Archive for August 23rd, 2011
TEX WILLIAMS (August 23, 1917–October 11, 1985)
Sollie Paul Williams, known professionally as Tex Williams, was a Western
swing musician from Ramsey, Illinois. Williams is best known for his talking
blues style such as his biggest hit novelty song, “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke!
(That Cigarette)”. It held the number one position on the Billboard charts
for six weeks in 1947. "Smoke" was the No. 5 song on Billboard’s Top 100
list for 1947, and was No. 1 on the country chart that year. It can be heard
during the opening scenes of the 2006 movie, Thank You for Smoking.
SONGWRITER JERRY LEIBER IS DEAD AT 78
(AP)-Jerry Leiber, who with longtime partner Mike Stoller wrote “Hound Dog,”
“Jailhouse Rock,” “Yakety Yak” and other hit songs that came to define early
rock `n’ roll, died Monday. He was 78.
He was surrounded by family when he died unexpectedly of cardiopulmonary
failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said his longtime publicist, Bobbi Marcus.
With Leiber as lyricist and Stoller as composer, the team channeled their blues
and jazz backgrounds into pop songs performed by such artists as Elvis Presley,
Dion and the Belmonts, the Coasters, the Drifters and Ben E. King in a way that
would help create a joyous new musical style.
From their breakout hit, blues great Big Mama Thornton’s 1953 rendition of “Hound
Dog,” until their songwriting took a more serious turn in 1969 with Peggy Lee’s
recording of “Is That All There Is?” the pair remained one of the most successful
teams in pop music history.
Pictured from left: Jerry Leiber, Elvis Presley, and Mike Stroller
THIS WAS NUMBER ONE 42 YEARS AGO TODAY
”Honky Tonk Woman”, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards,
topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a total of four weeks. In 2004
it was ranked #116 on the list of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs
of All Time.
SALLY BROWN DEBUTED ON THIS DAY IN 1959
Sally Brown is the younger sister of Charlie Brown in the comic strip Peanuts by
Charles Schulz. She was first mentioned in early 1959 and throughout a long series
of strips before her first appearance (above) in August 1959.
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