THIS DAY IN MUSIC

July 28th: On this Day

1954, The first press interview with 19-year-old Elvis Presley was published in the 'Memphis Press- Scimitar'.

1956, Gene Vincent made his first appearance on national TV in the US on The Perry Como Show. Vincent had released ‘Woman Love’ the previous month, but it was the B-side, ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula,’ that eventually made the top 10. The song had been purchased from a fellow hospital patient when Vincent was recovering from leg injuries. A demo of the song made its way to Capitol Records as part of an Elvis sound-alike contest and a re-recorded version gave Vincent a hit.

1960, Cliff Richard and the Shadows were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Please Don't Tease', the singers third UK No.1. The song was chosen for release by a poll of Cliff's fans.

1960, Roy Orbison  entered the UK chart with 'Only The Lonely', which went on to give Roy his first of 3 UK chart toppers. As an operatic rock ballad, it was a sound unheard of at the time, and is seen as a seminal event in the evolution of Rock and Roll. Released as a 45rpm single by Monument Records in May, 1960, 'Only The Lonely' went to No. 2 on the United States. The song was turned down by The Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley, so Orbison decided to record the song himself.

1964, On their second visit to Sweden, The Beatles played two shows at an ice hockey arena, the Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm. During the first show, both Paul McCartney and John Lennon received mild electrical shocks from ungrounded microphones. Supporting acts included The Kays, The Moonlighters, and The Streaplers.

1966, Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Mick Jagger and Keith Richards song 'Out Of Time'.

1969, Police in Moscow reported that thousands of public phone booths had been vandalised after thieves were stealing parts of the phones to convert their acoustic guitars to electric. A feature in a Russian youth magazine had shown details on how to do this.

1973, The Watkins Glen outdoor summer jam was held outside of Watkins Glen, New York with The Allman Brothers Band, The Grateful Dead and The Band. Over 600,000 rock fans attended. Many historians claimed the event was the largest gathering of people in the history of the United States. 150,000 tickets were sold for $10 each, but for all the other people it was a free concert. The crowd was so huge that a large part of the audience was not able to see the stage.

1979, 'I Don't Like Mondays' gave The Boomtown Rats their second UK No.1 single. Bob Geldof wrote the song after reading a report on the shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who fired at children playing in a school playground across the street from her home in San Diego, California. She killed two adults and injured eight children and one police officer. Spencer showed no remorse for her crime, and her full explanation for her actions was "I don't like Mondays, this livens up the day."

1987, Kylie Minogue released a cover version of the Gerry Goffin and Carole King penned song The Loco-Motion in Australia, as her debut single. Minogue had first performed the song at an impromptu performance at an Australian rules football charity event with the cast of the Australian soap opera Neighbours. The song reached No.1 in Australia and the success in her home country resulted in her signing a record deal with PWL Records in London, England.

1990, Elton John started a five-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Sleeping With The Past', his fifth No.1 album.

1990, Partners In Kryme started a four-week run at No.1 with 'Turtle Power' the first rap chart topper in the UK. The One Hit Wonders track was featured in the film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

1991, Almost 100 arrests were made after an estimated 2,000 Youths rioted after a MC Hammer concert in Penticon, Canada.

1992, Rapper Ice T announced that Warner Brothers Records would pull the controversial song 'Cop Killer' from all future copies of his "Body Count" album. The song had been the target of protests by law enforcement groups who said it encouraged the killing of police. Ice T said he would give away recordings of 'Cop Killer' at his concerts. In an ironic twist, he would later join the cast of the NBC police drama, Law and Order.

1996, Marge Ganser from The Shangri-Las died of breast cancer. The group scored over ten hits during the 60's including the 1964 US No.1 'Leader Of The Pack.'

2000, Five and Queen were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'We Will Rock You', the classic Queen song was only a B-side in 1977 and this new version featured boy band Five and Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor.

2003, The wine Sir Cliff Richard made from his Algarve estate started a UK supermarket battle. Fans were asking all the stores when the wine would go on sale with the Tesco chain saying they would be the first, but the Waitrose shops had been selling the £8.49 a bottle red for the last week.

2004, American soul singer George Williams from The Tymes died of cancer. Had the 1963 US million seller ‘So Much in Love’ and the 1975 UK No.1 single 'Ms Grace'.

2004, Justin Timberlake obtained a restraining order against a photographer who allegedly stalked him. A judge in Santa Monica, California, granted the order against photographer Artemus Earl Lister.

2006, Prince second wife Manuela Testolini Nelson filed for divorce. His first marriage, to dancer Mayte Garcia, took place in 1996 but only lasted two years.

2008, Amy Winehouse  was rushed to hospital after she started to have fits at her home in Camden North London. A spokesman said it appeared the singer had suffered a reaction to medication she was taking to help her off hard drugs.

2011, Marvin Lee Aday, the 63-year-old singer who goes by the name of Meat Loaf, passed out onstage at Pittsburgh's Trib Amphitheater during an apparent asthma attack. After about ten minutes he regained his composure and finished the show.

2014, Linda Ronstadt was honored with a National Medal of Arts at the White House in Washington, D.C. The honor was a particularly special moment for Ronstadt, who didn't make it to her induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (in April of this year), since Parkinson's disease limited her ability to travel. The singer was brought into the East Room by wheelchair, but she walked onto the stage to receive her award.

July 28th: Born on this day

1935, Born on this day, Simon Dee (Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd), British TV and radio presenter, hosted a twice-weekly chat show 'Dee Time' during the 1960’s, with musical guests including Jimi Hendrix and Lulu. Dee died on 29th August 2009.

1938, Born on this day, George Cummings, steel guitar, Dr Hook, (1972 US No.5 & UK No.2 single 'Sylvia's Mother' plus 9 other US Top 40 hits).

1943, Born on this day, Mike Bloomfield, guitarist, member of the Paul Butterfield band and Electric Flag. Played on Dylan's album 'Highway 61 Revisited.' He died on 15th February 1981.

1945, Born on this day, Rick Wright, keyboards, vocals, Pink Floyd (1973 US No.1 & UK No.2 album 'Dark Side Of The Moon', spent a record breaking 741 weeks on the US chart. 1979 UK and US No.1 single 'Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)'. Pink Floyd have sold over 200 million albums worldwide). Wright died on 15th Sept 2008 aged 65 from cancer. Wright appeared on the group's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in 1967 alongside Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and Nick Mason.

1948, Born on this day, Gerald Casale, vocalist, bass guitar/synthesizer player, and a founding member of the new wave band Devo. He also directed most of Devo's videos and has also directed videos for The Cars, Rush, Foo Fighters and Soundgarden.

1949, Born on this day, Peter Doyle, singer, The New Seekers, (1972 UK No.1 & US No.7 single 'I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing'). Doyle died on 13th October 2001.

1949, Born on this day, Simon Kirke, drums, Free, (1971 UK No.2 & US No.4 single 'All Right Now'). Bad Company (1974 UK No.15 single 'Can't Get Enough').

1949, Born on this day, Steve Took, percussion, T Rex, 1971 UK No.1 single 'Hot Love', plus over 20 other UK Top 40 singles'). Took died on 27th October 1980.

1962, Born on this day, Rachel Sweet, singer, (1978 UK No.35 single 'B-A-B-Y').

1963, Born on this day, Beverley Craven, (1991 UK No.3 single ‘Promise Me’, 1991 UK No.3 self-titled album).

1965, Born on this day, Nick Banks, drums, Pulp, (1995 UK No.2 single 'Common People').

1965, Born on this day, Texas Axile, keyboards, Transvision Vamp, (1989 UK No.3 single 'Baby I Don't Care').

1972, Born on this day, Dan Warton, drums, Neds Atomic Dustbin, (1991 UK No.16 single 'Happy').

1980, Born on this day, Noel Sullivan, vocals, Hear'Say, (2001 UK No.1 single 'Pure and Simple').

1986, Born on this day, Jacoby Dakota Shaddix, lead singer with Papa Roach.

1990, Born on this day, DeAndre Cortez Way (Soulja Boy), American rapper. 2007 US No.1 single ‘Crank That (Soulja Boy).'