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 – April 5
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 & […]
Today in Rock History – April 2
1964, The Beach Boys recorded their next single “I Get Around,” which became their first US number one in the summer of ’64. 1965, The Who made their first radio appearance on the UK BBC’s Joe Loss Pop Show. 1966, a charity concert at The Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, California, took place featuring, Jan and Dean, […]
Today in Rock History – April 1
1966, The Troggs recorded “Wild Thing” at Regent Sound Studio in London. The song went on to be a chart topping US and number two UK hit in June the following year. 1966, The Who and The Yardbirds appear together in a live French edition of Ready, Steady GO! called, appropriately, Ready, Steady, Allez! According […]
Today in Rock History – March 31
1967, Jimi Hendrix set fire to his guitar live on stage for the first time when he was appearing at The Astoria in London, England. It was the first night of a 24-date tour with The Walker Brothers, Cat Stevens, and Engelbert Humperdink. The Fender Stratocaster burned on stage by Hendrix sold for £280,000 at […]
Today in Rock History – March 30
1967, The cover for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is photographed at a studio on London’s Flood Street, using cardboard cutouts and wax figures to represent the Beatles’ heroes. The effigies featured include Edgar Allan Poe, Lenny Bruce, Vidal Sassoon, Laurel and Hardy, Bob Dylan, and Huntz Hall. After the shoot, The Beatles resumed […]
Today in Rock History – March 29
1967, During a European tour The Rolling Stones appeared at the Bremen-Stadthalle in Germany. Also on the tour, The Easybeats and The Creation. 1967, Working at Abbey Road studios The Beatles finished recording “Good Morning Good Morning.” They then started work on a new song “With a Little Help From My Friends,” (originally titled “Bad […]
Today in Rock History – March 28
1967, 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 […]
Today in Rock History – March 27
1966, The Who appeared at the Central Pier, Morecambe, Lancashire, England. 1966, During an UK tour, Roy Orbison fell off a motorbike while scrambling at Hawkstone Park, Birmingham fracturing his foot. He played the remaining dates sat on a stool and walking on crutches. 1967, Fats Domino played his first ever UK date at London’s […]
Today in Rock History – March 25
1966, At a photo session with Bob Whitaker’s studio in London, The Beatles posed in white coats using sides of meat with mutilated and butchered dolls for the cover of their next American album, Yesterday and Today. After a public outcry, the album was pulled from stores and re-issued with a new cover. At the […]
