1960: “Chain Gang” by Sam Cooke peaked at #2 on Billboard R&B and Hot 100 charts.

1960: “Stay” by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Originally written by Williams years earlier after trying to convince his date not to leave at 10pm, the demo he recorded with the Zodiacs eventually attracted the attention of Al Silver of Herald Records, who insisted they remove the line “Let’s have another smoke” so it could be played on commercial radio. It became the group’s only top 40 pop hit on the Billboard chart and later reached #1 in November. At just 1:36 long, it became the shortest chart-topping single in the US.

1960: Husband and wife duo Ike and Tina Turner made their US television debut on American Bandstand on ABC performing “A Fool In Love.”

1960: Capitol Records released “The Last Month of the Year,” a Christmas album by The Kingston Trio. It became the group’s first LP to not meet sales expectations and was soon after withdrawn from circulation.

1963: Jazz trombonist Kai Winding recorded the first version of “Time Is on My Side.” The composition was written by Jerry Ragovoy under the pseudonym “Norman Meade” after Winding expressed an interest in going in a more commercial direction. At the time, the only lyrics Ragovoy had come up with for the song were “time is on my side.” Background vocals were provided by by Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, and Dee Dee Warwick. The song was covered the following year by Irma Thomas and the Rolling Stones with additional lyrics by Jimmy Norman.

1964: “Baby Love” by The Supremes entered Billboard Hot 100 on its way to becoming their second US #1 single. In the UK, it was the group’s only song to top the chart.

1964: The Animals’ self-titled American debut LP entered the top 40 of the Billboard pop chart, where it ultimately peaked at #7.

1968: Merle Haggard and The Strangers released their seventh studio album, Mama Tried. The title song was one of Haggard’s biggest hit singles.

1970: Diana Ross topped the Billboard R&B singles chart with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” the second single from her self-titled debut solo album.

1975: The Who released their seventh studio album, The Who By Numbers, in the UK. Three weeks later, it was issued in the US by MCA Records.

1976: Marvin Gaye performed the first of several concerts at the London Palladium. Recordings from the shows were later released in 1977 as the album Live at the London Palladium.

1977: The Live Stiffs Live tour kicked off at High Wyncombe Town Hall in England, featuring performances by artists managed by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera before they formed the Stiff Records label. Acts on the package tour were Nick Lowe’s Last Chicken in the Shop, Elvis Costello and The Attractions, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Wreckless Eric and The New Rockets, and Larry Wallis’ Psychedelic Rowdies. A live album with the same name was later released in February of 1978.

1979: Supertramp entered the Billboard Hot 100 with “Take the Long Way Home,” the fourth and final single from their fourth studio album, Breakfast in America.

1980: Paul Simon’s semi-autobiographical film One Trick Pony, in which he stars, was released in the US. The accompanying album of the same name, and Simon’s first with Warner Bros. Records, had been released earlier in August.

1980: The Police released their third studio album, Zenyatta Mondatta. It became the group’s second #1 on the UK chart and first top 20 LP in American, where it reached #5.

1983: Genesis released “That’s All,” the second single from their self-titled twelfth studio album.

1988: Talk is Cheap, Keith Richards’ first solo album was released by Virgin Records. The album had been recorded and released during a lengthy falling out with Rolling Stones collaborator Mick Jagger, who had begun to pursue a solo career in 1986.

1989: Linda Ronstadt released Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, an album produced by Peter Asher that features several duets with Aaron Neville and several songs written by Jimmy Webb and Karla Bonoff.

1989: Tracy Chapman released her second album, Crossroads.

1989: Jack Bruce released his ninth studio album, A Question of Time.

1989: Mark Knopfler’s fifth soundtrack album, for the film Last Exit to Brooklyn, was released by Vertigo and Warner Bros. Records.

1994: The Cranberries released their second album, No Need to Argue. It became the band’s best selling album and contains their most successful single, “Zombie.”

2000: Paul Simon released his tenth solo studio album, You’re the One. Simon later became the first artist to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in five consecutive decades, a feat matched only by Paul McCartney.

2000: The Doobie Brothers released their twelfth studio album, Sibling Rivalry.

2000: Van Morrison released You Win Again, his twenty-eighth studio album which he recorded with Linda Gail Lewis.

2006: The Who released “It’s Not Enough” and “Tear & Theatre” from their eleventh studio album, Endless Wire.

2006: Hall & Oates released Home for Christmas, the duo’s eighteenth studio album and first full-length LP of Christmas music.

2007: The Rolling Stones set a new record for the top-grossing tour of all time when their A Bigger Bang Tour earned the band $558,255,524, eclipsing the former record of $389 million set by U2. The total was later surpassed by U2’s 360° Tour with $736 million in ticket sales.

Birthdays Today

Eddie Cochran, rockabilly singer, songwriter, and musician, was born in Albert Lea, MN in 1938.

Alan O’Day, singer-songwriter best known for his 1977 #1 single, “Undercover Angel,” was born in Hollywood, CA in 1940.

Chubby Checker, singer and dancer, was born Ernest Evans in Spring Guilty, SC in 1941.

Lenny Waronker, producer and president of Warner Bros. Records who signed and/or produced aritsts that included Randy Newman, the Beau Brummels, James Taylor, Arlo Guthrie, Van Dyke Parks, Ry Cooder, Gordon Lightfoot, and Maria Muldaur, was born in Los Angeles, CA in 1941.

Antonio Martinez, guitarist for Los Bravos, was born in 1945.

P.P. Arnold, singer who accompanied the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, toured and recorded with Small Faces, Humble Pie, Eric Clapton, and provided backing vocals for artists including Dr. John, Graham Nash, Gary Wright, Manassas, Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, Freddie King, Peter Gabriel, Roger Waters, Graham Parker, and others, was born Patricia Ann Cole in Los Angeles, CA in 1946.

John Perry Barlow, poet, writer, activist, and lyricist for the Grateful Dead, was born in Cora, WY in 1947.

Ben Cauley, trumpet player, vocalist, songwriter, and founding member of Stax recording group, the Bar-Kays, was born in Memphis, TN in 1947.

Lindsey Buckingham, musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and solo artist, best known as a vocalist and lead guitarist for Fleetwood Mac, was born in Palo Alto, CA in 1949.

Ronnie Laws, jazz saxophonist, brief member of Earth, Wind & Fire, and a solo artist, was born in Houston, TX in 1950.

Keb’ Mo’, blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist, was born Kevin Roosevelt Moore in South Los Angeles, CA in 1951.

Billy Branch, Chicago blues harmonica player and singer who played on over 150 different recordings with such artists as Taj Mahal, Koko Taylor, Lou Rawls, Honeyboy Edwards, Syl Johnson, was born in Great Lakes, IL in 1951.

Stevie Ray Vaughan, singer, songwriter, record producer, and influential guitarist during the blues revival in the 1980s, was born in Dallas, TX in 1954.

Dawayne Bailey, guitarist, vocalist, and solo artist who toured and recorded with several groups including Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band and Chicago, was born in Manhattan, KS in 1954.

Allen Woody, bass guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band and co-founder of Gov’t Mule, was born in Queens, NY in 1955.

Dan Miller, guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist for They Might Be Giants, was born in Rochester, NY in 1966.

Chris Collingwood, singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the lead singer and co-founder of Fountains of Wayne, was born in England in 1967.

Gwen Stefani, songwriter, lead singer for No Doubt, and a solo artist, was born in Fullerton, CA in 1969.

India.Arie, singer, songwriter, actress, musician, and record producer, was born India Arie Simpson in Denver, CO in 1975.