1966, The Beatles got together for the first time since their return from the summer tour of the United States, ready to record a new album. The first song selected for recording was John’s “Strawberry Fields Forever,” which would end up, not on the album, but on The Beatles’ next single. This day’s session was […]
Today in Rock History – October 27
1964, 31-year old Salvatore Philip Bono married 18-year old Cherilyn Sarkisian La Piere. For a time they performed together as Caesar and Cleo before changing the name of their act to Sonny and Cher. Their union lasted twelve years. 1966, The Four Tops were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Reach Out […]
Today in Rock History – October 23
1966, The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded their first single “Hey Joe,” at De Lane Lea studios in London. The earliest known commercial recording of the song is the late-1965 single by the Los Angeles garage band the The Leaves. The band then re-recorded the track and released it in 1966 as a follow-up single which […]
Today in Rock History – July 23
1964, The Beatles were atop the UK singles chart with “A Hard Days Night,” the group’s fifth. They would be number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in August. 1964, The Beatles take part in the Night of a Hundred Stars at the London Palladium. 1965, The Kinks perform “You Really Got Me” on […]
Today in Rock History – May 15
1966, Pink Floyd played at The Marquee Club, Wardour Street, London. They were billed as the Pink Floyd Sound, as part of their “Spontaneous Underground” period. 1967, Paul McCartney is hanging out with Keith Moon and Eric Burdon at Georgie Fame concert at the Bag O’Nails club in London. The young American photographer of The […]
Today in Rock History – May 4
1967, Pink Floyd performed at the Locarno Ballroom in Coventry, West Midlands, England. 1968, Steppenwolf make their first appearance on American Bandstand. 1968, The Yardbirds played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan. 1968, Mary Hopkin won her heat on the ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks. She later signed with The Beatles owned Apple Records, Paul […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “It Don’t Come Easy” by Bettye LaVette
Bettye LaVette had several deep soul hits back in the early 1960s including the 1962 top-ten “My Man, He’s A Lovin’ Man” and 1965’s “Let Me Down Easy.” She then sank into obscurity for nearly 40 years. She was rediscovered by European soul fans in 2000 resulting in several critically acclaimed comeback albums. Here she […]
Today in Rock History – April 29
April 29 1967, The 14-hour Technicolour Dream benefit party for The International Times was held at Alexandra Palace, Muswell Hill in London. Seeing the event mentioned on TV, John Lennon called his driver and went to the show. Coincidentally, Yoko Ono was one of the performers. More than thirty acts appeared included The Move, The […]
Today in Rock History – April 27
1966, The Beatles began recording the new John Lennon song “I’m Only Sleeping” at Abbey Road studios London, England. Recording began at 11:30 PM. The band recorded 13 takes, concluding on May 6th. The song features the then-unique sound of a reversed guitar duet played by George Harrison, partly because the tape was played backwards […]
Today in Rock History – April 26
1965, Bob Dylan arrives in England for a tour promoting his new album, Bringing It All Back Home. D.A. Pennebaker films his performances and acerbic exchanges with the press for the documentary Don’t Look Back. 1965, The Who perform at Town Hall in Bridgwater, Summerset, England. They are paid £200 ($320). 1966, Dusty Springfield was […]
