Calendar Search Results: u i a song
November 19, 1968 Onstage with The Supremes at the Royal Command Variety Performance in London, Diana Ross interrupts the show with a plea for greater interracial understanding. She receives a two-minute ovation from the audience, which includes members of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth II herself stands after Ross' moving performance of West Side Story's "Somewhere."
November 18, 1968 A group called Pogo, which includes Randy Meisner, Jim Messina and Richie Furay, debuts at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. They change their name to Poco to avoid legal action over the comic strip Pogo.
November 12, 1968 Neil Young releases his self-titled debut solo album, featuring one of his most enduring songs, "The Loner." More
November 10, 1968 Neil Young performs "Sugar Mountain" at the Canterbury House in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The recording of the song is used as the B-side for "The Loner" and is later included on the Decade compilation.
November 8, 1968 John Lennon's wife, Cynthia, is granted a divorce on grounds of his adultery with Yoko Ono, who is carrying his child. Yoko suffers a miscarriage a few weeks later.
November 2, 1968 Jose Feliciano's unique rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner," which he performed on acoustic guitar before Game 5 of the World Series on October 7, enters the Hot 100 at #89, making it the first version of the US National Anthem to chart (it peaks at #50). Many singers start adding their own flavor to the song; the next version to chart is Whitney Houston's Super Bowl performance in 1991, which hits #20.
November 1, 1968 George Harrison releases Wonderwall Music, becoming the first member of The Beatles to release a solo album.
October 30, 1968 Malcolm Hale (lead guitarist for Spanky & Our Gang) dies of pneumonia at age 27.
October 25, 1968 The New Yardbirds perform for the first time under their new name Led Zeppelin at a gig at Surrey University, England.
October 22, 1968 Reggae fusion artist Shaggy is born Orville Richard Burrell in Kingston, Jamaica.
October 22, 1968 Country singer Shelby Lynne is born Shelby Lynn Moorer in Quantico, Virginia.
October 19, 1968 At Liverpool University, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham perform as "The New Yardbirds" for the last time as they assume the moniker Led Zeppelin.
October 17, 1968 Reggae musician Ziggy Marley is born David Nesta Marley in Kingston, Jamaica.
October 7, 1968 Long before the US National Anthem becomes a performance piece, the Puerto Rican singer Jose Feliciano makes waves when he does a slow, jazzy version of the song before Game 5 of the World Series between the Tigers and Cardinals. Among those joining the uproar are Tigers starting pitcher Mickey Lolich, who complains that the overly long rendition screwed up his pregame routine.More
October 2, 1968 Motown sues their most prolific songwriting team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, for their refusal to write more songs until their royalty rate is increased. The trio are eventually released from the label and go on to start their own Invictus and Hot Wax labels.
September 29, 1968 The Supremes eschew their elegant dresses and go casual to perform "Love Child" on The Ed Sullivan Show. Diana Ross wears a sweatshirt, which is in line with the character in the song.More
September 28, 1968 Questioning the band's commitment, Janis Joplin announces (through her manager, Albert Grossman) that she will be leaving Big Brother & the Holding Company. Her new group, The Kozmic Blues Band, doesn't last long, and she eventually records as a solo artist.
September 28, 1968 The Beatles' "Hey Jude" (backed with "Revolution") hits #1 in America. It holds the top spot for nine weeks, the longest of any Beatles single.
September 25, 1968 No more whistling "Dixie" for University of Miami students as the school becomes the first university to ban the controversial Confederate anthem from being played at public events.More
September 25, 1968 Mary Hopkin's "Those Were The Days," produced by Paul McCartney and released on The Beatles' Apple Records, goes to #1 in the UK, knocking off "Hey Jude." It stays for six weeks before being bumped by Joe Cocker's cover of the Beatles song "With A Little Help From My Friends."
September 18, 1968 The Beatles pause their Abbey Road Studios recording sessions for "Birthday" so that they can run back to Paul McCartney's house and watch the British-television premiere of the 1956 American film The Girl Can't Help It, featuring Little Richard and Fats Domino. Suitably inspired, they return to the studio after the viewing and complete the song that night.
September 15, 1968 Jim Morrison collapses during Jefferson Airplane's set at a concert in Amsterdam, forcing The Doors, who are sharing the bill, to go on as a trio.
September 7, 1968 The Doors' third album, Waiting For The Sun, hits #1 in America thanks partly to the popularity of the hit "Hello, I Love You." They decided to include the song on the album after scrapping plans to put a Jim Morrison poetry piece called "Celebration Of The Lizard" on the entire first side.
September 6, 1968 Eric Clapton records the guitar solo for The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
September 4, 1968 The Beatles play to a live audience for the first time in two years when they record promotional films for "Hey Jude" and "Revolution" at Twickenham Studios in front of an audience of about 100. It goes so well, they decide to make a documentary, which becomes Let It Be.
August 28, 1968 At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, overzealous police in riot gear brutally beat protestors who are demonstrating against the Vietnam War. The Doors, Graham Nash and Chicago all write songs about it.More
August 26, 1968 In America, The Beatles release the Paul McCartney-penned "Hey Jude" with John Lennon's "Revolution" on the B-side. It hits #1 a month later and stays for nine weeks, longer than any other song in 1968.
August 13, 1968 Soul singer Joe Hinton dies of skin cancer at age 38 in Boston, Massachusetts. Known for the popular cover "Funny How Time Flies Slips Away," written by Willie Nelson.
August 12, 1968 The New Yardbirds, later to be known as Led Zeppelin, begin their first rehearsal beneath a record store at 22 Gerrard Street in Westminster, London, performing a cover of the old Johnny Burnette & the Rock and Roll Trio number "Train Kept A-Rollin'."
August 11, 1968 Guitarist/singer/songwriter Charlie Sexton is born in San Antonio, Texas.
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