The late Mary Travers (Peter, Paul & Mary – ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’) was born in 1936

The late Tom Fogerty (guitarist with Creedence Clearwater Revival – ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘Joyful Resurrection’ as a solo artist) was born in 1941

Alan Gratzer (drummer with REO Speedwagon – ‘Keep On Loving You’) is 67

Joe Bouchard (bass guitar with Blue Öyster Cult – ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’) is 67

Phil May (guitarist and lead singer with The Pretty Things – ‘Honey I Need’) is 71

Lee Graziano (drummer with The American Breed – ‘Bend Me, Shape Me’) is 72

Roger McGough (vocalist with The Scaffold – ‘Thank U Very Much’) is 78

Harry Belafonte recorded ‘Jamaica Farewell—1955

Brian Epstein went to the Cavern Club to witness first-hand what customers at his music store had been raving about—1961
Rock Factoid: At the time, Epstein was the manager of the family-owned North End Road Music Store (known as NEMS). Curious to see a band he had heard was popular with teenagers, he and his assistant, Alistair Taylor, saw the Beatles perform and Epstein was very impressed. “They were fresh and they were honest, and they had star quality. Whatever that is, they had it, or I sensed that they had it.”
A little over two months later, Epstein became manager of the group.

The Miracles released ‘You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me’—1962

The Beatles’ new single, ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ became the first-ever UK single to receive advance orders of one million copies—1963

Elvis Presley released ‘Blue Christmas’ / ‘Wooden Heart—1964
Rock Factoid: ‘Blue Christmas’ was released as an album cut in 1957 but it wasn’t released as a commercially-available single until 1964. Likewise, ‘Wooden Heart’ was part of Presley’s G.I. Blues’ soundtrack’, but was not released on a single in the United States until 1964.

John Lennon visited London’s Indica Gallery to see the exhibit Unfinished Paintings and Objects and met the artist behind the showing, Yoko Ono—1966
Rock Factoid: She presented him with a card that simply said, “Breathe,” and he responded by panting. He attempted to hammer a nail into one of her interactive artworks, which invited viewers to do just that. Because the exhibit was scheduled to open to the public the next day, Ono refused, leading the gallery’s owner to beg her to reconsider due to John’s fame.
Ono still refused, claiming to have never heard of the Beatles, but said he could hammer one in for five shillings. John responded that he would let her have an imaginary five shillings if he could hammer in an imaginary nail.
Rock Factoid #2: Just for the record, some sources claim all of the above happened on November 7, and since Ono’s exhibit ran from November 8-10, it wouldn’t have made sense for her to deny Johns request to hammer in the nail on November 9th. Just sayin’
Idle Thought: No matter which date the event occurred, the important question is this: It was November 1966 and Ono had never heard of The Beatles?

Paul McCartney died—1966 Relax, it was a hoax
Rock Factoid: Here are the morbid (but completely false) details: After storming out of a band argument, McCartney was killed in a car crash caused by a slick road (and an unhinged fan or meter maid named Rita who Paul picked up hitchhiking). Not noticing that the lights had changed, Paul was hit by another car, but burned to death inside his own car while a crowd of onlookers, helpless, watched him die. His face was obliterated and his teeth knocked out in the crash and fire, making identification impossible.
Idle Thought: But imagine, just imagine if this story had any validity. It would mean Paul died the day John met Yoko.
We now return to reality

In a battle of egos, the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman booted David Crosby from the group—1967
Rock Factoid: “Roger and Chris came zooming up in their Porsches and said that I was impossible to work with and I wasn’t very good anyway and they’d do better without me. I just said, ‘it’s a shameful waste. Goodbye.’” … David Crosby
“David just had this knack for causing trouble. He was an extrovert and he could be an arrogant jerk. If anybody threatened him or he perceived it as a threat, he would lash out. And David was lucky that none of us popped him.“ … Chris Hillman

John Lennon was on the cover of the first Rolling Stone magazine—1967
Rock Factoid: Rolling Stone included a free roach clip.

Simon & Garfunkel recorded ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’—1969
Rock Factoid: The song was influenced by the gospel music to which Simon was listening at that time, especially the Swan Silvertones and their song ‘Mary Don’t You Weep’ The name of the song was inspired by the latter’s line “I’ll be your bridge over deep water, if you trust in my name.”
Rock Factoid #2: The song, which was released as a single in January 1970, won five awards at the 13th Annual Grammy Awards in 1971, including the Grammy for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Santana released ‘Black Magic Woman’—1970

Billy Joel released the ‘Piano Man’ album—1973
Rock Factoid: Michael Stewart, the album’s producer, was the younger brother of singer John Stewart and was the guitarist with We Five (‘You Were On My Mind’).

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service seized all of the bank accounts and real estate holdings of Willie Nelson, who owed $16 million in taxes—1990
Rock Factoid: Homes in Washington, Texas, Colorado, and Alabama all fell into the hands of the IRS within 24 hours. His band, which was playing in his Texas studio at the time, was evicted from the property. His tour buses were seized by banks, and even his royalties from CBS records were thrown into jeopardy.
The unpaid taxes were a result of Nelson not paying his due during a span of six years, from 1978 to 1982. Roughly $6 million was the exact amount he owed, but more than $10 million was accrued in penalties and late fees.
In August 1990, the IRS had notified Nelson of the back taxes, and the singer had a spoken agreement that they would hold off until he could get restitution from Price Waterhouse (his accounting firm) but the IRS reneged on their agreement and seized his assets.
Nelson released ‘The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories?’ as a double album, with all profits destined for the IRS. Many of his assets were auctioned and purchased by friends, who donated or rented his possessions to him for a nominal fee. He sued Price Waterhouse, contending that they put his money in illegal tax shelters. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount and Nelson cleared his debts by 1993.

Bob Dylan licensed ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’ to be used in a commercial for the Bank of Montreal. It was the first time Dylan licensed a song of his to be used in a commercial—1996

Ex-Mindbender Wayne Fontana (‘Game Of Love’) was found guilty of arson after setting a police car on fire, then showing up to court dressed as Lady Justice. He was given 11 months sentence, but released after having already spent that amount of time in a mental hospital since the incident—2007

Major Harris (lead singer with The Delfonics – ‘Hey Love’ and ‘Love Won’t Let Me Wait’ as a solo artist) died of congestive heart and lung failure at the age of 65—2012

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