TODAY IN HISTORY – FEBRUARY 11th
1935 - Born on this day, Gene Vincent, (born Eugene Craddock), US rock ‘n’ roll singer with His Blue Caps who had a 1956 US No.7 & UK No.16 single with ‘Be Bop A Lula’. Vincent died on October 12th 1971.
1939 - Born on this day, Gerry Goffin, American songwriter of over 20 US hits with Carol King, including The Shirelles 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow', The Drifters 'Up On The Roof', The Chiffons, 'One Fine Day', Herman's Hermits, 'I'm Into Something Good'. Goffin died on 19th June 2014 at the age of 75 in Los Angeles.
1940 - Born on this day, Bobby 'Boris' Pickett, who had the 1962 US No.1 & 1973 UK No.3 single 'The Monster Mash'. The song was a spoof on the dance crazes popular at the time, including the Twist and the Mashed Potato. Pickett died of leukaemia at the age of 69 on April 25th 2007.
1946 - Born this day, Ray Lake, The Real Thing, 1976 UK No.1 single You To Me Are Everything.
1963 - Born this day, Sheryl Crow, singer, musician, songwriter, 1994 US No.2 and UK No.4 single All I Wanna Do, 1993 album Saturday Night Music Club. Worked as a backing singer on the Michael Jackson Bad tour.
1963 - The Beatles had their first LP recording sessions at Abbey Road studios. They recorded 10 new songs for their first album plus four other's which would be the next 2 singles, in less than 10 hours. Lennons vocal on The Isley Brothers Twist & Shout was recorded in one take to complete the album.
1964 - The Beatles made their live concert debut in the US at the Washington Coliseum. Over 350 police surrounded the stage to keep the 8,000 plus screaming fans in control. One police officer who found the noise so loud stuck a bullet in each ear as ear plugs. The Beatles had to stop three times and turn Ringo's drum kit around and re-position their microphones so that they faced a different part of the audience. The set list: ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘From Me to You’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘This Boy’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, ‘Please Please Me’, ‘Till There Was You’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, ‘Twist and Shout’, and ‘Long Tall Sally’.
1965 - Beatles member Ringo Starr married his pregnant Liverpool sweetheart Maureen Cox, a former hairdresser, at Caxton Hall, a London Registry office. John Lennon, George Harrison, and Brian Epstein attended the wedding. She gave birth to son Zak the following September. After the wedding, the newlyweds went to Brighton for three days to celebrate.
1969 - Born this day, Andrew Lovell, percussion, M People, 1993 UK No.2 single Moving On Up, plus over 15 other UK top 40 singles.
1972 - Led Zeppelin scored their third US Top 20 hit single with 'Black Dog / Misty Mountain Hop', peaking at No.15, and taken from their fourth album. The song's title is a reference to a nameless black Labrador retriever that wandered around the Headley Grange studios during recording. Robert Plant recorded his vocal for the track in two takes.
1973 - A local charity raised over £500 ($850) selling bedsheets and pillowcases used by the Rolling Stones after a show at Western Springs Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.
1977 - Born this day, Mike Shinoda, guitar, vocals, Linkin Park, 2002 US No.2 and UK No.4 single In The End, 2002 US No.2 and 2001 UK No.4 album Hybrid Theory.
1981 - Born this day, Kelly Rowland, Destiny's Child, 2000 US No.1 and UK No.3 single Say My Name, 2001 US and UK No.1 single and album Survivor.
1985 - The Police won the outstanding contribution to British music at the fourth annual Brit Awards held in London. Other winners included Prince for best International Act and Best Soundtrack for Purple Rain, British Single was Frankie Goes To Hollywood 'Relax', British Video was Duran Duran for 'Wild Boys', British Comedy Recording Neil 'Hole In My Shoe', British Album went to Sade for 'Diamond Life', British Male Solo Artist was won by Paul Young, British Female Solo Artist, Alison Moyet and Best British Group went to Wham!
1989 - Paula Abdul started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Straight Up', the first of three No.1's in 1989, a No.3 hit in the UK.
1992 - Motley Crue fired their singer Vince Neil when he turned up for rehearsals, claiming that his passion for the music had been overtaken by his involvement with racing cars.
2000 - Geri Halliwell appeared in court to give evidence over the dispute with Aprilla Motorcycles. The company was suing the Spice Girls for £1.6m. over lost advertising as sponsors for the 1998 Spiceworld World tour.
2001 - Outkast went to No.1 on the US singles chart with Mrs Jackson, a No.2 hit in the UK.
2003 - The British Phonographic Industry reported its biggest sales decline in decades, with the biggest slump in a single year since the birth of the CD market in the early 1980s. Piracy, illegal duplication and distribution by international criminals of CD’s was blamed for the decrease.
2008 - Heather Mills and Sir Paul McCartney appeared at the High Court in London for a hearing to reach a financial settlement for their divorce. The hearing in the Family Division, which was taking place in private, was expected to last five days. The couple, who had a four-year-old daughter, Beatrice, announced the end of their four-year marriage in 2006. There had been speculation among divorce experts, based on recent cases, that the settlement could reach £60m.
2009 - Ronettes singer Estelle Bennett died at her home in Englewood, N.J. She was 67. The 60's girl group best known for their work with producer Phil Spector had the 1963 hit 'Be My Baby' which epitomized the famed "wall of sound" technique.
2012 – Roxette were to play the Vector Arena in Auckland with special guests “Dragon”. Gig was cancelled due to ill health of Per Geselle (Roxette).
2012 – Died this day, Whitney Houston, (48) American singer, actress, producer, and model. She was found dead in suite 434 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, submerged in the bathtub. Beverly Hills paramedics arrived at approximately 3:30 p.m. and found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m.In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time.[3] Her list of awards includes two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide.
2013 – At the 55th Grammy Awards winners include “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye and New Zealander, Kimbra (Record of the Year), “We Are Young” by Fun (Song of the Year and Best New Act), “Set Fire To The Rain (live)” by Adele (Best Pop Vocal Performance), “Babel” by Mumford & Sons (Album of the Year), “Lonely Boy” by The Black Keys (Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song and “El Camino” Best Rock Album).
1935 - Born on this day, Gene Vincent, (born Eugene Craddock), US rock ‘n’ roll singer with His Blue Caps who had a 1956 US No.7 & UK No.16 single with ‘Be Bop A Lula’. Vincent died on October 12th 1971.
1939 - Born on this day, Gerry Goffin, American songwriter of over 20 US hits with Carol King, including The Shirelles 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow', The Drifters 'Up On The Roof', The Chiffons, 'One Fine Day', Herman's Hermits, 'I'm Into Something Good'. Goffin died on 19th June 2014 at the age of 75 in Los Angeles.
1940 - Born on this day, Bobby 'Boris' Pickett, who had the 1962 US No.1 & 1973 UK No.3 single 'The Monster Mash'. The song was a spoof on the dance crazes popular at the time, including the Twist and the Mashed Potato. Pickett died of leukaemia at the age of 69 on April 25th 2007.
1946 - Born this day, Ray Lake, The Real Thing, 1976 UK No.1 single You To Me Are Everything.
1963 - Born this day, Sheryl Crow, singer, musician, songwriter, 1994 US No.2 and UK No.4 single All I Wanna Do, 1993 album Saturday Night Music Club. Worked as a backing singer on the Michael Jackson Bad tour.
1963 - The Beatles had their first LP recording sessions at Abbey Road studios. They recorded 10 new songs for their first album plus four other's which would be the next 2 singles, in less than 10 hours. Lennons vocal on The Isley Brothers Twist & Shout was recorded in one take to complete the album.
1964 - The Beatles made their live concert debut in the US at the Washington Coliseum. Over 350 police surrounded the stage to keep the 8,000 plus screaming fans in control. One police officer who found the noise so loud stuck a bullet in each ear as ear plugs. The Beatles had to stop three times and turn Ringo's drum kit around and re-position their microphones so that they faced a different part of the audience. The set list: ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘From Me to You’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘This Boy’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, ‘Please Please Me’, ‘Till There Was You’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, ‘Twist and Shout’, and ‘Long Tall Sally’.
1965 - Beatles member Ringo Starr married his pregnant Liverpool sweetheart Maureen Cox, a former hairdresser, at Caxton Hall, a London Registry office. John Lennon, George Harrison, and Brian Epstein attended the wedding. She gave birth to son Zak the following September. After the wedding, the newlyweds went to Brighton for three days to celebrate.
1969 - Born this day, Andrew Lovell, percussion, M People, 1993 UK No.2 single Moving On Up, plus over 15 other UK top 40 singles.
1972 - Led Zeppelin scored their third US Top 20 hit single with 'Black Dog / Misty Mountain Hop', peaking at No.15, and taken from their fourth album. The song's title is a reference to a nameless black Labrador retriever that wandered around the Headley Grange studios during recording. Robert Plant recorded his vocal for the track in two takes.
1973 - A local charity raised over £500 ($850) selling bedsheets and pillowcases used by the Rolling Stones after a show at Western Springs Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.
1977 - Born this day, Mike Shinoda, guitar, vocals, Linkin Park, 2002 US No.2 and UK No.4 single In The End, 2002 US No.2 and 2001 UK No.4 album Hybrid Theory.
1981 - Born this day, Kelly Rowland, Destiny's Child, 2000 US No.1 and UK No.3 single Say My Name, 2001 US and UK No.1 single and album Survivor.
1985 - The Police won the outstanding contribution to British music at the fourth annual Brit Awards held in London. Other winners included Prince for best International Act and Best Soundtrack for Purple Rain, British Single was Frankie Goes To Hollywood 'Relax', British Video was Duran Duran for 'Wild Boys', British Comedy Recording Neil 'Hole In My Shoe', British Album went to Sade for 'Diamond Life', British Male Solo Artist was won by Paul Young, British Female Solo Artist, Alison Moyet and Best British Group went to Wham!
1989 - Paula Abdul started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Straight Up', the first of three No.1's in 1989, a No.3 hit in the UK.
1992 - Motley Crue fired their singer Vince Neil when he turned up for rehearsals, claiming that his passion for the music had been overtaken by his involvement with racing cars.
2000 - Geri Halliwell appeared in court to give evidence over the dispute with Aprilla Motorcycles. The company was suing the Spice Girls for £1.6m. over lost advertising as sponsors for the 1998 Spiceworld World tour.
2001 - Outkast went to No.1 on the US singles chart with Mrs Jackson, a No.2 hit in the UK.
2003 - The British Phonographic Industry reported its biggest sales decline in decades, with the biggest slump in a single year since the birth of the CD market in the early 1980s. Piracy, illegal duplication and distribution by international criminals of CD’s was blamed for the decrease.
2008 - Heather Mills and Sir Paul McCartney appeared at the High Court in London for a hearing to reach a financial settlement for their divorce. The hearing in the Family Division, which was taking place in private, was expected to last five days. The couple, who had a four-year-old daughter, Beatrice, announced the end of their four-year marriage in 2006. There had been speculation among divorce experts, based on recent cases, that the settlement could reach £60m.
2009 - Ronettes singer Estelle Bennett died at her home in Englewood, N.J. She was 67. The 60's girl group best known for their work with producer Phil Spector had the 1963 hit 'Be My Baby' which epitomized the famed "wall of sound" technique.
2012 – Roxette were to play the Vector Arena in Auckland with special guests “Dragon”. Gig was cancelled due to ill health of Per Geselle (Roxette).
2012 – Died this day, Whitney Houston, (48) American singer, actress, producer, and model. She was found dead in suite 434 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, submerged in the bathtub. Beverly Hills paramedics arrived at approximately 3:30 p.m. and found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m.In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time.[3] Her list of awards includes two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide.
2013 – At the 55th Grammy Awards winners include “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye and New Zealander, Kimbra (Record of the Year), “We Are Young” by Fun (Song of the Year and Best New Act), “Set Fire To The Rain (live)” by Adele (Best Pop Vocal Performance), “Babel” by Mumford & Sons (Album of the Year), “Lonely Boy” by The Black Keys (Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song and “El Camino” Best Rock Album).