THE YEAR IN ROCK - WEEK 10

March 5 - 11

March 5th

 

March 5th is the birthday of reggae rocker Eddy Grant, born in Guyana in 1948. Grant had success with The Equals in 1968 (‘Baby Come Back’) and solo hits through the Seventies and Eighties

 

 

Happy birthday also to keyboardist Alan Clark of Dire Straits, born 1952 in County Durham, England

 

Today is the anniversary of the death of Patsy Cline, the country singer of such hits as ‘I Fall To Pieces’ and ‘Crazy’, who was killed, aged 30, when her private plane crashed on this day in 1963

 

 

Also today, in 2002, the first episode of The Osbournes was aired on MTV

 

And on this day in 1973, Led Zeppelin played ‘Stairway to Heaven’ live for the very first time

March 6

 

Happy birthday today to Ronald Hugh Grundy of a latterday lineup of The Zombies, born 1945

 

 

David Gilmour, CBE, born 1946 in Cambridge, England. Gilmour is of course the lead guitarist with Pink Floyd, a solo artist, and an inspiration to millions of musicians

 

And singer Kiki Dee, also born 1947, as Pauline Matthews. Dee is most well known fr her Seventies duet with Elton John ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’

March 7

 

Birthdays today include Chris Taylor White, bassist & songwriter for The Zombies, born 1943

 

 

Singer Peter Wolf of the J Giels Band, born Peter W Blankfield in New York, USA in 1946

 

Matthew Fisher of Procul Harum, born 1946 in Croydon, England. Fisher was the organist of the band, noted producer and songwriter, and is most widely known for providing the iconic organ sound on the hit song ‘Whiter Shade Of Pale’

 

And pop singer Taylor Dane, born Leslie Wunderman in New York, USA in 1962

 

Arthur Lee of Love was born Arthur Taylor in Memphis Tennessee on this day in 1945. He died in 2006 of Leukaemia, aged 61

March 8

 

Loads of birthdays today…starting with drummer Keef Hartley, from John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers & The Keef Hartley Band, born in 1944 in Lancashire, England

 

Monkee Mickey Dolenz, born 1945 in Los Angeles, California, USA

 

Randy Meisner of Poco & The Eagles, born 1946 in Nebraska, USA

 

Guitarist Michael Allsup of Three Dog Night, born 1947 in Oakfield, California, USA

 

Whitesnake, Trapeze & Phenomena guitarist Mel Galley, born in Cannock, Staffordshire, England in 1948. Galley died July 2008 of cancer of the oesophagus

 

Electro wizard Gary Numan, born Gary Webb in London, England in 1958

 

 

And early Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr, born in 1957 in London, England.

 

March 8, 1968, also saw The Filmore East open in New York

March 9

 

Happy birthday to John Cale of The Velvet Underground, born 1942 in Wales

 

Trevor Burton of The Move, born 1944

 

 

And Robin Trower, guitarist for Procol Harum and his own band, as well as playing at times for Bryan Ferry and Jack Bruce, born 1945 in London, England

March 10

 

Born on this day in 1947 in Ohio, USA, was Boston guitarist Tom Scholz

 

In 1963, Jeff Ament, Pearl Jam, Green River & Mother Love Bone bass player, born in Montana, USA

 

and in 1966, folkie Edie Brickell, best known for her band The New Bohemians, was born in Dallas, Texas, USA

 

Andy Gibb, solo artist and brother of The Bee Gees died at the age of 30, on March 10th, 1988 of an inflammation of the heart muscle caused by a viral infection

 

 

Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” was released in the U.S. on this day in 1973. The album has since sold an estimated 45 million copies, and stayed in the charts for a staggering 741 weeks between 1973 and 1988!

March 11

 

Birthday wishes today go out to keyboardist & singer Mark Stein of proto-metallers Vanilla Fudge, born 1947

 

 

Singer/guitarist Lisa Loeb, born in 1968 in Maryland, USA

 

And George Kooymans, Golden Earring’s guitarist and vocalist, born in 1948 in The Hague, Netherlands

 

Shane Pinnegar