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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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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

Today in Rock History – February 12

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Donovan-19651965, Pye Records announced  signing of the “British Bob Dylan,” when they added Donovan to the label. The Scottish singer-songwriter produced a series of hit albums and singles between 1965 and 1970 and became a friend of leading pop musicians including Joan Baez, Brian Jones, and The Beatles. He influenced John Lennon when he taught him a finger-picking guitar style in 1968.

1965, The Who audition for BBC Radio’s Light Programme. As The Detours, they had failed a BBC audition 10 months before. This time they pass with the approval of four of the seven judges. The other three call them “ponderous and unentertaining,” “at the limit of their capablilties,” and “overall not very original and below standard.”

1967, Fifteen police officers raided Redlands the West Sussex home of Rolling Stone Keith Richards during a weekend party. The police who were armed with a warrant issued under the dangerous drugs act took away various substances for forensic tests. George and Pattie Harrison had been at the house, but it was said that the police waited for them to leave before they raided the house in order not to bust the holder of an MBE.

1967, The Who appeared at the Starlite Ballroom in London.

1968, Billed as “Tour 60 cities in 66 Days,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at the Centre Arena, Seattle, Washington.

1968, Pink Floyd spent the day at EMI Studios on Abbey Road in London at a recording session for A Saucerful of Secrets.

1969, Janis Joplin and her Kozmik Blues Band perform at the Fillmore East in New York to mixed reviews.

1970, The Grateful Dead performed a club date at Ungano’s in New York.

1970,  John Lennon performed “Instant Karma” on BBC TV’s Top Of The Pops, becoming the first Beatle to have appeared on the show since 1966. Lennon wrote, recorded, and mixed his new single, all in one day. It ranks as one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history. Lennon later stated, “I wrote it for breakfast, recorded it for lunch, and we’re putting it out for dinner.”

1970, The Guess Who performed at Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina

1972, Al Green went to number one on the singles chart with “Let’s Stay Together,” his only chart topper. Tina Turner took the song to number 26 in 1984.

1972, Genesis appeared at Guildhall, in Portsmouth, England.

1972, David Bowie played at the Great Hall, Imperial College in London.

1972, Pink Floyd’s UK tour stops at City Hall, in Sheffield, England. The set list: One of These Days / Careful With That Axe, Eugene / The Dark Side of the Moon / Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun // encore: Echoes.

1974,   The fabled rock club The Bottom Line opens in New York

1975, Led Zeppelin played at Madison Square Garden, New York. Tickets were $7.50.

1977, Blondie, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and The Ramones all appeared at the Whisky-A-Go-Go in Los Angeles, California.

pink-floyd-animals1977, Pink Floyd released their tenth studio album Animals in the US, where it reached number three in the charts. The album’s cover image, a pig floating between two chimneys on Battersea Power Station, was conceived by bassist Roger Waters and realized by long-time design and photographic collaborators Hipgnosis.

1977, Styx appeared at the Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida.

1977, The Police recorded their first single, “Fall Out” for £150 ($255) at Pathway Studios, London, England.

1977, Elvis Presley performed at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1978, Rush appeared at the Birmingham Odeon, England, promoting their new single “Closer To The Heart.”

1979, Frank Zappa played at the Apollo Theatre, Manchester, England.

1980, The Eagles performed at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi.

1984, Prince & The Revolution appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1997, David Bowie received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1997, U2 held a press conference in the Lingerie Department at the Greenwich Village Kmart store in Manhattan, New York City, to announce their Pop Mart world tour. The tour was set to start in Las Vegas on April 25th.

2000, US blues singer Screamin’ Jay Hawkins died aged 70. A Golden Gloves boxing champion at 16, he was married nine times, spent two years in jail, was temporary blinded by one of his flaming props on stage in 1976. He recorded “I Put A Spell On You” in 1956, covered by The Animals, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Nina Simone.

2003, Former Doors drummer John Densmore took out legal action against The Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger for breach of contract, trademark infringement and unfair competition. The band had reformed with Ex- Cult singer Ian Astbury and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland. Densmore said “It shouldn’t be called The Doors if it’s someone other than Jim Morrison singing.”

2008, Ronald Isley’s appeal against a three-year jail term for tax fraud was rejected by a US court. The 65-year-old singer of the Isley Brothers argued against being imprisoned in an Indiana jail on the grounds of age and poor health. The court heard he cashed royalty checks belonging to his brother O’Kelly, who died in 1996 and spent millions of dollars made from undeclared performances on a yacht and two homes. Isley was ordered to pay more than $3.1 million (£1.62m) to the US tax service for “pathological” evasion.

Born on February 12: Gene McDaniels, singer-songwriter (1935); Ray Manzarek, The Doors (1939); Joe Schermie, bass, Three Dog Night (1945); Stanley Knight,  Black Oak Arkansas (1949); Steve Hackett, Genesis (1950); Michael McDonald, Doobie Brothers (1952); Jim Creeggan, Canadian singer-songwriter, bass, Barenaked Ladies, The Brothers Creeggan (1970)

Link to Today in Rock History main page.

Song Of The Day – “Harry’s House/Centerpiece” by Joni Mitchell

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jonimitchellhissingJoni Mitchell was coming off of Court And Spark, her most commercially successful studio recording to date, sporting several hit singles including “Free Man In Paris,” “Raised On Robbery” and “Help Me.” So by 1975 interest was very high as critics and fans alike awaited her next record which was believed to be the one that would take her to the next level of super stardom.

Would she rock out like she did with the L.A. Express on the tour that resulted in the live double album Miles Of Aisles? Would it be a return to the voice-and-guitar folk roots of Ladies Of The Canyon? Would she open up her soul by delivering a set of confessional songs a la Blue?

She did nothing of the sort, and fans were mostly confounded by The Hissing Of Summer Lawns, while many critics flat-out hated it. This was not the confessional folkie or the cocaine-fueled ‘70s rocker at all. This was something completely new and different. This was a modal jazz Joni who turned the commerciality of Court And Spark upside down and left it in the gutter to die like road kill.

The ringer was the album’s first single and opening cut. “In France They Kiss On The Main Street” could have fit very comfortably on Court And Spark, and the song reassured fans that this was the same Joni Mitchell they’ve always loved.

But then the album takes a sharp left turn. First we hear tribal drums, like nothing we’ve ever heard on a Joni Mitchell album before. No problem, we’re comfortable with the fact that soon the guitar and the band will kick in and Joni will lay some kind of vibrant melodic hook on top of it all, giving us another indelible hit song for the radio to play. It never happens…

A decade before Paul Simon’s Graceland, Joni Mitchell spreads her multi-cultural wings on “The Jungle Line” by recording vocals, wiggy synthesizer and angular guitar parts on top of a recording by the African Drummers Of Burundi. The song pays homage to the jungle themed paintings of French Post-Impressionist painter Henri Rousseau by marrying his imaginary jungle worlds with the all too real world of drugs, sex and crime.

Lots of surprises follow, but the one constant is Mitchell’s sharp eye for detail in creating very real and well developed characters on a set of songs with arrangements that steer far away from the radio-ready confines of her soft-rock peers.

“Beauty parlor blondes with credit card eyes…”

The poetry of the “Harry’s House” part of today’s Song Of The Day is some of the greatest to ever come from a Joni Mitchell record…and that’s saying a lot! Where does that inspiration come from? And how can she weave so many stereotypes into a song without sounding, well, stereotypical?  Check out these lyrics for yourself:

“Heatwaves on the runway / as the wheels set down

He takes his baggage off the carousel / He takes a taxi into town

Yellow schools of taxi fishes / Jonah in a ticking whale

Caught up at the light in the fishnet windows / of Bloomingdale’s”

 

“Watching those high fashion girls / Skinny black models with raven curls

Beauty parlor blondes with credit card eyes / Looking for the chic and the fancy to buy”

 

“He opens up his suitcase / in the continental suite

And people twenty stories down / Look like colored currents in the street

A helicopter lands on the Pan Am roof / like a dragonfly on a tomb

And business men in button downs / press into conference rooms

Battalions of paper-minded males / talking commodities and sales

While at home their paper wives and paper kids / paper the walls to keep their gut reactions hid”

 

“Yellow checkers for the kitchen / climbing ivy for the bath

She is lost in House and Gardens / he’s caught up in Chief of Staff

He drifts off into the memory / of the way she looked in school

With her body oiled and shining / at the public swimming pool …”

 

The “Centerpiece” part of the song is based on the Lambert, Hendricks and Ross jazz standard of the same name. It was not Mitchell’s first foray into the catalog of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, as “Twisted” from Court And Spark is also one of their songs.

Other highlights abound like “Don’t Interrupt The Sorrow” which hearkens back to her older acoustic sound, “Shadows And Light,” a hymnal that provides another musical left turn at the end the album, the light and jazzy “Edith And The Kingpin” and “The Boho Dance” which comments on the disparity between art and commerce.

Mitchell chose a great set of musicians from her rolodex to make her adventurous music a reality, including old friends James Taylor, Graham Nash and David Crosby on background vocals, Robben Ford, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter and Larry Carlton on guitar, Joe Sample and Victor Feldman on keyboards, Max Bennett and Wilton Felder on bass, Chuck Findley and Bud Shank on brass and reeds respectively, and John Guerin on drums.

While not the commercial blockbuster I’m sure David Geffen wanted for Asylum Records, The Hissing Of Summer Lawns did climb all the way to the number four position on the album charts. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Pop Performance, but lost out to Linda Ronstadt’s Hasten Down The Wind. After all was said and done, Mitchell did not tour in support of the album, but rather went out on the road as a member of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue.

Recently, I discovered the mostly acoustic demos Mitchell made for this album under the title The Seeding Of Summer Lawns. One of the many surprises in the collection is that the song “Dreamland,” which was later released on the album Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter, had its genesis in this album.

The artist currently known as Prince has said on numerous occasions that The Hissing Of Summer Lawns is his favorite album…and it’s certainly one of mine too.

Bob Dylan, Rock History – February 4

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bob-dylan-19661966, Bob Dylan and The Band played at the Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky. This was the first date on a world tour which would become significant as the first outing in which Dylan used electric instruments, after he had gone “electric” at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

1966, The Who play the Astoria Theatre in Finsbury Park, North London. The supporting acts are Screamin’ Lord Sutch & the Savages, the Merseys, the Fortunes and the Graham Bond Organization.

1967, The Rolling Stones’ Between the Buttons enters the UK chart at number three.

1967, this was the last week of a thirteen weeks atop the US album charts for The Monkees self-titled debut album. It would be knocked off on February 11 by the followup, More of the Monkees.

1968, Billed as ‘Tour 60 cities in 66 Days’ The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at the Winterland in San Francisco.

1968, Working at Abbey Road studios, London, The Beatles recorded “Across The Universe.” John and Paul decided the song needed some falsetto harmonies so they invited two girl fans into the studio to sing on the song. The two were Lizzie Bravo, a 16-year-old Brazilian living near Abbey Road, and 17-year-old Londoner Gayleen Pease.

1970, John Lennon and Yoko Ono donated their hair for an auction in aid of the Black Power movement.

1972, Genesis appeared at the Hippodrome in Bristol, England.

1973, Pink Floyd played at the Palais des Sports de la Porte de Versailles, Paris.

1972, In a memo to Attorney General John Mitchell, South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond suggests that John Lennon be deported.

1974, Pink Floyd release “Time” backed with “Us and Them” as a 7-inch single in the US.

1975, Led Zeppelin performs at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

1975, American jazz, blues, songwriter and saxophonist Louis Jordon died aged 66. Known as “The King of the Jukebox,” between 1942-1950 he scored eighteen number one singles and fifty-four Top Ten hits on the US R&B chart.

1976, David Bowie appeared at Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon.

1977, This was the 25th anniversary show of TV’s American Bandstand, which began as a local program on WFIL-TV, Channel 6 in Philadelphia on October 7, 1952.

1977, Aerosmith played at the Kyoden-Taiiku-Kan, Fukuoka, Japan.

1977, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours is released. The album shoots to the top of US album charts, staying there for 31 weeks. More than 17 million copies have been sold in the U.S.

Saturday-Night-Fever1978, The Bee Gees started a four week run at number one on the singles chart with “Staying Alive.” It came from the film soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, it gave the Gibb brothers their fifth number one.

1979, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Dane County Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin.

1981, The Who performed at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

1982, Scottish singer Alex Harvey died of a heart attack while waiting to take a ferry back to shore after performing a concert with his new band, the Electric Cowboys. In an ambulance on the way to the hospital, he suffered a second heart attack, this one fatal. It occurred on the day before his 47th birthday, in Zeebrugen, Belgium. Formed Alex Harvey Big Soul Band in 1959 and then mid 1960’s band Tear Gas. He had the 1975 UK number seven single with Sensational Alex Harvey Band “Delilah” and 1975 album Next.

1983, Karen Carpenter died aged 32 of a cardiac arrest at her parent’s house in Downey, California. The coroner’s report gave the cause of death of imbalances associated with anorexia nervosa. The Carpenters’ 1970 album Close to You, featured two hit singles, (“They Long to Be) Close to You” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.” They peaked at number one and two respectively on the singles chart.  In Playboy‘s annual opinion poll for 1975, its readers voted Karen Carpenter the Best Rock Drummer of the year.

1984, Culture Club started a three-week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Karma Chameleon” the group’s 5th US Top 10 hit, also a chart topper in the UK.

1984, The Eurythmics scored their first UK number one album with their second release Touch, featuring the singles “Here Comes The Rain Again,” “Who’s That Girl,” and “Right By Your Side.”

1984, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble kicked off their 114-date Couldn’t Stand the Weather tour at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

1985, Prince performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1992, Pearl Jam appeared at The Borderline in London, England, tickets cost £5 ($8.50.)

1999, Rykodisc becomes the first music label to give its stamp of approval to the MP3 music format.

2001, Jimmy Buffett is thrown out of a New York Knicks – Miami Heat basketball game after verbally abusing a referee.

2009, Erick Lee Purkhiser, aka Lux Interior, singer and founding member of The Cramps died aged 62. He met his wife, better known as Poison Ivy, born Ivy Rorschach, in Sacramento in 1972, when he and a friend picked her up when she was hitchhiking. The couple later founded The Cramps.

Born on February 4: John Steel, The Animals (1942); Florence Larue, The 5th Dimension (1944); Margie and Mary Ann Ganser, vocalists, The Shangri-Las (1947); Vincent Furnier, aka Alice Cooper (1948); Phil Ehart, Kansas (1950); Jerry Shirley, Humble Pie (1951);  Clint Black, country singer (1962)

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Today in Rock History – January 26

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Petula-Clark-Downtown1965, “Downtown” by Petula Clark was at number one on the US singles chart. A young Jimmy Page had played as a session guitarist on the track, giving him his first US number one hit, as well as a number two hit in the UK.

1965, during a Rolling Stones tour of Australia and New Zealand, guitarist Keith Richards had his shirt torn off after 50 fans invaded the stage during the gig at The Town Hall in Brisbane.

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

1967, Jack Newfield’s article “Brecht of the Jukebox, Poet of the Electric Guitar,” about Bob Dylan, was published in the Village Voice today.

1968, Pink Floyd played in the Old Refractory, at the Student’s Union at Southampton University, Highfield, Southampton, England. Also on the bill was Tyrannosaurus Rex and The Incredible String Band. Members of Floyd decided not to pick up Syd Barrett on the way to the show due to his ongoing troubles and a mere two weeks after David Gilmour officially became a member of the band. That was the end of Syd Barrett as part of Pink Floyd.

1969, Led Zeppelin played the last of three nights at Boston Tea Party in Boston.

1970, Elvis Presley played the first night of a four-week engagement playing 2 shows every night at The International Hotel in Las Vegas.

1970, The Who play the Stadt Opera House in Cologne, Germany. Their $2500 salary for the two nights is donated to the Save The Children Fund and the taxes on their shows are also excused as the German government declares The Who to be a “cultural attraction.” Both German President Heinemann and Chancellor Willie Brandt attend the show and visit The Who backstage afterwards.

1970, John Lennon wrote, recorded and mixed his new single “Instant Karma” all in one day.

1971, Elvis Presley played the first night of a 31-date run at The Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. Elvis played a 8:30 pm and midnight shows on most days.

1972, Hawkwind played at the Rex Ballroom, Bognor, Regis, England.

1973, John Entwistle and his new solo band Rigor Mortis release the single “Made In Japan” backed with “Hound Dog” in the UK. The launch party is held in a Japanese steak house in Soho. The single fails to chart.

1974, Ringo Starr went to number one on the singles chart with his version of the Johnny Burnette 1960 hit “Your Sixteen.”

1974, Genesis appeared at the Forest National, Brussels, Belgium.

1975, The BBC Omnibus documentary Cracked Actor, a film about David Bowie was shown on UK TV

1975, In Austin, Texas, Bob Dylan makes a surprise guest appearance at a Joni Mitchell concert.

1976, The Beatles’ nine-year contract with EMI expires.

1977, former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green was committed to a mental hospital following an incident when he threatened his accountant Clifford Adams with an air rifle when he was trying to deliver a £30,000 ($51,000) royalty check to him.

1978, Rush played at the MECCA Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1980, Prince made his TV debut on American Bandstand.

1984, Blue Oyster Cult performed at Friedrich Ebert Halle, Ludwigshafen, Germany.

1986, Allen Collins, guitarist from Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed his car, paralyzing him from the waist down and killing his girlfriend Debra Jean Watts. Collins had survived the infamous plane crash in 1977 that killed singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, and assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick.

1989, Bon Jovi kicked of the North American leg of their New Jersey Syndicate Tour at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas.

1989, Singer Donnie Elbert died of a stroke aged 52. He had the 1972 US number 22 & UK number 11 single “I Can’t Help Myself,” “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch,” “Where Did Our Love Go?,” and “A Little Piece of Leather.”

1991, Queen had their second UK number one with “Innuendo.” At 6 minutes 30 seconds, it exceeded their epic “Bohemian Rhapsody” by 35 seconds and became the third longest UK number song of all time, behind The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and Simple Minds’ “Belfast Child,” At a later date, “All Around The World” by Oasis, at 9 minutes 38 seconds took over the top slot and demoted “Innuendo” to fourth place). For ‘Innuendo’s’ flamenco guitar solo, Brian May was joined by Yes guitarist Steve Howe.

1993, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Oakland-Alemeda County Coliseum in Oakland, California.

2003, Justin Timberlake went to number one on the UK album chart with his debut solo album Justified, which went on to spend over a year on the UK charts.

2007, The Rolling Stones topped the US music rich list for the second year running after making $150.6 million (£76.2m) in 2006. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were second in the poll with a combined fortune of $132m (£67.2m) and American country band Rascal Flatts appeared third, having earned $110.5m (£56.2m) in the past year.

2008, Alicia Keys was at number one on the US album chart with her third album As I Am. The album sold over 742,000 copies in its first week, the largest ever first week sales for any female R&B artist.

Born on January 26: Huey “Piano” Smith (1934); Ashley Hutchings, bassist, Fairport Convention (1945); Corky Laing, drummer, Mountain (1948); Derek Holt, Climax Blues Band (1949); David Briggs, Little River Band (1951); Eddie Van Halen (1957); Anita Baker (1958); Andrew Ridgeley, singer, Wham! (1963)

singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean KilpatrickRead More: 36 Years Ago: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Plane Crashes, Killing Three Band Members | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/lynyrd-skynyrd-plane-crashes/?trackback=tsmclip
singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean KilpatrickRead More: 36 Years Ago: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Plane Crashes, Killing Three Band Members | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/lynyrd-skynyrd-plane-crashes/?trackback=tsmclip

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Today in Rock History – January 5

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Beatles-Shea-19651966, The Beatles record overdubs onto the film The Beatles at Shea Stadium. That night, John Lennon goes nightclubbing with ’50s rocker P.J. Proby.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Marquee Club, London, England.

1967, During The Beatles Sgt Pepper sessions at Abbey Road in London, George Harrison on lead guitar and John Lennon on piano failed in their attempts to record parts for “Penny Lane.” Paul McCartney recorded a vocal track,which he replaced the very next day.

1968, Jimi Hendrix was jailed for one day in Stockholm, Sweden on drink charges after going berserk and destroying everything in his room at the Goteberg Hotel.

1969, Led Zeppelin appears at the Whiskey A Go-Go, Los Angeles.

1972, David Bowie played two shows at Green’s Playhouse, Glasgow, Scotland.

springsteen-greetings from asbury park1973, Bruce Springsteen released his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. It was recorded in a single week the album only sold about 25,000 copies in the first year of its release. Both “Blinded By The Light” and “Spirit In The Night” were released as singles but neither made a dent in the charts.

1974, The Carpenters went to number one on the album chart with The Singles 1969-1973.

1974, Yes scored their first number one album with the double set Tales From The Topographic Oceans.

1976, Former Beatles roadie Mal Evans was shot dead by police at his Los Angeles apartment. His girlfriend called police when she found Evans upset with a rifle in his hand. He pointed the gun at the police who opened fire. Friends later said that Evans was depressed about his separation from his wife Lil Evans, who had asked for a divorce before Christmas.

1977, Led Zeppelin rehearse at Emerson Lake & Palmer’s studio in preparation for a North American tour.

1978, Rush performed at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1978, The Sex Pistols started a US tour in Atlanta, Georgia before an estimated audience of 500 people.

1979, Prince made his live debut at the Capri Theatre, Minneapolis. Warner Brothers executives attended the show but decided that Prince and the band needed more time to develop his music.

charles-mingus
Charles Mingus

1979, Jazz musician and bandleader Charles Mingus died aged 56. His final project was Mingus, a collaboration with Joni Mitchell.

1980, Donna Summer scored her third US number one album with On The Radio- Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 & II.

1980, KC and the Sunshine Band had their 5th US number one single and scored the first chart topper of the ’80s when “Please Don’t Go” went to number one in the UK.

1991, Iron Maiden went to number one on the UK singles chart with “Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter.” It became the lowest selling chart topper since 1960, with just over 42,000 copies sold in its first week.

1997, No Doubt went to number one on the US album chart with Tragic Kingdom.

1998, Sonny Bono was killed in a skiing accident at a resort near Lake Tahoe, aged 62.

2003, Green Day’s lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong was arrested on suspicion of drink driving after being stopped in California for speeding. He failed a breath test and was taken to Berkeley county jail and was later released on $1,053 (£657) bail.

2004, Kinks singer Ray Davies was shot in the leg while on vacation in New Orleans. The 59-year-old singer-songwriter was shot when running after two men who stole his girlfriend’s purse at gunpoint. Davies was admitted to the Medical Centre of Louisiana but his injuries were not considered serious. New Orleans police said one person had been arrested, and police were still searching for the second.

2006, Guitarist, trumpeter and drummer Alex St. Claire died. He was a member of The Omens, The Solid Senders and an original member of Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, as well as a high school friend of Frank Zappa.

Born on this day: Sam Phillips, Sun Records (1923); Athol Guy, singer, The Seekers (1940); Grady Thomas, Funkadelic (1941); George Brown, Kool & the Gang (1949); Chris Stein, Blondie (1950); Brian Warner, aka Marilyn Manson (1969)

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Today in Rock History – December 4

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1964, The Beatles released their fourth album Beatles For Sale. The album featured, “No Reply,” “I’m a Loser,” “Baby’s in Black,” “Rock and Roll Music,” “Eight Days a Week,” and “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby.”

1965, The Byrds started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “Turn! Turn! Turn!” the group’s second number one. Unlike their first chart topper, “Mr. Tambourine Man,” the entire band was allowed to play on the recording, instead of studio musicians.

1967, This was the penultimate night of a 16-date UK package tour played at City Hall, Newcastle-Upon-Tyneon.  Pink Floyd joined The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Move, The Nice, The Eire Apparent, The Outer Limits and Amen Corner. Hendrix was having equipment problems, and in his frustration rammed his Gibson Flying V into his speaker cabinets. Like an enormous arrow, the guitar became stuck in the amplifier, which the audience greeted as all was part of the act.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts.

1970, Johnny Winter and Rick Derringer played at the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, South Carolina.  The Allman Brothers Band were the opening act.

1970, Iron Butterfly played at Edmonton Gardens in Edmonton, Alberta.

1971, The Montreux Casino in Switzerland burnt to the ground during a gig by Frank Zappa. The incident is immortalized by Deep Purple’s 1973 hit, “Smoke On The Water,”  which includes the line, “some stupid with a flare gun, burned the place to the ground.” In 1967 the Casino became the venue for the Montreux Jazz Festival, which was the brainchild of music promoter Claude Nobs. On the night of the blaze, Nobs saved several young people who, thinking they would be sheltered from the flames, had hidden in the casino from the blaze. A recording of the outbreak and fire announcement can be found on a Frank Zappa Bootleg album titled Swiss Cheese / Fire.

1971, Led Zeppelin started a two-week run at number one on the chart with the Four Symbols album, otherwise known as Led Zeppelin IV. Featuring the 8-minute track “Stairway To Heaven,” the album stayed on the US chart for one week short of five years, selling over 23 million copies in the US alone.

1971, Sly and the Family Stone started a five-week run at number one on the singles chart with “Family Affair,” their third chart topper.

1971, T Rex scored their first number one album with their sixth release Electric Warrior. The album, which became the biggest seller of the year in the UK, contained two of T. Rex’s most popular songs, “Get It On” and “Jeepster.”

1971, Don McLean’s “American Pie”entered the Hot 100. The eight and a half minute song would eventually sell over 3 million copies.

1971, Pink Floyd were at Decca studios in West Hampstead, London composing, writing, and making initial demos for what would become Dark Side of the Moon.

1972, Led Zeppelin played to a crowd of 3500 at Green’s Playhouse in Glasgow, Scotland. Admission was £1.00 ($1.60).

1973, The Who perform at Spectrum in Philadelphia. The show is recorded and later broadcast in quadraphonic sound on The King Biscuit Flower Hour syndicated radio show in the U.S. So far, the only track officially released from this concert is “Won’t Get Fooled Again” on the 1998 CD King Biscuit: Best Of The Best. However, the broadcast has been widely bootlegged under such titles as Tales From The Who, American Tour ’73, Decidedly Belated Response, Mods and Rockers, Moon Life, Taking The Capitol and Who Are You.

1973, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Cincinnati Gardens, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

1974, Genesis performed at the Mosque Theater, Richmond, Virginia.

1975, The Who appeared at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago.

1976, American guitarist Tommy Bolin died from a heroin overdose aged 25, the day after opening a show for Jeff Beck in Miami, Florida. Bolin was a member of Zephyr (1969 to 1971,) The James Gang (1973 to 1974,) and Deep Purple (1975 to 1976.)

1976, Rush appeared at the Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado.

1976, Workers at EMI records went on strike, refusing to package the Sex Pistols single “Anarchy In The UK.”

1977, Yes appeared at the Palais des Sports, Lyon, France.

1978, Black Sabbath performed at the Civic Arena, Long Beach, California.

1979, U2 appeared at The Hope and Anchor, Islington, London. Misnamed ‘The U2s,’ they played to only nine people and the show ended abruptly after The Edge broke a guitar string.

1979, The Who play at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, the security staff is doubled and doors are opened three hours before the concert. Roger says from the stage “You all heard what happened yesterday. We feel totally shattered. We lost a lot of family yesterday. This show’s for them.”

1980, Prince played the first night on his 31-date Dirty Mind North American tour at Shea’s in Buffalo, New York. After being told by his managers he couldn’t wear spandex pants without any underwear, Prince began performing in a long trench coat, black high heeled boots and leggings, and bikini brief trunks.

1982, Aerosmith appeared at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1982, The Jam were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Beat Surrender,” the group’s fourth UK chart topper and final single. They split in 1983, and leader Paul Weller formed the Style Council.

1983, Blue Oyster Cult performed at McNichols Arena, Denver, Colorado.

1988, Roy Orbison played his final ever gig when he appeared in Cleveland, Ohio. Orbison died of a heart attack two days later.

1993, Multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer, Frank Zappa died of prostate cancer. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band The Mothers of Invention, and as a solo artist, including the 1969 album Hot Rats and 1974 album Apostrophe. Zappa recorded one of the first concept albums, Freak Out, released in 1966. It was also one of the earliest double albums in rock music, although Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde preceded it by a week.

2002, Whitney Houston admitted in an US TV interview that drink and drugs nearly killed her. Married to singer Bobby Brown, she also admitted to being addicted to sex. Houston said her business is sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, and got into the lifestyle after missing out on partying when her career kicked off at the age of 18.

2009, Liam Clancy  Irish folk singer and actor died from pulmonary fibrosis. He was the youngest and last surviving member of the influential folk group, The Clancy Brothers, who are regarded as Ireland’s first pop stars.

Born on December 4: ; Bob Mosley, Moby Grape (1942); Chris Hillman, The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers (1944); Dennis Wilson, The Beach Boys (1944); Terry Woods, The Pogues (1947);  Southside Johnny (1948); Gary Rossington, Lynrd Skynrd (1951); Andy Hess, bass Gov’t Mule, The Black Crowes (1966);  Shawn Carter, aka Jay-Z  (1969)

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Today in Rock History – August 31

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1965, During a North American tour The Beatles played two shows at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California to a total of 28,700 fans.

1968, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Crazy World Of Aurthur Brown, Orange Bicycle, Jefferson Airplane, Fairport Convention and Tyrannosaurus Rex all appeared at the first Isle Of Wight Festival held over two days. Tickets, 25 shillings, ($3.00).

1968, Howlin’ Wolf performed at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan.

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Texas International Pop Festival in Lewisville. Also on the bill, BB King, The Incredible String Band, Sam & Dave and Janis Joplin.

1970, Led Zeppelin played before 6,000 fans at the Milwaukee Arena, in a concert rescheduled from August 27th. One reviewer wrote, “The groups started slow, finished big, and the crowd unwound with them. By the end of the show the area in front of the stage was filled with hundreds of people who finally won out over the security guards.”

1971, The Rolling Stones, plus the father of Brian Jones, filed a high court writ against former managers Andrew Loog Oldham and Eric Easton. They claimed the duo made a secret deal with Decca Records in 1963 to deprive the group of royalties.

1972, David Bowie appeared at Starkers Royal Ballrooms, Boscombe, Australia.

1974, Rolling Stone Keith Richards was quoted as saying, “I gave up drugs when the doctor told me I had six months to live.”

1975, Rod Stewart and the Faces, Loggins & Messina, Fleetwood Mac and Lynyrd Skynyrd all appeared at Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California.

1976, George Harrison was found guilty of “subconscious plagiarism” of the Ronnie Mack song “He’s So Fine” when writing “My Sweet Lord.” Earnings from the song were awarded to Mack’s estate. The Chiffons then recorded their own version of “My Sweet Lord.”

1977, Yes played at Dane County Memorial Coliseum, Madison, Wisconsin.

1981, The Grateful Dead performed at the Aladdin Hotel Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada.

1984, Purple Rain, the movie-starring Prince opened at cinemas across the UK with special late night previews.

1985, Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits started a nine-week run at number one on the US album charts. The album also topped the charts in 25 other countries and went on to sell over 20 million worldwide.

1997, Oasis went to number one on the UK album chart with their third album Be Here Now. The album had sold over a million copies on the first day of release.

2007, Hilly Kristal, founder of the New York punk club CBGB died from complications arising from lung cancer at the age of 75. Kristal was credited with discovering Patti Smith and The Ramones and his club became a breeding ground for punk rock. The New York City venue, whose full title CBGB OMFUG stood for “country, bluegrass, blues and other music for uplifting gourmandisers,” was originally launched to showcase country music.

Born on August 31: Roger Dean (1944) Van Morrison and Bob Welch (1945); Rudolf Schenker, The Scorpions (1948); and Glenn Tilbrook, guitar, vocals, Squeeze (1957)

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Today in Rock History – August 12

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1966, The Beatles performed two shows at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois. This was the first stop on what would turn out to be The Beatles’ final US tour. Support acts were the Remains, Bobby Hebb, Cyrkle, and the Ronettes.

1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at The Ambassador Theatre, Washington D.C.

1967, The Who played at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Before the show Keith Moon jumps off a pier into heavy surf and almost drowns.

1967, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown performed at the Royal Windsor Racecourse in Windsor, Berkshire, England.

1967, The Velvet Underground appeared at Boston Tea Party in Boston.

1967, The Grateful Dead headlined at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass played at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1968, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham played together for the first time when they rehearsed at a studio in Lisle Street in London’s West End. The first song they played was a version of “Train Kept A-Rollin’.” They also played “Smokestack Lightning” and a version of “I’m Confused,” which would become “Dazed And Confused.” Their first live dates in September, the band were billed as The New Yardbirds, and it was not until the following month when they started to use the name Led Zeppelin.

1970, Derek and the Dominoes appeared at the Speakeasy, London.

1970, Fleetwood Mac played the first of a five-night run at the Whisky A Go-Go in Hollywood, California.

1970, The last night of Pink Floyd’s festival tour – the Fete de St. Raphael, was held at a preserved Roman amphitheater in Frejus, St. Raphael, France.

1971, John & Yoko donated £1,000 ($1600) to the Clyde Shipbuilders Scottish Union fighting fund who were refusing to stop work at the Glasgow site after being made redundant.

1971, During a UK tour Queen played at the Tregye Hotel in Truro, England.

1972, Alice Cooper was at number one on the singles chart with “School’s Out.”

1972, Honky Chateau by Elton John entered the last of it’s five weeks as the number one album on the US charts.

1973, The Eagles, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young and the Santa Monica Flyers all appeared at the Corral Club in Topanga, California.

1974, Rory Gallagher performed at The Agora, Cleveland, Ohio.

1975, Eric Clapton played at the Coliseum in Denver, Colorado.

1976, Yes appeared at the Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky.

1976, Elton John’s Rock of the Westies tour stopped at Madison Square Garden, New York.

1977, Henri Padovani, guitarist with The Police quit the group after nine months leaving them to perform as a trio.

1978, The Commodores started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Three Times A Lady,” also number one in the UK and becoming Motown’s biggest British selling single.

1979, KISS performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Star Plaza Theatre, Merrillville, Indiana, in suburban Chicago.

1981, The Grateful Dead performed at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult played at the Scope, in Norfolk, Virginia

1985, Kyu Sakamoto was killed in a plane crash when JAL Flight 123, a 747, crashed and burned on a thickly wooded mountain about 60 miles northwest of Tokyo. He was 43. He had the 1963 US number one and UK number six single “‘Sukiyaki.” Sakamoto was the first Japanese artist to have a hit atop the US singles charts.

1986, Prince started a run of five nights at Wembley Arena, London, his first UK shows in five years.

1989, The two day Moscow Music Peace Festival was held at The Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russia. Western Acts who appeared included Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi, Skid Row and The Scorpions. This was the first time that an audience had been allowed to stand up and dance at a stadium rock concert in the Soviet Union. Previous to this, all concerts had to be seated.

1996, Alanis Morissette appeared at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Buffalo, New York with Radiohead as support.

2012, The London Olympics ended with a spectacular musical closing ceremony. The three-hour show featured some of the biggest names of British music from decades past, including the Spice Girls, George Michael, The Who, Take That, Muse, Jessie J, Emeli Sande, Elbow, Madness, The Pet Shop Boys, One Direction, Ray Davies, Liam Gallagher, and Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen.

Born on August 12: Buck Owens (1929); Ron Mael, keyboards, Sparks and Halfnelson (1945); Mark Knofler (1949); August Darnell, singer, Kid Creole And The Coconuts (1951); Pat Metheny (1955); Roy Hay guitar, vocals, Culture Club (1961); Sir Mix-A-Lot, rapper (1963)

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