On October 13th, in 1952-the infamous Super Model, singer, actress and entrepreneur-Beverly (Ann) Johnson was born in Buffalo, New York. Beverly was different in terms of modern Super Model standards, and for that much, even some of the standards in place during her time-not that her time has passed-she’s still fly-just clarifying.
First, she got started during her college years in the summer of 1971 while she was attending Northeastern University. She was 18, soon to be 19, and posed for Glamour Magazine. She was a younger than the norm for her time. She also is 5’8”, which is short for a Super Model, with most being closer to 6”, if not taller.
She was the first Black American to be featured on the cover of Vogue (1974), and the French version of Elle Magazine (1977). After these hedges were removed, she was off to the races, no pun intended. She went on to be featured on over 500 magazine covers. She also got into acting, appearing in four movies from the late 70s (Ashanti 1979)
to the early 2000s (Crossroads 2002). She been featured on the Television shows like: The Parent Hood, Third Rock, Martin and Law & Order to name a few. She also speaks out about body imaging-anorexia and anemia. She recorded and released one LP on Bddha Records in 1979-Don’t Lose the Feeling. She turns 66 today.
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A couple days ago, it was David Lee Roth’s birthday-October 10th. In true Rock ‘n’ Roll ironic form, three days later, his replacement-Sammy Hagar (Samuel Roy Hagar) was born on October 13th, in 1947, in Salinas, California. He’s a singer, songwriter, guitarist and business man. Hagar started off in the late 60s with his band the Castilles. He put out a 7” as Samson & Hagar, sang some session back up vocals, and joined the Johnny Fortune band. By the early 70s he’d moved on to Montrose, staying with them a couple years before going solo (from 1976-1984).
After he had a successful hit in ’84 with -I Can’t Drive 55, he was recruited to sing lead for Van Halen as David Lee was moving on. Hagar became the band’s frontman in 1985. He remained with Van Halen until 1996. Hagar went on to have success owning his own businesses. He has a Tequila company called Cabo Wabo, which sells pretty-well. He also owns a restaurant chain of the same name (Cabo Wabo). He must like ‘spirits’, because he retails Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum, a rum company he founded. Hagar, AKA the Red Rocker has recorded for over 40 years, on over 6 different imprints, with over 7 bands-including his solo work. He turns 71 today.
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One of the most important men repsonsibe for keeping a consistent visual display of modern popular music on television sets worldwide-Ed Sullivan passed away on October 13th, in 1974. Ed himself was a man of music, he was the bandleader for the Ed Sullivan Singers & Orchestra. His contributions to popular music can be seen more clearly on the show he hosted in the Big Apple-The Ed Sullivan Show. It aired in 1948 on CBS raido, it later went to TV (ended 1971). He amassed over 70 million viewers, introducing them to several acts: The Supremes, James Brown, The Beatles, The Doors, Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder,
The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, The Who, Janis Joplin, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Jackie Wilson, Jefferson Airplane, Louis Armstrong, Bo Didley, BB King, Ella Fitzgerald, George Carlin, Creedence Clearwater Revivial, The 4 Seasons, The 4 Tops, Ike & Tina Turner, Flip Wilson, Carol Burnett, Ray Charles, Nancy Sinatra, Sam Cooke, Richard Pryor, Beach Boys, The Muppets, Smokey Robinson & the Mircales, Wilt Chamberlain, Sammy Davis Jr, Pearl Bailey & Santana to name a few. Artists were deemed ‘official’ if they got a spot on the Ed Sullivan Show. He was 73 when he passed away.
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On October 13th, in 1977, three-time gold single singer with the vocal quartet The Orlons and backup for Dee Sharpe-Shirley Brickley (r, r, c) was ruthlessly murdered inside her own home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Orlons recorded for Cameo-Parkway Records in 1961. It took them three auditons before Dave Appell (executive) would sign them. He penned their music as well. They scored their first top 100 single in 1962 with the Wah-Watusi. It went to number two on the US Pop Chart & number 5 on the R&B chart.
That same year they had another hit with Don’t Hang Up, which went to number 4 on the Pop chart & 3 on the R&B chart. In 1963 they reached the 3 slot on the Pop chart & number 4 on the R&B chart with South Street. From 1962-1964 they had 9 singles that were in the top 100 on the Pop chart, and top 40 on the R&B chart. They continued to record, but didn’t chart after 1964. They recorded their last song as The Orlons in 1967. Brickley was shot and died from gunshot wounds, ten years after they stopped recording as the Orlons, when a home invasion went down at her gate. She was only 32 years-old when it happened.
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Honorable Mention: On October 13th, in 1968, Gina, Martin’s lady-Tisha (Michelle) Campbell-Martin was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She’s appeared in several TV shows, but is most recognized as Gina on the epic sit-com Martin. She’s married to Duane Martin, another actor of the times (late 80s-90s). She can sing too, best witnessed on Martin when they’d do duets, especially the episode when they sang Fire & Desire. She turns 50 today.
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On October 13th, in 1980, Murder Inc R&B singer, songwriter, producer, dancer, model and actress Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas was born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York. She signed to Muder Inc when she was 20 (2001). A year later, by the time she could drink legally, she had 2 top 10 singles with Fat Joe (What’s Luv) & Ja Rule (Always on Time). She’s acted in over 15 TV shows, movies and plays since 2004. She’s 38 today.
…‘Don’t go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to’…On October 13th, in 2000, The Mirror-a UK based newspaper published a story about Toni Braxton. They claimed that she would miss the 2000 Mobo Awards because one of her breast implants exploded. A spokesperson from her label Arista was quoted as saying: We don’t comment on our artists’ personal lives.’ That’s a good thing, if her implant did explode, it’s nobody’s business but her own.
On October 13th, in 2016, Folk singer, songwriter, producer, author, poet and Rock superstar-Bob Dylan made history becoming the first songwriter to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was 75 when he received the award, and had been in the musc game for over 5 decades strong. He set a standard for substance based lyiricsm that permeated throughout the genres of popular music. He made it ok to speak on the real life issues that are always going on around us.
For more information on any musician or event reviewed in posts, or for additional information on the Wandering Eyes Blog overall, use the search bar and search the artist or event using keywords. It’s like a Google search for the site. A myriad of information, covering several topics exists on this site going back to 2013 when it was created. PEACE!