1965, San Francisco band The Great Society, featuring Grace Slick, make their live debut at The Coffee Gallery, North Beach, California. The lineup featured Grace, her then-husband Jerry Slick on drums, his brother Darby Slick on guitar, David Miner on vocals and guitar, Bard DuPont on bass, and Peter van Gelder on flute, bass, and […]
Today in Rock History – September 20
1968, Led Zeppelin, still working under the name of The Yardbirds, started recording their debut album at Olympic Studios, Barnes, London, England. The album took only about 36 hours of studio time to complete at a cost of around £1,782 ($2851), with most of the tracks being recorded “live” in the studio with very few […]
Song Of The Day – “Under Heavy Manners” by Robert Fripp with David Byrne
After the demise of King Crimson in 1974, Robert Fripp spent several years laying low before entering a period of high activity from 1977-1980, resulting in some of his most interesting collaborations. Starting in 1977, Fripp joined Brian Eno in Germany to add guitar parts to David Bowie’s “Heroes.” This was followed by Fripp’s production […]
Today in Rock History – September 13
1965, The Paul McCartney song “Yesterday” was released as a Beatles single. 1967, The Beatles formed an electronics company called Fiftyshapes, Ltd. appointing John Alexis Mardas (Magic Alex) to be the company’s director. Alex claimed he could build a 72-track tape machine, instead of the 4-track at Abbey Road (this never materialized). One of his […]
Today in Rock History – September 11
1967, Filming began for The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour. There was no script, nor a very clear idea of exactly what was to be accomplished, not even a clear direction about where the bus was supposed to go. The “Magical Mystery Tour” bus set off for the West Country in England stopping for the night […]
Today in Rock History – September 9
1965, The Hollywood Reporter ran the following classified ad, “Madness folk & roll musicians, singers wanted for acting roles in new TV show. Parts for 4 insane boys.” The Monkees were born. 1965, The Rolling Stones were at number one with (“I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” 1967, Pink Floyd opened a four-date Scandanavian tour at […]
Song Of The Day – “Company In My Back” (Live Version from Kicking Television) by Wilco
Live albums. They are the most maligned recordings by critics, yet the fans just love them. You don’t believe me? Ask Peter Frampton, The Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Neil Young, Neil Diamond, Little Feat, The Who, Lou Reed, Cheap Trick and Kiss to name a few, who […]
Today in Rock History – September 8
1966, The Who appeared at the Locarno Ballroon in Stevenage, England. This UK tour was notable for the addition of the single, “I’m A Boy” to the band’s repertoire. 1968, Pink Floyd were forced to cancel a performance at the Chatelet Teenage Festival in Belgium due to work permit problems. There were some violent reactions […]
Today in Rock History – September 7
1968, The Doors played the first of two nights at The Roundhouse, London, playing twice nightly on their first UK visit. Granada TV filmed the sold out gigs, later shown as “The Doors Are Open,” which were attended by members of The Rolling Stones and Traffic. 1968, The Beach Boys played at at Patio Gardens […]
Today in Rock History – September 5
1964, The Animals started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “House Of The Rising Sun.” When first released the record company printed the time of the song on the record as three minutes feeling that the real time of four minutes was too long for radio airplay. 1965, Sonny […]
