This Day in Music

[spiritinthesky]

Aug 15th2007, Sixteen solo John Lennon albums were made available to download on iTunes for the first time. A deal was approved by the late Beatle's widow Yoko Ono following a lengthy legal battle between the band's label Apple Corps and Apple Inc, which owned Tunes. 2004, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts was being treated for throat cancer after being diagnosed with the disease in June. 1991, Paul Simon played a free concert in New York's Central Park before an audience of three quarters of a million people. 1969, during a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Hemisfair Arena in San Antonio. Jethro Tull and Sweet Smoke were also on the bill. During the show Zeppelin received abuse from locals due to the length of their hair. 1969, the Woodstock Festival was held on Max Yasgur's 600 acre farm in Bethel outside New York. Attended by over 400,000 people, the free event featured, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Santana, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Canned Heat, Joan Baez, Santana, Melanie, Ten Years After, Sly and the Family Stone, Johnny Winter, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shanker, Country Joe and the Fish, Blood Sweat and Tears, Arlo Guthrie, and Joe Cocker. During the three days there were three deaths, two births and four miscarriages. Joni Mitchell was booked to appear but had to pull out due to being booked for a TV show, wrote the song 'Woodstock.' 1965, The Beatles set a new world record for the largest attendance at a pop concert when they played in front of 55,600 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City. Sharing the bill with The Beatles; Brenda Holloway, The King Curtis Band, The Young Rascals and Sounds Incorporated. The Beatles were paid $160,000 for the show, the set list: ‘Twist and Shout’, ‘She's a Woman’, ‘I Feel Fine’, ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzie’, ‘Ticket to Ride’, ‘Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby’, ‘Can't Buy Me Love’, ‘Baby's In Black’, ‘Act Naturally’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, ‘A Hard Day's Night’, ‘Help!’, and ‘I'm Down’. Two of the Rolling Stones were among the audience, Mick Jagger and Keith Richard and later that evening; Bob Dylan visited The Beatles at their hotel. More at http://www.thisdayinmusic.com

[spiritinthesky]

Aug 16th2007, a fan of the 1980s pop band Wham! was silenced after becoming the first noise nuisance to be prosecuted by Newcastle city council's night watch team. Brian Turner had tormented neighbours by playing their hit song ‘Last Christmas’ all night at full volume from 1am onwards. Magistrates fined Turner, of Sandyford, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, £200 and ordered him to pay £215 costs. 2005, Madonna suffered three cracked ribs, a broken collarbone and a broken hand in a horse-riding accident on her country estate. The accident happened when she fell off a new horse in the grounds of her Ashcombe House on the border of Wiltshire and Dorset on her 47th birthday. The singer was treated at hospital in Salisbury, 90 miles (150 kilometres) south-west of London. 2005, P Diddy appeared on the US TV Today Show and announced that he was altering his stage name again, dropping the "P." and referring to himself simply as "Diddy." The name change to Diddy upset Richard "Diddy" Dearlove, a London based DJ who took out court proceedings against P Diddy over the use of the name. He won when an out of court settlement of £110,000 was agreed and as a result, Combs is no longer be able to use the name Diddy in the UK. 1997, appearing at the two day V97 festival in Chelmsford and Leeds, Blur, Prodigy, Beck, Kula Shaker, Dodgy, Foo Fighters, Placebo, James, Ash, Dodgy, Gene. Weekend tickets, £50. 1977, Elvis Presley was found dead lying on the floor in his bathroom by his girlfriend Ginger Alden, he had been seated on the toilet reading 'The Scientific Search For Jesus'. He died of heart failure at the age of 42. His first record for RCA, ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, was also his first US No.1. He starred in 31 films. Elvis holds the record for the most entries on the US Hot 100 chart with 154. Elvis became the first rock 'n' roll artist to be honoured by the US Postal Service with a stamp. In 1960, after completing his national service and flying back to America, he stepped on British soil for the first and only time in his life when the plane carrying him stopped for refuelling at Prestwick Airport, Scotland. 1977, Manchester punk band The Buzzcocks signed to EMI's United Artists label. 1969, during a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park with Joe Cocker as support. 1968, working at Abbey Road studios, The Beatles recorded 14 takes of the new George Harrison song ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, taking the song from its early acoustic version into an electric version. 1962, Little Stevie Wonder, (aged 12), released his first single, 'I Call It Pretty Music, (But The Old People Call It The Blues)', the single featured Marvin Gaye on drums.More at http://www.thisdayinmusic.com

[spiritinthesky]

Aug 17th1999, former Bay City Rollers drummer Derek Longmuir appeared at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court accused of child porn and drugs offences. Longmuir, 48, denied the charges. He was later sentenced to 300 hours community service. 1999, Led Zeppelin topped a chart of Britain's most bootlegged musicians, compiled by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), after identifying 384 bootleg titles featuring Led Zeppelin performances. The bootleg chart was complied from the BPI's archive of some 10,000 recordings seized over the past 25 years. The Beatles, came in second with 320 entries, other acts listed included The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd. 1995, Depeche Mode singer Dave Gahan was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre after an apparent suicide attempt. Police had found him at his Los Angeles home with a two-inch laceration on his wrist. 1991, Nirvana shot the video for ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ at GMT Studios in Culver City, California, costing less than $50,000 to make, the shoot features real Nirvana fans as the audience. 1969, the final day of the three day Woodstock festival took place at Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York. Acts who appeared included Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Sha Na Na, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, The Band, Ten Years After, Johnny Winter and Paul Butterfield Blues Band. 1960, The Beatles begin their first Hamburg engagement at the Indra Club, Grosse Freiheit, Hamburg, West Germany, playing the first of 48 nights at the Club. The owner, Bruno Koschmider, asked The Beatles to "Mach Shau", or really put on a show, which led to the band screaming, shouting, and leaping about the stage and sometimes playing lying on the floor. John Lennon once appeared wearing only his underwear and on another occasion, wearing a toilet seat around his neck. The Beatles lodged in a single room behind the screen of a nearby movie house. More at http://www.thisdayinmusic.com

[spiritinthesky]

Aug 18th.2006, Justin Hawkins the lead singer of The Darkness checked himself into the Priory rehabilitation clinic suffering from exhaustion after three years of non-stop work. 2005, Kanye West called for an end to homophobia in the hip-hop community during an MTV interview saying “hip-hop was always about speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people. Not just hip-hop, but America just discriminates, I wanna just, to come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, 'Yo, stop it'." 1991, appearing at the Boardwalk, Manchester, Sweet Jesus with support from The Rain (later to become Oasis), minus Noel Gallagher who had yet to join his brothers band. 1983, appearing at New York's Shea Stadium, The Police plus Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and R.E.M. (their biggest gig to date). 1976, 'Variety' reported that Marvin Gaye faced two consecutive five day prison terms in Los Angeles county jail for contempt of court after failing to pay alimony and child support. 1969, during a North American tour Led Zeppelin played two shows at the Rock Pile in Toronto supported by Edward Bear. 1962, Ringo Starr made his debut with The Beatles at the horticultural society Dance, Birkenhead, England, having had a two-hour rehearsal in preparation. This was the first appearance of The Beatles as the world would come to know them: John, Paul, George, and Ringo.More at http://www.thisdayinmusic.com

[spiritinthesky]

Aug 19th2005, a life-size bronze statue designed by Paul Daly of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street in Dublin. The ceremony was attended by his former Thin Lizzy band members Gary Moore, Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham. 2003, a man from Nottinghamshire who sent threatening emails to S Club singer Tina Barrett was jailed for six months. 41 year-old Steven Hindley, showered the singer with roses, chocolates and teddy-bears. But when the messages were ignored, he began to mention threats to the band, including a potential sniper attack. One email begged Miss Barrett to visit him at his home, claiming he was the victim of an incurable brain-tumour and had just three weeks to live. 1999, a TV ad featuring the late Linda McCartney urging a boycott of fishing was banned by the Advertising Clearance Centre in the UK. 1996, James Brown appeared in Montauk, New York, as part of his Back at the Ranch tour. Brown who had a history of beating his wife, offered money that was raised at the event to an anti-violence organization called The Retreat, but was turned down. 1988, ‘Crazy’ by Patsy Cline, and Elvis Presley’s, ‘Hound Dog’ were announced as the most played jukebox songs of the first hundred years. The jukebox had been around since 1906, but earlier models had been first seen in 1889. 1977, The Sex Pistols started an undercover UK tour as The Spots, (an acronym for Sex Pistols on tour secretly). 1969, Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Jefferson Airplane all appeared on the ABC TV Dick Cavett Show from Television Center in New York City. 1967, The Beatles scored their 14th US No.1 single with 'All You Need Is Love'. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, Graham Nash, Marianne Faithfull and Walker Brother Gary Leeds all sang backing vocals on the track.More at http://www.thisdayinmusic.com

[spiritinthesky]

Aug 20th2007, the funeral of Manchester music mogul and broadcaster, Tony Wilson was held at St Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Manchester. Peter Hook and Stephen Morris - two members of first Factory signing Joy Division, and later incarnation, New Order attended along with Happy Mondays front man, Shaun Ryder. 2003, Madame Tussauds in London opened an interactive Pop Idol display with a speaking waxwork of judge Simon Cowell. The waxwork made comments such as: 'That was extraordinary. Unfortunately extraordinarily bad.' 'Do you really think that you could become a Pop Idol' Well then you're deaf.' 'Thank you. Goodbye and That was the worst performance I've ever seen.' 1991, Nirvana and Sonic Youth kicked off a joint European tour at Sir Henry’s Pub, Cork, Ireland. 1988, two rock fans died while 'slam dancing' as Guns N' Roses played at the 'Monsters Of Rock' Festival, Castle Donington. 1986, Rick Allen drummer with Def Leppard made his first live appearance with the band after losing an arm in a car accident, when they appeared at the Monsters Of Rock Festival, Castle Donington, England. 1971, on the second night of a North American tour, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Seattle Centre Coliseum, Seattle, Washington. 1969, after finishing ‘I Want You, (She’s So Heavy), The Beatles worked on the running order for the Abbey Road album. A preliminary master tape was compiled, The medley was originally slated for side one of the album, and the placement of ‘Octopus's Garden’ and ‘Oh! Darling’ were reversed from the final version. The album was to end with the slashed guitar chord that finishes ‘I Want You (She's So Heavy)’. This was the last time all four Beatles were together in Abbey Road studios. 1968, The University of Tennessee reported that a guinea pig subjected to days of rock music played at 120 decibels had suffered acute hearing damage. More at http://www.thisdayinmusic.com

[spiritinthesky]

Aug 21st2006, a man surfing the Internet in America foiled three men who broke into a Liverpool shop in Liverpool, England. The man who had logged onto a site streaming live footage of Mathew Street and a forthcoming Beatles festival saw the men smashing a window of a shop and climb inside. He phoned Merseyside police who arrested the men. 2005, Robert Moog, inventor of the synthesiser died aged 71, four months after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Dr Moog built his first electronic instrument, a theremin - aged 14 and made the MiniMoog, "the first compact, easy-to-use synthesiser" in 1970. He won the Polar prize, Sweden's "music Nobel prize", in 2001. Wendy Carlos' 1968 Grammy award-winning album, Switched-On Bach, brought Dr Moog to prominence. 2004, a man from Stoke-on-Trent, England, named Bryan Adams as the ‘other man’ in his divorce papers after years spent trying to cope with his wife’s obsession with the singer. Rob Tinsley said he had to live with a 6ft cut-out of Adams which stood at the foot of the bed and posters on the bedroom walls. 1997, ex-Stone Roses drummer Alan Wren was jailed for seven days after being rude to a top Manchester Magistrate. He was before the court due to having no car insurance and lost his temper after being quizzed about his earnings. 1997, Oasis' third album 'Be Here Now', became one of the fastest selling albums ever, shifting over a million copies on the first day of release. 1983, Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone had a four-hour brain surgery operation, after being found unconscious in a New York Street where he had been involved in a fight. 1982, U2 singer Bono married Alison Stewart, his girlfriend from 1975 at All Saints Church, Raheny in Ireland. U2 bassist Adam Clayton acted as Bono's best man. 1969, during a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Carousel Theatre in Framingham, Massachusetts. 1966, on their last ever US tour The Beatles performed in two cities due to a cancellation due to rain the previous day. First they performed at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. Then they flew to St. Louis, Missouri, for a concert at Busch Stadium, where they performed under a tarpaulin due to heavy rain. It was this gig that convinced Paul McCartney that The Beatles should stop performing live.More at http://www.thisdayinmusic.com

[sgs4u]

Aug 20, 2008, 10:48pm, spiritinthesky wrote:Aug 21stMore at http://www.thisdayinmusic.comThank you for doing this, whoever you are. I am really enjoying these late nite music history visits. I imagine you're doing these first thing in the morning. It's a wonderful idea.

[spiritinthesky]

Aug 22nd.2007, former Savage Garden singer Darren Hayes was arrested on suspicion of racially abusing a member of staff at a Thai restaurant in Soho, London. Hayes was released on bail pending further inquiries. 2005, 50 Cent was suing a US car dealer for allegedly using his name in an advert without permission. Describing himself in the legal action as a "hugely successful" artist "known for his good looks, 'gangsta' image and hard knocks success story". The rapper was seeking more than £1m (£555,150) from Gary Barbera Enterprises for a Dodge Magnum advert with the line "Just Like 50 Says" alongside a photo of him. 2003, Kjell Henning Bjoernestad a Norwegian Elvis Presley impersonator set a world record by singing the rock 'n' roll legend's hits non-stop for over 26 hours. The previous record was set by British Elvis fan Gary Jay who sang for 25 hours 33 minutes and 30 seconds. 1978, Sex Pistol Sid Vicious made his last live stage appearance when he appeared with Rat Scabies from The Damned, former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and Nancy Spungen at London's Electric Ballroom. In the audience: Elvis Costello, Blondie, Joan Jett , The Slits and Captain Sensible. 1969, during a North American tour Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at Pirates World in Dania, Florida. Also on the bill were The Royal Ascots, Brimstone and The Echo. 1968, Ringo Starr quit The Beatles during the White Album sessions when the constant bickering and tension became too much for him. The news of Ringo's departure was kept secret, and he rejoined the sessions on September 3. After Ringo walked out, the remaining Beatles recorded ‘Back In the USSR’, with Paul on drums and John playing bass. 1956, Elvis Presley began working on his first movie, Love Me Tender. In the drama that was set during and just after the Civil War, Elvis played Clint Reno, the youngest of four brothers. The original title for the movie was The Reno Brothers, but was changed to take advantage of the ‘Love Me Tender’ song recorded for the film. More at http://www.thisdayinmusic.com

[spiritinthesky]

Aug 23rd.2007, comedy writer Buddy Sheffield, sued Disney alleging that he originally came up with the idea for Hannah Montana but was never compensated by Disney. In the lawsuit, Sheffield claimed that he pitched an idea for a TV series with the name of ‘Rock and Roland’ to Disney Channel in 2001 with the plot of a junior high student who lived a secret double life as a rock star.2004, Queen, became the first UK rock band to receive official approval in Iran, where Western music was strictly prohibited. Lead singer, Freddie Mercury, who died of AIDS in 1991, was of Iranian ancestry and bootlegged albums had been available for years.2002, appearing at the UK Carling Leeds-Reading Weekend Festival, The Strokes, Foo Fighters, Prodigy, Offspring, Muse, Sum 41, Janes Addiction, The Dandy Warhols, Jimmy Eat World, Incubus, Pulp, The White Stripes, Feeder and Cornershop.1996, the father of Noel and Liam form Oasis Tommy Gallagher was jailed for one month by a Manchester Court for driving while disqualified. 1991, appearing at this year’s three day Reading Festival in England; Iggy Pop, Sonic Youth, Pop Will Eat Itself, Dinosaur Jr, Chapterhouse, Nirvana, Silverfish, Babes in Toyland, James, The Fall, De La Soul, Blur, Teenage Fanclub, Flowered Up, The Fat Lady Sings, Kingmaker, Mercury Rev, Sisters of Mercy and Neds Atomic Dustbin.1980, US police killed an escaped drug addict who had shot one of their officers during a Grateful Dead concert. The event was celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Summer of Love.1971, during a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth Texas.1970, Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground performed together for the last time at the New York Club 'Max's Kansas City'. Reed worked as a typist for his father for the next two years, earning $40 per week.1968, during a North American tour The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at Singer Bowl, Flushing Meadow Park, New York. Also on the bill Soft Machine and Big Brother and the Holding Company.More music trivia than you can shake a stick at http://www.thisdayinmusic.com