1942 - Was she the coolest girl who sizzled, or what? She didn't have to do a thing, yet there she is, just riveting. Peggy Lee recorded her first hit record, Why Don't You Do Right, today. This is pulsating Peggy Lee, accompanied by the great Benny Goodman and his pump-shuffling orchestra.
1959 - There have been some strange hit songs in the history of contemporary music, and none more strange than this global, instrumental hit record, written and recorded by brothers Santo and Johnny Farina. Their song, Sleepwalk, was released 52 years ago today. when I was 12 years old. I can remember hearing it on the radio every Sunday night in the Coca-Cola Hi-Fi club top ten, in Perth, Western Australia. You could hear the top ten hit parade every Sunday night at 6pm. By this time I had graduated from crystal set, to one of the very first transistor radios, which I had put on lay-by. Does anybody out there remember the Coco-Cola Hi-Fi club?
1974 - This is the day when southern rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, vented on Neil Young for lyrics in two of his songs, Southern Man and Alabama, in which he dealt with themes of racism and slavery in the American South. "We thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two," said Ronnie Van Zant at the time. Skynyrd's song, Sweet Home Alabama was released today, and this is their performance on the revered London TV show, The Old Grey Whistle Test.
1976 - John Lennon finally had his request for permanent residency in the United States approved today, and downtown on the same day in the same city, Bruce Springsteen was suing his manager, Mike Appel, for fraud and breach of contract, in Manhatten's U.S. District Court. It was also the day, in the same year, that Tina Turner filed for divorce from husband, Ike. We shoot forward seven years when Madonna's self-titled debut album was released. Check out this MTV interview with Madge, 28 years ago, on the eve of her the release. This is the year I moved to NYC to live and work, whilst managing rock group, Divinyls. It is also where I first saw Madonna, live, in New York's famous Danceteria on 21st Street. Below is amateur bootleg footage of her first ever Manhattan club performance. Classic.
1985, The Eurythmics were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with There Must Be An Angel, the duo's only UK #1 single, which also reached top of the charts in France, Germany, USA, Australia, Canada, Sweden and dozens more countries. The song features a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder.
1986 - It's now a quarter century since Queen became the first act since Louis Armstrong to play in Budapest, Hungary. This is Queen in performance, and mingling with the locals. It was an historic gig, filmed and released as Queen Magic in Budapest.
1959 - There have been some strange hit songs in the history of contemporary music, and none more strange than this global, instrumental hit record, written and recorded by brothers Santo and Johnny Farina. Their song, Sleepwalk, was released 52 years ago today. when I was 12 years old. I can remember hearing it on the radio every Sunday night in the Coca-Cola Hi-Fi club top ten, in Perth, Western Australia. You could hear the top ten hit parade every Sunday night at 6pm. By this time I had graduated from crystal set, to one of the very first transistor radios, which I had put on lay-by. Does anybody out there remember the Coco-Cola Hi-Fi club?
1974 - This is the day when southern rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, vented on Neil Young for lyrics in two of his songs, Southern Man and Alabama, in which he dealt with themes of racism and slavery in the American South. "We thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two," said Ronnie Van Zant at the time. Skynyrd's song, Sweet Home Alabama was released today, and this is their performance on the revered London TV show, The Old Grey Whistle Test.
1976 - John Lennon finally had his request for permanent residency in the United States approved today, and downtown on the same day in the same city, Bruce Springsteen was suing his manager, Mike Appel, for fraud and breach of contract, in Manhatten's U.S. District Court. It was also the day, in the same year, that Tina Turner filed for divorce from husband, Ike. We shoot forward seven years when Madonna's self-titled debut album was released. Check out this MTV interview with Madge, 28 years ago, on the eve of her the release. This is the year I moved to NYC to live and work, whilst managing rock group, Divinyls. It is also where I first saw Madonna, live, in New York's famous Danceteria on 21st Street. Below is amateur bootleg footage of her first ever Manhattan club performance. Classic.
1985, The Eurythmics were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with There Must Be An Angel, the duo's only UK #1 single, which also reached top of the charts in France, Germany, USA, Australia, Canada, Sweden and dozens more countries. The song features a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder.
1986 - It's now a quarter century since Queen became the first act since Louis Armstrong to play in Budapest, Hungary. This is Queen in performance, and mingling with the locals. It was an historic gig, filmed and released as Queen Magic in Budapest.
