Today In Oldies Music History: May 1
--Births
1907: Kate Smith1928: Sonny James
1930: Little Walter
1933: Titus Turner
1939: Judy Collins
1944: Rita Coolidge
1946: Nick Fortune (The Buckinghams)
1954: Ray Parker, Jr. (Raydio)
Deaths
1965: Spike Jones1986: Hugo Peretti
2006: Johnny Paris (Johnny and the Hurricanes)
Events
1931: Kate Smith makes her radio show debut with the twice-weekly Kate Smith Sings show on NBC.1942: The US government seizes the nation's jukebox factories and puts them to work making war materials.
1955: A St. Louis guitarist named Chuck Berry is signed to Chess Records in Chicago after bluesman Muddy Waters recommends him to the label.
1957: The Kingston Trio form in Palo Alto, CA.
1957: The first issue of 16 Magazine, featuring Elvis Presley on the cover, is published.
1963: Lesley Gore performs her first big hit, "It's My Party," on ABC-TV's American Bandstand.
1966: The Beatles perform what is to be their last British concert when they appear at the Empire Pool in Wembley, England, to perform at the "1965-66 Annual Poll-Winners' All-Star Concert" given by the New Musical Express. The fifteen-minute set consists of "I Feel Fine," "Nowhere Man," "Day Tripper," "If I Needed Someone," and "I'm Down." Due to legal wrangling over license, this performance is, sadly, not filmed for posterity.
1967: Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys is arrested by the FBI for draft-dodging and refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the United States. Wilson, a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, is eventually exonerated by his draft board and rejoins the band, touring in Ireland.
1967: Elvis Presley's entourage flies to Vegas to meet the singer and fiance Priscilla Beaulieu, and the couple are married at 9:30 am in the Aladdin Hotel suite of hotel owner (and Parker friend) Milton Prell. Elvis' best men are Joe Esposito and Marty Lacker. The officiating judge is David Zenoff, a Nevada Supreme Court Justice. After the ceremony the group decamps to the lobby, where a press conference is held. Mafioso Red West, furious at being excluded from the ceremony, refuses to attend the breakfast reception.
1969: Bob Dylan guest stars on ABC-TV's The Johnny Cash Show, featuring the two icons collaborating on three Dylan songs: "I Threw It All Away," "Living The Blues," and "Girl From The North Country.".
1973: Washington, DC mayor Walter Washington officially declares today Marvin Gaye day in the singer's hometown.
1974: The Carpenters are invited to the Nixon White House in order to perform for the President and his visitor, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.
1975: The Rolling Stones announce their upcoming tour by being driven down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, performing "Brown Sugar" on the back of a flatbed truck.
1979: Elton John performs in Israel, the first Western pop act to do so.
1986: The Rolling Stones shoot the video for their new single, "One Hit (To The Body)."
1989: A suspicious man is arrested in a Los Angeles jewelry store after anonymous calls to the police; the man in question turns out to be Michael Jackson in a ludicrous disguise.
1999: The Lyz Art Forum in Siegen, Germany, presents an exhibition of 70 paintings by Paul McCartney, including "Bowie Spewing," which is indeed a young portrait of the singer.
2000: Former Village Voice scribe Jimmy McDonough sues Neil Young for $1.8 million in civil court for allegedly backing down from his agreement to authorize a biography McDonough spent years writing.
2003: While being treated for kidney failure, Barry White suffers a stroke, paralyzing the right side of his body. The singer never fully recovers, and dies a few months later.
Releases
1965: The Supremes, "Back In My Arms Again"1968: Elvis Presley, Speedway
1969: Neil Young, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
1971: Paul Simon, Paul Simon
1972: The Rolling Stones, "Brown Sugar"
1973: Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Recording
1939: Tommy Dorsey, "Lonesome Road"1956: Little Willie John, "Fever"
1970: Bob Dylan, "Sign On The Window"
1978: Bob Dylan: "Walk Out In The Rain," "Coming From The Heart (The Road Is Long)," "Stop Now," "New Pony"
Charts
1965: Herman's Hermits' "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" hits #11976: The Bellamy Brothers' "Let Your Love Flow" hits #1
1976: Led Zeppelin's LP Presence hits #1
