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Today in Rock History – June 19

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The Spencer Davis Group

1965, The Who, Solomon Burke, Zoot Money, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Spencer Davis Group, Marianne Faithful, Long John Baldry, The Birds, (featuring a young Ronnie Wood), Dave Witting, and the Ray Martin Group all appeared at Uxbridge Blues Festival, England.

1965, The Four Tops went to number one on the singles chart with “I Can’t Help Myself.” Lead singer Levi Stubbs had not been satisfied with the recording session and was promised that he could do it again the following day, but no other session ever took place. The track that became a hit was just the second take of the song.

1966, “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones began its second week at number one on the American singles chart.

1967, Paul McCartney told The Daily Mirror that he had taken LSD four times during an interview with Life Magazine, Sir Paul stated that he didn’t regret that he’d spoken out and hoped that his fans would understand.

1968, The Rolling Stones scored their seventh number one single when “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” topped the charts. Keith Richards wrote in his autobiography that he and Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards’ country house. They were awoken one morning by the sound of gardener Jack Dyer walking past the window. When Jagger asked what the noise was, Richards responded, “Oh, that’s Jack – that’s jumpin’ Jack.”

1969, The Doors appeared at the PNE Garden Auditorium, Vancouver, Canada.

1971, Carole King started a five week run at number one on the singles chart with “It’s Too Late / I Feel The Earth Move.” Both songs were from her Tapestry album.

1973, Edgar Winter’s US number one hit “Frankenstein” was awarded a Gold record. Winter named the song because of how many cuts and patches were contained in the original studio tape.

1973, The Rocky Horror Show, starring Tim Curry, opens at a London theater.

1973, Pink Floyd performed at the Civic Center Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The set list: Obscured By Clouds / When You’re In / Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun / Careful With that Axe, Eugene / Echoes. // Second set: The Dark Side of the Moon/ encore: One of These Days.

1974, The Delinquents a band featuring Mick Jones (later of The Clash) made their debut at the Students Union bar, Queen Elizabeth College, Kensington.

1974, The Jackson Five played two shows at the Apollo, Glasgow, Scotland.

1977, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers supported by The Boomtown Rats appeared at The Rainbow, London.

1978, The Rolling Stones played the Palladium, in New York City during their summer tour of North America.

1980, The Grateful Dead played the first of three shows at West High Auditorium in Anchorage, Alaska.

1992, The Greenpeace Stop Sellafield, campaign concert took place at G-Mex in Manchester, England with U2, Big Audio Dynamite II, Public Enemy and Kraftwerk.

2011, Amy Winehouse was booed by crowds in Serbia’s capital Belgrade after appearing to be too drunk to perform. The concert – the first on the singers 12-day European tour, saw Winehouse mumble her way through parts of songs, leave the stage altogether and at one point she threw her microphone to the floor.

2013, Slim Whitman the American country music and western music singer/songwriter and instrumentalist died aged 90. He was known for his yodeling abilities and his smooth high octave falsetto, and sold in excess of 120 million records during his career. Michael Jackson cited Whitman as one of his ten favorite vocalists, and Beatle George Harrison cited Whitman as an early influence. Paul McCartney credited a poster of Whitman with giving him the idea of playing his guitar left-handed with his guitar strung the opposite way to a right-handed player’s.

2014, Gerry Goffin, who penned chart-topping songs with his then-wife Carole King died at the age of 75 in Los Angeles. He wrote dozens of hits over two decades, including “The Loco-Motion,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” After their divorce in 1968, Goffin continued writing songs, including a hit for Whitney Houston, “Saving All My Love for You” in 1985.

Born on June 19: Tommy Devito, The Four Seasons (1936); Elaine McFarlane, Spanky And Our Gang (1942); Nick Drake UK singer, songwriter (1948) Ann Wilson, Heart (1950); Paula Abdul (1963);  Scott Avett, Avett Brothers (1976)

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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 6

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1965, Herman’s Hermits play The Ed Sullivan Show.

1965, The Rolling Stones released the single “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” on the Decca label in the US. The song also featured on the American version of the Rolling Stones’ fourth studio album, Out of Our Heads, released that July.

1965, The Who played at St. Joseph’s Hall in London.

1966, Roy Orbison’s first wife, Claudette, was killed when a truck pulled out of a side road and collided with the motorbike that she and her husband were riding on in Gallatin, Texas, she was 25.

1966, The Who head from Sweden to Denmark, flying into Copenhagen. That night Keith Moon and John Entwistle go drinking at the Carousel Club and sit in for a set with The Tremeloes.

1968, Screaming Lord Sutch appeared at the Freehold Hullabaloo in Freehold, New Jersey. Sutch was touring the East Coast in a old custom-painted Rolls Royce hearse. The support band was The Castiles, with Bruce Springsteen on vocals).

1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Soul Survivors appeared at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.

1969, Rod Stewart signs as a solo artist to Mercury Records.

1970, Christie were at number one on the singles chart with “Yellow River,” the group’s only chart topper. Written by Jeff Christie for the Tremeloes who turned it down, so he recorded it himself.

1970, Felix Cavaliere & The Rascals played at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

1970, Syd Barrett played his first gig since leaving Pink Floyd at the Extraveganza ’70, at London’s Olympia. He was joined on stage by Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.

1970, This is the third of a four night residency for the Grateful Dead at San Francisco’s Fillmore West.

1970, The Doors appeared at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia.

1971, John Lennon and Yoko Ono jammed live on stage with Frank Zappa at The Filmore East in New York. Some of these recordings were released in 1972, on John Lennon’s third post-Beatles album, Some Time in New York City.

1971, This date was the last broadcast of The Ed Sullivan Show. Ed’s final musical guests are Gladys Knight & the Pips.

1972, David Bowie releases his album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.

1973, King Crimson played at Ellis Auditorium, Memphis, Tennessee.

1974, Billy Swan records his chart topping song “I Can Help.”

1975, Pink Floyd fly to America for a tour. It would end in disaster when an addled Roger Waters spits on the audience. The event would serve as the inspiration for writing The Wall in an attempt to exorcise his demons.

1975, The Rolling Stones appeared at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri.

1976, Genesis performed at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

1977, Queen appeared at Earls Court in London, England.

1977, Students at UCLA are shocked when Stevie Wonder appears as a guest lecturer, talking about his experiences with Motown and then performing music by way of illustration.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.

1979, Def Leppard played at Crookes Workingman’s Club in Sheffield. The gig was reviewed in UK music paper Sounds and led to a recording contract with Phonogram Records.

1981, Van Halen appeared at the Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.

1982, Tom Petty, Crosby Stills & Nash, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks and Jackson Browne all appeared at The Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California to a crowd of 85,000 fans at the six hour Peace Sunday, We Have A Dream antinuclear concert. Dylan was joined onstage with Joan Baez and duetted with her on “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “With God On Our Side.” The show was partly broadcast on ABC TV’s Entertainment Tonight program on the same day.

1984, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Agora Ballroom,  a “cavernous” former bowling alley in an industrial area in Hartford, Connecticut.

1986, A&R man Dick Rowe died of diabetes. Rowe became famous for not signing The Beatles to Decca records and made the classic quote “Nobody cares about guitar group’s anymore.” He did however sign The Rolling Stones to Decca.

2003, Keyboard player with The Animals Dave Rowberry died aged 62. He replaced Alan Price who left in 1965. The Animals had the 1964 UK and US number one single “House Of The Rising Sun.”

2006, Billy Preston died of kidney failure. The Grammy-winning keyboard player collaborated with some of the greatest names in the music industry, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Nat King Cole, Little Richard, Ray Charles, George Harrison, Elton John, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan.

Born on June 6: Levi Stubbs, The Four Tops (1936); Gary “US” Bonds (1939); Clarence White, The Byrds (1944); and Steve Vai, guitarist, Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, Whitesnake (1960)

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Today in Rock History – May 23

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1964, Marvin Gaye appears on American Bandstand singing “You’re a Wonderful One.”

1967, Pink Floyd performed at Town Hall in High Wycombe, England.

1967, Jimi Hendrix appeared at Klub Bongo in Malmö, Sweden.

1968, Johnny Lee Hooker, supported by The Hallucinations performed at Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts.

1968, Pink Floyd played two late shows at the Paradiso in Amsterdam.

1969, Bob Seger performed at the Hullabaloo Club in Oregon, Ohio.

1969, Sly and the Family Stone, Clarence Carter, and Rotary Connection performed the first of a two night stand at the Fillmore East in New York.

1969, Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago. Admission was $5 (£3.12).

1970, Paul McCartney’s debut solo album, McCartney, started a three-week run at number one on the US album chart.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Columbia High School Auditorium, Decatur, Georgia.

1970, The Beatles album Let It Be started a three week run at number one on the UK charts.

1970, The Grateful Dead played their first gig outside the US at The Hollywood Rock Music Festival, in Newcastle under Lyme, Staffs, England.

1971, It’s the end of an era as Iron Butterfly split up.

1971, Frank Zappa appears at the Ohio Theater, Columbus, Ohio.

1973, Jefferson Airplane were prevented from giving a free concert in Golden Gate Park when San Francisco authorities passed a resolution banning electronic instruments. The group later wrote “We Built this City” about the ban.

1973, David Bowie performs at the Brighton Dome, Brighton, England.

1974, George Harrison announced the launch of his own record label, Dark Horse.

1975, Alice Cooper played at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1976, NBC tapes Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue at Colorado State University. The concert later airs under the title Hard Rain.

1977, Linda Ronstadt begins work on her Simple Dreams album at Sound Factory One in Los Angeles.

1978, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their 117-show Darkness on the Edge of Town Tour at Shea’s Buffalo in Buffalo, New York.  Several of the shows are broadcast on radio and become instant classics.

1978, Bob Seger performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1979, Due to a record company dispute, Tom Petty was forced to file for bankruptcy owing $575,000. A long-running battle with his record company followed.

1980, Black Sabbath performed at the Apollo Theatre, Manchester, England.

1981, Rush played at the Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts.

1983, Eric Clapton appeared at Civic Hall, Surrey, England.

1987, Twelve former members of the Doobie Brothers reunited for a charity concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The show raised $350,000 (£220,000) for Vietnam veterans, about two-thousand of whom attended the show for free.

1991, Photographer Michael Lavine took what would be the publicity shots for Nirvana’s Nevermind album at Jay Aaron Studios in Los Angeles. The idea for the front cover shot of the baby swimming was taken after Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl saw a TV documentary on water babies and was taken by Kirk Weddle. Several babies were used. five-month old Spencer Eldon’s photo came out best.

1992, Iron Maiden went to number one on the UK album chart with Fear Of The Dark, their third chart topping album.

2006, The king of Sweden presented the surviving members of Led Zeppelin with the Polar Music Prize in Stockholm recognizing them as “great pioneers” of rock music. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were joined by the daughter of drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980. The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, manager of Swedish pop group Abba, who named it after his record label, Polar Records.

2010, The Rolling Stones scored their first UK number one album in 16 years with the re-release of their classic 1972 double LP Exile On Main Street. The album, which was first released in 1972, had been reissued with previously unheard tracks. Their last chart topping album was 1994’s Voodoo Lounge

Born on May 23: Mac Wiesman, Foggy Mountain Boys (1925); Robert Moog, inventor (1934); Norman Johnson, Chairman of the Board (1943); Raymond Fulwood, Parliament, Funkadelic (1944); Bill Hunt, ELO (1947); Rick Fenn, 10cc (1953);  Philip James Selway, drummer, Radiohead (1967); Matt Flynn, Drummer, Maroon 5 (1970); Richard Jones, bass, Stereophonics (1974)

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Today in Rock History – February 12

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Donovan-19651965, Pye Records announced  signing of the “British Bob Dylan,” when they added Donovan to the label. The Scottish singer-songwriter produced a series of hit albums and singles between 1965 and 1970 and became a friend of leading pop musicians including Joan Baez, Brian Jones, and The Beatles. He influenced John Lennon when he taught him a finger-picking guitar style in 1968.

1965, The Who audition for BBC Radio’s Light Programme. As The Detours, they had failed a BBC audition 10 months before. This time they pass with the approval of four of the seven judges. The other three call them “ponderous and unentertaining,” “at the limit of their capablilties,” and “overall not very original and below standard.”

1967, Fifteen police officers raided Redlands the West Sussex home of Rolling Stone Keith Richards during a weekend party. The police who were armed with a warrant issued under the dangerous drugs act took away various substances for forensic tests. George and Pattie Harrison had been at the house, but it was said that the police waited for them to leave before they raided the house in order not to bust the holder of an MBE.

1967, The Who appeared at the Starlite Ballroom in London.

1968, Billed as “Tour 60 cities in 66 Days,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at the Centre Arena, Seattle, Washington.

1968, Pink Floyd spent the day at EMI Studios on Abbey Road in London at a recording session for A Saucerful of Secrets.

1969, Janis Joplin and her Kozmik Blues Band perform at the Fillmore East in New York to mixed reviews.

1970, The Grateful Dead performed a club date at Ungano’s in New York.

1970,  John Lennon performed “Instant Karma” on BBC TV’s Top Of The Pops, becoming the first Beatle to have appeared on the show since 1966. Lennon wrote, recorded, and mixed his new single, all in one day. It ranks as one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history. Lennon later stated, “I wrote it for breakfast, recorded it for lunch, and we’re putting it out for dinner.”

1970, The Guess Who performed at Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina

1972, Al Green went to number one on the singles chart with “Let’s Stay Together,” his only chart topper. Tina Turner took the song to number 26 in 1984.

1972, Genesis appeared at Guildhall, in Portsmouth, England.

1972, David Bowie played at the Great Hall, Imperial College in London.

1972, Pink Floyd’s UK tour stops at City Hall, in Sheffield, England. The set list: One of These Days / Careful With That Axe, Eugene / The Dark Side of the Moon / Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun // encore: Echoes.

1974,   The fabled rock club The Bottom Line opens in New York

1975, Led Zeppelin played at Madison Square Garden, New York. Tickets were $7.50.

1977, Blondie, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and The Ramones all appeared at the Whisky-A-Go-Go in Los Angeles, California.

pink-floyd-animals1977, Pink Floyd released their tenth studio album Animals in the US, where it reached number three in the charts. The album’s cover image, a pig floating between two chimneys on Battersea Power Station, was conceived by bassist Roger Waters and realized by long-time design and photographic collaborators Hipgnosis.

1977, Styx appeared at the Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida.

1977, The Police recorded their first single, “Fall Out” for £150 ($255) at Pathway Studios, London, England.

1977, Elvis Presley performed at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1978, Rush appeared at the Birmingham Odeon, England, promoting their new single “Closer To The Heart.”

1979, Frank Zappa played at the Apollo Theatre, Manchester, England.

1980, The Eagles performed at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi.

1984, Prince & The Revolution appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1997, David Bowie received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1997, U2 held a press conference in the Lingerie Department at the Greenwich Village Kmart store in Manhattan, New York City, to announce their Pop Mart world tour. The tour was set to start in Las Vegas on April 25th.

2000, US blues singer Screamin’ Jay Hawkins died aged 70. A Golden Gloves boxing champion at 16, he was married nine times, spent two years in jail, was temporary blinded by one of his flaming props on stage in 1976. He recorded “I Put A Spell On You” in 1956, covered by The Animals, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Nina Simone.

2003, Former Doors drummer John Densmore took out legal action against The Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger for breach of contract, trademark infringement and unfair competition. The band had reformed with Ex- Cult singer Ian Astbury and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland. Densmore said “It shouldn’t be called The Doors if it’s someone other than Jim Morrison singing.”

2008, Ronald Isley’s appeal against a three-year jail term for tax fraud was rejected by a US court. The 65-year-old singer of the Isley Brothers argued against being imprisoned in an Indiana jail on the grounds of age and poor health. The court heard he cashed royalty checks belonging to his brother O’Kelly, who died in 1996 and spent millions of dollars made from undeclared performances on a yacht and two homes. Isley was ordered to pay more than $3.1 million (£1.62m) to the US tax service for “pathological” evasion.

Born on February 12: Gene McDaniels, singer-songwriter (1935); Ray Manzarek, The Doors (1939); Joe Schermie, bass, Three Dog Night (1945); Stanley Knight,  Black Oak Arkansas (1949); Steve Hackett, Genesis (1950); Michael McDonald, Doobie Brothers (1952); Jim Creeggan, Canadian singer-songwriter, bass, Barenaked Ladies, The Brothers Creeggan (1970)

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Today in Rock History – January 27

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Beatles-1962-B1962, The Beatles appeared at Aintree Institute in Aintree, Liverpool. The group had played here many times before but this was their last performance at the venue. Brian Epstein became infuriated when the promoter paid The Beatles’ fee of £15 ($24) with handfuls of loose change. Epstein took this as an insult to the group, and made sure that The Beatles never played for that promoter (Brian Kelly) again.

1965, John and Cynthia Lennon fly to the Alps for a ten-day-long skiing vacation.

1967, The Grateful Dead played at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco.

1967, Jimi Hendrix appeared at Chislehurst Caves in London, England.

1967, Pink Floyd played at the UFO, held at the Blarney Club, Tottenham Court Road in London. Also on the bill were AMM, Five Acre Light, Dave Brown, Plight of the Erogenius, and Chapter 1. The Floyd’s performance was filmed and clips of two songs were used in a Granada TV documentary program.

1968, The Bee Gees made their live debut in the United States when they played at the Anaheim Centre, Anaheim California.

1968, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye performed at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1968, Melody Maker became the first music publication to report that David Gilmour had become a member of Pink Floyd.

1969, The Who begin five days of rehearsals at the Whitehall Theatre working on a new set.

1970, John Lennon’s “Instant Karma!” was written, recorded and released within a period of ten days, making it one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history. The UK release was on February 6th, while the US release took place fourteen days later. The recording was produced by Phil Spector, marking a comeback for the American producer after his self-imposed retirement in 1966, and leading to him being offered the producer’s role on the Beatles’ Let It Be album (1970). The song was recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios, “Instant Karma!” employs Spector’s signature Wall of Sound technique and features contributions from George Harrison, Klaus Voormann, Alan White and Billy Preston.

1970, The Who played at the Operettenhaus in Hamburg, Germany.

David Bowie in 1971

1971, David Bowie arrived in the US for the first time. He couldn’t play live because of work permit restrictions, but attracted publicity when he wore a dress at a promotion event.

1971, Neil Young performed at Macky Auditorium, at the University Of Colorado in Boulder.

1972, Pink Floyd performed Dark Side of the Moon at City Hall, in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England. Also in the performance was One of These Days / Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun / Echoes, and the encore was A Saucerful of Secrets.

1973, No Secrets by Carly Simon enters the third of five weeks atop the US album charts.

1973, Roxy Music won “the most promising new name,” section in the NME reader’s poll.

1973, “Superstition,” the lead single from Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book album gave him his second number one single in the US, 10 years after his first chart topper. Jeff Beck created the original drum beat while in the studio with Wonder. After writing the song, Wonder offered it to Beck to record, but at the insistence of Berry Gordy, Wonder himself recorded it first. Beck was instead offered “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers,” which he recorded on Blow by Blow in 1975.

1975, The J Geils Band appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1976, David Bowie filed a lawsuit against attorney Michael Lippman claiming that he had taken a 15% agents fee instead of the customary 10%.

1977, The Clash signed to CBS Records in the UK for £100,000 ($160,000.)

1977, AC/DC performed at The Haymarket, Sydney, Australia.

1979, Ian Dury And The Blockheads were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick,” their only UK chart topper, after it overtook “Y.M.C.A.”

1980, Def Leppard played the first of two nights at The Marquee, London. Tickets cost £2 ($3.40).

1980, Bob Dylan performed at the Uptown Theatre, Kansas City, Missouri.

1984, Blue Oyster Cult played at Ausstellungshalle, Sindelfingen, Stuttgart, Germany.

1984, Madonna made her first appearance in the UK when she appeared on C4 TV music program The Tube performing “Holiday.” The show was broadcast live from the Hacienda Club in Manchester.

1994, Oasis made their London live debut when the played at King’s Cross Water Rats.

1998, James Brown was charged with possession of marijuana and unlawful use of a firearm after police were called to his South Carolina home. Brown later claimed the drugs were used to help his eyesight.

2002, Enrique Iglesias scored his first UK number one single with “Hero.” His father, Julio Iglesias, had a UK number one hit in 1981.

2006, Gene McFadden, R&B vocalist and songwriter, best known as half of the Philly soul team McFadden & Whitehead, died of cancer at the age of 56. The duo had the 1979 hit “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now,” which sold more than 8 million copies and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

2014, American folk singer and activist Pete Seeger died at the age of 94. He had a string of hit records during the early 1950’s as a member of the Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead Belly’s “Goodnight, Irene.” The song was a number one for 13 weeks in 1950. Members of the Weavers were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era. In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, counterculture and environmental causes.

2015, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne were given a song writing credit on Sam Smith’s hit “Stay With Me,” because of the similarities to his 1989 track “I Won’t Back Down.” “Stay With Me” had been nominated for three Grammy awards, including Song of the Year. The parties made an out of court settlement.

Born on January 27: Elmore James (1918); Bobby “Blue” Bland (1930); Nick Mason, drums, Pink Floyd (1944); Nedra Talley, singer, The Ronettes (1946); Kim Gardner, bass, Ashton Gardner & Dyke (1948); Brian Downey, Thin Lizzy (1951); Margo Timmins, vocals, Cowboy Junkies (1961); Gillian Gilbert,  keyboards,  singer, New Order, The Other Two (1961)

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Today in Rock History – September 22

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great-society
The Great Society

1965, San Francisco band The Great Society, featuring Grace Slick, make their live debut at The Coffee Gallery, North Beach, California. The lineup featured Grace, her then-husband Jerry Slick on drums, his brother Darby Slick on guitar, David Miner on vocals and guitar, Bard DuPont on bass, and Peter van Gelder on flute, bass, and saxophone.

1967, The Doors appeared on the Murray the K show on WPIX-TV in New York City performing “People Are Strange” and “Light My Fire.”

1968  Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum gives its Beatles statues their fifth hair and clothes makeover in four years, in keeping with the lads’ taste for hippie fashions.

1968, The Amboy Dukes played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, A new weekly TV show,  The Music Scene aired on ABC for the first time. Stevie Wonder Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Tom Jones, Cass Elliot, James Brown, Janis Joplin, and Sly and the Family Stone were all booked to appear on the show.

1969, The Band released their self-titled album, which peaked at number nine on the US chart, and included “Rag Mama Rag,” “Up on Cripple Creek,” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” In 2009, the album was preserved into the National Recording Registry because the album was “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and reflects life in the United States.”

1970, The Rolling Stones performed at the Palais des Sport in Paris.

1971, David Crosby and Graham Nash appear at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio.

Bowie-ziggy-stardust1972, David Bowie kicked of the North American leg of his Ziggy Stardust world tour at the Music Hall in Cleveland, Ohio.

1973, The Rolling Stones scored their eighth No.1 album when “Goats Head Soup” started a two-week run at the top of the charts.

1974, The Sonny Bono Comedy Revue was shown for the first time on ABC-TV.

1976, Rush perform at The Dome Arena, Rochester, New York.

1977, Yes appear at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California.

1978, Jethro Tull released the live album Bursting Out. It was recorded at various locations during the European Heavy Horses tour in May and June 1978

1978, Black Sabbath plays at Selland Arena, Fresno, California.

1979, Gary Numan had his second and final UK number one single with “Cars.” Also on this day Gary Numan went to number one on the UK album chart with The Pleasure Principle.

1979, Jackson Browne, Chaka Khan, Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt and Tom Petty, appeared at Madison Square Garden, New York for two anti-nuclear benefit shows.

1979, Def Leppard had their first major live review when UK music weekly Melody Maker reviewed a gig the band had played in Wolverhampton.  The band had just released their debut 3-track single, and featured a 15 year-old drummer

1981, Composer Harry Warren died aged 88. He wrote over 800 songs including “I Only Have Eyes For You,” a hit for The Flamingos and Art Garfunkel, “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “That’s Amore,” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” Warren’s songs were featured in over 300 films.

1983, During a UK comeback tour The Everly Brothers appeared at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In the audience, Paul and Linda McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, and Mickey Dolenz.

1984, Echo And The Bunnymen, Spear Of Destiny, The Sisters Of Mercy, The Redskins, and The Chameleons all appeared at the first York Rock Festival, York, England.

1985, The first Farm Aid benefit concert was held before a crowd of 80,000 people at the Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. Organized by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young, the event had been spurred on by Bob Dylan’s comments at Live Aid earlier in that year that he hoped some of the money would help American farmers. The star studded line-up of country stars included Alabama, Hoyt Axton, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels Band, John Denver, Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, Vince Gill, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Roger Miller, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Willie Nelson, Charley Pride, Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Rogers.

1987, The Grateful Dead play at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1990, Nirvana played their biggest gig to date when they appeared at the Motor Sports International Garage in Seattle. Drummer Dave Grohl who would audition for the band in a few days time, was in the audience of 15,000 people.

1990, Garth Brooks album No Fences entered the US album chart. It went on to become the biggest selling country album of all time and sold over 13 million copies in the first five years of release.

1991, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Boston Garden in Boston.

2001, A Tribute to Heroes was aired commercial-free on most of the major US TV networks. The live program was organized to raise money following the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and New York’s World Trade Center. Neil Young, Tom Petty, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, U2, Limp Bizkit, Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam all performed. Manning the telephones to take pledges were celebrities including Jack Nicholson, Jim Carrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Goldie Hawn, Robin Williams, Meg Ryan, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kurt Russell, Adam Sandler and many more.

2004, Cat Stevens, who now goes by the name of Yusuf Islam, was escorted from a diverted transatlantic flight and refused entry into America by FBI agents. His name showed up on a US watch list after his United Airlines  had taken off from London. The flight landed in Maine where Islam, who was traveling with his 21-year-old daughter, was detained and questioned.

Born on September 22: David Coverdale, vocals, Whitesnake (1949); Richard Fairbrass, singer, Right Said Fred (1953); Debby Boone (1956); Nick Cave (1957); and Joan Jett (1960); Will Farquarson, guitar, Bastille (1983)

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Today in Rock History – September 5

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1964, The Animals started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “House Of The Rising Sun.” When first released the record company printed the time of the song on the record as three minutes feeling that the real time of four minutes was too long for radio airplay.

1965, Sonny & Cher made their first live UK appearance when they appeared at the 100 Club in London.

1965, The Rolling Stones recorded their eighth single “Get Off Of My Cloud” at RCA studios in Hollywood. The song peaked at number one in the US and the UK.

1966, John Lennon started work in Germany on his role as Private Gripweed in the film How I Won The War.

1967, Working at Abbey Road studios, London, The Beatles began recording John Lennon’s new song “I Am the Walrus,” recording 16 takes of the basic backing track.

1968, On their first ever visit to the UK The Doors appeared on Top of The Pops performing “Hello I Love You” live on the TV show.

1969, King Crimson performed at Market Hall, Romford, England.

1969, The Stooges made their New York debut at The Pavilion supporting MC5.

1970, Janis Joplin started recording sessions recording a version of the Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster song “Me and Bobby McGee.” Joplin, who was a lover and a friend of Kristofferson’s from the beginning of her career to her death, topped the US singles chart with the song in 1971, making the song the second posthumous number one single in US chart history after “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding.

1970, Poco appeared at the Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1971, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at Chicago International Amphitheatre.

1972, Yes played at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland.

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

1975, Black Sabbath performed at Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, California.

1976, Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington was seriously injured in a car crash in Florida.

1978, Joe Negroni from Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers died of a brain hemorrhage. They had the 1956 UK number one and US number six single “Why Do Fools Fall In Love.”

1978, The Electric Light Orchestra appeared at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Civic Center, Dothan, Alabama.

1980, Black Sabbath performed at the Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida.

1981, Soft Cell were at number one on the UK singles chart with their electronic version of “Tainted Love.” The song had been a hit for Gloria Jones in 1964. Jones who became Marc Bolan’s girlfriend, was the driver of the car, that crashed and killed Bolan on  September 16, 1977. Jones nearly died in the accident.

1981, Stevie Nicks went to number one on the US album with Bella Donna, featuring the tracks “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” with Tom Petty, “Leather and Lace,” with Don Henley, “Edge of Seventeen,” and “After the Glitter Fades.”

1994, Oasis appeared at The Hacienda in Manchester to celebrate the launch of their debut album Definitely Maybe. The album went on to become the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK and marked the beginning of Oasis’ success in America, selling over one million copies there.

2006, Arctic Monkeys won the UK Mercury Prize for their album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. The Sheffield-based bands album became the fastest-selling debut in chart history after shifting more than 360,000 copies in its first week of release in Feb 2006.

2012, Singer-songwriter Joe South, who had hits in the late 1960s and early ’70s, including “Games People Play,” “Walk a Mile in My Shoes,” and (“I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden,” died at home in Atlanta, Georgia from a heart attack, aged 72.

Born on September 5: John Stewart, The Kingston Trio (1934); Al Stewart (1945) Freddie Mercury, Loudon Wainwright III, and Buddy Miles (1946); Dave Clempson, guitar, Humble Pie (1949)

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Today in Rock History – September 3

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donovan-19661966, Donovan went to number one on the US singles chart with “Sunshine Superman,” a number two hit in the UK. The track featured then Yardbird and future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.

1967, During a 10-date tour of Sweden, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at the Liseburg in Gothenburg, Sweden.

1968, After a two week absence, Ringo Starr rejoined The Beatles. Upon Ringo’s return to the studio, he found his drum kit covered with flowers to welcome him back.

1969, King Crimson appear at Toby Jug pub in Tolwort, in Southwest London.

1970, Freddie King and Johnny Winter performed at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, California.

1970, Alan Wilson, guitar player with Canned Heat, was found dead at fellow band-member Bob Hite’s garden in Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles aged 27. Canned Heat had the 1970 UK number two and US number 26 single “Let’s Work Together.”

1970, Led Zeppelin performed at the Sports Arena in San Diego, California. A critic for the local newspaper, the Union-Tribune wrote, “The performance was old-time religion without a message and without a moral, although there was plenty that was physical for the congregation of young people. There was the hand clapping, the shouting, the parading in the aisles – and finally there was the self-induced frenzy that was once the trademark of some evangelical religious sects.”

1970, It was reported that the Bob Dylan bootleg album Great White Wonder had sold over 350,000 copies worldwide.

1970, Arthur Brown was arrested at the Palermo Pop ’70 Festival in Italy, after he set fire to his helmet during the performance of his hit “Fire,” and stripped naked on stage.

1971, Led Zeppelin play one night at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Top ticket price was $7.50 (£4.69).

1971, The Allman Brothers band appeared at the Place de Nations in Montreal, Quebec.

1972, David Bowie performed at the Hardrock Concert Theatre, Stretford, in Manchester, England.  The 3000-seat venue hosted some of the biggest names in England during its brief three year existence.

1973, The Rolling Stones appeared at Eisstadion, in Mannheim, Germany.

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

1975, An all-star jam session took place at a party in Los Angeles for actor Peter Sellers’ 50th Birthday. The line-up for the group who named themselves the Trading Faces, Bill Wyman on bass, Ronnie Wood, Jesse Ed Davis, and Danny Kortchmar on guitars, Keith Moon, organ and drums, Joe Cocker, vocals, Nigel Olsson, drums, and David Bowie and Bobby Keys on sax.

1976, Marshall Tucker Band played the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia.

1977, The month after his death, Elvis Presley had 27 albums and 9 singles in the Top 100 charts in the UK. Moody Blue was the number one album while “Way Down” was on top of the singles chart, equaling The Beatles, with each amassing 17 number one hits.

1977, Studio engineer Keith Harwood was killed in a car crash shortly after he left a recording session with The Rolling Stones. Harwood was noted for his work at Olympic Studios with David Bowie, Diamond Dogs, and The Rolling Stones albums It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll and Black And Blue. He also engineered a number of Led Zeppelin albums, including Houses Of The Holy, Physical Graffiti and Presence. The Rolling Stones dedicated their album Love You Live to the memory of Harwood.

zappa-19781978, Frank Zappa, Scorpions, Brand X, John McLaughlin, Ten Years After, Joan Baez, and Genesis appear at  Ludwigsparkstadion in Saarbrücken, Germany.

1979, Van Halen appeared at Kaikan Hall, Kyoto, Japan.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult played at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colorado.

1982, The three day US Festival in San Bernardino, California took place featuring, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, The Police, The Cars, Talking Heads, The Kinks, Ramones, B52’s, The English Beat, Gang Of Four, The Grateful Dead, Pat Benatar, Jackson Browne. Apple Computer co-founder Steven Wozniak bankrolled the festival.

 1983, The Eurythmics went to number one on the singles chart with “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This”).

 1988, UB40 had their first number one single with “Red Red Wine.” The song, taken from their album Labour of Love, was a cover of the 1968 Neil Diamond hit song.

1990, R.E.M. started recording sessions for their Out Of Time album at Bearsville Studios, Woodstock, New York.

1991, During a European tour, Nirvana recorded “Dumb,” “Drain You,” and “Endless Nameless” at Maida Vale studios in London for the BBC Radio 1 John Peel show.

2002, The Rolling Stones 40th anniversary Licks tour kicked off at the Fleet Centre Boston. Tickets for the best seats cost $224 (£140). The world tour would see the band playing to over two and a half million fans during over a hundred shows.

2004, Songwriter and producer Billy Davis died in New York after a long illness. He co-wrote Jackie Wilson’s, “Reet Petite” and the jingle “I’d Like To Buy The World A Coke.” Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and Gladys Knight all recorded his songs.

2010, Mike Edwards, a founding member of ELO, was killed in a freak accident when a giant bale of hay tumbled down a hill and crashed into his van. The 62 year-old cellist died after the 600 kg (1,323 lb) bale rolled down a steep field in Devon, southern England, smashed through a hedge and careered on to the road. Edwards played cello with ELO from their first live gig in 1972 until he left in January 1975. He quit the band in 1975 to become a Buddhist, changing his name to Deva Pramada and making his living by teaching the cello.

Born on this day: Freddie King (1934); Al Jardine, Beach Boys (1942); George Biondi,  Steppenwolf (1945); Eric Bell, Thin Lizzy (1947); Donald Brewer, drummer, Grand Funk Railroad (1948);  Steve Jones, Sex Pistols (1955); Stefan Kendal Gordy, aka DJ Redfoo, LMFAO (1975)

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Today in Rock History August 6

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1965, The Beatles released their fifth album in the UK, the soundtrack to Help!, their second film. The US release took place on August 13. The album was produced by George Martin. It contains fourteen songs in its original British form. Seven of these, including the singles “Help!” and “Ticket to Ride”, appeared in the film and took up the first side of the vinyl album. The second side contained seven other releases including “Yesterday.”

1965, Decca records released The Small Faces debut single “Whatcha Gonna Do About It.” It peaked at number 14 on the UK chart, number 28 and Canada, and did not chart in the US.

1966, Paul Revere & the Raiders appeared at the Sports Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

1967, The Who spend two days at  Talentmasters Studio in New York. Al Kooper joins the band on organ to record two versions of “Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand.” One is released in the U.S. on the B-side of  “I Can See For Miles,” while the other remains in the vaults until the 1995 edition of The Who Sell Out. Also recorded is a studio version of “Summertime Blues,” an organ overdub on “Relax,” performed by Pete, and new vocals to replace the guide vocals on “I Can See For Miles.”

1968, The Who perform at the Music Hall in Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin made their one and only appearance in Sacramento, California, playing at Memorial Auditorium.

1970, The 10th National Jazz, Blues and Pop four day Festival was held at Plumpton Racecourse in Sussex, England. Featuring, Family, Groundhogs, Cat Stevens, Deep Purple, Fat Mattress, Yes, Caravan, The Strawbs, Black Sabbath, Wild Angles, Wishbone Ash and Daddy Longlegs.

1970, Steppenwolf, Janis Joplin, Paul Simon, Poco and Johnny Winter all appeared at the Concert For Peace at New York’s Shea Stadium. The concert date coincided with the 25th anniversary of dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

1971, Pink Floyd made their first ever visit to Japan, playing three dates there. The first show was at Seikei Gakuen Jofundai, near Lake Ashi, in Hakone for the Hakone Aphrodite ’71 along with Buffy Sainte Marie, The 1910 Fruit Gum Company, Mops, Strawberry Path, Happenings Four, and several other Japanese acts.

1972, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California.

1973, Stevie Wonder was seriously injured when the car he was riding in crashed into a truck on Interstate 85 near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, leaving him in a coma for four days. The accident also left him without any sense of smell.

1974, Abba scored their first US top ten hit when “Waterloo” went to number six. It was a chart topper in the UK, Norway, The Netherlands, Germany, and Ireland. The Swedish group were also on their first American tour.

1974, CSNY played at the Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts.

1975, The Rolling Stones appeared at the Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia.

1976, Robin Trower performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1977, The Police appeared at The Red Cow, Hammersmith Road in London, admission was 60p ($1.10.)

1977, This week’s UK Top Five singles: No.5 “Fanfare For The Common Man,” ELP. No.4, “Pretty Vacant,” The Sex Pistols. No.3, “Angelo,” Brotherhood Of Man. No.2, “Ma Baker,” Boney M and No.1, “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer.

1978, Aerosmith performed at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey.

1979, Van Halen played at Barton Coliseum, Little Rock, Arkansas.

1980, Fleetwood Mac appeared at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1981, Stevie Nicks released her first solo album Bella Donna which contained four top 40 US hits.  They were “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” a duet with Tom Petty, “Leather and Lace,” with Don Henley, “Edge of Seventeen,” and “After the Glitter Fades.”

1982, Pink Floyd’s The Wall starring Bob Geldof as “Pink”opened in movie theaters in New York. The film was conceived alongside the double album by Roger Waters.

1988, Appetite For Destruction, Guns N’ Roses debut album went to number one in the US, after spending 57 weeks on the chart and selling over 5 million copies. Singles from the album, “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “Welcome to the Jungle,” and “Paradise City” were all US top ten hits. The album is the best-selling debut album of all-time in the US, beating Boston’s debut album Boston, which has gone 17x platinum.

1999, Dick Latvala died aged 56 after being in a coma caused by a heart attack. Latvala worked with The Grateful Dead since the early 80’s looking after their archives of live performances which became a series of Dick’s Picks albums.

2004, Rick James was found dead at his Los Angeles home. Known as “The King of Punk-Funk” James scored the 1981 US number three album Street Songs, and 1981 US number 16 single “Super Freak part 1.” In the late 60’s James worked as a songwriter and producer for Motown, working with Smokey Robinson and The Miracles.

2009, Willy DeVille died at the age of 58 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. The band he formed, Mink Deville, appeared at the legendary CBGB club in New York in the 1970s and scored the 1977 hit “Spanish Stroll.” Doctors discovered he had cancer earlier that year as he was preparing to undergo treatment for Hepatitis C.

Born on August 6: Andy Warhol, (1928); Judy Craig, singer, The Chiffons (1946); Allan Holdsworth, Soft Machine (1948); Pat McDonald, Timbuk 3 (1952); and Randy Debarge, Debarge (1958); Geri Halliwell, Spice Girls (1972)

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