Today in Rock n Roll History

1961: Frank Sinatra announced the formation of his record label Reprise Records, which would later be home to artists such as Neil Young, The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac & Joni Mitchell.

1962: No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “Duke of Earl,” Gene Chandler. The song is the first million-selling record for Vee Jay Records.

1964: Beatlemania hits New York as the group plays two shows at Carnegie Hall tonight. The New York Times says the audience gave a better performance than the band. The New Street Music record store offers to send anyone who buys a Beatles record to a barbershop next door to receive a free Beatles haircut.

1966: The Rolling Stones arrive in New York to tape an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1967: Keith Richards’ mansion in Sussex, England, is raided by 15 policemen, who discover what they describe as “various substances of a suspicious nature.” Richards and Mick Jagger are later arraigned on drug charges.

1968: Jimi Hendrix returns to his hometown of Seattle. During his trip, he receives the key to the city and performs for the students of his high school.

1970: Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut album was released in the U.K. They recorded and mixed the album in just three days & to this day, the album is recognized as one of the main albums credited with the development of heavy metal music.

1972: Led Zeppelin had to cancel a scheduled concert in Singapore due to the country’s officials refusing to let the band members off the plane because of their long hair.

1980: The home of Sex Pistols singer John Lydon was raided by police. Lydon greeted them waving a sword until they could produce search warrants. The only illegal item found in his home was pepper spray.

1981: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon became the longest running rock album on the Billboard 200 album chart. It was the 402nd consecutive week the album was on the chart which would go on to spend 741 consecutive weeks.

1982: The 300 pound marble slab headstone of Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zant was stolen from a cemetery in Orange Park, FL. It was found two weeks later by Orange Park police in a dry river bed.

1989: Novelty singer Tiny Tim announces he is running for mayor of New York and loses. So I guess he never got to "Tip-toe through the tulips".

1995: Van Halen scored their first US No.1 album with "Balance" which was the tenth studio album by band. It was released in 1995 and was the fourth and final album featuring lead singer Sammy Hagar.

1998: “Sir” Elton John is knighted by Queen Elizabeth. Elton John was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on February 24, 1998 for his contribution to music and his fundraising for AIDS.

2000: Screamin’ Jay Hawkins dies in Paris after surgery to treat an aneurysm. He was 70.

2003: Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Phil Lesh, the surviving members of the Grateful Dead change their name from The Other Ones to The Dead.

2005: Legendary rock group Led Zeppelin, jazz great Art Blakey and pioneering country music act the Carter Family are among the artists who receive the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement award at a Los Angeles ceremony one night prior to the 47th annual Grammy Awards.

2005: The late Ray Charles wins eight Grammys for his album Genius Loves Company and duet with Norah Jones, “Here We Go Again,” including Album of the Year and Record of the Year.

2005: A train was named after Clash frontman Joe Strummer at a ceremony in Bristol. The diesel train owned by Cotswold Rail was named after the singer, guitarist who died aged 50 in 2002.

2008: Ronald Isley’s appeal against a three-year jail term for tax fraud was rejected by a US court. The 65-year-old singer of the Isley Brothers argued against being imprisoned in an Indiana jail on the grounds of age and poor health. The court heard he cashed royalty cheques belonging to his brother O’Kelly, who died in 1996 and spent millions of dollars made from undeclared performances on a yacht and two homes. Isley was ordered to pay more than $3.1m to the US tax service for “pathological” evasion.


TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS
1939: Ray Manzarek (Feb 12th) keyboardist for The Doors
1942: Peter Tork of The Monkees
1950: Steve Hackett (Feb 12th) guitarist of Genesis and GTR
1950: Peter Gabriel (Genesis)
1952: Ed Gagliardi bassist for Foreigner
1961: Henry Rollins singer for Black Flag