September 7th - a busy day in TIMH:
Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders was born 65 years ago today in Akron, OH. She graduated from Firestone High School (same high school attended by Dan and Patrick from the Black Keys), and enrolled at Kent State University, where she was in a band at one point with Mark Mothersbaugh, later of Devo fame. Hynde is a long time vegetarian, even opening a vegetarian restaurant in Akron at one point (closed in 2011).
In 1973 she moved to England, and in 1978 formed The Pretenders. In 1980 they had their first #1 hit with "Brass In Pocket." Over the years they have had a rotating cast of band members, with Hynde being the only constant. They released 9 studio albums, with their third album "Learning To Crawl" being their highest charting US album, reaching #5 on the Billboard chart, behind such songs as "Back On The Chain Gang," "My City Was Gone," (also known as the Rush Limbaugh theme song), and "Middle of the Road."
The Pretenders were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. Last week it was announced that The Pretenders would complete a joint tour with Stevie Nicks, hitting 27 cities, beginning in a few weeks.
Another birthday- today would have been Buddy Holly's 80th birthday.
Not Fade Away, Buddy (you're welcome Grateful). As everyone knows from the Day The Music Died, Buddy died in a plane crash in Iowa at the age of 22. Quite the legacy for his short life.
Other notable birthdays today:
Benmont Tench, keyboardist for (among others) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers turns 63 today.
Disco singer Gloria Gaynor turns 67 today. (She will survive).
Eazy-E would have turned 53 today.
Crazy music news - on this day in 1996, Tupac Shakur was shot while riding in a car in Las Vegas after watching a Mike Tyson fight. He died 6 days later.
Sadly, Warren Zevon died on this day in 2003 at the age of 56. An amazing, prolific singer songwriter, he had a phobia of doctors. After diagnosed with cancer, he refused treatment and started working on his final album "The Wind," which was released two weeks before his death.
If you've never watched it, go to YouTube and search 'Warren Zevon Letterman final performance.' It is usually up there in 4 parts because of length. He was the only guest for the entire hour of the show. It is a great interview between two friends.
Also sadly, on this day in 1978, Keith Moon of The Who died. He died three weeks after the release of The Who's 8th studio album, "Who Are You."
In 2012 London Olympics organizers sent a letter to The Who's manager asking if Keith Moon would be interested in performing at the closing ceremonies, 34 years after his death.
