August 15th & 16th On those Day In Music History

August 15th: On this Day In Music History

1960, Elvis Presley started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'It's Now Or Never', also No.1 in the UK. The song which was based on the Italian song, 'O Sole Mio', gave Presley his first post-army No.1.

1964, actor and singer Dean Martin went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Everybody Loves Somebody', it made No.11 on the UK chart.

1965, The Beatles set a new world record for the largest attendance at a pop concert when they played in front of 55,600 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City. Sharing the bill with The Beatles; Brenda Holloway, The King Curtis Band, The Young Rascals and Sounds Incorporated. The Beatles were paid $160,000 for the show, the set list: 'Twist and Shout', 'She's a Woman', 'I Feel Fine', 'Dizzy Miss Lizzie', 'Ticket to Ride', 'Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby', 'Can't Buy Me Love', 'Baby's In Black', 'Act Naturally', 'I Wanna Be Your Man', 'A Hard Day's Night', 'Help!', and 'I'm Down'. Two of the Rolling Stones were among the audience, Mick Jagger and Keith Richard and later that evening; Bob Dylan visited The Beatles at their hotel. 1967, Fleetwood Mac appeared at the Marquee Club London, England. 1969, during a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Hemisfair Arena in San Antonio. Jethro Tull and Sweet Smoke were also on the bill. During the show Zeppelin received abuse from locals due to the length of their hair. 1969, the Woodstock Festival was held on Max Yasgur's 600 acre farm in Bethel outside New York. Attended by over 400,000 people, the free event featured, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Santana, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Canned Heat, Joan Baez, Santana, Melanie, Ten Years After, Sly and the Family Stone, Johnny Winter, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shanker, Country Joe and the Fish, Blood Sweat and Tears, Arlo Guthrie, and Joe Cocker. During the three days there were three deaths, two births and four miscarriages. Joni Mitchell was booked to appear but had to pull out due to being booked for a TV show, wrote the song 'Woodstock.' 1981, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie started a nine week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Endless Love', a No.7 in the UK. The song was the title from a film starring Brooke Shields. 1981, the 'Official BBC album of the Royal Wedding Soundtrack' went to No.1 on the UK chart. 1982, during a North American tour Queen played at the Civic Centre, St. Paul, Minnesota. 1987, Madonna kicked off a UK tour at Roundhay Park in Leeds. 1987, Michael Jackson had his third UK No.1 with the single ' I Just Can't Stop Loving You', a duet with Siedah Garrett. It was originally intended to be a duet between Jackson and either Barbra Streisand or Whitney Houston. Session singer Siedah Garrett also worked with Madonna. 1991, Paul Simon played a free concert in New York's Central Park before an audience of three quarters of a million people. 1992, Boyz II Men started a 13 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'End Of The Road' the group's first US No.1. Taken from the Eddie Murphy film 'Boomerang', it broke the 36-year-old record held by Elvis for the longest run at No.1 1995, the Dublin hotel owned by U2 'The Clarence' was damaged by a fire which took over three hours to control. Also 'The Kitchen' nightclub in the same building was affected by the fire and was evacuated. 1998, Boyzone scored their fourth UK No.1 single with 'No Matter What', making them the first Irish group to have four No.1 singles. Also Boyzone became the first act in history to reach the Top 5 with their first 12 single releases. The song came from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical 'Whistle Down The Wind'. 1999, Westlife were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'If I Let You Go'. It became the second of the band's fourteen UK No.1 hit singles. 2000, David Bowie and his wife Iman celebrated the birth of their first child a baby girl named Alexandria Zahra Jones. 2002, a memorial to John Lennon was unveiled in the remote Scottish village of Durness where Lennon had spent his holidays from age seven to fifteen. The lyrics from 'In My Life' had been inscribed on three stones. August 15th: Born on this day 1896, Born on this day, Leon Theremin, Russian inventor. Most famous for his invention of the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments. He first performed the theremin with the New York Philharmonic in 1928. He died on 3rd November 1993. 1933, Born on this day, Bill Pinkney, The Drifters, (1960 US No.1 & UK No.2 single 'Save The Last Dance For Me'). 1933, Born on this day, Floyd Ashman, The Tams, (1971 UK No.1 single 'Hey Girl Don't Bother Me'.) 1933, Born on this day, Bobby Helms, American country music singer best known for his 1957 hit, 'Jingle Bell Rock'. Died of emphysema at his home in Martinsville, Indiana. He was 63. 1938, Born on this day, Stix Nesbert Hooper, The Crusaders, (1979 UK No.5 & US No.36 single 'Street Life'). 1942, Born on this day, Pete York, Spencer Davis Group (1966 UK No.1 single 'Keep On Running'). 1950, Born on this day, Tommy Aldridge, drums, Whitesnake, (1987 US No.1 & UK No.9 single 'Here I Go Again'). 1961, Born on this day, Matt Johnson, singer, songwriter, The The, (1993 UK No.35 single 'Slow Emotion Replay'). 1962, Born on this day, Marshall Schofield, The Fall, (1987 UK No.30 single 'There's A Ghost In My House'). 1967, Born on this day, MCA (Adam Yauch) The Beastie Boys, (1987 US No.7 & UK No.11 single 'You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party', 1987 US No.1 and UK No.7 album 'Licence To Ill', plus 3 other US No.1 albums). Died On this day 1971, US singer Thomas Wayne was killed in a car crash aged 29. Had the 1959 US No.5 single 'Tragedy.' 1992, Jamaican singer-song writer Jackie Edwards died. Edwards worked as a singer, songwriter for Island Records. He wrote both 'Keep On Running' and 'Somebody Help Me', that became No.1 singles for The Spencer Davis Group as well as releasing his own albums 2008, US record producer Jerry Wexler, who influenced the careers of singers including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Bob Dylan, died at his home in Sarasota, Florida aged 91. Wexler produced the Aretha Franklin hit Respect, the Wilson Pickett song, In the Midnight Hour and helped Bob Dylan win his first Grammy award by producing the 1979 album, Slow Train Coming. He also coined the term 'rhythm and blues' while writing for Billboard magazine in the late 1940s. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16th On this Day In Music History 1962, Little Stevie Wonder, (aged 12), released his first single, 'I Call It Pretty Music, (But The Old People Call It The Blues)', the single featured Marvin Gaye on drums. 1962, Brian Epstein told Pete Best that the other Beatles wanted him out of the group, and that he was being replaced. Epstein then asked Best to perform with The Beatles that night at the Riverpark Ballroom in Chester, Cheshire. Pete Best does not show up, drummer Johnny Hutchinson of The Big Three filled in the temporary vacancy. 1965, David Jones' official stage name became David Bowie. 1966, During a US tour The Beatles appeared at the John F. Kennedy Stadium, Philadelphia playing their set during huge electric storm. 1966, The Byrds played the fist of two nights at the Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, California. 1968, The Jackson Five made their formal debut with Diana Ross and The Supremes at the Great Western Forum, California. 1968, Working at Abbey Road studios, The Beatles recorded 14 takes of the new George Harrison song ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, taking the song from its early acoustic version into an electric version. 1968, Bruce Springsteen’s new band Earth made their live debut at the Off Broad Street Coffee House in Red Bank, New Jersey, admission was 75c. The lineup of the group consisted of Springsteen (guitars & vocals), John Graham (bass), Michael Burke (drums) and ‘Flash Craig’ (organ). The group only had a 6-month existence. 1969, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young supported by Joni Mitchell appeared at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago, Illinois. 1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park with Joe Cocker as support. Zeppelin had been asked to perform at Woodstock but due to this gig commitment were unable to attend. And down the road Bruce Springsteen’s band Child played the first of two shows over two days at the Student Prince, Ashbury Park. Springsteen was also unable to attend Woodstock due to these gigs. 1970, This week's UK Top 5 singles: No.5, Free, 'All Right Now', No.4, Shirley Bassey, 'Something', No.3, Hotlegs, 'Neanderthal Man', No.2, The Kinks, 'Lola' and No.1, Elvis Presley, 'The Wonder Of You', (his 16th UK No.1). 1970, The final day of the three day UK Yorkshire Folk, Blues & Jazz Festival at Krumlin, Yorkshire took place featuring The Kinks, Mungo Jerry, Yes, Ginger Bakers Air Force and Edgar Winter. Weekend tickets, £3. 1975, Peter Gabriel announced he was leaving Genesis to go solo. 1975, The Stylistics were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)', the Philadelphian soul group's only UK No.1. 1976, Cliff Richard set out on a tour of Russia, starting with a night at the Hall Of The October Revolution in Leningrad. 1977, Manchester punk band The Buzzcocks signed to EMI's United Artists label. 1980, During a North American tour Queen appeared at the Civic Centre, Charleston, South Carolina. 1981, U2 played at Slane Castle in Dublin, Ireland. 1986, Madonna started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Papa Don't Preach.' The singers fourth US No.1, & No.1 in the UK. Also on this day Madonna went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'True Blue'. 1988, Kiss played at the Marquee Club in London, England on their current 129-date Crazy Nights world tour. 1997, On the 20th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death over 30,000 fans descended on Memphis Tennessee for a 10-minute mourning circuit circling his grave. 1997, Will Smith started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Men In Black' taken from the film of the same name. The song won Smith a Grammy in 1997 for Best Rap Solo Performance. 1997, Blur, Prodigy, Beck, Kula Shaker, Dodgy, Foo Fighters, Placebo, James, Ash, Dodgy and Gene all appeared at the two day V97 UK festival in Chelmsford and Leeds, weekend tickets, £50. 2005, Madonna suffered three cracked ribs, a broken collarbone and a broken hand in a horse-riding accident on her country estate. The accident happened when she fell off a new horse in the grounds of her Ashcombe House on the border of Wiltshire and Dorset on her 47th birthday. The singer was treated at hospital in Salisbury, 90 miles (150 kilometres) south-west of London. 2005, P Diddy appeared on the US TV Today Show and announced that he was altering his stage name again, dropping the "P." and referring to himself simply as "Diddy." The name change to Diddy upset Richard "Diddy" Dearlove, a London based DJ who took out court proceedings against P Diddy over the use of the name. He won when an out of court settlement of £110,000 was agreed and as a result, Combs is no longer be able to use the name Diddy in the UK. 2007, A fan of the 1980s pop band Wham! was silenced after becoming the first noise nuisance to be prosecuted by Newcastle city council's night watch team. Brian Turner had tormented neighbours by playing their hit song ‘Last Christmas’ all night at full volume from 1am onwards. Magistrates fined Turner, of Sandyford, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, £200 and ordered him to pay £215 costs. August 16th: Born on this day 1915, Born on this day, Al Hibbler, (1955 UK No.2 & US No.3 single 'Unchained Melody'). 1945, Born on this day, Kevin Ayers, singer, songwriter, founder member of Soft Machine, (1970 UK No.18 album, 'Third'). 1945, Born on this day, Gary Loizzo, American Breed, (1967 US No.5 & UK No. 24 single 'Bend Me, Shape Me'). 1946, Born on this day, Gordon Fleet, The Easybeats, (1966 UK No.6 & 1967 US No. 16 single 'Friday On My Mind'). 1948, Born on this day, Barry Hay, Golden Earring, (1974 UK No.7 & US 13 single 'Radar Love'). 1949, Born on this day, Scott Asheton, drums, Iggy Pop And The Stooges, (1973 album 'Raw Power'). 1953, Born on this day, James Taylor, Kool & The Gang, (1981 US No.1 & UK No.7 single, Celebration. 1984 UK No.2 single 'Joanna', and over 15 other top 40 hits). 1957, Born on this day, Tim Farriss, guitar, INXS, (1988 UK No.2 & US No.1 single 'Need You Tonight'). 1987 album 'Kick' has sold over 10m copies in the US alone and features four Top 10 singles; 'Need You Tonight,' 'Devil Inside', 'New Sensation,' and 'Never Tear Us Apart.' 1958, Born on this day, Madonna, (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone), singer, actress, (first hit 1984 UK No.6 single 'Holiday', 1984 US No.1 'Like A Virgin', first UK No.1 1985 'Into The Groove', plus 6 other UK No.1's & over 10 US No.1 singles and over 30 other top 40 hits). 1964, Born on this day, Matt Lukin, bass, Mudhoney, (1991 UK No.60 single 'Let It Slide'). 1967, Born on this day, MC. Remedee, Cookie Crew, (1988 UK No.5 single 'Rock Da House'). 1968, Born on this day, LL Cool J, (1995 US No.3 single 'Hey Lover', 1997 UK No.1 single 'Ain't Nobody' and 2000 US No.1 album 'G.O.A.T.). 1972, Born on this day, Emily Erwin, singer, Dixie Chicks, (1999 UK No.26 single, 'There's Your Trouble', 2000 single 'Cowboy Take Me Away'). 1980, Born on this day, Venessa Carlton, (2002 UK No.6 single 'A Thousand Miles'). 1980, Born on this day, Bob Hardy, bass, Franz Ferdinand, (winners of the 2004 Mercury Music Prize for their self-titled debut album). Died on this day 1938, American blues musician Robert Johnson died (probably poisoned by a jealous husband) at the age of 27 at a country crossroads near Greenwood, Mississippi. His recordings from 1936–1937 have influenced generations of musicians including Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Johnny Winter, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. 1977, Elvis Presley was found dead at his home Gracelan, Mamphis, Tenn.. He died at the age of 42. His first record for RCA, ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, was also his first US No.1. He starred in 31 films. Elvis holds the record for the most entries on the US Hot 100 chart with 154. Elvis became the first rock 'n' roll artist to be honoured by the US Postal Service with a stamp. In 1960, after completing his national service and flying back to America, he stepped on British soil for the first and only time in his life when the plane carrying him stopped for refuelling at Prestwick Airport, Scotland. 1997, Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan died aged 48. He had recorded with Bruce Springsteen Eddie Vedder and Peter Gabriel. 2000, Alan Caddy guitarist with The Tornadoes died. (1962 UK & US No.1 single 'Telstar'. The first major hit from a UK act on the American chart). Caddy also played on sessions and worked on arrangements for Spencer Davis Group, Kiki Dee, Pretty Things and Dusty Springfield.