1959, 22 year old Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, aged 17, died in a crash shortly after take-off from Clear Lake, Iowa, the pilot of the single-engined Beechcraft Bonanza plane was also killed. Holly hired the plane after heating problems developed on his tourbus. All three were traveling to Fargo, North Dakota, for […]
Today in Rock History – February 2
1963, The Beatles played at the Gaumont Cinema, Bradford on the opening night of the nationwide Helen Shapiro UK tour. The Beatles were at the bottom of the six-act bill playing just four songs, “Please Please Me,” “Chains,” “Keep Your Hands Off My Baby,” and “A Taste of Honey.” 1966, The Rolling Stones released “19th […]
Today in Rock History – January 28
1965, The Moody Blues were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Go Now!” 1965, The Who made their first appearance on UK TV show Ready Steady Go! To project the desired image, the hand-picked audience consisted only of teens dressed in the current “Mod” fashion. 1966, The Cavern Club in Liverpool closes, […]
Today in Rock History – January 27
1962, The Beatles appeared at Aintree Institute in Aintree, Liverpool. The group had played here many times before but this was their last performance at the venue. Brian Epstein became infuriated when the promoter paid The Beatles’ fee of £15 ($24) with handfuls of loose change. Epstein took this as an insult to the group, […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Freeway Jam” by Jeff Beck
Nothing prepared rock fans for the transformation that took place in the mid-70s when Jeff Beck joined forces with producer George Martin on his albums “Blow By Blow” and “Wired.” Beck, of course, was well known as the blues-based British rocker from the Yardbirds and The Jeff Beck Group who dabbled in jazz, but cut […]
Today in Rock History – January 18
1964, The Beatles made their US chart debut when “I Want To Hold Your Hand” entered the chart at number 45 just ten days after its release, making it the fastest-breaking and the fastest selling single in Capitol Records history. It went on to spend seven weeks at the number one position. 1965, The Rolling […]
Today in Rock History – December 25
1964, The Beatles Christmas Day Concert took place at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. The evening’s events opened with The Mike Cotton Sound’s performance of Georgie Fame’s current single “Yeh Yeh,” before singer Michael Haslam joined them to sing “Scarlet Ribbons.” Next, The Yardbirds took to the stage followed by a pantomime sketch featuring The […]
Today in Rock History – November 2
1965, The Who perform at The Marquee in London where they break box office records for the venue. 1966, “Mississippi” John Hurt, country blues singer and guitarist, died of a heart attack in his home state of Mississippi. Material recorded by him has been re-released by many record labels over the years and his songs […]
Today in Rock History – October 16
1966, Grace Slick performs as a member of Jefferson Airplane for the first time at San Francisco’s Fillmore West after Signe Anderson bows out of the group’s lineup. Slick, who was with fellow San Francisco band Great Society, introduces the band to two new songs, her composition “White Rabbit,” and “Somebody to Love,” written by […]
Today in Rock History – October 13
1965, The Who go into IBC Studio A in London for a midnight session to record their next single. The final release version of “My Generation” is laid down as well as “The Kids Are Alright.” The next day Glyn Johns makes mono mixes of the two songs plus the UK B-side to “My Generation,” […]
