Week in Music History

Composer Georges Enesco was born.

Irving Berlin’s musical revue “Yip Yip Yaphank”, while he was still a sergeant in the US Army, premiered at the Century Theatre in New York. It was a wartime musical revue from the period of the First World War.

English drummer, singer, songwriter and music producer Peter Edward “Ginger” Baker was born in Lewisham, South London, England. He became famous as co-founder of the rock group Cream, which had the UK number 11 single “I Feel Free” in 1966. He was also a member of Graham Bond Organisation, Blind Faith and Ginger Baker’s Airforce and became known for working with world music musicians, particularly for incorporating African influences. He also worked with Gary Moore, Hawkwind and Public Image Ltd.

The Dick Jurgens Orchestra recorded “Day Dreams Come True at Night”.

English pop singer Donald Arthur Fardon, known as Don Fardon, was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England. Before his solo career, he was the singer of The Sorrows. He was best known for his version of “Indian Reservation”.

American singer, songwriter and composer Johnny Nash was born in Houston, Texas. As a teenager, he regularly appeared on Arthur Godfrey’s variety show and had several minor hits, but achieved his greatest success in the 1970s with the reggae hits “I Can See Clearly Now” and “Stir It Up”, written by Bob Marley, who later also recorded it. “I Can See Clearly Now” reached number one on the US singles chart in 1972, and “Tears on My Pillow” reached number one on the UK singles chart in 1975.

Singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer Roger Cook, a member and co-lead vocalist of Blue Mink, was born in Fishponds in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. He was best known for his songwriting partnership with Roger Greenaway, with whom he wrote hits including “You’ve Got Your Troubles”, “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress”, “Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart” and “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”. Blue Mink had the UK No. 3 single “Melting Pot” in 1970. Cook was involved in more than 80 hits that reached the UK Top 30.

English pop singer William Howard Ashton, known as Billy J. Kramer, was born in Bootle, Lancashire, England. He became famous as the singer of Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, who were managed by Brian Epstein in the 1960s. In 1963, he had the UK number one hit “Bad to Me”, one of several Lennon–McCartney songs that The Beatles themselves did not record. In 1964, “Little Children” reached number one on the UK singles chart and number 7 in the US.

Gospel singer, songwriter, pianist, producer, arranger and choir leader Edwin Hawkins was born in Oakland, California. With his choir, he recorded “Oh Happy Day”, the first traditional gospel song to break into the pop charts.

English singer and songwriter Ian Gillan was born in Chiswick, London, England. He is best known as the lead singer of Deep Purple and also briefly performed with Black Sabbath. He was also a member of Episode Six, Ian Gillan Band, Gillan, Gillan & Glover and WhoCares. Deep Purple had the UK number 2 single “Black Night” in 1970 and the US number 4 single “Smoke on the Water” in 1973.

George Newsome, the original drummer of The Climax Blues Band, was born in Stafford, Staffordshire, England.

American guitarist, singer and songwriter Elliot Lurie was born in Brooklyn, New York. He became known as the lead guitarist and singer of the pop-rock group Looking Glass, in which he performed from 1969 to 1974.

Country and pop singer Susan Jacks of The Poppy Family was born Susan Pesklevits in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Roy Brown and His Mighty Mighty Men reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B Best Sellers chart with “Hard Luck Blues”. Brown also wrote “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, a 1948 hit for Wynonie Harris that is regarded by many rock historians as a precursor to the rock ’n’ roll era and was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1954.

English musician and songwriter John Deacon was born in Oadby, Leicester, England. He became famous as the bassist of the rock group Queen. He was the last member to join the group and also its youngest member; he was only 19 when he joined. He wrote a number of Queen’s hit singles, including “You're My Best Friend”, “Spread Your Wings”, “I Want to Break Free” and the group’s best-selling single in the US, “Another One Bites the Dust”.

The Platters, B.B. King and Johnny Otis were the headline acts at a sold-out concert at the Savoy Ballroom in Hollywood, California. The event was a huge success and demonstrated the exceptional concert appeal of R&B in Los Angeles at the time.

Debbie Reynolds’ “Tammy” reached number one, where it remained for five weeks.

Pat Boone appeared on the cover of Newsweek magazine as part of a “Special Music Report” with the headline “His Refreshing Song Fills The Air”. The accompanying article claimed that teenagers were finally rebelling against “musical delinquents”. At the time, Boone already had 18 recordings in the US Billboard Top 40, four of which had reached number one. On the same day, Elvis Presley was at number 28 on the US chart with “Loving You”.

Bobby Darin released the classic single “Mack the Knife”.

Paul Anka released the song “Put Your Head on My Shoulder”.

The film “Flaming Star” was released during Elvis Presley’s Hollywood career.

The Highwaymen’s million-selling recording “Michael (Row the Boat Ashore)”, their version of the African-American spiritual, reached No. 1 on the Cashbox chart. The five Wesleyan University students achieved another hit the following year with “Cotton Fields” and split up in 1964 after a run of 12 consecutive singles that failed to chart.

Swedish musician Rolf Magnus Joakim Larsson, known as Joey Tempest, co-founder and lead singer of the rock group Europe, was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Larsson began performing in 1979 and adopted the name Joey Tempest, inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest and also by the song “Sparks of the Tempest” by American progressive rock group Kansas. Europe had the UK number one single “The Final Countdown” in 1986.

Peter, Paul and Mary sang “Blowin’ in the Wind” to participants in the civil rights march in Washington, D.C., who had gathered to hear Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech.

The Beatles began their first North American tour at Cow Palace in San Francisco before an audience of 17,130. This took place more than six months after their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, and the tour was scheduled to cover 26 cities. They performed 12 songs that made up their concert repertoire throughout the tour: “Twist and Shout”, “You Can’t Do That”, “All My Loving”, “She Loves You”, “Things We Said Today”, “Roll Over Beethoven”, “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “If I Fell”, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “Boys”, “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Long Tall Sally”. The support acts were The Righteous Brothers, The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters and Jackie DeShannon. The 33-minute concert ended with an escape by ambulance after fans surrounded their limousine; John, Paul, Ringo and George were taken to safety by ambulance. Journalist Ivor Davis travelled with them throughout the tour and later described his experiences in the book “The Beatles and Me on Tour”.

The High Numbers, later known as The Who, performed at The Scene club in London’s Soho.

The Rolling Stones played the second of six concerts at the New Theatre Ballroom on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands.

The Beatles played two concerts at Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, Texas.

Country singer and songwriter Lee Ann Womack was born in Jacksonville, Texas.

As a follow-up to her previous hit “Born A Woman”, Sandy Posey recorded “Single Girl” for MGM Records at Fred Foster Sound Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. Like “Born A Woman”, the song reached No. 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 15 on the UK singles chart.

During their US tour, The Beatles performed at Sam Houston Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee, where they played two concerts for more than 25,000 fans. Tickets cost $5. Because of opposition to John Lennon’s remark that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus”, local members of the Ku Klux Klan protested against the group, and the group faced an assassination threat. Shortly before the first performance, they received an anonymous phone call warning that one or all of the group’s members would be shot on stage that evening. Tension peaked during the second, evening concert, when a loud firecracker landed on stage during “If I Needed Someone”. Despite the interruption, the group finished the song, reportedly at a much faster tempo, and then performed the entire concert set. The evening passed without further incidents.

Ringo Starr and his wife Maureen Starr welcomed their second son, Jason, at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital in Hammersmith, London. On the same day, The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for one week, before being replaced by Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe”.

The Beatles scored their fourteenth US No. 1 single with “All You Need Is Love”, which remained at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for one week. The song became a worldwide hit that year and topped the charts in eleven countries. It was the British contribution to Our World, the first live global television broadcast, in which The Beatles performed it from the EMI studios in London on 25 June. The programme was transmitted by satellite and watched by more than 400 million people in 25 countries. Backing vocals on the recording were provided by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, Graham Nash, Marianne Faithfull and Gary Leeds of the Walker Brothers.

Pink Floyd released the single Let There Be More Light / Remember a Day in the US.

Capitol Records released The Beach Boys’ album “Stack-o-Tracks”, assembled from the instrumental backing tracks of 15 songs from the group’s career to date. During one of their commercially weakest periods in the US, it became the first Beach Boys album not to chart in either the US or the UK. It was subsequently withdrawn from sale and remained unavailable for about two decades. Capitol reissued it on CD in 1990 and again in 2001; both editions were released without the original booklet that accompanied the vinyl version.

After 58 episodes, the final episode of the television series The Monkees was broadcast on NBC. Since its original run, the series was repeatedly shown by almost all major cable television networks, including a popular run on CBS from 1969 to 1972.

Elvis Presley performed at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in both the evening and midnight shows. The evening show began at 8:15 p.m. and included “Blue Suede Shoes”, “I Got a Woman”, “All Shook Up”, “Love Me Tender”, “My Babe”, “Jailhouse Rock/Don’t Be Cruel”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Hound Dog”, “Mystery Train/Tiger Man”, “Baby What You Want Me to Do”, “Runaway”, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”, “Yesterday/Hey Jude”, “In the Ghetto”, “Suspicious Minds”, “What’d I Say” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. The midnight show included “Blue Suede Shoes”, “I Got a Woman”, “All Shook Up”, “Love Me Tender”, “My Babe”, “Jailhouse Rock/Don’t Be Cruel”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Hound Dog”, “Memories”, “Mystery Train”, “In the Ghetto”, “Suspicious Minds” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”.

Jefferson Airplane, Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Crosby, Stills and Nash appeared on The Dick Cavett Show. The episode, now often referred to as “The Woodstock Show”, featured artists and audience members who had come directly from the Woodstock festival the previous weekend. Crosby, Stills and Nash gave first-hand accounts of the festival. Joni Mitchell, who had skipped Woodstock to secure her appearance on the show, performed her song “Woodstock”, which she had written about the festival.

American rapper, singer, songwriter and actor Nathaniel Dwayne Hale, known as Nate Dogg, was born in Long Beach, California. He began his career as a member of the California rap trio 213 with his longtime friend Warren G and cousin Snoop Dogg. He is considered one of the pioneers of West Coast hip hop. He died on March 15, 2011, at the age of 41.

On Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York, where the Woodstock festival had just ended, cleanup operations began. Tons of rubbish and debris were bulldozed into a pit and burned. The total cleanup cost reached $100,000.

Elvis Presley performed at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in both the evening and midnight shows as part of Las Vegas Season 3. The evening show included “That’s All Right”, “I Got a Woman”, “Tiger Man”, “Love Me Tender”, “I’ve Lost You”, “I Just Can’t Help Believing”, “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”, “Polk Salad Annie”, “Johnny B. Goode”, “The Wonder of You”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “One Night”, “All Shook Up”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, “Hound Dog”, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, “Suspicious Minds” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. The midnight show had a similar program but also included “Sweet Caroline”.

Welsh-born rapper, singer, songwriter and producer Eric Martin, also known as Me One or MC Eric, was born in Cardiff. He became known as a member of the Belgian electronic project Technotronic. The group had the UK number 2 single “Pump Up the Jam” in 1989, and at the beginning of 1990 the song reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The Allman Brothers Band performed at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Carpenters released the album “Close to You”.

Elvis Presley performed at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas in both the evening and midnight shows. The evening show began at 8:30 p.m. and included “That’s All Right”, “Proud Mary”, “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me”, “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”, “Polk Salad Annie”, “Johnny B. Goode”, “It’s Impossible”, “Love Me”, “Blue Suede Shoes/Whole Lotta Shakin’ On”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Teddy Bear/Don’t Be Cruel”, “Hound Dog”, “Suspicious Minds”, “I’m Leavin’”, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”, “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. The midnight show also included “Love Me Tender” and “Sweet Caroline” and ended with “Closing Vamp”.

Led Zeppelin began their North American tour at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada, before a sold-out audience of more than 17,000 fans. Around 3,000 additional people without tickets clashed with local police outside the venue.

Al Green was still at number one on the R&B chart with “I’m Still in Love with You”.

He played the first of two nights at London’s Rainbow Theatre as part of his then 182-day Ziggy Stardust world tour. The theatrical performance, using various forms of media, delighted critics and audiences. Mick Jagger, Elton John, Rod Stewart and Alice Cooper were reportedly among those in attendance.

Elvis Presley performed at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas in both the evening and midnight shows. The evening show included “See See Rider”, “Johnny B. Goode”, “Proud Mary”, “Until It’s Time for You to Go”, “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me”, “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”, “Polk Salad Annie”, “What Now My Love”, “Fever”, “Love Me”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, “One Night”, “All Shook Up”, “Little Sister/Get Back”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Hound Dog”, “Love Me Tender”, “Suspicious Minds”, “My Way”, “I’ll Remember You”, “A Big Hunk O’ Love”, “How Great Thou Art” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. The midnight show included, among others, “Never Been to Spain”, “You Gave Me a Mountain” and “An American Trilogy”.