MICHAEL NESMITH – RIO
#28MAR 1977
ROBERT MICHAEL NESMITH IS AN AMERICAN MUSICIAN, SONGWRITER, ACTOR, PRODUCER, NOVELIST, BUSINESSMAN, AND PHILANTHROPIST BUT IS BEST KNOWN AS A MEMBER OF THE MONKEES AND STAR OF THE TV SERIES OF THE SAME NAME.
NESMITH IS NOTABLE AS A SONGWRITER, INCLUDING “DIFFERENT DRUM” SUNG BY LINDA RONSTADT
NESMITH WON THE FIRST GRAMMY AWARD GIVEN FOR VIDEO OF THE YEAR FOR HIS HOUR-LONG ELEPHANT PARTS.
AS WITH THE OTHER MONKEES, NESMITH CAME TO BE FRUSTRATED BY THE MANUFACTURED IMAGE OF THE WHOLE PROJECT. ALTHOUGH HE WAS PERMITTED TO WRITE AND PRODUCE TWO SONGS PER ALBUM AND HIS MUSIC WAS FREQUENTLY FEATURED IN EPISODES OF THE SERIES, NESMITH WAS THE MOST PUBLICALLY VOCAL ABOUT THE MONKEES PREFABRICATED IMAGE.
1963, KYU SAKAMOTO STARTED A THREE WEEK RUN AT NO.1 ON THE US SINGLES CHART WITH ‘SUKIYAKI’, THE FIRST-EVER JAPANESE SONG TO DO SO. IT MADE NO.6 ON THE UK CHART IN 1963 AND WAS ALSO A NO.10 UK SINGLE FOR KENNY BALL IN THE SAME YEAR.
1977, THE SEX PISTOLS HELD A PARTY ON A BOAT AS IT SAILED DOWN THE RIVER THAMES IN LONDON. THE PISTOLS PERFORMED ‘ANARCHY IN THE UK’ OUTSIDE THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT RESULTING IN MEMBERS FROM THE PARTY BEING ARRESTED WHEN THE BOAT DOCKED LATER THAT DAY.
1982, PETE FARNDON BASS PLAYER WITH THE PRETENDERS WAS FIRED FROM THE GROUP, HE WENT ON TO FORM A GROUP WITH TOPPER HEADON FROM THE CLASH. FARNDON WAS FOUND DEAD IN HIS BATH ON 14TH APRIL 1983.
1988, DURING BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’S STAY IN ROME DURING A WORLD TOUR A PHOTOGRAPHER TOOK A SHOT OF BRUCE IN HIS UNDERPANTS SHARING AN INTIMATE MOMENT WITH HIS BACKING SINGER PATTI SCIALFA. THE PICTURE CONFIRMED THE RUMOURS THAT BRUCE AND PATTI WERE HAVING AN AFFAIR.
1996, US JAZZ SINGER ELLA FITZGERALD DIED IN BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, AGED 79. ALREADY BLINDED BY THE EFFECTS OF DIABETES, FITZGERALD HAD BOTH HER LEGS AMPUTATED IN 1993. WINNER OF 13 GRAMMY AWARDS, THE 1956 ‘ELLA FITZGERALD SINGS THE COLE PORTER SONGBOOK’ WAS THE FIRST OF EIGHT “SONGBOOK” SETS. APPEARED IN THE TV COMMERCIAL FOR MEMOREX, WHERE SHE SANG A NOTE THAT SHATTERED A GLASS WHILE BEING RECORDED ON A MEMOREX CASSETTE TAPE. THE TAPE WAS PLAYED BACK AND THE RECORDING ALSO BROKE THE GLASS, ASKING “IS IT LIVE, OR IS IT MEMOREX”
2005, COLDPLAY WENT STRAIGHT TO NO.1 ON US ALBUM CHART WITH THEIR THIRD ALBUM ‘X&Y’, HAVING ALREADY ENTERED AT NUMBER ONE IN THE UK.
2011, TWO MEN FROM MANCHESTER WERE HELD ON SUSPICION OF CONSPIRACY TO ROB AND MURDER AFTER BEING ARRESTED CLOSE TO THE DEVON HOME OF THE SINGER JOSS STONE. THE MEN, AGED 33 AND 30, WERE ARRESTED AFTER RESIDENTS REPORTED A SUSPICIOUS LOOKING VEHICLE IN THE CULLOMPTON AREA. A UK POLICE SOURCE SAID THEY WERE FOUND WITH SWORDS, AND A BODY BAG, AS WELL AS DETAILED MAPS AND AERIAL PHOTOS OF STONE’S PROPERTY.
BORN ON THIS DAY
1933 – WAYLON JENNINGS, US COUNTRY SINGER
1941 – HARRY NILSSON, US SINGER, SONGWRITER
1976 – GARY LIGHTBODY, GUITAR, VOCALS, SNOW PATROL
1943 – MUFF WINWOOD, THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP
1946 – NODDY HOLDER, GUITAR, VOCALS, SLADE
1947 – DEMIS ROUSSOS, SINGER
1951 – STEVE WALSH, KANSAS
1966 – MICHAEL BRITT, GUITAR, LONESTAR
1985 – NADINE COYLE, GIRLS ALOUD
