BARRY LEVINE: Some this ‘n’ that about rock ‘n’ roll

This ‘n’ that from here ‘n’ there …

Blues singer and guitarist B.B. King named his guitar Lucille after nearly losing it during a fire started by two men fighting over a woman named Lucille at a Twist, Ark., nightclub during the winter of 1949. King, who died in 2015 at age 89, released 138 singles during his career, three of which climbed to No. 1 on the R&B chart.

In Bill Withers’ 1971 No. 3 hit “Ain’t No Sunshine,” he repeated the phrase “I know, I know, I know” 26 times. This repetition was originally meant as a place holder until Withers could formulate better lyrics. He never did.

The Chordettes were the first act to perform on “American Bandstand” on Aug. 5, 1957. That’s the day the show’s first episode was broadcast nationally on the ABC Television Network.The Chordettes, a Wisconsin-based female quartet, placed nine songs on the Top 40 between 1954 and 1961, including “Mr. Sandman,” No. 1 in 1954, “Born To Be With Him,” No. 5 in 1956, and “Lollipop,” No. 2 in 1958.

Johnny Cash holds the record for the longest period between No. 1 albums. He had the top LP with “At San Quentin” in 1969. In 2006, he repeated the feat with “American V: A Hundred Highways.” That’s a span of 37 years.

During the 1930s, jazz musicians started calling gigs “apples” and New York City became “The Big Apple.”

After Jan Berry of Jan and Dean was seriously injured in a car accident on April 12, 1966, and could no longer perform, his partner, Dean Torrence, formed a graphics design company that was responsible for more than 200 album covers including “The Turtles Golden Hits,” and nine for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. He won a Grammy for “Best Album Cover of the Year” in 1972 for the LP “Pollution” by the group of the same name. He was nominated on three other occasions.

The epitaph on Sonny Bono’s headstone reads: “And The Beat Goes On.” A member of Congress, Bono first stepped into the spotlight during the 1960s as half of the singing duo Sonny and Cher. He was killed on Jan. 5, 1998, in a skiing accident in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. He was 62. “The Beat Goes on” was as Top 5 hit for Sonny and Cher in 1967.

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” a Top 10 hit in 1974, was written as an answer to two Neil Young songs, “Southern Man” and “Alabama,” which dealt with themes of racism and slavery in the South. Young was born in Toronto and Skynyrd’s members were from Florida.

“The Twist” was written by Hank Ballard, who originally recorded the song in 1959 with his group The Midnighters. He got the idea for the song by watching his band move around on stage. He said they looked like they were “trying to put a cigarette out.” The song later became a No. 1 hit for Chubby Checker in 1960 and again in 1962 and started the worldwide dance craze.

The night before their recording session, The Kingsmen played a 90-minute version of “Louie, Louie” at a local teen club. Once they got into the studio, the song was recorded in one take. “Louie, Louie” was a No. 2 hit in 1963.

Neil Diamond revealed a secret in November 2007 that he had held for nearly 40 years. The inspiration for his 1969 hit “Sweet Caroline” was President Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline. The tune climbed to No. 4, became a million seller and is one of Diamond’s signature songs.

Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs’ 1965 No. 2 hit “Wooly Bully” was the first Record of the Year not to have topped the weekly Hot 100.

How’s this for producing top musicians? The Beach Boys’ Mike Love, keyboard player/R&B singer Billy Preston, Marilyn McCoo and Ron Townsend of The Fifth Dimension and guitarist Johnny Echols of the L.A. band Love, all attended Dorsey High School in Los Angeles at the same time.

Roy Orbison’s use of his trademark dark-glasses started when he misplaced his regular glasses and had to rely on a pair of prescription sun glasses. His management liked the mysterious look it gave him, and soon they were the only ones he wore. Orbison released 92 singles during his glittering career, two of which reached No. 1 — “Running Scared” in 1961 and “Oh, Pretty Woman” in 1964.

This week in rock history

Brian Epstein signed his management contract with The Beatles on Oct. 1, 1962. John Lennon and Ringo Starr signed for themselves and Harold Harrison and James McCartney for their underage sons. The agreement gave Epstein 25 percent of the group’s earnings, provided that they each made more than $400 per week.

“Stay” by Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs entered the chart on Oct. 2, 1960, en route to No. 1. At 1:37, it was the shortest chart topper in rock ‘n’ roll history.

Pat Boone, 23, started hosting “The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom” on ABC-TV on Oct. 3, 1957. The program, which featured many of the day’s top recording artists, was canceled after its third season when it lost a ratings war with John Forsythe’s “Bachelor Father” on NBC. ABC replaced Boone’s show with Fred MacMurray’s sitcom, “My Three Sons.”

Neil Sedaka recorded “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen” on Oct. 5, 1961. It became his eighth Top 20 hit and he had 13 more.

Cher had the top tune on Oct. 6, 1973, with “Half-Breed,” a song written especially for her. She claimed to be 1/16th Cherokee on her mother’s side.

Little Richard’s “Keep A Knockin’ ” entered the Top 40 on Oct. 7, 1957, on its way to No. 8. It was the seventh time Richard had reached the Pop chart in the last two years.

Barry “The Old Rocker” Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at [email protected].