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 […]
Today in Rock History – February 17
1966, Nancy Sinatra was at number one on the singles chart with “These Boots Are Made For Walking,” her first chart topper. 1967, The Beatles started recording a new John Lennon song “Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite” at Abbey Road studio’s, London. John’s lyrics for the song came almost entirely from an antique […]
Today in Rock History – January 7
1964, The Beatles recorded a seven-song appearance for the BBC Radio program Saturday Club. They played All My Loving, Money, The Hippy Hippy Shake, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Roll Over Beethoven Johnny B. Goode, and I Wanna Be Your Man. The show was broadcast on February 15, while the Beatles were in the […]
Today in Rock History – December 24
1965, The Beatles had the number one album in the US for the third Christmas in a row. Rubber Soul sat atop the LP chart in 1965, following Beatles For Sale in 1964 and With The Beatles in 1963. The Fab Four would repeat this feat again in 1968 with The Beatles (The White Album) […]
Today in Rock History – July 31
1965, In England, the Yardbirds with Jeff Beck perform at the Cleethorpes Jazz Festival. 1965, Beatles VI enters the fourth of its six weeks atop the US album charts. Beatles VI includes two tracks recorded specifically for the North American market, “Bad Boy” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy,” both covers of Larry Williams songs. 1966, Cream […]
Today in Rock History – July 14
1964, The Rolling Stones were at number one on the UK singles chart with “It’s All Over Now,” the group’s first of eight UK chart toppers. The original Valentinos version of the song was played to the Rolling Stones during their first North American tour in June 1964 by New York radio DJ Murray the […]
Today in Rock History – July 3
1967, A private party was held at the Speakeasy Club in London, England for The Monkees. Guests included: John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Dusty Springfield, Eric Clapton, Lulu, and all the members from Manfred Mann, The Who and Procol Harum. 1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at The Scene in New York City. 1967, Pink Floyd […]
Today in Rock History – June 12
1964, The Beatles arrived in Adelaide, Australia and were greeted by an estimated 250,000 fans, who lined the ten mile route from the airport to the city center. The group gave their first four shows in Australia at the Centennial Hall, Adelaide over two nights, playing: I Saw Her Standing There, I Want To Hold […]
Eleven of the Best Rock Concerts I Have Attended
I have been fortunate to go to a lot of rock concerts in my lifetime. Considering what tickets cost today, those old ducats from the seventies and eighties turned out to be pretty good deals. Most of those ticket prices were under twenty bucks. The late seventies concerts were all under ten dollars. Compared to […]
Song Of The Day – “We Have No Secrets” by Carly Simon
Words cannot describe the captivating effect that the album cover of today’s Song Of The Day had on me when I was eleven years old. The image of Carly Simon on the cover of No Secrets launched hundreds of fantasies throughout my teenage hormone-infused head. And it wasn’t the layout and design of the cover […]
