16 OCTOBER
In Music History
1951 Little Richard records for the first time, laying down tracks at the Atlanta radio station WGST. Four singles from the session are released the next year.
1951 Johnnie Ray records "Cry."
1947 Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist and co-founder Bob Weir is born in San Francisco, California. The youngest member of the band (just 17 when they form), he anchors them musically and often contributes to vocals and songwriting, including on "One More Saturday Night" and "Truckin'."
1943 C.F. "Fred" Turner (bassist/vocalist for Bachman-Turner Overdrive) is born Charles Frederick Turner in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
1942 Dave Lovelady (drummer/singer for The Fourmost) is born in Litherland, Liverpool, England. Known for the 1964 UK hit "A Little Loving."
1941 Will Bradley records "Fry Me Cookie, With A Can Of Lard."
1938 Rock singer/songwriter Nico is born Christa Päffgen in Cologne, Germany.
1937 Rock and Roll singer Emile Ford (of Emile Ford and the Checkmates) is born Michael Emile Telford Miller in Castries, Saint Lucia, West Indies. Known for the 1959 hit cover of "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?"
1935 R&B singer Sugar Pie DeSanto is born Umpeylia Marsema Balinton in Brooklyn, New York. Known for her 1960 hit, "I Want to Know," and "Do I Make Myself Clear," a 1965 duet with Etta James.
1923 Bert Kaempfert, orchestra leader and songwriter, is born Berthold Kämpfert in Hamburg, Germany. Wrote the music for "Strangers in the Night" and "Moon Over Naples."
"Disco Duck" Becomes Last Novelty Song To Waddle To #1
1976Disc jockey Rick Dees hits #1 in the US with "Disco Duck," a goofy number that envisions Donald Duck enjoying the spoils of the disco era. It is the last novelty song to top the Hot 100.
Read more16 OCTOBER
Featured Events
2012 Darius Rucker is inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. He's just the third African American to join the club, following cast member DeFord Bailey and Charley Pride, who was inducted in 1993.
2003 Apple launches a Windows version of the iTunes store, previously available only on Macs.
2001 Etta Jones dies of cancer at age 72 in Mount Vernon, New York, the same day HighNote releases her album Etta Jones Sings Lady Day.
2001 Bob Dylan is turned away by security guards at his concert at the Jackson County Exposition Center in Oregon because he doesn't have a credential. The guards were under orders from Dylan's security director not to let anyone through without a pass. "He said no exceptions," explained the venue manager.
1992 Sinéad O'Connor is booed when she takes the stage at Bobfest, a Bob Dylan tribute at Madison Square Garden. O'Connor had torn up a picture of the Pope 13 days earlier on Saturday Night Live, making her the most polarizing person in music. At Bobfest, she keeps going against the grain, scrapping her expected Dylan cover and shouting out a protest song instead.More
1991 Red Hot Chili Peppers kick off their Blood Sugar Sex Magik tour with a show in Madison, Wisconsin. Their opening acts are Smashing Pumpkins and a new band called Pearl Jam.
1986 Chuck Berry's 60th birthday bash (held three days before his actual birthday) takes place in St. Louis with a tribute concert featuring Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Etta James, Robert Cray and Linda Ronstadt. Footage is shot for the 1987 documentary Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll.
1972 Creedence Clearwater Revival calls it quits, announcing in a press release: "We don't regard this as breaking up. We look at it as an expansion of our activities." The band never reforms, but John Fogerty emerges with a successful solo career.
1962 At the Howard Theatre in Washington, DC, Motown Records launches their first package tour, the "Motortown Revue." Mary Wells and The Contours (thanks to their hit "Do You Love Me") are the big draws; lower on the bill are Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and Little Stevie Wonder.
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