portrait of this blog's author - by Stephen Blackman 2008

Saturday, June 08, 2019

ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC

1963 - Phil Spector
The Crystals' 'Da Doo Ron Ron' peaked at No.3 on the US singles chart. Produced by Phil Spector, who used a multi-track recording system to build the song layer upon layer to achieve a result that become known as a "wall of sound". Backing musicians include Glen Campbell on guitar, Leon Russell on piano, Hal Blain on drums and Nino Tempo on sax.

1967 - Procol Harum
Procol Harum were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' the group's only UK No.1. In 2004 the song was named the most played record of the past 70 years. More than 900 recorded versions by other artists are known.

1967 - The Beatles
The Beatles Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band went to No.1 in the UK. Costing £25,000 ($42,500) to produce the album was recorded over 700 hours of studio time. It was also the first album to print the lyrics on the sleeve. The album spent 27 weeks at No.1 on the UK chart.

1969 - Brian Jones
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts visited Brian Jones at his home in Cotchford Farm to discuss his future in the group. The Stones later issued a press statement saying that Brian was leaving The Rolling Stones.

Publicly, the move would be cast as an amicable split, with Jones stating of his fellow Stones, “I no longer see eye-to-eye with the others over the discs we are cutting.” Behind the scenes, however, Jones’ prodigious appetite for drugs and alcohol had long rendered him almost a non-functioning member of the band. A musical talent who was said to be able to master a new instrument in a single day, Jones had helped pioneer the use of exotic instruments in rock and roll on such classic Stones tracks as “Lady Jane” (featuring Jones on dulcimer), “Under My Thumb” (marimba) and “Paint It Black” (sitar). On this day in 1969, however, Jones’ band mates declared his decadence more than they could bear, firing the once-brilliant instrumentalist who had given so many early Rolling Stones songs their distinctive sound.

It was Brian Jones who had brought the Rolling Stones together in the first place and given the group its name back in 1962. Though he was barely out his teens, Jones had already established himself as one of the most talented guitarists on the burgeoning blues revival scene in Britain. He had also earned a reputation as a committed nonconformist, having shocked his upper middle class family by leaving school and fathering two children out of wedlock by the time he was 16. “Many attitudes and sounds of the 60s were developed from Brian’s style and determination,” wrote fellow-Stone Bill Wyman in his 1990 book Stone Alone: The Story of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Band. “He was the archetypal middle-class kid screaming to break away from his background, bumming around in dead end jobs before finally finding his niche. And when he found it, he hammered it across to the world, with idealism and commitment.”

Photo-by-Keystone Getty-Images
1974 - Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman became the first Rolling Stone to release a solo album with Monkey Grip, (it peaked at No.39 in the UK and No.99 in the US). The album featured guest appearances by, Dr John, Leon Russell and Lowell George.


1974 - Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton was at No.1 on the US country chart with 'I Will Always Love You'. Elvis Presley indicated that he wanted to cover the song. Parton was interested until Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, told her that it was standard procedure for the songwriter to sign over half of the publishing rights to any song Elvis recorded. Parton refused. 'I Will Always Love You' later became a worldwide No.1 hit for Whitney Houston in 1992 when featured in The Bodyguard. Good old Dolly!

1974 - Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney and Wings went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Band On The Run'. 'George Harrison unwittingly contributed the first line of one part of the song: "If we ever get out of here" when he said it during one of the many Beatles' business meetings.

1985 - Tears For Fears
Tears For Fears started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World', the group's first US No.1. In 1986, the song won Best Single at the Brit Awards. Band member and co-writer Roland Orzabal argued that the song deserved to win the Ivor Novello International Hit of the Year award, claiming that the winner, '19' by Paul Hardcastle - was not an actual song, but only a "dialogue collage."

1989 - Chrissie Hynde

At a Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior's press conference, vegetarian Chrissie Hynde claimed that she once firebombed a McDonalds restaurant. The following day a McDonalds in Milton Keynes, England was firebombed and Hynde was threatened with legal action.
But then seems like she's always at it as here she is again threatening KFC!

1996 - The Fugees




The Fugees scored their first UK No.1 single with their version of the Roberta Flack 1973 hit 'Killing Me Softly'. The song composed by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel in 1971 was inspired by Lori Lieberman's poem 'Killing Me Softly with His Blues', written having seen a performance by US singer, songwriter Don McLean.

1998 - Paul Weller
Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller and Martin Carr from The Boo Radleys were all involved in a fight at Dingwalls, Camden in London.
maybe time to sober up boys?

2008 - Chuck Berry
Rolling Stone magazine published a list of the Top 50 guitar songs of all time. No.5 was 'Brown Sugar' by The Rolling Stones, No.4 , ‘You Really Got Me’ by The Kinks, No.3, ‘Crossroads’, by Cream, No.2 ‘Purple Haze’, by Jimi Hendrix and No.1 ‘Johnny B Goode’, Chuck Berry.

2016 - Ed Sheeran
Two US musicians were suing Ed Sheeran for $20m (£13.8m) over his single 'Photograph'. Martin Harrington and American Thomas Leonard claimed it had a similar structure to their song, 'Amazing'. Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard said they penned Amazing in 2009 and in documents, that include musical note comparison and chord breakdowns of the two songs, the pair claimed the chorus of 'Photograph' shares 39 identical notes with their track. The lawsuit was privately settled in April 2017, with no admission of guilt

BIRTHDAYS

1977 - Kanye West

American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, fashion designer, and entrepreneur Kayne West. He worked with Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, and Ludacris. Solo hits include the 2005 US No.1 single 'Gold Digger', the 2005 US No.1 album Late Registration, and the 2007 World-wide No.1 album Graduation. West is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold more than 32 million albums and 100 million digital downloads worldwide and has won a total of 21 Grammy Awards.
My sketch of M.o.D 2018


1944 - Boz Scaggs
American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Boz Scaggs, who was a member of The Marksmen with Steve Miller, The Wigs, and as a solo artist had the 1976 US No.3 single 'Lowdown', and the 1977 US No.11 and UK No.13 single 'Lido Shuffle'.


1940 - Nancy Sinatra




American singer and actress Nancy Sinatra who scored the 1966 UK & US No.1 single 'These Boots Are Made For Walking'. With her father Frank she became the first father and daughter team ever to score a UK No.1 single with the 1967 hit 'Somethin' Stupid'. She also had several collaborations with Lee Hazlewood such as 'Jackson', and her cover of Cher's 'Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)'.

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