This Day In Music - June 28

Today In Music - June 28

1902: Richard Rodgers, a prolific composer known for his partnership with lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II, is born in New York City - https://youtu.be/O5APc0z49wg .

1943: Conflicting sources say 22 June 1939, whilst others have Bobby Harrison, drummer with Procol Harum was born. Procol Harum had the 1967 No.1 & No.5 single 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' (one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies) and scored the hits 'Homburg', 'Conquistador' - https://youtu.be/whiEpmkOIV4 .

1945: David Knights (original bass guitarist for Procol Harum - see above) is born in Islington, North London. He was the original bass guitarist in the band Procol Harum. He played bass on the hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale". He was in the band long enough to play on their first three albums - https://youtu.be/B0TQfpyYO38 .

1958: Twilight Time (The Platters) moves to #1 on the charts - https://youtu.be/v9XfxU0ZWDU .

1959: Bobby Darin was at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Dream Lover'. The American singers first No.1 which featured Neil Sedaka on piano also reached No.2 on the chart - https://youtu.be/wVHAQX5sSaU .

1962: The Drifters record "Up On The Roof." - https://youtu.be/b_ksNvivbEI .

1969: Hair (The Cowsills) moves to #1 on the chart - https://youtu.be/2p6k7JnMgcE .

1971: Eagle Rock (Daddy Cool) takes the #1 spot on the chart (Trivia: it will, after several weeks, be replaced at #1 by Daddy Cool (Drummond) - https://youtu.be/oQfAZVsz6KM .

1973: British groups from the 60’s replayed the British Invasion when The Searchers, Gerry and The Pacemakers, Herman’s Hermits and Wayne Fontana played a revival concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

1975: David Bowie releases "Fame," featuring John Lennon on backing vocals. It become Bowie's first #1 hit in the - https://youtu.be/9tnRWcEg6i8 .

1975: The Eagles started a five-week run at No.1 on the album chart with their fourth studio album 'One Of These Nights'. The album which became their breakthrough album released three Top 10 singles, 'Lyin' Eyes', (which won a Grammy), 'Take It To The Limit' and the title track - https://youtu.be/NpPtSTcNzPY .

1975: Wings went to No.1 on the chart with their fourth album 'Venus And Mars'. The follow up to Band On The Run featured the No.1 single 'Listen What The Man Said' - https://youtu.be/YxslbXDBmaY .

1978: Rivers Of Babylon / Brown Girl In The Ring (Boney M) moved to the #1 spot on the chart - https://youtu.be/HTq7vE_5un4 .

1980: Paul McCartney's "Coming Up" hits #1 in the - https://youtu.be/YLGD6io9hG8 .

1982: Harry Mills (Mills Brothers), the baritone member of the singing Mills Brothers, a smoothly melodious group that helped popularize hundreds of American hit songs through more than five decades of performing, died at his home in Los Angeles. He was 68 - https://youtu.be/Eh0Mai2eyxA .

1985: Live It Up (Mental As Anything) takes the top spot on the chart - https://youtu.be/g5B8AFvWk8Y .

1986: Wham! were at No.1 on the singles chart with their fourth and final No.1 'The Edge Of Heaven'. Also on this day Wham! made their farewell concert appearance at London's Wembley Stadium. Elton John made an appearance in a clown suit to sing a song and then came back later to sing "Candle In The Wind" with George Michael - https://youtu.be/3KUh-5ZCKyI .

1989: rapper Merlin was released from a youth custody centre after serving a sentence for burglary. Ironically, his biggest hit had been “Who’s In The House” earlier in the year.

1993: After repeated threats to kill himself on stage, shock rocker GG Allin dies at age 36 of a heroin overdose following a concert that is cut short due to mayhem.

1997: George Harrison has an operation to remove a cancerous growth from his neck.

1997: The Pink Floyd album The Dark Side Of The Moon spent its 1056th week on the album chart. It was rumoured at the time that if the album was played while watching The Wizard of Oz movie, and started exactly when the MGM lion roared the third time during the movie's intro, very interesting connections could be made between the two - https://youtu.be/HW-lXjOyUWo .

2004: Everytime (Britney Spears) enters the singles chart at #1 (Trivia: it remains #1 for 1 week) - https://youtu.be/PyoJsKrb5N0 .

2009: Three days after his death Michael Jackson was at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Number Ones'. The Essential Michael Jackson went to No.1 the following week for seven weeks.

2010: Bill Aucoin (band manager for Kiss, Billy Idol) dies of surgical complications from prostate cancer at age 66.

2010: Jake Holmes finally gets around to suing Led Zeppelin for plagiarizing his 1967 song "Dazed And Confused." Led Zeppelin released a very similar song with the same title on their 1969 debut album, but Holmes waited decades to take legal action. The case is eventually settled, with the writing credit on the song changed to "Jimmy Page, Inspired By Jake Holmes."

2016: Elvis Presley's original guitarist, Scotty Moore, dies at age 84. Moore, who played on rock classics like "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Jailhouse Rock," was the last living member of the team (Elvis, bass player Bill Black and producer Sam Phillips) that created The King's legendary sound - https://youtu.be/W4euyTDhFnk .

2017: Gary DeCarlo, singer of the 1969 hit "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," dies of cancer at age 75 - https://youtu.be/jsaTElBljOE .