Rock History October 9
1965, The Beatles started a four week run at number one on the US singles chart with the Paul McCartney ballad “Yesterday,” giving the group their tenth chart topper. It was never released as a single in the UK until 1976.
1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at The Olympia Theatre in Paris.
1969, Yes appeared at Grugahalle, Essen, Germany.
1969, For the first time in the history of the show, the BBC’s Top Of The Pops producers refused to air the number one song, “Je T’aime… Moi Non Plus,” the erotic French language love song by Serge Gainsbourg and actress Jane Birkin. The song, an instrumental with the voices of Gainsbourg and Birkin apparently recorded in the act of love and superimposed over the top, caused such a stir in Britain that the original label, Fontana, dropped the record despite it being number two on the charts. A small record company, Major Minor, bought the rights and saw the song climb to the top, the first French language song to ever do so.
1970, Pink Floyd appeared at the Sales Pavilion Annex, Edmonton, Alberta.
1970,Track records releases The Who’s “See Me Feel Me” backed with “Overture From Tommy” in Britain. Derek Johnson in New Musical Express says, “I’ve tipped it for a hit because it deserves to be one, but so many fans now own the LP, that this extract must be expected to miss out on a lot of sales.“ The single fails to chart in the U.K. In the US, however, Billboard reports that Decca Records’ “Who Month” promotion has been a huge success with retail sales of Who records “far above $4 million (£2.5 m). Decca’s vice president of marketing and creative services Tony Martell calls it “unparalleled in Decca’s history.”
1971, Rod Stewart was at number one for the second of five weeks on the US singles chart with “Maggie May.” It was first released as a B-side to “Reason To Believe.” It was the first of six chart toppers for Stewart.
1971, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco
1971, The Who played a small, low-key show at the University of Surrey, Guildford, with guest John Sebastian joining in on harmonica on “Magic Bus,” making him the only outside musician to jam with The Who on stage. Backstage, the group celebrated John Entwistle’s 27th birthday.
1972, Led Zeppelin played at Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan.
1973, Elton John played at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1973, Elvis Presley and Priscilla divorced after six years of marriage. Priscilla was awarded property, $725,000 (£453,100) cash and $4,200 (£2,625) a month support.
1974, Rush appeared on the TV show Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.
1975, Sean Taro Ono Lennon was born, the only child of John Lennon by Yoko Ono. John Lennon retired from music for five years to become a house-husband. Sean went on to become a singer, songwriter, musician and actor.
1976, The Sex Pistols signed to EMI records for £40,000 ($68,000). The contract was terminated three months later with the label stopping production of the “Anarchy In The UK” single and deleting it from its catalogue. EMI later issued a statement saying it felt unable to promote The Sex Pistols records in view of the adverse publicity generated over the last few months.
1976, One hit wonders Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band went to number one on the US singles chart with “A Fifth Of Beethoven.”
1977, Aerosmith appeared at The Spectrum, Philadelphia,Pennsylvania.
1978, Belgian singer songwriter Jacques Brel died of cancer aged 49. Artists who recorded his songs include, Ray Charles, Scott Walker, Alex Harvey, Frank Sinatra, Dusty Springfield, David Bowie, Nina Simone and Terry Jacks.
1978, Bob Dylan appeared at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.
1980, Black Sabbath played at the Mecca Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
1980, Bruce Springsteen performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.
1981, During a North American tour The Rolling Stones played the first of two nights at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The support act was Prince, who dressed in his controversial bikini briefs and trench coat ran off stage after 15 minutes due to the crowd booing and throwing beer cans at him.
1982, Rush played at Mecca Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
1983, ZZ Top performed at The Summit, Houston, Texas.
1984, The Grateful Dead performed at the Centrum Arena in Worcester, Massachusetts. The encore was “Revolution” in honor of John Lennon’s birthday.
1985, Marking what would have been John Lennon’s 45th birthday, Yoko Ono formally opened the three and a half acre garden at the Strawberry Fields site in New York’s Central Park. The area was planted with trees, shrubs and flowers gathered from across the world and with a $1million donation from Yoko.
1993, Nirvana entered the US album chart at number one with In Utero, their third and final studio album. Kurt Cobain had originally wanted to name the album “I Hate Myself and I Want to Die.”
1999, The Eurythmics, George Michael, David Bowie, Robbie Williams and Bono all appeared at Netaid an event to raise money for global poverty. The concerts in London, New York and Geneva were all broadcast live on the Internet.
2007, The Imagine Peace Tower was officially unveiled in Kollafjorour Bay near Reykjavik, Iceland. The memorial to John Lennon from his widow, Yoko Ono, consists of a tall tower of light, projected from a white stone monument that has the words “Imagine Peace” carved into it in 24 languages.
2008, Paul McCartney, a vegetarian for 30 years, was said to be furious when he heard that a Liverpool branch of McDonald’s restaurant displayed his picture, accusing them of using it to attract customers. Sir Paul was quoted as saying “What sort of morons do McDonald’s think Beatles fans are?”
Born on October 9: John Lennon (1940); John Entwistle, The Who (1944); Nona Hendryx (1944); Jackson Browne (1948); Dennis Stratton, singer, guitarist, Iron Maiden (1952); James Fearnley, accordion, The Pogues (1954); Al Jourgensen, singer, Ministry, Revolting Cocks (1958); Thomas Wydler, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds (1959); and Terry Balsamo, guitarist, Limp Bizkit, Evanescence (1973)
Link to Today in Rock History archives
Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Elton John, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Jacques Brel, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Rod Stewart, Rush, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols, The Who, Walter Murphy, ZZ Top.
