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Today in Rock History – August 7

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1965, Herman’s Hermits went to number one on the singles chart with “I’m Henry VIII I Am.” The single was only released in the US. Singer Peter Noone once interviewed Elvis Presley for UK music paper New Musical Express.

1965, Mike Smith of the Dave Clark Five suffered two broken ribs when he was pulled off the stage by a fan in Chicago.

1965, The Turtles’ remake of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe” was released. It reached the eighth spot on the US charts, and became the title of their first album as The Turtles.

1968, The Who performed at the Wollman Skating Rink Theater in New York City.

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Berkeley Community Theatre, California.

1970, Ten Years After, Jethro Tull, Cactus, Grand Funk, Alice Cooper, The Youngbloods, and others played at the  Strawberry Fields Festival, held at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada.

1970, The Goose Lake International Music Festival was held in Leoni, Michigan. Over 200,000 fans attended the three day festival. Acts who appeared included Mountain, Chicago, Bob Seger, John Sebastian, James Gang, Stooges with Iggy Pop, Brownsville Station, MC5, Rod Stewart and the Flying Burrito Brothers

1971, Hawkwind appeared at Under The Arches in London.

1971, The Bee Gees started a four week run at number one on the Billboard singles chart with “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?” It was the group’s tenth hit, and first chart topper.

1971, The Who were to have played the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut but it is canceled by the local government, due to the concert’s proximity to a planned Black Panther rally. Instead, The Who play one more night in Boston.

1972, Yes performed at the PNE Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada.

1974, Peter Wolf from The J Geils Band married actress Faye Dunaway in Beverly Hills the marriage ended in divorce five years later.

1975, ZZ Top plays the Calderone Concert Hall, Hempstead, New York.

1976, Elton John and Kiki Dee were at number one on the US singles chart with “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” giving Elton his sixth chart topper. It was written by Elton John without Bernie Taupin under the pseudonym “Ann Orson” and “Carte Blanche.”

1976, Elton also headlined the annual Summerfest concert at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, New York. Supporting acts were John Miles and Boz Scaggs.

1976, UK music weekly Melody Maker gave The Sex Pistols their first front cover.

1977,  AC/DC played at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida

1978, Aerosmith appeared at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

1979, Chicago performed at Hersheypark Arena, Hershey, Pennsylvania.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band headlined at the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles.

1981, Bruce Springsteen played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1982, Dexy’s Midnight Runners were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Come On Eileen,” their second and last chart topper. It was the Best-selling single of 1982 and the song won Best British Single at the 1983 Brit Awards. The “Eileen” as featured in the video is Máire Fahey, sister of Siobhan Fahey, former singer with Bananarama and Shakespeare’s Sister. The American singer Johnnie Ray, mentioned in the opening lyrics, was also featured in the video using old film footage. The song was used in the films Tommy Boy (1995), This Is England (2006), Get Him to the Greek (2010), Take Me Home Tonight (2011), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012,) and the TV shows Spaced and Hindsight.

1982, The Grateful Dead play the first of two nights at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin.

1982, Fleetwood Mac started a five-week run at number one on the US album chart with Mirage. The band’s third US chart topping album.

1984, American soul singer Esther Phillips died from liver and kidney failure in Carson, California in 1984, at the age of 48. She had the 1975 hit single “What A Difference A Day Makes.”

1993, Pete Townshend appears at the Brooklyn Academy of Music during his Psychoderelict tour.

1997, Garth Brooks played to the largest crowd ever in New York’s Central Park. An estimated one million people attended the live concert with an additional 14.6 million viewing live on HBO.

2001, Harmonica player Larry Adler died aged 87. Known for his original collaborations with George Gershwin, Kate Bush, Sting, and Vaughan Williams, and his own virtuoso performances.

2008, Elvis Presley’s peacock jumpsuit, was sold at auction for $300,000 (£187,500), making it the most expensive piece of Elvis memorabilia ever sold at an auction. The white outfit with a plunging V-neck and high collar featured a blue-and-gold peacock design, hand-embroidered on the front and back and along the pant legs.

2011, Marshall Grant, who played bass for Johnny Cash in the Tennessee Two, from 1954 to 1980, passed away at the age of 83. After his time with The Man In Black, Grant managed The Statler Brothers until they retired in 2002, and later wrote an autobiography entitled I Was There When It Happened.

Born on August 7: Felice Bryant, songwriter, Everly Brothers (1925); B.J.Thomas (1942); Kerry Chater, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap (1945); Rodney Crowell (1950); Bruce Dickinson vocals, Iron Maiden (1958); Kristin Hersh,  singer, guitarist, Throwing Muses (1966)

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Today in Rock History – July 30

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1966, The Beatles started a five week run at number one on the US album chart with “Yesterday…And Today,” the group’s 8th chart topping album.

1966, The Troggs started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Wild Thing.”

1967, The Who appeared at the Miami Beach Convention Hall, Miami, Florida.

1968, The Beatles closed their Apple Boutique in London after seven months of business, giving away all the stock to passers by and Apple staff.

1969, The Beatles continued working on their forthcoming album Abbey Road, recording overdubs on “Come Together,” “Polythene Pam/She Came In Through the Bathroom Window,” “You Never Give Me Your Money,” and “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight.” The Beatles began to assemble the “medley” that would make up side two of the album. Paul McCartney told tape operator John Kurlander to discard “Her Majesty,” but Kurlander tacked it onto the end of the tape, about 20 seconds after the end of “The End.” Hearing it like this, Paul decides to keep it, including the lengthy silence preceding it.

1973, The Mamas & the Papas Papa John Phillips calls a press conference to accuse his old label ABC-Dunhill of “the systematic, cold-blooded theft of perhaps up to $60 million, stolen from each and every artist who ever recorded for the company during a seven-year period.”

1974, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played The Troubadour in Los Angeles, California on a double bill with Roger McGuinn from The Byrds.

1977, The Bee Gees younger brother Andy Gibb started a four-week run at number one on the singles chart with “I Just Wanna Be Your Everything,” his first of three chart toppers.

1978, Glen Goine, singer and guitarist with Parliament Funkadelic died from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma aged 24.

1978, Fleetwood Mac and Steve Miller Band appeared at the JFK Stadium, Philadelphia.

1986, Variety magazine reported that RCA had dropped John Denver from its roster after the release of his single, ‘What Are We Making Weapons For’. Variety said the song upset the record company’s new owner, General Electric, one of the largest defense contractors in the US.

1994, Rage Against The Machine, Bjork, Blur, Manic Street Preachers, Del Amitri, Primal Scream, Crowded House, Oasis and Aimee Mann all appeared at the two-day T In The Park festival in Scotland.

2003, Sam Phillips the founder of Sun Records and studio died of respiratory failure at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. In the 1940s, Phillips worked as a DJ for Muscle Shoals, Alabama radio station WLAY. Phillips recorded what some consider to be the first rock and roll record, “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats in 1951. He discovered Elvis Presley, worked with Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Ike Turner, B.B. King and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Born on July 30: Buddy Guy (1936);  Paul Anka (1941) and David Sanborn (1945); Andy Scott, guitar, Sweet (1949); Kate Bush (1958); Brad Hargraves, Third Eye Blind (1972)

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Today in Rock History – July 27

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1968, Bee Gee Robin Gibb collapsed, as the group were about to set out on their first US tour. The singer was suffering from nervous exhaustion.

1968, The Steve Miller Band appeared at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Cass Elliot released her first solo single following the break up of The Mamas and Papas. “Dream a Little Dream of Me” had been around since 1931 and had been recorded by Frank Sinatra and Frankie Laine, among others. many others. Cass’ version would be the most successful when it peaked at number 12 on the charts.

1968, Jackie Wilson performed at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1969, Led Zeppelin and the Doors play the Seattle Pop Festival at Gold Creek Park in Woodinville, Washington.  Robert Plant remembers the following about Jim Morrison. “He hung on the side of the stage and nearly toppled into the audience and did all those things that I suppose were originally sexual things, but as he got fatter and dirtier and more screwed up they became more bizarre. So it was really sickening to watch.”

1972, Hawkwind played at the Pier Pavillon, Hastings, England.

1973, Led Zeppelin played the first of three nights at New York”s Madison Square Garden. Top ticket price was $7.50 (£5.00.)

1974, John Denver started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Annie’s Song,” the singer’s second chart topper. The song was a tribute to his wife and was written in ten minutes while he was on a ski lift.

1974, Wings started a seven-week run at number one on the UK album chart with Band On The Run, featuring the title-track, “Jet” and the American hit “Helen Wheels.” The album sold over 6 million copies world-wide.

1974, Aerosmith performed at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Madison, Wisconsin.

1974, Eric Clapton appeared at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, Davenport, Iowa.

1974, The Grateful Dead played the Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia.

1975, The Rolling Stones perform at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1976, After a four-year legal fight, John Lennon was awarded his Green card, allowing him permanent residence in the US.

1976, Bruce Springsteen sued his manager Mike Appel for fraud and breach of trust. The case dragged on for over a year, halting Springsteen’s career. An out of court settlement was reached the following year.

1976, Tina Turner filed for divorce from her husband Ike, ending their violent 16-year marriage and successful musical partnership.

1977, AC/DC appeared at Amarillo World Headquaters, Austin., Texas.

1978, Kansas played at the Pine Knob Music Theatre, in Clarkston, Michigan, just outside of Detroit.

1978, Joy Division performed at the Roots Club, Leeds, England.

1979, Blondie appeared at the Orpheum Theater, Memphis, Tennessee.

1980, Van Halen headlined at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.

1981, Ozzy Osbourne played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario.

1985, Paul Young went to number one on the US singles chart with his version of the Daryl Hall song “Every Time You Go Away.”

1986, Queen became the first western act since Louis Armstrong in 1964 to perform in Eastern Europe when they played at Nepstadion in Budapest, Hungary. The gig was filmed and released as “Queen Magic in Budapest.”

1991, Jesus Jones went to number two on the US chart with “Right Here, Right Now. The failed to upend Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do), I Do It for You” from a seven week stay at the top position.

1996, The Spice Girls scored their first UK number one single with “Wannabe,” spending seven weeks at number one. The song won Best British-Written Single at the 1997 Ivor Novello Awards and Best Single at the 1997 Brit Awards.

2001, Leon Wilkeson, bass player with Lynyrd Skynyrd, was found dead in a hotel room in Florida aged 49.  Wilkeson had apparently been suffering from chronic liver and lung disease. His death was attributed to natural causes. He was also a member of the Rossington-Collins Band.

2012, The Beatles returned to the Top 40 of the Billboard albums chart with the iTunes-exclusive compilation Tomorrow Never Knows. The set included 14 classic songs by the band and marked the first time The Beatles released an album exclusively to iTunes that had never been previously issued.

Born on July 27: Nick Reynolds, The Kingston Trio (1933); Al Ramsey, Gary Lewis and the Playboys (1943); Bobby Gentry (1944);  Maurenn McGovern (1949); Michael Vaughn, guitar, Paper Lace (1950); Conway Savage, bass, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds (1960); Rex Brown, bass, Pantera (1964); Juliana Hatfield, singer, songwriter (1967)

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Today in Rock History – June 13

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1967, The Bee Gees appeared live on the UK TV show As You Like It. The group were promoting their debut single “New York Mining Disaster 1941.”

1968, Quicksilver Messenger Service and The Hallucinations performed at Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, The Who stage the Hollywood premiere of Tommy, performing the rock opera at the Hollywood Palladium as part of the “Magic Circus” with fellow acts Poco, and the Bonzo Dog Band. Attending the show are Janis Joplin, Spirit, Mama Cass Elliot, David Crosby, Peter Tork and The Turtles.

1969, The Rolling Stones held a photo call in Hyde Park to introduce new guitarist Mick Taylor. The 20 year-old former John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers member made his live debut with the Stones the following month at a free concert at Hyde Park London.

1969, Glen Campbell played at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1969,  Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Sam & Dave, and the Staple Singers perform at the Soul Bowl ’69, held at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.

1969, The Grateful Dead performed at the Convention Center in Fresno, California.

1969, Led Zeppelin play at Town Hall in Birmingham, the first of eleven shows in England and France before returning to the US. Supporting acts were Liverpool Scene and Blodwyn Pig

1969, Pink Floyd played at the Great Hall, Devonshire House at the University of Exeter, in Exeter, England.

1970, The Beatles started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “The Long And Winding Road,” the group’s 20th chart topper. The album Let It Be started a four-week run at number one the US album chart on the same day.

1970, Grand Funk Railroad, supported by Steel Mill, featuring Bruce Springsteen, appeared at the Ocean Ice Palace in Bricktown, New Jersey, tickets cost $5.00 (£3.33.)

1970, Christine Perfect says she will retire from music following the release of her self-titled solo album. However, she later becomes a member of her husband, John McVie’s, band, Fleetwood Mac.

1971, Grin, led by Nils Lofgrin played at the Alexandria Roller Rink, Alexandria, Virginia.

1972, The Rolling Stones performed at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1972, Clyde McPhatter, original lead vocalist with The Drifters, died of a heart attack in New York. He joined Billy Ward & the Dominoes in 1950, formed The Drifters in 1953, and had several solo hits including 1962’s “Lover Please.” He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

1973, David Bowie played at the Gaumont State Theatre, London.

1974, King Crimson appeared Cow Palace in San Francisco.

1974, David Bowie, Corinne “Coco” Schwab., Stuey George and driver Jim James leave the MainMan suite at the Sherry Netherland Hotel in New York to begin the nine hour trip by limousine to Montreal for the start of the “Diamond Dogs” tour.

1975, John Lennon made his last ever TV appearance when he appeared on Salute To Sir Lew Grade, performing “Slippin And Slidin,” and “Imagine.”

1976, Aerosmith appeared at the Civic Center, Charleston, West Virginia.

1977, Crosby Stills and Nash performed at the Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1977, Rush played at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool, England.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1980, Before a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game, Pat Benatar performs a short set and dances with the team mascot, the Phillie Phanatic.

1980, “Roadie” opens across America. Appearing in the film are VH1 giants Meat Loaf, Blondie, Pat Benatar, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, and Styx.

1980, The Grateful Dead performs at the Seattle Center Coliseum, in Seattle, Washington.

1981, Smokey Robinson was at number one on the UK singles chart with a song he wrote in the late 60’s. “Being With You.” It was his first solo chart topper.

1984, Yes appeared at the Falkoner Teater, Copenhagen, Denmark.

1988, The biggest charity Rock concert since Live Aid in 1985 took place at London’s Wembley Stadium, to rally against South African apartheid. Among the performers were Sting, Stevie Wonder, Bryan Adams, George Michael, Whitney Houston and Dire Straits. Half the money raised went towards anti-apartheid activities in Britain, the rest was donated to children’s charities in southern Africa.

1992, Erasure started a five-week run at number one in the UK with the Abba-Esque EP. The release featured four covers of Abba hits and Vince Clark & Andy Bell dressed up as the two female members of Abba for the videos.

1992, Billy Ray Cyrus started a 17-week run at number one on the US album chart with Some Gave All. His debut album featured the world-wide breakthrough song “Achy Breaky Heart,” which was originally recorded as “Don’t Tell My Heart” by The Marcy Brothers on their 1991 self-titled album.

1995, Alanis Morissette released her studio album, Jagged Little Pill. The album went on to sell over 30 million copies world-wide, and made Morissette the first female Canadian to score a US number one album. Jagged Little Pill featured the massive hits “You Oughta Know,” “Hand in My Pocket,” “Ironic,” and “You Learn.”

2003, The Arctic Monkeys made their live debut at The Grapes pub in Sheffield, England. They received £27 ($46) from ticket sales.

2015, Rapper MC Supreme was killed in Malibu, California when a pickup truck hit his parked car on the shoulder of the Pacific Coast Highway. The 47-year-old “Black in America” performer, whose real name was Dewayne Coleman, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the truck was arrested on suspicion of DUI.

Born on June 13: Uriel Jones, session drummer, the Funk Brothers (1934); Bobby Freeman, singer (1940); Marv Tarplin, American guitarist, songwriter, the Miracles (1941);  Malcolm McDowell, actor  (1943); Dennis Locorriere, guitar, Dr Hook (1949); Howard Leese, American guitarist, producer, Bad Company, Heart (1951); Paul De Lisle, American bass player, songwriter, Smash Mouth (1963); Denise Pearson, English singer-songwriter, Five Star (1968); Rivers Cuomo, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, Weezer, Avant Garde, Homie (1970);

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Today in Rock History – May 6

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1965, In their Clearwater, Florida hotel room, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards worked out the opening guitar riff of “Satisfaction,” following Richard’s purchase of a Gibson fuzz-box earlier that day.

1966, The Who appeared at the Top Hat Ballroom in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.

1966, Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles recorded overdubs on “I’m Only Sleeping” and worked on various mixes of the track.

1966, During a four month world tour, Bob Dylan played the first night of 11 UK dates at the ABC in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1967, Jimi Hendrix, The Walker Brothers, Engelbert Humperdink and Cat Stevens all appeared at the Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire, England.

1967, The Who’s Keith Moon gives an interview in which he advises, “To get your playing more forceful, hit the drums harder.”

1967, Otis Redding played at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1967, Pink Floyd performed at Kitson Hall in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

1968, Pink Floyd, The Move, The Nice, and The Association played at the First European International Pop Festival, Palazzo Dello Sport, Rome, Italy.

1969, King Crimson appeared at Maida Vale Studio, London.

1970, The Grateful Dead played at Kresge Plaza on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1971, Ike & Tina Turner are awarded a gold disc – the only one they ever received – for their recording of “Proud Mary.”

1972, The Tyrannosaurus Rex double album Prophets, Seers And Sages And The Angels Of The Ages / My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair But Now Their Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows went to No.1 in the UK. The longest title of an album ever at the time!

1973, Paul Simon set out on his first tour without partner Art Garfunkel, using The Jesse Dixon Singers as a backup group on stage. Simon’s tour of America and Europe was recorded and released as Live Rhymin.

1975, Rush played at the Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Boomtown Rats

1976, The Bee Gees announce a series of benefit concerts for UNICEF at a United Nations press conference.

1976, The Rolling Stones appeared at Forest National, Brussels, Belgium.

1977, The Boomtown Rats played their first gig in England when they appeared at Studio 51, London.

1977, REO Speedwagon performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1978, The soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever started an 18 week run at No.1 on the album chart, The album, which features seven Bee Gees songs, went on to sell over 30 million copies worldwide.

1979, Yes played at Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington.

1980, Van Halen appeared at the Rochester Community War Memorial, Rochester, New York.

1981, Dire Straits performed at Rhein-Main-Hall, Wiesbaden, Germany.

1995, Oasis scored their first UK No.1 single when “Some Might Say” went to the top of the UK charts. It was the first single to be released from the Manchester bands second album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? And the last Oasis track to feature original drummer Tony McCarroll.

2004, A sale at Christie’s in London, England became the most successful pop auction in the company’s history after Beatles memorabilia sold for a record £788,643. The auction included a leather collar worn by John Lennon which sold for £117,250. A signed copy of a management deal with The Beatles and manager Brian Epstein sold for £122,850. A Vox Kensington guitar used by Lennon and Harrison went for £100,000. Also sold, a coloured felt-pen drawing by Lennon (£10,000), a letter with his signature (£5,500), and a pen-and-ink drawing called Happy Fish (£9,500).

2006, During a UK tour, Morrissey played at The Apollo Manchester on the first of three nights at three different venues in his home city of Manchester. The singer then appeared at Manchester Opera House the following night and then at Manchester Bridgewater Hall on the 8th May.

Born on this day:  Bob Seger (1945); Robbie McIntosh, Average White Band (1950); and John Flansburgh, They Might Be Giants (1960)

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Today in Rock History – March 27

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1966, The Who appeared at the Central Pier, Morecambe, Lancashire, England.

1966, During an UK tour, Roy Orbison fell off a motorbike while scrambling at Hawkstone Park, Birmingham fracturing his foot. He played the remaining dates sat on a stool and walking on crutches.

1967, Fats Domino played his first ever UK date at London’s Saville Theatre, supported by The Bee Gees and Gerry And The Pacemakers.

1967, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were awarded the prestigious Ivor Novello award for”Michelle,” the most performed song in the UK in 1966.

1967, The Young Rascals record their future number one smash “Groovin’.”

1968, The Bee Gees kicked off a 24-date UK tour at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Also on the tour, The Foundations and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.

1968, The Who appear at The Forum in Montreal, Canada. Opening for them is The Troggs making their North American debut.

1968, The Beatles were at number one on the singles chart with “Lady Madonna,” the group’s 14th chart topper.

1969, Pink Floyd played at St. James’ Church Hall, Chesterfield, England, supported by King Mob Echo and Gandalf’s Garden. The set list:  Astronomy Domine / Careful With That Axe, Eugene / Interstellar Overdrive / Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun / A Saucerful Of Secrets.

1970, Led Zeppelin performed at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

1971, New York radio station WNBC banned the song “One Toke Over the Line” by Brewer & Shipley because of its alleged drug references. Other stations around the country followed.

1971, Bruce Springsteen & Friendly Enemies opened for The Allman Brothers Band at the Sunshine In, Asbury Park in New Jersey, tickets cost $4.00. Springsteen had just disbanded his group Steel Mill and within a few weeks would form Dr Zoom & The Sonic Boom with Steve Van Zandt.

1972, Elvis Presley recorded what would be his last major hit, “Burning Love,” a number two hit.

1973, Jerry Garcia from The Grateful Dead was arrested when police found cocaine and LSD in his car after being busted for speeding in New Jersey.

1973, Rolling Stone magazine reported that after becoming a disciple of Sri Chinmoy, Carlos Santana had changed his name to “Devadip,” which means “the lamp of the light of the Supreme.”

1975, Lynyrd Skynyrd played at the Bayfront Center Arena, St. Petersburg, Florida.

1976, Genesis appeared at Memorial Auditorium, Kitchener, Ontario.

1976, Paul McCartney and Wings were forced to postpone forthcoming US tour for three weeks after guitarist Jimmy McCulloch fell in his hotel bathroom and broke a finger.

1977, Genesis played at the Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

rutles-all-u-need-is-cash1978, The Beatles parody All You Need Is Cash featuring The Rutles was shown in the UK on BBC-TV.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at the Entertainment Centre, Perth, Australia.

1979, Eric Clapton married Patti Harrison, the former wife of George, at Temple Bethel, Tucson, Arizona. Patti applied for a divorce in 1988.

1980, Rush appeared at Memorial Arena, Victoria, British Columbia.

1981, Eric Clapton performed at Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1982, Former Small Faces and Faces bass player Ronnie Lane was admitted to hospital for treatment for multiple sclerosis.  Lane succumbed to the disease in 1997.

1984, Bryan Adams went into Little Mountain Sound, Vancouver, Canada to record “Run To You” for his fourth studio album, Reckless. It was the first single released from the album and gave Adam’s his first UK hit, peaking at number 11. The music video shot in London and Los Angeles was nominated for the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards in five different categories.

1986, Van Halen kicked off a 112-date North American tour at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, Los Angeles. This was the band’s first tour with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals.

1987, U2 performed from the roof of a store in downtown Los Angeles to make the video for “Where The Streets Have No Name.” The commotion attracted thousands of spectators and brought traffic to a standstill. The police eventually stop the shoot.

1988, The Grateful Dead played at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia.

2000, Singer, songwriter, poet and actor, Ian Dury died after a long battle with cancer aged 57. Dury had been disabled by polio as a child, formed Kilburn and the High Roads during the 1970’s. His first album New Boot’s And Panties became a punk classic spending 90 weeks on the UK chart, featured the 1979 UK number one single “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick.”

2012, David Bowie’s landmark album Ziggy Stardust was celebrated with a blue plaque in central London. Former Spandau Ballet star Gary Kemp, unveiled a plaque at the spot where the cover of the 1972 release was shot. The location in Heddon Street, just off Regent Street, is now a pedestrian area featuring bars and restaurants.

Born on March 27:  Sarah Vaughn, jazz singer (1934); Andy Bown, bass, songwriter, Status Quo, The Herd, Judas Jump (1946); Tony Banks, Genesis (1950); Paul Wickens, multi-instrumentalist, Paul McCartney, Styx, David Gilmour, others (1956); Andrew Farriss, INXS (1959); Johnny April, bass, Staind (1965); Brendan Hill, drummer, Blues Traveler,  Stolen Ogre (1970);  Fergie, The Black Eyed Peas (1975)

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Today in Rock History – March 18

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who-1965-marquee-club-london1965, Excerpts from six numbers performed by The Who at The Marquee Club in February appear on a French Television programme called Seize Millions de Jeunes on ORTF TV 2. It is part of documentary about Mods shot by two French acquaintances of the band’s co-manager Chris Stamp. A scheduled appearance that day at the Civic Hall in Crawley is postponed until April 18th.

1966, that morning, The Who are filmed miming to “I Can’t Explain,” “Bald Headed Woman,” and “Substitute” at Tower Pier, London for Dick Clark’s ABC-TV U.S. program Where The Action Is. That evening they head out to Wembley’s Studio One to perform “Substitute” and “Barbara Ann” on Ready, Steady, GO!, then zip off to Basildon to play the Locarno Ballroom.

traffic-traffic1967, The UK music magazine New Musical Express announced that former Spencer Davis Group member Steve Winwood was planning to form a new group with Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. The ensemble would choose the name Traffic.

1967, Pink Floyd played at Enfield College of Technology, Enfield, England.

1967, Jimi Hendrix played at the Star Club, Hamburg, Germany.

1967, The Beatles scored their 13th chart topping single with “Penny Lane.” The title refers to the name of a street near Lennon’s house, in Liverpool. McCartney and Lennon would meet at Penny Lane junction in the Mossley Hill area to catch a bus into the center of the city.

1969, Jimi Hendrix performed at Ellis Auditorium AmphiTheater, Memphis, Tennessee.

1970, Tommy: The Movie has its world premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City. A morning press conference is attended by all the movie’s stars except Oliver Reed, Jack Nicholson, Roger Daltrey, and director Ken Russell. Daltrey and Russell are back in England working on his next film, Lisztomania. The film receives a standing ovation despite occasional sound problems. Afterwards, The Who and celebrities attend a midnight party designed by new Hollywood hotshot Allan Carr in a sealed-off section of a New York subway station located under the IND Station at 57th Street and Sixth Avenue.

1971, Led Zeppelin played at the Mayfair Ballroom in Newcastle, England during their “Back to the Clubs” tour.

1972, Yes appeared at the Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1972, Neil Young started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “Heart Of Gold.” It was his only Top 20 hit as a solo artist.

1972, Paul Simon scored his first solo number one album when his self-titled debut went to the top of the charts. The album featured the singles “Mother And Child Reunion,” and “Me And Julio Down By The School Yard.”

1972, T Rex played the first of two sold out nights at Wembley’s Empire Pool. Ringo Starr filmed the shows for the Born To Boogie Apple documentary.

1973, Paul McCartney and Wings played a benefit gig for the drug charity, Release at The Hard Rock Cafe in England.

1973, King Crimson played at the Rainbow Theatre, London.

1974, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the first of eight shows over four nights at Gertie’s in Dallas, Texas.

bowie-man-who-fell-to-earth1976, The Film The Man Who Fell To Earth featuring David Bowie premiered in London.

1976, Bob Dylan played at theLakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida.

1976, The Who perform at the Salt Palace Convention Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1977, The Clash released their debut single “White Riot.” It peaked at number 38 on the UK charts.

1977, The Grateful Dead played at Winterland Arena in San Francisco, California.

1977, AC/DC performed at Lanchester Polytechnic, Coventry, England.

1978, The brothers Gibb had a role in the top three songs on the singles charts, the Bee Gees’ “Night Fever” at number one; “(Love is) Thicker Than Water” by Andy Gibb (the previous week’s chart topper) was at number two, co-written by Barry Gibb, and “Emotion” by Samantha Song, written and produced by The Bee Gees, sat at the third position.

1978, Aerosmith, Santana, Heart, Dave Mason, Ted Nugent and Mahogany Rush all appeared at the California Jam II festival, Ontario, California.

1978, Rush played at the Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina.

1979, Roxy Music performed at Eissporthalle, Berlin, Germany.

1981, Tom Waits appeared at the Victoria Apollo, London, England.

1984, Van Halen played at the Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1989, A radio station in California arranged to have all it’s Cat Stevens Records destroyed by having a steamroller run over them in protest of the singer’s support of Ayatollah Khomeni.

1996, The Sex Pistols announced their comeback at the 100 Club in London, 20 years after they had split.

1997, Rap artist Notorious B.I.G., aka Christopher George Latore Wallace, was cremated in New Jersey. The 24 year-old was gunned down and killed on March 9th as he left a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

2001, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter John Phillips of the Mamas and The Papas died of heart failure aged 65. His first band, The Journeymen, were a folk trio. He also co-promoted the Monterrey Pop Festival with Lou Adler. Phillips was married to Michelle Gilliam, they had one child together, Chynna Phillips, vocalist of the 1990’s pop trio Wilson Phillips.

2002, The Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam and close friend of the Ramones. The ceremony took place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

2011, Jet Harris, bass guitarist for The Shadows, died from throat cancer at the age of 71. Jet played on the hit “Apache” and during their days as Cliff Richard’s backing band, performed on the number one hit “Living Doll.” In 1962, he left the group and had solo hits with “Besame Mucho” and “The Man With The Golden Arm.”

2013, David Bowie’s first album in a decade become the fastest-selling of the year, hitting the top spot in the UK charts in its first week of release. The Next Day was the 66-year-old’s first number one since 1993’s Black Tie White Noise and sold 94,000 copies in the first week.

Born on March 18: Charlie Pride (1938); Wilson Pickett (1941); Dennis Linde, songwriter (1943); Eric Woolfson, Scottish singer-songwriter, pianist,  producer The Alan Parsons Project (1945); B. J. Wilson, English drummer, Procol Harum (1947); John Hartman, Doobie Brothers (1950); Grant Hart, Husker Du (1961); Jeff LaBar, American guitarist, Cinderella and Naked Beggars (1963); Courtney Pine, jazz musician (1964); Jerry Cantrell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, Alice in Chains (1966); Miki Berenyi, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, Lush (1967); Dana Elaine Owens, aka Queen Latifah (1970); Adam Levine, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, Maroon 5 (1979)

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Bob Dylan, Rock History – February 4

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bob-dylan-19661966, Bob Dylan and The Band played at the Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky. This was the first date on a world tour which would become significant as the first outing in which Dylan used electric instruments, after he had gone “electric” at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

1966, The Who play the Astoria Theatre in Finsbury Park, North London. The supporting acts are Screamin’ Lord Sutch & the Savages, the Merseys, the Fortunes and the Graham Bond Organization.

1967, The Rolling Stones’ Between the Buttons enters the UK chart at number three.

1967, this was the last week of a thirteen weeks atop the US album charts for The Monkees self-titled debut album. It would be knocked off on February 11 by the followup, More of the Monkees.

1968, Billed as ‘Tour 60 cities in 66 Days’ The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at the Winterland in San Francisco.

1968, Working at Abbey Road studios, London, The Beatles recorded “Across The Universe.” John and Paul decided the song needed some falsetto harmonies so they invited two girl fans into the studio to sing on the song. The two were Lizzie Bravo, a 16-year-old Brazilian living near Abbey Road, and 17-year-old Londoner Gayleen Pease.

1970, John Lennon and Yoko Ono donated their hair for an auction in aid of the Black Power movement.

1972, Genesis appeared at the Hippodrome in Bristol, England.

1973, Pink Floyd played at the Palais des Sports de la Porte de Versailles, Paris.

1972, In a memo to Attorney General John Mitchell, South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond suggests that John Lennon be deported.

1974, Pink Floyd release “Time” backed with “Us and Them” as a 7-inch single in the US.

1975, Led Zeppelin performs at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

1975, American jazz, blues, songwriter and saxophonist Louis Jordon died aged 66. Known as “The King of the Jukebox,” between 1942-1950 he scored eighteen number one singles and fifty-four Top Ten hits on the US R&B chart.

1976, David Bowie appeared at Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon.

1977, This was the 25th anniversary show of TV’s American Bandstand, which began as a local program on WFIL-TV, Channel 6 in Philadelphia on October 7, 1952.

1977, Aerosmith played at the Kyoden-Taiiku-Kan, Fukuoka, Japan.

1977, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours is released. The album shoots to the top of US album charts, staying there for 31 weeks. More than 17 million copies have been sold in the U.S.

Saturday-Night-Fever1978, The Bee Gees started a four week run at number one on the singles chart with “Staying Alive.” It came from the film soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, it gave the Gibb brothers their fifth number one.

1979, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Dane County Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin.

1981, The Who performed at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

1982, Scottish singer Alex Harvey died of a heart attack while waiting to take a ferry back to shore after performing a concert with his new band, the Electric Cowboys. In an ambulance on the way to the hospital, he suffered a second heart attack, this one fatal. It occurred on the day before his 47th birthday, in Zeebrugen, Belgium. Formed Alex Harvey Big Soul Band in 1959 and then mid 1960’s band Tear Gas. He had the 1975 UK number seven single with Sensational Alex Harvey Band “Delilah” and 1975 album Next.

1983, Karen Carpenter died aged 32 of a cardiac arrest at her parent’s house in Downey, California. The coroner’s report gave the cause of death of imbalances associated with anorexia nervosa. The Carpenters’ 1970 album Close to You, featured two hit singles, (“They Long to Be) Close to You” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.” They peaked at number one and two respectively on the singles chart.  In Playboy‘s annual opinion poll for 1975, its readers voted Karen Carpenter the Best Rock Drummer of the year.

1984, Culture Club started a three-week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Karma Chameleon” the group’s 5th US Top 10 hit, also a chart topper in the UK.

1984, The Eurythmics scored their first UK number one album with their second release Touch, featuring the singles “Here Comes The Rain Again,” “Who’s That Girl,” and “Right By Your Side.”

1984, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble kicked off their 114-date Couldn’t Stand the Weather tour at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

1985, Prince performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1992, Pearl Jam appeared at The Borderline in London, England, tickets cost £5 ($8.50.)

1999, Rykodisc becomes the first music label to give its stamp of approval to the MP3 music format.

2001, Jimmy Buffett is thrown out of a New York Knicks – Miami Heat basketball game after verbally abusing a referee.

2009, Erick Lee Purkhiser, aka Lux Interior, singer and founding member of The Cramps died aged 62. He met his wife, better known as Poison Ivy, born Ivy Rorschach, in Sacramento in 1972, when he and a friend picked her up when she was hitchhiking. The couple later founded The Cramps.

Born on February 4: John Steel, The Animals (1942); Florence Larue, The 5th Dimension (1944); Margie and Mary Ann Ganser, vocalists, The Shangri-Las (1947); Vincent Furnier, aka Alice Cooper (1948); Phil Ehart, Kansas (1950); Jerry Shirley, Humble Pie (1951);  Clint Black, country singer (1962)

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Today in Rock History – January 27

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Beatles-1962-B1962, The Beatles appeared at Aintree Institute in Aintree, Liverpool. The group had played here many times before but this was their last performance at the venue. Brian Epstein became infuriated when the promoter paid The Beatles’ fee of £15 ($24) with handfuls of loose change. Epstein took this as an insult to the group, and made sure that The Beatles never played for that promoter (Brian Kelly) again.

1965, John and Cynthia Lennon fly to the Alps for a ten-day-long skiing vacation.

1967, The Grateful Dead played at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco.

1967, Jimi Hendrix appeared at Chislehurst Caves in London, England.

1967, Pink Floyd played at the UFO, held at the Blarney Club, Tottenham Court Road in London. Also on the bill were AMM, Five Acre Light, Dave Brown, Plight of the Erogenius, and Chapter 1. The Floyd’s performance was filmed and clips of two songs were used in a Granada TV documentary program.

1968, The Bee Gees made their live debut in the United States when they played at the Anaheim Centre, Anaheim California.

1968, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye performed at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1968, Melody Maker became the first music publication to report that David Gilmour had become a member of Pink Floyd.

1969, The Who begin five days of rehearsals at the Whitehall Theatre working on a new set.

1970, John Lennon’s “Instant Karma!” was written, recorded and released within a period of ten days, making it one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history. The UK release was on February 6th, while the US release took place fourteen days later. The recording was produced by Phil Spector, marking a comeback for the American producer after his self-imposed retirement in 1966, and leading to him being offered the producer’s role on the Beatles’ Let It Be album (1970). The song was recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios, “Instant Karma!” employs Spector’s signature Wall of Sound technique and features contributions from George Harrison, Klaus Voormann, Alan White and Billy Preston.

1970, The Who played at the Operettenhaus in Hamburg, Germany.

David Bowie in 1971

1971, David Bowie arrived in the US for the first time. He couldn’t play live because of work permit restrictions, but attracted publicity when he wore a dress at a promotion event.

1971, Neil Young performed at Macky Auditorium, at the University Of Colorado in Boulder.

1972, Pink Floyd performed Dark Side of the Moon at City Hall, in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England. Also in the performance was One of These Days / Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun / Echoes, and the encore was A Saucerful of Secrets.

1973, No Secrets by Carly Simon enters the third of five weeks atop the US album charts.

1973, Roxy Music won “the most promising new name,” section in the NME reader’s poll.

1973, “Superstition,” the lead single from Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book album gave him his second number one single in the US, 10 years after his first chart topper. Jeff Beck created the original drum beat while in the studio with Wonder. After writing the song, Wonder offered it to Beck to record, but at the insistence of Berry Gordy, Wonder himself recorded it first. Beck was instead offered “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers,” which he recorded on Blow by Blow in 1975.

1975, The J Geils Band appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1976, David Bowie filed a lawsuit against attorney Michael Lippman claiming that he had taken a 15% agents fee instead of the customary 10%.

1977, The Clash signed to CBS Records in the UK for £100,000 ($160,000.)

1977, AC/DC performed at The Haymarket, Sydney, Australia.

1979, Ian Dury And The Blockheads were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick,” their only UK chart topper, after it overtook “Y.M.C.A.”

1980, Def Leppard played the first of two nights at The Marquee, London. Tickets cost £2 ($3.40).

1980, Bob Dylan performed at the Uptown Theatre, Kansas City, Missouri.

1984, Blue Oyster Cult played at Ausstellungshalle, Sindelfingen, Stuttgart, Germany.

1984, Madonna made her first appearance in the UK when she appeared on C4 TV music program The Tube performing “Holiday.” The show was broadcast live from the Hacienda Club in Manchester.

1994, Oasis made their London live debut when the played at King’s Cross Water Rats.

1998, James Brown was charged with possession of marijuana and unlawful use of a firearm after police were called to his South Carolina home. Brown later claimed the drugs were used to help his eyesight.

2002, Enrique Iglesias scored his first UK number one single with “Hero.” His father, Julio Iglesias, had a UK number one hit in 1981.

2006, Gene McFadden, R&B vocalist and songwriter, best known as half of the Philly soul team McFadden & Whitehead, died of cancer at the age of 56. The duo had the 1979 hit “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now,” which sold more than 8 million copies and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

2014, American folk singer and activist Pete Seeger died at the age of 94. He had a string of hit records during the early 1950’s as a member of the Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead Belly’s “Goodnight, Irene.” The song was a number one for 13 weeks in 1950. Members of the Weavers were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era. In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, counterculture and environmental causes.

2015, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne were given a song writing credit on Sam Smith’s hit “Stay With Me,” because of the similarities to his 1989 track “I Won’t Back Down.” “Stay With Me” had been nominated for three Grammy awards, including Song of the Year. The parties made an out of court settlement.

Born on January 27: Elmore James (1918); Bobby “Blue” Bland (1930); Nick Mason, drums, Pink Floyd (1944); Nedra Talley, singer, The Ronettes (1946); Kim Gardner, bass, Ashton Gardner & Dyke (1948); Brian Downey, Thin Lizzy (1951); Margo Timmins, vocals, Cowboy Junkies (1961); Gillian Gilbert,  keyboards,  singer, New Order, The Other Two (1961)

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Today in Rock History – January 12

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beatles-1964-tv1964, The Beatles appeared on the ATV show Sunday Night At The London Palladium performing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” “This Boy,” “All My Loving,” “Money,” and “Twist And Shout.” The compare for the evening was Bruce Forsyth. When The Beatles appeared on this show on October 13, 1963, their fee had been £250 ($400.) Three months later, their fee was £1,000 ($1600.)

1965, NBC premieres a new pop TV show called Hullabaloo, hosted by Jack Jones. The show’s guests include the New Christy Minstrels and a comedian called Woody Allen. In a taped segment, Beatles manager Brian Epstein introduced performances by the Zombies and Gerry & the Pacemakers from London.

1968, The Beatles Film Productions changed its name to Apple Film Limited and Apple Music Limited changed its name to Apple Corps Limited.

1968, Pink Floyd appeared at the University of Aston, Birmingham, England. It is generally accepted that this was the first show to include David Gilmour as a permanent part of the group.  They performed as a five-piece band until Syd Barrett’s dismissal.

1969, Led Zeppelin’s debut album was released in the UK. Recorded at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, the album took only about 36 hours of studio time to complete at a cost of just £1,782 ($2851,) most of the tracks being recorded “live” in the studio with very few overdubs. The album spent a total of 71 weeks on the UK chart.

1971, Deep Purple performs at Town Hall, Birmingham, England.

1974, Jim Croce started a five-week run at number one on the US album chart with You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.

steve-miller-band-the-joker1974, The Steve Miller Band were at number one on the US singles chart with “The Joker,” the group’s first of three chart toppers. It reached number one on the UK chart in 1990.

1975, KISS appeared at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, Washington.

1975, The Warner Bros. Looney Tunes package tour kicks off in Europe, featuring the Doobie Brothers, Little Feat, Graham Central Station, Bonaroo, Montrose and Tower of Power.

1977, Rolling Stone Keith Richards was fined £750 ($1,275) for possession of cocaine found in his car after the guitarist had been involved in a car crash.

1977, The Police had their first rehearsal, held at drummer’s Stewart Copeland’s London flat, with Henri Padovani on guitar.

1978, Rush performed at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

1979, Joy Division appeared at Wythenshawe College, Manchester, England.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band played at Calderone Concert Hall, Hempstead, New York.

1983, Swedish percussionist with Traffic, Reebop Kwaku Baah died from a brain hemorrhage in Stockholm, Sweden. Also worked with Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker’s Air Force, Can and The Rolling Stones.

1996, AC/DC played the first date on their Ballbreaker World Tour in Greensboro, North Carolina. The world tour would last for 11 months finishing on November 30, 1996 in Christchurch, New Zealand.

2003, Singer-songwriter Maurice Gibb from the Bee Gee’s died aged 53 in Miami Hospital, Florida following a heart attack during abdominal surgery.

Born on January 12: Long  John Baldry (1941); Cynthia Robinson, Sly and the Family Stone (1946); Chris Bell, Big Star (1951); Blixa Bargeld, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds (1959); and Zack de la Rocha, vocals, Rage Against The Machine (1970)

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