... and more November 20 birthdays –
Fran Allison (1907) – singer, radio personality, Kukla, Fran & Ollie.
Merle Travis (1917) – Country singer/songwriter (“Sixteen Tons”).
June Christy (aka Shirley Luster, 1925) – Jazz singer with The Stan
Kenton Orchestra.
Raymond Lefèvre (1929) – French composer, orchestra conductor ("The
Day The Rains Came").
Tony Butala (1938) – The Lettermen.
Jim Horn (1940) – session saxophonist, The Rolling Stones.
Suze Rotolo (1943) – Bob Dylan's girlfriend and muse from 1961 to
1964.
Mike Vernon (1944) – producer, record executive.
Ray Stiles (1946) – bassist for Mud and The Hollies.
Frank Marino (1954) – guitarist/vocalist for Mahogany Rush.
Jim Brown (1957) – drummer for UB40.
Gail Ann Dorsey (1962) – session bassist David Bowie and Tears For
Fears.
Mike D (aka Michael Diamond, 1965) – The Beastie Boys.
Kevin Gilbert (1966) – songwriter/musician for Sheryl Crow ("All I
Wanna Do").
Michael Followill (1986) – bassist for Kings Of Leon.November 20 R.I.P. – Roland Alphonso (1998) – cerebral hemorrhage. Age 67. The Skatalites. Chris Whitley (2005) – lung cancer. Age 45. Singer/songwriter/ guitarist. Bobby Relf (2007) – Age 70. R&B singer, Bob & Earl (“Harlem Shuffle”). November 20 album releases – The Yardbirds – Having A Rave Up With The Yardbirds (1965) U.S. Sly and The Family Stone – There’s A Riot Goin’ On (1971) Alice Cooper – Muscle Of Love (1973) Ringo Starr – Stop And Smell The Roses (1981) Cinderella – Heartbreak Station (1990) Peter Gabriel – Shaking The Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats (1990) Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers – Playback (1995) The Beatles – Anthology 1 (1995) Prince – The Rainbow Children (2001) November 20 events – 1929 – Leo Reisman and His Orchestra, along with Lou Levin on vocals, records “Happy Days Are Here Again.” 1944 – Les Brown and His Orchestra, along with singer Doris Day, record “Sentimental Journey.” 1954 – Gene Autry makes his Grand Ole Opry debut. 1955 – Bill Haley’s “Rock Around The Clock” hits #1 on the UK singles chart. 1955 – Sun Records owner and producer Sam Phillips meets RCA executives at New York City's Warwick Hotel and sells Elvis Presley's contract to them for an unheard of $35,000: the largest sum ever paid to sign a recording artist at that time. Elvis receives $13,500 of the total, and Phillips invests his share in a local hotel chain called Holiday Inn. 1955 – Bo Diddley makes his national television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. Prior to the show, Diddley agrees to perform Tennessee Ernie Ford's hit "Sixteen Tons," but instead plays his own hit "Bo Diddley." A furious Sullivan blackballs Bo from appearing on the show again. Diddley claims he was never paid for the performance. 1955 – Kay Starr records "The Rock And Roll Waltz" at Webster Hall in New York City. 1960 – Duane Eddy records "Pepe" at Audio Recorders of Arizona in Phoenix. 1961 – Bob Dylan begins recording his debut album at Columbia Studios in New York City. The entire album will be recorded in two sessions - this day’s, and one on November 22 - for a total cost of $400. 1961 – Billboard magazine reports that the "Twist" craze has spawned three separate films, and a television station airing hourly twist lessons featuring Chubby Checker. 1964 – John Lennon reads and acts out his "Deaf Ted, Danoota, (and me)" from his recent book In His Own Write on the BBC comedy show Not Only... But Also, featuring Dudley Moore and Norm Rossington. 1965 – The Who release their single, “My Generation” b/w “Out In The Street” in the U.S. 1966 – Beatles manager Brian Epstein holds a party at his home in London for The Four Tops, who are touring the UK. 1968 – Janis Joplin’s manager Albert Grossman approaches Mike Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites about creating her new backup group, which will eventually be known as The Kozmic Blues Band. 1968 – The Mokees’ movie Head premieres in theaters in six cities. 1970 – The Kinks release their single, “Apeman” b/w “Rats.” 1972 – Elton John releases his single, “Crocodile Rock” b/w “Elderberry Wine” in the U.S. 1973 – 19-year old Who fan Scot Halpin has his dream come true when the group invites him onstage to play drums on the last three songs of their set at San Francisco's Cow Palace when Keith Moon falls into a near-coma after ingesting seven horse tranquilizers and passing out on his kit. Halpin performs "Smokestack Lightning," "Spoonful," and "Naked Eye" with the group, then takes a bow with them. Later, Rolling Stone awards Halpin their "Pick-Up Player Of The Year Award." 1975 – Bay City Roller Les McKeown is found not guilty of vehicular homicide for hitting and killing 76-year-old Euphemia Clunie with his car the previous May, after it’s ruled that Clunie was walking very erratically while crossing the street. The singer is, however, charged with reckless driving, fined £150 and has his license suspended for a year. 1975 – George Harrison and Paul Simon both appear on Saturday Night Live, and duet on "Here Comes the Sun" and "Homeward Bound." 1975 – The Who kicks off a month-long North American tour at The Summit in Houston. At a party afterwards, Keith Moon is arrested for disorderly conduct and spends the night in jail. 1981 – Prince plays the first night of his 56-date Controversy Tour at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh. 1984 – Michael Jackson receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 1987 – Prince’s third movie, Sign ‘O’ The Times, opens in theaters in the U.S. and Canada. 1991 – Randy Jackson is sentenced in Los Angeles to a month in jail for violating probation related to charges of beating his wife in the previous January. 1991 – The Rolling Stones sign a $45 million contract with Virgin Records to record three albums over six years, making them rock's highest paid group up to that time. 1993 – Augusta, Georgia Mayor Charles DeVaney dedicates Ninth Street as "James Brown Boulevard." 1997 – Paul McCartney appears on The Oprah Winfrey Show. 1997 – Kenny G receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 2001 – Charlie Daniels undergoes surgery in Nashville for prostate cancer. 2001 – Madonna's childhood home in Oakland County, Michigan, sells at an auction for $331,000 in just 12 minutes. 2002 – Stevie Wonder threatens to sue his mother, Lula Hardaway, over a passage in her new autobiography that claims Stevie lost his virginity to a prostitute. The blurb is deleted from future copies. 2002 – Former Ultravox member Midge Ure is fined £500 and ordered to pay £35 costs by magistrates in King's Lynn, Norfolk, after he admits to reckless driving which caused an accident. 2003 – Phil Spector is formally charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of B-movie actress Lana Clarkson at his Los Angeles home. Spector enters a plea of "not guilty." 2003 – Michael Jackson returns to his Neverland Ranch home in Santa Barbara in response to an arrest warrant, and is charged with child molestation. The singer is immediately released after posting $3 million bail. 2004 – Oasis singer Liam Gallagher is fined £40,000 for a fight in a German hotel in December 2002. 2007 – Velvet Revolver are forced to cancel a four-city Japanese tour after their requests for visas are rejected due to previous drug convictions. 2010 – Billy Joel undergoes double hip replacement surgery at a Long Island hospital. 2011 – Robin Gibb is diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
