Music History - July 2

In 1946, Arthur Godfrey was signed by CBS Radio to host a weekly nighttime show called "Talent Scouts."

In 1955, ABC Television premiered "The Lawrence Welk Show."

In 1956, Elvis Presley recorded "Hound Dog" and "Don’t Be Cruel." It was also the first time Elvis worked with the Jordanaires as his vocal backup group. "Hound Dog" sold over 4 million copies in the US on its first release. It was his best selling single and starting in July 1956, it spent a record eleven weeks at #1. It stayed in the #1 spot until it was replaced by "Love Me Tender," also recorded by Elvis. "Hound Dog" was initially released as the B-side to the single "Don't Be Cruel" on July 13, 1956. Both sides of the record topped the charts independently, a rare feat. The single also topped all three extant Billboard charts: pop, country & western, and rhythm & blues, the first record in history to do so. In March 2005, Q magazine placed Presley's version at No. 55 in its list of the Q Magazine's 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #19 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the highest ranked of Presley's eleven entries.

In 1958, hoping to capitalize on Buddy Holly's new found popularity, his former label, Decca Records, re-released the single "Love Me," this time backed with "You Are My One Desire.""Love Me" had been the B-side of Holly's first single release, "Blue Days, Black Nights," in 1956.

In 1958, Connie Francis was the in-studio guest performer on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."

In 1958, Elvis Presley's fourth feature film, "King Creole," also starring Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Dolores Hart, Dean Jagger, and Vic Morrow, opened in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters.

In 1961, at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Elvis Presley recorded "Follow That Dream" and "What A Wonderful Life."

In 1960, "Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool" by Connie Francis was the #1 song.

In 1962, Jimi Hendrix was honorably discharged from the 101st Airborne Paratroopers, after breaking his ankle during his 26th and final parachute jump.

In 1964, singer Cilla Black recorded the Beatles'"It's For You," with Paul McCartney playing piano.

Also in 1964, at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Jim Reeves recorded his last session for RCA. He was killed in the crash of a private airplane 29 days later.

In 1965, the Beach Boys and Sam the Sham appeared at the Community Concourse, San Diego, California.

In 1965, ABC-TV's "Where The Action Is" featured James Brown, Linda Scott, Steve Alaimo, Jody Miller, and Paul Revere and the Raiders.

In 1966, the Vogues and Ketty Lester appeared on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."

In 1966, David Bowie and the Lower Third appeared at the Lion Hotel in Warrington, England, (they were paid £30 for the gig). Also appearing was the Powerhouse which featured Eric Clapton Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood and Paul Jones.

In 1967, Jeff Beck, Cream and John Mayall all appeared at London's Saville Theatre.

In 1969, working at Abbey Road Paul McCartney recorded "Her Majesty." Then Paul, George, and Ringo record 15 takes of "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight." John Lennon was absent, in hospital in Golspie, Scotland, following a car accident the previous day.

In 1969, Leslie West and Felix Pappalardi formed the band Mountain, named after West's recent solo album.

In 1969, bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell quit the Jimi Hendrix Experience after completing the three-day Denver Pop Festival at Mile High Stadium. Hendrix and Mitchell would later team with bassist Billy Cox to form the short-lived Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, who played at the Woodstock Festival.

In 1969, US consumer advocate Ralph Nader issued a warning that loud rock music threatened to produce a nation of hearing-impaired people.

In 1969, the British trio Thunderclap Newman enjoyed their only hit when "Something In The Air" started a three week run at the top of the UK singles chart. It would stall at #37 in the US, but still gets airplay in many commercials. The band featured guitarist Jimmy McCulloch who went on to work with Wings.

In 1969, the Beatles'"The Ballad of John and Yoko" hits #8 on the US singles chart despite being banned by many radio stations because of the lyrics, "Christ, you know it ain't easy ..."

In 1971, Queen appeared at Surrey College, England. This was the group's first gig with the line-up of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon.

In 1973, Roxy Music's synthesiser player Brian Eno quit after personality clashes with the bands singer Bryan Ferry.

In 1976, Brian Wilson appears onstage with the Beach Boys for the first time in twelve years, in Anaheim, California. He's mostly motionless at his piano, but he does sing the lead vocal on "In My Room".

In 1976, Glen Campbell was the guest host of "The Midnight Special" on NBC-TV. Other performers on the show included George Benson, Jim Stafford, and Dorothy Moore.

In 1977, Kiki Dee and Pablo Cruise were guests on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."

In 1977, 'A Star Is Born' soundtrack album went to #1 on the UK chart, #2 was The Johnny Mathis Collection and #3 Donna Summer with 'I Remember Yesterday.'

In 1979, Neil Young released the album 'Rust Never Sleeps.' The bulk of the album was recorded live at San Francisco's Cow Palace, with overdubs added. Audience noise was removed as much as possible, although it is clearly audible at certain points, most noticeably on the opening and closing songs. The album is half acoustic and half electric, opening and closing with different versions of the same song; "Hey Hey, My My." The album won the 1979 Rolling Stone Critics Poll for Album of the Year. In 2003, the album was ranked #350 on the same magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

In 1980, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart from The Grateful Dead were arrested on suspicion of starting a riot at the San Diego Sports Arena after they tried to interfere in a drugs bust.

In 1980, Sheena Easton was featured in the BBC-TV series 'Big Time', recording her first single and undergoing the marketing process as a new artist.

In 1981, Bruce Springsteen played the first show ever at the 21,000 seat Brendan Byrne Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey.

In 1981, Foreigner released the LP '4.' Several singles from the album were successful, including "Urgent,""Waiting for a Girl Like You" and "Juke Box Hero." The album was an immediate smash worldwide, holding the #1 position on the Billboard album chart for a total of 10 weeks. It eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States alone.

In 1983, Mitch Ryder was the guest performer on ABC-TV's "American Bandstand."

In 1984, the Rolling Stones released the compilation album 'Rewind (1971-1984).'

In 1984, Epic Records set a record as two million copies of the Jacksons’ 'Victory' were shipped to stores. It was the first time that such a large initial shipment had been made.

In 1986, at a Grateful Dead concert in Akron, Ohio, Bob Dylan joined them onstage for a rendition of his "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right."

In 1986, the Prince movie "Under The Cherry Moon" was released. It was his second movie.

In 1988, Tracy Chapman started a three-week run at #1 on the UK album chart with her self-titled debut LP. Helped by her performance at the 'Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Tribute Concert' at Wembley Stadium, also #1 in the US.

In 1988, Michael Jackson became the first artist to have five number one singles from one album when "Dirty Diana" went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The other four chart-toppers from the LP 'Bad' were the title track, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Man in the Mirror."

In 1990, representatives of the Italian Catholic Church announce they'll attempt to put a stop to Madonna's concerts in Rome because of her alleged inappropriate use of crucifixes and sacred symbols. The group was successful in halting the shows.

In 1991, Guns N' Roses front man Axl Rose dives into the audience to take a camera away from a fan who was taking pictures during a concert in Maryland Heights, Missouri. The ensuing brawl injures fifty people, including fifteen police officers, and results in several other Guns N' Roses concerts being cancelled.

In 1991, 'Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection: The Greatest Novelty Records Of All Time' was released. It covers many of the novelty and comedy songs from the 1950's to the 1980's, such as "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight)" by Lonnie Donegan & His Skiffle Group, to the then recent release of "Eat It" by "Weird Al" Yankovic.  Also included on the LP were Sheb Wolley's "Purple People Eater,""Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh," by Allan Sherman, "Gitarzan" by Ray Stevens and "Transfusion" from Nervous Norvus; to name a few.

In 1991, Trisha Yearwood released her self-titled debut album.

Also in 1991, Tom Petty released the album 'Into the Great Wide Open.' The album was the band's last with MCA Records. The first single, "Learning to Fly," became his joint longest-running #1 single (along with "The Waiting" from 1981's 'Hard Promises') on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, spending six weeks at the top spot.  The music video for the title song starred Johnny Depp, who had moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to seek rock stardom, along with Gabrielle Anwar, Faye Dunaway, and Matt LeBlanc.  The album was the second Petty produced with Jeff Lynne after the success of 1989's 'Full Moon Fever.'

In 1996, Neil Young released his album, 'Broken Arrow.' The first three songs are in the form of long, structured jams. The final track is a live version of a Jimmy Reed song that was recorded on an audience
microphone at a small "secret" gig in California, giving it a bootleg feel.

In 1999, R.E.M. Skunk Anansie, Barenaked Ladies, Blur, Blondie, Built To Spill, The Chemical Brothers, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Placebo, Suede and Wilco all appeared at this years Oskilde Festival, Roskilde, Denmark.

In 2001, Yoko Ono was on hand as Liverpool renamed its airport after John Lennon, with its new logo featuring a Lennon self-portrait and the words "Above Us Only Sky" from his solo song "Imagine." Yoko said John would have been very proud. "Thank you very, very much for remembering John and for loving John."

In 2002, jazz bassist/composer/Jazz Hall of Famer Ray Brown died at the age of 75.

In 2005, the world's biggest music stars united in concerts around the world to put pressure on political leaders ahead of the G8 summit to tackle poverty in Africa. Concerts in 10 cities, including London, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin, Johannesburg, Rome and Moscow played to hundreds of thousands of people. A TV audience of several hundred million watched the gigs. In London Pink Floyd, The Who, Madonna, U2, Coldplay, Sting, The Scissor Sisters, Keane, and Paul McCartney performed. Philadelphia saw, Destiny's Child, Jay-Z and Bon Jovi, Canada, Bryan Adams and Neil Young headlined, Bjork headlined in Tokyo and Green Day played in Berlin.

In 2007, lyricist Hy Zaret, who wrote the words for the song "Unchained Melody" died at his home in Westport, Connecticut, aged 99. The song (which does not feature the word "unchained"), has been recorded over 300 times. Zaret co-wrote the song with film composer Alex North for the 1955 prison film 'Unchained.' The Righteous Brothers' 1965 version was produced by Phil Spector.

In 2008, the gravestone of former Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis was stolen. Cheshire Police said his memorial stone was taken from where he is buried in Macclesfield Cemetery. Officers were appealing for anyone with information on its whereabouts, detectives said the stone, had the inscription ‘Ian Curtis 18 - 5 - 80’ and the words "Love Will Tear Us Apart."

In 2009, the week after Michael Jackson's death, the King Of Pop dominated the Top Ten of Billboard's album chart. Leading the pack was "Number Ones", followed by "The Essential Michael Jackson" at #2, "Thriller" was #3 and "Off The Wall" was #4. The Jackson 5's "Ultimate Collection" held the #5 spot, "Bad" was #6, "Dangerous" was #7, "Greatest Hits - HIStory - Vol. 1" came in at #8 and Michael's "Ultimate Collection" occupied the #9 position. Collectively, Jackson's solo albums sold 415,000 copies for the week, 58% of which were digital downloads. The week before his death, his titles sold a combined 10,000 units.

In 2012, singer Mike Douglas of the Diamonds (1958-1972) died shortly after being involved in a car accident at the age of 78.

birthdays for today include (among others):  Culley Holt (Jordinaires) (89), Leapy Lee (75), Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones) (72), Roy Bittan (E-Street Band) (65), Johnny Colla (Huey Lewis & the News) (62), Pete Briquette (Boomtown Rats) (60), Mike Anker (Blow Monkeys) (56), Dave Parsons (Bush) (49), Rocky Gray (Evanescence) (40) and Michele Branch (31)