TRIVIA
Today’s Question: John Barbata, who’s drummed with Starship, Jefferson Starship, Crosby, Stills and Nash and The Turtles, celebrates his 70th birthday today (April 1st).
When Barbata’s five-year stint with Jefferson Starship ended in 1979, he was replaced by British-born drummer Aynsley Dunbar. Which group had Dunbar just finished his own five-year stint with?
a) John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers
b) Journey
c) King Crimson
d) Crosby, Stills and Nash
scroll down for today’s answer
ANNIVERSARIES
2008-Paul Simon kicks off his starring run in “Love in Hard Times,” a month-long, three-program tribute and retrospective at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.
2008-Velvet Revolver announce that they’ll continue on without Scott Weiland. A message from Slash reads, “This band is all about its fans and its music, and Scott Weiland isn’t 100 percent committed to either. Among other things, his increasingly erratic on-stage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on.”
2005-KISS and Ted Nugent headline a show at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California for the Marines Corps and their families.
2005-Sting kicks off his Broken Music tour in San Jose, California.
2004-Onetime Zombies guitarist Paul Atkinson dies after a long bout with cancer and liver disease. Atkinson, who was 58, enjoyed a second career as a talent scout and executive with several record labels. Notably, he launched the career of Bruce Hornsby.
2002-Paul McCartney kicks off Driving U-S-A, his first American tour since 1993, in Oakland, California.
1993-Neil Young, David Crosby, Kenny Loggins and Heart’s Wilson sisters are among the performers at a major environmental rally in Portland, Oregon.
1992-Billy Idol pleads “no contest” to punching a woman in the face. He is fined and ordered to produce antidrug and alcohol public service announcements.
1992-Metallica’s …And Justice for All is certified for sales of two-million copies, and Ride the Lightning is certified for sales of three-million.
1990-Guns n’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan is divorced from Mandy Brix, lead singer for a band called The Lame Flames.
1985-Singer David Lee Roth leaves Van Halen to go solo.
1981-John Lennon’s “Woman,” the second of three Top 10s from the Double Fantasy album, is certified gold.
1978-New York punk-poppers Blondie have their first hit anywhere when “Denis,” a sex-change remake of Randy and the Rainbows’ 1963 hit “Denise,” tops the New Musical Express pop chart in Britain.
1978-The Knack begins recording its low-budget first album, Get The Knack.
1977-Jimmy Buffett releases his signature hit, “Margaritaville.”
1977-Led Zeppelin begin their largest American tour at Memorial Auditorium in Dallas. After playing their first show in nearly two years, Robert Plant says, “I was so happy. I don’t think I’ve ever sung better in America.”
1976-Over one-million ticket applications are received following the announcement of a 13-date U-K tour by The Rolling Stones.
1976-Paul McCartney and Wings release “Silly Love Songs” as a single from the Wings at the Speed of Sound album just prior to the group’s first U-S tour.
1976-Led Zeppelin’s Presence goes gold.
1973-In honor of April Fool’s Day, John Lennon and Yoko Ono announce the fanciful formation of Nutopia, a new country with no laws or boundaries and a national anthem of silence.
1972-The three-day Mar y Sol Festival begins in Puerto Rico. Black Sabbath, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, J. Geils Band, B-B King and The Allman Brothers Band are among the performers at the festival.
1971-More than six months after his death, Jimi Hendrix’s Cry of Love goes gold. It’s the last album the guitarist knowingly worked on in his lifetime. It reaches number-three in the charts, and might have gone higher if not for another posthumous release – Janis Joplin’s Pearl.
1969-The Beach Boys sue Capitol Records for more than two-million-dollars in unpaid royalties and producer’s fees. The group also announces the formation of a label, Brother Records, to be distributed by Reprise.
1967-“Strawberry Fields Forever” by The Beatles (the B-side of the chart-topping “Penny Lane”) peaks at number-eight on the pop chart.
1967-Jefferson Airplane make their first chart appearance, with “Somebody to Love.”
1966-David Bowie’s first solo single, “Do Anything You Say,” is released in Britain. He had previously released records under his real name as David Jones and the Lower Third.
1966-The Beatles get a gold record for “Nowhere Man.”
1964-John Lennon is reunited with his father, Freddie, for the first time in 17 years.
BIRTHDAYS
Ronnie Lane-Died in 1997
The bassist, guitarist and songwriter in The Small Faces (“Itchycoo Park”) and The Faces (with Rod Stewart). He also recorded and toured with his own group and collaborated on an album with Pete Townshend. The Englishman, who last lived in Colorado, died of MS on June 4th, 1997. He was 51. Born in 1946.
John Barbata-70 years old
He played drums in The Turtles, Crosby Stills and Nash and Jefferson Starship, appearing on number-one hits 20 years apart — The Turtles’ “Happy Together” in ’67 and Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” in ’87. Born in 1945.
TRIVIA ANSWER
b) Journey