Today in rock history: On this date in 1983, German singer and performer Klaus Nomi passed away at the age of 39. Nomi, an outlandish, futuristic-looking artist who boasted a strong, operatic vocal range achieved some worldwide success as a new wave artist. Nomi’s impressive but all-too-short career ended due to complications from AIDS, making him one of the first entertainers and public figures to pass away due to this reason. Nomi is best-known and remembered for his appearance as one of David Bowie’s backup singers during a 1979 episode of weekly sketch-comedy show, Saturday Night Live apart from being remembered for this rich, deep voice and his unusual attire.
TWIST, AGAIN
On the record: Tampa author John Capouya draws a musical road map with his book Florida Soul
Today in rock history: On this date in 1960, singer Chubby Checker performed what would become his biggest hit, “The Twist,” on American weekly music program, American Bandstand. The single would eventually go to No. 1 on Billboard’s pop singles chart and, amazingly, would reach that coveted top spot again in 1962, making it the only single by the same artist to hit the top spot two times. Read another interesting caveat about the song in our story about the roots of Florida soul.
Today in rock history: On this date in 1987, “Do You Love Me,” a 1962 hit by R&B singing group, The Contours, achieved its highest chart position 25 years after its original release. The single was a hit for the band which recorded for Motown Records originally the first time around, but for its revival, it climbed as high as No. 11 on Billboard’s pop singles chart. The song’s newfound success came as a result of its inclusion in the film and soundtrack for the 1987 blockbuster film, Dirty Dancing where it played a significant part of the movie.
Today in rock history: On this date in 1965, Help, the accompanying album for the second film by The Beatles, was released. The album became the band’s fifth release overall and was another unprecedented success for the Fab Four. Although the record was released in varying formats and with different track listings in both England as well as in America, it managed to make it to the No. 1 spot in both of those countries as well as in Australia and Germany. Help contains the Beatles smash hits “Ticket to Ride” and the title track, which both performed well on singles charts all around the world. The album also included Beatles classics like “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” “You’re Going to Lost That Girl” as well as the George Harrison-penned and sung “I Need You.”
This article appears in Aug 2-9, 2018.