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    The Rabbitt e-Report
    e-RRmusicnotes

    this week in:

    1945

    Billboard began publishing an album chart on March 24, 1945.  Initially only five positions long, the album chart was not published on a weekly basis, sometimes three to seven weeks passing before it was updated.  With the explosion of rock and roll music, the position count varied anywhere from ten to thirty albums.


    1955

    Elvis Presley plays "Good Rockin' Tonight" while auditioning for TV's Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts.  The show's producers called his performance "weak" and they turn him down.

    Ruby Murray a 19 year old from Belfast, Northern Irland has five hit records in the UK Top 20.  She was widely regarded as the 'voice of Ireland' and she soon became one of the most significant performers in the UK and Ireland during the decade.  She appeared in numerous shows and once even under the direction of Gordon Parry in the 1956 comedy movie 'A Touch Of The Sun'.  However, it was her recording career that would prove to be the most astonishing.  Her early chart hits came like 'a ton of bricks', first came 'Heartbeat' followed by a string of top ten entries including her massive #1, 'Softly, Softly'.  She had no less than five records in the top twenty chart simultaneously (all of her first five releases!) - a feat that occurred this week in 1955.


    1956

    Carl Perkins received four broken ribs and a broken shoulder in a car accident that killed his brother Jay, while the two were on their way the way to appear on The Perry Como Show in New York.  He will spend several months in the hospital and by the time he is well, Elvis Presley had covered his hit, "Blue Suede Shoes".

    1957

    Bobby Helms, who is best remembered for the Christmas classic, "Jingle Bell Rock", had his biggest single reach the Billboard Country chart. The song was a cover of Hank Snow's "Fraulein" and it would eventually hit #1, spending 52 weeks on the chart, longer than any other Country song of the 1950s.  Later in the year, he had another #1 record with "My Special Angel".  "Jingle Bell Rock" first released in November 1957, will return to the Top 40 on two other occasions.


    1958

     Twenty-Three year old Elvis Presley is sworn in for a two year hitch in the United States Army.

    The duo of Tom and Jerry released their first single, "Our Song".  The record will fail to gain much attention, but the pair will find more success recording under their real names, Simon and Garfunkel.


    1959

    Britain's EMI Records announces that it has now stopped all production of 78 rpm discs.

    Bobby Rydell makes his first TV appearance on American Bandstand.


    Bobby with KQV's Dave Scott, (shotgun) Frankie Day and John Rook.

    Ray Peterson recorded Baker Knight's "The Wonder Of You".  This, the original version will climb to #25 on the Billboard Top 40 chart.  Elvis Presley will take the same song to #9 in 1970.

    1960

    Elvis Presley enters a Nashville recording studio for the first time since being discharged from the US Army.  A 12 hour session will produce his next single, "Stuck On You", which will top the Billboard chart a month later.

    1961

    The #1 song on The Billboard Top 40 was Elvis Presley's "Surrender", which used updated lyrics put to a melody that was written in 1911 as "Come Back To Sorrento".  The song would also reach #1 in the UK.

    1963

    The Beatles were the opening act for American pop stars Chris Montez and Tommy Roe in the quartet's hometown of Liverpool, England.


    John, Ringo, Chris Montez, Tommy Roe, George and Paul.

    "Our Day Will Come" by Ruby and The Romantics topped the Billboard Hot 100, although it only made #38 in the UK. On the day the song was recorded, it was the first time Ruby had ever been in a recording studio.

    The Beatles     first album "Please Please Me" is released on March 22nd.  Eight of the 12 tracks were written by Lennon and McCartney, setting a new precedent in rock music for artists writing their own material. 

    When the matter came up of the album cover for the first album of the Beatles, their producer George Martin proposed to call the album Off The Beatle Track.  He hoped to take a picture at the nearby London Zoo, in front of the home of the insects. 


    Paul doodled a few sketches for a design with that title. (see above) Even though it was John Lennon that had attended Art school, it was usually Paul McCartney who took an interest in the design for the Beatles record covers.  George Martin advised the use of the theatrical photographer Angus McBean, a man he worked with in the past.  Although it reached #1 in the UK, it failed to chart at all in the US.

    1964

    The Beatles replaced one Billboard chart topper with another when "She Loves You" took over from "I Want To Hold Your Hand".

    Elvis Presley     received his discharge from the US Army Reserve on March 23rd.  He had left active duty in February, 1960.

    1965

    The Rolling Stones    ' bass player, Bill Wyman is knocked unconscious by an electrical shock from a microphone stand in Odense, Denmark.

    1966

    Finally the New York State Assembly passes a bill making it a misdemeanor to sell unauthorized copies of records or tapes.  The product is commonly known as bootleg.

    The Beatles posed with mutilated and butchered dolls while wearing butcher's smocks for the cover of the album, "Yesterday and Today". After a public outcry, the L.P. was pulled from stores and re-issued with a new cover.


    1967

    After three minor chart makers On Hanna-Barbera Records, an Oklahoma group called Five Americans release their biggest hit, "Western Union" on the Dallas label Abnak Records.  It will eventually crack Billboard's Top 10.      The record sung by Mike Rabon was produced by Rock and Roll star Dale Hawkins and recorded at Robin Hood Brian's studio in Tyler, Texas    .


    Rockabilly Hall of Famer, singer, songwriter, record producer Dale Hawkins shown here with super guitarist James Burton who played with Hawkins in the early fifties and later with Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.

    It was the first of a long string of hits from the popular East Texas studio, including "Do It Again A Little Bit Slower" from Jon and Robin & The In Crowd, (also produced by Hawkins) "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)  from John Fred & His Playboy Band, "Not Too Long Ago" and "All These Things" from The Uniques,  (with future Country Star Joe Stampley)  several Platinum albums from Z Z Top (originally released on London Records and later re-released under the Warner Brothers label), and chart records from groups like Southwest FOB, Mouse & the Traps, Gladstone and Positively 13 o'clock.

    The Beatles enjoy their thirteenth US number one single with "Penny Lane".

    1968

    Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Richie Furay and Jim Mesina are all arrested at Stephen Stills' house in Los Angeles. They are charged with "being at a place where it is suspected marijuana is being used." It's a misdemeanor charge for which Clapton will be found innocent while the others will pay small fines. 

    It was March 20th, 1969 when John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married at the British Consulate Office in Gibraltar.

     American entertainers Jackie Gleason, Kate Smith, the Lettermen and Anita Bryant appear in Miami, Florida at what is billed as the Rally for Decency. Posters for the event warn that "longhairs and weird dressers" won't be allowed inside. Four days later, President Richard Nixon sends a letter of appreciation to the organizers of the rally.


    1970

    David Bowie marries American-born model Angela Barnett. (subject of the Rolling Stones' tune, "Angie" four years later).

    The Faces, featuring newcomers Rod Stewart and Ron Wood, released their debut LP, "First Step".

    1971

    At a truck stop in Jackson, The Allman Brothers Band are arrested by Alabama state troopers and charged with marijuana and heroin possession after drugs are found in the back seat of the band's car.



    Six months after her death,  Janis Joplin's recording of Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee" was Billboard's #1 song.

    1972

    Neil Young enjoyed his only solo number one hit with "Heart Of Gold". Backing vocals were provided by James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt.

    1973

    The BBC banned all teenybopper acts appearing on UK TV show Top Of The Pops, after a riot following a David Cassidy performance.

    1974

    Jefferson Airplane changes their name to Jefferson Starship. The new line-up includes Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, drummer Johnny Barbata, David Freiberg, Peter Kaukonen, Cragi Chaquico and Papa John Creach.


    1975

    Franki Valli returned to the Billboard Top 40 for the first time in nearly seven years when "My Eyes Adored You" went to #1. The song was originally titled "Blue Eyes In Georgia" by its writers, Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, but Valli altered the lyrics to suit himself.


    1976

    Boz Scaggs    ' biggest album, "Silk Degrees" makes its first appearance on the Billboard chart.  It's his seventh solo album, but the first to go platinum.


    David Bowie and several others are arrested in New York and charged with possession of marijuana.

    Former Free guitarist, 26 year old Paul Kossoff (below right) died on March 19th of heart failure while on a flight across the US.  He had been troubled with heart disease most of his life.  Free is most often remembered for their hit, "All Right Now".  Lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to form Bad Company with Free drummer Simon Kirke, Boz Burrell (from King Crimson) and Mick Ralphs (of Mott the Hoople).


    Free:  clockwise from the top: Paul Rogers, (vocals) Simon Kirke, (drums) Andy Fraser, (bass) and Paul Kossoff. (guitar)

    1977

    The     John DenverTV special, "Thank God, I'm A Country Boy" aired on ABC-TV.

    1978

    The Bee Gees     continued an amazing hot streak of three consecutive #1 hits with "Night Fever".  After "Oh, Darling" stalled at #15, they would have three more chart toppers in a row.

    The British court grants record companies the right to seize bootleg and pirated recordings.

    1979
    The Bee Gees    ' "Tragedy" was Billboard's #1 song.

    1980

    A 28 year old trucker named 28 Joseph Riviera took over the Asylum Records office in downtown New York.  He demanded to see either Jackson Browne or The Eagles, wanting them to finance his trucking operation.  He surrendered when told that neither act was in the office.

    Elvis Presley's autopsy is subpoenaed in the "Dr. Nick" drug case. Dr. Nick is Dr. George Nichopoulous, Presley's personal physician who will soon be found guilty of over prescribing drugs to Presley and other clients, including Jerry Lee Lewis    .

    1981

    Driving home from a basketball game in Philadelphia, Teddy Pendergrass was involved in a car accident that left him partially paralyzed from the neck down.  Pendergrass had been with The Cadillacs and Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes before going solo in 1977.  Two years would pass before he could return to performing.

    Although they had been making records for ten years, REO Speedwagonenjoyed their first taste of success when "Keep On Loving You" became the top tune in the US. The band would go on to place twelve more songs in the Top 40.


    1982

    Diana Ross' first solo album for RCA, "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" goes platinum less than three months after its release. 

    Ozzy Osbourne's rhythm guitarist Randy Rhoads was killed on March 19th when the plane he was riding in buzzed Osbourne's tour bus and crashed into a house. The plane's pilot, Andrew Aycock and a female passenger, Rachel Youngblood also died. Rhoads was just 25 years old. 



    Joan Jett And The Blackhearts started a seven week run at #1 on the Billboard Top 40 chart with "I Love Rock 'n' Roll".  It only reached #4 in the UK.


    1984

    Yoko Ono opens Strawberry Fields, an area in New York's Central Park dedicated to the memory of her late husband, John Lennon.

    1985

    The Singing Nun, whose given name was Jeanine Deckers, committed suicide on March 23rd after the center for autistic children in Belgium that she helped to found had closed due to lack of funds.  Her 1963 hit "Dominique" went to number one in the US and sold over 1.5 million copies, winning a Grammy Award for the year's best gospel song. At the time of her death, she was 52 years old. Actress Debbie Reynolds played Jeanine her in the 1966 film "The Singing Nun".


    1987

    35 year old Dean Martin Jr. of Dino, Desi & Billy    , died on March 21st when the plane he was piloting crashed into a mountain about 100 kilometers east of Los Angeles.  Dino was serving in the Air National Guard at the time.  He was married and divorced from skater Dorothy Hamill and actress Olivia Hussey.


    Dean Martin Jr., (Dino) Desiderio Arnaz IV (Desi) and William Hinsche. (Billy)

    1989

    Dick Clark announces his retirement from     American Bandstand.


    1991

    The Black Crowes were dropped as the opening act on ZZ Top's tour for repeatedly criticizing Miller Beer, who was sponsoring the tour.


    Eric Clapton's four year old son, Conor, fell to his death from the 53rd story of a New York City apartment window.  The boy was in the custody of his mother, Italian actress, Lori Del Santo and the pair were visiting a friend's apartment.  The housekeeper had just cleaned a room and opened the window to air it out.  Eric was staying in a nearby hotel after taking his son to the circus the previous evening.  The tragedy inspired his song "Tears in Heaven".

    Leo Fender, who pioneered the electric guitar, passed away on March 21st.  He started mass producing solid body electric guitars in the late 40s and when he sold his guitar company in 1965, sales were in excess of $40 million a year.


    Dave Guard, a founding member of the Kingston Trio, (seen below left)  died of cancer at the age of 56.  The Kingston Trio had 17 chart singles and nine gold albums between 1958 and 1963.  Guard left the group in 1961 to form the Whiskey Hill Singers.

    1992

    Disco Queen, Donna Summer gets her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  The location of her star is 7000 Hollywood Blvd.

    A Chicago judge settles the Milli-Vanilli class-action suit by approving cash rebates of up to $3 to anyone proving they bought the group's music before November 27, 1990, the date the lip synching scandal broke. Arista Records and its parent, BMG, paid out more than $400,000. About 80,000 claims were filed, most of them by people who bought compact discs.

    1997

    57 year old Harold Melvin, (below center ) leader of the Philadelphia soul group Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, died of heart related problems on March 24th. The group is remembered for their 1972, #3 hit, "If You Don't Know Me By Now".


    Rufus Thorn, Bill Spratley, Harold Melvin, Gilbert Saunders and Dwight Johnson

    2001 

    John Phillips, the quiet leader of     The Mamas and Papas    died of heart failure on March 18th at the age of 65. J ohn's daughter, Mackenzie Phillips co-starred in TV's "One Day At A Time", which ran from 1975 till 1984.

    Duane Allman Boulevard is dedicated in Macon, Georgia, near where he died in a motorcycle crash.

    Michael Jackson's interior decorator told The London Times that the singer keeps 17 life size dolls, adult and child sizes, all fully dressed, in his bedroom for 'company'.

    2005

    Rod Price, a founding member of     Foghat, died March 24th after falling down a stairway at his home. The 57 year old guitarist was with the band for three platinum and eight gold records, including their highest charting US single "Slow Ride" in 1976.


    Foghat's Lonesome Dave Peverett and Rod Price

    2006

    Three impoverished South African women whose father, Solomon Linda wrote "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1939, won a six-year court battle that will give them 25 per cent of all past and future royalties from the song.