InternetFM.com

Hand Curated Radio

You are here: Home / Archives for The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys

Today in Rock History – September 27

by

Beach_Boys_070.jpg1964, The Beach Boys made their TV debut on The Ed Sullivan Show on US TV where they performed “I Get Around” and “Wendy.”

1966, The Who’s managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp  attend a Jimi Hendrix performance at the Scotch of St. James Club. Chandler has heard about their Track Records’ startup (Hendrix originally wanted to sign with Decca because The Who were on Decca in the US.) After hearing Hendrix play, Lambert and Stamp try to talk him into letting them be his managers but Chandler, naturally, refuses so they sign Hendrix as their first act for Track

1967,  The Beatles recorded various parts for the new John Lennon song “I Am The Walrus” and the new Paul McCartney song “Fool On The Hill.”

1968, The Velvet Underground performed at the Boston Tea Party in Boston.  The support act was Fire and Ice.

1968, Pink Floyd appeared at the Queens Hall in Dunoon, Scotland. Due to bad weather all the ferries to Dunoon were cancelled, so Pink Floyd hired their own boat from Gourock and risked the rough seas to make the crossing to Dunoon to appear in front of 400 fans.

1969, Eric Burdon & War, along with Mountain, performed at the Eastown Theater in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Piedmont Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.

1970, The Rolling Stones appeared at Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria.

1970, Pink Floyd performed two shows (6 pm and 9 pm) at the Fillmore East in New York.  Setlist for both shows: Astronomy Domine, Green Is the Colour, Careful With That Axe Eugene, Fat Old Sun, Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun,  A Saucerful of Secrets.  The encore was Atom Heart Mother with brass and choir.

1971, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Shiei Taikukan Hall in Hiroshima, Japan.

1972, Yes played at the Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia.

1972, Rory Storm, singer from the British ’60s group Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, died aged 32 after taking an overdose of sleeping pills in a suicide pact with his mother. Ringo Starr played drums with Storm before joining The Beatles.

1972, The Grateful Dead played at Stanley Theatre in Jersey City, New Jersey.

1973, Rolling Stone announces that guitarist Carlos Santana has added the name “Devadip” since becoming a disciple of Sri Chinmoy. The name means “the Lamp of the Light Supreme.”

1974, Roxy Music performs at Trentham Gardens, Stoke, England.

ZZ-Top1975,  ZZ Top plays at the Palace Theatre, Albany, New York.

1976, Hawkwind performed at Colston Hall, Bristol, England.

1977, Yes appears at the Aladdin Theater, Las Vegas.

1978, Eric Clapton sponsored a West Bromwich Albion UEFA cup-tie against Galatasarey of Turkey. After the game, Eric presented each player with a gold copy of his latest album Slowhand.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.

1979, Scottish guitarist Jimmy McCullough died from a heroin overdose in his apartment in Maida Vale, London, aged 26. He was a member of Stone The Crows, Thunderclap Newman, and Wings (1974 to 1977). When “Something in the Air” by Thunderclap Newman went to number one in 1969 it made McCulloch the youngest guitarist to ever play on a chart topping single, he was sixteen years old at the time.

1980, Rush performed at the Cape Cod Coliseum, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.

1980, David Bowie scored his fourth UK number one album with Scary Monsters And Supercreeps.

1981, The Rolling Stones played at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at the CNE Coliseum, Toronto.

1983, Black Sabbath performed at Hemmerleinhalle, Neunkirchen, Germany.

1986, Metallica bass player Cliff Burton was crushed to death after the bands tour bus crashed between Stockholm and Copenhagen. During a European tour, members from the band drew cards for the most comfortable bunk on the tour bus, Burton had won the game with an Ace of Spades and was asleep when the tour bus ran over a patch of black ice and skidded off of the road. He was thrown through the window of the bus, which fell on top of him.

1986, The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout” re-entered the US singles chart over twenty-five years after it first appeared, after the song was featured in the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

1998, The Manic Street Preachers scored their first UK number one album with their fifth release This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours.

2000, U2 played a show from the rooftop of The Clarence Hotel in Dublin, which they own. Over 4,000 fans gathered on the streets below.

2004, Legendary record producer Phil Spector was formally charged with murder in the February 3rd, 2003 shooting of actress Lana Clarkson. He was convicted in April, 2009 and sentenced to nineteen years to life in the California State prison system.

2008, Pink Floyd’s manager Bryan Morrison died after spending over two years in a coma. Morrison suffered severe brain injuries in a polo accident at the Royal Berkshire Polo Club, England in 2006, and never recovered. He also managed The Pretty Things, and was a music publisher for Syd Barrett, The Bee Gees, Elton John, The Jam, T-Rex and Wham!

2011, Tony Bennett became the oldest living person to top the US album chart when the 85-year-old’s Duets II album went to number one. The record, which featured collaborations with Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga, was also his first US chart topper in his 60 year career. The previous oldest performer to top the chart was Bob Dylan in 2009 with Together Through Life. At the time he was 67-years old.

Born on September 27: Randy Bachman (1943); Marvin Lee Aday, aka Meat Loaf  (1947); Greg Ham, Men At Work (1953); Robbie Shakespeare, session bass player (1953); Shaun Cassidy (1958); Stephan Jenkins, Third Eye Blind (1966); Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., aka Lil Wayne (1982);  Avril Lavigne (1984)

Link to Today in Rock History main page

Today in Rock History – September 7

by

1968, The Doors played the first of two nights at The Roundhouse, London, playing twice nightly on their first UK visit. Granada TV filmed the sold out gigs, later shown as “The Doors Are Open,” which were attended by members of The Rolling Stones and Traffic.

1968, The Beach Boys played at at Patio Gardens in Farmington, Utah.

1968, Pink Floyd performed at Le Blboquet, St. Germain des Pres, in Paris, where they played “Let There Be More Light” live as part of a four-hour TV special entitled Surprise Partie. The music program also featured The Who, Joe Cocker, The Troggs, Fleetwood Mac, Small Faces, PP Arnold, The Equals, and others. It was broadcast in color on ORTF2 on December 31st.

1968, The American magazine Eye contains lyrics for three Pete Townshend songs, “Party Piece from Rael,” a song from the unfinished rock opera that led to “Rael” from The Who Sell Out, “Joker James”, which would ultimately be recorded for the Quadrophenia Soundtrack, and “Join My Gang”  which had been recorded by Oscar

1968, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham made their live debut as Led Zeppelin but billed as Yard Birds at Teen Club Box 45 in Gladsaxe, a suburb in the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Around 1,200 youngsters attended the show at Egegard School. Teen Club President Lars Abel presenting “The New Yardbirds” on stage, introduced Robert Plant as Robert Plat. A local review stated, “Their performance and their music were absolutely flawless, and the music continued to ring nicely in the ears for some time after the curtains were drawn after their show. We can therefore conclude that the new Yardbirds are at least as good as the old ones were.”

1968,  The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown LP and the single “Fire” backed with “Rest Cure” are released in the US. The single peaks at number two in both the Billboard and Cash Box charts. Pete Townshend gets an associate production credit on both, and plays rhythm guitar on the B-side.

1969, King Crimson appeared at the Victoria Ballroom, Chesterfield, England.

1971, Led Zeppelin performed at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The set list: Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Black Dog, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Celebration Day, That’s the Way, Going To California, What Is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, Whole Lotta Love (medley), Communication Breakdown, Organ solo / Thank You, Rock and Roll.

1972, David Bowie appeared at The Top Rank, Hanley, Stoke on Trent, England.

1973, The Rolling Stones kicked off a nine-date UK tour at the Empire Pool London. Tickets £2.20.

1973, The Grateful Dead played at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

1974, The 101ers made their performing debut at the Telegraph pub in Brixton. The pub rock band featured singer, guitarist Joe Strummer who would later join The Clash.

1974, Aerosmith performed at the Wollman Skating Rink Theater in New York.

1976, Abba were at number one on the singles chart with “Dancing Queen,” the group’s only chart topper. The song was a a number one smash hit in over a dozen countries and stayed at the top of the Swedish charts for 14 weeks.

1977, Rush appeared at Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

1978, Yes played at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Keith-Moon1978, Keith Moon, drummer with The Who, died of a overdose of heminevrin prescribed to combat alcoholism. A post-mortem confirmed there were 32 tablets in his system, 26 of which were undissolved. Moon had attended a party the night before organized by Paul McCartney for the launch of the The Buddy Holly Story movie. He played on all The Who albums from their debut, 1965’s My Generation, to 1978’s Who Are You, which was released two weeks before his death.

1979, Blue Oyster Cult played at the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia.

1980, Black Sabbath performed at the Jai Alai Fronton Hall, Miami, Florida.

1982, Van Halen appeared at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona.

1985, David Bowie and Mick Jagger were at number one  on the UK singes chart with their version of the Martha Reeves and The Vandellas 1964 hit “Dancing In The Streets.” The song had been recorded as part of the Live Aid charity appeal. The original plan was to perform a track together live, with Bowie performing at Wembley Stadium and Jagger at the JFK Stadium, until it was realized that the satellite link-up would cause a half-second delay that would make this impossible.

1997, Fleetwood Mac went to number one on the US album chart with The Dance. The album went on sell over 5 million copies in the US alone.

2001, Michael Jackson was reunited onstage with the Jackson Five at his 30th Anniversary Celebration in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. It ended Jackson’s 11-year hiatus from performing in the U.S. Jackson was joined by Eminem, Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Britney Spears and Destiny’s Child to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his singing career.

Warren Zevon

2003, singer, songwriter, Warren Zevon died. He had worked as a session musician, was the piano player and band leader for the Everly Brothers. His 1969 song “She Quit Me” was included in the soundtrack for the film Midnight Cowboy. Jackson Browne, The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt all appeared on his albums. He recorded over 15 solo albums, had the 1978 US number 21 single “Werewolves Of London.” He made frequent appearances on the David Letterman Show, whose host was an early proponent of his music.

2003, Black Eyed Peas started a six-week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Where Is The Love.” The best selling single of 2003, with an uncredited Justin Timberlake on the recording.

Born on September 7: Little Milton, blues singer (1934); Buddy Holly (1936); Gloria Gaynor (1949); Chrissie Hynde (1951); Benmont Tench, keyboards, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1954); and LeRoi Moore, saxophonist, Dave Matthews Band (1961)

Get more Today in Rock History

 

Today in Rock History – August 28

by

1965, The Rolling Stones announced that Allen Klein, who they had met three days earlier, would co-manage the group along with Andrew Long Oldham. At the same time, The Stones signed a five-year recording deal with Decca Records.

1965, The Beach Boys “California Girls” was at No.3 on the singles chart,the single peaked at No.26 in the UK. The music for the song came from Brian Wilson’s first LSD experience.

1965, Bob Dylan played the first night of a 40 date North American tour at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in New York City. Dylan played the first set solo and was backed by a band consisting of Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Harvey Brooks and Al Kooper in the second set. This format, one acoustic and one electric set was kept through-out the tour.

1966, Nearing the end of their final tour of America, The Beatles performed one show at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California, before a crowd of 45,000. The Beatles’ attempt to escape from the stadium in an armored truck is thwarted when the main gate was found to be locked, and The Beatles have to spend two hours in the back of the truck before they can leave the stadium.

1968, Simon and Garfunkel started a five-week run at No.1 on the album chart with ‘Bookends’.

1968, The Beach Boys were at No.1 on the singles chart with ‘Do It Again’, the group’s second and final No.1.

1968, Working at Trident Studios, London, The Beatles started recording a new John Lennon song ‘Dear Prudence’. They built the song instrument by instrument, utilizing the 8-track equipment at Trident. John and George played guitars, while Paul plays drums to compensate for Ringo, who had quit The Beatles on August 22.

1969, The Grateful Dead played at Family Dog at the Great Highway, in San Francisco. The site was at the former Edgewater Ballroom, part of the Playland At The Beach complex. Family Dog had to relocate there after being forced out of the Avalon Ballroom.

1970, During a four-week engagement at The International Hotel in Las Vegas, a security guard at the hotel received a phone call in which he was told Elvis Presley would be shot during his last show. The person demanded $50,000 to reveal the name of the potential killer. Later that day a menu was found in Elvis’ mail at the hotel on which Elvis’ face was destroyed and a gun had been drawn pointing to his heart. The threats were taken very seriously. Elvis played his last show without any incident.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band performed in Pensacola, Florida.

1971, Mott the Hoople led off the acts at the Weeley Festival, Clacton on Sea, Essex, England. Artists on the bill that day also included Rory Gallagher, Caravan, Lindisfarne, The Faces with Rod Stewart, and Van Der Graaf Generator took the stage at 11:30.

1972, Alice Cooper was at No.1 on the singles chart with “School’s Out.”

1974, Hawkwind played at Home Park, Windsor, England.

1975, Aerosmith performed at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1976, Peter Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive is in its third week at number one in the US. It will be knocked out briefly by Fleetwood Mac’s Fleetwood Mac before reclaiming the top spot on Spetember 11th.

1977, Yes appeared at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, which is adjacent to Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.

1978, Genesis performs at Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band plays at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, New York.

1981, Producer Guy Stevens died at the age of 38 years old, having overdosed on prescription drugs he was taking to reduce his alcohol dependency. Worked with Mott The Hoople, Free and The Clash. He was the president of the Chuck Berry Appreciation Society and it was Stevens who brought Berry to the UK for his first tour. He gave Procol Harum and Mott the Hoople their distinctive names.

1983, Thin Lizzy appeared at the Reading Festival, along with the Climax Blues Band, Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul, Opposition, Sad Café, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Ten Years After, and The Enid. It would be bassist/vocalist Phil Lynott’s last UK performance.

Born on August 28: Sterling Morrison, Velvet Underground (1942); Danny Seraphine, Chicago (1948); Martin Lamble drums, Fairport Convention (1949); Shania Twain (1965); and Florence Welch,  Florence and the Machine (1986)

Get more Today in Rock history

Today in Rock History – August 3

by

1966, The Rolling Stones spend nine days recording for their next album at Los Angeles, RCA Studios, Hollywood, USA. Tracks recorded included: “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?” “Let’s Spend The Night Together,” “My Obsession,” “Yesterday’s Papers,” and “Back Street Girl.”

1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of five nights at the Salvation Club in New York City.

1967, To promote Ravi Shankar’s Hollywood Bowl concert on August 4, George Harrison joins the sitar player at his news conference.

1967, The Who appeared at Dane County Memorial Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin.

1968, The Doors started a two-week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Hello I Love You.” The song replaced “Grazing in the Grass”by Hugh Masakela at the top spot.  The Doors had eight top 40 hits from 1967-71.

1968, The two day Newport Pop Festival took place in Costa Mesa, California with Alice Cooper, Canned Heat, Chambers Brothers, Charles Lloyd Quartet, Country Joe and the Fish, Electric Flag, James Cotton Blues Band, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sonny & Cher, Steppenwolf, and Tiny Tim. Over 100,000 fans attended the festival.

1969, Janis Joplin sings with Little Richard at the Atlantic City Pop Festival.

1969, The Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson is busted. He had agreed to serve civilian duty instead of being drafted into the Army, but when he arrived at Los Angeles County Hospital to do his bit, he taught music classes instead of acting as an institutional helper.

1971, Paul McCartney announced the formation of his new group Wings, with his wife Linda and former Moody Blues guitarist and singer Denny Laine.

1971, The Who play The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1973, Stevie Wonder released his sixteenth studio album Innervisions. Wonder played all or virtually all instruments on six of the album’s nine tracks.

1973, ABC’s In Concert, broadcast an Eagles show from UCLA.

1974, Anne Murray appeared at The Schaefer Festival in New York as the headlining act. The opening act was Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.

1974, Bad Company went to number one on the US album chart with their self-titled debut album. The supergroup was formed in Westminster, London in 1973 by two former members of Free, singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirk, as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell.

1974, KISS performed at the Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1975, Black Sabbath appeared at the Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1976, Eric Clapton played at the ABC Theatre, Plymouth, England.

1977, The Steve Miller Band headlined at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1978, Aerosmith appeared at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin.

1979, The Knack album Get the Knack and the single “My Sharona” both go to number one.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Starlight Bowl, San Diego, California.

1985, Madonna scored her first UK number one single with “Into The Groove.” The track was taken from the movie Desperately Seeking Susan which featured Madonna and Rosanna Arquette.

1985, Tears For Fears started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Shout,” the duo’s second US chart topper.

1987, Def Leppard released their fourth studio album Hysteria which became their best selling album to date, selling over 20 million copies worldwide. The album is the follow-up to the band’s 1983 breakthrough Pyromania. Hysteria’s creation took over three years and was plagued by delays, including the aftermath of the December 1984 car accident that cost drummer Rick Allen his left arm.

1996, Los Del Rio started a fourteen-week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Macarena.” The song which has sold 11 million copies world-wide was ranked the topGreatest One Hit Wonder of all Time by VH1 in 2002.

2001, Co-founder of the American group 5th Dimension, Ron Townson died of kidney failure aged 68.

2006, Arthur Lee, singer and guitarist of the influential 1960’s band Love died in Memphis at the age of 61 following a battle with acute myeloid leukemia. He called himself the “first black hippie” and formed Love in Los Angeles in 1965.

2007, Queen guitarist Brian May handed in his astronomy PhD thesis, 36 years after abandoning it to join the band. May had recently carried out observational work in Tenerife, where he studied the formation of “zodiacal dust clouds.”

2008, Kid Rock was at number one on the UK singles chart with “All Summer Long.” The song is based on Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London,” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” It reached number 23 in the Billboard Hot 100.

Born on August 3: Tony Bennett (1926); Beverly Lee, The Shirelles (1941);  John York,  bass player, songwriter, and producer, The Byrds, Sir Douglas Quintet (1943); B. B. Dickerson,  bass, War (1949); John Graham, Earth Wind & Fire (1951); Ian Bairnson,  sax, keyboards, The Alan Parsons Project, Pilot (1953); James Hetfield, guitar, vocals, Metallica (1963); Ed Roland,  singer, guitarist, Collective Soul (1963)

Get more Today in Rock History

 

Today in Rock History – July 25

by

beatles-hard-days-night1964, The Beatles third album A Hard Day’s Night started a twenty-one week run at the top of the UK charts. This was the first Beatles album to be recorded entirely on four-track tape, allowing for good stereo mixes.

1965, Bob Dylan plugged in for his headlining set backed by the Butterfield Blues Band at The Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island. Folk music purists try to boo him off the stage, while the rest of the audience give him an enthusiastic response.

1966, The Rolling Stones play San Francisco. The tour is their last with founding guitarist Brian Jones.

1967, Pink Floyd played at The Palladium Ballroom, Greenock, Scotland.

1969, Neil Young appeared with Crosby, Stills and Nash for the first time when they played at The Fillmore East in New York. Young was initially asked to help out with live material only, but ended up joining the group on and off for the next 30 years.

1969, Led Zeppelin play Milwaukee at the Midwest Rock Festival at State Fair Park, in West Allis, Wisconsin. Also on the bill were Buffy Saint Marie, First Edtion, Pacific Gas & Electric, and more. Former Yardbird Eric Clapton, who is playing with Blind Faith the next day, catches the set by fellow former Yardbird Jimmy Page’s new band. “They were very loud,” he later remembers. “I thought it was unnecessarily loud. I liked some of it; I really did like some of it. But a lot of it was just too much. They overemphasized whatever point they were making, I thought.”

1969, The Doors appeared at Cow Palace, San Francisco, California.

1969, The Seattle Pop Festival took place at the Gold Creek Park, Woodinville, Washington. Acts who appeared over three days included, Chuck Berry, Tim Buckley, The Byrds, Chicago Transit Authority, Albert Collins, Bo Diddley, The Doors, The Flock, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Guess Who, It’s A Beautiful Day, Led Zeppelin, Santana, Spirit, Ten Years After, Ike & Tina Turner, Vanilla Fudge, Alice Cooper and The Youngbloods.

1970, The Who appeared at Civic Hall, Dunstable, Bedfordshire England.

cosmos_factory1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival release their fifth album, Cosmo’s Factory, the same month as the single release of “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” b/w “Long As I Can See the Light.” The name of the album comes from the warehouse in Berkeley where the band rehearsed early in their career. It was dubbed “The Factory” by drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford, due to the fact that bandleader John Fogerty made them practice there almost every day.

1970, Jimi Hendrix performs at the Sports Arena in San Diego, California.

1970, The Carpenters started a four week run at number one on the US singles chart with “(They Long To Be) Close To You.” The first of three US chart toppers and seventeen other Top 40 hits. The song was written in 1963 by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, and was first offered to Herb Alpert, who said he didn’t feel comfortable singing the line “so they sprinkled moon dust in your hair.”

1971, T Rex were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Bang a Gong,” which spent four weeks at the top.

1971, The Beach Boys enjoy a commercial comeback of sorts with the release of Surf’s Up. The number 29 position is their highest chart placement since 1966’s Pet Sounds.

1972, Genesis plays at the Civic Hall, Solihull, England.

1972, Punk goddess Patti Smith goes to see the Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder at Madison Square Garden and remembers it as, “My brain cracked like an egg. The gold liquid spurted all over the stage. Mick bathed in it. Keith got his feet wet.”

1973, Hawkwind played at Top Rank, Southampton, England.

1974, The Grateful Dead appear at Chicago’s International Amphitheatre.

1975, ZZ Top perform at the Civic Center in San Antonio, Texas.

1976, Yes play the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.

1978, Aerosmith appeared at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada.

1978, Kansas performed at the Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1979, Van Halen headlined at the Civic Center, St. Paul, Minnesota.

1980, AC/DC released their sixth internationally released studio album Back In Black, the first AC/DC album recorded without former lead singer Bon Scott, who died on February 19, 1980 at the age of 33. The album has sold an estimated 49 million copies worldwide to date, making it the second highest-selling album of all time, and the best-selling hard rock or heavy metal album.

1981, Air Supply went to number one on the US singles chart with “The One That I Love,” the group’s only US chart topper, and the first Australian band to top the US singles chart.

1982, Queen appeared at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1984, Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton died at the age of 58 in Los Angeles of heart and liver complications. She had a number one R&B hit in 1953 with “Hound Dog,” later covered by Elvis Presley. She also wrote and recorded “Ball ‘n’ Chain,” which Janis Joplin recorded.

1987, Madonna had her fifth UK number one single with the title track from her 1987 film Who’s That Girl. Also a US number one hit.

1995, Grammy Award winning country singer, songwriter Charlie Rich died in his sleep at aged 62. Rich began as a Rockabilly artist for Sun Records in Memphis in 1958. He scored the 1974 US number one and UK number two single “The Most Beautiful Girl” and “Behind Closed Doors,” was a chart topping country hit.

2003, Erik Braunn, from American psychedelic rock band Iron Butterfly, died of cardiac failure at the age of 52. Braunn was just 16 years old when he joined Iron Butterfly, who had the 1968 US number 14 single “In-A- Gadda-Da-Vida.”

2004, Jimmy Buffett went to number one on the US album chart with License To Chill, the singer songwriter’s first chart topping album.

2014, Pop star and parodist, Weird Al Yankovic, became the first comedy act to hit the top spot for more than 50 years. Mandatory Fun, Yankovic’s 14th album, and his best-selling since Straight Outta Lynwood, which was released in 1991, went to number one on the US album chart. The last comedy album to reach the top spot in the US was Allan Sherman’s My Son, the Nut in 1963.

Born on July 25: Bennie Benjamin, session drummer, Motown (1925); Manuel Charlton, Nazareth, (1941); Bruce Woodley, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Seekers (1942); Jim McCarty, Yardbirds, Renaissance (1943); Tom Dawes, Cyrkle (1944); Rita Marley, Cuban-Jamaican singer, Bob Marley and the Wailers (1946); Mark Clarke, Uriah Heep (1950);  Verdine White, bass, vocals, Earth Wind and Fire (1951); Ken Greer, Canadian guitarist, keyboard player, producer, Red Rider (1954); Thurston Moore, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, Sonic Youth, Ciccone Youth, The Coachmen, Dim Stars (1958); Brian Gibson, American bass player, Lightning Bolt (1975)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – July 24

by

The Byrds

1965, The Byrds were at number one on the UK singles chart with their version of the Bob Dylan song “Mr Tambourine Man.” It was the first Bob Dylan song to reach the top of the charts.  Across the Atlantic, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones began the third of it’s four week run at number one.

1966, The Who played at Brittania Pier in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.

1967, All four Beatles and their manager Brian Epstein signed a petition printed in The Times newspaper calling for the legalization of marijuana.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Maryland Ballroom in Glasgow, Scotland.

1967, The Beatles meet Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The band had gone to hear a lecture on Transcendental Meditation (TM) at the Hilton Hotel in London. TM involved the silent repetition of a word or sound to produce a state of mind that reduces stress, calms the mind, and energizes both mind and body. The Maharishi invited The Beatles to travel with him to Bangor, in North Wales, to attend more lectures. They accepted his invitation.

1968, Pink Floyd, along with Friends of the Family, play at the Philadelphia Music Festival, held a JFK Stadium. The Who, The Troggs, and The Mandala were unable to perform as a lightning strike hit the set just as The Mandala were to take the stage, forcing the cancellation of the rest of the event.

1969, Free and Jethro Tull performed at Boston Tea Party in Boston.

1969, Pink Floyd appeared at Nederland 1 TV Studios in Zaandam, The Netherlands for the last of three European TV appearances. This performance was for the program Apollo 11.

1969, Paul McCartney recorded a demo of his new song “Come and Get It” at Abbey Road studios in London. McCartney gave the song to The Iveys, (soon to become known as Badfinger). The song was later used as the theme for the movie The Magic Christian.

1969, The Beatles  recorded “Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard” for their forthcoming Abbey Road album. The working title of “Sun King” was “Here Comes the Sun King,” but the title was changed due to the similarity to George’s “Here Comes the Sun.”

1970, Iggy & the Stooges performed at the Uptown Palladium 12 Theatre‎ in Birmingham, Michigan.

1971, Paul Revere and the Raiders went to number one on the singles chart with “Indian Reservation.”

1971, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Superball Fest, held at Midway Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Marc Bolan of T. Rex

1971, The number one record in the UK is T. Rex’s “Get It On.”

1971, Queen appeared at the Young Farmers Club, Wadebridge, England.

1972, Bobby Ramirez, drummer with Edger Winters White Trash, was killed after becoming involved in a brawl in a Chicago bar. The fight started after comments were made about the length of his hair.

1973, Led Zeppelin performed at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The band drew 40,000 fans in attendance, earning a reported $120,000 for the show. The band’s film crew capture some footage of the event, in preparation for the three night finale at Madison Square Garden.

1974, George McCrae was at number one on the singles chart with “Rock Your Baby.” Written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band. Regarded by some as the first disco number one

1975, Aerosmith appeared at the Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas.

1976, The Beach Boys 20 Golden Greats album started a ten-week run at number one on the album chart.

1976, Aerosmith played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada.

1976, Elton John scored his first number 1 single with “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” a duet with Kiki Dee. It was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin under the pseudonym “Ann Orson” and “Carte Blanche” and was Elton’s first number one after 16 Top 40 hits. John had met Dee when she was working as a backup singer. John would later re-record the song with RuPaul for his 1993 Duets album.

1976, Yes performed at Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington.

1977, Donna Summer was at number one on the UK singles chart with the Giorgio Moroder produced “I Feel Love.” The disco diva’s only UK chart topper.

1978, The Robert Stigwood film Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, was released, featuring The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton. The film received extremely negative reviews from most critics, and barely broke even at the box office.

1979, Van Halen played at the Civic Center, St. Paul, Minnesota.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Convention Center Rotunda, Las Vegas.

1981, ZZ Top appeared at the Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.

1982, Survivor started a six week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Eye Of The Tiger,” taken from the film Rocky III. Also a chart topper in the UK. Survivor won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance for the song.

1993, U2 started a two-week run at number one on the US album chart with Zooropa the Irish band’s fourth US No.1. Zooropa won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1994.

1993, UB40 started a seven week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” Elvis Presley had the first hit with the song, in 1961, Corey Hart was next up with a top 30 hit in 1987, and Hall and Oates recorded the song for 1990’s, The Last Temptation of Elvis charity album. UB40 originally covered the song for the Honeymoon in Vegas soundtrack, but Bono’s version was chosen instead. Also on the same day UB40 went to number one on the UK album chart with Promises And Lies.

1994, The Grateful Dead performed at Soldier Field in Chicago. Traffic was the opening act.

2003, Ozzy Osbournes long-standing tour manager, Bobby Thompson, was found dead in his Detroit hotel room. Thompson had been battling throat cancer.

2011, Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant joined three local musicians at a fundraising charity show in Monmouth Wales, where tickets cost £3. The event was a tribute to his friend, former Led Zeppelin producer Pat Moran, who died of a rare dementia in January. Plant delighted the small crowd in the Monmouthshire town with songs from his Led Zeppelin days as well as tunes from his solo career.

Born on July 24: Heinz Burt, bass, The Tornadoes (1942); Jim Armstrong, The Them (1944); Steve Goodman (1948); Paul Geary, American singer, drummer, manager, Extreme (1961)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – July 22

by

beatles-introducing-beatles1963, The Beatles’ first US album, Introducing The Beatles was pressed by Vee-Jay Records, who thought they had obtained the legal rights from EMI affiliate, Trans-Global Records. When it was finally released in January, 1964, Capitol Records would hit Vee Jay with an injunction against manufacturing, distributing, advertising, or otherwise disposing of records by the Beatles. After a trial, Vee-Jay was allowed to release any Beatles records that they had masters of in any form until October 15th, 1964. After that time, they no longer had the right to issue any Beatles product.

1964, The Beach Boys performed at Assembly Hall at the University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois.

1965, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman from The Rolling Stones were each fined £5 at East Ham Magistrates Court, London after being found guilty of insulting behaviour at a Romford Road service station. The three had all urinated against a wall.

1966, The Who played at Central Pier in Morecambe, Lancashire, England.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland. The venue is home to one of Scotland’s finest dance floors, famous for its bounce, which floats on fixed steel springs. During the 1960s The Beatles,  The Small Faces, and Cream all appeared at the Beach.

Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service

1967, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Big Brother & the Holding Company appeared at the Convention Hall, San Diego, California.

1967, The Who play their first American live gig at New York’s Paramount Theater.

1969, Aretha Franklin was arrested for causing a disturbance in a Detroit parking lot. After posting $50 bail, she ran down a road sign while leaving the police station.

1969, The Doors perform at the Aquarius Theater in Hollywood, California, portions of the show appear on Absolutely Live. Later the entire concert was released on CD as well.

1971, John and Yoko spent the second day filming the Imagine promotional film at their home in Tittenhurst Park Ascot, England. Today’s footage included the morning walk on the grounds though the mist and John Lennon singing “Imagine” in the white room on his white piano.

1972, Roxy Music appeared at Civic Hall, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England.

1972, The Grateful Dead play the Paramount Northwest Theater in Seattle, Washington.

1972, Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested in Sweden for possession of drugs.

1972, The Rolling Stones performed at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1973, Humble Pie and Mountain appear at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

1973, Van Morrison appeared at Birmingham Town Hall, playing his first UK show for over 2 years.

1974, The Eagles release their third album, On the Border.

1975, Number one on the Billboard album charts is Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti.  Second is Olivia Newton-John with Have You Never Been Mellow. Number three is Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks.

1975, Three Dog Night appear at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1975, The Rolling Stones go into the Musicland Studios in Munich to begin recording Black and Blue.

1976, On the campaign trail, Jimmy Carter tells the National Association of Record Merchandisers’ Scholarship Foundation Dinner his musical inspiration as governor of Georgia was Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and Led Zeppelin. He makes pertinent quotations from Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

1977, Stiff Records released My Aim Is True the debut album from Elvis Costello in the UK.

1978, The Police sign with A&M Records.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.

1981, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1982, Van Halen performed at BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Alabama.

1989, Simply Red scored their first UK top charting album with their third release A New Flame.

1989, The soundtrack album Batman by Prince started a six-week run at number one on the US album chart.

2003, Coldplay played the second of two nights at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia on their A Rush of Blood to the Head world tour.

2004, American singer, songwriter and producer Arthur Crier died of heart failure. Member of The Chimes and had worked with Little Eva, Gene Pitney, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Ben E. King, Johnny Nash and The Coasters.

2005, Founder member and singer with The Chi-lites, Eugene Record died of cancer. Had the 1972 US No.1 single “Oh Girl” and 1972 UK No.3 single “Have You Seen Her.” He also released three solo albums.

2006, Johnny Cash was at number one on the US album chart with American V: A Hundred Highways. Released posthumously on July 4, the vocal parts were recorded before Cash’s death, but the instruments were not recorded until 2005.

Born on July 22: George Clinton, Parlaiment, Funkadelic (1941); Bobby Sherman (1943); Estelle Bennett, The Ronettes, and Rick Davies, Supertramp (1944); Don Henley (1947); and Rufus Wainwright (1973)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – July 2

by

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)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – June 30

by

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)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – June 25

by

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)

Get more Today in Rock History