September 3, 2003

Bassists Go Berserk ... The Al And Patty Show ... Wailin' On Just One Dwarf

This is the week that was in matters musical...

1952, following a birthday party for Merald "Bubba" Knight, Gladys Knight and the Pips are formed when Bubba says, "Hey, I've got a great a idea ... let's start a singing group"...

1956, Elvis appears on "Toast of the Town" ... due to illness, Ed Sullivan is replaced by Charles Laughton as host ... about a third of the country tunes in...

1962, The Beatles record "Love Me Do" at Abbey Road Studios in London...

1964, The Animals perform in their U.S. debut at the Paramount Theater in New York...

1966, Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" hits #1...

1970, The Dave Clark Five breaks up .... this same week at the Palermo Pop '70 Festival, that crazy Arthur Brown sets fire to his helmet and strips naked during his stage performance ... the crowd throws things at him and the police arrest him and put him in solitary confinement for four days ... while in solitary, he receives a petition signed by 200 locals requesting that he leave Italy and never return...

1973, Elton John performs at the Hollywood Bowl, introduced by the throaty Linda Lovelace...

1982, an odd pair in an unlikely place, Al Green and Patti LaBelle open together on Broadway in the gospel musical "Your Arms Too Short to Box with God"...

1992, David Bowie appears on the cover of Architectural Digest...

1997, guitarist Pat Smear of the Foo Fighters publicly announces that he will no longer be with the band and introduces his replacement Franz Stahl, who in turn will leave the band in '98 ... this same week, Junior Wells, who has been being treated for lymphoma, slips into a coma ... he will die about four months later...

1998, rapper Bushwick Bill, aka Richard Shaw, a former member of the Geto Boys, sues Rap-A-Lot records ... the suit alleges that he was kicked and punched by label employees, and warned at gunpoint against trying to get out of his recording contract ... the 3-foot 8-inch dwarf took offense...

1999, Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx is arrested at a show in Raleigh, N.C., charged with felony rioting and three counts of misdemeanor inciting to riot, assault, and disorderly conduct ... the charges stem from bad behavior at a Greensboro concert in 1997 ... Sixx allegedly assaulted a security guard and encouraged a melee among fans...

2000, Rage Against the Machine bassist Timothy Commerford pleads guilty of assault and disorderly conduct in a New York City court ... he had spent the night in the slammer after getting out of hand at the MTV Video Awards and being forcibly removed...

and that was the week that was.

Arrivals

September 3: bluesman Memphis Slim born Peter Chatman (1915), Hank Thompson (1925), Al Jardine of The Beach Boys (1943), George Bondio of Steppenwolf (1945), Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad (1948)

September 4: Merald Knight of Gladys Knight & The Pips (1942), rockabilly fret wizard Danny Gatton (1945), Muscle Shoals session guitarist Wayne Perkins (1951), Martin Chambers of The Pretenders (1952), Kim Thayil of Soundgarden (1960)

September 5: singer/songwriter John Stewart (1939), Al "Year of the Cat" Stewart (1945), Freddy Mercury of Queen (1946), Buddy Miles and singer/songwriter Loudon Wainright III (1946), David "Clem" Clempson of Humble Pie/Colosseum (1949), Dweezil Zappa (1969)

September 6: bluesman Jimmy Reed (1925), Chicago blues sideman Fred Below (1926), Pink Floyd's Roger Waters (1943), Dennis "Fast Fingers" Kambury (1953), Perry Bamonte of The Cure (1960), Pal Waaktar of A-Ha (1961), Dolores O'Riordon of The Cranberries (1971)

September 7: Sonny Rollins (1930), bluesman Little Milton (Campbell) (1934), Buddy Holly born Charles Hardin Holley (1936), Continental Drift's Jim Gault (1943), disco diva Gloria Gaynor (1949), Chrissie Hynde (1951)

September 8: Antonin Dvorak (1841), "The Singing Brakeman" Jimmie Rodgers (1897), Patsy Cline AKA Virginia Patterson Hensley (1932), Kelly Groucutt of E.L.O. and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan of The Grateful Dead (1945), Atlanta Rhythm Section's Dean Daughtry (1946), David Steele of Fine Young Cannibals (1960)

September 9: jazz drummer Elvin Jones (1927), Otis Redding (1941), Inez Foxx (1944), Billy Preston (1946), Iron Butterfly's Doug Ingle (1947), Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics (1952)

Departures

September 3: Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson (1970), Woody Guthrie (1967)

September 4: jazz saxophonist Charlie Barnet and country singer Dottie West (1991)

September 5: blues singer Katie Webster (1999), conductor George Solti (1997)

September 6: standup country bassist Roy Husky Jr. (1997), Tom Fogerty of CCR (1990)

September 7: Erma Franklin sister of Aretha (2002), composer Nicolo Castigliani (1996), Who drummer Keith Moon (1978)

September 8: Beatle publicist Derek Taylor (1997)

September 9: bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe (1996)