... and more October 26 birthdays –
Mahalia Jackson (1911)
Charlie Barnet (1913) – Jazz saxophonist (“Cherokee”).
Jimmy DeKnight (aka James Myers, 1919) – songwriter ("Rock Around The
Clock").
Neal Matthews (1929) – The Jordanaires.
Al Casey (1936) – session guitarist with the Wrecking Crew.
Mike Piano (1944) – The Sandpipers.
Keith Hopwood (1946) – guitarist for Herman’s Hermits.
William “Bootsy” Collins (1951) – Funk bassist, Bootsy’s Rubber Band.
David Was (aka Dave Weiss, 1952) – Was Not Was.
Natalie Merchant (1963) – singer/songwriter, 10,000 Maniacs.
Keith Urban (1967) – Australian country music artist.October 26 R.I.P. – Alma Cogan (1966) – ovarian cancer. Age 34. British singer. Wilbert Harrison (1994) – stroke. Age 65. Singer (“Kansas City”). Hoyt Axton (1999) – heart attack. Age 61. October 26 album releases – Sam and Dave – Soul Men (1967) Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye – Diana & Marvin (1973) Jethro Tull – War Child (1974) UK Neil Diamond – Serenade (1974) Pat Benatar – In The Heat Of The Night (1979) The J. Geils Band – Freeze Frame (1981) Bob Dylan – World Gone Wrong (1993) R.E.M. – Up (1998) Stone Temple Pilots – No. 4 (1999) Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Looking Forward (1999) October 26 events – 1934 – Cole Porter records “You’re The Top.” 1935 – 12-year old Judy Garland makes her radio debut singing “Broadway Rhythm” on NBC’s Shell Chateau Hour. 1949 – Bing Crosby records “Mule Train” and “Dear Hearts And Gentle People” for Decca Records. 1957 – Gene Vincent appears on American Bandstand. 1958 – Berlin, Germany hosts its first rock and roll concert with a performance by Bill Haley and His Comets at the Berlin Sportpalast. The show ends in chaos as the East Berliners in the crowd of 7,000 begin to fight with the West Berliners. Twenty policemen are injured; one losing his sight permanently. 1959 – The Everly Brothers leave Cadence Records and sign with Warner Brothers. 1959 – Marty Robbins releases his single, “El Paso” b/w “Running Gun.” 1961 – Bob Dylan signs with Columbia Records. 1962 – Bobby Rydell hosts the Miss Teenage America Pageant in Dallas, Texas. 1962 – The first Motown revue tour begins in Washington, DC with performances by headliner Mary Wells, as well as Marvin Gaye, Martha and The Vandellas, The Contours, Little Stevie Wonder and The Marvelettes. 1962 – The Rollin’ Stones - Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Ian Stewart and Tony Chapman - record their first demo tape at Curly Clayton Studios in Highbury, London, recording three songs: Jimmy Reed's “Close Together,” Bo Diddley's “You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover,” and Muddy Waters' “Soon Forgotten.” 1964 – The Beatles record “Honey Don’t” and re-make “What You’re Doing” to complete their fourth album, Beatles For Sale, after which they record their second Christmas message for their fan club. 1965 – The Beatles receive their MBE medals at Buckingham Palace from Queen Elizabeth II. 1968 – Having been fired from New York station WOR-FM the year before, legendary DJ Murray the K moves across town, becoming one of the WMCA- AM "Good Guys." 1968 – Big Brother and The Holding Company, with lead singer Janis Joplin, make their national television debut on ABC's The Hollywood Palace. 1969 – Waylon Jennings marries singer Jessi Colter. They remain married until Jennings’ death in 2002. 1969 – Santana, Mason Williams, Liza Minnelli and Henry Mancini all appear on The Ed Sullivan Show. 1970 – Mrs. Alta Mae Anderson, mother of Meredith Hunter, the Rolling Stones concertgoer murdered by Hell's Angels at their Altamont show on December 6, 1969, sues the band for $500,000 for hiring the infamous biker club as security. 1970 – A wake is held at the Lion's Share in San Anselmo, California to celebrate the life of Janis Joplin. Janis left $2,500 in her will to throw a wake party in the event of her demise. 1970 – The Osmond Brothers record “One Bad Apple” at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. 1973 – Paul McCartney & Wings release their single, “Helen Wheels” b/w “Country Dreamer” in the U.S. 1980 – Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship is hospitalized after he suffers what is thought to be a stroke while recording the band's latest album. It is later revealed to be a brain embolism, and he recovers after two weeks of care. 1984 – 19-year old John McCollum kills himself with a .22 caliber handgun after spending the day listening to Ozzy Osbourne records. McCollum’s parents will take legal action against Ozzy and CBS Records in the coming year, but the case will be thrown out. 1991 – Ozzy Osbourne breaks his foot during a concert at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, and cancels the remainder of his tour to heal. 1993 – In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Catholic church leaders urge residents to tie black ribbons around trees to protest Madonna's first concert appearance in their country. 1998 – U.S. Federal courts refuse to issue an injunction against the makers of mp3 players, much to the dismay of the RIAA, who has been pushing for legislation due to rampant piracy. 1998 – Fats Domino is awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton. 2000 – Garth Brooks announces his retirement from recording and performing. He stays retired for nine years. 2002 – Singer Jessica Simpson marries singer Nick Lachey. 2004 – Elvis Presley tops Forbes’ list of the highest-earning dead celebrities with $40 million (£22m). John Lennon came in second with $21 million (£11m), followed by George Harrison at $7 million (£3.8m), Bob Marley at $7 million, and George and Ira Gershwin with $6 million. 2004 – Apple Computers launches the U2 Special Edition iPod as part of a partnership between Apple, U2 and Universal Music Group. The new U2 iPod holds up to 5,000 songs on 20GB of storage and features a red Click Wheel and custom engraving of U2 band member signatures. 2006 – Guitarist Andy Taylor quits Duran Duran in the middle of their U.S. tour. 2007 – Rapper T.I. (aka Clifford Harris) is released on $3 million bail in Atlanta after being charged with unlawfully possessing firearms, unregistered machine guns and silencers. Judge Alan Baverman keeps the rapper under house arrest in Henry County, Georgia, and has him electronically tagged and monitored 24 hours a day by a private firm. 2007 – Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty is given a suspended prison term for drugs and motoring offenses after admitting to driving while uninsured and having no Ministry of Transport certification while in possession of crack cocaine, heroin, ketamine and cannabis. 2007 – Hit and run charges against Britney Spears are dropped when the singer pays restitution to the other driver. 2007 – 1,730 guitarists play Bob Dylan’s classic “Knocking On Heaven's Door” in the state of Meghalaya, North East India, and make their way into the Guinness Book Of World Records. 2008 – Patti LaBelle sings the National Anthem before Game 4 of the World Series and butchers the melody and words. 2010 – Boy George stuns his audience during his concert in London when he flies into a rage and tosses his drink on a woman who is talking during his show. 2011 – Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler falls in a hotel bathroom in South America, knocking out two teeth and suffering cuts to his face, forcing the band to postpone their concert in Asuncion, Paraguay for 24 hours. 2011 – A coroner's inquest into the death of Amy Winehouse reaches a verdict of misadventure, with Winehouse's blood alcohol content at 416 mg per decilitre at the time of her death: more than five times over the legal drunk driving limit.
