Rock History

1997 – US songwriter Ben Raleigh died after setting fire to his bath robe- while cooking. Co-wrote ‘Scooby Doo Where Are You.’

1997 – At the 39th annual Grammy Awards held in New York, surprising wins include The Beatles for Best Pop Performance by a Duo Or Group With Vocal for the song “Free As A Bird,” Best Music Video, Short Form for the video to “Free As A Bird,” and Best Music Video, Long Form for “The Beatles Anthology.” A Grammy for Best Spoken Word or Nonmusical Album also goes to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for “It Takes A Village.”

1997 – Ellen DeGeneres hosts this year’s Grammys. Eric Clapton wins Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Change the World.” The Beatles win Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group, Best Music Video Short, and Best Music Video Long for the “reunion” travesty “Free as a Bird.” Bruce Springsteen’s Ghost of Tom Joad wins Best Contemporary Folk Album.

Motley Crue

1997 – Motley Crue are cleared of responsibility for a concertgoer’s hearing loss. The fan sued the band for $7 million, but a judge ruled that he knew the concert would be loud when he bought the ticket.

U2

1997 – U2 went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Discoteque’, the bands third UK number 1 single.

Lyrics:

You can reach, but you can’t grab it
You can’t hold it, control it, you can’t bag it
You can push, but you can’t direct it
Circulate, regulate, oh no, you cannot connect it

Boom cha
Boom cha
Discoteque

“Discothèque” is the lead single from Irish rock band U2′s 1997 album, Pop.

This version, featuring virtually all available remixes, was released as a triple 12″ only in the UK.

1997 – Country artist Ty England and wife Shanna welcome their third child into the world. Levi Wyatt weighs 9 pounds, 3 ounces, measures 21 inches and arrives at 3:58 p.m. Levi has a sister Aspen and a brother Christian Tyler.

1997 – All hail the Prince of Pop! Michael Jackson and wife Debbie become proud parents for the first time. The baby boy is born at Cedars-Sinai hospital.

1997 - Michael Menson of Rebel MC died from burns sustained in a racial attack aged 30. Lost on a street in North London, Menson was attacked twice. His tormentors were determined to burn him alive, throwing fuel at him, setting his back on fire. He suffered terrible burns and died 16 days later. Rebel MC had the 1989 UK No.3 single ‘Street Tuff’.

Kiss

1997 - during their The Alive Worldwide tour, Kiss played the first of three sold out nights at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

David Bowie

1997 – David Bowie received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

U2

1997 – U2 held a press conference in the Lingerie Department at the Greenwich Village Kmart store in Manhattan, New York City, to announce their Pop Mart world tour. The tour was set to start in Las Vegas on April 25th of this year.

1997 – Brian Connolly singer with the 1970′s Glam rock group Sweet died of kidney and liver failure aged 47. Rock singer.
Connolly was born in Hamilton, adopted into the McManus family at birth and thus half-brother to actor Mark McManus (1935-94). At 18, discovering he was adopted he changed his surname back to that of his mother. He moved to Middlesex (England) and began his rock career.

Ballroom Blitz.. the original:

Brian Connolly was born in 1945 in Govanhill, Glasgow, (some early Sweet biographies claim he was born in 1949). Whilst the true identity of Brian’s father was never made public, his mother was a teenage waitress named Frances Connolly who left him in a Glasgow hospital as an infant whilst possibly suffering effects of meningitis. He was fostered, aged two, by Jim and Helen McManus of Blantyre and took their family name. In his earliest years Connolly was also affectionally known as “snowball” referring to his almost white blonde hair. In a radio interview, Connolly reported that singing was a large part of growing up since there was no television, and that he was regularly called upon to sing for family and friends. When Brian was aged about eighteen he inadvertently discovered his lineage and reverted to the name Connolly. Numerous sources have incorrectly asserted that he was a half brother of the late actor Mark McManus (who found fame in the title role of detective series “Taggart”) but they were not related. Mark “Taggart” McManus was actually the nephew of Brian’s foster father.