TODAY IN HISTORY – October 6th
1917 - A new word cropped up in the American dictionary - Jazz. The Literary Digest described jazz as music that caused people to, 'shake, jump and writhe in ways to suggest a return to the medieval jumping mania'.
1949 - Born this day, Bobby Farrell, Boney M, 1978 UK No.1 single Rivers of Babylon. Also massive number 1 song for the year in 1978. Stayed in the top slot for what seemed like an eternity.
1951 - Born on this day, Kevin Cronin, REO Speedwagon, (1981 US No.1 & UK No.7 single 'Keep On Loving You').
1964 - The Beatles spent the afternoon recording 'Eight Days A Week' at Abbey Road studios in London. Late evening was spent at The Ad Lib Club, London, partying with The Ronettes and Mick Jagger.
1969 - George Harrison's song 'Something' was released as the "A" side of a Beatles' 45, a first for Harrison. Along with Lennon and McCartney's Come Together, the single went on reach No.1 on the US chart the following month.
1973 - Cher started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Half-Breed', the singers second US No.1. The single didn't chart in the UK.
1977 - Actress Britt Ekland's $15 million palimony suit against Rod Stewart was made public, it was eventually settled out-of-court. (On her birthday – she was born in 1942!)
1978 - Mick Jagger apologised, for what some said were, racist lyrics in the Rolling Stones' Some Girls album.
1978 - Australia’s ‘King of rock 'n' roll’ Johnny O’Keefe died aged 43 of a heart attack. He was the first Australian rock’n’roll performer to tour the United States, and Australia’s most successful chart performer, with 29 Top 40 hits between 1958 and 1974,. O’Keefe’s 1958 hit, ‘Real Wild Child’, was covered by Iggy Pop in 1986.
1978 - Benny Andersson married Anni-Frid Lyngstad from Abba. It lasted three years.
1979 - 'Gotta Serve Somebody' gave Bob Dylan his twelfth US top 40 hit when it entered the chart for the first time. Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the song won Dylan the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Male in 1980.
1980 - John Lydon was arrested for assault after a pub brawl in Dublin.
1980 - The Bee Gees sued their record company Polygram and the band's manager Robert Stigwood for $200 million for fraud. (They settled out-of-court).
1984 - David Bowie scored his sixth UK No.1 album with 'Tonight', featuring the single 'Blue Jean'.
1989 - Died this day, Oscar-winning Hollywood legend Bette Davis, actress, at the age 81 from breast cancer in a suburb of Paris, France. During a career that spanned more than three decades, Davis appeared in some 80 films. (subject of the 1981 hit song “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes)
1998 - A music industry poll was published by London Magazine Time out, naming the top Stars from the past 30 years. In 5th place was Marvin Gaye, 4th James Brown, 3rd Bob Marley, 2nd The Beatles and 1st place went to David Bowie.
2002 - Mick Jagger donated £100,000 to his old Grammar school in Dartford to help pay for a music director and buy musical instruments.
2007 - Queen's groundbreaking promo for their 1975 hit Bohemian Rhapsody was named the UK's best music video in a survey of music fans. Out of 1,051 adults polled by O2, 30% named the six-minute video, (which took only three hours to shoot and cost a mere £3,500 to make), their favourite.
2010 - A set of John Lennon's fingerprints were seized by the FBI from a New York memorabilia dealer who intended to sell them for $100,000 (£62,621) minimum bid. The prints were taken at a New York police station in 1976 when Lennon applied for permanent US residence. The bureau believed the card was still government property and was investigating how it landed in private hands.
2011 - Starship's 'We Built This City' was named 'the worst song of the 1980s' in a poll by Rolling Stone magazine. 'The Final Countdown' by the Swedish band Europe came in second and 'Lady in Red' by Chris de Burgh was third. Also making the top five were Wham!'s 'Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)' and 'The Safety Dance' by Men Without Hats.
1917 - A new word cropped up in the American dictionary - Jazz. The Literary Digest described jazz as music that caused people to, 'shake, jump and writhe in ways to suggest a return to the medieval jumping mania'.
1949 - Born this day, Bobby Farrell, Boney M, 1978 UK No.1 single Rivers of Babylon. Also massive number 1 song for the year in 1978. Stayed in the top slot for what seemed like an eternity.
1951 - Born on this day, Kevin Cronin, REO Speedwagon, (1981 US No.1 & UK No.7 single 'Keep On Loving You').
1964 - The Beatles spent the afternoon recording 'Eight Days A Week' at Abbey Road studios in London. Late evening was spent at The Ad Lib Club, London, partying with The Ronettes and Mick Jagger.
1969 - George Harrison's song 'Something' was released as the "A" side of a Beatles' 45, a first for Harrison. Along with Lennon and McCartney's Come Together, the single went on reach No.1 on the US chart the following month.
1973 - Cher started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Half-Breed', the singers second US No.1. The single didn't chart in the UK.
1977 - Actress Britt Ekland's $15 million palimony suit against Rod Stewart was made public, it was eventually settled out-of-court. (On her birthday – she was born in 1942!)
1978 - Mick Jagger apologised, for what some said were, racist lyrics in the Rolling Stones' Some Girls album.
1978 - Australia’s ‘King of rock 'n' roll’ Johnny O’Keefe died aged 43 of a heart attack. He was the first Australian rock’n’roll performer to tour the United States, and Australia’s most successful chart performer, with 29 Top 40 hits between 1958 and 1974,. O’Keefe’s 1958 hit, ‘Real Wild Child’, was covered by Iggy Pop in 1986.
1978 - Benny Andersson married Anni-Frid Lyngstad from Abba. It lasted three years.
1979 - 'Gotta Serve Somebody' gave Bob Dylan his twelfth US top 40 hit when it entered the chart for the first time. Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the song won Dylan the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Male in 1980.
1980 - John Lydon was arrested for assault after a pub brawl in Dublin.
1980 - The Bee Gees sued their record company Polygram and the band's manager Robert Stigwood for $200 million for fraud. (They settled out-of-court).
1984 - David Bowie scored his sixth UK No.1 album with 'Tonight', featuring the single 'Blue Jean'.
1989 - Died this day, Oscar-winning Hollywood legend Bette Davis, actress, at the age 81 from breast cancer in a suburb of Paris, France. During a career that spanned more than three decades, Davis appeared in some 80 films. (subject of the 1981 hit song “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes)
1998 - A music industry poll was published by London Magazine Time out, naming the top Stars from the past 30 years. In 5th place was Marvin Gaye, 4th James Brown, 3rd Bob Marley, 2nd The Beatles and 1st place went to David Bowie.
2002 - Mick Jagger donated £100,000 to his old Grammar school in Dartford to help pay for a music director and buy musical instruments.
2007 - Queen's groundbreaking promo for their 1975 hit Bohemian Rhapsody was named the UK's best music video in a survey of music fans. Out of 1,051 adults polled by O2, 30% named the six-minute video, (which took only three hours to shoot and cost a mere £3,500 to make), their favourite.
2010 - A set of John Lennon's fingerprints were seized by the FBI from a New York memorabilia dealer who intended to sell them for $100,000 (£62,621) minimum bid. The prints were taken at a New York police station in 1976 when Lennon applied for permanent US residence. The bureau believed the card was still government property and was investigating how it landed in private hands.
2011 - Starship's 'We Built This City' was named 'the worst song of the 1980s' in a poll by Rolling Stone magazine. 'The Final Countdown' by the Swedish band Europe came in second and 'Lady in Red' by Chris de Burgh was third. Also making the top five were Wham!'s 'Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)' and 'The Safety Dance' by Men Without Hats.