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Today in Rock History – May 25

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1965, Blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, Sonny Boy Williamson died in his sleep. Van Morrison, Aerosmith, The Who, The Animals, Yardbirds, and Moody Blues all covered his songs. According to the Led Zeppelin biography Hammer of the Gods, touring the UK in the 60’s, Sonny Boy set his hotel room on fire while trying to cook a rabbit in a coffee percolator.

1965, The Rolling Stones perform “How Many More Years” with their hero Howlin’ Wolf on ABC’s Shindig!

1967, Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade Of Pale,” entered the UK charts for the first time, it went on to be a number one hit. The first video for the song was shot in the ruins of Witley Court in Worcestershire, England. Directed by Peter Clifton whose insertion of Vietnam War newsreel footage caused it to be banned from airplay on the Top Of The Pops TV show. The band subsequently made another video.

1967, Pink Floyd appeared at the Gwent Constabulary (‘A’ Division) Spring Holiday Barn Dance, held at The Barn, Grosmont Wood Farm in Cross Ash, near Abergavenny,Wales, England. Support acts were Volume IV with MC Eddie Tattersall.

1967, Janis Joplin performed at the Carousel Ballroom i San Francisco with the Clara Ward Singers and H. P. Lovecraft.

1968, The Yardbirds appeared at Fillmore West in San Francisco.

1968, Pink Floyd performed at Mayfair Suite, The Belfry Hotel, Wishaw, Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham, England. Support acts were Young Blood and Pineapple Incident. Admission included dinner.

1968, Simon and Garfunkel scored their second US number one album with Bookends.

1968, The Doors performed at Patio Gardens in Farmington, Utah.

1969, Jimi Hendrix played at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, California.

1969, A benefit concert was held for Fairport Convention at The Roundhouse, London to raise money for the families of the bands drummer Martin Lamble, Richard Thompson’s girlfriend, and clothes designer Jeannie Franklyn who were all killed in an accident driving back from a gig. Also on the bill, Family, Pretty Things, Soft Machine and John Peel.

1969, The Who and Led Zeppelin appeared at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland, USA. This was the only time the two group’s ever performed together, with Zeppelin opening the show. On the tickets Led Zeppelin was spelled Lead Zeppelin.

1971, King Crimson appeared at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England.

1972, David Bowie played at Chelsea Village, Bournemouth, England.

1973, During a 21-date UK tour Wings played the first of three sold out nights at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

Deep Purple

1973, Deep Purple’s single “Smoke On The Water” was released.

1974, Aerosmith performed at Cape Cod Coliseum, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.

1974, Rick Wakeman became the first member of the group Yes to have a number one album when Journey To The Centre Of The Earth went to the top of the UK charts.

1975, Rush played at the Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington.

1976, The Who perform at the Palais Des Sports in Lyons, France.

1976, Bob Dylan appeared at the Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah.

1976, The Rolling Stones performed at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.

1977, The Broadway tribute Beatlemania opens at the Winter Garden Theater.

1977, The Grateful Dead appeared at The Mosque, in Richmond, Virginia.

1978, After seeing The Hype (soon to become U2) appearing at the Project Arts Centre, in Dublin, Paul McGuinness became their manager.

1979, Yes appeared at the Long Beach Civic Arena, Long Beach, California.

1980, Black Sabbath played at the Odeon, Birmingham, England.

1983, Roxy Music performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

1984, David Gilmour appeared at the Orpheum Theater, Boston, Massachusetts.

1985, Dire Straits scored their second UK number one album with Brothers In Arms, also a chart topper in the US and 24 other countries. Brothers In Arms was one of the first albums to be directed at the CD market, and was a full digital recording (DDD) at a time when most popular music was recorded on analog equipment.

1990, Fleetwood Mac played the first of 42 North American dates on their Behind The Mask world tour at the PNE Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. Squeeze were the opening act.

1997, A report showed that Elvis Presley was now the world’s bestselling posthumous entertainer with worldwide sales of over one billion, over 480 active fan clubs and an estimated 250,000 UK fans who still buy his records. Ironically he had died owing $3 million (£1.76 million).

1998, Coldplay released their first ever record, an EP called Safety, which featured 3 tracks, “Bigger Stronger,” “No More Keeping My Feet on the Ground,” and “Such a Rush.” The EP was intended as a demo for record companies and is now such a rarity that it is known to fetch in excess of £2000 ($3000) on eBay.

2003, Marilyn Manson were at number one on the US album chart with The Golden Age of Grotesque, a number four hit in the UK and the bands second US chart topper.

2005, The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office in California announced that it was officially closing the stabbing case of Meredith Hunter, the 18-year-old American who was killed at the 1969 Rolling Stones Altamont Free Concert. Investigators, concluding a renewed two-year investigation, dismissed the theory that a second Hell’s Angel took part in the stabbing.

2006, Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter Desmond Dekker died of a heart attack at his home in London, England. Had one of the first international Jamaican hits in 1968, with the song “Israelites.”

2013, American rock and roll bassist, Marshall Lytle, died aged 79. He was best known for his work with the groups Bill Haley & His Comets and The Jodimars in the 1950s. He played upright slap bass on the iconic “Crazy Man, Crazy,” “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” and “Rock Around the Clock.”

Born on this day: Hal David (1921); Tom T. Hall, country music singer-songwriter (1936); Brian Davison, The Nice (1942); John Palmer, English keyboard player, Family (1943); Mitchel Margo, The Tokens (1947); Klaus Meine, German singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Scorpions (1948); Robert Steinhardt, American violinist, singer, Kansas (1950);  Paul Weller, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Jam, Style Council (1958); Glen Drover, Canadian guitarist, songwriter, Megadeth, Eidolon, King Diamond (1969); Joe King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Fray (1980)

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Today in Rock History – May 14

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1964, Jan & Dean start recording “Little Old Lady (From Pasadena).”

1965, The Who appeared at Civic Hall in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England.

1965, San Francisco radio station KYA hosts the Rolling Stones, the Byrds, Beau Brummels, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and the Vejtables at the Civic Auditorium.

1966, The Who played at Palais in Bury, Manchester, England.

1967, around the UK – Jimi Hendrix played at the Elizabethan Ballroom in Manchester, The Bee Gees appeared at The Beachcomber in Nottingham, and Alan Price played at the Coatham Hotel in Redcar.

1967, Pink Floyd played “Pow R Toc H” and “Astronomy Domine” live on the arts program The Look of the Week broadcast by BBC2 television. Syd Barrett and Roger Waters were interviewed by classic music critic Hans Keller. Below is video from that appearance.

1968, Cream performed at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio.

1968, Paul McCartney and John Lennon make a guest appearance on The Tonight Show to announce the creation of Apple Corps.

1969, During a UK tour, Fairport Convention’s van crashed on the M1 motorway on the way home from a gig in Birmingham, killing the group’s 19 year-old drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson’s girlfriend Jeannie Franklyn.

1969, King Crimson performed at the Revolution Club, London, while Yes appeared at the Marquee Club.

1970, The Grateful Dead played at Merramac Community College in Kirkwood, Missouri.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band played The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1973, Led Zeppelin performed at the Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans.

1974, Another Grateful Dead show at a college venue. This time at Adams Field House at the University of Montana in Missoula.

1975, Yes appeared at the Gaumont Theatre, Southampton, England.

1976, The Rolling Stones played at Granby Halls, Leicester, England.

1976, 33 year old Keith Relf, former lead singer for The Yardbirds, was electrocuted while tuning a guitar which was not properly grounded. The accident happened in his West London home where he was found by his eight year old son, still holding the plugged-in electric guitar.

1977, The Eagles’ Hotel California enters it’s last week at number one on the US album charts.  It held the top spot for five weeks in the spring of 1977, and on two occasions earlier in the year.

1977, Talking Heads played a gig at The Rock Garden in London where Brian Eno, who was in the audience, sees them and goes on to produce the band.

1980, Black Sabbath performed at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland.

1983, Spandau Ballet scored their first and only UK number one album with “True.” The title track from the album spent four weeks at the top of the UK singles charts and reached the second spot in the US. Other singles from the album included “Gold” (a number two UK hit and a Top 30 hit in the US), “Lifeline,” and “Communication.”

1988, Led Zeppelin reunited for the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary party at Madison Square Garden, New York, appearing with Jason Bonham the son of John Bonham on drums. Other acts performing included Foreigner, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Wilson Pickett and Ben E. King.

1998, singer and actor Frank Sinatra died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles aged 82, after suffering a heart attack. Sinatra had his first hit in 1940, working in the Swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1953 film From Here to Eternity. He went on to score over 25 Top 40 singles including the 1966 chart topper “Strangers In The Night.” His 1969 single “My Way,” re-entered the UK charts eight times and spent a total of 165 weeks on the UK chart.

2006, Red Hot Chili Peppers started a two-week run at number one on the UK album chart with Stadium Arcadium, the bands’ ninth studio album, also a US chart topper.

Born on this day: Bobby Darin (1936);  Jack Bruce (1943); Gene Cornish, The Young Rascals (1946);  Al Ciner, The American Breed (1947); and David Byrne (1952)

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Today in Rock History – March 13

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The Yardbirds with Jeff Beck

1965, Eric Clapton quit The Yardbirds due to musical differences with the other band members. Clapton wanted to continue in a blues type vein, while the rest of the band preferred the more commercial style of their first hit, ‘For Your Love’.

1965, The Beatles started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with ‘Eight Days A Week’, the group’s 7th No.1.

1965, The Kinks release “Tired of Waiting for You.”

1965, Tom Jones made his first major TV appearance on BBC TVs ‘Billy Cotton Band Show.’

1966, Rod Stewart left Steampacket to work as a solo artist.

1966, Pink Floyd, billed as Pink Floyd Sound with AMM. A Spontaneous Underground Event,  perform at The Marquee, on Wardour Street in London. Although the fourth “Spontaneous Event,” it was the first to feature the Floyd, and they became a regular fixture thereafter.

1967, Working at Abbey Road studios in London, six members of Sounds, Inc. recorded the horn parts for The Beatles song ‘Good Morning Good Morning’ (three saxophones, two trombones, and one french horn).

1967, No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “Penny Lane,” The Beatles. The group had planned to include the song on the album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” but released it as a single instead.

Rolling Stones – 1971

1970, Police fear a Beatles connection when a terrorist organization calling itself Revolutionary Force 9 takes credit for three bombings in New York.

1971, The Rolling Stones appeared live at Leeds University, England.

1971, Stephen Stills hits UK chart with “Love The One You’re With.”

1971, Brewer and Shipley entered the singles chart with ‘One Toke Over The Line’. The song, which featured The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia on steel guitar, peaked at No.10 despite being banned by radio stations for its drug references. Brewer and Shipley maintained that the word “toke” meant “token” as in ticket, hence the line “waitin’ downtown at the railway station, one toke over the line.”

1973, David Cassidy appeared at Bell Vue Kings Hall in Manchester, the first of 10 sold out UK shows.

1975, Tammy Wynette and George Jones divorced after six years of marriage.

1976, The Four Seasons started a three week run at No.1 on the singles chart with ‘December 1963, (Oh What A Night)’, the group’s 5th No.1.

1976, The Eagles “Greatest Hits” begins a month-long run at number one on the album charts.

1977, Iggy Pop and David Bowie kicked off a North American tour at Le Plateau Theatre, Montreal, Canada with Blondie as the opening act.

Born on March 13: Mike Stoller, songwriter (1933); Neil Sedaka (1939); Danny Kirwan, Fleetwood Mac (1950); Greg Norton, Husker Du (1959); and Adam Clayton, U2 (1960)

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Today in Rock History – February 28

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The Yardbirds, circa 1964

1964, The Yardbirds played at the Rhythm and Blues Festival at The Town Hall, Birmingham, England.

1966, Liverpool’s Cavern Club, made famous by the Beatles’ residency there, closes and is later turned into a subway station.

1966, The Who appeared at Eltham Bath in London.

1968, Frankie Lymon was found dead at his mother’s house in New York of a suspected drug overdose, he was 25.

1969, Yes played at the Richmond Athletic Grounds, in the London borough of Richmond upon Thames.

1970, Pink Floyd performed at the Refectory Hall, Leeds University, Yorkshire, England.

1970, In an interview with the New Musical Express, Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green talked about his plans to give all his money away. The following year Green confronted his accountant with a gun after he sent him an unwanted royalty check. The guitarist went to jail briefly before being transferred to an asylum and was committed to a mental hospital in 1973. He relaunched his career in the 90’s.

1970, Led Zeppelin played a gig in Copenhagen as The Nobs after Eva Von Zeppelin a relative of the airship designer threatened to sue if the family name was used in Denmark.

1970, Simon and Garfunkel started a six week run at the top of the singles chart with “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

1970, Billed as “David Bowie’s New Electric Band” (so new they haven’t got a name yet,) David Bowie played at the Basildon Arts Lab experimental music club at the Basildon Arts Centre in Essex, England. Also on the bill were High Tide, Overson and Iron Butterfly.

1972, George and Patti Harrison were injured in a car crash. Patti was unconscious for several days.

1973, The Grateful Dead performed at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1974, Singer songwriter Bobby Bloom shot himself dead in the head at his Hollywood apartment aged 28. Bloom had the 1970 single “Montego Bay.”

1975, Genesis played at the Parc Des Expositions, Colmar, France.

1976, Paul Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years was named Best Pop Vocal Performance and Album Of The Year at the 18th annual Grammy Awards. In his acceptance speech, Simon told the audience “I’d like to thank Stevie Wonder for not releasing an album this year.”

1977, AC/DC played at the Village Bowl, Bournemouth, England.

1982, King Crimson appeared at the Pritchard Gymnasium, Stony Brook, New York.

1984, Michael Jackson won a record seven Grammy awards including: Album of the year for Thriller, Record of the year and Best rock vocal performance for “Beat It,” Best pop vocal performance, Best R&B performance and Best R&B song for “Billie Jean,” and Best Recording For Children for E.T The Extra Terrestrial.

1985, David Byron, singer with Uriah Heep died from an epileptic fit and liver disease aged 38. Had a hit with “Easy Livin” from the 1972 album Demons and Wizards.

1989, Bob Dylan recorded the first sessions for the Oh Mercy album at The Studio, New Orleans, Louisiana. What became Dylan’s 26th studio album, released by Columbia Records in September 1989 was produced by Daniel Lanois.

2008, Drummer Buddy Miles, who played with Jimi Hendrix in his last regular group, Band of Gypsys, died aged 60 at his home in Austin, Texas after struggling with a long-term illness. Born George Allen Miles in Omaha, Nebraska, Buddy’s nickname was a tribute to his idol, jazz drummer Buddy Rich. Rich also played with The Delfonics, The Ink Spots, Wilson Pickett, Electric Flag, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Muddy Waters and Barry White. His signature song was “Them Changes,” a composition he had written and recorded with the Band of Gypsys.

Born February 28: Marty Sanders, Jay and the Americans (1941); Brian Jones, The Rolling Stones (1942); Donnie Iris (1943); Ronnie Rosman, Tommy James & The Shondells (1945); Geoff Nichols, Black Sabbath (1948); Cindy Wilson, The B-52’s (1957); Ian Brown, The Stone Roses (1966); Patrick Monahan, Train (1969); and Jake Bugg (1994)

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Today in Rock History – January 22

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yardbirds-19641964, The Yardbirds, featuring Eric Clapton appeared at The Cavern Club, Liverpool, England.

1965, The Rolling Stones began a 16-date tour of Australia and New Zealand at the Agricultural Hall at Manufacturers Auditorium in Sydney with Roy Orbison, The Newbeats and Ray Columbus and the Invaders.

1965, The Who pre-tape their first appearance on Radio Luxembourg’s Ready Steady Radio! at the Marquee Club. The show is broadcast on January 31st.

1966, The Beach Boys went into the studio to record “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” which would be the opening track on their forthcoming album Pet Sounds.

1966, The Grateful Dead, the Loading Zone and Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters all perform at the Trips Festival, held in San Francisco’s Longshoremen’s Hall.  Also on the bill, Big Brother, who plays their first official gig. Aided by Donald Buchla’s synthesizer, their repertoire consists of freak jazz – Sun Ra, Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders – R&B, music of the Mystic East and fuzz tone/feedback distortion.

1967, The Rolling Stones appear on the British TV program Sunday Night at the London Palladium, performing “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” “Ruby Tuesday,” “It’s All Over Now,” and “Connection.” However, they refuse to join the rest of the line-up for the closing credits, during which the band were supposed to wave to the audience from a revolving stage. Press outrage follows.

1967, Janis Joplin and her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, appeared at the Matrix in San Francisco.

1967, The Monkees performed live for the very first time at The Cow Palace, San Francisco to a sell-out crowd.

1968, during the band’s first Australian tour, The Who played the first of two nights at Sydney Stadium, with The Small Faces and Paul Jones.

1968, The Beatles’ business venture Apple Corps. opens its first London headquarters at 95 Wigmore Street.

1969, Jimi Hendrix performed at Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria.

1969, The Beatles moved from Twickenham Film Studios to Apple studios in London to start recording the Get Back LP. Billy Preston was brought into the sessions. John, Paul, and George knew Preston from 1962, when he was a member of Little Richard’s backing group. The Beatles were determined to record the album “live,” flaws and all.

1970, Steel Mill, featuring Bruce Springsteen opened for The Elvin Bishop Band at The Matrix in San Francisco, California. Steel Mill were paid only $5 for the gig, The Elvin Bishop Band received $90 as headliner.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles.

1971, Mad Dogs & Englishmen, a documentary about Joe Cocker’s infamous tour across America where he was accompanied by Leon Russell and an orchestra, premieres at London’s Festival Palace.

1972, David Bowie came out as bisexual during an interview in the British music weekly Melody Maker.

1972, Don McLean’s album American Pie started a seven week run at number one in the album chart.

1973, Led Zeppelin performed at Southampton University, Southampton, England. A popular Zeppelin bootleg show.

1975, Genesis appeared at the Community Theater in Berkeley, California.

mccartney-wings-over-america1977, Wings went to number one on the album chart with Wings Over America, Paul McCartney’s sixth US chart topper after The Beatles.

1977, Rush appeared at the Civic Center in Amarillo, Texas.

1977, Stevie Wonder went to number one on the US singles chart with “I Wish,” from Songs In The Key of Life. It was his 5th US chart topper. It reached number five in the UK.

1978, Ted Nugent played at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1983, The new 24-hour music video network MTV started broadcasting to the West Coast of America after being picked up by Group W Cable, Los Angeles.

1984, ZZ Top performed at the Kansas Coliseum, Wichita, Kansas.

1988, Faith No More made their live UK debut at Dingwalls, London at the start of a 13-date tour.

1993, Metallica kicked off their 77-date Nowhere Else To Roam world tour at Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

1994, American actor and singer Telly Savalas died of prostate cancer aged 72. He scored the 1975 UK number one single “If.” Savalas played Lt. Theo Kojak, a bald New York City detective, in the television series Kojak, with a fondness for lollipops, and whose trademark line was “Who loves ya, baby?”

2001, The Strokes released their first record The Modern Age EP on Rough Trade records in the UK.

2005, One of the biggest charity concerts since Live Aid raised £1.25 million ($2 million) for victims of the tsunami disaster in Asia. The concert held at The Millennium Stadium, Cardiff featured Eric Clapton, Manic Street Preachers, Keane, Charlotte Church, Snow Patrol, Embrace, Feeder, Craig David and Liberty X, who appeared before 60,000 fans at the sold-out concert.

2006, Arctic Monkeys scored their second UK number one single with “When The Sun Goes Down,” from their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. The song contains the line, “and he told Roxanne to put on her red light,” a reference to The Police song, “Roxanne.”

2012, Adele broke an American chart record that has stood for years after being set by The Beatles and Pink Floyd. The singers second album 21 clocked up 16 weeks at number one on the US chart matching the success of the Titanic original soundtrack. 21, released in January 2011 had now beaten The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s and Pink Floyd’s The Wall, both which had runs of 15 weeks at the top of the charts.

Born on January 22: Sam Cooke (1931); Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols (1947); Nigel Pegrum, Steeleye Span (1949); Steve Perry, Journey (1949); Michael Hutchence, INXS (1960); Steven Adler, drums, Guns N’ Roses (1965)

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Today in Rock History – November 18

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beatles-please-please-me1963, The Beatles received silver LP discs for Please Please Me and With the Beatles at a ceremony held at EMI House in London. They also received a silver EP for Twist and Shout, and a silver single for “She Loves You.” The band then attend a cocktail party and a formal lunch in the EMI boardroom with company executives and invited guests.

 1964, On the TV show Shindig! the Supremes sing “Baby Love” and “Come See About Me.” The Righteous Brothers also perform their non-hit “Little Latin Lupe Lu.”

1965, Manfred Mann, The Yardbirds and Paul and Barry Ryan all appeared at the ABC Cinema, Stockton, Cleveland, North East England.

1966, The Who played at City Hall in Perth, Australia.

1967, Pink Floyd performed two shows at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, as part of a UK tour with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Move, and other lesser acts.

1967, The Who play the Festival of Music at the Cow Palace in San Francisco with The Association, the Everly Brothers, Eric Burdon and the New Animals, Sopwith Camel, and the Sunshine Company. The Who are the curtain closers for the first half of the show.

1971, Memphis blues singer and musician Herman “Junior” Parker died during surgery for a brain tumor. He was 39 years old. Parker was discovered in 1952 by Ike Turner, who signed him to Modern Records. Parker then signed to Sun Records in 1953. There, they produced three successful songs including “Feelin’ Good,” a number five on the Billboard R&B charts.

1971, Led Zeppelin played at Sheffield University in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.

catstevenscatch1972, Cat Stevens started a three-week run at number one on the US album chart with Catch Bull At Four.

1972, Danny Whitten died of a drug overdose aged 29. He was a member of Neil Young’s Crazy Horse and writer of “I Don’t Wanna Talk About It,” covered by Rod Stewart, Rita Coolidge and Everything But The Girl. The Neil Young song “The Needle and the Damage Done” was written about Whitten’s heroin use, before he died of an overdose.

1973, Roxy Music appeared at Leicester University, Leicester, England.

1974, Genesis released the double concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, their sixth studio album, and the last album by the group to include lead singer Peter Gabriel.

1975, Bruce Springsteen made his live debut in the UK at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. His set list was comprised of Thunder Road, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Spirit in the Night, Lost in the Flood, She’s the One, Born to Run, The E Street Shuffle / Havin’ a Party, It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City, Backstreets, Kitty’s Back, Jungleland, Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) Encores: 4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy), Detroit Medley, For You, and a cover of Gary US Bonds’ Quarter To Three.

 

1976, Richard Hell and the Voidoids made their debut at CBGB’s New York. Hell was an innovator of punk music and fashion and was one of the first to spike his hair and wear torn, cut and drawn-on shirts, often held together with safety pins. Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols, has credited Hell as a source of inspiration for the Sex Pistols’ look and attitude.

1977, Aerosmith performed at Henry Levitt Arena, Wichita, Kansas.

1978, Billy Joel went to number one on the US album charts for seven weeks with his sixth studio album, 52nd Street. His first US chart topping album was also the first commercial album to be released on compact disc, by Sony Music Entertainment. Joel the 1979 Grammy for Album of the Year.

1978, Rush played at Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, California.

1980, KISS appeared at the Adeleaide Fairgrounds, Adelaide, Australia.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Bell Auditorium, Augusta, Georgia.

1983, Black Sabbath played at the UIC Pavilion, Chicago.

1983, R.E.M. made their first appearance outside the US when they appeared on Channel 4 UK TV show The Tube. The following night they made their live UK debut when the played at Dingwalls in London.

1984, Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan wins Entertainer of the Year and Blues Instrumentalist of the Year at the W.C. Handy National Blues Awards.

1987, Performing a second night in Los Angeles, U2 decide to support themselves as a fictional country group called the Dalton Brothers.

1993, Nirvana recorded their MTV Unplugged special at Sony Studios, New York. Nirvana played a setlist composed of mainly lesser-known material and cover versions of songs by The Vaselines, David Bowie, Meat Puppets and Lead Belly. The album won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album in 1996.

2003, American composer and orchestral arranger Michael Kamen died of a heart attack in London aged 55. He worked with Pink Floyd, Queen, Eric Clapton, Roger Daltrey, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, David Bowie, Eurythmics, Queensryche, Rush, Metallica, Herbie Hancock, The Cranberries, Bryan Adams, Jim Croce, Sting, and Kate Bush. Kamen co-wrote the Bryan Adams’ ballad “(Everything I Do), I Do It for You.”

Born on November 18: Don Cherry, jazz musician (1936);  Hank Ballard, US singer, songwriter (1936); Herman Rarebell, The Scorpions (1949); Gram Parker (1950); Rudy Sarzo, bass, Whitesnake (1950); Laura Lynch, songwriter,bass, founding member, Dixie Chicks (1958); Kim Wilde, singer (1960); Kirk Hammett, guitar, Metallica (1962); Duncan Sheik, singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor (1969);

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Today in Rock History – November 10

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1963, The Yardbirds, with Eric Clapton on guitar, appeared at The Crawdaddy Club, Richmond, Surrey, England.

1966, The Who go into CBS Studios in London and record their next single “Happy Jack” in at least two versions. Sometime during this session Roger and Pete go off to a pub and John and Keith stay behind to record the B-side, a new Entwistle composition called “I’ve Been Away.”

1967, The Beatles filmed three promotional films for their new single “Hello Goodbye” at the Saville Theatre in London. Each of the three film clips featured different costumes and Beatle antics. In the first film they wear their “Sgt. Pepper” uniforms, for the second The Beatles are wearing everyday clothes, the third film clip features shots from the first two films, plus additional shots of The Beatles, especially John, doing the twist. A Musician’s Union ban on lip-sync broadcasts prevented the film being used on British television.

1967, The Moody Blues release “Nights in White Satin, ” the first single from Days of Future Passed. The London Festival Orchestra provided the orchestral accompaniment for the introduction, the final rendition of the chorus, and the “final lament” section, all of which were in the original album version. It reached number 19 on the UK singles chart.

1968, Buddy Guy Blues Band played at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan.

1969, The Rolling Stones performed at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1970, The Kinks appeared at the Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California.

1971, Pink Floyd played at the Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Quebec City, Canada.

1972, Alice Cooper appeared at Playhouse in Glasgow, Scotland during a UK tour.

1973, Elton John started a eight week run at number one on the album chart with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, the singers third chart topper.

1973, Eddie Kendricks, former lead singer with The Temptations, started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Keep On Truckin.”

1974, Black Sabbath performed at Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia.

1975, David Bowie was at number one on the singles chart with “Space Oddity,” the track was first released in 1969 to coincide with the Apollo 11 moon landing. Rick Wakeman, former keyboard player with Yes, provided synthesizer backing. Bowie would later revisit his Major Tom character in the songs “Ashes to Ashes” and “Hallo Spaceboy.”

1976, AC/DC appeared at the Hammersmith Odeon, London.

1977, Rush performed at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

1978, Bob Dylan played at Hec Edmondson Pavilion, on the University of Washington campus in Seattle.

1979, Fleetwood Mac scored their second UK number one album with Tusk.

1979, The Eagles went to number one on the singles chart with “Heartache Tonight,” the group’s fifth chart topper.

1981, King Crimson performed at the Park West, Chicago.

1984, After setting a new record for advanced orders, 1,099,500 copies, Frankie Goes To Hollywood went to number one on the UK album chart with their debut LP Welcome To The Pleasure Dome. Also, Frankie Goes To Hollywood made their debut TV appearance on Saturday Night Live performing “Two Tribes” and “Born To Run.”

1984, Former Rufus singer Chaka Khan was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I Feel For You.’ Written by Prince, the song featured Stevie Wonder on harmonica and the rap was by Grandmaster Melle Mel. The repetition of Khan’s name by rapper Mel at the beginning of the song was originally a mistake made by producer Arif Mardin, who then decided to keep it.

1992, U2, Public Enemy and the Sugarcubes all appeared at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California.

1997, American session guitarist Tommy Tedesco died of lung cancer aged 67. Described by Guitar Player magazine as the most recorded guitarist in history, he was part of “The Wrecking Crew” of session musicians in Hollywood.  Tedesco recorded with The Beach Boys, Everly Brothers, The Supremes, The Monkees, The Association, Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Zappa, Sam Cooke, Cher, and Nancy and Frank Sinatra, and played on many TV themes including Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, M*A*S*H and Batman.

2008, Coldplay were declared the biggest-selling act of 2008 at the World Music Awards held in Monaco. The band picked up the prize along with the Rock Act Of The Year award, after their current album Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends topped charts around the globe. Other winners at the awards included Leona Lewis for Best Pop Female, and Best New Artist, Amy Winehouse was the winner in the Female Pop/Rock award, while Alicia Keys was named best in the R&B category. Lil’ Wayne bagged the Hip-Hop/Rap Artist award, while Akon was declared the Biggest Internet Artist Of The Year.

Born on November 10:  Screaming Lord Sutch, singer-songwriter (1940); ; Greg Lake (1947); Peter Bramall, aka, Bram Tchaikovsky, singer, The Motors (1950); Drew McConnell, bass,Babyshambles, Mongrel (1978); Miranda Lambert (1983)

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Today in Rock History – October 23

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Jimi_Hendrix_Hey_Joe_11966, The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded their first single “Hey Joe,” at De Lane Lea studios in London. The earliest known commercial recording of the song is the late-1965 single by the Los Angeles garage band the The Leaves. The band then re-recorded the track and released it in 1966 as a follow-up single which became a hit. The Byrds also performed and recorded a version of the song.

1966, The Yardbirds, with new recruit Jimmy Page, perform at San Francisco’s Fillmore.

1967, Pink Floyd plays at the Bath Pavilion in Bath, Somerset, England.

1969, Columbia Records announces it will take legal action to stop sales of Great White Wonder, the popular bootleg set of previously unreleased Bob Dylan material.

1969, The Who continue a six-night stand at the Fillmore East in New York accompanied by the Joshua Light Show.

1970, Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention perform at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, New York.

1970, The Who appear at Green’s Playhouse in Glasgow, Scotland.

1971, Yes played at the Empire Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1972, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1972, Filming begins on That’ll Be the Day, a musical starring David Essex, Ringo Starr, and Keith Moon.

1973, Genesis appeared at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1973,  “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight & The Pips reaches number one on the US singles chart.

1974, David Bowie  appeared at the Arie Crown Theater, Chicago

1975, Eric Clapton performed at Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan.

The Clash
The Clash

1976, The Clash appeared at The ICA in London.

1976, The Jam played an afternoon show at Soho Market in London.

1976, Chicago started a two week run at number one  on the singles chart with “If You Leave Me Now.” It was the group’s 18th Top 40 and first number one.  It went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance.

1976, Led Zeppelin made their US television debut on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, when footage from The Song Remains the Same movie of “Dazed and Confused” and “Black Dog” is aired on the popular weekly music show.

1977, AC/DC played at Town Hall, Middlesborough, England.

1978, Sid Vicious tries to commit suicide at Rikers Island in New York.  Vicious was waiting to be charged with murder following the stabbing death of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Sunrise Theater, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

1980, Mark David Chapman quit his security job and signed out for the last time. Instead of the usual “Chappy” he wrote “John Lennon.” Chapman would murder Lennon on December 8th outside his New York City home.

1982, Culture Club were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me,” the group’s first chart topper and the first of twelve UK Top 40 hits. The song became a major hit after their memorable debut performance on Top of the Pops, when they stood in for Shakin’ Stevens who was ill and not able to appear.

1984, Pete Townshend stages and performs at an anti-heroin benefit concert at The Moonlight in Hampstead. Making their live debut at this show is a new band called The Stone Roses. Their drummer, Alan “Reni” Wren, also sits in for Pete’s set.

1989, Nirvana played their first ever European show when they appeared at Newcastle’s Riverside Club in North East England. It was the first night of a 36 date European tour for the group who were sharing the bill with Tad.

1993, Meat Loaf had his first UK chart topper with “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That.”) It stayed at number one for seven weeks. A number one in twenty-eight countries and gave Meat Loaf his first US top hit.

1995, Def Leppard gave themselves a place in the Guinness book Of World Records, by playing three gigs in three continents in 24 hours. Tangier, London and Vancouver.

2002, A federal judge in St. Louis dismissed a lawsuit against Chuck Berry by Johnnie Johnson, a piano player and former collaborator who wanted royalties for more than 30 songs written between 1955 and 1966. The songs in question included “No Particular Place To Go,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Sweet Little Sixteen.” Johnson’s lawsuit argued that he and Berry were co-writers on many of the songs, but because Berry copyrighted them in his name alone, Johnson got none of the royalties. The judge ruled that too many years had passed to bring about a royalties suit.

2005, Arctic Monkeys scored their first UK number one single with “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor,” the Sheffield band’s debut single.

Born on October 23: Ellie Greenwich, songwriter (1940); Freddie Marsden, Gerry And The Pacemakers (1940); Greg Ridley, bass player, Spooky Tooth, Humble Pie (1943); Michael Burston, Motorhead (1949); Dwight Yoakam, (1956); Robert Trujillo, bass, songwriter Metallica, Black Label Society, Suicidal Tendencies (1964); Dale Crover, singer-songwriter, drummer, producer Melvins (1967);

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Today in Rock History – October 19

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yardbirds-jeff-beck-eric-clapton-jimmy-page-dreja-relf1966, The Yardbirds arrived in New York for their first US tour with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page on lead guitars. After two dates of the tour, Beck developed acute tonsillitis and quit the group. He would go on to form The Jeff Beck Group, giving Rod Stewart his first major exposure.

1966, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon travel to Copenhagen. Pete Townshend misses the flight, as well as the press conference held at the Star Club. While there, Helle Hellman interviews John for the Danish Beat magazine. John says his hearing is going, and he has already developed the habit of seeming to listen and respond to people he cannot hear.

1967, The soundtrack to The Sound Of Music was at number one on the album charts, spending its 132nd week on the chart. The Beatles were second with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Scott Walker was third with Scott.

1968, The “New” Yardbirds made their last appearance at Liverpool University, with only Jimmy Page as a remaining member. He was about to christen his new band as Led Zeppelin later in the month. Press reports suggested that Keith Moon of the Who had come up with the band’s new name.

1968, On their farewell tour, Cream appeared at The Forum in Los Angeles, California, where live recordings were made which were included on the Goodbye Cream album which was released the following year.

1968, Eighteen year-old Peter Frampton met Steve Marriott at a Small Faces show in London. After striking up a friendship, the two started planning a new group which would debut as Humble Pie the following April.

1969, Led Zeppelin, Santana, and Light House performed and afternoon and evening show at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Piedmont Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.

1971, Jethro Tull played at Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York.

1972, Alice Cooper played at Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

bob-marley-19741973, During their ‘Burnin’ North American tour, Bob Marley and The Wailers played the first of two nights at The Matrix Club, San Francisco, California.

1973, Genesis played at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

1973, David Bowie released his seventh album Pin Ups. The album, which features supermodel Twiggy on the front cover, is a collection of cover versions of some of the singer’s favorite songs, including tracks by Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things, The Who, The Yardbirds and The Kinks.

1974, The Grateful Dead performed at San Francisco’s Winterland Auditorium.

1974, KISS played at the Renaissance Valentine Theater, Toledo, Ohio.

1975, The Who appeared at Granby Halls, Leicester, England. The same day, the end of a three-part overview of rock by Philip Norman is published in the Sunday Times Magazine. In his entry on The Who, he says that Pete’s best work predates Tommy and claims, “The Who are trapped playing aging music for the aging young.” In response, that night on stage, Pete calls the Times‘ staff “pricks.”

1976, Rush appeared at the PNE Garden Auditorium, Vancouver, Canada.

1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd performed at Memorial Auditorium, Greenville, South Carolina.

1978, Hawkwind played at King George Hall, Blackburn, England.

1980, AC/DC kicked off a 20-date UK tour at Bristol Colston Hall. The band’s first gigs since the death of singer Bon Scott.

1985, A-Ha went to number one on the US singles chart with “Take On Me,” making them the first Norwegian group to notch a US chart topper.

1991, Oasis played The Boardwalk in their hometown Manchester, the group’s first gig with Noel Gallagher in the group.

1995, African-American jazz trumpeter Don Cherry died of liver failure aged 58. Developed the genre of world fusion music, incorporating influences of Middle Eastern, traditional African, and Indian music into his playing. Is the stepfather to singer’s musicians Neneh Cherry and Eagle-Eye Cherry.

1997, Glen Buxton, an original guitarist for Alice Cooper’s band died from pneumonia at age 49. He was born in Akron, Ohio, but attended High School in Phoenix, Arizona, where he met Dennis Dunaway and Vincent Furnier, soon to be known as Alice Cooper. Buxton co-wrote several classic Cooper hits, including “School’s Out,” “I’m Eighteen,” and “Elected.”

1998, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher made a surprise appearance at the launch party of the new London venue Sound Republic. He jammed onstage with Pete Townshend, and members from Ocean Colour Scene and Boo Radleys.

2009, A clump of hair believed to have been trimmed from Elvis Presley’s head when he joined the US Army in 1958 sold for $15,000 (£9,200) at an auction in Chicago. Other items sold belonging to Presley included a shirt which sold for $52,000 (£32,000), a set of concert-used handkerchiefs, $732 (£450,) and photos from the reception of Presley’s 1967 wedding to Priscilla, sold for nearly $6,000 (£3,700.)

2011, Coldplay released their fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto which charted at number one in thirty-four countries. In the UK, Mylo Xyloto became Coldplay’s fifth album to debut at number one, and became the group’s third to debut in the same spot on the US Billboard 200.

Born on October 19: Peter Tosh (1944); Jeannie C Riley, singer, “Harper Valley PTA” (1945); Keith Reid, Procul Harum (1946); Patrick Simmons,  The Doobie Brothers (1948); Karl Walinger, The Waterboys, World Party (1957); Daniel Woodgate, drummer, Madness (1960);

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Today in Rock History – July 31

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1965, In England, the Yardbirds with Jeff Beck perform at the Cleethorpes Jazz Festival.

1965, Beatles VI enters the fourth of its six weeks atop the US album charts. Beatles VI includes two tracks recorded specifically for the North American market, “Bad Boy” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy,” both covers of Larry Williams songs.

1966, Cream play their first gig in Windsor, England.

1966, The Who perform at Brittania Pier in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.

1967, Mick Jagger was given a conditional discharge, and Keith Richard’s conviction for permitting his house to be used for the purpose of smoking cannabis resin was quashed by appeal court.

1968, Tommy James and The Shondells were at number one on the singles chart with “Mony Mony.” The song was also a hit for Billy Idol in 1987.

1968, Working at Trident studios in London, England, (with its 8-track equipment, EMI was still using 4-track recorders), The Beatles recorded four takes of “Hey Jude.”

1969, Ten Years After played at the Boston Tea Party in Boston. Magic Terry & The Universe were the support act.

1969, Elvis Presley kicked off a four week run at the Las Vegas International Hotel, his first live show since 1961. He reportedly netted $1.5 million (£937,500) for the shows. On the menu was an Elvis special, polk salad with corn muffins and honey.

1970, After Decca Records demands a final single from the Rolling Stones to make them fulfill their contract, Richards and Jagger deliver the unreleasable “Cocksucker Blues.” The single becomes the title of a Stones documentary that the band decides is also unreleasable.

1970, The Powder Ridge Festival was supposed to take place from July 31st through August 2nd in Middlefield, Connecticut.  None of the advertised acts performed due to a last minute court injunction initiated by the local township. Only Melanie performed on a small stage. In addition to the Allman Brothers Band, Janis Joplin, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Jethro Tull, Joe Cocker, Little Richard and others were on the intended lineup.

1971, Pink Floyd leave England to set out on their first tour of the Far East.

1971, The documentary Gimme Shelter premieres at London’s Rialto cinema. The film includes footage from the infamous concert at Altamont.

1971, James Taylor went to number one on the singles chart with the Carole King song “You Got A Friend.” The song would go on to win the 1971 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male.

1971, A security guard was stabbed to death during a concert by The Who at New York’s Forest Hill Stadium.

1972, Yes appeared at Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, Texas.

1974, The Grateful Dead performed at Dillon Stadium in Hartford, Connecticut.

1975, Aerosmith played at Market Hall, Dallas, Texas.

1975, The Rolling Stones appeared at the Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina.

1976, George Benson started a two-week run at number one on the album chart with Breezin.

1977, Yes played at the Civic Center, Wheeling, West Virginia.

1979, AC/DC appeared at The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana on their If You Want Blood Tour.

1979, James Taylor plays New York’s Central Park for free to show his support for a campaign to restore the park’s Sheep Meadow.

1980, During An Eagles concert at Long Beach, California, tempers boiled over between Glen Frey and Don Felder, who spent the entire show describing to each other the beating each planned to administer backstage. “Only three more songs until I kick your ass, pal,” Frey told Felder. The group’s next album was mixed by Frey and Felder on opposite coasts after the two decided they couldn’t bear to be in the same state, let alone the same studio.

1980, Van Halen performed at the Checkerdome, St. Louis, Missouri.

1982, King Crimson appeared at The Convention Hall, Asbury Park, New Jersey.

1983, David Bowie played at Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1985, The Eurythmics had the number one position on the UK singles chart with “There Must Be An Angel, (Playing With My Heart.”) The song which was the Eurythmics’ first and only chart topping single features a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder.

1992, Michael Jackson made an unscheduled appearance on his hotel balcony in London after a man had threatened to jump from an apartment building across the street. 28 year-old Eric Herminie told police he would leap to his death if he didn’t see Jackson, who was in Britain for a series of concerts. Jackson spent a couple of minutes waving to Herminie, who then climbed back into the building.

2001, BBC producer John Walters died at age 63. Walters produced and worked with Radio 1 DJ John Peel. Peel teamed up with Walters to broadcast some of the most groundbreaking music of an era. He joined the BBC in 1967, and became producer on John Peel’s Top Gear show two years later. Walters played the trumpet with the Alan Price Set in the 1960’s.

2012, Bruce Springsteen played his longest show ever – 4 hours and 6 minutes, at the Helsinki Olympiastadionin Finland, at the end of a European tour.

Born on July 31:  Amhet Ertegun (1923)  Bob Welch (1943)  Gary Lewis (1946); Hugh McDowell, cello, Electric Light Orchestra (1953); Bill Berry, R.E.M. ( 1958); Jim Corr, guitar, keyboards, vocals, The Corrs (1964); John Lowery, guitar, Marilyn Manson (1971); Will Champion, drummer, Coldplay (1978)

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