Fickle Cher...Diamond Bust...Bloody Comics...Grandpa Jagger
This is the week that was in matters musical...
1956, commenting on rock 'n' roll in a Look Magazine story, bandleader Benny Goodman
says, "I guess it's okay, man. At least it has a beat."...
1963, the first Lennon/McCartney song debuts on the Hot 100, but it isn't a
Beatles release...the record is Del Shannon's version of "From Me To
You"...
1964, Jan & Dean's "Little Old Lady From Pasadena" is released
...it's among many car-themed records put out by the duo who also cut
the cautionary "Dead Man's Curve"...ironically, Jan & Dean's career
was cut short when Jan Berry was involved in a near-fatal accident in
his Corvette Stingray...
1972 Neil Diamond's "Song Sung Blue" is the #1 pop hit...this same week in '76, cops show up at Diamond's Bel
Air home with a search warrant and after a three-hour inspection come
up with a gram of pot...the bust is a genteel affair with Diamond
distributing copies of his new album to the arresting officers...
1973, George Harrison's "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" sits
atop the charts... this same week in 1998 Harrison reveals that he's
been receiving radiation therapy for throat cancer and has been given
a clean bill of health..."I'm not going to die on you folks just
yet," the former Beatle promises...
1975, four days after divorcing
Sonny Bono, Cher marries Gregg Allman...nine days later the couple
separates...the pop diva has gone through two husbands in two weeks...
1977, Elvis performs his last concert in Indianapolis...also in
'77, Marvel Comics publishes two comic books based on Kiss's
characters...the red ink used is claimed to have some of the group's
blood blended in...
1986, 25 people are injured at a Run D.M.C. show
in Pittsburgh...
1988, MCA Records ponies up $61 million to buy Motown
Records...
this is a significant week in Internet-related music
developments...in 1994 Aerosmith's track "Head First" becomes the
first major release available for download (an hour-long process via
CompuServe)...and in 1996 Neil Young introduces his new album "Broken
Arrow" online...
1996, Mick Jagger becomes a grandpa when his daughter
Jade gives birth...
1999, during a concert in Mountain View,
California, Jewel forgets the lyrics to her song "Little Sister" and
asks if anyone in the audience has the album with them...a boy pulls
a copy out of his backpack and holds the lyrics up while she finishes
the song...
2000, chess whiz Garry Kasparov defeats Sting and his band
in simultaneous games held in Times Square...also in 2000, the graves
of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines are desecrated
by hooligans...Van Zant's casket is exposed but isn't opened and some
of Gaines' ashes are scattered...
and that was the week that was.
Birthdays
June 26: Big Bill Broonzy (1893), Colonel Tom Parker (1909), The 5th
Dimension's Billy Davis Jr. (1940), Canned Heat's Larry Taylor
(1942), Georgie Fame (1943), Quarterflash's Rindy Ross (1951), The
Clash's Mick Jones (1955), Chris Isaak (1956), Patty Smyth (1957),
Tricia Yearwood (1959), George Michael (1963)
June 27: songwriter Doc Pomus born Jerome Felder (1925), Beach Boy
Bruce Johnston (1944)
June 28: Lester Flatt (1914), Procol Harum's Bobby Harrison (1943)
and Dave Knights (1945), Patrick Lachman (1970)
June 29: Nelson Eddy (1901), Bernard Hermann (1911), Johnny Ace
(1929), Leonard Lee of Shirley & Lee (1936), Roger Ruskin Spear of
The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (1943), Little Eva aka Eva Narcissus Boyd
(1945), Bill Kircher of Commander Cody and Deep Purple's Ian Paice
(1948), Don Dokken and Colin James Hay of Men at Work (1953), Adrian
Wright of Human League (1955), Evelyn "Champagne" King (1960), Barry
D aka Iain Bakker of Jesus Jones (1965)
June 30: Lena Horne and Buddy Rich (1917), Dave Van Ronk (1936), The
Supremes' Florence Ballard (1943), Little River Band's Glenn Shorrock
(1944), Stanley Clarke and The Sweet's Andy Scott (1951), Dire
Straits' Hal Lindes (1953), Human League's Adrian Wright and Ronald
Winans (1956), Julianne Regan of All About Eve (1962), Yngwie
Malmsteen (1963)
July 1: Alvino Rey (1911), Willie Dixon (1915), flautist Jean-Pierre
Rampal (1922), harmonicist James Cotton (1935), Delaney Bramlett
(1939), Deborah Harry (1945), Marc Benno (1947), Fred Schneider of
The B-52's, (1951), Dan Aykroyd (1952), Keith Whitley (1955), Roddy
Bottum of Faith No More (1963)
July 2: Marvin Rainwater (1925), R&B saxophonist Lee Allen (1926),
The Temptations' Paul Williams (1939), Roy Bittan of The E Street
Band (1949), Johnny Colla of Huey Lewis and The News (1952), Pete
Briquette of The Boomtown Rats (1954), Mike Anger of The Blow
Monkeys (1957)
Departures
June 26: jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown (1956)
June 27: Stefanie Ann Sargent of 7 Year Bitch (1992), Steve Took of
T-Rex (1980), opera diva Carlotta Patti (1889)
June 28: Harry Mills of The Mills Brothers (1982)
June 29: Phyllis Hyman (1995), Lowell George (1979), Tim Buckley
(1975)
June 30: Chet Atkins (2001)
July 1: reggae singer Dennis Brown (1999), DJ Wolfman Jack (1995),
Rushton Moreve of Steppenwolf (1981), Claude Thornhill (1965), Eric
Satie (1925)
July 2: Mark Sandman of Morphine (1999), Marion Williams (1994),
Snooky Lanson (1970)
