ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC

February 17th

1967 - The Beatles

The Beatles started recording a new John Lennon song 'Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite'. at Abbey Road studios, London. John's lyrics for the song came almost entirely from an antique poster advertising a circus performance scheduled to take place in Rochdale, Lancashire, in February 1843. John had purchased the poster in Sevenoaks on January 31 while The Beatles were on location for the filming of the 'Strawberry Fields Forever' promotional film.

1969 - Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash recorded 'Girl From The North Country' together in Nashville at CBS Studios. The track appeared on Dylan's 'Nashville Skyline' album.


1971 - James Taylor

James Taylor made his TV debut on The Johnny Cash Show. Other guests included Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt and Tony Joe White.

1978 - Kate Bush

Kate Bush released her debut studio album The Kick Inside which contained her UK number one hit, 'Wuthering Heights', (marking the first time a female singer-songwriter topped the charts with a self-penned song). Bush was just 19 years old and had written some of the songs when she was only 13. This seems about right to me and I could not stand the screeching voiced Bush especially on her hit single which still in retrospect sounds like some kind of falsetto banshee to these ears. I think she tempered that vocal range in later work and I enjoyed some of what she did especially with others like Peter Gabriel

1979 - Blondie

Blondie scored their first UK No.1 album when 'Parallel Lines' started a four-week run at the top of the charts, featuring the singles 'Heart Of Glass', 'Hanging On The Telephone' and 'Sunday Girl.'

1989 - David Coverdale

David Coverdale married actress Tawny Kitaen (known for her provocative appearances in Whitesnake's music videos 'Here I Go Again, 'Is This Love' and 'Still of the Night'). The couple divorced in 1991.

No Tawny and women everywhere don't do THAT!

1996 - Bruce Springsteen

A Platinum American Express card once belonging to Bruce Springsteen was sold for $4,500 (£2,650) at a New York memorabilia sale. The singer had given the expired card to a waiter in a LA restaurant by mistake and let them keep it as a souvenir.

2000 - John Lennon

John Lennon's Steinway piano, on which he composed 'Imagine', went on display at the Beatles Story Museum in Liverpool, England. The piano was set to be auctioned on the Internet later in the year and was expected to fetch more than £1 million ($1.7 million).

2004 - Phil Spector

Prosecutors in the murder case of producer Phil Spector demanded that a fingernail overlooked by police investigating Lana Clarkson's shooting should be put forward as evidence. They claimed the fingernail, blackened with gunpowder, could indicate that the 40-year old actress killed herself at Spector's Los Angeles mansion. Spector, had denied murdering Clarkson.

2005 - Jimi Hendrix

A 1965 Fender Stratocaster guitar belonging to Jimi Hendrix sold for £100,000 at an auction in London. Other Hendrix items sold included a poem written two weeks after his appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival which went for £10,000 and the first Jimi Hendrix Experience's single 'Hey Joe', signed by all the band sold for £2,000.


2005 - Franz Ferdinand

Scottish rockers Franz Ferdinand made music history after taking two top prizes at the NME Awards. The band, who won best album and best single, became the first act ever to win the Mercury Music Prize, Brit Awards and NME awards in the same year.

2008 - Duffy

British soul singer Duffy started a five week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Mercy', from the Welsh singers debut album 'Rockferry'. 'Mercy' was the UK'S best selling single of 2008, and won Duffy a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Very much a one hit wonder in the UK she seems to have reappeared or reinvented herself as a femme fatale taking modelling jobs and becoming something of an enigma and yet this seems to have been her only hit


2014 - Bob Casale

American musician and sound engineer Bob Casale, best known as a guitarist and keyboardist in the new wave band Devo died of heart failure in Los Angeles, California. He engineered the first solo album for Police guitarist, Andy Summers. I loved DEVO and bought pretty much everything I think. The rhythm of 'Jocko Homo' and 'I Can't Get No Satisfactions' hooked me as I love those off beat time signatures. I bought the singles and the albums 

BIRTHDAYS

1991 - Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran, British singer, songwriter. In 2012, he won two BRIT Awards for Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Breakthrough of the Year, while 'The A Team' also won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. Also won Best Song of the Year at the 2016 Grammys for 'Thinking Out Loud'. I am nothing if not loyal as a rule and the backlash against people we first love is a Brtish trend it seems, set them up and knock them down. Bottom line is I like him and still do. .

1941 - Gene Pitney

Gene Pitney, singer, who had the 1962 US No.4 single 'Only Love Can Break A Heart'. Also scored the 1967 solo UK No.5 & 1989 UK No.1 single with Marc Almond 'Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart', plus over 15 other US & UK Top 40 hits. Pitney was found dead aged 65 in his bed in a Cardiff hotel on 5th April 2006. The American singer was on a UK tour and had shown no signs of illness. I found Pitney's highly mannered vocal style a tad too much somehow and although the ubiquitous 24 Hours From Tulsa was everywhere and hoookked us all I consider him a one hit hit wonder really. Until contemporaries like Marc Almond asked us not to forget him and his sense of style by dueting with him in '89

1939 - John Leyton

John Leyton, UK singer, actor, who had the 1961 UK No.1 single 'Johnny Remember Me'.

1905 - Orwill Jones

American singer and bassist Orville ‘Hoppy’ Jones, who with the Ink Spots, had the 1955 UK No.10 single ‘Melody Of Love’. He Died 18th October 1944.



Ha ha ha I'm known for enjoying a cup of the Java Jive and its funny because I have ONE cup a day . . . . . . on my birthday recently I MAY have had TWO!!