Today in rock history 7th July

1940 – Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) is born in Liverpool, 1957 – Elvis Presley scored his first UK No.1 with ‘All Shook Up’, 1962 – The Beatles played at Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight, in Birkenhead. The show was a dance for the local golf club, the capacity of the hall was 450, but 500 people squeezed in to hear and see The Beatles. 1963 – The Rolling Stones made their UK TV debut when they appeared on ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars.’ Also appearing on the show was, Mickie Most, The Cadets, Helen Shapiro and Gordon Mills. The group made a total of 13 appearances on the show between 1963 and 1966. 1966 – The Kinks were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Sunny Afternoon’, the group’s third and last UK No.1. 1967 – The Monkees open a national tour with little-known Jimi Hendrix as the opening act. 1968 – The Yardbirds finally call it quits, leading guitarist Jimmy Page to form the New Yardbirds in order to fulfill some tour commitments. The group, featuring Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones, becomes Led Zeppelin. 1969 – George Harrison recorded his new song ‘Here Comes the Sun’ with just two other Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Abbey Road in London. John Lennon was absent recovering from a car crash in Scotland. 1973 – Paul McCartney & Wings release “Live and Let Die.” 1978 – The Grateful Dead played the first of four nights at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. 1986 – David Lee Roth releases his first solo album, Eat ‘Em and Smile. Rolling Stone decides, “Roth seems to have taken up the challenge from replacement shouter Sammy Hagar to enter into a full-scale battle of the bozos.” 1986 – Bob Dylan performs a second gig with the Grateful Dead, joining them for three songs. 1995 – Rod Stewart’s jet is forced to land at Landvetter Gothenburg International Airport in Sweden after it collides with a bird. 2000 – Metallica vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield aggravates a chronic back injury before a show at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. The band plays its scheduled sets on the Summer Sanitorium tour in Atlanta, Sparta, Ky., and Irving, Texas, with bassist Jason Newstead handling vocal chores on several songs 2003 – Godsmack cancel their European tour due to “a few projects with contractual deadlines that couldn’t be moved,” according to a spokesperson for the Boston rockers. 2004 – A judge rules that the independent Cleopatra Records label can release Hollywood Rose: The Roots of Guns N’ Roses, an album of early recordings and demos, over the objections of singer Axl Rose. 2006 – Pink Floyd co-founder Roger “Syd” Barrett dies in Cambridge, England at the age of 60, due to complications from diabetes. 2007 – Ozzy Osbourne became the first artist to be honoured on Birmingham’s own Hollywood-style Walk of Fame. The singer, from Aston, told more than 1,000 fans on Broad Street that the brass paving star meant more to him that than any Hollywood accolade. 2010 – Paul McCartney celebrated Ringo Starr’s 70th birthday performing at New York’s Radio City Music Hall

Today in rock history 6th July

1925 – Rock `n’ roll pioneer Bill Haley (William John Clifton Haley Jr.) is born in Highland Park, a section of Detroit. 1956 – Paul McCartney Meets John Lennon of The Quarry Men It was Saturday, July 6th, 1956 and John Lennon’s skiffle group, The Quarry Men, were playing Woolton Village Church Garden Fete. 1964 – A Hard Day’s Night premieres in London before Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon at the London Pavilion. The Beatles won’t get a chance to see the finished film until July 10. 1965 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” The Rolling Stones. It is the Stones’ first No. 1 single in the U.S. 1967 – Pink Floyd perform for the third time on the BBC’s Top of the Pops, promoting their successful “See Emily Play” single. 1973 – Queen release their debut single in the U.K., “Keep Yourself Alive.” 1976 – The Damned give their performance debut at the 100 Club in London. 1980 – 36 Ted Nugent fans are arrested for supposedly smoking pot and throwing bottles at the Gonzo Rocker’s Concert, in Hollywood, Fla. 1991 – Van Halen’s “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge’‘ debuts at No. 1 on Chart Toppers’s pop album chart. 1995 – A day after the Justice Department refuses to investigate Ticketmaster, Pearl Jam issues a statement saying they are “disappointed” in the result. 2002 – Jimmie Lee Robinson, a Chicago blues stalwart known for his pointed lyrics and storyteller’s sensibility is found dead in his car on Chicago’s southwest side. He is 71. 2003 – Eight people are struck by lightning before a Dave Matthews Band concert in East Troy, Wisconsin. 2004 – Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Tenacious D and Liz Phair play a Los Angeles fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. 2005 – Live 8 organizer Bob Geldof becomes the first member of the Boomtown Rats to ever be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. 2012 – Celebrated American electric guitarist Eric Johnson kicks off his first ever solo UK tour

Today in rock history 5th July

1944 – The Band’s Robbie Robertson is born in Toronto. 1950 – Huey Lewis (Hugh Cregg III) is born in New York City. 1954 – Elvis Presley invents rock ‘n’ roll as he, Scotty Moore, and Bill Black start messing around on a song called “That’s All Right” at Memphis’ Sun Studios. 1964 – David Jones (aka David Bowie) and the King Bees release the single “Liza Jane.” 1964 – The Irish band Them, featuring Van Morrison, record “Gloria.” 1966 – Chas Chandler goes to see Jimi Hendrix play at Cafe Wha? in New York’s Greenwich Village. The former Animal later tells Hendrix he should move to London in order to launch his career. 1968 – John Lennon sells his psychedelic Rolls Royce. 1968: Creedence Clearwater Revival released their self-titled debut album which went on to peak at number fifty-two on the Billboard 200 Album Chart and sell one million copies in the U.S. 1969: The Who & Chuck Berry co-headlined the Pop Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall. 1969 – The Rolling Stones turn their free Hyde Park concert into a memorial service for Brian Jones, who died in his swimming pool on July 3. Jagger reads Shelley’s “Adonais” by way of tribute and the band releases thousands of butterflies over the crowd. Sadly, most of the insects had themselves expired. 1971 – A Led Zeppelin gig in Milan turns violent when police fire tear gas at the crowd. The band escapes unharmed, but numerous arrests are made and a roadie is hit in the head with a bottle. 1975 – Pink Floyd premiere their Wish You Were Here album in a performance that takes in fireworks, Spitfire planes flying overhead, and even a model plane that crashes into the stage. 1978 – EMI halts production of the Rolling Stones’ Some Girls album after some of the celebrities featured complain about the use of their images in the cover art. 1988 – A movement to ban Grateful Dead concerts in the town of Oxford, Maine, crumbles after the protestors learn that they would have to ban concerts at the county fair, too. 1989 – Rod Stewart is knocked unconscious after hitting his head onstage. 1990: Kiss had to cancel a scheduled concert in New Haven, CT due to Paul Stanley sustaining neck & back injuries in a car accident the previous day in Pelham, NY. 1995 – More than 100 Grateful Dead fans were hurt when a wooden deck collapsed at a campground lodge in Wentzville, Missouri. Hundreds of people were on or under the deck sheltering from heavy rain. More than 4,000 Deadheads were staying at the campground while attending Grateful Dead concerts in the St. Louis suburb. 1995 – Sorry, Pearl Jam. The Justice Department announces that it will not be investigating antitrust charges against Ticketmaster. 2005: Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, who’s seen Pink Floyd’s record sales go up after Live 8 suggested that all other Live 8 performers donate their royalties to charity.

Today in rock history 4th July

1943 – Guitarist Alan Wilson of Canned Heat is born in Boston. 1948 – Guitarist Jeremy Spencer, who played with Fleetwood Mac before they moved to California, is born in Lancashire. 1962 – Chris Blackwell starts up Island Records, which would become the home of Bob Marley and U2, among others. 1964 – The Rolling Stones appear on Juke Box Jury. 1966 – In the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos pulls the Beatles’ police protection after his wife claims the band snubbed her by not attending one of her parties. 1969 – The Kinks’ Ray Davies is in Hollywood mixing the Turtles’ final album, Turtle Soup. 1982 – In a year that has seen him bite the head off a bat and watch his guitarist Randy Rhoads die in a plane crash… metal madman Ozzy Osbourne marries his manager, Sharon Arden. 1987 – Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead kick off a short tour together in Foxboro, Mass. The Dead encourage Dylan to reach deep into his back catalog and adopt the practice of not deciding on a set list before going on stage. 1987 – In New York, Keith Richards finishes the mixing for the Chuck Berry documentary Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll. 1987 – “The July Fourth Disarmament Festival” in the Soviet Union features the Doobie Brothers, Santana, Bonnie Raitt and Soviet music groups. 1995 – At Lollapalooza in George, Wash., Courtney Love belts Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hanna. Charged with assault, Love receives a suspended one-year sentence and is required to take courses in anger management. 1995 – The Ramones release “Adios Amigos.’‘ It’s speculated to be the band’s last album ever. 2000 – A man dies after plunging 80 feet from the top of Ravens Stadium in Baltimore shortly before a Metallica concert. 2003 -Metallica, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, the Deftones and Mudvayne kick off the Summer Sanitarium tour in Pontiac, Michigan. 2007 – Former laboratory worker Devon Townsend admitted to a court in Albuquerque, New Mexico of stalking Chester Bennington lead singer with Linkin Park. Townsend used US government computers to obtain his personal information, accessing Bennington’s e-mail account and mobile phone voicemail.

Today in rock history 3rd July

1955 – Born on this day, Mike Corby, The Babys 1965 – The Beatles played the final night of a two week European tour at the Plaza de Toros Monumental in Barcelona, Spain. 1967 – Beatles John, George, and Paul turn up at a party thrown in the Monkees’ honor in London. 1969 – Brian Jones is found dead in his swimming pool in Hartford, England. The Rolling Stones founder’s death was later ruled to be an accident. 1969 – Some 78,000 people show up for this year’s Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island. The big crowd may have had a bit to do with the non-jazz headliners James Brown, Led Zeppelin, Johnny Winter, and Blood, Sweat & Tears. 1969 – John Lennon holds a press conference to announce the release of “Give Peace a Chance,” but can’t show up as he and Yoko are recovering from a car crash in Scotland. Ringo fills in instead. 1970 – The Allman Brothers Band appears at the Atlanta Pop Festival. 1971 – Jim Morrison of the Doors dies of a heart attack in Paris at the age of 27. 1973 – As the Ziggy Stardust tour comes to a close David Bowie announces, “it is the last show I will ever do.” 1981 – Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman releases the single “(Si Si) Je Suis un Rock Star” on his own label. 1981 – Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, and John Densmore lead fans in a graveside memorial for Jim Morrison in Paris. 1982 – Van Halen hits #38 with “Dancin’ in the Street”. 1995 – Stone Temple Pilot Scott Weiland is in court pleading not guilty to drug charges. 2000 – DirecTV broadcasts the 1939 film “The Wizard Of Oz,” with Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon” in sync on the alternate Second Audio Program (SAP). While no one involved with Pink Floyd has ever admitted to any link between the bands seminal 1973 album and the classic film, urban legend purports that the album was conceived as an alternate soundtrack to Dorothy’s adventures in Oz. 2002 – Sir Elton John became the first person to be made an honorary doctorate from the Royal Academy Of Music. 2002 – The wife of Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne underwent an emergency operation after being diagnosed with cancer. 2003 – The White Stripes’ Jack White (the talented one with the guitar) announces he’s producing tracks for C&W legend Loretta Lynn. 2004 – David Crosby was fined $5,000 (£2,745) by a US court after admitting attempted criminal possession of a weapon. 2007 – Pete Doherty escaped jail after a judge decided to defer sentencing him for drugs offences on condition he went into rehab.

Today in rock history 2nd July

1941 – The ageless Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones is born in Islington. 1949 – Roy Bittan, pianist with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, is born. 1956 – Elvis Presley records “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Hound Dog” and “Anyway You Want Me” in New York. It marks the first time he uses the Jordanaires as background singers. 1964 – Paul McCartney is at the piano as Liverpudlian diva Cilla Black records the Beatles’ “It’s for You.” 1969 – Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell quit the Jimi Hendrix Experience, however there is some good news for rock enthusiasts as Leslie West and Felix Pappalardi team up to create Mountain. 1976 – Brian Wilson rejoins the Beach Boys for the first time on stage since deciding he’d rather spend his life in bed. Aside from singing “In My Room” at the Anaheim, Calif., performance, he mostly sits staring at his keyboard. 1980 – Bob Weir and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead are arrested with their manager, Danny Rifken, on charges of inciting a riot. They were alleged to have interfered with a drug-related arrest during a concert at the San Diego Sports Arena. 1981 – Bruce Springsteen plays his first show at New Jersey’s Brendan Byrne Arena. He sold out six shows at the venue in the space of an hour. 1982 – Clash drummer Topper Headon is charged with stealing a bus stop sign. 1984 – This Day in Dio: Dio release their album The Last in Line. 1986 – Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead perform together at a show in Akron, Ohio. Dylan joins the Dead on three songs. 1987 – Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones emerges from retirement to begin producing the Mission’s Children. 1991 – Several people are injured at a Guns N’ Roses concert in Maryland Heights, Mo., a St. Louis suburb. Lead singer Axl Rose is charged with third-degree assault and property damage but doesn’t turn himself in for a year. 1995 – Grateful Dead fans riot outside a Noblesville, Ind., concert. Seventeen arrests are made after gates are torn down and rocks thrown. 1997 – After he is awarded Sweden’s Polar Music Prize, Bruce Springsteen gives the cash portion of the award to a Swedish school program that keeps teenagers off the streets. 2001 – Yoko Ono visits the Beatle’s hometown of Liverpool, England, to attend a ceremony announcing the renaming of the Liverpool Airport as the Liverpool John Lennon Airport in honor of her late husband. 2003 – After various delays, Lollapalooza kicks off again, with headliners Jane’s Addiction and a line-up that includes Incubus, hip-hop act Jurassic Five and Audioslave. 2003 – In Billboard, the Who’s Pete Townshend dismisses those who’ve passed judgment on him after his arrest for childporn, and instead cares about its affect on “friends, fans, family and strangers who feel they know me through my work.” 2003 – Great White are forced to cancel their tour to benefit the victims of the Rhode Island club fire due to money troubles and insurance issues. 2005 – Live 8 concerts are held in locations from London to Philadelphia to Tokyo to raise awareness of African poverty. Among the performers are Madonna, Green Day, Paul McCartney, U2, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, a reunited Pink Floyd with Roger Waters, Stevie Wonder, Bjork, Jet, Simple Plan, Neil Young, Maroon 5, Pet Shop Boys,

Today in rock history 1st July

1915 – Bluesman Willie Dixon is born in Vicksburg, Miss. 1945 – Deborah Harry is born in Miami. 1952 – Comedian/actor/writer/Blues Brother and House of Blues co-founder Dan Aykroyd is born in Ottawa, Canada. 1968 – John Lennon opens an exhibition of his drawings titled “You Are Here.” 1968 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono are hospitalized after an auto accident in Scotland. 1969 – The Doors release their album The Soft Parade. 1970 – Jimi Hendrix records his first session at Electric Ladyland Studios, New York. 1973 – Bob Dylan releases his soundtrack to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. 1973 – Laurens Hammond, who invented the Hammond organ, dies at age 78. 1975 – Former Beatle Ringo Starr divorces his wife, Maureen Cox 1979 – The Doobie Brothers celebrate their 10th anniversary with an all-star jam session at the Friar’s Club in Los Angeles. 1981 – Rushton Moreve of Steppenwolf dies in an auto wreck at age 35. 1987 – The Grateful Dead release their In the Dark album, featuring the single “Touch of Grey.” Rolling Stone says, “This album bespeaks an effortlessness long absent from their oeuvre.” 1995 – Gravel-voiced DJ Wolfman Jack dies of a heart attack in Belvidere, N.C., at age 57 1997 – Radiohead release their third album, OK Computer. 1998 – A track from metal-funk band White Zombie’s 1993 Geffen album “La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One” has the dubious distinction of being played repeatedly to ward off paparazzi at the wedding of Barbra Streisand and James Brolin. 2003 – The New York Post reports that it’s all over for Kid Rock and Pam Anderson. The actress tells the Las Vegas Sun, “We remain good friends, but we have two different lives right now. I am with my kids and I couldn’t be happier.” 2008 – Whitesnake guitarist Mel Galley, died at the age of 60 from cancer of the oesophagus. Galley also played with Trapeze, Glenn Hughes, Cozy Powell and the Blue Jays.