BIRTHDAYS
1949: James Young (Styx)
1951: Barry Brandt (Angel)
1953: Frankie Banali (Quiet Riot / W.A.S.P.)
1964: Joseph “Run” Simmons (Run DMC)
1965: Stuart Stapels (Tindersticks)
EVENTS
1967: A package tour with Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Move, The Nice & Amen Corner kicked off at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
1990: Record producer, Frank Farin fired Rob Pilatus & Fabrice Morvan of Milli Vanilli, because they wanted to sing on their second album.
Jimi sure stood out in a crowd, but can you spot Mitch, Noel and members of Pink Floyd? Roy Wood is there too… the others must be the rest of The Move and Amen Corner.
BIRTHDAYS
1942: John Hammond
1949: Roger Steen (The Tubes)
1979: Nicolai Fraiture (The Strokes)
EVENTS
1968: Rolling Stone, Brian Jones bought ‘Cotchford Farm’ in Sussex, previously owned by author, A.A. Milne.
1970: Trapeze released their album, ‘Medusa’.
1971: Santana scored their second US No.1 album with ‘Santana III’.
1975: Deep Purple (with Tommy Bolin on guitar) performed at Western Springs Stadium, Auckland.
1976: Led Zeppelin scored their 7th UK No.1 album with the film soundtrack to ‘The Song Remains The Same’.
1995: The Rolling Stones released their acoustic album, ‘Stripped’.
2016: Death of singer / songwriter / pianist / multi-instrumentalist, Leon Russell [aged 74].
I SO wanted to go to this concert in 1975, but I was just a school kid and living in Dunedin. Deep Purple imploded the next year, followed by the tragic drug overdose death of Tommy Bolin. I finally got to see DP live in 1984, when they reformed with Ritchie Blackmore & Ian Gillan.
BIRTHDAYS
1944: Booker T. Jones
1945: Neil Young
1947: Donald Roeser a.k.a. Buck Dharma (Blue Oyster Cult)
1953: Callum MacDonald (Runrig)
1964: David Ellefson (Megadeth)
EVENTS
1965; The Velvet Underground made their live debut at Summit High School, New Jersey.
1968: Neil Young released his self-titled debut album.
1977: The Sex Pistols went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their debut LP.
1979: Guitarist, Snowy White joined Thin Lizzy.
2003: Death of Tony Thompson, drummer of Chic & Power Station [aged 48].
2004: The funeral of DJ John Peel took place at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
2008: Death of Mitch Mitchell, drummer of The Jimi Hendrix Experience [aged 61].
The one and only NEIL YOUNG is 73 today! The prolific musician has written some of the finest songs of the last five decades, from beautiful acoustic solo pieces, to soaring, powerful rock classics with Crazy Horse. I don’t need to list them… you should know them ALL and be playing one right now, on Neil’s preferred music format — Vinyl! Happy Birthday, Neil.
BIRTHDAYS
1927: Mose Allison
1945: Vince Martell (Vanilla Fudge)
1946: Chris Dreja (The Yardbirds)
1947: Pat Daugherty (Black Oak Arkansas)
1948: Robert “Mutt” Lange (Producer)
1953: Andy Partridge (XTC)
1969: Gary Powell (The Libertines / New York Dolls)
EVENTS
1972: Death of bassist, Berry Oakley of The Allman Brothers Band [aged 24].
1972: Rory Gallagher released his ‘Tattoo’ album.
1995: The Smashing Pumpkins double album ‘Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness’ went to No.1 on the US chart.
2010: Death of Tony Edwards, entrepreneur / manager of Deep Purple, Toyah, Johnny Clegg, etc. [aged 78].
2015: Death of drummer, Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor, of Motorhead [aged 61].
It was 46 years ago that we lost another great musician from The Allman Brothers. Berry Oakley died after he rode his ’67 Triumph into a bus, barely one year after and three blocks away from the scene of Duane Allman’s fatal motorcycle crash in 1971.
BIRTHDAYS
1928: Ennio Morricone
1940: David “Screamin’ Lord” Sutch
1947: Glen Buxton (Alice Cooper)
1947: Greg Lake (King Crimson / Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
EVENTS
1979: Fleetwood Mac scored their second UK No.1 album with ‘Tusk’.
1997: Death of session guitarist, Tommy Tedesco [aged 67].
2002: Death of Motown keyboard player, Johnny Griffith [aged 66].
2014: YES played a concert at ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, Auckland — I was there — and met them (again) after the show!
2015: Death of musician / composer / producer, Allen Toussaint [aged 77].
2016: Death of singer / songwriter / poet, Leonard Cohen [aged 82].
Let’s pay tribute to Greg Lake… He would have been 71 today, but sadly we lost him on 7th of December last year. A fine singer / songwriter / bassist / guitarist, Greg contributed greatly to many classic songs from the legendary groups King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
BIRTHDAYS
1944: Phil May (Pretty Things)
1948: Joe Bouchard (Blue Oyster Cult)
1954: Dennis Stratton (Iron Maiden)
EVENTS
1961: Brian Epstein saw The Beatles playing live for the first time at The Cavern, Liverpool.
1966: John Lennon met Yoko Ono when he visited her art exhibition at the Indica Gallery, London.
1968: Led Zeppelin played their first ever London show at The Roundhouse. Robert Plant married his girlfriend, Maureen earlier in the day.
1970: Derek & The Dominos (featuring Eric Clapton & Duane Allman) released their ‘Layla & Oher Assorted Love Songs’ double album.
2006: David Bowie made his last public performance, at the Ballroom, New York, for the Annual KCA Black Ball Save A Child charity. He sang “Wild Is the Wind”, “Fantastic Voyage” & “Changes” (with Alicia Keys).
2017: Death of singer, Chuck Mosley [aged 57]. Chuck was original vocalist with Faith No More (1995 – 1998).
50 years ago, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones & John Bonham played their first London show, to be billed as Led Zeppelin. It was also the day that Robert married Maureen Wilson, with whom he would have three children (including son Karac, who died tragically in 1977). After a tumultuous 15 years, which also included a serious car accident and Robert’s numerous infidelities, the couple divorced in 1983. They remain friends, with Robert being eternally grateful for Maureen’s support, particularly through the early tough times. For the second Led Zeppelin LP in 1969, he wrote the song lyrics for “Thank You” as a tribute to her.
BIRTHDAYS
1944: Bonnie Bramlett (Delaney & Bonnie)
1946: Roy Wood (The Move / Wizzard)
1947: Minnie Riperton
1949: Bonnie Raitt
1954: Rickie Lee Jones
1957: Porl Thompson (The Cure / Page & Plant)
1985: Jack Osbourne
EVENTS
1971: Led Zeppelin released their untitled fourth album.
1972: Lou Reed released his second album, ‘Transformer’, which was produced by David Bowie and arranged by Mick Ronson.
1975: Tommy Bolin made his first live appearance with Deep Purple, at a concert in Honolulu.
1975: David Bowie made his US TV debut, performing “Fame”, on the Cher CBS-TV show.
1980: Motorhead released their ‘Ace of Spades’ album.
Some very talented women share birthdays today — Bonnie Raitt (69) who is a great songwriter / singer / excellent guitarist, the late Minnie Riperton with her incredible vocal range, and Rickie Lee Jones (64), who has recorded some gorgeous albums in her time. Rickie’s songs are atmospheric, often quiet and emotional — they sound so good on vinyl! But the one that is going to suit watching on a video best is… you guessed it — Chuck E!
BIRTHDAYS
1943: Roberta Anderson a.k.a. Joni Mitchell
1964: Liam O’Maonlai (The Hothouse Flowers)
1967: Sharleen Spiteri (Texas)
1996: Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor a.k.a. Lorde
EVENTS
1967: Reg Dwight (Elton John) and his song writing partner, Bernie Taupin signed to DJM publishing.
1981: Ozzy Osbourne released his second album, ‘Diary of a Madman’. It was also the second Ozzy album to feature guitarist, Randy Rhoads, who was tragically killed in a plane crash on the tour that followed.
1983: Yes released ‘90125’.
1985: Yes released ‘9012LIVE: The Solos’.
2014: Pink Floyd released their fifteenth and final studio album, ‘The Endless River’.
2014: Death of bassist, Rick Rosas [aged 65]. He had played for Neil Young, CSNY, Buffalo Springfield, Jerry Lee Lewis, Etta James and more.
2017: Death of drummer, Pentti “Whitey” Glan [aged 71]. “Whitey” was best known for his work in the 1970s with Lou Reed & Alice Cooper, including ‘Rock N Roll Animal’ and ‘Welcome to My Nightmare’.
2017: Death of musician / composer / arranger / conductor, Paul Buckmaster [aged 71]. Paul was involved in many legendary recordings, including sessions with David Bowie, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, Leonard Cohen and lots more.
A Very Happy Birthday to Joni Mitchell! Mid-2015, Joni tragically suffered a brain aneurism and is reportedly, slowly recovering. We can all celebrate that the brilliant Canadian singer / songwriter / artist has made it to 75 and wish her many happy, productive years ahead!
BIRTHDAYS
1947: George Young (The Easybeats)
1948: Glenn Frey (Eagles)
1950: Chris Glen (Sensational Alex Harvey Band / MSG)
1964: Corey Glover (Living Colour)
1966: Paul Gilbert (Racer X / Mr. Big)
EVENTS
1971: The soundtrack to ‘Shaft’ by Isaac Hayes went to No.1 on the US album chart.
1975: The Sex Pistols made their live debut at St Martins School of Art in London.
1972: Death of New York Dolls drummer, Billy Murcia [aged 21].
Happy 54th Birthday to great singer / guitarist / actor, Corey Glover of Living Colour! (Pictured on the right, in above photo). From their debut LP, ‘Vivid’ (released 1988), here’s a ripping rendition of their killer cut, “Cult of Personality”.
BIRTHDAYS
1941: Arthur “Art” Garfunkel
1946: Cecil Ingham Connor a.k.a. Gram Parsons (The Byrds / Flying Burrito Brothers)
1948: Peter Hammill (Van der Graaf Generator)
1959: Bryan Adams
1971: Jonathan Greenwood (Radiohead)
EVENTS
1965: The Who released the single “My Generation”, which peaked at No.2 on the UK chart.
1971: Elton John released his fourth album ‘Madman Across The Water’, which featured performances by Rick Wakeman and Mick Ronson.
1977: The manager of the Virgin record store in Nottingham, England was arrested for displaying a large poster advertising the debut Sex Pistols album.
1982: Brian Wilson was fired from The Beach Boys by his former colleagues.
1988: Mick Jagger performed a concert at Western Springs Stadium, Auckland — I was there!
1996: Death of saxophonist, Eddie Harris [aged 62].
2005: Death of guitarist, Frederick Lincoln “Link” Wray [aged 76].
2011: Steely Dan and Steve Winwood played a double bill concert at Church Road Winery, Napier — I was there!
Happy 70th Birthday to Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator. Peter led his adventurous band through the 70s and they recorded some very out there albums. VDG were labelled as “underground prog”, but Hammill had a sinister lilt to his voice that punks like John Lydon emulated. The group reformed three decades later — from the ‘H to He Who Am The Only One‘ LP, this is “Killer”.
