Rock History September 11
1967, Filming began for The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour. There was no script, nor a very clear idea of exactly what was to be accomplished, not even a clear direction about where the bus was supposed to go. The “Magical Mystery Tour” bus set off for the West Country in England stopping for the night in Teignmouth, Devon were hundreds of fans greeted The Beatles at their hotel.
1967, Pink Floyd performed the first of three nights at the Starclub in Copenhagen, Denmark. Also on the bill were The Beefeaters, Peter Belli & B. Brothers, Steppeulvene, The Clan, Hitmakers, and others.
1967, During a 10-date tour of Sweden, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played two shows at the Grona Lund in Stockholm.
1968, Bassist from Sly and the Family Stone, Larry Graham was busted for cannabis possession as the band arrived in London to start a UK tour.
1970, The Rolling Stones played at the Forum Copenhagen in Frederiksberg, Denmark.
1970, The Amboy Dukes appeared at Uptown Palladium 12 Theatre in Birmingham, Michigan.
1971, Donny Osmond started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “Go Away Little Girl.” The singer’s only solo chart topper. The song had also been a chart topper for Steve Lawrence in 1963.
1971, Who’s Next by The Who hits its peak on the Billboard charts at the number four position.
1971, The animated Jackson Five series premiered on ABC-TV.
1972, Hawkwind performed at Waldbühne, Berlin, Germany.
1973, The Rolling Stones appeared at Kings Hall (Belle Vue), Manchester, England.
1974, The Grateful Dead played at Alexandra Palace, London.
1975, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Capital Centre, Landover.
1976, KC and the Sunshine Band went to the top of the singles charts with (“Shake Shake Shake), Shake Your Body,” the group’s third number one.
1977, David Bowie recorded a guest appearance on Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas TV show duetting with Crosby on “Peace On Earth – Little Drummer Boy.” The track became a UK No.3 hit five years later in 1982.
1978, Aerosmith played at Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California.
1979, Van Halen appeared at Furitsu Taiiku Kan, Osaka, Japan.
1981, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed at the Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois.
1982, Chicago started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “Hard To Say I’m Sorry,” the group’s second chart topper.
1982, John “Cougar” Mellencamp became the only male artist to have two singles in the Top Ten as well as the number one album. “Jack and Diane” was at number four, while “Hurts So Good” held the eighth spot. His album American Fool was at number one for the first of nine weeks.
1987, Founding member of The Wailers, Peter Tosh was shot dead at his home in Kingston Jamaica by armed robbers.
1987, Peter Gabriel cleaned up at the MTV Awards, winning best video, best male video, best concept video, best special effects, and five other awards for the track “Sledgehammer.”
1988, Michael Jackson appeared at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England on his Bad world tour. Over 3,000 fans were treated by the St. John Ambulance service for passing out, hysteria, and being crushed among the crowd of 125,000 fans, the largest concert of the 123-date world tour.
1988, Metallica kicked off their 222-date Damaged Justice world tour at the MTK Football Stadium in Budapest, Hungary.
1996, Noel Gallagher walked out on the rest of Oasis half way through an American tour after a fight with his brother Liam in a hotel in Charlotte North Carolina. Noel flew back to London the following day.
2001, Walking to work in New York, as an comic book illustrator, Gerard Way witnessed the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The day’s events inspired him to start a band, which became My Chemical Romance, with Way becoming their lead singer.
2003, Tommy Chong, one-half of the comedy team of Cheech and Chong, was sentenced to nine months in federal prison and fined $20,000 for selling drug paraphernalia over the Internet. The 65 year-old Chong pled guilty to the charges in May. He remained free until April, 2004, when he went to jail.
2004, American lyricist Fred Ebb died of a heart attack at his home in New York City. Co-wrote, “New York, New York” and “Chicago,” and worked with Liza Minnelli.
2014, American songwriter, singer, manager, and record producer Bob Crewe died aged 83. Crewe wrote a string of Top 10 singles for the Four Seasons, including “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” and “Rag Doll.” He also had hit recordings with Lesley Gore, Michael Jackson,vv Bobby Darin, Roberta Flack, Peabo Bryson, Patti LaBelle, Barry Manilow and others.
Born on September 11: Bernie Dwyer, Freddie and the Dreamers (1940); Mickey Hart, Grateful Dead (1943) Tommy Shaw, Styx (1953); Mick Talbot, keyboards, Style Council (1958); Moby, (Richard Hall), producer, vocalist (1965); Harry Connick, Jr. (1967); Richard Ashcroft, guitar, vocals, The Verve (1971); and Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris (1977)
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Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Chicago, David Bowie, Hawkwind, Jimi Hendrix, John Mellencamp, KC and the Sunshine Band, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, The Allman Brothers Band, The Beatles, The Jackson Five, The Rolling Stones, Van Halen.