Tuesday, May 10, 2016

This Date in Rock Music History: May 11

1957:  Buddy Holly & the Crickets auditioned for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts television program at the KFDA studios in Amarillo, Texas but were rejected.  So much for the opinion of Arthur Godfrey.
1957:  The Everly Brothers appeared in concert for the first time on "Grand Ole Opry" in Nashville, Tennessee.

1958:  Connie Francis rose to #1 in the U.K. with "Who's Sorry Now".
1959:  "Kansas City" reached #1 for Wilbert Harrison on the R&B chart.  It would go on to post seven weeks at the top of that genre.
1959:  Dave "Baby" Cortez scored one of The Top 100 Instrumentals of the Rock Era* as "The Happy Organ" moved to #1.










1963:  While she was singing at a hotel in Manhattan, New York, she was heard by Quincy Jones.  Quincy got her a recording contract and on this date, Lesley Gore debuted on the chart with her first single.  It went on to reach #1, one of 19 hits in her career.
1963:  Another great act also appeared for the first time on the very same chart, quite unusual for the Rock Era.  This duo first recorded as the Paramours, and they debuted on the chart for the first time on this date with their first single.  They enjoyed 21 hits through 1974, with several great ones.  The one that got the ball rolling for the Righteous Brothers was "Little Latin Lupe Lu".
1963:  The Beatles began a 30-week run at #1 on the U.K. album chart with their debut Please Please Me.
1963:  Peter, Paul & Mary moved to the top of the Easy Listening chart with "Puff The Magic Dragon".





1963:  "I Will Follow Him", Little Peggy March's big hit, was #1 on this date for a third week, followed by "Puff The Magic Dragon" from Peter, Paul and Mary and "If You Wanna' Be Happy" by Jimmy Soul.  The Chantay's classic instrumental "Pipeline" was at #4 while Andy Williams had #5 with "Can't Get Used To Losing You".












1964:  The Beach Boys released the single "I Get Around".















1964:  Johnny Rivers released the single "Memphis".
1965:  The Byrds performed "Mr. Tambourine Man" on the NBC show Hullabaloo.
1967:  The Supremes, Petula Clark, the Mamas and the Papas and Bobby Darin starred on the ABC-TV special Rodgers & Hart Today.
1967:  The Bee Gees performed "New York Mining Disaster 1941" on the U.K. television show Top of the Pops.
1968:  Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass released their 10th album, The Beat of the Brass.  It would become their fifth #1 album, placing the group in the all-time top five in that department.







1968:  The Four Tops climbed from 69 to 36 with their great song "If I Were a Carpenter".













1968:  "Honey" by Bobby Goldsboro, one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*, was #1 for a fifth week.  Archie Bell & the Drells were headed there with "Tighten Up" while Gary Puckett & the Union Gap was at 3 with "Young Girl".  Hugo Montenegro's instrumental "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" was #4 while the Box Tops fell from 2-5 with "Cry Like A Baby".  The rest of the Top 10:  "A Beautiful Morning" by the Rascals, "Cowboys To Girls" from the Intruders at #7, "The Unicorn" was #8 for the Irish Rovers, Simon & Garfunkel shot up from 32 to 9 with "Mrs. Robinson" and the Beatles' former #1 "Lady Madonna" was at #10.








1970:  It was the end of an era, one of the most amazing times not just in rock but in music history, as the Beatles released the final single of their time together--"The Long And Winding Road".  (Note:  some websites report the single was released May 18, the same day as the 'Let It Be' album.  The usually reliable 'Beatles Bible' contradicts themselves, saying in one article that the song was released May 18, and in another that the song was released May 11.  We believe the first is a misprint, as numerous other reputable sources, including 'Rolling Stone' magazine and the books 'The Beatles Diary Volume 2:  After The Break-Up 1970-2001' by Keith Badman, 'The Beatles as Musicians:  Revolver Through the Anthology' by Walter Everett, 'All The Songs:  The Story Behind Every Beatles Release' by Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon, and '100 Things Beatles Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die' by Gillian G. Gaar all say that "The Long And Winding Road" was released in the U.S. on May 11.)

 






1970:  Three Dog Night released the single "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)".
1970:  The Soundtrack to "Woodstock" was released.













1972:  John Lennon was a guest on The Dick Cavett Show  and announced that the FBI had tapped his phone.
1973:  Paul McCartney & Wings began their first tour in Bristol, Gloucstershire, England at the Hippodrome.
1974:  Led Zeppelin met Elvis Presley after a Presley concert at the Los Angeles Forum.
1978:  Queen concluded their News of the World tour with three sold-out shows at Wembley Arena in London.
1979:  Rod Stewart appeared at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan for the first of two nights.
1980:  Thin Lizzy performed at The Guild Hall in Preston, Lancashire, England.














1981:  Moved by the tragic shooting of John Lennon earlier in the year, George Harrison wrote "All Those Years Ago", his tribute to Lennon and the group that they had enjoyed so spectacularly.  Harrison released the single in the United States on this date.










1981:  Marty Balin, former lead singer of Jefferson Starship, released the solo single "Hearts".









 

1985:  "Smooth Operator" reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for Sade.












1985:  Madonna's fourth Top 10 in a row became her second #1--"Crazy For You".  U.S.A. for Africa fell after four weeks with "We Are The World".  Simple Minds had their biggest career hit with their song from the great movie The Breakfast Club--"Don't You (Forget About Me)".  The rest of a solid Top 10:  "Rhythm Of The Night" from DeBarge, Murray Head with "One Night In Bangkok", the Power Station edged up with "Some Like It Hot", Sade's "Smooth Operator" was winning over listeners, Wham scored another Top 10 with "Everything She Wants", Animotion was still hot with "Obsession" and Tears for Fears exploded into the Top 10 with "Everybody Wants To Rule The World".






1987:  Bob Seger released the single 'Shakedown".












1990:  Ritchie Valens was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame posthumously by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
1991:  Fairweather Johnson, the follow-up to the wildly successful Cracked Rear View album, debuted at #1 for Hootie & the Blowfish.  It would turn out to disappoint, however.  The Score, from the Fugees was #2, while Alanis Morissette was still at #3 in her 46th week with Jagged Little Pill.







1991:  Roxette moved to #1 with "Joyride".  Amy Grant's "Baby Baby" still was in there at #2.  Other notable songs--Rod Stewart and "Rhythm Of My Heart" at #7, Mariah Carey with "I Don't Wanna' Cry" and Extreme rushed from 16 to 9 with "More Than Words".
1995:  Jimmy Vaughn, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray performed on the popular PBS series Austin City Limits in a tribute to the late Steve Ray Vaughan, who died in a helicopter crash.  The five guitarists had played with Vaughan in his last concert on August 26, 1990.
1997:  Ernie Fields (cover of "In The Mood") died at age 92.  (Note:  several websites claim that Fields was 91 when he died.  He was born August 28, 1904, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society and the books 'Blues:  A Regional Experience' by Bob L. Eagle and Eric S. LeBlanc and 'Handbook of Texas Music' by Laurie E. Jasinski.  That makes Fields 92 years old on his date of death.)
2001:  Oasis and the Black Crowes performed at the Hard Rock in Paradise, Nevada.  (Note:  some websites say the concert was at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Paradise is a census-designated place adjacent to Las Vegas.  The concert was at the Hard Rock in Paradise.)
2002:  Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton found out that his Cape Cod home was destroyed by fire.  The house was under construction at the time.  (Note:  several websites claim the fire was May 12, but it was Saturday night, May 11, according to the local newspaper, 'The Barnstable Patriot'.)
2003:  Noel Redding, bassist for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, died in Clonakilty, Ireland at the age of 57.
2007:  The Mamas and the Papas, Otis Redding and Al Kooper were inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk.

2014:  Ed Gagliardi, bassist for the great rock group Foreigner, died of cancer at the age of 62.







Born This Day:
1941:  Eric Burdon, singer-songwriter of the Animals, and later a member of War, was born in Walker-on-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England.
1943:  Les Chadwick, bass guitarist of Gerry and the Pacemakers, was born in Aigburth, Lancashire, England.  (Note:  some websites naively say Chadwick was born in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.  This is a physical impossibility.  The county of Merseyside was not created until the Local Government Act of 1974, 31 years after Chadwick was born.  Other sites say Chadwick was born in Aigburth, Liverpool, England.  Aiburth is a suburb of Liverpool, and Liverpool has never been a county.  Chadwick was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England.)
1943:  Arnie Satin of the Dovells ("You Can't Sit Down") was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.



1947:  Butch Trucks, drummer and one of the founding members of the Allman Brothers Band, was born in Jacksonville, Florida.
1955:  Mark Herndon, drummer of Alabama, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1955:  Jonathan Jeczalik, co-founder of the Art of Noise and producer of Yes, ABC, Kate Bush and Dollar, was born in Oxfordshire, England.

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