November 30, 1954 - NAT King Cole played the first of six nights at Harlem's iconic Apollo theatre in uptown New York, tonight. The occasion was the Rhythm & Blues Variety show, which was filmed, thankfully, and the resulting movie features a cast of popular African-American performers of the day. Some of the other acts featured, include Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Faye Adams, Bill Bailey, Amos Milburn, Sarah Vaughan, Nipsey Russell, Big Joe Turner, Martha Davis, Little Buck, and brilliant vocal groups.
1959 - END of the fifties, rock'n'roll had broken, and single male singers came to the fore, every country sprouting its own Elvis Presley; at the turn of the decade, an entire horde of teen pop idols enveloped the popular music charts. England's Adam Faith, for instance, was on top of Brit charts, 52 years ago today, with his song, What Do You Want. Downunder Australia had many acts, too, like Col Joye, while one of America's bright new pop stars was Crash Craddock; their videos follow. Perhaps some of our readers from around the world could submit suggestions for similar pop singers of the era for future editions of *MUSICBACKTRACK*.
1968 - GLEN Campbell started a five-week run at #1 on the US album chart with Wichita Lineman, today, but he was far more than the singer of a pop hit. During his long and illustrious career, Campbell has made history by winning four Grammys in both country and pop categories in 1967. For Gentle on My Mind he received two awards in c&w, and By the Time I Get to Phoenix did the same in pop. His many hits include Wichita Lineman, Galveston, Larry Weiss's Rhinestone Cowboy, and Allen Toussaint's Southern Nights. He was also one of Los Angeles music industry's most talented and blistering session guitar players, eventually taking him to be part of the studio musicians' clique known as the 'wrecking crew', some of whom went from session to session together as the same group. In addition to Campbell, the lineup included Hal Blaine on drums, Tommy Tedesco on guitar, Leon Russell on piano, Carol Kaye on bass guitar, and Al Casey also on guitar. Their combined sound defined many pop and rock recordings of the era, including some of Phil Spector's 'wall of sound' recordings in the early 1960s. During the sixties Campbell was also a touring member of the Beach Boys, filling in for Brian Wilson.
1969 - DAVID Bowie, The Graham Bond Organisation and Dusty Springfield all performed at a fund raising show to save London's youth magazine, Rave. With her distinctive sensual sound, Dusty Springfield was an important white soul singer, and at her peak was one of the most successful British female performers, with 18 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1970. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame. International polls have named Springfield among the best female soul singers. Joss Stone and Adele are still yet to reach the bar that Springfield set. Here is a short mini-doco of her, followed by when she was in a group with her brothers, the Springfields.
1969 - THE Rolling Stones played the final night on a 17 date North American tour at the International Raceway Festival, West Palm Beach, Florida, tonight; also appearing were Moody Blues, Ten Years After, King Crimson, Janis Joplin, The Band, Steppenwolf and Iron Butterfly - not a bad lineup. At the time, funk music was making its charts presence known around the world, especially in America, with Sly And The Family Stone one of the prime exponents of the genre, with their hit at the time, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). Two years later, and Sly and his crew topped world charts with Family Affair. The song became the fourth and final #1 pop hit for the band. Rolling Stone magazine later ranked the song #138 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
1997 - CHUMBAWUMBA'S Danbert Nobacon was arrested by Italian police for wearing a skirt, today, and was subsequently detained in police cells overnight. This very-British-band is a favourite of mine, and first formed in Burnley, London, in 1982, making them almost 30 years old. Their vocal anarchist politics exhibit an irreverent attitude toward authority, and the band has been forthright in its anti-racist, socialist, anti-war, and feminist social stances. They are also very much known for being of an anarchistic bent. It came, therefore, as something of shock to find them performing on the Letterman show. Ever tub-thumped at a pub with a bunch of mates?
1959 - END of the fifties, rock'n'roll had broken, and single male singers came to the fore, every country sprouting its own Elvis Presley; at the turn of the decade, an entire horde of teen pop idols enveloped the popular music charts. England's Adam Faith, for instance, was on top of Brit charts, 52 years ago today, with his song, What Do You Want. Downunder Australia had many acts, too, like Col Joye, while one of America's bright new pop stars was Crash Craddock; their videos follow. Perhaps some of our readers from around the world could submit suggestions for similar pop singers of the era for future editions of *MUSICBACKTRACK*.
1968 - GLEN Campbell started a five-week run at #1 on the US album chart with Wichita Lineman, today, but he was far more than the singer of a pop hit. During his long and illustrious career, Campbell has made history by winning four Grammys in both country and pop categories in 1967. For Gentle on My Mind he received two awards in c&w, and By the Time I Get to Phoenix did the same in pop. His many hits include Wichita Lineman, Galveston, Larry Weiss's Rhinestone Cowboy, and Allen Toussaint's Southern Nights. He was also one of Los Angeles music industry's most talented and blistering session guitar players, eventually taking him to be part of the studio musicians' clique known as the 'wrecking crew', some of whom went from session to session together as the same group. In addition to Campbell, the lineup included Hal Blaine on drums, Tommy Tedesco on guitar, Leon Russell on piano, Carol Kaye on bass guitar, and Al Casey also on guitar. Their combined sound defined many pop and rock recordings of the era, including some of Phil Spector's 'wall of sound' recordings in the early 1960s. During the sixties Campbell was also a touring member of the Beach Boys, filling in for Brian Wilson.
1969 - DAVID Bowie, The Graham Bond Organisation and Dusty Springfield all performed at a fund raising show to save London's youth magazine, Rave. With her distinctive sensual sound, Dusty Springfield was an important white soul singer, and at her peak was one of the most successful British female performers, with 18 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1970. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame. International polls have named Springfield among the best female soul singers. Joss Stone and Adele are still yet to reach the bar that Springfield set. Here is a short mini-doco of her, followed by when she was in a group with her brothers, the Springfields.
1969 - THE Rolling Stones played the final night on a 17 date North American tour at the International Raceway Festival, West Palm Beach, Florida, tonight; also appearing were Moody Blues, Ten Years After, King Crimson, Janis Joplin, The Band, Steppenwolf and Iron Butterfly - not a bad lineup. At the time, funk music was making its charts presence known around the world, especially in America, with Sly And The Family Stone one of the prime exponents of the genre, with their hit at the time, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). Two years later, and Sly and his crew topped world charts with Family Affair. The song became the fourth and final #1 pop hit for the band. Rolling Stone magazine later ranked the song #138 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
1997 - CHUMBAWUMBA'S Danbert Nobacon was arrested by Italian police for wearing a skirt, today, and was subsequently detained in police cells overnight. This very-British-band is a favourite of mine, and first formed in Burnley, London, in 1982, making them almost 30 years old. Their vocal anarchist politics exhibit an irreverent attitude toward authority, and the band has been forthright in its anti-racist, socialist, anti-war, and feminist social stances. They are also very much known for being of an anarchistic bent. It came, therefore, as something of shock to find them performing on the Letterman show. Ever tub-thumped at a pub with a bunch of mates?
