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Today in Rock History – July 7

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Alpha TV Studio – Birmingham UK July 1963 – Philip Townsend

1963, The Rolling Stones made their UK TV debut when they appeared on Thank Your Lucky Stars. Also seen on the show were Mickie Most, The Cadets, Helen Shapiro and Gordon Mills. The Stones made a total of 13 appearances on the show between 1963 and 1966

1965, The Who played at a gala opening of The Manor House club in London.

1966, The Kinks were at number one on the singles chart with “Sunny Afternoon,” the group’s third and last chart topper.

1966, The Who played at the Locarno Ballroom in London, England.

1967, The Monkees begin a nationwide tour, with Jimi Hendrix supporting.

1967, Dusty Springfield begins a three-week residency at New York’s Copacabana nightclub.

1968, The Yardbirds played their last gig before splitting up when they appeared in Luton, England.

1969, Arlo Guthrie and Joni Mitchell appeared in Edwardsville, Illinois.

1969, George Harrison recorded his new song “Here Comes the Sun” with just two other Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Abbey Road in London. John Lennon was absent, recovering from a car crash in Scotland.

1970, The Who headline at the Tanglewood Music Amphitheater in Lenox, Massachusetts with Jethro Tull and It’s a Beautiful Day opening. It is one of The Who’s very best performances and is projected on a 15′ X 21′ television screen on the lawn outside the venue. The show is videotaped and intended for use on a Fillmore at Tanglewood television special that never airs. “Heaven and Hell”, “I Can’t Explain” and “Water” are later released on the first video edition of 30 Years Of Maximum R&B and the surviving section of the concert on YouTube in 2014.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

1971, Yes appeared at the Orlando Sports Stadium, also known as the Eddie Graham Sports Complex, an indoor venue which opened in 1967, and closed in 1995.

1971, 26-year-old pop star Bjorn Ulvaeus and 21-year-old Agnetha Faltskog married in Verum, Sweden. 3000 fans arrived and in the chaos a police horse stepped on the brides foot, causing her a slight injury.

1972, Chicago performed at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana.

1973, Led Zeppelin appeared at Chicago Stadium, Chicago.

1973, Hawkwind played at the Sports Centre, Bletchley, England.

1973, Billy Preston started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Will It Go Round In Circles,” his first of two chart toppers.

1974, David Bowie performed at the Scope in Norfolk, Virginia.

1975, Paul McCartney & Wings release “Live and Let Die.”

1975, Keith Moon has “Happy Birthday Ringo” written in the sky above Los Angeles in honor of his fellow drummer’s 35th birthday. He then sends the bill to Ringo.

1976, Neil Young appeared at the Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1978, The Grateful Dead played the first of four nights at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado.

The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats

1979, The Boomtown Rats made a personal appearance at the opening of the new Virgin Megastore in London.

1980, Led Zeppelin played their last-ever concert when they appeared in West Berlin at the end of a European tour. They finished the show with a 17-minute version of “Whole Lotta Love.”

1980, The Who perform at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

1984, Bruce Springsteen went to number one on the US album chart with Born In The USA. The album went on to spend a total of 139 weeks on the US chart. Its also one of three albums (Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814) to produce seven Top-ten US singles.

1984, Prince started a five week run at number one on the US singles chart with “When Doves Cry,” his first US chart topper, which went on to sell over two million copies. It reached the fourth spot in the UK.

1989, It was announced that for the first time compact discs were out selling vinyl albums.

2001, Stereophonics, David Gray, The Dandy Warhols, The Proclaimers, Paul Weller, Texas, Coldplay, Beck, Toploader, Ash, Starsailor, Nelly Furtado, James, and Muse all appeared at  T In The Park festival, Scotland, weekend tickets, £64 ($109.)

2006, Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett died from complications arising from diabetes aged 60. The official cause of death was listed as pancreatic cancer.  He joined Pink Floyd in 1965, and crafted most of the material from their first album, but only contributed one song for the second offering.  Barrett’s behavior became increasingly erratic and unpredictable, partly as a consequence of his reported heavy use of psychedelic drugs, most prominently LSD. By April 1968, he was kicked out of the band. Barrett released two solo albums before going into self-imposed seclusion lasting more than thirty years, with his mental deterioration blamed on drugs.

2007, The Live Earth concerts took place around the world with The Police closing the days events in New Jersey. The concerts were organized by former US Vice-President Al Gore, as part of his campaign to “heal the planet.” Rock stars from around the world performed to hundreds of thousands of fans to highlight climate change. Concerts were held in Washington, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Shanghai and Sydney. Madonna brought London’s Live Earth concert to a close, playing a song she had written for the event. Other major acts who appeared included; Snow Patrol, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, The Beastie Boys, James Blunt, The Foo Fighters, Duran Duran, UB40, Snoop Dogg, Enrique Iglesias, Crowded House & Joss Stone.

2009, Michael Jackson’s family and fans said farewell to the pop superstar at an emotional memorial service. The singer’s coffin was placed in front of the stage during the public event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, after an earlier private funeral.

2010, Paul McCartney joined Ringo Starr onstage at a concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall to help celebrate the former Beatle drummer’s 70th birthday.  Ringo’s All-Starr Band were joined by Yoko Ono, Joe Walsh, Angus Young and Steven Van Zandt, as Paul belted out “Birthday” and Ringo delivered “With A Little Help From My Friends.”

Born on July 7: Mary Ford, American singer (1928); Joe Zawinul, pianist, Miles Davis band, Weather Report (1932); Ringo Starr (1940);  Peter Banks, Yes, Flash (1947); Rob Townsend, drummer, Family (1947); Lynval Golding, guitar, The Specials (1952); Mark White, bass, The Spin Doctors (1962)

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Today in Rock History – June 30

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Fleetwood Mac

1969, Fleetwood Mac, Pentangle and Duster Bennett all appeared at London’s Royal Albert Hall “Pop Proms.”

1969, King Crimson played at the Old Granary, Bristol, England.

1969, Pink Floyd performed a one hour show at the President’s Ball at the Top Rank Suite, in Cardiff, Wales.  It was presented by Llandaff Technical College. They were paid £100 ($150).

1971, Yes appeared at the Civic Center Music Hall, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

1972, Buddy Miles plays at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1973, David Bowie appeared at City Hall, Newcastle Upon Tyne

1973, George Harrison knocked Paul McCartney from the top of the US singles chart with “Give Me Love, Give Me Peace On Earth.” His second number one, and a top eight hit in the UK.

1974, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas.

1974, The Grateful Dead played at the Civic Center Arena in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1975, David Bowie begins filming The Man Who Fell to Earth.

1975, Cher married Greg Allman four days after her divorcing Sonny Bono, the couple split after ten days, followed by a three year on and off marriage.

1975, The Jackson Five announced that they were leaving Motown Records for Epic Records. The brothers were forced to change their name to The Jacksons since Motown owned the other name.

1976, Police raided the home of Neil Diamond searching for drugs, they found less than one ounce of marijuana.

1976, Stuart Goddard, (Adam Ant), placed the following ad in the classified section of the Melody Maker, “‘Beat on a bass, with the B-Sides.” Andy Warren answered the ad and the pair went on to form Adam and The Ants.

1977, Marvel Comics launched a comic book based on the rock group KISS.

1978, The Sex Pistols release “My Way,” as interpreted by Sid Vicious.

1978, host Martin Mull welcomes Jethro Tull, Robert Palmer, and Flo & Eddie on TV’s Midnight Special.

1980, The Who played at Veterans Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona.

1981, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

1984, Huey Lewis and the News went to number one on the US album chart with Sports.

1989, The Stone Roses played at Leeds Polytechnic in England. The gig almost didn’t take place after a security man wouldn’t let singer Ian Brown into the gig.

1990, New Kids On The Block started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Step By Step’, It was the group’s third US chart topper and a number two hit in the UK. Their album Step By Step also went to number one on the UK album chart.

1995, American soul singer Phyllis Hyman committed suicide by overdosing on pentobarbital and secobarbital in her New York City apartment aged 45. She was found hours before she was scheduled to perform at the Apollo Theatre, in New York.

2001, American guitarist and producer Chet Atkins died in Nashville aged 77. Recorded over 100 albums during his career, and produced records for Perry Como, Elvis Presley, Don Gibson, Jim Reeves and Waylon Jennings. He was a major influence on George Harrison and Mark Knopfler.

2001, Beach Boys member Al Jardine went to court in a bid to sue his former band mates, claiming he had been frozen out of the Beach Boys. The $4 million (£2.35 million) suit was filed against Mike Love, Brian Wilson, the Carl Wilson Trust, and Brother Records Incorporated in a New York Superior Court. In 1998 a US judge temporarily barred Jardine from performing under the name Beach Boys Family And Friends after legal action from Mike Love and Brother Records. Jardine lost the case in 2003.

2007, R.E.M. played a five-night series of shows at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre. Dubbed “working rehearsals” by the band, many songs from their forthcoming album Accelerate were debuted.

Born on June 30: Florence Ballard,  The Supremes (1943); Glenn Shorrock, singer-songwriter Little River Band (1944); Andy Scott, Sweet (1949); Stanley Clarke (1951); Adrian Wright, The Human League (1956);  Doug Sampson, Iron Maiden (1957); Yngwie Malmsteen, Swedish guitarist, songwriter (1963)

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Today in Rock History – June 23

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1965, Motown releases Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ “The Tracks of My Tears.” It was a number two hit on the Billboard R&B chart, and reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Belatedly released in the UK in 1969, it became a Top Ten hit that summer, reaching number nine.

1966, The Beatles fly to Germany, where they will begin their last world tour. The Rolling Stones depart London the same day to begin a tour of America.

1966, The Who performed at the Refectory at the University at Leeds as part of a University Rag Ball along with The Alan Price Set, The Swingin’ Blue Jeans, and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, without recently departed guitarist Eric Clapton, who left to form the new group Cream.

1966, The Beatles had their tenth consecutive number one single with “Paperback Writer” / “Rain.” The track is marked by the boosted bass guitar sound throughout, partly in response to John Lennon demanding to know why the bass on a certain Wilson Pickett record far exceeded the bass on any Beatles records. It was also cut louder than any other Beatles record, due to a new piece of equipment used in the mastering process.

1967, Pink Floyd played two shows. An early gig took place at the Locarno Ballroom in Derby, England, where Floyd, Paperback Edition and Thorndyke Mordikai’s Imagination played at the Rolls Royce Apprectices Ball. Later that night, Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, Tomorrow, The Children, Cock-A-Hoop, and The Roll Movement appeared at The 8-Hour Psycho-Chromatic Fantasy, held at Great & Small Halls, Bradford University, Bradford England.

1970, Cubby Checker was arrested in Niagara Falls after police discovered marijuana and other drugs in his car.

1972, Smokey Robinson performs his last show with the Miracles.

1973, George Harrison started a five-week run at number one on the album chart with Living In The Material World, his second solo chart topper.

1974, The Grateful Dead performed at the Jai-Alai Fronton in Miami, Florida.

1975, During his Welcome To My Nightmare tour in Vancouver, Canada, Alice Cooper fell from the stage and broke six ribs.

1975, Jefferson Starship release Red Octopus. Rolling Stone celebrates Marty Balin’s return to the fold by saying, “If it weren’t for Balin, Red Octopus would be completely unlistenable.”

1975, Bob Marley and The Wailers played the first of 14 shows over 7 nights at Paul’s Mall in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of their Natty Dread Tour.

1976, Paul McCartney and Wings played the last date on their Wings Over America tour at the Forum in Los Angeles.

1977, A very inebriated Keith Moon joins Led Zeppelin onstage in Los Angeles. He “belts seven shades of shit” out of a tympani on “Moby Dick” and “Rock and Roll,” then proceeds to call John Bonham the best living rock drummer in the world today.

1984, Duran Duran started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “The Reflex,” the group’s first US chart topper,  from their third album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger.

1990, Buddy Holly’s Gibson acoustic guitar sold for £139,658 ($237,419) in a Sotheby’s auction. The guitar was in a tooled leather case made by Holly himself.

2008, Coldplay appeared at Madison Square Garden in New York City on the first night of the North American leg of their 161-date Viva la Vida world Tour.

Born on June 23: June Carter Cash (1923); Stu Sutcliffe (1940); Steve Shelley, drums, Sonic Youth (1962); KT Tunstall, UK singer, songwriter (1975) Jason Mraz (1977)

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Today in Rock History – June 9

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1964, During an evening session Bob Dylan recorded “Mr. Tambourine Man” at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City. This was the first session for the album Another Side Of Bob Dylan, which saw Dylan recording fourteen original compositions that night.

1967, Pink Floyd played two gigs in one day, the first at the College of Commerce in Hull, and then the UFO at The Blarney Club, Tottenham Court Road, London, England.

1967, The Velvet Underground performed at Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts.

1967, The Monkees kicked off a North American summer tour at the Hollywood Bowl in California.

1968, Cream performed at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, The Rolling Stones announce that guitarist Brian Jones will be replaced by the John Mayall Band’s Mick Taylor.

1970, The Who appeared at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, Colorado.

1970, Jimi Hendrix played at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.

1970, Princeton University gives Bob Dylan an honorary doctorate in music.

1972, The Allman Brothers Band performed at McFarlin Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas.

1972, The Rolling Stones appeared at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.

1972, Elvis Presley made entertainment history by performing four sold-out shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden. George Harrison, John Lennon David Bowie, Bob Dylan and Art Garfunkel were among music stars that attended the shows. The shows were recorded and became the album Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden.

1972, Bruce Springsteen signed with Columbia Records and started to assemble the E Street Band from various Asbury Park ex-band mates.

1973, The Grateful Dead play the first of two nights at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

1974, Aerosmith played at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1975, Windsor Davies and Don Estelle were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Whispering Grass.” It was a spin-off from the BBC TV sitcom It Ain’t Half Hot Mum. The song was originally recorded by The Ink Spots in 1940.

1975, Pink Floyd performs at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland. Tickets cost $7.50.

1976, Yes played at the Broome Country Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, New York.

1977, George and Patti Harrison were officially divorced.

1978, The Rolling Stones released Some Girls, their first studio album recorded with Ronnie Wood as a full member. The album cover was designed by Peter Corriston and featured The Rolling Stones in garish drag alongside select female celebrities and lingerie ads. The cover immediately ran into trouble when Lucille Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Liza Minnelli, representing her mother Judy Garland, Raquel Welch, and the estate of Marilyn Monroe threatened legal action.

1978, Ian Dury and the Blockheads appeared at St George’s Hall, Bradford, England.

1979, Van Halen appeared at the Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas.

1980, Genesis performed at the Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1981, Rush played at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1983, David Bowie appeared at the Auteuil Hippodrome in Paris

1990, M.C. Hammer’s debut album started a record breaking 21-week stay at the top of the US album charts, making it the longest uninterrupted stay at the top since the album charts started.

1998, The Ronettes appeared in the Supreme Court of New York for their lawsuit against producer Phil Spector. The Ronettes, whose hits included “Be My Baby” and “Walking In The Rain,” claimed that Spector had breached the group’s 34-year-old contract by paying the members no royalties since 1963. Although The Ronettes went on to win the case, the New York State Court of Appeals overturned the decision in October, 2002, saying that the contract the Ronettes signed with Spector in 1963 was still binding.

Born on June 9: Cole Porter (1891);  Les Paul (1916);  Johnny Ace (1929); Jackie Wilson (1934); Jon Lord, Deep Purple (1941); George Bunnell, Strawberry Alarm Clock (1949); Trevor Boulder, bass, Spiders From Mars, Uriah Heep (1950); Dean Felber, bass, Hootie & The Blowfish (1967); Matthew Bellamy, Muse (1978)

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Song of the Day – “Savoy Truffle” by Ella Fitzgerald

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Song of the Day by Eric Berman – “Savoy Truffle” by Ella Fitzgerald

A few days ago, I featured Fats Domino’s recording of “Lady Madonna” from the 1969 album Fats Is Back. That record was produced by Richard Perry for Reprise Records, and today’s Song of the Day by Eric Berman follows Perry to the very next project he worked on, Ella by Ella Fitzgerald.

Reprise records of the late ‘60s was an artist’s haven due in no small part to the approach label head Mo Ostin took towards nurturing his roster. As a result, the label attracted top-shelf folk and rock attractions like Neil Young, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac, Ry Cooder and Arlo Guthrie.

But let’s face it, Reprise was once Frank Sinatra’s label and it always had a sweet spot for its easy listening releases. Under Sinatra’s leadership, the Reprise roster featured records mostly by him and cronies like Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and Jo Stafford. When Sinatra sold the label in 1963 to Warner Bros., the label came under the direction of Mo Ostin.

Under Ostin’s tutelage, the label’s easy listening roster grew hipper and included releases by Theo Bikel, Petula Clark, The Vogues, Gordon Lightfoot, Rod McKuen, Randy Newman, Dion, Harper’s Bizarre, Lee Hazelwood, Tom Lehrer, Mike Post Coalition and Kenny Rogers & The First Edition.

One of the label’s early strategies was to find worthy artists who had fallen out of the spotlight, and match them up with a sympathetic producer who could give their recordings a contemporary sheen. For Ella Fitzgerald’s Reprise debut, Ostin matched her up with producer Richard Perry.

Perry booked time at Olympic Studios in London and had Ella record no less than three tunes by Smokey Robinson, including a sumptuous take on “Ooh Baby Baby,” The Temptations’ “Get Ready” and a sultry and soulful version of “The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game.” And under Perry’s direction in choosing repertoire, she also turned in more than credible versions of songs by Randy Newman (“Yellow Man” and “I Wonder Why”), Bacharach and David (“I’ll Never Fall In Love Again”), STAX men Steve Cropper and Eddie Floyd (“Knock On Wood”) and Harry Nilsson (“Open Your Window”).

However, no late ‘60s career resuscitation could be complete without a couple of Beatle tunes thrown in for good measure, and on this album Ella sings “Got To Get You Into My Life” which had been covered by numerous artists, and George Harrison’s “Savoy Truffle,” which was covered by almost no one, making Ella’s version such a treat. Although Ella sang well throughout the album, no hits ensued and the album quickly went out of print.

For her second and last album for Reprise, Things Ain’t What They Used To Be (And You Better Believe It), Ella teamed up with the late, great arranger Gerald Wilson and producer Norman Granz to record a record with far more traditional jazz arrangements, while still offering some outstanding cover choices like “Sunny,” “Mas Que Nada,” “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” “A Man And A Woman” and “Days Of Wine And Roses.”

Today in Rock History – April 20

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1968, Deep Purple made their live debut at a gig in Tastrup, Denmark. Formally known as Roundabout, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore suggested a new name, Deep Purple,  after his grandmother’s favorite song. “Deep Purple” had been a hit for Peter De Rose. Blackmore’s grandmother had repeatedly asked if they would be performing the song.

1968, Apple Music ran advertisements soliciting tapes from unknown artists, offering financial grants as part of a deal to release records on the Apple label. Artists such as Badfinger, James Taylor, Mary Hopkin, Jackie Lomax, David Peel, and Elephant’s Memory were signed up.

1968, The Righteous Brothers played at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1969, Session drummer Benny Benjamin died. One of “The Funk Brothers,” he played on many Tamla Motown hits including songs by The Four Tops, Temptations, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, and Stevie Wonder. The film Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, released in 2003, features his work.

1969, Jimi Hendrix appeared at McFarlin Memorial Auditorium in Dallas, Texas.

1970, The New York Times reported that Catholic and Protestant youth groups had adopted The Beatles Yellow Submarine as a religious symbol.

1970, Traffic, Mott The Hoople, If and Bronco all appeared at The Roundhouse, London, tickets, 25 shillings.

1971, Jethro Tull played at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Detroit, Michigan.

1972, David Bowie appeared at the Harlow Playhouse, Harlow, England.

1973, King Crimson performed at the Kinetic Playground, Chicago.

1974, Queen headlined at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1975, Roxy Music played at the Festival Theatre, Adelaide, Australia.

1976, George Harrison joins Monty Python onstage to sing “The Lumberjack Song.”

1976, The Rolling Stones finally release their long-awaited album Black and Blue.

1977, Led Zeppelin performed at Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, Ohio.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Capitol Theater, Passaic, New Jersey.

1980, 84 year old George Burns, who starred in the movie Oh God with John Denver, became the oldest person to have a hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when “I Wish I Was 18 Again” peaked at No.49. When asked if he wished he were 18 again, Burns replied “I wish I was 80 again.” Before this, his most recent charting record had been a spoken word comedy routine with his wife and partner Gracie Allen, in the summer of 1933.

1981, John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas was jailed for five years after pleading guilty to drug possession charges. The sentence was suspended after 30 days. Phillips started touring the US lecturing against the dangers of taking drugs.

1983, The Grateful Dead played at the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

1985, The charity record “We Are The World” by USA For Africa was at number one on the UK singles chart. The US artists’ answer to Band Aid had an all-star cast including Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Ray Charles, Billy Joel and Paul Simon, plus the composer’s of the track, Michael Jackson, and Lionel Richie.

1991, Steve Marriott leader of Small Faces and Humble Pie, died in a fire at his home in Essex. His work became a major influence for many 90’s bands. Small Faces had the 1967 UK number three and US number 16 single “Itchycoo Park,” plus the 1968 UK number one album Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake. With Humble Pie, he notched the 1969 UK number four single “Natural Born Bugie” As a child actor he played parts in Dixon of Dock Green and The Artful Dodger in Oliver.

1992, A Concert For Life took place at Wembley Stadium as a tribute to Queen singer Freddie Mercury and for AIDS awareness. Acts appearing included Elton John, Roger Daltrey, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Mick Ronson, James Hetfield, George Michael, Seal, Paul Young, Annie Lennox, Lisa Stansfield, Robert Plant, Joe Elliott and Phil Collen, Axl Rose, and Slash.

1993, Aerosmith released Get A Grip, their 11th studio album which became their best selling album to date with sales over 20 million. The album which featured the hits “Livin’ On The Edge” and “Crazy,” also featured guests Don Henley and Lenny Kravitz.

2002, In the dispute over who owned the rights to Nirvana’s recordings former members Dave Grohl and Kirst Novoselic asked a Seattle Court to prove that Courtney Love was mentally stable. They told the court that Love was “irrational, mercurial, self-centred, unmanageable, inconsistent and unpredictable.” They also claimed a contract was invalid because Love was stoned at the time.

Born on April 20: Jimmy Winston, Small Faces (1945); Craig Frost, Grand Funk (1948); Luther Vandross (1951);  Mickey Welch, Weezer (1971)

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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 – March 31

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1967, Jimi Hendrix set fire to his guitar live on stage for the first time when he was appearing at The Astoria in London, England. It was the first night of a 24-date tour with The Walker Brothers, Cat Stevens, and Engelbert Humperdink. The Fender Stratocaster burned on stage by Hendrix sold for £280,000 at a 2008 London auction of rock memorabilia.

1967, Pink Floyd played at the Top Spot Ballroom, Ross-on-Wye, England.

1968, The Who performed at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC.

1969, Led Zeppelin performed at the Cooks Ferry Inn, in Edmonton, in north London.

1969, George Harrison and his wife, Patti, appear in an Amersterdam court charged with possession of cannabis. They are fined £250 ($375.)

1969, In Amsterdam John and Yoko call off their “Bed-In” so they can premiere Ono’s new film Rape in Vienna.

1970, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1972, The Beatles Official Fan Club closed. The Beatles Monthly magazine had ceased three years previously.

1972, Badfinger, King Crimson, along with Ashton, Gardner & Dyke appeared at Municipal Auditorium in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1972, The number one album in the US is America’s self-titled debut, featuring their classic “A Horse With No Name.”

1973, The Grateful Dead played at War Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York.

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

1974, Emerson, Lake & Palmer performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1975, Aerosmith headlined at the Civic Center, Lansing, Michigan.

led-zeppelin-presence1976, Led Zeppelin released Presence, their seventh studio album, on their own Swan Song Records in the UK. Jimmy Page and manager Peter Grant were fearful that Plant might have quit the band during his (and his family’s) recovery from a serious car accident the year before. So, the band rushed to Musicland Studios in Germany (for tax reasons) to get Plant out of his depression and “back in the groove.” After a month of rehearsals, the album was recorded in just eighteen days with Plant in a wheelchair.

1976, The Brotherhood Of Man were at number one on the UK singles chart with the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1976, “Save Your Kisses For Me.” The group’s first of three UK chart toppers.

1977, An Elvis Presley concert in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is postponed after Elvis doesn’t return from the intermission.

1978, Eric Clapton played at the Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland.

1979, Roxy Music appeared at the Orpheum Theater, Boston, Massachusetts.

1980, Rush performed at the Brandt Center, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

1982, The Doobie Brothers break up for the first time.

1982, ZZ Top played at the Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah.

1982, Toto release their number two single “Rosanna.”

1983, Reggae singer and one-hit-wonder Eddy Grant releases “Electric Avenue” in the US. It was released in the UK in 1982, and reached number two in England. It repeated the feat in the US.

1984, Kenny Loggins started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Footloose,” the theme song from the film with the same name, a top six hit in the UK.

1986, O’Kelly Isley of The Isley Brothers died of a heart attack, aged 48. Had a hit in 1962 original version of “Twist and Shout,” (later covered by the Beatles) and the 1968 UK number three single “This Old Heart Of Mine” and 1969 US number two single “It’s Your Thing.”

1992, Def Leppard released their fifth studio album Adrenalize, the first by the band following the 1991 death of guitarist Steve Clark. Former Dio and Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell, was brought in as the newest member in April 1992. He appears in all promotional videos for the album’s singles (except “Let’s Get Rocked,”) despite not playing on the album.

1995, Mexican American singer Selena was murdered aged 23 by the president of her fan club Yolanda Sald’var. Warner Brothers made a film based on her life starring Jennifer Lopez in 1997.

2002,  Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees bought his childhood home in Keppel Road, Chorlton, Manchester. Gibb said he was going to clean the house up, rent it out and put a plaque on the wall.

2015, Joni Mitchell was rushed to hospital after being found unconscious at her Los Angeles home. The singer songwriter was admitted to intensive care where she underwent tests. Los Angeles fire officials said paramedics had answered a 911 call in Bel Air, where Mitchell lives, and had taken a patient whom they did not identify to hospital.

Born on March 31: Shirley Jones, The Partridge Family (1934); Herb Alpert (1937); Al Nichol, The Turtles (1946); Thiis Van Leer, organ, flute, Focus (1948); Mick Ralphs, Mott the Hoople (1948); Angus Young, AC/DC (1955);  Pat McGlynn, Bay City Rollers (1958); Jack Antonoff, guitarist, Fun (1984)

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Today in Rock History – March 23

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pink-floyd-1967b&w1966, The Who perform at the Tower Ballroom in Great Yarmouth, England. The band’s road manager, Neville Chesters, joins The Who onstage to sing “You Were On My Mind.”

1967, Pink Floyd performed at Clifton Hall at the Rotherham College of Technical Dance, South Yorkshire, England.

1967, At a ceremony held at the Playhouse Theatre in London, The Beatles were awarded three Ivor Novello awards for 1966: Best-selling British single “Yellow Submarine,” most-performed song “Michelle,” and next-most-performed song “Yesterday.” None of the Beatles attended and the winning songs were played by Joe Loss and his Orchestra. The lead vocal for “Michelle” was sung by Ross MacManus, whose son would go on to become the professional musician Elvis Costello.

1968, The Grateful Dead played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, During a UK tour Stevie Wonder played two shows at the Coventry Theatre in the West Midlands. Also on the bill, The Foundations, The Flirtations and Emperor Rosko.

1970, Although the Beatles had abandoned the tracks originally cut for Let It Be, their business manager, Allen Klein, invites Phil Spector to remix the recordings. Spector’s tampering with the original recordings further alienates Paul McCartney from the band.

1970, Led Zeppelin played at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The next day’s Oregon News reported, “Led Zeppelin, the four-man demolition squad disguised as a rock group, pushed aside a series of boring solos Monday night and laid out Portland music fans with some good old rock and roll. Playing to an estimated 7,000 people in the Memorial Coliseum, they plodded along with excessive instrumental solos, repeatedly asking the crowd to loosen up until they heard what they came to hear – loud, driving rock music.”

1971, Soft Machine appeared at the  Gondel FilmKunstTheater, Bremen, Germany.

1971, Led Zeppelin performed the last of the Back to the clubs tour dates at the Marquee in London.

1972, The film of The Concert For Bangladesh featuring George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton premiered in New York. The event was the first benefit concert of this magnitude in history. The concert raised almost $250,000 (£166,667) for Bangladesh relief, which was administered by UNICEF. Sales of the album and DVD continue to benefit the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF. By 1985, through revenue raised from the Concert for Bangladesh live album and film, an estimated $12 million had been sent to Bangladesh in relief. It would be the inspiration for LiveAid and future relief based mega-events.

David Gilmour with Pink Floyd at Pompeii

1972, Pink Floyd spend the first of eight days recording performances at Pompeii, Italy’s Roman amphitheater.

1973, John Lennon was ordered to leave the US within 60 days by the immigration authorities; he began a long fight to win his “Green” card which he was given on July 27, 1976. Yoko Ono is granted permanent residency in the US.

1974, Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross entered the UK singles chart with “You Are Everything” which was originally recorded by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics. Released as the second UK single from the Diana & Marvin album, the song reached numbrer five in the UK Singles Chart.

1974, Queen played at the Links Pavilion, Cromer, England.

1974, Cher went to number one on the US singles chart with “Dark Lady,” the singer’s third solo chart topper. It reached number 36 in the UK.

1975, Neil Young, as well as Bob Dylan and the Band, performed at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.

1976, David Bowie appeared at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.

1977, Elvis Presley appeared at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. This was the first date of 49-date US tour over three months and Presley’s last ever tour. His final live performance was on  June 26, 1977 at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana.

1980, The Psychedelic Furs and The Teardrop Explodes appeared at The Lyceum Ballroom, London.

1983,  The Smiths played their first ever London show at The Rock Garden, London, England.

1985, Former Creedence Clearwater Revival front man John Fogerty went to number one on the US album chart with Centerfield.

1990, Fleetwood Mac kicked off their Behind The Mask world tour with 14 dates in Australian starting at the Boondall Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia.

1991, R.E.M. scored their first UK chart topping album with their seventh LP, Out Of Time, featuring the singles “Losing My Religion” (which became R.E.M.’s highest-charting hit in the US, reaching number four,) and “Shiny Happy People.” The video for “Losing My Religion” won two Grammy Awards and six MTV Awards.

2008, Neil Aspinall, who ran the Apple Corps music empire for the Beatles from 1970 – 2007 died at a hospital in New York from cancer aged 66. A school friend of Sir Paul McCartney and George Harrison, he was regarded by some of the band as the “fifth Beatle” becoming the Beatles’ road manager in 1961 before becoming their personal assistant. He led the legal battle with Apple computers over the use of the Apple name and a royalties dispute between the Beatles and record label EMI. Aspinall had also played background instruments on Beatles tracks including “Magical Mystery Tour,” “Within You Without You” and “Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite.”

Born on March 23: Jimmy Miller, producer, Rolling Stones (1942); David Grisman, American mandolin player, composer (1945); Ric Ocasek, The Cars (1949); Phil Lanzon, English keyboard player, songwriter Uriah Heep (1950); Chaka Khan (1953); – Eldon Hoke, American drummer, singer The Mentors, The Screamers (1958); Marti Pellow, Scottish singer-songwriter, Wet Wet Wet (1965); Damon Albarn, Blur (1968)

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Today in Rock History – February 22

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beatles -sgtpeppers1967, The Beatles record the piano chord used on “A Day in the Life.” David Crosby pops by Abbey Road studios for a visit.

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

1968, Genesis releases its first single, “The Silent Sun.” Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks later say they wrote the song in the style of the Bee Gees to impress producer and Bee Gees fan Jonathan King.

1969, Tyrannosaurus Rex appeared at The Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England. Support act was David Bowie performing a one-man mime act.

1969,  The Beatles begin their sessions for Abbey Road with a take of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy”).

1970, Appearing at The Roundhouse Spring Festival in Camden, London, David Bowie and the Hype, (first live performance of the new band), along with Bachdenkel, Groundhog and Caravan.

1971, George Harrison was fined and banned from driving for a year.

1972, Elvis Presley and his wife Priscilla were legally separated. The couple had married in 1967.

1972, Wings played the last date on their 11-date unannounced UK tour at Oxford University.

1973, An interesting double bill, REO Speedwagon and Cheech & Chong at the Exposition Gardens – Youth Building in Peoria, Illinois.

1973, Black Sabbath played at the Palasport, Vicenza, Italy.

1973, The Grateful Dead performed at Assembly Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois.

david-bowie-rebel-rebel1974, “Rebel Rebel” by David Bowie entered the singles chart, reaching number five the following month.

1976,  Florence Ballard of the Supremes died of cardiac arrest at age 32. Ballard was cut from the group in 1967 following such chart topping hits as “Baby Love,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” and “You Can’t Hurry Love.”

1975, Scottish group The Average White Band went to number one on the US singles chart with “Pick Up The Pieces,” the band’s album AWB also went to the top of the US charts.

1977, Electric Light Orchestra performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit.

1978, The Police appear as blondes in an advertisement for Wrigley’s chewing gum and decide to keep the look.

1979, Dire Straits played their first American show when they appeared in Boston.

1981, Rush played at Alumni Auditorium, Davenport, Iowa

1987, Andy Warhol, pop artist and producer died after a gall bladder operation. The founder of the Pop Art movement, produced and managed The Velvet Underground, designed the 1967 Velvet Underground And Nico “peeled banana” album cover and The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers album cover.

1989, A category for Heavy Metal was included at the Grammy Awards for the first time. Metallica performed on stage, but the award went to Jethro Tull. Many audience members booed. Meanwhile, Bobby McFerrin won Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year for “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” Tracy Chapman is named Best New Artist and Tina Turner won Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for Tina Live in Europe.

Born on February 22: Bobby Hendricks, The Drifters (1938); John Sparks, Dr. Feelgood (1953); and Scott Phillips, Creed (1973)

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