Music History Today: April 17, 2020

April 17, 1971: The Doors' "Love Her Madly" moved up the Hot 100 chart 29 spots, from its debut at Number 74 to 45. 

Boredom drove the Doors' guitarist Robbie Krieger to write would become the final hit of the band's time together. 'Love Her Madly' was penned in response to his girlfriend at the time. 

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"I fixed on the idea of a guy whose girlfriend is his obsession but she keeps on walking out and giving him the runaround," Krieger told England's Classic Rock Magazine recently. "That was me. I wrote it about Lynn, now my wife." 

Read more:  Ultimate Classic Rock

April 17, 1960: "Summertime Blues" singer Eddie Cochran died in England when the taxi he was riding in crashed. He was just 21.

Eddie Cochran, the man behind “Summertime Blues” and “C’mon Everybody,” was killed on April 17, 1960 when the taxi carrying him from a show in Bristol, England, crashed en-route to the airport in London, where he was to catch a flight back home to the United States.

Read more: History

April 17, 1966: "Wild Thing" by The Troggs is released in the US. By next June, it will be Number 1 in the US and Number 2 in the UK.  

Everything about the song Wild Thing is bizarre. It was written by an American whose brother is Jon Voigt and whose niece is Angelina Jolie. It achieved international fame thanks to the vocal stylings of a young man named Presley. It includes an ocarina solo. It was recorded, supposedly in 20 minutes. 

Read more:  The Guardian

April 17, 1971: Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World" hit the top of the US singles chart for a six-week stay.

“Joy To The World” came from Hoyt Axton, a country singer-songwriter from Oklahoma whose mother Mae had co-written “Heartbreak Hotel” for Elvis Presley in 1955. But Axton never got around to finishing writing “Joy To The World.” He had a melody, and he had a chorus, but he didn’t have any verses.  

Read more: Stereogum

Love Her Madly
The Doors