1956, Elvis Presley scored his first top single and album in the US, when “Heartbreak Hotel” went to number one. ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ became his first million-seller, and was the top selling single of 1956.
1966, The Who performed at Town Hall in Kidderminster, West Midlands, England.
1967 At a performance at the Sporthallen in Eskilstuna, The Who are forced to perform on a small stage meters above the heads of the audience. Pete Townshend cuts the set to five songs in protest.
1967, The Kinks released the single “Waterloo Sunset” which went on to number two on the UK charts.
1968, Buffalo Springfield split up. Richie Fury formed Poco and Stephen Stills teamed up with David Crosby (The Byrds) and Graham Nash (The Hollies) to create Crosby Stills & Nash. They played a show at the Long Beach (California) Arena.
1968, Pink Floyd performed two shows at Theatre 140, in Brussels, Belgium.
1969, The Beatles single “Get Back” was released in the US.
1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival release their hit “Bad Moon Rising.”
1972, The first day of the three day Bickershaw Festival, Wigan, England, with The Grateful Dead, Dr John, Donovan, The Kinks, Captain Beefheart, Hawkwind, America, Family, Country Joe MacDonald, Wishbone Ash, New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Brinsley Schwarz and the Flamin Groovies.
1972, Jethro Tull and Wild Turkey appeared at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.
1972, Blind blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis died of a heart attack aged 76. His unique finger-picking style influenced many other artists.
1972, Michelle Phillips, Mama Cass, Judy Collins, Goldie Hawn, and Jack Nicholson, among others, agree to play a series of benefit concerts to help George McGovern’s presidential campaign.
1973, David Bowie scored his first number one album when Aladdin Sane started a five-week run at the top, featuring the single “Drive In Saturday.”
1973, King Crimson played at The Forum in Montreal, Quebec.
1973, Elvis Presley went to number one on the album chart with Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite.
1973, At Tampa Stadium in Florida, 56,800 Led Zeppelin fans see Led Zeppelin. The band grossed $309,000. At the time the show set a record for the largest paying crowd at an American rock concert. The band played for two and a half hours without an intermission. Tickets were $5.00.
1974, Television appeared at CBGB’s in New York City, supported by the Stillettoes (later to become Blondie, playing their first show at CBGB.)
1975, Yes performed at Colston Hall, Bristol, England.
1977, The Grateful dead played at Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut.
1978, Aerosmith performed at the Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina.
1979, Peaches and Herb started a four week run at number one on the singles chart with “Reunited.”
1979, On the last date of a US tour, The Boomtown Rats appeared at The Palladium in New York City.
1979, Van Halen played at Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, Ohio.
1980, The Who appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.
1984, Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr married Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde in a horse drawn carriage in Central Park, New York City.
1984, Duran Duran were at number one on the UK singles chart with “The Reflex,” the group’s second and last chart topper. The song which was taken from their third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger was also a US number one.
1990, During a North American tour Nirvana appeared at the Einstein-A-Go-Go in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
1992, Radiohead released The Drill EP, their first record in the UK. The band were still called “On a Friday” when the songs for this EP were recorded; they changed their name to Radiohead the following month.
1996, Rage Against The Machine went to number one on the US album chart with Evil Empire. The album’s title is taken from the phrase “evil empire”, which was used by Ronald Reagan and many conservatives in describing the former Soviet Union. The album won the 1996 Grammy award for Best Metal Performance.
Born on this day: Johnnie Taylor, US soul singer (1937); Tammy Wynette (1942); Bill Ward, drums, Black Sabbath (1948); Ian McCullouch, Echo & the Bunnymen (1959); Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, aka Adele (1988)
