Today in 1963, two years and one day after the Beatles started as the house band for the Cavern Club in Liverpool, the Beatles performed there for the last time.
Three years later, the South African government banned Beatles records due to John Lennon’s infamous “bigger than Jesus” comment.
Five years later and one year removed from the Beatles, Paul McCartney formed Wings.
Today in 1952 was almost …
… for Mary Frances Penick, better known as Skeeter Davis of the Davis Sisters, who had both her arms and legs broken in a car crash in Cincinnati. The other Davis “sister,” Betty Jack Davis, was killed in the crash.
Today in 1961, the Beatles made their debut as the house band of the Cavern Club in Liverpool, before they had recorded music of their own creation.
One year later, Robert Zimmerman had his name legally changed to Bob Dylan. Seven years to the day later, Zimmerman — I mean Dylan — left his Hibbing (Minn.) High School Class of 1959 reunion because a drunken classmate wanted to start a fight with him.
The number one song today in 1975:
Birthdays start with Edward Pattern, one of Gladys Knight’s Pips …
Today in 1964, the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” went to number one and stayed there for longer than a hard day’s night — two weeks:
If you are of my age, this was a big moment in 1981:
Today in 1994, while the Beatles were long gone, the Rolling Stones started their Voodoo Lounge tour:
Today in 1964, a Rolling Stones concert in Ireland was stopped due to a riot, 12 minutes after the concert began.
Today in 1966, Alabamans burned Beatles products in protest of John Lennon’s remark that the Beatles were “bigger than Jesus.” The irony was that several years earlier, Lennon met Paul McCartney at a church dinner.
The number one album today in 1973 …
… was the number one selling rock box set until 1986, and remains the best selling four-album set of all time.
We begin with our National Anthem, which officially became our National Anthem today in 1931:
Today in 1958, a study by Esso (now ExxonMobil) reported that drivers drove faster and therefore waste more gas when listening to rock music.
If a driver wastes (however you define that) gas, the oil companies sell more gasoline. It’s unclear to me why the oil companies would consider that to be a bad thing, particularly in the 1950s when cars got all of 12 or so mpg.
Today in 1968, Sly and the Family Stone failed to appear at a free concert in Chicago.
A riot ensued.
Today in 1977, John Lennon did not get instant karma, but he did get a green card to become a permanent resident, five years after the federal government (that is, Richard Nixon) sought to deport him. So can you imagine who played mind games on whom?
Today in 1965, the Rolling Stones were to release “Beggar’s Banquet,” except that the record label decided that the original cover …
… was inappropriate, and substituted …
… angering one member of the band on his birthday.
The number one single …
… and album today in 1975:
If you think life is so strange today that only parodies make sense, then you should be happy. (Or are you tacky?)
Weird Al Yankovic has the number one album in the U.S., “Mandatory Fun.”
I determined I’m a fan of this album merely on two singles, the first which I’ve already written about: “Word Crimes.”
The second you can guess based on the lead of this blog:
Weird Al’s career dates back to the late 1970s, when as a Cal Poly student he played a version of the then-huge hit “My Sharona” …
… with, of course, an accordion:
The Knack’s lead singer, Doug Fieger, suggested to Capitol Records that it release “My Bologna.” But Weird Al probably hit the big time with …
… followed by …
In the early ’90s, Weird Al parodied Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” …
… with …
… which prompted Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain to say that he knew his band had hit it big when Weird Al was parodying them. That’s how most artists (who Yankovic always asks for permission) feel about being parodied, though not all, including Paul McCartney (who didn’t want “Live and Let Die” to become “Chicken Pot Pie”), James Blunt’s record label (even though Blunt gave the OK to have his “You’re Beautiful” become “You’re Pitiful”), Eminem (who didn’t want “Lose Yourself” to become “Couch Potato”) and Prince. (The story goes that Weird Al has asked Prince repeatedly, and been denied repeatedly. When the two were to sit in the same row for an American Music Awards, Prince’s lawyers sent a telegram demanding that Weird Al not look Prince in the eye. Note the Prince — I mean, Ƭ̵̬̊ — reference in “Word Crimes.”)
More recently, Weird Al managed to parody both a ’60s song (usually considered overwrought) and a ’90s movie at the same time:
There apparently is a movement to get Weird Al into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Weird Al isn’t. Nor are Deep Purple, Jethro Tull, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Judas Priest, and numerous others, including, most maddeningly, Chicago.
There also apparently is a movement to have Weird Al perform at halftime at a Super Bowl. (He couldn’t be worse than previous acts.) That prompted him to release …
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