Rock History September 23
1966, The Rolling Stones 66 twelve-date UK tour kicked off at the Royal Albert Hall London. Supported by The Yardbirds, Ike and Tina Turner, and Peter Jay and the New Jaywalkers. Both Keith Moon and John Entwistle from The Who were in the audience.
1967, The Mothers Of Invention appeared at the Royal Albert Hall London making their UK live debut
1967, The Box Tops started a four week run at number one on the singles chart with “The Letter.” The record went on to sell over four million copies and receive two Grammy nominations. It was also a Top Ten hit for Joe Cocker in 1970.
1967, Pink Floyd appeared at the Corn Exchange in Chelmsford, Essex, England.
1968, Working on new songs for their forthcoming White Album, The Beatles recorded a new John Lennon song “Happiness Is A Warm Gun In Your Hand”, the working title of “Happiness Is A Warm Gun.” The title came from the cover of a gun magazine that producer George Martin showed Lennon. Jim Morrison from The Doors came to visit The Beatles in the studio and watched them recording.
1969, The Northern Star newspaper of Northern Illinois University ran a story claiming that Paul McCartney had been killed in a car crash in 1966 and had been replaced by a look-a-like. Russell Gibb of WKNR-FM in Detroit picked up on the claim and the story went worldwide. By late October 1969 the hoax was so well entrenched, that McCartney came out of seclusion at his Scottish farm to deny the story. When McCartney was asked to comment by a reporter, he replied, “Do I look dead? I’m as fit as a fiddle.”
1970, Mick Jagger met Bianca Macias for the first time after a Stones concert at the Paris Olympia. The couple later married.
1970, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Fillmore East, New York.
1971, Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at The Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan.
1972, Mott the Hoople performed at Liverpool Stadium in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.
1973, Genesis played at Stadttheater, Osnabrück, Germany.
1974, Robbie McIntosh, a founding member of the Average White Band, died of a heroin overdose at a Hollywood party. He inhaled a white powder thought to be cocaine but was actually pure heroin. AWB scored the No.1 single “Pick up the Pieces,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1975.
1975, Hawkwind appeared at the Opera, Reims, France.
1976, AC/DC played at the Musikhalle, Hamburg, Germany.
1976, The Grateful Dead performed at Cameron Indoor Stadium, on the campus of Duke University, a gym better known for the basketball played there, than as a music venue.
1977, Yes played at The Forum, Inglewood, California.
1978, 10cc had their third and final UK No.1 single with “Dreadlock Holiday.” The lyrics, about a white man lost in Jamaica, were based on a true event that happened to Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward and Eric Stewart from 10cc in Barbados.
1978, AC/DC played at the Uptown Theater, Kansas City, Missouri.
1978, Black Sabbath appeared at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena, Anaheim, California.
1979, Van Halen performed at the Convention Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
1980, Bob Marley collapsed on stage during a concert at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Marley had collapsed in New York’s Central Park while jogging, two days before and was told to immediately cancel the US leg, but flew to Pittsburgh to perform one final performance. This was the last time Marley ever appeared on stage performing, Marley died of cancer in May of 1981.
1981, Blue Oyster Cult played at the Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse, New York.
1982, Roxy Music appeared at Wembley Arena, London.
1983, Rush performed Radio City Music Hall, New York
1997, The Rolling Stones kicked off the North American leg of their Bridges To Babylon tour playing the first of two nights at Soldier Field in Chicago.
2006, Neil Young was named artist of the year at the Americana Honors and Awards at the fifth annual event in Nashville, Tennessee. The 60-year-old singer-songwriter released the protest album Living With War that year.
Born on September 23: John Coltrane (1926); Mighty Joe Young (1927); Ray Charles (1930); Hilly Cristal, owner CBGB’s (1931); Roy Buchanan (1939); Julio Iglesias (1943); John Banks, The Merseybeats, (1943); and Steve Boone, The Lovin’ Spoonful (1943); Ron Bushy, drums, Iron Butterfly (1945); Dan Toler, Great Southern, Allman Brothers (1948); and Bruce Springsteen (1949)
Visit the Today in Rock History main page.
10cc, AC/DC, Average White Band, Blue Oyster Cult, Bob Marley, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Mott the Hoople, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Rush, The Beatles, The Box Tops, The Mother’s Of Invention, The Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Yes.
