Today in 1957, Alan Freed hosted the first prime-time rock and roll TV show — called, in a blast of original inspiration, “Rock ‘n Roll Show”:
The number one single today in 1961:
The number one single today in 1967:
Today in 1970, Ohio National Guard soldiers shot and killed four Kent State University students, prompting this song:
Today is the 52nd anniversary of what I used to consider the greatest radio station on the planet in its best format:
The number one single today in 1965:
Today in 1970, the Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of its 13-show U.S. tour at the Milwaukee Auditorium:
The number one single today in 1960:
The number one British album today in 1966 was the Rolling Stones’ “Aftermath”:
Today in 1976, after a concert in Memphis, Bruce Springsteen scaled the walls of Graceland … where he was arrested by a security guard.
Today in 2003, a $5 million lawsuit filed by a personal injury lawyer against John Fogerty was dismissed.
The lawyer claimed he suffered hearing loss at a 1997 Fogerty concert.
The judge ruled the lawyer assumed the risk of hearing loss by attending the concert. The lawyer replied, “What?”
The number one single today in 1963 was recorded by a 15-year-old, the youngest number one singer to date:
The number one British single today in 1967 was that year’s Eurovision song contest winner:
The number one single today in 1985:
Imagine having tickets to today’s 1964 NME winner’s poll concert at Wembley Empire Pool in London:
I’ve written here before about music appropriate for a drive.
(For that matter, I’ve delved into the subject of vehicles in movies and on TV, along with the comparative lack of good roles for Corvettes.)
As it happens, someone from something called California Technologies has put together what must be the most exhaustive list of songs about cars, not merely from A …
… to Z …
… but from 18 …
… to 928:
This list doesn’t cover every kind of car, but it’s pretty impressive nonetheless to include Buicks …
… Chevrolets …
… Oldsmobiles …
… Pontiacs …
… Fords …
… Lincolns …
… Mercurys …
… Chrysler, Dodge and/or Plymouth …
… and, though there are no AMCs, American Motors’ predecessor brand …
… and, yes, Corvettes:
I admit that I have not heard of most of these songs. Anyone who knows Jan and Dean thinks of “Dead Man’s Curve,” but have you heard of …
This song, not recorded by the group of the same name as the title, came out about the time I really really really really really really really really really wanted to drive:
The fans of brass rock (about which I last posted) are familiar with …
The one seat in a car that gets used 100 percent of the time is …
Bruce Springsteen has two songs about Cadillacs, one with a local reference:
The list also has a song by that well known singer Robert Mitchum:
Wherever Thunder Road is, there are too many songs about roads to include here:
There are also too many songs about what one might do in a car to include here:
Drive a car too fast? There are songs about that too:
What’s that? You have a truck, not a car? We’ve got you covered, friend:
And there are far too many songs about what cars provide — transportation freedom, the ability to go where you want to go when you want to go — to list here too:
Steve Prestegard.com: The Presteblog 