1968, The lineup for day two of the National Jazz & Blues Festival was Alan Haven, Deep Purple, Ginger Baker, Jeff Beck Group, Joe Cocker, Mike Westbrook, Ronnie Scott, T. Rex, Ten Years After, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, The Don Rendell & Ian Carr Quintet, and The Nice. The festival was held at […]
Today in Rock History – August 9
1967, The Small Faces entered the singles chart with “Itchycoo Park.” The song, written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, was released on August 4th, and peaked at number three in the UK and at number 16 in the US the following year. 1967, The Who play Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. 1967, Scott McKenzie […]
Today in Rock History – August 8
1969, The photo session for the cover of The Beatles Abbey Road album took place on the crossing outside Abbey Road studios. Photographer Iain McMillan, balanced on a step-ladder in the middle of the road took six shots of John, Ringo, Paul, and George walking across the zebra crossing while a policeman held up the traffic. […]
Today in Rock History – August 7
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 […]
Today in Rock History August 6
1965, The Beatles released their fifth album in the UK, the soundtrack to Help!, their second film. The US release took place on August 13. The album was produced by George Martin. It contains fourteen songs in its original British form. Seven of these, including the singles “Help!” and “Ticket to Ride”, appeared in the […]
Today in Rock History – August 4
1967, Pink Floyd released their debut album The Piper At the Gates of Dawn in the UK, on which most songs were penned by Syd Barrett. When reviewed by the two main UK music papers, Record Mirror and NME both gave the album four stars out of five. The album was recorded at Abbey Road studios, […]
Today in Rock History – July 31
1965, In England, the Yardbirds with Jeff Beck perform at the Cleethorpes Jazz Festival. 1965, Beatles VI enters the fourth of its six weeks atop the US album charts. Beatles VI includes two tracks recorded specifically for the North American market, “Bad Boy” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy,” both covers of Larry Williams songs. 1966, Cream […]
Today in Rock History – July 27
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 […]
Today in Rock History – July 26
1968, The Jackson Five signed a one-year contract with Motown Records. 1968, Decca pulls the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet from its release schedule, citing problems with the sleeve. The design features a graffiti-covered toilet. It’s one of the first disagreements between the band and the label, with Mick Jagger angrily pointing out that Decca released […]
Today in Rock History – July 25
1964, 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 […]
