February 4, 1955 - JAMES BROWN had a bevy of signature tunes, and one of them, Please Please Me was recorded 57 years ago today. Watch this performance of his the song, followed by a montage of his dancing talents, clearly 'mirrored' by acts that followed, like Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson. James Brown shimmies'n'shakes, moonwalks'n'pops, and everything old is new again.
1961 - JOHNNY BURNETTE was one of the first of the successful rockabilly acts, but he also had a formidable pop career, as seen by the the video below; the first crossover hit was his record, You're Sixteen, You're Beautiful and You're Mine. The link? Exactly 50 years ago today, Burnette was rushed to a hospital in Hollywood for an emergency appendectomy.
1965 - THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS were at #1 all around the world today with with the Phil Spector song You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin. In 1999 the Performing Rights Society announced that this was was the most played song of the 20th Century. Not sure if this is still the case today.
1969 - In his home town of Jackson Tennessee, today was pronounced as Carl Perkins day, to acknowledge the singer's songwriter's accomplishments. If you read *MUSICBACKTRACK* yesterday, you would have heard him in the Million Dollar Quartet. Carl Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954. His best known song is Blue Suede Shoes, which was also a huge hit for Elvis Presley. According to country rocker Charlie Daniels: "Carl Perkins' songs personified the rockabilly era, and Carl Perkins' sound personifies the rockabilly sound more so than anybody involved in it, because he never changed." Perkins' songs were recorded by artists (and friends) as influential as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Johnny Cash, which further cemented his place in the history of popular music. Called 'the King of Rockabilly', he was inducted into the Rock and Roll, the Rockabilly, and the Nashville Songwriters Halls of Fame, and was a Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipient. If you want to see him doing the original version of Blue Suede Shoes, just type in to our search section. Meanwhile, here he is singing a couple of songs with Jerry Lee Lewis.
1977 - FLEETWOOD MAC were soaring at this point 35 years ago, superstars in the making, and this was the day they released their biggest album to that date, Rumours...and this is the witch song from that album, Rhiannon, performed live on the TV rock show, Midnight Special.
1982 - STALWART SCOTTISH SINGER ALEX HARVEY died of a heart attack, 30 years ago today, while waiting to take a ferry back to shore after performing a concert with his new band, the Electric Cowboys. In an ambulance on the way to the hospital, he suffered a second heart attack, this one fatal. It occurred on the day before his 47th birthday, in Zeebrugen, Belgium. following a skilful musice-intro to the world of music, he formed Alex Harvey Big Soul Band in 1959 and then mid 1960's his band, Tear Gas. Harvey had the 1975 UK #7 single, Delilah, a remake of the Tom Jones hit, which took him to mainstream cult status. This is the band live, in 1974 - check out the amazing guitar solo…and for all you Bon Scott fans out there, check out Harvey's voice tone, his singing inflections, his phrasing, his swagger, his entertainment value, and you'll hear and see how much of an influence Harvey was on wee Bonnie.
1983 - KAREN CARPENTER died from heartbeat irregularities brought on by chemical imbalances associated with anorexia nervosa, today, after denying for years that she suffered from the disease. The Carpenters had many, many hit records, but sadly money and success are not enough to stem the tide of anorexia. following is a mini-docoblog about her disease. Are you old enough for this?
1984 - CULTURE CLUB, with Boy George, started a three-week run at #1 on the US singles chart with Karma Chameleon, the group's 5th US Top 10 hit, and of course the song repeated this success all over the world. Boy George, along with Culture Club became iconic, as did the song.
1991 - CHER film a super special television show tonight, in Las Vegas, Cher at the Mirage, and it was aired aired tonight on CBS-TV. Just on survival points alone, Cher has my vote, it's all part of the smoke & mires show, right?
1961 - JOHNNY BURNETTE was one of the first of the successful rockabilly acts, but he also had a formidable pop career, as seen by the the video below; the first crossover hit was his record, You're Sixteen, You're Beautiful and You're Mine. The link? Exactly 50 years ago today, Burnette was rushed to a hospital in Hollywood for an emergency appendectomy.
1965 - THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS were at #1 all around the world today with with the Phil Spector song You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin. In 1999 the Performing Rights Society announced that this was was the most played song of the 20th Century. Not sure if this is still the case today.
1969 - In his home town of Jackson Tennessee, today was pronounced as Carl Perkins day, to acknowledge the singer's songwriter's accomplishments. If you read *MUSICBACKTRACK* yesterday, you would have heard him in the Million Dollar Quartet. Carl Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954. His best known song is Blue Suede Shoes, which was also a huge hit for Elvis Presley. According to country rocker Charlie Daniels: "Carl Perkins' songs personified the rockabilly era, and Carl Perkins' sound personifies the rockabilly sound more so than anybody involved in it, because he never changed." Perkins' songs were recorded by artists (and friends) as influential as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Johnny Cash, which further cemented his place in the history of popular music. Called 'the King of Rockabilly', he was inducted into the Rock and Roll, the Rockabilly, and the Nashville Songwriters Halls of Fame, and was a Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipient. If you want to see him doing the original version of Blue Suede Shoes, just type in to our search section. Meanwhile, here he is singing a couple of songs with Jerry Lee Lewis.
1977 - FLEETWOOD MAC were soaring at this point 35 years ago, superstars in the making, and this was the day they released their biggest album to that date, Rumours...and this is the witch song from that album, Rhiannon, performed live on the TV rock show, Midnight Special.
1982 - STALWART SCOTTISH SINGER ALEX HARVEY died of a heart attack, 30 years ago today, while waiting to take a ferry back to shore after performing a concert with his new band, the Electric Cowboys. In an ambulance on the way to the hospital, he suffered a second heart attack, this one fatal. It occurred on the day before his 47th birthday, in Zeebrugen, Belgium. following a skilful musice-intro to the world of music, he formed Alex Harvey Big Soul Band in 1959 and then mid 1960's his band, Tear Gas. Harvey had the 1975 UK #7 single, Delilah, a remake of the Tom Jones hit, which took him to mainstream cult status. This is the band live, in 1974 - check out the amazing guitar solo…and for all you Bon Scott fans out there, check out Harvey's voice tone, his singing inflections, his phrasing, his swagger, his entertainment value, and you'll hear and see how much of an influence Harvey was on wee Bonnie.
1983 - KAREN CARPENTER died from heartbeat irregularities brought on by chemical imbalances associated with anorexia nervosa, today, after denying for years that she suffered from the disease. The Carpenters had many, many hit records, but sadly money and success are not enough to stem the tide of anorexia. following is a mini-docoblog about her disease. Are you old enough for this?
1984 - CULTURE CLUB, with Boy George, started a three-week run at #1 on the US singles chart with Karma Chameleon, the group's 5th US Top 10 hit, and of course the song repeated this success all over the world. Boy George, along with Culture Club became iconic, as did the song.
1991 - CHER film a super special television show tonight, in Las Vegas, Cher at the Mirage, and it was aired aired tonight on CBS-TV. Just on survival points alone, Cher has my vote, it's all part of the smoke & mires show, right?
