“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.”
~Billy Joel

The late Freddie Scott (‘Hey Girl’) was born in 1933

Jack Blades (bass guitar with Night Ranger – ‘Sister Christian’ and Damn Yankees – ‘High Enough’) is 63

Nigel Harrison (bass guitar with Blondie – ‘Call Me’) is 66


Doug ‘Cosmo’ Clifford (drummer with Creedence Clearwater Revival – ‘Proud Mary’, ‘Fortunate Son’, ‘Run Through The Jungle’) is 72
Rock Factoid: CCR holds the record for the most singles (five) to reach #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 without ever scoring a #1 single.

Richard Sterban (Oak Ridge Boys – ‘Elvira’) is 74


Barbra Streisand (‘Woman In Love’) is 75

1957 – Ricky Nelson’s first single (‘A Teenager’s Romance’) was released.


1958 – Dion & The Belmonts released ‘I Wonder Why’.

1959 – The Drifters released ‘There Goes My Baby’.


1963 – Brenda Lee was married at age 18 (and she and Ronnie Shacklett are still married!)


1964 – The Beatles completed filming A Hard Day’s Night.
Rock Factoid: The final scene was part of Ringo Starr’s solo sequence. In it, he laid his coat over puddles for a woman to walk on, doing his best impression of Sir Walter Raleigh, not realizing that one of the puddles was actually a large hole.

1968 – Herb Alpert released ‘This Guy’s In Love With You’.


1968 – Apple Records rejected David Bowie’s bid for a recording contract.

1970 – Grace Slick was invited to Tricia Nixon’s White House tea party but guards stopped her escort (Abbie Hoffman) from entering.

1970 – Ringo Starr’s ‘Sentimental Journey‘ album was released in the U.S.


1975 – Pete Ham (singer/songwriter/guitarist with Badfinger – ‘Come And Get It‘, ‘No Matter What’, ‘Day After Day’, ‘Baby Blue’) died by suicide.
Rock Factoid: Ham, co-writer of Without You, a #1 hit for Harry Nilsson, had become despondent over financial troubles. Badfinger had become embroiled in many internal, financial, and managerial problems and their music was stifled. By 1975, with no income and the band’s business manager uncommunicative, Ham hanged himself in the garage of his Surrey, UK home. Ham was 27 at the time; just three days shy of his 28th birthday.
He left behind a pregnant girlfriend, who gave birth to their daughter one month after his death. His suicide note had the statement, “I will not be allowed to love and trust everybody. This is better.” It also included an accusatory blast toward Badfinger’s business manager, Stan Polley: “P.S. Stan Polley is a soulless bastard. I will take him with me.”

lorne-michaels-beatles
April 24, 1976: In a gag mocking the full-page ads taken out in the New York Times offering the Beatles millions of dollars to reunite and play in Shea Stadium, Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels went on the air and offered the group the whopping sum of $3,000 if they would agree to reunite on the show.
Rock Factoid: Paul and Linda McCartney were spending the evening with John Lennon and Yoko Ono and watching the show at Lennon’s home in the Dakota Building in New York City. Lennon and McCartney thought about taking a cab to the studio, but decided they were too tired.

1989 – Tom Petty released ‘Full Moon Fever’, his first solo album, although it included contributions from members of his backing band the Heartbreakers, notably Mike Campbell, Howie Epstein and Benmont Tench. Other musicians on the album included Jeff Lynne, George Harrison and Roy Orbison (who died prior to its release.)

2001 – Al Hibbler (‘Unchained Melody’, ‘Never Turn Back’, ‘He’) died of natural causes at the age of 85. Blind from birth, Hibbler spent eight years singing with Duke Ellington’s Orchestra early in his career .

2016 – Billy Paul (‘Me And Mrs. Jones’) died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 81.

Compiled by Ray Lemire ©2017 RayLemire.com. / Streamingoldies.com. All Rights Reserved.