Today in Oldies Music History: May 23

Today In Oldies Music History: May 23

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Births

1910: Artie Shaw
1920: Helen O’Connell
1928: Rosemary Clooney
1934: Dr. Robert Moog
1944: Raymond Fulwood (The Parliaments)
1944: Norman Johnson (The Chairmen Of The Board)
1945: Misty Morgan
1946: Danny Klein (J. Geils Band)
1953: Rick Fenn (10CC)

Deaths

2006: Clifford Antone

Events

1963: Paul Revere and the Raiders sign their first major label contract with Columbia.
1964: Elvis Presley's ninth film, Follow That Dream, opens.
1964: Ella Fitzgerald's cover of the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" enters the UK charts, making her the first outside artist to have a hit with a Beatles song.
1970: The latest (and last) Beatles album, Let It Be, logs record-setting advance orders of a staggering 3.7 million.
1970: The Grateful Dead make their UK stage debut with a four-hour show at the Hollywood Music Festival, ironically held in Staffordshire, England, with Mungo Jerry opening.
1971: Iron Butterfly announces their breakup.
1973: Columbia Records fires head Clive Davis, citing alleged misuse of company funds to pay for interior decorating and his son's bar mitzvah.
1977: San Francisco bans electric instruments from all free outdoor concerts, leaving Jefferson Starship to cancel their planned free concert in Golden Gate Park. Years later, Bernie Taupin would write "We Built This City" for the band about this event.
1978: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band begin their legendary "Darkness Tour" at Shea's Buffalo Theatre in Buffalo, NY.
1979: Tom Petty declares bankruptcy after his record label, ABC, is sold to MCA.
1979: ABC-TV airs the self-explanatory show The Third Barry Manilow Special.
1979: The Who's acclaimed documentary The Kids Are Alright debuts in New York.
1984: Tina Turner continues her historic comeback with the release of her Private Dancer LP, her first in five years.
1985: Still riding the crest of her own improbable comeback, Aretha Franklin has "Aretha Franklin Appreciation Day" declared in the state of Michigan by Governor James. J. Blanchard.
1987: The Doobie Brothers reform with most of their members past and present -- a dozen members in all -- for a Vietnam Veterans benefit that raises $350,000. Two thousand vets attend the show for free.
1990: Nick Mason, drummer for Pink Floyd, marries his second wife, Annette Lynton, in London.
1992: Freddie Mercury's will bequeaths the bulk of the deceased Queen singer's $17 million estate to his longtime companion, Mary Austin.
2007: The US Library of Congress hands out the first Gershwin Award to Paul Simon for being a "performer whose lifetime contributions exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins."
2008: Shirley Bassey suffers from abdominal pains in Monaco, necessitating emergency surgery and forcing her to cancel her upcoming appearance at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday concert.

Releases

1964: The Beach Boys, "I Get Around"
1966: The Beatles, "Paperback Writer" b/w "Rain"
1969: The Who, Tommy

Recording

1940: Frank Sinatra, "I’ll Never Smile Again"
1967: Pink Floyd, "See Emily Play"
1976: Bob Dylan, Hard Rain

Charts

1953: Bill Haley and his Comets' "Crazy, Man, Crazy" enters the charts
1960: The Everly Brothers' "Cathy's Clown" hits #1
1964: Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop" enters the charts
1970: Paul McCartney's LP McCartney hits #1

Certifications

1975: B.J. Thomas' "(Hey, Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" is certified gold
1979: Sister Sledge's "We Are Family" is certified platinum