BIRTHDAYS
Francis Scott Key (1779) songwriter/composer [“The Star-Spangled Banner”] (died 1843) age 63 – pleurisy
Jerry Garcia (1942) The Grateful Dead lead guitarist/banjoist/singer/songwriter/co-founder (died 1995) age 53 – heart attack
Erik “Rick” Coonce (1946) The Grass Roots drummer/fiddler (died 2011) age 64 – heart failure
Raymond “Boz” Burrell (1946) King Crimson bassist/lead singer and Bad Company bassist/co-founder (died 2006) age 60 – heart attack
Rick Anderson (1947) The Tubes bassist/co-founder [“She’s a Beauty”/”Talk to Ya Later”], also actor (died 2022) age 75 – cardiac arrest
Tim Bachman (1951) Bachman-Turner Overdrive guitarist/singer/co-founder (died 2023) age 71 – brain cancer
Tommy Bolin (1951) The James Gang and Deep Purple guitarist/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist (died 1976) age 25 – drug overdose
Robert Cray (1953) blues guitarist/singer/songwriter [“Smoking Gun”/”Right Next Door, Because of Me”]
Michael Penn (1958) singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist [“No Myth”]
Rob Buck (1958) 10,000 Maniacs lead guitarist/songwriter/co-founder [“Because the Night”/”Trouble Me”] (died 2000) age 42 – acute liver disease
Joe Elliott (1959) Def Leppard lead singer/guitarist/songwriter/co-founder
Suzi Gardner (1960) L7 lead guitarist/songwriter/co-founder [“Let’s Pretend We’re Dead”] [current]
Chuck D. [born Carlton Ridenhour] (1960) Public Enemy and Prophets of Rage lead rapper/co-founder [current]
Coolio [born Artis Ivey Jr.] (1963) rapper/songwriter [“Gangsta’s Paradise” (featuring (L.V.)/”Fantastic Voyage”/”1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)”] (died 2022) age 59 – unknown causes
Adam Duritz (1964) Counting Crows lead singer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/co-founder [“Mr. Jones”/”Accidentally in Love”] [current]
Dan Donegan (1968) Disturbed lead guitarist/keyboardist/co-founder [“The Sound of Silence”]
CHARTS
In 1964, “A Hard Day’s Night” by The Beatles hits No. 1 – 2 weeks (fifth of 19 No. 1 singles; fifth No. 1 single in seven months)
In 1981, “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield hits No. 1 – 2 weeks (only No. 1 single)
In 1987, “Shakedown (From ‘Beverly Hills Cop II’)” by Bob Seger hits No. 1 – 1 week (only No. 1 single)
NEW RELEASES
(Albums)
In 1967, Mercury Records releases the debut studio album from Spanky and Our Gang, “Spanky and Our Gang”; Billboard 200: 77; “Lazy Day,” “Sunday Will Never Be the Same,” “Making Every Minute Count”
In 1973, Atlantic Records releases the fifth studio album from Roberta Flack, “Killing Me Softly”; Billboard 200: 3; 2 million copies U.S.; “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” “Jesse”
In 1982, Columbia Records releases the seventh studio album from Aerosmith, “Rock in a Hard Place”; Billboard 200: 32; 500,000 copies; “Lightning Strikes”
In 1986, Capitol Records and EMI Records releases debut studio album from Crowded House, “Crowded House”; Billboard 200: 12; 1 million copies; “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” “Something So Strong,” “World Where You Live”
(Singles)
1956, “Blue Suede Shoes”/B-side: “Tutti Frutti,” Elvis Presley
1972, “Witchy Woman,” Eagles
1972, “Burning Love,” Elvis Presley
1977, “Star Wars, Theme”/b-side “Cantina Band,” Meco
1981, “Endless Love,” Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
1984, “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” Stevie Wonder
1985, “We Built This City,” Starship
COMINGS/GOINGS
In 1958, Johnny Cash leaves Sun Records and signs a recording contract with Columbia Records
In 1971, Yes fires keyboardist Tony Kaye after a concert at The Crystal Palace in London and replaces him with Rick Wakeman.
NOTEWORTHY
In 1971, The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by George Harrison, takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City to raise money to fight famine in the impoverished nation. Acts appearing at the concert with Harrison include Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar, and Badfinger. The concert is recorded for a live album that wins a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
In 1973, Houston news personality Marvin Zindler and his crew from KTRK-TV descended upon the Chicken Ranch, a well-known Texas house of ill-repute located on the outskirts of La Grange, Texas, exposing the activities going on there. The activity ended up in the brothel being shut down permanently. The Chicken Ranch was also responsible for the ZZ Top song, “La Grange,” and the Broadway play and movie “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”
In 1981, MTV (“Music Television”) made its debut at 12:01 a.m. EDT as a music video and information station with the words “Ladies and Gentleman, Rock & Roll.” The first video was by The Buggles, “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Other videos played initially included “You Better Run” by Pat Benatar, “She Won’t Dance With Me by Rod Stewart, “You Better You Bet” by The Who, and “Little Suzi’s on the Up” by Ph.D. [For the record, The Cars had the 21st video, which was “Double Life.”] “You Better You Bet” was also the 54th video shown, making it the first music video to be repeated on the network. MTV Europe launched exactly six years later and MTV2 launched exactly 15 years later.
The Journalism Gypsy 