Today in rock history, on this date in 1963. "Da Doo Ron Ron" by The Crystals peaked at no.3 on U.S. singles charts. The single marked the debut of producer Phil Spector's famed "Wall Of Sound" production style and began a long string of hits Spector and all the various groups he'd work with would score. Session musicians for this session included Glen Campbell on guitar and Leon Russell on piano.
Today in rock history, on this date in 1974. Paul McCartney went to the no.1 spot on the singles charts with this third solo chart-topper, "Band On The Run". The single is the title track from McCartney's third solo studio album.
Today in rock history, on this date in 1985. British duo Tears For Fears scored a no.1 hit with their single "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and stayed there for two weeks. The song also reached the top spot on Dance Club Play and Dance Music sales charts as well and was awarded the Best Single award the following year at England's Brit Awards ceremony.
Born on this date in 1962 in Birmingham, England — Nicholas James Bates better known as Nick Rhodes, ace Duran Duran keyboardist and synthesizer wizard. It was Rhodes and bassist John Taylor who jointly came up with the idea and the concept for the band who'd go on massive success in the 1980's. Rhodes was 16 when he left school and decided to focus on music and the band he'd formed. Rhodes has been a member of Duran Duran since then and has never left the band's lineup.
Today in rock history, on this date in 1979, the 2-LP soundtrack of The Kids Are Alright, a documentary film about the career of legendary rock and roll band The Who was released. The set contained a lot of previously unreleased and unheard material that was a treasure trove for Who fans. The material ranged from early material to live material that most Who fans were previously unfamiliar with. Included also (as seen in the film) was the band's performance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour where drummer Keith Moon packed explosives inside his drum kit that went off during the band's performance of "My Generation". The explosion is rumored to be a huge contributor to guitarist and singer Pete Townshend's long standing hearing problems.
This article appears in Jun 8-15, 2017.