1965 - This is the day John Lennon's second book, A Spaniard in the Works was published all around the world. The book consists of nonsensical stories and drawings similar to the style of his previous book, 1964's In His Own Write. The name refers to a pun on the term "a spanner in the works". Check out this interview and reading with John Lennon on London's BBC.
1972 - The song that became a war cry for the women's liberation movement, I Am Woman, was actually co-written by a man. The song was released 39 years ago today and was the first Australian-penned song to win a Grammy Award. I Am Woman was co-written by Helen Reddy and singer/songwriter/guitarist Ray Burton. First released in 1970 as an album filler, the song became an enduring anthem for the women’s liberation movement after being released again on this day in '72. Burton was 26 at the time he wrote the music and melody, and helped shape the lyrics. At the time he was playing in Los Angeles with Australian rock band The Executives (and later a founding member of Australian band, Ayer's Rock, along with bassist, the late Duncan McGuire, and drummer Mark Kennedy. He was a friend who had often worked with Ms. Reddy in live venues across Australia. The song was the first #1 hit on the Billboard chart by an Australian-born artist and the first Australian-penned song to win a Grammy Award. In 1978 I interviewed Ms. Reddy for Australia's first international rock music documentary, Paul Drane's film, Australian Music To The World, and she was gracious as we sipped tea in the backyard of her luxurious Hollywood home. Mr. Burton, has since worked with some of the world's great acts, and continues to do so.
1998 - This is the day that country music legend Johnny Cash returned to a Nashville stage and performed for the first time since being stricken with Shy-Drager Syndrome the preceding October. Cash joined a surprised Kris Kristofferson, who was on stage singing Cash’s Sunday Morning Coming Down at the Witness History II Concert, a tribute to Cash and Waylon Jennings, at the Ryman Auditorium.
1999 - What do you do with 100 unwanted guitars and you want to raise some money for your drug rehabilitation centre? On this very day 11 years ago, Eric Clapton parted with his 100 guitars and generated just a little more than $5 million for his Crossroads Centre at Antigua, an alcohol and drug-dependency treatment center in the West Indies. Among the stringed beauties auctioned off was Brownie, his 1956 sunburst Fender with which he recorded his hit song, Layla. That guitar alone went for a then-record-breaking $450,000.
2007 - We fast forward eight years to when the hard-thumping White Stripes went straight to #1 in many music charts around the world with the band's sixth studio album, Icky Thump. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album the following year. Icky Thump took almost three weeks to record, the longest of any White Stripes album to that time. Rather than record the album on an eight-track machine as was the norm with Jack White, Icky Thump had the comparative luxury of recording on 16-track analog machine. The album was recorded and mixed entirely in analog at Nashville's Blackbird Studio by Joe Chiccarelli. The White Stripes is definitely one of my favourite bands of all time.
1972 - The song that became a war cry for the women's liberation movement, I Am Woman, was actually co-written by a man. The song was released 39 years ago today and was the first Australian-penned song to win a Grammy Award. I Am Woman was co-written by Helen Reddy and singer/songwriter/guitarist Ray Burton. First released in 1970 as an album filler, the song became an enduring anthem for the women’s liberation movement after being released again on this day in '72. Burton was 26 at the time he wrote the music and melody, and helped shape the lyrics. At the time he was playing in Los Angeles with Australian rock band The Executives (and later a founding member of Australian band, Ayer's Rock, along with bassist, the late Duncan McGuire, and drummer Mark Kennedy. He was a friend who had often worked with Ms. Reddy in live venues across Australia. The song was the first #1 hit on the Billboard chart by an Australian-born artist and the first Australian-penned song to win a Grammy Award. In 1978 I interviewed Ms. Reddy for Australia's first international rock music documentary, Paul Drane's film, Australian Music To The World, and she was gracious as we sipped tea in the backyard of her luxurious Hollywood home. Mr. Burton, has since worked with some of the world's great acts, and continues to do so.
1998 - This is the day that country music legend Johnny Cash returned to a Nashville stage and performed for the first time since being stricken with Shy-Drager Syndrome the preceding October. Cash joined a surprised Kris Kristofferson, who was on stage singing Cash’s Sunday Morning Coming Down at the Witness History II Concert, a tribute to Cash and Waylon Jennings, at the Ryman Auditorium.
1999 - What do you do with 100 unwanted guitars and you want to raise some money for your drug rehabilitation centre? On this very day 11 years ago, Eric Clapton parted with his 100 guitars and generated just a little more than $5 million for his Crossroads Centre at Antigua, an alcohol and drug-dependency treatment center in the West Indies. Among the stringed beauties auctioned off was Brownie, his 1956 sunburst Fender with which he recorded his hit song, Layla. That guitar alone went for a then-record-breaking $450,000.
2007 - We fast forward eight years to when the hard-thumping White Stripes went straight to #1 in many music charts around the world with the band's sixth studio album, Icky Thump. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album the following year. Icky Thump took almost three weeks to record, the longest of any White Stripes album to that time. Rather than record the album on an eight-track machine as was the norm with Jack White, Icky Thump had the comparative luxury of recording on 16-track analog machine. The album was recorded and mixed entirely in analog at Nashville's Blackbird Studio by Joe Chiccarelli. The White Stripes is definitely one of my favourite bands of all time.
