1965, Blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, Sonny Boy Williamson died in his sleep. Van Morrison, Aerosmith, The Who, The Animals, Yardbirds, and Moody Blues all covered his songs. According to the Led Zeppelin biography Hammer of the Gods, touring the UK in the 60’s, Sonny Boy set his hotel room on fire while trying […]
Today in Rock History – May 22
1964, The Beatles arrived back from their first US trip at Heathrow Airport and were greeted by thousands of fans. Also on this day The Beatles scored their second chart topping album with The Beatles Second Album. It displaced Meet The Beatles! from the top of the charts. 1965, The Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride ” surpassed Herman’s […]
Today in Rock History – April 24
1966, The Who performed at Birmingham Hippodrome in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. 1967, Pink Floyd appeared at Blue Opera Club, held at at The Feathers public house in London, England. A patron threw a penny a Roger Waters resulting in gash to his forehead. 1968, Keith Moon, drummer with The Who, drove his Lincoln car […]
Today in Rock History – March 27
1966, The Who appeared at the Central Pier, Morecambe, Lancashire, England. 1966, During an UK tour, Roy Orbison fell off a motorbike while scrambling at Hawkstone Park, Birmingham fracturing his foot. He played the remaining dates sat on a stool and walking on crutches. 1967, Fats Domino played his first ever UK date at London’s […]
Today in Rock History – January 1
1966, Simon and Garfunkel started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “The Sounds Of Silence.” 1967, The Doors made their first live television appearance lip-synching their first single “Break on Through” on Shebang, on KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles. The single peaked number 126 on the chart mainly […]
Song Of The Day – “Requiem For John Hurt” by John Fahey
I buy most of my music these days on line. I either purchase from Amazon where I can take advantage of free shipping, eBay where I can score clean copies of used records or directly from record labels like Polyvinyl and Third Man Records. Earlier today I got a rush and went down to a […]
Today in Rock History – December 3rd
1964, The Rolling Stones had their second UK number one single with their version of “Little Red Rooster.” The Stones had recorded the song at Chess Studios in Chicago, the same studios where Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and Little Walter had recorded their blues classics. 1965, Rolling Stone Keith Richards was knocked unconscious by an […]
Today in Rock History – November 30
1963, The Beatles second album With The Beatles became the first million selling album by a group in the UK. 1968, Glen Campbell started a five-week run at number one on the album chart with “Wichita Lineman.” The song was written by Jimmy Webb, who’s inspiration for the lyrics came while driving through Washita County […]
Today in Rock History – September 8th
1966, The Who appeared at the Locarno Ballroon in Stevenage, England. This UK tour was notable for the addition of the single, “I’m A Boy” to the band’s repertoire. 1968, Pink Floyd were forced to cancel a performance at the Chatelet Teenage Festival in Belgium due to work permit problems. There were some violent reactions […]
Today in Rock History – July 27th
1968, Bee Gee Robin Gibb collapsed, as the group were about to set out on their first US tour. The singer was suffering from nervous exhaustion. 1968, The Steve Miller Band appeared at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan. 1968, Cass Elliot released her first solo single following the break up of The Mamas and […]
