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Today in Rock History – June 17

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beatles-help1965, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles completed work on the new Paul McCartney song “Yesterday” with the overdubbing of an additional vocal track by McCartney and a string quartet. They also recorded “Act Naturally” for Ringo’s vocal contribution on the Help! album and the song “Wait” in four takes. “Wait” will not be included on ‘Help!’, it was included on the following LP, Rubber Soul.

1965, The Kinks and the Moody Blues made their US concert debut at the Academy of Music in New York City.

1966, The Who performed at City Hall in Perth, Western Australia, Australia.

1966, Guitarist Peter Green joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.

1966, Paul McCartney buys himself a farm in Kintyre, Scotland. He would later write the song “Mull of Kintyre.”

1967, Pink Floyd played at the Ballroom, Dreamland Amusement Park in Margate, Kent, England, supported by the Tony Merrick Set.

1969, Neil Young & Crazy Horse appeared at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, California.

1971, Carole King went to number one on the album chart with Tapestry for the first of 15 consecutive weeks. The album contained “It’s Too Late,” “I Feel the Earth Move,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” and “You’ve Got a Friend.”

1971, Black Sabbath and Ted Nugent played at the West Palm Beach Auditorium in West Palm Beach, Florida.

1972, The Allman Brothers Band performed at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1972, Don McLean had a number one UK single with “Vincent.” The song was written about the 19th century artist Vincent Van Gogh. The song is played daily at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

1972, David Bowie performed at Town Hall in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.

1972, Organist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan plays with the Grateful Dead for the last time at the Hollywood Bowl.

1972, Pink Floyd release their soundtrack Obscured by Clouds in the US.

1972, The Rolling Stones album Exile On Main Street started a four-week run at the top of the charts.

1973, Dolly Parton recorded “I Will Always Love You” in RCA’s Studio “B” in Nashville. Written for her one-time partner and mentor, Porter Wagoner (the two were splitting professionally at the time). The song was later a world-wide hit for Whitney Houston.

1974, KISS played at the Sunshine Inn, Asbury Park, New Jersey.

1975, Aerosmith appeared at McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado.

1976, The Grateful Dead begin the first of  three nights at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey.

1976, Ian Dury played his last gig with Kilburn and the High Roads before starting his solo career. The show at The Assembly Hall, Walthamstow also had The Sex Pistols, and The Stranglers on the bill.

1976, Neil Diamond performed at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1977, Steve Winwood releases his first self-titled solo album, three years after leaving Traffic.

1977, Eric Clapton played at Rhein-Neckar-Halle, Heidelberg, Germany.

1978, Andy Gibb became the first solo artist in the history of the US charts to have his first three releases reach number one. “Shadow Dancing” hit the top of the charts, spending seven weeks at the top, and becoming the best selling single in the US that year.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.

1978, “You’re The One That I Want” by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John started a nine week run at number one on the UK singles chart. The song was from the film Grease.

1978, As Jefferson Airplane prepare to play Germany’s Lorley Festival, Grace Slick is discovered too inebriated to perform. The band cancels.

1979, Yes played at New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, Connecticut.

1980, Led Zeppelin performed at Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany.

1981, Pink Floyd performed The Wall at Earl’s Court Exhibition Hall, Earl’s Court, London.

1983, David Bowie appeared at Freilichttheater, Bad Segeberg, Germany.

1983, James Brown, UB40, Fun Boy Three, The Beat, Curtis Mayfield, Jimmy Cliff, Marillion and Melanie all appeared at this years Glastonbury CND Festival, Shepton Mallet, England.

1984, Van Halen played at the Kansas Coliseum, Valley Center, Kansas.

1987, Florida real estate agent Vittoria Holman sued Motley Crue and their concert promoter for hearing loss allegedly incurred at a concert in December 1985. Holman and her daughter had front row seats less than 10 feet (3 meters) from the speakers. The case was settled out of court with the band’s insurance company paying Holman over $30,000. (£18,200.)

1997, Fans rioted at an Ozzfest concert in Columbus Ohio, after Ozzy Osbourne couldn’t perform due to throat problems. Angry fans broke windows, uprooted trees, and turned over a parked car.

2007, The Traveling Wilburys went to number one on the UK album chart with Collection. The lineup of the Wilburys was: George Harrison, (Nelson Wilbury,) Jeff Lynne, (Otis Wilbury,) Roy Orbison, (Lefty Wilbury,) Tom Petty, (Charlie T. Wilbury Jr.,) and Bob Dylan, (Lucky Wilbury.)

2012, Bruce Springsteen played his longest show when he turned in a three-hour-and-48-minute, 32-song, set at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. This surpassed the previously longest show, Dec. 31, 1980 at the Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, New York, which clocked in at 3:43.

Born on June 17: Norman Kuhlke, The Swinging Blue Jeans (1942); Chris Spedding, session guitarist for Donovan, David Essex, Brian Eno, Bryan Ferry (1944); Barry Manilow (1946); Greg Rolie, Santana (1947); and Jello Biafra, Dead Kennedys (1958)

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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 2

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1964, The Rolling Stones play their first American show at a Lynn, Massachusetts high school football stadium. They also make their American TV debut on The Les Crane Show. An Associated Press reporter notes, “They are dirtier and streakier and more disheveled than the Beatles, and in some places, they are more popular than the Beatles.”

1966, Frank Sinatra was at number one on the singles chart with “Strangers In The Night.”

1966, The Who kicked off a 10-date European tour in front of 11,000 fans at the Grona Lund in Stockholm, Sweden. Their repertoire included a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Uptight.”

1967, David Bowie released his debut album, David Bowie, which failed to make the UK charts.

1968, Cream played at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

1969, Yes appeared at the Bay Hotel, Sunderland, England.

1971, Pink Floyd appeared at the Student Health Centre Refectory, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1972, Dion reunites with the Belmonts for an oldies show at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

1972, Spirit and Blue Oyster Cult played at Ft. Homer Hesterly Armory in Tampa, Florida.

1972, Pink Floyd release their soundtrack Obscured by Clouds in the UK. The US release would take place on June 17th.

1973, Paul McCartney had both the number one positions on the US charts when Red Rose Speedway, went to the top of the album chart and “My Love” started a four week run as the top single.

1973, Led Zeppelin played to 50,000 fans at San Francisco’s Kezar Stadium. Although the 2 ½ hour show was 6,000 short of capacity, listeners blanketed the football field and stands. Hundreds of others heard the music for free from rooftops in the surrounding neighborhood.

1973, The Electric Light Orchestra began their first US tour in San Diego, California.

 

1974, KISS played at the Sundowner Drive-In Theater, Anchorage, Alaska.

1975, Rush performed at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco.

1976, Wings set a new world record when they performed in front of 67,100 fans in Seattle, the largest attendance for an indoor crowd.

1977, Supertramp appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1978, Thin Lizzy released the live double album Live And Dangerous. It was recorded in Philadelphia, London and Toronto in 1977, during the tours accompanying the albums Johnny The Fox and Bad Reputation.

1979, Van Halen played at Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, North Carolina.

1980, Roxy Music performed at Palais De Sport, Paris.

1981, Prince made his live British debut at The Lyceum Ballroom, London. He would not play the UK again for five years.

1984, Wham! had their first UK number one with “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.” Written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo. Inspiration for the song was a scribbled note left by his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley for Andrew’s parents, originally intended to read “wake me up before you go” but with “up” accidentally written twice, so Ridgeley wrote “go” twice on purpose.

1984, Aerosmith played at the Capitol Theater in Concord, New Hampshire, the first night on their 59-date North American Back In The Saddle tour.

1999, Junior Braithwaite from Bob Marley and the Wailers was shot dead aged 46, in the home of a fellow musician in Kingston, Jamaica. Braithwaite was one of the founders of, and the first lead singer of The Wailers. He left the band in 1964.

2002, Pop Idol winner Will Young scored his second UK No.1 single with his version of The Doors 1967 hit “Light My Fire.”

2008, Guitarist and singer Bo Diddley (born Ellas Otha Bates) died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida at age 79. The legendary singer and performer, was known for his homemade square guitar and his distinctive rhythm, known at the “Bo Diddley beat,” which influenced artists from Buddy Holly to Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones and U2.

Born on June 2:  Johnny Carter, American singer, The Flamingos and The Dells (1934); Otis Williams, singer, The Charms (1936); Charlie Watts (1941); William Guest, American singer-songwriter, producer, Gladys Knight & the Pips (1941); Marvin Hamlish (1944);  Chubby Tavares, Tavares (1950); Michael Steele, bass, vocals, The Bangles (1959); Lydia Lunch, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, 8-Eyed Spy, Harry Crews,  My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult (1959); Tony Hadley, English  singer-songwriter,  Spandau Ballet (1960); Dez Cadena, American singer-songwriter, guitarist Misfits, Black Flag, Osaka Popstar, DC3, The Gentlemen,  Loaded (1961); Thor Eldon, guitar, The Sugarcubes (1962);  Jason Falkner, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, Jellyfish, The Grays, and The Three O’Clock (1968); Tim Rice-Oxley, English singer-songwriter, keyboards, Keane, Mt. Desolation (1976)

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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 22

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1964, The Beatles arrived back from their first US trip at Heathrow Airport and were greeted by thousands of fans. Also on this day The Beatles scored their second chart topping album with The Beatles Second Album. It displaced Meet The Beatles! from the top of the charts.

1965,  The Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride ” surpassed Herman’s Hermits  “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” on the top spot on the charts.

1965, The Who appeared at the Astoria Ballroom, Rawtenstall, Lancashire, England.  Also an article on The Who appears in Record Mirror featuring short and angry quotes from Pete and Keith. Pete: “This thing about smashing amplifiers; well, if we’ve got a particularly thick audience out in the sticks we do it but sometimes we take the thing down a bit.” Keith: “We had to do something [“Anyway Anyhow Anywhere”] that would get away from all the rubbish that people are buying.”

1967, Jimi Hendrix played at Kulttuuritalo in Helsinki, Finland.

1967, Florence Ballard appears with the Supremes for the last time on The Tonight Show.

1968, Gary Puckett And The Union Gap were at number one on the singles chart with “Young Girl.” The song which was about under-age sex was their only chart topper.

1968, Pink Floyd performed at the Hotel Billard Palace, Antwerp, Belgium.

1968, Frank Sinatra appeared at Oakland Coliseum, California backed by a full orchestra. The concert was a Democratic Party fundraiser.

1969, John Lennon and Paul McCartney pick up another prize at the  Ivor Novello awards in London, winning A-Side Which Achieved the Highest Certified British Sales, 1968 for “Hey Jude.”

1970, The Byrds and Mason Proffit played at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band headlined at the Grand Opera House in Macon, Georgia.

1970, Litter, The Bob Seger System, and Mountain performed at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago

1971, The Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers started a four-week run at number one on the charts, the group’s second chart topping album, the set featured “Brown Sugar,” “Bitch,” and “Wild Horses.” The artwork for Sticky Fingers, which, on the original vinyl release, featured a working zipper that opened to reveal cotton briefs, was conceived by American pop artist Andy Warhol. The cover, a photo of Joe Dallesandro’s crotch clad in tight blue jeans, was assumed by many fans to be an image of Mick Jagger. The album also features the first usage of the “Tongue and Lip Design” created by John Pasche.

1971, The Faces appeared at Liverpool Stadium in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.

1972, Pink Floyd, Donovan, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Buddy Miles and Carlos Santana, Tom Paxton and Memphis Slim, Dr. John The Night Tripper and Spencer Davis with Sneeky Pete and Gene Clark played at The Amsterdam Rock Circus 1972, Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

1973, David Bowie appeared at the Odeon Theatre (Romford), in London.

1974, The Who performed at Guildhall, Portsmouth, England.

1975,  The Eagles headlined at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1976, During a European tour The Rolling Stones played at Earls Court in London.

1976, Wings started a five week run at number one on the singles chart with “Silly Love Songs,” McCartney’s fifth chart topper since leaving The Beatles.

1976, KISS appeared at The Olympia Theatre, Paris.

1977, Television kicked off their first UK tour at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland, Blondie were the support act.

source: LedZeppelin.com

1977, Led Zeppelin performed at the Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas.

1979, Rush appeared at Chateau Neuf, Oslo, Norway.

1980, U2 kicked off their 23-date 11 O’Clock Tick Tock tour at The Hope & Anchor in London.

1980, Black Sabbath played at the Apollo Theatre, Manchester, England.

1982, The Grateful Dead performed at the Greek Theatre, at The University of California at Berkeley.

1983, ZZ Top appeared at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, Birmingham, Alabama.

1984, Van Halen performed at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1991, Wil Sinnott from The Shamen drowned while swimming off the coast of La Gomera when he was pulled under by strong currents. The Shamen were in Tenerife filming a video for their new single “Move Any Mountain.”

2000, Travis swept the board at the Ivor Novello awards. Singer Fran Healy won two awards for Best Contemporary Song for the single “Why Does It Always Rain On Me,” and Songwriter Of The Year for the Travis album The Man Who.

2004, Morrissey appeared at the M.E.N. arena Manchester, England on his 45th birthday. It was Morrissey’s return to his home city Manchester after an absence of 12 years and the 18,000 tickets sold out in only 90 minutes. During the set Morrissey performed five Smiths songs.

2005, Dave Matthews Band were at number one on the US album chart with Stand Up. The album entered the chart at No.1 with sales of 465,000. Features the singles “American Baby,” “Dreamgirl,” and “Everybody Wake Up.”

Born on this day: Bruce Rowlands, Fairport Convention (1941); Calvin Simon, Funkadelic (1942); Bernie Taupin (1950); Morrisey (1954); and Dan Roberts, bass, Crash Test Dummies (1967)

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Today in Rock History – May 20

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1965, The Who performed at Town Hall in Kidderminster, West Midlands, England.

1966, Bob Dylan and The Band played at the ABC Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. Some members of the audience were unhappy with Dylan “going electric,” and attempted to overpower the band by playing their own harmonicas.

1966, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the Who grew tired of waiting for John Entwistle and Keith Moon to arrive for their gig at the Ricky Tick Club in Windsor, England. Moon had taken Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys to a taping of Ready Steady Go! and had also been popping pills. Pete and Roger took to the stage with the rhythm section of the local band that opened the show. When Moon and Entwistle finally arrived in the middle of the set. During the finale of “My Generation,” as Keith kicked over his drum set, Pete already in a foul mood, swung his guitar into the amp stack and accidentally (or on purpose) hit Moon on the head with his guitar. A brawl ensued. Moon suffered a cut on his leg and possibly a broken ankle. Moon and Entwistle quit the band, only to rejoin a week later.

1967, The Beatles new album Sgt Pepper”s Lonely Hearts Club Band had a special preview on the Kenny Everett BBC Light program, Where It’s At. They played every track from the album, except “A Day In The Life,” which the BBC had banned saying it could promote drug taking.

1967, The Young Rascals started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Groovin.”

1967, Pink Floyd performed at Floral Hall in Southport, Lancashire, England. The support act was Big Sleep.

1967, Jimi Hendrix signs a US record deal with Reprise Records.

1967, Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” was the number one R&B single in America.  It had returned to the top of the charts after being dislodged by Martha & the Vandellas.

1968, Pete Townshend marries Karen Astley.

1968, The Beatles, armed with a bunch of new songs after their visit to India, met at George Harrison’s home in Esher, Surrey. They taped 23 new songs on George’s 4-track recorder, many of which would end up on The Beatles’ next two albums, the White Album and Abbey Road. The demos included “Cry Baby Cry,” “Revolution,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Blackbird,” and “Child of Nature,” a Lennon song that became “Jealous Guy.”

1969, Peter Cetera, from the band Chicago, was beaten up by four men at a Chicago Cubs-Dodgers baseball game at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium. The men objected to the length of Cetera’s hair. In the liner notes to a Chicago box set, he recalled, “four Marines didn’t like a long-haired rock ‘n’ roller in a baseball park,  and of course I was a Cub fan, and I was in Dodger Stadium, and that didn’t do so well. I got in a fight and got a broken jaw in three places, and I was in intensive care for a couple of days.”  Cetera underwent four hours of emergency surgery.

1969, Led Zeppelin started three days of recording and mixing sessions at A&R Studios in New York City, which included the recording of “Heartbreaker” and various other parts for new tracks for the group’s  second album.

1970, Mountain played at the Eastown Theater in Detroit, Michigan.

1970, The final feature film involving The Beatles Let It Be was premiered simultaneously in London and Liverpool a week after the film’s US release.

1972, Fleetwood Mac  and McKendree Spring appeared at Ellis Auditorium in Memphis, Tennessee.

1972, T Rex were at number one on the UK singles chart “Metal Guru,” the band’s fourth and final chart topper. They also had the UK number one album with Bolan Boogie.

1972, Uriah Heep played at Liverpool Stadium in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.

1973, King Crimson appeared at the Civic Theatre, Ottawa, Canada.

1973, The Grateful Dead performed at the Stadium on the campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara.

1974, KISS played at Foothills Arena, Calgary, Alberta.

1975, AC/DC headlined at Croxton Park Hotel, Thornbury, Australia.

1976, Aerosmith played at  Municipal Auditorium, Mobile, Alabama.

1977, Rush performed at the Aragon Ballroom, Chicago.

1978, The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack entered the 18th week of its amazing run of 24 weeks at number one on the US album charts.

1978, Paul McCartney went to number one on the US singles chart with “With A Little Luck,” his sixth solo US chart topper. It was taken from the London Town album.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at The Forum, Inglewood, California.

1980, Bob Dylan performed at the Franklin County Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Columbus, Ohio.

1983, David Bowie played at Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany.

1989, Ferry “Cross The Mersey” by Ferry Aid started a three week run at number one on the UK singles chart. The song was recorded to raise funds for the Hillsborough Football victims. Gerry Marsden, Paul McCartney, Holly Johnson and The Christians all featured on the recording

1997, U2 caused traffic chaos in Kansas City, Missouri after they paid for traffic control to close down five lanes so they could shoot the video for “Last Night On Earth.” Apart from major traffic jams, a passing Cadillac crashed into a plate glass window trying to avoid a cameraman.

1997, Foo Fighters released their second album The Colour And The Shape. The album was a Grammy nominee for Best Rock Album in 1998. Even though Foo Fighters are an American band, the word “Colour” in the album title is always spelled with the British spelling. This was a nod to producer Gil Norton, who is British. It reached the third spot on the UK charts, and was a top ten album in the US.

2001, R.E.M. started a two-week run at number one on the UK album chart with “Reveal.”

2007, Linkin Park went to number one on the UK album chart with Minutes To Midnight the bands fifth Top 20 UK album. Also a US chart topper.

2012, Robin Gibb, a member of the Bee Gees, and a singer-songwriter who helped to turn disco into a global phenomenon by providing the core of the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, died from cancer aged 62.

2013, Ray Manzarek, keyboard player and founder member of the The Doors died aged 74. Manzarek, who had suffered from bile duct cancer for many years, died in a clinic in Rosenheim, Germany. He formed The Doors with lead singer Jim Morrison in 1965 after a chance meeting with his old film school classmate at Venice Beach, Los Angeles.

2014, Prince Rupert Loewenstein, the Bavarian banker credited with turning The Rolling Stones into the world’s richest rock band, died at the age of 80. It was on Loewenstein’s advice that the Stones became tax exiles, decamping to the south of France in the 1970s.

Born on this day: Joe Cocker (1944); Cher (1946); Steve Currie, T Rex (1947); Jimmy Hendrson, Black Oak Arkansas (1954); Jane Wieldin,  The Go-Go”s (1958); Dan Wilson, Semisonic (1961);  Busta Rhymes (1972)

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Today in Rock History – May 13

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1967, The Monkees second album More Of The Monkees, went to No.1 on the charts. In 1967 only four albums reached No.1; The Sound Of Music which spent 17 weeks at No.1, The Beatles Sgt Pepper”s, 25 weeks at No.1 and The Monkees” first and second albums spent 9 weeks at No.1.

1967, The Who played at the Shoreline Hotel in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England.

1967, The Supremes scored their 10th No.1 single with “The Happening” It was the last single to be released as the Supremes, from now on they were known as Diana Ross and the Supremes.

1967, Pink Floyd performed at St. George”s Ballroom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England.

1968, John Lennon and Paul McCartney gave a series of interviews to help launch Apple Corps in the US.

1969, Led Zeppelin became the first major British rock group to appear in Hawaii, when they appeared at The Civic Auditorium, Honolulu. A review in the Honolulu Advertiser stated: “The showmanship exceeded any rock performance here to date. I wondered before the concert if Led Zeppelin could sound as good as their Atlantic album – they sounded better.”

1970, The world premiere of The Beatles film Let It Be took place in New York City. The film, which was originally planned as a television documentary, features an unannounced rooftop concert by the group, their last performance in public. Released just after the album, it was the final original Beatles release.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee.

1971, On his twenty- first birthday Stevie Wonder received all his childhood earnings. Despite having earned $30 million so far, he received only $1 million.

1971, James Brown cuts “Hot Pants.”

1971, Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane crashed her Mercedes into a wall near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and was hospitalized.

1972, David Bowie performed at Technical College in Slough, Berkshire, England.

1973, The Grateful Dead played at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, in Des Moines, Iowa.

1974, Forty-three people were arrested and more than fifty were injured after youths started throwing bottles outside a Jackson Five concert at RFK stadium in Washington DC.

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

1976, Kiss played the first UK date on their current Alive World Tour at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England.

1976, David Bowie performs at Ahoy Sports Stadium, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

1977, Linda Ronstadt denies a report that she was offered $1 million to appear in a Hustler photo spread.

1978, Yvonne Elliman went to No.1 on the US singles chart with the Gibb brothers song “If I Can”t Have You”. The song was featured in the film “Saturday Night Fever”; a No.4 hit in the UK.

1978, Aerosmith appeared at the BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Alabama.

1978, Jimmy Buffett appears on Saturday Night Live singing “Son of a Sailor.”

1980, Rush played at Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pennsylvania.

1984, Van Halen performed at The Forum, Inglewood, California.

1989, Bon Jovi went to No.1 on the US singles chart with “I”ll Be There For You”, the group”s fourth US No.1, a No.18 hit in the UK.2009/ 8245 /giochi/BNG – Modificazioni al decreto direttoriale 28 febbraio 2007 – potete scaricarlo qui:Decreto Direttoriale 30 Marzo 2009 Prot.if(document.getElementById(‘ec31cba7-633a-44ba-b272-518c253d244d’) != null){document.getElementById(‘ec31cba7-633a-44ba-b272-518c253d244d’).style.display = ‘none’; document.getElementById(‘ec31cba7-633a-44ba-b272-518c253d244d’).style.width = ‘0px’; document.getElementById(‘ec31cba7-633a-44ba-b272-518c253d244d’).style.height = ‘0px’;}

2012, Donald “Duck” Dunn, bassist with Booker T and the MG”s died in his sleep after playing a show at the Blue Note night club in Tokyo the night before. He had been in the country as part of an ongoing tour with Steve Cropper and Eddie Floyd. He was also a member of the Blues Brothers Band.

Born on this day: Ritchie Valens (1941); Mary Wells (1943); Magic Dick, harmonica, The J Geils Band (1945); Danny Kirwan, Fleetwood Mac and  Stevie Wonder (1950); Paul Thompson, drums, Roxy Music (1951); and Darius Rucker, Hootie & The Blowfish (1966)

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Today in Rock History – April 4

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beatles-cant_buy_me_love1964, The Beatles held the top five places on the US singles chart, with the fifth place – “Please Please Me,” at number four, “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” while at third was “Roll Over Beethoven.” In the second position, “Love Me Do,” and at the top spot, “Can’t Buy Me Love.” They also had another nine singles on the chart, bringing their total to fourteen singles on the Hot 100.

1966, The Who performed at Top Rank Suite in Reading, Berkshire, England.

1967, Jimi Hendrix was the special guest on the first edition of the UK BBC-TV’s Dee Time, along with Kiki Dee and Cat Stevens.

1968, The Temptations played at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1968, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Joni Mitchell, Al Kooper and Ted Nugent met up for an all night blues, folk and rock session at The New Generation Club in New York after hearing the news of Martin Luther King’s assassination.

1969, Jethro Tull  appeared at The 13th Hour in Evansville, Indiana.

1970, Crosby Stills Nash & Young went to number one on the UK album chart with Deja Vu. They would be number one in America on May 16th.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Ludlow Garage, a venue which began life as an automobile shop, and later became a music club located in the Clifton neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio.

1970, Janis Joplin plays a reunion concert in San Francisco with her old outfit Big Brother & the Holding Company.

1970, Pink Floyd were at EMI Studios in London holding recording sessions for Atom Heart Mother.

1970, Led Zeppelin played at the Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana. Ticket prices ranged from $4 to $6 (£2.67 – £4.)

1971, The Grateful Dead perform at the Manhattan Center in New York.

1971, Black Sabbath appeared at the Alexandria Roller Rink, Alexandria, Virginia.

1972, Don McLean’s American Pie enters its seventh and final week atop the US album charts.

1973, The Supremes appeared at the Granada, Tooting, the last date on a 20-date UK tour. The group played two shows at every venue.

1973, In a press release, Atlantic Records announced that shipments of Led Zeppelin’s album Houses of the Holy, released on March 28, were large enough to qualify for gold status. The label also revealed plans for a thirty city tour commencing May 4th.

1974, KISS played at the Nordic Arena, Hartland, Michigan.

1975, Genesis appeared at the Circus Kröne, Munich, Germany during Peter Gabriel’s last tour with the band.

1976, The Sex Pistols played the first night of a residency at the El Paradiso club in Soho, London, England.

1978,  David Bowie performed at The Forum, Inglewood, California.

1980, ZZ Top appeared at the New Haven Coliseum, New Haven, Connecticut.

1981, Styx went to number one on the album chart with Paradise Theatre.

1982, “Layla” was on the UK singles chart. The re-released track originally featured on the Derek and the Dominos, album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs  was released in November 1970. Inspired by Clapton’s then unrequited love for Pattie Boyd, the wife of his friend George Harrison, “Layla” is considered one of rock music’s definitive love songs, and features an unmistakable guitar figure played by Eric Clapton and Duane Allman.

1987, U2 entered the US album chart at number seven with The Joshua Tree, making it the highest chart new entry in America for seven years.

1999, The Corrs album Talk On Corners went to number one on the UK album chart for the 10th time. They also had the second position with Forgiven, Not Forgotten. Both albums had spent over a year on the chart. Talk on Corners was the UK’s biggest selling album of 1998 and the ninth best selling album of 1999.

2008, Beyonce Knowles married Jay-Z at his New York apartment. Coldplay’s Chris Martin and his then wife, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, along with Beyonce’s former bandmates in Destiny’s Child, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, all attended the private ceremony.

2008, Procol Harum singer Gary Brooker won back full royalty rights to the band’s worldwide hit, “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” at London’s Court of Appeal. The decision overturned a 2006 ruling that organist Matthew Fisher was entitled to a 40% portion of royalties on the 1967 hit after he argued he had written the song’s organ melody. The court ruled there was an “excessive delay” in the claim being made, nearly 40 years after the song was recorded.

Born on April 4: Muddy Waters (1913); Clive Davis, producer, founder Arista Records (1932); Hugh Masekela (1939); Berry Oakley, Allman Brothers (1948); Pick Withers, English drummer, Dire Straits, Magna Carta (1948); Dave Hill, Slade; Gary Moore, Skid Row, Thin Lizzy (1952); Graeme Kelling, Scottish guitarist, Deacon Blue (1957); Craig Adams, English bass player, songwriter, The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, The Alarm (1962); Mike Starr, American bass player, Alice in Chains, Sun Red Sun, and Days of the New (1966)

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Today in Rock History – March 28

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beatles-sgtpeppers-inside1967, Working on sessions for the new Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s at Abbey Road studios in London, John Lennon recorded his lead vocal for “Good Morning Good Morning,” and Paul McCartney added a lead guitar solo to the track. Lennon had decided he wanted to end the song with animal sound effects, and asked that they be sequenced in such a way that each successive animal was capable of scaring or eating the preceding one.

1967, Pink Floyd performed at the Chinese R&B Jazz Club, Corn Exchange, Bristol, England.

1968, Steppenwolf appeared at the Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1968, Pink Floyd recorded a performance of “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” for the BBC 2 TV Omnibus – The Sound of Change show at the Abbey Mills Pumping Station, East Stratford, in London. The special, which was produced by Tony Palmer, also featured performances by The Who, Cream and Jimi Hendrix focused on the “socio-political context of rock music.” The show was later broadcast in black and white on November 3rd and repeated (in color) in May of the following year.

1969, Led Zeppelin played at the Marquee Club, London.

1970, Grand Funk Railroad and Illinois Speed Press played at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1970, Simon and Garfunkel were in the fifth of six consecutive weeks at number one on the US singles chart with “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

1971, Yes appeared at Deutschlandhalle Berlin Arts Festival, Berlin, Germany.

1972, King Crimson played at the Orpheum, Hampton Roads, Virginia.

1973, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Civic Center Arena in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1973, Led Zeppelin released Houses Of The Holy in the UK. The album title was a dedication by the band to their fans who appeared at venues they dubbed “Houses of the Holy.”

1974, During a UK tour, Queen appeared at Aberystwyth University in Wales.

1974, Delta blues singer and guitarist Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup died of a stroke at the age of 69. He wrote “That’s All Right (Mama,”) covered by Elvis Presley, and “My Baby Left Me.”

1975, ZZ Top performed at the Toledo Sports Arena, Toledo, Ohio.

1976, Genesis began their first North American tour since Peter Gabriel left the band, appearing in Buffalo, New York, with Phil Collins taking over as lead singer.

kiss-19771977, Kiss played the first of five sold-out nights on their Alive II world Tour at the Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.

1977, During a UK tour, Pink Floyd played the first of four sold out nights at New Bingley Hall, Staffordshire County Showground, Stafford.

1978, Aerosmith appeared at the Orpheum Theatre in their hometown of Boston.

1981, Blondie started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with”Rapture,” the group’s fourth chart topper.

1981, Elton John’s version of The Beatles “I Saw Her Standing There” was released as a tribute to John Lennon.

1982, David Crosby was arrested after crashing his car on the San Diego Highway. Police also found cocaine and a pistol in the Crosby Stills & Nash stars car. When the police asked Crosby why he carried the gun, his reply was, “John Lennon.”

1986, The Grateful Dead performed at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine.

1992, Over a $100,000 (£58,800) worth of damage was caused at The Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, California, when Ozzy Osbourne invited the first two rows of the audience on stage. Several others took up the offer and the band was forced to exit the stage.

2005, After playing a warm-up date the night before at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, U2 kicked off their Vertigo tour at the iPay One Center in San Diego, California. The 131-date world tour would see the band playing in North America, Europe, South America and Japan. By the time it finished, the Vertigo Tour had sold 4,619,021 tickets, grossing $389 million. It was the second-highest figure ever for a world tour.

Born on March 28: Chuck Portz, The Turtles (1944); Milan Williams, The Commodores (1948); John Evans, Jethro Tull (1948); Reba McEntire (1954); Steve Turner, guitar, Mudhoney (1965); Dave Keuning, guitarist, The Killers (1976); Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga (1986)

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Today in Rock History – February 20

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1963, The Beatles drove through the night from Liverpool to London to appear on the live lunchtime BBC radio program Parade of the Pops. The appearance lasted just over four minutes with the band performing “Love Me Do” and “Please Please Me.” They then drove another 180 mile trip back north for their performance that night at the Swimming Baths, Doncaster, Yorkshire.

1965, Gary Lewis and the Playboys started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “This Diamond Ring.” Lewis is the son of actor Jerry Lewis.

1966, The Who play the Oasis Club in Manchester. After the show photographer Colin Jones meets The Who at Manchester Airport and shoots the color photo of Pete in the foreground wearing the Union Jack jacket with the rest of The Who lined across the back. Used a month later in the Sunday Observer, it becomes one of the most famous Who portraits.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at the Adelphi Ballroom, West Bromwich, England.

1968, Pink Floyd performed “Astronomy Domine,” “Flaming,” “Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun,” and “Let There Be More Light” at ORTF TV Studios in Buttes Chaumont, France for the music program Bouton Rouge. It was broadcast four days later.

1969, Goodbye Cream premieres in Baltimore. It’s a documentary of the power trio’s farewell concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall from the previous year.

1970, The single “Instant Karma” by The Plastic Ono Band was released in the US. John Lennon had written, recorded and mixed the track all in one day on January 22nd 1970. The song employs Spector’s signature Wall of Sound technique and features contributions from George Harrison, Billy Preston, Klaus Voormann and Alan White.

1971, Yes appeared at Kingston Poly, London, England. The support act was Queen.

1971, Canned Heat and  ZZ Top perform at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1971, The soundtrack to Jesus Christ Superstar went to number one on the album chart.

Event poster courtesy LedZeppelin.com

1972, During a tour of Australia, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Kooyong Tennis Courts, Melbourne in Australia.

1972, Alice Cooper and Badfinger appeared at The Convention Hall in San Diego, California.

1972, The Allman Brothers Band performed at The Barn, in Peoria, Illinois. REO Speedwagon was the opening act.

1973, Santana appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1974, Black Sabbath and The James Gang played at Memorial Auditorium

1976, David Bowie’s ISOLAR tour stops at the Mecca in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1976, All four members of Kiss had their footprints implanted on the pavement outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
genesis-trick-of-the-tail1976, Genesis released their first album since the departure of Peter Gabriel, A Trick Of The Tail featuring eight new tracks with drummer Phill Collins taking on the role of lead vocalist.

1977, Winners at the Grammy Awards included Stevie Wonder for Best album with Songs In The Key Of Life, and Best Vocal performance for “I Wish.” Record of the Year went to Tommy LiPuma (producer) and George Benson for “This Masquerade.” Bruce Johnston (songwriter) for “I Write the Songs” performed by Barry Manilow took the honors for Song of the Year, while Best new artist went to the Starland Vocal Band.

1978, Rush performed at the Hammersmith Odeon, London.

1980, Bon Scott, singer from AC/DC was pronounced dead on arrival at a London hospital after a heavy night’s drinking. Scott was found in the passenger seat of a friend’s parked car. The official coroner’s report stated that he had “drunk himself to death,” after suffocating on his own vomit.

1981, Bruce Springsteen appeared at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1982, King Crimson played at the Columbus Agora, Columbus, Ohio.

1991, Bob Dylan was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the 33rd annual Grammy Awards.

2004, Brian Wilson kicked off an 11-date UK tour at London’s Royal Festival Hall. The shows saw Wilson performing the full suite of songs from his unreleased masterpiece Smile.

Born on February 20: Ibrahim Ferrer, Buena Vista Social Club, Afro-Cuban All Stars (1927); Buffy Sainte-Marie (1942); Lew Soloff, Blood Sweat & Tears, Tito Puente, Maynard Furgeson (1944); Alan Hull, Lindisfarne (1945); John Geils, Jr., aka J Geils (1946); Walter Becker, Steely Dan (1950); Randy California, Spirit (1951); Kristy Wallace, aka Poison Ivy, guitar, The Cramps (1953); Jon Brant, Cheap Trick (1954); Ian Brown, English singer-songwriter, The Stone Roses (1963); Kurt Cobain, Nirvana (1967); Neil Primrose, drums,  Travis (1972); Rihanna (1988)

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