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September in Music History
Little Richard entered a New Orleans studio in 1955 to begin two days
of recording. Out of the sessions came Tutti Frutti, but in a cleaner
version, thanks to lyricist Dorothy LaBostrie. Richard coined the phrase,“a-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom,”
while working as a dishwasher to support his family. The official recording
session was going nowhere and so everyone took a break at a nearby inn.
Richard used the restaurant piano to play his raucous version of an unknown
song, Tutti Frutti. After it was cleaned up and put down onto tape, the
song managed to make it into the top 20 early the following year.
Elvis appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time in 1956 as
over 54 million people watched. Elvis performed Don’t Be Cruel, Love
Me Tender, Ready Teddy and Hound Dog. Charles Laughton was taking Sullivan’s
place after a recent car accident kept the regular host in bed. The next
day, record stores all over the country were flooded with requests for
Love Me Tender, even though its planned release date was months away.
The Four Seasons had their first number 1 hit in 1962 this month. Sherry
led the way for another eleven top 10 hits before the end of the decade.
Two more were added in the mid-1970s. December 1963, Rag Doll, Walk Like
a Man, Big Girls Don’t Cry and Sherry all hit number 1. A special,
enhanced version of Big Girls Don’t Cry is available on Curb Records’
1988 release, The Four Seasons Hits Digitally Enhanced, as is the extended
version of December 1963, which re-entered the top 20 in 1994.
The first significant rock bootleg album appeared in Los Angeles record
stores in 1963. The honour went to Bob Dylan and the pirated released
was titled, Great White Wonder. And 35 years later, Dylan fans could replace
another famous bootleg, Live At the Royal Albert Hall with a legitimate
version. The live concert contains the “Judas” accusation from
a fan, to which Dylan replies, “I don’t believe you!” “Madness!!
Folk and Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series. Running
parts for four insane boys, age 17 to 21.” That was part of the ad
placed in two American newspapers in 1965, looking for talented individuals
to play The Monkees. Both Stephen Stills and Danny Hutton (future Three
Dog Night leader) were turned down. Of course, Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith,
Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork were the four chosen to star in the TV series
that was modelled after the A Hard Day’s Night movie from
1964.
The Archies cartoon show first aired in 1968 on the CBS television network.
The Bang-Shang-A-Lang single was recorded around the same time. It went
to number 22 later in the year. The recording group had contributions
from Ron Dante, Andy Kim, Jeff Barry and others. Rock mogul, Don Kirshner
(who also brought us The Monkees), was put in charge of the studio group,
while Barry looked after the songwriting and Dante the lead vocals. Sugar,
Sugar was of course The Archies’ biggest hit. John Lennon’s
back-up band for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival Concert this month
in 1969 was put together so late that they had to rehearse on the plane
from England. Band members added were Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman (bass
player from Manfred Mann, and an old Beatle buddy) and drummer Alan White
(later with Yes). Also making an appearance at the concert were Chuck
Berry, Gene Vincent, Bo Diddley, The Doors and Alice Cooper. Lennon later
released his performance as the Live Peace in Toronto 1969 album.
Santana’s first album entered the U.S. charts in 1969. It contained
the popular tracks, Evil Ways, Jingo and Soul Sacrifice. The album hit
number 4 two months later, and stayed on the charts for over 2 years.
In 1970 this month, Bob Dylan joined Joan Baez, Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie
at the Woody Guthrie Memorial Concert held at the Hollywood Bowl. Baez
had just released One Day at a Time, but it would be her Blessed Are album
from the following year that would give her the smash single of The Night
They Drove Old Dixie Down, a cover of the song by The Band.
Gary Glitter first started to see the money roll in when Rock and Roll
Part 2 peaked at number 7 in the U.S. in 1972. The song has since been
included on countless compilations, especially those aimed at sports fans.
Rock and Roll Part 1 is very similar to Part 2 except that Part 1 features
vocals throughout the song. The Rolling Stones were in the middle of a
scandal in 1973, when the BBC announced that it was banning Star Star
from airplay. The song from the newly released, Goat’s Head Soup
album, contained profanity in the chorus. The song also mentioned the
name of Steve McQueen, but he wasn’t bothered by all the fuss. Soup
also contained the hits, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) and Angie.
ABBA began its first North American tour in 1979, more than 5 years
after first hitting the top 10. The series of 18 dates began and ended
in Canada. Their biggest hits in the U.S. were Waterloo, Dancing Queen,
Take a Chance On Me and The Winner Takes It All. Bob Dylan released Slow
Train Coming, an album of religious songs, in 1979. It included the Grammy
Award winning single, Gotta Serve Somebody, as well as songs like Gonna
Change My Way of Thinking, When You Gonna Wake Up, When He Returns and
Do Right to Me Baby (Do Unto Others). It took him many years to gain fans
back after this release.
Chicago had the number 1 song in 1982 this month, with Hard to Say I’m
Sorry. It was their second song, after If You Leave Me Now, to make it
to the top, and would go on to be their biggest single. The group had
changed record companies after their last studio album bombed, going “aluminum,
maybe plywood,” as one member of the band described it. Most of their
previous albums had been certified gold. Hard to Say I’m Sorry put
them back onto the charts after more than two years, and it had been almost
five years since they had a top 10 hit. Chicago would continue with their
renewed success for the rest of the 1980s, with songs like Hard Habit
to Break, Will You Still Love Me? and You’re Not Alone.
La Bamba was finishing its third month at the top of the U.S. singles
chart in 1987, while the album it came from hit number 1 this month. Los
Lobos performed the song, along with seven others (Donna, Come On Let’s
Go and Good Night included), for the La Bamba soundtrack. Also appearing
on the album release were Bo Diddley (Who Do You Love, produced by Willie
Dixon), Brian Setzer (Summertime Blues) and Marshall Crenshaw (Crying,
Waiting, Hoping). Come On Let’s Go was also a top 40 hit from the
soundtrack. The movie starred Lou Diamond Phillips as Ritchie Valens.
Valens died in a plane crash along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper
in February, 1959.
Guns N’ Roses hit it big in 1988 with, Sweet Child O’ Mine.
It was number 1 and was taken from the album, Appetite for Destruction.
The song was written for Rose’s girlfriend, Erin Everly. Yes, she
is the daughter of Don Everly, of The Everly Brothers. Axl and Erin were
married briefly in 1990. Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise City were
also top 10 hits taken from Appetite. The former song is popular at hockey
games, especially when fights break out. Hall and Oates played a sold
out show in Mexico in 1991. The concert at the Mexico National Auditorium
was in support of what was probably their finest album, Change of Season,
from the previous fall. The album’s hit single, So Close, which was
produced by Danny Kortchmar and Jon Bon Jovi, made it to number 11 in
the U.S. A second, “unplugged” version of So Close was also
included on the album.
This month in 1954, Elvis performed on the Grande Ole Opry singing "Blue
Moon of Kentucky". In 1955, the Platters' first million seller, "Only
You," entered the pop charts at #24 and eventually hit Number One.
In 1958, Elvis headed off to Germany to join with his army unit.
In 1960, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters were the first group to place
three songs in the top 100 at the same time: "Finger Poppin' Time,"
"Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go," and "The Twist". In1964,
The Beatles appeared on on the Ed Sullivan Show. In 1965, the San Francisco
rock group, the Great Society with singer Grace Slick, made its stage
debut at the Coffee Gallery in North Beach, California, while the same
month, Roger Daltrey (The Who) punched out Keith Moon and was almost kicked
out of the band. In 1966, George Harrison went to India for his first
visit with spiritual guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Hendrix changed the
spelling of his first name from Jimmy to Jimi. In 1967, The Beatles appeared
on the cover of Time Magazine In 1968, Steppenwolf earned its first gold
disc with "Born to be Wild". In 1970, The Grateful Dead's "Uncle
John's Band" peaked at #69 on the pop singles chart and in Miami,
Jim Morrison of the Doors was acquitted on charges of "lewd and lascivious"
behavior but is found guilty of indecent exposure and profanity for dropping
his trousers on stage. In 1972, Police found cannabis growing on Paul
and Linda McCartney's farm and David Bowie began his first U.S. tour with
the Spiders From Mars at Cleveland's Music Hall.
In1974, Eric Clapton got a gold disk for "I Shot The Sheriff",
and during this same month, Jackie Wilson collapsed on stage, to spend
the rest of his life in hospitals and died nine years later. In 1977,
the first Elvis Presley convention was held in Memphis. In 1980, John
Lennon signed with Geffen Records. In1982, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts'
"I Love Rock and Roll" was certified platinum. In1988, James
Brown was arrested in Georgia after leading police on an hour-long, two-state
car chase. In 1976, Boston's debut album entered the album charts and
became the fastest-selling debut album in all of history. In1980, Led
Zeppelin drummer 32-year-old John "Bonzo" Bonham choked on his
own vomit after downing forty shots of vodka. In 1985, a U.S. Senate committee
heard testimony on labeling and rating rock-and-roll music, an idea promoted
by the Parents Music Resource Center headed by Tipper Gore (who missed
being First Lady by only a handful of votes).
In 1986, Freddie Jackson, James Brown, and Melba Moore headlined an anti-crack
rally at New York's Plaza Hotel. In1988, "Don't Worry, Be Happy"
by Bobby McFerrin was the first a cappela song to ever reach No. 1 on
the Billboard Hot 100. George Bush, the former president, got in trouble
for using the song for his campaign without permission. In 1990, a street
was named "Little Richard Boulevard" in the singer's hometown
of Macon, Georgia. In1996, Hank Williams III made his Grand Ole Opry debut
performing "Lovesick Blues," the same song his grandfather performed
at his Opry debut in 1949.
This month in1887 a patent was granted to Emile Berliner for his new gramophone
machine that was the first record player to use disks. The song "To
Know Him Is To Love Him" by the Teddy Bears was released this month
in 1958. The tune was written and arranged by eighteen year-old Phil Spector
who was inspired by an inscription on his father's tombstone. In1961,
Bob Dylan began a two-month stint at New York's Gerde's Folk City opening
for the Greenbriar Boys. New York Times critic, Robert Shelton described
Dylan as "...a cross between a choir boy and a beatnik ...bursting
at the seams with talent."
Eric Clapton auditioned for the Yardbirds this month in 1963 and he was
hired on the spot. In1964, The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" was
released. In 1960 Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs entered the R&B
charts with "Stay" which crossed over and went to the top ofthe
pop charts. The single was notable for running a scant 1:36 in an era
when radio play demanded a two- to three-minute running time. In 1966,
the Association's "Cherish" went to the top of the Billboard
pop chart...at a running time of 3:25, the single was unusually long and
had a printed time of 3:00 on the label, intended to trick DJs into spinning
the tune.
This month in 1968 The Beatles' "Hey Jude" took the top of the
charts despite an unheard-of 7:11 running time. It remains the longest
Hot 100 single until 1972 when Richard Harris' historic reading of "MacArthur
Park" clocked in in at 7:20. This month in 1966 Noel Redding auditioned
for the guitarist slot in Eric Burdon's New Animals...he didn't get the
gig but a few days passed and he played bass with Jimi Hendrix. A few
days later he was offered and accepted a gig as Jimi's bassist. In1969,
Santana's self-titled album entered the album charts and ultimately went
double-platinum, largely on the strength of the top-10 hit "Evil
Ways". In1975, Booker T and The MGs drummer and great Stax session
man Al Jackson was shot to death in his Memphis home, allegedly by an
intruder. His wife was questioned because she had been arrested a couple
of months earlier for shooting Jackson in the chest. Also this month in
1975, Elton John collapsed onstage at the Universal Amphitheatre in L.A.
moments after launching into his "Better Off Dead"...following
a ten-minute break, he returned to the stage to finish up his three-hour
concert.
In1976, Jerry Lee Lewis was charged with firing a gun within city limits
after plugging his bass player Norman Owens twice in the chest with a
.357 magnum. The irrepressible Jerry Lee was said to have been taking
pot shots at a soda bottle in his office. In1986, Metallica's bassist
Cliff Burton waskilled in a Swedish bus crash. Also in 1986, the Beatles'
"Twist andShout" re-entered the singles chart thanks to its
inclusion on the "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" soundtrack. The
tune had also been a hit originally for the Isley Brothers in 1963. "Walk
This Way" by Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith peaked at #4 on the singles
chart marking the first significant amalgamation of rap and rock...following
a bomb scare during a Milwaukee performance this month in 1975. Bruce Springsteen
returned to his hotel to await a midnight restart of the show...stopping
in at the hotel's bar, the usually conservative star got, in his own words,
"a little loose," and proceeded to deliver an over-the-top performance
in the bar. On the way back to the hall Springsteen rode on the roof of
the car...a Brit journalist along for the ride later wrote, "I have
seen the future of rock & roll, and he is on my windshield."
On a motorcycle road trip to the Grand Canyon in 1989, Springsteen kicked
out the jams once again when he stopped at a Precott, Arizona, bar and
jammed with the house combo, The Mile High Band. While there, The Boss
overheard a barmaid, Brenda Techanec, talking about having massive hospital
bills. A month later she received a check for $100,000. In 1991, a white,
beaded glove formerly worn by Michael Jackson was stolen from the Motown
Museum in Detroit and rapper M.C. Hammer offered a $50,000 reward for
its return.
In1993, Van Morrison was rumored to have offered to buy up the entire
print run of an unauthorized biography "Too Late to Stop Now"
citing gross inaccuracies. In 1995 Dave Gilmour put a halt to Nick Mason's
biography of Pink Floyd. Gilmour wanted an official bio with input from
all the band's members. B52's singer Kate Pierson was busted this month
in 1993 while staging a sit-in at the Manhattan offices of Vogue magazine
to protest the publication's presentation of furs in fashion features
and ads. In 1994, John Mellencamp acknowledged that he had suffered a
mild heart attack precipitated by his four-pack-a-day cigarette habit
and 300 cholesterol level.
Birthdays...
September 9: Otis Redding (1941)
Doug Ingle (Iron Butterfly, 1946),
Billy Preston (1946)
Dave Stewart (The Eurythmics, 1952)
September 10: Danny Hutton (Three Dog Night, 1942)
José Feliciano (1945)
Joe Perry (Aerosmith, 1950)
September 11: Tommy Shaw (Styx / Damn Yankees, 1953)
Harry Connick Jr. (1967)
.September 12: Maria Muldaur (1943)
Barry White (1944)
Gerry Beckley (America, 1952)
Neil Peart (Rush, 1952)
September 13: David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat & Tears) (1941)
Peter Cetera (Chicago, 1944)
Ringo’s son, Zak Starkey (1965)
September 14: Pete Agnew (Nazareth, 1946)
Paul Kossoff (1950)
September 15: Jimmy Gilmer (1940)
September 19: Brook Benton (1931)
Beatles manager Brian Epstein (1934)
Nick Massi of The Four Seasons (1935)
Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers (1940)
songwriter Paul Williams (1940)
Cass Elliot (1943)
Freda Payne (1945)
David Bromberg (1945)
Lee Dorman of Iron Butterfly (1945)
September 20: Gogi Grant (1924)
John Panozzo of Styx (1948)
Alannah Currie of The Thompson Twins (1959)
Matthew and Bunnar Nelson - twin sons of Ricky Nelson (1967)
September 21: Leonard Cohen (1934)
Don Felder of the Eagles (1947)
Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies (1967)
September 22: Joan Jett (1960)
Liam Gallagher of Oasis (1972)
September 23: John Coltrane (1926)
Ray Charles (1930)
Ben E. King (1938)
Steve Boone of the Lovin' Spoonful (1941)
Julio Iglesias (1943)
jazz musician Don Grolnick (1947)
Bruce Springsteen (1949)
David Coverdale of Deep Purple (1951)
Debbie Boone (1956)
Ani DeFranco (1970)
September 24: Linda McCartney (1942)
Gerry Marsden of Gerry And ThePacemakers (1942)
September 25: Bluesman Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes (1936)
Owen McIntyre of The Average White Band (1945)
Will Smith (1964)
September 26: George Gershwin (1898)
Marty Robbins (1925)
Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music (1945)
Olivia Newton-John (1948)
September 27: Bluesman "Mighty" Joe Young (1927)
Don Nix (1941)
Randy Bachman of BTO (1943)
Meatloaf (1947)
September 28: Soul singer and former Drifter Ben E. King (1938)
September 29: Jerry Lee Lewis (1935)
Jean-Luc Ponty (1942)
Mark Farner of Grand Funk (1948)
Mike Pinera of Iron Butterfly (1948)
Les Claypool of Primus (1963)
Barry D of Jesus Jones (1965)
September 30: Crooner Johnny Mathis (1935)
Frankie Lymon (1942)
Dewey Martin of The Buffalo Springfield (1942)
Marilyn McCoo of The 5th Dimension (1943)
Sylvia Peterson of The Chiffons (1946)
Mark Bolan of T. Rex (1947)
Obituaries...
September 9: Bill Monroe passed away in 1996 just days short of his 85th
birthday.
September 11: Peter Tosh was assassinated in Kingston, Jamaica, by three
gunmen in 1987.
September 14: Perez Prado passed away in 1989 at the age of 72.
September 19: Gram Parsons (1973)
Rich Mullins (1997)
September 20: Jim Croce (1973)
Red Foley (1968)
September 22: Irving Berlin (1989)
September 23: Robbie McIntosh (1974)
Lawrence "Booker T." Laury (1995)
September 25: John Bonham (1980)
September 26: Bessie Smith (1937)
September 27: Rory Storme of The Hurricanes (1972)
Metallica's Cliff Burton (1986)
September 28: Miles Davis (1991)
Jimmy McCulloch of Wings (1979)
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