Kurt Cobain

Today in Rock History – September 8

September 8, 2020 by Mitch Michaels

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 from the fans, but the several other bands, including The Kinks were able to play at the event.

1968, The Beatles performed “Hey Jude” on the UK television show Frost On Sunday in front of an invited audience.

1968, Led Zeppelin played three shows in Denmark on this day, first appearing at the Fjordvilla club in Roskilde with The Ladybirds, who were an all girl topless go-go dancing outfit. Next, the played at Raventlowparken in Lolland, supported by The Beatnicks and to cap it off, they finished the evening at Teaterbygningen in Køge.

1968, Jimi Hendrix played at the Spokane Coliseum in Spokane, Washington.

1972, Pink Floyd appeared at the Municipal Auditorium, Austin, Texas.

1973, During a UK tour The Rolling Stones appeared at Empire Pool, Wembley, London.

1973, Marvin Gaye started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Let’s Get It On,” his second chart topper.

1973, The Allman Brothers started a five week run at number one on the album chart with Brothers And Sisters, the group’s only US chart topping album.

1974, David Bowie appeared at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.

1974, Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and the Beach Boys all performed at Summersault ’74 at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York.

1976, Aerosmith appeared at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.

1977, Guitarist Jimmy McCulloch left Wings to help re-form The Small Faces. McCulloch had played with Paul McCartney’s band on the Venus and Mars and Wings At the Speed of Sound albums, as well as on the Wings Over America tour. He died two years later at the age of 26. Drummer Joe English also left Wings at this time, joining Sea Level.

1978, Dave Edmunds realeased Trax on Wax 4, his fourth solo album. It was released on Zeppelin’s Swansong label and featured the excellent “Trouble Boys,” which Thin Lizzy would cover in 1981.

1978, David Bowie released Stage, his second (official) live album recorded during his “Berlin” period. Backed by some talented players of note. Carlos Alomar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals, George Murray, bass, backing vocals, Dennis Davis, drums, percussion, Adrian Belew, lead guitar, backing vocals, Simon House, violin, Sean Mayes , piano, string ensemble, backing vocals, and Roger Powell, keyboards.

1978, Yes appeared at Madison Square Garden in New York.

1979, Led Zeppelin scored their eighth UK number one album when In Through The Out Door went to the top of the charts for two weeks.

1979, Dire Straits performed at The Orpheum, Boston, Massachusetts.

1981, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band appeared at the Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois.

1983, The Grateful Dead played at Red Rocks Amphitheatre at Morrison, Colorado.

1984, Stevie Wonder had his first UK chart topper with “I Just Called To Say I Love You.” The song was taken from the film Lady In Red. This was was 18 years after Wonder’s chart debut in 1966. The song stayed at number one for six weeks.

1990, Jon Bon Jovi went to number one on the US singles chart with “Blaze Of Glory,” a top two song in the UK. The track appeared in the motion picture Young Guns II, for which it was originally recorded.

1993, Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love appeared on stage together at a show in Hollywood. They performed a song they wrote together “Penny Royal Tea.”

1997, 29 years after the band first formed, Led Zeppelin release”d Whole Lotta Love,” their first ever single in the UK. The track recorded in 1969, and featured on the bands second album was issued to promote their re-issued back catalogue.

1997, Derek Taylor, the publicist for The Beatles, died aged 67. Taylor had been responsible for many of the legends surrounding their career and had also worked with The Beach Boys and The Byrds. In 1967 he helped organize the Monterrey Pop Festival together with Lou Adler and John Philips. He helped launch the Beatles Anthology trilogy in the 90’s.

2003, David Bowie performed the first interactive concert when his performance was beamed live into 21 cinemas from Warsaw to Edinburgh. Members of the audience talked to Bowie via microphones linked to ISDN lines and he took requests for songs from fans.

2005, A charity album featuring some of the biggest bands in the UK was thought to be the fastest ever produced. Coldplay, Radiohead, Kaiser Chiefs, Antony and the Johnsons, The Magic Numbers, The Coral, Bloc Party and Gorillaz were among those who recorded tracks for Help: A Day in the Life. The whole 22-track album was made available for download from the War Child website the following day.

2007, A commemorative plaque dedicated to Don Arden and the Small Faces was unveiled at 52–55 Carnaby Street, London, Arden’s former offices. Arden achieved notoriety in Britain for his aggressive, sometimes illegal business tactics and looked after the career’s of Small Faces, The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and Black Sabbath. He was the father of Sharon Osbourne.

2015, Cuban-born Jamaican ska and reggae trombonist Rico Rodriguez died aged 80. He recorded with many artists including Karl Pitterson, Prince Buster, and Lloyd “Matador” Daley. He was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) at Buckingham Palace in July 2007, for services to music. In October 2012, he was awarded the Silver Musgrave Medal by the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of his contribution to Jamaican music

Born on September 8: Jimmie Rodgers (1897); Peter Sellers (1925); Patsy Cline (1932); Brian Cole, bass, vocals, The Association (1942); Kelly Groucutt, Electric Light Orchestra (1945); Ron “Pigpen” Mckernan, Grateful Dead (1945); Benjamin Orr, The Cars (1955); Michael Lardie, keyboards Great White, Night Ranger (1958); David Steele, Fine Young Cannibals (1960); Jay Ziskrout, drummer Bad Religion (1962); Neko Case, singer-songwriter, guitarist The New Pornographers (1970); Alicia Moore, aka Pink, (1979); Cameron Jibril Thomaz, aka Wiz Khalifa, American rapper, singer-songwriter (1987)

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Today in Rock History – April 10

April 10, 2020 by Mitch Michaels

1967, Marvin Gaye recorded his version of “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.” The song was first recorded by The Miracles and had also been a million seller in 1967 for Gladys Knight and the Pips.

1967, Paul McCartney visits a Beach Boys recording session and is said to have loaned his production assistant to the track “Vegetables” for the Smile album.

1968, The Mothers of Invention appeared at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Drummer Mickey Hart accepts an invitation from Bill Kreuztmann to join the Grateful Dead.

1968, Janis Joplin performed at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

1970, Doors singer Jim Morrison was dragged off stage by keyboardist Ray Manzarek during a concert in Boston, after Morrison asked the audience, “Would you like to see my genitals?” Theater management quickly switched off the power. Morrison had been arrested in Miami a year earlier for “lewd and lascivious behavior” during a performance.

1970, 27 year-old Paul McCartney issued a press statement, announcing that The Beatles had split, one week before the release of his solo album. McCartney said, “I have no future plans to record or appear with The Beatles again, or to write any music with John”. John Lennon, who had kept his much-earlier decision to leave The Beatles quiet for the sake of the others, was furious. When a reporter called Lennon to comment upon McCartney’s resignation, Lennon said, “Paul hasn’t left. I sacked him.”

1971, The Grateful Dead played at East Hall, Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

1971, John Denver makes his first appearance on the pop charts with “Take Me Home Country Roads.”

1975, Pink Floyd performed at the Seattle Center Coliseum, the first US date of their North American tour.

1976, Peter Frampton went to number one on the album chart with Frampton Comes Alive, the biggest selling live album in rock history.

1976, UK music weekly The Melody Maker reviewed a Sex Pistols gig with the words, “I hope we shall hear no more of them.”

1982, Iron Maiden scored their first UK number one album with The Number Of The Beast.

1985, Madonna kicked off her very first North American tour by playing the first of three nights at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington. The Beastie Boys opened for Madonna on this 40-date Virgin Tour.

1993, Depeche Mode entered the US album chart at number one with Songs Of Faith And Devotion.

1994, Over 5,000 fans attended a US public memorial service for Kurt Cobain at Seattle Flag Pavilion.

2003, American singer Little Eva died in Kinston, North Carolina, aged 59. She had the 1962 US number one and UK number two single “The Loco-Motion.” Eva was working as a babysitter for songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin who asked her to record the song they’d just written. “The Loco-Motion” was also a UK number one hit for Grand Funk Railroad in 1974, and for Kylie Minogue in 1988.

2013, Kate Bush received her CBE for services to music from the Queen at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, England. The singer-songwriter, who was catapulted to fame in 1978 when Wuthering Heights topped the charts, said she was “incredibly thrilled”.

Born on April 10: Nate Nelson, The Flamingos (1932); Bunny Livingston, The Wailers (1947); Fred Smith, bass, Television (1948); Dave Pevertt, Savoy Brown, Forghat (1950); Brian Setzer (1959); Katrina Leskanich, Katrina And The Waves (1959); Mark Everett, eels (1963); Andrew Dost, Fun (1983).

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Today in Rock History – April 5

April 5, 2020 by Mitch Michaels

1967, Monkees fans walked from London’s Marble Arch to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square to protest Davy Jones’ planned call-up to the army. Jones was exempted because he was deemed responsible for supporting his father.

1968, The first date of a twice-nightly UK tour featuring, Amen Corner, Gene Pitney, Status Quo, Simon Dupree & The Big Sound, and Don Partridge kicked off at The Odeon Theatre, Lewisham, London.

1968, Vanilla Fudge played at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1969, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Roundhouse in Dagenham in East London.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Ludlow Garage, Cincinnati, Ohio.

1971, Rolling Stones Leave England and become tax-exiles. In an interview with Mick Jagger and Roy Carter of the NME shortly before the release of Exile on Main Street, Mick said, “So after working for eight years I discovered at the end that nobody had ever paid my taxes and I owed a fortune. So then you have to leave the country. So I said fuck it, and left the country.”

1971, Keith Moon performs again as part of an All-Star Jam Session at the Bumpers Club in London.

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

1972, Elvis Presley kicked of a 15-date US tour at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York.

1973, Yes appeared at The Forum, Inglewood, California.

1974, Genesis performed at the Embassy Theatre, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

1975, Minnie Riperton went to number one on the singles chart with the Stevie Wonder produced song “Loving You.” It was the singer’s only chart hit. Riperton died of cancer in July 1979.

1975, Lynyrd Skynyrd played at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1977, David Bowie plays keyboards and sings backing vocals on Iggy Pop’s US tour. This night’s stop is at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, Washington.

1977, Black Sabbath appeared at the Pavillion de Paris, Paris.

1978, Duran Duran made their live debut at The Lecture Theatre, Birmingham Polytechnic.

1979, Roxy Music played at the Masonic Auditorium, Detroit, Michigan.

1980, The Grateful Dead were the musical guests on Saturday Night Live. They performed “Alabama Getaway” and “Saint of Circumstance.”

1980, Genesis scored their first number one album when Duke went to the top of the charts.

1980, R.E.M. played their first ever gig when they appeared at St Mary’s Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia.

1981, Canned Heat singer Bob “The Bear” Hite died of a heart attack aged 36. He played at both the 1967 Monterrey Pop Festival and the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

1983, Danny Rapp, leader of 50’s group Danny and the Juniors committed suicide in a hotel in Arizona by shooting himself.

1984, Marvin Gaye’s funeral took place at The Forest Lawn Cemetery, Los Angeles. Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy, and other Motown singers, writers and producers, attended the service.

1985, At 3:50pm GMT, over 5,000 radio stations worldwide aired the charity single by USA for Africa ‘We Are The World’. The single went on to be a number one hit in the US and the UK, and most Western territories.

1994, Kurt Cobain committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at his home in Seattle. Cobain’s body wasn’t discovered until April 8, by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system, who initially believed that Cobain was asleep, until he saw the shotgun pointing at his chin. A suicide note was found that said, “I haven’t felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing . . . for too many years now.” A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium were found in Cobain’s body. His death was officially ruled as suicide by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.

1997, The Chemical Brothers went to number one on the UK singles chart with “Block Rockin Beats.” The song was taken from their second album Dig Your Own Hole, and won a Grammy award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

1998, British drummer Cozy Powell (Colin Flooks) was killed when his car smashed into crash barriers on the M4 motorway near Bristol, England. Powell had worked with the Jeff Beck Group, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Brian May, Peter Green, and the ELP spin-off Emerson, Lake, and Powell.

2003, Paul McCartney kicked off the UK leg of his Back In The World Tour at Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England, a year after it began in America. The set included 22 Beatles songs.

2006, Gene Pitney was found dead aged 65 in his bed in a Cardiff hotel. The American singer was on a UK tour and had shown no signs of illness. Pitney helped the Rolling Stones break the American market with his endorsement of the band. Jagger and Richards wrote his hit “That Girl Belongs to Yesterday,” which became the Stones duo’s first composition to reach the American charts. He scored the 1962 US No.4 single “Only Love Can Break A Heart.” and 1967 solo UK No.5 & 1989 UK No.1 single with Marc Almond “Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart,” plus over 15 other US & UK Top 40 hits.

2007, Former KISS guitarist Mark St. John died from an apparent brain hemorrhage at the age of 51. St. John was KISS’ third official guitarist, having replaced Vinnie Vincent in 1984. He appeared on the album Animalize.

2011, A statue in tribute to Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain was unveiled in his hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, The unveiling marked the 17th anniversary of Cobain’s death. The statue designed by local artists Kim and Lora Malakoff was of his signature Fender Jag-Stang guitar. The concrete guitar was eight and a half feet tall and also featured a ribbon with lyrics written on it from Nirvana’s “On a Plain.” It reads: “One more special message to go and then I’m done and I can go home.”

Born on April 5: Tony Williams, The Platters (1928); Peter Grant, manager, Led Zeppelin (1935); Ronny White, The Miracles (1939); Dave Swarbick, Fairport Convention (1941); Alan Clarke, The Hollies (1942); – Les Binks, Irish drummer and songwriter, Judas Priest, Lionheart, Tytan (1948); Dave Holland, Judas Priest (1948); Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish singer-songwriter, producer ABBA (1950); Stan Ridgway, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, Wall of Voodoo, Drywall (1952); Mike McCready, Pearl Jam (1966); Paula Cole, American singer-songwriter, pianist (1968); Pharrell Williams (1973)

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Today in Rock History – February 20

February 20, 2020 by Mitch Michaels

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.

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.
1976, 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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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “All Apologies” by Nirvana

May 21, 2019 by Eric Berman

I don’t know how many people realized what we had with Kurt Cobain when he was alive…much less himself…but his contributions to music have grown enormously with the passage of time. No time to write today…it’s Yom Kippur and that would be considered work. So I will just leave you with “All Apologies” until tomorrow when Song Of The Day resumes. “All Apologies” “All Apologies” “All Apologies” “All Apologies” and then some…

Today in Rock History – September 8