1963, The Rolling Stones recorded the Lennon and McCartney penned song ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ at De Lane Lea Studios in London. The song which was primarily written by Paul McCartney, was finished by Lennon and McCartney in the corner of a room while Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were talking peaked at No.12 on the UK charts when released.
1966, Johnny Kidd was killed in a car crash while on UK tour in Radcliffe, Manchester, aged 27. Pirates’ bassist Nick Simper, who later became an original member of Deep Purple, was also in the car with Kidd but he suffered only some cuts and a broken arm. Kidd scored the 1960 UK No.1 single ‘Shakin’ All Over’ as Johnny Kidd and the Pirates.
1966, Smiley Lewis, New Orleans R&B singer, died of stomach cancer. He wrote ‘One Night’ covered by Elvis Presley and ‘I Hear You Knocking’ 1955 US No.2 for Gale Storm plus UK No.1 & US No.2 for Dave Edmunds’.
1967, Cass Elliot from The Mamas & the Papas spent the night in a London jail after being accused of stealing from a hotel. A TV and concert appearance had to be cancelled.
1967, The Beatles rejected an offer of $1 million from promoter Sid Bernstein to make a second appearance at New York’s Shea Stadium. Bernstein had originally brought the group to Shea in August 1965. Sid Bernstein had actually successfully contracted the Beatles to play at Shea Stadium in both 1965 and 1966.
1968, Jose Feliciano performed a controversial version of The Star Spangled Banner before the fifth game of the World Series between the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals. As a result of his slow, Bluesy delivery, many radio stations refused to play his songs, and his career suffered.
1976, John Lennon was awarded his ‘Green Card’ – permanent residency status, at a hearing in New York which overturned previous efforts by the US Government to deport him. The three judge panel of the US Court of Appeals ruled that his 1968 arrest in Britain for possession of marijuana was “contrary to US ideas of due process and was invalid as a means of banishing the former Beatle from America.”
1978, US Music magazine Billboard reported that Marvin Gaye had twice filed bankruptcy papers earlier in the year, with debts of $7 million.
1978, The film soundtrack to ‘Grease’ featuring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John started a 13 week run at No.1 on the UK chart.
1979, Factory Records released ‘Transmission’ the debut single by English post-punk band Joy Division. In May 2007, NME magazine placed ‘Transmission’ at No.20 in its list of the 50 “Greatest Indie Anthems Ever”, one place below their third single ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’.
1982, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page was given a 12-month conditional discharge after being found guilty of possessing cocaine.
1989, Paula Abdul went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Forever Your Girl’. Abdul spent sixty-four consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 before hitting number one, making it the longest time for an album to reach the number one spot.
1995, Alanis Morissette went to No.1 on the US album chart with her third album Jagged Little Pill. The record produced six successful singles, including ‘You Oughta Know’, ‘Ironic’, ‘You Learn’, ‘Hand in My Pocket’, and ‘Head over Feet’ and went on to become the biggest selling album ever by a female artist with sales over 30m.
1999, It was reported that four musicians who claimed they worked on her ‘Miseducation’ album were suing Lauryn Hill. The musicians were seeking unpaid royalties for co writers and producers.
1999, Winners at the Irish Hot Press awards included The Corrs for best Irish band, Andrea Corr won best female singer, Divine Comedy won best Irish band, the bands singer Neil Hannon won best male singer and Westlife won best pop act.
2002, Mick Jagger donated £100,000 to his old Grammar school in Dartford to help pay for a music director and buy musical instruments. The new centre was also named after Mick Jagger.
2004, 53 year old Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars had a hip replacement operation in a LA hospital.
2005, Boy George was arrested in New York after Police found traces of drugs in his apartment. George had called the police after he thought somebody was breaking into his apartment. When police arrived and made a search they found traces of cocaine on a computer table.
2006, Babyshambles postponed their UK tour to give singer Pete Doherty more time to recover from drug treatment. The band postponed their five remaining dates to allow him to continue his “excellent” rehab efforts.
2007, 25 year-old Hip-hop artist Lil’ Wayne was arrested during a US tour after a concert in Idaho on a warrant stemming from a drug possession charge. Because of the nature of the charges, the rapper – real name Dwayne Michael Carter Jr – was not eligible for bail.
2007, Bruce Springsteen went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Magic’, the singer, songwriter’s 15th studio album and 7th UK No.1. Also a US No.1 album.
2009, Monkees vocalist Davy Jones ruled out ever reuniting with his former band mates after launching a scathing attack on each of his old pals in The National Enquirer. “It’s not a case of dollars and cents. It’s a case of satisfying yourself. I don’t have anything to prove. The Monkees proved it for me.”
2009, Barbra Streisand surprised many music industry watchers when she topped the Billboard Hot 200 for the ninth time with her latest release, ‘Love Is the Answer’. The CD extended Streisand’s lead as the female act with the most chart toppers in the history of the Billboard Hot 200.
2013, Annie Lennox described the sexualised imagery of modern pop videos as “dark” and “pornographic”. “I’m all for freedom of expression,” she told BBC Radio 5 live, “but this is clearly one step beyond, and it’s clearly into the realm of porn.” The singer called for pop videos to be rated in the same way as films.
(This Day in Music)
