This is the week that was in matters musical…
1953, in what is now considered the golden age of vocal groups, seven of the R&B chart’s Top 10 positions are occupied by doo-wop acts including The Orioles, The Clovers, The Five Royales, The Royals, The Spaniels, The Dominoes, and The Coronets …
1954, Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips secures his place in rock ‘n’ roll history when he spins a test pressing of Elvis Presley’s "That’s All Right" on radio station WHBQ … it’s the first time an Elvis record hits the airwaves …
1956, Elvis Presley’s much-anticipated single "Love Me Tender" notches a music biz record when advance orders for the record top one million …
1963, “She Loves You” is played on the radio by influential DJ Murray “The K” Kaufman on WINS in New York … it is the first time a Beatles song is played on U.S. airwaves … Murray later becomes a staunch Beatles advocate and supporter, helping them to break into New York and America …
1967, the previously sedate British Broadcasting Company discovers rock and launches its new BBC Radio 1 service … the first record played is The Move’s “Flowers in the Rain” …
1975, soulman Jackie Wilson suffers a heart attack in mid-performance at the Latin Casino in Camden, N.J. … the singer, dubbed “Mr. Excitement,” falls off the stage and strikes his head on the concrete floor, causing permanent brain damage … he lapses into a coma and spends the rest of his life hospitalized until death overtakes him in 1984 … the soul group The Spinners donate $60,000 for his medical care but much of that money is consumed in lawyer’s fees due to relatives tussling over control of Wilson’s estate … the singer will be laid to rest in an unmarked grave … the Wilson family is haunted by tragedy … son Jackie Jr. was killed in 1970 during a burglary, daughter Sandra will die of a heart attack in 1977, and daughter Jacqueline will be shot to death in a 1987 drive-by shooting …
Also try the X-rated version of “Think Twice” with Lavern Baker, (NSFW).
1976, Jerry Lee Lewis nearly lives up to his nickname while taking a little target practice at a soda bottle with his .357 magnum … The Killer completely misses the bottle and shoots his bass player, Norman "Butch" Owens, twice in the chest … Owens reportedly clutches his chest and staggers out onto the front porch before collapsing … Owens lives to sue Lewis, who is charged with shooting a firearm within city limits …
1982, the first compact discs and players hit the market in Japan … a joint venture between Sony and Philips, the CD will become a dominant musical format within five years …
1988, Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” becomes the first acapella song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 … the single will also land George Bush the elder in hot water when he uses it in his presidential campaign without permission … in 2008, Billboard listed the tune in its top ten One Hit Wonders from the last 50 years … McFerrin, a classically trained musician and conductor, later expresses reservations about the single, saying “It’s not that I don’t love the song. My songs are like my children: some you want around and some you want to send off to college as soon as possible.” …
1991, arguably one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, the legendary Miles Davis leaves this mortal coil …
1996, Smashing Pumpkins get off to a delayed tour start … the band needed extra time to integrate former Filter drummer Matt Walker and former Frogs’ keyboardist Dennis Flemion … the pair replace former keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin who died three months earlier from a heroin OD and drummer Jimmie Chamberlin who was canned following a drug possession bust … leader Billie Corgan will later acknowledge the replacements were a bad idea that hurt the band’s music and reputation … in 1999 a rehabilitated Chamberlin will rejoin the Pumpkins …
1997, the Audio Engineering Society unveils the new DVD Audio format in New York …
1998, rock fan Drew Carey hosts a truckload of big-name musicians on The Drew Carey Show in an episode titled "In Ramada Da Vida"… they all appear as themselves to try out for lead guitarist of Carey’s band … the list includes Joey Ramone, Slash, Dusty Hill, Roy Clark, Jonny Lang, Lisa Loeb, Matthew Sweet, Dave Mustaine, Rick Nielsen, and Joe Walsh …
2004, Dolly Parton, who is considering breast-reduction surgery, complains, "My boobs are killing me and I don’t know if I can stand the pain any longer." …
2005, while touring, Paul McCartney sings his reportedly anti-Yoko song from 1971 "Too Many People" … a few days later, while accepting a posthumous tribute for John Lennon at the Q Awards in London, Ono recounts how her late husband asked why his songs were not covered as extensively as McCartney’s, to which she had replied, "You’re a good songwriter, it’s not just ‘June’ and ‘spoon’ that you write"… later, she comments on her earlier remarks saying, "I certainly did not mean to hurt Paul, and if I did, I’m very sorry." …
2006, choreographer Twyla Tharp’s musical, The Times They Are A-Changin’, previews on Broadway … the show features 25 Dylan songs including some obscurites … Dylan was reportedly impressed with the show when he attended a dress rehearsal earlier in San Diego … the show’s band includes J.J. Jackson who played guitar for Dylan during the ’90s … the musical will fold after just 28 performances and deadly reviews … a move that worked for Dylan also works for veteran soul man Solomon Burke when he releases Nashville, a collection of rootsy country tunes recorded in producer Buddy Miller’s Nashville home … the record gets rave reviews and features Dolly Parton, Gillian Welch, Patty Griffin, and Patty Loveless backing up the “The Bishop of Soul” and his weathered, yet still resonant, voice … following a six-month hiatus prompted by Steven Tyler’s surgery for a broken blood vessel in his larynx and bassman Tom Hamilton’s chemo treatments for throat cancer, Aerosmith reunites for a show at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts … it’s been a tough year for the band with Tyler slicing his hand while opening a suitcase and battling hepatitis C …
2007, Van Halen kicks off its first reunion tour since 1984 in Charlotte, North Carolina with David Lee Roth aboard … the band rips through a best-of set list with Eddie Van Halen and Roth bouncing off each other without a hint of the bad blood that has existed between the pair for decades … Eric Clapton’s Clapton: the Autobiography is released … the guitar maestro candidly addresses the highs and lows of his career and life including marital troubles, drug and alcohol problems, and the death of his son …
2008, E Street Band axeman Nils Lofgren undergoes double hip replacement surgery …
And that was the week that was.
Arrivals:
September 24: gospel, blues, and doo-wop singer Allen Bunn (1924), Carl Feaster of The Chords (1930), actor and singer-songwriter Anthony Newley (1931), Ventures drummer Mel Taylor (1933), James “Shep” Sheppard of Shep & The Limelites (1935), session reed player Steve Douglas (1938), Barbara Allbut of The Angels (1940), Phyllis Allbut of The Angels (1942), Linda McCartney (1942), Gerry Marsden of Gerry And The Pacemakers (1942), Cedric Dent of Take 6 (1962), Marty Cintron of No Mercy (1971)
September 25: Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich (1906), Erik Darling of The Rooftop Singers (1933), bluesman Roosevelt “Booba” Barnes (1936), Ian Tyson of folk duo Ian and Sylvia (1933), Joseph Russell of The Persuasions (1939), Wade Flemons of Earth, Wind and Fire (1940), co-founder of Love, Bryan MacLean (1946), Italian rocker Zucchero (1955), actor and hip-hop artist Will Smith (1968), Diana Ortiz of Dream (1985)
September 26: George Gershwin (1898), New Orleans guitarist Rene Hall (1912), country singer Marty Robbins (1925), George Chambers of The Chambers Brothers (1931), Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music (1945), country singer Lynn Anderson (1947), Olivia Newton-John (1948), Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos (1954), Craig Chaquico of Jefferson Starship (1954), country vocalist Carlene Carter (1955), Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl (1962), Cindy Herron of En Vogue (1965), Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon (1967), Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men (1972), pop and R&B singer Christina Milian (1981)
September 27: bluesman “Mighty” Joe Young (1927), producer Don Nix (1941), Randy Bachman of BTO (1943), Meat Loaf aka Marvin Lee Aday (1947), Greg Ham of Men At Work (1953), reggae bassist Robbie Shakespeare (1953), teen throb Shaun Cassidy (1958), Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind (1966), Mark Calderon of Color Me Badd (1970), Avril Lavigne (1984)
September 28: Ed Sullivan (1902), bluesman Houston Stackhouse (1910), country singer Tommy Collins (1930), gospel singer Joseph Hutchinson (1931), Chicago blues songstress Koko Taylor (1935), soul singer and former Drifter Ben E. King (1938), bassist Nick St. Nicholas of Steppenwolf (1943), jazz pianist Kenny Kirkland (1955), George Lynch of Dokken (1955), Alannah Currie of The Thompson Twins (1959), pop singer Jennifer Rush (1960), teen popster Hilary Duff (1987)
September 29: Gene Autry (1907), Jerry Lee Lewis (1935), jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty (1942), singer-songwriter Tommy Boyce (1944), Mark Farner of Grand Funk (1948), Mike Pinera of Iron Butterfly (1948), Suzzy Roche of The Roches (1956), Les Claypool of Primus (1963), Barry D of Jesus Jones (1965), Brad Smith of Blind Melon (1968)
September 30: jazz drummer Buddy Rich (1917), New Orleans soul man Chris Kenner (1929), soul and gospel singer Cissy Houston (1933), crooner Johnny Mathis (1935), soul singer Z.Z. Hill (1935), Frankie Lymon (1942), Dewey Martin of Buffalo Springfield (1942), producer Gus Dudgeon (1942), Marilyn McCoo of The 5th Dimension (1943), Sylvia Peterson of The Chiffons (1946), Mark Bolan of T. Rex (1947), R&B singer Patrice Rushen (1954), singer-songwriter Basia (1956), Trey Anastasio of Phish (1964), Robby Takac of The Goo Goo Dolls (1964)
Departures:
September 24: British folk singer-songwriter Matthew Jay (2003), folk rocker Tim Rose (2002)
September 25: Jamie Lyons of The Music Explosion (2006), Steve Canaday of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils (1999), Led Zeppelin’s hard-hitting drummer John Bonham (1980)
September 26: eclectic British vocalist Robert Palmer (2003), songwriter Carl Sigman (2000), jazz diva Betty Carter (1998), pianist and writer Arnold Shaw (1989), blues guitarist Auburn “Pat” Hare (1980), “Empress of the Blues” Bessie Smith (1937)
September 27: rockabilly guitarist Paul Burlison (2003), Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch (1979)
September 28: country star Bob Gibson (1996), Marcels baritone singer Allen Johnson (1995), D.O.A. drummer Ken “Dimwit” Montgomery (1994), jazz titan Miles Davis (1991), Rory Storm born Alan Caldwell (1972), D.J. Dewey Phillips (1968), bandleader Lucky Millinder (1966)
September 29: D.J. Scott Muni (2004)
September 30: Moonglows singer Prentiss Barnes (2006), songwriter-psychologist Jacques Levy (2004), Texas rockabilly pioneer Ronnie Dawson (2003), disco-era songwriter Paul Jabara (1992), pop singer Mary Ford (1977)