Bon Jovi

Today in Rock History – July 1

July 1, 2020 by Mitch Michaels

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1974, Bob Marley & the Wailers release Burnin’.

1975, Ringo Starr divorces his wife, Maureen Cox.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today in Rock History – February 18

February 18, 2020 by Mitch Michaels

1965, The Kinks were at number one on the singles chart with “Tired Of Waiting For You,” the group’s second chart topper.

1965, Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles recorded two new songs. John Lennon’s “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” was recorded in nine takes, and a new Paul McCartney song “Tell Me What You See” was laid down in four takes.

1966, Beach Boy Brian Wilson recorded the future classic song “Good Vibrations,” which went on to become the band’s third US number-one hit. As a child, his mother told him that dogs could pick up “vibrations” from people, so that the dog would bark at “bad vibrations” Wilson turned this into the general idea for the song.

1966, News breaks in Melody Maker that The Who are leaving Brunswick and U.S. Decca for the new Reaction label in Europe and Atco in the U.S. Former producer Shel Talmy threatens the group with payback that he soon delivers, launching a lawsuit against the band and its managers. “Substitute” was to have been released on the 18th but is stopped because of the lawsuit. That night The Who are in Scotland, performing at the Volunteer Hall in Galashiels.

1966, The Rolling Stones kicked off an 11-date tour of Australia and New Zealand at the Commemorative Auditorium, Sydney, supported by The Searchers.

1967, The Buckinghams started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Kind Of A Drag,” the Chicago-based group’s only chart topper.

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

1968, David Gilmour makes his film debut as a member of Pink Floyd as Belgian TV recorded several promotional clips over two days including filmed versions of “Astronomy Domine,” “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun,” “Apples and Oranges,” “Corporal Clegg,” Paintbox,” “Scarecrow,” and “See Emily Play.”

1969, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

1969, Pink Floyd and Fairport Convention appeared at the Manchester & Salford Students’ Shrove Rag Ball, held at the Main Debating Hall at Manchester University, in Manchester, England.

1971, Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band made their New York debut at Unganos.

1972, On their first Australian tour, Led Zeppelin rescheduled to the following night their concert at the Memorial Drive, Adelaide, after heavy rain left the stage and equipment unsafe. Zeppelin had brought to Adelaide the largest PA system seen in Australia to produce what was expected to be the loudest rock show ever heard.

1972, David Bowie performed at Sheffield University in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.

1972, Pink Floyd played at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

1973, The Rolling Stones appeared at the Kooyong Tennis Stadium, Melbourne, Australia.

1974, Yes headlined at Madison Square Garden, New York.

1977, Pink Floyd played at Oude Ahoy Hallen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

1978, winners at the Grammy Awards included Fleetwood Mac, Album of the year for Rumours, The Eagles, Record of the year for “Hotel California,” and Best pop vocal performance, The Bee Gees for “How Deep Is Your Love.”

1978, Parliament Funkadelic performed at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1980, During an interview Rolling Stone Bill Wyman said that he intended to leave the band in 1982, on the group’s 20th anniversary. Wyman quit the band in 1993.

1983, Neil Young appeared Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1987, Bon Jovi were at number one on the singles chart with “Livin’ On A Prayer.”

1989, Fine Young Cannibals scored their only UK number one album with The Raw And The Cooked.

1990, Freddie Mercury made his final public appearance on stage when he joined the rest of Queen to collect the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, held at the Dominion Theatre, London, England.

1995, Guitarist Bob Stinson from The Replacements died from a drug overdose, his body was found in his Uptown, Minneapolis apartment. Stinson was a founding member of The Replacements, was also a member of Static Taxi.

1998, Robert Smith of The Cure does battle with the forces of musical evil as embodied by a monstrous Barbra Streisand on the animated television show South Park.

2000, An American court ordered the release of FBI files relating to John Lennon’s interests and activities including his support for the Irish Republican cause, and the Workers Revolutionary Party. The British Government told the US that it wanted the files to remain secret. MI5 also had files on Lennon, which they had passed on the FBI during the ’70s.

2004, On his official Web site, Billy Corgan blames the 2000 split of the Smashing Pumpkins on guitarist James Iha. “James Iha broke up the Smashing Pumpkins, not me,” he writes. “I would have gone on forever, the Smashing Pumpkins were essentially my entire life.”

2007, Norah Jones scored her third US number one album with Not Too Late, also a number one in the UK and over 20 other countries.

2011, Radiohead released their 8th album The King of Limbs as a download.

2013, Soul and R&B singer Otis Damon Harris, who was a member of The Temptations, died at the age of 62 after a 14-year battle with prostate cancer. Harris was a member of The Temptations from 1971 to 1975, joining shortly after the departure of Eddie Kendricks.

Born on February 18: Yoko Ono (1933); Skip Battin, The Byrds (1934); Bobby Hart, singer, songwriter (1939); Herman Santigo, singer, Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers (1941);Dennis DeYoung, Styx (1947); Robbie Bachmann, drummer, BTO (1953); Derek Pellicci, Australian drummer, Little River Band, Mississippi (1953); John Trevolta (1954); Andre Young, aka Dr. Dre, rapper, producer, entrepreneur (1965)

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Today in Rock History – February 14

February 14, 2020 by Mitch Michaels

1967, Aretha Franklin records a cover of Otis Redding’s “Respect”at Atlantic Studios in New York. It would become a number one US single in June.

1967, The Doors play the Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles.

1967, Jimi Hendrix appeared at Gray’s Club in Tilbury, Essex, England.

1968, Manfred Mann were at number one on the UK singles chart with their version of the Bob Dylan song “The Mighty Quinn.” It was a number ten hit in the US.

1968, Drumming up some publicity, Frank Zappa announces he’s working on two films with his Mothers of Invention. Uncle Meat doesn’t see the light of day until 1987, while a proposed Japanese monster movie never comes to fruition.

1969, The Grateful Dead perform at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1970, The compilation album Motown Chartbusters Vol. 3 went to number one on the UK chart, featuring Diana Ross and The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations and The Four Tops.

1970, Pink Floyd performed at King’s Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England.

1970, The Who appeared at Leeds University, England. The show was recorded for the band’s forthcoming Live At Leeds album. The University of Leeds refectory, has now been named a national landmark in the UK, commemorated with a blue plaque.

1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono started a week long run as co-hosts on the Mike Douglas TV show.

1973, David Bowie collapsed on stage during a concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

1974, Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille (of Captain And Tennille) married in Virginia City, while on a promotion tour of the States. They divorced in 2014.

1974, Keith Moon flies back to London to play drums at an all-star Roy Harper concert at The Rainbow. Jimmy Page, David Bedford, and John Bonham also take part under the band name Interglactic Elephant Band. Part of the show is later released as the Roy Harper album Flashes From The Archive Of Oblivion.

1975, Rush played at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

1977, Singer songwriter Janis Ian received 461 Valentine’s day cards after indicating in the lyrics of her song “At Seventeen,” she had never received any.

1977, The B-52’s made their first live performance, appearing in a Greenhouse at a Valentines Day party in Athens.

1979, Dire Straits performed at the Rosengarten, Mannheim, Germany.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult played at Agricultural Hall, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

1986, Frank Zappa appeared on an episode of the television series Miami Vice. Zappa portrayed a crime boss named “Mr. Frankie.”

1987, Bon Jovi started a four week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Livin’ On A Prayer,” the group’s second US number one, a number four hit in the UK.

1989, Keyboard player Vincent Crane died. He was a member of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and Atomic Rooster.

1992, The film Wayne’s World, which featured appearances from Meat Loaf and Alice Cooper, premiered in the US. The use of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” in the film propelled the song to number two on the US singles charts nearly 20 years after its first release.

1994, The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia married movie maker Deborah Koons.

1995, Rapper Tupac Shakur was sentenced to one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in prison on a sexual abuse charge. He was later released on appeal.

1999, Lenny Kravitz scored his first UK number one single with “Fly Away,” a number twelve hit in the US. The track had been used on a TV ad for cars.

2002, Mick Tucker, drummer with glam rock band Sweet, died of leukemia.

2003, Stolen reel-to-reel studio recordings by The Beatles were found in Australia. Police recovered the tapes of the White Album and Abbey Road, after they were advertised for sale in a Sydney newspaper. Australian police had been tipped off by British detectives from Operation Acetone, an investigation into thefts of original Beatles music from Abbey Road studios in London in the 1960’s.

2007, Winners at the 27th annual Brit Awards at London’s Earls Court included Muse, who won Best British Live Act, British Breakthrough Act went to The Fratellis. Winner of the Best International Breakthrough Act was Orson. Take That won the first-ever live vote, when they took home the Best British Single for “Patience.” Arctic Monkeys were named Best British Group, James Morrison was named Best British Male and Amy Winehouse won Best British Female. Justin Timberlake won Best International Male, and Nelly Furtado won Best International Female. The Killers won Best International Group and Best International Album for Sam’s Town and Oasis won the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award.

2009, Bruce Springsteen went to number one on the US album chart with Working on a Dream, his sixteenth studio album.

2010, Doug Fieger singer, songwriter with The Knack died after a long battle with cancer. The Knack had the 1979 US number one and UK number six single “My Sharona,” which he wrote for Sharona Alperin, who later became his girlfriend.

Born on February 14: Maceo Parker, sax, Parliament-Funkadelic (1943); Vic Briggs, The Animals (1945); Doug Simiril, piano, Steve Miller Band (1946); Tim Buckley (1947); Rob Thomas, Matchbox 20 (1972)

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Today in Rock History – January 26

January 26, 2020 by Mitch Michaels

1965, “Downtown” by Petula Clark was at number one on the US singles chart. A young Jimmy Page had played as a session guitarist on the track, giving him his first US number one hit, as well as a number two hit in the UK.

1965, during a Rolling Stones tour of Australia and New Zealand, guitarist Keith Richards had his shirt torn off after 50 fans invaded the stage during the gig at The Town Hall in Brisbane.

1966, The Who played at the Locarno Ballroom in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England.

1967, Jack Newfield’s article “Brecht of the Jukebox, Poet of the Electric Guitar,” about Bob Dylan, was published in the Village Voice today.

1968, Pink Floyd played in the Old Refractory, at the Student’s Union at Southampton University, Highfield, Southampton, England. Also on the bill was Tyrannosaurus Rex and The Incredible String Band. Members of Floyd decided not to pick up Syd Barrett on the way to the show due to his ongoing troubles and a mere two weeks after David Gilmour officially became a member of the band. That was the end of Syd Barrett as part of Pink Floyd.

1969, Led Zeppelin played the last of three nights at Boston Tea Party in Boston.

1970, Elvis Presley played the first night of a four-week engagement playing 2 shows every night at The International Hotel in Las Vegas.

1970, The Who play the Stadt Opera House in Cologne, Germany. Their $2500 salary for the two nights is donated to the Save The Children Fund and the taxes on their shows are also excused as the German government declares The Who to be a “cultural attraction.” Both German President Heinemann and Chancellor Willie Brandt attend the show and visit The Who backstage afterwards.

1970, John Lennon wrote, recorded and mixed his new single “Instant Karma” all in one day.

1971, Elvis Presley played the first night of a 31-date run at The Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. Elvis played a 8:30 pm and midnight shows on most days.

1972, Hawkwind played at the Rex Ballroom, Bognor, Regis, England.

1973, John Entwistle and his new solo band Rigor Mortis release the single “Made In Japan” backed with “Hound Dog” in the UK. The launch party is held in a Japanese steak house in Soho. The single fails to chart.

1974, Ringo Starr went to number one on the singles chart with his version of the Johnny Burnette 1960 hit “Your Sixteen.”

1974, Genesis appeared at the Forest National, Brussels, Belgium.

1975, The BBC Omnibus documentary Cracked Actor, a film about David Bowie was shown on UK TV

1975, In Austin, Texas, Bob Dylan makes a surprise guest appearance at a Joni Mitchell concert.

1976, The Beatles’ nine-year contract with EMI expires.

1977, former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green was committed to a mental hospital following an incident when he threatened his accountant Clifford Adams with an air rifle when he was trying to deliver a £30,000 ($51,000) royalty check to him.

1978, Rush played at the MECCA Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1980, Prince made his TV debut on American Bandstand.

1984, Blue Oyster Cult performed at Friedrich Ebert Halle, Ludwigshafen, Germany.

1986, Allen Collins, guitarist from Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed his car, paralyzing him from the waist down and killing his girlfriend Debra Jean Watts. Collins had survived the infamous plane crash in 1977 that killed singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, and assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick.

1989, Bon Jovi kicked of the North American leg of their New Jersey Syndicate Tour at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas.

1989, Singer Donnie Elbert died of a stroke aged 52. He had the 1972 US number 22 & UK number 11 single “I Can’t Help Myself,” “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch,” “Where Did Our Love Go?,” and “A Little Piece of Leather.”

1991, Queen had their second UK number one with “Innuendo.” At 6 minutes 30 seconds, it exceeded their epic “Bohemian Rhapsody” by 35 seconds and became the third longest UK number song of all time, behind The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and Simple Minds’ “Belfast Child,” At a later date, “All Around The World” by Oasis, at 9 minutes 38 seconds took over the top slot and demoted “Innuendo” to fourth place). For ‘Innuendo’s’ flamenco guitar solo, Brian May was joined by Yes guitarist Steve Howe.

1993, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Oakland-Alemeda County Coliseum in Oakland, California.

2003, Justin Timberlake went to number one on the UK album chart with his debut solo album Justified, which went on to spend over a year on the UK charts.

2007, The Rolling Stones topped the US music rich list for the second year running after making $150.6 million (£76.2m) in 2006. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were second in the poll with a combined fortune of $132m (£67.2m) and American country band Rascal Flatts appeared third, having earned $110.5m (£56.2m) in the past year.

2008, Alicia Keys was at number one on the US album chart with her third album As I Am. The album sold over 742,000 copies in its first week, the largest ever first week sales for any female R&B artist.

Born on January 26: Huey “Piano” Smith (1934); Ashley Hutchings, bassist, Fairport Convention (1945); Corky Laing, drummer, Mountain (1948); Derek Holt, Climax Blues Band (1949); David Briggs, Little River Band (1951); Eddie Van Halen (1957); Anita Baker (1958); Andrew Ridgeley, singer, Wham! (1963)

singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean KilpatrickRead More: 36 Years Ago: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Plane Crashes, Killing Three Band Members | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/lynyrd-skynyrd-plane-crashes/?trackback=tsmclip

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Today in Rock History – November 14

November 14, 2019 by Mitch Michaels

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today in Rock History – October 25

October 25, 2019 by Mitch Michaels

1964, The Rolling Stones appeared for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show from New York, performing “Around And Around” and ‘Time Is On My Side.” A riot breaks out in the studio, prompting Sullivan’s infamous quote, “I promise you they’ll never be back on our show again.” The Rolling Stones went on to make a further five appearances on Sullivan’s show between 1965 and 1969.

1966, The Who appeared at Club Nalen in Stockholm, Sweden.

1967, The Who pre-record a mime job to “I Can See For Miles” for the BBC’s Top of the Pops.

1968, Led Zeppelin play a gig at Surrey University, England. Although there are unconfirmed reports of earlier shows, this appears to be the band’s first gig with their new name after initially performing as The New Yardbirds. In 2003 a poster for the Surrey gig (billing the group as The New Yardbirds) sells at auction for £2,400 ($3,840.)

1968, Pink Floyd performed at The Boat House, in Kew, a part of London.

1968, The double album Electric Ladyland by the Jimi Hendrix Experience was released. It was also made available as two albums with changed artwork after complaints about the naked women who were pictured on the sleeve.

1969, “Sugar Sugar” by The Archies was at number one on the singles chart. It stayed at the top for eight weeks, selling over six million copies worldwide. The Archies were a rock group based on comic book characters. The song was co-written by Andy Kim, who had a number one single “Rock Me Gently” in 1974.

1969, Led Zeppelin play to their largest indoor crowd to date. At the Boston Garden, they perform before a crowd of 17,000 and rake in $45,000. Support comes from the MC5 and Johnny Winter.

1970, Pink Floyd played the last night of their Fall North American tour at the Boston Tea Party, in Boston, Massachusetts.

1970, The Who performed at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, England.

1970, Speaking at a US radio conference, President Nixon asked programmers to ban all songs containing drug references.

1972, The Moody Blues played at the Boston Garden, Boston.

1973, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Dane County Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin.

1974, Jefferson Starship performed at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1975, Art Garfunkel was at number one on the UK singles chart with his version of “I Only Have Eyes For You.” The song was written in 1934 for the film Dames, and a number two hit for Ben Selvin in 1934 and most notably a hit for The Flamingos in 1959.

1976, Rush played at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, Washington.

1978, At New York’s Bottom Line Club, Keith Richards joins Rockpile for a jam onstage. The day before he had pleaded guilty to heroin possession in Toronto, but was given a one-year suspended sentence.

1979, Bob Marley and The Wailers played the first of four sold out nights at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.

1985, R.E.M., The Smiths, and Tom Waits all appeared on The Tube, at Tyne Tree Television Studios, Newcastle, England.

1986, Bon Jovi went to number one on the US album chart with Slippery When Wet. Featuring two US chart topping singles, “You Give Love A Bad Name,” and “Livin’ On A Prayer.” The album went on to sell over 8 million copies world wide.

1986, Dire Straits guitarist, singer Mark Knopfler broke his collarbone after crashing in a celebrity car race before the Australian Grand Prix.

1991, Legendary Rock concert promoter Bill Graham was killed when the Bell 206B JetRanger III helicopter he was riding in struck the top of a Pacific Gas and Electric transmission tower near Sears Point, northwest of Vallejo and exploded. The crash, which left the helicopter’s wreckage dangling near the top of the towering structure, killed Graham, his girlfriend Melissa Gold and pilot Steve Kahn. Graham had founded the Fillmore theaters in San Francisco and New York and had played key roles in supporting such bands as the Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Janis Joplin, The Band, Bob Dylan, The J. Geils Band, The Allman Brothers Band and The Rolling Stones.

1992, Roger Miller died of died of lung and throat cancer in Los Angeles. He scored the 1965 UK number one and US number four single “King Of The Road.” Miller won eleven Grammy Awards as a songwriter and seven Tony awards for writing the music and lyrics for Big River. The Proclaimers had the 1990 UK top ten hit with their version of “King Of The Road.”

1997, After falling over on stage when reaching for a guitar pick, Johnny Cash announced during a gig in Michigan that he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

2001, Thirteen law firms were still involved in claims to Grateful Dead’s guitarist Jerry Garcia’s $10 million (£ 6.25m) estate six years after his death. Former wives and girlfriends continued to fight on how to distribute his estate and annual royalties of $4.6m (£2.875m)

2002, Richard Harris, who had the 1968 US number two and UK number four hit “MacArthur Park” died of cancer. The 72-year-old Irish-born actor had been undergoing chemotherapy at a private clinic in London. Though he charted three other times, Harris was better known for his acting roles on stage and film, including A Man Called Horse, and lastly playing Albus Dumbledore in two Harry Potter films.

2003, Johnny Cash’s step-daughter, Rosey Nix Adams and her fiddle player Jimmy Campbell were found dead on their tour bus in Clarksville, Tennessee from Carbon monoxide poisoning. Heaters that had been left on were blamed for the accident.

2004, John Peel died in Cuzco, Peru of a heart attack, aged 65. He was BBC’s longest-serving radio DJ and the first DJ to introduce The Ramones, Roxy Music, The Smiths, The Fall, Rod Stewart, Blur, the Sex Pistols, T. Rex and others to the masses. He founded Dandelion Records in 1969, which released records by Kevin Coyne, Bridget St John and Medicine Head. He was also known for his Peel Sessions, releases of live radio sessions. Peel was appointed an OBE in 1998.

2012, Forbes magazine reported that Michael Jackson topped their list of highest-earning dead musical celebrities by earning $145 (£90.6 ) million in the past year. Elvis Presley ranked second with $55 (£34.4) million in earnings, and Bob Marley at number three with $17 (£10.6) million.

Born on October 25: Helen Reddy (1941); Jon Anderson, Yes (1945); Glen Tipton, Judas Priest (1948); Richard Lloyd, guitar, vocals, Television (1951); and Chad Smith, drummer, Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962)