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Rock and Roll Birthdays

Today's Rock and Roll Birthdays

June 5th

June 5th Birthday, Friends Of Distinction vocalist Floyd Butler, born in 1937 in San Diego, California. Butler passed away on April 29th, 1990 of a heart attack at the age of 49.

June 5th Birthday, MC 5 bassist Michael Davis in Chico, California in 1943. He died on February 17th, 2012, aged 68.

June 5th Birthday, Avant-garde performance artist, musician and author Laurie Anderson, born Laura Phillips Anderson in 1947 in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

June 5th Birthday, Badfinger bassist, singer and songwriter Tom Evans, born in Liverpool, England in 1947. He died by suicide on November 19th, 1983 at the age of 36.

June 5th Birthday, Sly & The Family Stone guitarist Freddie Stone, born in 1947 in Vallejo, California.

June 5th Birthday, English session keyboardist Tommy Eyre, born in 1949. He played on records by Joe Cocker, John Martyn, Gary Moore, Michael Schenker, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Greg Lake, B.B. King, John Mayall, Ian Gillan, Gerry Rafferty, and Tracy Chapman. He died on May 23rd, 2001, of cancer, aged 51.

June 5th Birthday, Singer and actress Ellen Foley, born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1951.

June 5th Birthday, Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain, born Michael Henry McBrain in 1952 in Hackney, London, England.

June 5th Birthday, The Psychedelic Furs singer Richard Butler, born in 1956 in Kingston upon Thames, London, England.

Today In Rock and Roll History

June 5th

June 5th, 1956 Elvis Presley made his second appearance on Milton Berle's Texaco Star Theatre, where his hip swinging gyrations during his performance of "Hound Dog" provoked howls of outrage. TV critics panned him, The New York Times wrote 'Mr. Presley has no discernible singing ability', and the New York Herald Tribune called Elvis 'unspeakably untalented and vulgar'. Clearly, the rock and roll battle lines were drawn.

June 5th, 1961 Roy Orbison had his first US No. 1 hit with "Running Scared."

June 5th, 1964 Recorded in May at Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London, David Bowie releases "Liza Jane," his first single, on the British Vocalion Records Label. Credited to David Jones And The King Bees, David was seventeen years old. Despite promoting the single on British TV, and receiving good radio coverage, the single sold poorly and the band was subsequently dropped from the label.

June 5th, 1965 Philips Records release "Girl Come Running" by The 4 Seasons featuring The Sound Of Frankie Valli. The song was written by Bob Gaudio and the record’s producer Bob Crewe. The studio session was arranged by Charles Calello. The record spent nine weeks on the charts and peaked at No. 30 on July 17th.

June 5th, 1965 Johnny Rivers' Lou Adler produced version of the Willie Dixon song, "The Seventh Son," enters the US singles charts. First released in 1955 by Willie Mabon, Dixon wrote the lyrics based on Louisiana folklore which theorizes the seventh sister or seventh brother or the seventh child was born with good luck. Released in May, the Johnny Rivers version was a major hit when it peaked at No. 7 on July 3rd.

June 5th, 1965 Parrot Records release "What's New Pussycat" by Tom Jones on 45. Recorded as the theme for the Woody Allen movie, starring Allen, Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole and Ursula Andress, the song was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The record charted for twelve weeks and peaked at No. 3 on July 31st.

June 5th, 1965 Brunswick Records in the US release "No Pity (In The Naked City)" by Jackie Wilson. Wilson wrote the song with Alonzo Tucker and John Roberts. The studio session was produced by Nat Tarnapol and Dick Jacobs. "No Pity (In The Naked City)" entered the singles charts in July to start a ten week run, and peaked at No. 59 on August 14th.

June 5th, 1966 Paul Revere And The Raiders Featuring Mark Lindsay release "Hungry" on 45. Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, the record was produced by Terry Melcher for Columbia Records. The production is highlighted by complex three part bass tracks playing the songs' main riff, recorded by the Raiders' bassist Phil Volk. The record peaked at No. 6 on July 30th.

June 5th, 1969 RCA Records release "Laughing" by The Guess Who on 45. Written by band members Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings, the song was an international hit. The record went to No. 1 in Canada, made the Top Twenty in New Zealand and South Africa, and entered the US singles charts in July, peaking at No. 10 on August 23rd.

June 5th, 1970 Harvest Records release the self-titled debut album by Barclay James Harvest. The album came out in November in the US but didn’t chart.

June 5th, 1970 Regal Zonophone Records in Britain release “Home,” fifth studio Lp by Procol Harum. Released by A&M Records in July in the US, the album peaked at No. 34 on August 15th.

June 5th, 1971 Bearsville Records release "Runt: The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren." The album featured the singles "A Long Time, A Long Way To Go" and "Be Nice To Me."

June 5th, 1971 United Artists Records release "Mother Nature's Wine" by Denver, Colorado band Sugarloaf on 45. Written by Jerry Corbetta, David Riordan and John Collingwood Phillips, the record peaked at No. 88 on July 10th.

June 5th, 1971 "Brown Sugar" by The Rolling Stones is the No. 1 record in the US.

June 5th, 1971 Grand Funk Railroad broke The Beatles' box office record by selling out Shea Stadium in seventy-two hours. The concert grossed more than $300,000.

June 5th, 1971 James Taylor's version of "You've Got A Friend" enters the US singles charts on Warner Brothers Records. Written by Carole King and produced by Peter Asher, the record would become Taylor's only No. 1 hit in the US on July 31st. "You've Got A Friend" won Grammy Awards both for Taylor in the category for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Carole King for Song of the Year.

June 5th, 1973 Columbia Records issue "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" by the band Chicago on 45. The song was written by group bassist Peter Cetera and trombone player James Pankow, produced by Jim Guercio and recorded for their album Chicago VI. "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" reached No. 10 on August 18th.

June 5th, 1975 “Sister Golden Hair” by America enters the US singles charts on Warner Brothers Records. The song was written by America’s Gerry Beckley, who claimed the song was inspired by the writing of Jackson Browne. Produced by George Martin, “Sister Golden Hair” peaked at No. 1 on June 14th.

June 5th, 1976 Todd Rundgren's cover version of the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" enters the US singles charts on Bearsville Records. The track was issued from Rundgren's "Faithful" album, a mix of cover tunes and Rundgren originals. The single charted for eight weeks and peaked at No. 34 on July 10th.

June 5th, 1976 "Fool For The City" by Foghat entered the US singles charts on Bearsville Records. The song was written by group guitarist and singer Dave Peverett, the track served as the title track of Foghat’s fifth album. "Fool For The City" peaked at No. 45 on July 3rd.

June 5th, 1976 "Flaming Youth" by Kiss enters the US singles charts on Casablanca Records. The song was written by Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Gene Simmons, released from the band’s “Destroyer” album, produced by Bob Ezrin. The record peaked at No. 74 on June 19th.

June 5th, 1979 Columbia Records release "Getting Closer" by Paul McCartney's Wings on 45. Written by McCartney and issued from Wings' "Back To The Egg" album, the record peaked at No. 20 on July 28th.

June 5th, 1987 Among the acts featured at the fifth annual Prince's Trust Rock Gala at Wembley Arena in London are Ringo Starr, Elton John, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne.

June 5th, 1987 Parlophone Records in Britain and Capitol Records in the US release Paul McCartney's fourteenth studio Lp, "Flowers In The Dirt." Limited editions of the vinyl album and Compact Disc had special packaging and an extra music disc with the otherwise unavailable medley of The Beatles songs "PS I Love You and "Love Me Do", called "PS/Love Me Do." The album charted for fifty weeks and peaked at No. 21 on July 1st.

June 5th, 2012 Capitol Records release The Beach Boys' first album of all-new material since 1992, "That's Why God Made the Radio." The record entered the charts and peaked a week later at No. 3. Their span of albums stretched to forty-nine years and one week since "Surfin' U.S.A." first charted in 1963.