email In 1971 the rock godz gave us Fragile by Yes…and three years later, they bestowed upon us the riff fest known as Not Fragile by BTO! 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 […]
Today in Rock History – September 15
email 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 […]
Song Of The Day – “Punk Prayer” by Pussy Riot
email Pussy Riot – what they lack in musical aptitude, they surely make up with unbridled punk rock spirit. The merits of their talent or lack thereof, are totally beside the point anyway. Pussy Riot return punk rock to its purest essence: protest, entertainment and fashion. Pussy Riot formed in Moscow in 2011 with an […]
Today in Rock History – September 7
email 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 […]
Today in Rock History – September 4
email 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 […]
Today in Rock History – August 26
email 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 […]
Song Of The Day – “Ready For Love” by Bad Company
email I was a rock snob during the 1970s and 1980s. I admit it, and for those that know me well, this revelation should come as no surprise. I loved prog rock, some southern rock, glam rock and glam’s second cousin disco. I had little tolerance for what I’ll term meat ‘n’ potatoes “dumb-ass” rock. […]
Today in Rock History – August 22
email 1964, 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 […]
Today in Rock History – August 11
email 1966, At a press conference held at The Astor Towers Hotel in Chicago, John Lennon apologized for his remarks that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.” Lennon told reporters “Look, I wasn’t saying The Beatles are better than God or Jesus, I said “Beatles” because it’s easy for me to talk about The […]
Today in Rock History – August 10
email 1968, The lineup for day two of the National Jazz & Blues Festival was Alan Haven, Deep Purple, Ginger Baker, Jeff Beck Group, Joe Cocker, Mike Westbrook, Ronnie Scott, T. Rex, Ten Years After, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, The Don Rendell & Ian Carr Quintet, and The Nice. The festival was held […]
