Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Oct 26 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1958, Bill Haley and his Comets played the first rock 'n' roll concert in Germany. Over 7,000 rock 'n' roll fans turned the show into a riot.

1961, Bob Dylan signed with Columbia Records.

1962, The Rolling Stones, (known as The Rollin' Stones), and consisting of Keith Richard, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, pianist Ian Stewart and drummer Tony Chapman recorded their first demo tape at Curly Clayton Studios in Highbury, London. They recorded three songs, Jimmy Reed's 'Close Together', Bo Diddlley's 'You Cant Judge A Book By The Cover' and Muddy Waters' 'Soon Forgotten.'

1963, Bob Dylan played a sell out concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

1965, Queen Elizabeth II invests The Beatles with their MBEs at Buckingham Palace, London. Many former recipients gave their MBE's back in protest, to which John Lennon responded "Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war, for killing people." He continued: "We received ours for entertaining other people. I'd say we deserve ours more." When asked how he enjoyed meeting Queen Elizabeth II, John said "She's much nicer than she is in the photos."

1970, A wake was held at the Lion's Share in San Anselmo, California to celebrate the life of Janis Joplin. The singer who died of an accidental drugs overdose had left $2,500 in her will to throw a wake party in the event of her demise. The party was attended by her sister Laura and Joplin's close friends. Joplin was cremated in the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Mortuary in Los Angeles; her ashes were scattered from a plane into the Pacific Ocean and along Stinson Beach. 

1974, Barry White scored his only US No.1 album with 'Can't Get Enough.'

1974, Dionne Warwick and the Spinners went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Then Came You.'

1979, AC/DC appeared at The Mayfair, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, supported by Def Leppard. The bands were booked to appear the night before but after a fire at the venue in the afternoon, the show was cancelled.

1984, During a seven date Australian tour, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble played the first of three nights at the Melbourne Concert Hall in Melbourne. 

1985, Whitney Houston went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Saving All My Love For You'.

1991, Legendary Rock concert promoter Bill Graham was killed when the Bell 206B JetRanger III helicopter he was riding in struck the top of a Pacific Gas and Electric transmission tower near Sears Point, northwest of Vallejo and exploded. The crash, which left the helicopter's wreckage dangling near the top of the towering structure, killed Graham, his girlfriend Melissa Gold and pilot Steve Kahn. Graham had founded the Fillmore theaters in San Francisco and New York and had played key roles in supporting such bands as the Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Janis Joplin, The Band, Bob Dylan, The J. Geils Band, The Allman Brothers Band and The Rolling Stones. 

1991, Ozzy Osbourne broke his foot after an accident on stage at a gig in Chicago, causing him to cancel the remaining dates of a US tour.

2004, Elvis Presley came top of a list of the highest-earning dead celebrities. Forbes.com listed the Top 5 dead music earners; 1. Elvis Presley $40m (£22m), 2. John Lennon $21m (£11m), 3. George Harrison $7m (£3.8m), 4. Bob Marley $7m and at 5. George and Ira Gershwin $6m.

2004, Apple launched the U2 Special Edition iPod as part of a partnership between Apple, U2 and Universal Music Group. The new U2 iPod held up to 5,000 songs and featured a red Click Wheel and custom engraving of U2 band member signatures. The iPod was being introduced as the band released their new album ‘How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.’

2008, AC/DC went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Black Ice’ the Australian bands fifteenth studio album which went on to become a No.1 hit in 29 different countries and the second-best selling album of 2008.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...

1946, Keith Hopwood, Herman's Hermits
1951, Bootsy Collins, James Brown, Parliament, Funkadelic, Bootsy's Rubber Band 
1953, Keith Strickland, The B-52's

1963, Natalie Merchant, 10,000 Maniacs

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