December 11, 1964 - SOUL singer Sam Cooke was suspiciously shot dead by hotel manager Bertha Franklin, today, the woman claiming to have been assaulted by Cooke while staying at the Hacienda Hotel, Los Angeles. Cooke was only 33 years old. He was shot three times by the Afro-American, female, hotel manager. He was supposedly chasing an oriental hooker who stole his pants and wallet. She ran into the manager's office and he kicked the door in to get his wallet back, and the manager shot him. Many believe the robbery was a set-up. His name was smeared in the public controversy that followed. I loved his music and it still plays in my mind. He lives in all of us that remember. Soul singer Etta James claimed that she viewed Cooke's body in the funeral home and that the injuries she observed were well beyond what could be explained by the official account of Franklin alone having fought with Cooke. James described Cooke as having been so badly beaten that his head was nearly separated from his shoulders, his hands were broken and crushed, and his nose mangled. But nothing can take away the magic of Sam Cooke for me.
1961 - ELVIS Presley started a five-month run on top of world charts with Blue Hawaii, his seventh #1 album. At the same time, the Marvelettes went to #1 on the US singles chart with Please Mr Postman. The session musicians on the track included 22 year old Marvin Gaye on drums. The song became a hit in later years for the Beatles, then the Carpenters. The Marvelettes were an American singing girl group on the Tamla label, and were the label's first successful female vocal group, recording the company's first #1 pop hit. The group set the precedent for later Motown girl groups such as Martha and the Vandellas and the Supremes. During their eight-year run on the Billboard music charts the group scored 21 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and 23 Billboard Hot 100 hit singles. Of these hits 3 were Top 10 Pop singles, 9 were top Top 10 R&B singles. This song was #1 on both charts - a bona fide classic.
1965 - BEATLES, on their last tour of Britain, played two shows at the Astoria Cinema in Finsbury Park, London, today, and three years later to the day Liverpool folk group The Scaffold had a Christmas hit with Lily The Pink, with Graham Nash sang backing vocals. On the same day, filming began for The Rolling Stones' Rock & Roll Circus, a film featuring clowns, Beatles, Who, acrobats, John & Yoko, Eric Clapton and Jethro Tull all took part. The film was eventually released in 1996.
1971 - BRIT comedian, Benny Hill topped home country charts with Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West), and a year later to the day soul man James Brown was arrested after a show in Tennessee for trying to incite a riot. Brown threatened to sue the city for US$1m, and the charges were later dropped. Here's a dance compilation of the great Brown, from around that era.
1973 - KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was nearly electrocuted during a concert in Florida when he touched a short-circuited light. The guitarist was carried from the stage but returned 10 minutes later to finish the show. And 31 years ago, a very young U2 appeared at The Mudd Club in New York City, the first date of four American shows, including Boston and Washington DC. This was the band in 1980, on the Late Show with their little known song, Stories For Boys.
1982 - JAM played their last gig as a band today in Brighton, England and on the same day a year later, Flying Pickets topped charts with their version of the Yazoo song Only You, the first a cappella chart-topper in the UK. As the 80s drew to a close, in 1989, Big Audio Dynamite appeared at Rock City, Nottingham, and this is the band, live, with their big hit E=MC2.
1993 - JANET Jackson started a two week run Again, her 7th chart topping song. On the same day, Snoop Dogg started climbing world charts with this audacious, pure-sex, album, Doggy Style.
1996 - JOHNNY Marr and Morrissey were left with a GBP£300,000 legal bill after loosing a case over unpaid royalties with former Smiths members Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce. Here's a taste of the Smiths for the initiated and the unitiated, without doubt one of the great, great bands.
1961 - ELVIS Presley started a five-month run on top of world charts with Blue Hawaii, his seventh #1 album. At the same time, the Marvelettes went to #1 on the US singles chart with Please Mr Postman. The session musicians on the track included 22 year old Marvin Gaye on drums. The song became a hit in later years for the Beatles, then the Carpenters. The Marvelettes were an American singing girl group on the Tamla label, and were the label's first successful female vocal group, recording the company's first #1 pop hit. The group set the precedent for later Motown girl groups such as Martha and the Vandellas and the Supremes. During their eight-year run on the Billboard music charts the group scored 21 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and 23 Billboard Hot 100 hit singles. Of these hits 3 were Top 10 Pop singles, 9 were top Top 10 R&B singles. This song was #1 on both charts - a bona fide classic.
1965 - BEATLES, on their last tour of Britain, played two shows at the Astoria Cinema in Finsbury Park, London, today, and three years later to the day Liverpool folk group The Scaffold had a Christmas hit with Lily The Pink, with Graham Nash sang backing vocals. On the same day, filming began for The Rolling Stones' Rock & Roll Circus, a film featuring clowns, Beatles, Who, acrobats, John & Yoko, Eric Clapton and Jethro Tull all took part. The film was eventually released in 1996.
1971 - BRIT comedian, Benny Hill topped home country charts with Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West), and a year later to the day soul man James Brown was arrested after a show in Tennessee for trying to incite a riot. Brown threatened to sue the city for US$1m, and the charges were later dropped. Here's a dance compilation of the great Brown, from around that era.
1973 - KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was nearly electrocuted during a concert in Florida when he touched a short-circuited light. The guitarist was carried from the stage but returned 10 minutes later to finish the show. And 31 years ago, a very young U2 appeared at The Mudd Club in New York City, the first date of four American shows, including Boston and Washington DC. This was the band in 1980, on the Late Show with their little known song, Stories For Boys.
1982 - JAM played their last gig as a band today in Brighton, England and on the same day a year later, Flying Pickets topped charts with their version of the Yazoo song Only You, the first a cappella chart-topper in the UK. As the 80s drew to a close, in 1989, Big Audio Dynamite appeared at Rock City, Nottingham, and this is the band, live, with their big hit E=MC2.
1993 - JANET Jackson started a two week run Again, her 7th chart topping song. On the same day, Snoop Dogg started climbing world charts with this audacious, pure-sex, album, Doggy Style.
1996 - JOHNNY Marr and Morrissey were left with a GBP£300,000 legal bill after loosing a case over unpaid royalties with former Smiths members Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce. Here's a taste of the Smiths for the initiated and the unitiated, without doubt one of the great, great bands.
