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Song Of The Day – “The Promised Land” from Sunshine Daydream by Grateful Dead

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gratefuldeadsunshinedaydream

Editor’s note: This post appeared originally in August 2013.

I look all around me and see dead people…”

We’re in our local movie theater in Lincolnshire, Illinois waiting for the Third Annual – (Jerry Garcia’s Birthday) -Grateful Dead Meet-up At The Movies to begin. This year’s film is from footage that was shot at a benefit show for the Springfield Creamery (makers of Yogurt) in Veneta Oregon on August 27, 1972.

The superb footage in this film is a treat for the eyes …where has this footage been for 41 years?

The film captures the band basking in the afterglow of their triumphant Europe ’72 tour from the previous April and May where they introduced a whole host of new classics into their repertoire. Most of the songs performed in the film turned up the classic trio of 1972 albums Europe ’72, Garcia (his first solo record), and Bob Weir’s Ace. Only about half of the show is represented by video in the movie, but what is there is terrific to watch.

It’s great to see such great footage of the Dead at the height of their powers with the classic lineup Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzman, and Keith & Donna Godchaux, still settling down as a unit, in the wake of the departure of founding member Ron “Pig Pen” McKernan from the group. There is very little footage of Keith and Donna Godchaux in the film. Although heard on the soundtrack, neither of them show up on the screen until well after an hour has lapsed.

The show took place on a blazing hot August afternoon where temperatures were over 100 degrees, and indeed themes of dire heat and water conservation play as a backdrop to footage. It doesn’t stop Jerry and company from raising the temperature from the get-go on a rollicking concert-opening version of Chuck Berry’s “The Promised Land.”

Jerry, Bob and Phil are all in very strong voice throughout the show, harmonizing together on a terrific “Jack Straw.” Donna Godchaux shows up on stage with the band late in the film for a tender Jerry-led version of Merle Haggard’s “Sing Me Back Home.” There’s also great footage of Bill Kreutzman throughout the film playing the drums looking like a total biker dude.

You really get a great sense of the interplay between Garcia and Weir in the film, particularly watching Weir drive Jerry’s soloing along with his rhythm playing.  There’s so much improvisational electricity between Garcia and Weir on “Bird Song,” and they musically challenge each other on a rousing performance of “China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider,” as the band cooks up their own kind of prog-rock-psych-jazz brew.

And there are lots of naked dancing hippies!

Did I mention the naked dancing hippies? I love the classic concert footage of 20,000 hippies getting down to the music. (It’s a scene I only wish would reproduce itself this weekend at Lollapalooza.) There are also great photos and some vintage footage of many from the Dead’s inner circle including Owsley Stanley (Bear), SF legend Wavy Gravy (who does his interview in the reclining position), tour manager  John Cutler, Rock Skully, most of their crew, and many others.

Like 1974’s The Grateful Dead Movie, psychedelic visuals accompany the trippiest parts of the music, and in this concert it’s the epic 31 minute “Dark Star.” I would gladly forgo the psychedelic visuals in Sunshine Daydream in favor of the rest of the footage of Jerry, Bob and Phil improvising together. You can actually see how intently they listen to each other as they are playing.

The film and the full concert were released in September 2013 in several different formats through Rhino Records. Here’s a link to www.dead.net for more information about the Sunshine Daydream film and soundtrack, plus the full track listing of show:

1. Introduction [4:01]

2. Promised Land [3:24]

3. Sugaree [7:30]

4. Me And My Uncle [3:16]

5. Deal [4:55]

6. Black-Throated Wind [7:01]

7. China Cat Sunflower> [7:58]

8. I Know You Rider [7:03]

9. Mexicali Blues [3:49]

10. Bertha [5:59]

11. Playing In The Band [19:57]

12. He’s Gone [9:32]

13. Jack Straw [5:06]

14. Bird Song [13:17]

15. Greatest Story Ever Told [5:36]

16. Dark Star [31:28]

17. El Paso [5:04]

18. Sing Me Back Home [10:51]

19. Sugar Magnolia [8:45]

20. Casey Jones [6:25]

21. One More Saturday Night [5:03]

China Cat Sunflower – 8/27/1972

Today in Rock History – March 7

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1965, during a Rolling Stones gig at The Palace Theatre in Manchester, England a female fan fell from the circle while the group were playing. The crowd below broke her fall and the girl escaped serious injury just breaking a few teeth.

1966, Mike Millward guitarist from The Fourmost died, aged 23. The Liverpool group who were managed by Brian Epstein had the 1964 UK number six single “A Little Loving.”

1966, Brian Wilson released “Caroline No,” the first solo single by a Beach Boy.

1966, Tina Turner recorded her vocal on the Phil Spector produced “River Deep Mountain High.” It went on to reach number three in the UK but only number 88 on the US chart.

1967, Pink Floyd played at the Winter Gardens in Malvern, Worcestershire, England.

1967, Working on their next album The Beatles recorded additional overdubs for “Lovely Rita,” including harmony vocals, effects, and the percussive sound of a piece of toilet paper being blown through a haircomb.

1967, The age of innocence is officially over when Sandra Dee divorces Bobby Darrin.

1969, Led Zeppelin played at the Bluesville 69 Club, at the Hornsey Wood Tavern in London.

1970, Pink Floyd played a 3 PM show at the University of Bristol Arts Festival in Bristol, England.

1970, Lee Marvin was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Wand’rin Star,” taken from the film Paint Your Wagon.

1970, Led Zeppelin performed at the Casino de Montreux in Montreux, Vaud, Switzerland.

1970, Simon and Garfunkel’s album Bridge Over Troubled Water started a ten-week run at number one on the US chart. The duo had split-up by the time of release.

1971, Genesis performed at La Ferme, Woluwe St Lambert, Belgium.

1971 Black Sabbath and Fleetwood Mac played at the Painters Mill Music Fair in Owings Mill, Maryland.

1972, Yes played at Kutztown State College, Kutztown, Pennsylvania.

1973, during a showcase gig at Max’s Kansas City, New York, CBS records boss John Hammond suffered a heart attack. The event was to mark the signing of his new act Bruce Springsteen.

1973, “Dueling Banjos” by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandel from the movie Deliverance became one of the few 1970s instrumentals to be awarded a Gold record. The record had topped the Cash Box Magazine Best Sellers list and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

1974, Yes appeared at the International Amphitheater in Chicago.

1975, In London, the audience at the Hammersmith Odeon learns about Chuck Berry’s unusual concert practices when he walks off stage after 58 minutes. Berry defends himself by saying he was contracted to play only 45. He added, “They wouldn’t turn the house lights on. I always have them on for my last number.”

1976, David Bowie played at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

1978, Johnny Winter appeared at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1980, The film Coal Miner’s Daughter, the biography of Loretta Lynn and starring Sissy Spacek opened. Spacek won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Lynn; Tommy Lee Jones and Beverly D’Angelo also play leading roles in the film, which was a huge success with critics and at the box office.

1980, Rush performed at the Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, California.

1981, Eric Clapton headlined at the Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington.

1981, The Grateful Dead played at Cole Field House on the Campus of the University of Maryland at College Park.

1987, The first five Beatles albums, Please Please Me, With the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night, Beatles for Sale and Help! were released on Compact disc. Capitol Records decided to release the original UK mixes of the Beatles albums, which means that the first four CDs are released in mono. This marks the first time that many of these mono mixes were available in the US.

1988, American female impersonator and actor Divine (Harris Glenn Milstead), died in his sleep of heart failure aged 42. Had the 1984 UK number 16 single “You think You’re a Man.” He was featured in movies by John Waters, Pink Flamingos and Hairspray.

2001, The man who discovered Blur, David Balfe won a high court battle to earn £250,000 ($400,000) in back royalties. Balfe had waged a legal battle for over two years to regain the royalties after selling his Food Records label to EMI in 1994.

2007, Rhett Hutchence the brother of INXS singer Michael Hutchence defended his decision to sell some of the late star’s belongings online saying he needed money to set up home with his new girlfriend. Items in the auction included lyrics, T-shirts and a fax his brother had sent to his then girlfriend Kylie Minogue.

2012, Sales of albums by The Monkees soared following the death of singer Davy Jones. Best Of The Monkees re-entered the Billboard album chart at No.20 with sales of over 17,000 units.

Born on this day:  Chris White, The Zombies (1943); Arthur Lee, Love (1945); Peter Wolf, J. Geils Band (1946); Rocco Prestia, bass player, Tower of Power (1951)

Today in Rock History archive.  See also Yeah Baby Tunes

Today in Rock History – November 25

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Jimi Hendrix-19661966, Jimi Hendrix is introduced to the British press when The Experience play London’s Bag O’Nails club.

1967, The Who play the first of two nights at The Village Theatre in New York City. The Vagrants, with guitarist Leslie West, and The Rich Kids open for them.

1967, Spirit, Country Joe & the Fish, and Moby Grape perform at the Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1968, Yes plays at the Revolution Club, London.

1969, The Rolling Stones appeared at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1969, John Lennon returned his MBE to The Queen on the grounds of the UK’s involvement in the Nigeria Biafra war, America in Vietnam, and against his latest single “Cold Turkey” slipping down the charts.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appears at the National Guard Armory, Birmingham, Alabama.

1970, Pink Floyd performed at Friedrich Ebert Halle, Ludwigshafen, Germany.

1971, The Doors announce they will carry on, even without Jim Morrison, who died earlier in the year.

1972, Chuck Berry was at number one on the UK singles chart with “My Ding a-Ling,” his only UK chart topper.

1972, London’s Rainbow Theater cancels the premiere of Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii after the theater owner and the promoter could not come to terms.

1973, The Grateful Dead perform at Feyline Field in Tempe, Arizona.

1974, UK singer, songwriter Nick Drake died in his sleep aged 26 of an overdose of tryptasol, an anti-depressant drug. Drake signed to Island Records when he was twenty years old, recorded the classic 1972 album Pink Moon. In 2000, Volkswagen featured the title track from Pink Moon in a television advertisement, and within a month Drake had sold more records than he had in the previous thirty years.

1974, Genesis played at Allen Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio.

1975, The Who perform at the Murphy Centre, on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.

band-last-waltz1976, The Band made their final performance as The Last Waltz. The show also featured Joni Mitchell, Dr John, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton and others. Martin Scorsese filmed the event.

1977, Aerosmith played at the Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas.

1978, The Police appeared at The Electric Ballroom in London, England.

1978, Eric Clapton played at City Hall, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England.

1979, Fleetwood Mac performs at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1979, ZZ Top appeared at Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee.

1980, Black Sabbath plays at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney, Australia.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Jefferson Coliseum, Birmingham, Alabama.

1984, The cream of the British pop world gathered at S.A.R.M. Studios, London to record the historic “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The single, which was written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, featured Paul Young, Bono, Boy George, Sting and George Michael. It went on to sell over three million copies in the UK, becoming the bestselling record ever, and raised over £8 million ($13.6 million) worldwide.

1992, The Bodyguard, opened nation-wide featuring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. The film which was Houston’s acting debut was written by Lawrence Kasdan in the 1970s, originally as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross. It became the second-highest-grossing film worldwide in 1992 with the soundtrack becoming the best-selling soundtrack of all time, selling more than 42 million copies.

1993, Pete’s Townshend’s musical version of Hughes’ children’s’ story The Iron Man opens in London for a short run. David Thacker is the Production Director, while Anthony Castro serves as the Music Director.

1996, A statue in Montreux, Switzerland by sculptor Irena Sedlecka was erected as a tribute to Freddie Mercury.  It was unveiled by Freddie’s father and Montserrat Caballé, with bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor also in attendance. The statue stands almost 10 feet (3m) high overlooking Lake Geneva.

2001, American country music artist Garth Brooks went to number one on the US album chart with his ninth studio album Scarecrow, the last album by Brooks before his ten-year hiatus.

2007, Kevin Dubrow, the frontman with metal band Quiet Riot, was found dead in his Las Vegas home at the age of 52. Their 1983 release Metal Health was the first metal album to top the US charts. The band’s biggest hit was “Cum on Feel the Noize,” a cover of the Slade song which they are said to have grudgingly recorded in just one take.

2011, Don DeVito, a longtime Columbia Records executive who produced the key Bob Dylan albums Blood on the Tracks and Desire, died aged 72 after a sixteen-year battle with prostate cancer. DeVito had also worked with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Aerosmith. DeVito started off as a guitarist touring for Al Kooper, and had his own band, The Sabres, which later broke up mid-tour. According to Columbia, DeVito was stranded in Fort Smith, Arkansas, when he happened to meet Johnny Cash and developed what would become a lifelong friendship. Cash would later introduce DeVito to Dylan.

2012, Earl “Speedo” Carroll, lead vocalist for the doo-wop group The Cadillacs, died in a nursing home in New York at the age of 75, following a stroke.. The group’s biggest hit was “Speedoo,” Carroll’s subsequent nickname. It was released in 1955. Carroll also had diabetes.

Born on November 25: Percy Sledge (1940); Bev Bevan, drummer The Move, Electric Light Orchestra (1950); Steve Rothery, guitar, Marillion (1959); Amy Grant (1960); Mark Lanegan, Screaming Trees, The Gutter Twins (1964); Rodney Sheppard, guitar, Sugar Ray (1967)

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Today in Rock History – October 28

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tami-show1964, the first of two nights billed as the “T.A.M.I. Show” took place at the Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, and The Rolling Stones all performed. The best footage from each of the two concert dates was edited into a 123-minute film, which was released on December 29, 1964. Jan and Dean emceed the event and performed its theme song, “Here They Come (From All Over the World).”

1964, The Who, still using their former name, The High Numbers performed at Town Hall in Greenwich, England.

1965, The first mono mix of The Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out” was made for a television show, The Music of Lennon and McCartney. However, when the band heard the mix the next day, they decided to overdub more vocals.

1967, Pink Floyd played at Dunelm House, Durham University Students’ Centre, Durham University, Durham, England.

1967, The Who  make their last appearance on BBC radio’s Saturday Club. They follow it by beginning a package tour of the U.K. with supporting acts Traffic, The Herd, The Marmalade and The Tremeloes. The Who play twelve songs during their first set at City Hall in Sheffield but, after the first show runs long, The Who’s second set is cut short when the stage manager orders them offstage after three songs. Pete Townshend goes ballistic, smashing two speakers and The Herd’s lighting gear. Roger Daltrey tries to stop him and they begin to scuffle. When the stage manager tries to break it up, Pete grabs him by the throat and drags him offstage where he continues smashing things backstage.

1967, Simon and Garfunkel performed at Assembly Hall at The University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois.

1968, Neil Young appeared solo at the Bitter End in New York City.

1969, Yes played at Theatre 140, Brussles, Belgium.

1970, Hawkwind appeared at Barnet College, Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe.)

1970, The Who performed at Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria.

1971, Black Sabbath headlined at Community War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, New York.

1972, The United States Council for World Affairs announced it was adopting The Who song “Join Together” as it’s official theme tune.

1972, Led Zeppelin play the first of two nights at the Pavillion in Montreux, Switzerland. Melody Maker writes about the gigs, “They will reshape your values about what is genuine and what isn’t. They just have to be the best heavy band this country has produced.”

1973, King Crimson played at Town Hall, Birmingham, England.

1973, David Cassidy was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Daydreamer / The Puppy Song,” the singer’s second chart topper. “The Puppy Song” was Cassidy’s version of the Harry Nilsson song.

1974, Jamaican reggae artist Ken Boothe was at number one on the UK singles chart with his version of a song by David Gates, from Bread, “Everything I Own.” Boy George also took the song to the the top in 1987.

1974, Three Dog Night appeared at the Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts.

David-bowie-Live1974, David Bowie played the first of seven sold-out nights on his Diamond Dogs Tour at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

1975, Rush performed at Randy’s Rodeo, San Antonio, Texas.

1976, Aerosmith appeared at Eberthalle, Ludwigshafen, Germany.

1977, Kansas played at the Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida.

1978, Nick Gilder went to number one on the singles chart with “Hot Child In The City.”

1978, Queen played the first night on their 79-date Jazz tour at the Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Texas.

1978, The animated cartoon, Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park, was shown on NBC-TV in the U.S. The four rock stars had to deal with a mad scientist who went crazy in an amusement park. All four members of Kiss had just released their individual solo albums.

1978, Bob Dylan played at  Southern Illinois University Stadium, in Carbondale, Illinois.

1980, Dire Straits appeared at the Roxy in Los Angeles.

1981, ZZ Top played at The Astrodome, Houston, Texas.

1983, Blue Oyster Cult performed at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

1985, Bob Dylan releases Biograph, one of the first major box sets.

1985, The Grateful Dead played at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia.

1989, Janet Jackson started a four week run at number one on the US album chart with Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. It is only one of three albums to produce seven Top-ten US singles, the other two being Thriller by Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The USA.

1997, R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry announced that he was leaving the group after 17 years, becoming a farmer.

2001, The various artists album God Bless America went to number one on the US chart, featuring tracks from Bruce Springsteen, Bill Withers, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra.

2008, A statue honoring AC/DC’s Bon Scott was unveiled at the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour in Western Australia. Although born in Scotland, Scott grew up in Fremantle after his family emigrated to Australia in 1952. Bon started out his newfound Australian life in Melbourne, his family lived in the suburb of Sunshine for four years before moving to Fremantle. Scott died on February 20, 1980. He is buried in Fremantle cemetery.

2011, The organizers of a planned Metallica concert in India were arrested after the show was called off, leading fans of the band to destroy the stage and vandalize equipment. Metallica had been booked to play in Delhi on Friday, but they postponed the show after a security barrier in front of the stage collapsed. The four promoters of the gig, were arrested on fraud charges after they refused to refund tickets. Around 25,000 people had purchased tickets to see what would have been Metallica’s first-ever concert in India.

2013, New Zealand singer Lorde, 16, topped the UK singles chart with her debut single, “Royals,” making her the youngest solo artist to score a UK chart topper since 15-year-old Billie Piper’s “Because We Want To” in 1998. Lorde was signed to Universal on a development deal at just 13 years old, after a friend’s father sent them home recordings of her singing Duffy and Pixie Lott tracks.

Born on October 28: Charlie Daniels (1936); Graham Bond, keyboards, sax, The Graham Bond Organisation (1937); Wayne Fontana (1940); Elton Dean,  sax, keyboards, Soft Machine (1945); Thelma Hopkins, singer, Dawn (1948); Stephen Morris, drums, Joy Division, New Order (1957); William Reid, The Jesus and Mary Chain (1958); Neville Henry, The Blow Monkeys (1959); Caitlin Cary, singer and violinist, Whiskeytown (1968); Ben Harper (1969); Frank Ocean (1987)

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Today in Rock History – October 23

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Clash
The Clash

1976, The Clash appeared at The ICA in London.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today in Rock History – October 16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today in Rock History – October 8

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1974, The Ramones played at CBGB, New York.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Link to Today in Rock History archives

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – "Sweet Little Sixteen" by Chuck Berry

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Sweet Little Sixteen” by Chuck Berry

All that is great about Rock ‘n’ Roll can be found right here! Driving guitar riff…superb lyrics way ahead of their time for 1958…duck walking guitar solo…clarinet solo…an original song by perhaps the greatest Rock ‘n’ Roller we’ve ever had. Here is Chuck Berry in a rare live performance from 1958. What is lacking in the sound quality is more than made up for in the video. Just watched the Stones do this from their 1978 tour on the “Some Girls Live” DVD…couldn’t argue with their performance, now here’s the real deal…

An audio and musical tribute to Marty Zivin

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(from L to R) Bob Stern, Marty Zivin, Bart Shore. Steve Leventhal

Marty Zivin, who passed away on January 10, 2017, left behind more than a legion of friends, family, and admirers. He may not have invented Internet radio, but he was an early pioneer in streaming music stations.

His passion for music, radio, and the Internet are on display in the following two hour broadcast, hosted by Bart Shore, Bob Stern and Steve Leventhal.

We pay tribute to Marty with the music he loved, and words from his friends and colleagues.

Songs include material from 10cc, Horslips, Donovan, Klaatu, ? and the Mysterians, Chuck Berry, Sagittarius, and more.   Enjoy.

Hour 1

Hour 2