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Today in Rock History – July 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today in Rock History – July 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1974, Bob Marley & the Wailers release Burnin’.

1975, Ringo Starr divorces his wife, Maureen Cox.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today in Rock History – June 11

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1966, The Rolling Stones started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with “Paint It Black,” the group’s third No.1 single.

1966, European radio stations mistakenly report that The Who’s lead singer Roger Daltrey is dead. Actually, it was guitarist Pete Townshend who had been injured in a car accident a few days earlier.

1966, Elvis Presley begins shooting his 26th film, Double Trouble.

1967, Printed in this week’s music weekly Melody Maker’s ad’s pages, “Freaky lead guitarist, bass and drummer wanted for Marc Bolan’s new group. Also any other astral flyers like with car’s amplification and that which never grows in window boxes, phone Wimbledon 0697.” The band who formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, went on to release four underground folk albums before becoming known as T Rex.

1968, Cream appeared at Paul Sauvé Arena in Montreal, Quebec.

1968, London’s Olympic Studio catches fire while the Rolling Stones are there recording Beggars Banquet.

1968, Working at Abbey Road studios in London on the White Album, John Lennon worked on “Revolution 9” in studio 3, while Paul McCartney recorded “Blackbird” in studio 2.

1969, The Beatles were at No.1 on the singles chart with “The Ballad Of John and Yoko,” the group’s 17th No.1. Only two Beatles played on the track, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

1969, David Bowie releases his single “Space Oddity” in conjunction with the planned Apollo 11 lunar landing.

1970, Traffic jammed at the Fillmore East in New York.

1970, The Rascals, Poco, and Alee Keith played at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appear at the Eastown Theater, Detroit, Michigan.

1972, Led Zeppelin performed at the Civic Center in Baltimore.  Tickets were priced from $5.50 – $7.50. The set list was: Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Black Dog, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Stairway to Heaven, Going to California, That’s the Way, Tangerine, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Dazed and Confused, What Is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, Whole Lotta Love (medley incl. Let That Boy Boogie, I Need Your Love Tonight, Hello Mary Lou, Heartbreak Hotel, I’m Going Down, Going Down Slow), Rock and Roll, Communication Breakdown.

1972, The Rolling Stones play the Forum in Inglewood, California. The opening act is Stevie Wonder.

1973, Deep Purple performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1974, The Who headlined at Madison Square Garden in New York.

1975, The Rolling Stones appeared at the Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

1976, The Grateful Dead performed at the Great Boston Music Hall.

1976, AC/DC appeared at Glasgow City Hall, Scotland, on the first night of their Lock Up Your Daughters 19 date UK tour.

1977, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours retains the number one album in the US. Just one of the 31 weeks it would spend in that position in 1977 and 1978.

1977, Joe Strummer and Topper Headon were detained overnight in prison in Newcastle upon Tyne having failed to appear at Morpeth Magistrates on May 21st. Both Clash members were to answer a charge relating to the theft of a Holiday Inn pillowcase. They were both fined £100 ($170).

1977, KC and the Sunshine Band became only the second group after The Jackson Five to achieve four US No.1’s when “I’m Your Boogie Man” went to the top of the charts.

1977, As Britain celebrated the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, The Sex Pistols reached No. 2 in the singles chart with “God Save The Queen.”

1978, Genesis appeared at Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, Germany.

1980, Aerosmith played at Stage West, Hartford, Connecticut.

1981, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed at the Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois.

1983, ZZ Top played at the Civic Auditorium Arena, Omaha, Nebraska.

1984, Yes performed at Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden.

1988, Nelson Mandellas 70th birthday tribute took place at Wembley Stadium, London, featuring Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman, George Michael, Eric Clapton, UB40, The Eurythmics and Simple Minds. The event was broadcast live on BBC 2 to 40 different countries with an estimated audience of 1 billion.

1991, The Grateful Dead played at the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.

2005, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin founding member and guitarist, was awarded an OBE in the Queen of England’s Birthday Honours list and Queen guitarist and founding member Brian May was awarded a CBE.

2011, Pink Floyd’s 1973 album The Dark Side Of The Moon, re-entered the Billboard Album chart at No. 47, and reached the milestone of 1,000 weeks on Billboard’s charts.

Born on this day: John Lawton, Uriah Heep (19467);  Glenn Leonard, The Temptations (1947); Alan Skipper, drums, The Pretty Things (1948) and Frank Beard, ZZ Top (1949)

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Song Of The Day – “Infestissumam / Per Aspera Ad Inferi” by Ghost B.C.

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ghostbcIt’s not Spinal Tap during their “Stonehenge” phase, however Ghost B.C.’s satanic metal church music offers a theatrical twist (a la Tap’s “Henge”) unseen in rock music for many years.

The stage fills with thick plumes of white smoke while the sound of Latin liturgical chanting fills the air. Out of the haze emerge five group members wearing hooded robes, their faces obscured by masks. The band members, known as Nameless Ghouls, represent one of five elements; fire, water, wind, earth and ether. Their robes are adorned with a different symbol for each element, and their brand of rock is the chunkiest, crunchiest heavy metal sludge and dirge this side of early Metallica. With great fanfare, the lead singer emerges in skull make-up, dressed as a Roman Catholic Cardinal wearing black, augmented by an upside down cross. His hands raised in the air as the band kicks in with a killer riff destined to slay the audience.

The band is known as Ghost in Sweden, but due to legal reasons, they are Ghost B.C. in America. Nameless Ghoul: “The B.C. is silent, and as soon as we can, it’s gonna be taken away forever.” The band’s lineup includes Papa Emeritus II on vocals, Nameless Ghoul on lead guitar, Nameless Ghoul on bass, Nameless Ghoul on keyboards, Nameless Ghoul on rhythm guitar and Nameless Ghoul on drums.  Their real identities are kept a secret which adds to their intrigue. Papa Emeritus is now known as Papa Emeritus II, and although he is believed to be the same person, he now portrays a different character.

Convoluted? You bet. Intriguing? Definitely, and all this would be totally laughable, if it weren’t for the fact that the band are capable musicians and some of their songs are downright exceptional. Their songs are credited to “A Ghoul Writer,” however it is rumored that Tobias Forge formerly of the Swedish Bands Subdivision, Repugnant and Crashdiet is the real identity of Papa Emeritus II and is also “A Ghoul Writer.”

The band takes the Roman Catholic Church and turns it upside down, worshipping Satan instead of the Holy Trinity. Nameless Ghoul: “The sort of Satanism, or devil-worship, that we want to portray in the confines of Ghost, is a very biblical version of goat worship…we’re playing with the idea of divinity, and we’re using the diabolical symbolisms to set a mindset.”

Songs like “Ritual,” “Monstrance Clocks” (which Papa Emeritus II introduced as “a song about fucking”) and today’s Song Of The Day which opened their set at Lollapalooza, rock out in reckless abandon while never losing sight of song structure and, at times even melody. The B-side of the “Secular Haze” single is “I’m a Marionette” which is an ABBA cover featuring Dave Grohl on drums. The album’s second single is “Year Zero” which is backed with “Orez Raey” (“Year Zero” played backwards).

The lyrics are blatantly satanic, but they are filtered through a biblical lens, trading the coming of Christ for the coming of Satan. Nameless Ghoul: The album also deals with “how people relate to a deity or God, themes like submission and superstition, the horrors of being religious.”

It’s all very tongue and cheek, a total goof, and it wouldn’t work if the band didn’t have the musical chops to back it up. Nameless Ghoul:  “We have no militant agenda. We are an entertainment group. Our mission is to put on a show. We want people to go into the experience the same way that you would lose yourself in a horror movie for an hour or two…We knew very early that to make this material work we needed to fulfill our dream of putting a horror show together with music.”

Predictably, their satanic themes have not been welcomed with open arms in the U.S. The album was recorded in Nashville, where they had difficulty booking choir vocalists to sing their lyrics. It has been banned by several retail chains, radio has been reluctant to play them, and they have had a hard time getting booked onto late night talk shows for appearances.

Ghost B.C. hail from Linköping, Sweden, and formed in 2008. Their first album Opus Eponymous (2010) was nominated for a Grammis Award (Sweden’s equivalent to the Grammy Awards) for best Hard Rock Album in 2011. The release of their latest album, Infestissumam (where today’s Song Of The Day hails from) was pushed back in America because U.S. CD manufacturers refused to press up the release due to objectionable artwork on the deluxe version. The artwork was described as an illustration of a 16th century orgy. As a result, the U.S. CD carries different artwork than the vinyl version and the European CD version which carries the original artwork.

The group just wrapped up their Haze Over America U.S. tour with a final date at Lollapalooza this past Friday. Listening to them on record is beside the point; Ghost B.C. is a group that must be seen to be believed.

Today in Rock History – March 14

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rolling-stones-19641964, For the first time in British recording history, all Top Ten singles in the UK were by British acts. Number one was “Anyone Who Had A Heart” by Cilla Black. Number two – “Bits and Pieces” by The Dave Clark Five. At number three,  “Little Children “Diane” by The Bachelors. Number five, “Not Fade Away” by The Rolling Stones. Number six- “Just One Look” by The Hollies, while “Needles and Pins” by The Searchers was at number seven.  Number eight belonged to The Merseybeats with “I Think Of You.” Number nine – “Boys Cry” by Eden Kane, and rounding out the top ten, “Let Me Go Lover” by Kathy Kirby.

1968, The promotional film for “Lady Madonna” was broadcast in black and white on Top of the Pops on UK television. The video portion of the film clip was shot while The Beatles were performing the song “Hey Bulldog,” but the “Lady Madonna” audio track was paired with the video for the promo release.

1969, The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded a live concert in Amsterdam, Holland for Fan Club,” a Dutch TV show.

1970, Pink Floyd performed at Meisteringer Halle in Nurnberg, West Germany.

1970, Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water enters the second week of a ten week run atop the US album charts.

1971, The Rolling Stones played the last night of a 9-date UK tour at the Roundhouse, London.

1971, The Grateful Dead played at Camp Randall Field House on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

1972,  Carole King and producer Lou Adler  wins a Grammy for “It’s Too Late” as Record of the Year, and Tapestry wins a Grammy as Album of the Year. King also took home a statue for Songwriting for “You’ve Got A Friend,” while Carly Simon wins a Grammy as Best New Artist.

don't shoot-elton john1973, Elton John was at number one on the singles chart with “Crocodile Rock.”

1981, Eric Clapton was hospitalized with bleeding ulcers, causing a US tour to be cancelled. He was back in hospital five weeks later after being involved in a car crash.

1981, Roxy Music were at umber one on the UK singles chart with their cover of the John Lennon song “Jealous Guy.”

1982, Metallica made their live debut when they appeared at Radio City in Anaheim, California.

1991, American songwriter Doc Pomus died. With Mort Shuman he wrote many early ’60s hits including, “A Teenager in Love,” “Save The Last Dance For Me,” “Sweets For My Sweet,” “Can’t Get Used to Losing You,” and “Viva Las Vegas.”

Born on March 14: Quincy Jones (1933); Loretta Lynn (1940); Walt Parazaider, Chicago (1945);  Jim Pons, The Turtles (1946)

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Today in Rock History – November 14

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1967, a 16 date UK package tour with Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Move, The Nice, and Amen Corner kicked off at the Royal Albert Hall, London. All acts played two shows per night.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band performed on the Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, “Sugar Sugar” by The Archies was at number one on the singles chart. The single became the longest running one hit wonder with eight week’s at the top of the charts. It was the first number one performed by cartoon characters. “Sugar Sugar” was written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim, whose song “Rock Me Gently” went to number one in 1974.

1969, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young played at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, California.

1970, Derek & the Dominoes performed at the Fairgrounds Coliseum in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1970, Elvis Presley appeared at The Forum in Inglewood, California

1970, New Musical Express has part two of a large interview with Pete Townshend conducted by Richard Green. Also, Melody Maker carries the fourth installment of “The Pete Townshend Page.  This one is called “TV miming: who is being fooled?” In it Pete complains about the too-tight TV restrictions of the British Musician’s Union and he also discusses Top Of The Pops and memories of Ready, Steady, GO!

1970, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention appeared at the Fillmore East, New York.

1971, Velvet Underground, Renaissance and Audience all appeared at Bumpers, London.

1972, David Bowie appeared at Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana.

1973, The Grateful Dead performed at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California.

1974, Rush played at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Columbus, Ohio.

1975, Queen played the first of two nights at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, England, the first night on their 78-date A Night At The Opera World Tour.

1976, Rush appeared at the RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa.

1977, KISS played the first date on their 51-date Alive II Tour at the Myriad Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at the Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California.

1978, Eric Clapton appeared at Philipshalle, Düsseldorf, Germany.

1979, Bob Dylan performed at the Fox Warfield Theatre, San Fransisco.

1980, Van Halen played at the Bayfront Center Arena, St. Petersburg, Florida.

1981, Queen started a four-week run at number one on the UK album chart with their Greatest Hits album.

1981, The Police had their fourth number one single with “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.”

1982, Heart played at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi.

1987, David Bowie appears at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia.

1987, George Michael went to number one on the UK album chart with his debut solo album Faith. The album won several awards including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1989.

1987, The Grateful Dead performed at the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California.

1990, Record producer Frank Farin fired Milli Vanilli singers Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan because they were insisting on singing on their new album.

1992, Bon Jovi went to number one on the UK album chart with Keep The Faith, their fifth studio album and second UK chart topper. The album produced six UK Top 20 hit singles, “Keep The Faith,” “Bed Of Roses,” “In These Arms,” “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” “I Believe,” and “Dry County.”

1995, Blur brought chaos to traffic in central London, England when over 3,000 fans turned up for a signing at Books Etc in Charring Cross Road.

2004, The Rolling Stones were refused permission to pursue a claim against their former record company Decca for unpaid royalties through the courts. A High Court judge in London said the dispute would go to arbitration and not be decided in court. The dispute was over their Forty Licks compilation CD, which was released in 2002 and was the first collection to span their entire career.

Born on November 14: Freddie Garrity, vocals, Freddie & The Dreamers (1936); James Young, Styx (1949); Stephen Bishop (1951); Alec John Such, bass, Bon Jovi (1956); Joseph ‘Run’ Simmons, Run-DMC (1966); Douglas Payne, bass, Travis (1972); and Travis Barker, drummer, Blink 182 (1975)

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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 – “Bardo” by Todd Rundgren

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toddrundgrenarenaI’m kind of stuck in the middle of a Todd Rundgren jag at the moment. And if you’re a Todd fan, there are many reasons to be excited.

With the recent releases of not one, but two new live recordings from a recent tour, each of a classic album: “Todd” (originally released in 1974)and “Healing” (1980), plus the belated appearance of the 1976 Utopia album “Disco Jets,” I guess I just can’t seem to get enough of that Todd stuff.
It’s led me to revisit some albums from his catalog that I haven’t heard in a while. Once such album is his 2008 album, “Arena”, which, to be honest, I didn’t like much when it first came out. Even after seeing him on the tour to support the record, I still didn’t get it.

“Arena” was the follow up to “Liars” which was a terrific record that delved into religious themes, and was a musically varied affair with elements of soul, hard rock and several great electronic dance tunes. So when “Arena” appeared, I was disappointed with the simplicity of sound within. But sometimes, you play a record again, and it hits you the right way after the passage of time, and that’s what happened to me with “Arena.”

The record came about after Todd toured arenas around the world as a member of The New Cars. While becoming the lead singer for The Cars may not have been his best career move, it did reinvigorate him enough to make a record that harked back to some of his best hard-rocking tunes like “Black Mariah” and “Black And White.”

The concept of “Arena” was to put out a lit-Bic-in-the-air arena rock record, just like they used to back in the 70s and 80s, and this record is pretty faithful to the sound and feel of the era. All of the songs have simple one-word titles that match the meat and potatoes rock ‘n’ roll stew cooked up inside. The album is also a one-man show with everything produced on an Apple laptop computer.

On today’s Song Of The Day, Todd gets in touch with his inner Robin Trower by showcasing his amazing guitar shredding. Here’s a live clip from the “Arena” tour.

Today in Rock History – August 29

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1966, The Beatles played their last concert before a paying audience, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California to a sold-out crowd of 25,000. John and Paul, knowing what the fans do not, bring cameras on stage and take pictures between songs. Songs performed at the show were “Rock and Roll Music”, “She’s a Woman”, “If I Needed Someone”, “Day Tripper”, “Baby’s in Black”, “I Feel Fine”, “Yesterday”, “I Wanna Be Your Man”, “Nowhere Man”, “Paperback Writer”, and “Long Tall Sally.” Much of the existing film footage of the concert was captured in color by a 15-year-old Beatles fan, Barry Hood.

1967, The Who performed at Municipal Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia.

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at the Singer Bowl Music Festival in Flushing Meadow Park.

1970, Edwin Starr started a three-week run at number one on the US singles chart with “War,” his only number one.

1970, Led Zeppelin, The Youngbloods, Iron Butterfly and The Ides of March all appeared at the Man Pop Festival, Winnipeg, in Canada.

1970, Grand Funk Railroad, David Allan Coe, The Third Power played at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1973, John McLaughlin appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1975, ZZ Top performed at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City

1976, Jimmy Reed died in San Francisco following an epileptic seizure just before his 51st birthday. Reed influenced artists such as Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Hank Williams, Jr, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jerry Garcia and the Rolling Stones.

1976, The Sex Pistols supported by The Clash and The Buzzcocks appeared at The Screen On The Green, London, England.

1977, AC/DC appeared at the fabled Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles.

1977, Three people were arrested in Memphis after trying to steal Elvis’ body. As a result, his remains would be later moved to Graceland.

1980, The Grateful Dead played the first of two nights at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1981, The two day Rock on the Tyne festival began in Gateshead, England, featuring Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, U2, Rory Gallagher, Doll By Doll, Wang Chung, Becket, Dr Feelgood, The Gingers Nutters (featuring Ginger Baker), Trimmer and Jenkins and Lindisfarne.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Missouri.

1982, The Charlie Daniels Band appeared at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland.

1984, U2 kicked off their Unforgettable Fire World Tour at Christchurch Town Hall in New Zealand, the first of 19 shows in Australia and New Zealand.

1987, Def Leppard scored their first UK number one album with Hysteria, which also became a chart topper in the US  in July the following year, after spending forty-nine weeks working its way to the top.

1987, Los Lobos started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with “La Bamba.”  It was also a number one hit in the UK. The song came from film of the same name, a biopic of singer , songwriter, guitarist Ritchie Valens, who died in the 1959 plane crash that also claimed the lives of fellow musicians Buddy Holly and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, as well as pilot Roger Peterson.

1991, DJ Kurt St. Thomas from radio station WFNX in Boston gave Nirvana’s album Nevermind its world premiere by playing the album from start to finish.

1994, Oasis released their debut album Definitely Maybe, which went straight to number one in the UK Albums Charts on initial release. It was the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK when it was released and went on to be certified 7x Platinum (2.1 million+ sales) by the BPI. Definitely Maybe marked the beginning of Oasis’ success in America, selling over one million copies there, despite only peaking at 58 on the Billboard 200. The album went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide and brought widespread critical acclaim.

2005, 77-year-old Fats Domino was rescued from the flooding in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina. He had earlier told his agent that he planned to remain in his home despite the order to evacuate.

Born on August 29: Dick Halligan Keyboards, flute, vocals, Blood Sweat & Tears (1943); Chris Copping, Procol Harum (1945);  Dave Malone, singer-songwriter , guitarist, The Radiators (1952); Rick Downey, Blue Oyster Cult (1953); Elizabeth Fraser, vocals, Cocteau Twins(1958); Michael Jackson (1958); Anton Newcombe,  singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Brian Jonestown Massacre (1967); Alex Griffin, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin (1971); Kyle Cook,  singer-songwriter, guitarist, Matchbox 20 (1973)

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Today in Rock History – August 21

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1965, The Rolling Stones started a three week run at No.1 on the album chart with Out Of Our Heads the group’s first No.1 album.

1965, During a 17 date UK tour, The Who played at the Palais in Bournemouth.

1966, On their last ever US tour The Beatles performed in two cities due to a cancellation due to rain the previous day. First they performed at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. Then they flew to St. Louis, Missouri, for a concert at Busch Stadium, where they performed under a tarpaulin due to heavy rain. It was this gig that convinced Paul McCartney that The Beatles should stop performing live.

1967, The Doors started recording their second album Strange Days at Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood, California.

1968,Tommy James and The Shondells returned to the No.1 position for the second time with the single “Mony Mony.”

Lynyrd Skynyrd

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Carousel Theatre in Framingham, Massachusetts.

1969, Yes played at the Star Club, Hamburg, Germany.

1970, Led Zeppelin performed at Assembly Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma

1971, The Band performed at Borough of York Stadium in Toronto, Ontario.

1971, Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come, Hawkwind, Duster Bennett, Brewers Droop, Indian Summer, Graphite, Queen all appeared at the Tregye Festival Truro, Cornwall, England.

1972, Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane was arrested after a fight broke out on stage during a concert when the police had been called “pigs.” Grace Slick was maced and another group member injured at the show in Akron.

1974, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young appear at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1976, The Rolling Stones, 10CC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia and Hot Tuna all appeared at The Knebworth Festival, Hertfordshire, England.

1977, Yes appeared at War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, New York.

1978, AC/DC  performed at the Paradise Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts.

1979, Van Halen played at the MECCA Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Cape Cod Coliseum, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.

1982, U2 singer Bono married Alison Stewart, his girlfriend from 1975 at All Saints Church, Raheny in Ireland. U2 bassist Adam Clayton acted as Bono’s best man.

1983, The Grateful Dead performed at Frost Amphitheater on the campus of Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.

1983, Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone had a four-hour brain surgery operation, after being found unconscious in a New York Street where he had been involved in a fight.

1997, Oasis’ third album Be Here Now, became one of the fastest selling albums ever, shifting over 350,000 units on the first day of release. The cover image for Be Here Now was shot at Stocks House in Hertfordshire, the former home of Victor Lownes, the head of the Playboy Clubs in the UK.

2005, Robert Moog, inventor of the synthesizer died aged 71, four months after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Dr Moog built his first electronic instrument, a theremin – aged 14 and made the MiniMoog, “the first compact, easy-to-use synthesizer” in 1970. He won the Polar prize, Sweden’s, music equivalent to the Nobel prize, in 2001. Wendy Carlos’ 1968 Grammy award-winning album, Switched-On Bach, brought Dr Moog to prominence.

2008, Drummer Buddy Harman died of congestive heart failure at age 79. He worked with Elvis Presley (“Little Sister,”) Patsy Cline (“Crazy,”) Roy Orbison (“Pretty Woman,”) Johnny Cash (“Ring Of Fire’,”)  and Tammy Wynette (“Stand By Your Man.”) Harman was the first house drummer for The Grand Ole Opry and can be heard on over 18,000 recordings.

Born on August 21: Count Basie (1904); Kenny Rogers (1937); Tom Costello, Santana (1941); Jackie DeShannon singer (1944);  Joe Strummer (1952); Budgie, Siouxsie & the Banshees and Kim Sledge, Sister Sledge (1957)

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