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Today in Rock History – February 6

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beatles-quarrymen1958, George Harrison joined Liverpool group The Quarrymen. The group, who were named after Lennon’s school, featured John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Len Garry, Eric Griffiths and John Lowe.

1965, The Righteous Brothers started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with the Phil Spector produced “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.” The song was also number one in the UK.

1965, Rolling Stones II supplanted Beatles for Sale out of the top spot on the UK Record Retailer chart.

1966, The Who played at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.

1967, Pink Floyd were photographed for the weekly British girls magazine Jackie. The magazine was the best-selling teen magazine in Britain for ten years. The best-ever selling issue was the 1972 special edition to coincide with the UK tour of American singer David Cassidy.

1969, The Grateful Dead and Iron Butterfly performed at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

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

1970, Eric Clapton played the first of two nights at The Fillmore East in New York City.

1970, Jack Bruce,  Zephyr, and White Clover appeared at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1970, Apple Records releases the John Lennon solo single “Instant Karma” in the U.K.

1972, The Skriven av: MarkusAtt plocka russinen ur kakan ar en metod som Vinnarum casino upphojt till skon konst. Allman Brothers Band performed at East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.

1973, Traffic played at Cobo Arena, Detroit.

1975, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Montreal Forum, Montreal. Outside the arena, a police riot squad stood by ready to avoid a repeat performance of a riot which marked the visit of the Rolling Stones in the summer of 1972. However, there were no incidents. Tickets cost $7.50 (Canadian)

1976, T Rex appeared at St Albans City Hall during a 15 date UK tour.

1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd played at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool, England.

1979, Tommy opens as a musical in London’s West End. The script is based on the screenplay to the film written by Pete Townshend and Ken Russell. Chris Welch in Melody Maker gives it a positive review although he finds much of the story pretentious. Variety pans the production. It closes after 118 performances.

1979, Heart performed at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi.

1981, Composer Hugo Montenegro died in California. Had the 1968 number one single “The Good The Bad And The Ugly” from the soundtrack to the Clint Eastwood spaghetti western film. He worked for RCA records, producing a series of albums and soundtracks and television themes, including two volumes of Music From The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

1981, According to the New York Post, the surviving Beatles will record a new album as a tribute to John Lennon. But it’s another false alarm brought on by Ringo Starr working with Paul McCartney on the latter’s Tug of War sessions

1982, Kraftwerk were at number one on the UK singles chart with “The Model / Computer Love,” the first German act to score a UK number one single. The single spent 21 weeks on the UK chart.

1982, The J Geils Band started a six week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Centerfold,” the band’s only US number chart topper, and a number three hit in the UK. The band’s album Freeze – Frame started a four-week run at number one on the US album chart on the same day.

1994, Nirvana embarks on their final tour of Europe

1998, American singer and guitarist Carl Wilson from The Beach Boys died aged 51 after a long battle with lung cancer. Wilson was diagnosed with brain and lung cancer in early 1997. He sang lead vocal on “God Only Knows,” “Good Vibrations,” and “I Can Hear Music.” Wilson sang backing vocals on Elton John’s “Don”t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.”

2005, Paul McCartney performs a 12-minute set of Beatles classics, as well as his own “Live and Let Die,” during the halftime show at the Super Bowl.

2011, Irish guitarist and singer Gary Moore died in his sleep of a heart attack in his hotel room while on vacation in Estepona, Spain. Moore had been a member of Skid Row, Thin Lizzy, and Colosseum II, before going solo, scoring the 1979 UK number eight single “Parisienne Walkways.”

Born on February 6: John London, session bass player (1942); Bob Marley (1945); Richie Hayward, Little Feat (1946); Natalie Cole (1950);  Huw Lloyd-Langton, guitarist Hawkwind (1951); Simon Phillips, drummer, Toto, Michael Shenker Band (1957); Axl Rose (1962)

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Today in Rock History – January 13

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bob-dylan-band-19651965, The first day of recording sessions for Bob Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home album were held at Studio A, Columbia Recording Studios in New York City. Dylan recorded “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.”

1966, George Harrison and his girlfriend Patti Boyd met up with Mick Jagger and Chrissie Shrimpton at Dolly’s nightclub on Jermyn Street in London’s west End.

1966, Ringo Starr and John Lennon leave England for a vacation in Trinidad.

1967, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr both went to the Bag O’Nails Club, London, England to see the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

1967, Pink Floyd plays the UFO, at The Blarney, Tottenham Court Road, in London with Marilyn Monroe films and Dave Tomlin’s The Giant Sun Trolley.  The set was filmed by Peter Whitehead.

1968, Johnny Cash played a show, which was recorded, for his forthcoming live album at Folsom Prison, near Sacramento, California in front of 2,000 inmates. When released, the lead single, “Folsom Prison Blues,” an update of his 1956 hit, became one of the most famous recordings of his career.

1969, Elvis Presley began a ten day recording session that would produce his final US number one record, “Suspicious Minds.”The tracks were laid down at American Sound Studios in Memphis and marked the first time Presley had recorded in his hometown since his Sun Records days in 1956.

1970, Led Zeppelin played at Guildhall, in Portsmouth, England.

1970, Steel Mill, featuring Bruce Springsteen, played at The Matrix in San Francisco, California. Boz Scaggs was the scheduled headliner but he cancelled at that last minute due to illness. Rock critic Philip Elwood, who turned up intending to review Scaggs ended up writing a highly favorable review of Steel Mill for The San Francisco Examiner.

1971, Yes appears at Greens Playhouse, Glasgow, Scotland.

1973, Pete Townshend drags Eric Clapton back into the limelight with two shows at The Rainbow Theatre in London. Pete had discovered Clapton’s heroin addiction the previous August and devises a scheme with Clapton’s girlfriend’s father, Lord Harlech, to force Clapton to work so he can escape his narcotic-induced reclusion. Backing Clapton onstage is not only Pete, but Ron Wood, Steve Winwood, Jim Karstein. Jim Capaldi and Rick Grech. Clapton is late but manages to make it through both shows. They are recorded by Glyn Johns and later released on album.

1973, Slade scored their first number one album with Slayed.

1974, Genesis performs at the Hippodrome, Bristol, England.

1975, Hawkwind appears at Town Hall, Watford, England.

1976, Black Sabbath plays at the Hammersmith Odeon, London.

1977, Queen kicked off a 59-date world tour at Dane County Coliseum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opening act was Thin Lizzy.

Police1978, With a budget of only £1,500 ($2,400) borrowed from Stewart Copeland’s brother Miles Copeland III, The Police started recording their debut album at Surrey Sound Studios, Surrey, England with producer Nigel Gray. The album Outlandos d’Amour was released in November of that year.

1980, Bob Dylan appears at the Paramount Northwest Theatre, Seattle, Washington.

1984, BBC Radio 1 announced a ban on “Relax” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, after DJ Mike Read called it ‘obscene’, a BBC TV ban also followed. The song went on to become a UK number one, and spent a total of 48 weeks on the UK chart.

1986, Sex Pistol members John Lydon, Steve Jones and Paul Cook, as well as the mother of Sid Vicious, sued former manager Malcom McClaren for £1 million ($1.6 million). They settled out of court.

1990, New Kids On The Block had their second and last number one UK single with “Hangin’ Tough.” They had a further seven top 10 hits by the end of 1991. They broke up after that, but set the scene for numerous boy bands throughout the ’90s.

2005, A report showed that more songs had been written about Elvis Presley than any other artist. It listed over 220 songs including “Graceland” by Paul Simon, “A Room At The Heartbreakhotel” by U2, “Calling Elvis,” Dire Straits, “Happy Birthday Elvis,” Loudon Wainwright III, ‘There’s A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis,” Kirsty MacColl, “I Saw Elvis in a UFO,” Ray Stevens. “Elvis Has Left the Building” by Frank Zappa, and “My Dog Thinks I’m Elvis” by Ray Herndon.

2010, Soul singer Teddy Pendergrass died at the age of 59 following a difficult recovery from colon cancer surgery. Pendergrass enjoyed early success with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, whose hits included “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” before going solo in 1976. He was the first black male singer to record five consecutive multi-platinum albums in the US.

2010, A plaque of The Beatles’ iconic yellow submarine, which was stolen six months ago from Liverpool’s Albert Dock, was set to be replaced by a new creation. The five foot design featured the faces of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison peering through its portholes. The new submarine would hang outside the museum dedicated to the band, The Beatles Story. The former plaque has never been found and the thieves had never been caught.

Born on January 13:  John Lees, Barclay James Harvest (1948); Trevor Rabin, Yes (1954) and Don Snow, Squeeze (1957); Jim Paris, bass, Carmel (1957); James LoMenzo, bass, Megadeth, White Lion (1959); Graham McPherson, aka Suggs, Madness (1961); Wayne Coyne, guitar, Flaming Lips (1961)

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Song Of The Day – “Lovely Rita” by The Beatles

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beatlessgtI just heard The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band for the first time today!

Well, that’s not entirely true. I’ve been listening to this record since it was new. I guess that’s one of the big positives of having older siblings, you got to hear cool records when they came out, way before your peer group caught on to them.

I’ve been reading the Howard Kaylan biography Shell Shocked which was written by Kaylan and Jeff Tamarkin. Howard Kaylan was a member of The Turtles and The Mother’s Of Invention. He was also Eddie of Flo & Eddie. So far, the book is a great read with numerous first person accounts of historic musical moments, a real page turner!

Kaylan tells the story of The Turtles’ first visit to England in 1967 when their hit “Happy Together” was riding high on the charts. No sooner had the band arrived at their hotel, they received a call from Graham Nash, then of The Hollies, who invited the group over to his house for a little “refreshment.” While visiting, Nash pulls out a reel-to-reel tape of The Beatles’ forthcoming Sgt. Pepper album. Kaylan proceeds to tell about that game changing first listen, and the seismic impact the record had on him and everything that came after it. The story continues with Nash taking them to a swingin’ London club for an audience with The Fabs (at least three of them) that went awry because John Lennon was being a prick.

Inspired by Kaylan’s story, I tried an experiment on my way to work today. I cued up Sgt. Pepper on my iPod and tried to listen to the record as if it were the first time I’d ever heard it. In my mind, I wiped away the impact the record had on everything that came after, and proceeded to attempt to experience the record as if it was the first time I’d ever heard it.

It was impossible to do. Too much baggage, too many lyrics ingrained in my memory, too much life lived with this record for it to sound truly brand new.

What I did get from my experiment was a newfound appreciation for how it really was one of the most groundbreaking records of the time, and for that matter all time. With its segued songs and symphonic sequencing, use of recording techniques and layers upon layers of sound, plus its distinctive front cover graphics that begged hours of study and the inclusion of lyrics on the back, it really is a special record from a very special time in history.

That said, it was never my favorite Beatles record, but after 46 years the record still remains fresh and unique. Its inventiveness remains stunning. So what more can I possibly say about this record that hasn’t been said before? Absolutely nothing, except if you haven’t visited its wonderment in awhile, it’s high time you did.

Today in Rock History – November 24

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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 devoted entirely to “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

1966, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs, Bryan Hyland, and Distant Cousins appeared at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1967, The Who play The Swinging Gate in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After the show The Who go to local booking agent Linda Wren’s home for Thanksgiving dinner.

1968, Jefferson Airplane played at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Diana Ross and The Supremes were at number one on the US singles chart with “Love Child,” their eleventh chart topper in the US. The song is also notable for knocking off and keeping The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” off the top spot in the US.

1969, The Rolling Stones played at the Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan.

1971, Led Zeppelin appeared at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England.

1972, King Crimson performed at Essex University, Colchester, England.

1973, Ringo Starr went to number one on the US singles chart with “Photograph.” This was his first of two US chart toppers as a solo artist. Written by Starr and George Harrison, the promotional film shot for the single showed Starr walking around his new house at the time, Tittenhurst Park, which had been previously the home of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and where the Imagine promo film was shot.

1974, Genesis appeared at the Masonic Temple, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1974, Roxy Music played at the Tower Theater, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.

1975, The Who performed at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia.

1976, Chicago started a three-week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “If You Leave Me Now,” the American group’s only UK chart topper. It went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance.

1976, Rush played at Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California.

1977, Yes appeared at Ahoy-Hallen Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

1978, David Bowie played the first of two sold-out nights at the RAS Show Grounds, in Sydney, Australia, during his 8-date Low/Heroes tour of Australia and New Zealand.

1978, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey.

1979, Stevie Ray Vaughn performed at Lupo, in Providence, Rhode Island.

1980, Bruce Springsteen played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia.

1981, Alice Cooper headlined at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1984, Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee married his girlfriend, nude model Candice, aka Elaine Margaret Starchuk. The marriage lasted one month. Lee has also been married to actress Heather Locklear, and the former Playboy Playmate, and Baywatch star, Pamela Anderson.

1991, Eric Carr (Paul Charles Caravello,) drummer with Kiss died aged 41, of complications from cancer in a New York hospital. Carr replaced Peter Criss in 1980 and remained a band member until he became ill in 1991. For his Kiss stage persona, Carr was known as “The Fox.”

1991, Freddie Mercury died of complications from AIDS at his home in London’s Holland park aged 45, just one day after he publicly admitted he was HIV positive. Mercury was openly bisexual and enjoyed a colorful rock star lifestyle. During his career with Queen he scored over forty UK Top 40 singles, including the worldwide number one “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

1992, Bill Wyman’s divorce was finalized with the high court awarding his ex wife Mandy Smith £580,000 ($928,000.) The Rolling Stones bassist had started to date Smith when she was 13, the marriage lasted for two years.

1993, American blues guitarist and singer Albert Collins died of lung cancer aged 61. He was known as ‘The master of the telecaster.” He shared a Grammy for the 1985 album Showdown! which he recorded with Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland.

2002, Robbie Williams started a five week run at number one on the UK album chart with his fifth studio album Escapology. The album became the best selling album of 2002 in the United Kingdom, selling 1.2 million copies.

2002, Jay-Z was at the top of the US album charts with The Blueprint 2, the rapper’s first US number one album.

2006, Winners at the American Music Awards included, Kelly Clarkson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shakira, Jamie Foxx, Nickelback, Sean Paul, Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Faith Hill, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw and Mary J. Blige. Nelly Furtado, John Mayer, and Fall Out Boy.

2008, English drummer Michael Lee died from a seizure at age 39. Lee had worked with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Little Angels, The Cult, Ian Gillan, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Quireboys, and Thin Lizzy.

Born on November 24: Donald “Duck” Dunn (1941); Pete Best (1941) Bev Bevan, ELO (1944); Lee Micheals (1945); Clem Burke, drummer, Blondie (1955); Chris Hayes, Huey Lewis and the News (1957); John Squire, guitar, The Stone Roses (1962); Chad Taylor, guitarist, Live (1970)

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Today in Rock History – October 27

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Sonny-and-Cher1964, 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 I’ll Be There.” It was the group’s only UK chart topper.

1967, Keith Altham reports in New Musical Express on a chaotic meeting at a recording studio attended by The Who and manager Kit Lambert. Pete Townshend describes The Who’s singles prior to “I Can See For Miles” as “too flimsy, too poignant, too prissy.”

1967, The James Gang played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, Muddy Waters was seriously injured in a car crash in Champaign, Illinois. Three people were killed in the accident.

1969, A documentary film called Shadows Of Bliss is broadcast on BBC-2 TV’s Horizon series. The program deals with recent discoveries about sub-atomic particles and features music by Pete Townshend and Terry Ralph Knight.

1969, Ringo Starr begins recording his album Sentimental Journey. Following the completion of Abbey Road, he becomes the first Beatle to formally embark on a solo album.

1970, Black Sabbath played their first ever-live show in the US when they kicked of a 16-date tour at Glassboro State College in New Jersey.

1971, Pink Floyd played at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago as part of their North American tour.

1972, The Moody Blues appeared at the St. Louis Arena in St. Louis, Missouri.

1972, David Bowie performed at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco

1973, Gladys Knight and the Pips started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Midnight Train To Georgia.”  The record won the 1974 Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus. It was the group’s 18th Top 40 hit and first number one.

1973, Mott the Hoople, supported by Aerosmith appeared at The Orpheum Theatre, Boston.

1974, KISS performed at the Agora Ballroom, Youngstown, Ohio.

time-newsweek-springsteen1975, The publicity and critical acclaim following the release of Born To Run resulted in Bruce Springsteen being honored with simultaneous covers on both Time and Newsweek magazines in the US.

1976, Frank Zappa played at Music Hall in Boston.

1977, AC/DC appeared at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England.

1978, Bob Dylan appeared at Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

1979, During a US tour Elton John collapsed on stage at Hollywood’s Universal Amphitheatre suffering from exhaustion.

1980, former T Rex member Steve Took, choked to death on a cherry stone, after some hallucinogenic mushrooms he had eaten, numbed all sensation in his throat.

1980, Mark David Chapman purchases the five-shot Charter Arms .38 Special he will use to kill John Lennon.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Saenger Theatre, New Orleans.

1982, Van Halen performed at The Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts.

1984,  The Grateful Dead allocated a specific recording area for fans to bootleg the show in Berkeley, California.

1988, U2’s film Rattle And Hum, received its world wide premiere in the group’s hometown Dublin.

1988, Def Leppard played the final show on their 232-date Hysteria world tour at the Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington.

1990, Paul Simon started a two-week run at number one on the UK album chart with The Rhythm Of The Saints, his third UK chart topping solo album.

2006, Amy Winehouse released her second and final studio album,  Back to Black. The album spawned five singles, “Rehab,” “You Know I’m No Good,” “Back to Black,” “Tears Dry on Their Own,” and “Love Is a Losing Game.” It won Best Pop Vocal Album at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. Back to Black sold 3.58 million copies in the UK alone, becoming the UK’s second best-selling album of the 21st century. Worldwide, the album has sold over 20 million copies.

2006, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row program.

2007, Keith Richards marched with campaigners protesting against possible Sussex hospital cuts. The Stones guitarist joined 15,000 people for the walk through Chichester to oppose plans which could see St Richard’s Hospital downgraded. A spokeswoman for the guitarist said, “Keith is a long-standing member of the West Wittering community and is pleased to lend his support to local efforts to save St Richard’s Hospital.”

2009, Eric Clapton pulled out of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert in New York City after he underwent an operation to remove gallstones. His place at the Madison Square Garden gig was taken by Jeff Beck.

2011, Liam Gallagher’s Carnaby Street clothing store Pretty Green hosts an exhibition inspired by the Who album Quadrophenia. It features a specially made parka for the event along with Pete Townshend’s notes, desk diaries, photos and original lyric sheets related to the album.

2013, Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed died at the age of 71. An admitted hard drinker and drug user for many years, he underwent a liver transplant in Cleveland in April 2013.

Born on October 27: Floyd Cramer, piano, Elvis Presley (1933); Dick Dodd, drummer, actor The Bel-Airs, The Standells (1945); Byron Allred, keyboards, Steve Miller Band (1949); Garry Tallent, bass, E Street Band (1949); Ken Downing, guitar, Judas Priest (1951); Simon Le Bon, vocals, Duran Duran (1958); Scott Weiland, vocals, Stone Temple Pilots (1967)

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Today in Rock History – October 23

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Jimi_Hendrix_Hey_Joe_11966, 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 became a hit. The Byrds also performed and recorded a version of the song.

1966, The Yardbirds, with new recruit Jimmy Page, perform at San Francisco’s Fillmore.

1967, Pink Floyd plays at the Bath Pavilion in Bath, Somerset, England.

1969, Columbia Records announces it will take legal action to stop sales of Great White Wonder, the popular bootleg set of previously unreleased Bob Dylan material.

1969, The Who continue a six-night stand at the Fillmore East in New York accompanied by the Joshua Light Show.

1970, Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention perform at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, New York.

1970, The Who appear at Green’s Playhouse in Glasgow, Scotland.

1971, Yes played at the Empire Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1972, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1972, Filming begins on That’ll Be the Day, a musical starring David Essex, Ringo Starr, and Keith Moon.

1973, Genesis appeared at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1973,  “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight & The Pips reaches number one on the US singles chart.

1974, David Bowie  appeared at the Arie Crown Theater, Chicago

1975, Eric Clapton performed at Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan.

The Clash
The Clash

1976, The Clash appeared at The ICA in London.

1976, The Jam played an afternoon show at Soho Market in London.

1976, Chicago started a two week run at number one  on the singles chart with “If You Leave Me Now.” It was the group’s 18th Top 40 and first number one.  It went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance.

1976, Led Zeppelin made their US television debut on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, when footage from The Song Remains the Same movie of “Dazed and Confused” and “Black Dog” is aired on the popular weekly music show.

1977, AC/DC played at Town Hall, Middlesborough, England.

1978, Sid Vicious tries to commit suicide at Rikers Island in New York.  Vicious was waiting to be charged with murder following the stabbing death of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Sunrise Theater, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

1980, Mark David Chapman quit his security job and signed out for the last time. Instead of the usual “Chappy” he wrote “John Lennon.” Chapman would murder Lennon on December 8th outside his New York City home.

1982, Culture Club were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me,” the group’s first chart topper and the first of twelve UK Top 40 hits. The song became a major hit after their memorable debut performance on Top of the Pops, when they stood in for Shakin’ Stevens who was ill and not able to appear.

1984, Pete Townshend stages and performs at an anti-heroin benefit concert at The Moonlight in Hampstead. Making their live debut at this show is a new band called The Stone Roses. Their drummer, Alan “Reni” Wren, also sits in for Pete’s set.

1989, Nirvana played their first ever European show when they appeared at Newcastle’s Riverside Club in North East England. It was the first night of a 36 date European tour for the group who were sharing the bill with Tad.

1993, Meat Loaf had his first UK chart topper with “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That.”) It stayed at number one for seven weeks. A number one in twenty-eight countries and gave Meat Loaf his first US top hit.

1995, Def Leppard gave themselves a place in the Guinness book Of World Records, by playing three gigs in three continents in 24 hours. Tangier, London and Vancouver.

2002, A federal judge in St. Louis dismissed a lawsuit against Chuck Berry by Johnnie Johnson, a piano player and former collaborator who wanted royalties for more than 30 songs written between 1955 and 1966. The songs in question included “No Particular Place To Go,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Sweet Little Sixteen.” Johnson’s lawsuit argued that he and Berry were co-writers on many of the songs, but because Berry copyrighted them in his name alone, Johnson got none of the royalties. The judge ruled that too many years had passed to bring about a royalties suit.

2005, Arctic Monkeys scored their first UK number one single with “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor,” the Sheffield band’s debut single.

Born on October 23: Ellie Greenwich, songwriter (1940); Freddie Marsden, Gerry And The Pacemakers (1940); Greg Ridley, bass player, Spooky Tooth, Humble Pie (1943); Michael Burston, Motorhead (1949); Dwight Yoakam, (1956); Robert Trujillo, bass, songwriter Metallica, Black Label Society, Suicidal Tendencies (1964); Dale Crover, singer-songwriter, drummer, producer Melvins (1967);

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “It Don’t Come Easy” by Bettye LaVette

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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 is singing her version of the Ringo Starr classic in New York City. She was touring behind her latest album called “Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook” a very daring record she made covering songs by Pink Floyd (“Wish You Were Here”), The Beatles (“The Word”), Eric Clapton (“Why Does Love Got To Be So Bad”), The Who (“Love Reign O’er Me”) and others by The Moody Blues, The Animals, Elton John, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. While she doesn’t improve on many of the songs, she does put her own stamp on them and doesn’t just parrot the original arrangements. A flawed album, perhaps, but the high marks make it all worthwhile.

Song of the Day by Eric Berman – “Dear Prudence” by The Beatles

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The Beatles in India 1968Prudence was, of course, actress Mia Farrow’s sister. They were in attendance in India studying Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi along with The Beatles, Donovan and Mike Love of the Beach Boys. Prudence was very serious about TM and spent most of her time in her room meditating. Beatle John was concerned for her wellbeing and wrote this song inviting her to come out to play. Prudence went on to become a teacher and still practices TM to this day. The song appeared on “The Beatles” better known as “The White Album” from 1968 and features Paul McCartney on drums because a frustrated Ringo had walked out of the sessions — and the band — for a few days.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #16 – The Beatles: “Paperback Writer” b/w “Rain” – Capitol 45 RPM Single 5651 (K2/L2)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #16 – The Beatles: “Paperback Writer” b/w “Rain” – Capitol 45 RPM Single 5651 (K2/L2)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

We’ve hit ground zero for classic singles! It really doesn’t get any better than the coupling of “Paperback Writer” and “Rain” on a single slab of 45RPM vinyl. And, the single wasn’t even intended to be a double A-side, it just worked out that way on the strength of the material.

Both songs were cut during the sessions for Revolver in which The Beatles began to spread their creative wings and experiment in the studio. “Paperback Writer” was recorded with a boosted bass sound because Lennon wanted to emulate the bass sound on a Wilson Pickett record he liked. It was also cut much louder than other singles of its time to make its searing guitar riff stand out on the radio, and as a result, the song topped the charts in 1966.

The lyrics were in response to a comment that McCartney’s Aunt Lil made to him challenging him to write a song that wasn’t about love. Paul: “Years ago my Auntie Lil said to me, ‘Why can’t you ever write about a horse or the summit conference or something interesting?’  So I thought, All right, Auntie Lil. I’ll show you.”

The song is written in the form of a letter from an author to his publisher talking about a book he’s written based on “a man named Lear.” Lear was Edward Lear, a Victorian painter who wrote poems and prose whom John Lennon admired. Paperback books were seen to be a cut-rate second cousin to hardcover books which were looked upon as works of art, so the writer in the song is only striving to be a paperback writer. During the song, Lennon and Harrison interpolate the French nursery rhyme, “Frere Jaques” as a counter melody.

The “meat and dolls” photo that graced first pressings of the Yesterday And Today album was originally taken to promote this single in the trades, and a promotional film directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg was created showing the Fabs traipsing around an English garden.

On the flip, is “Rain,” one of The Beatles’ all-time greatest tracks exemplifying the amount of experimentation the group were putting into their recordings of the time. “Rain’s” backing track was recorded faster than normal and played back at a slightly slower speed giving the record a psychedelic off-kilter feel. Conversely, Lennon’s vocals were recorded at a slightly slower speed and sped up during playback making his vocals sound slightly higher than normal.

The song also features one of the first uses of backwards vocals on a rock record. Lennon: “After we’d done the session on that particular song—it ended at about four or five in the morning—I went home with a tape to see what else you could do with it. And I was sort of very tired, you know, not knowing what I was doing, and I just happened to put it on my own tape recorder and it came out backwards. And I liked it better. So that’s how it happened.”

The backwards vocal at the end fade out is actually the songs first line: “When the rain comes they run and hide their heads.” Beatles engineer, Geoff Emerick said “From that point on, almost every overdub we did on Revolver had to be tried backwards as well as forwards.”

The song reached number 23 on the charts as a B-side, and Ringo Starr considers his drumming on the track to be his best recorded performance. The single’s picture sleeve inadvertently depicted Lennon and Harrison playing left handed because Capitol’s art department mistakenly reversed their photos.

Three videos were created to promote “Rain,” directed again by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. (Lindsay-Hogg first worked with the group on the set of Ready Steady Go several years earlier.)  One was filmed at Chiswick House in London and shows The Beatles walking and singing in a garden, while the other two feature the band performing on a soundstage.