1922 London’s Rainbow Theatre opened.
1935 Barry Crocker born in Geelong, Victoria. A popular Australian Gold Logie award winning character actor and television personality, singer, and variety entertainer with a crooning vocal style known for his iconic Australian films The Adventures of Barry McKenzie and sequel Barry McKenzie Holds His Own and singing the theme tune to the popular Australian soap opera Neighbours. In May 1973, he released the album “Music Makes My Day”, featuring an updated version of American Rockabilly singer Robin Luke’s “Susie Darlin” on the Festival Records label. The recording featured Olivia Newton-John and Pat Carroll on backup vocals and enjoyed chart success
1938 Harry Elson born in Dallas, Texas. Vocalist with The Friends Of Distinction, (1969 US No.3 single ‘Grazing In The Grass’).
1940 Chuck Mangione born in Rochester, New York. American flugel horn player, trumpeter and composer., (1978 US No.4 single, ‘Feels So Good’).
1940 Delbert McClinton born in Lubbock, Texas. US singer, songwriter, (1980 US No.8 single ‘Giving It Up For Your Love’), worked with Bruce Channel, wrote ‘Two More Bottles Of Wine’ country No.1 for Emmylou Harris.
1947 Mike Smith – Saxophonist with Amen Corner, (1969 UK No.1 single ‘If Paradise Is Half As Nice’).
1951 Dan Hartman born in Westport, Connecticut. Multi- instrumentalist, producer, worked with Edgar Winter. Had the 1978 UK No.8 & US No.29 solo single ‘Instant Replay’). He died on 22nd March 1994 at his Westport, Connecticut home of an AIDS-related brain tumor.
1954 Chris Difford born in Greenwich, London, England. Guitarist/Vocalist with Squeeze, (1979 UK No.2 single ‘Up The Junction’).
1957 James Honeyman-Scott born in Hereford, Herefordshire, England. Was an English rock guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the band The Pretenders.(1980 UK No.1 single ‘Brass In Pocket’). He died on 16th June 1982, aged 25, of heart failure caused by cocaine intolerance.
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).
1957 “Silhouettes” by The Rays peaked at #3 on the US singles chart.
1961 Roy Orbison went to No.1 on the Australian singles chart with “Cryin’/Candy Man”. Staying at No.1 for 3 weeks.
1961 Cliff Richard scored his first UK No.1 album with his 5th release ’21 Today’. The album was released on October 14, 1961, the exact date of Cliff Richard’s 21st birthday. Side 1 of the album contained rock tunes while side 2 consisted of ballads.
1961 Bob Dylan played his first concert to 50 people at New York’s Carnegie Hall. He earned $20. Two years later that day, he played the same Hall, this time, sold-out.
1963 The Beatles topped the bill at The Royal Variety Show at The Prince Of Wales Theatre, London. With the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret in the audience, this was the night when John Lennon made his famous remark ‘In the cheaper seats you clap your hands. The rest of you, just rattle your jewellery’. The show was broadcast on UK television on the Nov 10th 1963.
1963 The night after The Rolling Stones had just come off a 30-date UK tour with The Everly Brothers, they kicked off another 50-date UK club tour at the Top Rank Ballroom in Preston.
1965 The Rolling Stones were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Get Off Of My Cloud’, also a No.1 in the US.
1966 Kool Rock, (Damon Wimbley), rapper, The Fat Boys. (1988 UK No.2 single ‘Wipe-out’).
1966 The Beach Boys ‘Good Vibrations’, entered the UK chart, it went on to be a UK & US No.1 hit single. As a child, Brian Wilson’s mother told him that dogs could pick up “vibrations” from people, so that the dog would bark at “bad vibrations” Wilson turned this into the general idea for the song.
1967 “Soul Man” by Sam & Dave peaked at #2 on the US singles chart; the Blues Brothers covered it in 1979.
1967 “A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel)” by Aretha Franklin peaked at #8 on the pop singles chart.
1967 “Expressway (To Your Heart)” by Soul Survivors peaked at #4 on the US singles chart.
1967 “I’m Wondering” by Stevie Wonder peaked at #12 on the US singles chart.
1967 “Your Precious Love” by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell peaked at #5 on the US singles chart.
1968 Cream played their final US show in Long Island.
1969 Sean John Combs, (aka, Puff Daddy & P Diddy), American record producer, clothing designer and rapper. (1997 US & UK No.1 single with Faith Evans, ‘I’ll Be Missing You’ is the most successful rap single of all time). Producer of MTV’s Making the Band. Richest hip-hop entertainer as of 2007, having a net worth estimate of US $346 Million.
1969 Founder member of The Ink Spots, Ivory Watson died aged 60. The group who formed in the early 1930s in Indianapolis, had the 1939 US hit ‘If I Didn’t Care’, and ‘The Gypsy’ was their biggest chart success, staying at the No.1 position for 13 weeks.
1970 Sean John Combs, (aka, Puff Daddy & P Diddy), American record producer, clothing designer and rapper. (1997 US & UK No.1 single with Faith Evans, ‘I’ll Be Missing You’ is the most successful rap single of all time). Producer of MTV’s Making the Band. Richest hip-hop entertainer as of 2007, having a net worth estimate of US $346 Million.
1970 The Beach Boys played the first of four nights at the Whiskey A Go-Go club in LA.
1971 The Who opened up The Rainbow Finsbury Park, London, England appearing on the first of three nights.
1972 Johnny Nash started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘I Can See Clearly Now’, his only US chart topper, it made No.5 in the UK.
1972 “Listen To The Music” by Doobie Brothers peaked at #11 on the US singles chart.
1972 “Nights In White Satin” by Moody Blues peaked at #2 on the US singles chart.
1972 “Garden Party” by Rick Nelson peaked at #6 on the US singles chart.
1972 “Freddie’s Dead (Theme From Superfly)” by Curtis Mayfield peaked at #4 on the US singles chart.
1973 Appearing at Newcastle City Hall, England, Roxy Music plus Leo Sayer.
1974 Louise Nurding, singer, Eternal, (1993 UK No.3 single ‘Stay’, 1993 UK No.2 album ‘Always & Forever’ left in 1995), solo, (1996 UK No.5 single ‘Naked’).
1974 Paul McCartney & Wings released “Junior Farm,” which became their fourth Top Ten hit of the past year. The song goes to number three.
1976 “Bigger Than Both Of Us” album by Hall & Oates was certified Gold by the RIAA. Including “Rich Girl and “Back Together Again”.
1976 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, finishing up a two month tour with a six night stand at New York City’s Palladium Theater, backed up by Ronnie Spector and the Asbury Jukes’ Miami Horns section, have their final show interrupted by a phoned-in bomb threat. After a quick check shows everything to be clear, Springsteen quips that the caller might have been Mike Appel, his former manager and then current litigant in an extensive lawsuit.
1977 Kavana, singer, (1997 UK No.8 single ‘I Can Make You Feel Good’).
1977 Appearing at Eric’s, Liverpool, The Mystery Girls, featuring Pete Burns, Julian Cope and Pete Wylie.
1977 The Mystery Girls, featuring Pete Burns, Julian Cope and Pete Wylie appeared at Eric’s, Liverpool, England.
1977 The Last Waltz, the movie of The Bands final concert premiered in New York. The Martin Scorsese movie also featured Joni Mitchell, Dr John, Neil Young,Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton.
1978 Canadian singer Anne Murray went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘You Needed Me’, her only US No.1 hit, it made No.22 in the UK.
1978 Crosby Stills Nash & Young were sued by former bass player Greg Reeves for over a $1 million claiming he was owed from sales of their album ‘Deja Vu’.
1978 Linda Ronstadt went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Living In The USA’.
1978 John Travolta held the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on Britain’s singles chart with, respectively, “You’re the One That I Want,” a duet with Olivia Newton-John, and “Sandy,” both from the movie musical Grease.
1978 “Who Are You” by The Who peaked at #14 on the US singles chart.
1980 Bob Marley was baptised at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Kingston, converting to a Christian Rastafarian and taking on the new name Berhane Selassie.
1981 Daryl Hall and John Oates’ “Private Eyes” was certified both gold and platinum. The album contained two Number One pop singles, “Private Eyes” and “I Can’t Go For That”.
1982 Talking Heads members Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth have a baby boy, Robert. The band was in the Bahamas at the time recording an album.
1984 Prince played the first of seven nights at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan at the start of his 87-date North American Purple Rain tour. The outing marked the live debut of his new band The Revolution.
1986 country singer Tammy Wynette checked in to the Betty Ford Clinic for addiction to painkillers.
1987 U2 were on the front cover of UK pop magazine ‘Smash Hits’, which also had features on the Pet Shop Boys, Wet Wet Wet, T’Pau, Sting and Black. Reviewed in the new singles page The Smiths ‘I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish’.
1988 4Salt-n-Pepa Appearing at The Brixton Academy, London, Salt-n-Pepa.
1989 Elton John scored his 50th UK chart hit when ‘Sacrifice’, entered the charts. Only Cliff Richard and Elvis Presley had also achieved this feat. Sacrifice was initially released as a single in 1989, but stalled at No.55 in the UK and at No.18 in the US. English DJ, Steve Wright, began playing the song on BBC Radio 1 and the song was then re-released as a double A-side single, along with ‘Healing Hands’.
1989 Featured on BBC 2’s music show ‘Rapido’, Terence Trent D’arby, Throwing Muses and The Pixies plus Tina Turner, Sting, Mick Jagger, Phil Collins and David Bowie talking about the movies they’ve made.
1989 Roxette scored their second US No.1 single with ‘Listen To Your Heart’, a No.6 hit in the UK the following year.
1989 “Cover Girl” by New Kids On The Block peaked at #3 on the US singles chart.
1989 “The Best” by Tina Turner peaked at #15 on the US singles chart.
1991 U2 went to No.1 on the Australian singles chart with “The Fly”. Staying at No.1 for one week.
1991 Bobby “Blue” Bland, Booker T. & The M.G.s, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, The Isley Brothers, Sam & Dave and The Yardbirds were all elected to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
1991 Johnny Cash was among the class of 1992 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, announced
1992 “Hearts In Armor” album by Trisha Yearwood was certified Gold by the RIAA
1993 Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore was arrested at the Denver Westin Hotel after refusing to turn down the volume of his music in his room.
1993 Sunday Mirror ordered to pay Elton John $518,700 for false report about his diet.
1994 The Spice Girls went to No.1 on the Australian singles chart with “Wannabe”. Staying at No.1 for one week.
1996 The king of pop, Michael Jackson, announces that he and a friend, Debbie Rowe, are expecting a child, but denies a tabloid report that the couple had used artificial insemination and that Rowe had been paid to carry the baby
1998 Fall singer Mark E Smith appeared at Manhattan Criminal Court on assault charges accused of kicking, punching and choking his girlfriend and band keyboard player Julia Nagle at a New York Hotel.
1998 Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was arrested after an alleged drunken brawl with photographer Mel Bouzac at a London pub. Bouzac had been tipped off that Liam was in the pub wearing a Russian hat and attempted to take photos.
2000 Stereophonics bass guitarist Richard Jones married Gail Middleditch at a church in Suffolk.
2000 DMX went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘The Great Depression’.
2001 The Times newspaper published the ‘Rich List’ with Madonna being the highest earning woman in Britain grossing £30m, all the Spice Girls had dropped out of the listings except for Victoria Beckham. Paul McCartney had earned £20.5m during the year.
2001 Michael Jackson went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Invincible’.
2002 Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin received the Music Industry Trusts Award for one of the greatest songwriting partnerships of all time.
2007 The Eagles went to No.1 on the UK album chart for the first time ever – 33 years after their debut album On the Border. This was the group’s first full studio album since The Long Run in 1979.
2008 Deftones bassist Chi Cheng was involved in a car accident in Santa Clara, California. He was in a coma or semi-comatose state for four years before he died in April 2013.
2010 James Freud passed away on this day in 2010 aged 51.He was an Australian rock musician-songwriter. He was a member of Models during the 1980s and wrote their two most popular singles, “Barbados” and “Out of Mind, Out of Sight”.
2012 A copyright infringement lawsuit filed by songwriter Guy Hobbs againstElton John and his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin over their hit song ‘Nikita’ was thrown out of court. The Judge ruled that both songs shared similar themes and phrases, but that these were prevalent in modern music.
2013 Rihanna joined The Beatles and Elvis Presley as one of just three acts to top the UK singles chart seven times over seven years. The singer made the No.1 spot, as the featured artist on Eminem’s new track ‘The Monster’.