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Rock and Roll Birthdays

Today's Rock and Roll Birthdays

November 25th

November 25th Birthday, R&B singer Percy Sledge, born in Leighton, Alabama in 1941. Sledge died on April 14th, 2015, at the age of 73.

November 25th Birthday, Folk singer Bob Lind is born in 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland.

November 25th Birthday, Keyboardist Roy Lines from Status Quo, born in Redhill, Surrey, England in 1943.

November 25th Birthday, Drummer from The Move and ELO, Bev Bevan, born in 1944 in Sparkhill, Birmingham, England.

November 25th Birthday, Val Fuentes, drummer for It’s A Beautiful Day and The New Riders Of The Purple Sage, born in Chicago, Illinois in 1947.

November 25th Birthday, Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan, born in Ellensburg, Washington in 1964. Lanegan passed away on February 22nd, 2022 at the age of 57 in Killarney, Ireland.

Today In Rock and Roll History

November 25th

November 25th, 1957 Bill Haley and His Comets have the No. 1 record in England with “Rock Around The Clock.”

November 25th, 1957 Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps make their US television debut, performing “Lotta Loving” and their latest single “Dance to the Bop” on CBS-TV’s The Ed Sullivan Show.

November 25th, 1957 Simon and Garfunkel, then known as Tom and Jerry, release their first single “Hey Schoolgirl” on the Big Records label. The song was co-written by Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon, issued on both 78 and 45 rpm discs. The single reached No. 49 on January 6th, 1958.

November 25th, 1958 Ritchie Valens records “Ooh My Head”. Based on thew Little Richard song” “Ooh My Soul,” Valens rewrote the lyrics and released the song on his first album in May 1959. Led Zeppelin rewrote the song again as “Boogie With Stu” for their 1975 LP “Physical Graffiti,” co-crediting the four members of the band and Mrs. Valens, Ritchie Valens mother. Stu was Ian Stewart, a piano player and an original member of The Rolling Stones.

November 25th, 1964 Capitol Records in Canada release “Beatlemania-With The Beatles.” Other than it having different cover art than the British “With The Beatles” LP, the songs and mono mixes are exactly the same. Canadian stereo copies were not issued until many years later.

November 25th, 1964 The Zombies record “Tell Her No” with producer Ken Jones. Written by group keyboardist Rod Argent, the single came out on Parrot Records on December 28thin the US and January in Britain. The record entered the US charts in January and went to No. 6 on February 27th. In their native England, the song was a minor hit, reaching No. 42.

November 25th, 1964 Tamla Records release The Marvelettes “Don’t Mess With Bill” on 45. Written and produced by Smokey Robinson, “Don’t Mess with Bill” features a lead vocal by Wanda Young with The Andantes singing backing vocals and The Funk Brothers playing the instrumental backing. The record entered the singles charts in January and peaked at No. 7 on February 26th, 1964.

November 25th, 1966 The Jimi Hendrix Experience plays their first British show at the Bag O’Nails in London.

November 25th, 1967 The Strawberry Alarm Clock’s “Incense And Peppermints” is the No. 1 record in the US.

November 25th, 1967 John Fred and His Playboy Band’s “Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)” enters the singles charts following an October release on the Paula Records label. The song was co-written and produced by John Fred and Playboy Band member Andrew Bernard. The single was certified gold for a million copies sold. The song reached No. 1 in the US on January 20th, 1968, No. 1 in Germany, Switzerland and Australia and No. 3 in both Canada and England.

November 25th, 1967 The Standells “Can’t Help But Love You” enters the singles charts. The song was co-written by Don Bennett and Ethan McElroy. Ed Cobb produced the studio session with Richard Podolor engineering. The record peaked at No. 78 on December 9th.

November 25th, 1967 Jackie Wilson’s “Since You Showed Me How To Be Happy” enters the singles charts on Brunswick Records. The song was co-written by Gary Jackson, Floyd Smith and Gerald Sims. Carl Davis produced and Gary Sims engineered. The record peaked at No. 32 on December 23rd.

November 25th, 1968 Cream play their farewell concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall to a crowd of over ten thousand fans.

November 25th, 1970 Columbia Records release “Christmas and The Beads Of Sweat” by Laura Nyro. The LP was co-produced by Felix Cavaliere and Arif Mardin. The record peaked at No. 51 on January 30th, 1971.

November 25th, 1971 Elektra Records release Carly Simon’s “Anticipation” on 45. The song was written by Carly Simon and produced by Paul Samwell-Smith at Morgan Studios in London. Drummer Andy Newmark is a featured player on the track. “Anticipation” peaked at No. 13 on February 12th, 1972.

November 25th, 1972 The Hollies lead singer Allan Clarke announces he’s leaving the group. Clarke rejoined The Hollies in July 1973.

November 25th, 1972 Elektra Records release “You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon on 45. The track was recorded in London at Trident Studios, the track features Klaus Voorman on bass, orchestration by Elton John’s arranger Paul Buckmaster and Mick Jagger on backing vocals. “You’re So Vain” was awarded a Gold Record for a million copies sold on January 8th, 1973 and peaked at No. 1 on January 6th, 1973.

November 25th, 1972 Carole King’s “Been To Caanan” enters the singles charts. Carole King wrote the song with Lou Adler producing. The record peaked at No. 24 on January 6th.

November 25th, 1972 Asylum Records release “For The Roses,” the fifth studio album by Joni Mitcherll. Mitchell produced the LP at A&M Studios in Hollywood. Musicians guesting on the sessions included James Burton, Tom Scott, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Wilton Felder, Russ Kunkel and others. The LP peaked at No. 11 on February 3rd, 1973.

November 25th, 1974 Blue Sky Records release “John Dawson Winter III,” the seventh album by Johnny Winter. Sessions for the album included his brother Edgar on keyboards and Rick Derringer on guitar. Produced by Shelly Yakus, the record peaked at No. 78 on December 28th.

November 25th, 1976 The Band’s The Last Waltz concert is staged at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom. The show was filmed with director Martin Scorsese, recorded and released as a double album on Capitol Records. The show was advertised as The Band’s farewell concert appearance. Joining The Band onstage were Paul Butterfield, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood, Bobby Charles, Neil Young and The Staple Singers.

November 25th, 1978 Playing The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler is hit in the face with a bottle thrown from the audience. The band leaves the stage and the show is canceled.

November 25th, 1978 Eddie Money “You Really Got A Hold On Me” enters the singles charts. Produced by Bruce Botnick, the Smokey Robinson cover peaked at No. 72 on January 6th.

November 25th, 1984 Band Aid, an all-star cast of British artists that included Paul Young, Sting, Phil Collins, members of U2 and others, record “Do They Know Its Christmas?” at SARM West Studios in London with Midge Ure and Trevor Horn co-producing. Co-written by Bob Geldolf and Midge Ure, the single quickly became a best seller and raised millions for famine relief in Ethiopia.

November 25th, 2002 Columbia Records release “The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975.” The collection is a twenty-two-track audio document of Dylan songs played onstage during the Rolling Thunder Review Tour of the US.

Miscellaneous November

November 1957 Liberty Records release “Twenty Flight Rock” by Eddie Cochran on 45. Originally performed by Cochran in the comedy film The Girl Can’t Help It in July 1956 at Gold Star Studios, with Connie Smith on the bull fiddle and Jerry Capehart thumping a soup carton. Co-written by Eddie Cochran and Ned Fairchild, Cochran re-recorded the song sometime between May to August 1957 with producer Simon Jackson. This later version was the one Liberty chose to release.

November 1958 Capitol Records release “Record Date,” the third album by Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps.

November 1962 Amy Records release “Noise” backed with “Cards Of Love,” the second single credited to Tico, a pseudonym for Paul Simon. Both songs were written and produced by band member Paul Simon, credited to Jerry Landis.

November 1964 Pickwick City Records release “The Ostrich” backed with “Sneaky Pete,” a one-off single by Lou Reed under the name The Primitives. The song was co-written by Jerry Pellegrino under the name Jerry Vance, Jimmie Sims, Lou Reed and Philiip Teitelbaum under the name Terry Philips. Future Velvet Underground bandmates Reed and John Cale play on the track. The record was pressed up to distribute to DJ’s but no stock copies for sale are known to exist.

November 1966 ARA Records out of Texas release “If You Really Want Me To Stay” backed with “Good Time Trippin’,” the second single by The Warlocks. The band featured brothers Rocky and Dusty Hill. The band would change their name to American Blues when drummer Frank Beard joined. Beard and Dusty Hill would later join Billy Gibbons in ZZ Top.

November 1968 Immediate Records release “Ars Longa Vita Brevis,” the second album by The Nice. Guitarist Davy O’List quit during the sessions for the album. The record was completed as a trio, keyboardist Keith Emerson, Bassist Lee Jackson and drummer Brian Davison.

November 1968 Transatlantic Record release “Sweet Child,” the second album by British folk group Pentangle. The first disc in the set was recorded live, the second was a studio set. The album came out in America in February 1969. The Nice back Harper on the song “Hell’s Angels.”

November 1969 CBS Records in Britain release the “Flat Baroque And Berserk” LP by Roy Harper. The album was recorded at Les Cousins folk club in London and at EMI Studios in London with producer Peter Jenner. The record peaked at No. 20 in Britain.

November 1969 Immediate Records in England release the second studio album by Humble Pie “Town And Country.” Recorded at Olympic Studios in London with producer Andy Johns, all four members of the band, Peter Frampton, Steve Marriot, Greg Ridley and Jerry Shirley contributed solo compositions to the album.

November 1972 United Artists Records release “Ege Bamyasi,” the third studio album by Can.

November 1973 Island Records in Britain release “Here Come The Warm Jets,” the first solo album by original Roxy Music keyboardist Brian Eno. Recorded in twelve days at Majestic Studios in London during September 1973 by recording engineer Derek Chandler, the album was mixed at Air and Olympic Studios by Eno and engineer Chris Thomas. Guesting on the record were Robert Fripp, Chris Spedding and many of Eno’s former band mates in Roxy. The record came out in January in the US.

November 1975 Island Records in Britain release “Pour Down Like Silver” by Richard and Linda Thompson. Featuring Richard Thompson’s former Fairport Convention band mates on the session, “Pour Down Like Silver” was recorded during the summer at Sound Techniques Studios in London, with John Wood engineering.

November 1977 Mountain Records prepare a final single by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band “No Complaints Department” for release. Co-written by Alex Harvey and Jimmy Grimes, the record was pulled from being issued. Grimes had been a member of Harvey’s group Alex Harvey’s Big Soul Band in the 1960’s.

November 1978 Warner Brothers Records release “Keep Your Hands On The Wheel (Said Marie To The Driver)” backed with “Giant Footsteps” by Roy Wood on 45. “Keep Your Hands On The Wheel (Said Marie To The Driver)” was from the LP On The Road Again,” produced and written by Wood and features Led zeppelin’s John Bonham on drums. Roy Wood, Annie Haslam and drummer Dave Donovan co-wrote the Non-LP B-side.

November 1983 Virgin Records in Britain release “Thanks For Christmas” by The Three Wise Men on 45. The band is actually XTC under a different name. Credited to Kaspar, Melchior and Balthazar, presumably XTC’s Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding and Dave Gregory. The song was co-produced by the band and David Lord at Crescent Studios in Bath, Somerset, England.