Inside the Rock Era

This Date in Rock Music History: May 24

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1968: The Rolling Stones released the single "Jumpin' Jack Flash".
1969: The Guess Who appeared on American Bandstand.

1969: "Get Back gave the Beatles their 17th #1 song, leaving them just one shy of Elvis Presley's record, despite Elvis being an artist for 14 years and the Beatles just 6 at that time. They would get that and more the next year.. "Aquarius" slipped only to #2 after six weeks in the #1 spot. Mercy was in with the giants at #3 with "Love (Can Make You Happy)" whilel "Hair" from the Cowsills fell off. The rest of the Top 10: "Oh Happy Day" moved nicely (12-5) for the Edwin Hawkins Singers, the Isley Brothers with "It's Your Thing", Donovan with "Atlantis", Simon & Garfunkel were down with "The Boxer", Ray Stevens placed "Gitarzan" at #9 and the Guess Who remained at #10.
1970: Peter Green announced that he was leaving Fleetwood Mac.
1974: Olivia Newton-John and Boz Scaggs appeared on The Midnight Special.
1975: "99 Miles From L.A." by Albert Hammond held down the #1 position on the Adult Contemporary chart.

1975: "Shining Star" was the first and only #1 for Earth, Wind & Fire. New entries in the Top 10 were "Bad Time" by Grand Funk and "Old Days" from Chicago.
1979: The members of Genesis met their fans while manning tickets to their benefit show at the Roxy in Los Angeles.

1980: Bette Midler remained at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the third week with "The Rose".

1980: The Spinners made one of the biggest moves of the decade with "Cupid/I've Loved You For a Long Time", which shot up from 67-29 on this date.

L.A.'s Ambrosia with their biggest career hit...

1980: Blondie held on to #1 for a sixth week with the smash "Call Me". Lipps, Inc. made their move with "Funkytown", amazingly jumping over "Lost in Love" from Air Supply. Kenny Rogers & Kim Carnes were responsible for song #4--"Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer". The rest of the Top 10: Dr. Hook's "Sexy Eyes", Ambrosia had a great hit with "Biggest Part of Me", the Brothers Johnson were back after an extended absence with "Stomp!", Linda Ronstadt enjoyed her eighth Top 10 and 26th hit with "Hurt So Bad", Christopher Cross slipped backwards with "Ride Like the Wind" and Gary Numan had his one and only--"Cars".

1982: Steve Miller released the single that would be a big comeback hit for him--"Abracadabra".
1982: Topper Headon left the Clash.
1982: An 11-minute film by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr was screened at the famous Cannes Film Festival in France.
1982: Jefferson Starship, Boz Scaggs, the Grateful Dead and Country Joe McDonald raised money for the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial with a concert at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
1986: Garth Books married Sandy Mahl.
1986: Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork reunited as the Monkees without drummer Michael Nesmith. The other members kicked off their tour at the Concord Hotel in New York State.

"Why Can't This Be Love" helped give Van Halen one of the biggest albums of their career...

1986: Whitney Houston continued to top the album chart in its 61st week on the chart. 5150 from Van Halen was #2 with Bog Seger's solid album Like a Rock moving up to #3. The rest of the Top Ten: Prince had #4 with Parade, the Soundtrack to "Pretty in Pink" was #5, Journey's Raised On Radio was #6, Control from Janet Jackson was #7, the Rolling Stones dropped to #8 with Dirty Work, the Pet Shop Boys had a Top Ten album with Please and Robert Palmer was at #10 with Riptide.
1986: "Greatest Love of All" from Whitney Houston was #1 for the fifth straight week.

1991: Gene Clark of the Byrds died of a heart attack in Sherman Oaks, California at the age of 46.
1986: Whitney Houston spent a fifth week atop the Adult Contemporary chart with "Greatest Love Of All".
1997: Spice by the Spice Girls was the new #1 album.
1997: The new single from that album Spice became one of the highest debuting songs of the rock era. "Say You'll Be There" from the Girls entered the chart at #5.

1998: Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell proclaimed it "Van Halen Day" in the city.
2000: Puff Daddy finally settled the last lawsuit that had been filed as a result of the 1991 stampede at a New York charity event in which Daddy, Diddy, P. Diddy or whatever played at.
2003: Justin Timberlake sold 130,000 tickets to his U.K. tour in 2 and a half hours.
2003: More importantly, Sir Paul McCartney had tea with Russian premier Vladmir Putin by day and then played before 20,000 at Moscow's Red Square that night.
2010: Aretha Franklin was awarded an honorary degree from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

Born This Day:
1940: Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong ("Earache My Eye") was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

1941: Bob Dylan was born in Duluth, Minnesota.

1944: Patti LaBelle was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1946: Steve Upton, drummer of Wishbone Ash, was born in Wrexham, Wales.
1947: Albert Bouchard, singer-songwriter, drummer and founding member of Blue Oyster Cult, was born in Watertown, New York.
1956: Larry Blackmon of Cameo ("Word Up")
1967: Heavy D was born in Mandeville, Jamaica; died of a blood clot in his lung November 8, 2011.
1969: Rich Robinson, songwriter, guitarist and founding member of the Black Crowes, was born in Atlanta, Georgia.

This Date in Rock Music History: May 23

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1960 - "Cathy's Clown" reached #1 in its sixth week of release for the Everly Brothers. Elvis Presley was resigned to #2 with "Stuck On You".
1962: The Elvis Presley movie Follow That Dream opened.
1963: The Beatles toured with Roy Orbison at the Odeon Cinema in Nottingham, England.
1963: Paul Revere & the Raiders from Boise, Idaho signed with Columbia Records.
1964: Marvin Gaye performed "You're a Wonderful One" on the popular television show American Bandstand.

America hadn't seen anything like the Beatles...

1964: Mary Wells was #1 for the second week in a row with "My Guy". The Beatles had the runner-up spot with "Love Me Do" while Louis Armstrong was on his way down with "Hello, Dolly!". The Dixie Cups moved from 14 to 4 with "Chapel of Love". The rest of the Top Ten: The Ray Charles Singers all got together for the song "Love Me With All Your Heart", the Dave Clark Five dropped to 6 with "Bits and Pieces", the Reflections were at #7 with "(Just Like) Romeo & Juliet", the 4 Seasons fell to #8 with "Ronnie, Roy Orbison was at #9 with "It's Over" and Peter & Gordon had the fast rising (30-10) "A World Without Love.
1964: The count was now 15 weeks in a row at the top of the album chart for the new band from Liverpool, the Beatles. Meet the Beatles spent 11 weeks at #1 and now The Beatles' Second Album is #1 for the fourth week in a row.
1970: The Grateful Dead performed outside the United States for the first time at the Hollywood Rock Festival.

1970: Eric Burdon's great singing sparked the Animals on their way to becoming one of the top acts of the 1960's. Now, Burdon formed a new group and on this date, War debuted on the chart with the first single of their career, "Spill the Wine".
1970: "Everything Is Beautiful" by Ray Stevens was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1970: The album McCartney by Paul reached #1 in its third week of release.

"Up Around the Bend", one of an incredible 10 smash hits in a two-year period for CCR...

1970: The Guess Who's double-sided hit, "American Woman"/"No Sugar Tonight" held on to #1 for a third week with "Vehicle" from the Ides of March close behind. Tyrone Davis moved from 8-3 with "Turn Back the Hands of Time", Ray Stevens was next with "Everything Is Beautiful" and Simon & Garfunkel stalled at 5 with "Cecilia". The rest of the Top 10: The Beatles with "Let It Be", the Moments jumped in with "Love On a Two-Way Street", CCR's double-sided smash "Up Around the Bend"/"Run Through the Jungle", the Jackson 5 tumbled with "ABC" and the Marmalade remained in the 10 spot with "Reflections of My Life".
1971: Iron Butterfly announced that they had broken up.
1973: Jefferson Airplane were prevented from presenting a free concert in Golden Gate Park after authorities in San Francisco passed a resolution banning electronic instruments. The group later wrote the song "We Built This City" about the experience.
1974: George Harrison started his own record label, Dark Horse Records.
1974: The Supremes released Anthology, the best of their greatest hits packages.
1975: Earth, Wind & Fire and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes appeared on The Midnight Special.
1976: Bob Dylan's concert at Colorado State University was taped by NBC-TV and later shown in the special Hard Rain.

1977: Heart released the single "Barracuda".

1977: Linda Ronstadt was at Sound Factory One in Los Angeles to begin work on her album Simple Dreams.
1978: Bruce Springsteen started his tour at Shea's Buffalo in Buffalo, New York.
1979: ABC-TV aired The Third Barry Manilow Special.
1979: The film The Kids Are Alright, featuring film clips of the Who, debuted in New York City.
1979: Tom Petty filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

1981: Moved by the tragic shooting of John Lennon earlier in the year, George Harrison wrote "All Those Years Ago", his tribute to Lennon and the group that they had enjoyed so spectacularly.
1984: Tina Turner released the album Private Dancer.
1985: It was "Aretha Franklin Appreciation Day" in the state of Michigan.
1986: AC/DC released the album Who Made Who.
1987: The Doobie Brothers reunited for a Vietnam Veteran's benefit concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
1987: Swingout Sister had the #1 U.K. album with It's Better To Travel.

1987: The Joshua Tree from U2 was #1 for the fifth week on a row on the album chart.
1990: Nick Mason, drummer of Pink Floyd, married Annette Lynton in London.
1992: Iron Maiden had the #1 album in the U.K. with Fear of the Dark.
1992: Freddie Mercury's attorneys announced that the late Mercury had given the majority of his estate ($17 million) to long-time friend Mary Austin.
1998: Hanson sold out their concert in Detroit at the Pine Knob Amphitheater in less than 20 minutes.

1998: Mariah Carey had the #1 song with "My All".
2000 - Eminem released the Marshall Mathers LP.
2000: Noel Gallagher walked out on his group Oasis during the middle of a European tour. The band replaced him with Matt Deighton and the music played on.

2002: Dido won Songwriter of the Year honors at the Ivor Novello Awards.
2005: Two members of Bobby Brown's entourage are stabbed during a brawl at Justin's Restaurant and Bar in Atlanta. Why anyone would want to marry someone like that is beyond me. Oh wait, someone did.
2006: It was "Sammy Hagar Day" in San Bernadino, California.

2006: The Eagles played Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain as part of their Farewell I tour.
2006: The king of Sweden presented the surviving members of Led Zeppelin with the Polar Prize Award, recognizing them as "great pioneers in rock music".
2006 Music promoter Ian Copeland, brother of former Police drummer Stewart Copeland, died of skin cancer at his home in Los Angeles. Ian discovered Average White Band and helped the careers of Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Charlie Daniels Band and the Allman Brothers Band get off the group. Copeland was 57.

2007: Paul Simon was given the first Gershwin Award by the United States Library of Congress honoring his contributions to music.
2008: Curtis Mayfield was inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk.
2008: Shirley Bassey was rushed to a hospital in Monaco for emergency stomach surgery.
2010: Paul Simon was awarded an honorary doctorate from Brandeis University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Born This Day:
1943: "General" Norman Johnson, lead singer of Chairmen of the Board ("Give Me Just a Little More Time") was born in Huntersville, Virginia; died October 13, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia.
1946: Danny Klein, standup bassist and harmonica player of the J. Geils Band, was born in New York City.
1947: Bill Hunt, horns and keyboards for ELO, was born in Birmingham, England.
1952: Jim Mankey, guitarist of Concrete Blonde
1953: Rick Fenn, guitarist of 10cc
1967: Junior Waite of Musical Youth
1967: Phil Selway, songwriter and drummer of Radiohead, was born in Abingdon, Berkshire, England.
1968: Noel Gallagher, songwriter, lead guitarist and lead vocalist of Oasis, was born in Longsight, Manchester, England.
1973: Maxwell ("Somebody's Watching Me") was born in Brooklyn, New York.

1974: Jewel was born in Payson, Utah.
1983: Heidi Range of the Sugababes was born in Liverpool, England.

Top Track: Cream with "Crossroads"

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Cream covered this Robert Johnson song when they recorded it at the Fillmore in San Francisco, California:

This Date in Rock Music History: May 22

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1958: Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13-year-old cousin, Myra.

One of Roy Orbison's career best was moving up...

1961: "Mother-In-Law" moved to #1 for Ernie K-Doe, replacing the classic "Runaway" from Del Shannon. "Daddy's Home from Shep & the Limelites was #3 followed by "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" by Gene McDaniels and Ricky Nelson's "Travelin' Man". The rest of the Top Ten: "Mama Said" from the Shirelles at #6, "Running Scared", up from 16 to 7 for Roy Orbison, "Breakin' In a Brand New Broken Heart" by Connie Francis, Ricky Nelson moving from 15 to 9 with "Hello Mary Lou" and Linda Scott's "I've Told Every Little Star".
1965: Barbra Streisand released the album My Name Is Barbra.
1965: The Who performed at the Astoria Ballroom in Rawtenstall, Lancashire, England
1965: Marvin Gaye's "I'll Be Doggone" topped the R&B chart.
1965: "Crying in the Chapel" was a huge hit for Elvis Presley on the Adult Contemporary chart. It moved to the top slot on this date and stayed there for 7 weeks.

1965: The Four Tops had the biggest mover of the week, with "I Can't Help Myself" jumping from #67 to #32. It would wind up as the biggest hit of their career.

Elvis's gospel following loved his new song...

1965: "Ticket To Ride" became the Beatles' eighth number one song in their first two years. The group overtook Herman's Hermits, who relinquished with "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter". Gary Lewis & the Playboys were next with "Count Me In" while the Beach Boys were up to #4 with their new one, "Help Me Rhonda". The rest of the Top 10: "I'll Never Find Another You" from the Seekers, another Herman's Hermits hit--"Silhouettes", Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs with "Wooly Bully", the Rigteous Brothers wouldn't budge with "Just Once in My Life" and Elvis Presley vaulted from 20-10 with "Crying in the Chapel".
1967: With their current album More of the Monkees still #1, the Monkees released their third LP Headquarters.
1967: Jackie DeShannon released "What the World Needs Now Is Love". 45 years later, it still does.
1967: Florence Ballard appeared with the Supremes for the final time on The Tonight Show.
1968: Frank Sinatra performed with a full orchestra at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum for a Democratic fundraiser.
1968: Gary Puckett, from Twin Falls, Idaho, & the Union Gap hit #1 in the U.K. with "Young Girl".
1970: Elvis Presley signed a movie contract with MGM for three pictures.
1971: "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo" was #1 for Lobo on the Adult Contemporary chart for the second week in a row.

1971: Three Dog Night had one of the Top 50 Songs of the Rock Era* with "Joy To the World", which remained at #1 for a sixth week.
1972: The Guess Who recorded their album Live at the Paramount in Seattle, Washington.
1973: The Eagles performed at the Capitol Center in Largo, Maryland.
1976: The Rolling Stones played at Earl's Court in London.
1976: "Kiss and Say Goodbye" was #1 on the R&B chart.
1976: Wings moved into the #1 slot with "Silly Love Songs" as "Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers fell to #4. Diana Ross was up to #2 with "Love Hangover" while Elvin Bishop slipped in with "Fooled Around and Fell in Love". The rest of the Top 10: The Silver Convention with "Get Up and Boogie", former Lovin' Spoonful frontman John Sebastian fell with "Welcome Back", Pratt & McClain were celebrating as "Happy Days" moved up, Dorothy Moore made an impressive move with "Misty Blue", Henry Gross was up with "Shannon" and Barry Manilow was "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again".
1977: Blondie opened for Television at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland.
1980: U2 began their "11 O'clock Tick Tock" tour in London at the Hope & Anchor.
1980: Five gold records belonging to Jimi Hendrix were stolen from the Electric Ladyland studios in New York City.
1982: Madness ("Our House") led the way on the U.K. album chart with Complete Madness.

1982: Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder made it three weeks at #1 with "Ebony and Ivory". Rick Springfield was next with "Don't Talk to Strangers".
1987: Roy Orbison appeared on Saturday Night Live.
1992: Michael Jackson paid the funeral expenses for a nine-year-old boy that had been killed in a drive-by shooting.
1993: Janet Jackson spend a second week at the top with "That's the Way Love Goes".
1993: Ace of Base began a three-week stay at #1 in the U.K. with "All That She Wants".
1997: Fleetwood Mac recorded a show for the MTV series Unplugged that would air on the former music channel in the summer of that year.
1997: Radiohead began the first of two shows at the Zeleste in Barcelona, Spain.
1999: An astonishing 15 shows by Bruce Springsteen at Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey were sold out.

2000 - Steely Dan received the Founders Award for a lifetime of songwriting at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards.
2003: A new wax model of J. Lo was revealed at Madame Tussauds in London.

2003: U2 earned a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ivor Novello Awards in England. Coldplay was honored for Songwriters of the Year.
2005: The Dave Matthews Band scored the top album with Stand Up, which nearly reached gold status in its first week.
2005: Oasis achieved their seventh #1 son in the U.K. with "Lyla".
2006: Mary Wilson, former member of the Supremes had heart bypass surgery.
2010: Jackson Browne was given the Strings & Voices For Dialogue and Civil Rights Award By the City of Sarzana, Italy.
2011: Neil Diamond received the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards.

Born This Day:
1930: Kenny Ball, who gave us the instrumental "Midnight in Moscow", was born in Ilford, Essex, England.
1936: Drummer Dallas Taylor, who played for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young among others, was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1941: Bruce Rowlands of Fairport Convention was born in Park Royal, Middlesex, England.
1942: Calvin Simon of Parliament and Funkadelic ("One Nation Under a Groove") was born in Beckley, West Virginia.
1948: Doug Gray of the Marshall Tucker Band

1950: Bernie Taupin, the famed songwriter for Elton John, but who has also written hits such as "We Built This City" for Starship, was born in Lincolnshire, England.
1955: Iva Davies of Icehouse was born in Wauchope, New South Wales, Australia.
1934: Peter Nero (Bernard Nierow) was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1955: Jimmy Lyon, guitarist for Eddie Money
1959: Morrissey, lyricist and lead singer of the Smiths and a solo aritst, was born in Davyhulme, Lancashire, England.
1962: Jesse Valenzuela of the Gin Blossoms was born in Tempe, Arizona.
1966: Johnny Gill was born in Washington, D.C.
1967: Dan Roberts, bass player for the Crash Test Dummies, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Hits List: Stevie Wonder

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The Wonderman is one of the giants in musical history and blessed are we to be living at the same time this great creative force has been recording innovative music and important lyrics. His story is even more amazing when we remember that his first hit, "Fingertips", was recorded when he was all of 12 years old, he was 15 when he did "Uptight", 15 when he recorded "I Was Made To Love Her" and 18 when he released "My Cherie Amour". Here is the complete Hits List* for Stevie Wonder:

1962: "I Call It Pretty Music, But the Old People Call It the Blues"
"Little Water Boy"
"Contract on Love"
1963: "Fingertips-Part 1 & 2" (#1, #1 R&B)
"Workout Stevie, Workout" (#33)
1964: "Pretty Little Angel"
"Castles in the Sand" (#52)
"Hey Harmonica Man" (#29)
"Happy Street"
1965: "Kiss Me Baby"
"Hi-Heel Sneakers" (#59, #30 R&B)

1966: "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" (#3, #1 R&B, #14 U.K.)
"Nothing's Too Good for My Baby" (#20, #4 R&B)
"With a Child's Heart" (#8 R&B)
"Blowin' in the Wind" (#9, #1 R&B, #36 U.K.)
"A Place in the Sun" (#9, #3 R&B)
"Someday at Christmas"
1967: "Travelin' Man" (#32, #31 R&B)
"Hey Love" (#90, #9 R&B)
"I Was Made to Love Her" (#2, #1 R&B, #5 U.K.)
"I'm Wondering" (#12, #4 R&B, #22 U.K.)

1968: "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" (#9, #1 R&B, #46 U.K.)
"You Met Your Match" (#35, #2 R&B)
"Alfie" (#66, #11 Easy Listening)
"For Once in My Life" (#2, #2 R&B, #3 U.K.)
1969: "I Don't Know Why" (#39, #16 R&B, #14 U.K.)
"My Cherie Amour" (#4, #4 R&B, #3 Easy Listening, #4 U.K.)
"Yester-Me-Yester-You, Yesterday" (#7, #5 R&B, #10 EL, #2 U.K.)
1970: "Never Had a Dream Come True" (#26, #11 R&B, #31 EL, #6 U.K.)
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" (#3, #1 R&B, #15 U.K.)
"Heaven Help Us All" (#9, #2 R&B, #29 U.K.)
1971: "We Can Work It Out" (#13, #3 R&B, #27 U.K.)
"Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" (#78)
"If You Really Love Me" (#8, #4 R&B, #10 EL, #20 U.K.)
"What Christmas Means to Me"
1972: "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" (#33, #13 R&B)
"Keep On Running" (#90, #36 R&B)

1973: "Superstition" (#1, #1 R&B, #38 EL, #11 U.K.)
"You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (#1, #3 R&B, #1 EL, #7 U.K.)
"Higher Ground" (#4, #1 R&B, #41 EL, #29 U.K.)
"Living for the City" (#8, #1 R&B, #15 U.K.)
1974: "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" (#16, #2 R&B, #9 EL)--underrated.
"He's Misstra Know It All" (#10 U.K.)
"You Haven't Done Nothin'" (#1, #1 R&B, #30 U.K.)
1975: "Boogie On Reggae Woman" (#3, #1 R&B, #12 U.K.)

1977: "I Wish" (#1, #1 R&B, #23 EL, #5 U.K.)
"Isn't She Lovely?" (not released as single--#23 EL)
"Sir Duke" (#1, #1 R&B, #3 EL, #2 U.K.)
"Another Star" (#32, #18 R&B, #29 EL, #29 U.K.)--underrated.
1978: "As" (#36, #36 R&B, #24 EL)--highly underrated.
"Pops, We Love You (A Tribute to Father)" (with Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson & Marvin Gaye--#59, #26 R&B, #66 U.K.)
1979: "Send One Your Love" (#4, #5 R&B, #1 Adult Contemporary, #52 U.K.)
1980: "Black Orchid" (#63 U.K.)
"Outside My Window" (#52, #56 R&B, #43 AC, #52 U.K.)
"Master Blaster (Jammin')" (#5, #1 R&B, #2 U.K.)
1981: "I Ain't Gonna' Stand for It" (#11, #4 R&B, #20 AC, #10 U.K.)
"Lately" (#64, #29 R&B, #33 AC, #3 U.K.)
"Happy Birthday" (#17 R&B, #2 U.K.)
"Did I Hear You Say You Love Me" (#72 R&B)
1982: "That Girl" (#4, #1 R&B, #19 AC, #39 U.K.)
"Ebony and Ivory" (with Paul McCartney--#1, #8 R&B, #1 AC, #1 U.K.)
"Do I Do" (#13, #2 R&B, #25 AC, #10 U.K.)
"Ribbon in the Sky" (#54, #10 R&B, #21 AC, #45 U.K.)
"Used to Be' (With Charlene--#46, #35 R&B, #31 AC)
1983: "Frontline" (#94 U.K.)

1984: "I Just Called to Say I Love You" (#1, #1 R&B, #1 AC, #1 U.K.)
1985: "Love Light in Flight" (#17, #4 R&B, #10 AC, #44 U.K.)
"Don't Drive Drunk" (#62 U.K.)
"Part-Time Lover" (#1, #1 R&B, #1 AC, #16 U.K.)
"That's What Friends Are For" (Dionne Warwick and Friends--#1, #1 R&B, #1 AC, #16 U.K.)
1986: "Go Home" (#10, #2 R&B, #1 AC, #67 U.K.)
"Overjoyed" (#24, #8 R&B, #1 AC, #17 U.K.)
"Land of La La" (#86, #19 R&B)
"Stranger on the Shore of Love" (#55 U.K.)
1987: "Skeletons" (#19, #1 R&B, #59 U.K.)
"You Will Know" (#77, #1 R&B, #16 AC, #77 U.K.)

1988: "Get It" (with Michael Jackson--#80, #4 R&B, #37 U.K.)
"My Love" (with Julio Iglesias--#80, #14 AC, #5 U.K.)
"My Eyes Don't Cry" (#6 R&B, #92 U.K.)
1989: "With Each Beat of My Heart" (#28 R&B)
"Free" (#49 U.K.)
1990: "Keep Our Love Alive" (#24 R&B, #44 AC, #77 U.K.)
1991: "Gotta' Have You" (#92, #3 R&B)
"Fun Day" (#6 R&B, #63 U.K.)
"These Three Words" (#7 R&B)
"We Didn't Know" (with Whitney Houston--#20 R&B)

1995: "For Your Love" (#50, #11 R&B, #23 AC, #30 U.K.)
"Tomorrow Robins Will Sing" (#60 R&B, #71 U.K.)
"Treat Myself" (#36 R&B, #92 U.K.)
1996: "Kiss Lonely Goodbye"
1997: "How Come, How Long" (with Babyface--#10 U.K.)
1998: "True to Your Heart" (with 98 Degrees) (#51 U.K.)
2003: "Signed, Sealed Delivered (I'm Yours)" (with Blue and Angie Stone--#11 U.K.)
2005: "So What the Fuss" (#96, #34 R&B, #19 U.K.)
"Positivity" (with Aisha Morris--#54 U.K.)
2006: "From the Bottom of My Heart" (#25 R&B, #7 AC)
"Shelter in the Rain" (#93 R&B)

2009: "Never Give You Up" (with Raphael Saadiq and C.J. Hilton--#26 R&B)
"All About the Love Again"

All told, that's 65 hits for Wonder, with 28 going Top 10 and 10 #1's. On the R&B chart, Stevie grooved his way to 71 hits, with 46 of those reaching the Top 10 in that smaller genre and 19 going to #1. On the combined Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary chart, Stevie charted 33 hits, with 15 of those reaching the Top 10 and 8 #1's. Remarkable.

This Date in Rock Music History: May 21

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1957: Paul Anka recorded "Diana".
1962: Stevie Wonder recorded "Fingertips" live at the Regal Theater in Chicago.
1963: The Beatles recorded five songs for the BBC radio show Saturday Club and six for Steppin' Out at the Playhouse Theatre in London.
1964: The Drifters recorded "Under the Boardwalk" with Johnny Moore singing lead after Rudy Lewis had died the night before.
1965: The Four Tops appeared on the U.K. television show Ready Steady Goes Live!
1966: Mel Carter's "Band of Gold" was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1966: A hot new song was moving up the chart. It was called "Paint It Black" from the Rolling Stones.
1966: "Monday, Monday" spent a third week at #1 for the Mamas & Papas, just ahead of "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" from Bob Dylan. The Rascals' former #1 "Good Lovin'" was at 3, followed by the relentless "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge. The rest of the Top Ten: The Mindbenders moved from 13 to 5 with "A Groovy Kind of Love", Paul Revere & the Raiders' great song Kicks was #6, Nancy Sinatra was stuck on seven with "How Does That Grab You, Darlin'?", Dionne Warwick's "Message To Michael" was #8, the Beach Boys slipped to #9 with "Sloop John B" and the Supremes had their eighth top ten song with "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart", which moved from 15-10.

1966: If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears from the Mamas and Papas was the new #1 album on this date. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass climbed from 60 to 2 with What Now My Love. Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass), the greatest hits package by the Rolling Stones was at 3 with Alpert & the Tijuana Brass's album Going Places finally falling from #1. The great sound of the Brass enabled the group to be on top of the album charts for 15 weeks that year; they were about the artist that could compete with the Beatles. Color Me Barbra from Streisand was #6, followed by Soul & Inspiration by the Righteous Brothers, another Alpert & the Tijuana Brass album (Whipped Cream & Other Delights) falling to #8 in its 54th week, I Hear a Symphony from the Supremes at #9 and The Best of the Animals at #10.

1966: We were introduced to a new artist on this date, and not just an ordinary artist. Neil Diamond's first hit debuted on this date, as the highly Underrated song "Solitary Man" first hit the chart. It only reached #55. Columbia Records would re-release the song in 1970 but even then it only hit #21.
1968: Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones once again was arrested for possession of cannabis in his apartment in London.
1968: The Monkees appeared at Olympia Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1969: John Lennon and Yoko Ono began their famous "bed-in" for peace at Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.
1971: Paul McCartney released the album Ram.

1971: Marvin Gaye released the landmark album What's Going On.
1971: The group Free ("All Right Now") announced they were breaking up.
1973: Deep Purple released the single "Smoke on the Water".
1976: The Rolling Stones performed at Earl's Court in London, but reviews were already calling them "dinosaurs".
1977: Tavares owned the #1 R&B song with "Whodunit".
1977: "Hello Stranger" by Yvonne Elliman held off all challengers in a fourth week at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Climax Blues band was, well, climaxing

1977: "Sir Duke" was the new #1 song in the land from Stevie Wonder, his tribute to jazz great Duke Ellington. Leo Sayer fell to #2 after a short stay at the top with "When I Need You". The Climax Blues Band had the biggest hit of their career with "Couldn't Get It Right" at #3. K.C. & the Sunshine Band moved to 4 with "I'm Your Boogie Man", Marvin Gaye moved up to 5 with "Got To Give It Up" and Fleetwood Mac jumped from 14-6 with "Dreams". The rest of the Top Ten: Bill Conti had #7 with "Gonna' Fly Now (Theme From "Rocky")", even though the Maynard Ferguson version was much more popular, the Eagles' former #1 "Hotel California" was now #8, Glen Campbell tumbled to #9 with "Southern Nights" and Kenny Rogers moved into the Top Ten with "Lucille".

1977: The Fleetwood Mac album Rumours regained the #1 spot after a tussle with Hotel California from the Eagles, which was able to hold on to #1 for seven weeks. Rumours would go on to spend 27 more weeks at #1.
1979: Donna Summer released the single "Bad Girls".
1980: How's this for ignoring the adage "The customer is always right"? Joe Strummer of the Clash was arrested in Hamburg, West Germany after he smashed his guitar over the head of an audience member.

1982: The Hacienda Club opened in Manchester England. It would house concerts by U2, the Smiths, Oasis, Madonna and others.
1983: Michael McDonald married singer Amy Holland.
1983: "Beat It" by Michael Jackson was #1 on the R&B chart.
1983: "My Love" from Lionel Richie was the new #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

1983: Thriller maintained a lock on the #1 position on the album chart for the 13th consecutive week out of 36 that it would spend at the top.
1984: Bruce Springsteen released the single "Dancing in the Dark".
1985: Marvin Gaye released what was to be his last album, Dream of a Lifetime.
1988: "Mercedes Boy" from Pebbles topped all songs on the R&B chart.
1988: "Shattered Dreams" from Johnny Hates Jazz may not have been able to reach #1 on the regular chart but it was the #1 song in Adult Contemporary radio, which was beginning to be the most reliable chart of popular music tastes.
1992: Icon Johnny Carson chose Bette Midler to be the one and only guest on his last episode of The Tonight Show on NBC-TV.
1994: Aaliyah moved to #1 on the R&B chart with "Back & Forth", where she would stay for three weeks.

1994: All-4-One jumped from 8 to 1 with "I Swear" to take over the top spot from "The Sign" by Ace of Base". The group would spend the next 11 weeks at the top.
2000: Whitney Houston led the way on the U.K. album chart with her Greatest Hits package.
2003: Pearl Jam ended their recording arrangement with Sony Records.
2003: Ike Turner was refused entry into Japan because of a past drug conviction for cocaine. Hopefully wife-beating also qualifies for denial of entry.
2003: Sir Paul McCartney received an honorary degree from St. Petersburg State University in Russia.

2004: The Eagles appeared in concert at the Journal Pavilion in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
2007: Scott Stapp, former lead singer of Creed, was arrested and charged with domestic assault.
2008: Steven Tyler of Aerosmith checked into a rehab facility in California.
2008: Lou Pearlman, the music executive responsible for creating both the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for a long-running scam that swindled thousands of people out of their life savings. Many victims were in their 70's and 80's and lost everything.
2009: Natalie Cole underwent a kidney transplant.
2010: Bono of U2 underwent emergency spinal surgery after being injured prior to a tour.

2012: Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees died at age 62 after a long battle with cancer.

Born This Day:

1941: Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1943: Vincent Crane, keyboard player for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown ("Fire" in 1968)
1943: John Dalton of the Kinks was born in Enfield, Middlesex, England.
1943: Hilton Valentine of the Animals was born in North Shields, North Tyneside, England.
1944: Marcie Blane ("Bobby's Girl") was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1947: Bill Champlin of Chicago was born in Oakland, California.

1948: Leo Sayer was born in Shoreham, England.
1954: Marc Ribot, songwriter and guitarist for Norah Jones, Tom Waits and Elvis Costello, was born in Newark, New Jersey.
1955: Stan Lynch, drummer for Tom Petty and producer of Don Henley, was born in Gainesville, Florida.
1958: Mike Barson, founding member and keyboardist with Madness ("Our House"), was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
1963: Tim Lever of Dead or Alive ("You Spin Me 'Round")
1972: The Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie Smalls, aka Christopher G. Wallace), was born in New York City; shot in Los Angeles March 9, 1997 at age 24.
1975: Lee Gaze, guitarist of Lostprophets
1978: Adam Wade Gontier, lead singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist for Three Days Grace, was born in Norwood, Ontario, Canada.
1985: Mutya Buene of the Sugababes was born in London.

In Concert: The Doors--"Light My Fire"

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Here, the Doors perform "Light My Fire" in Europe just one year after its release:

Ray Manzarek of the Doors Has Passed Away

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Ray Manzarek, founding member of the Doors and one of the best keyboardists of the 60's, died in Germany today after a long fight with cancer. Manzarek was 74 and had been diagnosed with bile duct cancer.

Manzarek met Jim Morrison on Venice Beach in California in 1965 and the Doors were born. The group has sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

The Doors' Hits List:

The Doors' Discography:

This Date in Rock Music History: May 20

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1954: The landmark single "Rock Around the Clock" was released by Bill Haley & the Comets. The song wouldn't officially begin the Rock Era until it first charted a year later after being featured in the movie The Blackboard Jungle.
1957: Frank Sinatra recorded "Witchcraft".
1957: Andy Williams had the #1 U.K. song with "Butterfly".

1957: A new duo began that would influence vocals for decades to come. The Everly Brothers debuted with the first hit of their careers and they picked a good song to start out with. "Bye Bye Love" was that song with gave the Brothers their start on this date, and it eventually reached #2 for four weeks.
1960: Johnny & the Moondogs changed their name to the Silver Beetles. The group toured Scotland. The lineup at that time was John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliffe. The latter three used the pseudonyms Paul Ramon, Carl Harrison and Stuart de Stael.
1961: Cliff Richard made his first appearance on television on the U.K. ITV show Thank Your Lucky Stars.
1964: Rudy Lewis of the Drifters died of a brain seizure brought on by drugs.
1966: John Entwistle and Keith Moon were late arriving for a Who concert at the Ricky Tick Club in Windsor, England, so bandmates Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey began performing without them along with the bassist and drummer of the local group who opened the show. When Moon and Entwistle finally got there, a fight broke out and Townshend actually hit Moon over the head with his guitar. Moon and Entwistle quit the band but rejoined a week later.
1966: On a more peaceful front, George Harrison visited Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
1967: Jimi Hendrix signed a recording contract with Reprise Records.

1967: The Turtles moved nothing like their name--88 to 58 with "She'd Rather Be With Me".

1967: "Groovin'" from the Young Rascals took over #1 in only its fifth week on the chart. The Supremes fell with "The Happening" followed by Arthur Conley's "Sweet Soul Music" and "Somethin' Stupid" from Frank & Nancy Sinatra. The rest of the Top Ten: Aretha Franklin shot up from 14 to 5 with her future #1 "Respect", the Happenings had #6 with "I Got Rhythm", Engelbert Humperdinck had #7 with "Release Me", Peaches & Herb were stuck at #8 with "Close Your Eyes", the Buckinghams were on their way down with "Don't You Care" and the Dave Clark Five had song #10--"You Got What It Takes".
1967: The album More of the Monkees set a record at the time with its 15th week at #1 on the album chart.

1968: Cliff Nobles & Company released the single "The Horse".
1968: Pete Townshend married Karen Astley.
1968: Following their return from India, the Beatles met at George Harrison's home in Esher, Surrey and taped 23 new songs. Many of those would find their way to the White Album and Abbey Road, including "Cry Baby Cry", "Revolution", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Blackbird".
1970: The Beatles' last movie Let It Be premiered worldwide.
1970: We were introduced to a Texas trio on this date, and it wasn't the usual twang and swing to which we had become accustomed to. ZZ Top debuted on the charts with their first hit "Francene", which eventually hit #69.
1972: Jethro Tull released the album Thick as a Brick.
1972: "The Candy Man" became the new #1 song for Sammy Davis, Jr.

"Compared to What", one of the top tracks on Roberta's #1 album...

1972: First Take was the #1 album from Roberta Flack, holding off Neil Young's Harvest. America was #3 with the Graham Nash/David Crosby collaboration at #4. The rest of the Top Ten: Manassas from Stephen Stills at #5, Eat a Peach by the Allman Brothers Band edging up to #6, Fragile from Yes falling to #7, Tapestry, still in the Top Ten for Carole King, Smokin' by Humble Pie at #9 and Let's Stay Together by Al Green entering the Top Ten.
1972: Roberta Flack dominated the chart for the sixth straight week with "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", one of the Top Songs of the Rock Era*. At that time, only 20 songs in the Rock Era had been #1 for more weeks than her smash.

1974: The Righteous Brothers released the single "Rock and Roll Heaven".

1974: The Hues Corporation released the single "Rock the Boat".
1978: "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" from Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams was the #1 song on the Adult Contemporary chart. The hit came 15 years after Mathis last had a Top Ten hit and 21 years after his only other #1 song "Chances Are".
1978: Saturday Night Fever spent an 18th week at #1 on the album chart.
1979: Elton John performed in Leningrad, Soviet Union.

1985: The famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York reopened with a concert from Hall & Oates.
1988: Priscilla Presley held a news conference to deny that Elvis was still alive. It won't work, Priscilla--those same people still think Obama was not born in the United States and they also still think the earth is flat. And there's no such thing as global warming. It's no use.
1989: "Second Chance" by .38 Special was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

1989: Paula Abdul moved into the #1 spot with "Forever Your Girl". "Real Love" from Jody Watley was #1 and the former #1 "I'll Be There For You" by Bon Jovi was #3.
1995: Don Henley married Sharon Summerall in Malibu, California. Tony Bennett, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and Sting performed at the wedding reception.
1997: It was chaos in Kansas City, Missouri. U2 had paid for traffic control to close down five lanes of traffic so they could shoot the video "Last Night On Earth". Traffic jams galore occurred and a Cadillac crashed into a plate glass window while swerving to miss a cameraman.
1998: Bill Ward, drummer from Black Sabbath, was rushed to a hospital in London after suffering a heart attack during rehearsal.

1998: Bob Dylan, who was always so good with words, had some nice things to say about Frank Sinatra at a funeral mass for the legendary singer in Beverly Hills, California. Dylan said "Right from the beginning, he was there with the truth of things in his voice. His music had an influence on me, whether I knew it or not. He was one of the very few singers who sang without a mask. It's a sad day."

2000: Superstar group the Guess Who reunited for a concert in Manitoba, Canada.
2000: In the Words Have Meaning Department: Ted Nugent was dropped from the Muskegon Summer Celebration in Michigan after he reportedly used racial slurs in a radio interview.
2004: Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails sued his former manager, alleging that he was cheated out of millions since first signing with J. Artist Management in 1989.

2006: Tool had the #1 album 10,000 Days.
2005: The Beach Boys Historic Landmark was dedicated at the childhood home of Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson. The home was demolished in the mid-1980's (things aren't preserved in the United States like they are everywhere else in the world; they're torn down.)
2007: Rhianna began 10 weeks at the top of the U.K. Chart with her song "Umbrella".
2008: The United States Congress on this date passed a resolution designating May 13 as Frank Sinatra day to honor the legendary singer's contribution to our culture.

2008: Jimmy Dean ("Big Bad John") donated $1 million to Wayland Baptist University in Texas.

Born This Day:
1930: Teddy Randazzo, who wrote many of Little Anthony's hits; died November 21, 2003 at his home in Orlando, Florida.
1940: Shorty Long ("Here Comes the Judge") was born in Birmingham, Alabama; died June 29, 1969 when he drowned in the Detroit River in Michigan.
1942: Jill Jackson ("Paula" of Paul and Paula, who had the big hit "Hey Paula") was born in McCamey, Texas.

1944: Joe Cocker was born in Sheffield, England.

1946: Cher (Cherilyn Sarkasian) was born in El Centro, California.
1947: Steve Currie of T. Rex was born in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England.
1954: Jimmie Henderson of Black Oak Arkansas
1955: Steve George of Mr. Mister

1958: Jane Wieldin, guitarist for the Go Go's, was born in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
1960: Susan Cowsill of the Cowsills was born in Newport, Rhode Island.
1961: Nick Heyward of Haircut 100 ("Love Plus One" in 1982) was born in Beckenham, Kent, England.
1961: Dan Wilson, singer, songwriter and guitarist with Semisonic, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
1963: Brian Nash, guitarist with Frankie Goes To Hollywood
1964: Patti Russo, the female lead vocalist with Meat Loaf
1972: Busta Rhymes was born in Brooklyn, New York.

Top Track: "Don't 'Cha Stop" by the Cars

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One of the reasons why their debut was one of the best ever--

In Concert: Aretha Franklin--"Respect" from 1970

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The great Aretha Franklin performed her biggest hit at the Antibes Festival in 1970:

Five Best: Neil Sedaka

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The man with two careers--he was one of the hottest stars of the early 1960's with six Top 10 hits in three years. But his success took a tumble when the Beatles changed music forever. So in 1974, with the help of Elton John's label Rocket Records, Neil Sedaka reinvented himself, scoring a #1 smash with "Laughter in the Rain". It had been more than eight years since he had had any kind of hit, and 12 years since he had a Top 10. But Neil continued charting through 1980. Here are the Five Best* (with a few extras):

1. Bad Blood (with Elton John)

2. Laughter in the Rain

3. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (1962)

4. The Immigrant

5. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (1976)

Calendar Girl

Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen

Next Door To An Angel

That's When The Music Takes Me

Standing on the Inside

Lineup History: Grass Roots

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The Grass Roots (originally known as the Grassroots) began in 1965 as the name of a project by the songwriting and producer duo of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri. The duo had written several folk rock songs, and recorded "Where Were You When I Needed You", with Sloan as the lead singer and guitarist and a group of session musicians. The song was released as a demo to radio stations in the Bay area of San Francisco.

When there was interest, Sloan and Barri searched for a group that could incorporate the Grass Roots name. They found the Bedouins, who recorded a new version of the song as well as others. They began receiving airplay with their remake of the Bob Dylan song "Mr. Jones (Ballad of a Thin Man)". The group broke up, however, when they demanded more time to record blues rock.

The second version of "Where Were You When I Needed You" peaked in the Top 40 in 1966, while Dunhill Records searched for another group they would groom as the Grass Roots.

In 1966, Creed Bratton (vocals, guitar), Rick Coonce on drums and percussion, Warren Entner (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Kenny Fukomoto (bass) formed the first relatively stable incarnation of the group. When Fukomoto was drafted into the United States military, singer/bassist Rob Grill came aboard, and the lineup was complete.

They did go numerous lineup changes in the years to come, as they were essentially a rotating lineup of musicians with frontman Rob Grill, who had ownership and rights to the songs. The group continued to perform around the world until Grill's death in 2011.

Guitar: Creed Bratton (1966-1968)

Terry Furlong (1969-1971), 1974

Reed Kailing (1972-1974)

Gene Barkin (1974)

Reggie Knighton (1974-1976)

Alan Deane (1976)

Glenn Shulfer (1977, 1981-1982)

Mark Miller (took over on lead vocals also from 1977-1978, 1981)

Scott Hoyt (also lead vocals, from 1978-1980)

Terry Oubre (1982-1983)

George Spellman (1983-1984)

Dusty Hanvey (1984-1986, 1987-2011)

Mark Tamorsky (1987)

Drums: Rick Coonce (1966-1972, returned briefly later that year, 1981-1982)

Joe Pollard (1972-1979)

Reagan McKinley (1979-1980)

Luke Meurett (1980-1981)

Ralph Gilmore (1982-1983)

Coy Fuller (1983-1984)

David Page (1984-1990)

Joe Dougherty (1990-2011)

Lead Vocals: Rob Grill (1967-1977, 1980-2011)

Bass: Rob Grill (1967-1977, 1982-1986, 1994-2008)

Brian Carlyss (1977-1978, 1979-1980)

David Nagy (also lead vocals from 1978-1979)

Steve Berendt (1980-1981)

Terry Danauer (1987-1991)

Mike Steck 1992-1993)

Mark Dawson (2008-2011)

Keyboards: Dennis Provisor (1968-1972, 1974-1977, 1980-1982)

Virgil Weber (1972-1974)

Lonnie Price (lead vocals also from 1977-1978)

Gene Wall (1978-1980)

Charles Judge (1982-1983)

Dave Rodgers (1983-1984)

Larry Nelson (1984-1986, 1987-2011)

Michael Lewis (1987)

Robbie Barker (1987)

Organ: Randy Ruff (1977-1978)

This Date in Rock Music History: May 19

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1958: Brenda Lee recorded the great song "Fever".

1958: This group debuted on the chart with their first single. Lead singer Dion would score 33 hits into the 1980's. The first release from Dion & the Belmonts was "I Wonder Why".

1958: An influential surf-rock duo that formed in high school as the Barons recorded their first song in a garage. They scored 26 hits until a tragic accident to Jan Berry cut their recording career short. On this date, the first single from Jan & Dean, credited as Jan & Arnie, debuted on the chart--"Jennie Lee".
1960: The Drifters recorded "Save the Last Dance For Me".
1961: The Everly Brothers began their own record label, Caliope Records.
1962: Dee Dee Sharp remained at the top of the R&B chart for a fourth week with "Mashed Potato Time".

1962: "Soldier Boy" by the Shirelles was #1 for a third week, holding off the great instrumental "Stranger On the Shore" by Mr. Acker Bilk. Dee Dee Sharp was all about "Mashed Potato Time" at #3 while Shelley Fabares loomed close to the top with "Johnny Angel" at #4.
1967: The Beatles held a launch party in London for the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
1968: The 5th Dimension were guests on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1972: Elton John released the album Honky Chateau.
1973: "Daniel" by Elton John spent a second week at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

1973: "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", one of the Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era* by Stevie Wonder, was the new #1, trading places with Dawn's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree". "Little Willy" from Sweet was #3 followed by Edgar Winter Group's classic instrumental Frankenstein". The rest of the Top 10: "Daniel" from Elton John, Paul McCartney & Wings climbed from 13 to 6 with "My Love", Dobie Gray's great song "Drift Away" was song #7, Stealers Wheel had #8 with "Stuck in the Middle With You, Sylvia moved from 14-9 with "Pillow Talk" and Skylark's one and only hit "Wildflower" entered the Top Ten.
1976: Trouble is his middle name. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones crashed his car in Buckinghamshire, England. Police found cocaine and marijuana in the car--small wonder.

1978: Dire Straits released the single "Sultans of Swing".

1979: "Just When I Needed You Most" by Randy Vanwarmer became the new #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1979: Rex Smith moved from 59 to 30 with "You Take My Breath Away".
1979: ABBA once again had the #1 album in the U.K., moving into the top position with their latest Voulez Vous.
1979: Peaches & Herb was #1 for a fourth week on the R&B chart with "Reunited".

1979: "Reunited" remained #1 for the third week out of four it would spend at the top for Peaches & Herb. Donna Summer was making a bid with the disco rock song "Hot Stuff".

Supertramp reached #1

1979: The classic album Breakfast in America took over at #1 for the first time on this date, replacing Minute by Minute from the Doobie Brothers, which fell to #4. Peaches & Herb had #2--2 Hot! while Bad Company came in third with Desolation Angels. The rest of the Top Ten: Spirits Having Flown, the great album from the Bee Gees, Van Halen's second album at #6, We Are Family from Sister Sledge at #7, Go West by the Village People at 8, Blondie's Parallel Lines at #9 and Bad Girls by Donna Summer, moving from 39 to 10.
1980: Olivia Newton-John released the single "Magic".
1981: Sting was honored as Songwriter of the Year at the Ivor Novello Awards.

1984: The Cars released the single "Magic".
1984: ZZ Top released "Legs" on Dusty Hill's birthday.
1984: "The Longest Time" from Billy Joel took over at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1984: "Hello" by Lionel Richie spent a third week at #1 on the R&B chart.

1984: Richard Carpenter married his wife Mary in Downey, California.
1984: The Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon made it 10 consecutive years on the album chart.
1985: The television special Motown Returns to the Apollo aired on NBC.
1988: James Brown was arrested for the fifth time in 12 months, charged with assault, resisting arrest and carrying illegal weapons.
1990: "Vogue" became Madonna's eighth #1 song on this date, taking over from "Nothing Compares 2 (sic) U (sic) by Sinead O'Connor. Heart moved up with "All I Wanna' Do Is Make Love To You" at #3 and Wilson Phillips were at 4 with "Hold On".
1990" This Old Heart Of Mine" by Rod Stewart and Ronald Isley, was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the fifth week in a row, making it one of the top AC hits of the 90's.
1991: Odia Coates, who sang "Having My Baby" and others with Paul Anka, died of cancer at the age of 49.
2003: Aretha Franklin organized a candlelight vigil and prayer service for the great Luther Vandross, who suffered a stroke in April.
2004: Gretchen Wilson debuted on the album chart at #2 with Here for the Party.

2006: Freddie Garrity of Freddie & the Dreamers ("I'm Telling You Now") died in Bangor in North Wales at the age of 69.
2007: Frank Guida, who produced "Quarter To Three" for Gary U.S. Bonds and "If You Wanna' Be Happy" for Jimmy Soul, among others, died in Norfolk, Virginia shortly before his 85th birthday.
2009: Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff received a lifetime songwriting achievement award from BMI.

Born This Day:

1945: Elite guitarist and leader of the Who, Pete Townshend was born in Chiswick, England.
1947: Greg Herbert of Blood, Sweat and Tears; died of a drug overdose on January 31, 1977.
1947: Jerry Hyman, trombone player of Blood, Sweat and Tears was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1948: Great saxophone player Tom Scott was born in Los Angeles, California.

1949: Dusty Hill, bass guitarist and vocalist of ZZ Top, was born in Dallas, Texas.
1952: Joey Ramone, songwriter and lead singer of the Ramones, was born in Forest Hills, New York.
1952: Barbara Joyce Lomas of B.T. Express ("Express") was born in Bessemer, Alabama.
1960: Phil Rudd, drummer for AC/DC, was born in Melbourne, Australia.
1962: Iain Harvie, guitarist with Del Amitri, was born in Glasgow, Scotland.
1970: Prince Be (Attrell Cordes) of P.M. Dawn was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.
1972: Jenny Berggren of Ace of Base was born in Gothenburg, Sweden.

This Date in Rock Music History: May 18

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1959: This artist changed the name at the suggestion of Dick Clark's wife Bobbie because he resembled a teenage Fats Domino. He scored 35 hits over three decades, but on this date, Chubby Checker debuted on the chart for the first time with "The Class", in which he did imitations of Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, the Coasters, Cozy Cole and the Chipmunks.

1959: Wilbert Harrison rose from 6 to 1 with "Kansas City". The Impalas were lodged at #2 with "Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)" while Dave 'Baby' Cortez slipped to 3 with "The Happy Organ". The three top newcomers to the Top Ten were "A Teenager In Love" by Dion & the Belmonts, which moved from 12 to 5, "Dream Lover" by Bobby Darin, up from 16-6, and "The Battle of New Orleans", which climbed from 23-7 for Johnny Horton.
1963: The Beatles were the featured act for the first time at the Grenada Theatre in Slough, England.
1963: Jackie DeShannon appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show on CBS-TV.
1963: Jackie Wilson ruled the R&B chart for a third week with "Baby Workout".

1963: Jimmy Soul had the #1 song with "If You Wanna' Be Happy", replacing Little Peggy March's "I Will Follow Him". "Puff the Magic Dragon" by Peter, Paul & Mary slipped to 3, followed by the Beach Boys with "Surfin' U.S.A."
1964: A very special day in rock history for this is the day that the Animals went into the recording studio to record "The House of the Rising Sun".

1964: The Beach Boys released the single "I Get Around".
1966: The Castilles, featuring Bruce Springsteen on lead vocals, recorded a couple of tracks at Mr. Music in Brick Town, New Jersey.
1966: The Hollies recorded "Bus Stop".
1967: Paul McCartney and John Lennon sang backing vocals on the Rolling Stones song "We Love You" during a recording session in London.

1967: Stevie Wonder released the single "I Was Made To Love Her".
1968: Jefferson Airplane, the Steve Miller Band, the Doors and Grateful Dead performed at the Northern California Rock Festival in Santa Clara.
1968: "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell & the Drells took over at &1 on the R&B chart.

1968: Hugo Montenegro's classic instrumental "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" from the movie of the same name, was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Dionne Warwick seemed to know her way up the charts...

1968: Archie Bell & the Drells climbed up to #1 with "Tighten Up". Simon & Garfunkel's latest, "Mrs. Robinson" was up impressively from 9-2 while Bobby Goldsboro finally dropped after five weeks at #1 with "Honey". Hugo Montenego held steady with "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" and the Rascals grabbed position #5 with "A Beautiful Morning". The rest of the Top 10: The Intruders with "Cowboys to Girls", the Troggs had the #7 song with "Love Is All Around", the Irish Rovers and "The Unicorn", Gary Puckett from Twin Falls, Idaho & the Union Gap with "Young Girl" and Dionne Warwick moved from 19-10 with "Do You Know the Way to San Jose".

1970: Three excellent singles awaited radio station Music Directors on Monday morning. It was the end of an era, one of the most amazing times not just in rock but in music history, as the Beatles released the final single of their time together--"The Long and Winding Road".

1970: The fabulous Temptations released the single "Ball of Confusion".

1970: And the third single to consider on this date was the new release from Three Dog Night--"Mama Told Me (Not to Come)". Do people who didn't live during the time understand the greatness of having three songs of this caliber all released on the same day?
1974: Another instrumental, "The Entertainer" from the classic movie The Sting, was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

1978: The Buddy Holly Story premiered in Dallas, Texas.
1981: Marty Balin, former lead singer of Jefferson Starship, released the solo single "Hearts".
1981: Diana Ross left Motown Records, signing with RCA Records for $20 million, the largest recording contract at that time.

1985: This artist debuted on the chart with her first single on this date. She went on to have 12 hits and was very popular in the 1990's. Her first single was "Find a Way"--Amy Grant.
1985: Kool & the Gang collected their eighth #1 on the R&B chart with "Fresh".

1985: "Smooth Operator" by Sade spent another week atop the Adult Contemporary chart.
1985: Simple Minds celebrated a #1 song with "Don't You (Forget About Me)".

1985: Phil Collins moved into the #1 spot on the album chart with No Jacket Required. We Are the World from USA for Africa fell to 2 with the Soundtrack to "Beverly Hills Cop" coming in third. Bruce Springsteen had #4--Born in the U.S.A. and Prince & the Revolution were 5 with Around the World in a Day. The rest of the Top Ten: Sade with Diamond Life, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers remained at #7 with Southern Accents, Madonna slipped to #8 with Like a Virgin, Wham! had the #9 album Make It Big and John Fogerty was at 10 with Centerfield.

1988: Fleetwood Mac played the first of six sold-out shows at Wembley Arena in London.
1991: Hi-Five moved to #1 with "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)".

"Shiny Happy People" loved R.E.M.'s new album

1991: R.E.M. had the top album with Out of Time but Mariah Carey only slipped to #2 in her 47th week on the chart with her debut album.

1991: Amy Grant remained at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for a third week with "Baby Baby".

1999: The Backstreet Boys released the album Millennium.
2002: CBS-TV showed the Barry Manilow special Ultimate Manilow.
2003: Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Piots was arrested for drug possession.
2004: Clint Warwick, bassist with the Moody Blues, died of liver disease at the age of 63.

2008: Neil Diamond had the #1 album in the U.K.--Home Before Dark.

2010: Los Angeles celebrated John Fogerty Day as the former CCR member was honored by BMI with their Icon Award.

Born This Day:

1912: Perry Como was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania; died in his sleep May 12, 2001 in Jupiter Inlet Colony, Florida.
1922: Kai Winding, the great trombonist who gave us the instrumental "More", was born in Aarhus, Denmark; died of a brain tumor in New York City May 6, 1983.
1942: Albert Hammond ("It Never Rains in Southern California" from 1972) was born in London, England.
1949: William Wallace, guitarist of the Guess Who, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

1949: Rick Wakeman, great keyboardist of Yes, was born in Perivale, London, England
1950: Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo was born in Akron, Ohio
1953: Butch Tavares of the group Tavares ("It Only Takes a Minute" and "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel"
1957: Michael Cretu of Enigma
1966: Michael Tait of dc Talk
1967: Rob Base ("It Takes Two") was born in Harlem, New York
1969: Martika ("Toy Soldiers") was born in Whittier, California
1970: Billy Howerdel of A Perfect Circle was born in New Jersey

1975: Jack Johnson was born in North Shore, Oahu, Hawai'i

Five Best: Alan Parsons Project

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The engineer who had credits like the Beatles and Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd formed with lyricist Eric Woolfson to create the Alan Parsons Project in 1975. We present not only their Five Best* but other samples of their work:

1. Sirius/Eye in the Sky

2. Games People Play

3. Time

4. I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You

5. May Be A Price To Pay

Don't Answer Me

Damned If I Do

Old and Wise

Snake Eyes

Dream Within A Dream

The Raven

Psychobabble

New Featured Unknown/Underrated Song: "Runaway" by Jefferson Starship

2013-05-17T08:28:00.004-06:00

Hard to believe there were Music Directors that deprived people of this song back in 1978, but their refusal to play this song kept it out of the Top 10. It only reached #12 for Jefferson Starship:

Runaway

Jefferson Starship

Words and Music By N.Q. Dewey

You don't know how much I love you
But I love you like the sun
I'd like to put my arms around you
And we could runaway.

If you knew how much I miss you
Oh and I miss you more and more each day
.Id really like o come and see you
And we could runaway
Sun is comin. and its getting warmer
They tell me spring is just around the corner
I been sitting watchin. all the flowers
Birds are singin. getting louder and louder.

And here I am missin. you
And here I go I.m lovin. you
Run run run run runnin.
If you knew how much I need you
Oh and I need you like the air
And if someone should take you from me
Well then I'd runaway...

This Date in Rock Music History: May 17

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1958: "Jerry Lee Lewis Day" was held in Lewis's hometown of Ferriday, Louisiana.
1963: Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul & Mary and Pete Seeger performed at the first Monterey Folk Festival in Monterey, California.

1965: Jackie DeShannon released the single "What the World Needs Now Is Love". But she could have just as well released the song today.
1967: The Bob Dylan documentary Don't Look Back, reliving Dylan's 1965 British tour, premiered at the Presidio Theater in San Francisco, California.

1969: The album Chicago Transit Authority was released to debut the career of the classic supergroup. They shortened their name to Chicago after the Transit Authority in the windy city filed suit against the use of their name.

1969: The Soundtrack to "Hair" had a hold on #1 on the album chart for the fourth straight week. Blood, Sweat & Tears was #2, Glen Campbell's Galveston was #3 and Nashville Skyline from Bob Dylan was #4. The rest of the Top Ten: Donovan's Greatest Hits, Cloud Nine by the Temptations was #6, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, featuring the song of the same name by Iron Butterfly, was #7, Creedence Clearwater Revival had #8 with Bayou Country, Help Yourself by Tom Jones fell to 9 and the debut from Led Zeppelin entered the Top Ten.

A great time to be alive, listening to "Aquarius" by the great 5th Dimension

1969: "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" by 5th Dimension was once again the #1 song on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1969: "Aquarius" remained as the #1 song in the land for a sixth week, making it one of the top 20 Songs of the Rock Era to that point. "Hair" by the Cowsills was #2 while the Beatles climbed from 10 to 3 with "Get Back". "It's Your Thing" from the Isley Brothers was song #4 and the great One-Hit Wonder song from Mercy--"Love (Can Make You Happy)" moved from 11 to 5. The rest of the Top Ten: The great instrumental "Hawai'i Five-O" from the television show of the same name by the Ventures was #6, Simon & Garfunkel climbed to #7 with their classic "The Boxer", Donovan's probing song "Atlantis" was #8, Ray Stevens kept things light at #9 with "Gitarzan" and the Guess Who reached the Top Ten with "These Eyes".

1971: Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds released the single "Don't Pull Your Love".
1971: The popular musical Godspell debuted in New York City.
1974: Frankie Avalon hosted The Midnight Special, featuring Sam & Dave, Fabian and Shirley & Lee.
1974: Elton John performed "Candle in the Wind" and "Rocket Man" in his television special Say Goodbye to Norma Jean and Other Things on ABC.
1975: Dumb ol' Mick Jagger. Put his hand through a window at a restaurant in Long Island, New York. Required 20 stitches.
1975: "Rainy Day People" reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for Canada's Gordon Lightfoot.
1975: Elton John's album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy was released, becoming the first album in history to be certified platinum on its first day of release.

Earth, Wind & Fire were one of the great groups of all-time

1975: That's the Way of the World, the Soundtrack to the movie from Earth, Wind & Fire, reached #1 on the chart as Chicago VIII dropped to #2. The Soundtrack to "Tommy" was #3, followed by Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti and Bad Company's Straight Shooter. The rest of the Top Ten: Have You Never Been Mellow from Olivia Newton-John, the Soundtrack to "Funny Lady" at #7, An Evening with John Denver, the singer's live album at #8, Welcome To My Nightmare from Alice Cooper was #9 and Hearts from America was #10.

  The Ozarks enjoyed their biggest hit "Jackie Blue"

1975: It was a pretty solid Top 10--"He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)" by Tony Orlando & Dawn was #1 for a third week, Freddy Fender had #2 "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and "Jackie Blue", the great Ozark Mountain Daredevils song, was #3. Earth, Wind & Fire moved up to 4 with "Shining Star" and the Carpenters hit the top five with "Only Yesterday". The rest of the Top Ten: The Blackbyrds were at 6 with "Walking in Rhythm", "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" by John Denver moved from 14-7, Ace featuring great lead singer Paul Carrack moved into the Top Ten with "How Long", Paul Anka's "I Don't Like To Sleep Alone" was at #9 and the former #1 with the long title "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" by B.J. Thomas was #10.
1978: The Carpenters television special Space Encounters aired on ABC.
1978: Andy Gibb and ABBA were the guests on Olivia Newton-John's special Olivia on ABC-TV.
1978:  Thank God It's Friday, starring Donna Summer, premiered in Los Angeles.
1980: Peter Criss left Kiss to begin a solo career.
1980: Paul and Linda McCartney were the guests on the television show Saturday Night Live.
1980: The Soundtrack to "Urban Cowboy", one of the best soundtrack albums of the rock era, was released.
1980: "Let's Get Serious" by Jermaine Jackson reached #1 on the R&B chart.

1980: "The Rose", the title song from the movie in which she starred in, was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for Bette Midler.
1980: Against the Wind, the great Bob Seger album, was #1. Pink Floyd was stuck at 2 with The Wall, while Glass Houses by Billy Joel and Mad Love by Linda Ronstadt maintained their positions for a fifth week.

Christopher Cross's first single was well received...

1980: "Call Me" from Blondie remained #1 for the fifth week and it wasn't done yet. "Ride Like the Wind" by Christopher Cross would have to settle for being one of the top #2 songs in history. Air Supply had #3 with "Lost In Love" while "Funkytown" from Lipps, Inc. moved from 19 to 4. The rest of the Top Ten: "With You I'm Born Again" from Billy Preston & Syreeta was #5, "Sexy Eyes" by Dr. Hook held down #6, Billy Joel remained at 7 with "You May Be Right", "Don't Fall in Love With a Dreamer" by Kenny Rogers and Kim Carnes edged up to #8, "Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd fell to #9 and Ambrosia had a huge hit on their hands at #10 with "Biggest Part Of Me".
1986: Genesis released the single "Invisible Touch".
1986: "On My Own" from Michael McDonald and Patti Labelle, was #1 on the R&B chart, where it would spend four weeks at the top.
1986: "Greatest Love Of All" by Whitney Houston was once again #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
1986: Incredibly, Whitney Houston climbed back to #1 on the album chart in its 60th week of release.

1986: The smash "Greatest Love Of All", which reached #1 on this date, was largely the reason for the resurgence in the Whitney Houston album.
1987: Tom Petty's home in Encino, California was consumed by a fire, causing a million dollars in damage.
1989: Jack Hall, guitarist of Wet Willie, died.
1992: Lawrence Welk died of pneumonia in Santa Monica, California at the age of 89.
1993: Barry Manilow was on the CBS-TV show Murphy Brown.
1995: Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Little Richard played in Sheffield, London, their first time together on stage.
1999: Bruce Fairbairn died at the age of 49. He produced albums by Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and Krokus.

Hands off our name!

1999: No Doubt filed a lawsuit against a clothing manufacturer with the same name, claiming the company violated No Doubt's copyright service mark.
2000: The Eagles had a similar claim against the "Hotel California" restaurant in Dallas, Texas, claiming trademark violations.
2002: Little Johnny Taylor ("Part Time Love" from 1963) died of a heart attack at the age of 59 in Conway, Arkansas.
2003: Radiohead performed at the Olympia in Dublin, Ireland.
2005: Kylie Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer.
2008: Bob Flick of the Brothers Four ("Greenfields" hit #2 for four weeks in 1960) married actress Loni Anderson.

2010: Songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who wrote "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Love Me", "Don't" and many others for Elvis Presley, "Kansas City" for Wilbert Harrison and "Charlie Brown" for the Coasters, were given the Outstanding Achievement Award for Musical Collaborators by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers in Chicago, Illinois.

2012: Donna Summer, whose amazing voice helped her score 33 hits, including 14 Top 10's and five #1 songs, died at the age of 63 after a battle with cancer.

Born This Day:
1941: Malcolm Hale, lead guitarist of Spanky & Our Gang; died October 30, 1968 of carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty heating system in his home in Chicago, Illinois.
1944: Jesse Winchester ("Say What" from 1981) was born in Shreveport, Louisiana.
1949: Bill Bruford, drummer and founding member of Yes, who later joined King Crimson, was born in Sevenoaks, England.
1949: Keith (James Barry Keefer, who had the hit "98.6" in 1967) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1952: Roy Adams, current drummer of the Climax Blues Band
1958: Paul Di'Anno, singer with Iron Maiden, was born in Chingford, London, England

1961: Enya (Eithne Ni Bhraonain) was born in Donegal, Ireland.
1963: Page McConnell, songwriter and keyboardist of Phish, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1965: Trent Reznor, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of Nine Inch Nails, was born in Mercer, Pennsylvania.
1970: Jordan Knight of New Kids on the Block was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1973: Josh Homme, guitarist, songwriter and founding member for Queens of the Stone Age, was born in Joshua Tree, California.
1974: Andrea Corr of the Corrs was born in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland.

This Date in Rock Music History: May 16

2013-05-15T22:30:00.000-06:00

1960: Motown Records was formed.
1960: The City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania celebrated "Jimmy Clanton Week".
1960: Elvis Presley held on to #1 for a fourth week with "Stuck On You".

1964: This great group formed in 1962 in Manchester, England. They went on the record 23 hits and are one of The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era*. On this date, the Hollies first debuted on the chart with their debut single--"Just One Look".

1964: "My Guy" by Mary Wells was the new #1 song. "Hello, Dolly!" by Louis Armstrong fell to #2 after just one week at the top while the Beatles were closing fast with "Love Me Do", which moved from 12 to 3. The Dave Clark Five had #4 with "Bits and Pieces while the Beatles fell to #5 with "Do You Want To Know a Secret".
1965: The Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry performed on the television show Hollywood A-Go-Go.
1965: The Beach Boys were on The Ed Sullivan Show singing "Help Me Rhonda".

1966: The Beach Boys released their landmark Pet Sounds album.
1966: Dusty Springfield released the single "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me".
1968: Tony Joe White recorded the song 'Polk Salad Annie".
1969: Jack Cassady of Jefferson Airplane was arrested at the Royal Orleans Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana for possession of marijuana.
1969: Pete Townshend of the Who was arrested onstage after mistakenly kicking a New York police officer.
1970: The Moments enjoyed their moment as "Love On A Two-Way Street" hit #1 on the R&B chart.

Another hit from Bridge Over Troubled Water rolled down the pike...

1970: The Guess Who's double sided hit "American Woman"/"No Sugar Tonight" remained at #1 for another week with the Jackson 5's former #1 "ABC" holding strong at #2. The Ides of March had a huge hit with "Vehicle" while the Beatles' former #1 "Let It Be" was now at #4. The rest of the Top 10: "Cecilia" from Simon & Garfunkel moved from 14 to 5, Norman Greenbaum slipped to 6 with "Spirit in the Sky", funnyman Ray Steven's serious song "Everything Is Beautiful" was at #7, Tyrone Davis edged up one with "Turn Back the Hands of Time", CCR had a huge double-sided hit of their own with a 13-9 jump for "Up Around the Bend"/"Run Through the Jungle" and the Marmalade remained at #10 with "Reflections of My Life".

CSNY dislodged a classic from the top

1970: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel finally relinquished its spot at #1 on the album chart after 10 weeks, falling to #2. The winner was the great Deja Vu by Crosby Stills, Nash & Young. McCartney, Paul's first solo release, went from 14-3 with Hey Jude from the Beatles at 4 and Band of Gypsys (sic) by Jimi Hendrix coming in fifth. The rest of the Top Ten: Chicago II at #6, Steppenwolf 'Live', It Ain't Easy from Three Dog Night moving from 18 to 8, the Guess Who at 9 with American Woman and Bobby Sherman scored a Top Ten album with Here Comes Bobby.

1970: Randy Bachman left the Guess Who. He would soon form the highly-successful Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
1970: Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane was arrested for marijuana possession and for contributing to the delinquency of minors in Bloomington, Minnesota. (What the heck was going on on May 16? May be a good day to stay inside..)
1975: Chuck Berry hosted The Midnight Special with guests Lesley Gore and Danny & the Juniors.
1980: Star guitarist Brian May of Queen collapsed onstage from hepatitis.
1980: Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn of the Buggles joined Yes after the exit of Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman.
1980: Dr. George Nichopoulous was indicted on 14 counts of overprescribing drugs to Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and nine other patients in Memphis, Tennessee.

1981: "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes was the top song in America, leapfrogging "Just the Two Of Us" by Grover Washington, Jr. and Bill Withers. "Being With You" from Smokey Robinson was #3, followed by Juice Newton's "Angel of the Morning" and Sheena Easton's former #1 "Morning Train (Nine To Five)" at 5. The rest of the Top Ten: REO Speedwagon had another big hit with "Take It On the Run", Gino Vannelli edged up one with "Living Inside Myself", A Taste of Honey was at 8 with "Sukiyaki", Hall & Oates' former #1 "Kiss On My List" was #9 and Styx had a Top Ten song with "Too Much Time on My Hands".
1981: REO Speedwagon's album Hi Infidelity, which had already spent 9 weeks at #1, regained the top position from Styx's Paradise Theater, which fell to #2. Arc of a Diver by Steve Winwood was #3, followed by Face Dances by the Who and Grover Washington, Jr.s great album Winelight.
1981: Martin Chambers of the Pretenders married Tracy Atkinson.
1981: Ernie Freeman ("Raunchy") died of a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 58.

1983: Michael Jackson performed the moonwalk for the first before a live audience in the television special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever.
1984: Prince released the single "When Doves Cry".
1987: "Just To See Her" from Smokey Robinson was atop the Adult Contemporary chart.
1987: "Always" by Atlantic Starr was the new #1 R&B song.

1987: U2 scored a #1 song "With Or Without You", jumping over "Looking For a New Love". The biggest move within the Top 10 came from Atlantic Starr, which moved from 17 to 10 with "Always".
1987: David Crosby married Jan Dance in Los Angeles, California. Stephen Stills gave the bride away. Graham Nash also renewed vows with his wife Susan.

1988: Richard Marx released the single "Hold On to the Nights".
1990: Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets and singles "Rainbow Connection" and "Rubber Duckie", died of pneumonia at age 53.

1990: Sammy Davis, Jr. died at the age of 64 from throat cancer.
1991: Ray Charles was inducted into the Atlanta Celebrity Walk.
1992: Genesis took over the #1 position on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Hold On My Heart". It would remain there for five weeks.

1992: En Vogue's great song "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna' Get It)" topped the R&B chart.
1992: No Fences from Garth Brooks moved from 15 to 7 on the album chart. Adrenalize from Def Leppard
1993: Marv Johnson died in Columbia, South Carolina. Johnson helped get the Tamla Motown label off the ground in 1959 with "Come to Me".

1994: Elton John released the single "Can You Feel the Love Tonight".
1998: Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones fell again, this time off a chair in his Connecticut home, inuring his ribs and chest. The Stones had to cancel concert dates.
1999: Diana Ross starred in the television movie Double Platinum.
2000: Pearl Jam released the album Binaural.
2000: "The Artist" announced that he was reclaiming the name "Prince" after his contract with Warner-Chappell had expired. (I can't explain it.)
2002: Cher was a guest star on the television show Will & Grace.

2003: The post office in Frank Sinatra's hometown of Hoboken, New Jersey was named after him.
2003: Soul great Barry White suffered a stroke while undergoing dialysis treatment for kidney failure.
2004: Usher's "Burn" took over the #1 spot from his own "Yeah!".

2004: Carlos Santana, Alicia Keys and Andrea Bocelli performed at the We are the Future concert at the Circus Maximus in Rome, Italy. Circus Maximus was the first and largest chariot racing and entertainment facility that dates back to the second century before Christ and was built to hold 250,000 people. The show, organized by Quincy Jones, benefited child care centers in Africa and the Middle East.
2007: Parma, Italy named streets after Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.
2012: Chuck Brown ("Bustin' Loose"), died May 16, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland at age 75 from multiple organ failures.

Born This Day:

1932: Drummer Isaac "Redd" Holt, who gave us two of rock's great instrumentals ("Soulful Strut" with Young-Holt Unlimited and "The In Crowd" with the Ramsey Lewis trio), was born in Rosedale, Mississippi.
1933: Corinthian "Kripp" Johnson, tenor for the Del-Vikings ("Come Go with Me"); died of cancer June 25, 1990.
1945: Nicky Chinn, songwriter extraordinaire with Mike Chapman, was born in London.
1946: Drummer Billy Cobham, who played for James Brown and Peter Gabriel, was born in Panama.

1946: Elite guitarist Robert Fripp of King Crimson was born in Dorset, England.
1946: Roger Earl, drummer of Savoy Brown and Foghat, was born in London.
1947: Darrell Sweet, drummer for Nazareth, was born in Bournemouth, England; died of a heart attack April 30, 1999 in New Albany, Indiana.
1956: Martyn Ware of the Human League, who also produced "Let's Stay Together" for Tina Turner, was born in Sheffield, England.
1964: Boyd Tinsley of the Dave Matthews Band was born in Charlottesville, Virginia.
1965: Chris Novoselic, bassist with Nirvana, was born in Compton, California.

1966: Janet Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana.
1968: Ralph Tresvant of the New Edition and later a solo star, was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1974: Sonny Sandoval, singer with P.O.D., was born in San Diego, California.

Hits List: Marvelettes

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You know them for the original "Please Mr. Postman", which by the way became the first #1 song ever on Motown Records. The Marvelettes also had another two Top 10 songs and several popular songs on the much-smaller R&B genre. Here is their complete Hits List:

1961: "Please Mr. Postman" (#1, #1 R&B)
"Twistin' Postman" (#34, #13 R&B)
1962: "Playboy" (#7, #4 R&B)
"Beechwood 4-5789" (#17, #7 R&B)
"Someday, Someway" (#8 R&B)
"Strange I Know" (#49, #10 R&B)
1963: "Locking Up My Heart" (#44, #25)
"Forever" (#44, #24 R&B)
"My Daddy Knows Best" (#67)
"As Long as I Know He's Mine" (#47)
"Too Hurt to Cry, Too Much in Love to Say Goodbye"
1964: "He's a Good Guy (Yes He Is)" (#55)
"You're My Remedy" (#48)
"Too Many Fish in the Sea" (#25, #15 R&B)
1965: "I'll Keep Holding On" (#34, #11 R&B)
1966: "Don't Mess With Bill" (#7, #3 R&B)
"You're the One" (#48, #20 R&B)

1967: "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" (#13, #2 R&B)
"When You're Young and in Love" (#23, #9 R&B, #13 U.K.)
1968: "My Baby Must Be a Magician" (#17, #8 R&B)
"Here I am Baby" (#44, #14 R&B)
"Destination: Anywhere" (#63, #28 R&B)
"What's Easy for Two Is So Hard for One"
1969: "I'm Gonna' Hold on as Long as I Can" (#76)
"That's How Heartaches are Made" (#97)
1970: "Marionette"
1971: "A Breath-Taking Guy"

Top Track: "In The Evening" by Led Zeppelin

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It is songs like this that we had in mind when we created the Top Tracks* category. It would never be a smash hit, but the song jumps out at you, thanks to John Bonham's amazing drumming, Robert Plant's piercing vocals and of course Jimmy Page's wailing guitar. "In The Evening" is a great reason why the album In Through The Out Door is one of Led Zep's best studio albums of their career.

In Concert: Tommy James & the Shondells--"Mony Mony" from 1999

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As much as we'd like to present live video of this group, one of the best of the 60's, in their prime, right now the only ones from that era available are lip-synced television performances. This is a great video from the later version of the group performing at The Bitter End in New York City. Makes you want to them, doesn't it?

This Date in Rock Music History: May 15

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1961: "Runaway" by Del Shannon charted a fourth week at #1. Ernie K-Doe was second with "Mother-In-Law" while Gene McDaniels held steady with "A Hundred Pounds of Clay". Linda Scott remained in the #4 position with "I've Told Every Little Star". The rest of the Top 10: "Daddy's Home" by Shep & the Limelites, Brenda Lee with "You Can Depend On Me", former #1 "Blue Moon" by the Marcels, Ricky Nelson jumped from 18 to 8 with "Travelin' Man", the Shirelles were back with "Mama Said" and Adam Wade with "Take Good Care of Her".
1963: Ray Charles won Best R&B Recording at the Grammies with "I Can't Stop Loving You".

1965: You won't find too many more days more important to music than this one. Rare is it that two artists of this caliber both debuted on the chart with the first singles of their careers. It was indeed a magical time in music, in fact a Renaissance in our lifetime. This Scottish artist would give us thought-provoking music for 10 years, enjoying 17 hits. On this date, his first single debuted on the chart. It was "Catch the Wind" from Donovan...

1965: This folk rock act gave us some great songs, recording 16 hits in just six years, including two of the Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era. After their split, many of the members went on to great success as they went their separate ways. On this date, the Byrds debuted on the chart with their first single--"Mr. Tambourine Man".

The Hermits had two of the Top Ten

1965: Herman's Hermits remained at #1 with "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" for a third week. Gary Lewis & the Playboys were stuck at 2 with "Count Me In', the Beatles held at 3 with "Ticket To Ride" and the Seekers had the #4 song--"I'll Never Find Another You". The rest of the Top Ten: "Silhouettes" from Herman's Hermits was #5, the Beach Boys got a 21-6 jump from "Help Me Rhonda", Petula Clark had song #7 with "I Know a Place" and there were three new songs in the top ten--"I'll Be Doggone" from Marvin Gaye, "Just Once In My Life" by the Righteous Brothers at #9 and "Wooly Bully", the classic from Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs at #10.
1967: Paul McCartney went to the Bag O' Nails club in London, where he meets Linda Eastman, who would be Linda McCartney before long.
1970: Black Sabbath released their debut album.

1970: The Carpenters released their second album Close to You.
1971: The Cannes Film Festival in France showed two short films by John Lennon.
1971: "Knock Three Times" from Tony Orlando & Dawn was the #1 song in the U.K.
1971: The new release by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young--4 Way Street, took just four weeks to reach #1 on the album chart.
1971: The Jackson 5 achieved a third week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Never Can Say Goodbye".

1971: Lobo hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo".


                      Neil Diamond's big hit...

1971: Three Dog Night made it five weeks at #1 with "Joy to the World". It was the supergroup's ninth hit and fifth Top 10 song. The Jackson 5 were next with "Never Can Say Goodbye", Ocean followed with "Put Your Hand in the Hand" and Bread edged up with "If". The rest of the Top 10: Lobo moved impressively from 10-5 with "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo", the Rolling Stones were up to 6 with "Brown Sugar", Aretha Franklin's version of the Simon & Garfunkel classic, "Bridge Over Troubled Water", was #7, the Bells with "Stay Awhile", Neil Diamond was on the way down with "I Am...I Said" and Daddy Dewdrop dropped with "Chick-A-Boom".
1973: The Pointer Sisters were off and running, making their live debut at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.
1974: Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones released a solo album Monkey Grip.
1975: Fleetwood Mac appeared in El Paso, Texas with a new lineup: Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie and their two newest members--Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.

"Tequila Sunrise", one of the Eagles' great early hits...

1976: The Rolling Stones, which had debuted at #8 with their album Black and Blue one week earlier, hit #1. Wings at the Speed of Sound from Paul McCartney & company held on to #2 with Frampton Comes Alive! by Peter Frampton third. Led Zeppelin's Presence fell from the top after a brief stay. The rest of the Top 10: I Want You from Marvin Gaye, the Eagles with Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, Fleetwood Mac's self-titled release, Eargasm from Johnnie Taylor, the Doobie Brothers were up from 15 to 9 with Takin' It to the Streets and Brass Construction found the Top 10 with their self-titled album.
1976: Diana Ross's great song, "Love Hangover", ruled the roost on the R&B chart.

1976: The hottest new song belong to Brothers Johnson, who moved from 72 to 47 with their new release, "I'll Be Good to You".

"The Voice" helped ensure a successful return...

1981: The Moody Blues released their comeback album Long Distance Voyager.
1982: Deniece Williams reached #1 on the R&B chart with "It's Gonna' Take a Miracle".
1982: Newly formed Asia hit #1 on the album chart with their self-titled project.
1982: Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder reached #1 for the first of five weeks with "Ebony and Ivory".
1984: Nils Lofgren took over for "Miami" Steve Van Zandt in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.

1993: Janet Jackson completed one of the fastest rises to #1 in the rock era when "That's the Way Love Goes" went from #14 to 2 to 1 in three weeks.
1994: Sting and Nancy Wilson of Heart received honorary music Doctorate Degrees from Berklee College of Music in Boston.
1995: Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots was arrested for trying to buy drugs in a motel parking lot in Pasadena, California.
1995: R.E.M. resumed their Monster tour after Bill Berry recovered from an aneurysm.

1998: Sonny and Cher received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2000: Bob Dylan received Sweden's Polar Music Prize.

Born This Day:
1937: Trini Lopez ("If I Had a Hammer" in 1963) was born in Dallas, Texas.

1947: Graeham Goble, singer-songwriter, guitarist and a founding member of Little River Band and later a record producer, was born in Adelaide, Australia.

1948: Brian Eno, keyboardist and synthesizer player with Roxy Music and record producer with U2, the Talking Heads, and others, was born in Woodbridge, England.
1948: Gary Thain, bassist of Uriah Heap, was born in Christchurch, New Zealand; died from drugs December 8, 1975.
1951: Dennis, Frederiksen, lead singer of Angel, LeRoux and Toto, was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
1953: Mike Oldfield, the artist behind the haunting "Tubular Bells", the theme used in the great movie The Exorcist, was born in Reading, Pennsylvania.
1982: Jessica Sutta of the Pussycat Dolls was born in Miami, Florida.

Five Best: Gary Lewis and the Playboys

2013-05-14T18:32:00.002-06:00

Although they had seven Top 10 songs, it was their first five releases that end up being the best for Gary Lewis and the Playboys:

1. This Diamond Ring

2. Count Me In

3. Save Your Heart For Me

4. She's Just My Style

5. Everybody Loves A Clown

This Date in Rock Music History: May 14

2013-05-13T22:30:00.000-06:00

The top group of the 50's was born

1956: The self-titled album by the Platters was released.
1956: Buddy Holly's doctor gave him contact lenses for his 20/800 eyesight (didn't know they were around back then!), but Buddy could not get used to them, so his trademark glasses remained.
1959: Cliff Richard starred in his first movie, Serious Charges.
1963: The Beatles performed at the Rink Ballroom in Sunderland, England.
1964: Jan & Dean began recording "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena".
1965: The Rolling Stones, Boise, Idaho's Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Byrds and the Beau Brummels appeared at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.

1966: Apparently lots of people could identify with this song--the Lovin' Spoonful rose from 65 to 25 with "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?"

1966: Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass owned not only the #1 album (for a fifth week) with Going Places, but the #2 album as well, Whipped Cream & Other Delights.

1968: Paul McCartney and John Lennon appeared on The Tonight Show, which was guest hosted by Joe Garagiola.

1968: The Rascals recorded "People Got To Be Free".

1969: Dennis Yost and Wally Eaton of Classics IV were seriously hurt in a car crash near Atlanta, Georgia.

1969: Jeanne Franklin and Martin Lamble of Fairport Convention were killed in a car crash in London while returning from a concert in Birmingham.

This is what the 60's generation had to endure to allow today's young people the right to protest on campus...

1970: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released their epic and poignant single "Ohio", ten days after the shootings at Kent State University that inspired it.

1973: Three Dog Night released the single "Shambala".

1973: George Harrison released the single "Give Me Love - Give Me Peace On Earth".

1973: Paul Simon released the single "Kodachrome".
1976: Former Yardbirds member Keith Relf was electrocuted by his son's electric guitar at the age of 33.
1977: The Talking Heads performed at the Rock Garden in London. Brian Eno was in the audience and eventually became their producer.
1977: For the third week, Marvin Gaye held on to #1 on the R&B chart with "Got to Give It Up".

1977: Leo Sayer had a #1 song with "When I Need You". "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder waited its turn with the classic "Hotel California" dropping to #3. Glen Campbell's "Southern Nights" came in next followed by "Couldn't Get It Right" from the Climax Blues Band. The rest of the Top Ten: "Right Time of the Night" from Jennifer Warnes, the Atlanta Rhythm Section with "So In To You", "I'm Your Boogie Man" from K.C. & the Sunshine Band at #8, Marvin Gaye with "Got To Give It Up" and Rose Royce had a great song entering the top 10--"I Wanna' Get Next To You".
1977: The Eagles held off Rumors for a seventh week at #1 on the album chart with Hotel California.

1983: They first sang together in a group called the Tourists from 1977-1980. They formed a duo and on this date, the Eurythmics debuted on the chart with their first single. They were a handful of artists to go all the way to #1 with their debut. They had 15 hits in the 1980's, but none bigger than their first--"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)".

1983: There aren't too many times in the Rock Era when two amazing acts debuted on the chart for the first time simultaneously. This artist started out as the lead singer of a group called Blackjack in the late 1970's. On this date, his first career single debuted on the chart. He has had a tremendous career to this day, is one of The Top Adult Contemporary Artists of the 1990's and one of The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era*. His first single, which only reached #82 (a bit underrated), was "Fool's Game", by Michael Bolton.

     Thomas Dolby blinded us with science...

1983: "Beat It" spent a third week at #1 for Michael Jackson. David Bowie's "Let's Dance" was #2, followed by "Jeopardy" from the Greg Kihn Band, "Overkill" by Men At Work and Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science". The rest of the Top Ten: The former #1 from Dexys Midnight Runners, "Come On Eileen" took position #6, Irene Cara had a monster hit moving from 13-7--"Flashdance", Prince moved to #8 with "Little Red Corvette", Laura Branigan entered the top ten with "Solitaire" and After the Fire hung on to #10 with "Der Kommissar".
1983: Thriller by Michael Jackson was #1 for a 12th week on the Album chart.

1984: Tina Turner released her comeback single, "What's Love Got to Do With It".

1985: Michael Jackson was given a humanitarian award from United States President Ronald Reagan.
1987: Frank Sinatra condemned apartheid in South Africa.
1988: Atlantic Records celebrated their 40th anniversary. The former surviving members of Led Zeppelin reunited with John Bonham's son, Jason on drums.
1988: Al B. Sure enjoyed a third week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Nite and Day".
1988: Foreigner reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "I Don't Want to Live Without You".

  Johnny Hates Jazz--one of the great One-Hit Wonders

1988: Gloria Estefan had a #1 with "Anything For You". Johnny Hates Jazz had one of the top songs ever to peak at #2--"Shattered Dreams", while "Wishing Well" from Terence Trent D'Arby was at #3, George Michael's great song "One More Try" rose from 14 to 4 and Natalie Cole's cover of "Pink Cadillac" remained at #5.

1988: Faith by George Michael regained the #1 spot on the album chart ten weeks after it had fallen from the top. The Soundtrack to "Dirty Dancing" slipped to second.
1992: Kiss released the album Revenge, featuring new drummer Eric Singer.
1993: Duran Duran performed at Tower Records in Los Angeles in a show broadcast live to Tokyo, London and Sydney.
1993: It was time to pick up some music history at an auction at Christies in London. The acoustic guitar that Elvis used in his first recordings in 1954 was up for bid and it sold for $152,000. Four costumes worn by Kiss sold for $35,385.
1994: After four weeks at #1 and four weeks at #2, "The Sign" by Ace of Base had now climbed back up to the top and remained there for another week.
1998: George Michael plead "no contest" to committing a lewd act in a park restroom.

1998: Frank Sinatra died at the age of 82 of a heart attack.
2004: Chris Martin of Coldplay and his wife, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, became the parents of a baby girl.
2006: The Red Hot Chili Peppers reached #1 on the U.K. album chart with Stadium Arcadium.
2007: Bobby Darin is inducted into the Las Vegas Walk of Stars posthumously on what have been his 71st birthday.
2008: Metallica kicked off a tour at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, California.

Born This Day:
1928: Will "Dub" Jones, singer of the Coasters, was born in Shreveport, Louisiana; died January 16, 2000 in Long Beach, California from the effects of diabetes.
1932: Bob Johnston, producer of Simon & Garfunkel and several of Bob Dylan's albums, was born in Hillsboro, Texas.

1936: Bobby Darin (Walden Robert Cassato) was born in The Bronx, New York; died December 20, 1973 at the age of 37 after not taking medication for his heart and developing blood poisoning.
1936: Charlie Gracie ("Butterfly") was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1943: Derek Leckenby, guitarist of Herman's Hermits, was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England; died June 4, 1994 of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

1943: Jack Bruce, bassist for Cream, was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland.
1944: Troy Shondell, who had the Top 10 hit "This Time" in 1961, was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
1946: Gene Cornish, guitarist and harmonica player of the Young Rascals, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
1947: Al Ciner, guitarist of the American Breed ("Bend Me, Shape Me" from 1967") and later a member of Three Dog Night, was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1952: David Byrne, guitarist of the Talking Heads, was born in Dumbarton, Scotland.
1952: Tom Cochrane, lead singer of Red Rider and a solo artist, was born in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, Canada.
1953: John Rutsey, drummer of Rush, was born in Ontario, Canada.
1960: Shelley Preston of Bucks Fizz, was born in Hillingdon, England.
1962: Ian Astbury, songwriter and lead vocalist of the Cult, was born in Heswall, Merseyside, England.

1963: C.C. DeVille, guitarist of Poison, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1966: Mike Inez, bass guitarist of Alice in Chains, was born in San Fernando, California.
1966: Fabrice Morvan of Milli Vanilli was born in Guadeloupe.
1966: Raphael Saadiq, bassist and vocalist of Tony! Toni! Tone!, was born in Oakland, California.
1969: Danny Wood of New Kids on the Block, was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1973: Natalie Appleton of All Saints, was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

1973: Shanice (Lorraine Wilson-Knox) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1976: Hunter Burgan, bass guitarist of AFI, was born in Grass Valley, California.