STACK #179 Sept 2019

MUSIC FEATURE

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SEP 19, 1973 Revered singer-songwriter Gram Parsons dies of a drug overdose at just 26 years old. Two of the musician’s friends steal the coffin, take it to Cap Rock in California’s Joshua Tree desert, and set it on fire, in accordance with Parson’s wishes. The men are later arrested. SEP 22, 2015 The original copyright to Happy Birthday is deemed invalid by a US District Judge, moving the timeless tune into the public domain. The rights to the song had last been purchased by Warner/Chappell Music in 1988, for $15 million USD. SEP 22, 2005 Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is made an honourary citizen of Rio de Janeiro, for his work helping the Brazilian city’s street children. He’d opened charity building Casa Jimmy (‘Jimmy’s House’) in 1998, which to date has provided shelter and support for more than 500 young children and pregnant teenage girls who were either homeless or living in dangerous situations. SEP 26, 1996 Police raid the London home of Paula Yates and Michael Hutchence after a tip-off from the couple’s nanny, and find opium hidden in a tube of Smarties. At the time, Yates and Hutchence were in Australia with daughter Heavenly, who was two months old. The nanny quits her position and sells her story to The Daily Mirror. SEP 27, 1986 Over 25 years after its initial release, The Beatles’ Twist and Shout re-enters the US singles chart after featuring in the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off . SEP 28, 2002 The tiny town of Nutbush, Tennessee names a stretch of State Highway 19 ‘Tina Turner Highway’, in appreciation for the singer’s 1973 track Nutbush City Limits . Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock in Nutbush in 1939, and lived there until she was 17 years old.

Nirvana throw snacks, ABBA make stacks, and Ferris gives Beatles fans twisted flashbacks: We've combed the dusty files to assemble this calendar of notable dates, events, and oddities of music history for September.

SEP 1, 2007 Supergrass bassist/vocalist Mick Quinn sleepwalks out a first floor window in a French villa and is rushed to a specialist spinal surgeon in Tolouse. He’s treated for two broken vertebrae and a crushed heel, and Supergrass put all recording and touring plans on hold. SEP 5, 1965 The Who visit the Battersea Dogs Home to buy a guard dog, and while choosing their pooch, their van is stolen from the front of the building. It contained equipment worth more than £5000.

SEP 11, 1987 Peter Gabriel reigns at the MTV Awards; Sledgehammer wins Best Video, Best Concept Video, Best Special Effects and six other awards. SEP 12, 1999 Dutch dance-pop group The Vengaboys get their third international hit with We’re Going To Ibiza , a revised version of the 1975 track Barbados by Typically Tropical. SEP 13, 1991 Geffen Records throw a huge party for Nirvana in celebration of the release of single Smells Like Teen Spirit . The bandmembers are thrown out after they start a food fight.

SEP 6, 1997 Elton John performs Candle In The Wind at the funeral of Lady Diana, Princess of Wales.

John has never performed the version again – opting to instead sing the original lyrics he recorded in 1973, about Marilyn Monroe – and has said he’d only consider doing so if Lady Di’s children asked him to. SEP 7, 1976 ABBA get their first and only US #1 with Dancing Queen , which also reaches the top spot in more than a dozen countries. SEP 9, 1965 US entertainment newspapers print an advertisement reading: “Madness!! Auditions. Folk & Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series. Running Parts for 4 insane boys, age 17-21. Want spirited Ben Frank's types. Have courage to work. Must come down for interview.” Of the 437 applicants, three are selected; they join Davy Jones and together become The Monkees.

SEP 14, 2014 A life-sized bronze statue of Amy Winehouse by sculptor Scott Eaton is erected in Camden in North London. At the unveiling, Winehouse’s father Mitch says his daughter was “in love with Camden.”

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SEPTEMBER 2019

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