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Today in Rock History – May 22

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1976, KISS appeared at The Olympia Theatre, Paris.

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

source: LedZeppelin.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today in Rock History – May 5

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Buffalo Springfield

1966, The Who performed at Town Hall in Kidderminster, West Midlands, England.

1967 At a performance at the Sporthallen in Eskilstuna, The Who are forced to perform on a small stage meters above the heads of the audience. Pete Townshend cuts the set to five songs in protest.

1968, Buffalo Springfield split up. Richie Fury formed Poco and Stephen Stills teamed up with David Crosby (The Byrds) and Graham Nash (The Hollies) to create Crosby Stills & Nash. They played a show at the Long Beach (California) Arena.

1968, Pink Floyd performed two shows at Theatre 140, in Brussels, Belgium.

1969, The Beatles single “Get Back” was released in the US.

1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival release their hit “Bad Moon Rising.”

1972, The first day of the three day Bickershaw Festival, Wigan, England, with The Grateful Dead, Dr John, Donovan, The Kinks, Captain Beefheart, Hawkwind, America, Family, Country Joe MacDonald, Wishbone Ash, New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Brinsley Schwarz and the Flamin Groovies.

1972, Jethro Tull and Wild Turkey appeared at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

1972, Blind blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis died of a heart attack aged 76. His unique finger-picking style influenced many other artists.

1972, Michelle Phillips, Mama Cass, Judy Collins, Goldie Hawn, and Jack Nicholson, among others, agree to play a series of benefit concerts to help George McGovern’s presidential campaign.

1973, David Bowie scored his first number one album when Aladdin Sane started a five-week run at the top, featuring the single “Drive In Saturday.”

1973, King Crimson played at The Forum in Montreal, Quebec.

1973, Elvis Presley went to number one on the album chart with Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite.

Led Zeppelin in 1973

1973, At Tampa Stadium in Florida, 56,800 Led Zeppelin fans see Led Zeppelin. The band grossed $309,000 (£193,125). At the time the show set a record for the largest paying crowd at an American rock concert. The band played for two and a half hours without an intermission. Tickets were $5.00 (£3.13).

1974, Television appeared at CBGB’s in New York City, supported by the Stillettoes (later to become Blondie, who were playing their first show at CBGB.)

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

1977, The Grateful dead played at Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut.

1978, Aerosmith performed at the Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina.

1979, Peaches and Herb started a four week run at number one on the singles chart with “Reunited.”

1979, On the last date of a US tour, The Boomtown Rats appeared at The Palladium in New York City.

1979, Van Halen played at Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, Ohio.

1980, The Who appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1984, Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr married Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde in a horse drawn carriage in Central Park, New York City.

1984, Duran Duran were at number one on the UK singles chart with “The Reflex,” the group’s second and last chart topper. The song which was taken from their third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger was also a US number one.

1990, During a North American tour Nirvana appeared at the Einstein-A-Go-Go in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

1992, Radiohead released The Drill EP, their first record in the UK. The band were still called “On a Friday” when the songs for this EP were recorded; they changed their name to Radiohead the following month.

1996, Rage Against The Machine went to number one on the US album chart with Evil Empire. The album’s title is taken from the phrase “evil empire”, which was used by Ronald Reagan and many conservatives in describing the former Soviet Union. The album won the 1996 Grammy award for Best Metal Performance.

Born on this day: Johnnie Taylor, US soul singer (1937); Tammy Wynette (1942); Bill Ward, drums, Black Sabbath (1948); Ian McCullouch, Echo & the Bunnymen (1959); Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, aka Adele (1988)

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Today in Rock History – March 19

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Bob-Dylan-bob-dylan1962, Bob Dylan’s debut album Bob Dylan was released in the Untied States. Initially poor sales led the record to be known around Columbia Records as “Hammond’s Folly.” John Hammond was producer of Dylan’s early recordings and the man responsible for signing Dylan. The album was praised by the New York City weekly newspaper Village Voice as an “explosive country blues debut,” but featured only two Dylan original compositions, “Talkin’ New York” and “Song To Woody,” with the rest being old folk standards.

1965, The Tailor And Cutter magazine ran an article asking The Rolling Stones to start wearing ties. The current fashion did not include wearing ties with shirts and many tie-makers were facing financial disaster. Mick Jagger said of the appeal, “The trouble with a tie is that it could dangle in the soup. It is also something extra to which a fan can hang when you are trying to get in and out of a theatre.”

1966, The Who played Kings Hall in Stoke-On-Trent, England.

1968, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played two shows at The Capitol Theatre, Ottawa, Canada.

1968, Donovan goes to India to study under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

1969, during a UK tour, Fleetwood Mac appeared at the Top Rank Club in Cardiff, Wales.

1970, Pink Floyd played at the Konserthuset in Stockholm, Sweden.

1971, Humble Pie performs at the Fillmore East in New York. In attendance are members of The Who.

1971, T Rex were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Hot Love.’ The group’s first of four UK No.1’s spent six weeks at the top of the charts.

1974, Jefferson Airplane re-named the group and became Jefferson Starship. The new line-up included Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, drummer Johnny Barbata, David Freiberg, Peter Kaukonen, Craig Chaquico and Papa John Creach.

1975, Tommy: The Movie has its Los Angeles premiere at Mann’s Wilshire Theater. Pete Townshend, Keith Moon, John Entwistle, Ann-Margret, Tina Turner, Elton John, and Robert Stigwood attend. All are interviewed by David Frost for an ABC Wide World Special. Other celebrities interviewed by Army Archerd going into the theater or the afterwards party held at the Studio One Club include Paul and Linda McCartney, Ron Wood, Kenney Jones, Sally Kellerman, Dean Martin, Tommy Smothers, and Ryan and Tatum O’Neal. The special airs on U.S. television on the 26th.

1975, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. Tickets cost $7.50 in advance.

1976,  Gary Thain bass player with Uriah Heep died of a drug overdose aged 28.

1976, Paul Kossof guitarist with Free and Back Street Crawler died aged 25, of heart failure during a flight from Los Angeles to New York, Kossof had a long history of drug abuse.  His first band was Black Cat Bones alongside drummer Simon Kirke, (later of Free), and he formed Back Street Crawler after leaving Free.

1978, Billy Joel made his UK live debut at London’s Dury Lane Theatre.

1979, Elton John appeared at the Odeon Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland. Tickets £5.00

1980, Elvis Presley’s autopsy report is a part of the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners’ case against Dr. George Nichopoulos. Presley’s former personal physician is accused of over prescribing drugs to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. He later has his medical license revoked.

1980, Pete Townshend is filmed miming to his single “Rough Boys” for the Kenny Everett Video Show accompanied by Kenney Jones.

1981, The J Geils Band were at number one on the US singles chart with “Centerfold.” Roxy Music had the UK’s top single with “Jealous Guy,” a John Lennon cover.

1982, Ozzy Osbourne guitarist and former Quiet Riot member Randy Rhoads was killed when the plane he was riding in crashed. After driving much of the night, the band had stopped near a small airstrip. The tour bus driver, Andrew Aycock, talked the band’s keyboardist, Don Airey, into taking a test flight in a ’55 Beechcraft Bonanza, the joyride ended, and the plane landed safely. Then Aycock took Rhoads and Rachel Youngblood on another flight and attempts were made to “buzz” the tour bus. The left wing clipped the bus, which sent the plane spiralling into a nearby house and bursting into flames. All three bodies were burned beyond recognition, and were identified by dental records.

1996, The second Beatles Anthology series was released. The album featured “Real Love,” a track the remaining members of the Beatles recorded using an old demo track of John Lennon’s The song was first recorded by Lennon in 1977 with a handheld tape recorder on his piano at home, it originated as part of an unfinished stage play that Lennon was working on at the time entitled The Ballad of John and Yoko.

1999, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band played the second night at the Asbury Park Convention Hall, New Jersey as warm up dates for their forthcoming Reunion Tracks tour.

2001, Keith Richards inducted Johnnie Johnson and James Burton at the 16th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame award ceremonies at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Richards also took part in the closing jam with Bono, Paul Simon, Kid Rock, Solomon Burke, Robbie Robertson and others.

Born on March 19: Paul Atkinson, The Zombies (1946); Jack Schaeffer, American singer, saxophonist, producer, Royale Monarchs (1946); Derek Longmuir, Bay City Rollers (1952); Ricky Wilson, The B-52’s (1953); Terry Hall, English singer-songwriter, The Specials, Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Vegas (1956); Brann Dailor, American drummer, songwriter, Mastodon, Lethargy, Today Is the Day (1975)

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Today in Rock History – February 12

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Donovan-19651965, Pye Records announced  signing of the “British Bob Dylan,” when they added Donovan to the label. The Scottish singer-songwriter produced a series of hit albums and singles between 1965 and 1970 and became a friend of leading pop musicians including Joan Baez, Brian Jones, and The Beatles. He influenced John Lennon when he taught him a finger-picking guitar style in 1968.

1965, The Who audition for BBC Radio’s Light Programme. As The Detours, they had failed a BBC audition 10 months before. This time they pass with the approval of four of the seven judges. The other three call them “ponderous and unentertaining,” “at the limit of their capablilties,” and “overall not very original and below standard.”

1967, Fifteen police officers raided Redlands the West Sussex home of Rolling Stone Keith Richards during a weekend party. The police who were armed with a warrant issued under the dangerous drugs act took away various substances for forensic tests. George and Pattie Harrison had been at the house, but it was said that the police waited for them to leave before they raided the house in order not to bust the holder of an MBE.

1967, The Who appeared at the Starlite Ballroom in London.

1968, Billed as “Tour 60 cities in 66 Days,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at the Centre Arena, Seattle, Washington.

1968, Pink Floyd spent the day at EMI Studios on Abbey Road in London at a recording session for A Saucerful of Secrets.

1969, Janis Joplin and her Kozmik Blues Band perform at the Fillmore East in New York to mixed reviews.

1970, The Grateful Dead performed a club date at Ungano’s in New York.

1970,  John Lennon performed “Instant Karma” on BBC TV’s Top Of The Pops, becoming the first Beatle to have appeared on the show since 1966. Lennon wrote, recorded, and mixed his new single, all in one day. It ranks as one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history. Lennon later stated, “I wrote it for breakfast, recorded it for lunch, and we’re putting it out for dinner.”

1970, The Guess Who performed at Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina

1972, Al Green went to number one on the singles chart with “Let’s Stay Together,” his only chart topper. Tina Turner took the song to number 26 in 1984.

1972, Genesis appeared at Guildhall, in Portsmouth, England.

1972, David Bowie played at the Great Hall, Imperial College in London.

1972, Pink Floyd’s UK tour stops at City Hall, in Sheffield, England. The set list: One of These Days / Careful With That Axe, Eugene / The Dark Side of the Moon / Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun // encore: Echoes.

1974,   The fabled rock club The Bottom Line opens in New York

1975, Led Zeppelin played at Madison Square Garden, New York. Tickets were $7.50.

1977, Blondie, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and The Ramones all appeared at the Whisky-A-Go-Go in Los Angeles, California.

pink-floyd-animals1977, Pink Floyd released their tenth studio album Animals in the US, where it reached number three in the charts. The album’s cover image, a pig floating between two chimneys on Battersea Power Station, was conceived by bassist Roger Waters and realized by long-time design and photographic collaborators Hipgnosis.

1977, Styx appeared at the Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida.

1977, The Police recorded their first single, “Fall Out” for £150 ($255) at Pathway Studios, London, England.

1977, Elvis Presley performed at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1978, Rush appeared at the Birmingham Odeon, England, promoting their new single “Closer To The Heart.”

1979, Frank Zappa played at the Apollo Theatre, Manchester, England.

1980, The Eagles performed at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi.

1984, Prince & The Revolution appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1997, David Bowie received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1997, U2 held a press conference in the Lingerie Department at the Greenwich Village Kmart store in Manhattan, New York City, to announce their Pop Mart world tour. The tour was set to start in Las Vegas on April 25th.

2000, US blues singer Screamin’ Jay Hawkins died aged 70. A Golden Gloves boxing champion at 16, he was married nine times, spent two years in jail, was temporary blinded by one of his flaming props on stage in 1976. He recorded “I Put A Spell On You” in 1956, covered by The Animals, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Nina Simone.

2003, Former Doors drummer John Densmore took out legal action against The Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger for breach of contract, trademark infringement and unfair competition. The band had reformed with Ex- Cult singer Ian Astbury and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland. Densmore said “It shouldn’t be called The Doors if it’s someone other than Jim Morrison singing.”

2008, Ronald Isley’s appeal against a three-year jail term for tax fraud was rejected by a US court. The 65-year-old singer of the Isley Brothers argued against being imprisoned in an Indiana jail on the grounds of age and poor health. The court heard he cashed royalty checks belonging to his brother O’Kelly, who died in 1996 and spent millions of dollars made from undeclared performances on a yacht and two homes. Isley was ordered to pay more than $3.1 million (£1.62m) to the US tax service for “pathological” evasion.

Born on February 12: Gene McDaniels, singer-songwriter (1935); Ray Manzarek, The Doors (1939); Joe Schermie, bass, Three Dog Night (1945); Stanley Knight,  Black Oak Arkansas (1949); Steve Hackett, Genesis (1950); Michael McDonald, Doobie Brothers (1952); Jim Creeggan, Canadian singer-songwriter, bass, Barenaked Ladies, The Brothers Creeggan (1970)

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Today in Rock History – January 15

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Who - I Can't Explain1965, The Who released their first single “I Can’t Explain,” with Jimmy Page on guitar and The Ivy League on backing vocals.  It went on to reach number eight on the singles chart.

1966, The Who play at The Two Puddings Club in Stratford and the In Crowd Club in Hackney, London, England.

1967, The Rolling Stones were forced to change the lyrics of “Lets Spend The Night Together” to “Lets Spend Some Time Together” when appearing on the US TV’s The Ed Sullivan Show, after the producers objected to the content of the lyrics.

1967, Donovan appeared at The Royal Albert Hall, London. Paul McCartney and George Harrison both attended the show.

1967, Jimi Hendrix played in Kirklevington, North Yorkshire, England.

1969, George Harrison had a five-hour meeting with John, Paul and Ringo where he made it clear that he was fully prepared to quit The Beatles for good. Harrison wasn’t happy with plans for live performances and the current Let It Be film project.

1970, Bag One, an exhibition of John Lennon’s lithographs, opens at the London Arts Gallery.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

1972, Don McLean’s “American Pie” started a four week run at number one on the singles chart.

1972, Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” made its debut on the US singles chart. The group’s third single peaked at number 15 and spent eight weeks on the chart. The song’s title is a reference to a nameless, black Labrador retriever that wandered around the Headley Grange studios during recording.

1973, The Rolling Stones announce a benefit concert for Managua, Nicaragua. The hometown of Bianca Jagger had been recently devastated by an earthquake.

1973, Led Zeppelin appeared at Trentham Gardens in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.

1973, Genesis performed at Stadthalle, Heidelberg, Germany.

1976, Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here was on the UK album chart. The album’s packaging, designed by Storm Thorgerson, featured an opaque black sleeve inside which was hidden the album artwork. Thorgerson had noted that, in the US, Roxy Music’s Country Life was sold in an opaque green cellophane sleeve – censoring the cover image – and he adopted the idea, concealing the artwork for Wish You Were Here in a dark-colored shrink-wrap.

1976, Paul Simon auditioned for The London SS, the band went on to become The Clash.

1977, The Eagles went to number one on the album chart with Hotel California the group’s third chart topping album.

1977, Leo Sayer went to number one on the singles chart with “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing,” it was the first of two chart toppers for the singer.

1979, The Grateful Dead played at the Civic Center Arena in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1980, The Ramones appeared live on UK BBC TV music show The Old Grey Whistle Test.

1980, Aerosmith played at Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky.

1981, Roxy Music performed at the Odeon, Birmingham, England.

1982, Harry Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band was seriously injured in a head-on car crash.

police-19821982, The Police kicked off the North American leg of their 119-date Ghost In The Machine world tour at Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, supported by The Go-Go’s.

1983, Phil Collins had his first UK number one single with his version of “You Can’t Hurry Love,” a hit for The Supremes in 1966. Collins’ version was the first track on the very first Now That’s What I Call Music CD.

1992, Dee Murray bass player with the Elton John band died after suffering a stroke. He was just 45. He first appeared with Elton on the 1970 album Tumbleweed Connection and the milestone albums Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.

1994, American singer songwriter Harry Nilsson died in his sleep of heart failure after spending the previous day in the recording studio. He recorded “Everybody’s Talkin'” from the film Midnight Cowboy and wrote hits for Three Dog Night and The Monkees. Had the UK and US number one single with his version of Badfinger song “Without You.”

1998, Harmonica player Junior Wells died following long term complications from cancer and a heart attack. He worked with Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Van Morrison, Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt and The Rolling Stones.

2006, James Blunt was at number one on the UK album chart with his debut album and biggest selling UK album of 2005 Back To Bedlam.

Born on January 15: Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart (1941); Ronnie Van Zandt, Lynyrd Skynyrd (1948); Martha Davis, The Motels (1951); Melvyn Gale, cello, Electric Light Orchestra (1952); Douglas Elwin Erikson, Garbage (1953); and Adam Jones, guitarist, Tool (1965)

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Today in Rock History – October 5

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1966, Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding played together for the first time, The Jimi Hendrix Experience were formed.

1967, The Doors played the final night of a five night run at Steve Paul’s Scene in New York City.

1969, Donovan appeared at Ellis Auditorium North Hall in Memphis, Tennessee.

1970, The Rolling Stones performed at Festhalle in Frankfurt, Germany.

1970, Led Zeppelin released their third studio album, titled Led Zeppelin III. It was recorded between January and August 1970 and released on Atlantic Records. The material was composed largely at a remote cottage in Wales known as Bron-Yr-Aur. It was number one in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Italy. 1970,  The original cover and interior gatefold art consisted of a surreal collection of random images. Behind the front cover was a rotatable laminated card disc, covered with more images, including photos of the band members, which showed through holes in the cover. The distinctive cover was based on a suggestion of Jimmy Page’s that it should resemble an old-fashioned gardening seed chart. It was designed by Richard Drew, and the sleeve photographs were taken by fellow Leeds Polytechnic lecturer Martin Salisbury.

1970, Hawkwind appeared at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London.

1971, The Moody Blues played at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.

1972, Elton John appears at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario.

1973, King Crimson performed at Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas.

1974, Mike Oldfields Tubular Bell‘ went to number one for the first time on the album chart 15 months after being released. The album had a big boost when it was featured in the movie The Exorcist. It went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide.

1974, Olivia Newton-John started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “I Honestly Love You,” the singers first of five chart toppers.

1974, The Beach Boys went to number one on the album chart with Endless Summer, the group’s second number one. The album was a collection of hits from the band’s pre-Pet Sounds period. Endless Summer was compiled by their old label Capitol Records while the Beach Boys were contracted with Reprise Records.

1975, Stevie Wonder appeared at the Wonder Dream Concert in Kingston, Jamaica, a Jamaican Institute for the Blind benefit concert. Along with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, the three original Wailers, performing together for the last time.

1976, AC/DC played at Stadthalle, Bern, Switzerland.

1977, Rush performed at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona.

1978, Aerosmith appeared at Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, Ohio.

1979, Jethro Tull played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario.

1980, Yes performed at Selland Arena, Fresno, California.

1981, King Crimson headlined at Moles Club, Bath, England.

1982, The Who played at the Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois, just outside of Chicago.

1984, Queen played the first of nine concerts at the Sun City Super Bowl, Sun City, Republic of Bophuthatswana (integrated into South Africa’s North West Province in 1994). The 1984 The Works tours saw the reintroduction of older material to Queen’s live set, including songs from the first three albums.

1984, The Grateful Dead played at the Coliseum in Charlotte, NC.

1985, Midge Ure was at number one on the UK singles chart with “If I Was.” The former Ultravox and Slik singer’s only solo chart topper. The song features Mark King of Level 42 on bass guitar.

1987, Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr began rehearsals with The Pretenders in preparation for the band supporting U2 on their North America tour.

1989, Motley Crue played a warm-up show for their upcoming Dr. Feelgood tour at the Whisky a Go Go, West Hollywood, California, under their pseudonym The Foreskins. The show was also used for the filming of their next video, “Kickstart My Heart.”

1991, Guns N’ Roses started a two week run at number one on the US album chart with Use Your Illusion II.

1992, American singer Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations died, aged 52, of lung cancer, one year after having one lung removed. His was the lead voice on “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” “Get Ready,” and “Just My Imagination.” As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s, including the US chart topping single “Keep On Truckin’.”

1996, “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” by American group Deep Blue Something was at number one on the UK singles chart. The song is a reference to the classic 1960 Audrey Hepburn film of the same name.

1999, Roger Daltrey announced that The Who were reforming, making their first performance in Las Vegas on Oct 29th. The show was also to be broadcast live on the Internet.

2000, Beatles’ fans across the world rushed out to buy copies of the Fab Four’s autobiography. Stores in Japan and Britain opened at midnight to satisfy demand for the book, the first written by the band members. Publishers said the 350,000-word volume, at a cost of £35 ($56,) had already attracted more than one and a half million orders worldwide.

Born on October 5: Carlo Mastrangelo, Dion and the Belmonts (1938); Richard Street, The Temptations (1942); Steve Miller (1943); Brian Johnson, singer, AC/DC,  Geordie (1947); Lucius “Tawl” Ross, Funkadelic (1948); Brian Connolly, Sweet (1949); Eddie Clarke, guitarist Motörhead, Fastway (1950); Bob Geldof  (1951); Lee Thompson, sax, vocals, Madness (1957); David Bryson, guitar, Counting Crows (1961); Colin Meloy,  singer-songwriter, guitarist The Decemberists (1971); James Valentine, guitarist, Maroon 5 (1978)

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Song Of The Day – “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” by The Animals

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NMENME2A full set of classic Animals from the 1965 NME Poll Winners Concert, as “Song Of The Day by Eric Berman” looks at a terrific “grey area” CD release!

The New Musical Express is a weekly British newspaper that has focused solely on the music scene for nearly 50 years. For several years during the 1960s, the paper sponsored concerts featuring artists who topped their music polls. The 1965 edition took place at Wembley Stadium on April 11, 1965, and was filmed. An edited version of the concert was screened on ABC TV in the U.S. on April 18 of that year. The New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert 1965 2 CD set was compiled from the soundtrack of the unedited master.

OK, so today’s Song Of The Day (and resultant album), isn’t an “official” release. It was put out in 1998 by Vigotone Industries, one of the best of the “grey area” record labels that existed for a brief time in the late 1990s. Vigotone specialized in Beatles and Beach Boy related bootlegs, comprised mostly of studio outtakes. Some of their landmark releases included The Beach Boys’ Leggo My Ego, featuring studio outs from 1965, and the Beatles Off White Album featuring the 1968 Escher demos recorded at George Harrison’s house shortly after the group returned from India.

Kicking things off are The Moody Blues, no not the version with the overblown orchestral arrangements and such, but the Brit-beat version of the group with future Wings-man, Denny Laine, performing a muscular and extended take of “Bo Diddley,” plus a version of their current single at the time, “Go Now.”

Next up are Freddie And The Dreamers with a credible version of Thurston Harris’ “Little Bitty Pretty One,” followed by Georgie Fame And The Blue Flames, and an early instrumental take of “Yeah Yeah,” plus a terrific performance of “Walkin’ The Dog.”

From there, it’s a trip down under for The Seekers and their hits “I’ll Never Find Another You” and “A World Of Our Own.” Herman’s Hermits were riding high with three records in the U.S. top ten at the time of this recording. They debut their then, brand new single “What A Wonderful World,” followed by the crowd pleaser “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter.”

The Ivy League And Division Two take the stage next, with the gorgeous ballad “That’s Why I’m Crying,” and then Sounds Incorporated spread a little of their instrumental magic with “Time For You” and a rocking version of Grieg’s classical masterwork “In The Hall Of The Mountain King.”

A real crowd pleaser is up next with Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders performing “Game Of Love” and “Just A Little Bit Too Late,” before The Rolling Stones tear it up with a four-song set  comprised of “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love,” Otis Redding’s “Pain In My Heart,” Chuck Berry’s “Around And Around,” and finally, “The Last Time.”

Disc one is rounded off by Cilla Black backed by Sounds Incorporated on “Going Out Of My Head,” and that old Disney favorite “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” which was covered by in the U.S. by Bob B. Soxx And The Blue Jeans, as well as fellow Brit Invasion groups Freddie And The Dreamers, The Hollies and Dave Clark Five.

The second disc kicks off with Donovan, “The British Dylan,” performing six minutes of “You’re Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond” followed by “Catch The Wind,” before the Belfast Cowboy (Van Morrison) and Them are brought on for rough and ready takes of “Here Comes The Night” and an nearly seven minute version of “Turn On Your Love Light.”

The Searchers are up next with “Bumble Bee” and “Let The Good Times Roll,” before pop royalty takes the stage in the form of Dusty Springfield giving Martha Reeves a run for her money on “Dancing In The Street,” followed by a cover of Inez and Charlie Foxx’s “Mockingbird” and “I Can’t Hear You.”

The big ending is in sight with three more heavy hitters on deck, including The Animals tearing it up on John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom,” “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” and “Talkin’ ‘Bout You,” followed by The Kinks with two of their very best, “You Really Got Me” and “Tired Of Waiting For You.”

Finally, the group that the audience has been waiting for all day takes the stage! It’s The Beatles with a five song set including “I Feel Fine,” “She’s A Woman,” “Baby’s In Black,” “Ticket To Ride” and “Long Tall Sally” bringing the festivities to a rousing conclusion.

Much of this concert is up on YouTube (search by artist and NME 1965) and is recommended viewing.  So there we have the next to last NME Poll Winners Concert from 1965 in its entirety, in pristine sound quality to boot. Why hasn’t this been released officially?

The Animals “Boom Boom”

The Animals “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”

The Animals “Talkin”Bout You”

Today in Rock History – September 30

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Donovan and Bob Dylan

1965, Donovan made his US television debut on Shindig! along with The Hollies, The Turtles and the Dave Clark Five.

1965, The Rolling Stones performed at the Gaumont Theatre in Hanley, Staffordshire, UK. Also on the bill were The Moody Blues, The Spencer Davis Group, The End and The Habits.

1966, Pink Floyd, along with Soft Machine, held a concert for the London Free School at the All Saints Church in Powls Gardens, London.

1967, BBC Radio 1 was launched in the UK. Former Radio Caroline DJ Tony Blackburn was the first presenter on air. The Move’s “Flowers In The Rain” was the first record played.

1967, The Doors played at Family Dog in Denver, Colorado.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, England. The Imperial was a regular venue in the North West of England during the 1960s that saw many acts appearing, including The Beatles, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Cream.

1969, Christine Hinton the girlfriend of David Crosby was killed in a car crash near San Francisco.

1971, Rick Wakeman made his live debut with Yes at The De Montford Hall, Leicester at the start of a 23-date UK tour.

1971, The Allman Brothers performed at the Civic Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The opening act failed to show up, so the band performed two sets.

1971, Pink Floyd taped a live show at the Paris Cinema in London for BBC Radio One in which the band played “Fat Old Sun,” “One of These Days,” “The Embryo,” and “Blues.” It was broadcast twelve days later on Sounds of the Seventies omitting only the song “Blues.”

1972, David Cassidy, star from the TV series The Partridge Family, was at number one on the singles chart with “How Can I Be Sure.” It was his first chart topper. The song was originally recorded by The Young Rascals in 1967.

1972, UK Music magazine Melody Maker hosted the Poll Awards Concert at The Oval, Kennington, South London. The headliner was Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Also on the bill, Wishbone Ash, Focus, and Genesis.

1972, The Grateful Dead performed an outdoor show at American University in Washington, DC.

1973, King Crimson appeared at Morris Auditorium, South Bend, Indiana.

1973, The Rolling Stones performed at Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany.

1974, Police were called to a Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blue Oyster Cult concert after a fight broke out between two sound engineers. The Skynyrd roadie claimed that the sound had been deliberately turned off during the band’s set.

1976, Hawkwind played at Queensway Hall, Dunstable, England. The hall which initially proved a popular venue for banquets and balls, but was less successful when it staged plays and concerts. The district council, faced with the need to pay for huge structural repairs, decided instead to accept an offer to pull down the building and replace it with a supermarket. The money from the sale of the hall went towards building the Grove Theatre, which opened in 2007.

1977, Eric Clapton performed at Shi Kokaido, Nagoya, Japan.

1977, Mary Ford died from cancer after being in a diabetic coma for 54 days. She was one-half of the husband-and-wife musical team of Les Paul and Mary Ford. Between 1950 and 1954, the couple had 16 top-ten hits. In 1951 alone, they sold six million records.

1977, Frank Zappa played at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1978, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John had their second chart topper from the film Grease with “Summer Nights.” It spent seven weeks at number one, becoming the second best selling single of 1978, beaten only by the Bee Gees’ “Night Fever.”

1987, L.A.’s Coconut Grove plays host to an all-star gathering as Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Waits, and Elvis Costello join Roy Orbison onstage to tape a TV special. The evening’s proceedings are eventually released as A Black and White Night.

1993, Kate Pierson from The B-52’s was charged with criminal mischief and trespassing during an anti-fur protest at Vogue’s New York City offices.

1995, Simply Red scored their first UK number one single when “Fairground” started a four-week run at the top of the charts. It was their fifteenth UK Top 40 hit.

2003, An auction of the contents of Sir Elton John’s London home raised more than £1.4 ($2.24) million. An oil painting, entitled Madison Square Park, sold for £67,200, and a 19th Century portrait of Lieutenant George Dyer, painted by James Northcote in 1817, fetched £55,200. Sir Elton sold off the items so he could redecorate his home in a more modern style.

2004, Mick Jagger held a press conference with Dave Stewart at Essex House in New York City, USA, to promote the soundtrack to the movie Alfie. The re-make of the 1966 film also featured Joss Stone, Sheryl Crow and Nadirah Nadz Seid. The track “Old Habits Die Hard” from the soundtack co-written by the two won the BFCA Award, Golden Globe, Sierra Award and the World Soundtrack Award.

2006, Justin Timberlake started a two week run at number one on the US album chart with his second solo album FutureSex/LoveSounds.

2007, Foo Fighters went to number one on the UK album chart with Echoes Silence Patience & Grace, the band’s sixth studio album and second UK chart topper. Reba McEntire was at number one on the US album chart with Reba: Duets.

Born on September 30: Johnny Mathis (1935);  Gus Dudgeon, producer (1942); Frankie Lymon (1942); Dewey Martin, The Dillards, Buffalo Springfield (1942); Marc Bolan, T-Rex (1947); Robby Takac, bass, Goo Goo Dolls (1964); Trey Anastasio, Phish (1964)

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Today in Rock History – September 3

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donovan-19661966, Donovan went to number one on the US singles chart with “Sunshine Superman,” a number two hit in the UK. The track featured then Yardbird and future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.

1967, During a 10-date tour of Sweden, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at the Liseburg in Gothenburg, Sweden.

1968, After a two week absence, Ringo Starr rejoined The Beatles. Upon Ringo’s return to the studio, he found his drum kit covered with flowers to welcome him back.

1969, King Crimson appear at Toby Jug pub in Tolwort, in Southwest London.

1970, Freddie King and Johnny Winter performed at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, California.

1970, Alan Wilson, guitar player with Canned Heat, was found dead at fellow band-member Bob Hite’s garden in Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles aged 27. Canned Heat had the 1970 UK number two and US number 26 single “Let’s Work Together.”

1970, Led Zeppelin performed at the Sports Arena in San Diego, California. A critic for the local newspaper, the Union-Tribune wrote, “The performance was old-time religion without a message and without a moral, although there was plenty that was physical for the congregation of young people. There was the hand clapping, the shouting, the parading in the aisles – and finally there was the self-induced frenzy that was once the trademark of some evangelical religious sects.”

1970, It was reported that the Bob Dylan bootleg album Great White Wonder had sold over 350,000 copies worldwide.

1970, Arthur Brown was arrested at the Palermo Pop ’70 Festival in Italy, after he set fire to his helmet during the performance of his hit “Fire,” and stripped naked on stage.

1971, Led Zeppelin play one night at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Top ticket price was $7.50 (£4.69).

1971, The Allman Brothers band appeared at the Place de Nations in Montreal, Quebec.

1972, David Bowie performed at the Hardrock Concert Theatre, Stretford, in Manchester, England.  The 3000-seat venue hosted some of the biggest names in England during its brief three year existence.

1973, The Rolling Stones appeared at Eisstadion, in Mannheim, Germany.

1974, David Bowie performed at the Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, California.

1975, An all-star jam session took place at a party in Los Angeles for actor Peter Sellers’ 50th Birthday. The line-up for the group who named themselves the Trading Faces, Bill Wyman on bass, Ronnie Wood, Jesse Ed Davis, and Danny Kortchmar on guitars, Keith Moon, organ and drums, Joe Cocker, vocals, Nigel Olsson, drums, and David Bowie and Bobby Keys on sax.

1976, Marshall Tucker Band played the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia.

1977, The month after his death, Elvis Presley had 27 albums and 9 singles in the Top 100 charts in the UK. Moody Blue was the number one album while “Way Down” was on top of the singles chart, equaling The Beatles, with each amassing 17 number one hits.

1977, Studio engineer Keith Harwood was killed in a car crash shortly after he left a recording session with The Rolling Stones. Harwood was noted for his work at Olympic Studios with David Bowie, Diamond Dogs, and The Rolling Stones albums It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll and Black And Blue. He also engineered a number of Led Zeppelin albums, including Houses Of The Holy, Physical Graffiti and Presence. The Rolling Stones dedicated their album Love You Live to the memory of Harwood.

zappa-19781978, Frank Zappa, Scorpions, Brand X, John McLaughlin, Ten Years After, Joan Baez, and Genesis appear at  Ludwigsparkstadion in Saarbrücken, Germany.

1979, Van Halen appeared at Kaikan Hall, Kyoto, Japan.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult played at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colorado.

1982, The three day US Festival in San Bernardino, California took place featuring, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, The Police, The Cars, Talking Heads, The Kinks, Ramones, B52’s, The English Beat, Gang Of Four, The Grateful Dead, Pat Benatar, Jackson Browne. Apple Computer co-founder Steven Wozniak bankrolled the festival.

 1983, The Eurythmics went to number one on the singles chart with “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This”).

 1988, UB40 had their first number one single with “Red Red Wine.” The song, taken from their album Labour of Love, was a cover of the 1968 Neil Diamond hit song.

1990, R.E.M. started recording sessions for their Out Of Time album at Bearsville Studios, Woodstock, New York.

1991, During a European tour, Nirvana recorded “Dumb,” “Drain You,” and “Endless Nameless” at Maida Vale studios in London for the BBC Radio 1 John Peel show.

2002, The Rolling Stones 40th anniversary Licks tour kicked off at the Fleet Centre Boston. Tickets for the best seats cost $224 (£140). The world tour would see the band playing to over two and a half million fans during over a hundred shows.

2004, Songwriter and producer Billy Davis died in New York after a long illness. He co-wrote Jackie Wilson’s, “Reet Petite” and the jingle “I’d Like To Buy The World A Coke.” Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and Gladys Knight all recorded his songs.

2010, Mike Edwards, a founding member of ELO, was killed in a freak accident when a giant bale of hay tumbled down a hill and crashed into his van. The 62 year-old cellist died after the 600 kg (1,323 lb) bale rolled down a steep field in Devon, southern England, smashed through a hedge and careered on to the road. Edwards played cello with ELO from their first live gig in 1972 until he left in January 1975. He quit the band in 1975 to become a Buddhist, changing his name to Deva Pramada and making his living by teaching the cello.

Born on this day: Freddie King (1934); Al Jardine, Beach Boys (1942); George Biondi,  Steppenwolf (1945); Eric Bell, Thin Lizzy (1947); Donald Brewer, drummer, Grand Funk Railroad (1948);  Steve Jones, Sex Pistols (1955); Stefan Kendal Gordy, aka DJ Redfoo, LMFAO (1975)

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Today in Rock History – August 22

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Supremes-where-did-our-love-go1964, The Supremes started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Where Did Our Love Go” the girl group’s first chart topper. Holland–Dozier–Holland had originally composed the song for The Marvelettes to record it who rejected the song, thinking it childish.

1965, The Beatles, on tour in North America, performed two shows at Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon. Between performances, The Beatles were visited in their dressing-room by Carl Wilson and Mike Love of the Beach Boys.

1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared on the BBC TV Simon Dee show. Kiki Dee and Cat Stevens were also guests on the show

1968, The Who performed at Municipal Auditorium Music Hall, Kansas City, Missouri.

1968, Ringo Starr quit The Beatles during the White Album sessions when the constant bickering and tension became too much for him. The news of Ringo’s departure was kept secret, and he rejoined the sessions on September 3. After Ringo walked out, the remaining Beatles recorded “Back In the USSR,” with Paul on drums and John playing bass.

1968, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at Pirates World in Dania, Florida. Also on the bill were The Royal Ascots, Brimstone and The Echo.

1969, The Beatles met at John Lennon’s Tittenhurst Park home in England for their final ever photo session. Three shots from this session (by Ethan Russell) formed the front and back covers of the Capitol compilation album Hey Jude. Yoko Ono and a pregnant Linda McCartney (she was to give birth to daughter Mary six days later) appeared in some photographs with The Beatles.

1969, Blind Faith performed at Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah during their one and only tour of North America. It was not until a 2008 that Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood would share the stage again.

1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival started a nine-week run at number one on the US album charts with their fifth studio album Cosmo’s Factory. The name of the album comes from the warehouse in Berkeley where the band rehearsed. Bandleader John Fogerty was so insistent on practicing (nearly every day) that drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford began referring to the place as “the factory.”

1970, Bread went to number one on the US singles chart with “Make It With You,” the group’s only char topping hit, which was a number five in the UK. Many artists have covered the song including The Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Earth, Wind & Fire, Dusty Springfield, Andy Williams, and Marc Cohn.

1970, The Moody Blues started a three-week run at UK on the album chart with A Question Of Balance. It charted as high as number three in the US.

1970, Derek and the Dominos appeared at the Van Dike in Plymouth, England.

1971, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Peter, Paul & Mary all appeared at the Odeon Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1972, Genesis appeared at the Teatro Alcione, Genoa, Italy.

1973, Hawkwind performed at Assembly Hall in Worthing, West Sussex, England.

1974,  During the recording sessions for David Bowie’s Young Americans, the fans had keeping a vigil outside Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios, and were invited into the studio at 5 am to hear a playback of the album so Bowie could see their reactions to the music.

1975, Black Sabbath appeared at the International Amphitheater, Chicago, Illinois.

1975, America performed at the Canadian National Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

1976, Yes played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

1977, Donovan performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1978, Sex Pistol Sid Vicious made his last live stage appearance when he appeared with Rat Scabies from The Damned, former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and Nancy Spungen at London’s Electric Ballroom. In the audience were Elvis Costello, Blondie, Joan Jett, The Slits and Captain Sensible.

1979, Led Zeppelin released In Through the Out Door, their last album of original material. “Fool in the Rain” was released as a single in the US.

1980, During a North American tour Queen appeared at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult played at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia.

1984, Aerosmith appeared at Golden Hall, San Diego, California.

1992, Sting and Trudie Styler held their wedding reception, (the couple married on August 20, 1992.) After The Troggs had played a set, all three members of The Police got on stage and played a couple of numbers.

2004, Al Dvorin the announcer who popularized the phrase “Elvis has left the building” died in a car crash, on his way home from an Elvis convention in California. Dvorin aged 81, was in a car driven by Elvis photographer Ed Bonja. Dvorin was never paid for recordings of his words, and was bitter towards the multi-million dollar Elvis Presley Enterprises. In the early 1970s, Colonel Parker asked Dvorin to inform fans at a gig that Presley would not be appearing for an encore. He took the stage and announced: “Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building. Thank you and goodnight.”

2009, Soul singer Johnny Carter, who was a member of do-wop groups The Dells and The Flamingos, died aged 75. Carter, who was famed for his falsetto vocals, was one of the few artists to be inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with two acts.

2011, Nicholas Ashford, one half of Ashford and Simpson, died of complications from throat cancer in New York. With his wife Valerie Simpson, they had the 1979 US number 36 single “Found A Cure,” and 1985 UK number three single “Solid.” The pair wrote hits such as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “You’re All I Need To Get By,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” and “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand.)”

2011, Songwriter and producer Jerry Leiber died at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 78 from cardio-pulmonary failure. Along with Mike Stoller, he wrote many hits including “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “King Creole,” “There Goes My Baby,” “Searchin,” “Yakety Yak,” “Stand By Me,” “Poison Ivy,” and “Kansas City.”

Born on this August 22: John Lee Hooker (1920); Fred Milano, Dion and the Belmonts (1939); Donna Godchaux, Grateful Dead (1947); Ian Mitchell, Bay City Rollers (1958);  Vernon Reid, Living Colour (1958); Roland Orzabal, singer, songwriter, guitarist, Tears For Fears (1961); Layne Staley, Alice In Chains (1967);

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