Keefer

Keefer

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ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY: 5.10

1960 - The Silver Beetles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Tommy Moore) auditioned for promoter Larry Parnes and singer Billy Fury for a job as Fury's backing group. They wound up getting a gig with another singer. The group had changed its name from 'The Beatals' to 'The Silver Beetles' after Brian Casser (of Cass and the Cassanovas) remarked that the name 'Beatals' was "ridiculous". He suggested they use the name 'Long John and the Silver Beetles', but John Lennon refused to be referred to as 'Long John'.

1978 - The Rolling Stones releases Miss You. The lyrics were seemingly inspired by Mick Jagger's deteriorating relationship with his wife, Bianca. Jagger has claimed otherwise, saying: "'Miss You' is an emotion, it's not really about a girl. To me, the feeling of longing is what the song is."

The bassline and drums gave this a disco sound. Charlie Watts explained: "A lot of those songs like 'Miss You' were heavily influenced by going to the discos. Mick and I used to go to discos a lot... It was a great period. I remember being in Munich and coming back from a club with Mick singing one of the Village People songs - 'Y.M.C.A.', I think it was - and Keith went mad, but it sounded great on the dance floor."

1981 - Kraftwerk releases Computer World, featuring prescient songs about the influence of computers on society. "Computer Love" predicts the advent of online dating, while "Pocket Calculator" praises the convenience of the portable device that solves mathematical problems and makes music (Kraftwerk uses a Casio calculator as an instrument on the track). The title track, however, hints at a sinister side effect of a computerized world with the lyric "Interpol and Deutsche Bank, FBI and Scotland Yard," noting the international agencies that keep tabs on the public by storing their personal information in computers.

1994 - Weezer releases the Blue Album. Although the group wears its influences on its sleeve, Weezer pulls it together in a strikingly original fashion, thanks to Cuomo's urgent melodicism, a fondness for heavy, heavy guitars, a sly sense of humor, and damaged vulnerability, all driven home at a maximum volume.

That's why the band had hits with this album -- and not just hits, but era-defining singles like the deliberate dissonant crawl of "Undone - The Sweater Song," the postironic love song of "Buddy Holly," the surging "Say It Ain't So". One of the defining albums of the '90s.

1994 - Philadelphia rhymers G. Love & Special Sauce release their self-titled debut album. It introduced their unique and laid back, rootsy sound, that encompasses Delta blues, hip hop, rock & roll soul and funk. “Hip-Hop Blues” as it were. Cold Beverage" became the band's signature tune and "This Ain't Living" is a precursor to the comforting Philly soul style that would be explored more thoroughly on 1997's Yeah, It's That Easy. Serves as the musical foundation on which the group would build its future sound.

BIRTHDAYS:

Maybelle Carter was born on this day in 1911. She is best known as a member of the Original Carter Family act. Played autoharp and banjo as well as being the group's guitarist, created a unique sound for the group with her innovative 'scratch' style of guitar playing (The Carter Scratch), where she used her thumb to play melody on the bass and middle strings, and her index finger to fill out the rhythm.

And she was kind of a bad ass. Enjoyed classical music and riding her Indian-model motorcycle.

Hired Chet Atkins as a fiddler and electric guitarist, in the late 1940s.

Toured with Elvis Presley in 1955.

Johnny Cash’s mother-in-law, (Cash married her daughter June, 1968).

Arthur Alexander was born on this day in 1940. Although his songs were covered by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Elvis Presley, country-soul pioneer Arthur Alexander remains largely unknown to the general listening audience. Nevertheless, his music is the stuff of genius, a poignant and deeply intimate body of work on par with the best of his contemporaries.

Bono is 64. Singer, poet, activist, believer: few icons in the history of rock & roll have created art with the consciousness and passion of Bono, and only a handful have done it as successfully. Whether preaching about "three chords and the truth" or donning ironic personas, the first and only frontman for seminal Irish rock band U2 has always stood unequivocally for hope, faith, and love -- and in so doing has touched millions of fans, as well as sold millions of records. (Photo credit should read HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images)

Sid Vicious was born on this day in 1957. Bassist for the Sex Pistols. To his peers -- and even his bandmates -- Vicious was something of a sad sack, essentially a sweet soul easily led into stupidity and flights of egomania. Despite the Sex Pistols' reputation for amateurish musicianship (often supported by subpar live bootlegs), everyone in the band could play their instruments -- everyone, that is, except Vicious, who made a valiant effort to learn the bass at first but was quickly derailed by the instant gratifications of fame, stardom, and heroin addiction.

Vicious' presence did contribute a certain dangerous energy to the Pistols' performances, but his unreliability as a rhythm section anchor could just as easily hurt the band's live sound. Vicious' early death only served to romanticize his chaotic life and eventual downfall. To some, he represents the ultimate spirit of punk rock anarchy and nihilism for its own sake; to others, he remains a tragic figure, but more for his weaknesses than his notoriety.

Sly Dunbar was born on this day in 1952. The foundations of Jamaica's drumming style were set by the innovative playing of Sly Dunbar. As one-half of the Riddim Twins, Dunbar joined with bassist Robbie Shakespeare to provide the rhythm section and/or production for recordings by reggae artists including Peter Tosh, Black Uhuru, the Mighty Diamonds, and U-Roy and non-Jamaican performers including Bob Dylan, Grace Jones, the Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker, Herbie Hancock, Cindy Lauper, Carly Simon, KRS-One, and Queen Latifah.

Dave Mason is 78. Made his initial splash as a key member, alongside Steve Winwood, of the beloved '60s rock band Traffic, penning one of their biggest songs, "Feelin' All Right." After a brief stint with the band, he grew restless and left to pursue his own vision. Mason's first full-length outing, 1970's Alone Together, was a critical and popular success, showcasing superior songwriting, soulful singing, and great taste in guest artists. He continued releasing albums through the '70s and '80s, and found a hit with the 1977 single "We Just Disagree." In 1993, Mason joined a new lineup of Fleetwood Mac, appearing on the 1995 album Time, but soon after, the band reverted to its previous configuration.

Donovan is 78. Upon his emergence during the mid-'60s, Donovan was anointed "Britain's answer to Bob Dylan," a facile but largely unfounded comparison which compromised the Scottish folk-pop troubadour's own unique vision. Where the thrust of Dylan's music remains its bleak introspection and bitter realism, Donovan fully embraced the wide-eyed optimism of the flower power movement, his ethereal, ornate songs radiating a mystical beauty and childlike wonder; for better or worse, his recordings remain quintessential artifacts of the psychedelic era, capturing the peace and love idealism of their time to perfection.

Jay Ferguson is 77. He was a member Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne and has a solo hit with Thunder Island.. As a composer, he will create the theme to NBC-TV's The Office.

R.I.P.:

1999 - Shel Silverstein died, aged 57. He was one of those rare "multi-threat" artists -- composer, singer, cartoonist, illustrator, author -- with popular successes in all of those areas.

He also began drawing cartoons for magazines such as Look, Sports Illustrated, and This Week, but it was when he joined Playboy magazine in mid-'50s that his name started getting known nationally.

During the late '50s, Silverstein also began exploring other areas of creativity, including writing and music. When Johnny Cash enjoyed massive success with his version of Silverstein's "A Boy Named Sue," that he achieved stardom as a songwriter. He would go on to write "Sylvia's Mother," an over-the-top romantic lament that reached number five on the charts and turned its artists, Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, into stars. They hit it big again with the satiric "The Cover of the Rolling Stone," also written by Silverstein.

Silverstein was also a best-selling author of children's books, including Falling Up (1996), The Missing Piece (1982), Where the Sidewalk Ends (1981), A Light in the Attic (1981), and most enduring of all, The Giving Tree (1964).

On This Day In Music History was sourced, curated, copied, pasted, edited and occasionally woven together with my own crude prose, from This Day In Music History, Music This Day, Allmusic, G Love and Special Sause, Song Facts, and Wikipedia.

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