Today In Rock & Roll History

The late George Jones (‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ … just one of his 143 Top 40 Country hits) was born in 1931

The late Barry White (‘Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe’) was born in 1944

The late Tony Bellamy (guitarist with Redbone – ‘Witch Queen Of New Orleans’) was born in 1946
Some sources claim Bellamy was born in 1940 but Bellamy’s family says he originally used a birth year of 1940 so that he could legally play in clubs.

Neil Peart (drummer/songwriter with Rush – ‘New World Man’) is 62

Gerry Beckley (guitarist and singer with America – ‘I Need You’) is 62

Colin Young (lead singer with The Foundations – ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’) is 70

Maria Muldaur (‘Midnight At The Oasis’) is 71

Thirteen-year-old Elvis Presley moved with his family from Tupelo to Memphis, TN—1948

Larry Williams recorded ‘Bony Moronie’—1957

The Beatles recorded ‘Hold Me Tight’ and George Harrison’s ‘Don’t Bother Me’—1963

In the “oh how times have changed” department … The Supremes, Shangri-Las, Ronettes, Temptations, Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Dusty Springfield, Millie Small and Little Anthony & The Imperials performed at The Fox Theatre in Brooklyn. Ticket prices ranged between $4.50 and $6—1964

‘The Monkees’ television show premiered on NBC—1966
Rock Factoid: If you’re interested in this type of thing, the show aired on Mondays at 7:30 on NBC and ran opposite The Iron Horse (ABC) and Gilligan’s Island (CBS).

The Roger Miller Show debuted—1966

Cream recorded ‘Sitting On Top Of The World’ and ‘Born Under A Bad Sign’—1967

The Beatles recorded ‘Glass Onion’—1968
Rock Factoid: And just what were those bent backed tulips?
“You’d be in Parkes (a then-fashionable restaurant on London’s Beauchamp Place) sitting around your table wondering what was going on with the flowers and then you’d realize that they were actually tulips with their petals bent all the way back, so that you could see the obverse side of the petals and also the stamen. This is what John meant about ‘seeing how the other half lives.’ He meant seeing how the other half of the flower lives but also, because it was an expensive restaurant, how the other half of society lived.” … Derek Taylor

The Kinks released ‘Shangri-La’ / ‘This Man He Weeps Tonight’—1969

Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie performed at the Woody Guthrie Memorial Concert, held at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles—1970

Pink Floyd released the classic ‘Wish You Were Here’ album—1975

Chicago released ‘Chicago XI’. The album contained the #4 hit ‘Baby, What A Big Surprise’—1977

Stig Anderson (produced all of ABBA’s hit records…and a co-writer of many of them) died (heart attack)—1997

Garth Hudson, keyboardist with The Band, filed bankruptcy … for the third time—2001

Mike Smith, former keyboardist, songwriter, and lead singer with The Dave Clark Five (‘Glad All Over’) was paralyzed when he fell while climbing over a seven-foot-high garden gate behind his home in the Costa del Sol region of Spain—2003
Rock Factoid: Smith died in 2008, just 11 days before his band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Johnny Cash died (complications from diabetes)—2003
Rock Factoid: Cash is an inductee in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Hit Parade Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Kenny Buttrey (session drummer) died (cancer)—2004
Rock Factoid: Buttrey played on Bob Dylan’s ‘Blonde On Blonde’, ‘Nashville Skyline’ and ‘John Wesley Harding’ albums, and Neil Young’s ‘Tonight’s The Night’, ‘Harvest’ and ‘After The Gold Rush’ albums, in addition to working with Jimmy Buffett, George Harrison, Elvis Presley, Joan Baez, Donovan and others.

Bobby Byrd (singer/songwriter/pianist was a longtime sideman and collaborator with James Brown) died (cancer)—2007

Compiled by Ray Lemire ©2014 RayLemire.com. All Rights Reserved.
You may not, under any circumstances, reproduce, record, publish, republish, post, transmit, publicly display, publicly exhibit or distribute any articles or photographs on RayLemire.com without obtaining the express written consent of the Operator.