1956, Rock ‘n’ Roll fans in Cleveland aged under 18 were banned from dancing in public (unless accompanied by an adult), after Ohio Police introduced a law dating back to 1931.
1965, ‘Downtown’ made Petula Clark the first UK female singer to have a No.1 on the US singles chart since Vera Lynn in 1952. The song was also a No.2 hit in the UK.
1967, Pink Floyd spent the first of three days recording the Syd Barrett songs Arnold Layne and Candy And A Current Bun at Sound Techniques Studios, Chelsea, London. According to Roger Waters, Arnold Layne was based on a real person – a transvestite whose primary pastime was stealing women’s clothes and undergarments from washing lines in Cambridge.
1969, Working at Apple studios in London, The Beatles (with Billy Preston on keyboards) recorded ten takes of a new song called ‘Get Back’.
1971, Steel Mill played their final show when they appeared at the Upstage Club, Asbury Park, New Jersey. Singer Bruce Springsteen formed new bands during the rest of the year known under such names as the Bruce Springsteen Jam, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom, and finally the Bruce Springsteen Band.
1971, George Harrison became the first solo Beatle to have a No.1 when ‘ ‘My Sweet Lord’ went to the top of the UK single charts. The song from his ‘All Things Must Pass’ album stayed at No.1 for five weeks. The track returned to the top of the UK charts in 2002, following his death.
1971, Dawn started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Knock Three Times’, the group’s first No.1, which was also an UK No.1.
1976, David Bowie released his tenth studio album Station to Station, which was the vehicle for his last great “character”, the Thin White Duke. The album made the top five in both the UK and US charts.
1978, Terry Kath, guitarist with Chicago accidentally shot himself dead while cleaning (with what he believed) was an unloaded gun. Kath’s last words were “Don’t worry it’s not loaded” as he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. The guitarist and singer was killed instantly.
1988, Michael Jackson went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’. It was the third single from Jackson’s seventh studio album Bad for which Jackson had written over sixty songs for the album, with plans of releasing a three disc album, but producer Quincy Jones convinced Jackson to make Bad a one disc LP.
1988, Nirvana recorded a 10-song demo with Seattle producer Jack Endino. Sub Pop records boss Jonathan Poneman hears the tape and offers to put out a Nirvana single.
1990, Allen Collins guitarist from Lynyrd Skynyrd died of pneumonia after being ill for several months. Collins who was one of the founding members also co-wrote most of the band’s songs (including Free Bird), with late front man Ronnie Van Zant. He survived a plane crash in 1977 that killed two other band members. Collins was behind the wheel in a car accident in 1986 that killed his girlfriend and left him paralyzed from the waist down. He later pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter as well as driving under the influence of alcohol.
1990, David Bowie announced his forthcoming and final world tour, ‘Sound And Vision’ 1990, during which he would invite each local audience to decide on a ‘greatest hits’ running order, organised through local radio stations.
1991, John Sebastian, owner and general manager of KLSK FM in Albuquerque, New Mexico, played Led Zeppelins ‘Stairway To Heaven’ for twenty-four solid hours to inaugurate a format change to Classic Rock. Police showed up with guns drawn: once after a listener reported that the DJ had apparently suffered a heart attack, and later because of suspicion that, this being eight days into the Gulf War, the radio station had been taken hostage by terrorists dispatched by Zeppelin freak Saddam Hussein.
1998, US soul singer Johnny Funches from The Dells died. Had the 1956 hit ‘Oh What a Night’ and 1968 US No.10 single ‘Stay In My Corner’. The Dells formed in 1952 after all attending high school together.
2000, Santana started a three week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Supernatural’, the album which went on to win eight Grammy awards spent a total of nine weeks at No.1 during this year.
2001, An English coroner criticised the rap singer Eminem’s lyrics as depressing during an inquest into the death of a schoolboy who threw himself in front of a train. The 17-year old boy had printed out the lyrics to Eminem’s track ‘Rock Bottom’ before his death.
2003, R Kelly was arrested on new child pornography charges. The singer was detained in Miami after police said digital sex pictures were discovered at his home in Florida last June. The singer was already facing 21 charges relating to producing child pornography and appearing in a video having sex with an underage girl. He was charged with a further 12 counts of possession of child pornography.
2005, Former Happy Mondays dancer Bez, won the £50,000 Celebrity Big Brother prize, after gaining 54% of the final viewer vote. The “Madchester” pop legend danced his way to becoming the sixth member of the indie-dance band in the late-1980s after playing maracas with them.
2014, Justin Bieber was arrested after racing his yellow Lamborghini against another sports car on a Miami Beach street. Police said the singer did not co-operate when pulled over also charged him with resisting arrest without violence and having an expired driving licence. The 19-year-old singer was granted bail set at $2,500.
(This Day in Music)