Week in Music History

Dwight Hamilton Baldwin, piano manufacturer of Baldwin Piano, died in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the age of 78.

Singer, dancer and actor Gene Kelly was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Bandleader of the dixieland and swing group Bob-Cats and singer Bob Crosby was born in Spokane, Washington. He was one of seven siblings; one of them was another famous artist, Bing Crosby. He founded the Bob-Cats and was Bing Crosby's younger brother.

John Lee Hooker, the legendary blues singer, songwriter and guitarist, was born.

Country and Western swing musician Tex Williams, born Sollie Paul Williams, was born in Ramsey, Illinois. He became particularly famous for the song “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)”, which reached number one on the chart.

Sofia Scalchi, an operatic contralto, died.

R&B singer Rudy Lewis of The Drifters, born Charles Rudolph Harrell, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Dale Hawkins, the American rockabilly guitarist and singer known for the song “Susie-Q”, was born.

Lyricist and producer Roger Greenaway was born in Fishponds, Bristol, Gloucestershire. He was a member of David & Jonathan and The Kestrels and became known for his songwriting partnership with Roger Cook on songs including “My Baby Loves Lovin'”, “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress”, “Gasoline Alley Bred”, “You've Got Your Troubles”, “Melting Pot”, “Good Morning Freedom”, “Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart” and “I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)”, which originally originated as a Coca-Cola advertising slogan.

English pop and rock singer Vicki Brown was born in Liverpool. She was a member of The Vernons Girls and The Breakaways and was one of Britain's longest-serving backing singers. She appeared on recordings by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Petula Clark, The Who and George Harrison. She was the first wife of singer and musician Joe Brown and the mother of singer Sam Brown.

Pete Shannon, bassist with The Nashville Teens, was born in Antrim, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Doo-wop singer Tony “Spaghetti” Micale, frontman of The Reflections, was born in the Bronx, New York. He became known for the 1964 hit “(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet”.

Noël Coward's musical revue “Sigh No More” premiered at the Piccadilly Theatre in London.

Rock singer Jim Sohns of The Shadows Of Knight was born in Chicago, Illinois. The group was known for their popular 1966 cover version of “Gloria” by Them.

English drummer Keith Moon was born in Wembley, London. After playing with the local group Beachcombers, he joined The Who in 1964 before their first single. With the group, he had the hit “My Generation” and more than 20 other Top 40 hits, as well as the US hit “I Can See For Miles” and the rock operas “Tommy” and “Quadrophenia”. He became famous for his wild lifestyle and died on September 7, 1978 after overdosing on Heminevrin, a drug intended to alleviate alcohol dependence.

Folk-rock singer Linda Thompson was born in London. She became best known for her work with her then-husband, British folk-rock guitarist Richard Thompson, and later worked as a solo artist.

Margaret Truman, daughter of US President Harry S. Truman, made her first public appearance as a singer. The performance took place at the Hollywood Bowl before an audience of 15,000.

Rick Springfield, born Richard Lewis Springthorpe, was born in Guildford, New South Wales, Australia. He became known as an Australian-American musician, producer and actor. In 1981 he had the US number-one hit “Jessie's Girl”, for which he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. Before becoming a pop star, he played Dr. Noah Drake on the TV series “General Hospital”.

American rock singer Jimi Jamison was born in Durant, Mississippi. He became famous as the frontman of Survivor, Target and Cobra. With Survivor, he had the 1982 US and UK number-one single “Eye of the Tiger” and was also the voice and co-writer of the title song for the “Baywatch” TV series.

Mark Hudson, a founding member of the sibling musical group The Hudson Brothers, was born in Portland, Oregon. He also co-wrote several songs for Aerosmith, including the 1993 hit “Livin' On The Edge”.

Mark Avsec, keyboardist and songwriter of Wild Cherry, was born. Wild Cherry had the 1976 US number-one hit and UK number-seven hit “Play That Funky Music”.

Perez Prado recorded the song “Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White”.

Elvis Presley performed at the Bryan Saddle Club rodeo (Brazos County Rodeo Arena) in Bryan, Texas. A flatbed truck served as the stage.

Elvis Presley began filming the movie “Love Me Tender”, originally titled “The Reno Brothers”. It was his first major film role.

Little Richard performed at the Cotton Club in Lubbock, Texas; local native Buddy Holly was among the audience.

The film “Loving You” starring Elvis Presley premiered in London.

Ian Mitchell, a member of the Bay City Rollers, was born.

Scottish singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and music publisher Edwyn Collins was born in Edinburgh. He became known as co-founder and singer of the post-punk band Orange Juice. With the band, he had the 1983 UK hit “Rip It Up”, and as a solo artist he had the internationally successful 1995 single “A Girl Like You”. He co-founded the indie label Postcard Records and in 2011 also co-founded Analogue Enhanced Digital.

Guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots Dean DeLeo was born in Montclair, New Jersey. He was also a member of the bands Talk Show and Army of Anyone. His younger brother Robert DeLeo was also a member of Stone Temple Pilots.

Debbi Peterson, a member of The Bangles, was born.

Roland Orzabal, a member of Tears For Fears, was born.

John Lennon married his pregnant girlfriend Cynthia Powell at the Mount Pleasant Registry Office in Liverpool. Brian Epstein was the main witness and organized the wedding, paid for the wedding lunch and provided the newlyweds with his own apartment. Paul McCartney and Cynthia's sister-in-law Marjorie Powell signed the marriage document as witnesses at the end of the ceremony. George Harrison was also present but did not sign the documents. Cynthia's stepbrother Tony Powell was also present. John's aunt Mimi boycotted the wedding because she disapproved of the marriage. The attempt to keep the marriage secret failed when the newlyweds were spotted leaving the registry office. That same evening, Lennon performed with The Beatles at the nearby Riverpark Ballroom.

English musician and songwriter Shaun William George Ryder was born in Little Hulton, Lancashire. He became known as the singer of Happy Mondays and Black Grape. He compared his lyrics to comic-book stories in which different narratives are pieced together, as evident in songs such as “Kinky Afro” and “Loose Fit”.

The Beatles played their first official concert with new drummer Ringo Starr at the Cavern Club in Liverpool after Pete Best was dismissed.

In the US Top 10, besides Stevie Wonder at number two, Allan Sherman was at number three with “Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh!”, The Four Seasons at number four with “Candy Girl”, and The Angels at number five with “My Boyfriend's Back”. Also in the Top 10 were Lesley Gore, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Surfaris, Kai Winding, Elvis Presley with “(You're The) Devil In Disguise”, and “Denise” by Randy & The Rainbows.

Stevie Wonder became the first artist of the rock era to have both a number-one single (“Fingertips, Pt. 2”) and a number-one album (“The Twelve-Year-Old Genius”) simultaneously, while also being at number one on the R&B chart. “Fingertips” was in its fourth week at the top of the R&B chart.

The Beatles released the single “She Loves You” in the UK, backed with “I'll Get You”. By 1977, the single had become the best-selling British single of all time, with sales of 1.93 million copies. It entered the UK chart on August 31 and spent 31 consecutive weeks on the chart, including 18 weeks in the Top Three. The record was not surpassed until 1977, when Paul McCartney achieved it with “Mull Of Kintyre”. The single also became their best-selling single in the UK and reached number one in charts in several countries around the world.

The Rolling Stones made their first appearance on the British television programme “Ready, Steady, Go!”, where they performed their debut single “Come On”. Between 1963 and 1966, they appeared on the programme a total of twenty times.

Tori Amos, acclaimed singer, songwriter and pianist, was born.

The Beatles performed at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California.

The Beatles performed for the second time at Shea Stadium in New York during their final US tour. Unlike the previous year, the concert was not sold out, with 11,000 tickets remaining unsold out of the total capacity of 55,600. The opening acts were The Remains, Bobby Hebb, The Cyrkle and The Ronettes. The Beatles performed eleven songs and received $189,000 for the appearance, more than for their previous performance at the stadium. The concert also marked the end of their live performing career in the US.

The Beatles were at number one on the UK singles chart with the double A-side “Yellow Submarine – Eleanor Rigby”, their eleventh number-one single. Paul McCartney said that he took the name Eleanor from actress Eleanor Bron, who appeared with The Beatles in the film “Help!”, while Rigby came from the name of a shop in Bristol, Rigby & Evens Ltd, Wine & Spirit Shippers.

Jamaican singer Cedella Marley was born. With Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers, she had the 1988 UK hit “Tomorrow People”. She is the daughter of reggae singers Bob Marley and Rita Marley.

Elvis Presley and Priscilla were in Las Vegas with the group after Colonel Parker sent them there because of a traffic accident near Elvis's home in Bel Air involving one of the members of the Memphis Mafia.

Herman's Hermits, with The Who as their opening act, performed at Atwood Stadium in Flint, Michigan, during their North American tour.

Joni Mitchell made her first appearance in the UK when she supported The Piccadilly Line at The Marquee club in London.

Keith Moon of The Who drove a Lincoln into the swimming pool of the Holiday Inn while drunk during a wild celebration of his birthday. When police arrived to end the out-of-control party, Moon attempted to escape in a Lincoln Continental limousine, but after the handbrake was released, the car rolled forward, broke through a fence and ended up in the swimming pool.

Layne Staley, frontman of Alice In Chains, was born.