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Today in Rock History – September 17th

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1967, The Doors were banned from The Ed Sullivan Show after Jim Morrison broke his agreement with the show’s producers. Morrison said before the performance that he wouldn’t sing the words, “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher,” from “Light My Fire” but did anyway. The Doors also performed their new single “People Are Strange.”

1967, Pink Floyd played at the Arcadia Ballroom in Cork, on the last night of an Irish tour.

1967, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Chicken Shack and Long John Baldry all appeared at the Saville Theatre in London, England.

1968, Jerry Lee Lewis performed at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1969, Media on both sides of the Atlantic were running stories that said Paul McCartney was dead. He was supposedly killed in a car accident in Scotland on November 9th, 1966 and that a double had been taking his place for public appearances. In fact, Paul and his girlfriend Jane Asher were on vacation in Kenya at the time.

1969, Pink Floyd played at the fabled Concertgebow in Amsterdam. This performance was part of “The Man and the Journey” tour. This was a concept piece comprised of early Floyd songs, as well as material that would be included in the upcoming releases More and Ummagumma. It also featured performance art, such as the band being served tea onstage during the performance.  It is a widely available, and popular bootleg.  Also on the bill were Dream, and the Khapholous Light Show.

1970, The Who comes to the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. They gave a performance of Tommy plus some of their early hits, as encores.

1971, Led Zeppelin played the last of two nights at the Civic Center Auditorium in Honolulu, Hawaii, before heading off to Japan for five concert dates.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1972, Yes appears at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, Florida.

1973, The Grateful Dead played at Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, New York.

1973, Neil Diamond’s Hot August Night continued it’s second run at number one, as part of a total of 29 weeks at the top.

1974, The Ramones played at CBGB in New York.

1975, Kraftwerk performs at The Dome, Brighton, England.

1976, The Sex Pistols played a gig for the inmates at Chelmsford Prison, Essex in England.

1977, Rush appeared at the Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.

1978, The video for Queen’s single “Bicycle Race” was filmed at Wimbledon Stadium, Wimbledon, UK. It featured 65 naked female professional models racing around the stadium’s track on bicycles, which had been hired for the day. The rental company was reported to have requested payment for all the saddles when they found out how their bikes had been used.

1978,  AC/DC appear at Lehigh College, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

1979, The Who returned to Madison Square Garden in New York.

1980, Black Sabbath performs at the Prairie Capital Convention Civic Center, Springfield, Illinois.

1981, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1982, The Grateful Dead played at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine.

1983, Paul Young scored his first number one album with his debut release No Parlez. The album returned to the top of the charts on four other occasions, spending a total of 119 weeks on the chart.

1983, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Eddie Money and Uriah Heep all appeared at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California.

1991, Rob Tyner, lead singer with the American hard rock band MC5, died after he suffered a heart attack in the seat of his parked car in his hometown of Berkley, Michigan. MC5, shortened from the Motor City Five, formed in Detroit, in 1965, they released their first album, Kick Out the Jams in 1969.

1991, Over 4 million copies of Guns N’ Roses albums, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II were simultaneously released for retail sale, making it the largest ship-out in pop history in the US.

2000, Paula Yates was found dead in bed from a suspected drug overdose. Yates had presented the UK music TV show The Tube during the 80’s, married Bob Geldof, and was the girlfriend of INXS singer Michael Hutchence.

2006, Justin Timberlake went to number one on the UK album chart with Futuresex / Lovesounds the singers second solo album and second chart topper.

2011, Adele went to number one on the US singles chart with “Someone Like You.” The track was also a chart topper in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Finland, France, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom.

2011, The estate of Jimi Hendrix gave the go-ahead for another round of archival releases nearly 41 years to the day after the singer’s death. The four new products included an expanded version of his landmark Winterland concerts in 1968, a revamp of a 1972 live compilation, an upgraded DVD of his final UK festival gig, and a DVD reissue of some old talk-show appearances.

Born on this day: Hank Williams (1923); Bill Black, bass player, Elvis Presley (1926); Lamonte McLemore, The 5th Dimension (1939); Les Emmerson, singer-songwriter, guitarist Five Man Electrical Band (1944); Jim Hodder, drums, Steely Dan (1947); Fee Waybill, The Tubes (1950); John Penney, vocals, Neds Atomic Dustbin (1968); Jon Walker, singer-songwriter, guitarist Panic! at the Disco (1985)

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Today in Rock History – September 4

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1968, The Beatles recorded promotional videos for “Hey Jude” and “Revolution” at Twickenham Film Studios. The vocals are recorded live over the pre-recorded instrumental tracks to get round the current British Musicians Union ban on lip-sync performances. For “Hey Jude,” The Beatles were accompanied by a 36-piece orchestra and 300 fans and other assorted extras who join in singing the long refrain.

1968, Pink Floyd played at Middle Earth, The Club House, Richmond Athletic Club, Richmond, England.

1969, The film Easy Rider starring Jack Nicholson Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper opened at The Classic in London. The soundtrack included music from Jimi Hendrix, The Byrds, The Electric Prunes, Steppenwolf and others.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at The Scene, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1971, Taken from the album Ram, Paul and Linda McCartney went to No.1 on the singles chart with “Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey.” The song was McCartney’s first solo No.1.

1971, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada.

1972, Concessionaire Francisco Caruso was killed during a Wishbone Ash concert in Texas after refusing to give a fan a free sandwich.

1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono appeared on Jerry Lewis’ Muscular Dystrophy Telethon Show on US television.

1973, The Rolling Stones performed at Sporthalle, Cologne, Germany.

1974, David Bowie performed at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal City, California.

1975, Hawkwind played at Olympen, Lund, Sweden.

1976, Fleetwood Mac went to No.1 on the US album chart with their self-titled album after being on the charts for over a year. The album went on to sell over 5 million copies in the US and was the first of three No.1 albums for the group.

1976, The Bee Gees went to No.1 on the singles chart with “You Should Be Dancing,” the group’s third No.1.

1976, The Sex Pistols made their television debut when they appeared on the Manchester based Granada TV program So It Goes.

1978, AC/DC appeared at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colorado.

1979, The Grateful Dead played the first of three nights at Madison Square Garden in  New York.

1980, A new version of Yes, with Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn played the first of three sold out nights at Madison Square Garden.

1981, Van Halen played at the Mississippi Coliseum, Jackson, Mississippi.

1982, Survivor were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the theme from the film Rocky III, “Eye Of The Tiger,” their only chart topper. Survivor won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance for the song.

1982, The Steve Miller Band started a two week run at No.2 on the US singles chart with “Abracadabra,” the group’s third US No.1, and a No.2 hit in the UK. The song is said to have been inspired by Diana Ross with whom Miller had met while performing together on Hullabaloo in the 1960s.

1995, Blur, Oasis, Radiohead, Paul Weller, Manic St Preachers and The Stone Roses all recorded tracks for the War Child charity album, which was released five days later. All profits went to children caught up in the current war in former Yugoslavia.

1996, Oasis created outrage at the MTV awards held at New York’s Radio City Hall. During the band’s performance of “Champagne Supernova,” singer Liam Gallagher spat on stage and threw a beer into the crowd.

2006, Mike Gibbins drummer with Badfinger died in his sleep at his Florida home aged 56. Badfinger had the 1970 UK No.4 & US No.7 single “Come And Get It,” written by Paul McCartney. He had also been a member of The Iveys during the 60’s.

2008, The first guitar torched on stage by Jimi Hendrix sold for £280,000 ($448,000) at an auction of rock memorabilia. The Fender Stratocaster was burned at the end of a show at the Astoria in Finsbury Park, north London, in 1967. The sale held in London also included the Beatles’ first management contract, signed in 1962 by all four members of the group and manager Brian Epstein, sold for £240,000 ($384,000.)

2009, Friends and family of Michael Jackson paid their last respects to the singer at a funeral held at Glendale’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Los Angeles. Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Quincy Jones, Macaulay Culkin, Berry Gordy and Lisa Marie Presley were among the 200 invited guests. The singer’s family arrived in a motorcade of 31 vehicles, Jackson’s brothers – Randy, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon – acted as pallbearers carrying Jackson’s gold-plated coffin.

Born on September 4: Ronald Lepread, The Commodores (1946); Gary Duncan guitar, Quicksilver Messenger Service (1946); Martin Chambers, The Pretenders (1951); and Kim Thayil, Soundgarden (1960)

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Today in Rock History – August 29

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1966, The Beatles played their last concert before a paying audience, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California to a sold-out crowd of 25,000. John and Paul, knowing what the fans do not, bring cameras on stage and take pictures between songs. Songs performed at the show were “Rock and Roll Music”, “She’s a Woman”, “If I Needed Someone”, “Day Tripper”, “Baby’s in Black”, “I Feel Fine”, “Yesterday”, “I Wanna Be Your Man”, “Nowhere Man”, “Paperback Writer”, and “Long Tall Sally.” Much of the existing film footage of the concert was captured in color by a 15-year-old Beatles fan, Barry Hood.

1967, The Who performed at Municipal Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia.

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at the Singer Bowl Music Festival in Flushing Meadow Park.

1970, Edwin Starr started a three-week run at number one on the US singles chart with “War,” his only number one.

1970, Led Zeppelin, The Youngbloods, Iron Butterfly and The Ides of March all appeared at the Man Pop Festival, Winnipeg, in Canada.

1970, Grand Funk Railroad, David Allan Coe, The Third Power played at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1973, John McLaughlin appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1975, ZZ Top performed at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City

1976, Jimmy Reed died in San Francisco following an epileptic seizure just before his 51st birthday. Reed influenced artists such as Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Hank Williams, Jr, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jerry Garcia and the Rolling Stones.

1976, The Sex Pistols supported by The Clash and The Buzzcocks appeared at The Screen On The Green, London, England.

1977, AC/DC appeared at the fabled Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles.

1977, Three people were arrested in Memphis after trying to steal Elvis’ body. As a result, his remains would be later moved to Graceland.

1980, The Grateful Dead played the first of two nights at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1981, The two day Rock on the Tyne festival began in Gateshead, England, featuring Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, U2, Rory Gallagher, Doll By Doll, Wang Chung, Becket, Dr Feelgood, The Gingers Nutters (featuring Ginger Baker), Trimmer and Jenkins and Lindisfarne.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Missouri.

1982, The Charlie Daniels Band appeared at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland.

1984, U2 kicked off their Unforgettable Fire World Tour at Christchurch Town Hall in New Zealand, the first of 19 shows in Australia and New Zealand.

1987, Def Leppard scored their first UK number one album with Hysteria, which also became a chart topper in the US  in July the following year, after spending forty-nine weeks working its way to the top.

1987, Los Lobos started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with “La Bamba.”  It was also a number one hit in the UK. The song came from film of the same name, a biopic of singer , songwriter, guitarist Ritchie Valens, who died in the 1959 plane crash that also claimed the lives of fellow musicians Buddy Holly and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, as well as pilot Roger Peterson.

1991, DJ Kurt St. Thomas from radio station WFNX in Boston gave Nirvana’s album Nevermind its world premiere by playing the album from start to finish.

1994, Oasis released their debut album Definitely Maybe, which went straight to number one in the UK Albums Charts on initial release. It was the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK when it was released and went on to be certified 7x Platinum (2.1 million+ sales) by the BPI. Definitely Maybe marked the beginning of Oasis’ success in America, selling over one million copies there, despite only peaking at 58 on the Billboard 200. The album went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide and brought widespread critical acclaim.

2005, 77-year-old Fats Domino was rescued from the flooding in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina. He had earlier told his agent that he planned to remain in his home despite the order to evacuate.

Born on August 29: Dick Halligan Keyboards, flute, vocals, Blood Sweat & Tears (1943); Chris Copping, Procol Harum (1945);  Dave Malone, singer-songwriter , guitarist, The Radiators (1952); Rick Downey, Blue Oyster Cult (1953); Elizabeth Fraser, vocals, Cocteau Twins(1958); Michael Jackson (1958); Anton Newcombe,  singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Brian Jonestown Massacre (1967); Alex Griffin, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin (1971); Kyle Cook,  singer-songwriter, guitarist, Matchbox 20 (1973)

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Today in Rock History – August 19

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

1964, The High Numbers, (The Who) played at The Scene in Soho London, England.

1964, The Beatles kicked off a North American tour at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California, to a crowd of 17,130. Playing 12 songs which made up their repertoire for the entire tour: Twist and Shout, You Can’t Do That, All My Loving, She Loves You, Things We Said Today, Roll Over Beethoven, Can’t Buy Me Love, If I Fell, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Boys, A Hard Day’s Night, and Long Tall Sally. Supporting acts were The Righteous Brothers, The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, and Jackie DeShannon.

1966, During a US tour The Beatles appeared at the Sam Houston Coliseum, playing two shows to over 25,000 fans. Tickets cost $5.00.

1967, The Beatles scored their 14th No.1 single with “All You Need Is Love.” Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, Graham Nash, Marianne Faithfull and Walker Brother Gary Leeds all sang backing vocals on the track.

1968, Pink Floyd release “Let There Be More Light”/ “Remember A Day” in the US.

1968, After 58 episodes, the final Monkees TV show airs on NBC. Since the its initial run, almost every major cable network has aired re-runs of the show, including a popular stint on CBS from 1969-1972.

1969, Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Jefferson Airplane all appeared on the ABC TV Dick Cavett Show from Television Center in New York City.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band played at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1971, Led Zeppelin kicked off a North American tour at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. The band played to a sold out crowd of over 17,000 fans, another 3,000 fans outside the venue who didn’t have tickets started a battle with local police.

the-who-19711971, The Who played at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.

1972, Chicago started a nine-week run at No.1 on the album chart with Chicago V.

1972, David Bowie played the first of two nights at the Rainbow Theatre in England on his current 182-date Ziggy Stardust world tour.

1973, Rita Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson were married in Malibu, California. Kristofferson had just enjoyed a number 1 country hit with “Why Me,” which included Coolidge on backing vocals. The couple divorced near the end of 1979.

1974, AC/DC appear at Festival Hall, Melbourne, Australia.

1976, Yes perform at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1977, The Sex Pistols started an undercover UK tour as The Spots, (an acronym for Sex Pistols on tour secretly).

1978, Bruce Springsteen plays at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Actor Gary Busey joins the band for the Buddy Holly song “Rave On.”

1979, American Rockabilly singer Dorsey Burnette died from a heart attack at his home in Canoga Park, California. He wrote ‘It’s Late’, a hit for Ricky Nelson and Shakin’ Stevens. After his death, singer and friend Delaney Bramlett organized a benefit concert for Dorsey’s widow at the Forum in Inglewood, California, in which Kris Kristofferson, Hoyt Axton. Tanya Tucker, Glen Campbell, Duane Eddy, Delaney and Bonnie, Gary Busey and Roger Miller appeared. Dorsey Burnette’s pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

1980, The Grateful Dead perform at Chicago’s Uptown Theater.

1981, ZZ Top played at the Kansas Coliseum, Wichita, Kansas.

1982, During a North American tour, Queen appeared at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi.

1983, Black Sabbath appeared at Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden.

1996, James Brown appeared in Montauk, New York, as part of his Back at the Ranch tour. Brown who had a history of beating his wife, offered money that was raised at the event to an anti-violence organization called The Retreat, but was turned down.

2001, American soul singer Betty Everett died aged 61. She had the 1964 US No.6 single “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss,”) later covered by Cher.

2005, A life-size bronze statue designed by Paul Daly of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street in Dublin. The ceremony was attended by his former Thin Lizzy band members Gary Moore, Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham. Lynott died in 1986.

Born on this day: Ginger Baker,  Cream,  Ginger Baker’s Airforce; and Johnny Nash, singer (1940); Ian Gillan, Deep Purple (1945); and John Deacon,  Queen (1951)

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Today in Rock History – August 7

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1971, Hawkwind appeared at Under The Arches in London.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1978, Aerosmith appeared at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today in Rock History – August 2

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pink-floyd-1968B1966, The Who go on vacation for two weeks. Keith, his wife Kim, John and his girlfriend Allison travel to Torremolinos in Spain. Newborn Mandy Moon is left behind with Keith’s parents. Pete travels to Israel. Roger stays in London, spending three days redecorating his apartment and the rest of the time fishing.

1968, During their second ever North American tour, Pink Floyd plays the first of three nights at San Francisco’s Avalon Ballroom. Supporting acts were Chrome Syrcus and The Holy Modal Rounders.

1969, Bob Dylan attended his ten-year high school reunion, accompanied by his then-wife Sara. They flew into Hibbing Airport, and were then driven into town, where the other graduates of 1959 were gathered at the Moose Lodge. According to the UK paper The Telegraph, one attended stated, “My memory of that is of Bob standing in one corner and of people going up and shaking his hand. I didn’t like that….I would have been happier if he had just been able to sit down and be one of our classmates.”  However, some men at the gathering didn’t approve of Bob’s presence, and words were apparently exchanged. Swiftly, Bob and Sara left.

1969, Led Zeppelin and Vanilla Fudge performed at Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Civic Auditorium.  Tickets cost from $3 – 5 (£1.88 – 3.13).

1971, Creedence Clearwater Revival kicked off a 10-date US tour at the Assembly Centre, Tulsa.

1972, Brian Cole bass player with The Association died of a heroin overdose in Los Angeles, California at the age of 29.

1973, The Mamas and the Papas filed a lawsuit against their record label Dunhill for over a million dollars in unpaid royalties.

1973, Bachman-Turner Overdrive sign with Mercury Records.

1974, Guitarist Jeff Baxter and drummer Jim Hodder leave Steely Dan, whereupon Becker and Fagen decide to keep the band studio-bound for the remainder of their career.

1974, Pete Townshend joins Eric Clapton onstage at the Greensboro, North Carolina Coliseum for “Willie And The Hand Jive” and “Get Ready.” Keith joins them for “Layla,” “Badge” and “Little Queenie.”

1974, John and Michelle Phillips, Lou Adler, and Sonny Bono attend Mama Cass’ cremation.

1975, The Eagles went to number one on the singles chart with “One Of These Nights,” from the album of the same name. It was the group’s second chart topping single.

1976, Peter “Puddy” Watts, road manager with Pink Floyd died of a heroin overdose. Watts supplied the crazed laughter on the groups ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ album.

1977, Sex Pistol, Sid Vicious was fined £125 by a London court after he had been found carrying a knife at the 100 Club Punk Festival last September.

1977, The Who buy the Shepperton film studios in London for a half-million dollars.

1983, James Jamerson died of complications stemming from cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure and pneumonia in Los Angeles, he was 47 years old. As one of The Funk Brothers he was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records’ hits in the 1960s and early 1970s including songs by Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops and The Supremes. He eventually performed on nearly 30 number one pop hits.

1987, David Martin, bass player with Sam The Sham & the Pharaohs died of a heart attack aged 50. Martin co-wrote the group’s 1965 US number two and UK number 11 novelty hit “Wooly Bully.”

1998, The Beastie Boys started a three-week run at number one on the US album chart with Hello Nasty, their  third US chart topping album.

2001, New Orleans’ International Airport was re-named Louis Armstrong Airport in honor of the locally born trumpet player, singer and bandleader.

Born on August 2: Garth Hudson (1937); Doris Coley, vocals, The Shirelles (1941); Jim Capaldi, Traffic (1944); Andy Fairweather-Low (1950); Andrew Gold (1951); Mojo Nixon (1957); Butch Vig, producer (1957); Pete De Freitas, drums, Echo And The Bunnymen (1961)

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Today in Rock History – July 21

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1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of three nights at the Cafe-a-Go-Go in New York City.

1968, The Who appeared at Virginia Beach Dome in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

1969,  The Beatles started work on the John Lennon song “Come Together” at Abbey Road studios in London. The track became the opening song on The Beatles Abbey Road album and was later released as a double A-sided single with “Something,” their twenty-first single in the UK and twenty-sixth in the US where it reached the top of the charts.

1969, Led Zeppelin played the Schaefer Music Festival held at the 5000-seat Wollman Skating Rink Theater in Central Park, New York City.

1969, The Doors release their fourth album, The Soft Parade.

1970 The Allman Brothers appeared at the Wolman Skating Rink in Central Park, New York. They would return exactly a year later.

1971, Creedence Clearwater Revival played the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

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

1973,  Jim Croce started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.”  Croce was killed in a plane crash three months later.

1973,  Canned Heat, Chuck Berry, Nazareth, Edgar Broughton Band, Groundhogs, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Medicine Head, all appeared at the Buxton Festival in Derbyshire, England. Hell’s Angels arrived in force and proceeded to drink the site dry. Initially they paid for the booze, but when the money ran out a deputation was sent into the audience to collect donations of 10p per person. About 20 minutes into his set Chuck Berry was showing one of the Angels how to do his duck-walk properly. He did a magnificent one from one end of the stage to the other and disappeared into the wings. The band played on, the Angels bopped, and Chuck bolted to his car and drove off at high speed, never to return.

1973, Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin crack the album top 20 charts with Love, Devotion, Surrender.

1974, The Grateful Dead played at the Hollywood Bowl, in Hollywood, California.

1975, Yes played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1976, AC/DC appeared at the Glädjehuset, Stockholm, Sweden.

1977, Despite protests, The Sex Pistols made their first appearance on the UK music show Top Of The Pops, where they lip-synched to their third single, “Pretty Vacant.”

1977, In Tucson, Arizona Linda Ronstadt joins the Rolling Stones onstage to perform “Tumbling Dice.”

1978, Aerosmith appeared at Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon.

1980, Former Grateful Dead keyboardist Keith Godchaux’s car collides with a flatbed truck in Marin County, Calif. He died two days later.

1987, Guns N’ Roses released their debut album on Geffen Records, Appetite for Destruction. It featured the singles “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” and “Paradise City.” The album has exceeded worldwide sales of 28 million, 18 million of which are in the US, making it the best-selling debut album of all time there.

1990, Roger Waters’ held a performance The Wall  at the Berlin Wall in Potzdamer Platz, Berlin. Over 350,000 people attended and the event was broadcast live throughout the world. Van Morrison, Bryan Adams, Joni Mitchell, The Scorpions, Cyndi Lauper, Sinead O’Connor and others took part.

1994 Oasis played their first ever American show as part of the New Music Seminar at Wetlands in New York City.

1996, Alanis Morissette started a second run at number one on the UK album chart with Jagged Little Pill, which stayed at the top for eight weeks. Overall, the album has sold over 33 million copies worldwide.

2001, Madonna kicked off the North American leg of her 47-date Drowned World Tour at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the singers first world tour in eight years, following The Girlie Show in 1993.

2002, Producer Gus Dudgeon, who worked with artists including Elton John, David Bowie, The Beach Boys, Kiki Dee, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, The Strawbs, XTC, and Joan Armatrading, was killed in a car accident near Reading, England, together with his wife Sheila. He was 59 years old.

2004, Composer Jerry Goldsmith died after a long battle with cancer aged 75. Created the music for scores of classic movies and television shows Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Dr. Kildare.

2005, British singer Long John Baldry died of a chest infection. He was one of the founding fathers of British Rock ‘n’ Roll in the 1960s performing with Blues Incorporated, and Cyril Davies’ R&B All Stars. He later fronted the Hoochie Coochie Men, with Rod Stewart and then Steam Packet with Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll. Also a member of Bluesology with Elton John. He also narrated on Winnie The Pooh recordings for Disney and was the voice for Robotnik on the Sonic The Hedgehog computer game.

2007, Sharon Osbourne’s music mogul father Don Arden died in a Los Angeles nursing home at the age of 81. Dubbed the “Al Capone of Pop” for his uncompromising business practices, he steered The Small Faces, Black Sabbath, and ELO to stardom.

2008, The Police played the first of two nights at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado during the final leg of their 152-date world Reunion tour. The tour became the third highest grossing tour of all time, with revenues reaching over $340 million.

Born on July 21: Northern Ireland guitarist, Henry McCullough, Wings (1943); Barry Whitwam, drums, Herman’s Hermits (1946); Cat Stevens (1947); Howie Epstein, bass, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1955); Jim Martin, guitar, Faith No More (1961)

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Today in Rock History – July 9

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1983, The Police started an eight week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Every Breath You Take” It was also a chart topper in the UK. Taken from the band’s album Synchronicity, Sting won Song of the Year and The Police won Best Pop Performance for the song at the 1984 Grammy Awards.

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

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

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

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

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

2011, Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant joined three local musicians at a fundraising charity show in Monmouth Wales, where tickets cost £3 ($4.50.) The event was a tribute to his friend, former Led Zeppelin producer Pat Moran, who died of a rare dementia in January. Plant delighted the small crowd in the Monmouthshire town with songs from his Led Zeppelin days, as well as tunes from his solo career.

Born on July 9: Bon Scott, AC/DC (1946); Mitch Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix Experience (1947); Jim Kerr, Simple Minds (1959); Courtney Love (1965);  Jack White (1975)

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Today in Rock History – June 18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today in Rock History – June 15

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

1964, The Who played at the Glenlyn Ballroom in Forest Hill, London.

1965, The Rolling Stones kicked off an 8-date mini-European tour at The Odeon Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, supported by The Hollies

1966, “Substitute” by The Who peaks at number 13 on the German charts.

1967, Guitarist Peter Green quit the John Mayall Band. He went on to be a founding member of Fleetwood Mac.

1968, The Soft Machine appeared at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Today John and Yoko plant their acorns outside Coventry Cathedral in England to help promote peace.

1968, Pink Floyd performed two shows (7:30 and 11:30 pm) at Magic Village in Manchester, England. Also on the bill for this all night event were Purple Stone and the Alchemist, The Jack Lancaster – Bruce Mithcell Quartet, and the Inner Light Show.

1968, Quicksilver Messenger Service supported by The Hallucinations played at Boston Tea Party, Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, Led Zeppelin, along with Liverpool Scene and Bloodwyn Pig appeared at The Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England, during a five date UK tour.

1969, The Frost played at the Sports Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

1969, The Doors appeared at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1970, The Who performed at the Community Theater, Berkeley, California.

1971, Pink Floyd performed at Abbaye de Royaumont in Royaumont, France. The show that was filmed by French TV channel ORTF, and two songs were broadcast on Cinq Grand Sur La Deux in the early hours of July 12th.

1972, The Rolling Stones appeared at University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

1973, On television’s Midnight Special, host Jim Croce welcomes guests Wishbone Ash and Bobby Womack.

1973, David Bowie performed at the Odeon Theatre, Taunton, England.

1974, Abba’s debut album Waterloo entered the chart for the first time peaking at number 28.

1974, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Billy Don’t Be A Hero,” The song was a UK chart topper for Paper Lace.

1974, Elvis Presley played the first night of an 18-date US tour by playing four shows at the Tarrant County Center, Forth Worth, Texas.

1975, ZZ Top played at the Spokane Coliseum, Spokane, Washington.

1976, The Sex Pistols recorded their first demos in Clapham’s Majestic studios followed by a gig that night at The 100 club, London.

1976, AC/DC appeared at St. Georges Hall, Bradford, England.

1977, The Sex Pistols held a party on a boat as it sailed down The River Thames in London. The Pistols performed “Anarchy In The UK” outside The Houses Of Parliament, resulting in members from the party being arrested when the boat docked later that day.

1977, Pink Floyd performed at County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1978, During a European tour Bob Dylan played the first of six sold out nights at London’s Earl Court.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1980, Nazareth played at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1983, David Bowie performed at Ruhrland Stadion, Bochum, Germany.

1984, Yes appeared at the Scandinavium, Göteborg, Sweden.

1985, Dire Straits started a nine-week run at number one on the US album chart with, Brothers In Arms.

1986, U2 and Sting headlined a concert in New Jersey celebrating 25 years of Amnesty International.

1989 Nirvana’s debut album Bleach was released in the US. The title for the album came from a poster “Bleach Your Works” urging drug users to bleach their needles. Kurt Cobain claimed that most of the lyrics on the album were written the night before recording while he was feeling “pissed off,” and that he did not regard them highly.

1996, Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald died in Beverly Hills, California, aged 79. Already blinded by the effects of diabetes, Fitzgerald had both her legs amputated in 1993. She won 13 Grammy Awards, and the 1956 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook was the first of eight “Songbook” sets.

2002, A rare autographed copy of The Beatles’ album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sold at auction for £34,000 ($57,800), more than five times the estimated price.

 2003, Radiohead scored their fourth UK number one with their sixth studio album Hail To The Thief, while Metallica were at number one on the US album chart with St Anger, the band’s fourth US chart topper, and a top three hit in the UK.

2005, Coldplay went straight to number one on US album chart with their third album X&Y, having already entered at number one in the UK. The last time a British artist had a simultaneous US and UK number one was in November 2000 with 1, a compilation of hits by The Beatles. The last studio album to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic was Radiohead’s Kid A in October 2000.

Born on June 15: Nigel Pickering, Spanky And Our Gang (1929); Waylon Jennings (1937); Harry Nilsson (1941); Johnny Halliday, “the French Elvis” (1943); Muff Winwood, The Spencer Davis Group (1943); Russell Hitchcock, vocals, Air Supply (1949);  Steve Walsh, Kansas (1951); David Hinds, Steel Pulse (1956); rapper Ice Cube (1969)

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