This
Month In Music History: September
September 1954: DJ Alan
Freed, who brought the term "rock and roll" into the American lexicon
to describe a form of music, leaves Cleveland OH to begin working at WINS in New York.
During his 5-year term he changes the direction of rock and roll forever with his radio
show, live concerts, films, and TV. He also brings black artists into the rock and roll
spotlight.
September 4, 1962: The Beatles have their first recording
session with producer George Martin at EMI studios in
London.
September 9, 1955: Elvis Presley makes his
first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. He performs
"Don’t be Cruel" and "Ready Teddy," is only shown from the waist
up because of his "vulgar" hip movements, and captures 82.6% of the total TV
viewing audience.
September 11, 1962: Ringo Starr replaces Pete
Best in a Beatles recording session of "Love Me
Do." From that day on, Starr would be the Beatles’ drummer.
September 20, 1973: The Roxy opens in Los Angeles. Neil
Young is the Headliner.
September 23, 1969: "Paul is dead" rumors sweep the US when an
Illinois University newspaper publishes "clues" hinting at Paul
McCartney’s demise and subsequent replacement in the Beatles.
Some suspect the hoopla is really a Capitol Records publicity stunt.
September 26, 1887: German immigrant Emile Berliner
receives a patent for his new invention, the Gramophone.
September 30, 1955: James Dean dies in a car
crash on Highway 41, at the intersection of Highway 466 (now Highway 46), near Chalome, 26
miles east of Paso Robles in Central California (on his way to an auto race). Although he
only made three films, dying at the age of 24 just as his career was taking off turned him
into a legend. To many, Dean epitomized the rock and roll phrase, "Live fast, die
young, and leave a good looking corpse."
September is not a good month to party like a rock star. All of the following musicians
died in September as a result of too many drinks or drugs: Keith Moon
(drug overdose in London, September 7, 1978), Jimi Hendrix (died after
choking on his own vomit after an overdose of sleeping pills September 18, 1970), and John
Bonham (died after a hard night of partying, September 25, 1980. The
coroner’s report states that Bonham drank at least 40 shots of
vodka).
Happy Birthday:
September 1:
Barry Gibb (b. 1946,Isle of
Man).
September 4: Beyonce Knowles (b. 1981)
September 3: Steve Jones (b. 1955)
September 6: Roger Waters (b.1947 Cambridge, England).
September 10: Joe Perry (b. 1950 Boston, MA).
September 10: Mikey Way (My Chemical Romance) b. 1980.
September 16: B.B. King (b. 1925 Itta Bena, MS).
September 16: Richard Marx (b. 1963)
September 18: Dee Dee Ramone (b. 1952 New York, NY).
September 20: Matthew & Gunnar Nelson (b. 1967).
September 20: Rick Woolstenhulme (Lifehouse) (b. 1979)
September 22: Joan Jett (b. 1958 Landsdowne, PA).
September 23: Bruce Springsteen (b. 1949 Freehold, NJ).
September 27: Meatloaf (b. Marvin Lee Aday Dallas,TX).
September 27: Avril Lavigne (b. 1984)
September 29: Jerry Lee Lewis (b. 1935 Ferriday, LA).
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