Rock History May 12
1965, Wilson Pickett recorded “In the Midnight Hour” at Stax Studios. Guitarist and producer Steve Cropper co-wrote the song at Memphis’ Lorraine Motel (the site of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination three years later). The single reached number one on the R&B charts, marking the soul star’s first chart-topper and his first hit for Atlantic Records.
1965, The Rolling Stones recorded “(I Can’t Get No), Satisfaction” at RCA Hollywood studios. Keith Richards had come up with the guitar riff in the middle of the night a week earlier. It gave the band their first number one single in the US.
1967, Pink Floyd play London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, one of their first concerts to experiment with quadraphonic sound. The band composes a song for the Games for May event, which later becomes “See Emily Play.”
1967, Are You Experienced, the debut album by Jimi Hendrix was released in the UK. Hendrix also played a gig at the Bluesville Club, Manor House in London on this day.
1968, Jimi Hendrix was arrested by police on his way to Toronto for possession of hashish and heroin. Hendrix claimed the drugs had been planted on him.
1968, Brian Jones made his final live appearance with The Rolling Stones when they appeared at the New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert at the Empire Pool, Wembley, England.
1969, Pink Floyd appear at the Paris Cinema, Lower Regent Street in London.
1970, The Grateful Dead release Workingman’s Dead.
1971, Rolling Stone Mick Jagger married Bianca Macias at St. Tropez Town Hall. The guest list included the other members of the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Stephen Stills. The couple separated in 1977.
1972, David Bowie played at Polytechnic of Central London, London
1973, The Mothers of Invention performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.
1973, Led Zeppelin started a three week run at number one on the album chart with Houses Of The Holy, the group’s third chart topper.
1974, The Kinks appeared at the University of California in Santa Barbara.
1975, Genesis appeared at Rhein am Main Halle, Wiesbaden, Germany.
1975, Jefferson Starship gave a free concert in New York’s Central Park in front of 60,000 fans. The band and concert sponsor, WNEW-FM, were forced to pay $14,000 for cleaning up and damage done to the park after the event.
1976, The Rolling Stones performed at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland.
1977, After being dropped by both EMI and A&M records in less than 6 months, Virgin Records announced they had signed The Sex Pistols.
1979, The Who played at Arenes de Frejus, Cannes, France.
1980, The Who are on the cover of People magazine.
1981, Van Halen kicked off their 82 date North American Fair Warning Tour at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
1983, ZZ Top played at the Mississippi Coliseum, Jackson, Mississippi.
1985, Phil Collins kicked off the North American leg on his ‘No Jacket Required’ World Tour at the Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts.
2001, American singer and TV show host Perry Como died aged 88. He scored fourteen US number one singles, from 150 US chart hits and over 25 UK chart hits, including the single “Magic Moments” and “Catch A Falling Star.” Como was once the highest-paid performer in the history of television.
2017, Kendrick Lamar was at number one on the US album chart with his fourth studio album Damn. It became the Billboard Year-End top album of 2017 and was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Rap Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. The album also won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, making it the first non-jazz or classical work to earn the award.
2024, American alto saxophonist David Sanborn died of complications from prostate cancer at the age of 78. He was a member of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and worked with many artists including Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Sting, Linda Ronstadt, Eric Clapton, The Eagles, Elton John and the Rolling Stones. He released more than 20 albums and won six Grammy awards.
Born on this day: Burt Bachrach (1928); Ian Drury (1942); Billy Swan (1944); Ian McLagan, keyboards, Small Faces (1946); Steve Winwood (1948); and Billy Squier (1950)
Get more Today in Rock History.
David Bowie, Genesis, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Perry Como, Phil Collins, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, The Kinks, The Mother’s Of Invention, The Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols, The Who, Van Halen, ZZ Top
