Rock & Roll History – December 7
The late Harry Chapin (‘Cats In The Cradle’) was born in 1942
Barbara Weathers (Atlantic Starr – ‘Always’) is 52
Tom Waits (singer/songwriter) is 66
Rock Factoid: He wrote and recorded ‘Ol’ 55′, ‘Downtown Train’, and ‘Jersey Girl’, each of them later covered by the Eagles, Rod Stewart, and Bruce Springsteen, respectively.
The Rolling Stones held an audition for a bass player at the World’s End pub in Chelsea, London. Bill Wyman got the job partially because he had a lot of equipment the group could use—1962
Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys married Marilyn Rovell in L.A.—1964
Rock Factoid: The couple divorced in 1979. Marilyn and Brian had two daughters, Carnie and Wendy, who became members of Wilson Phillips.
The Beatles’ Apple Boutique officially opened its doors at 94 Baker Street in London—1967
Rock Factoid: The retail business lost money at an alarming rate and the shop was closed on July 30, 1968.
Rock Factoid #2: “We ended up giving the contents away. We put an ad in the paper and we filmed people coming in and grabbing everything. Word spread quickly and the shop was empty within hours.” … George Harrison
Otis Redding recorded ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay’—1967
Rock Factoid: The song went on to be his biggest hit although Redding didn’t live to see its release. He was killed three days later in a plane crash.
Rock Factoid #2: Redding wrote the first verse of the song on a houseboat at Waldo Point in Sausalito, California a short time after his appearance at The Monterey Pop festival.
Rock Factoid #3: The familiar whistling, heard as the song faded, was supposed to be a temporary thing. Otis had intended to return to the studio at a later date to add words in place of the whistling. In fact, the whistling you hear is not Otis at all. It was re-recorded by his bandleader Sam ‘Bluzman’ Taylor.
Eric Burdon announced that the second version of the Animals – which had started in December 1966 – would break up following their December 22 concert at Newcastle City Hall in England—1968
Two days after releasing it in the U.S., Paul McCartney and Wings released ‘Band On The Run’ in the UK—1973
Rock Factoid: The album cover featured, left to right, Michael Parkinson (British journalist and talk show host), Kenny Lynch (British singer), Paul McCartney, James Coburn (American actor), Linda McCartney, Clement Freud (gourmet), Christopher Lee (actor best known for his horror movie roles), Denny Laine, and John Conteh (boxer from Liverpool who went on to become World Light-Heavyweight champion).
The Eagles released ‘New Kid In Town’ / ‘Victim Of Love’—1976
Dr. Peter Carl Goldmark died (automobile accident at the age of 71)—1977
Rock Factoid: You are excused if you have never heard of him, but he was instrumental in developing the long-playing (LP) microgroove 33-1/3 rpm album which revolutionized the recording industry.
Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, and Judy Collins (among others) appeared onstage at Carnegie Hall to pay tribute to Harry Chapin, who would have been celebrating his 45th birthday. That same day, Chapin received a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor for his work in fighting hunger—1987
Richard Taylor (The Manhattans – ‘Kiss And Say Goodbye’) died (prolonged illness)—1987
Dee Clark (‘Raindrops’) died (heart attack)—1990
Jerry Scoggins (sang ‘The Ballad Of Jed Clampett’, the theme song to the 1960s sitcom ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’) died (natural causes)—2004
Idle Thought: Yes, I realize Mr. Scoggins was never a “rock star,” but since anyone over the age of 50 must remember that theme song, I thought some of you might like to see what he looked like.
Compiled by Ray Lemire ©2015 RayLemire.com. All Rights Reserved.