From the Desk of CLASSICKONG

Welcome back, music lovers, to another trip through the records, artists, songs and moments that built the soundtrack of our lives.

Before we spin the first record, WTSG-DB proudly sends our thanks to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces—past and present—and to the families who stand beside them. Your service and sacrifice are never forgotten.

October 3 is one of those days where music history seems to come at us from every direction.

We have a ten-year-old Elvis Presley stepping in front of a microphone years before anybody knew his name. We celebrate birthdays belonging to Eddie Cochran, Chubby Checker, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Diana Ross sits at number one with some serious help from the powerhouse songwriting team of Ashford & Simpson. The Who and Genesis give us landmark albums, Diamond Head helps write part of heavy metal’s future, and Dave Brubeck takes on one of the great songs in the American songbook.

We’ll also remember Benjamin Orr of The Cars and Woody Guthrie.

That’s plenty of ground to cover.

So grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and let’s put the needle down.

1945 — Ten-Year-Old Elvis Takes the Stage

Long before Las Vegas, Sun Records, RCA, television appearances and screaming crowds, there was simply a ten-year-old boy from Tupelo, Mississippi.

On October 3, 1945, Elvis Presley stood on a chair in front of a microphone at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show and sang “Old Shep.”

There was no band behind him.

Just Elvis and the song.

According to Graceland’s history, Elvis finished fifth in the youth talent contest and received five dollars’ worth of fair-ride tickets.

Think about that for a moment.

One of the most famous performers who ever lived began with a ten-year-old kid standing on a chair because the microphone was too high.

Within a decade, the world would know his name.

Elvis later recorded “Old Shep” for Elvis (1956, RCA Victor).

1938 — Eddie Cochran Is Born

Rock and roll pioneer Eddie Cochran was born October 3, 1938, in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

Cochran’s career was terribly short—he died in 1960 at only 21—but his influence was enormous.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame calls him one of rock’s first guitar stars, and that’s exactly what he was.

“Summertime Blues” and “C’mon Everybody” helped establish the guitar-playing singer-songwriter as a rock-and-roll archetype, while “Twenty Flight Rock” became another Cochran classic.

There’s even a Beatles connection.

When Paul McCartney first met John Lennon in 1957, one of the songs Paul demonstrated was Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock.”

Not a bad little footnote in rock history.

Cochran didn’t get much time.

But he certainly made the time count.

1941 — Chubby Checker Is Born

Born Ernest Evans on October 3, 1941, Chubby Checker became permanently associated with one of the biggest dance crazes popular music ever produced.

But here’s the important history:

Chubby Checker did not write “The Twist.”

That honor belongs to Hank Ballard, who wrote and originally recorded the song with the Midnighters.

Checker’s version—released by Parkway in 1960 and later appearing on Twist with Chubby Checker (1960, Parkway)—turned the song and the dance into a national phenomenon.

Remarkably, Checker’s recording reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 during two separate chart runs, first in 1960 and again in 1962.

And Chubby wasn’t finished twisting.

He followed it with “Let’s Twist Again,” from For ‘Teen Twisters Only (1961, Parkway), another huge hit that earned him a Grammy Award for Best Rock & Roll Recording.

Add “Pony Time” from It’s Pony Time (1961, Parkway) and “Limbo Rock” from Limbo Party (1962, Parkway), and Chubby Checker became one of the defining voices of the early-’60s dance craze.

Hank Ballard created “The Twist.”

Chubby Checker helped turn it into a cultural earthquake—and then kept the party going.

1949 — Lindsey Buckingham Is Born

Happy birthday to Lindsey Buckingham, born October 3, 1949.

Buckingham’s road eventually led from Buckingham Nicks to Fleetwood Mac, where his unusual fingerstyle guitar playing, arranging instincts and studio experimentation became central to the band’s sound.

He’s responsible for some remarkable records, including “Go Your Own Way” and “Never Going Back Again” from Rumours (1977, Warner Bros.), and the wonderfully strange “Tusk” from Tusk (1979, Warner Bros.).

One of my favorite things about Buckingham is that he doesn’t always approach the guitar the way you expect a rock guitarist to approach it.

Sometimes it’s almost orchestral.

Sometimes rhythmic.

Sometimes downright weird.

And I mean that as a compliment.

Fleetwood Mac would have been a very different band without Lindsey Buckingham.

1954 — Happy Birthday, Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan was born October 3, 1954, in Dallas, Texas.

Regular readers know we’ve talked about Stevie many times around here, so I’m not going to repeat the entire story again.

Instead, today is about celebrating the man and his music.

In fact, Texas Governor Ann Richards officially proclaimed October 3, 1991, Stevie Ray Vaughan Day.

That’s appropriate.

Few guitarists have ever combined blues tradition, enormous physical power, finesse and unmistakable tone quite like Stevie.

Put on “Pride and Joy” from Texas Flood (1983, Epic), “Couldn’t Stand the Weather” from Couldn’t Stand the Weather (1984, Epic), or “Crossfire” from In Step (1989, Epic), and there’s no mistaking who’s holding that guitar.

We’ve told the sad part of Stevie’s story before.

Today I’d rather simply say:

Happy birthday, Stevie.

Thanks for the music.

1966 — Frank Hannon Is Born

Here’s one for the hard-rock crowd.

Frank Hannon, guitarist and co-founder of Tesla, was born October 3, 1966, in Sacramento, California.

Tesla came along during an era overflowing with hairspray, spandex and image-conscious hard rock, but I’ve always respected them because underneath all of that era’s packaging was a band rooted in guitars, blues and straight-ahead rock and roll.

Hannon’s guitar work helped define records like “Modern Day Cowboy” from Mechanical Resonance (1986, Geffen), “Love Song” from The Great Radio Controversy (1989, Geffen), and Tesla’s acoustic cover of “Signs” from Five Man Acoustical Jam (1990, Geffen).

Tesla always seemed to have a little more dirt under their fingernails than some of their contemporaries.

I respect that.

Happy birthday, Frank.

1967 — Remembering Woody Guthrie

American folk music lost one of its most important voices on October 3, 1967, when Woody Guthrie died at age 55.

Guthrie reportedly wrote nearly 3,000 song lyrics during his lifetime.

But numbers don’t really explain his importance.

His songs told stories about ordinary people—workers, families, travelers, migrants and people trying to make it through difficult times.

His influence eventually reached Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and generations of folk and rock songwriters who understood that a song could do more than entertain.

It could document.

It could question.

It could remember.

And sometimes it could speak for people who weren’t being heard anywhere else.

1969 — Gwen Stefani Is Born

For all you ska and pop fans out there, Gwen Stefani was born October 3, 1969.

And here’s something I’ve always found interesting about Gwen:

What exactly is Gwen Stefani?

She emerged with No Doubt from the Southern California ska scene, and early records like “Just a Girl” and “Spiderwebs,” both from Tragic Kingdom (1995, Trauma/Interscope), certainly carried pieces of that ska and alternative-rock identity.

Then came “Don’t Speak.”

I really liked that song.

But even back then, “Don’t Speak” seemed to create an interesting wrinkle in the story.

This wasn’t really ska.

It was a beautifully written, emotional pop-rock ballad built from the breakup of Gwen’s relationship with bandmate Tony Kanal.

And people absolutely loved it.

Because no commercial U.S. single was issued, “Don’t Speak” wasn’t eligible for the Billboard Hot 100 under the chart rules of the time. But that hardly tells the story: it spent an incredible 16 weeks at number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 Airplay chart.

To me, that’s where an interesting question about Gwen Stefani’s musical direction really began.

Where was she going next?

As it turned out, the answer was:

Just about everywhere.

She teamed with electronic artist Moby on “South Side,” from Play (1999, Mute/V2), with their duet version becoming a significant hit.

Then her solo career took another turn with records like “Hollaback Girl,” from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004, Interscope)—a rhythm-heavy pop record with hip-hop influences that sounded worlds removed from early No Doubt.

She later became a major television personality through The Voice, where she met country star Blake Shelton. The two married in 2021.

So what exactly is Gwen Stefani?

Ska?

Alternative rock?

Pop?

Electronic music?

Dance music?

Hip-hop-influenced pop?

Television celebrity with a connection to the country-music world?

Maybe trying to put Gwen Stefani into one musical box was the mistake all along.

Whatever direction she took, “Don’t Speak” remains the record that stands out most to me.

It was a great song—and looking back, maybe it was also our first real indication that Gwen Stefani wasn’t particularly interested in staying in one lane.

Happy birthday, Gwen.

1970 — Diana Ross, Ashford & Simpson Reach the Summit

On the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending October 3, 1970, Diana Ross was sitting at number one with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” from Diana Ross (1970, Motown).

And buddy, here’s where we need to talk about Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson.

What a powerhouse songwriting and production team.

Two of the absolute finest songwriters to ever do it.

Ashford & Simpson had already written “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” which Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell turned into a hit in 1967.

But when Nick and Valerie produced Diana Ross’s version, they didn’t simply recreate their earlier record.

They completely reimagined their own song.

They stretched it out, added new material, incorporated Diana’s dramatic spoken passages and gradually built the arrangement toward that glorious payoff.

Motown chief Berry Gordy initially wasn’t convinced.

He reportedly wanted them to get to the chorus sooner.

Now, Berry Gordy obviously knew a thing or two about making hit records.

But I’m going to respectfully suggest that when Ashford & Simpson are standing in the studio working on one of their own songs…

maybe you just let the superheroes cook.

Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson knew exactly what they were doing.

The finished record became Diana Ross’s first solo number-one single after leaving the Supremes.

And that’s one of the reasons I have so much admiration for Ashford & Simpson.

Writing a song as good as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” once would have been accomplishment enough.

But years later, they returned to their own creation and found an entirely different way to make it great.

That’s songwriting.

That’s arranging.

That’s producing.

That’s knowing when the rules don’t matter because the record you’re making is better than the rules.

Ashford & Simpson.

Absolute legends.

1974 — Dave Brubeck and “All the Things You Are”

Here’s one that takes me back.

On October 3, 1974, pianist Dave Brubeck recorded “All the Things You Are” with alto saxophonists Lee Konitz and Anthony Braxton.

The Smithsonian documents the session as part of its jazz-history chronology.

But the song itself goes much further back.

Jerome Kern composed “All the Things You Are,” with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, for the 1939 Broadway musical Very Warm for May.

The show faded.

The song didn’t.

Instead, it became one of those compositions musicians simply kept discovering.

Sarah Vaughan sang it beautifully. Bill Evans explored it at the piano. Jazz musicians have been pulling apart and rebuilding those chord changes for generations.

This one has a personal connection for me.

My parents loved “All the Things You Are.”

I remember sitting at the piano myself and experimenting with the song when I was younger. I had a Bill Evans piano book around those days too, and although I can’t swear after all these years exactly which arrangement I was working from, I remember being fascinated by that kind of harmony.

That’s what great songs do.

A Broadway tune written in 1939 can wind its way through singers, jazz clubs, piano players and generations of families—and decades later somebody can hear those changes and be transported right back to a piano bench.

That’s a standard.

1975 — The Who by Numbers

On October 3, 1975, The Who released The Who by Numbers in the United Kingdom on Polydor Records.

The American release followed on October 25 through MCA.

Produced by Glyn Johns, the album included “Slip Kid,” “Squeeze Box,” and “Dreaming from the Waist” (The Who by Numbers, 1975, Polydor/MCA).

And here’s a cool detail:

That famous connect-the-dots album cover was drawn by John Entwistle.

Underneath the playful cover, however, was a record containing some deeply personal Pete Townshend writing.

Roger Daltrey has even described it as one of his favorite Who albums because of the vulnerability in the material.

Sometimes the cover doesn’t tell you what’s waiting inside.

1980 — Diamond Head: Lightning to the Nations

October is here.

Halloween is coming.

So how about a little “Am I Evil?”

On October 3, 1980, British heavy-metal band Diamond Head released its debut album, Lightning to the Nations.

The original record arrived in an almost anonymous plain white sleeve, but what was inside would become enormously influential.

“Lightning to the Nations,” “The Prince,” “Helpless,” and especially “Am I Evil?” all appear on Lightning to the Nations (1980, Happy Face).

And if some of those titles sound familiar to Metallica fans, there’s a reason.

Diamond Head became one of the bands that helped shape Metallica’s early musical vocabulary, and Metallica would eventually record several Diamond Head songs themselves.

That’s one of my favorite things about music history.

Commercial success and historical influence aren’t always the same thing.

Sometimes a record doesn’t conquer the world when it comes out.

Sometimes it quietly helps teach the next generation how to conquer it.

1980 — The Police: Zenyatta Mondatta

Also released October 3, 1980 was The Police’s third studio album, Zenyatta Mondatta on A&M Records.

We talked about Stewart Copeland yesterday for Sting’s birthday, so I’m not going to repeat the drummer story.

Instead, just listen to how well these three musicians fit together.

“Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” “Driven to Tears,” “Canary in a Coalmine,” and “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” all come from Zenyatta Mondatta (1980, A&M).

Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland were three very different musicians whose individual approaches somehow created a sound that belonged to nobody else.

As a drummer, that’s something I’ve always appreciated.

A great rhythm section isn’t about everybody showing you what they can do.

It’s about musicians listening to one another and serving the song.

The Police understood that.

1983 — Genesis

Okay.

Everybody else move over for a minute.

On October 3, 1983, Genesis released Genesis.

And if you’ve been around WTSG-DB very long, you already know what’s coming.

I LOVE THIS RECORD.

Not “I respect it.”

Not “it’s historically important.”

I mean love it.

Genesis (1983, Atlantic in the United States; Charisma/Virgin in other territories) is my absolute favorite Genesis album and easily one of my top ten albums of all time.

The record opens with “Mama.”

What an opening.

That dark drum-machine pulse, Tony Banks creating that ominous atmosphere, Mike Rutherford adding texture, and Phil Collins slowly becoming more unhinged as the record builds.

Then comes “That’s All.”

Then “Home by the Sea” flowing into “Second Home by the Sea.”

Side two gives us “Taking It All Too Hard,” “Just a Job to Do,” “Silver Rainbow,” and “It’s Gonna Get Better.”

All from Genesis (1983, Atlantic/Charisma/Virgin).

And here’s something important about this album: every track was written collectively by Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford.

This wasn’t three guys bringing in finished solo compositions.

This was Genesis functioning as a band.

The album was also the first Genesis studio record written, recorded and mixed entirely at their own studio, The Farm.

Maybe that’s part of why it sounds so confident.

For me, Genesis sits in that rare category of albums where I don’t think about skipping tracks.

You put it on.

You let it play.

Forty-something minutes later, you’re wondering where the time went.

Absolute CLASSICKONG POWER UP record.

2000 — Remembering Benjamin Orr

October 3 also carries a sad anniversary.

Benjamin Orr, bassist and co-lead vocalist of The Cars, died on this day in 2000 at only 53 years old.

Orr and Ric Ocasek shared vocal duties in The Cars, and casual listeners sometimes don’t realize just how many familiar Cars records feature Benjamin singing lead.

That voice on “Just What I Needed” from The Cars (1978, Elektra)?

Benjamin Orr.

“Let’s Go” from Candy-O (1979, Elektra)?

Benjamin Orr.

“Moving in Stereo” from The Cars (1978, Elektra)?

Benjamin Orr.

And, of course, the haunting “Drive” from Heartbeat City (1984, Elektra).

That’s Benjamin Orr too.

The Cars found an unusual sweet spot between rock guitars, new wave, synthesizers and great pop songwriting, and Orr was an essential part of that chemistry.

Fifty-three is far too young.

Total respect.

Rest in peace, Benjamin.

One More Record — Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits

I almost left this one out because Aerosmith’s official history gives the release simply as October 1980, rather than definitively tying it to October 3.

But I decided it still deserves a quick mention.

Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits (1980, Columbia) eventually became the band’s highest RIAA-certified album in the United States.

And I understand why.

For longtime Aerosmith fans, a greatest-hits record might seem unnecessary.

But everybody has to discover a band somewhere.

Imagine being a newcomer and getting “Dream On” from Aerosmith (1973, Columbia), “Same Old Song and Dance” from Get Your Wings (1974, Columbia), “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way” from Toys in the Attic (1975, Columbia), and “Back in the Saddle” from Rocks (1976, Columbia) all sitting there waiting for you.

That’s not a bad doorway.

Greatest-hits albums sometimes get dismissed by longtime fans.

But for the Johnny-come-lately who wants to know what all the fuss is about?

Sometimes they’re exactly where the journey begins.

And if that record sends somebody backward into Toys in the Attic, Rocks, Get Your Wings and the rest of the catalog?

Mission accomplished.

Final Spin

Maybe that’s the thread running through October 3.

A ten-year-old Elvis standing on a chair.

A song by Kern and Hammerstein traveling from Broadway into jazz clubs and eventually onto the piano in somebody’s home.

Diamond Head influencing musicians who would carry heavy metal somewhere even bigger.

Ashford & Simpson returning to their own song and discovering something new inside it.

And records by Genesis, The Cars, The Police and so many others becoming part of somebody’s life long after the musicians left the studio.

Music keeps moving.

From musician to musician.

From parent to child.

From one generation to the next.

And somewhere tonight, somebody will hear an old song for the very first time.

That’s how the story continues.

Until tomorrow, take care of yourself, take care of others, and keep the music playing.

We’ll see you down the road.

Listen to Today’s Broadcast/Podcast

Want to hear today’s stories instead of reading them?

Listen to the October 3 edition of This Day in Music History from WTSG-DB as CLASSICKONG takes you through the artists, records and moments that made this day worth remembering.

References

• Graceland — Elvis Presley’s Early Childhood: https://www.graceland.com/early-childhood
• Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — Eddie Cochran: https://rockhall.com/inductees/eddie-cochran/
• Library of Congress — Chubby Checker Interview: https://lcweb2.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/ChubbyCheckerInterview.pdf
• Texas State Historical Association — Stevie Ray Vaughan: https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/vaughan-stevie-ray
• Tesla — Frank Hannon: https://teslatheband.com/frank-hannon
• Woody Guthrie — Biography: https://woodyguthrie.org/biography.htm
• Classic Motown — Diana Ross, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”: https://classic.motown.com/story/diana-ross-aint-no-mountain-high-enough/
• Smithsonian National Museum of American History — Today in Jazz History: https://www.americanhistory.si.edu/explore/projects/smithsonian-jazz/education/today-jazz-history
• The Who — The Who by Numbers: https://www.thewho.com/music/the-who-by-numbers/
• Genesis — Genesis (1983): https://genesis-band.com/album/genesis-1983-genesis/
• Aerosmith — Greatest Hits History: https://www.aerosmith.com/news/aerohistory–greatest-hits
• The Washington Post — Benjamin Orr Obituary, October 2000: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/10/06/benjamin-orr/adb2baec-14d9-4222-8742-7d3daa78ff53/