Well, we’re back up and running again. I am not sure the stamina is there to get this done every day, but I’m sure going to give it a hell of a shot.

Here’s today’s lesson:

February 17, 1955: Little Richard sent his first audition tape to Specialty Records.

February 17, 1960: Elvis Presley received his first Gold Record for his debut album, Elvis.

Also on this day, after a string of hits on Cadence Records, The Everly Brothers sign a 10-year contract with Warner Brothers. The price is said to be a million dollars, but many think that was inflated for PR purposes.

February 17, 1962: The Beach Boys debuted on the charts with the song Surfin’.

February 17, 1964: Chad & Jeremy appear on the Patty Duke Show.

February 17, 1965: The Kinks release their single Tired of Waiting For You.

February 17, 1966: James Brown recorded It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World at Bob Gallo’s Talentmasters studio in New York. The song would eventually top the Billboard R & B chart.

Also on this day, The Beach Boys begin recording the Brian Wilson masterpiece, Good Vibrations. It would take eleven sessions and multiple layered overdubs to complete the song. Although it hit #1 around the globe and sold millions of copies, it would be the band’s last #1 for the next ten years.

February 17, 1967: The Beatles’ double A-side hit Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever was released in the US.

Also on this day, The Beatles began recording a John Lennon song, Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite. The lyrics were taken from an antique poster that Lennon bought promoting a circus performance that took place in February 1843 in Rochdale, Lancashire.

February 17, 1968: Big Brother & The Holding Company signed a recording contract with the new CBS label, Columbia Records.

February 17, 1969: Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash got together to record some duets in Nashville while Dylan was recording his Nashville Skyline album. The song Girl From the North Country finds its way onto Dylan’s album. Cash wrote the liner notes for the album. The rest of their session would be released later.

February 17, 1971: James Taylor makes his debut on ABC’s Johnny Cash Show.

February 17, 1972: Pink Floyd wrapped up a tour of the UK with the first of four shows at The Rainbow Theatre in London. They perform Eclipse at the show. A year later, it becomes The Dark Side of the Moon album.

Born On This Day

February 17, 1941: Gene Pitney, who had hits with It Hurts To Be In Love and Only Love Can Break A Heart, was born in Hartford, Connecticut.

February 17, 1972: Taylor Hawkins, who was touring drummer for Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill tour, and drummer for the Foo Fighters, was born in Fort Worth, Texas.

And that is it for today.