Rock History August 11
1966, At a press conference held at The Astor Towers Hotel in Chicago, John Lennon apologized for his remarks that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.” Lennon told reporters “Look, I wasn’t saying The Beatles are better than God or Jesus, I said “Beatles” because it’s easy for me to talk about The Beatles. I could have said “TV” or “Cinema,” “Motorcars,” or anything popular and would have got away with it…”
1967, The Small Faces, The Move, Marmalade, Paul Jones, Pink Floyd, Amen Corner, Donovan, Zoot Money, Cream, Jeff Beck, John Mayall, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac and The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown all appeared at the UK Reading Festival. An advance 3-day ticket cost £2 ($3.00.) Arthur Brown’s trademark flaming helmet burned out of control and organizer Harold Pendleton’s father-in-law had to douse the flames with a pint of beer.
1967, The Who performed at the Civic Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
1968, Canned Heat played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.
1969, 350 special guests were invited to see Motown Records new signings The Jackson Five play at The Daisy Club in Beverly Hills.
1970, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
1972, Genesis appeared at the opening day of the Reading Festival, along with Curved Air, Jackson Heights, Mungo Jerry, Nazareth, and Steamhammer The event took place at Little John’s Farm in Reading, England.
1972, The mayor of San Antonio declares Cheech & Chong Day.
1975, ZZ Top played at Ellis Auditorium, Memphis, Tennessee.
1976, Aerosmith appeared at the Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut.
1976, A Who show scheduled for the Miami Baseball Stadium has to be cancelled after Keith Moon goes on a drinking and drug binge. It ended with his arrest for destroying his room at the Fontainebleau Hotel and being found in an incoherent state. Who manager Bill Curbishley bails him out. He has Keith immediately put into Hollywood Memorial Hospital in Hollywood, Florida for “psychiatric evaluation.” With the extra time, the other members of The Who remain in Miami enjoying the sun and some deep-sea fishing before heading back to London.
1978, AC/DC performed at Symphony Hall, Atlanta, Georgia.
1979, The Knack started a five-week run at number one on the album chart with Get The Knack.
1979, Led Zeppelin played their last ever UK show (until the London’s 02 Arena shows in November 26, 2007) when they appeared at Knebworth Park, England. Also on the bill, The New Barbarians, Todd Rundgren, Southside Johnny and the Ashbury Dukes, Chas and Dave, and Fairport Convention. Zeppelin’s set list included: The Song Remains The Same, Celebration Day, Black Dog, Nobody’s Fault But Mine, Over The Hills And Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, Hot Dog, The Rain Song, White Summer/Black Mountainside, Kashmir, Trampled Under Foot, Sick Again, Achilles’ Last Stand, In The Evening, Stairway To Heaven, Rock And Roll, Whole Lotta Love and Communication Breakdown
1979, Van Halen appears at Convention Hall, Asbury Park, New Jersey.
1980, Van Halen played at the Lee County Civic Center, North Fort Myers, Florida.
1981, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Paramount Theatre, Portland, Oregon.
1982, The Police appeared at the McGill Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada on their Ghost In The Machine Tour.
1984, Ray Parker, Jr. started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with the theme from the film Ghostbusters. Parker had been a session guitarist for Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. He was accused of plagiarizing the melody from Huey Lewis and the News song “I Want a New Drug.” As a result, Lewis sued Parker. The parties settled the case out of court in 1985.
1987, The Grateful Dead perform at beautiful, rustic, Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, just outside of Denver.
1999, KISS received a star on The Walk Of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard. The band had released over 30 albums and sold over 80 million records world-wide.
2001, Black Sabbath, Linkin Park, Slipknot and Marilyn Manson all appeared at Ozzfest at PNC Bank Arts Centre, New Jersey.
2002, Bruce Springsteen started a two week run at number one on the US album chart with The Rising, the singer’s fifth US chart topper. It was also number in the UK and Canada.
Born on August 11: Mike Hugg, drummer, keyboards, Manfred Mann (1942); Denis Payton, sax, Dave Clark Five (1943); Jim Kale, bass, Guess Who (1943); Eric Carmen (1949); Erik Brann, guitar, Iron Butterfly (1950); Bob Mothersbaugh, guitar, Devo (1952); Joe Jackson (1954); Richie Ramone, drums, Ramones (1957); Jah Wobble, bass, Public Image Ltd, The Damage Manual (1958); Ben Gibbard, singer, Death Cab for Cutie (1976)
Get more Today in Rock History
Aerosmith, Arthur Brown, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Genesis, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Slipknot, The Allman Brothers Band, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, The Jackson Five, The Knack, The Move, The Police, The Small Faces, Van Halen, ZZ Top.
