Yearly Archive: 2015

The late Jessica Cleaves (Friends of Distinction – ‘Grazing In The Grass’) was born in 1948

Jack Hues (born Jeremy Allan Ryder – lead singer and guitarist with Wang Chung – ‘Dance Hall Days’) is 61

Walter ‘Clyde’ Orange (drummer and original lead singer with The Commodores – ‘Brick House’) is 69

Christopher ‘Ace’ Kefford (bass guitar with The Move – ‘Flowers In The Rain’) is 69

Chad Stuart (born David Stuart Chadwick – Chad & Jeremy – ‘Yesterday’s Gone’) is 74

The four male members of the Platters were acquitted on charges of aiding and abetting prostitution, lewdness and assignation. The charges stemmed from their August 10, 1959 arrest in Cincinnati, OH—1959

Ten days after Paul McCartney and Pete Best had been deported from Germany (and three weeks after George Harrison had been told to leave), John Lennon returned to England. Stuart Sutcliffe remained in Hamburg with Astrid Kirchherr. Harrison, McCartney and Best remained unaware that Lennon had returned to Liverpool until December 15. Sutcliffe’s continued stay in Hamburg signified the end of his time in The Beatles—1960

Six-year old Donny Osmond made his debut with the Osmonds on The Andy Williams Show—1963

The Moody Blues debuted on the British charts with ‘Go Now’—1964

The band formerly known as The Warlocks appeared at the San Jose Acid Test using their new name – The Grateful Dead – for the first time—1965

The Electric Prunes released ‘I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)’ / Luvin’—1966

The Rolling Stones released ‘Got Live If You Want It’. The performances recorded for the album occurred on October 1 and 7, 1966 in Newcastle upon Tyne and Bristol, despite the album’s assertion that the recording hailed from the Royal Albert Hall—1966

The Steve Miller Blues Band, a relatively unknown San Francisco group, signed with Capitol Records for an unprecedented $750,000—1967

Otis Redding died in a plane crash near Madison, Wisconsin—1967
Rock Factoid: Otis and his backing band, The Bar-Kays, were traveling to gigs on Redding’s Beechcraft H18. They were scheduled to play at the Factory nightclub near the University of Wisconsin. Although the weather was poor when they left Cleveland, (with heavy rain and fog and despite warnings), the plane took off. Four miles from their destination at Truax Field in Madison, the pilot radioed for permission to land. Shortly thereafter, the plane crashed into Lake Monona. Redding was found sitting in the cockpit, strapped into his seat next to the pilot.
Rock Factoid #2: Four months after his death at the age of 26, Redding’s (Sittin’ On The) Dock Of The Bay, the last song he ever recorded (three days before the crash), reached the top spot on the music charts.
Rock Factoid #3: Along with the pilot, four members of The Bar-Kays – (Jimmy King, Ronnie Caldwell, Phalon Jones and Carl Cunningham) – also died in the crash.

Frank Zappa was pushed off stage by a jealous boyfriend during a concert at London’s Rainbow Theatre. Zappa suffered a broken leg and a fractured skull, which required him to spend nine months in a wheelchair—1971
Rock Factoid: “The band thought I was dead. I had fallen fifteen feet down into a concrete-floored orchestra pit, my head was over on my shoulder and my neck was bent like it was broken. I had a gash in my chin, a hole in the back of my head, a broken rib and a fractured leg. One arm was paralyzed.” … Frank Zappa

Groundbreaking music club CBGB opened at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in New York City—1973
Rock Factoid: The clubs full name – CBGB & OMFUG – stood for “Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers”; it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and new wave bands.

Elvis Presley recorded ‘I Got A Feelin’ In My Body’ and ‘It’s Midnight’—1973

Generation X, featuring Billy Idol on lead vocals, made their live debut at the Central College of Art and Design in London—1976

Paul McCartney & Wings released the triple live album ‘Wings Over America’—1976

John Lennon’s remains were cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York—1980

Danny Hutton and Cory Wells fired Chuck Negron from Three Dog Night—1985
Rock Factoid: Negron sang (or shared) lead vocals on eleven of the band’s twenty-one Billboard charting songs.

Kate Wolf (‘Here In California’) died (leukemia)—1986

Bill Harris (guitarist with The Clovers – ‘Don’t You Know I Love You’) died (cancer)—1988

Darren ‘The Human Beat Box’ Robinson (The Fat Boys – ‘Wipeout’ with The Beach Boys) died (heart failure … he weighed 450 pounds at the time of his death)—1995

Faron Young (‘Hello Walls’) died (self-inflicted gunshot)—1996

Rick Danko (bass guitar with The Band – ‘This Wheel’s On Fire’) died (heart failure)—1999

Bill Deal (lead singer with The Rhondels – ‘May I’) died (heart attack)—-2003

Led Zeppelin played their first concert in 19 years at London’s 02 Arena—2007
Rock Factoid: Original band members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones were joined on stage by Jason Bonham, the son of their late drummer John Bonham.

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