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Rock and Roll Birthdays

Today's Rock and Roll Birthdays

September 21st

September 21st Birthday, Singer, songwriter Leonard Cohen, born in 1934 in Westmount, Quebec, Canada. Cohen died on November 7th, 2016 at the age of 82.

September 21st Birthday, Famous for his session work and as a solo artist, guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, born in 1944 in Norman, Oklahoma. Davis died on June 22nd, 1988 at the age of 43.

September 21st Birthday, Eagles guitarist Don Felder, born in 1947 in Gainesville, Florida.

September 21st Birthday, Record producer, musician, songwriter and solo artist Rupert Hine, born in 1947 in Wimbledon, London, England. He died on June 4th, 2020 at the age of 72.

September 21st Birthday, Motorhead drummer Phil Taylor, aka Philthy Animal, born in Hasland, England in 1954. He died on November 11th, 2015 at the age of 61.

September 21st Birthday, Oasis vocalist William John Paul “Liam” Gallagher, born in 1972 in Burnage, Manchester, England.

Today In Rock and Roll History

September 21st

September 21st, 1959 “Sleep Walk” by brother duo Santo and Johnny becomes the No. 1 record in the US.

September 21st, 1963 Warner Brothers Records release “Love Her” backed with “The Girl Who Sang The Blues” by he Everly Brothers on 45. Both songs were written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. “Love Her” became a No. 25 hit in England for The Walker Brothers in 1965.

September 21st, 1963 ABC Paramount Records release “It’s All Right” by The Impressions on 45. The song was written by Curtis Mayfield, recorded in Chicago in August. The single peaked at No. 4 on the Pop charts on November 9th, No. 1 R&B, the most successful single of the group’s career.

September 21st, 1964 The Beach Boys “4-By The Beach Boys” EP is released in America. Two songs from the record “Wendy” and “Little Honda” both entered the singles charts on October 17th. Both songs were produced by Brian Wilson, who co-wrote them with Mike Love. “Wendy” was intended as an homage to the 4 Seasons and their producer Bob Crewe and peaked at No. 44 on November 14th and “Little Honda” went to No. 65 on the same day.

September 21st, 1967 “Ooh Baby” by Bo Diddley enters the singles charts on Chess Records. Written by Diddley and credited to his given name Elias McDaniel, the track was co-produced by record label owner Marshall Chess and American R&B singer and songwriter Earl Edwards. During an eleven-week chart run, the record peaked at No. 88 on February 2nd.

September 21st, 1967 “The Little Black Egg” by Daytona Beach, Florida band The Nightcrawlers enters the singles charts. The song was originally recorded in 1965 by sound engineer Lee Hazen and released on Hazen’s record label, Lee Records. Different interpretations of the song’s lyrics range from a bizarre nursery rhyme to miscegenation in segregated Florida. The song peaked at No. 85 on February 4th, No. 74 in Canada.

September 21st, 1968 Atco Records release “White Room” by Cream on 45. Co-written by bassist Jack Bruce and lyricist Pete Brown, the record peaked at No. 6 on November 9th. “White Room” was issued as a single in Britain on Polydor Records on January 3rd, 1969.

September 21st, 1971 Paul McCartney is awarded a pair of Gold Records for “Another Day” and “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey.”

September 21st, 1971 Warner Brothers Records release the self-titled album by the Grateful Dead. It was The Dead’s second live double LP and unofficially called “Skull And Roses” due to its iconic cover art. The record does feature some studio overdubbing on to the live recordings, several lead and backing vocals and the organ of Merle Saunders. The album peaked at No. 25 on November 13th.

September 21st, 1971 David Bowie records seven songs for the BBC Radio show Sound Of The Seventies. Five songs were selected for broadcasts on October 4th and November 1st.

September 21st, 1973 Vertigo Records in Britain release “In A Glass House,” the fifth album by Gentle Giant. Recorded at Advision Studios in London in July, the LP was co-produced by the band with Gary Martin. The record was not released in the US.

September 21st, 1973 Decca Records in Britain release “Vagabonds Of The Western World,” the third album by Thin Lizzy. The album came out in America the following April but didn’t chart in the US.

September 21st, 1973 Lifesong Records release “I Got A Name” by Jim Croce on 45. Lyrics were written by Norman Gimbel and music by Charles Fox, the songwriting team who had composed Croce’s hit “Leroy Brown.” Terry Cashman and Tommy West co-produced the track. The song first appeared in July as the theme song for the movie The Last American Hero. The single was issued the day after Croce’s death in a plane crash with his lead guitarist Maury Muehleisen. “I Got A Name” peaked at No. 10 on November 17th.

September 21st, 1974 “People Gotta Move” by Canadian singer, songwriter Gino Vannelli enters the singles charts following a July release on A&M Records. The song was written by Vannelli and co-produced by he and his brother Joe. When Gino Vannelli performed the song on Soul Train on February 15th, 1975, he became the first white singer to appear on the syndicated TV show. The single peaked at No. 22 on November 23rd.

September 21st, 1974 “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” by Canada’s Bachman-Turner Overdrive enters the singles charts. The song began as an instrumental piece inspired by the rhythm guitar on Dave Mason’s “Only You Know and I Know.” Looking for a song to fill out the in progress “Not Fragile” LP sessions, songwriter Randy Bachman wrote the stuttering lyrics as a joke, but decided the song worked better that way. Released September 9th, the song would become their third US Top Thirty entry and their only No. 1 hit the week of November 9th.

September 21st, 1979 Bearsville Records release “Boogie Motel,” the eighth studio album by Foghat. The LP title comes from the Boogie Hotel Studios in Port Jefferson, New York where the album was recorded with Foghat and Tony Outeda co-producing. The LP peaked at No. 35 on October 13th.

September 21st, 1979 Epic Records release “Dream Police,” the fourth studio album by Cheap Trick. The album was finished and ready for release in early 1979 when the unexpected success of their “Live At Budokan” LP pushed back the release schedule. The record featured the hits “Dream Police” and “Voices” and peaked at No. 6 on October 27th.

September 21st, 1979 The Police release “Message In A Bottle” in Britain, the lead single from their second LP “Reggatta de Blanc,” and their first No. 1 in England. The song was recorded at Surrey Sound Studios and co-produced by The Police and Nigel Gray. “Message In A Bottle” became the first of five No. 1 singles The Police had in Britain. Issued several times in the US, the record entered the singles charts on November 24th and reached No. 74 on December 22nd.

September 21st, 1985 “Money For Nothing” became Dire Straits first No. 1 record.

September 21st, 1987 Atco Records release “Big Generator” by Yes. The credits list seven different recording studios with the band, Trevor Horn Trevor Rabin and Paul De Villiers as co-producers. The album featured the hits “Rhythm Of Love” and “Love Will Find A Way,” The record peaked at No. 15 on November 7th.

September 21st, 1988 Paul McCartney and Youth release “Rushes,” their second album as The Fireman. The record featured songs based on unreleased tracks McCartney had done, recorded at his home Hog Hill Mill Studios in Icklesham, East Sussex, England.

September 21st, 1991 Polydor Records release “Hymns To The Silence” by Van Morrison, his first studio double album release. The LP was recorded at The Wool Hall, Townhouse and Westside Studios in London with Morrison producing. A No. 5 album in the British charts, the disc peaked at No. 105 in the US on October 12th.

September 21st, 1993 DGC Records release “In Utero” by Nirvana, the band’s third and final studio album. Produced by Steve Albini during two weeks of sessions at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, the album peaked at No. 1 on October 9th.

September 21st, 1993 Mesa Records release “Famous Last Words,” the twelfth studio album by Al Stewart. The record was co-produced by Peter White, Ross Hogarth and Joe Ciccarelli at four different studios on California. Guest musicians on the P include Peter White, Neil Morse, Freebo and others.

September 21st, 2004 Deutsche Grammophon Records release “Il Sogno” by Elvis Costello, a ballet score for orchestra commissioned by Aterballeto Dance Company of Reggio Emilia in 2000. The recording is performed by The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas at Abbey Road Studios in London. The album peaked at No. 1 on the Classical Music LP charts.

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.