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Today in Rock History – May 25

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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 to cook a rabbit in a coffee percolator.

1965, The Rolling Stones perform “How Many More Years” with their hero Howlin’ Wolf on ABC’s Shindig!

1967, Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade Of Pale,” entered the UK charts for the first time, it went on to be a number one hit. The first video for the song was shot in the ruins of Witley Court in Worcestershire, England. Directed by Peter Clifton whose insertion of Vietnam War newsreel footage caused it to be banned from airplay on the Top Of The Pops TV show. The band subsequently made another video.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at the Gwent Constabulary (‘A’ Division) Spring Holiday Barn Dance, held at The Barn, Grosmont Wood Farm in Cross Ash, near Abergavenny,Wales, England. Support acts were Volume IV with MC Eddie Tattersall.

1967, Janis Joplin performed at the Carousel Ballroom i San Francisco with the Clara Ward Singers and H. P. Lovecraft.

1968, The Yardbirds appeared at Fillmore West in San Francisco.

1968, Pink Floyd performed at Mayfair Suite, The Belfry Hotel, Wishaw, Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham, England. Support acts were Young Blood and Pineapple Incident. Admission included dinner.

1968, Simon and Garfunkel scored their second US number one album with Bookends.

1968, The Doors performed at Patio Gardens in Farmington, Utah.

1969, Jimi Hendrix played at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, California.

1969, A benefit concert was held for Fairport Convention at The Roundhouse, London to raise money for the families of the bands drummer Martin Lamble, Richard Thompson’s girlfriend, and clothes designer Jeannie Franklyn who were all killed in an accident driving back from a gig. Also on the bill, Family, Pretty Things, Soft Machine and John Peel.

1969, The Who and Led Zeppelin appeared at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland, USA. This was the only time the two group’s ever performed together, with Zeppelin opening the show. On the tickets Led Zeppelin was spelled Lead Zeppelin.

1971, King Crimson appeared at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England.

1972, David Bowie played at Chelsea Village, Bournemouth, England.

1973, During a 21-date UK tour Wings played the first of three sold out nights at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

Deep Purple

1973, Deep Purple’s single “Smoke On The Water” was released.

1974, Aerosmith performed at Cape Cod Coliseum, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.

1974, Rick Wakeman became the first member of the group Yes to have a number one album when Journey To The Centre Of The Earth went to the top of the UK charts.

1975, Rush played at the Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington.

1976, The Who perform at the Palais Des Sports in Lyons, France.

1976, Bob Dylan appeared at the Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah.

1976, The Rolling Stones performed at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.

1977, The Broadway tribute Beatlemania opens at the Winter Garden Theater.

1977, The Grateful Dead appeared at The Mosque, in Richmond, Virginia.

1978, After seeing The Hype (soon to become U2) appearing at the Project Arts Centre, in Dublin, Paul McGuinness became their manager.

1979, Yes appeared at the Long Beach Civic Arena, Long Beach, California.

1980, Black Sabbath played at the Odeon, Birmingham, England.

1983, Roxy Music performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

1984, David Gilmour appeared at the Orpheum Theater, Boston, Massachusetts.

1985, Dire Straits scored their second UK number one album with Brothers In Arms, also a chart topper in the US and 24 other countries. Brothers In Arms was one of the first albums to be directed at the CD market, and was a full digital recording (DDD) at a time when most popular music was recorded on analog equipment.

1990, Fleetwood Mac played the first of 42 North American dates on their Behind The Mask world tour at the PNE Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. Squeeze were the opening act.

1997, A report showed that Elvis Presley was now the world’s bestselling posthumous entertainer with worldwide sales of over one billion, over 480 active fan clubs and an estimated 250,000 UK fans who still buy his records. Ironically he had died owing $3 million (£1.76 million).

1998, Coldplay released their first ever record, an EP called Safety, which featured 3 tracks, “Bigger Stronger,” “No More Keeping My Feet on the Ground,” and “Such a Rush.” The EP was intended as a demo for record companies and is now such a rarity that it is known to fetch in excess of £2000 ($3000) on eBay.

2003, Marilyn Manson were at number one on the US album chart with The Golden Age of Grotesque, a number four hit in the UK and the bands second US chart topper.

2005, The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office in California announced that it was officially closing the stabbing case of Meredith Hunter, the 18-year-old American who was killed at the 1969 Rolling Stones Altamont Free Concert. Investigators, concluding a renewed two-year investigation, dismissed the theory that a second Hell’s Angel took part in the stabbing.

2006, Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter Desmond Dekker died of a heart attack at his home in London, England. Had one of the first international Jamaican hits in 1968, with the song “Israelites.”

2013, American rock and roll bassist, Marshall Lytle, died aged 79. He was best known for his work with the groups Bill Haley & His Comets and The Jodimars in the 1950s. He played upright slap bass on the iconic “Crazy Man, Crazy,” “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” and “Rock Around the Clock.”

Born on this day: Hal David (1921); Tom T. Hall, country music singer-songwriter (1936); Brian Davison, The Nice (1942); John Palmer, English keyboard player, Family (1943); Mitchel Margo, The Tokens (1947); Klaus Meine, German singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Scorpions (1948); Robert Steinhardt, American violinist, singer, Kansas (1950);  Paul Weller, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Jam, Style Council (1958); Glen Drover, Canadian guitarist, songwriter, Megadeth, Eidolon, King Diamond (1969); Joe King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Fray (1980)

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Today in Rock History – May 11

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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 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, Yes played at Frank Freeman’s Club, Kidderminster, England.

1969, The Rolling Stones go to number five in the American album charts with their new release Beggars Banquet. It peaked at number three in the UK charts the previous year.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band performed the first of two nights at the Piedmont Music Festival in Atlanta.

1969, Jethro Tull release their debut album This Was.

1970, The triple soundtrack album Woodstock was released, going gold within two weeks.

1971, King Crimson appeared at Guild Hall, Plymouth, England.

1972, John Lennon appeared on the US television Dick Cavett Show, claiming he was under surveillance from the FBI.

1972, David Bowie played at Assembly Hall, Worthing, England.

1972, The Grateful Dead’s fabled European tour stops at Rotterdam, Netherlands for a show at the Civic Hall.

1973, Wings kicked off their first official tour at the Bristol Hippodrome, playing 15 UK shows.

1973, Alice Cooper appeared at The Forum, Inglewood, California.

1974, Led Zeppelin attended an Elvis Presley show at the Inglewood Forum in Los Angeles, California. After a shaky start to the show, Elvis stopped the band and jokingly said: “Wait a minute…if we can start together fellas, because we’ve got Led Zeppelin out there, lets try to look like we know what were doing.” All four members of Zeppelin met with Elvis after the show, spending over two hours backstage. Elvis asked for all the group’s autographs for his daughter Lisa Marie.

1975, Led Zeppelin play “Kashmir” live for the first time during a gig at the Ahoy in Rotterdam.

1976, AC/DC performed at the Marquee Club, London.

1978, Rush appeared at the Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

1978, at the end of their News Of The World 46-date tour, Queen played three sold-out nights at Wembley Arena, London, England.

1979, Rod Stewart appeared at Cobo Arena, Detroit, on his Blondes Have More Fun tour, tickets $12.50.

1981, Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley died of lung cancer and a brain tumor aged 36. Had the 1981 single “No Woman No Cry,” plus over ten other UK Top 40 singles. In 1990, February 6 was proclaimed a national holiday in Jamaica to commemorate his birth. The compilation album, Legend, released in 1984, is the best-selling reggae album ever with sales of more than 20 million copies. Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.

1985, UK producer and keyboard player Paul Hardcastle was at number one on the UK singles chart with “19.”The title referred to the average age of American soldiers in the Vietnam War and features dialogue by television narrator Peter Thomas, and a strong anti-war message.

1987, The UK indie chart had The Smiths at number one on with “Sheila Take A Bow,” number two, The Cult, “Lil’ Devil” number three, The Pogues, “The Irish Rover.” The CD chart, David Bowie a the top spot with Never Let Me Down, Raindancing by Alison Moyet stood at number two and Genesis Invisible Touch rounded out the top three.

1996, Bill Graham the Irish journalist from Hot Press magazine, credited with discovering U2, died of a heart attack aged 44. Graham brought the fledgling band to the attention of Paul McGuiness, who became their manager. Members from Clannad, U2, Hothouse Flowers and Gavin Friday all attended his funeral.

2001, Oasis, The Black Crowes and Spacehog kicked off The Tour of Brotherly Love, a North American tour at The Hard Rock in Las Vegas, Nevada. (The three bands featuring pairs of brothers, (Noel and Liam Gallagher, Chris and Rich Robinson, Royston and Antony Langdon, respectively).

2003, Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding died at his home in Ireland aged 57. Redding played on the classic Hendrix albums Are You Experienced, ‘Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland. Right up until his death, Redding had been taking legal action against the Hendrix estate for payment estimated at £3.26 ($5.22) million for his part in recordings and for ongoing royalties. Had also been a member of Fat Mattress and formed The Noel Redding Band.

Born on this day: Irving Berlin (1888);  Eric Burdon (1941); Les Chadwick, Gerry And The Pacemakers (1943); and Butch Trucks, Allman Brothers (1947); Greg Dulli,  singer-songwriter and guitarist, The Twilight Singers, The Afghan Whigs (1965).

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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 – May 4

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pink-floyd-may-19671967, 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 McCartney produced her UK No.1 single “Those Were The Days,” which also made No. 2 in the US. Hopkin later married record producer Tony Visconti.

1968, The Who appear at Melody Fair in North Tonawanda, New York.

1969, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr all show up at the London wrap party for The Magic Christian. The film, based on Terry Southern’s novel, stars Peter Sellers and Ringo.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Central City Park in Macon, Georgia.

1970,  Four Kent State Students killed, seven others wounded by Ohio National Guardsmen during demonstrations against Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia. Neil Young pens the song “Ohio” within a week and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young record and release it in early June.

1972, The Grateful Dead perform at the Olympia Theater in Paris during their fabled Europe ’72 tour.

1972, Pink Floyd played at the Music Hall in Boston on the last night of a North American tour. The show was moved from the Orpheum Theater, a smaller venue due to the high ticket demand.

1973, Led Zeppelin opened their 1973 North American tour, which was billed as the “biggest and most profitable rock & roll tour in the history of the United States.” The group would gross over $4 million from the dates, flying between gigs in “The Starship,” a Boeing 720 passenger jet, complete with bar, shower room, TV and video in a 30′ lounge and a white fur bedroom.

1973, Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

1974, Grand Funk Railroad started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with their version of the Little Eva hit “The Loco-Motion.” It was only the second time that a cover version had been a No.1 as well as the original.

1974, The film soundtrack to The Sting’by Marvin Hamlisch started a five-week run at number one on the album chart.

1975, Elvis Presley kicked off a 31- date North American Tour by playing two shows at the Civic Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

1976, David Bowie performed the first of four nights at the Empire Pool, Wembley, in London. Earlier in the day, he gave a rare interview to Jean Rook of the Daily Express.

1976, The Rolling Stones played at the AWD Dome, Bremen, Germany.

1977, The Patti Smith Group, David Johansen, Dead Boys, Blondie, Suicide and Richard Hell & The Voidoids all appeared at a Punk Benefit at CBGB’s in New York City.

1978, “Night Fever” by The Bee Gees was at number one on the UK singles chart. The group’s third chart topper and the theme from the film Saturday Night Fever. The song was a US number one for over two months.

1979, Rush appeared at the Hammersmith Odeon, London.

1980, ZZ Top performed at the Capitol Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey.

1984, King Crimson played at Kenmin Hall, Kanagawa, Japan.

1987, American blues vocalist, harmonica player Paul Butterfield, who fronted The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, died at his home in North Hollywood, California, of drug-related heart failure, he was 44. He achieved international recognition, as one of the early acts performing during the Summer of Love, at The Monterey festival and Woodstock festival.

1989, Stevie Ray Vaughan set out on what would be his last ever tour at the Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, British Columbia. The guitarist was killed in a helicopter crash on 27th Aug 1999 after a concert at Alpine Valley Music Theater in Wisconsin, after playing 107 of the 110 dates.

1996, Alanis Morissette started a six-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with Jagged Little Pill.

2004, Clement Seymour Dodd died aged 72. Producer and major force in the development of ska and reggae, made the first recordings of Bob Marley.

Born on this day – Dick Dale (1937); Nicholas Ashford, Ashford & Simpson (1942); George Wadenius, Blood Sweat & Tears (1945); Bruce Day, Santana, Pablo Cruise (1951); Randy Travis (1959); and Mike Dirnt, bass, Green Day (1972)

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Today in Rock History – May 1

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hermans-hermits1965, 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 Beatles set included five songs: “I Feel Fine,” “Nowhere Man,” “Day Tripper,” “If I Needed Someone,” and “I’m Down.” Also on the bill, The Spencer Davis Group, The Fortunes, Herman’s Hermits, Roy Orbison, Cliff Richard, The Rolling Stones, The Seekers, The Small Faces, Dusty Springfield, The Walker Brothers, The Who, and The Yardbirds.

1967, 32 year-old Elvis Presley married 21 year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, a girl he first met in 1959 when she was just 14 years old. When Elvis got out of the army in 1960, Beaulieu moved into the singer’s Graceland mansion with her family’s blessing. The wedding ceremony took place at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas and although the marriage license was only $15, the wedding cake cost $3,500. The couple divorced after five years of marriage on October 9, 1973.

1967, The FBI arrested The Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson on charges of avoiding the military draft and refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance. He was later released and joined the rest of the band in Ireland for a British tour.

1969, Bob Dylan recorded an appearance for The Johnny Cash Show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. After two solo numbers from Dylan, Johnny Cash joined him for a rendition of “Girl From The North Country.” In this prime time show, Cash enjoyed booking contemporary performers as guests, such as Neil Young, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, James Taylor, Ray Charles, and Eric Clapton would perform on his program.

1970, Pink Floyd appeared at the Civic Center in Santa Monica, California.

1970, Led Zeppelin performed at Crawford Hall, University of California- Irvine.  Tickets were $4 (£2.67.) Lee Michaels was the support act.

1970, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of 13 shows in May, when they appeared at the Milwaukee Auditorium.

1970, The Grateful Dead played at Alfred College in Alfred, New York.

1972, Pink Floyd performed the first of two nights at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

 1973, In the US, Washington DC, proclaimed a “Marvin Gaye Day.”

 1974, The Carpenters performed at the White House, at the request of President Nixon.

led-zeppelin-presence1976, Led Zeppelin started a two-week run at number one on the US album chart with Presence, the group’s fifth chart topping album.

1976, The Bellamy Brothers went to number one on the US singles chart with “Let Your Love Flow. It was the duo’s only number one.

1977, The White Riot Tour kicked of at the Roxy in London with The Clash, The Jam and The Buzzcocks.

1978, David Bowie’s world tour stoped at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

1979, Elton John became the first pop star to perform in Israel. In three weeks time he also became the first Western solo pop performer to tour Russia.

1980, The South African government banned Pink Floyd’s single “Another Brick In The Wall” after black children adopted the song as their anthem in protest against inferior education.

1984, Fleetwood Mac drummer and founder member Mick Fleetwood filed for bankruptcy. It was reported that the drummer had spent thousands of dollars of cocaine a month, and had refused to listen to financial advisers, buying up several homes, a $400,000 (£267,000) spread in Hawaii and a $1.8 (£1.2) million farm outside Sydney, Australia.

1986, American songwriter and producer Hugo Peretti died aged 70. Wrote and produced many classic hits including, “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” “Twistin’ The Night Away,” “Shout,” “The Hustle,” and “You Make Me Feel Brand New.”

1997, The house where Kurt Cobain committed suicide went up for sale. The asking price for the five-bedroom house built in 1902 was $3 (£2) million. The carriage house where the Nirvana guitarist died had been demolished.

2005, Coldplay became the first British band to have a new entry in the US Top 10 singles chart since The Beatles. Coldplay’s  single “Speed Of Sound” entered the chart at number eight, only the second time a UK band has achieved the feat. The Beatles managed it with “Hey Jude” in 1968.

2005, Bruce Springsteen went to number one on the UK album chart with Devils & Dust the American singer songwriter’s sixth UK chart topper.

2015, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars gave The Gap Band a writing credit on their huge hit “Uptown Funk,” due to its similarities with their 1979 track “Oops Up Side Your Head.” “Uptown Funk” which had topped the UK chart for seven weeks, and the US chart for 14, originally had six songwriters but was now credited to The Gap Band as well.

Born on May 1: Little Walter, bluesman (1930); Judy Collins (1938); Rita Coolidge (1944); Nick Fortune, The Buckinghams (1946); Ray Parker, Jr (1954); Johnny Colt, The Black Crowes (1966); Tim McGraw American country singer, actor (1967); D’arcy Wretsky-Brown, bass, Smashing Pumpkins (1968);

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Today in Rock History – April 25

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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 Club Band, The Beatles embark upon their next project, recording the theme to Magical Mystery Tour at Abbey Road studios in London.

1967, Pink Floyd headlined at the Stage Club in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. The opening act was The Vibratones.

1967, Jimi Hendrix played  at Colston Hall in Bristol, England.

1967, Janis Joplin and Big Brother appeared at The Matrix in San Francisco.

1968, Procol Harum, supported by The Halluciantions, played at Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, Led Zeppelin performed at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Sullivan County Community College in Fallsburg, New York.

1970, The Jackson Five started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “ABC.” It was the group’s second chart topper.

1970, Pink Floyd performed at the Eastown Theatre in Detroit, Michigan. On the bill were The Frost and The Up.

1971, The Grateful Dead and the New Riders of the Purple Sage played the Fillmore East in New York City.

1971, Yes appeared at the Chalk Farm Roundhouse, London.

1972, Pink Floyd performed at the Allen Theater, Cleveland, Ohio.

1973, Johnny Winter played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

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’ chart topping 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, Grand Funk Railroad played at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1974, Pamela Courson the long-term companion of the late Jim Morrison, died of a drug overdose. It was Courson who found the Doors singer dead on July 3, 1971 in the bathtub of their apartment in Paris, France.

1976, Fleetwood Mac appeared at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California.

1977, Elvis Presley made the last recordings of his life during a concert at the Saginaw, Michigan Civic Centre. Three songs from the show appeared on the posthumously released Presley album Moody Blue.

1979, The Police made their debut on BBC TV’s Top Of The Pops performing “Roxanne.”

1980, Cheap Trick played at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1980, Pete Townshend’s first totally solo album, Empty Glass, is released in the UK. The US release follows on the 21st. Reviews are rave, with Sounds magazine giving the album its highest rating and Paul Morley in New Musical Express saying the album shows Pete is still an important musician. The album peaks at number 11 in the UK, the highest chart position for a Pete solo record in that country. In the US, it goes all the way to number five.

1981, Wings break up after Denny Laine leaves the band. Paul McCartney says he will carry on as a solo artist.

1982, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Ebony And Ivory.” This was McCartney’s 24th number one hit single as a songwriter. The title was inspired by McCartney hearing Spike Milligan say “black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony folks!” It was later named as the tenth worst song of all time by Blender magazine and in 2007 was named the worst duet in history by BBC 6 Music listeners.

1987, U2 started a five-week run at number one on the US album chart with their fifth studio album The Joshua Tree. Inspired by American tour experiences, literature, and politics, the album topped the charts in over 20 countries, and is one of the world’s all-time best-selling albums, with over 25 million copies sold. The album which won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year produced the hit singles “With or Without You,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.”

1987, Madonna went to number one on the UK singles chart with “La Isla Bonita.” It was the fifth and final single from her third studio album, True Blue, making her the only female artist to score four UK chart topping singles. The song had been offered to Michael Jackson for his Bad album.

1988, Bon Jovi’s manager Doc McGee was convicted on drug charges arising from the 1982 seizure of 40,000 pounds of marijuana smuggled into North Carolina from Colombia. McGee was sentenced to a five year suspended prison term and a $15,000 (£10,000) fine.

1990, The Fender Stratocaster that Jimi Hendrix played at the Woodstock festival was auctioned off for a record $295,000 (£196,000). His two-hour set at the 1969 festival became the longest of his career.

1994, The Eagles played the first of two shows where they recorded their Hell Freezes Over album. Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Don Felder and Timothy B. Schmit first got back together the previous December for the making of a Travis Tritt video of their song, “Take It Easy.” The name of the album was taken from an earlier quote by Glen Frey, who responded to the question “When will the Eagles get back together?”

1994, Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for attacking a TV cameraman during the memorial services for actor River Phoenix the previous November.

1997, U2’s Pop Mart world tour kicked off at San Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas before 35,000 fans. The tour featured the largest video screen in the world and would visit 80 cities around the planet.

2002, TLC member Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was killed in a car accident in La Ceiba, Honduras, aged 30. Seven other people, including Lopes’ brother and sister, who were in the Mitsubishi Montero sports utility vehicle when the crash happened, were taken to a hospital. Lopes who was driving the car when it crashed had spent the past month in Honduras working on various projects including a clothing line, a new solo project and a book. She contributed background vocals and her self-written raps to many of TLC’s hit singles, including “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg,” “What About Your Friends,” “Hat 2 da Back,” “No Scrubs,” “Waterfalls,” “I’m Good at Being Bad,” and “Girl Talk.” She won four Grammy Awards for her work with TLC.

2005, Bruce Springsteen played the opening show on his Devils & Dust Tour North American Tour at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan.

2007, American singer Bobby “Boris” Pickett died of leukemia at the age of 69. He is know for the Halloween song “The Monster Mash” in 1962. The song had been banned by The BBC in the UK, deemed offensive and wasn’t a hit until 1973. It was a spoof on the dance crazes popular at the time, including the Twist and the Mashed Potato.

2009, Rascal Flatts went to number one on the US album charts with Unstoppable, the American country/rock crossover group’s sixth studio album.

Born on April 25: Ella Fitzgerald (1918); Albert King, blues guitarist (1923); Jerry Lieber, songwriter (1933); Tony Christie, UK singer (1943); Bjorn Ulvaeus,  Abba (1945);  Stu Cook, Creedence Clearwater Revival (1945); Michael Kogel, Los Bravos (1945); Ronnie Gilbert, The Blues Magoos (1946);  Michael Brown, Left Banke, The Stories (1949); Steve Ferrone, Average White Band, Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (1950); Derek Dick, aka Fish, Scottish singer-songwriter, actor, Marillion (1958); Andy Bell, Erasure (1964); Eric Avery, American bass player, songwriter, Jane’s Addiction, Deconstruction,  Polar Bear (1965)

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Today in Rock History – April 21

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beatles -sgtpeppers1967, 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 and randomly re-assembled, and edited backwards. At John Lennon’s suggestion, they also added a high-pitch 15 kilocycle whistle audible only by dogs. These were omitted from the American version of the album.

1967, The Who appeared at The Dome, Brighton, England.

1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at City Hall in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England.

1967, Pink Floyd played two shows, an early performance at the Starlite Ballroom, in Greenford, and the late show at UFO, held at The Blarney Club, Tottenham Court Road in London.

1969, Janis Joplin made her London debut,  appearing at The Royal Albert Hall,  The opening act was Yes. Her performance earned rave reviews in Disc, Melody Maker, and Telegraph, among others.

1970, Three Dog Night, along with Stone the Crows, played at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1970, Elton John performs his debut solo gig as a support act for T. Rex in London.  Also on the bill were Spooky Tooth, Jackie Lomax, and Heavy Jelly.

1972, The Allman Brothers Band played at New Haven Arena, New Haven, Connecticut.

1972, David Bowie performs at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England.

1972, Pink Floyd appeared at the Lyric Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland.

1972, The Grateful Dead performed an eighty minute set that was taped for the German TV show Beat Club, in Bremen, Germany.

1973, Alice Cooper went to number one on the album chart with Billion Dollar Babies.

1973, King Crimson played at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1973, Tony Orlando & Dawn started a four week run at number one on the singles chart with “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree,” It became the biggest seller of 1973, with over 6 million copies sold. The song was based on a true story of a prisoner who wrote to his wife asking her to tie a yellow ribbon around an oak tree in the town square in White Oak, Georgia, if she still loved him.

1974, Genesis appeared at the Montreal University Sports Centre in Montreal, Quebec.  The show was broadcast by CHOM-FM radio, and is a popular bootleg among Genesis fans.

1975, Yes headlined at Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1976, Elvis Presley performed at Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri.

1977, Songwriter Jesse Winchester performs in the U.S. for the first time in ten years. He escaped to Canada a decade ago in order to avoid the draft.

1977, ZZ Top appeared at the Rochester Community War Memorial, Rochester, New York.

1978, The Grateful Dead played at Rupp Arena on the campus of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.

Sandy Denny (courtesy Rokpool.com)

1978, UK folk singer Sandy Denny died aged 31. While on vacation with her parents in Cornwall, England, Denny was injured in a fall down a staircase. A month after the fall she collapsed at a friend’s home. Four days later she died at the hospital, her death was ruled to be the result of a traumatic mid-brain hemorrhage. She was a member of Fairport Convention and a solo artist. Her 1967 song “Who Knows Where the Time Goes,” was covered by Judy Collins. Denny sang on the Led Zeppelin track “Battle Of Evermore” on the band’s fourth album, the only guest vocalist on a Led Zeppelin album.

1979, Roxy Music played at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California.

1981, U2 performed at The Decade, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This small club in the Oakland section of town hosted a number of up and coming acts like The Ramones and the Police, as well as impromptu shows from Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi during its heyday.

1982, Clash front man Joe Strummer disappeared for three weeks, which resulted in the group cancelling a tour. The singer was found living rough in Paris, France.

1984, Van Halen appeared at the Colisée de Québec, Quebec City.

1984, Phil Collins started a three week run at number one in the US singles chart with the theme from Against All Odds. It was Phil’s first US chart topper, a number two in the UK.

1990, Paul McCartney played in front of 184,000 fans at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, creating a new world record for the largest crowd attending a rock concert.

1990, Sinead O’Connor started a four week run at number one on the US singles chart with her version of the Prince song “Nothing Compares 2 U.” The track was also a chart topper in 18 other countries. The video was shot in Paris, and consists almost solely of a close-up on O’Connor’s face as she sings the lyrics. Towards the end of the video, two tears roll down her face. The clip won Best Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, the first video by a female artist to win in this category.

2000, Neal Matthews of The Jordanaires died of a heart attack. He sang on Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Hound Dog.” He also worked with Ricky Nelson, Patsy Cline, Red Foley, Johnny Horton, Jim Reeves, George Jones, Marie Osmond, Tom Jones and Merle Haggard.

2002, Oasis went to number one on the UK singles chart with “Hindu Times,” the band’s sixth UK number one and the first single to be released from their fifth album Heathen Chemistry.

2006, The Soul2Soul II Tour,  a co-headlining tour featuring husband and wife country music singers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, kicked off at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus ending after 73 shows on September 3, 2006 in Las Vegas. The tour became the highest grossing country music tour ever with a sales of $90 million.

2008, American soul singer and songwriter Al Wilson died of kidney failure at the age of 68. Wilson had a number of US hits, including “The Snake” in 1968 and “Show and Tell” in 1974.

2016, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and music legend Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson, was found dead in his residence and recording studio complex, Paisley Park, in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota. Prince was renowned as an innovator, and was widely known for his eclectic work, flamboyant stage presence, and wide vocal range. He was widely regarded as the pioneer of Minneapolis sound. His music integrated a wide variety of styles, including funk, rock, R&B, soul, psychedelia, and pop.

Born on April 21: Alan Wagner, The Foundations (1947); American singer-songwriter, musician and actor James Osterberg, aka Iggy Pop (1947); Mike Barson, keyboards, Madness (1958); Robert Smith, The Cure (1959); Johnny McElhone, Altered Images (1963)

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Today in Rock History – April 17

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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.

1969, The Band step out from behind Bob Dylan for the first time to perform solo at San Francisco’s Winterland auditorium

1970, While performing at the White House at the invitation of President Richard Nixon, Johnny Cash was asked to perform “Okie From Muskogee.” Cash declined because it was not his song, but had been a hit for Merle Haggard. Instead, Cash sang his number one hit, “A Boy Named Sue”.

1970, Country Joe & the Fish along with the Hampton Grease Band played at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1970, Paul McCartney releases his first post-Beatles solo album, McCartney. The the versatile musician played every instrument on the record.

1970, Santana began sessions for what would be their breakthrough album Abraxas at Wally Heider Recording Studio, San Francisco, California. When released in September of this year, Abraxas peaked at number one on the US chart.

1971, All four Beatles had solo singles on the charts, Paul McCartney with “Another Day,” John Lennon, “Power To The People,” George Harrison, “My Sweet Lord,” and Ringo Starr with “It Don”t Come Easy.”

1971, Three Dog Night started a six week run at number one on the singles chart with “Joy To The World.” It was the group’s second chart topper.

1972, The Grateful Dead perform at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark during their legendary Europe ’72 tour.

1972, Keith Richards girlfriend Anita Pallenberg gave birth to their second child, daughter Dandelion.

1973, Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side of the Moon went gold in the US. The LP went on to stay in the US chart for more than ten years and become the longest charting rock record of all time.

1973, Yes appeared at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

1973, Tito and John Jackson from The Jackson Five were arrested for buying stolen TV and stereo equipment.

1974, Vinnie Taylor, guitarist with US rock and roll revival band Sha Na Na, was found dead in a Holiday Inn hotel room in Charlottesville, Virginia from a drug overdose. Sha Na Na played at the Woodstock Festival, their 90-second appearance in the Woodstock film brought the group national attention. The group appeared in the movie Grease as Johnny Casino & The Gamblers.

1975, Pink Floyd performed at the Coliseum in Denver, Colorado.

1975, Elvis Presley bought a Convair 880 Jet formally owned by Delta Airlines for $250,000, which he re-christened Lisa Marie. Presley spent a further $600,000 refurbishing the Jet to include personal quarters, a meeting area and a dance floor.

1976, David Bowie performed at Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland.

1977, The Stranglers, Cherry Vanilla, The Police, and The Jam all appeared at The Roundhouse, London, England.

1978, Genesis played at The Forum, Inglewood, California.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Cameron Indoor Stadium, on the campus of Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

1983, Felix Pappalardi, producer and bass player with American rock band Mountain was shot dead by his wife Gail Collins during a jealous rage. Collins was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to four years in prison. Pappalardi who was 43, had produced the  albums Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire by Cream

1987, Reggae drummer and percussion player Carlton Barrett of The Wailers was shot dead outside his house in Kingston, Jamaica. He joined Bob Marley and The Wailers in 1970, wrote the Marley song “War.” Barrett was the originator of the one-drop rhythm, a percussive drumming style.

1991, Nirvana appeared at the OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington, where they played a new song, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” live for the first time.

1994, Pink Floyd started a four-week run at number one on the UK album chart with The Division Bell, their fourth chart topping album.

1998, Linda McCartney died after a long battle against cancer. She married Paul McCartney in 1969 when she was working as a photographer. As well as a being a member of Wings, she became an animal rights campaigner and launched her own brand of vegetarian food.

2004, Kurt Cobain’s Mark IV-style Mosrite Gospel guitar sold for $100,000 (£66,667) at the Icons of 20th Century Music auction held in Dallas, Texas. Other items sold included Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s song writing piano which sold for $140,000 (£93,333) and a 1966 Rickenbacker guitar owned by The Byrds Roger McGuinn’s sold for $99,000 (£66,000.)

2008, Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen and a member of The E Street Band, died of cancer at the age of 58. Federici had worked with Springsteen for over 40 years, starting with his early bands Steel Mill, and Child.

Born on April 17: Don Kirshner (1934); Roy Estrada, Frank Zappa Band (1943);  Jan Hammer, Mahavishnu Orchestra (1948); Pete Shelley, English drummer, The Buzzcocks (1955); Maynard James Keenan, American singer-songwriter, producer, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer,  Green Jellÿ (1964); LizPhair (1967); Matt Chamberlain, session drummer, Edie Brickell, Pearl Jam, Tori Amos, Morrissey, David Bowie, Elton John, Peter Gabriel, The Wallflowers, Kanye West, Garbage, John Mayer (1967)

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Today in Rock History – April 5

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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 & The Big Sound, and Don Partridge kicked off at The Odeon Theatre, Lewisham, London.

1968, Vanilla Fudge played at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1969, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Roundhouse in Dagenham in East London.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Ludlow Garage, Cincinnati, Ohio.

1971, Rolling Stones Leave England and become tax-exiles. In an interview with Mick Jagger and Roy Carter of the NME shortly before the release of Exile on Main Street, Mick said, “So after working for eight years I discovered at the end that nobody had ever paid my taxes and I owed a fortune. So then you have to leave the country. So I said fuck it, and left the country.”

1971, Keith Moon performs again as part of an All-Star Jam Session at the Bumpers Club in London.

1971, The Grateful Dead performed at the Manhattan Center in New York City.

1972, Elvis Presley kicked of a 15-date US tour at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York.

1973, Yes appeared at The Forum, Inglewood, California.

1974, Genesis performed at the Embassy Theatre, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

1975, Minnie Riperton went to number one on the singles chart with the Stevie Wonder produced song “Loving You.” It was the singer’s only chart hit. Riperton died of cancer in July 1979.

1975, Lynyrd Skynyrd played at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1977, David Bowie plays keyboards and sings backing vocals on Iggy Pop’s US tour. This night’s stop is at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, Washington.

1977, Black Sabbath appeared at the Pavillion de Paris, Paris.

1978, Duran Duran made their live debut at The Lecture Theatre, Birmingham Polytechnic.

1979, Roxy Music played at the Masonic Auditorium, Detroit, Michigan.

1980, The Grateful Dead were the musical guests on Saturday Night Live. They performed “Alabama Getaway” and “Saint of Circumstance.”

1980, Genesis scored their first number one album when Duke went to the top of the charts.

R.E.M., circa 1980

1980, R.E.M. played their first ever gig when they appeared at St Mary’s Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia.

1981, Canned Heat singer Bob “The Bear” Hite died of a heart attack aged 36. He played at both the 1967 Monterrey Pop Festival and the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

1983, Danny Rapp, leader of 50’s group Danny and the Juniors committed suicide in a hotel in Arizona by shooting himself.

1984, Marvin Gaye’s funeral took place at The Forest Lawn Cemetery, Los Angeles. Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy, and other Motown singers, writers and producers, attended the service.

1985, At 3:50pm GMT, over 5,000 radio stations worldwide aired the charity single by USA for Africa ‘We Are The World’. The single went on to be a number one hit in the US and the UK, and most Western territories.

1994, Kurt Cobain committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at his home in Seattle. Cobain’s body wasn’t discovered until April 8, by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system, who initially believed that Cobain was asleep, until he saw the shotgun pointing at his chin. A suicide note was found that said, “I haven’t felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing . . . for too many years now.” A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium were found in Cobain’s body. His death was officially ruled as suicide by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.

1997, The Chemical Brothers went to number one on the UK singles chart with “Block Rockin Beats.” The song was taken from their second album Dig Your Own Hole, and won a Grammy award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

1998, British drummer Cozy Powell (Colin Flooks) was killed when his car smashed into crash barriers on the M4 motorway near Bristol, England. Powell had worked with the Jeff Beck Group, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Brian May, Peter Green, and the ELP spin-off Emerson, Lake, and Powell.

2003, Paul McCartney kicked off the UK leg of his Back In The World Tour at Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England, a year after it began in America. The set included 22 Beatles songs.

2006, Gene Pitney was found dead aged 65 in his bed in a Cardiff hotel. The American singer was on a UK tour and had shown no signs of illness. Pitney helped the Rolling Stones break the American market with his endorsement of the band. Jagger and Richards wrote his hit “That Girl Belongs to Yesterday,” which became the Stones duo’s first composition to reach the American charts. He scored the 1962 US No.4 single “Only Love Can Break A Heart.” and 1967 solo UK No.5 & 1989 UK No.1 single with Marc Almond “Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart,” plus over 15 other US & UK Top 40 hits.

2007, Former KISS guitarist Mark St. John died from an apparent brain hemorrhage at the age of 51. St. John was KISS’ third official guitarist, having replaced Vinnie Vincent in 1984. He appeared on the album Animalize.

2011, A statue in tribute to Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain was unveiled in his hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, The unveiling marked the 17th anniversary of Cobain’s death. The statue designed by local artists Kim and Lora Malakoff was of his signature Fender Jag-Stang guitar. The concrete guitar was eight and a half feet tall and also featured a ribbon with lyrics written on it from Nirvana’s “On a Plain.” It reads: “One more special message to go and then I’m done and I can go home.”

Born on April 5: Tony Williams, The Platters (1928); Peter Grant, manager, Led Zeppelin (1935); Ronny White, The Miracles (1939); Dave Swarbick, Fairport Convention (1941); Alan Clarke, The Hollies (1942); – Les Binks, Irish drummer and songwriter, Judas Priest, Lionheart, Tytan (1948); Dave Holland, Judas Priest (1948); Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish singer-songwriter, producer ABBA (1950); Stan Ridgway, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, Wall of Voodoo, Drywall (1952); Mike McCready, Pearl Jam (1966); Paula Cole, American singer-songwriter, pianist (1968); Pharrell Williams (1973)

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Today in Rock History – April 1

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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)

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