Music History Today: July 19, 2022

July 19, 1984: Divine performed "You Think You're a Man" on the UK TV program Top of the Pops.

Divine

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A drag queen and cult-movie star, Divine achieved immortality with the outrageously raunchy cult classic Pink Flamingos, but will forever be remembered in gay discos for a string of campy and fun dance hits. 

Read more: Allmusic

July 19, 1954: Elvis Presley released "That's All Right."

July 19, 1954: Elvis Presley released "That's All Right." His' first single, it came out of his first recording session. Elvis taped this song at Sam Phillips' studios in Memphis on July 5, 1954.

Elvis Presley

 

Sam delivered a copy to the local disc jockey Dewey Phillips (no relation) at WHBQ. On July 8, Dewey became the first DJ to play an Elvis song when he gave it a spin on his Red, Hot & Blue show. 

Read more: Songfacts

 

July 19, 1958: Duane Eddy's "Rebel-‘Rouser" peaked at Number 6 in the US.

"Rebel-‘Rouser" by Duane Eddy was recorded in a Phoenix studio that had an echo chamber what was originally a large water tank. A speaker was placed at one end of the tank, the microphone at the other, and the guitar "twang" was piped in there. 

Read more: Songfacts

July 19, 1975: "Saturday Night Special" by Lynyrd Skynyrd moved into the Top 40 singles in the US.

"Saturday Night Special" is the opening track on Lynyrd Skynyrd's album Nuthin' Fancy. The song addresses gun control. The lyrics refer to the cheap handguns popularly associated with the term Saturday night special, and associates them with impulsive violence. 

Read more: Wikipedia

July 19, 2008: John Mayer played an acoustic cover of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, as a part of his 2008 live album Where the Light Is.

You Think You're a Man
Divine