Calendar Search Results: y o u t u b e r
October 10, 1959 Singer Kirsty MacColl, known for her vocals on the Pogues song "Fairytale Of New York," is born in Croydon, Surrey, England. Her dad is the folk singer Ewan MacColl.
October 5, 1959 Bobby Darin's swinging version of "Mack the Knife," a song about a killer from The Threepenny Opera, hits #1 on the Hot 100 and stays there for an astonishing nine weeks. Darin, who is known for lighter fare like "Splish Splash," gains a more adult following, putting him on par with Frank Sinatra.More
October 5, 1959 The famously bad movie Girls' Town, featuring Paul Anka and Mel Tormé, premieres in US theaters.
September 18, 1959 The first "Dick Clark Caravan Of Stars" tour kicks off with Lloyd Price, Duane Eddy, Paul Anka, Bobby Rydell, The Coasters and more.
September 16, 1959 Dick Clark's first "Caravan of Stars" tour opens in New York, featuring The Coasters, The Drifters, Lloyd Price, LaVern Baker, Duane Eddy, Paul Anka and Annette Funicello.
September 16, 1959 Vicki Blue (Victory Tischler-Blue) is born in Newport Beach, California. In 1977 she joins The Runaways after bassist Jackie Fox leaves, and plays on their fourth album. After the breakup of the band, Blue goes on to forge a career as an actress: playing Cindy in the 1984 mockumentary movie This is Spinal Tap.
July 25, 1959 Introduced by Johnny Cash, 13-year-old Dolly Parton makes her Grand Ole Opry debut singing George Jones' "You Gotta Be My Baby." She receives three encores.
July 10, 1959 Sandy West is born Sandy Pesavento in Long Beach, California. Together with Joan Jett, she is a founding member of the teenage all-female rock band The Runaways, playing drums. After the band splits she leaves the music industry, and dies at the age of 47 from lung cancer.
June 17, 1959 Liberace wins his libel case against the Daily Mirror at the High Court in London, and says afterwards "I cried all the way to the bank." The paper published an article claiming the pianist was homosexual.
June 8, 1959 Bobby Darin's "Dream Lover" reaches its chart peak of #2 in America. His next single is something quite different: a song about a murderous cad called "Mack The Knife." That one goes to #1.
May 22, 1959 Morrissey is born Steven Patrick Morrissey in Davyhulme, Lancashire, England. From 1982-1987 he fronts The Smiths, earning a reputation for gloom with songs like "How Soon Is Now?" and "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now." His solo career continues that theme and is even more successful as he extends his fanbase to America.
May 4, 1959 The very first Grammy Awards are held in Los Angeles, with Record of the Year going to Domenico Modugno's "Nel Blu, Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" and Henry Mancini's The Music From Peter Gunn soundtrack winning Album of the Year. The Champs' "Tequila," for some reason, takes home Best Rhythm and Blues Performance.
April 30, 1959 Buddy Holly's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" (written by Paul Anka) goes to #1 in the UK nearly three months after his death. It's his only UK #1.
April 27, 1959 Sheena Easton is born in Glasgow, Scotland, the youngest of six children. She wins the Best New Artist Grammy in 1981 and has a string of hits that decade, including "Morning Train (Nine To Five)" and the Bond theme "For Your Eyes Only."
April 24, 1959 After running on Saturday nights on radio for 24 years and TV for the last nine, the final installment of the musical countdown show Your Hit Parade airs on NBC. The final Top Five: Elvis Presley, "I Need Your Love Tonight" (#5), Brook Benton, "It's Just A Matter Of Time" (#4), Ricky Nelson, "Never Be Anyone Else But You" (#3), Dodie Stevens, "Pink Shoe Laces" (#2), and the Fleetwoods at #1 with "Come Softly To Me."
April 22, 1959 The Alan Freed "Rock and Roll movie" Go, Johnny, Go premieres in New York, featuring Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson, Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochran, The Cadillacs, and The Flamingos.
March 23, 1959 Bobby Darin's first full-length album, That's All, is released. Among the tracks is "Mack The Knife," a song about a cold-blooded murderer popularized in the play The Threepenny Opera. Considered just an album cut at first, in August the song is released as a single, and it transforms Darin's career, going to #1 for nine weeks and making him one of the most popular entertainers in America.
March 16, 1959 Flavor Flav is born William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. He becomes a rapper with Public Enemy and also a reality TV star.
February 27, 1959 Johnny Van Zant is born in Jacksonville, Flordia. He performs and records with the Johnny Van Zant Band and as a solo artist, but is best known for succeeding his deceased brother Ronnie Van Zant as frontman for Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987.
February 4, 1959 A day after the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper, the Winter Dance Party tour continues in Sioux City, Iowa, with Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Jimmy Clanton as the new headliners and Waylon Jennings singing Holly's songs.
February 3, 1959 Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson are killed in a plane crash. Don McLean would call it "The Day the Music Died" in his 1971 hit "American Pie."More
February 3, 1959 Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst of The Cure is born in Horley, Surrey, England. A founding member, he starts out on drums, then moves to keyboards before he is sacked by Robert Smith in 1989.
February 2, 1959 At the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper play their last show as part of the "Winter Dance Party" tour. Admission: $1.25. The last song of the night: The Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace."
January 28, 1959 Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin perform together in Vegas for the first time, joining forces at the Sands hotel. They become regular performers at the venue, often joined by fellow "rat pack" members Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford.
January 23, 1959 Earl Falconer (bass player for UB40) is born in Meriden, Warwickshire, England.
January 23, 1959 The "Winter Dance Party" tour gets underway with a show at the Million Dollar Ballroom in Milwaukee. Before the tour is over, headliners Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper are killed in a plane crash.More
January 22, 1959 Buddy Holly makes his last recordings alone with an acoustic guitar in his Greenwich Village apartment. Songs include "Peggy Sue Got Married," "Crying, Waiting, Hoping," "That's What They Say," "What to Do," "Learning the Game" and "That Makes it Tough." The rough versions are overdubbed and released after his death.
January 6, 1959 Kathy Sledge (of Sister Sledge) rounds out the R&B group when she's born the youngest of the five sisters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
January 6, 1959 Neil Simpson (bass player for Climax Blues Band) is born in Stoke-on-Trent, England. At age four, he receives a toy guitar featuring a picture of The Beatles.
January 1, 1959 Johnny Cash plays one of his first jailhouse shows when he performs at San Quentin prison in San Rafael, California. Among those in the captive audience is Merle Haggard, who is serving time for burglary.More
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