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Rock and Roll Birthdays

Today's Rock and Roll Birthdays

February 12th

February 12th Birthday, The Doors keyboardist and songwriter Ray Manzarek, born in 1939 in Chicago, Illinois. He passed away on May 20th, 2013 at the age of 74.

February 12th Birthday, Elephants Memory drummer Rick Frank, born in New York City in 1942.

February 12th Birthday, Three Dog Night bassist Joe Schermie, born Joseph Edward Schermetzler in 1948 in Madison, Wisconsin. He died on March 26th, 2002 of a heart attack.

February 12th Birthday, Guitarist Stanley Knight from Black Oak Arkansas, born in 1949 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He died on February 16th, 2013 at the age of 64.

February 12th Birthday, Genesis guitarist and solo artist Steve Hackett, born in 1950 in Pimlico, London, England.

February 12th Birthday, Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan singer and solo artist, Michael McDonald born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1952.

February 12th Birthday, Bassist Bill Laswell, born William Otis Laswell in Salem, Illinois in 1955.

February 12th Birthday, Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson, born in Clarkston, Scotland in 1956.

February 12th Birthday, Weather Report drummer and session man Omar Hakim. Born in New York City in 1959.

Today In Rock and Roll History

February 12th

February 12th, 1958 Argo Records pick up “Book Of Love” by The Monotones for national distribution. The record came out on the independent Mascot Records label out of New York City in December. Co-written by three members of the group, Warren Davis, George Malone and Charles Patrick, the single reached No. 5 on April 21st.

February 12th, 1960 Chuck Berry records “I Got To Find My Baby” at Chess Studios in Chicago with Leonard and Phil Chess producing. Written by Peter Joe Clayton, playing with Berry on the session were Matthew Murphy on guitar, Ellis “Lafayette” Leake on piano, two tenor saxophones including Leroy C. Davis, Reggie Boyd on electric bass and Odie Payne on drums. Chess Records released the song on 45 with “Mad Lad” on the B-side on August 8th, 1960.

February 12th, 1965 Herman’s Hermits release “Silhouettes” on 45 in Britain. The single would come out in March in the US and enter the singles charts in April. Originally released by The Rays in 1957, co-written and produced by Bob Crewe and Frank Slay, who were co-owners of the small Philadelphia record label XYZ. The Herman’s Hermits cover was produced by Micki Most and went to No. 5 on May 15th.

February 12th, 1965 Eighteen-year-old Donovan Leitch appears on the UK music show Ready Steady Go! performing his debut single “Catch The Wind.”

February 12th, 1966 The Who record “Substitute” at London’s Olympic Studios. The first of three different versions of the track was released in Britain on March 4th. The same day, drummer Keith Moon marries model Kim Lerrigan. Self-produced by The Who, the riff used in the song’s verses was derived from a November 1965 single by Robb Storme and The Whispers called “Where Is My Girl,” a fact later acknowledged by “Substitute” songwriter Pete Townshend. Released in America on April 5th, the US release was a completely different recording than the UK release. Lyrics were changed and the guitar solos were altered.

February 12th, 1971 Rare Earth Records release “Love Makes The World Go Round” by Kiki Dee on 45. The song was written by Deon Jackson and the single was produced by Duke Browner. Jackson had a hit with the song himself in 1965. The Kiki Dee record entered the singles charts in March and peaked at No. 87 on April 10th.

February 12th, 1971 Harvest Records in Britain release “Strange Kind Of Woman” by Deep Purple on 45. Co-written by the five members of the band, the single reached No. 8 in Britain. In America, Warner Brothers Records released the track on 45 in May.

February 12th, 1971 Paul Revere and The Raiders release “Indian Reservation (The Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian)” on 45. The song was written by John D. Loudermilk and had been a US No. 20 hit country singer Don Fardon in 1968. The Raiders’ version entered the charts in April hit No. 1 on July 24th and earned a Gold Record for over a million copies sold.

February 12th, 1972 “Into The Purple Valley,” the second solo album by Ry Cooder, enters the album charts. Among the many session players on the record were Van Dyke Parks on keyboards and singer Gloria Jones. Co-produced by Lenny Waronker and Jim Dickinson, the LP peaked at No. 113 on March 11th.

February 12th, 1972 Avco Embassy Records release “Betcha By Golly Wow” by The Stylistics Featuring Russell Thompkins Jr. on 45. Co-written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed, the song was originally recorded by Connie Stevens for Bell Records in 1970. The Stylistics version went to No. 3 May 6th.

February 12th, 1972 Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” hits No. 1 in the US.

February 12th, 1972 “Step Out” by the Mamas & The Papas enters the singles charts. The song was written and produced by John Phillips. The band’s last hit single, “Step Out” charted for three weeks and peaked at No. 81 on February 26th.

February 12th, 1972 “Glory Bound” by The Grass Roots enters the singles charts. Co-written Daniel Walsh, Dennis Provisor, Michael Price and the record’s producer Steve Barri, “Glory Bound” reached No. 34 on March 25th.

February 12th, 1972 Capricorn Records release “Eat A Peach” by The Allman Brothers. Part live tracks and part studio recordings, group leader Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident in October while the LP was being recorded. The studio recordings were produced by Tom Dowd at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, while the live recordings dated to the band’s Fillmore East shows in 1971. The record peaked at No. 4 in America on April 29th.

February 12th, 1972 “No One To Depend On” by Santana enters the singles charts. The main melody of the song is taken from “Spanish Grease,” first recorded by Willie Bobo in 1965. “No One To Depend On” was co-written by Mike Carabello, Coke Escovedo and Gregg Rolie. The 45 version was edited to play more than two minutes shorter than the album version. The single peaked at No. 36 on March 25th.

February 12th, 1972 Island Records release “Eve” by Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi. Written by Jim Capaldi, the track was co-produced by Capaldi and Chris Blackwell during the “Oh How We Danced” LP sessions at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. The record peaked at No. 91 on April 29th.

February 12th, 1977 “Couldn’t Get It Right” by The Climax Blues Band enters the singles charts. The song was recorded for their eighth studio album “Gold Plated,” produced by Mike Vernon. The saxophonist Colin Cooper sang the baritone lead, with bassist Derek Holt, guitarist Pete Haycock and drummer John Cuffley singing harmony. “Couldn’t Get It Right” was credited collectively to the band. The song reached No. 3 on May 21st.

February 12th, 1977 “Spend Some Time” by Elvin Bishop featuring Mickey Thomas enters the singles charts following a December release on Capricorn Records. Original pressings of the single were credited solely to Elvin Bishop. Thomas’ profile would increase when he became the lead singer in Jefferson Starship in April 1979. “Spend Some Time” peaked at No. 92 on February 5th.

February 12th, 1977 “My Pearl” by Automatic Man enters the singles charts. Co-written by the band’s four members, Michael Shrieve, Todd Cochran (known as Bayette), Pat Thrall and Doni Harvey, the record charted for two weeks and peaked on February 19th at No. 97.

February 12th, 1977 “The First Cut Is The Deepest” by Rod Stewart enters the singles charts. The song was written by Cat Stevens and was a No. 18 hit in Britain for P. P. Arnold, in 1967. The Rod Stewart version was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama with producer Tom Dowd. Released from the album “A Night on the Town,” the record reached No. 21 on April 16th.

February 12th, 1977 The Kinks release the “Sleepwalker” LP, the seventeenth studio album by The Kinks, their first released by Arista Records. Bassist John Dalton quit the band during the recording sessions at Konk Studios in London with Ray Davies producing. Ex-Blodwyn Pig bassist Andy Pyle joined The Kinks and plays on one song on the “Sleepwalker” album. The record peaked at No. 21 on April 23rd.

February 12th, 1977 “Bite Your Lip (Get Up And Dance!)” by Elton John enters the singles charts. The song was co-written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The recording includes performances by The Gene Page Strings and The Cornerstone Institutional Baptist and Southern California Community choirs. The track was produced by Gus Dudgeon during the sessions for the double album “Blue Moves.” The record peaked at No. 28 on March 5th.

February 12th, 1980 Epic Records release “Train In Vain (Stand By Me)” by The Clash on 45. The song was co-written by Clash guitarists Mick Jones and Joe Strummer. The record was produced by Guy Stevens during The Clash’s “London Calling” album sessions. The single peaked at No. 23 on May 24th.

February 12th, 1981 Mercury Records release “Moving Pictures,” the eighth studio album by Rush. The LP was co-produced by Rush and Terry Brown at Le Studio in Morin Heights, Quebec, Canada in October and November 1980. The record charted at No. 3 in both Britain and the US, on March 28th.

February 12th, 1982 Virgin Records release “English Settlement” by British band XTC. The double album set was trimmed to a single disc for the American release. The LP went to No. 5 in Britain, where the record featured three UK hit singles, “Senses Working Overtime,” “Ball And Chain” and “No Thugs in Our House.”

February 12th, 1983 “I Don’t Care Anymore” by Phil Collins enters the singles charts on Atlantic Records following a January release. Written and produced by Collins from his second solo album “Hello! I Must Be Going,” the record peaked at No. 39 on March 26th.

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.