More About Music History On This Day
11 Mar 1965
Tom Jones was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'It's Not Unusual.' The Welsh singer's first of 16 UK Top 40 hits during the 60s. Written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills, the song was first offered to Sandie Shaw. Jones recorded a demo for Shaw, and when she heard it she was so impressed with Jones's delivery that she declined the song and recommended that Jones release it himself.
11 Mar 1967
Music publisher, Dick James, announced that 446 different versions of the Paul McCartney song 'Yesterday' had been recorded so far.
11 Mar 1968
The Otis Redding single '(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay' went gold in the US three months after the singer was killed in a plane crash. Recorded just days before his death, it became the first posthumous single to top the charts in the US.
11 Mar 1970
Deja Vu, the first album by Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, (and the second by the trio configuration of Crosby, Stills, and Nash), was released. It topped the pop album chart for one week and spawned three US Top 40 singles: 'Teach Your Children', 'Our House', and 'Woodstock'.
11 Mar 1971
Jim Morrison of The Doors arrived in Paris booking into The Hotel George's. The following week he moved into an apartment at 17 Rue Beautreillis in Paris. Morrison lived in Paris until his death on July 3rd 1971, (two years to the day after the death of the Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones, and approximately nine months after the deaths of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin).
11 Mar 1972
Neil Young went to No.1 on the US & UK album chart with his fourth studio album 'Harvest.' The album featured the US No.1 hit single 'Heart Of Gold.'
11 Mar 1972
Harry Nilsson was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of The Peter Ham and Tom Evans song 'Without You'. First recorded by Badfinger in 1970, the song was also a No.1 for Mariah Carey in 1994.
11 Mar 1975
The Original Soundtrack, the third album by 10cc was released. It featured the worldwide, multimillion selling single 'I'm Not in Love' notable for its innovative and distinctive backing track, composed mostly of the band's multitracked vocals. The song was the band's breakthrough hit worldwide, reaching No.1 in Ireland and Canada and No.2 in the US, as well as reaching the top ten in Australia, New Zealand and several European countries.
11 Mar 1978
French singer Claude Francois was electrocuted changing a light bulb while standing in his bathtub. He had the 1976 UK hit, 'Tears On The Telephone'.
11 Mar 1978
Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell album began a 416-week run on the UK chart. The album went on to become one of the most influential and iconic albums of all time and its songs have remained classic rock staples.
11 Mar 1978
The debut single from Kate Bush, 'Wuthering Heights' a song inspired by the Emily Bronte novel, started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart. Record company, EMI had originally chosen another track, 'James and the Cold Gun' as the lead single, but Bush was determined that 'Wuthering Heights' would be the first release from the album.
11 Mar 1989
Australian actor turned singer Jason Donovan scored his first UK No.1 single with 'Too Many Broken Hearts' which was written and produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman.
11 Mar 1993
Oasis recorded their first demos at The Real People's studio in Liverpool. The set included 'Rock 'n' Roll Star', 'Columbia' and 'Fade Away.'
11 Mar 1996
Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker walked free from Kensington police station after police failed to charge him with any criminal offence following his 'stage invasion', during Michael Jackson's performance at the Brit Awards on 19th February 1996.
11 Mar 2005
The front door of Ozzy Osbourne's childhood home in Birmingham went up for sale because the current owner was fed up with fans defacing it. Ali Mubarrat, who now owned the house in Lodge Road, Aston, said over the years it had become a pilgrimage destination. He was now auctioning the door on eBay and giving the money to charity.
11 Mar 2008
Madonna was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a star-studded ceremony in New York City, she received her honor at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel from singer Justin Timberlake. The 49-year-old thanked her detractors in an acceptance speech, including those who 'said I couldn't sing, that I was a One Hit Wonder'. Rock star John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, The Ventures and The Dave Clark Five were also among the inductees.
11 Mar 2009
Iron Maiden's tour manager criticized people who were arrested for trying to gatecrash a concert in Bogota. Colombian police arrested more than 100 people after stones were thrown hours before the group were due to perform. In a statement posted on the band's website, Rod Smallwood said: 'We abhor the inane behavior of a small minority of people outside.' Riot police fired tear gas canisters at those who tried to enter the concert without tickets.
11 Mar 2010
Pete Doherty was banned from driving for 12 months after admitting allowing his manager to use his Daimler car without insurance. Doherty's manager Andrew Boyd admitted dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident and was jailed for 12 months. The court was told how the victim Chris Corder suffered 'catastrophic' brain injuries and was left in a coma after the crash.
11 Mar 2011
The former singer with Iron Maiden was jailed for nine months for fraudulently claiming benefits. Paul Andrews fronted the band between 1978 and 1981, under the stage name Paul Di'Anno. Andrews, 52, was jailed at the city's crown court after earlier admitting falsely claiming more than £45,000. Fraud investigators had viewed online videos and read about gigs on the performer's website.
11 Mar 2013
The Gig in the Sky, an acoustic show for 128 passengers on board a Boeing 767 airplane set a new world record for the highest ever gig. Tony Hadley, Kim Wilde, Bananarama and Go West all performed at 43,000ft beating the previous record of 42,080ft set by James Blunt in 2010. The event was held to raise money for Comic Relief.
11 Mar 2015
A jury in the United States ruled that the writers of 'Blurred Lines', copied a Marvin Gaye track. Jurors in Los Angeles decided that the 2013 single by Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke breached the copyright of Gaye's 1977 hit 'Got To Give It Up'. The family of the late soul singer were awarded $7.3m (£4.8m) in damages. Thicke and Williams denied copying the hit, and their lawyer said the ruling set a 'horrible precedent'.
11 Mar 2015
Jimmy Greenspoon, keyboardist with Three Dog Night died after a long battle with cancer at the age of 67. During the course of their career, Three Dog Knight had 21 top 40 hits, including three No.1 singles.
11 Mar 2016
English musician Keith Emerson died in Santa Monica, California, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head after he had become 'depressed, nervous and anxious' because nerve damage in his hands had hampered his playing. Emerson found his first commercial success with the Nice, in the late 1960s and was a founding member of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), one of the early progressive rock supergroups.
11 Mar 2019
Drummer Hal Blaine, one of the most recorded musicians in pop music history died of natural causes at his home in Palm Desert, California age 90. As a member of the The Wrecking Crew his drumming can be heard on songs such as Presley’s 'Return to Sender,' the Byrds’ 'Mr. Tambourine Man,' The Beach Boys 'Good Vibrations,' Simon & Garfunkel’s 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' and dozens of hits produced by Phil Spector, and the theme songs to 'Batman,' 'The Partridge Family' and dozens of other shows.
11 Mar 2019
Danny Kustow, best known for his work with the Tom Robinson Band, died. He was mentored by the blues legend Alexis Korner and joined the early Tom Robinson Band in December 1976. ‘2-4-6-8 Motorway’ was their first single, released in late 1977, which climbed into the top five of the UK singles charts. Kustow later played with The Planets and also alongside Sex Pistols’ Glen Matlock in The Spectres and recorded with Gen X.
11 Mar 2021
American singer and musician Ray Campi died age 86. Nicknamed "The King of Rockabilly", he first recorded in the mid-1950s. Campi's trademark was his
Tom Jones was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'It's Not Unusual.' The Welsh singer's first of 16 UK Top 40 hits during the 60s. Written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills, the song was first offered to Sandie Shaw. Jones recorded a demo for Shaw, and when she heard it she was so impressed with Jones's delivery that she declined the song and recommended that Jones release it himself.
11 Mar 1967
Music publisher, Dick James, announced that 446 different versions of the Paul McCartney song 'Yesterday' had been recorded so far.
11 Mar 1968
The Otis Redding single '(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay' went gold in the US three months after the singer was killed in a plane crash. Recorded just days before his death, it became the first posthumous single to top the charts in the US.
11 Mar 1970
Deja Vu, the first album by Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, (and the second by the trio configuration of Crosby, Stills, and Nash), was released. It topped the pop album chart for one week and spawned three US Top 40 singles: 'Teach Your Children', 'Our House', and 'Woodstock'.
11 Mar 1971
Jim Morrison of The Doors arrived in Paris booking into The Hotel George's. The following week he moved into an apartment at 17 Rue Beautreillis in Paris. Morrison lived in Paris until his death on July 3rd 1971, (two years to the day after the death of the Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones, and approximately nine months after the deaths of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin).
11 Mar 1972
Neil Young went to No.1 on the US & UK album chart with his fourth studio album 'Harvest.' The album featured the US No.1 hit single 'Heart Of Gold.'
11 Mar 1972
Harry Nilsson was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of The Peter Ham and Tom Evans song 'Without You'. First recorded by Badfinger in 1970, the song was also a No.1 for Mariah Carey in 1994.
11 Mar 1975
The Original Soundtrack, the third album by 10cc was released. It featured the worldwide, multimillion selling single 'I'm Not in Love' notable for its innovative and distinctive backing track, composed mostly of the band's multitracked vocals. The song was the band's breakthrough hit worldwide, reaching No.1 in Ireland and Canada and No.2 in the US, as well as reaching the top ten in Australia, New Zealand and several European countries.
11 Mar 1978
French singer Claude Francois was electrocuted changing a light bulb while standing in his bathtub. He had the 1976 UK hit, 'Tears On The Telephone'.
11 Mar 1978
Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell album began a 416-week run on the UK chart. The album went on to become one of the most influential and iconic albums of all time and its songs have remained classic rock staples.
11 Mar 1978
The debut single from Kate Bush, 'Wuthering Heights' a song inspired by the Emily Bronte novel, started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart. Record company, EMI had originally chosen another track, 'James and the Cold Gun' as the lead single, but Bush was determined that 'Wuthering Heights' would be the first release from the album.
11 Mar 1989
Australian actor turned singer Jason Donovan scored his first UK No.1 single with 'Too Many Broken Hearts' which was written and produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman.
11 Mar 1993
Oasis recorded their first demos at The Real People's studio in Liverpool. The set included 'Rock 'n' Roll Star', 'Columbia' and 'Fade Away.'
11 Mar 1996
Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker walked free from Kensington police station after police failed to charge him with any criminal offence following his 'stage invasion', during Michael Jackson's performance at the Brit Awards on 19th February 1996.
11 Mar 2005
The front door of Ozzy Osbourne's childhood home in Birmingham went up for sale because the current owner was fed up with fans defacing it. Ali Mubarrat, who now owned the house in Lodge Road, Aston, said over the years it had become a pilgrimage destination. He was now auctioning the door on eBay and giving the money to charity.
11 Mar 2008
Madonna was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a star-studded ceremony in New York City, she received her honor at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel from singer Justin Timberlake. The 49-year-old thanked her detractors in an acceptance speech, including those who 'said I couldn't sing, that I was a One Hit Wonder'. Rock star John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, The Ventures and The Dave Clark Five were also among the inductees.
11 Mar 2009
Iron Maiden's tour manager criticized people who were arrested for trying to gatecrash a concert in Bogota. Colombian police arrested more than 100 people after stones were thrown hours before the group were due to perform. In a statement posted on the band's website, Rod Smallwood said: 'We abhor the inane behavior of a small minority of people outside.' Riot police fired tear gas canisters at those who tried to enter the concert without tickets.
11 Mar 2010
Pete Doherty was banned from driving for 12 months after admitting allowing his manager to use his Daimler car without insurance. Doherty's manager Andrew Boyd admitted dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident and was jailed for 12 months. The court was told how the victim Chris Corder suffered 'catastrophic' brain injuries and was left in a coma after the crash.
11 Mar 2011
The former singer with Iron Maiden was jailed for nine months for fraudulently claiming benefits. Paul Andrews fronted the band between 1978 and 1981, under the stage name Paul Di'Anno. Andrews, 52, was jailed at the city's crown court after earlier admitting falsely claiming more than £45,000. Fraud investigators had viewed online videos and read about gigs on the performer's website.
11 Mar 2013
The Gig in the Sky, an acoustic show for 128 passengers on board a Boeing 767 airplane set a new world record for the highest ever gig. Tony Hadley, Kim Wilde, Bananarama and Go West all performed at 43,000ft beating the previous record of 42,080ft set by James Blunt in 2010. The event was held to raise money for Comic Relief.
11 Mar 2015
A jury in the United States ruled that the writers of 'Blurred Lines', copied a Marvin Gaye track. Jurors in Los Angeles decided that the 2013 single by Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke breached the copyright of Gaye's 1977 hit 'Got To Give It Up'. The family of the late soul singer were awarded $7.3m (£4.8m) in damages. Thicke and Williams denied copying the hit, and their lawyer said the ruling set a 'horrible precedent'.
11 Mar 2015
Jimmy Greenspoon, keyboardist with Three Dog Night died after a long battle with cancer at the age of 67. During the course of their career, Three Dog Knight had 21 top 40 hits, including three No.1 singles.
11 Mar 2016
English musician Keith Emerson died in Santa Monica, California, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head after he had become 'depressed, nervous and anxious' because nerve damage in his hands had hampered his playing. Emerson found his first commercial success with the Nice, in the late 1960s and was a founding member of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), one of the early progressive rock supergroups.
11 Mar 2019
Drummer Hal Blaine, one of the most recorded musicians in pop music history died of natural causes at his home in Palm Desert, California age 90. As a member of the The Wrecking Crew his drumming can be heard on songs such as Presley’s 'Return to Sender,' the Byrds’ 'Mr. Tambourine Man,' The Beach Boys 'Good Vibrations,' Simon & Garfunkel’s 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' and dozens of hits produced by Phil Spector, and the theme songs to 'Batman,' 'The Partridge Family' and dozens of other shows.
11 Mar 2019
Danny Kustow, best known for his work with the Tom Robinson Band, died. He was mentored by the blues legend Alexis Korner and joined the early Tom Robinson Band in December 1976. ‘2-4-6-8 Motorway’ was their first single, released in late 1977, which climbed into the top five of the UK singles charts. Kustow later played with The Planets and also alongside Sex Pistols’ Glen Matlock in The Spectres and recorded with Gen X.
11 Mar 2021
American singer and musician Ray Campi died age 86. Nicknamed "The King of Rockabilly", he first recorded in the mid-1950s. Campi's trademark was his
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