A Beatle ties the knot, Neil Sedaka and Nancy Wilson celebrate their birthdays and more This Week In Music History.
March 12, 1969 – Paul McCartney married Linda Eastman at Marylebone Registery Office in Westminster. The grounds were full of swarms of weeping teenage girls and members of the press.
Following the traditional “wedding breakfast” at the Ritz Hotel, Paul and Linda sat down for a short interview with ITV. In the interview they were asked how they were feeling (“Very happy. Unquote.”), if Linda would be spending much time in New York (“No”) and how Paul felt about the swarms of weeping girls from earlier in the day (“I don’t know what I feel about that, you know, What do you say to that.”).
March 13 1939 – Singer, songwriter Neil Sedaka was born on this day. He got his start as a member of the Tokens (originally the Linc-Tones, named after their local high school). Rolling Stone described his writing style (especially when he was writing with Greenfield) as “influenced by Cole Porter – detached, witty, technically polished. There was also a formalism to his writing that went beyond the world of other Brill Building writers; by Sedaka wasn’t merely following a tradition, he was reviving one as well.”
March 14 1972 – Soul singer, Linda Jones, died at the age of 26 in New York. Jones who had been diagnosed with diabetes, slipped into a diabetic coma while resting between the afternoon matinee and the evening show a the Apollo Theatre. She is best known for her 1967 single ‘Hypnotized.’
March 15 1989 - The Rolling Stones signed a $70 million contract to play 50 North American dates as part of their Steel Wheels Tour. It was the most financially successful rock tour in history at the time.
The Stones played two sold out shows in Vancouver and tickets for the shows were a hot commodity. One fan sat in a bath tub filled with brown sugar and water in front of the Vancouver radio station 99.3FM The Fox for a free ticket.
March 16, 1954 - Nancy Wilson (right), vocalist and guitarist for the Seattle/Vancouver band Heart, was born on this day. Heart toured across Canada with Def Leppard last summer. They are scheduled to release a box-set as well as a new studio album this fall.
