October 6, 1978 - AUSTRALIA'S king of rock'n'roll, Johnny O'Keefe, died of a massive heart attack 33 years ago today, aged just 43 years old. Known as the 'wild one', O'Keefe was the first Australian rock'n'roll performer to tour the United States, and the first Australian rock'n'roll act to make the local Top 40 charts. A few years prior to his death, O'Keefe almost died in a fast car accident, and suffered intermittent bouts of depression, resulting in regular usage of legally prescribed mood-altering drugs. He remains one of Australia's most successful music chart performers, with 29 top 40 hits to his credit, between 1959 and 1974. In his 21-year career, O'Keefe released more than 50 singles, 50 EPs and 100 albums. JOK, as he was sometimes known, released his first big hit on July 5, 1958, a date sometimes seen as the birth of Australian rock'n'roll. That 1958 hit, Real Wild Child, was most famously covered by Iggy Pop in 1986. Other performers to cover the song included Joan Jett and Jerry Lee Lewis. The Iggy Pop version of the song is used as the title music to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's all-night music video programme, Rage. Sadly there is no video available for O'Keefe's version, but we have a couple of other vids to give an idea of who he was for those Australian too young to know; for Australians too old to remember, and for all our international readers.
1968 - THE Doors Are Open was a documentary about the Doors, aired 43 years ago tonight on British TV. Filmed during the Doors' world tour in 1968, the live footage of the Doors was filmed at the Roundhouse in London, England. This is especially for my good friend Alan Howe, a devoted Jim Morrison and Doors fan. Dear reader, if you have a spare 10 minutes, check out part 1 of the doco, and let me know what you think.
1969 - FOR the first time in the brief Beatles history a George Harrison song got the A-side of a single release, Something, and on the flipside was Come Together. Both songs among the Beatles' best for me. OK, all you Beatles freaks...have you seen this promo video before? And who was the song written for? What other non-Beatle ended up being a part of a love triangle with George's squeeze in this video?
1978 - BENNY Andersson and Frida Lyngstad of ABBA were married today, and throughout the band's existence, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, along with Benny and Agnetha were married couples, although both couples later divorced. At the height of their popularity, both relationships began suffering strain that led ultimately to the demise, firstly of the Ulvaeus-Fältskog marriage in 1979, then of the Andersson-Lyngstad marriage in 1981. In the late 1970s and early 1980s these relationship changes began manifesting in the group's music, as they produced more introspective lyrics with different compositions. ABBA remains a fixture of radio play lists and is one of the world's best-selling bands, having sold over 375 million records worldwide, making them the fourth best-selling popular music artists in the history of recorded music. They still sell two to three million records a year. Thank you for the music, Abba.
1979 - AND speaking of married couples, howzabout Fleetwood Mac? This was the day the non-blues version of Fleetwood Mac released Tusk. Written by Lindsey Buckingham, this is one of their best ever songs, and this video a ripper, USC Marching Band and all. Inside shots are from the studios of TV show Solid Gold in 1980.
1995 - GRIND was released by Alice in Chains 16 years ago, as their first track from their album, Alice in Chains. It is difficult to believe this is already 15 years old.
2007 - QUEEN'S groundbreaking promo for their 1975 hit Bohemian Rhapsody was named the UK's best music video in a survey of music fans. Out of 1,051 adults polled by the O2 venue, 30% named the six-minute video as the best. The vid took only three hours to shoot and cost a mere £3,500 to make, demonstrating clearly that you don't need a lot of cash to make a good music video. It's a real small sample, I know, but I have no doubt the vid would figure highly on any poll, with any sample, such is its international stature with fans of all ages, from all countries.
1968 - THE Doors Are Open was a documentary about the Doors, aired 43 years ago tonight on British TV. Filmed during the Doors' world tour in 1968, the live footage of the Doors was filmed at the Roundhouse in London, England. This is especially for my good friend Alan Howe, a devoted Jim Morrison and Doors fan. Dear reader, if you have a spare 10 minutes, check out part 1 of the doco, and let me know what you think.
1969 - FOR the first time in the brief Beatles history a George Harrison song got the A-side of a single release, Something, and on the flipside was Come Together. Both songs among the Beatles' best for me. OK, all you Beatles freaks...have you seen this promo video before? And who was the song written for? What other non-Beatle ended up being a part of a love triangle with George's squeeze in this video?
1978 - BENNY Andersson and Frida Lyngstad of ABBA were married today, and throughout the band's existence, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, along with Benny and Agnetha were married couples, although both couples later divorced. At the height of their popularity, both relationships began suffering strain that led ultimately to the demise, firstly of the Ulvaeus-Fältskog marriage in 1979, then of the Andersson-Lyngstad marriage in 1981. In the late 1970s and early 1980s these relationship changes began manifesting in the group's music, as they produced more introspective lyrics with different compositions. ABBA remains a fixture of radio play lists and is one of the world's best-selling bands, having sold over 375 million records worldwide, making them the fourth best-selling popular music artists in the history of recorded music. They still sell two to three million records a year. Thank you for the music, Abba.
1979 - AND speaking of married couples, howzabout Fleetwood Mac? This was the day the non-blues version of Fleetwood Mac released Tusk. Written by Lindsey Buckingham, this is one of their best ever songs, and this video a ripper, USC Marching Band and all. Inside shots are from the studios of TV show Solid Gold in 1980.
1995 - GRIND was released by Alice in Chains 16 years ago, as their first track from their album, Alice in Chains. It is difficult to believe this is already 15 years old.
2007 - QUEEN'S groundbreaking promo for their 1975 hit Bohemian Rhapsody was named the UK's best music video in a survey of music fans. Out of 1,051 adults polled by the O2 venue, 30% named the six-minute video as the best. The vid took only three hours to shoot and cost a mere £3,500 to make, demonstrating clearly that you don't need a lot of cash to make a good music video. It's a real small sample, I know, but I have no doubt the vid would figure highly on any poll, with any sample, such is its international stature with fans of all ages, from all countries.
