Rock History February 3
1959, 22-year-old Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, aged 17, died in a crash shortly after take-off from Clear Lake, Iowa, the pilot of the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza plane was also killed. Holly hired the plane after heating problems developed on his tour bus. All three were traveling to Fargo, North Dakota, for the next show on their Winter Dance Party Tour which Holly had set – covering twenty-four cities in three weeks, to make money after the break-up of his band, The Crickets, last year.
1966, Beach Boy Carl Wilson married his girlfriend Annie Hinsche in LA.
1966, Paul McCartney attends a performance of Stevie Wonder at Scotch of St. James’ Clubin London and has a backstage meeting with the 15-year-old performer.
1967, Otis Redding, The Marvelettes, Aaron Neville, James and Bobby Purify and The Drifters all appeared at The Civic Coliseum, Knoxville, Tennessee. Tickets cost $2.50–3.50.
1967, Pink Floyd performed at Queens Hall in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
1967, producer Joe Meek shot his landlady Violet Shenton and then shot himself at his flat in London, Meek produced The Tornadoes’ “Telstar,” the first number one in the US by a British group.
1968, Jimi Hendrix played at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.
1968, One hit wonders The Lemon Pipers went to number one on the singles chart with “Green Tambourine” the song was a number seven hit in the UK.
1968, The Beatles started work on their new single “Lady Madonna” at Abbey Road studios in London. Recording three piano and drum takes with overdub bass, fuzz guitars, drums, and vocals.
1970, Led Zeppelin II was in the Top 20 on both the UK & US album charts after peaking at the number one spot. The album went on to spend 138 weeks on the UK chart.
1971, Pink Floyd appeared at the Great Hall, Devonshire House, University of Exeter in Exeter, England.
1973, Elton John started a three-week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Crocodile Rock.” Elton’s first of five US chart topping singles.
1974, Black Sabbath played at the International Amphitheater, Chicago.
1975, Led Zeppelin appeared at Madison Square Garden, New York.
1976, David Bowie performed at the Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.
1978, Emerson, Lake & Palmer played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.
1979, Blondie had their first of five UK number one singles, with “Heart Of Glass,” taken from the band’s third studio album, Parallel Lines. “Heart of Glass” was originally recorded in 1975 under the name “Once I Had a Love.”
1979, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, The Blues Brothers went to number one on the US album chart with Briefcase Full Of Blues.
1981, The Who play two nights at the Rainbow Theatre in London. The two hastily scheduled shows are a benefit for Erin Pizzey’s Chiswick Family Rescue Organization and were requested by Pete’s wife Karen. At the first show, Pete drinks four bottles of brandy on stage, improvises songs and long guitar solos without informing the other band members and stops the show to harangue the crowd.
1986, Dire Straits were at number one on the UK album charts with their fifth studio album Brothers in Arms. With ten weeks at the top chart spot, the album is the seventh best-selling album in UK chart history. It won two Grammy Awards in 1986, and also won Best British Album at the 1987 Brit Awards. Brothers in Arms also spent nine weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 in the US, and thirty-four weeks at number one on the Australian Album Chart.
1992, On their first Europe tour Pearl Jam played at The Esplanade Club in Southend, England to 300 people, the band’s first ever UK show. The tour also took Pearl Jam to Norway, Sweden, Holland, France, Spain and Italy.
Born on February 3: Johnny “Guitar” Watson (1935); Dennis Edwards, singer, The Temptations (1943); Dave Davies, The Kinks (1947); Arthur ‘Killer’ Kane, bass guitarist, The New York Dolls (1949); Lol Tolhurst, keyboards, The Cure (1959)
Get more Today in Rock History.
Big Bopper, Black Sabbath, Blondie, Buddy Holly, David Bowie, Dire Straits, Led Zeppelin, Otis Redding, Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Ritchie Valens, Stevie Wonder, The Drifters, The Who.
