Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Nov 30 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1963, The Beatles second album 'With The Beatles' became the first million selling album by a group in the UK.

1968, Glen Campbell started a five-week run at No. 1 on the US album chart with 'Wichita Lineman.' 

1969, The Monkees made what would be their last live appearance for 15 years when they played at The Oakland Coliseum, California.

1969, David Bowie, The Graham Bond Organisation and Dusty Springfield all performed at a fund raising show in London for youth magazine 'Rave.'

1969, The Rolling Stones played the final night on a 17 date North American tour at the International Raceway Festival, West Palm Beach, Florida. Also appearing, The Moody Blues, Ten Years After, King Crimson, Janis Joplin, The Band, Steppenwolf and Iron Butterfly.

1971, Sly And The Family Stone were at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Family Affair.'

1974, Elton John started a ten-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with his 'Greatest Hits'.

1985, Phil Collins had his fifth US No.1 with 'Separate Lives'. The song was taken from the film 'White Nights' and featured Marilyn Martin. 

1991, Michael Jackson scored his fourth UK No.1 album with 'Dangerous.'

1997, Metallica were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Reload’, the bands third US No.1 album. 

1999, Don 'Sugarcane' Harris was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment at the age of 61. The American guitarist and violinist was part of the 50's duo Don & Dewey. He also worked with Little Richard, John Mayall, Frank Zappa, John Lee Hooker and Johnny Otis.

2002, High Court probate records showed that George Harrison left his fortune of £99m in a trust to his wife Olivia and his son Dhani, depriving the taxman of £40m. His English mansion near Henley-on-Thames was said to be worth £15m. 

2003, A block of East 2nd Street in New York City was officially renamed Joey Ramone Place. It is the block where Joey once lived with band mate Dee Dee Ramone, and is near the music club CBGB, where the Ramones played their first gigs.

2006, The sale of Syd Barrett's final belongings were sold by Cheffins auctioneers in Cambridge, England. The sale of the 77 items raised £119,890 ($233,786). Ten paintings alone raised over £55,000 and two bicycles over £10,000. The sale included such things as the armchair he used to sit in, his home-made bread bin, tools, notebooks and binders and books. The sale catalogue described Barrett - who quit Pink Floyd in 1968 - as a man with a "total disinterest in materialism."

2007, During a Christies Rock & Roll auction held the Rockefeller Plaza, New York City a collection of 276 ticket stubs compiled by a rock journalist who covered many of the greatest rock concerts at New York City venues between the late 1960s to the 1990s, sold for $2,000. The tickets included concerts by: Jimi Hendrix; The Who; Rolling Stones; Frank Zappa; Beach Boys; Pink Floyd; Traffic; Allman Brothers; Led Zeppelin; Neil Young; Fleetwood Mac; Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen.

Happy Rock -n-Roll Birthdays to...
1929, Dick Clark
1937, Paul Stookey, Peter Paul and Mary
1943, Leo Lyons, Ten Years After
1945, Roger Glover, Deep Purple
1953, June Pointer, The Pointer Sisters, died on April 11, 2006.
1953, David Sancious, Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band
1954, George McArdale, Little River Band
1955, William Broad (Billy Idol)
1957, John Ashton, Psychedelic Furs
1973, John Moyer, Disturbed

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Nov 29 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1960, Paul McCartney and Pete Best were deported from West Germany after being arrested on suspicion of arson after the hotel room they were staying in mysteriously caught fire. They were released and deported the next day.

1963, 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' by The Beatles was released in the UK. For the first time ever in the UK advanced orders passed the million mark before it was released.

1965, Colorado Governor John A. Love declared a Rolling Stones day throughout the State as The Stones appeared at The Denver Coliseum in Colorado during a North American tour.

1969, The Beatles went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Come Together / Something', the group's 18th US No.1. 

1980, John and Yoko's 'Double Fantasy' album was released. A No.1 in the US & the UK the set featured the No.1 single 'Just Like Starting Over.'

1985, Kiss played the first night on their 91-date North American Asylum Tour at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Arkansas.

1986, 'Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band Live / 1975-85' started a seven week run at No.1 on the US album chart.

1995, Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar married model Kari Karte in San Francisco.

1996, American singer and ukulele player Tiny Tim (Herbert Khaury) died from a heart attack on stage while playing his hit ‘Tiptoe Through the Tulips’ at a club in Minneapolis. On 17 December 1969, he married Victoria Mae Budinger on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, a publicity stunt that attracted over 40 million viewers. (they had a daughter, Tulip Victoria). He performed at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival in front of a crowd of 600,000 people.

1999, American singer and bandleader Curtis Knight died aged 54. Jimi Hendrix had been a member of his band in the 60's. Though Hendrix wasn't in the group very long, he was featured on over 60 songs, 26 studio and 35 live recordings some of which have been released on record.

2001, Former Beatles guitarist George Harrison died in Los Angeles of lung cancer aged 58. Following the breakup of The Beatles Harrison had a successful career as a solo artist and later as part of the Traveling Wilburys. The youngest member of The Beatles, (aged 16 when he joined), his compositions include ‘Taxman’, ‘Here Comes the Sun’, ‘Something’, and ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. Harrison released the acclaimed triple album, All Things Must Pass, in 1970, from which came the worldwide No.1 single ‘My Sweet Lord.’ He was the co-founder of Handmade Films, collaborated with Madonna and the members of Monty Python. An accomplished gardener, Harrison restored the grounds of his 120 roomed English home Friar Park.

2002, Three paintings by Sir Paul McCartney were bought for just £35 each at the Secrets Postcard Sale at London's Royal College of Art. Members of the public gambled on whether they were buying works by celebrity artists at a fraction of their value, as a picture's creator was only made known after it has sold.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1917, Merle Travis, died October 20, 1983.
1933, John Mayall
1941, Denny Doherty, The Mamas And The Papas, died on Jan 19, 2007.
1944, Felix Cavaliere, The Young Rascals
1947, Ronnie Montrose
1951, Barry Goudreau, Boston
1959, Wendy Wu
1974, Apl.De.Ap, Black Eyed Peas

Monday, November 28, 2011

Nov 28 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1960, Elvis Presley started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Are You Lonesome Tonight', his third US No.1 of 1960. The single included a spoken passage loosely based on Shakespeare.

1962, The Beatles performed two evening shows: the first at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and the second at the 527 Club in Liverpool. The 527 Club show was a dance for the staff of Lewis Department Store in Liverpool, held on the top floor of the store.

1964, The Shangri-Las went to No.1 on the US singles chart with the 'teen death song', 'Leader Of The Pack'.

1967, The Beatles recorded their last fan club record as a group; 'Christmas Time Is Here Again!' 

1968, On their first North American tour, Deep Purple played the first of four nights at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, California.

1974, John Lennon made his last ever concert appearance when he joined Elton John on stage at Madison Square Gardens in New York City. Lennon performed three songs; 'Whatever Gets You Thru The Night', 'I Saw Her Standing There' and 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.' 

1976, The Sex Pistols appeared on BBC TV's 'Nationwide' and ITV's 'London Weekend Show.'

1987, Taken from the film 'Dirty Dancing', the Jennifer Warnes' duet with Bill Medley '(I've Had) The Time Of My Life', went to No.1 on the US singles chart.

1987, David Bowie played the second of four sold-out nights during his Glass Spider Tour in Australia and New Zealand at the Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne.

1987, REM had their first entry in the Top 10 on the US singles chart with ‘The One I Love.’

1991, Nirvana recorded a performance for BBC TV music show Top Of The Pops in London. When asked to lip-sync ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ to a pre-recorded tape Kurt Cobain protests by singing in a low-pitched funny voice with the rest of the band not even trying to mime in-time to the track.

1992, Whitney Houston started a record-breaking fourteen-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Will Always Love You', taken from the 'Bodyguard' soundtrack. The song was written by Dolly Parton.

1993, Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton was killed in a car crash not far from his Santa Barbara, California home, he was 47. Steppenwolf had the 1969 US No.2 & UK No.30 single 'Born To Be Wild'.

1999, Rage Against The Machine were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘The Battle Of Los Angeles’ the bands second US No.1.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1929, Berry Gordy, Founder of Motown Records
1939, Gary Troxel, The Fleetwoods
1943, Randy Newman
1948, Beeb Birtles, Little River Band
1954, David Jaynes, Modern Romance

1962, Matt Cameron, Soundgarden
1968, Dawn Robinson, En Vogue

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Nov 27 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1962, The Beatles recorded their first BBC radio session at the BBC Paris studio on Regent Street in London. They played 'Twist and Shout', 'Love Me Do' and 'P.S. I Love You', the tracks were aired on the BBC Light Program 'Talent Spot.'

1964, Mick Jagger was fined £16 for driving offences by a court in Tettenhall, Staffs. His solicitor told the court: “The Duke of Marlborough had longer hair than my client and he won some famous battles. His hair was powdered, I think because of fleas. My client has no fleas.”

1965, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Whipped Cream & Other Delights'.

1967, During a UK tour Jimi Hendrix Pink Floyd, The Move, Nice and Amen Corner all appeared at the Whitla Hall, Queen's College in Belfast, playing two shows in one evening.

1969, During a North American tour The Rolling Stones played the first of four shows at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The group played to 55,000 fans over the four nights grossing over $100,000.

1970, George Harrison released All Things Must Pass. The triple album included a number of songs that were left over from Beatle sessions, the set would go on to be certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA, making it the best selling album by a solo Beatle.

1970, Black Sabbath, Cactus and Steel Mill, (featuring Bruce Springsteen) all appeared at the Sunshine In, Asbury Park in New Jersey. All three acts played two shows, tickets cost $5.00.

1976, Rod Stewart played the first night of a UK tour at Manchester's Belle Vue Kings Hall.

1981, the British Phonographic industry placed advertisements in the press claiming that 'home taping was wiping out music'. The Boomtown Rats, 10cc, Elton John and Cliff Richard all backed the campaign.

1986, Bon Jovi were at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'You Give Love A Bad Name.'

1994, Rod Stewart and the Faces appeared at The Odeon, Lewisham, London, England. Paul and Linda McCartney both joined the band on stage for a few numbers.

2001, Elvis Presley was inducted into The Gospel Association Hall Of Fame.

2005, Multimillionaire defence contractor David H. Brooks booked New York’s Rainbow Rooms and his daughter Elizabeth’s favourite acts for her ‘bat mitzvah’ coming-of-age celebration. The stars who appeared included 50 Cent, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Stevie Nicks. 50 Cent who was paid $500,000 to appear performed only four songs but he did manage to work in the lyric, "Go shorty, it's your bat miztvah, we gonna party like it's your bat mitzvah". The party cost an estimated $10 million, including the price of corporate jets to ferry the performers to and from the venue.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1941, Eddie Rabbitt
1942, Jimi Hendrix
1944, Dave Winthrop, Supertramp
1945, Randy Brecker, Blood Sweat & Tears
1959, Charlie Burchill, Simple Minds
1962, Charlie Benante, Anthrax
1962, Mike Bordin, Faith No More
1965, Wallis Buchannan, Jamiroquai
1971, Terry Corso, Alien Ant Farm

Saturday, November 26, 2011

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

1958, Johnny Cash, made his debut on the US country chart when ’Cry! Cry! Cry!’ made it to number 14. His next seven singles would all make the country top 10, with ‘I Walk the Line’ and ‘There You Go’ both hitting number 1.

1962, The Beatles recorded their second single ‘Please Please Me’ in 18 takes and ‘Ask Me Why’ for the flip side at EMI studio’s London. 

1967, The promotional film of The Beatles 'Hello, Goodbye' was aired on The Ed Sullivan show in the US.

1967, During a UK tour Jimi Hendrix Pink Floyd, The Move, Nice and Amen Corner all appeared at The Palace Theatre in Manchester, playing two shows in one evening. 

1968, Cream played their farewell concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Also on the bill were Yes and Taste.

1969, Pink Floyd and Mouseproof appeared at The Civic Hall, Dunstable, England, tickets 14 shillings, ($1.68). 

1973, John Rostill former bassist with The Shadows died after being electrocuted at his home recording studio. A local newspaper ran the headline, 'Pop musician dies, guitar apparent cause'. After the break up of The Shadows Rostill worked with Tom Jones and wrote songs covered by Elvis Presley and Olivia Newton-John.

1973, The New York Dolls made their live UK debut at Biba's Rainbow Room, London.

1975, During a UK tour Captain Beefheart appeared live at Brunel University, Middlesex, England, tickets cost £1.20.

1975, During a UK tour Queen played two shows at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester.

1977, Blondie played the first night of a 28 date (and their first tour of Australia) at the Concert Hall, Perth with support from The Ferrets.

1983, David Bowie played the last night of his 10-date Serious Moonlight tour of Australia and New Zealand at West Springs Stadium, Auckland.

1988, Russian cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 7 took into space a cassette copy (minus the cassette box for weight reasons) of the latest Pink Floyd album Delicate Sound Of Thunder and played it in orbit, making Pink Floyd the first rock band to be played in space. David Gilmour and Nick Mason both attended the launch of the spacecraft.

1989, The Rolling Stones played a concert at Death Valley Stadium in Clenson, South Carolina to help raise money for the victims of Hurricane Hugo.

1994, The Eagles started a two-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Hell Freezes Over.'

1995, Alice In Chains were at No.1 on the US album chart with their self-titled album.

2000, The Beatles went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Beatles 1.'

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1939, Tina Turner, (Annie Mae Bullock)
1944, Jean Terrell, The Supremes
1944, Alan Henderson, Them
1945, John McVie, Fleetwood Mac
1946, Burt Reiter, Focus
1964, Adam Gaynor, Matchbox 20
1970, Ron Jones, Flaming Lips
1984, Benjamin Wysocki, The Fray

Friday, November 25, 2011

Nov 25 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1961, The Everly Brothers started active service for the 8th Battalion Marine Corps Reserves, working as artillerymen.

1965, Harrods department store in London closed to the public so The Beatles could do their Christmas shopping.

1968, The Beatles double White album was released in the US. Featuring 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da', 'Dear Prudence', 'Helter Skelter', 'Blackbird' 'Back In The USSR' and George Harrisons 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'. The album spent 101 weeks on the US chart peaking at No.1.

1976, The Band made their final performance; 'The Last Waltz' the show also featured Joni Mitchell, Dr John, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton and others. Martin Scorsese filmed the event.

1984, The cream of the British pop world gathered at S.A.R.M. Studios, London to record the historic ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ The single, which was written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, featured Paul Young, Bono, Boy George, Sting and George Michael. It went on to sell over three million copies in the UK, becoming the bestselling record ever, and raised over £8 million ($13.6 million) worldwide.


995, Radiohead singer Thom Yorke blacked out halfway through a show in Munich, Germany, suffering from exhaustion.

2000, A burglar broke into Alice Cooper's home and made off with over $6000 worth of clothes, shoes and cameras belonging to the singers daughter. The good's were all lifted from Cooper's house in Paradise Valley, along with four of the star's gold discs. 

2003, Meat Loaf underwent heart surgery in a London hospital after being diagnosed with a condition that causes an irregular heartbeat. The 52-year-old singer had collapsed on November 17th as he performed at London's Wembley Arena.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1940, Percy Sledge
1960, Amy Grant
1967, Rodney Sheppard, Sugar Ray

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Nov 22 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1957, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel appeared as Tom and Jerry on ABC-TV's American Bandstand.

1963, The Beatles released their second album 'With The Beatles' which spent 51 weeks on the UK charts.

1965, Bob Dylan married Sara Lowndes in New York. Sara filed for divorce on March 1st 1977.

1965, Wilson Pickett appeared at The Flamingo Club, London, England. 

1968, The Beatles double White album was released in the UK. Featuring 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da', 'Dear Prudence', 'Helter Skelter', 'Blackbird' 'Back In The USSR' and George Harrisons 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'. Priced at £3.13 shillings, ($8.76), it spent eight weeks as the UK No.1 album.

1968, Iron Butterfly, Canned Heat and The Youngbloods played the first of two nights at New York's Fillmore East, tickets cost $3 - $5.

1975, KC and the Sunshine Band started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'That's The Way (I Like It)'.

1986, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble kicked off a 149-date North American and European tour at the Towson Center in Towson, Maryland.

1991, Alice Cooper came to the rescue of two fans; Patrick and Dee Ann Kelly, whose California home was about to be re-possessed. Patrick had painted Coopers face on the house to help sell the property. Mr Cooper signed autographs to help raise money for the couple.

1997, INXS singer Michael Hutchence was found dead in his hotel suite in Sydney. He was 37. Hutchence body was found at 11.50am naked behind the door to his room. He had apparently hanged himself with his own belt and the buckle broke away and his body was found kneeling on the floor and facing the door.

2002, The surviving members of The Doors, Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger, announced they would record and tour again with a new line up including ex- Cult singer Ian Astbury and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland. Original drummer John Densmore was not able to take part because he was suffering from severe tinnitus. 

2004, Ozzy Osbourne struggled with a burglar who escaped with jewellery worth about £2m from his Buckinghamshire mansion. Osbourne told reporters that he had the masked raider in a headlock as he tried to stop him. The burglar broke free and jumped 30 ft from a first floor window. A large amount of jewellery was stolen in the raid in which two burglars were involved.

2004, U2 shot the video for 'All Because Of You' from a moving flat bed truck on the streets of Brooklyn in New York City. Later in the day, they performed a brief concert under the Brooklyn Bridge, which was taped by MTV for a later showing. 

2005, Poems written by Bob Dylan in his college days sold for $78,000 (£45,000) at a New York City auction. The 16 pages of poems were the first known time Robert Zimmerman used the Dylan name and came from his studies at the University of Minnesota during 1959-60.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1943, Floyd Sneed, Three Dog Night


1946, Aston Barrett, The Upsetters, Bob Marley and the Wailers.

1949, Steven Van Zandt, (Little Steven or Miami Steve), guitarist with South Side Johnny, then Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul. Created music-industry activist group Artists United Against Apartheid as an action against the Sun City resort in South Africa, Springsteen, U2, Bob Dylan and Run DMC, collaborated on 'Sun City'. Starred as Silvio Dante in the TV Series 'The Sopranos'.

1950, Tina Weymouth, Talking Heads

1968, Rasa Don, Arrested Development

1978, Karen O, singer, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Monday, November 21, 2011

Nov 21 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1955, RCA Records purchased Elvis Presley's recording contract from Sam Phillips at Sun Records for an unprecedented sum of $35,000.


1960, The Beatles played at the Kaiserkeller Club in Hamburg, Germany without George Harrison. Harrison had been deported on this day for being underage (he was 17) and not legally allowed to remain in a nightclub after midnight.

1969, The Doors played the first of two nights at the Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden, New York City.

1970, The Partridge Family started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Think I Love You'. The song was featured in the first episode of the Partridge Family TV series, made by the same company that made The Monkees.

1970, Two months after his death Jimi Hendrix was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Voodoo Chile' the guitarist's only UK No.1 single.

1975, At the start of Elton John week in Los Angeles, the singer received a Star on Hollywood's Walk Of Fame.

1981, Olivia Newton John started a ten week run at No.1 in the US singles chart with 'Physical', the singers fourth US No.1 went on to sell over 2 million copies.

1981, Queen and David Bowie were at No.1 in the UK with 'Under Pressure. They recorded the song together when both acts were working in a German recording studio. It was David Bowie's first released collaboration with another recording artist.

1983, Michael Jackson's 14-minute video for 'Thriller', was premiered in Los Angeles.

1988, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page set out on his first ever-solo tour at The Hummingbird, Birmingham, appearing with John Miles and the son of Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, Jason Bonham.

1990, Mick Jagger married Jerry Hall in Bali. The marriage was declared 'null and void' on 13th August 1999 after a judge ruled that the six- hour ceremony in Bali was never registered.

1991, Aerosmith made a guest appearance in the Simpson's TV animated comedy.

1995, Matthew Ashman, former Adam And The Ants and Bow Wow Wow guitarist died aged 35 from complications caused by diabetes. Bow Wow Wow had the 1982 hit ‘I Want Candy’.

1995, Legendary manager of Led Zeppelin Peter Grant died from a heart attack aged 60. Known as being one of the shrewdest and most ruthless managers in rock history, Grant secured 90% of concert gate money and intimidated record store owners who dealt in bootlegs. The former wrestler, also worked as a film extra and bodyguard. During the early 60’s Grant worked as a tour manager for Bo Diddley, The Everly Brothers, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and The Animals.

1995, The Beatles Anthology 1 was released in the US, featuring 60 tracks including the single 'Free As A Bird.' 

1995, Bruce Springsteen kicked off his Ghost of Tom Joad Tour at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the first of 128 shows.

2003, An acoustic guitar on which the late Beatle George Harrison learned to play fetched £276,000 at a London auction. His father originally bought the Egmond guitar for Harrison for £3.50. Another item auctioned was a signed invitation to the post-premiere celebrations for The Beatles Hard Days Night film, which went for £17,250.

2003, Record producer Phil Spector appeared before a California court and was formally charged with murder. B-movie actress Lana Clarkson had been found at his mansion in February of this year with a fatal gunshot wound to her face. Spector pleaded not guilty to her murder during a brief hearing in Alhambra, near Los Angeles and was released on $1m bail.

2007, The Red Hot Chili Peppers were suing a US network over the name of its TV show, Californication saying the title was "immediately associated in the mind of the consumer" with its 1999 album and single release. The band filed a lawsuit against Showtime Network - the makers of the TV show, which featured David Duchovny as a writer going through a mid-life crisis. "For some TV show to come along and steal our identity is not right," said the band's singer, Anthony Kiedis. He described Californication as "the signature CD, video and song of the band's career".

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1940, Dr John, (Malcolm John Rebennack)
1948, Lonnie Jordan, War
1965, Bjork Gudmundsdottir
1967, Margret Ornolfsdottir, The Sugarcubes
1968, Alex James, Blur
1970, Francis Macdonald, drummer, Teenage Fanclub, The Pastels

Friday, November 18, 2011

Nov 18 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1956, Fats Domino appeared on the US TV Ed Sullivan Show performing 'Blueberry Hill.'

1963, The Beatles received silver LP discs for 'Please Please Me' and 'With the Beatles' at a ceremony held at EMI House in London. They also received a silver EP for 'Twist and Shout' and a silver single for 'She Loves You'. The band then attend a cocktail party and a formal lunch in the EMI boardroom with company executives and invited guests.

1965, Manfred Mann, The Yardbirds and Paul and Barry Ryan all appeared at the ABC Cinema, Stockton, Cleveland, North East England.

1971, Memphis blues singer and musician Herman 'Junior' Parker died aged 39 during surgery for a brain tumor. Parker was discovered in 1952 by Ike Turner, who signed him to Modern Records. Parker then signed to Sun Records in 1953. There they produced three successful songs including ‘Feelin' Good’ a No.5 on the Billboard R&B charts.

1972, Cat Stevens started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Catch Bull At Four'.

1976, Richard Hell and the Voidoids made their debut at CBGB's New York.

1978, Billy Joel went to No.1 on the US album chart with '52nd Street', his first US No.1 album.

1979, The Jam appeared at The Apollo Theatre, Manchester, England. 

1992, Black Sabbath were honoured with a star at the Rock Walk in Hollywood.

1993, Nirvana recorded their MTV unplugged special at Sony Studios, New York. 

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1936, Hank Ballard
1941, Con Clusky, The Bachelors
1949, Herman Rarebell, The Scorpions
1950, Graham Parker, The Rumour
1950, Rudy Sarzo, Whitesnake
1954, Charles Williams, KC and the Sunshine Band
1960, Kim Wilde
1962, Kirk Hammett, Metallica
1972, Matt Knight, Toploader

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Nov 17 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1961, The Beatles played a lunchtime show at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. That night they played at the Village Hall, Knotty Ash, Liverpool.

1962, The Four Seasons started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Big Girls Don't Cry', the group's second No.1 of the year.

1966, The Beach Boys were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Good Vibrations.'

1967, Pink Floyd released their third single 'Apples And Oranges', which failed to chart.

1973, The Who's double album ‘Quadrophenia’ entered the UK album chart peaking at No.2. One of two two full-scale rock operas from The Who (the other being the 1969 ‘Tommy’). The 1979 film based on the story stars Phil Daniels, Toyah Willcox, Ray Winstone, Michael Elphick and Sting.

1974, John Lennon scored his second solo US No.1 album with 'Walls And Bridges.' 

1979, Jethro Tull bass player John Glascock died at the age of 28, as a result of a congenital heart defect. Had also been a member of Chicken Shack.

1990, David Crosby from Crosby Stills Nash & Young was admitted to hospital after breaking a leg, shoulder and ankle after crashing his Harley Davidson motorbike.

2007, The Eagles were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Long Road Out Of Eden’ the bands seventh studio album and first since 1979.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1938, Gordon Lightfoot
1946, Martin Barre, Jethro Tull
1956, Peter Cox, Go West
1957, Jim Babjak, The Smithereens
1966, Jeff Buckley, US singer songwriter, (1995 album 'Grace'). His singer songwriter father Tim Buckley, died on 29th June 1975 of a heroin and morphine overdose. Jeff Buckley drowned on 29th May 1997 in Wolf River Harbor on the Mississippi River - during a spontaneous evening swim - wearing boots and all of his clothing.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Nov 16, Today in Rock-n-Roll History

1962, The Beatles recorded their second appearance on Radio Luxembourg, for the program The Friday Spectacular. The Beatles were interviewed they played in front of a live audience. Both sides of their latest single, 'Love Me Do' and 'P.S. I Love You' were played.

1963, Nino Tempo and April Stevens went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Deep Purple', it made No.17 in the UK.

1968, The Jimi Hendrix Experience went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Electric Ladyland'. The double album included ‘Crosstown Traffic,’ ‘Voodoo Chile’ and ‘All Along the Watchtower’ and featured guest appearances by Dave Mason, Steve Winwood and Al Kooper. Barry Ryan was at No.1 on the Disc & Echo UK singles chart with 'Elosie'

1968, Led Zeppelin played their first ever show in the north of England when they appeared at Manchester College of Science & Technology.

1971, Frank Zappa appeared on this week's UK TV music show the 'Old Grey Whistle Test', playing live and showing clips from his '200 Motels' film.

1974, John Lennon was at No.1 in the US singles chart with 'Whatever Gets You Through The Night.' Elton John played on the session and made a deal with Lennon that if the song reached No.1, Lennon would have to appear on stage live with Elton. Lennon kept his side of the deal and appeared live with Elton. They played three songs together: ‘I Saw Her Standing There,’ ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’ and ‘Whatever Gets You Through the Night.’ Backstage after the concert, Lennon got back with Yoko Ono after a temporary split.

1976, Beach Boy Brian Wilson gave his first formal interview for eight years on the UK BBC 2, TV show 'Old Grey Whistle Test.' Also on the program, Be Bop Deluxe and Cajun Moon.

1985, U2 launched their own record label 'Mother Records.'

2002, Texan multi-billionaire David Bonderman hired The Rolling Stones to play at his 60th birthday party held at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The bands fee was £4.4m.

2010, The Beatles' back catalogue was finally made available on iTunes, after years of negotiations. For the first time consumers would now be able to purchase some of the Fab Four's most popular songs via the store. Apple and record label EMI had been in talks for years about getting the catalogue online. Apple chief executive and Beatles fan Steve Jobs said it had "been a long and winding road to get here. We love the Beatles and are honoured and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes."

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...

1916, Herb Abramson, producer, songwriter and co-founder of Atlantic records
1938, Troy Seals, James Brown's Band
1943, Winfred Lovett, The Manhattans
1962, Gary 'Mani' Mounfield, The Stone Roses
1964, Diana Krall
1969, Born on this day, Bryan Abrams, Color Me Bad

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Nov 15 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1959, Johnny and the Moondogs, (The Beatles) played in the final heat of the 'TV Star Search' competition at The Hippodrome Theatre, Manchester, England. Judging was done by the volume of applause each group received when it is called back onto stage at the end of the night. Since the Moondogs had no money to stay overnight in Manchester, they were forced to head back to Liverpool before they were called back onto stage.

1964, Rolling Stone Brian Jones was admitted to Passavant Hospital in Chicago with a temperature of 105, causing Jones to miss the last few dates on the Stones current tour.

1966, The Doors officially signed with Elektra Records in a deal for the band to produce seven albums. The band also reluctantly agreed to release ‘Break On Through’ as their first single. The lyric "She gets high/she gets high/she gets high" was changed to “She gets/she gets/she gets" in order to secure radio play.

1969, Janis Joplin was arrested during a gig in Tampa, Florida, after badmouthing a policeman and using vulgar and indecent language. Joplin became upset after police moved into the hall forcing fans to move back to their seats. As the singer left the stage she confronted a detective calling him 'a son of a bitch' and told him she would kick his face in. She was released on $504 bail. 

1974, Golden Earring, with support band Lynyrd Skynyrd appeared at the Odeon Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1976, The Sex Pistols appeared at Notre Dame Hall, Leicester Place, London.

1980, Blondie had their fifth UK No.1 single and third No.1 of this year with 'The Tide Is High' a song written by reggae star John Holt, also a No.1 in the US.

1984, R.E.M. played the first date on the bands second UK tour at Tiffany's Ballroom, Newcastle, England.

1984, Kiss played the first North American date on their 119 date Animalize Tour at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

1992, Ozzy Osbourne announced his retirement from touring after a gig in California, saying "Who wants to be touring at 46." 

2000, Michael Abram, the Liverpool man who stabbed George Harrison after breaking into his home, was awarded a not guilty verdict at Oxford's Crown Court. But the verdict was returned in view of Abrams mental history, and he was taken into care.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1932, Petula Clark
1933, Clyde McPhatter, The Drifters
1945, Frida Lyngstad, Abba
1949, Steve Fossen, Heart
1954, Tony Thompson, Chic
1957, Joe Leeway, Thompson Twins
1966, Christian "Flake" Lorenz, Rammstein
1974, Chad Kroeger, Nickelback

Monday, November 14, 2011

Nov 14, Today in Rock-n-Roll History

1960, Ray Charles went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Georgia On My Mind', a No.24 hit in the UK. His cover of Hoagy Carmichael's 1930 standard, became the first of three No.1 hits for the singer.

1962, The Beatles played the final show of a 14 night run at the Star-Club, Hamburg, West Germany.

1967, A 16 date UK package tour with Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Move, Nice and Amen Corner kicked off at the Royal Albert Hall, London. All acts played two shows per night.

 1969, 'Sugar Sugar' by The Archies was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. The single became the longest running one hit wonder in the UK with eight week's at the top of the charts. It was the first No.1 performed by cartoon characters.

1971, Velvet Underground, Renaissance and Audience all appeared at Bumpers, London, tickets 75p. 

1975, Queen played the first of two nights at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, England, the first nights on their 78-date A Night At The Opera World Tour.

1977, Kiss played the first date on their 51-date Alive II Tour at the Myriad Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

1981, The Police had their fourth UK No.1 single with 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic', a No.3 hit in the US.

1987, The soundtrack from the film 'Dirty Dancing' went to No.1 on the US album chart. 

2004, The Rolling Stones were refused permission to pursue a claim against their former record company Decca for unpaid royalties through the courts. A High Court judge in London said the dispute would go to arbitration and not be decided in court. The dispute was over their Forty Licks compilation CD, which was released in 2002 and was the first collection to span their entire career.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1938, Cornell Gunter, The Coasters. Gunter was killed on 26th February 1990.
1944, Sherri Payne, The Supremes 1973. 
1949, James Young, Styx
1951, Frankie Banali, drums, Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P. Billy Idol
1956, Alec John Such, Bon Jovi
1966, Joseph 'Run' Simmons, Run-DMC 
1968, Brian Yale, Matchbox 20
1975, Travis Barker, Blink 182

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Nov 13, Today in Rock-n-Roll History

1963, The Beatles recorded a television interview at Westward Television Studios in Plymouth, Devon, for a local teen program "Move Over, Dad". Due to a large crowd of excited fans outside, The Beatles had to be smuggled from their dressing-room at the ABC Cinema, where they were scheduled to appear that night, into an adjacent building, then through a tunnel, to get to Westward Studios for the interview taping.

1965, The Castiles, which featured a young singer called Bruce Springsteen appeared at The Fire House, Hazlet, New Jersey. The night was billed as a Teenage Go, Go Dance.

1966, The Beach Boys, Lulu and David and Jonathan appeared at the Birmingham Theatre, England.

1968, Rolling Stone Brian Jones bought 'Cotchford Farm' in Sussex. The author AA Milne who wrote Winnie The Pooh had owned the house. 

1969, Crosby Stills Nash & Young played the first of four nights at Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California.

1971, Santana scored their second US No.1 album with 'Santana III'. 

1971, The Faces appeared at The Pavilion, Bath, England, tickets cost 75p.

1973, Jerry Lee Lewis Jr was killed in a car accident near Hernando, Mississippi. Lewis had been working as the drummer in his father's band. 

1976, Led Zeppelin scored their seventh UK No.1 album with the film soundtrack to 'The Song Remains The Same', it peaked at No.2 on the US chart.

1981, U2 kicked off a 23 date North American 'October' tour at JB Scott's in Albany, New York. 

1982, Men At Work started a 15-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with their debut album 'Business As Usual', which went on to sell over five million copies in the US.

1992, Ronnie Bond drummer with The Troggs died. Scored the 1966 US No.1 & UK No.2 single 'Wild Thing' and 1966 UK No.1 ‘With A Girl Like You.’ 

1996, On the last leg of their Ballbreaker World Tour, AC/DC played the first of four sold out nights at Sydney Entertainment Center in Sydney, Australia.

2000, The Beatles launched their first official website www.thebeatles.com. The site went live on the same day as the release of their retrospective 'Compilation 1' album. 

2002, The three surviving member of Led Zeppelin announced they were re-forming after 22 years for a US stadium tour.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1949, Roger Steen, The Tubes
1951, Bill Gibson, Huey Lewis and the News
1953, Andrew Ranken, The Pogues
1960, Wayne Parker, Glass Tiger
1979, Nikolai Fraiture, The Strokes

Nov 12, Today in Rock-n-Roll History

1962, The Beatles appeared at the Star Club, Hamburg, Germany, sharing the bill with Little Richard.

1965, After changing his name from Toby Tyler to Marc Bolan, the future T Rex star performed his first single 'The Wizard' on the UK TV show 'Ready Steady Go!' 

1965, Velvet Underground made their live debut when the played at Summit High School, New Jersey, the band were paid $75 for the gig.

1966, The Monkees debut album started a 13-week run at No.1 on the US album chart, selling over 3 million copies in three months.

1966, Pink Floyd appeared at the Corn Exchange, Bedford, England. The set list for these early Floyd shows included: 'Let's Roll Another One', 'Gimme A Break', 'Interstellar Overdrive', 'Astronomy Domine' and 'Stoned Alone'. 'Stoned Alone' was also known as 'I Get Stoned', and was possibly the first song Syd Barrett wrote for Pink Floyd.

1968, UK book and record chain W.H. Smiths refused to display The Jimi Hendrix Experience album 'Electric Ladyland' due to the naked girls featured on the sleeve. The album was then made available as two albums with changed artwork after the complaints. 

1971, Led Zeppelin appeared at The Locarno, Sunderland, England, with tickets at 75p. The set included: 'Immigrant Song', 'Heartbreaker', 'Black Dog', 'Since I’ve Been Loving You', 'Rock And Roll', 'Stairway To Heaven', 'That’s The Way', 'Going To California', 'Tangerine', 'Dazed And Confused', 'What Is And What Should Never Be', 'Celebration Day', 'Whole Lotta Love' and 'Communication Breakdown'.

1973, Mott The Hoople kicked off a 20-date UK tour at Leeds Town Hall with support group Queen. 

1977, The Sex Pistols went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their debut LP 'Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols', the punk group's only No.1 album.

1983, Bob Dylan’s 'Infidels' album reached its highest position when it peaked at #9 in the UK chart. Dylan's 22nd studio album was co-produced with Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler. Dylan had also approached Elvis Costello, David Bowie and Frank Zappa as possible producers. 

1988, U2 started a six-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Rattle And Hum.'

1990, Rolling Stone Ron Wood broke both his legs after his car crashed on the M4 motorway near Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Wood was trying to wave other cars past his when he was run over. 

2008, Mitch Mitchell, the British drummer with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, was found dead in his US hotel room aged 61. Mitchell had been working with Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames when in 1966 he was invited to audition for a new band being formed to back Jimi Hendrix

Happy Rock and Roll Birthdays to...
1945, Neil Young, Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, Buffalo Springfield, CSNY
1947, Donald Roeser, (Buck Dharma), Blue Oyster Cult
1948, Errol Brown, Hot Chocolate
1949, Arthur Tavares, Tavares
1952, Laurence Juber, Wings
1955, Les McKeown, The Bay City Rollers
1964, David Ellefson, Megadeth

Friday, November 11, 2011

Nov 11, Today in Rock-n-Roll History

1954, Bill Haley scored his first US Top ten single with 'Shake Rattle And Roll'. He had dropped his cowboy image about a year and a half earlier, while renaming The Saddlemen to Bill Haley and His Comets. The song became the theme song for the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League. ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ was originally made popular by Big Joe Turner.

1955, Elvis Presley was voted the most promising new country & western artist by Billboard magazine.

1965, The final recording session for The Beatles Rubber Soul album took place, at Abbey Road, London. They needed three new songs to finish the album so an old song ‘Wait’ is pulled off the shelf and the group recorded two new songs from start to finish. Paul's ‘You Won't See Me’ and John's ‘Girl’, the basic tracks for both songs being completed in two takes. Rubber Soul was completed, and finished copies of the album were in the shops by December 3 in the UK and December 6 in the US.

1972, Allman Brothers bass player Berry Oakley was killed when his motorcycle hit a bus at the same intersection as former band member Duane Allman, who had died a year earlier. Oakley was 24 years old.

1978, The Cars released the first picture-disc single commercially available, 'My Best Friend's Girl'.

1978, David Bowie played the first night of his 8-date Low / Heroes tour of Australia and New Zealand at The Oval in Adelaide. This was Bowies first ever show in Australia.

1986, Pink Floyd issued a press statement stating that they intend to continue using the name without Roger Waters and were recording their next album.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1938, Roger Lavern, The Tornadoes
1944, Jessie Colin Young, The Youngbloods
1945, Vince Martell, Vanilla Fudge
1946, Chip Hawkins, Tremeloes
1946, Chris Dreja, guitar, The Yardbirds
1947, Pat Daugherty, Black Oak Arkansas
1950, Jim Peterik, Ides Of March
1952, Paul Cowsill, The Cowsills
1953, Andy Partridge, XTC
1956, Ian Craig Marsh, Human League
1957, Mike Mesaros, The Smithereens
1969, Gary Powell, The Libertines

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Nov 6 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1963, During a UK tour, The Beatles played two shows at the ABC Cinema in Northampton.

1964, During their first promotional visit to the UK, The Beach Boys appeared live on ITV's 'Ready Steady Go!'

1965, The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane played at the opening night of San Francisco's Fillmore West.

1965, The Rolling Stones started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Get Off Of My Cloud', the group's second US No.1. The song knocked The Beatles 'Yesterday' from the No.1 position.

1966, During a six date tour of Germany, The Who played at the Kongresshalle, Cologne supported by The Lords.

1967, Working at Abbey Road studio in London, The Beatles mixed four songs, ‘Hello Goodbye’, ‘Your Mother Should Know’, ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ and ‘I Am the Walrus’. Due to the radio feed used in ‘I Am the Walrus’ being recorded in mono, the song changes from stereo to mono at the line "Sitting in an English garden".

1967, During a three hour session Bob Dylan recorded ‘All Along The Watchtower’ and ‘John Wesley Harding’ at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.

1968, Joe Cocker was at No.1 in the UK singles chart with his version of The Beatles song 'With A Little Help From My Friends'. The song was also a UK No.1 for Wet Wet Wet in 1988 and Pop Idol duo Sam and Mark in 2004.

1968, The Monkees' three quarter of a million dollar feature film, Head opened in New York City. Instead of being aimed at their target audience of teeny boppers, the film contained a dark theme about the manipulation of the group with walk-on appearances by inappropriate guests and scenes of Vietnam War atrocities. Reviews were harsh and the picture was a box office disaster.

1970, Aerosmith performed their first ever gig when they played at Nipmuc Regional High School in Mendon, Massachusetts.

1971, Cher started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves', the singers first US solo No.1, it made No.4 in the UK.

1972, Rolling Stone Bill Wyman lost his driving licence and was fined £20 by Chelmsford Magistrates court after being caught speeding in his Mercedes on the A12.

1973, Michael Martin and Phil Kaufman were charged and fined $300 each for the theft of a coffin containing Gram Parsons body. The court heard that the two men were merely carrying out Parson's wishes to be cremated in the desert.

1975, The Sex Pistols made their live debut at St Martin’s School Of Art in central London, supporting a band called Bazooka Joe, which included Stuart Goddard (the future Adam Ant). The Pistols’ performance lasts 10 minutes.

1976, The Steve Miller Band went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Rock 'n' Me', the group's second US No.1.

1977, Abba started a four week run at No.1 on the UK single chart with 'The Name Of The Game, the group's 6th No.1. The song was first called 'A Bit Of Myself.'

1982, Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker started a three week run at No.1 on the US with a song taken from the film 'An Officer And A Gentleman', 'Up Where We Belong'.

1982, R.E.M. appeared at Tupelo's Tavern, New Orleans, Louisiana.

1984, U2 played the first of two nights at Glasgow Barrowlands in Scotland during their Unforgettable Fire World Tour.

1993, Meat Loaf started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I'd' Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That).

1993, Pearl Jam went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Vs', selling 950,378 copies making it the highest sales in US album history in one week.

2003, Metallica kicked off their 137-date Madly in Anger with the World Tour at Yoyogi Taiikukanin Tokyo, Japan. The Madly in Anger with the World tour was the fourth-highest grossing tour of 2004, reaping $60,500,000 in ticket sales.

2007, Meat Loaf cancelled his European tour after being diagnosed with a cyst on his vocal cords. The 60-year-old had already scrapped two gigs on doctor's orders. Speculation had surrounded the tour after he cut short a gig in Newcastle, telling the audience it is "the last show I may ever do in my life".

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1894, Adolph Sax, inventor of the saxophone
1948, Glenn Frey, The Eagles
1961, Craig Goldy, Dio
1964, Corey Glover, Living Colour
1966, Paul Gilbert, Mr. Big

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Nov 5 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1963, During a UK tour The Beatles performed two shows at the Adelphi Cinema in Slough.

1965, The Who released the single 'My Generation' in the UK. It peaked at No.2 on the UK chart.

1965, The Doors appeared at the Pioneer Club Boat Ride, Los Angeles, California.

1966, The Monkees were top of the Billboard singles chart with ‘Last Train To Clarksville’, the group’s first No. 1. It was later revealed that due to filming commitments on their TV series, none of the group had played on this or most of the group’s early recordings.

1967, Bee Gee Robin Gibb was a passenger on a train which crashed in South East London in England killing 49 people and injuring 78. Robin was treated for shock after the accident.

1971, Elvis Presley kicked off a 15-date North American tour at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Minneapolis. Announcer Al Dvorin uttered the well known phrase: "Elvis has left the building" at the end of the show. He was asked to make the announcement in an effort to quiet the fans who continued to call for an encore.

1979, Blue Oyster Cult played the first of four sold out nights at London's Hammersmith Odeon.

1982, Brian Wilson was fired from The Beach Boys by his former colleagues.

1982, Channel 4 TV's 'The Tube' had its first showing. Presented by Paula Yates and Jools Holland, the show featured The Jam and an interview with Mick Jagger. First live act on the show was local band Toy Dolls.

1983, Billy Joel was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Uptown Girl', his only UK No.1 stayed at the top of the chars for five weeks. A No.3 hit in the US, the song was written about his relationship with his girlfriend then-wife, supermodel Christie Brinkley.

1994, Sheryl Crow scored her first UK Top 10 single when 'All I Wanna Do' entered the charts at No.4. The US singer songwriter went on to become the first US female to score six UK hits off her debut album 'Tuesday Night Music Club'.

1995, Producer Butch Vig's new band Garbage made their US live debut when they played at The 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis. Vig produced Nirvana's album 'Nevermind.'

2000, U2 went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'All That You Can't Leave Behind', the Irish group's 8th UK No.1 album. Creed were at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'With Arms Wide Open'.

2003, Bobby Hatfield of The Righteous Brothers was found dead in hotel room in Michigan 30 minutes before he was due on stage, aged 63. The autopsy report from the Kalamazoo County Medical Examiner gave the opinion that Hatfield suffered a sudden, unexpected death due to acute cocaine toxicity. The Righteous Brothers had the 1965 UK & US No.1 single 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', and the 1990 UK No.1 single 'Unchained Melody', first released in 1965.

2005, Guitarist Link Wray died aged 76. Wray was credited with inventing 'fuzz' guitar after punching a hole in a speaker giving him a distorted guitar sound. Famous for his 1958 US No.16 single 'Rumble' which was banned on several radio stations, on the grounds that it glorified juvenile delinquency. A rare feat for a song with no lyrics.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1931, Ike Turner, 
1941, Art Garfunkel

1946, Gram Parsons
1947, Peter Noone, Herman's Hermits
1956, Helen O'Hara, Dexy's Midnight Runners
1957, David Moyse, guitar, Air Supply
1957, Mike Score, A Flock Of Seagulls
1959, Bryan Adams
1971, Jonny Greenwood, Radiohead
1974, Ryan Adams
1987, Kevin Jonas

Friday, November 4, 2011

Nov 4 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1961, Bob Dylan appeared at The Carnegie Chapter Hall in New York City.

1963, The Beatles topped the bill at The Royal Variety Show at The Prince Of Wales Theatre, London. With the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret in the audience, this was the night when John Lennon made his famous remark “In the cheaper seats you clap your hands. The rest of you, just rattle your jewelery”. The show was broadcast on UK television on the Nov 10th 1963.

1963, The night after The Rolling Stones had just come off a 30-date UK tour with The Everly Brothers, they kicked off another 50-date UK club tour at the Top Rank Ballroom in Preston.

1965, The Rolling Stones were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Get Off Of My Cloud', also a No.1 in the US.

1966, The Beach Boys 'Good Vibrations', entered the UK chart, it went on to be a UK & US No.1 hit single.

1967, Pink Floyd recorded ‘Point Me At The Sky’ and ‘Careful With That Axe, Eugene’ at Abbey Road Studios, London.

1968, Cream played their final US show in Long Island.

1969, Founder member of The Ink Spots, Ivory Watson died aged 60. The group who formed in the early 1930s in Indianapolis, had the 1939 US hit ‘If I Didn't Care’, and ‘The Gypsy’ was their biggest chart success, staying at the No.1 position for 13 weeks.

1970, The Beach Boys played the first of four nights at the Whiskey A Go-Go club in LA.

1971, The Who opened up The Rainbow Finsbury Park, London, England appearing on the first of three nights.

1972, Johnny Nash started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Can See Clearly Now'.

1974, Pink Floyd played the first night on a 21 date UK tour at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1977, The Last Waltz, the movie of The Bands final concert premiered in New York. The Martin Scorsese movie also featured Joni Mitchell, Dr John, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton.

1978, Crosby Stills Nash & Young were sued by former bass player Greg Reeves for over a $1 million claiming he was owed from sales of their album 'Deja Vu'.

1978, Linda Ronstadt went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Living In The USA'.

1980, Bob Marley was baptised at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Kingston, converting to a Christian Rastafarian and taking on the new name Berhane Selassie.

1995, Radiohead appeared at the Brixton Academy, London, England.

2007, The Eagles went to No.1 on the UK album chart for the first time ever - 33 years after their debut album On the Border. This was the group's first full studio album since The Long Run in 1979.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1954, Chris Difford, Squeeze
1957, James Honeyman-Scott, Pretenders, (1980 UK No.1 single 'Brass In Pocket'). He died on 16th June 1982

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Nov 3 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1957, Sun Records released 'Great Balls Of Fire', by Jerry Lee Lewis. The single went on to sell over five million copies worldwide, a No.1 in the UK & No.2 in the US.

1958, Elvis Presley went on maneuvers for the first time with the US Army's 32nd Tank Regiment near the German, Czech border.

1960, Elvis Presley had his fifth UK No.1 single with 'It's Now Or Never', it stayed at No.1 for eight weeks. The song which was based on the Italian song, 'O Sole Mio', gave Presley his first post-army No.1.

1962, The Crystals started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'He's A Rebel'.

1963, The Beatles, The Brook Brothers, Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers, The Vernons Girls and The Kestrals all appeared at The Odeon, Leeds, England, tickets, 5/6.

1963, The last night of a 30 date UK tour featuring The Everly Brothers, Bo Diddley, The Rolling Stones, Mickie Most and The Flintstones at The Hammersmith Odeon, London. All the acts had played two shows every night.

1964, During a Rolling Stones North American tour a 17 year-old Rolling Stones fan fell from the balcony during a gig in Cleveland, Ohio. The Mayor of Ohio banned all future pop concerts, saying; "Such group's do not add to the community's culture or entertainment."

1967, The filming for The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour was completed finishing with a sequence at Ringo's country house in Weybridge, Surrey, BBC television bought the rights to broadcast the film twice, the first broadcast, in black-and-white was scheduled for December 26, 1967. The second showing, on the color channel BBC2, was not yet available to all Britons, was set for January 5, 1968.

1972, James Taylor and Carly Simon were married by a judge in Simon's Manhattan apartment, beginning their eleven year marriage. That evening, Simon joined him on stage at New York's Radio City Music Hall and announced their union to a cheering audience.

1973, Neil Young supported by The Eagles appeared at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, England.

1973, David Bowie scored his second UK No.1 album when 'Pinups' started a five-week run at the top of the charts. The set contained Bowie covering his favourite 60's songs; his version of The Mersey's 'Sorrow' made No.3 on the UK singles chart.

1977, During a concert at the Empire Pool, Wembley, London, Elton John announced his retirement from live performances.

1979, One hit wonder M went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Pop Muzik'. M was Robin Scott who scored one other UK top 40 hit, 'Pop Muzik' made No.2 in the UK.

1979, The Eagles started a nine-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'The Long Run', the group's fourth US No.1 album.

1983, RCA records signed Latin teen sensations Menudo for $30m. The line up of five young boys all had to sign a contract agreeing to leave the group when they reached 16, (when too old for the group). Ricky Martin was once a member.

1984, Billy Ocean started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Caribbean Queen'. The song was originally called 'European Queen'.

1984, Paul McCartney went to No.1 on the UK album chart with the film soundtrack to 'Give My Regards To Broad Street', featuring the UK No.2 single 'No More Lonely Nights.'

1987, David Bowie played the first of eight sold out nights at The Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia. The shows were part of the 1987-date Glass Spider world tour.

1988, Run-DMC, Public Enemy and Derek B. all appeared at the Apollo Manchester, England.

1990, 25 years after their version was recorded, The Righteous Brothers went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Unchained Melody.' The track had been featured in the Patrick Swayze film 'Ghost.' Written by Alex North and Hy Zaret, 'Unchained Melody is one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, with over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages.

1991, A free concert was held in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco to honor the memory of promoter Bill Graham, who was killed in a helicopter crash the week before. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Grateful Dead, Journey and Joan Baez were the featured acts.

1993, Russian inventor Leon Theremin died. Most famous for his invention of the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments. He first performed the theremin with the New York Philharmonic in 1928.

1995, Hootie and the Blowfish reached an out of court settlement with Bob Dylan for the group's unauthorized use of Dylan's lyrics in their song 'Only Want To Be With You'.

1997, Metallica came to a out of court agreement with a fan who claimed he lost his sense of smell after being dropped on his head by fans at one of their shows four years earlier.

2000, Bon Jovi kicked of the North American leg of their Crush Tour at the Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina.

2002, Santana were at No.1 on the US alum chart with ‘Shaman’ their fourth US No.1 album.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1933, John Barry, John Barry Orchestra, film themes, won five Oscars, 'James Bond Theme', 'Zulu' and 'The Magnificent Seven'. Died of a heart attack on 31st January 2011 aged 77.
1941, Brian Poole, The Tremeloes
1954, Stuart Goddard, (Adam Ant)

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Nov 2 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1956, Police used tear gas to break up a riot that broke out during a Fats Domino concert in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Fats and three of his sidemen suffer minor injuries.

1963, Peter Paul and Mary started a five week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'In The Wind' the group's second No.1.

1963, The Konrads, (featuring David Bowie), appeared at Shirley Parish Hall, Shirley, Croydon, England.

1964, During a live 'Ready Steady Go!' TV show, singing 'Donna The Prima Donna' Dion walked off the show after becoming irritated by the audience dancing around him.

1967, Tom Jones kicked off a 22 date UK tour at Finsbury Park, Astoria with Kathy Kirby and The Ted Heath Orchestra.

1967, The Beatles completed recording their next single ‘Hello Goodbye’ at Abbey Road studios London with a second Paul McCartney bass line. The McCartney song had been selected for the A-side for The Beatles next single, the flip side to be Lennon’s ‘I Am the Walrus.’

1968, The Doors played 2 shows at the Veterans Memorial Hall, Columbus, Ohio.

1970, Grand Funk Railroad and Black Sabbath appeared at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1974, Crosby Stills Nash & Young went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'So Far', the group's third US No.1.

1974, George Harrison became the first Beatle to undertake a solo world tour when he played the first show of a 30-night tour in Vancouver, Canada.

1974, Stevie Wonder went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'You Haven't Done Nothin', the singers fourth US No.1. It featured The Jackson Five on backing vocals.

1979, AC/DC played the second of three sold out nights at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, England, with Def Leppard supporting.

1984, The Rev Marvin Gaye Sr. was sentenced to five years in prison for the manslaughter of his son, Marvin Gaye.

1984, U2 kicked off 10-date UK tour at London Academy, Brixton, London.

1985, Simple Minds scored their second UK No.1 album with 'Once Upon A Time.'

1985, Stevie Wonder went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Part-time Lover', his 9th US No.1.

1985, The TV soundtrack from Miami Vice went to No.1 on the US album chart. It spent a total of 11 weeks at No.1.

1987, Eric Clapton played the first of three nights at The Budokan, Tokyo.

1996, Counting Crows went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Recovering From Satellites'. The album peaked at No.4 in the UK.

2001, Slipknot kicked off a 6-date UK tour at Cardiff Arena in Wales.

2007, Led Zeppelin's eagerly-awaited reunion concert in London was postponed for two weeks after guitarist Jimmy Page broke a finger. The tribute concert in honour of late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun scheduled for 26 November would now take place on 10 December. More than a million fans applied for the 20,000 tickets available, which cost £125 each. Profits from the show would go towards scholarships in Ertegun's name in the UK, USA and the country of his birth Turkey.

2007, Ozzy Osbourne claimed his reputation had been tarnished after a party supposedly involving him was organised by US police officers to round up missing criminal suspects. Over 500 people in North Dakota with outstanding arrest warrants were sent invitations and more than 30 suspects turned up. Osbourne said it was "insulting" that his name had been used but police argued it was a "creative" way to fight crime. Ozzy had been selected because he was due to play a gig in a nearby arena, which was used to explain why he would supposedly have attending the party.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to... 
1941, Bruce Welch, The Shadows
1944, Keith Emerson, The Nice, ELP
1956, Chris Fairbrass, Right Said Fred
1957, Carter Beauford, Dave Matthews Band,
1961, Kathryn Dawn Lang, (kd Lang)
1965, Bobby Dall, Poison
1969, Reginald Arvizu, Korn
1975, Chris Walla, Death Cab for Cutie
1979, Nelly

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Nov 1 - Today in Rock-n-Roll History...

1955, R&B group The Famous Flames, lead by singer James Brown, cut their first demo of ‘Please, Please, Please’ at a radio station in Macon Georgia. It would lead to their signing with King Records.

1956, Elvis Presley bought a new Harley Davidson motorbike, Presley spent the day riding round Memphis on his new bike with actress Natalie Wood.

1962, The Beatles started a run of appearances over 14 nights at the star Club, Hamburg, Germany.

1963, The Beatles kicked off a UK tour performing two shows at the Odeon Cinema in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Their repertoire for the tour was ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘From Me to You’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘You Really Got a Hold On Me’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Boys’, ‘Till There Was You’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘Money’, and ‘Twist and Shout’. Supporting The Beatles were The Rhythm & Blues Quartet, The Vernons Girls, Frank Berry, The Brook Brothers, Peter Jay & the Jaywalkers, and The Kestrels.

1965, The Rolling Stones played at the War Memorial Auditorium, New York during the bands 4th North American tour.

1966, The Doors played the first night of a month long residency at the Ondine Discotheque, Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

1968, George Harrison released his first solo album, 'Wonderwall Music' on the Apple label. The songs which were mostly Harrison instrumentals, featured Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and an unaccredited banjo contribution by Peter Tork of The Monkees.

1969, Elvis Presley went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Suspicious Minds', his 18th US No.1 single. A No.2 hit in the UK.

1969, The Beatles scored their 13th US No.1 album with 'Abbey Road'. The final studio recordings from the group which featured two George Harrison songs; 'Something' and 'Here Comes The Sun' plus 'Come Together', 'Sun King' and 'Golden Slumbers.' The cover supposedly contained clues adding to the ‘Paul Is Dead’ phenomenon: Paul is barefoot and the car number plate ‘LMW 281F’ supposedly referred to the fact that McCartney would be 28 years old if he was still alive. ‘LMW’ was said to stand for ‘Linda McCartney Weeps.’ And the four Beatles, represent; the priest (John, dressed in white), the Undertaker (Ringo in a black suit), the Corpse (Paul, in a suit but barefoot), and the Gravedigger (George, in jeans and a denim work shirt).

1975, Elton John started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Island Girl', his 5th US No.1, a No.14 hit in the UK.

1980, Bruce Springsteen scored his first No.1 US album with 'The River', featuring the US No.5 & UK No.44 single 'Hungry Heart.'

1983, Siouxsie and the Banshees appeared live at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

1986, Boston started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Third Stage'.

1996, U2 set up a video link to an internet site from their recording studio in Dublin so fans could watch them record their new album.

2004, 61 year old Terry Knight, the former manager of Grand Funk Railroad, was murdered at his home in Killeen, Texas. Knight was defending his daughter during a domestic disturbance, when he was stabbed by her boyfriend, 26 year old Donald Alan Fair. Knight began his music career by leading a Michigan band called Terry Knight and the Pack, who scored a Billboard top 50 hit with ‘I, Who Have Nothing’.

2008, US drummer and singer Jimmy Carl Black died. Was a member of The Keys, The Soul Giants, The Mothers Of Invention and Jimmy Carl Black And The Mannish Boys. Also worked with Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Joe Cocker, Grateful Dead and The Turtles.

Happy Rock-n-Roll Birthdays to...
1944, Mike Burney, Wizzard
1946, Rick Grech, bass, Family, Traffic
1949, David Foster
1950, Dan Peek, America
1951, Ronald Bell, Kool & The Gang
1954, Chris Morris, guitar, Paper Lace
1957, Lyle Lovett
1959, Eddie Macdonald, The Alarm
1962, Anthony Kiedis, Red Hot Chili Peppers
1962, Mags Furuholmen, A-Ha
1963, Rick Allen, Def Leppard
1966, Mary Hanson, Stereolab. Hanson died in a cycling accident in England on 9th December 2002.
1981, LaTavia Roberson, Destiny's Child