This Day In Music - July 4

 This Day In Music – 4 July

1911: Mitch Miller, an influential A&R executive at Columbia Records throughout the '50s and '60s, is born in Rochester, New York. Signed Aretha Franklin to her first record deal. He had the 1955 No.1 & UK No.2 single 'The Yellow Rose Of Texas' - https://youtu.be/Yalc-vvtWFE .

1938: Bill Withers born in Slab Fork, West Virginia. American singer-songwriter who had the 1972 No.1 single 'Lean On Me', 1988 No.4 single 'Lovely Day', which was first released in 1978. Toward the end of the song, Withers holds a note for 18 seconds. This is believed to be the second-longest note in chart history. Morten Harket of A-ha's 20-second note in "Summer Moved On" is the longest. Withers died from heart complications in Los Angeles on March 30, 2020 age 81 - https://youtu.be/fOZ-MySzAac .

1940: Dave Rowberry born in Mapperley, Nottinghamshire, England. English pianist and organist with The Animals who had the 1964 & No.1 single 'House Of The Rising Sun'. He also later worked with The Kinks. Rowberry died on 6th June 2003 - https://youtu.be/0Fy7opKu46c .

1943: Alan Wilson (Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson) born in Arlington, Massachusetts. Played guitar, harmonica, vocals for Canned Heat. Two of their songs 'Going Up the Country' and 'On the Road Again' became international hits. Wilson died on 3rd September 1970 - https://youtu.be/5R5hK-c9Foo .

1944: - Bryan Davies is a British-born Australian pop music singer and entertainer. He appeared on 1960s TV pop shows, Sing! Sing! Sing! and Bandstand. From March 1962, at age 17, he became the youngest person in Australia to host their own TV show, The Bryan Davies Show. The singer issued two albums, On My Way (1965) and Together by Myself (1968). His most popular singles were, "Dream Girl" (July 1961) and "Five Foot Two Eyes of Blue" (October), which both reached the top 4 on the Sydney charts - https://youtu.be/2PSeEjpdVuI .

1948: Jeremy Spencer born in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. He plays guitar with Fleetwood Mac, who had the 1969 No.1 single 'Albatross'. He then left the band during a 1971 tour saying he was going out to buy a newspaper. He was found two days later in LA at the Children of God headquarters with his hair shaved off - https://youtu.be/KQ_wA_EvOoo .

1951: Ralph Johnson born in Los Angeles, California. The drummer with Earth, Wind & Fire, who had the 1975 No.1 single 'Shining Star', and the 1981 No.3 single 'Let's Groove'. The band has received 20 Grammy nominations and were the first African-American act to sell out Madison Square Garden - https://youtu.be/Zu9a29UR2dU .

1952: - Anne Kirkpatrick was born on the 4th of July 1952 in Granville, NSW. She is the daughter of country singers Slim Dusty and Joy McKean. Kirkpatrick has won Golden Guitar Awards at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in 1979, 1991, and twice in 1992. She also won an ARIA Award for Best Australian Country Record in 1992 and appeared on the 1990 compilation album Breaking Ground - New Directions in Country Music which was nominated for the 1991 ARIA Award for Best Country Album - https://youtu.be/kTZVasIj950 .

1952: English musician John Waite born in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. He was the singer in Bad English and The Babys who had two hits on the US chart, 'Isn't It Time' (1977) and 'Everytime I Think of You' (1979). Waite had the 1984 solo No.1 & No.9 single 'Missing You' - https://youtu.be/LvvGgqV6SGo .

1955: - Gary Dixon of Ted Mulry Gang (TMG) was born. When the Ted Mulry Gang formed in 1972, Mulry was already a well-known pop balladeer. After getting tired of being backed by different backing bands, in 1972 he switched from acoustic guitar to bass and formed his own band, “Ted Mulry Gang”, with guitarist Les Hall & drummer Herman Kovacs. The band signed a recording deal with Albert Records in 1974 and released their first album “Here We Are”. Guitarist Gary Dixon joined around this time to complete the foursome. With his own band behind him, he adopted a more hard-rocking style - https://youtu.be/M70eYXdb5uo .

1955: Gene Vincent's leg is crushed when his motorcycle is struck by a car in Franklin, Virginia.

1958: - Kirk Pengilly born in Kew, Victoria, Australia. Firstly, a guitarist from Australian rock band INXS, he went on to also play sax. INXS had the 1985 #1 “What You Need” and the 1988 No.2 & No.1 single 'Need You Tonight'. Their 1987 album Kick has sold over 10m copies in the alone and features four Top 10 singles; 'Need You Tonight,' 'Devil Inside', 'New Sensation,' and 'Never Tear Us Apart.' INXS has sold over 55 million records worldwide - https://youtu.be/Py4OV7XW2Qk .

1958: The Everly Brothers held the No.1 position with 'All I Have To Do Is Dream.' The Duo's first No.1 single was recorded in just two takes and features Chet Atkins on guitar. The song was written by the husband-and-wife song writing team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant - https://youtu.be/lTYe9eDqxe8 .

1964: The Beach Boys score their first #1 hit as "I Get Around" tops the Hot 100, where it stays for two weeks. It started a two-week run at No.1 on the singles chart and No.7 hit in the . It is noteworthy for its back-to-front structure - it starts with a chorus and has two short verses - https://youtu.be/KnPL5OXSBNE .

1964: Millie Small, part of the British Invasion, reaches #2 in with "My Boy Lollipop." - https://youtu.be/fMw4_QPDxPo .

1966: The Lovin' Spoonful release "Summer In The City." - https://youtu.be/zs8ZNa73OS4 .

1966: The Beatles played two shows at Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, Manila, in the Philippines to over 80,000 fans. The Beatles failed to appear at a palace reception hosted by President Marcos' family, who were not informed that the Beatles had declined their invitation. The Philippine media misrepresent this as a deliberate snub and when Brian Epstein tries to make a televised statement, his comments are disrupted by static. The next day, as The Beatles make their way to the airport they were greeted by angry mobs, the Philippine government had retaliated by refusing police protection for The Beatles.

1969: The Rolling Stones released the single "Honky Tonk Women" in the - https://youtu.be/_q0EQk2Bt74 .

1970: Casey Kasem debuts the radio show American Top 40, where he counts down the Billboard hits (the #1 song: "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" by Three Dog Night). He hosts the show until 2004, when Ryan Seacrest takes over (Kasem also does the voice for Shaggy in Scooby Doo) - https://youtu.be/XYrYyz0P6MM .

1971: Andy Creeggan born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. Played piano with Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies who scored the 1998 No.1 & No.5 single 'One Week'. He is also a member of the trio The Brothers Creeggan, and a solo artist - https://youtu.be/fC_q9KPczAg .

1973: Slade drummer Don Powell was severely injured in a car crash in which his girlfriend was killed - https://youtu.be/a0rAhFRLAH8 .

1974: Despite the fact that they have the No.4 song in the with 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number' and a current Platinum album with Pretzel Logic, Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagan play their final gig together in Santa Monica, California. They would not tour again for the next eighteen years - https://youtu.be/UfZWp-hGCdA .

1982: Neil Diamond sees the movie E.T. along with the songwriters Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. That night, they write the song "Heartlight" based on the film - https://youtu.be/WgdjK4RXpQw .

1987: Genesis close out their Invisible Tour with a sold-out show at Wembley Stadium in London. They played the venue the previous three nights as well, also to sell-out crowds - https://youtu.be/epOBenUjIHw .

1988: - Kylie Minogue releases her debut album, Kylie, featuring her hit cover of "The Loco-Motion." The album marks a rebirth of disco, a genre Minogue proudly embraces - https://youtu.be/POWsFzSFLCE .

1990: Paul Stanley from Kiss sustained neck and back injuries when he was involved in a car crash in New Jersey.

1992: The king of all booty songs, Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back," hits #1 in - https://youtu.be/X53ZSxkQ3Ho .

1992: John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas receives a liver transplant in Los Angeles.

2002: Michael Abram, the man who attacked and nearly murdered George Harrison some 19 months earlier, is given a conditional release by a Mental Health Review Tribunal, to the fury of George's widow, Olivia. Says Abram: "If I could turn back the clock I would give anything not to have done what I did. But I have come to realise that I was very ill at that time, really not in control."

2003: American record producer and singer-songwriter and five-time Grammy Award-winner Barry White died from Kidney failure aged 58. He produced hits for girl group Love Unlimited and other chart hits include 1974 hit 'You're The First, The Last, My Everything', 1974 No.1 'Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe'. Bubblegum act The Banana Splits recorded his songs and he arranged the 1963 hit 'Harlem Shuffle' for Bob & Earl - https://youtu.be/RLTJ95kj9ng .

2007: Bill Pinkney (of The Drifters) dies of a heart attack at age 81 - https://youtu.be/yKmKezVBdOQ .

2009: 77-year-old Allen Klein, the former manager of The Rolling Stones and later The Beatles, died after a battle with Alzheimer's disease. The assets of his company, ABKCO Music & Records, include recordings by The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Bobby Womack, The Kinks, Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell and many others - https://youtu.be/vk1jV6kROYQ .

2010: After attending a gay pride parade in London, George Michael crashes his Range Rover into a Snappy Snaps photo store in Hampstead, England. Convicted of driving under the influence of cannabis, he goes to prison on September 21 and serves four weeks - https://youtu.be/6Cs3Pvmmv0E .

Holy Smokes!