What Happened Today In Music

March 19th

1962 - Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan's debut album Bob Dylan was released in the Untied States. Initially poor sales led the record to be known around Columbia Records as ‘Hammond's Folly’ (John Hammond was producer of Dylan’s early recordings and the man responsible for signing Dylan). The album was praised by the New York City weekly newspaper Village Voice as an ‘explosive country blues debut’, but featured only two Dylan original compositions, 'Talkin' New York' and 'Song To Woody', the rest being old folk standards.

1964 - The Beatles

UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson presented The Beatles with their awards for show business personalities of the year for 1963 at London's Dorchester Hotel.

1965 - The Rolling Stones

The Tailor And Cutter Magazine ran an article asking The Rolling Stones to start wearing ties. The current fashion did not include wearing ties with shirts and many tie-makers were facing financial disaster. Mick Jagger said of the appeal, 'The trouble with a tie is that it could dangle in the soup. It is also something extra to which a fan can hang when you are trying to get in and out of a theatre.'

1971 - T Rex

T Rex were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Hot Love.' The group's first of four UK No.1's spent six weeks at the top of the charts.

1974 - Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane re-named the group and became Jefferson Starship. The new line-up included Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, drummer Johnny Barbata, David Freiberg, Peter Kaukonen, Cragi Chaquico and Papa John Creach.

1975 - Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin played the first of two sold-out nights at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. Tickets cost $7.50. The set list included: 'Rock And Roll', 'Stairway To Heaven', 'Whole Lotta Love', 'Black Dog' and 'Heartbreaker'.

1976 - Paul Kossoff

Paul Kossof guitarist with Free and Back Street Crawler died aged 25, of heart failure during a flight from Los Angeles to New York, (Kossof had a long history of drug abuse). Free had the 1970 UK No.2 & US No.4 single 'All Right Now'. His first band was Black Cat Bones alongside drummer Simon Kirke, (later of Free), and Kossof formed Back Street Crawler after leaving Free.

1982 - Randy Rhoads

Ozzy Osbourne guitarist and former Quiet Riot member Randy Rhoads was killed when the plane he was riding in crashed. After driving much of the night, the band had stopped near a small airstrip. The tour bus driver, Andrew Aycock, talked the band's keyboardist, Don Airey, into taking a test flight in a '55 Beechcraft Bonanza, the joyride ended, and the plane landed safely. Then Aycock took Rhoads and Rachel Youngblood on another flight and attempts were made to 'buzz' the tour bus. The left wing clipped the bus, which sent the plane spiralling into a nearby house and bursting into flames. All three bodies were burned beyond recognition, and were identified by dental records.

1996 - John Lennon

The second Beatles Anthology series was released. The album featured 'Real Love', a track the remaining members of the Beatles recorded using an old demo track of John Lennon's. The song was first recorded by Lennon in 1977 with a handheld tape recorder on his piano at home. It originated as part of an unfinished stage play that Lennon was working on at the time entitled 'The Ballad of John and Yoko.'

2001 - Geri Halliwell

Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell's London home was broken into. The intruder left obscene notes on the walls, stole the singer's computer and Hi Fi and had thrown milk and Ribena fruit drink on the walls. They also stole a necklace that used to belong to actress Liz Taylor.

2001 - Keith Richards

Keith Richards inducted Johnnie Johnson and James Burton at the 16th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame award ceremonies at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Richards also took part in the closing jam with Bono, Paul Simon, Kid Rock, Solomon Burke, Robbie Robertson and others.

2005 - 50 Cent

50 Cent became the first solo artist to have three singles in the US Top 5. 'Candy Shop' was at No.1 with 'How We Do' by The Game, (a member of his G-Unit group) at No.4 and 'Disco Inferno' at No.5.

2006 - Shakira

Shakira was set to become the first pop star to release a single only in the form of a mobile download. The singer's forthcoming release 'Hips Don't Lie' would not be issued in the US as a CD or as a download via the internet but would be available to phone users connected to Verizon.

2007 - Luther Ingram

US soul singer Luther Ingram died from a heart attack at the age of 69. Ingram scored the 1972 US No.2 hit '(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right' and wrote the Staple Singers' hit 'Respect Yourself'.

2009 - The Cure

Eighties pop fan Justine Thompson was ordered to pay more than £1,040 for repeatedly playing The Cure's 'Boys Don’t Cry' at full blast. Thompson aged 31, had also belted out 'Geno' by Dexy’s Midnight Runners and The Smiths 'This Charming Man' so loudly it shook flats around her home in Brighton, a court heard. City magistrates found her guilty of ignoring a noise abatement notice.

2015 - Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran sold the two millionth copy of his second album, X, (pronounced multiply), in the UK, nine months after it was released. He became only the fifth artist to achieve the feat this decade, following in the footsteps of Adele, Emeli Sande, Take That and Michael Buble.

2018 - Drake 

Drake was at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘God’s Plan’. The lead single from his fifth studio album, Scorpion, topped the Hot 100 for 11 weeks and spent 26 weeks in the top ten. The song broke first-day streaming records on both Apple Music and Spotify and topped the charts in fourteen countries. 

Born Today In Music

March 19th

1928 - Clarence Paul

American songwriter, record producer and singer Clarence Paul best known for his career with Motown Records. He was Stevie Wonder's mentor and main producer during Wonder's teenage years and also produced early Temptations records. 

1944 - Tom Constanten

American keyboardist Tom Constanten who is best known for playing with the Grateful Dead from 1968 to 1970.

1946 - Paul Atkinson

Paul Atkinson, guitarist with The Zombies who had four US hits, 'She's Not There', 'Tell Her No', 'She's Coming Home', and 'Time of the Season'. He later became an A&R executive, working for Columbia and RCA, discovering and signing such bands as ABBA, Bruce Hornsby, Mr. Mister, Judas Priest, and Michael Penn. Atkinson died on 1st April 2004 aged 58.

1946 - Ruth Pointer

Ruth Pointer with American R&B singing group The Pointer Sisters who had the 1981 US No.2 single, 'Slow Hand' and the 1984 UK No.2 single 'Automatic'. The Pointer Sisters have won three Grammy Awards and had 13 US top 20 hits between 1973 and 1985.

1952 - Derek Longmuir

Derek Longmuir, Scottish drummer and a founding member of the 1970s pop group, Bay City Rollers who had the 1975 UK No.1 single 'Bye Bye Baby' plus 11 other UK Top 20 singles' and the 1976 US No.1 single 'Saturday Night'.

1953 - Ricky Wilson

Ricky Wilson, guitarist, with the American new wave band The B-52's. Best known for their 1978 debut single 'Rock Lobster and the 1990 UK No.2 & US No.3 single 'Love Shack'. Wilson died on October 12th 1985 aged 32.

1953 - Billy Sheehan

Billy Sheehan, bass guitarist, with American hard rock supergroup Mr. Big, who had the 1992 US No.1 & UK No.3 single 'To Be With You'. Also worked with Steve Vai and David Lee Roth.

1955 - Bruce Willis

American actor, producer, and singer Bruce Willis who scored the 1987 hit single with his versions of 'Under The Boardwalk' and 'Respect Yourself,' (a duet with June Pointer), both of which were taken from his debut album The Return of Bruno.

1959 - Terry Hall

Terry Hall, English musician and the lead singer of The Specials, and formerly of Fun Boy Three. The Specials, had the 1981 UK No.1 single 'Ghost Town' and with Fun Boy Three had the 1982 UK No.4 single 'It Ain't What You Do It's The Way That You Do It' with Bananarama. Hall was also a member of Colour Field who had the 1985 UK No.12 single 'Thinking Of You'.

1959 - Anthony Marinelli

American pianist, musician, composer Anthony Marinelli who performed on the synthesizer for albums including Michael Jackson's Thriller and has also worked with Lionel Richie, Kenny Loggins, Herb Alpert, Supertramp, The Crystal Method, Billy Childs and James Brown. Marinelli has also scored many film soundtracks.

1971 - Jack Bessant

Jack Bessant, bassist with English band Reef who had the 1996 UK No. 6 single ‘Place Your Hands’ and the 1997 UK No.1 album ‘Glow'.