It happened this week

This is the week that was in matters musical…

1957, Dick Clark broadcasts his American Bandstand on national television for the first time…

1960, Britain’s Decca Records trashes 25,000 copies of “Tell Laura I Love Her” by Ray Peterson … though this lament of a dying teenage car-crash victim is a commercial success in the U.S., Decca executives feel its subject matter is too tasteless and vulgar for the civilized English audience…

1964, Rod Stewart makes his television debut singing with the Hootchie Coo Men on the British show The Beat Room…

1967, The Killer proves a little too much for the refined English sensibility … while performing at the Sunbury Jazz and Blues Festival in England, Jerry Lee Lewis whips the crowd into such a frenzy that officials stop the show and ask him to leave the stage…

1969, photographer Ian Macmillan catches four lads from Liverpool in mid-stride as they traverse a London crosswalk … the photo will famously become the cover for Abbey Road…

1971, The Mothers of Invention record Just Another Band from L.A. featuring the masterpiece “Billy The Mountain” … it is to be the last Mothers album that includes former Turtles Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman…

1973, Stevie Wonder is injured in a car accident in Winston-Salem … he remains in a coma for four days…

1978, blues legend Muddy Waters performs for President Jimmy Carter at a White House picnic…

1979, a benefit is held this week for the widow and children of late Little Feat singer Lowell George … former members of Little Feat-Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Nicolette Larson, Emmylou Harris, and Bonnie Raitt-are among the performers…

1988, The Traveling Wilburys with members George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty begin a tour to promote their debut album…

1992, citing a sore throat, Axl Rose of Guns ‘N’ Roses cuts short the band’s set in Montreal … many of the 55,000 fans in attendance riot … this is a fitting end to a concert in which Metallica had also cut short their set after singer James Hetfield suffered third-degree burns from a pyro effect…

1995, Jimmy Buffett performs for President Clinton’s White House birthday party … Jerry Garcia dies of a heart attack at a San Francisco drug treatment center…

2001, The Foo Fighters put on a rare club show at the Troubadour in West Hollywood for a small crowd of 300 fans … the names of those who may attend are drawn from a pool of entries on the band’s website … also this week rap group D12 executes a brutal attack on Detroit rap rivals Esham and T.N.T. during a Warped Tour stop in Camden , New Jersey … T.N.T. is bruised and cut while Esham suffers a broken nose, ruptured eyeball, concussion, and hearing damage … D12 is promptly kicked off the tour…

2004, Rick “Super Freak” James dies of a heart attack in his sleep … an autopsy reveals there were at least nine drugs in his system including cocaine, valium, vicodin, and methamphetamine … because none of the substances were found in lethal quantities, his death is ruled as accidental…

2005, Marc Cohn, the singer-songwriter who struck gold in 1991 with his hit “Walking in Memphis” is shot in the head during a carjacking in Denver … amazingly he survives the injury and is expected to make a full recovery … also this week, FCC chairman Kevin Martin announces that his agency is investigating payola by record labels in the wake of Sony BMG Music Entertainment’s settlement of $10 million with New York over charges that the company plied key radio stations with lavish gifts and money to get its releases played … the list of artists benefitting from Sony’s generosity include Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Avril Lavigne, Maroon 5, Franz Ferdinand, Good Charlotte, Gretchen Wilson, Audioslave, and Celine Dion…

…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

August 3: Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence (1910), Tony Bennett (1926), blues harp player Alex Randall (1934), Gordon Stocker of The Jordanaires (1935), Frankie Ford (1939), Roscoe Mitchell of The Art Ensemble of Chicago (1940), Beverly Lee of The Shirelles (1941), B. B. Dickerson of War (1949), John Graham of Earth, Wind & Fire (1951) Steve Hillage (1951), Andrew Gold (1951), James Hetfield of Metallica (1963), Ed Roland of Collective Soul (1963)

August 4: Louis Armstrong (1901), singer Elsbeary Hobbs (1936), R&B singer Big Dee Irwin (1939), David Carr of The Fortunes (1940), Timi Yuro (1940), Klaus Schultze of Tangerine Dream (1947), Paul Layton of The New Seekers (1947), Clannad’s Maire Ni Bhraonian (1952), Paul Reynolds of A Flock of Seagulls (1962), Immature’s Marques Houston (1981)

August 5: jazz singer Jeri Southern (1926), Vern Gosdin (1934), Damita Jo (1940), guitarist Lenny Breau (1941), percussionist Airto Moreira (1941), Rick Huxley of The Dave Clark Five (1942), country star Sammi Smith (1943), Rick Derringer (1947), Gregory Leskew of Guess Who (1947), Philip Bailey (1951), Eddie Ojeda of Twisted Sister (1954), Pat Smear of X and Foo Fighters (1959), Pete Burns of Dead Or Alive (1959), Mark O’Connor (1962), Adam Yauch of The Beastie Boys (1964)

August 6: Jimmy Ricks (1924), Charlie Haden (1937), Isaac Hayes (1938), Judy Craig (1946), Allan Holdsworth (1948), Pat McDonald of Timbuk 3 (1951), Randy DeBarge (1958), Geri Halliwell a.k.a. Ginger Spice of the Spice Girls (1972)

August 7: Benny Carter (1907), Freddie Slack (1910), pianist Mose Vinson (1917), lyricist Felice Bryant (1925), Herb Reed (1931), multi-instrumentalist jazz titan Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1936), Magic Slim born Morris Holt (1937), Ron Holden (1939), B.J. Thomas (1942), Rodney Crowell (1950), Free’s Andy Fraser (1952), Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden (1958), Jacqui O’Sullivan of Bananarama (1960), Ian Dench of EMF (1964), Kristen Herch of Throwing Muses (1964)

August 8: Lucious “Lucky” Millinder (1900), Webb Pierce (1921), Jimmy Witherspoon (1923), blues singer Al King (1923), Sonny Til of The Orioles (1925), Pete Drake (1932), Mel Tillis (1932), Philip E. Balsley of the Statler Brothers (1939), John “Jay” David of Dr. Hook (1942), Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (1946), Airrion Love of The Stylistics (1949), Ari Score of Flock of Seagulls (1956), Dennis Drew of 10,000 Maniacs (1957), Chris Foreman of Madness (1958), Ricki Rockett of Poison (1959), U2’s The Edge a.k.a. David Evans (1961), Kool Moe Dee (1962), JC Chasez of ‘N Sync (1976), Drew Lachey of 98 Degrees (1976)

August 9: Barrelhouse pianist Robert Shaw (1908), Odell Thompson (1911), Harry Mills of the Mills Brothers (1913), Bill Henderson of The Spinners (1939), Jack DeJohnette (1942), Rinus Gerritsen of Golden Earring (1946), Barbara Mason (1947), Cars bassist Benjamin Orr (1955), rap pioneer Kurtis Blow (1959), Aimee Mann (1960), Whitney Houston (1963), Arion Salazar of Third Eye Blind (1970)

Departures:

August 3: Bob Tate (1993), jazz trombonist and rock singer Don Lang (1992), Richard Nickens (1991)

August 4: “Little” Milton Campbell (2005), jazz singer Jeri Southern (1991), pop impresario Larry Parnes (1989)

August 5: Randy Hobbs (1993), Jeff Porcaro of Toto (1992), N’awlins bluesman Isidore “Tuts” Washington (1984), George Scott (1980), The Who’s first manager Pete Meadon (1978), Johnny Cash guitarist Luther Perkins (1968), one-man blues band Joe Hill Louis (1957)

August 6: Keter Betts (2005), Ibrahim Ferrer (2005), Rick James (2004), the U.K.’s answer to Louis Armstrong, Nat Gonella (1998), Klaus Nomi (1983), Memphis Minnie born Lizzie Douglas (1973), Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke (1931)

August 7th: guitarist William Lewis Byrd (2001), harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler (2001), Sam Goody (1991), R&B chanteuse Esther Phillips (1984), Homer a.k.a. Henry Haynes of Homer & Jethro (1971)

August 8th: Julian “Cannonball” Adderley (1975)

August 9th: producer Bob Herbert (1999), Jerry Garcia (1995), Clarence Ford (1994), reggae singer Wilfred “Jackie” Edwards (1992), Brandon Mitchell of Wreckx-N-Effects (1990), rock journalist Lillian Roxon (1973), Eddie Brown (1966), Joe Gilbert (1966)