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Today in Rock History – September 27

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Beach_Boys_070.jpg1964, The Beach Boys made their TV debut on The Ed Sullivan Show on US TV where they performed “I Get Around” and “Wendy.”

1966, The Who’s managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp  attend a Jimi Hendrix performance at the Scotch of St. James Club. Chandler has heard about their Track Records’ startup (Hendrix originally wanted to sign with Decca because The Who were on Decca in the US.) After hearing Hendrix play, Lambert and Stamp try to talk him into letting them be his managers but Chandler, naturally, refuses so they sign Hendrix as their first act for Track

1967,  The Beatles recorded various parts for the new John Lennon song “I Am The Walrus” and the new Paul McCartney song “Fool On The Hill.”

1968, The Velvet Underground performed at the Boston Tea Party in Boston.  The support act was Fire and Ice.

1968, Pink Floyd appeared at the Queens Hall in Dunoon, Scotland. Due to bad weather all the ferries to Dunoon were cancelled, so Pink Floyd hired their own boat from Gourock and risked the rough seas to make the crossing to Dunoon to appear in front of 400 fans.

1969, Eric Burdon & War, along with Mountain, performed at the Eastown Theater in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Piedmont Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.

1970, The Rolling Stones appeared at Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria.

1970, Pink Floyd performed two shows (6 pm and 9 pm) at the Fillmore East in New York.  Setlist for both shows: Astronomy Domine, Green Is the Colour, Careful With That Axe Eugene, Fat Old Sun, Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun,  A Saucerful of Secrets.  The encore was Atom Heart Mother with brass and choir.

1971, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Shiei Taikukan Hall in Hiroshima, Japan.

1972, Yes played at the Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia.

1972, Rory Storm, singer from the British ’60s group Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, died aged 32 after taking an overdose of sleeping pills in a suicide pact with his mother. Ringo Starr played drums with Storm before joining The Beatles.

1972, The Grateful Dead played at Stanley Theatre in Jersey City, New Jersey.

1973, Rolling Stone announces that guitarist Carlos Santana has added the name “Devadip” since becoming a disciple of Sri Chinmoy. The name means “the Lamp of the Light Supreme.”

1974, Roxy Music performs at Trentham Gardens, Stoke, England.

ZZ-Top1975,  ZZ Top plays at the Palace Theatre, Albany, New York.

1976, Hawkwind performed at Colston Hall, Bristol, England.

1977, Yes appears at the Aladdin Theater, Las Vegas.

1978, Eric Clapton sponsored a West Bromwich Albion UEFA cup-tie against Galatasarey of Turkey. After the game, Eric presented each player with a gold copy of his latest album Slowhand.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.

1979, Scottish guitarist Jimmy McCullough died from a heroin overdose in his apartment in Maida Vale, London, aged 26. He was a member of Stone The Crows, Thunderclap Newman, and Wings (1974 to 1977). When “Something in the Air” by Thunderclap Newman went to number one in 1969 it made McCulloch the youngest guitarist to ever play on a chart topping single, he was sixteen years old at the time.

1980, Rush performed at the Cape Cod Coliseum, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.

1980, David Bowie scored his fourth UK number one album with Scary Monsters And Supercreeps.

1981, The Rolling Stones played at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at the CNE Coliseum, Toronto.

1983, Black Sabbath performed at Hemmerleinhalle, Neunkirchen, Germany.

1986, Metallica bass player Cliff Burton was crushed to death after the bands tour bus crashed between Stockholm and Copenhagen. During a European tour, members from the band drew cards for the most comfortable bunk on the tour bus, Burton had won the game with an Ace of Spades and was asleep when the tour bus ran over a patch of black ice and skidded off of the road. He was thrown through the window of the bus, which fell on top of him.

1986, The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout” re-entered the US singles chart over twenty-five years after it first appeared, after the song was featured in the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

1998, The Manic Street Preachers scored their first UK number one album with their fifth release This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours.

2000, U2 played a show from the rooftop of The Clarence Hotel in Dublin, which they own. Over 4,000 fans gathered on the streets below.

2004, Legendary record producer Phil Spector was formally charged with murder in the February 3rd, 2003 shooting of actress Lana Clarkson. He was convicted in April, 2009 and sentenced to nineteen years to life in the California State prison system.

2008, Pink Floyd’s manager Bryan Morrison died after spending over two years in a coma. Morrison suffered severe brain injuries in a polo accident at the Royal Berkshire Polo Club, England in 2006, and never recovered. He also managed The Pretty Things, and was a music publisher for Syd Barrett, The Bee Gees, Elton John, The Jam, T-Rex and Wham!

2011, Tony Bennett became the oldest living person to top the US album chart when the 85-year-old’s Duets II album went to number one. The record, which featured collaborations with Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga, was also his first US chart topper in his 60 year career. The previous oldest performer to top the chart was Bob Dylan in 2009 with Together Through Life. At the time he was 67-years old.

Born on September 27: Randy Bachman (1943); Marvin Lee Aday, aka Meat Loaf  (1947); Greg Ham, Men At Work (1953); Robbie Shakespeare, session bass player (1953); Shaun Cassidy (1958); Stephan Jenkins, Third Eye Blind (1966); Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., aka Lil Wayne (1982);  Avril Lavigne (1984)

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Today in Rock History – September 23

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rolling-stones-19661966, The Rolling Stones 66 12-date UK tour kicked off at the Royal Albert Hall London. Supported by The Yardbirds, Ike and Tina Turner, and Peter Jay and the New Jaywalkers. Both Keith Moon and John Entwistle from The Who were in the audience.

1967,  The Mothers Of Invention appeared at the Royal Albert Hall London making their UK live debut

1967, The Box Tops started a four week run at No.1 on the singles chart with “The Letter.” The record went on to sell over four million copies and receive two Grammy nominations. It was also a Top Ten hit for Joe Cocker in 1970.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at the Corn Exchange in Chelmsford, Essex, England.

1968, Working on new songs for their forthcoming White Album, The Beatles recorded a new John Lennon song “Happiness Is A Warm Gun In Your Hand”,  theworking title of “Happiness Is A Warm Gun.” The title came from the cover of a gun magazine that producer George Martin showed Lennon. Jim Morrison from The Doors came to visit The Beatles in the studio and watched them recording.

1969, The Northern Star newspaper of Northern Illinois University ran a story claiming that Paul McCartney had been killed in a car crash in 1966 and had been replaced by a look-a-like. Russell Gibb of WKNR-FM in Detroit picked up on the claim and the story went worldwide. By late October 1969 the hoax was so well entrenched, that McCartney came out of seclusion at his Scottish farm to deny the story. When McCartney was asked to comment by a reporter, he replied, “Do I look dead? I’m as fit as a fiddle.”

1970, Mick Jagger met Bianca Macias for the first time after a Stones concert at the Paris Olympia. The couple later married.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Fillmore East, New York.

Led-Zeppelin-19711971, Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at The Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan.

1972, Mott the Hoople performed at Liverpool Stadium in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.

1973, Genesis played at Stadttheater, Osnabrück, Germany.

1974, Robbie McIntosh, a founding member of the Average White Band, died of a heroin overdose at a Hollywood party. He inhaled a white powder thought to be cocaine but was actually pure heroin. AWB scored the No.1 single “Pick up the Pieces,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1975.

1975, Hawkwind appeared at the Opera, Reims, France.

1976, AC/DC played at the Musikhalle, Hamburg, Germany.

1976, The Grateful Dead performed at Cameron Indoor Stadium, on the campus of Duke University, a gym better known for the basketball played there, than as a music venue.

1977, Yes played at The Forum, Inglewood, California.

1978, 10cc had their third and final UK No.1 single with “Dreadlock Holiday.” The lyrics, about a white man lost in Jamaica, were based on a true event that happened to Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward and Eric Stewart from 10cc in Barbados.

1978, AC/DC played at the Uptown Theater, Kansas City, Missouri.

1978, Black Sabbath appeared at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena, Anaheim, California.

1979, Van Halen performed at the Convention Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

1980, Bob Marley collapsed on stage during a concert at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Marley had collapsed in New York’s Central Park while jogging, two days before and was told to immediately cancel the US leg, but flew to Pittsburgh to perform one final performance. This was the last time Marley ever appeared on stage performing, Marley died of cancer in May of 1981.

1981, Blue Oyster Cult played at the Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse, New York.

1982, Roxy Music appeared at Wembley Arena, London.

1983, Rush performed Radio City Music Hall, New York

1997, The Rolling Stones kicked off the North American leg of their Bridges To Babylon tour playing the first of two nights at Soldier Field in Chicago.

2006, Neil Young was named artist of the year at the Americana Honors and Awards at the fifth annual event in Nashville, Tennessee. The 60-year-old singer-songwriter released the protest album Living With War that year.

Born on September 23: John Coltrane (1926); Mighty Joe Young (1927); Ray Charles (1930); Hilly Cristal, owner CBGB’s (1931); Roy Buchanan (1939); Julio Iglesias (1943); John Banks, The Merseybeats, (1943); and Steve Boone, The Lovin’ Spoonful (1943); Ron Bushy, drums, Iron Butterfly (1945); Dan Toler, Great Southern, Allman Brothers (1948); and Bruce Springsteen (1949)

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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 18th

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1968,  The Beatles recorded 20 takes of “Birthday” while working at Abbey Road studios on new songs for their forthcoming White Album Roadie Mal Evans added handclaps, and Yoko Ono and Pattie Harrison contributed backing vocals on the track.

1968,  The Doors film a six-song set for Danish Radio Television  at TV-Byen in Gladsaxe, near Copenhagen, Denmark. The program is simply called “The Doors” but it’s come to be known as the Danish Television Special. Curiously, rather than perform “Hello, I Love You” after “Texas Radio” as they had been doing in concert for much of the year, the band chooses instead to perform “Love Me Two Times.” The special was broadcast on October 30, 1968.

1969, King Crimson performed at Penthouse, Scarborough, England.

1970, Jimi Hendrix was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Mary Abbot’s Hospital in London at the age of 27 after choking on his own vomit. Hendrix left the message “I need help bad man,” on his managers answer phone earlier that night. Rumors and conspiracy theories grew up around Hendrix’s death. Eric Burdon claimed Jimi had committed suicide, but that’s contradicted by reports that he was in a good frame of mind. In 2009, a former Animals roadie published a book claiming that Jimi’s manager had admitted to him that he arranged the murder of Hendrix, since the guitarist wanted out of his contract.

1970, Alice Cooper performed at Rainy Daze in Chesterfield, Missouri.

1970, Santana, Country Joe McDonald, and Bread appeared at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1971, The Who scored their first and only number one album with Who’s Next, the bands sixth release, featuring “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

1971, Pink Floyd play the first of two nights at the Festival de Musique Classique, at the Pavillion de Montreaux, Montreaux, Switzerland. The show included a performance of “Atom Heart Mother” with members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and choir.

1972, The Who, Mott The Hoople, The Faces and Atomic Rooster all appeared at The Oval, London.

1972, Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull entered the last of it’s 11-week run on the Aussie album charts.

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

1975, The Allman Brothers Band played at The Spectrum, Philadelphia.

1976, One hit wonders Wild Cherry started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “Play That Funky Music.”

1976, Frampton Comes Alive! is number one in the US for the seventh of ten total weeks during April, July, August, September, and October.

1977, Yes performed at the Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.

1978, Neil Young and Crazy Horse kicked off a 23 date US tour at Cobo Hall in Detroit promoting the album Comes A Time.

1979, The Who performed at Madison Square Garden, New York.

1980, Yes appeared at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1981, Gary Numan took off on a round the world trip in a single engine Cessna plane. The attempt ended after he was forced to land in India, where local police arrested him.

1982, The seven-minute epic by Dire Straits “Private Investigations” went to number two on the UK singles chart, held off by Survivor’s “Eye Of The Tiger” at number one.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult performed at Weedsport Speedway, Syracuse, New York.

1983, Kiss appeared without their make-up for the first time during an interview on MTV.

1987, The Grateful Dead played the third of five nights at Madison Square Garden in New York.

1993, Garth Brooks went to number one on the US album chart with In Pieces. The album spent 25 weeks on the chart and sold over six million copies. The album peaked in the second spot on the UK chart.

1996, At Sotheby’s in London, Julian Lennon successfully bid just over $39,000 (£21,000), for the recording notes for the song Paul McCartney wrote for him, “Hey Jude.” At the same event, John Lennon’s scribbled lyrics to “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite” sold for $103,500, (£57,500).

2006, 73 year old country singer Willie Nelson and four members from his band were charged with drug possession after marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms were found by police on his tour bus. Police had stopped the tour bus near Lafayette, Louisiana.

2009, Leonard Cohen collapsed on stage during a concert in Valencia, Spain and was taken to hospital. He was later discharged after doctors told him he had food poisoning. Cohen was in the middle of singing his song “Bird On The Wire” when he fainted, prompting the band to stop playing and rush to help him.

Born on this day: Jimmie Rodgers (1933);  Frankie Avalon (1939); Alan King, Ace (1946); Kerry Livgren, Kansas (1947); Mike Hossack, drums, The Doobie Brothers (1950); Dee Dee Ramone (1952); and Joanne Catherall, vocals, The Human League (1962)

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Today in Rock History – September 17th

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1967, The Doors were banned from The Ed Sullivan Show after Jim Morrison broke his agreement with the show’s producers. Morrison said before the performance that he wouldn’t sing the words, “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher,” from “Light My Fire” but did anyway. The Doors also performed their new single “People Are Strange.”

1967, Pink Floyd played at the Arcadia Ballroom in Cork, on the last night of an Irish tour.

1967, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Chicken Shack and Long John Baldry all appeared at the Saville Theatre in London, England.

1968, Jerry Lee Lewis performed at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1969, Media on both sides of the Atlantic were running stories that said Paul McCartney was dead. He was supposedly killed in a car accident in Scotland on November 9th, 1966 and that a double had been taking his place for public appearances. In fact, Paul and his girlfriend Jane Asher were on vacation in Kenya at the time.

1969, Pink Floyd played at the fabled Concertgebow in Amsterdam. This performance was part of “The Man and the Journey” tour. This was a concept piece comprised of early Floyd songs, as well as material that would be included in the upcoming releases More and Ummagumma. It also featured performance art, such as the band being served tea onstage during the performance.  It is a widely available, and popular bootleg.  Also on the bill were Dream, and the Khapholous Light Show.

1970, The Who comes to the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. They gave a performance of Tommy plus some of their early hits, as encores.

1971, Led Zeppelin played the last of two nights at the Civic Center Auditorium in Honolulu, Hawaii, before heading off to Japan for five concert dates.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1972, Yes appears at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, Florida.

1973, The Grateful Dead played at Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, New York.

1973, Neil Diamond’s Hot August Night continued it’s second run at number one, as part of a total of 29 weeks at the top.

1974, The Ramones played at CBGB in New York.

1975, Kraftwerk performs at The Dome, Brighton, England.

1976, The Sex Pistols played a gig for the inmates at Chelmsford Prison, Essex in England.

1977, Rush appeared at the Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.

1978, The video for Queen’s single “Bicycle Race” was filmed at Wimbledon Stadium, Wimbledon, UK. It featured 65 naked female professional models racing around the stadium’s track on bicycles, which had been hired for the day. The rental company was reported to have requested payment for all the saddles when they found out how their bikes had been used.

1978,  AC/DC appear at Lehigh College, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

1979, The Who returned to Madison Square Garden in New York.

1980, Black Sabbath performs at the Prairie Capital Convention Civic Center, Springfield, Illinois.

1981, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1982, The Grateful Dead played at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine.

1983, Paul Young scored his first number one album with his debut release No Parlez. The album returned to the top of the charts on four other occasions, spending a total of 119 weeks on the chart.

1983, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Eddie Money and Uriah Heep all appeared at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California.

1991, Rob Tyner, lead singer with the American hard rock band MC5, died after he suffered a heart attack in the seat of his parked car in his hometown of Berkley, Michigan. MC5, shortened from the Motor City Five, formed in Detroit, in 1965, they released their first album, Kick Out the Jams in 1969.

1991, Over 4 million copies of Guns N’ Roses albums, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II were simultaneously released for retail sale, making it the largest ship-out in pop history in the US.

2000, Paula Yates was found dead in bed from a suspected drug overdose. Yates had presented the UK music TV show The Tube during the 80’s, married Bob Geldof, and was the girlfriend of INXS singer Michael Hutchence.

2006, Justin Timberlake went to number one on the UK album chart with Futuresex / Lovesounds the singers second solo album and second chart topper.

2011, Adele went to number one on the US singles chart with “Someone Like You.” The track was also a chart topper in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Finland, France, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom.

2011, The estate of Jimi Hendrix gave the go-ahead for another round of archival releases nearly 41 years to the day after the singer’s death. The four new products included an expanded version of his landmark Winterland concerts in 1968, a revamp of a 1972 live compilation, an upgraded DVD of his final UK festival gig, and a DVD reissue of some old talk-show appearances.

Born on this day: Hank Williams (1923); Bill Black, bass player, Elvis Presley (1926); Lamonte McLemore, The 5th Dimension (1939); Les Emmerson, singer-songwriter, guitarist Five Man Electrical Band (1944); Jim Hodder, drums, Steely Dan (1947); Fee Waybill, The Tubes (1950); John Penney, vocals, Neds Atomic Dustbin (1968); Jon Walker, singer-songwriter, guitarist Panic! at the Disco (1985)

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Today in Rock History – September 15

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1965, The Ford Motor Company became the first automaker to offer an 8-track tape player as an option for their entire line of vehicles on sale in the US. Tapes were initially only available at auto parts stores. Home 8-track equipment was still a year away.

1966, The Who played at Gaumont Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.

1966, The Small Faces were at number one on the UK singles chart with “All Or Nothing,” their only chart topping hit. According to Kay Marriott, Steve Marriott’s mother, Steve wrote the song about his split with ex-fiancee Sue Oliver, though first wife Jenny Rylance states that Marriott told her he wrote the song for her, as a result of her split with Rod Stewart.

1967, During a UK tour, Pink Floyd appeared at the Starlight Room in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1967, Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead played at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. Big Brother and the Holding Company were also on the bill, but failed to show up.

1967, Filming continued for The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour. Lunch was at James and Amy Smedley’s fish and chip shop in Taunton, Somerset with The Beatles being filmed and photographed eating their fish and chips.

1968, The Doors were forced to perform as a trio at a concert in Amsterdam after singer Jim Morrison collapsed while dancing during the Jefferson Airplane’s performance.

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

1969, King Crimson played at the Pavillion, Bath, England.

1970, Black Sabbath and The Dog That Bit People appeared at The Marquee, London.

1970, US Vice-President Spiro Agnew said in a speech that the youth of America were being “brainwashed into a drug culture” by rock music, movies, books, and underground newspapers.

1972, Yes appeared at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1973, Hawkwind played at the Scandinavium, Götheborg, Sweden.

1974, Aerosmith performed at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana

1975, Pink Floyd released their ninth studio album, Wish You Were Here.  The album explored themes of absence, the music business, and former band-mate Syd Barrett’s mental decline. It went to number one in the US and the UK, and went on to spend a total of 84 weeks on the chart.

1975, Bob Dylan released Slow Train Coming, an album of religious songs, including the Grammy Award winning single, “Gotta Serve Somebody.” The album alienated many of his long time fans.

1975, Johnny Cash played at Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, Germany.

1976, AC/DC performed at Fabrik, in Hamburg, Germany.

1978, Bob Dylan kicked off his longest and most continuous US tour of his career in Augusta, Maine, playing the first of sixty-five gigs in sixty-two cities.

1978, Black Sabbath appeared at the Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, Ohio.

1979, Led Zeppelin’s In Through The Out Door began a seven-week run at number one on the US album charts, the band’s sixth chart topper.

1980, Van Halen played at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona.

1981, Blue Oyster Cult performed at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1984, Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax” became the longest running chart hit since Engelbert Humperdink’s “Release Me,” after spending 43 weeks on the UK singles chart.

1990, The Steve Miller Band had a UK number one hit with “The Joker,” 16 years after it’s first release. The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974. More than 16 years later, it reached number one in the UK Singles Chart after being used in Great Deal, a television advertisement for Levi’s, thus holding the record for the longest gap between transatlantic chart-toppers.

1994, A reel to reel tape of The Quarry Men, John Lennon’s first band, appearing at St Peter’s Parish Church garden party Liverpool in July, 1957, sold for £69,000, ($125,000) at a Sotheby’s auction.

2004, Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone (John Cummings) died in Los Angeles after a five-year battle with prostate cancer. He was a founding member of The Ramones, a major influence on many punk and ’90s bands.

2008, Pink Floyd keyboard player and founding member Rick Wright died aged 65 from cancer. David Gilmour who joined the band at the start of 1968 said, “He was such a lovely, gentle, genuine man and will be missed terribly by so many who loved him.” In 2005, the full band reunited, for the first time in 24 years, for the Live 8 concert in London’s Hyde Park. Wright had also contributed vocals and keyboards to Gilmour’s 2006 solo album On An Island.

Born on this day: Kid Sheik, trumpet, Preservation Hall Jazz Band (1906); Al Casey, American guitarist, composer (1915); Bobby Short (1924); Cannonball Adderley, American saxophonist, bandleader (1928); Signe Anderson, Jefferson Airplane, KBC Band (1941); Lee Dorman, Iron Butterfly, Captain Beyond (1942);  Ola Brunkert, session drummer, Abba (1946); Kelly Keagy, Night Ranger (1952); Maggie Reilly, Scottish singer-songwriter, Michael Oldfield Band (1956); Michael Dorge, Crash Test Dummies (1960); Huw Bunford, Super Furry Animals (1967); Paul Thomson, Scottish drummer, Franz Ferdinand (1976)

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Today in Rock History – September 7

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1968, The Doors played the first of two nights at The Roundhouse, London, playing twice nightly on their first UK visit. Granada TV filmed the sold out gigs, later shown as “The Doors Are Open,” which were attended by members of The Rolling Stones and Traffic.

1968, The Beach Boys played at at Patio Gardens in Farmington, Utah.

1968, Pink Floyd performed at Le Blboquet, St. Germain des Pres, in Paris, where they played “Let There Be More Light” live as part of a four-hour TV special entitled Surprise Partie. The music program also featured The Who, Joe Cocker, The Troggs, Fleetwood Mac, Small Faces, PP Arnold, The Equals, and others. It was broadcast in color on ORTF2 on December 31st.

1968, The American magazine Eye contains lyrics for three Pete Townshend songs, “Party Piece from Rael,” a song from the unfinished rock opera that led to “Rael” from The Who Sell Out, “Joker James”, which would ultimately be recorded for the Quadrophenia Soundtrack, and “Join My Gang”  which had been recorded by Oscar

1968, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham made their live debut as Led Zeppelin but billed as Yard Birds at Teen Club Box 45 in Gladsaxe, a suburb in the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Around 1,200 youngsters attended the show at Egegard School. Teen Club President Lars Abel presenting “The New Yardbirds” on stage, introduced Robert Plant as Robert Plat. A local review stated, “Their performance and their music were absolutely flawless, and the music continued to ring nicely in the ears for some time after the curtains were drawn after their show. We can therefore conclude that the new Yardbirds are at least as good as the old ones were.”

1968,  The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown LP and the single “Fire” backed with “Rest Cure” are released in the US. The single peaks at number two in both the Billboard and Cash Box charts. Pete Townshend gets an associate production credit on both, and plays rhythm guitar on the B-side.

1969, King Crimson appeared at the Victoria Ballroom, Chesterfield, England.

1971, Led Zeppelin performed at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The set list: Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Black Dog, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Celebration Day, That’s the Way, Going To California, What Is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, Whole Lotta Love (medley), Communication Breakdown, Organ solo / Thank You, Rock and Roll.

1972, David Bowie appeared at The Top Rank, Hanley, Stoke on Trent, England.

1973, The Rolling Stones kicked off a nine-date UK tour at the Empire Pool London. Tickets £2.20.

1973, The Grateful Dead played at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

1974, The 101ers made their performing debut at the Telegraph pub in Brixton. The pub rock band featured singer, guitarist Joe Strummer who would later join The Clash.

1974, Aerosmith performed at the Wollman Skating Rink Theater in New York.

1976, Abba were at number one on the singles chart with “Dancing Queen,” the group’s only chart topper. The song was a a number one smash hit in over a dozen countries and stayed at the top of the Swedish charts for 14 weeks.

1977, Rush appeared at Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

1978, Yes played at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Keith-Moon1978, Keith Moon, drummer with The Who, died of a overdose of heminevrin prescribed to combat alcoholism. A post-mortem confirmed there were 32 tablets in his system, 26 of which were undissolved. Moon had attended a party the night before organized by Paul McCartney for the launch of the The Buddy Holly Story movie. He played on all The Who albums from their debut, 1965’s My Generation, to 1978’s Who Are You, which was released two weeks before his death.

1979, Blue Oyster Cult played at the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia.

1980, Black Sabbath performed at the Jai Alai Fronton Hall, Miami, Florida.

1982, Van Halen appeared at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona.

1985, David Bowie and Mick Jagger were at number one  on the UK singes chart with their version of the Martha Reeves and The Vandellas 1964 hit “Dancing In The Streets.” The song had been recorded as part of the Live Aid charity appeal. The original plan was to perform a track together live, with Bowie performing at Wembley Stadium and Jagger at the JFK Stadium, until it was realized that the satellite link-up would cause a half-second delay that would make this impossible.

1997, Fleetwood Mac went to number one on the US album chart with The Dance. The album went on sell over 5 million copies in the US alone.

2001, Michael Jackson was reunited onstage with the Jackson Five at his 30th Anniversary Celebration in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. It ended Jackson’s 11-year hiatus from performing in the U.S. Jackson was joined by Eminem, Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Britney Spears and Destiny’s Child to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his singing career.

Warren Zevon

2003, singer, songwriter, Warren Zevon died. He had worked as a session musician, was the piano player and band leader for the Everly Brothers. His 1969 song “She Quit Me” was included in the soundtrack for the film Midnight Cowboy. Jackson Browne, The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt all appeared on his albums. He recorded over 15 solo albums, had the 1978 US number 21 single “Werewolves Of London.” He made frequent appearances on the David Letterman Show, whose host was an early proponent of his music.

2003, Black Eyed Peas started a six-week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Where Is The Love.” The best selling single of 2003, with an uncredited Justin Timberlake on the recording.

Born on September 7: Little Milton, blues singer (1934); Buddy Holly (1936); Gloria Gaynor (1949); Chrissie Hynde (1951); Benmont Tench, keyboards, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1954); and LeRoi Moore, saxophonist, Dave Matthews Band (1961)

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Today in Rock History – September 4

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1968, The Beatles recorded promotional videos for “Hey Jude” and “Revolution” at Twickenham Film Studios. The vocals are recorded live over the pre-recorded instrumental tracks to get round the current British Musicians Union ban on lip-sync performances. For “Hey Jude,” The Beatles were accompanied by a 36-piece orchestra and 300 fans and other assorted extras who join in singing the long refrain.

1968, Pink Floyd played at Middle Earth, The Club House, Richmond Athletic Club, Richmond, England.

1969, The film Easy Rider starring Jack Nicholson Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper opened at The Classic in London. The soundtrack included music from Jimi Hendrix, The Byrds, The Electric Prunes, Steppenwolf and others.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at The Scene, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1971, Taken from the album Ram, Paul and Linda McCartney went to No.1 on the singles chart with “Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey.” The song was McCartney’s first solo No.1.

1971, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada.

1972, Concessionaire Francisco Caruso was killed during a Wishbone Ash concert in Texas after refusing to give a fan a free sandwich.

1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono appeared on Jerry Lewis’ Muscular Dystrophy Telethon Show on US television.

1973, The Rolling Stones performed at Sporthalle, Cologne, Germany.

1974, David Bowie performed at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal City, California.

1975, Hawkwind played at Olympen, Lund, Sweden.

1976, Fleetwood Mac went to No.1 on the US album chart with their self-titled album after being on the charts for over a year. The album went on to sell over 5 million copies in the US and was the first of three No.1 albums for the group.

1976, The Bee Gees went to No.1 on the singles chart with “You Should Be Dancing,” the group’s third No.1.

1976, The Sex Pistols made their television debut when they appeared on the Manchester based Granada TV program So It Goes.

1978, AC/DC appeared at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colorado.

1979, The Grateful Dead played the first of three nights at Madison Square Garden in  New York.

1980, A new version of Yes, with Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn played the first of three sold out nights at Madison Square Garden.

1981, Van Halen played at the Mississippi Coliseum, Jackson, Mississippi.

1982, Survivor were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the theme from the film Rocky III, “Eye Of The Tiger,” their only chart topper. Survivor won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance for the song.

1982, The Steve Miller Band started a two week run at No.2 on the US singles chart with “Abracadabra,” the group’s third US No.1, and a No.2 hit in the UK. The song is said to have been inspired by Diana Ross with whom Miller had met while performing together on Hullabaloo in the 1960s.

1995, Blur, Oasis, Radiohead, Paul Weller, Manic St Preachers and The Stone Roses all recorded tracks for the War Child charity album, which was released five days later. All profits went to children caught up in the current war in former Yugoslavia.

1996, Oasis created outrage at the MTV awards held at New York’s Radio City Hall. During the band’s performance of “Champagne Supernova,” singer Liam Gallagher spat on stage and threw a beer into the crowd.

2006, Mike Gibbins drummer with Badfinger died in his sleep at his Florida home aged 56. Badfinger had the 1970 UK No.4 & US No.7 single “Come And Get It,” written by Paul McCartney. He had also been a member of The Iveys during the 60’s.

2008, The first guitar torched on stage by Jimi Hendrix sold for £280,000 ($448,000) at an auction of rock memorabilia. The Fender Stratocaster was burned at the end of a show at the Astoria in Finsbury Park, north London, in 1967. The sale held in London also included the Beatles’ first management contract, signed in 1962 by all four members of the group and manager Brian Epstein, sold for £240,000 ($384,000.)

2009, Friends and family of Michael Jackson paid their last respects to the singer at a funeral held at Glendale’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Los Angeles. Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Quincy Jones, Macaulay Culkin, Berry Gordy and Lisa Marie Presley were among the 200 invited guests. The singer’s family arrived in a motorcade of 31 vehicles, Jackson’s brothers – Randy, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon – acted as pallbearers carrying Jackson’s gold-plated coffin.

Born on September 4: Ronald Lepread, The Commodores (1946); Gary Duncan guitar, Quicksilver Messenger Service (1946); Martin Chambers, The Pretenders (1951); and Kim Thayil, Soundgarden (1960)

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Today in Rock History – August 26

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1965, The Byrds appeared at the Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood, California.

1965, Sonny & Cher were at number one on the UK singles chart with “I Got You Babe,” the duo’s only British chart topper. Sonny Bono was inspired to write the song to capitalize on the popularity of the term “babe,” as heard in Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe.”

1967, Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull joined up with The Beatles in Bangor North Wales to seek guidance from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

1967, Small Faces, Move, The Gass, Tomorrow, Denny Laine, Jeff Beck, Eric Burdon and Marmalade all appeared on the first day of the 3-day non-stop happening ‘Festival of the Flower Children’ at Woburn Abbey, England.

1967, The Beatles held a press conference at University College in Bangor, North Wales with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The Beatles announced that they had become disciples of the guru and that they renounced the use of drugs. The four had become members of the Maharishi’s ‘Spiritual Regeneration Movement’, which obligated them to donate one week’s earnings each month to the organization.

1969, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young play the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles.

1970, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, (his last ever UK appearance), Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Arrival, Cactus, Family, Taste, Mungo Jerry, ELP, The Doors, The Who, Spirit, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone and Free all appeared over three days at the third Isle Of Wight Festival.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band perform at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Florida.

1971, The Grateful Dead appear at Gaelic Park in the Bronx, New York.

1973, Genesis headlines the closing day of the Reading Jazz, Blues, and Rock Festival. Tickets cost £2.20

1973, 10cc made their live debut at the Palace Lido Isle of Man at the start of an UK tour. Comprising of Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who had written and recorded together for some three years before assuming the 10cc name.

1974, Rush plays at The Agora in Cleveland, Ohio.

1976, AC/DC appear at the Marquee Club, London.

1977, Uriah Heep, Thin Lizzy, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Golden Earing, Aerosmith, Doobie Brothers, Hawkwind, Racing Cars, John Miles, Graham Parker, The Enid, No Dice and Frankie Miller’s Full House all appeared at the 17th three day Reading Festival, England.

1978, Frankie Valli went to No.1 on the singles chart with the Barry Gibb song ‘Grease’. It went on to sell over 2 million in the US.

1978, Fleetwood Mac, The Cars, Todd Rundgren, Bob Welsh and Eddie Money all appeared at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio.

1988, The first day at this years three day Reading Festival featuring Iggy Pop, Starship, Squeeze, Ramones, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Hothouse Flowers, Deacon Blue, Quireboys, Broken English, three day ticket £24, an increase of nearly £20 from the 1973 festival.

Born on August 26: Nik Turner, Hawkwind (1940); Valerie Simpson,  Ashford and Simpson (1948); Bill and Dick Cowsill (1950); Shirley Manson, vocals, Garbage (1966); and Jeff Tweedy, Wilco (1967)

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Today in Rock History – August 22

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Supremes-where-did-our-love-go1964, The Supremes started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Where Did Our Love Go” the girl group’s first chart topper. Holland–Dozier–Holland had originally composed the song for The Marvelettes to record it who rejected the song, thinking it childish.

1965, The Beatles, on tour in North America, performed two shows at Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon. Between performances, The Beatles were visited in their dressing-room by Carl Wilson and Mike Love of the Beach Boys.

1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared on the BBC TV Simon Dee show. Kiki Dee and Cat Stevens were also guests on the show

1968, The Who performed at Municipal Auditorium Music Hall, Kansas City, Missouri.

1968, Ringo Starr quit The Beatles during the White Album sessions when the constant bickering and tension became too much for him. The news of Ringo’s departure was kept secret, and he rejoined the sessions on September 3. After Ringo walked out, the remaining Beatles recorded “Back In the USSR,” with Paul on drums and John playing bass.

1968, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at Pirates World in Dania, Florida. Also on the bill were The Royal Ascots, Brimstone and The Echo.

1969, The Beatles met at John Lennon’s Tittenhurst Park home in England for their final ever photo session. Three shots from this session (by Ethan Russell) formed the front and back covers of the Capitol compilation album Hey Jude. Yoko Ono and a pregnant Linda McCartney (she was to give birth to daughter Mary six days later) appeared in some photographs with The Beatles.

1969, Blind Faith performed at Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah during their one and only tour of North America. It was not until a 2008 that Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood would share the stage again.

1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival started a nine-week run at number one on the US album charts with their fifth studio album Cosmo’s Factory. The name of the album comes from the warehouse in Berkeley where the band rehearsed. Bandleader John Fogerty was so insistent on practicing (nearly every day) that drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford began referring to the place as “the factory.”

1970, Bread went to number one on the US singles chart with “Make It With You,” the group’s only char topping hit, which was a number five in the UK. Many artists have covered the song including The Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Earth, Wind & Fire, Dusty Springfield, Andy Williams, and Marc Cohn.

1970, The Moody Blues started a three-week run at UK on the album chart with A Question Of Balance. It charted as high as number three in the US.

1970, Derek and the Dominos appeared at the Van Dike in Plymouth, England.

1971, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Peter, Paul & Mary all appeared at the Odeon Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1972, Genesis appeared at the Teatro Alcione, Genoa, Italy.

1973, Hawkwind performed at Assembly Hall in Worthing, West Sussex, England.

1974,  During the recording sessions for David Bowie’s Young Americans, the fans had keeping a vigil outside Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios, and were invited into the studio at 5 am to hear a playback of the album so Bowie could see their reactions to the music.

1975, Black Sabbath appeared at the International Amphitheater, Chicago, Illinois.

1975, America performed at the Canadian National Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

1976, Yes played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

1977, Donovan performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1978, Sex Pistol Sid Vicious made his last live stage appearance when he appeared with Rat Scabies from The Damned, former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and Nancy Spungen at London’s Electric Ballroom. In the audience were Elvis Costello, Blondie, Joan Jett, The Slits and Captain Sensible.

1979, Led Zeppelin released In Through the Out Door, their last album of original material. “Fool in the Rain” was released as a single in the US.

1980, During a North American tour Queen appeared at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult played at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia.

1984, Aerosmith appeared at Golden Hall, San Diego, California.

1992, Sting and Trudie Styler held their wedding reception, (the couple married on August 20, 1992.) After The Troggs had played a set, all three members of The Police got on stage and played a couple of numbers.

2004, Al Dvorin the announcer who popularized the phrase “Elvis has left the building” died in a car crash, on his way home from an Elvis convention in California. Dvorin aged 81, was in a car driven by Elvis photographer Ed Bonja. Dvorin was never paid for recordings of his words, and was bitter towards the multi-million dollar Elvis Presley Enterprises. In the early 1970s, Colonel Parker asked Dvorin to inform fans at a gig that Presley would not be appearing for an encore. He took the stage and announced: “Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building. Thank you and goodnight.”

2009, Soul singer Johnny Carter, who was a member of do-wop groups The Dells and The Flamingos, died aged 75. Carter, who was famed for his falsetto vocals, was one of the few artists to be inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with two acts.

2011, Nicholas Ashford, one half of Ashford and Simpson, died of complications from throat cancer in New York. With his wife Valerie Simpson, they had the 1979 US number 36 single “Found A Cure,” and 1985 UK number three single “Solid.” The pair wrote hits such as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “You’re All I Need To Get By,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” and “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand.)”

2011, Songwriter and producer Jerry Leiber died at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 78 from cardio-pulmonary failure. Along with Mike Stoller, he wrote many hits including “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “King Creole,” “There Goes My Baby,” “Searchin,” “Yakety Yak,” “Stand By Me,” “Poison Ivy,” and “Kansas City.”

Born on this August 22: John Lee Hooker (1920); Fred Milano, Dion and the Belmonts (1939); Donna Godchaux, Grateful Dead (1947); Ian Mitchell, Bay City Rollers (1958);  Vernon Reid, Living Colour (1958); Roland Orzabal, singer, songwriter, guitarist, Tears For Fears (1961); Layne Staley, Alice In Chains (1967);

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