ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC

July 25th

1960 - Roy Orbison

Roy Orbison reached No.2 on the US singles chart with ‘Only the Lonely,’ his first hit. The song was turned down by The Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley, so Orbison decided to record the song himself. It is ironic somehow the Prrsley is on record as saying when asked who his favourite singer was and he replied 'Ro Orbison . . . . . '

1963 - Cilla Black

Cilla Black made a recording test for EMI Records after George Martin had spotted her while at a Gerry And The Pacemakers gig in Liverpool.

1965 - Bob Dylan

Dressed in Carnaby Street threads, the ever-changing Bob Dylan plugged in for his headlining set backed by the Butterfield Blues Band at The Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island. Folk music ‘purists’ tried to boo him off the stage, while the rest of the audience gave him an enthusiastic response. It is usually said that the reason for the crowd's hostile reception was Dylan's 'abandoning' of the folk orthodoxy, or poor sound quality on the night (or a combination of the two).

1969 - Neil Young

Neil Young appeared with Crosby, Stills and Nash for the first time when played at The Fillmore East in New York. Young was initially asked to help out with live material only, but ended up joining the group on and off for the next 30 years.

later that year at Big Sur . . 

1971 - T Rex

T Rex were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Get It On', the group's second UK No.1 which spent four weeks at the top of the charts. In the US it was retitled Bang A Gong, (Get It On). Power Station had a UK & US hit with their version of the song in 1985.

1984 - Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton

Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton died at the age of 58 died in Los Angeles of heart and liver complications. She had a No.1 R&B hit in 1953 with ‘Hound Dog’ (later covered by Elvis Presley). She also wrote and recorded ‘Ball 'n' Chain,’ which Janis Joplin recorded.

1999 - Woodstock Festival

This years Woodstock Festival ended with riots resulting in 120 people being arrested. Three people died during the 3-day festival in separate incidents and many were hospitalised after drinking polluted water.

2002 - Destiny's Child

Two former members of Destiny's Child settled out of court over the lyrics to 'Survivor', which they claimed were libellous. LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, who left the group in 2000, said that the song broke an agreement, which stops both sides making 'any public comment of a disparaging nature concerning one another'. The line, which they were suing over, said 'You thought that I'd be stressed without you, but I'm chillin'. You thought I wouldn't sell without you, sold nine million'.

LeToya Luckett and Latavia Roberson

2010 - Heather Mills

Paul McCartney's former wife, Heather Mills, told the press that the trauma and pain she went through after losing her leg in a traffic accident was nothing compared to the way she felt after she and the former Beatle split up. The two separated in 2006 after four years of marriage and went on to fight an bitter public divorce battle which saw her gain a $38.9 million settlement.

In brief:

1933 1st Dutch live radio concert: Duke Ellington

1964 Beatles' album "A Hard Day's Night" goes #1, stays #1 for 14 weeks

1966 Brian Jones final performance as a Rolling Stone

1966 Supremes release "You Can't Hurry Love"

1969 70,000 attend Seattle Pop Festival

with thanks to On This Day In Music