Rock History October 8
1964, Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles recorded their next single “She’s a Woman” in seven takes, plus overdubs, recording the song from start to finish in five hours.
1964, Roy Orbison was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with “Oh Pretty Woman,” his third UK No.1. The title was inspired by Orbison’s wife Claudette interrupting a conversation to announce she was going out. Orbison asked if she was okay for cash, and his co-writer Bill Dees interjected “A pretty woman never needs any money.”
1965, The Who appeared at City Hall in Perth, Australia.
1965, During a UK The Rolling Stones appeared at The ABC, Stockton on Tees. Also on the bill, Spencer Davis Group, Unit Four + 2, The Checkmates, The End, and Charles Dickens and The Habits.
1965, The Florescents supported by The Castiles, which featured a young singer called Bruce Springsteen appeared at the I.B. Club in Howell, New Jersey. This was The Castiles first publicly advertised nightclub appearance. Admission was $1.00
1966, Cream drummer Ginger Baker collapsed during a gig at Sussex University, England after playing a 20 minute drum solo. He recovered in a local hospital.
1967, Jimi Hendrix, Arthur Brown and John’s Children all appeared at the Saville Theatre in London, England.
1969, Humble Pie, supported by David Bowie, appeared at The Coventry Theatre in England.
1971, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, California.
1971, Led Zeppelin II was enjoying its 100th week on the UK album charts. It was the band’s first album to hit No.1 in the US, knocking The Beatles’ Abbey Road twice from the top spot, where it remained for seven weeks. When first released the album had advance orders of 400,000 copies in the USA, (the advertising campaign was built around the slogan “Led Zeppelin II Now Flying.”) In 1999, it was certified 12 times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for US sales in excess of 12 million copies.
1972, David Bowie performed at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit, Michigan.
1974, The Ramones played at CBGB, New York.
1975, The Doobie Brothers appeared at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.
1976, AC/DC played at Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
1977, David Soul was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with “Silver Lady,” his second and last UK No.1 single. Soul was an actor on the American TV cop show Starsky & Hutch.
1978, Yes performed at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum in Oakland, California.
1980, Blue Oyster Cult played at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.
1982, R.E.M. appeared at the Peppermint Lounge, New York City, supported by The Fleshtones.
1987, Chuck Berry was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His film biography, Hail, Hail Rock & Roll also premiered on the same night.
1988, On their 12th single release, U2 scored their first UK No.1 with “Desire.” The track which was also a US No.3 hit, was taken from their album Rattle And Hum.
1989, The Grateful Dead played at the Hampton Coliseum, in Hampton Roads, Virginia.
1992, The US Postal Service issued a set of commemorative stamps to celebrate pop music legends. The stamps included Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Otis Redding, Ritchie Valens, Clyde McPhatter and Dinah Washington.
2000, Radiohead started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart their fourth studio album Kid A. The album became the first Radiohead release to debut at No.1 in the US.
2006, The Killers started a three week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with Sam’s Town the US bands second album.The title refers to a hotel-casino in the band’s hometown of Las Vegas.
Born on this day: George Bellamy, guitar, The Tornadoes (1940); Butch Rillera, Redbone and Ray Royer, guitarist, Procol Harum (1945); Tony Wilson, Hot Chocolate (1947); Johnny Ramone, guitar, The Ramones (1948); and Bruno Mars (1985)
Link to Today in Rock History archives
AC/DC, Blue Oyster Cult, Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry, Cream, David Bowie, Humble Pie, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, R.E.M., Radiohead, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, The Killers, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Yes
