1968, Pink Floyd announced founder Syd Barrett had officially left the group. Barrett was suffering from psychiatric disorders compounded by drug use. 1968, Simon and Garfunkel went to number one on the US album chart with the soundtrack of Mike Nichols’ movie The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. The film boosted the profile […]
Today in Rock History – September 22
1965, San Francisco band The Great Society, featuring Grace Slick, make their live debut at The Coffee Gallery, North Beach, California. The lineup featured Grace, her then-husband Jerry Slick on drums, his brother Darby Slick on guitar, David Miner on vocals and guitar, Bard DuPont on bass, and Peter van Gelder on flute, bass, and […]
Today in Rock History – September 8
1966, The Who appeared at the Locarno Ballroon in Stevenage, England. This UK tour was notable for the addition of the single, “I’m A Boy” to the band’s repertoire. 1968, Pink Floyd were forced to cancel a performance at the Chatelet Teenage Festival in Belgium due to work permit problems. There were some violent reactions […]
Today in Rock History – August 26
1965, The Byrds appeared at the Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood, California. 1965, Sonny & Cher were at number one on the UK singles chart with “I Got You Babe,” the duo’s only British chart topper. Sonny Bono was inspired to write the song to capitalize on the popularity of the term “babe,” as heard in Bob […]
Today in Rock History – August 19
1964, The High Numbers, (The Who) played at The Scene in Soho London, England. 1964, The Beatles kicked off a North American tour at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California, to a crowd of 17,130. Playing 12 songs which made up their repertoire for the entire tour: Twist and Shout, You Can’t Do That, […]
Today in Rock History – July 16
1965, The Who play the Cheltenham Festival in Gloucestersire, England, along with The Yardbirds, Shades of Blue and The Hellions. It is one of the oldest music festivals in Britain, held annually in Cheltenham in June/July since 1945. 1966, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton formed the group Cream. The band is widely regarded […]
Today in Rock History – July 7
1963, The Rolling Stones made their UK TV debut when they appeared on Thank Your Lucky Stars. Also seen on the show were Mickie Most, The Cadets, Helen Shapiro and Gordon Mills. The Stones made a total of 13 appearances on the show between 1963 and 1966 1965, The Who played at a gala opening […]
Today in Rock History – June 26
1965, The Byrds went to number one on the US singles chart with their version of Bob Dylan’s “Mr Tambourine Man.” Only Roger McGuinn from the band played on the song, Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine played on the track. 1965, The Strangeloves, three Australian aborigines who were really three New Yorkers, enter Billboard’s Hot […]
Today in Rock History – June 1
Rock History for June 1 1966, The Beatles returned Abbey Road studios to complete recording on “Yellow Submarine. ” The band, plus friends and members of the staff helped search for a “weird instrument” to create the desired sound effects. John Lennon ended up blowing bubbles in a bucket of water. Paul and John imitated […]
Today in Rock History – May 17
1967, Pete Townshend records an interview for the BBC overseas radio program Dateline London then The Who pre-tape a Top Of The Pops insert miming to “Pictures Of Lily.” From there they travel to Stevenage to play the Locarno Ballroom. Backstage, John lashed out at a “well-known pop singer” by punching his picture on the […]
