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Today in Rock History – July 22

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beatles-introducing-beatles1963, The Beatles’ first US album, Introducing The Beatles was pressed by Vee-Jay Records, who thought they had obtained the legal rights from EMI affiliate, Trans-Global Records. When it was finally released in January, 1964, Capitol Records would hit Vee Jay with an injunction against manufacturing, distributing, advertising, or otherwise disposing of records by the Beatles. After a trial, Vee-Jay was allowed to release any Beatles records that they had masters of in any form until October 15th, 1964. After that time, they no longer had the right to issue any Beatles product.

1964, The Beach Boys performed at Assembly Hall at the University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois.

1965, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman from The Rolling Stones were each fined £5 at East Ham Magistrates Court, London after being found guilty of insulting behaviour at a Romford Road service station. The three had all urinated against a wall.

1966, The Who played at Central Pier in Morecambe, Lancashire, England.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland. The venue is home to one of Scotland’s finest dance floors, famous for its bounce, which floats on fixed steel springs. During the 1960s The Beatles,  The Small Faces, and Cream all appeared at the Beach.

Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service

1967, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Big Brother & the Holding Company appeared at the Convention Hall, San Diego, California.

1967, The Who play their first American live gig at New York’s Paramount Theater.

1969, Aretha Franklin was arrested for causing a disturbance in a Detroit parking lot. After posting $50 bail, she ran down a road sign while leaving the police station.

1969, The Doors perform at the Aquarius Theater in Hollywood, California, portions of the show appear on Absolutely Live. Later the entire concert was released on CD as well.

1971, John and Yoko spent the second day filming the Imagine promotional film at their home in Tittenhurst Park Ascot, England. Today’s footage included the morning walk on the grounds though the mist and John Lennon singing “Imagine” in the white room on his white piano.

1972, Roxy Music appeared at Civic Hall, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England.

1972, The Grateful Dead play the Paramount Northwest Theater in Seattle, Washington.

1972, Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested in Sweden for possession of drugs.

1972, The Rolling Stones performed at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1973, Humble Pie and Mountain appear at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

1973, Van Morrison appeared at Birmingham Town Hall, playing his first UK show for over 2 years.

1974, The Eagles release their third album, On the Border.

1975, Number one on the Billboard album charts is Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti.  Second is Olivia Newton-John with Have You Never Been Mellow. Number three is Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks.

1975, Three Dog Night appear at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1975, The Rolling Stones go into the Musicland Studios in Munich to begin recording Black and Blue.

1976, On the campaign trail, Jimmy Carter tells the National Association of Record Merchandisers’ Scholarship Foundation Dinner his musical inspiration as governor of Georgia was Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and Led Zeppelin. He makes pertinent quotations from Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

1977, Stiff Records released My Aim Is True the debut album from Elvis Costello in the UK.

1978, The Police sign with A&M Records.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.

1981, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1982, Van Halen performed at BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Alabama.

1989, Simply Red scored their first UK top charting album with their third release A New Flame.

1989, The soundtrack album Batman by Prince started a six-week run at number one on the US album chart.

2003, Coldplay played the second of two nights at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia on their A Rush of Blood to the Head world tour.

2004, American singer, songwriter and producer Arthur Crier died of heart failure. Member of The Chimes and had worked with Little Eva, Gene Pitney, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Ben E. King, Johnny Nash and The Coasters.

2005, Founder member and singer with The Chi-lites, Eugene Record died of cancer. Had the 1972 US No.1 single “Oh Girl” and 1972 UK No.3 single “Have You Seen Her.” He also released three solo albums.

2006, Johnny Cash was at number one on the US album chart with American V: A Hundred Highways. Released posthumously on July 4, the vocal parts were recorded before Cash’s death, but the instruments were not recorded until 2005.

Born on July 22: George Clinton, Parlaiment, Funkadelic (1941); Bobby Sherman (1943); Estelle Bennett, The Ronettes, and Rick Davies, Supertramp (1944); Don Henley (1947); and Rufus Wainwright (1973)

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Today in Rock History – July 12

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courtesy: rollingstones.com
courtesy: rollingstones.com

1962, The Rolling Stones made their live debut at the Marquee Jazz Club, London, with Dick Taylor on bass (later of The Pretty Things) and Mick Avory on drums, (later of The Kinks). They were a last minute fill-in for Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, who had been plucked to appear on BBC radio’s Jazz Club program.  Billed as The Rollin’ Stones, culled from a song by one of their heroes, Muddy Waters. They were paid £20 for the gig. Ian Stewart’s appointment diary noted that the band played songs by Jimmy Reed, Chuck Berry, and Bo Diddley.

1964, The Beatles appeared at the Hippodrome Theatre in Brighton with The Fourmost and the Shubdubs (whose drummer, Jimmy Nicol, would later fill in for an ill Ringo Starr on The Beatles’ world tour). Also in the US,  The Ed Sullivan Show re-broadcast the February 9th show, The Beatles’ first live television appearance on the program. On the way to the gig George Harrison was involved in a minor crash in his brand new Jaguar in Kings Road, Fulham, London. Passing pedestrians collected bits of broken glass as souvenirs.

1968, Pink Floyd played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, One hit wonders Zager and Evans started a six week run at number one on the singles chart with “In The Year 2525.”

1969, Led Zeppelin headline the Summer Pop Festival, alongside with Johnny Winter, Jethro Tull, Al Kooper and Buddy Guy at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tickets cost $3.75 – $6.75.

1969, Elvis Presley was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, on sale for 35 cents

1969, Yes and King Crimson appeared at the Nottingham Racecourse, Nottingham, England.

1970, Pink Floyd headlined on the third and final day of the 1st Open Air Pop Festival, at Reiterstadion Soers, in Aachen, West Germany. Among the other acts on the bill were Deep Purple, Amon Duul II, Traffic, and Tyrannosaurus Rex.

1972, The Rolling Stones appear at the Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1973, Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at Detroit’s Cobo Hall. The set list: Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, (Bring It On Home intro) Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love (incl. Let That Boy Boogie, I’m Going Down), Communication Breakdown, The Ocean.

1974, Frank Zappa plays the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1974, Eric Clapton performed at Madison Square Garden, New York

1975, Yes appears at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, New York.

1976, The Grateful Dead played the first of six nights at the Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco, California.

1977, Fleetwood Mac appeared at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1978, Aerosmith headlines at the Long Beach Civic Arena, Long Beach, California.

1979, American singer songwriter Minnie Riperton died of cancer aged 31. The Stevie Wonder produced “Loving You” gave Minnie a number one single in 1975. She worked at Chess records singing backup for various artists such as Etta James, Fontella Bass, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and Muddy Waters. She also sang lead for the experimental rock/soul group Rotary Connection, from 1967 to 1971. Also a member of Wonderlove in 1973, a backup group for Stevie Wonder.

1979, Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice joined Whitesnake. He would stay with the band until late 1981.

Disco Demolition at Comiskey Park – 1979. Courtesy: Chicago Reader

1979, Chicago Radio Station WLUP’s morning DJ Steve Dahl hosts Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park. Between games of a double header, a bonfire is started into which disco records are pitched while the crowd chants “Disco sucks.”   The promoters expected a crowd of a few thousand fans. Instead, 40,000 people showed up to take advantage of the 98 cent admission, if they brought a disco record. Dahl’s fans stormed the field and started a small riot.  While broadcasters tried to calm the crowd and get them back to their seats, fans paid no heed and tore up the field.  The White Sox had to forfeit the second game of the double header.

1980, During their 23-date 11 O’clock Tick Tock tour, U2 played at The Moonlight, West Hampstead in London.

1980, Olivia Newton-John and the Electric Light Orchestra had the UK number one single with “Xanadu,” taken from the film of the same name. It gave Olivia Newton-John her third UK chart topping single.

1981, Van Halen played at the International Amphitheater in Chicago.

1983, Former Traffic member Chris Wood died of pneumonia after years of battling drug and alcohol abuse. He played flute, sax, and keyboards.

1983, David Bowie appeared at the Montreal Forum, Montreal.

1986, Simply Red scored their first US number one single with “Holding Back The Years.” Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall wrote the song when he was seventeen, while living at his father’s house. The chorus did not come to him until many years later.

1996, Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was charged with drug possession after the death of the band’s keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin in his New York Hotel room.

2003, Saxophonist, composer and arranger Benny Carter died aged 95. He worked with Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and composed many TV theme’s including Ironside and M-Squad.

2003, REM, The White Stripes, Idlewind, The Cardigans, The Proclaimers, The Music, The Charlatans, Coldplay, Supergrass, The Darkness, Turin Brakes, The Coral and Feeder all appeared at the two-day T In The Park festival in Scotland.

2007, Rod Stewart was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace for his services to music.

Born on July 12: Christine McVie (1943); Wilko Johnson, guitar, Dr. Feelgood (1947); Philip Taylor Kramer, bass guitar, Iron Butterfly (1952);  Dan Murphy, guitar, Soul Asylum (1962); Dominic Howard, drums, Muse (1977)

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Today in Rock History – July 7

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Alpha TV Studio – Birmingham UK July 1963 – Philip Townsend

1963, The Rolling Stones made their UK TV debut when they appeared on Thank Your Lucky Stars. Also seen on the show were Mickie Most, The Cadets, Helen Shapiro and Gordon Mills. The Stones made a total of 13 appearances on the show between 1963 and 1966

1965, The Who played at a gala opening of The Manor House club in London.

1966, The Kinks were at number one on the singles chart with “Sunny Afternoon,” the group’s third and last chart topper.

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

1967, The Monkees begin a nationwide tour, with Jimi Hendrix supporting.

1967, Dusty Springfield begins a three-week residency at New York’s Copacabana nightclub.

1968, The Yardbirds played their last gig before splitting up when they appeared in Luton, England.

1969, Arlo Guthrie and Joni Mitchell appeared in Edwardsville, Illinois.

1969, George Harrison recorded his new song “Here Comes the Sun” with just two other Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Abbey Road in London. John Lennon was absent, recovering from a car crash in Scotland.

1970, The Who headline at the Tanglewood Music Amphitheater in Lenox, Massachusetts with Jethro Tull and It’s a Beautiful Day opening. It is one of The Who’s very best performances and is projected on a 15′ X 21′ television screen on the lawn outside the venue. The show is videotaped and intended for use on a Fillmore at Tanglewood television special that never airs. “Heaven and Hell”, “I Can’t Explain” and “Water” are later released on the first video edition of 30 Years Of Maximum R&B and the surviving section of the concert on YouTube in 2014.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

1971, Yes appeared at the Orlando Sports Stadium, also known as the Eddie Graham Sports Complex, an indoor venue which opened in 1967, and closed in 1995.

1971, 26-year-old pop star Bjorn Ulvaeus and 21-year-old Agnetha Faltskog married in Verum, Sweden. 3000 fans arrived and in the chaos a police horse stepped on the brides foot, causing her a slight injury.

1972, Chicago performed at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana.

1973, Led Zeppelin appeared at Chicago Stadium, Chicago.

1973, Hawkwind played at the Sports Centre, Bletchley, England.

1973, Billy Preston started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Will It Go Round In Circles,” his first of two chart toppers.

1974, David Bowie performed at the Scope in Norfolk, Virginia.

1975, Paul McCartney & Wings release “Live and Let Die.”

1975, Keith Moon has “Happy Birthday Ringo” written in the sky above Los Angeles in honor of his fellow drummer’s 35th birthday. He then sends the bill to Ringo.

1976, Neil Young appeared at the Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1978, The Grateful Dead played the first of four nights at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado.

The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats

1979, The Boomtown Rats made a personal appearance at the opening of the new Virgin Megastore in London.

1980, Led Zeppelin played their last-ever concert when they appeared in West Berlin at the end of a European tour. They finished the show with a 17-minute version of “Whole Lotta Love.”

1980, The Who perform at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

1984, Bruce Springsteen went to number one on the US album chart with Born In The USA. The album went on to spend a total of 139 weeks on the US chart. Its also one of three albums (Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814) to produce seven Top-ten US singles.

1984, Prince started a five week run at number one on the US singles chart with “When Doves Cry,” his first US chart topper, which went on to sell over two million copies. It reached the fourth spot in the UK.

1989, It was announced that for the first time compact discs were out selling vinyl albums.

2001, Stereophonics, David Gray, The Dandy Warhols, The Proclaimers, Paul Weller, Texas, Coldplay, Beck, Toploader, Ash, Starsailor, Nelly Furtado, James, and Muse all appeared at  T In The Park festival, Scotland, weekend tickets, £64 ($109.)

2006, Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett died from complications arising from diabetes aged 60. The official cause of death was listed as pancreatic cancer.  He joined Pink Floyd in 1965, and crafted most of the material from their first album, but only contributed one song for the second offering.  Barrett’s behavior became increasingly erratic and unpredictable, partly as a consequence of his reported heavy use of psychedelic drugs, most prominently LSD. By April 1968, he was kicked out of the band. Barrett released two solo albums before going into self-imposed seclusion lasting more than thirty years, with his mental deterioration blamed on drugs.

2007, The Live Earth concerts took place around the world with The Police closing the days events in New Jersey. The concerts were organized by former US Vice-President Al Gore, as part of his campaign to “heal the planet.” Rock stars from around the world performed to hundreds of thousands of fans to highlight climate change. Concerts were held in Washington, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Shanghai and Sydney. Madonna brought London’s Live Earth concert to a close, playing a song she had written for the event. Other major acts who appeared included; Snow Patrol, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, The Beastie Boys, James Blunt, The Foo Fighters, Duran Duran, UB40, Snoop Dogg, Enrique Iglesias, Crowded House & Joss Stone.

2009, Michael Jackson’s family and fans said farewell to the pop superstar at an emotional memorial service. The singer’s coffin was placed in front of the stage during the public event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, after an earlier private funeral.

2010, Paul McCartney joined Ringo Starr onstage at a concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall to help celebrate the former Beatle drummer’s 70th birthday.  Ringo’s All-Starr Band were joined by Yoko Ono, Joe Walsh, Angus Young and Steven Van Zandt, as Paul belted out “Birthday” and Ringo delivered “With A Little Help From My Friends.”

Born on July 7: Mary Ford, American singer (1928); Joe Zawinul, pianist, Miles Davis band, Weather Report (1932); Ringo Starr (1940);  Peter Banks, Yes, Flash (1947); Rob Townsend, drummer, Family (1947); Lynval Golding, guitar, The Specials (1952); Mark White, bass, The Spin Doctors (1962)

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Today in Rock History – June 22

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1968, Herb Alpert started a four week run at number one on the singles chart with “This Guys In Love With You.” It was his first chart topper, plus first number one for the A&M label, as well as for writers Burt Bacharach and Hal David

1968, The Rolling Stones go to number one in the UK with “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” It was the first time they had visited the top spot in two years.

1968, Rolling Stone, reviews the bootleg Basement Tapes in an article titled “The Missing Bob Dylan Album.”

1968, Actor Richard Harris goes to number two with his seven-minute reading of “MacArthur Park.”

1968, The Jeff Beck group featuring Rod Stewart made their US debut at the Fillmore East, New York.

1968, The Otis Redding album Dock Of The Bay went to number one posthumously. Redding was killed in a plane crash on December 10th 1967.

1969, Singer, actress, Judy Garland, died of a barbiturate overdose at age 47. She was found on the floor of her rented Chelsea home, in London. She made more than two dozen films, most  notably playing Dorothy in  1939’s Wizard Of Oz, singing “Over The Rainbow” in the film.

1969, Supergroup Blind Faith release their self-titled album.

1970, Led Zeppelin appeared at Laugardalsholl Hall, Reykjavik, Iceland on the group’s one and only visit to Iceland. It is suggested that Robert Plant was inspired to write the lyrics to “Immigrant Song” during this trip.

1974, Gordon Lightfoot started a two-week run at number one on the album chart with Sundown.

1975, At New York’s Madison Square Garden, Eric Clapton joins the Rolling Stones onstage to jam on “Sympathy for the Devil.”

1978, The Boomtown Rats, supported by Matt Vinyl & The Decorators appeared at the Odeon Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1985, Bryan Adams started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Heaven,” his first chart topping single, which made it only to number 35 in the UK.

1990, Ry Cooder and David Lindley, The Cure, Happy Mondays, Sinead O’Connor, Deacon Blue, De La Soul, Adamski, Blue Aeroplanes, Julian Cope, Del Amitri, Jesus Jones, James and The Pale Saints all appeared on day one of the Glastonbury Festival. A three day ticket cost £38 ($61).

2008, Coldplay went to number one on the UK singles chart with “Viva La Vida,” their first UK chart topper. The song won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2009.

2013, “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke started a 13 week run at number one on the US singles chart. The song featured American rapper T.I. and American singer and producer Pharrell, the video was made in two versions; the first video features models Emily Ratajkowski, Jessi M’Bengue, and Elle Evans being topless, the second features them covered. The topless version of the video was removed from YouTube for violating the site’s terms of service regarding nudity, though it was later restored, but flagged as inappropriate. “Blurred Lines” topped the charts in 14 countries.

Born on June 22: Kris Kristofferson (1936); Chris Blackwell, English record producer, co-founder Island Records (1937); Murphy Dunne, American actor, keyboards, The Blues Brothers (1942); Peter Asher, English singer, guitarist, producer, Peter and Gordon (1944); Howard Kaylan, The Turtles, Flo & Eddie, Frank Zappa (1947); Todd Rundgren (1948); Larry Junstrom, American bass player, 38 Special and Lynyrd Skynyrd (1949); Craig Gruber, American bass player, Rainbow, Elf, Bible Black, and Raven Lord (1951); Cyndi Lauper (1953); Derek Forbes, Scottish bass player, guitarist, Simple Minds, Big Country (1956); Garry Gary Beers, Australian bass player, songwriter, producer, INXS, Absent Friends (1957); Jimmy Somerville, Scottish singer-songwriter, Bronski Beat,  The Communards (1961); Bobby Gillespie, Scottish singer-songwriter, Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Wake (1962); Dicky Barrett, American singer, actor, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (1964); Steven Page, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist Barenaked Ladies (1970);

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Today in Rock History – June 15

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The Who, 1964 - from THE MARK AND COLLEEN HAYWARD COLLECTION (http://rockmusicprints.com/)
The Who, 1964 – from THE MARK AND COLLEEN HAYWARD COLLECTION (http://rockmusicprints.com/)

1964, The Who played at the Glenlyn Ballroom in Forest Hill, London.

1965, The Rolling Stones kicked off an 8-date mini-European tour at The Odeon Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, supported by The Hollies

1966, “Substitute” by The Who peaks at number 13 on the German charts.

1967, Guitarist Peter Green quit the John Mayall Band. He went on to be a founding member of Fleetwood Mac.

1968, The Soft Machine appeared at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Today John and Yoko plant their acorns outside Coventry Cathedral in England to help promote peace.

1968, Pink Floyd performed two shows (7:30 and 11:30 pm) at Magic Village in Manchester, England. Also on the bill for this all night event were Purple Stone and the Alchemist, The Jack Lancaster – Bruce Mithcell Quartet, and the Inner Light Show.

1968, Quicksilver Messenger Service supported by The Hallucinations played at Boston Tea Party, Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, Led Zeppelin, along with Liverpool Scene and Bloodwyn Pig appeared at The Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England, during a five date UK tour.

1969, The Frost played at the Sports Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

1969, The Doors appeared at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1970, The Who performed at the Community Theater, Berkeley, California.

1971, Pink Floyd performed at Abbaye de Royaumont in Royaumont, France. The show that was filmed by French TV channel ORTF, and two songs were broadcast on Cinq Grand Sur La Deux in the early hours of July 12th.

1972, The Rolling Stones appeared at University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

1973, On television’s Midnight Special, host Jim Croce welcomes guests Wishbone Ash and Bobby Womack.

1973, David Bowie performed at the Odeon Theatre, Taunton, England.

1974, Abba’s debut album Waterloo entered the chart for the first time peaking at number 28.

1974, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Billy Don’t Be A Hero,” The song was a UK chart topper for Paper Lace.

1974, Elvis Presley played the first night of an 18-date US tour by playing four shows at the Tarrant County Center, Forth Worth, Texas.

1975, ZZ Top played at the Spokane Coliseum, Spokane, Washington.

1976, The Sex Pistols recorded their first demos in Clapham’s Majestic studios followed by a gig that night at The 100 club, London.

1976, AC/DC appeared at St. Georges Hall, Bradford, England.

1977, The Sex Pistols held a party on a boat as it sailed down The River Thames in London. The Pistols performed “Anarchy In The UK” outside The Houses Of Parliament, resulting in members from the party being arrested when the boat docked later that day.

1977, Pink Floyd performed at County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1978, During a European tour Bob Dylan played the first of six sold out nights at London’s Earl Court.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1980, Nazareth played at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1983, David Bowie performed at Ruhrland Stadion, Bochum, Germany.

1984, Yes appeared at the Scandinavium, Göteborg, Sweden.

1985, Dire Straits started a nine-week run at number one on the US album chart with, Brothers In Arms.

1986, U2 and Sting headlined a concert in New Jersey celebrating 25 years of Amnesty International.

1989 Nirvana’s debut album Bleach was released in the US. The title for the album came from a poster “Bleach Your Works” urging drug users to bleach their needles. Kurt Cobain claimed that most of the lyrics on the album were written the night before recording while he was feeling “pissed off,” and that he did not regard them highly.

1996, Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald died in Beverly Hills, California, aged 79. Already blinded by the effects of diabetes, Fitzgerald had both her legs amputated in 1993. She won 13 Grammy Awards, and the 1956 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook was the first of eight “Songbook” sets.

2002, A rare autographed copy of The Beatles’ album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sold at auction for £34,000 ($57,800), more than five times the estimated price.

 2003, Radiohead scored their fourth UK number one with their sixth studio album Hail To The Thief, while Metallica were at number one on the US album chart with St Anger, the band’s fourth US chart topper, and a top three hit in the UK.

2005, Coldplay went straight to number one on US album chart with their third album X&Y, having already entered at number one in the UK. The last time a British artist had a simultaneous US and UK number one was in November 2000 with 1, a compilation of hits by The Beatles. The last studio album to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic was Radiohead’s Kid A in October 2000.

Born on June 15: Nigel Pickering, Spanky And Our Gang (1929); Waylon Jennings (1937); Harry Nilsson (1941); Johnny Halliday, “the French Elvis” (1943); Muff Winwood, The Spencer Davis Group (1943); Russell Hitchcock, vocals, Air Supply (1949);  Steve Walsh, Kansas (1951); David Hinds, Steel Pulse (1956); rapper Ice Cube (1969)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Foreigner Suite” by Cat Stevens

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Here’s a rare live version of Cat Stevens’ “Foreigner Suite” performed in its entirety for ABC TV’s “In Concert.” By 1973, Stevens was coming off a very successful run of records including “Mona Bone Jakon,” “Tea For The Tillerman,” “Teaser And The Firecat” and “Catch Bull At Four,” that were all recorded with pretty much the same band and producer. The release of “Foreigner” found Stevens jettisoning much of his musicians, branching out musically with this multi-section extended piece, turning his attention toward spiritual matters lyrically and taking on the production chores for himself. Musically, the suite featured many different sections melded together into a whole and was much in the same vein as fellow 1973 releases, “Band On The Run” by Paul McCartney and “A Passion Play” by Jethro Tull. While “Foreigner” was much maligned upon its release and sold poorly, Stevens bounced back with his follow up record “Buddha And The Chocolate Box.” In 2009, Stevens sued Coldplay for plagiarizing the melody of the final segment of “Foreigner Suite” with their song “Viva La Vida.”