Music Almanac: March 16, 2018

Birthdays

• 1929 - Betty Johnson (89)
• 1931 - Shirley Collie (d. 2010) 
• 1936 - Fred Neil (d. 2001)
• 1942 - Jerry Jeff Walker (76)
• 1948 - Michael Owen Bruce (Alice Cooper) (70)
• 1949 - Elliott Murphy (69)
• 1951 - Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel) (67)
• 1951 - Ritchie Teeter (Twisted Sister) (67)
• 1954 - Nancy Wilson (Heart) (64)
• 1954 - Jimmy Nail (64)
• 1954 - Tim O'Brien (64)
• 1959 - Flavor Flav (born William Drayton, Jr.) (Public Enemy) (59)
• 1959 - Steve Marker (Garbage) (59)
• 1959 - Stan Thorn (Shenandoah) (59)
• 1963 - Stewart Kerr (Texas) (55)
• 1963 - Jimmy Degrasso (Y&T, Alice Cooper, Megadeth) (55)
• 1964 - Patty Griffin (54)
• 1967 - Tracy Bonham (51)
• 1967 - Joe Darnielle (Mountain Goats) (51)
• 1967 - Ronnie McCoury (51)
• 1972 - Andy Dunlop (Travis) (46)
• 1976 - Blu Cantrell (born Tiffany Cobb) (42)
• 1991 - Wolfgang Van Halen (Van Halen) (27)

Deaths

• 1970 - Tammi Terrell - Brain cancer (24)
• 1975 - T-Bone Walker - Pneumonia (64)
• 1991 - Chris Austin, Kirk Cappello, Joey Cigainero, Paula Kaye Evans, Jim Hammon, Terry Jackson, Anthony Saputo, Michael Thomas (all members of Reba McEntire's band) - Plane crash
• 1996 - Joseph Pope (Tams) (62)
• 2008 - Ola Brunkert (ABBA band) - Fall (61)
• 2013 - Bobby Smith (Spinners) - Pneumonia/Influenza (76)
• 2015 - Andy Fraser (Free) - Heart attack (62)
• 2016 - Frank Sinatra, Jr. - Cardiac arrest (72)
• 2017 - James Cotton - Pneumonia (81)

On This Day

• 1964 - The Beatles set a record with 2.1 million advanced orders for their upcoming single Can't Buy Me Love. 
• 1964 - Alan Freed was charged with tax evasion. 
• 1968 - The Byrds played the Grand Ole Opry. 
• 1972 - John Lennon filed an appeal with the U.S. immigration office over his deportation notice. 
• 1974 - Elvis Presley played Memphis for the first time since 1961.
• 1974 - The Grand Ole Opry moved from the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville to the new Opry House. 
• 1977 - The Sex Pistols were fired from A&M six days after signing their contract.
• 1979 - Twisted Sister sold out the Palladium in New York, the first time it had ever been done by an unsigned band. 
• 1996 - The Ramones said that night's show in Buenos Aires, Argentina would be their final one. 
• 1999 - The RIAA gave their first Diamond Awards for albums that had sold over ten million copies. 
• 1999 - Roosevelt Sykes and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown were inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
• 2004 - Steve Winwood won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Jammys. 
• 2004 - Courtney Love showed up two hours late for a preliminary hearing on drug possession charges in Los Angeles.
• 2005 - Billy Joel checked himself into a rehabilitation center for treatment of alcohol abuse. 
• 2010 - ABBA, Genesis, Jimmy Cliff, the Hollies, and the Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 
• 2012 - Morrissey was forced to cancel the balance of his U.S. tour due to a bleeding ulcer, Barrett's oesophagus and double pneumonia. 

Marriages

• 2002 - Liza Minnelli and David Gest
• 2003 - Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams

Recorded

• 1951 - Hey Good Lookin' and I Can't Help It If I'm Still in Love With You - Hank Williams
• 1957 - Yakety Yak - Coasters
• 1967 - Piper at the Gate of Dawn - Pink Floyd (first day of recording on debut album)

Awards

• 1971 - Grammy Awards
• Record of the Year - Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel
• Album of the Year - Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel
• Song of the Year - Bridge Over Troubled Water - Paul Simon
• New Artist - Carpenters
• Pop Female - I'll Never Fall in Love Again - Dionne Warwick
• Pop Male - Everything is Beautiful - Ray Stevens
• Pop Duo or Group - Close to You - Carpenters
• Contemporary Song - Bridge Over Troubled Water - Paul Simon
• R&B Female - Don't Play That Song For Me - Aretha Franklin
• R&B Male - The Thrill is Gone - B.B. King
• R&B Duo or Group - Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) - Delfonics
• R&B Song - Patches - General Johnson and Ronald Dunbar
• Country Female - Rose Garden - Lynn Anderson
• Country Male - For the Good Times - Ray Price
• Country Duo or Group - If I Were a Carpenter - Johnny Cash and June Carter
• Country Song - My Woman, My Woman, My Wife - Marty Robbins
• Ethnic or Traditional Recording - Good Feelin' - T-Bone Walker

Number Ones – U.S. Singles

• 1968 - (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding (4 weeks)

Number Ones – U.S. Albums 

• 1963 - Songs I Sing on the Jackie Gleason Show - Frank Fontaine (5 weeks)
• 1974 - The Way We Were - Barbra Streisand (2 weeks)
• 1996 - Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morisette (3 weeks (1 previous week))
• 2002 - Under Rug Swept - Alanis Morisette (1 week)
• 2013 - Unorthodox Jukebox - Bruno Mars (1 week)

Number Ones – U.S. R&B Singles

• 1946 - Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop - Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra (16 weeks)
• 1957 - Love is Strange - Mickey and Sylvia (2 weeks)
• 1968 - (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding (3 weeks)
• 1974 - Lookin' For a Love - Bobby Womack (3 weeks)
• 1985 - Nightshift - Commodores (4 weeks)
• 1991 - Written All Over Your Face - Rude Boys (1 week)

Number Ones – U.S. Country Singles

• 1968 - A World of Our Own - Sonny James (3 weeks)
• 1985 - Crazy For Your Love - Exile (1 week)
• 1996 - The Beaches of Cheyenne - Garth Brooks (1 week)
• 2002 - The Cowboy in Me - Tim McGraw (1 week)

Number Ones – U.S. Adult Contemporary Singles

• 1963 - The End of the World - Skeeter Davis (4 weeks)
• 1974 - Sunshine on My Shoulder - John Denver (2 weeks)
• 1985 - Too Late For Goodbyes - Julian Lennon (2 weeks)
• 1991 - Coming Out of the Dark - Gloria Estefan (2 weeks)

Number Ones – U.K. Singles

• 1956 - It's Almost Tomorrow - Dream Weavers (2 weeks)
• 1974 - Billy, Don't Be a Hero - Paper Lace (3 weeks)

Number Ones – U.K. Albums 

• 1957 - This is Sinatra - Frank Sinatra (1 week (1 previous week))
• 1991 - Spartacus - Farm (1 week)
• 2002 - The Essential Barbra Streisand - Barbra Streisand (1 week)
• 2013 - Bad Blood - Bastille (1 week)
• 2017 - Divide - Ed Sheeran (9 weeks)