Rock History May 17 1967, Pete Townshend records an interview for the BBC overseas radio program Dateline London then The Who pre-tape a Top Of The Pops insert miming to “Pictures Of Lily.” From there they travel to Stevenage to play the Locarno Ballroom. Backstage, John lashed out at a “well-known pop singer” by punching…
Rock History May 16 1966, The Beach Boys released the album ‘Pet Sounds.’ The album is now regarded as the masterpiece of composer-producer Brian Wilson, and is often hailed as one of the best and most influential albums in popular music. 1966, Dylan’s iconic Blonde On Blonde album was released, reaching the ninth spot in…
Rock History May 15 1966, Pink Floyd played at The Marquee Club, Wardour Street, London. They were billed as the Pink Floyd Sound, as part of their “Spontaneous Underground” period. 1967, Paul McCartney is hanging out with Keith Moon and Eric Burdon at a Georgie Fame concert at the Bag O’Nails club in London. The…
Rock History May 14 1964, Jan & Dean start recording “Little Old Lady (From Pasadena).” 1965, The Who appeared at Civic Hall in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. 1965, San Francisco radio station KYA hosts the Rolling Stones, the Byrds, Beau Brummels, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and the Vejtables at the Civic Auditorium. 1966, The Who…
Rock History May 13 1967, The Monkees second album More Of The Monkees, went to number one on the charts. In 1967 only four albums reached the top spot. The Sound Of Music spent seventeen weeks at number one, The Beatles Sgt Pepper’s, 25 weeks, and The Monkees’ first and second albums spent nine weeks at number one.…
Rock History May 12 1965, Wilson Pickett recorded “In the Midnight Hour” at Stax Studios. Guitarist and producer Steve Cropper co-wrote the song at Memphis’ Lorraine Motel (the site of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination three years later). The single reached number one on the R&B charts, marking the soul star’s first chart-topper and his…
Rock History May 11 1967, Pink Floyd begin two days of recording with producer Joe Boyd, working on the tracks “Interstellar Overdrive,” “Arnold Layne,” “Let’s Roll Another One” and “Nick’s Boogie.” 1967, The Bee Gees made their Top Of The Pops debut performing “New York Mining Disaster” on the UK TV show. 1968, Jimi Hendrix…
Rock History May 10 1966, A year after returning to her home state of Texas from San Francisco, Janis Joplin heads west again. She was summoned by Chet Helms, a friend who is now managing Big Brother & the Holding Company. He dispatches Travis Rivers, an old acquaintance of Janis’ from her Port Arthur, Texas…
Rock History May 9 1966, The Doors played at the Whisky A Go-Go, West Hollywood, California auditioning for a spot as the venue’s house band. 1967, Sandie Shaw was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Puppet On A String.” The week’s two highest new entries were Jimi Hendrix with “The Wind Cries…
Rock History May 8 1965, Shooting of the promotional film for Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” took place at the side of the Savoy Hotel in London. Actors in the background were Allen Ginsberg and Bob Neuwirth. The cards that Dylan held up to the camera were painted by Alan Price and Joan Baez. 1966,…
Rock History May 7 1966, The Mamas and the Papas started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with “Monday Monday.” The group was reported, as saying they all hated the song except for its writer John Phillips. The Mamas and the Papas won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance…
Rock History May 6 1965, In their Clearwater, Florida hotel room, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards worked out the opening guitar riff of “Satisfaction,” following Richard’s purchase of a Gibson fuzz-box earlier that day. 1966, The Who appeared at the Top Hat Ballroom in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. 1966, Working at Abbey Road studios in London,…
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,…
Rock History May 4 1967, Pink Floyd performed at the Locarno Ballroom in Coventry, West Midlands, England. 1968, Steppenwolf make their first appearance on American Bandstand. 1968, The Yardbirds played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan. 1968, Mary Hopkin won her heat on the ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks. She later signed with The Beatles…
Rock History May 3 1965, The Who play the Majestic Ballroom in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. 1967, Pink Floyd performed at Moulin Rouge in Ainsdale, Lancashire, England. 1967, The Who’s manager Kit Lambert sends a telegram to the Monterey Pop Festival organizers telling them The Who have agreed to perform there in exchange for…
Rock History May 2 1965, Although he swore he would never allow the band to appear on his show again, Ed Sullivan plays host to the Rolling Stones for a second time. To prevent any disturbances among the group’s fans, the Stones are locked in the Ed Sullivan Show studios for the entire day. They…
Rock History May 1 1965, Herman’s Hermits started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Mrs Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter.” 1966, The Beatles played a 15-minute live set on stage for the last time in the UK when they appeared at the NME Poll Winners concert at…
Rock History April 30 1966, The Rolling Stones fourth album Aftermath went to number one on the UK charts. It was the group’s third chart topping album. 1966, The Young Rascals went to number one on the American singles chart with “Good Lovin.” The song had been a hit for The Olympics the year before. 1967,…
Our sources include: Wikipedia, This Day in Music, This Day in Rock, Led Zeppelin.com, Classic Rock Concerts, The Concert Database, Live Music Archive, The Allman Brothers Band, Janis Joplin.net, The Who This Month, Setlist.fm, All The Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release by Jean-Michel Guesdon & Phillipe Margotin (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers,) Echoes – The Complete History of Pink Floyd by Glen Povey (Mind Head Publishing)
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