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

Friday, November 29, 2019

ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC

November 28th

1954 - Winifred Atwell
Winifred Atwell was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Let's Have Another Party.' Atwell was the first black artist to reach No.1 in the UK and the first black artist to sell a million records. Again one of my earliest musical memories and a sound therefore indelibly seared into my eardrobes (Prof Stanley Unwin) . . . . . the reason one of my oldest friends the much missed poet and publisher David Attwooll was called by his closest friends 'Win'! (I never quite earned the chops to use this sobriquet but it always made me smile, as did he!) I actually preferred Hazel Scott and found Atwell more akin to the pub piano stylings of Mrs Mills but hey . . . . . . she was a part of my childhood memories
1962 - The Beatles
The Beatles performed two evening shows: the first at The Cavern Club in Liverpool and the second at the 527 Club in Liverpool. The 527 Club show was a dance for the staff of Lewis Department Store in Liverpool, held on the top floor of the store.
1964 - The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las went to No.1 on the US singles chart with the 'teen death song', 'Leader Of The Pack'. When released in the UK the song was refused airplay by the BBC, (probably due to its death theme), where it went on to chart three times: No.11 in 1965; No.3 in 1972 (by which time the BBC ban had been lifted); and once again at No.7 in 1976.

 1967 - The Beatles
"The Beatles recorded their last fan club record as a group; 'Christmas Time Is Here Again!' The Beatles' Christmas records were spoken and musical messages from the group that were posted out on flexi disc at Christmas time to members of their official fan-clubs in the United Kingdom and the United States". Curiously there are more and I don't really get this from 'On This Day In Music as there was one in 1968 and the last 1969 it would seem



1970 - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan's 11th studio album New Morning was on the UK charts, his 6th UK No.1. The album featured 'If Not For You' which was recorded by both George Harrison (on his 1970 album All Things Must Pass), and became the title track for Olivia Newton-John's 1971 debut album.

 1970 - Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of the 1955 Smiley Lewis hit 'I Hear You Knocking.' Also the first release on the new MAM record label. Dave acted alongside many others and this is his top hit of the time after the legendary Sabre Dance he perfected with Love Sculpture and he went on to release Rockpile and began a burgeoning career as a sought after session player with Rockfield studios and befriending people like Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe as the go to rock guitarist
1974 - John Lennon
John Lennon made his last ever concert appearance when he joined Elton John on stage at Madison Square Gardens in New York City. Lennon performed three songs; 'Whatever Gets You Thru The Night', 'I Saw Her Standing There' and 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.'

 1976 - Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols appeared on BBC TV's 'Nationwide' and ITV's 'London Weekend Show' in the UK. 
1976 - Tom Robinson
The Tom Robinson Band made their live debut at The Hope & Anchor, London. The bands biggest hit '2-4-6-8 Motorway' peaked at No.5 in the UK in Oct 77. Robinson now also works as a radio presenter. I don't think I knew a party in the late seventies that didn't play this!
1987 - Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer with 'friend' Leonard Cohen
Taken from the film 'Dirty Dancing', the Jennifer Warnes' duet with Bill Medley '(I've Had) The Time Of My Life', went to No.1 on the US singles chart. In the UK the song had two chart outings: in November 1987, after the film's initial release, the song peaked at No.6; and in January 1991, after the film was shown on mainstream television, the song reached No.8.

 1987 - R.E.M.
R.E.M. had their first entry in the Top 10 on the US singles chart with ‘The One I Love.’ I didn't know R.E.M. early on and couldn't tell you when I caught up  but they were always interesting . . . . . . 
1991 - Nirvana
Nirvana recorded a performance for BBC TV music show Top Of The Pops in London. When asked to lip-sync 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' to a pre-recorded tape Kurt Cobain protested by singing an octave lower (he later confirmed he was imitating Morrissey from The Smiths), and attempted to eat his microphone at one point. He also changed some of the lyrics, exchanging the opening line "load up on guns, bring your friends," for "load up on drugs, kill your friends."
1992 - Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston started a record-breaking fourteen-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Will Always Love You', taken from the 'Bodyguard' soundtrack. The song was written by Dolly Parton.
Now don't get me wrong I loved the vocal range of Whitney and the extraordinary job she did with Dolly's song but over the years I have come to enjoy her version more as it's homespun true country heartfelt version has it in terms of authenticity somehow . . . . 
1993 - Jerry Edmonton
Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton was killed in a car crash not far from his Santa Barbara, California home, he was 47. Steppenwolf had the 1969 US No.2 & UK No.30 single 'Born To Be Wild'.
2000 - Madonna
Madonna played her first British show for more than seven years at London's Brixton Academy. Tickets changed hands for more than £1,000. QXL.com the internet auctioneers sold one pair for £2,204.
2002 - Tony McCarroll
McCarroll on the right
Tony McCarroll the original drummer with Oasis failed in a bid to sue the group's lawyers after he was sacked because he took too long to file his claim. Judge Justice Gray, at the High Court in London, told McCarroll his case could not proceed because he had brought his claim outside of the six-year time limit.
Tony McCarroll today
2006 - Kid Rock
Hold your breath Pammy . . . . . 
US actress Pamela Anderson filed for divorce from rapper Kid Rock after just four months of marriage. In a statement on her website the 39-year-old confirmed she had split from Rock. Of course not until she had overseen the release of yet another movie, >>yawn<<
Not the prettiest couple it has to be said
2007 - Kanye West
Kanye West and stuntman Evel Knievel settled a copyright dispute over West's use of the name "Evel Kanyevel" in a music video. The 69-year-old daredevil had claimed his image was tarnished by the video’s "vulgar, sexual nature." The clip for Touch The Sky, showed the rap star cavorting with Pamela Anderson and trying to jump a rocket-powered motorcycle over a canyon.

 2013 - George Harrison
It was reported that George Harrison's sister was living in a pre-fabricated home and "struggling for money" since her allowance from The Beatles star's estate was cut off about a year after he died. 82-year-old Louise Harrison admitted that she had no access to her brother's multi-million dollar fortune and was cash-poor living in rural Missouri. She never challenged her brother's estate, adding "I don't care about the money, it's been over ten years and I haven't made any ripples."

BIRTHDAYS

1983 - Rostam Batmanglij
American songwriter, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend. 2010 US & UK No.1 album, ‘Contra’ and the 2013 US No.1 album 'Modern Vampires of the City'.


 1943 - Randy Newman
Randy Newman, singer, songwriter, Composer of 'Mama Told Me Not To Come', 'Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear', 1977 US No.2 single 'Short People.' Film soundtracks including 'Ragtime.' Once hailed as the greatest songwriter alive by Paul McCartney. Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer, his film scores include Ragtime, Toy Story; A Bug's Life; Toy Story 2; Monsters, Inc.; Cars; Toy Story 3; and Monsters University. He also appeared early on on the soundtrack for Performance with Ry Cooder performing a truly extraordinary performance on the Russ Titleman and Jack Nitsche song 'Gone Dead Train'  a song that fascinated me for years and still does. A dark invocation of the 'beast' or sexual metaphor gone quite mad it remains a true favourite

1940 - Clem Curtis
Trinidadian British singer, Clem Curtis, former bricklayer and professional boxer the original lead vocalist of sixties soul group The Foundations who scored the 1967 UK No.1 single 'Baby Now That I've Found You' and the 1969 US No.3 single 'Build Me Up A Buttercup'. The group was the first multi-racial group to have a No.1 hit in the UK in the 1960s. Curtis died on 27 March 2017 at the age of 76, after a lung cancer diagnosis earlier that year he had still been working up to 2016.


1929 - Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records. In 1957 Jackie Wilson recorded 'Reet Petite', a song Gordy had co-written with his sister Gwen and writer-producer Billy Davis. Wilson recorded six more songs co-written by Gordy over the next two years, including 'Lonely Teardrops'. Gordy reinvested the profits from his songwriting success into producing. In 1957, he discovered the Miracles (originally known as the Matadors) and began building a portfolio of successful artists. Over the next decade, he signed such artists as The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5.
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