Rock History March 24
1965, The Beatles continued filming Help! at Twickenham Studios, England. They shot the interior temple scenes, including the one where they “dive through a hollow sacrificial altar and into water”. That scene was then cut to the swimming pool scene filmed in the Bahamas on February 23.
1966, Simon and Garfunkel made their UK singles chart debut with “Homeward Bound.” It was released in the US in January. Simon is said to have written the song at Farnworth railway station, Widnes, England, while stranded overnight waiting for a train. A plaque is displayed in the station to commemorate this, although memorabilia hunters have stolen it many times.
1967, Pink Floyd played the first of two nights at the Ricky Tick Club in Hounslow, England.
1970, Genesis performed at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London.
1971, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Foster Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
1972, King Crimson played at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.
1973, Pink Floyd played the last date of their North American tour at the Park Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
1973, Alice Cooper went to number one on the UK album charts with Billion Dollar Babies.
1973, During a Lou Reed show in Buffalo, New York, a fan jumped on stage and bit Lou on the bottom. The man was thrown out of the theater and Reed completed the show.
1973, The O’Jays went to number one on the US singles chart with “Love Train.”
1973, “Dueling Banjos” by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell begins its second week as number one on the USA album charts.
1973, The Grateful Dead played at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
1974, Yes appeared at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1975, David Bowie sees Rod Stewart and The Faces at Madison Square Garden with Ava Cherry and Warren Peace, going backstage for the after show party.
1975, LaBelle had a chart topping hit with “Lady Marmalade.” The group was originally called Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles.
1975, Genesis appeared at Palasport Parco Rufino, Turin, Italy.
1975, Led Zeppelin performed at the Forum in Inglewood, California. The set list: Rock and Roll, Sick Again, Over the Hills and Far Away, In My Time of Dying, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Kashmir, No Quarter, Trampled Underfoot, Moby Dick, Dazed and Confused (including Woodstock), Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love (including The Crunge), Black Dog, Heartbreaker.
1976, The Who played at Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon.
1977, Jethro Tull headlined at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.
1978, Aerosmith played at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Columbus, Ohio.
1980, Van Halen performed at Spokane Coliseum, Spokane, Washington.
1981, The Grateful Dead performed at the Rainbow Theater in London.
1982, ZZ Top appeared at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.
1984, The former lead singer of the Commodores Lionel Richie started a six week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Hello.” It was also a chart topping hit in the US.
1984, Blue Oyster Cult played at Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee.
1985, “Easy Lover” by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins was at number one on the UK singles chart. Bailey was a former vocalist with Earth Wind & Fire. Phil Collins produced, drummed and sang on the track.
1992, A Chicago court settled the Milli Vanilli class action suit by approving cash rebates of up to $3 to anyone proving they bought the group’s music before November 27 1990, the date the lip synching scandal broke. Milli Vanilli won the 1989 best new artist Grammy after hits like “Blame it on the Rain” and “Girl, You Know It’s True,” selling 30 million singles and 14 million albums. But in late 1990, the performers were stripped of the award after it was revealed that neither actually sang on the Milli Vanilli album.
1997, Singer with Philly soul group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Harold Melvin died aged 57. Had the 1972 US number three and 1974 UK number nine single “If You Don’t Know Me By Know.”
2001, A stretch of road on Highway 19 in Macon, Georgia, was named Duane Allman Boulevard, near where the Allman Brothers guitarist died aged 24 in a motorcycle crash on October 29, 1971.
2009, Motown drummer Uriel Jones, died aged 74 after suffering complications from a heart attack. Jones played on many Motown classics including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” by Marvin Gaye, “Cloud Nine” by the Temptations, “I Second That Emotion” by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and “For Once In My Life” by Stevie Wonder.
2013, Pictures of The Beatles’ 1965 Shea Stadium concert, taken by an amateur photographer who bluffed his way backstage, sold for £30,000 at auction. Marc Weinstein used a fake press pass to get next to the stage for the legendary New York show.
Born on March 24: Holger Czukay, Can (1938); Don Covay, American R&B, rock and roll, soul singer-songwriter (1938); Klaus Dinger, German guitarist, songwriter, Neu!, La Düsseldorf, Kraftwerk (1946); Lee Oskar, War (1948); Nick Lowe (1949); Dougie Thompson, Supertramp (1951); Nena, singer (1960); Sharon Corr, vocals, violin, The Corrs (1970); Chad Blutler, drums, Switchfoot (1974);
Get more Today in Rock History.
Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Genesis, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Labelle, Lou Reed, Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, The Who, Van Halen, Yes, ZZ Top.
