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Today In Music History

Feb. 12 in Music History: Happy birthday Brian Chase of Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Brian Chase of Yeah Yeah Yeahs performs during a concert at Teatro Studio on October 1, 2023 in Zapopan, Mexico.
Brian Chase of Yeah Yeah Yeahs performs during a concert at Teatro Studio on October 1, 2023 in Zapopan, Mexico.Medios y Media/Getty Images

February 12, 2024

History Highlight:

Brian Chase, drummer for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, was born today in 1978. Chase originally met Karen O when they were students at Oberlin College in Ohio, and joined the band in 2000. Together, they’ve released five studio albums, including Cool It Down in 2022. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have received five Grammy nominations — four for Best Alternative Music Album. While Chase is an acclaimed rock drummer, he is just as adept as an avant-garde jazz performer. He has been involved in several experimental projects creating drone music, and operates Chaikin Records with emphasis on “rock, jazz, classical, and sound art, and the ways in which they overlap.”

Also, Today In:

1961 - The Miracles' "Shop Around" became Motown Records' first million-selling single. It was also the label's first No. 1 hit on Billboard's R&B singles chart. The song was inducted into the 2006 Grammy Hall of Fame, and has been covered by many artists, including Johnnie Ray, Bobby Vee, Captain & Tennille and The Spinners.

1967 - Fifteen police officers raided Redlands, the West Sussex home of Rolling Stone Keith Richards, during a weekend party. The police, who were armed with a warrant issued under the "dangerous drugs act", took away various substances for forensic tests. George and Pattie Harrison had been at the house, but it was said that the police waited for them to leave before they raided the house in order not to arrest the holder of an MBE — a Member of the British Empire, an order of chivalry awarded to Harrison by Queen Elizabeth II.

1968 - Billed as 'Tour 60 cities in 66 Days' The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at the Center Arena in Seattle.

1970 - John Lennon performed "Instant Karma," on BBC TV's Top Of The Pops, becoming the first Beatle to have appeared on the show since 1966.

1972 - Al Green went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Let's Stay Together," his only U.S. chart-topper.

1977 - Blondie, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and the Ramones all appeared at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles.

1977 - Pink Floyd released their tenth studio album, Animals, in the U.S., where it reached No. 3 in the charts.

1997 - David Bowie received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1997 - Snoop Doggy Dogg and Sean "Puffy" Combs held a press conference where they called for an end to the East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry that had claimed the life of Tupac Shakur. "Kids around the world are watching," Snoop said. "By calling for a truce we're giving them something to live for." However, their efforts failed to stop the violence; less than a month later, The Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a shooting.

2000 - Blues singer Screamin' Jay Hawkins died aged 70.

2007 - During a press conference at West Hollywood's Whisky a Go Go club, Sting confirmed that The Police were getting back together. The band were set to kick off a world tour on May 28 in Vancouver, B.C., supported by Sting's son Joe Sumner's band, Fiction Plane.

2017 - Adele was the biggest winner at The 59th Annual Grammy Awards with five trophies, including Album of the Year for 25, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Hello". Adele also became the first artist in history to win all three general field awards in the same ceremony twice, previously winning all three categories in 2012.

2017 - Al Jarreau died of respiratory failure at the age of 76, just two days after announcing his retirement. During his career he received a total of seven Grammy Awards and is best known for his 1981 album Breakin' Away. He also sang the theme song of the late-1980s television series "Moonlighting".

Birthdays:

Guitarist and session musician Bill Pitman was born on this day in 1920. He played ukulele on the Academy Award-winning song 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head,' and as a session musician played on The Byrds hit 'Mr. Tambourine Man', 'Good Vibrations' from The Beach Boys, 'Strangers in the Night' by Frank Sinatra, 'Be My Baby' by The Ronettes, 'Deep Purple' by Nino Tempo & April Stevens and 'These Boots Are Made for Walkin'' by Nancy Sinatra. He died on August 11, 2022.

Vince Montana, nicknamed “the Godfather of disco,” was born on this day in 1928.

Singer/songwriter Gene McDaniels, who scored the 1961 U.S. No. 3 hit “A Hundred Pounds Of Clay” and wrote Roberta Flack's 1974 No. 1 hit “Feel Like Makin' Love,” was born on this day in 1935.

Ray Manzarek, co-founder and keyboardist of The Doors, was born today in 1939.

Joe Schermie, bassist with Three Dog Night, was born on this day in 1946.

Steve Hackett, guitarist for Genesis in the 1970s, is 74.

Michael McDonald is 72.

Bill Laswell is 69.

Brian Robertson of Thin Lizzy, Motorhead, and Wild Horses, is 68.

Omar Hakim — session drummer for Weather Report, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Chic, Sting, Madonna, Journey, Kate Bush, Dire Straits, Bryan Ferry, Miles Davis, Daft Punk, and many more — is 65.

Paul Crook — guitarist for Meat Loaf, Anthrax, and more — is 58.

Chynna Phillips of Wilson Phillips is 56.

Anneli Drecker, singer for Bel Canto, is 55.

Jim Creeggan, bassist with Barenaked Ladies, is 54.

Gucci Mane is 44.

Mike Posner is 36.

Highlights for Today in Music History are gathered from This Day in Music, Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock, Song Facts and Wikipedia.