1917 - Not sure who determines such things, but according to several reference sources, this was supposedly the first jazz record, Dark Town Strutters' Ball, released 84 years ago today. Following is video of the vintage recording being played on an Edison Model 30 Amberola Phonograph, de rigeur at the time. The Shelton Brook-penned Darktown Strutters' Ball was recorded on a 4-minute Edison Blue Amberol Record from the same year, clearly at the dawn of recorded music and new technological devices on which to record it and play it. Long way from there to digital download. There have since been many revised recorded versions of this truly historic song, and in many musical genres; following the original video below, there is a rock version from Australian group at the time, the Ted Mulry Gang, or TMG, who were once stable mates with AC/DC.
1958 - Hey ho, surf wasn't quite up mainstream, but in those days, late fifties, mainly in small coastal pockets of good surf beaches around the world, there was the genesis of the surf cult, and on the west coast of America, in Balboa, California, they had their own music, and the king of the surf music was Dick Dale. This was the night, May 31, that he performed his timeless classic, Let's Go Trippin, at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa. Dale experimented with reverberation and made use of custom made Fender amplifiers, including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier. Folks, this is the first bona fide, very first surfing instrumental song - bet you know the tune. Following that, a little tour around Los Angeles.
1961 - This was the day the duck walk Chuck Berry opened Berry Park, a brand new concept in entertainment parks. The new park was a 30 acre amusement park in Wentzville, USA. This is Chuck Berry, same year, introduced by Trini Lopez. This is the original rock'n'roller playing dirty rock'n'roll music, Chuck Berry.
1964 - Believe it or not, for a nano second there back in '64, British pop group The Dave Clarke Five was the Beatles' main competition, until the Rolling Stones erupted into mainstream. The Dave Clarke Five appeared on Ed Sullivan's show more than any other act, a total of 11 appearances. Their infectious pop songs were in the same fashion, mainly, as this video from their first appearance on the show, 47 years ago today.
1969 - By the time Stevie Wonder was just 19 - think about it - he had released 10 albums, and this was his 11th album, My Cherie Amour, released today 42 years ago. The album yielded a couple of major hits, including the title track and Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday, as well as Wonder's takes on the 1967 hit Light My Fire by The Doors and Hello, Young Lovers from The King and I.The American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist, and blind since shortly after birth, signed with Motown Records' Tamla label at the age of eleven. Among Wonder's best known works are songs such as Superstition, Sir Duke, I Wish and I Just Called to Say I Love You. Perhaps his standout albums would include Talking Book, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. He has now recorded more than 30 world hits, has received 22 Grammy Awards - the most ever awarded to a male solo artist, incidentally. Wonder is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and the year earlier, America's music bible, Billboard magazine, released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary. Wonder came in at #5.
1969 - Same day, same year as Wonder's LP release, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded the iconic song, Give Peace a Chance during their highly-piblicised Montreal bed-in. Lennon was a big-picture peace missionary and today more than ever his message is clear, poignant, and the only solution to the ongoing multi-dimensional destruction of the planet by humans.
1969 - Everyone was pumping out records, and again, on the same day, same year, The Rolling Stones recorded Honky Tonk Women, and six years later, The Eagles record One Of These Nights. A year after that, in 1976, at the Charlton Athletic Grounds in England, the Guinness Book of World Records judged and pronounced The Who as the loudest rock band ever. Their set measured 76,000 watts and 120 decibels. Well, who would have thought it! And decidedly lo-tech on the other side of the Atlantic, same day, 1977, The Patti Smith group started a nine night residency at New York's CBGB's. It was some night, May 31, '77 because new rock trio The Police appeared at The Railway Hotel in Puntey, London, while prog rock superstar pioneers Emerson, Lake & Palmer began an American tour accompanied by a 70-piece orchestra.This was also the year the BBC announced a ban on the new Sex Pistols single God Save The Queen saying it was "in gross bad taste". In addition, England's Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) issued a warning to all radio stations saying the playing the single would be in breach of Section 4:1:A of the Broadcasting act. Such was the change in mood and taste for a new generation, that the song reached #2 anyway, without airplay. It would have reached #1 had the BBC and record stores not conspired to not allow it to reach the #1 position, even though it actually was the biggest selling song of the week. This is one of the great, great true blue rock'n'roll songs.
1979 - Was it the moon, the stars, or the end of the month. Here we are, still on May 31, not able to move forward because this was also the day in New York City, the restored Radio City Music Hall was reopened. Three years later, The Clash released the album Combat Rock. If you want details and videos of The Clash go to our archive search engine. Same day, music of a different kind, the song Eye Of The Tiger was released; The Stones performed at the famous blues and punk club in Oxford Street, London, to a sold out crowd of 400 people - charity gig? warm up gig? Have no idea. But I know on the same day, same year a little group called REM from Athens, Georgia, signed a five-album deal with I.R.S. Records, an independent label based in California. And that's almost it for this jam-packed day, May 31, except for...13 years ago, 1998, Geri Halliwell, also known as Ginger Spice of the Spice Girls, confirmed she was leaving the group: "This is because of differences between us. I am sure the group will continue to be successful and I wish them all the best." And so it goes without saying, dear reader, this is the Spice Girls. Actually, by this time, more Spice Women.
1958 - Hey ho, surf wasn't quite up mainstream, but in those days, late fifties, mainly in small coastal pockets of good surf beaches around the world, there was the genesis of the surf cult, and on the west coast of America, in Balboa, California, they had their own music, and the king of the surf music was Dick Dale. This was the night, May 31, that he performed his timeless classic, Let's Go Trippin, at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa. Dale experimented with reverberation and made use of custom made Fender amplifiers, including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier. Folks, this is the first bona fide, very first surfing instrumental song - bet you know the tune. Following that, a little tour around Los Angeles.
1961 - This was the day the duck walk Chuck Berry opened Berry Park, a brand new concept in entertainment parks. The new park was a 30 acre amusement park in Wentzville, USA. This is Chuck Berry, same year, introduced by Trini Lopez. This is the original rock'n'roller playing dirty rock'n'roll music, Chuck Berry.
1964 - Believe it or not, for a nano second there back in '64, British pop group The Dave Clarke Five was the Beatles' main competition, until the Rolling Stones erupted into mainstream. The Dave Clarke Five appeared on Ed Sullivan's show more than any other act, a total of 11 appearances. Their infectious pop songs were in the same fashion, mainly, as this video from their first appearance on the show, 47 years ago today.
1969 - By the time Stevie Wonder was just 19 - think about it - he had released 10 albums, and this was his 11th album, My Cherie Amour, released today 42 years ago. The album yielded a couple of major hits, including the title track and Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday, as well as Wonder's takes on the 1967 hit Light My Fire by The Doors and Hello, Young Lovers from The King and I.The American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist, and blind since shortly after birth, signed with Motown Records' Tamla label at the age of eleven. Among Wonder's best known works are songs such as Superstition, Sir Duke, I Wish and I Just Called to Say I Love You. Perhaps his standout albums would include Talking Book, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. He has now recorded more than 30 world hits, has received 22 Grammy Awards - the most ever awarded to a male solo artist, incidentally. Wonder is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and the year earlier, America's music bible, Billboard magazine, released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary. Wonder came in at #5.
1969 - Same day, same year as Wonder's LP release, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded the iconic song, Give Peace a Chance during their highly-piblicised Montreal bed-in. Lennon was a big-picture peace missionary and today more than ever his message is clear, poignant, and the only solution to the ongoing multi-dimensional destruction of the planet by humans.
1969 - Everyone was pumping out records, and again, on the same day, same year, The Rolling Stones recorded Honky Tonk Women, and six years later, The Eagles record One Of These Nights. A year after that, in 1976, at the Charlton Athletic Grounds in England, the Guinness Book of World Records judged and pronounced The Who as the loudest rock band ever. Their set measured 76,000 watts and 120 decibels. Well, who would have thought it! And decidedly lo-tech on the other side of the Atlantic, same day, 1977, The Patti Smith group started a nine night residency at New York's CBGB's. It was some night, May 31, '77 because new rock trio The Police appeared at The Railway Hotel in Puntey, London, while prog rock superstar pioneers Emerson, Lake & Palmer began an American tour accompanied by a 70-piece orchestra.This was also the year the BBC announced a ban on the new Sex Pistols single God Save The Queen saying it was "in gross bad taste". In addition, England's Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) issued a warning to all radio stations saying the playing the single would be in breach of Section 4:1:A of the Broadcasting act. Such was the change in mood and taste for a new generation, that the song reached #2 anyway, without airplay. It would have reached #1 had the BBC and record stores not conspired to not allow it to reach the #1 position, even though it actually was the biggest selling song of the week. This is one of the great, great true blue rock'n'roll songs.
1979 - Was it the moon, the stars, or the end of the month. Here we are, still on May 31, not able to move forward because this was also the day in New York City, the restored Radio City Music Hall was reopened. Three years later, The Clash released the album Combat Rock. If you want details and videos of The Clash go to our archive search engine. Same day, music of a different kind, the song Eye Of The Tiger was released; The Stones performed at the famous blues and punk club in Oxford Street, London, to a sold out crowd of 400 people - charity gig? warm up gig? Have no idea. But I know on the same day, same year a little group called REM from Athens, Georgia, signed a five-album deal with I.R.S. Records, an independent label based in California. And that's almost it for this jam-packed day, May 31, except for...13 years ago, 1998, Geri Halliwell, also known as Ginger Spice of the Spice Girls, confirmed she was leaving the group: "This is because of differences between us. I am sure the group will continue to be successful and I wish them all the best." And so it goes without saying, dear reader, this is the Spice Girls. Actually, by this time, more Spice Women.
