Category: Music

Four days before Halloween was the world premiere of the more recognizable version of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain”:

The song was an appropriate theme for the Friday-bad-horror-flick-show “The Inferno” on WMTV in Madison:

Britain’s number one song today in 1957:

The number one song today in 1963 was the Four Tops’ only number one:

The number one song today in 1973:

Today in 1975, Time and Newsweek demonstrated journalistic groupthink when they chose the same cover story on a then-obscure musician, Bruce Springsteen:

The number one British album today in 1990 was Paul Simon’s “The Rhythm of the Saints”:

Presenting, in order, the Best British Group and Worst Female Singer in the 1991 Smash Hits Poll:

The small list of birthdays starts with Byron Allred, who played keyboards for the Steve Miller Band:

Simon Le  Bon of Duran Duran …

Peter Dodd played guitar for the Thompson Twins:

Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots:

Finally, today in 1980, Steve Took, a former member of T Rex, choked to death on a cherry pit. He choked to death because the magic mushrooms he had taken numbed all sensation in his throat.

Britishers with taste bought this single when it hit the charts today in 1961:

Today in 1965, the four Beatles were named Members of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth. The Beatles’ visit reportedly began when they smoked marijuana in a Buckingham Palace bathroom to calm their nerves.

The Beatles’ receiving their MBEs prompted a number of MBE recipients to return theirs. “Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war — for killing people,” said John Lennon, previewing the public relations skills he’d show a year later when he would compare the Beatles to Jesus Christ. “We received ours for entertaining other people. I’d say we deserve ours more.”

Lennon returned his MBE in 1969 as part of his peace protests.

The number one album today in 1974 was Barry White’s only number one album, “Can’t Get Enough”:

Britain’s number one album today in 1985 was a George Benson greatest hits compilation:

Proving that there is no accounting for taste (you have been warned), I present the number one British single today in 1997:

Today in 2004, Forbes magazine listed the top five dead musicians in order of postmortem earnings, starting with number five:

Birthdays begin with Keith Hopwood, one of Herman’s Hermits:

David Was of Was (Not Was):

Keith Strickland of the B-52s:

Natalie Merchant, formerly one of the 10,000 Maniacs:

Today in 1963, the Beatles played two shows in Sundstavagen, Sweden, to begin their first tour of Sweden. The local music critic was less than impressed, claiming the Beatles should have been happy for their fans’ screaming to drown out the group’s “terrible” performance, asserting that the Beatles “were of no musical importance whatsoever,” and furthermore claiming their local opening act, the Phantoms, “decidedly outshone them.”

Three thoughts: Perhaps the Beatles did have a bad night. But have you heard a Phantoms song recently? It is also unknown whether the Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood” was intended as revenge against the Swedes.

One year later, a demonstration of why the phrase “never say never” holds validity: Today in 1964, the Rolling Stones made their first appearance on CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show.

A riot broke out in the CBS studio, which prompted Sullivan to say, “I promise you they’ll never be back on our show again.” “Never” turned out to be May 2, 1965, when the Stones made the second of their six performances on the rilly big shew.

Today in 1968, the Jimi Hendrix Experience released “Electric Ladyland”:

The most controversial part of the album was its cover, which featured Hendrix’s head …

… instead of what the record label had in mind:

Today in 1970, President Richard Nixon asked radio station programmers to (to coin a phrase from the next decade) just say no to playing songs with drug references. Which would have taken, by one measure, one out of every seven rock songs off the air, before and after Nixon’s request.

The number one single today in 1975:

The number one single today in 1980 comes from the number one album today in 1980, Barbra Streisand’s “Guilty”:

The number one album today in 1986 was Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet”:

Birthdays start with Helen Reddy:

Jon Anderson of Yes:

John Hall of Orleans:

Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest:

Matthias Jabs played guitar for the Scorpions:

Robbie Macintosh of the Pretenders and other bands:

Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers:

Two deaths of note today: Roger Miller today in 1992 …

… and Richard Harris in 2002:

The number one album today in 1970 was Santana’s “Abraxas”:

Today in 1973, John Lennon sued the U.S. government, which was trying to deport him, to get the FBI to admit it was wiretapping Lennon.

The number one single today in 1987:

The number one British album today in 1992 (why is today in 1992 significant?) was Simple Minds’ “Glittering Prize 81/92”:

Birthdays begin with J.P. Richardson, a DJ known more popularly as the Big Bopper:

Who is William George Perks? Bill Wyman, bass player for the Rolling Stones:

Jerry Edmonton of Steppenwolf:

Dale “Buffin” Griffin played drums for Mott the Hoople:

And now, some music from today in 1992:

The number one song today in 1961:

A horrible irony today in 1964: A plane carrying all four members of the group Buddy and the Kings crashed, killing everyone on board. Buddy and the Kings was led by Harold Box, who replaced Buddy Holly with the Crickets after Holly died in a plane crash in 1959:

Today in 1976, Chicago had its first number one single, which some would consider the start of its downward slope to sappy ballads:

The number one single today in 1982:

The short list of birthdays begins with Ellie Greenwich, who wrote some of the ’60s’ biggest hits:

Freddie Marsden, drummer for Gerry and the Pacemakers:

Weird Al Yankovic:

Today in 1964, EMI Records rejected a group called the Hi-Numbers after its audition. Who? That’s the group’s current name:

Today in 1966, “Supremes a Go-Go” was the first number one album by an all-girl group:

Today in 1969, Paul McCartney announced he was not dead. (Of course, how can you prove a negative?)

The number one album today in 1983 was Culture Club’s “Colour by Numbers”:

Today in 1986, listeners to WNBC radio in New York heard this:

Today in 2005, this song was voted the number one Eurovision song contest song of all time:

Birthdays begin with Bobby Fuller, who …

Leslie West of Mountain:

Eddie Brigati of The Rascals:

Who is Orville Richard Burrell? You know him as Shaggy:

Today in 1969, one-hit wonder Tommy Edwards died:

The number one song today in 1957 …

… came from a just-opened movie:

The number one song today in 1967:

The number one album today in 1972 was the “Superfly” soundtrack:

Britain’s number one single today in 1989 put together “Hawaii Five-O” and a bunch of ’60s acts:

Birthdays start with trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie, whose embouchure is not recommended by high school band directors:

Who is Michael Lubowitz? You knew him as Manfred Mann:

Steve Cropper of Booker T and the MGs:

Elvin Bishop, who …

Speaking of trumpet players: Lee Loughnane, one of the founders of Chicago:

Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Gos:

Steve Lukather of Toto:

One death today: Shannon Hoon, lead singer of Blind Melon, today in 1995:

Today in 1960, Roy Orbison had his first number one single:

Today in 1962, the number one single in the U.S. was a song banned by the BBC:

The number one single today in 1973:

Today in 1977, four members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and two others were killed when their plane crashed near McComb, Miss.:

The number one single today in 1979:

The number one album today in 1979 was the Eagles’ “The Long Run”:

Birthdays begin with Ric Lee, who played drums for Ten Years After (though not necessarily 10 years after):

Anne Murray:

Alan Greenwood played keyboards for Foreigner:

Tom Petty:

Ricky Byrd, who played bass as one of Joan Jett’s Blackhearts …

… was born the same day as Mark King, who could be found at Level 42:

We begin with one of the stranger episodes of live radio, Arthur Godfrey’s on-air firing of one of his singers today in 1953:

The number one song today in 1959 was customized for sales in 28 markets, including Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, New Orleans, New York, Pittsburgh and San Francisco:

The number one British album today in 1967 was not the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”; it was the soundtrack to “The Sound of Music,” two years after the movie was released, on the soundtracks’ 137th week on the charts:

The number one single today in 1974:

The number one album today in 1974 was Bachman–Turner Overdrive’s “Not Fragile”:

The number one song today in 1985 was the first number one for a Norwegian group:

Birthdays begin with Dave Guard, one of the first of the Kingston Trio:

One-hit wonder George McCrae:

One-hit wonder Jeannie C. Riley:

Keith Reid of Procol Harum  …

… was born the same day as Patrick Simmons, the only Doobie Brother in every iteration of the band:

The number one song today in 1969:

Britain’s number one single today in 1979 probably would have gotten no American notice had it not been for the beginning of MTV a year later:

The number one album today in 1986 was Huey Lewis and the News’ “Fore”:

The City of Los Angeles declared today in 1990 “Rocky Horror Picture Show Day” in honor of the movie’s 15th anniversary, so …

Birthdays begin with Chuck Berry:

Ronnie Bright of The Coasters:

Gary Richrath of REO Speedwagon:

Songwriter Laura Nyro, known for her work performed by others …

… was born the same day as Joe Egan of Stealers Wheel, which is …

Keith Knudsen of the Doobie Brothers: