On This Day

Am particularly interested in the 1970 entry about Creedence Clearwater Revival. Cosmos Factory a great album.

Also the 1964 entry. Mouthwateting line up of soul stars.

Excellent, Frank! Lol the "invisible sonic force field" around the drums! I used to have one of them, it was known as "a load of drink" ...

September 14th: On this Day

1955, Little Richard entered a New Orleans recording studio to begin two days of recording. Things were not going well and during a break, Richard and his producer; Bumps Blackwell went to the Dew Drop Inn for lunch. Richard started playing the piano in the bar like crazy, singing a loud and lewd version of ‘Tutti Frutti.’ With only fifteen minutes left in the session, Richard recorded the song and coined the phrase, ‘a-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom.’

1967, Filming continued for The Beatles 'Magical Mystery Tour' in South West England. The Beatles searched for a quiet, secluded field in which they could conduct filming but once they'd disembarked from the bus and set up for shooting, scores of onlookers began to crowd around, causing a traffic jam that required the police to step in.

1968, Roy Orbison's house in Nashville burnt down, his two eldest sons both died in the blaze. Orbison was on tour in the UK at the time of the accident.

1968, The first episode of the comic strip 'The Archies' was aired on US TV. The recording group had contributions from Ron Dante, Andy Kim, Jeff Barry and others. Rock mogul, Don Kirshner (who also brought us The The Monkees) was put in charge of the studio group. The following year The Archies started a eight-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Sugar Sugar,' becoming the longest running One Hit Wonder in the UK.

1971, During a US tour Led Zeppelin appeared at Berkley Community Theatre, Berkley, California. Countless major acts have appeared here, including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Van Morrison, The Kinks, Bruce Springsteen, Genesis, Elvis Costello, The Clash, Iggy Pop and David Bowie.

1974, Eric Clapton scored a US No.1 with his version of the Bob Marley song 'I Shot The Sheriff' which was first released in 1973 on The Wailers' album Burnin'. Clapton's version was included on his 1974 album 461 Ocean Boulevard.

1974, Stevie Wonder started a two-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Fulfillingness First Finale' his second US No.1. The album received three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, in 1974.

1979, The film Quadrophenia was released. Based on The Who's 1973 rock opera the film featured Phil Daniels, Toyah Willcox, Ray Winstone, Michael Elphick and Sting.

1981, The Rolling Stones played a secret pre-tour warm-up show at the Sir Morgan's Cove club in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. Billed as Little Boy Blue & The Cockroaches, a local radio station announced that the Stones were in town, resulting in the club being besieged by over 4,000 fans attempted to get into the 350-person venue. Police were drafted in to control the crowds, which resulted in eleven fans being arrested.

1984, David Bowie won Video of the year for 'China Girl' at the first MTV Video awards. The song co-written by David Bowie and Iggy Pop during their years in Berlin, first appeared on Pop's album The Idiot released in 1977.

1989, Cuban bandleader and composer Perez Prado died of a stroke in Mexico City. Had the US & UK 1955 No.1 single 'Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White'.

1994, US singer Steve Earle was sentenced to 1 year in jail after being found guilty of possession of crack cocaine.

1995, The lyrics to The Beatles song 'Getting Better' hand-written by Paul McCartney sold for £161,000 at a Sotheby's auction in London.

1996, Peter Andre scored his first UK No.1 single when 'Flava' went to the top for one week. The English-born Australian singer’songwriter became a major television personality after taking part in the British reality TV series I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!; during which he met, fell in love with and subsequently married former glamour model Jordan. The couple split in May 2009 after three and a half years of marriage.

1997, Over 2000 fans watched Pete Townshend unveil a English Heritage Blue Plaque at 23 Brook Street, Mayfair London, to mark where Jimi Hendrix had lived in 1968-69. Hendrix was the first pop star to be awarded with the plaque.

1999, It was reported that George Michael was being sued for $10m by the policeman who arrested the singer in a public lavatory. Marcelo Rodriguez claimed he was mocked in the video 'Outside' leaving him in physical distress.

2005, Britney Spears gave birth to a baby boy by Caesarean section. Spears and husband Kevin Federline had been taken to the UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, under police escort, early in the morning.

2005, HMV stores in Canada removed Bob Dylan CDs from their shelves in protest at the singer's deal to only sell his new album in Starbucks after he signed an exclusive contract with the coffee giant. The chain has previously boycotted CDs by Alanis Morissette and The Rolling Stones to complain at exclusive deals.

2005, The newly refurbished Grateful Dead's original tour bus went on display at the Volo Auto Museum in Volo, Illinois. The 1965 Gillig bus, which Jerry Garcia and the rest of the Dead dubbed ‘Sugar Magnolia’ was used by the band on their frequent tours across the US between 1967 and 1985. The ceiling was lined with hundreds of vintage rock posters featuring The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Janice Joplin and others who had visited the bus.

2008, Kings Of Leon started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Sex On Fire' taken from the band's fourth studio album Only by the Night.

2008, Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson was one of the pilots who flew specially chartered flights after 85,000 tourists were stranded in the US, the Caribbean, Africa and Europe after Britain's third-largest tour operator went into administration. The singer, who had worked for the airline Astraeus for nine years, took up flying during a low point in his solo career after he quit the band in 1993.

2011, It was reported that a Swedish Bob Dylan fan had been arrested for singing Bob Dylan songs outside his ex-girlfriends house. The love-sick man had also cobbled together a group of five other men to serve as vocal accompaniment for the late-night live performance, each of who donned hoodies with their hoods up. But soon after the man began to serenade his ex, who had previously taken out a restraining order against him, she called the police, leaving 50-year-old guitarist blowin in the wind. 'I had the idea that I'd play a Bob Dylan song for her,' the man told police. (No word on which song, unfortunately.)

2013, Kanye West was charged with battery and attempted theft over a fight with a photographer at Los Angeles Airport in July. Paparazzo Daniel Ramos sued Mr West after the singer apparently punched him and threw his camera to the ground. If found guilty, West faced a maximum penalty of six months in prison.

2014, A life-size bronze statue of singer Amy Winehouse was unveiled in Camden, north London. Her father, Mitch Winehouse, said she was "in love with Camden" and it was the place fans associated with her. Created by sculptor Scott Eaton, the statue features the Back to Black star with her hand on hip and her trademark beehive hairdo.

September 15th: On this Day

1956, Elvis Presley started a five-week run at No.1 on the US charts with 'Don't Be Cruel'. The track went on to become Presley's biggest selling single, with sales over six million by 1961. This “double-sided hit” which had 'Hound Dog' on the B side, became the most successful on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. One side reached No.1 on the chart, the other No.2. The two titles spent a combined 55 weeks in the Top 100 in 1956-1957.

1961, A group from Hawthorne, California called The Pendletones attend their first real recording session at Hite Morgan's studio in Los Angeles. The band recorded 'Surfin', a song that would help shape their career as The Beach Boys.

1962, The Four Seasons started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Sherry', it made No.8 in the UK. They became the first American group to have three No.1's in succession.

1964, The Beatles on tour in the USA, appeared at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio. During the performance a group of fans managed to break through the line of police fronting the stage and get up on-stage. Police ordered The Beatles off-stage in the middle of a song, and the concert only resumed after Derek Taylor got on the PA system and pleaded for order to be restored so that the rest of the performance would not be cancelled by the police.

1965, The Ford Motor Company became the first automaker to offer an 8-track tape player as an option for their entire line of vehicles on sale in the US. Tapes were initially only available at auto parts stores, as home 8-track equipment was still a year away.

1965, Otis Redding released his third studio album Otis Blue. The album mainly consists of cover songs by popular R&B and soul artists, and, bar one track, was recorded in a 24-hour period over July 9/10 1965 at the Stax Recording Studios in Memphis, Tennessee and includes the classic tracks 'Ole Man Trouble", 'Respect', and 'Down in the Valley'.

1966, The Small Faces were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'All Or Nothing', their only No.1 hit. According to Kay Marriott, Steve Marriott's mother, Steve wrote the song about his split with ex-fiancee Sue Oliver, though first wife Jenny Rylance states that Marriott told her he wrote the song for her as a result of her split with Rod Stewart.

1967, Filming continued for The Beatles 'Magical Mystery Tour'. Lunch was at James and Amy Smedley's fish and chip shop in Taunton, Somerset with The Beatles being filmed and photographed eating their fish and chips.

1968, The Doors were forced to perform as a trio at a concert in Amsterdam after singer Jim Morrison collapsed while dancing during the Jefferson Airplane's performance.

1970, US Vice-President Spiro Agnew said in a speech that the youth of America were being "brainwashed into a drug culture" by rock music, movies, books and underground newspapers.

1975, Pink Floyd released their ninth studio album Wish You Were Here in the UK. The album which explores themes of absence, the music business, and former band-mate Syd Barrett's mental decline peaked at No.1 on both sides of the Atlantic and went on to spend a total of 84 weeks on the chart.

1978, Bob Dylan kicked off his longest and most continuous US tour of his career in Augusta, Maine, playing the first of sixty-five gigs in sixty-two cities.

1979, Led Zeppelin scored their sixth US No.1 album when In Through The Out Door started a seven-week run at the top of the charts. The eighth studio album by Zeppelin, was their final album of entirely new material.

1984, Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Relax' became the longest running chart hit since Engelbert Humperdink's 'Release Me', after spending 43 weeks on the UK singles chart.

1990, George Michael scored his second UK No.1 solo album with his second release 'Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1'. The album went on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide.

1990, The Steve Miller Band had a UK No.1 with 'The Joker' 16 years after it's first release. The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974. More than 16 years later, it reached No.1 in the UK Singles Chart after being used in "Great Deal", a Hugh Johnson-directed television advertisement for Levi's, thus holding the record for the longest gap between transatlantic chart-toppers.

1990, Wilson Phillips had their second US No.1 with 'Release Me', a No.36 hit in the UK. The group was made up of Carnie and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, along with Chynna Phillips, the daughter of Mamas and Papas founder John Phillips.

1994, A reel to reel tape of The Quarry Men appearing at St Peter's Parish Church garden party Liverpool in July, 1957, sold for £69,000, ($125,000) at a Sotheby's auction.

1997, A 34 year old man was awarded more than £20,000 by a French court after he lost his hearing when he stood too close to loudspeakers at a U2 concert in 1993.

2003, ABBA tribute acts overtook Elvis Presley impersonators in the battle of British covers singers according to a survey. The Swedish group jumped from third most tributed act in 2001 to top in 2002 with imitators like Abba Fever and Voulez Vous putting on Abba shows. Elvis dropped to number two while The Beatles dropped to three. The Performing Right Society carried out the research.

2004, Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone (John Cummings) died in Los Angeles after a five-year battle with prostate cancer. Founding member of The Ramones, major influence on many punk and 90’s bands. Scored the 1977 hit single 'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker'.

2006, The Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool where The Beatles played their first gig was given a Grade II listed building status after a recommendation from English Heritage. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison played in the converted coal cellar of the house in West Derby, in August 1959 as The Quarrymen.

2008, Pink Floyd keyboard player and founder member Richard Wright died aged 65 from cancer. Wright appeared on the group's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in 1967 alongside Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and Nick Mason. David Gilmour who joined the band at the start of 1968 said: "He was such a lovely, gentle, genuine man and will be missed terribly by so many who loved him." In 2005, the full band reunited - for the first time in 24 years - for the Live 8 concert in London's Hyde Park. Wright had also contributed vocals and keyboards to Gilmour's 2006 solo album On An Island.

2014, Apple released a tool to remove U2's new album from its customers' iTunes accounts six days after giving away the music for free. Some users had complained about the fact that their latest album Songs of Innocence had automatically been downloaded to their devices without their permission.

I'd say that was maybe an early warning sign for the heart...

September 16th: On this Day

1956, Anne Shelton was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Lay Down Your Arms.' Shelton was a British vocal star of the 40s & 50s and one time singer with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.

1963, 'She Loves You' by The Beatles was released by Swan Records in the US. Although the song was currently No.1 in the UK, 'She Loves You' was ignored in the US until 1964 when it would reach the top of the US Pop chart.

1966, Member of Parliament Tom Drilberg asked Britain's House of Commons to officially "deplore" the action of a magistrate who'd earlier called The Rolling Stones "complete morons...who wear filthy clothes."

1967, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles recorded 11 takes of 'Your Mother Should Know', giving the song a stronger beat, but this version of the song was discarded in favour of the original recording.

1967, Jimi Hendrix's debut LP, Are You Experienced? entered the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, where it stayed for 106 weeks, including 77 weeks in the Top 40. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it No.15 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and two years later it was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in the United States.

1970, Led Zeppelin won 'best group' in the Melody Maker readers Poll. This was the first time in eight years that The Beatles hadn't won 'best group.'

1970, Jimi Hendrix joined Eric Burdon on stage at Ronnie Scotts in London for what would become the guitarist's last ever public appearance.

1972, Wishbone Ash, Family, Steppenwolf, John Kay Band, Slade, Uriah Heep, Roy Wood and Wizzard, Wild Angels, Glencoe, Sunshine and Cold Comfort Farm all appeared at this years Buxton Festival in Derbyshire, England.

1977, 29-year-old former T Rex singer Marc Bolan was killed instantly when the car driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, left the road and hit a tree in Barnes, London. Miss Jones broke her jaw in the accident. The couple were on the way to Bolan's home in Richmond after a night out at a Mayfair restaurant. A local man who witnessed the crash said, 'When I arrived a girl was lying on the bonnet and a man with long dark curly hair was stretched out in the road - there was a hell of a mess.'

1979, The Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight' was released. While it was not the first single to feature rapping, it is generally considered to be the song that first popularized hip hop in the United States and around the world. The song's opening lyric "I said a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie to the hip hip hop" is world-renowned.

1985, Kate Bush released her fifth studio album Hounds of Love. The album's lead single, 'Running Up That Hill', became one of Bush's biggest hits and the album produced three further successful singles, 'Cloudbusting', 'Hounds of Love', and 'The Big Sky'. NME placed Hounds of Love 48th on their "500 Greatest Albums of All-Time" list.

1988, Former Clash drummer Topper Headon was released from jail after serving 10 months of a 15-month sentence on a narcotics charge.

1996, 21 year-old Ricardo Lopez was found dead in his Hollywood apartment after committing suicide. Before his death Ricardo had mailed an acid bomb to Icelandic singer Bjork's London management.

1996, Pearl Jam played the first night on their 'No Code' tour at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. Because of the band's refusal to play in Ticketmaster's venue areas, they were forced to use alternate ticketing companies for the shows which fans complained were to be out-of-the-way and hard to get to.

1998, At a Sotheby's auction a notebook belonging to former Beatles roadie Mal Evans containing the lyrics to 'Hey Jude' sold for £111,500, a two-tone denim jacket belonging to John Lennon went for £9,200 and the Union Jack dress worn by Spice Girl Ginger Spice sold for £41,320.

2001, Austrian act DJ Otzi went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Hey Baby', a Euro-dance version of Bruce Channel's No.2 hit from 1962.

2004, Weather Girls singer Izora Armstead died aged 62 of heart failure at a hospital in San Leandro, East San Francisco. Also member of Two Tons O' Fun featured on four Sylvester albums, including '(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real.'

2006, Bob Dylan was at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Modern Times.’ Entering the U.S. charts at No.1, making it Dylan's first album to reach that position since 1976's Desire, 30 years prior. At 65, Dylan became the oldest living musician to top the Billboard albums chart. (85 year-old Tony Bennett broke this record in 2011 with his Duets album). The record also reached number one in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.

2008, Norman Whitfield died in Los Angeles, California from diabetes and other illnesses. The Motown songwriter and producer collaborated with Barrett Strong on such hits as 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine', ‘Ain't Too Proud to Beg’, ‘(I Know) I'm Losing You’, ‘Cloud Nine’, ‘War’, ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’, and ‘Car Wash’.

2009, Mary Travers from Folk trio Peter, Paul And Mary, passed away after suffering from leukemia for several years. She was 72. Mary's lead vocal can be heard on the group's biggest hit, 1969's 'Leaving On A Jet Plane'.

2013, A souvenir booklet from the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival signed by Jimi Hendrix fetched $6,500 on eBay. The artifact also included autographs from three members of the Mamas and Papas.

2013, Jackie Lomax died at his home in England aged 69. He first gained notice as the vocalist and bass player with The Undertakers, which were part of the Mersey Beat movement. He was later one of the first artists to sign with The Beatles label, Apple, with George Harrison penning his single 'Sour Milk Sea'.

2014, American singer Ariana Grande was at No.1 on the US album chart with My Everything the singers second studio album. The album also debuted at No.1 in Australia and Canada and peaked in the top ten of twenty countries worldwide.

"1998, At a Sotheby's auction a notebook belonging to former Beatles roadie Mal Evans containing the lyrics to 'Hey Jude' sold for £111,500...."

Edited by Pogue Mahoney - 16-September-2018 at 21:49

September 17th: On this Day

1931, The first long-playing record, a 33 1/3 rpm recording, was demonstrated at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in New York by RCA-Victor. The venture was doomed to fail however due to the high price of the record players, which started around $95 (about $1140 in today's dollars) and wasn't revived until 1948.

1956, The BBC announced the removal of Bill Haley and His Comets' ‘Rockin' Through The Rye’ from its playlist because they felt the song went against traditional British standards, (and included the lyrics "All the lassies rock with me when rockin' through the rye"). The record, based on an 18th century Scottish Folk tune, was at No.5 on the UK charts.

1962, The Beatles played the last of three Monday night gigs at The Queen's Hall, Widnes, Cheshire. Also on the bill, Billy Kramer and the Coasters, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and Sonny Kaye and the Reds. Tickets cost 3/6.

1964, Police arrived at a Rolling Stones gig at the ABC Theatre in Carlisle, England, after a trouble broke out with the 4,000 fans at the concert.

1964, During a US tour The Beatles appeared at the Municipal Stadium in Kansas City. The Beatles were paid $150,000 for the show, which was more than any other act had ever been paid for a live show. Tickets cost $4.50.

1967, The Doors were banned from The Ed Sullivan Show after Jim Morrison broke his agreement with the show’s producers. Morrison said before the performance that he wouldn’t sing the words, ‘Girl, we couldn’t get much higher,’ from 'Light My Fire' but did anyway. The Doors also performed their new single 'People Are Strange.'

1969, Media on both sides of the Atlantic were running stories that said Paul McCartney was dead. He was supposedly killed in a car accident in Scotland on November 9th, 1966 and that a double had been taking his place for public appearances. In fact, Paul and his girlfriend Jane Asher were on vacation in Kenya at the time.

1976, The Sex Pistols played a gig for the inmates at Chelmsford Prison, Essex in England.

1978, The video for Queen's single 'Bicycle Race' was filmed at Wimbledon Stadium, Wimbledon, UK. It featured 65 naked female professional models racing around the stadium's track on bicycles, which had been hired for the day. The rental company was reported to have requested payment for all the saddles when they found out how their bikes had been used.

1983, Paul Young scored his first UK No.1 album with his debut release 'No Parlez.' The album returned to the top of the charts on four other occasion's spending a total of 119 weeks on the chart.

1991, Rob Tyner lead singer with the American hard rock band MC5 died after he suffered a heart attack in the seat of his parked car in his hometown of Berkley, Michigan. MC5, (shortened from the Motor City Five), formed in Detroit, in 1965, they released their first album, ‘Kick Out the Jams’ in 1969.

1991, Over 4 million copies of Guns N' Roses album, 'Use Your Illusion I' and 'Use Your Illusion II' were simultaneously released for retail sale, making it the largest ship-out in pop history in the US.

1996, A bomb was found at a South London sorting office addressed to Icelandic singer Bjork. Police in Miami had alerted the post office after finding the body of Ricardo Lopez who had made a video of himself making the bomb and then killing himself.

1999, English singer Frankie Vaughan died of heart failure aged 71. During the 1950s he scored twenty UK Top 30 singles including the UK No.2 'Green Door.' He was awarded an OBE in 1965, and a CBE in 1996

2000, Paula Yates was found dead in bed from a suspected drug overdose. Yates had presented the UK music TV show The Tube during the 80s, married Bob Geldof and was the girlfriend of INXS singer Michael Hutchence.

2003, Moore and Bode Cigars were suing P Diddy after film footage of their "secret" production process turned up in his latest video. The company claimed an unidentified cameraman filmed their "unique method of rolling cigars" which was then used in the rappers 'Shake Ya Tailfeather' video without permission.

2004, Israeli police arrested two of Madonna's bodyguards after they assaulted photographers waiting for the singer outside her hotel. Madonna was in Israel with 2,000 other students of Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical offshoot.

2006, Justin Timberlake went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Futuresex / Lovesounds' the singers second solo album and second No.1.

2006, American guitarist Al Casey died aged 69. Casey is noted for his work as a session musician and as a member of the Wrecking Crew and worked with The Beach Boys, Phil Spector, Elvis Presley, Glen Campbell, The Association, The Monkees, Johnny Cash, Simon & Garfunkel, 5th Dimension, Harry Nilsson, The Partridge Family, Frank Sinatra, and Nancy Sinatra.

2007, Barry Manilow cancelled his plans to appear on the TV talk show The View because he did not want to be interviewed by its conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, an abortion opponent and supporter of the Iraq war. Manilow had requested to speak only with co-hosts Joy Behar, Barbara Walters or Whoopi Goldberg, but the show's producers refused to comply with what they called Manilow's "completely disrespectful" demands.

2011, Adele went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Someone Like You'. The track was also No.1 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Finland, France, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom.

2011, The estate of Jimi Hendrix gave the go-ahead for another round of archival releases nearly 41 years to the day after the singer's death. The four new products included an expanded version of his landmark Winterland concerts in 1968, a revamp of a 1972 live compilation, an upgraded DVD of his final U.K. festival gig, and a DVD reissue of some old talk-show appearances.

2014, Country music star George Hamilton IV died in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 77. The singer and guitarist, who began performing as a teenager in the 1950s, had suffered a major heart attack a few days earlier. At the start of his career in 1956, Hamilton had a top five hit in the US with A Rose and A Baby Ruth, which led to tours with pop idols Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers.

2017, Brazilian musician and producer Laudir de Oliveira died of a heart attack at the age of 77 while performing onstage in his native Rio de Janeiro. He is mostly renowned for his time as percussionist with the band Chicago from 1973 until 1982. As a session musician he worked for other musicians like Chick Corea, Carlos Santana, The Jacksons, Wayne Shorter and Nina Simone.

Lol Chubby Checker a chicken plucker! Did he have a son I wonder (in re the well-known tongue-twister)!!!