Doctor Don, Minneapolis, MN (2025)

07/12/2025

Music notes for July 12:

The late Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac born this date. She played keyboards and supplied the lead vocals on hits like “Over My Head”, “Say You Love Me”, “You Make Lovin’ Fun” and “Don’t Stop”.

2012 - Steven Tyler announced that he would be leaving American Idol after two seasons, with a statement saying, "After some long hard thoughts I've decided it's time for me to let go of my mistress 'American Idol' before she boils my rabbit. I strayed from my first love, Aerosmith and I'm back but instead of begging on my hands and knees, I got two fists in the air and I'm kicking the door open with my band‘.

1986 - Simply Red scored their first No.1 single with 'Holding Back The Years'. Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall wrote the song when he was seventeen, while living at his father's house. The chorus did not come to him until many years later.

1979 - singer songwriter Minnie Riperton died of cancer aged 31. The Stevie Wonder produced 'Loving You' gave Minnie a No.1 single in 1975. She worked at Chess records singing backup for various artists such as Etta James, Fontella Bass, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. She also sang lead for the experimental rock/soul group Rotary Connection, from 1967 to 1971. Her daughter is actor/comedian Maya Rudolph.

1969 - One Hit Wonders Zager and Evans started a six week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'In The Year 2525’.

1969 - Blind Faith, a supergroup with Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood, begin their US tour with a show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Their album isn't released yet, but the show is still a sellout thanks to Clapton's star power.

1965 - The Beach Boys released 'California Girls'. Written by Wilson and Mike Love the song reached No.3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was a top 10 hit in several other countries, becoming one of the band's most successful songs globally. The track inspired The Beatles' parody Back in the U.S.S.R.

07/11/2025

WDGY’s Doctor Don presents the Top 5 songs this week in 1965:

1 (I Can’t Get No) SATISFACTION –•– The Rolling Stones
2I CAN’T HELP MYSELF –•– The Four Tops
3 MR. TAMBOURINE MAN –•– The Byrds
4 WONDERFUL WORLD –•– Herman’s Hermits
5 WOOLY BULLY –•– Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs

HIGH DEBUT OF THE WEEK: AT #66 — PRETTY LITTLE BABY –•– Marvin Gaye

IT WOULD PEAK AT #25

07/11/2025

Music notes for July 11:

2019 - Toymakers Mattel announced a new collectable David Bowie doll inspired by his signature Ziggy Stardust fashion. Dubbed Barbie as Bowie, the doll is dressed as the late singer's glam-rock alter ego, complete with a pair of red platform boots and topped with his fiery-red mullet.

2011 - Rob Grill, the lead singer on all those fun Grass Roots hits passed away. He was with the band for 40 years!

1975 - Fleetwood Mac released their tenth studio album often referred to as The White Album, the first Fleetwood Mac album to feature Lindsey Buckingham as guitarist and Stevie Nicks as vocalist. The album reached number 1 on the Billboard chart over a year after entering the chart, spent 37 weeks within the top 10, and more than fifteen months within the top 40. It was the second biggest album of 1976 (behind Frampton Comes Alive! by Peter Frampton).

1970 - Three Dog Night started a two-week run at No.1 with their version of the Randy Newman song 'Mama Told Me Not To Come”.

1970 - Tle album Self Portrait by Bob Dylan was released by Columbia Records, his tenth studio album and Dylan's second double album, and featured mostly cover versions of well-known pop and folk songs.

1970 - The soundtrack to the film Woodstock hits #1 helping recoup massive losses from the festival.

1969 - Space Oddity' by David Bowie was released for the first time. It was timed to coincide with the Apollo moon landing, but it didn’t become a hit until 1973.

07/10/2025

Music notes for July 10:

Happy birthday Mavis Staples, the wonderful lead singer for The Staples Singers.

2019 - Bob Dylan super-fan Bill Pagel purchased the ultimate rock collectible: the Hibbing, Minnesota house where Dylan lived from 1948 to 1959. He bought the 1,600 square foot home from Gregg and Donna French, who had lived there since 1990 for $84,000. Pagel, a pharmacist in his late seventies, has run the Bob Dylan essential fan website boblinks.com since 1995.

2000 - A much-ballyhooed Supremes "reunion" tour, "Return To Love," which features only Diana Ross from the original group, is canceled after initial ticket sales don't match expectations.
1985 - Tina Turner stars opposite Mel Gibson in the post-apocalyptic action flick Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Turner sings the hit songs for the movie: "We Don't Need Another Hero.".

1976 - One Hit Wonders Starland Vocal Band started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Afternoon Delight”.
1975 - Gladys Knight & the Pips debut their own 4- episode summer variety music show on NBC TV.

1968 - Eric Clapton announced that Cream would break-up after their current tour. The group's third album, Wheels of Fire, was the world's first platinum-selling double album and Cream are widely regarded as being the world's first successful supergroup.

1967 - Kenny Rogers leaves the The New Christy Minstrels and forms The First Edition, who have a hit the next year with "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)."

1965 - The Rolling Stones started a four week run at No.1 on the singles chart with '(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction' the group's first chart-topper.

1964 - 200,000 Liverpudlians took to the streets to celebrate The Beatles return to Liverpool for the northern premiere of the group's first film 'A Hard Day's Night.' The group were honored in a public ceremony in front of Liverpool Town Hall.

07/09/2025

Music notes for July 9:

1983- The Police started an eight week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Every Breath You Take'. Taken from the bands album Synchronicity, Sting won Song of the Year and The Police won Best Pop Performance for the song at the 1984 Grammy Awards

1978 - Andy Gibb and his brothers, the Bee Gees, perform together for the first time when Barry, Robin and Maurice join him at his concert in Miami to sing his hit "Shadow Dancing," which they wrote together.

1972 - Paul McCartney and Wings kicked off their first European tour in the small French town of Ollioules. It was McCartney's first time on the road since The Beatles quit touring in 1966. The band travelled on a double Decker London bus with a psychedelic interior.

1971- Grand Funk Railroad play to a sold-out crowd of 55,000 at Shea Stadium in New York City. They have no hit singles, but are well known in the area thanks to a block-long billboard that ran in Times Square for much of the previous year.

1969 - Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles recorded ‘Maxwell's Silver Hammer.’ John Lennon returned to the studio after recovering from a car crash in Scotland, and a bed was installed in the Abbey Road studio for Yoko, who was pregnant, and who had been more seriously injured in the car accident.

1965 - Otis Redding started recording sessions at Stax Studios in Memphis, Tennessee for what would become his third studio album Otis Blue. The album mainly consists of cover versions of other R&B and soul artists hits, and, bar one track, was recorded in a 24-hour period. According to the drummer, Al Jackson, Redding wrote 'Respect', after a conversation they had during a break in the recording session, in which he told Redding: "You're on the road all the time. All you can look for is a little respect when you come home.

1962 - Bob Dylan, not yet famous, records "Blowin' In The Wind" at Columbia Records' studios in New York City but doesn't release it until May 27, 1963, when it appears on his second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. It eventually becomes one of Dylan's most famous songs, but the first version most listeners hear is the hit cover by Peter, Paul and Mary, which goes to #2 in August 1963.

1955 - Bill Haley & His Comets' "Rock Around The Clock" becomes the first Rock song to hit #1 on the Billboard Pop chart, where it stays for eight weeks. The song was originally released as a the B-side of "Thirteen Women," but became a massive hit after it appeared in the film Blackboard Jungle

07/08/2025

WDGY’s Doctor Don presents the Top 5 songs this week in 1979:

1 RING MY BELL –•– Anita Ward
2 BAD GIRLS –•– Donna Summer
3 HOT STUFF –•– Donna Summer
4 CHUCK E.’S IN LOVE –•– Rickie Lee Jones
5 SHE BELIEVES IN ME –•– Kenny Rogers

HIGH DEBUT OF THE WEEK: AT # 77 — AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE –•– Earth, Wind and Fire

IT WOULD PEAK AT #2

07/08/2025

Music notes for July8:

2023 - Elton John told his millions of fans that they would remain in his "head, heart and soul" when concluding his marathon farewell tour In Stockholm, Swedes. Elton closed the show with one of his biggest hits - 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'. His Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour began in North America in 2018.
He played to over 6 million fans in 22 countries.

2007 - Prince was forced off stage by police halfway through his set at the First Avenue nightclub during a late-night gig in his home town of Minneapolis. The club was only allowed to stay open until 3.am but Prince took to the stage at 2.45am. The singer had already played two concerts in Minneapolis before his late-night club appearance; His first performance was at a Dayton’s department store, where he promoted his new cologne with a nine-song, 45-minute set.

1978 - Gerry Rafferty's album City To City went to No.1 on the chart, knocking off 'Saturday Night Fever', which had been at the top of the charts for almost six months.

1972 - Bill Withers started a three week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Lean On Me', his only No.1 hit.

1967 - In Jacksonville, Florida, Jimi Hendrix opens for The Monkees in a musical train wreck. Hendrix plays seven more shows with the pop stars before leaving the tour as it is decided his act was not suitable for the teenybopper audience.

07/07/2025

Music notes for July 7:

Happy birthday Ringo! During his solo career he score 10 Top 40 hits. He still tours the country with his All-Star Band.

1984 - Prince started a five week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'When Doves Cry', his first No.1 which went on to sell over 2 million copies.

1984 - Bruce Springsteen went to No.1 on the album chart with 'Born In The USA'. The album went on to spend a total of 139 weeks on the chart.

1973 - Billy Preston started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Will It Go Round In Circles', his first of two chart toppers.

1972 - The Commodores get a huge break when they snag the opening slot for The Jackson Five’s 42 date concert tour.

1971 - ABBA members Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog marry in Sweden. 3,000 ABBA fanes show up and police on horseback are called in to control the crowd. The couple divorce in 1979.

1969 - John Lennon releases "Give Peace A Chance" in the. a song he and Yoko, along with a chorus of guests, recorded at their "bed-in" in a Montreal hotel room.

1968 - The Yardbirds breakup immediately after their final concert in Luton, England. Jimmy Page begins forming what will become Led Zeppelin.

07/07/2025

Music notes for July 7:

Happy birthday Ringo! As a solo artist he had 10 Top 40 hits. He still turns the country with his All-Star Band.

1984 - Prince started a five week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'When Doves Cry', his first No.1 which went on to sell over 2 million copies.

1984 - Bruce Springsteen went to No.1 on the album chart with 'Born In The USA'. The album went on to spend a total of 139 weeks on the chart.

1973 - Billy Preston started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Will It Go Round In Circles', his first of two chart toppers.

1971 - ABBA members Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog mirrored in Sweden. 3000 ABBA fans arrive and chaos ensued.
The couple divorced in 1979.

1969 - John Lennon releases "Give Peace A Chance" in the US, a song he and Yoko, along with a chorus of guests, recorded at their "bed-in" in a Montreal hotel room.

1968 - The Yardbirds disband immediately after their final concert in Luton, England. Jimmy Page begins forming what will become Led Zeppelin.

07/06/2025

Music notes for July 6:

2020 - singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Charlie Daniels died age 83. He is best known for his contributions to Southern rock, country, and bluegrass music and scored the 1979 number-one country hit 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia' He was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2008, the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.

1985 - Phil Collins went to No.1 on the singles chart with 'Sussudio', his third No.1. The track was taken from his third solo studio album, No Jacket Required.

1984 - The Jacksons kicked off their North American Victory tour at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City. Over 2 million people attended the 55 concerts which grossed over $75 million. That’s $232 million today.

1974 - "Rock The Boat" by The Hues Corporation becomes the first disco song to top the Hot 100.

1968 - The Rolling Stones scored their fifth No.1 single when 'Jumpin Jack Flash' hit the top of the charts. Keith Richards has stated that he and Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards' country house.

1964 - The Beatles film A Hard Day's Night premiered at The Pavilion in London. Filmed during the height of Beatlemania, and written by Alun Owen, the film was made in the style of a mockumentary, describing a couple of days in the lives of the group.

1957 - John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time at The Woolton Church Parish Fete where The Quarry Men were appearing. As The Quarry Men were setting up for their evening performance, McCartney eager to impress Lennon picked up a guitar and played ‘Twenty Flight Rock’ (Eddie Cochran) and ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ (Gene Vincent). Lennon was impressed, and even more so when McCartney showed Lennon and Eric Griffiths how to tune their guitars, something they'd been paying someone else to do for them. When they meet again, Lennon asks McCartney to join his band.

07/05/2025

Music notes for July 5:

Happy birthday Huey Lewis, from Huey Lewis and the News, who had the No.1 single 'The Power Of Love'. Their third, and best-selling, album was 1983’s ‘Sports,’ and they contributed to the soundtrack of the 1985 feature film ‘Back to the Future.’

The late Robbie Robertson of The Band born this date. Robertson. He joined The Hawks in 1962 who became known as The Band. Bob Dylan and the Hawks toured the United States throughout 1965 and a world tour the following year. As a songwriter, Robertson is credited for writing 'The Weight', 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down', 'Up on Cripple Creek', 'Broken Arrow' and 'Somewhere Down the Crazy River'. Robertson died in Los Angeles on 9 August 2023, at the age of 80.

2003 - Johnny Cash made his last ever live performance when he appeared at the Carter Ranch. Before singing "Ring of Fire", Cash read a statement about his late wife that he had written shortly before taking the stage: “The spirit of June Carter overshadows me tonight with the love she had for me and the love I have for her. We connect somewhere between here and heaven. She came down for a short visit, I guess, from heaven to visit with me tonight to give me courage and inspiration like she always has.” Cash died on Sept 12th of this year.

1986 - Janet Jackson started a two-week run at No.1 on the album chart with 'Control'. The album featured the hit singles: 'What Have You Done for Me Lately', 'Nasty', 'Control', 'When I Think of You', and 'Let's Wait Awhile’.

1969 - The Rolling Stones gave a free concert in London's Hyde Park before an audience of 250,000, as a tribute to Brian Jones who had died two days earlier. Mick Jagger read an extract from Percy Bysshe Shelley's 'Adonais' and released 3,500 butterflies.

1965- Dick Clark launches a musical variety show called Where The Action Is, with Paul Revere & the Raiders as the house band. The show lasts 3 seasons on ABC and features many top musical acts of the era.

07/04/2025

Music notes for July 4:

Happy birthday John Waite, lead singer for the 70’s band The Baby whose hit included “Isn’t it Time”, “Back on my Feet Aain” and “Everytime I Think of You”.

The late Bill Withers born this day. Among his many hits are “Ain’t No Sunshine”, “Lean on Me”, “Use Me” and “Lovely Day”.

2003 - record producer and singer-songwriter and five-time Grammy Award-winner Barry White died from Kidney failure aged 58. Produced hits for girl group Love Unlimited and other chart hits include 1974 hit 'You're The First, The Last, My Everything', 1974 No.1 'Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe'.

1986 - The second Farm Aid benefit concert took place at Manor Downs Racetrack, Manor, Texas. Held to raise money for family farmers in the US, the concerts were organized by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young. Artists who appeared included: Alabama, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Steve Earle, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Emmylou Harris, Jason & the Scorchers, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Bon Jovi, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Vince Neil and Willie Nelson.

1974 - Despite the fact that they have the No.4 song in the with 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number' and a current Platinum album with Pretzel Logic, Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagan play their final gig together in Santa Monica, California. They would not tour again for the next eighteen years.

1970 - Casey Kasem debuts the radio show American Top 40, where he counts down the Billboard hits (the #1 song: "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" by Three Dog Night). He hosts the show until 2004.

1969 - Grand Funk Railroad, which formed just a few months earlier, play to a huge crowd at the Atlanta Pop Festival. Lead singer Mark Farner sheds his shirt because of the heat and gets such a reaction from the crowd that he decides to play every show shirtless.

1964 - The Beach Boys started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'I Get Around', the group's first No.1.

Doctor Don

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