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Today in Rock History – August 3

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1966, The Rolling Stones spend nine days recording for their next album at Los Angeles, RCA Studios, Hollywood, USA. Tracks recorded included: “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?” “Let’s Spend The Night Together,” “My Obsession,” “Yesterday’s Papers,” and “Back Street Girl.”

1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of five nights at the Salvation Club in New York City.

1967, To promote Ravi Shankar’s Hollywood Bowl concert on August 4, George Harrison joins the sitar player at his news conference.

1967, The Who appeared at Dane County Memorial Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin.

1968, The Doors started a two-week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Hello I Love You.” The song replaced “Grazing in the Grass”by Hugh Masakela at the top spot.  The Doors had eight top 40 hits from 1967-71.

1968, The two day Newport Pop Festival took place in Costa Mesa, California with Alice Cooper, Canned Heat, Chambers Brothers, Charles Lloyd Quartet, Country Joe and the Fish, Electric Flag, James Cotton Blues Band, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sonny & Cher, Steppenwolf, and Tiny Tim. Over 100,000 fans attended the festival.

1969, Janis Joplin sings with Little Richard at the Atlantic City Pop Festival.

1969, The Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson is busted. He had agreed to serve civilian duty instead of being drafted into the Army, but when he arrived at Los Angeles County Hospital to do his bit, he taught music classes instead of acting as an institutional helper.

1971, Paul McCartney announced the formation of his new group Wings, with his wife Linda and former Moody Blues guitarist and singer Denny Laine.

1971, The Who play The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1973, Stevie Wonder released his sixteenth studio album Innervisions. Wonder played all or virtually all instruments on six of the album’s nine tracks.

1973, ABC’s In Concert, broadcast an Eagles show from UCLA.

1974, Anne Murray appeared at The Schaefer Festival in New York as the headlining act. The opening act was Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.

1974, Bad Company went to number one on the US album chart with their self-titled debut album. The supergroup was formed in Westminster, London in 1973 by two former members of Free, singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirk, as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell.

1974, KISS performed at the Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1975, Black Sabbath appeared at the Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1976, Eric Clapton played at the ABC Theatre, Plymouth, England.

1977, The Steve Miller Band headlined at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1978, Aerosmith appeared at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin.

1979, The Knack album Get the Knack and the single “My Sharona” both go to number one.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Starlight Bowl, San Diego, California.

1985, Madonna scored her first UK number one single with “Into The Groove.” The track was taken from the movie Desperately Seeking Susan which featured Madonna and Rosanna Arquette.

1985, Tears For Fears started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Shout,” the duo’s second US chart topper.

1987, Def Leppard released their fourth studio album Hysteria which became their best selling album to date, selling over 20 million copies worldwide. The album is the follow-up to the band’s 1983 breakthrough Pyromania. Hysteria’s creation took over three years and was plagued by delays, including the aftermath of the December 1984 car accident that cost drummer Rick Allen his left arm.

1996, Los Del Rio started a fourteen-week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Macarena.” The song which has sold 11 million copies world-wide was ranked the topGreatest One Hit Wonder of all Time by VH1 in 2002.

2001, Co-founder of the American group 5th Dimension, Ron Townson died of kidney failure aged 68.

2006, Arthur Lee, singer and guitarist of the influential 1960’s band Love died in Memphis at the age of 61 following a battle with acute myeloid leukemia. He called himself the “first black hippie” and formed Love in Los Angeles in 1965.

2007, Queen guitarist Brian May handed in his astronomy PhD thesis, 36 years after abandoning it to join the band. May had recently carried out observational work in Tenerife, where he studied the formation of “zodiacal dust clouds.”

2008, Kid Rock was at number one on the UK singles chart with “All Summer Long.” The song is based on Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London,” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” It reached number 23 in the Billboard Hot 100.

Born on August 3: Tony Bennett (1926); Beverly Lee, The Shirelles (1941);  John York,  bass player, songwriter, and producer, The Byrds, Sir Douglas Quintet (1943); B. B. Dickerson,  bass, War (1949); John Graham, Earth Wind & Fire (1951); Ian Bairnson,  sax, keyboards, The Alan Parsons Project, Pilot (1953); James Hetfield, guitar, vocals, Metallica (1963); Ed Roland,  singer, guitarist, Collective Soul (1963)

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Today in Rock History – July 22

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beatles-introducing-beatles1963, The Beatles’ first US album, Introducing The Beatles was pressed by Vee-Jay Records, who thought they had obtained the legal rights from EMI affiliate, Trans-Global Records. When it was finally released in January, 1964, Capitol Records would hit Vee Jay with an injunction against manufacturing, distributing, advertising, or otherwise disposing of records by the Beatles. After a trial, Vee-Jay was allowed to release any Beatles records that they had masters of in any form until October 15th, 1964. After that time, they no longer had the right to issue any Beatles product.

1964, The Beach Boys performed at Assembly Hall at the University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois.

1965, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman from The Rolling Stones were each fined £5 at East Ham Magistrates Court, London after being found guilty of insulting behaviour at a Romford Road service station. The three had all urinated against a wall.

1966, The Who played at Central Pier in Morecambe, Lancashire, England.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland. The venue is home to one of Scotland’s finest dance floors, famous for its bounce, which floats on fixed steel springs. During the 1960s The Beatles,  The Small Faces, and Cream all appeared at the Beach.

Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service

1967, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Big Brother & the Holding Company appeared at the Convention Hall, San Diego, California.

1967, The Who play their first American live gig at New York’s Paramount Theater.

1969, Aretha Franklin was arrested for causing a disturbance in a Detroit parking lot. After posting $50 bail, she ran down a road sign while leaving the police station.

1969, The Doors perform at the Aquarius Theater in Hollywood, California, portions of the show appear on Absolutely Live. Later the entire concert was released on CD as well.

1971, John and Yoko spent the second day filming the Imagine promotional film at their home in Tittenhurst Park Ascot, England. Today’s footage included the morning walk on the grounds though the mist and John Lennon singing “Imagine” in the white room on his white piano.

1972, Roxy Music appeared at Civic Hall, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England.

1972, The Grateful Dead play the Paramount Northwest Theater in Seattle, Washington.

1972, Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested in Sweden for possession of drugs.

1972, The Rolling Stones performed at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1973, Humble Pie and Mountain appear at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

1973, Van Morrison appeared at Birmingham Town Hall, playing his first UK show for over 2 years.

1974, The Eagles release their third album, On the Border.

1975, Number one on the Billboard album charts is Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti.  Second is Olivia Newton-John with Have You Never Been Mellow. Number three is Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks.

1975, Three Dog Night appear at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1975, The Rolling Stones go into the Musicland Studios in Munich to begin recording Black and Blue.

1976, On the campaign trail, Jimmy Carter tells the National Association of Record Merchandisers’ Scholarship Foundation Dinner his musical inspiration as governor of Georgia was Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and Led Zeppelin. He makes pertinent quotations from Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

1977, Stiff Records released My Aim Is True the debut album from Elvis Costello in the UK.

1978, The Police sign with A&M Records.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.

1981, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1982, Van Halen performed at BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Alabama.

1989, Simply Red scored their first UK top charting album with their third release A New Flame.

1989, The soundtrack album Batman by Prince started a six-week run at number one on the US album chart.

2003, Coldplay played the second of two nights at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia on their A Rush of Blood to the Head world tour.

2004, American singer, songwriter and producer Arthur Crier died of heart failure. Member of The Chimes and had worked with Little Eva, Gene Pitney, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Ben E. King, Johnny Nash and The Coasters.

2005, Founder member and singer with The Chi-lites, Eugene Record died of cancer. Had the 1972 US No.1 single “Oh Girl” and 1972 UK No.3 single “Have You Seen Her.” He also released three solo albums.

2006, Johnny Cash was at number one on the US album chart with American V: A Hundred Highways. Released posthumously on July 4, the vocal parts were recorded before Cash’s death, but the instruments were not recorded until 2005.

Born on July 22: George Clinton, Parlaiment, Funkadelic (1941); Bobby Sherman (1943); Estelle Bennett, The Ronettes, and Rick Davies, Supertramp (1944); Don Henley (1947); and Rufus Wainwright (1973)

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Today in Rock History – July 20

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1965, Bob Dylan releases “Like a Rolling Stone.” The single becomes his first major hit, reaching number two on the US charts. The song remained on the charts for twelve weeks. It was recorded on June 15th and 16th at Columbia Studio A, on Seventh Avenue in New York. Then session musician Al Kooper improvised the organ riff for which the track is known.

1967, Jerry Lee Lewis kicks off his first English tour since he was hounded out of the country for being married to his 13-year-old cousin in May 1958.

1968, Cream started a four-week run at number one on the US album chart with Wheels On Fire. It reached the third spot in the UK.

1968, The Who and The Troggs played at the Virginia Beach Dome in Virginia Beach, Virginia

1968, Paul McCartney’s girlfriend Jane Asher announces on British TV that her engagement had been broken off. McCartney met future spouse Linda Eastman on a business trip earlier in June.

1968, Big Brother and the Holding Company and Blue Cheer performed at Patio Gardens in Farmington, Utah.The

1968, Hugh Masekela started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Grazing In The Grass.”

1968, Iron Butterfly’s second album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, entered the album chart for the first time. The album contained the 17-minute title track that filled the second side of the LP which went on sell over four million copies in the US alone.

1968, Jane Asher announced on the national British TV show, Dee Time, that her engagement to Paul McCartney was off. Paul reportedly was watching at a friend’s home and was surprised by the news. She was said to have inspired many of McCartney’s songs, such as “All My Loving,” “And I Love Her,” and “We Can Work It Out.” Jane went on to have a career in films and television as well as becoming a successful author and business woman.

1969, Led Zeppelin performed in front of 2500 fans at Musicarnival in Warrensville Heights, Ohio.

1969, King Crimson played at the Marquee Club, London.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appear at Century’s Huntington Theater, Huntington, New York.

1971, The Carpenters show Make Your Own Kind Of Music started a six week run on NBC-TV.

1972, The Rolling Stones performed at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1973, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Boston Garden, Boston. Tickets were $4.50 – $6.50.

1974, David Bowie appeared live at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

1974, The Ramones decide to make their drummer Joey Ramone the lead vocalist.

1974, Tim Buckley, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Van Morrison, The Doobie Brothers and The Allman Brothers all appeared at Knebworth Park, England.

1975, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the opening night on their Born To Run Tour at The Palace Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island. This also saw the live debut of “Miami” Steven Van Zandt as a member of The E Street Band.

1975, The Summerfest concert lineup at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, New York was Judy Collins, Dan Fogelberg, Seals & Crofts, with The Eagles as headliners.

1975, Yes played at Rynearson Stadium, Ypsilanti, Michigan.

1976, Buzzcocks made their live debut supporting The Sex Pistols and Slaughter & The Dogs at The Lesser Free Trade Hall, Manchester. In the audience was, Morrissey, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook (soon to form Joy Division) and Mark E Smith, (The Fall) and Mick Hucknall. Tickets cost £1.

1977, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Arizona State University Activities Center, Tempe, Arizona.

1979, Van Halen played at the Convention Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Salem Fairgrounds, Salem, Oregon.

1983, ZZ Top played at Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, Ohio.

1986, Carlos Santana celebrated his 39th birthday, and 20th anniversary in the music business, with a concert in San Francisco. Previous group members were assembled for the event, as 17 of them performed together on stage.

1990, Madonna played the first of three sold out nights at Wembley Stadium, London, England, on her 57-date Blond Ambition World Tour.

1994, The Grateful Dead’s only performance on this date in history took place at Deer Creek Music Center, just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana.

1999, The Rolling Stones reported a gross income of $337 million, (£168m), from almost two years of touring from their Bridges to Babylon and No Security tours. The Stones had played to over 5.6 million people, selling out all but 20 shows.

2000, The Evergreen Ballroom in Lacey, Washington was destroyed by a fire. During the ballroom’s heyday in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, many of music’s greats played there: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Duke Ellington, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and Fats Domino. Glen Campbell had lived in the kitchen at the venue for a while before he became famous.

2009, Jackson Browne settled his lawsuit against US Senator John McCain and the Republican Party after his 1977 hit “Running On Empty” was used without permission in a 2008 McCain presidential campaign ad that aired on TV and the Internet. McCain and the Republican Party apologized for using the song in the ad, and said that McCain himself “had no knowledge of, or involvement in, the creation or distribution of the video.”

2011, Pictures of The Beatles’ first US concert in Washington DC on February 11th, 1964, taken by a then 18-year-old Mike Mitchell, sold at Christie’s auction house for $361,938. Security in those days was very casual and Mitchell was just feet from the band as he snapped the black and white photos which he stored for years in a box in his basement.

2015, American country musician, songwriter and record producer Wayne Carson died at the age of 72 after suffering congestive heart failure. He co-wrote “Always on My Mind,” a hit for Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson and others. He also penned “The Letter,” recorded by The Box Tops, Joe Cocker and Leon Russell, and “Soul Deep.”

Born on July 20: Buddy Knox, singer, songwriter (1933); Kim Carnes, singer; and John Lodge, The Moody Blues (1945); Carlos Santana (1947); Jay Jay French, guitar, Twisted Sister (1952); Paul Cook, drums, Sex Pistols (1956); Michael McNeil, keyboards, Simple Minds (1958); Chris Cornell, vocals, guitar, Soundgarden (1962); and Stone Gossard, guitar, Pearl Jam (1966)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Long, Long, Long” by The Beatles

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Long, Long, Long” by The Beatles

One of George Harrison’s most underrated songs and a highlight of The White Album for sure. The song was actually recorded by “The Threetles” since John Lennon was not present for any of the sessions.

Lennon’s absence kind of illustrates the short shrift that Harrison’s songs were given during Beatle recording sessions, considering that songs like “Something,” “Not Guilty” and “Sour Milk Sea” were left off The White Album and “All Things Must Pass” “Isn’t It A Pity” and “Let It Down” were left off of Let It Be in favor of much weaker material like “Dig It,” “Maggie Mae” and “Good Night.”

The rattling heard during the psychedelic meltdown at the end of the track was from a bottle of wine that was left on top of a speaker during the recording. Happy “mistakes” like this were often left in making the recording more interesting and more psychedelic. “Long, Long, Long” is one in a long line of Harrison love songs that can be directed at either his wife or the Lord.

Today in Rock History – July 9

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1967, On a tour supporting The Monkees, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appear at the Convention Hall, Miami, Florida. After it becomes plainly apparent that the group is not suited to teenybopper audiences, the tour’s promoter Dick Clark and Hendrix’s manager Chas Chandler concoct a story saying that the conservative Daughters of the American Revolution group had complained at Jimi’s act and so the Experience left the tour after just six shows.

1969, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles recorded “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” John Lennon returned to the studio after recovering from a car crash in Scotland, and a bed was installed in the Abbey Road studio for Yoko, who was pregnant, and who had been more seriously injured in the car accident.

1971, Jim Morrison is quietly buried in Paris’ Pere-Lachaise cemetery, making it a necessary stop on any rock fan’s European itinerary.

1972, Paul McCartney and Wings played their very first show in the small French town of Chateauvillon. The band included Denny Laine, Denny Seiwell, Henry McCullough, and Paul’s wife, Linda. It was McCartney’s first time on the road since the Beatles quit touring in 1966.

1974, Crosby Stills Nash & Young kicked off a reunion tour in Seattle in front of 15,000 fans.

1976, The Pretty Things, Supercharge, and third on the bill, The Sex Pistols, all appeared at The Lyceum, London, England, tickets £1.75 ($2.63.)

1977, Alan O’Day went to number one on the US singles chart with “Undercover Angel,” his only solo hit.

1977, Elvis Costello quit his day job at Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics to become a full time musician.

1978, The Rolling Stones drop in on Chicago’s Quiet Knight club to jam with hero Muddy Waters.

1979, The Pretenders kicked off a 23-date UK tour at Smatyz, Chester. The band’s single “Kid” was released that week.

1983, The Police started an eight week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Every Breath You Take” It was also a chart topper in the UK. Taken from the band’s album Synchronicity, Sting won Song of the Year and The Police won Best Pop Performance for the song at the 1984 Grammy Awards.

1983, Wham! went to number one on the UK album chart with their debut release Fantastic!, which went on to spend 116 weeks on the chart.

1988, Cheap Trick went to number one on the US singles chart with “The Flame,” the group’s only US chart topper.

1995, The Grateful Dead give their last concert with leader Jerry Garcia at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Jerry would die of a heart attack a month later while in drug rehab. The last song played at the concert – “Box of Rain.”

2006, Muse started a two week run at number one on the UK album chart with Black Holes & Revelations, the band’s fifth album release and second chart topper.

2006, Lily Allen scored her first UK number one single with “Smile.” The organ riff is a sample of Jackie Mittoo playing keyboards on “Free Soul” by The Soul Brothers. Lily’s actor dad, Keith Allen, was part of the Fat Les band who had a hit with “Vindaloo” in 1998.

2011, Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant joined three local musicians at a fundraising charity show in Monmouth Wales, where tickets cost £3 ($4.50.) The event was a tribute to his friend, former Led Zeppelin producer Pat Moran, who died of a rare dementia in January. Plant delighted the small crowd in the Monmouthshire town with songs from his Led Zeppelin days, as well as tunes from his solo career.

Born on July 9: Bon Scott, AC/DC (1946); Mitch Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix Experience (1947); Jim Kerr, Simple Minds (1959); Courtney Love (1965);  Jack White (1975)

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Today in Rock History – July 7

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Alpha TV Studio – Birmingham UK July 1963 – Philip Townsend

1963, The Rolling Stones made their UK TV debut when they appeared on Thank Your Lucky Stars. Also seen on the show were Mickie Most, The Cadets, Helen Shapiro and Gordon Mills. The Stones made a total of 13 appearances on the show between 1963 and 1966

1965, The Who played at a gala opening of The Manor House club in London.

1966, The Kinks were at number one on the singles chart with “Sunny Afternoon,” the group’s third and last chart topper.

1966, The Who played at the Locarno Ballroom in London, England.

1967, The Monkees begin a nationwide tour, with Jimi Hendrix supporting.

1967, Dusty Springfield begins a three-week residency at New York’s Copacabana nightclub.

1968, The Yardbirds played their last gig before splitting up when they appeared in Luton, England.

1969, Arlo Guthrie and Joni Mitchell appeared in Edwardsville, Illinois.

1969, George Harrison recorded his new song “Here Comes the Sun” with just two other Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Abbey Road in London. John Lennon was absent, recovering from a car crash in Scotland.

1970, The Who headline at the Tanglewood Music Amphitheater in Lenox, Massachusetts with Jethro Tull and It’s a Beautiful Day opening. It is one of The Who’s very best performances and is projected on a 15′ X 21′ television screen on the lawn outside the venue. The show is videotaped and intended for use on a Fillmore at Tanglewood television special that never airs. “Heaven and Hell”, “I Can’t Explain” and “Water” are later released on the first video edition of 30 Years Of Maximum R&B and the surviving section of the concert on YouTube in 2014.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

1971, Yes appeared at the Orlando Sports Stadium, also known as the Eddie Graham Sports Complex, an indoor venue which opened in 1967, and closed in 1995.

1971, 26-year-old pop star Bjorn Ulvaeus and 21-year-old Agnetha Faltskog married in Verum, Sweden. 3000 fans arrived and in the chaos a police horse stepped on the brides foot, causing her a slight injury.

1972, Chicago performed at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana.

1973, Led Zeppelin appeared at Chicago Stadium, Chicago.

1973, Hawkwind played at the Sports Centre, Bletchley, England.

1973, Billy Preston started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Will It Go Round In Circles,” his first of two chart toppers.

1974, David Bowie performed at the Scope in Norfolk, Virginia.

1975, Paul McCartney & Wings release “Live and Let Die.”

1975, Keith Moon has “Happy Birthday Ringo” written in the sky above Los Angeles in honor of his fellow drummer’s 35th birthday. He then sends the bill to Ringo.

1976, Neil Young appeared at the Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1978, The Grateful Dead played the first of four nights at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado.

The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats

1979, The Boomtown Rats made a personal appearance at the opening of the new Virgin Megastore in London.

1980, Led Zeppelin played their last-ever concert when they appeared in West Berlin at the end of a European tour. They finished the show with a 17-minute version of “Whole Lotta Love.”

1980, The Who perform at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

1984, Bruce Springsteen went to number one on the US album chart with Born In The USA. The album went on to spend a total of 139 weeks on the US chart. Its also one of three albums (Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814) to produce seven Top-ten US singles.

1984, Prince started a five week run at number one on the US singles chart with “When Doves Cry,” his first US chart topper, which went on to sell over two million copies. It reached the fourth spot in the UK.

1989, It was announced that for the first time compact discs were out selling vinyl albums.

2001, Stereophonics, David Gray, The Dandy Warhols, The Proclaimers, Paul Weller, Texas, Coldplay, Beck, Toploader, Ash, Starsailor, Nelly Furtado, James, and Muse all appeared at  T In The Park festival, Scotland, weekend tickets, £64 ($109.)

2006, Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett died from complications arising from diabetes aged 60. The official cause of death was listed as pancreatic cancer.  He joined Pink Floyd in 1965, and crafted most of the material from their first album, but only contributed one song for the second offering.  Barrett’s behavior became increasingly erratic and unpredictable, partly as a consequence of his reported heavy use of psychedelic drugs, most prominently LSD. By April 1968, he was kicked out of the band. Barrett released two solo albums before going into self-imposed seclusion lasting more than thirty years, with his mental deterioration blamed on drugs.

2007, The Live Earth concerts took place around the world with The Police closing the days events in New Jersey. The concerts were organized by former US Vice-President Al Gore, as part of his campaign to “heal the planet.” Rock stars from around the world performed to hundreds of thousands of fans to highlight climate change. Concerts were held in Washington, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Shanghai and Sydney. Madonna brought London’s Live Earth concert to a close, playing a song she had written for the event. Other major acts who appeared included; Snow Patrol, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, The Beastie Boys, James Blunt, The Foo Fighters, Duran Duran, UB40, Snoop Dogg, Enrique Iglesias, Crowded House & Joss Stone.

2009, Michael Jackson’s family and fans said farewell to the pop superstar at an emotional memorial service. The singer’s coffin was placed in front of the stage during the public event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, after an earlier private funeral.

2010, Paul McCartney joined Ringo Starr onstage at a concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall to help celebrate the former Beatle drummer’s 70th birthday.  Ringo’s All-Starr Band were joined by Yoko Ono, Joe Walsh, Angus Young and Steven Van Zandt, as Paul belted out “Birthday” and Ringo delivered “With A Little Help From My Friends.”

Born on July 7: Mary Ford, American singer (1928); Joe Zawinul, pianist, Miles Davis band, Weather Report (1932); Ringo Starr (1940);  Peter Banks, Yes, Flash (1947); Rob Townsend, drummer, Family (1947); Lynval Golding, guitar, The Specials (1952); Mark White, bass, The Spin Doctors (1962)

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Today in Rock History – July 2

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1966, David Bowie and The Lower Third appeared at The Lion Hotel in Warrington, England, (they were paid £30 for the gig). Also appearing was The Powerhouse which featured Eric Clapton Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood and Paul Jones.

1967, Jeff Beck, Cream and John Mayall all appeared at London’s Saville Theatre.

1967,  Jimi Hendrix performed at the Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles, California.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared in concert at Digbeth Civic Hall in Birmingham, West Midlands, England.

1968, The Human Beinz, Gary Pucket & The Union Gap, plus The Beach Boys played at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the National Guard Armory, Auburn, Alabama.

1969, Working at Abbey Road Paul McCartney recorded “Her Majesty.” Then Paul, George, and Ringo record 15 takes of “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight.” John Lennon was absent, having been hospitalized in Golspie, Scotland, after a serious car accident a day earlier.

1969, Thunderclap Newman started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with the Pete Townshend produced track “Something In The Air.” The song was featured on the soundtrack for the movie, The Magic Christian. The the group included future Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch.

1969, Bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell quit the Jimi Hendrix Experience after completing the three-day Denver Pop Festival. Hendrix and drummer Mitch Mitchell would later team with bassist Billy Cox to form the short-lived Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, who played at the Woodstock Festival.

1970, The Who performed at Freedom Palace, Kansas City, Missouri.

1971, Queen appeared at Surrey College, England. This was the group’s first gig with the line-up of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon.

1971, The Grateful Dead play only one of two shows they did in the month of July, at the Fillmore West in their hometown of San Francisco, California.

1972, David Bowie appeared at the Rainbow Pavilion, Torquay, England.

1973, Roxy Music’s synthesizer player Brian Eno quit after personality clashes with the band’s singer Bryan Ferry.

1973, King Crimson played at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.

1974, Eric Clapton performed at the International Amphitheater, Chicago.

1975, The Rolling Stones played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1976, Brian Wilson rejoins the Beach Boys for the first time on stage since deciding he’d rather spend his life in bed. Aside from singing “In My Room” at the Anaheim, California, performance, he mostly sits staring at his keyboard.

1977, Bill Conti went to number one on the singles chart with “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme from the film Rocky.

1979, Aerosmith appeared at the Canadian National Exhibition Stadium, Toronto.

1979, Sony introduced the Walkman, the first portable audio cassette player. Over the next 30 years they sold over 385 million Walkmans in cassette, CD, mini-disc and digital file versions, and were the market leaders until the arrival of Apple’s iPod and other new digital devices.

1980, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart from The Grateful Dead were arrested on suspicion of starting a riot at the San Diego Sports Arena after they tried to interfere in a drug bust.

1981, Bruce Springsteen played the first of six nights at the new Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California.

1983, Rod Stewart started a three week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Baby Jane,” his sixth UK chart topper.

1988, Tracy Chapman started a three-week run at number one on the UK album chart with her self-titled debut LP. She was buoyed by her performance at the Nelson Mandela’s 70th Birthday Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium. The album was  also a chart topper in the US.

1991, Axl Rose caused a riot to break out during a Guns N’ Roses gig after leaping into the crowd to remove a camera from a fan at the Riverpoint Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights. Over 50 people were injured and 15 fans were arrested.

1999, R.E.M., Skunk Anansie, Barenaked Ladies, Blur, Blondie, Built To Spill, The Chemical Brothers, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Placebo, Suede and Wilco all appeared at the Oskilde Festival, Roskilde, Denmark.

2005, The world’s biggest music stars united in concerts around the world to put pressure on political leaders ahead of the G8 summit to address poverty in Africa. Concerts in ten cities, including London, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin, Johannesburg, Rome and Moscow played to hundreds of thousands of people. A TV audience of several hundred million watched the gigs. The London featured The Who, Madonna, U2, Coldplay, Sting, The Scissor Sisters, Keane, Paul McCartney and a Pink Floyd reunion.  Destiny’s Child, Jay-Z and Bon Jovi, Canada, Bryan Adams and Neil Young headlined in Philadelphia, while Bjork was featured in Tokyo, and Green Day played in Berlin.

Born on July 2: Tom Springfield, The Springfields (1936); Paul Williams, The Temptations (1940); Roy Brittan, E Street Band (1949); Johnny Colla, guitar, sax, Huey Lewis and the News (1952);  Pete Briquette,  The Boomtown Rats (1954); Mike Anger, The Blow Monkeys (1957); Rocky Gray, drummer, Evanescence (1974); and Daron Malakian, guitar System of a Down (1983)

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Ringo Starr To Celebrate 80th Birthday With Starr Studded Charity Broadcast

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Ringo Starr announced “Ringo’s Big Birthday Show,” a broadcast to benefit 4 charities: Black Lives Matter Global Network, the David Lynch Foundation, Musicares and WaterAid. It will air on Ringo’s YouTube at 5pm PDT on July 7, 2020, Starr’s 80th birthday. The show will include unique home performances as well as never before seen concert footage from Starr, Paul McCartney and Joe Walsh as well as Gary Clark Jr, Sheryl Crow, Sheila E and Ben Harper and more. 

“As everyone knows I love gathering with fans for peace and love on my birthday. But this year, I want everyone to be safe at home –  so I called up a few friends and we put this Big Birthday Show together so we could still celebrate my birthday with you all, with some great music for some great charities. I hope you will all join me! Peace and Love, Ringo.” 

The broadcast will also feature the premiere of a guest star version of Ringo’s “Give More Love” that was created to benefit Musicares and features Jeff Bridges, Jackson Browne, T Bone Burnette, Elvis Costello, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Peter Frampton, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, Keb Mo and Willie Nelson. Additionally there will be a playlist of unique tribute performances on Ringo’s YouTube channel. This will include musicians who have previously recorded Ringo’s songs, performances from past birthday celebrations as well as some new versions which artists will be posting on their socials. 

Look for musical tributes from Ben Folds, Ben Dickey, Bettye LaVette, Colin Hay, Elvis Costello, Gregg Rolie, Judy Collins, Peter Frampton, Richard Marx, Steve Earle, Steve Lukather and many more. While Ringo won’t be gathering with family, friends and fans at Capitol Records this year for his birthday, he invites everyone everywhere to think, say or post #peaceandlove at Noon their local time on July 7th.

Today in Rock History – June 23

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1965, Motown releases Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ “The Tracks of My Tears.” It was a number two hit on the Billboard R&B chart, and reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Belatedly released in the UK in 1969, it became a Top Ten hit that summer, reaching number nine.

1966, The Beatles fly to Germany, where they will begin their last world tour. The Rolling Stones depart London the same day to begin a tour of America.

1966, The Who performed at the Refectory at the University at Leeds as part of a University Rag Ball along with The Alan Price Set, The Swingin’ Blue Jeans, and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, without recently departed guitarist Eric Clapton, who left to form the new group Cream.

1966, The Beatles had their tenth consecutive number one single with “Paperback Writer” / “Rain.” The track is marked by the boosted bass guitar sound throughout, partly in response to John Lennon demanding to know why the bass on a certain Wilson Pickett record far exceeded the bass on any Beatles records. It was also cut louder than any other Beatles record, due to a new piece of equipment used in the mastering process.

1967, Pink Floyd played two shows. An early gig took place at the Locarno Ballroom in Derby, England, where Floyd, Paperback Edition and Thorndyke Mordikai’s Imagination played at the Rolls Royce Apprectices Ball. Later that night, Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, Tomorrow, The Children, Cock-A-Hoop, and The Roll Movement appeared at The 8-Hour Psycho-Chromatic Fantasy, held at Great & Small Halls, Bradford University, Bradford England.

1970, Cubby Checker was arrested in Niagara Falls after police discovered marijuana and other drugs in his car.

1972, Smokey Robinson performs his last show with the Miracles.

1973, George Harrison started a five-week run at number one on the album chart with Living In The Material World, his second solo chart topper.

1974, The Grateful Dead performed at the Jai-Alai Fronton in Miami, Florida.

1975, During his Welcome To My Nightmare tour in Vancouver, Canada, Alice Cooper fell from the stage and broke six ribs.

1975, Jefferson Starship release Red Octopus. Rolling Stone celebrates Marty Balin’s return to the fold by saying, “If it weren’t for Balin, Red Octopus would be completely unlistenable.”

1975, Bob Marley and The Wailers played the first of 14 shows over 7 nights at Paul’s Mall in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of their Natty Dread Tour.

1976, Paul McCartney and Wings played the last date on their Wings Over America tour at the Forum in Los Angeles.

1977, A very inebriated Keith Moon joins Led Zeppelin onstage in Los Angeles. He “belts seven shades of shit” out of a tympani on “Moby Dick” and “Rock and Roll,” then proceeds to call John Bonham the best living rock drummer in the world today.

1984, Duran Duran started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “The Reflex,” the group’s first US chart topper,  from their third album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger.

1990, Buddy Holly’s Gibson acoustic guitar sold for £139,658 ($237,419) in a Sotheby’s auction. The guitar was in a tooled leather case made by Holly himself.

2008, Coldplay appeared at Madison Square Garden in New York City on the first night of the North American leg of their 161-date Viva la Vida world Tour.

Born on June 23: June Carter Cash (1923); Stu Sutcliffe (1940); Steve Shelley, drums, Sonic Youth (1962); KT Tunstall, UK singer, songwriter (1975) Jason Mraz (1977)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “She’s My Baby” by Wings

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wingsatthespeedofsound

Song of The Day by Eric Berman – “She’s My Baby” by Wings

Wings At The Speed Of Sound, the 1976 album where this song is from is one of Paul McCartney’s slighter efforts recorded quickly to have a some product on the shelves in time for the Wings Over America tour of 1976. That said, it does have its charms…”Beware My Love,” “Time To Hide” and this breezy favorite.