10.12: On this day in 1978, Sid Vicious, former bass player for The Sex Pistols, was arrested and charged with the murder of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, who'd died from a stab wound to the abdomen. Sid attempted suicide ten days after Spungen's death and subsequently found himself in Bellevue Hospital's psychiatric ward, where he would spend two weeks. Vicious, addicted to heroin and a "live fast, die young" punk attitude, had no memory of killing his true love and died a few months later, like so many musicians before and since, of a heroin overdose. Sadly, at the time of his death, Sid had been clean for the better part of four months, since the death of Spungen. He was celebrating his release from Riker's Island, after spending nearly two months there for an incident involving a smashed beer mug on someone's face, when a friend (some even say his own mother) suggested they get some heroin. It is still unknown who killed Spungen, as some have suggested that one of the two drug dealers to encounter the couple that night could be equally culpable.
10.12: On this day in 1997, John Denver was the sole occupant of a Long-EZ aircraft that crashed off the coast of California. A certified pilot with over 2700 hours of flight time, Denver died that day as the small, experimental plane plunged into the Pacific. Nobody's really sure what happened, but "Take Me Home, Country Roads" still rocks, in its very own folksy and serene way, today.
10.13: On this day in 1941, the sounds of a screaming baby, not silence, resounded through the little delivery room of a hospital in Newark, New Jersey, as Garfunkel’s better half, Paul Frederic Simon, was born. He says you can call him Al, but that's just weird. Where do you get Al from Paul, Frederic, or Simon? Anyway, Paul Simon is still crazy after all these years, hanging out with some guy named Julio down by the schoolyard.
10.13: Ed Sullivan died on this day in 1974. Not himself a musician, Sullivan, nevertheless, loved music and enjoyed his position of influence in the music world. Every Sunday night for 23 years, from 1948-1971, millions of Americans gathered around their televisions, eagerly awaiting the musical acts that Sullivan would bring into their homes as part of The Ed Sullivan Show. From the Jackson Five singing their very first single to The Beatles first live American television appearance, from Elvis Presley shaking his suggestive hips to the infamous Doors appearance, the power of Sullivan's show to sell records wasn't lost on any band or musician. In this fractured and specialized media world of today, it is hard to imagine someone with that kind of influence, but Sullivan had it and everyone knew it.
10.13: On this day in 1947, the other face of Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, was born. If you can name a song, besides "I Can't Drive 55," that Sammy sang before or after Van Halen, you are awesome. We can, but we aren't saying what it is. Okay, it's "Heavy Metal," but that's the only other cool Hagar solo-song we can think of. We talked about this last week, when "Diamond" David Lee Roth also celebrated his birthday, that Dave's original and revived stint with Van Halen defined and defines that band and totally rules over Sammy's run. We'll take a poll, though, to be fair. By a show of hands, who out there thinks Sammy was a better frontman than Dave? If you raised your hand, slap it right now. Now wag your finger at yourself and tell yourself that you'll never do or think or say anything that stupid again. But this is Sammy's birthday, so have a shot of Cabo Wabo tequila and sing along to "Why Can't This Be Love." Then, go sit in the corner and apologize to Dave.
10.14: Buddy Holly opened a show for Bill Haley & His Comets ("Rock Around The Clock") on this day in 1955. A talent agent caught the set and soon arranged for Holly to cut a demo and sign to Decca Records. Holly's first hit, "That'll Be The Day," came from those demo sessions. Holly's very short career blossomed soon afterwards. His death, in February 1959, along with Richie Havens and the Big Bopper, in a plane crash on a snowy night in Iowa, lives forever as "The Day The Music Died."
10.15: Tina Turner, not yet your private dancer, finalized her split with Ike Turner on this day in 1976. She'd released her first solo album the year before and left her marriage to Ike a few months before, but now the split went all the way through their professional arrangement, as well. Though her career with Ike had yielded many hits during its run, it would be another 8 years before Tina would find herself back on top, when What's Love Got To Do With It topped the charts. And, ya know, she still rips up the crowds today. We get all googly-eyed just thinking about her. She rocks.
10.16: On this day in 1962, Michael Peter Balzary, aka Flea, was born. One of the most intense and funky bass players ever to slap four strings, Flea's early penchant for jazz had teachers at his school in Los Angeles singing his praises, calling him the second coming of Herb Alpert. Then Flea became friends with a couple of Cali kids by the names of Anthony Kiedis, from whom he would get his nickname due to his intense and bouncy energy, and Hillel Slovak. They would eventually become The Red Hot Chili Peppers, wear nothing but socks in one strategic area while playing shows, and conquer the known world with their hybrid of George Clinton space funk, Sex Pistolesque punk, and heavy metal thunder.
10.16: CCR, better known as Creedence Clearwater Revival, split on this day in 1972. Though their peak only lasted a couple of years, the ride they found themselves on rarely stopped to let them breath. They charted five Top Ten albums in two years, from '69-'70. That's a lot of studio work, on top of the non-stop touring. Perhaps that's why tension built and boiled over into animosity and in-fighting, leading to the dissolution of one of the '60s most well-received bands. They weren't like the hippy-dippy, peace and love crowd, living on psychedelics and wine and notions of everyone loving one another. CCR's roots in working-class neighborhoods and Americana shone through in their tales of gothic bayous and war, both civil and foreign, their stories of growing up without a silver spoon and working for a living. John Fogerty's straightforward, yet emotional, voice and lyrics heralded something different on the horizon of rock, making room for the likes of Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp.
10.17: Ready or not, on this day in 1972, Wyclef Jean was born. The man with the plan, Wyclef's musical and production skills anchored his band The Fugees and helped them score one of the best-selling hip-hop albums in history, appropriately titled The Score. Wyclef went on to much solo success after the dissolution of the band, but, as far as we're concerned, The Score is the one that will be remembered. That album still gives us goose bumps today when we sit down for a listen. For that, we say, "Happy Birthday, Wyclef!"
10.18:"Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll!" Man, what an amazing birthday we have for you today. The one and only Chuck Berry joined us on this day, all the way back in 1926. He is one of the originals, one of the first to put all of the pieces together and make sweet, sweet rock and roll. Bringing together boogie woogie, gospel, country, and rhythm and blues, Chuck exploded onto the scene in 1955 with "Maybellene." From "Johnny B. Goode" to "No Particular Place To Go," Mr. Charles Edward Anderson Berry is a true originator, influencing everyone from Keith Richards to Jerry Garcia, Angus Young to Pete Townsend. And ya know what? He's still rocking out today. The man is 83 and still playing those licks like it's 1955!