August 2nd, 2018

1957, Touring with Clyde McPhatter, The Cadillacs, Edna McGriff, Otis Rush, Lee Andrews & The Hearts, Oscar & Oscar, The G-Clefs, Buddy Holly and the Crickets appeared at the Howard Theater, Washington, DC. With “That’ll Be The Day” sitting at No. 2 on the US charts, this was Buddy’s first major tour.

1960, Johnny Kidd and The Pirates were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Shakin’ All Over’. Their only UK No.1. Kidd died in car crash in 1966. Many acts have covered the song, including: The Who, Led Zeppelin, Iggy Pop and The Guess Who.

1962, Robert Allen Zimmerman legally became Bob Dylan having signed a music publishing deal with Witmark Music on 12th July of this year, engineered by Albert Grossman.

1964, The Beatles appeared at the Gaumont Cinema in Bournemouth. One of the supporting acts, billed as a ‘new and unknown London group’, was The Kinks.

1964, After an intense search the bodies of Jim Reeves and Dean Manuel were found in the wreckage of an aircraft and, at 1:00 p.m. local time, radio stations across the United States announced Reeves’ death formally. The single-engine Beechcraft Debonair aircraft, with Reeves at the controls had crashed 42 hours earlier during a thunderstrom. Thousands of people travelled to pay their last respects at his funeral two days later. The coffin, draped in flowers from fans, was driven through the streets of Nashville and then to Reeves’ final resting place near Carthage, Texas.

1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of five nights at the Salvation Club in New York City. During this period a typical set list included: Foxy Lady, Hey Joe, The Wind Cries Mary, Purple Haze and Burning Of The Midnight Amp.

1968, The Doors started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Hello I Love You’, the group’s second US No.1. The Doors scored 8 top 40 US hits from 67-71.

1969, ‘Wet Dream’, by Jamaican reggae singer Max Romeo entered the UK singles chart. The song gained notoriety due to its lyrics which were of an explicit sexual nature, was banned by the BBC and most radio stations.

1970, Elvis Presley was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of ‘The Wonder Of You’ his sixteenth No.1. Ray Peterson recorded the original version in 1959 which gave him a Top 30 hit.

1975, The Eagles went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘One Of These Nights’, the group’s second US No.1 single and the first to chart in the UK where it peaked at No.23.

1976, Peter “Puddy” Watts, road manager with Pink Floyd died of a heroin overdose. Watts supplied the crazed laughter on the groups The Dark Side of The Moon album.

1977, Sex Pistol Sid Vicious was fined £125 by a London court after he had been found carrying a knife at the 100 Club Punk Festival last September.

1980, The Clash released their single ‘Bank Robber’ after it been available as an import only. The band’s record company CBS didn’t want to release the record saying it was not commercial enough.

1983, James Jamerson died of complications stemming from cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure and pneumonia in Los Angeles, he was 47 years old. As one of The Funk Brothers he was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records’ hits in the 1960s and early 1970s including songs by Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops and The Supremes. He eventually performed on nearly 30 No.1 pop hits.

1986, Peter Cetera started a two-week run at No.1 on the US charts with the theme from the film ‘Karate Kid II’, ‘The Glory Of Love’, it made No. 3 in the UK.

1986, Chris de burgh was at No.1 in the UK with ‘The Lady In Red’, it was his first No.1 after twenty-four single releases, staying at the top of the charts for three weeks.

1987, David Martin, bass player with Sam The Sham & the Pharaohs died of a heart attack aged 50. Martin co-wrote the group’s 1965 US No.2 & UK No.11 single ‘Wooly Bully’.

1991, Rick James and his girlfriend Tanya Hijazi were arrested in Hollywood charged with assault with a deadly weapon aggravated mayhem torture, false imprisonment and forcible oral copulation. James was released on $1 million bail.

2000, Jerome Smith from KC and the Sunshine Band died after being crushed by a bulldozer he was operating. Had the 1975 US No.1 single ‘Get Down Tonight’ and the 1983 UK No.1 single ‘Give It Up.’

2000, Liverpool music store Rushworth and Dreaper closed down after 150 years of trading. The store had become famous after supplying The Beatles and other Liverpool group’s with musical instruments.

2001, New Orleans International Airport was re-named Louis Armstrong Airport in honour of the New Orleans born trumpet player, singer and bandleader.

2004, Eric Clapton bought a 50% share in Cordings to save the historic gentleman’s outfitters from closure. The store, based in London since 1839 had run into financial difficulties. The guitarist said he had been fond of the shop since a window display caught his eye when he was 16, and had become a regular shopper their. Cordings was the originator of the Covert coat and the Tattersall shirt and made riding boots for the Queen Mother, the Duke of Windsor and Mrs Simpson.

2005, Status Quo filmed a cameo appearance in UK’s Coronation Street playing themselves. Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt were set to appear in three episodes of the long-running ITV soap.

2005, Brandon Flowers from The Killers married Tana Munblowsky in a private ceremony held in Hawaii.

2013, Nielsen SoundScan reported that US album sales totaled 4.68 million for the week ending July 28, the lowest weekly total since the tracking system was formed in May, 1991.

2014, American singer Rosetta Hightower died aged 70. She was a member of The Orlons who formed in the late 1950s had five US Top 20 hits in the Sixties including ‘The Wah Watusi’, ‘Don’t Hang Up’ and ‘South Street’. Before they became The Orlons, they were an all-girl quintet called Audrey and the Teenettes. The Orlons provided back-up vocals on Dee Dee Sharp’s 1962 hit ‘Mashed Potato Time’ and second hit, ‘Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)’. In the late 1960s she joined the ranks of the then-popular female session singers who backed many hit songs. This group included Madeline Bell, Lesley Duncan, Kiki Dee, and Sue and Sunny. She recorded with Joe Cocker on his With a Little Help From My Friends album.

2017, The Kidd Creole, one of the founding members of the 1980s hip hop group Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, was arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a homeless man in New York City. The 57-year-old, whose real name is Nathaniel Glover was a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five best known for their 1982 rap song, ‘The Message.’

(This Day in Music)