A calendar of rock history including birthdays, deaths, milestones, chart toppers, concerts, record releases, and other important events in music history.
Our sources include: Wikipedia, This Day in Music, This Day in Rock, Led Zeppelin.com, Classic Rock Concerts, The Concert Database, Live Music Archive, The Allman Brothers Band, Janis Joplin.net, The Who This Month, Setlist.fm, All The Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release by Jean-Michel Guesdon & Phillipe Margotin (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers,) Echoes – The Complete History of Pink Floyd by Glen Povey (Mind Head Publishing)
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1965, The Moody Blues were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Go Now!”
1965, The Who made their first appearance on UK TV show Ready Steady Go! To project the desired image, the hand-picked audience consisted only of teens dressed in the current “Mod” fashion.
1966, The Cavern Club in Liverpool closes, having run up debts of 10,000 pounds. The club became world famous as one of The … (read more…)
1962, The Beatles appeared at Aintree Institute in Aintree, Liverpool. The group had played here many times before but this was their last performance at the venue. Brian Epstein became infuriated when the promoter paid The Beatles’ fee of £15 ($24) with handfuls of loose change. Epstein took this as an insult to the group, and made sure that The Beatles never played for that promoter (Brian Kelly) again.
1965, John and Cynthia Lennon fly to the Alps for a … (read more…)
1965, “Downtown” by Petula Clark was at number one on the US singles chart. A young Jimmy Page had played as a session guitarist on the track, giving him his first US number one hit, as well as a number two hit in the UK.
1965, during a Rolling Stones tour of Australia and New Zealand, guitarist Keith Richards had his shirt torn off after 50 fans invaded the stage during the gig at The Town Hall in Brisbane.
1966, The … (read more…)
1963, Janis Joplin performs in San Francisco for the first time, singing at the North Beach coffeehouse. In lieu of money, Janis passes the hat for beers. She often sings a cappella at the Coffee Confusion and the Coffee Gallery, occasionally accompanied by Jorma Kaukonen (future guitarist with Jefferson Airplane). Joplin sings Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey blues with folksingers Roger Perkins and Larry Hanks, and hangs out with David Crosby and Nick Gravenites. … (read more…)
1965, The film Ferry Cross the Mersey premieres at the Liverpool Odeon. It was the first to be shot on location in Liverpool after the city’s emergence into the music mainstream For authenticity, many scenes were shot in clubs near the home of Gerry and the Pacemakers’ frontman Gerry Marsden. Marsden wrote nine new songs for the film which also starred Julie Samuel, … (read more…)
1964, The Searchers were at number one on the singles chart with the Sonny Bono song “Needles And Pins.”
1965, The Who play the Corn Exchange at Chelmsford and then an all-night rave at the Club Noreik in Tottenham. Opening for The Who at the all-night rave is The Muleskinners featuring future Small Faces’ keyboardist, Ian McLagan.
1966, Big Brother & the Holding Company play their first gig on the … (read more…)
1964, The Yardbirds, featuring Eric Clapton appeared at The Cavern Club, Liverpool, England.
1965, The Rolling Stones began a 16-date tour of Australia and New Zealand at the Agricultural Hall at Manufacturers Auditorium in Sydney with Roy Orbison, The Newbeats and Ray Columbus and the Invaders.
1965, The Who pre-tape their first appearance on Radio Luxembourg’s Ready Steady Radio! at the Marquee Club. The show is … (read more…)
1965, The Byrds record “Mr. Tambourine Man.” The only actual member of the band who performs on the record is lead guitarist/singer Jim McGuinn. Musicians from the fabled “Wrecking Crew,” including Larry Knetchel on bass, Leon Russell on piano, Hal Blaine on drums, Jerry Cole and Bill Pittman on guitar, replace the rest of the band. These musicians provided the backing track over which McGuinn, Crosby, and Clark sang. By the time the … (read more…)
1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at Haverstock Hill Country Club in London.
1967, The Monkees TV show was shown for the first time in the UK.
1968, Fleetwood Mac, The Move, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown and Fairport Convention all appeared at the Roundhouse Chalk Farm in London.
1968, The Who play at Festival Hall in Brisbane, Queensland. The … (read more…)
1963, The Beatles made their first national TV appearance in the UK on Thank Your Lucky Stars performing “Please Please Me.”
1965, The perform at the Marquee Club in London.
1967, Pink Floyd and Marmalade played at The Marquee Club, London.
1967, The Monkees were at number one on the singles chart with “I’m A Believer.” The group’s only UK chart topper. … (read more…)
1964, The Beatles made their US chart debut when “I Want To Hold Your Hand” entered the chart at number 45 just ten days after its release, making it the fastest-breaking and the fastest selling single in Capitol Records history. It went on to spend seven weeks at the number one position.
1965, The Rolling Stones recorded “The Last Time” and “Play With Fire” at the RCA studios in Hollywood, California. … (read more…)
1964, The Rolling Stones released their first EP, which included, “You Better Move On,” “Poison Ivy,” “Bye Bye Johnny,” and “Money.” It peaked at number 15 on the UK chart.
1966, NBC-TV bought The Monkees series, placing it on their 1966 autumn schedule.
1967, The Daily Mail ran the story about a local council survey finding 4,000 holes in the road in Lancashire inspiring John Lennon’s famous … (read more…)
