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Today in Rock History – July 3

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monkees-tv1967, 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 played at the Bath Pavilion in Bath, Somerset, England.

1968, At an impromptu gathering at Joni Mitchell’s house in Lookout Mountain, Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash played together for the very first time.

1969, John Lennon holds a press conference to announce the release of “Give Peace a Chance,” but can’t show up as he and Yoko are recovering from a car crash in Scotland. Ringo fills in instead.

1969, Brian Jones drowned while under the influence of drugs and alcohol after taking a midnight swim in his pool, aged 27. His body was found at the bottom of the pool by his Swedish girlfriend Anna Wohlin. The coroner’s report stated “Death by misadventure,” and noted his liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse. Jones was one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones.

1969, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Sly and the Family Stone, Jeff Beck, Savoy Brown, Johnny Winter, Jethro Tull, Buddy Guy Blues Band, Mothers Of Invention and Ten Years After all appeared at the four day Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island.

1969, The Grateful Dead appeared at Reed’s Ranch in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

1970, Gene Ammons,  Sonny Stitt, Kenny Burrell, Miles Davis, Eddie Harris, Herbie Mann, Mongo Santa Maria, Jerry Smith, Oscar Peterson, Roberta Flack, and Sarah Vaughn appeared at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia.

1970, The three day Atlanta Pop Festival took place, featuring The Allman Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, Johnny Winter, Mountain, Procol Harum and Rare Earth. Over 200,000 music fans attended the festival.

1971, American singer, songwriter and poet, Jim Morrison of The Doors was found dead in a bathtub in Paris, France, the cause of death was given as a heart attack. No autopsy was ever performed. However other theories exist. Morrison’s girlfriend, Pam Courson, stated that Jim had died of an accidental heroin overdose, having snorted what he believed to be cocaine.

1971, Melody Maker reports on the appearance of a new Who bootleg in the US, Who Unreleased. Seven of the ten tracks are British Who releases that had not yet come out in the States.

1972, Blues singer, guitarist Mississippi Fred McDowell died of cancer aged 68. The Rolling Stones covered his “You Got To Move” on their Sticky Fingers album. He coached Bonnie Raitt on slide guitar technique.

1973, Laurens Hammond the inventor of the Hammond organ died aged 73. Many rock artists including Procol Harum, Keith Emerson, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Allman Brothers and The Faces featured the sound of the Hammond. He also invented a silent spring-driven clock and during the World War II, he helped design guided missile systems.

1973, On the last night of a 60-date tour David Bowie announced he was about to retire from live performing, although it eventually transpires that Ziggy Stardust, the stage persona is being retired and not Bowie himself.

1975, Yes performed at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.

1975, Lead singer from Three Dog Night Chuck Negron was arrested at his Louisville hotel room on the opening night of the band’s tour and charged with possession of cocaine.

1976, Pete Townshend opens his Meher Baba Oceanic Centre with a week-long convention for his followers and gives away copies of the new Meher Baba tribute LP With Love. It features Pete’s “His Hands,” “Sleeping Dog,” and “Lantern Cabin,” a Pete vocal on “Meher” as well as a Billy Nicholls’ song “Without Your Love,” that will later be a solo hit for Roger.

1976, Brian Wilson played his first live show with The Beach Boys in seven years when they appeared at the Anaheim Stadium, California.

1977, Aerosmith appeared at Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at the Pavillon De Paris, Paris.

1979, James Taylor played at Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1980, Roxy Music appeared at Oberschwabenhalle, Ravensburg, Germany.

1981, bands performing on this date: Kraftwerk at the Hammersmith Odeon, London; Blue Oyster Cult at Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon; Van Halen at Cobo Arena, Detroit; Rush at the Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota; and Bruce Springsteen at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford.

1982, The Human League started a three week run at number one on the US singles charts with “Don’t You Want Me,” also a UK chart topper.

1983, Iron Maiden appeared at Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California.

1985, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the first of three sold out shows at Wembley Stadium in London.

1986, U2 crew member Greg Carroll was killed in a motorcycle accident in Dublin while running an errand for Bono. The song “One Tree Hill” on the band’s Joshua Tree album is dedicated to Carroll.

1996, AC/DC played the second of two nights at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain on their Ballbreaker world tour.

2001, American singer, songwriter Johnny Russell died aged 61. Wrote “Act Naturally” covered by The Beatles and Buck Owens. Jim Reeves, Jerry Garcia, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt all covered his songs.

Born on July 3: David Lynch, The Platters (1929);  Tommy Tedesco, session guitarist for Beach Boys, Everly Brothers, The Supremes, The Monkees, The Association, Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley, and more (1930); Paul Barrerre, Little Feat (1948); Johnnie Wilder, vocals, Heatwave (1949); Andy Fraser, Free, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (1952); Vince Clarke, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure (1960); and Kevin Hearn, Barenaked Ladies (1969)

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Today in Rock History – May 10

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1966, A year after returning to her home state of Texas from San Francisco, Janis Joplin heads west again. She was summoned by Chet Helms, a friend who is now managing Big Brother & the Holding Company. He dispatches Travis Rivers, an old acquaintance of Janis’ from her Port Arthur, Texas days to convince the singer to join Big Brother. Joplin had even considered becoming a member of 13th Floor Elevators.

1967, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards appeared at Chichester Crown Court, Sussex, charged with being in possession of drugs, they elect to go to trial pleading not guilty and were both granted £100 bail.

1968, Jimi Hendrix performed at the Fillmore East in New York.

1968, Jim Morrison incites a riot at a Doors gig in Chicago.

1969, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, The Move, Status Quo, Tremeloes, Marmalade, Love Sculpture, Van Der Graaf Generator all appeared at Nottingham’s Pop & Blues Festival, held at the Notts County Football Ground, Nottingham, England. Presented by John Peel, tickets 22/6 at the gate. Floyd closed the day’s events, playing in the pouring rain.

1969, The Who played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, The Moody Blues started a two-week run at number one on the album chart with On The Threshold Of A Dream. It was their first number one album.

1969, The Turtles gave a special performance at the White House as guests of Trica Nixon. Stories circulate concerning members of the group allegedly snorted cocaine on Abraham Lincoln’s desk.

1969, Frank Sinatra’s version of “My Way” made the British Top ten for the first time. Over the next three years it re-entered the Top 50 singles chart on eight different occasions. Paul Anka re-wrote the original French song for Sinatra, after he told Anka he was quitting the music business. Anka changed the melodic structure and lyrics to the song with Sinatra in mind.

1969, Led Zeppelin made their first appearance on the album chart when the bands debut album charted at number six, going on to spend 71 weeks on the UK album chart. It entered the US chart the following week at number ten. Now considered one of the most important debuts in rock, creating an entirely new interpretation of the rock and roll genre because of the groundbreaking music and recording techniques. The album was recorded in thirty-six hours.

1969, The Who played the first of three nights at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan on their North American Tommy tour.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Sports Arena, Atlanta, Georgia.

1970, David Bowie was awarded an Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Song “Space Oddity,” which he performed that night accompanied by the Les Reed Orchestra. The event was transmitted live via satellite to venues in America, France, Spain, Australia, Holland and Venezuela. Bowie would later revisit his Major Tom character in the songs “Ashes to Ashes” and “Hallo Spaceboy.”

1971, Yes appeared at Teatro Lirico, Milan, Italy.

1972, Hawkwind played at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1974, The Who sold out Madison Square Gardens in New York City for four nights selling 80,000 tickets.

1974, Queen appeared at the Uris Theater, New York.

1974, Eric Clapton records “I Shot the Sheriff.”

1974, A party to celebrate the launch of Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label at Los Angeles’ Bel Air Hotel ends with the guests tossing food and chinaware at one another.

1975, Stevie Wonder played in front of 125,000 fans at a free concert near the Washington Monument to celebrate Human Kindness Day.

1976, Aerosmith played at Madison Square Garden, New York.

1976, The Rolling Stones kicked off a 12-date UK tour at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow.

1977, Rush appeared at the Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1979, Roxy Music played at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1980, Pete Townshend’s solo album Empty Glass is released in the U.S. John Rockwell in The New York Times says, “it a success that sounds like The Who of a decade before,” while Jon Parales in Mademoiselle says it shows “Pete has risen to the challenge set forth by punk rock.”

1980, Bob Dylan performed at City Hall, Portland, Maine.

1984, David Gilmour played at the Forum in Montreal.

1986, Falco was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Rock Me Amadeus.” Falco became the first-ever Austrian act to score a UK and US number one hit single and the first German speaking artist to achieve a US chart topper. Falco died of severe injuries received on  February 6, 1998, when his sports car collided with a bus in the Dominican Republic. It was later determined that the bus driver was speeding, for which the driver served three years in prison.

1997, The Hillsborough Benefit gig took place at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium with The Beautiful South, Manic Street Preachers, Dodgy, Space, Stereophonics and The Lightning Seeds.

1999, American singer, songwriter poet, cartoonist, screenwriter, and author of children’s books Shel Silverstein died of a heart attack aged 57. He penned “A Boy Named Sue” for Johnny Cash, which earned Silverstein won a Grammy for in 197o. He also authored many songs for Dr Hook including “Sylvia’s Mother” and “The Cover of the Rolling Stone.”

2010, New York City’s Apollo Theatre began installing bronze plaques on the sidewalk outside the building of legends who had close ties to the theater. Among the first to be honored were James Brown, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson and Ella Fitzgerald.

Born on this day –  Dave Mason, Donovan, and Graham Gouldman, 10cc (1946); Jay Ferguson, Spirit (1947); Sid Vicious (1957); and Bono (1960)

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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 – March 11

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1965, Tom Jones was at number one on the singles chart with “It’s Not Unusual.”

1965, The Who go into IBC Studios, London to record their first album. Songs known to be recorded on this date are Pete Townshend’s “You’re Gonna Know Me” (later retitled “Out In The Street”), plus covers of James Brown’s “Please Please Please” and “I Don’t Mind,” Bo Diddley’s “I’m A Man,” Martha and the Vandella’s “Motoring” and “Heat Wave,” and Paul Revere and the Raiders’ “Louie Go Home” as “Lubie (Come Back Home.)” On the 16th, they meet again with producer Shel Talmy for “L.P. routining” and have another studio session at IBC on the 19th. The album is eventually rejected and some of the tracks are not released for over twenty years.

1966, This week’s ITV music show Ready Steady Go in the UK, was entirely devoted to the music of James Brown.

1966, Marianne Faithfull, Coltrane Union, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Rick & Us, plus Pink Floyd performed for the first of two nights billed as “The Tea Set.” The shows took place at the Rag Ball, on the Concourse Area of the University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, England. It was the first time a film was played on a screen behind the band as Pink Floyd performed their set.

1967, The Supremes had their ninth number one single with “Love Is Here And Now Your Gone.”

1967, Jimi Hendrix appears at the International Club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

1967, music publisher, Dick James, announced that 446 different versions of the Paul McCartney song “Yesterday” had been recorded so far.

1968, The Otis Redding single “Dock Of The Bay,” went gold in the US three months after the singer was killed in a plane crash.

1969, The Jackson 5 sign with Motown.

1970, Winners at the 12th annual Grammy awards included Joe South for song of the year with “Games People Play.” Crosby Stills and Nash won best new artist, and The Fifth Dimension won Record of the year with “Aquarius / Let The Sun Shine In.” Album of the Year went to producer James William Guercio and Blood, Sweat & Tears for Blood, Sweat & Tears.

ticket courtesy LedZeppelin.com

1970, Led Zeppelin perform at the Musikhalle, Hamburg, Germany. The set list: We’re Gonna Groove, I Can’t Quit You Baby, Dazed and Confused, Heartbreaker, White Summer / Black Mountainside, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Organ solo / Thank You, Moby Dick, How Many More Times (medley incl. Let That Boy Boogie, Bottle Up ‘n Go, Long Distance Call, Shake ’em On Down), Whole Lotta Love.

1970, The world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll movie, Jean-Luc Godard’s One Plus One, starring the Rolling Stones, opens in the US. The obtuse film features Godard’s trademark Marxist lecturing interspersed with scenes of the Stones composing “Sympathy for the Devil.” The producers later recut the footage to include more Mick and redub the movie Sympathy for the Devil. Critics remained baffled.

1970, Deja Vu, the first Crosby, Stills, Nash album to also feature Neil Young, was released. It topped the pop album chart for one week and spawned three US Top 40 singles, “Teach Your Children,” “Our House,” and “Woodstock.”

1971, Jim Morrison of The Doors arrived in Paris, where he checked  into The Hotel George’s.  The following week he moved into an apartment at 17 Rue Beautreillis. Morrison lived in Paris until his death on July 3rd 1971.

Harvest Young1972, Neil Young went to number one on the album chart with Harvest. The album featured the hit single “Heart Of Gold.”

1972, Harry Nilsson was at number one on the singles chart with his version of The Peter Ham and Tom Evans song “Without You.” It was first recorded by Badfinger in 1970. The song was also a number one for Mariah Carey in 1994.

1973,  Pink Floyd played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada on the North American leg of the Dark Side of the Moon tour.

1974, Deep Purple performed at the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Geor

1975,  Mick Jagger stops by Record Plant studios in Los Angeles, and ends up getting involved in a jam session with Wings and Ron Wood.

1976, The Who appeared at Madison Square Garden in New York.

1976, David Bowie performed at the Civic Arena, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1977, The Clash appeared at The Roxy Club, London, supported by The Slits, the first all-female punk group who were making their live debut.

1978, Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell, album began a 416-week run on the chart, going on to sell over 2 million copies.

1978, The debut single from Kate Bush, “Wuthering Heights,” a song inspired by the Emily Bronte novel, started a four-week run at number one on the UK singles chart. The record company, EMI, had originally chosen another track, “James and the Cold Gun” as the lead single, but Bush was determined that “Wuthering Heights” would be the first release from the album.

1979, Roxy Music played at the Olympia in Paris.

1981, Rush played at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1983, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Holiday Star Theatre, Merrillville, Indiana.

1986, Aerosmith appeared at the Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts.

1992, The Grateful Dead performed at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

1993, Oasis recorded their first demos at The Real People’s studio in Liverpool. The set included “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star,” “Columbia,” and “Fade Away.”

1995, Van Halen kicked off their 131-date Balance World Tour, at the Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola Civic Center, Florida. It was dubbed the “Ambulance” Tour by Eddie Van Halen, due to his hip surgery, and his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen, wearing a neck brace for most of the tour.

2006, The Disney Channel Original Movie, High School Musical was at number one on the US album chart. The album went on to break all records for a soundtrack selling over 7 million copies worldwide. A number one album in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.

2008, Madonna was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a star-studded ceremony in New York City.  John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, The Ventures, and The Dave Clark Five were also among the inductees.

2015, Jimmy Greenspoon, keyboardist with Three Dog Night, died in Potomac, Maryland after a year-long battle with metastatic melanoma at the age of 67. During the course of their career, Three Dog Knight had 21 top 40 hits, including three chart topping singles.

2015, A jury in the United States ruled that the writers of “Blurred Lines” copied a Marvin Gaye track. Jurors in Los Angeles decided that the 2013 single by Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke breached the copyright of Gaye’s 1977 hit “Got To Give It Up.” The family of the late soul singer were awarded $7.3 million (£4.8m) in damages.

Born on March 11: Harvey Mandel, American guitarist, Pure Food and Drug Act, Canned Heat (1945); Mark Stein, Vanilla Fudge (1947); George Kooymans, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, Golden Earring (1948); Jan Schelhaas, keyboardist Caravan, Camel (1948); Bobby McFerrin (1950); Jimmy Iovine,  record producer,  co-founder Interscope Records (1953); Jimmy Fortune, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Statler Brothers (1955); Nina Hagen, German singer, actress (1955); Bruce Watson, guitar, Big Country (1961); Vinnie Paul,  drummer, songwriter, producer Pantera, Damageplan, Hellyeah, Gasoline (1964); Andy Sturmer, American singer-songwriter, drummer, producer, Beatnik Beatch, Jellyfish (1965); Benji and Joel Madden, singer-songwriters, Good Charlotte (1979)

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Today in Rock History – March 1

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1967, The Beatles began recording  “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” at Abbey Road studios, London. Work on the new John Lennon song began the day before with extensive rehearsals. Despite the acronym of the song spelling out LSD, the origins of the composition came from a drawing that Lennon’s son Julian had made of his classmate Lucy O’Donnell. John wrote a song inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

1967, “Happy Jack” peaks at number four on the German charts. It is The Who’s biggest singles hit in that country.

1968, Elton John’s first single “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” was released on the Phillips label.  It didn’t chart.

1968, On or around this date, Pink Floyd officially announces Syd Barrett’s departure from the band.

1968, The Hollies played at the Civic Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

1969, Jim Morrison of The Doors was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior after allegedly showing his penis to the audience during a show in Miami. He was found guilty at a  1970 trial,  of two misdemeanors — indecent exposure and “open profanity,” and sentenced to eight months hard labor. Morrison died in Paris while the sentence was on appeal. On December 9, 2010, a pardon was requested by outgoing Florida Governor Charlie Crist and the state Clemency Board unanimously granted it.

1969, Pink Floyd performed at University College, in Bloomsbury, London, England.

1969, The Who play Mother’s Club in Erdington Birmingham, England.

1969, The Jeff Beck Group performed at the Alexandria Roller Rink in Alexandria, Virginia.

1970, Mott The Hoople, supported by Genesis, appeared at The Northcote Arms, Middlesex, England.

1970, The Ed Sullivan Show, airs clips of the Beatles performing “Let It Be” and “Two of Us.” It’s the last time the band appear on the show that introduced them to American fans.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi.

1972, John Lennon is granted an extension on his American work visa. Lennon begins recording Sometime in New York City.

1973, The New York Joffrey Ballet premieres the Deuce Coupe Ballet. The work is based completely around the music of the Beach Boys.

1973, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the New Haven Arena in New Haven, Connecticut. The set list: Wasted Words, Done Somebody Wrong, Statesboro Blues, One Way Out, Stormy Monday,  Midnight Rider Jessica,   Ramblin’ Man, Trouble No More,  In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, You Don’t Love Me,  Les Brers In A Minor, Whipping Post.

1974, Chris Difford placed an ad in a shop window “lyricist seeks musician for co-writing.” Glen Tillbrook answered the ad. The pair went on to form Squeeze.

Queen in 1974

1974, Queen began their first headlining UK tour at The Winter Garden’s Blackpool.

1975, The Eagles went to number one on the singles chart with “Best Of My Love.” It was the first of five chart toppers for the band.

1975, Winners at the 17th annual Grammy Awards included Paul McCartney for Best pop vocal on “Band On The Run,” Olivia Newton-John won Record Of The Year for “I Honestly Love You,” and Stevie Wonder won Album of the year for Fulfillingness First Finale.

1976, David Bowie performed at the Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan.

1977,  Iggy Pop and David Bowie, plus The Vibrators appeared at Friars, Aylesbury, England.

1979, Joy Division appeared at The Hope & Anchor, Islington, London, England. Admission was 75p ($1.28).

1980, Blondie were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Atomic” the group’s third UK number one single from their album Eat To The Beat.

1982, Rod Stewart performed at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1990, Janet Jackson played the first night on her 120-date Rhythm Nation 1814 world tour at the Miami Arena in Florida. As part of the show Jackson’s had a live panther on-stage, but after concerns were raised over safety of the crowds, and several incidents of the panther urinating on the stage, Jackson had the feline removed from the show in the summer leg of the tour.

1994, Nirvana played their final ever concert when they appeared at The Terminal Einz in Munich, Germany. The 3,000 capacity venue was a small Airport Hanger. The power went off during the show so they played an impromptu acoustic set including a version of The Cars’ “My Best Friend’s Girl.”

1995, Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia” won three Grammys for Song of the Year, Best Male Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song. Sheryl Crow was named Best New Artist, while producer Bill Bottrell won Record of the Year for her song “All I Wanna Do.”

1995, drummer Bill Berry collapsed on stage during an R.E.M. show at the Patinoire Auditorium in Lausanne, Switzerland, from a ruptured brain aneurysm. He recovered and rejoined the band, but left for good in October 1997.

1997, Bowie Bonds were issued on the US Stock Exchange. Linked to David Bowie’s back catalogue albums with money earned on the bonds via interest from royalties, investors could expect to make an 8% profit in about 10 years.

2005, Nelly featuring Tim McGraw were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Over And Over,” the 3rd number one for Nelly, and the first for Grammy Award-winning Country music singer Tim McGraw.

2009, Kelly Clarkson went to number one on the UK singles chart with “My Life Would Suck Without You.” The US singer won American Idol in 2000 and became the only contestant to have topped the UK charts.

2016, 76-year-old Ginger Baker posted on his blog that he had cancelled all of his scheduled shows for the year and was going into immediate retirement. The former drummer for Cream and Blind Faith explained that he had been diagnosed with serious heart problems.

Born on March 1: Glenn Miller (1904); Harry Belafonte (1927); Jerry Fisher, Blood Sweat & Tears (1942) ; Mike D’Abo, singer, songwriter, Manfred Mann (1944); Roger Daltrey, The Who (1944); Tony Ashton, vocals, keyboards, Ashton Gardner & Dyke (1946); Bill Leen, The Gin Blossoms (1962); Rob Affuso, American drummer, Skid Row (1963); Mary Lou Lord, American singer-songwriter,  guitarist, Helium (1965); Justin Bieber (1994)

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Today in Rock History – November 11

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beatles-rubber-soul1965, The final recording session for The Beatles Rubber Soul album took place, at Abbey Road, London. They needed four new songs to finish the album so an old song “Wait” is pulled off the shelf and work is completed on “I’m Looking Through You.” The band recorded two new songs from start to finish. Paul’s “You Won’t See Me,” about his relationship with Jane Asher, and John’s “Girl, his response to Paul’s “Michelle.”   The session began at 6 pm and ended at 7 o’clock the following morning. Rubber Soul was completed, and finished copies of the album were in the shops by December 3rd in the UK and December 6th in the US.

1966, The Who’s first UK EP, Ready Steady WHO is released. It is supposed to be live tracks from The Who’s recent television special but is, in fact, studio tracks recorded between February and August 1966. It goes all the way to number one on the UK. EP charts but isn’t released in the US.

1966, Pink Floyd played a concert for the London Free School at All Saints Church, Powlis Gardens, London.

1967, Jimi Hendrix performs at the Big Apple Club in Munich, Germany.

1969, The FBI in Phoenix, Arizona arrested Jim Morrison for drunk and disorderly conduct aboard a plane. The Doors singer, who was on his way to a Rolling Stones concert with actor Tom Baker, had been drinking and annoying the stewardesses. The pair spent the night in jail and were released on $2,500 bail.

1969, The Who played the first of two nights at The Tea Party in Boston  with Tony William’s Lifetime as support.

1970, Elvis Presley appears at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.

1971, King Crimson appeared at Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario.

1971, BBC TV’s Top Of The Pops celebrated its 400th show. The UK chart show was presented by Tony Blackburn with guests Tom Jones, Dana, John Kongos, Cher, Slade, Cilla Black, The Piglets, Clodagh Rodgers and The Newbeats.

1971, Led Zeppelin played the first date of a 16-night UK tour at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1971, Pink Floyd performed at Music Hall in Boston, Massachusetts.  Top ticket price was $6.00.

1972, Allman Brothers bass player Berry Oakley was killed when his motorcycle hit a bus at the same intersection where band member Duane Allman had died a year earlier. Oakley was 24 years old.

1972, David Bowie appears at the Majestic Theatre, Dallas, Texas.

1972, Gilbert O’Sullivan was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Clair,” the singer’s first of two UK chart toppers. The Irish singer songwriter would dress as a 1920s worker in flat cap, braces and baggy trousers.

1973, Thirty US radio stations broadcasted a “live” Mott The Hoople concert. In reality it was the band recorded in the studio with the applause dubbed in.

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

1974, David Bowie played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland. The show includes a live video projection, an innovation first used in the Rolling Stones 1972 US Tour, directed by John Dove, who was documenting some of Bowie’s rehearsals and shows.

1976, US singer Linda Ronstadt made her live UK debut when she appeared at the Birmingham Odeon.

1976, Eric Clapton played at the Louisiana State University Assembly Center, in Baton Rouge.

1977, During an Australian tour, Fleetwood Mac appeared at the RAS Sydney Showgrounds. Also on the bill, Santana, Little River Band and The Kevin Borich Express.

1978, David Bowie played the first night of his 8-date Low / Heroes tour of Australia and New Zealand at The Oval in Adelaide. This was Bowie’s first ever show in Australia.

1978, Donna Summer started a three-week run at number one on the US singles chart with her version of Jimmy Webb’s “MacArthur Park.” The song was also a hit for actor Richard Harris in 1968, and made it to number five in the UK. Also on this day Summer went to number one on the US album chart with Live And More.

1978, The Cars released “My Best Friend’s Girl” the first picture-disc single commercially available, which went on to be a number three hit on the UK charts.

 1979, The Who play the Conference Centre in Brighton, England.

1980, Bob Dylan performs at the Fox Warfield Theatre, San Fransisco.

1980, U2 appeared in the Junior Common Room of Rutherford College at Kent University, Canterbury, England. Tickets are £0.50 ($0.80) and all 150 sell out before the show.

1981, Rush performed at Concert Centrum, in Hamburg, Germany.

1982, Prince kicked off his 87-date 1999 North American tour at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

1983, The Police appear at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.

1986, Pink Floyd issued a press statement stating that they intend to continue using the band name without Roger Waters and were recording their next album.

1989, Chris Rea started a three-week run at number one on the UK album chart with The Road To Hell. The iconic album cover features art by the English artist, Adrian Chesterman, who was also responsible for creating cover art for, Motörhead’s 1979 Bomber album.

1995, The Smashing Pumpkins double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness went to number one on the US charts.

2004, Robbie Williams, The Rolling Stones and Queen were inducted into the UK’s first music Hall of Fame at a ceremony in London. One act had been chosen by TV viewers of a Channel 4 program to represent each decade since the 1950s. Williams represented the 1990s, Michael Jackson the 1980s, Queen the 1970s, the Rolling Stones the 1960s, and Cliff Richard the 1950s.

2011, The four original band members of Black Sabbath announced that they were reuniting and recording a new album followed by a world tour in 2012.

2014, Big Bank Hank (Henry Lee Jackson), from The Sugarhill Gang died aged 58 from kidney complications due to cancer. The Sugarhill Gang were the first hip hop act to have a hit with the cross-over single “Rapper’s Delight” in the pop charts in 1979.

Born on November 11: Kurt Vonnegut (1922); Lavern Baker, R&B singer (1929); Jessie Colin Young, The Youngbloods (1944); Vince Martell,  singer, guitar, Vanilla Fudge (1945); Chris Dreja, The Yardbirds (1946); Jim Peterik, Ides of March, Survivor (1950); Paul Cowsill, The Cowsills (1952); Andy Partridge, XTC (1953); Dave Alvin,  singer-songwriter, guitar The Blasters, The Knitters,  X (1955); Ian Craig Marsh, keyboards, Heaven 17 (1956); Mic Michaeli, keyboards, Europe, (1962); Jason White, guitar, Green Day (1973)

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Today in Rock History – November 8

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1965, The Beatles worked on a new George Harrison song “Think For Yourself” at Abbey Road for their forthcoming Rubber Soul album. After rehearsing the song, they recorded the basic instrumental track in one take.

1966, The Who go into CBS Studios in London and record at least two takes of the backing track for their next single “Happy Jack.” John and Keith then go to Regent Sound and record John’s new composition, “I’ve Been Away,” during a half-hour session while Roger and Pete are off at a pub.

1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appears at Manchester University in Manchester, England.

1968, Cynthia Lennon is granted a divorce from husband John in London. John Lennon is not in court, having rushed to Yoko Ono’s bedside at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital. Ono suffers a miscarriage shortly afterward. Peace advertisements purchased by John and Yoko are aired on neutral Israel Radio.

1968, The Doors perform at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio.

1968, The Who, Joe Cocker and The Grease Band, The Mindbenders and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown all appeared at The Walthamstow Granada Theatre, England.

1968, Pink Floyd played at the Wood Green Jazz club at the Fishmonger’s Arms in North London.  The building is now a row of flats.

1969, “Something,” the first Beatles A-side composed by George Harrison entered the UK singles chart, it peaked at number four in the UK and went on to be a number one on the US charts.

1969, The Rolling Stones perform at the Forum in Inglewod, California, where they smash the concert gross record previously held by the Beatles.

1970, Jim Morrison makes recordings of his spoken-word material. After his death, the Doors set the poems to music as An American Prayer.

1970, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Capitol Theater, Port Chester, NY.

1971, At London’s Empire Ballroom, Paul McCartney throws a party to launch his new group, Wings.

1971, Led Zeppelin released their fourth album. With no title printed on the album, and generally referred to as Four Symbols, The Fourth Album, ZOSO, or Led Zeppelin IV, it has gone on to sell over 37 million copies worldwide. The 19th century rustic oil painting on the front of the album was purchased by Robert Plant from an antique shop in Reading, Berkshire, England. The 20th century urban tower block on the back of the full gatefold LP cover is Butterfield Court in Eves Hill, Dudley, England.

1972, Roxy Music appear at Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, England.

1973, Genesis performs at Massey Hall in Toronto, in support of Selling England by the Pound.

1974, Roxy Music plays at Konserthuset, Stockholm, Sweden.

1975, David Bowie made his US TV debut performing “Fame,” on the Cher CBS-TV show.

1975, Elton John was named Godfather to John and Yoko Lennon’s son Sean.

1977, Yes appears at The Apollo, Glasgow, Scotland.

1978, Eric Clapton plays at the Palais des Sports, Lyon, France.

1979, Bob Dylan appeared at the Fox Warfield Theatre, San Fransisco.

1980, KISS kicked off their 11-date Unmasked tour of Australia and New Zealand playing two nights at Perth Entertainment Centre.

1980, Frank Zappa performs at the Ocean State Theater, Providence, Rhode Island.

1982, Peter Gabriel played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

1985, the Grateful Dead played  at Community War Memorial Auditorium in Rochester, New York.

1986, Berlin started a four-week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Take Your Breath Away.” The song which was featured in the film Top Gun, was written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1986.

1998, Robbie Williams scored his second UK number one album with I’ve Been Expecting You. The album which featured his UK number one hit “Millennium,” which went on to become the UK’s best selling album for that year with sales over 2.5 million.

2008, AC/DC started a two-week run at number one on the US album chart with Black Ice, the band’s fifteenth studio album and the second-best selling album of 2008. Black Ice went to the top spot in 29 countries, including Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US.

Born on November 8: Gerald Alston, vocals, The Manhattans (1942); Bonnie Bramlett, Delaney & Bonnie (1944); Rodney Slater, sax, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (1944); Roy Wood (1946); Minnie Riperton (1947) and Bonnie Raitt (1949); Alan Berger, Southside Johnny & The Ashbury Jukes (1949); Porl Thompson, The Cure (1957)

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Today in Rock History – August 4

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PInk-Floyd-Piper_at_the_Gates_of_Dawn1967, Pink Floyd released their debut album The Piper At the Gates of Dawn in the UK, on which most songs were penned by Syd Barrett.  When reviewed by the two main UK music papers, Record Mirror and NME both gave the album four stars out of five. The album was recorded at Abbey Road studios, London during the same time that The Beatles were recording Sgt Pepper’s. It peaked at number six on the UK album chart, and failed to chart in the US, when it was released on October 21st. Since that time, it has come to be regarded as a significant album in psychedelic rock.

1967, The Who performed at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.

1967, A female Monkees fan stowed away on the band’s plane between shows in Minneapolis and St Louis. The girl’s father threatened to bring charges for transporting a minor across state lines.

1968, Jimi Hendrix performed at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, Texas.

1968, The second day of the two day Newport Pop Festival took place in Costa Mesa, California with Blue Cheer, Eric Burdon & The Animals, Grateful Dead, Illinois Speed Press, Iron Butterfly, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service and The Byrds. Over 100,000 fans attended the festival.

1970, After falling asleep on a woman’s porch in Los Angeles, Jim Morrison is arrested for public drunkenness.

1971, Emerson Lake & Palmer appeared at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.

1972, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Community Theater, Berkeley, California.

1974, KISS performed at the Morris Civic Auditorium, South Bend, Indiana.

1975, Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and his wife were both badly injured when the rented car he was driving spun off the road and crashed on the Greek island of Rhodes. Plant smashed both his ankle and his elbow, and was not fully fit for the best part of two years. A forthcoming North American tour had to be cancelled.

1976, The Grateful Dead played at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey.

1977, AC/DC played at Dubs, Gainesville, Florida.

1979, A benefit concert was held to raise money for Little Feat guitarist and singer Lowell George, featuring members of his band plus Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt.

1979, Led Zeppelin play to 120,000 people at Knebworth Park in England. It was their first concert in the U.K. in four years.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at the Mary E. Sawyer Auditorium, LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

1980, John Lennon began recording what would become his final album, Double Fantasy, at The Hit Factory, New York.

1980, Pink Floyd kick off five nights of The Wall tour at London’s Earls Court. During the ambitious show, a giant wall is built across the stage between the band and the audience.

1981, Bruce Springsteen performed at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1982, Metallica played at the Whiskey A-Go-Go, Hollywood, California.

1984, Prince started a 24-week run at the top of the US album charts with Purple Rain. His sixth studio album which features the hits “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” along with the title track. It has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, becoming the seventh best-selling soundtrack album of all time.

1990, Mariah Carey’s started a four week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Vision Of Love,” her debut release. The song was nominated for three Grammy Awards at the 33rd annual ceremony, held on February 20, 1991, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, winning the latter.

1996, Oasis played two sold out nights at Balloch Castle Country Park, Loch Lomand, Scotland to over 80,000 fans.

2001, Dave Stewart married fashion photographer Anouska Fisz on a private beach on the French Riviera. Guest’s included Elton John, Mick Jagger, Oasis brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, and his former Eurythmics partner Annie Lennox.

2002, Bruce Springsteen scored his fifth UK number one album with The Rising, also a chart topper in the US.

2005, American blues singer and guitarist Little Milton died. Milton had suffered a brain aneurysm on  July 25th and had lapsed into a coma. In 1952, while still a teenager playing in local bars, he caught the attention of Ike Turner, who at the time a talent scout for Sam Phillips’ Sun Records. He signed a contract with the label and recorded a number of singles, including the 1965 US number 25 single “We’re Gonna Make It,” and 1969’s “Grits Ain’t Groceries.”

2007, US singer, songwriter Lee Hazlewood died of cancer, in his home near Las Vegas aged 78. Hazlewood wrote and produced many of Nancy Sinatra’s most famous hits, including “These Boots Were Made For Walkin’,” “Jackson,” and “Did You Ever” as well as “Something Stupid,” the duet Nancy recorded with her father Frank in 1967. Hazelwood also produced Duane Eddy and Gram Parsons.

Born on August 4: Louis Armstrong (1901); Elsberry Hobbs, The Drifters (1936); Larry Knechtel, guitar, Keyboards, Bread (1940); Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream (1947); Robbin Crosby,  guitarist, Ratt(1958); Paul Reynolds, A Flock Of Seagulls (1962); Max Cavalera,  singer, guitarist, Sepultura (1969); Tom Parker, singer, The Wanted (1988)

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Book Report: Bobby Skafish – We Have Company

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I’m supremely jealous.

Bobby Skafish had the ultimate gig. Interview some of the biggest rock stars on the planet at the behest of Chicago’s prominent rock stations.

Wow.

And now he’s recounting his experiences as interviewer, emcee, and observer.

The book is called “We Have Company: Four Decades of Rock and Roll Encounters.”

Rock music on the radio in the Windy City is synonymous with WXRT, WLUP, Q101, and WDRV. Skafish had stints at all of these outlets.

Beginning with an attempt to sneak into a Todd Rundgren show, and including such rock royalty as Jimmy Page and David Bowie, Skafish engages the reader as he chronicles encounters with everyone from The Ramones to Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen. The late keyboardist Ray Manzarek tells him some Jim Morrison stories during an interview.

Bobby does admit to a minor faux pas as he honed his craft, on his way to becoming the go-to interviewer, when touring acts came to Chi-town. He also describes a few times when he interacted with these starts as he emceed their concerts, including a few at now defunct venues.

As someone who attended several of the concerts described in the book, it really resonated with me. However, even if you’ve never set foot in the Midwest, you will delight at hearing stories about Debbie Harry, David Lee Roth, David Gilmour,  Dave Matthews, Ron Wood, and more.

Johnny Lydon, Tom Waits, Lenny Kravitz, Bruce Hornsby, Suzanne Vega, John Mayer, Nancy Wilson (Heart) are among the icons sharing a microphone with Skafish.

Bobby joined me on Acid Flashback radio. We played music from the artists and bands covered in the book, and he recounted a few of these stories.

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