1968, Pink Floyd announced founder Syd Barrett had officially left the group. Barrett was suffering from psychiatric disorders compounded by drug use. 1968, Simon and Garfunkel went to number one on the US album chart with the soundtrack of Mike Nichols’ movie The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. The film boosted the profile […]
Today in Rock History – April 5
1967, Monkees fans walked from London’s Marble Arch to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square to protest Davy Jones’ planned call-up to the army. Jones was exempted because he was deemed responsible for supporting his father. 1968, The first date of a twice-nightly UK tour featuring, Amen Corner, Gene Pitney, Status Quo, Simon Dupree & […]
Today in Rock History – April 1
1966, The Troggs recorded “Wild Thing” at Regent Sound Studio in London. The song went on to be a chart topping US and number two UK hit in June the following year. 1966, The Who and The Yardbirds appear together in a live French edition of Ready, Steady GO! called, appropriately, Ready, Steady, Allez! According […]
Today in Rock History – March 31
1967, Jimi Hendrix set fire to his guitar live on stage for the first time when he was appearing at The Astoria in London, England. It was the first night of a 24-date tour with The Walker Brothers, Cat Stevens, and Engelbert Humperdink. The Fender Stratocaster burned on stage by Hendrix sold for £280,000 at […]
Today in Rock History – March 29
1967, During a European tour The Rolling Stones appeared at the Bremen-Stadthalle in Germany. Also on the tour, The Easybeats and The Creation. 1967, Working at Abbey Road studios The Beatles finished recording “Good Morning Good Morning.” They then started work on a new song “With a Little Help From My Friends,” (originally titled “Bad […]
Today in Rock History – March 25
1966, At a photo session with Bob Whitaker’s studio in London, The Beatles posed in white coats using sides of meat with mutilated and butchered dolls for the cover of their next American album, Yesterday and Today. After a public outcry, the album was pulled from stores and re-issued with a new cover. At the […]
Today in Rock History – March 14
1964, For the first time in British recording history, all Top Ten singles in the UK were by British acts. Number one was “Anyone Who Had A Heart” by Cilla Black. Number two – “Bits and Pieces” by The Dave Clark Five. At number three, “Little Children “Diane” by The Bachelors. Number five, “Not Fade […]
Today in Rock History – March 12
1965, The Beatles wrap up their location shooting of Help! in the Bahamas. Ringo Starr recalled, “A hell of a lot of pot was being smoked while we were making the film. It was great. That helped make it a lot of fun.” 1966, The first album by Love is released in the US. 1966, […]
Today in Rock History – March 8
1964, On The Ed Sullivan Show, the Dave Clark Five perform “Glad All Over.” Comparing them to the Rolling Stones, Sullivan declares the Five “nice, neat boys.” They would perform more times on his show than any other rock act. 1965, Bob Dylan’s single “Subterranean Homesick Blues” was released in the US. The lead track […]
Today in Rock History – March 6
1965, The Rolling Stones Number 2 album went back to number one on the UK charts for six weeks. 1965, The Temptations went to number one on the singles chart with the Smokey Robinson penned song “My Girl,” making the group the first male act to have a chart topper for Motown. 1966, The Rolling Stones […]
