28 NOVEMBER
In Music History
1966 The New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral" is certified gold.
1964 The Shangri-Las teenage tragedy song "Leader Of The Pack" goes to #1 in America.
1964 Willie Nelson makes his Grand Ole Opry debut.
1962 Drummer Matt Cameron is born in San Diego, California. He's with Soundgarden from 1986 until their breakup in 1997. In 1998 he becomes the fifth drummer for Pearl Jam, a position he holds until leaving the band in 2025.
1957 Harry Belafonte becomes the first black man to hit #1 in the UK when "Mary's Boy Child" tops the chart. The single stays at #1 for seven weeks and becomes a Christmas favorite.
1949 Paul Shaffer is born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The multi-instrumentalist finds fame as a bandleader on the Late Show with David Letterman.
1948 Little River Band guitarist Beeb Birtles is born Gerard Bertelkamp in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
1947 Gary Taylor (bassist, rhythm guitarist for The Herd) is born Graham John Taylor in Walton-on-Thames, London, England.
1944 The movie musical Meet Me in St. Louis, featuring Judy Garland, opens in theaters.
1943 "Take a Letter Maria" singer R.B. Greaves is born Ronald Bertram Aloysius Greaves III in Georgetown, Guyana.
1940 Bruce Channel, known for the 1962 hit "Hey Baby," is born in Jacksonville, Texas.
1939 Gary Troxel (of The Fleetwoods) is born in Centralia, Washington.
1936 Jazz drummer Roy McCurdy (of Blood, Sweat & Tears) is born in Rochester, New York.
1925 The "WSM Barn Dance" debuts on the Nashville radio station WSM. Two years later, the show is rechristened "The Grand Ole Opry."
1915 Jazz trumpeter Dick Vance is born in Mayfield, Kentucky, but will be raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He blows his horn for a number of prominent Big Bands, including Chick Webb's orchestra.
Dirty Dancing Song Lifts To #1
1987The Dirty Dancing hit "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" goes to #1 in America as the "Swayze-lift" becomes a popular dance move.
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Featured Events
1992 Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," a cover of a Dolly Parton song from 1974, goes to #1 in America.
1974 John Lennon makes his last concert appearance when he joins Elton John on stage at Madison Square Garden, reciprocating for Elton's appearance on "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" and making good on a bet he lost: Elton wagered that "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" would hit #1 in the US, and when it did, Lennon owed the appearance. The pair perform that song and also do The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds."
1964 The Kinks' first hit, "You Really Got Me," peaks at #7 in America.
1960 Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" a song written in 1926 that has been covered by a number of artists, hits #1 in America for the first of six weeks.
1943 Randy Newman is born in Los Angeles, California.
1929 Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. is born in Detroit, Michigan.
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