Today In Rock & Roll History

“Teens wanted to believe that their idols on the TV and stage were the ones playing on the records. Record companies didn’t want to spoil the party. No one said a word.”
~Hal Blaine

“If Hal Blaine had played drums only on the Ronettes’ ‘Be My Baby’, his name would still be uttered with reverence and respect for the power of his big beat.”
~Max Weinberg

BIRTHDAYS

1929 – Session drummer extraordinaire Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky) was born. He’s 87 today!
Rock Factoid: Blaine is the most prolific drummer in rock & roll history. By his own estimate, he performed on over 35,000 recorded tracks in a quarter century’s worth of work.
Rock Factoid #2: He played on 150 songs that reached the Top Ten – with 40 of them reaching #1.
Here’s the list of Number 1 hits:
‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ – Elvis Presley
‘He’s A Rebel’ – Crystals
‘Surf City’ – Jan & Dean
‘I Get Around’ – Beach Boys
‘Everybody Loves Somebody’ – Dean Martin
‘Ringo’ – Lorne Greene
‘This Diamond Ring’ – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
‘Help Me, Rhonda’ – Beach Boys
‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ – Byrds
‘I Got You Babe’ -Sonny & Cher
‘Eve of Destruction’ – Barry McGuire
‘My Love’ – Petula Clark
‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ – Nancy Sinatra
‘Monday Monday’ – Mamas & Papas
‘Strangers In The Night’ – Frank Sinatra
‘Poor Side of Town’ – Johnny Rivers
‘Good Vibrations’ – Beach Boys
‘Somethin’ Stupid’ – Frank & Nancy Sinatra
‘The Happening’ – Supremes
‘Windy’ – Association
‘Mrs. Robinson’ – Simon & Garfunkel
‘Dizzy’ – Tommy Roe
‘Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In’ – 5th Dimension
‘Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet’ – Henry Mancini
‘Wedding Bell Blues’ – 5th Dimension
‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ – Simon & Garfunkel
‘(They Long to Be) Close to You’ – Carpenters
‘Cracklin’ Rosie’ – Neil Diamond
‘Indian Reservation’ – Paul Revere & The Raiders
‘I Think I Love You’ – Partridge Family
‘Song Sung Blue’ – Neil Diamond
‘Half Breed’ – Cher
‘Annie’s Song’ – John Denver
‘Top of The World’ – Carpenters
‘The Way We Were’ – Barbra Streisand
‘Thank God I’m A Country Boy’ – John Denver
‘Love Will Keep Us Together’ – Captain & Tennille
‘I’m Sorry’/ ‘Calypso’ – John Denver
‘Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)’ – Diana Ross
Rock Factoid #3: Blaine also holds a little known Grammy Awards record. He played on six consecutive Record of The Year winners:
‘A Taste Of Honey’ Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass) 1966
‘Strangers In The Night’ (Frank Sinatra) 1967
‘Up, Up And Away’ (5th Dimension) 1968
‘Mrs. Robinson’ (Simon & Garfunkel) 1969
‘Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In’ (5th Dimension) 1970
‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ (Simon & Garfunkel) 1971
Rock Factoid #4: And this is astounding. When Glen Campbell recorded ‘I’m Not Going To Miss You’ in 2013, Hal Blaine, his former Wrecking Crew colleague, was there on drums … at 84 years old!

1941 – Barrett Strong (singer/songwriter – co-wrote ”Money’, ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’, ‘War’ ‘Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone’ and ‘Ball Of Confusion’) was born. He turns 75 today.

1944 – J.R. Cobb (guitarist with The Classics IV – ‘Spooky’) and (Atlanta Rhythm Section – ‘Imaginary Lover’) was born. He’s 72 today

1944 – Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt) – legendary studio musician (organist on Bob Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone’) and original member of Blood, Sweat & Tears (‘I Can’t Quit Her’) was born. He’s 72 today.

1964 – Duff McKagan (born Michael Andrew McKagan – bass guitar with Guns N’ Roses – ‘Paradise City’ and Velvet Revolver – ‘Fall To Pieces’) was born and is celebrating his 52bd birthday today.

EVENTS

1955 – New York City’s WNEW-AM announced the winners of its annual music popularity poll: Perry Como (Male Singer), Patti Page (Female Singer), The Crew-Cuts (Vocal Group).

1957 – 5,000 fans greeted Bill Haley as he arrived in London for his first British tour.

1959 – The Big Bopper’s funeral was held in Beaumont, TX.

1961 – Gene Pitney released ‘ (I Wanna) Love My Life Away’ / ‘I Laughed So Hard I Cried’.

1962 – Although he wouldn’t perform his first official show as a Beatle for another six months, Ringo Starr performed with the group for the first time on this date. Ringo’s regular group, the Hurricanes, had a day off and Pete Best was under the weather, so Ringo stood in for The Beatles’ lunchtime show at the Cavern Club, and again in the evening for their performance at the Kingsway Club in Southport.

1967 – The Beatles began filming the ‘Penny Lane’ video—1967

1972 – Just days after the ‘Bloody Sunday’ incident in Northern Ireland, John Lennon and Yoko Ono joined 400 protestors outside the British Overseas Airways Corporation in New York City.

1972 – Paul Simon released ‘Mother And Child Reunion’ / ‘Paranoia Blues’.
Rock Factoid: The single was recorded at Dynamic Sounds Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, and reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1972 – Vicki Lawrence released ‘The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia’ / ‘Dime A Dance’.
Rock Factoid: Bobby Russell – her husband at the time – wrote the lyrics and music for ‘The Night…’, but was reluctant to even record a demonstration because he “didn’t like it.”
Eventually it was offered to singer Cher, but her then-husband and manager Sonny Bono refused it, as he was said to be concerned that the song might offend Cher’s southern fans. Without a singer to record the song, Lawrence went into a studio and recorded it professionally herself. The result was a #1 hit.

1973 – The original Byrds, in the midst of putting together a reunion album, recorded ‘Full Circle’.
Rock Factoid: The subsequent album (‘Byrds’) was released in April 1973 and was considered a disappointment. The consensus of most reviewers was that there was a lack of unity throughout the album and that the band’s trademark jingle-jangle guitar sound was largely absent.
Rock Factoid #2: Of the four singles released from the album, Gene Clark’s ‘Full Circle’ did the best, and that only reached #109 on the singles chart.

1976 – Elvis Presley recorded ‘Hurt’ and ‘Moody Blue’.

1976 – Rudy Pompilli (saxophonist with Bill Haley and His Comets – ‘Shake, Rattle And Roll’) died of lung cancer at the age of 52.

1979 – The Bee Gees released the ‘Tragedy’ single and the ‘Spirits Having Flown’ album.
Rock Factoid: It was the first Bee Gees album to make the UK top 40 in ten years (not counting the soundtrack for ‘Saturday Night Fever’), as well as being their first and only UK #1 album. It has sold 20 million copies worldwide.

1980 – The Beach Boys completed the recording of ‘Keepin’ The Summer Alive’.
Rock Factoid: The song – which became the title of their next album – was written by Carl Wilson and Randy Bachman of BTO fame, and required fourteen sessions over a 5-month period. The extra effort didn’t pay off. The album, which marked the final appearance of Dennis Wilson on a Beach Boys recording, peaked at #64 in the U.K. and #75 on the Billboard chart.

1981 – Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau inducted Joni Mitchell into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

1986 – Prince & The Revolution released ‘Kiss’.

1998 – Tim Kelly (guitarist with Slaughter – ‘Up All Night’) died in a car accident. He was 34.

2006 – The Rolling Stones performed the halftime show of Super Bowl XL in Detroit. The NFL imposed a five-second delay and censored lyrics considered too explicit. The Stones had agreed to the censoring.

2008 – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma – developed the Transcendental Meditation technique and was the leader and guru of the TM movement; achieved international fame as the guru to The Beatles and other celebrities) died of natural causes.

2012 – Al De Lory (session pianist and producer) died of natural causes.
Rock Factoid: As a member of the famed Wrecking Crew, De Lory played piano on The Crystals’ ‘He’s A Rebel’, The Rip Chords’ ‘Hey Little Cobra’, The Beach Boys’ ‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘Sloop John B’ and hundreds more.
Rock Factoid #2: De Lory arranged and produced all of Glen Campbell’s albums from 1966-1972. That output included ‘Gentle On My Mind’, ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’ and ‘Wichita Lineman’.
Rock Factoid #3: De Lory co-wrote Larry Verne’s ‘Mr. Custer’, and co-wrote the soundtrack for the film Out Of Mind.

Compiled by Ray Lemire ©2016 RayLemire.com. All Rights Reserved.