Wax Museum show #116 UFO Rock and Roll Show 2021 pt1

Rock and Roll Birthdays

Today's Rock and Roll Birthdays

September 20th

September 20th Birthday, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band guitarist Michael Oldroyd, professionally known as Mick Rogers, born in Dovercourt, Essex, United Kingdom in 1946.

September 20th Birthday, Twin brothers, drummer John Panozzo and bassist Chuck Panozzo from Styx born in Chicago, Illinois in 1948. John Panozzo died on July 19th, 1996 at the age of 47.

September 20th Birthday, Doobie Brothers drummer Chet McCracken, born in Seattle, Washington in 1952. He died on February 12th, 2022 at the age of 75.

September 20th Birthday, Thompson Twins singer, songwriter Alannah Currie, born in 1957 in Auckland, New Zealand.

September 20th Birthday, Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, born Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt in 1966 in Praia da Vitória, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.

Today In Rock and Roll History

September 20th

September 20th, 1956 Capitol Records release “Bluejean Bop” by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps on 45. Vincent co-wrote the song with Hal Levy. The track was recorded in Nashville on June 26th with producer Ken Nelson.

September 20th, 1964 The Beatles concluded their US tour with a charity show for The United Cerebral Palsy Charity Fund at The Paramount Theatre on Broadway in NYC.
September 20th, 1964 Red Bird Records release The Shangri-Las’ “Leader Of The Pack” on 45. The track was recorded at Ultrasonic Sound Studio, located on the second floor of a Manhattan hotel with producer George “Shadow” Morton, who co-wrote the song with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. The song hit No. 1 on November 28th.

September 20th, 1968 Parlophone Records in Britain release “Wang Dang Doodle” backed with “The Stumble,” the second single by Welsh band Love Sculpture. The A-side was a cover of the Willie Dixon blues standard and the B-side, a Freddie King/Sonny Thompson co-write. The 45 was co-produced by Malcolm Jones and Kingsley Ward.

September 20th, 1969 The 5th Dimension’s cover of the Laura Nyro song “Wedding Bell Blues” enters the singles charts. Originally issued as a single from the debut Nyro album, producer Bones Howe suggested The 5th Dimension record the song, having had a hit with Nyro’s “Stoned Soul Picnic” the previous May. The single peaked at No. 1 on November 8th, held the top spot for three weeks, went Top Five in Canada and Top Twenty in Britain.

September 20th, 1969 Atlantic Records release an edited version of “Suite Judy Blue Eyes” by Crosby, Stills and Nash on 45. Co-produced by the trio and written by Stephen Stills about the imminent breakup of his relationship with singer Judy Collins, known for her piercing blue eyes. The record’s B-side was “Long Time Gone,” written by David Crosby, who sang lead vocal on the song. The single peaked at No. 21 on November 29th.

September 20th, 1970 Columbia Records release the “Johnny Winter And” LP. The group included guitarist Rick Derringer, bassist Randy Jo Hobbs and drummer Randy Zehringer, all former members of The McCoys. It was one of only two albums the band made, charting at No. 154 on October 3rd.

September 20th, 1973 Neil Young and Crazy Horse played the opening night of the then brand-new Roxy Club on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

September 20th, 1974 ABC Records release “Pretzel Logic” by Steely Dan on 45. Co-written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker and produced by Gary Katz, Poco’s Timothy B. Schmit sings backing vocals on the song and Jim Gordon played drums. The record peaked at No. 57 on November 2nd.

September 20th, 1975 David Bowie had the No. 1 song on the US singles chart with “Fame,” a song Bowie co-wrote with John Lennon and Carlos Alomar.

September 20th, 1976 Atlantic Records release “A Dose Of Rock and Roll,” the label’s first single by the newly signed Ringo Starr. Written by Carl Groszman, who at the time was signed to Ringo Starr’s record label, Ring O Records, the record was produced by Arif Mardin. The studio track features Peter Frampton on guitar and Dr. John on piano. Out three weeks later, October 15th in Britain, “A Dose Of Rock and Roll” charted in the US for nine weeks and peaked at No. 26 on November 6th.

September 20th, 1976 The one and only album by The Stills-Young Band, led by Steven Stills and Neil Young, “Long May You Run” is released in the US. Previously Stills and Young played together in Buffalo Springfield. The project began as a Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young record but Crosby and Nash left the sessions to complete their own album “Whistling Down The Wire,” Young and Stills’ reaction was to remove the existing vocal tracks the other two had worked on. Nash claimed they’d hoped to complete the group album after theirs was completed but Still and Young disagreed and a war of words spilled out into the press. Recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, the LP was co-produced by the duo with Don Gehman and associate producer Tom Dowd. The record went Gold, peaking at No. 26 on November 27th.
September 20th, 1977 Asylum Records release “It’s So Easy” by Linda Ronstadt on 45. The Buddy Holly cover entered the charts in October. The original Buddy Holly version was issued as a single in 1958. Produced by Peter Asher for Linda’s “Simple Dreams” album, Ronstadt’s version went to No. 5 on December 10th.

September 20th, 1978 The “Who Are You?” LP by The Who is awarded a Gold Record for a half million copies sold.

September 20th, 1980 A live recording of “Dreamer” by Supertramp enters the singles charts, released earlier in the month from the band’s double live album “Paris.” The original studio version was issued as a 45 in October 1977 but the records B-side “Bloody Well Right” became the hit, reaching No. 35 on May 24th, 1975. The new live version of “Dreamer” peaked at No. 15 on November 8th.

September 20th, 1982 Vertigo Records in England release “Love Over Gold,” the fourth album by Dire Straits. The record was recorded March through June at the Power Station Studios in New York City with Mark Knopfler producing. The LP featured the hit “Industrial Disease.” The record entered the charts on October 16th and peaked at No. 19 on November 13th, No. 2 in Britain.

September 20th, 1983 To raise funds to fight Multiple Sclerosis, from which former Faces bass player Ronnie Lane was slowly succumbing, the ARMS benefit concert took place at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The show featured Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Steve Winwood.

September 20th, 1986 “The Way It Is” by Bruce Hornsby and The Range enters the singles charts on RCA Records. Issued as the second single from the group’s “The Way It Is” album, the lyrics reference the Economic Opportunity Act, also known as the 1964 Poverty Act as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The record was recorded at Studio D in Sausalito, California with Bruce Hornsby and Elliot Scheiner co-producing. The record peaked at No. 1 on December 13th.

September 20th, 1995 In New Orleans, Natalie Merchant launched her first solo tour after leaving 10,000 Maniacs. The tour was in support of her debut solo album “Tigerlily.”

September 20th, 2004 Lost Highway Records release “The Delivery Man” by Elvis Costello and The Imposters. All the songs on the LP were written by Elvis Costello. Elvis and Dennis Herring produced the LP at Sweet Tea Studios in Oxford, Mississippi in April 2004. The album features guest appearances by Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris. John McFee, who played on Costello’s early records, played guitar on two tracks. “The Delivery Man” peaked at No. 40 on the LP charts on October 9th.

Miscellaneous September

September 1965 Muriel Records release “Lookie There” backed with “Wail Baby Wail” by Tommy Louis with Marshall and The Versatiles on 45. Ike Turner plays guitar on the tracks.

September 1967 CBS Records in Britain release “Love Chronicles,” the second album by Al Stewart. “Love Chronicles” was issued in the US in September. The album was issued in America in January 1969 on Epic Records. The LP was co-produced by Roy Guest, John Wood and Al Stewart. Session musicians included Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and four members of Fairport Convention, Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, Martin Lamble and Ashley Hutchings. Songs on the record were orchestrated by Alexander Faris.

September 1970 Liberty Records release “Love Is A Game” backed with “Takin’ Back My Name” by a solo Ike Turner on 45. “Love Is A Game” was written by Tina Turner’s sister Ailllene Bullock. “Takin’ Back My Name” was credited to Leah Graham, an alias for Ike Turner, who produced and arranged the tracks as well.

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.

September 1977 DEVO release their second single on their own Booji Boy label. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was a cover version of The Rolling Stones song. “(I Saw My Baby Getting) Sloppy” was co-written by DEVO. The 45 was produced by the group. “Satisfaction” was rerecorded by DEVO and released as their major label debut for Warner Brothers Records a year later.

September 1979 Reprise Records release “Rust Never Sleeps (Hey Hey, My My [Out Of The Blue])” by Neil Young on 45. The A-side was the acoustic version of the song. The flip side was the full band version, recorded with the band Crazy Horse and both from the “Rust Never Sleeps” LP.

September 1979 CBS Records in Ireland issue the seven-inch EP “Out Of Control” backed with “Stories For Boys” & “Boy/Girl,” the first release by U2. All three songs were written collectively by the band and co-produced by U2 and Chas De Whalley.

September 1981 David Bowie records the five songs written for Bertolt Brecht’s Baal. Bowie appeared in the BBC television production of Baal. The play was transmitted in Britain on March 2nd, 1982. The tracks were co-produced by David Bowie and Tony Visconti, who also played bass on the recordings. The EP was released in September 1982, reaching No. 29 in Britain.

September 1981 Island Records in Britain release “Gloria” by U2 on 45. The second single released from the group’s second album “October,” the song was written collectively by U2. “Gloria” was recorded during July and August sessions with producer Steve Lillywhite at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, Ireland. The record peaked at No. 55 in Britain.

September 1986 Warner Brothers Records release “Summer Of Love” by The B-52’s on 45. The song was co-written Keith Strickland, Rocky Wilson, Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson, produced by Tony Mansfield from the LP “Bouncing Off The Satellites.” The single had a unique remix with additional production by Shep Pettibone.