Category: Music

Proving that there is no accounting for taste, I present the number one song today in 1958:

The number one single today in 1962 was by a group whose name was sort of a non sequitur given that the group came from a country that lacks the meteorological phenomenon of the group’s title:

The number one single today in 1963:

The number one British album today in 1973 was Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”:

Birthdays begin with Barry Jenkins, drummer of the Animals:

Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick:

Robin and Maurice Gibb, two-thirds of the Bee Gees:

Two deaths of note today:  Joe Strummer of The Clash in 2002 …

… and songwriter Dennis Linde, writer of one of Elvis Presley’s last hits, in 2006:

The number one album today in 1968:

Today in 1969, the Supremes made their last TV appearance together on CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Shew, with a somewhat ironic selection:

Today in 1970, Army veteran Elvis Presley volunteered himself as a soldier in the war on drugs, delivering a letter to the White House. Earlier that day, the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had declined Presley’s request to volunteer, saying that only the president could overrule him.

If I say the number one album today in 1985 is “Heart,” I have given you artist and title:

The number one single today in 1985:

Also today in 1985, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” passed Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to become the album with the second longest stay in the Billboard Top 10, behind only “The Sound of Music” soundtrack:

The number one British single today in 1991 was originally released 16 years earlier:

The number one British single today in 1996 was a memorial for the children and teacher killed in the Dunblane, Scotland, massacre:

Birthdays begin with Frank Zappa:

Ray Hildebrand was half of Paul and Paula:

Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys:

The number one British album today in 1969 was the Rolling Stones’ “Let It Bleed”:

The number one British single today in 1980 came 12 days after its singer’s death:

The number one song today in 1986:

The number one album today in 1975 for the second consecutive week was “Chicago IX,” which was actually “Chicago’s Greatest Hits”:

Birthdays begin with Bobby Columby, drummer for Blood Sweat & Tears:

Peter Criss of Kiss …

… was born one year before Stevie Wright of the Easybeats …

… who was born on the same day as Alan Parsons, who has a huge résumé even outside the Alan Parsons Project:

Anita Ward, who says you can …

One death of note, today in 1973: Bobby Darin at 37:

The biggest thing that happened today wasn’t in music, it was in movies, today in 1968:

The number one British single today in 1958:

Today in 1961, Elvis Presley got a dubious Christmas gift in the mail — his draft notice:

The number one British album today in 1964 was “Beatles for Sale”:

The number one single today in 1964:

Birthdays start with Maurice White of Earth Wind & Fire:

Alvin Lee of Ten Years After:

Zal Yanovsky of the Lovin’ Spoonful:

Chris “Limahl” Hamill of Kajagoogoo:

Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes:

Zac Foley of EMF:

Two deaths of note: Michael Clarke, drummer for the Byrds, today in 1993 …

… and Roebuck “Pop” Staples, founder of the Staple Singers, today in 2003:

We begin with an entry from Great Business Decisions in Rock Music History: Today in 1961, EMI Records decided it wasn’t interested in signing the Beatles to a contract.

The number one single over here today in 1961:

Today in 1966, a friend of Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Brian Jones, Tara Browne, was killed when his Lotus Elan crashed into a parked truck. John Lennon used Browne’s death as motivation for “A Day in the Life”:

The number one album today in 1971 was Sly and the Family Stone’s “There’s a Riot Going On”:

The number one single today in 1982:

Birthdays begin with Chris Chandler, who played bass for the Animals:

Sam Andrew of Big Brother and the Holding Company:

Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones:

Elliot Easton of the Cars:

John Webster of Red Rider:

Today in 1963,  James Carroll of WWDC radio in Washington became the first U.S. DJ to broadcast a Beatles song:

Carroll, whose station played the song once an hour, got the 45 from his girlfriend, a flight attendant. Capitol Records considered going to court, but chose to release the 45 early instead.

Today in 1969, 50 million people watched NBC-TV’s “Tonight” because of a wedding:

The number one British single today in 1973:

Today in 1977, on NBC-TV’s “Saturday Night Live,” Elvis Costello stopped singing in mid-song …

… and played a song he was told not to sing:

The number one single today in 1994:

On that day, a remake of this song …

… reached the Billboard Hot 100 to ultimately set a record for the longest total chart appearance in history:

The number one British single today in 2000 (really):

Birthdays begin with Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations:

Jim Bonfanti of the Young Rascals:

Paul Rodgers of Free, Bad Company and the Firm:

Mike Mills played bass for REM:

Sarah Dallen of Bananarama:

Three deaths of note today: Grover Washington Jr. in 1999 …

… Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five in 2006 …

… and Captain Beefheart of multiple sclerosis in 2010:

The number one British single today in 1965 wasn’t just one song:

Today in 1970, five Creedence Clearwater Revival singles were certified gold, along with the albums “Cosmo’s Factory,” “Willy and the Poor Boys,” “Green River,” “Bayou Country” and “Creedence Clearwater Revival”:

The number one single today in 1972:

The number one album today in 1989 was Billy Joel’s “Storm Front”:

Birthdays begin with Ludwig van Beethoven, who inspired …

Tony Hicks of the Hollies:

Benny Andersson, one of the Bs of ABBA:

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top:

Two deaths of note today: Nicolette Larson today in 1997 at 45 …

… and Dan Fogelberg today in 2007 at 56:

The number one single today in 1973:

The number one British single today in 1979 was the last number one British single of the 1970s:

The number one British single today in 1984:

Today in 1999, Boy George was knocked unconscious during a concert in Dorset, England, when a mirror ball fell on his head.

Birthdays begin with Max Yasgur, on whose farm was held Woodstock in 1970:

The man who named “rock and roll,” DJ Alan Freed:

Dave Clark of the Dave Clark Five:

Carmine Appice played drums for Vanilla Fudge:

Actor and one-hit-wonder Don Johnson, who proves my point that singers can be trained to act better than actors can sing:

Paul Simonon of The Clash:

Tim Reynolds of the Dave Matthews Band:

Nick Beggs of Kajagoogoo and the Howard Jones band:

Two deaths of note today: In 2001, Rufus Thomas, who brought this song to the American public:

In 2006, Ahmet Ertegun, cofounder of Atlantic Records:

It figures that after yesterday’s marathon musical compendium, today’s is much shorter.

The number one album today in 1959 was the Kingston Trio’s “Here We Go Again!”

The number one single today in 1968:

Today in 1977, the movie “Saturday Night Fever” premiered in New York:

Birthdays begin with Charlie Rich:

Jane Birkin sang on Britain’s only French-language number one single, which was controversial for an unrelated reason:

Spike Jones, the 1940s’ and 1950s’ answer to Weird Al Yankovic:

One death of note, today in 1963: Dinah Washington at just 39:

Today in 1961, this was the first country song to sell more than $1 million:

The number one single today in 1962:

The number one single today in 1970 (which sounded like it had been recorded using 1770 technology):

The number one album today in 1975 was “Chicago IX,” which was actually “Chicago’s Greatest Hits”:

The number one album today in 1980 was “Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits”:

I’m not going to say the number one British single today in 1997. If you want to know what it was, click on this.

Birthdays start with Jeff “Skunk” Baxter of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, a renowned expert in … missile defense:

Born the same day as Baxter was Ted Nugent:

Berton Averre of The Knack:

Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand:

Amy Lee of Evanescence:

One death of note today in 2002: Zal Yanovsky of the Lovin’ Spoonful: