Music History Today: July 29, 2020

July 29, 1974: Thirty-two-year-old Cass Elliot, a one-time member of The Mamas And Papas, suffered a heart attack and died in London. Her biggest solo hit was 1968's "Dream a Little Dream of Me."

"Drean a Little Dream of Me" came out in June 1968, credited to “Mama Cass with the Mamas and the Papas,” angering the band, who had already been dealing with inner turmoil for some time. 

Mama Cass Elliot

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In addition, the single featured a controversial poster of Elliot lying nude covered in daisies. “At that point nothing really surprised you about Cass,” bandmate Michelle Phillips recalled to Eddi Fiegel in her Elliot biography Dream a Little Dream of Me.   “She also had a butterfly tattooed on her ass and I’d never heard of a woman getting a tattoo.”

Read more: Rolling Stone 

July 29, 1966: Bob Dylan gets in a motorcycle accident near Woodstock, New York, and disappears for nine months. During his recovery, "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits" was released.

Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits serves as Dylan's de facto singles collection for the 1960s. 

With the exception of "The Times They Are a-Changin'", "It Ain't Me Babe", and "Mr. Tambourine Man", all tracks on this album were released as 45 rpm singles in the United States during that decade. It is worth noting that in 1963 "Blowin' in the Wind" became a No. 2 hit single for Peter, Paul and Mary (blog-post here), and that in 1965 "Times" made it to No. 9 as a single release in the United Kingdom. 

Read more: Wikipedia

July 29, 1966 A US magazine targeted to teenagers called Datebook reprints some of John Lennon's interview from four months earlier in the London Evening Standard where Lennon said, "We're more popular than Jesus now."

In England, no one took much notice of the John Lennon quotation that later set off a media frenzy in America. Chalk it up to a fundamental difference in religious outlook between Britain and America, or to a fundamental difference in sense of humor. 

Beatles' record burning

Whatever the reason, it was only after the American press got hold of his words some five months later that the John Lennon comment that first appeared in the London Evening Standard on March 4, 1966, erupted into the “Bigger than Jesus” scandal that brought a semi-official end to the giddy phenomenon known as Beatlemania.  

Read more: History

John Lennon, The Beatles, or Jesus?

July 29, 1978: Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks release "Whenever I Call You Friend."

Kenny Loggins penned the upbeat, ultra romantic ‘Whenever I Call You Friend’ in 1978 with the help of singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester, with the intention of having Manchester sing on the track with him as a duet. 

Kenny Logins and Stevie Nicks

However, due to contractual obligations on Manchester’s part, Loggins was left without a partner – until Stevie Nicks stepped in! Stevie and Kenny got close that year as he performed on Fleetwood Mac’s massive tour as an opening act. 

Read more: Society of Rock

July 29, 1978: "Macho Man" becomes Village People's first Billboard chart entry. It will top out at Number 25.

The Village People have asked Donald Trump to stop playing their music at his rallies. 

The Village People

The disco group’s songs “Y.M.C.A.” and “Macho Man” have recently been heard playing at a series of events hosted by the US president. In a statement posted on Facebook, The Village People frontman Victor Willis revealed he was prompted to take a stand after Trump seemingly threatened to shoot protesters in Minneapolis. 

 Read more: The Independent UK

Dream a Little Dream of Me

Cass Elliot