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Today in Rock History – July 25

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today in Rock History – July 20

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1965, Bob Dylan releases “Like a Rolling Stone.” The single becomes his first major hit, reaching number two on the US charts. The song remained on the charts for twelve weeks. It was recorded on June 15th and 16th at Columbia Studio A, on Seventh Avenue in New York. Then session musician Al Kooper improvised the organ riff for which the track is known.

1967, Jerry Lee Lewis kicks off his first English tour since he was hounded out of the country for being married to his 13-year-old cousin in May 1958.

1968, Cream started a four-week run at number one on the US album chart with Wheels On Fire. It reached the third spot in the UK.

1968, The Who and The Troggs played at the Virginia Beach Dome in Virginia Beach, Virginia

1968, Paul McCartney’s girlfriend Jane Asher announces on British TV that her engagement had been broken off. McCartney met future spouse Linda Eastman on a business trip earlier in June.

1968, Big Brother and the Holding Company and Blue Cheer performed at Patio Gardens in Farmington, Utah.The

1968, Hugh Masekela started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Grazing In The Grass.”

1968, Iron Butterfly’s second album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, entered the album chart for the first time. The album contained the 17-minute title track that filled the second side of the LP which went on sell over four million copies in the US alone.

1968, Jane Asher announced on the national British TV show, Dee Time, that her engagement to Paul McCartney was off. Paul reportedly was watching at a friend’s home and was surprised by the news. She was said to have inspired many of McCartney’s songs, such as “All My Loving,” “And I Love Her,” and “We Can Work It Out.” Jane went on to have a career in films and television as well as becoming a successful author and business woman.

1969, Led Zeppelin performed in front of 2500 fans at Musicarnival in Warrensville Heights, Ohio.

1969, King Crimson played at the Marquee Club, London.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appear at Century’s Huntington Theater, Huntington, New York.

1971, The Carpenters show Make Your Own Kind Of Music started a six week run on NBC-TV.

1972, The Rolling Stones performed at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1973, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Boston Garden, Boston. Tickets were $4.50 – $6.50.

1974, David Bowie appeared live at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

1974, The Ramones decide to make their drummer Joey Ramone the lead vocalist.

1974, Tim Buckley, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Van Morrison, The Doobie Brothers and The Allman Brothers all appeared at Knebworth Park, England.

1975, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the opening night on their Born To Run Tour at The Palace Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island. This also saw the live debut of “Miami” Steven Van Zandt as a member of The E Street Band.

1975, The Summerfest concert lineup at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, New York was Judy Collins, Dan Fogelberg, Seals & Crofts, with The Eagles as headliners.

1975, Yes played at Rynearson Stadium, Ypsilanti, Michigan.

1976, Buzzcocks made their live debut supporting The Sex Pistols and Slaughter & The Dogs at The Lesser Free Trade Hall, Manchester. In the audience was, Morrissey, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook (soon to form Joy Division) and Mark E Smith, (The Fall) and Mick Hucknall. Tickets cost £1.

1977, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Arizona State University Activities Center, Tempe, Arizona.

1979, Van Halen played at the Convention Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Salem Fairgrounds, Salem, Oregon.

1983, ZZ Top played at Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, Ohio.

1986, Carlos Santana celebrated his 39th birthday, and 20th anniversary in the music business, with a concert in San Francisco. Previous group members were assembled for the event, as 17 of them performed together on stage.

1990, Madonna played the first of three sold out nights at Wembley Stadium, London, England, on her 57-date Blond Ambition World Tour.

1994, The Grateful Dead’s only performance on this date in history took place at Deer Creek Music Center, just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana.

1999, The Rolling Stones reported a gross income of $337 million, (£168m), from almost two years of touring from their Bridges to Babylon and No Security tours. The Stones had played to over 5.6 million people, selling out all but 20 shows.

2000, The Evergreen Ballroom in Lacey, Washington was destroyed by a fire. During the ballroom’s heyday in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, many of music’s greats played there: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Duke Ellington, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and Fats Domino. Glen Campbell had lived in the kitchen at the venue for a while before he became famous.

2009, Jackson Browne settled his lawsuit against US Senator John McCain and the Republican Party after his 1977 hit “Running On Empty” was used without permission in a 2008 McCain presidential campaign ad that aired on TV and the Internet. McCain and the Republican Party apologized for using the song in the ad, and said that McCain himself “had no knowledge of, or involvement in, the creation or distribution of the video.”

2011, Pictures of The Beatles’ first US concert in Washington DC on February 11th, 1964, taken by a then 18-year-old Mike Mitchell, sold at Christie’s auction house for $361,938. Security in those days was very casual and Mitchell was just feet from the band as he snapped the black and white photos which he stored for years in a box in his basement.

2015, American country musician, songwriter and record producer Wayne Carson died at the age of 72 after suffering congestive heart failure. He co-wrote “Always on My Mind,” a hit for Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson and others. He also penned “The Letter,” recorded by The Box Tops, Joe Cocker and Leon Russell, and “Soul Deep.”

Born on July 20: Buddy Knox, singer, songwriter (1933); Kim Carnes, singer; and John Lodge, The Moody Blues (1945); Carlos Santana (1947); Jay Jay French, guitar, Twisted Sister (1952); Paul Cook, drums, Sex Pistols (1956); Michael McNeil, keyboards, Simple Minds (1958); Chris Cornell, vocals, guitar, Soundgarden (1962); and Stone Gossard, guitar, Pearl Jam (1966)

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Today in Rock History – May 1

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hermans-hermits1965, Herman’s Hermits started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Mrs Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter.”

1966, The Beatles played a 15-minute live set on stage for the last time in the UK when they appeared at the NME Poll Winners concert at Wembley Empire Pool. The Beatles set included five songs: “I Feel Fine,” “Nowhere Man,” “Day Tripper,” “If I Needed Someone,” and “I’m Down.” Also on the bill, The Spencer Davis Group, The Fortunes, Herman’s Hermits, Roy Orbison, Cliff Richard, The Rolling Stones, The Seekers, The Small Faces, Dusty Springfield, The Walker Brothers, The Who, and The Yardbirds.

1967, 32 year-old Elvis Presley married 21 year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, a girl he first met in 1959 when she was just 14 years old. When Elvis got out of the army in 1960, Beaulieu moved into the singer’s Graceland mansion with her family’s blessing. The wedding ceremony took place at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas and although the marriage license was only $15, the wedding cake cost $3,500. The couple divorced after five years of marriage on October 9, 1973.

1967, The FBI arrested The Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson on charges of avoiding the military draft and refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance. He was later released and joined the rest of the band in Ireland for a British tour.

1969, Bob Dylan recorded an appearance for The Johnny Cash Show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. After two solo numbers from Dylan, Johnny Cash joined him for a rendition of “Girl From The North Country.” In this prime time show, Cash enjoyed booking contemporary performers as guests, such as Neil Young, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, James Taylor, Ray Charles, and Eric Clapton would perform on his program.

1970, Pink Floyd appeared at the Civic Center in Santa Monica, California.

1970, Led Zeppelin performed at Crawford Hall, University of California- Irvine.  Tickets were $4 (£2.67.) Lee Michaels was the support act.

1970, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of 13 shows in May, when they appeared at the Milwaukee Auditorium.

1970, The Grateful Dead played at Alfred College in Alfred, New York.

1972, Pink Floyd performed the first of two nights at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

 1973, In the US, Washington DC, proclaimed a “Marvin Gaye Day.”

 1974, The Carpenters performed at the White House, at the request of President Nixon.

led-zeppelin-presence1976, Led Zeppelin started a two-week run at number one on the US album chart with Presence, the group’s fifth chart topping album.

1976, The Bellamy Brothers went to number one on the US singles chart with “Let Your Love Flow. It was the duo’s only number one.

1977, The White Riot Tour kicked of at the Roxy in London with The Clash, The Jam and The Buzzcocks.

1978, David Bowie’s world tour stoped at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

1979, Elton John became the first pop star to perform in Israel. In three weeks time he also became the first Western solo pop performer to tour Russia.

1980, The South African government banned Pink Floyd’s single “Another Brick In The Wall” after black children adopted the song as their anthem in protest against inferior education.

1984, Fleetwood Mac drummer and founder member Mick Fleetwood filed for bankruptcy. It was reported that the drummer had spent thousands of dollars of cocaine a month, and had refused to listen to financial advisers, buying up several homes, a $400,000 (£267,000) spread in Hawaii and a $1.8 (£1.2) million farm outside Sydney, Australia.

1986, American songwriter and producer Hugo Peretti died aged 70. Wrote and produced many classic hits including, “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” “Twistin’ The Night Away,” “Shout,” “The Hustle,” and “You Make Me Feel Brand New.”

1997, The house where Kurt Cobain committed suicide went up for sale. The asking price for the five-bedroom house built in 1902 was $3 (£2) million. The carriage house where the Nirvana guitarist died had been demolished.

2005, Coldplay became the first British band to have a new entry in the US Top 10 singles chart since The Beatles. Coldplay’s  single “Speed Of Sound” entered the chart at number eight, only the second time a UK band has achieved the feat. The Beatles managed it with “Hey Jude” in 1968.

2005, Bruce Springsteen went to number one on the UK album chart with Devils & Dust the American singer songwriter’s sixth UK chart topper.

2015, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars gave The Gap Band a writing credit on their huge hit “Uptown Funk,” due to its similarities with their 1979 track “Oops Up Side Your Head.” “Uptown Funk” which had topped the UK chart for seven weeks, and the US chart for 14, originally had six songwriters but was now credited to The Gap Band as well.

Born on May 1: Little Walter, bluesman (1930); Judy Collins (1938); Rita Coolidge (1944); Nick Fortune, The Buckinghams (1946); Ray Parker, Jr (1954); Johnny Colt, The Black Crowes (1966); Tim McGraw American country singer, actor (1967); D’arcy Wretsky-Brown, bass, Smashing Pumpkins (1968);

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Today in Rock History – January 5

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Beatles-Shea-19651966, The Beatles record overdubs onto the film The Beatles at Shea Stadium. That night, John Lennon goes nightclubbing with ’50s rocker P.J. Proby.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Marquee Club, London, England.

1967, During The Beatles Sgt Pepper sessions at Abbey Road in London, George Harrison on lead guitar and John Lennon on piano failed in their attempts to record parts for “Penny Lane.” Paul McCartney recorded a vocal track,which he replaced the very next day.

1968, Jimi Hendrix was jailed for one day in Stockholm, Sweden on drink charges after going berserk and destroying everything in his room at the Goteberg Hotel.

1969, Led Zeppelin appears at the Whiskey A Go-Go, Los Angeles.

1972, David Bowie played two shows at Green’s Playhouse, Glasgow, Scotland.

springsteen-greetings from asbury park1973, Bruce Springsteen released his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. It was recorded in a single week the album only sold about 25,000 copies in the first year of its release. Both “Blinded By The Light” and “Spirit In The Night” were released as singles but neither made a dent in the charts.

1974, The Carpenters went to number one on the album chart with The Singles 1969-1973.

1974, Yes scored their first number one album with the double set Tales From The Topographic Oceans.

1976, Former Beatles roadie Mal Evans was shot dead by police at his Los Angeles apartment. His girlfriend called police when she found Evans upset with a rifle in his hand. He pointed the gun at the police who opened fire. Friends later said that Evans was depressed about his separation from his wife Lil Evans, who had asked for a divorce before Christmas.

1977, Led Zeppelin rehearse at Emerson Lake & Palmer’s studio in preparation for a North American tour.

1978, Rush performed at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1978, The Sex Pistols started a US tour in Atlanta, Georgia before an estimated audience of 500 people.

1979, Prince made his live debut at the Capri Theatre, Minneapolis. Warner Brothers executives attended the show but decided that Prince and the band needed more time to develop his music.

charles-mingus
Charles Mingus

1979, Jazz musician and bandleader Charles Mingus died aged 56. His final project was Mingus, a collaboration with Joni Mitchell.

1980, Donna Summer scored her third US number one album with On The Radio- Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 & II.

1980, KC and the Sunshine Band had their 5th US number one single and scored the first chart topper of the ’80s when “Please Don’t Go” went to number one in the UK.

1991, Iron Maiden went to number one on the UK singles chart with “Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter.” It became the lowest selling chart topper since 1960, with just over 42,000 copies sold in its first week.

1997, No Doubt went to number one on the US album chart with Tragic Kingdom.

1998, Sonny Bono was killed in a skiing accident at a resort near Lake Tahoe, aged 62.

2003, Green Day’s lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong was arrested on suspicion of drink driving after being stopped in California for speeding. He failed a breath test and was taken to Berkeley county jail and was later released on $1,053 (£657) bail.

2004, Kinks singer Ray Davies was shot in the leg while on vacation in New Orleans. The 59-year-old singer-songwriter was shot when running after two men who stole his girlfriend’s purse at gunpoint. Davies was admitted to the Medical Centre of Louisiana but his injuries were not considered serious. New Orleans police said one person had been arrested, and police were still searching for the second.

2006, Guitarist, trumpeter and drummer Alex St. Claire died. He was a member of The Omens, The Solid Senders and an original member of Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, as well as a high school friend of Frank Zappa.

Born on this day: Sam Phillips, Sun Records (1923); Athol Guy, singer, The Seekers (1940); Grady Thomas, Funkadelic (1941); George Brown, Kool & the Gang (1949); Chris Stein, Blondie (1950); Brian Warner, aka Marilyn Manson (1969)

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Today in Rock History – December 17

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1963, James Carroll at WWDC in Washington, DC, became the first disc jockey to broadcast a Beatles record on American radio. Carroll played “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” which he had obtained from his stewardess girlfriend, who brought the single back from the UK. Due to listener demand, the song was played daily, every hour. Since it hadn’t been released yet in the States, Capitol Records initially considered court action, but instead released the single earlier than planned.

1966, MC5 played at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan.

1967, John Lennon and George Harrison hold a party in London for the area secretaries of the Official Beatles Fan Club. The guests are treated to sneak previews of the films Magical Mystery Tour and The Beatles at Shea Stadium.

1968, “The Who’s Christmas Party” takes place at the Marquee in London. It is The Who’s last ever performance at the venue where they had first come to the capital’s attention during their residence in 1964-1965. This time, Who fan Nigel Cornthwaite comes onstage to sing “Magic Bus” with the Who. Yes is the opening act.

1968, Pink Floyd release “Point Me At the Sky” in England. It’s their fourth 45, and their last single release in the UK for 11 years.

1970,  The Beach Boys perform at London’s Royal Albert Hall by Princess Margaret’s royal command.

1971, John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear at Harlem’s Apollo Theater for  a benefit for the families of victims of the Attica State Prison riots.

1971, David Bowie released his fourth album Hunky Dory, which was the first to feature all the members of the band that would become known the following year as Ziggy Stardust’s Spiders From Mars.

1973, Genesis performed at the Roxy Theatre, Hollywood, California.

1974, Yes appeared at the Civic Center, St. Paul, Minnesota.

1975, Hawkwind played at Brunel University, Uxbridge, England.

1976, AC/DC performed at Harristown High School Hall, Toowomba, Australia.

1977, Filling in for The Sex Pistols on NBC- TVs “Saturday Night Live”, Elvis Costello stops his performance of “Less Than Zero,” saying ” there’s no reason to do this”, and launches into “Radio Radio” which he’d been told not to perform. Costello said later that the inspiration for the last-minute song change came from a similar episode years earlier, concerning Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was on the BBC television show hosted by pop-star Lulu, and was supposed to play his hit, “Hey Joe.” Hendrix started the song, stopped, said, “We’d like to stop playing this rubbish and dedicate a song to the Cream regardless of what kind of group they might be. I’d like to dedicate this to Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce,” and then launched into a feedback-laden version of “Sunshine of Your Love.”

1977, George Harrison played an unannounced live set for the regulars at his local pub in Henley-On-Thames near his home in the UK.

1978, Rush performed at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Madison, Wisconsin.

1979, The Who appeared at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band appeared on the Boston Common, Boston., Massachusetts.

1982, Delta blues musician and songwriter Big Joe Williams died in Macon, Mississippi aged 79. Wrote “Baby Please Don’t Go,” a 1965 Top Ten hit for Them, featuring Van Morrison.

1982, Karen Carpenter made her last live appearance with The Carpenters when she performed in Sherman, California. Carpenter suffered from anorexia nervosa, the eating disorder which was a little-known illness at the time. She died at the age of 32 from heart failure, on February 4, 1983 caused by complications related to her illness.

1994, A remixed version of  “December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)” by The Four Seasons re-entered the US Hot 100, where it stayed for another 27 weeks, just as it did when it first charted in 1976. The combined run will establish a record for the longest total chart appearance in US chart history.

1995, A statue of the late Frank Zappa was unveiled in Vilnius, the capital of the Republic Of Lithuania. It had been organised by Zappa fan club President Saulius Pauksty.

1999, American jazz-funk, soul-jazz saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. died of a heart attack aged 56. He collapsed in the green room after taping four songs fo. The Early Show, at CBS Studios in New York City, He released over 20 solo albums and featured on the 1981 Bill Withers hit “Just The Two of Us.”

2005, U2 had the top-grossing tour of 2005, according to an end-of-year chart compiled by US magazine Billboard. More than three million people watched the band’s sell-out 90-date Vertigo tour which grossed $260m (£146.6m.) The Eagles, took $117m (£66m) from 77 shows, and Neil Diamond grossed more than $71m (£40m). Kenny Chesney was fourth with $63m (£35.5m,) Paul McCartney $60m (£33.8m,) Rod Stewart with $49m (£27m,) Elton John with $45.5m (£25.6m,) Dave Matthews Band with $45m (£25.3m,) Jimmy Buffett with $41m (£23m,) and Green Day with $36.5m (£20.5m.)

Born on this day: Art Neville (1937); Eddie Kendricks, The Temptations (1939); Paul Butterfield (1942); Paul Rogers, Free, Bad Company (1949) and Mike Mills, R.E.M. (1958)

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Today in Rock History – December 1

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The Who, 1964 – from THE MARK AND COLLEEN HAYWARD COLLECTION (http://rockmusicprints.com/)

1964, The Who played the first of 22 consecutive Tuesday night gigs at The Marquee Club in London, the band were paid £50 ($80) for each gig.

1965, during a North America tour The Rolling Stones appeared at the Vancouver Auditorium, Vancouver, British Columbia.

1966, Tom Jones was atop on the singles chart with his version of “Green Green Grass Of Home.” It stayed at number one for seven weeks giving Decca records its first million selling single by a British artist.

1966, Jimi Hendrix signs a management deal with Yameta, a firm started by Who managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp.

1967, During a 16-date UK package tour with Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Move, Nice, Outer Limits, and Amen Corner, the shows took place at the Central Hall, Chatham. The Chatham Standard later reported, “Hendrix opened his act with the Beatles’ number “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” and the three-piece group made as much of an impression as a studio full of musicians. Once upon a time this sort of noise could not be reproduced outside a studio. He did several of his own numbers, including unfaultable versions of “Hey Joe” and “Purple Haze,” and The Troggs’ “Wild Thing.”

1967, The Who end their first headlining tour of the US, playing the Long Island Arena in Commack, New York. Vanilla Fudge is the supporting act.

1968, The Beatles White Album started a seven-week run at number one on the UK chart. The double set was the first on the Apple label,

1968, Janis Joplin played her last concert with Big Brother and the Holding Company, a Family Dog show in San Francisco.

1969, George Harrison and Ringo Starr turn up at London’s Royal Albert Hall to watch Delaney & Bonnie perform with Eric Clapton.

1971, Yes appeared at the Palace Theater, Waterbury, Connecticut.

1972, Pink Floyd performs at the Centre Sportif, in Ile Des Vannes, St. Ouen, Paris. The show was broadcast live by RTL Radio.

1973, The Carpenters went to number one on the singles chart with “Top Of The World,” their second US chart topper.

1974, Genesis performed at the Lyric Theater, Baltimore, Maryland.

1975, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1976, The Sex Pistols appeared on ITV’s live early evening Today show, in place of Queen, who had pulled out following a trip to the dentist by Freddie Mercury. Taunted by interviewer Bill Grundy, who asked the band to say something outrageous, guitarist Steve Jones says, “You dirty bastard…you dirty fucker…what a fucking rotter!”

1977, during a North American tour Queen appeared at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1977, Rush played at the Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec.

1978, Punk rocker Ian Dury releases his single “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” in the UK. He fails to chart in the US, but the epochal single sells two million copies worldwide.

1979, The Grateful Dead performed at Stanley Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1980, Talking Heads, supported by U2, appeared at the Hammersmith Palais, London, England.

1981, King Crimson appeared at The Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, British Columbia.

1982, Aerosmith played at Hara Arena, Dayton, Ohio.

1982, The final month of The Who’s 1982 concert tour begins at the Biloxi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi. “Love Ain’t For Keeping” is added to the set list for the first time since 1971.

1983, Neil Young was sued by Geffen Records because his new music for the label was “not commercial in nature and musically uncharacteristic of his previous albums.” His latest album Everybody’s Rockin’ featured a selection of rockabilly songs, both covers and original material, which ran for just 25 minutes, Young’s shortest album.

1990, Vanilla Ice started a four-week run at number one in the UK with the single “Ice Ice Baby.” The track sampled the bass intro to the Queen and David Bowie chart topping “Under Pressure.”  “Ice Ice Baby” was initially released as the B-side to the rapper’s cover of “Play That Funky Music,” and became the A-side after US DJ’s started playing it.

1997, Kenny G set a new world record when he held a note on his saxophone for 45 minutes and 47 seconds. The record was later broken by Geovanny Escalante, who held a note for 1 hour, 30 minutes and 45 seconds, using a technique that allows him to blow and breathe at the same time.

2006, An Oasis fan enjoyed “the best day of his life” when Noel Gallagher popped round to his house in Poynton, Cheshire to play an intimate gig. Lucky listener Ben Hayes won a BBC Radio 1 competition to have the star play in his front room as part of a week of gigs compered by DJ Jo Whiley. 15 people packed into his lounge for the tiny gig, with his mother on hand making cups of tea for the crew.

Born on December 1: Billy Paul (1934); Lou Rawls (1936); John Densmore, The Doors (1944); Bette Midler (1944); Eric Bloom, Blue Oyster Cult (1944); Gilbert O’ Sullivan (1946); Jaco Pastorius, Weather Report (1951); Isaiah “Ikey” Owens, keyboardist, The Mars Volta, Jack White (1974); Brad Delson, guitar, Linkin Park (1977)

Link to Today in Rock History archive

Today in Rock History – October 10

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beatles-1964-tour1964, During a UK tour The Beatles appeared at De Montfort Hall in Leicester. Ringo Starr drove himself to the venue after taking delivery of a brand new Facel Vega, apparently reaching speeds of 140 MPH on the M6 motorway.

1965, The Who arrive at Stockholm airport in Sweden to begin their two-day tour. Unfortunately, their equipment has been flown to Gothenburg for their second stop so the band is forced to borrow instruments from their opening acts The Moonjacks and The Mascots for their show at Johanneshovs Isstadion in Stockholm.

1966, The Who played at Bath Pavilion in Bath, Somerset, England.

1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.

1967, The Who go into De Lane Lea Studios, London to record for BBC Radio One’s show Top Gear. It is the first time the BBC allow any musical act to record for them outside the BBC’s own studios. Alternate versions of “Pictures Of Lily” (Pete on organ), “I Can See For Miles,” (with heavy bass part), “Relax,” “Our Love Was,” (with Hawaiian guitar), “Can’t Reach You,” “A Quick One While He’s Away,” and “Someone’s Coming” are recorded along with new tracks “Summertime Blues” and “My Way.” Also recorded are five jingles, two for Top Gear and three for Radio One using altered lyrics to “Happy Jack,” “Boris The Spider” and “My Generation.”

1969, Led Zeppelin play at the Olympia in Paris, France. The show was first broadcast on French radio, November 2, 1969 on Europe1 (Musicorama program). The tape was re-discovered in the radio station’s basement in 2007 and re-broadcast on December 7, 2007.

1969, Pink Floyd appeared at the University of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England.

1969, King Crimson release their debut album, In The Court Of The Crimson King. It peaked at number five in the British charts and hit number 28 in the US.

1970, The Carpenters were at number two on the singles chart with “We’ve Only Just Begun.” The song was originally written for a TV commercial advertising a bank.

1970, Cosmos Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival enters the eighth of nine weeks at number one on the US album charts.

1970, Black Sabbath were at number one on the UK album chart with their second album Paranoid. The album is now regarded as one of the classic Heavy Metal albums.

1970, Neil Diamond went to number one on the US singles chart with “Cracklin’ Rose,” his first chart topper as an artist. Diamond was the author of the 1966 number one hit “I’m A Believer” for The Monkees.

1970, Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother is released in the US. The UK release took place on October 2nd. It would only reach number 55 on the American charts, while topping the British charts.

1972, Yes appeared at Caird Hall, Dundee, Scotland.

1973, Rod Stewart & The Faces and Rory Gallagher appeared at San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego. California.

1975, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Diablo Stadium, Tempe, Arizona.

1976, The Who appeared at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California.

Aerosmith-19781978, Joe Perry and Steve Tyler from Aerosmith were injured after a cherry bomb was thrown on stage during a gig in Philadelphia. The group performed behind a safety fence for the rest of the tour.

1978, The second Stiff Records UK tour kicked off featuring Wreckless Eric, Jona Lewie, Rachel Sweet, Lene Lovich and Micky Jupp. The UK tour was undertaken by train, and then continued on to the USA, without Jupp, who was afraid of flying.

1979, Fleetwood Mac were awarded a star on Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame.

1979, The Rose, starring Bette Midler as a self-destructive 1960s Rock star, loosely  based on Janis Joplin, premiered in Los Angeles. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Frederic Forrest), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Bette Midler, in her screen debut), Best Film Editing and Best Sound.

1980, The funeral took place of Led Zeppelin’s drummer John Bonham. Bonzo was found dead at  Jimmy Page’s house of what was described as asphyxiation, after inhaling his own vomit during an evening excessive vodka consumption, 40 shots in 4 hours. He was only 32.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky

1981, The Police went to number one on the album chart with Ghost In The Machine, the band’s third number one LP.

1981, Eric Clapton performed at Scandinavium, Göteborg, Sweden.

1982, The Grateful Dead appeared at Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.

1986, The Moody Blues played at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1988, U2 released Rattle and Hum, comprised of new studio tracks, live performances, and cover songs. It includes recordings at Sun Studios in Memphis and collaborations with Bob Dylan, BB King, and Harlem’s New Voices of Freedom gospel choir.

1987, Whitesnake went to number one on the US singles chart with “Here I Go Again,” a number nine hit in the UK.

1992, R.E.M. scored their second UK  number one album with Automatic For The People, featuring the singles “Drive,” “Everybody Hurts,” “Man On The Moon,” and “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight.” It reached number two on the US charts.

2009, Pearl Jam went to number one on the US album chart with Backspacer, the group’s ninth studio album.

Born on October 10: Alan Cartwright, Procol Harum (1945); Jerry Lacroix, Blood Sweat & Tears (1945); John Prine, singer, songwriter (1946); Midge Ure, Ultravox , Tanya Tucker,  country singer (1955); and David Lee Roth (1955); Martin Kemp, bass, Spandau Ballet (1961); Mike Malinin, guitar, vocals, Goo Goo Dolls (1967)

Link to Today in Rock History main page.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Our Day Will Come” by Ruby And The Romantics

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45-adapter-logo2RubyandtheRomantics

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Our Day Will Come” by Ruby And The Romantics

The magical ingredient of today’s Song Of The Day by Eric Berman that sets it apart from all others is the ear-gasmic, swirling roller rink organ.

“Our Day Will Come” was Ruby & The Romantics’ first hit and only million seller from way back in 1963. While many think the group was a one hit wonder, their follow-up single, “My Summer Love,” rose to #16 on the charts.

Ruby And The Romantics were also responsible for the original version of the song “Hey There Lonely Boy” which became a hit for Eddie Holman in 1969 as “Hey There Lonely Girl,” and “Hurting Each Other” which did the trick for The Carpenters in 1972.

The group featured Ruby Nash on lead vocals with Ed Roberts, George Lee, Ronald Mosley and Leroy Fan on support vocals. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons brought “Our Day Will Come” back to the charts in 1975 with their remake of the song which just missed the top ten at #11.

Music By The Letter On The 3D RadioActivity

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As technology has diversified, posted letters have become less important as a routine form of communication; they however still remain but in a modified forms like email.  The development of the telegraph around 1792 shortened the time taken to send a letter by transferring the letter as an electrical signal between distant points, which is sort of what we are doing this time on The Award Winning 3D RadioActivity, sending you two hours of great music about this form of correspondence and more.

Letters can be the collected correspondence of a writer or historically significant person.  It is a written message containing information from one party to another. The role of letters in communication has changed significantly since the nineteenth century. Historically, letters (in paper form) were the only reliable means of communication between two people in different locations.  Letters are still used, particularly by businesses, for official notifications. This is because of three main advantages:  No special device needed – almost everybody has a residence or other place at which he or she can receive mail; “Catch-all” advertising, more commonly known as junk mail; and Physical record – important messages that need to be retained, like invoices which them can can be kept relatively easily and securely.

Music By The Letter On The 3D RadioActivity
Additionally, a letter is part of the system of writing, such as the Greek or Russian alphabet and its descendants. Letters compose phonemes and each one represents a sound in the spoken form of the language.  Letters, as elements, have prescribed orders. This may generally be known though collation is the science devoted to the complex task of sorting of letters and words in different languages.  Here are some great examples  in a musical format.

We will be looking at numbers next time then give and take over the next two weeks for Halloween, sobe sure to let me know by visiting and liking The 3D RadioActivity on Facebook if you have any suggestions for the playlist, or click on my name below to send an email to me!

…Uncle Marty

“It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.”
— Marilyn Monroe