Music History Today: September 7, 2020

September 7, 1936: Buddy Holly (real name Charles Holley) was born in Lubbock, Texas.

As a child in Lubbock, Tex., Buddy studied the piano. He didn't like it. Holly wanted to play the guitar and, according to Bill Griggs of the Buddy Holly Memorial Society, Holly learned a unique way of picking.

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"Buddy played the guitar wrong," Grigg says. "Most people play down, up, down, up, when they're stroking the guitar. Buddy played basically down-strokes in a lot of his music."  

Read more: NPR

September 7, 1957: Sam Cooke released the single "You Send Me" on Keen Records.

Cooke's debut single, "You Send Me" was a massive commercial success, becoming a No. 1 hit on both Billboard's Rhythm & Blues Records chart and the Billboard Hot 100.

Sam Cooke

 It was named as one of the 500 most important rock and roll recordings by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In April 2010, the song ranked No. 115 in Rolling Stone magazine's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.  

Read more:  Wikipedia

September 7, 1968: Creedence Clearwater Revival first appeared on the chart as their first single release "Suzie Q" debuted.

“Suzie Q” was the first 45 RPM single John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford recorded as Creedence Clearwater Revival. The song was originally put on vinyl by Louisiana rocker Dale Hawkins in 1957. 

Read more:  Electric Bayou

September 7, 1970: Simon & Garfunkel released "El Condor Pasa" from the album Bridge Over Troubled Water.

In 1965, the American musician Paul Simon heard the song, El Cóndor Pasa (Spanish for "The Condor Passes,"), for the first time by the band Los Incas in a performance at the Théâtre de l'Est parisien in Paris in which both were participating. Simon became friendly with the band and asked permission to use the song in his production. 

Read more:  Wikipedia

September 7, 1978: Keith Moon, drummer of The Who, died in London after overdosing on the prescription drug Heminevrin at the age of 32.

There’s something odd about the deaths of The Who drummer Keith Moon and The Mamas and the Papas singer Mama Cass. First of all, they died way too young, both at age 32. 

Keith Moon

But that’s not the weirdest thing. Cass and Keith died in the same apartment, 4 years apart from each other. The apartment officially belonged to Harry Nilsson. 

Read more:  We Speak Music

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