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Today in Rock History – May 19

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beatles -sgtpeppers1967, The Beatles held a press party at manager Brian Epstein’s house in London for the launch of the Sgt. Pepper’s album. Linda Eastman was hired as the press photographer.

1967, Pink Floyd played at Club A’ Go Go in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England.

1969, The Who appeared at The Rock Pile in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

1970, New Riders of the Purple Sage, along with The Grateful Dead, performed at the Washington University Quadrangle in St. Louis, Missouri.

1971, Emerson, Lake And Palmer and Mott the Hoople played at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis, Missouri.

1971, King Crimson performed at the Lyceum Ballroom in London.

1972, David Bowie appeared at Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.

1973, Stevie Wonder went to number one on the US singles chart with “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.” His third chart topper, it was the second release from Talking Book.

1973, Paul Simon released the single “Kodachrome” which became a hit in the US, but was banned from airplay in the UK because it contained a brand name.

1973, Humble Pie played at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1973, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Fairground Coliseum, Columbus, Ohio.

1974, The Grateful Dead performed at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.

1976, Bob Dylan played at Henry Levitt Arena, Wichita, Kansas.

1976, Rolling Stone Keith Richards crashed his car near Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England, after falling asleep at the wheel.

1976, Aerosmith performed at the Von Braun Civic Center, Huntsville, Alabama.

1978, Dire Straits released their first major label single “Sultans Of Swing.”

1979, Van Halen appeared at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1979, Eric Clapton held a party at his Surrey house celebrating his recent marriage to Patti Boyd. Clapton had set-up a small stage in the garden and as the evening progressed, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr ended up jamming together along with Clapton, Ginger Baker and Mick Jagger. The jam session comprised a selection of Little Richard and Eddie Cochran songs.

1979, Supertramp went to number one on the US album chart with Breakfast In America, the group’s only chart topper.

1980, Black Sabbath played at City Hall, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England.

1980, Ringo Starr and his future wife, actress Barbara Bach were involved in a car crash less than half a mile from where Marc Bolan was killed, the car was totaled, but Starr and Bach were not seriously injured.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at Rudi Sedlmayr Halle, Munich, Germany.

1983, Roxy Music performed at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1984, Bob Marley and the Wailers started a 12-week run at number one on the UK album chart with the compilation album Legend, released to commemorate the third anniversary of Marley’s death. It reached the fifth spot in the US. Legend is the best-selling reggae album of all-time, with over 15 million copies sold in the United States and an estimated 25 million copies sold globally.

1988, James Brown was arrested for the fifth time in 12 months, following a car chase near his home, he was charged with assault, resisting arrest and being in charge of illegal weapons, he was given a 6 year jail sentence.

2001, Mike Sammes founder of The Mike Sammes Singers died aged 73. He worked with Tom Jones, Cliff Richard and featured on The Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus” and “The Long And Winding Road.”

2007, Lawyers for Michael Jackson dropped an effort to block an auction of the star’s personal belongings and other Jackson family items. An agreement was reached with representatives of an auctioneer, who was the current owner of the materials, and a New Jersey man who claimed to own a warehouse full of Jackson memorabilia, after a failed business venture wound up in bankruptcy court.

2013, A guitar played by John Lennon and George Harrison sold for $408,000 (£269,000) at auction. The custom-made instrument, built in 1966 by VOX was bought by an unidentified US buyer in New York. Harrison played “I Am The Walrus” on the guitar in a scene from Magical Mystery Tour in 1967. Lennon used it in a video for “Hello, Goodbye” later that year. After playing the guitar, Lennon gave it as a 25th birthday present to Alexis “Magic Alex” Mardas, a member of The Beatles’ inner circle in the 1960s.

Born on this day:  Pete Townshend (1945); Tom Scott, saxophonist (1946); Greg Herbert, Blood Sweat & Tears (1947); Dusty Hill, ZZ Top (1949); Grace Jones and Joey Ramone (1952); and Philip Rudd, drums, AC/DC (1954)

Get more rock history at Yeah Baby Tunes

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)

Get more rock history at Yeah Baby Tunes

Today in Rock History – May 3

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1965, The Who play the Majestic Ballroom in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England.

1967, Pink Floyd performed at Moulin Rouge in Ainsdale, Lancashire, England.

1967, The Who’s manager Kit Lambert sends a telegram to the Monterey Pop Festival organizers telling them The Who have agreed to perform there in exchange for six 1st-class plane tickets. The Who, along with Jimi Hendrix, had been recommended for the festival by Paul McCartney during a U.S. visit the month before.

1968, The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded “Voodoo Chile.” It was featured on the Electric Ladyland double album and became an UK chart topping single on 21st November 1970 two months after the guitarist’s death.

1969, Canadian police bust Jimi Hendrix for narcotics possession at Toronto International Airport. He’s later released after posting $10,000 bail.

1971, Grand Funk Railroad hold their first press conference at New York’s Gotham Hotel. Only six reporters show up, despite Grand Funk’s multi-platinum success.

1971, At a Denmark gig, Led Zeppelin play “Four Sticks” live for the only time in their career.

1972, Pink Floyd played at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.

1975, Chicago started a two week run at number one on the US album chart with Chicago VIII, the group’s third number one.

1975, Dawn started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “He Don’t Love You, (Like I Love You).” It was the group’s third number one.

1976, David Bowie played the first of six sold out nights at Wembley, his first UK gig in three years.

1976, A Paul Simon-organized benefit for the New York Public Library raises $30,000. Participants include Jimmy Cliff and Phoebe Snow.

1976, Paul McCartney made his first concert appearance in America in almost ten years when Wings kicked off their 31-date Wings Over America tour at the Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas.

1978, The first date of a 12-date UK tour by The Climax Blues Band supported by Dire Straits.

1978, The film FM opens in Los Angeles. The film profiles the antics of a commercial radio in the late 1970s., and features a title track by Steely Dan.

1980, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band started a six week run at number one on the US album chart with Against The Wind.

Born on this day: Pete Seeger (1919); James Brown (1933); Frankie Vali (1937); Pete Staples, The Troggs (1944); Mary Hopkin (1950); and Christopher Cross (1951)

Link to Today in Rock History main page.

Eleven of the Best Rock Concerts I Have Attended

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I have been fortunate to go to a lot of rock concerts in my lifetime. Considering what tickets cost today, those old ducats from the seventies and eighties turned out to be pretty good deals. Most of those ticket prices were under twenty bucks. The late seventies concerts were all under ten dollars. Compared to today’s prices, those old shows were an absolute bargain. I’ve seen a lot of artists that are no longer with us, such as Jerry Garcia, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Gregg Allman, Lou Reed, Keith Emerson, Freddie Mercury, BB King, and Jaco Pastorius, the great bass player for Weather Report. Other than completing artists or bands on my bucket list, I’m not too keen anymore to shell out big bucks being charged today.  In many cases I’d rather see up and coming artists in small venues, or good cover bands in clubs.

This is compilation of some of the most outstanding performances I’ve personally witnessed to date.  The Fleetwood Mac concert in March 1977 would have been included, but I’ve written about that show already.  That story is linked here, so it was omitted from this list.

James Taylor – Carmichael Auditorium – Chapel Hill –  March 3, 1982

This was JT’s triumphant return to his hometown. Taylor’s father was a professor at the UNC School of Medicine, ultimately becoming the school’s dean,  Rumors had been circulating for years that Taylor had no desire to perform in the Chapel Hill. Supposedly, the author of “Carolina In Mind” had too many bad memories from his adolescence here, that fueled his depression and subsequent drug addiction. Thus, he avoiding performing in the area. However, he received a hero’s welcome, the audience went nuts, and Taylor fed off the vibe.  Carmichael was not particularly known for its acoustics, but never sounded better. JT even improvised the lyrics to “You’ve Got a Friend” to include a reference to local Highway 15-501 that connects Durham and Chapel Hill.

 

Queen – Greensboro Coliseum – North Carolina – August 14, 1980

At the time, Queen was one of the hottest bands in the world. They were touring in support of their ninth studio album, “The Game” which would top the album charts in both the US and UK. If you’ve ever seen video from a Queen concert of that period, you see what an incredible performer Freddie Mercury was. He pranced. He danced, he played and sang. We had no idea that he would be gone eleven years later.  But that night, he owned the place with an 27-song epic set.

Setlist: Jailhouse Rock, We Will Rock You, Let Me Entertain You, Need Your Loving Tonight, Play the Game, Mustapha, Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to…), Killer Queen, I’m in Love With My Car, Somebody to Love, Get Down Make Love, You’re My Best Friend, Save Me, Now I’m Here, Fat Bottomed Girls, Love of My Life, Keep Yourself Alive, Drum & Guitar Solos, Brighton Rock, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Bohemian Rhapsody, Tie Your Mother Down; Encore: Sheer Heart Attack, We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions, God Save The Queen

 

R.E.M. – NC Benefit for Africa – Meredith College – May 27, 1985

In the wake of Live Aid, a lot of Africa relief concerts took place. One was organized at a beautiful outdoor amphitheater at Meredith College in Raleigh. The show featured seven or eight popular bands local with R.E.M. as the headliner.  They were gracious enough to allow the fledgling UNC Student Television to film their performance, which featured songs from the soon-to-be-released third album “Fables of the Reconstruction.” Don Dixon, whose band Arrogance also graced the stage that day, and was a producer on their first two albums, joined the band for “Don’t Go Back To Rockville” and a cover of “Wild Thing.”

Complete show:

https://youtu.be/y0VrM-qYnkw

 

Paul Simon – Civic Opera House – Chicago – March 13, 1987

Simon brought his Graceland tour to Chicago’s historic, art deco Opera House.  Simon, and his band, along with Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo played songs from the Grammy award winning album. It was a perfect setting for the acapella music, rhythmic dancing, and solo music by the South African artists. The 3500-seat auditorium may not be small compared to the club scene, but it’s far more intimate than the ten thousand plus seat amphitheaters and concert halls favored by rock stars.

U2 – Rosemont Horizon – Rosemont, IL – April 29, 1987

This was my first U2 concert, having missed another epic show which took place at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill four years earlier. The Rosemont show more than made up for it. The band had graced the cover of Time magazine two days earlier with the headline, “Rock’s Hottest Ticket,” and the show has become synonymous with that epithet. It remains a very popular U2 fan bootleg, which is surprising since the arena is not known for its acoustics. But the band and the audience connected, and the rest is history.

Frank Zappa – Auditorium Theatre – Chicago – March 4, 1988

One of the most underrated musical geniuses of all time brought his satirical Broadway the Hard Way tour to Chicago’s palatial Auditorium Theatre. Zappa loved to skewer anything and everything musically. His target this time was the disgraced  preacher Jimmy Swaggert. Using a medley of  Beatles songs and his lyrics, Zappa proceeded to eviscerate the televangelist in song. In addition, he brought Sting onstage, and they played “Murder by Numbers,” a Police song. Even better, he tossed some Zeppelin and Allman Brothers into the mix that magical evening.

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/frank-zappa/1988/auditorium-theatre-chicago-il-5bd0ef74.html

Neville Brothers – Skyline Stage,  Navy Pier – Chicago – May 27, 1989

One of  New Orleans’ best known musical families kicked off a series of “twilight concerts” at the recently renovated Skyline Ballroom in the summer of 1989.  They were on tour to promote their fourth studio album “Yellow Moon.” Even though the show was broadcast live on radio station WXRT, it was still a hot ticket. Anyone who was there can attest as to what a great vibe there was in the room. The band dug it also and played beyond their allotted time as the crowd urged them on.

 

Stevie Ray Vaughn / Jeff Beck – UIC Pavilion – Chicago – October 28, 1989

This was the first of two times I was fortunate enough to see SRV in concert. The second show was his final performance, the night he perished in a tragic helicopter accident. The tour was dubbed “The Fire Meets The Fury.” Beck and Vaughn traded opening slots on a 29-date tour. For me this show is as noteworthy for what happened afterwards. On the chance that Vaughn might make a post concert appearance at one of the local blues clubs, something he was known for, my buddy Otis and I went to Kingston Mines. SRV did go to a blues club, but not the Mines. He was spotted at Buddy Guy’s southside establishment. However, we did meet Buddy Miles, and and we hung out all night with the former member of Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys and Carlos Santana collaborator.

Here’s a video of Beck and Vaughn from the Chicago show

https://youtu.be/84_UvByGDkM

The Grateful Dead – Pine Knob Music Theatre – Clarkston, MI – June 20, 1991

I was lucky enough to see the Dead fifty times between 1985 and Jerry Garcia’s last show in July, 1995. As any Deadhead will tell you, no two Grateful Dead shows are alike.  The venue, the tour, the year, the people, and the vibe made every performance a unique event. City arena shows were very different than outdoor amphitheaters in remote locations like Alpine Valley, or Pine Knob, forty miles outside of Detroit.  What made this particular show memorable for me (and many others) was the song order of the second set, which seemed to go in reverse of a typical second set with “Throwing Stones” as the opening salvo. “All Along the Watchtower” and “Iko-Iko are presented outside of their normal settings, before the lengthy set closes with a reprise of “Throwing Stones” and Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away,” followed by an encore of the fan favorite “Brokedown Palace.”

Set 1: Touch of Grey, Greatest Story Ever Told, El Paso, Mexicali Blues > Maggie’s Farm, Bird Song

Set 2: Throwing Stones, Iko Iko, All Along The Watchtower, Standing On the Moon, He’s Gone > Drums > Space > The Wheel > I Need A Miracle > Walkin’ Blues > Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away, E: Brokedown Palace

 

Phish – Biddy Mulligan’s – Chicago – April 13, 1991

When the discussion turns to talk about the best band I saw in a small venue, this is my show to brag about. One of my Deadhead friends from New England kept raving about this band from Vermont, so I promised to see their next show in Chicago. Little did I know they’d be packing arenas and amphitheaters for years to come. Biddys was relatively small club on the far north side of town, almost at the Evanston border. From the early seventies until its demise in 2003, the club featured a lot of the local blues greats like Koko Taylor, Muddy Waters, and Buddy Guy, along with national talent like Wishbone Ash, Eric Burdon, and Blues Traveler. I remember seeing Leon Russell there. The posted capacity was 400, and I’m sure there were at least 500 folks that chilly April evening. The place was jam packed, and I was lucky to get a spot near the soundboard. The set was a mix of songs from 1990’s “Lawn Boy” and the yet to be released “A Picture of Nectar.” Most memorable for me was the inclusion of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” as the show closer. I haven’t attended a Phish concert since, because I’m not sure it could ever surpass that experience.

 

Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens – Oriental Theatre – Chicago – September 30, 2016

After a near death experience in 1976, this musical treasure of the late sixties and early seventies converted to Islam, and stopped performing for nearly thirty years. Songs like “Moonshadow,” “Peace Train,” and “Wild World” were soft rock and FM radio staples. When he finally returned to touring, I put him at the top of my concert bucket list.  The time off has kept his remarkable voice nearly intact, and he not only played his hits, but told the stories behind the songs, and delved into his musical catalog for some deep gems. The whole show was his life story, complete with a stage set recreating the small room above his parents restaurant in the London of his youth.

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/yusuf-islam/2016/oriental-theatre-chicago-il-3bfdcc5c.html

 

Honorable mentions:

David Byrne – Arie Crown Theatre – Chicago – September 1992
Tom Tom Club – Paradiso – Amsterdam – April 2001
Prince – Super Bowl Halftime Show – Miami – February 2007
Steve Miller Band – Ravinia Festival – July 2009
Brian Wilson – Ravinia Festival – July 2013
Allman Brothers Band – Chicago Theatre – August 2013

Song Of The Day – “Waters Of March” by Art Garfunkel

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artgarfunkelArt Garfunkel certainly missed his calling during his post Simon & Garfunkel solo career. If ever an artist was better suited to cut a Bossa Nova album, it was Art Garfunkel who possesses a gentle, smooth voice and impressive octave range to match. Proof positive is his recording of the Antonio Carlos Jobim classic “Waters Of March” from his second solo record, 1975’s “Breakaway.”

“Waters Of March” was written by Antonio Carlos Jobim in both English and Portuguese (“Águas de Março”) and appeared on his 1973 album called “Jobim.” Although, the Bossa Nova craze was in the early 1960s, the song has since become a standard part of the repertoire, covered numerous times by the likes of Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’77, David Byrne and Marisa Monte, Al Jarreau, John Pizzarelli, Rosemary Clooney, and dozens of others.

“Breakaway “was a high water mark for Garfunkel that generated three top 40 singles: “I Only Have Eyes For You” (US #18, UK #1), “Breakaway” (US #39) and the Simon And Garfunkel reunion duet, “My Little Town,” which peaked at #9. Further driving the popularity of the record was the Simon And Garfunkel reunion that took place on TV’s “Saturday Night Live,” which at the time was the hip epicenter of the media world.

The Richard Perry produced album was an all-star affair featuring a who’s who of backing talent including appearances by David Crosby, Graham Nash, Andrew Gold, Nicky Hopkins, Jim Keltner, Jim Gordon, Barry Beckett, Larry Knechtel, Russ Kunkel, Joe Osborne, Bill Payne, Klaus Voorman, Toni Tennille, Stephen Bishop and Leland Sklar.

Not only were the hits great, but there were quite a few non-singles that have become central to Garfunkel’s repertoire, including the Bruce Johnston penned “Disney Girls,” “99 Miles From L.A.” with lyrics by Hal David and a terrific cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever.”

Word is that Garfunkel’s voice isn’t what it used to be, so I guess a Bossa Nova album coming from him today would be too much to ask…however, I’ll bet he could still pull it off…

Today in Rock History – March 18

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who-1965-marquee-club-london1965, Excerpts from six numbers performed by The Who at The Marquee Club in February appear on a French Television programme called Seize Millions de Jeunes on ORTF TV 2. It is part of documentary about Mods shot by two French acquaintances of the band’s co-manager Chris Stamp. A scheduled appearance that day at the Civic Hall in Crawley is postponed until April 18th.

1966, that morning, The Who are filmed miming to “I Can’t Explain,” “Bald Headed Woman,” and “Substitute” at Tower Pier, London for Dick Clark’s ABC-TV U.S. program Where The Action Is. That evening they head out to Wembley’s Studio One to perform “Substitute” and “Barbara Ann” on Ready, Steady, GO!, then zip off to Basildon to play the Locarno Ballroom.

traffic-traffic1967, The UK music magazine New Musical Express announced that former Spencer Davis Group member Steve Winwood was planning to form a new group with Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. The ensemble would choose the name Traffic.

1967, Pink Floyd played at Enfield College of Technology, Enfield, England.

1967, Jimi Hendrix played at the Star Club, Hamburg, Germany.

1967, The Beatles scored their 13th chart topping single with “Penny Lane.” The title refers to the name of a street near Lennon’s house, in Liverpool. McCartney and Lennon would meet at Penny Lane junction in the Mossley Hill area to catch a bus into the center of the city.

1969, Jimi Hendrix performed at Ellis Auditorium AmphiTheater, Memphis, Tennessee.

1970, Tommy: The Movie has its world premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City. A morning press conference is attended by all the movie’s stars except Oliver Reed, Jack Nicholson, Roger Daltrey, and director Ken Russell. Daltrey and Russell are back in England working on his next film, Lisztomania. The film receives a standing ovation despite occasional sound problems. Afterwards, The Who and celebrities attend a midnight party designed by new Hollywood hotshot Allan Carr in a sealed-off section of a New York subway station located under the IND Station at 57th Street and Sixth Avenue.

1971, Led Zeppelin played at the Mayfair Ballroom in Newcastle, England during their “Back to the Clubs” tour.

1972, Yes appeared at the Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1972, Neil Young started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “Heart Of Gold.” It was his only Top 20 hit as a solo artist.

1972, Paul Simon scored his first solo number one album when his self-titled debut went to the top of the charts. The album featured the singles “Mother And Child Reunion,” and “Me And Julio Down By The School Yard.”

1972, T Rex played the first of two sold out nights at Wembley’s Empire Pool. Ringo Starr filmed the shows for the Born To Boogie Apple documentary.

1973, Paul McCartney and Wings played a benefit gig for the drug charity, Release at The Hard Rock Cafe in England.

1973, King Crimson played at the Rainbow Theatre, London.

1974, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the first of eight shows over four nights at Gertie’s in Dallas, Texas.

bowie-man-who-fell-to-earth1976, The Film The Man Who Fell To Earth featuring David Bowie premiered in London.

1976, Bob Dylan played at theLakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida.

1976, The Who perform at the Salt Palace Convention Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1977, The Clash released their debut single “White Riot.” It peaked at number 38 on the UK charts.

1977, The Grateful Dead played at Winterland Arena in San Francisco, California.

1977, AC/DC performed at Lanchester Polytechnic, Coventry, England.

1978, The brothers Gibb had a role in the top three songs on the singles charts, the Bee Gees’ “Night Fever” at number one; “(Love is) Thicker Than Water” by Andy Gibb (the previous week’s chart topper) was at number two, co-written by Barry Gibb, and “Emotion” by Samantha Song, written and produced by The Bee Gees, sat at the third position.

1978, Aerosmith, Santana, Heart, Dave Mason, Ted Nugent and Mahogany Rush all appeared at the California Jam II festival, Ontario, California.

1978, Rush played at the Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina.

1979, Roxy Music performed at Eissporthalle, Berlin, Germany.

1981, Tom Waits appeared at the Victoria Apollo, London, England.

1984, Van Halen played at the Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1989, A radio station in California arranged to have all it’s Cat Stevens Records destroyed by having a steamroller run over them in protest of the singer’s support of Ayatollah Khomeni.

1996, The Sex Pistols announced their comeback at the 100 Club in London, 20 years after they had split.

1997, Rap artist Notorious B.I.G., aka Christopher George Latore Wallace, was cremated in New Jersey. The 24 year-old was gunned down and killed on March 9th as he left a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

2001, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter John Phillips of the Mamas and The Papas died of heart failure aged 65. His first band, The Journeymen, were a folk trio. He also co-promoted the Monterrey Pop Festival with Lou Adler. Phillips was married to Michelle Gilliam, they had one child together, Chynna Phillips, vocalist of the 1990’s pop trio Wilson Phillips.

2002, The Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam and close friend of the Ramones. The ceremony took place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

2011, Jet Harris, bass guitarist for The Shadows, died from throat cancer at the age of 71. Jet played on the hit “Apache” and during their days as Cliff Richard’s backing band, performed on the number one hit “Living Doll.” In 1962, he left the group and had solo hits with “Besame Mucho” and “The Man With The Golden Arm.”

2013, David Bowie’s first album in a decade become the fastest-selling of the year, hitting the top spot in the UK charts in its first week of release. The Next Day was the 66-year-old’s first number one since 1993’s Black Tie White Noise and sold 94,000 copies in the first week.

Born on March 18: Charlie Pride (1938); Wilson Pickett (1941); Dennis Linde, songwriter (1943); Eric Woolfson, Scottish singer-songwriter, pianist,  producer The Alan Parsons Project (1945); B. J. Wilson, English drummer, Procol Harum (1947); John Hartman, Doobie Brothers (1950); Grant Hart, Husker Du (1961); Jeff LaBar, American guitarist, Cinderella and Naked Beggars (1963); Courtney Pine, jazz musician (1964); Jerry Cantrell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, Alice in Chains (1966); Miki Berenyi, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, Lush (1967); Dana Elaine Owens, aka Queen Latifah (1970); Adam Levine, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, Maroon 5 (1979)

Link to Today in Rock History archive

Today in Rock History – February 7

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beatles-please-please-me1963, The first Beatles single “Please Please Me” was released in the US on the Vee Jay label.

1964, The Beatles’ Pan Am flight was greeted by over 5,000 as it arrived at New York’s JFK airport. This was the Fab Four’s first US visit.

1967, Robin, Maurice and Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees returned to the UK after living in Australia for nine years.

1967, Mike Nesmith and Mickey Dolenz from The Monkees appeared on UK TV’s Top Of The Pops.

1969, John and Yoko were featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, on sale for 35 Cents. John was named as Rolling Stone’s “Man Of The Year.”

1969, Vanilla Fudge, Led Zeppelin, and Jethro Tull play the first of two nights at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago. Admission was $5 (£3.33).

1969, The Who play the Top Rank Suite at the University in Bath, England.

1969, Doors singer Jim Morrison was arrested for drunk driving and driving with no license in Los Angeles, California.

1969, George Harrison enters London’s University College Hospital to have an operation on his infected back molar and tonsils.

1970, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull married record company secretary Jennie Franks.

1970, In London, Yes performed at Royal Festival Hall, while Pink Floyd appeared at Royal Albert Hall.

1970, Led Zeppelin scored their first number one album with Led Zeppelin II. Featuring the single “Whole Lotta Love,” it went on to stay on the chart for 138 weeks, selling over 6 million copies in the US.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band played at Pappaliski’s in Dayton, Ohio.

 

shocking-blue-venus1970, One hit wonders from Holland, The Shocking Blue went to number one on the US singles chart with “Venus,” making them the first Dutch act to top the US charts. It made it to number eight in the UK. Bananarama also took the song to number 8 on the UK chart in 1986.

1971, Edgar Winter and Grin appear at the Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1973, Hawkwind played at Wandsworth Prison in London.

1975, The Jackson Five appeared at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

1975, Led Zeppelin performed at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tickets were $7.50 and $8.50.

1976, Paul Simon started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover,” the singer’s first solo chart topper.

1977, Genesis performed at Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis.

1979, Stephen Stills became the first rock performer to record on digital equipment at the Record Plant Studio in Los Angeles.

1980, After three weeks of full production rehearsals, Pink Floyd played the first of seven sold out shows performing The Wall at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.  The first night’s show was halted during “What Shall We Do Now” while crew extinguished flames caused by the pyrotechnics that caught the stage drapes on fire.

1981, John Lennon was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Woman,” an ode to his wife Yoko Ono. It was Lennon’s third number one in seven weeks after his death on December 8, 1980.

1981, Kool & The Gang started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Celebration,” the group’s first chart topper and eighth top 40 hit in America. It was a number seven hit in the UK.

1984, Neil Young and Crazy Horse played at The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, California.

1999, Blondie went to number one on the UK singles chart with “Maria,” giving the group their 6th UK number one single, 20 years after their first. At the age of 54, lead singer Debbie Harry became the oldest female to make a chart topping hit.

2000, English guitarist and singer Dave Pevertt died from kidney cancer aged 56. He had been a member of Savoy Brown and Foghat who had the 1970’s hit singles “My Babe,” and “Slow Ride.”

2001, U2 played a secret show at London’s Astoria. Stars attending the show included actor John Hurt, Queen’s Roger Taylor, Mick Jagger, Bob Geldof, Chris Evans, and members of Toploader.

2008, Amy Winehouse was told she could not perform at this year’s Grammy awards ceremony because her US visa application has been rejected by the embassy in London. The singer was arrested for marijuana possession in Norway in 2007. Winehouse had been nominated for six Grammy awards.

Born on February 7: Earl King, blues guitarist (1934); Jimmy Greenspoon, Three Dog Night (1948); Alan Lancaster, Status Quo (1949);  Steve Bronski, Bronski Beat (1960); Garth Brooks (1962); David Bryan, keyboards, Bon Jovi (1962); Wes Borland, guitarist, Limp Bizkit (1975)

Today in Rock History main page.

Black Sabbath – Rock History – February 5

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beatles-penny-lane1966, The Who, with support acts Screamin’ Lord Sutch & the Savages, the Merseys, the Fortunes, and the Graham Bond Organization, perform at the Odeon Cinema in Southend-on-Sea, England.

1967, The Beatles filmed part of the promo clip for “Penny Lane” around the Royal Theatre, Stratford, London and walking up and down Angel Lane.

1967, The News Of The World reported that Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, and Ginger Baker had taken LSD at The Moody Blues’ home in the UK. Jagger sued the paper for libel in an on-going feud between the News Of The World and The Stones.

1969, The Move were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Blackberry Way,” the group’s only UK chart topper.

1970, David Bowie recorded four songs at the BBC Paris Cinema, London, for the John Peel Sunday Concert radio show. This was guitarists Mick Ronson’s first appearance with Bowie.

1971, Little Richard, The Allman Brothers Band, and The Chambers Brothers were scheduled to appear at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Little Richard didn’t play, but disrupted ABB’s set, complaining that the promoter wouldn’t pay him.

1971, Black Sabbath started recording what would be their third album, Master Of Reality at Island Studios in London, England. Released in July, it is sometimes noted as the first stoner rock album. Guitarist Tony Iommi, decided to down tune his guitar down three semi-tones, Geezer Butler also down tuned his bass guitar to match Iommi. The result was a noticeably darker sound that almost two decades later would prove hugely influential on at least three of the biggest grunge bands, namely Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, and Nirvana.

1972, Pink Floyd played at Colston Hall in Bristol, England.

1972, T Rex were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Telegram Sam,” the group’s third UK number one which was taken from their album The Slider. The song is also known for bringing the term “main man” into popular culture.

1972, Paul Simon released his first new song without Art Garfunkel, “Mother and Child Reunion,” which peaked at number four in the US.

1974, Genesis appeared at the Palaeur, Rome, Italy.

1974, KISS played at North Alberta Tech, Edmonton, Alberta.

1976, David Bowie appeared at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California.

1977, Queen performed at Madison Square Garden, New York

1978, The Grateful Dead performed at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult played at the Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse, New York.

1980, Bob Dylan appeared at the Civic Auditorium, Knoxville, Tennessee.

Def-Leppard-Pyromania1983, Def Leppard’s album Pyromania started a 92-week run on the charts. It never reached number one, but sold over 6 million copies in the US alone.

1983, Toto went to number one on the US singles chart with “Africa,” a top three hit in the UK.

1989, The Grateful Dead played at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland California.

1992, Nirvana appeared at the ANU Bar in Canberra, Australia, during their one and only tour of Australia and New Zealand.

2006, The Rolling Stones played three songs during the half-time show of The Super Bowl in Detroit. After the event, the Stones expressed their displeasure over having Mick Jagger’s microphone turned down during the song “Start Me Up.” The line “you make a dead man come” was cut short and a barnyard reference to “cocks” in the new song “Rough Justice” also disappeared.

2007, Producer Phil Spector won $900,000 (£459,000) after settling an embezzlement claim. Spector said former assistant Michelle Blaine removed $425,000 (£216,000) from his pension and did not repay a $635,000 (£324,000) loan. Ms. Blaine claimed the loan was a gift, and the pension funds were for a film aimed at improving Spector’s image. As part of the settlement, she dropped a counter-claim of sexual harassment.

2015, INXS guitarist Tim Farriss said he may never play the guitar properly again after severing his finger in a boating accident. Farriss caught his left hand while operating a winch on his boat in Sydney, severing his ring finger. He had undergone surgery twice to try to reattach the finger but had been left with permanent hand damage

Born on February 5: Hal Blaine, the Wrecking Crew (1929); Alex Harvey (1935); Corey Wells, Three Dog Night (1942); J.R. Cobb,  Atlanta Rhythm Section (1944); Al Kooper (1944); David Denny, Steve Miller Band (1948); Cliff Martinez, drums, Red Hot Chili Peppers (1954); Duff McKagan, bass, Guns N’ Roses (1964); Keith Mosley, bass, String Cheese Incident (1965); and Bobby Brown (1969)

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Song Of The Day – “Thelma” by Paul Simon

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paulsimonrhythmIt boggles the mind how a song this good could have been left in the can, but that was indeed the fate of the Paul Simon outtake “Thelma,” which was originally intended for his 1990 album The Rhythm Of The Saints. (The song would surface three years later on the Paul Simon 1964 – 1993 box set.)

By 1988, Simon had to begin thinking about the near impossible task of creating a follow up record to his 1986 Grammy-winning smash hit album Graceland. But how do you follow up a record as dominant and successful as Graceland? For Simon, it meant fashioning a record along the same culturally exploratory lines as Graceland, but changing the locale from South Africa to Brazil, and melding the music from both locales together.

The resultant Rhythm collection was a far more adventurous record than its predecessor featuring groove oriented songs like “The Obvious Child,” “Can’t Run But,” “Proof” and today’s Song Of The Day, that were built from the percussion on up. The album is also more subtle and intricate than Graceland with a set of nuanced experimental songs like “Further To Fly,” “Cool Cool River,” “Spirit Voices” and “She Moves On” that insinuate themselves with the listener upon repeated listening.

Like it’s predecessor, Rhythm featured an all-star international collective of musicians including the likes of Clifton Chenier, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Milton Nascimento, Adrian Belew, J.J. Cale, Hugh Masakela, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Greg Phillinganes, Steve Gadd, Naná Vasconcelos and many others, working together to create a patchwork quilt of exotic sound to house Simon’s sharp, impressionistic lyrics.

Rhythm was also the first album that Simon collaborated with Cameroonian guitarist Vincent Nguini, whom he still works with today. Most of the record was recorded in Rio de Janeiro and then brought back to New York’s Hit Factory for final touch ups. Together, Simon and Nguini fashioned finished songs out of the bare rhythm recordings captured in Rio for Simon to put his lyrics on.

Simon toured extensively after the release of the album, culminating in a free concert in New York City’s Central Park in front of 750,000 attendees. (I was there!) While it is inevitable that Rhythm will always exist in the shadow of Graceland, the album’s failing is that it sounds at times more like a genre exercise than an actual Paul Simon album. That said, the album did peak the #4 position on the album charts and sold several million copies.

Today in Rock History – January 31

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1964, Sales figures show that the Beatles’ “She Loves You” has sold 1.3 million copies in England, while “I Want to Hold Your Hand” has sold 1.5 million.

1967, The Beatles spent a second day at Knole Park, Sevenoaks, Kent, England to complete filming for the ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ promotional video. The film was shot in color, for the benefit of the US market, since UK television was still broadcasting only in black and white. Taking time out from filming John Lennon bought a 1843 poster from an antiques shop in Surrey which provided him with most the lyrics for The Beatles song “Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite.”

1968, The Who performed at Town Hall in Wellington, New Zealand.

1969, Organist and singer Billy Preston signs with Apple.

1969, Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at The Fillmore East, New York City during the band’s first North American tour. Porter’s Popular Preachers opened the night, then Led Zeppelin took the stage. It is alleged that Zeppelin’s show was so powerful and got such an enthusiastic audience that headliners Iron Butterfly refused to follow them.

1970, The Grateful Dead played at The Warehouse in New Orleans. That venue opened the night before.  The band’s arrest that weekend for drug possession was chronicled in their song, “Truckin.”

1970, American blues musician Slim Harpo died of a heart attack while recording in London aged 46. Had the 1966 US number 16 single ‘Baby Scratch My Back’. The Rolling Stones, Pretty Things, Yardbirds and Them all covered his songs.

1970, The Jackson Five went to number one on the singles chart with ‘I Want You Back’. The song was originally written for Gladys Knight & The Pips and was the first of four chart toppers for the group.

1971, Genesis appeared at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1972, Yes played at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England.

1974, Bob Dylan performed at Madison Square Garden, New York.

1975, Led Zeppelin played at Olympia Stadium, Detroit.

1976, Abba knocked Queen from the number one position on the UK singles chart with “Mamma Mia.” Queen’s single “Bohemian Rhapsody” had enjoyed a nine week run at the top of the charts.

1976, The Ohio Players are Number one on the US charts with “Love Rollercoaster.”

1977, Aerosmith headlined at the famous Budokan in Tokyo.

talking-heads-oldgreywhistletest1978, Talking Heads made their UK TV debut on the The Old Grey Whistle Test.

1978, Greg Herbert, saxophone player with Blood Sweat & Tears died of an accidental drug overdose in Amsterdam, Holland aged 30. Blood, Sweat & Tears won a Grammy Award in 1969 for Album of the Year.

1980, Bob Dylan appeared at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis, Tennessee.

1981, Blondie went to No.1 on the US singles hart with “The Tide Is High,” the group’s third US No.1, also a No.1 in the UK.

1984, Blue Oyster Cult played at Hall Polyvalent, Schifflange, Luxembourg.

1987, Paul Simon went back to number one on the UK album chart with Graceland, the album stayed on the chart for a total 101 weeks. Graceland later won the 1987 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, while the title song won the 1988 Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

2009, Dewey Martin, drummer with The Dillards and Buffalo Springfield, died aged 68. The Canadian musician had worked with The Monkees as well.

Born on January 31: Terry Kath, Chicago (1946) Harry Wayne Casey, KC and the Sunshine Band and Phil Manzanera, Roxy Music (1951); Johnny Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten 1956); Lloyd Cole (1961); Jeff Hanneman, guitarist, Slayer (1964); and Justin Timberlake (1981)

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