Today In Oldies Music History: June 5
--Births
1922: Gordon "Specs" Powell1925: Bill Hayes
1932: Pete Jolly
1941: Floyd Butler (The Friends Of Distinction)
1945: Don Reid (The Statler Brothers)
1946: Freddie Stone (Sly and the Family Stone)
1947: Tom Evans (Badfinger)
1950: Ronnie Dyson
Deaths
1990: Jim Hodder (Steely Dan)1993: Conway Twitty
2004: Robert Quine
Events
1955: Gladys Presley, Elvis' mother, awakens suddenly in Memphis, convinced that her boy is in danger; at that moment, Elvis' first pink Cadillac catches on fire while en route from Fulton, AR. Elvis is unharmed.1956: Elvis Presley appears on the last broadcast of Milton Berle's Texaco Star Theater, performing his brand-new song, "Hound Dog," and also "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You." Elvis' hip-swinging dancing to "Hound Dog" shocks the nation, leading the press to describe it as "like the mating dance of an aborigine" and that the singer clearly had "no future in the music business."
1959: A young kid named Robert Zimmerman, a greaser of sorts known for his long hair and black leather jackets, graduates from Hibbing High School in Hibbing, MN. Within a few years, he would become a New York folksinger and change his name to Bob Dylan.
1964: David Jones and his band, The King Bees, releases his first single, "Liza Jane." Within five years, he will become famous as David Bowie, having changed his last name to avoid confusion with the Monkees' Davy Jones.
1968: The favorite for the Democratic party nomination for President, Sen. Robert Kennedy, is assassinated after a rousing speech in Los Angeles, inspiring David Crosby to write "Long Time Gone" and the Rolling Stones to add the line "Who killed the Kennedys?" to their new song-in-progress, "Sympathy For The Devil."
1969: The Doors concert documentary Feast Of Friends premieres at the Cinematheque in Los Angeles.
1971: Grand Funk Railroad beats the Beatles' 1965 Shea Stadium record gross for a concert, after manager Terry Knight has the idea to raise ticket prices at Shea just enough to make that possible.
1972: Maureen McGovern quits her full-time secretarial job in order to follow her dream of being a professional singer.
1974: CBS-TV premieres the summer replacement variety show The Bobbie Gentry Happiness Hour.
1974: Sly Stone marries his first wife, Kathy Silva, onstage before his show at Madison Square Garden. Bishop Stewart, the singer's uncle, officiates before the crowd of 19,000; Silva files for divorce five months later.
1975: Syd Barrett, ex-Pink Floyd member and founder who was forced from the band after becoming an acid casualty, quietly appears in the Abbey Road studios during recording of the band's album Wish You Were Here, which was largely written about him. No one notices Barrett, and he soon leaves as quietly as he entered.
1975: The Rolling Stones become the first artists to be granted royalties from the Soviet Union whenever their records are sold there.
1979: Muddy Waters, 64, marries his third wife, 25-year-old Marva Jean Brooks, in Chicago with Eric Clapton as best man.
1986: The cable-TV music special Fats Domino and Friends, featuring friends Ray Charles and Jerry Lee Lewis, airs on HBO.
1987: The Prince's Trust Rock Gala is held for the fifth time at Wembley Arena in London. The annual charity event features the music of George Harrison, who performs "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with Eric Clapton; and Ringo Starr's version of "With A Little Help From My Friends," featuring Jeff Lynne. Other performers include Elton John, Phil Collins, Dave Edmunds, and Ben E. King.
1987: Sly Stone surrenders to authorities in Fort Meyers, FL for violating his probation (for cocaine possession).
1988: Patti Boyd, ex-wife of George Harrison, files for divorce from Eric Clapton, who once wrote the song "Layla" about her.
1989: The Doobie Brothers begin their reunion tour, their first with their original lineup since 1975.
1999: Frankie Laine marries his third wife, Marcia Ann Kline.
2008: James Taylor sings the US National Anthem at tonight's Game One of the NBA finals in Boston.
Releases
1956: Gene Vincent, "Be-Bop-A-Lula"1971: James Taylor, "You've Got A Friend"
Recording
1957: Bill Justis, "Raunchy"1968: The Beatles, "Don't Pass Me By"
1970: Elvis Presley: "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Got My Mojo Working," "Keep Your Hands Off Of It," "How The Web Was Woven," "It's Your Baby, You Rock It," "Stranger In The Crowd," "I'll Never Know," "Mary In The Morning"
1970: Bob Dylan: "If Dogs Run Free," "Went To See The Gypsy," "What It's All About," "Winterlude," "I Forgot To Remember," "The Man In Me," "Father Of Night," "Lily Of The West (Flora)"
1974: Patti Smith, "Hey Joe"
Charts
1954: Kitty Kallen's "Little Things Mean A Lot" hits #11958: Johnny Mathis' LP Johnny's Greatest Hits hits #1
1960: Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry" enters the charts
1961: Roy Orbison's "Running Scared" hits #1
