Today in Oldies Music History: April 15

Today In Oldies Music History: April 15

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Births

1894: Bessie Smith
1918: Eddy Arnold
1933: Roy Clark
1937: Bob Luman
1939: Marty Wilde
1940: Clarence Satchell (The Ohio Players)
1942: Allan Clark (The Hollies)
1944: Dave Edmunds
1947: Mike Chapman

Deaths

1989: Nesuhi Ertegun
2005: John Fred Gourrier (John Fred and his Playboy Band)
2007: Don Ho

Events

1956: Mitch Miller and DJ Alan Freed appear, along with two psychiatrists, on Eric Sevareid's television program CBS Sunday News to discuss the "potentially negative effects of Rock 'n' Roll on teenagers."
1958: Buddy Holly has his guitar, a Fender Stratocaster, stolen from the Crickets' station wagon while the group stops to have lunch before a concert in St. Louis, MO.
1960: Dick Clark's movie Because They're Young, a friendlier Blackboard Jungle of sorts with appearances by James Darren and Duane Eddy, premieres in New York.
1964: After a long day of filming for their first movie, which is still titled Beatlemania!, The Beatles relax as Ringo Starr declares, oddly, that it's been "a hard day's night." John immediately begins writing the song of the same name on the back of an old greeting card; it will eventually become the title track for the film.
1966: Buffalo Springfield make their live debut, opening for the Byrds at the Orange County Showgrounds in San Bernardino, CA.
1969: Archie Bell of the Drells completes his tour of duty in Vietnam and is discharged from the US Army.
1971: The Illinois Crime Commission releases a list of "drug-oriented rock records" that include Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale," but also, for some reason, The Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends" and "Puff The Magic Dragon," by Peter, Paul and Mary.
1971: At tonight's Oscar ceremonies in Los Angeles, The Beatles are awarded their one and only statuette, in the category of Original Song Score, for the title track to the film Let It Be.
1982: While riding his motorcycle in his native Long Island, New York (presumably not in the rain), Billy Joel slams into a moving car, breaking his wrist and requiring a month of hospitalization.
1989: Roy Orbison's comeback single, "You Got It," produced by Jeff Lynne, becomes his last big hit as it reaches the US Top Ten four months after his death from a heart attack.
1992: Queen reunites for a tribute charity concert dedicated to their fallen former leader, vocalist Freddie Mercury, who'd passed away from AIDS some six months earlier. Robert Plant, David Bowie, Elton John, Guns N' Roses, George Michael, Annie Lennox, Paul Young, Ian Hunter and Roger Daltrey, among others, show up to sing Freddie's and their own hits.
1996: The remainder of Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia's ashes are scattered near the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco; a week earlier, a portion had been scattered into India's Ganges river.

Releases

1966: The Rolling Stones, Aftermath

Recording

1966: The Beatles: "Paperback Writer," "Rain"
1968: Aretha Franklin, "Think"
1969: The Beatles, "The Ballad Of John And Yoko"

Charts

1972: Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" hits #1
1972: Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen's "Hot Rod Lincoln" enters the charts

Certifications

1977: Lynyrd Skynyrd's LP One More For The Road is certified gold