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June 7, 2001 It was 20 years ago today ... or maybe a little longer. But if it happened in rock, you'll find it here in the Rock Clock, our daily diary of the births, deaths, and moments that changed music forever. 1917 The granddaddy of every swinger who ever shook a martini, Dean Martin is born today in Steubenville, Ohio. 1940 Voice of the valleys Tom Jones is born in Pontypridd, Wales. His biggest hit was the 1971 No. 2 "She's a Lady." 1945 Soulman Billy Butler is born in Philadelphia. He recorded the hits "I Can't Work No Longer" and "Right Track" for the Chicago OKeh label. 1949 Three Dog Night bassist Jack Ryland is born. 1958 Prince is born in Minneapolis. 1963 In England, the Rolling Stones release their first single - a cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On" backed with Willie Dixon's "I Wanna Be Loved." The band has to change Berry's line "some stupid jerk" to "some stupid guy" in order to get the song played on the radio. The Violent Femmes' Gordon Gano is born. 1964 The Rolling Stones suffer a disappointment at the San Antonio Teen Fair. Only 3,000 seats are sold in the 20,000-seater venue for their appearance. One observer comments, "All they've got that our own school groups haven't is hair." On Ed Sullivan tonight you can see the U.S. debut of Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas ("Little Children"). 1966 Tragedy strikes poor Roy Orbison as his wife, Claudette, is killed in a car crash. Eric Kretz, drummer with Stone Temple Pilots, is born today in Santa Cruz, Calif. 1967 Three Moby Grape members are arrested on charges of consorting with underage schoolgirls. Ick. 1969 Blind Faith make their live debut at London's Hyde Park. Some 120,000 people turn up to see the supergroup of Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech strut their stuff at the free concert. Bob Dylan plays with Johnny Cash on the debut of ABC's Johnny Cash Show. The Who's Tommy makes its first appearance on the Billboard albums chart at No. 96. 1970 The Who play Tommy at New York's Metropolitan Opera House, paving the way for the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. Producer Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez is born in Brooklyn, N.Y. 1972 Grease opens on Broadway. Among the stars who would fill the shoes of Danny Zuko was an unknown Richard Gere. John Travolta actually made his debut in the musical at age 17 playing Doody. Thought you might want to know that. 1974 On ABC tonight you can watch highlights from the massive California Jam concert, including performances by Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Black Oak Arkansas. Yoiks. Meanwhile, on The Midnight Special, the Kinks pay host to ELO. Double yoiks. 1975 Elton John's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy enters the American albums chart at No. 1. 1979 Chuck Berry plays the White House. A week later he was in court facing income-tax-evasion charges. Berry served a four-month jail sentence. Fatal Microbes singer Honey Bane escapes from Brentwood, England's St. Charles Youth Treatment Centre. The 15-year-old was placed there two and a half years ago under a child care order. 1986 Here's a touching story. The model Jodi Varble once won passes to meet Air Supply in Chicago. Four years later, she marries the band's guitarist Graham Russell. The end. 1988 Bob Dylan performs at the Concord Pavilion in California with Neil Young on electric guitar. It's the beginning of a tour that becomes known as the Interstate 88 tour after the design on the backstage passes. However, considering Dylan's prolific roadwork since this date, the tour is later referred to as the Neverending Tour, which continues to this day. 1990 Without cracking a sweat, "Weird Al" Yankovic records "Waffle King" and "You Don't Love Me Anymore." Speaking of waffles, Michael Jackson enters the hospital complaining of chest pains. 1991 Little Jimmy Osmond isn't that little anymore. He marries 24-year-old student Michelle Larson in Salt Lake City. Alan Jackson is made a member of the Grand Ole Opry. 1993 Yep, today is the day when Prince said he was changing his name to that funny symbol. Sam Phillips, Chuck Berry, Billy Joel, and Pete Townshend are all hanging around as the ground is broken for Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Attendance has been on the slide ever since. 1994 It's about time, guys. Boston release Walk On. The follow-up to 1986's Third Stage was eight years in the making. Speaking of time, Grace Slick is ordered to serve 200 hours of community service and attend four Alcoholics Anonymous meetings after being found guilty of pointing a gun at police in March. 1998 The George Strait Chevy Truck Music Festival Brought to You by Wrangler comes to an end in Houston. Country music's first stadium tour also featured Tim McGraw, John Michael Montgomery, Faith Hill, Lee Ann Womack, and Asleep at the Wheel. 1999 Rod Stewart was supposed to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange this morning. But he arrives late and decides to toss some soccer balls onto the trading floor instead. Thanks, Rod. 2000 While TVT Records sues Napster for copyright infringement, it's discovered that unreleased albums by Radiohead and Oasis are being traded on the MP3-trading Web site. |
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