- On August 24th, 1945, Scottish Funkyman & Average White Band Tenor Saxophonist Malcolm 'Molly' Duncan (Back row-C) was born in Montrose, Scottland. The band had a few hit singles during their active run of LPs from the mid 70's to the early 80's, most notably Pick Up The Pieces in 1975. School Boy Crush is my joint though, Short Dog sampled it nicely (Too-Short).
Duncan (L) and his band worked closely with Ben E. King (Stand By Me) in the late 70's and early 80's. One of the interesting facts about AWB is that most American audiences expected them to be a predominantly Black band. They would get strange looks when coming out on stage and setting up. Once they started playing, however, The Funk made em colorless. Malcolm 'Molly' Duncan is 73 today!
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On August 24th, 1963, Little Stevie Wonder made history by becoming the first artist to ever score two #1 Hits in the same week. The song was Finger Tips Parts 1 & 2. He didn’t stop making history there though. He went on to be the first artist to have a Number 1 single, for a live recording, with the same song. You can check his live performance in the video below.
Stevie was only 12 years-old when this happened, thus, his original performance name (Little Stevie Wonder: The 12 Year-Old Genius) fits him well.
Sidebar: Isn’t it kind of weird/creepy how Berry Gordy found all these child stars, made them lie about their ages, & reaped fortunes off of them? Like, what was his recruiting strategy?
Sidebar: Isn’t it kind of weird/creepy how Berry Gordy found all these child stars, made them lie about their ages, & reaped fortunes off of them? Like, what was his recruiting strategy?
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On August 24th, 1981, Mark Chapman-the asshole that shot John Lennon-was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a NY Courts. Chapman, as it’s been reported, walked up to Lennon and shot him at close range five times. The murder occurred on December 8th, in 1980, in front of The Dakota Apartment Building (NYC).
The inmates didn’t make it easy for Chapman coming in…He reported that he’d been beaten up several times, and that attempts to take his life were also made by fellow prisoners. It’s safe to say that Chapman didn’t get a pass for killing Lennon inside jail, or out in the so-called 'free-world'.
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…"Midnight & You"….If you don’t know the song quoted at the start of this post, you can listen to it below. On August 24th, 1998, the super talented producer, composer, musician (piano, violin), arranger, and songwriter Gene Page passed away-losing his battle with an illness he’d been fighting for years. Page worked with many talented musicians including The Righteous Brothers, Dobie Gray, Roberta Flack (Tonight I Celebrate My Love), and Bob & Earl. But his best work was done with Barry White & The Love Unlimited Orchestra. Don’t sleep on this guy, or his contributions to Barry White’s music during the 70's (Barry’s best years).
Known as "Session Call Number One," Page was known to make any song appealing with his string compositions. Page also worked with Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Mathis, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, The Four Tops, and so many more. He also released two solo albums, and scored multiple movie classics. He was 58 when he passed.
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…‘It’s too late to change the time’… On August 24th, 2009, Michael Jackson’s sudden passing (raises eyebrows-conspiracy?) was ruled a homicide committed by his physician-Dr. Conrad Murray. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office determined that Michael died from ingesting a mix of drugs that were meant to treat his insomnia.
Dr. Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter on Feb. 8th, 2010. After receiving his charge, he posted bail of $75,000. He remained out of jail until he was found guilty in November of 2011. He served a four year prison sentence, and is out now… However, the media hasn't kept up with his whereabouts.
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… ‘Stranded on Death Row (Records)’... On August 24th, 2014, The man that Made The Big Red Record Mogul in the Robert Townsend movie The Five Heartbeats a reality-Mr. Marion Suge Knight-Death Row Records owner/founder got shot at a party that Chris Brown was throwing.
This occurred at the 1 Oak Nightclub, in West Hollywood, California. He’s wasn’t the only one that caught some hot ones, two other people (a man and a woman) were also shot. All three of them were treated at a local hospital. Rule Of Thumb: When you’re anywhere near Suge Knight, make sure you have a Teflon vest at your disposal…preferably a full body armor suit…and a gat…Jus' sayin'...
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...Honorable Mention...
On August 24th, 1905, Arthur William Crudup-the Blues Singer credited with writing Elvis’ hit song That’s All Right Mama was born in Forest, Mississippi. His stage aliases included: Big Boy Crudup, Percy Lee Crudup, & Elmer James. He made several recordings during his career, before dying from cardiac arrest in 1974 (age 69).
‘Invention of The Blackslide on Soul Train…aka The Moonwalk’…On August 24th, 1955, Shalamar singer and Soul Train Dancer-Jeffrey Daniels was born in Los Angeles, California. He invented The Moonwalk, and worked with Michael Jackson directly. Michael got the dance from Daniel’s crew on Soul Train (Jody Watley also danced on Soul Train with Daniels). He’s 63 today.
On August 24th, 1966, The studio doors opened for The Doors to start recording their debut LP. It all went down at Sunset Sound Recording Studios, which is located on West Sunset Blvd, in sunny Los Angeles, California. Jim was an original in his lyrical content and overall persona. He was definitely a prolific writer.
…"I see the little silhouette"… On August 24th, 1975, Freddie Mercury and his band Queen started recording their seminal cut Bohemian Rhapsody at the Rockfield Studio in Monmouth, Wales. It took three weeks for the crew to complete the song-with Mercury, May & Taylor singing their vocal parts 10-12 hours per day, resulting in over 180 separate overdubs.
On August 24th, 1989, Patti Labelle, Steve Windwood, Phil Collins, Elton John, & Billy Idol were special guest performers with The Who at The Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California. The Who performed their song Tommy, with the All-Star group which was from their movie of the same name.
On August 24th, 1991, bandleader, guitarist, songwriter, Lisa Bonet’s first husband, and the father of their child Zoe-Lenny Kravitz had a #2 US Chart Single with It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over. Bryan Adams held down the Number 1 spot with his single I Do It For You.
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