Hi Everyone!
It's starting to look like Spring is right around the corner! After a cold, wet winter, it's so great to see the sun again!
One afternoon while I was listening to an album I was reviewing, I decided to read through my "Rock" music trivia files since I hadn't used them in quite a long time. I had so much fun reading through them that I thought I'd use some of those items for this month's newsletter. Enjoy!
Elvis Presley never performed in Great Britain.
The first rock group to appear at the classical music festival in Montreaux, Switzerland was Pink Floyd in 1974.
Michael Jackson's "Bad" album (1987) was the first album to have five #1 hit singles.
New Reviews: It's been a busy month, but there is an interesting assortment of new reviews and some new artists for you to check out. You can find them all
here.
Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" (1988) was the first and only a capella (without accompaniment) song to reach #1 on the Billboard charts.
The Beatles' first US appearance was on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. Nielsen figured there were 73,700,000 people watching.
The first gold record was awarded for "Chattanooga Choo Choo" recorded by Glen Miller. The award was given on February 10, 1942 for sales of 1,200,000.
New Interviews: I thought I'd have at least one new interview for you this month, but that didn't happen. I should have a couple of new ones during March, so be sure to check back!
The first million-selling record was "Dardanella/I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" by Ben Selvin on Victor Records in 1919.
The late B.B. King called his guitar "Lucille." His given name was Riley B. King. "B.B." stands for "Blues Boy."
The Jacksons were originally billed as "Ripples and Waves plus Michael." They were renamed when a neighbor heard them practicing and called out, "Listen to the Jackson 5!"
March Birthdays: Here are some musical birthdays coming up this month!
3: Mark Kroos
7: Behdad Bahrami & Isadar
9: Christopher Boscole & Tijs Ven
10: Matthew Shell
14: Jim Ottaway
15: Zachary Bruno
16: Brian Kelly & Eric Bikales
17: William Ogmundson
19: David Cullen
20: Michael Martinez, Patrick Lee Hebert & An Vedi
21: Heidi Breyer, Ken Pedersen, & Summer Swee-Singh
22: Michael Bohne
23: Bob Adern
24: Paul Spaeth & Justin Rayna
25: Paul Long
26: Chad Lawson & Mark Pinkus
28: Catherine Marie Charlton, Steven C (Anderson) & Hovig Nassanian
29: Kris Baines
30: Trine Opsahl
31: I can't leave out my brother, Loren Oakden-Parsons!!!
A very Happy Birthday to all of you!
Paula Abdul was the first recording artist to release a "greatest hits" album after only one album ("Forever Your Girl" in 1988).
Michael Jackson had his own Zip Code.
Aretha Franklin was the first female inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987).
March Holidays and Celebrations: Here are some music-related events you can celebrate this month!
All month: National Music in Our Schools Month, Play the Recorder Month, Sing With Your Child Month
Weeks: March 17-23: International Teach Music Week
March 24-31: World Irish Dancing Week
3/1: National Black Women in Jazz and the Arts Day
3/3: National Anthem Day
3/4: National Marching Band Day & National Dance the Waltz Day
3/9: National Urban Ballroom Dancing Day
3/10: International Bagpipe Day
3/15: Play the Recorder Day
3/22: National Sing Out Day
3/27: National Acoustic Soul Day, Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day, World Theater Day
3/29: World Piano Day (the 88th day of the year!)
3/31: Dance Marathon Day
Have fun, kids!
The Beatles released twenty-nine singles in 1964.
As of 1993, there were 168 known versions of "Louie Louie."
The FBI spent two years investigating the reportedly dirty lyrics of the song “Louie Louie.” After all that time, they came to the conclusion that the words were unintelligible at any speed.
I didn't take any photos this month, so I'll leave you with some more "fun facts" about some oldies! Have a great month!
Kathy
Roy Clark was the first US country artist to tour Russia (1988).
Jimi Hendrix toured as the opening act for The Monkees in 1968. He was usually booed and left the tour after a few shows.
The Pointer Sisters were the first black group to perform in Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry (1974), and were the first pop act to perform at San Francisco’s Opera House (also 1974).
Elvis Presley won three Grammy awards in his lifetime, but they were all in the Gospel category - none for his pop recordings.
Little Richard recorded “Tutti Frutti” in September 1955. It did well on the R&B and pop charts, but Pat Boone’s version of the same song sold even better! To prevent Boone from doing the same with “Long Tall Sally,” Little Richard recorded it at a tempo he knew Boone couldn’t keep up with. In 1956, “Long Tall Sally” became the first black R&B hit that was not outsold by a white cover version.
To the best of my knowledge, the "trivia" items are true, but I can't guarantee it.
