THIS DAY IN MUSIC

November 18th: On this Day

1956, Fats Domino appeared on the US TV Ed Sullivan Show performing 'Blueberry Hill.' Before the song became a rock and roll standard it had been recorded by various artists including Louis Armstrong, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Gene Autryand Jimmy Dorsey. The version by Fats Domino was ranked No.82 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

1963, The Beatles received silver LP discs for 'Please Please Me' and 'With the Beatles' at a ceremony held at EMI House in London. They also received a silver EP for 'Twist and Shout' and a silver single for 'She Loves You'. The band then attend a cocktail party and a formal lunch in the EMI boardroom with company executives and invited guests. Also on this day, the US NBC news program "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" was the first to air footage (albeit pre-recorded) of The Beatles in concert.

1970, Led Zeppelin III was at No.1 on the UK & US album charts. The original cover and interior gatefold art consisted of a surreal collection of random images. Behind the front cover was a rotatable laminated card disc, covered with more images, including photos of the band members, which showed through holes in the cover. The distinctive cover was based on a suggestion of Jimmy Page's that it should resemble an old-fashioned gardening seed chart. Designed by Richard Drew aka Zacron, the sleeve photographs were taken by fellow Leeds Polytechnic lecturer Martin Salisbury.

1970,

1971, Memphis blues singer and musician Herman 'Junior' Parker died aged 39 during surgery for a brain tumor. Parker was discovered in 1952 by Ike Turner, who signed him to Modern Records. Parker then signed to Sun Records in 1953. There they produced three successful songs including ‘Feelin' Good’ a No.5 on the Billboard R&B charts.

1972, Cat Stevens started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Catch Bull At Four'. The title was taken from one of the Ten Bulls of Zen a series of short poems and accompanying pictures that are intended to illustrate the stages of a Buddhist practitioner's progression towards enlightenment.

1972, Singer, songwriter Danny Whitten died of a drug overdose aged 29. He was a member of Neil Young's Crazy Horse and writer of 'I Don't Wanna Talk About It', covered by Rod Stewart, Rita Coolidge and Everything But The Girl. The Neil Young song ‘The Needle and the Damage Done’ was written about Whitten’s heroin use (before he died of an overdose).

1974, Genesis released the double concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadwaytheir sixth studio album and the last album by the group to feature the involvement of lead singer Peter Gabriel.

1975, Bruce Springsteen made his live debut in the UK at London's Hammersmith Odeon. The set list included: Thunder Road, 10th Avenue Freeze-out, Born To RunThe 'E' Street Shuffle, Jungleland, 4th of July, Asbury Park, Detroit Medley, For You and Quarter To Three.

1976, Richard Hell and the Voidoids made their debut at CBGB's New York. Hell was an innovator of punk music and fashion and was one of the first to spike his hair and wear torn, cut and drawn-on shirts, often held together with safety pins. Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols, has credited Hell as a source of inspiration for the Sex Pistols' look and attitude.

1976,

1978, Billy Joel went to No.1 on the US album chart with his sixth studio album, '52nd Street'. His first US No.1 album was also the first commercial album to be released on compact disc (by Sony Music Entertainment) and won Joel the 1979 Grammy for Album of the Year.

1983, R.E.M. made their first appearance outside the US when they appeared on Channel 4 UK TV show The Tube.  The following night they made their live UK debut when the played at Dingwalls, London.

1992, British group Black Sabbath were honoured with a star at the Rock Walk in Hollywood, California.

1993, Nirvana recorded their MTV unplugged special at Sony Studios, New York. Nirvana played a setlist composed of mainly lesser-known material and cover versions of songs by The Vaselines, David Bowie, Meat Puppets and Lead Belly. The album won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album in 1996.

1993, Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder was arrested in New Orleans for disturbing the peace after a fight broke out in a bar.

2001, Britney Spears scored her second US No.1 album with 'Britney.' The album's success made her the first female artist in music history to have her first three studio albums to debut at the No.1 spot. This record however would later be broken by Spears herself with her 4th studio album In the Zone which charted in the same position.

2003, More than five hundred Britney Spears fans camped overnight outside the Virgin Records Megastore in New York's Times Square waiting to get the star to sign copies of her new album 'In The Zone.'

2003, Following allegations of sexual abuse of a 12-year old boy, police raided Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch. Jackson denied the allegations, the search came on the day that his latest greatest hits album, 'Number Ones' was released in the US.

2003, American composer and orchestral arranger Michael Kamen died of a heart attack in London aged 55. Worked with Pink Floyd, Queen, Eric Clapton, Roger Daltrey, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, David Bowie, Eurythmics, Queensryche, Rush, Metallica, Herbie Hancock, The Cranberries, Bryan Adams, Jim Croce, Sting, and Kate Bush. Kamen co-wrote the Bryan Adams' ballad ‘(Everything I Do), I Do It for You.’

2005, A Belgian songwriter won a plagiarism case against Madonna over her 1998 hit single ‘Frozen.’ Salvatore Acquaviva claimed that the song copied one of his recordings, the judge agreed that Madonna's single used four bars of his song ‘Ma Vie Fout L'camp’, which roughly translates as ‘My Life's Getting Nowhere.’

2007, US celebrity publicist Paul Wasserman, died aged 73 of respiratory failure. His clients included The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon,Tom Petty and James Taylor. His career ended in 2000, when he was jailed for six months for swindling some of his friends by falsely claiming to be selling shares in investment schemes that he said were backed by stars like U2.

2007, 22-year-old X Factor winner Leona Lewis set a British record for the fastest-selling debut album with Spirit. The singer sold more than 375,000 copies in seven days, 12,000 more than the Arctic Monkeys' 2006 release Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. Oasis still had the overall record for the fastest selling British album, selling 813,000 copies in 1997.

2015, Eagles of Death Metal, the band whose concert was stormed by gunmen which killed 89 people during a gig at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris made their first statement since returning to the US. The band issued a statement saying they were "bonded in grief with the victims, the fans... and all those affected by terrorism".

November 18th: Born on this day

1936, Born on this day, Don Cherry, jazz musician, father of Neneh and Eagle Eye Cherry. Cherry died on 19th October 1995.

1936, Born on this day, Hank Ballard, US singer, songwriter, (1960 US No.6 single 'Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go', wrote 1960 US No.1 hit for Chubby Checker 'The Twist.'

1941, Born on this day, Con Clusky, The Bachelors, (1964 UK No.1 single 'Diane', plus 16 other UK Top 40 singles).

1949, Born on this day, Herman Rarebell, The Scorpions, (1991 UK No.2 single 'Wind Of Change').

1950, Born on this day, Graham Parker, singer, The Rumour, (1978 UK No.32 single 'Hey Lord Don't Ask Me Questions')

1950, Born on this day, Rudy Sarzo, bass, Whitesnake, (1987 US No.1 & UK No.9 single 'Here I Go Again'). Also worked with Dio, Quiet Riot and Ozzy Osbourne.

1954, Born on this day, John Parr, (1985 US No.1 & UK No.6 single 'St Elmo's Fire').

1954, Born on this day, Charles Williams, KC and the Sunshine Band, (1975 US No.1 single 'That's The Way, I Like It', 1983 UK No.1 single 'Give It Up').

1958, Born on this day, Laura Lynch, American country musician and songwriter, a founding member of the all-woman country music band the Dixie Chicks. (1999 UK No.26 single, 'There's Your Trouble', 2000 single 'Cowboy Take Me Away', 1999 US No.1 album Wide Open Space').

1960, Born on this day, Kim Wilde, singer, (1981 UK No.2 single 'Kids In America', 1987 US No.1 single 'You Keep Me Hanging On', plus 20 other Top 50 UK singles).

1962, Born on this day, Kirk Hammett, guitar, Metallica, (1991 UK No.5 single 'Enter Sandman', 1991 US & UK No.1 album 'Metallica').

1972, Born on this day, Matt Knight, Toploader, (2000 UK No.7 single 'Dancin In The Moonlight').

1975, Born on this day, Ant, P.J. & Duncan, 1994 UK No.9 single, 'Lets Get Ready To Rhumble.' Actor, TV presenter.

1977, Born on this day, Fabolous, (John David Jackson), American rapper. 2009 US No.1 album ‘Loso's Way’.

1984, Born on this day, Johnny Christ, American bassist, songwriter of Avenged Sevenfold, who had the 2010 US No.1 album Nightmare and the 2013 US No.1 album Hail to the King.