This Day In Music - July 25

 This Day In Music – 25 July

Found some interesting videos today; Santana and T.Rex!

1925 - Bennie Benjamin born in Mobile, Alabama. Session drummer, one of 'The Funk Brothers' who played on many Tamla Motown hits including, The Four Tops, Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes. He died on 20 April 1969 - https://youtu.be/BDSp3gdxw5A .

1941 - Manuel Charlton born in La Linea, Spain. From Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, who had the 1973 UK No.9 single 'Broken Down Angel' No.48 ), and the 1976 No.3 & US No.8 single, 'Love Hurts' - https://youtu.be/G_1LP3Z6pW4 .

1942 - - Bruce William Woodley AO born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was a founding member of the successful folk-pop group The Seekers, and co-composer of the song "I Am Australian". Woodley attended Melbourne High School with fellow Seekers, Athol Guy and Keith Potger. The Seekers scored the 1965 & UK No.1 single 'I'll Never Find Another You', with both ‘The Carnival Is Over’ (1965) and ‘Georgy Girl’ (1967) also reaching No.1 in . They were the first Australian group to achieve major chart and sales success in the UK and the US - https://youtu.be/pBaO6ro1CUc .

1943 - English musician Jim McCarty best known as the drummer for the Yardbirds and Renaissance was born in Walton, Liverpool, England. With The Yardbirds he had the 1965 UK No.3, US No.6 & No.11 single 'For Your Love') - https://youtu.be/HU5zqidlxMQ .

1944 - Tom Dawes born in Albany, New York. From American rock and roll band Cyrkle who had the 1966 US No.2 single 'Red Rubber Ball', co-incidentally co-written by 's Bruce Woodley (The Seekers), born on this day in 1942 (the other co-writer was Paul Simon). The song peaked at No.46 in . They were signed by Brian Epstein and supported The Beatles on their 1966 US tour. He died on 13 October 2007 - https://youtu.be/emx6dU7suvg .

1946 - Nicaraguan percussionist Jose "Chepito" Areas (of Santana) is born in Leon, Nicaragua. He was a member of Santana from 1969 - 1977. During this time Santana had the 1970 US No.4 single 'Black Magic Woman' (peaked at No.41 in ), 1977 UK No.11 single 'She's Not There' (which peaked at No.26 in ) - https://youtu.be/KlR6X2gYf4A .

1950 - Mark Clarke born is born in Liverpool, England. From English rock band Uriah Heep who had the 1975 UK No.7 album Return To Fantasy. They have sold over 40 million albums worldwide.

1951 - Verdine White born in Chicago, Illinois. The bassist with Earth, Wind & Fire, who had the 1975 US No.1 single 'Shining Star', and the 1981 UK No.3 single 'Let's Groove' ( No.9 ). Their best result was Boogie Wonderland, which peaked at No.6 in 1979. The band has received 20 Grammy nominations and were the first African-American act to sell out Madison Square Garden. Verdine is the only remaining founding member left in the band - https://youtu.be/PbpIyn70t8c .

1958 - Thurston Moore born in Coral Gables, Florida. American musician with Sonic Youth, who had the 1990 album Goo which featured the single 'Kool Thing'. In the early 1990s, Moore formed the side band Dim Stars, with Richard Hell. Moore was ranked 34th in Rolling Stone's 2004 edition of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." - https://youtu.be/SDTSUwIZdMk .

1960 - Roy Orbison reached No.2 on the US singles chart with 'Only the Lonely,' his first hit (peaked No.6 ). The song was turned down by The Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley, so Orbison decided to record the song himself - https://youtu.be/aMShwAnph8k .

1963 - Cilla Black made a recording test for EMI Records after George Martin had spotted her while at a Gerry And The Pacemakers gig in Liverpool - https://youtu.be/dpkdJZ1B-OM .

1964 - The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night goes to #1 in America, where it stays for 14 weeks. It is already the #1 album in and the UK, where it has a 21-week run at the top. This was the first Beatles album to be recorded entirely on four-track tape, allowing for good stereo mixes - https://youtu.be/zx2TFk0vh1I .

1965 - Dylan plugs in! At the Newport Folk Festival, Bob Dylan plays an electric set for the first time, horrifying folkies everywhere.

1966 - The Monkees recorded their first single. The song was "The Last Train to Clarksville" and was later included on their self-titled debut album - https://youtu.be/ZcXpKiY2MXE .

1969 - The Seattle Pop Festival took place at the Gold Creek Park, Woodinville, Washington. Acts who appeared over three days included, Chuck Berry, Tim Buckley, The Byrds, Chicago Transit Authority, Albert Collins, Bo Diddley, The Doors, The Flock, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Guess Who, It's A Beautiful Day, Led Zeppelin, Santana, Spirit, Ten Years After, Ike & Tina Turner, Vanilla Fudge, Alice Cooper and The Youngbloods - https://youtu.be/7xGxQXmu7Os .

1969 - Neil Young appeared with Crosby, Stills and Nash for the first time when played at The Fillmore East in New York. Young was initially asked to help out with live material only, but ended up joining the group on and off for the next 30 years - https://youtu.be/5icrWZnl_1w .

1970 - The Carpenters started a four-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with '(They Long To Be) Close To You' (An No.2 ). The first of three US No.1's and 17 other Top 40 hits. The song was written in 1963 by Hal David and Burt Bacharach and was first offered to Herb Alpert, who said he didn't feel comfortable singing the line 'so they sprinkled moon dust in your hair'. In 1973 they topped the chart with 'Top Of The World' - https://youtu.be/tT86AoSGEL8 .

1971 - T Rex were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Get It On', the group's second UK No.1 which spent four weeks at the top of the charts; it peaked at No.14 in charts. In the US it was retitled Bang A Gong, (Get It On). Power Station had an , UK & US hit with their version of the song in 1985 - https://youtu.be/mF1qfLMczNo .

1973 - The Doobie Brothers release "China Grove." Lead singer Tom Johnston made up the story about the strange little town, and later found out that there's a real China Grove in Texas - https://youtu.be/RX7iHsAIw9o .

1975 - "A Chorus Line" debuted on Broadway. The show closed in 1990 after 6,137 performances.

1980 - KISS introduced their new drummer, Eric Carr, at a concert at the Paladium in New York City - https://youtu.be/SWNYLMUg6B0 .

1980 - - AC/DC release Back In Black, their first album without lead singer Bon Scott, who died five months earlier. The album serves as a tribute to Scott, opening with the toll of "Hell's Bells," a sound they got by commissioning a one-ton bell from a foundry in England that they took on the road to perform the song. After Scott's death, the band wasn't sure they would continue, but at the funeral, his father insisted they move forward. Their new frontman was someone Scott admired: Brian Johnson from the British band Geordie. His first task was writing lyrics to sync with the explosive tracks the band was working on. In true AC/DC form, he honoured Scott not with sentimentality, but with swaggering lyrics about sex, drinking (Scott's death after a night of libations notwithstanding), and most importantly, rock and roll. The key song is the title track, where Johnson channels Scott over Angus Young's monster riff. Forget the hearse, 'cause he'll never die. The black cover is also in tribute. Recorded in the Bahamas with producer Mutt Lange (who also helmed their previous album, Highway To Hell), Back In Black becomes one of the best-selling albums of all time, with most global sales estimates putting it second only to Michael Jackson's Thriller. And it's done without balladry or compromise: AC/DC fans fully embrace Johnson and grow their legions into the MTV era and beyond, putting them in the very top echelon of rock artists - https://youtu.be/pAgnJDJN4VA .

1981 - - Air Supply went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'The One That I Love', the group's only US No.1 and the first Australian band to top the US singles chart. The song peaked at No.7 in - https://youtu.be/SblzRw8kT2k .

1983 - American heavy metal band Metallica released their debut studio album Kill 'Em All, three months after parting ways with guitarist Dave Mustaine. The release is regarded as a ground-breaking album for thrash metal because of its precise musicianship, which fuses new wave of British heavy metal riffs with hardcore punk tempos - https://youtu.be/Wm58sGEdgAw .

1995 - Nina Simone is arrested for firing a pellet gun at noisy teenagers playing near her home in the south of France, for which she is placed on an 18-month probation and ordered to seek counselling.

1995 - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony release their breakthrough album E. 1999 Eternal, which sells over 4 million copies. The big hit from the set is "Tha Crossroads," which wins a Grammy for Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group - https://youtu.be/cJWYTetgsns .

1995 - Grammy Award winning country singer, songwriter Charlie Rich died in his sleep aged 62 years old. Rich began as a Rockabilly artist for Sun Records in Memphis in 1958. He scored the 1974 US No.1 & UK No.2 single 'The Most Beautiful Girl' ( No.21 ) and 'Behind Closed Doors', was a No.1 country hit ( No.8 ) - https://youtu.be/O3iEFfA4TmI .

1998 - Jamiroquai went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Deeper Under Ground' ( No.38 ), their thirteenth hit and first UK No.1 - https://youtu.be/kQhzb4MK_Wc .

2001 - Aaliyah gives her final performance, singing "More Than a Woman" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Exactly one month later, she is flying back from a video shoot in the Bahamas when the overloaded plane crashes and explodes on the runway, killing everyone on board - https://youtu.be/pAbxS-6XsMY .

2003 - Erik Braunn from American psychedelic rock band Iron Butterfly died of cardiac failure at the age of 52. Braunn was just 16 years old when he joined Iron Butterfly who had the 1968 US No.14 single 'In-A- Gadda-Da-Vida'.

2006 - Metallica put up four albums for sale on iTunes. The albums "Kill 'Em All", "Ride The Lightning", "Master of Puppets" and "...And Just For All" included previously unreleased tracks recorded in Seattle in 1989. Metallica had led the charge against the original Napster online file-sharing service.

2010 - John Fogerty performs "Centerfield" at the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, where he donates a guitar shaped like a baseball bat. At the ceremony, Fogerty, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, becomes the first musician honoured by the Baseball Hall of Fame, where he tells the story behind the treasured guitar. The instrument looks a little weathered, but that's because it was damaged in a Nashville flood two months earlier that destroyed many of Fogerty's guitars. The bat guitar - named "Slugger" because it's designed to look like a Louisville Slugger - was the only one Fogerty had restored. The ceremony coincides with the 25th anniversary of the song, the title track to Fogerty's first album since 1975 The song is not just about baseball, but renewal - the idea of starting a new season. "Twenty-five years ago, I had this baseball-bat guitar made," he says. "And it only plays one song" - https://youtu.be/YqY7e4bP9PQ .

2020 - Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green dies at 73. Green gave the band a strident blues sound before leaving in 1970 - https://youtu.be/dr5r530xkt4 .