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Today In Music History

25 Apr 2018

1966, Dusty Springfield was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me', the singers only UK No.1. When recording the track, Springfield was not satisfied with her vocal until she had recorded forty-seven takes.

1969, During the band's second North American tour Led Zeppelin played the second of two nights at The Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco in California. It was during this show that 'Whole Lotta Love' was played live for the first time.

1976, 'Wings At The Speed Of Sound' went to No.1 on the US album chart. Paul McCartney's fifth No.1 album after The Beatles became his most successful American chart album, spending seven unconsecutive weeks at No.1. The album featured the hits 'Let 'Em In' and 'Silly Love Songs'.

1980, Blondie were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Call Me', the group's fourth UK No.1, featured in the Richard Gere movie 'American Gigolo', the track was also a No.1 in the US where it became the band's biggest selling single. Producer Giorgio Moroder originally asked Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac to help compose and perform a song for the soundtrack, but she declined.

1982, Out on a day's shopping, Rod Stewart was robbed by a gunman of his $50,000 Porsche on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.

1984, Mike McCartney unveiled the £40,000 statue of The Beatles by John Doubleday at the new £8 million Cavern Walks shopping centre in Liverpool, England. John's first wife, Cynthia, was also in attendance.

1988, Mick Jagger appeared in White Plains, New York, Federal Court in the copyright infringement case brought by reggae singer Patrick Alley, who claimed the Mick Jagger solo track Just Another Night was a plagiarism of his own song of the same name. Alley was claiming $7m in profits from the track. During the case Sly Dunbar played drums to the court to show how the beats were different in each song and Mick sang and played demos of his song to show the court the development of the track. At the end of the week-long trial, Jagger won the case.

1990, Nirvana appeared at the Pyramid Club in New York City. The bands label Sub Pop filmed the show and the performance of 'In Bloom' was later used as a promo clip.

1994, Grace Slick pleaded guilty to pointing a shotgun at police in her California home. She claimed she was under stress because her home had burned down the previous year. She was later sentenced to 200 hours of community service and told to attend four Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a week for three months.

1995, Courtney Love reportedly turned down an offer of $1m from Playboy to pose nude for the magazine.

1997, Ernest Stewart, keyboard player with KC and the Sunshine Band, died of an asthma attack. (1975 US No.1 single 'That's The Way, I Like It', 1983 UK No.1 single 'Give It Up').

2001, Destiny's Child were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Survivor', Janet Jackson was at No.1 on the US chart with 'All For You' and Shaggy and Ricardo RikRok Ducent had the Australian No.1 single with 'It Wasn't Me'

2008, Amy Winehouse spent the night in custody after being arrested on suspicion of assault. Police said Winehouse had been "in no fit state" to be questioned when she arrived at the London station and she was kept in the cells. The 24-year-old was to be questioned about an incident said to have occurred 3 days earlier after a 38-year-old man claimed he was assaulted.

2009, Tinchy Stryder feat N-dubz started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Number 1', the first time ever that a single called 'Number 1' has made it to the top of the UK charts.

2013, US country singer George Jones who had a string of number one songs between the 1950s and 1990s, died aged 81. Nicknamed Possum, his signature song was He Stopped Loving Her Today, a track about love and death. He was married to Tammy Wynette between 1969 and 1975 and the pair recorded several songs together in the 1970s.

2016, A list of tracks by a death metal band was accidentally printed on the back of a new album by UK comedian Bernie Clifton. The 80-year-old (who is famous for riding a yellow ostrich), said he was "fuming and furious" about the error, which saw songs by the group Abhorrent Decimation printed on his new CD.

1938, Born on this day, American guitarist Duane Eddy, who had a string of hit records in the late 1950s and early 1960s, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including 'Rebel Rouser', 'Peter Gunn', and 'Because They're Young'.

1938, Born on this day, Maurice Williams, from American doo-wop singer who had the 1960 US No.1 & 1961 UK No.14 single 'Stay' with The Zodiacs. The song was also a hit for Jackson Browne and The Hollies.

1940, Born on this day, Italian singer, songwriter, DJ and record producer Giorgio Moroder who had the 1979 US No.33 & UK No. 48 single, 'Chase' from the film Midnight Express. He produced all of Donna Summer's world- wide 1976 hits including 'Love To Love You Baby', and the 1984 UK No.3 single with Phil Oakey, 'Together In Electric Dreams.' He also created a score of songs for performers including David Bowie, Kylie Minogue, Irene Cara and Janet Jackson.

1942, Born on this day, American singer Bobby Rydell who had the 1960 US No.2 & UK No.7 single 'Wild One', plus 17 other US Top 40 hits.

1945, Born on this day, Tony Murray, with English garage rock band The Troggs,who had the 1966 US No.1 & UK No.2 single 'Wild Thing' and the hits 'With a Girl Like You' and 'Love Is All Around'.

1945, Born on this day, American singer, songwriter Gary Wright who was a member of Spooky Tooth. He had the 1976 solo US No.2 single 'Dream Weaver'. The song was inspired by Autobiography of a Yogi, which was given to him by George Harrison. Wright also played on Harrison's 1970 All Things Must Pass triple album.

1945, Born on this day, American keyboard player and vocalist Mike Finnigan, his speciality being the B3 Hammond Organ. Finnigan has worked with many artists including, Jimi Hendrix (Electric Ladyland), Joe Cocker, Crosby Stills and Nash, Peter Frampton, Cher, Ringo Starr, Leonard Cohen, Tower of Power and Rod Stewart.

1951, Born on this day, Nick Garvey, guitarist and singer from British pub rock band The Motors who had the 1978 UK No.4 single 'Airport'.

1952, Born on this day, Neol Davies from 2 Tone ska revival band Selecter who had the 1979 UK No.8 single 'On My Radio'.

1960, Born on this day, Roger Taylor, drummer with Duran Duran who scored the 1983 UK No.1 single 'Is There Something I Should Know' plus 25 other UK Top 40 singles, and the 1984 US No.1 single 'The Reflex'. Also a member of Arcadia who had the 1985 UK No.7 single 'Election Day' and The Power Station.

1961, Born on this day, Chris Mars, drummer from American rock band The Replacements, who released the 1984 album Let It Be. Initially a punk rock band, they are considered pioneers of alternative rock.

1967, Born on this day, English session drummer Darrin Mooney who has worked with Gary Moore, Primal Scream, Colin Blunstone, Cliff Richard, Dionne Warwick and David Holmes.

1970, Born on this day, Ruth Anne, English singer with Olive who scored the 1997 UK No.1 single 'You're Not Alone'.

1970, Born on this day, Tionne Watkins, T- Boz, singer with American girl group TLC. They scored nine top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including four No.1 singles, 'Creep', 'Waterfalls', 'No Scrubs', and 'Unpretty'. Their 1999 US No.1 album Fanmail spent 57 weeks on the UK chart. Having sold over 65 million records worldwide, TLC is the best-selling American girl group.

1971, Born on this day, Jay DeMarcus, (real name: Stanley Wayne DeMarcus Jr.), bassist with American country band Rascal Flatts who scored the 2004 US country No.2 single ‘I Melt’, and the 2006 US No.1 album ‘Me And My Gang’.

1975, Born on this day, Joey Jordison, drummer with American heavy metal band Slipknot. Their 2008 fourth album All Hope Is Gone gave them their first US No.1. Jordison played in Slipknot since their formation in 1995 until his departure from the band in December 2013. He is also the guitarist in the American horror punk band Murderdolls.

1976, Born on this day, Jose Antonio Pasillas II, drummer, from American rock band Incubus, who had the 2001 US No.9 & UK No.40 single, 'Drive', and the 2004 US No.2 and UK No.6 album A Crow Left of the Murder’, and the 2006 US No.1 album Light Grenades. Worldwide, Incubus has sold over 23 million albums.

1981, Born on this day, Ms Dynamite, (Niomi McLean Daley), English rapper, singer, songwriter. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards.

1982, Born on this day, Jonathan Lee, from English pop group S Club 7 who had the 1999 UK No.1 single 'Bring It All Back'. Their 2000 UK No.1 album 7 spent over a year on the UK chart. The group was formed in 1998 and quickly rose to fame by starring in their own BBC television series, Miami 7.

24 Apr 2018

1954, Johnnie Ray was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Such A Night.' The singer's first of three UK No.1's. He became deaf in his right ear aged 13 after an accident and would later perform wearing a hearing aid. Dexys Midnight Runners' 1982 music video for 'Come On Eileen', used footage of Ray from 1954. The lyrics of the song say, "Poor old Johnnie Ray sounded sad upon the radio / he moved a million hearts in mono".

1960, Elvis Presley started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Stuck On You', his first hit single after his two-year stint in the US Army. It became his first No.1 single of the 1960s and thirteenth overall.

1967, Just days after the completion of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles embark upon their next project, recording the theme to 'Magical Mystery Tour' at Abbey Road studios in London.

1970, The Jackson Five started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'ABC'. It was the group's second US No. 1, a No.8 hit in the UK.

1974, Pamela Courson the long-term companion of the late Jim Morrison died of a drugs overdose. It was Courson who found The Doors singer dead on July 3, 1971 in the bathtub of their apartment in Paris, France.

1977, Elvis Presley made the last recordings of his life during a concert at the Saginaw, Michigan Civic Centre. Three songs from the show appeared on the posthumously released Presley album, 'Moody Blue'.

1979, The Police made their debut on BBC TV's Top Of The Pops performing 'Roxanne'. The single which was taken from their album Outlandos d'Amour was written from the point-of-view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute.

1980, Stranglers singer, guitarist Hugh Cornwell was released from a London prison after serving six weeks for possession of drugs.

1982, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Ebony And Ivory.' This was McCartney's 24th No.1 hit single as a songwriter. The title was inspired by McCartney hearing Spike Milligan say "black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony folks!". It was later named as the tenth worst song of all time by Blender magazine and in 2007 was named the worst duet in history by BBC 6 Music listeners.

1987, Madonna went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'La Isla Bonita.' The fifth and final single from her third studio album, True Blue, made her the only female artist to score four UK No.1 singles. The song had been offered to Michael Jacksonfor his Bad album.

1987, U2 started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with their fifth studio album The Joshua Tree. Inspired by American tour experiences, literature, and politics, the album topped the charts in over 20 countries, and is one of the world's all-time best-selling albums, with over 25 million copies sold. The album which won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year produced the hit singles 'With or Without You', 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For', and 'Where the Streets Have No Name'.

1988, Bon Jovi's manager Doc McGee was convicted on drug offences arising from the 1982 seizure of 40,000lb of marijuana smuggled into north Carolina from Colombia. McGee was sentenced to a five year suspended prison term and a $15,000 fine.

1990, The Fender Stratocaster that Jimi Hendrix played at the Woodstock festival was auctioned off for a record $295,000. His two-hour set at the 1969 festival became the longest of his career.

1994, The Eagles played the first of two shows where they recorded their 'Hell Freezes Over' album. Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Don Felder and Timothy B. Schmit first got back together the previous December for the making of a Travis Tritt video of their song, 'Take It Easy' The name of the album was taken from an earlier quote by Glen Frey, who responded to the question "When will the Eagles get back together?"

1997, U2's 'Pop Mart' world tour kicked off at The Las Vegas San Boyd Stadium in front of 35,000 fans. The tour featured the largest video screen in the world and would visit 80 cities around the planet.

2002, TLC member Lisa Lopes was killed in a car accident in La Ceiba, Honduras, aged 30. Seven other people, including Lopes' brother and sister, who were in the Mitsubishi Montero sports utility vehicle when the crash happened, were taken to a hospital. Lopes who was driving the car when it crashed had spent the past month in Honduras working on various projects including a clothing line, a new solo project and a book.

2003, In this year's Sunday Times Rich List, Paul McCartney was confirmed as the world's richest musician with a fortune worth over £760m. Madonna was 4th in the list with £227m, Mick Jagger 6th with £175m and Elton John 7th with £170m. Ozzy Osbourne became the 24th richest musician after earning an estimated £42m from his MTV show The Osbournes. And Simon Fuller was said to have earned over £50m from sales of the 'Pop Idol' TV show.

2007, During The Rolling Stones current world tour, aides to George Bush were told they couldn’t book a luxury five star hotel suite because Mick Jagger had already booked it. Jagger had splashed out £3,600 a night for the suite at the five-star Imperial Hotel in Vienna, Austria, in advance of the band's appearance there. Prior to the attempted booking, US Secret Service agents had already vetted the hotel, but to no avail.

2007, American singer Bobby "Boris" Pickett died of leukaemia at the age of 69. Scored the Halloween anthem 'The Monster Mash' in 1962. The song had been banned by The BBC in the UK, deemed offensive and wasn't a hit until 1973. It was a spoof on the dance crazes popular at the time, including the Twist and the Mashed Potato.

2008, The Empire State Building in New York City was lit up in Mariah Carey's motif colours, lavender, pink, and white, in celebration of her achievements in the world of music. Carey was the first person in history to be honoured with this event.

2009, A man suing rapper Snoop Dogg told a court he received a 'brutal' beating from the star's security. Richard Monroe Jr also claimed that the rapper hit him with a microphone after he climbed on stage. Mr Monroe was asking for $22m (£15m) in damages from the rapper and others. Jurors were told that as the performer started his hit 'Gin and Juice', at the White River Amphitheatre in Seattle, Mr Monroe thought there was an open invitation to go up on stage and party.

2014, Spotify removed a album of silence by American funk band Vulfpeck from its streaming site. The band's fourth record, Sleepify, was made up of 10 tracks of silence which they encouraged fans to stream on repeat overnight. The idea was aimed at generating money so that the band could go on tour and not charge admission fees.

2016, Motley Crue co-founder Nikki Sixx launched a campaign asking Google to pay musicians more money when their videos appeared on YouTube. The bass player was urging Google to remember its former slogan - "Don't be evil" - in its dealings with artists.

2017, Sir Elton John suffered a potentially deadly bacterial infection during a tour, forcing him to spend two nights in intensive care and cancel concerts in the US. The singer became violently ill at the end of a tour of South America, requiring him to return to the UK for urgent treatment. Nine concerts that were due to be staged in Las Vegas and California were cancelled.

1918, Born on this day, American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald With Verve Records she recorded some of her more widely noted works, particularly her interpretation of the Great American Songbook. Fitzgerald died from a stroke on 15th June 1996 at the age of 79.

1923, Born on this day, American blues guitarist and singer Albert King, best known for the influential 1967 album Born Under a Bad Sign and the title track. He died of a heart attack on 21 December 1992.

1933, Born on this day, Jerry Leiber, (& Stoller), songwriter and producer for Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Monkees, Cliff Richard. Among their hit songs: Hound Dog, Jailhouse Rock, King Creole, Don't, There Goes My Baby, Searchin', Yakety Yak and Kansas City. Leiber died on August 22, 2011 in Los Angeles at the age of 78 from cardio-pulmonary failure.

1943, Born on this day, Tony Christie, UK singer, 1971 UK No.18 single (‘Is This The Way To) Amarillo’, re-released in aid of Comic Relief in 2005 becoming a UK No.1 with comedian Peter Kay. This broke the record set over 18 years previously by Jackie Wilson. His "Reet Petite" topped the chart in Dec 1986; 29 Years, 1 Month, and 11 Days after it first entered the chart. The new record set by Christie was 33 Years, 3 Months, and 27 Days.

1944, Born on this day, Charlie Harper, singer with English punk band, UK Subs, who scored the 1979 UK No.26 single 'Stranglehold'.

1945, Born on this day, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer, songwriter, producer who started his musical career at 18 when he fronted the Hootenanny Singers, a popular Swedish folk–skiffle group. After forming ABBA in 1972 they became one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Their first UK hit was the 1974 No.1 single 'Waterloo', followed by eight other UK No.1 singles and nine No.1 albums. He is the co-composer of the musicals Chess and Mamma Mia! (and co-produced the film) with fellow ABBA member and close friend Benny Andersson.

1945, Born on this day, Stu Cook, bassist with Creedence Clearwater Revival, who had the 1969 UK No.1 and US No.2 single 'Bad Moon Rising' plus 11 other US Top 40 singles and the 1970 US & UK No.1 album Cosmo's Factory.

1945, Born on this day, Michael Kogel, from Spanish beat group Los Bravos who had the 1966 UK No.2 & US No.4 single 'Black Is Black'. They were the first Spanish rock band to have a UK & US hit single.

1946, Born on this day, Ronnie Gilbert, from American rock group The Blue Magoos, who scored the 1967 US No.5 single, 'We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet'. They were at the forefront of the psychedelic music trend, beginning in 1966.

1949, Born on this day, Michael Brown, singer, 1966-67 he was in the Left Banke, which had a 1966 US No.5 hit, 'Walk Away Renee' and was a member of Stories, who had the 1973 US No.1 single 'Brother Louie'. The song was written by Errol Brown from Hot Chocolate who had a UK No.7 with the song the same year. Brown died on March 19, 2015, at age 65.

1950, Born on this day, Steve Ferrone, former drummer with the Average White Band, who had the 1975 US No.1 & UK No.6 single 'Pick Up The Pieces'. Ferrone is now best known for being the drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for the last 25 years, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch in 1994. He has also recorded and performed with Duran Duran, Stevie Nicks, Laura Pausini, Christine McVie, Slash, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, Bee Gees, Scritti Politti, Aerosmith and Johnny Cash.

1958, Born on this day, Fish, (Derek Dick), from British rock band Marillion from 1981 until 1988. They had the 1985 UK No.2 single 'Kayleigh'. Fish has since been a solo artist and occasional actor.

1964, Born on this day, Andy Bell, lead singer of the English synth-pop duo Erasure who achieved 24 consecutive Top 40 hits in the UK, while having three Top 20 hits in the US.

1964, Born on this day, Maya Gilder, keyboards, from British new wave band Furniture, who had the 1986 UK No.21 single 'Brilliant Mind'.

1965, Born on this day, Eric Avery, bassist and co-founding member of alternative American rock metal band Jane's Addiction.

1965, Born on this day, Simon Fowler, singer with English rock band Ocean Colour Scene who formed in Moseley, Birmingham in 1989. They scored the 1996 UK No.4 single 'The Day We Caught The Train', plus over 12 other Top 40 singles and the 1997 UK No.1 album Marchin’ Already.

1980, Born on this day, Jacob Underwood, from American boy band O-Town, who were the winners of US TV show 'Making The Band' They scored the 2001 US No. 3 single 'All Or Nothing'.

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