ON THIS DAY IN BLACK MUSIC HISTORY: MAY 24

#1 Song 1975:   “Shining Star,” Earth, Wind & Fire

 

Born:   Patti LaBelle (Patricia Holt), 1944

 

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1947   The Hadda Brooks Trio charted with “That’s My Desire,” reaching #4 R&B.

 

 

1947   Lionel Hampton & His Septet entered the R&B charts with “Blow Top Blues,” peaking at #5. The vocalist on the record was young jazz great Dinah Washington, who would record the song again solo in 1952, coincidentally reaching #5 again.

 

 

1952   Clyde McPhatter & the Dominoes charted with “Have Mercy Baby,” which scaled the hit list, reaching #1 R&B for an impressive ten weeks. A year before, the group had one of the century’s biggest hits when their “Sixty Minute Man” spent fourteen weeks at #1 becoming the seventh-biggest hit of all time on the R&B charts. “Have Mercy Baby” was no slouch either, coming in at #30 all-time. The following version of  “Mercy” features Billy Ward on vocals.

 

 

1961   The Monotones recorded their last single, “Daddy’s Home, But Mama’s Gone,” an answer record to Shep & the Limelites’ hit “Daddy’s Home.”

 

1969   The Emotions charted with “So I Can Love You,” their debut disc on both the pop (#39) and R&B (#3) charts. The trio of Hutchinson sisters went on to have thirty R&B hits through 1984.

 

 

1970   B.B. King and Albert King (no relation) performed on the last night of their four-night stand at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

 

1993   Dionne Warwick performed at ASCAP’s tenth annual Pop Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA, performing Bacharach & David songs.