1963 - As you would have read yesterday in *MUSICBACKTRACK*, The Beatles began a residency at the Cavern Club, almost two years before today, and this is the day the group made their final appearance at the now-famous Liverpool club. They performed almost 300 shows and you saw their first night right here, and if you didn't click on to yesterday posting. This was also the day and the year The Beach Boys released their deceptively simple song, Surfer Girl. They've been short-changed in the history of popular rock music, in my opinion; their brilliance, their influence, their songs, their amazing harmonies. Beatles producer George Martin has gone on record to say that without the Beach Boys album Pet Sounds, The Beatles would "never have produced Sergeant Peppers."
1963 - Allan Sherman was an American comedy writer and television producer who also became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His debut album, My Son, the Folk Singer came in 1962, and became the fastest-selling record album up to that time. The biggest hit single for him was Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah, a comic novelty in which a boy describes his summer camp experiences to the tune of Ponchielli's Dance of the Hours. This was the day Sherman released the song.
1966 - The Rolling Stones' Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby was recorded today, and this was still the Brian Jones-era Rolling Stones, with all the madness and adrenalin-pumped escapades that transpired back then. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song was recorded in the late summer of 1966. It is famous for its brass horn arrangement (the first Stones song to incorporate brass lines, and arranged by Mike Leander) and is one of the earliest songs to use feedback from guitars. Band members have since said, on occasion, that they were unhappy with the final cut, bemoaning the loss of the original cut's strong rhythm section. The UK single is famous for its cover featuring the band dressed in drag. Peter Whitehead's promotional film for the single was one of the first music videos, a fast-speed montage. A fan favourite, the song appears on many hit compilations and a very different version was recorded for the live album Got Live If You Want It!.
1971 - It's now 40 years to the very day since Paul McCartney announced the formation of his new band, Wings. Of all the former Beatles, Paul McCartney by far had the most commercially successful solo career, maintaining a constant presence in the British and American charts during that decade, and during the 80s. In America alone, he had nine #1 singles and seven #1 albums during the first 12 years of his solo career. However, although he sold records, McCartney never attained much critical respect, especially when compared to his former partners John Lennon and George Harrison. I think this was one of the paradoxical unfair events of post-Beatles careers, as he pursued a different path than Lennon and Harrison, deciding early on that he wanted to be in a rock band. Little more than a year after the Beatles' breakup, McCartney had formed Wings with his wife, Linda, and the group remained active for the next ten years. By the late 70s, many critics were taking potshots at McCartney's effortlessly melodic song craft, but that didn't stop the public from buying his records. His sales didn't slow considerably until the late '80s, and he retaliated with his first full-scale tour since the '70s, and was a considerable success. During the '90s, McCartney recorded less frequently, concentrating on projects like his first classical recording, a techno album, and the Beatles' Anthology. This is a little ditty from Macca, followed by an interview with him about his classical music, then an interview about his techno band The Fireman, and then a Fireman video. Oh yeah, it's all here.
1974 - This was the day in '74 that guitar virtuoso Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter quit Steely Dan and joined the Doobie Brothers. Sadly the net is mostly devoid of videos of these bands with Baxter at that time, but we have dug up a couple - how about this bootleg of a supergroup, The Best, including Baxter and Joe Walsh, from 1990 in Japan, doing the best-known Steely song? Then the Doobies, with Baxter and Michael McDonald, live in Chicago from 1977.
1999 - She's a bona fide legend, and Patsy Cline deservedly received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today. For more information on the beautiful woman that was Patsy Cline, go to our archive search engine - meanwhile, sit back and enjoy this talented woman's endearing, iconic song, that has truly lasted the distance of time.
1963 - Allan Sherman was an American comedy writer and television producer who also became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His debut album, My Son, the Folk Singer came in 1962, and became the fastest-selling record album up to that time. The biggest hit single for him was Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah, a comic novelty in which a boy describes his summer camp experiences to the tune of Ponchielli's Dance of the Hours. This was the day Sherman released the song.
1966 - The Rolling Stones' Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby was recorded today, and this was still the Brian Jones-era Rolling Stones, with all the madness and adrenalin-pumped escapades that transpired back then. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song was recorded in the late summer of 1966. It is famous for its brass horn arrangement (the first Stones song to incorporate brass lines, and arranged by Mike Leander) and is one of the earliest songs to use feedback from guitars. Band members have since said, on occasion, that they were unhappy with the final cut, bemoaning the loss of the original cut's strong rhythm section. The UK single is famous for its cover featuring the band dressed in drag. Peter Whitehead's promotional film for the single was one of the first music videos, a fast-speed montage. A fan favourite, the song appears on many hit compilations and a very different version was recorded for the live album Got Live If You Want It!.
1971 - It's now 40 years to the very day since Paul McCartney announced the formation of his new band, Wings. Of all the former Beatles, Paul McCartney by far had the most commercially successful solo career, maintaining a constant presence in the British and American charts during that decade, and during the 80s. In America alone, he had nine #1 singles and seven #1 albums during the first 12 years of his solo career. However, although he sold records, McCartney never attained much critical respect, especially when compared to his former partners John Lennon and George Harrison. I think this was one of the paradoxical unfair events of post-Beatles careers, as he pursued a different path than Lennon and Harrison, deciding early on that he wanted to be in a rock band. Little more than a year after the Beatles' breakup, McCartney had formed Wings with his wife, Linda, and the group remained active for the next ten years. By the late 70s, many critics were taking potshots at McCartney's effortlessly melodic song craft, but that didn't stop the public from buying his records. His sales didn't slow considerably until the late '80s, and he retaliated with his first full-scale tour since the '70s, and was a considerable success. During the '90s, McCartney recorded less frequently, concentrating on projects like his first classical recording, a techno album, and the Beatles' Anthology. This is a little ditty from Macca, followed by an interview with him about his classical music, then an interview about his techno band The Fireman, and then a Fireman video. Oh yeah, it's all here.
1974 - This was the day in '74 that guitar virtuoso Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter quit Steely Dan and joined the Doobie Brothers. Sadly the net is mostly devoid of videos of these bands with Baxter at that time, but we have dug up a couple - how about this bootleg of a supergroup, The Best, including Baxter and Joe Walsh, from 1990 in Japan, doing the best-known Steely song? Then the Doobies, with Baxter and Michael McDonald, live in Chicago from 1977.
1999 - She's a bona fide legend, and Patsy Cline deservedly received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today. For more information on the beautiful woman that was Patsy Cline, go to our archive search engine - meanwhile, sit back and enjoy this talented woman's endearing, iconic song, that has truly lasted the distance of time.
