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Hear Today In Rock and Roll History
Today In R&R History May 5th
Daily Rock and Roll History, Birthday and short music clips.
A year long, day by day look back at this date in Rock History in 3-5 minute segments. Now airing WRGG in Greencastle, PA.
Rock and Roll Birthdays
May 5th
- May 5th Birthday, Blues singer and guitarist Blind Willie McTell, born William Samuel McTier in Thomson, Georgia in 1898. He died of a stroke on August 19th, 1959, aged 61.
- May 5th Birthday, Marshall Grant, upright bassist for Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three, born in Bryson City, North Carolina in 1928.
- May 5th Birthday, R&B singer Johnny Taylor, born in Crawfordsville, Alabama in 1934.
- May 5th Birthday, Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward, born in Aston, Birmingham, West Midlands, England in 1948.
- May 5th Birthday, Mouth And MacNeal vocalist Maggie MacNeal, born in 1950 in Tilburg, The Netherlands.
- May 5th Birthday, Blues rock guitarist Jon Butcher, born Jon A. Toombs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1955.
- May 5th Birthday, Singer, songwriter, solo artist and lead vocalist for Echo and The Bunneymen, Ian McCulloch, born in Liverpool, England in 1959.
- May 5th Birthday, Billy Idol guitarist, songwriter and solo artist Steve Stevens, born Steven Bruce Schneider in New York City in 1959.
- May 5th Birthday, Singer and songwriter Adele, born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins in 1988 in London, England.
Today In Rock and Roll History
May 5th
- May 5th, 1958 ABC-Paramount release the first single by Carole King. Both sides were written by King, “The Right Girl” backed with “Goin’ Wild.” It would be another fifteen months before King would place a record in the Top 100 in America.
- May 5th, 1958 Specialty Records release “Justine” by Don and Dewey on 45. Don “Sugarcane” Harris and Dewey Terry were from Los Angeles who first met in 1949 and started a group called The Squires. After the group split up in 1956, the two worked together as a duo. Co-written by Harris and Terry, “Justine” was their fifth single and their fourth for Art Rupe’s Specialty Records label. Harris later played with The Johnny Otis Show, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa.
- May 5th, 1958 Laurie Records release the label’s first single, Dion and The Belmonts’ “I Wonder Why.” Co-written by Melvin Anderson and lyricist Ricardo Weeks, the single became the group’s first national pop chart hit, peaking at No. 22 on June 30th.
- May 5th, 1967 The Kinks release “Waterloo Sunset” on 45 in Britain. “Waterloo Sunset” was composed and produced in April by Kinks front man Ray Davies, the band’s first without producer Shel Talmy. The record reached No. 2 in Britain, the top ten in Australia, New Zealand and most of Europe. In America, “Waterloo Sunset” was released as a single by Reprise Records on July 26th, but failed to chart.
- May 5th, 1968 Buffalo Springfield plays their last gig in Long Beach, California. The band didn’t play together again until Neil Young’s annual Bridge School Benefit and a brief reunion tour in 2011.
- May 5th, 1971 Columbia Records release “Peaceful World,” a double album by The Rascals. Produced by Felix Cavaliere who with drummer Dino Danelli, were the two original members remaining in the group following the departures of singer Eddie Brigati and guitarist Gene Cornish in 1970. Recorded from October 1970 through March 1971, the record peaked at No. 122 on July 17th.
- May 5th, 1972 Island Records in Britain release “Little Bit Of Love” by Free on 45. Co-written by the four members of Free, the single went to No. 13 in England. A&M Records in America issued the record in April.
- May 5th, 1972 Columbia Records release “I Don’t Need No Doctor” by The New Riders Of The Purple Sage on 45. Co-written by Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson and Jo Armstead and co-produced by the New Riders with Steve Barncard, the record entered the singles charts in June and peaked at No. 81 on July 8th.
- May 5th, 1973 Columbia Records release “There Goes Rhymin’ Simon,” the second solo album by Paul Simon. Recorded at five different studios in America and England, the LP was co-produced by Paul Simon, Phil Ramone, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Paul Samwell-Smith and Roy Halee from September 1972 through January 1973. The album peaked at No. 1 on June 30th. Among the many guest musicians on the record were Bob James, Pete Carr, David Spinozza, Rick Marotta, the Dixie Hummingbirds and Maggie and Terre Roche. Allen Toussaint, Quincy Jones and Del Newman all contributed string arrangements. The record featured the hits “Kodachrome” and “Loves Me Like A Rock.” “There Goes Rhymin’ Simon” received two Grammy nominations in 1974.
- May 5th, 1973 Tamla Records release “Sweet Harmony” by a solo Smokey Robinson on 45. Written by Robinson, who co-produced the record with Willie Hutch, the single entered the charts in July and peaked at No. 48 on September 22nd.
- May 5th, 1973 Comedian Martin Mull and Orchestra’s “Dueling Tubas” enters the singles charts following an April release on Capricorn Records. The song was a take on “Dueling Banjos,” originally written by Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith in 1954. The Martin Mull record peaked at No. 92 on May 12th.
- May 5th, 1973 Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s “Monster Mash” re-enters the singles charts. The record had originally reached No. 1 in the US in 1962.
- May 5th, 1973 RCA Records release “Swamp Witch” by Jim Stafford on 45. It was Stafford’s first chart single, co-produced by Phil Gernhard and Lobo. The record entered the charts a week later and peaked at No. 39 on July 14th.
- May 5th, 1973 Atlantic Records release “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” by Bette Midler on 45. A major hit for The Andrews Sisters and an iconic World War II tune written for the Abbott and Costello comedy film Buck Privates, the original reached No. 6 in the US in early 1941. The song is based on a Don Raye, Hughie Prince song “Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar,” which is about a virtuoso boogie-woogie piano player. Bette Midler’s version hit No. 8 and was originally released as the B-side of “Delta Dawn.” The A and B side was reversed with the near simultaneous release of the Helen Reddy version of the same song. During a sixteen-week chart run, the record peaked at No. 8 on July 21st.
- May 5th, 1973 Chrysalis Records release Jethro Tull’s “A Passion Play” (edit #8) on 45. Written by Ian Anderson, the song was a title track edit from the band’s No. 1. “A Passion Play” began a five-week chart run two weeks later and peaked at No. 80 on June 2nd.
- May 5th, 1975 Warner Brothers Records release “Gorilla,” the sixth James Taylor album. The LP was produced by Russ Titleman and Larry Waronker at Warner Brothers Studios in North Hollywood and The Burbank Studios in Burbank, California. Guest musicians on the LP include Randy Newman, Danny Kortchmar, David Grisman, Lowell George, Leland Sklar, Willie Weeks, Russ Kunkel, Andy Newmark, Jim Keltner, David Sanborne, David Crosby and Graham Nash, Carly Simon and Valerie Carter. The record peaked at No. 6 on August 16th. The album featured two Top Five singles, “Mexico” and “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You).”
- May 5th, 1975 Threshold Records release “I Dreamed Last Night” by Moody Blues members Justin Hayward and John Lodge. Written by Justin Hayward and produced by Tony Clarke, the record peaked at No. 47 on June 28th.
- May 5th, 1978 Capitol Records release “Stranger In Town” by Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band. The album was recorded at four different studios, Criteria in Miami, Muscle Shoals in Sheffield, Alabama, Cherokee in Hollywood and Sound Suite in Detroit. Co-produced by Seger, Punch Andrews and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, guest musicians and singers include Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Bill Payne and Clydie King. “Stranger In Town” peaked at No. 4 on July 22nd and featured the hits “Old Time Rock n’ Roll,” “Still the Same” and “Hollywood Nights.”
- May 5th, 1979 Capricorn Records re-release “Children Of The Sun” by Australian singer, songwriter and record producer Billy Thorpe on 45. Out earlier in the year on Polydor Records, “Children Of The Sun” was the title track of Thorpe’s first US album, produced by Spencer Proffer and featuring Leland Sklar on bass. The single peaked at No. 41 on September 15th.
- May 5th, 1981 Backstreet Records release “Hard Promises,” the fourth studio album by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Co-produced by Tom Petty and Jimmy Iovine and engineered by Shelly Yakus at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, Cherokee in Hollywood and Goodnight in Los Angeles. Stevie Nicks sings backing vocals on the song “Insider.” Donald “Duck” Dunn plays bass on “A Woman In Love.” The album peaked at No. 5 on July 25th and featured the hits “The Waiting” and “A Woman in Love (It’s Not Me).”
- May 5th, 1984 Chrissy Hynde of The Pretenders marries Simple Minds vocalist Jim Kerr.
Miscellaneous May
- May 1949 “Back Home Blues” backed with “Rock Awhile” by Goree Carter and His Hep Cats is released as a 78 rpm record on the Freedom Records label. Influenced by the guitar work of T Bone Walker, “Rock Awhile” stakes a legitimate claim as the first rock and roll record released. Eighteen years old when he recorded the song, the overdriven guitar tone and pentatonic lead predated rock and a style similar to Chuck Berry.
- May 1966 White Whale Records release “If You Gotta Go, Go Now” backed with “I’ll Go On,” the second single by Lyme & Cybelle, the folk rock duo of Warren Zevon and Violet Santangelo. Bob Dylasn wrote “If You Gottsa Go, Go Now,” and the B-side was a Zevon/Santangelo co-write. The record was produced by Bones Howe.
- May 1968 Parlophone Records in Britain release “(The Autobiography Of) Mississippi Hobo,” the second single by Hans Christian. Hans Christian was future Yes singer Jon Anderson. The single was arranged and produced by Paul Korda.
- May 1970 Viking Records press promotional copies of “From Denver To L.A.” on 45. Credited with a vocal by “Elton Johns,” it was taken from the movie soundtrack from the 20thCentury Fox film The Games. Original copies of the record are considered one of the rarest Elton John singles.
- May 1972 Bearsville Records release “Wonder Girl,” the debut single by Sparks. Written by Ron Mael, the record was produced by Todd Rundgren. Rundgren signed the band to Bearsville and produced their first album when the band was known as Halfnelson. The band changed its’ name to Sparks after the LP came out in October 1971. The name change led to a new cover and re-release of the album in February 1972.
- May 1973 Chrysalis Records release “Grand Hotel” by Procol Harum on 45. Co-written by Keith Reid and Gary Brooker, the song served as the title track of Procol Harum’s sixth studio LP, produced by Chris Thomas.
- May 1975 Harvest Record release “HQ,” the eighth studio album by Roy Harper. Recorded in March at Abbey Road Studios in London with producer Peter Jenner, when the LP came out in America, the cover art and the title changed to “When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease.” David Gilmour, Chris Spedding, Bill Bruford and John Paul Jones played sessions on the LP.
- May 1976 MCA Records release “Gimme Back My Bullets” by Lynyrd Skynyrd on 45. The song was co-written by Gary Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant. The studio track was produced by Tom Dowd.
- May 1977 CBS Records in Britain release “Ian Hunter’s Overnight Angels” album. Recorded at several different studios in the US, Canada and England with producer Roy Thomas Baker, Hunter’s US label, Columbia Records refused to release the LP with Hunter’s business management in disarray and no tour scheduled to support the album. Featured on the album sessions were guitarist Earl Slick.
- May 1984 Passport Records release “Russians & Americans,” the tenth studio album by Al Stewart. The LP was produced by Mike Flicker at four different studios, three in California and Abbey Road Studios in London. British and US issues on the record had different tracks. A 2007 reissue collected all the songs on one CD.
- May 1985 EMI Records in Britain release remixed versions of “Loving The Alien” backed with “Don’t Look Down” on 45, originally from from the David Bowie LP “Tonight.” Bowie wrote the AS-side. “Don’t Look Down” was a song co-written by David Bowie and The Stooges’ guitarist James Williamson.
- May 1985 Legacy Records in Britain release “Under Fire” backed with “On Top Of The World” by Roy Wood on 45. Both songs were written and produced by Roy Wood from the LP “Starting Up.”
This Week In Rock and Roll History
This Week In Rock and Roll History week of May 3rd
This Week In Rock and Roll History is a weekly one hour look back at the songs, the artists, and the stories behind the music of the rock and roll era.
The Cool Song Of The Week
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