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Rock and Roll Birthdays

Today's Rock and Roll Birthdays

February 10th

February 10th Birthday, The Ventures guitarist Don Wilson born in 1933 in Tacoma, Washington. Wilson passed away January 22nd, 2022 of natural causes at the age of 88.

February 10th Birthday, R&B singer Roberta Flack, born in 1937 in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

February 10th Birthday, Singer Jimmy Merchant, second tenor in Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers, born in New York City in 1940.

February 10th Birthday, The Stone Poneys guitarist, singer and songwriter Kenny Edwards, born in 1946. Edwards died on August 18th, 2010, after battles with cancer and a blood disorder.

February 10th Birthday, Bassist Chris Ethridge, a founding member of The Flying Burrito Brothers, born in Meridian, Mississippi in 1947. Etheridge passed away on April 23rd, 2012 at the age of 65.

February 10th Birthday, Drummer Nigel Olsson from The Elton John Band, born in Wallasey, Cheshire, England in 1949.

February 10th Birthday, Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, born in Castro Valley, California in 1962. On September 27th, 1986, Burton died when the band’s tour bus overturned in rural southern Sweden, aged 24.

Today In Rock and Roll History

February 10th

February 10th, 1956 Little Richard records “Long Tall Sally” at J&M Studios in New Orleans with producer Robert Blackwell. Co-written by Richard, Blackwell and Enotris Johnson, the record was released on March 17th. The single would be his highest charting record, hitting No. 6 on the Pop charts and No. 1 R&B, the first of Richard’s three US Top Ten hits.

February 10th, 1962 Monument Records release Roy Orbison’s “Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)” on 45. The song was written by American songwriter, singer and dancer Cindy Walker and the record was produced by Fred Foster. Boots Randolph played saxophone on the session. The record peaked at No. 4 on March 31st.

February 10th, 1964 Columbia Records release “The Times They Are A-Changin,’” the third studio album by Bob Dylan. The album was recorded August 6th through October 31st, 1963, at Columbia Studio A in New York City with producer Tom Wilson. It was the first Bob Dylan album to feature only Dylan originals. “The Times They Are A-Changin’” peaked at No. 20 on April 18th.

February 10th, 1964 RCA Victor Records release “Kissin’ Cousins” backed with “It Hurts Me” by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires on 45. Recording sessions for the Kissin’ Cousins movie soundtrack album took place at RCA Studio B in Nashville on May 26th and 27th and again September 28th and 39th, 1963. The song was co-written by Fred Wise and Randy Starr. “Kissin’ Cousins” peaked at No. 12 on March 21st.

February 10th, 1967 Parlophone Records in Britain release “On A Carousel” by The Hollies on 45. The single came out in America three weeks later, on March 4th on Imperial Records. Co-written by band mates Graham Nash, Allan Clarke and Tony Hicks, the track was recorded January 11th and 12th at EMI Studios in London with producer Ron Richards. Reaching No. 4 in Britain, No. 7 in Canada and No. 11 in America, it was the first Hollies single to feature Graham Nash on lead vocals, although only on the first few lines.

February 10th, 1967 Orchestral overdubs were recorded for The Beatles’ track “A Day In The Life” at EMI Studios in London with producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick. The session was filmed and the members of the orchestra were given hats and funny noses to wear during the taping. The orchestra was conducted by Paul McCartney.

February 10th, 1968 Laurie Records release “I Say Love” by The Royal Guardsmen on 45. The song was co-written by Barry Winslow and Guardsmen keyboardist Billy Taylor. The record, produced by Gernhard Enterprises, charted for four weeks and peaked at No. 72 on March 2nd.

February 10th, 1969 Capitol Records release “20/20” by The Beach Boys. The five members of the band are listed as co-producers, at a time when Brian Wilson began to distance himself from the group recording sessions. While Brian Wilson receives five writing or co-writing credits on the album, they were all written and recorded before the “20/20” sessions. The shift did allow for the emergence of Carl and Dennis Wilson as record producers. The LP peaked at No. 68 on April 12th.

February 10th, 1971 Carole King’s “Tapestry” album is released. The album was recorded in Studio B at A&M Recording Studios, the previous month. Several of the musicians on the LP worked simultaneously on James Taylor’s “Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon” album. “Tapestry” received Grammys for Album of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Record of the Year for “It’s Too Late,” and Song of the Year for “You’ve Got a Friend.” “Tapestry” was the No. 1 record in the country for fifteen consecutive weeks.

February 10th, 1973 ABC Records release “The Best Of The James Gang Featuring Joe Walsh.” The album peaked at No. 79 on April 7th.

February 10th, 1973 “Lost Horizon” by Shawn Phillips enters the singles charts following a January release on A&M Records. Co-written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and produced by Bacharach, the song served as the title track from the film Lost Horizon. The record charted for six weeks and peaked at No. 63 on March 10th.

February 10th, 1973 Elton John had his first British No. 1 album when “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player” started a six-week run at the top of the charts.

February 10th, 1973 Columbia Records release “Birds Of Fire,” the second album by Mahavishnu Orchestra. The album was recorded at CBS Studios, New York and at Trident Studios, London, self-produced by the band and co-engineered by Ken Scott and Jim Green. The record peaked at No. 15 on April 7th.

February 10th, 1977 The Clash began recording sessions in London for their first album. The LP was recorded and mixed to completion in three weeks at CBS Studio 3, costing just £4000 British pounds to produce.

February 10th, 1978 A&M Records release “Fooling Yourself” by Styx on 45. The second single released from the band’s self-produced “The Grand Illusion” album, “Fooling Yourself” was written by guitarist Tommy Shaw. The 45 version removed the Dennis DeYoung synthesizer intro present on the album version of the song. The record peaked at No. 29 on April 22nd.

February 10th, 1978 EMI Records release “Spread Your Wings” by Queen on 45 in Britain. The song was written by group bassist John Deacon. The track was not released as a single in North America until it was issued as the B-side of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” on December 7th, 1979. “Spread Your Wings” peaked at No. 34 in Britain.

February 10th, 1978 Virgin Records in Britain release “Statue Of Liberty” backed with “Hang Onto The Night,” the second single by XTC. “Statue Of Liberty” was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. XTC promoted the song with an appearance on BBC2 television show The Old Grey Whistle Test. Both songs were written by Andy Partridge and produced by John Leckie.

February 10th, 1978 Warner Brothers Records release the self-titled debut album by Van Halen. Produced by Ted Templeman at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood from August through October 1977, the album spent one hundred and seventy-three weeks on the charts and reached No. 19 on May 20th.

February 10th, 1978 Warner Brothers Records release the double-album set “Waiting For Columbus” by Little Feat. The album was recorded during four shows at the Rainbow Theatre in London on August 1st through the 4thand three shows in George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium on August 8th, 9th and 10th in Washington, DC. The album peaked at No. 18 on April 29th.

February 10th, 1979 “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” by Rod Stewart is the No. 1 record in the US.

February 10th, 1979 Epic Records release “At Budokan” by Cheap Trick. Previously available as an import from Japan, where the band was recorded live in Tokyo on April 28thand 30th, 1978. The album peaked at No. 4 on July 14thand featured two hit singles, “I Want You to Want Me” and “Ain’t That A Shame.”

February 10th, 1979 “Precious Love” by former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Bob Welch, enters the singles charts following a January release on Capitol Records. Written by Bob Welch, the record spent fifteen weeks on the charts. Produced by British songwriter John Carter, “Precious Love” peaked at No. 19 on April 28th.

February 10th, 1979 “I’ll Supply The Love” by Toto enters the singles charts following a January release on Columbia Records. Written by group keyboardist David Paich, the track was self-produced by the band and peaked at No. 45 on March 31st.

February 10th, 1979 “Just One Look” by Linda Ronstadt enters the singles charts. A 1963 hit for Doris Troy, the song was co-written by Gregory Carroll and Doris Payne, an early stage name Troy was using. The Linda Ronstadt version was produced by Peter Asher and peaked at No. 44 on March 17th.

February 10th, 1979 “Big Shot” by Billy Joel enters the singles charts. Written by Billy Joel, “Big Shot” was the second single released from his 1978 album “52ndStreet.” The track was recorded at A&R Recording Studios in New York City, with producer Phil Ramone. The single went to No. 13 in Canada and No. 14 on March 24th in the US.

February 10th, 1986 Highlights from John Lennon’s 1972 children’s charity live performance, The One To One Concert is released by Capitol Records as John Lennon “Live In New York.” The record peaked at No. 41 on April 5th.

February 10th, 1986 Modern Records release “I Can’t Wait” by Stevie Nicks on 45. The song was co-written by Nicks, Rick Nowels and Eric Pressly. Co-produced by Nowels and George Black from the album “Rock A Little,” the single peaked at No. 16 on April 12th.

February 10th, 1990 “Almost Hear You Sigh” by The Rolling Stones enters the singles charts. The song was co-written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Steve Jordan, recorded for the band’s Chris Kimsey produced “Steel Wheels” LP. The record peaked at No. 50 on March 10th.

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.