... and more October 17 birthdays –
Cozy Cole (aka William Cole, 1909) – drummer for Louis Armstrong's All-
Stars.
Barney Kessel (1923) – Jazz/session guitarist with the Wrecking Crew.
The Singing Nun (aka Jeanine Deckers, 1933)
Emmanuel “Rico” Rodriguez (1934) – trombonist for The Specials.
Alan Howard (1941) – Brian Poole and The Tremeloes.
Gary Puckett (1942) – Gary Puckett and The Union Gap.
Jim Tucker (1946) – guitarist for The Turtles.
Michael Hossack (1946) – drummer for The Doobie Brothers.
Bill Hudson (1949) – The Hudson Brothers.
Alan Jackson (1958) – Country singer.
David Nesta “Ziggy” Marley (1968)
Eminem (Marshall Mathers III, 1972) – rapper.
Wyclef Jean (1972) – The Fugees.
October 17 R.I.P. –
Billy Williams (1972) – Age 61. The Charioteers ("I'm Gonna Sit Right
Down And Write Myself A Letter").
Alberta Hunter (1984) – Age 89. Blues singer/songwriter (“Downhearted
Blues”).
"Tennessee" Ernie Ford (1991) – liver failure. Age 72.
Criss Olivia (1993) – car crash. Age 30. Guitarist for Savatage.
Thomas Durden (1999) – Age 79. Songwriter/lyricist (“Heartbreak
Hotel”).
Jay Livingston (2001) – Age 86. Film composer ("Whatever Will Be, Will
Be (Que Sera, Sera)").
Bashful Brother Oswald (2002) – Age 90. Country musician, Roy Acuff’s
Smoky Mountain Boys.
Derek Bell (2002) – cardiac arrest. Age 66. Multi-instrumentalist for
The Chieftains.
Teresa Brewer (2007) – neuromuscular disease. Age 76. American pop
singer.
Levi Stubbs (2008) – died in his sleep. Age 72. The Four Tops.
October 17 album releases –
The Rolling Stones – 12X5 (1964) U.S.
The Easybeats – Vigil (1968)
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Street Survivors (1977)
Bruce Springsteen – The River (1980)
Dire Straits – Making Movies (1980)
The Cars – Unlocked: The Live Performances (2006)
AC/DC – Black Ice (2008)
October 17 events –
1919 – The General Electric Corporation and Westinghouse found the
Radio Corporation of America (RCA) as part of a project with the U.S.
government to monopolize long-distance radio communications.
1930 – Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra records “Mood Indigo”
in New York.
1945 – Bandleader Artie Shaw marries actress Ava Gardner.
1955 – Tennessee Ernie Ford releases his single, “You Don’t Have To Be
A Cry Baby” b/w “Sixteen Tons” on Capitol.
1956 – Mickey & Sylvia record “Love Is Strange.”
1957 – Elvis Presley’s third movie, Jailhouse Rock, premieres at Loews
State Theatre in Memphis.
1960 – Dion & The Belmonts split up.
1962 – The Beatles make their very first television appearance
anywhere when part of their afternoon show at the Cavern (filmed on
August 22, 1962) is broadcast on Granada television's People And
Places.
1963 – The Beatles record their first fan club Christmas record, after
which they record the two songs for their next single, “I Want To Hold
Your Hand” and “This Boy.”
1965 – The Animals and Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs appear on The Ed
Sullivan Show. Also on the show is Pat Boone.
1966 – The Elvis Presley movie Spinout premieres in Memphis.
1967 – Bob Dylan begins recording his John Wesley Harding album at
Columbia Studios in New York.
1967 – The musical Hair premieres off-Broadway at the Public Theatre
and runs for a limited engagement of six weeks.
1967 – The Beatles attend a small memorial service for manager Brian
Epstein at the New London Synagogue on Abbey Road. Other NEMS artists
in attendance include Cilla Black, Gerry Marsden, The Fourmost and
Billy J. Kramer.
1967 – Phil Spector, Tommy Boyce, and Bobby Hart all appear as
themselves on the "Jeannie, The Hip Hippie" episode of NBC’s I Dream
Of Jeannie.
1969 – The Kinks return to the American stage after a four year ban at
Fillmore East with opening act The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and
headliners, Spirit.
1969 – Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner is arrested for possession of
marijuana in Honolulu, Hawaii.
1969 – Led Zeppelin begins their fourth North American tour at
Carnegie Hall in New York: the first hard rock act to play there since
The Rolling Stones in 1964.
1970 – Elvis Presley attends the Gospel Quartet Convention in Memphis,
and sings backstage with The Blackwood Brothers and The Statesmen
Quartet, both early influences on Elvis.
1970 – Eric Clapton releases his single, “After Midnight” b/w “Easy
Now.”
1973 – The Rolling Stones perform two shows at Foret Nationale in
Brussels, Belgium, with opening acts Billy Preston and American group
Kracker. Saxophonist Bobby Keys misses the shows, which gets him
banned by Mick Jagger from further Stones concerts until 1989.
1975 – Maurice Gibb marries his second wife, Yvonne Spencely. They
remain married until his death in 2003.
1978 – Neil Diamond and Barbara Streisand record "You Don't Bring Me
Flowers."
1981 – One man is killed and another injured in an attempted robbery
at a Rolling Stones ticket office in Maryland.
1987 – The Bee Gees become the first group to score a #1 hit in the UK
in three separate decades - the ‘60s, '70s, and '80s - when their new
song, “You Win Again,” hits #1.
1991 – Sixties singer Sandie Shaw is arrested for refusing to take an
alcohol breathalyzer test outside her apartment in London.
1994 – Billy Joel opens the new Gund Arena in Cleveland with a
concert.
1995 – Rhino Home Video issues the complete series of The Monkees as a
deluxe VHS boxed set, containing all 58 episodes, plus the pilot and
the 1969 special, 33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee, on a total of 21
videotapes.
1995 – Sting's former accountant Keith Moore is sentenced to six years
in jail after being found guilty of embezzling £6 million from the
singer's 108 bank accounts.
1998 – In an interview, R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe admits to being
gay.
1999 – Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band open the new Staples
Center in L.A. with a concert.
2000 – A flat in Montagu Square, London, once owned during the '60s by
Ringo Starr, goes on the market for £575,000. During the ‘60s, Jimi
Hendrix, John and Yoko, and Paul and Linda McCartney all lived there
at one point or another.
2000 – George Michael buys the upright piano John Lennon wrote
“Imagine” on for £1.67 million at a charity auction set up by Mick
Fleetwood in London.
2001 – The heirs of Bing Crosby file a $16 million lawsuit against
Universal Music Group for underpaying royalties on the singer’s
recordings.
2004 – Michael Jackson's long-time lawyer, Steve Cochran, leaves the
star's defense team, who is fighting child abuse charges.
2005 – Freddie Mercury's 1974 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow fails to sell
in an eBay auction, having not met its reserve price.
2005 – 77-year old Fats Domino returns to his home for the first time
after Hurricane Katrina to find it in ruins. He is able to salvage a
few momentos and only three of his 21 gold records.
2007 – A section of West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, which runs in
front of what was once the Motown studios, is officially renamed Berry
Gordy Jr. Blvd.
2007 – The California State Franchise Board claims singer and resident
Dionne Warwick owes the state $2.67 million in unpaid taxes.
2008 – Madonna and movie director husband Guy Ritchie split after
eight years of marriage.
2009 – Actor Johnny Depp presents Keith Richards with the “Rock
Immortal” Award at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles as part of this
year’s Scream Awards.
