March 17

Birthdays

1919:  Nat King Cole

1941:  Clarence Collins( Little Anthony and The Imperials)

1941:  Paul Kantner (guitar, Jefferson Airplane)

1944:  John Sebastian (The Lovin Spoonful)

1946:  Harold Brown (War)

1951:  Scott Gorham (guitar, Thin Lizzy)

1954:  Wally Stocker (The Babys)

1959:  Mike Lindup (keyboards, Level 42)

1962:  Clare Grogan (vocals Altered Images)

1963:  Michael Ivins (bass, Flaming Lips)

1967:  Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins)

1972:  Melissa Auf Der Maur (Hole)

1973:  Caroline Corr (The Corrs)

1975:  Justin Hawkins (vocals, The Darkness)

Events

1956:  Carl Perkins appeared on "Ozark Jubilee." It was his first television appearance.

1957:  Elvis Presley bought the Graceland mansion from Mrs. Ruth Brown-Moore for $102,500. The 23 room, 10,000 square foot home, on 13.8 acres of land, would be expanded to 17,552 square feet of living space before the king moved in a few weeks later. The original building had at one time been a place of worship, used by the Graceland Christian Church and was named after the builder's daughter, Grace Toof.

1958:  The Champs started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Tequila'.

1958:  The Coasters recorded "Yakety Yak."  

1962:  Billboard Magazine reported that Ray Charles had started Tangerine, his own record label.

1968:  The Bee Gees made their US television debut when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.  They performed "To Love Somebody" and "Words."

1973:  Eric Weissberg started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Dueling Banjos.' Taken from the film 'Deliverance.'

1973:  Dr Hook's single 'On The Cover Of Rolling Stone peaked at No.6 on the US chart. The single was banned in the UK by the BBC due to the reference of the magazine.

1976:  Johnny Thunders (New York Dolls) and the Heartbreakers appeared at CBGB'S, in New York City.

1978:  U2 won ($850) and a chance to audition for CBS Ireland in a talent contest held in Dublin. The Limerick Civic Week Pop '78 Competition was sponsored by The Evening Express and Guinness Harp Lager.

1982:  Samuel George Jr, lead singer of  the group The Capitols was killed aged 39 after being stabbed during a family argument. They had the 1966 No. 7 single 'Cool Jerk.'

1990:  Rick Grech, bass player with Family, Blind Faith and Traffic died of kidney and liver failure.

1995:  Suzanne Vega married Mitchell Froom.

1997:  Singer Jermaine Stewart died of cancer. ('We Don't Have To...Take Our Clothes Off').  He also worked with Shalamar, The Temptations and Boy George.

1997:  Elvis Presley Enterprises of Memphis, Tennessee, lost its Court of Appeal battle to stop London trader Sid Shaw using the name of 'The King' on his souvenirs. The legal tussle with Mr Shaw, who ran a memorabilia shop called 'Elvisly Yours', had been going on for over 17 years. Speaking after the ruling, Mr Shaw said: "I'm delighted. I've proved that Elvis belongs to all of us - Elvis is part of our history, part of our culture.

1997 – The RIAA announced that the Eagles’ "Greatest Hits" album had tied Michael Jackson- “Thriller” the all-time best-selling album in the U.S.

1998:  Van Halen released "Van Halen 3." It was the band's first album with lead singer Gary Cherone (Extreme)

2002:  The Soundtrack album ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ started a two-week run at No.1 on the US album chart.

2004:  The Kinks singer Ray Davies received his CBE medal from the Queen at Buckingham Palace for services to the music industry.

2005:   Justin Hawkins from The Darkness became the centre of the latest hands-on activity at Madame Tussauds in London. His wax double would judge the air guitar skills of visitors who would be invited to play an imaginary guitar with smoke and music pumping out. Hawkins said: ‘I find the process of air guitaring rather silly. What makes a good air guitarist? Alcohol. '

2006:  The Smiths turned down a $5m offer to reform for a music festival. The band, who split acrimoniously in 1987, rejected the bid to get back together for this year's Coachella US festival.

2008:  Ola Brunkert, the former drummer with the Swedish group Abba, was found dead with his throat cut at his home in Majorca, Spain. Brunkert died after he hit his head against a glass door in the dining room at his home. He was found dead in his garden after trying to seek help. The 62 year old musician had played on every Abba album and had toured with the group.

2010:  Alex Chilton, singer and guitarist with Big Star, died in hospital of heart problems in New Orleans aged 59. As a teenager Chilton had been a member of The Box Tops who had the 1967 hit ‘The Letter’.