1958, Billie Holiday is sentenced to a year’s probation after pleading guilty to narcotics possession … Perry Como’s “Catch a Falling Star” becomes the first certified gold record …

Billie Holiday – “Trav’lin Light” (1958)

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1963, Gerry Marsden of the Merseybeat group Gerry & The Pacemakers is fined £50 for trying to slip a German guitar past British customs … imported instruments are subject to high duties …

1965, Eric Clapton splits from The Yardbirds to join John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers …

The Yardbirds – “Louise”

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John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – “All Your Love”

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1967, Dick James, the Beatles’ music publisher, says 446 versions of “Yesterday” have been recorded to date, making it the most covered song ever … The Grateful Dead release their first album … Jerry Garcia reveals that it was recorded on “dietwatcher’s speed and pot” and that “the tempo was way too fast” … The Velvet Underground’s debut album is released sporting Andy Warhol’s banana-peel cover …

1972, country music star and reformed burglar Merle Haggard is given a pardon by California governor Ronald Reagan … it’s been 12 years since Merle did his singing behind bars at San Quentin …

Merle Haggard – “Okie From Muskogee”

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1974, John Lennon and his drinking buddy Harry Nilsson are booted out of West L.A.’s Troubadour Club after razzing comic Tom Smothers … apparently, like Smother’s mother, John and Harry like Dickie best …

1976, former porn star Andrea True scores with her #4 disco single “More, More, More” …

1979, singer Bonnie Bramlett slugs a highly inebriated Elvis Costello when he utters a racial slur about Ray Charles … Costello has publicly apologized on many occasions for this gaffe …

Delaney & Bonnie & Friends – “Comin’ Home”

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1991, Janet Jackson reveals … we know what you’re thinking … that she is moving from A&M Records to Virgin in a deal worth about $40 million … seven members of Reba McEntire’s touring band and her road manager are killed when their plane crashes into a mountainous area near the California/Mexico border … McEntire was traveling in a separate plane … guitar legend Eddie Van Halen and his wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli, celebrate the birth of their son … they name the boy Wolfgang …

1992, 40,000 people show up for Farm Aid in Irving, Texas … the star-studded show is organized by Willie Nelson to help failing family farms …

1997, Paul McCartney is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II …

1998, Cathay Pacific Airways announces that Oasis singer Liam Gallagher has been banned from flying with the airline following a flight during which he is reported to have screamed obscenities and smoked in the cabin … lawyers representing Korn serve Assistant Principal Gretchen Plewes of Zeeland High School in Michigan … the papers demand that she stop making “defamatory comments about Korn and its products” … the action stems from the suspension of a student who wore a Korn T-shirt to school …

2000, the Recording Industry Association of America certifies 17 million copies sold of Shania Twain’s album Come On Over, making it the best-selling album by a solo female artist …

2002, R.E.M. is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the 22nd annual dinner …

2003, the Chinese government orders the Rolling Stones to axe four songs from the set lists of their Shanghai and Beijing shows … the banned tunes are “Brown Sugar,” “Honky Tonk Women,” “Beast of Burden,” and “Let’s Spend the Night Together” …

The Rolling Stones – “Brown Sugar”

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2004, Courtney Love repeatedly flashes her breasts during an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman … later that night she plays an unannounced gig at the New York club, Plaid, where she throws a mic stand into the audience and is arrested for reckless endangerment … the next night she turns up at the Bowery Ballroom with the legend “EAT MY F**K” emblazoned in 10-inch high letters on her tank top, then tops off the night with a Kodak moment in which she is photographed breast-feeding a fan at a local Wendys … like the man said, “All you need is Love” … Starbucks announces it’s partnering with Hewlett-Packard to offer customers digital music downloads via HP tablet computers … Axl Rose is denied a restraining order that would prevent Universal Music Group from releasing a Guns N’ Roses greatest hits album … the label argues that it has every right to release the record since Rose has failed to deliver on his contract to produce the long-threatened Chinese Democracy album …

2005, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame celebrates its 20th anniversary—and the 50th anniversary of rock music—in a ceremony that peaks with Bruce Springsteen inducting U2; Neil Young ushering in the Pretenders; Justin Timberlake welcoming the O’Jays into the Hall; B.B. King and Eric Clapton joining forces to pay tribute to bluesman Buddy Guy; and Rod Stewart inducting soul singer Percy Sledge … legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti will lend his voice to a new version of Deep Purple’s classic “Smoke on the Water” for a new retrospective album covering the 40-year career of rocker Ian Gillan … a London audience is treated to an unannounced appearance by Mick Jagger during a Ron Wood concert; Jagger handles vocals on the Stones song “Dance (Pt. 1)” … Coldplay gives L.A. fans a thrill by playing a one-off gig at The Troubador … rapper Lil’ Kim is convicted of perjury for lying to a federal grand jury in connection with a 2001 shooting involving her manager and a former member of her posse …

2006, Isaac Hayes quits South Park, the animated show where he voiced the character of Chef for nine years … Hayes cites the show’s take on religion as his reason for leaving: “There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs of others begins.” … Matt Stone, the show’s co-creator, cites a recent episode that targeted Hayes’ religion, Scientology … “He has no problem—and he’s cashed plenty of checks—with our show making fun of Christians.” … Leonard Cohen wins a $9.5 million judgment against former manager Kelley Lynch, charging that he extorted more than $5 million from the singer-songwriter … outlook for compensation is dim, since the defendant apparently took a powder right after the suit was filed … Hasidic reggae star Matisyahu fires his management team at JDub with three years left to go on their contract … the sacking comes as Matisyahu enjoys having two albums in the top 40 album chart … the JDub crew, who were the artist’s buddies in college, are reported to be considering suit …

2007, Sony BMG Music Entertainment announces that it’s shutting down Sony Wonder, its kids’ label that was once home to Sesame Street … it’s not easy being BMG … Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five become the first hip-hop act to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame …

2008, it’s announced that Snoop Dogg will guest star on the long-running soap One Life to Live … he’ll perform a couple of tracks from his newest CD, Ego Trippin’, and mashup the show’s theme music … a judge awards Heather Mills nearly $50 million in her divorce from Paul McCartney … the Allman Brothers are forced to postpone their annual May engagement at New York’s Beacon Theater while Gregg Allman recuperates from hepatitis C …

2009, Capitol Records executive Alan Livingston dies … after the U.S.-based label rejected the first four Beatles singles, he gave the go-ahead to release “I Want to Hold Your Hand” … Neil Young releases his video for “Johnny Magic” on the Internet … it’s Neil in his car lip-synching to the song with his dog in the back seat, one camera, no edits … Neil explains the “economy look” goes with the times …

…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

March 11: bandleader Lawrence Welk (1903), Mike Hugg of Manfred Mann (1940), Golden Earring’s George Kooymans (1948), singer Bobby McFerrin (1950), singer Nina Hagen (1955), Bruce Watson of Big Country (1961), drummer and Pantera co-founder Vinnie Paul, born Vincent Paul Abbott (1964), singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb (1968), Joel and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte (1979)

March 12: one-man-band Jesse “Lone Cat” Fuller (1896), R&B bandleader Red Saunders (1912), Leonard Chess, co-founder of Chess Records (1917), L.C. Williams, Houston bluesman who worked with Lightnin’ Hopkins (1930), singer Al Jarreau (1940), Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane (1942), singer-actress Liza Minelli (1946), singer-songwriter James Taylor (1948), Bill Payne of Little Feat (1949), Mike Gibbons of Badfinger (1949), Marlon Jackson of The Jackson 5 (1957), Steve Harris of Iron Maiden (1957), Graham Coxon of Blur (1969)

March 13: bluesman Lightnin’ Slim (1913), Willie Williams, drummer with Howlin’ Wolf (1922), songwriter Mike Stoller (1933), singer-songwriter-pianist Neil Sedaka (1939), Mississippi-born electric guitarist Melvin Taylor (1959), U2’s Adam Clayton (1960)

March 14: baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann (1681), Austrian romantic composer Johann Strauss Sr. (1804), bandleader Les Brown (1912), singer-songwriter Phil Phillips, who penned “Sea of Love” (1931), trumpeter-arranger-composer-producer Quincy Jones (1933), “Queen of Country Music” Loretta Lynn (1940), Jim Pons of The Turtles (1943), Chicago’s Walt Parazaider (1945), Boon Gould of Level 42 (1955)

March 15: bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins (1912), Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh (1940), Mike Love, co-lead singer of The Beach Boys (1944), Sly Stone, born Sylvester Stewart (1944), War’s Howard Scott (1946), slide guitarist-singer-composer Ry Cooder (1947), Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider (1955), singer-songwriter Terence Trent D’Arby (1962), Brett Michaels of Poison (1963), Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray (1970), Mark Hoppus of blink-182 (1972), Joseph Hahn of Linkin Park (1977)

March 16: country singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker, born Ronald Clyde Crosby (1942), Heart’s Nancy Wilson (1954), Flavor Flav of Public Enemy (1959), rock and metal guitarist Marcus Henderson, lead guitar for Guitar Hero video game (1973), bassist and son of Eddie, Wolfgang Van Halen (1991)

March 17: singer-songwriter-pianist Nat “King” Cole, born Nathaniel Adams Coles (1917), Clarence Collins of Little Anthony & The Imperials (1939), Vito Picone of The Elegants (1940), Paul Kantner of The Jefferson Airplane (1941), singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist John Sebastian of The Lovin’ Spoonful (1944), Harold Brown of War (1946), Ian Gomm of Brinsley Schwartz (1947), Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham (1951), Mike Lindup of Level 42 (1959), Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan (1967), Melissa Auf der Maur of Hole (1972)

Departures:

March 11: Stacy Guess of The Squirrel Nut Zippers (1998), South African saxophonist Basil “Manenberg” Coetzee (1998), blues harmonica player Sonny Terry (1986)

March 12: Marc Moreland, guitarist for Wall of Voodoo (2002), violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin (1999), singer-songwriter Alex Taylor, older brother of James Taylor (1993), alto sax innovator Charlie “Yardbird” Parker (1955)

March 13: Capitol records executive Alan Livingston (2009), soul singer Lyn Collins (2005), reggae singer Judge Dread, born Alex Hughes (1998), rock and jazz producer Bob Shad (1985), Jerry Blaine, jazz bandleader and founder of Jubilee Records (1973)

March 14: country singer-songwriter Tommy Collins, born Leonard Raymond Sipes (2000), songwriter Jerome “Doc” Pomus (1991), R&B bandleader Larry “Big Twist” Nolan (1990), Keith Relf of The Yardbirds (1976), ’60s soul singer Linda Jones (1972)

March 15: rapper Harold “Whiz Kid” McGuire (1996), violinist Olga Rudge (1996), Electric Flag bassist Roger “Jelly Roll” Troy (1991), tenor sax giant Lester “Prez” Young (1959), boogie-woogie pianist Clarence “Pine Top” Smith (1929)

March 16: Ola Brunkert, drummer for ABBA (2008), singer Carol Richards, who teamed with Bing Crosby on “Silver Bells” (2007), ska pioneer Justin Hinds (2005), Jakson Spires, drummer, co-founder, and songwriter for Blackfoot (2005), Joseph Pope, lead singer of The Tams (1996), singer-songwriter Johnny Cymbal (1993), John Simmons of The Reflections (1990), bluesman and electric guitar pioneer Aaron “T-Bone” Walker (1975), soul singer Tammi Terrell (1970)

March 17: Narvin Campbell of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (2006), Lumumba Nelson aka Professor X of the ’90s rap posse X-Clan (2006), MTV VJ J.J. Jackson (2004), Lillian McMurry, co-founder of Trumpet Records (1999), ’80s R&B and pop singer Jermaine Stewart (1997), Elvis sound-alike Terry Safford (1996), Chicago blues pianist Sunnyland Slim, born Albert Luandrew (1995), singer Yvonne Fair of The Chantels (1994), Ric Grech, bass player for Blind Faith and Traffic (1990), New Orleans R&B singer Bobby Mitchell (1989), Samuel George, singer-drummer with The Capitols (1982)

© Toxic Web

“Ultimate Guitar Speed Learning System” The Fastest & Easiest Way to Accelerate your Guitar Playing Click here to check it out NOW! It’s got heaps of hot tips & tricks.

1951, produced by the legendary Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis, Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm record “Rocket 88″ is released … considered groundbreaking for its use of the distorted electric guitar of Willie Kizart, it’s credited by many rock historians for being the first rock ‘n’ roll record … unfortunately for Turner, the bandleader and piano player, he is not the star on the record label—it is credited to saxophonist Jackie Brenston who handles lead vocals …

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1954, Elvis Presley auditions for The Songfellows, a country vocal group … they pass on the future king saying he can’t sing harmony …

1955, Elvis Presley appears for the first time on television on a regional show called Louisiana Hayride …

1965, The Beatles’ “Eight Days a Week” rides the top of the Billboard Pop Chart … oddly the song is never released as a single in England …

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1966, a pre-Cream, pre-Blind Faith, all-star, one-time-only group called Eric Clapton & The Powerhouse is created to record a few tunes for an Elektra Records compilation … in addition to featuring Clapton on guitar, Steve Winwood (under the alias Steve Anglo) sings, Jack Bruce plays bass, Paul Jones on harmonica (under the alias Jacob Matthews), Pete York on drums … the ad hoc group records three tunes, one of which, “Crossroads,” will become a legendary live recording by Cream …

Eric Clapton & The Powerhouse – “Steppin’ Out”

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… John Lennon stirs up controversy when during a newspaper interview he remarks that the Beatles “are probably bigger than Jesus right now” … in the southern U.S.—the “Bible Belt”—Beatles’ records are ripped apart, stomped upon, and burned in protest; threats are made against the Beatles; and concerts are cancelled … Lennon is forced to explain his claim to the press by saying “I’m not saying that we’re better or greater, or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person or God as a thing or whatever it is. I just said what I said and it was wrong. Or it was taken wrong. And now it’s all this” …

1966, Phil Spector produces the monumental Ike & Tina Turner track “River Deep, Mountain High” … it’s rumored that he spent more than $22,000 creating the orchestral backing track—an unprecedented sum in its day—word has it that Spector also paid Ike Turner, Tina’s spouse and Svengali, 20 grand to stay the hell out of the studio … the single goes to #3 in England but flops in the USA …

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1967, Steve and Muff Winwood announce plans to quit the Spencer Davis Group … the brothers have been with the band four years … Steve goes on to form Traffic …

“Keep On Running”

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“Gimme Some Lovin’”

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1969, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour TV show is canceled by CBS … during its run the show had featured many rock acts including The Beatles, The Doors, and The Who … the cancellation is seen as the result of the brothers refusing to censor comments made by guest Joan Baez about her husband David Harris who was facing prison as a war resister …

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1970, Janis Joplin is fined $200 for onstage swearing in Tampa, Florida …

1971, Radio Hanoi broadcasts Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner” … the tape was sent to the North Vietnamese station by anti-war activist Abbie Hoffman …

1973, Paul McCartney pleads guilty and pays a fine of $240 after marijuana plants were found growing at his farm in Scotland … in his defense McCartney claimed that a fan gave him some seeds, which he planted, not knowing what would grow from them … this same week in 1975, Linda and Paul are pulled over for running a red light in Los Angeles … police sniff pot and find six to eight ounces in Linda’s purse and charge her with possession … since it isn’t his purse, Paul skates free …

1976, a wax version of Elton John goes on display at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum …

1979, Soul Brother (and Good Old Boy) Number One, James Brown, gets funky at the Grand Ole Opry …

1980, the number-one song on the pop chart this week is “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen …

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1998, Alan Reed, an American dancer, sues Japanese pop star Seiko Matsuda for 48 million yen, charging that she pressured Reed, a member of her stage show, into having sex with her … his case is a loser …

2000, in the middle of a show in Fargo, North Dakota, Korn drummer David Silveria suddenly loses use of one of his wrists … Mike Bordin of Faith No More subs for the rest of the tour while Silveria heals … Chrissie Hynde is busted in New York for slashing leather goods at a Gap store … she’s part of a PETA action …

2004, Jack White of the White Stripes pleads guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery on singer Jason Stollsteimer of The Von Bondies … the charges stem from a bar fight between the two Detroit musicians that occurred the previous December at the CD release party for Blanche, another Detroit area band …White is fined $750 …

2005, XL Recordings’ Dizzee Rascal is arrested in East London after he is found carrying pepper spray (considered a firearm)… his companion is charged with possession of drugs (marijuana) and an offensive weapon (a baton and more pepper spray) …

2008, MTV pulls Gnarls Barkley’s video Run for having the potential to induce seizures … before the song reaches its conclusion the retro dancers are surrounded by strobing, criss-crossing and interweaving black and white patterns … enough to cause the video to fail the Harding Test—software designed to protect sufferers of photosensitive epilepsy from having seizures … Van Halen postpones 17 more concert dates so that guitarist Eddie Van Halen “can continue medical tests to define a course of treatment,” … that band’s website notes that Eddie remains “under doctors’ care” …

2009, in another indication of foundering CD sales, BMG Music Service, the last of the record clubs to offer those 10-CDs-for-a-penny promotions, announces that it is shutting down … former competitor Columbia House had closed a couple of years earlier … the Allman Brothers kick off their 40th anniversary year with a three-week residency at New York’s Beacon Theatre—an annual tradition for the Southern rockers … the shows feature a star-studded lineup of friends sitting in with the band that inludes Eric Clapton, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Sheryl Crow, Billy Gibbons, Taj Mahal, Levon Helm, Buddy Guy, Boz Scaggs, and Stanley Clarke …

…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

March 4: Miriam Makeba (1932), Bobby Womack (1944), singer-songwriter Shakin’ Stevens (1948), Billy Gibbons (1948), Chris Squire of Yes (1948), Emilio Estefan of Miami Sound Machine (1950), Jason Newsted of Metallica (1963), Patrick Hannan of The Sundays (1966), Fergal Lawler of The Cranberries (1971)

March 5: blues great J.B. Lenoir (1929), R&B star Tommy “High Heel Sneakers” Tucker (1939), Electric Prune James Lowe (1945), “Electric Avenue” Eddy Grant (1948), Alan Clark of Dire Straits (1952), singer-songwriter-producer Teena Marie (1956), Bobby DeBarge (1956), Mark Smith of The Fall (1957), Andy Gibb (1958), Craig Reid and Charlie Reid of The Proclaimers (1962), John Frusciante of The Red Hot Chili Peppers (1971)

March 6: bluesman Furry Lewis (1893), western swing pioneer Bob Wills (1905), Bernie Wayne, pop composer who wrote “Blue Velvet” (1919), Wes Montgomery (1923), Sylvia Robinson of Mickey and Sylvia (1936), bluegrass banjo legend Doug Dillard of The Dillards (1937), Mary Wilson of the Supremes (1944), Hugh Grundy of The Zombies (1945), Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour (1947), singer Kiki Dee (1947), Megadeth guitarist Chris Broderick (1970)

March 7: Maurice Ravel, composer of “Bolero” (1875), Zola Taylor, the only female member of The Platters (1938), producer and ex-Zombie Chris White (1943), singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt (1944), J. Geils Band vocalist Peter Wolf (1946), Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher (1946), Taylor Dayne, born Leslie Wonderman (1962)

March 8: Micky Dolenz of The Monkees (1945), Eagles bassist Randy Meisner (1946), Three Dog Night’s Michael Allsup (1947), Mel Galley of Whitesnake (1948), Little Peggy March of “I Will Follow Him” fame (1948), singer and synth pop pioneer Gary Numan (1958), Peter “Pedro” Gill of Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1960), Julian Lennon (1963), Cheryl James of Salt-N-Pepa (1964), singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins (1968), Kameelah Williams of 702 (1978)

March 9: composer Samuel Barber (1910), Motown songwriter Clarence Paul (1928), R&B stalwart Lloyd Price (1933), Red Steele, bass singer with The (Five) Willows (1934), country singer Mickey Gilley (1936), Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & the Raiders (1942), John Cale of The Velvet Underground (1942), guitarist Robin Trower (1945), Ron Wilson of The Surfaris (1945), Jimmie Fadden of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1948), R&B singer Jeffrey Osborne (1948), The Move’s Trevor Burton (1949), Robert Sledge of Ben Folds Five (1968), rapper Lil’ Bow Wow (1987)

March 10: legendary trumpeter Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke (1903), Tex-Mex legend, producer Huey “The Crazy Cajun” Meaux (1929), Dexter Tisby of The Penguins (1935), swamp rocker Johnny Allen (1938), Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean (1940), Eddie Guzman, percussionist for Rare Earth (1944), Tom Scholz of Boston (1947), Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam (1963), Neneh Cherry (1964), Edie Brickell (1966), Sims Ellison, bassist with Pariah (1967)

Departures:

March 4: Piedmont blues guitarist John Cephas (2009), Beatles’ engineer and Pink Floyd producer Norman Smith (2008), songwriter-pianist Marvin Jenkins (2005), guitarist John McGeoch (2004), country artist Eddie Dean of “I Dreamed Of a Hillbilly Heaven” fame (1999), Minnie Pearl (1996), songwriter Eden Ahbez (1995), jazz guitarist Mary Osborne (1992), founder of the doo-wop Herald and Ember labels Al Silver (1992), bebop guitarist Tiny Grimes (1989), Richard Manuel of The Band (1986), R&B bandleader Red Saunders (1981), Brit rocker Mike Patto (1979), Raymond Edwards of The Silhouettes (1977)

March 5:: Bob Timmins, an addiction specialist who worked with Kurt Cobain and Slash (2008), Vivian Stanshall of The Bonzo Dog Band (1995), blues brother John Belushi (1982), Patsy Cline (1963), Cowboy Copas (1963), Hawkshaw Hawkins (1963)

March 6: David Williams, rhythm guitar soloist on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” (2009), producer Mickey Most (2003), Sir Joseph Lockwood, head of Britain’s EMI records (1991)

March 7: Jimmy “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” Boyd (2009), Portland-based blues harp player and singer Paul deLay (2007), Malian blues singer and guitarist Ali Farka Toure (2006), Jesse Taylor, former guitarist with the Joe Ely Band (2006), country bandleader-songwriter Pee Wee King (2000), producer Dave Jordan (1995), Texas blues singer-guitarist George “Little Hat” Jones (1981), country singer Jack Anglin (1963)

March 8: Grand Ole Opry star Hank Locklin (2009), Adam Faith, British pop singer and actor (2003), session drummer Bobby Chouinard (1997), novelty songwriter-performer and DJ, Vic Venus (1994), jazz singer and bandleader Billy Eckstine (1993), Ron “Pigpen” McKernan of the Grateful Dead (1973)

March 9: country singer Chris LeDoux (2005), George Scott, founding member of the gospel group The Blind Boys of Alabama (2005), Rust Epique, guitarist for pre)Thing (2004), rapper Notorious B.I.G. (1997), Mercury Wilson, lead rapper-singer for The Force M.D.’s (1995), R&B songwriter and producer Robert “Bumps” Blackwell (1985), Harry Womack, bassist, member of the Valentinos, and brother of Bobby Womack (1974)

March 10: Danny Joe Brown, lead singer of Molly Hatchet (2005), Dave Blood, bassist for the Dead Milkmen (2004), jazz and R&B singer LaVern Baker (1997), Doc Green, baritone singer with The Drifters (1989), Andy Gibb (1988), bluesman Blind Joe Reynolds (1968)

© Toxic Web

Play Your Favorite Song Better

1949, RCA introduces the 45-rpm record …

1952, Sun Records, future home of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins releases its first record, an instrumental by saxman Johnny London … it flops …

1957, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers receive the princely sum of $7,500 to play a carnival in Panama … the fee is considered huge for a one-nighter … meanwhile Chicago’s Chess Records releases Muddy Waters’ “I Got My Mojo Working,” and Chuck Berry’s “School Days” … the singles reflect the company’s dual focus on urban blacks and white teens …

Muddy Waters – “I Got My Mojo Working”

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Chuck Berry – “School Days”

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1967, Paul McCartney reads a newspaper account of a missing teenage girl inspiring his “She’s Leaving Home” …

1968, Johnny Cash and June Carter marry in Franklin, Kentucky … a motorcade of Cadillacs transports Johnny, June, and their families to a small, private ceremony … Cash’s best man is Merle Kilgore who shares co-writing credits with June on “Ring of Fire,” a tune often considered as the musical record of Johnny and June’s illicit love affair …

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1977, Mississippi bluesman Bukka White dies of cancer … born Booker T. Washington White, he was inspired to play music by blues legend Charley Patton … in the 1930s he played semi-pro baseball and boxed, and in 1937 was imprisoned on an assault charge … after escaping from prison, White cut some sides for the Vocalion label and was eventually recaptured … his name as it appears on records resulted from a Vocalion producer misunderstanding his name; White preferred to be called Booker … rediscovered by a blues researcher in 1963, he made appearances at festivals during the blues revival that marked the latter stages of his eventful life … remembered as a powerful performer on National steel guitars, White gave his cousin B.B. King a Stella—the future electric blues star’s first guitar …

Bukka White – “Aberdeen Mississippi Blues”

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… meanwhile in Santa Monica, California, Bob Dylan’s wife, Sara, files for divorce … the couple has been married for 11 years and has five children … in the property settlement she is given the family home and custody of the kids … Sara is said to be the inspiration behind Dylan songs such as “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands,” “Lay Lady Lay,” and “Sara” …

1978, Van Halen plays the first date of its first national tour at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom … there’s a rider in the contract providing that M&MS with the brown candies removed be available backstage …

Van Halen – Fresno September 22nd 1978

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1983, Michael Jackson’s Thriller soars to #1 on the pop chart and will stay there 37 weeks, selling over 40 million copies … it’s the number-one seller in every Western nation where such records are kept …

1985, Jacko drops in on Madame Tussaud’s London waxworks where his likeness is being unveiled …

1990, former Coasters lead tenor Cornell Gunter dies in Las Vegas when an unknown assailant shoots him while he’s sitting in his car …

1994, Kurt Cobain washes down a handful of Valiums with champagne and winds up in a coma in a Rome hospital … he revives after about 20 hours … though officially labeled accidental, the overdose is thought to be a suicide attempt by those close to Cobain … a second attempt nearly two months later with a shotgun will prove fatal …

1995, Lyle Lovett breaks his collarbone while motorcycling in Mexico causing him to miss the Grammys where he wins Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for his duet on “Funny How Time Slips Away” with Al Green and Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for his version of “Blues For Dixie” with Asleep At The Wheel … meanwhile in Lausanne, Switzerland, Bill Berry of R.E.M. suffers a massive migraine about 90 minutes into the band’s set … he collapses and is rushed offstage but does not see a doctor until the next day when it is discovered he has an aneurysm on the right side of his brain … Berry undergoes surgery and makes a full recovery …

1999, British singer Dusty Springfield falls victim to breast cancer … born Mary Elizabeth Catherine Bernadette O’Brien, the highly regarded singer enjoyed a series of pop hits including the blockbuster “Silver Threads and Golden Needles” … her death falls on the day she was scheduled to receive her OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth …she was 59 …

Dusty Springfield – “Son Of A Preacher Man”

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… Joss Stone may have a Brand New Combine Harvester but she ain’t got no soul … after a 31-year hiatus, Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles appear at the Rhythm & Blues Foundation’s Pioneer Awards in L.A. where they perform a stunning rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” …

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2000, it’s announced that pop princess Britney Spears is marketing her own brand of bubble gum creatively dubbed “Britney Spears CD Bubble Gum” … meanwhile in Newport Beach, California, Dennis Danell of Social Distortion dies of an apparent brain aneurysm suffered in his driveway … he was 38 …

2003, R&B singer Hank Ballard dies of throat cancer at home in L.A. … notable for having written “The Twist” and enjoying a hit with it before Chubby Checker’s cover, he and his swinging band, The Midnighters, charted with 22 R&B hits in the 1950s and ’60s, many of which crossed over onto the pop chart … these include the suggestive “Work With Me Annie” followed by “Annie Had a Baby” … their racy lyrics resulted in the songs being banned on many radio stations …

2004, shock jock Howard Stern is suspended indefinitely from Clear Channel radio following listeners’ complaints sent to the network and the FCC … complaints center around Stern’s potty mouth and the smutty subjects he addresses … Clear Channel president John Hogan publicly demands Stern drop the naughty content from his show … Stern demurs and is suspended only to be picked up as a broadcaster by XM satellite radio …

2005, the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, closes … artists such as The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Bob Seger recorded some of their biggest hits at the facility … the studio, owned since 1985 by indie blues label Malaco Records, is a victim of the computer recording boom …

Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Sweet Home Alabama”

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… Ozzy Osbourne, who’s promoting the Australian MTV Awards in Sydney, inexplicably cups daughter Kelly’s left breast during a press conference …

2006, new-age musician Yanni is arrested in Florida on charges of domestic battery against his girlfriend … after being found asleep at the steering wheel of his car in London, George Michael is taken in by the bobbies on charges of possessing pot and painkillers …

2007, more than two months after his death, James Brown remains unburied while family members squabble over burial details … meanwhile an undisclosed agreement is reached on how DNA samples should be collected from the corpse … they are needed to resolve several paternity claims including the parentage of a child that his companion Tomi Rae Hynie says Brown fathered … though Hynie says she married Brown, the Godfather’s lawyers dispute that, saying she was still married to another man when the alleged marriage took place … meanwhile in Britain, the husband of deceased classical pianist Joyce Hatto confesses to passing off other artists’ recordings as the work of his late wife on more than 100 CDs issued under her name since she quit public performances in 1976 … William Barrington-Coupe admits the deception in a letter sent to BIS, the label that issued the discs … the scandal is precipitated by an article in Britain’s Gramophone magazine in which it’s revealed that Hatto’s recording of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes was actually lifted from a recording by Laszio Simon … meanwhile on this side of the Atlantic, in its ongoing campaign against piracy, the Recording Industry Association of America sends 400 letters to U.S. universities warning them that students may be sued for copyright infringement if they don’t settle up … the RIAA directs students to a website where they can settle their cases online by coughing up some bucks … Big Champagne, a web tracking service, estimates that one billion songs are downloaded online every month at sites such as LimeWire … on this same day in 2007, in the ongoing saga of rapper Sean Combs’ ever-changing nom-de-rap, a British court rules that he violated a deal made with London record producer Richard “Diddy” Dearlove to not use the alias “Diddy” in the U.K. … in response to the judgment, Combs agrees to remove the lyric “…mainline this Diddy heroin…” from his song, “The Future,” when it is performed in Britain henceforth … and finally, in other legal proceedings back in the colonies, after spending three nights in the Norfolk County Jail in Massachusetts for late child-support payments, singer Bobby Brown is sprung when a Washington, DC, radio station posts $19,510 bail … in return, the singer will take part in a week’s worth of broadcasts of Hot 99.5 FM’s The Kane Show … the show’s host, who goes by the single name Kane, tells the press, “In exchange for the money, he agreed to be an employee of our radio station for one week, where he will discuss what he did wrong and how he could turn his life around. We are going to have a very open and candid conversation” … Brown was arrested as he watched his daughter perform at a local cheerleading competition … coincidentally, a year earlier Brown was arrested for a 14-year string of motor-vehicle violations, also while watching his daughter in a cheerleading competition …

2008, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister and Troy Luccketa of Tesla put together a lineup of rock and country performers at the Providence, Rhode Island, Dunkin’ Donuts Center to raise money for the families of the 100 fans who died and 200 who were injured in the Station nightclub fire five years earlier … the benefit that includes Winger, Stryder, and Gretchen Wilson among others raises $175,000 …

2009, President Obama awards Stevie Wonder The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize …

…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

February 25: blueswoman Ida Cox (1896), record store tycoon Sam Goody, born Samuel Gutowitz (1904), country singer Faron Young (1932), Barry Kramer, founder of Creem magazine (1943), guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro of Crazy Horse (1949), bassist and songwriter Stewart “Woody” Wood of The Bay City Rollers (1957), drummer Dennis Diken of The Smithereens (1957), singer Mike Peters of The Alarm (1959)

February 26: Fats Domino (1928), Norman P. Rich of Billy Stewart’s band (1930), Johnny Cash (1932), Paul Cotton of Poco (1943), Bob “The Bear” Hite of Canned Heat (1943), Mitch Ryder (1945), Elvis impersonator Orion born Jimmy Hodges (1945), Jonathan Cain of Journey (1950), Michael Bolton (1954), Bronski Beat’s John Jon (1961), Erykah Badu (1971)

February 27: New Orleans guitarist Roy Montrell (1928), Ralph Garone of The Bob Knight Four (1940), Eddie Gray of Tommy James & The Shondells (1948), Neil Schon of Journey (1954), Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden (1957), Chili of TLC (1971), Jeremy Dean of Nine Days (1972), rapper Ja Rule (1976), singer-songwriter Josh Groban (1981)

February 28: guitarist John Fahey (1939), singer-songwriter Joe South (1940), Marty Sanders of Jay and the Americans (1941), R&B singer Barbara Acklin (1943), Brian Jones (1952), Ronald Rosman of Tommy James & The Shondells (1945), Cindy Wilson of The B-52’s (1957), Ian Stanley of Tears For Fears (1957), Phillip Gould of Level 42 (1957), Pat Monahan of Train (1969)

February 29: producer David Briggs (1944)

March 1: bandleader Glenn Miller (1904), barrelhouse pianist Walter Davis (1912), Harry Belafonte (1927), Jim Ed Brown of The Browns (1934), Roger Daltrey (1942), Jerry Fisher of Blood, Sweat & Tears (1943), Mike D’Abo of Manfred Mann (1944), synth pop singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw (1958)

March 2: Desi Arnaz (1917), Doc Watson (1923), Lawrence Payton of The Four Tops (1938), Lou Reed born Louis Firbank (1942), George Benson (1943), blues/rock guitarist Rory Gallagher (1948), sax player Michael Brecker (1949), Eddie Money (1949), Karen Carpenter (1950), Jay Osmond of The Osmonds (1955), Dale Bozzio of Missing Persons (1955), Mark Evans of AC/DC (1956), Jon Bon Jovi born John Bongiovi (1962), rapper and DJ Scott LaRock (1962), Coldplay’s Chris Martin (1977)

March 3: jazz bassist Pierre Michelot (1928), Willie Chambers of The Chambers Brothers (1938), Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane (1942), Mike Pender of The Searchers (1942), Jance Garfat of Dr. Hook (1944), Jennifer Warnes (1947), Robyn Hitchcock (1953), Tone-Loc (1966), John Bigham of Fishbone (1969), Ronan Keating of Boyzone (1977)

Departures:

February 25: Pylon guitarist Randy Bewley (2009), ’60s folk singer Mark Spoelstra (2007), Thomas Koppel, co-founder of Danish prog-rock band Savage Rose (2006), blues saxophonist A.C. Reed (2004), William “Hoss” Allen, white DJ who promoted R&B in Nashville (1997), Toy Caldwell, guitarist and songwriter for the Marshall Tucker Band (1993)

February 26: ELO bassist Kelly Groucutt (2009), drummer Buddy Miles (2008), Cajun music pioneer Edwin Duhon (2006), lyricist Ben Raleigh (1997), Frank O’Keefe of The Outlaws (1995), Cornell Gunter of The Coasters (1990), bluesman Bukka White (1977), Sherman Garnes of Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers (1977), blues pianist Big Maceo (1953)

February 27: drummer Bobby Rosengarden (2007), Mississippi fife player Othar Turner (2003), Marlena Easley of The Orlons (1993)

February 28: Mike Smith of The Dave Clark Five (2008), saxophonist Walter Kimble (1988), DJ Eddie Madison (1987), David Byron of Uriah Heep (1985), Duprees lead vocalist Joey Vann (1984), songwriter Bobby Bloom (1974), Frankie Lymon (1968), Fats Domino’s guitarist Walter “Papoose” Nelson (1962)

March 1: Jackson 5 drummer (and no relation) Johnny Jackson (2006), Dennis Danell of Social Distortion (2000), Air Supply’s Frank Esler-Smith (1991)

March 2: country singer-songwriter Ernie Ashworth (2009), blues guitarist Jeff Healey (2008), exotica bandleader Martin Denny (2005), Hank Ballard (2003), Dusty Springfield (1999), singer-songwriter David Ackles (1999), French pop singer Serge Gainsbourg (1991), rockabilly pianist Roy Hall (1984), Charlie Christian (1942)

March 3: poet-songwriter and Beatles influence Ivor Cutler (2006), Harlan “Mr. Songwriter” Howard (2002)

© Toxic Web

Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.
Where have you been?
It’s alright we know where you’ve been.

Bill Ruppert has posted another in his excellent series of Effectology videos where he uses just a standard guitar and a few well chosen Electro-Harmonix effects pedals to make some weird non-guitar noises.

OK so this time it’s not just a guitar and the pedals, an electric shaver and a telephone are utilised to create the synth and tape effects heard on the classic Pink Floyd track “Welcome To The Machine” from their 1975 masterpiece “Wish You Were Here“.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For all the effects and the settings Bill used to recreate the sounds of the EMS VCS 3 synth that the Floyd used on the original recording, check out the EHX forum

You’ve been in the pipeline, filling in time,
Provided with toys and ‘Scouting for Boys’.
You bought a guitar to punish your ma,
And you didn’t like school, and you
know you’re nobody’s fool,
So welcome to the machine.

Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.
What did you dream?
It’s alright we told you what to dream.
You dreamed of a big star,
He played a mean guitar,
He always ate in the Steak Bar.
He loved to drive in his Jaguar.
So welcome to the Machine.

Pink Floyd – “Welcome To The Machine”

Click here to view the embedded video.

© Toxic Web

“Ultimate Guitar Speed Learning System” The Fastest & Easiest Way to Accelerate your Guitar Playing Click here to check it out NOW! It’s got heaps of hot tips & tricks.

1878, seminal turntablist Thomas Edison receives a patent for the phonograph …

1951, Dan Randall of Fender comes up with a new name for their solidbody guitar: “Telecaster” … the original name “Broadcaster” is dropped after Gretsch complains they have a line of drums using that name … the name “Telecaster” is chosen because TV is becoming popular …

1956, Bill Haley & The Comets receive a $250,000 guarantee for 21 shows, an unprecedented amount … this same week, the band’s album Rock Around The Clock becomes the first rock ‘n’ roll LP to make it onto the pop album charts …

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

1966, The Beach Boys’ mastermind Brian Wilson enters Gold Star Studios on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood to lay down the first tracks of “Good Vibrations” using the best session players available … the tracks aren’t used … it takes 16 more sessions between April 9 and September 1 at Gold Star, Sunset Sound, Western, and Columbia studios before Wilson achieves his master recording at a reported cost of between $50,000 and $75,000 … at the time an astronomical sum for a single record, but worth it given the result …

1967, The Doors, Buffalo Springfield, and The Byrds join forces in an L.A. all-star concert to protest cops roughing up hippies on the Sunset Strip … though the concert does little to stop the pugilistic proclivities of the petulant police, it does spawn Stills’ hit, “For What It’s Worth” …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1968, Pink Floyd cofounder Syd Barrett succumbs to mental illness and is replaced on guitar by the estimable David Gilmour …

1969, 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 nonmusical film …

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Viva Zapata! clam down!” Mexican scouse…

1974, Billy Joel charts with “Piano Man” … it will be the first of 41 Top 100 entries for him … Cher officially separates from Sonny, thus paving the way for Greg Allman to top her charts …

1976, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings strike pay dirt with The Outlaws when it becomes the first country album to go platinum … other performers on the blockbuster are Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser …

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 a verdict that at once validates Sigmund Freud (theory of the subconscious) and George Orwell (double-speak), George Harrison is ruled liable for “subconscious plagiarism” in a civil case regarding his 1970 song “My Sweet Lord,” and the Chiffons’ 1963 hit “He’s So Fine” … the judge orders that $587,000 be paid to ABKCO Music, publisher of “He’s So Fine” …

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

1987, after informing us at Woodstock that he wanted to take us higher, Sly Stone decides to lead by example … two outstanding warrants on drug charges land him in the pokey in L.A. … by the end of the year he’ll be doing hard time on cocaine charges …

1989, Hard Rock/Metal is a Grammy category for the first time … in a class that includes heavyweight nominees Metallica, Jane’s Addiction, and Iggy Pop, the winner is (drum roll, please): Jethro Tull … a chorus of boos rains down from the public balconies and even some of the artists on the main floor join in … critics nearly unanimously lambast the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences voters who selected Tull, whose mix of classic English prog rock and jazz flute is the farthest thing from hard rock or metal …

Click here to view the embedded video.

Metal!!!!!!!! – actually I like Tull and do have that album.

1992, Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love wed in Waikiki …

1995, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee puts his 1986 marriage with the lovely Heather Locklear behind him and marries Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson on a beach in Cancun … according to onlookers, Anderson, clad only in a formal white bikini, could barely contain her increasingly buoyant spirits …

1996, Barry Manilow is involved in a five-car collision on the I-10 freeway in Los Angeles … Manilow, who actually didn’t pen the hit “I Write the Songs” for which he won a Grammy 19 years earlier to the day, finds more immediate use for his writing skills by signing autographs for police, accident victims, and fans …

1997, a judge in New York throws out a $7 million lawsuit blaming Mötley Crüe 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 … “Go Phish,” is ice cream maker Ben and Jerry’s response to those who wonder how they will maintain their “grass roots” movement of rock-related flavors aimed at the great unwashed … now hippies young and old can choose between Cherry Garcia and a new phlavor: Phish Food …

1998, pounding the skins comes naturally to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee … this time, unfortunately, the skin belongs to his wife Pamela Anderson … Lee is arrested and charged with domestic abuse … Virgin Records files suit against the Smashing Pumpkins for alleged breach of contract and nondelivery of albums … the suit claims the band notified Virgin that instead of delivering seven albums, per its contract, the band was delivering just three and walking … the Pumpkins cite a California labor law which limits personal service contracts to seven years as its law originally used by movie stars to break free from the once-dominant studio system … the band eventually wins and gets more money with its royalty rate bumped up to 20 percent …

2003, The Station 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, Brian “Head” Welch, guitarist for the metal act Korn, quits the band he helped found after experiencing a religious awakening … Brian breaks the news on a Bakersfield, California, radio station … he says he’s sick of “chasing the almighty buck,” and feels raising his six-year old daughter is more important … Korn tries to accommodate the single dad by allowing his daughter to come on tour but it doesn’t work, according to Welch … “Fieldy (Korn bass player) would tell her: ‘Every time you hear a curse word, you’ll get a dollar. It will help us stop cursing.’ And at the end of the day, she’d turn to me and be like, ‘Look at all my money, Daddy!’” …

2006, with fallout from Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines’ criticism of George W. Bush in 2003 still dogging them, the band drops 14 dates including Memphis, Houston, and Jacksonville, FL, from its Accidents and Accusations tour … so-called red-state hostility has resulted in poor ticket sales in the South and the Chicks continue to get the cold shoulder from country radio …

2007, pop star Britney Spears, apparently taking fashion cues from Connie Conehead and Tommy Lee, spends a wacky week getting her head shaved and a new tattoo applied … Esther Tognozzi (now affectionately known as “the hair nozzi”), owner of Esther’s Hair Salon in Tarzana, CA, says she tried to talk the agitated pop star out of it, but a determined Spears grabbed the clippers while Tognozzi was chatting with Brit’s bodyguards and chopped away …

2008, 50 Cent is ordered to pay up after losing a lawsuit filed against him by a photographer … after a near five-year drag out after the knock down, a judge rules that Fiddy must cough up an undisclosed amount … Jim Alcorn, a New York Post deputy photo assignment editor, brought the suit against the rapper in 2003 after being knocked to the ground by Fiddy’s bodyguards when he tried to snap a few pictures …

2009, J. Geils Band reunites for a one-off performance in their hometown of Boston …

…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

February 18: Yoko Ono (1933), folk singer David Blue (1941), Herman Santiago of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers (1941), Dennis DeYoung of Styx (1947), Mark Andes of Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne, and Heart (1948), Randy Crawford (1952), pop singer Juice Newton (1952), Robbie Bachman of Bachman-Turner Overdrive (1953), Dr. Dre, known to his mother as Andre Romelle Young (1965)

February 19: Bob Englemen of The Lettermen (1936), baritone William McClain of The Cleftones (1938), Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers, both of the Miracles (1940), Lou Christie (1943), guitarist Tommie Iommi of Black Sabbath (1948), bassist Francis Buckholz of the Scorpions (1950), Austrian techno-pop star Falco (1957), singer-songwriter Seal, aka Sealhenry Samuel (1963), Phish drummer John “Fish” Fishman (1965)

February 20: pianist Jimmy Yancey (1898), Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer (1927), jazz songstress Nancy Wilson (1937), singer-songwriter David Ackles (1937), Barbara Ellis of The Fleetwoods (1939), singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie (1941), trumpet player Lew Soloff of Blood, Sweat, and Tears (1944), singer and guitarist Alan Hull of Lindisfarne (1945), Jerome (J.) Geils of The J. Geils Band (1946), Walter Becker of Steely Dan (1950), guitarist Randy California of Spirit (1951), bassist Jon Brant of Cheap Trick (1954), Victor Ray Wilson, drummer with Body Count (1959), singer Ian Brown of The Stone Roses (1963), Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain (1967), Brian Littrell of Backstreet Boys (1975)

February 21: father of the modern classical guitar, Andres Segovia (1893), ’50s pop singer Guy Mitchell aka Al Cernik (1927), singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger Nina Simone (1933), swamp pop pioneer Bobby Charles (1938), record executive David Geffen (1943), Talking Head Jerry Harrison (1949), folk and country music artist Mary Chapin Carpenter (1958), Ranking Roger aka Roger Charlery of The English Beat (1961), Sublime’s Eric Wilson (1970), Welsh singer-songwriter Charlotte Church (1986)

February 22: Frederic Francois Chopin (1810), self-proclaimed “King of Western Swing,” bandleader, and wife-killer Spade Cooley (1910), R&B saxophonist “Big Al” Sears, born Albert Omega Sears (1910), New Orleans R&B singer Ernie K-Doe aka Ernest Kador Jr. (1936), Bobby Hendricks of The Drifters (1937), Robert Edwards of The Intruders (1942), Brad Nowell of Sublime (1968)

February 23: operatic composer George Frederic Handel (1685), blues guitarist-singer Johnny Winter (1944), Les Kummel, bassist with The New Colony Six (1945), innovative pedal steel guitar player Rusty Young of Poco (1946), guitarist Brad Whitford of Aerosmith (1952), synth player, singer, songwriter Howard Jones (1955), Japan frontman David Sylvian (1958), guitarist Michael Wilton of Queensryche (1962), Robert Collins, keyboardist with The Charlatans (1963), bassist Nicki Tedesco (1971), bassist Jeff Beres of Sister Hazel (1971), keyboardist Lasse Johansson of The Cardigans (1973)

February 24: Italian tenor and recording pioneer Enrico Caruso (1873), singer-songwriter Wandra Merrell (1923), singer Paul Jones of Manfred Mann (1942), George Harrison (1943), keyboard session man Nicky Hopkins (1944), Butch McDade, drummer with The Amazing Rhythm Aces (1946), bassist Lonnie Turner of the Steve Miller Band (1947), Rupert Holmes, composer, singer-songwriter, musician, and musical playwright (1947), singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked (1962)

Departures:

February 18: Pere Ubu guitarist Jim Jones (2008), pop singer Miss Toni Fisher (1999), Eddie Williams, bassist for Johnny Moore and The Three Blazers (1995), Bob Stinson of The Replacements (1995), rockabilly artist Johnny Carroll (1995), Musical Youth bassist Patrick Waite (1993), Ollie McLaughlin, producer for Del Shannon (1984)

February 19: guitarist Ty Longley of Great White (2003), Hee-Haw’s Grandpa Jones (1998), Bon Scott of AC/DC (1980)

February 20: gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson (2005), John Raitt, Broadway baritone and father of Bonnie (2005), Lighthouse vocalist Bob McBride (1998), composer Toru Takemitsu (1996), Hal Worthington, leader of the soul band The Unifics (1990), Cornelius “Tenoo” Coleman, drummer for Fats Domino (1973), Jimmy Bracken, the “Jay” in Vee-Jay Records (1972)

February 21: Al Viola, jazz guitarist with Frank Sinatra (2007), singer Les Gray of English glam rock band Mud (2004), rockabilly singer Malcolm Yelvington (2001), English vocalist Ronnie Hilton (2001), Musical Youth bassist Patrick Waite (1993), DJ Murray “The K” Kaufman, who helped launch the Beatles in the U.S. (1982), reggae singer Jacob Miller of Inner Circle (1980), Janet Vogel, singer with The Skyliners (1980), Nolan Strong of The Diablos (1977)

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

February 23: singer Donnie Brooks (2007), Bob Mayo, guitarist and keyboardist with Peter Frampton (2004), Howie Epstein of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (2003), jazz critic Stanley Dance (1999), singer Melvin Franklin of The Temptations (1995)

February 24: Larry Norman, “father of Christian rock” (2008), co-founder of Stax Records Estelle Axton (2004), ’50s pop crooner Johnnie Ray (1990), blues pianist Memphis Slim aka John Len “Peter” Chatman (1988), Detroit soul singer Ty Hunter (1981)

© Toxic Web

February 19th 1980, was the date Bon Scott spent that fateful night in the back of his mates car in East Dulwich, South London. Thirty years, it’s been thirty bloody years.

Now as much as I like the Brian Johnson AC/DC years, I’ve got all the albums and there’s one absolutely stellar classic in that bunch, I have to say I’m more of a Bon era fan. I can still see the look of amazement on a friends face when I took a little more than a millisecond to say my favourite ‘DC record. It turned to complete shock as she was pointing to her black t-shirt and I said it’s probably “High Voltage” or “Highway To Hell”.

Yes I love “Back In Black” it’s a great album, I can listen to over and over again, but those two were my first and you always remember your first with some affection. “Highway” was the first ‘DC recording I heard, when a mate leant me his. “Voltage” was the first of their albums I bought, second hand, decent nick and to be played by me many a time.

There’s just something about those lyrics, sung in that Bon Scott way, look up sleazy in the dictionary and there’s a pic of Ronald leering back at you.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Favourite Bon story, not one of wine, women and song but one of bagpipes as told to Guitar Buyer magazine by original AC/DC bassist Mark Evans about the recording for “It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)” – video is in the bunch above.

The bagpipes were put on as an afterthought, George Young came up with the idea to put the pipes on it and Bon said: “Oh yeah? Well, I used to play in a pipe band!” So we went down and paid about 500 bucks for a set of these bagpipes, which was an outrageous amount of money then. But then the fucker didn’t even know how to put them together and we said “I thought you said you played in a pipe band? and he said “Well yeah, I used to… but I was the drummer!” - Mark Evans

Rock ‘n’ Roll Singer

My Daddy was workin’ nine to five
When my Momma was havin’ me
By the time I was half alive
They knew what I was gonna be
I left school and grew my hair
They didn’t understand
They wanted me to be respected as
A doctor or a lawyer man
(But I had other plans)
Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll singer
Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll star

Well I worked real hard and bought myself
A rock ‘n’ roll guitar
I gotta be on top some day
I wanna be a star
I can see my name in lights
And I can see the queue
I got the devil in my blood
Tellin’ me what to do
(And I’m all ears)
Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll singer
Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll star
(I hear it pays well)
You can stick your nine to five livin’
And your collar and your tie
And stick your moral standards
‘Cause it’s all a dirty lie
You can stick your golden handshake
And you can stick your silly rules
And all the other shit
That they teach to kids in school
(‘Cause I ain’t no fool)
Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll singer
Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll star
Yes I are!

Just have to forget about the bubblegum era…

Click here to view the embedded video.

© Toxic Web

A follow up to my Small ones are more juicy post the other week, as Andy over at ProGuitarShop.com has stuck up a few more videos of the new Malekko Heavy Industry new Omicron pedals.

Chorus

Click here to view the embedded video.

Phaser

Click here to view the embedded video.

Fuzz

Click here to view the embedded video.

Both look and more importantly sound great. Damn that GAS.

© Toxic Web

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

1946, Freddie Slack and Ella Mae Morse record “House of Blue Lights” … the song will later be recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, the Flamin’ Groovies, and George Thorogood & The Destroyers …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1954, bluesman Joe Turner cuts “Shake, Rattle & Roll” six months before Bill Haley’s version is released … the cover blows up into a giant hit …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1955, Richard Wayne Penniman, soon to be famous as Little Richard, sends his first audition tape to Specialty Records …

1963, The Beatles cut their first album at Abbey Road Studios in a single 10-hour session that cost $600 … the lads are all suffering from colds and John is losing his voice by the time they track “Twist and Shout” … all the tunes are from their set list at the Cavern Club as producer George Martin is intent on capturing the Fab Four with a live vibe … the resulting tracks will be released in the U.S. as Introducing … The Beatles …

1965, The Who audition for the BBC’s Light Programme … though they ultimately make the show by a vote of four to three, one of the judges intones that they are “Overall not very original and below standard” … another judge deems them “ponderous and unentertaining” … and you thought American Idol was brutal! …

1967, working on a tip, British police RAID a party at Redlands, the English estate of Keith Richards, searching for illegal drugs … police find amphetamine pills in singer Mick Jagger’s coat and charge him with possession … Richards is charged with allowing his home to be used for drug-taking and a third guest is charged with heroin possession … Richards spends one night in jail, Jagger gets two … at trial four months later, both Stones are found guilty and given stiff sentences … The London Times gets behind the two rockers, questioning the severity of the sentences in a series of editorials … due to the media pressure, Richard’s conviction is quashed on appeal and Jagger’s prison sentence is reduced to a conditional discharge … Aretha Franklin records her hit single “Respect” at New York’s Atlantic Studios … written by Otis Redding, the record will sell over a million copies and top the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks on its way to becoming both an American classic and Aretha’s biggest hit …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1969, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan enter a Nashville recording studio together for a session that yields the duet “Girl from the North Country” …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1972, upon arriving in Singapore to kick off their first Pacific tour, the members of Led Zeppelin are denied entry because of their long hair … the hairstyles are viewed as a threat to the conservative government’s campaign to reduce the influence of Western culture on its citizens … the band is not permitted to exit the plane and is forced to return to London immediately … the tour begins later in the week in Perth, Australia … Pink Floyd premieres Dark Side of the Moon: A Piece for Assorted Lunatics live in London during a four-day engagement … a year later the band will release the material as the album The Dark Side of the Moon …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1975, Cher’s eponymous TV show debuts a year after her divorce from Sonny Bono … the premiere episode’s guests include Elton John, Bette Midler, and comedian Flip Wilson … Cher’s exposed navel generates much press … the show will last only one season …

1976, Fleetwood Mac begin recording Rumours in Sausalito, California … beset by relationship problems between John and Christine McVie as well as between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, the group manages to funnel their personal angst into song and onto tape … one year later, between the alleged instances of drug abuse, navel-gazing, and general mucking about—for example, taking a whole month to record a bass drum track—the group finally releases the album in February 1977 …

1982, the 300-pound marble slab that marks the grave of former Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zant is stolen in Orange Park, Florida … it is recovered by police two weeks later in a dry riverbed nearby …

1984, Jerry Lee Lewis surrenders to the feds to answer charges of tax evasion … he will later be acquitted …

1986, in an odd pop-culture pairing, Culture Club singer Boy George guest stars on an episode of the popular TV show The A-Team … in the episode, Boy is mistakenly booked as country singer Cowboy George at one of the toughest dance halls in the West … Culture Club performs …

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

1990, Ike Turner is given a four-year prison sentence for a number of cocaine-possession offenses … Aerosmith appear as themselves on Saturday Night Live’s “Wayne’s World” … they play the “Wayne’s World” theme with Garth (Dana Carvey) sitting in on drums … host Tom Hanks plays a roadie making a mic check: “sibilance, sibilance” …

1992, Vince Neil is fired as Mötley Crüe’s lead singer after recording sessions for a new album turn ugly … he is replaced by John Corabi, formerly of The Scream … the resulting album, Mötley Crüe, goes on to be a commercial disappointment for the band … Neil will reunite with the Crüe in 1997 …

1997, U2 announces its upcoming Popmart Tour from where else? K-Mart, of course … the band’s press conference, held in the lingerie department of a Manhattan K-Mart, is a raucous affair, including a performance of the B-side “Holy Joe” as well as the lowdown on the high-tech tour, which will include a giant lemon mirrorball, a 12-foot stuffed olive on a 100-foot toothpick, a towering 100-foot golden arch, and the world’s largest-ever LED screen … guitarist The Edge tells reporters “We believe in kitsch. That’s what we are up to at the moment.” … on the subject of pop, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and his wife Debbie Rowe, welcome their first child at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles … the child is fittingly named Prince Michael Joseph Jackson II …

1998, a bucket-wielding Danber Nobacon of Chumbawamba leaps onto Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott’s table at the Brit Awards in London … 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 is …

2000, during a performance by the Isley Brothers dubbed the Valentine’s Super Love Jam at the L.A. Sports Arena, an LAPD officer shoots and kills a 24-year-old man who has allegedly wounded three people near a concession stand … though the performers and audience have no idea what has transpired, the show concludes an hour early …

2004, though the band has always had an ever-changing lineup, singer-guitarist Josh Homme and bassman Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age have been the constant Queens with a longstanding partnership going back to their days in Kyuss in the early 1990s … that relationship comes to a sudden end when the band’s website announces Oliveri has split, tersely noting “A number of incidents occurring over the last 18 months have led to the decision that the two can no longer maintain a working partnership in the band” …

Click here to view the embedded video.

… Norah Jones’ sophomore album Feels Like Home moves over a million units in its first week, keeping the sultry singer’s mojo going on the charts …

2005, Led Zeppelin, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Janis Joplin receive Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards … 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 comment as he leaves the lockup …

2006, former Creed frontman Scott Stapp is arrested for public drunkenness at Los Angeles International Airport where he’s about to embark on a honeymoon flight to Hawaii with his new bride, the former Miss New York, Jaclyn Nesheiwat … police describe Stapp’s demeanor as “antagonistic, boisterous and pissed off” … he’s booked by the cops after failing a beathalyzer test …

2007, despite being boycotted by country music fans and radio stations after making critical remarks about President George W. Bush’s policies in the run-up to the Iraq War in 2003, the Dixie Chicks nail five Grammys for their unrepentant album Not Ready to Make Nice … other winners include Mary J. Blige who takes home three phonographs for her The Breakthrough album and The Red Hot Chili Peppers whose double-disc Stadium Arcadium scores four awards … a bikini-clad Beyonce is chosen by Sports Illustrated to grace its annual swimsuit issue … in other fashion news, MTV Networks adorns 250 of its employees with a Valentine’s Day pink slip …

2008, Emmylou Harris is named to the Country Music Hall of Fame … she first became known for her duet work with Gram Parsons in the 1970s … after Parsons’ death in 1973, she embarked on a solo career that included pop, country-rock, and Americana … she’s been honored with 12 Grammy Awards … Lenny Kravitz postpones his European tour after being hospitalized for bronchitis … a spokesperson says he is suffering from exhaustion and dehydration …

2009, with the U.S. economy still headed south, long-time purveyor of elevator music Muzak files for bankruptcy … they’re not alone, the newly amalgamated Sirius XM Radio combine is said to be preparing its own Chapter 11 filing while Clear Channel, the nation’s biggest radio station operator, is in the red to the tune of $19 billion with its credit line close to being tapped out …

…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

February 11: Glenn Miller Orchestra sax man Tex Beneke (1914), singer-songwriter, actor, activist Josh White (1915), rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Gene Vincent born Eugene Vincent Craddock (1935), songwriter Gerry Goffin (1939), novelty songster Bobby “Boris” Pickett (1940), Sergio Mendes (1941), keyboard man Stan Szelest (1942), blues singer Little Johnny Taylor (1943), Sheryl Crow (1962), D’Angelo (1974), Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park (1977), “Brandy” Norwood (1979), Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child (1981)

February 12: jazz and rock record producer Bob Shad (1920), singer-songwriter Gene McDaniels (1935), Ray Manzarek of The Doors (1935), Rick Frank of Elephant’s Memory (1942), Stan Knight of Black Oak Arkansas (1949), Steve Hackett of Genesis (1950), Michael McDonald (1952), Chynna Phillips of Wilson-Phillips (1968), Barenaked Lady Jim Creeggan (1970)

February 13: country-pop singer Tennessee Ernie Ford (1919), songwriter Boudleaux Bryant (1920), Gene Ames of The Ames Brothers (1925), Peter Tork of The Monkees (1942), Peter Gabriel (1950), New Order’s Peter Hook (1956), agit-rocker Henry Rollins (1961), The Cult’s Les Warner (1961)

February 14: Beatles-supporting DJ Murray The K, born Murray Kaufman (1922), keyboardist Merl Saunders (1934), bluesman Magic Sam born Sam Maghett (1937), folk singer Eric Anderson (1937), Vic Briggs of The Animals (1945), folk-rock/blues/jazz/R&B singer Tim Buckley (1947), Roger Fisher of Heart (1950), Ice-T, born Tracy Lauren Marrow (1959), Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas (1972)

February 15: blues guitarist Kokomo Arnold (1901), Brian Holland of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team (1941), Mick Avory of The Kinks (1944), Denny Zager of Zager & Evans (1944), John Helliwell of Supertramp (1945), David Brown of Santana (1947), pop singer Melissa Manchester (1951), UB40 singer Ali Campbell (1959), Mikey Craig of Culture Club (1960), Brandon Boyd of Incubus (1976)

February 16: R&B keyboard player Bill Doggett (1916), gospel and doo-wop singer Ted Taylor (1934), singer-songwriter-producer Sonny Bono (1935), Mississippi bluesman James “Super Chikan” Johnson (1951), soul singer James Ingram (1956), Pete Willis of Def Leppard (1960), Andy Taylor of Duran Duran (1961)

February 17: ’50s pop crooner Tommy Edwards (1922), Bobby “Tossin’ and Turnin’” Lewis (1933), singer-songwriter Gene Pitney (1941), Packy Axton, leader and sax player for the Mar-Keys (1941), Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day (1972)

Departures:

February 11: Estelle Bennett of The Ronettes (2009), Jockey Shabala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo (2006), stride pianist Jaki Byard (1999), New Orleans guitarist and composer Rene Hall (1988)

February 12: Chuck Mangione Band guitarist Coleman Mellett (2009), Chuck Mangione Band saxophonist Gerry Niewood (2009), trumpeter John Brunious, leader of New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Band (2008), the original shock rocker Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, born Jalacy Hawkins (2000), Gerald “Bounce” Gregory of the Spaniels (1999), Philip Taylor Kramer, bassist with Iron Butterfly in the ’70s (1995), pianist Eubie Blake (1983), Mississippi Delta bluesman Ishmon Bracey (1970)

February 13: country outlaw Waylon Jennings (2002)

February 14: big band drummer Louie Bellson (2009), Sweet drummer Mick Tucker (2002), Buddy Knox of “Party Doll” fame (1999), Doug Weston, operator of the Troubadour club in L.A. (1999), Roy Lanham of Sons of the Pioneers (1991)

February 15: guitarist/Fender consultant Bill Carson (2007), songwriter Ray Evans (2007), rapper Big L, born Lamont Coleman (1999), George Suranovich, drummer for L.A. rock band Love (1990), Jimmy Holiday, singer and songwriter for Ray Charles (1987), Broadway belter Ethel Merman (1984), bluesman Mike Bloomfield (1981), blues harp player Little Walter (1968), vocalist-pianist Nat “King” Cole (1965)

February 16: producer-arranger Sid Feller (2006), soul singer Doris Troy (2004), folk-blues guitarist Walter “Brownie” McGhee (1996), Hombres drummer John Hunter (1976)

February 17: guitarist Mary Kaye (2007), percussionist and bandleader Ray Barretto (2006), Bill Cowsill, lead singer of the Cowsills (2005), Louisiana rockabilly star Jackie Lee Cochran (1998), Thelonious Sphere Monk (1982), Zenon DeFleur, guitarist with punk group Count Bishops (1979), Hollywood film composer Alfred Newman, uncle of Randy Newman (1970)

© Toxic Web

Bill Ruppert is back with his excellent series of Effectology videos where he uses just a standard guitar a few well chosen Electro-Harmonix effects pedals to make some weird non-guitar noises.

This time round it’s the haunting sound of the Uilleann pipes. Now if you don’t know what they are but heard they were bagpipes, then don’t let that put you off. No you aren’t going to be bombarded with that god awful screeching caterwaul associated with the word bagpipes.

Nope these ain’t the standard Jock version, so no “Scotland The Brave” à la Norman Stanley Fletcher – “Come where the hands are clapping, come where the toes are tapping, come where the jocks are strapping.” (about 5:20 in)

So bill starts off with a harmonic drone from the following pedals: HOG, Electric Mistress, Memory Man. Then a giant field drum from: Big Muff, Cathedral Reverb.

Then the actual pipes from: Big Muff, Hog, Memory Man, Cathedral. With a string background from: Soul Preacher, POG2, volume pedal, Memory Man.

Settings for all of the pedals can be found HERE.

Click here to view the embedded video.

© Toxic Web

1958, 14-year-old George Harrison demonstrates his guitar prowess by playing the Bill Justus instrumental “Raunchy” for an impressed John Lennon and Paul McCartney while the three are riding a Liverpool bus … he’s invited to join their group, The Quarry Men, thus forming the front line of what will become The Beatles … 30 years later to the day, Harrison’s last American chart single “When We Was Fab,” a remembrance of the Beatles era, enters the Top 100 …

1960, “Money (That’s What I Want)” recorded by Barrett Strong for the Tamla label, enters the Billboard charts and ultimately rises to #23 … the song was written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, becoming the first hit record for Gordy’s Motown enterprise … the song will be covered by a plethora of artists including The Beatles, John Lennon during his solo career, Buddy Guy, The Trashmen, Dave Matthews Band, The Kingsmen, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Ike & Tina Turner, Bern Elliott and the Fenmen, Pearl Jam, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Flying Lizards, Shonen Knife, The Pretenders, Scissor Sisters, Secret Machines, The Sonics, The Smashing Pumpkins, Hanson, The B-52’s, Cheap Trick, Josie and the Pussycats, Great White, RC Succession, The Blues Brothers, The Avengers; plus Motown label mates The Supremes, Jr. Walker & the All Stars, The Miracles, Etta James, Jimmy Barnes, Waylon Jennings and Boyz II Men … the song will also featured in the movie Animal House, performed by John Belushi …

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

1964, Beatlemania reaches a feverish pitch when The Fab Four deplane in New York and are greeted by thousands of screaming teenyboppers … that same day Baskin-Robbins unveils its newest flavor: Beatle-Nut … The Beatles make their live American TV debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, reaching the eyes and ears of over 70-million viewers, the largest television audience ever recorded at the time … the show receives over 50,000 requests for tickets …

The Beatles – “Twist And Shout” / “Please Please Me” / “I Want To Hold Your Hand”

Click here to view the embedded video.

1969, George Harrison’s tonsils are removed at University College Hospital in London … it is reported that they have been destroyed to prevent the glands from turning up in the memorabilia market …

1969, former Cream members Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, together with ex-Traffic singer-keyboardist Stevie Winwood, announce auditions for a bass player to join them in a new quartet … with Rick Grech recruited, the band becomes the short-lived supergroup, Blind Faith …

1972, former Beatle Paul McCartney’s new band Wings, featuring his wife Linda and former Moody Blues singer Denny Laine, plays its first concert at Nottingham University in the UK …

1977, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours is released … the LP races to the #1 slot on the album chart where it remains for 31 weeks … it ultimately moves over 17-million platters … ABC-TV’s American Bandstand celebrates its 25th birthday with a TV special hosted by perennial teenager Dick Clark … an eclectic all-star band that includes Chuck Berry, Gregg Allman, Johnny Rivers, Donald Byrd, Chuck Mangione, Seals & Crofts, Junior Walker, The Pointer Sisters, Charlie Daniels, Doc Severenson, Les McCann, and three-quarters of Booker T and the MGs, plays “Roll Over Beethoven” …

1979, Stephen Stills is the first rock act to record on digital gear at L.A.’s Record Plant but the tracks are never released … guitarist Ry Cooder’s rockabilly-inflected album Bop ‘Til You Drop becomes the first ones-and-zeroes pop record …

1981, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau inducts Joni Mitchell into the Juneau Hall of Fame …

1990, Billy Idol fractures an arm and leg in a Hollywood motorcycle wreck … the mishap dashes his plans to play a major role in Oliver Stone’s film, The Doors …

1995, Bob Marley’s backup singing group, The I-Threes, which includes his widow Rita, stages a 50th birthday concert for the late reggae star at the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, Jamaica … son Ziggy Marley also performs …

1999, Foo Fighter Dave Grohl and his music publisher sue movie distribution outfit Miramax for unauthorized use of the Fighters’ hit “Big Me” in the trailer for the film Rounders …

2000, ABBA rejects an offer of nearly $1 billion to reunite for a world tour after being apart for 17 years … it’s the largest rejection in history … apparently Frank Zappa was only in it for the money; ABBA is all about the art …

2005, Courtney Love, the woman who put the “court” in Courtney, pleads no contest to charges of assaulting musician Kristin King … she is ordered by a Los Angeles court to take anger-management classes, pay a $1,000 fine, and perform 100 hours of community service … Love then travels across town to a Beverly Hills court where a judge reduces her two felony charges of illegal possession of prescription drugs to one misdemeanor … she is ordered to continue a rehab program she is already enrolled in and avoid alcohol and drugs …

2006, Israel Ramirez, a Busta Rhymes bodyguard, is shot dead outside a Brooklyn studio where his boss is recording a video … word on the street is that the shooting resulted from rapper Tony Yayo being ejected from the session for being disruptive … this brings new meaning to the judgment “does not work and play well with others” …

2007, Van Halen announces they’ll be touring with David Lee Roth’s tonsils aboard for the first time since 1984 …

Van Halen – “And The Cradle Will Rock” 2007

Click here to view the embedded video.

… Prince keeps his costume intact while delivering a well-received halftime show at the Super Bowl … a Los Angeles court grants producer Phil Spector a $900,000 judgment against a former assistant whom he claimed had embezzled the money from his pension fund … Spector will need all that money and more to defend against murder charges involving the death of starlet Lana Clarkson … in a convoluted deal between Apple (formerly Apple Computer Inc.) and The Beatles’ Apple Corps, the Mac-maker acquires rights to all Apple logos used by both companies and will license the green apple logo back to Apple Corps … country singer Keith Urban files suit against New Jersey painter Keith D. Urban, claiming that the latter’s website, keithurban.net, misleads people into believing the site is related to the performer … the suit does not specify any monetary damages and asks the court to transfer the URL to the country star … the painter countersues … Apple chief Steve Jobs calls on record companies to quit building anti-piracy features into digital music … SoundScan reports that January 2007 was the worst month for record sales since it began tracking sales in 1991 … with only 34.1 million records sold, the industry is down 40% compared to a decade earlier …

2008, Green Day frontman Billy Joe Armstrong plays a five-date mini-tour with his side project, Pinhead Gunpowder … at the Troubador club in West L.A., Armstrong is faced with an arsenal of fans pointing their cell-phone cameras at him … he tells the crowd to put the cameras away saying, “YouTube can’t own everything. There’s also something called memories.” … hours after a Velvet Revolver show in L.A., vocalist Scott Weiland checks himself into rehab … it’s reported that AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” has become one of the most requested funeral songs in Australia …

Click here to view the embedded video.

2009, Death Cab For Cutie organizes a mock-political campaign against Auto Tune abuse in music …

…and that was the week that was in matters musical.

Arrivals:

Feb 4: Bernie West of The Five Keys (1930), The Animals’ John Steel (1941), Florence LaRue of the Fifth Dimension (1944), saxophonist John Stubblefield (1945), Alice Cooper aka Vincent Furnier (1948), Phil Ehart of Kansas (1951), Humble Pie’s Jerry Shirley (1952), country singer Clint Black (1962), singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia (1975), Rick Burch of Jimmy Eat World (1975), rapper-actor Cam’ron, AKA Killa Cam (1976)

Feb 5: rural blues harmonica player Will Shade (1898), Samie “Sticks” Evans, session drummer with Ray Charles and James Brown (1923), Louisiana rockabilly star Jackie Lee Cochran (1934), Alex Harvey, Scottish jazz and blues bandleader (1935), soul singer-songwriter Barrett Strong (1941), country singer Henson Cargill (1942), Cory Wells of Three Dog Night (1942), Chuck Winfield of Blood, Sweat & Tears (1943), Al Kooper, founder of Blood, Sweat & Tears (1943), J.R. Cobb of Atlanta Rhythm Section (1944), Steve Miller Band’s Dave Denny (1948), Elton John drummer Nigel Olsson (1949), Steppenwolf bassist Andy Chapin (1952), Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses/Velvet Revolver (1964), Chris Barron of Spin Doctors (1968), Bobby Brown of New Edition (1969)

Feb 6: songwriter-musician Leon Rene (1902), teen idol Fabiano Forte AKA Fabian (1943), funk and soul keyboardist-singer-songwriter Wilson “Willie Tee” Turbinton (1944), reggae pioneer Bob Marley (1945), Richie Hayward, drummer with Little Feat (1946), Canadian folksinger Kate McGarrigle (1946), singer-songwriter-performer Natalie Cole (1950), Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses, born William Bruce Rose (1962), pop singer Rick Astley, famous for unwittingly Rickrolling unsuspecting YouTube viewers (1966)

Feb 7: pianist Eubie Blake (1883), bluegrass singer Wilma Lee Cooper (1921), Warren Smith, rockabilly artist discovered by Roy Orbison (1932), king of soul sax, King Curtis, born Curtis Ousley (1934), the first lady of bluegrass mandolin, Donna Stoneman (1934), Earl King, major New Orleans singer, guitarist, and songwriter (1934), Walter Scott, lead vocalist for Bob Kuban and the In Men (1943), country singer-songwriter Sammy Johns (1946), Jimmy Greenspoon of Three Dog Night (1948), Alan Lancaster of Status Quo (1949), Brian Travers of UB40 (1959), Steve Bronski of Bronski Beat (1960), keyboardist David Bryan of Bon Jovi (1962), country music artist Garth Brooks (1962)

Feb 8: composer John Williams (1932), rockabilly artist Donnie Owens (1932), folk singer Tom Rush (1941), Creed Bratton II of the Grass Roots (1943), Jim Capaldi of Traffic (1944), Adolfo “Fito” De La Parra of Canned Heat (1946), Vince Neil of Motley Crue (1961), Sam Llanas of The BoDeans (1961), Collective Soul’s Will Turpin (1971), Darren “Phoenix” Farrell of Linkin Park (1977)

Feb 9: country music pioneer Ernest Tubb (1914), Chicago soul singer Johnny Sayles (1932), prolific Canadian folk singer “Stompin” Tom Connors (1936), singer-songwriter Carole King, born Carole Klein (1942), Dennis Thomas of Kool & the Gang (1951), country artist Travis Tritt (1963)

Feb 10: singer Jimmy Durante (1893), zydeco accordionist Rockin’ Dopsie, born Alton Jay Rubin (1932), Don Wilson of The Ventures (1933), singer-songwriter Roberta Flack (1939), James Merchant of Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers (1940), noted Elvis impersonator Ral Donner (1943), folk singer-songwriter Donovan, born Donovan Phillip Leitch (1946), folksinger-songwriter Tom Jans (1949), pop singer Robbie Nevil (1961), Cliff Burton of Metallica (1962)

Departures:

Feb 4: Cramps founder and punk pioneer Lux Interior (2009), pioneering black singer-actress Barbara McNair (2007), composer Iannis Xenakis, pioneer of stochastic music (2001), mandolinist Jethro Burns of Homer and Jethro (1989), Vincent Crane, leader of Atomic Rooster (1989), Australian singer-songwriter Trevor Lucas (1989), flamboyant pianist Liberace (1987), Paul Gardiner, bassist with Gary Numan’s The Tubeway Army (1984), singer-drummer Karen Carpenter of The Carpenters (1983), alto sax-playing singer and band leader Louis Jordan (1975), saxophone inventor Adolphe Sax (1894), singer-pianist Cecil Gant (1951)

Feb 5: Tim Kelly, guitarist for metal rockers Slaughter (1998), Rudy Pompilli, sax player and bandleader of Bill Haley’s Comets (1976)

Feb 6: Mutsumi Fukuhara of Super Junky Monkey (1999), Carl Wilson, founding member of the Beach Boys (1998), Australian techno-pop star Falco (1998), composer-conductor Hugo Montenegro (1981), R&B balladeer Jesse Belvin (1960)

Feb 7: jazz singer and pianist Blossom Dearie, born Marguerite Blossom Dearie (2009), big-voiced crooner and balladeer Frankie Laine (2007), Real Kids bassist Allen “Alpo” Paulino (2006), Elton Dean, British sax man with Soft Machine and Elton John (2006), “Ring of Fire” co-writer Merle Kilgore (2005), singer-songwriter Dale Evans, born Lucille Wood Smith (2001), Dave Peverett of Foghat (2000), songwriter Bobby Troup (1999), smooth British crooner Matt Monro (1985), Al Smith, Chicago blues producer and bassist (1974), New Orleans blues guitarist Eddie “Guitar Slim” Jones (1959)

Feb 8: Buffalo Springfield drummer Dewey Martin (2009), Keith Knudsen of The Doobie Brothers (2005), pioneering jazz organist Jimmy Smith (2005), pop singer Del Shannon, born Charles Weedon Westover (1990)

Feb 9: guitarist-songwriter-producer Scott Turner (2009), Cuban bassist Orlando “Cachaito” Lopez (2009), soul singer Tyrone Davis (2005), Billy Jones, guitarist with The Outlaws (1995), The Reverend Dr. James Cleveland, gospel singer, arranger, and composer (1991), Bill Haley of Bill Haley & His Comets (1981), jump blues bandleader Buddy Johnson who wrote “Since I Fell For You” (1977)

Feb 10: rock ‘n’ roll singer Freddie Bell (2008), ’60s NY folkie and Dylan mentor Dave Van Ronk (2002), saxophonist Buddy Tate (2001), Brian Connolly of Sweet (1997), British music promoter Tony Secunda (1995), Stooges bassist Dave Alexander (1975)

© Toxic Web

1945, The Andrews Sisters’ “Rum & Coca Cola” is the #1 pop hit and will become the biggest seller of the year …

1956, Elvis Presley makes his national television debut on The Dorsey Brothers’ Stage Show singing “Heartbreak Hotel”…

Click here to view the embedded video.

…The Coasters are signed to Atlantic Records … the doo-wop act goes on to score 19 hits in the ensuing 15 years including such novelty smashes as “Charlie Brown” and “Poison Ivy” …

1958, The Champs release “Tequila” which will become one of the more successful one-word songs …

Click here to view the embedded video.

…Little Richard announces that he is retiring from music at the peak of his popularity to become a minister … the pomaded rocker will flip-flop between his sacred and profane predilections in the coming years …

1959, the world of pop music takes a big hit when a small plane crashes into an Iowa cornfield killing Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson … the three pop stars, who were in the midst of a tour dubbed the Winter Dance Party, had chartered the plane to get to their next gig in Fargo, North Dakota, as an alternative to making the long haul in their tour bus with its defective heater … spared in the tragedy was bassist Waylon Jennings who gave up his seat on the plane …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1961, Bob Dylan cuts his first record, “San Francisco Bay Blues” …

1965, Rocker P.J. Proby splits his pants during a Luton show … the incident gets a big reaction from the crowd and Proby makes the ripping riff a permanent part of his act, though it led to performance bans by the ABC theatre chain, its TV namesake and BBC TV …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1967, British pop producer Joe Meek, who developed many innovative recording techniques, fatally shotguns his landlady following an argument, then turns the gun on himself with equally deadly results … while browsing in a London antique shop, John Lennon comes across a 19th-century circus poster that incorporates most of what will become the lyrics of “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” …

1969, The Beatles, with Billy Preston joining them on organ, perform in public as a group for the last time on the roof of the Apple Studios building … the filmed rooftop concert ends after four songs when police show up on a noise complaint from the neighbors …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1972, more than 40,000 mourners file past Mahalia Jackson’s coffin to pay final respects to the renowned gospel singer who died four days earlier … at her funeral the next day, Sammy Davis Jr. reads a letter from President Nixon and Aretha Franklin sings “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” …

1973, keyboardist Keith Emerson’s hands are injured when a piano that’s been rigged with pyrotechnics explodes prematurely during an Emerson, Lake and Palmer concert in San Francisco … Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock” goes to #1 on the Billboard Pop Chart … it’s the singer’s first visit to the top of the U.S. chart … NBC debuts TV’s first rock concert series, Midnight Special … the show’s announcer is gravel-throated DJ Wolfman Jack and each episode features a guest host … the show will air through 1981 … KISS performs their first show at the Coventry Club in Queens … they have yet to develop their trademark look … Paul Stanley will later characterize the band’s appearance as a New York Dolls look …

1977, Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green is dispatched to the funny farm following an incident in which he attacked an accountant attempting to deliver a royalty check for $30,000 … turns out Green didn’t want the green …

1980, commemorating the first anniversary of Sid Vicious’ death, 1,000 punks stage a march in London … the dead Sex Pistol’s mother, Ann Beverly, had been slated to head the parade, but she’s in hospital recovering from a drug overdose …

1985, the single “We Are The World” is recorded in L.A. by 46 rock stars led by Michael Jackson to raise money for charity …

1988, The Cars reach the end of the road …

1991, Irish singer Sinead O’Connor is nominated in four Grammy categories and announces that she won’t accept any awards saying the show reflects “false and destructive, materialistic values” …

1993, graphic artist Reid Miles dies at 65 … he designed iconic album covers for Blue Note Records in the ’50s and ’60s and his style has been copped by many others …

2004, James Brown is arrested on charges of domestic violence for pushing his wife to the floor during an argument … he later pleads no contest…

2006, a letter written by Don Law, the producer of Robert Johnson’s 1936 and 1937 San Antonio recording sessions is unearthed providing and confirming valuable details of the enigmatic blues pioneer’s sessions … the management firm representing singer Avril Lavigne provides defense money for an Arlington, TX man who has been sued by the recording industry for sharing downloaded music …among the songs involved is Lavigne’s own “Sk8er Boi” …

2009, Metal band Iron Maiden is going soft … that is, if you go by the hotel in London they’re financing … the posh Sanctum Soho features a 24-hour bar, a rooftop hot tub, and mini-bars built inside amp stacks … trashing of rooms by naughty rockers is neither encouraged nor discouraged …

…and that was the week that was in matters musical.

Arrivals:

January 28: piano virtuoso Arthur Rubinstein (1887), songwriter Irving Gordon (1915), British jazzman and club owner Ronnie Scott (1927), clarinetist Mr. Acker Bilk (1929), bluesman David “Junior” Kimbrough (1930), dub producer King Tubby (1941), Brian Keenan of the Chambers Brothers (1944), Dick Taylor of The Pretty Things (1944), Nedra Talley of The Ronettes (1946), Rick Allen of The Box Tops (1946), Mountain’s Corky Laing (1948), The Alarm’s Dave Sharp (1959), Lilith Fair founder Sarah McLachlan (1968), rapper Rakim (1968), Cypress Hill’s Muggs (1968), Joey Fatone of *NSYNC (1977), Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys (1980)

January 29: Huddie Ledbetter AKA Lead Belly (1889), Chicago bluesman Eddie Taylor (1923), masterful Motown bassist James Jamerson (1936), jazz pianist Bobby Scott (1937), Peter Cowap of Herman’s Hermits (1944), David Byron of Uriah Heep (1947), Tommy Ramone of the Ramones (1949), Louie Perez of Los Lobos (1953), rapper Mitch McDowell of General Kane (1954), Eddie Jackson of Queensryche (1961)

January 30: R&B singer Ruth Brown (1928), Mississippi bluesman Big Jack Johnson (1940), Joe Terry of Danny & the Juniors (1941), Marty Balin of The Jefferson Airplane (1942), Sandy Yaguda of Jay & the Americans (1943), Steve Marriott of Small Faces and Humble Pie (1947), William King of the Commodores (1949), Mary Ross of Quarterflash (1951), Steve Bartek of OingoBoingo (1952), Shalamar’s Jody Watley (1959), Jonny Lang (1981)

January 31: Franz Schubert (1979), vaudeville favorite Eddie Cantor (1892), ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax (1915), singer Mario Lanza (1921), Broadway star Carol Channing (1923), Chuck Willis, R&B and rock singer-songwriter (1928), composer Phillip Glass (1937), harpmeister Charlie Musselwhite (1944), Chicago’s Terry Kath (1946), Harry Wayne Casey of K.C. & The Sunshine Band (1951), Phil Collins (1951), Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music (1951), harp player Paul deLay (1952), Johnny Lyden aka Johnny Rotten (1956), Slayer’s Jeff Hanneman (1964), Al Jaworski of Jesus Jones (1966), Jason Cooper of The Cure (1967), Justin Timberlake (1981)

February 1: rock music critic Lillian Roxon (1932), Bob Shane of The Kingston Trio (1934), Don Everly of The Everly Brothers (1937), Dr. Hook’s Ray Sawyer (1937), Jimmy Carl Black of The Mothers of Invention (1938), Rick James (1952), Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1954), Lisa Marie Presley (1968), Patrick Wilson of Weezer (1969), Outkast’s Big Boi (1975)

February 2: bluesman Walter Vinson (1901), saxophonist Red Prysock (1926), Stan Getz (1927), Skip Battin of The Byrds (1934), Clarence Quick of the Dell Vikings (1937), Graham Nash (1942), Ronnie Goodson of Ronnie and the Hi-Lites (1945), Howard Bellamy of the Bellamy Brothers (1946), Peter Lucia of Tommy James and The Shondells (1947), Alan McKay of Earth, Wind & Fire (1948), Journey’s Ross Valory (1949), jazz bassist Alphonso Johnson (1951), Jeff Healy Band drummer Tom Stephen (1955), Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots (1966), Ben Mize of Counting Crows (1971), Shakira (1977)

February 3: romantic-era composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809), jazz saxophonist John Handy (1933), Apollo Theater regular Varetta Dillard (1933), Johnny “Guitar” Watson (1935), David Lerchey of the Dell-Vikings (1937), Angelo D’Aleo of Dion & The Belmonts (1940), Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart (1941), Eric Haydock of the Hollies (1943), Dennis Edwards of The Temptations (1943), Johnny Cymbal (1945), Dave Davies of The Kinks (1947), pop singer Melanie Safka (1947), Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth (1956), Tony Butler of Big Country (1957), Lol Tolhurst of The Cure (1959)

Departures:

January 28: Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi (2005), recording pioneer John Mosley (1996), D.O.A. drummer Ken Jensen (1995), Uriah Heep’s David Byron (1985), “British Elvis” Billy Fury (1983)

January 29: guitarist-singer-songwriter John Martyn (2009), jazz/R&B sax man Hank Crawford (2009), founder of The Quarry Men Eric Griffiths (2005), David Lerchey of The Dell-Vikings (2005), seminal blues bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon (1992), Herman “Sunny” Chaney of The Jaguars (1989), Sir Edward Lewis (1980), one-man-band Jesse “Lone Cat” Fuller (1976)

January 30: songwriter Julius Dixon (2004), jazz producer Bob Thiele (1996), bluesman Sam “Lightnin’” Hopkins (1982), influential New Orleans pianist Professor Longhair, born Henry Roeland Byrd (1980), rockabilly singer Warren Smith (1980), songster Mance Lipscomb (1976)

January 31: Barbara Cowsill, mother of The Cowsills (1985), saxophonist Gregory Herbert, member of the 1978 incarnation of Blood, Sweat & Tears (1978), R&B singer-songwriter Buster Brown (1976), swamp bluesman Slim Harpo (1970)

February 1: singer Molly Bee (2009), songwriter John Jarrad (2001), Julius Wechter of Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass and The Baja Marimba Band (1999), Delta slide-guitarist Johnny Littlejohn (1994), Paul Robi, baritone singer with The Platters (1989), music publisher Dick James (1986), Ulysses “Ronnie” Hicks of The Five Keys (1955)

February 2: country harmonica player Terry McMillan (2007), Billy Henderson of the Spinners (2007), singer Eric von Schmidt, who influenced Bob Dylan (2007), Joe Hunter, pianist with The Funk Brothers, Motown’s in-house studio band (2007), James Blackwood, the “Frank Sinatra of Gospel,” (2002), songwriter Hal Blair (2001), David McComb of The Triffids (1999), jazz drummer and bandleader Mel Lewis (1990), Blue Note Records founder Alfred Lion (1987), bluesman Sam Chatmon (1983), Sex Pistol Sid Vicious (1979)

February 3: pedal steel guitarist Tom Brumley (2009), saxman Cornelius Bumpus (2004), jazz trombonist James Louis “J.J.” Johnson (2001), R&B legend and dancer Gwen Guthrie (1999), session guitarist “Wild” Jimmy Spruill (1996), Max Yasgur, the dairy farmer who hosted the Woodstock festival (1973), Scottish rock singer Alex Harvey (1982), British pop producer Joe Meek (1967), Buddy Holly (1959), Ritchie Valens (1959), J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson (1959)

© Toxic Web

After the Winter NAMM show finish a few days back there’s a large number of new must have guitar effects pedals to induce some post-Chrimbo GAS. And it has to be said theexcellent videos Andy does for ProGuitarShop.com doesn’t help with this affliction.

What of course caught my eye is more small ones, having already got my hands on a trio of little dirt boxes already…

…(left to right) Catalinbread HyperPak Dirty Channel, Catalinbread V8 Fuzz Tone Engine, Devi Ever Affector 13 05 Clipping Boost. All three have pretty much become my go to pedals for jobs they do, the V8 replacing my Tonefactor Huckleberry as my fuzz of choice.

And so with the introduction of the Malekko Heavy Industry new Omicron series of mini pedals, the reverb and vibrato that Andy demonstrates so well…

Click here to view the embedded video.

..along with the others mentioned at What’s That Dude Play? – a fuzz, chorus and phaser.

Add them to the mini line from Lovepedal – Echo Baby delay, Pickle Vibe, Babyface tremolo, AMP 50 Overdrive…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Then the rest of the bantam line from Catalinbread – Ottava Magus, Serrano clean boost and Valcoder Repeat Percussion Tremolo. A few of Devi Ever’s other mini line say the silicon fuzz and overdrive, bung in the EP Boost from Xotic and you could have a hell of big sounding small pedal board with most bases covered.

© Toxic Web

1956, Buddy Holly records his first Decca singles at a session in Nashville …

1959, armed with just an acoustic guitar and tape recorder, Buddy Holly holes up in his New York City apartment to lay down the last tracks he will record … tunes include “Crying, Waiting, Hoping” and “Peggy Sue Got Married” … Coral Records will mix in backing instrumentation later and release the songs posthumously …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1966, Nancy Sinatra, the most famous fruit of Frank’s loins, enters the Hot 100 for the second time with the timeless cheek and brassy cool of “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1967, Aretha Franklin lays down her first tracks for Atlantic at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, including the steaming ballad “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” … the Muscle Shoals sessions are the first to fully exploit Franklin’s soulful vocal skills … at her former label, Columbia, she had been given syrupy, string-laden ballads to sing …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1970, Dr. Robert Moog introduces the Minimoog …

1971, China, the daughter of Jefferson Airplane bandmates Grace Slick and Paul Kantner, is born at French Hospital in San Francisco … a joke Slick makes at a nurse’s expense spawns a decades-long urban myth that the baby was named God … the little girl appears on the cover of the 1972 Slick/Kantner album Sunfighter, which includes a song about her, creatively titled “China” …

1974, Neil Young halts a New York performance to read a message handed to him on stage … “Peace has come,” he announces, referring to the signing of the Paris Peace Accords signifying the formal end of the Vietnam War … the crowd spontaneously celebrates with bouts of hugging and kissing as Young fires up a particularly incendiary version of “Southern Man” …

1980, Saturday Night Live comedian John Belushi busts out his rawest Blues Brothers chops in a post-birthday jam with The Dead Boys at The Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles …

The Dead Boys – “Caught With The Meat In Your Mouth” & “Hey Little Girl” (w/John Belushi on drums) 1978

Click here to view the embedded video.

1982, as record collectors everywhere drool, the University of Mississippi receives the entire record collection of bluesman and ex-disc jockey B.B. King … the veritable audio treasure trove is B.B.’s effort to enrich the university’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture and includes about 20,000 blues records …

1984, Michael Jackson’s hair is ignited by pyrotechnics while filming a commercial for Pepsi … he suffers scalp and neck burns requiring hospitalization … Jackson will recover and the commercial will eventually air sans footage of Michael in flames … the event is later parodied in Neil Young’s video, “This Note’s for You” and in Eminem’s clip “Just Lose It” …

1986, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame holds its first induction ceremony in New York City … started just three years prior, it will be nine more years before the Hall has a proper building …

1995, Courtney Love is tried on charges of abusing a flight attendant on a Qantas flight after she is asked to remove her feet from a cabin wall … Love is sentenced to a month’s good behavior … apparently Australian courts have no concept of cruel and unusual punishment … Alan Jackson’s single “Gone Country” settles in at the top of the Billboard country chart 23 weeks after it entered the countdown … it’s the longest stretch any hit has taken on its way to the top slot …

2005, New York hip-hop station Hot 97 fires producer Rick Delgado for creating and airing a parody of the 1985 single “We Are the World” named “The Tsunami Song” … peppered with racially charged lyrics and trivializing the Asian disaster, the song is aired by radio personality Todd Lynn who is also fired while host Miss Jones and two staff members are suspended for two weeks … the station’s corporate parent company announces that it will donate $1 million to tsunami relief …

2007, Jimi Hendrix fans react with indignation to the launch of a canned beverage dubbed Liquid Experience bearing a likeness of the guitar master … this isn’t the first time his image has been used to peddle non-music products … it’s turned up on baby clothes, an air freshener, lava lamp, and even a Christmas ornament … Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea who sports a prominent Jimi tatoo is especially contemptuous: “To see his image and the beautiful feelings it has created during my lifetime cheapened by base advertising … is very disappointing to me” … in Chicago, Buddy Guy’s blues club, Legends, loses its lease and the bluesman, who opened the night spot in 1989 ruefully observes, “They don’t get any good until they turn 60. The club is just now getting a little successful, and now I gotta move it” …

2008, Ringo Starr walks off the set of TV’s Live With Regis and Kelly, rather than cut short a song he was scheduled to play … the snafu results from miscommunication between the show’s producers and Starr’s people … Starr offers to cut short his chat time with the hosts to accommodate the four-minute song, but when the producers insist the performance be cut to two-and-a-half minutes, the drummer takes a hike … in London, bad-girl singer Amy Winehouse enters rehab after a string of arrests and confrontations involving drugs and drink …

2009, the musician formerly known as Cat Stevens releases a song to benefit the children of Gaza … Yusuf Islam’s rendition of the George Harrison song “The Day the World Gets Round” features German bassist and former Beatles collaborator Klaus Voorman … all proceeds from the song will be donated to the U.N. agency in charge of Palestinian refugees … this same week, director John Landis sues Michael Jackson charging that he is still owed his share of the profits from the “Thriller” video Landis directed …

…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

January 21: Wolfman Jack (1939), Richie Havens (1941), opera tenor Placido Domingo (1941), singer Billy Ocean born Leslie Sebastian Charles (1950), Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC (1965)

January 22: Sam Cooke (1931), The Shirelles’ Addie Harris (1941), Nolan Strong of The Diablos (1934), punk impresario Malcolm McLaren (1946), Meat Loaf aka Marvin Lee Aday (1946), Steve Perry of Journey (1949), Michael Hutchence of INXS (1960), Steven Adler of Guns N’ Roses (1965), DJ Jazzy Jeff (1965), songwriter-producer Willa Ford (1981)

January 23: jukebox builder David Rockola (1897), gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt (1910), Eugene Church of The Clovers (1938), Jerry Lawson of The Persuasions (1944), Anita Pointer of The Pointer Sisters (1948), Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers (1950), Danny Federici of the E Street Band (1950), Bill Cunningham of The Box Tops (1950), Robin Zander of Cheap Trick (1953), Anita Baker (1958), UB40’s Earl Falconer (1959)

January 24: Gene Mumford, lead singer of Billy Ward & The Dominos (1925), Doug Kershaw (1936), novelty country singer Ray Stevens (1939), Aaron Neville (1941), Neil Diamond (1941), Warren Zevon (1947), Jools Holland (1958)

January 25: blues guitarist Dan Sane (1904), Scottish folk revivalist Ewan McColl (1915), ABBA manager Stig Andersson (1931), Bill Justis Band guitarist Sidney Manker (1932), singer-dancer Chita Rivera (1933), Etta James (1938), Malcolm Green of Split Enz (1953), Richard Finch of KC & the Sunshine Band (1954), Terry Chimes of The Clash (1955), Andy Cox of Fine Young Cannibals and English Beat (1956), Roxy Music’s Gary Tibbs (1958), Iggy Pop bassist Craig Pike (1963), Alicia Keys (1981)

January 26: jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli (1908), record executive Nat Tarnopol (1931), New Orleans keyboardist Huey “Piano” Smith (1934), The Teddy Bears’ Marshall Lieb (1939), Derek Holt of the Climax Blues Band (1949), David Briggs of Little River Band (1951), Andy Hummell of Big Star (1951), Lucinda Williams (1953), Edward Van Halen (1957), Norman Hassan of UB40 (1958), Wham’s Andrew Ridgley (1963), Soul II Soul’s Jazzie B. (1963), gospel star Kirk Franklin (1970)

January 27: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756), composer Jerome Kern (1885), blues legend Elmore James (1918), Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., AKA David Seville, creator of The Chipmunks (1919), Nick Mason of Pink Floyd (1945), Seth Justman of The J. Geils Band (1951), Brian Downey of Thin Lizzy (1951), Cowboy Junkies’ Margo Timmins (1961), New Order’s Gillian Gilbert (1961), Faith No More’s Mike Patton (1968)

Departures:

January 21: glam-rock star Les Gray (2004), Peggy Lee (2002), blues pianist and singer Charles Brown (1999), Elvis manager “Colonel” Tom Parker (1997), bluesman Champion Jack Dupree (1992), mid-’80s rapper Mitch McDowell (1992), Steve Wahrer of The Trashmen (1989), soul singer Jackie Wilson (1984)

January 22: bandleader Billy May (2004), songwriter Irwin Levine of “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” fame (1997), Billy MacKenzie of The Associates (1997), Wally Whyton of The Vipers (1997), Riot’s Rhett Forrester (1994), Tommy Tucker of “High Heel Sneakers” fame (1982)

January 23: Johnny Funches of The Dells (1998), “Louie Louie” composer Richard Berry (1997), gospel songwriter Thomas A. Dorsey (1993), blues guitarist James “Thunderbird” Davis (1992), Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins (1990), Carl Feaster of The Chords (1981), Terry Kath of Chicago (1978), Vic Ames of the Ames Brothers (1978), jazz trombonist Edward “Kid” Ory (1973), blues songstress Big Maybelle Smith (1972)

January 24: James “Shep” Sheppard of Shep & the Limelites (1997), The Association founder Brian Cole (1995), producer and half of C&C Music Factory David Cole (1994), film composer Ken Darby (1992), Bill Horton of The Silhouettes (1955)

January 25: pop singer Ray Peterson (2005), choral conductor Robert Shaw (1999), New Orleans guitarist and singer Alvin “Shine” Robinson (1989), Lamar Williams of The Allman Brothers (1983), R&B singer Chris Kenner (1976)

January 26: blues drummer S. P. Leary (1998), jukebox mogul David Rockola (1993), disco warbler Karen Young (1991), New Orleans singer Donnie Elbert (1989)

January 27: Tin Pan Alley composer Gerald Marks (1997), vocalist Candy Givens of Zephyr (1984), gospel singer Mahalia Jackson (1972)

© Toxic Web

1944, jazz comes to the Met for the first time when Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge, and Jack Teagarden take the stage and show ’em how it’s done …

1957, this week marks the opening of the Cavern Club in an old wine cellar on Matthew Street in Liverpool … the club becomes world famous thanks to the happy choice of The Beatles as its house band in 1961 and ‘62 … it remains in business to this day … on this side of the pond, Johnny Cash hits network TV for the first time as a guest on the Jackie Gleason Show …

1963, drummer Charlie Watts debuts with The Rolling Stones at The Flamingo in Soho, London …

1966, British popster David Jones becomes David Bowie in an effort to avoid confusion with The Monkees’ Davy Jones …

1970, in a bizarre latter–day bubble of Victorian flatulence, Scotland Yard confiscates eight prints from John Lennon’s exhibit of erotic lithographs … an accountant who has strayed into the Bag One gallery complains to the police, "They were exaggerated distorted caricatures depicting intimate sexual relationships of a repulsive and disgusting nature" … the raiding policeman, Detective Inspector Frederick Luff, says, "Many toilet walls depict works of similar merit. It is perhaps charitable to suggest that they are the work of a sick mind … The only danger to a successful prosecution is the argument that they are so pathetic as to be incapable of influencing anyone" … the gallery is closed and its owners prosecuted for violating obscenity laws … a London magistrate finally dismisses the charges and returns the lithos to the gallery, where they had been on sale for $58 each …

1972, Memphis’ Highway 51 South is renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard … within a few years the street goes unmarked because the street signs are stolen as quickly as they can be replaced …

1973, Jerry Lee Lewis is invited to play the Grand Ole Opry with the proviso that he neither perform rock ’n’ roll tunes nor utter profanities … The Killer proceeds to belt out "Great Balls of Fire," "Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On," and "Good Golly Miss Molly" and then announces that he’s a "rock and rolling, country and western, rhythm and blues singin’ motherfuckerr" … Pink Floyd hits the studio to start laying down tracks for one of the most successful albums ever—Dark Side of the Moon …

1974, in a move that jumps the gun on rapper antics by two decades, singer Dino Martin (son of Dean) of the pop trio Dino, Desi, and Billy, is arrested on suspicion of possession and sale of two machine guns …

1978, The Sex Pistols play their swan–song show at San Francisco’s Winterland …

1980, Paul McCartney goes down in Japan for a big bag of reefer … he spends 10 days in the slam then gets the ignominious boot … Macca later reports that he spent his time singing Beatles songs with fellow inmates. Ruefully, he recalls, “I knew I wouldn’t be able to get anything to smoke over there. This stuff was too good to flush down the toilet, so I thought I’d take it with me.” …

1981, Plasmatics singer and former erotic dancer/porn actress Wendy O. Williams is arrested in Milwaukee for becoming too intimate with a sledgehammer on stage … MS. Williams–who typically performs adorned only in a G string and two tiny strips of electrician’s tape–resists arrest valiantly and receives a 12–stitch head wound for her efforts …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1982, a highly–soused Ozzy Osbourne gnaws the head off a bat that has been tossed onstage by a fan … Ozzy later says he thought it was a fake rubber model … legend has it that he is obliged to go through a course of rabies shots just to be safe …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1991, the crowd rushes the stage at an AC/DC concert in Salt Lake City, crushing three people to death …

1993, the U.S. Supreme Court decides Tom Waits can keep the $2.6 million judgment awarded him in a lawsuit against Frito Lay … the snack food company had asked to use Waits’ song "Step Right Up" in an advertisement, but he declined the offer … in a moment of overwhelming stupidity, Frito Lay hired a Tom Waits-soundalike to record a song strikingly similar to "Step Right Up" and used it in the commercial … ironically, Waits wrote and recorded the song as "an indictment of advertising" and it contains the lyric "What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away" …

1996, a milestone of sorts is achieved when Wayne Newton performs his 25,000th Las Vegas show … also this week, Lisa Marie Presley shocks the world by filing for a divorce from the King of Pop after 20 months of matrimonial bliss … "Do we have sex?" Presley volunteers during an earlier interview with the couple, whereupon she and Jacko both adamantly answer her own question "Yes, yes, yes!" … they do not specify with whom …

1999, claiming that Victoria’s Secret’s Metallica lip pencils constitute trademark infringement, the band Metallica files suit against the lingerie company …

2001, bassman Jason Newsted splits with Metallica … the breakup will figure large in Some Kind of Monster, the 2003 documentary film in which the band members are seen trying to get in touch with their inner children …

Click here to view the embedded video.

2003, Phil Spector is arrested on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend Lana Clarkson … meanwhile across the Atlantic, cops stage raids in England and the Netherlands in which nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes recorded during the Let It Be sessions are recovered … the tapes had been the source of countless bootlegs over the years …

2005, indie band Camper Van Beethoven is robbed again … just three months after having their equipment stolen in Montreal, their gear disappears again, this time from a hotel parking lot in Dallas … the trailer was backed up against a parking deck wall so the doors would not open … the thieves cut through the side of the trailer and helped themselves … the band had even hired a security guard … a $1,000 reward is offered for information leading to the recovery of the gear … in the good news category this week, a horde of comedy and musical heavyweights show up to help Tenacious D raise cash for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami … a benefit show is held at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles and features Will Ferrell, Eddie Vedder, Beck, Chris Rock, Dave Grohl, and Josh Homme all performing with Jack Black and Kyle Gass of Tenacious D…

2006, in Rio, The Rolling Stones give Brazilian fans a treat by playing a free concert at Copacabana Beach … 1.2 million turn out to see the aging Brit rockers perform on a seven–story–high stage erected for the event and connected by a walkway to The Stones’ hotel … the turnout fails to set a record … that distinction belongs to Rod Stewart who sang to three million in the same setting on New Year’s Eve in 1994 …

2007, proving that Americans have an unquenchable thirst for seeing people make idiots of themselves, Fox airs a series of American Idol audition shows drawing 32 million viewers each and trouncing other shows in their time slots … meanwhile on the political front, Ted Nugent helps his buddy Texas Governor Rick Perry celebrate at his inaugural ball by appearing onstage with a cutoff tee, sporting the Confederate flag, and rambling on about people who don’t speak English …

2008, it’s announced that Suze Rotolo, who was Bob Dylan’s main squeeze circa 1961–1964 will publish a memoir titled A Freewheelin’ Time in which she recounts her life with Bobby Z in Greenwich Village and the illegal abortion she underwent when she became pregnant by the singer–songwriter …

…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

January 14: big band vocalist Russ Columbo (1908), doo–wop/R&B record label owner Al Silver (1914), soul man Clarence Carter (1936), songwriter–producer Allen Toussaint (1938), Contours singer Hubert Johnson (1941), soul singer Linda Jones (1944), Allman Brothers bassist Lamar Williams (1949), Jim Croce guitarist Maury Muehlelsen (1949), jazz guitarist/trumpeter Mark Egan (1951), Geoff Tate of Queensryche (1959), Chas Smash, born Cathal Joseph Patrick Smyth, of Madness (1959), Patricia Morrison of Sisters of Mercy (1962), LL Cool J, born James Todd Smith (1968), Dave Grohl (1969)

January 15: Gene Krupa (1909), folk music activist Alan Lomax (1915), Earl Hooker (1930), Jack Jones (1938), Don Van Vliet AKA Captain Beefheart (1941), Edward Bivins of The Manhattans (1942), Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1949), Martha Davis of the Motels (1951), ELO bassist Melvyn Gale (1952), Lisa Velez of Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam (1967)

January 16: Broadway diva Ethel Merman (1908), operatic diva Marilyn Horne (1934), Bob Bogle of The Ventures (1937), William Francis of Dr. Hook (1942), Raymond Philips of The Nashville Teens (1942), Ronnie Milsap (1943), Sade – born Helen Folasade Abu (1959), Paul Webb of Talk Talk (1962) Maxine Jones of En Vogue (1966), Aalliyah (1979)

January 17: Eartha Kitt (1927), blues singer Bobby Bland (1930), "British Elvis" Billy Fury (1941), Chris Montez (1943), Mick Taylor (1948), Steve Earle (1955), Paul Young (1956), Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles (1957), dancehall artist Shabba Ranks (1966), Robert James Ritchie AKA Kid Rock (1971)

January 18: producer Bobby Herne (1938), Bobby Goldsboro (1941), David Ruffin of The Temptations (1941), "Legs" Larry Smith of The Bonzo Dog Band (1944), Tom Bailey of The Thompson Twins (1956), influential grunge rocker Andrew Wood (1966), DJ Quik (1970), Jonathan Davis of Korn (1971), Irish popette Samantha Mumba (1983)

January 19: Don Lang of The Frantic Five (1925), Australia’s first rock star, Johnny O’Keefe (1935), Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers (1939), Janis Joplin (1943), Rod Evans of Deep Purple (1945), Dolly Parton (1946), eclectic Brit vocalist Robert Palmer (1949), Dewey Bunnell of America (1952), Caron Wheeler of Soul II Soul (1963)

January 20: folk and blues singer Lead Belly born Huddie William Ledbetter (1889), R&B singer Paul Gayten (1920), country singer Slim Whitman (1924), composer David Tudor (1926), Earl Grant (1933), R&B blues guitarist–singer Luther Tucker (1936), William Powell of The O’Jays (1942), George Grantham of Poco (1947), Paul Stanley of Kiss (1952), guitarist John Campbell (1952), Ian Hill of Judas Priest (1952), Linkin Park drummer Rob Bourdon (1979)

Departures:

January 14: New York Dolls drummer Jerry Nolan (1992), bluesman Rube Lacey (1969)

January 15: Junior Wells (1998), Grand Ole Opry performer Vic Willis (1995), Harry Nillsson (1994), Sammy Cahn (1993), Elton John drummer Dee Murray, born David Oates (1992)

January 16: Pookie Hudson (2007), former Peter Frampton drummer John Siomos (2004), Will Jones of the Coasters (2000), Sollie McElroy, lead singer of the Flamingos (1995), Paul Beaver of Beaver and Krause (1975), Ross Bagdasarian AKA David Seville, creator of The Chipmunks (1972), Arturo Toscanini (1957)

January 17: multi–instrumentalist Norris Turney (2001), Texas blues guitarist T.D. Bell AKA Little T–Bone (1999), bluesman David "Junior" Kimbrough (1998), blues drummer Robert Covington (1996), Tony Duhig, leader of prog–rock band Jade Warrior (1991), commie rocker Dean Reed (1986), R&B singer Billy "Fat Boy" Stewart (1970), Norman P. Rich, William Cathey, and Rico Hightower of Stewart’s band, The Soul Kings (1970)

January 18: Brent Liles of Social Distortion (2007), producer–songwriter Keith Diamond (1997), singer Adriana Caselotti (1997), (Mel)anie Appleby of Mel & Kim (1990), Chicago soul–blues vocalist McKinley Mitchell (1986)

January 19: Denny Doherty of The Mamas and The Papas (2007), Wilson Pickett (2006), Josh Clayton–Felt of School of Fish (2000), rockabilly pioneer Carl Perkins (1998), Joe Stubbs of The Falcons (1998), singer–guitarist Buster Benton (1996), leader and sax player for the Mar–Keys Packy Axton (1974)

January 20: Hugh O’Neill Jr. of The Queers (1999), drummer Bill Albaugh (1999), Ron Holden of "Love You So" fame (1997), Stan Szelest of The Hawks who became The Band (1991), DJ Alan Freed (1965)

© Toxic Web

1935, the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Aaron Presley, is born in Tupelo, Mississippi …

1954, Muddy Waters records "I’m Your Hootchie–Cootchie Man" at Chess Records in Chicago …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1955, Etta James releases her first hit, "Wallflower" …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1956, Elvis Presley records "Heartbreak Hotel" in a two–day session at a converted church in Nashville, Tennessee … in addition to bassist Bill Black and guitarist Scotty Moore, RCA producer Steve Sholes hires drummer DJ Fontana, guitarist Chet Atkins, piano player Floyd Cramer, and a gospel vocal trio … because Elvis is jumping around so much, Sholes places three microphones around the singer to make sure his vocal is captured …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1958, The Five Royales’ "Dedicated to the One I Love" is released … three years later the Shirelles will take it to #3 … in 1967 The Mamas & The Papas revive the tune one more time scoring a #2 hit …

1959, Berry Gordy borrows the staggering sum of $800 for the purpose of starting Motown records, which will become one of the most successful and influential labels of the 20th century …

1962, "The Twist" by Chubby Checker tops the charts … the song was written and first recorded by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters …

1963, Bob Dylan performs in a radio play aired by the BBC called The Madhouse of Castle Street … yielding to typecasting, he plays a folk singer … Gary "U.S." Bonds brings a $100,000 suit against Chubby Checker, claiming Checker plagiarized "Quarter to Three" and turned it into "Dancin’ Party" … the case is settled out of court …

1964, Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire becomes the first country LP to top the Billboard pop chart …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1965, the musical–variety show Hullabaloo premiers on the NBC network … each week the show is hosted by a revolving cast including Sammy Davis Jr. and Frankie Avalon … recording sessions begin at Columbia studios in New York City for Bob Dylan’s fifth album, Bringing It All Back Home … the album will feature one side of acoustic songs and one side with (yikes!) a band … the album includes Dylan’s first charting single, "Subterranean Homesick Blues" …

Click here to view the embedded video.

1966, the last episode of ABC–TV’s Shindig! airs featuring The Kinks and The Who … the show was among the first prime–time programs to feature rock acts …

1967, the first Be–In takes place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park … the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Timothy Leary, and poet Allen Ginsburg entertain and inform … the gatherings of the incense–and–sandals set go on to become a Bay–Area fixture …

1968, underground San Francisco station KMPX holds a "grass ballot" election in which listeners vote for national officeholders … Bob Dylan is named president, Paul Butterfield gets the nod as VP, George Harrison is voted U.N. ambassador, the Jefferson Airplane are named Secretary of Transportation, and the Grateful Dead are voted the new attorney general … London’s Daily Mirror reports that Jimi Hendrix has moved into a townhouse where Handel was said to have composed the Messiah … the guitar master tells a reporter he plans to do his own composing there and "not let the tradition down" …

1969, while shooting the TV show Get Back, George Harrison announces that he is leaving The Beatles … commenting on this turn of events, Ringo says, "George had to leave because he thought that Paul was dominating him. Well, he was." … many think that Yoko Ono’s often–intrusive presence plays a role in the "quiet Beatles’" decision …

1970, Max Yasgur, whose farm was the site of the Woodstock Festival, is sued for $35,000 by neighbors charging property damage …

1973, due to a 1969 drug charge, Mick Jagger is refused a Japanese visa, upsetting the Stones’ plans to tour Asia … queried about his drug use by a reporter, Jagger says, "I don’t take drugs. I don’t approve of drugs and I don’t approve of people taking drugs, unless they’re very careful" …

1977, Keith Richards wins one … he is acquitted of possession of LSD charges … he also loses one, being found guilty of cocaine possession … charges stem from the discovery of the illegal substance in a car he wrecked on May 19, 1976 … The Ramones release their second album, Leave Home …

Ramones – “Pinhead”

Click here to view the embedded video.

GABBA GABBA HEY

1978, at the request of a fan, rocker Ted Nugent inscribes his autograph in the man’s arm using a Bowie knife …

1981, Eagles Live goes platinum … the double LP proves to be the band’s final release until their 1994 comeback album Hell Freezes Over … John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s LP Double Fantasy goes platinum just over a month after Lennon’s murder …

1990, Mr. Blackwell gives top dishonors to Sinead O’Connor as the worst–dressed woman on his annual diss list … he refers to the Irish singer as "the bald–headed banshee of MTV" …

1992, Paul Simon is the first international star to perform in South Africa following the end of the U.N.’s cultural boycott … in the 1980s the singer–songwriter had been subjected to criticism for going to South Africa to record his groundbreaking record Graceland during the apartheid era …

1993, the U.S. Postal Service releases a first–class stamp bearing the likeness of the 1950s–era Elvis … the USPS had asked the public to choose between that image and a portrait of an older, plumper King … the younger, svelter version won hands down …

1994, Nirvana play their last U.S. show at Center Arena in Seattle …

2000, the renowned Chicago club Lounge Axe goes out in a blaze of glory with a surprise appearance by Wilco … the alt–country quartet plays a two–and–a–half–hour set before a standing–room–only crowd … fans queue up for over seven hours to catch the band …

2003, as part of a sting on users of an Internet child porn site, Pete Townshend is arrested at his home and his computer is seized … the irony is that Townshend is an activist against child pornography and foolishly used his credit card to access the site as part of his research for a book on child abuse … no child porn is found on Townshend’s computer or in his house … he is given a reprimand and released …

2005, the Liverpool orphanage commemorated in the 1967 Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever" closes as a children’s center … John Lennon played on the grounds of the Salvation Army facility during his childhood … reports surface that Rita Marley plans to exhume her late husband Bob’s remains and relocate them to his "spiritual resting place" in Ethiopia … the Marley Foundation later clarifies that while Bob loved Ethiopia and Rita would someday love to see him laid to rest there, her words had been "twisted" and there are no plans to relocate his remains …

2007, the home of ?, singer with legendary ’60s garage band ? and the Mysterians, suffers the loss of his Clio, Michigan home when it burns to the ground … more than four decades’ worth of memorabilia is destroyed … Queen Elizabeth gives Bono an honorary knighthood for his humanitarian efforts joining the ranks of other rock peerage including Sirs Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney and Commanders Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart …

2008, Ron Wood undergoes surgery to repair a hernia he suffered in 2007 on the Bigger Bang tour … Eddie Vedder wins a Golden Globe award for "Guaranteed," a song he wrote for Sean Penn’s film Into the Wild

…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

January 7: flutist Jean–Pierre Rampal (1922), Lefty Baker of Spanky and Our Gang (1942), Paul Revere Dick of Paul Revere and the Raiders (1942), Kenny Loggins (1948), Kathy Valentine of The Go–Gos (1959)

January 8: guitarist Luther Perkins of Johnny Cash’s Tennessee Three (1928), legendary rock concert promoter Bill Graham (1931), Elvis Presley (1935), pop singer Shirley Bassey (1937), R&B/soul singer Little Anthony (1940), Marcus Hutson of The Whispers (1943), Robbie Krieger of The Doors (1946), David Bowie (1947), Terry Sylvester of The Hollies (1947), Mike Reno of Loverboy (1955), Wall of Voodoo guitarist Marc Moreland (1958), R. Kelly (1967), Jeff Abercrombie of Fuel (1969), dancehall musician Sean Paul (1975)

January 9: Mississippi Delta bluesman Ishmon Bracey (1901), Al Silver, owner of New York doo–wop and R&B labels Herald and Ember (1914), Joan Baez (1941), singer Roy Head (1943), The Manhattan’s Kenneth Kelly (1943), Jimmy Page (1944), Steeleye Span’s Tim Hart (1948), Cassie Gaines of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1948), David Johansen of The New York Dolls (1950), sountry songstress Crystal Gayle (1951), Eric Erlandson of Hole (1963), Carl Bell of Fuel (1967), Dave Matthews (1967), Steve Harwell of Smash Mouth (1967), A.J. McLean of The Backstreet Boys (1978)

January 10: jazz/blues pianist Buddy Johnson (1915), Aretha Franklin producer Jerry Wexler (1918), masterful be–bop drummer Max Roach (1924), pop crooner Johnnie Ray (1927), Domenico Modungo of "Volare" fame (1928), swamp rocker Ronnie Hawkins (1935), Scott McKenzie aka Philip Blondheim (1939), Jim Croce (1943), Rod Stewart (1945), legendary rock drummer Aynsley Dunbar (1946), Donald Fagen of Steely Dan (1948), Pat Benatar (1953), rock–guitar god Michael Schenker (1955), Shawn Colvin (1956), Brad Roberts of Crash Test Dummies (1964), Aerle Taree of Arrested Development (1973), Chris Smith aka Kris Kross (1979)

January 11: Texas Playboys vocalist Tommy Duncan (1911), Chuck Barksdale of The Dells (1935), country/pop singer–songwriter Bobby Goldsboro (1941), singer Don Cherry (1924), bluesman Slim Harpo born James Moore (1924), E Street Band saxophonist "The Big Man" Clarence Clemons (1942), Janice Pought of The Bobettes (1945), Naomi Judd (1946), "Captain Fingers" Lee Ritenour (1952), Vicki Peterson of The Bangles (1960), guitarist Tom Dumont of No Doubt (1968), Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands (1971), Mary J. Blige (1971)

January 12: bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell (1904), country singer Tex Ritter born Woodward Maurice Ritter (1905), country/western singer Ray Price (1926), folk singer Glenn Yarbrough (1930), Oak Ridge Boy William Lee Golden (1939), British bluesman Long John Baldry, who launched the career of Rod Stewart (1941), Sly & The Family Stone trumpeter Cynthia Robinson (1946), Chris Bell of Big Star (1951), Charlie Gillingham of Counting Crows (1960), Rob Zombie (1966), Raekwon of Wu Tang Clan (1968), Melanie Chisholm aka Sporty Spice of the Spice Girls (1974)

January 13: singer/actress Sophie Tucker (1884), Modern Records founder Lester Sill (1918), British music publisher David Platz (1929), singer Bobby Lester of The Moonglows (1932), The Dells’ original lead singer Johnny Funches (1935), Trevor Rabin of Yes (1954), Earth, Wind, and Fire drummer Fred White (1955), guitarist Tim Kelly of Slaughter (1963), Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against The Machine (1970)

Departures:

January 7: Bernice Petkere, "Queen of Tin Pan Alley" (2000), legendary Nashville producer Owen Bradley (1998), lead singer/songwriter for The Rivingtons Carl White (1980), pioneering British blues harp player Cyril Davies (1964)

January 8: Allman Brothers guitar tech/Grinderswitch bassist Joe Dan Petty (2000), Louisiana bluesman Silas Hogan (1994), Def Leppard guitarist Steve Clark (1991), New Orleans pianist Archibald born Leon T. Gross (1973)

January 9: British pop/rock singer Dave Dee (2009), smooth–voiced soul/jazz singer Lou Rawls (2006), Lynne Denicker of The Aquatones (2001), Howie Johnson, original drummer for The Ventures (1998)

January 10: Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden (2005), guitarist Bryan Gregory of The Cramps (2001), Creation singer Kenny Pickett (1997), Beach Blanket Bingo lyricist Guy Bonson Hemric (1993), Addie (Micki) McFadden of the Shirelles (1982), Howlin’ Wolf (1976), organist Earl Grant (1970)

January 11: psychobilly drummer Andy DeMize (2009), Jimmy Griffin, co–founder of Bread (2005), percussionist and former T. Rex sideman Mickey Finn (2003), Sean McDonald, singer and guitar player with Surgery (1995), Barry Kramer, founder of Creem magazine (1981)

January 12: harpist/keyboardist Alice Coltrane (2007), singer Randy VanWarmer (2004), Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees (2003), Brazilian composer–guitarist Luis Bonfa (2001), Robert Peterson, Grateful Dead songwriter (1987)

January 13: saxophonist Michael Brecker (2007), Brian Keenan, drummer with the Chambers Brothers Band (1985), soul singer–songwriter Donny Hathaway (1979), Stephen Foster, "Father of American Music" (1864)

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