On July 26th, in 1941, American Soul Singer Bobby Hebb was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He is most noted for his 1966 top 20 hit on the US & UK charts-Sunny. His brother, who had been killed by another man in a robbery gone bad, wrote the song in 1963. It was supposed to be an album ‘filler’, but later went on to be a top charting single. Bobby Hebb, born & raised in Nashville, Tennessee, died there in 2010 from lung cancer that he was having treated at the TriStar Centennial Medical Center. His grave site is at Spring Hill Cemetery. If you’re in Nashville, pay homage and visit the site.
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On July 26th, in 1968, The Jackson 5 signed a one-year contract with Motown Records. Their initial entry into the music biz was historical! They are the first recording act to have four number 1 singles in the same year (1970). ABC, I’ll Be There, I Want You Back and The Love You Save all went number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Jackie, Jermain, Tito, Marlon & Michael were the original members. Randy would join later, and they’d change their name to The Jacksons. Moonwalk today, or ‘hee-hee’, do something Michael related.
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On July 26th, in 1975, Van McCoy and the Soul City had a top 5 hit in the US & UK with song called ‘The Hustle’. Van McCoy was born in Washington D.C. in 1940 and died on the 6th of July in 1979 in Englewood, New Jersey. One of the prolific composers of his time. He went on to shape the sound of Disco during the dance craze in the mid to late 70’s. His early work is very funky. I’ve included a couple songs below.
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On July 26th, in 1990, The Grateful Dead’s keyboard player Brent Mydland was found deceased on a floor in his California home from a drug overdose. He was 38. Mydland was the longest lasting keyboardist for The Grateful Dead throughout there lineup changes over the years. He toured and made music with the band for just over a decade, longer than any other keyboardist they’d previously had in the band. He was born in Munich, Germany in 1952, although he lived most of his adult life in California.
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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 wide variety of information, covering several topics exists on this site going back to 2013 when it was created. PEACE