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Today in Rock History – June 22

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1968, Herb Alpert started a four week run at number one on the singles chart with “This Guys In Love With You.” It was his first chart topper, plus first number one for the A&M label, as well as for writers Burt Bacharach and Hal David

1968, The Rolling Stones go to number one in the UK with “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” It was the first time they had visited the top spot in two years.

1968, Rolling Stone, reviews the bootleg Basement Tapes in an article titled “The Missing Bob Dylan Album.”

1968, Actor Richard Harris goes to number two with his seven-minute reading of “MacArthur Park.”

1968, The Jeff Beck group featuring Rod Stewart made their US debut at the Fillmore East, New York.

1968, The Otis Redding album Dock Of The Bay went to number one posthumously. Redding was killed in a plane crash on December 10th 1967.

1969, Singer, actress, Judy Garland, died of a barbiturate overdose at age 47. She was found on the floor of her rented Chelsea home, in London. She made more than two dozen films, most  notably playing Dorothy in  1939’s Wizard Of Oz, singing “Over The Rainbow” in the film.

1969, Supergroup Blind Faith release their self-titled album.

1970, Led Zeppelin appeared at Laugardalsholl Hall, Reykjavik, Iceland on the group’s one and only visit to Iceland. It is suggested that Robert Plant was inspired to write the lyrics to “Immigrant Song” during this trip.

1974, Gordon Lightfoot started a two-week run at number one on the album chart with Sundown.

1975, At New York’s Madison Square Garden, Eric Clapton joins the Rolling Stones onstage to jam on “Sympathy for the Devil.”

1978, The Boomtown Rats, supported by Matt Vinyl & The Decorators appeared at the Odeon Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1985, Bryan Adams started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Heaven,” his first chart topping single, which made it only to number 35 in the UK.

1990, Ry Cooder and David Lindley, The Cure, Happy Mondays, Sinead O’Connor, Deacon Blue, De La Soul, Adamski, Blue Aeroplanes, Julian Cope, Del Amitri, Jesus Jones, James and The Pale Saints all appeared on day one of the Glastonbury Festival. A three day ticket cost £38 ($61).

2008, Coldplay went to number one on the UK singles chart with “Viva La Vida,” their first UK chart topper. The song won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2009.

2013, “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke started a 13 week run at number one on the US singles chart. The song featured American rapper T.I. and American singer and producer Pharrell, the video was made in two versions; the first video features models Emily Ratajkowski, Jessi M’Bengue, and Elle Evans being topless, the second features them covered. The topless version of the video was removed from YouTube for violating the site’s terms of service regarding nudity, though it was later restored, but flagged as inappropriate. “Blurred Lines” topped the charts in 14 countries.

Born on June 22: Kris Kristofferson (1936); Chris Blackwell, English record producer, co-founder Island Records (1937); Murphy Dunne, American actor, keyboards, The Blues Brothers (1942); Peter Asher, English singer, guitarist, producer, Peter and Gordon (1944); Howard Kaylan, The Turtles, Flo & Eddie, Frank Zappa (1947); Todd Rundgren (1948); Larry Junstrom, American bass player, 38 Special and Lynyrd Skynyrd (1949); Craig Gruber, American bass player, Rainbow, Elf, Bible Black, and Raven Lord (1951); Cyndi Lauper (1953); Derek Forbes, Scottish bass player, guitarist, Simple Minds, Big Country (1956); Garry Gary Beers, Australian bass player, songwriter, producer, INXS, Absent Friends (1957); Jimmy Somerville, Scottish singer-songwriter, Bronski Beat,  The Communards (1961); Bobby Gillespie, Scottish singer-songwriter, Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Wake (1962); Dicky Barrett, American singer, actor, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (1964); Steven Page, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist Barenaked Ladies (1970);

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Today in Rock History – June 16

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bob-dylan-highway-611965, Bob Dylan recorded “Like A Rolling Stone” at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City, during sessions for the forthcoming Highway 61 Revisited album. Session musicians included Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper, whose Hammond organ on “Like A Rolling Stone” became one of rock’s most recognizable sounds.

1965, The Who’s manager Chris Stamp goes on his first trip to see Decca Records management in New York. The only way he can make the flight is to have his brother, the actor Terence Stamp, downgrade his first-class ticket to two coach tickets as he flies to America to promote his movie The Collector.

1966, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, featuring guitarist Eric Clapton, appeared at The Marquee Club, London, England.

1966, The Who played at the University of Hull in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

1966, The Beatles made a surprise live appearance on the UK television program Top of the Pops, performing “Paperback Writer” and “Rain.” It became The Beatles’ last live musical television appearance, apart from the June 1967 worldwide transmission of “All You Need Is Love.”

1967, The three day Monterey Pop Festival in California began. All the proceeds went to charity when all the artists agreed to perform for free, and the “Summer of Love” was born. It was organized by John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas and Lou Adler. The festival saw the first major US appearances by The Who, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin. Also on the bill: The Byrds, Grateful Dead, Otis Redding, Simon & Garfunkel, The Steve Miller Band, Canned Heat, The Mamas And The Papas, Jefferson Airplane, Buffalo Springfield and The Electric Flag. Tickets cost $3.50–6.50 (£2–3.80).  Phillips, would later write, “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair”) about the festival, which became a hit for Scott McKenzie.

1967, Pink Floyd release their second single, “See Emily Play,” in England. It reached number six in the UK charts. The US release was slated for July 24th.

1968, Janis Joplin, Steve Miller, and Santana play a benefit at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium. Proceeds from the gig go toward keeping the Matrix Club, another San Francisco venue, open.

1969, Led Zeppelin appeared at Aeolian Hall in London, England.

1970, Mungo Jerry were at number one on the singles chart with “In The Summertime.” It went on to become the best selling single of 1970 spending seven weeks at the top of the charts.

1970, The Who performed at the Berkeley Community Theater. It was The Who’s last small venue concert in the US until 1999

1971, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Boutwell Memorial Auditorium, Birmingham, Alabama.

1972, David Bowie released The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It reached number five on the UK Album Chart and number 75 in the US. It was eventually certified platinum and gold in the UK and US respectively. The first single from the record, “Starman,” charted at number ten in the UK while peaking at number 65 in the US.

1972, Genesis appeared at the Corn Exchange, Bedford, England.

1973, The Eagles and King Crimson played at the Community Theater, Berkeley, California.

1974, Tangerine Dream made their live UK debut at London’s Victoria Palace.

1974, The Grateful Dead played at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. The show has been released as Road Trips, Volume 2, Number 3.

1975,  John Lennon files a suit against former U.S. Attorneys General John Mitchell and Richard Kleindienst, accusing them of harassment during deportation proceedings.

1975, Peter Frampton played at the Marin County Civic Center, in  San Rafael, California. Recordings from this, along with the following night at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom were used as part of his chart topping double album Frampton Comes Alive!

1975, Pink Floyd performed at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.

1976, The Jackson Five four-week summer variety show premiered on CBS- TV, featuring The Jacksons plus sisters Latoya, Rebbie and Janet.

1977, Kenny Rogers was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Lucille.” It was the American country music and pop singer’s first of two UK number ones.

1978, Mac Davis hosts The Midnight Special, welcoming guests Rod Stewart, Todd Rundgren, and Andrew Gold.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at Earls Court in London.

1978, David Bowie appeared at City Hall, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England.

1979, The Electric Light Orchestra started a five-week run at number one on the album chart with Discovery, their first chart topping LP, featuring the tracks “Shine A Little Love,” “Don’t Bring Me Down,” and “The Diary Of Horace Wimp.”

1980, The Blues Brothers film starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd premiered in Chicago. The film also had cameos from  Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Ray Charles.

1981, Van Halen appeared at the Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas.

1982, Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott died following sustained cocaine and heroin addiction.

1983, Dire Straits performed at the Sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

1984, Frankie Goes To Hollywood had their second UK number one single with “Two Tribes.”It stayed at number one for nine weeks making Frankie Goes To Hollywood the first band to have their first two singles go to the top of the UK chart. During this run the group’s previous single “Relax” climbed back up the charts to the second spot.

1989, The first day of the UK three day Glastonbury Festival took place featuring Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Throwing Muses, The Pixies, All About Eve, Hot House Flowers, The Waterboys, Suzanne Vega and Fairground Attraction. Tickets cost £28 ($48).

1994, Oasis played at The Erotika Club, Paris in France, the band’s first gig outside the UK.

1996, Rage Against The Machine, Beastie Boys, Smashing Pumpkins, Fugees, Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Lee Hooker, Beck, Sonic Youth, Yoko Ono, De La Soul and Richie Havens all appeared at the two-day Tibetan Freedom Concert, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco: A sell-out crowd of over 100,000 made it the largest US benefit concert since Live Aid in 1985.

1999, Screaming Lord Sutch was found dead after hanging himself. The singer turned politician was 58. He was the first long-haired pop star-boasting hair over 18 inches long and the self-styled lord, whose real name was David Sutch, was Britain’s longest-serving political leader, standing in nearly 40 elections.

2002, Elvis Presley started a four week run at number one on the UK singles chart 46 years after his first hit, with “A Little Less Conversation.” This gave Elvis a total of 18 UK chart topping singles, the most by any artist in chart history. This also set a new record for the longest span of number one hits with 44 years, 11 months and 9 days. His first UK number single was “All Shook Up” in 1957.

2010, American musician and guitarist Gary Shider died from cancer of the brain and lungs. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars, and as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic he scored the hit “One Nation Under A Groove.”

Born on June 16: Lamont Dozier, songwriter of Holland/Dozier/Holland fame (1941); American singer–songwriter and actor Edward Levert, The O’Jays (1942); Ian Matthews, singer, Fairport Convention, Matthews Southern Comfort (1946); Tom Malone, American trombonist, composer, producer, The Blues Brothers, CBS Orchestra (1947); Robbin Thompson, American singer-songwriter, Steel Mill (1949); James Smith, The Stylistics (1950); Charlie Dominici, American singer, guitarist, Dream Theater, Dominici (1951); Gino Vanelli (1952); Garry Roberts, Irish guitarist, The Boomtown Rats (1954); Tupac Shakur (1971)

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Today in Rock History – May 6

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1965, In their Clearwater, Florida hotel room, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards worked out the opening guitar riff of “Satisfaction,” following Richard’s purchase of a Gibson fuzz-box earlier that day.

1966, The Who appeared at the Top Hat Ballroom in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.

1966, Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles recorded overdubs on “I’m Only Sleeping” and worked on various mixes of the track.

1966, During a four month world tour, Bob Dylan played the first night of 11 UK dates at the ABC in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1967, Jimi Hendrix, The Walker Brothers, Engelbert Humperdink and Cat Stevens all appeared at the Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire, England.

1967, The Who’s Keith Moon gives an interview in which he advises, “To get your playing more forceful, hit the drums harder.”

1967, Otis Redding played at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1967, Pink Floyd performed at Kitson Hall in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

1968, Pink Floyd, The Move, The Nice, and The Association played at the First European International Pop Festival, Palazzo Dello Sport, Rome, Italy.

1969, King Crimson appeared at Maida Vale Studio, London.

1970, The Grateful Dead played at Kresge Plaza on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1971, Ike & Tina Turner are awarded a gold disc – the only one they ever received – for their recording of “Proud Mary.”

1972, The Tyrannosaurus Rex double album Prophets, Seers And Sages And The Angels Of The Ages / My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair But Now Their Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows went to No.1 in the UK. The longest title of an album ever at the time!

1973, Paul Simon set out on his first tour without partner Art Garfunkel, using The Jesse Dixon Singers as a backup group on stage. Simon’s tour of America and Europe was recorded and released as Live Rhymin.

1975, Rush played at the Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Boomtown Rats

1976, The Bee Gees announce a series of benefit concerts for UNICEF at a United Nations press conference.

1976, The Rolling Stones appeared at Forest National, Brussels, Belgium.

1977, The Boomtown Rats played their first gig in England when they appeared at Studio 51, London.

1977, REO Speedwagon performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1978, The soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever started an 18 week run at No.1 on the album chart, The album, which features seven Bee Gees songs, went on to sell over 30 million copies worldwide.

1979, Yes played at Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington.

1980, Van Halen appeared at the Rochester Community War Memorial, Rochester, New York.

1981, Dire Straits performed at Rhein-Main-Hall, Wiesbaden, Germany.

1995, Oasis scored their first UK No.1 single when “Some Might Say” went to the top of the UK charts. It was the first single to be released from the Manchester bands second album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? And the last Oasis track to feature original drummer Tony McCarroll.

2004, A sale at Christie’s in London, England became the most successful pop auction in the company’s history after Beatles memorabilia sold for a record £788,643. The auction included a leather collar worn by John Lennon which sold for £117,250. A signed copy of a management deal with The Beatles and manager Brian Epstein sold for £122,850. A Vox Kensington guitar used by Lennon and Harrison went for £100,000. Also sold, a coloured felt-pen drawing by Lennon (£10,000), a letter with his signature (£5,500), and a pen-and-ink drawing called Happy Fish (£9,500).

2006, During a UK tour, Morrissey played at The Apollo Manchester on the first of three nights at three different venues in his home city of Manchester. The singer then appeared at Manchester Opera House the following night and then at Manchester Bridgewater Hall on the 8th May.

Born on this day:  Bob Seger (1945); Robbie McIntosh, Average White Band (1950); and John Flansburgh, They Might Be Giants (1960)

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Today in Rock History – April 8

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supremes-19641964, The Supremes record “Where Did Our Love Go” at Motown Studios in Detroit. The song would become the first of their five number one singles.

1965, Unit Four Plus Two were at number one on the singles chart with “Concrete And Clay,” the English group’s only chart topping hit.

1966, The Who played at Queens Hall in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

1967, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Arthur Conley and Booker T And The MG’s all appeared at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, England.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at the Rhodes Arts Complex in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, England.

john-lennon-rolls-royce1967, John Lennon took his Rolls Royce to coach builders J.P. Fallon Ltd in Surrey to inquire if they could paint his car in psychedelic colors. This was based on an idea by Marijke Koger,”The Fool,” who was a member of Dutch team of gypsy artists. J.P. Fallon commissioned Steve Weaver’s pattern of scroll and flowers for the Phantom V. The cost for having the work done came in at £2,000.

1969, Led Zeppelin performed at Cherry Tree in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England.

1970, The UK premiere of the Woodstock movie took place in London. The film was a documentary of the seminar music festival that took place in August 1969 at Bethel, New York.

1971, Pink Floyd began the recording sessions for the album Meddle at EMI Studios in London.

1972, Paul McCartney and Wings released “Give Ireland Back To The Irish.” It was written after the “Bloody Sunday Massacre,” in Northern Ireland. The song was banned by the BBC and the IBA. That event also inspired the U2 song “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”

1972, The Grateful Dead perform at the Wembley Empire Pool in London as part of their landmark Europe ’72 tour, which has been released on CD as a complete box set.

1973, During his Ziggy Stardust world tour, David Bowie played the first of three sold out nights at Shinjuku Koseinenkin, Kaikan, Tokyo, Japan.

1973, Gilbert O’Sullivan was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with “Get Down,”a song about his dog. The singers second UK No.1, and a top ten hit in the US (#7.)

1974, Brownsville Station played at Cobo Arena, Detroit.

1975, Rush appeared at the Civic Theatre, Akron, Ohio.

bowie-in-moscow-19761976, David Bowie’s world tour moves to Europe for a performance at Philips Halle in Dusseldorf, Gemany.

1976, Bad Company performed at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1976, Genesis appeared at the Beacon Theater in New York.

1979, Aerosmith played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the first night on their 38-date Night In The Rut tour.

1980, Van Halen performed at the Northlands Coliseum, Edmonton, Alberta.

1985, American songwriter J Fred Coots died aged 87. Co-wrote, “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,”and the Pat Boone US No.1 hit “Love Letters In The Sand.” He wrote over 700 songs.

1994, Electrician Gary Smith who was working at Kurt Cobain’s house in Seattle discovered Cobain’s body lying on the floor in the greenhouse. Local radio station KXRX broke the news at 9:40 am that the Nirvana singer and guitarist was dead. A shotgun was found next to Cobain’s body. 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 also found in Cobain’s body.

2010, Malcolm McLaren former manager of the Sex Pistols, the New York Dolls, and Bow Wow Wow died from cancer aged 64. As a solo artist he scored the 1983 UK number three single “Double Dutch.” He set up the fashion store Let It Rock in the late 60’s with Vivienne Westwood selling rubber and fetish gear.

Born on April 8: Jacques Brel, singer, songwriter (1929); Roger Chapman, Family (1942); Steve Howe, Yes (1947); Mel Schacher, bass, ? and the Mysterians, Grand Funk Railroad (1951); Izzy Stradlin, Guns & Roses (1962);  Julian Lennon (1963)

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Today in Rock History – April 2

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The Beach Boys, 1964

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, Sonny & Cher, The Mamas And The Papas, The Turtles, Otis Redding, Donovan, and Bob Lind.

1967, 154 Austrian Rolling Stones fans were arrested when a riot broke out at a 14,000-seated Town Hall gig; a smoke bomb was thrown on the stage.

1967, Steve Winwood leaves the Spencer Davis Group to form his own band, Traffic.

1968, Janis Joplin and Big Brother & the Holding Company, as her band was being billed, performed at The New Generation in New York.

1968, Jimi Hendrix appeared at the Paul Suave Arena, Montreal, Canada.

1969, Bruce Springsteen’s new group Child made their live debut at the Pandemonium Club in Wanamassa, New Jersey.

1970, Phil Spector completed final editing and mixing for The Beatles Let It Be album, 16 months after the “Get Back” project had begun.

1970, Janis Joplin decides to get a tattoo on her wrist and another over her heart reading “One for the Boys.”

1971, Janis Joplin was posthumously at number one on the album charts with Pearl.

1971, Ringo Starr releases his debut single, “It Don’t Come Easy.”

1973, The Grateful Dead performed at the Boston Garden.

1973, Led Zeppelin played at the Centre Sportif on the Ile de Vannes, in Paris. The setlist: Rock and Roll, Over the Hills and Far Away, Black Dog, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Dancing Days, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love (medley including Everybody Needs Someone To Love, Let That Boy Boogie, I’m Going Down, (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care, Let’s Have a Party, I Can’t Quit You Baby), Heartbreaker.

1974, Queen performed at Barbarella’s, Birmingham, England.

1975, Genesis appeared at Killesberghalle, Stuttgart, Germany.

1976, Robin Trower played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1977, Abba were at number one on the UK singles chart with their fifth chart topper, “Knowing Me, Knowing You.” The song was also a Top ten hit in over 15 countries.

1977, Fleetwood Mac went to number one on the US album chart with Rumours. Also on this day Fleetwood Mac kicked off a 7-date UK tour at the Odeon, Birmingham, England.

1983, Pink Floyd release the US version of The Final Cut, their last album with Roger Waters. The UK release took place on March 21st.

1987, U2 kicked off their 29-date North American Joshua Tree tour at Arizona State Activity Centre in Phoenix.

1987, One of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, Buddy Rich died aged 69 due to complications caused by a brain tumor. Rich worked with many acts including, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey’s band, Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson. Rush’s Neil Peart organized a pair of 90s tribute albums (titled Burning for Buddy), which also featured the work of Kenny Aronoff, Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd, Max Roach, Steve Smith and Matt Sorum.

1990, Nirvana went into Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin and started work on demo versions of “In Bloom,” “Dive,” “Lithium,” “Pay To Play,” “Imodium,” “Sappy,” and “Polly,” with Butch Vig producing.

1998, Rob Pilatus, one half of pop duo Milli Vanilli was found dead in a Frankfurt Hotel room after taking a lethal combination of drugs and alcohol. Milli Vanilli won the 1989 best new artist Grammy after hits like “Blame it on the Rain” and “Girl, You Know It’s True,” selling 30 million singles and 14 million albums. But in late 1990, the performers were stripped of the award after it was revealed that neither actually sang on the Milli Vanilli album.

2003,  soul singer Edwin Starr died at his British home in Nottingham aged 61. Formed The Future Tones in 1957, had the 1970 US number one and UK number three anti-Vietnam War protest song “War.” According to Starr, the song was recorded in one take.

2006, A John Lennon schoolbook containing the 12-year-old’s drawing of Lewis Carroll’s poem The Walrus and the Carpenter was sold at auction for £126,500, ($239,733). The poem inspired Lennon to write The Beatles’ 1967 song “I Am the Walrus.” Also sold for £12,000, ($22,741) was a ship’s log book written by Lennon during a stormy trip to Bermuda in 1980, and a letter from Paul McCartney to his bandmates Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr failed to reach its £50,000, ($94,742) reserve price

2006, Gnarls Barkley started an eight-week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Crazy.” The American duo made chart history by becoming the first act ever to reach the top of the charts through computer downloads only. The single was not available to buy in shops until the following week.

2013, A grand piano used in the Motown Records studios was fully restored and put on display at a museum dedicated to the legendary record label in Detroit. Sir Paul McCartney helped fund the restoration of the 1877 Steinway, which was originally in Motown’s Studio B. and was used to create hits for names including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Edwin Starr.

Born on April 2: Serge Gainsbourg, (1928); Marvin Gaye (1939); Leon Russell (1941); Emmylou Harris (1947); Leon Wilkeson, bass, Lynyrd Skynyrd (1952); David Robinson, The Cars (1953);  Greg Camp, Smash Mouth (1967)

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Today in Rock History – March 17

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Otis Redding
Otis Redding

1967, Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave and Booker T and The MG’s appeared at London’s Finsbury Park Astoria on the first night of a 17-date UK tour.

1967, Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles finished the recoding of “She’s Leaving Home” after adding backing vocals to the track. Harpist Sheila Bromberg who was part of the string section on the track became the first woman to play on a Beatles recording.

1968, The Bee Gees made their US television debut when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1968, A Pink Floyd show to be held at tUniversiteit Leuven, in Leuven, Belgium was cancelled just as the band was about to take the stage when fighting broke out between French and Flemish members of the audience.

1971, Peter Gabriel married is girlfriend Jill. They were together on and off for 17 years.

1973, Eric Weissberg started a three-week run at No.1 on the chart with ‘Dueling Banjos.’ Taken from the film ‘Deliverance.’

1973, Dr Hook’s single ‘On The Cover Of Rolling Stone peaked at No.6 on the US chart. The single was banned in the UK by the BBC due to the reference of the magazine.

bob-dylan-desire1976, Bob Dylan’s protest song “Hurricane” leads to boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter’s murder case being reopened.

1978, U2 won £500 ($850) and a chance to audition for CBS Ireland in a talent contest held in Dublin. The Limerick Civic Week Pop ’78 Competition was sponsored by The Evening Express and Guinness Harp Lager.

1981, Blues Project, with Al Kooper, Steve Katz and Roy Blumenfeld, reunite for one-off concert at Bonds in New York.

1988, The Grateful Dead performed at the Henry J. Kiser Auditorium in Oakland, California.

Born on March 17: Nat King Cole (1919); Paul Kantner, Jefferson Airplane (1941); John Sebastian (1941); Harold Brown, War (1944); Billy Corgan (1967)

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Today in Rock History – March 11

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1965, Tom Jones was at number one on the singles chart with “It’s Not Unusual.”

1965, The Who go into IBC Studios, London to record their first album. Songs known to be recorded on this date are Pete Townshend’s “You’re Gonna Know Me” (later retitled “Out In The Street”), plus covers of James Brown’s “Please Please Please” and “I Don’t Mind,” Bo Diddley’s “I’m A Man,” Martha and the Vandella’s “Motoring” and “Heat Wave,” and Paul Revere and the Raiders’ “Louie Go Home” as “Lubie (Come Back Home.)” On the 16th, they meet again with producer Shel Talmy for “L.P. routining” and have another studio session at IBC on the 19th. The album is eventually rejected and some of the tracks are not released for over twenty years.

1966, This week’s ITV music show Ready Steady Go in the UK, was entirely devoted to the music of James Brown.

1966, Marianne Faithfull, Coltrane Union, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Rick & Us, plus Pink Floyd performed for the first of two nights billed as “The Tea Set.” The shows took place at the Rag Ball, on the Concourse Area of the University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, England. It was the first time a film was played on a screen behind the band as Pink Floyd performed their set.

1967, The Supremes had their ninth number one single with “Love Is Here And Now Your Gone.”

1967, Jimi Hendrix appears at the International Club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

1967, music publisher, Dick James, announced that 446 different versions of the Paul McCartney song “Yesterday” had been recorded so far.

1968, The Otis Redding single “Dock Of The Bay,” went gold in the US three months after the singer was killed in a plane crash.

1969, The Jackson 5 sign with Motown.

1970, Winners at the 12th annual Grammy awards included Joe South for song of the year with “Games People Play.” Crosby Stills and Nash won best new artist, and The Fifth Dimension won Record of the year with “Aquarius / Let The Sun Shine In.” Album of the Year went to producer James William Guercio and Blood, Sweat & Tears for Blood, Sweat & Tears.

ticket courtesy LedZeppelin.com

1970, Led Zeppelin perform at the Musikhalle, Hamburg, Germany. The set list: We’re Gonna Groove, I Can’t Quit You Baby, Dazed and Confused, Heartbreaker, White Summer / Black Mountainside, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Organ solo / Thank You, Moby Dick, How Many More Times (medley incl. Let That Boy Boogie, Bottle Up ‘n Go, Long Distance Call, Shake ’em On Down), Whole Lotta Love.

1970, The world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll movie, Jean-Luc Godard’s One Plus One, starring the Rolling Stones, opens in the US. The obtuse film features Godard’s trademark Marxist lecturing interspersed with scenes of the Stones composing “Sympathy for the Devil.” The producers later recut the footage to include more Mick and redub the movie Sympathy for the Devil. Critics remained baffled.

1970, Deja Vu, the first Crosby, Stills, Nash album to also feature Neil Young, was released. It topped the pop album chart for one week and spawned three US Top 40 singles, “Teach Your Children,” “Our House,” and “Woodstock.”

1971, Jim Morrison of The Doors arrived in Paris, where he checked  into The Hotel George’s.  The following week he moved into an apartment at 17 Rue Beautreillis. Morrison lived in Paris until his death on July 3rd 1971.

Harvest Young1972, Neil Young went to number one on the album chart with Harvest. The album featured the hit single “Heart Of Gold.”

1972, Harry Nilsson was at number one on the singles chart with his version of The Peter Ham and Tom Evans song “Without You.” It was first recorded by Badfinger in 1970. The song was also a number one for Mariah Carey in 1994.

1973,  Pink Floyd played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada on the North American leg of the Dark Side of the Moon tour.

1974, Deep Purple performed at the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Geor

1975,  Mick Jagger stops by Record Plant studios in Los Angeles, and ends up getting involved in a jam session with Wings and Ron Wood.

1976, The Who appeared at Madison Square Garden in New York.

1976, David Bowie performed at the Civic Arena, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1977, The Clash appeared at The Roxy Club, London, supported by The Slits, the first all-female punk group who were making their live debut.

1978, Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell, album began a 416-week run on the chart, going on to sell over 2 million copies.

1978, The debut single from Kate Bush, “Wuthering Heights,” a song inspired by the Emily Bronte novel, started a four-week run at number one on the UK singles chart. The record company, EMI, had originally chosen another track, “James and the Cold Gun” as the lead single, but Bush was determined that “Wuthering Heights” would be the first release from the album.

1979, Roxy Music played at the Olympia in Paris.

1981, Rush played at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1983, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Holiday Star Theatre, Merrillville, Indiana.

1986, Aerosmith appeared at the Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts.

1992, The Grateful Dead performed at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

1993, Oasis recorded their first demos at The Real People’s studio in Liverpool. The set included “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star,” “Columbia,” and “Fade Away.”

1995, Van Halen kicked off their 131-date Balance World Tour, at the Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola Civic Center, Florida. It was dubbed the “Ambulance” Tour by Eddie Van Halen, due to his hip surgery, and his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen, wearing a neck brace for most of the tour.

2006, The Disney Channel Original Movie, High School Musical was at number one on the US album chart. The album went on to break all records for a soundtrack selling over 7 million copies worldwide. A number one album in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.

2008, Madonna was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a star-studded ceremony in New York City.  John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, The Ventures, and The Dave Clark Five were also among the inductees.

2015, Jimmy Greenspoon, keyboardist with Three Dog Night, died in Potomac, Maryland after a year-long battle with metastatic melanoma at the age of 67. During the course of their career, Three Dog Knight had 21 top 40 hits, including three chart topping singles.

2015, A jury in the United States ruled that the writers of “Blurred Lines” copied a Marvin Gaye track. Jurors in Los Angeles decided that the 2013 single by Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke breached the copyright of Gaye’s 1977 hit “Got To Give It Up.” The family of the late soul singer were awarded $7.3 million (£4.8m) in damages.

Born on March 11: Harvey Mandel, American guitarist, Pure Food and Drug Act, Canned Heat (1945); Mark Stein, Vanilla Fudge (1947); George Kooymans, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, Golden Earring (1948); Jan Schelhaas, keyboardist Caravan, Camel (1948); Bobby McFerrin (1950); Jimmy Iovine,  record producer,  co-founder Interscope Records (1953); Jimmy Fortune, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Statler Brothers (1955); Nina Hagen, German singer, actress (1955); Bruce Watson, guitar, Big Country (1961); Vinnie Paul,  drummer, songwriter, producer Pantera, Damageplan, Hellyeah, Gasoline (1964); Andy Sturmer, American singer-songwriter, drummer, producer, Beatnik Beatch, Jellyfish (1965); Benji and Joel Madden, singer-songwriters, Good Charlotte (1979)

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Today in Rock History – February 3

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buddy-holly-big-bopper-ritchie-valens1959, 22 year old Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, aged 17, died in a crash shortly after take-off from Clear Lake, Iowa, the pilot of the single-engined Beechcraft Bonanza plane was also killed. Holly hired the plane after heating problems developed on his tourbus. All three were traveling to Fargo, North Dakota, for the next show on their Winter Dance Party Tour which Holly had set – covering 24 cities in three weeks, to make money after the break-up of his band, The Crickets, last year.

1966, Beach Boy Carl Wilson married his girlfriend Annie Hinsche in LA.

1966, Paul McCartney attends a performance of Stevie Wonder at Scotch of St. James’ Clubin London and has a backstage meeting with the 15-year-old performer.

1967, Otis Redding, The Marvelettes, Aaron Neville, James and Bobby Purify and The Drifters all appeared at The Civic Coliseum, Knoxville, Tennessee. Tickets cost $2.50–3.50.

1967, Pink Floyd performed at Queens Hall in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

1967, producer Joe Meek shot his landlady Violet Shenton and then shot himself at his flat in London, Meek produced The Tornadoes’ “Telstar,”  the first number one in the US by a British group.

1968, Jimi Hendrix played at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.

1968, One hit wonders The Lemon Pipers went to number one on the singles chart with “Green Tambourine” the song was a number seven hit in the UK.

1968, The Beatles started work on their new single “Lady Madonna” at Abbey Road studios in London. Recording three piano and drum takes with overdub bass, fuzz guitars, drums, and vocals.

1970, Led Zeppelin II was in the Top 20 on both the UK & US album charts after peaking at the number one spot. The album went on to spend 138 weeks on the UK chart.

1971, Pink Floyd appeared at the Great Hall, Devonshire House, University of Exeter in Exeter, England.

1973, Elton John started a three-week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Crocodile Rock.” Elton’s first of five US chart topping singles.

1974, Black Sabbath played at the International Amphitheater, Chicago.

1975, Led Zeppelin appeared at Madison Square Garden, New York.

1976, David Bowie performed at the Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.

1978, Emerson, Lake & Palmer played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

bules-bros-briefcase-blues1979, Blondie had their first of five UK number one singles, with “Heart Of Glass,” taken from the band’s third studio album, Parallel Lines. “Heart of Glass” was originally recorded in 1975 under the name “Once I Had a Love.”

1979, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, The Blues Brothers went to number one on the US album chart with Briefcase Full Of Blues.

1981, The Who play two nights at the Rainbow Theatre in London. The two hastily scheduled shows are a benefit for Erin Pizzey’s Chiswick Family Rescue Organization and were requested by Pete’s wife Karen. At the first show, Pete drinks four bottles of brandy on stage, improvises songs and long guitar solos without informing the other band members and stops the show to harangue the crowd.

1986, Dire Straits were at number one on the UK album charts with their fifth studio album Brothers in Arms. With ten weeks at the top chart spot, the album is the seventh best-selling album in UK chart history. It  won two Grammy Awards in 1986, and also won Best British Album at the 1987 Brit Awards. Brothers in Arms also spent nine weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 in the US, and thirty-four weeks at number one on the Australian Album Chart.

1992, On their first Europe tour Pearl Jam played at The Esplanade Club in Southend, England to 300 people, the band’s first ever UK show. The tour also took Pearl Jam to Norway, Sweden, Holland, France, Spain and Italy.

Born on February 3: Johnny “Guitar” Watson (1935); Dennis Edwards, singer, The Temptations (1943);  Dave Davies, The Kinks (1947); Arthur ‘Killer’ Kane, bass guitarist, The New York Dolls (1949);  Lol Tolhurst, keyboards, The Cure (1959)

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Today in Rock History – December 7

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1964, Beach Boy Brian Wilson married Marilyn Rovell in Los Angeles. The couple divorced in 1979. Marilyn and her sister and cousin were in a group, The Honeys, who were produced by Brian Wilson. Marilyn and Brian had two daughters, Carnie and Wendy, who became members of Wilson Phillips.

1964, Jerry Lee Lewis, on his first tour of the UK, appeared at The Town Hall In Birmingham with The Yardbirds, Twinkle, and The Quite Five.

1967, Otis Redding went into the studio to record “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay.” The song went on to be his biggest hit. Redding never saw its release. He was killed just three days later in a plane crash.

1967, The Beatles Apple boutique on 94 Baker Street, London, opened its doors. The store closed seven months later when it fell foul of council objections over the psychedelic mural painted on the outside. All the goods from the shop were given away free to passers by and to people who had queued throughout the night for a chance of getting a free item.

1968, The Grateful Dead perform at Bellarmine College in Louisville, Kentucky.

1968, Pink Floyd are part of an all day festival billed as Kaleidoscope ’68 at Liverpool Stadium, in Liverpool England.  Starting at noon and continuing until 1:30 am, the bill also included The Move, Cliff Bennett, The Perfumed Garden, The BJ’s, Reason Why, The Klubs, The Mumbles, The New Mojo Band, The Curiosity Shoppe, The Pattern People, The Chapter Six, Mick Burns, and The Humphrey Lyttleton Band.

1969, King Crimson played at the Whiskey A-Go-Go, Hollywood, California.

1971, Alice Cooper appears at Park Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1971, Paul McCartney’s band Wings released their debut, Wild Life. It was  recorded in just over a week with the mindset that it had to be instant and raw in order to capture the freshness and vitality of a live studio recording. Five of the eight songs were recorded in one take. Paul McCartney later cited the quick recording schedule of Bob Dylan as inspiration.

1972, Roxy Music performed at the Ohio University Convocation Center, Athens, Ohio.

1973, Humble Pie played at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1974, Barry White was at number one on the singles chart with “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything,” the singer’s first chart topper. It was originally written in the 1950’s as a country song with the title “You’re My First, You’re My Last, My In-Between.”

1974, Carl Douglas started a two-week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Kung Fu Fighting.” The song was recorded in ten minutes, had started out as a B-side.  It eventually went on to sell eleven million records worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.

1976, AC/DC appeared at the Civic Centre, Shepparton, Australia.

1978, Aerosmith performed at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.

1979, The Police had their second number one single with “Walking on the Moon,” taken from their second album Reggatta De Blanc. The video for the song was filmed at Kennedy Space Center interspersed with NASA footage.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Pershing Memorial Auditorium, Lincoln, Nebraska.  The Outlaws were the opening act.

1981, The Rolling Stones played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1985, Mr Mister started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Broken Wings,” a number four hit in the UK.

1991, George Michael and Elton John were at number one in the UK with a live version of “Don’t Let The Sun Go down On Me.” The song was a number two US hit for Elton in 1974. All proceeds went to AIDS charities.

1991, U2 went to number one on the US album charts with Achtung Baby,  featuring “One,” “Zoo Station,” “The Fly,” and “Even Better Than The Real Thing.”

1993, Manic Street Preachers co-manager Phillip Hall died from cancer. Hall was a former Record Mirror journalist and had also worked in PR for Stiff Records. He represented many acts including The Stone Roses, The Pogues, James, The Waterboys, The Beautiful South and Radiohead.

2005, The MBE medal that John Lennon returned to the Queen was found in a royal vault at St James’ Palace. Lennon returned his medal in November, 1969 with a letter accompanying saying, “Your Majesty, I am returning my MBE as a protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. With Love, John Lennon.” Historians were calling for the medal to be put on public display.

Born on December 7: Harry Chapin (1942); Tom Waits (1949);  Tim Butler, bass, Psychedelic Furs (1958); Barbara Weathers, Atlantic Starr (1963); Brian Futter, guitar, Catherine Wheel (1965); Winston Marshall, banjo, Mumford & Sons (1988)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Eye Know” by De La Soul

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Eye Know” by De La Soul

With samples from Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” and Steely Dan’s “Peg,” De La Soul unleashed this bouillabaisse of good times onto a hip-hop public in 1989 with today’s Song Of the Day by Eric Berman. The 3 Feet High And Rising album is one of two stone-cold sample-delic masterpieces that came out that year along with The Beastie Boys’ classic Paul’s Boutique, and they both sound as fresh today as they did when they were newly minted.

I was fortunate enough to see them perform shortly after the album’s release during the New Music Seminar in New York City opening for none other than George Clinton and the P-Funk All-stars. Not only was it a very late evening of music with the funksters doing their usual for then four hour set, but it was very memorable even after all these years.

If you’ve never heard the album…it is surely your loss…