1964, EMI sends Kit Lambert a letter of rejection for The High Numbers. That was the original band name for The Who. The rejection letter is later included with the Live At Leeds album. Since the reason the group is rejected is their lack of original material, Kit and Chris Stamp set up Pete with […]
Today in Rock History – October 21
1965, Wanting to improve on a previous recording session The Beatles started from scratch on a new song called “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown,”) finishing recordings in three takes. They also begin working on a new John Lennon song “Nowhere Man.” 1965, The Kingsmen perform “Louie Louie” on the ABC television variety show Shindig! […]
Today in Rock History – October 17
1964, Manfred Mann started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Do Wah Diddy Diddy.” It was also a chart topper in the UK. The song was first released by the US group The Exciters. 1967, A 10-date package tour of the UK played the last night at the […]
Today in Rock History – October 14
1965, The Rolling Stones, The Spencer Davis Group, Unit 4 Plus 2, The Checkmates, The Habit, The End and Charlie Dickins all appeared at The Odeon, Birmingham during a UK tour. 1966, Pink Floyd and Soft Machine appeared at the London Free School All Saints Hall, Notting Hill, London. 1966, The Who performed at Queens […]
Today in Rock History – October 12
1965, The Beatles recorded “Run For Your Life” in its entirety, in five takes for their upcoming album Rubber Soul at Abbey Road Studio’s London. John Lennon later admits to lifting two lines from Elvis Presley’s 1955 hit “Baby Let’s Play House.” The group also works on another new Lennon song “This Bird Has Flown,” […]
Today in Rock History – October 11
1962, The Beatles made their first appearance on the UK singles chart with “Love Me Do,” which peaked at number four. 1964, The Who performed at Wolsey Hall, Cheshunt, England. 1967, The Doors appeared at Danbury High School, Danbury, Connecticut. Before the group came on stage, an announcer told the audience not to leave their […]
Today in Rock History – September 29
1967, The Beatles were in Studio Two at Abbey Road in London, mixing the new John Lennon song “I Am the Walrus.” Ringo Starr began tuning a radio, while John inserted a number of random extracts, including portions of a BBC broadcast of William Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” Next, they completed work on “Your Mother Should […]
Today in Rock History – September 28
1968, The Beatles started a nine week run at number one on the singles chart with “Hey Jude.” The Paul McCartney penned tune was about Lennon’s son Julian, and gave the Fab Four their sixteenth chart topper, and the biggest selling single of 1968. 1968, The Rascals went to number one on the album chart […]
Today in Rock History – September 23
1966, The Rolling Stones 66 12-date UK tour kicked off at the Royal Albert Hall London. Supported by The Yardbirds, Ike and Tina Turner, and Peter Jay and the New Jaywalkers. Both Keith Moon and John Entwistle from The Who were in the audience. 1967, The Mothers Of Invention appeared at the Royal Albert Hall […]
Today in Rock History – September 16th
1967, Jimi Hendrix’s debut LP, Are You Experienced? entered the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, where it stayed for 106 weeks, including 77 weeks in the Top 40. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 15 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and two years later it was selected for permanent preservation […]
