11.30.2005

This Week In Music


1963 The Beatle's fifth British single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was released. The record sold one million copies, making it their second million seller. It was released in the US on December 26th and spent seven weeks at #1.

The Elvis movie Fun in Acapulco, co-starring Ursula Andress, was released. Notable for Ursula only.


1964 Three years after he wrote "Crazy" for Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson made his first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, when he opened for Roger Miller.

1969 Simon & Garfunkel's first TV special airs, but their sponsor, AT&T, backs out when they learn that the duo plan to show footage of Bobby Kennedy's funeral march and clips of the Vietnam War

1976 Bob Marley narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when seven gunman sprayed bullets into his Kingston, Jamaica home, where he and the Wailers were rehearsing. He had become unpopular in some circles because of his influence on local politicians. He moved to Miami Florida soon after the incident. The gunmen were never caught.

1979 Anita Pallenburg, common-law wife of Rolling Stone Keith Richards, was cleared of murder charges in the shooting death of her young male companion, whose body had been found in her New York State home.

1981 The British Phonographic Industry, with the endorsement of rock stars like Elton John, Gary Numan, Cliff Richard, 10cc and the Boomtown Rats, places advertisements in the British press claiming, "Home taping is wiping out music.

2001 Beatles' guitarist George Harrison passed away on November 29th at the age of 58, while resting at a friend's home in Los Angeles. The news came as a shock to the world, despite Harrison's much-chronicled cancer treatments. Speaking outside his home in St John's Wood, London, Paul McCartney said: 'I am devastated and very very sad'. Ringo Starr, speaking from Vancouver, Canada said: 'We will miss George for his sense of love, his sense of music and his sense of laughter. We all miss George. He was the only one who held on to most of his integrity.

11.21.2005

This Week in Music

In 1955, after telling Ed Sullivan that he would perform a song called "Sixteen Tons", Bo Diddley sings "Bo Diddley", live on CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan Show. He would never be invited back.

In 1958, the Kingston Trio became the very first group to ever have an album reach the top of the US chart. Before them, only solo artists had hit number one. They would go on to record a total of fourteen Top Ten albums and an additional five would enter the top 25.

In 1967, Rolling Stone Magazine quotes San Francisco disco jockey Tom Donahue: "Top Forty radio, as we know it today and have known it for the last ten years, is dead, and its rotting corpse is stinking up the airwaves."

In 1974, the band Spooky Tooth split up after releasing seven albums since 1968. At various times, the group included Gary Wright (who would have solo success with "Dreamweaver" and "Love Is Alive"), Mick Jones (later with Foreigner), Chris Stainton (who went on to work with Joe Cocker), and Henry McCullough. (recruited by Paul McCartney and Wings) The British band never charted in their home country, but gained modest success in the US.

In 1976, the Band's final concert in their original line-up, called The Last Waltz, was given on November 25th. It included appearances by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Ringo Starr, Emmylou Harris, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Hawkins and Neil Diamond.


In 1998, despite objections from The Recording Industry Association of America, who is worried about the growing problem of internet file swapping, the first portable MP3 player goes on sale in the US.

11.15.2005

Local Singers On show


Tune in Wednesday night to "Through The Listening Glass" at approximately 7:30 P.M. as three of the artists who will be performing at Live Barn Dance II will be performing live in the studio. Brad "The Dudeboy" Rogers, Mark Stolte of Tommy Swing and Ron Morse of They Can't Hardly Playboys will give the audience a sampling of what will be in store for them on Saturday November 19th at Fagan's Irish Pub http://www.fresnofamous.com/fagans.html in downtown Fresno (Kern and Van Ness). Live Barn Dance II is a benefit for KFSR-FM.