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Rock and Roll Birthdays

Today's Rock and Roll Birthdays

February 23rd

February 23rd Birthday, Blues guitarist, singer and solo artist Johnny Winter, born in 1944 in Beaumont, Texas. Winter died on July 16th, 2014 at the age of 70.

February 23rd Birthday, Guitarist Mike Maxfield from Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, born in 1944 in Manchester, England.

February 23rd Birthday, Pedal steel and slide guitarist on legendary Buffalo Springfield sessions and later in Poco, Rusty Young, born in 1946 in Long Beach, California. He died on April 14th, 2021, aged 75.

February 23rd Birthday, Sweet bassist and vocalist Steve Priest, born in Hayes, Middlesex, England in 1948. He died on June 4th, 2020, aged 72.

February 23rd Birthday, Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford, born in Winchester, Massachusetts in 1952.

February 23rd Birthday, Keyboardist, songwriter and solo artist Howard Jones, born John Howard Jones in 1955 in South Hampton, Hampshire, England.

February 23rd Birthday, Japan singer and solo artist David Sylvian, born David Alan Batt in Beckenham, England in 1958.

February 23rd Birthday, Queensryche guitarist Michael Wilton, born in 1962 in San Francisco, California.

Today In Rock and Roll History

February 23rd

February 23rd, 1957 Specialty Records release Larry Williams’ debut single, a cover version of Lloyd Price’s “Just Because” on 45. Price’s own version of the song was issued on the KRC Records label in January then was picked up for national distribution by ABC-Paramount Records, entering the charts on the same day the Larry Williams’ cover version was issued. Williams and Price had been label mates on Specialty until Price left in late 1956. Other than the musical bridge, the music for “Just Because” is almost identical to that of “A Little Word” by New Orleans duo Shirley and Lee. “A Little Word” was co-written by Leonard Lee, Guiseppe Verdi and Francesco Marie Piave.

February 23rd, 1964 The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show for the third consecutive week.

February 23rd, 1965 The Beatles begin filming their second movie Help! in the Bahamas.

February 23rd, 1967 The Beatles record the basic track of “Lovely Rita” at EMI Studios in London with producer George Martin. All four Beatles performed together with Paul McCartney on piano, George Harrison and John Lennon on acoustic guitars and Ringo Starr on drums. Take eight was mixed down with Paul then adding bass. A paper and comb mock brass section was added by all four. George Martin added a piano solo on March 21st.

February 23rd, 1967 Arctic Records release “Girl I Love You” backed with “Good-bye,” the first single by The Temptones on 45. Both songs were co-written by bandmates Barry Glaser and seventeen-year-old Daryl Hall, credited to his given name Daryl Hohl.

February 23rd, 1967 Columbia Records release “Don’t You Care” by The Buckinghams on 45. The song was co-written by producer Jim Guercio with Gary Biesber and Jim Holvay. The track was recorded at Columbia Studios in New York City and peaked at No. 6 on May 13th.

February 23rd, 1968 The posthumous “The Dock Of The Bay” album by Otis Redding is released by Atlantic Records, his sixth studio LP. Produced by Steve Cropper, the album went to No. 4 on April 13th.

February 23rd, 1968 Deram Records in Britain release “Lovely City (When Do You Laugh?)” by Cat Stevens on 45. The song was written by Stevens and co-produced by he and Noel Walker.

February 23rd, 1968 Island Records in Britain release “No Face, No Name And No Number” by Traffic on 45. The song was co-written by Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi. The track was produced by Jimmy Miller.

February 23rd, 1969 “(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice” by Amen Corner was at No. 1 on the UK singles chart.

February 23rd, 1970 Brother Records release “Add Some Music To Your Day” by The Beach Boys on 45. Co-written by Brian Wilson, Joe Knott and Mike Love, the record spent five weeks on the charts, peaking at No. 64 on April 4th.

February 23rd, 1973 Island Record in Britain release “Pyjamarama” by Roxy Music on 45. The song was written by Bryan Ferry and co-produced by John Anthony and the band, issued as a non-LP single prior to the release of the band’s second album “For Your Pleasure.”

February 23rd, 1973 Columbia Records release “Blinded By The Light” by Bruce Springsteen on 45. Co-produced by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos, the song was written when Springsteen was challenged by Columbia Records to write a hit single for his debut album “Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ. While Manfred Mann’s Earth Band would have a No. 1 single in America with the song, Springsteen’s original didn’t chart.

February 23rd, 1974 RCA Records release “Rock The Boat” by The Hues Corporation on 45. Written by Wally Holmes, the lead singer on the song was Fleming Williams, who left the group after recording the track. Joe Sample played piano. Larry Carlton played guitar and Wilton Felder was on bass. The record entered the singles charts on May 23rd and peaked at No. 1 on July 6th.

February 23rd, 1974 ABC Records release “I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song” by Jim Croce on 45. The song was written by Jim Croce and the track was co-produced by Terry Cashman and Tommy West. Released after Croce’s fatal plane crash in 1973, the record entered the charts in March and peaked at No. 9 on April 27th, becoming his fifth and final Top Ten hit.

February 23rd, 1974 Suzi Quatro had the No. 1 single in Britain with “Devil’s Gate Drive.”

February 23rd, 1974 Warner Brothers Records release “Might Just Take Your Life” by Deep Purple as the follow up to their hit “Smoke On The Water.” By then the band had shuffled its lineup and now included bassist Glen Hughes and singer David Coverdale, who co-wrote the song with Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord and Ian Paice. The record entered the singles charts on March 23rd and peaked at No. 91 on March 30th.

February 23rd, 1974 “Let It Ride” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive enters the singles charts. Produced by Randy Bachman and co-written by Bachman and Fred Turner, “Let It Ride” peaked at No. 14 on April 27th. In Canada, the record went to No. 3.

February 23rd, 1979 The British release of Keith Richards’ debut solo single “Run Rudolph Run.” Produced and arranged by Richards, the track features both Richards and Ron Wood on guitar, Charlie Watts on drums and original Rolling Stones pianist Ian Stewart. The 45 had been issued first in December 1978 in America on the Rolling Stones Records label. The track was a remake of the Chuck Berry hit from 1958, co-written by Marvin Brody and Johnny Marks.

February 23rd, 1980 Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” goes to No. 1 on the US singles charts.

February 23rd, 1980 “Fire Lake” by Bob Seger enters the singles charts. Credited to Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band, the backing band on the track was the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Eagles members Glenn Frey, Don Henly and Timothy B. Schmit sing harmony vocals. Written by Bob Seger, the record peaked at No. 6 on May 3rd.

February 23rd, 1999 “Live At Fillmore East” by Jimi Hendrix is released. The album documents Hendrix’s live performances with the Band of Gypsys at the Fillmore East on December 31st, 1969 and January 1st, 1970. The record peaked at No. 65 on March 13th.

February 23rd, 2004 The George Harrison box set “The Dark Horse Years 1976-1992” is released. The set covers Harrison’s album output from the “33 1/3” album through “Cloud Nine” with a SACD Mix and bonus tracks.

Miscellaneous February

February 1957 Gale Records release “Chickee Wah Wah” by Bobby Marchan on 45. The song was co-written by Huey “Piano” Smith and John Vincent. Smith played piano on the track. Marchan was the lead singer in Smith’s band Huey “Piano” Smith and The Clowns, a popular live attraction in New Orleans in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

February 1964 Polydor Records in Britain release “I Just Wanna Make Love To You” backed with “Let The Good Times Roll,” the first single by Scottish singer Alex Harvey and His Soul Band. Harvey wrote the A-side lyrics, reworking the Willie Dixon song. The flip side was penned by Leonard Lee, a cover version of the Shirley and Lee song from 1961.

February 1968 Lee Hazelwood’s LHI Records release “Safe As Home” by The International Submarine Band. Led by twenty-one-year-old Gram Parsons, the LP was recorded at Western Sound (Studio B) in Hollywood with producer Suzi Jane Hokom. Parsons had accepted the offer to join The Byrds before the album was released.

February 1973 Harvest Records release “Lifemask,” the sixth album by Roy Harper. Produced by Peter Jenner at Abbey Road Studios in London, Jimmy Page and Nice drummer Brian Davidson were among the studio musicians on the record.

February 1973 John Martyn’s “Solid Air” album is released. Recording began in July 1972 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea with producer John Wood. Further sessions took place in September and recording was completed by December 9th, 1972.

February 1974 A&M Records release “When The Morning Comes” by Hoyt Axton on 45. Written by Axton who co-produced the track with Allan McDougall, the song features Linda Ronstadt on backing vocals.

February 1975 Warner Brothers Records release “Rock The Nation,” the debut single from Montrose. Co-produced by the band and Ted Templeman, the band included lead vocalist Sammy Hagar, guitarist Ronnie Montrose, Bill Church on bass and Denny Carmassi on drums.

February 1976 RCA/Equinox Records release “Jamaica Farewell” by California Music on 45. The traditional song was co-credited to Terry Melcher, Curt Boettcher and Gary Usher. Usher and Melcher were in the group along with Beach Boy Bruce Johnston.

February 1977 DEVO release their first single on their own record label, Booji Boy Records. “Mongoloid” backed with “Jocko Homo” was co-credited and produced by the band. Both songs would be rerecorded for the group’s first LP “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO!” in 1978.

February 1978 Columbia Records release “Godzilla” by Blue Öyster Cult on 45. The song was written by Cult guitarist Donald Roeser from Blue Öyster Cult’s fifth album “Spectres.” The record was co-produced by the band, Murray Krugman, Sandy Pearlman and David Lucas.

February 1980 CBS Records in Ireland release “Another Day” backed with “Twilight” by U2 on 45. The group co-wrote the LP collectively and co-produced the disc with Chas De Walley.

February 1980 Virgin Records in the US release the first stateside single by XTC. “Ten Feet Tall” was written by bassist Colin Moulding and produced by Phil Wainman, While the label copy states the song is from the band’s “Drums And Wires” LP, the version issued on the 45 in not the same as the one on the album.

February 1987 Legacy Records in Britain release “Staring Up” by Roy Wood. The LP was written produced and arranged by Roy Wood, playing and singing all the instruments and vocals himself.