This is the week that was in matters musical …
1938, Annie Mae Bullock is born in Nutbush, Tennessee … she will marry Ike Turner to become better known as Tina Turner … years later she dumps Ike but doesn’t go back to being a Bullock or to Nutbush …
1954, musical prodigy Craig Hundley is born … a popular child actor in the ’60s (most remembered for guest roles in Star Trek and Bewitched), he formed the Craig Hundley Trio and became a respected jazz pianist at the tender age of 14 … he went on to a successful career (as Craig Huxley) in new age music as a performer, composer, and producer … his most notable achievement was the invention of the Blaster Beam, a unique electronic instrument that consisted of a 15-foot metal beam strung with several wires and equipped with electric guitar pickups … it was played by striking the wires with metallic objects … the Blaster Beam was first heard in Star Trek: The Motion Picture as the distinctive metallic bass notes associated with “V’ger” … the Blaster Beam went on to become a staple of science fiction film scores in the ’80s and ’90s, such as 2010 and Alien3 …
1955, RCA Records buys the rights to the music of Elvis Presley for $25,000 …
1957, The Miles Davis Quintet debuts with a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City …
1961, blues shouter Howlin’ Wolf arrives in London as part of a lineup of American blues musicians who take Britain and, later, the continent by storm …
… a series of annual American Folk Blues Festivals follow, leading to a generation of Brits such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Charlie Watts, and Keith Richards becoming blues devotees, who during the mid-’60s reintroduce white America to its own roots-music heritage … The Everly Brothers are inducted into the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves …
1964, rabble-rousing political activist and gifted musician Willie Nelson debuts at the Grand Ole Opry, kicking off a career that includes 20 number one hits and 114 singles that make it to the country and/or pop charts – see Jon Rauhouse supporting Willie on tour as part of Billy Bob Thornton’s band the Boxmaster …
1965, Bob Dylan and former Playboy bunny Sara Lownds are married …
1966, The Jimi Hendrix Experience debuts at London’s Bag O’ Nails club … The Temptations’ “(I Know) I’m Losing You” enters the R&B chart and swiftly rises to the top slot … the tune will chart three more times with covers by Rare Earth, Rod Stewart, and The Uptown Girls …
1967, Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant album is released …
1968, The Beatles release their double album called The Beatles, also known as The White Album …
1969, as John and Paul’s excellent adventure draws to a close, John Lennon returns his MBE to Queen Elizabeth in protest of British foreign policy … the MBE (Member of the British Empire) is the fifth and lowest rank in The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, a British order of chivalry (knighthood) established by King George V in 1917 … only the two highest ranks entail admission to knighthood, which entitles the recipient to use the title “Sir” …
1970, free-jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler is found dead in New York’s East River … rumors circulate that he was murdered though the evidence seems to point to a suicide …
1974, dream weaver Gary Wright quits the band Spooky Tooth to go solo …
1976, The Band bids adieu to its fans at San Francisco’s Winterland with a star-studded show that includes their former boss Ronnie Hawkins, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, The Staple Singers, Dr. John, Eric Clapton, and many more … Martin Scorsese is on hand to film the proceedings resulting in the movie, The Last Waltz, widely regarded as one of the best rock movies ever … in 2002 the film is reissued in DVD format with gloriously remixed 5.1 sound and lots of additional performances not seen in the theatrical release … one of the extras is an extended jam with Morrison, Clapton, Wood, et al, during which the motors in Scorsese’s cinema cameras melted down as they were not designed to handle the continuous shooting … the final part of the jam is audio-only … getting an early start on his day, Jerry Lee Lewis is busted for drunk driving after plunging his Rolls Royce into a ditch … at 9 o’clock in the morning …
1984, several British and American stars get together as Band-Aid, and record “Do They Know It’s Christmas” … the project, planned by Bob Geldof, is aimed at Ethiopian famine relief …
1985, after New Edition votes Bobby Brown off the island, Brown announces he is leaving New Edition to begin a solo career … Brown releases the album Don’t Be Cruel, which will sell 12 million copies … however, not heeding the advice of his record’s title, Brown’s career will also feature his usual arresting behavior including lewd onstage antics plus substance and spousal abuse …
1990, things look pretty rosy for Axl Rose as L.A. law enforcement officials announce that there is not enough evidence to prosecute him regarding a neighbor’s accusations of assault … apparently Gabriella Kantor had an Axl to grind, charging that Rose hit her with a bottle of wine in response to her threat to call the police because of Rose’s loud music … the incident leaves only one question … what type of wine does one choose for neighbor-beating? … may we suggest a nice ’62 Axl rosé …
1992, Paul Simon begins his first tour of South America in Brazil …
1994, 26 years to the day after the Beatle’s release of The White Album, Prince releases The Black Album … is the prince of badness trying to tell us something? …
1997, ex-Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten appears on Judge Judy when a drummer sues him for $5,000 in lost wages and claims Rotten hit him … Johnny maintains that the drummer quit days before the tour was to begin … Judy rules in Johnny’s favor … the original lineup of the Zombies plays onstage for the first time in 30 years … speaking of long-awaited performances, Garth Brooks’ long-delayed seventh album, Sevens is finally released … a day after its release, the album sets a record by placing 12 of its 14 tracks in the Hot Country 100 Singles and Tracks chart, eclipsing the former record of eight tracks, also set by Brooks with his album Fresh Horses …
1998, Craig Marks, an editor for Spin magazine, reports to police that he was roughed up by Marilyn Manson’s bodyguards at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York … Marks says he was initially invited backstage to talk to Manson but things turned sinister when, according to Marks, the shock rocker warned him, “You know I can kill you, your family, and everyone you know” … Manson’s lawyer calls the accusations “groundless,” while fans say that’s just Marilyn’s way of being nice …
1999, pop singer Jewel pulls the plug on her planned Anchorage, AK, New Year’s Eve show citing concerns over possible Y2K problems … but according to some sources, it was really a Y1K problem: why were only 1,000 of the 8,000 available seats sold? … meanwhile, as pop pundits ponder the pop star’s plummeting popularity, the concert is canceled … country star Patty Loveless rides a train across Appalachia distributing 15 tons of Christmas gifts to poor families in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia …
2004, U2 surprises NYC with a free concert …
2005, Barbara Orbison, widow of Roy Orbison, begins a campaign to get her late husband’s likeness put on a postage stamp … among supporters of the effort are President George W. Bush, Bono, Dan Aykroyd, and Pamela Anderson …
2006, The Doors, minus Jim Morisson of course, reunite for a one-off show at Hollywood’s Whisky a Go Go … it’s been four decades since the band has played the legendary club … Slash and Perry Farrell are on hand to flesh out the lineup … the Eagles of Death Metal are summarily fired onstage by Axl Rose after playing the first of 15 planned opening sets on Guns ’n Roses’ North American tour…following the Eagles set, Rose asks the crowd, “How’d you like the Pigeons of Sh*t Metal? Don’t worry, that’s the last show they’re playing with us.”…responding to the firing, Eagles leader Jesse Hughes reflects, “When [Axl] goes off his meds, [he’s] not Paxil Rose anymore.” … Eddie Van Halen fires original bass player Michael Anthony, replacing him with Eddie’s 15-year-old son Wolfgang … Guitar Center sells out its entire allotment of 185 reproductions of Eric Clapton’s mid-’60s Strat affectionately known as “Blackie” in seven hours … the original axe that Clapton pieced together from the best bits of three Stratocasters was bought by Guitar Center at auction and was dismantled by Fender lutheirs in the process of creating the specially aged replicas …
2007, Nirvana’s celebrated Unplugged show is released on DVD…the video includes rehearsal footage and two songs that weren’t broadcast… also this week, wildfires in Malibu torch Flea’s $4.8 million mansion…the Red Hot Chile Peppers bassist had rented out the home to producer Butch Walker who lost everything including a collection of vintage studio gear in the blaze…Axl Rose’s home avoids a similar fate when the G ‘N R frontman mans a hose to wet down his roof … no word on whether the Chinese Democracy tapes were ever in peril …
[Compiled by the Musician’s Friend copywriting staff]
Arrivals:
November 20: Dick Smothers (1939), Tony Butala of The Lettermen (1940), Norman Greenbaum (1942), Duane Allman (1946), Joe Walsh (1947), George Grantham of Poco (1947), Steve Ferguson of NRBQ (1949), Jim Brown of UB40 (1957), Todd Nance of Widespread Panic (1962), Mike “D” Diamond of The Beastie Boys (1965), Sen Dog of Cypress Hill (1965), songwriter Kevin Gilbert (1966), Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest (1970)
November 21: tenor sax giant Coleman Hawkins (1904), R&B producer-manager Buck Ram (1907), blues and jazz pianist Lloyd Glenn (1909), vocalist-saxophonist “Big” John Greer (1923), Malcolm John Rebennack AKA Dr. John (1941), Lonnie Jordan of War (1948), Steve Ferguson of NRBQ (1949), Livingston Taylor (1950), Peter Koppes of The Church (1955), Stacy Guess of Squirrel Nut Zippers (1964), Bjork (1965), Blur’s Alex James (1968), Pretty Lou of Lost Boyz (1974), Kelsi Osborn of SHeDAISY (1984)
November 22: Rod Price of Foghat (1940), composer-pianist Hoagy Carmichael (1940), Elvis imitator Terry Stafford (1941), Jamie Troy of The Classics (1942), Floyd Sneed of Three Dog Night (1943), reggae musician Aston “Family Man” Barrett (1946), “Little” Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band (1950), Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads (1950), Craig Hundley, composer and inventor of the Blaster Beam instrument used in Star Trek sound tracks (1954), Jason Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorchers (1958), Rasa Don of Arrested Development (1968)
November 23: Chicago blues producer and bassist Al Smith (1923), Johnny Kidd, of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, who wrote “Shakin’ All Over,” later covered by The Who (1939), John Hunter, drummer for Memphis psychedelic band The Hombres (1941)
November 24: ragtime pianist Scott Joplin (1868), pre-Ringo Beatles drummer Pete Best (1941), Booker T. and the MGs and Blues Brothers bassist, Donald “Duck” Dunn (1941), session pianist Richard Tee, born Richard Ten Ryk (1943), Robin Williamson of The Incredible String Band (1943), organist-singer Lee Michaels (1945), Clement Burke of Blondie (1955), Chris Hayes of Huey Lewis & The News (1957), John Squire of Stone Roses (1962), Chad Taylor of Live (1970)
November 25: Eddie Boyd, Chicago blues pianist whose big hit was “Five Long Years” (1914), singer Percy Sledge (1940), Bev Bevan of The Move and ELO (1946), country crossover artist Amy Grant (1960), singer Stacy Lattisaw (1966), Rodney Sheppard of Sugar Ray (1967)
November 26: Nesuhi Ertegun, cofounder of Atlantic Records (1917), crooner Robert Goulet (1933), Tina Turner, born Annie Mae Bullock (1938), Alan Henderson of Them (1944), Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie (1945), Matchbox Twenty’s Adam Gaynor (1963), Lil Fizz of B2K (1985)
Departures:
November 20: washtub bassist and jug player Fritz Richmond (2006), singer-songwriter Chris Whitley (2005), album cover artist Gene Greif (2004), Roland Alphonso of the Skatalites (1998), rock critic and blues producer Robert Palmer (1997), Chess and Vee-Jay Records session drummer Earl Phillips (1990)
November 21: blues guitarist Robert Lockwood Jr. (2006), Alvin Cash (1999), Matthew Ashman of Adam & the Ants and Bow Wow Wow (1995), Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant (1995)
November 22: jazz impresario Norman Ganz (2001), Michael Hutchence, lead singer of INXS (1997), Epick Soundtracks of The Swell Maps (1997), June Abbit AKA Joe Abbit Sr. of The 5 Royales (1995)
November 23: Anita O’Day, jazz singer with Gene Krupa and Stan Kenton (2006), Michael Stewart, co-founder of We Five and producer of Billy Joel (2002), jazz saxophonist Art Porter (1996), Junior Walker of Junior Walker and the Allstars (1995), Badfinger bassist Tom Evans (1983)
November 24: Casey Calvert of Hawthorne Heights (2007), Melanie Thornton of La Bouche (2001), songwriter Tommy Boyce (1994), blues guitarist Albert Collins (1993), KISS drummer Eric Carr (1991), Freddie Mercury (1991), Big Joe Turner (1985) Chicago sax player J.T. Brown (1969)
November 25: Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot (2007), Artie Mogull, record exec who signed Bob Dylan to his publishing deal (2004), underappreciated blues guitar player and singer Fenton Robinson (1997), French chanteuse Barbara (1997), British dance-pop artist Wildchild, born Roger McKenzie (1995), lead singer with techno band Mi-Sex, Steve Gilpin (1991), Nick Drake, English singer-songwriter who has achieved posthumous popularity (1974), free-jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler (1970)
November 26: Bluesman-pianist Robert “H-Bomb” Ferguson (2006), prison singer James Carter (2003), rapper James Tapp AKA Soulja Slim (2003), David Briggs, producer long associated with Neil Young (1995), Cornell Gunter, who worked with The Coasters (1990), John Rostil, bassist with Cliff Richards, (1973), R&B and jazz bandleader Tiny Bradshaw (1958), Tommy Dorsey (1956)