.
1965, During The Rolling Stones tour of Australia and New Zealand, guitarist Keith Richards had his shirt torn off after 50 fans invaded the stage during the gig at The Town Hall in Brisbane.
1970, John Lennon wrote, recorded and mixed his new single “Instant Karma” all in one day.
1977, Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green was committed to a mental hospital following an incident when he threatened his accountant Clifford Adams with an air rifle when he was trying to deliver a ?30,000 ($51,000) royalty check to him. For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.
1980, Prince made his TV debut on American Bandstand.
1986, Allen Collins, guitarist from Lynyrd Skynyrd, crashed his car, paralysing him from the waist down and killing his girlfriend Debra Jean Watts. Collins had survived a plane crash in 1977 that killed other band members.
1989, American singer Donnie Elbert died of a stroke at age 52.
1991, Cher made a special video for the troops involved in Desert Storm during the gulf war. Cher’s Video Canteen featured Janet Jackson, Paul Simon, Van Halen and Bonnie Raitt.
1991, Queen had their second U.K. #1 with “Innuendo.” It was the third-longest #1 song of all time behind The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and Simple Minds’ “Belfast Child.” The flamenco guitar solo on the track was performed by Yes guitarist Steve Howe.
2003, Billy Joel was airlifted to a hospital after his car smashed into a tree. The singer lost control of his Mercedes S500 and skidded for 100 yards before crashing. The accident happened in The Hamptons, New York.
2004, John Lydon was one of 10 contestants to take part in the latest I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here U.K. TV show set in the Australian outback. The former Sex Pistols singer was seen by 11 million viewers on the first night covered in bird seed being pecked by giant ostriches. Lydon was paid ?25,000 ($42,500) to appear in the show, but walked off the jungle set after four days.
2007, The Rolling Stones topped the U.S. music rich list for the second year running after making $150.6 million in 2006. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were second in the poll with a combined fortune of $132 million and American country band Rascal Flatts appeared third, having earned $110.5 million in the past year.
This Day in Music: January 28th
Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.
Born on this day:
1927, Ronnie Scott, jazz musician
1968, Sarah McLachlan, singer songwriter
1980, Nick Carter, Backstreet Boys
1956, Elvis Presley (with Scotty Moore and Bill Black), made his first national television appearance on the Dorsey Brothers’ Stage Show. It was the first of six appearances on the show and the first of eight performances recorded and broadcast from CBS in New York City. After the success of their first appearance, they were signed to five more.
1965, The Who made their first appearance on U.K. TV show Ready Steady Go! To project the desired image, the hand-picked audience consisted only of teens dressed in the current mod fashion.
1968, Jim Morrison of The Doors was arrested and charged with public drunkenness after harassing a security guard at a Las Vegas adult movie theater.
1983, British Rock and Roll singer Billy Fury died of heart failure. He was known for the 1961 U.K. #3 single “Halfway to Paradise,” plus 25 other Top 40 U.K. singles. His We Want Billy (released 1963, with The Tornados) was one of the first live albums in British rock history. Played rock ’n’ roller Stormy Tempest in the film That’ll Be the Day alongside David Essex and Ringo Starr.
1984, Frankie Goes to Hollywood started a five-week run at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “Relax.” BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read expressed, on air, his distaste for both the record’s suggestive sleeve and its lyrics. He announced his refusal to play the record, not knowing that the BBC had decided that the song was not to be played on the BBC anyway. Produced by Trevor Horn, the song remained on the chart for 48 weeks.
1985, the recording took place for “We are the World,” recorded by USA for Africa, the American equivalent of Band Aid. Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, the song featured an all-star cast including Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Daryl Hall, John Oates, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Perry and Bob Geldof.
1990, Paula Abdul started a 10-week run at #1 on the U.S. album chart with Forever Your Girl. Abdul spent 64 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 before hitting #1, making it the longest time for an album to reach the #1 spot.
1994, Paul and Linda McCartney attended the premiere of Wayne’s World II in London. The couple then went on to Hard Rock Cafe, where the film’s star Mike Myers presented them with a check for LIPA (the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) for ?25,000 ($42,500) from the sale of Linda’s vegetarian burgers.
2000, Saxophonist and bandleader Thomas “Beans” Bowles died of prostate cancer at age 73. He played on many Motown sessions including Marvin Gaye’s, “What’s Going On,” Martha and the Vandellas’ “Heat Wave” and The Supremes’ “Baby Love” and wrote the melody for Stevie Wonder’s “Fingertips - Pt. 2.”
2003, H-Town singer Keven Conner was killed in a car crash in Houston at age 28. Conner died when an SUV ran a red light and crashed into the car he was a passenger in, which had just picked him up from the recording studio.
2005, English drummer and singer-songwriter Jim Capaldi died of stomach cancer at age 60. A member of Traffic and a solo star, he also worked with Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and George Harrison. For more on this story see today’s This Day in Music Spotlight.
2007, Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture was at #1 on the U.S. album chart. The movie musical, based on the history of Diana Ross and the Supremes, featured Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose and Keith Robinson.
2009, Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboard player Billy Powell died at the age of 56 of a heart attack in Florida. Powell called police saying he was having trouble breathing and emergency services tried to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead an hour later. Powell had missed a doctor’s appointment on the day before his death; the appointment was for a checkup on his heart.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Top 10 Stories of the Week in Music News
It’s been another exciting week in the crazy world of rock and roll. Sharon Osbourne hosted a rock and roll roast of Gibson favorite Zakk Wylde. Ozzy couldn’t be there because Black Sabbath are busy on their new album and, despite the news for Tony Iommi’s illness, still plan on being at the Download festival this summer. Eddie Vedder planned a tour and Judas Priest released a career-spanning box set. Neil Young said he likes Mumford & Sons and Queen’s axe hero Brian May worked with rapper Dappy. Oh, and AC/DC got their own jukebox. Now that’s rock and roll!
1. Sharon Osbourne Hosts Zakk Wylde Roast
2. People ‘Just Want Dirty Stories’ About Jim Morrison, Says Ray Manzarek
3. Eddie Vedder Plots Spring Tour
4. Rihanna to Sing with Coldplay at Grammys
5. Metallica-Inspired Art Exhibition to Open in L.A.
6. Black Sabbath Still Set for 2012 Download Festival
7. Judas Priest to Release Career-Spanning Box Set
8. Brian May Guests on New Dappy Single
9. AC/DC Score Their Own Pinball Machine
10. Neil Young is a Mumford & Sons Fan
This Day in Music: January 25th
Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.
Born on this day:
1915, Ewan MacColl, folk singer-songwriter
1931, Stig Anderson, ABBA producer
1938, Etta James, singer
1954, Robert Finch, vocals, KC and the Sunshine Band
1955, Terry Chimes, drums, The Clash
1956, Andy Cox, guitar, The Beat, Fine Young Cannibals
1981, Alicia Keys, singer-pianist
1960, The original cast recording of The Sound of Music started a 16-week run at #1 on the U.S. album chart.
1967, The Beatles made a last-minute remix of “Penny Lane” before the pressing of their next double-A-sided single “Strawberry Fields Forever”/“Penny Lane.” Both songs were originally intended for forthcoming album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
1971, Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane gave birth to a daughter, naming her God. She was later re-named China. For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.
1975, The Carpenters went to #1 on the U.S. singles chart with their version of The Marvelettes’ 1961 hit “Please Mr. Postman.”
1978, Joy Division made their live debut when they played Pips in Manchester, England.
1983, The Allman Brothers Band’s bassist Lamar Williams died of lung cancer at age 34. He joined the band in 1972 after the death of original bassist Berry Oakley.
1984, Yoko Ono donated ?250,000 ($425,000) to Liverpool old people’s home Strawberry Fields.
1986, Manager Albert Grossman died of a heart attack while flying on Concorde from New York to London. He managed Bob Dylan (between 1962 and 1970), Peter, Paul and Mary, The Band, Janis Joplin and Todd Rundgren. Grossman built the Bearsville Recording Studio near Woodstock in 1969, and in 1970 he founded Bearsville Records.
1992, The inaugural Big Day Out festival took place at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney. Acts appearing included, Nirvana, Beasts of Bourbon, Box The Jesuits, Celibate Rifles, Cosmic Psychos, The Clouds, Club Hoy, Died Pretty, Falling Joys, The Hard Ons with Henry Rollins Hellmen, Massappeal, The Meanies, Smudge, Sound Unlimited Posse, Ratcat, The Village Idiots, Violent Femmes and Yothu Yindi.
2008, British Sea Power’s keyboard and cornet player Phil Sumner ended up in the hospital after being knocked unconscious when he attempted a stage dive. The crowd at Leeds Irish Centre failed to catch him when he jumped off a 12-foot PA system, landing head first. A spokeswoman for the band said: "The impact knocked him out straight away. He was unconscious for three minutes and there was a lot of blood.”
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
This Day in Music: January 24th
Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.
Born on this day:
1939, Ray Stevens, singer-songwriter
1941, Neil Diamond, singer-songwriter
1941, Aaron Neville, singer
1947, Warren Zevon, singer-songwriter
1958, Jools Holland, keyboards, Squeeze
1967, John Myung, bass, Dream Theater
1953, Eddie Fisher was at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “Outside is Heaven.”
1958, Elvis Presley was at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “Jailhouse Rock.” It became the first-ever single to enter the chart at #1 and was Presley’s second U.K. #1. It went on to sell more than 4 million copies in the U.S. For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.
1962, Brian Epstein signed a management deal with The Beatles. Epstein was to receive 25 percent of the band’s gross earnings. The normal management deal was 10 percent.
1969, New Jersey state prosecutors issued a warning to U.S. record dealers that they would be charged with distributing pornography if they were caught selling the John Lennon/Yoko Ono LP Two Virgins. The front cover of the album showed the pair frontally nude, while the back cover showed them from behind. The album still managed to reach #124 on the U.S., but failed to chart at all in the U.K., where only 5,000 copies were pressed.
1970, James Sheppard, the lead singer from the Heartbeats and Shep and the Limelites, was found murdered in his car on the Long Island Expressway. The U.S. singer had been beaten and robbed. The Limelites reached #2 in the U.S. in 1961 with “Daddy’s Home.”
1976, Bob Dylan started a five-week run at #1 on the U.S. album chart with Desire, his third U.S. #1.
1979, The Clash released their first single in the U.S., “I Fought the Law” (written by Sonny Curtis of Buddy Holly’s Crickets).
1981, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith was hospitalized after being involved in a crash on his motorbike.
1992, Nirvana played their first-ever show in Australia at the Phoenician Club in Sydney.
1995, David Cole, producer and keyboardist in C & C Music Factory, died of meningitis at age 32. He produced music for Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin.
1998, Oasis went to #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “All Around the World.” It had the longest running time for a U.K. #1 with a total duration of 9 minutes, 38 seconds. It was one of the first songs to be written by Noel Gallagher, with the band rehearsing it as early as 1992.
2007, Record producer Dave Shayman (also known as Disco D) was found dead at his home in New York City. 26-year-old Shayman was famous for his production work on hip-hop records and was a rising star in the business. His death was being treated as a potential suicide after he was recently diagnosed with manic depression.