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Today in Rock History – June 3

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the-who-sweden-19661966, The Who arrive at a TV studio in Stockholm to appear on the Popside program for Sverige Television. Coming onstage busting through a Union Jack paper hoop, they mime performances of “Daddy Rolling Stone,” “It’s Not True,” “Bald Headed Woman,” “The Kids Are Alright,” “Substitute,” and “My Generation” while standing on a ramp. The show is directed by Peter Goldmann, later to direct the promotional films for The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane.” It airs on Swedish television on two days later.

1967, The Doors “Light My Fire” was released in the US, it went on to reach number one on the singles chart two months later.

1967 Pink Floyd, Hydrogen Jukebox, and The Sun Trolley played to the largest crowd that the UFO Club had ever held. The Tottenham Court Road club in London was an early part of the London psychedelic scene. Jimi Hendrix, Eric Burdon, and Pete Townshend were among the rock stars in attendance.

1967, Janis Joplin performed at California Hall in Berkeley, California.

1967, Aretha Franklin went to the top of he US singles charts with her version of the Otis Redding hit “Respect.” It was a top ten hit on the UK charts.

1967, Jefferson Airplane appear on American Bandstand, playing “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love.”

1968, Valerie Solanas shot Andy Warhol and art critic and curator Mario Amaya at Warhol’s studio in New York City. Solanas had been to see Warhol after asking for the return of a script which had apparently, been misplaced. Warhol was seriously wounded in the attack and barely survived.

1968, Pink Floyd performed at the Concertgebouw in Vissingen, The Netherlands, supported by Dragonfly.

1969, Yes appeared at the Bay Hotel, Sunderland, England.

1970, Deep Purple released their fourth studio album Deep Purple In Rock. This was the first album to feature the classic Mk II lineup of – Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.

1970, The Kinks’ Ray Davies was forced to make a 6,000 mile round trip from New York to London to record one word in a song. Davies had to change the word “Coca-Cola” to “Cherry Cola” on the bands forthcoming single “Lola” due to an advertising ban at BBC Radio.

1971, The Band appeared at London’s Royal Albert Hall during a European tour.

1971, King Crimson played at Winter Gardens, Bournemouth, England.

1972, Joe Cocker, The Beach Boys, Melanie, Richie Havens and Sha Na Na all appeared at the Crystal Palace Garden Party, England.

1972, Jethro Tull started a two-week run at number one on the US album chart with Thick As A Brick.

1972, Blue Oyster Cult and Aliotta, Haynes & Jeremiah performed at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1972, The Rolling Stones kicked off their seventh North American tour at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada. The 32 date tour grossed $4 million (£2.5 m,) making it the richest rock tour in history.

1972, Family gospel group of father and three daughters The Staple Singers went to number one on the singles chart with “I’ll Take You There.”

1972, The Eagles release “Take It Easy.”

1972, Pink Floyd released the soundtrack to director Barbet Schroeder’s Obscured by Clouds in the UK. The album which was recorded in Paris, France in less than two weeks, peaked at number six on the UK chart and number 46 on the US chart.

1972, David Bowie performed at City Hall, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England.

1973, Led Zeppelin played a three hour show at The Forum, Inglewood, California. The setlist: Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, (Bring It On Home intro) Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love (incl. Let That Boy Boogie, I’m Going Down, I’m a Man, The Hunter), The Ocean, Communication Breakdown, Organ solo ~ Thank You.

1975, Aerosmith played at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1976, The Grateful Dead played at the Paramount Theater in Portland, Oregon.

1976, Yes headlined at the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia.

1977, Rush performed at the Odeon Theatre, Birmingham, England.

1978, Genesis appeared at the Palais Des Sports, Dijon, France.

1979, Journey performed at War Memorial Auditorium. Syracuse, New York.

1980, Roxy Music played at the Palais Des Grottes, Cambrai, France.

1983, US session drummer Jim Gordon murdered his mother by pounding her head with a hammer. A diagnosed schizophrenic, it was not until his trial in 1984 that he was properly diagnosed. Due to the fact that his attorney was unable to use the insanity defense, Gordon was sentenced to sixteen years-to-life in prison in 1984. Gordon won Grammy Award  for co-writing “Layla” with Eric Clapton. Gordon worked with The Beach Boys, John Lennon, George Harrison Frank Zappa and many other artists.

1989, The Fine Young Cannibals started a seven-week run at number one on the US album chart with The Raw & The Cooked.

1990, The Big Day, free festival took place in Glasgow, Scotland with Wet Wet Wet, Deacon Blue, Hothouse Flowers, Sheena Easton, Texas, Hue and Cry, John Martyn, Eddi Reader, The Average White Band and others.

1995, Bryan Adams started a five week run at number one on the US singles chart with”‘Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman,” Taken from the film Don Juan De Marco it became Adams third US solo chart topper, and a number four hit in the UK.

2002, Paul McCartney, Sting, Elton John, Brian Wilson, Cliff Richard, Ozzy Osbourne, The Corrs, Will Young, Atomic Kitten and S Club 7 all appeared at The Queen’s Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace, London.

2011, American singer, songwriter Andrew Gold died in his sleep aged 59 from a heart attack. Had the 1977 US number seven single “Lonely Boy,” and the 1978 UK top five single “Never Let Her Slip Away.”

Born on June 3: Allen Ginsburg (1926); Ian Hunter (1939); Curtis Mayfield (1942); Michael Clarke, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Byrds (1943);  Dave Alexander, bass, Iggy Pop And The Stooge (1947); Mickey Finn, T Rex (1947); Billy Powell, keyboards, Lynyrd Skynyrd (1952); David Cole, C & C Music Factory (1962); Mike Gordon, Phish (1965)

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Today in Rock History – April 17

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1965, Bob Dylan”s debut album The Freewheelin” Bob Dylan was at No.1 on the album chart.

1965, Paul McCartney spent the day shopping for furniture in Portobello Road, London disguised in a cloth cap, moustache, glasses and overcoat.

1966, The Who performed at the Regal Cinema in London.

1967, Jimi Hendrix played in Luton, Bedfordshire, England.

1969, The Band step out from behind Bob Dylan for the first time to perform solo at San Francisco’s Winterland auditorium

1970, While performing at the White House at the invitation of President Richard Nixon, Johnny Cash was asked to perform “Okie From Muskogee.” Cash declined because it was not his song, but had been a hit for Merle Haggard. Instead, Cash sang his number one hit, “A Boy Named Sue”.

1970, Country Joe & the Fish along with the Hampton Grease Band played at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1970, Paul McCartney releases his first post-Beatles solo album, McCartney. The the versatile musician played every instrument on the record.

1970, Santana began sessions for what would be their breakthrough album Abraxas at Wally Heider Recording Studio, San Francisco, California. When released in September of this year, Abraxas peaked at number one on the US chart.

1971, All four Beatles had solo singles on the charts, Paul McCartney with “Another Day,” John Lennon, “Power To The People,” George Harrison, “My Sweet Lord,” and Ringo Starr with “It Don”t Come Easy.”

1971, Three Dog Night started a six week run at number one on the singles chart with “Joy To The World.” It was the group’s second chart topper.

1972, The Grateful Dead perform at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark during their legendary Europe ’72 tour.

1972, Keith Richards girlfriend Anita Pallenberg gave birth to their second child, daughter Dandelion.

1973, Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side of the Moon went gold in the US. The LP went on to stay in the US chart for more than ten years and become the longest charting rock record of all time.

1973, Yes appeared at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

1973, Tito and John Jackson from The Jackson Five were arrested for buying stolen TV and stereo equipment.

1974, Vinnie Taylor, guitarist with US rock and roll revival band Sha Na Na, was found dead in a Holiday Inn hotel room in Charlottesville, Virginia from a drug overdose. Sha Na Na played at the Woodstock Festival, their 90-second appearance in the Woodstock film brought the group national attention. The group appeared in the movie Grease as Johnny Casino & The Gamblers.

1975, Pink Floyd performed at the Coliseum in Denver, Colorado.

1975, Elvis Presley bought a Convair 880 Jet formally owned by Delta Airlines for $250,000, which he re-christened Lisa Marie. Presley spent a further $600,000 refurbishing the Jet to include personal quarters, a meeting area and a dance floor.

1976, David Bowie performed at Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland.

1977, The Stranglers, Cherry Vanilla, The Police, and The Jam all appeared at The Roundhouse, London, England.

1978, Genesis played at The Forum, Inglewood, California.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Cameron Indoor Stadium, on the campus of Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

1983, Felix Pappalardi, producer and bass player with American rock band Mountain was shot dead by his wife Gail Collins during a jealous rage. Collins was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to four years in prison. Pappalardi who was 43, had produced the  albums Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire by Cream

1987, Reggae drummer and percussion player Carlton Barrett of The Wailers was shot dead outside his house in Kingston, Jamaica. He joined Bob Marley and The Wailers in 1970, wrote the Marley song “War.” Barrett was the originator of the one-drop rhythm, a percussive drumming style.

1991, Nirvana appeared at the OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington, where they played a new song, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” live for the first time.

1994, Pink Floyd started a four-week run at number one on the UK album chart with The Division Bell, their fourth chart topping album.

1998, Linda McCartney died after a long battle against cancer. She married Paul McCartney in 1969 when she was working as a photographer. As well as a being a member of Wings, she became an animal rights campaigner and launched her own brand of vegetarian food.

2004, Kurt Cobain’s Mark IV-style Mosrite Gospel guitar sold for $100,000 (£66,667) at the Icons of 20th Century Music auction held in Dallas, Texas. Other items sold included Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s song writing piano which sold for $140,000 (£93,333) and a 1966 Rickenbacker guitar owned by The Byrds Roger McGuinn’s sold for $99,000 (£66,000.)

2008, Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen and a member of The E Street Band, died of cancer at the age of 58. Federici had worked with Springsteen for over 40 years, starting with his early bands Steel Mill, and Child.

Born on April 17: Don Kirshner (1934); Roy Estrada, Frank Zappa Band (1943);  Jan Hammer, Mahavishnu Orchestra (1948); Pete Shelley, English drummer, The Buzzcocks (1955); Maynard James Keenan, American singer-songwriter, producer, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer,  Green Jellÿ (1964); LizPhair (1967); Matt Chamberlain, session drummer, Edie Brickell, Pearl Jam, Tori Amos, Morrissey, David Bowie, Elton John, Peter Gabriel, The Wallflowers, Kanye West, Garbage, John Mayer (1967)

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Today in Rock History – February 24

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Rolling-Stones-19631963, The Rolling Stones started a Sunday night residency at The Station Hotel, Richmond, Surrey. The Stones were paid $41 for the gig and played on the first night to a total of 66 people.

1965, The first full day of filming took place for The Beatles movie Help! with the group riding bicycles on location near London Airport, England.

1966, The Who perform at the Victoria Ballroom in Chesterfield, England, without Roger Daltrey, who had come down with laryngitis. Pete Townshend and John Entwistle share the vocals. Beforehand, John and Keith Moon sit in with the opening act, The Fruit Eating Bears.

1967, The Who play two shows at the Palazzetto dello Sport in Bologna, Italy.

1967, Pink Floyd performed two shows on this date. An early show took place at the Ricky Tick Club, at the Thames Hotel in Windsor, and a late show, their regular Friday gig at the UFO, held at the Blarney Club on Tottenham Court Road in London.

1968, Jimi Hendrix, Soft Machine, Eire Apparent, and The Paupers played at CNE Coliseum in Toronto. After the concert, Hendrix reportedly jammed with Robbie Robertson and members of The Hawks, soon to be known as The Band, at an area club.

1969, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played their last ever-British performance when they appeared at the Royal Albert Hall.

1969, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Lafayette Club in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England.

1970, Syd Barrett participated in two recording sessions for the BBC at Maida Vale Studios in London. Playing along with Syd were David Gilmour, and Jerry Shirley on drums.

1972, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

1972, Genesis performed at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England.

1973, Roberta Flack had her second number one when “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” started a five-week run at the top. The song was written about US singer songwriter Don McLean.

1973, The Byrds made their final live appearance when they played at The Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey. It was their current incarnation of the group, which included Roger McGuinn, Clarence White, John York and Gene Parsons.

1974, Yes appeared at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.

led-zeppelin-physical-graffiti1975, Led Zeppelin released their sixth album Physical Graffiti in the UK. Recording sessions had been disrupted when bassist and keyboard player John Paul Jones had proposed quitting the band, supposedly to become choirmaster at Winchester Cathedral, England, although in reality he just needed time to rest after Zeppelin’s demanding tour schedule. The group decided on a double album so they could feature songs left over from their previous albums Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV and Houses Of The Holy.

1976, The Eagles Greatest Hits became the first album to be certified platinum by the R.I.A.A. New certification’s represented sales of 1 million copies for albums and two million for singles.

1977, ZZ Top played at Cobo Arena, Detroit.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at Matsushita Denki Taiikukan, Hirakata City, Osaka, Japan.

1979, Rush appeared at the State Fairgrounds Coliseum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

1982, Winners at the Grammy Awards included John & Yoko Album of the year with Double Fantasy, Kim Carnes for Song of the year with Bette Davis Eyes, Quincy Jones won producer of the year, and Sheena Easton best new act.

1982, King Crimson performed at the E J Thomas Auditorium, Akron, Ohio.

1982, The Police won best British group at the first annual Brit Awards held in London. Adam And The Ants won best album for Kings Of The Wild Frontier, Cliff Richard won British Male Solo Artist, and Randy Crawford won British Female Solo Artist. British Breakthrough Act went to The Human League. British Producer was Martin Rushent, and Outstanding Contribution went to John Lennon.

1984, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at the Palace Theatre, Albany, New York.

1992, Kurt Cobain married Courtney Love in Waikiki, Hawaii. The press reported that the couple were expecting a baby on Sept 10th of that year.

2000, Carlos Santana won eight awards at the Grammy Awards. Before the Supernatural album, the guitarist had not had a top ten album since 1981. Sting won two awards, one for best pop album and another for best male pop vocalist. Sir Elton John won the legend award, and Phil Collins the best soundtrack award for Tarzan.

2004, Estelle Axton, who helped create the legendary US soul music label Stax, died in hospital in Memphis, aged 85. Stax was home to Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas, Isaac Hayes and Booker T and the MG’s and the Stax studio, “Soulsville USA” was second only to Motown in its production of soul hits during its 1960s heyday.

2014, Franny Beecher, the lead guitarist for Bill Haley & His Comets from 1954 to 1962, died in his sleep from natural causes. He was 92 years old. He continued to perform with surviving members of the Comets into 2006.

Born on February 24: Paul Jones, Manfred Mann (1942); Nicky Hopkins (1944); Rupert Holmes, “The Pina Colada Song” (1947); and Lonnie Turner, Steve Miller Band  (1947); George Thorogood (1950); Michelle Shocked (1962)

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Song Of The Day – “Bacon Fat” by Andre Williams and his New Group

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andrewilliamsOh lawd, have moicey…this “Bacon Fat” is show nuff greasy!

I listened to Taj Mahal’s 1969 double album Giant Step earlier this week for the piece I wrote on his cover version of “Take A Giant Step.” The album also has a version of the song “Bacon Fat” that is credited to J.R. Robertson and Garth Hudson of The Band.

Upon digging deeper, I found out that “Bacon Fat” was originally written by Andre Williams, who scored a top-ten hit with the song in 1956, and the erroneous writing credit probably stems from an arrangement credit they received for the song when they were performing as Levon & The Hawks shortly after they left Ronnie Hawkins and before they joined forces with Bob Dylan.

Williams cut the original “Bacon Fat” for the Fortune record label along with several other hits including “Jail Bait” and “Greasy Chicken.” When “Bacon Fat” began to take off on the charts, Fortune leased the record to Epic Records for national distribution and the song climbed all the way to #9 on the singles chart. Contrary to popular belief, “Bacon Fat” is not an ode to clogged arteries or some weird sexual proclivity for food by-products, but rather the “Bacon Fat” of this song is a dance.

Early on, Williams realized he wasn’t gifted with a voice as good as other soul singers of the day like Clyde McPhatter or Jackie Wilson, so he began to talk over his records instead of sing. As a result, many people have credited him as “The Father Of Rap” for developing a new style.

Following his stint with Fortune, Williams spent four years working at Motown as a recording artist, arranger and songwriter. Although he did not release any records for the label, he did co-write Stevie Wonder’s first hit “Thank You For Loving Me,” and “Twine Time,” a hit for Alvin Cash and the Crawlers. His best known composition is “Shake A Tail Feather,” which became a big hit for Ike & Tina Turner.

After supervising the recording of two albums by Motown group, The Contours, Williams became a roadie for Edwin Starr before signing with Chess Records in 1966. He recorded many great R&B tunes for Chess, although none became big hits. During the 1970s, Williams also wrote for Parliament and Funkadelic.

A long period of drug addiction followed before he was signed to Chicago’s Bloodshot Records in 1998 where he recorded records with The Sadies (who were also covered in this column last week for their work with John Doe), Jon Spencer and Two Star Tabernacle (featuring a young Jack White). He was also the subject of a documentary, Agile, Mobile, Hostile that premiered at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival.

Williams released two albums in 2012 on Bloodshot Records and continues to tour around the world today.

Today in Rock History – November 25

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Jimi Hendrix-19661966, Jimi Hendrix is introduced to the British press when The Experience play London’s Bag O’Nails club.

1967, The Who play the first of two nights at The Village Theatre in New York City. The Vagrants, with guitarist Leslie West, and The Rich Kids open for them.

1967, Spirit, Country Joe & the Fish, and Moby Grape perform at the Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1968, Yes plays at the Revolution Club, London.

1969, The Rolling Stones appeared at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1969, John Lennon returned his MBE to The Queen on the grounds of the UK’s involvement in the Nigeria Biafra war, America in Vietnam, and against his latest single “Cold Turkey” slipping down the charts.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appears at the National Guard Armory, Birmingham, Alabama.

1970, Pink Floyd performed at Friedrich Ebert Halle, Ludwigshafen, Germany.

1971, The Doors announce they will carry on, even without Jim Morrison, who died earlier in the year.

1972, Chuck Berry was at number one on the UK singles chart with “My Ding a-Ling,” his only UK chart topper.

1972, London’s Rainbow Theater cancels the premiere of Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii after the theater owner and the promoter could not come to terms.

1973, The Grateful Dead perform at Feyline Field in Tempe, Arizona.

1974, UK singer, songwriter Nick Drake died in his sleep aged 26 of an overdose of tryptasol, an anti-depressant drug. Drake signed to Island Records when he was twenty years old, recorded the classic 1972 album Pink Moon. In 2000, Volkswagen featured the title track from Pink Moon in a television advertisement, and within a month Drake had sold more records than he had in the previous thirty years.

1974, Genesis played at Allen Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio.

1975, The Who perform at the Murphy Centre, on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.

band-last-waltz1976, The Band made their final performance as The Last Waltz. The show also featured Joni Mitchell, Dr John, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton and others. Martin Scorsese filmed the event.

1977, Aerosmith played at the Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas.

1978, The Police appeared at The Electric Ballroom in London, England.

1978, Eric Clapton played at City Hall, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England.

1979, Fleetwood Mac performs at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1979, ZZ Top appeared at Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee.

1980, Black Sabbath plays at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney, Australia.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Jefferson Coliseum, Birmingham, Alabama.

1984, The cream of the British pop world gathered at S.A.R.M. Studios, London to record the historic “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The single, which was written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, featured Paul Young, Bono, Boy George, Sting and George Michael. It went on to sell over three million copies in the UK, becoming the bestselling record ever, and raised over £8 million ($13.6 million) worldwide.

1992, The Bodyguard, opened nation-wide featuring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. The film which was Houston’s acting debut was written by Lawrence Kasdan in the 1970s, originally as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross. It became the second-highest-grossing film worldwide in 1992 with the soundtrack becoming the best-selling soundtrack of all time, selling more than 42 million copies.

1993, Pete’s Townshend’s musical version of Hughes’ children’s’ story The Iron Man opens in London for a short run. David Thacker is the Production Director, while Anthony Castro serves as the Music Director.

1996, A statue in Montreux, Switzerland by sculptor Irena Sedlecka was erected as a tribute to Freddie Mercury.  It was unveiled by Freddie’s father and Montserrat Caballé, with bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor also in attendance. The statue stands almost 10 feet (3m) high overlooking Lake Geneva.

2001, American country music artist Garth Brooks went to number one on the US album chart with his ninth studio album Scarecrow, the last album by Brooks before his ten-year hiatus.

2007, Kevin Dubrow, the frontman with metal band Quiet Riot, was found dead in his Las Vegas home at the age of 52. Their 1983 release Metal Health was the first metal album to top the US charts. The band’s biggest hit was “Cum on Feel the Noize,” a cover of the Slade song which they are said to have grudgingly recorded in just one take.

2011, Don DeVito, a longtime Columbia Records executive who produced the key Bob Dylan albums Blood on the Tracks and Desire, died aged 72 after a sixteen-year battle with prostate cancer. DeVito had also worked with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Aerosmith. DeVito started off as a guitarist touring for Al Kooper, and had his own band, The Sabres, which later broke up mid-tour. According to Columbia, DeVito was stranded in Fort Smith, Arkansas, when he happened to meet Johnny Cash and developed what would become a lifelong friendship. Cash would later introduce DeVito to Dylan.

2012, Earl “Speedo” Carroll, lead vocalist for the doo-wop group The Cadillacs, died in a nursing home in New York at the age of 75, following a stroke.. The group’s biggest hit was “Speedoo,” Carroll’s subsequent nickname. It was released in 1955. Carroll also had diabetes.

Born on November 25: Percy Sledge (1940); Bev Bevan, drummer The Move, Electric Light Orchestra (1950); Steve Rothery, guitar, Marillion (1959); Amy Grant (1960); Mark Lanegan, Screaming Trees, The Gutter Twins (1964); Rodney Sheppard, guitar, Sugar Ray (1967)

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Song Of The Day – “Did You See?” by John Simon

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johnsimonJohn Simon’s 1970 debut album for Warner Brothers, called John Simon’s Album, was a culmination of the many album projects he produced over the two years it took to record. While a staff producer at Columbia Records, Simon produced such classics as Simon & Garfunkel’s Bookends, Big Brother & The Holding Company’s Cheap Thrills, Leonard Cohen’s Songs By Leonard Cohen, Blood Sweat & Tears’ Child Is Father To The Man, The Electric Flag’s self-titled debut album and The Cyrkle’s Paul Simon-penned hit “Red Rubber Ball.”

Simon met Albert Grossman through his work with Peter Yarrow on the film You Are What You Eat, who in turn introduced him to The Band. Simon helped them negotiate their record contract with Capitol and produced their first two albums, Music From Big Pink and The Band.  He also produced Mama Cass Elliot’s “Dream A Little Dream Of Me,” Peter Paul & Mary’s Late Again, Seals And Croft’s Down Home and Gordon Lightfoot’s Did She Mention My Name for other labels.

Simon was also a prolific session musician, participating on records by Howlin’ Wolf, Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal, John Hartford, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison and Dave Mason. He even played the tuba on The Band’s “Rag Mama Rag.”

So it should come as no surprise that when Simon set out to record his debut album, many of his musical friends including Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, Delaney Bramlett, Leon Russell, Jim Gordon, Carl Radle, Jim Price, Rita Coolidge and Bobby Whitlock joined in the recording sessions.

It easy to play spot the influence all over this album and you can hear elements of Randy Newman’s quirkiness and Brian Wilson’s psychedelia on “The Elves’ Song,” “Railroad Train Runnin’ Up My Back” and today’s Song Of the Day, ”Did You See?,” which sounds like a lost outtake from The Beach Boys’ Friends album. There are echoes of BS&T on the horn-fueled “Tannenbaum,” and “Davey’s On The Road Again,” (which was co-written by Robbie Robertson) and hints of The Band’s own brand of Americana on tracks like “Rain Song” and “Don’t Forget What I Told You.”

It’s hard to tell why neither of Simon’s albums on Warner Bros. did any significant  business, but they both stand up well next to the classic albums of the era that he produced. Simon sporadically continued to produce albums through the years, most notably Steve Forbert’s Jackrabbit Slim, The Band’s Islands and The Last Waltz, Bobby Charles’ Small Town Talk, Al Kooper’s Act Like Nothing’s Wrong and the cast album of Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. He also released several more solo albums throughout the years.

Today in Rock History – October 1

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bob-dylan-band-19651965, Bob Dylan appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York City and introduced his new touring band made up of guitarist Robbie Robertson, organist Garth Hudson, bassist Rick Danko, pianist Richard Manual and drummer Levon Helm. They will become known simply as The Band.

1965, The Rolling Stones played at The ABC Regal in Chester, Cheshire, England.

1966, Jimi Hendrix appeared live for the first time in the UK when he jammed with Cream at their gig at London Polytechnic.

1966, The Who performed at Imperial Ballroom in Nelson, Lancashire, England.

1967, thieves broke into Mick Jagger’s London flat and stole jewellery and furs belonging to his then girlfriend Marianne Faithfull.

1967, Pink Floyd, supported by Tomorrow, The Incredible String Band, and Tim Rose performed two shows for Sunday’s At the Saville, at the Saville Theatre on Shaftsbury Avenue in London.

1967, The Who, opening for Herman’s Hermits appear at the Mississippi State Coliseum in Jackson. In honor of their location, they do a one-time-only cover of Nancy Sinatra’s hit song “Jackson.” After the show, official band photographer Tom Wright takes Pete Townshend to a local doctor. He stitches up his finger that he had sliced to the bone doing his trademark windmills. The doctor says Pete won’t be able to play for a month. Pete replies that he’ll just glue his pick to the bandage.

1967, The first edition of UK BBC Radio 1’s Top Gear was aired. Presented by John Peel and Pete Drummond they featured The Move, Traffic, Pink Floyd, Tim Rose and Tomorrow, featuring Keith West.

jimi-hendrix-funeral1970, Jimi Hendrix was buried at The Greenwood Cemetery at the Dunlop Baptist Church, Seattle. Mourners and attendees included Jimi’s father Al and stepmother June, brother Leon, sister Janie, grandmother Nora, Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell, Eddie Kramer, Miles Davis, Johnny Winter and his manager Steve Paul, Michael Jeffreys (Jimi’s manager – who many believe was behind Jimi’s death). One notable absence was Jimi’s close friend Eric Burdon, who stated “Jimi hated Seattle” and felt it was inappropriate for him to be buried there.

1971, The Bee Gees played at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Community Concourse Convention Hall in San Diego, California.

1972, David Bowie performed at the Music Hall in Boston, Massachusetts.

1973, King Crimson played at the Ice Arena, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

1974, Roxy Music appeared at De Montfort Hall, Leicester, England.

1975, 39 year old Al Jackson, drummer for Booker T. And The MGs, was shot and killed by a burglar at his home. His wife was questioned about the killing because she was arrested in July for shooting her husband in the chest during a domestic dispute. He wasn’t badly hurt and the charges were dismissed when his wife claimed self-defense. Jackson had returned home to what police described as a botched robbery attempt. According to Jackson’s wife, an intruder made her answer the door and then threw her husband to the floor demanding money. Jackson was forced to lie face down and then was shot in the back five times. The identity of the culprit remains a mystery.

1976, The Grateful Dead played at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana.

1977, Elton John became the first musician to be honored in New York City’s Madison Square Hall Of Fame.

1977, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Paramount Theater in Portland, Oregon.

1978, Golden Earring released Grab It For A Second, their thirteenth studio album. They had been touring with Ted Nugent the previous year and wanted to make a hard rock album. Unfortunately, the label chose Jimmy Iovine, a pop producer.  It was the last Golden Earring album to feature Eelco Gelling on second guitar.

1978, Rory Gallagher released Photo-Finish, his seventh solo studio album.  The band was stripped back down to a power trio and featuring Ted McKenna, ex- Sensational Alex Harvey Band on drums. Stand out tracks were “Shin Kicker”, Shadow Play” and “Overnight Bag.” It been said this album was influenced by Rory attending a Sex Pistols gig in 1977, with Rory saying “That was the worst gig I ever saw and it was also the best I ever saw.”

1978, Yes performed at the Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas.

1980, Rush played at the Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, Maine.

1981, The Pretenders were forced to cancel the last leg of a US tour after drummer Martin Chambers put his hand through a windowpane, cutting tendons and arteries.

1982, Sony launched its first compact disc player, the CDP-101, for 168,000 yen ($730, £456).

john-cougar-american-fool1982, John Cougar went to number one on both the album and singles chart with the album American Fool and the single “Jack And Diane.”

1983, A David Bowie world convention was held at The Cunard Hotel in London. The event had the largest collection of Bowie merchandise ever assembled.

1987, Def Leppard kicked off the North American leg of their Hysteria world tour at Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls, New York.

1988, Bon Jovi scored their first number one album with New Jersey, their fourth release. The follow-up to Slippery When Wet produced five Billboard Hot 100 top ten singles, the most top ten hits to date for a hard rock album. “Bad Medicine” and “I’ll Be There for You” both hit number one on Billboard Hot 100.

1990, Forbes Magazine listed New Kids On The Block as the fifth richest entertainers in the US with an income of $78 million.

2004, Canadian bassist Bruce Palmer died of a heart attack. He was a member of The Mynah Birds and The Buffalo Springfield. Also worked with Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young and Neil Young.

2007, Radiohead’s official website crashed after the band announced that their new album In Rainbows would only be available to order via radiohead.com. Fans could pre-order the download at any price they choose or pay £40 ($64) for a “discbox,” which included two CDs, two records, plus artwork and booklets.

Born on October 1:  Bonnie Owens, The Strangers (1929); Richard Harris, actor, singer (1930); Albert Collins, bluesman (1932); Julie Andrews (1935); Herb Fame, Peaches and Herb (1942); Jerry Martini, sax, Sly and The Family Stone (1943); Donny Hathaway, soul, blues vocalist (1945); Martin Tuner, bass, Wishbone Ash (1947); Mariska Veres, singer, Shocking Blue (1947); Cub Koda, guitarist, songwriter, Brownsville Station (1948); Brian Greenway, April Wine (1951); Martin Cooper, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (1958); and Youssou N’dour, Senegalese singer, percussionist (1959); Kevin Griffin, guitarist, Better Than Ezra (1968)

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Today in Rock History – September 22

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The Great Society

1965, San Francisco band The Great Society, featuring Grace Slick, make their live debut at The Coffee Gallery, North Beach, California. The lineup featured Grace, her then-husband Jerry Slick on drums, his brother Darby Slick on guitar, David Miner on vocals and guitar, Bard DuPont on bass, and Peter van Gelder on flute, bass, and saxophone.

1967, The Doors appeared on the Murray the K show on WPIX-TV in New York City performing “People Are Strange” and “Light My Fire.”

1968  Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum gives its Beatles statues their fifth hair and clothes makeover in four years, in keeping with the lads’ taste for hippie fashions.

1968, The Amboy Dukes played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, A new weekly TV show,  The Music Scene aired on ABC for the first time. Stevie Wonder Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Tom Jones, Cass Elliot, James Brown, Janis Joplin, and Sly and the Family Stone were all booked to appear on the show.

1969, The Band released their self-titled album, which peaked at number nine on the US chart, and included “Rag Mama Rag,” “Up on Cripple Creek,” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” In 2009, the album was preserved into the National Recording Registry because the album was “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and reflects life in the United States.”

1970, The Rolling Stones performed at the Palais des Sport in Paris.

1971, David Crosby and Graham Nash appear at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio.

Bowie-ziggy-stardust1972, David Bowie kicked of the North American leg of his Ziggy Stardust world tour at the Music Hall in Cleveland, Ohio.

1973, The Rolling Stones scored their eighth No.1 album when “Goats Head Soup” started a two-week run at the top of the charts.

1974, The Sonny Bono Comedy Revue was shown for the first time on ABC-TV.

1976, Rush perform at The Dome Arena, Rochester, New York.

1977, Yes appear at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California.

1978, Jethro Tull released the live album Bursting Out. It was recorded at various locations during the European Heavy Horses tour in May and June 1978

1978, Black Sabbath plays at Selland Arena, Fresno, California.

1979, Gary Numan had his second and final UK number one single with “Cars.” Also on this day Gary Numan went to number one on the UK album chart with The Pleasure Principle.

1979, Jackson Browne, Chaka Khan, Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt and Tom Petty, appeared at Madison Square Garden, New York for two anti-nuclear benefit shows.

1979, Def Leppard had their first major live review when UK music weekly Melody Maker reviewed a gig the band had played in Wolverhampton.  The band had just released their debut 3-track single, and featured a 15 year-old drummer

1981, Composer Harry Warren died aged 88. He wrote over 800 songs including “I Only Have Eyes For You,” a hit for The Flamingos and Art Garfunkel, “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “That’s Amore,” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” Warren’s songs were featured in over 300 films.

1983, During a UK comeback tour The Everly Brothers appeared at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In the audience, Paul and Linda McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, and Mickey Dolenz.

1984, Echo And The Bunnymen, Spear Of Destiny, The Sisters Of Mercy, The Redskins, and The Chameleons all appeared at the first York Rock Festival, York, England.

1985, The first Farm Aid benefit concert was held before a crowd of 80,000 people at the Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. Organized by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young, the event had been spurred on by Bob Dylan’s comments at Live Aid earlier in that year that he hoped some of the money would help American farmers. The star studded line-up of country stars included Alabama, Hoyt Axton, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels Band, John Denver, Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, Vince Gill, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Roger Miller, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Willie Nelson, Charley Pride, Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Rogers.

1987, The Grateful Dead play at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1990, Nirvana played their biggest gig to date when they appeared at the Motor Sports International Garage in Seattle. Drummer Dave Grohl who would audition for the band in a few days time, was in the audience of 15,000 people.

1990, Garth Brooks album No Fences entered the US album chart. It went on to become the biggest selling country album of all time and sold over 13 million copies in the first five years of release.

1991, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Boston Garden in Boston.

2001, A Tribute to Heroes was aired commercial-free on most of the major US TV networks. The live program was organized to raise money following the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and New York’s World Trade Center. Neil Young, Tom Petty, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, U2, Limp Bizkit, Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam all performed. Manning the telephones to take pledges were celebrities including Jack Nicholson, Jim Carrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Goldie Hawn, Robin Williams, Meg Ryan, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kurt Russell, Adam Sandler and many more.

2004, Cat Stevens, who now goes by the name of Yusuf Islam, was escorted from a diverted transatlantic flight and refused entry into America by FBI agents. His name showed up on a US watch list after his United Airlines  had taken off from London. The flight landed in Maine where Islam, who was traveling with his 21-year-old daughter, was detained and questioned.

Born on September 22: David Coverdale, vocals, Whitesnake (1949); Richard Fairbrass, singer, Right Said Fred (1953); Debby Boone (1956); Nick Cave (1957); and Joan Jett (1960); Will Farquarson, guitar, Bastille (1983)

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Today in Rock History – August 21

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1965, The Rolling Stones started a three week run at No.1 on the album chart with Out Of Our Heads the group’s first No.1 album.

1965, During a 17 date UK tour, The Who played at the Palais in Bournemouth.

1966, On their last ever US tour The Beatles performed in two cities due to a cancellation due to rain the previous day. First they performed at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. Then they flew to St. Louis, Missouri, for a concert at Busch Stadium, where they performed under a tarpaulin due to heavy rain. It was this gig that convinced Paul McCartney that The Beatles should stop performing live.

1967, The Doors started recording their second album Strange Days at Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood, California.

1968,Tommy James and The Shondells returned to the No.1 position for the second time with the single “Mony Mony.”

Lynyrd Skynyrd

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Carousel Theatre in Framingham, Massachusetts.

1969, Yes played at the Star Club, Hamburg, Germany.

1970, Led Zeppelin performed at Assembly Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma

1971, The Band performed at Borough of York Stadium in Toronto, Ontario.

1971, Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come, Hawkwind, Duster Bennett, Brewers Droop, Indian Summer, Graphite, Queen all appeared at the Tregye Festival Truro, Cornwall, England.

1972, Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane was arrested after a fight broke out on stage during a concert when the police had been called “pigs.” Grace Slick was maced and another group member injured at the show in Akron.

1974, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young appear at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1976, The Rolling Stones, 10CC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia and Hot Tuna all appeared at The Knebworth Festival, Hertfordshire, England.

1977, Yes appeared at War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, New York.

1978, AC/DC  performed at the Paradise Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts.

1979, Van Halen played at the MECCA Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Cape Cod Coliseum, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.

1982, U2 singer Bono married Alison Stewart, his girlfriend from 1975 at All Saints Church, Raheny in Ireland. U2 bassist Adam Clayton acted as Bono’s best man.

1983, The Grateful Dead performed at Frost Amphitheater on the campus of Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.

1983, Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone had a four-hour brain surgery operation, after being found unconscious in a New York Street where he had been involved in a fight.

1997, Oasis’ third album Be Here Now, became one of the fastest selling albums ever, shifting over 350,000 units on the first day of release. The cover image for Be Here Now was shot at Stocks House in Hertfordshire, the former home of Victor Lownes, the head of the Playboy Clubs in the UK.

2005, Robert Moog, inventor of the synthesizer died aged 71, four months after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Dr Moog built his first electronic instrument, a theremin – aged 14 and made the MiniMoog, “the first compact, easy-to-use synthesizer” in 1970. He won the Polar prize, Sweden’s, music equivalent to the Nobel prize, in 2001. Wendy Carlos’ 1968 Grammy award-winning album, Switched-On Bach, brought Dr Moog to prominence.

2008, Drummer Buddy Harman died of congestive heart failure at age 79. He worked with Elvis Presley (“Little Sister,”) Patsy Cline (“Crazy,”) Roy Orbison (“Pretty Woman,”) Johnny Cash (“Ring Of Fire’,”)  and Tammy Wynette (“Stand By Your Man.”) Harman was the first house drummer for The Grand Ole Opry and can be heard on over 18,000 recordings.

Born on August 21: Count Basie (1904); Kenny Rogers (1937); Tom Costello, Santana (1941); Jackie DeShannon singer (1944);  Joe Strummer (1952); Budgie, Siouxsie & the Banshees and Kim Sledge, Sister Sledge (1957)

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Today in Rock History – August 17

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The Byrds circa 1965

1965, The Byrds were forced to cancel a concert during their UK tour at The Guildhall, Portsmouth when only 250 of the 4,000 tickets had been sold.

1966, During a North American tour The Beatles played two shows at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Canada. The attendance for each show was 18,000.

1967, The Who’s manager Kit Lambert was at Columbia Recording Studio in Hollywood, California mixing the mono masters for “Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand” (U.S. single version,) “Summertime Blues,” “Someone’s Coming,” and “Relax.

1967, Herman’s Hermits, Neil Diamond, and The Who performed at Memorial Auditorium in Chatanooga, Tennessee.

1968, Wheels of Fire by Cream enters its second week at number one on the US album charts.

1968, The Who perform at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona.

1968, The Rascals (formally the Young Rascals), started a five week run at number one on the singles chart with “People Got To Be Free.” The group had thirteen top 40 hits.

1969, The final day of the three day Woodstock festival took place at Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York. Acts who appeared included Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Sha Na Na, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, The Band, Ten Years After, Johnny Winter and Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Over 186,000 tickets had been sold but on the first day the flimsy fences and ticket barriers had come down. Organizers announced the concert would be a free event, prompting thousands more to head for the concert. There were two deaths, a teenager was killed by a tractor as he lay in his sleeping bag and another died from a drug overdose.

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at Oakland Musical Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut.

1970, Led Zeppelin performed at the Hampton Roads Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia. The concert was rescheduled from August 10th.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Boston Commons in Boston, Massachusetts. Duane played “Soul Serenade” on slide guitar in tribute to King Curtis, who died four days earlier.  J. Geils played on “Stormy Monday.” Wet Willie opened.

1972, Deep Purple performs the last of three shows at the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo. These recordings were used in the Made in Japan live album.

1973, Former Temptations singer Paul Williams was found dead in his car, after shooting himself. He owed $80,000 in taxes and his celebrity boutique business had failed.

1973, KISS appeared at The Daisy, Amityville, New York.

1974, Eric Clapton started a four-week run at number one on the album chart with 461 Ocean Boulevard

1974, UK group Paper Lace scored their only US number one single with “The Night Chicago Died.” It climbed to the third spot in the UK.

1974, Aerosmith played at the Civic Center, Charleston, West Virginia.

1975, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1976, Yes performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1977, Rush headlined at RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa.

1979, The New York Post reported that Anita Pallenberg, the wife of Keith Richards, was linked to a witches coven in South Salem, New York where Richards owned a house. A policeman claimed he was attacked by a flock of black-hooded, caped people and a local youth claimed he had been invited by Pallenburg to take part in “pot smoking sex orgies.” Locals also claimed they found “ritualistic stakes” and small animals that had been sacrificed near the house.

1980, The Grateful Dead appeared at Municipal Auditorium Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.

1982, ZZ Top played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario.

1983, David Bowie performed at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona.

1984, Bruce Springsteen appeared at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey.

1987, Session drummer Gary Chester died of cancer. He had been a member of The Coasters and played on many major hits for other acts including “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Under The Boardwalk,” “Walk On By,” “It’s My Party.”

1991, Nirvana shot the video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” at GMT Studios in Culver City, California, costing less than $50,000 (£31,250) to make, the shoot features real Nirvana fans as the audience. The video won Nirvana the Best New Artist and Best Alternative Group awards at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.

1999, Led Zeppelin topped a chart of Britain’s most bootlegged musicians, compiled by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), after identifying 384 bootleg titles featuring Led Zeppelin performances. The bootleg chart was complied from the BPI’s archive of some 10,000 recordings seized over the past 25 years. The Beatles, came in second with 320 entries, other acts listed included The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd.

2002, Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland held the number one position on the US singles chart with “Dilemma.” The UK number one album was By The Way by The Red Hot Chili Peppers and the US chart topping album was The Rising by Bruce Springsteen.

2008, Jackson Browne was suing US Republican presidential candidate John McCain for using one of his songs without permission. Browne claimed the use of his song “Running on Empty” in an ad was an infringement of copyright and would lead people to conclude he endorses McCain. Browne was seeking more than $75,000 (£40,000) in damages.

2012, Three members of the Russian feminist punk rock protest group Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years imprisonment after they had staged a performance on the soleas of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior in a protest directed at the Orthodox Church leader’s support for President Putin during his election campaign.

Born on August 17: John Seiter, Spanky And Our Gang (1944); Gary Talley guitar, The Box Tops (1947); Sib Hashian, drums, Boston (1949); Kevin Rowland, singer, Dexy’s Midnight Runners (1953); Colin Moulding, XTC (1955); Belinda Carlisle (1958); and Steve Gorman, drums, The Black Crowes (1965)

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