Nice Way To Start The Week

Oh yeah, this date is a very special one in the annals of music history. We’ve got a singles release, a recording, a chart topping milestone, and a worldwide benefit concert for the ages.

Before we start, I could have chosen so many acts who appeared at Live Aid, but I didn’t think you wanted to sit through a huge collection of 10-minute videos (or Queen’s epic 21-minute set) so I’m offering two personal favorites and one very embarrassing day for an iconic band.

On July 13, 1961 (59 years ago today!), the Shirelles’ recording of Dedicated To The One I Love completed a remarkable turnaround.
It had originally been released in 1959 and peaked at #89, but after being re-released in 1961, it began a steady climb and on this date, it hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and established the group as one of the top acts in the country.
Their acceptance by both white and black audiences, predating that of the Motown acts, has been noted as reflecting the early success of the Civil Rights Movement. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

On July 13, 1964 (56 years ago today!), the Supremes recorded Come See About Me at Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A) in Detroit.
The song became the third of five consecutively released Supremes songs to top the Billboard Hot 100.
Song Factoid: The Supremes were the first to record the song, were they not the first to issue it as a single. That distinction fell to Nella Dodds, and her version (on Wand Records) started selling, climbing to #74 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but Motown Records quickly released the Supremes’ version as a single, which killed sales of Nella Dodds’ version.

On July 13, 1974 (46 years ago today!), George McRae hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with Rock Your Baby.
Written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band, the single was one of the landmark recordings of early disco music and was a massive international hit, reaching #1 in the U.S. and ten other countries.
Fewer than forty singles have sold 10 million (or more) copies worldwide.
Rock Your Baby is one of them.

On July 13, 1985 (35 years ago today!), Live Aid, a benefit organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of an ongoing Ethiopian famine, took place.
Billed as the “global jukebox,” the event was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, attended by 72,000 people, and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, attended by 90,000.
On the same day, concerts inspired by the initiative were held in other countries, such as the Soviet Union, Canada, Japan, Yugoslavia, Austria, Australia and West Germany.
It was one of the largest-scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts in history; an estimated audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations, watched the live broadcast,nearly 40% of the world population.
The event in London made U2 international stars and a big reason for that was a career-making moment.
The band played a 14-minute rendition of Bad, during which vocalist Bono jumped off the stage to join the crowd and dance with a girl.
In July 2005, Kal Khalique, the girl with whom he danced said that he saved her life. She was being crushed by people pushing forwards; Bono saw this, and gestured frantically at the ushers to help her. They did not understand what he was saying so he jumped down to help her himself.

One of the highlights of the American portion of the event was a rocking set by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – the first act following the London finale. Event organizers could not have made a better choice.

On the other hand, the highly anticipated reunion of Led Zeppelin was a disaster.
Performing for the first time since the death of their drummer John Bonham in 1980, the surviving members recruited Phil Collins and Tony Thompson to fill in.
Hampered by singer Robert Plant’s hoarse voice, Jimmy Page’s dreadfully out-of-tune guitar, and a lack of rehearsal, the band’s performance was later described by Plant as an “atrocity for us. It made us look like loonies.”
Page, whose guitar solo on Stairway To Heaven could not possibly have been worse, put all the blame on the drummers.
“I don’t want to blame anyone, but the two drummers hadn’t learned their parts. You can get away with that in a pop band but not with Led Zeppelin. Collins was just there bashing away cluelessly and grinning. I thought that was really a joke.”
As seen below, the real “joke” was Jimmy Page although the crowd didn’t seem to mind.
I guess that’s what happens when fans, dazzled by watching legends they adore, choose to “see and hear” what they want and ignore what’s happening right in front of them.

Okay, I’ll do it. Here is the set that rocked the planet.