InternetFM.com

Hand Curated Radio

You are here: Home / Archives for ZZ Top

ZZ Top

Today in Rock History – January 24

by

Gerry-&-the-Pacemakers-Ferry-Cross-the-Mersey1965, The film Ferry Cross the Mersey premieres at the Liverpool Odeon. It was the first to be shot on location in Liverpool after the city’s emergence into the music mainstream For authenticity, many scenes were shot in clubs near the home of Gerry and the Pacemakers’ frontman Gerry Marsden. Marsden wrote nine new songs for the film which also starred Julie Samuel, Cilla Black, Jimmy Savile, and The Fourmost.

1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at the Marquee Club in London.

1969,  The Beatles work on recording “On Our Way Home,” “Teddy Boy,” “Maggie Mae,” “Dig It,” “Dig A Pony,” and “I’ve Got A Feeling” at the Apple Studios in London.

1969, Jethro Tull played in America for the first time. They open up for Led Zeppelin in New York City.

1969, New Jersey state prosecutors issue a warning to US record dealers that they would be charged with distributing pornography if they were caught selling the John Lennon / Yoko Ono LP Two Virgins. The front cover of the album showed the pair frontally nude, while the back cover showed them from behind. The album still managed to reach number 124 on the US, but failed to chart at all in the UK, where only 5,000 copies were ever pressed.

1969, The Doors played at Madison Square Garden, New York City, They were paid over $50,000 for the gig making them one of the highest paid acts this year.

1970, The Who play in Copenhagen at Det Kunglige Teater. They had been turned down for hotel reservations at the Copenhagen Inn because of that establishment’s policy against “long-haired pop groups.” The Dutch Royal family does not have a problem with The Who’s hair as they attend that night’s show. Due to the cold weather Pete announces their opera as “Tommy On Ice!”

1970, Led Zeppelin appeared at Leeds University, Leeds, England. It was at this show when Zeppelin had a meeting with fine arts lecturer Zacron to discuss their ideas for the album sleeve of the band’s next album, Led Zeppelin III. Zacron, born Richard Drew, had studied at Kingston College of Art with members of the Yardbirds.

1970, The Grateful Dead played  at the Civic Auditorium in Honolulu, Hawaii.

1971, Neil Young performed at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis, Missouri.

1972, Black Sabbath played at Town Hall, Birmingham, England.

1974, Emerson, Lake & Palmer appeared at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia.

1975, Genesis performed The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The show was included in the Genesis box set release.

1976, Bob Dylan started a five-week run at number one on the US album chart with Desire his third US chart topper.

1979, The Clash’s “I Fought the Law” becomes their first single released in the United States.

1979, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys divorced his wife Marilyn after 15 years together. She was a member of the Honeys, and mother of Wendy and Carnie Wilson, who would go on to sing in Wilson-Phillips.

the wall1980, A billboard was erected on Sunset Strip, West Hollywood, California to promote Pink Floyd’s new album The Wall. A blank wall was pasted up and each day a brick was ‘removed’ to slowly reveal the inside spread and title of the album.

1982, ZZ Top appeared at the Huntington Civic Center, Huntington, West Virginia.

1984, Eric Clapton performed at the Teatro Tenda Lampugnano, Milan, Italy.

1992, Nirvana played their first ever show in Australia at the Phoenician Club in Sydney. Also on the bill, Tumbleweed and The Meanies.

1998, Oasis went to number one on the UK singles chart with “All Around The World.” The longest running-time for a UK chart topper with a total duration of 9 minutes 38 seconds. It was one of the first songs to be written by Noel Gallagher.

2007, Record producer Dave Shayman, also known as Disco D, was found dead at his home in New York City. 26-year-old Shayman was famous for his production work on hip hop records and was a rising star in the business. His death was being treated as a potential suicide after he was recently diagnosed with manic depression.

2008, Amy Winehouse was admitted into rehab in a battle to kick her addiction to drugs. A statement from her record company, Universal said she entered the facility “after talks with her record label, management, family and doctors to continue her ongoing recovery against drug addiction.”

Born on this day: Zeke Carey, singer, The Flamingos (1933); Aaron Neville (1941);  Neil Diamond (1941); Ray Stevens (1941); Warren Zevon (1947) and John Belushi (1949); Jools Holland, founding member of Squeeze and British TV presenter (1955)

Link to Today in Rock History archive.

Today in Rock History – January 22

by

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)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – January 8

by

beatles_rs1966, The Beatles started a six week run at number one on the album chart with Rubber Soul, the group’s seventh chart topper, which went on to spend 56 weeks on the chart. The group also started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “We Can Work It Out” the group’s 11th number one single.

1966, ABC broadcasts the last ever episode of pop music program Shindig! The Kinks and the Who see off the twice-weekly show in explosive fashion.

1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at the Mojo Club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.

1968, David Gilmour rehearsed for the first time with Pink Floyd prior to recording and touring commitments.

1968, The Who appear at Silver Blades Ice Rink in Bristol, England. Twelve months before, the band had sold out the Locarno Ballroom next door. This time, however, their British popularity has sunk to such a degree that the much smaller ice rink is only two-thirds full.

1969, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were both barred from an exclusive hotel for wearing “op art” pants and nothing else. They were both asked to leave the Hotel Crillen in Lima, Peru after refusing to change clothes.

1970, Led Zeppelin appeared at Colston Hall in Bristol, England.

1971, Black Sabbath played at Town Hall in Birmingham, West Midlands, England.

1971, Yes played at Stadsschouwburg in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

1972, The New Seekers were at number one on the singles chart with “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing, (in Perfect Harmony”). The song started as a Coca Cola TV ad. It originally included the line, “I’d like to buy the world a Coke.”

1973, Yoko Ono releases Approximately Infinite Universe, a double album whose highlights include songs like “I Felt Like Smashing My Face in a Clear Glass Window.” Ono explains she felt she should make a double LP because “if George Harrison can put out a triple album, then I can put out a double album.”

1974, KISS is signed to its first recording contract. KISS drum up some press by performing a “dress rehearsal” shortly after signing to Casablanca Records and honing their circus/glam/carnival style image. Rolling Stone‘s reporter says, “The group plays very heavy, loud and ultimately monotonous rock in the Black Sabbath tradition. … A sure crowd-pleaser. The crowds of kiddies, that is.”

1975, Tickets for three Led Zeppelin concerts at Madison Square Garden go on sale. The box office has to call on other ticket outlets to help cope with demand and sells out their 60,000 tickets in four hours.

1976, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

Queen-A-Day-at-Races1977, Queen went to number one on the album chart with A Day At The Races.

1979, Canadian rock band Rush were named the country’s official Ambassadors Of Music by the Canadian government.

1983, ZZ Top appeared at the Riverside Centroplex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

1991, Steve Clark guitarist with Def Leppard, was found dead at his Chelsea flat by his girlfriend, after a night of heavy alcohol consumption combined with prescription drugs. The autopsy revealed he had died from an overdose of codeine and had Valium, morphine and a blood alcohol level of .30, three times the British legal driving limit.

1994, Jamaican reggae/rap (ragga) duo Chaka Demus and Pliers were at number one in the UK with their version of “Twist And Shout.” The song was originally recorded by the Top Notes, and produced by Phil Spector in 1961, and then covered by The Isley Brothers. It was also covered by The Beatles on their first album Please Please Me.

2006, The Strokes went to number one on the UK chart with First Impressions Of Earth the band’s third album and first chart topper.

2016, American blues and soul singer Otis Clay died aged 73. Clay, who started in gospel music, scored R&B hits in the late 60’s and 70’s. His biggest hit was a cover of version of the Sir Douglas Quintet song, “She’s About A Mover,” which reached #97 on the pop charts.

2016, David Bowie released his twenty-fifth and final studio album, Blackstar, coinciding with his 69th birthday and two days before his death. It became his first and only album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in the US.

Born on January 8: Elvis Presley (1935); Shirley Bassey, singer (1937); Lee Jackson, The Nice (1943); Robbie Kreiger, The Doors (1946);  David Bowie (1947); Paul Hester, drums, Crowded House (1959); Dave Weckl, American drummer (1960); R. Kelly, singer, writer, producer (1969)

Link to Today in Rock History archive.

Today in Rock History – December 30

by

kinks-shindig-19651965, The Kinks, The Who, Manfred Man, The Hollies and Gerry and the Pacemakers all appeared on the TV pop show Shindig!

1966, Pink Floyd and Soft Machine played at the UFO presents Night Tripper at the Blarney Club, London, England.

1967, John Lee Hooker performed at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1967, The Beatles scored their 15th number one with “Hello Goodbye.” Gladys Knight and the Pips were at number two with “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” and The Monkees in the third spot with “Daydream Believer.”

1968, Led Zeppelin appeared at Gonzaga University Gymnasium, Spokane on their first North American tour supporting Vanilla Fudge.

1969, Peter Tork quit The Monkees, buying himself out of his contract, which left him broke.

1969, Yes played at the Van Dike Club, Plymouth, England.

1971, Hawkwind appeared at Public Hall, Wallington, London.

1972, Seventh Sojourn by the Moody Blues is the number one album entering the final week of the year.  It resided for five weeks there until being knocked off by Carly Simon’s “No Secrets.”

1972, Brownsville Station, Sha-Na-Na and Bruce Springsteen (who was the opening act), all appeared at the Ohio Theatre, Columbus, Ohio.

1974, Wishbone Ash and Brownsville Station played at Palmer auditorium at Palmer Junior College in Davenport, Iowa.

1975, Aerosmith performed at the Sports Arena in San Diego, California.

1976, Elvis Presley appeared at the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta.

1977, Rush played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

elp-live1978, Emerson Lake and Palmer announced their official break up.

1980, Molly Hatchett played at the Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida.

1982, ZZ Top appeared at the Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona.

1985, The Grateful Dead performed at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, in Oakland, California.

1986, Members of the Neville Brothers sat in during the second set of the Grateful Dead’s concert at the  Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, California.

1999,  Former Beatle George Harrison is stabbed four times in the chest during an attempted robbery early in the morning at his home at Henley-Upon-Thames, near London. The 56-year-old musician and his wife Olivia struggle with the intruder and are able to subdue him until the authorities arrive.

2002, The funeral of former Clash singer and guitarist Joe Strummer took place in London. Strummer had died of a suspected heart attack on Dec 22nd, aged 50.

2012, A rare copy of a Beatles LP signed by all four members sold for the sum rejected at auction in Sussex a few weeks earlier. Chris Collins, from Eastbourne, and his sister, Liz Chambers, from Worthing, initially turned down a £12,000 for a copy of the album, Please Please Me. They had hoped to get £15,000 for the LP, which was given to their late father during a drinking session. However, the siblings later accepted the £12,000 from private buyers. The album cover was signed by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, after they used it as a drink coaster during a card game in 1963.

Born on this December 30: Bo Diddley (1928); Del Shannon (1934); Kenny Penifallo, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes (1940); Michael Nesmith (1942) Davy Jones (1945): Patti Smith (1946); Clive Bunker, drummer, Jethro Tull (1946); Jeff Lynne, ELO (1947);  Jon Theodore, The Mars Volta,  Queens of the Stone Age (1973)

Today in Rock History – December 29

by

Jimi Hendrix-19661966, The Jimi Hendrix Experience made their debut on the UK TV show Top Of The Pops performing “Hey Joe.”

1966, Working at Abbey Road studios, London, Paul McCartney began work on his new song “Penny Lane,”recording six takes on the paino, then added a second piano, put through a Vox amplifier with vibrato and reverb to create various percussion effects. Penny Lane is a neighborhood in the Beatles’ hometown of Liverpool, as well as a street, and a bus station through which Paul used to travel in order to get to John Lennon’s house.

1966, Pink Floyd and Syn, featuring bassist Chris Squire, who would later became a member of Yes, appeared at The Marquee, Wardour Street, London, England. As well as Pink Floyd, a list of the biggest selling acts in the world who appeared at The Marquee would include AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Rolling Stones.

1967, Wilson Pickett performed at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1967, British guitarist and singer Dave Mason quit Traffic after differences of musical opinion. Mason wrote “Hole in My Shoe,” a psychedelic pop song that became a hit for Traffic in 1967.

1968, Led Zeppelin appeared at the Civic Auditorium, Portland on their first North American tour, opening for Vanilla Fudge

1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono have a session with Canadian hypnotists Hammrick & Leonard. The couple are trying to stop smoking.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1972, Roxy Music performed at the Cumberland Auditorium, Fayetteville, North Carolina.

1973,  Jim Croce scored his second number one US single of the year when ‘Time In A Bottle’ went to the top of the charts. Croce was killed in a plane crash on 29th September 1973.

elton-john-lucy-sky-diamonds1974, Number one chart toppers pop hit: “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” Elton John. The John Lennon-Paul McCartney song first appeared on the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967.

1974, Lynyrd Skynyrd played at the Barton Coliseum, Little Rock, Arkansas.

1975, Grace Slick divorces her Jefferson Airplane bandmate Paul Kantner.

1977, Rush appeared at  Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1979, ZZ Top played at the Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas.

1980, Tim Hardin dies from a heroin overdose just six days after his 39th birthday. Although he wrote Rod Stewart’s hit “Reason to Believe” and “If I Were a Carpenter,” which was a hit for both Bobby Darin and the Four Tops, he had not recorded an album of his own since 1973.

1982, Sets of commemorative stamps in memory of Bob Marley were issued in Jamaica.

1983, Aerosmith performed at the Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, Maine.

1984, The Grateful Dead play at the Civic Center, in San Francisco.

1999, UK music paper The Melody Maker published it’s Music of the Millennium Poll of albums, placing The Smiths’ The Queen Is Dead at number one.

2010, Pollstar reported that Bon Jovi were the highest earning touring act of the year, taking in over $200 million (£130.7m.) Australian rockers AC/DC landed at number two for the second year in a row, with tickets sales from their recent trek totaling $177m (£115m.) U2, which was the top worldwide act in 2009, came in at third place, with ticket sales totaling $160.9m (£104.6m.) Lady Gaga followed in fourth place, with Metallica at number five.

2011, Robert Lee Dickey, who performed as Bobby Purify in the ’60s Soul duo James And Bobby Purify, passed away at the age of 72. The pair are most often remembered for their 1966, Billboard Top 10 hit, “I’m Your Puppet.”

2012, According to sales data, Adele’s 21 had overtaken Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? to become the UK’s fourth biggest selling album of all-time. Latest data confirmed that, Oasis’ 1995 second album had sold 4,555,000 copies to date, while Adele’s 21 has surged ahead with sales of over 4,562,000 copies. The news came just over a year since 21 overtook Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black to become the UK’s biggest selling album of the 21st Century.

Born on December 29: Ray Thomas , Moody Blues (1942); Rick Danko, The Band (1943); Maryanne Faithfull (1946); Cozy Powell, drummer (1947); Yvonne Elliman, singer (1951); Neil Giraldo, Pat Benatar group (1955); Jim Reid, guitar, singer, The Jesus and Mary Chain (1961); Mark Day, guitar, Happy Mondays (1961); Dexter Holland, singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Offspring (1965); Glen Phillips,  singer-songwriter and guitarist Toad the Wet Sprocket (1970)

Link to Today in Rock History archive.

Today in Rock History – December 28

by

Graham-Nash-joni-Mitchell-Richie-Havens-1968
Graham Nash, Joni Mitchell, and Richie-Havens at the Miami Pop Festival – December-1968. Photo © Bill Mankin. Used by special permission. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited. From original article, “We Can All Join In: How Rock Festivals Helped Change America”.

1968, The three day Miami Pop Festival took place, the first major rock festival held on the East Coast of the US, with Chuck Berry, The McCoys, Joni Mitchell, Fleetwood Mac, Marvin Gaye, The Turtles, The Box Tops, Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, Pacific Gas and Electric, Procol Harum, Canned Heat, Iron Butterfly and The Grateful Dead. 100,000 people attended the event.

1968, The Beatles went to number one on the album chart with the White Album, the group’s 12th US chart topping album.

1968, Pink Floyd appeared at the two day festival Flight To Lowlands Paradise II, Margriethal-Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, The Netherlands, replacing Jimi Hendrix. Other acts appearing included Jethro Tull, Jeff Beck, The Pretty Things and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.

1968, Vanilla Fudge appeared at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada supported by Led Zeppelin on their first US tour.

1968,  The Rolling Stones enter the UK charts at number three with Beggars Banquet.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Fillmore East, New York.

1970, Genesis performed at the Lyceum Ballroom in London.

1971,  Sha Na Na performed at Carnegie Hall. The MC for the event is the Who’s Keith Moon, one of their biggest fans.

1971, George Harrison was at number on the US singles chart with “My Sweet Lord,” making him the first Beatle to score a number one US hit. The song was originally intended for Billy Preston.

1972, David Bowie appeared at The Hardrock, Stretford, Manchester, England on his Ziggy Stardust tour.

1972, Roxy Music played at the Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina.

1973, Queen performed at the Top Rank Club in Liverpool, England.

1974, Helen Reddy went to number one on the US singles chart with “Angie Baby,” the singer’s third US chart topper. The song was turned down by Cher.

1975, “Saturday Night” by Bay City Rollers tops the pop charts.

1976, Freddie King, bluesman, guitarist died of complications from stomach ulcers and acute pancreatitis in Dallas, Texas, aged 42. He is best known for the 1961 single “Have You Ever Loved A Woman,” covered by Eric Clapton with Derek and the Dominos.

stones-Some-Girls1978, Rolling Stone magazine voted Some Girls by The Rolling Stones their “Album of the Year.” The cover designed by Peter Corriston, featured The Rolling Stones in garish drag alongside select female celebrities and lingerie ads. The cover immediately ran into trouble when Lucille Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Liza Minnelli, representing her mother Judy Garland, Raquel Welch, and the estate of Marilyn Monroe, who all threatened legal action.

1978, Rush performed at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario.

1979, The Who appeared at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

1980, ZZ Top played at the Riverside Centroplex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Civic Center, Dothan, Alabama.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1982, Siouxsie & the Banshees played at Hammersmith Odeon, London.

1983, Having made two successful dives below a friend’s yacht to find items he’d drunkenly thrown off his own boat three years before, Beach Boy Dennis Wilson took one last dive into the Pacific and never returned from the boat moored in Marina Del Rey, California. With the help of President Ronald Reagan he was given a burial at sea, normally reserved for Naval personnel. Dennis was the only genuine surfer in The Beach Boys.

1988, The Grateful Dead performed at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California.

1991, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana and Pearl Jam all appeared at Del Mar O’Brien Pavilion, San Diego, California.

1998, UK radio station BBC Radio 1 aired the 100 National Anthems, songs voted by listeners. At number 5, Radiohead, “Creep,” number 4, Underworld “Born Slippy,” number 3 The Verve “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” number two, Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” number one, Massive Attack, “Unfinished Sympathy.”

2002, Disgraced rock star Gary Glitter was deported from Cambodia after spending two nights in jail over suspected sex offenses.

2003, 50 Cent’s debut album, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ was named the biggest selling album in the US in 2003 with the album going platinum six times over. Outkast came second with Speakerboxxx’ / ‘The Love Below and Linkin Park’s Meteora was the third biggest seller. The Top 10 albums of 2003 in the USA accounted for around 30 million sales.

Born on December 28: Roebuck “Pop” Staples (1915); Johnny Otis (1921); Charles Neville, sax, The Neville Brothers (1938); Edgar Winter (1946); Dick Diamonde, The Easybeats (1947); Mary Weiss, singer, The Shangri-Las (1948); Alex Chilton, Box Tops (1950); Hugh McDonald,  bass, Bon Jovi (1950); John Legend (1978)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – December 23

by

brian-wilson-19641964, During a US tour Beach Boy Brian Wilson had a nervous breakdown during a flight from Los Angeles to Houston. Wilson left the band to concentrate on writing and producing. Glen Campbell replaced Wilson for the bands live shows.

1964, Radio London, one of England’s first offshore “pirate” radio stations, begins broadcasting. Ella Fitzgerald’s recording of “Can’t Buy Me Love” hits the English charts at number 34. It’s the first time a Beatles cover has become a hit there.

1964,  Number one Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “I Feel Fine,” The Beatles. This song is the 30th by the group to hit Chart Toppers’s Hot 100 in 1964, the most songs in one year by any group.

1966, The UFO Club opens in London’s Tottenham Court Road. With Pink Floyd as the club’s house band, the venue becomes a hive of psychedelic activity.

1966, ITV (Redifusion) broadcasts Ready, Steady Go! for the last time, after the Musicians Union enforced a ban on miming. The special guests for the farewell show were Mick Jagger, The Who, Eric Burdon, The Spencer Davis Group, Donovan and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.

1967, Buffalo Springfield performs at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

1967, John Lennon writes a get-well-soon letter to his estranged father Alfred, who has taken ill. Lennon also sends Alfred a car so that he can visit his son at Weybridge, England. However, his magnum opus “I Am the Walrus” only struggles to No. 56 in the American singles charts today.

1967, Cream played at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan.

1969, Hawkwind appears at Town Hall in the St.Pancras neighborhood in London.

1970, The Grateful Dead perform an acoustic set at Winterland Auditorium to raise money for their pal Owsley “The Bear” Stanley’s legal issues.  Also on the bill, Hot Tuna and the New Riders of the Purple Sage. The show was promoted as a benefit for “the Montessori School & The Bear.”

1971,  Hawkwind performed at Seymour Hall, London.

1972, The Who’s newest single, “Relay” backed with “Waspman,” is released in Britain. It is The Who’s last stand-alone single not pulled from an album. Tony Stewart reviews “Relay” for New Musical Express, “Why don’t this band ever fail? Simply because they’re the guv’nors in rock ‘n roll. And this composition by Pete Townshend must be their best single to date. It’s a calculated time-structure piece and not an all-out rocker, thus giving Big John and Keith room to prove their feel and expertise, as well as allowing Roger to use the full force and range of his voice. There’s an unforgettable chorus line, and some neat guitar lines hitting out. I do believe they’ve done it again.” It peaks at #21 in the U.K. charts.

1972, David Bowie appeared at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

1972, Former Grand Funk Railroad manager Terry Knight arrived during a concert by the band with a court order to seize $1m in money or assets. Police inform the ex manager that he couldn’t take anything until after the show.

1973, The Who played at the Sundown in Edmonton, North London.

1974, George Harrison releases one of his rare Christmas records, “Ding Dong, Ding Dong.” It fails to crack the top 30.

1975, The Who played at the Hammersmith Odeon, London.

1976, AC/DC appeared at Miami High School Great Hall, Gold Coast, Australia.

cat-stevens1977, English singer-songwriter, Cat Stevens formally changed his name to Yusef Islam.

1979, ZZ Top played at El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas.

1984, Aerosmith appeared at the Orange County Civic Center, Orlando, Florida.

1985, Pete Townshend performed at the Dominion Theatre, London.

1989, Phil Collins started a four week run at number one on the US singles chart with ‘Another Day In Paradise’, his 7th US solo chart topper. It was taken from his number one album …But Seriously. “Another Day in Paradise” was written to bring attention to the problem of homelessness.

1999, George Harrison’s home in Maui in the Hawaiian Islands was broken into by Cristin Keleher, who cooked a frozen pizza, drank beer from the fridge, started some laundry and phoned her mother in New Jersey. Keleher was arrested and charged with burglary and theft.

2002, Sir Paul McCartney was granted his own coat of arms by the College of Arms, the English heraldic body formed in 1484. The crest featured a bird that appeared to be holding a guitar in its claw. The motto is “Ecce Cor Meum”, Latin for ‘Behold My Heart’, which is the title of an oratorio he composed.

2005, Geezer Butler, the bass player with Black Sabbath offered £5,000 for any information leading to the safe return of Toga, the three-month-old penguin that had been stolen from a zoo on the Isle of Wight a few days earlier.

2007, The Police were named as the highest earning touring group for the year, bringing in nearly £66.5m, ($132m). The band’s 54-date North American tour had generated almost double the total of the second-placed act, country star Kenny Chesney.

Born on December 23:  Jorma Kaukonen, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna (1940); Ron Bushy, Iron Butterfly (1941); Tim Hardin (1941); Ariel Bender, Mott the Hoople;  Adrian Belew, King Crimson (1949); Luther Grosvenor, Spooky Tooth  (1949); Dave Murray, guitar, Iron Maiden (1958); and Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam (1964)

Link to Today in Rock History archive

Today in Rock History – December 14

by

1967, Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones was rushed to St Georges hospital in London after collapsing. A doctor reported Jones was tired and suffering from over strain and was also recovering from having some teeth out.

1968, Deep Purple played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Marvin Gaye scored his first number one single when “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” started a five-week run at the top. It was Marvin’s 15th solo hit. The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1966, the single was first recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, as well as Gladys Knight & the Pips.

1969, The Jackson Five made their first network television appearance when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1970, Grand Funk Railroad performed at Park Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1971, The Grateful Dead were in Ann Arbor, Michigan where they played at Hill Auditorium.

1972, Born To Boogie,  the Ringo Starr directed movie premiered in London. The film was based around a concert at Wembley Empire Pool, London, England starring Ringo Starr, Marc Bolan and T. Rex, and was released on The Beatles’ Apple Films label.

1972, Fleetwood Mac appeared at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1973, Bruce Springsteen appeared at the Pinecrest Country Club, Shelton, Connecticut. Only 200 tickets were sold for the show.

1973, Roger Daltrey of The Who performs the second of two nights as Tommy in the second all-star concert version of the orchestral Tommy at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

1974, Pink Floyd played the last show of the 1974 British Winter Tour at the Hippodrome in Bristol. These shows were notable for the concert debut of “You Gotta Be Crazy,” an early version of “Dogs” that would subsequently appear on the Animals album.

1975, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1976, AC/DC played at the Civic Centre, Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia.

1978, Rush appeared at the International Amphitheater, Chicago.

1979, ZZ Top performed at Freedom Hall Civic Center, Johnson City, Tennessee.

1980, Yoko Ono called on fans to observe ten minutes of silence in memory of John Lennon. 30,000 gathered outside St George’s Hall in Liverpool, while nearly 100,000 attend a memorial in New York’s Central Park.

1981, During their Ghost In The Machine World Tour, The Police played the first of three sold out nights at Wembley Arena, London, England.

1985, Whitney Houston scored her first UK number one single with “Saving All My Love For You.” The song, which was written by Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin, had been a minor hit for Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. in 1978, and was also a US chart topper for Houston.

1991, Michael Jackson started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with his eighth studio album Dangerous. The album has sold over 32 million copies worldwide making it one of the best selling albums of all time. Nine singles were released from the album spanning two years (1991–1993).

1999, Sir Paul McCartney appeared at The Cavern Club Liverpool, where his last gig at the venue was in 1963. The show was filmed for TV and also went out live on the Internet.

2003, Ozzy & Kelly Osbourne went to number one on the UK singles chart with “Changes,” a remake of a track first sung by Ozzy on the Black Sabbath album Volume IV in 1972. It was the first father and daughter chart topper since Frank & Nancy Sinatra in 1967.

2004, The funeral took place in Arlington, Texas for Damageplan and Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, Eddie Van Halen, placed Darrell’s original black and yellow stripes guitar into the Kiss Kasket he was buried in. Several thousand fans and friends gathered at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, to mourn the guitarist’s death. Darrell was shot five times in the back of the head during a gig at the Alrosa Villa Club in Columbus on 8th Dec 04 by a mentally ill former US Marine. Damageplan’s drum technician, John Brooks, and tour manager, Chris Paluska, were both injured in the incident.

Born on this day:  Charlie Rich (1932); Frank Allen, The Searchers (1943); Jackie McAuley, Them (1946);  Mike Scott, singer, songwriter, The Waterboys (1958); Tim Skold, bass, Marilyn Manson (1966)

Link to the Today in Rock History archive

Today in Rock History – November 27

by

1964, The Beatles release their single “I Feel Fine” in the U.K. and perform on the British TV show Ready Steady Go! Beatles manager Brian Epstein denies US reports that he will sell his contract with the band “at any price.”

1965, The Who’s “My Generation” reaches its UK peak at number two, being beaten out of first place by The Seekers’ “The Carnival Is Over.”The Who play the London School of Economics.

1965, Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass went to number one on the album chart with Whipped Cream & Other Delights.

1966, The New Vaudeville Band were at number one on the US singles chart with “Winchester Cathedral.” It reached number four in the UK.

1967, during a UK tour Jimi Hendrix appeared at the Whitla Hall, Queen’s College in Belfast, playing two shows in one evening. His only appearance in Ireland.

1968, Pink Floyd performed at Keele University in Newcastle-under-Lyme, England. The set list was Astronomy Domine, Flaming, Careful With That Axe Eugene, Interstellar Overdrive, Let There Be More Light, Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun, A Saucerful of Secrets.

1969, during a North American tour The Rolling Stones played the first of four shows at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The group played to 55,000 fans over the four nights grossing over $100,000.  Ike and Tina Turner were the supporting act, and a “very drunk, very stoned” Janis Joplin join Tina onstage for a duet during their performance.

1970, George Harrison released All Things Must Pass. The triple album included a number of songs that were left over from Beatles sessions, the set would go on to be certified six times Platinum by the RIAA, making it the best selling album by a solo Beatle.

1970, Black Sabbath, Cactus and Steel Mill, (featuring Bruce Springsteen) all appeared at the Sunshine Inn, Asbury Park in New Jersey. All three acts played two shows, tickets cost $5.00 (£3.13.)

1971, Led Zeppelin IV enters the Billboard albums chart at number 36. Jimmy Page remembers, “We all had a good laugh when the record went into the charts and they had to reproduce the symbols instead of a conventional title.”

1972, King Crimson played at Winter Gardens, Malvern, England.

1973, Hank Snow’s guitarist Jimmy Widener was shot dead, his body was dumped in an alley.

1974, George Harrison performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1975, Rush appeared at the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville, North Carolina.

1976, Rod Stewart played the first night of a UK tour at  Belle Vue Kings Hall in Manchester.

1977, Yes performed at Stadthalle, Bremmen, Germany.

1978, Genesis appeared at Shinjuku Kosei Nenkin Hall, Tokyo.

1979, Aerosmith played at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1980, ZZ Top performed at Municipal Auditorium, Mobile, Alabama.

1981, The British Phonographic industry placed advertisements in the press claiming that “home taping was wiping out music.” The Boomtown Rats, 10cc, Elton John and Cliff Richard all backed the campaign.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band and the Grateful Dead cancel a show at Orlando’s Tangerine Bowl because only 10,000 tickets have been sold to the 60,000-seat arena.

1982, Lionel Richie was number one in the US with “Truly.” Richie achieved a remarkable number one each year from 1978-1986 as a writer. In order they were “Three Times A Lady,” “Still,”  “Lady “(for Kenny Rodgers,) “Endless Love” (for Diana Ross,) “All Night Long,” “Hello,” “Say You Say Me,” and as co-writer of “We Are The World.”

1986, Bon Jovi were at number one on the US singles chart with “You Give Love A Bad Name.” It peaked at number 14 in the UK. The song was released as the first single from the album Slippery When Wet, in 2009, and it was named the 20th-greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.

1991, Freddie Mercury’s funeral service was conducted by a Zoroastrian priest, for 35 of his close friends and family, with Elton John and the remaining members of Queen among those in attendance. Mercury was cremated at Kensal Green Cemetery, West London, England.

1994, Rod Stewart and the Faces appeared at The Odeon, Lewisham, London, England. Paul and Linda McCartney both joined the band on stage for a few numbers.

1996, Former Stones Roses guitarist John Squires new band The Seahorses made their live debut, when they played at The Buckley Tivoli, England in front of 200 fans.

2003, Figures released by The Rolling Stones showed that the band had grossed £175 ($280) million from their 2002 40 Licks World Tour. The report also showed they had made over $1 billion (£625 million) from 1989-2002 from royalties, album sales and tour revenue.

2005, Multimillionaire defense contractor David H. Brooks booked New York’s Rainbow Rooms and his daughter Elizabeth’s favorite acts for her Bat Mitzvah celebration. The stars who appeared included 50 Cent, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Stevie Nicks. 50 Cent, who was paid $500,000 to appear, performed only four songs, but he did manage to work in the lyric, “Go shorty, it’s your bat miztvah, we gonna party like it’s your bat mitzvah.” The party cost an estimated $10 (£6.25) million, including the price of corporate jets to ferry the performers to and from the venue.

Born on November 27: Eddie Rabbit (1941); Jimi Hendrix (1942);  Randy Brecker (1945); and Mike Bordin, drummer, Faith No More (1962)

Link to Today in Rock History archive.

Today in Rock History – November 25

by

Jimi Hendrix-19661966, Jimi Hendrix is introduced to the British press when The Experience play London’s Bag O’Nails club.

1967, The Who play the first of two nights at The Village Theatre in New York City. The Vagrants, with guitarist Leslie West, and The Rich Kids open for them.

1967, Spirit, Country Joe & the Fish, and Moby Grape perform at the Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1968, Yes plays at the Revolution Club, London.

1969, The Rolling Stones appeared at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1969, John Lennon returned his MBE to The Queen on the grounds of the UK’s involvement in the Nigeria Biafra war, America in Vietnam, and against his latest single “Cold Turkey” slipping down the charts.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appears at the National Guard Armory, Birmingham, Alabama.

1970, Pink Floyd performed at Friedrich Ebert Halle, Ludwigshafen, Germany.

1971, The Doors announce they will carry on, even without Jim Morrison, who died earlier in the year.

1972, Chuck Berry was at number one on the UK singles chart with “My Ding a-Ling,” his only UK chart topper.

1972, London’s Rainbow Theater cancels the premiere of Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii after the theater owner and the promoter could not come to terms.

1973, The Grateful Dead perform at Feyline Field in Tempe, Arizona.

1974, UK singer, songwriter Nick Drake died in his sleep aged 26 of an overdose of tryptasol, an anti-depressant drug. Drake signed to Island Records when he was twenty years old, recorded the classic 1972 album Pink Moon. In 2000, Volkswagen featured the title track from Pink Moon in a television advertisement, and within a month Drake had sold more records than he had in the previous thirty years.

1974, Genesis played at Allen Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio.

1975, The Who perform at the Murphy Centre, on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.

band-last-waltz1976, The Band made their final performance as The Last Waltz. The show also featured Joni Mitchell, Dr John, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton and others. Martin Scorsese filmed the event.

1977, Aerosmith played at the Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas.

1978, The Police appeared at The Electric Ballroom in London, England.

1978, Eric Clapton played at City Hall, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England.

1979, Fleetwood Mac performs at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1979, ZZ Top appeared at Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee.

1980, Black Sabbath plays at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney, Australia.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Jefferson Coliseum, Birmingham, Alabama.

1984, The cream of the British pop world gathered at S.A.R.M. Studios, London to record the historic “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The single, which was written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, featured Paul Young, Bono, Boy George, Sting and George Michael. It went on to sell over three million copies in the UK, becoming the bestselling record ever, and raised over £8 million ($13.6 million) worldwide.

1992, The Bodyguard, opened nation-wide featuring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. The film which was Houston’s acting debut was written by Lawrence Kasdan in the 1970s, originally as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross. It became the second-highest-grossing film worldwide in 1992 with the soundtrack becoming the best-selling soundtrack of all time, selling more than 42 million copies.

1993, Pete’s Townshend’s musical version of Hughes’ children’s’ story The Iron Man opens in London for a short run. David Thacker is the Production Director, while Anthony Castro serves as the Music Director.

1996, A statue in Montreux, Switzerland by sculptor Irena Sedlecka was erected as a tribute to Freddie Mercury.  It was unveiled by Freddie’s father and Montserrat Caballé, with bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor also in attendance. The statue stands almost 10 feet (3m) high overlooking Lake Geneva.

2001, American country music artist Garth Brooks went to number one on the US album chart with his ninth studio album Scarecrow, the last album by Brooks before his ten-year hiatus.

2007, Kevin Dubrow, the frontman with metal band Quiet Riot, was found dead in his Las Vegas home at the age of 52. Their 1983 release Metal Health was the first metal album to top the US charts. The band’s biggest hit was “Cum on Feel the Noize,” a cover of the Slade song which they are said to have grudgingly recorded in just one take.

2011, Don DeVito, a longtime Columbia Records executive who produced the key Bob Dylan albums Blood on the Tracks and Desire, died aged 72 after a sixteen-year battle with prostate cancer. DeVito had also worked with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Aerosmith. DeVito started off as a guitarist touring for Al Kooper, and had his own band, The Sabres, which later broke up mid-tour. According to Columbia, DeVito was stranded in Fort Smith, Arkansas, when he happened to meet Johnny Cash and developed what would become a lifelong friendship. Cash would later introduce DeVito to Dylan.

2012, Earl “Speedo” Carroll, lead vocalist for the doo-wop group The Cadillacs, died in a nursing home in New York at the age of 75, following a stroke.. The group’s biggest hit was “Speedoo,” Carroll’s subsequent nickname. It was released in 1955. Carroll also had diabetes.

Born on November 25: Percy Sledge (1940); Bev Bevan, drummer The Move, Electric Light Orchestra (1950); Steve Rothery, guitar, Marillion (1959); Amy Grant (1960); Mark Lanegan, Screaming Trees, The Gutter Twins (1964); Rodney Sheppard, guitar, Sugar Ray (1967)

Link to Today in Rock History archive.