Friday, March 18, 2011

March 18


Birthdays
1936:  Robert Lee Smith (The Tams)
1938:  Charlie Pride (Country Singer)
1941:  Wilson Pickett  (Soul Singer)
1947:  Barry J Wilson (drums for Procol Harum)
1950:  John Hartman (The Doobie Brothers)
1959:  Irene Cara (Singer)
1961:  Grant Hart (Husker Du)
1963:   Vanessa Williams (Singer)
1964:   Courtney Pine (Jazz Musician)
1966:   Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains)
1970:   Queen Latifah (Singer & Rapper)
1974:   Stuart Zender (Bass for Jamiroquai)
1979:   Adam Levine (guitar & vocals for Maroon 5)

Events

1939:  Frank Sinatra made his first recording, a song called ‘Our Love’, with the Frank Mane band.

1958: Jerry Lee Lewis becomes the first musician to appear on American Bandstand actually singing and not lip-synching his performance. Singing "Great Balls Of Fire," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," and "Breathless" live, he also becomes the first guest to perform three songs on the program.

1959:  EMI Records in the UK announced that it had now stopped all production of 78 rpm discs.

1965: The Rolling Stones were each fined $8.50 for urinating in a public place. The incident took place at a petrol station after a gig in Romford, Essex, England.

1965, John Lennon gave his friend and ex-Quarry Man Pete Shotton $35,000 to open Hayling Supermarkets. Lennon, George Harrison and Shotton became joint directors of Hayling Supermarkets Ltd.

1967:  The UK music magazine New Musical Express announced that former Spence Davis Group member Steve Winwood was planning to form a new group with Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. The ensemble would choose the name Traffic.

1967:  Pink Floyd signed to EMI Records in the UK.

1967:  The Beatles scored their 13th US No.1 single with 'Penny Lane.'

1972:  Neil Young started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Heart Of Gold'. His only Top 20 hit as a solo artist reached No.10 on the UK chart.

1973: At Earl's Court in London, Pink Floyd perform their just-released album Dark Side Of The Moon in its entirety for the first time.

1974:  Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the first of eight shows over four nights at Gertie’s in Dallas, Texas.

1975: Ken Russell's bizarre and controversial film of the Who's rock opera Tommy premieres in New York.

1976:  The Film 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' featuring David Bowie premiered in London.

1977:  The Clash released their debut single 'White Riot.' It peaked at No.38 on the UK charts.

1978:  The Bee Gees had the Top 3 on the US singles charts, 'Night Fever' at No.1, '(Love is) Thicker Than Water', by brother Andy at No.2, co-written by Barry Gibb and 'Emotion' by Samantha Song written and produced by The Bee Gees at No.3.

1982:  Driving home from a basketball game in Philadelphia, soul singer Teddy Pendergrass crashed his Rolls Royce severely injuring his spinal cord.

1991:  After attending an in-store promo appearance U2 were fined $850 after being found guilty of selling condoms illegally at the Virgin Megastore, Dublin.

1992:  Donna Summer received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1994:  Four guns and 25 boxes of ammo were confiscated from Kurt Cobain after his wife, Courtney Love, called police fearing he was going to commit suicide. He did commit suicide about 3 weeks later.

1994: Darryl Jones replaces longtime bassist Bill Wyman in the Rolling Stones.

1996:  The Sex Pistols announced their comeback at the 100 Club in London, 20 years after they had split.

1997:  Joni Mitchell announced that she had reunited with a daughter she had given up for adoption many years earlier.


2001:  John Phillips of Mamas and The Papas died of heart failure aged 65. .

2002:  The Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam and close friend of the Ramones. The ceremony took place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

2002:  In Concord, CA, about 1,500 teenagers swarmed a music store to get autographs from the R&B band B2K. The Sun Valley Mall was temporarily shut down due to the unexpectedly large crowd.

2002: In New York, Isaac Hayes, Brenda Lee, and Gene Pitney (among others) are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

2004:  Courtney Love exposed her breasts during an appearance on David Letterman's TV talk show. The singer who had her back to the audience flashed at the presenter while singing the song Danny Boy. After the show, she went on to perform a surprise gig at the Plaid night-club in Manhattan where she was alleged to have injured a man by throwing a microphone stand into the crowd. Ms. Love was charged with assault and reckless endangerment.