2020

Good Morning, Music Trivialists! We here at the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge draw from our own archive of totally useless information and pour over various electronic sources to bring this to you every day. As you may expect, some sites differ from others about locations of events, timing, etc. Needless to say, research, critical thinking and weed is required to complete this task.

***The Million Dollar Quartet: Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis.***

Here’s today’s lesson!

December 4, 1956: Elvis Presley stopped by Sun Studios unexpectedly to find Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash watching Carl Perkins in the studio. The four would tape several songs together on that day, but it would be 25 years before that day would be immortalized on vinyl as The Million Dollar Quartet.

December 4, 1964: The Beatles release their fourth album, Beatles For Sale, which spends 11 weeks as the #1 album in the UK.

December 4, 1965: Turn, Turn, Turn would give The Byrds their second consecutive #1 hit, following up Mr. Tambourine Man.

December 4, 1969: President Richard M. Nixon, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and forty governors spend the day watching simulated acid trips and listening to rock music to help them understand the “generation gap.” We have been led by idiots for a very long fucking time.

December 4, 1971: Don MacLean’s eight-minute epic, American Pie, enters Billboard’s Hot 100. Before all is said and done, it will sell 3 million copies. To this day, it remains one of the most analyzed and debated songs in music history.

Also on this day, Sly & The Family Stone’s Family Affair begins a three-week run at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This will be their third and final #1 and their last song in the top 10 before the band implodes under the weight of personal issues, and falls apart. Too bad. They were a great band.

Led Zeppelin also began a two-week stint at the top of the UK Album chart with the Four Symbols album, which includes Stairway To Heaven. The album will eventually sell 11 million copies and remained on the US charts for nearly five years.

December 4, 1980: Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones announce that Led Zeppelin will not continue on after the death of drummer John Bonham.

December 4, 1982: A retrospective album of John Lennon’s solo work called The John Lennon Collection, started a six-week run at #1 on he UK Album chart. The front and back covers were shot by Annie Liebovitz on December 8, 1980, just five hours before John Lennon’s murder.

December 4, 1987: Alison Krauss, just sixteen years old, releases her debut album, Too Late To Cry, with her backing band, Union Station.

December 4, 1988: Roy Orbison (aka, Lefty Wilbury) plays his final gig at The Front Row Theater in Akron, Ohio. Orbison dies of a heart attack two days later.

Born On This Day

December 4, 1942: Chris Hillman, of The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and the Desert Rose Band, was born in Los Angeles.

December 4, 1944: Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys was born in Inglewood, California.

And that, my friends, is as they say — all the news that’s fit to print because there are a lot of singers we simply don’t give a shit about here in The Mermaid Lounge.

Here’s Today’s Lesson From the College of Rock N’ Roll Knowledge: 11/19/2020

Good Morning from The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge. It’s another busy day in musical history, as you will see.

***Tom Petty & Dave Grohl on stage during the Heartbreaker’s 30th Anniversary Tour.***

Here’s today’s lesson plan:

November 19, 1955: Carl Perkins records Blue Suede Shoes at Sun Studios in Memphis. It will be Perkins’ biggest hit, reaching #2 on Billboard.

November 19, 1966: The Supremes enjoy their eighth US #1 hit with You Keep Me Hangin’ On.

November 19, 1971: B.B. King celebrates his 25th year in music by kicking off a European tour in London.

November 19, 1973: Led Zeppelin begins recording demos for their album, Physical Graffiti.

Meanwhile, Bob Dylan releases his 13th studio album, simply called Dylan.

November 19, 1975: The J. Geils Band records Blow Your Face Out (a fucking great album) at Cobo Hall in Detroit.

November 19, 1976: Van Morrison’s Moondance album receives a Gold Record. The album spawns two hits. In addition to the title track, Into The Mystic is released.

November 19, 1982: Led Zeppelin releases its final studio album, Coda, which is a collection of unused tracks written before drummer John Bonham’s death in 1980.

November 19, 1983: Tom Evans of Badfinger died at the age of 36. Like his and mate, Pete Ham, Evans also hanged himself. The story of what record company and manager greed and avarice did to Badfinger’s career is one that should be told. We will touch on that in the blog sometime.

November 19, 1994: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers perform You Don’t Know How It Feels and Honeybee on Saturday Night Live, with Dave Grohl of Nirvana and The Foo Fighters on drums.

November 19, 1995: Bruce Springsteen’s thirteenth album, The Ghost of Tom Joad, is released.

A 60-track album called Beatles Anthology I is released and sets a single-day sales record of 450,000 units.

That’s it, children. Take notes. There’ll be a quiz later (just kidding).

Carl Perkins & Friends, The Grateful Dead, Neil Young & Promise of the Real, and Being Under the Influence, Monday, November 11, 2019

Good Morning, Ungovernables! We begin another work week here in Empire, but the music remains a refuge here at #BecomeUngovernable Radio.

Neil Young & Promise of the Real

Here’s today’s line-up:

11:00 a.m. Carl Perkins & Friends: Go Kat Go!

The legendary guitar man Carl Perkins has brought along some friends, like Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Willie Nelson, George Harrison and more, to help him sing some of his songs. Check out the set list in the Playlist section of the blog.

2:00 p.m. Under the Influence: Various Artists

If you need to take the edge off, this is the playlist. Some solutions are legal. Some are not. Opinions expressed in this song may or may not reflect the recommendations of management.

5:00 p.m. The Grateful Dead: Live From the Mars Hotel (1974)

9:00 p.m. Neil Young with Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real

Neil Young hit the road without a band and had to find one. He did in Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. Yes, they are in our standard rotation and, yes, he is Willie’s boy.

Sit down, kick off your shoes, and relax.