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Rock and Roll Birthdays

Today's Rock and Roll Birthdays

September 17th

September 17th Birthday, An American icon, legend of Americana roots music and a huge influence on generations of musicians with his original hard-core honky tonk ballads, Hank Williams, born Hiram King Williams in 1923 in Butler County, Alabama. Williams died on January 1st, 1953 at the age of 29.

September 17th Birthday, Rockabilly bass player for Elvis, Bill Black, born in 1926 in Memphis, Tennessee. Black passed away on October 21st, 1965 at the age of 39.

September 17th Birthday, Social and literary icon of the 1960’s and 1970’s, Ken Kesey, born in 1935 in La Junta, Colorado. Kesey passed away on November 10th, 2001 at the age of 66.

September 17th Birthday, Singer, songwriter, the leader of The Five Man Electrical Band and solo artist Les Emmerson, born in 1944. Emmerson died on December 10th, 2021 in Ottawa at the age of 77.

September 17th Birthday, Lead singer of San Francisco’s satirical glam band, The Tubes, Fee Waybill, born John Waldo Waybill in 1950 in Omaha, Nebraska.

September 17th Birthday, King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor, born in Pearl, Mississippi in 1961.

Today In Rock and Roll History

September 17th

September 17th, 1962 Dot Records release Arthur Alexander’s “Anna (Go To Him)” on 45. Produced by Noah Ball, the track features Floyd Cramer on piano. “Anna (Got To Him)” was written by Alexander and peaked at No. 68 on November 24th.

September 17th, 1967 Appearing on CBS television’s Ed Sullivan Show, The Doors are asked to change the line “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher” in their hit “Light My Fire.” Lead singer Jim Morrison agrees, then sings the offending words anyway, leading to a lifetime ban from the show.

September 17th, 1967 Keith Moon of The Who rigs his bass drum to explode at the end of “My Generation” during the group’s appearance on CBS television’s Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. The resulting explosion damages Keith’s leg and causes permanent hearing damage to guitarist Pete Townshend.

September 17th, 1968 Columbia Records release “Season Of The Witch” by Al Kooper and Steve Stills on 45. Written by Donovan Leitch with Kooper arranging and producing the track, the single version was a different take from the one on the album “Super Sessions.”

September 17th, 1971 Bronze Records in Britain release “Live” by Colosseum, where it peaked at No. 17. In America, the double live album went to No. 192 on November 28th.

September 17th, 1973 Atlantic Records release “D’yer Maker” by Led Zeppelin on 45. The song was credited to the four members of the band with Jimmy Page producing. Recorded at Stargroves in East Woodhay, England, the record was a pastiche of a classic 1950’s doo-wop chord progression with a faux reggae beat. The title itself references the country of reggae’s origin, Jamaica. “D’yer Maker” was issued from the band’s “Houses Of The Holy” album. The single peaked at No. 16 on December 29th.

September 17th, 1973 A&M Records release “Top Of The World” by the Carpenters on 45. The song was co-written by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis. The record was co-produced by Richard and Karen Carpenter and Jack Daugherty. The single version of the song is a remixed version with a re-recorded lead vocal, different from the one on the Carpenters “A Song For You” LP. The record peaked at No. 1 on December 1st.

September 17th, 1973 Billy Joel records “Piano Man” with producer Michael Stewart. Initially released on October 30th, Columbia Records reissued the single several times with different edits, eventually whittling down a song that had been over five minutes long to around three minutes. The single was Billy Joel’s first top forty hit, peaking at No. 25 on March 30th, 1974 and was considered his signature song after his 1977 breakthrough with “The Stranger” LP.

September 17th, 1974 Janis Ian records “At Seventeen” with producer Brooks Arthur’s 914 Sound Recording Studios in Blauvelt, New York. Entering the charts on June 14th, 1975, the song won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Grammy nominations for Record and Song of the Year. The record peaked at No. 3 on September 13th, 1975.

September 17th, 1976 Portrait Records release “Stand Tall,” the debut solo single by former Guess Who singer Burton Cummings. Written by Cummings and produced by Richard Perry, the record peaked at No. 10 on January 8th, 1977.

September 17th, 1976 Polydor Records in Britain release the “Rotogravure” album by Ringo Starr. The record featured the session work of John Lennon, Peter Frampton, Eric Clapton, Harry Nilsson and Paul McCartney with Arif Mardin producing. The album was released in the US ten days later on Atlantic Records and peaked at No. 28 on November 13th.

September 17th, 1977 Chrysalis Records release “In City Dreams,” the fifth studio album by Robin Trower. The LP was produced by Don Davis at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida. The record peaked at No. 25 on November 26th.

September 17th, 1977 Capitol Records release “French Kiss,” the debut solo album by Bob Welch. The record was produced by John Carter Jr except for the song “Sentimental Lady,” co-produced by Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie. McVie sang on the song, Buckingham played guitar and Mick Fleetwood played drums. The LP peaked at No. 12 on January 14th.

September 17th, 1979 Columbia Records release “Unleashed In The East,” a live album by Judas Priest. The record was co-produced by Tom Allom and Judas Priest, recorded February 10th and 15th at two shows in Tokyo, Japan. “Unleashed In The East” peaked at No. 70 on November 10th.

September 17th, 1982 The Pretenders release “Back On The Chain Gang” backed with “My City Was Gone” as a stand-alone single. Both songs were written by singer and guitarist Crissie Hynde. Recorded after the passing of two original band members, James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon, the band recruited Billy Bremner from Rockpile on guitar and Big Country bassist Tony Butler for the session with producer Chris Thomas. The record peaked at No. 5 on March 19th, 1983.

September 17th, 1991 Epic Associated Records release “No More Tears,” the sixth studio album by Ozzy Osbourne. The record peaked at No. 7 on October 5th. The LP featured the hits “No More Tears,” “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” “Time After Time,” “Road to Nowhere” and “Mr. Tinkertrain.”

September 17th, 1991 Geffen Records release two Guns and Roses albums on the same day, “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II.” The first volume stayed on the charts for one hundred and eighth weeks and peaked at No. 1 on October 5th, while the second record charted for 106 weeks and peaked at No. 1 on October 5th.

September 17th, 1997 Fleetwood Mac begin their first tour in twenty years at the Meadows Music Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut.

September 17th, 2013 Ultra Records release “Out Of Sight” by The Bloody Beatroots featuring Paul McCartney and Youth on 45. The Bloody Beetroots moniker is the stage name of musician and record producer Bob Cornelius Rifo.

Miscellaneous September

September 1967 CBS Records in Britain release “Love Chronicles,” the first album by Al Stewart. The LP was produced by Roy Guest. Songs on the record were orchestrated by Alexander Faris. “Love Chronicles” was issued in the US in September.

September 1973, RCA Records in Britain release “The Tra La La Days Are Over” by Neil Sedaka. Recorded at Strawberry Studios in the Spring with Eric Stewart producing and 10cc as the backing band, the LP produced “Love Will Keep Us Together.” The song, co-written by Sedaka with Howard Greenfield, would become a huge hit for The Captain And Tennille in 1976.

September 1975 A&M Records release “White Punks On Dope” by the Tubes on 45. The song was co-written by Bill Spooner, Roger Steen and Michael Evans and produced by Al Kooper from the band’s eponymous first album. The single was edited to omit the curse word in the lyrics.