Life IS Music

Today in Music History: September 15

Life IS music. It is all around us in everything we do. We may not deem it 'music' at the time but listen closely enough and the surrounding sounds will become melodic in their own way. Perception, interpretation and motivation join hands as thoughts revolve around the harmonies of everyday life. Observe life at its best, listen to life’s songs, embrace life’s bounties, breathe the breath of life and savor life to its fullest! See your life in terms of music.

1956 Elvis Presley started a five-week run at No.1 on the US charts with 'Don't Be Cruel'. 'Don't Be Cruel' went on to become Presley's biggest selling single recorded in 1956, with sales over six million by 1961.

1961 A group from Hawthorne, California called The Pendletones attend their first real recording session at Hite Morgan's studio in Los Angeles. The band recorded 'Surfin', a song that would help shape their career as The Beach Boys.

1962 The Four Seasons started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Sherry', it made No.8 in the UK. They became the first American group to have three No.1's in succession.  

1965 The Ford Motor Company became the first automaker to offer an 8-track tape player as an option for their entire line of vehicles on sale in the US. Tapes were initially only available at auto parts stores, as home 8-track equipment was still a year away.

1966 The Small Faces were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'All Or Nothing', their only No.1 hit. According to Kay Marriott, Steve Marriott's mother, Steve wrote the song about his split with ex-fiancee Sue Oliver, though first wife Jenny Rylance states that Marriott told her he wrote the song for her as a result of her split with Rod Stewart.

1970 US Vice-President Spiro Agnew said in a speech that the youth of America were being "brainwashed into a drug culture" by rock music, movies, books and underground newspapers.

1975 Pink Floyd released their ninth studio album Wish You Were Here in the UK. The album which explores themes of absence, the music business, and former band-mate Syd Barrett's mental decline peaked at #1 on both sides of the Atlantic and went on to spend a total of 84 weeks on the chart.

1975 Bob Dylan released Slow Train Coming, an album of religious songs, including the Grammy Award winning single, 'Gotta Serve Somebody'. The album alienated many of his long time fans.

1979 Led Zeppelin scored their sixth US No.1 album when In Through The Out Door started a seven-week run at the top of the charts.  

1984 Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Relax' became the longest running chart hit since Engelbert Humperdink's 'Release Me', after spending 43 weeks on the UK singles chart. 

1990 The Steve Miller Band had a UK No.1 with 'The Joker' 16 years after it's first release. The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974. More than 16 years later, it reached No.1 in the UK Singles Chart after being used in "Great Deal", a Hugh Johnson-directed television advertisement for Levi's, thus holding the record for the longest gap between transatlantic chart-toppers.  

1990 Wilson Phillips had their second US No.1 with 'Release Me', a No.36 hit in the UK. The group was made up of Carnie and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, along with Chynna Phillips, the daughter of Mamas and Papas founder John Phillips. 

And the music goes on beating to the rhythm of the changing times...