1965 - The sixties just would not have been the sixties without the charm, corn and homogenised hippie persona of the young married pop star couple, Sonny & Cher. No doubt they helped bring the cult of hippie to the mainstream masses, via their weekly TV show, always sprinkled, as it was, with top stars of stage, screen and song. For more info and videos of Sonny & Cher, go to our archive search engine, but in the meantime, check out their best known hit, I Got You Babe, a worldwide #1 today, appearing on the American rock show, Shindig.
1970 - This was the day Duane Allman started recording as a member of Eric Clapton's new band, Derek & the Dominoes. It wasn't official, mind, as Allman still had commitments to his and his brother's band, so sometimes he did not appear in live performance, but he sure as hell was a formidable force in Derek & The Dominos' recording sessions and song writing. This is Derek & The Dominos, sans aforementioned Allman, on the Johnny Cash Show, 41 years ago.
1970 - Today was the start of the third Isle of Wight Festival, which attracted more punters than Woodstock - so some historians say. It starred Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, (with what ended up being his last ever UK appearance), Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Arrival, Cactus, Family, Taste, Mungo Jerry, Richie Havens, ELP, The Doors, The Who, Spirit, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone and Free - not a bad lineup, don't you think? Supposedly, 600,000 punters paid to get in, and the tickets were just GBP3 pounds each, around five buck Australian. Mad. Oh, almost forgot, also on the bill was a very young Leonard Cohen.
1976 - At the height of their badness, Aerosmith featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, released in stores, 35 years ago today. One of the truly great rock'n'roll bands, Aerosmith forged their own sound, their own little sub-genre of rock'n'roll, but it was always blues-based - at this stage. This is they, live in 1975, with one of the greatest rock frontmen of all time, and one of the most powerful and inventive guitar players; Steven Tyler & Joe Perry.
1978 - A big hello to our regular and irregular Canadian readers, who may or may not remember the very first Canada Jam Festival in Ontario, which took place today, 33 years ago. one of the headline acts, was this band, Kansas, with their big hit of the day, Carry On Wayward Son.
1978 - Frankie Valli already had a super successful career with the Four Seasons during the sixties, with countless hit records; then it was Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, with a handful of hits; and in 1978, he recorded a song written by Bee Gee Barry Gibb, this time, solo, and it raced up the charts becoming #1 around the world. The song was Grease, from the musical movie of the same name, and this is a special performance of the song, with the Commodores - featuring Lionel Ritchie - on US Show, Midnight Special.
1981 - It is now 30 years to the day that Ottawa City Council, Ottawa, Canada, let their pride be known for local song writer, Paul Anka, who first shot to prominence as a song writer and performer in 1957, with his song, Diana. Today was named named 'Paul Anka Day' to celebrate his 25th anniversary in show-business. The council also named a street in Ottawa Paul Anka Drive in his honour. The Canadian singer songwriter had written over 900 songs, at that time, including the classic song made popular by Frank Sinatra, who actual did it Paul's way. First up, is Anka's first ever hit, followed by a duet, with the magic of recorded sound and visuals, with Frank Sinatra. My Way’.
1983 - The ground-breaking movie, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, starring David Bowie, Jack Thompson and many more, opened in the United States today, to much acclaim. Beautiful soundtrack, original script, and acting performances that deserved more accolades than received; if you haven't seen the film, check out this scene, then go hire it from your video store. One 'not to miss' movie.
1990 - Randy Newman is one of the greatest song writers of all time, and no matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter your taste in music, you have heard his genius somewhere along the line. The 68 year-old Newman is a singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his often-satirical and sardonic pop songs, and for his film scores. He has gone on record, saying, that he often writes lyrics from the perspective of a character far removed from his own experiences, sometimes using the point of view of an unreliable narrator; the 1972 song Sail Away, for instance, was written as a slave trader's sales pitch to attract slaves. One of his biggest hits was Short People, but since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer, scores including Awakenings, The Natural, Leatherheads, James and the Giant Peach, Meet the Parents, Seabiscuit and The Princess and the Frog. He has also scored six Disney-Pixar films: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Cars and most recently Toy Story 3. Randy Newman has been nominated for 20 Academy Awards, winning twice. He has also won three Emmys, five Grammy Awards, and the Governor's Award from the Recording Academy. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002, and in 2007,won an Emmy for composing music for Cop Rock.
1995 - I arrived in London in 1993 and was lucky enough to be part of the 'cool Britannia decade' with Es, dance music, Blair, Brit pop, Blur and Oasis. This is the day in 1995 when Blur scored their first UK #1 HIT single with the rollicking Country House, and subsequently won a much-hyped media battle with Oasis for the #1 spot. Both acts released their new singles on the same day, Country House selling 270,000 copies, Oasis selling 50,000 less, with Roll with It, Oasis entering the chart at #2.
1970 - This was the day Duane Allman started recording as a member of Eric Clapton's new band, Derek & the Dominoes. It wasn't official, mind, as Allman still had commitments to his and his brother's band, so sometimes he did not appear in live performance, but he sure as hell was a formidable force in Derek & The Dominos' recording sessions and song writing. This is Derek & The Dominos, sans aforementioned Allman, on the Johnny Cash Show, 41 years ago.
1970 - Today was the start of the third Isle of Wight Festival, which attracted more punters than Woodstock - so some historians say. It starred Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, (with what ended up being his last ever UK appearance), Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Arrival, Cactus, Family, Taste, Mungo Jerry, Richie Havens, ELP, The Doors, The Who, Spirit, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone and Free - not a bad lineup, don't you think? Supposedly, 600,000 punters paid to get in, and the tickets were just GBP3 pounds each, around five buck Australian. Mad. Oh, almost forgot, also on the bill was a very young Leonard Cohen.
1976 - At the height of their badness, Aerosmith featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, released in stores, 35 years ago today. One of the truly great rock'n'roll bands, Aerosmith forged their own sound, their own little sub-genre of rock'n'roll, but it was always blues-based - at this stage. This is they, live in 1975, with one of the greatest rock frontmen of all time, and one of the most powerful and inventive guitar players; Steven Tyler & Joe Perry.
1978 - A big hello to our regular and irregular Canadian readers, who may or may not remember the very first Canada Jam Festival in Ontario, which took place today, 33 years ago. one of the headline acts, was this band, Kansas, with their big hit of the day, Carry On Wayward Son.
1978 - Frankie Valli already had a super successful career with the Four Seasons during the sixties, with countless hit records; then it was Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, with a handful of hits; and in 1978, he recorded a song written by Bee Gee Barry Gibb, this time, solo, and it raced up the charts becoming #1 around the world. The song was Grease, from the musical movie of the same name, and this is a special performance of the song, with the Commodores - featuring Lionel Ritchie - on US Show, Midnight Special.
1981 - It is now 30 years to the day that Ottawa City Council, Ottawa, Canada, let their pride be known for local song writer, Paul Anka, who first shot to prominence as a song writer and performer in 1957, with his song, Diana. Today was named named 'Paul Anka Day' to celebrate his 25th anniversary in show-business. The council also named a street in Ottawa Paul Anka Drive in his honour. The Canadian singer songwriter had written over 900 songs, at that time, including the classic song made popular by Frank Sinatra, who actual did it Paul's way. First up, is Anka's first ever hit, followed by a duet, with the magic of recorded sound and visuals, with Frank Sinatra. My Way’.
1983 - The ground-breaking movie, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, starring David Bowie, Jack Thompson and many more, opened in the United States today, to much acclaim. Beautiful soundtrack, original script, and acting performances that deserved more accolades than received; if you haven't seen the film, check out this scene, then go hire it from your video store. One 'not to miss' movie.
1990 - Randy Newman is one of the greatest song writers of all time, and no matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter your taste in music, you have heard his genius somewhere along the line. The 68 year-old Newman is a singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his often-satirical and sardonic pop songs, and for his film scores. He has gone on record, saying, that he often writes lyrics from the perspective of a character far removed from his own experiences, sometimes using the point of view of an unreliable narrator; the 1972 song Sail Away, for instance, was written as a slave trader's sales pitch to attract slaves. One of his biggest hits was Short People, but since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer, scores including Awakenings, The Natural, Leatherheads, James and the Giant Peach, Meet the Parents, Seabiscuit and The Princess and the Frog. He has also scored six Disney-Pixar films: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Cars and most recently Toy Story 3. Randy Newman has been nominated for 20 Academy Awards, winning twice. He has also won three Emmys, five Grammy Awards, and the Governor's Award from the Recording Academy. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002, and in 2007,won an Emmy for composing music for Cop Rock.
1995 - I arrived in London in 1993 and was lucky enough to be part of the 'cool Britannia decade' with Es, dance music, Blair, Brit pop, Blur and Oasis. This is the day in 1995 when Blur scored their first UK #1 HIT single with the rollicking Country House, and subsequently won a much-hyped media battle with Oasis for the #1 spot. Both acts released their new singles on the same day, Country House selling 270,000 copies, Oasis selling 50,000 less, with Roll with It, Oasis entering the chart at #2.
