Joy and Tragedy

July 16 in music history has had more than its share of wonderful moments. There were recordings of two classic songs, a song that became a #1 hit two years after it was originally released, the formation of an iconic rock trio, a tragic death, a #1 country hit, and an epic recording that takes us, way, way, way back in time!

On July 16, 1959 (61 years ago today!), the Coasters recorded Poison Ivy at Atlantic Recording Studios in New York City.
When it was released a month later, the single went to #1 on the R&B chart, #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #15 in the UK.
Song Factoid: The song was written by the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and was about a femme fatale who was beautiful but dangerous, and much like poison ivy, could get under your skin and make you sick.
At least that’s what we thought until 2009, when Leiber revealed in Hound Dog: The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography that “Pure and simple, ‘Poison Ivy’ is a metaphor for a sexually transmitted disease.”

On July 16, 1963 (57 years ago today!), the Beach Boys recorded Catch A Wave at United Western Recorders in Hollywood. The song was released on the band’s Surfer Girl album.
Co-written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the song featured six members of the band as rhythm guitarist David Marks had not yet left the band and future guitarist Al Jardine played bass.

On July 16, 1966 (54 years ago today!), Tommy James & The Shondells’ Hanky Panky hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
In February 1964, 16-year old Tommy Jackson and his band recorded the Jeff Barry–Ellie Greenwich song at a local radio station (WNIL in Niles, Michigan) and released it on local Snap Records, selling well in the tri-state area of Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.
However, lacking national distribution, the single quickly disappeared. Jackson moved on, breaking up the Shondells, and finished high school.
In 1965, he was contacted by Pittsburgh disc jockey “Mad Mike” Metrovich who had begun playing the single and asked if the Shondells could perform it in Pittsburgh.
One minor problem … By then, Jackson was a solo act. When he arrived in Pittsburgh, he asked a local band, the Raconteurs, if they would like to be the new Shondells. They accepted the offer and he adopted the new stage name of Tommy James.
James took a master of Hanky Panky to New York City, where he sold it to Roulette Records who released it on a national basis.
And now you know the rest of the story.

On July 16, 1966 (54 years ago today!), Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker announced the formation of Cream, widely regarded as the world’s first supergroup.
Clapton’s career with the Yardbirds and John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers had earned him a reputation as the premier blues guitarist in Britain, while Bruce and Baker had been mainstays in the Graham Bond Organisation.
The trio lasted just two years, but left us with some classic rock tunes like Sunshine of Your Love, Tales of Brave Ulysses, Badge and White Room.

On July 16, 1981 (39 years ago today!), singer/songwriter Harry Chapin was killed in an accident on the Long Island Expressway. Chapin’s 1975 VW Rabbit burst into flames when it was hit from behind by a tractor-trailer truck.
The 38 year old Chapin is best remembered for his #24 hit Taxi in 1972, the #36 hit W-O-L-D in 1973, and Cat’s In The Cradle, a #1 song in 1974.
But he was more than just a singer.
As a dedicated humanitarian, Chapin fought to end world hunger. He was a key participant in the creation of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger in 1977.
“All of our efforts with hunger and homelessness began with Harry,” said Ken Kragen, the executive producer of the concert, and the organizer of U.S.A. For Africa and Hands Across America.
“Harry played at least 150 to 200 benefits a year, and every dollar went to combating world hunger.”
On December 7, 1987, on what would have been his 45th birthday, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his humanitarian work.

On July 16, 1990 (30 years ago today!), Garth Brooks was at #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart with The Dance.
The song was a key track on his self-titled debut album and is considered by many to be Brooks’ signature song.
The song’s music video featured an introduction by Brooks explaining the alternative meaning of the song; as a love song about the end of a relationship, and a story of someone dying because of something they believed in.
The video shows several American icons and examples of people who died for a dream.

And Finally…

This is very much out of chronological order but I’m including it as a bonus.
On July 16, 1930 (90 years ago today!), Jimmie Rodgers and two very special guests recorded Blue Yodel #9 in Los Angeles.
Those special guests were an unbilled Louis Armstrong on trumpet and his wife Lil Hardin Armstrong on piano. Armstrong and Hardin were not listed on this session due to Armstrong’s contract with Okeh Records and this session was for Victor Records.
Can jazz and country music coexist? If these two divergent styles of music ever find a happily-ever-after relationship, they can look back nostalgically at this first date.
Armstrong, at the age of 28, was then the most exciting trumpeter on the planet and Rodgers, 32 years old, was at the peak of his abilities – he would be dead less than three years later, a victim of tuberculosis.
In an all-too-brief career, Rodgers would change American music and earn his reputation as “the Father of Country Music.”
The song was selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.