Rock History August 26
1965, The Byrds appeared at the Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood, California.
1965, Sonny & Cher were at number one on the UK singles chart with “I Got You Babe,” the duo’s only British chart topper. Sonny Bono was inspired to write the song to capitalize on the popularity of the term “babe,” as heard in Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe.”
1967, Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull joined up with The Beatles in Bangor North Wales to seek guidance from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
1967, Small Faces, Move, The Gass, Tomorrow, Denny Laine, Jeff Beck, Eric Burdon and Marmalade all appeared on the first day of the 3-day non-stop happening “Festival of the Flower Children” at Woburn Abbey, England.
1967, The Beatles held a press conference at University College in Bangor, North Wales with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The Beatles announced that they had become disciples of the guru and that they renounced the use of drugs. The four had become members of the Maharishi’s “Spiritual Regeneration Movement”, which obligated them to donate one week’s earnings each month to the organization.
1969, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young play the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles.
1970, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, (his last ever UK appearance), Donovan, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Arrival, Cactus, Family, Taste, Mungo Jerry, ELP, The Doors, The Who, Spirit, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone and Free all appeared over three days at the third Isle Of Wight Festival.
1970, The Allman Brothers Band perform at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Florida.
1971, The Grateful Dead appear at Gaelic Park in the Bronx, New York.
1973, Genesis headlines the closing day of the Reading Jazz, Blues, and Rock Festival. Tickets cost £2.20
1973, 10cc made their live debut at the Palace Lido Isle of Man at the start of an UK tour. Comprising of Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who had written and recorded together for some three years before assuming the 10cc name.
1974, Rush plays at The Agora in Cleveland, Ohio.
1976, AC/DC appear at the Marquee Club, London.
1977, Uriah Heep, Thin Lizzy, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Golden Earing, Aerosmith, Doobie Brothers, Hawkwind, Racing Cars, John Miles, Graham Parker, The Enid, No Dice and Frankie Miller’s Full House all appeared at the 17th three day Reading Festival, England.
1978, Frankie Valli went to number one on the singles chart with the Barry Gibb song “Grease”. It went on to sell over two million copies in the US.
1978, Fleetwood Mac, The Cars, Todd Rundgren, Bob Welsh and Eddie Money all appeared at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio.
1988, Day one at the three day Reading Festival featuring Iggy Pop, Starship, Squeeze, Ramones, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Hothouse Flowers, Deacon Blue, Quireboys, Broken English, three day ticket £24, an increase of nearly £20 from the 1973 festival price.
1995, Blur scored their first UK chart topping single with “Country House” and won a media battle with Oasis for the number one position. Both acts released their new singles on the same day.
2000, Allen Woody former bass player with The Allman Brothers Band and co-founder of Gov’t Mule was found dead in New York at the age of 44.
2005, Green Day were named best band on the planet at the twelfth annual Kerrang! rock awards, they also won best live act. Welsh metal group Funeral For a Friend won best British band, while New Jersey’s My Chemical Romance picked up best album and best video. Iron Maiden were inducted into the Kerrang! Hall of Fame and Marilyn Manson took the Icon Award. Best single went to Foo Fighters ‘Best of You’ while Trivium were named best international newcomers. Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor was named classic songwriter while Killing Joke were given a lifetime achievement accolade.
2009, American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer Ellie Greenwich died of a heart attack age 68. She wrote or co-wrote many hits with Phil Spector and Jeff Barry including “Da Doo Ron Ron”, “Be My Baby”, “Then He Kissed Me”, “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”, “Leader of the Pack”, and “River Deep – Mountain High”.
Born on August 26: Nik Turner, Hawkwind (1940); Valerie Simpson, Ashford and Simpson (1948); Bill and Dick Cowsill (1950); Shirley Manson, vocals, Garbage (1966); and Jeff Tweedy, Wilco (1967)
Get more Today in Rock History
10cc, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Eric Burdon, Fleetwood Mac, Frankie Vali, Genesis, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Mick Jagger, Miles Davis, Rush, Small Faces, The Beatles, The Byrds, The Cars, The Grateful Dead, The Who, Thin Lizzy, Uriah Heep.
