July 27th 1944, Born on this day, Bobbie Gentry, US singer, songwriter, notable as one of the first female country artists to compose and produce her own material. Gentry rose to international fame with her intriguing Southern Gothic narrative 'Ode to...
July 23rd 1965, Born on this day, Slash, (Saul Hudson), guitarist with Guns N' Roses who had the 1988 US No1 and 1989 UK No.6 single Sweet Child O' Mine and the 1991 US and UK No.1 album Use Your Illusion II. The guitarist went on to form the side project...
July 23rd 1969, The Rolling Stones were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Honky Tonk Women,' the group's eighth and last UK No.1. The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards while on holiday in Brazil and the Stones initially recorded the...
July 23rd 1966, Frank Sinatra went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Strangers In The Night'. The LP would be the most successful of his career, being certified Platinum for 1 million copies sold in the US. The title track would earn him two Grammy...
July 22nd 1944, Born on this day, Rick Davies, vocalist and keyboardist with Supertramp, who had the 1979 UK No.7 and US No.6 single with 'The Logical Song' and the 1979 US No.1 and UK No.3 album Breakfast In America. Davies is the only member of Supertramp...
Happy Birthday to Mick Jagger, born on 26th July 1943, The Rolling Stones, (1969 UK & US No.1 single 'Honky Tonk Women', and over 35 UK & US Top 40 singles and albums). Solo (1985 UK No.1 single with David Bowie 'Dancing In The Street'). 1985 UK No. 6...
July 25th 1965, Dressed in Carnaby Street threads, the ever changing Bob Dylan plugged in for his headlining set backed by the Butterfield Blues Band at The Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island. Folk music ‘purists’ tried to boo him off the...
25th July 1970, The Carpenters started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with '(They Long To Be) Close To You'. The first of three US No.1's and 17 other Top 40 hits. The song was written in 1963 by Hal David and Burt Bacharach and was first...
Happy birthday to Carlos Santana born on 20th July 1947, Mexican and American rock guitarist. Santana had the 1977 UK No.11 single 'She's Not There', and their 1999 US No.1 single 'Smooth' spent eleven weeks at No.1, (also No.1 in the UK). He won eight...
July 19th 1952, Born on this day, Allen Collins, guitar, Lynyrd Skynyrd, (1974 US No. 8 single, 'Sweet Home Alabama', 1982 UK No.21 single 'Freebird'). Collins was behind the wheel in a car accident in 1986 that killed his girlfriend and left him paralyzed...
Happy birthday to Brian May, born on 19th July 1947, guitarist, singer and songwriter with Queen who had the 1975 UK No.1 single 'Bohemian Rhapsody' which returned to No.1 in 1991. Queen scored over 40 other UK Top 40 singles, and also scored the 1980...
July 18th 1929, Born on this day, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, (Jalacy Hawkins), R&B singer, (1956 'I Put A Spell On You', 1993 UK No.42 single 'Heart Attack And Vine'). Hawkins died on 12th February 2000. 'I Put a Spell on You' was selected as one of The Rock...
15th July 1956, Born on this day, Ian Curtis, guitar, vocals, Warsaw, Joy Division, (1980 UK No.13 single 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'). Curtis hanged himself in the kitchen of his house in Macclesfield, England on 18th May 1980 at the age of 23. Curtis...
July 21st 1943, Born on this day, Northern Ireland rock guitarist, Henry McCullough. He recorded with Paul McCartney and Wings, featuring on the hit James Bond theme, 'Live and Let Die' and 'My Love', the solo which he made up on the spot in front of...
July 21st 1969, The Beatles started work on the John Lennon song 'Come Together' at Abbey Road studios in London. The track became the opening song on The Beatles Abbey Road album and was later released as a double A-sided single with 'Something', their...
July 10th 1964, 200,000 Liverpudlians took to the streets to celebrate The Beatles return to Liverpool for the northern premiere of the group's first film 'A Hard Day's Night.' The group were honored in a public ceremony in front of Liverpool Town Hall...
July 13th 1942, Born on this day, Roger McGuinn, guitar, vocals, The Byrds, (1965 US & UK No.1 single 'Mr Tambourine Man'). He was the only member of The Byrds to play on the hit, the others being session players. He toured with Bob Dylan in 1975 and...
July 12th 1979, American singer songwriter Minnie Riperton died of cancer aged 31. The Stevie Wonder produced 'Loving You' gave Minnie a US No.1 single in 1975. She worked at Chess records singing backup for various artists such as Etta James, Fontella...
Wilco Johnson, born on 12th July 1947, guitar, Dr Feelgood, (1979 UK No.9 single 'Milk And Alcohol') and a founding member of Solid Senders. Wilko stated in early 2013 that he had terminal cancer and was given just 10 months to live, and aptly announced...
Happy Birthday to Ringo Starr, born on 7th July 1940, drums, vocals, Rory Storm and,The Beatles. He sang lead vocals on one track on most Beatles albums, (The Beatles scored 21 US No.1 & 17 UK No.1 singles). Solo (1974 US No.1 & UK No.4 single 'You're...
5th July 1969, The Rolling Stones gave a free concert in London's Hyde Park before an audience of 250,000, as a tribute to Brian Jones who had died two days earlier. Mick Jagger read an extract from Percy Bysshe Shelley's 'Adonais' and released 3,500...
July 5th 2003, Johnny Cash made his last ever live performance when he appeared at the Carter Ranch. Before singing "Ring of Fire", Cash read a statement about his late wife that he had written shortly before taking the stage: “The spirit of June Carter...
July 9th 1983, The Police started an eight week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Every Breath You Take' also No.1 in the UK. Taken from the bands album Synchronicity, Sting won Song of the Year and The Police won Best Pop Performance for the...
July 4th 1938, Born on this day, Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter who had the 1972 US No.1 single 'Lean On Me', 1988 UK No.4 single 'Lovely Day', which was first released in 1978. Toward the end of the song, Withers holds a note for 18 seconds....
July 2nd 1956, Elvis Presley recorded 'Hound Dog' at RCA Studios, New York. Take 31 being the version they released. This was the first time The Jordanaires worked with Presley. The single sold over 10 million copies globally, became his best-selling...
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