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Today in Rock History – July 7

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Alpha TV Studio – Birmingham UK July 1963 – Philip Townsend

1963, The Rolling Stones made their UK TV debut when they appeared on Thank Your Lucky Stars. Also seen on the show were Mickie Most, The Cadets, Helen Shapiro and Gordon Mills. The Stones made a total of 13 appearances on the show between 1963 and 1966

1965, The Who played at a gala opening of The Manor House club in London.

1966, The Kinks were at number one on the singles chart with “Sunny Afternoon,” the group’s third and last chart topper.

1966, The Who played at the Locarno Ballroom in London, England.

1967, The Monkees begin a nationwide tour, with Jimi Hendrix supporting.

1967, Dusty Springfield begins a three-week residency at New York’s Copacabana nightclub.

1968, The Yardbirds played their last gig before splitting up when they appeared in Luton, England.

1969, Arlo Guthrie and Joni Mitchell appeared in Edwardsville, Illinois.

1969, George Harrison recorded his new song “Here Comes the Sun” with just two other Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Abbey Road in London. John Lennon was absent, recovering from a car crash in Scotland.

1970, The Who headline at the Tanglewood Music Amphitheater in Lenox, Massachusetts with Jethro Tull and It’s a Beautiful Day opening. It is one of The Who’s very best performances and is projected on a 15′ X 21′ television screen on the lawn outside the venue. The show is videotaped and intended for use on a Fillmore at Tanglewood television special that never airs. “Heaven and Hell”, “I Can’t Explain” and “Water” are later released on the first video edition of 30 Years Of Maximum R&B and the surviving section of the concert on YouTube in 2014.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

1971, Yes appeared at the Orlando Sports Stadium, also known as the Eddie Graham Sports Complex, an indoor venue which opened in 1967, and closed in 1995.

1971, 26-year-old pop star Bjorn Ulvaeus and 21-year-old Agnetha Faltskog married in Verum, Sweden. 3000 fans arrived and in the chaos a police horse stepped on the brides foot, causing her a slight injury.

1972, Chicago performed at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana.

1973, Led Zeppelin appeared at Chicago Stadium, Chicago.

1973, Hawkwind played at the Sports Centre, Bletchley, England.

1973, Billy Preston started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Will It Go Round In Circles,” his first of two chart toppers.

1974, David Bowie performed at the Scope in Norfolk, Virginia.

1975, Paul McCartney & Wings release “Live and Let Die.”

1975, Keith Moon has “Happy Birthday Ringo” written in the sky above Los Angeles in honor of his fellow drummer’s 35th birthday. He then sends the bill to Ringo.

1976, Neil Young appeared at the Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1978, The Grateful Dead played the first of four nights at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado.

The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats

1979, The Boomtown Rats made a personal appearance at the opening of the new Virgin Megastore in London.

1980, Led Zeppelin played their last-ever concert when they appeared in West Berlin at the end of a European tour. They finished the show with a 17-minute version of “Whole Lotta Love.”

1980, The Who perform at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

1984, Bruce Springsteen went to number one on the US album chart with Born In The USA. The album went on to spend a total of 139 weeks on the US chart. Its also one of three albums (Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814) to produce seven Top-ten US singles.

1984, Prince started a five week run at number one on the US singles chart with “When Doves Cry,” his first US chart topper, which went on to sell over two million copies. It reached the fourth spot in the UK.

1989, It was announced that for the first time compact discs were out selling vinyl albums.

2001, Stereophonics, David Gray, The Dandy Warhols, The Proclaimers, Paul Weller, Texas, Coldplay, Beck, Toploader, Ash, Starsailor, Nelly Furtado, James, and Muse all appeared at  T In The Park festival, Scotland, weekend tickets, £64 ($109.)

2006, Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett died from complications arising from diabetes aged 60. The official cause of death was listed as pancreatic cancer.  He joined Pink Floyd in 1965, and crafted most of the material from their first album, but only contributed one song for the second offering.  Barrett’s behavior became increasingly erratic and unpredictable, partly as a consequence of his reported heavy use of psychedelic drugs, most prominently LSD. By April 1968, he was kicked out of the band. Barrett released two solo albums before going into self-imposed seclusion lasting more than thirty years, with his mental deterioration blamed on drugs.

2007, The Live Earth concerts took place around the world with The Police closing the days events in New Jersey. The concerts were organized by former US Vice-President Al Gore, as part of his campaign to “heal the planet.” Rock stars from around the world performed to hundreds of thousands of fans to highlight climate change. Concerts were held in Washington, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Shanghai and Sydney. Madonna brought London’s Live Earth concert to a close, playing a song she had written for the event. Other major acts who appeared included; Snow Patrol, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, The Beastie Boys, James Blunt, The Foo Fighters, Duran Duran, UB40, Snoop Dogg, Enrique Iglesias, Crowded House & Joss Stone.

2009, Michael Jackson’s family and fans said farewell to the pop superstar at an emotional memorial service. The singer’s coffin was placed in front of the stage during the public event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, after an earlier private funeral.

2010, Paul McCartney joined Ringo Starr onstage at a concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall to help celebrate the former Beatle drummer’s 70th birthday.  Ringo’s All-Starr Band were joined by Yoko Ono, Joe Walsh, Angus Young and Steven Van Zandt, as Paul belted out “Birthday” and Ringo delivered “With A Little Help From My Friends.”

Born on July 7: Mary Ford, American singer (1928); Joe Zawinul, pianist, Miles Davis band, Weather Report (1932); Ringo Starr (1940);  Peter Banks, Yes, Flash (1947); Rob Townsend, drummer, Family (1947); Lynval Golding, guitar, The Specials (1952); Mark White, bass, The Spin Doctors (1962)

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Today in Rock History – July 6

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beatles-quarrymen-bw1957, John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time at The Woolton Church Parish Fete where The Quarry Men were appearing. As The Quarry Men were setting up for their evening performance, McCartney eager to impress Lennon picked up a guitar and played “Twenty Flight Rock” by Eddie Cochran, and Gene Vincent’s “Be-Bop-A-Lula.” Lennon was impressed, and even more so when McCartney showed Lennon and Eric Griffiths how to tune their guitars, something they’d been paying someone else to do for them.

1964,The Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night premiered at The Pavilion in London. Filmed during the height of Beatlemania, and written by Alun Owen, the film was made in the style of a mockumentary, describing a couple of days in the lives of the group.

1966, The Rolling Stones play War Memorial Hall in Syracuse, New York. During the performance they allegedly desecrate the American flag by dragging it across the stage.

1967, Pink Floyd made their first appearance on BBC TV music show Top Of The Pops to promote their new single “See Emily Play.” This was the first of three times the song would be performed live on television. A badly damaged home video recording recovered by the British Film Institute of this show was given a public screening in London on 9th January 2010 at an event called “Missing Believed Wiped” devoted to recovered TV shows. It was the first time any footage was seen of the performance since its original broadcast.

1968, The Jeff Beck Group played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan

1968, The Woburn Music Festival, Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire took place. A two-day affair featuring Donovan, Fleetwood Mac, Pentangle, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Alexis Korner, Family, Taste, Tim Rose, John Mayall’s Bluesbrakers, Duster Bennett, and Tyrannosaurus Rex, two-day tickets were priced at £2 ($3.50.)

1969, Mick Jagger flies to Australia to begin filming Ned Kelly with his girlfriend Marianne Faithfull. Two days later Jagger will tell her it’s over.

1971,  American jazz trumpeter, singer and bandleader, Louis Armstrong died. Had many hits including the 1964 US number one”Hello Dolly!,” 1968 UK number one “What A Wonderful World,”plus “When The Saints Go Marching In,” “Ain’t Misbehavin,” and “We Have All the Time in the World.”

1972, David Bowie appeared on the UK music show Top Of The Pops playing his new single “Starman,” found on the Ziggy Stardust album. It was his first hit since 1969’s ‘Space Oddity’ three years before. The single peaked at number ten and stayed on the charts for 11 weeks

1973, Queen released their debut single “Keep Yourself Alive” in the UK.

1974, The Faces, Mott The Hoople, Humble Pie, Greenslade, Lindisfarne, Man, Trapeze, and Chapman and Whitney all appeared at Buxton Pop Festival, Derbyshire, England.

1974, The Hues Corporation went to number one on the singles chart with “Rock The Boat.”

1974, David Bowie appeared at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.

1975, Rolling Stone Keith Richards was arrested by the highway patrol in Arkansas on charges of reckless driving and possessing an offensive weapon, a seven-inch hunting knife.

1978, New York Police Academy cadet Eddie Mahoney changes his name to Eddie Money. He would notch the 1986 top four hit “Take Me Home Tonight.”

1979, American singer, producer songwriter, Van McCoy died from a heart attack in Englewood, New Jersey. Van McCoy and the Soul City had the US chart topping single “The Hustle.” McCoy worked with Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Stylistics, Aretha Franklin and David Ruffin.

1984, The Grateful Dead perform at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, WI, outside Milwaukee.

1985, Phil Collins went to number one on the US singles chart with “Sussudio,” his third US chart topper, and a number twelve hit in the UK.

1996, “Three Lions,” the official song of The England Football team, by comedians Baddiel and Skinner and The Lightning Seeds was at number one on the UK singles chart.

2002, George Harrison’s widow Olivia put the couple’s home up for sale for £20m ($35 million) saying she couldn’t bear to live with the memories of the attack by schizophrenic Michael Abram, who broke into the house in 1999.

2003, Skip Battin bassist and songwriter with The Byrds died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He also played with New Riders Of The Purple Sage and The Flying Burrito Brothers.

2004, On the 40th anniversary of the world premiere of The Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night, a private reunion of the cast and crew was hosted in London by DVD producer Martin Lewis. The screening was attended by Paul McCartney actors Victor Spinetti (the television director), John Junkin (the band’s road manager), David Janson (the small boy met by Ringo on his “walkabout”) and many of the crew members

Born on this day: Bill Haley (1925); Jet Harris, English bass player, The Shadows, The Jeff Beck Group, The Vipers Skiffle Group (1939); Rik Elswit, guitar, Dr Hook (1945); Mike Shrieve, drums, Santana (1949);  John Keeble, drums, Spandau Ballet (1959); Inspectah Deck, American rapper, producer, Wu-Tang Clan (1970); Curtis Jackson, aka rapper 50 Cent (1975)

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Today in Rock History – July 5

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1964, The Irish band Them, featuring Van Morrison, record “Gloria.”

1965, The Four Tops record their number five hit “It’s the Same Old Song,” which resembles their number one “I Can’t Help Myself.”

1965, Marty Balin and Paul Kantner formed a Folk-Rock group that would evolve into the Jefferson Airplane, the premier San Francisco psychedelic band of the late ’60s. The Airplane made its debut the following month at a Haight-Ashbury club, and was signed to RCA later in the year.

1966, On the recommendation of Rolling Stone Keith Richards’ girlfriend, Chas Chandler from The Animals went to see Jimi Hendrix play at The Cafe Wha? in New York City. Chandler suggests that Hendrix should come to England, which he does and Chandler became his manager.

1967, Jimi Hendrix played at Wollman Skating Rink Theater in New York City.

1967, Pink Floyd performed at The Dance Hall, Eel Pie Island Hotel, Twickenham, England.

1968, Bill Graham opens the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

1968, The Jeff Beck Group appeared at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, The Rolling Stones gave a free concert in London’s Hyde Park before an audience of 250,000, as a tribute to Brian Jones who had died two days earlier. Mick Jagger read an extract from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Adonais and released 3,500 butterflies. The event was also guitarist’s Mick Taylor’s debut with the Stones.  King Crimson, Family, The Third Ear Band, Screw and Alexis Korner’s New Church also appeared on the day.

1969, The Who, Chuck Berry and Bodast all played two shows, one at 5:30 and another at 8:30pm, at The Royal Albert Hall.

1969, Vanilla Fudge performed at Place des Nations in Montreal, Quebec.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band were part of the Atlanta Pop Festival lineup held at Byron, Georgia.

1971, A Led Zeppelin gig in Milan turns violent when police fire tear gas at the crowd. The band escapes unharmed, but numerous arrests are made and a roadie is hit in the head with a bottle.

1972, The Rolling Stones performed at the Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia.

1972, Procol Harum and The Eagles appeared at the Golden Hall, San Diego, California.

1974, David Bowie played at the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Roger Waters – photo by Danny Clifford (dannyclifford.com)

1975, Pink Floyd, Captain Beefheart, Steve Miller and Roy Harper all appeared at The Knebworth Festival, England, tickets cost £3.50 ($5.60). Pink Floyd premiered their new album Wish You Were Here with the help of Spitfires, pyrotechnics and an exploding plane which flies into the stage.

1975, Yes performed at Roberts Municipal Stadium, Evansville, Indiana.

1976, Elvis Presley appeared at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1978, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Civic Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

1978, the Electric Light Orchestra performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1978, The manufacturing of Some Girls the new album by The Rolling Stones was halted at EMI’s pressing plant after complaints from celebrities including Lucille Ball who were featured in mock advertisements on the album sleeve.

1979, Foreigner played at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1980, ZZ Top performed at the Tangerine Bowl, Orlando, Florida.

1981, Van Halen played at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1981, Rush appeared at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin.

1982, Sun records musical director Bill Justis died of cancer aged 55. He worked with Sam Phillips at Sun Records, and also worked with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis. He had the 1957 US number two single “Raunchy,” the first Rock and Roll instrumental hit. Also had a number one hit in Australia in 1963 with “Tamoure.”

1983, Eric Clapton played at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland.

1984, Van Halen performed at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1984, David Gilmour appeared at the Sunrise Musical Theater, Sunrise, Florida.

1995, More than 100 Grateful Dead fans were hurt when a wooden deck collapsed at a campground lodge in Wentzville, Missouri. Hundreds of people were on or under the deck sheltering from heavy rain. More than 4,000 Deadheads were staying at the campground while attending Grateful Dead concerts in the St. Louis suburb.

1999, The Eurythmics announced their first world tour for more than ten years, with all profits would be given to charity. The duo made the announcement from the Greenpeace boat ‘Rainbow Warrior’ moored on the River Thames in London.

2007, English jazz and blues singer and film critic George Melly died at his London home at the age of 80 of lung cancer and vascular dementia.

Born on July 5: Robbie Robertson (1944); Michael Monarch, guitar, Steppenwolf (1948); Huey Lewis (1951); Nick O’Malley, bass, Arctic Monkeys (1985)

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Today in Rock History – July 3

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monkees-tv1967, A private party was held at the Speakeasy Club in London, England for The Monkees. Guests included: John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Dusty Springfield, Eric Clapton, Lulu, and all the members from Manfred Mann, The Who and Procol Harum.

1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at The Scene in New York City.

1967, Pink Floyd played at the Bath Pavilion in Bath, Somerset, England.

1968, At an impromptu gathering at Joni Mitchell’s house in Lookout Mountain, Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash played together for the very first time.

1969, John Lennon holds a press conference to announce the release of “Give Peace a Chance,” but can’t show up as he and Yoko are recovering from a car crash in Scotland. Ringo fills in instead.

1969, Brian Jones drowned while under the influence of drugs and alcohol after taking a midnight swim in his pool, aged 27. His body was found at the bottom of the pool by his Swedish girlfriend Anna Wohlin. The coroner’s report stated “Death by misadventure,” and noted his liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse. Jones was one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones.

1969, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Sly and the Family Stone, Jeff Beck, Savoy Brown, Johnny Winter, Jethro Tull, Buddy Guy Blues Band, Mothers Of Invention and Ten Years After all appeared at the four day Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island.

1969, The Grateful Dead appeared at Reed’s Ranch in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

1970, Gene Ammons,  Sonny Stitt, Kenny Burrell, Miles Davis, Eddie Harris, Herbie Mann, Mongo Santa Maria, Jerry Smith, Oscar Peterson, Roberta Flack, and Sarah Vaughn appeared at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia.

1970, The three day Atlanta Pop Festival took place, featuring The Allman Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, Johnny Winter, Mountain, Procol Harum and Rare Earth. Over 200,000 music fans attended the festival.

1971, American singer, songwriter and poet, Jim Morrison of The Doors was found dead in a bathtub in Paris, France, the cause of death was given as a heart attack. No autopsy was ever performed. However other theories exist. Morrison’s girlfriend, Pam Courson, stated that Jim had died of an accidental heroin overdose, having snorted what he believed to be cocaine.

1971, Melody Maker reports on the appearance of a new Who bootleg in the US, Who Unreleased. Seven of the ten tracks are British Who releases that had not yet come out in the States.

1972, Blues singer, guitarist Mississippi Fred McDowell died of cancer aged 68. The Rolling Stones covered his “You Got To Move” on their Sticky Fingers album. He coached Bonnie Raitt on slide guitar technique.

1973, Laurens Hammond the inventor of the Hammond organ died aged 73. Many rock artists including Procol Harum, Keith Emerson, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Allman Brothers and The Faces featured the sound of the Hammond. He also invented a silent spring-driven clock and during the World War II, he helped design guided missile systems.

1973, On the last night of a 60-date tour David Bowie announced he was about to retire from live performing, although it eventually transpires that Ziggy Stardust, the stage persona is being retired and not Bowie himself.

1975, Yes performed at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.

1975, Lead singer from Three Dog Night Chuck Negron was arrested at his Louisville hotel room on the opening night of the band’s tour and charged with possession of cocaine.

1976, Pete Townshend opens his Meher Baba Oceanic Centre with a week-long convention for his followers and gives away copies of the new Meher Baba tribute LP With Love. It features Pete’s “His Hands,” “Sleeping Dog,” and “Lantern Cabin,” a Pete vocal on “Meher” as well as a Billy Nicholls’ song “Without Your Love,” that will later be a solo hit for Roger.

1976, Brian Wilson played his first live show with The Beach Boys in seven years when they appeared at the Anaheim Stadium, California.

1977, Aerosmith appeared at Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at the Pavillon De Paris, Paris.

1979, James Taylor played at Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1980, Roxy Music appeared at Oberschwabenhalle, Ravensburg, Germany.

1981, bands performing on this date: Kraftwerk at the Hammersmith Odeon, London; Blue Oyster Cult at Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon; Van Halen at Cobo Arena, Detroit; Rush at the Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota; and Bruce Springsteen at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford.

1982, The Human League started a three week run at number one on the US singles charts with “Don’t You Want Me,” also a UK chart topper.

1983, Iron Maiden appeared at Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California.

1985, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the first of three sold out shows at Wembley Stadium in London.

1986, U2 crew member Greg Carroll was killed in a motorcycle accident in Dublin while running an errand for Bono. The song “One Tree Hill” on the band’s Joshua Tree album is dedicated to Carroll.

1996, AC/DC played the second of two nights at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain on their Ballbreaker world tour.

2001, American singer, songwriter Johnny Russell died aged 61. Wrote “Act Naturally” covered by The Beatles and Buck Owens. Jim Reeves, Jerry Garcia, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt all covered his songs.

Born on July 3: David Lynch, The Platters (1929);  Tommy Tedesco, session guitarist for Beach Boys, Everly Brothers, The Supremes, The Monkees, The Association, Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley, and more (1930); Paul Barrerre, Little Feat (1948); Johnnie Wilder, vocals, Heatwave (1949); Andy Fraser, Free, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (1952); Vince Clarke, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure (1960); and Kevin Hearn, Barenaked Ladies (1969)

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Today in Rock History – July 2

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1966, David Bowie and The Lower Third appeared at The Lion Hotel in Warrington, England, (they were paid £30 for the gig). Also appearing was The Powerhouse which featured Eric Clapton Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood and Paul Jones.

1967, Jeff Beck, Cream and John Mayall all appeared at London’s Saville Theatre.

1967,  Jimi Hendrix performed at the Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles, California.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared in concert at Digbeth Civic Hall in Birmingham, West Midlands, England.

1968, The Human Beinz, Gary Pucket & The Union Gap, plus The Beach Boys played at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the National Guard Armory, Auburn, Alabama.

1969, Working at Abbey Road Paul McCartney recorded “Her Majesty.” Then Paul, George, and Ringo record 15 takes of “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight.” John Lennon was absent, having been hospitalized in Golspie, Scotland, after a serious car accident a day earlier.

1969, Thunderclap Newman started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with the Pete Townshend produced track “Something In The Air.” The song was featured on the soundtrack for the movie, The Magic Christian. The the group included future Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch.

1969, Bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell quit the Jimi Hendrix Experience after completing the three-day Denver Pop Festival. Hendrix and drummer Mitch Mitchell would later team with bassist Billy Cox to form the short-lived Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, who played at the Woodstock Festival.

1970, The Who performed at Freedom Palace, Kansas City, Missouri.

1971, Queen appeared at Surrey College, England. This was the group’s first gig with the line-up of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon.

1971, The Grateful Dead play only one of two shows they did in the month of July, at the Fillmore West in their hometown of San Francisco, California.

1972, David Bowie appeared at the Rainbow Pavilion, Torquay, England.

1973, Roxy Music’s synthesizer player Brian Eno quit after personality clashes with the band’s singer Bryan Ferry.

1973, King Crimson played at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.

1974, Eric Clapton performed at the International Amphitheater, Chicago.

1975, The Rolling Stones played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1976, Brian Wilson rejoins the Beach Boys for the first time on stage since deciding he’d rather spend his life in bed. Aside from singing “In My Room” at the Anaheim, California, performance, he mostly sits staring at his keyboard.

1977, Bill Conti went to number one on the singles chart with “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme from the film Rocky.

1979, Aerosmith appeared at the Canadian National Exhibition Stadium, Toronto.

1979, Sony introduced the Walkman, the first portable audio cassette player. Over the next 30 years they sold over 385 million Walkmans in cassette, CD, mini-disc and digital file versions, and were the market leaders until the arrival of Apple’s iPod and other new digital devices.

1980, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart from The Grateful Dead were arrested on suspicion of starting a riot at the San Diego Sports Arena after they tried to interfere in a drug bust.

1981, Bruce Springsteen played the first of six nights at the new Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California.

1983, Rod Stewart started a three week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Baby Jane,” his sixth UK chart topper.

1988, Tracy Chapman started a three-week run at number one on the UK album chart with her self-titled debut LP. She was buoyed by her performance at the Nelson Mandela’s 70th Birthday Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium. The album was  also a chart topper in the US.

1991, Axl Rose caused a riot to break out during a Guns N’ Roses gig after leaping into the crowd to remove a camera from a fan at the Riverpoint Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights. Over 50 people were injured and 15 fans were arrested.

1999, R.E.M., Skunk Anansie, Barenaked Ladies, Blur, Blondie, Built To Spill, The Chemical Brothers, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Placebo, Suede and Wilco all appeared at the Oskilde Festival, Roskilde, Denmark.

2005, The world’s biggest music stars united in concerts around the world to put pressure on political leaders ahead of the G8 summit to address poverty in Africa. Concerts in ten cities, including London, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin, Johannesburg, Rome and Moscow played to hundreds of thousands of people. A TV audience of several hundred million watched the gigs. The London featured The Who, Madonna, U2, Coldplay, Sting, The Scissor Sisters, Keane, Paul McCartney and a Pink Floyd reunion.  Destiny’s Child, Jay-Z and Bon Jovi, Canada, Bryan Adams and Neil Young headlined in Philadelphia, while Bjork was featured in Tokyo, and Green Day played in Berlin.

Born on July 2: Tom Springfield, The Springfields (1936); Paul Williams, The Temptations (1940); Roy Brittan, E Street Band (1949); Johnny Colla, guitar, sax, Huey Lewis and the News (1952);  Pete Briquette,  The Boomtown Rats (1954); Mike Anger, The Blow Monkeys (1957); Rocky Gray, drummer, Evanescence (1974); and Daron Malakian, guitar System of a Down (1983)

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Today in Rock History – July 1

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1966, Janis Joplin Moves to a house in Lagunitas in the San Geronimo Valley, Marin County, California with members of Big Brother, their wives and girlfriends.

1967, The Association scored their second and last number one single with “Windy.”

1967, The Mama’s & The Papa’s performed at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Swan, Yardley, Birmingham, England.

1967, The Beatles started a 15-week run at number one on the album chart with Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the group’s 10th chart topping album. It was recorded between early December 1966 and mid-April 1967.

1968, James Brown played at the Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island.

1968, The Band released their debut album Music From Big Pink. The album, which features their first hit single “The Weight,” was recorded in studios in New York and Los Angeles in 1968. The group, originally known as The Hawks, became Bob Dylan’s backing band on his 1966 tour.

1968, John Lennon opens an exhibition of his drawings titled “You Are Here.”

1969, The Allman Brothers Band appear at the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee.

1969, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and family were involved in a car accident in Golspie, Scotland. Both John and Yoko needed hospital treatment. Lennon later had the car crushed into a cube and exhibited it on his lawn at Tittenhurst Park.

1969, Sam Phillips, the man who first recorded Elvis, sells his label Sun Records. Sun had released Elvis classics like “That’s All Right” and “Blue Moon of Kentucky.”

1970, Jimi Hendrix records for the first time in his New York studio Electric Ladyland.

1970, Casey Kasem’s syndicated American Top 40 radio show debuts in several markets around the U.S.

1971, Yes performed at San Antonio Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas.

1971, The Who’s “unpublicized” tour of the UK resumes at the Assembly Rooms in Worthing, England.

1972, Neil Diamond went to number one on the US singles chart with “Song Sung Blue,” his second chart topper. It went to number 14 in the UK.

1973, Slade and The Sensational Alex Harvey Band appeared at Earl’s Court London, tickets cost £1.00-£2.00 ($1.50 – $3.00.) Special trains ran form Brighton, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester to take fans to the show.

1973, Bob Dylan releases his soundtrack to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

1973, The Grateful Dead played at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California.

1973, Jethro Tull performed at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1974, Bob Marley & the Wailers release Burnin’.

1975, Ringo Starr divorces his wife, Maureen Cox.

1975, 10cc were at number one on the singles chart with “I’m Not In Love.” The instrumental break featured the repeated spoken phrase: “Be quiet, big boys don’t cry…”, which was uttered by Kathy Warren, the receptionist at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, Cheshire where the band recorded the track.

1976, Elton John played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1977, ZZ Top appeared at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu, Hawaii.

1977, During a North American tour, Pink Floyd played the first of four sold out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1978, The Rolling Stones performed at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio.

1979, Van Halen appeared at the  Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.

1980, Roxy Music performed at Rhine Neckar Halle, Heidelburg, Germany.

1981, Rushton Moreve, bassist with Steppenwolf, was killed in motorcycle accident in Santa Barbara, California, aged 32. He co-wrote their hit “Magic Carpet Ride” with lead singer John Kay. Moreve left the band in late 1968.

1983, A New Jersey based quintet calling themselves Bon Jovi were signed to Phonogram’s Mercury records.

1989, Lou Reed, Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, The Robert Cray Band, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Tanita Tikaram, Pixies, R.E.M., and Texas all appeared at the Rock Torhout Festival, Torhout, Belgium.

1995, DJ Wolfman Jack died of a heart attack. He was the master of ceremonies for the rock ‘n’ roll generation of the ’60s on radio, and later on television during the ’70s. He had a cameo in the film American Graffiti.

1995, R.E.M. The Cure, Therapy, Offspring, PJ Harvey, dEUS, Senser, Bodycount, Channel Zero, Jeff Buckley, Spearhead, Belly, Morphine and The Cranberries all appeared at the Rock Torhout Festival, Torhout, Belgium.

1999, Jamaican reggae singer Dennis Brown died aged 42. The official cause of his death was a collapsed lung. During his career, he recorded more than 75 albums and had the 1979 UK number 14 single “Money In My Pocket.” Bob Marley cited Brown as his favorite singer, naming him “The Crown Prince of Reggae.”

2005, Four Tops singer Renaldo “Obie” Benson died aged 69 in a Detroit hospital from lung cancer. He was diagnosed after having a leg amputated due to circulation problems. The Four Tops sold over 50 million records and had hits including “Reach Out (I’ll be There)” and “I Can’t Help Myself.” Benson also co-wrote “What’s Going On” which became a number two hit for Marvin Gaye.

2005,  R&B and soul singer-songwriter, as well as record producer Luther Vandross died at the age of 54 at the JFK Medical Centre in New Jersey, two years after suffering a major stroke. His “Never Too Much,” was a number one R&B hit, worked with Diana Ross, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey and David Bowie. Vandross had won four Grammys for his final album Dance With My Father.

2006, Roger Waters, Texas, Starsailor, The Who, Razorlight and Primal Scream all appeared at the two day Hyde Park Calling festival in London.

2009, A week after Michael Jackson’s death, The King Of Pop ruled the Top Ten of Billboard’s album chart. Atop the charts was Number Ones, followed by The Essential Michael Jackson in second. Thriller was third, and and Off The Wall was fourth. The Jackson 5’s Ultimate Collection held the fifth spot, Bad was number six, Dangerous was seventh, Greatest Hits – HIStory – Vol. 1 came in at eight and Michael’s Ultimate Collection occupied the ninth position. Collectively, Jackson’s solo albums sold 415,000 copies for the week, 58% of which were digital downloads. The week before his tragic death, his titles sold a combined 10,000 units.

Born on July 1: Willie Dixon (1915); Delaney Bramlett, Delaney & Bonnie(1939); Debbie Harry (1945); John Ford, The Strawbs (1948); Fred Schneider, B-52’s (1951); Dan Aykroyd (1952); Roddy Bottum, American singer, keyboards, Faith No More, Imperial Teen (1963);  Sufjan Stevens, American singer-songwriter, guitarist (1975)

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Today in Rock History – June 30

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Fleetwood Mac

1969, Fleetwood Mac, Pentangle and Duster Bennett all appeared at London’s Royal Albert Hall “Pop Proms.”

1969, King Crimson played at the Old Granary, Bristol, England.

1969, Pink Floyd performed a one hour show at the President’s Ball at the Top Rank Suite, in Cardiff, Wales.  It was presented by Llandaff Technical College. They were paid £100 ($150).

1971, Yes appeared at the Civic Center Music Hall, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

1972, Buddy Miles plays at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1973, David Bowie appeared at City Hall, Newcastle Upon Tyne

1973, George Harrison knocked Paul McCartney from the top of the US singles chart with “Give Me Love, Give Me Peace On Earth.” His second number one, and a top eight hit in the UK.

1974, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas.

1974, The Grateful Dead played at the Civic Center Arena in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1975, David Bowie begins filming The Man Who Fell to Earth.

1975, Cher married Greg Allman four days after her divorcing Sonny Bono, the couple split after ten days, followed by a three year on and off marriage.

1975, The Jackson Five announced that they were leaving Motown Records for Epic Records. The brothers were forced to change their name to The Jacksons since Motown owned the other name.

1976, Police raided the home of Neil Diamond searching for drugs, they found less than one ounce of marijuana.

1976, Stuart Goddard, (Adam Ant), placed the following ad in the classified section of the Melody Maker, “‘Beat on a bass, with the B-Sides.” Andy Warren answered the ad and the pair went on to form Adam and The Ants.

1977, Marvel Comics launched a comic book based on the rock group KISS.

1978, The Sex Pistols release “My Way,” as interpreted by Sid Vicious.

1978, host Martin Mull welcomes Jethro Tull, Robert Palmer, and Flo & Eddie on TV’s Midnight Special.

1980, The Who played at Veterans Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona.

1981, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

1984, Huey Lewis and the News went to number one on the US album chart with Sports.

1989, The Stone Roses played at Leeds Polytechnic in England. The gig almost didn’t take place after a security man wouldn’t let singer Ian Brown into the gig.

1990, New Kids On The Block started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Step By Step’, It was the group’s third US chart topper and a number two hit in the UK. Their album Step By Step also went to number one on the UK album chart.

1995, American soul singer Phyllis Hyman committed suicide by overdosing on pentobarbital and secobarbital in her New York City apartment aged 45. She was found hours before she was scheduled to perform at the Apollo Theatre, in New York.

2001, American guitarist and producer Chet Atkins died in Nashville aged 77. Recorded over 100 albums during his career, and produced records for Perry Como, Elvis Presley, Don Gibson, Jim Reeves and Waylon Jennings. He was a major influence on George Harrison and Mark Knopfler.

2001, Beach Boys member Al Jardine went to court in a bid to sue his former band mates, claiming he had been frozen out of the Beach Boys. The $4 million (£2.35 million) suit was filed against Mike Love, Brian Wilson, the Carl Wilson Trust, and Brother Records Incorporated in a New York Superior Court. In 1998 a US judge temporarily barred Jardine from performing under the name Beach Boys Family And Friends after legal action from Mike Love and Brother Records. Jardine lost the case in 2003.

2007, R.E.M. played a five-night series of shows at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre. Dubbed “working rehearsals” by the band, many songs from their forthcoming album Accelerate were debuted.

Born on June 30: Florence Ballard,  The Supremes (1943); Glenn Shorrock, singer-songwriter Little River Band (1944); Andy Scott, Sweet (1949); Stanley Clarke (1951); Adrian Wright, The Human League (1956);  Doug Sampson, Iron Maiden (1957); Yngwie Malmsteen, Swedish guitarist, songwriter (1963)

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Today in Rock History – June 29

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1968, A free concert was held in London’s Hyde Park with Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Tyrannosaurus Rex and Roy Harper. This afternoon concert was the first free festival to be held in Hyde Park. The concert was held to coincide with the release of Pink Floyd’s second album, A Saucerful of Secrets.

1968, The Jeff Beck Group appeared at the Boston Tea Party, Boston, Massachusetts.

1968, The Small Faces started a six week run at number one on the UK album chart with Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake.  It was a concept album with a round cover designed to look like a tobacco tin.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band at played at the Armory Building in Jacksonville, Florida.

1969, American soul singer Shorty Long drowned aged 29 after his boat capsized on the Detroit River in Michigan.  He had the 1968 US number eight single “Here Comes The Judge.” He acted as an MC for many of the Motown Revue shows and tours.

1969, The Jimi Hendrix Experience play their last concert together at the Denver Pop Festival in Mile High Stadium.

1969, Led Zeppelin, The Liverpool Scene and Mick Abraham’s Blodwyn Pig all played two shows (5:30 and 8:30pm) at The Royal Albert Hall, London, England. Tickets from 5 to 15 shillings.

1970, The Who appeared at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

1971,  Yes played at the Whiskey A Go-Go in Hollywood, California

1972,  The Rolling Stones performed at Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee.

1973, Ian Gilliam singer with Deep Purple quit the band at the end of a tour in Japan.

1974, Charles Aznavour was at number one on the UK singles chart with “She.” It was the French singer’s only UK chart topper. At the time it made Aznavour the oldest living male chart-topper in the UK charts, at fifty years old.

1974, Singer songwriter Gordon Lightfoot scored his only chart topping single with “Sundown.” Taken from the album of the same name, it was also number one on the US album charts in late June.

1974,  Neal Peart replaces John Rustey as Canadian group Rush’s drummer.

1975, In Oakland, Calif., Elton John joins the Doobie Brothers on stage to duet on “Listen to the Music.” Then when the Eagles try to play their set, John crashes their party to duet on another song.

Tim Buckley

1975, American singer songwriter Tim Buckley died of an overdose of heroin and morphine aged 28. He released nine albums including the 1972 release Greetings from L.A. Buckley is the father of singer songwriter Jeff Buckley.

1976, The city of Memphis names Elvis Presley Blvd. after its most famous resident.

1977, During a North American tour Fleetwood Mac appeared at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

1977, Pink Floyd appeared at The Spectrum, Philadelphia.

1978, Peter Frampton broke his arm and cracked several ribs when he was involved in a car crash in the Bahamas.

1978, David Bowie played the first of three nights on his Low/Heroes world tour at Earl’s Court in London, England.

1979, The New York Times prints an interview with Pete Townshend where he admits he has reservations about touring, but feels “fired up” about the new Who. On the same day The Kids Are Alright soundtrack is certified gold by the RIAA.

1979, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Lowell George died of a heart attack. The Little Feat front man was found dead at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. George joined Zappa’s Mothers of Invention as rhythm guitarist in 1968, but was kicked out due to recurring drug problems. He also played guitar on John Cale’s 1973 album Paris 1919, Harry Nilsson’s Son of Schmilsson album and Jackson Browne’s The Pretender.

1980, Led Zeppelin performed at Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland as part of a European tour.

1980, Roxy Music performed at Hemmerlein Halle, Nuremburg, Germany.

1981, Bob Dylan appeared at Earls Court, London.

1982, Eric Clapton played at the Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida.

1984, Bruce Springsteen kicked off the first leg of his Born in the USA tour with a three-night run at the Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. Springsteen would play a total of 156 shows ending on October 2, 1985 in Los Angeles.

1985, David Bowie and Mick Jagger recorded a version of the Martha Reeves and the Vandellas 1964 hit “Dancing In The Streets” for the  Live Aid concert. The single went on to become a number one UK hit. The original plan was to perform a track together live, with Bowie performing at Wembley Stadium, and Jagger at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, until it was realized that the satellite link-up would cause a half-second delay that would make this impossible unless either Bowie or Jagger mimed their contribution, something neither artist was willing to do.

1985, John Lennon’s 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V limousine, with psychedelic paintwork, sold for a record sum of $3,006,385, (£1,768,462) at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.

1991, Jason Donovan had his third UK number one single with “Any Dream Will Do,” a song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice for the 1968 musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Donovan was playing the lead role in a new London production of the musical.

1994, Oasis made their debut on BBC TV’s Top Of The Pops performing their new single “Shakermaker.”

1996, Record producer George Martin received a Knighthood, also music promoter Harvey Goldsmith became an MBE, which stands for Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. That is the “order of chivalry of British constitutional monarchy,” rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organizations and public service outside the Civil Service. Van Morrison received an OBE,  a post-nominal for Officer of the Most Excellent, a grade in the Order of the British Empire.

2002, American singer and actress Rosemary Clooney died of lung cancer. She had the 1954 UK number one single “This Ole House,” and appeared in the 1954 movie White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. Her nephew, George Clooney was a pallbearer at her funeral.

2004, Courtney Love was reprimanded by Los Angeles Judge Melissa Jackson for turning up five hours late to a hearing. Love pleaded guilty to a single charge of disorderly conduct and was given a discharge, on condition she paid the victim’s medical bills, joins a drug programme and stayed out of trouble.

Born on June 29: Roger Spear, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (1943); Little Eva (1945); Ian Paice, drums, Deep Purple (1948); Colin Hay, Men At Work (1953); Don Dokken, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, Dokken (1953); Greg Hetson, American singer, guitarist, Bad Religion, Circle Jerks, Black President, Redd Kross (1961); Bret McKenzie, New Zealand guitarist, producer, actor, Flight of the Conchords, The Black Seeds, Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra (1976); Nicole Scherzinger, American singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, The Pussycat Dolls, Eden’s Crush (1978);

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Today in Rock History – June 28

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1966, The Small Faces appeared live at the Marquee Club in Wardour Street, London. Admission cost $1.05

1967, Pink Floyd performed at The Dance Hall, Eel Pie Island Hotel, Twickenham, England.

1968,The Beatles were at Studio Two at Abbey Road studios, where they recorded “Good Night,” John Lennon’s lullaby for his 5-year-old son Julian. It was said to be inspired by Cole Porter’s “True Love.”   Ringo singing the lead vocal. It was completed after two more sessions in July, and appeared on the White Album.

1968, Ten Years After played at the Fillmore West, San Francisco.

1968, Pink Floyd released their second album A Saucerful Of Secrets in the UK. It is both the last Pink Floyd album on which Syd Barrett would appear, and the only studio album to which all five band members contributed.  That same day the band performed A Saucerful of Secrets for the program Release on BBCTV2. It would air the following evening.  That night, Floyd played for the Students Celebration Dance- The End Of It All Ball,  at the Music Hall in Shrewsbury, England.

1968, The Who performed at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles.

1968, Aretha Franklin appears on the cover of Time magazine.

1969, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Nice, John Mayall, Ten Years After, Taste, Liverpool Scene and Chicken Shack, Keef Hartley, Taste and Savoy Brown, all appeared at The Bath Festival of Blues in England, the DJ was John Peel. Over 12,000 fans attended.

1969, Pink Floyd played at the Winter Gardens Pavilion, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, England. Supporting acts were The Ken Birch Band and the Mike Slocombe Combo.

1969, Henry Mancini started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Love Theme from Romeo And Juliet.” The film’s love theme was used as the backing for “Our Tune” by DJ Simon Bates on his BBC Radio 1 show.

1969, Crosby, Stills & Nash release their self-titled debut album.

1970, Ten Years After performed at the Canadian National Exhibition Stadium, Toronto.

1971, Yes appeared at the Whiskey A Go-Go in Hollywood, California.

1972, Pink Floyd played the first of two nights at The Dome in Brighton, England. These were makeup shows for a concert performance at the same venue in January that had to be stopped in the middle of “Money” due to technical difficulties.

1972, Led Zeppelin performed at the Community Arena in Tucson, Arizona. Tickets cost $4 – $6 (£2.67 – £4.)

1973, The Searchers, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Herman’s Hermits, and Wayne Fontana appear at a revival show at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

1974, The Grateful Dead play at the Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

1975, The Eagles started a five-week run at number one on the US album chart with ‘One Of These Nights’.

1975, Wings went to number one on the UK charts with the album Venus And Mars, featuring the US chart topping single “Listen What The Man Said.”

1975, American singer songwriter Tim Buckley completed the last show of a tour in Dallas, Texas, playing to a sold-out crowd of 1,800 people. This was Buckley’s last ever show, he died the following day of a heroin and morphine overdose at age 28.

1975, Cher marries Gregg Allman.

1977, Elton John achieved a life long ambition when he became the Chairman of Watford Football Club.

1978, The Clash supported by The Specials appeared at Friars, Aylesbury, England.

1980, Roxy Music scored their second number one album with Flesh And Blood. It would return to the top spot again in August for another three weeks, in total spending 60 weeks on the albums chart in the United Kingdom. The album also peaked at number 35 in the United States and number ten in Australia.

1986, Wham! were at number one on the UK singles chart with their fourth and final UK chart topper “The Edge Of Heaven.” Also on this day Wham! played their farewell concert in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, London.

1997, Radiohead went to number one on the UK album chart with their third album OK Computer. The British group’s first self-produced album later appeared in many critics’ lists and listener polls for best album of the year, and also won a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance.

2005, 2 Pac featuring Elton John was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Ghetto Gospel.” It was written by Tupac Shakur and produced by Eminem. The song uses samples from the Elton John song “Indian Sunset” from his 1971 album Madman Across the Water.

2007, The Spice Girls confirmed they would reform for a world tour to take place in December 2007 and January 2008 with the original line-up, who had not performed on stage since Ginger Spice Geri Halliwell quit in May 1998. The 11 dates announced included a London show on December 15th, eight days after the first date in Los Angeles. Other dates included Cologne, Madrid Beijing, Hong Kong, Sydney and Cape Town. The tour was being put together by Simon Fuller, whose 19 company masterminded the group’s global success more than a decade earlier.

Born on this day: David Knights, Procol Harum (1945);  Steven J. Morse, Dixie Dregs, Deep Purple (1954); Clint Boon, English singer, keyboards, Inspiral Carpets, The Clint Boon Experience (1959);  Charlie Clouser, American keyboard player, songwriter, producer, Nine Inch Nails (1963);  Steve Williamson, English saxophonist, composer, Jazz Warriors (1964); Mark Stoermer,  The Killers (1977); Michael Crafter, Australian singer-songwriter, Confession, I Killed the Prom Queen, Carpathian, Bury Your Dead (1981)

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Today in Rock History – June 27

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1966, Pete Townshend and The Who’s co-manager Chris Stamp fly to New York City, the first trip by any member of The Who to America. Shortly after his arrival, Pete attends a luncheon for Herman’s Hermits who are beginning their 1966 U.S. tour. A reporter from Datebook magazine gets an interview from an irritable Pete, while he is photographed by Linda Eastman.”I don’t know why I’m here, at somebody else’s luncheon…Two of your lousy record companies haven’t been able to get us a hit in America. Without a hit record, we can’t get a visa to perform.” When a girl recognizes him and asks if Keith is there because her brother wanted Keith’s drumsticks, Pete chirps, “He’s not here. And if he were, I’m quite sure he wouldn’t give you his drumsticks.”

1967, Pink Floyd were in Studio 3, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, St. John Wood, London in recording sessions for Piper At The Gates of Dawn.

1968, Elvis Presley appeared on an NBC TV show that was billed as his “comeback special.” The show featured the king performing on a small, square stage, surrounded by a mostly female audience. Presley was outfitted in black leather and performed many of his early hits.

1968, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles recorded seven takes of “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” for the upcoming album The Beatles, better known as The White Album.

1969, During a North American tour Jimi Hendrix appeared at Boston Gardens, Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, The Doors performed at the Forum, Mexico City, Mexico.

1970, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, Canned Heat, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Airplane, Johnny Winter, Frank Zappa And The Mothers of Invention, Dr. John, The Moody Blues and Fairport Convention all appeared at the three-day Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in Bath, England.

1970, The Jackson Five started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “The Love You Save,” the group’s third chart topper of the year.

1970, Traffic appeared at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario,

1970, The Trans-Continental Pop Festival (better known as the Festival Express) set off. The tour was unique in that rather than flying to each city, most of the acts traveled on a chartered Canadian National train. The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers and, Buddy Guy Blues Band all traveled together on the train, playing shows in Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Calgary.

1970, Freddie Mercury made his live debut with Smile, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor’s group, at Truro City Hall, Cornwall, England.

1971, The Fillmore East in New York closed its doors. The final concert took place with The Allman Brothers Band, The J. Geils Band, Albert King, and special guests – Edgar Winter’s White Trash, Mountain, The Beach Boys, and Country Joe McDonald  in an invitation-only performance.

1976, The culmination of lengthy legal battle that began in 1973, John Lennon finally received his green card, granting him permanent residency in the US.

1980, John Bonham, drummer with Led Zeppelin collapsed on stage during a gig in Nuremberg, West Germany.

1981, Motorhead scored their only UK number one album with No Sleep Til Hammersmith. The live album was recorded at shows in Leeds and Newcastle during their Short, Sharp Pain In The Neck tour in 1981. The name of the tour was a reference to the injury sustained by Phil Taylor when he was dropped on his head during some after-show horseplay. Despite the title of the album, the London venue the Hammersmith Odeon was not played on the tour.

1981, The Who’s “Don’t Let Go The Coat” backed with “You” hits the US charts. It peaks at number 84 in Billboard, and number 77 in Cash Box.

1987, Madonna played the first date on the North American leg of her Who’s That Girl World Tour at the Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida. The 39 date tour supported her third studio album, True Blue, released in 1986, as well as the soundtrack to Who’s That Girl.

1992, Michael Jackson played the first night on his Dangerous World tour at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany. The tour consisted of 69 concerts to approximately 3.9 million fans across three continents. All profits made from the tour were donated to various charities including the Heal the World Foundation, Jackson’s main reason for conducting the tour.

1994, Aerosmith became the first major band to let fans download a full new track free from the Internet.

1997, Radiohead, Cast, The Bluetones, Manson, The Chemical Brothers, Ash, The Seahorses, Smashing Pumpkins, The Prodigy, Beck, Sheryl Crow, Sting, Dodgy, Travis, Ray Davies, Kula Shaker, Steve Winwood all appeared at the three-day Glastonbury Festival.

2002, One day before the scheduled first show of The Who’s 2002 US tour, bass player John Entwistle, died aged 57 in his hotel room in Las Vegas. The medical examiner determined that death was due to a heart attack induced by an undetermined amount of cocaine.

2003, R.E.M. David Gray, Suede, The Music, Mogwai, De La Soul, Echo and The Bunnymen, Inspiral Carpets and The Darkness all appeared at the UK Glastonbury Festival.

2008, Kings of Leon, The Fratellis, Editors, The Gossip, The Feeling, KT Tunstall, Kate Nash, Jay Z, Amy Winehouse, The Raconteurs, James Blunt, Crowded House, Seasick Steve, Martha Wainwright, The Verve, Leonard Cohen, The Ting Tings, Goldfrapp, Neil Diamond, Pete Doherty, Scouting for Girls, Mark Ronson, Duffy, The Zutons, Groove Armada, and John Mayer all appeared at three-day UK Glastonbury Festival.

2009, Black Eyed Peas went to number one on the US album charts with The E.N.D., the group’s fifth studio album. The album’s lead single, “Boom Boom Pow” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks, the second single, “I Gotta Feeling” spent 14 weeks at number one.

2015, Chris Squire, the bass guitarist and co-founder of 1970s British progressive rock band Yes, died at the age of 67 after battling leukemia. He was the only member to appear on each of their 21 studio albums, released from 1969 to 2014.

Born on June 27: Bruce Johnston (1944); Joey Covington, American drummer, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship (1945);  Camile Baudoin, American guitarist, The Radiators (1948); Gilson Lavis, drums, Chuck Berry, Squeeze, Jools Holland (1951); Lisa Germano, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, John Mellencamp, Simple Minds, David Bowie, Neil Finn (1958); Jeffrey Lee Pierce, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Gun Club (1958); Dawud Wharnsby, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer (1972); Leigh Nash, singer, Sixpence None The Richer (1976);  Jennifer Goodridge, American keyboard player, Your Enemies Friends (1980)

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