#1 R&B Song 1967: “Baby I Love You,” Aretha Franklin
Born: Sam Gooden (the Impressions), 1939; Joe Simon, 1943; Rosalind Ashford (Martha & the Vandellas), 1943
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1955 Alan Freed held his historic Labor Day Rock ‘n’ Roll Show at the Brooklyn Paramount featuring the Moonglows, the Cadillacs, Chuck Berry, the Harptones, and the Nutmegs.
1957 The Channels’ legendary version of “That’s My Desire” was released.
1967 The Parliaments’ “I Wanna Testify” peaked at #20 pop (#3 R&B) for the future funk group’s first of forty-seven R&B chart records through 1996.
1968 Muddy Waters performed at Sultan, Washington’s Sky River Rock Festival and Lighter-Than-Air Fair with bands including the Youngbloods, Santana, and the Grateful Dead.
1976 Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five performed at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. It was their first major performance. Grandmaster (Joseph Sadler) earned a degree in electronics before he became a pioneering rapper.
1978 Balladeer and heart throb Teddy Pendergrass performed at Avery Fisher Hall in New York in the first of numerous concerts for women only. The concept was the brainchild of Teddy’s manager, Shep Gordon (who arranged for the ladies to receive teddy bear-shaped lollipops at the concert), and there was no known reaction from the ACLU as to the ethics of such gender exclusivity.
1988 A worldwide charity tour to raise money for Amnesty International began with a concert at London’s Wembley Stadium featuring Tracy Chapman, Bruce Springsteen, and Sting.
1995 Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone,” produced and written by R. Kelly, hit #1, thus becoming the first single ever to debut in the top spot.
Ann
