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Today in Rock History – June 17

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beatles-help1965, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles completed work on the new Paul McCartney song “Yesterday” with the overdubbing of an additional vocal track by McCartney and a string quartet. They also recorded “Act Naturally” for Ringo’s vocal contribution on the Help! album and the song “Wait” in four takes. “Wait” will not be included on ‘Help!’, it was included on the following LP, Rubber Soul.

1965, The Kinks and the Moody Blues made their US concert debut at the Academy of Music in New York City.

1966, The Who performed at City Hall in Perth, Western Australia, Australia.

1966, Guitarist Peter Green joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.

1966, Paul McCartney buys himself a farm in Kintyre, Scotland. He would later write the song “Mull of Kintyre.”

1967, Pink Floyd played at the Ballroom, Dreamland Amusement Park in Margate, Kent, England, supported by the Tony Merrick Set.

1969, Neil Young & Crazy Horse appeared at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, California.

1971, Carole King went to number one on the album chart with Tapestry for the first of 15 consecutive weeks. The album contained “It’s Too Late,” “I Feel the Earth Move,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” and “You’ve Got a Friend.”

1971, Black Sabbath and Ted Nugent played at the West Palm Beach Auditorium in West Palm Beach, Florida.

1972, The Allman Brothers Band performed at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1972, Don McLean had a number one UK single with “Vincent.” The song was written about the 19th century artist Vincent Van Gogh. The song is played daily at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

1972, David Bowie performed at Town Hall in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.

1972, Organist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan plays with the Grateful Dead for the last time at the Hollywood Bowl.

1972, Pink Floyd release their soundtrack Obscured by Clouds in the US.

1972, The Rolling Stones album Exile On Main Street started a four-week run at the top of the charts.

1973, Dolly Parton recorded “I Will Always Love You” in RCA’s Studio “B” in Nashville. Written for her one-time partner and mentor, Porter Wagoner (the two were splitting professionally at the time). The song was later a world-wide hit for Whitney Houston.

1974, KISS played at the Sunshine Inn, Asbury Park, New Jersey.

1975, Aerosmith appeared at McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado.

1976, The Grateful Dead begin the first of  three nights at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey.

1976, Ian Dury played his last gig with Kilburn and the High Roads before starting his solo career. The show at The Assembly Hall, Walthamstow also had The Sex Pistols, and The Stranglers on the bill.

1976, Neil Diamond performed at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1977, Steve Winwood releases his first self-titled solo album, three years after leaving Traffic.

1977, Eric Clapton played at Rhein-Neckar-Halle, Heidelberg, Germany.

1978, Andy Gibb became the first solo artist in the history of the US charts to have his first three releases reach number one. “Shadow Dancing” hit the top of the charts, spending seven weeks at the top, and becoming the best selling single in the US that year.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.

1978, “You’re The One That I Want” by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John started a nine week run at number one on the UK singles chart. The song was from the film Grease.

1978, As Jefferson Airplane prepare to play Germany’s Lorley Festival, Grace Slick is discovered too inebriated to perform. The band cancels.

1979, Yes played at New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, Connecticut.

1980, Led Zeppelin performed at Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany.

1981, Pink Floyd performed The Wall at Earl’s Court Exhibition Hall, Earl’s Court, London.

1983, David Bowie appeared at Freilichttheater, Bad Segeberg, Germany.

1983, James Brown, UB40, Fun Boy Three, The Beat, Curtis Mayfield, Jimmy Cliff, Marillion and Melanie all appeared at this years Glastonbury CND Festival, Shepton Mallet, England.

1984, Van Halen played at the Kansas Coliseum, Valley Center, Kansas.

1987, Florida real estate agent Vittoria Holman sued Motley Crue and their concert promoter for hearing loss allegedly incurred at a concert in December 1985. Holman and her daughter had front row seats less than 10 feet (3 meters) from the speakers. The case was settled out of court with the band’s insurance company paying Holman over $30,000. (£18,200.)

1997, Fans rioted at an Ozzfest concert in Columbus Ohio, after Ozzy Osbourne couldn’t perform due to throat problems. Angry fans broke windows, uprooted trees, and turned over a parked car.

2007, The Traveling Wilburys went to number one on the UK album chart with Collection. The lineup of the Wilburys was: George Harrison, (Nelson Wilbury,) Jeff Lynne, (Otis Wilbury,) Roy Orbison, (Lefty Wilbury,) Tom Petty, (Charlie T. Wilbury Jr.,) and Bob Dylan, (Lucky Wilbury.)

2012, Bruce Springsteen played his longest show when he turned in a three-hour-and-48-minute, 32-song, set at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. This surpassed the previously longest show, Dec. 31, 1980 at the Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, New York, which clocked in at 3:43.

Born on June 17: Norman Kuhlke, The Swinging Blue Jeans (1942); Chris Spedding, session guitarist for Donovan, David Essex, Brian Eno, Bryan Ferry (1944); Barry Manilow (1946); Greg Rolie, Santana (1947); and Jello Biafra, Dead Kennedys (1958)

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Today in Rock History – June 7

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The Grateful Dead

1968, Fleetwood Mac, Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane all appeared for the first of a three night run at the Carousel Ballroom, San Francisco, California.

1968, Cream played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan

1969, Supergroup Blind Faith, featuring Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Steve Winwood made their live debut at a free concert in London’s Hyde Park.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at The Hangar in Columbia, South Carolina.

1969, Keith Richards and his partner Anita Pallenburg were involved in a car crash near their home in Sussex. Richards escaped serious injury but Pallenburg was taken to hospital with a broken collarbone and the car was a write-off.

1969, The Who’s Tommy album entered the album chart peaking at No.2. It was the first of two full-scale rock operas from The Who, the other being the 1973’s Quadrophenia.

1969, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell both appeared on the first ABC TV Johnny Cash Show from Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Dylan sang “I Threw It All Away” and “Living The Blues,” and duetted with Johnny Cash on “Girl From The North Country.”

1970, The Who play Tommy at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House.

1972, Led Zeppelin performed at the Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec.

1973, David Bowie played at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England.

1974, Audiences watching ABC saw highlights from the massive California Jam concert, including performances by Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Black Oak Arkansas.

1974, On The Midnight Special, the Kinks pay host to ELO.

1975, Elton John’s album Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy, went to No.1 on the album chart, the first album ever to enter the chart at No.1.

1975, Pink Floyd begins its North American tour at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.  The band had arranged for the construction of an large inflatable pyramid to be launched at the climax of Dark Side of the Moon, but it failed to operate that evening. The next several shows were scheduled for indoor venues, so the crew used that time to fix the problem, and it worked successfully in Pittsburgh on June 20th.

1975, John Denver went to No.1 on the singles chart with “Thank God I’m A Country Boy,” the singers third No.1.

1976, The Rolling Stones played at the Pavillon De Paris in Paris.

1977, Led Zeppelin played the first of six sold out nights at Madison Square Garden, in New York City.

1978, Black Sabbath performed at St. Georges Hall, Bradford, England.

1979, Van Halen appeared at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1979, Blondie performed ‘”Sunday Girl” on UK music television show Top Of The Pops.

1980, Bob Marley And The Wailers, Average White Band, Joe Jackson and The Q-Tips all appeared at The Summer Of ’80 Garden Party, Crystal Palace, London, England. Tickets £7.50 on the day.

1981, Rush performed at Selland Arena, Fresno, California.

1984, Bob Dylan appeared at Stade de Schaerbeek, Schaarbeek, Belgium

1987,  David Bowie played a concert in West Berlin in front of the Reichstag with the speakers pointing towards the nearby Berlin Wall where thousands of young East Berliners stood and listened.

1990, The Black Crowes played their debut UK gig at the Marquee in London.

1997, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher played a five-song set at the Tibet Freedom Concert, Downing Stadium in New York City. U2, Patti Smith and Radiohead also appeared at the concert.

1998, Songwriter Wally Gold died in a New Jersey hospital aged 70. Wrote “It’s My Party, “a hit for Lesley Gore and “It’s Now or Never,” a hit for Elvis Presley. Also a member of late 50’s group The Four Esquires, produced Kansas & Gene Pitney.

2001, During their The Tour of Brotherly Love tour, Oasis, The Black Crowes and Spacehog played the first of three nights at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

2012, Bob Welch, an early member of Fleetwood Mac who enjoyed a successful solo career with hits such as “Ebony Eyes,” was found dead after an apparent suicide at home in Nashville. He was 66. Police said Welch’s body was found by his wife Wendy with a single gunshot wound to the chest, and he had left a suicide note. Welch was part of Fleetwood Mac in their early years from 1971 to 1974 and worked on such albums as Future Games and Bare Trees.

Born on this day: Dean Martin (1917);  Tom Jones (1940); Prince (1958); and Dave Navarro, Jane’s Addiction (1967)

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Today in Rock History – May 25

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1965, Blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, Sonny Boy Williamson died in his sleep. Van Morrison, Aerosmith, The Who, The Animals, Yardbirds, and Moody Blues all covered his songs. According to the Led Zeppelin biography Hammer of the Gods, touring the UK in the 60’s, Sonny Boy set his hotel room on fire while trying to cook a rabbit in a coffee percolator.

1965, The Rolling Stones perform “How Many More Years” with their hero Howlin’ Wolf on ABC’s Shindig!

1967, Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade Of Pale,” entered the UK charts for the first time, it went on to be a number one hit. The first video for the song was shot in the ruins of Witley Court in Worcestershire, England. Directed by Peter Clifton whose insertion of Vietnam War newsreel footage caused it to be banned from airplay on the Top Of The Pops TV show. The band subsequently made another video.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at the Gwent Constabulary (‘A’ Division) Spring Holiday Barn Dance, held at The Barn, Grosmont Wood Farm in Cross Ash, near Abergavenny,Wales, England. Support acts were Volume IV with MC Eddie Tattersall.

1967, Janis Joplin performed at the Carousel Ballroom i San Francisco with the Clara Ward Singers and H. P. Lovecraft.

1968, The Yardbirds appeared at Fillmore West in San Francisco.

1968, Pink Floyd performed at Mayfair Suite, The Belfry Hotel, Wishaw, Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham, England. Support acts were Young Blood and Pineapple Incident. Admission included dinner.

1968, Simon and Garfunkel scored their second US number one album with Bookends.

1968, The Doors performed at Patio Gardens in Farmington, Utah.

1969, Jimi Hendrix played at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, California.

1969, A benefit concert was held for Fairport Convention at The Roundhouse, London to raise money for the families of the bands drummer Martin Lamble, Richard Thompson’s girlfriend, and clothes designer Jeannie Franklyn who were all killed in an accident driving back from a gig. Also on the bill, Family, Pretty Things, Soft Machine and John Peel.

1969, The Who and Led Zeppelin appeared at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland, USA. This was the only time the two group’s ever performed together, with Zeppelin opening the show. On the tickets Led Zeppelin was spelled Lead Zeppelin.

1971, King Crimson appeared at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England.

1972, David Bowie played at Chelsea Village, Bournemouth, England.

1973, During a 21-date UK tour Wings played the first of three sold out nights at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

Deep Purple

1973, Deep Purple’s single “Smoke On The Water” was released.

1974, Aerosmith performed at Cape Cod Coliseum, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.

1974, Rick Wakeman became the first member of the group Yes to have a number one album when Journey To The Centre Of The Earth went to the top of the UK charts.

1975, Rush played at the Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington.

1976, The Who perform at the Palais Des Sports in Lyons, France.

1976, Bob Dylan appeared at the Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah.

1976, The Rolling Stones performed at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.

1977, The Broadway tribute Beatlemania opens at the Winter Garden Theater.

1977, The Grateful Dead appeared at The Mosque, in Richmond, Virginia.

1978, After seeing The Hype (soon to become U2) appearing at the Project Arts Centre, in Dublin, Paul McGuinness became their manager.

1979, Yes appeared at the Long Beach Civic Arena, Long Beach, California.

1980, Black Sabbath played at the Odeon, Birmingham, England.

1983, Roxy Music performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

1984, David Gilmour appeared at the Orpheum Theater, Boston, Massachusetts.

1985, Dire Straits scored their second UK number one album with Brothers In Arms, also a chart topper in the US and 24 other countries. Brothers In Arms was one of the first albums to be directed at the CD market, and was a full digital recording (DDD) at a time when most popular music was recorded on analog equipment.

1990, Fleetwood Mac played the first of 42 North American dates on their Behind The Mask world tour at the PNE Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. Squeeze were the opening act.

1997, A report showed that Elvis Presley was now the world’s bestselling posthumous entertainer with worldwide sales of over one billion, over 480 active fan clubs and an estimated 250,000 UK fans who still buy his records. Ironically he had died owing $3 million (£1.76 million).

1998, Coldplay released their first ever record, an EP called Safety, which featured 3 tracks, “Bigger Stronger,” “No More Keeping My Feet on the Ground,” and “Such a Rush.” The EP was intended as a demo for record companies and is now such a rarity that it is known to fetch in excess of £2000 ($3000) on eBay.

2003, Marilyn Manson were at number one on the US album chart with The Golden Age of Grotesque, a number four hit in the UK and the bands second US chart topper.

2005, The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office in California announced that it was officially closing the stabbing case of Meredith Hunter, the 18-year-old American who was killed at the 1969 Rolling Stones Altamont Free Concert. Investigators, concluding a renewed two-year investigation, dismissed the theory that a second Hell’s Angel took part in the stabbing.

2006, Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter Desmond Dekker died of a heart attack at his home in London, England. Had one of the first international Jamaican hits in 1968, with the song “Israelites.”

2013, American rock and roll bassist, Marshall Lytle, died aged 79. He was best known for his work with the groups Bill Haley & His Comets and The Jodimars in the 1950s. He played upright slap bass on the iconic “Crazy Man, Crazy,” “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” and “Rock Around the Clock.”

Born on this day: Hal David (1921); Tom T. Hall, country music singer-songwriter (1936); Brian Davison, The Nice (1942); John Palmer, English keyboard player, Family (1943); Mitchel Margo, The Tokens (1947); Klaus Meine, German singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Scorpions (1948); Robert Steinhardt, American violinist, singer, Kansas (1950);  Paul Weller, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Jam, Style Council (1958); Glen Drover, Canadian guitarist, songwriter, Megadeth, Eidolon, King Diamond (1969); Joe King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Fray (1980)

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Today in Rock History – May 22

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1964, The Beatles arrived back from their first US trip at Heathrow Airport and were greeted by thousands of fans. Also on this day The Beatles scored their second chart topping album with The Beatles Second Album. It displaced Meet The Beatles! from the top of the charts.

1965,  The Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride ” surpassed Herman’s Hermits  “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” on the top spot on the charts.

1965, The Who appeared at the Astoria Ballroom, Rawtenstall, Lancashire, England.  Also an article on The Who appears in Record Mirror featuring short and angry quotes from Pete and Keith. Pete: “This thing about smashing amplifiers; well, if we’ve got a particularly thick audience out in the sticks we do it but sometimes we take the thing down a bit.” Keith: “We had to do something [“Anyway Anyhow Anywhere”] that would get away from all the rubbish that people are buying.”

1967, Jimi Hendrix played at Kulttuuritalo in Helsinki, Finland.

1967, Florence Ballard appears with the Supremes for the last time on The Tonight Show.

1968, Gary Puckett And The Union Gap were at number one on the singles chart with “Young Girl.” The song which was about under-age sex was their only chart topper.

1968, Pink Floyd performed at the Hotel Billard Palace, Antwerp, Belgium.

1968, Frank Sinatra appeared at Oakland Coliseum, California backed by a full orchestra. The concert was a Democratic Party fundraiser.

1969, John Lennon and Paul McCartney pick up another prize at the  Ivor Novello awards in London, winning A-Side Which Achieved the Highest Certified British Sales, 1968 for “Hey Jude.”

1970, The Byrds and Mason Proffit played at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band headlined at the Grand Opera House in Macon, Georgia.

1970, Litter, The Bob Seger System, and Mountain performed at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago

1971, The Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers started a four-week run at number one on the charts, the group’s second chart topping album, the set featured “Brown Sugar,” “Bitch,” and “Wild Horses.” The artwork for Sticky Fingers, which, on the original vinyl release, featured a working zipper that opened to reveal cotton briefs, was conceived by American pop artist Andy Warhol. The cover, a photo of Joe Dallesandro’s crotch clad in tight blue jeans, was assumed by many fans to be an image of Mick Jagger. The album also features the first usage of the “Tongue and Lip Design” created by John Pasche.

1971, The Faces appeared at Liverpool Stadium in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.

1972, Pink Floyd, Donovan, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Buddy Miles and Carlos Santana, Tom Paxton and Memphis Slim, Dr. John The Night Tripper and Spencer Davis with Sneeky Pete and Gene Clark played at The Amsterdam Rock Circus 1972, Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

1973, David Bowie appeared at the Odeon Theatre (Romford), in London.

1974, The Who performed at Guildhall, Portsmouth, England.

1975,  The Eagles headlined at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1976, During a European tour The Rolling Stones played at Earls Court in London.

1976, Wings started a five week run at number one on the singles chart with “Silly Love Songs,” McCartney’s fifth chart topper since leaving The Beatles.

1976, KISS appeared at The Olympia Theatre, Paris.

1977, Television kicked off their first UK tour at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland, Blondie were the support act.

source: LedZeppelin.com

1977, Led Zeppelin performed at the Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas.

1979, Rush appeared at Chateau Neuf, Oslo, Norway.

1980, U2 kicked off their 23-date 11 O’Clock Tick Tock tour at The Hope & Anchor in London.

1980, Black Sabbath played at the Apollo Theatre, Manchester, England.

1982, The Grateful Dead performed at the Greek Theatre, at The University of California at Berkeley.

1983, ZZ Top appeared at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, Birmingham, Alabama.

1984, Van Halen performed at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1991, Wil Sinnott from The Shamen drowned while swimming off the coast of La Gomera when he was pulled under by strong currents. The Shamen were in Tenerife filming a video for their new single “Move Any Mountain.”

2000, Travis swept the board at the Ivor Novello awards. Singer Fran Healy won two awards for Best Contemporary Song for the single “Why Does It Always Rain On Me,” and Songwriter Of The Year for the Travis album The Man Who.

2004, Morrissey appeared at the M.E.N. arena Manchester, England on his 45th birthday. It was Morrissey’s return to his home city Manchester after an absence of 12 years and the 18,000 tickets sold out in only 90 minutes. During the set Morrissey performed five Smiths songs.

2005, Dave Matthews Band were at number one on the US album chart with Stand Up. The album entered the chart at No.1 with sales of 465,000. Features the singles “American Baby,” “Dreamgirl,” and “Everybody Wake Up.”

Born on this day: Bruce Rowlands, Fairport Convention (1941); Calvin Simon, Funkadelic (1942); Bernie Taupin (1950); Morrisey (1954); and Dan Roberts, bass, Crash Test Dummies (1967)

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Today in Rock History – May 21

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who-anyway-anywhere-anyhow1965, The Who’s second single, “Anyway Anyhow Anywhere” backed with “Daddy Rolling Stone” is released in the UK on Brunswick. Derek Johnson in New Musical Express calls is “a wild racer, with just about every conceivable gimmick…it commands attention and should do well.”

1967, Jimi Hendrix signed with Reprise Records on the US Warner Brothers label. They released the guitarist’s three studio albums Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland.

1967, Pink Floyd was at Studio 3, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood in London to record songs for their debut album, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.

1968, The Monkees appeared at The Olympia Stadium, Salt Lake City.

1968, Rolling Stone Brian Jones appeared at Great Marlborough Street Magistrates court, London on a charge of possession of marijuana, Jones was released on £200 ($320) bail.

1969, Yes played at Harrods Way Inn, London.

1970, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recorded “Ohio.”

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Seabreeze High School Auditorium, Daytona Beach, Florida.

1971, UK rock group Free announced that they were splitting up.

1971, King Crimson played at Regal Cinema, Cambridge, England.

1971, Paul McCartney releases his solo album Ram.

1972, The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Faces, Family, Curved Air, Atomic Rooster, The Kinks, Rory Gallagher, Uriah Heep, Country Joe McDonald, Buddy Miles, Status Quo, Brinsley Schwarz, Spencer Davis, The Strawbs and Humble Pie all appeared at the Second British Rock Meeting, Insel Grun, Germersheim, West Germany. The festival was due to take place in Mannheim, West Germany, but after protests from the locals, the concert actually took place in nearby Germersheim.

1973, David Bowie performed at the Theatre Royal, Norwich, England.

1974, Two would-be concert promoters were arrested by police on fraud charges in connection with selling mail order tickets for a forthcoming “Elten John” show. The misspelling help detect their fraud. Police took away over $12,000 in checks.

1975, ZZ Top appeared at Boston’s Music Hall

1976, The Rolling Stones begin a six-night stand at London’s Earls Court. Reviews of the show are the first to describe the band as “dinosaurs.”

1977, Rod Stewart was at number one on the singles chart with the double A sided single “I Don’t Want To Talk About It / First Cut Is The Deepest.’

1977, Stevie Wonder started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with his tribute to Duke Ellington, “Sir Duke,” his sixth US chart topper. It made it to number two in the UK.

1977, Grateful Dead performed at Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida, a show that can be heard on Dick’s Picks #29.

1978, Black Sabbath played at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1979, Elton John started a tour of Russia, when he played the first of eight concerts making him the first Western star ever to do so.

1980, A thief broke into Electric Lady Studios in New York City, the recording studio built by Jimi Hendrix and stole five Hendrix gold records.

1982, The Hacienda Club was opened in Manchester, England. Madonna made her UK TV debut at the club when C4 music show The Tube was broadcast live. It was home to many Manchester acts and Oasis, Happy Mondays, U2, The Smiths, Charlatans, James, M People, who all played at the club.

1983, David Bowie went to number one on the US singles chart with “Let’s Dance,” featuring blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. It was Bowie’s first single to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic. The music video was made by David Mallet on location in Australia including a bar in Carinda in New South Wales, featured Bowie playing with his band while impassively watching an Aboriginal couple’s struggles against metaphors of Western cultural imperialism.

1988, Prince scored his first UK number one album with Lovesexy. The cover, based on a photo by Jean Baptiste Mondino, caused some controversy upon release as it depicts Prince in the nude. Some record stores refused to stock it, or wrapped the album in black.

1994, The Manchester United Football Club, along with Status Quo, were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Come On You Reds.”

2001, Producer, arranger and keyboardist Tommy Eyre died of cancer aged 51. He worked with George Harrison, Wham!, Dusty Springfield, and BB King. Eyre played and arranged Joe Cocker’s hit “With A Little Help From My Friends” and Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street.”

2006, Madonna played the first of three sold out nights at The Los Angeles Forum in California, the first dates on her Confessions Tour. The 60-date tour grossed over $260 (£162.5) million, becoming the highest grossing tour ever for a female artist.

2011, Adele went to number one on the US singles chart with “Rolling In The Deep,” taken from her second studio album, 21. The video to the song was nominated for seven MTV Video Music Awards nominations, “Rolling in the Deep” was also the Billboard Year End Hot 100 Number One Single of 2011.  The song received three 2012 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video.

2013, Trevor Bolder, the bassist in David Bowie’s legendary 1970s backing band Spiders From Mars, died from cancer at the age of 62. Bolder appeared on the studio albums Hunky Dory (1971), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), Aladdin Sane (1973), and Pin Ups (1973). He joined Uriah Heep in 1976, replacing John Wetton.

Born on this day: Fats Waller (1904); Tony Sheridan (1940); Ronald Isley, The Isley Brothers (1941); Martin Carthy, English singer-songwriter, guitarist,  producer, Steeleye Span, The Watersons, Waterson:Carthy, Brass Monkey,  Blue Murder (1941); Vincent Crane, keyboards, The Crazy world of Arthur Brown (1943); Leo Sayer (1948);  Stan Lynch, American drummer, songwriter,  producer, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1955); Kevin Shields, American-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, My Bloody Valentine, The Complex, and Primal Scream (1963); Martin Blunt, bass, The Charlatans (1964); Christopher G. Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls, aka Notorious B.I.G. (1972); Adam Gontier, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, Three Days Grace, Big Dirty Band, and Saint Asonia (1978)

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Today in Rock History – May 19

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beatles -sgtpeppers1967, The Beatles held a press party at manager Brian Epstein’s house in London for the launch of the Sgt. Pepper’s album. Linda Eastman was hired as the press photographer.

1967, Pink Floyd played at Club A’ Go Go in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England.

1969, The Who appeared at The Rock Pile in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

1970, New Riders of the Purple Sage, along with The Grateful Dead, performed at the Washington University Quadrangle in St. Louis, Missouri.

1971, Emerson, Lake And Palmer and Mott the Hoople played at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis, Missouri.

1971, King Crimson performed at the Lyceum Ballroom in London.

1972, David Bowie appeared at Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.

1973, Stevie Wonder went to number one on the US singles chart with “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.” His third chart topper, it was the second release from Talking Book.

1973, Paul Simon released the single “Kodachrome” which became a hit in the US, but was banned from airplay in the UK because it contained a brand name.

1973, Humble Pie played at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1973, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Fairground Coliseum, Columbus, Ohio.

1974, The Grateful Dead performed at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.

1976, Bob Dylan played at Henry Levitt Arena, Wichita, Kansas.

1976, Rolling Stone Keith Richards crashed his car near Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England, after falling asleep at the wheel.

1976, Aerosmith performed at the Von Braun Civic Center, Huntsville, Alabama.

1978, Dire Straits released their first major label single “Sultans Of Swing.”

1979, Van Halen appeared at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1979, Eric Clapton held a party at his Surrey house celebrating his recent marriage to Patti Boyd. Clapton had set-up a small stage in the garden and as the evening progressed, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr ended up jamming together along with Clapton, Ginger Baker and Mick Jagger. The jam session comprised a selection of Little Richard and Eddie Cochran songs.

1979, Supertramp went to number one on the US album chart with Breakfast In America, the group’s only chart topper.

1980, Black Sabbath played at City Hall, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England.

1980, Ringo Starr and his future wife, actress Barbara Bach were involved in a car crash less than half a mile from where Marc Bolan was killed, the car was totaled, but Starr and Bach were not seriously injured.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at Rudi Sedlmayr Halle, Munich, Germany.

1983, Roxy Music performed at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1984, Bob Marley and the Wailers started a 12-week run at number one on the UK album chart with the compilation album Legend, released to commemorate the third anniversary of Marley’s death. It reached the fifth spot in the US. Legend is the best-selling reggae album of all-time, with over 15 million copies sold in the United States and an estimated 25 million copies sold globally.

1988, James Brown was arrested for the fifth time in 12 months, following a car chase near his home, he was charged with assault, resisting arrest and being in charge of illegal weapons, he was given a 6 year jail sentence.

2001, Mike Sammes founder of The Mike Sammes Singers died aged 73. He worked with Tom Jones, Cliff Richard and featured on The Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus” and “The Long And Winding Road.”

2007, Lawyers for Michael Jackson dropped an effort to block an auction of the star’s personal belongings and other Jackson family items. An agreement was reached with representatives of an auctioneer, who was the current owner of the materials, and a New Jersey man who claimed to own a warehouse full of Jackson memorabilia, after a failed business venture wound up in bankruptcy court.

2013, A guitar played by John Lennon and George Harrison sold for $408,000 (£269,000) at auction. The custom-made instrument, built in 1966 by VOX was bought by an unidentified US buyer in New York. Harrison played “I Am The Walrus” on the guitar in a scene from Magical Mystery Tour in 1967. Lennon used it in a video for “Hello, Goodbye” later that year. After playing the guitar, Lennon gave it as a 25th birthday present to Alexis “Magic Alex” Mardas, a member of The Beatles’ inner circle in the 1960s.

Born on this day:  Pete Townshend (1945); Tom Scott, saxophonist (1946); Greg Herbert, Blood Sweat & Tears (1947); Dusty Hill, ZZ Top (1949); Grace Jones and Joey Ramone (1952); and Philip Rudd, drums, AC/DC (1954)

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Today in Rock History – May 15

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1966, Pink Floyd played at The Marquee Club, Wardour Street, London.  They were billed as the Pink Floyd Sound, as part of their “Spontaneous Underground” period.

1967, Paul McCartney is hanging out with Keith Moon and Eric Burdon at Georgie Fame concert at the Bag O’Nails club in London. The young American photographer of The Who’s March visit to New York, Linda Eastman, is there and Paul meets her for the first time.  They married on March 12, 1969.

1968, George Harrison and Ringo Starr attended the premiere of ‘Wonderwall’ at the Cannes Film Festival.

1968, At a press conference, Paul McCartney and John Lennon say they’ve ended their association with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

1969, John Lennon’s Life With The Lions was released on Apple’s avant-garde imprint Zapple. One side of the album was recorded on a cassette player at London’s Queen Charlotte Hospital during Yoko Ono’s pregnancy which ended in a miscarriage.

1970, A Pink Floyd concert at London’s Crystal Palace is so loud it kills fish in a nearby lake.

1970, In the new releases section of the local record store is the self-titled debut from the mighty Black Sabbath.

1970, The Grateful Dead played at the Fillmore East in New York. This show has been commercially released as Road Trips: Vol 3, Number 3.

1971, Crosby Stills Nash & Young scored their second number one album with 4 Way Street.

1971, Paul McCartney releases his album Ram.

1973, Bob Marley and The Wailers played the first of four sold-out nights at the Speakeasy in London, England as part of their Catch A Fire Tour.

1974, Bill Wyman releases the first solo album by a Rolling Stone, Monkey Grip.

1974, Frank Zappa and his wife announced the birth of their third child, a boy named Ahmet Rodan, after the Japanese movie monster that lived of a steady diet of 707 planes.

1975, Fleetwood Mac debut their new lineup in El Paso, Texas. It’s the first incarnation of the band that includes Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, and John and Christine McVie.

1976, The Rolling Stones went to number one on the album chart with Black And Blue, the group’s sixth No.1 album.

1977, The Grateful Dead performed at the St. Louis Arena in St. Louis, Missouri.

1981, Former Sex Pistol John Lydon’s band Public Image Ltd performed a show at New York’s Ritz Club posing behind a video screen while the music was played from tapes. They were showered with missiles and eventually booed off stage.

1982, Asia went to number one on the US album chart with their self-titled album. It spent a total of nine weeks at number one and became the best-selling album in the US for 1982. The supergroup included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely bassist/vocalist John Wetton (formerly King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, U.K., Wishbone Ash), guitarist Steve Howe (Yes), keyboardist Geoff Downes (Yes, The Buggles) and drummer Carl Palmer ( The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Atomic Rooster, Emerson, Lake & Palmer).

1994, Blur scored their first UK number one album with Parklife, which went on to spend over two years on the chart. The album featured four UK hit singles, “Girls & Boys,” “End of a Century,” “Parklife,” and “To the End.”

Born on this day: Graham Goble, Little River Band (1946); Brian Eno (1948); and Mike Oldfield (1953)

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Today in Rock History – May 8

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1965, Shooting of the promotional film for Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” took place at the side of the Savoy Hotel in London. Actors in the background were Allen Ginsberg and Bob Neuwirth. The cards that Dylan held up to the camera were painted by Alan Price and Joan Baez.

1966, Pink Floyd appeared at the Marquee Club in London.

1967, Gerry And The Pacemakers announced they were splitting up, recognizing they could no longer keep pace with the rapidly changing UK rock scene.

1969, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr signed a business management contract with Allen Klein and his company ABKCO, but Paul McCartney refused to sign, continuing to let the Eastmans represent his interests.

1970, The Who performed at the University of Kent in Canterbury, Kent, England. The opening act was Genesis.

1970, The Doors appeared at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan.

1970, The Beatles twelfth and final album, Let It Be was released, (it was recorded before Abbey Road and originally to be called Get Back). The album came in a deluxe-boxed edition with a Get Back book.

1972, Billy Preston is the first rock artist to headline at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

1974, UK keyboard player Graham Bond committed suicide after throwing himself under a London tube train at Finsbury Park station, aged 36. It took police two days to identify his body which was crushed beyond all recognition. Briefly a member of Blues Incorporated, a group led by Alexis Korner, before forming the Graham Bond Quartet, with a lineup of Bond on vocals and organ, Ginger Baker on drums and Jack Bruce on bass.

1975, Rush played at Lewis University, Lockport, Illinois.

1976, Abba scored their third No.1 single with “Fernando,” the song went on to become ABBA’s biggest selling single, with sales over 10 million.

1976, BBC Radio 1 DJ Johnny Walker announced he was quitting the station after being told he must pretend to like The Bay City Rollers.

1976, Former lead singer of the Lovin Spoonful John Sebastian went to No.1 on the singles chart with ‘Welcome Back’, taken from the TV show Welcome Back Kotter.

1976, In Houston, Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson duet on “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” Backstage, Nelson is given a subpoena to appear before a grand jury investigating drug trafficking.

1977, The Grateful Dead played one of their most celebrated shows – Barton Hall at Cornell University in Cornell, New York, a very popular show among Grateful Dead tape collectors.

1978, David Bowie appeared at Madison Square Garden, New York.

1979, Yes performed at the Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.

1980, Black Sabbath played at the Hammersmith Odeon, London.

1982, Neil Bogart died of cancer at the age of 39. Bogart was the founder of Casablanca Records, with Peter Guber, home of Donna Summer, The Village People, Kiss, T.Rex and Joan Jett.

1982, Paul McCartney scored his fifth UK No.1 album with Tug Of War. The album featured the duet with Stevie Wonder “Ebony & Ivory,” which was inspired by McCartney hearing comedian Spike Milligan say “black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony, folks!”

1984, Roger Waters released his first solo album The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking. The concept album, as originally envisioned by Waters in 1977, rotated around a man’s thoughts during a midlife crisis, and featured guest musicians Eric Clapton on guitar, David Sanborn on saxophone and Michael Kamen on piano.

1993, Aerosmith entered the US album chart at No.1 with Get A Grip, a No.2 hit in the UK. The album went on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide as well as winning the band two Grammy awards.

2005, Bruce Springsteen was at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Devils and Dust’ his 13th No.1 studio album.

Born on this day: Robert Johnson (1911); Ricky Nelson (1940); Paul Samwell-Smith, The Yardbirds (1943); Rick Derringer (1947); Chris Franz, Talking Heads and Philip Bailey, Earth Wind & Fire (1951); Alex Van Halen (1955); Joe Bonamassa, guitarist extraordinaire (1977)

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Today in Rock History – May 7

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mamas-papas1966, The Mamas and the Papas started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “Monday Monday.”  The group was reported, as saying they all hated the song except for its writer John Phillips. The Mamas and the Papas won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for this song.

1967, Jimi Hendrix played two shows at London’s Saville Theatre. Ringo Starr, Brian Jones and members of The Beach Boys and The Moody Blues were in the audience.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at King & Queen The Mojo A Go-Go Club, Tollbar, Sheffield, England, opened and owned by Peter Stringfellow. Acts who have also appeared at the club include Stevie Wonder, John Lee Hooker, Rod Stewart, Ike and Tina Turner, The Who, The Small Faces and Jimi Hendrix.

1967, The Who appear at MFF-Stadion in Malmo, Sweden, where the performance sparks a “fan-crush” as attendees rush the stage during the opening song “Substitute,” only to be shoved back by police. At least twenty attendees have to be carried out, some unconscious. The Who will not return to Sweden for five years.

1967, Pearls Before Swine begin recording an album called One Nation Underground. The LP included a song called “Miss Morse,” which would be banned in New York when it was discovered that lead singer Tom Rapp was singing F-U-C-K in Morse code. After disc jockey Murray The K played the record on the air, local Boy Scouts correctly interpreted the chorus and phoned in a complaint.

1970, Black Sabbath played at Osteseehalle, Kiel, Germany.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the University of Tennessee -Chattanooga.

1972, The Grateful Dead performed at the Bickershaw Festival in Wigan, England as part of their historic tour of Europe. The entire tour was released as a 73-CD box set.

 1972, Reginald Dwight legally changed his name to Elton Hercules John.

stones_exile1972, The Rolling Stones released the second album on their own label, Exile on Main Street featuring two hit singles, “Tumbling Dice’ and ‘Happy.” In 2003, the album was ranked number seven on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, the highest of any Stones album on the list.

1973, “Money/Us and Them” was released as a 7-inch single in the US by Pink Floyd

 1974, Led Zeppelin held a party at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City for the launch of their new label Swan Song. Other label signings including, Scottish singer Maggie Bell (whose album Suicide Sal was the label’s fourth release), and British supergroup, Bad Company also attended.

1975, Yes played at Colston Hall, Bristol,England.

1976, Genesis performed at Will Rogers Auditorium, Fort Worth, Texas.

1977, The Eagles went to No.1 on the singles chart with “Hotel California,” the group’s fourth No.1,  The Eagles also won the 1977 Grammy Award for Record of the Year for Hotel California at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards in 1978. The song’s guitar solo is ranked 8th on Guitar Magazine’s Top 100 Guitar Solos and was voted the best solo of all time by readers of Guitarist magazine.

1978, 90,000 tickets were sold in eight hours for Bob Dylan’s forthcoming London dates at Earls Court.

1978, David Bowie played the first of three nights on his Low / Heroes world tour at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1979, Van Halen appeared at the Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1980, Black Sabbath performed at the Hammersmith Odeon, London.

1983, Paul Weller unveiled his new group Style Council at an anti nuclear benefit gig in London.

1983, Spandau Ballet were at number one on the UK singles chart with “True,” the group’s only chart topper. The song spent four weeks there, and was a hit in 20 other countries. Parts of the original version have been sampled and used in a number of songs – most notably PM Dawn’s 1991 US number one hit “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss,” which contains a sample of the song’s famous guitar hook.

1992, Nigel Preston drummer with The Cult died in London, England aged 32. Was a founding member of The Death Cult, he also played and recorded with Sex Gang Children, Theatre of Hate and The Gun Club.

1998, Eddie Rabbitt, US singer, songwriter died of lung cancer aged 56. During his career, he scored over twenty number ones on Billboard’s country singles chart including 1981’s “I Love A Rainy Night.” Elvis Presley, Dr Hook, Tom Jones, Kenny Rogers, Crystal Gayle and Lynn Anderson all recorded his songs.

2006, Snow Patrol went to number one on the UK album chart with Eyes Open, the band’s fourth album. Also a chart topper in Ireland and Australia, and a number 27 hit on the US charts. The band’s first album Songs For Polarbears peaked at the 143rd spot when released in 1998.

Born on this day: Jimmy Ruffin (1974); Derek Taylor, publicist for the Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds (1942);  Billy Kreutzmann, Grateful Dead (1946); and Eagle Eye Cherry (1969)

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Today in Rock History – April 23

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1965, The Rolling Stones kicked off their third North American tour at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal, Canada.

1966, The Who played at the Odeon Theatre in Rochester, Kent, England.

1967, Jimi Hendrix appeared at the Gaumont Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.

1969, The Beatles were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Get Back,” the group’s 16th British chart topper. Writing credits included “The Beatles with Billy Preston,” the only Beatles single that included another artist credit.

1969, The Ash Grove club in Los Angeles, where Canned Heat cut their teeth, burns down.

1969, The Grateful Dead play the last of three shows at The Ark in Boston. The ill-fated club near Fenway Park didn’t last very long, and was subsequently taken over by the more famous venue the Boston Tea Party.

1970, Fairport Convention, Fotheringay and Matthews Southern Comfort all appeared at The Roundhouse, London,

1971, Emerson, Lake and Palmer performed at the Eastown Theater in Detroit, Michigan.

1971, The Rolling Stones released  Sticky Fingers in the UK. The album reached the top spot in the UK and the US.  It was the band’s first release on Atlantic Records. The cover design featured a pair of jeans with a working zipper that was designed by Andy Warhol, who was paid £15,000 for the art work.

1972, Pink Floyd’s North American tour stops at Cincinnati’s Music Hall for a performance of Dark Side of the Moon.

1972, Procol Harum played at Ford Auditorium in Detroit, Michigan.

1973, King Crimson played at Henry Levitt Arena, Wichita, Kansas.

1974, Yes performed Palazzo Di Palaeur Dello Sport, Rome, Italy.

1975, During a North American tour Pink Floyd played the first of five sold out nights at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California.

1976, The Ramones released their self-titled debut album. On the same day, The Sex Pistols played The Nashville Rooms in London supporting The 101’ers, who featured Clash vocalist Joe Strummer.

Marley in 1976 – photo by D. Burnett

1976, Bob Marley and The Wailers kicked off their Rastaman Vibration North American and European 42-date tour at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.

1976, Genesis appeared at the Opera House, St. Louis, Missouri.

1977, A Siouxsie & the Banshees performance at London’s Roxy Club inspires audience member Stuart Goddard to form the Ants. He later becomes international pop star Adam Ant.

1977, Thelma Houston went to number one on the US singles chart with “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” It was a number 13 hit in the UK.

1977, Joan Jett supported by Blondie appeared at the Whisky A Go-Go, Los Angeles.

1978, Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious filmed his version of “My Way” for the Sex Pistols film The Great Rock n Roll Swindle.

1979, David Bowie premiered his new single “Boy’s Keep Swinging” on the BBC’s TV’s Kenny Everett Video Show.

1980, The Who performed at McNichols Arena, Denver, Colorado.

1980, Rush played at Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

1980, Bob Dylan appeared at Le Theatre Saint-Denis, Montreal, Quebec.

1982, Black Sabbath performed at Seattle Arena, Seattle, Washington.

u2-chapel-hill-19831983, U2 kicked off their 48-date War North American tour at The Carolina Concert For Children benefit at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Also on the bill were Grand Master Flash, The Producers, and Todd Rundgren, although by most accounts U2 was the highlight of the concert. At one point during the show, Bono began climbing up the vertical rigging tower, while carrying a large white flag. He made his way up on top of the scaffolding, at least 20-25 feet above the stage, in the rain, waving the flag, a scene for the ages.  There were only about 4000 in attendance, well short of the 20,000 capacity.

1987, Carole King sued record company owner Lou Adler for breach of contract. King claimed that she was owed over $400,000 in royalties. She also asked for all rights to her old recordings.

1988, Iron Maiden went to number one on the UK album chart with Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, their second chat topping LP.

1991, Founder member of The New York Dolls Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr., died of a drug overdose. He renamed himself Johnny Thunders, after a comic book of the same name. The influential New York Dolls formed in 1972 and made just two albums. A teenage Morrissey acted as president of the UK branch of the New York Dolls fan club. He formed The Heartbreakers with Dolls drummer Jerry Nolan, and Television bassist Richard Hell.

1994, Pink Floyd were at number one on the UK album chart with The Division Bell, their fourth chart topping album.

1995, Peter Hodgson from Liverpool found a tape in his attic containing 16 of The Beatles’ earliest recordings made in 1959. The tape included “Hello Little Girl,” a Lennon-McCartney composition that the Beatles never recorded, and Ray Charles’ “Hallelujah, I Love Her So.” The sessions had been made on a reel-to-reel recorder that Hodgson’s father had lent to Paul McCartney.

2008, Amy Winehouse went out on a drink and drug-fuelled spree and hit and head-butted two men. After drinking all day, Amy visited the Good Mixer pub in Camden, London with Babyshambles guitarist Mik Whitnall. Inside she allegedly punched Mustapha el Mounmi in the face after he refused to give way to her at the pool table. The singer then left to visit Bar Tok in the early hours and once at the bar shouted “I am a legend get these people out. I want to take drugs.” After leaving the bar a good Samaritan tried to get her a cab, but she reportedly thought he was trying to molest her and allegedly head-butted him in the face.

2012, Thomas “Tommy” Marth, the touring and studio saxophonist for the Killers, died after shooting himself in the head at his Las Vegas home. The 33-year-old musician joined the band in 2005 and played on the live tours with Brandon Flowers and the group between 2008 and 2010. Tommy also performed on the 2006 release Sam’s Town and 2008’s Day & Age.

Born on April 23: Roy Orbison (1936); Ray Peterson, singer (1937); John Miles, singer, songwriter, guitarist (1949); Ray Burns, (Captain Sensible), The Damned (1955); Steve Clark, Def Leppard (1960); Simon Matthews, drummer, Jesus Jones (1964)

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Check out more cool pictures of reggae artists from the ’70 including the one above.