A calendar of rock history including birthdays, deaths, milestones, chart toppers, concerts, record releases, and other important events in music history.
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)
RSS Feed
The Byrds
1965, The Byrds were at number one on the UK singles chart with their version of the Bob Dylan song “Mr Tambourine Man.” It was the first Bob Dylan song to reach the top of the charts. Across the Atlantic, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones began the third of it’s four week run at number one.
1966, The Who played at Brittania Pier in Great Yarmouth, … (read more…)
1964, The Beatles were atop the UK singles chart with “A Hard Days Night,” the group’s fifth. They would be number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in August.
1964, The Beatles take part in the Night of a Hundred Stars at the London Palladium.
1965, The Kinks perform “You Really Got Me” on the TV show, Where the Action Is.
1965, The Dave Clark Five played at Independence … (read more…)
1963, The Beatles’ first US album, Introducing The Beatles was pressed by Vee-Jay Records, who thought they had obtained the legal rights from EMI affiliate, Trans-Global Records. When it was finally released in January, 1964, Capitol Records would hit Vee Jay with an injunction against manufacturing, distributing, advertising, or otherwise disposing of records by the Beatles. After a trial, Vee-Jay was allowed to release any … (read more…)
1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of three nights at the Cafe-a-Go-Go in New York City.
1968, The Who appeared at Virginia Beach Dome in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
1969, The Beatles started work on the John Lennon song “Come Together” at Abbey Road studios in London. The track became the opening song on The Beatles Abbey Road album and was later released as a double A-sided … (read more…)
1965, Bob Dylan releases “Like a Rolling Stone.” The single becomes his first major hit, reaching number two on the US charts. The song remained on the charts for twelve weeks. It was recorded on June 15th and 16th at Columbia Studio A, on Seventh Avenue in New York. Then session musician Al Kooper improvised the organ riff for which the track is known.
1967, Jerry Lee Lewis kicks off his first English tour since he was hounded out of the … (read more…)
1965, The Who were recorded for broadcast on Radio Luxembourg’s Ready Steady Radio!
1967, Elvis Presley was working on his latest movie Speedway, co-starring Nancy Sinatra at the MGM Soundstage, Hollywood, California. It was Presley’s twenty-seventh film.
1967, The Who played at Patio Gardens in Farmington, Utah.
1967, The Beatles were at number … (read more…)
1968, Working at Abbey Road studios The Beatles continued with “Cry Baby Cry” adding new vocals, backing vocals, some harmonuim, tambourinnes, and sound effects. They recorded three takes of “Helter Skelter,” including one lasting 27:11, the longest of their career, before the song was redone two months later.
1968, The Grateful Dead release Anthem of the Sun. Their second album fails to chart. … (read more…)
1967, American jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane died from liver cancer at Huntington Hospital in Long Island, New York, aged 40. Worked with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie. Released the 1964 album ‘A Love Supreme’.
1967, The Who performed at the Agrodome, Vancouver, Canada.
1967, The Beatles single “All You Need Is Love” / “Baby You’re A Rich Man, ” originally called “One Of The Beautiful People,” was … (read more…)
1965, The Who play the Cheltenham Festival in Gloucestersire, England, along with The Yardbirds, Shades of Blue and The Hellions. It is one of the oldest music festivals in Britain, held annually in Cheltenham in June/July since 1945.
1966, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton formed the group Cream. The band is widely regarded as being the world’s first successful supergroup. In their career, they sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. Their music included … (read more…)
1967, The Doors and The Jefferson Airplane both played an afternoon and evening show to over 8,000 fans at Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California.
1967, Pink Floyd performed at the Stowmarket Carnival, held at The Cricket Meadow, in Stowmarket, England. Feel for Soul, The Ketas, and other bands were also on the bill.
1967, This week’s Top 5 UK albums – number 5, Fiddler On The Roof, … (read more…)
1964, The Rolling Stones were at number one on the UK singles chart with “It’s All Over Now,” the group’s first of eight UK chart toppers. The original Valentinos version of the song was played to the Rolling Stones during their first North American tour in June 1964 by New York radio DJ Murray the K. It was originally written by Bobby Womack and Shirley Womack. The Stones recorded their version nine days later at Chess Studios in … (read more…)
1964, The Animals continued to top the UK singles charts with “The House Of The Rising Sun.” Recorded in one take, this was the first number one to have a playing time of more than four minutes.
1964, The Supremes record “Come See About Me,” which later goes to number one.
1965, Paul McCartney was presented with five Ivor Novello Awards at a lunch party at The Savoy, London. John Lennon refused to attend. Paul was 40 minutes late … (read more…)
