Rock History July 31
1965, In England, the Yardbirds with Jeff Beck perform at the Cleethorpes Jazz Festival.
1965, Beatles VI enters the fourth of its six weeks atop the US album charts. Beatles VI includes two tracks recorded specifically for the North American market, “Bad Boy” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy,” both covers of Larry Williams songs.
1966, Cream play their first gig in Windsor, England.
1966, The Who perform at Brittania Pier in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.
1967, Mick Jagger was given a conditional discharge, and Keith Richard’s conviction for permitting his house to be used for the purpose of smoking cannabis resin was quashed by appeal court.
1968, Tommy James and The Shondells were at number one on the singles chart with “Mony Mony.” The song was also a hit for Billy Idol in 1987.
1968, Working at Trident studios in London, England, (with its 8-track equipment, EMI was still using 4-track recorders), The Beatles recorded four takes of “Hey Jude.”
1969, Ten Years After played at the Boston Tea Party in Boston. Magic Terry & The Universe were the support act.
1969, Elvis Presley kicked off a four week run at the Las Vegas International Hotel, his first live show since 1961. He reportedly netted $1.5 million for the shows. On the menu was an Elvis special, polk salad with corn muffins and honey.
1970, After Decca Records demands a final single from the Rolling Stones to make them fulfill their contract, Richards and Jagger deliver the unreleasable “Cocksucker Blues.” The single becomes the title of a Stones documentary that the band decides is also unreleasable.
1970, The Powder Ridge Festival was supposed to take place from July 31st through August 2nd in Middlefield, Connecticut. None of the advertised acts performed due to a last minute court injunction initiated by the local township. Only Melanie performed on a small stage. In addition to the Allman Brothers Band, Janis Joplin, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Jethro Tull, Joe Cocker, Little Richard and others were on the intended lineup.
1971, Pink Floyd leave England to set out on their first tour of the Far East.
1971, The documentary Gimme Shelter premieres at London’s Rialto cinema. The film includes footage from the infamous concert at Altamont.
1971, James Taylor went to number one on the singles chart with the Carole King song “You Got A Friend.” The song would go on to win the 1971 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male.
1971, A security guard was stabbed to death during a concert by The Who at New York’s Forest Hill Stadium.
1972, Yes appeared at Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, Texas.
1974, The Grateful Dead performed at Dillon Stadium in Hartford, Connecticut.
1975, Aerosmith played at Market Hall, Dallas, Texas.
1975, The Rolling Stones appeared at the Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina.
1976, George Benson started a two-week run at number one on the album chart with Breezin.
1977, Yes played at the Civic Center, Wheeling, West Virginia.
1979, AC/DC appeared at The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana on their If You Want Blood Tour.
1979, James Taylor plays New York’s Central Park for free to show his support for a campaign to restore the park’s Sheep Meadow.
1980, During An Eagles concert at Long Beach, California, things boiled over between band mates Glen Frey and Don Felder, who spent the entire show describing to each other the beating each planned to administer backstage. “Only three more songs until I kick your ass, pal,” Frey told Felder. The group’s next album was mixed by Frey and Felder on opposite coasts after the two decided they couldn’t bear to be in the same state, let alone the same studio.
1980, Van Halen performed at the Checkerdome, St. Louis, Missouri.
1982, King Crimson appeared at The Convention Hall, Asbury Park, New Jersey.
1983, David Bowie played at Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan.
1985, The Eurythmics had the number one position on the UK singles chart with “There Must Be An Angel, (Playing With My Heart.”) The song which was the Eurythmics’ first and only chart topping single features a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder.
1992, Michael Jackson made an unscheduled appearance on his hotel balcony in London after a man had threatened to jump from an apartment building across the street. 28 year-old Eric Herminie told police he would leap to his death if he didn’t see Jackson, who was in Britain for a series of concerts. Jackson spent a couple of minutes waving to Herminie, who then climbed back into the building.
2001, BBC producer John Walters died at age 63. Walters produced and worked with Radio 1 DJ John Peel. Peel teamed up with Walters to broadcast some of the most groundbreaking music of an era. He joined the BBC in 1967, and became producer on John Peel’s Top Gear show two years later. Walters played the trumpet with the Alan Price Set in the 1960’s.
2012, Bruce Springsteen played his longest show ever – 4 hours and 6 minutes, at the Helsinki Olympiastadionin Finland, at the end of a European tour.
Born on July 31: Amhet Ertegun (1923) Bob Welch (1943) Gary Lewis (1946); Hugh McDowell, cello, Electric Light Orchestra (1953); Bill Berry, R.E.M. ( 1958); Jim Corr, guitar, keyboards, vocals, The Corrs (1964); John Lowery, guitar, Marilyn Manson (1971); Will Champion, drummer, Coldplay (1978)
Get more Today in Rock History
AC/DC, Aerosmith, Cream, David Bowie, Elvis Presley, George Benson, James Taylor, Janis Joplin, King Crimson, Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, Ten Years After, The Allman Brothers Band, The Eagles, The Eurythmics, The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Yardbirds, Tommy James, Van Halen, Yes.
