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Today in Rock History – July 7

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Alpha TV Studio – Birmingham UK July 1963 – Philip Townsend

1963, The Rolling Stones made their UK TV debut when they appeared on Thank Your Lucky Stars. Also seen on the show were Mickie Most, The Cadets, Helen Shapiro and Gordon Mills. The Stones made a total of 13 appearances on the show between 1963 and 1966

1965, The Who played at a gala opening of The Manor House club in London.

1966, The Kinks were at number one on the singles chart with “Sunny Afternoon,” the group’s third and last chart topper.

1966, The Who played at the Locarno Ballroom in London, England.

1967, The Monkees begin a nationwide tour, with Jimi Hendrix supporting.

1967, Dusty Springfield begins a three-week residency at New York’s Copacabana nightclub.

1968, The Yardbirds played their last gig before splitting up when they appeared in Luton, England.

1969, Arlo Guthrie and Joni Mitchell appeared in Edwardsville, Illinois.

1969, George Harrison recorded his new song “Here Comes the Sun” with just two other Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Abbey Road in London. John Lennon was absent, recovering from a car crash in Scotland.

1970, The Who headline at the Tanglewood Music Amphitheater in Lenox, Massachusetts with Jethro Tull and It’s a Beautiful Day opening. It is one of The Who’s very best performances and is projected on a 15′ X 21′ television screen on the lawn outside the venue. The show is videotaped and intended for use on a Fillmore at Tanglewood television special that never airs. “Heaven and Hell”, “I Can’t Explain” and “Water” are later released on the first video edition of 30 Years Of Maximum R&B and the surviving section of the concert on YouTube in 2014.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

1971, Yes appeared at the Orlando Sports Stadium, also known as the Eddie Graham Sports Complex, an indoor venue which opened in 1967, and closed in 1995.

1971, 26-year-old pop star Bjorn Ulvaeus and 21-year-old Agnetha Faltskog married in Verum, Sweden. 3000 fans arrived and in the chaos a police horse stepped on the brides foot, causing her a slight injury.

1972, Chicago performed at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana.

1973, Led Zeppelin appeared at Chicago Stadium, Chicago.

1973, Hawkwind played at the Sports Centre, Bletchley, England.

1973, Billy Preston started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Will It Go Round In Circles,” his first of two chart toppers.

1974, David Bowie performed at the Scope in Norfolk, Virginia.

1975, Paul McCartney & Wings release “Live and Let Die.”

1975, Keith Moon has “Happy Birthday Ringo” written in the sky above Los Angeles in honor of his fellow drummer’s 35th birthday. He then sends the bill to Ringo.

1976, Neil Young appeared at the Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1978, The Grateful Dead played the first of four nights at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado.

The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats

1979, The Boomtown Rats made a personal appearance at the opening of the new Virgin Megastore in London.

1980, Led Zeppelin played their last-ever concert when they appeared in West Berlin at the end of a European tour. They finished the show with a 17-minute version of “Whole Lotta Love.”

1980, The Who perform at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

1984, Bruce Springsteen went to number one on the US album chart with Born In The USA. The album went on to spend a total of 139 weeks on the US chart. Its also one of three albums (Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814) to produce seven Top-ten US singles.

1984, Prince started a five week run at number one on the US singles chart with “When Doves Cry,” his first US chart topper, which went on to sell over two million copies. It reached the fourth spot in the UK.

1989, It was announced that for the first time compact discs were out selling vinyl albums.

2001, Stereophonics, David Gray, The Dandy Warhols, The Proclaimers, Paul Weller, Texas, Coldplay, Beck, Toploader, Ash, Starsailor, Nelly Furtado, James, and Muse all appeared at  T In The Park festival, Scotland, weekend tickets, £64 ($109.)

2006, Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett died from complications arising from diabetes aged 60. The official cause of death was listed as pancreatic cancer.  He joined Pink Floyd in 1965, and crafted most of the material from their first album, but only contributed one song for the second offering.  Barrett’s behavior became increasingly erratic and unpredictable, partly as a consequence of his reported heavy use of psychedelic drugs, most prominently LSD. By April 1968, he was kicked out of the band. Barrett released two solo albums before going into self-imposed seclusion lasting more than thirty years, with his mental deterioration blamed on drugs.

2007, The Live Earth concerts took place around the world with The Police closing the days events in New Jersey. The concerts were organized by former US Vice-President Al Gore, as part of his campaign to “heal the planet.” Rock stars from around the world performed to hundreds of thousands of fans to highlight climate change. Concerts were held in Washington, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Shanghai and Sydney. Madonna brought London’s Live Earth concert to a close, playing a song she had written for the event. Other major acts who appeared included; Snow Patrol, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, The Beastie Boys, James Blunt, The Foo Fighters, Duran Duran, UB40, Snoop Dogg, Enrique Iglesias, Crowded House & Joss Stone.

2009, Michael Jackson’s family and fans said farewell to the pop superstar at an emotional memorial service. The singer’s coffin was placed in front of the stage during the public event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, after an earlier private funeral.

2010, Paul McCartney joined Ringo Starr onstage at a concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall to help celebrate the former Beatle drummer’s 70th birthday.  Ringo’s All-Starr Band were joined by Yoko Ono, Joe Walsh, Angus Young and Steven Van Zandt, as Paul belted out “Birthday” and Ringo delivered “With A Little Help From My Friends.”

Born on July 7: Mary Ford, American singer (1928); Joe Zawinul, pianist, Miles Davis band, Weather Report (1932); Ringo Starr (1940);  Peter Banks, Yes, Flash (1947); Rob Townsend, drummer, Family (1947); Lynval Golding, guitar, The Specials (1952); Mark White, bass, The Spin Doctors (1962)

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Today in Rock History – June 17

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beatles-help1965, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles completed work on the new Paul McCartney song “Yesterday” with the overdubbing of an additional vocal track by McCartney and a string quartet. They also recorded “Act Naturally” for Ringo’s vocal contribution on the Help! album and the song “Wait” in four takes. “Wait” will not be included on ‘Help!’, it was included on the following LP, Rubber Soul.

1965, The Kinks and the Moody Blues made their US concert debut at the Academy of Music in New York City.

1966, The Who performed at City Hall in Perth, Western Australia, Australia.

1966, Guitarist Peter Green joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.

1966, Paul McCartney buys himself a farm in Kintyre, Scotland. He would later write the song “Mull of Kintyre.”

1967, Pink Floyd played at the Ballroom, Dreamland Amusement Park in Margate, Kent, England, supported by the Tony Merrick Set.

1969, Neil Young & Crazy Horse appeared at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, California.

1971, Carole King went to number one on the album chart with Tapestry for the first of 15 consecutive weeks. The album contained “It’s Too Late,” “I Feel the Earth Move,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” and “You’ve Got a Friend.”

1971, Black Sabbath and Ted Nugent played at the West Palm Beach Auditorium in West Palm Beach, Florida.

1972, The Allman Brothers Band performed at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1972, Don McLean had a number one UK single with “Vincent.” The song was written about the 19th century artist Vincent Van Gogh. The song is played daily at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

1972, David Bowie performed at Town Hall in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.

1972, Organist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan plays with the Grateful Dead for the last time at the Hollywood Bowl.

1972, Pink Floyd release their soundtrack Obscured by Clouds in the US.

1972, The Rolling Stones album Exile On Main Street started a four-week run at the top of the charts.

1973, Dolly Parton recorded “I Will Always Love You” in RCA’s Studio “B” in Nashville. Written for her one-time partner and mentor, Porter Wagoner (the two were splitting professionally at the time). The song was later a world-wide hit for Whitney Houston.

1974, KISS played at the Sunshine Inn, Asbury Park, New Jersey.

1975, Aerosmith appeared at McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado.

1976, The Grateful Dead begin the first of  three nights at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey.

1976, Ian Dury played his last gig with Kilburn and the High Roads before starting his solo career. The show at The Assembly Hall, Walthamstow also had The Sex Pistols, and The Stranglers on the bill.

1976, Neil Diamond performed at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1977, Steve Winwood releases his first self-titled solo album, three years after leaving Traffic.

1977, Eric Clapton played at Rhein-Neckar-Halle, Heidelberg, Germany.

1978, Andy Gibb became the first solo artist in the history of the US charts to have his first three releases reach number one. “Shadow Dancing” hit the top of the charts, spending seven weeks at the top, and becoming the best selling single in the US that year.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.

1978, “You’re The One That I Want” by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John started a nine week run at number one on the UK singles chart. The song was from the film Grease.

1978, As Jefferson Airplane prepare to play Germany’s Lorley Festival, Grace Slick is discovered too inebriated to perform. The band cancels.

1979, Yes played at New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, Connecticut.

1980, Led Zeppelin performed at Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany.

1981, Pink Floyd performed The Wall at Earl’s Court Exhibition Hall, Earl’s Court, London.

1983, David Bowie appeared at Freilichttheater, Bad Segeberg, Germany.

1983, James Brown, UB40, Fun Boy Three, The Beat, Curtis Mayfield, Jimmy Cliff, Marillion and Melanie all appeared at this years Glastonbury CND Festival, Shepton Mallet, England.

1984, Van Halen played at the Kansas Coliseum, Valley Center, Kansas.

1987, Florida real estate agent Vittoria Holman sued Motley Crue and their concert promoter for hearing loss allegedly incurred at a concert in December 1985. Holman and her daughter had front row seats less than 10 feet (3 meters) from the speakers. The case was settled out of court with the band’s insurance company paying Holman over $30,000. (£18,200.)

1997, Fans rioted at an Ozzfest concert in Columbus Ohio, after Ozzy Osbourne couldn’t perform due to throat problems. Angry fans broke windows, uprooted trees, and turned over a parked car.

2007, The Traveling Wilburys went to number one on the UK album chart with Collection. The lineup of the Wilburys was: George Harrison, (Nelson Wilbury,) Jeff Lynne, (Otis Wilbury,) Roy Orbison, (Lefty Wilbury,) Tom Petty, (Charlie T. Wilbury Jr.,) and Bob Dylan, (Lucky Wilbury.)

2012, Bruce Springsteen played his longest show when he turned in a three-hour-and-48-minute, 32-song, set at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. This surpassed the previously longest show, Dec. 31, 1980 at the Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, New York, which clocked in at 3:43.

Born on June 17: Norman Kuhlke, The Swinging Blue Jeans (1942); Chris Spedding, session guitarist for Donovan, David Essex, Brian Eno, Bryan Ferry (1944); Barry Manilow (1946); Greg Rolie, Santana (1947); and Jello Biafra, Dead Kennedys (1958)

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Today in Rock History – June 3

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the-who-sweden-19661966, The Who arrive at a TV studio in Stockholm to appear on the Popside program for Sverige Television. Coming onstage busting through a Union Jack paper hoop, they mime performances of “Daddy Rolling Stone,” “It’s Not True,” “Bald Headed Woman,” “The Kids Are Alright,” “Substitute,” and “My Generation” while standing on a ramp. The show is directed by Peter Goldmann, later to direct the promotional films for The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane.” It airs on Swedish television on two days later.

1967, The Doors “Light My Fire” was released in the US, it went on to reach number one on the singles chart two months later.

1967 Pink Floyd, Hydrogen Jukebox, and The Sun Trolley played to the largest crowd that the UFO Club had ever held. The Tottenham Court Road club in London was an early part of the London psychedelic scene. Jimi Hendrix, Eric Burdon, and Pete Townshend were among the rock stars in attendance.

1967, Janis Joplin performed at California Hall in Berkeley, California.

1967, Aretha Franklin went to the top of he US singles charts with her version of the Otis Redding hit “Respect.” It was a top ten hit on the UK charts.

1967, Jefferson Airplane appear on American Bandstand, playing “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love.”

1968, Valerie Solanas shot Andy Warhol and art critic and curator Mario Amaya at Warhol’s studio in New York City. Solanas had been to see Warhol after asking for the return of a script which had apparently, been misplaced. Warhol was seriously wounded in the attack and barely survived.

1968, Pink Floyd performed at the Concertgebouw in Vissingen, The Netherlands, supported by Dragonfly.

1969, Yes appeared at the Bay Hotel, Sunderland, England.

1970, Deep Purple released their fourth studio album Deep Purple In Rock. This was the first album to feature the classic Mk II lineup of – Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.

1970, The Kinks’ Ray Davies was forced to make a 6,000 mile round trip from New York to London to record one word in a song. Davies had to change the word “Coca-Cola” to “Cherry Cola” on the bands forthcoming single “Lola” due to an advertising ban at BBC Radio.

1971, The Band appeared at London’s Royal Albert Hall during a European tour.

1971, King Crimson played at Winter Gardens, Bournemouth, England.

1972, Joe Cocker, The Beach Boys, Melanie, Richie Havens and Sha Na Na all appeared at the Crystal Palace Garden Party, England.

1972, Jethro Tull started a two-week run at number one on the US album chart with Thick As A Brick.

1972, Blue Oyster Cult and Aliotta, Haynes & Jeremiah performed at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1972, The Rolling Stones kicked off their seventh North American tour at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada. The 32 date tour grossed $4 million (£2.5 m,) making it the richest rock tour in history.

1972, Family gospel group of father and three daughters The Staple Singers went to number one on the singles chart with “I’ll Take You There.”

1972, The Eagles release “Take It Easy.”

1972, Pink Floyd released the soundtrack to director Barbet Schroeder’s Obscured by Clouds in the UK. The album which was recorded in Paris, France in less than two weeks, peaked at number six on the UK chart and number 46 on the US chart.

1972, David Bowie performed at City Hall, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England.

1973, Led Zeppelin played a three hour show at The Forum, Inglewood, California. The setlist: Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, (Bring It On Home intro) Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love (incl. Let That Boy Boogie, I’m Going Down, I’m a Man, The Hunter), The Ocean, Communication Breakdown, Organ solo ~ Thank You.

1975, Aerosmith played at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1976, The Grateful Dead played at the Paramount Theater in Portland, Oregon.

1976, Yes headlined at the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia.

1977, Rush performed at the Odeon Theatre, Birmingham, England.

1978, Genesis appeared at the Palais Des Sports, Dijon, France.

1979, Journey performed at War Memorial Auditorium. Syracuse, New York.

1980, Roxy Music played at the Palais Des Grottes, Cambrai, France.

1983, US session drummer Jim Gordon murdered his mother by pounding her head with a hammer. A diagnosed schizophrenic, it was not until his trial in 1984 that he was properly diagnosed. Due to the fact that his attorney was unable to use the insanity defense, Gordon was sentenced to sixteen years-to-life in prison in 1984. Gordon won Grammy Award  for co-writing “Layla” with Eric Clapton. Gordon worked with The Beach Boys, John Lennon, George Harrison Frank Zappa and many other artists.

1989, The Fine Young Cannibals started a seven-week run at number one on the US album chart with The Raw & The Cooked.

1990, The Big Day, free festival took place in Glasgow, Scotland with Wet Wet Wet, Deacon Blue, Hothouse Flowers, Sheena Easton, Texas, Hue and Cry, John Martyn, Eddi Reader, The Average White Band and others.

1995, Bryan Adams started a five week run at number one on the US singles chart with”‘Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman,” Taken from the film Don Juan De Marco it became Adams third US solo chart topper, and a number four hit in the UK.

2002, Paul McCartney, Sting, Elton John, Brian Wilson, Cliff Richard, Ozzy Osbourne, The Corrs, Will Young, Atomic Kitten and S Club 7 all appeared at The Queen’s Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace, London.

2011, American singer, songwriter Andrew Gold died in his sleep aged 59 from a heart attack. Had the 1977 US number seven single “Lonely Boy,” and the 1978 UK top five single “Never Let Her Slip Away.”

Born on June 3: Allen Ginsburg (1926); Ian Hunter (1939); Curtis Mayfield (1942); Michael Clarke, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Byrds (1943);  Dave Alexander, bass, Iggy Pop And The Stooge (1947); Mickey Finn, T Rex (1947); Billy Powell, keyboards, Lynyrd Skynyrd (1952); David Cole, C & C Music Factory (1962); Mike Gordon, Phish (1965)

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Today in Rock History – May 21

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who-anyway-anywhere-anyhow1965, The Who’s second single, “Anyway Anyhow Anywhere” backed with “Daddy Rolling Stone” is released in the UK on Brunswick. Derek Johnson in New Musical Express calls is “a wild racer, with just about every conceivable gimmick…it commands attention and should do well.”

1967, Jimi Hendrix signed with Reprise Records on the US Warner Brothers label. They released the guitarist’s three studio albums Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland.

1967, Pink Floyd was at Studio 3, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood in London to record songs for their debut album, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.

1968, The Monkees appeared at The Olympia Stadium, Salt Lake City.

1968, Rolling Stone Brian Jones appeared at Great Marlborough Street Magistrates court, London on a charge of possession of marijuana, Jones was released on £200 ($320) bail.

1969, Yes played at Harrods Way Inn, London.

1970, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recorded “Ohio.”

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Seabreeze High School Auditorium, Daytona Beach, Florida.

1971, UK rock group Free announced that they were splitting up.

1971, King Crimson played at Regal Cinema, Cambridge, England.

1971, Paul McCartney releases his solo album Ram.

1972, The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Faces, Family, Curved Air, Atomic Rooster, The Kinks, Rory Gallagher, Uriah Heep, Country Joe McDonald, Buddy Miles, Status Quo, Brinsley Schwarz, Spencer Davis, The Strawbs and Humble Pie all appeared at the Second British Rock Meeting, Insel Grun, Germersheim, West Germany. The festival was due to take place in Mannheim, West Germany, but after protests from the locals, the concert actually took place in nearby Germersheim.

1973, David Bowie performed at the Theatre Royal, Norwich, England.

1974, Two would-be concert promoters were arrested by police on fraud charges in connection with selling mail order tickets for a forthcoming “Elten John” show. The misspelling help detect their fraud. Police took away over $12,000 in checks.

1975, ZZ Top appeared at Boston’s Music Hall

1976, The Rolling Stones begin a six-night stand at London’s Earls Court. Reviews of the show are the first to describe the band as “dinosaurs.”

1977, Rod Stewart was at number one on the singles chart with the double A sided single “I Don’t Want To Talk About It / First Cut Is The Deepest.’

1977, Stevie Wonder started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with his tribute to Duke Ellington, “Sir Duke,” his sixth US chart topper. It made it to number two in the UK.

1977, Grateful Dead performed at Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida, a show that can be heard on Dick’s Picks #29.

1978, Black Sabbath played at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1979, Elton John started a tour of Russia, when he played the first of eight concerts making him the first Western star ever to do so.

1980, A thief broke into Electric Lady Studios in New York City, the recording studio built by Jimi Hendrix and stole five Hendrix gold records.

1982, The Hacienda Club was opened in Manchester, England. Madonna made her UK TV debut at the club when C4 music show The Tube was broadcast live. It was home to many Manchester acts and Oasis, Happy Mondays, U2, The Smiths, Charlatans, James, M People, who all played at the club.

1983, David Bowie went to number one on the US singles chart with “Let’s Dance,” featuring blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. It was Bowie’s first single to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic. The music video was made by David Mallet on location in Australia including a bar in Carinda in New South Wales, featured Bowie playing with his band while impassively watching an Aboriginal couple’s struggles against metaphors of Western cultural imperialism.

1988, Prince scored his first UK number one album with Lovesexy. The cover, based on a photo by Jean Baptiste Mondino, caused some controversy upon release as it depicts Prince in the nude. Some record stores refused to stock it, or wrapped the album in black.

1994, The Manchester United Football Club, along with Status Quo, were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Come On You Reds.”

2001, Producer, arranger and keyboardist Tommy Eyre died of cancer aged 51. He worked with George Harrison, Wham!, Dusty Springfield, and BB King. Eyre played and arranged Joe Cocker’s hit “With A Little Help From My Friends” and Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street.”

2006, Madonna played the first of three sold out nights at The Los Angeles Forum in California, the first dates on her Confessions Tour. The 60-date tour grossed over $260 (£162.5) million, becoming the highest grossing tour ever for a female artist.

2011, Adele went to number one on the US singles chart with “Rolling In The Deep,” taken from her second studio album, 21. The video to the song was nominated for seven MTV Video Music Awards nominations, “Rolling in the Deep” was also the Billboard Year End Hot 100 Number One Single of 2011.  The song received three 2012 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video.

2013, Trevor Bolder, the bassist in David Bowie’s legendary 1970s backing band Spiders From Mars, died from cancer at the age of 62. Bolder appeared on the studio albums Hunky Dory (1971), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), Aladdin Sane (1973), and Pin Ups (1973). He joined Uriah Heep in 1976, replacing John Wetton.

Born on this day: Fats Waller (1904); Tony Sheridan (1940); Ronald Isley, The Isley Brothers (1941); Martin Carthy, English singer-songwriter, guitarist,  producer, Steeleye Span, The Watersons, Waterson:Carthy, Brass Monkey,  Blue Murder (1941); Vincent Crane, keyboards, The Crazy world of Arthur Brown (1943); Leo Sayer (1948);  Stan Lynch, American drummer, songwriter,  producer, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1955); Kevin Shields, American-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, My Bloody Valentine, The Complex, and Primal Scream (1963); Martin Blunt, bass, The Charlatans (1964); Christopher G. Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls, aka Notorious B.I.G. (1972); Adam Gontier, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, Three Days Grace, Big Dirty Band, and Saint Asonia (1978)

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Today in Rock History – May 12

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1965, The Rolling Stones recorded “(I Can’t Get No), Satisfaction” at RCA Hollywood studios. Keith Richards had come up with the guitar riff in the middle of the night a week earlier. It gave the band their first number one single in the US.

1967, Pink Floyd play London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, one of their first concerts to experiment with quadraphonic sound. The band composes a song for the Games for May event, which later becomes “See Emily Play.”

1967, Are You Experienced, the debut album by Jimi Hendrix was released in the UK. Hendrix also played a gig at the Bluesville Club, Manor House in London on this day.

1968, Jimi Hendrix was arrested by police on his way to Toronto for possession of hashish and heroin. Hendrix claimed the drugs had been planted on him.

1968, Brian Jones made his final live appearance with The Rolling Stones when they appeared at the New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert at the Empire Pool, Wembley, England.

1969, Pink Floyd appear at the Paris Cinema, Lower Regent Street in London.

1970, The Grateful Dead release Workingman’s Dead.

1971, Rolling Stone Mick Jagger married Bianca Macias at St. Tropez Town Hall. The guest list included the other members of the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Stephen Stills. The couple separated in 1977.

1972, David Bowie played at Polytechnic of Central London, London

1973, The Mothers of Invention performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1973, Led Zeppelin started a three week run at number one on the album chart with Houses Of The Holy, the group’s third chart topper.

1974, The Kinks appeared at the University of California in Santa Barbara.

1975, Genesis appeared at Rhein am Main Halle, Wiesbaden, Germany.

1975, Jefferson Starship gave a free concert in New York’s Central Park in front of 60,000 fans. The band and concert sponsor, WNEW-FM, were forced to pay $14,000 for cleaning up and damage done to the park after the event.

1976, The Rolling Stones performed at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland.

1977, After being dropped by both EMI and A&M records in less than 6 months, Virgin Records announced they had signed The Sex Pistols.

1979, The Who played at Arenes de Frejus, Cannes, France.

1980, The Who are on the cover of People magazine.

1981, Van Halen kicked off their 82 date North American Fair Warning Tour at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

1983, ZZ Top played at the Mississippi Coliseum, Jackson, Mississippi.

1985, Phil Collins kicked off the North American leg on his ‘No Jacket Required’ World Tour at the Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts.

2001, American singer and TV show host Perry Como died aged 88. He scored fourteen US number one singles, from 150 US chart hits and over 25 UK chart hits, including the single “Magic Moments” and “Catch A Falling Star.” Como was once the highest-paid performer in the history of television.

Born on this day: Burt Bachrach (1928); Ian Drury (1942); Billy Swan (1944); Ian McLagan, keyboards, Small Faces (1946); Steve Winwood (1948); and Billy Squier (1950)

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Today in Rock History – May 5

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Buffalo Springfield

1966, The Who performed at Town Hall in Kidderminster, West Midlands, England.

1967 At a performance at the Sporthallen in Eskilstuna, The Who are forced to perform on a small stage meters above the heads of the audience. Pete Townshend cuts the set to five songs in protest.

1968, Buffalo Springfield split up. Richie Fury formed Poco and Stephen Stills teamed up with David Crosby (The Byrds) and Graham Nash (The Hollies) to create Crosby Stills & Nash. They played a show at the Long Beach (California) Arena.

1968, Pink Floyd performed two shows at Theatre 140, in Brussels, Belgium.

1969, The Beatles single “Get Back” was released in the US.

1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival release their hit “Bad Moon Rising.”

1972, The first day of the three day Bickershaw Festival, Wigan, England, with The Grateful Dead, Dr John, Donovan, The Kinks, Captain Beefheart, Hawkwind, America, Family, Country Joe MacDonald, Wishbone Ash, New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Brinsley Schwarz and the Flamin Groovies.

1972, Jethro Tull and Wild Turkey appeared at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

1972, Blind blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis died of a heart attack aged 76. His unique finger-picking style influenced many other artists.

1972, Michelle Phillips, Mama Cass, Judy Collins, Goldie Hawn, and Jack Nicholson, among others, agree to play a series of benefit concerts to help George McGovern’s presidential campaign.

1973, David Bowie scored his first number one album when Aladdin Sane started a five-week run at the top, featuring the single “Drive In Saturday.”

1973, King Crimson played at The Forum in Montreal, Quebec.

1973, Elvis Presley went to number one on the album chart with Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite.

Led Zeppelin in 1973

1973, At Tampa Stadium in Florida, 56,800 Led Zeppelin fans see Led Zeppelin. The band grossed $309,000 (£193,125). At the time the show set a record for the largest paying crowd at an American rock concert. The band played for two and a half hours without an intermission. Tickets were $5.00 (£3.13).

1974, Television appeared at CBGB’s in New York City, supported by the Stillettoes (later to become Blondie, who were playing their first show at CBGB.)

1975, Yes performed at Colston Hall, Bristol, England.

1977, The Grateful dead played at Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut.

1978, Aerosmith performed at the Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina.

1979, Peaches and Herb started a four week run at number one on the singles chart with “Reunited.”

1979, On the last date of a US tour, The Boomtown Rats appeared at The Palladium in New York City.

1979, Van Halen played at Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, Ohio.

1980, The Who appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1984, Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr married Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde in a horse drawn carriage in Central Park, New York City.

1984, Duran Duran were at number one on the UK singles chart with “The Reflex,” the group’s second and last chart topper. The song which was taken from their third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger was also a US number one.

1990, During a North American tour Nirvana appeared at the Einstein-A-Go-Go in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

1992, Radiohead released The Drill EP, their first record in the UK. The band were still called “On a Friday” when the songs for this EP were recorded; they changed their name to Radiohead the following month.

1996, Rage Against The Machine went to number one on the US album chart with Evil Empire. The album’s title is taken from the phrase “evil empire”, which was used by Ronald Reagan and many conservatives in describing the former Soviet Union. The album won the 1996 Grammy award for Best Metal Performance.

Born on this day: Johnnie Taylor, US soul singer (1937); Tammy Wynette (1942); Bill Ward, drums, Black Sabbath (1948); Ian McCullouch, Echo & the Bunnymen (1959); Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, aka Adele (1988)

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Today in Rock History – April 29

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April 29

1967, The 14-hour Technicolour Dream benefit party for The International Times was held at Alexandra Palace, Muswell Hill in London. Seeing the event mentioned on TV, John Lennon called his driver and went to the show. Coincidentally, Yoko Ono was one of the performers. More than thirty acts appeared included The Move, The Pretty Things, Soft Machine, Tomorrow, The Flies, The Creation Arthur Brown, and The Graham Bond Organisation. All the bands played for free. Members of Pink Floyd drove all night from an gig in The Netherlands arriving at 3 AM, and taking the stage at dawn.  The entire event was documented by BBC Television.

1967, Aretha Franklin releases her interpretation of the Otis Redding song “Respect.”

1967, Jimi Hendrix, The Walker Brothers, Engelbert Humperdink and Cat Stevens played two shows at Bournemouth Winter Gardens, England.

1969, While working on tracks for the forthcoming Beatles Abbey Road album, Ringo Starr added his vocal to “Octopus’s Garden.”

1970, The Allman Brothers Band played at Aliotta’s Lounge in Buffalo, New York.

1971, Promoter Bill Graham announces he’s closing the Fillmore Auditoriums in San Francisco and New York.

1972, David Bowie performed at Town Hall, High Wycombe, England.

1973, John Denver began a weekly live UK BBC 2 TV special, The John Denver Show.

1973, The Bay City Rollers appeared at The Odeon Theatre, Edinburgh in Scotland.

1974, King Crimson performed at the Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1975, Yes played at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, England.

The Bee Gees

1975, After suffering the indignity of having an album rejected by their label, the Bee Gees release their career renaissance Main Course, featuring the disco hits “Jive Talkin'” and “Nights on Broadway.”

1976, Genesis performed  Community Theater, Berkeley, California.

1976, After a gig in Memphis, Bruce Springsteen took a cab to Elvis Presley’s Graceland home and proceeded to climb over the wall. A guard took him to be another crank fan and apprehended him.

1976, Bob Dylan appeared at Expo Hall, Municipal Auditorium, Mobile, Alabama.

1977, The Grateful Dead played the first of five nights at the New York Palladium, New York.

1977, The Kinks appeared at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario.

1979, Van Halen played at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1980, Black Sabbath began their first tour with vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who had replaced Ozzy Osbourne.

1983, Roxy Music performed at the California State University, Fresnom, California.

1984, Yes appeared at the Civic Center in Erie, Pennsylvania.

1993, Guitarist, producer, Mick Ronson died of liver cancer aged 46. Ronson recorded and toured with David Bowie from 1970 to 1973. He released the 1974 solo album Slaughter On Tenth Avenue. Ronson co-produced Lou Reed’s album Transformer. He was also part of the Hunter Ronson Band with Ian Hunter. Among the talent Ronson worked with were Morrissey, Slaughter & The Dogs, The Wildhearts, The Rich Kids, Elton John, Johnny Cougar, T-Bone Burnett.

1995, Rapper Tupac Shakur married Keisha Morris inside the Clinton Correctional Facility, where he was serving a four-year jail term for sex abuse.

2001, A blue plaque was unveiled at 38 Aubrey Walk, Kensington, London to honor the musical heritage of the address where British singer Dusty Springfield lived between 1968 and 1972.

2007, Arctic Monkeys started a three week run at number one on the UK album chart with their second album Favourite Worst Nightmare.

Born on April 29: Duke Ellington (1899); Carl Gardner, American singer, The Coasters (1928); Willie Nelson (1933); Klaus Voorman,  Manfred Mann, Plastic Ono Band (1942);  Tammi Terrell, singer (1945); Tommy James (1947); Michael Karoli, German guitarist, songwriter, Can (1948); Francis Rossi, Status Quo (1949); Mark Kendall, American guitarist,  songwriter, Great White (1957); Carnie Wilson, American singer-songwriter, actress Wilson Phillips (1968); China Forbes, American singer-songwriter, Pink Martini (1970); Mike Hogan, bass, The Cranberries (1973)

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Today in Rock History – April 28

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1966, The Kinks appeared at the Mecca Ballroom, Nottingham, England.

1966, The Young Rascals topped the Pop charts with  “Good Lovin’.” This is the first of three number one songs for group, which later records as just The Rascals.

1966, The Who perform at The Witchdoctor at the Savoy Room in Catford, England.

1967, Pink Floyd performed at the Tabernacle Club, Hillgate, Stockport, England.

1967, Johnny Cash appeared at the Burlington Auditorium in Burlington, Iowa.

1968, The Broadway musical Hair opened at the Baltimore Theatre in New York City. The musical’s profanity, its depiction of the use of illegal drugs, its treatment of sexuality, its irreverence for the American flag, and its nude scene caused much comment and controversy. The production ran for 1,729 performances, finally closing on July 1st, 1972.

1968, The Mothers of Invention played at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Cream performed at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis, Missouri.

1969, Yes appeared at the Marquee Club, London.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the State University of New York in Stony Brook.

1971, Hawkwind appeared St. Michels Mount, Penzance, England.

1972, Pink Floyd played at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago.

1973, King Crimson performed at the Academy of Music in New York.

Dark side1973, Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side Of The Moon went to number one on the chart, it went on to enjoy a record breaking 741 weeks, selling over 20 million copies world-wide.

1973, The Faces scored their first number one album with Ooh La La.

1974, Queen appeared at Exposition Hall, Portland, Maine.

1975,  John Lennon appears on The Tonight Show, and Ringo Starr shows up on The Smothers Brothers Show to sing his “No No Song.”

1976, The Rolling Stones played at Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany.

1977, Eric Clapton appeared at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

1978, Mike Oldfield played the first of two nights at London’s Wembley Arena, England.

1979,  When “Heart of Glass” by Blondie hits number one, Andy Warhol throws a party for the group at Studio 54 in New York.

1979, The Very Best Of Leo Sayer started a three-week run at number one on the UK album chart, giving Sayer his first and only chart topping LP.

1980, The Grateful Dead played at Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama.

1980, Marshall Tucker Band bass player Tommy Caldwell died of injures from a jeep car crash in his hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina. The thirty year-old was an original member of the band, and composed several of their songs and played bass, percussion, guitar, and contributed backup vocals.

1981, Steve Currie, former member of T Rex, was killed in a car crash returning to his home near Vale de Parra, Algarve, Portugal, he was 33 years old. Currie joined T. Rex (recently renamed from Tyrannosaurus Rex) as bass guitarist in late 1970, and also worked as a session player, playing on “Motorbikin” by Chris Spedding.

1983, During the second leg of their War North American tour, U2 appeared at the Rochester Institute Of Technology Ice Rink, Rochester, New York.

1984, King Crimson appeared at Kani Hoken Hall, Tokyo.

1985, Eric Clapton performed at the Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1988, Rush played at Wembley Arena in London.

1990, Guns N’ Roses leader Axl Rose married Erin Everly, daughter of The Everly Brothers Don at Cupid’s Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. They divorced in January 91 after a stormy nine months of marriage.

1990, Sinead O’Connor started a six-week run at number one on the US album chart with I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.

1999, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2002, Sugababes scored their first UK chart topping single with “Freak Like Me.” The song was originally sung by American Adina Howard in 1995, and was mixed with the synth line from Gary Numan’s 1979 hit “Are Friends Electric?”

2008, Scott Weiland, singer with The Stone Temple Pilots, was sentenced to 192 hours in county jail for his November 2007 drunk driving conviction. He was also fined $2000 (£1333,) and required to complete an 18-month alcohol program, as well as placed on probation for four years.

2015, Jack Ely died at the age of 71 after a long illness. The Kingman singer’s hit ‘Louie Louie’ reached the top of the charts in 1963 and sparked an FBI investigation into whether or not its lyrics were obscene

Born on April 28: John Wolters, drums, Dr. Hook (1945); Chuck Leavell, American singer-songwriter, keyboards, The Allman Brothers Band, Sea Level (1953); Kim Gordon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, Sonic Youth, Ciccone Youth, Free Kitten (1953);  Eddie Jobson, English keyboardist,  violinist, Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K., Jethro Tull (1955);  Phil King, English bass player, Lush, The Jesus and Mary Chain (1960) Scott Putesky, aka Daisy Berkowitz, American guitarist, Marilyn Manson, Jack Off Jill (1968); Howard Donald, English singer-songwriter, producer, Take That (1968); Violent J, American rapper, producer, wrestler, actor, Insane Clown Posse, Dark Lotus,  Psychopathic Rydas (1972)

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Today in Rock History – April 11

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1964, The Beatles set a new chart record when they had 14 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. The songs ranged from “Can’t Buy Me Love” at number one to “Love Me Do” at number 81.

1965, Performing at the New Musical Express poll winners concert, at London’s Wembley Empire Pool, England, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Tom Jones, Freddie and the Dreamers, The Animals, The Kinks, Herman’s Hermits, Moody Blues, Them, Cilla Black, The Seekers and Donovan.

1966, Buffalo Springfield made their live debut at The Troubadour in Hollywood, California. The folk rock band are renowned both for their music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Buffalo Springfield were among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion.

1967, During a 18-date European tour The Rolling Stones played two shows at the Olympia Theatre in Paris, France

1968, Janis Joplin and Big Brother & the Holding Company perform on ABC’s Hollywood Palace.

1970, Peter Green quit Fleetwood Mac while on tour in Germany, to avoid breach of contract he agreed to finish the current tour.

1970, The Beatles started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with ‘Let It Be’. It became the group’s 19th No.1 in 6 years.

1973, The Beach Boys appeared at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia. The Beach Boys were at a very low ebb in popularity in America and this show proved a financial disaster for the promoter, with less than 3,000 tickets sold for the 16,000 capacity venue. Opening act was Mothers Finest and middle of the bill was Bruce Springsteen who played a 60-minute set.

1974, David Bowie Arrives in New York on the SS France. Checks into the Sherry Netherlands Hotel on 5th Avenue. During his stay in New York Bowie spent time putting together a new tour band and seeing live music, particularly black artists such as The Temptations, The Spinners and Marvin Gaye at venues in Harlem such as the Apollo Theatre.

1976, During a tour of Australia, Queen appeared at the Entertainments Centre in Perth.

1977, Alice Cooper played to an audience of 40,000 in Sydney, Australia, the largest crowd to attend a rock concert in the country’s history. After the show Cooper was placed under house arrest at his hotel until he posted a bond for $59,632. That amount was the sum that a promoter claimed to have paid Cooper for a 1975 Australia tour he never made. The two settled when it was found that the promoter did not fulfill his part of the agreement either.

1981, Eddie Van Halen married actress Valerie Bertinelli, co-star of the 1980’s television hit, One Day at a Time. The two had met eight months earlier when Bertinelli’s brother took her to a Van Halen concert in Shreveport, Louisiana.

1992, Def Leppard scored their second UK chart topping album with Adrenalize, the follow-up to the multi million selling Hysteria album.

1994, Oasis released their first single “Supersonic,” which peaked at  number 31 on the UK charts. However, over time it has amassed sales of over 215,000, making it their 13th biggest selling single ever in the UK. “Supersonic” was also the band’s first single to chart in the United States, where it peaked at number eleven on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

2006, June Pointer, the youngest of the four Pointer Sisters who went from teenage Gospel singers to the top of the Pop charts with such hits as “Fire,” “Slow Hand,” and “I’m So Excited,” died of cancer at the age of 52.

2014, Nirvana were enshrined to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside the likes of KISS and Beatles manager Brian Epstein. REM’s Michael Stipe inducted the group, saying, “Nirvana tapped into a voice that was yearning to be heard. Nirvana were kicking against the mainstream. They spoke truth and a lot of people listened.”

Born on April 11: Neville Staples, The Specials (1956); Stuart Adamson, Big Country (1958); Nigel Pulsford, Bush (1965); Joss Stone, singer (1987)

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Song Of The Day – “Apeman” by The Esso Steel Band

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essosteelbandMy parents married in 1953 and chose Bermuda as the destination of their honeymoon. Like many folks of their era, they came back with souvenirs from their dream vacation. In my parents’ case, they returned with the pregnancy of my older sister, and a souvenir LP by The Esso Steel Band.

The Esso Steel Band began in 1942 as The Tripoli Steel Band which was named for the “Marine’s Hymn” (“On the shores of Tripoli”), and beginning in 1951 the group was led by Hugh Borde.

The steel pan as an instrument rose out of the poorest sections of Trinidad where discarded oil barrels were fashioned into musical instruments, affording the natives an artistic outlet. Once the sound caught on, it became central to the annual Carnival celebration where musicians competed for supremacy on the instruments.

In 1964, the Tripoli Steel Band won the first official Steel Band competition, and the following year, the Esso Oil Company (later Exxon) agreed to sponsor the group which took on the name of The Esso Tripoli Steel Band which was later shortened to The Esso Steel Band.

By 1967, the group was 27 strong and toured the world on Esso’s dime playing at Montreal’s Expo World’s Fair. After Esso dropped sponsorship of the group, they toured for several years as part of Liberace’s show and recorded a Grammy-winning album called Liberace Presents the Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band.

In 1971, Van Dyke Parks rediscovered them and took them into the studio to record an album for Warner Bros. Records including covers of then-current pop songs including Simon & Garfunkel’s “Cecilia,” The Jackson Five’s “I Want You Back” and today’s Song Of The Day, The Kinks’ “Apeman.”

The group splintered in 1976 after Borde relocated his family to the United States, however a new version of the group was organized by Borde’s son Emile, recording the album Momentum in 1985. The group performed well into the 2000s.

Most recently, Parks had the group re-record the song “Aquarium” from the 1971 Warner album for his latest release Songs Cycled.