Brooklyn Music Milestones – April 2010

1961: Clay Cole’s Easter Parade of Stars is the last of the annual 10-day holiday rock ‘n roll extravaganzas at Brooklyn’s legendary Paramount Theater. Over the years, the concert series, originally launched in 1955 as Alan Freed’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Easter Jubilee, featured dozens of rock’s greatest performers, including Brooklyn’s own Little Anthony & The Imperials and Neil Sedaka. In 1962 the Paramount was bought by LIU and converted into a gymnasium/sports arena.

1962: The Crystals’ Uptown begins its ride to number 13, the second of what would become a half dozen top 20 hits, making them the most successful of the era’s “girl groups.”

1967: Neil Diamond cements his reputation as a songwriter when the Monkees’ rendition of A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You climbs to number two on the charts just weeks after the Diamond-penned I’m a Believer’s seven-week reign at number one earlier in the year.

1972: Harry Chapin rides onto the charts for the first time as his iconic ballad Taxi begins a nine-week run in the Top 40.

1997: Rapper Notorious B.I.G.’s ironically titled CD, Life After Death, rises to the top of the charts and stays there for five weeks. The double album was released the previous month shortly after the Bedford-Stuyvesant native’s passing.

2008: In the musical marriage of the decade, Bed-Stuy’s own Jay-Z weds Beyonce Knowles at a private ceremony.