The Weekend YouTube Music Video Thread

This Day in Music - July 18

2005 - Funeral services for Luther Vandross are held at New York's Riverside Church. The artist died July 1 at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, N.J., two years after suffering a serious stroke. He is 54.

2003 - Barry White, the R&B crooner renowned for his deep, erotic baritone, dies at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he had been undergoing dialysis after suffering a stroke in May. He is 58.

2001 - Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard is sentenced in a Queens, N.Y., courtroom to two to four years in prison after having pleaded guilty to cocaine possession in April.

1999 - Haroon Shamsher, who with his brother Farook, was the mainstay of Joi, a leading British-Asian fusion group and sound system, dies of a heart attack. He is 33.

1999 - Radney Foster becomes a new dad. The Arista Austin recording artist and former member of Foster & Lloyd and his wife, Cyndi Hoezle are the parents of baby boy, Jackson Butterfield Foster.

1999 - BBC Radio 1 hip-hop DJ Tim Westwood is shot in a drive-by shooting in London. He is reported in stable condition the following day.

1998 - The late singer/songwriter Harry Chapin - famed for donating half his concert proceeds to causes such as hunger relief - continues his humanitarian efforts through the Harry Chapin Tribute Concert. The concert features members of Chapin's original band. Attendants are asked to bring donations of nonperishable foods.

1995 - The oldest known musical instrument in the world is found in the Indrijca River Valley in Slovenia. The 45,000 year-old relic, a crude wind instrument, is a bear bone with four artificial holes along its length.

1995 - Selena's ``Dreaming of You,'' a posthumous album by the slain Tejano star, is released. It is the fastest-selling album by a female artist in pop history, with 175,000 copies purchased its first day.

1992 - Singer Whitney Houston and rapper Bobby Brown marry at Houston's mansion in Mendham Township, N.J. Among the guests are Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Gloria Estefan and Dick Clark.

1988 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Hold on to the Nights," Richard Marx.

1977 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Looks Like We Made It," Barry Manilow.

1972 - Boston Mayor Kevin White helps get Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones out of jail in Warwick, R.I., so they can make their performance at the Boston Garden. The two were arrested for getting into a scuffle with a Providence, R.I., photographer.

1941 - Martha Reeves is born in Alabama. Her group Martha & the Vandellas has six top 10 songs. Their biggest hit is "Dancing in the Street," a No. 2 song in 1964.

1939 - Singer Dion (Dion DiMucci) is born in the Bronx, N.Y. He records with the Belmonts until 1960. They have two top five hits: "A Teenager in Love" and "Where or When." His biggest solo hit is "Runaround Sue," a No. 1 song for two weeks in 1961.

Luther VanDross - A House is not a Home (Live)

Harry Chapin - Cats In The Cradle

Thierry Oger/ Jazz solo flute

Dion - Runaround Sue

This is the week that was in matters musical …

1953, Marilyn Monroe’s sultry performance of “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” lights up the silver screen in the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes … years later Madonna would cop the visuals if not exactly the vibe for one of her music videos …

1958, The Coasters reach #1 with “Yakety Yak” driven by a King Curtis sax solo and bass singer Will “Dub” Jones intoning “don’t talk back” …

1962, Marvin Gaye releases his first hit single “Stubborn Kind of Fellow” …

1963, in Winnipeg, Canada, Neil Young & The Squires have their first recording session …

1965, The Lovin’ Spoonful’s first single “Do You Believe In Magic” debuts … it will peak at #9 …

1966, the alcohol-soaked body of singer-guitarist Bobby Fuller is discovered in the parking garage of his Hollywood apartment … this a month after Fuller quit The Bobby Fuller Four (”I Fought The Law”) to go solo … the investigation determines he died from asphyxiation under mysterious circumstances … no arrests are ever made …

1968, Iron Butterfly’s album In-a-Gadda-da-Vida debuts on the U.S. charts … the title track, clocking in at a whopping 17 minutes, features a long drum solo quickly copied by garage bands across the country so the rest of the band can take a potty break … according to producer Jim Hilton, the song’s title results from singer Doug Ingle’s wine-induced slurred pronunciation of “In Our Garden of Eden” when he was asked for the name of a new song the band was rehearsing … the producer jotted the title down phonetically … Hilton recollects “I felt it was more interesting and a lot more mystical than the straight title … the band thought I had lost my mind, but it was too late to change it, I had already given my OK on the cover for printing” … in Detroit, five young men from Gary, Indiana, named Jackson audition for Motown Records’ Berry Gordy … The Byrds begin a tour of South Africa minus Gram Parsons who quit the band in protest of its playing in a country that promotes Apartheid—state sponsored segregation …

1970, 30,000 rock fans crash the gates at the Randall’s Island Rock Festival to enjoy sets by Jimi Hendrix, Grand Funk Railroad, Little Richard, Steppenwolf, and Jethro Tull …

1974, called “The Bucolic Frolic”, the first Knebworth Festival is held in the UK … performers include brothers Allman and Doobie, Van Morrison, Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, and Tim Buckley …

1975, Bruce Springsteen kicks off the Born to Run tour in Providence, Rhode Island …

1980, Joy Division releases its second album Closer … it’s seen by some as a musical farewell note by lead singer Ian Curtis who committed suicide in May … the images of a funeral scene on the album cover were selected before Curtis killed himself …

1981, Soft Cell releases “Tainted Love” with its “bink-bink” hook … it will become one of the top-selling singles of the 1980s … the recording of singer Mark Almond’s practice vocal was used for the released version … it’s a remake of Gloria Jones’ 1964 soul classic written by Ed Cobb of The Four Preps who later served as manager-songwriter for the Standells and Chocolate Watchband …

1982, The Go-Go’s second album, Vacation, underwhelms the critics with one calling it “simple and bland” … Moon Unit Zappa, still a young teenager, makes her debut with dad Frank, recording “Valley Girl,” which becomes FZ’s highest-charting single at #32 and wins Grammy nominations for father and daughter alike …

1984, Prince releases Purple Rain the soundtrack to the movie of the same name … highlights include “Let’s Go Crazy,” “When Doves Cry,” and the title tune …

1987, Guns N’ Roses’ debut album, Appetite For Destruction, is released … while it is considered a landmark album now, it won’t start moving significant units or receiving much airplay until MTV puts the video for “Sweet Child o’ Mine” into heavy rotation nearly a year later … after the ballad shoots to the top of the charts, the original lead single from the album, “Welcome to the Jungle,” is re-released and hits the top 10 … another top 10 hit, “Paradise City,” soon follows, as do sold-out arena tours, classic rock star excess, and intra-band conflict …

1989, guitarist Jason Everman quits Nirvana after they play the Pyramid Club in New York City … Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and drummer Chad Channing carry on as a trio …

1991, the first Lollapalooza alternative music tour hits the road … dreamed up by Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell for farewell performances for his band … other groups on the tour include Nine Inch Nails and Ice T & Body Count … the tour will become known as the itinerant Woodstock for Generation X …

1995, the oldest known instrument, a 45,000-year-old hollowed bear bone flute with four holes is discovered in Slovenia … archaeologists debate over whether it should be called a relic or new old stock …

1999, all hell breaks loose at Woodstock 99, the ill-fated revival of the ‘60s rock festival … during a set by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, bonfires fueled by paper plates and pizza boxes ignite a remote sound tower … ironically, many of the fires are touched off by candles distributed by a peace advocacy group … sexual assaults, looting, water shortages, and overflowing portable toilets contribute to a fun-filled rock ‘n’ roll weekend …

2004, singer Linda Ronstadt is banned from the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas after praising filmmaker Michael Moore and his new movie, Fahrenheit 9/11 during a performance … before singing “Desperado” for an encore Ronstadt called Moore a “great American patriot” and “someone who is spreading the truth” … her comments draw loud boos, and some of the 4,500 people in attendance storm out of the theater … patrons also tear down concert posters and toss cocktails into the air … Moore responds to the ban by saying the Aladdin owes Ronstadt an apology …

2006, drummer Sandy West, a founding member of the Runaways is reported to be undergoing radiation and chemotherapy for lung cancer and a brain tumor … she will succumb on October 21, 2006 … Rolling Stone Keith Richards receives a pardon from the state of Arkansas over a 31-year-old conviction for reckless driving …

2007, Tommy Dunbar, the guitarist for 1970s new wave band The Rubinoos, sues Avril Lavigne and Dr. Luke, the co-writer of her hit “Girlfriend,” claiming the pair illegally copped the hook from Dunbar’s 1979 song “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” …

And that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

July 17: Texas R&B singer Peppermint Harris (1925), Spencer Davis (1941), The Sweet’s Mick Tucker (1948), Black Sabbath’s Terry “Geezer” Butler (1949), Nicolette Larson (1952), Doobie Brother Chet McCracken (1952), Phoebe Snow (1952), JC of PM Dawn (1973)

July 18: Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (1929), Papa Dee Allen of War (1931), Dion DiMucci (1937), Rolling Stones pianist-road manager Ian Stewart (1938), Brian Auger (1939), Martha Reeves (1941), Tim Lynch of The Flamin’ Groovies (1946), Golden Earring’s Caesar Zuiderwijk (1950), Ricky Skaggs (1954), drummer Terry Chambers of XTC (1955), Pearl Jam’s Jack Irons (1962), Tony Fagenson of Eve 6 (1962)

July 19: ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax (1902), singer-guitarist Buster Benton (1932), Bo Diddley’s fellow guitarist-vocalist Lady Bo born Peggy Jones (1940), pop singer Vikki Carr (1941), Clarence White of The Byrds (1944), Average White Band’s Alan Gorrie (1946), Bobby Neal of the Stone Canyon Band (1947), Brian May (1947), The Eagles’ Bernie Leadon (1947), Dead keyboardist Keith Godchaux (1948), Allen Collins of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1952), Kevin Haskins of Love & Rockets (1960)

July 20: Buddy Knox (1933), Kim Carnes (1945), The Moody Blues’ John Lodge (1945), Carlos Santana (1947), Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French (1954), Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols (1956), Simple Minds’ Mick McNeil (1958), Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave (1964), Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam (1966), Vitamin C (1972)

July 21: Floyd McDaniel (1915), Kay Starr (1922), R&B saxophonist Plas Johnson (1931), offbeat pop producer, artist, and impresario Kim Fowley (1939), Cat Stevens AKA Yusuf Islam (1947), Al Di Meola (1954), bassist Howie Epstein of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1955), Emerson Hart of Tonic (1969)

July 22: 1940s-50s pop singer Margaret Whiting (1924), jazz bassist Keter Betts (1928), George Clinton (1940), Thomas Wayne (1940), teen idol Bobby Sherman (1944), Supertramp’s Richard Davies (1944), Estelle Bennett of The Ronettes (1944), Don Henley of The Eagles (1947), Indigo Girl Emily Saliers (1963), Pat Badger of Extreme (1967), Rufus Wainwright (1973), Daniel Jones of Savage Garden (1973)

July 23: Cleve Duncan of The Penguins (1935), Joe Santollo of The Duprees (1943), Tony Joe White (1943), Dino Danelli of The Young Rascals (1945), Andy Mackay of Roxy Music (1946), David Essex (1947), Keith Ferguson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds (1947), Blair Thornton of BTO (1950), Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore (1961), Tim Kellett of Simply Red (1964), Slash (1965), Sam Watters of Color Me Badd (1970), Alison Krauss (1971), Chad Gracey of Live (1973), Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child (1980)

Departures:

July 17: opera singer Teresa Stich-Randell (2007), Paul Young of Mike and the Mechanics (2000), Marc Hunter of Dragon (1998), Hendrix manager Chas Chandler (1996), blues pianist Roosevelt Sykes (1983), sax giant John Coltrane (1967), “Lady Day” Billie Holiday (1959), harpin’ bluesman Henry Strong (1954)

July 18: tenor Jerry Hadley (2007), Haroon Shamsher of Joi (2001), Velvet Underground chanteuse Nico, born Christa Päffgen (1988), bandleader Jimmy Liggins (1983), Hi Records owner Joe Cuoghi (1970), Bobby Fuller (1966)

July 19: highlife bandleader Emmanual Tettey “E.T.” Mensah (1996), R&B sax man Red Prysock (1993)

July 20: singer-guitarist Buster Benton (2007), musician, music executive, and manager Jim Tyrrell (1998), recording engineer Gary Kellgren (1977), Roy Hamilton (1969)

July 21: agent-manager Don Arden (2007), English bluesman Long John Baldry (2005), film composer Jerry Goldsmith (2004), gospel singer O’Landa Draper (1998), Colonel Tom Parker (1997), Frankie “Cannibal” Garcia, founder of Cannibal and The Headhunters (1996), arranger-songwriter Bert Keyes (1980)

July 22: tenor sax man Illinois Jacquet (2004), singer Tamara Danz (1996), keyboardist Rob Collins of The Charlatans (1996), Chords singer Jimmy Keyes (1995), doo-wop, jazz, and R&B performer Floyd McDaniel (1995), country-pop singer Larry Finnegan (1973)

July 23: songwriter Ron Miller (2007), Otis “Big Smokey” Smothers (1993), actor-singer Bert Summer (1990), Grateful Dead keyboardist Keith Godchaux (1980)

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