February 17 Born – Orville "Hoppy" Jones (1902) – The Ink Spots. Tommy Edwards (1922) – singer/songwriter (“It’s All In The Game”). Boniface “Buddy” DeFranco (1923) – Jazz clarinetist. Bobby Lewis (1933) – R&B singer (“Tossin’ And Turnin’”). John Leyton (1939) – British pop singer. Gene Pitney (1941) – singer/songwriter. Dodie Stevens (aka Geraldine Pasquale, 1946) – singer (“Pink Shoe Laces”). Rickey Medlocke (1950) – singer/guitarist for Blackfoot, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Missy Beehive (aka Melissa Belland, 1966) – Voice Of The Beehive. Chanté Moore (1967) – R&B singer. Billie Joe Armstrong (1972) – singer/guitarist for Green Day. Taylor Hawkins (1972) – drummer for Foo Fighters. John Hassal (1981) – bassist for The Libertines. Paris Hilton (1981) – debutante/actress/singer.
February 17 R.I.P. – Thelonious Monk (1982) – stroke. Age 64. Jazz pianist/composer. Bob Merrill (1998) – suicide. Age 77. Composer/songwriter. Ray Barretto (2006) – heart failure. Age 76. Puerto Rican jazz percussionist. Kathryn Grayson (2010) – died in her sleep. Age 88. Actress/singer (Show Boat). Michael Davis (2012) – liver failure. Age 68. Bassist for MC5. February 17 album releases – John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers – A Hard Road (1967) The Temptations – Cloud Nine (1969) John Lennon – Rock ‘N’ Roll (1975) AC/DC – High Voltage (1975) Australia The Eagles – Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) (1976) The Adverts – Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts (1978) Kate Bush – The Kick Inside (1978) Eric Clapton – Another Ticket (1981) Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – Budapest Live (1984) King Diamond – Fatal Portrait (1986) Blink-182 – Cheshire Cat (1994) Ash – Live At The Wireless (1997) February 17 events – 1955 – At the urging of R&B singer Lloyd Price, Little Richard sends his first audition tape to Specialty Records in L.A. 1958 – Ricky Nelson records two songs for his next single, "Believe What You Say" and "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It" at Master Recorders in Hollywood. 1959 – In Chicago, Chuck Berry records "Almost Grown" and "Back In The U.S.A," with background vocals by Etta James and The New Moonglows, featuring tenor Marvin Gay. 1960 – Elvis Presley's 1956 album, Elvis, is certified Gold. 1960 – The Everly Brothers leave Cadence Records and sign a 10-year, $1 million contract with Warner Brothers. 1962 – The Beach Boys' "Surfin'" debuts on the local L.A. charts. 1964 – Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass play their first major headlining gig in Los Angeles. 1965 – Tennessee Governor Frank Clement signs the bill officially making Patti Page’s “Tennessee Waltz” the state song. 1965 – The Moody Blues, Peter and Gordon, Herman’s Hermits, Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, Sonny and Cher, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dee Dee Sharp, The Blossoms, Steve Alaimo, Bobby Sherman, Sandie Shaw and The Echoes all appear on Shindig! 1966 – Brian Wilson rolls tape on take 1 of his new song "Good Vibrations." 1966 – Bob Dylan records "Stuck Inside Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again" at Columbia Studios in Nashville. 1966 – Percy Sledge records "When A Man Loves A Woman" at Norala Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. 1967 – The Beatles release their double A-side single, "Strawberry Fields Forever" b/w "Penny Lane" in the UK. In the studio, the group begins recording “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite,” laying down seven takes. 1968 – Big Brother and The Holding Company play their first show on the East coast at the Anderson Theater in New York City. 1969 – Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash record “Girl From The North Country” and several other songs for Dylan's upcoming album, Nashville Skyline. 1970 – After a concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Joni Mitchell announces her retirement. 1970 – Temporarily on leave from The Bee Gees, Maurice Gibb opens in the London production of the stage musical Sing A Rude Song. 1971 – James Taylor makes his television debut on The Johnny Cash Show. Neil Young and Linda Ronstadt are also guests. Following the show, Young, Taylor and Ronstadt record "Heart Of Gold." 1972 – Drug police in Perth raid the Scarborough Hotel rooms of Led Zeppelin, waking the band and searching their luggage. No drugs are found, and the group is left angry, feeling it is retribution for the near-riot the night before at their concert at the Subiaco Oval. 1972 – Pink Floyd plays the first of four nights at the Rainbow Theatre in London, performing a new stage and light show along with new music that will ultimately appear on their next album, Dark Side Of The Moon. 1972 – Radio station KDAY in Los Angeles plays two new Rolling Stones songs on the air non-stop for 18 hours, after getting their hands on tapes stolen from producer Jimmy Miller's home. 1973 – Free plays their final concert at the Hollywood Sportatorium in Florida. They announce their breakup when they return to England. 1976 – Harvard University names Bette Midler as its Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year. Midler declares that the honor "characterizes what the American male wants in a woman... brains, talent and gorgeous tits." 1979 – The Clash begins the U.S. leg of their Pearl Harbor Tour at the Palladium in New York. 1989 – R.E.M. appears at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia, with opening acts Hoodoo Gurus and The Go-Betweens. 1989 – Whitesnake singer David Coverdale marries his second wife, actress and Whitesnake video vixen Tawny Kitaen. 1990 – Aerosmith is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. 1996 – A Platinum American Express card once belonging to Bruce Springsteen is sold for $4,500 at a New York memorabilia sale. The singer had given the expired card to a waiter in a L.A. restaurant by mistake and let him keep it as a souvenir. 1997 – Hey, Hey, It's The Monkees, an hour-long comedy special directed by Mike Nesmith, airs on ABC-TV. 2000 – John Lennon's white Steinway piano on which he composed “Imagine” - set to be auctioned off later in the year - goes on display at the Beatles Story Museum in Liverpool. Singer George Michael will ultimately buy the piano. 2001 – Brad Paisley joins the Grand Ole Opry. 2003 – Lou Perlman, the man behind The Backstreet Boys and ‘NSYNC, comes under investigation over complaints that aspiring models and stars are forced to pay $1,500 upfront to appear on his Trans Continental company's website by saying he will help them to find work. 2004 – Prosecutors in the murder case of producer Phil Spector demand that a fingernail overlooked by police investigating Lana Clarkson's shooting be put forward as evidence when the defense refuses to hand it over, claiming the fingernail, blackened with gunpowder, could indicate that the 40-year old actress killed herself. 2005 – A 1965 Fender Stratocaster guitar belonging to Jimi Hendrix sells for £100,000 at an auction by Cooper Owen in London. Other Hendrix items sold include a poem written by Jimi two weeks after his appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival which goes for £10,000, and a single of “Hey Joe” signed by all the members of the band for £2,000. 2008 – During a concert by The Temptations and The Four Tops at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, Little Richard, who is sitting in the audience at the rear of the hall, is recognized and pointed out from stage, and receives a standing ovation. 2010 – The Poppy Family’s Susan Jacks, singer of "Which Way You Goin' Billy?" undergoes kidney transplant surgery, with a kidney donated to her from brother, Billy, the inspiration for the hit song. 2011 – Aretha Franklin announces she is healthy and ready to tour again. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Diamond Headz" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
