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Today in Rock History – October 23

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Jimi_Hendrix_Hey_Joe_11966, The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded their first single “Hey Joe,” at De Lane Lea studios in London. The earliest known commercial recording of the song is the late-1965 single by the Los Angeles garage band the The Leaves. The band then re-recorded the track and released it in 1966 as a follow-up single which became a hit. The Byrds also performed and recorded a version of the song.

1966, The Yardbirds, with new recruit Jimmy Page, perform at San Francisco’s Fillmore.

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

1969, Columbia Records announces it will take legal action to stop sales of Great White Wonder, the popular bootleg set of previously unreleased Bob Dylan material.

1969, The Who continue a six-night stand at the Fillmore East in New York accompanied by the Joshua Light Show.

1970, Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention perform at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, New York.

1970, The Who appear at Green’s Playhouse in Glasgow, Scotland.

1971, Yes played at the Empire Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1972, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1972, Filming begins on That’ll Be the Day, a musical starring David Essex, Ringo Starr, and Keith Moon.

1973, Genesis appeared at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1973,  “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight & The Pips reaches number one on the US singles chart.

1974, David Bowie  appeared at the Arie Crown Theater, Chicago

1975, Eric Clapton performed at Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan.

The Clash
The Clash

1976, The Clash appeared at The ICA in London.

1976, The Jam played an afternoon show at Soho Market in London.

1976, Chicago started a two week run at number one  on the singles chart with “If You Leave Me Now.” It was the group’s 18th Top 40 and first number one.  It went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance.

1976, Led Zeppelin made their US television debut on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, when footage from The Song Remains the Same movie of “Dazed and Confused” and “Black Dog” is aired on the popular weekly music show.

1977, AC/DC played at Town Hall, Middlesborough, England.

1978, Sid Vicious tries to commit suicide at Rikers Island in New York.  Vicious was waiting to be charged with murder following the stabbing death of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Sunrise Theater, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

1980, Mark David Chapman quit his security job and signed out for the last time. Instead of the usual “Chappy” he wrote “John Lennon.” Chapman would murder Lennon on December 8th outside his New York City home.

1982, Culture Club were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me,” the group’s first chart topper and the first of twelve UK Top 40 hits. The song became a major hit after their memorable debut performance on Top of the Pops, when they stood in for Shakin’ Stevens who was ill and not able to appear.

1984, Pete Townshend stages and performs at an anti-heroin benefit concert at The Moonlight in Hampstead. Making their live debut at this show is a new band called The Stone Roses. Their drummer, Alan “Reni” Wren, also sits in for Pete’s set.

1989, Nirvana played their first ever European show when they appeared at Newcastle’s Riverside Club in North East England. It was the first night of a 36 date European tour for the group who were sharing the bill with Tad.

1993, Meat Loaf had his first UK chart topper with “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That.”) It stayed at number one for seven weeks. A number one in twenty-eight countries and gave Meat Loaf his first US top hit.

1995, Def Leppard gave themselves a place in the Guinness book Of World Records, by playing three gigs in three continents in 24 hours. Tangier, London and Vancouver.

2002, A federal judge in St. Louis dismissed a lawsuit against Chuck Berry by Johnnie Johnson, a piano player and former collaborator who wanted royalties for more than 30 songs written between 1955 and 1966. The songs in question included “No Particular Place To Go,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Sweet Little Sixteen.” Johnson’s lawsuit argued that he and Berry were co-writers on many of the songs, but because Berry copyrighted them in his name alone, Johnson got none of the royalties. The judge ruled that too many years had passed to bring about a royalties suit.

2005, Arctic Monkeys scored their first UK number one single with “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor,” the Sheffield band’s debut single.

Born on October 23: Ellie Greenwich, songwriter (1940); Freddie Marsden, Gerry And The Pacemakers (1940); Greg Ridley, bass player, Spooky Tooth, Humble Pie (1943); Michael Burston, Motorhead (1949); Dwight Yoakam, (1956); Robert Trujillo, bass, songwriter Metallica, Black Label Society, Suicidal Tendencies (1964); Dale Crover, singer-songwriter, drummer, producer Melvins (1967);

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Song Of The Day – The Jukebox Series #63–Bachman-Turner Overdrive: “Let It Ride” b/w “Tramp” – Mercury 73457 (E7/F7)

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BTOLetItRide45BTOTramp45

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #63–Bachman-Turner Overdrive: “Let It Ride” b/w “Tramp” – Mercury 73457 (E7/F7)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

There’s something to be said about what I call “big dumb rock records.”  They’re the riff-crazy tracks that make you grab for your air guitar whilst rocking your head back and forth…oh, and don’t forget the obligatory pain-ridden facial expressions a la Carlos Santana.

We’ve all been there and I still go there today from time-to-time.  Anybody who’s been to a concert with me can attest to this fact.  It ain’t pretty…but it’s the rock abandon that tracks like today’s jukebox classic, “Let It Ride” conjures that makes it all happen. Simply put, the track is the consummate air guitar song and one the band’s most riff-heavy moments.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive consisted of Randy Bachman on guitar and vocals, Robbie Bachman on drums, Tim Bachman on guitar and Fred Turner on bass and vocals.  During the 1970s, the band sold well over seven million albums while propelling hard rock nuggets like “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” “Takin’ Care Of Business,” “Hey You” and “Roll On Down The Highway” up the charts.

The group’s leader, Randy Bachman was a founding member of The Guess Who, who charted with such classics as “These Eyes,” “Laughing, “No Time,” “American Woman,” “Share the Land” and “Albert Flasher.” After his departure from The Guess Who, Bachman recorded a solo album called Axe and then formed the band Brave Belt with Guess Who vocalist Chad Allan. Brave Belt went on to release two albums before Allan left due to creative differences. Bachman brought Fred Turner and his two brothers Tim roulette and Robbie into the lineup forming Bachman-Turner Overdrive. When the band shopped around their debut record, they were turned away by 25 record labels before signing with Mercury Records in 1973.

Today’s jukebox classic was certainly not one of their biggest hits, but “Let It Ride” encapsulated all that was good about larger-than-life, radio-ready rock riffage of the mid-1970s. With its meat and potatoes guitar riff combined with totally relatable of-the-people, blue collar lyrics and Fred Turner’s gargled with nails vocals, the song stretched itself right down the center lane of the pop culture highway and onto the charts settling in at number 23 in 1974.

“Let It Ride” was written by Randy Bachman and Fred Turner while the band was on tour in their van. While driving, several truckers boxed the band’s van significantly slowing them down. The band followed the truckers to the next rest stop with the intent to tell them off, however upon catching a glimpse of how big they were, they decided to “Let It Ride.”

The band would have to wait for their next single, “Takin’ Care Of Business” (also from BTO II) to firmly establish themselves as top-tier hitmakers, but it was “Let It Ride” that set the groundwork for their enduring popularity.

Randy Bachman left BTO in 1977 and went on to from Ironhorse who recorded two albums that went nowhere. Bachman has since taken on reunion tours with The Guess Who and BTO.

Today in Rock History – October 11

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1962, The Beatles made their first appearance on the UK singles chart with “Love Me Do,” which peaked at number four.

1964, The Who performed at Wolsey Hall, Cheshunt, England.

1967, The Doors appeared at Danbury High School, Danbury, Connecticut. Before the group came on stage, an announcer told the audience not to leave their seats during the performance or they would be escorted out of the venue. There was also a beauty pageant just prior to The Doors coming on stage.

1967, The Who performed at the Civic Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

1968, Jimi Hendrix played at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.

1968, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers appeared at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1968, during a Beatles recording session at Abbey Road, six saxophonists recorded parts for “Savoy Truffle” for the forthcoming White Album. George Harrison distorted the saxophones to get the desired sound.

1969, Yes appeared at Newcastle University, Newcastle, England.

1969, One hit wonders Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Je t’aime… Moi non plus.” Banned by many radio stations for its sexual content and sounds, it is the only French language chart topper in the UK.

1970, The Who performed at the Odeon Theatre in Birmingham, West Midlands, England.  Pete Townshend introduces the audience to one of the co-authors of “Dogs, Part Two” and brings his dog Towser on stage.

1971, Pink Floyd played at the Birmingham Town Hall in Birmingham, England.

1971, Kraftwerk performed at Karlsbergsaal, St. Ingbert Saar, Germany.

1972, The Who and opening act Golden Earring appeared at Festhalle in Frankfurt, Germany for the  beginning of their European tour. It is the band’s first concert in seven months, their longest time off the stage to that date. The as-yet unreleased songs “Long Live Rock” and “Relay” are premiered.

1972, David Bowie appeared at Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri.

1972, Genesis played at St. Georges Hall, Bradford, England.

1973, The Rolling Stones performed at Grugahalle, Essen, Germany.

1974, John Denver was at number one on the singles chart with “Annie’s Song.” The song was a tribute to his wife and was written in ten minutes while he was on a ski lift.

1975, Neil Sedaka started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “Bad Blood,” his third number one. The song featured Elton John on backing vocals.

1976, Rush appeared at Memorial Centre, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

grateful-dead-771977, The Grateful Dead performed at Lloyd Noble Center on the campus of the University of Oklahoma.

1978, Black Sabbath played at Stadhalle, Offenbach, Germany.

1980, The Police scored their second UK number one album with Zenyatta Mondatta.

1981, The Rolling Stones performed at the Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, USA, as part of a 50-date North American tour. 95 fans were arrested after trouble broke out at the venue. The tour became the largest grossing of 1981, with $50 (£31.25) million in ticket sales.

1981, The Kinks performed at the Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida.

1982, Van Halen played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1984, KISS appeared at the Gaumont Theatre, Ipswich, England.

1985, Dire Straits performed at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.

1986, Madonna was at number one on the UK singles chart with the title track from her album True Blue, her third UK chart topper. The title came from a favorite expression of her then husband Sean Penn and was a direct tribute to him

1990, Drummer Dave Grohl played his first gig with Nirvana when they appeared at the North Shore Surf Club in Olympia.

1991, Comedian, singer, and actor Redd Foxx suffered a heart attack during rehearsals for the television series The Royal Family.  He died later that evening at the hospital. Foxx was 68. It was an ironic end to man whose character on Sanford and Son often feigned having a heart attack.

1991, Apple Computers settled a lawsuit launched by The Beatles’ record company, Apple Corporation, over the name and logo rights. The computer company reportedly paid $29 million to settle the suit.

1997, The Verve started a four-week run at number one on the UK album chart with their third album Urban Hymns. The band’s best-selling release features “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” and “The Drugs Don’t Work.”

1999, Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee was released on $5000 (£3,125) bail after facing charges relating to a riot at a gig in North Carolina in 1997. Lee allegedly incited the crowd to attack a guard and had also poured a drink over his head.

2005, Freddie Mercury’s 1974 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow was offered for auction on eBay by his sister, Kashmira Cooke, who had inherited the car from him. The luxury vehicle had not appeared in public since 2002, when it had been used to transport the Bulsara family to the premiere of the Queen stage musical We Will Rock You. It came with a box of Kleenex Mansize tissues left in the car by Freddie.

2009, Barbra Streisand went to number one on the US album charts with Love Is the Answer. Streisand’s ninth number one album, making her the only artist to achieve that feat in America in five different decades.

2012, The Rolling Stones’ new single “Doom And Gloom”, was released, the first new studio recordings since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. “Doom And Gloom” was the lead single from the band’s most recent greatest hits collection, GRRR!

Born on October 11: Gary Mallaber, drums, Steve Miller Band (1946); Daryl Hall (1949); Andrew Woolfolk, sax, Earth Wind and Fire (1950); and Blair Cunningham, drums, Haircut 100 (1957); Scott Johnson, Gin Blossoms (1962); Alexander Hacke,  singer, guitarist, Einstürzende Neubauten (1965); Petra Hayden, The Decembrists (1971); Mike Smith, guitarist, Limp Bizkit (1971)

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Today in Rock History – October 9

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Beatles-Yesterday1965, The Beatles started a four week run at number one on the US singles chart with the Paul McCartney ballad “Yesterday,” giving the group their tenth chart topper. It was never released as a single in the UK until 1976.

1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at The Olympia Theatre in Paris.

1969, Yes appeared at Grugahalle, Essen, Germany.

1969, For the first time in the history of the show, the BBC’s Top Of The Pops producers refused to air the number one song, “Je T’aime… Moi Non Plus,” the erotic French language love song by Serge Gainsbourg and actress Jane Birkin. The song, an instrumental with the voices of Gainsbourg and Birkin apparently recorded in the act of love and superimposed over the top, caused such a stir in Britain that the original label, Fontana, dropped the record despite it being number two on the charts. A small record company, Major Minor, bought the rights and saw the song climb to the top, the first French language song to ever do so.

1970, Pink Floyd appeared at the Sales Pavilion Annex, Edmonton, Alberta.

1970,Track records releases The Who’s “See Me Feel Me” backed with “Overture From Tommy” in Britain. Derek Johnson in New Musical Express says, “I’ve tipped it for a hit because it deserves to be one, but so many fans now own the LP, that this extract must be expected to miss out on a lot of sales.“ The single fails to chart in the U.K. In the US, however,  Billboard reports that Decca Records’ “Who Month” promotion has been a huge success with retail sales of Who records “far above $4 million (£2.5 m). Decca’s vice president of marketing and creative services Tony Martell calls it “unparalleled in Decca’s history.”

1971, Rod Stewart was at number one for the second of five weeks on the US singles chart with “Maggie May.” It was first released as a B-side to “Reason To Believe.”  It was the first of six chart toppers for Stewart.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco

1971, The Who played a small, low-key show at the University of Surrey, Guildford, with guest John Sebastian joining in on harmonica on “Magic Bus,” making him the only outside musician to jam with The Who on stage. Backstage, the group celebrated John Entwistle’s 27th birthday.

1972, Led Zeppelin played at Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan.

1973, Elton John played at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

elvis-priscilla1973, Elvis Presley and Priscilla divorced after six years of marriage. Priscilla was awarded property, $725,000 (£453,100) cash and $4,200 (£2,625) a month support.

1974, Rush appeared on the TV show Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.

1975, Sean Taro Ono Lennon was born, the only child of John Lennon by Yoko Ono. John Lennon retired from music for five years to become a house-husband. Sean went on to become a singer, songwriter, musician and actor.

1976, The Sex Pistols signed to EMI records for £40,000 ($68,000). The contract was terminated three months later with the label stopping production of the “Anarchy In The UK” single and deleting it from its catalogue. EMI later issued a statement saying it felt unable to promote The Sex Pistols records in view of the adverse publicity generated over the last few months.

1976, One hit wonders Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band went to number one on the US singles chart with “A Fifth Of Beethoven.”

1977, Aerosmith appeared at The Spectrum, Philadelphia,Pennsylvania.

1977, Eric Clapton performed at the Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii.

1978, Belgian singer songwriter Jacques Brel died of cancer aged 49. Artists who recorded his songs include, Ray Charles, Scott Walker, Alex Harvey, Frank Sinatra, Dusty Springfield, David Bowie, Nina Simone and Terry Jacks.

1978, Bob Dylan appeared at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1980, Black Sabbath played at the Mecca Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1980, Bruce Springsteen performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1981, During a North American tour The Rolling Stones played the first of two nights at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The support act was Prince, who dressed in his controversial bikini briefs and trench coat ran off stage after 15 minutes due to the crowd booing and throwing beer cans at him.

1982, Rush played at Mecca Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1983, ZZ Top performed at The Summit, Houston, Texas.

1984, The Grateful Dead performed at the Centrum Arena in Worcester, Massachusetts.  The encore was “Revolution” in honor of John Lennon’s birthday.

john-lennon-walrus1985, Marking what would have been John Lennon’s 45th birthday, Yoko Ono formally opened the three and a half acre garden at the Strawberry Fields site in New York’s Central Park. The area was planted with trees, shrubs and flowers gathered from across the world and with a $1million (£625,000) donation from Yoko.

1993, Nirvana entered the US album chart at number one with In Utero, their third and final studio album. Kurt Cobain had originally wanted to name the album “I Hate Myself and I Want to Die.”

1999, The Eurythmics, George Michael, David Bowie, Robbie Williams and Bono all appeared at Netaid an event to raise money for global poverty. The concerts in London, New York and Geneva were all broadcast live on the Internet.

2007, The Imagine Peace Tower was officially unveiled in Kollafjorour Bay near Reykjavik, Iceland. The memorial to John Lennon from his widow, Yoko Ono, consists of a tall tower of light, projected from a white stone monument that has the words “Imagine Peace” carved into it in 24 languages.

2008, Paul McCartney, a vegetarian for 30 years, was said to be furious when he heard that a Liverpool branch of McDonald’s restaurant displayed his picture, accusing them of using it to attract customers. Sir Paul was quoted as saying “What sort of morons do McDonald’s think Beatles fans are?”

Born on October 9: John Lennon (1940); John Entwistle, The Who (1944); Nona Hendryx (1944); Jackson Browne (1948); Dennis Stratton,  singer, guitarist, Iron Maiden (1952); James Fearnley, accordion, The Pogues (1954); Al Jourgensen,  singer, Ministry, Revolting Cocks (1958); Thomas Wydler, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds (1959); and Terry Balsamo, guitarist, Limp Bizkit, Evanescence (1973)

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Today in Rock History – September 22

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great-society
The Great Society

1965, San Francisco band The Great Society, featuring Grace Slick, make their live debut at The Coffee Gallery, North Beach, California. The lineup featured Grace, her then-husband Jerry Slick on drums, his brother Darby Slick on guitar, David Miner on vocals and guitar, Bard DuPont on bass, and Peter van Gelder on flute, bass, and saxophone.

1967, The Doors appeared on the Murray the K show on WPIX-TV in New York City performing “People Are Strange” and “Light My Fire.”

1968  Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum gives its Beatles statues their fifth hair and clothes makeover in four years, in keeping with the lads’ taste for hippie fashions.

1968, The Amboy Dukes played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, A new weekly TV show,  The Music Scene aired on ABC for the first time. Stevie Wonder Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Tom Jones, Cass Elliot, James Brown, Janis Joplin, and Sly and the Family Stone were all booked to appear on the show.

1969, The Band released their self-titled album, which peaked at number nine on the US chart, and included “Rag Mama Rag,” “Up on Cripple Creek,” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” In 2009, the album was preserved into the National Recording Registry because the album was “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and reflects life in the United States.”

1970, The Rolling Stones performed at the Palais des Sport in Paris.

1971, David Crosby and Graham Nash appear at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio.

Bowie-ziggy-stardust1972, David Bowie kicked of the North American leg of his Ziggy Stardust world tour at the Music Hall in Cleveland, Ohio.

1973, The Rolling Stones scored their eighth No.1 album when “Goats Head Soup” started a two-week run at the top of the charts.

1974, The Sonny Bono Comedy Revue was shown for the first time on ABC-TV.

1976, Rush perform at The Dome Arena, Rochester, New York.

1977, Yes appear at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California.

1978, Jethro Tull released the live album Bursting Out. It was recorded at various locations during the European Heavy Horses tour in May and June 1978

1978, Black Sabbath plays at Selland Arena, Fresno, California.

1979, Gary Numan had his second and final UK number one single with “Cars.” Also on this day Gary Numan went to number one on the UK album chart with The Pleasure Principle.

1979, Jackson Browne, Chaka Khan, Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt and Tom Petty, appeared at Madison Square Garden, New York for two anti-nuclear benefit shows.

1979, Def Leppard had their first major live review when UK music weekly Melody Maker reviewed a gig the band had played in Wolverhampton.  The band had just released their debut 3-track single, and featured a 15 year-old drummer

1981, Composer Harry Warren died aged 88. He wrote over 800 songs including “I Only Have Eyes For You,” a hit for The Flamingos and Art Garfunkel, “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “That’s Amore,” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” Warren’s songs were featured in over 300 films.

1983, During a UK comeback tour The Everly Brothers appeared at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In the audience, Paul and Linda McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, and Mickey Dolenz.

1984, Echo And The Bunnymen, Spear Of Destiny, The Sisters Of Mercy, The Redskins, and The Chameleons all appeared at the first York Rock Festival, York, England.

1985, The first Farm Aid benefit concert was held before a crowd of 80,000 people at the Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. Organized by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young, the event had been spurred on by Bob Dylan’s comments at Live Aid earlier in that year that he hoped some of the money would help American farmers. The star studded line-up of country stars included Alabama, Hoyt Axton, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels Band, John Denver, Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, Vince Gill, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Roger Miller, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Willie Nelson, Charley Pride, Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Rogers.

1987, The Grateful Dead play at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1990, Nirvana played their biggest gig to date when they appeared at the Motor Sports International Garage in Seattle. Drummer Dave Grohl who would audition for the band in a few days time, was in the audience of 15,000 people.

1990, Garth Brooks album No Fences entered the US album chart. It went on to become the biggest selling country album of all time and sold over 13 million copies in the first five years of release.

1991, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Boston Garden in Boston.

2001, A Tribute to Heroes was aired commercial-free on most of the major US TV networks. The live program was organized to raise money following the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and New York’s World Trade Center. Neil Young, Tom Petty, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, U2, Limp Bizkit, Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam all performed. Manning the telephones to take pledges were celebrities including Jack Nicholson, Jim Carrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Goldie Hawn, Robin Williams, Meg Ryan, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kurt Russell, Adam Sandler and many more.

2004, Cat Stevens, who now goes by the name of Yusuf Islam, was escorted from a diverted transatlantic flight and refused entry into America by FBI agents. His name showed up on a US watch list after his United Airlines  had taken off from London. The flight landed in Maine where Islam, who was traveling with his 21-year-old daughter, was detained and questioned.

Born on September 22: David Coverdale, vocals, Whitesnake (1949); Richard Fairbrass, singer, Right Said Fred (1953); Debby Boone (1956); Nick Cave (1957); and Joan Jett (1960); Will Farquarson, guitar, Bastille (1983)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #40 – ? And The Mysterians: “96 Tears” b/w “I Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby” – Abkco 45 RPM Single 4020 (U4/V4)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #40 – ? And The Mysterians: “96 Tears” b/w “I Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby” – Abkco 45 RPM Single 4020 (U4/V4)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

Who are ? Mark and the Mysterians…that is the question.

? And The Mysterians formed in 1962 and was the first Latino Band to score a major hit record in the U.S. with today’s jukebox classic. They were purveyors of rough and raunchy garage rock from Bay City, Michigan, and their signature chart-topping “96 Tears” was released in 1966 selling over one million copies. The song was recorded in the living room of a house in Saginaw Michigan.

The original band consisted of Robert Balderama on guitar, his cousin Larry Borjas on bass, Robert Martinez on drums and his brother Rudy Martinez on vocals. Rudy Martinez went under the name “? Mark,” so as to remain anonymous and the rest of the group took their name from a Japanese sci-fi film called The Mysterians. Further adding to the intrigue, the band always wore dark shades.

As they were getting ready to record their first record, Robert Martinez was drafted and Borjas enlisted along with him. As a result, the band added Eddie Serrato on drums and Frank Lugo on bass. Crucially, they also recruited a fourteen year old piano player named Frank Rodriguez. It was this lineup that recorded their signature hit “96 Tears,” which was written by Rudy Martinez who supplied the sturdy Vox Continental organ riff that drives the song.

The song had its genesis from a poem Martinez wrote fourteen years earlier called “Too Many Teardrops.” It was originally intended to be the flip side of their debut single, however Rodriguez insisted that the track be the A-side. The single became a regional hit on the Pa-Go-Go record label and was later picked up for national distribution by Cameo-Parkway Records.

The song has been covered numerous times including a version by Garland Jeffries from his 1980 album Escape Artist that received significant FM radio airplay. It was also covered by David Byrne, The Cramps, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Aretha Franklin, Big Maybell, Thelma Houston, The Modern Lovers, Iggy Pop, the Music Explosion, the Residents, The Stranglers, Suicide, Tom Tom Club and Todd Rundgren’s Utopia.

Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby,” the flip of today’s jukebox single shares the exact same organ introduction as “96 Tears.” The song was released as a single in 1967 where it peaked at #56 on the Billboard Singles Chart. It has been covered by Frankie Valli And The Four Season, The Colourfield and Smash Mouth who brought the song to the #14 position of the singles charts in 1998.

The group splintered in the 1970s and the original lineup reformed with Robert Martinez replacing Serrato on drums, due to his condition suffering from multiple sclerosis. A concert was recorded in Dallas, Texas in 1984 and was released by the ROIR records as The Dallas Re-Union Tapes.

The group’s original Cameo-Parkway albums came under the ownership of uber-manager Allen Klein (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals) who let them go out of print and kept them off the market for many years, thinking they would become more valuable to him in the future. As a result, a different lineup of the group re-recorded the 96 Tears album for the Collectables record label in 1997.

After playing shows as part of Cave Stomp, a festival of reformed garage rock bands produced by New York promoter Jon Weiss, they released another live album.  The band recorded their final album of new material called More Action in 1999 before acrimoniously parting ways with Weiss over dissatisfaction with the record.

The band still performs from time to time and has been featured on Steve Van Zandt’s influential radio show Underground Garage.

Today in Rock History – September 20

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Led Zeppelin I1968, Led Zeppelin, still working under the name of The Yardbirds, started recording their debut album at Olympic Studios, Barnes, London, England. The album took only about 36 hours of studio time to complete at a cost of around £1,782 ($2851), with most of the tracks being recorded “live” in the studio with very few overdubs.

1968, The Amboy Dukes performed at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, Blind Faith started a two-week run at number one on the chart with their self-titled debut album. The only release from the Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker, and Rick Grech line-up also reached the top spot in the US. Their only UK gig was in Hyde Park, London on June 7, 1969.

1969, Pink Floyd performed two shows (9 and 11 PM) at Concertzaal de Jong, Groningen, The Netherlands, supported by Dream.

1969, During a meeting in London between John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Lennon announced he was leaving The Beatles.

1969, UK music paper Melody Maker readers poll results were published. Winners included Eric Clapton who won best musician, Bob Dylan best male singer and best album for Nashville Skyline. Best group went to The Beatles, Best single went to Simon and Garfunkel for “The Boxer” and Janis Joplin won Best female singer.

1970, The Rolling Stones live album Get Your Ya-Yas Out started a two-week run at number one on the UK album chart. It was sourced from shows recorded at New York’s Madison Square Garden on the 27th & 28th of November 1969, featuring “Jumpin Jack Flash,” “Honky Tonk Woman,” and “Midnight Rambler.”

1970, Jim Morrison of The Doors was acquitted on charges of lewd and lascivious behavior, but was found guilty of exposing himself during a concert at The Dinner Key Auditorium in Coconut Grove, Florida a year and a half earlier. At his trial at the Dade County Courthouse in Miami, Judge Goodman sentenced Morrison to six months hard labor and a $500 (£270) fine for public exposure, and sixty days hard labor for profanity. The sentence was appealed, but Morrison was never brought to trial, as he would die in Paris France on July 3, 1971.

1970, An event called the Berlin Airlift was held at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC, headlined by Grand Funk Railroad. Also on the bill, the Allman Brothers Band, Pacific Gas & Electric, Crow, and many local bands.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band performed at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC.

1972, Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested for the second time in four weeks for possession of cannabis at their Scottish farmhouse in Campbeltown.

1973, King Crimson played at the Capitol Theatre, Montreal, Canada.

1973, On his way to perform his second concert of the day, US singer, songwriter Jim Croce was killed with five others when his chartered aircraft hit a tree on take off in Louisiana.

1974, Aerosmith performed at Expo Hall in Tampa, Florida.

1975,  David Bowie notched his first numberone in the US with “Fame.”  The song was co-written with John Lennon.

1975, Janis Ian went to number one on the US album chart with Between The Lines.

1975, The Bay City Rollers made their US TV debut when they appeared on the Saturday Night Variety Show.

The Clash

1976, The first of the two night 100 Club Punk Festival, Oxford Street, London, featuring The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Sub Way Sect, Suzie (spelling on the poster), And The Banshees, The Buzzcocks, Vibrators and Stinky Toys.

1976, AC/DC played at the Konserthuset, Stockholm, Sweden.

1976, AC/DC released their third studio album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. The album has been certified 6x Platinum in the United States, which means that it has sold at least 6 million copies, becoming the third highest sold album by AC/DC in the US after Highway To Hell and Back In Black.

1977, Yes played at Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon.

1978, Bob Dylan appeared at the Boston Garden, Boston.

1980, Roger Daltrey’s second single from his McVicar LP hits the U.S. charts. The gentle ballad “Without Your Love,” a cover of a Billy Nicholls’ song from Pete’s Meher Baba tribute LP With Love, becomes Roger’s biggest solo hit in the U.S. peaking at number 20 in Billboard and number 23 in Cash Box. The flip side is “Escape Part 2.”

1980, Queen started a five-week run at number one on the album chart with The Game, the group’s only US chart topping album.

1982, The Grateful Dead performed at Madison Square Garden in New York.

1994, The Dave Matthews Band released Under the Table and Dreaming.  The album featured their first commercial hits “What Would You Say,” “Satellite,” and “Ants Marching.” The album was dedicated to Matthews’ older sister Anne, who was killed by her husband in 1994 in a murder-suicide.

2005, Canadian JD Fortune, beat two other finalists to become the new lead singer with INXS after a worldwide search to replace the late Michael Hutchence. INXS held auditions in six continents as part of a reality TV series.

Born on this day: Bobby Nunn, singer, The Coasters (1925); Michael Oldroyd, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (1946); Chuck Panozza, John Panozzo, Styx (1949); Alannah Currie, vocals, sax, The Thompson Twins (1959) Ben Shepherd, Soundgarden (1968)

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Today in Rock History – September 19th

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1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival scored their only number one single with “Bad Moon Rising” Also on this day the group started a four-week run at number one on the album chart with Green River.

1969, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young performed at the Fillmore East in New York.

1969, Child, featuring Bruce Springsteen played the first of two nights at the Free University, Richmond, Virginia.

1969, Pink Floyd played at the Grote Zaal, De Doelen, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

1970, The first UK Glastonbury Festival took place featuring Marc Bolan, Ian Anderson, Keith Christmas, Quintessence, Amazing Blondel and Sam Apple Pie.

1970, Mott the Hoople played at Liverpool Stadium in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.

1970, Diana Ross started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

1970, The Stooges,  MC, and  Alice Cooper appeared at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York.

1972, Badfinger appeared at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1973, Genesis played at The Olympia Theatre, Paris.

1973, Country rock singer, songwriter 26-year-old Gram Parsons, formerly of The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, died under mysterious conditions in Joshua Tree, California. His death was attributed to heart failure but later was officially announced as a drug overdose. His coffin was stolen by two of his associates, manager Phil Kaufman and Michael Martin, a former roadie for The Byrds, and was taken to Cap Rock in Joshua Tree National Park in California, where it was set alight, in accordance to Parson’s wishes. The two were later arrested by police. Since there was no law against stealing a dead body, they were only fined $750 (£469) for stealing the coffin and were not prosecuted for leaving his charred remains in the desert. Parsons’s body was eventually buried in Garden of Memories Cemetery in Metairie, Louisiana.

1973, The Rolling Stones perform at the Odeon Theatre, Birmingham, England.

1974, KISS appeared at the Electric Ballroom, Atlanta, Georgia.

1975, Queen signed a management deal with Elton John’s manager John Reid.

1976,  Readers of The New York Times open their papers today to discover a full-page ad placed by promoter Sid Bernstein asking the Beatles to reunite. Bernstein had organized the Beatles shows at Shea Stadium in the mid-’60s. But his intentions are honorable. He asks the band to do it as a “symbol of hope.”

1977, Rush play at the Paramount Theatre, Portland, Maine.

1978, Neil Young performs at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1979, The No Nukes concert was held at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Performers included Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, The Doobie Brothers, Poco, Tom Petty, Carly Simon, James Taylor and Bruce Springsteen.

1980, Rush appeared at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1981, Simon and Garfunkel reunited for a concert in New York’s Central Park. Over 400,000 fans attend the show. The performance was recorded for a record and video release.

1981, The Rolling Stones album Tattoo You started a nine-week run at number one on the US chart, the band’s ninth chart topper.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at the Allentown Fairgrounds, Allentown , Pennsylvania.

1985, Bruce Springsteen performed at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, Oakland, California.

1987, The Grateful Dead performed at Madison Square Garden, New York.

1992, Radiohead filmed the video for their new single “Creep” during a show at the Venue, in Oxford, England.

1993, Pearl Jam released their second studio album Vs. The album set the record for the most copies of an album sold in its first week, a record it held for five years, despite the fact that the group declined to produce music videos for any of the album’s singles.

2008, American drummer Earl Palmer died. Worked with The Beach Boys, Little Richard, Frank Sinatra, Ike And Tina Turner, The Monkees, Fats Domino, Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, The Righteous Brothers, Randy Newman, Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, Tim Buckley, Little Feat and Elvis Costello.

Born on this day: Brian Epstein, Beatles manager (1934); Paul Williams (1940); Lee Dorman, Iron Butterfly (1941);  Mamma Cass Elliot (1943); David Bromberg (1945); Lol Creme,  10cc,  Godley And Creme (1947); Lesley Hornby aka Twiggy(1949); and Daniel Lanois, producer, singer (1951)

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Today in Rock History – September 16th

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are you experienced1967, Jimi Hendrix’s debut LP, Are You Experienced? entered the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, where it stayed for 106 weeks, including 77 weeks in the Top 40. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 15 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and two years later it was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in the United States.

1967, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles recorded 11 takes of “Your Mother Should Know,” giving the song a stronger beat, but this version of the song was discarded in favor of the original recording.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Mercer University, Macon, Georgia.

1970, Led Zeppelin won “Best Group” in the Melody Maker readers Poll. This was the first time in eight years that The Beatles hadn’t won in that category.

1970, Jimi Hendrix joined Eric Burdon & War onstage to jam with them at Ronnie Scott’s Club in London which would be Hendrix’s final public appearance.

1971, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at Honolulu Civic Auditorium. Tickets cost $5.00. The Honolulu Star Bulletin wrote, “The real irony of Led Zeppelin’s two hour performance last night was that they played their own review in their last number, “Communication Breakdown.” The show itself was marred by a generally sloppy performance on the part of the group, rather noisy behavior on the part of some of the 4,000 people in attendance, and a hot and sweaty atmosphere on the part of the good old poorly ventilated Civic Auditorium. The music was limp and uneven during all but a small part of the evening.”

1972, Rod Stewart had his second UK No.1 album with Never A Dull Moment.

1972, The Grateful Dead performed at the Music Hall in Boston, Massachusetts.

1972, Three Dog Night scored their third No.1 single with “Black and White.”

1972, Wishbone Ash, Family, Steppenwolf, John Kay Band, Slade, Uriah Heep, Roy Wood and Wizzard, Wild Angels, Glencoe, Sunshine and Cold Comfort Farm all appeared at the Buxton Festival in Derbyshire, England.

1973, Genesis performed at Colston Hall, Bristol, England.

1974, Blue Oyster Cult played at the Paramount Theatre in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Supporting acts were KISS and Rush.

1976, AC/DC appeared at Rhein-Ruhr-Halle, Duisburg, Germany.

Marc Bolan of T. Rex

1977, 29-year-old former T Rex singer Marc Bolan was killed instantly when the car driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, left the road and hit a tree in Barnes, London. Miss Jones broke her jaw in the accident. The couple were on the way to Bolan’s home in Richmond after a night out at a Mayfair restaurant. A local man who witnessed the crash said, “When I arrived a girl was lying on the hood and a man with long dark curly hair was stretched out in the road. There was a hell of a mess.”

1978, Boston went to No.1 on the album chart with Don’t Look Back.

1978, During a UK tour Blondie played two shows at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, with guests The Boyfriends.

1979, The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” was released. While it was not the first single to feature rapping, it is generally considered to be the song that first popularized hip hop in the United States and around the world. The song’s opening lyric “I said a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie to the hip hip hop,” is world-renowned.

1979, The Who played at Madison Square Garden in New York.

1980, Van Halen appeared at McKale Memorial Center, Tucson, Arizona.

1981, The Kinks performed at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1989, U2 jammed with B.B. King on a boat rented for the blues legends 64th birthday in Sydney Harbour, Sydney, Australia.

1996, Pearl Jam played the first night on their No Code tour at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. Because of the band’s refusal to play in Ticketmaster’s venue areas, they were forced to use alternate ticketing companies for the shows, which fans complained were to be out-of-the-way and hard to get to.

1998, At a Sotheby’s auction a notebook belonging to former Beatles roadie Mal Evans containing the lyrics to “Hey Jude” sold for £111,500 $178,400,) a two-tone denim jacket belonging to John Lennon went for £9,200 ($14720,) and the Union Jack dress worn by Spice Girl Ginger Spice sold for £41,320 ($66,110.)

2006, Bob Dylan was at No.1 on the US album chart with Modern Times. Entering the U.S. charts at No.1, making it Dylan’s first album to reach that position since 1976’s Desire, 30 years prior. At 65, Dylan became the oldest living musician to top the Billboard albums chart. (85 year-old Tony Bennett broke this record in 2011 with his Duets album). The record also reached number one in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.

2008, Norman Whitfield died in Los Angeles, California from diabetes and other illnesses. The Motown songwriter and producer collaborated with Barrett Strong on such hits as “I Heard It through the Grapevine,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” “Cloud Nine,” “War,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” and “Car Wash.”

2009, Mary Travers from Folk trio Peter, Paul And Mary, passed away after suffering from leukemia for several years. She was 72.

2013, A souvenir booklet from the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival signed by Jimi Hendrix fetched $6,500 (£4060) on eBay. The artifact also included autographs from three members of the Mamas and Papas.

Born on this day: B.B. King (1925); Joe Butler, The Lovin Spoonful (1941);  Kenny Jones, Small Faces,  The Who (1941); Bernie Calvert, bass, The Hollies (1942); David Bellamy, Bellamy Brothers (1950); Ron Blair, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1952); Richard Marx, singer, songwriter (1963); and Tramar Lacel Dillard, aka Flo Rida (1979)

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Today in Rock History – September 13

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Beatles-Yesterday1965, The Paul McCartney song “Yesterday” was released as a Beatles single.

1967, The Beatles formed an electronics company called Fiftyshapes, Ltd. appointing John Alexis Mardas (Magic Alex) to be the company’s director. Alex claimed he could build a 72-track tape machine, instead of the 4-track at Abbey Road (this never materialized). One of his more outrageous plans was to replace the acoustic baffles around Ringo Starr’s drums with an invisible sonic force field. George Harrison later said that employing Mardas was “the biggest disaster of all time.”

1968, Procol Harum performed at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Pink Floyd played at Mothers, Erdington, Birmingham, England.

1968, During a North American tour The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at the Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California.

1969, This was the first day of the three-day Rugby Bag Blues Festival in Warwickshire, England with Pink Floyd, The Nice, Taste, Free, Third Ear Band, Ralph McTell, Roy Harper, King Crimson, The Strawbs, Edgar Broughton, Spirit of John Morganand John Martyn.

1969, John and Yoko flew to Canada with the Plastic Ono Band to perform at the Rock & Roll Revival Show in Toronto, Canada. The band members Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann and drummer Alan White were put together so late that they had to rehearse on the plane from England. Also making an appearance at the concert were Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, Bo Diddley, The Doors, Chicago, and Alice Cooper. Lennon later released his performance as the Live Peace in Toronto 1969 album.

1970, The Who performed at Stadthalle, Offenbach, Germany.

1972, Pink Floyd appeared at Henry Levitt Arena in Wichita, Kansas, during their North American tour. The set included “Dark Side of the Moon,” which would not be officially released until 1973.

1973, The Rolling Stones played at City Hall, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England.

bowie_dd1974, David Bowie’s “Diamond Dogs” tour stops at the Convention Center in Tuscon, Arizona.  His band includes: Mike Garson on piano and mellotron, Carlos Alomar, guitar, Earl Slick, lead guitar, Doug Raunch, bass, Greg Enrico, drums, Pablo Rosario, percussion, David Sanborn, alto sax, flute, Richard Grando, baritone sax, flute, Michael Kamen, electric piano, moog, and oboe, plus backing vocalists.

1975, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, New Jersey.

1976, Electric Light Orchestra played at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1977, Rush performed at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada.

1978, The Grateful Dead performed a 33-minute soundcheck at the Gizah Sound and Light Theatre, in Cairo, Egypt.  The instrumental Ollin Arrageed type jams, in advance of their three night engagement at the Giza plateau, took place at the footsteps of the great pyramids of Egypt.

1980, Jackson Browne scored his only chart topping album with Hold Out.

1984, U2 played the first of five nights at the Sports And Entertainment in Melbourne, Australia during their Unforgettable Fire world tour.

1985, “We Are The World” won Best Group Video and the Viewer’s Choice at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York. Don Henley’s “The Boys Of Summer” video won four trophies, including Best Video. Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire” takes the prize for Best Male Video and Tina Turner won Best Female Video for “What’s Love Got To Do With It.”

1986, Berlin went to number one on the US singles chart with the Giorgio Moroder written and produced “Take My Breath Away.” On the B-side was The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin.” Both songs were featured in the film Top Gun.

1986, The Communards were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” which had been a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in 1975, and later a hit for Thelma Houston.

1991, Geffen Records threw a party to launch Nirvana’s single “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The band ended up being thrown out of their own party after starting a food fight.

1996, American rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur died after being shot six days earlier when he was driving through Las Vegas. 13 bullets were fired into his BMW. The incident was blamed on East and West Coast Gang wars. Shakur was a convicted sex offender, guilty of sexual abuse. After serving eleven months of his sentence he was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion “Suge” Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records.

1997, The Verve scored their first and only UK number one single with “The Drugs Don’t Work,” taken from their third album, Urban Hymns. The track became the band’s most successful single in the United Kingdom.

2005, The home where Jimi Hendrix grew up in Seattle was saved from demolition after a new location was agreed at the last minute. The James Marshall Hendrix Foundation and the City of Seattle agreed to renovate the building into a community center opposite the cemetery where the guitarist was buried in 1970.

Born on this day:  Dave Quincy, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (1939); David Clayton-Thomas, Blood Sweat & Tears (1941); Peter Cetera, Chicago  (1944);  Steve Gaines, Lynyrd Skynyrd (1949); Randy Jones, Village People (1952); Steven John Kilbey,  singer, bass The Church (1954); Stephen Perkins, Jane’s Addiction, Porno For Pyros (1967); Joe Rooney, guitarist, Rascal Flatts (1975)

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