Throwback Thursday: This Week in History

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

1938: Don ‘Sugarcane’ Harris was born. US guitarist, pianist, 50’s duo Don & Dewey. Worked with Little Richard, John Mayall and Frank Zappa. Died on 30th November 1999. 1942: Paul McCartney was born. The Beatles, Wings, solo. The most successful rock composer of all time. McCartney first met John Lennon on July 6th 1957, who was impressed that Paul could tune a guitar. With The Beatles he scored 21 US No.1 & 17 UK No.1 singles plus McCartney has scored over 30 US & UK solo Top 40 hit singles. He has written and co-written 188 charted records, of which 91 reached the Top 10 and 33 made it to No.1 totalling 1,662 weeks on the chart. 1948: Columbia Records started the first mass production of the 33-RPM long player. The new format could contain a maximum of 23 minutes of music per side versus the three minutes that could be squeezed on to a 78 RPM disc. 1965: The Kinks and the Moody Blues made their US concert debut at the Academy of Music in New York City. 1967: Having admitted to taking LSD four times during an interview with Life Magazine, Beatle Paul McCartney told The Daily Mirror that he didn’t regret that he’d spoken out and hoped that his fans would understand. 1976: The Jackson Five four-week summer variety show premiered on CBS- TV featuring The Jacksons plus sisters Latoya, Rebbie and Janet. 1977: Johnny Rotten and Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols were stabbed and beaten when they were attacked in a car park outside a London pub. They objected to the Pistols’ anti-monarchist song ‘God Save the Queen’. The next day, another member of the Pistols, Paul Cook, was beaten by a gang armed with iron pipes. 1980: The Blues Brothers film starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd premiered in Chicago. The film also featured Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Ray Charles in the role of a streetwise storeowner. 1983: American rapper, Ben Haggerty, known by his stage name Macklemore, was born. The Macklemore’s and Lewis single ‘Thrift Shop’ reached No.1 on the US singles chart in 2013 and their second single, ‘Can’t Hold Us’ also peaked at No.1, making Macklemore and Lewis the first duo in the chart’s history to have their first two singles both reach the top of the US charts. 1994: Oasis played at The Erotika Club, Paris in France, the bands first gig outside the UK. 1996: Rage Against The Machine, Beastie Boys, Smashing Pumpkins, Fugees, Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Lee Hooker, Beck, Sonic Youth, Yoko Ono, De La Soul and Richie Havens all appeared at the two-day Tibetan Freedom Concert, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco: A sell-out crowd of over 100,000 made it the largest US benefit concert since Live Aid in 1985. 2000: It was reported that sales of pirate music CDs had now exceeded more than 500 million a year and accounted for one in every five sold. The Phonographic Industry estimated it was costing the music industry £3 billion ($5.1 billion) in lost sales. 2002: U2 lost a bid to prevent the demolition of Hanover Quay studio in Dublin.’Over 8,000 fans signed an online petition to preserve the studio, where the group recorded ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’ and some of their ‘Pop’ album. 2009: 60-year-old Billy Joel and his third wife, 27-year-old Katie Lee Joel announced that were splitting up after nearly five years of marriage. Joel’s nine-year union with model Christie Brinkley ended in 1994. His nine-year marriage to Elizabeth Weber, for whom he wrote ‘Just The Way You Are’, ended in 1982. It’s believed that Billy had a prenuptial agreement to protect the millions his many hits have earned. 2010: John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics to The Beatles song ‘A Day In The Life’ sold for $1.2m (£810,000) at an auction at Sotheby’s in New York. The double-sided sheet of paper with notes written in felt marker and blue ink also contained some corrections and other notes penned in red ink. 2011: A computer hacker who stole songs from Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Leona Lewis, Kesha and Mariah Carey during 2009 and 2010 was sentenced to 18 months detention in Germany. A court heard how the teenager, who called himself DJ Stolen, earned more than 15,000 euros (£13,260) by breaking copyright laws and hacking personal information from a number of singers. The 18-year-old used software to steal unpublished songs and then offer them for sale on the internet. Anti-piracy teams in the UK and Germany noticed a growing number of pre-release tracks being leaked much earlier than normal. The teen was also ordered to have therapy for an addiction to the internet. 2011: Amy Winehouse was booed by crowds in Serbia’s capital Belgrade after appearing to be too drunk to perform. The concert – the first on the singers 12-day European tour, saw Winehouse mumble her way through parts of songs, leave the stage altogether and at one point she threw her microphone to the floor. She was frequently booed by the crowd, who had paid up to £45 to see her in a country in which wages are some of the lowest in Europe. 2012: The former chief financial officer for Pearl Jam was charged with 33 counts of theft for allegedly stealing at least $380,000 from the Seattle band’s management company. According to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Rickey Goodrich allegedly stole hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of several years, spending the money on lavish family vacations, spa treatments, life insurance and pricey California wines.  

THIS WEEKEND IN HISTORY

1942: Brian Wilson was born. Singer, songwriter, The Beach Boys, (1966 UK & US No.1 single ‘Good Vibrations’, plus over 25 other UK Top 40 singles. 1966 classic album ‘Pet Sounds’). Released and toured the ‘lost’ Beach Boys ‘Smile’ album in 2004. 1950: Joey Kramer was born. Drums, Aerosmith, (1989 UK No.13 single ‘Love In An Elevator’, 1989 album ‘Pump’ spent 53 weeks on the US charts, 1993 US No.1 & UK No.2 album ‘Get A Grip’, 1998 US No.1 & UK No.4 single ‘I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing’). 1949: Lionel Richie was born. Vocals, keyboards, The Commodores, (1978 UK & US No.1 single ‘Three Times A Lady’) solo, (1984 UK & US No.1 single ‘Hello’ plus over 10 other UK Top 40 hit singles). 1953: Nils Lofgren was born. Guitar, piano, vocals. He joined Neil Young’s band at age 17, playing piano on the album After the Gold Rush. From 1971 to 1974 recorded four albums with his own band, Grin. Solo 1976 UK No.8 album, ‘Cry Tough’. Joined Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band in 1984. And member of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band. 1963: 13-year old Stevie Wonder first entered the US singles chart as Little Stevie Wonder with ‘Fingertips Parts One and Two.’ ‘Fingertips’ which featured a young Marvin Gaye on drums was the first live, non-studio recording to reach No.1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the United States since Johnny Standley’s 1952 comic monologue ‘It’s in the Book’. 1966: Stone Gossard was born. Guitar, Pearl Jam, (1992 UK No.15 single ‘Jeremy’, 1993 US No.1 & UK No.2 album ‘Vs’, 1994 US No.1 & UK No.4 album Vitalogy’ and 1996 US No.1 & UK No.3 album ‘No Code’) Also a member of Brad. 1966: After a North American tour The Rolling Stones sued 14 hotels over a booking ban in New York, claiming that the ban was violating civil rights laws. 1966: Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles recorded from start to finish, a new John Lennon song ‘She Said She Said’. The song was reportedly based on a bizarre conversation that Lennon had with Peter Fonda while John and George Harrison were tripping on LSD. 1969: The first of a three day Festival in Newport, California, featuring: Ike And Tina Turner, Marvin Gaye, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Byrds, The Rascals, Steppenwolf, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter, Eric Burdon and Love. A three day ticket cost $15 (£8.80). Hendrix received $125,000 for his appearance, at the time it was the highest fee ever paid to a rock act for a single appearance. 1975: Elton John, The Beach Boys, Joe Walsh, Rufus and The Eagles all appeared in front of 120,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, London. Tickets cost £3.50 ($5.95). 1976: Michael Einziger of Incubus was born (2004 US No.2 and UK No.6 album ‘A Crow Left of the Murder’’, 2006 US No.1 album ‘Light Grenades’). 1979: Angus MacLise, Velvet Underground’s first drummer died of tuberculosis aged 34. He quit the band in 1965. 1981: Brandon Flowers was born. Vocals, keyboards, The Killers, who scored the 2005 UK No.1 with their debut album ‘Hot Fuss’. In 2010, Flowers released a solo album, entitled Flamingo which peaked at No.1 on the UK charts. 1981: Mark Chapman pleaded guilty to the charge of murdering John Lennon in 1980. He was later sentenced to 20 years to life. 1986: Singer-songwriter, Lana Del Rey (born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant) was born. In 2011 a music video for her debut single ‘Video Games’ created by Del Rey was posted on YouTube and became a viral internet hit with over 20 million views. 1987: Aerosmith appeared at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, the first night on their Permanent Vacation 147 date world tour. Over the years the venue has been the home to the Texxas Jam, which has featured Deep Purple, Boston, Journey, Ted Nugent, Scorpions, Cheap Trick, Van Halen, Blue Öyster Cult, Sammy Hagar, Rush, Nazareth, Styx, Foghat, Santana and The Eagles. Eric Clapton notably held his first massive 3-day Crossroads Guitar Festival here in 2004. 1992: Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain was rushed to hospital after a gig in Belfast, Northern Ireland suffering from acute stomach pains brought on by ulcers. 2000: After giving himself various new identities’ during the 90’s, The Artist Formally Known As Prince announced he wanted to be known as Prince again. 2002: U2 guitarist ‘The Edge’ married his girlfriend of ten years Morleigh Steinberg in Eze in the south of France. The couple first met when she was a belly dancer on the bands Zoo TV tour. Guest’s included Bono, Eurythmics Dave Stewart and Lenny Kravitz. 2004: Organisers at a Paul McCartney gig hired three jets to spray dry ice into the clouds so it wouldn’t rain during the concert. The gig in Petersburg, Russia, was McCartney’s 3,000 concert appearance. He had performed 2,535 gigs with the Quarrymen and the Beatles, 140 gigs with Wings and 325 solo shows. 2011: It was reported in the Irish press that Bono’s wandering peahen was causing havoc for some south Dublin residents. The peahen the less spectacular-coloured female partner to a male peacock had arrived in the Ard Mhuire housing estate in Killiney near to where the singer lived. One newspaper ran the headline: “Bono’s cock drives me nuts”. Local woman Susan McKeon said she first noticed the bird at night. “It had a tiny head and a huge body. It was actually quite ugly but I don’t think it’s fully grown.” 2011: American band Maroon 5 released ‘Moves Like Jagger’, featuring Christina Aguilera. Its lyrics refered to a male’s ability to impress a female with his dance moves, which he compares to those of Mick Jagger. The video featured old video footage of Jagger and his iconic dance moves. ‘Moves Like Jagger’ was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 54th Grammy Awards. The single peaked at No.1 on the US chart. 2011: People magazine reported that 75-year-old Glen Campbell had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. “I still love making music,” said Campbell. “And I still love performing for my fans. I’d like to thank them for sticking with me through thick and thin.” 2013: ‘Blurred Lines’ by Robin Thicke started a 13 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart. Featuring American rapper T.I. and American singer and producer Pharrell, the video was made in two versions; the first video features models Emily Ratajkowski, Jessi M’Bengue, and Elle Evans being topless, the second features them covered. The topless version of the video was removed from YouTube for violating the site’s terms of service regarding nudity, though it was later restored, but flagged as inappropriate. ‘Blurred Lines” peaked at No.1 in 14 countries.