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Today in Rock History – October 23

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Clash
The Clash

1976, The Clash appeared at The ICA in London.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today in Rock History – October 19

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yardbirds-jeff-beck-eric-clapton-jimmy-page-dreja-relf1966, The Yardbirds arrived in New York for their first US tour with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page on lead guitars. After two dates of the tour, Beck developed acute tonsillitis and quit the group. He would go on to form The Jeff Beck Group, giving Rod Stewart his first major exposure.

1966, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon travel to Copenhagen. Pete Townshend misses the flight, as well as the press conference held at the Star Club. While there, Helle Hellman interviews John for the Danish Beat magazine. John says his hearing is going, and he has already developed the habit of seeming to listen and respond to people he cannot hear.

1967, The soundtrack to The Sound Of Music was at number one on the album charts, spending its 132nd week on the chart. The Beatles were second with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Scott Walker was third with Scott.

1968, The “New” Yardbirds made their last appearance at Liverpool University, with only Jimmy Page as a remaining member. He was about to christen his new band as Led Zeppelin later in the month. Press reports suggested that Keith Moon of the Who had come up with the band’s new name.

1968, On their farewell tour, Cream appeared at The Forum in Los Angeles, California, where live recordings were made which were included on the Goodbye Cream album which was released the following year.

1968, Eighteen year-old Peter Frampton met Steve Marriott at a Small Faces show in London. After striking up a friendship, the two started planning a new group which would debut as Humble Pie the following April.

1969, Led Zeppelin, Santana, and Light House performed and afternoon and evening show at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago.

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

1971, Jethro Tull played at Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York.

1972, Alice Cooper played at Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

bob-marley-19741973, During their ‘Burnin’ North American tour, Bob Marley and The Wailers played the first of two nights at The Matrix Club, San Francisco, California.

1973, Genesis played at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

1973, David Bowie released his seventh album Pin Ups. The album, which features supermodel Twiggy on the front cover, is a collection of cover versions of some of the singer’s favorite songs, including tracks by Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things, The Who, The Yardbirds and The Kinks.

1974, The Grateful Dead performed at San Francisco’s Winterland Auditorium.

1974, KISS played at the Renaissance Valentine Theater, Toledo, Ohio.

1975, The Who appeared at Granby Halls, Leicester, England. The same day, the end of a three-part overview of rock by Philip Norman is published in the Sunday Times Magazine. In his entry on The Who, he says that Pete’s best work predates Tommy and claims, “The Who are trapped playing aging music for the aging young.” In response, that night on stage, Pete calls the Times‘ staff “pricks.”

1976, Rush appeared at the PNE Garden Auditorium, Vancouver, Canada.

1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd performed at Memorial Auditorium, Greenville, South Carolina.

1978, Hawkwind played at King George Hall, Blackburn, England.

1980, AC/DC kicked off a 20-date UK tour at Bristol Colston Hall. The band’s first gigs since the death of singer Bon Scott.

1985, A-Ha went to number one on the US singles chart with “Take On Me,” making them the first Norwegian group to notch a US chart topper.

1991, Oasis played The Boardwalk in their hometown Manchester, the group’s first gig with Noel Gallagher in the group.

1995, African-American jazz trumpeter Don Cherry died of liver failure aged 58. Developed the genre of world fusion music, incorporating influences of Middle Eastern, traditional African, and Indian music into his playing. Is the stepfather to singer’s musicians Neneh Cherry and Eagle-Eye Cherry.

1997, Glen Buxton, an original guitarist for Alice Cooper’s band died from pneumonia at age 49. He was born in Akron, Ohio, but attended High School in Phoenix, Arizona, where he met Dennis Dunaway and Vincent Furnier, soon to be known as Alice Cooper. Buxton co-wrote several classic Cooper hits, including “School’s Out,” “I’m Eighteen,” and “Elected.”

1998, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher made a surprise appearance at the launch party of the new London venue Sound Republic. He jammed onstage with Pete Townshend, and members from Ocean Colour Scene and Boo Radleys.

2009, A clump of hair believed to have been trimmed from Elvis Presley’s head when he joined the US Army in 1958 sold for $15,000 (£9,200) at an auction in Chicago. Other items sold belonging to Presley included a shirt which sold for $52,000 (£32,000), a set of concert-used handkerchiefs, $732 (£450,) and photos from the reception of Presley’s 1967 wedding to Priscilla, sold for nearly $6,000 (£3,700.)

2011, Coldplay released their fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto which charted at number one in thirty-four countries. In the UK, Mylo Xyloto became Coldplay’s fifth album to debut at number one, and became the group’s third to debut in the same spot on the US Billboard 200.

Born on October 19: Peter Tosh (1944); Jeannie C Riley, singer, “Harper Valley PTA” (1945); Keith Reid, Procul Harum (1946); Patrick Simmons,  The Doobie Brothers (1948); Karl Walinger, The Waterboys, World Party (1957); Daniel Woodgate, drummer, Madness (1960);

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Today in Rock History – October 16

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1966, Grace Slick performs as a member of Jefferson Airplane for the first time at San Francisco’s Fillmore West after Signe Anderson bows out of the group’s lineup. Slick, who was with fellow San Francisco band Great Society, introduces the band to two new songs, her composition “White Rabbit,” and “Somebody to Love,” written by her then brother-in-law Darby Slick.

1967, Folk singer Joan Baez was arrested, along with 123 others, for blocking the entrance to an Armed Forces Induction Center in Oakland, California.

1968, Pink Floyd performed at Theatre du Huitieme in Lyon, France with a psychedelic light show by the London Arts Laboratory.

1969, Record company executive and founder of the Chess record label, Leonard Chess, died of a heart attack aged 52. Chicago based Chess was home to Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Walter, Jimmy Reed and Sonny Boy Williamson.

1969, Bobbie Gentry was atop on the UK singles chart with the Burt Bacharach and Hal David song “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,” the singer’s only UK number one.

1970, Rod Stewart & The Faces appear at the Eastown Theater in Detroit, Michigan.

1971, Isaac Hayes releases the Theme From Shaft.” The theme music of the hit blaxsploitation film would go to number one.

1971, Neil Diamond performed at the Indiana State University Arena in Terre Haute, Indiana.

1972, Creedence Clearwater Revival split up following the failure of their most recent album, Mardi Gras. After limited success as a solo act and some legal hassles with Fantasy Records, John Fogarty would have two big hits in 1980, “Center Field” and “Rock and Roll Girl.” John’s brother Tom Fogarty died in September, 1990.

1974, The Grateful Dead played the first of five nights at the Winterland Arena, San Francisco, California.

1974, Hawkwind appear at Ellis Auditorium North Hall in Memphis, Tennessee.

1975, The Who played at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland.

1976, One hit wonder Rick Dees and his Cast Of Idiots went to number one on the singles chart with “Disco Duck.”

1976, Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key Of Life went to number one on the album charts, featuring the tracks “Sir Duke,” “I Wish,” and “Isn’t She Lovely.”

1977, Rush appeared at Taylor County Expo Center Coliseum, Abilene, Texas.

1978, Hawkwind played at Guild Hall, Portsmouth, England.

1979, AC/DC headlined at Towson University, Towson, Maryland.

1980, Jeff Beck appears at Cobo Arena, Detroit,Michigan.

1981, Eric Clapton played at Vejlby-Risskovhallen, Aarhus, Denmark.

1982, Culture Club appeared on UK TV’s Top Of The Pops performing “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me,” which they got thanks to Shakin’ Stevens being ill and not able to appear. The song became a major hit after their memorable performance on the music TV show.

1983, ZZ Top appeared at the Marquee Club, London.

1986, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Robert Cray joined other artists on stage in St Louis, for Chuck Berry’s 60th birthday concert, as featured in the film ‘Hail Hail! Rock & Roll’.

1992, Bob Dylan’s 30th Anniversary (of his recording debut) tribute concert took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Guest performers include Neil Young, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Ron Wood, and Dylan himself.

2006, CBGB, the legendary New York punk club credited with discovering Patti Smith and The Ramones, closed after a final gig by Smith herself. Blondie and Talking Heads also found fame after performing at the club, which helped launch US punk music. The venue first opened in December 1973, its full name CBGB OMFUG standing for “country, bluegrass, blues and other music for uplifting gormandizers”.

2010, Auburn University graduate student Justin Havird named a new species of fish, Lepidocephalichthys zeppelini, because the fish’s pectoral fin reminded him of the double-neck guitar used by Jimmy Page. “I’m a big Led Zeppelin fan, and I was listening to them while I was working on the fish,” Havird said. “The structure that makes this species unique just reminded me of the guitar that Jimmy Page played.”

Born on this day: Nico, The Velvet Underground (1938); Fred Turner, bass, vocals, Bachman Turner Overdrive (1943); Bob Weir, Grateful Dead (1947); Michael Balzary, (Flea), Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962); John Mayer (1977)

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Today in Rock History – October 15

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1966, Pink Floyd (who were paid £15 for the gig), The Move, Denny Laine, and Soft Machine all appeared at the launch for International Times at London’s Roundhouse.

1966, The Four Tops started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Reach Out And I’ll Be There.” The spot was previously held by “Cherish” from The Association.

1967, Cream played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1967, The first Sacramento Pop Festival took place which featured Spirit, Jefferson Airplane, Nutty Gritty Dirt Band, Strawberry Alarm Clock and Sunshine Company.

1967, The Who tape an appearance on the BBC1 TV show Twice A Fortnight miming to “I Can See For Miles” and “Mary Anne With The Shaky Hands.” The director chooses to shoot the band using constant, rapid zooming shots. This motion-sickness inducing performance airs on the 21st, and is shown in the US on American Bandstand on December 30th.

1968, Vanilla Fudge played at the MECCA in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1969, The Who appeared at the Capitol Theatre, Ottawa, Ontario.

1970, Yes performed at Dundee University, Dundee, Scotland.

1971, Pink Floyd kicked off a 30-date North American tour at the Winterland Auditorium in San Francisco, California.

1972, Lieutenant Pigeon were atop the UK singles chart with “Mouldy Old Dough.” Keyboard player Rob Woodward had his mom play piano on the single, making them the only mother and son act to score a UK number one. The song was recorded in the front room of their semi-detached house.

1973, Keith Richards was found guilty of trafficking cannabis by a Court in Nice, France. The Rolling Stone was given a one-year suspended sentence and a 5,000 franc fine. He was also banned from entering France for two years.

1974, David Bowie plays the first of a six night engagement at the Michigan Palace in Detroit, as part of the Philly Dogs Tour. Carlos Alomar, David Sanborn, and Luther Vandross were all part of Bowie’s musical entourage.

1975, Jefferson Starship performed at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1976, AC/DC appeared at Cirque Royal in Brussels, Belgium.

1977, Debby Boone started a 10 week run at number one on the singles chart with “You Light Up My Life,” the longest stay at the top since Guy Mitchell’s “Singing The Blues.”

1978, Bob Dylan performed at Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, Ohio.

1979, Abba played their first concert in North America when they appeared in Vancouver, Canada.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at Memorial Auditorium, Utica, New York.

1981, The Grateful Dead played at the Melkweg in Amsterdam.

1983, Genesis went to number one on the album chart with their self-titled album Genesis.

1988, Bon Jovi started a four-week run at number one on the album chart with New Jersey.

UB40

1988, UB40 went to number one on the singles chart with their version of the Neil Diamond song “Red Red Wine.”

1995, Paul and Linda McCartney were the guest voices on Fox-TV’s The Simpsons in an episode called “Lisa the Vegetarian.” McCartney’s stipulation for appearing was that Lisa’s decision to become a vegetarian would be a permanent character change, to which producer David Mirkin agreed.

1997, Michael Jackson played the last date on the HIStory Tour at King’s Park Rugby Stadium, Durban, South Africa. During the tour, Jackson performed 82 concerts in 58 cities to over 4.5 million fans, visiting five continents and 35 countries.

2000, Radiohead went to number one on the US album chart with Kid A, the group’s fourth album. It became the first Radiohead release to debut at the top position in the US.

2000, U2 went to number one on the UK singles chart with “Beautiful Day,” the group’s fourth UK top single and taken from their album All That You Can’t Leave Behind.

2008, Jon Bon Jovi became the latest musician to disapprove of the use of his songs in John McCain’s US presidential campaign. The Bon Jovi song, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” was used during rallies held by Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Foo Fighters, Heart and Jackson Browne had all asked Mr McCain to stop using their tracks in his presidential bid. Bon Jovi, a Democrat supporter, threw a $30,000 (£17,000) per person, fund-raising dinner for Democratic candidate Barack Obama at his New Jersey home in September.

Born on October 15: Barry McGuire (1935);  Don Stevenson, Moby Grape (1942); Richard Carpenter (1946); and Tito Jackson (1953)

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Today in Rock History – October 8

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beatles-1964B1964, Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles recorded their next single “She’s a Woman” in seven takes, plus overdubs, recording the song from start to finish in five hours.

1964, Roy Orbison was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with “Oh Pretty Woman,” his third UK No.1. The title was inspired by Orbison’s wife Claudette interrupting a conversation to announce she was going out.  Orbison asked if she was okay for cash, and his co-writer Bill Dees interjected “A pretty woman never needs any money.”

1965, The Who appeared at City Hall in Perth, Australia.

1965, During a UK The Rolling Stones appeared at The ABC, Stockton on Tees. Also on the bill, Spencer Davis Group, Unit Four + 2, The Checkmates, The End, and Charles Dickens and The Habits.

1965, The Florescents supported by The Castiles, which featured a young singer called Bruce Springsteen appeared at the I.B. Club in Howell, New Jersey. This was The Castiles first publicly advertised nightclub appearance. Admission was $1.00

1966, Cream drummer Ginger Baker collapsed during a gig at Sussex University, England after playing a 20 minute drum solo. He recovered in a local hospital.

1967, Jimi Hendrix, Arthur Brown and John’s Children all appeared at the Saville Theatre in London, England.

1969, Humble Pie, supported by David Bowie, appeared at The Coventry Theatre in England.

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

led-zeppelin-led-zep-II1971, Led Zeppelin II was enjoying its 100th week on the UK album charts. It was the band’s first album to hit No.1 in the US, knocking The Beatles’ Abbey Road twice from the top spot, where it remained for seven weeks. When first released the album had advance orders of 400,000 copies in the USA, (the advertising campaign was built around the slogan “Led Zeppelin II Now Flying.”) In 1999, it was certified 12 times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for US sales in excess of 12 million copies.

1972, David Bowie performed at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit, Michigan.

1974, The Ramones played at CBGB, New York.

1975, The Doobie Brothers appeared at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1976, AC/DC played at Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

1977,   David Soul was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with “Silver Lady,” his second and last UK No.1 single. Soul was an actor on the American TV cop show Starsky & Hutch.

1978, Yes performed at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum in Oakland, California.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult played at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1982, R.E.M. appeared at the Peppermint Lounge, New York City, supported by The Fleshtones.

1987, Chuck Berry was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His film biography, Hail, Hail Rock & Roll also premiered on the same night.

1988, On their 12th single release, U2 scored their first UK No.1 with “Desire.” The track which was also a US No.3 hit, was taken from their album Rattle And Hum.

1989, The Grateful Dead played at the Hampton Coliseum, in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

1992, The US Postal Service issued a set of commemorative stamps to celebrate pop music legends. The stamps included Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Otis Redding, Ritchie Valens, Clyde McPhatter and Dinah Washington.

2000, Radiohead started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart their fourth studio album Kid A. The album became the first Radiohead release to debut at No.1 in the US.

2006, The Killers started a three week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with Sam’s Town the US bands second album.The title refers to a hotel-casino in the band’s hometown of Las Vegas.

Born on this day: George Bellamy, guitar, The Tornadoes (1940); Butch Rillera, Redbone and Ray Royer, guitarist, Procol Harum (1945); Tony Wilson, Hot Chocolate (1947); Johnny Ramone, guitar, The Ramones (1948); and Bruno Mars (1985)

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Today in Rock History – October 5

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1966, Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding played together for the first time, The Jimi Hendrix Experience were formed.

1967, The Doors played the final night of a five night run at Steve Paul’s Scene in New York City.

1969, Donovan appeared at Ellis Auditorium North Hall in Memphis, Tennessee.

1970, The Rolling Stones performed at Festhalle in Frankfurt, Germany.

1970, Led Zeppelin released their third studio album, titled Led Zeppelin III. It was recorded between January and August 1970 and released on Atlantic Records. The material was composed largely at a remote cottage in Wales known as Bron-Yr-Aur. It was number one in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Italy. 1970,  The original cover and interior gatefold art consisted of a surreal collection of random images. Behind the front cover was a rotatable laminated card disc, covered with more images, including photos of the band members, which showed through holes in the cover. The distinctive cover was based on a suggestion of Jimmy Page’s that it should resemble an old-fashioned gardening seed chart. It was designed by Richard Drew, and the sleeve photographs were taken by fellow Leeds Polytechnic lecturer Martin Salisbury.

1970, Hawkwind appeared at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London.

1971, The Moody Blues played at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.

1972, Elton John appears at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario.

1973, King Crimson performed at Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas.

1974, Mike Oldfields Tubular Bell‘ went to number one for the first time on the album chart 15 months after being released. The album had a big boost when it was featured in the movie The Exorcist. It went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide.

1974, Olivia Newton-John started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “I Honestly Love You,” the singers first of five chart toppers.

1974, The Beach Boys went to number one on the album chart with Endless Summer, the group’s second number one. The album was a collection of hits from the band’s pre-Pet Sounds period. Endless Summer was compiled by their old label Capitol Records while the Beach Boys were contracted with Reprise Records.

1975, Stevie Wonder appeared at the Wonder Dream Concert in Kingston, Jamaica, a Jamaican Institute for the Blind benefit concert. Along with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, the three original Wailers, performing together for the last time.

1976, AC/DC played at Stadthalle, Bern, Switzerland.

1977, Rush performed at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona.

1978, Aerosmith appeared at Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, Ohio.

1979, Jethro Tull played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario.

1980, Yes performed at Selland Arena, Fresno, California.

1981, King Crimson headlined at Moles Club, Bath, England.

1982, The Who played at the Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois, just outside of Chicago.

1984, Queen played the first of nine concerts at the Sun City Super Bowl, Sun City, Republic of Bophuthatswana (integrated into South Africa’s North West Province in 1994). The 1984 The Works tours saw the reintroduction of older material to Queen’s live set, including songs from the first three albums.

1984, The Grateful Dead played at the Coliseum in Charlotte, NC.

1985, Midge Ure was at number one on the UK singles chart with “If I Was.” The former Ultravox and Slik singer’s only solo chart topper. The song features Mark King of Level 42 on bass guitar.

1987, Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr began rehearsals with The Pretenders in preparation for the band supporting U2 on their North America tour.

1989, Motley Crue played a warm-up show for their upcoming Dr. Feelgood tour at the Whisky a Go Go, West Hollywood, California, under their pseudonym The Foreskins. The show was also used for the filming of their next video, “Kickstart My Heart.”

1991, Guns N’ Roses started a two week run at number one on the US album chart with Use Your Illusion II.

1992, American singer Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations died, aged 52, of lung cancer, one year after having one lung removed. His was the lead voice on “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” “Get Ready,” and “Just My Imagination.” As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s, including the US chart topping single “Keep On Truckin’.”

1996, “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” by American group Deep Blue Something was at number one on the UK singles chart. The song is a reference to the classic 1960 Audrey Hepburn film of the same name.

1999, Roger Daltrey announced that The Who were reforming, making their first performance in Las Vegas on Oct 29th. The show was also to be broadcast live on the Internet.

2000, Beatles’ fans across the world rushed out to buy copies of the Fab Four’s autobiography. Stores in Japan and Britain opened at midnight to satisfy demand for the book, the first written by the band members. Publishers said the 350,000-word volume, at a cost of £35 ($56,) had already attracted more than one and a half million orders worldwide.

Born on October 5: Carlo Mastrangelo, Dion and the Belmonts (1938); Richard Street, The Temptations (1942); Steve Miller (1943); Brian Johnson, singer, AC/DC,  Geordie (1947); Lucius “Tawl” Ross, Funkadelic (1948); Brian Connolly, Sweet (1949); Eddie Clarke, guitarist Motörhead, Fastway (1950); Bob Geldof  (1951); Lee Thompson, sax, vocals, Madness (1957); David Bryson, guitar, Counting Crows (1961); Colin Meloy,  singer-songwriter, guitarist The Decemberists (1971); James Valentine, guitarist, Maroon 5 (1978)

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Today in Rock History – September 28

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1968, The Beatles started a nine week run at number one on the singles chart with “Hey Jude.” The Paul McCartney penned tune was about Lennon’s son Julian, and gave the Fab Four their sixteenth chart topper, and the biggest selling single of 1968.

1968, The Rascals went to number one on the album chart with Time Peace / The Rascals’ Greatest Hits.

1968, Bruce Springsteen and a local folk rock group The Founders appeared at the Off Broad Street Coffee House in Red Bank, New Jersey.

1969, Pink Floyd played at Theater 140, Brussels, Belgium.

1970, Yes appeared at the University Of South Wales, Aberystwyth, England.

1970, Pete Townshend writes out the scenario for The Who’s next project, the film Lifehouse. “OVERTURE: The farmers — Life — Beauty — Celebration, LIFEHOUSE: The City — Rock — Youth against finance — Individuals working for the whole, GLORIFICATION: They disappear — they triumph, leaving everyone behind.” He sends a copy to co-manager Chris Stamp along with details on how the members of The Who would fit into the movie and how filming might be handled. That project never came to fruition, and the songs became the basis for Who’s Next, released in 1971.

1971, Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at the Festival Hall in Osaka, Japan.

1971, The Who open their fall U.K. tour at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England.

1972, Hawkwind performed at the Paris Theatre, London.

1973, The Rolling Stones appear at Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany.

1974, Bad Company went to No.1 on the album chart with their self-titled debut album. Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke had come out of Free, while Mick Ralphs had played guitar with Mott the Hoople, and Boz Burrell played bass for King Crimson before the group formed in 1973. They produced six albums together before disbanding in 1983.

1974, Canadian singer Andy Kim went to No.1 on the singles chart with “Rock Me Gently,” Kim was the co-writer of The Archies’ “Sugar Sugar.”

1976, The Grateful Dead performed at Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, New York.

1976, A&M Records sued George Harrison for $6 million over non-delivery of a new album after he missed the deadline by two months.

1977, Aerosmith performed at Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky.

1978, AC/DC appeared at War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, New York.

1979, Van Halen played at Don Barnett Arena, Rapid City, South Dakota.

1980, The Police were at No.1 on the singles chart with “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” the group’s third No.1. It appeared on their album Zenyatta Mondatta and was the best selling single of 1980.

1981, Van Halen performed at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona.

1985, Kate Bush scored her second UK No.1 album with Hounds Of Love. The singer’s second No.1 album featured the tracks “Running Up That Hill,” “‘Cloudbusting,” “Hounds of Love,” and “The Big Sky.”

1987, U2 played the first of two nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City during their Joshua Tree world tour.

1991, American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer Miles Davis died of a stroke and pneumonia. His 1959 album Kind of Blue, was a major influence on jazz music.

1991, Guns N’ Roses released two albums, Use Your Illusion I and ‘Use Your Illusion II, which debut at number 1 and number 2 on the UK album chart. Both albums reached No.1 & No.2 in the US.

1991, On the week of their album Nevermind being released, Nirvana made an appearance at the Tower Records store in New York City and then played a show at The Marquee Club in New York. Their single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had also entered the US Top 20 this week.

2000, As part of their UK Under A Big Top tour, Radiohead played the first of two nights at Glasgow Green in Scotland.

2008, Kings of Leon started a two week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with Only by the Night, the band’s fourth studio album.

2009, Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM., American club DJ and musician, died of an accidental drug overdose at home in New York City aged 36. Had worked with Blink 182, Crazy Town, Madonna. Goldstein had survived a plane crash along with Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker in September 2008.

Born on September 28: Ed Sullivan (1902); Ben E. King (1938); Nick Nicholas, Steppenwolf (1943); Paul Burgess, drums, 10cc (1950); and Melody Thornton, singer, The Pussycat Dolls (1984)

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Today in Rock History – September 24

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bob-dylan19651965, Bob Dylan played the first night on a 36 date North American tour at Austin Municipal Auditorium in Austin, Texas.

1966, Jimi Hendrix arrived in London with manager Chas Chandler on a flight from New York City. With only the clothes he was wearing, Hendrix had sold his other belongings to pay a hotel bill in New York.

1966, The Association started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “Cherish.” The New Christy Minstrels almost recorded the track but Association member and songwriter, Terry Kirkman, held onto “Cherish” instead of selling it for $1000. The finished recording played for 3 minutes and 25 seconds, but the single’s label listed the time as 3:00 so that disc jockeys wouldn’t be discouraged from playing a “long song.”

1967, Traffic made their live debut when they appeared at Saville Theatre in London, featuring Steve Winwood.

1967, Filming continued for The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour at West Malling Air Station, Maidstone, Kent with the shooting of the “Your Mother Should Know” ballroom finale. The Beatles were all dressed in white suits and shoes, gliding down a glittery staircase as 160 members of Peggy Spencer’s dance team swirled round about.

1969, Pink Floyd performed at Stadsgehoorzaal, Leiden, The Netherlands.

1970, The Rolling Stones played at Palais des Sport, Paris

1971, Yes appeared at Queen’s Hall,  Barnstable, Devon, England.

1972, During his Ziggy Stardust tour and on his first North American visit, David Bowie appeared at the New Fisher Theatre, Detroit, Michigan.

Roxy Music
Roxy Music

1974, Roxy Music played at Colston Hall, Bristol, England.

1976, The Grateful Dead performed at College Hall on the campus of William & Mary College, in Williamsburg, Virginia.

1977, Rush appeared at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, New York.

1980, The mixing of the forthcoming John and Yoko album Double Fantasy moved from the Hit Factory in New York City to the Record Plant East. During this session, John Lennon gave one of last ever interviews to Lisa Robinson from 97-FM in Buffalo.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Congress Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.

1983, UB40 scored their first No.1 album with Labour Of Love.

1984, Culture Club had their second number one single with “Karma Chameleon,” which stayed at the top of the charts for six weeks and became the best-selling single of 1983.

1988, Bobby McFerrin started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” the first a-Capella record to be a chart topper. It made it to number two in the UK. The song was also included in the movie, Cocktail. It would go on to win Grammy Awards for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

1988, The Hollies were at number one on the UK singles chart with “He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother” after the song was used on a UK television beer commercial  The song was originally a hit in 1969 and featured a young Elton John on piano.

1990, AC/DC released The Razors Edge, their 11th internationally released studio album. The only studio album to feature drummer Chris Slade, reached number two on the chart.

1991, Nirvana’s album Nevermind was released in America, entering the chart at number 144 on its first week. The album which peaked at number one in January 1992, has now sold over 30 million copies worldwide. The idea for the iconic front cover shot of the baby swimming came after Kurt Cobain and drummer Dave Grohl saw a TV documentary on water babies.

2003, The Dave Matthews Band played at Central Park in New York City, in front of almost 100,000, the band’s largest audience to date. The Central Park Concert was later released as an album.

2004, The Strat Pack: Live in Concert was held at Wembley Arena in London marking the 50th Anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar. The concert featured Ronnie Wood, Joe Walsh, Gary Moore, Brian May, David Gilmour, Albert Lee, Andy Fairweather-Low, Hank Marvin and many more.

2012, Mumford & Sons released their second studio album Babel which debuted at number one on both the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. It became the fastest selling album of 2012 in the UK and was nominated in the category of Album of the Year for both a Brit Award and Grammy Award, winning the latter.

Born on September 24: Mel Taylor, drums, The Ventures (1934); Linda McCartney (1942); Gerry Marsden, Gerry and the Pacemakers (1942); Carson Osten, Nazz, Utopia (1946); Jerry Donahue, Fotheringay, Fairport Convention (1946); and Peter Salisbury, drums, The Verve (1971)

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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 20

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Clash

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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