From Black Sabbath’s upcoming album “13”. The first with Ozzy for 35, though without Bill Ward it’s not a real Sabbath reunion. Not too sure about this one, maybe a grower.

Do know the female backing vocals are a touch annoying.

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Brother Dege slide-Dobro version of Black Sabbath’s “Supernaut”.

This version of “Supernaut” includes the ancient practice of “mishearing” lyrics. All songs are organic compositions that go through many mutations over the years as they are learned and played by others, thus giving them new life. Brother Dege

And here’s the original Black Sabbath track – Ozzy: vocals, Tony Iommi: guitar, Geezer Butler: bass, Bill Ward: drums – from their classic 1972 album “Vol. 4”.

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1958, while crossing the Atlantic on his way to a couple of years of Army service in Germany, Elvis is asked to put together a talent show and ends up playing piano in the impromptu band he organizes …

1959, The Isley Brothers’ classic “Shout” is released … the song is later covered by The Beatles in a TV special, and again in 1978 by Otis Day and the Knights in the movie Animal House …

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1962, Bob Dylan makes his first appearance at Carnegie Hall … The Springfields are the first British vocal act to score a U.S. Top 20 hit with the single “Silver Threads and Golden Needles” … their lead singer is Mary O’Brien, who will later sustain a major solo career using the stage name Dusty Springfield …

1967, London’s UFO Club, memorable for being the place Pink Floyd launched its career, is shuttered following the drug bust of its owner …

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1969, in the midst of rock’s golden era, The Archies’ bubblegum ditty “Sugar Sugar” hits #1 and stays there for four weeks … proving once again that you can’t go broke underestimating the public’s taste …

1970, 27-year-old Jimi Hendrix dies in a basement bedroom at the Samarkand Hotel in Notting Hill Gate, London – see yesterday’s post … the room is rented to Monika Danneman who later claims that she and Jimi were to be married … he had taken about nine hits of quinalbarbitone and is already quite dead when the medics arrive, despite Danneman’s later claims that he had been alive at that time … the coroner’s report cites “inhalation of vomit due to barbiturate intoxication” as the cause of death … in 1993 the investigation into Hendrix’s death is reopened by Scotland Yard in order to clear up discrepancies about how and when the ambulance was called … Danneman is vilified in books and other media, and in 1996, commits suicide after losing a libel case brought by Kathy Etchingham, who originally reopened the Hendrix case … Black Sabbath releases its second album Paranoid featuring “War Pigs” and “Iron Man,” songs that will become heavy metal classics …

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1973, Gram Parsons of the Byrds dies after a fatal combination of alcohol and morphine in Joshua Tree, California … his coffin is stolen from the airport by his manager, Phil Kaufman, and a former Byrds roadie before it can be sent to New Orleans for a family burial … according to Kaufman, he and Parsons had made a pact months earlier that when one of them died “the survivor would take the other guy’s body out to Joshua Tree, have a few drinks, and burn it” … giving new meaning to the phrase, “smoked a gram,” the two make their way into the desert night after toasting their departed friend at a local bar, pour five gallons of gasoline onto the body, and light it … the fire is spotted quickly, before the cremation is complete … days later, Kaufman will be found and charged with stealing a coffin and sentenced to pay $750 for the casket …

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1977, Marc Bolan of T. Rex is killed outside of London when his intoxicated wife crashes their mini-GT into a tree …

1980, a newly formed Geffen Records signs John Lennon … Joe Walsh announces he is entering the race for President of the United States against political heavyweights Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan … his campaign slogan is “Free Gas For All” and he states his purpose for running is to raise awareness of the importance of the elections … Walsh will re-enter the political fray in 1992 to run for Vice President of the United States …

1983, the members of KISS appear on MTV, only this time, their traditional “Kabuki makeup from hell” is off … after losing original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, the band are trying to reinvent themselves by exposing their bare faces in public … the ploy seems to work, as their next release Lick it Up becomes their first platinum album in four years …

1984, Mötley Crüe makes its concert debut at the Monsters of Rock festival in England …

1998, hard rock act White Zombie will no longer feast on the brains of the living … the group disbands shortly after the release of singer Rob Zombie’s solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe … together for the first time in 24 years, the members of ’70s British rock band Mott The Hoople get back together to perform at the Virgin Megastore in London …

2005, soul singer D’Angelo is seriously injured when his Hummer hits a fence in Virginia and flips … INXS announces they have hired a former Canadian Elvis impersonator, J.D Fortune, to replace former frontman Michael Hutchence, who committed suicide in 1997 … the band eventually splits with Fortune, who literally blows it thanks to his predilection for white powder … apparently Fortune favors the strung (out) … Garbage announces on the band’s website that it’s on an indefinite hiatus … the posting reads, “We have made a decision to take some time off. We are not breaking up.” …

2006, three bad boys of rock, Pete Doherty of Babyshambles, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, and Tom Chaplin of Keane, all residents at London’s Priory rehab treatment center, are reported to be jamming together … this despite Hawkins having referred earlier to Doherty as being “a talentless waste of skin” … apparently their shared rehab dilemma has healed old wounds … meanwhile the British tabloids have dubbed the trio “The Arctic Junkies” … perhaps if Ben and Jerry’s got onto the act, we’d have a new ice cream flavor called, “Junky Monkey” … the documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival … the movie chronicles the fallout that resulted from the group’s criticism of the Bush administration … also debuting at the festival is the documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon that examines the U.S. government’s campaign to deport John Lennon due to his anti-Viet Nam war stance …

2007, it’s reported that director Martin Scorsese is working on a documentary about George Harrison and will have the cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the late Beatle’s widow, Olivia … Chicago alt-rock station Q101 spins the hook-laden single “Great Divide” to positive response from listeners while failing to disclose it’s the work of the has-been brother act Hanson … Spike, the station’s music director, notes, “There’s a stigma attached to them” … DJs credited the tune to “a mystery artist” …

2008, in a real turnabout, Metallica fans ask the veteran heavy metalists to turn it down … in recording the band’s latest album, Death Magnetic, the sound was cranked and compressed so severely that the CD is riddled with distortion … 11,000 fans sign an online petition asking the band to remix and reissue the album … it is soon discovered that the same tracks appearing in the game Guitar Hero aren’t compressed to a flat waveform and sound much better … Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks implores Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder to write a song in support of the team’s World Series aspirations … Vedder’s “All The Way” is the result, but the Cubbies still fail to make the Series … after patching up some personal differences, the original stoner act, Cheech and Chong, hits the road with a series of shows that include classic bits from the duo’s records and movies as well as new material … commenting on the reunion that took 27 years, Tommy Chong says, “We went from Nixon to Bush. That’s about all that’s changed.” … acknowledging that the pair are still “herbalists,” Chong notes they no longer need to carry a stash with them … “if you need weed you can get weed faster than a pizza almost anywhere” …

…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

September 16: Scepter Records founder Florence Greenberg (1913), organist-composer Korla Pandit, “The Godfather of Exotica” (1921), B.B. King (1925), Bernard Calvert of The Hollies (1943), Betty Kelly of Martha and The Vandellas (1944), Kenny Jones of Small Faces and The Who (1948), David Bellamy of The Bellamy Brothers (1950), Wire’s Colin Newman (1954), Peter Zaremba of The Fleshtones (1956), pop singer-songwriter Richard Marx (1963), salsa singer-songwriter Marc Anthony (1968)

September 17: composer Gustav Holst (1874), country music icon, Hank Williams (1923), Bill Black, Elvis’s standup bass player (1926), LaMonte McLemore of The 5th Dimension (1940), Steely Dan drummer Jimmy Hodder (1947), James Gang bassist Dale Peters (1947), Fee Waybill, lead singer of The Tubes (1950), Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders (1951), R&B and gospel singer Bebe Winans (1962), Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian (1968), Vinnie Brown of Naughty By Nature (1970), Maile Misajon of Eden’s Crush (1976), Chuck Comeau of Simple Plan (1979)

September 18: jazz vocalist of “Mr Wonderful” fame, Teddi King (1929), pop singer Jimmie Rodgers (1933), teen idol Frankie Avalon (1939), Kerry Livgren of Kansas (1949), Dee Dee Ramone, born Douglas Colvin (1952), Joanne Catherall of Human League (1962), Ian Spice of Breathe (1966), Ricky Bell of Bell Biv Devoe (1967)

September 19: R&B singer-songwriter Brook Benton (1931), Beatles manager Brian Epstein (1934), Nick Massi, bassist and bass singer of The Four Seasons (1935), Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers (1940), singer-songwriter-pianist Paul Williams (1940), Mama Cass Elliot of The Mamas & The Papas, born Ellen Naomi Cohen (1941), singer-actress Freda Payne (1942), bluegrass guitarist David Bromberg (1945), Lol Creme of 10cc (1947), U2 producer Daniel Lanois (1951), Nile Rodgers of Chic (1952), country artist Trisha Yearwood (1962), James Tapp AKA rapper Soulja Slim (1977)

September 20: singer and New Orleans-style pianist Eddie Bo (1930), funk and jazz guitarist Eric Gale (1939), John Panozzo, drummer for Styx (1948), Alannah Currie of The Thompson Twins (1959), Cowboy, of The Furious Five, born Robert Keith Wiggins (1960), Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme (1966), Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, twin sons of Ricky Nelson (1967), Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden (1968), Rick Woolstenhulme of Lifehouse (1979)

September 21: jazz drummer Chico Hamilton, born Forestorn Hamilton (1921), singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen (1934), pop singer Dickey Lee, born Dickey Lee Lipscomb (1969), Don Felder of The Eagles (1947), lead singer-guitarist of Oasis, Liam Gallagher (1972)

September 22: Mike Patto, leader and vocalist for ’70s Brit rock band Patto (1942)

Departures:

September 16: Motown songwriter Norman Whitfield (2008), the legendary Johnny Ramone (2004), Izadora Rhodes of Weather Girls (2004), CBS producer Tom Wilson (1978), Marc Bolan of T-Rex (1977), opera diva Maria Callas (1977), Leroy Griffin of The Nutmegs (1966)

September 17: rock guitarist Al Casey, who worked with Lee Hazelwood, The Beach Boys, and others (2006), Rob Tyner of MC5 (1991), Dave Patillo of doo-wop group The Red Caps (1967)

September 18: singer-songwriter Charlie Fox of “Mockingbird” fame (1998), blues and jazz singer Jimmy Witherspoon (1997), R&B jump blues singer Roy Milton (1983), Jimi Hendrix (1970), country blues harmonica player Will Shade (1966)

September 19: saxophonist Danny Flores of “Tequila” fame (2006), Motown writer-producer Willie Hutch (2005), crossover country singer Skeeter Davis, born Mary Frances Penick (2004) Australian folkie Slim Dusty (2003), contemporary Christian singer Rich Mullins (1997), Motown arranger and session keyboardist Earl Van Dyke (1992), Gram Parsons of The Byrds, born Cecil Ingram Connor (1973)

September 20: Texas swing singer-yodeler Don Walser (2006) Broadway composer Jule Styne (1994), singer-songwriter Steve Goodman (1984), singer-songwriter Jim Croce (1973), Maury Muehleisen, guitarist with Jim Croce (1973), Country Music Hall of Famer Red Foley (1968)

September 21: former Fender CEO William “Bill” Schultz (2006), Bad Company bassist Raymond “Boz” Burrell (2006)

September 22: big band singer Connie Haines (2008)

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1954, Bill Haley and the Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock” is released … however, it will not be successful until 1955, when it is featured on the soundtrack of the movie Blackboard Jungle …

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… Robert Allen Zimmerman celebrates his bar mitzvah … Robert will go on to achieve fame as Bob Dylan …

1955, Ruth Brown’s signature song, “Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean,” is banned in Britain by the BBC on the grounds that it might encourage wife beaters …

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…Chuck Berry records his first single, “Ida Red” … during the session, producer Leonard Chess wants a name change … the new name is “Maybellene,” inspired by a Chess secretary’s makeup case …

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1956, upon his return to England following a U.S. tour, band-leader – not future Prime Minister – Ted Heath observes: “Rock ‘n’ roll is mainly performed by coloured people for coloured people and is therefore unlikely to prove popular in Britain.” …

1958, Jerry Lee Lewis makes his English début … his tour is cancelled when the British press reports that Lewis has just married his 14-year-old cousin …

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1964, Millie Small’s “My Boy Lollipop” charts for the first time … playing harmonica on the recording is an unknown British singer named Rod Stewart …

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1965, “You Really Got Me” takes on new meaning for the Kinks … upon finishing the aforementioned song at Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre, Dave Davies insults Mick Avory and kicks over his drum kit as revenge for a drunken fight the previous night in Taunton, apparently won by Mick … the normally mild-mannered Avory responds by giving Davies a thorough pranging about the head and ears with his hi-hat pedal … Davies is knocked unconscious, requiring 16 stitches to fix the kinks in his melon … Avery flees, hiding out for days to avoid arrest for Grievous Bodily Harm … to placate the police, Avory later claims that it’s all part of a new act in which band members would bludgeon each other with their instruments …

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1966, Bob Dylan, accompanied by members of what will later become The Band, rocks Royal Albert Hall … the show turns up on white-jacketed bootleg LPs, becoming a hot item among Dylan fans … the Byrd’s single “Eight Miles High” is banned by some radio stations because of the lyrics’ alleged drug references … as it turns out, Gene Clark, who wrote the song, claimed it was inspired by an airplane flight … according to Clark, airliners fly at six or seven miles up, but eight miles high just sounded better …

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1967, Jimi Hendrix signs with Reprise Records, his first recording deal with a major American company … Australia’s Easybeats reach number 16 on the U.S. charts with “Friday On My Mind” … the band is led by founder-guitarist George Young, who must have greatly influenced his younger brothers Malcolm and Angus … although the Easybeats had bigger hits Down Under, their downfall, due to management hassles, personnel changes, and yes, dope, places them squarely in the one-hit-wonder department in the U.S …

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1970, The Grateful Dead play at the Hollywood Rock Festival in England … it’s their first concert outside of the U.S …

1973, Deep Purple releases “Smoke on the Water” … its signature seven-note guitar riff played in parallel fourths becomes an essential repertoire item for garage-band pickers worldwide …

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1974, more than a thousand people receive medical care and a 14-year-old girl dies when fans run amok at a London concert starring teen idol David Cassidy …

1981, “All Those Years Ago,” George Harrison’s tribute to John Lennon, charts for the first time … Ringo Starr and Paul and Linda McCartney are also on the recording …

1989, for failing to produce songs under a 1985 contract, Roy Orbison’s estate is sued by the late rocker’s music publisher …

1992, Boyz II Men tour manager Khalil Rountree is shot and killed in a Chicago hotel …

1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley are secretly married in the Dominican Republic … she sues for divorce 20 months later citing irreconcilable differences …

1998, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee draws a six-month jail sentence for kicking his soon-to-be ex-wife Pamela Anderson Lee … Lee is ordered to perform 200 hours of community service and donate $5,000 to a shelter for battered women …

1999, when they learn that Queen Elizabeth II will be on hand, British punk band Manic Street Preachers turn down an opportunity to play a concert commemorating the opening of Wales’ parliament … the band has sworn to never play for the monarchy …

2000, Tom Petty files for bankruptcy protection … dragged into a legal dispute when ABC Records was sold to MCA Records, Petty refused to simply be transferred to another record label without his consent … he held fast to his principles for nine long months, which eventually led to him filing for bankruptcy …

2001, country diva Loretta Lynn opens her Coal Miner’s Daughter Museum in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee … it’s packed with 18,000 square feet of memorabilia gathered by the singer during her four-decade career …

2004, officials in South Carolina pardon “The Godfather of Soul,” James Brown for a laundry list of crimes, including drugs and weapons offences dating back to the 1980s … after copping a plea to being under the influence of a controlled substance, Courtney Love is ordered to enter a drug-rehab program … during a humanitarian tour in Africa, the Canadian band Sum 41 is overrun by the Congo’s ongoing civil war … the rockers hide out in a hotel bathroom near the Rwandan border … after seven hours they make their escape in a tank …

2005, Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor backs out of performing at the MTV Movie Awards after the network says he can’t use an untouched image of President George W. Bush as a backdrop … says Reznor, “We were set to perform “The Hand That Feeds” with an unmolested, straightforward image of George W Bush as the backdrop. Apparently the image of our president is as offensive to MTV as it is to me.” … sporting a giant afro, producer Phil Spector appears in L.A. Superior Court for a pre-trial hearing in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson … the judge rules that four earlier incidents in which the producer is alleged to have pointed guns at women could be admitted into evidence …

2006, Madonna opens her Confessions world tour in Los Angeles … tickets are sold out in minutes in North America, Europe, and Asia, resulting in new dates being added … the tour will gross more than $260 million—the biggest take in history by a female artist …

2007, a charge against former Creed frontman Scott Stapp stemming from an apparent confrontation with his wife is reduced to a misdemeanour … Stapp had been charged with aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony after he threw a bottle of Orangina at his wife and missed … Stapp will be subject to random drug and alcohol testing … apparently, with his alleged history of drug abuse, Stapp is expected to do quite well on the test, but according to authorities, he’ll have to make every answer count since there won’t be any extra credit … Stapp’s former band, Creed, sold more than 25 million records in the United States … he has since launched a solo career … of course, now with his wife on edge and the random alcohol and drug testing, we wonder what Scott will use to prime his creative engines for takeoff when he … you know … flies solo …

2008, The Grateful Dead donate thousands of artefacts to the University of California at Santa Cruz for a planned Dead research centre … at a press conference announcing the gift, Dead drummer Mickey Hart jokingly warns curators not to lick any envelopes or touch the stuff without gloves …

2009, Ozzy Osbourne sues Tony Iommi over rights to Black Sabbath’s name … Iommi, who registered the Black Sabbath trademark in the U.S. in 2000, claims in a counter-suit that co-founders Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward legally relinquished rights to the band’s name in the 1980s … Osbourne believes all four original members should share Black Sabbath’s name equally … “I hope,” he says, “that by me taking this first step that it will ultimately end up that way.” …

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…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

May 20: Vic Ames of the Ames Brothers (1926), singer-pianist Shorty Long of The Inkspots (1940), Jill Jackson aka Paula of Paul and Paula (1942), Joe Cocker (1944), Cher, born Cherilyn Sarkisian La Pier (1946), Jimmie Henderson of Black Oak Arkansas (1954), The Go-Go’s Jane Wiedlin (1958), Susan Cowsill of The Cowsills (1960), Haircut 100′s Nick Heyward (1961), Tom Garman of Belly (1966), Busta Rhymes (1972), Naturi Naughton of 3LW (1984)

May 21: pianist-composer Thomas “Fats” Waller (1904), Tejano pioneer Lydia Mendoza (1916), King Records producer-songwriter Henry Glover (1921), Ronald Isley of The Isley Brothers (1941), Vincent Crane of Atomic Rooster (1943), Hilton Valentine of The Animals (1943), T-Rex bass player Steve Currie (1947), Bill Champlin of Chicago (1947)

May 22: composer Richard Wagner (1813), Jimmy Keyes, first tenor with The Chords (1930), Jackie Landry of The Chantels (1941), lyricist and Elton John collaborator, Bernie Taupin (1950), Morrissey of The Smiths (1959), Jesse Valenzuela of The Gin Blossoms (1962), singer-songwriter Johnny Gill of New Edition (1966), Dan Roberts of Crash Test Dummies (1967)

May 23: Vee-Jay Records founder Jimmy Bracken (1908), singer-dancer Benjamin Sherman “Scatman” Crothers (1910), jazz clarinetist-composer-bandleader Artie Shaw (1910), avant-garde jazz keyboardist Sun Ra, born Herman Blount (1914), R&B songwriter Robert “Bumps” Blackwell (1918), flashy R&B singer Billy Wright (1918), bluesman Arthur Gunter (1926), singer-actress Rosemary Clooney (1928), synth pioneer Robert Moog (1934), Jim Mankey of Concrete Blond (1955), Phil Selway of Radiohead (1967), R&B artist Maxwell, born Gerald Maxwell Rivera (1972), singer-songwriter Jewel Kilcher (1974)

May 24: novelty tunesmith Nervous Norvus, born James Drake (1912), Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman (1941), Derek Quinn of Freddie & the Dreamers (1942), R&B and soul singer Patti LaBelle (1942), Sarah Dash of Labelle (1942), Steve Upton of Wishbone Ash (1946), Albert Bouchard of Blue Oyster Cult (1947), singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash (1955), rapper Heavy D, born Dwight Myers (1967), Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes (1969), country wunderkind Billy Gilman (1988)

May 25: record store founder “Waxie Maxie” Silverman (1910), avant-garde composer-percussionist Moondog, born Louis Thomas Hardin (1916), Buddy Holly’s producer Norman Petty (1927), R&B singer Donnie Elbert (1936), Levon Helm of The Band (1942), Ray Innes of The Swinging Blue Jeans (1942), country music artist Jessi Colter, born Miriam Johnson Eddy (1943), John “Poli” Palmer of Family (1943), Garry Peterson of The Guess Who (1945), Mitch Margo of The Tokens (1947), Klaus Meine of The Scorpions (1948), Stevie Nicks (1948), Hank Williams Jr. (1949), Verden Allen of Mott the Hoople (1949), mod/punk singer-songwriter Paul Weller (1958), rocker Lenny Kravitz (1964), singer-rapper-songwriter Lauryn Hill (1975)

May 26: blues singer Mamie Smith (1883), Al Jolson (1886), Miles Davis (1926), guitarist Mick Ronson (1946), Hole bassist Kristen Pfaff (1967)

Departures:

May 20: Italian pianist Renato Carosone (2001), blues harp player Willie Foster (2001), David Platz, head of Essex Music (1994), vocalist Rudy Lewis of The Drifters (1964)

May 21: Nicholas Dante co-author of “A Chorus Line” (1991), music industry entrepreneur Morris Levy (1990)

May 22: Everybody lives!

May 23: folk singer Utah Phillips (2008), session guitarist Mike Farrell (2000), Jimmy Fernandez, bassist with God Machine (1994), jazz guitarist Joe Pass (1994), Craig Pike, bassist for Iggy Pop (1993), Will Sin of the Scottish synth band The Shamen, born William Sinnot (1991)

May 24: Wilco singer-songwriter Jay Bennett (2009), smooth jazz bassist and NBA basketball star Wayman Tisdale (2009), Franco-American bebopper Barney Wilen (1996), Gene Clark of The Byrds (1991), Duke Ellington (1974), slide guitar ace Elmore James (1967)

May 25: album photographer David Gahr (2008), Bradley Nowell, lead singer and guitarist of Sublime (1996), funk and jazz guitarist Eric Gale (1994), surf music producer Gary Usher (1990), jazz and blues pianist Lloyd Glenn (1985), New Orleans R&B star Roy Brown (1981), bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson, born Aleck Ford Miller (1965)

May 26: television theme composer Earle Harry Hagen (2008), ska pioneer Desmond Dekker (2006), African guitarist Matima Kinuani Mpiosso (1996), William Powell, singer with The Ojays (1994), jazz and rock guitarist Sonny Sharrock (1994), bluesman “Reverend” Robert Wilkins (1987), R&B star Little Willie John, born William Edgar John (1968)

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“Time to time we take a sampling of taste from our audience and we awften ask them who they wanna see in our rock concert shows, one of the most frequent names thrown at us is Black Sabbath…”

Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert recorded September 4th 1975 at Santa Monica Civic Center, broadcast on October 25th.

Track list:

1. Killing Yourself To Live
2. Hole In the Sky
3. Snowblind
4. War Pigs
5. Paranoid

Alright I want everyone in the place to hold their hands and we’re gonna boogie, alrighhh!!

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1958, Lou Rawls and Sam Cooke are both injured in an Arkansas auto wreck that kills their chauffeur …

1960, Greg Allman turns 13 and gets a guitar for his birthday … 14-year-old brother Duane eclipses him quickly on that instrument while Greg excels at organ and vocals … they’ll play together in the Kings, the Allman Joys, and Hourglass, before they rule southern rock with the Allman Brothers Band, which they’ll form in 1969 …

1961, Jimmy Dean starts a five-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with his song "Big Bad John" … Dean will go on to host a TV variety show and success in the sausage trade, as well as being Willard Whyte in the in James Bond film “Diamonds are Forever” …

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1963, The Kingsmen release "Louie Louie" … one of the most-covered songs of all time, it is charged that the slurred lyrics are obscene … the song is banned on some radio stations, and especially in Indiana, where Governor Matthew Welch determines the ditty is dirty, despite the fact that after a 31-month investigation, the FBI states that they are "unable to interpret any of the wording in the record"

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1965, promoter Bill Graham rents the building destined to become the Fillmore East for a staggering $60 … his first rock show bill features The Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead…

1967, the Richard Lester film How I Won the War starring John Lennon opens in the U.S. … it’s the first film to feature a solo performance by a Beatle … Rolling Stone magazine hits the newstands for the first time …

1969, Jim Morrison gets blotto on a plane trip from L.A. to Phoenix to see The Stones … he’s such a royal pain that he’s arrested on arrival and charged with interfering with the flight and public drunkenness, having harassed a stewardess who apparently didn’t appreciate a drunk Morrison jumping in her game … the charges are eventually dropped …

1971, Led Zeppelin releases their unnamed fourth album, leaving fans and Zep members alike to find a name that suits them … the record is variously referred to as: The Runes Album, ZoSo, and Led Zeppelin IV, the name actually referenced by Jimmy Page …

Led Zeppelin – “Black Dog”

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1972, living up to his last name, Johnny Paycheck starts pulling down a regular salary when he officially joins the cast of the Grand Ole Opry … Johnny makes an even bigger financial splash when he advises legions of disgruntled employees everywhere to "Take This Job And Shove It" … a word of advice Johnny: out-of-work fans can’t buy albums … just something to consider if you don’t want to have to change your stage name to Johnny Unemployment …

Johnny Paycheck – “Take This Job And Shove It”

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… featuring fiery guitarist Jan Akkerman, the album Moving Waves by Dutch prog-rock band Focus arrives on the LP chart in the U.K. … riding his motorcycle in Macon, Georgia, Allman Brothers bass man Berry Oakley crashes into the side of a city bus only three blocks from where Duane met his demise in a motorcycle accident the previous year" … Oakley refuses treatment at the scene and goes home only to die of a brain hemorrhage later that night in the hospital …

1977, Ozzy Osbourne quits Black Sabbath then rejoins the proto-metalists a few weeks later …

Black Sabbath – “Children Of The Grave” (1978)

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1978, Donna Summer’s cover of "MacArthur Park" becomes a #1 pop hit … a decade earlier, actor Richard Harris had taken his bombastic reading of the lyrically incomprehensible Jimmy Webb tune to #2 …

1979, Fleetwood Mac’s album Tusk hits #1 in the U.K. … after its 37-week rise to that spot …

1985, the theme from the TV show Miami Vice rides the top of the Billboard Hot 100 … the soundtrack LP also goes to #1 in the album chart where it will reside for 11 weeks, beating the former TV-theme record-holder, The Music from Peter Gunn …

1986, reinforcing the Miami Vice-music connection, Willie Nelson plays a corrupt cop in a guest appearance …

1988, Whitney Houston’s debut album goes multiplatinum with nine million copies sold … only Boston has matched this performance with a debut LP …

1992, Boyz II Men’s "End of the Road" reaches the end of the #1 road when it makes its 13th and final appearance in the Billboard Hot 100 chart’s top slot … Axl Rose is convicted of property damage in the wake of a Guns N’ Roses show in Missouri … the concert was aborted as Rose threw his microphone down and walked off stage saying, “Thanks to the lame-ass security, I’m going home!” … the other band members followed and the house lights came on, sparking an intense riot that caused significant damage to the newly constructed arena … Rose gets two years’ probation and is ordered to pay $50,000 in fines to community groups …

1995, Michael Jackson’s ATV Music catalog and Sony merge to form the world’s third-largest music publishing company worth an estimated $300 million … among the goodies Jackson brings to the table are a raft of classic Beatles tunes that Jackson snaked out from former friend Paul McCartney after Macca had advised the King of Pop to invest in publishing … here’s a little free advice: never tell people with more money than you about something valuable that you want to buy …

1998, Little Jimmy Dickens’ appearance at the Grand Ole Opry marks his 50th year as a member of the cast … Dickens is best-remembered for his 1965 hit, "May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose" … Rick James has a stroke when a blood vessel in his neck ruptures during a head-banging performance in Denver … Michael Jackson settles his suit against London’s Daily Mirror over pictures and stories run by the scandal sheet claiming that the star’s face has been disfigured by plastic surgery … a lawyer representing the Mirror says, "The photographs were taken honestly and were not tampered with, but the Mirror has since met with the plaintiff in person and acknowledges that the photographs do not accurately represent the plaintiff’s true appearance." … Ahmet Ertegun and Bobby "Blue" Bland are honored with lifetime achievement awards from The Blues Foundation …

1999, proving the old adage, "all that glitters is not golden," Gary Glitter pleads guilty in a British court to charges of taking and possessing indecent pictures of underage children … he receives a four-month jail sentence … and yet “Rock And Roll Part 2″ is still played at US stadiums …

2003, Kid Rock announces plans for a continuing creative collaboration with Sheryl Crow … the collaboration has thus far resulted in the hit duet "Picture," and they plan more writing and recording together in the future … looks like the Kid is growing up … perhaps a name-change to Man Rock is in order …

2004, Apple introduces a special black U2 version of the iPod with the band members’ names laser-etched on the case … the unit is launched with an ad that has the band performing its new single "Vertigo" … finally jumping on the bandwagon of mega-rockers who’ve cashed in on cross-promotion, it’s the first time in the band’s 25-year career that it has licensed music for commercial purposes … Bill Wyman, the 68-year-old former Rolling Stones bassman, announces he will retire from touring with the Rhythm Kings, his current band …

2005, following an unfriendly Supreme Court decision about its file-sharing software and website, Grokster shuts down … it is reported that it will pay the music and movie industries $50 million in settlement of lawsuits … unfounded rumors abound that in order to be first in line ahead of the pirates, the major labels are considering their own file-sharing site called Huckster … Elton John and partner David Furnish set a date to wed … Mike Love of The Beach Boys files suit against his cousin Brian Wilson … Love claims that a British promotion for Wilson’s 2004 album Smile that gave away 2.6 million Beach Boys compilations discs, cut into the band’s sales … this marks the seventh time that Beach Boys have sued one another, but apparently there is no Love lost between them … in previous legal contests between Love and Wilson, both parties said in interviews that there was no malice between them; they simply couldn’t come up with an agreeable settlement by themselves … it’s like the old saying goes, "the family who cruise together, sues together" …

2006, former singer and guitarist John Hall of the band Orleans is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 19th New York congressional district … at his celebration party he elects to skip playing his signature tune "Still the One" in favor of Steven Van Zandt’s "I Am a Patriot" … Yoko Ono observes John Lennon’s 66th birthday in Reykjavik, Iceland … she dedicates the site of a planned Imagine Peace Tower, a 100-foot beam of light that will shine around the clock …

2007, The Eagles’ first studio album in 28 years, Long Road Out of Eden, debuts at #1 with sales of 710,000 copies … this despite its only being available at Wal-Mart stores and the band’s website … Donovan announces plans to open a Transcendental Meditation college in Scotland … it will be called the Invincible Donovan University … rumor has it that the original name was to be Invincible University of Donovan until deep meditation revealed to the former ’60s flower child that its college sweatshirts would bear the initials, IUD … so much for free love …

2008, Van Morrison reprises his 1968 critically revered LP Astral Weeks live at the Hollywood Bowl, supported by a full string section as well as Richard Davis on bass and Jay Berliner on guitar who both performed on the original studio release … a man accused of illegally posting songs on the Internet from an unreleased Guns N’ Roses album agrees to plead guilty … The New York Times announces that Bono will become an op-ed columnist for the paper in the coming year …

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

Arrivals:

November 5: Roy Rogers born Leonard Slye (1911), blues and R&B innovator Ike Turner (1931), Art Garfunkel (1941), Gram Parsons (1946), Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits (1947), Don McDougall of Guess Who (1948), Mike Score of A Flock Of Seagulls (1957), Bryan Adams (1959), David Bryson of Counting Crows (1961), singer-actress Andrea McArdle (1963), Jon Greenwood of Radiohead (1971), Ryan Adams (1974)

November 6: Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone (1814), John Philip Sousa, inventor of the sousaphone (1854), composer-pianist Ignace Jan Paderewski (1860), musician, songwriter, lyricist Gus Kahn, born Gustav Gerson Kahn, who penned songs such as "It Had To Be You" and "Dream a Little Dream Of Me" (1886), musician-arranger Ray Conniff, who founded The Ray Conniff Singers (1927), Joseph Pope, lead singer of The Tams (1933), singer P.J. Proby (1938), Guy Clark (1941), Glenn Frey of The Eagles (1948), Corey Glover of Living Colour (1964)

November 7: New Orleans trumpeter Al Hirt (1922), Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary (1937), soul singer Dee Clark, whose biggest single was "Raindrops" (1938), Johnny Rivers, rock-and-roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, born John Henry Ramistella (1942), singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell born Roberta Joan Anderson (1943), Liam O Maonlai of Hothouse Flowers (1964), Russell Barrett of Chapterhouse (1968)

November 8: Bert Burns, R&B producer of The Drifters and Van Morrison (1929), Bonnie Bramlett of Delaney and Bonnie (1944), Don Murray, drummer for The Turtles (1945), Roy Wood of The Move and ELO (1946), Minnie Riperton, singer-songwriter noted for her five-and-a-half octave vocal range (1947), blues singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt (1949), Gerald Alston, lead singer of The Manhattans (1951), singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones (1954), singer-actor-teen idol Leif Garrett born Leif Per Nervik (1961), Stephen Patman of Chapterhouse (1968)

November 9: big band leader Tommy Dorsey (1905), bass singer Leroy Fann of Ruby & The Romantics (1936), Tom Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival (1941), Phil May of The Pretty Things (1944), Alan Gratzer of REO Speedwagon (1948), Joe Bouchard of Blue Oyster Cult (1948), Tommy Caldwell, bassist for the Marshall Tucker Band (1949), Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa born Sandra Denton (1961), Brad "Scarface" Jordan of the Geto Boys (1969), singer-songwriter Diana King (1970), Susan Tedeschi, blues and roots-music singer and guitarist married to Derek Trucks (1970), Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees (1973), rock-country-rap-rock musician Uncle Kracker born Matthew Shafer (1974), Sisq", lead singer of R&B group Dru Hill, born Mark Althavan Andrews (1978)

November 10: singer-songwriter-musician Dave Loggins, cousin of Kenny Loggins (1947), country singer-songwriter Donna Fargo born Yvonne Vaughan (1947), Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1948), Ronnie Hammond of The Atlanta Rhythm Section (1950), Mario Cipollina of Huey Lewis and The News (1954), Frank Maudsley of A Flock of Seagulls (1959), West Coast rapper Warren G, born Warren Griffin III (1970), Eve, rapper-singer-actress-musician (1978)

November 11: jazz singer Ernestine Allen (1920), jazz pianist-singer Mose Allison (1927), R&B singer LaVern Baker (1929), David Lastle, New Orleans session sax man (1934), pop singer Brian Hyland of "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" fame (1943), The Youngbloods’ Jesse Colin Young, born Perry Miller (1944), godfather of grunge Neil Young (1945), Chris Dreja of The Yardbirds (1945), Vince Martell of Vanilla Fudge (1945), Arthur Tavares of disco singing group Tavares (1946), Andy Partridge of XTC (1953), singer-songwriter-guitarist Marshall Crenshaw (1953), Ian Craig Marsh of Heaven 17 (1956), LeToya Luckett formerly of Destiny’s Child (1980)

Departures:

November 5: Link Wray (2005), Robert Lee “Bobby” Hatfield of The Righteous Brothers (2003), saxophonist Eddie Harris (1996), jazz pianist Bobby Scott (1990), Barry Sadler (1989), Vladimir Horowitz (1989), Bobby Nunn (1986), Guy Lombardo (1977), Robert “Nighthawk” McCollum (1967), Johnny Horton (1960), piano magician Art Tatum (1956), Orioles singer Tommy Gaither (1950)

November 6: Hank Thompson, Texas honky-tonk and western swing pioneer (2007), George Osmond, patriarch of the singing Osmond Family (2007), jazz pianist Pete Jolly (2004), Don Julian, leader of The Meadowlarks (1998), novelty artist Dickie Goodman (1989), New York Dolls drummer Billy Murcia (1972)

November 7: rockabilly singer Jody Reynolds (2008), jazz drummer Vernel Fournier (2000), Jimmy Jones, studio bassist who worked with Wilson Pickett (1995), Carter Cornelius, leader of The Cornelius Brothers with Sister Rose (1991)

November 8: trumpeter Lester Bowie (1999), Dr. Tommy Comeaux of Beausoleil, voted best Cajun guitarist (1997), Country Dick Montana of The Beat Farmers (1995), R&B pianist James Booker (1983), R&B singer Ivory Joe Hunter (1974), pioneering blues guitarist Kokomo Arnold (1968)

November 9: English movie composer Stanley Myers (1993), Egon Wellesz, composer-teacher-musicologist and student of Arnold Schoenberg (1974), Swedish jazz composer Jan Johansson (1968), composer Frederick Preston Search (1957), Broadway and film composer Sigmund Romberg, best known for "Lover Come Back to Me" performed by Billie Holliday (1951), ragtime pianist and composer Ole Olsen born John Siguard Olsen, of the vaudeville act Olsen and Johnson, who hit the big time with the Broadway show and movie Hellzapoppin (1927), Mannheim composer Carl Philipp Stamitz, son of famous composer Johann Stamitz (1801)

November 10: Miriam Makeba (2008), Kanye West’s mother and manager, Donde West (2007), R&B singer Gerald Levert (2006), pop and jazz session guitarist Tommy Tedesco (1997), jazz singer-pianist-composer-actress Carmen McRae (1994), blueswoman Ida Cox (1967)

November 11: Beau Brummels drummer John Peterson (2007), Motown Records executive Gwen Gordy Fuqua (1999), R&B singer Ronnie Dyson (1990), Don Addrisi of the Addrisi Brothers, who wrote the hit "Never My Love" for The Association (1984), Allman Brothers bassist Berry Oakley (1972)

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1900, Len Spencer, believed to be the first nationally known recording star, releases his biggest hit “Arkansaw Traveler” … his other hits include “Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom De Ay,” “A Hot Time In The Old Town,” and “Hello! Ma Baby” …

1928, a candle starts a fire in a French Gypsy caravan … the left hand of 18-year-old guitarist Django Reinhardt is badly burned, leaving two fingers useless … with his right leg also injured, Django is bedridden for 18 months and uses that time for therapy, rebuilding his guitar chops so that by the mid-1930s he is a master of swing guitar and ultimately one of the best guitarists in any genre …

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1964, “Oh Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison turns gold … it is his ninth and last Top Ten single …

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1970, Jim Morrison gets six months in the slammer for exposing his privates in Miami … Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas marries actor Dennis Hopper … proving wrong those who said the marriage wouldn’t last a week, they divorce eight days later … Bob Dylan records “George Jackson,” a tribute to the black militant leader killed in a California prison shootout …

1971, while The Allman Brothers are on a break from touring and recording, guitarist Duane Allman loses control of his Harley-Davidson and is killed … Allman was trying to avoid a construction vehicle that abruptly stopped midway through a turn …

The Allman Brothers Band – “Whipping Post”

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1972, James Taylor and Carly Simon tie the knot in her Manhattan apartment … they will separate ten years later …

1975, Queen releases “Bohemian Rhapsody” as a single … with three and-a-half minutes being the standard time limit for a single, the band and producer Roy Thomas Baker have to convince EMI executives to release the six-minute recording without any edits … the single tops the U.K. chart for nine weeks and goes to #2 in the U.S … it will go to #1 again in the U.K. in 1991 after lead singer Freddie Mercury’s AIDS-related death …

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1977, during a London concert Elton John announces that he is retiring from live performance … as with most rock ‘n’ roll retirements this one is short-lived … The Bitch is back by February of 1979 … Martin Scorsese’s film The Last Waltz, commemorating The Band’s last concert at Winterland in San Francisco, opens to rave reviews in New York … Ozzy Osbourne quits Black Sabbath but returns a few weeks later …

1983, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon becomes the longest-running album ever on the Billboard chart at 491 continuous weeks …

1986, The Beastie Boys release their debut License To Ill … it will become the first rap album to reach #1 …

1988, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain smashes his guitar onstage for the first time at the Evergreen State Dorm Room Party in Olympia, Washington …

1991, a crowd of more than 300,000 attend a free show in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park called “A Benefit for Laughter, Love & Music” to commemorate the death of rock promoter Bill Graham … the bill includes The Grateful Dead; Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young; Joan Baez; Santana; and Journey who reunite for the memorial show … Graham died on October 25 when his helicopter hit a utility tower … blues, soul, rock, and country are all well represented when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Bobby “Blue” Bland, Booker T & The MGs, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, The Isley Brothers, The Yardbirds, and Sam and Dave …

1992, Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin sign a $39 million publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music …

1995, Hootie and the Blowfish and Bob Dylan reach an out-of-court settlement over the band’s unauthorized use of Dylan’s lyrics in their song, “Only Want To Be With You” …

1996, Michael Jackson announces that he and friend Debbie Rowe are expecting a child … the King of Pop denies tabloid reports that the baby had been conceived using artificial insemination and that Rowe was paid to bear the child … the pair will marry two weeks later …

1998, Kiss launches its Psycho Circus tour on Halloween in Los Angeles … thousands attend in costume and The Smashing Pumpkins are the opener … Ol’ Dirty Bastard of Wu Tang Clan is arrested for threatening to kill his former girlfriend … he is apprehended while climbing over a security gate at the woman’s place of employment …

1999, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and John Entwistle, the surviving members of The Who, reunite for the first time in two years for a concert in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand … KISS, Tony Bennett, and the Dixie Chicks also are on the bill … the webcast concert marks the launch of Internet video company Pixelon …

2002, hip-hop giant Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC is shot dead in his Jamaica, Queens recording studio … police pursue many leads and theories as to motive: unpaid drug bills, rival rappers, armed robbery, insurance scams, a rivalry with Murder, Inc. over 50 Cent, and more … the crime remains unsolved …

2004, Eric Clapton is made a commander of the Order of the British Empire in a Buckingham palace ceremony … Commander Clapton also announces that he and his wife Melia McEnery are expecting a child in January …

2006, a mere five months after settling to the tune of $12 million with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer over payola charges, Universal Music Group is back in hot water on charges that two of its labels engaged in pay-to-play practices that boosted the chart positions of CDs by JoJo and Nickelback … L.A.-area boy scout troops have begun offering a patch to scouts who learn about copyright laws and pledge not to pirate movies and music … scout’s honor …

… and that was last week that was.

Arrivals:

October 29: composer Vivian Ellis (1904), jazz arranger-composer Neal Hefti (1922), The Big Bopper J.P. Richardson (1930), Mickey Gallagher of Frampton’s Camel (1940), Denny Laine of the Moody Blues and Wings (1944), Peter Green, founder of Fleetwood Mac (1946), Roger O’Donnell of The Cure (1955), Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot (1955), Randy Jackson of the Jackson 5 (1961), Einar Orn Benediktsson of The Sugarcubes (1962), Peter Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies (1965), Douglas “SA” Vincent Martinez of 311 (1970), Toby Smith of Jamiroquai (1970)

October 30: trumpeter Clifford Brown (1930), rockabilly star Ray Smith (1934), Grace Slick born Grace Wing (1939), Timothy Schmidt of The Eagles (1947), Jim Messina (1947), David Green of Air Supply (1949), Otis Williams of the Temptations (1949), Joey BellaDonna of Anthrax (1960), Gavin Rossdale of Bush (1967)

October 31: Dale Evans (1912), Bernard Edwards of Chic (1952), South African rocker Johnny Clegg (1953), U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. (1961), Adam Horovitz a.k.a. King Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys (1966), Vanilla Ice born Robert Van Winkle (1967), Linn Berggren of Ace Of Base (1970)

November 1: blues songstress Sippie Wallace (1898), Peacock Records founder Don Robey (1903), Barry “Ballad of Green Berets” Sadler (1940), Rick Grech, bass player for Blind Faith and Traffic (1946), Dan Peek of America (1950), Ronald Bell of Kool and the Gang (1951), Lyle Lovett (1956), Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962), Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen (1963), Willie D of The Geto Boys (1966), LaTavia Roberson of Destiny’s Child (1981)

November 2: trumpet legend Bunny Berigan (1908), Keith Emerson (1944), J.D. Souther (1945), Dave Pegg of Jethro Tull (1947), Maxine Nightingale (1952), Carter Beauford of the Dave Matthews Band (1957), Bobby Dall of Poison (1958), Matt Sorum of Cult, Guns N’ Roses, and Velvet Revolver (1960), k.d. lang born Katherine Dawn Lang (1961), Alex James of Blur (1968), Reginald Arvizu of Korn (1969), John Hampson of Nine Days (1971), Nelly (1978)

November 3: Brian Poole of The Tremeloes (1941), Marie McDonald Lawrie a.k.a. Lulu (1948), Adam Ant born Stuart Leslie Goddard (1954)

November 4: Four Vagabonds singer John Jordan (1913), Delbert McClinton (1940), Dan Hartman (1951), Squeeze singer-guitarist Chris Difford (1954), pianist Yanni born Yiannis Hrysomallis (1954), James Honeyman-Scott, guitarist for the Pretenders (1957), Puff Daddy (1970)

Departures:

October 29: saxophonist Henry Berthold “Spike” Robinson (2001), jazz bandleader Woody Herman (1987), King Harvest drummer Wells Kelly (1984), guitar master Duane Allman (1971)

October 30: crooner Robert Goulet (2007), Ramones co-manager Linda Stein (2007), Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC (2002), TV host and musician Steve Allen (2000), British blues diva Jo-Ann Kelly (1990), hard swingin’ sax man Chu Berry (1941)

October 31: John Holohan, drummer for Bayside (2005), record exec Lester Sill (1994), A Chorus Line producer Joseph Papp (1991), Procol Harum drummer B.J. Wilson (1990), guitarist Malcolm Hale of Spanky and Our Gang (1968)

November 1: Mothers of Invention drummer Jimmy Carl Black (2008), hip-hop record exec Shakir Sweet (2008), Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac (2008), Grand Funk Railroad manager Terry Knight (2004), classic blues singer and pianist Sippie Wallace (1986), pioneer Delta blues singer Tommy Johnson (1956)

November 2: Sammy Kaye Band singer Wandra Merrell (1994), Mississippi John Hurt (1966)

November 3: singer Art Wood (2006), Lonnie Donegan (2002), blues harmonica player William Clarke (1996), songwriter Mort Shuman (1991)

November 4: Shonen Knife drummer Mana “China” Nishiura (2005), Bobby Nunn of the Coasters (1987), Hi-Lites singer Ronnie Goodson (1980)

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1958, while crossing the Atlantic on his way to a couple of years of Army service in Germany, Elvis is asked to put together a talent show and ends up playing piano in the impromptu band he organizes …

1959, The Isley Brothers’ classic "Shout" is released … the song is later covered by The Beatles in a TV special, and again in 1978 by Otis Day and the Knights in the movie Animal House …

Otis my man…

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1962, Bob Dylan makes his first appearance at Carnegie Hall … The Springfields are the first British vocal act to score a U.S. Top 20 hit with the single “Silver Threads and Golden Needles” … their lead singer is Mary O’Brien, who will later sustain a major solo career using the stage name Dusty Springfield …

1966, The Yardbirds, with lead guitarists Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, embark upon a British tour with The Rolling Stones and Tina Turner …

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1967, London’s UFO Club, memorable for being the place Pink Floyd launched its career, is shuttered following the drug bust of its owner …

1969, in the midst of rock’s golden era, The Archies’ bubblegum ditty “Sugar Sugar” hits #1 and stays there for four weeks … proving once again that you can’t go broke underestimating the public’s taste …

1970, 27-year-old Jimi Hendrix dies in a basement bedroom at the Samarkand Hotel in Notting Hill Gate, London … the room is rented to Monika Danneman who later claims that she and Jimi were to be married … he had taken about nine hits of quinalbarbitone and is already quite dead when the medics arrive, despite Danneman’s later claims that he had been alive at that time … the coroner’s report cites “inhalation of vomit due to barbiturate intoxication” as the cause of death … in 1993 the investigation into Hendrix’s death is reopened by Scotland Yard in order to clear up discrepancies about how and when the ambulance was called … Danneman is vilified in books and other media, and in 1996, commits suicide after losing a libel case brought by Kathy Etchingham, who originally reopened the Hendrix case …

Jimi Hendrix – “Foxy Lady” (1970)

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… Black Sabbath releases its second album Paranoid featuring "War Pigs" and "Iron Man," songs that would become heavy metal classics …

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1973, Gram Parsons of the Byrds dies after a fatal combination of alcohol and morphine in Joshua Tree, California … his coffin is stolen from the airport by his manager, Phil Kaufman, and a former Byrds roadie before it can be sent to New Orleans for a family burial … according to Kaufman, he and Parsons had made a pact months earlier that when one of them died “the survivor would take the other guy’s body out to Joshua Tree, have a few drinks, and burn it” … giving new meaning to the phrase, "smoked a gram," the two make their way into the desert night after toasting their departed friend at a local bar, pour five gallons of gasoline onto the body, and light it … the fire is spotted quickly, before the cremation is complete … days later, Kaufman will be found and charged with stealing a coffin and sentenced to pay $750 for the casket …

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1980, a newly formed Geffen Records signs John Lennon … David Bowie makes his Broadway debut playing the title character in The Elephant Man …

1983, the members of KISS appear on MTV sans their trademark makeup … the band had already lost original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, and are trying to reinvent themselves … the ploy seems to work, as their next release Lick it Up became their first platinum album in four years …

1984, Mötley Crüe makes its concert debut at the Monsters of Rock festival in England …

1998, hard rock act White Zombie will no longer feast on the brains of the living … the group disbands shortly after the release of singer Rob Zombie’s solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe …

2004, Cat Stevens is kicked out of the United States after a jet bound for Washington from London is diverted to unload him … the former pop singer now known as Yusuf Islam, born Stephen Georgiou, enjoyed a string of hits in the 1960s and 70s, including "Wild World" and "Morning Has Broken" … he released two songs, including a rerecording of "Peace Train," to express his opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq … officials say he was refused entry under the Immigration and Naturalization Act “based on national security grounds” …

2005, soul singer D’Angelo is seriously injured when his Hummer hits a fence in Virginia and flips … INXS announces they have hired a former Canadian Elvis impersonator, J.D Fortune, to replace former frontman Michael Hutchence, who committed suicide in 1997 … the band eventually splits with Fortune, who literally blows it thanks to his predilection for white powder … apparently Fortune favors the strung (out) …

2006, three bad boys of rock, Pete Doherty of Babyshambles, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, and Tom Chaplin of Keane, all residents at London’s Priory rehab treatment center, are reported to be jamming together … this despite Hawkins having referred earlier to Doherty as being “a talentless waste of skin” … apparently their shared rehab dilemma has healed old wounds … meanwhile the British tabloids have dubbed the trio "The Arctic Junkies” … perhaps if Ben and Jerry’s got onto the act, we’d have a new flavor called Junky Monkey …

2007, it’s reported that director Martin Scorsese is working on a documentary about George Harrison and will have the cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the late Beatle’s widow, Olivia …

2008, in a real turnabout, Metallica fans ask the veteran heavy metalists to turn it down … in recording the band’s latest album, Death Magnetic, the sound was cranked and compressed so severely that the CD is riddled with distortion … 11,000 fans sign an online petition asking the band to remix and reissue the album … it is soon discovered that the same tracks appearing in the game Guitar Hero aren’t compressed to a flat waveform and sound much better … Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks implores Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder to write a song in support of the team’s World Series aspirations … Vedder’s "All The Way" is the result, but the Cubbies still fail to make the Series …

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

Arrivals

September 17: composer Gustav Holst (1874), country music icon, Hank Williams (1923), Bill Black, Elvis’s standup bass player (1926), LaMonte McLemore of The 5th Dimension (1940), Steely Dan drummer Jimmy Hodder (1947), James Gang bassist Dale Peters (1947), Fee Waybill, lead singer of The Tubes (1950), Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders (1951), R&B and gospel singer Bebe Winans (1962), Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian (1968), Vinnie Brown of Naughty By Nature (1970), Maile Misajon of Eden’s Crush (1976), Chuck Comeau of Simple Plan (1979)

September 18: jazz vocalist of "Mr Wonderful" fame, Teddi King (1929), pop singer Jimmie Rodgers (1933), teen idol Frankie Avalon (1939), Kerry Livgren of Kansas (1949), Dee Dee Ramone, born Douglas Colvin (1952), Joanne Catherall of Human League (1962), Ian Spice of Breathe (1966), Ricky Bell of Bell Biv Devoe (1967)

September 19: R&B singer-songwriter Brook Benton (1931), Beatles manager Brian Epstein (1934), Nick Massi, bassist and bass singer of The Four Seasons (1935), Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers (1940), singer-songwriter-pianist Paul Williams (1940), Mama Cass Elliot of The Mamas & The Papas, born Ellen Naomi Cohen (1941), singer-actress Freda Payne (1942), bluegrass guitarist David Bromberg (1945), Lol Creme of 10cc (1947), U2 producer Daniel Lanois (1951), Nile Rodgers of Chic (1952), country artist Trisha Yearwood (1962), James Tapp AKA rapper Soulja Slim (1977)

September 20: singer and New Orleans-style pianist Eddie Bo (1930), funk and jazz guitarist Eric Gale (1939), John Panozzo, drummer for Styx (1948), Alannah Currie of The Thompson Twins (1959), Cowboy of The Furious Five, born Robert Keith Wiggins (1960), Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme (1966), Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, twin sons of Ricky Nelson (1967), Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden (1968), Rick Woolstenhulme of Lifehouse (1979)

September 21: jazz drummer Chico Hamilton, born Forestorn Hamilton (1921), singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen (1934), pop singer Dickey Lee, born Dickey Lee Lipscomb (1969), Don Felder of The Eagles (1947), lead singer-guitarist of Oasis, Liam Gallagher (1972)

September 22: Mike Patto, leader and vocalist for ’70s Brit rock band Patto (1942)

September 23: R&B and jazz bandleader Tiny Bradshaw (1905), Marion Kelsker, assistant to Sun Records’ Sam Phillips who urged him to record Elvis (1917), blues guitarist-harpist Joe Hill Louis (1921), jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane (1926), jazz bassist Jimmy Woode (1928), Wally Whyton, leader of the British skiffle band The Vipers (1929), blues guitarist Fenton Robinson (1935), blues, rock, and jazz guitarist Roy Buchanan (1939), singer-songwriter Charlie Fox (1939), British one-man blues band Duster Bennett (1943), songwriter-producer-session pianist Don Grolnick (1947), Jerry Corbetta of Sugarloaf (1947), Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh (1950), John Baker Saunders, bassist for Seattle band Mad Season (1954)

Departures

September 17: rock guitarist Al Casey, who worked with Lee Hazelwood, The Beach Boys, and others (2006), Rob Tyner of MC5 (1991), Dave Patillo of doo-wop group The Red Caps (1967)

September 18: singer-songwriter Charlie Fox of "Mockingbird" fame (1998), blues and jazz singer Jimmy Witherspoon (1997), R&B jump blues singer Roy Milton (1983), Jimi Hendrix (1970), country blues harmonica player Will Shade (1966)

September 19: saxophonist Danny Flores of "Tequila" fame (2006), Motown writer-producer Willie Hutch (2005), crossover country singer Skeeter Davis, born Mary Frances Penick (2004) Australian folkie Slim Dusty (2003), contemporary Christian singer Rich Mullins (1997), Motown arranger and session keyboardist Earl Van Dyke (1992), Gram Parsons of The Byrds, born Cecil Ingram Connor (1973)

September 20: Texas swing singer-yodeler Don Walser (2006) Broadway composer Jule Styne (1994), singer-songwriter Steve Goodman (1984), singer-songwriter Jim Croce (1973), Maury Muehleisen, guitarist with Jim Croce (1973), Country Music Hall of Famer Red Foley (1968)

September 21: former Fender CEO William "Bill" Schultz (2006), Bad Company bassist Raymond "Boz" Burrell (2006)

September 22: big band singer Connie Haines (2008)

September 23: blues harmonica player-vocalist-songwriter Gary Primich (2007), Etta Baker, Piedmont blues guitarist prominent in the folk revival of the 1960s (2006), Mississippi blues singer-guitarist Houston Stackhouse (1980), Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh (1974)

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