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Friday, July 15, 2011

This Day In Music History

1960, Elvis Presley started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'It's Now Or Never', also No.1 in the UK. The song which was based on the Italian song, 'O Sole Mio', gave Presley his first post-army No.1.

1964, Actor and singer Dean Martin went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Everybody Loves Somebody', it made No.11 on the UK chart.

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.

1969, 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.'

1981, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie started a nine week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Endless Love', a No.7 in the UK. The song was the title from a film starring Brooke Shields.

1987, Michael Jackson had his third UK No.1 with the single ' I Just Can't Stop Loving You', a duet with Siedah Garrett. It was originally intended to be a duet between Jackson and either Barbra Streisand or Whitney Houston. Session singer Siedah Garrett also worked with Madonna.

1992, INXS went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Welcome To Whoever You Are', their first UK No.1 album.

2007, 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.

2008, US record producer Jerry Wexler, who influenced the careers of singers including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Bob Dylan, died at his home in Sarasota, Florida aged 91. Wexler produced the Aretha Franklin hit Respect, the Wilson Pickett song, In the Midnight Hour and helped Bob Dylan win his first Grammy award by producing the 1979 album, Slow Train Coming. He also coined the term ‘rhythm and blues’ while writing for Billboard magazine in the late 1940s.

1896, Born on this day, Leon Theremin, Russian inventor. Most famous for his invention of the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments. He first performed the theremin with the New York Philharmonic in 1928. He died on 3rd November 1993.

1933, Born on this day, Bill Pinkney, The Drifters, (1960 US No.1 & UK No.2 single 'Save The Last Dance For Me').

1942, Born on this day, Pete York, Spencer Davis Group (1966 UK No.1 single 'Keep On Running').

1950, Born on this day, Tommy Aldridge, drums, Whitesnake, (1987 US No.1 & UK No.9 single 'Here I Go Again').

1967, Born on this day, MCA (Adam Yauch) The Beastie Boys, (1987 US No.7 & UK No.11 single 'You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party', 1987 US No.1 and UK No.7 album 'Licence To Ill', plus 3 other US No.1 albums).

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