Musician Birthdays: Dave Clark (singer of the Dave Clark Five, born in 1942), Don Johnson (actor/singer, born in 1949), Tim Reynolds (guitarist, most famous for playing with Dave Matthews acoustic solo shows, born in 1957)

– In 1956: Elvis Presley gave his final performance on Louisiana Hayride, a live radio program that was broadcast on KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana. Presley made 50 appearances on the show. At the end of the show, Horace Logan first made the now legendary phrase ‘Elvis has left the building’.

– In 1962: The Beatles played two separate shows at the same venue, the Majestic Ballroom in Birkenhead, Merseyside. First they played a standard Majestic booking then at midnight, the first-ever “Mersey Beat” poll awards show took place. As poll winners, The Beatles closed the show (at 4:00 am).

– In 1969: John Lennon played what would be his final ever gig in the UK when he appeared at The Lyceum Ballroom, London, with the Plastic Ono Band in a UNICEF ‘Peace For Christmas’ benefit. George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Delaney and Bonnie, Billy Preston and The Who’s drummer, Keith Moon also took part.

– In 1977: The Sex Pistols were refused entry into the USA two days before a scheduled NBC TV appearance. Johnny Rotten because of a drugs conviction, Paul Cook & Sid Vicious because of ‘moral turpitude’ and Steve Jones because of his criminal record.

– In 1988: Soul singer James Brown was sentenced to six years in prison for various offences including possession of weapons and resisting arrest.

– In 1997: ‘Spice World The Movie’, featuring The Spice Girls premiered at The Empire, Leicester Sq, London. The following year it was nominated for the ‘worst film’ at the Golden Raspberry Awards.

– In 1999: Posh Spice Victoria Beckham knocked a crazed fan to the ground after he tried to grab her baby son Brooklyn as she left Harrods in London.

– In 2003: Courtney Love was sentenced to 18 months in drug rehabilitation after she admitted being under the influence of cocaine and opiates. She was banned from taking non-prescription drugs, drinking alcohol or being in places that serve alcohol.

– In 2006: The co-founder of Atlantic Records Ahmet Ertegun died, aged 83. Ertegun who founded Atlantic Records with Herb Abramson in 1947 helped make Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin stars and signed the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin in the early 70s. He suffered a head injury when he fell at a Rolling Stones concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre in October, and died after slipping into a coma.

– In 2010: Various Pink Floyd items were sold at an Entertainment Memorabilia auction by Bonhams in Knightsbridge London. A demo pressing of the single ‘Point Me To The Sky’/’Careful With That Axe Eugene’ sold for £720. Pink Floyd signatures, in various blue marker pens on four separate pieces of paper mounted and framed together with a copy of ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ sold for £624.00 and a demo pressing of the single by Syd Barrett, ‘Octopus’ / ‘Golden Hair’ from 1969, misspelt ‘Barratt’ corrected in ink on A-side, sold for £300.

Musician Birthdays: Vanessa Hudgens (actress/singer, famous for “High School The Musical”, born in 1980)

– In 1962: Bill Wyman made his live debut with The Rollin’ Stones at the Ricky Tick Club, Star and Garter Hotel in Windsor, England. The group were know as The Rollin’ Stones during this period.

– In 1963: The Beatles played a show for their Southern Area Fan Club at Wimbledon Palais, London. To prevent damage to the stage from fans the management of the Palais constructed a platform for The Beatles to perform on, surrounded by a steel cage.

– In 1967: Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones was rushed to St Georges hospital in London after collapsing. A doctor reported Jones was tired and suffering from over strain and was also recovering from having some teeth out.

– In 1968: Marvin Gaye scored his first US No.1 single when ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ started a five-week run at the top. It was Marvin’s 15th solo hit and also his first UK No.1 single in March 69.

– In 1969: The Jackson Five made their first network television appearance in the US when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

– In 1972: ‘Born To Boogie’ the Ringo Starr directed movie featuring T Rex premiered in London.

– In 1980: Yoko Ono called on fans to observe ten minutes of silence in memory of John Lennon. 30,000 gathered outside St George’s Hall in Liverpool, while nearly 100,000 attend a memorial in New York’s Central Park.

– In 1985: Whitney Houston scored her first UK No.1 single with ‘Saving All My Love For You’. The song had been a minor hit for Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. in 1978 and was also a US No.1 for Houston.

– In 1991: Michael Jackson started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Dangerous’.

– In 1997: Garth Brooks was at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Sevens’ his fourth US No.1 album.

– In 1998: Billy Preston pleaded guilty to insurance fraud in a Los Angeles court and agreed to testify against six other defendants who allegedly participated in starting fires, staging thefts and rigging car crashes for which a total of 18 fraudulent insurance claims were filed. Preston received five years of probation and one year in jail to run concurrently with a sentence he was already serving for violating probation on a prior conviction for cocaine possession.

– In 2000: Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher recorded a cover version of Slade’s 1973 number one ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ for the Christmas Day edition of the BBC1 comedy show The Royle Family.

– In 2003: Ozzy & Kelly Osbourne went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Changes’ a remake of a track first sung by Ozzy on the Black Sabbath album Volume IV in 1972. It was the first father and daughter chart topper since Frank & Nancy Sinatra in 1967.

– In 2003: Alicia Keys was at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘The Diary Of Alicia Keys’ the singers second US No.1.

– In 2004: The funeral took place in Arlington, Texas for Damageplan and Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, Eddie Van Halen, placed Darrell’s original black and yellow stripes guitar into the Kiss Kasket he was buried in. Several thousand fans and friends gathered at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, to mourn the guitarist’s death. Darrell was shot five times in the back of the head during a gig at the Alrosa Villa Club in Columbus on 8th Dec 04 by a mentally ill former US Marine. Damageplan’s drum technician, John Brooks, and tour manager, Chris Paluska, were both injured in the incident.

Musician Birthdays: Ted Nugent (guitarist, singer/songwriter, author, and activist, born in 1948), Jamie Foxx (singer, film actor, born in 1967), Tom Delonge (singer, guitarist, frontman for Blink 182, born in 1975), Amy Lee (singer for Evanescence, born in 1981)

– In 1961: The Beatles performed at the Cavern Club, Liverpool playing two shows at lunchtime and then again at night. Decca Records’ Mike Smith attended the night performance with a view to offering The Beatles a recording contract.

– In 1966: Jimi Hendrix made his TV debut on ITV’s ‘Ready Steady Go!’ (Marc Bolan was also on the show). The Jimi Hendrix Experience also recorded ‘Foxy Lady’ on this day.

– In 1969: Bob Dylan was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, on sale for 35 Cents (2/6).

– In 1986: Bruce Hornsby & The Range went to No.1 on the US singles chart, with ‘The Way It Is’, a No.15 hit in the UK.

– In 2000: Sir Paul McCartney held his first-ever London book signing at Waterstone’s in Piccadilly. Sir Paul was in the store to sign copies of his new book, Paul McCartney Paintings.

– In 2003: Lauryn Hill launched a blistering attack on the Catholic church, urging religious figures to “repent” whilst speaking on a stage regularly used by the Pope. The former Fugees singer was playing at a Christmas show in Vatican City and took the opportunity to speak her mind about allegations of sexual abuse in America, before an audience that included top Vatican cardinals, bishops and the cream of Italian society.

– In 2008: Kanye West went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘808s & Heartbreak’, his fourth studio album.

Musician Birthdays: Dionne Warwick (singer/songwriter, born in 1940), Dicky Betts (guitarist of Allman Brothers, solo career, born in 1943)

– In 1955: Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley all appeared at the National Guard Armory, Armory, Mississippi.

– In 1957: Still married to his first wife Jane Mitcham, Jerry Lee Lewis secretly married his 13-year old second cousin Myra Gale Brown.

– In 1963: The Beatles were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, the group’s third No.1 (and first Amercan No.1) and this year’s UK Christmas No.1.

– In 1967: Rolling Stone Brian Jones was given 3 years probation and a £1,000 fine for drug offences. Three psychiatrists agreed that Jones was an extremely frightened young man with suicidal tendencies.

– In 1970: The Doors played what would be their last ever live show with Jim Morrison when they played at the Warehouse in New Orleans.

– In 1985: Dionne Warwick received a star on ‘Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame’.

– In 1985: Scottish keyboard player Ian Stewart died of a heart attack in his doctor’s Harley Street waiting room in London. Co-founder of The Rolling Stones (Stewart was the first to respond to Brian Jones’s advertisement in Jazz News of 2 May 1962 seeking musicians to form a rhythm & blues group). Stewart was dismissed from the line-up by the band’s manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, in May 1963 but remained as road manager and piano player. He played on all The Rolling Stones albums between 1964 and 1983, except for Beggars Banquet. Also played piano on Led Zeppelin’s ‘Rock and Roll’ and ‘Boogie With Stu’ from Physical Graffiti.

– In 1987: George Michael started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Faith’.

– In 1992: Whitney Houston started a twenty-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘The Bodyguard’.

– In 2003: Mick Jagger became a Sir after being knighted by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. Jagger’s 92-year-old father was at the Palace to see his son receive the award.

– In 2007: Ike Turner, the former husband of Tina Turner died at the age of 76 at his home near San Diego, California. Turner who was a prolific session guitarist and piano player is credited by many music historians with making the first rock ‘n’ roll record in 1951. After marrying Tina Turner in 1959, the pair released a string of hits including the Phil Spector produced ‘River Deep Mountain High.’

– In 2008: The town where Mick Jagger and Keith Richards grew up announced it was to name streets in a new estate after Rolling Stones hits. The 13 streets in Dartford, Kent, were to be given names such as Angie Mews, Babylon Close, Sympathy Street, Little Red Walk and Satisfaction Street. Leader of the council, Jeremy Kite, said he thought Ruby Tuesday Drive sounded a “fantastic” place to live, but police were concerned the street signs might be stolen by fans.

Over the weekend, I picked up 4 new music albums and I wanted to give them a brief review.

Amy Winehouse “Lioness: Hidden Treasures” – This is a collection of unreleased songs and rarities from the late pop star who passed away not too long ago. This album I did love and listened to it about three times and I’ll be addicted to this album. It’s different than “Back to Black’, it’s more Jazz & R&B, than pop. Amy’s voice will knock you out cold in this album, she was really great vocally.

The Black Keys “El Camino” – I’ve been a Black Keys fan for a long while, been buying their earlier albums lately. Here is their new album that they just came out with this year. It was okay, kind of a disappointment. I thought the producing sound on this album was badly done. It’s definitely different than their older albums. I liked the Black Keys better when they do their usual tight blues rock thing, but this album is more pop/rock than anything. My favorite Black Keys album will always be “Attack and Release” ’cause it’s a fuckin’ tight as hell album. Maybe I should give “El Camino” a few more listens and it might grow on me, who knows. It just didn’t grab me the first listen.

Bjork’s “Biophilia” – Now here’s an album that I absolutely enjoyed. I think it’s one of the best albums of 2011. Bjork, the Icelandic singer who I’ve been a fan of for years. This is her best work ever. This album is different than her stuff in the past though. It’s really trippy and out of space sounding music. If you want a good stoner album, this is it. In this album, she wants to stay away from the pop star thing and do something serious. The songs are very powerful on this album, check it out.

Kate Bush “50 Words For Snow” – I don’t know much about Kate Bush but I heard her music before. I got this album out of curiosity ’cause it was getting positive reviews everywhere. I gave this album a listen and turned it off halfway through. It’s really slow, mellow, piano music. Not my cup of tea. I’ll probably get rid of this one by selling it at a used record shop.

When will I do the “Top 15 Best Albums of 2011” list? I’ll get it done at the end of this month, sometime after Christmas. I’m always shopping for music and looking for new albums all the time, it’s about choosing the best. Once in a while, I’ll buy an album I don’t like, it don’t happen a lot.

Kev

Musician Birthdays: Big Mama Thornton (singer/songwriter, born in 1926), Brenda Lee (US singer, born in 1944), Jermaine Jackson (singer of the Jackson 5, aka the brother of Michael Jackson, born in 1954), Nikki Sixx (bass player for Motley Crue, born in 1958)

– In 1961: Elvis Presley started a 20-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Blue Hawaii’, his seventh US No.1 album.

– In 1964: Soul singer Sam Cooke was shot dead by his manager Bertha Franklin, who claimed to have been assaulted by Cooke while staying at the Hacienda Hotel, Los Angeles. Cooke was 33 years old.

– In 1968: Filming began for The Rolling Stones ‘Rock & Roll Circus.’ As well as clowns and acrobats, John & Yoko, The Who, Eric Clapton and Jethro Tull all took part. The film was eventually released in 1996.

– In 1972: James Brown was arrested after show in Tennessee for trying to incite a riot. Brown threatened to sue the city for $1m, the charges were later dropped.

– In 1973: Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley was nearly electrocuted during a concert in Florida when he touched a short-circuited light. The guitarist was carried from the stage but returned 10 minutes later to finish the show.

– In 1989: The Recording Industry Association of America certified four Led Zeppelin albums as multi-platinum: ‘Presence’ (2 million), ‘Led Zeppelin’ (4 million), ‘Physical Graffiti’ (4 million) and ‘In Through The Out Door’ (5 million).

– In 1993: Snoop Doggy Dogg went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Doggy Style’.

– In 1998: During a gig in Tuscon, Arizona, a bottle thrown from the audience hit Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson. A security guard was then stabbed trying to eject a man from the crowd.

– In 2000: Former Verve front man Richard Ashcroft was forced to cancel the remaining dates on his current UK tour after he fell on stage and broke two ribs. The accident happened during a show in Birmingham.

– In 2003: Bobby Brown was charged with battery after allegedly hitting wife Whitney Houston in the face. Brown, turned himself in to the police three days after a reported domestic dispute at the couple’s home in Atlanta, Georgia. Houston, who accompanied her husband to court, said they were trying to work out their problems “privately.”

– In 2008: Simon Cowell said he was “very embarrassed” after contracts signed by this year’s X Factor contestants were leaked to the Daily Mirror newspaper. The 80-page document, which is enforceable “anywhere in the world or the solar system” was signed by all 12 finalists before the live shows began. It included a clause that prevents them from saying anything “unduly negative, critical or derogatory” about Cowell. Also the show claimed the prize as a “£1m recording contract”, but the contestants’ contract said the prize money was £150,000.

Musician Birthdays: Meg White (drummer for the White Stripes, born in 1974)

– In 1949: Fats Domino recorded his first tracks for Imperial Records. One of those songs was called ‘The Fat Man’, which later became his nickname.

– In 1959: The four male members of The Platters were acquitted of charges of aiding and abetting prostitution, lewdness and assignation after an incident on August 10th in Cincinnati. Despite the outcome of the trial, the scandal would severely damage the group’s career.

– In 1961: The Beatles appeared at Hambleton Hall, Huyton in Liverpool after returning to Liverpool from their first live performances in south England and London. The Beatles arrived so late for their appearance in Huyton that they only had time to play for 15 minutes. The promoters, having to pay The Beatles their full £15 were very unhappy.

– In 1966: The Beach Boys went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Good Vibrations’, the group’s third US No.1. Also No.1 in the UK.

– In 1967: American soul singer, songwriter Otis Redding was killed in a plane crash, aged 26. Redding and his band had made an appearance in Cleveland, Ohio on the local ‘Upbeat’ television show the previous day. The plane carrying Otis Redding and his band crashed at 3.28.pm into icy waters of Lake Monoma near Madison. Redding was killed in the crash along with members from the The Bar-Kays, Jimmy King, Ron Caldwell, Phalin Jones and Carl Cunningham. Trumpet player Ben Cauley was the only person to survive the crash.

– In 1967: The Byrds played the first of an 8 night run at the Whisky-a-go-go, Hollywood, California.

– In 1973: The CBGB Club opened in the lower eastside of New York City; it became the home of new bands such as Blondie, Television, Patti Smith and The Ramones.

– In 1976: Billy Idol’s new band Generation X made their live debut at The Central College Of Art, London.

– In 1983: Rolling Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards married 27-year old Patti Hansen on his 40th birthday.

– In 1998: Bruce Springsteen won a £2 million court battle to ban an album of his early songs. The case revolved around a dispute over copyright ownership between Bruce and a former manager.

– In 2000: Eminem went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Stan’. The rappers second No.1, the female singing on the track was by Dido.

– In 2003: Coldplay singer Chris Martin married actress Gwyneth Paltrow in Santa Barbara, California. The couple also announced that Paltrow was pregnant and the baby was due next summer.

– In 2005: Queen overtook The Beatles to become the third most successful act of all time. Sales in 2005 showed that Queen had now overtaken The Beatles to make it into third place, spending 1,755 weeks on the British singles and album charts. The Beatles slipped to fourth place, with 1,749 weeks. Elvis had spent 2,574 weeks on the singles and album charts, making him number one in the Top 100 most successful acts of all time. Sir Cliff Richard remained in second place, clinching 1,982 weeks.

– In 2007: Led Zeppelin played their first concert in 19 years, at London’s 02 arena. Original band members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones were joined on stage by Jason Bonham, the son of their late drummer John Bonham. More than one million people had taken part in a ballot for the 20,000 tickets available for the show.

– In 2010: The original hand-written lyrics to Bob Dylan’s ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ sold at a New York auction for $422,500 (£267,400). Adam Sender, a hedge fund manager and art collector, outbid five others, placing telephone bids. The song, one of Dylan’s most politically charged, was the title track of his 1964 album.