Today in Music History...April 4, 2017 (Now with links)

Music History: April 4

 

2014 Richard Marx and Cynthia Rhodes announce the end of their 25-year marriage that included the birth of three sons. The pair met in 1983 when both were working on the film Staying Alive (Marx on the soundtrack, Rhodes as a dancer).

2009 Cleveland's Public Hall, site of historic concerts by The Beatles (1964) and The Doors (1968), is center stage again as the site of the 24th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The class of 2009 includes performer inductees Jeff Beck, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Metallica, Run-DMC and Bobby Womack; Early Influence inductee Wanda Jackson; Sidemen inductees Bill Black, DJ Fontana and Spooner Oldham.

2008 New Kids on the Block announce their upcoming reunion tour during NBC's Today show in New York City.

2008 Procol Harum's Gary Brooker wins an appeal in London to an earlier ruling, which stated that Harum organist Matthew Fisher was entitled to 40 percent of the royalties from the band's 1967 smash "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." Though the new ruling notes that Fisher wrote the organ line and should be co-credited, it also overturns the royalty award by noting that Fisher waited 38 years to sue.

2008 The Martin Scorsese-directed Rolling Stones concert documentary Shine A Light hits theaters. The next week, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Jack White appear on the cover of Rolling Stone with the headline, "Blues Brothers."

2007 An article is published in New Musical Express quoting Keith Richards as saying: "I snorted my father." Richards later claimed it was an April Fool's joke.

2005 A man who won an out-of-court settlement in 1994 against the singer for a similar charge testifies in Michael Jackson's current molestation trial.

2003 The Rolling Stones make their stage debut in India, performing at Bangalore Palace in the middle of a monsoon!

1996 Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia's ashes are scattered in the Ganges river in India by Dead guitarist Bob Weir and Garcia's widow, Deborah.

1996 More trouble for Wilson Pickett, who after serving a one-year jail sentence in 1994 is arrested at his New Jersey home and charged with possession of two grams of cocaine. Still on probation, he enters a rehab center in August.

1992 Beastie Boys make their first concert appearance playing instruments at a show at The Palladium in Los Angeles.

1978 Loretta Lynn sings "One's on the Way" on episode #308 of The Muppet Show. Because the Muppet Theatre is supposedly being fumigated, the entire show takes place at a railroad station.

1974 R&B singer Andre Dalyrimple is born in Georgia. Along with his three brothers, he'll form the group Soul For Real, known for their 1994 hit "Candy Rain."

1973 R&B singer Kelly Price is born in Queens, New York.

1972 Elvis Presley releases "An American Trilogy" with "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" on the flip side.

1972 Bass guitarist Magnus Sveningsson (The Cardigans) is born in Falkoping, Sweden.

1972 R&B singer Jill Scott is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1969 CBS cancels the highly rated but controversial Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Artist to appear on the show include The Who, The Doors and Jefferson Airplane.

1967 The Beatles record "Within You Without You."

1967 Jimi Hendrix guests on the first broadcast of the BBC show Dee Time, hosted by Kiki Dee. Cat Stevens is also on the show.

1966 Bass guitarist Mike Starr (Alice in Chains) is born in Honolulu, Hawaii.

1964 A court orders The Trashmen of "Surfin' Bird" fame to pay royalties to Beechwood Music, holder of the copyright for The Rivingtons' 1962 hit "Papa Oom Mow Mow," which The Trashmen hit borrows heavily from.

1962 Bass guitarist Craig Adams (The Cult) is born in Otley, West Yorkshire, England.

1961 The Marcels' "Blue Moon" hits #1.

1961 Former teen idol Fabian graduates from Philadelphia's South Side High.

1960 Elvis Presley records "The Girl Of My Best Friend," "Dirty, Dirty Feeling," "Thrill Of Your Love," I Gotta Know, "Such A Night," "Are You Lonesome Tonight," "The Girl Next Door Went A-walking," "I Will Be Home Again," and "Reconsider Baby."

1960 RCA Victor decides to release all future singles -- starting with its next, Elvis Presley's "Stuck On You" -- in both mono and stereo versions.

1960 Frank Sinatra's version of "High Hopes" from the movie A Hole In The Head wins the Oscar for Best Original Song.

1958 Earl Grant records "(At) The End (Of A Rainbow)."

1952 Rock guitarist Dave Hill (Slade) is born in Holbeton, Devon, England.

1952 Blues guitarist Gary Moore (Thin Lizzy) is born Robert William Gary Moore in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1951 Country musician Steve Gatlin (The Gatlin Brothers) is born in Olney, Texas.

1950 Rock drummer Phillip "Pip" Pyle (Gong, Hatfield and the North, National Health) is born in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England.

1948 Bass guitarist Berry Oakley (The Allman Brothers Band) is born Raymond Berry Oakley III in Chicago, Illinois.

1948 Rock drummer Pick Withers (Dire Straits) is born David Withers in Leicester, England.

1942 Kris Jensen, known for the 1962 hit "Torture," is born Peter Jensen in New Haven, Connecticut.

1941 R&B singer Major Lance, known for hits like "The Monkey Time" and "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um," is born in Winterville, Mississippi.

1940 Songwriter Sharon Sheeley, who writes hits for Glen Campbell, Brenda Lee and Eddie Cochran, is born in California. She also pens Ricky Nelson's first #1 hit, "Poor Little Fool."

1939 Jazz musician Hugh Masekela is born in South Africa.

1938 Actor and singer Michael Parks is born Harry Samuel Parks in Corona, California.

1938 Country singer-songwriter Norris "Norro" Wilson is born in Scottsville, Kentucky.

1936 Margo Sylvia, lead singer of The Tune Weavers (known for the 1957 hit "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby"), is born Margo Lopez.

1932 Music mogul Clive Davis, founder of Arista Records, is born in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to working with artists like Kelly Clarkson, TLC, Alicia Keys, and Aretha Franklin, he will help launch the careers of Whitney Houston and Barry Manilow.

1915 Chicago blues legend Muddy Waters is born McKinley Morganfield in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.

1914 Singer and actress Frances Langford is born Julia Frances Langford in Hernando, Florida.

 

Featured Events

2015 Marilyn Manson is sucker punched by a fellow patron at a Denny's in Alberta, Canada. The rocker, who stopped by the restaurant for a late-night meal after a show promoting his Pale Emperor album, denies claims that he insulted the assailant's girlfriend and spurred the incident.

2012 The single "Boyfriend" by Justin Bieber debuts at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's the third-highest first-week sale at 600,000 copies sold. Lots of teenage girls want to be Bieber's girlfriend.

 

2008 After years of quiet courtship, Jay-Z and Beyoncé get married in a secret ceremony, becoming the most powerful couple in entertainment.More

1987 Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," written by Diane Warren and Albert Hammond and used in the movie Mannequin, hits #1 in the US.

 

1981 Styx hits #1 in the US with Paradise Theatre, a concept album based on the rise and fall of a theatre in Chicago.More

1973 A taped Elvis Presley concert entitled Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii is telecast on NBC and proves to be a huge success. The total worldwide audience for the show, the first commercial worldwide satellite broadcast, amounts to over a billion people.

1964 The Beatles hold the top five spots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the following singles:

5) "Please Please Me"
4) "I Want To Hold Your Hand"
3) "She Loves You"
2) "Twist And Shout"
1) "Can't Buy Me Love"