Today in Oldies Music History: September 15

Today In Oldies Music History: September 15

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Births

1903: Roy Acuff
1924: Bobby Short
1928: Cannonball Adderley
1933: Pat Barrett (The Crew Cuts)
1939: Jimmy Gilmer (Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs)
1941: Les Braid (The Swinging Blue Jeans)
1942: Signe Anderson (Jefferson Airplane)
1942: Lee Dorman (Iron Butterfly)
1946: Ola Brunkert (ABBA)

Deaths

2008: Rick Wright (Pink Floyd)

Events

1961: The Pendletones, a quintet from nearby Hawthorne, CA, audition for Los Angeles music publishers with a version of a folk song called "Sloop John B." The suits, however, are more interested with an original song the group mentions, a novelty called "Surfin'," kicking off the career of the band that would soon come to be known as The Beach Boys.
1962: A distressed Chinese news media reports that kids in Maoming Cultural Park have been spotted dancing the Twist.
1964: During the Beatles' concert at Cleveland's Public Auditorium, a group of overzealous fans manages to rush the stage, forcing the venue's announcer to grab the mic from John Lennon in mid-song and force the band to leave the stage for 15 minutes until the crowd is under control.
1965: Frankie Avalon is the guest star on tonight's "A Foggy Day In Brooklyn Heights" episode of ABC-TV's Patty Duke Show.
1965: Ford becomes the first American car company to offer 8-track tape players in its new models; however, the lack of home players means that car buyers must visit the Ford dealership itself to get the actual tapes.
1968: CBS-TV airs the Barbra Streisand concert special A Happening In Central Park.
1968: The Doors are forced to go on as a trio for their concert at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw after lead singer Jim Morrison, trashed by days of binge drinking and hashish, collapses while dancing onstage to opening act Jefferson Airplane.
1968: NBC-TV airs a variety special simply called Soul, touted as being staffed and starring only African-Americans. Guests include Lou Rawls and Martha and the Vandellas.
1969: Ed Sullivan, perhaps a little late to the game, releases his first recording, a dance novelty called "The Sulli-Gulli." It flops.
1970: Spiro Agnew, Vice President of the US, claims that "The youth of America are being brainwashed into a drug culture of rock music, movies, books and tabloid newspapers."
1994: A recording of the Quarry Men playing at St. Peter's Parish Church garden party in 1957 Liverpool -- the earliest known recording of John Lennon -- fetches #125,000 at Sotheby's of London.
1997: Elton John's "Candle In The Wind 1997," rewritten and rerecorded with new lyrics paying tribute to the recently-deceased Princess Di, sells a record 600,000 copies in one day in Britain alone. It would go on to become the biggest-selling single of all time.
2003: Johnny Cash is laid to rest in the family cemetery at Hendersonville, TN, next to the grave of his recently-deceased wife June Carter Cash. Emmylou Harris, Al Gore, and Sheryl Crow attend the private ceremony along with family members including daughter Rosanne Cash.

Releases

1975: Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here
1976: Ringo Starr, Ringo's Rotogravure
1979: Bob Dylan, Slow Train Coming

Recording

none

Charts

1962: The Four Season's "Sherry" hits #1
1973: Helen Reddy's "Delta Dawn" hits #1
1979: Led Zeppelin's LP In Through The Out Door hits #1

Certifications

1956: Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" is certified gold