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Today in Rock History – June 1

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Rock History for June 1

1966, The Beatles returned Abbey Road studios to complete recording on “Yellow Submarine. ” The band, plus friends and members of the staff helped search for a “weird instrument” to create the desired sound effects.  John Lennon ended up blowing bubbles in a bucket of water.  Paul and John imitated different voices.  Roadie Mal Evans played on a bass drum strapped to his chest, marching around the studio with The Beatles following behind singing “We all live in a yellow submarine.”

1966, The Who fly into Arlanda Airport, Stockholm. Pete Townshend is interviewed for a Swedish magazine at the airport. He tells them he is currently working on a musical called “Summer City”.

1967, The Beatles release Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Sgt. Pepper became the first Beatles album to be issued simultaneously around the world. It was also the first Beatles album where the track listings were exactly the same for the UK and US versions. The band’s eighth LP, it debuted in the UK at number one, where it stayed for 22 consecutive weeks. The album sold 250,000 copies during the first seven days.

1967, David Bowie released his self titled debut studio album. Two singles were released from the album, “Rubber Band” and “The Laughing Gnome.”

1967, Tommy James & the Shondells performed at the Sports Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

1968, Simon and Garfunkel went to number one on the singles chart with “Mrs Robinson.” The song was featured in the Dustin Hoffman and Ann Bancroft film The Graduate. A cover version by the Lemonheads was a hit in 1992.

1968, Cream appeared at the Edmonton Gardens in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

1968, Pink Floyd played three shows in the Netherlands on this date. First a 2 o’clock in the afternoon show at Lijn 3 in Amsterdam, as a replacement for Captain Beefheart, who cancelled. Secondly at 8 PM, the band played at ‘t Smurf, De Engh, Bussum. Lastly, a late show at Eurobeurs, Apeldoorn. The band arrived so tardy, that they played past their allotted time. When the promoter turned on the house lights to make the band quit playing and start the “disco,” an argument started between Roger Waters and the promoter. It got so heated that the local police had to be called in to break it up.

1969, Neil Young & Crazy Horse appeared at La Cave in Cleveland, Ohio

1969, The Who performed at Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri.

1969, The Plastic Ono Band recorded “Give Peace A Chance” during a “bed-in” at the Hotel La Reine in Montreal, Canada. Producer Phil Spector, poet Allan Ginsberg and writer Timothy Leary all sang on the song.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Athens State Teachers College, Athens, Georgia.

1971, Chicago appeared at the London’s Royal Albert Hall, London.

1971, Harry Nilsson begins recording his album Nilsson Schmilsson in London.

1971, Joni Mitchell releases her album Blue.

1971, The two-room shack in Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935 was opened to the public as a tourist attraction.

Pink Floyd at Abbey Road studios

1972, Pink Floyd were working at Abbey Road studios, London on Dark Side Of The Moon.

1973, Former Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt broke his spine after attempting to leave a party by climbing down a drainpipe and falling three stories. It left Wyatt permanently crippled and confined to a wheelchair.

1973, Paul Simon releases There Goes Rhymin’ Simon.

1974, UK weekly music paper The NME published its 100 Great Albums: at number three: The Beach Boys Pet Sounds; number two: Bob Dylan Blonde On Blonde; and The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper was voted to the top spot.

1974, John Cale, Brian Eno, Kevin Ayers, and Nico perform the concert commemorated in the live LP June 1, 1974.

1974, Linda Ronstadt begins recording “Heart Like a Wheel” in Los Angeles. Her last project for Capitol Records. Some of the studio musicians and singers included, Andrew Gold, Glen Frey, Emmylou Harris, Don Henley, Russ Kunkel, Maria Muldaur, Timothy B. Schmdt, and J.D. Souther.

1975, The Rolling Stones kicked off their biggest ever US tour at Assembly Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. The tour would take in 45 shows in 26 cities. Guitarist Ron Wood joined The Stones on tour for the first time, replacing Mick Taylor.

1975, Aerosmith played at Roberts Municipal Stadium, Evansville, Indiana.

1976, Yes performed at Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee.

1977, Bob Marley and The Wailers played the first of four nights at the Rainbow Theatre in London. There were six nights booked at the Rainbow, but the last two shows were cancelled due to a serious toe injury Marley received, in a friendly football game with French journalists, just before the tour’s start in Paris. Subsequently, the tour’s second leg in the United States was postponed and then cancelled.

1977, Emerson, Lake & Palmer played at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1978, U2 appeared at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin, Ireland.

1978, David Bowie performed at the Falkoner Theater, Copenhagen, Denmark.

1980, Rush played at the Gaumont Theatre, Southampton, England.

1981, The first issue of the Heavy Metal magazine Kerrang! was published as a special pull-out by UK weekly music paper Sounds. AC/DC appeared on the front cover, and there were features on Motorhead, Girlschool and Saxon.

1984, David Gilmour appeared at Constitution Hall, Washington D.C.

1985, Prince & The Revolution started a three-week run at number one on the US album chart with Around The World In A Day.

1986, ZZ Top performed at the Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1991, American soul singer David Ruffin died of a drug overdose. After taking a large amount of cocaine Ruffin passed out, a friend drove him to a hospital in Philadelphia, where he later died. He was one of the lead singers of The Temptations (1964–68) during the group’s “Classic Five” period as it was later known. He was the lead voice on such famous songs as “My Girl” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”.

2006, The 1994 debut album by Oasis, Definitely Maybe, was voted the greatest album of all time in a survey to mark 50 years of the Official UK Albums Chart. The Beatles came in second and third place with Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Revolver, OK Computer by Radiohead was fourth and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory by Oasis was voted fifth.

2013, Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend went to number one on the US album charts. Their second album Contra’ also debuted at the top spot in 2010, making this the first time an independent rock band had entered at number one with two consecutive releases. Modern Vampires of the City also shattered the previous record for first week vinyl sales, moving nearly 10,000 units.

Born on June 1: Pat Boone (1934); James William McCarty, Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels, Buddy Miles, Cactus,  Bob Seger (1945) Ron Wood, Jeff Beck Group, The Faces, The Rolling Stones (1947); Tom Robinson, singer-songwriter (1950); Graham Russell, Air Supply (1950); Alan Wilder, keyboards, vocals, Depeche Mode (1959); Simon Gallup, The Cure (1960); Mike Joyce, drums, The Smiths (1963); Alanis Morissette (1974)

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Today in Rock History – April 27

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beatles-studio-19661966, 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 accidentally.  Paul McCartney wanted to see if the band could recreate the sound. George recorded two guitar parts specifically for that purpose. It was released on the album Yesterday And Today.

1968, Simon & Garfunkel release “Mrs. Robinson” from The Graduate soundtrack.

1969, Joe Cocker makes his debut appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1969, The Who performed at the Kinema Ballroom, Dunfermline, England.

1969, Pink Floyd appeared at Mothers Club in Erdington, Birmingham, England. Radio 1 DJ John Peel served as the emcee,  He wrote in his weekly column for Disc & Music Echo, “At one moment they are laying surfaces of sound one upon another in symphonic thunder; at another isolated, incredibly melancholy sounds which cross another sounding like dying galaxies lost in sheer corridors of time and space.”

1970, David Bowie and The Hype, Barclay James Harvest, High Tide and The Purple Gang all appeared at Stockport Grammar School, England.

1971, The Grateful Dead performed at the Fillmore East in New York City. The Beach Boys also appeared on stage with the Dead, who together performed a short set of Beach Boys songs.

1972, Pink Floyd appeared at Ford Auditorium, Detroit, Michigan.

1973, King Crimson played at Irvine Auditorium, Philadelphia.

1974, A free afternoon event was held in the parking lot of the University of Connecticut, Ice Hockey Arena in Storrs. The four acts that appeared, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Fairport Convention, and Fat Back. Springsteen then went on to play another gig that evening at the University of Hartford in Connecticut.

1974, Genesis appeared at the Century Theatre, Buffalo, New York.

pink-floyd-19751975, Pink Floyd played the last of a four night run at Los Angeles’ Sports Arena. A total of 511 fans were arrested over the four nights for possession of marijuana.

1976, Customs officers on a train at the Russian/Polish Border detained David Bowie, after Nazi books and mementos were found in his luggage. Bowie claimed that the material was being used for research on a movie project about Nazi propaganda leader Joseph Paul Goebbels.

1977, Eric Clapton performed at the Hammersmith Odeon, London.

1978, David Bowie appeared at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1979, Roxy Music played at the Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan.

1980, Rush performed at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1981, Ringo Starr married actress and one time “Bond Girl” Barbara Bach. The pair met while filming the movie, Caveman, with Dennis Quaid and Shelley Long. In attendance at the wedding were George Harrison and Paul McCartney.

1985, USA For Africa started a three-week run at number one on the US chart with “We Are The World.” The US artists’ answer to Band Aid had an all-star cast including Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Ray Charles, Billy Joel and Paul Simon plus the composer’s of the track, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.

1996, Oasis played the first of two nights at Manchester’s Maine Road football ground as a ‘thank you’ to their fans, the 80,000 tickets sold out in hours.

2003, Madonna went to number one on the UK album chart with American Life, the Material Girl’s eighth chart topping album. It also reached the top spot on the US album charts.

2009, Aerosmith were to hold a free concert in Hawaii to placate angry fans who brought a legal case against them. Fans filed a class action case, which claimed the band had cancelled a sold-out show in Maui two years ago, leaving hundreds of fans out of pocket in favor of a bigger gig in Chicago. Lawyers for the would-be concert-goers said Aerosmith had now agreed to put on a new show, and would pay all expenses. Everyone who bought a ticket to the original concert would receive a free ticket.

Born on April 27: Casey Kasem (1932) Jerry Mercer, drummer, Mashmakhan, April Wine (1939); Jim Keltner, drummer, Traveling Wilburys, Plastic Ono Band, and Delaney & Bonnie and Friends (1939); Gordon Haskell, King Crimson (1947); Pete Ham, Badfinger (1947); Kate Pierson, The B-52’s (1948); Ace Frehley, Kiss (1951); Sheena Easton (1959); Will Boyd, bass, Evanescence, American Princes, and The Visitors (1979)

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Today in Rock History – April 7

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1966,The Beatles were at Abbey Road studios in London, recording overdubs on the new John Lennon song “Tomorrow Never Knows” and the new Paul McCartney song “Got to Get You Into My Life” for the forthcoming Revolver album.

1967, Pink Floyd played at the Floral Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at the ABC Theatre in Carlisle, Cumbria, England.

1968, At the end of a North American tour, The Who played at the CNE Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario.

1969, John Lennon records “Give Peace a Chance” in his Toronto hotel room. It becomes his first solo single.

1970, On this week’s Top 5 singles chart; No.5, “Bridge Over Trouble Water” by Simon and Garfunkel, No.4, “Spirit In The Sky,” Norman Greenbaum, No.3, “Instant Karma” by John Lennon, No.2, “ABC” The Jackson Five, and at No.1, “Let It Be,” The Beatles.

1970, Genesis appeared at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band played at The Place, a small club in Miami, Florida.

1972, The Grateful Dead appeared at The Empire Pool, London, England, tickets cost £1 ($1.50.)

1973, Yes performed at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.

1973, Diana Ross started a two-week run at number one on the US album chart with the soundtrack to Lady Sings The Blues, a Billie Holliday biopic.

1974, Aerosmith played at Michigan Palace in Detroit.

1975, Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore quit Deep Purple to form his own band Rainbow. Tommy Bolin replaced Blackmore.

1975, Deep Purple performed at the Palais Des Sports, Paris.

1976, Rush appeared at the Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

1977, Black Sabbath played at Stadthalle, Offenbach am Main, Germany.

1979, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Cheap Trick, The Boomtown Rats and Ted Nugent all appeared at the California Music Festival.

1979, The Doobie Brothers went to number one on the US album chart with Minute By Minute, the group’s only US chart topper.

1981, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their first full-scale tour in Hamburg, Germany. This was Springsteen’s first tour outside North America, which would take in ten countries.

1985, Grateful Dead appeared at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

1994, US soul singer Percy Sledge pleaded guilty to tax evasion after he failed to report $260,000 in income earned between 1987 and 1989. He was sentenced to serve six months in a halfway house.

2000, Heinz, bass player and singer with The Tornadoes died aged 57. The group had the Joe Meek produced 1962 UK and US number one single “Telstar,” making them the first UK group to score a US number one single. Heinz had the 1963 solo hit “Just Like Eddie,” a tribute to Eddie Cochran, which featured future Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore.

2013, Andy Johns, the veteran producer and engineer who worked on classic albums by Led Zeppelin, (Led Zeppelin II  through  Physical Graffiti), the Rolling Stones, (Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main Street), Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen and many others, died at the age of 61.

2015, The original manuscript of Don McLean’s American Pie sold for $1.2m (£806,000) at a New York auction. The 16-page draft had been expected to fetch as much as $1.5 million (£1 million) at the Christie’s sale. McLean said writing the song was “a mystical trip into his past”.

Born on April 7: Billie Holiday (1915); Spencer Dryden, Jefferson Airplane (1938);  Mick Abrahams,  Jethro Tull (1943); Patricia Bennett, The Chiffons (1947); John Oates, Hall and Oates (1949);  Janis Ian (1951); Bruce Gary, The Knack (1952)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today in Rock History – March 28

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beatles-sgtpeppers-inside1967, Working on sessions for the new Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s at Abbey Road studios in London, John Lennon recorded his lead vocal for “Good Morning Good Morning,” and Paul McCartney added a lead guitar solo to the track. Lennon had decided he wanted to end the song with animal sound effects, and asked that they be sequenced in such a way that each successive animal was capable of scaring or eating the preceding one.

1967, Pink Floyd performed at the Chinese R&B Jazz Club, Corn Exchange, Bristol, England.

1968, Steppenwolf appeared at the Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1968, Pink Floyd recorded a performance of “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” for the BBC 2 TV Omnibus – The Sound of Change show at the Abbey Mills Pumping Station, East Stratford, in London. The special, which was produced by Tony Palmer, also featured performances by The Who, Cream and Jimi Hendrix focused on the “socio-political context of rock music.” The show was later broadcast in black and white on November 3rd and repeated (in color) in May of the following year.

1969, Led Zeppelin played at the Marquee Club, London.

1970, Grand Funk Railroad and Illinois Speed Press played at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1970, Simon and Garfunkel were in the fifth of six consecutive weeks at number one on the US singles chart with “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

1971, Yes appeared at Deutschlandhalle Berlin Arts Festival, Berlin, Germany.

1972, King Crimson played at the Orpheum, Hampton Roads, Virginia.

1973, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Civic Center Arena in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1973, Led Zeppelin released Houses Of The Holy in the UK. The album title was a dedication by the band to their fans who appeared at venues they dubbed “Houses of the Holy.”

1974, During a UK tour, Queen appeared at Aberystwyth University in Wales.

1974, Delta blues singer and guitarist Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup died of a stroke at the age of 69. He wrote “That’s All Right (Mama,”) covered by Elvis Presley, and “My Baby Left Me.”

1975, ZZ Top performed at the Toledo Sports Arena, Toledo, Ohio.

1976, Genesis began their first North American tour since Peter Gabriel left the band, appearing in Buffalo, New York, with Phil Collins taking over as lead singer.

kiss-19771977, Kiss played the first of five sold-out nights on their Alive II world Tour at the Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.

1977, During a UK tour, Pink Floyd played the first of four sold out nights at New Bingley Hall, Staffordshire County Showground, Stafford.

1978, Aerosmith appeared at the Orpheum Theatre in their hometown of Boston.

1981, Blondie started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with”Rapture,” the group’s fourth chart topper.

1981, Elton John’s version of The Beatles “I Saw Her Standing There” was released as a tribute to John Lennon.

1982, David Crosby was arrested after crashing his car on the San Diego Highway. Police also found cocaine and a pistol in the Crosby Stills & Nash stars car. When the police asked Crosby why he carried the gun, his reply was, “John Lennon.”

1986, The Grateful Dead performed at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine.

1992, Over a $100,000 (£58,800) worth of damage was caused at The Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, California, when Ozzy Osbourne invited the first two rows of the audience on stage. Several others took up the offer and the band was forced to exit the stage.

2005, After playing a warm-up date the night before at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, U2 kicked off their Vertigo tour at the iPay One Center in San Diego, California. The 131-date world tour would see the band playing in North America, Europe, South America and Japan. By the time it finished, the Vertigo Tour had sold 4,619,021 tickets, grossing $389 million. It was the second-highest figure ever for a world tour.

Born on March 28: Chuck Portz, The Turtles (1944); Milan Williams, The Commodores (1948); John Evans, Jethro Tull (1948); Reba McEntire (1954); Steve Turner, guitar, Mudhoney (1965); Dave Keuning, guitarist, The Killers (1976); Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga (1986)

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Today in Rock History – March 24

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beatles_help_movie_image1965, The Beatles continued filming Help! at Twickenham Studios, England. They shot the interior temple scenes, including the one where they “dive through a hollow sacrificial altar and into water”. That scene was then cut to the swimming pool scene filmed in the Bahamas on February 23.

1966, Simon and Garfunkel made their UK singles chart debut with “Homeward Bound.” It was released in the US in January. Simon is said to have written the song at Farnworth railway station, Widnes, England, while stranded overnight waiting for a train. A plaque is displayed in the station to commemorate this, although memorabilia hunters have stolen it many times.

1967, Pink Floyd played the first of two nights at the Ricky Tick Club in Hounslow, England.

1970, Genesis performed at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Foster Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

1972, King Crimson played at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1973, Pink Floyd played the last date of their North American tour at the Park Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1973, Alice Cooper went to number one on the UK album charts with Billion Dollar Babies.

1973, During a Lou Reed show in Buffalo, New York, a fan jumped on stage and bit Lou on the bottom. The man was thrown out of the theater and Reed completed the show.

1973, The O’Jays went to number one on the US singles chart with “Love Train.”

1973, “Dueling Banjos” by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell begins its second week as number one on the USA album charts.

1973, The Grateful Dead played at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

1974, Yes appeared at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

david-bowie-rod-stewart1975, David Bowie sees Rod Stewart and The Faces at Madison Square Garden with Ava Cherry and Warren Peace, going backstage for the after show party.

1975, LaBelle had a chart topping hit with “Lady Marmalade.” The group was originally called Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles.

1975, Genesis appeared at Palasport Parco Rufino, Turin, Italy.

courtesy: LedZeppelin.com

1975, Led Zeppelin performed at the Forum in Inglewood, California. The set list: Rock and Roll, Sick Again, Over the Hills and Far Away, In My Time of Dying, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Kashmir, No Quarter, Trampled Underfoot, Moby Dick, Dazed and Confused (incl. Woodstock), Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love (incl. The Crunge), Black Dog, Heartbreaker.

1976, The Who played at Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon.

1977, Jethro Tull headlined at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1978, Aerosmith played at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Columbus, Ohio.

1980, Van Halen performed at Spokane Coliseum, Spokane, Washington.

1981, The Grateful Dead performed at the Rainbow Theater in London.

1982, ZZ Top appeared at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1984, The former lead singer of the Commodores Lionel Richie started a six week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Hello.” It was also a chart topping hit in the US.

1984, Blue Oyster Cult played at Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee.

1985, “Easy Lover” by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins was at number one on the UK singles chart. Bailey was a former vocalist with Earth Wind & Fire. Phil Collins produced, drummed and sang on the track.

1992, A Chicago court settled the Milli Vanilli class action suit by approving cash rebates of up to $3 (£1.76) to anyone proving they bought the group’s music before November 27 1990, the date the lip synching scandal broke. Milli Vanilli won the 1989 best new artist Grammy after hits like “Blame it on the Rain” and “Girl, You Know It’s True,” selling 30 million singles and 14 million albums. But in late 1990, the performers were stripped of the award after it was revealed that neither actually sang on the Milli Vanilli album.

1997, Singer with Philly soul group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Harold Melvin died aged 57. Had the 1972 US number three and 1974 UK number nine single “If You Don’t Know Me By Know.”

2001, A stretch of road on Highway 19 in Macon, Georgia, was named Duane Allman Boulevard, near where the Allman Brothers guitarist died aged 24 in a motorcycle crash on October 29, 1971.

2009, Motown drummer Uriel Jones, died aged 74 after suffering complications from a heart attack. Jones played on many Motown classics including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” by Marvin Gaye, “Cloud Nine” by the Temptations, “I Second That Emotion” by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and “For Once In My Life” by Stevie Wonder.

2013, Pictures of The Beatles’ 1965 Shea Stadium concert, taken by an amateur photographer who bluffed his way backstage, sold for £30,000 ($45,000) at auction. Marc Weinstein used a fake press pass to get next to the stage for the legendary New York show.

Born on March 24: Holger Czukay, Can (1938); Don Covay, American R&B, rock and roll, soul singer-songwriter (1938); Klaus Dinger, German guitarist, songwriter, Neu!, La Düsseldorf, Kraftwerk (1946); Lee Oskar, War (1948); Nick Lowe (1949); Dougie Thompson, Supertramp (1951); Nena, singer (1960);  Sharon Corr, vocals, violin, The Corrs (1970); Chad Blutler, drums, Switchfoot (1974);

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Today in Rock History – March 14

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rolling-stones-19641964, 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 Away” by The Rolling Stones. Number six- “Just One Look” by The Hollies, while “Needles and Pins” by The Searchers was at number seven.  Number eight belonged to The Merseybeats with “I Think Of You.” Number nine – “Boys Cry” by Eden Kane, and rounding out the top ten, “Let Me Go Lover” by Kathy Kirby.

1968, The promotional film for “Lady Madonna” was broadcast in black and white on Top of the Pops on UK television. The video portion of the film clip was shot while The Beatles were performing the song “Hey Bulldog,” but the “Lady Madonna” audio track was paired with the video for the promo release.

1969, The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded a live concert in Amsterdam, Holland for Fan Club,” a Dutch TV show.

1970, Pink Floyd performed at Meisteringer Halle in Nurnberg, West Germany.

1970, Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water enters the second week of a ten week run atop the US album charts.

1971, The Rolling Stones played the last night of a 9-date UK tour at the Roundhouse, London.

1971, The Grateful Dead played at Camp Randall Field House on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

1972,  Carole King and producer Lou Adler  wins a Grammy for “It’s Too Late” as Record of the Year, and Tapestry wins a Grammy as Album of the Year. King also took home a statue for Songwriting for “You’ve Got A Friend,” while Carly Simon wins a Grammy as Best New Artist.

don't shoot-elton john1973, Elton John was at number one on the singles chart with “Crocodile Rock.”

1981, Eric Clapton was hospitalized with bleeding ulcers, causing a US tour to be cancelled. He was back in hospital five weeks later after being involved in a car crash.

1981, Roxy Music were at umber one on the UK singles chart with their cover of the John Lennon song “Jealous Guy.”

1982, Metallica made their live debut when they appeared at Radio City in Anaheim, California.

1991, American songwriter Doc Pomus died. With Mort Shuman he wrote many early ’60s hits including, “A Teenager in Love,” “Save The Last Dance For Me,” “Sweets For My Sweet,” “Can’t Get Used to Losing You,” and “Viva Las Vegas.”

Born on March 14: Quincy Jones (1933); Loretta Lynn (1940); Walt Parazaider, Chicago (1945);  Jim Pons, The Turtles (1946)

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Today in Rock History – March 7

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1965, during a Rolling Stones gig at The Palace Theatre in Manchester, England a female fan fell from the circle while the group were playing. The crowd below broke her fall and the girl escaped serious injury just breaking a few teeth.

1966, Mike Millward guitarist from The Fourmost died, aged 23. The Liverpool group who were managed by Brian Epstein had the 1964 UK number six single “A Little Loving.”

1966, Brian Wilson released “Caroline No,” the first solo single by a Beach Boy.

1966, Tina Turner recorded her vocal on the Phil Spector produced “River Deep Mountain High.” It went on to reach number three in the UK but only number 88 on the US chart.

1967, Pink Floyd played at the Winter Gardens in Malvern, Worcestershire, England.

1967, Working on their next album The Beatles recorded additional overdubs for “Lovely Rita,” including harmony vocals, effects, and the percussive sound of a piece of toilet paper being blown through a haircomb.

1967, The age of innocence is officially over when Sandra Dee divorces Bobby Darrin.

1969, Led Zeppelin played at the Bluesville 69 Club, at the Hornsey Wood Tavern in London.

1970, Pink Floyd played a 3 PM show at the University of Bristol Arts Festival in Bristol, England.

1970, Lee Marvin was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Wand’rin Star,” taken from the film Paint Your Wagon.

1970, Led Zeppelin performed at the Casino de Montreux in Montreux, Vaud, Switzerland.

1970, Simon and Garfunkel’s album Bridge Over Troubled Water started a ten-week run at number one on the US chart. The duo had split-up by the time of release.

1971, Genesis performed at La Ferme, Woluwe St Lambert, Belgium.

1971 Black Sabbath and Fleetwood Mac played at the Painters Mill Music Fair in Owings Mill, Maryland.

1972, Yes played at Kutztown State College, Kutztown, Pennsylvania.

1973, during a showcase gig at Max’s Kansas City, New York, CBS records boss John Hammond suffered a heart attack. The event was to mark the signing of his new act Bruce Springsteen.

1973, “Dueling Banjos” by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandel from the movie Deliverance became one of the few 1970s instrumentals to be awarded a Gold record. The record had topped the Cash Box Magazine Best Sellers list and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

1974, Yes appeared at the International Amphitheater in Chicago.

1975, In London, the audience at the Hammersmith Odeon learns about Chuck Berry’s unusual concert practices when he walks off stage after 58 minutes. Berry defends himself by saying he was contracted to play only 45. He added, “They wouldn’t turn the house lights on. I always have them on for my last number.”

1976, David Bowie played at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

1978, Johnny Winter appeared at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1980, The film Coal Miner’s Daughter, the biography of Loretta Lynn and starring Sissy Spacek opened. Spacek won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Lynn; Tommy Lee Jones and Beverly D’Angelo also play leading roles in the film, which was a huge success with critics and at the box office.

1980, Rush performed at the Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, California.

1981, Eric Clapton headlined at the Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington.

1981, The Grateful Dead played at Cole Field House on the Campus of the University of Maryland at College Park.

1987, The first five Beatles albums, Please Please Me, With the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night, Beatles for Sale and Help! were released on Compact disc. Capitol Records decided to release the original UK mixes of the Beatles albums, which means that the first four CDs are released in mono. This marks the first time that many of these mono mixes were available in the US.

1988, American female impersonator and actor Divine (Harris Glenn Milstead), died in his sleep of heart failure aged 42. Had the 1984 UK number 16 single “You think You’re a Man.” He was featured in movies by John Waters, Pink Flamingos and Hairspray.

2001, The man who discovered Blur, David Balfe won a high court battle to earn £250,000 ($400,000) in back royalties. Balfe had waged a legal battle for over two years to regain the royalties after selling his Food Records label to EMI in 1994.

2007, Rhett Hutchence the brother of INXS singer Michael Hutchence defended his decision to sell some of the late star’s belongings online saying he needed money to set up home with his new girlfriend. Items in the auction included lyrics, T-shirts and a fax his brother had sent to his then girlfriend Kylie Minogue.

2012, Sales of albums by The Monkees soared following the death of singer Davy Jones. Best Of The Monkees re-entered the Billboard album chart at No.20 with sales of over 17,000 units.

Born on this day:  Chris White, The Zombies (1943); Arthur Lee, Love (1945); Peter Wolf, J. Geils Band (1946); Rocco Prestia, bass player, Tower of Power (1951)

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Today in Rock History – February 28

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The Yardbirds, circa 1964

1964, The Yardbirds played at the Rhythm and Blues Festival at The Town Hall, Birmingham, England.

1966, Liverpool’s Cavern Club, made famous by the Beatles’ residency there, closes and is later turned into a subway station.

1966, The Who appeared at Eltham Bath in London.

1968, Frankie Lymon was found dead at his mother’s house in New York of a suspected drug overdose, he was 25.

1969, Yes played at the Richmond Athletic Grounds, in the London borough of Richmond upon Thames.

1970, Pink Floyd performed at the Refectory Hall, Leeds University, Yorkshire, England.

1970, In an interview with the New Musical Express, Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green talked about his plans to give all his money away. The following year Green confronted his accountant with a gun after he sent him an unwanted royalty check. The guitarist went to jail briefly before being transferred to an asylum and was committed to a mental hospital in 1973. He relaunched his career in the 90’s.

1970, Led Zeppelin played a gig in Copenhagen as The Nobs after Eva Von Zeppelin a relative of the airship designer threatened to sue if the family name was used in Denmark.

1970, Simon and Garfunkel started a six week run at the top of the singles chart with “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

1970, Billed as “David Bowie’s New Electric Band” (so new they haven’t got a name yet,) David Bowie played at the Basildon Arts Lab experimental music club at the Basildon Arts Centre in Essex, England. Also on the bill were High Tide, Overson and Iron Butterfly.

1972, George and Patti Harrison were injured in a car crash. Patti was unconscious for several days.

1973, The Grateful Dead performed at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1974, Singer songwriter Bobby Bloom shot himself dead in the head at his Hollywood apartment aged 28. Bloom had the 1970 single “Montego Bay.”

1975, Genesis played at the Parc Des Expositions, Colmar, France.

1976, Paul Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years was named Best Pop Vocal Performance and Album Of The Year at the 18th annual Grammy Awards. In his acceptance speech, Simon told the audience “I’d like to thank Stevie Wonder for not releasing an album this year.”

1977, AC/DC played at the Village Bowl, Bournemouth, England.

1982, King Crimson appeared at the Pritchard Gymnasium, Stony Brook, New York.

1984, Michael Jackson won a record seven Grammy awards including: Album of the year for Thriller, Record of the year and Best rock vocal performance for “Beat It,” Best pop vocal performance, Best R&B performance and Best R&B song for “Billie Jean,” and Best Recording For Children for E.T The Extra Terrestrial.

1985, David Byron, singer with Uriah Heep died from an epileptic fit and liver disease aged 38. Had a hit with “Easy Livin” from the 1972 album Demons and Wizards.

1989, Bob Dylan recorded the first sessions for the Oh Mercy album at The Studio, New Orleans, Louisiana. What became Dylan’s 26th studio album, released by Columbia Records in September 1989 was produced by Daniel Lanois.

2008, Drummer Buddy Miles, who played with Jimi Hendrix in his last regular group, Band of Gypsys, died aged 60 at his home in Austin, Texas after struggling with a long-term illness. Born George Allen Miles in Omaha, Nebraska, Buddy’s nickname was a tribute to his idol, jazz drummer Buddy Rich. Rich also played with The Delfonics, The Ink Spots, Wilson Pickett, Electric Flag, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Muddy Waters and Barry White. His signature song was “Them Changes,” a composition he had written and recorded with the Band of Gypsys.

Born February 28: Marty Sanders, Jay and the Americans (1941); Brian Jones, The Rolling Stones (1942); Donnie Iris (1943); Ronnie Rosman, Tommy James & The Shondells (1945); Geoff Nichols, Black Sabbath (1948); Cindy Wilson, The B-52’s (1957); Ian Brown, The Stone Roses (1966); Patrick Monahan, Train (1969); and Jake Bugg (1994)

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Today in Rock History – February 21

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1964, Three classic British singles were released, The Rolling Stones “Not Fade Away,” a UK number three, The Hollies “Just One Look,”a UK number two, and Billy J Kramer’s “Little Children,” a UK number one.

1964, New York band The Echoes recruited a new, young unknown piano player, named Billy Joel.

1967, Pink Floyd started their first sessions at the EMI Studios, St. John’s Wood, London on their debut album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, working on the song “Matilda Mother.” While Pink Floyd were recording their album with former Beatles engineer Norman Smith, The Beatles themselves were working in the studio next door, recording “Fixing A Hole” for their Sgt. Pepper’s album.

1968, Otis Redding had his first entry on the UK singles chart when “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” entered the chart. It went on to be a number three hit.

1968, The Who play the Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California. Sagittarius and Blue Cheer open. For this show, the first of a six-week North American tour, The Who introduce extended jams of “Shakin’ All Over,” “Relax” and “My Generation.”

1970, Alice Cooper played at the Uptown Palladium 12 Theatre‎ in Birmingham, Michigan.

simon-garfunkel-BOTW1970, Simon and Garfunkel went to number one on the album chart with Bridge Over Troubled Water. The album went on to stay on the chart for over 300 weeks, returning to the top of the charts on eight separate occasions and spending a total of 41 weeks at number one.

1970, Having been in release for only 15 weeks, Led Zeppelin II approaches sales of 2 million.

1971, Hawkwind appeared at Wake Arms, Epping, England.

1972, Yes played at Sunshine Inn, Asbury Park, New Jersey.

1972, Led Zeppelin released “Rock And Roll / Four Sticks” as a 7-inch single in the US, peaking at number 47 on the chart. The song came out of a spontaneous jam session, as the band were trying to finish “Four Sticks.””  Drummer John Bonham played the introduction to Little Richard’s “You Keep A-Knockin” and Page added a guitar riff, emulating a 12-bar blues melody, as the tapes were still rolling.  The basic song was finished fifteen minutes later.

1973, The Rolling Stones played at Memorial Drive Park, Adelaide, Australia.

1975, Genesis performed at the Folkoner Theatre, Copenhagen, Denmark.

1976, The Four Seasons were at number one on the UK singles chart with “December ’63 (Oh What A Night.”) The group’s only UK chart topper.

1976, David Bowie played Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

1977, Fleetwood Mac released Rumours. The album went on to sell more than 15 million copies world-wide and spent 31 weeks at number one on the US chart.

1982, American DJ Murry The K died. Murray is thought to be the first person to play a Beatles record on the radio in America. During the early days of Beatlemania, he frequently referred to himself as “the Fifth Beatle.” He was married six times, and died of cancer a week after his 60th birthday.

1986, Metallica released their third album, the highly influential album, Master of Puppets, considered by many in the metal community to be the best metal album of all time. This was the last Metallica album with bassist Cliff Burton, who was killed when the group’s tour bus over-turned in southern Sweden while touring to promote the album.

1987, Ben E King was at number one in the UK singles chart with “Stand By Me.” The track was first released in 1961 and became a hit in 1987 after being featured in the film Stand By Me.

1991, ZZ Top performed at The Palace Of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan.

1998, Celine Dion went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with “My Heart Will Go On.” The song was the theme from the movie Titanic. The world’s best selling single of 1998.

2012, Five members of the Russian feminist punk rock group Pussy Riot staged a performance on the soleas of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where their actions were stopped by church security officials. By that evening, they had turned the performance into a music video entitled “Punk Prayer – Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!” The women said their protest was directed at the Orthodox Church leader’s support for Putin during his election campaign. The following month, three of the group members were arrested and charged with hooliganism, and were were held in custody until their trial began in late July. The three members were convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,” and each was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

2014, A crew member working on a biopic about Gregg Allman died after being hit by a train during filming. Police in south Georgia said the woman was struck after the crew for Midnight Rider placed a bed on the railway tracks in Doctortown. Wayne County Sheriff John Carter said several other people had been injured, two of them seriously.

Born on February 21: Nina Simone (1933); David Geffen, producer-executive (1943); Jerry Harrison, Talking Heads (1949); Vince Welnick, The Tubes, Grateful Dead (1951);  Mary Chapin-Carpenter (1958); Ranking Roger, The English Beat (1961)

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