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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 – May 28

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1966, Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass went to number one on the album chart with What Now My Love, setting a new American record with four albums in the Top Ten. The other three were; South of the Border, Going Places and Whipped Cream and Other Delights.

1966, The Who appear at South Pier in Blackpool, Lancashire, England.

1966, Percy Sledge started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “When A Man Loves A Woman.”

1966, Love appeared at the Whisky A Go-Go West Hollywood, California, supported by The Doors.

1966, Ike & Tina Turner release their epic “River Deep, Mountain High,” but it climbs only to number 88 on the American chart.

1966, All four Beatles spent the day with Bob Dylan in his room at the Mayfair hotel in London, England.

1967, The Who go to CBS Studios, London and record backing tracks for “I Can See For Miles,” “Armenia City In The Sky” and “Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand.” However, further recording is cancelled after Keith ruptures his stomach wall and has to be carted off by ambulance.

1969, Led Zeppelin performed at Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, Rolling Stone Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull were arrested at their London home and charged with possession of cannabis, they were released on £50 ($85) bail.

1971, Pink Floyd completes four days of recording sessions for Meddle at EMI Studios in London.

1971, King Crimson performed at Greens Playhouse, Glasgow, Scotland.

1971, Studio engineer Glyn Johns gives The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” its final mix before mastering.

1972, Dave Mason, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Linda Ronstadt played at the YMCA downtown center lawn in Peoria, Illinois.

1973, Bassist and songwriter Ronnie Lane leaves the Faces.

1974, Ten Years After played at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1975, AC/DC appeared at the Sundowner, Geelong, Australia.

1976, Yes headlined at the Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia.

1976, Aerosmith performed at Colt Park, Hartford, Connecticut.

1976, The Allman Brothers Band break up in disgust for the first time after Gregg Allman testifies against a road manager accused of drug trafficking.

1977, Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers played together for the first time when they performed as part of Mike Howlett’s band, Strontium 90 in Paris France.

1977, Heart, Steve Miller, The Eagles and Foreigner all appeared at the Oakland-Alameda County Stadium in California.

1977, The Grateful Dead performed at the Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

1977, Bruce Springsteen is free to enter a studio again after settling out of court with his former manager, Mike Appel. Their legal entanglements had prevented Springsteen from recording.

1978, Rush played at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin.

1979, Rush appeared at Stadhalle, Offenbach, Germany.

1982, Frank Zappa performed at the Palais des Sports, St Etienne, France.

1982, Promoter Bill Graham staged a special Vietnam Veterans benefit concert at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco starring The Jefferson Starship, The Grateful Dead, and Country Joe.

1983, The four day US Festival ’83 took place in California, featuring The Clash, U2, David Bowie, The Pretenders, Van Halen, Stray Cats, Men At Work, Judas Priest, Stevie Nicks, Willie Nelson. INXS, Joe Walsh, Motley Crue and Ozzy Osbourne. Over 750,000 fans attended the festival.

1988, Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler married his second wife clothing designer Teresa Barrick. The couple announced they were separating due to personal problems in February 2005.

1995, Hootie & the Blowfish started a four-week run at number one on the US album charts with Cracked Rear View. The album went on to sell over 15 million copies.

1996, Depeche Mode singer Dave Gahan was rushed to Cedars Sinai Hospital, Los Angeles after an apparent drug overdose. The singer was later arrested for possession of cocaine and heroin.

2000, Britney Spears was at number one on the US album chart with Oops!… I Did It Again. The singer’s second album also reached the top spot in thirteen other countries and has now sold over twenty million copies.

2007, The Police kicked off their 152-show Reunion Tour at General Motors Place in Vancouver, Canada in front of 22,000 fans.

Born on May 28:  T-Bone Walker, blues guitarist (1910); Papa John Creech, violinist, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna (1917); Gladys Knight (1944); John Fogerty (1945); Ray Laidlan, Lindisfarne (1948); Wendy O. Williams, The Plasmatics (1949); Roland Gift, vocals, Fine Young Cannibals (1962); Kylie Minogue, Australian singer, actress (1968); Colbie Caillat, American singer-songwriter (1985)

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Today in Rock History – February 19

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beatles-studio-19651965, Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles recorded the rhythm track “You’re Going To Lose That Girl” in two takes. On his new song, John Lennon sang, and accompanied himself on acoustic guitar, backed by Paul and George.  The band lip-synched to the recording for the movie Help!  The final album mix was made four days later.

1965, The Who learn by letter that J.E. Grant has given them the go-ahead to appear on the BBC Light Programme after they pass their audition of the 12th with four votes out of seven. The same day is more good news as “I Can’t Explain” makes its first appearance on a British chart, popping up at #45 in Record Mirror.

1966, Lou Christie went to number one on the US singles chart with “Lightnin’ Strikes.”

1966, The Who performed at Memorial Hall in Norwich, England.

1966, Bob Dylan appeared at Ottawa Auditorium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at Brady’s Club in London.

1967, Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane performed at the Fillmore in San Francisco.

1969, Yes appeared at the Marquee Club, London.

1970, Neil Young played an acoustic show at KQED-TV Studios, San Francisco.  Back in the day, KQED was responsible for spotting the best new music via their live sessions. The song selection was from the Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere era. The setlist reportedly was:  Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Everybody’s Alone, Dance Dance Dance, On The Way Home, Wonderin #1, Wonderin #2, Instrumental Noodling (including – Out On The Weekend I – Don’t Want To Talk About It – Helpless – Country Girl – Do I Have To Come Right Out And Say It,) Sugar Mountain.

1971, REO Speedwagon  and Mountain played Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse at Bradley University, in Peoria, Illinois.

1972, Harry Nilsson started a four week run at number one on the US singles chart with his version of the Badfinger song “Without You.” It won a Grammy in 1973 for Best Male Pop Vocal.

1972, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Memorial Drive, Adelaide in Australia. A local paper who reviewed the show printed: Singer Robin Plant (sic) overcame an “Australian bug” in his throat and broke into his own in “Black Dog” and “Stairway To The Stars” (sic.)

1973, The Grateful Dead performed at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois.

1974,  At the first American Music Awards, Al Green’s Livin’ for You wins the Favorite Album, Soul/R&B award. The hosts were Roger Miller, Helen Reddy, and Smokey Robinson.

1974, KISS make their television debut on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.

1974, Black Sabbath appeared at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1976, Former lead singer with Tower Of Power, Rich Stevens was arrested in connection with the drug related murders of three men in San Jose, California. Stevens was found guilty of the charges in November 1976.

1976, Cat Stevens performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1977, Leo Sayer had his only number one single with the Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer Sager song “When I Need You.”

manfred-mann-blinded1977, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band scored a number one single in the with their version of the Bruce Springsteen song “Blinded By The Light.” The track was the first single from Bruce Springsteen’s 1973 debut album Greetings from Asbury Park N.J. The Earth Band’s version features several changed lyrics. The most prominent change is in the chorus, where Springsteen’s “cut loose like a deuce” is replaced with “revved up like a deuce.” Springsteen himself has said that it was not until Manfred Mann rewrote the song to be about a “feminine hygiene product” that it became popular.

1977, ZZ Top played at Chicago Stadium in  Chicago.

1979, Frank Zappa performed at the Hammersmith Odeon, London.

1982, Ozzy Osbourne was arrested in San Antonio, Texas for urinating on the Alamo. Osbourne was wearing a dress at the time of his arrest, (due to his wife Sharon hiding all his clothes so he couldn’t go outside). Osbourne who apparently thought he was relieving himself on a pile of rubble was banned from ever playing in San Antonio, Texas again, (a ban which was lifted in 1992).

1982, Alice Cooper appeared at The Apollo, Glasgow, Scotland.

1992, During their Use Your Illusion Tour, Guns n’ Roses played the first of three nights at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The 55,000-seat baseball stadium (The Big Egg) is the largest concert hall in Japan.

1994, Mariah Carey had her first UK number one with her version of the Peter Ham – Tom Evans song “Without You.” This was 22 years after Harry Nilsson made it a US chart topper. Carey’s version was released on January 24, 1994, just over a week after Nilsson had died following a heart attack. the tragic connection with this song is that both Ham and Evans committed suicide, Ham in 1975, and Evans in 1983, after an ongoing battle to receive royalties from the song.

1995, Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee married Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson on a Cancun beach, Mexico, the bride wore a white bikini. Anderson and Lee who married only four days after meeting, had videotaped their sexual activities while on vacation. The tape was later stolen and released on the Internet. After suing the video company who released the tape, the Lees entered into a confidential settlement agreement. The couple divorced in 1998.

1996, Winners at this year’s Brit Awards included Paul Weller who won British Male Solo Artist, British Female Solo Artist went to Annie Lennox, Oasis won British Group, Best Album for (What’s The Story) Morning Glory and Best British Video for “Wonderwall.” British Breakthrough Act went to Supergrass, International Group was Bon Jovi, International Breakthrough Act went to Alanis Morissette and David Bowie was awarded Outstanding Contribution to music. Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker was arrested after a stage invasion during Michael Jackson’s appearance, (who won Artist of a Generation). Cocker was accused of attacking children who were performing with Jackson. All charges against Cocker were later dropped.

2014, David Bowie was named best British male at the Brit Awards in London, although he was not there in person to collect his award. Arctic Monkeys won both best group and best album for the third time – the first act to achieve that milestone. Ellie Goulding won best British female, while pop act One Direction were honored for their global success for the second year running. Bowie’s prize came at the expense of four much younger hopefuls – Jake Bugg, Tom Odell, John Newman and Mercury Prize winner James Blake.

Born on this day: Smokey Robinson (1940); Lou Christie (1943); Paul Dean, Canadian guitarist, Loverboy, Streetheart (1946); Tony Iommi, Black Sabbath (1948); Mark Andes, Spirit (1948); Andy Powell, Wishbone Ash (1950); Francis Buchholz,  bass, Scorpions, Michael Schenker Group (1954); Peter Holsapple, American singer-songwriter, a guitars, The dB’s (1956); Dave Wakeling, The English Beat (1957); Hans Holzl, aka Falco (1957); Henry Samuel, aka Seal, singer (1963); Jon Fishman, American drummer, Phish (1965); Daniel Adair, drums,  3 Doors Down (1975);

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Today in Rock History – February 11

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Beatles-Twist-and-Shout1963, In less than ten hours, The Beatles record ten new songs for their first album plus four other tracks which would be the next two singles. John Lennon’s vocal on The Isley Brothers “Twist & Shout” was recorded in one take to complete the album.

1964, The Beatles made their live concert debut in the US at the Washington Coliseum. Over 350 police surrounded the stage to keep the 8,000 plus screaming fans in control. One police officer who found the noise so loud stuck a bullet in each ear as ear plugs. The Beatles had to stop three times and turn Ringo’s drum kit around and re-position their microphones so that they faced a different part of the audience.

1965, Ringo Starr married his long-time girlfriend Maureen at Caxton Hall Register Office in London. John and George attended, Paul was away on holiday.

1967, Jimi Hendrix played at the Blue Moon in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.

1968, The Who go into IBC Studios to complete the recording of “Glow Girl” as well as recording the backing tracks for “Call Me Lightning” and “Little Billy.” That evening they drive out to Crawley, West Sussex, to play the Starlite Ballroom. Their supporting group is Jo-Jo Gunne.

1969, The Monkees set a new record when their second album More Of The Monkees, jumped from number 122 to the top of the album chart. The album then stayed in there for eighteen weeks.

1970, Fleetwood Mac, The Allman Brothers and Grateful Dead all appeared at the Fillmore East in New York City.

1971, Ry Cooder and Captain Beefheart performed at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1972, Led Zeppelin scored their third US Top 20 hit single with “Black Dog / Misty Mountain Hop,” from Led Zeppelin IV.  The song peaked at number fifteen.  The song’s title is a reference to a nameless black Labrador retriever that wandered around the Headley Grange studios during recording. Robert Plant recorded his vocal for the track in two takes.

1972, During their Dark Side Of The Moon tour, Pink Floyd appeared at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England. The show was abandoned after 25 minutes due to a power cut.

1973, A local charity raised over $850 selling bedsheets and pillowcases used by the Rolling Stones after a show at Western Springs Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.

1974, Bob Dylan played at the Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California.

Bowie 1976 source: bowiegoldenyears.com
Bowie 1976 source: bowiegoldenyears.com

1976, David Bowie performed at the Forum in Inglewood, California. In the audience are Linda Blair, Henry Winkler, Carole King and Cameron Crowe. In the dressing room after the show, Bowie chatted to Christopher Isherwood and David Hockney, who also attended.

1978, Eric Clapton appeared at the Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York.

1983, Eric Clapton took the stage at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona.

1986, Aerosmith played at Memorial Coliseum, Corpus Christi, Texas.

1992, Motley Crue fired their singer Vince Neil when he turned up for rehearsals, claiming that he had lost his passion for the band and was now more involved with racing cars.

1998, The hand-written lyrics to “Candle in the Wind” by Bernie Taupin were auctioned off at Christie’s in LA for $278,512 (£174,070.)

2012, Whitney Houston was found dead in suite 434 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, submerged in the bathtub. Beverly Hills paramedics arrived at approximately 3:30 p.m. and found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m.

Born on February 11: Gene Vincent (1935); Gerry Goffin (1939); Bobby “Boris” Pickett (1940); Sergio Mendes (1941); Otis Clay, bluesman (1942); Alan Rubin, trumpet, The Blues Brothers (1943); Derek Schulman, Gentle Giant (1947); Paul D. Hudson, aka HR, singer, guitar, Bad Brains (1956); Sheryl Crow (1962); Fredrik Thordendal, Swedish guitarist, songwriter, Meshuggah (1970); Craig Jones, keyboards, Slipknot (1972); Mike Shinoda, singer-songwriter, guitar, producer Linkin Park, Fort Minor (1977)

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Today in Rock History – January 17

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rolling-stones-first-ep1964, The Rolling Stones released their first EP, which included, “You Better Move On,” “Poison Ivy,” “Bye Bye Johnny,” and “Money.” It peaked at number 15 on the UK chart.

1966, NBC-TV  bought The Monkees series, placing it on their 1966 autumn schedule.

1967, The Daily Mail ran the story about a local council survey finding 4,000 holes in the road in Lancashire inspiring John Lennon’s famous contribution to The Beatles song “A Day In The Life.”

1967, Big Brother and the Holding Company played at the Matrix in San Francisco.

1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded a session for Radio Luxembourg’s Ready Steady Radio. The band ran up a bar bill of £2.5 shillings, ($6.21), which they were unable to pay.

1967, 40-year-old David Mason recorded the piccolo trumpet solo for The Beatles’ “Penny Lane” at Abbey Road Studios in London. He was paid £27, 10 shillings ($42) for his performance. In August, 1987, the trumpet he used was sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $10,846.

1968, Pink Floyd were in recording sessions for Saucerful of Secrets at Studio 2, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, St. Johns Wood, in London.

1969, In an interview, John Lennon warns that Apple will soon tank due to its enormous financial losses.

1969, Led Zeppelin I, the band’s debut album, was released in the US, coinciding with the band’s first headlining US concert tour. It was to peak at number ten in the US chart, and at number six in the UK. The RIAA in the US has now certified it as having sold over 10 million copies in the US alone.  The band played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit on this night.

1969, The Who performed at King’s College in London.

1970, R&B singer Billy Stewart and three of his band were killed when the car they were traveling in crashed off a bridge. He had the 1966 US number ten single “Summertime.”

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

1970, The Doors played the first of four shows at the Felt Forum in New York City. The shows were recorded for the bands forthcoming Absolutely Live album.

1971, Neil Young performed at the Masonic Temple Theater in Detroit, Michigan.

1972, a section of Bellevue Boulevard in Memphis was renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard. The remaining length of road kept its original name after protests from the Bellevue Baptist Church.

1973, Genesis appeared at Jahrhunderthalle Hoechst, Frankfurt, Germany.

1974, Hawkwind played at Town Hall, Cheltenham, England.

1975, Bob Dylan releases Blood on the Tracks, arguably his most important album of the seventies.

1975, KISS played at Long Beach Civic Arena, Long Beach, California.

1977, Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1980, Rush appeared at Aitken University Centre, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.

1981, Motley Crue formed when bass guitarist Nikki Sixx left the band London and began rehearsing with drummer Tommy Lee and vocalist, guitarist Greg Leon, who later left. Sixx and Lee then added guitarist Bob “Mick Mars” Deal. Vince Neil accepted an offer to join three months later, after initially turning them down.

1983, Van Halen played at the Caracas Polyhedron, Caracas, Venezuela.

1986, David Bowie, Tom Donahue, The Jefferson Airplane, Gladys Knight And The Pips, Little Willie John, Pink Floyd, Pete Seeger, The Shirelles and The Velvet Underground were all inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

2003, A long-lost recording featuring John Lennon and Mick Jagger was set to spark a biding war at a London auction. The acetate record was recorded in 1974 with Jagger singing the blues song ‘Too Many Cooks” and Lennon playing guitar. The track had never been released because the two artists were both signed to different record companies.

2008, The Police played the first nine dates in Australian and New Zealand at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, on their 152-date Reunion tour.

2011, Don Kirshner, the songwriter, manager, publisher and music executive who helped launch the careers of Neil Diamond, Bobby Darin, Carole King, Neil Sedaka, The Monkees, The Archies and Kansas, died of heart failure at the age of 76.

Born on January 17: Eartha Kitt (1927); Mick Taylor (1948);  Steve Earle (1955); Paul Young, singer (1956); Susanna Hoffs, guitar vocals, The Bangles (1959); Andy Rourke, bass, The Smiths (1963); Robert James Ritchie, aka Kid Rock (1971)

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Today in Rock History – January 10

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beatles-vee-jay1964, The first US Beatles album, Introducing The Beatles, was released on Vee-Jay records. The album cover showed John, Paul and George with their now famous “mop top” haircuts, but Ringo had yet to convert. Vee-Jay would be forced to stop selling the disc by the end of the year because of legal complications, but by then, over 1.3 million copies had been sold.

1964, The Rolling Stones recorded “Not Fade Away” at Regent Sound Studios in London, England.

1965, American promoter Sid Bernstein telephones Beatles manager Brian Epstein to propose the Fab Four play Shea Stadium.

1968, In New Delhi, India, the General Secretary for the Movement for the Spiritual Regeneration (not, we suspect, a real government office) announces that the Beatles are coming to India to study transcendental meditation. George Harrison is currently in Bombay recording the soundtrack to Wonderwall.

1969, Jimi Hendrix performed at Falkoner Centret in Copenhagen, Denmark.

1969, George Harrison announces that he is leaving the Beatles. He later returns.

1970, The Amboy Dukes, featuring Ted Nugent played at the Uptown Palladium 12 Theatre‎ in Birmingham, Michigan.

1971,  The trial over Paul McCartney’s move to dissolve the Beatles partnership begins today in London’s High Court. Ringo testifies, “Paul behaved like a spoiled child.”

1971, The reclusive Bob Dylan appears on the banjo picker Earl Scruggs’ Fanfare Show. The duo performs “East Virginia Blues” and “Nashville Skyline Rag.”

1972, Hawkwind played at Civic Hall in Wolverhampton, England.

1973, Cliff Richard appeared on the Cilla Black Show, singing the six entries chosen to represent Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest. TV viewers picked “Power To All Our Friends.”

1973, Bob Dylan and The Band appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1975, Genesis performed “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” at the Convention Centre, in West Palm Beach, Florida, a show popular among tape collectors.

1976, Blues artist Howlin Wolf,  born Chester Burnett, died of cancer, aged 66. The guitarist, singer and harmonica player’s well known songs included “Smokestack Lightning,” “Little Red Rooster,” and “Spoonful.”

1976, CW McCall went to number one on the singles chart with “Convoy.”

1977, The litigation between Beatles, Apple, Allen Klein and ABKCO is declared settled in court.

1978, The Sex Pistols make their US TV debut on the show Variety.

John-lennon-Imagine-220px1981, John Lennon’s “Imagine” started a four-week run at number one on the singles chart, 10 years after it was recorded. Lennon had two other songs in the Top 5 this week, “Happy Christmas, (War Is Over”) and (“Just Like) Starting Over.” “Imagine” was voted by the viewers of BBC TV as the best lyrics of all time, in a poll broadcast in October 1999.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Ocean State Theater, Providence, Rhode Island.

1984, Motley Crue played their opening show on the first leg of Ozzy Osbourne’s Bark At The Moon tour in front of 9500 people in Portland, Maine.

1984, Cyndi Lauper became the first female recording artist since Bobbie Gentry in 1967 to be nominated for five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female), Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

1990, Bon Jovi played the first of seven sold-out nights at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England on their New Jersey Syndicate Tour.

2001, American guitarist and songwriter and founder member of The Cramps Bryan Gregory, died after suffering a heart attack aged 46 at in Anaheim, California.

2005, American drummer Spencer Dryden died from colon cancer at his home in California aged 66. He was the drummer for Jefferson Airplane, replacing Skip Spence, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and The Dinosaurs. Dryden was the nephew of Charlie Chaplin.

2008, Radiohead topped the US album charts with the physical release of In Rainbows, originally sold via the Internet for a price chosen by fans. The album sold 122,000 copies during its first week on release, giving the band a second US chart topper following 2000’s Kid A, which sold an initial 207,000 copies.

2013, Claude Nobs the founder and general manager of the Montreux Jazz Festival died aged 76. During a 1971 Frank Zappa concert at the Montreux Casino, the venue caught fire. Nobs saved several young people who had hidden in the casino, thinking they would be sheltered from the flames. This act earned him a mention, as Funky Claude in the line “Funky Claude was running in and out pulling kids out the ground,” in the Deep Purple song “Smoke on the Water,” which is about the incident.

2016, David Bowie died two days after his 69th birthday and the release of the studio album Blackstar, Bowie died from liver cancer in New York City. He had been diagnosed 18 months earlier,  but chose to not disclose his illness to the public.

Born on January 10:  Jerry Wexler, Atlantic records (1917); Ronnie Hawkins, The Band (1935); Scott McKenzie (1939); Jim Croce (1943); Martin Turner, guitar, Wishbone Ash, and Rod Stewart (1945); Aynsley Dunbar,  Journey, Whitesnake (1946); Cyril Neville and Donald Fagen (1948); Pat Benatar (1953); Michael Schenker,  The Scorpions,  UFO (1955); and Brad Roberts, vocals, guitar, Crash Test Dummies (1964)

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Today in Rock History – November 24

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1966, The Beatles got together for the first time since their return from the summer tour of the United States, ready to record a new album. The first song selected for recording was John’s “Strawberry Fields Forever,” which would end up, not on the album, but on The Beatles’ next single. This day’s session was devoted entirely to “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

1966, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs, Bryan Hyland, and Distant Cousins appeared at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1967, The Who play The Swinging Gate in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After the show The Who go to local booking agent Linda Wren’s home for Thanksgiving dinner.

1968, Jefferson Airplane played at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Diana Ross and The Supremes were at number one on the US singles chart with “Love Child,” their eleventh chart topper in the US. The song is also notable for knocking off and keeping The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” off the top spot in the US.

1969, The Rolling Stones played at the Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan.

1971, Led Zeppelin appeared at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England.

1972, King Crimson performed at Essex University, Colchester, England.

1973, Ringo Starr went to number one on the US singles chart with “Photograph.” This was his first of two US chart toppers as a solo artist. Written by Starr and George Harrison, the promotional film shot for the single showed Starr walking around his new house at the time, Tittenhurst Park, which had been previously the home of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and where the Imagine promo film was shot.

1974, Genesis appeared at the Masonic Temple, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1974, Roxy Music played at the Tower Theater, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.

1975, The Who performed at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia.

1976, Chicago started a three-week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “If You Leave Me Now,” the American group’s only UK chart topper. It went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance.

1976, Rush played at Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California.

1977, Yes appeared at Ahoy-Hallen Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

1978, David Bowie played the first of two sold-out nights at the RAS Show Grounds, in Sydney, Australia, during his 8-date Low/Heroes tour of Australia and New Zealand.

1978, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey.

1979, Stevie Ray Vaughn performed at Lupo, in Providence, Rhode Island.

1980, Bruce Springsteen played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia.

1981, Alice Cooper headlined at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1984, Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee married his girlfriend, nude model Candice, aka Elaine Margaret Starchuk. The marriage lasted one month. Lee has also been married to actress Heather Locklear, and the former Playboy Playmate, and Baywatch star, Pamela Anderson.

1991, Eric Carr (Paul Charles Caravello,) drummer with Kiss died aged 41, of complications from cancer in a New York hospital. Carr replaced Peter Criss in 1980 and remained a band member until he became ill in 1991. For his Kiss stage persona, Carr was known as “The Fox.”

1991, Freddie Mercury died of complications from AIDS at his home in London’s Holland park aged 45, just one day after he publicly admitted he was HIV positive. Mercury was openly bisexual and enjoyed a colorful rock star lifestyle. During his career with Queen he scored over forty UK Top 40 singles, including the worldwide number one “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

1992, Bill Wyman’s divorce was finalized with the high court awarding his ex wife Mandy Smith £580,000 ($928,000.) The Rolling Stones bassist had started to date Smith when she was 13, the marriage lasted for two years.

1993, American blues guitarist and singer Albert Collins died of lung cancer aged 61. He was known as ‘The master of the telecaster.” He shared a Grammy for the 1985 album Showdown! which he recorded with Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland.

2002, Robbie Williams started a five week run at number one on the UK album chart with his fifth studio album Escapology. The album became the best selling album of 2002 in the United Kingdom, selling 1.2 million copies.

2002, Jay-Z was at the top of the US album charts with The Blueprint 2, the rapper’s first US number one album.

2006, Winners at the American Music Awards included, Kelly Clarkson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shakira, Jamie Foxx, Nickelback, Sean Paul, Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Faith Hill, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw and Mary J. Blige. Nelly Furtado, John Mayer, and Fall Out Boy.

2008, English drummer Michael Lee died from a seizure at age 39. Lee had worked with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Little Angels, The Cult, Ian Gillan, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Quireboys, and Thin Lizzy.

Born on November 24: Donald “Duck” Dunn (1941); Pete Best (1941) Bev Bevan, ELO (1944); Lee Micheals (1945); Clem Burke, drummer, Blondie (1955); Chris Hayes, Huey Lewis and the News (1957); John Squire, guitar, The Stone Roses (1962); Chad Taylor, guitarist, Live (1970)

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