Rock History July 5
1964, The Irish band Them, featuring Van Morrison, record “Gloria.”
1965, The Four Tops record their number five hit “It’s the Same Old Song,” which resembles their number one “I Can’t Help Myself.”
1965, Marty Balin and Paul Kantner formed a Folk-Rock group that would evolve into the Jefferson Airplane, the premier San Francisco psychedelic band of the late ’60s. The Airplane made its debut the following month at a Haight-Ashbury club, and was signed to RCA later in the year.
1966, On the recommendation of Rolling Stone Keith Richards’ girlfriend, Chas Chandler from The Animals went to see Jimi Hendrix play at The Cafe Wha? in New York City. Chandler suggests that Hendrix should come to England, which he does and Chandler became his manager.
1967, Jimi Hendrix played at Wollman Skating Rink Theater in New York City.
1967, Pink Floyd performed at The Dance Hall, Eel Pie Island Hotel, Twickenham, England.
1968, Bill Graham opens the Fillmore West in San Francisco.
1968, The Jeff Beck Group appeared at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.
1969, The Rolling Stones gave a free concert in London’s Hyde Park before an audience of 250,000, as a tribute to Brian Jones who had died two days earlier. Mick Jagger read an extract from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Adonais and released 3,500 butterflies. The event was also guitarist’s Mick Taylor’s debut with the Stones. King Crimson, Family, The Third Ear Band, Screw and Alexis Korner’s New Church also appeared on the day.
1969, The Who, Chuck Berry and Bodast all played two shows at the Royal Albert Hall. The first at one 5:30 and another at 8:30 pm.
1969, Vanilla Fudge performed at Place des Nations in Montreal, Quebec.
1970, The Allman Brothers Band were part of the Atlanta Pop Festival lineup held at Byron, Georgia.
1971, A Led Zeppelin gig in Milan turns violent when police fire tear gas at the crowd. The band escapes unharmed, but numerous arrests are made and a roadie is hit in the head with a bottle.
1972, The Rolling Stones performed at the Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia.
1972, Procol Harum and The Eagles appeared at the Golden Hall, San Diego, California.
1974, David Bowie played at the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.
1975, Pink Floyd, Captain Beefheart, Steve Miller and Roy Harper all appeared at The Knebworth Festival, England, tickets cost £3.50. Pink Floyd premiered their new album Wish You Were Here with the help of Spitfires, pyrotechnics and an exploding plane which flies into the stage.
1975, Yes performed at Roberts Municipal Stadium, Evansville, Indiana.
1976, Elvis Presley appeared at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.
1978, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Civic Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
1978, the Electric Light Orchestra performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.
1978, The manufacturing of Some Girls the new album by The Rolling Stones was halted at EMI’s pressing plant after complaints from celebrities including Lucille Ball who were featured in mock advertisements on the album sleeve.
1979, Foreigner played at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.
1980, ZZ Top performed at the Tangerine Bowl, Orlando, Florida.
1981, Van Halen played at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.
1981, Rush appeared at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin.
1982, Sun records musical director Bill Justis died of cancer aged 55. He worked with Sam Phillips at Sun Records, and also worked with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis. He had the 1957 US number two single “Raunchy,” the first Rock and Roll instrumental hit. Also had a number one hit in Australia in 1963 with “Tamoure.”
1983, Eric Clapton played at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland.
1984, Van Halen performed at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.
1984, David Gilmour appeared at the Sunrise Musical Theater, Sunrise, Florida.
1995, More than 100 Grateful Dead fans were hurt when a wooden deck collapsed at a campground lodge in Wentzville, Missouri. Hundreds of people were on or under the deck sheltering from heavy rain. More than 4,000 Deadheads were staying at the campground while attending Grateful Dead concerts in the St. Louis suburb.
1999, The Eurythmics announced their first world tour for more than ten years, with all profits would be given to charity. The duo made the announcement from the Greenpeace boat ‘Rainbow Warrior’ moored on the River Thames in London.
2007, English jazz and blues singer and film critic George Melly died at his London home at the age of 80 of lung cancer and vascular dementia.
2014, Four surviving members of the Grateful Dead gave what they said would be their final performance, playing to over 70,000 fans in attendance at Soldier Field in Chicago, the site of the Dead’s last performace with Jerry Garcia, who played his last show on July 9, 1995.
2022, Scottish musician Manny Charlton died aged 80. He was a founding member of the influential Scottish hard rock band Nazareth and was their lead guitarist from 1968 to 1990. They had the 1973 UK number nine single “Broken Down Angel”, and the 1976 US number eight single, “Love Hurts”.
Born on July 5: Robbie Robertson (1944); Michael Monarch, guitar, Steppenwolf (1948); Huey Lewis (1951); Nick O’Malley, bass, Arctic Monkeys (1985)
Bill Graham, David Bowie, David Gilmour, Electric Light Orchestra, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Foreigner, Jimi Hendrix, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Rush, Steve Miller, The Allman Brothers Band, The Eurythmics, The Four Tops, The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Van Morrison, Yes, ZZ Top.
