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Today in Rock History – July 2

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1966, David Bowie and The Lower Third appeared at The Lion Hotel in Warrington, England, (they were paid £30 for the gig). Also appearing was The Powerhouse which featured Eric Clapton Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood and Paul Jones.

1967, Jeff Beck, Cream and John Mayall all appeared at London’s Saville Theatre.

1967,  Jimi Hendrix performed at the Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles, California.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared in concert at Digbeth Civic Hall in Birmingham, West Midlands, England.

1968, The Human Beinz, Gary Pucket & The Union Gap, plus The Beach Boys played at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the National Guard Armory, Auburn, Alabama.

1969, Working at Abbey Road Paul McCartney recorded “Her Majesty.” Then Paul, George, and Ringo record 15 takes of “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight.” John Lennon was absent, having been hospitalized in Golspie, Scotland, after a serious car accident a day earlier.

1969, Thunderclap Newman started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with the Pete Townshend produced track “Something In The Air.” The song was featured on the soundtrack for the movie, The Magic Christian. The the group included future Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch.

1969, Bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell quit the Jimi Hendrix Experience after completing the three-day Denver Pop Festival. Hendrix and drummer Mitch Mitchell would later team with bassist Billy Cox to form the short-lived Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, who played at the Woodstock Festival.

1970, The Who performed at Freedom Palace, Kansas City, Missouri.

1971, Queen appeared at Surrey College, England. This was the group’s first gig with the line-up of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon.

1971, The Grateful Dead play only one of two shows they did in the month of July, at the Fillmore West in their hometown of San Francisco, California.

1972, David Bowie appeared at the Rainbow Pavilion, Torquay, England.

1973, Roxy Music’s synthesizer player Brian Eno quit after personality clashes with the band’s singer Bryan Ferry.

1973, King Crimson played at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.

1974, Eric Clapton performed at the International Amphitheater, Chicago.

1975, The Rolling Stones played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1976, Brian Wilson rejoins the Beach Boys for the first time on stage since deciding he’d rather spend his life in bed. Aside from singing “In My Room” at the Anaheim, California, performance, he mostly sits staring at his keyboard.

1977, Bill Conti went to number one on the singles chart with “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme from the film Rocky.

1979, Aerosmith appeared at the Canadian National Exhibition Stadium, Toronto.

1979, Sony introduced the Walkman, the first portable audio cassette player. Over the next 30 years they sold over 385 million Walkmans in cassette, CD, mini-disc and digital file versions, and were the market leaders until the arrival of Apple’s iPod and other new digital devices.

1980, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart from The Grateful Dead were arrested on suspicion of starting a riot at the San Diego Sports Arena after they tried to interfere in a drug bust.

1981, Bruce Springsteen played the first of six nights at the new Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California.

1983, Rod Stewart started a three week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Baby Jane,” his sixth UK chart topper.

1988, Tracy Chapman started a three-week run at number one on the UK album chart with her self-titled debut LP. She was buoyed by her performance at the Nelson Mandela’s 70th Birthday Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium. The album was  also a chart topper in the US.

1991, Axl Rose caused a riot to break out during a Guns N’ Roses gig after leaping into the crowd to remove a camera from a fan at the Riverpoint Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights. Over 50 people were injured and 15 fans were arrested.

1999, R.E.M., Skunk Anansie, Barenaked Ladies, Blur, Blondie, Built To Spill, The Chemical Brothers, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Placebo, Suede and Wilco all appeared at the Oskilde Festival, Roskilde, Denmark.

2005, The world’s biggest music stars united in concerts around the world to put pressure on political leaders ahead of the G8 summit to address poverty in Africa. Concerts in ten cities, including London, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin, Johannesburg, Rome and Moscow played to hundreds of thousands of people. A TV audience of several hundred million watched the gigs. The London featured The Who, Madonna, U2, Coldplay, Sting, The Scissor Sisters, Keane, Paul McCartney and a Pink Floyd reunion.  Destiny’s Child, Jay-Z and Bon Jovi, Canada, Bryan Adams and Neil Young headlined in Philadelphia, while Bjork was featured in Tokyo, and Green Day played in Berlin.

Born on July 2: Tom Springfield, The Springfields (1936); Paul Williams, The Temptations (1940); Roy Brittan, E Street Band (1949); Johnny Colla, guitar, sax, Huey Lewis and the News (1952);  Pete Briquette,  The Boomtown Rats (1954); Mike Anger, The Blow Monkeys (1957); Rocky Gray, drummer, Evanescence (1974); and Daron Malakian, guitar System of a Down (1983)

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Today in Rock History – June 30

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Fleetwood Mac

1969, Fleetwood Mac, Pentangle and Duster Bennett all appeared at London’s Royal Albert Hall “Pop Proms.”

1969, King Crimson played at the Old Granary, Bristol, England.

1969, Pink Floyd performed a one hour show at the President’s Ball at the Top Rank Suite, in Cardiff, Wales.  It was presented by Llandaff Technical College. They were paid £100 ($150).

1971, Yes appeared at the Civic Center Music Hall, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

1972, Buddy Miles plays at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1973, David Bowie appeared at City Hall, Newcastle Upon Tyne

1973, George Harrison knocked Paul McCartney from the top of the US singles chart with “Give Me Love, Give Me Peace On Earth.” His second number one, and a top eight hit in the UK.

1974, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas.

1974, The Grateful Dead played at the Civic Center Arena in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1975, David Bowie begins filming The Man Who Fell to Earth.

1975, Cher married Greg Allman four days after her divorcing Sonny Bono, the couple split after ten days, followed by a three year on and off marriage.

1975, The Jackson Five announced that they were leaving Motown Records for Epic Records. The brothers were forced to change their name to The Jacksons since Motown owned the other name.

1976, Police raided the home of Neil Diamond searching for drugs, they found less than one ounce of marijuana.

1976, Stuart Goddard, (Adam Ant), placed the following ad in the classified section of the Melody Maker, “‘Beat on a bass, with the B-Sides.” Andy Warren answered the ad and the pair went on to form Adam and The Ants.

1977, Marvel Comics launched a comic book based on the rock group KISS.

1978, The Sex Pistols release “My Way,” as interpreted by Sid Vicious.

1978, host Martin Mull welcomes Jethro Tull, Robert Palmer, and Flo & Eddie on TV’s Midnight Special.

1980, The Who played at Veterans Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona.

1981, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

1984, Huey Lewis and the News went to number one on the US album chart with Sports.

1989, The Stone Roses played at Leeds Polytechnic in England. The gig almost didn’t take place after a security man wouldn’t let singer Ian Brown into the gig.

1990, New Kids On The Block started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Step By Step’, It was the group’s third US chart topper and a number two hit in the UK. Their album Step By Step also went to number one on the UK album chart.

1995, American soul singer Phyllis Hyman committed suicide by overdosing on pentobarbital and secobarbital in her New York City apartment aged 45. She was found hours before she was scheduled to perform at the Apollo Theatre, in New York.

2001, American guitarist and producer Chet Atkins died in Nashville aged 77. Recorded over 100 albums during his career, and produced records for Perry Como, Elvis Presley, Don Gibson, Jim Reeves and Waylon Jennings. He was a major influence on George Harrison and Mark Knopfler.

2001, Beach Boys member Al Jardine went to court in a bid to sue his former band mates, claiming he had been frozen out of the Beach Boys. The $4 million (£2.35 million) suit was filed against Mike Love, Brian Wilson, the Carl Wilson Trust, and Brother Records Incorporated in a New York Superior Court. In 1998 a US judge temporarily barred Jardine from performing under the name Beach Boys Family And Friends after legal action from Mike Love and Brother Records. Jardine lost the case in 2003.

2007, R.E.M. played a five-night series of shows at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre. Dubbed “working rehearsals” by the band, many songs from their forthcoming album Accelerate were debuted.

Born on June 30: Florence Ballard,  The Supremes (1943); Glenn Shorrock, singer-songwriter Little River Band (1944); Andy Scott, Sweet (1949); Stanley Clarke (1951); Adrian Wright, The Human League (1956);  Doug Sampson, Iron Maiden (1957); Yngwie Malmsteen, Swedish guitarist, songwriter (1963)

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Today in Rock History – June 25

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The Byrds

1966, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Love, Captain Beefheart, The Lovin Spoonful and Percy Sledge all appeared at The Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, California.

1966, Jackie Wilson was arrested for inciting a riot and refusing to obey a police order at a nightclub in Port Arthur, Texas. Wilson had a crowd of 400 whipped into a frenzy and refused to stop singing when requested to do so by police. He was later convicted of drunkenness and fined $30.

1966, Neil Diamond makes his first appearance on American Bandstand, serenading Dick Clark with “Solitary Man.”

1967, During a north American tour The Jimi Hendrix Experience gave a free afternoon concert in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. They then played another two shows that evening at the Fillmore West.

1967, 200 million people saw The Beatles perform “All You Need Is Love,”  broadcast live via satellite as part of the TV global link- up, Our World. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, Keith Moon and Gary Leeds provided backing vocals.

1969, The Hollies recorded “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.” Elton John played piano on the session.

1969,  Sly & the Family Stone record “Hot Fun in the Summertime.”

1970, Hall & Oates record together for the first time as Whole Oats.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band played at Fillmore East in New York City.

1972, David Bowie performed at Greyhound in London England.

1972, Led Zeppelin’s North American tour stops at the Forum in Inglewood, California.

1977, Marvin Gaye went to number one on the US singles chart with “Got To Give It Up,” his third US chart topper.

1978, The Grateful Dead performed at Autzen Stadium on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene.

1983, The Police scored their fourth UK number one album with Synchronicity, also a chart topper in the US and featuring the singles “Every Breath You Take” and “Wrapped Around Your Finger.”

Born on June 25: Eddie Floyd, soul singer (1935); Clint Warwick, The Moody Blues (1940);  Carly Simon (1945); Allen Lanier, Blue Oyster Cult (1946); Tim Finn, Split Endz, Crowded House (1952); David Paich, Toto (1954), George Michael (1963)

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Today in Rock History – June 24

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The Mothers of Invention

1966, The Mothers of Invention support comedian Lenny Bruce at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium.

1966, At the Cow Palace, the Beach Boys’ Summer Spectacular features performances by the Jefferson Airplane, the Lovin’ Spoonful, Percy Sledge, the Byrds, and the Sir Douglas Quintet.

1966, After holding a press conference aboard a yacht in New York City, The Rolling Stones kicked off their fifth North American tour at the Manning Bowl, Lynn, Massachusetts, with support acts The McCoys and The Standells.

1967, The Monkees went to number one on the US album charts with Headquarters, the group’s third chart topper.

1967, Pink Floyd make their debut performance on the BBC’s Top of the Pops, performing their new single “See Emily Play.” Syd Barrett wears a suit of velvet and satin.

1967, Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” entered the Billboard chart, where it would peak at number five. The song was written by the band around a melody composed by the group’s organist, Matthew Fisher. He was inspired by the chord progression of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Orchestral Suite in D,” composed between 1725 and 1739.

1969, Led Zeppelin recorded “Whole Lotta Love,” “What Is And What Should Never Be,” “Travelling Riverside Blues,” and “Communication Breakdown” for BBC Radio 1 at Maida Vale Studios, London. The session was broadcast on June 29, 1969.

1969, The Doors appeared at The Roach, New Orleans, Louisiana.

1972, David Bowie appeared at the Guildford City Hall, England, on his Ziggy Stardust world tour.

1972, In Fort Worth, Texas, the Rolling Stones film the concert that will be released as Ladies and Gentlemen, the Rolling Stones.

1973, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon.

1973, Longtime Blues Project fans are overcome in New York’s Central Park when Al Kooper rejoins his old band onstage.

1978, Genesis, Jefferson Starship, Jeff Beck, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, Devo, Brand X and The Atlanta Rhythm Section all appeared at Knebworth Park, England, tickets cost $10 (£6.66.)

1991, Frank Zappa took part at the concert “Adieu Soviet Army,” organized in Prague, as the farewell to the last soldiers of Soviet Red Army, leaving free Czechoslovakia (the Red Army had occupied Czechoslovakia since the Prague spring). This was probably Zappa’s last rock appearance on the stage and it is recorded on the album Adieu C. A. (Soviet Army).

1999, Eric Clapton put 100 of his guitars up for auction at Christie’s in New York City to raise money for his drug rehab clinic, the Crossroads Centre in Antigua. His 1956 Fender Stratocaster named Brownie, which was used to record the electric version of “Layla,” sold for a record $497,500 (£331,000.) The auction helped raise nearly $5 (£3.33) million for the clinic.

2001, Blink 182 scored their second US number one album with Take Off Your… The group’s fourth studio album has sold over 12 million copies worldwide and contains the singles “The Rock Show,” “Stay Together for the Kids,” and “First Date.”

2005, The Thrills, The Zutons, Doves, The Killers, White Stripes, Kaiser Chiefs, Ash, The Coral, Keane, New Order, Coldplay, James Blunt, Brian Wilson, Garbage, Primal Scream and Basement Jaxx all appeared at the UK Glastonbury Festival.

2007, The White Stripes went to number one on the UK album chart with Icky Thump the duo’s sixth and final studio album. Icky Thump won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2008.

2013, Former Devo drummer Alan Myers died aged 58 in Los Angeles, California, following a long bout with cancer. Myers drummed for Devo between 1976 and 1986

Born on this day: Arthur Brown (1942);  Jeff Beck (1944); Chris Wood- Traffic (1944); and Colin Blunstone, The Zombies (1945); Mick Fleetwood, English-American drummer, Fleetwood Mac John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers (1947);  Patrick Moraz, Swiss keyboard player, songwriter, Yes, The Moody Blues, Refugee (1948); Andy McCluskey, English singer-songwriter, bass player,  producer, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1959); – Dennis Danell, American singer, guitarist, Social Distortion (1961);  Richard Z. Kruspe, German guitarist, Rammstein, Emigrate, and First Arsch (1967)

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Today in Rock History – June 21

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1967, Jimi Hendrix and the Jefferson Airplane perform at San Francisco’s Fillmore.

1968, The Who appeared at Durham University, Durham, England.

1969, Young David Bowie signs with Mercury Records. The label has to wait three years for him to produce a successful follow-up to “Space Oddity.”

1969, Jimi Hendrix plays the Newport Jazz Festival for a whopping $125,000. At the time it’s the largest fee ever for a concert appearance.

1973, On American Bandstand’s 20th anniversary show, Dick Clark welcomes Little Richard, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Cheech & Chong, and Three Dog Night.

1974, Bob Dylan and the Band release the live album “Before the Flood.”

1974, Van Morrison, The Allman Brothers, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Tim Buckley, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and The Doobie Brothers all appeared at Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England. A special PA system was used for the event, claiming to be the best ever for an outside show, weighing 12 tons and needing five technicians.

1975, Elton John, The Beach Boys, Joe Walsh, Rufus and The Eagles all appeared in front of 120,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, London. Tickets cost $5.95.

1975, Captain and Tennille started a four week run at number one on the singles chart with the Neil Sedaka song “Love Will Keep Us Together.”

1975, Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore quit Deep Purple to form his own group Rainbow.

1975, The Eagles and The Doobie Brothers both appeared at the Oakland Coliseum, California, Elton John made a surprise appearance with both groups during the concert.

1976, Touring North America for the first time Wings played the last dates of their 31-date tour with three nights at the Los Angeles Forum. Several songs from the June 23rd show appeared on the album Wings over America.

1976, The Grateful Dead played at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1977, Aerosmith played at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on their 81-date Draw The Line Tour.

1980, The Beach Boys, Santana, Mike Oldfield, Elkie Brooks, Lindisfarne and The Blues Band all appeared at Knebworth ’80, in Knebworth Park, England

1986, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Tina Turner and Elton John all appeared at the fourth annual Prince’s Trust Rock Gala held in London.

1986, Genesis Invisible Touch became the band’s fourth UK number one album.

2001, John Lee Hooker, American blues singer and guitarist died in his sleep aged 83.  His songs have been covered by many artists including Cream, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison, The Yardbirds, The Doors and The White Stripes. He appeared and sang “Boom,Boom” in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers.

2011, Maroon 5 released “Moves Like Jagger,” featuring Christina Aguilera.  The video featured old footage of Jagger and his iconic dance moves. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 54th Grammy Awards.

Born on June 21: Lalo Schifrin, composer, Mission Impossible theme, Cool Hand Luke, Bullit soundtrack (1932); Miguel Vicens, Los Bravos (1944); Ray Davies (1944); Greg Munford, Strawberry Alarm Clock (1949); Nils Lofgren (1951); and Michael Einziger, Incubus (1976)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Graduation Day” by The Beach Boys

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BeachBoys64

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Graduation Day” by The Beach Boys

The Four Freshman took this song to the top twenty back in 1956 and the Wilson brothers were listening. And while The Beach Boys certainly were influenced by the Freshmen, the Freshmen were in turn influenced by vocal groups of the Big Band Era like The Pied Pipers and The Modernaires, as well as the close harmonies employed by numerous Barbershop Quartets that came before them. The song celebrates a rite of passage that many are embarking upon as we speak. I was torn between choosing this vocal group gem, or to let it all hang out and go with “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper.

Today in Rock History – June 4

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Procol Harum

1967, Procol Harum, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Denny Laine all appeared at The Saville Theatre London, England.

1967, The Monkees wins an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, beating out Andy Griffith, Bewitched, Get Smart, and Hogan’s Heroes.

1968, Having been arrested the month before on charges of marijuana possession, Rolling Stone Brian Jones elects for trial by jury. The rest of the Rolling Stones are in the studio working on tracks for Beggars Banquet and being filmed by Jean-Luc Godard for the movie One Plus One. However, the studio catches fire while the film crew shoots the band on the roof.

1969, Seven years after his first hit, Tommy Roe was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Dizzy,” his only chart topping hit.

1969, Hundreds of people in Glenrowan, Australia signed a petition protesting against the casting of Mick Jagger in the role of the Australian folk hero, Ned Kelly.

1970, Elvis Presley began five days of recording at RCA’s studio B in Nashville, starting each day at 6pm and working until dawn.

1971, Elton John appeared at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

1971, Alice Cooper performed at the Eastown Theater in Detroit, Michigan.

1971, Pink Floyd appeared at Philips Veranstal Tungshalle, Düsseldorf, Germany.

1972, Jethro Tull played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

1973, Murry Wilson, father of Beach Boys Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, dies of a heart attack. His alleged physical abuse left songwriting genius Brian deaf in one ear. Murray also managed the group when it was first starting out.

1974, David Bowie kicked off his 73-date Diamond Dogs tour at the Montreal, Forum in Canada.

1974, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

1975, The Rolling Stones became the first rock band to receive royalties for sales of their records in Russia.

1976, Elton John appeared at The Capitol Theatre, Leeds, England.

1976, Live recordings were made at the new wave venue GBGB’s of performances from Blondie, Mink DeVille, Talking Heads, Laughing Dogs and Tuff Darts. The tracks featured on the album Live At CBGB’S New York.

1976, Yes performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1976, The Sex Pistols appeared at The Lesser Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England. The now legendary night is regarded as a catalyst to the punk rock movement. In the audience was, Morrissey, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook (soon to form Joy Division) and Mark E Smith, (The Fall). Tickets cost £1 ($1.50.)

1977, Police cancel a planned Led Zeppelin performance in Tampa Bay, Fla., after fans rioted the night before, when the band’s set was interrupted by a vicious thunderstorm.

1977, Eric Clapton played at National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland.

1977, The Grateful Dead performed at the Forum in Inglewood, California.

1977, The Jam’s debut single “In The City” made it to number 40 on the UK singles chart. They went on to score 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1982, including four chart topping hits.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.

1978, David Bowie’s European tour plays at the  Scandanavium in Gothenberg, Sweden.

1979, Rush and Dire Straits performed at the Pinkpop Festival in Geleen, The Netherlands.

1980, Roxy Music appeared at Foret National, Brussels, Belgium.

1981, Bruce Springsteen played at Wembley Arena in London.

1983, The Police started a four week run at number one in the UK with “Every Breath You Take,” the group’s fifth and final chart topping single. It was taken from the band’s album Synchronicity. Sting won Song of the Year and The Police won Best Pop Performance for the song at the 1984 Grammy Awards.

1984, Bruce Springsteen released the album, Born In The USA, which became the best-selling album of 1985 in the United States, and Springsteen’s most successful album ever. The album produced a record-tying string of seven Top 10 singles, tying him with Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814.

1985, Elton John sued publisher Dick James Music, seeking the rights to his early songs and recordings, plus damages estimated at more than £30 million ($51 million). The singer lost a six-month court battle to recover the copyright to 169 songs however, the court ordered Dick James to hand over millions in unpaid royalties.

1986, The first of a six date Conspiracy of Hope tour was held at Cow Palace, San Francisco, California. The benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International were held to increase awareness of Amnesty on the 25th anniversary of its work for human rights. The shows were headlined by U2 and Sting, and also featured Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Joan Baez, and The Neville Brothers.

1990, American punk rock singer Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church died after being hit by a taxi in Paris, France. Bators had been out drinking when he was hit by a taxi while crossing the road. He was taken to a hospital, but left before seeing a doctor. He died in his sleep as the result of a concussion.

1994, Wet Wet Wet started a fifteen-week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Love Is All Around,” from the film Four Weddings & A Funeral. The song was written by Reg Presley of The Troggs, and was a former top ten hit for his band in 1967

1997, Jeff Buckley’s body was discovered floating in the Mississippi River. Buckley had disappeared when swimming on May 29th in Wolf River Harbor, while wearing boots, all of his clothing, and singing the chorus of “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin. A roadie in Buckley’s band, had remained on shore. After moving a radio and guitar out of reach of the wake from a passing tugboat, he looked up to see that Buckley had vanished.

2012, Herb Reed, bass singer and founder member with American doo-wop group The Platters died aged 83. The Platters scored four number one singles in the late 50’s: “The Great Pretender,” “My Prayer,” “Twilight Time,” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” Reed is credited with coming up with the group’s name, inspired by disc jockeys who referred to their records as “platters.”

Born on June 4: Freddie Fender (1937);  Michelle Phillips (1944); Gordon Waller, Peter & Gordon (1945); and Jimmy McCulloch, Thunderclap Newman, Wings (1952)

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Today in Rock History – May 29

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1965, Bob Dylan’s album Bringing It All Back Home was at number one on the UK charts, his second chart topping album. It would be displaced the following day by the soundtrack to The Sound of Music.

1965, The Beach Boys started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Help Me Rhonda,” the group’s second US chart topper.

1967, The Move, Cream, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Zoot Money and Pink Floyd all appeared at the Tulip Bulb Auction Hall in Spalding, Lincs, England. Tickets cost £1 ($1.60).

1969, Crosby, Stills & Nash released their self-titled debut on Atlantic Records label. It spawned two top 40 hits, “Marrakesh Express” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.”

1969, The Who appeared at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago.

1970,  Pink Floyd’s soundtrack to the Michelangelo Antonioni film Zabriske Point had its UK album release. It featured previously unreleased Pink Floyd tracks “Heart Beat, Pig Meat,” “Crumbling Land,” and “Come In Number 51, You’re Time Is Up.”

1970, Jethro Tull played at the Eastown Theater in Detroit, Michigan.

1971, The Rolling Stones started a two week run at number one on the American singles chart with “Brown Sugar.” The song was purportedly about Mick Jagger’s affair with American singer Marsha Hunt. It was the band’s sixth chart topper, and a number two hit in the UK.

1971, Three dozen Grateful Dead fans were treated for hallucinations caused by LSD after they unwittingly drank spiked apple juice served at a gig at San Francisco’s Winterland. This was the first of two nights at Bill Graham’s venue. Tickets cost $2 (£ 1.25).

1972, Paul McCartney releases his bizarre interpretation of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” as Wings. It barely makes the top thirty on the charts. McCartney apparently was making a point about censorship after the BBC banned his political single “Give Ireland Back to the Irish.”

1973, Record executive Clive Davis is fired from Columbia for misappropriating $100,000. He later founded Arista Records and engineered Santana’s comeback with Supernatural.

1973, David Bowie performed at Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England.

1973, Mike Oldfield releases his ambient masterpiece Tubular Bells.  The opening piano solo was used briefly in the soundtrack to the William Friedkin film The Exorcist (also released in 1973), and the album gained considerable airplay because of the film’s success.

1973, Roger McGuinn performs his first solo gig at New York’s Academy of Music and confirms rumors that his band The Byrds is finished.

1975, Aerosmith were at Cobo Arena in Detroit, and Rush appeared at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas.

1976, Diana Ross started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Love Hangover,” her fourth chart topper.

1976, ZZ Top appear at Groves Stadium, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

1977, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Seger, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Kenny Logins all appeared at the Tangerine Bowl, Orlando, Florida. Tickets cost $10 – $12.50.

1977, Manchester band Warsaw, (later to become Joy Division) made their live debut supporting The Buzzcocks at The Electric Circus, Manchester, England.

1979, Yes performed at the McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado.

1980, Thin Lizzy played at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

1980, The Grateful Dead performed at the Civic Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

1981, Bruce Springsteen appeared at the Wembley Arena in London.

1983, Styx played at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.

nirvana-nevermind1991, After just completing the recording of the Nevermind album, Nirvana played a last-minute show at the Jabberjaw in Los Angeles. In the audience was Iggy Pop, Dave Grohl’s girlfriend and L7 bassist Jennifer Finch who brought along her best friend Courtney Love.

1997, Singer songwriter Jeff Buckley disappeared after talking a swim in the Mississippi River, his body was found on six days later, after being spotted by a passenger on a tourist riverboat.

1997, The Manic Street Preachers won the best song award for “A Design For Life” at the 42nd Ivor Novello awards. Other winners included The Spice Girls for Hit of the year with “Wannabe,” Elvis Costello for Outstanding contribution to music. George Michael won Songwriter Of The Year and Most Performed work for “Fastlove.”

1999, Skeletal remains were found by photographers looking for old car wrecks to shoot at the bottom of Decker Canyon near Malibu, California. Based on forensic evidence the remains were Philip Kramer, former bassist with rock group Iron Butterfly, who had disappeared on his way home from work on February 12, 1995. His death was ruled as a probable suicide.

2007, A piano used by John Lennon on the night he died was put up for sale for $375,000 (£189,000) on The Moments in Time memorabilia website. The upright grand piano was part of the Record Plant Recording Studios in New York where the former Beatle recorded his 1971 Imagine album. Lennon was said to be so fond of the instrument that he had it moved to whichever studio he was working in and had used the piano hours before being shot on December 8, 1980.

2009, Phil Spector was jailed for at least 19 years for murdering an actress in 2003. The producer, 69, famed for his Wall of Sound recording technique, was  found guilty of shooting Lana Clarkson at his California home. Spector had pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder during the five-month retrial in Los Angeles. His lawyers said he would appeal. Spector was given a sentence of 15 years to life for second-degree murder and an additional four years for personal use of a gun.

2015, Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch went up for sale with a price tag of $100m (£65m). Jackson bought the Santa Barbara development in 1987 for $19.5 million, but struggled to pay for it, until an investment company stepped in to help him save it from auction.

Born on May 29:  Gary Brooker, Procol Harum (1945); Mike Porcaro, Toto (1955); La Toya Jackson (1956); Mel Gaynor, drums, Simple Minds (1959); Noel Gallagher, Oasis (1967)

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Today in Rock History – May 16

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1966, The Beach Boys released the album ‘Pet Sounds.’ The album is now regarded as the masterpiece of composer-producer Brian Wilson, and is often hailed as one of the best and most influential albums in popular music.

1966, Dylan’s iconic Blonde On Blonde album was released, reaching No.9 in the US charts and No.3 in the UK. Rock’s first double album, and Dylan’s seventh studio effort, it was recorded with Al Kooper, Robbie Robertson and Nashville country music session players, and had what Dylan later called ‘that wild mercury sound’.

1967, Jeff Beck appeared at the Corn Exchange in Bristol, Manfred Mann played at the Industrial Ballroom in Norwich, and appearing on the ITV show ‘As You Like It’; Lulu, Cat Stevens, Herd, Georgie Fame and the Tremeloes.

1969, Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane was arrested for possession of marijuana and received a two and a half year suspended sentence.

1969, Pete Townshend spent the night in jail for assaulting a man during a Who gig at The Fillmore East. What Townshend didn’t know was the man who jumped onto the stage was a plainclothes policeman trying to warn the audience that a fire had broken out. The Who guitarist was later fined $30 for the offense.

1970, Police burst into the Bloomington, Minnesota hotel room of Jefferson Airplane’s Marty Balin after neighbors complain about noise. They find Balin and friends with marijuana and teenaged girls. The singer is sentenced to a year’s hard labor and a fine, but on appeal only has to pay the fine.

Randy Bachman, second from right

1970, Randy Bachman leaves the Guess Who.

1970, Crosby Stills Nash & Young went to No.1 on the album chart with ‘Deja Vu’.

1970, Pink Floyd played at the Warehouse in New Orleans, with support from The Allman Brothers Band and Country Funk.  The band had $40,000 worth of equipment stolen from their truck overnight. Nick Mas0n  told Melody Maker in an later interview, “We sat at our hotel thinking – ‘Well that’s it. It’s all over.’  – We were pouring out our troubles to a girl who worked at the hotel and she said her father worked for the FBI. The police hadn’t helped us much, but the FBI got to work and four hours later it was found.”

1972, The Grateful Dead’s Europe ’72 tour stop is Theatre Hall in Luxembourg.

1974, Brian May collapsed in New York while Queen were on a US tour and was flown back to England suffering from hepatitis.

1974, Neil Young made an unannounced appearance at The Bottom Line in New York and played songs from his new album ‘On The Beach.’

1975, Chubby Checker hosts The Midnight Special, with appearances by Lesley Gore and Danny & the Juniors.

1976, Patti Smith made her UK debut at The Roundhouse, London.

1978, A David Bowie show at Deutschlandhalle in Berlin was halted during “Station to Station” when Bowie noticed security manhandling an audience member. Bowie ordered him in German to stop, which he did and the show resumed.

1987, U2 started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart ‘With Or Without You’, the group’s first US No.1. The third track from their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree, the song was the group’s most successful single at the time.

Born on this day: Liberace (1919); Robert Fripp, King Crimson (1946); Darrell Sweet, Nazareth (1947); Jonathan Richman, The Modern Lovers (1951); and Janet Jackson (1966)

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Song Of The Day – “Baja” by The Astronauts

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astronautsThey were a surf group from Boulder, Colorado. Yup, you heard that right, the group was from Colorado, where there is no ocean in sight, and yet they recorded nine surf albums for RCA Records during the 1960s.

The Astronauts consisted of Rich Fifield (guitar and vocals), Jon “Storm” Patterson (guitar and vocals), Bob Demmon (guitar), Dennis Lindsey (guitar) and Jim Gallagher (drums).  When the group went into the recording studio to record their first album in 1963, they’d never heard of or played surf music before.

Their first single was “Baja” which was written by none other than Lee Hazelwood (who was famous for his production work with Duane Eddy and Nancy Sinatra). The song was the group’s only appearance on the U.S. charts, where it flew all the way up to the none-too-impressive height of #94, and stayed for one solitary week.

The song was from their debut album, Surfin’ With The Astronauts (released in 1963) and featured covers of some of the biggest surf hits of the day including “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “Miserlou,” “Pipeline,” “Susie Q,” “Let’s Go Trippin’,” “Batman” and “Banzai Pipeline” (written by Henry Mancini, no less). Their other classic single was the hot rod tune, “Competition Coupe,” which also served as the title cut from one of their albums of, you guessed it, hot rod tunes.

But while success seemed to elude The Astronauts here in the states, they found they were “Big In Japan” (as the song title goes), where they scored a number one hit with the song “Movin’” (retitled “Over The Sun” for the Japanese market) and three top-ten albums.

By 1967, it was pretty much over for The Astronauts when Gallagher and Lindsey were drafted and went to Viet Nam. However, Fifield did go on to become a member of one of the versions of the psychedelic rock group, The Electric Prunes.