1963 - This was the day Liverpool beat group, Gerry And The Pacemakers, took over at #1 on the United Kingdom singles chart, with their infectious song, I Like It, the group’s second #1 hit. The band was the second act to sign with Beatles manager, Brian Epstein, who later signed them with Columbia Records. They began recording in early 1963 with How Do You Do It?, a song written by Mitch Murray, which reached #1. British pop star, Adam Faith, had turned it down, and George Martin wanted the Beatles to record it, and they did, but they chose not to release their version, releasing instead, Love Me Do. It was produced by George Martin and became a #1 hit in the UK, the first by an Epstein Liverpool group to achieve this on all charts, until being replaced at the top by The Beatles' third single, From Me to You. I Like It was written by English songwriter, record producer and author, Mitch Murray, who wrote many hits for acts like Georgie Fame, The Tremeloes, and Manfred Mann. But right now, let's look at Gerry & The Pacemakers, live, performing their two UK #1 hits from 48 years ago.
1969 - Jimi Hendrix and his manager, Chas Chandler, negotiated the largest paycheck (up until that time) for a single performance, when he earned US$125,000 for a set at the Newport Jazz Festival. This fee was set on this day, June 20, but his performance took place two days later. Following is a rarely seen (but not rare) footage of the Hendrix performance, and watch for Buddy Miles on the skins.
1973 - American Bandstand celebrated its 20th anniversary with a 90-minute television special. Little Richard, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Cheech and Chong and Three Dog Night made appearances.
1974 - Van Morrison, The Allman Brothers, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Tim Buckley, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and The Doobie Brothers all appeared at Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England, today. A special PA system was used for the event, its owners claiming it to be the best ever for an outside show; it weighed 12 tons, and required five technicians to operate it. You can hear for yourself in the second clip to follow, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band's performance. Tim Buckley went to England for the show, too, but there's no video of him from that show. However, a month earlier he appeared on the famous Brit TV show, The Old Grey Whistle Test...and following is his brilliant performance.
1980 - It's now 31 years to the day that the self-penned song, It's Still Rock & Roll, became Billy Joel's first #1 hit. This is Billy Joel before he became grumpy.
1981 - Anyone remember Stars on 45? Are you old enough? This is the day the studio act went to #1 on the US singles chart with a medley of Beatles songs set to a disco beat. It was the start of a flood of ‘Stars On’ hits including Stars on Stevie Wonder, punk songs, Status Quo and Chas & Dave. Stars on 45 were a novelty pop act that was very popular in the UK, Europe and the U.S. in the early 1980s. The band consisted solely of studio session musicians, who popularised the medley by recreating hit songs as faithfully as possible and stringing them together with a common tempo and relentless underlying drum track. The point was to provide a danceable disco record, using familiar tunes. If there was any point at all. They are best known for this 1981 smash hit Beatles' Medley, which topped the charts in every major international market. Their follow-up albums included sound-alike medleys of artists such as Stevie Wonder, the Rolling Stones, Abba, other Motown artists, the classic '70's dance songs, and many others.
1992 - Mariah Carey scored her sixth US #1 single with I’ll Be There, a #2 hit in the UK. The song was also a US #1 for The Jackson Five in 1970. Following is her version at the Michael Jackson Memorial. Brilliant!
2000 - It took them almost 30 years, but finally The Ronettes were awarded US$2.6 million (GBP£1.5 million) in unpaid royalties from Phil Spector. New York judge Paula Omansky ruled that the legendary producer had cheated them out of royalties. To celebrate justice, dear reader, two of the best rock songs of all time, performed by one of the best rock vocal groups of all time, with one of the finest rock voices of all time...The Ronettes.
1969 - Jimi Hendrix and his manager, Chas Chandler, negotiated the largest paycheck (up until that time) for a single performance, when he earned US$125,000 for a set at the Newport Jazz Festival. This fee was set on this day, June 20, but his performance took place two days later. Following is a rarely seen (but not rare) footage of the Hendrix performance, and watch for Buddy Miles on the skins.
1973 - American Bandstand celebrated its 20th anniversary with a 90-minute television special. Little Richard, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Cheech and Chong and Three Dog Night made appearances.
1974 - Van Morrison, The Allman Brothers, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Tim Buckley, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and The Doobie Brothers all appeared at Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England, today. A special PA system was used for the event, its owners claiming it to be the best ever for an outside show; it weighed 12 tons, and required five technicians to operate it. You can hear for yourself in the second clip to follow, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band's performance. Tim Buckley went to England for the show, too, but there's no video of him from that show. However, a month earlier he appeared on the famous Brit TV show, The Old Grey Whistle Test...and following is his brilliant performance.
1980 - It's now 31 years to the day that the self-penned song, It's Still Rock & Roll, became Billy Joel's first #1 hit. This is Billy Joel before he became grumpy.
1981 - Anyone remember Stars on 45? Are you old enough? This is the day the studio act went to #1 on the US singles chart with a medley of Beatles songs set to a disco beat. It was the start of a flood of ‘Stars On’ hits including Stars on Stevie Wonder, punk songs, Status Quo and Chas & Dave. Stars on 45 were a novelty pop act that was very popular in the UK, Europe and the U.S. in the early 1980s. The band consisted solely of studio session musicians, who popularised the medley by recreating hit songs as faithfully as possible and stringing them together with a common tempo and relentless underlying drum track. The point was to provide a danceable disco record, using familiar tunes. If there was any point at all. They are best known for this 1981 smash hit Beatles' Medley, which topped the charts in every major international market. Their follow-up albums included sound-alike medleys of artists such as Stevie Wonder, the Rolling Stones, Abba, other Motown artists, the classic '70's dance songs, and many others.
1992 - Mariah Carey scored her sixth US #1 single with I’ll Be There, a #2 hit in the UK. The song was also a US #1 for The Jackson Five in 1970. Following is her version at the Michael Jackson Memorial. Brilliant!
2000 - It took them almost 30 years, but finally The Ronettes were awarded US$2.6 million (GBP£1.5 million) in unpaid royalties from Phil Spector. New York judge Paula Omansky ruled that the legendary producer had cheated them out of royalties. To celebrate justice, dear reader, two of the best rock songs of all time, performed by one of the best rock vocal groups of all time, with one of the finest rock voices of all time...The Ronettes.
