It happened this week

This is the week that was in matters musical …

1955, ABC-TV premieres The Lawrence Welk Show … still going strong (at least in reruns on public TV), we’re still waiting for the episode in which Larry performs “Lady of Spain” on his accordion, gets into a frenzy and smashes it, followed by some audience surfing … as LW would put it: crate, just crate …

1956, Elvis Presley appears on The Steve Allen Show … ol’ Steverino, being sensitive to criticism that the hip-swiveling teen sensation is unduly arousing the youth of America, decrees that Elvis will not rock out but instead croon “Hound Dog” to an actual hound dog … a basset wearing dress tails … get it? … funny …

1957, Judy Tyler, Elvis’ co-star in the movie Jailhouse Rock does not not live to see herself on-screen with Elvis, she dies in a traffic accident three days after shooting is completed … supposedly he had become infatuated with Judy during filming and so upset by her death that he could not bear to watch the film … her untimely death at age 23 prompted singer-actor Kenny Baker to record a tribute song in her memory titled “Goodbye Little Star” …

1959, Buddy Holly records “Peggy Sue” …

1960, in the second of three sessions, The Dave Brubeck Quartet records tracks for their crossover jazz album Take Five … in 1961, the title song, written by alto saxophone player Paul Desmond, is released as a single and goes to #25 in the USA … hard to believe for a jazz instrumental in 5/4 time featuring a drum solo …

1966, a two-fer from the One-Hit Wonders Department: The Capitols from Detroit city hit #7 on the charts with “Cool Jerk,” an irresistible dance number written by the group’s guitarist Donald Storball … follow-up recordings like “Afro Twist” and “Patty Cake” do not click with the dance crowd and The Capitols moment in the national spotlight is over … fellow one-hit wonders the same week are The Swingin’ Medallions with “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)” who reach #17 on the charts … the group began with a trio of folksingers in South Carolina just as folk was booming all over this land in 1962 … after adding (a lot) more members, the group tries unsuccessfully to record “Double Shot” using a variety of tempos and arrangements … then they record it “live” in the studio with friends and people dragged in off the street to create a party atmosphere … “Double Shot” crashes its way to #17 before the draft and married life put an end to the party by 1970 … Mama Cass Elliot’s “Dream A Little Dream Of Me” goes to #12 … although credited as a solo, Cass is backed by The Mamas & The Papas … in a different kind of soloing, three-and-a-half years after they formed The Mamas & The Papas, members John Phillips, Denny Doherty, and Cass Elliot write a letter to Michelle Phillips (John’s wife), firing her for the second time in three years … Michelle is today the only surviving member of that quartet …

1968, our second One-Hit Wonder two-fer also involves the #7 and #17 chart positions … from Seattle, Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts have their only top 40 hit with “Angel of the Morning” written in ten minutes in a rush of inspiration by Chip (“Wild Thing”) Taylor … Merrilee is unable to get a big hit from two follow-ups and The Turnabouts are cast adrift … but you could say it’s fair play for one of The Turnabouts as guitarist Carl Wilson (not the Beach Boy) forms a group in Seattle with his sisters Anne and Nancy … the group eventually becomes a ’70s and ’80s chart monster (without Carl) under the name Heart … Herbert Khaury, better known as Tiny Tim, reached #17 with a song from 1927 “Tip Toe Thru’ The Tulips With Me” … Warner Bros. Records dropped Tim after a series of follow-up singles stubbed their toes trying to climb the charts …

1969, The Jimi Hendrix Experience plays their last gig together at the Denver Pop Festival at Mile High Stadium in Denver … bassist Noel Redding quits the band afterwards … Redding says he’s tired of constant touring for little or no money and wants to pursue his own artistic vision, out from under the shadow of Seattle’s finest … Crosby, Stills & Nash release their first album … the album cover has a picture taken by Henry Diltz of the trio sitting on a sofa at an abandoned house on Santa Monica Boulevard in LA … according to Diltz, the group was sitting in the wrong name order, so they went back to re-shoot and found the house had been torn down … drummer Dallas Taylor can be seen peering out one of the windows …

1971, Jim Morrison dies in Paris at the age of 27 …

1973, singer Ian Gillan leaves Deep Purple after a concert in Japan … he’ll be back …

1975, Cher and The Allman Brothers’ Greg Allman get hitched only three days after Cher’s divorce from Sonny becomes final … they have a son Elijah Blue Allman before Cher excises the Midnight Rider from their marriage contract … Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night is arrested for cocaine possession … he can now also be seen on public TV re-creating the hits of ’70s … send us your pledge, please call the number at the bottom of your screen …

1977, Marvel Comics issues the first of two comic books based on the group KISS …

1983, the Everly Brothers reunite after a ten-year breakup … to keep the peace in the family, they have separate tour buses and, for the most part, only see each other while performing together onstage …

1987, the second album by Whitney Houston, Whitney, debuts at #1 on the album charts … she’s the first female to do so … the album yields four #1 singles …

1991, Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio debuts at the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool …

1994, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam testify before a congressional hearing looking into rising concert ticket prices …

1995, The Ramones release Adios Amigos … in the years to follow, all three of the main Ramones, singer Joey, bassist Dee Dee, and guitarist Johnny would all pass on to that big gig in the sky … in their honor: 1-2-3-4 …

2001, you’re a pretty good guitarist if they name a guitar after you, so imagine how good Chet Atkins was that they name a whole line of guitars after him … the producer, guitarist, and singer was inducted into both the Country Hall of Fame and the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame … Chet dies of lung cancer at the age of 77 …

And that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

June 28: Lester Flatt (1914), Procol Harum’s Bobby Harrison (1943) and Dave Knights (1945), Patrick Lachman (1970)

June 29: Nelson Eddy (1901), film composer Bernard Hermann (1911), drummer Frank Kirkland (1927), Johnny Ace (1929), Leonard Lee of Shirley & Lee (1936), Roger Ruskin Spear of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (1943), Little Eva aka Eva Narcissus Boyd (1945), Bill Kircher of Commander Cody (1948), Deep Purple’s Ian Paice (1948), Don Dokken (1953), Colin James Hay of Men at Work (1953), Evelyn “Champagne” King (1960), Barry D aka Iain Baker of Jesus Jones (1965)

June 30: Lena Horne (1917), Buddy Rich (1917), songwriter Guy Hemric (1931), Dave Van Ronk (1936), songwriter Mike Leander (1941), Larry Henley of The Newbeats (1941), The Supremes’ Florence Ballard (1943), Little River Band’s Glenn Shorrock (1944), Stanley Clarke (1951), The Sweet’s Andy Scott (1951), Hal Lindes of Dire Straits (1953), Human League’s Adrian Wright (1956), Ronald Winans (1956), Julianne Regan of All About Eve (1962), Yngwie Malmsteen (1963), Tom Drummond of Better Than Ezra (1969)

July 1: father of gospel music Thomas Dorsey (1899), Alvino Rey (1911), Imperial Records founder Lew Chudd (1911), saxman Earle Warren (1914), Willie Dixon (1915), flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal (1922), singer Bobby Day (1930), harp man James Cotton (1935), Delaney Bramlett (1939), Andraé Crouch (1942), Deborah Harry (1945), June Monteiro of The Toys (1946), Marc Benno (1947), Fred Schneider of The B-52’s (1951), Dan Aykroyd (1952), Keith Whitley (1955), Roddy Bottum of Faith No More (1963), Missy Elliott (1971)

July 2: Marvin Rainwater (1925), R&B saxophonist Lee Allen (1926), The Temptations’ Paul Williams (1939), Roy Bittan of the E Street Band (1949), Johnny Colla of Huey Lewis and The News (1952), Pete Briquette of The Boomtown Rats (1954), Mike Anger of The Blow Monkeys (1957), Dave Parsons of Bush (1965), Monie Love (1970), Michelle Branch (1983)

July 3: Mississippi John Hurt (1893), David Lynch of The Platters (1929), session guitarist Tommy Tedesco (1930), Fontella Bass (1940), Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum (1946), Betty Buckley (1947), Paul Barrere of Little Feat (1948), Mike Corby of The Babys (1951 not 1955 as corrected by the man himself), Laura Branigan (1957), Stephen Pearcy of Ratt (1956), Vince Clarke of Depeche Mode (1961), Kevin Hearn of Barenaked Ladies (1969), Shane Lynch of Boyzone (1976)

July 4: Louis Armstrong (1900), Champion Jack Dupree (1910), Dave Patillo of The Red Caps (1914), Bill Withers (1938), Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson of Canned Heat (1943), Jeremy Spencer of Fleetwood Mac (1948), Ralph Johnson of Earth, Wind & Fire (1951), John Waite (1955), Kirk Pengilly of INXS (1958), Matt Malley of Counting Crows (1963), Andrew Creeggan of Barenaked Ladies (1971), Stephen McNally of BBMak (1978)

Departures

June 28: punk rocker G.G. Allin (1993), punker Rob Graves (1990), Harry Mills of The Mills Brothers (1982)

June 29: organist Richard “Groove” Holmes (1991), Lowell George (1979), Johnny “Hot Rod Lincoln” Bond (1929) Tim Buckley (1975), Shorty Long of The Inkspots (1969), Eric Dolphy (1964)

June 30: Chet Atkins (2001), jazz saxman Joe Henderson (2001) jazz vocalist Phyllis Hyman (1995)

July 1: jazz flutist Herbie Mann (2003), reggae singer Dennis Brown (1999), DJ Wolfman Jack (1995), Phil “Snakefinger” Lithman of The Residents (1987), Rushton Moreve of Steppenwolf (1981), Claude Thornhill (1965), Erik Satie (1925)

July 2: Mark Sandman of Morphine (1999), Marion Williams (1994), Justin Adams (1991), Eddie “Cleanhead” Vincent (1988), Jimmy Ricks of The Ravens (1974), Snooky Lanson (1970)

July 3: songwriter-producer Skip Scarborough (2003), Merle Haggard’s long-time guitarist Roy Nichols (2001), country songwriter Johnny Russell (2001), Steve Walsh (1988), Rudy Vallee (1986), R&B pianist Monk Higgins (1986), R&B balladeer Larry Darnell (1983), Mississippi Fred McDowell (1972), Jim Morrison (1971), Brian Jones (1969)

July 4: Barry White (2003), R&B guitarist “Lightning Bug” Rhodes (1990), Donald McPherson of The Main Ingredient (1971)

July 5: Syreeta Wright (2004), Ernie K-Doe (2001), blues guitar slinger Johnny Copeland (1997), Helix guitarist Paul Hackman (1992), Tracey Pew of The Birthday Party (1986), Harry James (1983)