Music History - November 11

In 1938, Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" on network radio.

In 1944, Frank Sinatra began a ten-year tenure at Columbia Records.

In 1945, composer Jerome Kern died at age 60.

In 1954, Bill Haley's rendition of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" peaked at #7 during its US chart run of 27 weeks. He had dropped his cowboy image about a year and a half earlier, while renaming The Saddlemen to Bill Haley and His Comets. Producer Milt Gabler would later say that he "cleaned up" the lyrics from Joe Turner's original 1954 version in order to insure radio air-play.

In 1955, Billboard Magazine published the results of its annual disc jockey poll. The most played R&B single was Johnny Ace's "Pledging My Love," the most promising artist is Chuck Berry, the favorite R&B artist was Fats Domino and Elvis Presley was voted the most promising Country And Western artist.

In 1955, Billboard introduced "The Top 100" format, which will combine record sales with radio and jukebox play to arrive at the standings. The Four Aces "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" has the distinction of being the first number one record using the new calculation method.

In 1956, at Capitol Studios in New York City, seven months before his death from cancer, Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra recorded "So Rare." Dorsey lived long enough to see the record peak at #2 for four weeks on the Billboard Top 100 before it was certified Gold.

In 1957, Dance Teacher magazine denounced England's Princess Margaret for endorsing rock 'n' roll, and in doing so, hastening the demise of Ballroom dancing. The article went on to say that "Rock 'n' Roll should be discouraged."

On November 11, 1957, Jerry Lee Lewis released the single "Great Balls of Fire." The song was featured in a performance by Jerry Lee Lewis and his band in the 1957 Warner Brothers rock and roll film 'Jamboree.' It reached #2 on the Billboard pop charts, #3 on the R&B charts, and #1 on the country charts. It also reached #1 on the UK pop charts.  The song sold one million copies in its first 10 days of release in the US and would go on to sell over 5 million copies, making it both one of the best-selling singles in the US as well as one of the world's best-selling singles of all time.

In 1957, Elvis Presley appeared at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, this was Presley’s last concert of the 50’s.

In 1958, Hank Ballard And The Midnighters recorded their original version of "The Twist." It was issued as the B side of the Gospel style ballad "Teardrops On Your Letter" and although it reached #16 on the R&B chart, Ballard's version of "The Twist" wouldn't appear on the Billboard Pop chart until just after Chubby Checker's version took off two years later.

On this day in 1959, "Mr. Blue" by the Fleetwoods was the #1 song.

In 1961, Joan Baez played her first major concert at a sold out Town Hall in New York.

In 1961, Joey Dee & the Starliters released the single "Peppermint Twist-Part 1" b/w "Peppermint Twist-Part II." It was Part 1 that became the hit.

In 1963, the Beatles, disguised as policemen, escaped a throng of their fanatically devoted fans following a concert in Birmingham, England.

In 1963, at Pye Studio in London, Roy Orbison recorded the Willie Nelson composition "Pretty Paper."

In 1964, 24-year-old Tom Jones recorded "It's Not Unusual" for Britain's Decca Records. Jones recorded what was intended to be a demo for Sandy Shaw, but when she heard it she was so impressed with Jones' delivery that she declined the song and recommended that Jones release it himself. The record was the second Decca single Jones released, reaching #1 in the UK charts in 1965. It was also the first hit for Jones in the US, peaking at #10 in May of that year.  Jones used this song as the theme for his late 1960s-early 1970s musical variety series This Is Tom Jones. It has since become Jones' musical signature.

In 1965, the final recording session for the Beatles’ 'Rubber Soul' album took place, at Abbey Road, London. They needed three new songs to finish the album so an old song “Wait” is pulled off the shelf and the group recorded two new songs “You Won't See Me” and “Girl,” the basic tracks for both songs being completed in two takes.  'Rubber Soul' was completed, and finished copies of the album were in the shops by December 3 in the UK and December 6 in the US.

In 1964, "Shindig!" on ABC-TV featured performances by Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, Jody Miller, and Hank Williams, Jr.

In 1964, the Elvis Presley film "Roustabout," co-starring Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Freeman, Leif Erickson, Sue Ane Langdon, and Pat Buttram, opened in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters.

On November 11, 1965, Velvet Underground made its performance debut at a high school dance in Summit, NJ.  Within a few months, the band had taken up residency at the Cafe Bizarre in Greenwich Village, where they met pop artist Andy Warhol. After the band was fired by the Bizarre's management for performing "Black Angel's Death Song" immediately after being told not to, Warhol invited them to perform at showings of his film series, Cinematique Uptight. He soon employed them as the aural component of his traveling mixed-media show, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, augmenting the lineup with German singer/actress Nico. 

In 1967, Van Morrison performed his current US #10 hit, "Brown Eyed Girl" on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. Although the song has become a staple on US Oldies radio, it was not a hit in the UK.

On November 11, 1968, 'Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins' was released by John Lennon and Yoko Ono via Apple Records. Following Lennon's wife, Cynthia Lennon, going on holiday, it was the result of an all-night session of musical experimentation in Lennon's home studio at Kenwood. Lennon and Ono's debut album is known not only for its avant garde content, but also for its cover. The album cover features Lennon and Ono naked, which made the album become controversial – to both the public and the record company, EMI, who refused to distribute it. To calm down the controversy, the album was sold in a brown paper bag, and distributed by Track and Tetragrammaton, in the UK and US, respectively. The album, while failing to the chart in the UK, reached #124 in the US.  
In 1969, the FBI in Phoenix, Arizona arrested Jim Morrison for "interfering with the flight of an intercontinental aircraft and public drunkenness"aboard a plane. The Doors singer who was on his way to a Rolling Stones concert with actor Tom Baker had been drinking and annoying the stewardesses. The charges were eventually dropped.

In 1969, Elvis Presley released his single "Don't Cry Daddy," written by Mac Davis and with Ronnie Milsap supplying the harmony vocal.

In 1970, the Elvis Presley concert film "Elvis: That's the Way It Is" opened in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters.

In 1971, in Cincinnati, Elvis Presley played Cincinnati Garden.

In 1971, BBC TV's Top Of The Pops celebrated its 400th show. The UK chart show was presented by Tony Blackburn with guests; Tom Jones, Dana, John Kongos, Cher, Slade, Cilla Black, The Piglets, Clodagh Rodgers and The Newbeats.

In 1972, a little over a year after the Allman Brothers Band lost Duane Allman in a motorcycle accident, their bassist, 24 year old Berry Oakley was killed when his motorcycle hit a bus, just three blocks away from the site that claimed Allman. At first, Oakley seemed all right, but died twenty minutes after being brought to the hospital. 

In 1972, in Oakland, California, Elvis Presley performed at the Coliseum.

In 1973, thirty radio stations across the United States broadcast what it billed as a "live" show by Mott the Hoople. It was really nothing more than Hoople's studio tracks with dubbed-in applause.

In 1975, Polygram Records signed Reba McEntyre to her first recording contract.

KISS released the album 'Rock and Roll Over' in 1976.  The LP peaked at #11 on the Billboard pop albums chart and was certified double platinum.

In 1977, Wings released the single "Mull Of Kintyre," a tribute to the picturesque Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, where McCartney had owned a home and recording studio since the late 1960s.  The song's broad appeal was maximised by its pre-Christmas release and it became a Christmas #1 single in the UK, spending nine weeks at the top of the charts. It also became a massive international hit, dominating the charts in Australia and many other countries over the holiday period. It went on to become the first single to sell over two million copies in the UK. 

In 1978, Donna Summer's Disco version of "MacArthur Park" rose to the top of the Billboard chart, besting Richard Harris' 1968 rendition by one spot. It would be the first of four number one singles for Summer. Songwriter Jimmy Webb would later explain that the mysterious lyrics about the cake melting in the rain is simply a metaphor for a love affair ending.  Also on this day Summer went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Live And More'.

In 1978, David Bowie played the first night of his 8-date Low / Heroes tour of Australia and New Zealand at The Oval in Adelaide. This was Bowies first ever show in Australia.

In 1982, Prince kicked off his 87-date '1999' North American tour at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

In 1982, Marvin Gaye's first release since leaving Motown Records earlier in the year, "Sexual Healing," becomes his 13th and final #1 on the Billboard R&B chart. The song will reach #3 on the Pop chart and #4 in the UK early next year.

In 1986, Pink Floyd issued a press statement stating that they intend to continue using the name without Roger Waters and were recording their next album.

In 1989, Melissa Etheridge and Joe Cocker entertained Germans that were celebrating the newly tumbled Berlin Wall.

In 1990, A 21 year-old AC/DC fan died after being attacked outside the Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey where the band were playing a gig that night.

In 1993, jazz trumpeter/composer/bandleader Erskine Hawkins died at age 79.

In 1994, Christie's auction house in New York held their first auction of rock memorabilia, including John Lennon's famous Army fatigues, a stage outfit worn by Jimi Hendrix, and the Beach Boys' guitars.

In 1995, The Smashing Pumpkins double album 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness' went to #1 on the US chart. 

In 1997, Metallica played a free concert in Philadelphia, PA.

In 1998, Irish singer Paddy Clancy of the Clancy Brothers died aged 76, he wrote the classic Irish songs 'Wild Mountain Thyme' and 'Carrickfergus.'

In 1999, Britney Spears won four MTV Awards; Best Female Singer, Best Pop Act, Best Song, '...Baby One More Time', Best Breakthrough Artist. Best Rock Act went to The Offspring, Best Male Act, Will Smith and Bono won the Free Your Mind award.

In 2000, Bobby Sheen, the male vocalist of Bob B. Soxx And The Blue Jeans on their 1963, US #8 hit "Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah", died of pneumonia at the age of 58. That song originally appeared in the 1946 Disney live action and animated movie Song of the South.

In 2002, British Phonographic industry data showed that sales of singles were at their lowest level in 25 years, making up less than 10% of all music sold.

In 2003, Bill Medley, the remaining half of the Righteous Brothers, sang the gospel standard "Precious Lord" at the emotional funeral for his singing partner Bobby Hatfield.

In 2004, Coldplay fan Sarah Sainsbury wrote to the band asking for their autographs so she could sell them to raise funds at her school charity. Coldplay sent her a triple platinum disc worth over £4,000.

In 2004, Robbie Williams, The Rolling Stones and Queen were inducted into the UK's first music Hall of Fame at a ceremony in London. One act had been chosen by TV viewers of a Channel 4 program to represent each decade since the 1950s. Williams represented the 1990s, Michael Jackson the 1980s, Queen the 1970s, the Rolling Stones the 1960s, and Cliff Richard the 1950s.

In 2005, Billy Joel abandoned his planned retirement to begin his first solo tour in eight years, but still refused to record any new material.

In 2005, Madonna released her tenth studio album, 'Confessions On A Dance Floor.' The album peaked at #1 in 40 countries, earning a place in the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records as the album topping the charts in most countries.  The album's success was such that it still ranked as the sixth biggest-selling of the year. Worldwide sales of 'Confessions on a Dance Floor' stand at 12 million copies.

In 2006, Grammy-nominated R&B star Gerald Levert died of a heart attack aged 40. The singer who was the son of O'Jays vocalist Eddie Levert, first found fame with the R&B trio LeVert, and scored a U.K. top 10 single with Casanova in 1987.

In 2011, the four original band members of Black Sabbath announced that they were reuniting and recording a new album followed by a world tour in 2012.

birthdays today include (among others):  Jesse Colin Young (Youngbloods) (72), Chas Hodges (Chas & Dave) (70), Vince Martell (Vanilla Fudge) (68), Chris Dreja (Yardbirds) (68), Jim Peterik (Ides of March) (63), Paul Cowsills (Cowsills) (62), Marshall Crenshaw (60),  Andy Partridge (XTC) (60),  Ian Craig Marsh (Human League, Heaven 17) (57), Mike Mesaros (Smithereens) (56) and Gary Powell (Libertines) (44)