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Thursday, May 5, 2011

This day in music history

1956, Elvis Presley scored his first US No.1 single and album when 'Heartbreak Hotel' went to the top of the charts. His debut album also went to No.1.

1962, The Shirelles started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Soldier Boy', it made No.23 in the UK.

1962, The soundtrack to West Side Story went to No.1 on the US album chart. It went on to spend a total of 54 weeks at the No.1 position.

1963, On a recommendation by George Harrison, Dick Rowe Head of A&R at Decca records, (and the man who turned down The Beatles), went to see The Rolling Stones play at Crawdaddy Club, London. The band were signed to the label within a week.

1966, Manfred Mann were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Pretty Flamingo'.

1968, Buffalo Springfield split up. Richie Fury formed Poco and Stephen Stills teamed up with David Crosby and Graham Nash in Crosby Stills & Nash.

1969, The Beatles single 'Get Back' was released in the US.

1972, Blind blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis died of a heart attack aged 76. His unique finger-picking style influenced many other artists.

1973, David Bowie scored his first UK No.1 album when 'Aladdin Sane' started a five-week run at the top, featuring the single 'Drive In Saturday'.

1973, Elvis Presley went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite'.

1983, The Stranglers 'Golden Brown' was named most performed work of 1982 at the 28th Ivor Novello Awards. The single had become a UK hit after the comparatively conservative BBC Radio Two made it 'single of the week', a surprising step considering the band were almost as notorious as Sex Pistols only a few short years before.

1984, Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr married Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde in a horse drawn carriage in Central Park, New York City.

1984, Duran Duran were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Reflex', the group's second and last No.1. The song which was taken from their third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger was also a US No.1.

1992, Radiohead released 'The Drill EP', their first record in the UK.

1942, Born on this day, Tammy Wynette, US Country singer, 1968 US No.19 and 1975 UK No.1 single 'Stand By Your Man'. Known as the first lady of country music. Had the 1991 hit with The KLF ‘Justified and Ancient’ which became a No. 1 hit in eighteen countries. She died from cardiac arrhythmiaon aged 55 on 6th April 1998.
1948, Born on this day, Bill Ward, drums, Black Sabbath, (1970 UK No.4 single 'Paranoid'). The bands self-titled album was voted as the best British rock albums ever by Kerrang! in 2005.

1951, Born on this day, Rex Goh, guitar, Air Supply, (1980 UK No.11 single 'All Out Of Love', 1981 US No.1 single 'The One That You Love').

1959, Born on this day, Ian McCulloch, Echo And The Bunnymen, (1983 UK No.8 single 'The Cutter').

1962, Born on this day, Gary Daly, vocals, China Crisis, (1984 UK No.9 single 'Wishful Thinking').

1962, Born on this day, Kevin Paul Mooney, bass, Adam And The Ants, (1981 UK No.1 single 'Stand And Deliver' plus 15 other UK Top 40 singles).

For more musical feats & facts, you can visit thisdayinmusic.com

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