It happened this week

This is the week that was in matters musical…

Bon Scott, 26 years ago 🙁 I’m off to play “Highway To Hell”

1893, Andres Segovia, the man who put modern classical guitar on the map, is born in Linares, Spain…

1904, Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly opens in Milan…

1958, the first Flying V is shipped from Gibson’s factory in Kalamazoo…

1963, The Beatles form Northern Music Publishing which eventually will fall into the hands of Michael Jackson…

1968, Detroit, Michigan, observes Aretha Franklin Day … this is also the week that Pink Floyd cofounder Syd Barrett succumbs to mental illness and is replaced on guitar by the estimable David Gilmour…

1969, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash hit the studio together in Nashville to record “Girl from the North Country” … the same week the film version of Terry Southern’s sex-comedy novel Candy with Ringo Starr in a prominent role premieres … it marks Ringo’s debut in a non-musical film…

1972, Pink Floyd premieres The Dark Side of the Moon live in London during a four-day gig a full year prior to the album’s release…

1974, after 10 years of matrimonial bondage, Cher officially separates from Sonny…

1976, Rich Stevens, former lead singer for Tower of Power, is arrested for murder in a triple-slaying the police believe to be related to a drug deal … he and an accomplice will eventually be convicted of murder and manslaughter … also this week, Bette Midler is given a Woman of the Year award by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding theatrical society and quips, “This award characterizes what the American male wants in a woman: brains, talent, and gorgeous t*ts”…

1978, Sex Pistol bassist Sid Vicious and girlfriend Nancy Spungen are arrested at the Chelsea Hotel for drug possession … it is a prelude to murder and death by overdose…

1980, soon after reaching stardom, Bon Scott of AC/DC bites it in the back of a friend’s car after a long night of very heavy drinking … in a classic rock ‘n’ roll spin-crash-and-burn, the 33-year-old singer passes out and dies by choking on his own vomit…

1981, in one of the most absurd events in the history of music, George Harrison is ruled to be liable for “subconscious plagiarism” in a civil case regarding his song “My Sweet Lord” and the Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine” … the judge orders that $587,000 be paid to ABKCO Music…

1984, federal authorities take Jerry Lee Lewis into custody when he surrenders himself to answer charges of tax evasion … Lewis will later be acquitted…

1987, Sly Stone goes down for letting illicit substances take him higher … two outstanding warrants on drug charges land him in the pokey in LA … by the end of the year he’ll be doing hard time on cocaine charges…

1988, a 12-year-old Motley Crue fan in Florida sets his legs on fire while emulating a stunt seen in the group’s Live Wire video … Motley Crue issues a statement saying “the stunt should not be tried at home, dumbsh*t”…

1990, Ike Turner is given a four-year prison sentence for commerce in cocaine … also this week Aerosmith appear as themselves on SNL’s “Wayne’s World” … they play the “Wayne’s World” theme…

1995, Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee, who married Heather Locklear in 1986, gets way luckier than any man should and marries bikini-clad Pamela Anderson on a beach in Cancun … this same week Bob Stinson, former guitarist for The Replacements, is found dead in his Minneapolis apartment … contrary to popular reports, the cause of death is reported as “Unknown,” not an overdose, but many speculate that two decades of rampant drug abuse eventually wore his body out … a founding member of seminal underground band The Replacements, Stinson was famous for his sloppy, who-cares live performances and unique guitar style…

1996, Snoop Dogg and a bodyguard are acquitted of first-degree murder in the death of Phillip Woldermarian, who was shot by Dogg’s bodyguard … Dogg claimed Woldermarian was a stalker and the shooting was in self-defense … the jury deadlocks on voluntary manslaughter, a mistrial is declared, and the Dogg goes free…

1997, a judge in New York throws out a lawsuit blaming Motley Crue for a fan’s hearing loss … the judge points out that the fan knew it was going to be loud before he went to the concert … this week Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream strives to maintain their market share among jam-band devotees by following up their Cherry Garcia with a new flavor”Phish Food…

1998, Danber Nobacon of Chumbawamba leaps onto the table of Deputy Prime Minister of the U.K. John Prescott at the Brit Awards in London … Nobacon is holding a bucket of water … in an effort to defend the honor of his wife and others at the table, Prescott shoves Nobacon to the ground, getting himself drenched in the process … Nobacon later claims he was making a political statement, but nobody is quite able to decipher what the statement was…

2003, a crowded nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, at which Great White is performing, goes up in flames, ignited by onstage pyrotechnics … 100 are killed and many more injured … it is the deadliest rock-concert tragedy ever…

2005, Kid Rock is arrested for punching a DJ at a Nashville strip club and released on $3,000 bail … “Everything is wonderful. It was a beautiful night,” is his response as he leaves the justice center in Music City … Jerry Campos, the DJ at Christie’s Cabaret, reported the assault after Rock punched him twice in the face and broke his glasses … the singer/rapper/songwriter was in town to perform the song “I Saw the Light” during a memorial service for songwriter Merle Kilgore at the legendary Ryman Auditorium…

…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

February 16th: Bill Doggett (1916), Ted Taylor (1934), Sonny Bono (1935), Herman “Sunny” Chaney of The Jaguars (1939), James “Super Chikan” Johnson (1951), James Ingram (1956), Andy Taylor of Duran Duran (1961)

February 17th: Tommy Edwards (1922), Bobby “Tossin’ and Turning” Lewis (1933), Gene Pitney (1941), Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day (1972)

February 18th: Yoko Ono (1933), David Blue of Country Joe and The Fish (1941), Packy Axton of the Mark-Keys (1941), Herman Santiago of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers (1941), Dennis DeYoung of Styx (1947), Mark Andes of Spirit (1948), Juice Newton (1952), Robbie Bachman of BTO (1953), Dr. Dre (1965)

February 19: Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers, both of the Miracles (1940), Tony Iommi (1948), Francis Buckholz of the Scorpions (1950), Seal aka Sealhenry Samuel (1963), Phish drummer John “Fish” Fishman (1965)

February 20: pianist Jimmy Yancey (1898), Nancy Wilson (1937), David Ackles (1937), Barbara Ellis of The Fleetwoods (1939), Buffy Sainte-Marie (1941), Lew Soloff of Blood, Sweat & Tears (1944), Alan Hull of Lindisfarne (1945), Jerome (J.) Geils (1946), Walter Becker of Steely Dan (1950), Spirit’s Randy California aka Randolph Wolfe (1951), Jon Brant of Cheap Trick (1954), Victor Ray Wilson aka Beatmaster V of Body Count (1959), Ian Brown of The Stone Roses (1963), Kurt Cobain (1967), Brian Littrell of Backstreet Boys (1975)

February 21: Andres Segovia (1893), Guy Mitchell aka Al Cernik (1927), Nina Simone (1933), Bobby Charles (1938), David Geffen (1943), Talking Head Jerry Harrison (1949), Mary Chapin Carpenter (1958), Ranking Roger aka Roger Charlery of The English Beat (1961), Sublime’s Eric Wilson (1970), Charlotte Church (1986)

February 22: Frederic-Francois Chopin (1810), “Big Al” Sears (1910), Spade Cooley (1910), Ernie K-Doe aka Ernest Kador Jr. (1936), Bradley Nowell of Sublime (1968), Bobby Hendricks of The Drifters (1937)

Departures:

February 16th: Doris Troy (2004), Walter “Brownie” McGhee (1996), John Hunter (1976)

February 17th: Jackie Lee Cochran (1998), Thelonious Monk (1982), Zenon DeFleur (1979)

February 18th: Miss Toni Fisher (1999), Johnny Carroll (1995), Bob Stinson of The Replacements (1995), Eddie Williams (1995), Patrick Waite of Musical Youth (1993), Ollie McLaughlin (1984)

February 19: guitarist Ty Longley of Great White (2003), banjo picker/comedian Grandpa Jones (1998), Bon Scott of AC/DC (1980)

February 20: Hunter S. Thompson (2005), John Raitt (2005), composer Toru Takemitsu (1996), Hal Worthington (1990), Fats Domino drummer Cornelius “Tenoo” Coleman (1973), Jimmy Bracken of Vee-Jay Records (1972)

February 21: Mud singer Les Gray (2004), rockabilly singer Malcolm Yelvington (2001), English vocalist Ronnie Hilton (2001), DJ Murray “The K” Kaufman (1982), reggae singer Jacob Miller (1980), Janet Vogel of The Skyliners (1980), Nolan Strong of The Diablos (1977)

February 22: guitarist John Fahey (2001), “Papa” John Creach (1994), Kermit Chandler of The Sheppards (1981), Florence Ballard of The Supremes (1976)