Today in Rock and Roll History

injinji

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1991 - Gene Clark
Founder member of The Byrds Gene Clark died of a heart attack aged 49. Wrote The Byrds hits 'I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better', and 'Eight Miles High', member of McGuinn, Clark and Hillman and solo.
 

injinji

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May 25th
1965 - Sonny Boy Williamson
Blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, Sonny Boy Williamson died in his sleep. Van Morrison, Aerosmith, The Who, The Animals, Yardbirds and Moody Blues all covered his songs. According to the Led Zeppelin biography Hammer of the Gods, touring the UK in the 60s, Sonny Boy set his hotel room on fire while trying to cook a rabbit in a coffee percolator.

I've never cook rabbit in a coffee pot, but just about everything else. Maybe he used oil instead of water.

 

injinji

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1985 - Dire Straits
Dire Straits scored their second UK No.1 album with 'Brothers In Arms', also No.1 in the US and 24 other countries. 'Brothers In Arms' was one of the first albums to be directed at the CD market, and was a full digital recording (DDD) at a time when most popular music was recorded on analog equipment. The album won two Grammy Awards at the 28th Grammy Awards, and also won Best British Album at the 1987 Brit Awards, and has gone on to sell over 30 million copies worldwide.
 

injinji

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May 26th
1968 - Little Willie John
US blues artist Little Willie John died in prison after being convicted of manslaughter. Co-wrote and was the first to record a 'Fever' (covered by Peggy Lee in 1958), and 'Need Your Love So Bad' covered by Fleetwood Mac. James Brown recorded a tribute album 'Thinking Of Little Willie John... And A Few Other Nice Things'.
 

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1972 - David Bowie
At the point of the band splitting up David Bowie offered Mott The Hoople two of his new songs, 'Suffragette City', which they turned down and 'All The Young Dudes', which they recorded. The song gave the group a No.3 UK and US Top 40 hit.
 

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2017 - The Allman Brothers Band
Gregg Allman, founding member of the The Allman Brothers Band died at the age of 69 at his home in Savannah, Georgia. Allman had suffered a recurrruence of liver cancer five years ago, died from complications of the disease. The band’s main songwriter early on, Allman contributed compositions like 'Dreams' and 'Whipping Post' to the Allman Brothers repertoire. Both songs became staples of their live shows; a cathartic 22-minute version of 'Whipping Post' was a highlight of their acclaimed 1971 live album, At Fillmore East.
 

injinji

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1966 - Percy Sledge
Percy Sledge started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'When A Man Loves A Woman'. A No.4 hit on the UK chart and No.2 when re-issued in 1987. Before the recording session, the song had no title or lyrics. The session proceeded with the expectation that Sledge would produce them for the vocal takes. When it came time to record the vocals, Sledge improvised the lyrics with minimal pre-planning, using the melody as a guide for rhythm and phrasing. The performance was so convincing that others working on the session assumed Sledge had the lyrics written down.
 

injinji

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Speaking of crossover. . . . . .

1968 - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival released their debut album. The band had played for years as the Golliwogs, Saul Zaentz who had bought Fantasy Records offered the band a chance to record an album on the condition that they change their name. The album features an 8 minute version of the Dale Hawkins song 'Suzie Q' which became the band's only Top 40 hit not written by John Fogerty.
 

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1976 - The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band temporarily disbanded after Greg Allman testified against Scooter Herring, his personal road manager, who was charged with drug trafficking. Herring was subsequently sentenced to 75 years in prison. An album of previously unreleased live material was issued later in the year under the title 'Wipe the Windows, Check the Oil, Dollar Gas'.
 

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2008 - Jerry Cole
American guitarist Jerry Cole died aged 68. He first entered the pop music scene as one of The Champs along with Glen Campbell. Cole and Campbell later formed the Gee Cee's and released one single called 'Buzzsaw Twist'. He backed up Elvis Presley in 1974 and also worked with Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Aretha Franklin, The Righteous Brothers, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Tony Orlando & Dawn, Lou Rawls, Gregg Allman, Lee Hazlewood, Blood Sweat & Tears, Kenny Rogers, Neil Diamond, Steely Dan, The Beach Boys and Isaac Hayes.
 

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1971 - The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Brown Sugar', from Sticky Fingers. The first single released on Rolling Stones Records, it was the bands sixth US No.1, and a No.2 hit in the UK. The songs lyrics, which are essentially a pastiche of a number of taboo subjects, include: interracial sex, cunnilingus, slave rape, and less distinctly, sadomasochism, lost virginity, and heroin.

And this whole time I though it was about, you know, Brown Sugar.

 

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1971 - Grateful Dead
Three dozen Grateful Dead fans were treated for hallucinations caused by LSD after they unwittingly drank spiked apple juice served at a gig at San Francisco's Winterland.

 

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1999 - Iron Butterfly
Skeletal remains were found by photographers looking for old car wrecks to shoot at the bottom of Decker Canyon near Malibu, California. Based on forensic evidence the remains were Philip Kramer former bassist with rock group Iron Butterfly, who had disappeared on his way home from work on February 12, 1995. His death was ruled as a probable suicide.
 

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1980 - Carl Radle
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.
 

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2019 - Leon Redbone
Singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor Leon Redbone died age 69. Redbone rose to fame in the '70s folk scene when Bob Dylan sought him out at a Canadian music festival. He later performed in several TV commercials, including Budweiser beer, in which he lay on a surfboard singing "This Bud's for You.”
 

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1980 - Mash
The Theme From M*A*S*H* (Suicide Is Painless), by Mash was at No.1 on the UK singles chart, 10 years after it was first recorded after being championed by BBC Radio 1 DJ Noel Edmonds. Mike Altman the son of the original film's director, Robert Altman, was 14 years old when he composed the song's lyrics.
 

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2019 - Roky Erickson
American singer, songwriter Roky Erickson died age 71. Erickson co-founded the 13th Floor Elevators in late 1965 who released their debut album The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators the following year. In 1968, while performing at HemisFair, Erickson began speaking gibberish. He was soon diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and sent to a Houston psychiatric hospital. Erickson released his eponymous debut as Roky Erickson and the Aliens in 1980. He recorded a steady stream of releases up until 2004.
 

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1967 - The Beatles
The Beatles released Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, in the UK. Recorded over a 129-day period beginning in December 1966, the album is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time and was the first Beatles album where the track listings were exactly the same for the UK and US versions. As of 2011, it has sold more than 32 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums in history.
 

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1968 - Simon and Garfunkel
Simon And Garfunkel went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Mrs Robinson'. Featured in the Dustin Hoffman and Ann Bancroft film 'The Graduate', the song earned the duo a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1969.
 

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1969 - John Lennon
The Plastic Ono Band recorded 'Give Peace A Chance' during a 'bed-in' at the Hotel La Reine in Montreal, Canada. Producer Phil Spector, poet Allan Ginsberg and writer Timothy Leary all sang on the song.
 
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