The late LaVern Baker (born Delores Williams – ‘Jim Dandy’) was born in 1929

The late Hank Garland (session guitarist) was born in 1930
Rock Factoid: Garland played on hundreds of hit records by the likes of The Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Brenda Lee and more but is best known for his work with Elvis Presley (‘Little Sister’, ‘I Got Stung’, ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’, ‘It’s Now Or Never’ and ‘A Big Hunk O’Love’).

The late Roger LaVern (keyboards with The Tornados – ‘Telstar’) was born in 1938

Mic Michaeli (born Gunnar Mathias Michaeli – keyboards with Europe – ‘Carrie’) is 53

Mike Mesaros (bass guitar with The Smithereens – ‘A Girl Like You’) is 58

Ian Marsh (synthesizer with Human League – ‘Don’t You Want Me’ and Heaven 17 – ‘Temptation’) is 59

Marshall Crenshaw (‘Someday, Someway’) is 62

Paul Cowsill (The Cowsills – ‘The Rain, The Park & Other Things’) is 64

Jim Peterik (lead singer and keyboards with The Ides of March – ‘Vehicle’ and keyboardist with Survivor – ‘Eye Of The Tiger’) is 65

Pat Daugherty (bass guitar with Black Oak Arkansas – ‘Jim Dandy’) is 68

Vince Martell (guitarist with Vanilla Fudge – ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’) is 70

Chris Dreja (rhythm guitarist with The Yardbirds – ‘Heart Full Of Soul’) is 70

Mose Allison (‘Parchman Farm’ and a direct influence on The Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, John Mayall, J. J. Cale, Van Morrison and The Who) is 88

Frank Sinatra signed with Columbia Records—1944

Hank Ballard & The Midnighters recorded the original version of ‘The Twist’ in King Studios, Cincinnati—1958

Joan Baez played her first major headlining concert, opening at New York’s Town Hall in a sold-out, critically acclaimed show—1961

Brian Epstein and Ed Sullivan negotiated three appearances by The Beatles on Sullivan’s Sunday night program—1963
Rock Factoid: Performers on The Ed Sullivan Show regularly received $10,000 or more for a top-billed appearance (a red-hot Elvis Presley had received $50,000 in 1956 for three appearances), but Sullivan held the upper hand in his negotiations with Epstein, who represented a group unknown in America at the time.
Rock Factoid #2: Sullivan offered Brian $3,500 for a live performance on February 9, 1964, and another $3,500 for a live performance the following Sunday night. He agreed to pay the group’s transportation and lodging. Realizing the importance of having his boys on the Sullivan show, Brian agreed to the deal. In addition to the two live programs, Epstein also agreed to have The Beatles tape a performance for a later broadcast (February 23rd). The parties agreed on a payment of $3,000 for the taped segment, thus bringing the total for the three shows to $10,000.
Rock Factoid #3: Epstein’s deal with Sullivan may be a landmark date in Beatles history but the primary purpose for his visit to New York was to promote Billy J. Kramer, whom Epstein hoped would develop into a successful cabaret crooner capable of headlining shows in New York and Las Vegas.
Which leads us to…

Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas released ‘I’ll Keep You Satisfied’ in England—1963
Rock Factoid: The song, written mainly by Paul McCartney but credited to Lennon-McCartney, reached #4 on the UK Singles chart, and was the third consecutive single in a series of songs specifically written for him by John and Paul. ‘I’ll Keep You Satisfied’ peaked at #30 in the U.S. in 1964.

Tom Jones recorded ‘It’s Not Unusual’—1964

Roustabout, starring Elvis Presley, premiered. The screenplay was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award for best written American musical —1964

Velvet Underground made their performance debut at a high school dance in Summit, NJ. They weren’t paid for their appearance—1965

The Rolling Stones recorded ‘Connection’ and ‘Cool, Calm, Collected’—1966

Rushing to finish the ‘Rubber Soul’ album, The Beatles recorded ‘Wait’, ‘Girl’, ‘I’m Looking Through You’ and ‘You Won’t See Me’ in one marathon session—1965

The Supremes released ‘In And Out Of Love’—1967

John Lennon and Yoko Ono released their first album (‘Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins’)—1968
Rock Factoid: We have used the alternate cover. This was the suggested album cover by Capitol but John refused to use it because it “wasn’t honest enough.” We decided not to use the actual cover, not because we dislike “honesty” but rather because we’re pretty sure everyone has seen it before … and frankly, neither Lennon or Ono were all that visually spectacular in the nude.
Rock Factoid #2: When Capitol Records refused to release the album with John’s “honest” photo, it was picked up by Tetragrammaton, a small label previously known for spoken word releases. Tetragrammaton issued ‘Two Virgins‘ in a brown paper sleeve, with a cutaway through which Lennon and Ono’s faces could be seen.
Rock Factoid #3: Quantities of the album were seized in several U.S. jurisdictions, including 30,000 copies in New Jersey. Nonetheless, it managed to reach #124 in the U.S. charts.

Elvis Presley released ‘Don’t Cry Daddy’ / ‘Rubberneckin’—1969

The Beach Boys recorded ‘At My Window’—1969

Bob Dylan’s first novel (Tarantula) was published—1970

The concert film, ‘Elvis: That’s The Way It Is’ premiered—1970

Berry Oakley (bass guitar with The Allman Brothers Band – ‘Ramblin’ Man’) died (motorcycle accident)—1972
Rock Factoid: Oakley’s accident took place within three blocks of where Duane Allman had died in a motorcycle accident thirteen months earlier. Oakley said he was okay after the accident, declined medical treatment, and went home. Three hours later, he was rushed to the hospital but died of cerebral swelling caused by a fractured skull.
Rock Factoid #2: Both men were 24 when they died. Allman and Oakley remain together. They are buried side-by-side in Macon’s Rose Hill Cemetery.

KISS released their ‘Rock And Roll Over’ album—1976

Wings released ‘Mull Of Kintyre’—1977
Rock Factoid: The single, written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine, would reach #1 in the UK, and was Wings’ biggest hit in Britain. 38 years later, the song remains the UK’s best-selling non-charity single.
Rock Factoid #2: It also became a massive international hit, dominating the charts in Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland, but the song was not a hit in the U.S., where the flip side ‘Girls’ School’ received more airplay.

Patrick ‘Paddy’ Clancy (The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem – ‘Finnegan’s Wake’) died (cancer)—1998

M’hammed Soumayah, bodyguard for Liza Minelli, sued the singer for $100 million for allegedly forcing him to have sex with her or be fired from his $238,000-a-year job. The matter was settled out of court five years later—2004

Billy Joel kicked off his first tour in eight years—2005

John Petersen (drummer with The Beau Brummels – ‘Laugh Laugh’ and Harpers Bizarre – ‘The 59th Street Bridge Song…Feelin’ Groovy’) died (heart attack)—2007

Bob Beckham (‘Just As Much As Ever’ and later a country music publishing legend) died (natural causes)—2013

Billy Adamson (drummer with The Searchers from 1970-1998 – ‘Hearts In Her Eyes’) died (pneumonia, after a fall)—2013

Arash Farazmand (drummer with The Yellow Dogs – ‘New Century’) died (shot in New York City by a fellow musician)—2013
Soroush Farazmand (guitarist with The Yellow Dogs – ‘New Century’) died (shot in New York City by a fellow musician)—2013
Rock Factoid: The Yellow Dogs originated in Tehran, Iran. In 2009, they had applied to the American Consulate for visas to perform a concert tour in the United States, and members were interviewed by the U.S. government at the U.S. Embassy in Istanbul, Turkey.
“Though their music is not overtly political or oppositionist, the Yellow Dogs described the risks of playing any kind of rock and roll in Iran, recounting several occasions in 2007-8 when police raided closed-door concerts they were holding (typically in sound-proofed basements or warehouses in isolated neighborhoods). One raid led to the detention of one band member under official charges of ‘Satan worship.’ A combination of bribes and parental pleading got him released after two weeks in detention.” … U.S. Embassy interview notes
Rock Factoid #2: “They didn’t want to change the world, they just wanted to play music. They were great kids who people just loved. They looked cool and they played great music. They never bothered anyone” …Martin Greenman, local fan

Compiled by Ray Lemire ©2015 RayLemire.com. All Rights Reserved.