Brooklyn Music Milestones – July 2014

July 6, 2014 by

bruce morrowJuly 31, 1971: With her own single It’s Too Late having recently finished a five-week run at the top of the charts, Carole King scores a number one hit as a songwriter with James Taylor’s rendition of You’ve Got a Friend.

August 7, 1974: WABC radio program director Rick Sklar gives Sheepshead Bay native Bruce Morrow a big send off. Even though “Cousin Brucie” is moving to rival Top 40 station WNBC, the highly popular DJ is allowed to do a final show – a going away party that includes tributes and “roasts” from the likes of ABC colleague Dan Ingram, sportscaster Howard Cosell, station GM George Williams and even Morrow’s long-time nemesis, Murray the K.

August 11, 1962: Abraham Lincoln High School alumnusNeil Sedaka’s ninth top 40 single, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, is also the first of his three chart-toppers.

August 14, 1965:  I Want Candy by The Strangeloves (Brooklynites Bob Feldman and Jerry Goldstein and Bronx friend Richard Gottehrer) peaks at number 11 on the Billboard singles chart.

talib kweli


Aug. 17, 1959: Local boys Santo and Johnny begin a 13-week run in the top 40 with Sleepwalk. With Johnny on steel guitar and Santo on six-string , the Brooklyn-born-and-raised Farina brothers created one of the most memorable instrumentals of the early rock era. The song hit number one on Sept. 21, 1959.

Aug. 18, 1998: Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, a collaboration of two top Brooklyn emcees, is released to critical acclaim. It peaks at number 13 on Billboard’s  R&B/Hip-Hop chart and reaches 53 on the Hot 200.

Sept. 9, 1964: Local acts Little Anthony & the Imperials and Jay & the Americans play “Murray the K’s Big Holiday Show” at the Fox Theater on Flatbush Avenue at Nevins Street. Among others on the bill are the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Miracles, Martha & the Vandellas, the Searchers, Dusty Springfield, the Shangri-Las and the Ronettes.