Week in Music History

American country singer and songwriter Ellen Muriel Deason, known as Kitty Wells and the “Queen of Country Music”, was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Her 1952 hit “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” made her the first female country singer to reach No. 1 on the US country chart and the first female country star. Wells died on July 16, 2012, at the age of 92.

The New Orleans Rhythm Kings recorded the song “Tiger Rag”.

American singer, songwriter and conductor Johnny Mann was born.

American singer, songwriter and guitarist “Papa” John Phillips was born on Parris Island, South Carolina. He was best known as the leading figure of the folk-rock group The Mamas & The Papas. The group had the 1965 hit “California Dreamin'”, the US No. 1 single “Monday Monday” in 1966 and the 1967 hit “Dedicated to the One I Love”. Phillips died of heart failure on March 18, 2001, at the age of 65.

John Peel, British radio DJ, journalist and television presenter, was born John Robert Parker Ravenscroft. He was the longest-serving presenter on BBC Radio 1 and one of the most influential British DJs. He was among the first presenters to play psychedelic and progressive rock on British radio and was known for supporting artists from many genres including pop, reggae, indie rock, alternative rock, punk, hardcore punk, breakcore, grindcore, death metal, British hip hop and dance music. Peel died of a heart attack in Cusco, Peru, on October 25, 2004, at the age of 65.

English guitarist and singer John McNally was born in Walton, Liverpool. He was a founding member of The Searchers, with whom he remained for more than 60 years. The group had the UK No. 1 single “Needles And Pins” in 1964 and the US No. 3 single “Love Potion Number Nine”.

Charles Colbert of American Breed was born. In 1967, the group had the US No. 5 single “Bend Me, Shape Me”, which became a hit for Amen Corner in the UK chart. American Breed also recorded radio advertising jingles for Coca-Cola, the United States Navy and Bell Telephone, and their television commercial for American Airlines, “Fly the American Way”, was highly successful and reached the Top 20.

John Victory, a studio guitarist, was born.

Hank Williams came to Herzog Studio in Cincinnati to record “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry”. He originally wrote it with the intention that the words would be recited rather than sung. The song about loneliness was largely inspired by his troubled relationship with his wife Audrey Sheppard.

Scottish folk musician John Alexander was born.

English guitarist and songwriter Michael “Micky” Moody was born in Middlesbrough. He was best known as a member of Whitesnake, Juicy Lucy and Snafu. Juicy Lucy had the UK No. 14 single “Who Do You Love” in 1970, while Whitesnake had the US No. 1 single “Here I Go Again” in 1987 and reached No. 9 in the UK.

Dana Rosemary Scallon, born Rosemary Brown, was born in London, England. In 1970, she won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with “All Kinds of Everything”, which reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart.

Kenny Andrews of the British doo-wop revival group Darts was born. In 1978, the group had the UK No. 2 single “Boy From New York City”.

Bassist Horace Panter, also known as Sir Horace Gentleman, was born in Croydon, England. He became known as a member of 2 Tone and ska band The Specials. In 1981, the group had the UK No. 1 single “Ghost Town”.

Ronald Beitle, drummer with the American funk rock group Wild Cherry, was born. In 1976, the group had the US No. 1 single “Play That Funky Music”, which reached No. 7 in the UK.

Steve Jones, guitarist with the Sex Pistols, was born.

Paul Anka began a nine-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Diana”.

English drummer and keyboard player Martin Jackson was born. He became known as a member of Magazine and Swing Out Sister. Magazine had the UK No. 41 single “Shot By Both Sides” in 1978, while Swing Out Sister had the UK No. 4 single “Breakout” in 1986.

Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife” debuted at No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 30. It came from the 1928 German play “Three Penny Opera”, later became Darin’s biggest hit, reached No. 1 and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

Twenty-four-year-old Gene Chandler recorded the song “Duke Of Earl” at Universal Recording studio in Chicago with his vocal group The Dukays. The recording session was originally intended for Nat Records, but the original tapes were later sold to Vee Jay Records, which scored its first No. 1 hit and first million-selling record with the song the following February. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2002, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included it among the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. Gene Chandler later placed another 25 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, but none was as successful as “Duke Of Earl”.

Keith McKenzie of the Scottish electronic dance group The Shamen was born. In 1992, the group had the UK No. 1 single “Ebeneezer Goode”.

The Beatles performed at lunchtime at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and in the evening at the Riverpark Ballroom in Chester with Gerry & the Pacemakers.

British trance DJ, producer and remixer Paul Mark Oakenfold was born in London. He toured with U2 and remixed songs for Simply Red, M People, New Order, Stone Roses and U2.

Robert Clivilles, producer and DJ from the American group C+C Music Factory, was born. In 1991, the group had the UK No. 4 single “Things That Make You Go Hmmm...” and the US No. 1 single “Gonna Make You Sweat”.

Bob Dylan released the album “Highway 61 Revisited”, which marked his definitive transition to an electric sound. The album included, among others, “Like a Rolling Stone”, which reached No. 2, and the more than eleven-minute song “Desolation Row”.

Peter Cunnah of the Northern Irish pop and dance group D:Ream was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. In 1994, the group had the UK No. 1 single “Things Can Only Get Better”.

The Mamas and the Papas’ second album was their self-titled album, released by Dunhill Records. It contained the singles “I Saw Her Again”, which reached No. 5 in the US and No. 11 in the UK, and “Words of Love”, which reached No. 5 in the US and No. 47 in the UK. The album reached No. 4 in the US and No. 24 in the UK.

The Who began two days of recording at IBC Studios and Pye No. 2 Studio in London. During these sessions, the group recorded “Barbara Ann” by The Regents, “Man with Money” by The Everly Brothers, “Heatwave” by Martha and the Vandellas and the theme tune from the then-popular television series Batman. The recordings were intended for a new album with the working title “Jigsaw Puzzle”. The producer was Kit Lambert and the sound engineer was Paul Clay.

Howlin’ Wolf performed on August 30 and 31 at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan, as part of a two-day concert series.

The first edition of the Isle of Wight Festival was held, with Jefferson Airplane and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown as the headliners.

Janis Joplin performed on the first of two evenings at the Palace of Fine Arts festival in San Francisco.

Mary Hopkin released her debut single “Those Were the Days” on The Beatles’ Apple label. The song was produced by Paul McCartney and reached No. 1 in 18 countries worldwide.

The Beatles released their first single in the UK on their own Apple Records label. The single contained “Hey Jude” and “Revolution”.

The Byrds released their sixth studio album “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” through Columbia Records. The album marked a significant departure from their previous psychedelic folk-rock sound toward country and bluegrass and reached No. 77 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. Gram Parsons also contributed to the album. The album is considered one of the first major country-rock albums and became an important milestone for the emerging Los Angeles country-rock scene of the 1970s.

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown released their self-titled album in the UK.

Yes performed at the Civic Centre in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, England.

Elvis Presley’s tenth studio album “From Elvis in Memphis” reached No. 1 on the UK albums chart.

Two weeks after the Woodstock festival, the second Isle of Wight Festival was held. More than 150,000 people attended over two days, coming to see Bob Dylan, The Band, Blodwyn Pig, Blonde On Blonde, Bonzo Dog Dooh Dah Band, Edgar Broughton Band, Joe Cocker, Aynsley Dunbar, Family, Fat Mattress, Julie Felix, Free, Gypsy, Richie Havens, The Moody Blues, The Nice, Tom Paxton, Pentangle, The Pretty Things, Third Ear Band and The Who, among others. Tickets cost 25 shillings. Celebrities attending the festival included Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, John and Yoko, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Jane Fonda, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton.

Birmingham group Earth changed their name to Black Sabbath after Ozzy Osbourne announced the new name on stage. At their first concert under the name Black Sabbath in Workington, England, the band played “N.I.B.”, “The Wizard”, “Black Sabbath” and “Warning”.

The three-day Texas International Pop Festival began at Dallas International Motor Speedway, featuring Chicago Transit Authority, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Santana, Sam & Dave, Johnny Winter, Grand Funk Railroad, Delaney & Bonnie, Nazz, Spirit, B. B. King and Canned Heat. More than 120,000 fans attended the festival.

The Rolling Stones reached No. 1 on the US chart with “Honky Tonk Women”, their fifth single to reach the top of that chart.

Zager and Evans began a three-week run at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)”. The song was written by Rick Evans in 1964. That same year, it also reached No. 1 in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the US, where it remained at the top for six weeks.

The fifth and final day of the Isle of Wight Festival was held at Afton Down. Performers included Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Jethro Tull, Leonard Cohen, The Moody Blues and Richie Havens.

The Rolling Stones began a 20-date European tour in Malmö, Sweden.

The Beach Boys released their 17th studio album “Surf’s Up” through Brother/Reprise Records. The album reached No. 29 in the US and No. 15 in the UK and became their highest-charting album of new material in the US since 1967. Daryl Dragon can be heard on the album playing Moog synthesizer, organ, piano, electric guitar, bass guitar and vibraphone.

David Bowie performed at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged the One to One benefit concert at Madison Square Garden in New York to support Willowbrook State School. Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack and Sha Na Na also performed at the event. Lennon performed with the Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band and played “Imagine”, “Instant Karma!” and “Cold Turkey”. He personally purchased $60,000 worth of tickets, which were distributed to volunteers organizing the fundraiser. Some of the performances were later released on Lennon’s album “Live in New York City”.

The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Municipal Auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Van Morrison released the album “Saint Dominic's Preview” as part of its international release period.