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Today in Rock History – May 30

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1964, The Beatles went to number one on the singles chart with “Love Me Do,” the group’s fourth chart topper in five months. The version released in America had Andy White playing drums while Ringo played the tambourine. The British single was a take on which Ringo played the drums.

1965, The Who performed at Mojo Club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.

1965, The Rolling Stones played the final night of a US tour at the New York Academy of Music. During the afternoon the band recorded six songs for the Clay Pole TV show.

1966, The Beatles release “Paperback Writer” in the US.

1966, The Who appeared at Sincil Bank Football Ground, Lincoln, England.

1966, The Doors appeared at the Hullabaloo, West Hollywood, California.

1966, The Jefferson Airplane perform at a benefit for the Haight-Ashbury Legal Organization in San Francisco.

1968, Cream appeared at Eagles Auditorium in Seattle, Washington.

1968, The Beatles began recording what became known as the White Album. The double-LP whose official title was simply The Beatles became the first Beatles album released with the Apple label. The first track they recorded was “Revolution.”

1969, Pink Floyd appeared at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, England.

1969, The Grateful Dead played at Springer’s Inn in Portland, Oregon.

1969, Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at The Fillmore East in New York City.

1969, Neil Young & Crazy Horse performed at La Cave in Cleveland, Ohio.

1970, Frank Sinatra performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1970, Ray Stevens went to number one on the singles chart with “Everything Is Beautiful.” The former DJ had a string of novelty hits, including “Guitarzan,” “The Streak,” and “Jeremiah Peabody’s Poly Unsaturated Quick Dissolving Fast Acting Pleasant Tasting Green & Purple Pill.”

1971, The Allman Brothers Band played at the State Fairgrounds Coliseum, Detroit, Michigan.

Roxy Music

1972,  Roxy Music play their first major date at Lincolnshire, England’s Great Western Express Festival.

1973, David Bowie appeared at the New Theatre Oxford, Oxford, England.

1974, Bernadette Whelan, a 14 year-old David Cassidy fan died of heart failure four days after attending a concert of his. Over 1,000 other fans had to be given first aid during the White City Stadium show.

1975, Aerosmith played at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1976, Rush performed at the Nelson Center, Springfield, Illinois.

1977, It’s the last chance to see Elvis play Florida as he appears tonight at Jacksonville’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

1978, Led Zeppelin begin recording In Through the Out Door.

1979, Yes performed at the Civic Center, Amarillo, Texas.

1980, Carl Radle, bass player with Derek and the Dominoes, died of kidney failure aged 38. Also worked with Gary Lewis & the Playboys, George Harrison, Joe Cocker, Dave Mason & Delaney and Bonnie.

1981, Pete Townshend plays a solo show at Brockwell Park in Brixton, England in support of a march against unemployment in Britain. He performs “A Little Is Enough” (twice due to bad PA mix,) “Cats In The Cupboard,” “Big Boss Man,” “Substitute,” “Corrina Corrina,” “Body Language,” “Join Together,” and “Let My Love Open The Door.” He is accompanied by Neil Abbott (guitar), Peter Hope-Evans (harmonica), Mark Brzezicki (drums) and Tony Butler (bass). Jim Capaldi comes out to do vocals for “Substitute.”

1981, ZZ Top played at the Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center, Birmingham, Alabama.

1984, King Crimson performed at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver, Canada.

1987, David Bowie kicked off his 87-date Glass Spider world tour at the Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam, Holland.

1991, Morrissey played the first date on his debut Kill Uncle US concert tour at San Diego Sports Arena, California

1992, The Black Crowes went to number one on the US album chart with The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion.

2003, Record producer Mickie Most died aged 64. Member of The Most Brothers during late 50’s, and Mickie Most and the Playboys, produced hits for The Animals, Hermans Hermits, Donovan, Kim Wilde, Lulu and Jeff Beck. Most ran his own record label RAK in the 1970’s, having hits with Hot Chocolate, Suzi Quatro and Mud.

2005, Coldplay’s new album X & Y was illegally put on the internet a week before its UK and US release. The leak took place on the day copies were sent to UK radio stations, and the day before it went on sale in Japan.

2007, A leaked copy of the new White Stripes album Icky Thump was played completely on Chicago radio station WKQX 101FM. Jack White personally called the station from Spain, where he was touring, to voice his displeasure.

2009, Ozzy Osbourne was suing the band’s guitarist Tony Iommi over royalty payments. The 60-year-old had accused Iommi of falsely claiming to have sole rights to the band’s name which has cost him royalties from merchandise sales. Osbourne was seeking unspecified damages, lost profits and a declaration he is a half-owner of the trademark. Iommi claims Osbourne legally relinquished rights to the band’s name in the 1980s. Osbourne said he believed all four original members of the band should share Black Sabbath’s name equally.

2015, Jeremy Brown, guitarist for Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts, died of unknown causes at the age of 34. Brown began playing with the Stone Temple Pilots singer in 2008

Born on May 30: Lenny Davidson, The Dave Clark Five (1944); Geoffrey Lyall, aka Klaus Flouride, bass, vocals, Dead Kennedys (1949); Nicky Headon, The Clash (1955); Stephen Duffy, Duran Duran (1960); Tom Morello, Rage Against The Machine (1964);  Wynonna Judd, The Judds (1964); Thomas Callaway, aka Cee Lo Green (1974)

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Song Of The Day – “Jaan Pehechaan Ho” by Mohammed Rafi

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The 2001 film Ghost World opens with the female protagonist dancing along with this scene as she watches it on TV.

The scene is originally from the 1966 Bollywood movie Gumnaam. Mohammed Rafi was one of India’s most famous playback singers, a singer whose voice is prerecorded for use in the movies. His voice graced over 70 Bollywood films including this clip.

Today in Rock History – May 18

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1967, The Beatles were selected to represent the UK for the first-ever global-wide satellite broadcast. The group agreed to be shown in the studio recording a song written especially for the occasion, scheduled for June 25. John Lennon wrote “All You Need is Love” which was thought to sum up the 1967 “Summer of Love” and The Beatles’ sympathies. With the satellite broadcast being broadcast to many non-English-speaking countries, the BBC asked The Beatles to “keep it simple.”

1967, Pink Floyd started recording their forthcoming single “See Emily Play” at Sound Techniques Studios, Chelsea, London. Syd Barrett was inspired to write See Emily Play, by the “looning about” of the early Pink Floyd fan Emily Young, (who is now a renowned sculptor). Guitarist David Gilmour, playing gigs in France with his own band in that period, visited Floyd in the studio during a trip to London.

1968, Archie Bell and The Drells started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with ‘Tighten Up’,

1968, Grateful Dead, The Doors, The Steve Miller Band and Jefferson Airplane all appeared at The Northern California Rock Festival in Santa Clara. It took place at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds .

1972, According to today’s New York Times, the Beatles have agreed to split the fortune they accrued in their partnership. Paul McCartney says they’ve come to this arrangement to free up the $17 million that was frozen as they sued one another.

1972, Europe ’72 stop for the Grateful Dead was the Kongressaal Deutsches Museum in Muenchen, Germany.

1973, Pink Floyd plays the first of two shows at London’s Earl’s Court Exhibition Hall after the official UK release of “Dark Side of the Moon.”

1974, Ray Stevens started a three week run at No.1 on the singles chart with the novelty song ‘The Streak’ which capitalized on the then popular craze of streaking.

1975, Five times married US country singer, Tammy Wynette was at No.1 on the singles chart with ‘Stand By Your Man.’ Originally recorded by Tammy Wynette and released as a single in 1968. It proved to be the most successful record of Wynette’s career and is one of the most covered songs in the history of country music.

1977, the third Grateful Dead show on this date took place at the renown Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.

1978, Bob Marley and The Wailers played the first night on a 19-date North American tour at the Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

1978, The Buddy Holly Story has its world premiere in Dallas. Star Gary Busey is later nominated for the Best Actor Oscar.

1980, Joy Division singer and guitarist Ian Curtis hanged himself in the kitchen of his house in Macclesfield, England at the age of 23. Curtis had the Iggy Pop album ‘The Idiot’, playing on his stereo and left a note that said, ‘At this very moment, I wish I were dead. I just can’t cope anymore.’ Joy Division released the critically acclaimed debut album Unknown Pleasures in 1979, and recorded their follow-up ‘Closer’ in 1980.

1984, Simple Minds were at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’, (a No. 7 hit in the UK). Written by Keith Forsey (who won an Oscar for “Flashdance… What a Feeling”) and Steve Schiff (guitarist and songwriter from the Nina Hagen band, the track was featured in the 1985 American teen drama film The Breakfast Club.

Born on this day: Joe Turner, bluesman (1911); perry Como (1912); Albert Hammond (1942);  – Rick Wakeman (1949); and George Strait (1952)

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Song Of The Day – “Hey Hey My My (Into The Black)” by Devo w/Neil Young

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HumanHighwayQ: Where do the worlds of The Kingston Trio, Devo and Neil Young all collide?

A: In the film Human Highway, of course!

Human Highway was a dreadful film released by Bernard Shakey (aka Neil Young) in 1982. The move was filmed between 1978 and 1981 and it starred Neil Young, Dean Stockwell, Dennis Hopper, Russ Tamblyn and Devo. It was briefly shown in movie theaters upon its release and was never to be seen again until its home video release in 1995 on VHS. It is currently out of print.

While the movie is quirky and mostly incoherent, it is also very funny and somewhat entertaining in places. Devo were cast as Nuclear “Garbagepersons,” but getting into the convoluted plot that deals with a nuclear power plant and the last day on earth would be as convoluted as watching the film again.

Devo can be seen performing the Kingston Trio classic “Worried Man Blues” on the back of a truck and “Hey Hey My My (Into The Black)” with Mark Mothersbaugh in his “Booji Boy” guise on the vocals and Neil Young on guitar. In fact, it was in this performance that Mothersbaugh first uttered the words “rust never sleeps” that gave Young the title to his next record.

Today in Rock History – April 20

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1968, Deep Purple made their live debut at a gig in Tastrup, Denmark. Formally known as Roundabout, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore suggested a new name, Deep Purple,  after his grandmother’s favorite song. “Deep Purple” had been a hit for Peter De Rose. Blackmore’s grandmother had repeatedly asked if they would be performing the song.

1968, Apple Music ran advertisements soliciting tapes from unknown artists, offering financial grants as part of a deal to release records on the Apple label. Artists such as Badfinger, James Taylor, Mary Hopkin, Jackie Lomax, David Peel, and Elephant’s Memory were signed up.

1968, The Righteous Brothers played at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1969, Session drummer Benny Benjamin died. One of “The Funk Brothers,” he played on many Tamla Motown hits including songs by The Four Tops, Temptations, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, and Stevie Wonder. The film Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, released in 2003, features his work.

1969, Jimi Hendrix appeared at McFarlin Memorial Auditorium in Dallas, Texas.

1970, The New York Times reported that Catholic and Protestant youth groups had adopted The Beatles Yellow Submarine as a religious symbol.

1970, Traffic, Mott The Hoople, If and Bronco all appeared at The Roundhouse, London, tickets, 25 shillings.

1971, Jethro Tull played at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Detroit, Michigan.

1972, David Bowie appeared at the Harlow Playhouse, Harlow, England.

1973, King Crimson performed at the Kinetic Playground, Chicago.

1974, Queen headlined at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1975, Roxy Music played at the Festival Theatre, Adelaide, Australia.

1976, George Harrison joins Monty Python onstage to sing “The Lumberjack Song.”

1976, The Rolling Stones finally release their long-awaited album Black and Blue.

1977, Led Zeppelin performed at Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, Ohio.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Capitol Theater, Passaic, New Jersey.

1980, 84 year old George Burns, who starred in the movie Oh God with John Denver, became the oldest person to have a hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when “I Wish I Was 18 Again” peaked at No.49. When asked if he wished he were 18 again, Burns replied “I wish I was 80 again.” Before this, his most recent charting record had been a spoken word comedy routine with his wife and partner Gracie Allen, in the summer of 1933.

1981, John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas was jailed for five years after pleading guilty to drug possession charges. The sentence was suspended after 30 days. Phillips started touring the US lecturing against the dangers of taking drugs.

1983, The Grateful Dead played at the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

1985, The charity record “We Are The World” by USA For Africa was at number one on the UK singles chart. The US artists’ answer to Band Aid had an all-star cast including Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Ray Charles, Billy Joel and Paul Simon, plus the composer’s of the track, Michael Jackson, and Lionel Richie.

1991, Steve Marriott leader of Small Faces and Humble Pie, died in a fire at his home in Essex. His work became a major influence for many 90’s bands. Small Faces had the 1967 UK number three and US number 16 single “Itchycoo Park,” plus the 1968 UK number one album Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake. With Humble Pie, he notched the 1969 UK number four single “Natural Born Bugie” As a child actor he played parts in Dixon of Dock Green and The Artful Dodger in Oliver.

1992, A Concert For Life took place at Wembley Stadium as a tribute to Queen singer Freddie Mercury and for AIDS awareness. Acts appearing included Elton John, Roger Daltrey, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Mick Ronson, James Hetfield, George Michael, Seal, Paul Young, Annie Lennox, Lisa Stansfield, Robert Plant, Joe Elliott and Phil Collen, Axl Rose, and Slash.

1993, Aerosmith released Get A Grip, their 11th studio album which became their best selling album to date with sales over 20 million. The album which featured the hits “Livin’ On The Edge” and “Crazy,” also featured guests Don Henley and Lenny Kravitz.

2002, In the dispute over who owned the rights to Nirvana’s recordings former members Dave Grohl and Kirst Novoselic asked a Seattle Court to prove that Courtney Love was mentally stable. They told the court that Love was “irrational, mercurial, self-centred, unmanageable, inconsistent and unpredictable.” They also claimed a contract was invalid because Love was stoned at the time.

Born on April 20: Jimmy Winston, Small Faces (1945); Craig Frost, Grand Funk (1948); Luther Vandross (1951);  Mickey Welch, Weezer (1971)

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Song Of The Day – “The Worst Band In The World” by 10cc

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10ccSheetThe premise of a super group is that all of the members are well known entities unto themselves. Everyone knew who Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were, and what bands they played with before they united. The group members behind today’s Song Of The Day were also a super group, however they were behind-the-scenes super stars that few people knew before they joined forces.

10cc consisted of two sets of incredibly talented songwriters: Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart, and Kevin Godley and Lol Creme.

Gouldman wrote the classic hits “For Your Love,” “Heart Full Of Soul,” and “Evil Hearted You” for The Yardbirds, “Bus Stop” and “Look Through Any Window” for the Hollies and “No Milk Today” for Herman’s Hermits. His partner, Eric Stewart, was a member of Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders scoring hits with “Groovy Kind Of Love” (which he also sang) and “The Game Of Love.” Kevin Godley and Lol Creme (along with Eric Stewart) were session musicians who became members of the group Hotlegs scoring the #2 UK hit “Neanderthal Man.”

The group’s story revolves around a recording studio named Strawberry Studios (after The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever”). Stewart became a partner in the studio and worked with Gouldman, Godley and Crème recording Bubblegum tunes for producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz of Super K Productions.

Kasenetz and Katz were best known as the producers behind the biggest hits by Ohio Express, The 1910 Fruitgum Company and Crazy Elephant. (It was Graham Gouldman’s vocals that graced the Ohio Express single “Sausalito,” while the rest of the group members appeared on tracks credited to Crazy Elephant, Freddie & The Dreamers, Silver Fleet and Fighter Squadron.) The Kasenetz and Katz deal afforded the group the ability to properly outfit Strawberry Studios where ultimately all of 10cc’s recordings were made.

Godley, Creme & Stewart stumbled upon a catchy drum pattern while working at Strawberry and recorded “Neanderthal Man,” which became a big hit under the moniker Hotlegs. The group also toured behind the single, opening for The Moody Blues. After working with Neil Sedaka at Strawberry on his hit album Solitaire, the group decided to give it a go on their own and began to record songs with an eye towards scoring a record deal.

The quartet were eventually signed to UK Records (after being rejected by Apple) by label head Jonathan King, who dubbed the group 10cc, named after the average amount ejaculated by men. (Jonathan King was well known for his own hit single, “Everyone’s Gone To The Moon,” and for signing Genesis to Decca Records.)

Their 1972 self-titled debut album included the European hit singles “Donna,” “Rubber Bullets” and “The Dean And I.” The dynamics within the group had Stewart and Gouldman writing their most poppy tunes, while Godley and Creme delved into artier and more experimental side.

Their second album was called Sheet Music and is their best and most consistent recording, featuring the hit singles, “Wall Street Shuffle” and “Silly Love.” The record covered all bases from the sublime of “Wall Street Shuffle,” “Old Wild Men” and “Silly Love” to the ridiculous of “The Sacro-Iliac,” “Clockwork Creep” and today’s Song Of The Day, all filtered through a Beatle-esque sheen.

The group’s keen sense of humor shines through especially on “The Worst Band In The World” which was sampled by J Dilla for his track “Workinonit,” “The Sacro-Iliac,” a pseudo dance craze that never was, and the ticking time bomb waiting to explode of “Clockwork Creep.”

Elsewhere, “Somewhere In Hollywood” is a multi-part suite that points in the direction the band would take with “Une Nuit A Paris,” the opening track from their breakthrough album, The Original Soundtrack. Rounding out the album are two of the groups most wigged out tunes: “Baron Samedi” and “Oh Effendi.”

After Sheet Music, the group signed with Mercury Records and released The Original Soundtrack in 1975 which included their worldwide smash hit “I’m Not In Love.” They followed the release with How Dare You! in 1976, which included the hit “Art For Art’s Sake.”

Godley and Creme left the fold in 1976 to promote an early guitar synthesizer they invented called The Gizmo. They released the triple album called Consequences,  however neither the album nor The Gizmo ever took off. They persevered over the next decade by becoming video vanguards, producing hit videos for the likes of Sting, The Police, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Duran Duran. They also scored a late ‘80s hit with their video and song, “Cry.”

Meanwhile the Stewart-Gouldman version of 10cc went on to score the hits, “The Things We Do For Love” (from the album Deceptive Bends)and “Dreadlock Holiday” (from Bloody Tourists). Stewart left the band in 1996, and today 10cc regularly tour Europe with Gouldman at the helm.

Today in Rock History – March 22

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Dylan-Bringing-It-All1965, Bringing It All Back Home, Bob Dylan’s fifth studio album was released. The album reached number six on Billboard’s Pop Albums chart, the first of Dylan’s albums to break into the US top 10, and it also topped the UK charts later that Spring. The lead-off track, “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” became Dylan’s first single to chart in the US, peaking at number 39. The album’s iconic cover, photographed by Daniel Kramer, features Sally Grossman, wife of Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman, lounging in the background. The artifacts scattered around the room include vinyl LPs by The Impressions and Robert Johnson.

1965, Who manager Kit Lambert receives a letter stating that their  April 15th gig at the Locarno Ballroom, Swindon has been canceled because the promoter has had a lot of trouble lately and he feels that The Who are not the type of Group that would go well in his Ballroom. A copy of this document later appears included in the Live at Leeds album. The Who play that night at Parr Hall in Warrington, Lancashire.

1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at The Guildhall in Southampton, England.

1967, The Who play their first American live gig at New York’s Paramount Theater.

1968, The Grateful Dead performed at the State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, Led Zeppelin appeared at Mothers in Birmingham, West Midlands, England.

1970, Joe Cocker performed at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.

Courtesy: LedZeppelin.com

1970, Led Zeppelin played to a sold out crowd of 6000 at the Seattle Arena in Seattle, Washington. Ticket prices ranged from $4-6 (£2.66 – 4.)

1971, US police arrested all the members from The Allman Brothers Band for heroin and marijuana possession.

1972, Yes played at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1973, King Crimson appeared at Town Hall, Leeds, England.

1974, King Crimson filmed at show at ORTF TV Studios in Paris.

1975, Frankie Valli went to the top of the US singles chart with “My Eyes Adored You,” his first solo number one.

1975, Led Zeppelin started a six-week run at number one on the US album chart with Physical Graffiti, the group’s fourth US chart topping album. On its first day of release in the US, the album shipped a million copies. No other album in the history of Atlantic records had generated so many sales. Physical Graffiti has now been certified 16 times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for US sales in excess of 16 million copies.

1975, The Bay City Rollers were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Bye Bye Baby,” the group’s first of two UK chart toppers.

1975, Genesis played at the Salle d’Exposition, Annecy, France.

1976, David Bowie performed at the Coliseum, New Haven, Connecticut.

1977, The Eagles appeared at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1978, The Police signed to A&M Records. The band would go on to notch more than fifteen UK Top 40 hits with the label.

rutles-all-u-need-is-cash1978, The Rutles’ All You Need Is Cash, an affectionate spoof of the Beatles’ career, was broadcast for the first time in the US.

1980, Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall, (Part 2”) started a four week run at number one on the US singles chart. The song, which was the group’s only US chart topper, was also a chart topper in the UK, Germany, Australia, Italy and in many other countries around the world. Pink Floyd received a Grammy nomination for Best Performance by a Rock Duo or Group for the song, but lost to Bob Seger’s “Against The Wind.”

1980, The Jam had their first UK number one with their tenth release, “Going Underground / Dreams Of Children” the first single of the 80s to debut at number one.

1994, Singer, songwriter, producer Dan Hartman died of a brain tumor in Westport, Connecticut. Was a member of the Edgar Winter Group and wrote the band’s hit ‘Free Ride.’ Had the 1978 No.1 dance hit ‘Instant Replay,’ wrote ‘Relight My Fire’ a UK No.1 for Take That and Lulu, collaborated with Tina Turner, Dusty Springfield, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Tyler, Paul Young, James Brown, Holly Johnson and Steve Winwood.

2005, Rod Price, former member of Black Cat Bones and a founding member of Foghat died after falling down a stairway at his home after suffering a heart attack. The 57 year old English guitarist played on Foghat’s highest charting US single “Slow Ride,” a 1976 hit.

Born on this Marach 22:  Jeremy Clyde, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, Chad & Jeremy (1941); George Benson (1943); Keith Relf, The Yardbirds (1943); Harry Vanda, The Easybeats (1947); Randy Hobbs, The McCoys, Johnny Winter Group, Montrose (1948); Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948);  Jay Dee Daugherty, American drummer, songwriter, The Church (1952);  Susan Ann Sulley, British singer, The Human League (1963); John Otto, Canadian-American, drummer Limp Bizkit (1977); Aaron Wright North, guitarist, Nine Inch Nails (1979)

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Song Of The Day – “I’d Rather Be Blue Over You (Than Be Happy With Somebody Else)” by Fanny Brice

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fannybriceShe was the original “Funny Girl.”

Most people know today’s Song Of The Day from Barbra Streisand’s recording as featured in the musical Funny Girl. In it, Streisand plays the part of Fanny Brice who was a famous recording artist, comedienne and star of radio, stage and screen. Her real name was Fania Borach and she was born in New York City in 1891.

Brice got her start in burlesque and was hired in 1910 by Florence Ziegfeld to perform in the Ziegfeld Follies where she performed comic routines lampooning popular stage dancers which included her trademark parody of a dying swan ballet. Brice appeared in numerous annual Follies and it was in these shows that she introduced her two signature songs “My Man” and “Second Hand Rose.”

She recorded many records for Victor and Columbia and today’s Song Of the Day was originally recorded for Victor in 1928. She starred on Broadway in Fioretta, Sweet And Low and Billy Rose’s Crazy Quilt, and her film credits include Everybody Sing with Judy Garland and Ray Bolger, The Great Ziegfeld and Ziegfeld Follies.

However, Brice’s biggest fame came from the popular radio show, The Baby Snooks Show, in which she performed the part of the title toddler for over 20 years. She began performing in the character of Baby Snooks at parties as early as 1910 where it was so popular, she decided to bring it to radio.

While she was one of the biggest stars of her era, Brice’s personal relationships were fraught with pain and uncertainty.  She was married three times. Her first husband was Frank White, a barber, whom she met in 1911. That marriage lasted only a few days.

Her second husband was Julius W. “Nicky” Arnstein, a conman who relentlessly sponged off of her. He was imprisoned for 14 months on a wiretapping charge before they got married, and six years into their marriage, Arnstein was charged as part of a gang who were involved in a five million dollar Wall Street bond theft. Rather than turn himself in, Arnstein went into hiding and then fought the charges for four years taking a huge toll on Brice’s finances. Ultimately, he served an additional three years in prison and upon his release; he completely disappeared leaving Brice and their children behind for good. It was this marriage that formed the basis for the plot of the musical Funny Girl.

Her third marriage was to songwriter/producer Billy Rose in whose Crazy Quilt Review she starred. That marriage also didn’t last.

With the advent of television, Brice tried to take her Baby Snooks character to the small screen, but soon found that the character didn’t translate to the visual medium. In 1950, she returned to radio as Baby Snooks in Tallulah Bankhead’s The Big Show along with Groucho Marx and Jane Powell. Six months later, she died from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 59.

Her life was portrayed on stage and screen several times. The 1939 film Rose Of Washington Square starred Tyrone Powers and Alice Faye. Unhappy with how she was portrayed, she sued 20th Century Fox and won an invasion of privacy lawsuit, forcing them to pull several scenes and key musical numbers from the film.

Her story was taken to Broadway in the form of the musical Funny Girl in 1964. The musical was produced by Ray Stark, who was Brice’s son-in-law, and it sported a score written by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. The musical also featured several songs originally recorded by Brice including today’s Song Of The Day. It was nominated for eight Tony Awards in 1964 and catapulted Streisand to stardom.

The 1968 film adaptation of Funny Girl was directed by William Wyler and starred Streisand reprising her role of Brice with Omar Sharif as Nicky Arnstein. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, and Streisand took the trophy home for best actress.

The 1975 sequel, Funny Lady also starred Streisand and Sharif as Brice and Arnstein, and James Caan played the part of Billy Rose. The music was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb (who also wrote the music to Cabaret). The film was nominated for five Academy Awards and six Golden Globes.

While none of the adaptations of her life were completely accurate, they did ensure that the legend of Fanny Brice would be remembered forever.

Today in Rock History – March 5

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1965, The Rolling Stones kicked off their fifth UK tour at The Regal Theatre, Edmonton, London. A 14-date package tour with The Hollies, The Konrads and Dave Berry and the Cruisers.

1966, Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass went to number one on the album chart with Going Places.

1966, Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler started a five week run at number one on the singles chart with “Ballad Of The Green Berets,” it made number 24 in the UK.

1967, The Lovin’ Spoonful appeared at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1967, Pink Floyd, Jeff Beck, The Ryan Brothers and Lee Dorsey all appeared at the Saville Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, England. Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles leased the theatre in 1965, presenting both plays and music shows. The venue became notorious for its Sunday night concerts.

1969, Yes played at the Marquee Club, London.

1970, John Lennon and Yoko Ono check into the London Clinic. Later in the month the couple begin a primal-scream course led by therapist Dr. Arthur Janov. Lennon starts writing songs, such as “Mother” and “Isolation” – that will appear on Plastic Ono Band.

1971, Led Zeppelin started a 12-date Thank You tour for British fans appearing at the clubs from their early days and charging the admission price from 1968. The first show was at The Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the first public performance of “Black Dog,” “Rock and Roll,” “Going To California,” and “Stairway to Heaven” from the forthcoming Zoso album.

1972, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Long Beach Civic Arena, Long Beach, California.

1972, The Grateful Dead played at San Francisco’s Winterland Arena.

1973, the former US manager of Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jeffrey was one of 68 people killed in a plane crash in France. Jeffery was en-route to a court appearance in London related to Hendrix.

1975, Rod Stewart met Swedish actress, Britt Ekland at a party in Los Angeles, the couple went on to have a high profile love affair.

1975, Rush played at the Electric Ballroom, Atlanta, Georgia.

1976, David Bowie appeared at Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri.

1977, AC/DC performed at the County Cricket Ground, Northampton, England.

1977, Barbra Streisand started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “Love Theme From A Star Is Born,” her second chart topper. The Eagles were at number two with “New Kid In Town” and The Steve Miller Band was third with “Fly Like An Eagle.”

1981, The Grateful Dead played at Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

belushi-animal-house1982, actor and singer John Belushi died from an overdose of cocaine and heroin. Belushi was one of the original cast members on Saturday Night Live, played “Joliet” Jake Blues in The Blues Brothers and also appeared in the film Animal House. His tombstone reads “I may be gone, but rock n roll lives on.”

1983, Aerosmith appeared at the Cape Cod Coliseum, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.

1985, Eric Clapton performed at the Wembley Arena, London.

1992, R.E.M. cleaned up in The Rolling Stone Music Awards winning Album of the year, for Out Of Time, Artist of the year, Best Single for “Losing My Religion,” Best Video for “Losing My Religion,” and Best Band, Best Guitarist and Best Songwriter awards.

1995, Viv Stanshall of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band was killed in a house fire. The English singer-songwriter, painter, musician, author, and poet is best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his surreal exploration of the British upper classes in Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, and for narrating Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells.

2002, The first episode of The Osbournes TV show was aired on MTV in the US. Focusing on the madman and his wife Sharon, and two of their three children. Oblivious to the camera, they bicker, squabble, curse and hang out backstage at Ozzy shows.

2005, A commemorative plaque for the The Jimi Hendrix Experience was unveiled in Loisin-sous-Lens. Hendrix had appeared at The Twenty Club when it opened in 1967. It was his first European tour where he was totally unknown. Club owner Rikki Stein stated: “The place was packed and at the end of ’Wild Thing’, his first number, there was total silence. The entire audience just stood there, open-mouthed. They’d never seen or heard anything like it in their life.”

Born on March 5: Richard Bell, pianist, Full Tilt Boogie Band, The Band  (1948); Eddy Grant, The Equals (1948); Alan Clark, keyboards, Dire Straits (1952); Andy Gibb (1958); John Frusciante, guitarist, Red Hot Chili Peppers (1970)

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Song Of The Day – “Reggaejunkiejew” by Ween

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weenallrequestThis is the 2003 “All Request Live” version of a song originally released on the 1994 “Pure Guava” record by Ween.

Before anyone gets too excited, I’m a Jew and so is Aaron Freeman (aka Gene Ween), so don’t get it in your head that this track is slamming Jews, Rastas or even junkies. It’s just Ween, well, being Ween.

The band has musically touched on its Jewishness before with the song “I Can’t Put My Finger On It” from the album “Chocolate And Cheese” that usually features an extended Klezmer intro in concert. And Freeman has been getting back in touch with his Jewish roots by studying to be a Bar Mitzvah.

The 1994 “Pure Guava” version of this song is a bedroom recording that hangs on its choppy bass line with lots of electronics and modified vocals, as was the stoner Ween tradition of the day. This version is far more freewheeling in its execution and features some stunning shredding courtesy of Mickey Melchiondo (aka Dean Ween).

The “All Request Live” record was recorded live in the studio and broadcast over the internet in 2003, a novelty for the time. All of the songs included on the broadcast and record were requested by fans.

Original post date: 9/8/12