17 NOVEMBER
In Music History
1963 Headmaster John Weightman of Surrey Grammar School in Guildford, England, bans the popular Beatle "moptop" haircuts, explaining that "this ridiculous style brings out the worst in boys physically. It makes them look like morons."
1959 Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos dies in Rio de Janeiro at age 72.
1958 The Kingston Trio's "Tom Dooley" hits #1 in America.
1957 Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps make their US television debut, performing "Lotta Loving" and "Dance to the Bop" on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1957 Jim Babjak (lead guitarist for The Smithereens) is born in Carteret, New Jersey, where he would meet bandmates Dennis Diken and Mike Mesaros in high school.
1953 "Rags to Riches" by Tony Bennett is #1 on all three US Billboard charts (jukeboxes, sales, radio).
1952 Dean Paul Martin (of Dino, Desi and Billy) is born to Dean Martin and his second wife, Jeanne Biegger.
1951 Eddy Howard's "Sin (It's No Sin)" hits #1.
1948 Iain Sutherland (of Sutherland Brothers And Quiver) is born in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
1947 Robert "Stewkey" Antoni (vocalist, keyboardist for The Nazz) is born in Newport, Rhode Island.
1947 Rod Clements (bass guitarist, violinist for Lindisfarne) is born Roderick Parry Clements in North Shields, Tyne and Wear, England.
1946 Martin Barre (guitarist for Jethro Tull) is born in Kings Heath, Birmingham, England.
1944 Gene Clark (tambourine player, guitarist, vocalist for The Byrds) is born Harold Eugene Clark in Tipton, Missouri.
1943 After celebrating opening night of the Broadway revival A Connecticut Yankee with his songwriting partner Richard Rodgers, lyricist Lorenz Hart disappears for two days. A struggling alcoholic, he's discovered incapacitated in a hotel room where he's been drinking heavily. He dies shortly after from pneumonia.
1942 Bob Gaudio (of The Four Seasons) is born in the Bronx, New York, but would be raised in Bergenfield, New Jersey. His first taste of fame came at age 15 from co-writing the Royal Teens' hit "Short Shorts."
Lou Reed Song Released As Charity Single With Bono, Bowie, Elton John
1997An all-star rendition of Lou Reed's 1972 song "Perfect Day" featuring Reed, Elton John, David Bowie, Tammy Wynette, Joan Armatrading and several other stars, is released as a single in the UK, with proceeds going to the BBC's Children In Need charity. It debuts at #1 on the UK singles chart and raises over £2 million for the appeal.
Read more17 NOVEMBER
Featured Events
2007 Twenty-eight years after their last #1 album (The Long Run), the Eagles return to the top spot in America with Long Road Out Of Eden, a double album initially sold only at Walmart for the bargain price of $11.88. The group released the album on their own label, allowing them to keep a hearty chunk of the profits.
2000 Cher makes her first appearance on the TV show Will and Grace, in the episode "Gypsies, Tramps and Weed."
1988 Unable to deny his sexual orientation any longer, Elton John divorces from German recording engineer Renate Blauel, whom he married in 1984.
1988 Guns N' Roses get the cover of Rolling Stone with the headline, "Hard-Rock Heroes." The magazine compiled the story that summer when the band was on tour as the opening act for Aerosmith. Aerosmith assumed they were getting the cover, but by the end of the tour, their opening act had become much more popular.More
1979 The Guinness Book of World Records verifies ABBA as the biggest-selling recording group in history.
1966 Jeff Buckley, known as Scott "Scottie" Moorhead to his family, is born in Los Angeles, California.More
1962 The Four Seasons' "Big Girls Don't Cry" hits #1 in the US. It holds the top spot for five weeks.
1960 TV personality RuPaul, known for the hit "Supermodel (You Better Work)" is born RuPaul Andre Charles in San Diego, California.
©2026 Songfacts®, LLC