January 3, 1987 - ARETHA Franklin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with Bill Haley and 14 others today. The gospel singing 'queen of soul' was the first woman to be inducted, and deservedly so. Ten years later and she sang this song at a subsequent Hall of Fame ceremony, demonstrating she is indeed the queen of soul, no contest. After that? Spotlight on Aretha.
1940 - CHARLIE Barnet and his Orchestra record the song, Southland Shuffle today for indie label Bluebird Records by Billy May was featured as the trumpet player with Lionel Hampton also in the band. Barnet was one of the major band leaders in America during the big band era; excellent saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, his major recordings were Skyliner, Cherokee, The Wrong Idea, Scotch and Soda, and this little number coming up. A New Yorker, barnet learned to play piano and saxophone as a child, beginning his recording career in 1933, but the height of his popularity between 1939 and 1941. In 1947, he started to switch from swing music to bebop, including in his band such luminaries as Buddy DeFranco, Roy Eldridge, Doc Severinsen, and Clark Terry. He was an outspoken admirer of Count Basie and Duke Ellington. In 1939, Basie once lent Barnet his charts after Barnet's had been destroyed in a fire at the Palomar Hotel in Los Angeles. Throughout his career he was an opponent to syrupy arrangements. In the song The Wrong Idea, he lampooned the "sweet" Big Band sound of the era. In 1949 he retired, apparently because he had lost interest in music. He was able to retire when he chose because he was one of the few heirs in a very wealthy family. He occasionally returned from retirement for brief tours but never returned to music full time.
1957 - FATS Domino recorded I'm Walkin' today, another of his glorious hits, still standing the test of time. I have said it here before many times, for me it was Fats Domino who put the roll into rock, and his beaming style and smile will always hold him down as one of the major forces of rock music, though seldomly acknowledged as such. This is from a Jazz Festival held in the Hague, Netherlands, sometime in the late eighties.
1957 - GUY Mitchell was at #1 on the UK singles chart with Singing The Blues, today, the song ending up being on top in USA and for nine weeks. Two more versions of the Melvin Endlsey-penned song also ended up on top of charts in Australia; England's Tommy Steele replaced Mitchell's version in the UK, and Robbins' version replaced Steele's. Extremely unusual event. Mitchell achieved record sales in excess of 44 million units during the fifties, and this included six million-selling singles. In the autumn of 1957, the American pop singer starred in his own ABC variety show, The Guy Mitchell Show.
1960 - BOBBY Darin and Connie Francis performed together on the "Ed Sullivan Show." Couldn't locate this one, folks, but we couldn't let this opportunity go by and not play you a video from Connie. In her day she was the prototype female pop star, no question, she ruled the airwaves. And she had that look of naughty about her...always helps. Here she is in an interview from 1960, telling us she wants to have 12 children. Following that is one of her biggest hits, Lipstick On Your Collar.
1963 - THEY called him England's Elvis, and 49 years ago today, Cliff Richard was at #1 on UK singles charts with The Next Time / Bachelor Boy, both songs from the film, Summer Holiday. It was Cliff's 6th hit in the UK.
1964 - THE BEATLES made their first appearance on U.S. television in a film clip shown on the Jack Paar Show tonight. It was a performance of the song She Loves You. Here's Jack Paar, in all his 'full-of-himself' glory, with the Beatles, as he tried to ensure his place in history.
1967 - AUSSIE trio, The Bee Gees topped the Australian singles chart with the single Spicks and Specks. And we can show you this very rare, very early clip of the lads doing their thing, thanks to youtuber austvarchive,
1970 - I ME MINE was recorded by the Beatles, today, supposedly the last song that the band would record together. No getting away from it, The Beatles were the most influential musical force of the 20th century, and it's sad to think this was their final song recorded together, led by the beautiful George Harrison…still so sad he's gone.
1940 - CHARLIE Barnet and his Orchestra record the song, Southland Shuffle today for indie label Bluebird Records by Billy May was featured as the trumpet player with Lionel Hampton also in the band. Barnet was one of the major band leaders in America during the big band era; excellent saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, his major recordings were Skyliner, Cherokee, The Wrong Idea, Scotch and Soda, and this little number coming up. A New Yorker, barnet learned to play piano and saxophone as a child, beginning his recording career in 1933, but the height of his popularity between 1939 and 1941. In 1947, he started to switch from swing music to bebop, including in his band such luminaries as Buddy DeFranco, Roy Eldridge, Doc Severinsen, and Clark Terry. He was an outspoken admirer of Count Basie and Duke Ellington. In 1939, Basie once lent Barnet his charts after Barnet's had been destroyed in a fire at the Palomar Hotel in Los Angeles. Throughout his career he was an opponent to syrupy arrangements. In the song The Wrong Idea, he lampooned the "sweet" Big Band sound of the era. In 1949 he retired, apparently because he had lost interest in music. He was able to retire when he chose because he was one of the few heirs in a very wealthy family. He occasionally returned from retirement for brief tours but never returned to music full time.
1957 - FATS Domino recorded I'm Walkin' today, another of his glorious hits, still standing the test of time. I have said it here before many times, for me it was Fats Domino who put the roll into rock, and his beaming style and smile will always hold him down as one of the major forces of rock music, though seldomly acknowledged as such. This is from a Jazz Festival held in the Hague, Netherlands, sometime in the late eighties.
1957 - GUY Mitchell was at #1 on the UK singles chart with Singing The Blues, today, the song ending up being on top in USA and for nine weeks. Two more versions of the Melvin Endlsey-penned song also ended up on top of charts in Australia; England's Tommy Steele replaced Mitchell's version in the UK, and Robbins' version replaced Steele's. Extremely unusual event. Mitchell achieved record sales in excess of 44 million units during the fifties, and this included six million-selling singles. In the autumn of 1957, the American pop singer starred in his own ABC variety show, The Guy Mitchell Show.
1960 - BOBBY Darin and Connie Francis performed together on the "Ed Sullivan Show." Couldn't locate this one, folks, but we couldn't let this opportunity go by and not play you a video from Connie. In her day she was the prototype female pop star, no question, she ruled the airwaves. And she had that look of naughty about her...always helps. Here she is in an interview from 1960, telling us she wants to have 12 children. Following that is one of her biggest hits, Lipstick On Your Collar.
1963 - THEY called him England's Elvis, and 49 years ago today, Cliff Richard was at #1 on UK singles charts with The Next Time / Bachelor Boy, both songs from the film, Summer Holiday. It was Cliff's 6th hit in the UK.
1964 - THE BEATLES made their first appearance on U.S. television in a film clip shown on the Jack Paar Show tonight. It was a performance of the song She Loves You. Here's Jack Paar, in all his 'full-of-himself' glory, with the Beatles, as he tried to ensure his place in history.
1967 - AUSSIE trio, The Bee Gees topped the Australian singles chart with the single Spicks and Specks. And we can show you this very rare, very early clip of the lads doing their thing, thanks to youtuber austvarchive,
1970 - I ME MINE was recorded by the Beatles, today, supposedly the last song that the band would record together. No getting away from it, The Beatles were the most influential musical force of the 20th century, and it's sad to think this was their final song recorded together, led by the beautiful George Harrison…still so sad he's gone.
