Here we are on a snowy day bringing you all the news you need to know to impress friends and family alike!
December 17, 1954: Bill Haley & The Comets’ Rock Around The Clock becomes the first rock n’ roll song to enter the UK singles charts. I was ten months old.
December 17, 1955: With their hit Only You still at #2, the Platters’ The Great Pretender enters the charts at #13.
December 17, 1963: Carroll James a disc jockey at WWDC in Washington, D.C., becomes the first DJ to play a Beatles’ song on American airwaves. The song is I Want To Hold Your Hand, which he got from his airline stewardess girlfriend who bought a copy when she was in the UK. Because of high listener demand, James helps out the Beatles by playing the song every day, every hour. Because it had not yet been released in the US, Capitol Records initially considered legal action against the station but, instead, thought better of it and simply released the song in the US earlier than they planned. The rest, as they say, is history, my friends. Thank you, Carroll James. Forever.
December 17, 1966: Standing In The Shadows of Love by the Four Tops enters the Billboard Hot 100. On it’s ten-week stay on the charts, it will peak at #6. It reaches #2 on the R & B charts.
December 17, 1967: John Lennon and George Harrison throw a party in London for the area secretaries of their official fan club. The film Magical Mystery Tour is screened for the very first time for them.
December 17, 1971: John Lennon appears at a benefit at the Apollo Theater in Harlem for the families of the victims of the Attica State Prison riots.
December 17, 1977: Linda Ronstadt’s career continues to roll along through the seventies as her album, Simple Dreams, remains #1 on the Album charts for a third week.
December 17, 1979: Paul McCartney & Wings play the Glasgow Appollo and record a live version of the great song Coming Up. The song would reach #2 in the UK and will top the charts in the US, selling 4 million copies.
Born On This Day
December 17, 1937: Art Neville, keyboardist for the Neville Brothers (you can hear them here, people), was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
December 17, 1939: Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations was born in Union Springs, Alabama. His falsetto voice is heard on the great Temptations hits The Way You Do The Things You Do and Just My Imagination.
December 17, 1942: Paul Butterfield (the Paul Butterfield Blues Band) was born in Chicago.
December 17, 1949: Paul Rogers, lead singer and lyricist for both Free and Bad Company, was born in Middlesbrough, England.
December 17, 1950: Carlton “Carlie” Barrett, drummer for The Wailers, was born in Kingston, Jamaica.
And there you have it for today because we don’t give a shit about Britney Spears, and Miley Cyrus. You’ll never hear them here.
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