Music History Today: July 18, 2020

July 18 1960: Fifteen year old Brenda Lee had the Number 1 song in the US with "I'm Sorry."

Brenda Lee started out singing on local radio, moving on eventually to early TV variety shows. 

Brenda Lee

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Brenda Lee

Two years before “I’m Sorry,” she’d recorded “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” an eventual holiday standard which would end up as the biggest-selling single of her career.  But “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” didn’t really hit until “I’m Sorry” had come out, and “I’m Sorry” remains the song probably most associated with Brenda Lee.  

Read more:  Stereogum

July 18, 1964: The Rolling Stones score their first American hit when their cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" peaks at Number 48 on the Hot 100.

The Rolling Stones' version of "Not Fade Away" was one of their first hits.

 Recorded in January 1964 and released by Decca Records on February 21, 1964, with "Little by Little" as the B-side, it was their first Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, reaching number three. In March 1964, it was also the band's first single released in the United States, on the London Records label with "I Wanna Be Your Man" as the B-side. 

Read more: Wikipedia

July 18, 1964: The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go?" become the group's first Number 1 hit and stays at the top for 14 weeks. 

Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, 

"Where Did Our Love Go" was the first single by the Supremes to go to the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the United States. According to Brian Holland, "Where Did Our Love Go" was written with The Supremes in mind.  

Read more:  Wikipedia

July 18 1966: Bobby Fuller, still riding high on the success of "I Fought The Law," was found dead in his car in Hollywood.

The cause of Bobby Fuller's death at age 23 has remained a mystery for 50 years. 

Bobby Fuller

The singer-guitarist, who led the Bobby Fuller Four to a Top 10 hit with "I Fought the Law," was found dead of asphyxiation in the front seat of his mother's car on July 18, 1966. The debate still rages whether the rising star committed suicide, died accidentally or was murdered.  

Read more: Ultimate Classic Rock

July 18, 1980: Billy Joel held the top position of both the US albums and singles charts. His album Glass Houses contained his first and biggest Number 1 hit, "It's Still Rock 'n' Roll to Me."

Billy Joel closed out the '70s with two of the bestselling albums of the decade in The Stranger and 52nd Street. But instead of getting complacent after finally tasting success following years of hard work — and occasionally bitter disappointment — fame just added sharper corners and greater heft to the chip he had on his shoulder. That was the impression given, anyway, by Joel's seventh solo effort, Glass Houses, which arrived in March 1980.

Read more: Ultimate Classic Rock

I'm Sorry
Brenda Lee