newh.html

"A spin-off of an Austin landmark, this club located in a booming section of Midtown plays host to popular retro roots, rockabilly, country and swing acts like Big Sandy and Flaco Jimenez, who perform on a red velvet-curtained stage; vintage neon light fixtures shine from high metal ceilings in the space that was once a general store, where pool tables, a back-room bar and an outdoor patio offer a respite from the music." ~Priceline.com

When you come visit us on Main St, don't forget the good eats at Tacos A Go-Go, 3704 Main, a funky taco joint right between the Continental Club, Sigs Lagoon, and Shoeshine Charley's Big Top Lounge (The Big Top). You can place your order, return to your drink at The Big Top, and they will bring your order to you. Now that's service!

Hey, y'all, the Continental Confidential can now be found on our MySpace Blog, as well as on the website!

Check out our schedules below for both The Continental Club and for THE BIG TOP. Tickets for select shows, which will be noted in the schedule, will be available at Sig's Lagoon, 3710 Main St., (713) 533-9525.

Email me if you need more details on the shows, or give us a call (713) 529-9899.

Every Monday - The beautiful Tango music of pianist Glover Gill begins at 8:00 p.m.every Monday. The El Orbits hit the stage at 9:00 p.m. every Monday night for swing, country, soul and a little of everything else. Bingo Night is back with the lovely Miss Tricia, Virginia, Emma, and Bongo Jane as Bingo Girls!
Video Links:
El Orbits

Every Tuesday - The Umbrella Man @ 9:00 pm! Comedy, Music and more. Doors open at 8pm. *Except 9/30 when Umbrella Man moves to The Big Top for the night!
Video Links:
Umbrella Man

Every Wednesday - Wicked Wednesdays with Whiskey Boat @ 10:00 pm, Burlesque, Fire Breathers, and a special guest musical act each week!

Thursday Nights 7:00 -10:00 - FREE! BEETLE is an unbelievable band; “close your eyes” and you are there. Beetle weaves their way through all the fun of The Beatles songs, playing “Hard Days Night”, “Lucy in the Sky”, “Hello Goodbye”, and “She Loves You, YEAH, YEAH,YEAH” they cover all the favorites. Paul on bass, Jim on guitar, Jamie on guitar, and BK "Ringo" Jamison on the drums, BEETLE will have you dancing the evening away week after week. TACOS A GO GO is right next door to feed you some of their fantastic food!

Friday Nights 7:00-9:30. No Cover - Molly and the Ringwalds are giving you the best in 80’s Pop Rock. From “My Sharona” to “Jesse’s Girl” the '80s come screaming back to you! Songs you thought you forgot, but you seem to know every word. We’re going to party like it’s 1989. Plus, there will be many other special surprises like Ringwald Karaoke. Bring your friends! Here comes the weekend!
Video Links:
Molly & The Ringwalds

"Basically the chill out room to Houston's venerable hard-partying Continental Club, Shoeshine Charley's Big Top Lounge, while not being as raucous as its adjacent bar brother, is really no slouch when it comes to the hip and boisterous drinking scene. When you step inside to this local Houston bar the decor will definitely make you do a double take, but don't worry, despite the circus atmosphere the only freaks here are the ones you came in with and the only high wire acts are downing canned PBR's while slamming shots. On some nights, Shoeshine Charley's Big Top Lounge has some local live music treat their patrons to a riff or two." ~Houston.com

Every Thursday @ 10 - Craig Kinsey ( of Sideshow Tramps/The Medicine Show), no cover!

Email me if you need more details on the shows, or give us a call. (713) 529-9899. If you are interested in holding a party at the Continental Club or The Big Top, drop us a line for details, we hold all kinds of cool events here. Keep Rockin’ Houston.

Are you a customer with questions about upcoming show times, tickets, cover charge etc.? In Austin call: (512) 441-0202 or (512) 441-2444 or e-mail Dianne at info@continentalclub.com. In Houston call: (713)529-9899 or (713) 529-9666. Are you a musician inquiring about booking a gig? Booking in Austin: steve@continentalclub.com. PR in Austin: Dianne, info@continentalclub.com. Booking & PR in Houston: pete@continentalclub.com.

There is currently no e-mail version of the newsletter for Houston, however there is a monthly pdf calendar available via e-mail. Sign up for the free subscription to the Houston calendar by sending an e-mail with "subscribe" in the subject line to calendar@continentalclub.com. If you have questions about Houston shows, contact Pete at pete@continentalclub.com. You may subscribe to a weekly e-mail of the Austin info from Dianne at info@continentalclub.com.To unsubscribe from the e-mail version, or if you feel that you have received the e-mail in error, please respond to info@continentalclub.com with "unsubscribe" as the subject. Don't forget to get your birthday to me if you want to be on the monthly birthday list. I'd be happy to add Houston birthdays also if y'all let me know about them!

"This is simply one of the greatest clubs in the country. With its rich tradition and great reputation for always having good music, the Continental Club seems to be a hot spot for anyone who really likes music. And if you go, you just may find yourself sitting next to Julia Roberts or Johnny Depp. You never know at the CC. And that's why bigger acts such as Rev. Horton Heat or Spoon always make a stop here on tour. As far as musicians are concerned, there's no better place to play...or go." ~CitySearch.com

Hello everyone! I've got a whole lot of news for you this week, so let's get right to it. James McMurtry has been nominated for Best New Artist of the Year in the New Music Weekly Awards. Okay, so it's a little weird for us to think of James as a "NEW" artist, but let's do our part to make sure that people everywhere know who he is now. The voting is open to everyone (one vote per email address). It only takes a minute, so vote early, vote often! Go to New Music Awards, Scroll Down to VOTE NOW, choose COLLEGE from the drop down menu, and NEW ARTIST from that menu, and finally, vote for James McMurtry!

Heybale! will be on show #3 of the new season of Friday Night Lights which will air on Direct TV on October 15th - it won't be appearing on network TV until next year. Also the Heybale! CD, The Last Country Album, debuted at #8 on the Euro-Americana charts last week. Congratulations, fellas!

Jon Dee Graham's dear friend "Scrappy" Jud Newcomb has coordinated an outstanding lineup of performers for the Pumpkin Moon Party: A benefit for Jon Dee Graham on Monday, October 20! The doors will open at 8:30 & the cover charge is $20. Performers in order of appearance are: Dale Watson @ 9, Reckless Kelly @ 10, Steve Poltz @ 11, Mojo Nixon @ 12, James McMurtry @ 1am! Yes, Jon Dee and "Scrappy" will be on hand for the festivities.

“Guayaki Yerba Mate Presents an Intimate Evening with Brett Dennen” will take place on Tuesday, November 11 at 10pm. There is no opener and no after-show. Advance tickets are available NOW at the Front Gates Tickets! Tickets are $20 in advance, plus Front Gate's processing fees. This show is age 21 & up ONLY! There will be no exceptions.

And speaking of Front Gates Tickets, they are also handling advance tickets for the Friday, October 31st show with Laika & The Cosmonauts, High Noon, and Midwest Monster, and the Saturday, November 1st show with Laika & The Cosmonauts and Teisco Del Rey. These shows will honor Laika & The Cosmonauts' 20th Anniversary as well as being their Farewell shows! Yes, Laika is calling it quits after 20 years of entertaining audiences around the world. This High Noon reunion will also mark their own 20th Anniversary! I just want to know "where has the time gone??" It doesn't seem possible that it's been 20 years since those fresh-faced boys, Sean Mencher, Shaun Young & Kevin Smith appeared on the Austin scene.

ROADHOUSE RELICS/TEXAS MONTHLY WINS NATIONAL AWARD
Congratulations to Todd Sanders of Roadhouse Relics! Texas Monthly chose Roadhouse Relics to create a custom neon sign for their June 2008 cover. Yesterday, it was announced that they have won a national award, 2008 Best Service Cover, from the American Society of Magazine Editors.
Todd Sanders is responsible for all of our fabulous racing banners, as well as our "new" & restored neons.
If you go to the Roadhouse Relics website you can also see an Associated Press photo of Barack Obama posing in front of a Roadhouse Relics racing banner while he was campaigning in Wyoming!

Eric Laufer Update: Please help find Jose Luis Dorantes! Police want to question Dorantes in connection with the hit & run death of Two Timin' Four front man, Eric Laufer

Austin, Texas (KXAN) - A man is wanted for hitting a motorcyclist, dragging him and then driving back to his home. The crash happened around 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 4. When police arrived at the scene on Research Boulevard near Lamar Boulevard in North Austin, Eric Laufer was dead on the side of the highway. Eric Laufer was hit and dragged, his bike found nearly two miles away. "The motorcycle rider was eventually thrown from the motorcycle several hundred feet down the road. That motorcycle became lodged under the front bumper," said Detective Chad Francois with the Austin Police Department. A witness claims to have seen a blue SUV exit Research Boulevard at Burnet. He said the truck had a motorcycle attached to the front bumper. At first police had scattered clues. Then they got a piece of evidence off the mangled motorcycle: a license plate found at the scene lead police to an apartment complex on Hearthstone Street. When investigators arrived, they found a blue Yukon truck with front end damage. The owner of that truck had no idea that it had been involved in an accident. Police say the owner of the SUV was not driving. Jose Luis Dorantes was. The owner said he had allowed Dorantes to use the truck before the time of the accident. Police say they have been looking for Dorantes, but they have not found him since that Thursday morning. "Right now we just want to talk to Jose Dorantes. There is a warrant out for his arrest," Francois says. Police are looking for Dorantes in Austin and in Arkansas, where he has relatives. Anyone with information about Dorantes' whereabouts is asked to call police at 512-974-5000.

I have posted a bazillion photos to our MySpace page from our shows. If you're not already our MySpace friend, please send us a friend request.

Please Note: While I try to be very accurate with lineups, times & cover charges for our shows, last-minute changes and errors can, and sometimes do, occur. Call the Club at 512-441-2444 for the most current information.

If you would like to get on the list to receive a weekly e-mail of our happenings, please request the Austin info from Dianne at info@continentalclub.com. There is currently no e-mail version of the newsletter for Houston, however there is a monthly pdf calendar available via e-mail. Sign up for the free subscription to the Houston calendar by sending an e-mail with "subscribe" in the subject line to calendar@continentalclub.com. If you have questions about Houston shows, contact Pete at pete@continentalclub.com. To unsubscribe from the e-mail version, or if you feel that you have received the e-mail in error, please respond to info@continentalclub.com with "unsubscribe" as the subject. Don't forget to get your birthday to me if you want to be on the monthly birthday list. I'd be happy to add Houston birthdays also if y'all let me know about them!

The Continental Service Club: Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM)

512-322-5177 or Carolyn Schwarz

The mission of the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians is to provide access to affordable health care for Austin's low income, uninsured musicians, focusing on prevention and wellness.

Austin is the "Live Music Capital of the World," yet many professional working musicians are self-employed and rarely have access to health insurance. Without insurance, they can't afford preventive health care, including primary medical care, basic dental services and mental health counseling.

The music industry is an important contributor to Austin's economy:
* Nearly $1 billion in economic activity, more than $25 million in local tax revenue each year.
* It provides 11,200 jobs.
* Austin has more than 8,000 musicians.
* Millions of dollars added to the city's economy and tens of thousands of visitors from around the world brought annually by Austin City Limits Music Festival and South By Southwest Music & Media Conference.
* Source: Texas Perspectives, City of Austin, 2004

More than 1,200 HAAM member-musicians now have access to low-cost primary medical care provided by Seton Family of Hospitals, dental care by St. David’s Community Health Foundation Leadership and mental-health and addiction-recovery services by The SIMS Foundation.

Health Alliance for Austin Musicians was founded in April 2005 when Seton Family of Hospitals and St. David’s Community Health Foundation Leadership joined forces with The SIMS Foundation to provide medical, dental, and mental health care to the city’s hard-working, low-income musicians. More than 1,200 member-musicians, most 35 and younger, have been served.

If you are an uninsured, professional musician in the Austin-area, you may be eligible for low-cost primary health care services, basic dental care and mental health counseling through HAAM, the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians.
* Applications available online.
* For more information, call 512-322-5177.

HAAM Services Include:
* Mental Health counseling provided by SIMS Foundation.
* Primary Health Care provided by Seton Family of Hospitals.
* Dental Care services provided by St. David's Community Health Foundation Leadership.

For more about HAAM services, click here.

***

Monday HH @ 6:30. No cover - The Marshall Ford Swing Band is holding down the Monday Happy Hours through the end of the year! Although mainly a swing band, they are always writing new material, branching into different styles, and making fresh arrangements of old favorites.
Video Links:
Marshall Ford Swing Band

Wednesday HH @ 6:30. No cover - Mario Matteoli is the residency band for the rest of the Wednesday Happy Hours in October! After spending six successful years with The Weary Boys, he decided to go in a different direction and focus exclusively on his solo career. His debut solo album Hard Luck Hittin’, was likened to the “acoustic solitude of Neil Young or the depressed world spun by Townes Van Zandt.”
Video Links:
Mario Matteoli

Thursday HH, @ 6:30pm. No cover - The velvet Latin rock/r&b of Sarah Fox & Joel Guzman will fill the rest of the Thursday Happy Hours in October! Fiery bi-lingual vocalist and composer Sarah Fox, known for her expressive voice and the unique accordion artistry of Guzman blend all things Latin; cumbia, rumba, with blues, soul, gospel, funk and rock with amazing fluidity.
Video Links:
Sarah Fox & Joel Guzman

Friday HH, @ 6:30pm. No cover - The Blues Specialists have played continuously on Fridays at The Continental Club for 20 years! Although founding members ErbieBowser & T.D. Bell have passed on, the authentic blues tradition continues with band leader Mel Davis on vocals, sax & harmonica and T.D.'s son, Lawrence Bell on keyboards.
Video Links:
Blues Specialists

Saturday Matinee, @ 3pm. No cover - Redd Volkaert (Merle Haggard) picks & grins for his classic country Saturday matinees with a great cast of players. Redd's playing is so revered that many other musicians come to Redd's shows just to study his technique & sound. He is a Telecaster master with a Sex Drive™, a Zia Drive™ and a Mucho Boosto™ too! *Except 10/11: James Hand fills in for Redd.
Video Links:
Redd Volkaert

Sunday night @ 10. $8 - Heybale! featuring Redd Volkaert (Merle Haggard) & Earl Poole Ball (Johnny Cash) is Austin's best & most popular country supergroup! The lineup includes singer/guitarist Gary Claxton, steel guitarist Buzz Evans (Tex Ritter, Ernest Tubb), upright bass player Kevin Smith (Dwight Yoakam, High Noon) and drummer Tom Lewis (Raul Malo, Jim Lauderdale). On the last Sunday of each month we will present the Heybale! Orchestra w/special guests Cindy Cashdollar, and/or Elana James, and/or Erik Hokkanen, according to who's available! It's all Heybale!, all night, and still a bargain at $8!
Video Links:
Heybale!

Monday nights @ 10. $5 - Dale Watson & his Lone Stars are in the business of making music on stage for their fans on the dance floor. You never know who's going to show up & end up on stage with Dale... James Intveld, Chris Wall, Ian Moore, Gordie "Grady" Johnson, Alan Haynes, Tommy Mack, a fiddle player from Scotland, a harmonica player from Spain... who knows. This just might be the best $5 you'll ever spend on a Monday night. *Except 10/13: honky-tonker James Hand fills in for Dale; and 3/20: Pumpkin Moon Party: A benefit for Jon Dee Graham w/Dale Watson @9, Reckless Kelly @10, Steve Poltz @11, Mojo Nixon @12, James McMurtry @1am, $20
Video Links:
Dale Watson & his Lone Stars

Tuesday nights @ 10:00; 11:30. $6 - The smooth Latin loungers Charanga Cakewalk will take the midnight spot for October. "Michael Ramos - the man behind Charanga Cakewalk - is a talented musician and producer who incorporates elements of cumbia, Latin percussions, and traditional Mexican grooves into dynamic cutting-edge electronica." ~Amazon.com
Video Links:
Charanga Cakewalk

Wednesday nights @ 10:30, 12:00. $7 - Songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Jon Dee Graham & The Fighting Cocks bring Americana/rock/alt country to the 10pm spot on Wednesdays. James McMurtry & The Heartless Bastards are also here every Wednesday that they're not on the road or in the studio. Both of these songwriters produce literate, intelligent, intuitive material. And they can run the gamut from touching balladry to raucous rockers.
Video Links:
James McMurtry
Jon Dee Graham

If you would like to help out still-recovering Jon Dee Graham, donations toward medical expenses may be sent through PayPal to this account: jdg@chickrockentertainment.com. Please note: that is not JDG's e-mail address. Cards, as well as checks & money orders (payable to Jon Dee Graham) may be mailed to:
Jon Dee Graham
c/o Heinz Geissler
Texas Music Group
805 West Avenue, Suite 1
Austin, TX 78701

Thursday October 9 @ 10:00, 11:15, 12:30. $7 - Pure Luck say they are an Americana/Country /2-step band - in other words, "a lot of f***in' gentlemens, playin songs we like. some of 'em we even wrote." And they describe their sound as "6 drunks and 1 stoner playin' fine tunes for fine peoples." Now you know what to expect, don't you? Punk/Roots/Country is Midwest Monster's official style on MySpace, but they actually call it Cock Rock/Hillbilly. Members are Dave Wolfe, Mike Franklin, Kitty Korvette and Steven Strand. Relocating to Austin from Cleveland, the Jungle Rockers are a natural fit for Austin’s vintage appeal, and few bands have matched the Continental Club’s rockabilly ethos so well. And while they have quickly and popularly enmeshed themselves within the local scene, it’s also tempting to see the roots of their Ohio hometown both in their Midwest blue-collar drive and as the city’s home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their unrepentant melding of rock’s most foundational sounds." ~AustinSound.net
Video Links:
Jungle Rockers
Midwest Monster

Friday October 10 @ 10:00, 12:00. $10 - Bilingual songstress Patricia Vonne has the ability to deliver a perfect balance of Tex-Mex and roots-rock. Vonne's excellent songwriting has a flare for romance, drama and fantasy, even while chronicling the ups and downs of everyday life. "Patricia Vonne has absorbed just about every indigenous musical style Texas has on offer, and can summon any one in the flick of a castanet or guitar pick." ~Chris Gray, Houston Press. Multi-insrumentalist, studio whiz, producer, sideman extraordinaire and musical visionary Michael Ramos' band Charanga Cakewalk "is a pan-Latin American martini: equal parts traditional instruments (Spanish classical guitar, accordion, horns and more) and deep, urban, grooves with a dash of Esquivel and and a measure of Morricone. Charanga Cakewalk's unique approach to Mexican, Latin American and World Music styling follows the road laid by such contemporaries as Sidestepper, Latin Playboys, Mano Chao and Material. The result is one of sheer movement and joy. At once sensual and exotic, it delivers music of the soul for the soul." ~from CalabashMusic.com
Video Links:
Patricia Vonne

Saturday October 11 @ 10:00, 12:00. $10 - Wow! This is going to be a super-cool show! The Tejas Brothers walk the borders between country and conjunto, Texas and Tejano, blues and pop without settling into one genre long enough to be neatly pigeonholed. "We thought we would play a little of this, a little of that: a little blues, a little country, a little rock with a Tex-Mex influence. We didn't realize they'd all jump into some of the songs at the same time," says accordionist frontman Dave Perez. The Stone River Boys, featuring Dave Gonzalez and Mike Barfield, are picking up close to where Hacienda Brothers left off after the passing of Chris Gaffney. Barfield & Gonzales both bring country-inflected blues or blues-inflected country to the Americana table, and you are invited to the feast. Check out some Stone River Boys music here.
Video Links:
Stone River Boys
Tejas Brothers

Thursday October 16 @ 10:00, 12:00. $7 - Mario Matteoli left the phenomenally succesful Weary Boys after deciding to go in a different direction and focus exclusively on his solo career. Hard Luck Hittin’, his debut solo album was well received by fans and critics alike. About his latest, Golden State, Jim Caligiuri said "The local songwriter's passions are splayed all over his second solo disc, but in a way that's easygoing and rarely gushing." and Dante Dominick said is "...a compositional masterpiece: warm melodies, absorbing refrains, and mighty fine playing while visiting an array of Americana genres with one cohesive sound." Scott Biram, the self proclaimed "Dirty Old One Man Band" successfully, and sometimes violently, lashes together blues, hillbilly and country precariously to raucous punk and godless metal. Biram ain't no dour ass singer/songwriter either, sweetly strumming songs about girls with big eyes and dusty highways. HELL NO!!! His singing, yodeling, growling, leering and brash preachin' and hollerin' is accompanied by sloppy riffs and licks from his 1959 Gibson guitar and pounding backbeat brought forth by his amplified left foot. The remainder of this one-man band consists of an unwieldy combination of beat-up amplifiers and old microphones strung together by a tangled mess of guitar cables. Pure bliss.
Video Links:
Scott Biram
Mario Matteoli

Friday October 17 @ 10:00, 12:00. $10 - Doug Moreland is a West Texas fiddler, songwriter, and entertainer (and chainsaw artist!), who currently resides near Austin. He travels throughout the state and abroad performing his own songs with an original, swingin', country & western band, simply called The Doug Moreland Show. Wanda Jackson's Annual Birthday Bash! There are great singers and there are great entertainers, but Wanda is both, and her shows are energy packed. On one tour in France she was billed as "Hurricane Wanda" and she did not disappoint them. She has headlined numerous festivals across Europe, Scandinavia and the U.S. Wanda has been nominated for the Grammy Award twice as the best performing female singer. She has been inducted into the Oklahoma Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, The International Hall of Fame, the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, and most recently the German Country Music Hall of Fame She has also been awarded the Oklahoma Native Daughter Award.Wanda was on the final ballot for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, 2005, and again in 2008. We're all hoping that this time she is indeed inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an honor that is certainly overdue in recognizing her unmatched contributions.
Video Links:
Wanda Jackson
Doug Moreland

Saturday October 18 @ 10:00, 12:00. $10 - Holy mackerel, Andy, it's the Cornell Hurd Band! Also known as "Country music's worst nightmare," the Cornell Hurd Band is BIG in sound & personality. With a mix of country, western swing, comedy & plenty of boot-scootin', band members Scott Walls (steel guitar), Howard Kalish (fiddle), Paul Skelton (lead guitar), Cornell Hurd (shtick/guitar/vocals), Lisa Pankratz (drums), Randy "The Badger" Glines(bass), Blackie White (guitar), Del Puschert (tenor sax) and T Jarrod Bonta (piano) serve up some hot tunes. San Antonio's Hans Frank & The Auslanders will headline this show. "Hans Frank was the leader of a nationally successful band, 10 City Run. Bobby Natanson is still drumming with him, and they, along with legendary guitarplayer Pete Mitchell, now call themselves either Hans Frank and the Auslanders or Glambilly. The sound is rocknrollcountry with a definite edge, and the band is on the verge of a breakout," according to Texas Music Times. They go on to say, "This is just well-written fringe-country music, performed by a trio of terrific musicians who, by the way, have all performed at the Grand Ole Opry."
Video Links:
Hans Frank
Cornell Hurd

Coming.... Sunday 10/19: Heybale! w/Earl @ 10:00, $8... Monday 10/20: Pumpkin Moon Party: A benefit for Jon Dee Graham w/James McMurtry, *Mojo Nixon*, *Steve Poltz*, Reckless Kelly, Dale Watson @ 9:00, doors open @8:30, $20; Happy Hour: Marshall Ford Swing Band @ 6:30, no cover... Tuesday 10/21: Charanga Cakewalk @ 10:00, $6; Happy Hour: Planet Casper w/David Grissom & "Scrappy" Jud Newcomb @ 6:30, $5.... Wednesday 10/22: James McMurtry, Jon Dee Graham @ 10:30, $7; Happy Hour: Mario Matteoli @ 6:30, no cover... Thursday 10/23: Dale Watson & his Lone Stars all night long! @ 10:00, $7; Happy Hour: Sarah Fox & Joel Guzman @ 6:30, no cover.... Friday 10/24: Honky-Tonk Circus - "Guaranteed To Satisfy!" w/a magician, a comedian, dancing girls and maybe a Mariachi band! @ 10, $15; Happy Hour: The Blues Specialists @ 6:30, no cover.... Saturday 10/25: Rosie Flores, James Hand @ 10:00, $10; Matinee: Redd Volkaert @3pm, no cover.... Sunday 10/26: Heybale Orchestra! w/Earl @ 10:00, $8... Monday 10/27: Dale Watson & his Lone Stars @ 10, $5; Happy Hour: Marshall Ford Swing Band @ 6:30, no cover... Tuesday 10/28: Charanga Cakewalk, *Deep Cricket Night* @ 10:00, $6; Happy Hour: Planet Casper w/David Grissom & "Scrappy" Jud Newcomb @ 6:30, $5.... Wednesday 10/29: James McMurtry, Jon Dee Graham @ 10:30, $7; Happy Hour: Mario Matteoli @ 6:30, no cover... Thursday 10/30: Black Joe Lewis, Sideshow Tragedy @ 10:00, $10; Happy Hour: Sarah Fox & Joel Guzman @ 6:30, no cover.... Friday 10/31: *Laika & The Cosmonauts*, *High Noon*, Midwest Monster @ 10, $20; Happy Hour: The Blues Specialists @ 6:30, no cover.... Saturday 11/1: *Laika & The Cosmonauts*, Teisco Del Rey @ 10:30, $10; Texas Book Festival @ 7-9:30; Matinee: Redd Volkaert @3pm, no cover.... Sunday 11/2: Heybale! w/Redd & Earl @ 10:00, $8

Melanie Louise, Susie Drinkwine (1), Snoopy, Leon Rausch, Kelly Willis, Bruce Salmon, Charles Attal (2), *Albert Collins, *Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lindsey Buckingham, Lewis Cowdrey, Chris Gaffney (3), *Janis Joplin†, Barbara K. (4), Helen Jean Hamlin, Farrell Kubena (5), Jeanne Arquel (6), Dale Watson, James "Levi" Barnes (7), Garrett Thacker (8), Ponty Bone (9), Darin Murphy, J'nette Ward (10), Frank Pugliese, Lisa Mathison, *Dale Watkins (11), Bob Schneider, Eve Monsees, Mike Musgrove (12), Todd Wolfson, Kevin Klauber (13), Chris Thomas [King], Johnny Goudie (14), Artly Snuff, Dave Mintz (15), Thierry LaCoz, Greg Marengi (16), Karen Poston, Kristi Holdgrafer (17), Lisa Timick (18), Wanda Jackson, Bobby Horton, Kristen Williamson (20), Cheryl G. Smith (23), Jason Lindsay (24), *Walter Hyatt, Kevin Sekhani, Tina Boone, AmeyLu Muirhead Weas (25), Valerie Shields, Lisa Antonini (26), Gretchen Harries Graham (28), Brad Newton (29), Bobby Morris, Tracy Gossard (30), Sumter Bruton (31)

*Janis Joplin (10/4/70), *Gene Vincent (10/12/71), Rosa Parks (10/24/05)

Birthday Legend: * = deceased; italic = Continental Club staff (past & present)

Nick Reynolds, founding member of the Kingston Trio, died Wednesday, October 1 of acute respiratory disease at a San Diego hospital. He was 75.
Born in 1933 in San Diego and raised nearby in Coronado, California, Nick met Bob Shane while the two attended Menlo Business College in Palo Alto in 1954. Bob introduced Nick to Dave Guard (a graduate student at nearby Stanford University) and those two performed for awhile in "Dave Guard and the Calypsonians". After numerous comings and goings, Nick, Dave and Bob came together as the Kingston Trio. Their big break came when they performed for two months at the Purple Onion nightclub in San Francisco and were then signed to Capitol Records. The trio's 1958 recording of the 19th century ballad, "Tom Dooley" soon topped the chart, ushering in an era of folk hits, including their top 30 follow-ups, "The Tijuana Jail", "M.T.A.", "A Worried Man", "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" (by which time John Stewart had replaced Dave Guard), "Greenback Dollar" and "Reverend Mr. Black".
Even more impressive, the Trio notched 14 top ten albums - five of which went to #1. "Tom Dooley" won a Grammy at the first-ever ceremony in 1959, strangely for Best Country And Western Performance (there were no folk categories at that time).
Although the group's music generally shied away from the politicized content of such forbears as Woody Guthrie and the Weavers, its commercial breakthrough in the late-'50s represented a clean-cut alternative to the sexualized rock 'n' roll of Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and others that had American teens in its grip. And it helped set the stage for such upcoming folk-rooted protest singers as Dylan, Joan Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary.
The Trio disbanded in 1967, but reunited for a PBS special in 1981. Nick joined up with Bob in 1988, performing with the Trio until his retirement in 1999. For eight years he operated a "Trio Fantasy Camp" in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Reynolds is survived by his wife, Leslie; sons Joshua Stewart Reynolds and John Pike Reynolds; daughters Annie Clancy Reynolds Moore and Jennifer Kristie Reynolds; and sisters Jane Reynolds Meade and Barbara Reynolds Haines. No services have been set, Josh Reynolds said.

1855 - Another patent was awarded this day - to one Joshua C. Stoddard, for the calliope. The Worcester, MA inventor originally sold the colorful and somewhat noisy instrument (it produces 135 decibels, compared to the 100 decibels of sound produced by a jet plane at takeoff) to churches, believe it or not! Sales, however, took off when Stoddard sold the instrument to circuses and steamboat operators (not a bad idea since the calliope is powered by steam).

1940 - John (Winston) Lennon was born. Singer, songwriter: group: The Beatles; solo: Give Peace a Chance, Cold Turkey, Instant Karma, Mother, Working Class Hero, Jealous Guy, Crippled Inside, How Do You Sleep, Imagine, Whatever Gets You Through the Night, Double Fantasy [with Yoko Ono], Beautiful Boy, Woman, Just like Starting Over; husband of Yoko Ono; father of Julian and Sean; shot to death outside his New York City apartment building on December 8, 1980

1944 - John Entwistle was born. Musician: bass, French horn: group: The Who: My Generation, Happy Jack, Pinball Wizard, See Me, Feel Me; solo: LPs: Smash Your Head Against the Wall, Whistle Rhymes, Rigor Mortis, Mad Dog, Too Late the Hero; died June 27, 2002

1944 - Peter Tosh (Winston McIntosh) was born. Singer, musician: homemade instruments: reggae with Bob Marley

1946 - Bob Haworth was born. Musician: guitar, singer: The Kingston Trio [since 1985]

1947 - George Grove was born. Musician: guitar, singer: The Kingston Trio [since 1976]

1948 - Jackson Browne was born. Songwriter, singer: Doctor My Eyes, Running on Empty, Somebody’s Baby, The Pretender, Lawyers in Love

1967 - “And now...heeeeeeeeerrrree’s the Doctor!” Coming out of the NBC Tonight Show Orchestra to become musical director of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Doc Severinsen replaced Skitch Henderson on this night. Doc became famous for an eccentric wardrobe, quick wit, great trumpet solos and fabulous charts. Tommy Newsome became Doc’s backup arranger for many of the tunes the band played. Later, Doc and the band would move to solo albums, group CDs and incredibly successful concert tours. Doc went on to play with various symphony orchestras and even became the owner of a custom trumpet company in the San Francisco Bay Area.

1973 - Priscilla Presley, was divorced from Elvis - in Santa Monica, CA. ‘Cilla’ got $1.5 million in cash, $4,200 per month in alimony, half interest in a $750,000 home plus about 5% interest in two of Elvis’ publishing companies.

1973 - Speaking of riches, Paul Simon got a gold record this day for his hit, "Loves Me like a Rock." The record was Simon’s first million-selling single as a solo artist.

1975 - John Lennon turned 35. To celebrate, Yoko Ono presented John with a newborn son, Sean Ono Lennon: singer: Into the Sun, Sean’s Theme; actor: Moonwalker

1979 - Styx released what would become a megahit. "Babe" hit number one on December 8, 1979.

1985 - A 2½-acre garden memorial was dedicated to John Lennon by his widow, Yoko Ono, this day. The memorial in New York City’s Central Park is named Strawberry Fields.

1993 - Nirvana’s In Utero was the #1 LP in U.S. The rest of the top five albums for the week: #2-In Pieces, Garth Brooks; #3-Music Box, Mariah Carey; #4-Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, Meat Loaf; #5-River of Dreams, Billy Joel.

1908 - Johnny Green was born. Songwriter: Coquette, Body and Soul, I’m Yours, [You Came Along From] Out of Nowhere, I Cover the Waterfront, Easy Come, Easy Go; won five Oscars for work on MGM films: Easter Parade, West Side Story, Oliver, An American in Paris, Bye Bye Birdie, High Society, Raintree County, The Great Caruso, Summer Stock, Brigadoon; died May 15, 1989

1914 - Ivory Joe Hunter was born. Singer, musician: piano: Since I Met You Baby, I Almost Lost My Mind, I Need You So; songwriter: Ain’t That Loving You Baby, My Wish Come True, Blues at Sunrise; died Nov 8, 1974

1917 - Thelonious (Sphere) Monk was born. Composer, jazz musician: piano: Round Midnight, Misterioso, Straight No Chaser, Blue Monk, Epistrophy; died Feb 17, 1982

1939 - The real Eleanor Rigby dies in Liverpool. She's buried in the cemetery of St. Peter's church there, where Paul McCartney first met John Lennon.

1943 - Denis D’Ell (Dennis James Dalziel) was born. Musician: harmonica; singer: group: The Honeycombs: Have I the Right, That’s the Way, Is It Because, Something Better Beginning, Colour Slide; died July 6, 2005

1945 - Alan Cartwright was born. Musician: guitar: group: Procol Harum: Whiter Shade of Pale, She Wandered Through the Garden Fence, Something Following Me, Mabel

1946 - John Prine was born. Singer, songwriter: Sam Stone; LPs: Common Sense, Aimless Love

1953 - Midge (James) Ure was born. Singer, songwriter: Do They Know It’s Christmas?; groups: Slik, Rich Kids

1954 - David Lee Roth was born. Singer: group: Van Halen: Jump, Eat ’Em and Smile; solo: California Girls, Just A Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody, Yankee Rose, Just Like Paradise

1958 - Tanya Tucker was born. Singer: Delta Dawn, Lizzie and the Rainman, San Antonio Stroll, Here’s Some Love, Texas (When I Die), Pecos Promenade; in film: Jeremiah Johnson

1961 - Martin Kemp was born. Musician: bass: group: Spandau Ballet: True, To Cut a Long Story Short, The Freeze, Musclebound, Chant No. 1, Gold, Only When You Leave; actor: Waxwork II: Lost in Time, Growing Rich, Aspen Extreme, Murder Between Friends, Embrace of the Vampire, Cyber Bandits, Sugar Town; brother of musician Gary Kemp

1964 - Eddie Cantor an American vaudeville performer, comedian, singer, actor, songwriter died of a heart attack. Cantor was nown to Broadway, radio and early television audiences as Banjo Eyes.

1967 - Mike Malinin was born. Musician: drums: groups: Goo Goo Dolls, Forty Marshas

1970 - Neil Diamond reached the #1 spot on the pop music charts for the first time with "Cracklin’ Rosie." In 1972, Diamond would reach a similar pinnacle with "Song Sung Blue."

1979 - It was a big day for Fleetwood Mac. They received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was also ‘Fleetwood Mac Day’ in Los Angeles, by proclamation of Mayor Tom Bradley. And the group’s new album, Tusk, was unveiled at a record-company party that night. The double-record set took thirteen months to finish and cost over a million dollars.

1979 - Mya (Marie Harrison) was born. Singer: LPs: Mya, Fear Of Flying; in films: Bulworth, The Rugrats Movie, Moulin Rouge!, Atlantis: The Lost Empire

1979 - The movie "The Rose", loosely based on the life of Janis Joplin and starring Bette Midler and Kris Kristofferson, premiered in Los Angeles.

1987 - Whitesnake’s "Here I Go Again" was the #1 single in the U.S. The hit, from the album, Whitesnake, was number one for one week.

1919 - Art Blakey was born. Musician: drums, bandleader: Messengers, Jazz Messengers; composer [w/Benny Golson]: film score: Des Femmes Disparaissente; died Oct 16, 1990

1932 - Dottie West (Dorothy Marie Marsh) was born. Grammy Award-winning singer: Here Comes My Baby, Country Sunshine, Is this Me?, Would You Hold It Against Me, Paper Mansions; [w/Don Gibson]: Rings of Gold, There’s a Story Goin’ Round; [w/Kenny Rogers]: All I Ever Need is You, Every Time Two Fools Collide, What are We Doin’ in Love; died Sep 4, 1991 of injuries suffered in an August 30, 1991 auto crash

1939 - One of the classics was recorded this day. "Body and Soul," by jazz great Coleman Hawkins, was waxed on Bluebird Records. It’s still around on CD compilations.

1940 - Glenn Miller recorded "Make Believe Ballroom Time" for Bluebird Records at the Victor studios in New York City. It would become the theme song for "Make Believe Ballroom" on WNEW, New York, with host Martin Block. Block created the aura of doing a ‘live’ radio program, complete with performers (on records) like Harry James or Frank Sinatra, from the ‘Crystal Studios’ at WNEW. His daily program was known to everyone who grew up in the NYC/NJ/Philadelphia area in the 1940s and 1950s. Miller had been so taken with the show’s concept that he actually paid for the "Make Believe Ballroom Time" recording session himself and hired the Modernaires to join in.

1943 - Gene Watson was born. Singer: Fourteen Carat Mind, Love in the Hot Afternoon

1946 - Daryl Hall (Hohl) was born. Singer: group: Hall & Oates: She’s Gone, Sara Smile, Rich Girl, Kiss on My List, Private Eyes, You Make My Dreams, I Can’t Go for That, Did It in a Minute, Maneater

1947 - Alan Atkins was born. Rock vocalist: group: Judas Priest: The Green Manalishi, Living After Midnight, Breaking the Law, Hot Rockin’, Heading Out to the Highway, The Hellion

1950 - Andrew Woolfolk was born. Musician: reeds: group: Earth, Wind and Fire: Shining Star, Sing a Song, Got to Get You into My Life, After the Love Has Gone, Let’s Groove, Boogie Wonderland

1955 - Lindy (Linda) Boone was born. Singer: group: The Boone Family; singer Pat Boone’s daughter

1963 - Edith Piaf (Edith Giovanni Gassion) French singer and actress died of cancer. She was one of the most popular French singers of the 1940s and '50s, internationally famous for her husky, mournful voice and her songs of loneliness and despair.

1971 - MC Lyte was born. Rapper: Lyte as a Rock, Cha Cha Cha, Ruffneck, I Ain’t Having It, Cold Rock a Party, Cappucino, I Cram to Understand [Sam]

1984 - CHART TOPPERS: Let’s Go Crazy - Prince & The Revolution; I Just Called to Say I Love You - Stevie Wonder; Hard Habit to Break - Chicago; Everyday - The Oak Ridge Boys

1993 - CHART TOPPERS: Dreamlover - Mariah Carey; Right Here/Human Nature / Downtown - SWV-Sisters With Voices; The River of Dreams - Billy Joel; One More Last Chance - Vince Gill

2007 - Werner von Trapp died. Austrian-born musician and singer, member of the Trapp Family Singers who inspired "The Sound of Music."

1872 - Ralph Vaughan Williams was born. Composer: The Pilgrim’s Progress, Fantasia on a Theme of Tallis, Mass in G Minor; died Aug 26, 1958

1935 - Samuel Moore was born. Singer: group: Sam & Dave: Hold On! I’m a Comin’, Soul Man, I Thank You, Soul Sister Brown Sugar

1935 - Luciano Pavarotti was born. Emmy Award-winning opera star: Pavarotti in Philadelphia: La Boheme [1982-1983]; actor: Yes, Giorgio; died Sep 6, 2007

1944 - Who could forget the picture of a huge crowd of swooning bobbysoxers stopping traffic in New York’s Times Square as Frank Sinatra made his triumphant return to the famed Paramount Theatre (he had played there for eight weeks starting on December 30, 1942). In what was called the ‘Columbus Day Riot’, 25,000 teenagers, mostly young women, blocked the streets, screaming and swooning for Frankie. Sinatra later explained, “It was the war years, and there was a great loneliness. And I was the boy in every corner drug store ... who’d gone off, drafted to the war. That was all.”

1948 - Rick Parfitt was born. Singer, musician: guitar: group: Status Quo: LPs: Piledriver, Hello, On the Level, Blue for You, 1982

1950 - Susan Anton was born. inger: Killin’ Time [w/Fred Knoblock]; actress: Cannonball Run 2, Goldengirl, Baywatch, Stop Susan Williams

1956 - Dave Vanian (Letts) was born. Singer; group: The Damned: Love Song, Grimly Fiendish, Shadow of Love, Eloise, Alone Again Or

1968 - Cheap Thrills, the album by Big Brother and the Holding Company, started an eight-week run as number one in the U.S. It was the first and only album (for a major label) Janis Joplin made with Big Brother and the Holding Company. The album’s tracks: Combination of the Two, I Need a Man to Love, Summertime, Piece of My Heart, Turtle Blues, Oh, Sweet Mary, Ball and Chain.

1969 - Martie Maguire was born. Musician: fiddle, mandolin; singer: group: The Dixie Chicks: Landslide, Goodbye Earl, Long Time Gone, There’s Your Trouble, I Can Love You Better, Give It Up or Let Me Go

1971 - Some folks weren’t pleased when "Jesus Christ Superstar" premiered on Broadway because of the controversial content of the musical. Before the show opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, some 2.5 million copies of the album were sold to the curious. The Tim Rice/Andrew Lloyd Weber collaboration would become a big hit. "Jesus Christ Superstar" would run on Broadway for 720 shows, and spawn several hit songs, including "I Don’t Know How to Love Him" (Helen Reddy) and the title song, "Jesus Christ Superstar" (Murray Head).

1971 - 1950s pop singer Gene Vincent died of a bleeding ulcer. He was 36 years old. Vincent’s biggest claim to fame was the multi-million-selling "Be-Bop-A-Lula".

1978 - Nancy Spungen, paranoid schizophrenic girlfriend of Sex Pistol's Sid Vicious was found sprawled on the bathroom floor of their hotel room clad in a black bra and panties. She had bled to death from a single stab wound to the abdomen, later traced to a knife owned by Sid Vicious. Sid died of an overdose while on bail before he could be tried for murder.

1981 - Barbara Mandrell walked away with the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year honor for the second year in a row.

1997 - Singer/songwriter John Denver, piloting an experimental, amateur-built Long-EZ airplane, crashed into Monterey Bay, California. Witnesses said the plane, made of fiberglass with a single engine and two seats, was flying about at about 500 feet “when it just sort of dropped unexpectedly into the ocean. When it hit the water it broke into numerous parts.” Denver, age 53 and the only occupant of the plane, was killed.

2001 - Dan Del Santo died of esophageal bleeding. An American steel guitarist, guitarist, singer-songwriter; having made his presence felt on Texas' outlaw country scene during the late '70s, he had left country music by the mid-'80s and launched an Afro-Cuban band, the Professors of Pleasures. Latin music remained his prime vehicle, forming a new band in Oaxaca, Perros del Sol, he continued to perform his original songs in the Spanish language.

2002 - Bandleader Ray Conniff, “one of the few commercially successful musical geniuses of our time,” died in Escondido, CA after falling down and hitting his head. He was 85 years old. Recordings by Ray Conniff’s Orchestra and Chorus and the Ray Conniff Singers were heard on just about every easy-listening radio station in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s.

1939 - Harry James and his band recorded "On a Little Street in Singapore" for Columbia Records. A kid singer named Frank Sinatra was the featured vocalist on what was his seventh recording.

1941 - Paul Simon was born. Songwriter, singer, musician: guitar: duo: Simon and Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water, Homeward Bound, I Am a Rock, Mrs. Robinson, Scarborough Fair, The Sounds of Silence, Cecilia; solo: Mother and Child Reunion, Me and Julio, Kodachrome, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, Slip Slidin’ Away; LP: Graceland; Wonderful World [w/Art Garfunkel, James Taylor]; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer; in film: Annie Hall

1944 - Robert Lamm was born. Singer, musician: keyboards: group: The Big Thing: Chicago Transit Authority: Chicago: Beginnings, Feelin’ Stronger Every Day, Saturday in the Park, [I’ve Been] Searchin’ So Long, If You Leave Me Now, Just You ’n’ Me, Hard to Say I’m Sorry; songwriter: Critic’s Choice; solo: LP: Skinny Boy

1947 - Sammy Hagar was born. Singer, musician: guitar: Keep on Rockin’, Bad Motor Scooter, Your Love is Driving Me Crazy, Two Sides of Love, I Can’t Drive 55; group: Van Halen

1948 - Lacy J. Dalton (Jill Byrem) was born. Songwriter, singer: Dream Baby, 16th Avenue, Takin’ It Easy, Hard Times, Crazy Blue Eyes; in film: Take this Job and Shove It

1951 - John Ford Coley was born. Singer: duo: England Dan and John Ford Coley: I’d Really Love to See You Tonight, It’s Sad to Belong, Love is the Answer, Gone Too Far, We’ll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again

1951 - Olympia-Ann Sylvers was born. Singer: group: The Sylvers: Wish That I Could Talk to You, Through the Love in My Heart, Stay Away From Me, Can You Handle It, Boogie Fever, Cotton Candy

1957 - Two superstars introduced a new car on ABC-TV. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra joined forces in an hourlong special that turned out to be a big ratings hit. Too bad the Edsel, the car that Ford Motor Company was introducing, didn’t fare as well.

1958 - This day was musically memorable as Warren Covington conducted the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra for what would be the last big band tune to climb the pop charts."Tea for Two Cha Cha," made it into the Top 10, peaking at #7. And that was the end of the Big Band Era. Rock ’n’ roll was here to stay.

1958 - Joseph Richard ‘Ricky’ Sylvers was born. Singer: group: The Sylvers: Boogie Fever, Wish That I Could Talk to You, Through the Love in My Heart, Stay Away From Me, Can You Handle It, Cotton Candy, Hot Line

1959 - Marie (Olive) Osmond was born. Singer: Paper Roses, Who’s Sorry Now, This is the Way That I Feel; TV host: Donny and Marie, Ripley’s Believe It or Not; doll maker and seller

1963 - Beatlemania hit the London Palladium. The Beatles made their first appearance on a major TV show for the BBC. Thousands of delirious fans jammed the streets outside the theatre to voice their support of the Fab Four. A few months later, Beatlemania would sweep the U.S. as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah!

1971 - ‘Little’ Donny Osmond received a shiny gold record for his rendition of the Steve Lawrence hit, "Go Away Little Girl." He went on to garner million-seller success with "Hey Girl" and "Puppy Love" too. Donny was quite popular with the bubblegum set, as well he should have been. Donny was only 13 years old.

1973 - The Rolling Stones’ Goat’s Head Soup was number one album in the U.S. With the exception of "Angie," the album’s tracks were only semi-memorable: Dancing With Mr. D, 100 Years Ago, Coming Down Again, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker), Silver Train, Hide Your Love, Winter, Can You Hear the Music, Star Star.

1973 - Moana Wolfgramm was born. Singer: group: The Jets: Cross My Broken Heart, Crush on You, You Got It All, Rocket 2 U, Make It Real, Sendin’ All My Love

1974 - Television host Ed Sullivan died in New York City. He was 72 years old.

1980 - Ashanti was born. Singer: Rain on Me, Foolish, Baby, When a Man Does Wrong, Movies, Breakup 2 Makeup, Rock Wit U [Awww Baby], I Found Lovin’, Feels So Good, Sweet Baby

1907 - Allan Jones was born. Singer: The Donkey Serenade; actor: Showboat, Rose Marie, Firefly, One Night in the Tropics, A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races; father of singer, Jack Jones; died June 27, 1992

1927 - Bill (William E.) Justis (Jr.) was born. Musician: saxophone: Raunchy; died July 15, 1982

1930 - "I Got Rhythm," by Ethel Merman, was a show-stopper in the production of "Girl Crazy" on Broadway. It was Merman’s debut on the Great White Way as she captivated audiences and launched her stellar career. "Girl Crazy" went on for 272 performances.

1938 - One of the great songs of the big band era was recorded by Bing Crosby’s brother, Bob Crosby and The Bob Cats. "Big Noise from Winnetka" on Decca Records featured Bob Haggart and Ray Bauduc. Haggart whistled and played bass, while Bauduc played the skins.

1938 - Melba Montgomery was born. Singer: No Charge, Angel of the Morning, Hall of Shame, The Greatest Ones of All

1940 - Cliff Richard (Harry Webb) was born. Singer: Move It, Devil Woman, Dreaming, High Class Baby, Livin’ Doll, Travelin’ Light, Please Don’t Tease, I Love You, The Young Ones, The Next Time, Bachelor Boy, Summer Holiday, The Minute You’re Gone, Congratulations, Power to all Our Friends; in films: The Young Ones, Summer Holiday, Wonderful Life

1946 - Justin Hayward was born. Guitarist, singer: group: The Moody Blues: Nights in White Satin, Tuesday Afternoon, Question, Your Wildest Dreams; solo: Forever Autumn, LP: Songwriter, Moving Mountains, Other Side of Life, Sur la Mer

1948 - Marcia Barrett was born. Singer: group: Boney M: Daddy Cool, Brown Girl in the Ring, Rivers of Babylon

1955 - 19 year old Buddy Holly, Larry Welborn, & Bob Montgomery open for Bill Haley & the Comets in Lubbock, TX. Eddie Crandell sees the show and arranges for Buddy to record his first demo.

1971 - It was John and Yoko Day on "The Dick Cavett Show" on ABC. The couple promoted Lennon’s new LP (Imagine) and film (Imagine) and Yoko’s book, two films and a fine arts show.

1974 - Natalie Maines was born. Singer: group: Dixie Chicks: LPs: Wide Open Spaces, Fly

1977 - Crooner Bing Crosby suffered a fatal heart attack while playing golf at a course near Madrid, Spain. Crosby, 73, had just completed a tour of England that had included a sold-out engagement at the London Palladium.

1978 - Usher Raymond IV was born. Singer: You Make Me Wanna, Nice & Slow; actor: Moesha

1990 - Composer, conductor Leonard Bernstein died in New York at the age of 72. Bernstein’s successes as a composer ranged from the Broadway stage (most notably, West Side Story) to concert halls all over the world, where his orchestral and choral works continue to thrive.

1996 - Singer/entertainer Madonna gave birth to her daughter, Lourdes Maria, in Los Angeles, California. The father is Carlos Leon, her former fitness-trainer.

1998 - Frankie Yankovic suffered a fall at his home and a died a few days later. Singer, accordian; America's undisputed Polka King, the first polka artist to score a million-selling single with 1948's "Just Because", the first to perform on television, and the first to win a Grammy for Best Polka Album.

2006 - Singer/songwriter Freddy Fender died in San Benito, Texas at 69 years of age. His biggest hits included "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" and "Before the Next Teardrop Falls."

2007 - Houston rapper Big Moe died of an apparent heart attack while in a coma. However, this is not the official cause of death. He began his career free styling on DJ Screw's mix tapes before being signed to Wreckshop Records, releasing his debut album, City of Syrup in 2000.

1913 - David Carroll was born. Musician, conductor, arranger: Melody of Love, It’s Almost Tomorrow; record producer for The Diamonds, The Platters

1925 - Mickey (McHouston) Baker was born. Musician: guitar, singer: duo: Mickey & Sylvia: Love is Strange, There Oughta Be a Law, Baby You’re So Fine; solo: session player: Losing Hand, [Mama] He treats Your Daughter Mean

1935 - Barry McGuire was born. Singer, songwriter: group: The New Christy Minstrels: Green, Green; solo: Eve of Destruction

1938 - Marv Johnson was born. Singer: You Got What it Takes, I Love the Way You Love, Come to Me, I Miss You Baby [How I Miss You]; in film: The Teenage Millionaire [1962]; died May 16, 1993

1942 - Don Stevenson was born. Musician: drums, singer: group: Moby Grape: LPs: Moby Grape, Wow, Grape Jam

1946 - Richard Carpenter was born. Musician, composer, singer: Grammy Award-winning group: Carpenters: [They Long to Be] Close to You [1970], Best New Artist [1970], LP: The Carpenters [1971]; We’ve Only Just Begun, Rainy Days and Mondays, Superstar, Goodbye to Love, Yesterday Once More, Sing, Top of the World, Only Yesterday; TV host: Make Your Own Kind of Music

1948 - Chris De Burgh (Christopher John Davidson) was born. Singer, songwriter: The Lady in Red, A Spaceman Came Travelling, Ship to Shore, Don’t Pay the Ferryman, High on Emotion, The Ecstacy of Flight [I Love the Night], Transmission Ends

1953 - Tito (Toriano) Jackson was born. Singer: group: The Jackson Five: I Want You Back, ABC, The Love You Save, I’ll Be There; brother of Michael, Janet, Jermaine, LaToya

1955 - The Grand Ole Opry finally made it to TV on this day. The ABC network carried just one hour of "Opry" (it continued through the night), live from Nashville. This arrangement only lasted for one year; although the Grand Ole Opry was used as a staging arena for other successful shows like Classic Country Featuring Stars of the Grand Ole Opry and Hayride. Then, Grand Ole Opry came to TV to stay. In 1985, the Nashville Network (TNN) positioned the show on Saturday nights. In 2001, Opry was carried on Country Music Televison (CMT). In 2003, Grand Ole Opry (Opry Live) moved to GAC (Great American Country).

1964 - An American treasure died. Cole Porter, renowned lyricist and composer, died at age 73. "I’ve Got You Under My Skin" and hundreds of other classics crossed all musical style and format boundaries throughout his long and rich career.

1965 - Jimi Hendrix signed his first recording contract, he received $1 and a 1% Royalty on all of his recordings.

1971 - Rick Nelson was booed off the stage when he didn’t stick to all oldies at the seventh Annual Rock ’n’ Roll Revival show at Madison Square Garden, New York. He tried to slip in some of his new material and the crowd did not approve. The negative reaction to his performance inspired Nelson to write his last top-40 hit, "Garden Party," which hit the top-ten about a year after the Madison Square Garden debacle. "Garden Party," ironically, was Nelson’s biggest hit in years, “...If you gotta play at garden parties, I wish you a lotta luck; But if memories were all I sang, I rather drive a truck.”

1973 - U.S. jazz & big band drummer Gene Krupa died of leukemia and heart failure. Sal Mineo starred as Krupa in the Columbia Pictures movie "The Gene Krupa Story" in 1959. He was the first drummer inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1978.

1980: Bobby Lester (Dallas), lead singer with the Moonglows died of cancer. The different styles defined the Moonglows 2 lead singers, Harvey Fuqua favored the up-tempo R&B/rock numbers while Lester sung more of the romantic ballads.

1988 - "Red Red Wine," by UB40, was the first reggae hit to make it to number one in the U.S. From the album Labour of Love, "Red Red Wine" was #1 for only one week, but turned out to be UB40’s signature song.

1994 - REM’s Monster was a monster of an album - #1 in the U.S. The album, featuring What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?, Crush with Eyeliner, King of Comedy, I Don’t Sleep, I Dream, Star 69, Strange Currencies, Tongue, Bang and Blame, I Took Your Name, Let Me In, Circus Envy and You, was number one for two weeks.

1923 - Bert Kaempfert was born. Musician: Wonderland by Night, Red Roses for a Blue Lady, Three O’Clock in the Morning; died June 21, 1980

1943 - C.F. (Fred) Turner was born. Musician: group: Bachman-Turner Overdrive: Takin’ Care of Business, Let It Ride, You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, Looking Out for Number One, Hey You

1947 - Bob Weir (Hall) was born. Musician: guitar, singer: group: The Grateful Dead: Touch of Grey, Truckin’; solo: LP: Ace, Heaven Help the Fool

1959 - Gary Kemp was born. Musician: guitar: group: Spandau Ballet: To Cut a Long Story Short, The Freeze, Musclebound, Chant No. 1, True, Gold, Only When You Leave; brother of musician Martin Kemp

1962 - Flea (Michael Balzary) was born. Musician: bass guitar: group: The Red Hot Chili Peppers: LPs: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Freaky Styley, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, Mother’s Milk, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, One Hot Minute

1962 - The first night of a two month Motown Records package tour started in Washington DC, featuring Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Mary Wells, The Miracles and 12 year old Stevie Wonder.

1969 - Wendy Wilson was born. Singer: group: Wilson Phillips: Hold On, Release Me; daughter of Beach Boys singer, Brian Wilson

1969 - Leonard Chess, the founder of the Chess record label died of a heart attack. He played a pivotal role in the birth of the Chicago electric blues movement of the postwar era, launching the careers of legends ranging from Muddy Waters to Howlin' Wolf to Little Walter.

1972 - John C. Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival called it a career ... and the group disbanded. Fogerty would continue in a solo career with big hits including, "Centerfield" and "The Old Man Down the Road."

1976 - Memphis, TN disc jockey Rick Dees and his ‘Cast of Idiots’ made it all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with the immortal "Disco Duck (Part 1)." Dees is still around, but not as a recording artist. He’s a DJ in Los Angeles and is hosting several varieties of the Weekly Top 40 show, syndicated around the world.

1976 - Stevie Wonder’s album, Songs in the Key of Life wound up at number one in the U.S. It turned out to be no fluke. With greats, such as "Sir Duke," "Isn’t She Lovely" and "I Wish," the double-album stayed at #1 for 14 weeks. Other tracks: Love’s in Need of Love Today, Have a Talk with God, Village Ghetto Land, Contusion, Knocks Me Off My Feet, Pastime Paradise, Summer Soft, Ordinary Pain, Saturn, Ebony Eyes, Joy Inside My Tears, Black Man, Ngiculela - Es Una Historia/I Am Singing, If It’s Magic, As, Another Star, All Day Sucker, Easy Goin’ Evening (My Mama’s Call).

1977 - John Mayer was born. Musician: guitar; songwriter, singer: Bigger Than My Body, Your Body Is a Wonderland, Love Song for No One, Back To You, No Such Thing, Comfortable, New Deep, Only Heart

1986 - Chuck Berry celebrated his 60th birthday with a concert in his home town of St. Louis, Missouri at the Fox Theatre. The show was organized by The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards and the concert was used in a documentary titled, "Hail! Hail! Rock ’N’ Roll," an overview of Berry’s career.

1992 - Sinead O’Connor was booed off the stage at a show honoring Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden (famous for booing folks off the stage), New York. The crowd was acting in disapproval of O’Connor’s tearing up a picture of Pope John Paul II on "Saturday Night Live" October 3, 1992.

2001 - Two security guards were sacked when they refused to let Bob Dylan into his own concert. Bob had asked for his security to be tighter on his 'Love & Theft' tour, he arrived without his backstage pass.

2006 - John Thomas Johnson died of cancer and kidney failure. Johnson was an American orchestral tuba player. He performed on more than 2,000 film soundtracks, most notably John Williams' "Jaws" score, in which he played a high-register tuba solo as the melodic theme for the shark.

"The Continental Gallery’s ambience is strikingly different from most other clubs around town, highlighted by the revolving art displays on the walls and relatively quiet live music. Upstairs from The Continental Club, patrons find more secluded seating areas and a ping-pong table. Unique touches like this one are what make the gallery so exciting." ~DTWeekend.com

We're hopeful that The Continental Gallery will be open soon. We're waiting for a few last things to get approved and then we'll be so happy to have you all back!