1974 - The Guess Who were a long-term Canadian band, having evolved from the early sixties, who gained international success with their hit single, American Woman. This was the day the band from Winnipeg utilised their fame and hosted a celebrity tennis tournament in Toronto to benefit Ballet of Canada.
1977 - This is the day that a young, colourful David Bowie appeared on mainstream American TV via the Dinah Shore TV special. Dinah was queen of US televisiion at the time.
1976 - Depending on where you live in the world, this was the day Led Zeppelin released their seventh studio album, Presence. Quite possibly their weakest album, according to some critics, Presence was recorded in just 18 days at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, with singer Robert Plant in a wheelchair, after suffering extreme injuries in a car accident. "I spent the whole process in a wheelchair, so physically I was really frustrated. I think my vocal performance on it is pretty poor, it sounds tired and strained," Plant admitted at the time. This album was the fastest recording turnaround time achieved by the band since their début album. The rushed recording sessions were in part a result of the band having booked the studio immediately prior to The Rolling Stones, who were shortly to record songs for their album Black and Blue. Nobody's Fault But Mine, a traditional blues, negro spiritual song, for me, is one of the best tracks on the album, and here's their version from their 1979 Knebworth concert
1978 - Named after the sex machine Dr. Durand Dr. Duran in the Roger Vadim science-fiction film Barbarella, starring a very sexy Jane Fonda, Birmingham, English band Duran Duran made their live debut 33 years ago today, at The Lecture Theatre at Birmingham Polytechnic. This was the same year as punk bands Sex Pistols and Clash were ruling the live scene across the UK. Duran Duran evolved into one of the most successful main stream bands, of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the United States. Along with their rise came, too, the rise of the so-called 'new romantic' era, the antitheses of punk. The band worked with fashion designers to build a sharp and elegant image. Since the 1980s, they have placed 14 singles in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and 21 in the Billboard Hot 100 and have supposedly sold more than 100 million records. Duran Duran were among the first bands to have their videos shot by professional directors with 35 mm film movie cameras, The first single, Planet Earth, demonstrates very clearly the visuals of 'new romantics'. And oh how we laffed!!!
1980 - In the year Brit group Genesis album Duke hit #1 in the U.K, across the Atlantic in Athens, Georgia, a little group called R.E.M. played their first show at St. Mary's Episcopal Church. Three years later, this front-line indie band made their first-ever TV appearance on The David Letterman Show, and this is it, Michael Stipe with hair, and REM looking a bit like a cleaned-up punk band
1982 - The radio and recording industry publication, Record World magazine ceased operations today and filed for bankruptcy protection. A year later, and The Beach Boys were banned from the Fourth of July concert at the White House, but U.S. President Ronald Reagan overturned the ban two days later. And also today, in 1985, an estimated 5,000 radio stations across the world simultaneously played the charity song We Are the World, but we've seen the video a million times so we won't repeat it here. If you want to see it, though, just go to our archive section. Eight years later In Beverly Hills, CA, and Marky Mark Wahlberg had assault charges against him dropped when he reached an out-of-court settlement with the man he allegedly beat up a year earlier. A year after that and a brand new generation of music lovers, who had embraced a new music genre led by Nirvana, mourned all over the world as their hero, Kurt Cobain killed himself with a shotgun. He was found three days later. RIP.
1998 - Known as the drummer's drummer, Colin 'Cozy' Powell died in a car crash, after a drinking bout. He was 50 years old. During his long career, Cowell played drums for the following acts: The Sorcerers, Youngblood, The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Graham Bonnet & the Hooligans, Whitesnake, Emerson, Lake & Powell, Black Sabbath, The Brian May Band, Peter Green and many more. RIP.
