Awakenings: Embrace the Music Memories...From Then 'Til Now

So many memories, so much music! This walk down memory lane will take some time, so kick back, relax and just enjoy iconic tunes: rockin' in the 50s, rollin' in the spirit of the 60s, groovin' with sounds stuck in the 70s, dancin' to the best of the 90s on into the 21st century.

Life without music is life without a voice!

Today in Music History: April 24

Embrace the Past...

Listen carefully to the whistle...

1955 Perez Prado, universally known as the King of the Mambo, was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White'. The instrumental was the theme from the film 'Underwater' where Jane Russell can be seen dancing to 'Cherry Pink'.

1959 Buddy Holly was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Paul Anka song 'It Doesn't Matter Anymore'. A No.1 hit six weeks after Holly's death.

1961 Bob Dylan appeared on Harry Belafonte's album 'The Midnight Special' playing harmonica on the track 'Calypso King'; Dylan was paid a $50 session fee for this - his first ever recording.



*1961* Del Shannon started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Runaway', also a No.1 in the UK. Del was the first person to have a hit with a Beatles song in the US with his version of 'From Me To You'.

*1965* Beatles manager Brian Epstein won the 'star prize' of an album when he had his letter published in UK music weekly 'Melody Maker' informing its readers that Paul McCartney played lead guitar on 'Ticket To Ride'.

*1965* Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Game Of Love', a No. 2 hit in the UK. Wayne took his name from DJ Fontana the Elvis Presley drummer. Eric Stewart guitarist in the Mindbenders went on join Hotlegs and 10CC.

*1968* Louis Armstrong, "Satchmo", was at No.1 in the UK with the single 'What A Wonderful World / Cabaret'. At 69 years of age, it made Armstrong the oldest act ever to score a UK No.1.

*1971* Crosby Stills Nash & Young went to No.1 on the US album chart with '4 Way Street'.

*1972* John Lennon's controversial single, 'Woman Is the Nigger of the World' was released in the US. The song peaked at No.57, despite virtually every radio station in the country refusing to play it. Yoko Ono said the phrase during a magazine interview in 1967 and Lennon later explained that he was making a point that women deserved higher status in society.

1976 'Wings At The Speed Of Sound' went to No.1 on the US album chart. Paul McCartney's fifth No.1 album after The Beatles dissolution. It became his most successful American chart album, spending seven nonconsecutive weeks at #1. The album featured the hits 'Let 'Em In' and 'Silly Love Songs'.

1979 Ray Charles' 'Georgia On My Mind' was proclaimed the state song of Georgia. The music to the song was written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael who also recorded a version of the song in New York in the same year. Ray Charles, a native of Georgia, recorded it in 1960 on the album 'The Genius Hits the Road'.

1995 Oasis released 'Some Might Say' which went on to give the band their first UK No.1 single. The planned promo video for the song was cancelled due to Liam not turning up for the shoot. Instead, a makeshift video was created using footage from the 'Cigarettes & Alcohol', US 'Supersonic' and UK 'Whatever' videos.

2005 US singer Akon went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Trouble'.

2005 Mariah Carey was at No.1 on the US album chart with 'The Emancipation of Mimi'.

2007 The Arctic Monkeys sold 85,000 copies of their new album 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' on its first day in UK shops, putting it on course to be the year's fastest-selling new release.

The No.1 songs on April 24 in this decade...

[Click on the year to see all the songs that hit No.1 that year.]