Today In Rock & Roll History

The late Roy Rogers (‘King of The Cowboys’ – born Leonard Franklin Slye – ‘Happy Trails’) was born in 1911

The late Ike Turner (guitarist and leader of The Rhythm Kings – ‘Rocket 88’ {the real first rock & roll song}, and later performed with then-wife Tina – ‘Proud Mary’) was born in 1931

The late Gram Parsons (born Ingram Cecil Connor III, guitarist with The Byrds during their country music phase – ‘Hickory Wind’ and later a co-founder of The Flying Burrito Brothers – ‘Christine’s Tune’) was born in 1946

The late Rob Fisher (keyboards/songwriter with Naked Eyes – ‘Always Something There To Remind Me’ and Climie Fisher – ‘Love Changes Everything’) was born in 1956

David Bryson (guitarist with The Counting Crows – ‘Mr. Jones’) is 54

Bryan Adams (‘Summer Of ’69’) is 56

Mike Score (keyboards and lead singer with A Flock of Seagulls – ‘I Ran’) is 58

Donnie McDougall (guitarist with The Guess Who – ‘Star Baby’) is 67

Peter Noone (born Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone – the ‘Herman’ in Herman’s Hermits – ‘Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter’) is 68

Pablo Gomez (drummer with Los Bravos – ‘Black Is Black’) is 72

Art Garfunkel (Simon & Garfunkel – ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ and ‘All I Know’ as a solo artist) is 74

The Nat ‘King’ Cole Show debuted on NBC—1956

Johnny Horton (‘The Battle Of New Orleans’) died in a car crash in Milano, Texas—1960
Rock Factoid: Horton’s widow, Billie Jean, had become a widow once before. In 1953, her husband, Hank Williams, died while sleeping in the back of his Cadillac on his way to his next gig in Canton, Ohio.
Rock Factoid #2: Johnny Horton and Hank Williams had something else in common. They both played their last shows at the Skyline Club in Austin, Texas.
Rock Factoid #3: Horton and the Rowley Trio were returning from a performance in 1953 when they heard over the radio about the death of Hank Williams. They were on Highway 79 going through the town of Milano, Texas — the same town where Johnny would lose his life seven years later.
Rock Factoid #4: In the months prior to his death, Horton started telling friends and family that he would soon die at the hands of a drunk. Before his performance at The Skyline Club, Horton stayed in his dressing room, convinced that a drunk would kill him if he hung around the bar.
After the show, Horton and two others headed for Shreveport. About 2am, near Milano, they were crossing a bridge when a truck came at them, hitting both sides of the bridge before smashing into Horton’s Cadillac. He was still breathing when he was pulled out of the car but died on the way to the hospital.
The nineteen year old truck driver was James Davis. He was intoxicated, just as Horton had predicted.

Bee Gee Robin Gibb survived a train derailment near London (49 people died)—1967

Jerry Reed recorded ‘Amos Moses’. The song would become Reed’s highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #8—1969

Led Zeppelin released the ‘Immigrant Song’ / ‘Hey, Hey, What Can I do’ single—1970
Rock Factoid: ‘Immigrant Song’ was written during Led Zeppelin’s tour of Iceland and Germany in the summer of 1970. “We weren’t being pompous. We did come from the land of the ice and snow. We were guests of the Icelandic Government on a cultural mission. We were invited to play a concert in Reykjavik and the day before we arrived all the civil servants went on strike and the gig was going to be cancelled. The university prepared a concert hall for us and it was phenomenal. The response from the kids was remarkable and we had a great time. ‘Immigrant Song’ was about that trip.” … Robert Plant

Elton John released his ‘Madman Across The Water’ album—1971
Rock Factoid: Although the album included hit songs ‘Tiny Dancer’ and ‘Levon’, it only reached #41 on the UK Albums Chart. It had greater success in North America, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.

Elvis Presley began a tour at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In an attempt to quiet fans who continued to call for an encore, announcer Al Dvorin spoke (for the first time) the now-famous phrase: “Elvis has left the building”—1971

Paul Simon released ‘American Tune’ as a single—1973
Rock Factoid: The song, which offered a perspective on the American experience; struggle, weariness, hard work, confusion, and homesickness, was included on his ‘There Goes Rhymin’ Simon’ album, and is, in my humble opinion, one of the most underrated songs of the rock era.

A performance of ‘Quadrophenia’ by The Who at Newcastle City Hall was halted after Pete Townshend physically attacked group sound man Bobby Pridden, who had played a taped section fifteen seconds out of sequence—1973

Bob Dylan recorded ‘You Angel You’ and ‘Going, Going, Gone’—1973

Stevie Wonder released ‘Living For The City’ (which featured Wonder playing all of the instruments)—1973

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley (later known as Wham!) played their first live gig together (as The Executives)—1979

George Harrison released his ‘Gone Troppo’ album—1982
Rock Factoid: George refused to participate in any promotion. Not surprisingly, the album peaked at #108 in the United States and never touched the British charts. It became the worst selling studio album of Harrison’s career and it was his last album for five years.
Rock Factoid #2: “‘Gone Troppo’, with its breezy, synth-heavy, faux-island fare fell closer to the music of Jimmy Buffett than that of the ‘quiet Beatle.’ His grand statements about life and his exercises in spiritual enlightenment were considerably diluted, and when his moralistic ideals did manage to creep into his lyrics, they frequently were delivered as afterthoughts.” … music critic John Metzger

Bobby Nunn (singer with The Coasters – ‘Searchin’) died (heart attack)—1986

Barry Sadler (served as a Green Beret combat medic with the U.S. Army in Vietnam and recorded ‘The Ballad of The Green Berets’) died at the age of 49 of complications from a gunshot injury suffered in September 1988 in Guatemala—1989

Van Halen announced the dismissal of lead singer Gary Cherone—1999

Jimmie Davis (wrote ‘You Are My Sunshine’ and was a two-term Governor of Louisiana) died (natural causes)—2000

Billy Guy (baritone with The Coasters – ‘Young Blood’) died (heart attack)—2002

Bobby Hatfield of The Righteous Brothers (‘Unchained Melody’) died (heart attack brought on by acute cocaine toxicity)—2003

Link Wray, one of rock’s pioneer guitarists (‘Rumble’) and the man credited as “the father of the power chord,” died (natural causes)—2005
Rock Factoid: At a time of national hysteria over juvenile delinquency, many radio stations across America banned the song, even though it contained no lyrics.

Gary Lane (bass guitar with The Standells – ‘Dirty Water’, ‘Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White’) died (cancer)—2014

Compiled by Ray Lemire ©2015 RayLemire.com. All Rights Reserved.