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Today in Rock History – August 13

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1965, Jefferson Airplane made their live debut at San Francisco’s Matrix Club.

1965, Mike Smith, lead singer of The Dave Clark Five, suffered two broken ribs when he was pulled off the stage by fans. The group were in Chicago at the beginning of a US tour.

1965, The performed at The Marine Ballroom at the Central Pier in Morecambe, Lancashire, England.

1965, The Beatles arrived at Kennedy International Airport for a tour of North America. The set list for the tour was “Twist and Shout,” “She’s a Woman,” “I Feel Fine,” “Dizzy Miss Lizzie,” “Ticket to Ride,” “‘Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Baby’s in Black,” “Act Naturally,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Help!,” “I’m Down,” and “I Wanna Be Your Man.” The tour was not a happy one for The Beatles, John Lennon took to screaming off-microphone obscenities at the audiences.

1966, Lovin Spoonful started a three-week run at number one on the Billboard singles chart with “Summer In The City,” knocking of “Hanky Panky” by Tommy James and the Shondelles.

1966, Revolver, The Beatles seventh album release in three years, started a seven-week run at number one on the UK charts. Meanwhile, their Yesterday and Today album entered the third of a five-week run atop the US charts.

1967, The Who appeared at Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C. After the show, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle run over to the Ambassador to catch Jimi Hendrix’s set. When Hendrix sees Pete and John in the audience, he launches into a cover of “I Can’t Explain”.

1967, Fleetwood Mac made their live debut when they appeared at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Windsor. Also on the bill Jeff Beck, Cream, Small Faces, The Move, The Pink Floyd, Donovan and Chicken Shack.

1968, The Who appeared at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, California.

1971, Saxophonist King Curtis Ousley was stabbed to death by a vagrant on the front steps of his New York home. Ousley had worked with John Lennon and also played on The Coasters “Yakety Yak.”

1971, John Lennon flew from Heathrow Airport to New York, he never set foot on British soil again.

1971, Pink Floyd played their first ever Australian date when they appeared at the Festival Hall in Melbourne.

1972, Hawkwind performed at the Rainbow Theatre, London.

1972, Ten Years After headlined the final day of the Reading Festival. Matching Mole, Quintessence, Stackridge, Status Quo, Stray, String Driven Thing, Sutherland Brothers, Vinegar Joe, and Wizzard were also on the bill.

1973, John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra played at the Wollman Skating Rink Theater in New York City.

1974, Rory Gallagher appeared at The Agora, in Cleveland, Ohio.

1975, The Grateful Dead performed at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. The show was broadcast on September 1st by the Metromedia Network.

1976, The Clash played a private gig for the press at Chalk Farm rehearsal studios, London.

1977, Yes scored their second UK number one album with their eighth studio album Going For The One. The album marked the return of keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who departed in 1974 over musical differences.

1977, Bachman Turner Overdrive split up.

1978, AC/DC appeared at Gusman Philharmonic Hall, Miami, Florida.

1980, Four masked robbers broke in to Todd Rundgren’s New York house and proceeded to steal Hi-Fi equipment and paintings after tying the musician up. It was reported that one of the intruders had been humming his hit “I Saw The Light.”

1980, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

1982, American soul singer Joe Tex died at his home in Navasota, Texas, following a heart attack, just five days after his 49th birthday. Had nine US Top 40 hits including the 1972 US number two single “I Gotcha.”

1983, KC and the Sunshine Band were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Give It Up.” The American disco group’s only UK chart topper spent three weeks at the top spot.

1992, Neil Diamond played the first of six sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York. Diamond would bring in over $40 (£25) million from touring this year, the second highest in the music industry.

1994, Woodstock ’94 was held in Saugerties, New York, attended by over 350,000 fans, the festival featured Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Aerosmith, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Tickets cost $135.00 (£89.00). Performers from the original Woodstock appearing at Woodstock ’94 were The Band, Santana, Joe Cocker, Country Joe McDonald, John Sebastian, surviving members of Sweetwater, and Crosby, Stills, & Nash. Additionally, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane, and Bob Weir, guitar of the Grateful Dead, all Woodstock alumni, performed with The Band.

2009, Guitarist Les Paul died in hospital in White Plains, New York at the age of 94 suffering from severe pneumonia. Paul is credited with developing one of the first solid-body electric guitars, which went on sale in 1952 and contributed to the birth of rock. He also developed other influential recording innovations such as multi-track recording and overdubbing. In the early 50s, Paul and his wife Mary Ford had a string of hits including “Mockin’ Bird Hill,” “How High the Moon,” and “Vaya Con Dios.”

Born on August 13: Cliff Fish, bass, Paper Lace (1949); Dan Fogelberg (1951); Hughie Thomasson,  singer, guitarist, Outlaws, Lynyrd Skynyrd (1952); Danny Bonaduce, The Partridge Family (1959)

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Today in Rock History – August 2

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pink-floyd-1968B1966, The Who go on vacation for two weeks. Keith, his wife Kim, John and his girlfriend Allison travel to Torremolinos in Spain. Newborn Mandy Moon is left behind with Keith’s parents. Pete travels to Israel. Roger stays in London, spending three days redecorating his apartment and the rest of the time fishing.

1968, During their second ever North American tour, Pink Floyd plays the first of three nights at San Francisco’s Avalon Ballroom. Supporting acts were Chrome Syrcus and The Holy Modal Rounders.

1969, Bob Dylan attended his ten-year high school reunion, accompanied by his then-wife Sara. They flew into Hibbing Airport, and were then driven into town, where the other graduates of 1959 were gathered at the Moose Lodge. According to the UK paper The Telegraph, one attended stated, “My memory of that is of Bob standing in one corner and of people going up and shaking his hand. I didn’t like that….I would have been happier if he had just been able to sit down and be one of our classmates.”  However, some men at the gathering didn’t approve of Bob’s presence, and words were apparently exchanged. Swiftly, Bob and Sara left.

1969, Led Zeppelin and Vanilla Fudge performed at Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Civic Auditorium.  Tickets cost from $3 – 5 (£1.88 – 3.13).

1971, Creedence Clearwater Revival kicked off a 10-date US tour at the Assembly Centre, Tulsa.

1972, Brian Cole bass player with The Association died of a heroin overdose in Los Angeles, California at the age of 29.

1973, The Mamas and the Papas filed a lawsuit against their record label Dunhill for over a million dollars in unpaid royalties.

1973, Bachman-Turner Overdrive sign with Mercury Records.

1974, Guitarist Jeff Baxter and drummer Jim Hodder leave Steely Dan, whereupon Becker and Fagen decide to keep the band studio-bound for the remainder of their career.

1974, Pete Townshend joins Eric Clapton onstage at the Greensboro, North Carolina Coliseum for “Willie And The Hand Jive” and “Get Ready.” Keith joins them for “Layla,” “Badge” and “Little Queenie.”

1974, John and Michelle Phillips, Lou Adler, and Sonny Bono attend Mama Cass’ cremation.

1975, The Eagles went to number one on the singles chart with “One Of These Nights,” from the album of the same name. It was the group’s second chart topping single.

1976, Peter “Puddy” Watts, road manager with Pink Floyd died of a heroin overdose. Watts supplied the crazed laughter on the groups ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ album.

1977, Sex Pistol, Sid Vicious was fined £125 by a London court after he had been found carrying a knife at the 100 Club Punk Festival last September.

1977, The Who buy the Shepperton film studios in London for a half-million dollars.

1983, James Jamerson died of complications stemming from cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure and pneumonia in Los Angeles, he was 47 years old. As one of The Funk Brothers he was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records’ hits in the 1960s and early 1970s including songs by Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops and The Supremes. He eventually performed on nearly 30 number one pop hits.

1987, David Martin, bass player with Sam The Sham & the Pharaohs died of a heart attack aged 50. Martin co-wrote the group’s 1965 US number two and UK number 11 novelty hit “Wooly Bully.”

1998, The Beastie Boys started a three-week run at number one on the US album chart with Hello Nasty, their  third US chart topping album.

2001, New Orleans’ International Airport was re-named Louis Armstrong Airport in honor of the locally born trumpet player, singer and bandleader.

Born on August 2: Garth Hudson (1937); Doris Coley, vocals, The Shirelles (1941); Jim Capaldi, Traffic (1944); Andy Fairweather-Low (1950); Andrew Gold (1951); Mojo Nixon (1957); Butch Vig, producer (1957); Pete De Freitas, drums, Echo And The Bunnymen (1961)

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Song Of The Day – “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive

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BTONotFragileIn 1971 the rock godz gave us Fragile by Yes…and three years later, they bestowed upon us the riff fest known as Not Fragile by BTO!

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

We’ve all been there and I still go there today from time-to-time.  Anybody who’s been to a concert with me can attest to this fact.  It ain’t pretty…but it’s the rock abandon that tracks like the title track to BTO’s Not Fragile (written by C.F. Turner) conjure that makes it all happen. Simply put, the track is the consummate air guitar song and probably the band’s most riff-heavy moment.

The Not Fragile album was BTO’s most popular (non-compilation) album, reaching number one on the LP charts in 1974. The record was their first album with Blair Thornton on guitar, giving the album its twin lead guitar heaviosity, and it contained two of the group’s best-loved singles, the freewheelin’ “Roll On Down The Highway,” and today’s Song Of The Day, the chart-topping “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.” The rest of the BTO line-up consisted of Randy and Robbie Bachman on guitar and drums respectively, plus C.F. Turner on bass.

And today’s Song Of The Day, and the group’s biggest hit ever wasn’t even intended for the album! “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” was born out of a jam and originally recorded as a scratch track to get levels in the recording studio. Randy Bachman added the song’s signature stutter as a joke for his brother Gary who stuttered. When the band presented the album to Mercury Records for release, the suits didn’t hear a surefire hit single on it and asked Bachman if he had anything else. Bachman reluctantly dug up the scratch track and, of course, they loved it.

Even so, Bachman only agreed to add the song to the record if he could re-record the vocals without the stutter. Bachman: “I tried to sing it normal, but I sounded like Frank Sinatra. It didn’t fit.” Ultimately, it was the original stutter version that had all the magic, and that is what we hear on the album.

Bachman, however, didn’t want it released as a single and the band went with “Roll On Down The Highway” as the album’s first single which peaked at #14 on the U.S. singles charts. Meanwhile, radio DJs started playing “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” as an album cut and it began to gain popularity. As a result, the song was finally released as a single and went on to sell over a million copies and top the charts.  It was, in fact, BTO’s only chart-topping U.S. hit.

The Who had already set the precedent for the use of stuttering on a rock record with their single “My Generation,” but The Who similarities didn’t end there. Many people believe that the chord progression of “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” is indeed a rip of The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly.”

Meanwhile, stuttering has gone on to become a popular element in songs like “Bennie And The Jets” by Elton John, “Changes” by David Bowie, “Bad To The Bone” by George Thorogood & The Destroyers, “My Sharona” by The Knack, “Welcome To The Jungle” by Guns N Roses and “Check It Out” by The Beastie Boys, to name but a few. What other stutter songs can you name?

Today in Rock History – November 9

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Wilson Pickett

1965, Wilson Pickett made his UK live debut at the Scotch of St. James Club in London.

1966, John Lennon met Yoko Ono for the first time when he visited her art exhibition “Unfinished Paintings and Objects” at the Indica Gallery in London.

1967, the first issue of Rolling Stone Magazine was published in San Francisco. It featured a photo of John Lennon on the cover, dressed in army fatigues while acting in his recent film, How I Won the War, and the first issue had a free roach clip to hold a marijuana joint. The name of the magazine was compiled from three significant sources, a Muddy Waters song, the first rock ’n’ roll record by Bob Dylan and band name The Rolling Stones.

1967, Roger McGuinn kicks out David Crosby from the Byrds. Gene Clark replaces him. Crosby would later go on to form Crosby, Stills & Nash.

1968, The Doors appeared at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

1968, Melody Maker’s Chris Welch reports on the recording of The Who’s new rock opera, titled Deaf Dumb and Blind Boy.  Producer Kit Lambert says it will be ready for Christmas release. The Who play at the Adelphi Cinema in Slough.

1968, Led Zeppelin played their first ever London show when they appeared at The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm on the same bill as John Lee Hooker, Deviants, John James and Tyres. Zeppelin singer Robert Plant married his girlfriend Maureen in London on this day and held the reception at the gig.

1969, The Rolling Stones appear at the Coliseum, Oakland, California.

1969, Simon and Garfunkel record what would become their signature song,” Bridge Over Troubled Water,” with future member of Bread, Larry Knechtel on piano. Garfunkel wanted Simon to sing the song, but Paul insisted that Art’s voice was better suited for it. It was a decision that Paul would later say he regretted. The song won five awards at the 13th Annual Grammy Awards in 1971, including Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

1969, A planned show by The Who at Chicago’s Kinetic Playground on the is cancelled after the venue burns down.

1971, King Crimson performed at Fountains Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

1972, Roxy Music played at Hardrock Club, Manchester, England.

1973, Neil Young headlined at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1973, The Grateful Dead played the first of three nights at the Winterland Arena, San Francisco, California.

1974, Bachman Turner Overdrive went to number one on the singles chart with “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet,” the group’s only chart topper.

1974, Pink Floyd played the second of two nights at the Odeon in Newcastle UponTyne in England.

1974, Carole King had the number one album in the US with Wrap Around Joy.

1975, Rush played at Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri.

1976, AC/DC appeared at St. Andrews Hall, Norwich, England.

1977, Kansas performed at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

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

1980, Outlaws played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1981, The Rolling Stones played at the  Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut.

1985, Jan Hammer went to number one on the US singles chart with the theme from the television show Miami Vice. It was a number five hit in the UK.

1990, The Internal Revenue Service seized all of US country singer’s Willie Nelson’s bank accounts and real estate holdings in connection with a $16  (£10) million  tax debt.

1991, Prince and the New Power Generation started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Cream,” a top 15 hit in the UK.

1993, The Dave Matthews Band released their first album, Remember Two Things on the Bama Rags label.

1996, Michael Jackson played at the Ericsson Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, the first of eleven dates in Australia and New Zealand on the HIStory world tour.

1999, Gary Glitter appeared at Bristol Crown Court, England charged with seducing and sexually humiliating a 14 year-old girl. The charges related back to 1980.

2008, Miriam Makeba, the South African singer who reached number 12 on the Billboard chart in 1967 with “Pata Pata,” suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 76. Among her many notable achievements was becoming the first African woman to win a Grammy, for Best Folk Recording in 1966 with Harry Belafonte for An Evening With Belafonte / Makeba.

Born on November 9: Tom Fogerty (1941); Lee Graziano, American Breed (1943); Phil May, The Pretty Things (1944); Joe Bouchard, bass, Blue Oyster Cult, and Alan Gratzer, REO Speedwagon (1948); Dennis Stratton, guitar, Iron Maiden (1954)

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

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BTOLetItRide45BTOTramp45

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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