Friday, November 13, 2020

Music History Today: November 14, 2020

November 14, 1990: Pete Townshend of The Who tells Newsweek that he is bisexual. He calls his song "Rough Boys" a "coming-out."

Pete Townshend, the uncompromising and prolifically outspoken leader of iconic rock group The Who, has never been one to keep his opinions quiet. 

  • Pete Townshend
    Pete Townshend
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Given his history for having a fiercely sharp tongue, the release of Townshend’s memoir Who I Am in 2012 was met by anticipation by his fans and a certain amount of trepidation from those affiliated with him. In the book, Townshend describes himself “probably bisexual” and details a short affair he had with journalist Danny Fields. 

Read more: Far Out Magazine

November 14, 1960: Ray Charles' version of Hoagy Carmichael's 1930's standard "Georgia On My Mind" becomes the first of his three, US number one records. It made number 24 in the UK.

“Georgia On My Mind” is arguably Ray Charles’ most famous recording.

 

Ray Charles

It originally appeared on his July 1960 album The Genius Hits The Road and was released as a single in August that year. It went to Number One on the Billboard charts and eventually became the official state song of Georgia, where Ray was born in Albany in 1930 – the year the song was written. 
Read more: It's All About Ray

November 14, 1961: The Everly Brothers recorded "Crying In The Rain." It will make it to Number 6 in the US. The song also reached Number 6 in the UK.

"Crying in the Rain" is a song written by Howard Greenfield and Carole King and originally recorded by The Everly Brothers. The song was the only collaboration between successful songwriters Greenfield (lyrics) and King (music), both of whom worked for Aldon Music at the time of the song's composition. 

Everly Brothers

On a whim, two Aldon songwriting partnerships decided to switch partners for a day - Gerry Goffin (who normally worked with King) partnered with Greenfield's frequent writing partner, Jack Keller, leaving King and Greenfield to pair up for the day. 

Read more: IMDB

November 14, 1964: Johnny Rivers moved up from 61 to 33 with "Mountain Of Love."

"Mountain of Love" is a song written by Harold Dorman. Dorman released his version as a single in 1960. 
Johnny Rivers

In 1964, Johnny Rivers released his remake using members of The Wrecking Crew as a single. This version also proved popular, charting at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. 
Read more: Wikipedia

November 14, 1987:  The Soundtrack to "Dirty Dancing" took over as the number 1 album.

Singer-songwriter Frank Previte was the lead singer of the band Franke and the Knockouts. He had some success with the song 'Sweetheart' in 1981, but by 1986 he was without a record deal.

In late 1986, producer and head of Millennium Records, Jimmy Ienner, asked Previte to write some music for "a little movie called Dirty Dancing." At first, Previte turned the request down as he was still trying to get a record deal, but took on the project and ended up writing several songs for the film, including "I've Had the Time of My Life" and "Hungry Eyes."  

Read more: Smooth Radio

 

Rough Boys
Peter Townsend

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