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Rock and Roll Birthdays

Today's Rock and Roll Birthdays

December 19th

December 19th Birthday, Blues pianist, singer and solo artist Professor Longhair, born Henry Roeland Byrd in Bogalusa, Louisiana, in 1918. The Professor died from a heart attack on January 30th, 1980, aged 61.

December 19th Birthday, Folk singer Phil Ochs born in El Paso, Texas in 1940. Ochs committed suicide by hanging on April 9th, 1976, aged 35, at his sister’s home in Queens, New York City, following a period of deep depression.

December 19th Birthday, Maurice White, the leader of Earth, Wind and Fire, born in 1941 in Memphis, Tennessee. White died on February 4th, 2016, aged 74.

December 19th Birthday, Guitarist for Ten Years After and solo artist Alvin Lee, born in Nottingham, England in 1944. Lee died on March 6th, 2013 in Spain, aged 68.

December 19th Birthday, Lead guitarist for The Lovin Spoonful, Zal Yanovsky, born Zalmon Yanovsky, in 1944 in Toronto, Canada. Yanovsky died on December 13th, 2002, aged 57.

December 19th Birthday, John McEuen, guitarist for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, born in Oakland, California in 1945.

December 19th Birthday, Rainbow and Dio bassist Jimmy Bain, born in Newtonmore, Highland, Scotland in 1947. He died on January 23rd, 2016 at the age of 68.

Today In Rock and Roll History

December 19th

December 19th, 1955 Carl Perkins records “Blue Suede Shoes” with producer Sam Phillips at Sun Studios in Memphis, a song that he wrote the day before. Compared to Elvis Presley’s cover version, it was Perkin’s original that was the bigger hit. Released January 1st, 1956, the record hit No. 4 on March 3rd, 1956.

December 19th, 1962 Motown Records release Marvin Gaye’s “Hitch Hike” on 45. Recorded at Hitsville USA Studios in Detroit, Michigan, the song was co-written by Marvin Gaye, Clarence Paul and the records producer William “Mickey” Stevenson. Background vocals on “Hitch Hike” were sung by Martha Reeves, Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard, with instrumental backing by Motown house band The Funk Brothers. “Hitch Hike” was Marvin Gaye’s second chart hit, peaking at No. 30 on March 16th, 1963.

December 19th, 1963 Motown Records release “Leaving Here” by Eddie Holland on 45. Another song co-written by the hit making team of Holland-Dozier-Holland on Motown Records, the 45 was co-produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, spent five weeks on the charts and peaked at No. 76 on February 22nd.

December 19th, 1964 London Records release The Rolling Stones’ “Heart Of Stone” on 45. Co-written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song was recorded in October at RCA Studios in Hollywood with producer Andrew Loog Oldham. Jack Nitzsche (Nitch-ee) played tambourine and piano on the session. The single became The Stones’ second Top Twenty hit, entering the charts in January and peaking at No. 19 on February 20th.

December 19th, 1968 The Friends of Distinction record “Grazin’ In The Grass,” originally an instrumental composed by Philemon Hou and first recorded by the South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. This vocal version of the song featured lyrics by Friends of Distinction band member Harry Elston and was produced by John Florez. Released in February 1969, Larry Knechtel played piano on the session. The record entered the charts in April and peaked at No. 3 on June 7th.

December 19th, 1969 Jethro Tull record “The Witch’s Promise” at Morgan Studios in London with the band’s Ian Anderson and group manager Terry Ellis producing. Chrysalis Records in Britain released the song as a stand-alone single A-side on January 16th, 1970 backed with “The Teacher.” Both songs were the first Tull recordings to feature keyboardist John Evan, who would join the band as a full-time member. The version of “The Teacher” was a completely different take of the song than that which would appear on the American version of the band’s third LP, “Benefit.” The band played “The Witch’s Promise” on the British television show Top Of The Pops. The record peaked at No. 4 in Britain. The single was issued in America in March 1970.

December 19th, 1969 “The Seventh Beatles Christmas Record” is issued to members of their fan club on flexi-disc. Recorded at various locations in November and December assembled with DJ Kenny Everett producing.

December 19th, 1970 Bell Records release “It’s Up To You Petula” by Edison Lighthouse on 45. Co-written and produced by Chris Arnold, David Martin and Geoff Morrow, it was the follow-up to the band’s “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” and went to No. 49 in the UK. The record entered the US charts in January 1971 and went to No. 79 on February 6th.

December 19th, 1970 Dunhill Records release “Fresh As A Daisy” by Emitt Rhodes on 45. The track and Rhodes’ self-titled album were homemade, engineered and self-produced in his parents’ garage. The record entered the charts in January 1971 and reached No. 54 on February 13th.

December 19th, 1970 Tommy James’ “Church Street Soul Revival” enters the singles charts. The song was co-written by James with Ritchie Cordell. Recorded at Allegro Sound Studios in New York City, the track was issued from James’ second solo LP “Christian Of The World,” and featured The Stephentown Singers on backing vocals. Co-produced by James and Bob King with James and Jimmy Wizner arranging the studio session, the record peaked at No. 62 on January 23rd, 1971.

December 19th, 1970 Following his successful appearance at The Woodstock Festival in August Richie Havens formed his own record label, Stormy Forest Records and released the LP “Alarm Clock.” The album featured the hit single cover of George Harrison’s “Here Comes The Sun” that was recorded at The Cellar Door in Washington, DC. The album peaked at No. 29 on June 19th, 1971.

December 19th, 1970 Eric Burdon and War’s “They Can’t Take Away Our Music” enters the singles charts. Featuring Sharone Scott and The Beautiful New Born Children, the 45 was the group’s final single before the band split up and War signed their own record deal, Issued from their album “Black Man’s Burdon,” the song was written by Richard Warner. Produced by Jerry Goldstein, “They Can’t Take Away Our Music” peaked at No. 50 on January 16th, 1971.

December 19th, 1971 The Move record their only US charted single at Phillips Studio in London. “Do Ya” was written by Jeff Lynne, co-produced by Lynne and Move band mate Roy Wood. The record entered the charts in America in October 1972 following a June release and peaked at No. 93 on November 25th, 1972, over eleven months after it was recorded. “Do Ya” became a bigger hit for Jeff Lynne when he rerecorded the song with The Electric Light Orchestra in 1977.

December 19th, 1973 The Rolling Stones Records label release “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)” by The Rolling Stones on 45. Co-written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the track was recorded in November and December 1972 before being re-recorded early the following summer. Jim Horn arranged the songs horns and played sax along with Bobby Keys and Chuck Findley played trumpet. Mick Taylor played the lead guitar part, Richards played rhythm guitar and bass and Billy Preston played clavinet piano. “Heartbreaker” charted at No. 15 on February 23rd.

December 19th, 1975 Following Rod Stewart’s leaving for a solo career, Ronnie Wood leaves The Faces and joins The Rolling Stones.

December 19th, 1981 The soundtrack album to the Twyla Tharpe dance project “The Catherine Wheel” with music by David Byrne of the Talking Heads, enters the album charts on Sire Records. “The Catherine Wheel” premiered onstage at the Winter Garden Theater in New York City on September 22nd. Playing on the LP were guitarist Adrian Belew, Talking Heads David Byrne and Jerry Harrison and Brian Eno. The LP peaked at No. 104 on February 13th.

December 19th, 1991 Capitol Records release “Freedom” by Paul McCartney on 45. Written and recorded in the aftermath of the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, the live version of the song as it was played at the “Concert For New York City” with Eric Clapton on lead guitar, was enhanced with a new studio recorded vocal at Quad Studios in New York City. Proceeds from the sale of the record benefited the Robin Hood Foundation, which distributed funds to families of victims of the attacks and New York’s emergency workers.

Miscellaneous December

December 1951 RPM Records release “3 O’clock Blues” backed with “That Ain’t The Way To Do It,” the first single by B. B. King. Both songs were written by B.B. King. Johnny Ace played piano on the track.

December 1953 Specialty Records release “The Things I Used To Do” backed with “Well, I Done Got Over It” by Guitar Slim and His Band on 45. The tracks were recorded at Cosimo Matassa’s J&M Studio in New Orleans with John Vincent producing. The songs were arranged by Ray Charles, who plays piano on the sessions. Both tracks were written by Guitar Slim, credited to his real name, Eddie Jones. Slim was seriously injured in an automobile accident at the time “The Things I Used To Do” was the No. 1 R&B single in the country.

December 1959 Checker Records release the Bo Diddley album “Have Guitar Will Travel.”

December 1963 Daytone Records release “Hurricane” backed with “Sweet Love” by Conrad and The Hurricanes on 45. The tracks were taped at PAL Studios in Cucamonga, California. Both songs were written by Ed Sigarlaki and produced by Frank Zappa and Dave Aerni using the aliases Curry, Ivan. The single was reissued on Era Records in June 1964 with the A&B sides reversed.

December 1964 Fantasy Records release “Don’t Tell Me No Lies” backed with “Little Girl (Does Your Mama Know?),” the first record by The Golliwogs on 45. Both sides were co-written by Tom and John Fogerty, using the names Rann Wild and Toby Green. The Golliwogs renamed themselves Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1967.

December 1965 Sue Records release “The New Breed (pts. 1&2)” by Ike Turner and His Kings Of Rhythm on 45. The instrumental was written by Ike Turner and co-produced by he and Tinas Turner.

December 1968 Verve Forecast Records release “Reason To Believe” by Tim Hardin on 45. The song was a No. 62 hit for Rod Stewart when it was released as the first single from Stewarts “Every Picture Tells A Story” LP in 1971.

December 1968 Island Records in Britain release “What We Did On Our Holidays,” the second album by Fairport Convention, their first to feature singer and songwriter Sandy Denny. Produced by Joe Boyd, the record was released in America with a different cover and a self-titled name.

December 1969 Mercury Records release “Earth” backed with “Step On Me” by Smile at 45. The A-side was written by singer and bassist Tim Staffell. “Step On Me” was co-written by Staffell and guitarist Brian May. Drummer Roger Taylor and May changed the name of the band to Queen when Staffell quit the group and they hired singer Freddie Mercury.

December 1969 Island Records in Britain release the Joe Boyd produced “Liege And Lief” album by Fairport Convention. The record was issued in America on A&M Records the following July. A No. 17 hit in England, it was Fairport’s third album of 1969 and their first following the road accident that killed drummer Martin Lamble.

December 1970 The Famous Charisma Label in Britain release “H To He Who Am The Only One,” the third album by Van der Graaf Generator. The LP was recorded at Trident Studios in London with John Anthony producing. Dunhill Records in the US issued the album in February 1971. Robert Fripp of King Crimson played guitar on the track “The Emperor And His War Room.”

December 1972 Epic records release “R.E.O. T.W.O.,” the second studio LP by REO Speedwagon. Initial sessions for the LP were recorded in Nashville, then moved to The Record Plant in Los Angeles. The album was co-produced by Paul Leka and Billy Rose II.

December 1972 United Artists Records release The Move compilation “Splits Ends.” The tracks drew mostly from the band’s previous album “Message From The Country” as well as earlier group singles.

December 1974 Atlantic Records release “Can’t Stop The Music (He Played It Much Too Long)” by Hall and Oates on 45. Written by John Oates, the record was produced by Todd Rundgren at Secret Sound Studios in New York City.

December 1987 Barking Pumpkin Records release Frank Zappa “Old Masters Box Three.” The set completed a trio of archival reissues of the original albums Zappa recorded with The Mothers Of Invention. The release featured the albums “Waka/Jawaka,” “The Grand Wazoo,” “Over-Nite Sensation,” “Apostrophe (‘),” “Roxy And Elsewhere,” “One Size Fits All,” “Bongo Fury” and “Zoot Allures”.