What Happened 

On this day in Music

October 22nd

1964 - The Who

The Who then known as The High Numbers, receive a letter from EMI Records, asking them for original material after their recent audition for the company.

1964 - Sandie Shaw

Sandie Shaw had her first UK No.1 single with the Burt Bacharach song '(There's) Always Some Thing There To Remind Me'.

1969 - Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney publicly denied rumors that he was dead. The most recent of many "clues" of this Death Hoax was the fact that he was the only barefoot Beatle on the newly released Abbey Road LP cover. The story was actually started as a prank by Fred La Bour, a sports and arts writer for the student paper, The Michigan Daily at the University of Michigan.

1969 - Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin II was released on Atlantic Records in the UK. The Jimmy Page produced album which was recorded over six months between four European and three American tours, peaked at No.1 in both the UK and US, going on to sell over 12 million copies in the US alone, (and spending 138 weeks on the UK chart). The album is now recognised by writers and music critics as one of the greatest and most influential rock albums ever recorded. King of the riff . . . . 

1989 - 'Ewan MacColl'

'Ewan MaColl' portrait from the Guardian (Chris Taylor)

English folk singer, songwriter, communist, labour activist, poet, and record producer Jimmy Miller died aged 74. Born in Salford he chose the stage name of Ewan MaColl to sound more Scottish where he felt his folk roots lay both his parents being Scottish and fleeing their home because of political agitation difficulties (Miller Snr was banned from every colliery in Scotland). He wrote 'Dirty Old Town' and 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face', (became a No.1 hit for Roberta Flack in 1972). Acts including Planxty, The Dubliners, and Johnny Cash recorded his songs. He was the father of singer, songwriter Kirsty MacColl with his second wife Jean Newlove. His first wife being the legendary theatre producer and agitprop activist Joan Littlewood of the Theatre Workshop and his third wife the American singer Peggy Seeger (sister to Pete)

1996 - The Beatles

It was announced that, "The Beatles were now bigger than The Beatles". The statement was based on sales so far this year, having sold 6,000,000 albums from their back catalogue and a combined total of 13,000,000 copies of ‘The Beatles Anthology 1’ and ‘The Beatles Anthology 2’. With the release of ‘The Beatles Anthology 3’ a week away, it was anticipated that total Beatles album sales for 1996 would exceed 20 million. A poll showed 41 percent of sales were to teenagers who were not born when The Beatles officially called it quits in 1970.

1999 - Sinead O'Connor

It was reported that Sinead O’Connor was attempting to buy the church where she was ordained into the Catholic sisterhood called the Latin Tridentine. The church was on the market for £70,000.  Sinead's very public displays of her precarious mental health have been a cause of great concern to her friends and fans and family alike in recent years. She has since converted to Islam it is understood and we hope it brings her peace of mind.

2003 - Elliot Smith

Elliot Smith, US singer songwriter, committed suicide aged 34. One time member of Stranger Than Fiction, solo 1997 album 'Either/Or'. I liked Elliot and was shocked when he committed suicide and it troubled me, still does. He is a great loss to the singer songwriter community

2005 - Abba

Waterloo by ABBA was voted the best song in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. Viewers in 31 countries across Europe voted during a special show in Copenhagen to celebrate the annual event's 50th birthday. As with most Eurovision acts I detest the commercialism of ABBA and whilst in retrospect now I appreciated the writing of pop music they produced the worldwide admiration is to me laughable. I own no music by this band

2008 - Paul McCartney

A homeless man claimed a £2,000 reward by returning a waxwork head of ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney which had been left on a train. Anthony Silva found the item in a bin at Reading station after auctioneer Joby Carter left it under a seat at Maidenhead station. The homeless man thought it was a Halloween mask and had been using it as a pillow before realising what it was. The wax model sold the following week for £5,500 at auction.

2014 - Q Awards

Kasabian won best live act and best act in the world at the Q Awards held in London, England. Former Dr Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson was named a Q Icon, Elbow's 'The Take Off and Landing of Everything', was named best album, Paolo Nutini's Iron Sky received the best track award, while 22-year-old soul singer Sam Smith was named best new act. (whatever happened to Paolo Nutini?)

2017 - George Young

Australian musician, songwriter and record producer George Young died aged 70. Young, the brother of AC/DC's Angus and Malcolm Young, was a member of The Easybeats and co-wrote the band's 1966 hit 'Friday On My Mind'. Born in Scotland in 1946, he migrated to Australia with his family as a teenager, forming The Easybeats after he met Dutch-born artist Harry Vanda in Sydney. After the band broke up in 1969, Vanda and Young embarked on a songwriting career that saw the pair produce dozens of hits. They became two of Australia's best-known songwriters, with Young's work including 'Love Is In The Air' and 'Yesterday's Hero' both hits for John Paul Young.

BIRTHDAYS

1968 - Shaggy

Shaggy, (Orville Richard Burrell), 1993 UK No.1 single 'Oh Carolina', 2001 UK & US No.1 single 'It Wasn't Me', 2001 UK & US No.1 album 'Hotshot'). Oozing bad boy charm out of every pore who can dislike Shaggy although a recent collaboration with Sting pushed me as hard as he could! Proof if any were needed that you can in fact smoke too much . . . . . 

1946 - Eddie Brigati

Eddie Brigati, with American rock band, The Rascals (initially known as The Young Rascals) who had the US No.1 hits 'Good Lovin'' (1966), 'Groovin'' (1967), and 'People Got to Be Free' (1968).

1945 - Leslie West

Leslie West, guitar, Mountain, (1970 US No.21 single 'Mississippi Queen'), West Bruce & Laing. Never really 'got' Leslie West and didn't like that overblown heavy schtick by the time he came along (wherefore goest thou Black Sabbath, Deep Purple. Led Zeppelin? Once you get them there's no need for this routine second rate ersatz version)

1942 - Bobby Fuller

Bobby Fuller singer, The Bobby Fuller Four. (1966 US No.9 single 'I Fought The Law' written by Sonny Curtis of Buddy Holly's Crickets). Fuller died on 18th July 1966 under mysterious circumstances from gasoline asphyxiation, while parked in his mother's car outside his apartment. The car its seemed had only been there for some thirty minutes and rigor mortis had already set in poor Bobby, they didn't dust for prints and seem to have been incredibly slap dash with the death scene presumably the authorities assuming immediately it was suicide but many details just don't add up. He was managed by someone who had three artists on his roster (Ritchie Valens & Sam Cooke!) who also died under mysterious and still unexplained circumstances - go figure, as the Americans would have it.

thanks to On This Day in Music