July 31 in music history


July 31: The late Ahmet Ertegun founder and president of Atlantic Records was born in 1923 (read more) “Few people have had a bigger impact on the record industry than Ahmet, and no one loved American music more than he did.” – David Geffen Ahmet Ertegün (July 31, 1923 – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder (with Herb Abramson) and president of Atlantic Records, and for discovering or championing artists like Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Genesis, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Dusty Springfield, Yes, and more.
July 31: Bob Dylan: 5th recording session for Desire 1975 (read more) Studio E Columbia Recording Studios New York City, New York 31 July 1975 5th Desire session, produced by Don DeVito The following night [31 July 1975], Dylan held another session, this time recording three songs. From this session, Dylan recorded the master take for “Isis” as well as master takes for “Abandoned Love” and “Sara.” Dylan’s wife Sara, the subject of the song that bore her name, also accompanied him to this session.
“Baby, Stop Crying” is a song written by Bob Dylan, released on July 31, 1978 as a single and on his album Street Legal. It was performed live only during his big-band world-wide tour of 1978. The song charted at #13 in the UK and was a top-ten song in much of Europe, although it failed to chart in the United States.
James Travis “Jim” Reeves (August 20, 1923 – July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville sound (a mixture of older country-style music with elements of popular music). Known as “Gentleman Jim”, his songs continued to chart for years after his death. Reeves died in the crash of a private airplane. He is a member of both the Country Music and Texas Country Music Halls of Fame.
Time (The Revelator) (released July 31, 2001) is the third full length album by Gillian Welch. All songs were written by Welch together with David Rawlings and were recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. “I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll” was recorded live at the Ryman Auditorium as part of the sessions for the concert film, Down from the Mountain, all the rest of the tracks were recorded at RCA Studio B, Nashville, Tennessee.
Spotify Playlist – July 31