2021

We return to retail slavery, so we’re getting a jump on the day today

***The Pretenders have their first #1 hit with Brass In Pocket.***

Here’s your lesson:

January 19, 1957: Fats Domino’s Blueberry Hill moves up to #2 on the charts.

Also on this day, Elvis Presley recorded It’s No Secret, Blueberry Hill (speak of the devil), Have I Told You Lately That I Love You, and Is It So Strange.

January 19, 1962: Jackie Wilson spent a sixth week at #1 with Lonely Teardrops.

January 19, 1963: The Beatles made their first national TV appearance in the UK, performing Please Please Me on Thank Your Lucky Stars.

January 19, 1966: Simon & Garfunkel released Homeward Bound.

January 19, 1967: The Beatles began recording A Day In The Life at Abbey Road Studios. They lay down the rhythm track, John Lennon’s vocal, and the alarm clock sound used in the song.

Also on this day, Pink Floyd and Marmalade play a bill at The Marquee Club in London.

January 19, 1970: The Easy Rider soundtrack, featuring The Byrds (The Ballad of Easy Rider) and Steppenwolf (Born To Be Wild) is certified Gold.

January 19, 1971: The Beatles song Helter Skelter is introduced as evidence and played at Charles Manson’s murder trial. He claims it’s about a race war and led to his murderous acts.

January 19, 1973: The Moody Blues released I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock n’Roll Band).

January 19, 1974: Jim Croce is still at #1 with You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.

Also, two shows by Bob Dylan and The Band are so popular that they cause a nine-mile traffic jam.

January 19, 1976: The Beatles turn down a $30 million offer by promoter Bill Sargeant to reunite. By now they don’t need the money.

January 18, 1980: The Pretenders have the new #1 song in the UK with the great Brass In Pocket.

And Pink Floyd reaches #1 with The Wall after just six weeks of release.

January 19, 1998: Rock & Roll legend Carl Perkins (who wrote Blue Suede Shoes) dies at the age of 65 after suffering three strokes over two days.

Born On This Day

January 19, 1939: Phil Everly (of the Everly Brothers) was born in Chicago, Illinois.

January 19, 1943: The great Janis Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas.

January 19, 1946: Dolly Parton (the fourth of twelve children) was born in Sevier County, Tennessee.

January 19, 1952: Dewey Bunnell of America was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England.

And that is it for today, my friends. We’ll be back with the line up soon.

Good Afternoon From The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 1/18/2021

Good afternoon, music trivia addicts! Here’s today’s lesson, and I know it’s late. But it’s better late than never. Better still, it’s easy peasy.

Here’s your lesson for today:

January 18 1956: Rock Around The Clock by Bill Haley & The Comets became the first rock n’ roll album to enter the charts.

January 18, 1964: Another historical day in rock music: I Want To Hold Your Hand by The Beatles debuts at #45, their first chart hit in the U.S. It becomes the fastest-selling song in Capitol Records history.

January 18 1965: The Rolling Stones recorded The Last Time and Play With Fire at RCA Studios in Hollywood, California.

January 18, 1969: The Beatles (aka, The White Album) spends a fourth week in the #1 slot.

Also on this day, Dusty Springfield makes her way back to the Top 10 with the great song, Son of a Preacher Man.

January 18, 1975: George Harrison scored another Top 10 album with Dark Horse.

January 18, 1990: 90,000 people in Brazil saw Bob Dylan at his first show in South America when he plays in Sao Paulo.

January 18, 2016: Glenn Frey, co-founder, guitarist, songwriter and singer for the Eagles died in New York City of rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia at the age of 67.

Born On This Day

January 18, 1933: Ray Dolby, inventor of the Dolby noise reduction system, was born in Portland, Oregon.

January 18, 1941: David Ruffin, vocalist for The Temptations, was born in Whynot, Mississippi.

And that is the end of your lesson!

It’s Sunday Funday From The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 1/17/2021

Happy Sunday, Musicologists! We are here in The Mermaid Lounge where we never sleep and the music never stops. It has been running 24/7 since February of 2017.

***Joni Mitchell released the amazing album, Court & Spark, on this day in music history.***

Here’s Sunday’s musical lesson:

January 17, 1963: The Beatles played their usual lunchtime gig at The Cavern Club, and then at the Majestic Ballroom in Birkenhead in the evening. The Majestic tickets all sold in advance. With literally hundreds of fans turned away, it was definitely time to look for a bigger venue.

January 17, 1964: The Rolling Stones released their first EP, which included You Better Move On, Poison Ivy, Bye Bye Johnny, and Money.

January 17, 1966: The Turtles released the song You Baby on this day. By the way, The Turtles were a great little band.

January 17, 1967: The Daily Mail ran a story about a local council survey finding 4,000 holes in the road in Lanashire, inspiring John Lennon’s contribution to the Beatles’ amazing A Day In The Life.

Also on this day, the Jimi Hendrix Experience recored a session for Radio Luxembourg’s Ready Steady Radio. The band ran up a $6.21 bar bill which they could not afford to pay. That would change soon.

January 17, 1970: The Doors performed the first of several concerts at the Felt Forum in New York City.

Also on this day, Led Zeppelin II would take over the #1 Album spot from Abbey Road after an 11-week run.

January 17, 1972: Neil Young released the great single Heart of Gold, with friends Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor singing background vocals.

Meanwhile, Paul Simon released his hit Mother and Child Reunion.

And a section of Highway 51 in South Memphis, Tennessee, was renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard. It was intended to be the entire road, but a church objected to their section being named after Elvis the Pelvis. No sense of humor.

January 17, 1974: Joni Mitchell’s amazing album, Court and Spark, was released on this day.

Bob Dylan also released Planet Waves on this day.

January 17, 1975: Bob Dylan released another great album on this day a year later called Blood On The Tracks.

Born On This Day

January 17, 1927: The amazing Eartha Kitt was born on this day in North, South Carolina.

January 17, 1949: Mick Taylor, guitarist for both John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and the Rolling Stones, was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England.

January 17, 1955: Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Steve Earle was born in Fort Monroe, Virginia. Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Gretchen Peters, and Shawn Colvin have covered his tunes.

And that is it for today’s lesson. Back with the line-up soon.

It’s The Weekend at The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 1/16/2021

Gooooood Morning, Musicologists! Here we are at the beginning of the weekend, which is meaningless to we here in The Mermaid Lounge. Duty calls.

***The Cavern Club opened its doors on this day in 1957. A band called The Beatles played there 292 times.***

Here’s today’s not-too-taxing lesson:

January 16, 1957: The famed Cavern Club in Liverpool opened its doors on this day. It is where The Beatles launched their historic career. They played The Cavern Club a total of 292 times.

Also on this day, a man the Beatles considered an inspiration, Little Richard, recorded Lucille.

January 16, 1961: Shop Around by The Miracles (eventually Smokey Robinson & The Miracles) hit #1 on the R & B charts.

January 16, 1964: The Beatles played two shows at the Olympia Theatre, Paris, France, the first of an 18-night stint.

Also on this day, The Dave Clark Five hit #1 on the UK charts with Glad All Over. Mike Smith was their lead singer, one of the great rock n’ roll voices on the planet (John Lennon was another).

January 16, 1965: The Guess Who released their debut album, Shakin’ All Over.

On this day, The Supremes had their third consecutive #1 song with Come See About Me.

January 16, 1967: The Rolling Stones released their single, Ruby Tuesday.

January 16, 1992: Eric Clapton recorded his MTV Unplugged show, including the song Tears In Heaven and an acoustic version of Layla. It would win six Grammys, including Record of the Year.

January 16, 1988: George Harrison hits #1 with Got My Mind Set On You, his first #1 in 24 years.

January 16, 1996: Jamaican Police mistake Jimmy Buffett’s seaplane (The Hemisphere Dancer) as a drug-smuggler’s seaplane and begin firing on it when it lands in the water. U2’s Bono and his family are also on board. Nobody is injured, and the event inspires Buffett’s new song, Jamaica Mistaica. It was a close call for the Parrotheads of the world.

January 16, 2016: Bruce Springsteen kicks off The River Tour in Pittsburgh. His 1980 album, The River, is the centerpiece of the tour and is played from start to finish in many locations. The tour is the most successful of the year, grossing more than $268 million.

Born On This Day

Nobody we give a shit about here in The Mermaid Lounge.

Hope you all have a great day. We will be back with the line-up soon.

It’s Friday in The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 1/15/2021

Good Morning from The Mermaid Lounge! It is Friday here, and we’ve got some great music coming your way! But first, our lesson.

***The Original Supremes, formerly known as The Primettes. That’s Barbara Martin on the left, the only one that was legally ‘of age’ to sign the Motown contract in 1961. Find out more below.***

Here’s your lesson!

January 15, 1958: Elvis Presley records Hard Headed Woman, Trouble, New Orleans, King Creole, and Crawfish. All in a day’s work for The King.

January 15, 1961: The Supremes sign on with Motown Records. At this time there are four Supremes (once called The Primettes): Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, and Barbara Martin. All but Martin are under 18 and require parental permission before signing. Diana Ross was just sixteen. Martin sings on their first album, but leaves the group after a year and is not replaced.

January 15, 1964: The Beatles play live at Cinema Cyrano in Versailles, France, in front of an audience of 2,000 people. It’s a warm up for a three-week engagement at the Olympia Theatre that would begin the following night.

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, a legal shitshow is taking place between Capitol Records and Vee Jay Records. Capitol filed an injunction that prohibited Vee Jay from manufacturing or distributing any more Beatles records. Vee Jay, in turn, files suit against both Capitol and Swan Records, which owned the rights to She Loves You. Most of the contracts in the early days of rock n’ roll revolved around individual releases. You can read all the details here in The Beatles Bible, which is my personal bible for Beatles information.

January 15, 1965: Bob Dylan recorded Maggie’s Farm at Columbia Recording Studios in New York.

Also on this day, The Who’s first single, I Can’t Explain, is released in the UK. Jimmy Page helps The Who out on guitar on this one.

January 15, 1966: The Supremes song My World Is Empty Without You enters the charts.

January 15, 1967: Before The Rolling Stones appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, Mick Jagger agrees to change the line “let’s spent the night together” to “let’s spend some time together.” He is obviously visibly annoyed when he is sings the altered lyrics.

January 15, 1971: George Harrison released My Sweet Lord in the UK.

January 15, 1972: Don McLean’s epic American Pie hits #1 in the US. It runs 8:36 seconds long, and you have to flip the 45 record over to hear the whole thing. (I remember that.)

January 15, 1977: Hotel California by The Eagles goes to #1 on the Album charts.

Born On This Day

January 15, 1941: Don Van Vliet, also known as Captain Beefheart, was born in Glendale, California.

January 15, 1948: Ronnie Van Zant, vocalist with Lynyrd Skynyrd, was born in Jacksonville, Florida.

January 15, 1952: Melvin Gayle, cellist with Electric Light Orchestra, was born in London.

And that is today’s lesson from the college. We’ll be back shortly with the line-up.

Good Morning From The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 1/14/2021

Here we are again in The Mermaid Lounge, and we have successfully made it past mid-week in the Land of Oz. We have your lesson all ready for you.

***Little Richard made his debut on the charts on this day in 1956.***

Here’s your lesson!

January 14, 1955: Alan Freed’s New York Rock n’ Roll Ball kicked off at St. Nicholas Arena in Harlem. It featured Fats Domino, The Drifters, Big Joe Turner and The Moonglows.

January 14, 1956: A new talent debuted on the charts on this date with his first single, Tutti Frutti. Little Richard’s place in music history was born.

January 14, 1963: Charlie Watts made his Rolling Stones debut at the Flamingo Jazz Club in Soho, London.

January 14, 1967: The Human Be-in (A Gathering of Tribes), a forerunner to major outdoor rock concerts, took place at Golden State Park in San Francisco with 25,000 people in attendance. The event featured Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Big Brother & The Holding Company.

January 14, 1969: The movie, Monterey Pop, a documentary about another outdoor festival, The Monterey Pop Festival of 1967, made its debut in theaters across the country.

January 14, 1970: Diana Ross performed for the final time with The Supremes at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, where she introduced Jean Terrell as her replacement. Terrell would lead the Supremes to another seven chart hits before they disbanded.

January 14, 1971: The Temptations released their great hit Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me).

January 14, 1972: Paul Simon released his second solo album (self-titled). It results in two great hits, Mother and Child Reunion and Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard.

Born On This Day

January 14, 1936: Clarence Carter, who had the hits Patches and Slip Away (a great song) was born in Montgomery, Alabama.

January 14, 1938: Allen Toussaint was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he makes his mark as a piano player, songwriter and producer. Over his long career, he worked with Paul Simon, The Neville Brothers, and Lee Dorsey, among many others.

January 14, 1948: Robert Burnett (aka, T-Bone Burnett) was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He worked in Bob Dylan’s band, and produced Elton John, John Mellencamp, and Counting Crows.

January 14, 1969: Dave Grohl, singer and drummer with Nirvana, and the great frontman for Foo Fighters, was born in Warren, Ohio. He’ll be In The Spotlight this evening.

That’s all, folks, as they say in the cartoons. We’ll be back with the line-up.

Greetings & Salutations From The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 1/13/2021

Goo d Morning, Music Trivia Lovers! Here’s all the information that’s fit to print from The Mermaid Lounge!

**Jimi Hendrix performed at the Bag O’Nails Club in London on this day with Paul McCartney and Ringo in the audience.**

Here’s today’s lesson:

January 13, 1962: Bob Dylan performed at the San Remo Coffee House in Schenectady, New York.

January 13, 1965: The first day of recording sessions for Dylan’s album Bringing It All Back Home began on thiis day. He recorded Subterranean Homesick Blues and It’s All Over Now Baby Blue.

Also on this day, The Who release their first single, I Can’t Explain.

January 13, 1966: The Rolling Stones receive their third Gold record for the album December’s Children, which contains Get Off My Cloud, As Tears Go By, and I’m Free.

Also on this day, The Beach Boys enter the Billboard Top 100 for the 23rd time with the song Barbara Ann. it was recorded “live” at a party staged in a recording studio, and actually features Dean Torrance of Jan & Dean on lead vocals.

January 13, 1967: Jimi Hendrix performed at the Bag O’Nails Club in London. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr attended the show.

January 13, 1968: The Beatles remained at #1 for a third week with Hello Goodbye. In just four years, The Beatles had spent 40 weeks at #1 with fifteen #1 songs.

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles went to #1 on the R & B chart with I Second That Emotion on this day.

January 13, 1969: Elvis Presley returned to American Sound Studios in Memphis to record Suspicious Minds.

January 13, 1972: Aretha Franklin performs the first of two concerts at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. It is recorded for her live album, Amazing Grace, which sells over two million copies when released in June.

January 13, 1973: Carly Simon’s album, No Secrets, with her hit song You’re So Vain, goes to #1 in America.

Born On This Day

Nobody we give a fat rat’s ass about.

Here’s Your Lesson From The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 1/12/2021

Here we are again! Greetings and salutations from The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge! We have a pretty active lesson today!

***British bluesman Long John Baldry and his band, Bluesology. Yes, That’s Elton John on the far right. Long John Baldry is to*** ***his left.***

Here’s today’s lesson:

January 12, 1957: Elvis Presley recorded All Shook Up, Got a Whole Lot of Lovin’ To Do, I Believe, and Tell Me Why at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California.

January 12, 1959: Jackie Wilson continued at #1 on the R & B chart for a fifth week with Lonely Teardrops.

January 12, 1964: The Beatles appeared on the ATV show Sunday Night at The London Palladium, where they sang I Want To Hold Your Hand, This Boy, All My Loving, and Twist & Shout.

January 12, 1968: Manfred Mann released the single, The Mighty Quinn.

Also on this date, Pink Floyd debuted as a five-piece band at the University of Aston in Birmingham, England.

January 12, 1969: Led Zeppelin released their debut album in the U.S.

Also on this day, Wonderwall, the psychedelic movie with the George Harrison soundtrack, opened in theaters across the U.S.

January 12, 1970: Badfinger (a great power pop band) released the single, Come And Get It.

January 12, 1974: The late Jim Croce’s You Don’t Mess Around With Jim, finally hit #1 after 47 weeks on the charts.

Also on this day, The Steve Miller Band’s The Joker goes to #1 in the US, and everyone wants to know what the fuck the “pompatus of love” is to this day.

And if that isn’t enough, Aretha Franklin’s Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna’ Do) knocked Stevie Wonder’s Livin’ For The City out of the #1 spot.

January 12, 1980: Damn The Torpedos, Tom Petty & The Heartbreaker’s breakout album, was at #6 on the Album chart on this day.

Also on this day in 1980, An American Dream by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Linda Ronstadt was making its run up the charts, from #59 to #33.

Born On This Day

January 12, 1928: R & B singer Ruth Brown was born in Portsmouth, Virginia.

January 12, 1941: Long John Baldry, who recruited the likes of Elton John and Rod Steward for his band Bluesology, was born in East Haddon, Derbyshire, England.

January 12, 1944: Cynthia Robinson, singer and trumpet player for Sly & The Family Stone, was born in Sacramento, California.

January 12, 1955: NRBQ drummer Tommy Ardolino was born in Springfield, Massachusetts.

And that’s it from the college, people! Be back soon with the line-up!

It’s Monday in The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 1/11/2021

It’s Monday and we kick it off all over again here in The Mermaid Lounge. Today’s lesson is not particularly taxing, so enjoy.

Here is today’s lesson:

January 11, 1958: The release of Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock was delayed a week because the Decca Records pressing plant in the UK could not meet the advance orders of 250,000 copies.

January 11, 1963: The Beatles recorded their first national TV show, Thank Your Lucky Stars, where they performed Please Please Me.

January 11, 1964: Louie, Louie by The Kingsmen was #1 on the Cash Box music charts despite being banned by several radio stations because of the indecipherable lyrics. It was even investigated by the FBI, if you can fucking believe it. They found nothing wrong with the song.

Also on this day, Billboard launched its new Country album chart, and Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire (his greatest hits) was its first #1 album.

January 11, 1971: The album Pearl by Janis Joplin was released posthumously on this day.

Born On This Day

January 11, 1895: Laurens Hammond, inventor of the Hammond Organ, was born in Evanston, Illinois.

January 11, 1924: Slim Harpo, blues singer, guitarist, and master of the blues harmonica, was born in Lobdell, Louisiana.

January 11, 1942: Clarence Clemons (aka, The Big Man), elite sax player for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, was born in Norfolk County, Virginia.

January 11, 1943: Tony Kaye, original keyboardist for Yes, was born in Leicester, England.

And that is it for today’s trivia! Stick around for today’s line-up!

It’s Sunday Funday in The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 1/10/2021

We almost never sleep here in The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge. We have your trivia lesson for this fine Sunday morning. The Beatles continue to dominate and Linda Ronstadt’s career takes off.

***Linda Ronstadt’s “Heart Like A Wheel” entered the Top 10 on the Album charts on this day.***

Here’s today’s lesson:

January 10, 1956: Elvis Presley recorded music for his new record label, RCA, including Heartbreak Hotel, I Was The One, I’m Counting On You, I Got A Woman, and Money Honey.

January 10, 1963: The Beatles released their second single in the UK called Please Please Me.

January 10, 1964: The Beatles release their first US album, Introducing The Beatles.

Also on this fine day, The Whiskey A Go Go opens its doors on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. It will play host to the likes of The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Rivers and many others.

January 10, 1967: Jimi Hendrix started a recording contract with Track Records and recorded Purple Haze on this day.

Also, The Hollies, one of the greatest British Invasion bands, began recording On A Carousel.

January 10, 1969: The Beatles (aka, The White Album) was unstoppable. After just five weeks of release total, it notched week number three at #1.

Also on this day, Marvin Gaye celebrated five weeks at #1 on the R & B charts with his remake of I Heard It Through The Grapevine.

January 10, 1971: Chicago released Chicago III. They were still innovative and hot at this stage of the game. This was before they went Christian elevator music and dropped off our radar. (Hint: Terry Kath was still alive and Peter Cetera was not in charge.)

January 10 1975: Linda Ronstadt’s brilliant album, Heart Like A Wheel, entered the Top 10 on this day. In spite of the fact that most music outlets treat women as though they were second-class music citizens, we do not. Heart Like A Wheel was Ronstadt’s first #1 album on The Billboard Top 200, and it spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Country Album chart in 1975. It spent 51 weeks on the charts, produced two #1 hit songs, sold more than a million copies, and won her a Grammy award. Anything else required here?

And, oh yeah, I forgot that Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir was performed for the first time at The Ahoy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. I guess this was more newsworthy than Linda Ronstadt’s news (a great deal of snark here).

Born On This Day

January 10, 1917: Jerry Wexler was born on this day in New York City. He will be responsible for the success of greats Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin and Wicked Wilson Pickett.

January 10, 1935: Ronnie Hawkins, whose band The Hawks is a precursor to one of my favorites, The Band, was born in Huntsville, Alabama.

January 10, 1939: Scott McKenzie, who performed one of the greatest sixties anthems of all time, San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers in Your Hair), was born in Jacksonville, Florida.

January 10, 1948: Donald Fagan of the great Steely Dan was born in Passaic, New Jersey.

January 10, 1956: Folk singer Shawn Colvin was born in South Dakota. Her song Sunny Came Home, pretty much about a woman who burns her house down, will win the Grammy for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1998.

And that’s about it from The College because we don’t give a shit about Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga. Have a great day.