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Today in Rock History – September 5

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1964, The Animals started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “House Of The Rising Sun.” When first released the record company printed the time of the song on the record as three minutes feeling that the real time of four minutes was too long for radio airplay.

1965, Sonny & Cher made their first live UK appearance when they appeared at the 100 Club in London.

1965, The Rolling Stones recorded their eighth single “Get Off Of My Cloud” at RCA studios in Hollywood. The song peaked at number one in the US and the UK.

1966, John Lennon started work in Germany on his role as Private Gripweed in the film How I Won The War.

1967, Working at Abbey Road studios, London, The Beatles began recording John Lennon’s new song “I Am the Walrus,” recording 16 takes of the basic backing track.

1968, On their first ever visit to the UK The Doors appeared on Top of The Pops performing “Hello I Love You” live on the TV show.

1969, King Crimson performed at Market Hall, Romford, England.

1969, The Stooges made their New York debut at The Pavilion supporting MC5.

1970, Janis Joplin started recording sessions recording a version of the Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster song “Me and Bobby McGee.” Joplin, who was a lover and a friend of Kristofferson’s from the beginning of her career to her death, topped the US singles chart with the song in 1971, making the song the second posthumous number one single in US chart history after “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding.

1970, Poco appeared at the Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1971, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at Chicago International Amphitheatre.

1972, Yes played at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland.

1974, David Bowie played at the Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, California.

1975, Black Sabbath performed at Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, California.

1976, Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington was seriously injured in a car crash in Florida.

1978, Joe Negroni from Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers died of a brain hemorrhage. They had the 1956 UK number one and US number six single “Why Do Fools Fall In Love.”

1978, The Electric Light Orchestra appeared at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Civic Center, Dothan, Alabama.

1980, Black Sabbath performed at the Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida.

1981, Soft Cell were at number one on the UK singles chart with their electronic version of “Tainted Love.” The song had been a hit for Gloria Jones in 1964. Jones who became Marc Bolan’s girlfriend, was the driver of the car, that crashed and killed Bolan on  September 16, 1977. Jones nearly died in the accident.

1981, Stevie Nicks went to number one on the US album with Bella Donna, featuring the tracks “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” with Tom Petty, “Leather and Lace,” with Don Henley, “Edge of Seventeen,” and “After the Glitter Fades.”

1994, Oasis appeared at The Hacienda in Manchester to celebrate the launch of their debut album Definitely Maybe. The album went on to become the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK and marked the beginning of Oasis’ success in America, selling over one million copies there.

2006, Arctic Monkeys won the UK Mercury Prize for their album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. The Sheffield-based bands album became the fastest-selling debut in chart history after shifting more than 360,000 copies in its first week of release in Feb 2006.

2012, Singer-songwriter Joe South, who had hits in the late 1960s and early ’70s, including “Games People Play,” “Walk a Mile in My Shoes,” and (“I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden,” died at home in Atlanta, Georgia from a heart attack, aged 72.

Born on September 5: John Stewart, The Kingston Trio (1934); Al Stewart (1945) Freddie Mercury, Loudon Wainwright III, and Buddy Miles (1946); Dave Clempson, guitar, Humble Pie (1949)

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Today in Rock History – August 30

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The-Who-1966-B1966, The Who begin two days of recording at IBC Studios and Pye No. 2 Studio in London. During the sessions the group records The Regent’s “Barbara Ann,” The Everly Brothers’ “Man with Money,” Martha and the Vandellas’ “Heatwave,” and the theme to the then smash hit TV show Batman. The tracks are intended for a new album tentatively titled Jigsaw Puzzle. Kit Lambert produces and Paul Clay engineers.

1968, Janis Joplin plays the first of two nights at The Palace of Fine Arts Festival in San Francisco.

1968, Howlin’ Wolf appeared at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Yes played at the Civic Centre, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, England.

1969, Two weeks after the Woodstock festival, the second Isle of Wight festival took place. Over 150,000 turned up over the two days to see Bob Dylan make his first official public appearance since his 1966 motorcycle accident. Also on the bill were The Band, Blodwyn Pig, Blonde On Blonde, Bonzo Dog Dooh Dah Band, Edgar Broughton Band, Joe Cocker, Aynsley Dunbar, Family, Fat Mattress, Julie Felix, Free, Gypsy, Richie Havens, The Moody Blues, The Nice, Tom Paxton, Pentangle, The Pretty Things, Third Ear Band and The Who. Tickets 25 shillings, ($3.00). Celebrities who attended include Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, John & Yoko, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Jane Fonda, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton.

1969, One hit wonders Zager and Evans started a three week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “In The Year 2525.” The song was written by Rick Evens in 1964.

1969, The three day Texas Pop Festival took place featuring Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Sam & Dave, Santana, Johnny Winter, Grand Funk Railroad, Delaney & Bonnie, Nazz, Spirit, BB King, Canned Heat and Chicago. Over 120,000 fans attended the festival.

1970, The Rolling Stones kicked off a 20-date European tour in Malmo Sweden.

1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono played Madison Square Gardens to raise money for the One to One charity. Stevie Wonder, Sha Na Na and Roberta Flack also appeared at the event. Lennon personally bought $60,000 worth of tickets which were given to volunteer fund-raisers. Several of the performances were later included on Lennon’s, Live in New York City album.

1972, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Municipal Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia.

1972, David Bowie performed at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

1974, The Ramones made one of their many appearances at CBGB in New York City.

1975, KC and the Sunshine Band went to number one on the US singles chart with, “Get Down Tonight.”

1975, Eric Clapton played at the Scope, in Norfolk, Virginia.

1975, Rod Stewart had his fifth UK number one album when Atlantic Crossing started a five-week run at the top of the charts.

1976, Aerosmith played at the International Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii.

1978, Patti Smith appeared at The Odeon, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1978, The Grateful Dead appeared at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.

1982, During a North American tour, Queen appeared at McNichols Arena, Denver, Colorado.

1986, Steve Winwood went to number one on the US singles chart with “Higher Love,” a number 13 hit in the UK.

1992, Appering at this year’s Reading Festival, England, Suede, Ride, Pavement, Public Enemy, Manic Street Preachers, (bassist Nicky Wire smashed his guitar in two and hurled it into the crowd, hitting a security guard who needed 16 stitches). This was one of the most famous in the festival’s history. Nirvana played what was to become their last UK concert, and one of their most famous. Kurt Cobain took to the stage in a wheelchair pushed by music journalist Everett True, parodying speculations about his mental health.

1995, Sterling Morrison, a founding member of the Velvet Underground died of cancer at his home in New York City two days after his 53rd birthday. The guitarist left the group in August 1971 and re-joined in 1992 for a European tour.

1995, Carly Simon and James Taylor performed live together in front of 10,000 fans on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. It was the first time they appeared live on the same stage since 1979. The former couple played their own solo sets before combining their efforts in raising money for the local agricultural society.

2013, A signed copy of John Lennon’s whimsical 1964 book In His Own Write sold for more than $5,600 on eBay. The book featured short stories, poems and drawings.

2014, Kate Bush followed her stage comeback by becoming the first woman to have eight albums in the UK charts at the same time. Two of the singer’s albums were in the top 10, and eight overall in the top 40. It came after she returned for her first live concerts for 35 years.

Born on August 30: Johnny Mann, American singer-songwriter, conductor (1928); John Phillips, The Mamas & the Papas (1935); John Peel, BBC Radio (1939); John McNally, English guitarist, vocalist, The Searchers (1941); Charles Colbert, American Breed (1944); Micky Moody guitar, Juicy Lucy, Whitesnake (1950);

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Today in Rock History – August 13

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1965, Jefferson Airplane made their live debut at San Francisco’s Matrix Club.

1965, Mike Smith, lead singer of The Dave Clark Five, suffered two broken ribs when he was pulled off the stage by fans. The group were in Chicago at the beginning of a US tour.

1965, The performed at The Marine Ballroom at the Central Pier in Morecambe, Lancashire, England.

1965, The Beatles arrived at Kennedy International Airport for a tour of North America. The set list for the tour was “Twist and Shout,” “She’s a Woman,” “I Feel Fine,” “Dizzy Miss Lizzie,” “Ticket to Ride,” “‘Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Baby’s in Black,” “Act Naturally,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Help!,” “I’m Down,” and “I Wanna Be Your Man.” The tour was not a happy one for The Beatles, John Lennon took to screaming off-microphone obscenities at the audiences.

1966, Lovin Spoonful started a three-week run at number one on the Billboard singles chart with “Summer In The City,” knocking of “Hanky Panky” by Tommy James and the Shondelles.

1966, Revolver, The Beatles seventh album release in three years, started a seven-week run at number one on the UK charts. Meanwhile, their Yesterday and Today album entered the third of a five-week run atop the US charts.

1967, The Who appeared at Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C. After the show, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle run over to the Ambassador to catch Jimi Hendrix’s set. When Hendrix sees Pete and John in the audience, he launches into a cover of “I Can’t Explain”.

1967, Fleetwood Mac made their live debut when they appeared at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Windsor. Also on the bill Jeff Beck, Cream, Small Faces, The Move, The Pink Floyd, Donovan and Chicken Shack.

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

1971, Saxophonist King Curtis Ousley was stabbed to death by a vagrant on the front steps of his New York home. Ousley had worked with John Lennon and also played on The Coasters “Yakety Yak.”

1971, John Lennon flew from Heathrow Airport to New York, he never set foot on British soil again.

1971, Pink Floyd played their first ever Australian date when they appeared at the Festival Hall in Melbourne.

1972, Hawkwind performed at the Rainbow Theatre, London.

1972, Ten Years After headlined the final day of the Reading Festival. Matching Mole, Quintessence, Stackridge, Status Quo, Stray, String Driven Thing, Sutherland Brothers, Vinegar Joe, and Wizzard were also on the bill.

1973, John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra played at the Wollman Skating Rink Theater in New York City.

1974, Rory Gallagher appeared at The Agora, in Cleveland, Ohio.

1975, The Grateful Dead performed at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. The show was broadcast on September 1st by the Metromedia Network.

1976, The Clash played a private gig for the press at Chalk Farm rehearsal studios, London.

1977, Yes scored their second UK number one album with their eighth studio album Going For The One. The album marked the return of keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who departed in 1974 over musical differences.

1977, Bachman Turner Overdrive split up.

1978, AC/DC appeared at Gusman Philharmonic Hall, Miami, Florida.

1980, Four masked robbers broke in to Todd Rundgren’s New York house and proceeded to steal Hi-Fi equipment and paintings after tying the musician up. It was reported that one of the intruders had been humming his hit “I Saw The Light.”

1980, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

1982, American soul singer Joe Tex died at his home in Navasota, Texas, following a heart attack, just five days after his 49th birthday. Had nine US Top 40 hits including the 1972 US number two single “I Gotcha.”

1983, KC and the Sunshine Band were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Give It Up.” The American disco group’s only UK chart topper spent three weeks at the top spot.

1992, Neil Diamond played the first of six sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York. Diamond would bring in over $40 (£25) million from touring this year, the second highest in the music industry.

1994, Woodstock ’94 was held in Saugerties, New York, attended by over 350,000 fans, the festival featured Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Aerosmith, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Tickets cost $135.00 (£89.00). Performers from the original Woodstock appearing at Woodstock ’94 were The Band, Santana, Joe Cocker, Country Joe McDonald, John Sebastian, surviving members of Sweetwater, and Crosby, Stills, & Nash. Additionally, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane, and Bob Weir, guitar of the Grateful Dead, all Woodstock alumni, performed with The Band.

2009, Guitarist Les Paul died in hospital in White Plains, New York at the age of 94 suffering from severe pneumonia. Paul is credited with developing one of the first solid-body electric guitars, which went on sale in 1952 and contributed to the birth of rock. He also developed other influential recording innovations such as multi-track recording and overdubbing. In the early 50s, Paul and his wife Mary Ford had a string of hits including “Mockin’ Bird Hill,” “How High the Moon,” and “Vaya Con Dios.”

Born on August 13: Cliff Fish, bass, Paper Lace (1949); Dan Fogelberg (1951); Hughie Thomasson,  singer, guitarist, Outlaws, Lynyrd Skynyrd (1952); Danny Bonaduce, The Partridge Family (1959)

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Today in Rock History – August 12

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1966, The Beatles performed two shows at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois. This was the first stop on what would turn out to be The Beatles’ final US tour. Support acts were the Remains, Bobby Hebb, Cyrkle, and the Ronettes.

1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at The Ambassador Theatre, Washington D.C.

1967, The Who played at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Before the show Keith Moon jumps off a pier into heavy surf and almost drowns.

1967, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown performed at the Royal Windsor Racecourse in Windsor, Berkshire, England.

1967, The Velvet Underground appeared at Boston Tea Party in Boston.

1967, The Grateful Dead headlined at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass played at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1968, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham played together for the first time when they rehearsed at a studio in Lisle Street in London’s West End. The first song they played was a version of “Train Kept A-Rollin’.” They also played “Smokestack Lightning” and a version of “I’m Confused,” which would become “Dazed And Confused.” Their first live dates in September, the band were billed as The New Yardbirds, and it was not until the following month when they started to use the name Led Zeppelin.

1970, Derek and the Dominoes appeared at the Speakeasy, London.

1970, Fleetwood Mac played the first of a five-night run at the Whisky A Go-Go in Hollywood, California.

1970, The last night of Pink Floyd’s festival tour – the Fete de St. Raphael, was held at a preserved Roman amphitheater in Frejus, St. Raphael, France.

1971, John & Yoko donated £1,000 ($1600) to the Clyde Shipbuilders Scottish Union fighting fund who were refusing to stop work at the Glasgow site after being made redundant.

1971, During a UK tour Queen played at the Tregye Hotel in Truro, England.

1972, Alice Cooper was at number one on the singles chart with “School’s Out.”

1972, Honky Chateau by Elton John entered the last of it’s five weeks as the number one album on the US charts.

1973, The Eagles, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young and the Santa Monica Flyers all appeared at the Corral Club in Topanga, California.

1974, Rory Gallagher performed at The Agora, Cleveland, Ohio.

1975, Eric Clapton played at the Coliseum in Denver, Colorado.

1976, Yes appeared at the Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky.

1976, Elton John’s Rock of the Westies tour stopped at Madison Square Garden, New York.

1977, Henri Padovani, guitarist with The Police quit the group after nine months leaving them to perform as a trio.

1978, The Commodores started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Three Times A Lady,” also number one in the UK and becoming Motown’s biggest British selling single.

1979, KISS performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Star Plaza Theatre, Merrillville, Indiana, in suburban Chicago.

1981, The Grateful Dead performed at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult played at the Scope, in Norfolk, Virginia

1985, Kyu Sakamoto was killed in a plane crash when JAL Flight 123, a 747, crashed and burned on a thickly wooded mountain about 60 miles northwest of Tokyo. He was 43. He had the 1963 US number one and UK number six single “‘Sukiyaki.” Sakamoto was the first Japanese artist to have a hit atop the US singles charts.

1986, Prince started a run of five nights at Wembley Arena, London, his first UK shows in five years.

1989, The two day Moscow Music Peace Festival was held at The Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russia. Western Acts who appeared included Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi, Skid Row and The Scorpions. This was the first time that an audience had been allowed to stand up and dance at a stadium rock concert in the Soviet Union. Previous to this, all concerts had to be seated.

1996, Alanis Morissette appeared at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Buffalo, New York with Radiohead as support.

2012, The London Olympics ended with a spectacular musical closing ceremony. The three-hour show featured some of the biggest names of British music from decades past, including the Spice Girls, George Michael, The Who, Take That, Muse, Jessie J, Emeli Sande, Elbow, Madness, The Pet Shop Boys, One Direction, Ray Davies, Liam Gallagher, and Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen.

Born on August 12: Buck Owens (1929); Ron Mael, keyboards, Sparks and Halfnelson (1945); Mark Knofler (1949); August Darnell, singer, Kid Creole And The Coconuts (1951); Pat Metheny (1955); Roy Hay guitar, vocals, Culture Club (1961); Sir Mix-A-Lot, rapper (1963)

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Song Of The Day – The Jukebox Series #7 – Paul & Linda McCartney – “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” b/w “Too Many People” – Apple Records 45 1837 1971 (M1/N1)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #7 – Paul & Linda McCartney  – “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” b/w “Too Many People”  – Apple Records 45 1837 1971 (M1/N1)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

Lyrics were never his strong suit…and the lyrics from “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” are at best incoherent. However, you’d be hard pressed to argue with the musical prowess of Paul McCartney especially on today’s Song Of The Day.

Today’s single was culled from Paul McCartney’s second solo album Ram, the only album in his vast catalog credited to Paul & Linda McCartney. The album was recorded in New York City with backing musicians David Spinozza on guitar, Hugh McCracken (who replaced Spinozza for the second half of the sessions) on guitar and future Wings member Denny Seiwell on drums.

The construction of “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” picks up where the second side of The Beatles’ Abbey Road left off. Here we have McCartney dabbling in multi part suites of music, and the song is an amalgam of its many unfinished parts. McCartney wouldn’t perfect this way of song construction until “Band On The Run” two years later.

The song was inspired by Paul’s real Uncle Albert Kendall who married his Aunt Millie. Uncle Albert would habitually get drunk and then read passages from the Bible out loud. The admiral of the song was inspired by American Naval Admiral William “Bull” Halsey,” however Paul’s use of Admiral Halsey’s name was chosen because of the way it sounded and had nothing to do with who Halsey was or what he did.

The single was McCartney’s first chart topper away from The Beatles and it won the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists in 1971. It was never released as a single in the UK, where they got “The Back Seat Of My Car” instead as the first single. The song’s flugelhorn part was played by Jazz be-bop trumpet player Marvin Stamm who never met McCartney in person, as his parts were recorded in London and overdubbed onto the master in New York. The New York Philharmonic Orchestra was also brought in for the arrangement.

The flip of the single is “Too Many People” which is also the opening track on Ram. After the acrimonious split of The Beatles, Lennon and McCartney cryptically addressed each other in lines from their songs. Several lines from “Too Many People” were seen as snipes at John Lennon, like the line “Too many people preaching practices.” Paul: “[John had] been doing a lot of preaching, and it got up my nose a little bit.” The line “You took your lucky break and broke it in too” was also seen as addressing McCartney’s former writing partner with the lucky break referring to being a member of The Beatles and his breaking it in two about their breakup.

Lennon retorted on his next album Imagine with the scathing “How Do You Sleep.” The album also included a postcard photo in early pressings depicting a smiling Lennon holding a pig’s ears in the same pose as McCartney holding the ram’s horns on the cover of Ram.

The sessions for Ram also produced McCartney’s first solo single “Another Day,” as well as early versions of “Big Barn Bed,” “Little Lamb Dragonfly” and “Get On The Right Thing” which turned up on McCartney’s 1973 album Red Rose Speedway. McCartney released an all-instrumental version of the Ram album in 1977 under the pseudonym of Percy “Thrills” Thrillington.

Ram was roundly panned by the critics when it was released in 1971; however it has grown in stature over the years. I’ve always loved the album and it is still one of my all-time favorite records after all these years. As far as “musical comfort food” goes, this one has been a staple in my diet since it came out – very tasty, always reliable with plenty of room for multiple helpings.

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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Today in Rock History – July 17

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1967, American jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane died from liver cancer at Huntington Hospital in Long Island, New York, aged 40. Worked with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie. Released the 1964 album ‘A Love Supreme’.

1967, The Who performed at the Agrodome, Vancouver, Canada.

1967, The Beatles single “All You Need Is Love” / “Baby You’re A Rich Man, ” originally called “One Of The Beautiful People,” was released in the US. It became The Beatles 14th No.1.

1968, The animated film Yellow Submarine premiered at The London Pavilion. The Beatles made a cameo appearance in the film but didn’t supply their own voices for the characters.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band played at the  Municipal Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia.

1972, In Montreal, a bomb destroys several speaker cones inside an equipment truck belonging to the touring Rolling Stones. The musical terrorist responsible remains at large.

1974, The Moody Blues opened what they claimed was the first Quadraphonic recording studio in the world.

1974, The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service orders John Lennon to leave the country within 60 days.

1975, Bob Marley and the Wailers played the first of two nights at The Lyceum, London, and both nights were recorded for the November released ‘live’ album, featuring the single ‘No Woman No Cry.’

1976, The Grateful Dead played the fifth of six shows that week at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, California.

1978, Simple Minds made their live debut at The Satellite Club, Glasgow.

1979, Guitarist Gary Moore leaves Thin Lizzy, to be replaced by future Ultravox member and “Do They Know It’s Christmas” songwriter Midge Ure.

1996, Chas Chandler died aged 57 at Newcastle General Hospital, England, where he was undergoing tests related to an aortic aneurysm. He had been the bass player with The Animals and manager of Slade, Nick Drake and Jimi Hendrix.

Born on this day: Spencer Davis (1939); Wolfgang Flur, Kraftwerk (1947); Geezer Butler, bass, Black Sabbath (1949) Phoebe Snow and Chet McCracKen,  The Doobie Brothers (1952)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Long, Long, Long” by The Beatles

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Long, Long, Long” by The Beatles

One of George Harrison’s most underrated songs and a highlight of The White Album for sure. The song was actually recorded by “The Threetles” since John Lennon was not present for any of the sessions.

Lennon’s absence kind of illustrates the short shrift that Harrison’s songs were given during Beatle recording sessions, considering that songs like “Something,” “Not Guilty” and “Sour Milk Sea” were left off The White Album and “All Things Must Pass” “Isn’t It A Pity” and “Let It Down” were left off of Let It Be in favor of much weaker material like “Dig It,” “Maggie Mae” and “Good Night.”

The rattling heard during the psychedelic meltdown at the end of the track was from a bottle of wine that was left on top of a speaker during the recording. Happy “mistakes” like this were often left in making the recording more interesting and more psychedelic. “Long, Long, Long” is one in a long line of Harrison love songs that can be directed at either his wife or the Lord.

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 – July 1

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1966, Janis Joplin Moves to a house in Lagunitas in the San Geronimo Valley, Marin County, California with members of Big Brother, their wives and girlfriends.

1967, The Association scored their second and last number one single with “Windy.”

1967, The Mama’s & The Papa’s performed at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Swan, Yardley, Birmingham, England.

1967, The Beatles started a 15-week run at number one on the album chart with Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the group’s 10th chart topping album. It was recorded between early December 1966 and mid-April 1967.

1968, James Brown played at the Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island.

1968, The Band released their debut album Music From Big Pink. The album, which features their first hit single “The Weight,” was recorded in studios in New York and Los Angeles in 1968. The group, originally known as The Hawks, became Bob Dylan’s backing band on his 1966 tour.

1968, John Lennon opens an exhibition of his drawings titled “You Are Here.”

1969, The Allman Brothers Band appear at the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee.

1969, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and family were involved in a car accident in Golspie, Scotland. Both John and Yoko needed hospital treatment. Lennon later had the car crushed into a cube and exhibited it on his lawn at Tittenhurst Park.

1969, Sam Phillips, the man who first recorded Elvis, sells his label Sun Records. Sun had released Elvis classics like “That’s All Right” and “Blue Moon of Kentucky.”

1970, Jimi Hendrix records for the first time in his New York studio Electric Ladyland.

1970, Casey Kasem’s syndicated American Top 40 radio show debuts in several markets around the U.S.

1971, Yes performed at San Antonio Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas.

1971, The Who’s “unpublicized” tour of the UK resumes at the Assembly Rooms in Worthing, England.

1972, Neil Diamond went to number one on the US singles chart with “Song Sung Blue,” his second chart topper. It went to number 14 in the UK.

1973, Slade and The Sensational Alex Harvey Band appeared at Earl’s Court London, tickets cost £1.00-£2.00 ($1.50 – $3.00.) Special trains ran form Brighton, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester to take fans to the show.

1973, Bob Dylan releases his soundtrack to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

1973, The Grateful Dead played at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California.

1973, Jethro Tull performed at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1974, Bob Marley & the Wailers release Burnin’.

1975, Ringo Starr divorces his wife, Maureen Cox.

1975, 10cc were at number one on the singles chart with “I’m Not In Love.” The instrumental break featured the repeated spoken phrase: “Be quiet, big boys don’t cry…”, which was uttered by Kathy Warren, the receptionist at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, Cheshire where the band recorded the track.

1976, Elton John played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1977, ZZ Top appeared at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu, Hawaii.

1977, During a North American tour, Pink Floyd played the first of four sold out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1978, The Rolling Stones performed at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio.

1979, Van Halen appeared at the  Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.

1980, Roxy Music performed at Rhine Neckar Halle, Heidelburg, Germany.

1981, Rushton Moreve, bassist with Steppenwolf, was killed in motorcycle accident in Santa Barbara, California, aged 32. He co-wrote their hit “Magic Carpet Ride” with lead singer John Kay. Moreve left the band in late 1968.

1983, A New Jersey based quintet calling themselves Bon Jovi were signed to Phonogram’s Mercury records.

1989, Lou Reed, Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, The Robert Cray Band, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Tanita Tikaram, Pixies, R.E.M., and Texas all appeared at the Rock Torhout Festival, Torhout, Belgium.

1995, DJ Wolfman Jack died of a heart attack. He was the master of ceremonies for the rock ‘n’ roll generation of the ’60s on radio, and later on television during the ’70s. He had a cameo in the film American Graffiti.

1995, R.E.M. The Cure, Therapy, Offspring, PJ Harvey, dEUS, Senser, Bodycount, Channel Zero, Jeff Buckley, Spearhead, Belly, Morphine and The Cranberries all appeared at the Rock Torhout Festival, Torhout, Belgium.

1999, Jamaican reggae singer Dennis Brown died aged 42. The official cause of his death was a collapsed lung. During his career, he recorded more than 75 albums and had the 1979 UK number 14 single “Money In My Pocket.” Bob Marley cited Brown as his favorite singer, naming him “The Crown Prince of Reggae.”

2005, Four Tops singer Renaldo “Obie” Benson died aged 69 in a Detroit hospital from lung cancer. He was diagnosed after having a leg amputated due to circulation problems. The Four Tops sold over 50 million records and had hits including “Reach Out (I’ll be There)” and “I Can’t Help Myself.” Benson also co-wrote “What’s Going On” which became a number two hit for Marvin Gaye.

2005,  R&B and soul singer-songwriter, as well as record producer Luther Vandross died at the age of 54 at the JFK Medical Centre in New Jersey, two years after suffering a major stroke. His “Never Too Much,” was a number one R&B hit, worked with Diana Ross, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey and David Bowie. Vandross had won four Grammys for his final album Dance With My Father.

2006, Roger Waters, Texas, Starsailor, The Who, Razorlight and Primal Scream all appeared at the two day Hyde Park Calling festival in London.

2009, A week after Michael Jackson’s death, The King Of Pop ruled the Top Ten of Billboard’s album chart. Atop the charts was Number Ones, followed by The Essential Michael Jackson in second. Thriller was third, and and Off The Wall was fourth. The Jackson 5’s Ultimate Collection held the fifth spot, Bad was number six, Dangerous was seventh, Greatest Hits – HIStory – Vol. 1 came in at eight and Michael’s Ultimate Collection occupied the ninth position. Collectively, Jackson’s solo albums sold 415,000 copies for the week, 58% of which were digital downloads. The week before his tragic death, his titles sold a combined 10,000 units.

Born on July 1: Willie Dixon (1915); Delaney Bramlett, Delaney & Bonnie(1939); Debbie Harry (1945); John Ford, The Strawbs (1948); Fred Schneider, B-52’s (1951); Dan Aykroyd (1952); Roddy Bottum, American singer, keyboards, Faith No More, Imperial Teen (1963);  Sufjan Stevens, American singer-songwriter, guitarist (1975)

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