Today in Oldies Music History: April 11

Today In Oldies Music History: April 11

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Births

1918: Jimmy Lewis
1935: Richard Berry
1946: Bob Harris

Deaths

2006: June Pointer (The Pointer Sisters)

Events

1956: Elvis Presley's tour plane develops engine trouble while flying the singer from Amarillo, TX to Nashville, forcing an emergency landing in Arkansas. When he calls his mother Gladys to tell her, she begs him to never fly again, instilling a fear of flying in Elvis which will take him years to get over.
1961: New York City gets its first introduction to a young folksinger named Bob Dylan when he makes his live Gotham debut at Gerde's Folk City, opening for John Lee Hooker and performing a new song entitled "Blowin' In The Wind."
1964: Having already set a record the week before by taking over the entire Top Five of the Billboard singles charts, the Beatles set another record when 14 of their singles are listed at the same time in the "Hot 100." "Can't Buy Me Love" is at #1, while "Love Me Do" holds down the bottom at #81.
1965: The British music trade paper New Musical Express holds its Third Annual NME Poll Winners Concert at London's Wembley Empire Pool, featuring The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Animals, The Moody Blues, Tom Jones, Them, Donovan, The Seekers, Freddie and the Dreamers, Herman's Hermits, and Cilla Black.
1966: NBC-TV's musical variety show Hullabaloo airs its last episode after sixteen months on the air, featuring Lesley Gore, Peter and Gordon, Paul Anka, and the Cyrkle.
1967: Flying back to England after participating in the Beach Boys' aborted Smile sessions, Paul McCartney comes up with the idea for the Beatles film and album Magical Mystery Tour.
1968: Janis Joplin makes her television debut when Big Brother and the Holding Company perform on ABC-TV's variety show Hollywood Palace.
1970: In Germany, Fleetwood Mac founding member Peter Green, having just come down from a long acid trip, announces his intention to leave the band to follow an obscure religion. He agrees to stay on through the current tour, however, to satisfy the band's contract.
1976: Relaxing in his hotel after a record-breaking Sydney show, Alice Cooper is placed under house arrest for alleged breach of contract after refusing to pay another promoter $59,000 for an Australian tour the year before. When it is discovered that the promoter's fallen short on his end of the deal as well, Cooper is released to fly back to the States.
1986: A stage musical entitled Time, produced by Dave Clark and starring Cliff Richard, Dionne Warwick, Freddie Mercury, and Leo Sayer, opens at London's Dominion Theatre.
1988: Cher wins Best Actress for the romantic comedy Moonstruck at tonight's Oscar Awards in New York.
1990: Elton John performs at the Indianapolis, IN funeral of Ryan White, the hemophiliac 18-year-old who'd contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion and been shunned for it. Michael Jackson also attends the service.
1997: Grand Funk Railroad reforms for their first tour in years to benefit the Bosnian-American Relief Fund, which helps victims of the recent genocide in Bosnia.
2002: Aretha Franklin and seven other Motown stars are honored with street names in Detroit's new low-income housing project.
2006: Paul Anka guest-stars as himself in tonight's "The Real Paul Anka" episode of WB-TV's Gilmore Girls.

Releases

none

Recording

1956: Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula"
1963: Nat "King" Cole, "Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer"
1966: The Beatles: "Got To Get You Into My Life," "Love You To"
1966: Frank Sinatra, "Strangers In The Night"

Charts

1956: James Brown's "Please, Please, Please" enters the R&B charts
1970: The Beatles' "Let It Be" hits #1

Certifications

none