1964, Decca Records released The Rolling Stones’ “Little Red Rooster.” Written by Willie Dixon, as “The Red Rooster,” and previously recorded by Howlin’ Wolf and Sam Cooke, the single was recorded at Chess Studios in Chicago. It was a number one hit in the UK and remains the only time a blues song has ever […]
Today in Rock History – November 12
1965, Velvet Underground’s manager and music journalist Al Aronowitz arranged for the group’s first paying gig, $75, to play at Summit High School, in Summit, New Jersey, opening for the Myddle Class. 1966, The Monkees debut album started a 13-week run at number one on the album chart, selling over three million copies in three […]
Today in Rock History – November 6
1965, The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane played at the opening night of San Francisco”s Fillmore West. 1965, The Rolling Stones started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Get Off Of My Cloud,” the group’s second chart topper. The song knocked The Beatles “Yesterday” from the top spot. 1966, […]
Today in Rock History – November 5
1965, The Who released the single “My Generation” in the US. While the UK release would reach the second spot, the song barely rippled in the US peaking at number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100. 1965, The Doors appeared at the Pioneer Club Boat Ride, Los Angeles, California. 1966, The Monkees were at the […]
Today in Rock History – October 9
1965, The Beatles started a four week run at number one on the US singles chart with the Paul McCartney ballad “Yesterday,” giving the group their tenth chart topper. It was never released as a single in the UK until 1976. 1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at The Olympia Theatre in Paris. 1969, Yes appeared at […]
Today in Rock History – September 17th
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, […]
Today in Rock History – September 4
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 […]
Today in Rock History – August 29
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”, […]
Today in Rock History – August 19
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, […]
Today in Rock History – August 7
1965, Herman’s Hermits went to number one on the singles chart with “I’m Henry VIII I Am.” The single was only released in the US. Singer Peter Noone once interviewed Elvis Presley for UK music paper New Musical Express. 1965, Mike Smith of the Dave Clark Five suffered two broken ribs when he was pulled […]
