1965, Blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, Sonny Boy Williamson died in his sleep. Van Morrison, Aerosmith, The Who, The Animals, Yardbirds, and Moody Blues all covered his songs. According to the Led Zeppelin biography Hammer of the Gods, touring the UK in the 60’s, Sonny Boy set his hotel room on fire while trying […]
Today in Rock History – May 11
1967, Pink Floyd begin two days of recording with producer Joe Boyd, working on the tracks “Interstellar Overdrive,” “Arnold Layne,” “Let’s Roll Another One” and “Nick’s Boogie.” 1967, The Bee Gees made their Top Of The Pops debut performing “New York Mining Disaster” on the UK TV show. 1968, Jimi Hendrix moves into a London […]
Today in Rock History – May 5
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 […]
Today in Rock History – May 4
1967, Pink Floyd performed at the Locarno Ballroom in Coventry, West Midlands, England. 1968, Steppenwolf make their first appearance on American Bandstand. 1968, The Yardbirds played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan. 1968, Mary Hopkin won her heat on the ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks. She later signed with The Beatles owned Apple Records, Paul […]
Today in Rock History – May 1
1965, Herman’s Hermits started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Mrs Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter.” 1966, The Beatles played a 15-minute live set on stage for the last time in the UK when they appeared at the NME Poll Winners concert at Wembley Empire Pool. The […]
Today in Rock History – April 25
1964, The Beatles have an incredible 14 singles on the American chart. 1965, During a North American tour, The Rolling Stones played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto to over 16,000 fans. 1965, The Who performed at Trade Union Hall in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. 1967, Just days after the completion of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts […]
Today in Rock History – April 21
1967, Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles completed the sessions for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The final recordings were a short section of gibberish and noise which would follow “A Day in the Life,” in the run-out groove. They recorded assorted noises and voices, which engineer Geoff Emerick then cut-up […]
Today in Rock History – April 17
1965, Bob Dylan”s debut album The Freewheelin” Bob Dylan was at No.1 on the album chart. 1965, Paul McCartney spent the day shopping for furniture in Portobello Road, London disguised in a cloth cap, moustache, glasses and overcoat. 1966, The Who performed at the Regal Cinema in London. 1967, Jimi Hendrix played in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “I Just Can’t Help Believing” by Elvis Presley
Everybody has a favorite version of Elvis: the hip-swivellin’ 1950s hep-cat, the swarmy good ‘ol boy of his many second rate films, the leather-clad comeback kid of 1968, the sequined-suited star of Vegas, and, sadly, the fat bloated disaster of the late ‘70s before he met his maker, 35 years ago today. My particular favorite […]
Today in Rock History – April 5
1967, Monkees fans walked from London’s Marble Arch to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square to protest Davy Jones’ planned call-up to the army. Jones was exempted because he was deemed responsible for supporting his father. 1968, The first date of a twice-nightly UK tour featuring, Amen Corner, Gene Pitney, Status Quo, Simon Dupree & […]
