“Songs are funny things. They can slip across borders. Proliferate in prisons. Penetrate hard shells. I always believed that the right song at the right moment could change history.“
~ Pete Seeger
The late Pete Seeger (member of The Weavers – ‘Goodnight Irene’ and as a solo artist – ‘If I Had a Hammer’, ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone’, ‘Little Boxes’, ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’, ‘Waist Deep In The Big Muddy’) was born in 1919
Rock Factoid: Seeger was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 in the Early Influences Category.
The late James Brown (‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag’) was born in 1933
Rock Factoid: Brown charted over 90 times on the Billboard Hot 100 (with 44 of them reaching the Top 40) and over 110 times on the R&B chart. While seventeen of his singles hit #1 on the R&B chart, he holds the record as the artist to have charted the most singles on the Billboard Hot 100 without any of them reaching #1. ‘I Got You (I Feel Good)’, which peaked at #3, was as close as he got.
Rock Factoid #2: Brown was named as one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural induction ceremony in 1986. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000.
Bruce Hall (bass guitar with REO Speedwagon – ‘Keep On Loving You’) is 64
Christopher Cross (born Christopher Geppert – ‘Arthur’s Theme’) is 66
Mary Hopkin (‘Those Were The Days’) is 67
Richard Allix (drummer with Vanity Fare – ‘Hitchin’ A Ride’) is 69
Pete Staples (bass guitar with The Troggs – ‘Wild Thing’) is 72
Frankie Valli (lead singer with The Four Seasons – ‘Rag Doll’, ‘Sherry’, ‘Walk Like A Man’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’, ‘Dawn’) is 83
1957 – Elvis Presley recorded ‘Treat Me Nice’.
1958 – A near full-scale riot broke out during the Boston portion of Alan Freed’s Big Beat Spring tour. While Chuck Berry was on stage, fights broke out in the audience, forcing the police to turn on the houselights and prompting Freed to tell the crowd, “The police don’t want you to have fun.”
As a result, Freed was arrested and charged with inciting to riot. The incident provided the inspiration for the climax of the 1978 movie American Hot Wax which was loosely based on Freed’s career.
1959 – Sam Cooke released ‘Only Sixteen’.
1964 – Gerry & The Pacemakers made their U.S. television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1967 – The Walker Brothers (‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’) – who were not brothers at all – broke up.
Rock Factoid: The band consisted of Scott Engel, John Maus and Gary Leeds.
1967 – The Hollies recorded ‘Carrie-Anne’ in just two takes.
Rock Factoid: It was not until 1995 that Graham Nash revealed he had written the lyrics for singer Marianne Faithfull but was “too shy” to use her real name.
1968 – The Doors recorded ‘Waiting For The Sun’.
1971 – Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds released the single ‘Don’t Pull Your Love’.
1972 – Les Harvey (lead guitarist with Stone The Crows – ‘The Touch Of Your Loving Hand’) was electrocuted on stage when he grabbed an ungrounded microphone. He was only 27.
1974 – The First Class, a studio-based group made up of session musicians and various singers, released ‘Beach Baby’.
2001 – The BBC reported “Ex-Beatle Harrison treated for cancer.”
Rock Factoid: George’s attorneys reacted by saying Harrison had visited the Mayo Clinic in the United States to remove a cancerous growth from one of his lungs. They further claimed the former Beatle had made an “excellent recovery and was in the best spirits and on top form.”
Rock Factoid #2: Less than seven months later, George Harrison was dead.
Compiled by Ray Lemire ©2017 RayLemire.com. / Streamingoldies.com. All Rights Reserved.