In 1954, Rosemary Clooney's "Mambo Italiano" was banned by ABC Radio because of what it considered "offensive lyrics," likely referring to the exaggerated Italian patois and the words "gidrool" and "goombah."
In 1954, at radio station WGST in Atlanta, Georgia, Ray Charles recorded "I've Got A Woman."
In 1956, Fats Domino appeared on the Ed Sullivan show and performed his hit "Blueberry Hill."
In 1957, Ricky Nelson records "Stood Up", which will reach #2 early the following year.
In 1963, the Beatles first appeared on US television in a feature story on NBC-TV's "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" that included a film clip of the band performing in England.
In 1964, the Supremes appear on TV's Rock 'n' Roll show, Shindig! and perform "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me." The Righteous Brothers are also on the bill, and sing "Little Latin Lupe Lu".
In 1968, Glen Campbell, a former session musician who appeared on recordings by Frank Sinatra, Nat "King" Cole and the Beach Boys, receives two Gold records - the first for "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" and another for "Gentle On My Mind".
In 1968, the Spiral Staircase recorded their million selling tune, "More Today Than Yesterday", which will reach #12 on the Billboard chart and #7 on the Cash Box Best Sellers list the following Spring. Unfortunately, about 18 months following the single's release, after issuing one album and a couple of more singles, the group disbanded due to management issues and squabbles over finances.
Also in 1968, an L.A. based quartet made up of Randy Meisner, Jim Messina, Richie Furay and Rusty Young who called themselves Pogo, debuted at The Troubadour. After building up an local following, they would be forced to change their moniker, which they had openly pilfered from Walt Kelly's comic strip of the same name, when Kelly filed suit. They settled on Poco because it sounded like the original name that fans had come to know.
In 1969, in Nashville, Conway Twitty recorded "Hello Darlin.'" It spent four weeks atop the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and was named the #1 country song of 1970.
In 1969, at CBS Studio A in Hollywood, Tony Bennett recorded "Something."
In 1969, trombonist/bandleader Ted Heath died at the age of 67.
In 1970, in Los Angeles, Elvis Presley met actor Paul Frees and noticed Frees' BNDD (Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) badge, leading Elvis to want one for himself.
In 1971, blues singer Herman "Junior" Parker died during surgery for a brain tumor at the age of 39.
In 1972, Bill Withers appears on Soul Train, singing his hit "Lean On Me" and its follow-up, "Use Me Up".
In 1972, Danny Whitten, of Neil Young's backup band Crazy Horse, died of an alleged heroin overdose at the age of 29. The tragedy inspired Young to write "The Needle and the Damage Done."
In 1972, Cat Stevens started a three week run at the top of the US album chart with his most successful LP, 'Catch Bull At Four.' Stevens played 14 different instruments during the recording of the ten tracks that make up the LP.
On this day in 1974, "I Can Help" by Billy Swan was the #1 song.
In 1974, Al Martino released the single "To The Door Of The Sun (Alle Porte Del Sole)."
In 1975, John Denver is awarded a Gold record for his double sided, US #1 hit, "I'm Sorry" / "Calypso", which topped Billboard's Hot 100, Country Chart and Easy Listening Chart.
In 1975, at London's Hammersmith Odeon, Bruce Springsteen gave his first UK concert, a subpar show by all accounts due, in part, to his disgust at the hype surrounding his newfound celebrity. When he saw show posters in the lobby declaring "Finally the world is ready for Bruce Springsteen," he ripped them down.
In 1975, Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen guested on NBC-TV's "Police Woman."
In 1976, Richard Hell & the Voidoids played live for the first time at CBGB's in New York.
In 1978, Billy Joel topped the Billboard Hot 200 album chart with "52nd Street", his first US #1 LP. In 1982, it would become the first commercial album to be released on compact disc (by Sony Music Entertainment).
In 1979, Chuck Berry was released from Lompoc Prison Farm in California after serving four months for tax evasion. While he was away, his last studio album of new material, "Rock It", was issued by Atco Records. To date, the LP remains his most recent studio album, although he has released some live recordings since.
In 1985, with Grace Slick and Mickey Thomas sharing lead vocals, Starship enjoy their first number one record with "We Built This City", an honor that previous incarnations of the band, Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship could not accomplish. Despite the song's success, it has often been the target of music critics, including Blender Magazine, who named it their "worst song ever" in April, 2004. Their readers disagreed with the editors however, choosing "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus as their least favorite by a wide margin.
In 1985, Paul McCartney released the single "Spies Like Us," the title song he wrote for the soon-to-be-released motion picture comedy starring Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd and Donna Dixon.
In 1987, U2 opened for themselves at a concert in Los Angeles by pretending to be a country-rock group called the Dalton Brothers. The short-lived fictional, spoof band performed on three dates (November 1, 1987 in Indianapolis, November 18, 1987 in Los Angeles and December 12, 1987 in Hampton, Virginia) of their Joshua Tree tour. On those occasions, the band members appeared on stage wearing wigs, cowboy hats and country-style boots, introducing themselves with "Dalton" pseudonyms. Bono introduced the band by saying, "We play two kinds of music: country and western."
In 1987, Madonna released the album 'You Can Dance.'
In 1990, Paul McCartney's birth certificate, which had been sold by his stepmother, was bought for $18,000 by a collector at an auction in Houston, Texas.
Also in 1990, the Righteous Brothers saw their popularity surge when the movie, 'Ghost,' (starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore) featured their 1965 hit, "Unchained Melody." Their original version and a re-recorded cut both made it into the US top 20, while three Greatest Hits albums made the Billboard chart.
At Sony Studios in New York City in 1993, Nirvana taped their MTV "Unplugged" special. MTV Unplugged in New York was the first Nirvana album released following the death of Kurt Cobain. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and has become the group's most successful posthumous release, having been certified 5x platinum in the United States by 1997. It also won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album in 1996.
In 1994, Cab Calloway died at the age of 86.
In 1994, David Crosby undergoes a successful liver transplant. During his stay at UCLA Medical Center, David received two pieces of wonderful news: He found out that his wife Jan was pregnant and he got a letter from the adoptive father of the son that David had given up for adoption in the early 1960's.
In 1995, the Rolling Stones become the first act to broadcast a concert on the Internet.
Also in 1995, "Goldeneye" the James Bond movie, opened, featuring a title song by Tina Turner.
In 1996, the Metallica single "Mama Said" was released.
In 1997, John Denver's last recording, "The Unplugged Collection," was released in the US.
In 1997, the AC/DC five-CD boxed set, 'Bonfire' was released in the US. The definitive box-set highlights the rock and roll genius that was Bon Scott. Featuring Live From The Atlantic Studios (8 tracks), Let There Be Rock-The Movie Live In Paris (12 tracks), 'Volts' (12 tracks) & Back In Black (10 tracks). Includes 45 page color booklet with photos, lyrics and story of the band, plus a 1'x 2' poster.
In 1997, Celine Dion released the album "Let's Talk About Love," which includes the song "My Heart Will Go On" from the movie "Titanic." In her native Canada it set a record for first-week sales: 230,000 copies, meaning one out of every 100 Canadians bought the album in the first seven days of its release.
On November 18, 1997, Metallica released their seventh studio album, 'Reload.' It is a sequel or counterpart to the band's previous album, 'Load,' and the final Metallica album of the 20th century. The LP debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 and to date has sold a little more than 4 million copies in the US.
In 1999, Doug Sahm, leader of the Sir Douglas Quintet died of natural causes while vacationing at the at the Kachina Inn in Taos, New Mexico. He was just days shy of his 58th birthday.
In 2001, ABC aired Britney Spears' first TV concert, "Britney Spears: Live from Las Vegas."
In 2003, at Christie's auction house in New York, the original John Lennon handwritten lyrics to the Beatles'"Nowhere Man" sold for $300,000.
On November 18, 2003, the Beatles released 'Let It Be... Naked' (minus the Phil Spector embellishments on the original album). Paul McCartney in particular was always dissatisfied with the "Wall of Sound" production style of the Phil Spector remixes, especially for his song "The Long and Winding Road," which he believed was ruined by the process. George Harrison gave his approval for the project before he died. The LP would reach #5 in the US and #7 in the UK.
Also in 2003, sixty to seventy personnel from the Santa Barbara County sheriff's and district attorney's offices served a warrant at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch following allegations of sexual abuse of a 12-year old boy. At the time of the raid, Jackson and his family were in Las Vegas, where Jackson was filming a video.
In 2003, Blink-182's fifth studio album was released via Geffen Records. The album debuted at #3 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 313,000 copies. Blink-182 charted highest in Canada, where it debuted at #1. The album was also successful in other countries, debuting in the top ten in Australia, Denmark, and New Zealand.
In 2004, songwriter Cy Coleman died of heart failure at age 75.
In 2005, the Johnny Cash-June Carter biopic "Walk the Line," starring Jaoquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, and Ginnifer Goodwin, opened in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters.
In 2006, the British press panned Michael Jackson's so called "comeback concert" in London, calling his first public performance since his child molestation trial last year "shambolic." Jackson appeared to struggle to reach the high notes when he sang the chorus of "We Are The World" with a choir of children.
birthdays today (among others): Herman Rarebell (Scorpions) (64), Graham Parker (63), Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot, Whitesnake) (63), Cindy Blackman (Lenny Kravitz, Santana) (54), Kim Wilde (53), Jan Kuehnemund (Vixen) (52), Kirk Hammett (Metallica) (51), Duncan Sheik (44) and Johnny Christ (born Jonathan Seward) (Avenged Centerfold) (29)
