Rock History June 4
1967, Procol Harum, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Denny Laine all appeared at The Saville Theatre London, England.
1967, The Monkees wins an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, beating out Andy Griffith, Bewitched, Get Smart, and Hogan’s Heroes.
1968, Having been arrested the month before on charges of marijuana possession, Rolling Stone Brian Jones elects for trial by jury. The rest of the Rolling Stones are in the studio working on tracks for Beggars Banquet and being filmed by Jean-Luc Godard for the movie One Plus One. However, the studio catches fire while the film crew shoots the band on the roof.
1969, Seven years after his first hit, Tommy Roe was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Dizzy,” his only chart topping hit.
1969, Hundreds of people in Glenrowan, Australia signed a petition protesting against the casting of Mick Jagger in the role of the Australian folk hero, Ned Kelly.
1970, Elvis Presley began five days of recording at RCA’s studio B in Nashville, starting each day at 6pm and working until dawn.
1971, Elton John appeared at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.
1971, Alice Cooper performed at the Eastown Theater in Detroit, Michigan.
1971, Pink Floyd appeared at Philips Veranstal Tungshalle, Düsseldorf, Germany.
1972, Jethro Tull played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
1973, Murry Wilson, father of Beach Boys Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, dies of a heart attack. His alleged physical abuse left songwriting genius Brian deaf in one ear. Murray also managed the group when it was first starting out.
1974, David Bowie kicked off his 73-date Diamond Dogs tour at the Montreal, Forum in Canada.
1974, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
1975, The Rolling Stones became the first rock band to receive royalties for sales of their records in Russia.
1976, Elton John appeared at The Capitol Theatre, Leeds, England.
Rock History June 4
1976, Live recordings were made at the new wave venue GBGB’s of performances from Blondie, Mink DeVille, Talking Heads, Laughing Dogs and Tuff Darts. The tracks featured on the album Live At CBGB’S New York.
1976, Yes performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.
1976, The Sex Pistols appeared at The Lesser Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England. The now legendary night is regarded as a catalyst to the punk rock movement. In the audience was, Morrissey, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook (soon to form Joy Division) and Mark E Smith, (The Fall). Tickets cost £1 ($1.50.)
1977, Police cancel a planned Led Zeppelin performance in Tampa Bay, Fla., after fans rioted the night before, when the band’s set was interrupted by a vicious thunderstorm.
1977, Eric Clapton played at National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland.
1977, The Grateful Dead performed at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
1977, The Jam’s debut single “In The City” made it to number 40 on the UK singles chart. They went on to score 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1982, including four chart topping hits.
1978, Bob Dylan performed at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.
1978, David Bowie’s European tour plays at the Scandanavium in Gothenberg, Sweden.
1979, Rush and Dire Straits performed at the Pinkpop Festival in Geleen, The Netherlands.
1980, Roxy Music appeared at Foret National, Brussels, Belgium.
1981, Bruce Springsteen played at Wembley Arena in London.
1983, The Police started a four week run at number one in the UK with “Every Breath You Take,” the group’s fifth and final chart topping single. It was taken from the band’s album Synchronicity. Sting won Song of the Year and The Police won Best Pop Performance for the song at the 1984 Grammy Awards.
1984, Bruce Springsteen released the album, Born In The USA, which became the best-selling album of 1985 in the United States, and Springsteen’s most successful album ever. The album produced a record-tying string of seven Top 10 singles, tying him with Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814.
1985, Elton John sued publisher Dick James Music, seeking the rights to his early songs and recordings, plus damages estimated at more than £30 million ($51 million). The singer lost a six-month court battle to recover the copyright to 169 songs however, the court ordered Dick James to hand over millions in unpaid royalties.
1986, The first of a six date Conspiracy of Hope tour was held at Cow Palace, San Francisco, California. The benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International were held to increase awareness of Amnesty on the 25th anniversary of its work for human rights. The shows were headlined by U2 and Sting, and also featured Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Joan Baez, and The Neville Brothers.
1990, American punk rock singer Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church died after being hit by a taxi in Paris, France. Bators had been out drinking when he was hit by a taxi while crossing the road. He was taken to a hospital, but left before seeing a doctor. He died in his sleep as the result of a concussion.
1994, Wet Wet Wet started a fifteen-week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Love Is All Around,” from the film Four Weddings & A Funeral. The song was written by Reg Presley of The Troggs, and was a former top ten hit for his band in 1967
1997, Jeff Buckley’s body was discovered floating in the Mississippi River. Buckley had disappeared when swimming on May 29th in Wolf River Harbor, while wearing boots, all of his clothing, and singing the chorus of “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin. A roadie in Buckley’s band, had remained on shore. After moving a radio and guitar out of reach of the wake from a passing tugboat, he looked up to see that Buckley had vanished.
2012, Herb Reed, bass singer and founder member with American doo-wop group The Platters died aged 83. The Platters scored four number one singles in the late 50’s: “The Great Pretender,” “My Prayer,” “Twilight Time,” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” Reed is credited with coming up with the group’s name, inspired by disc jockeys who referred to their records as “platters.”
Born on June 4: Freddie Fender (1937); Michelle Phillips (1944); Gordon Waller, Peter & Gordon (1945); and Jimmy McCulloch, Thunderclap Newman, Wings (1952)
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Alice Cooper, Blondie, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Daivd Bowie, Elton John, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Roxy Music, Rush, Talking Heads, The Allman Brothers Band, The Beach Boys, The Grateful Dead, The Jam, The Monkees, The Platters, The Police, The Sex Pistols, U2, Yes.
