Category: Music

This being Bastille Day, I should probably post some French rock acts, even though you probably have never heard of any French rock act.

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We start with the first recorded instance of Buddy Holly in Wisconsin: Today in 1958, Holly nearly drowned while swimming across a lake near Rhinelander while on tour.

Holly’s swimming problems may have occurred because he didn’t realize how cold Wisconsin (specifically our bodies of water) can get. He got another lesson in that seven months later.

Today in 1960, Elvis Presley released a song based on the Italian “O Sole Mio”:

Today in 1970, Anne Murray released her first song during an inappropriate time of year:

The number one single today in 1974:

Today in 1999, the New Radicals (which were really just one, uh, Radical) split up after one album, from which came one single:

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Today is the anniversary of the Rolling Stones’ first public performance, at the Marquee Club in London in 1962. They were known then as the “Rollin’ Stones,” and they had not recorded a song yet.

If you’re going to record just one song that gets on the charts, ending at number one would be preferable, whether in 1969, or in the year 2525:

Today in 1979 was one of the most bizarre moments in baseball history and/or radio station history:

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The number one single today in 1960 was the first, but not only, example of the caveman music genre:

Today in 1962, Joe Meek wrote “Telstar,” the first song about a satellite:

Today in 1964, the Beatles appeared live on (British) ABC-TV’s “Thank Your Lucky Stars.” The appearance was supposed to be taped, but a strike by studio technicians made that impossible. The band had just appeared at the northern England premiere of their movie “A Hard Day’s Night,” requiring them to get to London via plane and boat.

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Two anniversaries today in 1965: The Beatles’ “Beatles VI” reached number I, where it stayed for VI weeks …

… while the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” was their first number one single:

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Today in 1955, “Rock Around the Clock” was played around the clock because it hit number one:

One year later, Dick Clark made his first appearance on ABC-TV’s “American Bandstand”:

Today in 1972, Paul McCartney and Wings began their first tour of France:

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It is generally not considered a good career move to be indicted for drug trafficking, as Jonathan “Chico” and Robert DeBarge were today in 1988:

Birthdays begin with Jaimoe “Johnny” Johanson, drummer for the Allman Brothers:

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Today in 1967, the Beatles released “All You Need Is Love” …

… which proved insufficient for the Yardbirds, which disbanded one year later:

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Can one wish a happy birthday to an entire band? If so, wish Jefferson Airplane a happy birthday:

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Today is the anniversary of the Beatles’ first song to reach the U.S. charts, “From Me to You.” Except it wasn’t recorded by the Beatles, it was recorded by Del Shannon:

Five years later,  John Lennon sold his Rolls–Royce:

Sharing my daughter’s birthday are Smiley Lewis, who first did …

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