On This Day, November 8 in Music History
EVENTS ON NOVEMBER 8 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day November 8 in 1939 – Frank Sinatra recorded his the last two songs with the Harry James band – ‘Ciribiribin’ and ‘Every Day Of My Life’.
1958 – Jazz drummer Cozy Cole was at number one in America with the instrumental ‘Topsy II’. The song features a long drum solo which was unheard of at the time. It was one of the first drum recordings to make the Billboard charts.
1958 – The soundtrack album to the romantic musical film ‘South Pacific’ started an unbelievable seventy (70)-week run at number one in the UK. A record that will most likely stay unbeaten forever. It also returned to No.1 on several occasions over the years, reaching a total of 115 weeks at the top.
1962 – With his rendition of ‘Lovesick Blues’, Frank Ifield hit No.1 on the UK Singles chart for the first of five consecutive weeks.
1965 – The Beatles started recording ‘Think For Yourself’. It’s the second song written by George Harrison to feature on a Beatles album.
1967 – Soul band The Foundations reached number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Baby Now That I’ve Found You’.
1968 – The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Joe Cocker, The Who and The Mindbenders performed at The Walthamstow Granada Theater in London, England .
1969 – Vocal group The 5th Dimension scored their second number one single of the year in the US with ‘Wedding Bell Blues’ which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks straight. They previously topped the chart with ‘Aquarius’/’Let the Sunshine In’ for six weeks, starting April 12.
1971 – Led Zeppelin released their untitled fourth studio album also known among fans as ‘Led Zeppelin IV’. It went on to sell over 35 million copies worldwide and was a Top 10 hit in eleven countries, including No.1 in the UK and Canada.
1974 – American singer-songwriter and pianist Ivory Joe Hunter also known by his stage names The Baron of the Boogie and The Happiest Man Alive died at the age of 60. Best remembered for his hit song ‘Since I Met You Baby’.
1975 – With ‘Space Oddity’, David Bowie started a two-week stint at number one in the UK.
1975 – With his tenth studio album ‘Rock of the Westies’, Elton John started a three-week run at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.
1976 – George Harrison released his greatest hits compilation album ‘The Best of George Harrison’ through Parlophone and Capitol Records.
1980 – With her twenty-second studio album ‘Guilty’, Barbra Streisand started a two-week run at No.1 in the UK. The album was producer by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees and it features him on the cover.
1980 – Bruce Springsteen scored his first number one album in the US with ‘The River’, his fifth studio LP. Also a chart-topper in Canada and Norway that year and a No.2 hit in the UK
1986 – With ‘Amanda’, rock band Boston scored their first and only number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
1986 – New wave group The Police topped the UK Albums chart with their first greatest hits compilation ‘Every Breath You Take: The Singles’.
1986 – With the theme song ‘Take My Breath Away’ from the film ‘Top Gun’, new wave band Berlin started a four-week stint at the top of the UK Singles chart.
1997 – Hip hop supergroup The Firm went to number one on the US Billboard 200 chart with ‘The Album’.
1999 – American jazz trumpeter and composer Lester Bowie died at the age of 58. Best remembered for co-founding the Art Ensemble of Chicago.
2003 – With their second greatest hits compilation ‘In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003’, rock band R.E.M. was at No.1 in the UK on this day November 8.
2008 – Hard rock band AC/DC went to number one on the US Albums chart with their fifteenth studio LP ‘Black Ice’. The album reached No.1 in 29 countries worldwide that year.
2008 – The number one album in the UK on this day was ‘Funkhouse’ by the American singer and songwriter P!nk.
2009 – A fan from the audience hit Morrissey with a beer bottle while performing which resulted in him stopping the concert and bidding farewell to the crowd.
2014 – Taylor Swift scored her second number one album in the UK with ‘1989’, her fifth studio release. The album peaked at No.1 in a dozen other countries, including the US.
2014 – The number one album in the United States on this day was ‘.5: The Gray Chapter’ by the heavy metal band Slipknot.
2014 – Ed Sheeran scored his second domestic chart-topper when ‘Thinking Out Loud’ rose to No.1 on the UK Singles chart.
2018 – Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli scored his first number one album in the UK with ‘Si’, his sixteenth studio LP. The LP was also a chart-topper in America.
2021 – American songwriter, singer, lyricist, composer, pianist, and arranger Margo Guryan died at age 84. Best remembered for penning the hit song ‘Sunday Mornin”.
BORN ON NOVEMBER 8 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1927 – American pop and country music singer Clara Ann Fowler also known professionally as Patti Page was born in Claremore, Oklahoma.
1941 – Multi-instrumentalist and founding member of the The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Rodney Slater was born in Crowland, England.
1944 – American singer and actress Bonnie Bramlett was born in Alton, Illinois. Best known as one half of the husband-and-wife musical duo Delaney & Bonnie.
1945 – American drummer Donald Ray Murray was born in Inglewood, California. He rose to fame as a member of the band The Turtles.
1946 – Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Roy Wood was born in Birmingham, England. Best known as a co-founder of the bands Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Wizzard, and The Move.
1949 – American blues rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter Bonnie Lynn Raitt was born in Burbank, California.
1954 – Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Rickie Lee Jones was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1957 – Multi-instrumentalist Paul “Pearl” Thompson was born in Wimbledon, England. He came to prominence as a member of the rock band The Cure.
1961 – American singer, guitarist and actor Leif Garrett was born Leif Per Nervik in Hollywood, California.
1977 – Singer and songwriter Tiffani Wood was born in Newcastle, Australia. Best known as a member of the girl group Bardot.