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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 – 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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Today in Rock History – June 27

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1966, Pete Townshend and The Who’s co-manager Chris Stamp fly to New York City, the first trip by any member of The Who to America. Shortly after his arrival, Pete attends a luncheon for Herman’s Hermits who are beginning their 1966 U.S. tour. A reporter from Datebook magazine gets an interview from an irritable Pete, while he is photographed by Linda Eastman.”I don’t know why I’m here, at somebody else’s luncheon…Two of your lousy record companies haven’t been able to get us a hit in America. Without a hit record, we can’t get a visa to perform.” When a girl recognizes him and asks if Keith is there because her brother wanted Keith’s drumsticks, Pete chirps, “He’s not here. And if he were, I’m quite sure he wouldn’t give you his drumsticks.”

1967, Pink Floyd were in Studio 3, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, St. John Wood, London in recording sessions for Piper At The Gates of Dawn.

1968, Elvis Presley appeared on an NBC TV show that was billed as his “comeback special.” The show featured the king performing on a small, square stage, surrounded by a mostly female audience. Presley was outfitted in black leather and performed many of his early hits.

1968, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles recorded seven takes of “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” for the upcoming album The Beatles, better known as The White Album.

1969, During a North American tour Jimi Hendrix appeared at Boston Gardens, Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, The Doors performed at the Forum, Mexico City, Mexico.

1970, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, Canned Heat, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Airplane, Johnny Winter, Frank Zappa And The Mothers of Invention, Dr. John, The Moody Blues and Fairport Convention all appeared at the three-day Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in Bath, England.

1970, The Jackson Five started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “The Love You Save,” the group’s third chart topper of the year.

1970, Traffic appeared at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario,

1970, The Trans-Continental Pop Festival (better known as the Festival Express) set off. The tour was unique in that rather than flying to each city, most of the acts traveled on a chartered Canadian National train. The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers and, Buddy Guy Blues Band all traveled together on the train, playing shows in Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Calgary.

1970, Freddie Mercury made his live debut with Smile, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor’s group, at Truro City Hall, Cornwall, England.

1971, The Fillmore East in New York closed its doors. The final concert took place with The Allman Brothers Band, The J. Geils Band, Albert King, and special guests – Edgar Winter’s White Trash, Mountain, The Beach Boys, and Country Joe McDonald  in an invitation-only performance.

1976, The culmination of lengthy legal battle that began in 1973, John Lennon finally received his green card, granting him permanent residency in the US.

1980, John Bonham, drummer with Led Zeppelin collapsed on stage during a gig in Nuremberg, West Germany.

1981, Motorhead scored their only UK number one album with No Sleep Til Hammersmith. The live album was recorded at shows in Leeds and Newcastle during their Short, Sharp Pain In The Neck tour in 1981. The name of the tour was a reference to the injury sustained by Phil Taylor when he was dropped on his head during some after-show horseplay. Despite the title of the album, the London venue the Hammersmith Odeon was not played on the tour.

1981, The Who’s “Don’t Let Go The Coat” backed with “You” hits the US charts. It peaks at number 84 in Billboard, and number 77 in Cash Box.

1987, Madonna played the first date on the North American leg of her Who’s That Girl World Tour at the Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida. The 39 date tour supported her third studio album, True Blue, released in 1986, as well as the soundtrack to Who’s That Girl.

1992, Michael Jackson played the first night on his Dangerous World tour at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany. The tour consisted of 69 concerts to approximately 3.9 million fans across three continents. All profits made from the tour were donated to various charities including the Heal the World Foundation, Jackson’s main reason for conducting the tour.

1994, Aerosmith became the first major band to let fans download a full new track free from the Internet.

1997, Radiohead, Cast, The Bluetones, Manson, The Chemical Brothers, Ash, The Seahorses, Smashing Pumpkins, The Prodigy, Beck, Sheryl Crow, Sting, Dodgy, Travis, Ray Davies, Kula Shaker, Steve Winwood all appeared at the three-day Glastonbury Festival.

2002, One day before the scheduled first show of The Who’s 2002 US tour, bass player John Entwistle, died aged 57 in his hotel room in Las Vegas. The medical examiner determined that death was due to a heart attack induced by an undetermined amount of cocaine.

2003, R.E.M. David Gray, Suede, The Music, Mogwai, De La Soul, Echo and The Bunnymen, Inspiral Carpets and The Darkness all appeared at the UK Glastonbury Festival.

2008, Kings of Leon, The Fratellis, Editors, The Gossip, The Feeling, KT Tunstall, Kate Nash, Jay Z, Amy Winehouse, The Raconteurs, James Blunt, Crowded House, Seasick Steve, Martha Wainwright, The Verve, Leonard Cohen, The Ting Tings, Goldfrapp, Neil Diamond, Pete Doherty, Scouting for Girls, Mark Ronson, Duffy, The Zutons, Groove Armada, and John Mayer all appeared at three-day UK Glastonbury Festival.

2009, Black Eyed Peas went to number one on the US album charts with The E.N.D., the group’s fifth studio album. The album’s lead single, “Boom Boom Pow” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks, the second single, “I Gotta Feeling” spent 14 weeks at number one.

2015, Chris Squire, the bass guitarist and co-founder of 1970s British progressive rock band Yes, died at the age of 67 after battling leukemia. He was the only member to appear on each of their 21 studio albums, released from 1969 to 2014.

Born on June 27: Bruce Johnston (1944); Joey Covington, American drummer, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship (1945);  Camile Baudoin, American guitarist, The Radiators (1948); Gilson Lavis, drums, Chuck Berry, Squeeze, Jools Holland (1951); Lisa Germano, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, John Mellencamp, Simple Minds, David Bowie, Neil Finn (1958); Jeffrey Lee Pierce, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Gun Club (1958); Dawud Wharnsby, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer (1972); Leigh Nash, singer, Sixpence None The Richer (1976);  Jennifer Goodridge, American keyboard player, Your Enemies Friends (1980)

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Today in Rock History – June 13

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1967, The Bee Gees appeared live on the UK TV show As You Like It. The group were promoting their debut single “New York Mining Disaster 1941.”

1968, Quicksilver Messenger Service and The Hallucinations performed at Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, The Who stage the Hollywood premiere of Tommy, performing the rock opera at the Hollywood Palladium as part of the “Magic Circus” with fellow acts Poco, and the Bonzo Dog Band. Attending the show are Janis Joplin, Spirit, Mama Cass Elliot, David Crosby, Peter Tork and The Turtles.

1969, The Rolling Stones held a photo call in Hyde Park to introduce new guitarist Mick Taylor. The 20 year-old former John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers member made his live debut with the Stones the following month at a free concert at Hyde Park London.

1969, Glen Campbell played at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1969,  Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Sam & Dave, and the Staple Singers perform at the Soul Bowl ’69, held at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.

1969, The Grateful Dead performed at the Convention Center in Fresno, California.

1969, Led Zeppelin play at Town Hall in Birmingham, the first of eleven shows in England and France before returning to the US. Supporting acts were Liverpool Scene and Blodwyn Pig

1969, Pink Floyd played at the Great Hall, Devonshire House at the University of Exeter, in Exeter, England.

1970, The Beatles started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “The Long And Winding Road,” the group’s 20th chart topper. The album Let It Be started a four-week run at number one the US album chart on the same day.

1970, Grand Funk Railroad, supported by Steel Mill, featuring Bruce Springsteen, appeared at the Ocean Ice Palace in Bricktown, New Jersey, tickets cost $5.00 (£3.33.)

1970, Christine Perfect says she will retire from music following the release of her self-titled solo album. However, she later becomes a member of her husband, John McVie’s, band, Fleetwood Mac.

1971, Grin, led by Nils Lofgrin played at the Alexandria Roller Rink, Alexandria, Virginia.

1972, The Rolling Stones performed at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1972, Clyde McPhatter, original lead vocalist with The Drifters, died of a heart attack in New York. He joined Billy Ward & the Dominoes in 1950, formed The Drifters in 1953, and had several solo hits including 1962’s “Lover Please.” He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

1973, David Bowie played at the Gaumont State Theatre, London.

1974, King Crimson appeared Cow Palace in San Francisco.

1974, David Bowie, Corinne “Coco” Schwab., Stuey George and driver Jim James leave the MainMan suite at the Sherry Netherland Hotel in New York to begin the nine hour trip by limousine to Montreal for the start of the “Diamond Dogs” tour.

1975, John Lennon made his last ever TV appearance when he appeared on Salute To Sir Lew Grade, performing “Slippin And Slidin,” and “Imagine.”

1976, Aerosmith appeared at the Civic Center, Charleston, West Virginia.

1977, Crosby Stills and Nash performed at the Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1977, Rush played at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool, England.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1980, Before a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game, Pat Benatar performs a short set and dances with the team mascot, the Phillie Phanatic.

1980, “Roadie” opens across America. Appearing in the film are VH1 giants Meat Loaf, Blondie, Pat Benatar, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, and Styx.

1980, The Grateful Dead performs at the Seattle Center Coliseum, in Seattle, Washington.

1981, Smokey Robinson was at number one on the UK singles chart with a song he wrote in the late 60’s. “Being With You.” It was his first solo chart topper.

1984, Yes appeared at the Falkoner Teater, Copenhagen, Denmark.

1988, The biggest charity Rock concert since Live Aid in 1985 took place at London’s Wembley Stadium, to rally against South African apartheid. Among the performers were Sting, Stevie Wonder, Bryan Adams, George Michael, Whitney Houston and Dire Straits. Half the money raised went towards anti-apartheid activities in Britain, the rest was donated to children’s charities in southern Africa.

1992, Erasure started a five-week run at number one in the UK with the Abba-Esque EP. The release featured four covers of Abba hits and Vince Clark & Andy Bell dressed up as the two female members of Abba for the videos.

1992, Billy Ray Cyrus started a 17-week run at number one on the US album chart with Some Gave All. His debut album featured the world-wide breakthrough song “Achy Breaky Heart,” which was originally recorded as “Don’t Tell My Heart” by The Marcy Brothers on their 1991 self-titled album.

1995, Alanis Morissette released her studio album, Jagged Little Pill. The album went on to sell over 30 million copies world-wide, and made Morissette the first female Canadian to score a US number one album. Jagged Little Pill featured the massive hits “You Oughta Know,” “Hand in My Pocket,” “Ironic,” and “You Learn.”

2003, The Arctic Monkeys made their live debut at The Grapes pub in Sheffield, England. They received £27 ($46) from ticket sales.

2015, Rapper MC Supreme was killed in Malibu, California when a pickup truck hit his parked car on the shoulder of the Pacific Coast Highway. The 47-year-old “Black in America” performer, whose real name was Dewayne Coleman, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the truck was arrested on suspicion of DUI.

Born on June 13: Uriel Jones, session drummer, the Funk Brothers (1934); Bobby Freeman, singer (1940); Marv Tarplin, American guitarist, songwriter, the Miracles (1941);  Malcolm McDowell, actor  (1943); Dennis Locorriere, guitar, Dr Hook (1949); Howard Leese, American guitarist, producer, Bad Company, Heart (1951); Paul De Lisle, American bass player, songwriter, Smash Mouth (1963); Denise Pearson, English singer-songwriter, Five Star (1968); Rivers Cuomo, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, Weezer, Avant Garde, Homie (1970);

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Today in Rock History – June 12

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1964, The Beatles arrived in Adelaide, Australia and were greeted by an estimated 250,000 fans, who lined the ten mile route from the airport to the city center. The group gave their first four shows in Australia at the Centennial Hall, Adelaide over two nights, playing: I Saw Her Standing There, I Want To Hold Your Hand, All My Loving, She Loves You, Till There Was You, Roll Over Beethoven, Can’t Buy Me Love, This Boy, Long Tall Sally and Twist And Shout. Temporary member Jimmy Nicol was standing in for Ringo on drums who was recovering from having his tonsils removed.

1965, The Beatles were included in the Queen’s birthday honors list to each receive the MBE. Protests poured into Buckingham Palace, MP Hector Dupuis said “British Royalty has put me on the same level as a bunch of vulgar numbskulls.”

1965, The Supremes scored their fifth consecutive chart topping single when “Back In My Arms Again” went to number one on the US charts.

1965, The Who appeared at The Town Hall, Dudley, Birmingham. England.

1965, Sonny & Cher make their television debut on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.

1966, The Dave Clark Five made a record 12th appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1966, Pink Floyd made their last appearance at the Marquee Club in Wardour Street, London, England. However, it was at this show that future co-manager Peter Jenner saw the band live for the first time. Floyd went on to sign a management contract with Peter Jenner and Andrew King on October 31st.

1967, Bob Dylan’s album Greatest Hits peaked at number ten in the US charts. The cover photograph of the album was taken by Rowland Scherman at Dylan’s November 28th, 1965, concert in Washington, D.C., winning the 1967 Grammy award for Best Album Cover, Photography.

1968, Speedway, starring Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra, premieres in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1969, Raven and Johnny Winter played at Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts.

1970, Bob Seger appeared at the Uptown Palladium 12 Theatre‎ in Birmingham, Michigan.

1970, Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band performed at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.

1971, Pink Floyd played at the Palais des Sports in lyon France. The show included the song “Atom Heart Mother,” performed with the addition of a 20-piece choir, three trombones, three trumpets, and one tuba.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band @ Eastown Theater, Detroit, Michigan.

1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono release their album “Some Time in New York City.”

1972, With the help of her mother,  Ronnie Spector left her husband Phil’s Beverly Hills mansion for the last time, leaving behind her adopted sons, three year old Donté and six year old twins, Louis and Gary. Within days she filed for a divorce that would be granted in 1974.

1973, David Bowie appeared at Central Hall, Chatham, England.

1974, KISS played at I.M.A. Sports Arena, Flint, Michigan.

1975, The Rolling Stones performed at the Boston Garden, Boston.

1976, The Who, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Little Feat, Outlaws and Streetwalkers all appeared at Swansea City Football Club, Swansea, Wales, Tickets cost £4 ($7).

1976, ZZ Top appeared at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1977, Bad Company played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1977, Genesis performed at the Palais de Sports, Paris .

1978, Playing live around the UK, Dire Straits at Erics, Liverpool. The Thompson Twins at The Limit in Sheffield, and The Jam at King George’s Hall, Blackburn.

1979, The Police appeared at The Locarno, Bristol, England, supported by The Cramps.

1981, Bob Dylan performed at the Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1982, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt and Gary ‘US’ Bonds all appeared at a rally for nuclear disarmament in Central Park, New York to over 450,000 fans.

1982, Adam Ant was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Goody Two Shoes,” his third and last chart topper.

1984, Rush performed at the Barton Coliseum, Little Rock, Arkansas.

1987, The Grateful Dead appeared at the County Fairgrounds, Ventura, California.

1989, The Elvis Presley Autoland Museum opened at Graceland. The museum contained over 30 cars which were owned by Presley including his famous Pink Cadillac, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Stutz Blackhawks, a 1975 Dino Ferrari, a 1956 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible, and the red MG that Elvis drove in the film Blue Hawaii.

1993, UB40 had their third UK chart topping single with (“I Can’t Help), Falling In Love With You,” a number one hit for Elvis Presley in 1962.

2003, Van Morrison, Queen, Little Richard and Phil Collins were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in a New York City ceremony.

2005, Pink Floyd announced they would reunite with former bassist Roger Waters, who left the band in 1985, on July 2nd for the Live 8 London concert. This would be the first time the band had played together as a quartet since The Wall tour in 1981.

2008, Amy Winehouse performed an exclusive gig at a Moscow art gallery for Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich and his girlfriend Dasha Zhukova. It was reported that the singer was paid £1m ($1.7 million) for the gig at the launch of The Garage gallery, which has been set up by Ms. Zhukova.

Born on June 12: Chick Corea; UK folk singer Roy Harper; Reg Presley, singer, The Troggs (1941); Barry Bailey, guitar, Atlanta Rhythm Section (1948); Brad Delp, Boston and Bun E Carlos, Cheap Trick (1951); Pete Fardon, bass, The Pretenders (1952); John Linnell,  They Might Be Giants (1959)

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Today in Rock History – June 6

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1965, Herman’s Hermits play The Ed Sullivan Show.

1965, The Rolling Stones released the single “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” on the Decca label in the US. The song also featured on the American version of the Rolling Stones’ fourth studio album, Out of Our Heads, released that July.

1965, The Who played at St. Joseph’s Hall in London.

1966, Roy Orbison’s first wife, Claudette, was killed when a truck pulled out of a side road and collided with the motorbike that she and her husband were riding on in Gallatin, Texas, she was 25.

1966, The Who head from Sweden to Denmark, flying into Copenhagen. That night Keith Moon and John Entwistle go drinking at the Carousel Club and sit in for a set with The Tremeloes.

1968, Screaming Lord Sutch appeared at the Freehold Hullabaloo in Freehold, New Jersey. Sutch was touring the East Coast in a old custom-painted Rolls Royce hearse. The support band was The Castiles, with Bruce Springsteen on vocals).

1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Soul Survivors appeared at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.

1969, Rod Stewart signs as a solo artist to Mercury Records.

1970, Christie were at number one on the singles chart with “Yellow River,” the group’s only chart topper. Written by Jeff Christie for the Tremeloes who turned it down, so he recorded it himself.

1970, Felix Cavaliere & The Rascals played at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

1970, Syd Barrett played his first gig since leaving Pink Floyd at the Extraveganza ’70, at London’s Olympia. He was joined on stage by Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.

1970, This is the third of a four night residency for the Grateful Dead at San Francisco’s Fillmore West.

1970, The Doors appeared at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia.

1971, John Lennon and Yoko Ono jammed live on stage with Frank Zappa at The Filmore East in New York. Some of these recordings were released in 1972, on John Lennon’s third post-Beatles album, Some Time in New York City.

1971, This date was the last broadcast of The Ed Sullivan Show. Ed’s final musical guests are Gladys Knight & the Pips.

1972, David Bowie releases his album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.

1973, King Crimson played at Ellis Auditorium, Memphis, Tennessee.

1974, Billy Swan records his chart topping song “I Can Help.”

1975, Pink Floyd fly to America for a tour. It would end in disaster when an addled Roger Waters spits on the audience. The event would serve as the inspiration for writing The Wall in an attempt to exorcise his demons.

1975, The Rolling Stones appeared at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri.

1976, Genesis performed at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

1977, Queen appeared at Earls Court in London, England.

1977, Students at UCLA are shocked when Stevie Wonder appears as a guest lecturer, talking about his experiences with Motown and then performing music by way of illustration.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.

1979, Def Leppard played at Crookes Workingman’s Club in Sheffield. The gig was reviewed in UK music paper Sounds and led to a recording contract with Phonogram Records.

1981, Van Halen appeared at the Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.

1982, Tom Petty, Crosby Stills & Nash, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks and Jackson Browne all appeared at The Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California to a crowd of 85,000 fans at the six hour Peace Sunday, We Have A Dream antinuclear concert. Dylan was joined onstage with Joan Baez and duetted with her on “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “With God On Our Side.” The show was partly broadcast on ABC TV’s Entertainment Tonight program on the same day.

1984, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Agora Ballroom,  a “cavernous” former bowling alley in an industrial area in Hartford, Connecticut.

1986, A&R man Dick Rowe died of diabetes. Rowe became famous for not signing The Beatles to Decca records and made the classic quote “Nobody cares about guitar group’s anymore.” He did however sign The Rolling Stones to Decca.

2003, Keyboard player with The Animals Dave Rowberry died aged 62. He replaced Alan Price who left in 1965. The Animals had the 1964 UK and US number one single “House Of The Rising Sun.”

2006, Billy Preston died of kidney failure. The Grammy-winning keyboard player collaborated with some of the greatest names in the music industry, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Nat King Cole, Little Richard, Ray Charles, George Harrison, Elton John, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan.

Born on June 6: Levi Stubbs, The Four Tops (1936); Gary “US” Bonds (1939); Clarence White, The Byrds (1944); and Steve Vai, guitarist, Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, Whitesnake (1960)

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Today in Rock History- May 26

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1964, Marianne Faithful recorded the Mick Jagger and Keith Richards song “As Tears Go By,” accompanied by future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page on guitar and John Paul Jones on bass.

1965, The Isley Brothers release their single “Twist and Shout.”

1966, The Rolling Stones were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Paint It Black,” their sixth chart topping single.

1966, The Who were at the Locarno Ballroom in Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester, England.

1966, Recording began for The Beatles’  “Yellow Submarine” at Abbey Road studios in London. Producer George Martin was not available due to a bout with food poisoning. The idea for the song came to Paul McCartney late one evening. “The color yellow came to me, and a submarine came to me,” he has stated. Both John Lennon and Donovan contributed to the lyrics. It was a melody that Paul felt would suit Ringo perfectly.

1968, Pink Floyd, Blonde On Blonde and The Pretty Things all appeared at the OZ Magazine benefit at the Middle Earth Club, Covent Garden, London, England. OZ was a satirical humor magazine, founded by Richard Neville in 1963, and based in Sydney, Australia. In its second and better-known incarnation it became a counter-culture magazine, based in London from 1967 to 1973.

1968, US blues artist Little Willie John died in prison after being convicted of manslaughter. H co-wrote and was the first to record  “Fever,” covered by Peggy Lee in 1958, and “Need Your Love So Bad” covered by Fleetwood Mac. James Brown recorded a tribute album Thinking Of Little Willie John… And A Few Other Nice Things.

1969, John and Yoko began an eight-day “bed in,” in room 1742 of The Hotel La Reine Elizabeth, Montreal, Canada, to promote world peace. They recorded “Give Peace a Chance” in the hotel room, during which Petula Clark can be heard on the chorus. The song was credited to Lennon & McCartney, even though Paul had nothing to do with the record.

1969, The Hollies record “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” with a young Elton John providing piano.

1969, Simon & Garfunkel’s Bookends goes to number one on the American album chart, knocking their own Graduate soundtrack out of the top spot.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Mile High Raceway in Denver, Colorado.

1972, Ike and Tina Turner appeared at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

Mott the Hoople

1972, Mott The Hoople was on  the verge of splitting up, when David Bowie offered them two of his new songs, “Suffragette City,” which they turned down and “All The Young Dudes,” which they recorded. The song gave the group a number three UK and US Top 40 hit.

1972, The first day of the four day UK festival The Great Western Express near Lincoln featuring The Faces, Joe Cocker, Humble Pie, Slade, The Groundhogs, Ry Cooder, Don McLean, Brewers Droop, plus a special appearance by Monty Python.

1973, The Beatles “1967-1970″album went to number one on the chart.

1973, The Edgar Winter Group went to number one on the singles chart with “Frankenstein,” the bands only chart topper, and a number 18 hit in the UK. The group featured former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer.

1974, KISS performed at Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington.

1975, Rush appeared at the Paramount Theatre, Portland, Oregon.

1976, Aerosmith played at Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

1977, Billy Powell, singer with The O’Jays died of cancer.  Originally known as The Triumphs, and then The Mascots. They took the name “The O’Jays,” in tribute to radio disc jockey Eddie O’Jay.

1977, The Grateful Dead performed at the Civic Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

1978, On Irish television this day, a program called Youngline a series for young people highlighting their interests. It included a feature on a new pop group, The Hype, soon to be renamed U2.

1978, Neil Young appeared at The Boarding House in San Francisco.

1979, “Sunday Girl” gave Blondie their second UK number one hit single. The track was taken from the group’s Parallel Lines, which went on to become the biggest selling album of 1979.

1979, The first day of the two day Loch Lomond Festival featured The Stranglers, Dr Feelgood, Skids, Third World, The Dickies. Day two featured The Average White Band, Buzzcocks, Rockpile and The Boomtown Rats, who played “I Don’t Like Mondays” live for the first time.

1983, David Bowie performed at the Amphithéâtre de Fréjus, Fréjus, France.

1994, Michael Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley. The couple divorced in 1995. They had first met when the seven-year-old Presley attended several of Jackson’s concerts in Las Vegas.

1995, The Rolling Stones played two semi-acoustic concerts at the Paradiso Amserdam over two days. Keith Richards later said that the Paradiso concerts were the best live shows the Stones ever did. The venue is housed in a converted former church building that dates from the nineteenth century, subsequently squatted in 1967 by hippies who wanted to convert the church into an entertainment club. Artists who have recorded concerts at the Paradiso include Joy Division, Willie Nelson, Phish, Nirvana, The Cure, Lenny Kravitz, Nick Cave, Dave Matthews and Amy Winehouse.

2002, The first episode of At Home With The Osbournes was shown on MTV in the UK. Already becoming a hit in the the US, the show focused on the madman, his wife Sharon, and two of their three children. Oblivious to the camera, they bicker, squabble, curse and hang out backstage at Ozzy shows.

2009, A US judge ended a bitter two-year battle over the late soul singer James Brown’s estate. Judge Jack Early ruled half of his assets will go to a charitable trust, a quarter to his wife and young son, and the rest to his six adult children. Brown’s family and wife Tomi Rae Hynie Brown, had fought over his fortune since he died of heart failure in 2006.

Born on May 26: Peggy Lee (1920); Miles Davis (1926); Levon Helm, The Band (1943); Garry Peterson, Canadian-American drummer, The Guess Who, Bachman–Turner Overdrive (1945); Mick Ronson, David Bowie, Mott the Hoople (1946); Stevie Nicks (1948); Hank Williams, Jr. (1949);  Marian Gold, German singer-songwriter, guitarist, Alphaville (1954); Lenny Kravitz (1964); Alan White, English drummer, Oasis,  Starclub (1972); Lauryn Hill, American singer-songwriter, producer, actress, Fugees (1975)

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Today in Rock History – May 21

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who-anyway-anywhere-anyhow1965, The Who’s second single, “Anyway Anyhow Anywhere” backed with “Daddy Rolling Stone” is released in the UK on Brunswick. Derek Johnson in New Musical Express calls is “a wild racer, with just about every conceivable gimmick…it commands attention and should do well.”

1967, Jimi Hendrix signed with Reprise Records on the US Warner Brothers label. They released the guitarist’s three studio albums Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland.

1967, Pink Floyd was at Studio 3, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood in London to record songs for their debut album, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.

1968, The Monkees appeared at The Olympia Stadium, Salt Lake City.

1968, Rolling Stone Brian Jones appeared at Great Marlborough Street Magistrates court, London on a charge of possession of marijuana, Jones was released on £200 ($320) bail.

1969, Yes played at Harrods Way Inn, London.

1970, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recorded “Ohio.”

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Seabreeze High School Auditorium, Daytona Beach, Florida.

1971, UK rock group Free announced that they were splitting up.

1971, King Crimson played at Regal Cinema, Cambridge, England.

1971, Paul McCartney releases his solo album Ram.

1972, The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Faces, Family, Curved Air, Atomic Rooster, The Kinks, Rory Gallagher, Uriah Heep, Country Joe McDonald, Buddy Miles, Status Quo, Brinsley Schwarz, Spencer Davis, The Strawbs and Humble Pie all appeared at the Second British Rock Meeting, Insel Grun, Germersheim, West Germany. The festival was due to take place in Mannheim, West Germany, but after protests from the locals, the concert actually took place in nearby Germersheim.

1973, David Bowie performed at the Theatre Royal, Norwich, England.

1974, Two would-be concert promoters were arrested by police on fraud charges in connection with selling mail order tickets for a forthcoming “Elten John” show. The misspelling help detect their fraud. Police took away over $12,000 in checks.

1975, ZZ Top appeared at Boston’s Music Hall

1976, The Rolling Stones begin a six-night stand at London’s Earls Court. Reviews of the show are the first to describe the band as “dinosaurs.”

1977, Rod Stewart was at number one on the singles chart with the double A sided single “I Don’t Want To Talk About It / First Cut Is The Deepest.’

1977, Stevie Wonder started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with his tribute to Duke Ellington, “Sir Duke,” his sixth US chart topper. It made it to number two in the UK.

1977, Grateful Dead performed at Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida, a show that can be heard on Dick’s Picks #29.

1978, Black Sabbath played at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1979, Elton John started a tour of Russia, when he played the first of eight concerts making him the first Western star ever to do so.

1980, A thief broke into Electric Lady Studios in New York City, the recording studio built by Jimi Hendrix and stole five Hendrix gold records.

1982, The Hacienda Club was opened in Manchester, England. Madonna made her UK TV debut at the club when C4 music show The Tube was broadcast live. It was home to many Manchester acts and Oasis, Happy Mondays, U2, The Smiths, Charlatans, James, M People, who all played at the club.

1983, David Bowie went to number one on the US singles chart with “Let’s Dance,” featuring blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. It was Bowie’s first single to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic. The music video was made by David Mallet on location in Australia including a bar in Carinda in New South Wales, featured Bowie playing with his band while impassively watching an Aboriginal couple’s struggles against metaphors of Western cultural imperialism.

1988, Prince scored his first UK number one album with Lovesexy. The cover, based on a photo by Jean Baptiste Mondino, caused some controversy upon release as it depicts Prince in the nude. Some record stores refused to stock it, or wrapped the album in black.

1994, The Manchester United Football Club, along with Status Quo, were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Come On You Reds.”

2001, Producer, arranger and keyboardist Tommy Eyre died of cancer aged 51. He worked with George Harrison, Wham!, Dusty Springfield, and BB King. Eyre played and arranged Joe Cocker’s hit “With A Little Help From My Friends” and Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street.”

2006, Madonna played the first of three sold out nights at The Los Angeles Forum in California, the first dates on her Confessions Tour. The 60-date tour grossed over $260 (£162.5) million, becoming the highest grossing tour ever for a female artist.

2011, Adele went to number one on the US singles chart with “Rolling In The Deep,” taken from her second studio album, 21. The video to the song was nominated for seven MTV Video Music Awards nominations, “Rolling in the Deep” was also the Billboard Year End Hot 100 Number One Single of 2011.  The song received three 2012 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video.

2013, Trevor Bolder, the bassist in David Bowie’s legendary 1970s backing band Spiders From Mars, died from cancer at the age of 62. Bolder appeared on the studio albums Hunky Dory (1971), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), Aladdin Sane (1973), and Pin Ups (1973). He joined Uriah Heep in 1976, replacing John Wetton.

Born on this day: Fats Waller (1904); Tony Sheridan (1940); Ronald Isley, The Isley Brothers (1941); Martin Carthy, English singer-songwriter, guitarist,  producer, Steeleye Span, The Watersons, Waterson:Carthy, Brass Monkey,  Blue Murder (1941); Vincent Crane, keyboards, The Crazy world of Arthur Brown (1943); Leo Sayer (1948);  Stan Lynch, American drummer, songwriter,  producer, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1955); Kevin Shields, American-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, My Bloody Valentine, The Complex, and Primal Scream (1963); Martin Blunt, bass, The Charlatans (1964); Christopher G. Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls, aka Notorious B.I.G. (1972); Adam Gontier, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, Three Days Grace, Big Dirty Band, and Saint Asonia (1978)

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Today in Rock History – May 15

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1966, Pink Floyd played at The Marquee Club, Wardour Street, London.  They were billed as the Pink Floyd Sound, as part of their “Spontaneous Underground” period.

1967, Paul McCartney is hanging out with Keith Moon and Eric Burdon at Georgie Fame concert at the Bag O’Nails club in London. The young American photographer of The Who’s March visit to New York, Linda Eastman, is there and Paul meets her for the first time.  They married on March 12, 1969.

1968, George Harrison and Ringo Starr attended the premiere of ‘Wonderwall’ at the Cannes Film Festival.

1968, At a press conference, Paul McCartney and John Lennon say they’ve ended their association with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

1969, John Lennon’s Life With The Lions was released on Apple’s avant-garde imprint Zapple. One side of the album was recorded on a cassette player at London’s Queen Charlotte Hospital during Yoko Ono’s pregnancy which ended in a miscarriage.

1970, A Pink Floyd concert at London’s Crystal Palace is so loud it kills fish in a nearby lake.

1970, In the new releases section of the local record store is the self-titled debut from the mighty Black Sabbath.

1970, The Grateful Dead played at the Fillmore East in New York. This show has been commercially released as Road Trips: Vol 3, Number 3.

1971, Crosby Stills Nash & Young scored their second number one album with 4 Way Street.

1971, Paul McCartney releases his album Ram.

1973, Bob Marley and The Wailers played the first of four sold-out nights at the Speakeasy in London, England as part of their Catch A Fire Tour.

1974, Bill Wyman releases the first solo album by a Rolling Stone, Monkey Grip.

1974, Frank Zappa and his wife announced the birth of their third child, a boy named Ahmet Rodan, after the Japanese movie monster that lived of a steady diet of 707 planes.

1975, Fleetwood Mac debut their new lineup in El Paso, Texas. It’s the first incarnation of the band that includes Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, and John and Christine McVie.

1976, The Rolling Stones went to number one on the album chart with Black And Blue, the group’s sixth No.1 album.

1977, The Grateful Dead performed at the St. Louis Arena in St. Louis, Missouri.

1981, Former Sex Pistol John Lydon’s band Public Image Ltd performed a show at New York’s Ritz Club posing behind a video screen while the music was played from tapes. They were showered with missiles and eventually booed off stage.

1982, Asia went to number one on the US album chart with their self-titled album. It spent a total of nine weeks at number one and became the best-selling album in the US for 1982. The supergroup included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely bassist/vocalist John Wetton (formerly King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, U.K., Wishbone Ash), guitarist Steve Howe (Yes), keyboardist Geoff Downes (Yes, The Buggles) and drummer Carl Palmer ( The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Atomic Rooster, Emerson, Lake & Palmer).

1994, Blur scored their first UK number one album with Parklife, which went on to spend over two years on the chart. The album featured four UK hit singles, “Girls & Boys,” “End of a Century,” “Parklife,” and “To the End.”

Born on this day: Graham Goble, Little River Band (1946); Brian Eno (1948); and Mike Oldfield (1953)

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Today in Rock History – May 14

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1964, Jan & Dean start recording “Little Old Lady (From Pasadena).”

1965, The Who appeared at Civic Hall in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England.

1965, San Francisco radio station KYA hosts the Rolling Stones, the Byrds, Beau Brummels, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and the Vejtables at the Civic Auditorium.

1966, The Who played at Palais in Bury, Manchester, England.

1967, around the UK – Jimi Hendrix played at the Elizabethan Ballroom in Manchester, The Bee Gees appeared at The Beachcomber in Nottingham, and Alan Price played at the Coatham Hotel in Redcar.

1967, Pink Floyd played “Pow R Toc H” and “Astronomy Domine” live on the arts program The Look of the Week broadcast by BBC2 television. Syd Barrett and Roger Waters were interviewed by classic music critic Hans Keller. Below is video from that appearance.

1968, Cream performed at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio.

1968, Paul McCartney and John Lennon make a guest appearance on The Tonight Show to announce the creation of Apple Corps.

1969, During a UK tour, Fairport Convention’s van crashed on the M1 motorway on the way home from a gig in Birmingham, killing the group’s 19 year-old drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson’s girlfriend Jeannie Franklyn.

1969, King Crimson performed at the Revolution Club, London, while Yes appeared at the Marquee Club.

1970, The Grateful Dead played at Merramac Community College in Kirkwood, Missouri.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band played The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1973, Led Zeppelin performed at the Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans.

1974, Another Grateful Dead show at a college venue. This time at Adams Field House at the University of Montana in Missoula.

1975, Yes appeared at the Gaumont Theatre, Southampton, England.

1976, The Rolling Stones played at Granby Halls, Leicester, England.

1976, 33 year old Keith Relf, former lead singer for The Yardbirds, was electrocuted while tuning a guitar which was not properly grounded. The accident happened in his West London home where he was found by his eight year old son, still holding the plugged-in electric guitar.

1977, The Eagles’ Hotel California enters it’s last week at number one on the US album charts.  It held the top spot for five weeks in the spring of 1977, and on two occasions earlier in the year.

1977, Talking Heads played a gig at The Rock Garden in London where Brian Eno, who was in the audience, sees them and goes on to produce the band.

1980, Black Sabbath performed at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland.

1983, Spandau Ballet scored their first and only UK number one album with “True.” The title track from the album spent four weeks at the top of the UK singles charts and reached the second spot in the US. Other singles from the album included “Gold” (a number two UK hit and a Top 30 hit in the US), “Lifeline,” and “Communication.”

1988, Led Zeppelin reunited for the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary party at Madison Square Garden, New York, appearing with Jason Bonham the son of John Bonham on drums. Other acts performing included Foreigner, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Wilson Pickett and Ben E. King.

1998, singer and actor Frank Sinatra died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles aged 82, after suffering a heart attack. Sinatra had his first hit in 1940, working in the Swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1953 film From Here to Eternity. He went on to score over 25 Top 40 singles including the 1966 chart topper “Strangers In The Night.” His 1969 single “My Way,” re-entered the UK charts eight times and spent a total of 165 weeks on the UK chart.

2006, Red Hot Chili Peppers started a two-week run at number one on the UK album chart with Stadium Arcadium, the bands’ ninth studio album, also a US chart topper.

Born on this day: Bobby Darin (1936);  Jack Bruce (1943); Gene Cornish, The Young Rascals (1946);  Al Ciner, The American Breed (1947); and David Byrne (1952)

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