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Today in Rock History – July 8

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beatles-nowhere-man-ep1966, The Beatles released the Nowhere Man 4-track EP in the UK, which included “Drive My Car,” “Michelle,” and “You Won’t See Me.” All four tracks were taken from The Beatles’ sixth UK studio album, Rubber Soul.

1966, The Who appeared at Top Rank Suite in Cardiff, Wales.

1966, The Rolling Stones performed at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan.

1967, UK music weekly the Melody Maker ran a front-page comment condemning the 3-month jail sentence given to Rolling Stone Mick Jagger for possession of Benzedrine tablets. Jagger was later given a conditional discharge.

1967, The Monkees began a 29-date tour with The Jimi Hendrix Experience as support act. They requested Hendrix because they were fans, but their young audience disliked the Experience, who left the tour after six shows. Hendrix manager Chas Chandler later admitted that he engineered the tour in an effort to gain publicity for Hendrix.

1968, Pink Floyd kicked off their second North American tour at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago. Visa problems meant a delayed start to the tour, and the band had to spend time in Canada while the paperwork was sorted out.

1969, Marianne Faithful collapsed on the set of Ned Kelly after taking a drug overdose. She was admitted to a Sydney Hospital, (she was later dropped from the movie).

1970, The Everly Brothers Show started an eleven-week prime time slot on ABC- TV.

1971, Yes performed at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.

1971, A minor riot occurred during a Mott The Hoople gig at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England. Some fans were injured and two boxes were damaged causing a temporary ban on rock gigs at the venue.

1972, Bill Withers started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “Lean On Me.”

1972, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Convention Center, Louisville, Kentucky.

1972, Donny Osmond was at number one on the singles chart with his version of the Paul Anka song “Puppy Love.” The first of three solo chart toppers for Donny.

1972, The Concert 10 Festival was held at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Acts performing included, Claire Hamill, The Groundhogs, Edgar Winter, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Faces with Rod Stewart, Humble Pie, The J. Geils Band, and Three Dog Night.

Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy1973, Led Zeppelin’s fifth album Houses Of The Holy was on both the US and UK album charts. The album spent a total of 39 weeks on the US chart. The cover art for Houses Of The Holy was inspired by the ending of Arthur C. Clarke’s novel Childhood’s End. It is a collage of several photographs which were taken at the Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland, by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis.

1974, David Bowie plays Philadelphia’s Tower Theatre. The week-long series of concerts is recorded and later released as David Live.

1976, Lynyrd Skynyrd played at the Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia.

1976, Aerosmith appeared at the MECCA Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1977, ZZ Top performed at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum, Shreveport, Louisiana.

1978, Gerry Rafferty’s album City To City went to number one on the US charts knocking off Saturday Night Fever, which had reigned supreme at the top of the charts for almost six months.

1978, Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon from The Clash were arrested for being drunk and disorderly after a gig at the Apollo in Glasgow, both were fined.

1979, The B-52’s made their UK live debut at London’s Lyceum Ballroom, supported by The Tourists.

1980, Roxy Music appeared at the Tendastrisce, Rome.

1981, The Grateful Dead perform at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

1983, Iron Maiden played at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1984, Bob Dylan’s current European tour came to an end at Slane Castle, County Meath in Ireland. Dylan was joined on stage by Van Morrison and they duetted on “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue.” U2’s Bono, who was sent to interview Dylan for the Irish rock magazine Hot Press, ended up duetting with Dylan on “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat.” Carlos Santana also joined Dylan on stage and played guitar on the last seven songs of the set.

1995, TLC started a seven week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Waterfalls,” the group’s second US chart topper, and a top four hit in the UK.

2002, Michael Jackson spoke out against the music industry’s treatment of artists, alleging that the business was rife with racism. Speaking at a civil rights meeting in New York, Jackson claimed there was a “conspiracy” among record companies, especially towards black artists. A spokesman for Jackson’s record label said the remarks were “ludicrous, spiteful and hurtful.”

2006, Queen guitarist Brian May made a “substantial” donation to save hedgehogs from slaughter in the Outer Hebrides. Although the exact amount was not revealed it was said to be enough to pay for the rescue of hundreds of hedgehogs from the Uists, where Scottish Natural Heritage has been culling the animals for the past four years. May’s money would go towards funding cash rewards for islanders so hundreds more hedgehogs can be saved.

2007, Prince was forced off stage by police halfway through his set at the First Avenue nightclub during a late-night gig in his home town of Minneapolis. The club was only allowed to stay open until 3 am, but Prince took to the stage at 2.45 am. Prince had already played two concerts in Minneapolis before his late-night club appearance. His first performance was at a department store, where he promoted his new cologne with a nine-song, 45-minute set.

Born on July 8: Jaimoe Johanson, Allman Bros (1944); Andy Fletcher, Depeche Mode (1960);  Toby Keith (1961); Joan Osborne (1963); Beck (1970); Jamie Cook, guitarist, Arctic Monkeys (1985)

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Today in Rock History – July 6

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beatles-quarrymen-bw1957, John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time at The Woolton Church Parish Fete where The Quarry Men were appearing. As The Quarry Men were setting up for their evening performance, McCartney eager to impress Lennon picked up a guitar and played “Twenty Flight Rock” by Eddie Cochran, and Gene Vincent’s “Be-Bop-A-Lula.” Lennon was impressed, and even more so when McCartney showed Lennon and Eric Griffiths how to tune their guitars, something they’d been paying someone else to do for them.

1964,The Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night premiered at The Pavilion in London. Filmed during the height of Beatlemania, and written by Alun Owen, the film was made in the style of a mockumentary, describing a couple of days in the lives of the group.

1966, The Rolling Stones play War Memorial Hall in Syracuse, New York. During the performance they allegedly desecrate the American flag by dragging it across the stage.

1967, Pink Floyd made their first appearance on BBC TV music show Top Of The Pops to promote their new single “See Emily Play.” This was the first of three times the song would be performed live on television. A badly damaged home video recording recovered by the British Film Institute of this show was given a public screening in London on 9th January 2010 at an event called “Missing Believed Wiped” devoted to recovered TV shows. It was the first time any footage was seen of the performance since its original broadcast.

1968, The Jeff Beck Group played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan

1968, The Woburn Music Festival, Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire took place. A two-day affair featuring Donovan, Fleetwood Mac, Pentangle, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Alexis Korner, Family, Taste, Tim Rose, John Mayall’s Bluesbrakers, Duster Bennett, and Tyrannosaurus Rex, two-day tickets were priced at £2 ($3.50.)

1969, Mick Jagger flies to Australia to begin filming Ned Kelly with his girlfriend Marianne Faithfull. Two days later Jagger will tell her it’s over.

1971,  American jazz trumpeter, singer and bandleader, Louis Armstrong died. Had many hits including the 1964 US number one”Hello Dolly!,” 1968 UK number one “What A Wonderful World,”plus “When The Saints Go Marching In,” “Ain’t Misbehavin,” and “We Have All the Time in the World.”

1972, David Bowie appeared on the UK music show Top Of The Pops playing his new single “Starman,” found on the Ziggy Stardust album. It was his first hit since 1969’s ‘Space Oddity’ three years before. The single peaked at number ten and stayed on the charts for 11 weeks

1973, Queen released their debut single “Keep Yourself Alive” in the UK.

1974, The Faces, Mott The Hoople, Humble Pie, Greenslade, Lindisfarne, Man, Trapeze, and Chapman and Whitney all appeared at Buxton Pop Festival, Derbyshire, England.

1974, The Hues Corporation went to number one on the singles chart with “Rock The Boat.”

1974, David Bowie appeared at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.

1975, Rolling Stone Keith Richards was arrested by the highway patrol in Arkansas on charges of reckless driving and possessing an offensive weapon, a seven-inch hunting knife.

1978, New York Police Academy cadet Eddie Mahoney changes his name to Eddie Money. He would notch the 1986 top four hit “Take Me Home Tonight.”

1979, American singer, producer songwriter, Van McCoy died from a heart attack in Englewood, New Jersey. Van McCoy and the Soul City had the US chart topping single “The Hustle.” McCoy worked with Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Stylistics, Aretha Franklin and David Ruffin.

1984, The Grateful Dead perform at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, WI, outside Milwaukee.

1985, Phil Collins went to number one on the US singles chart with “Sussudio,” his third US chart topper, and a number twelve hit in the UK.

1996, “Three Lions,” the official song of The England Football team, by comedians Baddiel and Skinner and The Lightning Seeds was at number one on the UK singles chart.

2002, George Harrison’s widow Olivia put the couple’s home up for sale for £20m ($35 million) saying she couldn’t bear to live with the memories of the attack by schizophrenic Michael Abram, who broke into the house in 1999.

2003, Skip Battin bassist and songwriter with The Byrds died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He also played with New Riders Of The Purple Sage and The Flying Burrito Brothers.

2004, On the 40th anniversary of the world premiere of The Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night, a private reunion of the cast and crew was hosted in London by DVD producer Martin Lewis. The screening was attended by Paul McCartney actors Victor Spinetti (the television director), John Junkin (the band’s road manager), David Janson (the small boy met by Ringo on his “walkabout”) and many of the crew members

Born on this day: Bill Haley (1925); Jet Harris, English bass player, The Shadows, The Jeff Beck Group, The Vipers Skiffle Group (1939); Rik Elswit, guitar, Dr Hook (1945); Mike Shrieve, drums, Santana (1949);  John Keeble, drums, Spandau Ballet (1959); Inspectah Deck, American rapper, producer, Wu-Tang Clan (1970); Curtis Jackson, aka rapper 50 Cent (1975)

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Song Of The Day – “Ready For Love” by Bad Company

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badcompanyI was a rock snob during the 1970s and 1980s. I admit it, and for those that know me well, this revelation should come as no surprise. I loved prog rock, some southern rock, glam rock and glam’s second cousin disco. I had little tolerance for what I’ll term meat ‘n’ potatoes “dumb-ass” rock.

As a result, I missed out on huge hit albums by Boston, Kiss and Bad Company, to name but a few. However, over the years I’ve come to appreciate the early albums by all three bands. (For some unexplained reason, I always liked BTO, and still do.)

During the ‘80s, I took a pass on most of the hair metal (Poison, especially) and records by Foreigner, Def Leppard, Whitesnake and REO Speedwagon. I pretty much still hate those bands.

Bad Company was yet another supergroup featuring Paul Rodgers (vocals) and Simon Kirke (drums) from Free, Boz Burrell (bass) from King Crimson and Mick Ralphs (guitar) from Mott The Hoople. (King Crimson’s Mel Collins also plays saxophone on the album.) The group’s secret weapons were Paul Rodgers who had perhaps one of the greatest lead-singer voices in all of rock music and the crunchy guitar work of Mick Ralphs.

Being seasoned musicians, they knew their way around the business and approached Led Zeppelin manager, Peter Grant to handle them. He, in turn signed them to Zeppelin’s Swan Song record label in the U.S. (they were signed to Island everywhere else.) Their association with Zep’s record label also gave them added credibility on these shores.

Their sound was about as formulaic as you can get, and with each successive album they released, the songs became more and more generic, however their self-titled platinum chart topping debut album is a stunner. Like many of the biggest albums from the era, the cover was designed by Hipgnosis, but unlike most of Hipgnosis’ designs, they went for a stark and simple, straight-up branding approach for Bad Company rather than going psychedelic or surreal as they did for Pink Floyd, et al.

Today’s Song Of The Day is one several power ballads on the album. It was originally recorded by Mott The Hoople on their 1972 All The Young Dudes album. While I think that Mott’s glammed up version of the song is still better, Bad Company’s version does feature some really nice piano work courtesy of Ralphs and it is still one of the strongest cuts on the album.

The album included two chart singles, “Can’t Get Enough” (#5/1974) and “Movin’ On” (# 19/1974), but included a clutch of album tracks that have become staples of classic rock radio including the “Rock Steady,” the title track and today’s Song Of The Day.

This album also is one of a handful of albums where the name of the band is shared with the name of the album and also the name of a song on the album (i.e. “Bad Company” from Bad Company by Bad Company). I know of only a few others like that, and “Black Sabbath” by Black Sabbath from Black Sabbath immediately comes to mind.

My one and only attempt at being in a band was in middle school. The band was called Toxic Angel and I was the lead singer. The only song we ever attempted to play was “Can’t Get Enough” by Bad Company because it was so easy to pull off.  In fact, my bright and shining moment of rock star glory was when we performed the song during our 8th grade talent show in middle school. (We didn’t win.)

Straight Shooter, the follow-up album, was just as strong as the debut and spawned two more indelible singles in “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad” (#36/1975) and “Feel Like Makin’ Love” (#10/1975). From there it was all downhill with each successive album being more generic than its predecessor.

Today in Rock History – March 1

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1967, The Beatles began recording  “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” at Abbey Road studios, London. Work on the new John Lennon song began the day before with extensive rehearsals. Despite the acronym of the song spelling out LSD, the origins of the composition came from a drawing that Lennon’s son Julian had made of his classmate Lucy O’Donnell. John wrote a song inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

1967, “Happy Jack” peaks at number four on the German charts. It is The Who’s biggest singles hit in that country.

1968, Elton John’s first single “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” was released on the Phillips label.  It didn’t chart.

1968, On or around this date, Pink Floyd officially announces Syd Barrett’s departure from the band.

1968, The Hollies played at the Civic Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

1969, Jim Morrison of The Doors was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior after allegedly showing his penis to the audience during a show in Miami. He was found guilty at a  1970 trial,  of two misdemeanors — indecent exposure and “open profanity,” and sentenced to eight months hard labor. Morrison died in Paris while the sentence was on appeal. On December 9, 2010, a pardon was requested by outgoing Florida Governor Charlie Crist and the state Clemency Board unanimously granted it.

1969, Pink Floyd performed at University College, in Bloomsbury, London, England.

1969, The Who play Mother’s Club in Erdington Birmingham, England.

1969, The Jeff Beck Group performed at the Alexandria Roller Rink in Alexandria, Virginia.

1970, Mott The Hoople, supported by Genesis, appeared at The Northcote Arms, Middlesex, England.

1970, The Ed Sullivan Show, airs clips of the Beatles performing “Let It Be” and “Two of Us.” It’s the last time the band appear on the show that introduced them to American fans.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi.

1972, John Lennon is granted an extension on his American work visa. Lennon begins recording Sometime in New York City.

1973, The New York Joffrey Ballet premieres the Deuce Coupe Ballet. The work is based completely around the music of the Beach Boys.

1973, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the New Haven Arena in New Haven, Connecticut. The set list: Wasted Words, Done Somebody Wrong, Statesboro Blues, One Way Out, Stormy Monday,  Midnight Rider Jessica,   Ramblin’ Man, Trouble No More,  In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, You Don’t Love Me,  Les Brers In A Minor, Whipping Post.

1974, Chris Difford placed an ad in a shop window “lyricist seeks musician for co-writing.” Glen Tillbrook answered the ad. The pair went on to form Squeeze.

Queen in 1974

1974, Queen began their first headlining UK tour at The Winter Garden’s Blackpool.

1975, The Eagles went to number one on the singles chart with “Best Of My Love.” It was the first of five chart toppers for the band.

1975, Winners at the 17th annual Grammy Awards included Paul McCartney for Best pop vocal on “Band On The Run,” Olivia Newton-John won Record Of The Year for “I Honestly Love You,” and Stevie Wonder won Album of the year for Fulfillingness First Finale.

1976, David Bowie performed at the Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan.

1977,  Iggy Pop and David Bowie, plus The Vibrators appeared at Friars, Aylesbury, England.

1979, Joy Division appeared at The Hope & Anchor, Islington, London, England. Admission was 75p ($1.28).

1980, Blondie were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Atomic” the group’s third UK number one single from their album Eat To The Beat.

1982, Rod Stewart performed at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1990, Janet Jackson played the first night on her 120-date Rhythm Nation 1814 world tour at the Miami Arena in Florida. As part of the show Jackson’s had a live panther on-stage, but after concerns were raised over safety of the crowds, and several incidents of the panther urinating on the stage, Jackson had the feline removed from the show in the summer leg of the tour.

1994, Nirvana played their final ever concert when they appeared at The Terminal Einz in Munich, Germany. The 3,000 capacity venue was a small Airport Hanger. The power went off during the show so they played an impromptu acoustic set including a version of The Cars’ “My Best Friend’s Girl.”

1995, Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia” won three Grammys for Song of the Year, Best Male Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song. Sheryl Crow was named Best New Artist, while producer Bill Bottrell won Record of the Year for her song “All I Wanna Do.”

1995, drummer Bill Berry collapsed on stage during an R.E.M. show at the Patinoire Auditorium in Lausanne, Switzerland, from a ruptured brain aneurysm. He recovered and rejoined the band, but left for good in October 1997.

1997, Bowie Bonds were issued on the US Stock Exchange. Linked to David Bowie’s back catalogue albums with money earned on the bonds via interest from royalties, investors could expect to make an 8% profit in about 10 years.

2005, Nelly featuring Tim McGraw were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Over And Over,” the 3rd number one for Nelly, and the first for Grammy Award-winning Country music singer Tim McGraw.

2009, Kelly Clarkson went to number one on the UK singles chart with “My Life Would Suck Without You.” The US singer won American Idol in 2000 and became the only contestant to have topped the UK charts.

2016, 76-year-old Ginger Baker posted on his blog that he had cancelled all of his scheduled shows for the year and was going into immediate retirement. The former drummer for Cream and Blind Faith explained that he had been diagnosed with serious heart problems.

Born on March 1: Glenn Miller (1904); Harry Belafonte (1927); Jerry Fisher, Blood Sweat & Tears (1942) ; Mike D’Abo, singer, songwriter, Manfred Mann (1944); Roger Daltrey, The Who (1944); Tony Ashton, vocals, keyboards, Ashton Gardner & Dyke (1946); Bill Leen, The Gin Blossoms (1962); Rob Affuso, American drummer, Skid Row (1963); Mary Lou Lord, American singer-songwriter,  guitarist, Helium (1965); Justin Bieber (1994)

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Song Of The Day – “(Miss) Silver Dime” by Ian Hunter

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ianhunterovernightAfter the demise of Mott The Hoople, Ian Hunter’s solo career got off to a strong start with his 1975 eponymously titled debut album. Not that the album was by any means a hit upon release, however it did have standout tracks like “Once Bitten Twice Shy” (brought to the charts x years later by Great White), “It Ain’t Easy When You Fall” and “The Truth, The Whole Truth, Nothing But The Truth” that are some of Hunter’s best-loved tunes.

But his second solo record All American Alien Boy was poorly received and sold minimally. As a result, his third album Overnight Angels didn’t even receive a release here in the United States in 1977, and is still unavailable today. (Not even on Spotify.) At the time, Hunter was in the process of changing management and Columbia Records in the states wouldn’t release the record until Hunter found new management.

The album was produced by Roy Thomas Baker who also produced six Queen albums (including Sheer Heart Attack and A Night At The Opera), several hit albums by The Cars (including their first three long players) and albums by Devo, Foreigner and Alice Cooper. Baker brought a huge sound to the record that was supported by Hunter’s band including Earl Slick on guitar (who had just come off of David Bowie’s StationToStation tour, Pete Oxendale on keyboards, Rob Rawlinson on bass and Dennis Davidson on drums.

It was his most American sounding album, and Hunter later disavowed it as forced. While nowhere near the standard of his first two albums, it does feature great vocals by Hunter and a clutch of terrific songs including the title track, the album opener “Golden Opportunity,” “Justice Of The Peace,” “The Ballad Of Little Star” and today’s Song Of The Day. Later copies of this record were amended by the addition of the B-side “England Rocks” (also from the Overnight Angels session) which he would later record as “Cleveland Rocks,” becoming one of his signature songs.

A new band and a change in record labels brought success the following year with the release of his hit album You’re Never Alone With A Schizophrenic.

Today in Rock History – November 12

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monkees-the-monkees

1965, Velvet Underground’s manager and music journalist Al Aronowitz arranged for the group’s first paying gig, $75, to play at Summit High School, in Summit, New Jersey, opening for the Myddle Class.

1966, The Monkees debut album started a 13-week run at number one on the album chart, selling over three million copies in three months. The group would own the album charts for 31 of the ensuing 33 weeks, before the arrival of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

1966, Pink Floyd appeared at the Corn Exchange, Bedford, England, supported by Something Else.

1966, Johnny Rivers went to number one on the US singles chart with “Poor Side Of Town.”

1968, UK book and record chain W.H. Smiths refused to display The Jimi Hendrix Experience album Electric Ladyland due to the naked girls featured on the sleeve. The record was then made available as two albums with changed artwork after the complaints.

1968, Yes played at the Marquee Club, London.

1969, The Who played at the Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, King Crimson performed at the Grande Riviera, Detroit, Michigan.

1970, Pink Floyd appeared at the Falkoner Centret, Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark.

1971, Poco, Gary Wright, along with Aliotta, Haynes & Jeremiah performed at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1971, The Velvet Underground appeared at Friars, Aylesbury, England

1971, Led Zeppelin appeared at The Locarno Ballroom, Sunderland, England. Admission was 75p ($1.20).

1971, The Supremes kicked off a 13-date UK tour at The Regal, Edmonton.

1971, Pink Floyd performed at Irvine Auditorium, on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.

1972, The Grateful Dead appeared at Soldier’s and Sailors Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.

1972, David Bowie played at the Music Hall, Houston, Texas.

1973, Mott The Hoople kicked off a 20-date UK tour at Leeds Town Hall with support group Queen.

1973, Queen appeared at Town Hall, Leeds, England.

black-sabbath-19751974, Black Sabbath played at Festival Hall, Melbourne, Australia.

1976, AC/DC appeared at the Corn Exchange, Cambridge, England, supported by The Tyla Gang.

1976, Eric Clapton performed at the Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas.

1977, during a UK tour Blondie appeared at Friars in Aylesbury, supported by XTC.

1977, The Sex Pistols went to number one on the UK album chart with their debut LP Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols, the punk group’s only chart topping album.

1978, Aerosmith appeared at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.

1979, San Francisco witnesses the premiere of Rock Justice, a rock opera penned by Jefferson Starship’s Marty Balin. The show runs for four nights at the Old Waldorf nightclub. Balin stars as a rock star on trial for suffering a career nosedive.

1980, AC/DC appears at the Hammersmith Odeon, London.

1981, The Rolling Stones perform at Madison Square Garden, New York.

1983, Bob Dylan’s Infidels album reached its highest position when it peaked at number nine in the albums chart. Dylan’s 22nd studio album was co-produced with Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler. Dylan had also approached Elvis Costello, David Bowie and Frank Zappa as possible producers.

1986, Iron Maiden played at the Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland.

1988, U2 started a six-week run at number one on the US album chart with their sixth studio album, Rattle And Hum, which went on to sell over 14 million copies.

1997, The Spice Girls were at number one on the UK album chart with their second album Spiceworld, it was also the name of their tie-in film. The album became a huge hit worldwide, lengthening the so-called “Spicemania” fever at that time. It produced 4 singles all of which saw commercial success and has now sold over 20 million worldwide.

2001, The three living former Beatles met for the last time at George Harrison’s hotel in New York City for lunch. Harrison died two weeks later at a friend’s home in Los Angeles on November 29th, aged 58.

2008, Mitch Mitchell, the British drummer with the Jimi Hendrix Experience was found dead in his US hotel room aged 61. Mitchell had been working with Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames in 1966 when he was invited to audition for a new band being formed to back Jimi Hendrix. During the ’70s Mitchell failed an audition for Paul McCartney’s new band, Wings.

 

Born on November 12:  John Walker, The Walker Brothers (1943); Brian Hyland, singer (1943); Booker T. Jones. Booker T and the MG’s (1944); Neil Young (1945); Donald Roeser, aka Buck Dharma, guitar, vocals, Blue Oyster Cult (1945);  Errol Brown, singer, Hot Chocolate (1948); Lawrence Juber, Wings (1952); Les McKeown, singer, Bay City Rollers (1955); Nick D’Virgilio, drummer, Big Big Train and Spock’s Beard (1968);

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Today in Rock History – October 27

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Sonny-and-Cher1964, 31-year old Salvatore Philip Bono married 18-year old Cherilyn Sarkisian La Piere. For a time they performed together as Caesar and Cleo before changing the name of their act to Sonny and Cher. Their union lasted twelve years.

1966, The Four Tops were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Reach Out I’ll Be There.” It was the group’s only UK chart topper.

1967, Keith Altham reports in New Musical Express on a chaotic meeting at a recording studio attended by The Who and manager Kit Lambert. Pete Townshend describes The Who’s singles prior to “I Can See For Miles” as “too flimsy, too poignant, too prissy.”

1967, The James Gang played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, Muddy Waters was seriously injured in a car crash in Champaign, Illinois. Three people were killed in the accident.

1969, A documentary film called Shadows Of Bliss is broadcast on BBC-2 TV’s Horizon series. The program deals with recent discoveries about sub-atomic particles and features music by Pete Townshend and Terry Ralph Knight.

1969, Ringo Starr begins recording his album Sentimental Journey. Following the completion of Abbey Road, he becomes the first Beatle to formally embark on a solo album.

1970, Black Sabbath played their first ever-live show in the US when they kicked of a 16-date tour at Glassboro State College in New Jersey.

1971, Pink Floyd played at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago as part of their North American tour.

1972, The Moody Blues appeared at the St. Louis Arena in St. Louis, Missouri.

1972, David Bowie performed at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco

1973, Gladys Knight and the Pips started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Midnight Train To Georgia.”  The record won the 1974 Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus. It was the group’s 18th Top 40 hit and first number one.

1973, Mott the Hoople, supported by Aerosmith appeared at The Orpheum Theatre, Boston.

1974, KISS performed at the Agora Ballroom, Youngstown, Ohio.

time-newsweek-springsteen1975, The publicity and critical acclaim following the release of Born To Run resulted in Bruce Springsteen being honored with simultaneous covers on both Time and Newsweek magazines in the US.

1976, Frank Zappa played at Music Hall in Boston.

1977, AC/DC appeared at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England.

1978, Bob Dylan appeared at Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

1979, During a US tour Elton John collapsed on stage at Hollywood’s Universal Amphitheatre suffering from exhaustion.

1980, former T Rex member Steve Took, choked to death on a cherry stone, after some hallucinogenic mushrooms he had eaten, numbed all sensation in his throat.

1980, Mark David Chapman purchases the five-shot Charter Arms .38 Special he will use to kill John Lennon.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Saenger Theatre, New Orleans.

1982, Van Halen performed at The Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts.

1984,  The Grateful Dead allocated a specific recording area for fans to bootleg the show in Berkeley, California.

1988, U2’s film Rattle And Hum, received its world wide premiere in the group’s hometown Dublin.

1988, Def Leppard played the final show on their 232-date Hysteria world tour at the Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington.

1990, Paul Simon started a two-week run at number one on the UK album chart with The Rhythm Of The Saints, his third UK chart topping solo album.

2006, Amy Winehouse released her second and final studio album,  Back to Black. The album spawned five singles, “Rehab,” “You Know I’m No Good,” “Back to Black,” “Tears Dry on Their Own,” and “Love Is a Losing Game.” It won Best Pop Vocal Album at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. Back to Black sold 3.58 million copies in the UK alone, becoming the UK’s second best-selling album of the 21st century. Worldwide, the album has sold over 20 million copies.

2006, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row program.

2007, Keith Richards marched with campaigners protesting against possible Sussex hospital cuts. The Stones guitarist joined 15,000 people for the walk through Chichester to oppose plans which could see St Richard’s Hospital downgraded. A spokeswoman for the guitarist said, “Keith is a long-standing member of the West Wittering community and is pleased to lend his support to local efforts to save St Richard’s Hospital.”

2009, Eric Clapton pulled out of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert in New York City after he underwent an operation to remove gallstones. His place at the Madison Square Garden gig was taken by Jeff Beck.

2011, Liam Gallagher’s Carnaby Street clothing store Pretty Green hosts an exhibition inspired by the Who album Quadrophenia. It features a specially made parka for the event along with Pete Townshend’s notes, desk diaries, photos and original lyric sheets related to the album.

2013, Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed died at the age of 71. An admitted hard drinker and drug user for many years, he underwent a liver transplant in Cleveland in April 2013.

Born on October 27: Floyd Cramer, piano, Elvis Presley (1933); Dick Dodd, drummer, actor The Bel-Airs, The Standells (1945); Byron Allred, keyboards, Steve Miller Band (1949); Garry Tallent, bass, E Street Band (1949); Ken Downing, guitar, Judas Priest (1951); Simon Le Bon, vocals, Duran Duran (1958); Scott Weiland, vocals, Stone Temple Pilots (1967)

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Today in Rock History – September 23

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rolling-stones-19661966, The Rolling Stones 66 12-date UK tour kicked off at the Royal Albert Hall London. Supported by The Yardbirds, Ike and Tina Turner, and Peter Jay and the New Jaywalkers. Both Keith Moon and John Entwistle from The Who were in the audience.

1967,  The Mothers Of Invention appeared at the Royal Albert Hall London making their UK live debut

1967, The Box Tops started a four week run at No.1 on the singles chart with “The Letter.” The record went on to sell over four million copies and receive two Grammy nominations. It was also a Top Ten hit for Joe Cocker in 1970.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at the Corn Exchange in Chelmsford, Essex, England.

1968, Working on new songs for their forthcoming White Album, The Beatles recorded a new John Lennon song “Happiness Is A Warm Gun In Your Hand”,  theworking title of “Happiness Is A Warm Gun.” The title came from the cover of a gun magazine that producer George Martin showed Lennon. Jim Morrison from The Doors came to visit The Beatles in the studio and watched them recording.

1969, The Northern Star newspaper of Northern Illinois University ran a story claiming that Paul McCartney had been killed in a car crash in 1966 and had been replaced by a look-a-like. Russell Gibb of WKNR-FM in Detroit picked up on the claim and the story went worldwide. By late October 1969 the hoax was so well entrenched, that McCartney came out of seclusion at his Scottish farm to deny the story. When McCartney was asked to comment by a reporter, he replied, “Do I look dead? I’m as fit as a fiddle.”

1970, Mick Jagger met Bianca Macias for the first time after a Stones concert at the Paris Olympia. The couple later married.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Fillmore East, New York.

Led-Zeppelin-19711971, Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at The Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan.

1972, Mott the Hoople performed at Liverpool Stadium in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.

1973, Genesis played at Stadttheater, Osnabrück, Germany.

1974, Robbie McIntosh, a founding member of the Average White Band, died of a heroin overdose at a Hollywood party. He inhaled a white powder thought to be cocaine but was actually pure heroin. AWB scored the No.1 single “Pick up the Pieces,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1975.

1975, Hawkwind appeared at the Opera, Reims, France.

1976, AC/DC played at the Musikhalle, Hamburg, Germany.

1976, The Grateful Dead performed at Cameron Indoor Stadium, on the campus of Duke University, a gym better known for the basketball played there, than as a music venue.

1977, Yes played at The Forum, Inglewood, California.

1978, 10cc had their third and final UK No.1 single with “Dreadlock Holiday.” The lyrics, about a white man lost in Jamaica, were based on a true event that happened to Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward and Eric Stewart from 10cc in Barbados.

1978, AC/DC played at the Uptown Theater, Kansas City, Missouri.

1978, Black Sabbath appeared at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena, Anaheim, California.

1979, Van Halen performed at the Convention Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

1980, Bob Marley collapsed on stage during a concert at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Marley had collapsed in New York’s Central Park while jogging, two days before and was told to immediately cancel the US leg, but flew to Pittsburgh to perform one final performance. This was the last time Marley ever appeared on stage performing, Marley died of cancer in May of 1981.

1981, Blue Oyster Cult played at the Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse, New York.

1982, Roxy Music appeared at Wembley Arena, London.

1983, Rush performed Radio City Music Hall, New York

1997, The Rolling Stones kicked off the North American leg of their Bridges To Babylon tour playing the first of two nights at Soldier Field in Chicago.

2006, Neil Young was named artist of the year at the Americana Honors and Awards at the fifth annual event in Nashville, Tennessee. The 60-year-old singer-songwriter released the protest album Living With War that year.

Born on September 23: John Coltrane (1926); Mighty Joe Young (1927); Ray Charles (1930); Hilly Cristal, owner CBGB’s (1931); Roy Buchanan (1939); Julio Iglesias (1943); John Banks, The Merseybeats, (1943); and Steve Boone, The Lovin’ Spoonful (1943); Ron Bushy, drums, Iron Butterfly (1945); Dan Toler, Great Southern, Allman Brothers (1948); and Bruce Springsteen (1949)

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Today in Rock History – August 28

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1965, The Rolling Stones announced that Allen Klein, who they had met three days earlier, would co-manage the group along with Andrew Long Oldham. At the same time, The Stones signed a five-year recording deal with Decca Records.

1965, The Beach Boys “California Girls” was at No.3 on the singles chart,the single peaked at No.26 in the UK. The music for the song came from Brian Wilson’s first LSD experience.

1965, Bob Dylan played the first night of a 40 date North American tour at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in New York City. Dylan played the first set solo and was backed by a band consisting of Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Harvey Brooks and Al Kooper in the second set. This format, one acoustic and one electric set was kept through-out the tour.

1966, Nearing the end of their final tour of America, The Beatles performed one show at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California, before a crowd of 45,000. The Beatles’ attempt to escape from the stadium in an armored truck is thwarted when the main gate was found to be locked, and The Beatles have to spend two hours in the back of the truck before they can leave the stadium.

1968, Simon and Garfunkel started a five-week run at No.1 on the album chart with ‘Bookends’.

1968, The Beach Boys were at No.1 on the singles chart with ‘Do It Again’, the group’s second and final No.1.

1968, Working at Trident Studios, London, The Beatles started recording a new John Lennon song ‘Dear Prudence’. They built the song instrument by instrument, utilizing the 8-track equipment at Trident. John and George played guitars, while Paul plays drums to compensate for Ringo, who had quit The Beatles on August 22.

1969, The Grateful Dead played at Family Dog at the Great Highway, in San Francisco. The site was at the former Edgewater Ballroom, part of the Playland At The Beach complex. Family Dog had to relocate there after being forced out of the Avalon Ballroom.

1970, During a four-week engagement at The International Hotel in Las Vegas, a security guard at the hotel received a phone call in which he was told Elvis Presley would be shot during his last show. The person demanded $50,000 to reveal the name of the potential killer. Later that day a menu was found in Elvis’ mail at the hotel on which Elvis’ face was destroyed and a gun had been drawn pointing to his heart. The threats were taken very seriously. Elvis played his last show without any incident.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band performed in Pensacola, Florida.

1971, Mott the Hoople led off the acts at the Weeley Festival, Clacton on Sea, Essex, England. Artists on the bill that day also included Rory Gallagher, Caravan, Lindisfarne, The Faces with Rod Stewart, and Van Der Graaf Generator took the stage at 11:30.

1972, Alice Cooper was at No.1 on the singles chart with “School’s Out.”

1974, Hawkwind played at Home Park, Windsor, England.

1975, Aerosmith performed at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1976, Peter Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive is in its third week at number one in the US. It will be knocked out briefly by Fleetwood Mac’s Fleetwood Mac before reclaiming the top spot on Spetember 11th.

1977, Yes appeared at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, which is adjacent to Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.

1978, Genesis performs at Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band plays at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, New York.

1981, Producer Guy Stevens died at the age of 38 years old, having overdosed on prescription drugs he was taking to reduce his alcohol dependency. Worked with Mott The Hoople, Free and The Clash. He was the president of the Chuck Berry Appreciation Society and it was Stevens who brought Berry to the UK for his first tour. He gave Procol Harum and Mott the Hoople their distinctive names.

1983, Thin Lizzy appeared at the Reading Festival, along with the Climax Blues Band, Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul, Opposition, Sad Café, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Ten Years After, and The Enid. It would be bassist/vocalist Phil Lynott’s last UK performance.

Born on August 28: Sterling Morrison, Velvet Underground (1942); Danny Seraphine, Chicago (1948); Martin Lamble drums, Fairport Convention (1949); Shania Twain (1965); and Florence Welch,  Florence and the Machine (1986)

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Song Of The Day – “When I’m President” by Ian Hunter & The Rant Band

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Ian Hunter is making records today that stand ever so tall in a catalog that includes classics by Mott The Hoople and solo staples like his eponymously titled debut album from 1975 and 1979’s classic “You’re Never Alone With A Schizophrenic.” Hunter and his current Rant Band have been on a roll releasing several stellar albums in a row, culminating in one of this year’s very best albums “When I’m President.” Perfectly timed to an election year, the British-born Hunter has learned a few things about American politics and the way things are to pull off a track as ballsy as this. Hats off to Hunter and company for seeing things as they should be and laying it on the line with a backbeat.