InternetFM.com

Hand Curated Radio

You are here: Home / Archives for Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello

Today in Rock History – July 9

by

1967, On a tour supporting The Monkees, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appear at the Convention Hall, Miami, Florida. After it becomes plainly apparent that the group is not suited to teenybopper audiences, the tour’s promoter Dick Clark and Hendrix’s manager Chas Chandler concoct a story saying that the conservative Daughters of the American Revolution group had complained at Jimi’s act and so the Experience left the tour after just six shows.

1969, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles recorded “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” John Lennon returned to the studio after recovering from a car crash in Scotland, and a bed was installed in the Abbey Road studio for Yoko, who was pregnant, and who had been more seriously injured in the car accident.

1971, Jim Morrison is quietly buried in Paris’ Pere-Lachaise cemetery, making it a necessary stop on any rock fan’s European itinerary.

1972, Paul McCartney and Wings played their very first show in the small French town of Chateauvillon. The band included Denny Laine, Denny Seiwell, Henry McCullough, and Paul’s wife, Linda. It was McCartney’s first time on the road since the Beatles quit touring in 1966.

1974, Crosby Stills Nash & Young kicked off a reunion tour in Seattle in front of 15,000 fans.

1976, The Pretty Things, Supercharge, and third on the bill, The Sex Pistols, all appeared at The Lyceum, London, England, tickets £1.75 ($2.63.)

1977, Alan O’Day went to number one on the US singles chart with “Undercover Angel,” his only solo hit.

1977, Elvis Costello quit his day job at Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics to become a full time musician.

1978, The Rolling Stones drop in on Chicago’s Quiet Knight club to jam with hero Muddy Waters.

1979, The Pretenders kicked off a 23-date UK tour at Smatyz, Chester. The band’s single “Kid” was released that week.

1983, The Police started an eight week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Every Breath You Take” It was also a chart topper in the UK. Taken from the band’s album Synchronicity, Sting won Song of the Year and The Police won Best Pop Performance for the song at the 1984 Grammy Awards.

1983, Wham! went to number one on the UK album chart with their debut release Fantastic!, which went on to spend 116 weeks on the chart.

1988, Cheap Trick went to number one on the US singles chart with “The Flame,” the group’s only US chart topper.

1995, The Grateful Dead give their last concert with leader Jerry Garcia at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Jerry would die of a heart attack a month later while in drug rehab. The last song played at the concert – “Box of Rain.”

2006, Muse started a two week run at number one on the UK album chart with Black Holes & Revelations, the band’s fifth album release and second chart topper.

2006, Lily Allen scored her first UK number one single with “Smile.” The organ riff is a sample of Jackie Mittoo playing keyboards on “Free Soul” by The Soul Brothers. Lily’s actor dad, Keith Allen, was part of the Fat Les band who had a hit with “Vindaloo” in 1998.

2011, Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant joined three local musicians at a fundraising charity show in Monmouth Wales, where tickets cost £3 ($4.50.) The event was a tribute to his friend, former Led Zeppelin producer Pat Moran, who died of a rare dementia in January. Plant delighted the small crowd in the Monmouthshire town with songs from his Led Zeppelin days, as well as tunes from his solo career.

Born on July 9: Bon Scott, AC/DC (1946); Mitch Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix Experience (1947); Jim Kerr, Simple Minds (1959); Courtney Love (1965);  Jack White (1975)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – June 16

by

bob-dylan-highway-611965, Bob Dylan recorded “Like A Rolling Stone” at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City, during sessions for the forthcoming Highway 61 Revisited album. Session musicians included Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper, whose Hammond organ on “Like A Rolling Stone” became one of rock’s most recognizable sounds.

1965, The Who’s manager Chris Stamp goes on his first trip to see Decca Records management in New York. The only way he can make the flight is to have his brother, the actor Terence Stamp, downgrade his first-class ticket to two coach tickets as he flies to America to promote his movie The Collector.

1966, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, featuring guitarist Eric Clapton, appeared at The Marquee Club, London, England.

1966, The Who played at the University of Hull in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

1966, The Beatles made a surprise live appearance on the UK television program Top of the Pops, performing “Paperback Writer” and “Rain.” It became The Beatles’ last live musical television appearance, apart from the June 1967 worldwide transmission of “All You Need Is Love.”

1967, The three day Monterey Pop Festival in California began. All the proceeds went to charity when all the artists agreed to perform for free, and the “Summer of Love” was born. It was organized by John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas and Lou Adler. The festival saw the first major US appearances by The Who, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin. Also on the bill: The Byrds, Grateful Dead, Otis Redding, Simon & Garfunkel, The Steve Miller Band, Canned Heat, The Mamas And The Papas, Jefferson Airplane, Buffalo Springfield and The Electric Flag. Tickets cost $3.50–6.50 (£2–3.80).  Phillips, would later write, “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair”) about the festival, which became a hit for Scott McKenzie.

1967, Pink Floyd release their second single, “See Emily Play,” in England. It reached number six in the UK charts. The US release was slated for July 24th.

1968, Janis Joplin, Steve Miller, and Santana play a benefit at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium. Proceeds from the gig go toward keeping the Matrix Club, another San Francisco venue, open.

1969, Led Zeppelin appeared at Aeolian Hall in London, England.

1970, Mungo Jerry were at number one on the singles chart with “In The Summertime.” It went on to become the best selling single of 1970 spending seven weeks at the top of the charts.

1970, The Who performed at the Berkeley Community Theater. It was The Who’s last small venue concert in the US until 1999

1971, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Boutwell Memorial Auditorium, Birmingham, Alabama.

1972, David Bowie released The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It reached number five on the UK Album Chart and number 75 in the US. It was eventually certified platinum and gold in the UK and US respectively. The first single from the record, “Starman,” charted at number ten in the UK while peaking at number 65 in the US.

1972, Genesis appeared at the Corn Exchange, Bedford, England.

1973, The Eagles and King Crimson played at the Community Theater, Berkeley, California.

1974, Tangerine Dream made their live UK debut at London’s Victoria Palace.

1974, The Grateful Dead played at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. The show has been released as Road Trips, Volume 2, Number 3.

1975,  John Lennon files a suit against former U.S. Attorneys General John Mitchell and Richard Kleindienst, accusing them of harassment during deportation proceedings.

1975, Peter Frampton played at the Marin County Civic Center, in  San Rafael, California. Recordings from this, along with the following night at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom were used as part of his chart topping double album Frampton Comes Alive!

1975, Pink Floyd performed at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.

1976, The Jackson Five four-week summer variety show premiered on CBS- TV, featuring The Jacksons plus sisters Latoya, Rebbie and Janet.

1977, Kenny Rogers was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Lucille.” It was the American country music and pop singer’s first of two UK number ones.

1978, Mac Davis hosts The Midnight Special, welcoming guests Rod Stewart, Todd Rundgren, and Andrew Gold.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at Earls Court in London.

1978, David Bowie appeared at City Hall, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England.

1979, The Electric Light Orchestra started a five-week run at number one on the album chart with Discovery, their first chart topping LP, featuring the tracks “Shine A Little Love,” “Don’t Bring Me Down,” and “The Diary Of Horace Wimp.”

1980, The Blues Brothers film starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd premiered in Chicago. The film also had cameos from  Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Ray Charles.

1981, Van Halen appeared at the Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas.

1982, Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott died following sustained cocaine and heroin addiction.

1983, Dire Straits performed at the Sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

1984, Frankie Goes To Hollywood had their second UK number one single with “Two Tribes.”It stayed at number one for nine weeks making Frankie Goes To Hollywood the first band to have their first two singles go to the top of the UK chart. During this run the group’s previous single “Relax” climbed back up the charts to the second spot.

1989, The first day of the UK three day Glastonbury Festival took place featuring Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Throwing Muses, The Pixies, All About Eve, Hot House Flowers, The Waterboys, Suzanne Vega and Fairground Attraction. Tickets cost £28 ($48).

1994, Oasis played at The Erotika Club, Paris in France, the band’s first gig outside the UK.

1996, Rage Against The Machine, Beastie Boys, Smashing Pumpkins, Fugees, Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Lee Hooker, Beck, Sonic Youth, Yoko Ono, De La Soul and Richie Havens all appeared at the two-day Tibetan Freedom Concert, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco: A sell-out crowd of over 100,000 made it the largest US benefit concert since Live Aid in 1985.

1999, Screaming Lord Sutch was found dead after hanging himself. The singer turned politician was 58. He was the first long-haired pop star-boasting hair over 18 inches long and the self-styled lord, whose real name was David Sutch, was Britain’s longest-serving political leader, standing in nearly 40 elections.

2002, Elvis Presley started a four week run at number one on the UK singles chart 46 years after his first hit, with “A Little Less Conversation.” This gave Elvis a total of 18 UK chart topping singles, the most by any artist in chart history. This also set a new record for the longest span of number one hits with 44 years, 11 months and 9 days. His first UK number single was “All Shook Up” in 1957.

2010, American musician and guitarist Gary Shider died from cancer of the brain and lungs. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars, and as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic he scored the hit “One Nation Under A Groove.”

Born on June 16: Lamont Dozier, songwriter of Holland/Dozier/Holland fame (1941); American singer–songwriter and actor Edward Levert, The O’Jays (1942); Ian Matthews, singer, Fairport Convention, Matthews Southern Comfort (1946); Tom Malone, American trombonist, composer, producer, The Blues Brothers, CBS Orchestra (1947); Robbin Thompson, American singer-songwriter, Steel Mill (1949); James Smith, The Stylistics (1950); Charlie Dominici, American singer, guitarist, Dream Theater, Dominici (1951); Gino Vanelli (1952); Garry Roberts, Irish guitarist, The Boomtown Rats (1954); Tupac Shakur (1971)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – May 27

by

bob-dylan-freewheelin1963, The album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan was released by Columbia in the USA. Establishing Dylan as a leader in the singer-songwriter genre and a supposed spokesman for the youth-orientated protest movement, it reached number 22 on the US charts and number one on the UK charts. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan showcased Dylan’s songwriting talent for the first time and propelled him to national and international fame.

1964, Pirate radio station Sutch was started by Screaming Lord Sutch, broadcasting from former army fort Shivering Sands in The Thames Estuary.

1966, The Velvet Underground go west, as Andy Warhol brings his Exploding Plastic Inevitable, featuring the Velvets and the Mothers, to San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium.

1967,  The Who play one of their weirdest dates, the Oxford Pembroke College May Ball, in Oxfordshire, England.. They are expected to play dance music but most of the prom goers spend the evening with their hands over their ears as first Cream and then The Who perform their standard repertoire. Pete’s guitar is stolen after the show.

1967, To celebrate Cilla Black’s birthday, her manager Brian Epstein organized illuminated greetings at London’s Piccadilly Circus and sites in Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at the “Bank Holiday Beano” held at the Civic Hall, Nantwich, England. The supporting act was The SOS.

1968, Pink Floyd were at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, St. Johns Wood in London recording tracks for A Saucerful of Secrets.

1969, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts.

1971, “First Take” by Roberta Flack began the last of its five-weeks atop the US album charts.

1972, The Chi-lites went to number one on the singles chart with “Oh Girl.”

1972, Spirit and The J Geils Band played at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago.

1972, David Bowie appeared at Ebbisham Hall, Epsom, England on his Ziggy Stardust tour.

1973, The Allman Brothers Band played at the  Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California.

1974, Aerosmith appeared at the JFK Coliseum, Manchester, New Hampshire.

1975, Wishbone Ash performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1976, Keith Moon arrives at Brecknock School in North London school to inspect the boys of the 51st Company of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. For the occasion, Keith dons full evening attire. Keith had spent £500 ($750) on brand new bugles and drums. “Blimey,” he tells the press, “I know just how they felt playing with rotten instruments. I was in the sea cadets as a boy.” That night he and John attend the Rolling Stones’ concert at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.

1977, Declan McManus made his “live” debut at the Nashville in London as Elvis Costello.

1977, The Sex Pistols single “God Save The Queen” was released in the UK. Banned by TV and radio, High Street shops and pressing plant workers refused to handle the record. It sold 200,000 copies in one week and peaked at number two on the UK charts.

1978, Bruce Springsteen performed at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1979, Yes appeared at the Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1980, Journey played at the Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.

1981, Van Halen headlined at the Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, Ohio

1983, The Smiths were at number one on the UK independent chart with their debut single “Hand In Glove.” The Smiths recorded the track after their manager Joe Moss paid £250 ($375) for a one-day recording session at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, England.

1984, Bob Dylan performed at the Arena di Verona, Verona, Italy.

1988, Def Leppard kicked off the third leg of their North American Hysteria world tour at George M. Sullivan Arena, Anchorage, Alaska.

1989, The Grateful Dead performed at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum in Oakland, California.

1990, The Stone Roses played at Spike Island, Widnes, Cheshire, England to a capacity crowd of 30,000. The event, considered a failure at the time due to sound problems and bad organization, has become legendary over the years as a “Woodstock for the baggy generation.”

1994, The Eagles played their first show in fourteen years when they played a show at Irvine Meadows in Irvine California. The two-and-a-half-hour show ended with three encores. The set list: Hotel California, Victim of Love, New Kid in Town, Wasted Time,  Pretty Maids All in a Row,  The Girl From Yesterday,  I Can’t Tell You Why,  Ordinary Average Guy, Lyin’ Eyes, One of These Nights, Silent Spring, Tequila Sunrise,  Help Me Through the Night, The Heart of the Matter,  Love Will Keep Us Alive, You Belong to the City,  The Boys of Summer, Funk #49, Dirty Laundry, Life’s Been Good,  All She Wants to Do Is Dance, Heartache Tonight, Life in the Fast Lane.  Encore: Get Over It, Rocky Mountain Way.  Encore 2:  Already Gone, Desperado.  Encore 3: Take It Easy.

2006, Red Hot Chili Peppers started a two-week run at number one on the US album chart with Stadium Arcadium the bands ninth studio album, also a UK chart topper.

2008, Sir Paul McCartney was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Yale’s president, Richard Levin, said MacCartney had “awakened a generation, giving a fresh sound to rock and roll and to rhythm and blues.”

Born on May 27: Ruby Lewis, The Drifters and Ramsey Lewis (1935); Celia Black (1943); Peter Knight, violin, Steeleye Span (1947); Neil Finn, Split Enz,  Crowded House (1956); and Siouxsie Sioux, Siouxsie And The Banshees and Eddie Harsch, keyboards, The Black Crowes (1957); and Dr. Dre (1975)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – April 1

by

1966, The Troggs recorded “Wild Thing” at Regent Sound Studio in London. The song went on to be a chart topping US and number two UK hit in June the following year.

1966, The Who and The Yardbirds appear together in a live French edition of Ready, Steady GO! called, appropriately, Ready, Steady, Allez! According to producer Vicki Wickham, both groups run out of the studio and into the alley at the end of the show. The cameras chase them only to catch the bands urinating against a wall. The same night The Who perform at La Locomotive Club in Paris, compèred by Ronnie Bird who will soon release “Ne t’en fais pas pour Ronnie,” a French-language re-write of “A Legal Matter.” The show is broadcast on Radio Luxembourg.

1966, Pye Records released David Bowie’s first solo single, “Do Anything You Say.” Bowie had previously recorded as David Jones and The Lower Third.

1966, John Lennon bought a copy of Timothy Leary’s The Psychedelic Experience and The Tibetan Book Of The Dead, where he read near the beginning of the book’s introduction; “When in doubt, relax, turn off your mind, float downstream,” which captured Lennon’s imagination and became the first line of “Tomorrow Never Knows,” which he recorded 5 days later.

1967, The Kinks appeared in concert at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland.

1967, Janis Joplin performed at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco.

1967, Pink Floyd played at the Birdcage Club in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.

1968, Dick Clark appears at a San Francisco concert headlined by the Siegel Schwall Band. He is shilling his new movie, Psych-Out, which features Jack Nicholson rocking at the Fillmore West.

1969, The Beach Boys announced they were suing their record label Capitol for $2 million in unpaid royalties.

1970, The Moody Blues appeared at the Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1970, 50 musicians recorded the orchestral scores for The Beatles tracks “The Long And Winding Road” and “Across The Universe” for the Phil Spector produced sessions. The bill for the 50 musicians was £1,126 and 5 shillings, ($1914).

1970, Earls Court in London received over one million postal ticket applications for The Rolling Stones forthcoming six concerts as part of the group’s European tour.

1971, John Entwistle releases his and The Who’s first commercial solo record “I Believe In Everything” backed with “My Size.” To promote it he hires a stagecoach with livery to deliver the single to Harlequin Records in London. The stagecoach ends up getting a parking ticket.

1971, Led Zeppelin perform a concert for the BBC Radio program Rock Hour at London’s Paris Theater. Featuring a bevy of material from their forthcoming fourth album, the concert becomes one of their most-bootlegged performances.

1972, The three-day Mar Y Sol festival in Puerto Rico took place, featuring Rod Stewart, Dr John, The Allman Brothers, Osibisa, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Alice Cooper, The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Security was simple as the event took place on an island accessible by ticket only.

1973, Roxy Music performed at the Rainbow Theatre, London.

1973, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

1974, KISS played at The Agora, Cleveland, Ohio.

1975, Genesis appeared at Friedrich Ebert Halle, Ludwigshafen, Germany.

1976, The Who return to Boston Garden to make up for the show of March 9th they didn’t finish because of Keith Moon’s collapse. Keith runs around the stage to show he’s in fine shape and Roger Daltrey adds “thanks for waiting for the encore!” John Entwistle, however, has a rougher time. After numerous requests by Roger to “turn down,” John throws his bass onto the stage and tells Roger he can play it. This show is later bootlegged as Behind Blind Eyes.

1976, AC/DC made their live debut in the UK, playing at The Red Cow in Hammersmith, London.

1976, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour’s house was broken into with thieves taking guitars valued at over £7,000.

1976, Rush perform at the Civic Centre Arena, Ottawa, Canada.

1976, The Buzzcocks played their debut live gig when the appeared at Bolton Institute Of Technology. The power was turned off after three numbers.

1977, Elvis Presley is admitted to Memphis’ Baptist Memorial Hospital. He is found to be suffering from fatigue and intestinal flu.

1978, Elvis Costello and The Attractions appeared at The Bracknell Sports Centre, Berkshire, England.

1980, ZZ Top played at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1984, Marvin Gaye was shot dead by his father at his parent’s home in Los Angeles, California. The argument started after his parents squabbled over misplaced business documents, Gaye attempted to intervene, and was killed by his father using a gun he had given him four months before. Marvin Sr. was sentenced to six years of probation after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Charges of first-degree murder were dropped after doctors discovered Marvin Sr. had a brain tumor.

1985, David Lee Roth quit Van Halen shortly after releasing his version of The Beach Boys’ “California Girls,” (which featured Carl Wilson on background vocals). He was replaced by Sammy Hagar later in the year.

1999,  Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer and Rhythm & Blues Hall of Famer Jesse Stone dies in Altamonte Springs, Fla. He is 97. Stone, one of the founders of Atlantic Records, helped define the rock sound through his work as writer and arranger of such seminal hits as Big Joe Turner’s “Shake, Rattle & Roll.”

2004, Paul Atkinson guitarist with The Zombies died aged 58 due to liver and kidney disease. They scored the 1964 US number two and UK  number 12 single “She’s Not There.” He later became an artist and repertoire executive, working for Columbia and RCA discovering and signing such bands as ABBA, Bruce Hornsby, Mr. Mister, Judas Priest, and Michael Penn.

2013, A signed copy of The Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sold at Dallas-based Heritage Auctions for $290,500 (£191,000). The selling price far exceeded the $30,000 (£19,700) originally estimated for the rare LP record. The UK Parlophone copy of the album included a high gloss cover and vinyl gatefold sleeve.

Born on April 1: Rudolph Isley, The Isley Brothers (1939); Phil Margo, The Tokens (1942); John Barbata, The Turtles, Jefferson Starship (1945); Ronnie Lane, The Small Faces (1946); Jimmy Cliff (1948); Simon Cowe, guitar, Lindisfarne (1948); Jeff Porcaro, Toto (1954); Stan Ridgeway, Wall of Voodoo (1955);  Leslie Langston, bass, Throwing Muses (1964)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – March 25

by

1966, At a photo session with Bob Whitaker’s studio in London, The Beatles posed in white coats using sides of meat with mutilated and butchered dolls for the cover of their next American album, Yesterday and Today. After a public outcry, the album was pulled from stores and re-issued with a new cover. At the time, some of the Beatles defended the use of the Butcher photograph. Lennon said that it was “as relevant as Vietnam” and McCartney said that their critics were “soft.” However, this opinion was not shared by all band members. George Harrison said in The Beatles Anthology that he thought the whole idea “was gross, and I also thought it was stupid. Sometimes we all did stupid things thinking it was cool and hip when it was naïve and dumb; and that was one of them.”

1966, The Who play the Corn Exchange in Hertford, England.

1967, The Beatles perform “All You Need Is Love” during a global satellite broadcast.

1967, Jimi Hendrix played at the Gliderdrome Bingo Hall in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The building was originally an open air skating rink. A roof was added just after the outbreak of World War II. The Gliderdrome was destroyed by fire on in May, 1959, but the “new” Glider was opened within a year on Wednesday, January 27 1960.

1967, The Turtles started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “Happy Together.”

1967, The Who and Cream made their U.S. concert debut at RKO 58th Street Theatre, New York City as part of a rock and roll extravaganza promoted by DJ Murray the K.

1967, The Rolling Stones kicked off a three-week European tour in Orebro, Sweden. Arriving in Copenhagen for the tour the group were delayed after customs officers search all their luggage for drugs.

1967, Pink Floyd played three gigs in 24 hours. The appeared at the Ricky Tick Club at the Thames Hotel in Windsor, England, then headed for a late show at the New Yorker Discotheque in Swindon, with The Outer Limits as support. Lastly,  then played at the Shoreline Club at the Caribbean Hotel in Bognor Regis, as part of an Easter Weekend All-Nighter.

1968, The 58th and final episode of The Monkees TV series was broadcast in the US.

1969, John and Yoko started their week long “bed-in” in the presidential suite at The Amsterdam Hilton hotel. The couple invited the world’s press into their hotel room every day, to talk about promoting world peace.

1969, Yes appeared at Madam Toussauds Hall Of Kings, London.

1970, Led Zeppelin performed at the Denver Coliseum, Denver, Colorado.

1971, Grand Funk Railroad played at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the O’Shaughnessy Theater, St. Paul, Minnesota.

1972, America started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with their debut hit “Horse With No Name.” The group scored eight other top 40 hits during the ’70s.

1972, Lindisfarne started a four-week run at number one on the UK album chart with their debut album Fog On The Tyne.

1973, King Crimson performed at Colston Hall, Bristol, England.

1973, Roxy Music appeared at Festival Hall, Torbay, England.

1974, Rolling Stone reports that concerts by Yes, Gregg Allman, and the Beach Boys have all been hit by streakers, no doubt inspired by Ray Stevens’ No. 1 hit “The Streak.” Meanwhile, Allman himself performs the last date of a solo tour. To reassure the audience that the Allman Brothers Band are not splitting up, the entire band comes out and performs a 90-minute encore.

1974, KISS performed at the Bayou Theater, Washington D.C.

1975, Aerosmith played at the War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, the first date on their 63 date North American Toys In The Attic Tour.

1976, US singer, songwriter Jackson Browne’s wife Phyllis Major committed suicide.

Elvis Costello – 1977

1977, Elvis Costello released his debut single “Less Than Zero.” It didn’t make the Top 40.

1978, 20 Golden Greats by Buddy Holly and The Crickets went to number one on the UK album chart, giving Holly his first ever chart topping, LP almost 20 years since his first release in 1959.

1978, Kansas performed at the Hammersmith Odeon, London.

1979, Van Halen played at Selland Arena, Fresno, California.

1981, Rush appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1982, The Police performed at Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri.Rush

1983, Motown Records celebrated its 25 anniversary with a concert in Pasadena, featuring; The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves, Jr. Walker, The Commodores, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and The Jackson 5.

1993, The Grateful Dead performed at the Dean Smith Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

2002, Bono from U2 made a appearance at the air rage trial of R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, telling the court “I came to court because Peter is actually famously known for being a peaceable person. I once had to twist his arm to get him to a boxing match.” Buck was later cleared of all charges. He had been accused of attacking two cabin staff and covering them in yogurt, knocking over a cart and trying to steal a knife. Buck did not deny his behavior but claimed a Zolpiden sleeping pill reacted violently with alcohol, turning him into a “non-insane automaton”.

2005, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne were forced to flee their Buckinghamshire mansion after a blaze broke out as they slept. Ozzy and his wife were roused by a fire alarm and ran to safety in the garden, rescuing their pets as they escaped.

2006, Buck Owens Jr. American singer and guitarist died. Pioneered the Bakersfield sound a reference to Bakersfield, California. He scored twenty No.1 hits on the Billboard country music charts.

2007, The Notorious B.I.G. was at number one on the US album charts with Greatest Hits. It was the rapper’s fourth album release after being killed by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, California on March 9, 1997.

Born on March 25: Johnny Burnette, American singer-songwriter, The Rock and Roll Trio (1934); Hoyt Axton (1938); Aretha Franklin (1942); Elton John (1947); Jack Hall, Charlie Daniels Band (1947); Chuck Greenberg, American saxophonist, songwriter, producer, Shadowfax (1960); Steve Norman, guitar, sax, Spandau Ballet (1960); Jeff Healy (1966); Frank Ferrer, American drummer, Guns N’ Roses, The Psychedelic Furs, Love Spit Love (1966); Ryan Lewis, American DJ,  producer, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (1988)

Link to Today in Rock History main page

Today in Rock History – February 13

by

Rolling-Stones-19651965, The Rolling Stones played the last night on a 16-date tour of Australia and New Zealand at the Capital Theatre in Perth. Also appearing on the tour was Roy Orbison, The Newbeats and Ray Columbus and the Invaders.

1965, The Who make their US record debut with the release of “I Can’t Explain,” backed with “Bald Headed Woman.” It is ignored throughout most of the US, except in Detroit, Michigan where it becomes a big regional hit. This is enough to propel the single onto the Billboard charts where it reaches number 93. Cash Box has the single rising all the way to the 57th spot. Detroit becomes the home of The Who’s first fan base in the US and a frequent stopping place for the band in years to come.

1966, The Who play the Community Centre in Southall, west London.

1967, The Monkees announced that from now on they would be playing on their own recordings instead of session musicians.

1967, The Beatles released the double A-sided single “Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane” on Capitol Records in the US. The single spent ten weeks on the chart peaking at number one.

1968, members of Pink Floyd were entrenched at EMI studios in London recording the Saucerful of Secrets album

1969, A launch party was held for the release of Mary Hopkin’s album Postcard at the Post Office Tower in London. Guests included Jimi Hendrix, Donovan and Paul McCartney, with his new girlfriend Linda Eastman.

1969, Bob Dylan recorded versions of “Lay, Lady, Lay,” at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. The song was originally written for the soundtrack of the movie Midnight Cowboy, but wasn’t submitted in time to be included in the finished film. The song has gone on to become a standard and has been covered by numerous bands and artists over the years, including The Byrds, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, The Everly Brothers, Neil Diamond, Melanie, The Isley Brothers, Duran Duran, Hoyt Axton, and Isaac Hayes.

1970, The Byrds, Steppenwolf, and Soul Messengers played at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana.

black-sabbath-black-sabbath1970, On this day, a Friday the 13th, Black Sabbath released their self-titled debut album on Vertigo records. Peaking at number eight on the charts, the album is one of the first to be considered part of the heavy metal genre.

1971, The Osmonds started a five week run at number one on the singles chart with “One Bad Apple.” The group had been appearing on TV in the US since 1962, on the Andy Williams Show, and then the Jerry Lewis Show.

1971, Pink Floyd played at show at Student Union Bar, Farnborough Technical College, Fanbororough, Hampshire, England.

1972, King Crimson performed at the Providence Coliseum, Providence, Rhode Island.

1972, Led Zeppelin fans in Singapore are disappointed when the group is forced to cancel a concert there. The reason? The conservative country’s officials wouldn’t let the band members off the plane because of their long hair.

1972, Black Oak Arkansas and JJ Cale performed at The Warehouse in New Orleans.

1973, After becoming ill during a concert in Las Vegas, Elvis Presley presented Doctor Sidney Bowers with a Lincoln Continental, to show his appreciation for all his work.

1974, David Bowie turned down an offer from the Gay Liberation group to compose “the world’s first Gay National Anthem.”

1975, Led Zeppelin appeared at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.

1976, The 101’ers featuring Joe Strummer played at The Town Hall, Hampstead, London.

1976,   Elvis Costello, appearing as DP Costello, played at The Half Moon, Putney, London supporting Vivian Stanshall.

1977, Rush performed at Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri.

1978, Dire Straits began recording their first album at Basing Street Studios, London. The whole project cost £12,500 ($21,250) to produce. The album which featured the group’s breakthrough single “Sultans of Swing” went on to enjoy a 132-week run on the UK chart. The inspiration for “Sultans of Swing” came from Mark Knopfler witnessing a mediocre jazz band playing in the corner of a practically deserted pub. At the end of their performance, the lead singer came up to the microphone and announced that they were the “Sultans of Swing.”

1978, Bruce Springsteen played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1979, Dire Straits appeared at Philipshalle, Düsseldorf, Germany.

1981, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon becomes the longest-running rock album on the Billboard albums chart. It’s been there for 402 weeks. But it still has a few years to go before it beats Johnny Mathis, whose Greatest Hits was on the chart for 490 weeks.

1982, Nick Lowe performed at the Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois.

1982, The Jam became the first band since The Beatles to play two numbers on the same edition of Top Of The Pops, when they performed “A Town Called Malice,” and “Precious,” their latest double A-sided number one single.

1983, Aerosmith appeared at the Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey.

1988, The Grateful Dead performed at the Henry J. Kiser Auditorium in Oakland, California.

1993, Patrick Waite, a founding member of Musical Youth, died at the age of 24, of natural causes, a hereditary heart condition, while awaiting a court appearance on drug charges. They scored the 1982 UK number one and Grammy-nominated single “Pass the Dutchie.”

2000, Oasis scored their fifth UK number one single with “Go Let It Out.” The first release on the band’s Big Brother label and the first single from their fourth studio album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants.

2002, American country singer, songwriter Waylon Jennings died in his sleep after a lengthy fight with diabetes. He was the bassist for Buddy Holly following the break-up of The Crickets. Jennings released a series of duet albums with Willie Nelson in the late 1970s. He notched the 1980 US number 21 single “Theme From The Dukes Of Hazzard,” and he was also the narrator on the aforementioned television series. He was also a member of The Highwaymen with Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson.

2012, Adele won all six categories she was nominated for at the Grammy Awards. The British singer won song of the year for “Rolling In the Deep,” and also received Grammys for best pop solo performance for “Someone Like You,” best pop vocal album and album of the year for 21, and record of the year and best short form music video for “Rolling In the Deep.”

Born on February 13: Tennessee Ernie Ford (1919); Boudleaux Bryant, songwriter, Everly Brothers (192o); Peter Tork (1944);  Rebop Kwaku Baah, Nigerian percussionist, Traffic, Can, Zahara (1944); Roy Dyke, Ashton Gardner & Dyke (1945); Judy Dyble, English singer-songwriter, pianist, Fairport Convention, Giles, Giles and Fripp (1949); Peter Gabriel (1950); Bob Daisley, bass, songwriter Rainbow, Uriah Heep (1950); Ed Gagliardi, bass, Foreigner (1952); Paul Jeffreys, bass, Be-Bop Deluxe (1952); Peter Hook, bass, vocals, Joy Division (1956); Tony Butler, bass, Big Country (1957); Adam Clayton, bass, U2 (1960); Henry Rollins (1961); Matt Berninger, singer-songwriter, The National (1971); Robert Harrell, bass, 3 Doors Down (1972); Robbie Williams, Take That (1974); Leslie Feist, singer-songwriter, guitarist, By Divine Right, Broken Social Scene (1976)

Link to Today in Rock History main page.

Today in Rock History – January 11

by

jimi-hendrix-bw-photo1967: The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded “Purple Haze.” Jimi also signed to the new record label Track Records on this day.

1968: Jimi Hendrix moves into a London townhouse formerly owned by the Messiah’s composer George Frederick Handel. The guitarist tells the Daily Mirror that he will “not let the tradition down.”

1969:  The Rolling Stones go to number five in the American album charts with their new release Beggars Banquet.

1969: Jethro Tull release their debut album This Was.

1969, Led Zeppelin played at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

1969, ‘Love Is,’ by Eric Burdon and The Animals, enters the US charts shortly after the band performs a farewell concert in the British city of Newcastle, where The Animals had begun seven years earlier.

1970, Yes performed at The Olympia Theatre in Paris.

1973, It was confirmed that the forthcoming Rolling Stones tour of Japan had been cancelled, despite record breaking ticket sales. Mick Jagger had earlier been informed that he was banned from entering the country because of a drugs conviction.

1974, Mike Bloomfield appeared at The Egress in Vancouver, British Columbia.

1975, The Alan Freeman BBC Radio 1 show broadcast a Pink Floyd show recorded at the Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England on 16th Nov 1974. The band had played four nights at Wembley on their Dark Side Of The Moon tour and tapes from these shows have been remixed.

1975, Genesis appeared at the Lakeland Theater in Lakeland, Florida on the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour.

1975, Led Zeppelin played their first concert in 18 months when they appeared at the Ahoy, Rotterdam, Holland, playing one of two warm-up shows for their forthcoming North American tour. The set list included some new songs: Sick Again, The Rain Song, Kashmir, No Quarter, and Trampled Under Foot.

1977, AC/DC played at Town Hall, Horsham, Australia.

1978: Elvis Costello and the Attractions appeared at Newcastle City Hall, England.

1978, Funkadelic hits number 28 with “One Nation Under a Groove.”

1979, The Grateful Dead performed at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Uniondale, New York.

1980, Foreigner appeared at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California.

1985, A Brazilian rock Festival held in Rio, claimed to be the biggest ever staged. The festival featured; Queen, Rod Stewart, AC/DC, Whitesnake, Yes and Iron Maiden.

1992, Nirvana appeared on NBC-TV’s Saturday Night Live performing two songs, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Territorial Pissings.” Also on this day the group’s Nevermind went to number one on the US album chart.

Born on tJanuary 11: Slim Harpo, bluesman (1924) Clarence Clemons (1942) Tony Kaye, Yes (1946); Vicki Peterson, guitar, vocals, The Bangles (1958); and Mary J. Blige (1971)

Link to Today in Rock History archive

Today in Rock History – December 26

by

beatles-1964B1964, The Beatles started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “I Feel Fine.” It was the group’s sixth chart topper of the year in which they had 30 entries on the chart, giving them a total of 18 weeks at the top of the charts.

1964, The Rolling Stones placed an advertisement in the music paper New Musical Express, wishing starving hairdressers and their families a Happy Christmas.

1965, While spending Christmas at his father’s home in Cheshire, Paul McCartney crashed from the moped he was riding and suffered a five-inch cut to his mouth.

1966, John Lennon appeared as a men’s room attendant in Peter Cook’s and Dudley Moore’s BBC TV show Not only… But also.

1966, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played an afternoon show at The Uppercut Club, London. Hendrix also wrote the lyrics to “Purple Haze” in the dressing room on the same day.

1967, BBC Television broadcast The Beatles’ movie Magical Mystery Tour in black and white. The next day, the British press and the viewing public pronounce the film an utter disaster. The negative reaction was so strong that a US television deal for broadcasting the movie was cancelled.

1967, The Doors performed at Winterland Arena in San Francisco.

1968, Led Zeppelin started their first North American tour supporting Vanilla Fudge and Spirit at Denver Auditorium, Colorado. Tickets for this Sunday night gig cost $5. Denver music man Barry Fey nearly became famous for being the guy who refused to book Led Zeppelin. “About 10 days before the show, I got a call from the agent saying, ‘Barry, I want to add an act to our show,’ ” Fey said. “I said, ‘all the tickets are sold.’ “He said, ‘You’ve got to do this for me, Barry, this is a big, big act. Their name is Led Zeppelin.’ I thought it was a joke.” Fey turned Terry down, until the agent showed Fey the money. “Ten minutes later Ron called back and said ‘Vanilla Fudge is going to give you $750, and if you give $750 of your own money, we still can put Led Zeppelin on the show.’ ” Fey caved in. “I got up on the stage and said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, give a warm Denver welcome to Led Zeppelin,’ ” Fey said. “They started playing, and it was incredible. It was an unbelievable show; people were gasping.”

1969, Yes played at the Marquee Club, London.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Fillmore East, New York.

1970, George Harrison started a four week run at number one on the singles chart with “My Sweet Lord,” making him the first Beatle to score a number one hit. The song was originally intended for Billy Preston.

1972, Roxy Music played at Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa Bay, Florida.

1973, Alice Cooper performed at New Haven Coliseum, New Haven, Connecticut.

1974, KISS appeared at the Civic Auditorium, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

1976, The Sex Pistols recorded “God Save The Queen” at Wessex Studios London, England.

1978, Rush played at the Montreal Forum, Montreal, Canada.

1979, The first night of a series of concerts were held at The Hammersmith Odeon in London, for the People of Kampuchea, featuring Queen, The Clash, The Pretenders, The Who, Elvis Costello, Wings, and many more artists. The events which were organized by Paul McCartney and Kurt Waldheim were aimed to raise money for the victims of war-torn Cambodia.

1the wall979, Pink Floyd’s The Wall was at number one on the album chart. The album spent a total of 15 weeks at the top, during a 35-week stay on the chart.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult played at Cumberland County Memorial, Fayetteville, North Carolina.

1981, AC/DC started a three-week run at number one on the US album chart with For Those About To Rock We Salute You the follow-up to their highly successful album Back In Black. The name of the album was inspired by a book Angus Young read, entitled For Those About to Die, We Salute You, about Roman gladiators.

1982, Aerosmith appeared at the Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Texas.

1983, Blue Oyster Cult played at Memorial Coliseum, Portland., Oregon.

1999, American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter Curtis Mayfield died aged 57. He was a member of The Impressions,  who had the 1965 US number seven single “Lilies Of The Field,” and as a solo artist, with the 1971 UK number 12 single “Move On Up,” and 1972 US number four single “Freddie’s Dead, Theme From Superfly.”

2007, Amy Winehouse’s second album Back to Black was named as the biggest-selling album of the year. Released at the end of 2006 the album has sold more than 1.5 million copies in the UK, achieving five platinum sales awards. Winehouse was also nominated for six Grammys including song of the year.

2012, Fontella Bass, the US female singer, pianist, who had the 1965 US number four and UK number 11 single “Rescue Me” died of complications following a heart attack aged 72.

Born on December 26: Steve Allen (1921); Abdul “Duke” Fakir, The Four Tops (1935); Phil Spector (1940); John Scofield (1951); Henning Schmitz,  drummer,Kraftwerk (1953); Lars Ulrich, Metallica (1955); Jay Farrar,  singer-songwriter, guitarist, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt (1966); James Mercer, guitarist, The Shins, Broken Bells (1970);  Zach Blair, guitarist Hagfish, Gwar, Rise Against (1973)

Get more Today in Rock History.

Today in Rock History – December 17

by

1963, James Carroll at WWDC in Washington, DC, became the first disc jockey to broadcast a Beatles record on American radio. Carroll played “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” which he had obtained from his stewardess girlfriend, who brought the single back from the UK. Due to listener demand, the song was played daily, every hour. Since it hadn’t been released yet in the States, Capitol Records initially considered court action, but instead released the single earlier than planned.

1966, MC5 played at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan.

1967, John Lennon and George Harrison hold a party in London for the area secretaries of the Official Beatles Fan Club. The guests are treated to sneak previews of the films Magical Mystery Tour and The Beatles at Shea Stadium.

1968, “The Who’s Christmas Party” takes place at the Marquee in London. It is The Who’s last ever performance at the venue where they had first come to the capital’s attention during their residence in 1964-1965. This time, Who fan Nigel Cornthwaite comes onstage to sing “Magic Bus” with the Who. Yes is the opening act.

1968, Pink Floyd release “Point Me At the Sky” in England. It’s their fourth 45, and their last single release in the UK for 11 years.

1970,  The Beach Boys perform at London’s Royal Albert Hall by Princess Margaret’s royal command.

1971, John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear at Harlem’s Apollo Theater for  a benefit for the families of victims of the Attica State Prison riots.

1971, David Bowie released his fourth album Hunky Dory, which was the first to feature all the members of the band that would become known the following year as Ziggy Stardust’s Spiders From Mars.

1973, Genesis performed at the Roxy Theatre, Hollywood, California.

1974, Yes appeared at the Civic Center, St. Paul, Minnesota.

1975, Hawkwind played at Brunel University, Uxbridge, England.

1976, AC/DC performed at Harristown High School Hall, Toowomba, Australia.

1977, Filling in for The Sex Pistols on NBC- TVs “Saturday Night Live”, Elvis Costello stops his performance of “Less Than Zero,” saying ” there’s no reason to do this”, and launches into “Radio Radio” which he’d been told not to perform. Costello said later that the inspiration for the last-minute song change came from a similar episode years earlier, concerning Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was on the BBC television show hosted by pop-star Lulu, and was supposed to play his hit, “Hey Joe.” Hendrix started the song, stopped, said, “We’d like to stop playing this rubbish and dedicate a song to the Cream regardless of what kind of group they might be. I’d like to dedicate this to Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce,” and then launched into a feedback-laden version of “Sunshine of Your Love.”

1977, George Harrison played an unannounced live set for the regulars at his local pub in Henley-On-Thames near his home in the UK.

1978, Rush performed at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Madison, Wisconsin.

1979, The Who appeared at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band appeared on the Boston Common, Boston., Massachusetts.

1982, Delta blues musician and songwriter Big Joe Williams died in Macon, Mississippi aged 79. Wrote “Baby Please Don’t Go,” a 1965 Top Ten hit for Them, featuring Van Morrison.

1982, Karen Carpenter made her last live appearance with The Carpenters when she performed in Sherman, California. Carpenter suffered from anorexia nervosa, the eating disorder which was a little-known illness at the time. She died at the age of 32 from heart failure, on February 4, 1983 caused by complications related to her illness.

1994, A remixed version of  “December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)” by The Four Seasons re-entered the US Hot 100, where it stayed for another 27 weeks, just as it did when it first charted in 1976. The combined run will establish a record for the longest total chart appearance in US chart history.

1995, A statue of the late Frank Zappa was unveiled in Vilnius, the capital of the Republic Of Lithuania. It had been organised by Zappa fan club President Saulius Pauksty.

1999, American jazz-funk, soul-jazz saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. died of a heart attack aged 56. He collapsed in the green room after taping four songs fo. The Early Show, at CBS Studios in New York City, He released over 20 solo albums and featured on the 1981 Bill Withers hit “Just The Two of Us.”

2005, U2 had the top-grossing tour of 2005, according to an end-of-year chart compiled by US magazine Billboard. More than three million people watched the band’s sell-out 90-date Vertigo tour which grossed $260m (£146.6m.) The Eagles, took $117m (£66m) from 77 shows, and Neil Diamond grossed more than $71m (£40m). Kenny Chesney was fourth with $63m (£35.5m,) Paul McCartney $60m (£33.8m,) Rod Stewart with $49m (£27m,) Elton John with $45.5m (£25.6m,) Dave Matthews Band with $45m (£25.3m,) Jimmy Buffett with $41m (£23m,) and Green Day with $36.5m (£20.5m.)

Born on this day: Art Neville (1937); Eddie Kendricks, The Temptations (1939); Paul Butterfield (1942); Paul Rogers, Free, Bad Company (1949) and Mike Mills, R.E.M. (1958)

Link to Today in Rock History archive.

Today in Rock History – September 29

by

1967, The Beatles were in Studio Two at Abbey Road in London, mixing the new John Lennon song “I Am the Walrus.” Ringo Starr began tuning a radio, while John inserted a number of random extracts, including  portions of a BBC broadcast of William Shakespeare’s “King Lear.”  Next, they completed work on “Your Mother Should Know,” with John adding organ, and Paul playing bass to a recording made back in August.

1969, The Who performed “Tommy” at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

1969, The Doors appeared at Lincoln Center’s 7th New York Film Festival, in New York City.

1970, The Rolling Stones played at Pala Lottomatica in Rome.

1971, On the last night of their first ever Japanese tour Led Zeppelin appeared at Osaka Festival Hall. Near the end of the set the group played a medley of songs during an extended version of “Whole Lotta Love,” including “Let That Boy Boogie,” “I Gotta Know,” “Twist and Shout,” “Fortune Teller,” “Good Times Bad Times,” and “You Shook Me.”

1972, Yes performed at Municipal Auditorium in New Orleans. The historic venue suffered extensive damage in 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, and has been unusable since then.

1973, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the International Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii.

1973, Grand Funk Railroad went to number one on the singles chart with “We’re An American Band,” the group’s first of two chart toppers.

1974, Roxy Music played at the Odeon, Birmingham, England.

1976, Enjoying his own birthday celebrations singer Jerry Lee Lewis accidentally shot his bass player Norman Owens in the chest. Lewis had been blasting holes in an office door. Owens survived but sued his boss.

1977, The Grateful Dead performed at the Paramount Northwest Theater in Seattle, Washington.

1977, Frank Zappa played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at Madison Square Garden, New York.

1979, The Police had their first number one single with “Message In A Bottle,” the group’s third Top 20 hit.

1980, Elvis Costello supported by The Stray Cats appeared at the Rainbow, London, England.

1980, Black Sabbath performed at Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri.

1981, Van Halen appeared at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1984, Prince and the Revolution started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Let’s Go Crazy”, his second US chart topper.

1987, Pink Floyd’s thirteenth studio album, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason was on the UK chart. The shoot for the album cover involved dragging 800 hospital beds onto Saunton Sands in Devon, but rain interrupted the session and they had to repeat the exercise two weeks later. A hang glider can be seen in the sky, a possible reference to the track “Learning to Fly.” Photographer Robert Dowling won a gold award at the Association of Photographers‘ Awards for the image, which took about two weeks to create.

1989, While traveling on his motorcycle from Los Angeles, Bruce Springsteen stopped in at Matt’s Saloon in Prescott, Arizona and jammed with the house band. Bruce played a bunch of rock and roll classics, including Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel,” and Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen,”‘ and “Route 66.” Bruce also donated $100,000 to a barmaid’s hospital bill.

1991, Metallica kicked off their 138 date Wherever We May Roam world tour at the Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois.

1992, American singer, songwriter Paul Jabara died from lymphoma related to AIDS at the age of 44. He wrote Donna Summer’s Oscar and Grammy Award-winning hit “Last Dance” and Barbra Streisand’s “The Main Event/Fight” and co-wrote the Weather Girls hit, “It’s Raining Men” with Paul Shaffer.

2004, Keith Moon’s five-piece drum kit, custom-made for The Who drummer in 1968, sold for £120,000 pounds ($215,772) in London to an American collector, setting a world auction record for a set of drums.

2007, US rapper 50 Cent was beaten by rival rap star Kanye West in the stand-off to claim the best-selling album in the US. West’s Graduation shipped 957,000 copies in its first week of sales while 50 Cent’s album, Curtis, only sold 691,000. Before the albums went on sale, 50 Cent vowed he would retire from making solo albums if he was outsold by West. 50 Cent axed his forthcoming European tour and a performance at London Mobo Awards, the Vodafone Live Music Awards in London, as well as at an MTV show in Germany.

Born on September 29: Gene Autry (1904); Jerry Lee Lewis (1935) Tommy Boyce (1939);  Jean-Luc Ponty,  violinist, composer Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever (1942); Ian Wallace, Yes, King Crimson, Big Sound (1946); Mike Pinera, Blues Image, (1948); Mark Farner, Grand Funk (1948); Andrew Dice Clay (1957); Mick Harvey, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds (1958); Les Claypool, Primus (1963); Ian Baker, keyboards,  Jesus Jones (1965); Jon Auer, The Posies, Big Star (1969)

Get more Today in Rock History