The Week That Was
1896, the radio is
patented in the United States...
1942, Capitol Records is founded...
1958, "The Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley (who later would write
the "Hee Haw" theme) hits No. 1 on the Billboard chart...
1959, one of
rock's first outdoor festivals takes place in Herndon Stadium in
Atlanta...on the bill are Ray Charles, B.B. King, and Jimmy Reed
among others...
1962, Island Records releases its first
single, a tune called "Twist Baby" by Owen Gray...
1963, the No. 1
Billboard pop hit is "It's My Party" by Leslie Gore...
1964, the
Rolling Stones make their U.S. debut at the Manning Bowl in Lynn,
Massachusets...also in 1964, Jimmy Nicol becomes the Beatles' fill-in
drummer when Ringo falls ill before the start of a world tour...he is
the Beatles' drummer until Ringo rejoins the band on June 12th in
Australia...and again in 1964, Dolly Parton moves to Nashville one
day after her high school graduation...
1967, Marvin Gaye and Tami
Terrell make their duo debut on the R&B chart with "Ain't No Mountain
High Enough"... The Beatles release "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club
Band...and David Bowie releases his debut album...
1968, The Beatles
begin recording "The White Album"...
1969, John and Yoko record "Give
Peace a Chance" along with Tommy and Dick Smothers, Derek Taylor,
Murray the K, and Timothy Leary, during their "bed-in" at the Queen
Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal...also in 1969, Diana Ross' two pet dogs
are poisoned by rat bait in her dressing room in Philadelphia...
1971,
a two-room shack in Tupelo, Miss., where Elvis was born opens as a
tourist attraction...also this same week, three dozen Grateful Dead
fans are treated for a surprise acid trip at Winterland...the band is
suspected of having spiked the apple juice...
1973, Roger McGuinn
makes his solo debut and lets it be known that the Byrds are kaput
...John Bonham dumps a bucket of water on Bill Graham following an
argument at a show in San Francisco...
1976, The Who puts their name
in the Guiness Book of World Records as the loudest rock band ever
when their volume at the Charlton Athletic Grounds in England
measures 120 decibels...
1977, Elvis leaves the stage at mid-concert
in Baltimore because of a feeling of weakness...several months later
he would die at Graceland...
1980, proof that disco is deader than
Vaudeville, "Mickey Mouse Disco" turns platinum...
1982, Graceland
opens as a tourist attraction...
1988, James Brown's wife Adrienne
fights numerous traffic tickets by claiming diplomatic immunity as
the wife of the Official Ambassador of Soul...
1992, the "young Elvis"
stamp beats out the "Vegas Elvis" stamp in a contest conducted by the
U.S. Postal Service...more than a million votes are tallied...
1997,
a very nervous Lee Ann Womack makes her Grand Ole Opry debut...
1998,
Ray Charles celebrates 50 years in the biz by performing with an
all-star reunion band at the Chicago Blues Festival...also in 1998, Geri
"Ginger Spice" Halliwell leaves The Spice Girls...
1999, the remains
of Philip "Taylor" Kramer, former Iron Butterfly bassist, are
discovered in his van at the bottom of a steep Malibu, California,
canyon...he has been missing since 1995 and was last heard from when
he called 911 on his cell phone, identified himself, and stated his
intention to commit suicide, that O.J. Simpson was innocent, and that
"they" did it...1999, Junior Braithwaite, one of the original
Wailers, is shot and killed by two unidentified gunmen while in the
Kingston home of a local musician ...
and that was the week that was.
Birthdays
May 29: Gary Brooker of Procol Harum (1945), Roy Crewsdon of Freddie
& The Dreamers (1949), Mel Gaynor of Simple Minds (1960), Melissa
Etheridge (1961), Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher (1967)
May 30: Lenny Davidson of The Dave Clark Five (1944), Nicky "Topper"
Headon of The Clash (1955)
May 31: E.T. "King of Highlife" Mensah (1919), Peter Yarrow of Peter,
Paul & Mary (1938), Mick Ralphs of Mott The Hoople and Bad Company
(1944), Junior Campbell of Marmalade (1947), John Bonham (1948)
June 1: Nelson Riddle (1921), Pat Boone (1934), Ron Woods (1947),
Graham Russell of Air Supply (1950), Alanis Morissette (1974)
June 2: Charlie Watts (1941), William Guest of Gladys Knight & The
Pips (1941), Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet (1959)
June 3: Curtis Mayfield (1941), Michael Clark of The Byrds (1943),
Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople (1946), Suzi Quatro (1950), keyboardist
for Lynyrd Skynyrd Billy Powell (1952), Kerry King of Slayer (1964),
Phish bassist Mike Gorden (1965)
June 4: Freddy Fender (1937), Roger Ball of Average White Band
(1944), Gordon Waller of Peter & Gordon (1945), Michelle Phillips
(1945)
Departures
May 29: Jeff Buckley (1997), jazz pianist Jimmy Rowles (1996)
May 30: bassist John Kahn (1996), trombonist Bob Stroup (1996), jazz
composer and orchestra leader Sun Ra (1993), bassist Carl Radle
(1980)
May 31: songwriter Dave Dixon (1999), singer Elsbeary Hobbs (1996)
June 1: jazz musician Don Grolnick (1996), David Ruffin of The
Temptations (1991)
June 2: Junior Braithwaite, one of the original members of The
Wailers (1999), bassist Andy Simpkins (1999), legendary jazz
trumpeter Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham (1997), Andres Segovia (1987)
June 3: Mississippi Fred McDowell (1971)
June 4: Ronnie Lane of The Small Faces (1997)
