April 12
1966
A stellar career path is sidelined when Jan Berry of Jan and Dean rams his Corvette into a parked truck on a side street in Beverly Hills leaving him paralyzed for more thana year. He suffers brain damage and the accident pretty much ends their careers despite an attempted comeback in 1978 after the biographical movie, Dead Man’s Curve, was shown on TV.
1969
The Ventures had a series of instrumental hits in the early 1960s, including “Walk Don’t Run” and “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue”. They were back on Billboard’s Top 40 for the final time with the theme from the TV show, Hawaii Five-0. The band played that song at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
1969
You can’t stop the Fifth Dimension who rack up their eighth Billboard Top 40 hit. “Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In” is adapted from the hit musical “Hair”.
1973
TV’s Sesame Street plays host to Stevie Wonder. He treats the young audience to “123 Sesame Street” and his hit “Superstition”.
1993
Time limits apply and no lengthy jams as the Grateful Dead sing the National Anthem before the San Francisco Giants home opener
2010
You didn’t see this coming. Despite John Lennon’s comment back in 1966 that the Beatles were bigger than Christianity, the Vatican’s official newspaper L’Osservatore Ramano publishes a story praising the Beatles and saying that it forgives Lennon.
