This Day In Music - July 17

 This Day In Music – 17 July

1928 - Jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, noted composer of music for Charles Schulz's Peanuts, is born Vincent Anthony Dellaglio in San Francisco, California - https://youtu.be/cP8ZfRZCy1c .

1941 - Musician Spencer Davis born in Swansea, Wales. The founder of the 60s rock band The Spencer Davis Group who scored 1966 UK No.1 single 'Keep On Running' (AU #31 peak) and the 1967 AU #4 & US No.7 single 'Gimme Some Lovin'. He died on 19 October 2020 age 81 - https://youtu.be/xcxYX8KPhGk .

1942 - 🇳🇿 - Gale Garnett, known for the 1964 folk hit "We'll Sing In The Sunshine" (peaking at #5 in AU), is born in Auckland, New Zealand, but will relocate to Canada by age 11 - https://youtu.be/ySBdRKmNH_I .

1945 - Eric McCredie born (not Ian, his brother, born 15 July in either 1947 or 1950 depending on data source). The bassist from Scottish pop group Middle Of The Road, who had the 1971 AU & UK No.1 single 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep', which is one of only a few singles to have sold in excess of 10 million physical copies. He died on 6 October 2007. https://youtu.be/vp7XQxgRrEo .

1947 - Mick Tucker born in Harlesden, North West London, England. The drummer with English group Sweet, who had the 1973 UK No.1 single 'Blockbuster' (AU #11), plus 14 other UK Top 40 singles including the AU #2, Peppermint Twist. Sweet scored four top-ten hits in the US: 'Little Willy', 'Ballroom Blitz', the AU #1 'Fox On The Run', and 'Love Is Like Oxygen'. Tucker died of leukaemia on 14th February 2002 - https://youtu.be/oyFuZZqsYPY .

1947 - German musician Wolfgang Flur born in Frankfurt, Germany. Played electronic drums with Kraftwerk who had the 1975 US No.25 single, 'Autobahn' (AU #22), and the 1982 UK No.1 single 'Computer Love / The Model' (AU #17) - https://youtu.be/GEnx9xS79Lc .

1948 - Ron Asheton born. Guitarist with Iggy Pop And The Stooges, (1973 album 'Raw Power'). Asheton was ranked as number 29 on Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He was found dead in his bed by police at his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the early hours of January 6, 2009, apparently having died of a heart attack a couple of days earlier. He was a member of Sydney based Rock band New Race in 1981.

1949 - Geezer Butler born in Aston, Birmingham, England. Bassist and primary lyricist with English rock band Black Sabbath who had the 1970 UK No.4 single 'Paranoid' (AU #41 peak). He received the nickname "Geezer" at school because he used to call everybody "Geezer" - https://youtu.be/uk_wUT1CvWM .

1949 - Mike Vale born. Plays bass for American rock band, Tommy James & The Shondells who had the 1966 US No.1 and AU No. 4 single 'Hanky Panky', the 1968 UK No.1 single 'Mony Mony' (AU No. 30) and the hit 'I Think We're Alone Now' - https://youtu.be/1sEDV3uSyx8 .

1950 - Otis Damon Harris born. Vocalist with The Temptations, (1971 UK No.8 single 'Just My Imagination' and re-issued 'My Girl' UK No.2 in 1992). Harris died on February 18th 2013 at the age of 62 after a 14-year battle with prostate cancer. Harris was a member of The Temptations from 1971 to 1975, joining shortly after the departure of Eddie Kendricks - https://youtu.be/8Ff2Z0Dq2sg .

1952 - Pop-turned-country singer Nicolette Larson is born in Helena, Montana. https://youtu.be/vpFfjWdhROU .

1952 - Chet McCracKen born in Seattle, Washington. Drummer with The Doobie Brothers, (1979 US No.1 and AU No. 10 single 'What A Fool Believes', 1993 UK No.7 single 'Long Train Runnin' which peaked at No. 43 in AU) - https://youtu.be/m4tJSn0QtME .

1952 - Phoebe Snow born in New York City. US singer, songwriter, (1975 US No.5 single 'Poetry Man', 1979 AU No. 15 & UK No.37 single 'Every Night'). Snow suffered a cerebral haemorrhage on January 19, 2010 and slipped into a coma, she died on April 26, 2011 - https://youtu.be/E5i4C2xzDs0 .

1959 - Billie Holiday died in a New York City hospital from cirrhosis of the liver after years of alcohol abuse, aged 43, (while under arrest for heroin possession, with Police officers stationed at the door to her room.) In the final years of her life, she had been progressively swindled out of her earnings. The singer who had recorded classics such as 'God Bless the Child' and the civil rights anthem 'Strange Fruit' died with just $0.70 in the bank - https://youtu.be/iW5JsbFygU4 .

1965 - King Records released 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag' by James Brown, which went on to sell over 2 million copies and receive the Grammy Award for best for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording. 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag' is considered seminal in the emergence of funk music as a distinct style - https://youtu.be/QE5D2hJhacU .

1967 - American jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane died from liver cancer at Huntington Hospital in Long Island, New York, aged 40. Worked with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie. Released the 1964 album 'A Love Supreme'.

1967 - The Beatles single 'All You Need Is Love / Baby You're A Rich Man' (originally called 'One Of The Beautiful People') was released in the US. It became The Beatles 15th AU & 14th US No.1 - https://youtu.be/_7xMfIp-irg .

1968 - The Beatles' fourth film, the animated fantasy Yellow Submarine, premieres at the London Pavilion. Although the four band members in the picture are voiced by professional actors, the band itself makes a cameo in the finale, leading movie audiences through the song "All Together Now."

1972 - A bomb exploded under The Rolling Stones equipment van in Montreal, believed to be the work of French separatists. Angry fans rioted throwing bottles and rocks after 3,000 tickets for the show turned out to be fake.

1975 - Bob Marley and the Wailers played the first of two nights at The Lyceum, London, and both nights were recorded for the November released 'live' album, featuring the single 'No Woman No Cry' - https://youtu.be/1jGDZYwyaJg .

1976 - Heart's "Magic Man" was released, peaking at No. 9 in AU in 1977 - https://youtu.be/3vlAdMeZSfw .

1976 - Demis Roussos was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Roussos Phenomenon EP'. It was the Greek singers only UK chart topper and the only No.1 EP to top the charts in the 1970s. The EP peaked at No. 44 in AU.

1979 - Gary Moore left Thin Lizzy during a US tour and was replaced by ex-Slick & Rich Kids guitarist Midge Ure - https://youtu.be/5_xqb416S7o .

1982 - English singer-songwriter Natasha Hamilton born. With Atomic Kitten had the 2000 UK No.1 single 'Whole Again' (No. 2 in AU). The girl group were founded by OMD frontman Andy McCluskey - https://youtu.be/1V0xQkk9kbc .

1982 - Irene Cara was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Fame' (No. 2 in AU), which was based on the hit TV series about a New York drama school. Cara (who played the role of Coco Hernandez in the original movie) won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for the same - https://youtu.be/H1gMQ_q3FSM .

1985 - Tom Fletcher born. Guitarist and vocals with McFly, (2004 UK No.1 single 'Colours In Her Hair', 2004 UK No.1 album 'Room On The 3rd Floor'). Known in AU for the 2013 #14, Love Is Easy - https://youtu.be/APlPjz9Ry84 .

1987 - Keith Richards (Rolling Stones) signed a solo deal with Virgin Records.

1991 - Fourteen years after the deadly crash of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Baton Rouge-bound aircraft, the surviving members of the band, reunited under the name "Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991," return to the Louisiana city to kick off a new tour. The location is symbolic and significant: 14 years earlier the band was on its way to the city when their plane crashed into a Mississippi swamp, killing three of its band members, including frontman Ronnie Van Zant. The band at Baton Rouge includes founding member Gary Rossington (guitar) and long-time members Leon Wilkeson (bass), Billy Powell (keyboards) and Artimus Pyle (drums), but they go by the name "Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991" out of respect for those killed. The press honours the new "Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991" name for a while as per the band's request, but as time goes by the "1991" addition is dropped as fans acclimatise to the new Lynyrd Skynyrd - https://youtu.be/rfRGWeZtUVk .

1993 - Guns N' Roses appeared at River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in front of 80,000 people, the final show on their Use Your Illusion Tour. It is the last time Axl and Slash share a stage until the 2016 GnR reconciliation - https://youtu.be/1w7OgIMMRc4

1993 - Take That had their first UK No.1 single with 'Pray'. Their first of 8 No.1's, they went on to be the most successful British boy band of the 1990s with this song peaking at No. 8 in AU - https://youtu.be/QbsAqs3YHyg .

1995 - Carole King's Tapestry album is certified Diamond for sales of 10 million in the US - https://youtu.be/TxWrUtbzlLM .

1995 - Robbie Williams left Take That. The group had scored six UK No.1 singles and two No.1 albums with Robbie in the group. In AU, the group had its best result with ‘Back For Good’, peaking at No. 2.

1996 - Chas Chandler died aged 57 at Newcastle General Hospital, England, where he was undergoing tests related to an aortic aneurysm. He had been the bass player with The Animals and manager of Slade, Nick Drake and Jimi Hendrix.

1998 - 🇦🇺 /🇳🇿 - Marc Hunter was born on the 7th of September 1953 in Raurimu, New Zealand. A member of Dragon and, for a short stint, provided vocals for The Party Boys. He died on the 17th of July 1998 in Kiama, NSW aged 44 - https://youtu.be/MSMyBm9QMLQ .

1999 - Kevin Wilkinson, drummer with Howard Jones hung himself at home aged 41. He had also worked with China Crisis, Holly and the Italians, Squeeze and The Waterboys.

2009 - Gordon Waller of Peter and Gordon ("A World Without Love", "Lady Godiva", "Knight In Rusty Armour", etc.) dies of a heart attack at age 64 - https://youtu.be/vHOrHEDPYIM .

2011 - 🇦🇺 - Wolfmother frontman Andrew Stockdale gets wasted at the Archive Bar in Brisbane, where a local Beatles tribute band is performing. After crashing the stage and drunkenly screeching along to "Let It Be," he refuses to leave and is arrested when police arrive. He spends a night in jail and is fined $350 - https://youtu.be/IRsc57nK8mg .

2019 - Snow Patrol's ballad 'Chasing Cars' was named the most-played song of the 21st Century on UK radio. Originally released in 2006, the lovestruck ballad never reached No.1 in the UK, but remained on the charts for more than three years. Second place went to Black Eyed Peas' 'I Gotta Feeling', while Pharrell's 'Happy' came third - https://youtu.be/GemKqzILV4w .

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