Today in 1964, the Beatles were the first pop stars to get memorialized at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum …
… while in the North Sea, the pirate Radio Caroline went on the air:
The number one British single today in 1970:
The number one single today in 1981:
Today in 1982, David Crosby was arrested after he crashed his car on the San Diego Freeway in greater Los Angeles. Police found cocaine and a pistol in his car.
Asked why he carried the pistol, Crosby answered, “John Lennon.”
Today in 1992, Ozzy Osbourne invited the first two rows of the audience at the Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine, Calif., onstage with him.
Several other rows invited themselves onstage, forcing the end of the concert.
Damage exceeded $100,000.
Birthdays begin with Chuck Portz of the Turtles:
John Evans of Jethro Tull:
Milan Williams played keyboards for the Commodores:
Geo Grimes of Danny Wilson:
James Atkin of EMF:
One death of note today in 1974: Arthur Crudup, who wrote …
Today in 1958, CBS Records announced it had developed stereo records, which would sound like stereo only on, of course, stereo record players.
The irony is that CBS’ development aided its archrival, RCA, which owned NBC but also sold record players:
The number one British single today in 1959:
The number one single today in 1965:
The number one British single today in 1968:
Today in 1971, WNBC radio in New York banned this song because of its alleged drug references.
Unbelievably, that wasn’t a problem for Lawrence Welk:
(Notice that Myron Floren has a hard time keeping a straight face during the introduction. Floren appeared to know what the song was about, in contrast to Welk afterward.)
T0day in 1972, Elvis Presley recorded my favorite Elvis single:
Today in 1973, the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia was stopped for speeding …
… and then arrested for having cocaine and LSD in his car:
Today in 1979, Eric Clapton married Patti Boyd Harrison, the ex-wife of ex-Beatle George Harrison.
The marriage lasted nine years.
Today in 1987, a building roof in downtown Los Angeles became U2’s latest concert venue …
The number one British single today in 1956 is an oxymoron, or describes an oxymoron:
Today in 1965, Rolling Stones Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman were all shocked by a faulty microphone at a concert in Denmark. Wyman was knocked unconscious for several minutes.
The number one British single today in 1967:
The number one British single today in 1983:
Today in 1985, the South African government banned Stevie Wonder records after Wonder dedicated his Academy Award received the previous night to Nelson Mandela.
Yeah, that worked well.
The number one album today in 1994 was Soundgarden’s “Superunknown”:
The number one British album today in 2000 was Santana’s “Supernatural”:
Birthdays begin with one-hit wonder Rufus Thomas:
Who is Diane Earle? You know her better as Diana Ross:
Richard Tandy, who played keyboards for Electric Light Orchestra …
… was born the same day as Steven Tyler of Aerosmith:
Fran Sheehan played bass for Boston:
William Lyall played keyboards for Pilot:
Two deaths of note today: Jan Berry of Jan and Dean in 2004 …
… and Paul Hester, drummer for Crowded House, in 2005:
Today in 1945, Billboard magazine published the first album chart, which makes Nat King Cole’s “The King Cole Trio” the number one number one album.
The number one British album today in 1973 was Alice Cooper’s “Billion Dollar Babies”:
The number one single today in 1973:
The number one single today in 1979:
The number one British single today in 1985:
The number one single today in 1990:
Today in 1992, a Chicago judge approved a settlement in a class action lawsuit against Milli Vanilli, with cash rebates of up to $3 to anyone who could prove they purchased a Milli Vanilli song before Nov. 27, 1990.
Nov. 27, 1990 is the date that the winners of the 1989 Grammy Award for Best New Artist were revealed to have lip-synched all their songs, after 30 million singles and 14 million albums sold.
Today in 2001, a section of Georgia 19 in Macon, Ga., was named Duane Allman Boulevard:
Birthdays begin with Lee Oskar of War:
Dougie Thompson played bass for Supertramp:
Nena:
Sharon Corr of the Corrs:
Two deaths of note today: Harold Melvin in 1997 …
… and Motown drummer Uriel Jones in 2009:
And, by the way, happy birthday to San Francisco Police Lt. Frank Bullitt:
Today in 1973, the Immigration and Naturalization Service ordered John Lennon to leave the U.S. within 60 days.
More than three years later, Lennon won his appeal and stayed in the U.S. the rest of his life.
The number one single today in 1974:
Today in 1985, Billy Joel married Christie Brinkley on a boat moored at the Statue of Liberty.
Joel and Brinkley divorced in 1993.
The number one album today in 1985:
The number one British album today in 1991 was REM’s “Out of Time”:
Birthdays begin with Ric Ocasek of The Cars:
Who is Yvette Marie Stevens? You know her as Chaka Khan Chaka Khan Chaka Khan Chaka Khan:
Mark McLoughlin of Wet Wet Wet:
One death of note today in 1995: Alan Barton of Black Lace, which recorded either the number two single in Britain in 1984, or the worst song of all time as determined in a Q Magazine music writers poll:
Today in 1956, a car in which Carl Perkins was a passenger on the way to New York for appearances on the Ed Sullivan and Perry Como shows was involved in a crash. Perkins was in a hospital for several months, and his brother, Jay, was killed.
Today in 1971, members of the Allman Brothers Band were arrested on charges of possessing marijuana and heroin.
The number one single today in 1975:
The number one album today in 1975 was Led Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti”:
The number one British album today in 1975 was Tom Jones’ “20 Greatest Hits”:
The number one single today in 1980:
Birthdays begin with Roger Whittaker, whose possibly best known U.S. single might be familiar to 1970s viewers of WGN-TV in Chicago:
George Benson:
Keith Reif sang for the Yardbirds:
Harry Vanda of the Easybeats:
Patrick Olive of Hot Chocolate:
Randy Hobbs of the Johnny Winter Group and the McCoys:
The number one single today in 1961 was based on the Italian song “Return to Sorrento”:
Today in 1964, the Beatles appeared on the BBC’s “Ready Steady Go!”
During the show, Billboard magazine presented an award for the Beatles’ having the top three singles of that week.
Today in 1968, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Richie Furay and Jim Messina were all arrested by Los Angeles police not for possession of …
… but for being at a place where marijuana use was suspected.
Clapton was acquitted; the others paid fines.
Two wedding anniversaries today: John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 …
… and David and Angela Bowie in 1970:
Today in 1971, the Rolling Stones paid for this ad in British music publications:
The number one single today in 1971, sung by a singer who had died five months earlier:
The number one British single today in 1973:
Today in 1977, Lou Reed was banned from appearing at the Palladium in London because of his punk image.
Today in 1978, a 28-year-old man held up the office of Asylum Records in New York, demanding to see either Jackson Browne or the Eagles so he could ask them to fund his trucking company.
The man was told none were in the office, so he surrendered.
The number one single today in 1982:
Birthdays begin with Jerry Reed:
Jimmie Vaughan of the Fabulous Thunderbirds:
Carl Palmer played drums for Emerson Lake & Palmer and Asia:
Richard Drummie of Go West:
Slim Jim Phantom played drums for the Stray Cats:
Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand:
One death of note today in 1991: Conor Clapton, Eric’s 4-year-old son:
Today in 1965, Britain’s Tailor and Cutter Magazine ran a column asking the Rolling Stones to start wearing ties. The magazine claimed that their male fans’ emulating the Stones’ refusal to wear ties was threatening financial ruin for tiemakers.
To that, Mick Jagger replied:
“The trouble with a tie is that it could dangle in the soup. It is also something extra to which a fan can hang when you are trying to get in and out of a theater.”
Jagger is a graduate of the London School of Economics. Smart guy.
Today in 1974, Jefferson Airplane …
… became Jefferson Starship.
That name remained until Jefferson ______’s Paul Kantner left the group and threatened to sue the group if it used its name, so the group changed to Starship.
The number one single today in 1981:
In the world of premature celebrity deaths, this might be the most stupid: Today in 1982, Ozzy Osbourne and his band stopped at a small airstrip near Leesburg, Fla., on the way to Orlando, Fla., after a most-of-the-night drive following a concert in Knoxville, Tenn.
The bus driver talked keyboard player Don Airey into taking a flight in a 1955 Beachcraft Bonanza. After Airey’s flight landed, the driver took up guitarist Randy Rhoads and Rachel Youngblood, a hairdresser and seamstress on the tour, on another flight. This time, the bus driver/pilot decided to try to buzz the bus. On buzz number three, the plane’s left wing clipped the bus, the plane spiraled and crashed into a house and burst into flames. Rhoads’, Youngblood’s and the pilot’s bodies were burned beyond recognition.
The number one album today in 1995 was Bruce Springsteen’s “Greatest Hits”:
In 2006, Shakira released a single only via a Verizon download:
Birthdays begin with Paul “Don’t Call Me Fort” Atkinson (that’s a Wisconsin joke, by the way) of the Zombies:
Ruth Pointer of the Pointer Sisters:
Derek Longmuir of the Bay City Rollers:
Ricky Wilson of the B-52s:
Billy Sheehan played bass guitar for Mr. Big:
Bruce Willis, more proof that singers can act but actors usually can’t sing:
Terry Hall of Fun B0y Three:
Two other deaths of note today: Paul Kossoff of Free in 1976 …
Steve Prestegard.com: The Presteblog 