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Today in Rock History – July 10

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rolling-stones-satisfaction1965, The Rolling Stones started a four week run at number one on the US singles chart with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” the group’s first chart-topper there. In the UK, the song was initially played only on pirate radio stations because its lyrics were considered too sexually suggestive.

1966, Johnny Tilotson, The Jive Five, The Tymes, The Shangra-Las and local band The Castiles (with Bruce Springsteen on vocals) all appeared at the Surf ‘n See Club in Seabright New Jersey.

1968, Eric Clapton announced that Cream would be splitting up following a farewell tour later in the year.

1968, The Nice were banned from appearing at London’s Royal Albert Hall after burning an American flag on stage. Two years later, Keith Emerson, leader of the Nice, joined Greg Lake and Carl Palmer in Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

1968, Diana Ross & the Supremes and Stevie Wonder appeared at San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1969, Bob Dylan, Iron Butterfly, and Blues Image all appeared at the Mississippi River Festival at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois.

1969, The funeral of Rolling Stone Brian Jones took place in his home town at Hatherley Road Parish Church, Cheltenham. Canon Hugh Evan Hopkins read Jones’ own epitaph, “Please don’t judge me too harshly.” Bill Wyman, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts from The Stones attended the funeral.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band played at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York.

1970, The Who single “Summertime Blues” backed with “Heaven and Hell” is released. The A-side comes from the album Live at Leeds while the B-side is a quickly recorded mono studio version of the Entwistle song done for the BBC, with a new vocal slapped on. It reaches number 38 in Britain and in the US, it makes number 27 in the Billboard charts.

1971, The Who performed during their “unpublicized” tour of the UK at Civic Hall, Dunstable, England.

1972, Harry Nilsson released Son of Schmilsson. His eighth album featured friends Ringo Starr and George Harrison, plus Klaus Voorman, Nicky Hopkins, Peter Frampton, Chris Spedding, Bobby Keys and Lowell George. It included the hit “Spaceman, ” and the satirical classics “You’re Breaking My Heart” and “Joy.”

1972, Pink Floyd release “Free Four”/”Stay” as a 7″ single in the US.

1973, Led Zeppelin performed for two hours and forty minutes to 11,000 fans at the Milwaukee Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1974, David Bowie played the first of five dates at The Tower Theatre in Philadelphia the recordings of which made up the David Live album released later that year.

1975, The Rolling Stones played at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

1976, One hit wonders Starland Vocal Band started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with “Afternoon Delight.”

1976, Aerosmith performed at Comiskey Park in Chicago, home of the White Sox baseball team. The stadium was demolished in 1991, when a new stadium was opened next door.  The Beatles performed at Comiskey in 1965.

1977, Cher gave birth to a baby boy Elijah Blue.  Gregg Allman was the father.

1978, Rolling Stone Bill Wyman was knocked unconscious after falling from the stage during a Stones concert at the Coliseum in St Paul, Minnesota.

1979, Chuck Berry was sentenced to five months in jail after being found guilty of tax evasion.

Bob Marley, courtesy Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (rockhall.com)

1980, Bob Marley and the Wailers began what would be Marley’s last ever UK tour when they appeared in Dublin, Ireland.

1980, During their 23 date 11 O’Clock Tick Tock tour, U2 appeared at The Clarendon Hotel in London.

1981, The Moody Blues performed at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1981, The Grateful Dead played at the Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

1984, King Crimson appeared at Le Spectrum in Montreal, Quebec.

1987, Producer and record company executive John Hammond died. He brought Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen to Columbia Records. Hammond also worked as a producer with Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman and Count Basie.

2002, David Bowie, Suede, Divine Comedy, Green Day, No Doubt, Paul Weller, Ian Brown, Joe Strummer, New Order, Doves and Shed 7 all appeared at the four day Move festival, Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester, England.

2008, The drum skin used on the cover of The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper album sold for £541,250 ($1 million) at Christie’s Memorabilia auction in London. Other items sold included John Lennon’s lyrics for “Give Peace a Chance” which sold for £421,250 ($832,257.) A pair of tinted prescription sunglasses belonging to Lennon, which he wore for the cover of the single “Mind Games,” sold for £39,650 ($79,000.) A rare 1/4 inch reel to-reel master tape recording of the Jimi Hendrix Experience performing at the Woburn Music Festival in 1968 went for £48,050 ($95,00), a Marshall amplifier used by Hendrix in concert fetched £25,000 ($50,000).

Born on July 10: Jerry Miller, Moby Grape (1943); Arlo Guthrie (1947); Ronnie James Dio (1949); and Greg Kihn (1950)

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Today in Rock History – July 9

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1967, On a tour supporting The Monkees, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appear at the Convention Hall, Miami, Florida. After it becomes plainly apparent that the group is not suited to teenybopper audiences, the tour’s promoter Dick Clark and Hendrix’s manager Chas Chandler concoct a story saying that the conservative Daughters of the American Revolution group had complained at Jimi’s act and so the Experience left the tour after just six shows.

1969, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles recorded “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” John Lennon returned to the studio after recovering from a car crash in Scotland, and a bed was installed in the Abbey Road studio for Yoko, who was pregnant, and who had been more seriously injured in the car accident.

1971, Jim Morrison is quietly buried in Paris’ Pere-Lachaise cemetery, making it a necessary stop on any rock fan’s European itinerary.

1972, Paul McCartney and Wings played their very first show in the small French town of Chateauvillon. The band included Denny Laine, Denny Seiwell, Henry McCullough, and Paul’s wife, Linda. It was McCartney’s first time on the road since the Beatles quit touring in 1966.

1974, Crosby Stills Nash & Young kicked off a reunion tour in Seattle in front of 15,000 fans.

1976, The Pretty Things, Supercharge, and third on the bill, The Sex Pistols, all appeared at The Lyceum, London, England, tickets £1.75 ($2.63.)

1977, Alan O’Day went to number one on the US singles chart with “Undercover Angel,” his only solo hit.

1977, Elvis Costello quit his day job at Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics to become a full time musician.

1978, The Rolling Stones drop in on Chicago’s Quiet Knight club to jam with hero Muddy Waters.

1979, The Pretenders kicked off a 23-date UK tour at Smatyz, Chester. The band’s single “Kid” was released that week.

1983, The Police started an eight week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Every Breath You Take” It was also a chart topper in the UK. 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.

1983, Wham! went to number one on the UK album chart with their debut release Fantastic!, which went on to spend 116 weeks on the chart.

1988, Cheap Trick went to number one on the US singles chart with “The Flame,” the group’s only US chart topper.

1995, The Grateful Dead give their last concert with leader Jerry Garcia at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Jerry would die of a heart attack a month later while in drug rehab. The last song played at the concert – “Box of Rain.”

2006, Muse started a two week run at number one on the UK album chart with Black Holes & Revelations, the band’s fifth album release and second chart topper.

2006, Lily Allen scored her first UK number one single with “Smile.” The organ riff is a sample of Jackie Mittoo playing keyboards on “Free Soul” by The Soul Brothers. Lily’s actor dad, Keith Allen, was part of the Fat Les band who had a hit with “Vindaloo” in 1998.

2011, Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant joined three local musicians at a fundraising charity show in Monmouth Wales, where tickets cost £3 ($4.50.) 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 9: Bon Scott, AC/DC (1946); Mitch Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix Experience (1947); Jim Kerr, Simple Minds (1959); Courtney Love (1965);  Jack White (1975)

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Today in Rock History – July 8

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beatles-nowhere-man-ep1966, The Beatles released the Nowhere Man 4-track EP in the UK, which included “Drive My Car,” “Michelle,” and “You Won’t See Me.” All four tracks were taken from The Beatles’ sixth UK studio album, Rubber Soul.

1966, The Who appeared at Top Rank Suite in Cardiff, Wales.

1966, The Rolling Stones performed at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan.

1967, UK music weekly the Melody Maker ran a front-page comment condemning the 3-month jail sentence given to Rolling Stone Mick Jagger for possession of Benzedrine tablets. Jagger was later given a conditional discharge.

1967, The Monkees began a 29-date tour with The Jimi Hendrix Experience as support act. They requested Hendrix because they were fans, but their young audience disliked the Experience, who left the tour after six shows. Hendrix manager Chas Chandler later admitted that he engineered the tour in an effort to gain publicity for Hendrix.

1968, Pink Floyd kicked off their second North American tour at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago. Visa problems meant a delayed start to the tour, and the band had to spend time in Canada while the paperwork was sorted out.

1969, Marianne Faithful collapsed on the set of Ned Kelly after taking a drug overdose. She was admitted to a Sydney Hospital, (she was later dropped from the movie).

1970, The Everly Brothers Show started an eleven-week prime time slot on ABC- TV.

1971, Yes performed at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.

1971, A minor riot occurred during a Mott The Hoople gig at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England. Some fans were injured and two boxes were damaged causing a temporary ban on rock gigs at the venue.

1972, Bill Withers started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “Lean On Me.”

1972, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Convention Center, Louisville, Kentucky.

1972, Donny Osmond was at number one on the singles chart with his version of the Paul Anka song “Puppy Love.” The first of three solo chart toppers for Donny.

1972, The Concert 10 Festival was held at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Acts performing included, Claire Hamill, The Groundhogs, Edgar Winter, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Faces with Rod Stewart, Humble Pie, The J. Geils Band, and Three Dog Night.

Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy1973, Led Zeppelin’s fifth album Houses Of The Holy was on both the US and UK album charts. The album spent a total of 39 weeks on the US chart. The cover art for Houses Of The Holy was inspired by the ending of Arthur C. Clarke’s novel Childhood’s End. It is a collage of several photographs which were taken at the Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland, by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis.

1974, David Bowie plays Philadelphia’s Tower Theatre. The week-long series of concerts is recorded and later released as David Live.

1976, Lynyrd Skynyrd played at the Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia.

1976, Aerosmith appeared at the MECCA Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1977, ZZ Top performed at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum, Shreveport, Louisiana.

1978, Gerry Rafferty’s album City To City went to number one on the US charts knocking off Saturday Night Fever, which had reigned supreme at the top of the charts for almost six months.

1978, Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon from The Clash were arrested for being drunk and disorderly after a gig at the Apollo in Glasgow, both were fined.

1979, The B-52’s made their UK live debut at London’s Lyceum Ballroom, supported by The Tourists.

1980, Roxy Music appeared at the Tendastrisce, Rome.

1981, The Grateful Dead perform at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

1983, Iron Maiden played at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1984, Bob Dylan’s current European tour came to an end at Slane Castle, County Meath in Ireland. Dylan was joined on stage by Van Morrison and they duetted on “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue.” U2’s Bono, who was sent to interview Dylan for the Irish rock magazine Hot Press, ended up duetting with Dylan on “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat.” Carlos Santana also joined Dylan on stage and played guitar on the last seven songs of the set.

1995, TLC started a seven week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Waterfalls,” the group’s second US chart topper, and a top four hit in the UK.

2002, Michael Jackson spoke out against the music industry’s treatment of artists, alleging that the business was rife with racism. Speaking at a civil rights meeting in New York, Jackson claimed there was a “conspiracy” among record companies, especially towards black artists. A spokesman for Jackson’s record label said the remarks were “ludicrous, spiteful and hurtful.”

2006, Queen guitarist Brian May made a “substantial” donation to save hedgehogs from slaughter in the Outer Hebrides. Although the exact amount was not revealed it was said to be enough to pay for the rescue of hundreds of hedgehogs from the Uists, where Scottish Natural Heritage has been culling the animals for the past four years. May’s money would go towards funding cash rewards for islanders so hundreds more hedgehogs can be saved.

2007, Prince was forced off stage by police halfway through his set at the First Avenue nightclub during a late-night gig in his home town of Minneapolis. The club was only allowed to stay open until 3 am, but Prince took to the stage at 2.45 am. Prince had already played two concerts in Minneapolis before his late-night club appearance. His first performance was at a department store, where he promoted his new cologne with a nine-song, 45-minute set.

Born on July 8: Jaimoe Johanson, Allman Bros (1944); Andy Fletcher, Depeche Mode (1960);  Toby Keith (1961); Joan Osborne (1963); Beck (1970); Jamie Cook, guitarist, Arctic Monkeys (1985)

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Today in Rock History – July 1

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1966, Janis Joplin Moves to a house in Lagunitas in the San Geronimo Valley, Marin County, California with members of Big Brother, their wives and girlfriends.

1967, The Association scored their second and last number one single with “Windy.”

1967, The Mama’s & The Papa’s performed at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Swan, Yardley, Birmingham, England.

1967, The Beatles started a 15-week run at number one on the album chart with Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the group’s 10th chart topping album. It was recorded between early December 1966 and mid-April 1967.

1968, James Brown played at the Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island.

1968, The Band released their debut album Music From Big Pink. The album, which features their first hit single “The Weight,” was recorded in studios in New York and Los Angeles in 1968. The group, originally known as The Hawks, became Bob Dylan’s backing band on his 1966 tour.

1968, John Lennon opens an exhibition of his drawings titled “You Are Here.”

1969, The Allman Brothers Band appear at the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee.

1969, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and family were involved in a car accident in Golspie, Scotland. Both John and Yoko needed hospital treatment. Lennon later had the car crushed into a cube and exhibited it on his lawn at Tittenhurst Park.

1969, Sam Phillips, the man who first recorded Elvis, sells his label Sun Records. Sun had released Elvis classics like “That’s All Right” and “Blue Moon of Kentucky.”

1970, Jimi Hendrix records for the first time in his New York studio Electric Ladyland.

1970, Casey Kasem’s syndicated American Top 40 radio show debuts in several markets around the U.S.

1971, Yes performed at San Antonio Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas.

1971, The Who’s “unpublicized” tour of the UK resumes at the Assembly Rooms in Worthing, England.

1972, Neil Diamond went to number one on the US singles chart with “Song Sung Blue,” his second chart topper. It went to number 14 in the UK.

1973, Slade and The Sensational Alex Harvey Band appeared at Earl’s Court London, tickets cost £1.00-£2.00 ($1.50 – $3.00.) Special trains ran form Brighton, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester to take fans to the show.

1973, Bob Dylan releases his soundtrack to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

1973, The Grateful Dead played at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California.

1973, Jethro Tull performed at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1974, Bob Marley & the Wailers release Burnin’.

1975, Ringo Starr divorces his wife, Maureen Cox.

1975, 10cc were at number one on the singles chart with “I’m Not In Love.” The instrumental break featured the repeated spoken phrase: “Be quiet, big boys don’t cry…”, which was uttered by Kathy Warren, the receptionist at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, Cheshire where the band recorded the track.

1976, Elton John played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1977, ZZ Top appeared at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu, Hawaii.

1977, During a North American tour, Pink Floyd played the first of four sold out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1978, The Rolling Stones performed at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio.

1979, Van Halen appeared at the  Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.

1980, Roxy Music performed at Rhine Neckar Halle, Heidelburg, Germany.

1981, Rushton Moreve, bassist with Steppenwolf, was killed in motorcycle accident in Santa Barbara, California, aged 32. He co-wrote their hit “Magic Carpet Ride” with lead singer John Kay. Moreve left the band in late 1968.

1983, A New Jersey based quintet calling themselves Bon Jovi were signed to Phonogram’s Mercury records.

1989, Lou Reed, Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, The Robert Cray Band, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Tanita Tikaram, Pixies, R.E.M., and Texas all appeared at the Rock Torhout Festival, Torhout, Belgium.

1995, DJ Wolfman Jack died of a heart attack. He was the master of ceremonies for the rock ‘n’ roll generation of the ’60s on radio, and later on television during the ’70s. He had a cameo in the film American Graffiti.

1995, R.E.M. The Cure, Therapy, Offspring, PJ Harvey, dEUS, Senser, Bodycount, Channel Zero, Jeff Buckley, Spearhead, Belly, Morphine and The Cranberries all appeared at the Rock Torhout Festival, Torhout, Belgium.

1999, Jamaican reggae singer Dennis Brown died aged 42. The official cause of his death was a collapsed lung. During his career, he recorded more than 75 albums and had the 1979 UK number 14 single “Money In My Pocket.” Bob Marley cited Brown as his favorite singer, naming him “The Crown Prince of Reggae.”

2005, Four Tops singer Renaldo “Obie” Benson died aged 69 in a Detroit hospital from lung cancer. He was diagnosed after having a leg amputated due to circulation problems. The Four Tops sold over 50 million records and had hits including “Reach Out (I’ll be There)” and “I Can’t Help Myself.” Benson also co-wrote “What’s Going On” which became a number two hit for Marvin Gaye.

2005,  R&B and soul singer-songwriter, as well as record producer Luther Vandross died at the age of 54 at the JFK Medical Centre in New Jersey, two years after suffering a major stroke. His “Never Too Much,” was a number one R&B hit, worked with Diana Ross, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey and David Bowie. Vandross had won four Grammys for his final album Dance With My Father.

2006, Roger Waters, Texas, Starsailor, The Who, Razorlight and Primal Scream all appeared at the two day Hyde Park Calling festival in London.

2009, A week after Michael Jackson’s death, The King Of Pop ruled the Top Ten of Billboard’s album chart. Atop the charts was Number Ones, followed by The Essential Michael Jackson in second. Thriller was third, and and Off The Wall was fourth. The Jackson 5’s Ultimate Collection held the fifth spot, Bad was number six, Dangerous was seventh, Greatest Hits – HIStory – Vol. 1 came in at eight and Michael’s Ultimate Collection occupied the ninth position. Collectively, Jackson’s solo albums sold 415,000 copies for the week, 58% of which were digital downloads. The week before his tragic death, his titles sold a combined 10,000 units.

Born on July 1: Willie Dixon (1915); Delaney Bramlett, Delaney & Bonnie(1939); Debbie Harry (1945); John Ford, The Strawbs (1948); Fred Schneider, B-52’s (1951); Dan Aykroyd (1952); Roddy Bottum, American singer, keyboards, Faith No More, Imperial Teen (1963);  Sufjan Stevens, American singer-songwriter, guitarist (1975)

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Today in Rock History – June 28

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1966, The Small Faces appeared live at the Marquee Club in Wardour Street, London. Admission cost $1.05

1967, Pink Floyd performed at The Dance Hall, Eel Pie Island Hotel, Twickenham, England.

1968,The Beatles were at Studio Two at Abbey Road studios, where they recorded “Good Night,” John Lennon’s lullaby for his 5-year-old son Julian. It was said to be inspired by Cole Porter’s “True Love.”   Ringo singing the lead vocal. It was completed after two more sessions in July, and appeared on the White Album.

1968, Ten Years After played at the Fillmore West, San Francisco.

1968, Pink Floyd released their second album A Saucerful Of Secrets in the UK. It is both the last Pink Floyd album on which Syd Barrett would appear, and the only studio album to which all five band members contributed.  That same day the band performed A Saucerful of Secrets for the program Release on BBCTV2. It would air the following evening.  That night, Floyd played for the Students Celebration Dance- The End Of It All Ball,  at the Music Hall in Shrewsbury, England.

1968, The Who performed at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles.

1968, Aretha Franklin appears on the cover of Time magazine.

1969, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Nice, John Mayall, Ten Years After, Taste, Liverpool Scene and Chicken Shack, Keef Hartley, Taste and Savoy Brown, all appeared at The Bath Festival of Blues in England, the DJ was John Peel. Over 12,000 fans attended.

1969, Pink Floyd played at the Winter Gardens Pavilion, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, England. Supporting acts were The Ken Birch Band and the Mike Slocombe Combo.

1969, Henry Mancini started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Love Theme from Romeo And Juliet.” The film’s love theme was used as the backing for “Our Tune” by DJ Simon Bates on his BBC Radio 1 show.

1969, Crosby, Stills & Nash release their self-titled debut album.

1970, Ten Years After performed at the Canadian National Exhibition Stadium, Toronto.

1971, Yes appeared at the Whiskey A Go-Go in Hollywood, California.

1972, Pink Floyd played the first of two nights at The Dome in Brighton, England. These were makeup shows for a concert performance at the same venue in January that had to be stopped in the middle of “Money” due to technical difficulties.

1972, Led Zeppelin performed at the Community Arena in Tucson, Arizona. Tickets cost $4 – $6 (£2.67 – £4.)

1973, The Searchers, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Herman’s Hermits, and Wayne Fontana appear at a revival show at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

1974, The Grateful Dead play at the Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

1975, The Eagles started a five-week run at number one on the US album chart with ‘One Of These Nights’.

1975, Wings went to number one on the UK charts with the album Venus And Mars, featuring the US chart topping single “Listen What The Man Said.”

1975, American singer songwriter Tim Buckley completed the last show of a tour in Dallas, Texas, playing to a sold-out crowd of 1,800 people. This was Buckley’s last ever show, he died the following day of a heroin and morphine overdose at age 28.

1975, Cher marries Gregg Allman.

1977, Elton John achieved a life long ambition when he became the Chairman of Watford Football Club.

1978, The Clash supported by The Specials appeared at Friars, Aylesbury, England.

1980, Roxy Music scored their second number one album with Flesh And Blood. It would return to the top spot again in August for another three weeks, in total spending 60 weeks on the albums chart in the United Kingdom. The album also peaked at number 35 in the United States and number ten in Australia.

1986, Wham! were at number one on the UK singles chart with their fourth and final UK chart topper “The Edge Of Heaven.” Also on this day Wham! played their farewell concert in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, London.

1997, Radiohead went to number one on the UK album chart with their third album OK Computer. The British group’s first self-produced album later appeared in many critics’ lists and listener polls for best album of the year, and also won a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance.

2005, 2 Pac featuring Elton John was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Ghetto Gospel.” It was written by Tupac Shakur and produced by Eminem. The song uses samples from the Elton John song “Indian Sunset” from his 1971 album Madman Across the Water.

2007, The Spice Girls confirmed they would reform for a world tour to take place in December 2007 and January 2008 with the original line-up, who had not performed on stage since Ginger Spice Geri Halliwell quit in May 1998. The 11 dates announced included a London show on December 15th, eight days after the first date in Los Angeles. Other dates included Cologne, Madrid Beijing, Hong Kong, Sydney and Cape Town. The tour was being put together by Simon Fuller, whose 19 company masterminded the group’s global success more than a decade earlier.

Born on this day: David Knights, Procol Harum (1945);  Steven J. Morse, Dixie Dregs, Deep Purple (1954); Clint Boon, English singer, keyboards, Inspiral Carpets, The Clint Boon Experience (1959);  Charlie Clouser, American keyboard player, songwriter, producer, Nine Inch Nails (1963);  Steve Williamson, English saxophonist, composer, Jazz Warriors (1964); Mark Stoermer,  The Killers (1977); Michael Crafter, Australian singer-songwriter, Confession, I Killed the Prom Queen, Carpathian, Bury Your Dead (1981)

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Today in Rock History – June 27

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1966, Pete Townshend and The Who’s co-manager Chris Stamp fly to New York City, the first trip by any member of The Who to America. Shortly after his arrival, Pete attends a luncheon for Herman’s Hermits who are beginning their 1966 U.S. tour. A reporter from Datebook magazine gets an interview from an irritable Pete, while he is photographed by Linda Eastman.”I don’t know why I’m here, at somebody else’s luncheon…Two of your lousy record companies haven’t been able to get us a hit in America. Without a hit record, we can’t get a visa to perform.” When a girl recognizes him and asks if Keith is there because her brother wanted Keith’s drumsticks, Pete chirps, “He’s not here. And if he were, I’m quite sure he wouldn’t give you his drumsticks.”

1967, Pink Floyd were in Studio 3, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, St. John Wood, London in recording sessions for Piper At The Gates of Dawn.

1968, Elvis Presley appeared on an NBC TV show that was billed as his “comeback special.” The show featured the king performing on a small, square stage, surrounded by a mostly female audience. Presley was outfitted in black leather and performed many of his early hits.

1968, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles recorded seven takes of “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” for the upcoming album The Beatles, better known as The White Album.

1969, During a North American tour Jimi Hendrix appeared at Boston Gardens, Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, The Doors performed at the Forum, Mexico City, Mexico.

1970, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, Canned Heat, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Airplane, Johnny Winter, Frank Zappa And The Mothers of Invention, Dr. John, The Moody Blues and Fairport Convention all appeared at the three-day Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in Bath, England.

1970, The Jackson Five started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “The Love You Save,” the group’s third chart topper of the year.

1970, Traffic appeared at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario,

1970, The Trans-Continental Pop Festival (better known as the Festival Express) set off. The tour was unique in that rather than flying to each city, most of the acts traveled on a chartered Canadian National train. The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers and, Buddy Guy Blues Band all traveled together on the train, playing shows in Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Calgary.

1970, Freddie Mercury made his live debut with Smile, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor’s group, at Truro City Hall, Cornwall, England.

1971, The Fillmore East in New York closed its doors. The final concert took place with The Allman Brothers Band, The J. Geils Band, Albert King, and special guests – Edgar Winter’s White Trash, Mountain, The Beach Boys, and Country Joe McDonald  in an invitation-only performance.

1976, The culmination of lengthy legal battle that began in 1973, John Lennon finally received his green card, granting him permanent residency in the US.

1980, John Bonham, drummer with Led Zeppelin collapsed on stage during a gig in Nuremberg, West Germany.

1981, Motorhead scored their only UK number one album with No Sleep Til Hammersmith. The live album was recorded at shows in Leeds and Newcastle during their Short, Sharp Pain In The Neck tour in 1981. The name of the tour was a reference to the injury sustained by Phil Taylor when he was dropped on his head during some after-show horseplay. Despite the title of the album, the London venue the Hammersmith Odeon was not played on the tour.

1981, The Who’s “Don’t Let Go The Coat” backed with “You” hits the US charts. It peaks at number 84 in Billboard, and number 77 in Cash Box.

1987, Madonna played the first date on the North American leg of her Who’s That Girl World Tour at the Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida. The 39 date tour supported her third studio album, True Blue, released in 1986, as well as the soundtrack to Who’s That Girl.

1992, Michael Jackson played the first night on his Dangerous World tour at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany. The tour consisted of 69 concerts to approximately 3.9 million fans across three continents. All profits made from the tour were donated to various charities including the Heal the World Foundation, Jackson’s main reason for conducting the tour.

1994, Aerosmith became the first major band to let fans download a full new track free from the Internet.

1997, Radiohead, Cast, The Bluetones, Manson, The Chemical Brothers, Ash, The Seahorses, Smashing Pumpkins, The Prodigy, Beck, Sheryl Crow, Sting, Dodgy, Travis, Ray Davies, Kula Shaker, Steve Winwood all appeared at the three-day Glastonbury Festival.

2002, One day before the scheduled first show of The Who’s 2002 US tour, bass player John Entwistle, died aged 57 in his hotel room in Las Vegas. The medical examiner determined that death was due to a heart attack induced by an undetermined amount of cocaine.

2003, R.E.M. David Gray, Suede, The Music, Mogwai, De La Soul, Echo and The Bunnymen, Inspiral Carpets and The Darkness all appeared at the UK Glastonbury Festival.

2008, Kings of Leon, The Fratellis, Editors, The Gossip, The Feeling, KT Tunstall, Kate Nash, Jay Z, Amy Winehouse, The Raconteurs, James Blunt, Crowded House, Seasick Steve, Martha Wainwright, The Verve, Leonard Cohen, The Ting Tings, Goldfrapp, Neil Diamond, Pete Doherty, Scouting for Girls, Mark Ronson, Duffy, The Zutons, Groove Armada, and John Mayer all appeared at three-day UK Glastonbury Festival.

2009, Black Eyed Peas went to number one on the US album charts with The E.N.D., the group’s fifth studio album. The album’s lead single, “Boom Boom Pow” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks, the second single, “I Gotta Feeling” spent 14 weeks at number one.

2015, Chris Squire, the bass guitarist and co-founder of 1970s British progressive rock band Yes, died at the age of 67 after battling leukemia. He was the only member to appear on each of their 21 studio albums, released from 1969 to 2014.

Born on June 27: Bruce Johnston (1944); Joey Covington, American drummer, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship (1945);  Camile Baudoin, American guitarist, The Radiators (1948); Gilson Lavis, drums, Chuck Berry, Squeeze, Jools Holland (1951); Lisa Germano, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, John Mellencamp, Simple Minds, David Bowie, Neil Finn (1958); Jeffrey Lee Pierce, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Gun Club (1958); Dawud Wharnsby, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer (1972); Leigh Nash, singer, Sixpence None The Richer (1976);  Jennifer Goodridge, American keyboard player, Your Enemies Friends (1980)

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Today in Rock History – June 26

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1965, The Byrds went to number one on the US singles chart with their version of Bob Dylan’s “Mr Tambourine Man.” Only Roger McGuinn from the band played on the song, Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine played on the track.

1965, The Strangeloves,  three Australian aborigines who were really three New Yorkers, enter Billboard’s Hot 100 with “I Want Candy.”

1966, In the midst of a German tour, the Beatles make a long-awaited return to Hamburg, the city where they got their start performing in local clubs. This time they come back in an eight-car motorcade and play to 7,000 people at Ernst Mercky Halle.

1966, During a North American tour, The Rolling Stones played two shows, a matinee show at The Coliseum in Washington DC, and an evening show at The Baltimore Civic Centre in Maryland. The McCoys and The Standells were the support acts.

1969, Joni Mitchell appeared on the ABC TV Mama Cass Television Program from Los Angeles, California.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at North Georgia Fairgrounds in Marietta, Ohio.

1970, Mountain played at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1971, Emerson Lake and Palmer went to number one on the UK chart with their second album Tarkus.

1971, Pink Floyd play at Hatfield Polytechnic, in Hatfield, England. Tickets were 60 pence (about 90 cents.)

1972, During sessions at Olympic Studios, London, England, David Bowie recorded “John, I’m Only Dancing,” with Mick Ronson on lead guitar and Lou Reed on rhythm guitar. The track which was released and became a hit single in the UK in September of this year was not released in America, being judged too risqué by RCA Records. The original video directed by Mick Rock, featuring androgynous dancers from Lindsay Kemp’s mime troupe, was banned by British music show Top Of The Pops.

1973, Rolling Stone Keith Richards and his girlfriend Anita Pallenberg were arrested at their home in Chelsea, London on drugs and gun charges.

1974, Cher divorced Sonny Bono after 10 years of marriage. Four days later, Cher married guitarist Gregg Allman, the couple split 10 days after that, got back together and split again. They did stay married for three years, producing Elijah Blue Allman.

1975, Bob Dylan officially releases the long-bootlegged Basement Tapes.

1976, The Grateful Dead played the first of four nights at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago, Illinois.

1976, Legendary ’70s group Roxy Music announce they will undergo a “trial separation.”

1977, Elvis Presley made his last ever live stage appearance when he appeared at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Presley would die less than two months later. The last two songs he performed were  “Hurt”  and  “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”  Before the show Elvis was presented with a plaque commemorating the 2 billionth record to come out of RCA s pressing plant.

1982, American singer and One Hit Wonder Charlene was at number one on the UK singles chart with “I’ve Never Been To Me.” The song was recorded in 1976 and was reissued by Motown records in 1982 by which time Charlene had moved to England and was working in a sweet shop in Ilford, east London.

1999, Elton John was reported to be in talks with a City finance house to secure a £25 million ($42.5 million) loan, using his back catalogue of hits as security. It had been reported that Elton had been spending £250,000 ($425,000) a week on credit cards.

2008, Total Guitar magazine voted Celine Dion’s rendition of the AC/DC track “You Shook Me All Night Long” as the world’s worst cover version ever. In the best cover versions list, Jimi Hendrix was voted into first place with his version of the Bob Dylan song “All Along the Watchtower,” The Beatles rendition of “Twist and Shout,” (first recorded by the Top Notes), was in second place, followed by the Guns N’ Roses version of the Wings song “Live and Let Die.”

Born on Jun 26: Col. Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager (1910); Billy Davis, Jr., The Fifth Dimension (1940); Larry Taylor, Canned Heat (1942) Mick Jones, The Clash (1955); Chris Isaak (1956) ; Colin Greenwood,  Radiohead (1969)

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Today in Rock History – June 23

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1965, Motown releases Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ “The Tracks of My Tears.” It was a number two hit on the Billboard R&B chart, and reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Belatedly released in the UK in 1969, it became a Top Ten hit that summer, reaching number nine.

1966, The Beatles fly to Germany, where they will begin their last world tour. The Rolling Stones depart London the same day to begin a tour of America.

1966, The Who performed at the Refectory at the University at Leeds as part of a University Rag Ball along with The Alan Price Set, The Swingin’ Blue Jeans, and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, without recently departed guitarist Eric Clapton, who left to form the new group Cream.

1966, The Beatles had their tenth consecutive number one single with “Paperback Writer” / “Rain.” The track is marked by the boosted bass guitar sound throughout, partly in response to John Lennon demanding to know why the bass on a certain Wilson Pickett record far exceeded the bass on any Beatles records. It was also cut louder than any other Beatles record, due to a new piece of equipment used in the mastering process.

1967, Pink Floyd played two shows. An early gig took place at the Locarno Ballroom in Derby, England, where Floyd, Paperback Edition and Thorndyke Mordikai’s Imagination played at the Rolls Royce Apprectices Ball. Later that night, Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, Tomorrow, The Children, Cock-A-Hoop, and The Roll Movement appeared at The 8-Hour Psycho-Chromatic Fantasy, held at Great & Small Halls, Bradford University, Bradford England.

1970, Cubby Checker was arrested in Niagara Falls after police discovered marijuana and other drugs in his car.

1972, Smokey Robinson performs his last show with the Miracles.

1973, George Harrison started a five-week run at number one on the album chart with Living In The Material World, his second solo chart topper.

1974, The Grateful Dead performed at the Jai-Alai Fronton in Miami, Florida.

1975, During his Welcome To My Nightmare tour in Vancouver, Canada, Alice Cooper fell from the stage and broke six ribs.

1975, Jefferson Starship release Red Octopus. Rolling Stone celebrates Marty Balin’s return to the fold by saying, “If it weren’t for Balin, Red Octopus would be completely unlistenable.”

1975, Bob Marley and The Wailers played the first of 14 shows over 7 nights at Paul’s Mall in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of their Natty Dread Tour.

1976, Paul McCartney and Wings played the last date on their Wings Over America tour at the Forum in Los Angeles.

1977, A very inebriated Keith Moon joins Led Zeppelin onstage in Los Angeles. He “belts seven shades of shit” out of a tympani on “Moby Dick” and “Rock and Roll,” then proceeds to call John Bonham the best living rock drummer in the world today.

1984, Duran Duran started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “The Reflex,” the group’s first US chart topper,  from their third album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger.

1990, Buddy Holly’s Gibson acoustic guitar sold for £139,658 ($237,419) in a Sotheby’s auction. The guitar was in a tooled leather case made by Holly himself.

2008, Coldplay appeared at Madison Square Garden in New York City on the first night of the North American leg of their 161-date Viva la Vida world Tour.

Born on June 23: June Carter Cash (1923); Stu Sutcliffe (1940); Steve Shelley, drums, Sonic Youth (1962); KT Tunstall, UK singer, songwriter (1975) Jason Mraz (1977)

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Today in Rock History – June 19

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The Spencer Davis Group

1965, The Who, Solomon Burke, Zoot Money, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Spencer Davis Group, Marianne Faithful, Long John Baldry, The Birds, (featuring a young Ronnie Wood), Dave Witting, and the Ray Martin Group all appeared at Uxbridge Blues Festival, England.

1965, The Four Tops went to number one on the singles chart with “I Can’t Help Myself.” Lead singer Levi Stubbs had not been satisfied with the recording session and was promised that he could do it again the following day, but no other session ever took place. The track that became a hit was just the second take of the song.

1966, “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones began its second week at number one on the American singles chart.

1967, Paul McCartney told The Daily Mirror that he had taken LSD four times during an interview with Life Magazine, Sir Paul stated that he didn’t regret that he’d spoken out and hoped that his fans would understand.

1968, The Rolling Stones scored their seventh number one single when “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” topped the charts. Keith Richards wrote in his autobiography that he and Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards’ country house. They were awoken one morning by the sound of gardener Jack Dyer walking past the window. When Jagger asked what the noise was, Richards responded, “Oh, that’s Jack – that’s jumpin’ Jack.”

1969, The Doors appeared at the PNE Garden Auditorium, Vancouver, Canada.

1971, Carole King started a five week run at number one on the singles chart with “It’s Too Late / I Feel The Earth Move.” Both songs were from her Tapestry album.

1973, Edgar Winter’s US number one hit “Frankenstein” was awarded a Gold record. Winter named the song because of how many cuts and patches were contained in the original studio tape.

1973, The Rocky Horror Show, starring Tim Curry, opens at a London theater.

1973, Pink Floyd performed at the Civic Center Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The set list: Obscured By Clouds / When You’re In / Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun / Careful With that Axe, Eugene / Echoes. // Second set: The Dark Side of the Moon/ encore: One of These Days.

1974, The Delinquents a band featuring Mick Jones (later of The Clash) made their debut at the Students Union bar, Queen Elizabeth College, Kensington.

1974, The Jackson Five played two shows at the Apollo, Glasgow, Scotland.

1977, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers supported by The Boomtown Rats appeared at The Rainbow, London.

1978, The Rolling Stones played the Palladium, in New York City during their summer tour of North America.

1980, The Grateful Dead played the first of three shows at West High Auditorium in Anchorage, Alaska.

1992, The Greenpeace Stop Sellafield, campaign concert took place at G-Mex in Manchester, England with U2, Big Audio Dynamite II, Public Enemy and Kraftwerk.

2011, Amy Winehouse was booed by crowds in Serbia’s capital Belgrade after appearing to be too drunk to perform. The concert – the first on the singers 12-day European tour, saw Winehouse mumble her way through parts of songs, leave the stage altogether and at one point she threw her microphone to the floor.

2013, Slim Whitman the American country music and western music singer/songwriter and instrumentalist died aged 90. He was known for his yodeling abilities and his smooth high octave falsetto, and sold in excess of 120 million records during his career. Michael Jackson cited Whitman as one of his ten favorite vocalists, and Beatle George Harrison cited Whitman as an early influence. Paul McCartney credited a poster of Whitman with giving him the idea of playing his guitar left-handed with his guitar strung the opposite way to a right-handed player’s.

2014, Gerry Goffin, who penned chart-topping songs with his then-wife Carole King died at the age of 75 in Los Angeles. He wrote dozens of hits over two decades, including “The Loco-Motion,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” After their divorce in 1968, Goffin continued writing songs, including a hit for Whitney Houston, “Saving All My Love for You” in 1985.

Born on June 19: Tommy Devito, The Four Seasons (1936); Elaine McFarlane, Spanky And Our Gang (1942); Nick Drake UK singer, songwriter (1948) Ann Wilson, Heart (1950); Paula Abdul (1963);  Scott Avett, Avett Brothers (1976)

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Today in Rock History – June 18

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1971, Fleetwood Mac appeared at Up The Junction in Crewe, England.

1974, Peter Hoorelbeke, drummer with Rare Earth, was arrested after a concert for throwing his drumsticks into the crowd.

1975, Elvis Presley had a face-lift at Mid South hospital, Memphis.

1976, Abba gave a special live performance in Stockholm for Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Silvia Sommerlath on the eve of their wedding.

1977, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers supported by The Boomtown Rats appeared at Friars, Aylesbury, England.

1977, Fleetwood Mac went to No.1 on the singles chart with “Dreams,” the group’s first and only No.1

1977, Johnny Rotten and Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols were stabbed and beaten when they were attacked in a parking lot outside a London pub.

1977, The Beatles Live At The Hollywood Bowl went to number one on the album chart The album featured recordings from  August 23rd 1964 and  August 30th 1965.

1980, The Blues Brothers, starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as the deadpan R&B team, premieres in New York.

1993, A&M Records chairman Jerry Moss and vice-chairman Herb Alpert announced they were leaving the company they founded more than 30 years earlier. They had sold A&M in 1990 to Polygram for $500 (£312.5) million. Moss and Alpert started the label in the garage of Alpert’s Los Angeles home in 1962. The label was the home to such acts as The Police, Bryan Adams, Joan Baez, Flying Burrito Brothers, The Carpenters, Joe Cocker, Supertramp and Herb Alpert’s own Tijuana Brass.

2002, U2 lost a bid to prevent the demolition of Hanover Quay studio in Dublin. More than 8,000 fans signed an online petition to preserve the studio, where the group recorded “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” and some of their Pop album.

2003, Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller became the first British music manager since The Beatles’ Brian Epstein to hold the top three positions in the US singles chart. Fuller, who steered the Spice Girls and S Club 7 to success, was in charge of bestselling artists Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard, together with the American Idol 2 Final 10. During 2003 Fuller sold more than ten million records around the world and has had 96 number one singles and 79 top-placed albums in both the US and UK during his career.

2007, American singer and record producer Hank Medress died of lung cancer at 68. He was the vocalist on The Tokens 1961 US No.1 hit “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” Medress was also in the vocal quartet The Linc-Tones with Neil Sedaka and produced the hit single “He’s So Fine”‘ by The Chiffons, as well as Tony Orlando’s “Knock Three Times.”

Born on June 18: Paul McCartney (1942); Carl Radle, bass, Derek and the Dominoes (1942);  Lincoln Thompson, Jamaican singer-songwriter, The Tartans (1949); Alison Moyet, Yazoo (1961); Oz Fox, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, Stryper, SinDizzy,  Bloodgood (1961); Dizzy Reed, American keyboard player, songwriter, actor, Guns N’ Roses and Johnny Crash (1963); Nathan Morris, American singer, Boyz II Men (1971);

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